What if

Mid June (part 1)

(Meredith POV)

I was finally going back to work today. After a long time. Months.

I woke up with a grin plastered to my face. While I was happy and excited, I was also nervous. I was taking on a whole new position, breeding the next surgeons of America.

I rolled on top of Derek and began kissing him on his neck. He groaned in pleasure and opened his eyes. "Good morning to you too." Derek said sleepily.

"I get to go to work today." I whispered. "I need a good wake up call." I said with a devilish smirk. "Oh yeah? I think I can help with that." Derek murmured, flipping is around and laying on top of me, kissing me deeply.

After we finished, Derek and I got the kids up and ready and went downstairs. "Derek, Meredith, can I speak to you before I leave?" Carolyn asked softly

We went into the kitchen. "I'm leaving this weekend." Carolyn announced. "You are?" Derek asked. He had gotten accustomed to his mother around. He liked it.

"I have a home back in New York. I've been here for a few months. Meredith is pretty much recovered. It's time for me to go." Carolyn explained.

"Okay. Thank you for coming Carolyn. It really means a lot." I said genuinely. "It was my pleasure dear. But don't expect this to be my last visit." Carolyn replied with a chuckle.

"What day is your flight?" Derek asked. "Saturday morning." Carolyn said. "We'll drive you and get Alex to watch the kids." I responded. "That's okay, dear. I can take a cab." She intervened.

"No, we'll drive you. Mom, Mer and I have to go. You're okay with watching the kids today, right?" Derek asked. "Of course."

"Thank you. Bye babies. We'll be back later. Be good for grandma." I said, walking into the living room and directing my attention to the kids.

(Derek POV)

Meredith and I drove to the hosptial and got out. "Good luck today." I whispered into her hair, gathering her in my arms and kissing her head.

"Thank you." She replied. I pulled back slightly and looked her in the eyes. "Please take it easy. You are still recovering, technically. If you need me just page me." I said, kissing her softly.

"I love you." She said, grinning before she walked away. "I love you too." I called back.

I made my way to the surgery board to look at what was scheduled when Richard approached. "Shep, is meredith here?" He asked. I nodded. "She just went to find Bailey."

"Good. How's she doing?" He asked.

"Good. Really good. She's still short of breath sometimes, but a lot better than she was. She's ready." I responded.

"That's great. She's going to do well in this position, I know it." Richard said faithfully. "I know she will." I grinned. "Im gonna go find them." He said.

(Meredith POV)

I found Bailey and Richard waiting for me and we got off of the elevator. "Now look, as residency director, your not only teaching them to do surgery, but you're guiding them. If a resident loses a patient, it's your shoulder to cry on. If they succeed, your their cheerleader. So, essentially-" Richard started.

"You're on call 24 hours a day." Bailey finished with a chuckle. "That's the way you always described it to me." She said to Richard.

"I appreciate the advice, I do know how to do the job. I've been watching you do it my whole career. If I were you I would be doing the surgeries that I don't get to do." I said bitterly. I said this position would be fine, but damn I already miss surgery.

"Well, you're the only one I wanted for the job." Richard replied before walking away.

"So, You gonna give Richards speech or you write your own?" Bailey asked.

"No speech." I said, shaking my head. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it my way. I gave a slight nod to Bailey before taking a deep breath and walking in.

The room was filled with residents, sitting at desks waiting for me. They started to clap and I shut that down quickly.

"We admitted 10 patients last night with covid symptoms. What are the status' of all 10 patients?" I asked, getting right into it.

(Derek POV)

After my surgery, I snuck up to the room Meredith was teaching and looked through the window. I saw Meredith leaning over some resident, checking a piece of paper. This reminds me off when I taught residents.

"She's doing fine Shepherd."  I heard. I turned around and saw Bailey leaning on the nurses station and eyeing me. "I know." I said. "Just checking." I added.

"How long does she have left?" I asked. I don't want her to be on her feet for too long. "A few more hours. But Derek, once she's back into the swing of things she going to be at the hosptial 24/7. This job is very demanding." Bailey replied.

"She's still recovering. I don't want her on call for long than 12 hours." I argued. "I know you don't. But she said herself she can't do surgery right now. I don't know what else I can give to her, so this is what she's going to be doing. Meredith knows the job." Bailey explained.

"She doesn't want this." I blurted. "You think I don't know that?" Bailey replied sassily. "She's gonna go nuts without surgery." She said.

"She'll be back to surgery. It's not like she'll never operate again, she was born for it. It's just goi to take some time." Bailey said.

"I know. I gotta run. Hey, can you give this to Mer?" I asked, handing her a water and an apple I got at the cafe. Bailey rolled her eyes but nodded. I looked back and the window and found Meredith looming again me.

I gave a thumbs up and I could tell she smiled through her mask.

Meredith was back. That's one step getting closer to normal.

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. If you guys have any ideas for future chapters feel free to drop them! Thanks for reading.