A Dream Or A Nightmare?

6

Derek stayed up all night, the guilt eating away at him. His wife was beaten, traumatized, and tortured because of him.

He took a minute to look at his sleeping wife. Callie had came in a day ago to cast her leg, which was completely broken and on top of that, had a torn acl which she'd have to fix at some point.

She also came in and casted Merediths arm, which was badly broken. She had a nasal canulla in for extra oxygen, and her ribs were wrapped heavily.

And she looked downright exhausted.

And it was all because of him. Had he never taken the job in DC, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have had his marriage on the rocks for so long, and his Meredith wouldn't have been hit and forced to do things she didn't want to do.

A knock at the door startled him and he turned around to see his mother standing at the door. "What are you doing awake?" Carolyn asked.

"Couldn't sleep." He replied, standing up and walking over to her. "Derek, what happened to her?" Carolyn asked softly, pulling him out of the room.

Derek ran a hand through his hair and breathed deeply. "I...it's all my fault." He breathed, the guilt overwhelming him.

"Why is it your fault? How is it your fault?" Carolyn asked, bewildered at how it could possibly be dereks fault his wife was in such bad shape.

"It was the government...since I left, they took her instead to work. It's my fault she's here right now." Derek explained.

"The government...how?" She asked.

"When she went to come see me after my accident, she...she was taken by one of the government workers. I used to see him around guarding everything. She...it was my fault. Because I left, they took Meredith in my place and forced her to do stuff. If I hadn't taken the job in the first place, this never would have happened." Derek explained.

"Even that, It's not your fault, Derek. You didn't take her. You didn't hit her. You didn't force her to do anytning. Your wife was taken from you." Carolyn said.

Derek opened his mouth to say something when a terrified scream came from Merediths room. He rushed in and saw a male nurse, standing by her beside, trying to figure out what the hell do to.

"G-get away." Meredith yelled, physically shaking and fisting her blanket tightly. "Don't hurt me." She whispered.

Derek looked at the nurse. "Get out." He said. The nurse scrambled out and Derek cautiously made his way to Meredith.

"Please, don't hurt me. I'll-ill do whatever you want." Meredith whispered. Dereks heart broke and he looked at her.

"It's just me, Mer. It's Derek. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Derek said softly. "Don't hit me." She begged. "No ones I going to hit you. Can you open your eyes for me, Mer?" Derek asked gently.

Meredith slowly opened her eyes and saw the blue eyes of her husband. "Derek." She breathed. He smiled and nodded. "It's me. You're safe now, Mer. Nobody is going to hit you ever again." He whispered.

"I-it's not your fault." Meredith said. "What?" Derek asked in shock. How did she know he was blaming himself.

"I-I know you. I know what y-youre thinking. It's not your f-fault." She replied. Derek felt the tears well in his eyes. "It is. I took the job. I left the job. They took you from me because I quit. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry." Derek said.

"I-it's not your fault. It's t-their fault. You didn't d-do anything to me. P-please don't blame yourself." She replied.

"But it's my fault." Derek said, his voice broken. "Don't blame y-yourself." Meredith repeated. Derek swallowed thickly and nodded. "I'll try not to." He whispered.

•••

About an hour later, Meredith fell asleep once again. The police came in to see her, but instead of wanting to talk to her, they wanted to talk to Derek.

"So, the victim is your wife, correct?" Officer Jones asked. The victim. "Yes, she's my wife." Derek replied. "Tell me about your family before what happened." Jones said.

"Uh, we have 2 kids. We adopted our oldest, Zola, almost 6 years ago, and she gave birth to our youngest, Bailey about 5 years ago." Derek replied.

"And did your wife ever show signs of resentment towards them? Anything to sign that she wanted to leave?" Another officer named Danny asked.

Derek felt a flurry of anger. "No. Meredith was and is a fantastic mother. Our kids missed her so much when she was taken from us." He said, trying to keep his anger in check.

"So she never wanted to leave on her own?" Jones asked calmly. "No. Meredith had a shitty enough childhood on her own, she would never purposely break apart our family and leave without saying anything to anyone." Derek replied.

"Okay Dr Shepherd. Thank you." Officer Jones said softly.

Derek went out into the hall and back to Merediths room. "Hi." Meredith said, still sleepily.

"Hey." He replied. "Where have you been?" She asked. "Talking to some officers." Derek answered. "Oh." Meredith said.

"So...you feeling okay? Do you need anything?" Derek asked. Meredith hesitated before shaking her head. "I'm okay. S-sore, but okay." She replied.

"I'm sorry." Derek apologized. "Don't say sorry. You d-didn't do anything. How are the kids?" Meredith asked.

Derek smiled. This was the first time she talked about the kids. "They're good. They just know you're alive and in the hospital. They've missed you so much." Derek replied.

Meredith swallowed, holding the tears at bay. "I didn't think I would see you or the kids ever again." She whispered.

"You don't have to worry about that again."

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. If you guys have any ideas feel free to let me know. Let me know if you liked this chapter.