It's all coming back to me now (2/4)

13

"Are you ready to come home?" Carolyn asked Meredith as she was helping to get the teenager dressed. Meredith just had another round of chemo

"Yeah" Meredith breathed

Carolyn smiled back and adjusted the beanie on Meredith's head

"You're ready to go" Carolyn kissed Meredith's forehead and helped the younger girl up and in the wheelchair

"Thanks" Meredith muttered as she almost fell asleep after standing up for half a minute

"Let's go home" Carolyn announced and Meredith smiled in response

Back home. Back to Derek, Amelia and Mark. Back to a real house

"Meredith, your mom called, she wanted to know when she could come over again" Christopher told Meredith

"I don't know" Meredith shrugged her shoulders "I just wanna sleep" She sighed

"Of course, let's go home" Carolyn placed her hand on Meredith's shoulder as they were waiting for the elevator

...

"Couch or bed?" Carolyn asked as she was helping the girl inside

"Couch?" She asked with exhausted eyes

"Of course" Carolyn laughed. Of course she knew why Meredith wanted to go to the couch, it would feel more like home then lay in a random bed

Meredith shuffled slowly towards the living room with the help of Christopher and Carolyn

She sighed as they helped her sit down on the couch. She started to look around for any signs of the others

"Surprise!" They yelled as they jumped from behind the closet

"Oh my-" Meredith smiled

"Mer" Derek breathed and ran towards her, totally embracing her in his strong and protective arms

"Hi" Meredith smiled at everyone

"Glad to see you back" Mark winked

"Glad to be back" Meredith sighed and rested her head on Derek's shoulder

"I missed you" Derek kissed her lips

"Okay guys. I'll go grocery shopping, anyone who wants to come?" Carolyn asked

"We'll come with you" Amelia laughed as she pushed Mark forward

"Leave Mer and Der by themselves" Mark laughed "Don't make babies while we're gone"

"Mark, manners!" Carolyn laughed

"I'm staying here with them" Christopher winked as he watched his son and Meredith "Meredith, you wanna go upstairs for a nap?" Christopher asked her

"No" She smiled softly "Can I stay here a bit longer?" She asked with pleading eyes

"Of course" Christopher smiled "You two keep cuddling, I'll go get you something to snack"

"I missed you so much" Derek held his Meredith in his arms

"I never wanna go back into isolation" Meredith admitted

"Mom said you had nightmares" Derek quietly said

"Doesn't matter" she muttered

"Of course it does" Derek frowned as he rubbed her back "Mer, are you still okay?"

"I'm just so tired" Meredith sighed "And I'm scared- I really wanna grow old with you"

"We will grow old together. 110" Derek reminded her

"110" She repeated with a soft smiled on her face

"Here" Christopher walked back in "Mer, I know you're not hungry but you really need to try" He carefully said

Meredith tried to grab a cucumber and took a bite before she heavily started gagging

"Oh Mer" Derek held her as Christopher held the bucket in front of her

"Not-" She started but had to vomit again "Not hungry" She whispered

"Okay, it's okay" Derek rubbed her back as she kept gagging over the bucket

Once her stomach had settled down again, Derek had wrapped her back in his arms

"Meredith, I'm gonna hook you up with the tube feeding and an IV to keep you hydrated" Christopher quietly explained

"I'm okay" She weakly told him

"I know that.." Christopher sighed "But you are losing bone mass rapidly, Meredith. Your knees and hips are already hurting so bad, I don't wanna make it even worse"

"Okay" Meredith sighed in agreement "C-Can I have something for the pain?"

"Oh of course" Christopher looked at her with a sad expression, knowing the teenage girl hates to ask for help

...

"Mom, do I have to wake her for dinner?" Derek asked his mother "She's been doing good today"

"You can try" Carolyn softly smiled back as she was filling the plates

"Mer" Derek whispered "Mer, wake up" He kissed her head

"Mommy?" She sounded confused

"Mer shh. It's me, Derek"

"Mommy? Where's mommy?" Meredith weakly muttered

"She's delirious" Christopher frowned

"Meredith, dear. It's Carolyn, you are okay" Carolyn brushed her hand over Meredith's cheek

"Where am I? Where's mommy?" Meredith started panicking until she started to throw up all over herself

"Meredith, you're in our house. I promise you're gonna be okay" Carolyn helped the girl out of the dirty pajamas

"I'll go grab clean ones" Amelia said and quickly ran off

"I'll go grab her meds" Christopher nodded

"It hurts" Meredith cried out

"I know, dad is going to get you something" Derek kissed her forehead

Carolyn held Meredith tight in her arms as she cleaned up the younger girl's face

"Love you mommy" Meredith forced out

"Shh, I love you too" Carolyn kissed the top of Meredith's head as the girl cried it out in pain again

Carolyn looked at her son who looked back at her and they shared the same frightened expression

"She'll be okay" Carolyn nodded

"I love you, Meredith" Derek kissed her head as his dad and sister returned