Driving Sideways

55.

The door to the hospital room opened slowly and a head peeked inside, followed by another. Mark held his finger to his lips as he faced the little boy, who nodded as they looked over at the bed. It was morning, and the nurses had been in to check on Ellis and take her vitals, and Derek had yet to move. He was sitting in a chair, slumped uncomfortably over the bed with his hand planted firmly in Ellis'. The bed was strewn with playing cards, and he held in his hand a half crumpled piece of paper, being held to his chest as his snore rattled softly against the bed sheets.

"Daddy's sleeping." Richie whispered softly into Mark's ear.

"He is." Mark chuckled quietly as he stepped farther into the room, listening to its soft click as it closed behind him.

"Should we wake him up?" Richie whispered back.

"Maybe we should..." Mark whispered back as he carried the little boy around the bed, panning their eyes carefully over the scene that played out before them. Derek's head lay upon the mattress, his face pressed into the sheets as his eyes twitched in a dream. His breathing was steady and relaxed, his hair was sticking straight up.

"He's so sleepy..." Richie said softly. "Mommy says he's cute when he sleeps..."

"Absolutely adorable." Mark teased as he tickled the little boy, who giggled out loud. He squealed and Derek's head lifted up, his eyes cloudy with sleep.

"Good morning, Daddy." Richie said with a laugh.

"Good morning, Daddy..." Mark said with a smirk as Derek reached up and ran his hands through his hair as he yawned.

"Good morning..." He squinted as he tried to figure out where he was. He looked down at his hand and found it intertwined in Ellis', the letter sitting in his other hand as he looked up at Mark and his son. "What are you guys doing here?" He mumbled as he cleared his throat, coughing as he looked over the bed at the two of them.

"Gambling, Derek?" Mark asked as he picked up a playing card and flicked it across at the yawning man.

"We were playing go fish..." He shrugged.

"How's her game?"

"She stinks..." Derek muttered as he shook his head.

"You alright?" Mark asked, watching Derek as he carefully folded the piece of paper in his hand and slide it into the envelope. "You read the..."

"Yes." Derek said quickly. "If she didn't want me to read it, she would have left it at the house." Derek pointed, watching Mark nod.

"You're just nosy..." Mark chuckled as he set the little boy down onto the bed. He crawled up and sat beside Ellis, taking her hand in his as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Good morning, GG." He whispered gently as Derek and Mark nodded. Derek turned away from the bed, and Mark walked around the bed to face Derek as they let Richie have some quiet time with Ellis. Since the ventilator had been removed, the little boy liked sitting beside his grandmother quietly whispering stories to her as she rest there. It calmed him down, and he would tell Meredith and Derek that he could tell that she was getting better.

Richie watched his father and Mark for a few minutes as Mark crouched before Derek. He watched his father talk in a low voice as he shook his head, his hands trembling as he talked quickly to Mark. Mark seemed to be soothing him, and Richie couldn't tell, but he thought that his father was crying. He looked down at Ellis and leaned down to kiss her cheek again. "I love you, GG." He whispered softly.

"I love you, my little prince..." Ellis' voice was as soft as the wind, her hand moving slightly as Richie nearly gasped. "Shh..." She whispered, her eyes opening for a moment as she winked her eye at him, a surprised and elated smile across his face as he looked up at his father and Mark and back down to Ellis, who had relaxed her hand and closed her eyes once again as the soft sound of her grandson's giggle drifted through the air.