Meredith and Derek woke up one day, together in bed snuggled in each other's arms. Just last week, Derek made a final decision to resign from DC. And things with their marriage had been so much better.
"I don't wanna go to work." Meredith said, her voice muffled against his chest. "I don't either." He replied. "We could play hooky today." Derek suggested.
"Bailey would be pissed. We have a big surgery together scheduled. But it does sound enticing." She said.
"Well, if we can't play hooky, we can at least make this morning a little better." Derek shrugged, rolling on top of her. "I agree." Meredith grinned, pressing her lips to his.
••••
Later that day, Meredith was paged down to the pit. She frowned. Her and baileys surgery was supposed to be in 20 minutes.
Meredith went down their quickly and she was shocked at the number of patients and doctors. "Hey, I told them not to page you." Bailey said as she walked over to her.
"Why? Looks like a big trauma." Meredith replied with a raised eyebrow. "Just go do charts or sometning." Bailey said quickly, trying to get Meredith out of the pit as soon as possible.
"Dr Bailey, what's going on?" Meredith asked, her heart pounding. "No, I'm not okay! Our plane ceased!" A patient yelled agitatedly.
Meredith went pale in realization. "A plans crashed?" She asked, her throat dry. "Yes. Now you don't have to work this." Bailey replied, her voice gentle.
"I'm fine. I'm a doctor. I'm okay." Meredith said, trying to convince herself and Bailey as she walked over to a curtain.
"Hi, I'm Dr Grey." Meredith introduced herself to the young looking woman. The patient looked terrified. "I know this is scary. Can you talk?" She asked in a soft voice.
The patient shook her head. "Okay. That's okay. Does your stomach hurt?" She asked.
The patient nodded. "I'm gonna feel for any broken ribs or anything, okay?" Meredith said gently as she began palpating her abdomen.
"My-my sister." The young woman whispered. "Your sister? Was she in the crash, too?" Meredith asked. "She was so broken."
Meredith swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled sympathetically. "What's her name? I'll see if I can find her." She said, trying to keep the flashbacks and memories away, but failing.
"Alisha Collins."
"Okay. Hang tight. I'll try to find her." Meredith said with a fake smile, leaving the curtain as she gasped for breath.
Meredith tried to blink the black spots out of her vision as she stumbled into a supply room and sank to floor, her arms wrapped around her knees.
It was all too similar. That girl, looking for her sister, was Meredith. She could smell the charred flesh and the woodsy scent from other patients.
Meredith didn't even hear the door open when a figure sat down next to her slowly. "It's okay." She heard her husbands calm voice say.
Meredith just continued struggling to breath, as she fought to keep the memories away. Derek stood up for a moment and searched around for something before sitting back down next to her and handing her a paper bag.
"In and out. We're safe now. We survived. Everything's okay." Derek said soothingly, though he too was a little shaken up. Not as bad as Meredith was, but he was a little off.
"That-that girl, she-she was asking for her sister. What if-what if she's dead?" Meredith stammered. Derek wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her head down to his shoulder.
"I'm sure she's alive. Do you want to head home? I'm sure Bailey would understand." Derek offered, completely expecting her to say no.
"I don't-I don't think I can help." Meredith admitted. "Then we'll go home." He replied, kissing her softly on the side of the head.
•••
Once they did get home, Meredith changed into comfy clothes and curled up on the couch. Alex had agreed to watch the kids, knowing the day must of been difficult for them.
Meredith was obviously still shaken up. Derek knew that. He sat down on the couch next to her and pulled the blanket over him, too.
"I miss lexie." Meredith whispered. "I know. I do too. And mark." Derek said in response. "Thank you for not dying." She said, cuddling into his side and grasping his shirt in a death grip.
"Thank you for not dying."
