I'd do anything for love (3/4)

4

"Meredith, what's wrong?" Richard and Bailey ran into Meredith's name when they saw her name on the charts

"It's back" She whispered "The stupid cancer is back"

"What?" Bailey gasped

"They found a tumor on her spine. She's scheduled for surgery in a few hours. But they found mets.." He sighed

"Where?" The two surgeons were speechless

"Stomach and ovarian" Meredith's voice cracked

Richard quickly grabbed her chart and started reading it carefully

"Oh, Meredith" Bailey started to tear up and grabbed Meredith's hand "Is there anything we can do?"

"We have to tell the others" Derek sighed

"Can we page them to a conference room? I don't wanna tell them from this bed" Meredith quietly asked as she kept looking at her hands

"Of course. We'll go page them" Richard softly said as he put her chart down again

Meredith nodded and watched them leave before she changed into some sweats that Carolyn had brought for her. She didn't wanna face her colleagues in a hospital gown

"Need some help?" Derek asked as she winced at the movement

"Just my back" She laughed harshly. Derek just rubbed her back soothingly

"You ready?" He asked as she leaned against his chest

"Will I ever be ready?" She sighed and linked arms with Derek as they made their way to the conference room

By now almost everyone had gathered in the room, waiting for Meredith and Derek

"What's going on?" Alex walked up to her

"I- Alex.." She sighed as she grabbed his hand "I'm so sorry"

"Mer, what's going on?" He started to worry

"The cancer is back.. I'll explain, just give me a minute" Meredith nodded and walked towards Bailey and Richard as she saw everyone turning their heads towards her, leaving Alex speechless

"Grey, why are you in sweats? Chilling out here?" Jackson joked but knew something was off when she didn't respond

"Meredith, do you wanna start?" Richard squeezed her arm softly as she nodded

"I- We.." She tried but didn't have the courage to go on. She took a deep breath and when Derek slipped his arm around her waist, she felt the courage coming "My cancer is back"

"Back? What do you mean?" Owen questioned

"I had a brain tumor 30 years ago, I had leukemia when I was a teenager-" Meredith started and heard some gasps. She was aware some didn't know about her medical history "There's a tumor on my spine. Tom will operate in a few hours but-" she told them before needing to catch her breath "It spread"

"Meredith.." She heard Alex whisper and saw Jo wrapping her arms around him

"Where?" Teddy asked concerned

"Stomach and Ovarian. We need to put a team together. So far I only spoke to Schwender and Tom, we heard a few hours ago" She forced out

"That's awful" She heard someone say

"So you'll probably not see me very much or it will be when I stumble through the doors" She said as she looked at the floor and felt Derek rubbing circles on her back as an awkward silence started

...

Meredith was ready to go into surgery. They had prepper her and just unlocked the wheels

"I'm coming with her" Derek said

"Derek, I can't have you in the OR" Tom said sternly

"I will just walk her there" He said and grabbed her hand as the nurses started wheeling her out

"You'll do great. We'll be here when you wake up" Christopher said as he kissed Meredith's forehead

"It will be okay, dear" Carolyn kissed Meredith's forehead too

Derek kept holding onto Meredith's hand as they continued their walk to the OR

"Okay, Derek. You need to stop here" Tom said

"Mer, I love you. I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay?" Derek tried not to cry

"I'm scared" She whispered "Derek, if anything goes wrong and my brain is gone, just unplug me. Take care of the girl and tell them how much I love them" Meredith started tearing up

"Nothing will go wrong, Grey. You're in the best hands" Tom rubbed her shoulder gently

"Don't stop fighting, Mer" Derek begged

"I will fight. I love you and the girl so much" She whispered

"Go kick that tumor's ass" He chuckled as some tears escaped his eyes

Meredith nodded and they shared a last kiss before Tom wheeled her inside

Bailey, Richard and many of their friends were sitting in the gallery. They promised to update Derek during the surgery while he was waiting with his parents in his office

They had chosen his office because it was much calmer than the waiting room. They were tired and were desperate for a few hours of good sleep but even if they would try, it wouldn't work out due to the condituon Meredith was in

"She's strong, Derek" Christopher rubbed Derek's back

"I know" He softly replied "But this is the third time she has to go through chemo. We were gonna try for another baby and now- now I might lose my wife to this awful disease. She doesn't deserve this. I would take it if I could.." Derek sighed

"We have to be here for her, Derek" Carolyn rubbed his back softly

"And god.. The girls.. She'll hate to be sick in front of them" He sighed

"We can watch them, dear" Carolyn softly said

"I already know she won't want that. She will be stubborn as always" He chuckled softly

"We can help out where needed, don't worry. We're all here for you, son" Christopher assured him "And I'll keep an eye on her treatment, besides, I trained Schwender"

"Yeah" Derek breathed