Don't you remember

8

Meredith was exhausted. Therapy has been exhausting but she kept fighting, for Derek, for Grace

Meredith was lost in thoughts. She wanted to talk to Derek. She wanted to tell him what she did in therapy today, she wanted to tell him she was tired, exhausted but that she was thankful for him and their daughter. Alex had taken Grace outside and promised to bring dinner for them

"D-Der?" Meredith whispered

"Yeah?" Derek breathed from his spot next to her, she was cuddled in his arms, aware of her limpless right side

"Uh.. T-Therapy well. Went well" She smiled softly

"What did you do today?" He asked, sitting a bit more upright to give her his full attention

"Book.. Book Gracie and uh.. ball. Squeeze ball?"

Oh you read from Gracie's book and you worked on your hand with the squeeze ball?" Derek guessed

"Yes!" Meredith smiled widely, her right side still a tiny bit drooping but by now you'd only notice if you knew about Meredith's stroke, others wouldn't notice. They had tried special neuro stimulation therapy and it really seemed to work

"I'm proud of you" Derek kissed her forehead and she giggled a bit

"T-Tired now" Meredith added "And s-sore?"

"We can work on that. Just rest and I'll rub your right side, good?" Derek suggested

"Want- Wanna do?" She corrected herself

"Of course. Everything for you" Derek kissed the tip of her nose and walked to the other side of the bed and started by gently rubbing her hand and wrist, knowing this was the most painful part for her

"G-Good" Meredith breathed once her body started relaxing "Y-You good uh.. giving m-m.. rubbing" Meredith smiled softly

"I know I'm good" Derek smirked

"E-Ego" Meredith laughed but completely relaxed as Derek continued to rub her arm, finally moving up to her elbow before reaching her shoulder "Hmm" Meredith moaned

"Tell me anytime you want one of these, okay?" Derek told her

"O-Oookay" She slurred, clearly being exhausted after the long day and it didn't take long before she fell asleep

Once Derek was finished, he laid back down on the spot he was in earlier, next to his wife, his arm wrapped around her waist and his nose buried in her honey blonde hair

...

"Mommy, daddy!" Grace giggled which caused both Meredith and Derek to wake up. Alex had helped her on the bed

"Nnnn" Meredith slurred as her brain was trying to understand what was going on

"Mer, look who's here" Derek held her left hand tightly

"G-Gracie" Meredith smiled as she recognised her daughter

"Hi mommy, look!" Grace pointed at the bag full of food Alex had put on the small table

"O-Oh" She nodded softly "F-Food"

"We found food that we can eat with our hands" Grace giggled

"Oh" Meredith smiled widely

Derek felt so proud of his little girl, she was taking care of her mother at such a young age and it seemed effortless

"Thanks Alex for doing this" Derek nodded

"No problem, Shep" Alex put his hand on Derek's shoulder "Mer, would you mind if I have dinner with you?" Alex asked carefully

Derek noticed she grabbed Grace's hand and held it tightly before responding "O-Of course" She nodded while smiling a bit

"So what did you two bring us?" Derek asked

"Grace, wanna help me?" Alex asked softly

"Yes!" The little girl moved to the foot of the bed and helped Alex taking out the food out of the bag

"A salad!" Alex laughed

"That's for daddy!" Grace giggled and handed it over to Derek

"Thanks a lot" Derek laughed as he noticed Meredith was scrunching her nose

"Not good" Grace shook her head as she saw her mother's expression "Tacos for mommy and me!" Grace grabbed them

"And the burger is for me" Alex smirked and grabbed his own food

Derek was closely watching as Grace handed one of the tacos to Meredith

"Do you want me to cut it into smaller pieces?" Derek asked

"Y-Yes" Her cheeks turned red

"Mine too, daddy!" Grace giggled

Meredith picked up a piece Derek had cut for her, her left hand bringing it slowly to her mouth before stuffing it in, closely followed by another piece

"Chew carefully, Mer" Derek reminded her and watched her as she slowly chewed on the food

"I love these" Grace giggled as her lap was full with pieces of food, same for Meredith

"Glad you like them" Derek laughed "Don't you wanna try a bit of mh salad?" Derek offered

"No daddy!" Grace giggled

"Okay then" Derek laughed and they continued their meal until everyone was done. Derek started cleaning both his girls' laps when he noticed Meredith's body started drooping "Are you tired?" Derek asked her

"Nnnn" She slurred. By now Derek knew this would be the beginning of one of her seizures, only hoping this would be an absent one

"Mommy's brain taking a power nap again?" Grace questioned

"I think so" Derek nodded as he held her hands in his "Hi Mer, it will be okay. We're here, everything is okay" Derek whispered as Grace placed soft kisses on Meredith's cheek

"I'll go put our trash away" Alex said as he felt tears pooling in his eyes after seeing his best friend like this "I'll be right back" He promised

"Shh, Mommy. It's 'kay" Grace copied her father's actions

"Yes, like that" Derek whispered as Meredith started blinking again

"W-What?" Meredith breathed

"Another seizure. It's okay, you should rest" Derek kissed her forehead

"G-Gracie, t-tired?" She questioned and watched the little girl nod in response "Sleep me- No- Sleep with me" and the little girl nodded again

Derek helped both his girls to lay down and make sure they were comfortable to sleep. He tucked them in so they would stay warm and gave them both a kiss on their foreheads "Night night my girls"

Sorry for being a bit absent lately, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to send me ideas <3