Youngest Shepherd

She's leaving home (1)

Ava was rushing around as she to head to the hospital as a trauma had come in. "Hey Marks snacks are in the Fridge they just need putting in his bag and he'll be good to go." Ava tells Jackson as he lays in bed with Mark watching her quickly tie back her hair.

"Okay now breath Ava I've got Mark we'll be fine you just go to work I'll see you later." Jackson says as he picks Mark up and kisses his wife quickly.

Ava kisses Jackson back quickly and plants a small kiss on her sons cheek as she rushes to the hospital while Jackson gets himself and Mark ready to head to the hospital.
~
Ava continued to work with April as the worked on the trauma that had been brought in earlier that morning as Ava noticed Jackson and Alex in the gallery both watching her carefully.

Ava continued with the surgery but could still feel Jackson eyes trained on her as Alex had disappeared from the gallery.

"Hey is Jackson still staring into the back of my head?" Ava asks as April looks into the gallery as she sees her best friend with a concerned expression on his face as he watches his wife.

"Yeah he is." April says as Ava looks up at her husband confused as he takes a seat and watches while she finishes up her surgery.
~
Ava headed out of the scrub room as she had finished with the patient as April had been paged to the E.R.

Jackson stood against the wall as he saw his wife walk out as she removed the scrub cap from her head. The scrub cap she had been given by her brother as a present when she became an attending.

The scrub cap had significance to Ava's childhood as her and Derek spent lots of their time together in the outdoors and he would take her camping every summer and taught her how to fish. She loved having new adventures with her older brother even as she grew older.

Ava looked at her husband unable to read his expression as he looked at her with a mixture of emotions. Ava knew something was up as she saw the look in Jackson's eyes that he had when he told her that Lexie had died after she woke up from her coma after the plane crash.

"What's happened Jackson?" Ava says as Jackson met her eye as he took her hands in his trying to find the words to tell her the news he had been told hours previously.

"Maybe we should go sit down or go somewhere quiet." Jackson suggested as Ava removed her hands from his as she looked at him.

"Just tell me Jackson is something wrong with you or Mark?" Ava questions him growing concerned as Jackson shook his head.

"No no me and Mark are both fine. Ava it's Derek he's umm well he was in an accident and he didn't make it. Ava Derek died." Jackson says as Ava stares at him in disbelief as she felt everything stop not being able to move.

Jackson called his wife's name a few times growing worried about her as he had just told her that one of the most important people in her life had died.

Ava found strength in herself again as she looked at her husband as her legs gave way as she sank to the floor. Hers sobs and screams echoing down the hallway as Jackson brought her to his check as she cried and screamed into his chest.
~
The next few weeks passed by along with Dereks funeral after Ava had cried into Jackson it's like she had shut off. Anything she felt had been blocked out as continued on through everyday as Jackson and her friends grew concerned for her as well as Meredith and Amelia.

Jackson had never seen Ava like this it was like she wasn't even there. He had tried to talk to her but she would ignore him or change the subject he wanted to help her but didn't know how.

Ava sat in Derek and Meredith's house with the others as Meredith had taken the kids had gone. "It's just so strange that she left with no warning." Owen says as he sits beside Callie.

"She left a note." Amelia says as she looks at her sister who was stood looking out of the window.

"Uh, "the kids and I are safe"? Yeah, that's helpful." Callie says looking at each of them.

"I called Yang again, but she hasn't heard from Mer since the funeral." Alex says to them as Bailey turns to him.

"Are you serious? That was weeks ago.W... Okay, I just don't understand.I don't understand. I do
not understand how you..." Bailey says to them all.

"I mean, she just dropped everything...Her patients, her surgeries." Bailey says to them.

"Look, maybe it's time we hire a detective, make sure she's really safe." Callie suggests as Ava turns to face them all.

"Yeah, I think we should call the police." Maggie suggests as Ava shook her head at the thought.

"Okay, that's... that's enough.Meredith Grey is not a missing person.She... She left a note.She's not jeopardizing her kids.She's not an irresponsible person.If she's gone, she's gone because she wants to be gone. She just lost the person she can't live without. She lost her husband and her children lost their dad being here reminds her that he's not coming back." Ava says to them all as they all look at her carefully knowing she was avoiding her own grief.

"She's doing what she knows how to do.Same as her mother.Ellis Grey left Seattle and never looked back." Richard adds as he gives Ava a reassuring nod.

"So, that's it? That...We just let her go?" Callie asks them as Alex tries to ring her again.
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A/N- I will be adding a chapter for the timeline between Dereks death and Meredith returning. I have an idea for Ava to go to New York to be with her mom for the time between it and puts a rift between her and Jackson to add some drama to their relationship. In the later season I might add some drama with Maggie for her relationship with Jackson when her mom dies.