Aftermatch ✔️

Part 7

"Okay, I got your latest test results here." Andrew said as he pulled up a chair next to Meredith's bed, a tablet in his hands.

"Please be negative, please be negative, please be negative!" Meredith said dramatically, closing her hands around her thumbs.

"Aaaand... you're negative! You're free to go!" he said, reading out loud her covid-test results. "Finally!" she said, relaxing into the pillows, letting out a deep breath. "I can't wait to take you home."

"This was more exciting than any Oscar show ever." She giggled, slightly out of breath. "Well then let's start to pack" he said, just as excited as she was.

"Wait! Uhm- d-do you really think I- do you- I don't a-and what if I- and maybe, what if s-something happens a-and I don't think I can- I don't-" she started to ramble but Andrew was quick to stop her before she would continue to freak out like that. "Mer, stop. You have to take a deep breath. Tell me what's going on, I couldn't really make a lot of sense out of your rambling." He chuckled, stroking her hair out of her face since she was now sitting straight in the bed, looking at him.

She took a shaky breath before she started to explain. "It's just- I want to go home b-but uhm- I don't know if I'm ready I mean I've been stuck in here for nearly two months and I-I don't know if it's a good idea to go home already. Not that I don't want to go home but- "

"Mer." he said, a sad smile on his face as he observed her still freaking out. "I just have this feeling. I get those sometimes. Last time there was a bomb and I nearly died." She said, looking down in her lap. "Meredith." He said again.

"I'm scared okay! I'm scared that something will happen because I don't want to die, but I got covid and I almost died, I was on a vent for more than a week and I'm just- scared." She said, raising her voice which lead to a couple of shaky but rough coughs leaving her body. He knew that she hated talking about her feelings so admitting that she was scared really meant that something was going on, that she really, truly was scared.

"Oh Mer." He sighed, sitting next to her on the bed and pulling her into him, hugging her tightly. "There really is no need to be scared. You won't ever be alone; I'll be there the whole time and Maggie and Amelia will probably show up too if they aren't too distracted by their boyfriends." He said, trying to light up her mood.

"You shouldn't have to stay with me." She said quietly. "But I want to." He replied, not really wanting to fight with her right now. "I just feel guilty for making you stay with me." She added.

"You're not making me stay with you Mer. I chose this. I chose you, you're rambling and I can't wait to lay in bed with you the whole week after this few months here which weren't exactly a holiday." He reassured her. "I don't ramble that much." She muttered which showed him that it had worked and she was indeed feeling a little better.

"I hate to break it to you but you do ramble a lot." He said standing up again and pulling out Meredith's travel bag out of the small hospital closet. As he held it in his hand he was remembered of the day he had pulled it out of their closet at home and had packed Meredith's stuff for her hospital stay, just about three hours after she had collapsed in the parking lot.

"You okay?" he heard her ask behind him. She was up, standing there, dressed in his pullover, a baggy sweatpants and thick wool socks. "Yeah I'm good. I'm just happy that you're doing better." He said, dropping the bag onto the floor and pulled her into a tight hug again. "I'm fine I promise." She said softly, trying to calm him down a little. Both of them were emotionally drained after working on covid cases at first and then Meredith battling covid herself. All in all they really needed some time off.

"You know I'm not that scared anymore so you don't have to worry about me. Everything is good, I can't wait to go home." She mumbled into the crock of his neck, making him chuckle. "I won't stop worrying about you just because I'm- well- worried." He said, smiling at her cute efforts of making him feel better when he should be the one taking care of her.

"I know I'm repeating myself but- we're both a mess." She said, still not letting go off him. He laughed again, so happy that she was here, in his arms, alive. "Let's pack." He said, finally releasing the hug as both of them started to gather her things, not wasting time to organize the bag and instead just stuffing everything into it.

_____________

After about ten minutes everything was settled and Meredith had sign the discharge papers. They had packed the medications, the nebulizer and an O2 bottle in case of an emergency which Bailey insisted on they would take with them.

"You know, I really like surprises and people celebrating, parties and such stuff but since I also know that you aren't really a big fan of surprises and attention I thought I should inform you that there are about thirty people waiting for you in front of the hospital entry." He said, trying to hide his smile at her expression.

"We're so taking the west-wing entry." Meredith said, shooting him a glare as she noticed his amused face. She was still wearing his pullover which was absolutely adorable. He knew that if he would ever tell her that, she would never wear his pullovers again. When she had first put on one of his pullovers he was shocked since he hadn't picked her as someone who would wear her boyfriend's clothes. She was independent and would never admit that she needed help so this had been indeed something that surprised him. At the hospital and in the OR she was a badass surgeon but at home she was wearing his clothes and would unconsciously snuggle up to him at night, searching comfort and closeness. And he absolutely loved that about her.

"So, you're just letting them stand out there, waiting for you?" he asked, still smiling. "Yep, unless you want to go down there and tell them." She said, knowing that she was in control of the situation.

"Oh no I'm not going to do this." He chuckled, throwing her bag over his shoulder and pulling a wheelchair into the room. "Seriously? I can walk Andrew! I can walk." Meredith exclaimed, not making any attempts to sit down in the wheelchair.

"Meredith, you just signed your discharge papers, you're ten minutes away from home do you really want to argue about this right now?" he asked, slowly losing his patience.

"Oh, I absolutely don't" she replied, putting on her mask again before walking out of the room. He just shook his head, still smiling. "Fine, you win, but take it easy okay?" he said as he walked beside her down the hallway, terrified that she would collapse.

After about two minutes of rather slowly wandering through the hospital towards the west-wing entry Meredith suddenly stopped. "What's wrong, are you okay?" he asked, rushing over to her, steading her. "I'm fine, need- a break." She wheezed, having trouble breathing.

"Okay, here, sit down." He said, leading her towards an empty chair where she sat down, leaning back, and closing her eyes. He sat down beside her, dropping the bag onto the floor. "I'm s-sorry, just need a minute." She said, trying to control her breathing as if not to worry him too much.

"Don't worry." He said, rubbing her back, trying to stay calm. She on the other side was silently freaking out. She couldn't even walk for longer than two minutes without needing a break. Feeling tears building up behind her closed eyelids she was scared to let him see them. They had just gotten back together and he still went to therapy because of his bipolar disorder so she didn't want to be another source of his sorrows.

Also, she would probably never be able to do surgery again, to stand in the OR for twenty hours straight without a single second pause. She could probably do consults, diagnoses, and such things. But Harper-Avery winning Dr. Meredith Grey, chief of general surgery would probably never set a foot into an OR again.

"I'm good we can go." She whispered, standing up again, trying to hide her pain as much as possible. "Are you sure?" he asked concerned. "Yes I'm good we can go home." She said, smiling at him as they continued their way through the hospital and towards the parking lot. 

TO BE CONTINUED...