Don't you remember

12

Derek was driving Meredith back home. Grace was asleep in the back while Meredith was telling Derek about what she did in therapy earlier

"Walk in the water" Meredith nodded

"They told me" Derek smiled widely "I heard you were doing very good"

"Went okay. But.. h-hand- hand doesn't work.. uh.. well?" Meredith guessed

"Your hand needs a lot more therapy. But it's okay Mer. You've been doing your best" Derek smiled "We're going to get Poppy now. Are you excited?"

"Poppy" Meredith smiled "Good.. A-Assistant.. uh.. dog" She nodded

"Yep. All yours" Derek giggled

"Wanna see her" Meredith chuckled as they continued their drive. Derek parked the car in front of the center and helped Meredith into her wheelchair before he carried an exhausted Grace out of the car

"Mer, can I place her in your lap?" Derek asked

"C-Course" But she shook her head "Of course"

"Here she goes" Derek made sure Grace was sitting on Meredith's left leg, he knew her right would be sore after PT. He made sure she wouldn't slip before he pushed both of them inside "Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd. We have an appointment to come get Poppy, our new assistant dog" Derek smiled softly

"Of course. Just a minute and we'll bring her here with all the documents" The woman smiled and walked to the back

"So exciting!" Grace giggled from her spot on Meredith's lap

"D-Der" Meredith pointed at the door where a woman walked out of it with a beautiful light colored golden retriever

"Poppy!" Grace jumped off Meredith's lap

"P-Poppy?" Meredith asked Derek

"That's poppy" He softly said as he kneeled down next to Meredith and softly rubbed her back "Do you like her?" He asked as the dog started sniffing at Meredith's hand

"L-Love Poppy" Meredith smiled

"Hi Meredith. I'm Alice and I'll help you out with Poppy" She introduced herself

"Hi. I-I'm Mer-Meredith" She smiled

"I see Poppy likes you already. How about we go to outside so you and Poppy can meet each other, start to trust each other" The older woman smiled

"G-Good" Meredith nodded

The woman took the lead while Derek pushed Meredith's chair

Derek and Grace had to sit on the sides so they wouldn't disturb Meredith and Poppy

...

"So Meredith, do you think you are ready to take Poppy home?" Alice asked

"Y-Yes" Meredith nodded but was clearly exhausted. It must have been noticed by Poppy because the dog kept licking Meredith's fingers as if she tried to keep her awake

"Then we'll see you in a few days to see how everything is going" Alice said her goodbyes and left

Derek wheeled Meredith to the car and lifted her in. Derek loaded Poppy in the back and Grace in her carseat

"All packed" He smiled as he got into the car and squeezed Meredith's hand when Poppy started barking "Poppy, I know it's scary but-" Derek was talking but noticed an absent seizure was starting as Meredith started slurring

"Daddy, Poppy barks so loud" Grace whined

"That's because mommy's brain is taking a nap, honey" Derek quickly said and stroked Meredith's cheek until she was responsive again and Poppy calmed down as well except for some whining

"I'm -kay Poppy" Meredith whispered. The two of them had bonded already

"Let's go home so you can rest" Derek squeezed her left hand and drove home

Once they were home Derek had helped her on the couch where Grace had cuddled into her and Poppy was laying down on the ground at Meredith's feet

...

"Daddy, can we play outside with Poppy?" Grace had begged the whole day but Meredith felt quite loopsy after the seizure she had earlier

"Let's ask mommy, okay?" Derek said

"Mommy! Mommy!" Grace ran towards the living room

When Derek entered she was already asking her mom

"But please!" Grace begged

"D-Der?" Meredith called out for him

"What's wrong?" He asked as he kneeled down next to her

"Uh.. Grace wants to go outside. With P-Poppy" Meredith slowly told him

"I told her to ask you, if you feel up to it. It's better if Grace and I don't pay too much attention to Poppy the first week so she can adjust. Remember?"

"G-Good" Meredith nodded and Derek helped her transfer from the couch to the wheelchair and they went outside, Poppy was walking next to Meredith's wheelchair as she was very focussed on following Meredith. "P-Poppy break" Meredith nodded and unclipped the leash with her left hand which didn't go smoothly

Poppy was double checking as she stood in front of Meredith's wheelchair

"P-Poppy break" Meredith repeated and smiled as the dog started running. The dream house was the perfect spot to have a dog. They had miles and miles of land where their dog could run around and play

Derek had gotten everything they would need. From toys to several beds to shampoo and food. Poppy must have found the box with her toys as she was running around with a tennis ball in her mouth and ran towards Meredith. She leaned a bit forward and grabbed the ball with her left hand and threw it away and repeated the action a few times until she got tired and Grace started throwing the ball until Poppy ran towards them

"P-Poppy" Meredith smiled weakly as the dog started whining

"Poppy, what's up?" Derek frowned but immediately knew as Meredith had another absent seizure that took a pretty long time but once she was responsive again and Derek finally let go he could see Poppy was licking Meredith's fingers again

"T-Thanks P-Poppy" Meredith softly murmured

It had given both Derek and Meredith a safe feeling that Poppy had stopped playing to help out with a seizure