The family was on their way to Carolyn and Christopher. Meredith was wheezing a bit as she had woken up with a tight feeling on her chest
"Grab your inhaler." Derek said, knowing she was trying to prevent it
She sighed and coughed twice, eventually grabbing her inhaler anyway
"Poppa's outside!" Charlotte smiled
Derek parked the car and Charlotte ran out to her grandfather
"Let's get inside." Derek kissed her lips and they got up and both adults got out of the car
"Hey guys!" Christopher smiled, hugging Charlotte
"Hi dad" they both smiled
"Come in, mom's been baking cookies for later today. She made lunch as well." Christopher smiled
"Probably way too much again." Meredith chuckled
"As always. Let's go inside, it's chilly out." Christopher opened the front door for them
"Nana!" Charlotte ran towards the kitchen
"Charlotte!" Carolyn hugged the girl. "Hi sweetie, how have you been? Did you grow again?" Carolyn gasped
"Mom, you saw her two days ago." Derek laughed.
"Derek, Meredith, hi!" She smiled and hugged them
The adults catched up on the couch, Meredith was trying to hold back some coughs which didn't go unnoticed by her family
"Sweetie, you need to nebulize?" Christopher asked, a 'bad' habit of being her first doctor and her father in law
Meredith nodded and started coughing again. She wanted to sit up which triggered a coughing fit to start
"Dad, would you mind bringing her nebulizer here, please?" Derek asked as he rubbed his wife's back, grabbing tissues in case she's have to cough up thick mucus
"Sure son." Christopher got up and went to grab Meredith's spare nebulizer. She also had a portable one for in the car and one at Mark and Addison's house
Charlotte didn't bother that much as she grew up with her mom like this but still she was a bit worried when her mom got a coughing fit, especially since she turns red every time it happens
"Here you go, sweetie." Christopher handed her the mask and placed it over her head. Derek pulled his wife's head on his shoulder as she took deep but unsteady breaths, trying to calm herself down
Meredith often removed the mask so she was able to spit the mucus out and continue inhaling the medicine
"Okay now?" Derek rubbed her back
"Hmm.." Meredith weakly nodded her head on his chest
"Let me remove it." Christopher took away the nebulizer but places it on the coffee table in case she'd need it again
"Feels so stuck-" Meredith said after she coughed again and felt her lungs still not much more clear
"You want your vest? I can come to the room with you for a while." Derek suggested, knowing Meredith refused to use the vest with others around because it was pretty loud
"Hmm.. maybe yeah." Meredith took a deep breath and got up
"We'll be back in just a bit, she should use her vest to make sure her lungs get clear." Derek announced
"Wait." Christopher got up and followed them to the room while Charlotte frowned and looked at her parents, thinking if she'd say something or let it pass
In the meantime Christopher grabbed his stethoscope to check Meredith's lungs
"Dad, I'm fine-" She said with a hoarse voice and coughing twice again
"I know your fines." He rolled his eyes and checked anyway. It took a while as he did a very careful checkup, not wanting to take any risks. "You should shower tonight with steam." He nodded
"We will, dad." Derek nodded. "We'll be back in a bit." He promised and helped her into the vest and turned it on, feeling his wife's small body shaking. He led her so she was comfortably laying down in his arms but it didn't take long before she drifted off, exhausted from all the coughing
"Is mommy okay?" Derek suddenly heard his daughter's voice
"Of course, sweetie. Mommy's just using her vest to make sure she can breathe well enough today." Derek said, knowing Charlotte was very familiar with Meredith's treatment
"Okay. Can I have some cookies?" The girl then asked
"Nana made us lunch. Once mommy's ready here we'll go dig in." Derek promised
"Okay" She nodded. "Promise?" Charlotte said
"I promise." Derek smiled and watched his daughter take off again, then his wife started coughing and woke up, spitting the mucus out in a tissue Derek held for her. "It's clearing up." He told her
"Yeah.. Just a bit more and then I'm ready. Good because I'm hungry!" She smiled
"You'd like a glass of wine tonight? Maybe we can take a bath together or sit outside for a bit?" Derek suggested
"Sounds amazing." Meredith smiled and leaned into him
They waited until Meredith gave the all clear that her lungs felt better and stronger. She was still tired but it was something that was actually always there, most of the times she tried to ignore it
"Ah you guys are back!" Christopher smiled. "Go take a seat, we got everything ready." He took a seat, the table filled with all kinds of different plates with food on it
Meredith quickly swallowed the meds with some water
"Mommy, it looks so great!" Charlotte smiled as she and her mom shared the same sort of taste
"It looks really good, thanks mom." Meredith smiled
"You're too thin sweetie, you barely gained anything since you were admitted last and that's been almost two months." The older woman sighed
"I know, mom. Addison and I have been going out for lunch a few times, I don't know why I'm not gaining anything." Meredith shrugged
"Damn mom, so good." Derek tried the veggie burger
"Taste this!" Meredith offered him a bite of her own burger
"Mer, that burger is stuffed with a ton of mayonnaise!" Derek pointed out
"Always complaining." Meredith rolled her eyes and started giggling
"Come on guys, keep it decent." Carolyn laughed as it sounded familiar to the time when Meredith stayed over as a child and as a teenager
—-
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2am (breathe)
FanfictionMeredith was born with cystic fibrosis. She's happy with Derek and their daughter but her lungs have been causing her lots of complications lately. Can she keep herself fit by doing her daily treatment or will she eventually end up in the hospital a...
