Because you loved me

9

Zoey continued to lie in her mother's arms, her body against her mother tightly as she gripped her with all of her strength. "I'm so sorry, mama... I'm so sorry." She sniffled, feeling her mother's arms rub her back slowly. Her cries slowly calmed, and she realized that they were lying on the floor, and her mother was moving nothing but her arms, with no attempt to stand up. "Are you okay, mama?" She sniffled, lifting her head from her mother's chest as she looked into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Meredith was still a bit dazed from her fall, the pain in her head was excruciating. She had fallen hard on her head, and at this point she had absolutely no idea how she was going to stand up. She stared at her daughter's face for several moments, the terror in her eyes was real. "Zoey... mommy needs you to get up." She said softly as the little girl sniffled. Her lower lip was trembling, and Meredith knew that if she said the wrong thing, or made the wrong move, that the little girl would run. Perhaps she was more like her mother than Meredith had originally realized. She lie on the floor with two options.

The first option was that she could call Derek. She could have Zoey hand her the phone, and she would call him. He'd come rushing to the apartment, practically crashing through the door. He'd lift her into his arms, check her head to make sure she was alright, and scold Zoey for being careless. However, that entailed her telling Derek the truth. That entailed her telling Derek that her daughter pushed her from her bed in an indignant attempt to get to him. Not only would that get her young daughter in trouble with Derek, but it would show him that she couldn't do this. It would prove to that little nagging feeling in his mind, that she wasn't ready. She wanted so badly to be ready, but she knew that she wasn't, not yet. She just needed Derek to think she was ready, so that she could get to 'ready'.

Her second option was to lie on the floor as she was currently doing, and have Zoey help her up. She would get up from the floor, help the little girl to prepare for bed, and put her to bed... telling her not to repeat the incident to Derek. It wasn't exactly lying, not overtly anyway. Perhaps it was for the best, to not repeat what had happened. While Derek had every right to know what happened, he wasn't in charge of her. He loved her, he'd want to know what happened, but the only thing it would succeed in doing, would be to worry him... worry him the next time that Zoey visited, give him a reason not to allow the little girl to see her mother... not that Derek had ever kept Zoey from her. Meredith sighed. She had a decision to make.

"Mommy." Zoey sniffled. "I'm sorry."

"Sweetie?" Meredith whispered as she felt the little girl's grip lesson slightly. "Zoey, sweetheart, can you stand up for Mommy? Mommy needs your help." She said softly, feeling the little girl shift in her arms, sliding from atop her, she landed next to her and looked down at Meredith, her mother's eyes filled with tears from the pain.

"Mama, I made you cry." She whimpered as she tugged at her mother slightly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, mama..." She whispered as she whimpered a little more.

"It's okay... it's okay, sweetheart... you need to help me up, though baby. I can't get up all by myself." Meredith replied.

"Okay..." Zoey whispered, swallowing hard as she held her hand out for her mother's, tugging at it slightly when Meredith gripped her little hand.

"Move my chair right there... Zoey... move my chair closer to me, please..." She said as the little girl rushed to the wheelchair and pulled it closer to her mother. "Against the... wall right there." She said, pointing to the wall beside the bed, moving slightly on her back, she tried to pull herself with her arm, pull the bed toward the chair as Zoey moved it to where she had asked her to move it. Wedging it between the bed and the wall. "Good girl..." Meredith said, as Zoey watched nervously as her mother struggled to pull herself toward the chair.