Seven Thousand Hours

Chapter 42| Day 1

"Mer, come on" Izzie said as Alex helped Meredith out of the hospital bed. "We're all here for you" Lexie smiled as she came and hugged her sister, accepting the support. Meredith began to cry on to her shoulder. "How did this happen?" She began to sob. "We were so happy yesterday and now- now we're here" she cried more as Lexie rubbed her back to calm her down. "I know. I know" she whispered as Meredith clung to her. Lexie reached for a tissue and dabbed away her tears. "Come on" she grabbed her hand and the group of them walked down the hallway, Meredith limping a little. "Amelia" Meredith began to cry as she broke free from the group and ran to his sister who was stood outside. Amelia immediately hugged her, tears poured from her own eyes.

"Come on, we need to be strong. He'd want us to be strong." Amelia said as she brushed off her tears. Meredith mind wandered back to last night. "You need to be strong" his voice echoed in her ears. She nodded, wiping away her tears as Richard walked over to them with a clipboard.

Before Richard could even speak, Meredith began to cry again. "Don't- don't even start- you got what you wanted" Meredith said before walking away and storming into the room, slamming the door behind her. They all looked to one another in confusion.

Meredith walked over to the bed where he was laying. She pulled up a chair and sat down, grabbing his hand. "Derek" she whispered, only to be met with silence. "Derek" she whispered a little louder in hopes he'd hear her. Suddenly he made a mumbling noise. She sat up straight. "Der, can you hear me?" She asked. He mumbled again. She watched his eyes as they slowly opened for a moment. His heart rate spiked as he stared at her for a second before heaviness fell on his eyes again. "You go-" she whispered. "You go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up" she whispered. As she stood up, she felt him squeeze her hand. It was minuscule, but it was noticeable. She smiled slightly as she leaned over, kissing his cheek. She pulled up all his blankets before laying another one over him when she noticed his skin was icy to touch.

She walked out the room, only to be met by the stares of everyone. But two people in the back caught her attention. "You don't go anywhere fucking near him, you hear me?" She screamed at them as they looked at her with sad and sympathetic eyes. Richard really hadn't hesitated to bring Mark and Addison back, and he couldn't have brought them back at a worse time.

"Mer" Lexie said as she stepped forward. "Go take some time for yourself, take a walk. I'll page you if he needs you" she said as she rubbed her sisters arm. Meredith nodded before she turned and walked back to her room. Izzie and Amelia came and stood next to Lexie as they watched Meredith walk away. "You think she's going to be okay?" Lexie asked quietly. "She almost lost her boyfriend, she was hugging his corpse for an hour and didn't even realise he was d-" Izzie said before she stopped herself when she remembered Amelia was just there. "Dereks fine. He's alive" Amelia said, almost trying to reassure herself. Izzie and Lexie brought Amelia into the conference room and closed the blinds.

"We found this in her pocket when we brought her in" Izzie said as she pulled out a pregnancy test in a ziplock back. Amelia's eyes widened. "The baby couldn't handle the stress, and she took most the impact off the crash on her chest and abdomen. The baby didn't make it. We told her this morning" Lexie said sadly. "Does Derek know?" Amelia asked. "No. She took the test at the airport and she said she was going to wait until they were back in Seattle to tell him. The baby was about 5 weeks" Izzie confirmed sadly. "Does anyone else know?" Amelia asked. They both shook their head. "It stays between us for now. And if she feels ready, she'll talk, but like I said, boyfriend and baby in one night-" Izzie shook her head in disbelief.

Meanwhile Meredith had taken a walk to the hospital gardens. She sat on a bench that looked down onto the parking lot. She could see his trailer at the back and she smiled to herself. They were both alive which is what mattered most. Last night she thought he was gone, she'd reimagined a life without him in it, and you certainly don't move on from those thoughts quickly.