A Fight to Remember

The Line Snapped Pt. 2

A/N: Happy Holidays everyone!

Enjoy!

"Derek..." Someone whispered. "Derek..." Wait, that was me talking. I shifted. I'm cold and uncomfortable. An exhausted sigh escaped my lips.

"Mer? Meredith?" Another voice in my ear. I felt a touch on my upper arm, shoulder. A gentle shake.

"M'here." I mumbled.

"Meredith?"

Another shake, a little harder now. The voice definitely wasn't Derek's. My eyes remained closed as I sorted through my mental list of people to match that voice. When I finally recalled it, another loud sigh escaped my lips. Because now I knew who was beside me, and why. "Cristina?" I said roughly. I smacked my lips and swallowed as I rubbed the sleep away like a child.

"We're at the motel," she replied.

I blinked, swallowed again. Cristina sat beside me in the car. Her curly black hair was only slightly streaked with gray, the lines on her face were more pronounced and... wiser. She gazed at me softly. Waiting.

The mental jigsaw puzzle that I tried to keep together had fallen apart while I slept. Dreamed. Cristina thankfully was incredibly patient and said nothing as I figuratively rearranged the pieces again. Cristina. Car. Ferry. Rental. Airport. Vancouver. Seattle...

"There is something you can do for me," I told her months before.

"What?" she asked.

"You know the thing I do every year?"

"The... thing," she said, slowly, like she was searching her memory. "Mer, you do a lot of things."

"The Derek thing. The fishing thing..." I said, referring to my annual trip up to North Cove.

"Oh that thing..." she paused. "What about it?"

"I think you should come with me."

Another pause. It wasn't hesitation, I knew. Cristina would come. She was going to ask me something though.

"Wouldn't you want to go with the kids?"

"I umm, I haven't exactly invited them before."

"Oh. You don't want them there?" she asked. I noticed she didn't exactly ask why. I hoped she wouldn't ask.

"No." I responded. "Can you just come with me this year?"

"Of course, Mer." she said automatically.

"Good, because my brain is gonna start getting all full of Alzheimers, and soon I won't be able to travel by myself so I'll need you to-"

"Mer, it's fine."

Relief blew through me like a highpowered fan. "Okay... Okay... thanks."

"You know, Derek took me fishing..."

"I remember." I smiled.

"It helped. Fishing." she said.

"I know." I looked up. Dr. Allan had returned. "I have to go."

"We're at the motel," I repeated finally, pulling the lever to raise the seat from its reclined position.

We were in North Cove. It was June 15th. And tomorrow morning I would be on a boat with Sonny and some scotch. And Cristina. I looked out at the evening sky. The sun hung lazily over the horizon casting long shadows over everything.