A little while later, Derek met up with Trent and the girls in the lobby. On the elevator ride upstairs, he tried to prepare them for the frightening scene that awaited them. "Look," he began, "your dad's pretty banged up. There will be lots of equipment and tubes and wires and bandages. But don't freak out and make him worry. Just talk to him and hug him gently, OK?"
The kids all nodded and tried to appear more brave than they felt. Derek ushered them in and whispered to Trent, "Call me when you're leaving, OK?"
***********
After their visit, Derek sent Trent and the girls home with the promise that he would deliver their mother there shortly afterward. Ariella was terribly upset about seeing her father, but Jenna seemed to be calming her down.
Derek made his way to Meredith's room and found her packing up the few items she'd had with her. Since she had been discharged, he rolled her wheelchair to the exit and helped her into his rental car. They drove home in silence—a mostly comfortable silence.
They were greeted by the enthusiastic kids the moment they reached the house. They all hugged their mother and started rambling to her about things that had happened since the accident. Although she was definitely listening, Derek could tell that Meredith was too groggy and tired to deal with the chaos. "Let me get your mom settled upstairs before I go. Shouldn't you kids be getting ready for bed?" he asked, hoping to quiet them down a bit.
"Can't Derek stay?" Jenna asked, "He promised to play Boggle with us........"
"Another time, Jenna," Derek said, telling her with her eyes not to push the matter.
"Yeah. He doesn't need to stay now that mom's back home," Ariella added quietly.
Derek didn't miss a beat, "You're right, Ariella. I'll be at the hotel now that your mom's home. I'll just help her get settled. You guys can call me if you need anything," he said, looking over at Trent.
As Derek helped Meredith into bed and tucked her in, she tried to talk to him, "Derek......."
"Shhhhhh.......," he said softly. "She's worried about her dad. Don't give that another thought. It's fine."
Meredith put her hand aside his forearm to get his attention, "Thank you for everything," she said, her eyes telling him just how very grateful she was.
"That's what friends are for," he said smiling tenderly at her, "Call me for anything, OK?"
"OK," she replied, smiling a tired smile his direction.
Derek went back downstairs and said goodbye to Trent and to Jenna. "Tell Ariella that I still want a chance at that Boggle championship, OK?" There were grins all around.
He went back to his hotel and slept the sleep of the truly exhausted.
*********
The next morning, Derek took Meredith to the hospital to visit with Steve. He killed some time on his laptop and Treo in Meredith's office while she was gone. Then he took her back home and gave her some sedatives to help her rest. She convinced him that she was fine there alone and that the girls would be home soon. Derek reluctantly left her there to rest. He drove across town to watch Trent's baseball practice. Then he took him home and went directly back to his hotel to crash. He swore that he was asleep even before his head hit the pillow. The strain of the week was wearing him out.
About 20 minutes into his slumber, his Treo beeped and woke him up. Accustomed to being paged at all hours, his body responded to the vibration despite his exhaustion. He smiled a sleepy smile at the text message "MSN now."
Derek signed in and was hit with a flurry of conversation from his friend back home.
Jen: u worn out yet?
Der: yep. u woke me up.
Jen: sorry
Jen: still being the good friend?
Der: yeah
Jen: idk how u do it
Der: me, either. It's hard. i think it's good I live in seattle.
Jen: yes because you'd have a nasty commute on sat nite
Der: true that
Jen: go back to bed.
Der: ok
Jen: miss u. i'm always here.
Der: you, too. thanks. kiss patrick for me.
Jen: i'll do more than that
Der: tmi. goodnight.
Jen: you know you wanna here more but i'll let you get your beauty rest
Der: snoring now.
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I Will Follow You Into the Dark
FanfictionThis story had a beginning. But we're no longer at the beginning of the story. Instead, we join a story that's already in progress--one that has evolved over time without the benefit of our watching its events unfold. Given the fact that we're jumpi...
