Trapped in my head

Chapter 28

When Andrew woke up the next morning his whole back felt as if it was on fire. But that had to be expecting from sleeping on an uncomfortable hospital couch the whole night. He could only hope that Meredith wouldn't be in pain when she would wake up. He whished he could just reach through that foil and stroke her soft cheek, take her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

He watched her sleep and smiled every time she would adorably scrunch up her nose. Hopefully she wouldn't feel too bad the whole day since she still needed to stay in isolation for at least 30 hours so that the blood sample would be taken exactly 48 hours after being in contact with the virus. If yesterday really was the first and last time he had woken up with her next to him then- then he wouldn't know what to do. She had been in his life for only two weeks and that simply wasn't enough.

He felt warm tears slowly tickling down his cheek as he watched her sleep so peacefully and relaxed. What if she was infected and what- if she wouldn't survive it? Only a few days ago they he had told her that he loved her and- he loved her so much that the thought of losing her was unbearable. She needed to be okay. There was still so much they needed to do. Two weeks being together, the two most amazing weeks of his life, were still not enough. She couldn't get sick. She just couldn't.

And that she was struggling with all of this was more than understandable. He just didn't really know how to help her. The couch thing had been the only idea he had been able to come up with but there wasn't a lot he could do while she was still isolated. At least he could now see that she had indeed gotten her ankle weights since one of her feet was showing from under the blanket. What else could she need to be comfortable? Maybe he should ask Dr. Wyatt. She probably knew Meredith better than anyone else and maybe she could give him an advice.

Taking a deep breath he sat up, wiped away the few tears that were still visible and took a look at the clock. His shift would start in an hour but he didn't know whether he could just go or wait until she would wake up. Waking her up certainly wasn't an option especially since she looked so free from all worries while she was not thinking about anything.

Sighing he leaned back against the couch, only now noticing that Maggie was watching them. "Hey." He said surprised, smiling at her. "Hey DeLuca." She said sadly, walking over to him and standing behind him, looking at Meredith as well. "How is she doing?" Maggie asked after a few seconds of silence. "I'm not sure. Has she- ever mentioned something about shutdowns?"

"You mean with her autism? Yeah, she's had a few. Like- two I think." She gave back. "And what happened back then?" he asked, wanting to know more. "The first time was when one of her patients died who was really important to her. An elderly lady whom she had somehow bonded with. It broke her that she couldn't save her and she didn't get out of bed for a few days. Amelia and Alex got her to talk to Dr. Wyatt about it. She took about a week off of work to recover and have some time for herself and afterwards she was doing a lot better. The second time was about two years ago where we had a code black because some man had swallowed a bomb. She was the one to treat him and she only shutdown the day afterwards. We were all surprised how well she seemed to handle it that day and only realised the day after that she had just been acting. It took her about a week there too." Maggie told him quietly, both of them watching Meredith.

"So, in the worst case she will just take a week to get better? That's good to know." He said relieved. "It's not easy for you huh? Getting to know Meredith is never easy and you worry a lot more than necessary in the beginning. Trust me she's a lot tougher than she might seem." Maggie said smiling, making Andrew look up at her. He didn't know what to say so that he just said: "Thank you."

Because she had actually helped him. It was true he was probably worrying a lot more than necessary because Meredith was strong and she knew what was best for her and he should only try to listen to her and not overdue it. She would be okay. And he would be there if she needed him to.

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The following day it was finally the time to find out whether Meredith had been infected or if she could go home. The past day Meredith had practically slept the whole time and in those few minutes where she had been awake she had just stared at the wall. Andrew had come back to her room every time he would get a free minute between surgeries and patients since by now everyone at the hospital knew that they were a couple. And he was almost sure that they would have to talk to Bailey about it but right now, there were more important things to do. Alex, Maggie, Amelia, Bailey and Andrew were now standing in front of her room, observing her as she slept in the patient bed.

"So, DeLuca I want you to take her blood the last time you gave her an infusion she seemed to be pretty calm." Bailey sad, handing him the instruments. "You managed to put a needle in her without her having a panic attack?" Alex asked with a smile on his face, surprised by this new information. "Yes." Andrew simply replied, starting to put on the protective gear.

"Honestly, I think I'm starting to like you." Alex added, smiling at Andrew encouragingly who returned the smile. He was glad that Alex seemed to have warmed up to him since they didn't have had that great of a start.

Taking the supplies he would need to draw Meredith's blood he entered the isolation room, walking over to her. "Mer?" he tried quietly, not wanting to startle her but she didn't seem to hear him. "Meredith?" he tried again, this time a little louder, but still not sure whether he could touch her or not. But it was enough to wake her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him and maybe he only made it up but it somehow looked as if she was slightly smiling at him.

"Is it okay if I take some of your blood? We're going to check whether you're infected or not now." He said, still keeping a distance between them. She quickly sat up, shaking her head. He hadn't expected her to move so quickly because the past two days she had peen passive the whole time, not moving, not getting up, not really eating anything.

He was very aware of all the others standing in front of the foil, watching him and he knew that they were also judging him. "Mer, we need to make sure you can get out of here now." He said softly, smiling at her small. "No, please." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "What can I do to make it easier for you?" he asked after a few seconds of silence. He kept looking at her as she looked down, thinking.

"You- you have to do it right?" she asked, looking up again to see him nodding. "Do you remember the night we were stuck on that elevator and you were sick?" he asked, receiving a smile and a nod in return. "And I placed an infusion on your arm and it didn't hurt at all right?" he continued, receiving another, hesitant nod.

"I promise I'll be as gentle as possible." He said, watching her closely. And then she looked up, outside of the room into all the other faces, staring at her. Andrew followed her gaze and as both of them looked back at the staring people, they all quickly walked away, making Andrew chuckle.

"What about we go into the bathroom, so there's no one watching?" he suggested, noticing how uncomfortable she was since although a few people had moved away they were still risking a glance every now and then. Meredith just nodded, standing up and following him into the bathroom where he closed the door.