A Fight to Remember

A Choice to Make

A/N: Thank you. And Enjoy!

Meredith:

I spiraled down, down into the black.

Everything was black.

And then white.

I blinked. I breathed.

I was outside in the warm sun. Everything was so clear and sharp. In a little circle I turned, seeing it all There was no fog or mist in sight. Fresh air filled my lungs. Birds chirped and sang. I squinted at the blue sky and white clouds. Beside me was the crystal-clear lake.

I was home.

I was cured.

Seeing the dreamhouse, I ran to it, hopping up onto the patio and sliding open the door. "Derek," I called. "Derek, I'm home."

But sitting at my kitchen counter with a steaming cup of tea, was Liz. Not Derek. And if Liz was here...

"Oh," I said, crestfallen. "Liz..." This wasn't home then... as real as it felt.

"Hungry?"

My stomach growled. "Yes, starving," I patted my belly.

She slid something off a pan onto a plate and walked over with it. "Eat."

"Grilled cheese?" How did she know?

"Mm-hmm. Your favorite." She handed the plate to me and sat on the couch. I sat down too, taking a bite of crunchy gooey butter-cheesiness. "Mmm," I moaned. The sandwich was heavenly, but... "This place isn't real."

Liz shrugged, "That's debateable."

"Is this heaven? Did I die?"

Liz shook her head. "You're still alive. This place here... is a taste."

"Of heaven?"

"You could call it that."

"I'm in limbo again?" I shot up from my seat, "I want to live!" I shouted. "I want to go back. Take me back!"

"Honey... Calm down. Everyone knows you don't want to die. But there's an altogether fundamentally different question you have to ask yourself."

"What?"

She picked up the TV remote and turned on the television. On the screen, a startingly familiar scene played out. Derek and Amelia, watching a surgery from the Gallery. But... who was the patient in the OR?

Me.

"Come on, baby. It's easier if I show you." I took her offered hand, and Liz walked right into the television, pulling me with her.

xxx

Derek:

"Derek," Amy touched my arm, but I ignored it.

"Damn it!" I pounded the wall with my fist in frustration. "He just- I don't know... Why?"

"I told you to give him time. But you didn't listen."

"I didn't know he was still so mad at me." I sighed and scrubbed my face, running a hand through my hair. Below me, the doctors continued operating on Meredith. I turned away from the scene to regard my sister.

"I don't think even he knew," she said.

"I said things..." You know what this is? A crapshoot. "Amelia... I...wasn't thinking. I never think."