Trapped in my head

Chapter 50

As Andrew arrived at Meredith's house he rang the doorbell. One time. And a second time. And as now one opened him even after three times he got a little worried. It took another whole minute until Alex finally opened the door. "Hey." He said, it was obvious that there was something going on. He could tell from Alex' expression that something had happened. "Hey, where is Mer?" Andrew immediately asked, getting concerned. "Come on." Alex said, making Andrew lay down everything he had brought and follow him up the stairs. As they reached Meredith's room he saw her on the bed, crying and trembling as Maggie carefully rubbed her sister's back. "What happened?" he asked Alex, getting more worried.

"Her dad is in the hospital; he had a heart attack." Alex explained quietly. "Oh my god." He said slowly, taking a few steps closer. As Maggie noticed him she stood up, making space for him on the bed. Meredith was clearly having an anxiety attack which was only logical. Carefully he sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms. "It's okay I'm here, I got you Mer." He said softly, stroking her back. She cuddled herself into him the second she realised that he was here. "I h-ha-have to g-go see h-him." She hiccupped, sniffling miserably.

A little helplessly Andrew looked up at Alex and Maggie. Honestly Meredith had never told him anything about her parents and somehow he only acknowledged that now. "Okay, I'll drive you to the hospital." He said, helping her up and taking her hand. "But first you need to take some deep breaths okay? Slowly, in and out, you got this." He instructed, making exaggerated movements so that she could copy his breathing which she gladly did. "Okay. It's better now." She said with a small voice, still trembling awfully. "You're coming too?" he asked Alex and Maggie as they followed them down the stairs. "Of course." Both replied without hesitation.

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Twenty minutes later they arrived at the hospital. Meredith was still in the middle of an anxiety attack and although her breathing had become slightly steadier on the car ride she was still shaking and crying silently. In complete silence they got out of the car and walked towards the entry. Meredith was quick to grab his hand, walking as close to him as she could in order to keep herself calm.

Before they entered the hospital room Meredith stopped in her tracks, taking a deep breath before turning to Andrew. "Uhm- I- I probably might have forgotten to tell them about you." She said quietly, looking down while biting her lip. "That's okay Mer, that doesn't matter right now. You should go inside." He reassured her, although he was indeed a little hurt about the fact that she never told her parents that she had a boyfriend. On the other side it was Meredith and she probably wouldn't even understand why he could be hurt by this so that he actually didn't care right now.

As they entered the room he spotted a man on the bed and another man on the chair next to the bed what confused Andrew a little. "By the look on your face I assume Meredith never told you that she had two dads." Alex said, chuckling quietly.

"Hey daddy." Meredith whispered, making the man on the chair stand up and hug her tightly. "Hey Meri." He replied. "Is dad okay? How did that happen?" she asked, staying in her dad's embrace. "We were on a walk around the lake, like every evening and he just- collapsed. But the doctors checked him out and it was only a mild heart attack, he is going to be okay, don't worry too much." Her dad reassured her, gently rubbing her back.

"Thank you for bringing her here Alex." The man said to Alex, behind whom Andrew was hiding. He thought that this might not be the right time to get to know Meredith's dads. Alex just nodded, still standing in the door frame next to Maggie.

"Hey monkey." The man on the bed suddenly said, slowly waking up. "Hey dad." Meredith said, sniffling and even from the distance Andrew could see that she was still trembling. "Come here." He said, taking her hand and making her sit down on the edge of the bed. "I'll be totally fine." He said, smiling at her. And within only a few seconds Meredith's shaking stopped and she started to relax. All three, Maggie, Alex and Andrew left the room, wanting to give the family some privacy.

"Why did she never tell me about her dads?" Andrew asked as they sat down on a bench in the hallway. "Don't read too much into that she probably just didn't think about it." Alex said. "Meredith is very close with her dads I am surprised that she never told them about you." Maggie interfered, making Andrew frown. "Look, her dads are very protective of her. When she moved in with me, Maggie, and Amelia they came over like three times a week to make sure we would treat her the right way. She probably didn't want them to interrogate you like they did with us. And if she would have told you about them you would have wanted to get to know them but that thought might not cross her mind. She doesn't think a lot when it comes to social interaction." Alex said after a few seconds of silence.

"How old was she when she was adopted?" Andrew asked into the uncomfortable silence. "She was two years old. Her biological mother decided to give her away as she first started to show symptoms of autism. She couldn't handle that." Alex explained. "And does Mer know her biological mother?" Andrew asked, being really curious about all of this. How come Meredith never told him anything about her childhood nor about her family.

"No, she doesn't. And as far as I know she doesn't want to get to know her either. She loves her dads and she's happy." Alex continued. A few minutes later the door opened and Meredith came out. "Hey, uhm- I'm really sorry about our date night. But I want to stay here over night." She said to Andrew who immediately stood up. "Of course Mer, don't feel sorry about it.

"But- first I want you to meet my dads if that's okay." She added, smiling at him through her still watery eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked, receiving a nod. "Okay." He gave back, now being a little nervous about meeting them. She took his hand and pulled him with her into the patient room.

"Uhm- Andrew those are my dads, David and Tom. Dads, this is Andrew, my boyfriend." Meredith said, sniffling, but smiling brightly. "It's very nice to meet you." Andrew said, smiling warmly. Again, uncomfortable silence. "I'm trying not to have another heart attack." Tom said, staring at Andrew. "Oh Tom, don't be rude. It's nice to meet you too Andrew." David said, smiling back at him. "Don't be rude? Our little girl has a boyfriend!" Tom hissed quietly, making Meredith's smile fade slowly.

"This might not have been the right time." Andrew whispered to Meredith who looked at him a little worried. "How long have you been together for?" David asked, trying to keep up his smile. "A month." Meredith said shyly, now a little insecure about the situation. And now even David's smile dropped.

"Are you- a surgeon too?" Tom asked. "Yes sir, I'm a fourth-year resident and I plan on taking my boards next year to become an attending in general surgery." Andrew said, taking a step closer to the two men. "So, you're younger than Mer?" David asked, looking at him with narrow eyes. "Yes, but only one year. I had to retake a class after my family moved from Italy to the US." Andrew explained, trying to keep up his smile. Her dads obviously didn't like him.

"And you're serious about this relationship?" Tom asked. "I am sir." Andrew gave back quickly after what her dads exchanged a glance. "Sit down please, Andrew." David then said, referring to the empty seat on the couch. This was going to be a long night. 

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