What is Meant to be, Will Be

Chapter 11

We didn’t even have time to go get rings because Cristina called, the biopsy had come back positive for liver cancer. Now, even if Derek could help her stay lucid, she wasn’t going to live long enough to see me have my child. Derek kissed me for what seemed like eternity and said,

“I have to go call my guy in New York, I am going to work as hard as I can to save your mother.”

“Alright, don’t take to ling, I will miss you.”

“Mrs. Shepard I will miss you too.”

He embraced me and then kissed the top of my head. He looked down, smiled, and walked away. I walked into mom’s room, smile on my face, but concern in my eyes. She was still asleep so I took her hand and sat there watching her. I didn’t know what else to do. All I knew, is I finally had the mother I always wanted, but it seemed like I was going to lose her just as fast as she had come.

Derek came back a few hours later with a smile on his face. In that time I had taken a half hour nap, everything had been so stressful, and I sure as hell needed sleep.

“Hey, my friend is flying down from New York. He is going to help your mom.”

Tears began falling from my eyes, I didn’t try and stop them. I was so happy I finally had someone who would care about my mother to help her this much, and it not be because she’s a famous surgeon. He was doing this to make me happy, and it was just one of the many things that made me love him.

“Meredith, I looked over the MRI scans again and it looks like if we go in surgically we can remove all the tumor. We got most of it with the biopsy but we didn’t need that big of a piece.”

“You will be preforming the surgery right?”

“Yes, and Derek, since you aren’t married, can be in there with me.”

“Actually, we are married, as of 8:00 this morning. We went down to City Hall.”

“Well, then you can sit in the gallery. Don’t worry Meredith, I will take the best care of your mother possible.”

“Thank you.”

Richard left my mother’s room after patting Derek on the back. I was on his lap, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Shhhh, take a nap. I’m not going anywhere.”

I smiled and shit my eyes. I needed sleep, and I was just so comfortable it took a matter of seconds for me to fall asleep.

I woke up to Dr. Weber talking to my mother and Derek. I looked at him, confused as to why they hadn’t woken me up.

“Dr. Grey, Shepard sorry this is all new to me, we found that the mass we found on her liver was an early stage of cancer, just a few doses of radiation and she will be just fine. Now, all we have to do is make sure that it doesn’t come back. As I understand your husband has a co-worker flying out tonight to try and help keep your mother lucid until the baby is born. If it is alright with you, we would like to keep her on the surgical floor so they can keep a close eye on her.”

I looked at my mom and sat up straight. For the first time in years I saw hope in her eyes. I saw the compassion that I so strongly needed as I grew up. My hormones were racing, which everyone knew because of the tears in my eyes. Derek’s hand moved to my back, as he always did to make me feel better.

“Mom, I don’t want them to look at you, take your picture, I want you a VIP patient to Dr. Weber. You will only be rounded on by Dr. Shepard and my choice of intern. She will have weekly MRI’s and CT’s to make sure the cancer isn’t coming back. If you will agree to all this, I will allow her to stay here.”

A smile widened across her face, and tears formed in her eyes. She finally looked proud of me, after years of looking for it I finally found it.

“As you wish Meredith, now let me just go get the paperwork. Ellis, I will see you soon.”

Richard left and I moved to my mom’s bed. She sat with her arms around me until Derek got up,

“I have to go pick up Dr. Mahone. I will be back in about two hours, page Cristina if you need anything.”

“Derek, we don’t need anything.”

He came over and kissed me,

“But I want someone here if you do Mrs. Shepard.”

I smiled. I couldn’t get over the Mrs. Shepard part of my day. On January 17, 2013 I got married, and my mother was in the hospital getting tests done on her liver.

“Mom, I promise as soon as everything is sorted out we will have the giant church wedding.”

“Oh don’t be silly Meredith, I did that and look how your father and I turned out.”

She was hiding something and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. She never mentioned dad, and I don’t know why she would start now. They got divorced 20 years ago. There was no reason to bring dad up.

“Mom, you never talk about dad. Is everything okay?”

She had a concerned expression on her face, and I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell me what was going on. She hid him from me for 20 years and now just randomly brings him up. I always hated my father because I thought he left us but from what I have learned she asked him to leave.

“I called your father from the nursing home after you left. He was with me when I collapsed, we visited for hours and I told him that our daughter was a surgeon, pregnant with an amazing neurosurgeons baby. He was so excited, and I was going to have him come over while you were there but everything changed. Meredith, I want you to know your father and I realized it too late. He never remarried but he always kept track of where we were. I have birthday cards he sent you every year, and I need you to get to know him. My grandchild needs to know their grandparents and I don’t want them to know how much Grandma Ellis screwed up.”

Why would she call dad after all these years? I know she had an affair but she didn’t seem to love him even when they were together. They fought and she was never home. Knowing what I know now about the life she was living I don’t blame her. If he is willing to try and forgive her we may be golden to being a fairly normal family.

“Mom, I would love to meet dad again, but with everything new I want to be sure that everything will stay the same for a few days. I don’t want us to call him and you not be you when he gets here. I promise that I will try to have a relationship with him, but I have to say, I’m really surprised you never showed me the cards. I’m not mad, but surprised.”

“I know honey, and I felt terrible keeping him from you. At the time, it seemed like the best thing possible. We were on two separate ends of the country, and I didn’t want to see him.”

“I understand mommy.”

Cristina came into the room, I was completely shocked. She tended to only hang out on the cardio floor.

“Cristina what’s going on?”

“Oh I just wanted to know why I didn’t get an invite to the wedding.”

Mom jumped in for only a moment,

“Oh don’t feel bad sweetheart, I didn’t either.”

We all laughed, knowing they were just giving me shit.

“Well Cristina, we decided to get married today because of everything going on. Life is short, and honestly do you think you would have gotten me to say ‘I do’ six months pregnant?”

She laughed,

“No I wouldn’t have, but after that baby is born you are having a real wedding.”

“Yes mother.”

“Hey now, that is my job to tell her what she is and isn’t going to do.”

“Oh, Dr. Grey, your daughter is extremely talented but if you are going to be cured of Alzheimer’s I am going to have to take point and make sure our little girl does the right thing.”

“Dr. Yang, Dr. Burke is looking for isn’t he.”

“No Dr. Shepard I am here to see the look on your face when your husband gives you your wedding ring.”