Strong enough

11

Derek was lying in bed, he had barely slept since Meredith had been getting sick a few times but also the phone call from last night was haunting him

"Hey.. Are you okay?" Meredith suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts

"When did you wake up? Are you feeling well?" Derek asked her

"Are you okay?" Meredith sternly repeated her question, seeing how tired and exhausted her husband was

"Just.. I've been thinking a lot." He admitted

"Listen.. You should fly out and explain everything to them. Maybe you can suggest moving the project to Seattle."

"Do you think that's a good idea? I don't wanna leave you here.. Especially not like the past 24 hours.." He sadly admitted

"Der, you should leave tonight so you're back as soon as possible." Meredith stroke his cheek softly

"Hmm.." Derek sighed. "Do you feel comfortable on your own with Charlie?" Derek asked her

"We'll have some girls' days." Meredith tried to convince him. "I'll miss you but I can always call for some help."

"I hate this. I hate this so much, I feel like I'm letting you down, you and Charlotte need me and I need the two of you." He muttered

"So if you go now you'll be back without a lawsuit hopefully. Derek, you barely slept.." Meredith muttered, also feeling very responsible for his lack of sleep

"Maybe you're right." He sighed

"And now sleep, we'll tell Charlie in the morning." Meredith rested her head on her husband's cheek, hoping the nausea would disappear soon

"Are you doing okay tho?" Derek quietly asked as he brushed his fingers over her head

"Hmm.. My stomach is still upset." She shrugged and scooted closer as she wanted his body heat

"I hope the meds are doing their job." He muttered and watched his wife fall asleep, eventually he was able to drift off as well

...

A few hours later he woke up to loud noises he knew all too well the past time, Meredith was throwing up in the bathroom

He quickly rushed to her side, immediately holding her hair and wrapping his arm around her side as she was shivering

"Sorry." Meredith muttered, barely able stay sitting up on her knees

"Don't apologize." Derek kissed the side of her head, feeling how sweaty she was. "Let's go shower."

"My legs feel so weak." Meredith muttered

"Wait a minute." Derek lifted her and placed her in the tub, starting the hot water and he cleaned her up, taking the time to wash her hair

"I appreciate all you do." Meredith muttered, leaning her head against the wall

"It's normal, you're my wife." Derek lifted her back out of the tub, drying her with some pre heated towels

"Not really normal.." Meredith shivered

"We'll go back to our own normal soon." He assured her

"Hmm…" Meredith winced as pain spraid through her stomach

"I'll give you your meds soon." Derek carried her to the bed

"Thank you.." Meredith muttered weakly, almost falling asleep in his arms

"Let's go rest a little longer." Derek quickly dressed her and tucked her in

"Go see if Charlie is awake.." Meredith weakly muttered

"I will, I'm just gonna wait until you're asleep." Derek stroke his fingers through her hair

"Love you." Meredith muttered, feeling how Derek kissed her forehead

Derek waited until she had fallen asleep and then left the bedroom, he felt awful as he saw how much his wife was struggling

"Dad?" Charlotte walked inside, still dressed in her pajamas

"Hey, you're up early." Derek said, getting up to hug her but she was a little hesitant but eventually hugging him back

"Yeah." She nodded and looked around. "Is mom still asleep?"

"She is asleep, yes. Yesterday was a rough day, it's gonna be important that she gets enough rest the upcoming time." He sighed. "Do you want waffles?"

"Can you make pancakes instead? Please?" Charlotte smiled, tucking her curls behind her ears

"Of course, take a seat and let's talk a bit." Derek said and they started talking

Charlotte and Derek often used to have these moments when Meredith was at work

"Monkey, I gotta fly to DC to figure some things out." Derek started telling her

"What? We're not moving, right?" Her eyes went wide

"No monkey, I was stupid for assuming that and now with mom-" Derek stopped and shook his head. "We're staying but I gotta arrange something with the president."

"Hmm.. kay.." Charlotte said skeptical. "What about mommy?"

"I think I'll ask nana and poppa to help out." Derek shrugged

"I can help as well." Charlotte quickly said

"No one needs to help, we'll be just fine on our own." Meredith shuffled inside

"Mommy!" Charlotte's eyes lit up

"Morning princess. I smell your favorite pancakes." Meredith chuckled, wanting to hide that the smell was adding to her nausea

"Hey, I'm glad to see you up." Derek wrapped his arms around his wife after handing Charlotte her plate of pancakes. "Are you warm?"

Meredith was wearing several layers with a huge oversized sweater on top, her socks wrapped over her pajama pants

"I'm fine." She nodded

"Sit down, I'll give you a glass of juice with your meds and I'll grab a blanket." He kissed her lips

"Mommy, maybe it's better if nana and poppa are here?" Charlotte asked, a little anxious something would happen to her mother

"We'll see later today, how are those pancakes?" Meredith asked

"They're amazing." She giggled and hugged her mom. "I love you."

"I love you too. So so much." Meredith watched her daughter eat while Derek placed a blanket on top of her and she carefully sipped a bit of the juice, enough to take her meds. She was scared to drink too much or too fast, scared it'd make her throw up again