"Hey.." Derek smiled as his wife woke up in their own bed. She had come home yesterday because today was Charlotte's 14th birthday and she didn't wanna miss out
"Charlie.." Meredith weakly smiled
"Do you wanna get up and go to her room like we always did?" Derek asked
"Yeah!" Meredith's smile grew
Derek helped her on her feet and they quietly went into their daughter's room
"Charlie? Wakey wakey." Meredith whispered as Derek helped her on the bed
"Mom?" Charlotte frowned confused
"Happy birthday, monkey. It's your 14th birthday." Meredith smiled proudly, chuckling as she saw Charlotte opening her eyes
"Happy birthday, sweetie." Derek smiled
"Thank you." Charlotte giggled, scooting closer to her mom
"You two stay here, I'll go get breakfast so we can stay here." Derek offered
"Thanks dad." Charlotte smiled widely before turning to face her mom. "Are you okay?"
"Me? Of course I am." Meredith nodded, wrapping her arm around her daughter.
"Thank you. I'm glad you're home." Charlotte whispered
"Of course, monkey. I wasn't gonna miss out on this." Meredith stroke her fingers through Charlotte's curls
Charlotte and Meredith both snoozed a little in each other's arms until Derek walked inside with a tray
"Birthday breakfast." He chuckled as he had made all Charlotte's favorites with some candles
"Daddy!" Charlotte giggled as they had always done this for her
"Happy birthday princess." Derek kissed the top of his daughter's head
After breakfast Meredith had taken a nap after her tube feeding. She was really tired and their friends and family would come over in a few hours to celebrate
"Daddy, are you sure mommy doesn't mind?" Charlotte asked, way too worried about her mom
"Of course not, she's super happy to be here today with you." He rubbed his daughter's back
"I was really scared we'd move to DC." Charlotte suddenly said
"I-" Derek sighed
"I shouldn't have been so hard on you, I should have talked to you." She apologized
"Monkey, that's my fault, I should have never assumed you'd come with me. Let's forget about this, we're staying in Seattle and everything will be okay." Derek pulled his daughter in for a hug
"Daddy? What will we do if not everything will be okay? What if mommy-" She couldn't finish
"Has this been keeping you busy?" Derek asked, stroking his fingers through her hair
"Uhu." She nodded. "I can't imagine mommy dying."
"I won't." Meredith walked inside, taking a seat next to her daughter
"You're up already?" Derek smiled
"Addie called, she had tried calling you but you didn't pick up." Meredith explained, wrapping her arm around her daughter
"Why did she call?" Derek frowned
"She thinks a permanent feeding tube should be better in the long term." Meredith explained
"What does that mean?" Charlotte asked
"They'll perform a small procedure so I can attach the feeding tube to my stomach without needing a noodle in my nose." Meredith tried to make it sound better than it actually was. "I promise it's nothing big, sweetie."
"Hmm.." Charlotte nodded, wrapping her arms around her mom
"But today it's all about cake, presents and your party." Meredith kissed Charlotte's head, seeing Derek's worry grow as he didn't expect Addison to take this decision
"Will there be cake?" Charlotte looked up at her mom
"Of course! Aunt Addie is picking up your cake right now." Meredith winked after checking the time
"Nana didn't make one?" Charlotte frowned
"Nope but you will see." Derek chuckled as they had ordered a huge cake in the style of her favorite tv-show which she didn't know
"How much longer do we have until everyone gets here?" Meredith asked her husband
"A little over two hours, maybe you should lay down while I get everything ready and Charlie gets herself ready?" Derek suggested
"Hmm.." Meredith nodded. "Come get me if I can help."
"Can you just help with my curls after your nap?" Charlotte asked
"Of course I can, princess." Meredith hugged her daughter
"Thank you." Charlotte smiled and got up. "Come on, you gotta take a nap."
"You're as protective as your dad." Meredith chuckled and pushed herself on her legs, feeling the exhaustion right away even if she hadn't been awake for long
"Duhn!" Derek and Charlotte both chuckled at the same time
"I'm going." Meredith chuckled and shuffled off, really wanting to go lay down and take a nap. She needed to be active enough for her daughter's party
"I'll come tuck you in." Derek said while Charlotte went to shower and helped Meredith lay down in bed. "How's your pain?"
"I'm in pain." Meredith admitted sadly. "But I don't want any heavy meds today, I wanna be here for Charlotte. She needs to have an amazing day, no matter what."
"She will have an amazing day, we'll all make sure of that, just don't overdo yourself because that won't help anyone." Derek kissed her forehead softly and injected some meds into her port
"I'm cold.." She started shivering
"Let me tuck you in." Derek kissed her cheek softly and gave her another blanket on top. "Rest, I'll go decorate the house, mom and dad will be here soon to help."
"Come wake me if I can help, please." Meredith asked, feeling absolutely useless right now
"I will but we will manage, don't you worry." Derek assured her
YOU ARE READING
Strong enough
FanfictionDerek wants to move to DC but Meredith and their 13 year old daughter don't really agree. Will some tragedy keep them in Seattle?
