"Mommy?!" Charlotte gasped as they walked towards the living room. "You invited everyone!"
"Daddy did this, sweetie. And Nana and Poppa helped a lot." Meredith told her daughter
"Thank you!" She hugged her parents and ran to the others to say hi
"How are you feeling?" Derek asked his wife, she was getting tired and he knew
"I'll be fine, I can sleep once it's over." Meredith assured him
"Let's go sit down for a bit." He led her to the couch, Alex joining them almost right away
"Hey, she looks happy." He smiled, taking a seat next to his best friend
"She is, she's a real teenager." Meredith chuckled, leaning into the cushions
"I can barely understand how fast time went by." Alex admitted
"It's crazy." Derek nodded
"Daddy!" Charlotte called out for him
"Go." Meredith urged him
"Yell if you need me." Derek was a bit hesitant to leave her
"I will, go." Meredith chuckled
"You're exhausted." Alex noticed
"I just need to get through the day, Charlie deserves a happy day." Meredith muttered, seeing Christopher and Carolyn walking towards her
"Take it easy." Alex hugged his friend and left her with her parents in law
"Hello dear, how are you feeling?" Christopher asked as they both took a seat next to her
"Fine." Meredith forced a smile. "Thank you for getting all of this arranged."
"Everything for our granddaughter." Carolyn smiled widely, rubbing Meredith's back softly
"You're struggling to keep your eyes open.." Christopher sighed
"I'm fine, dad. Charlie deserves an amazing day." Meredith muttered
"She will have an amazing day but her mom can take some rest if needed. If you go lay down now you won't miss a thing from the cake and presents." He tried to convince her
"I don't want her to be dissapointed." Meredith looked down
"Then close your eyes for a bit while resting here." Mark said, taking his dad's place. He let Meredith lean against him so she could close her eyes
"Hmm.." Meredith groaned, fighting against it but just too weak
"Just rest, dear. Just take your rest." Carolyn whispered, brushing her fingers over Meredith's cold cheek
"Don't wanna-" She whimpered weakly in Mark's arms
"Just rest a bit, no one's asking you to leave the party." Carolyn said, covering Meredith with a blanket to keep her warm
Meredith started to fall asleep despite her own fight to stay awake
"She's absolutely exhausted." Mark muttered, wrapping his arms around Meredith to make sure she'd be comfortable
"I'm so worried about her." Christopher admitted and saw Derek walking up to them
"What's wrong? Is she feeling okay?" He worried, even looking a bit pale
"She was tired, she's just taking some rest now, don't worry." Carolyn tried to ease him
Derek nodded, unable to say anything. He grabbed Meredith's wrist and felt her heartbeat which finally calmed him down a bit
"I'm so scared to lose her." Derek sadly admitted
"You won't lose her. And don't be like this, it's Charlie's birthday.." Mark sighed, even if he could barely count Meredith's whimpers as she was clearly in pain
"I know." Derek nodded, taking a deep breath
"Daddy, come help me!" Charlotte yelled, Derek rushing towards her
"I'm gonna get the cake ready." Carolyn said
"What are you thinking about?" Christopher asked Mark
"I just hate seeing her so pale and fragile." Mark muttered, adjusting the blanket that covered his sister in law
"She will be okay. She just needs to hang in there." Christopher assured them
…
"Mer? We're gonna have cake now." Mark woke her up
"Cake?" She looked up, not understanding right away
"For Charlie's birthday." Mark kissed her forehead softly
"Right- I'm sorry-" She gasped and attempted to sit up but failing as she was way too weak
"Take it easy, I'll help you." Mark assured her and helped her stand up, walking together to the dining room
"Mommy!" Charlotte smiled, walking over to hold her mom's hand
"Hey." Derek whispered, wrapping his arms around her
"Here's the cake!" Addison and Christopher carried it inside, Charlotte gasping as she saw the beautiful cake
"Woooahh!!" Charlotte smiled widely
"It's perfect." Derek breathed in Meredith's ear
"She looks happy." Meredith nodded but started to lean onto Derek. She needed to sit down but everyone was standing up
Derek immediately noticed and let her lean into his body, he wrapped his strong arms protectively around her waist
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Charlie! Happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang loudly
"Don't forget to make a wish!" Mark smiled at his niece
Charlotte quickly glanced at her mom before closing her eyes and making the wish, opening her eyes again and smiling softly at her parents
"Let's cut the cake, sweetie." Christopher said and helped Charlotte while Meredith felt nauseous just from looking at the cake
"Okay, everyone should sit down." Mark said, hoping it would help Meredith since he saw how much she was leaning onto his brother
"Let's sit." Derek whispered in her ear and let her sit down on the chair next to Charlotte. She sighed in relief as she felt her muscles less tense
The chemo really was horrible on her small and frail body. She struggled badly to control her muscles these days
"Congratulations honey." Meredith squeezed Charlotte's hand softly
"Thank you." Charlotte stood up quickly to hug her mom as Christopher was passing a piece of cake to everyone
"Meredith, dear.. Would you like to try a small piece?" He asked her carefully
"I can try." Meredith nodded, seeing how happy Charlotte was to have everyone close by
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?
