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15

Flashback

"Meredith? Can we start your physical therapy?" Charlotte asked. She was new on Meredith's medical team but she was nice and Meredith liked her a lot

"I- I don't know, my back has been hurting a lot." Meredith admitted after she had done OT this morning

"We can try in the pool?" Charlotte walked further into Meredith's room. "I heard they came to fit you for your personalized chair as well."

"Yeah.." Meredith sighed

"Can you try to transfer?"

Meredith pushed her upper body up but immediately felt pain ripping through her spine and winced

"It's that painful?" She asked

"Hmm.." Meredith nodded, some tears escaping her eyes

"I'll give you some meds and instead I'll give you a massage, I hope that will help you." Charlotte softly said and returned after a while, letting Meredith swallow her meds

"I need to get in my chair, I need to work hard so I can go home to my daughter." Meredith whispered

"It's okay to give your body some rest, Meredith. Especially with the trauma your spine went through." Charlotte tried to explain, she didn't want Meredith to hurt herself

"I need to be able to take care of my daughter.." Meredith said, her voice trembling

"You will be strong enough soon, I believe in you." Charlotte said. "Let's get started."

End of flashback

"Meredith, are you okay getting dressed?" Addison asked as Meredith was in the bathroom

Meredith felt out of breath and was freezing cold but continued anyway

"Out soon." She said, stuffing some sall coughs she was now able to clean her lungs more properly

"Don't hurry, Miss Ellis and I are doing great." Addison chuckled as she and Ellis were playing on Meredith's bed

"You guys are stealing my bed or what?" Meredith chuckled, shivering a little despite her thick sweater

"Mama, I gots need a bed for my baby!" Ellis giggled

"Yes you do." Meredith nodded and wheeled up to her daughter, looking into Ellis' green eyes

"Hey guys, is everyone ready?" Mark asked with a smile as he was here to bring them home

"Yes!" Meredith said quickly but it caused her to cough a bit but she managed on her own

"Let's go!" Ellis giggled and climbed off the bed with her doll in her arms

Ellis skipped in the middle of the hallways as they were leaving the hospital

"Hey, are you guys going home?" Derek asked with a wide smiled

"Yes! Mama no sick no more!" Ellis quickly said as she grew closer to Derek after spending lots of time with him while Meredith was in the hospital

"I guess I'll see you later then." Derek smiled but got paged away

...

Derek had to admit he was hurrying home. He finished the emergency surgery but sadly his patient had died on the table

He was hurrying because he needed this day to get better, and because Meredith would be home again.. He really liked the talks they had had

"Hey!" He walked inside, only seeing Meredith on the couch

"Hey, how was your day?" Meredith asked from underneath the warm blanket

"My patient died." Derek sighed and threw off his shoes and jacket, making himself fall on the couch

"I'm really sorry." Meredith placed her hand on his knee

Derek gave her a sad smile before he turned to face her

"Where's Ellis? I thought she'd beg me for a princess tea party." He chuckled softly. "Or is she hiding secretly, honestly where's everyone?"

"She's sleeping. Mark and Addie are in the kitchen but I wanted to just lay down a bit."

"I get it." Derek nodded and laid down a bit more as well

"Thank you so much for looking after Ellie the past week." Meredith turned to face Derek

"You're welcome. She's an adorable kid, she's really smart." Derek said softly

"She is. We're very proud of her." Meredith nodded and gave Derek a softly smile, shivering slightly

"Are you cold?" Derek asked her, sitting up

"Yeah, but it's because of my spinal cord injury, my body struggles a lot to adjust to temperatures.." Meredith sighed as it had been a really big issue, often leaving her overheated in summer and freezing in winter

"Have you tried spinal cord stimulation?" Derek asked, getting up to grab her another blanket

"We've tried so much already, nothing seemed to work." Meredith shrugged and took the blanket but then Derek tucked her in, his heart grew bigger as he looked into her eyes but knew she was so vulnerable and would probably reject him. He didn't wanna make her feel worse

"Thank you." Meredith smiled, her eyes fluttering

"I think we both deserve a nap, they'll wake us for dinner." Derek said, sitting down again

"I hate being so tired." Meredith muttered

"Just give in, naps are wonderful." Derek moaned, closing his eyes

"Naps are the best." Meredith agreed and both fell asleep within minutes