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16

Meredith had returned to work, she was wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath her scrubs to keep herself warm as her body was still having troubles to regulate temperature

"Meredith?" Richard walked up to her

"Hey Richard." She turned to face him

"Can I talk to you in my office?" He asked

"Of course." Meredith nodded and started to follow him, wheeling up to his desk, parking her chair next to the two empty chairs

"First of all, how are you doing? Have you recovered?" Richard asked, giving her a cup of coffee, after all these years he knew how she liked it

"Yeah, I am doing a lot better. Thank you." Meredith nodded and started sipping her coffee

"How's little Ellis been?" Richard glowed as he asked about her. He was proud of Meredith for making such a good mother

"Absolutely amazing, I'm so grateful for Addie, Mark and Derek." Meredith said. "But Richard, I feel something is up."

"Meredith.. I'm stepping down, as chief of surgery and Bailey is gonna take over. I wanna ask if you wanna be head of general." Richard asked her

"Are you sure?" Meredith gasped. "I mean.. I.. Richard-"

"Meredith, you're my best general surgeon." Richard started

"Only when the surgery is planned.." Meredith muttered

"That's not true, and you know it." Richard said sternly

"I don't know, Richard. Yes I wanna be head of general but I don't think I can do this. I have a daughter and.. and this-" She pointed at her legs and wheelchair

"And you proved yourself, Meredith. You should be very proud of yourself."

"I don't know, I need to think about this." She honestly said, slightly panicking

"I understand but I'd really love you to become my head of general." Richard said

"It'd mean less surgeries.. And maybe less time for Ellis, which isn't worth it. My daughter is on number one and will always be." Meredith made clear

"Less ER cases and more scheduled surgeries as well. You can plan so you keep having time for Ellis, there's always a way." He assured her

"I need to go now, I promised to pick up Ellis at daycare and we'd go buy her new furniture." Meredith said and excused herself, saying goodbye and wheeling herself out to the car, she felt her back bothering her a bit

A few hours later Ellis had chosen all her furniture and was jumping up and down in excitement

"Okay, calm down sweet bug. Let's go home now, I think we deserve a yummy snack." Meredith smiled

"Is Dewek home?" She asked

"I don't know, sweetie." Meredith honestly said and wheeled up to the car, helping Ellis in the car and driving home

Eventually she got the girl out of the car again and headed inside

"Dewek! Dewek!" She ran towards him

"Hi girls! How did shopping go?" Derek asked Ellis as she climbed on the spare chair as Derek was cooking dinner

"I gots my new bed!" Ellis giggled

"When do they drop off the furniture? I can help out if you want." Derek offered

"They'll be here tomorrow after I come home from PT but they'll put everything together." She explained

"Sounds like she's excited." Derek laughed. "Do you two want a cookie? Mom made you some."

"Yes!" Meredith and Ellis quickly said

"Here Ellis, be careful and give one to your mommy while you two cuddle on the couch." Derek suggested

...

The next day Meredith was in PT with Charlotte, she was working hard to keep her body in good shape, mainly since she had gotten sick

But Meredith's legs have been spasming like crazy so they cut today short

"I think you should go home and take care of your body." Charlotte said, handing over a towel

"They're bringing El's new furniture, I'll try to relax a bit while they're setting everything up." Meredith nodded and started to get herself cleaned up a bit

"Do you have any extra struggles lately?" Charlotte asked while writing down some notes in Leredith's chart

"My back has been bothering me a bit which is the cause of my spasms, I assume." Meredith explained, putting her stuff in her backpack

"Do you think you've injured yourself?" Charlotte asked, wanting to hear Meredith's opinion

"No, It's because of these horrible beds." Meredith chuckled. "I might need to slow down a bit but Ellis- It's hard on my own." She muttered

"Are you managing? What about your friends?" Charlotte asked, really worrying about her patient

"No, they have been amazing and Derek has been living with us and Ellis absolutely loves him." Meredith smiled as she told her physical therapist

"And you?" Charlotte carefully asked, knowing how sensitive this is

"I'll never stop loving Finn." Meredith frowned

"I didn't say that. But you're smiling when you talk about Derek."

"He's great.. He's handsome.. But it's impossible.. And who wants someone like me?" Meredith sighed

"Meredith-" Charlotte wanted to stop her from thinking like this

"I know. But I think I'll just stay on my own forever, and it's fine, it really is." Meredith quickly said and ended the conversation. "I gotta go now."

"Bye Meredith, take care of yourself." Charlotte stood up and opened the door

Meredith got to her car and drove home, wheeling inside and removing her shoes and jacket as she sees the guys arriving who will bring the furniture

She opened the door and got some stares but quickly enough they started working in Ellis' room. Meredith hoped it'd be finished before her daughter would get home