Little Shepherd

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Mark's POV
I am only able to stay with Mariah for a little while until I am needed again. "Um, Dr. Sloan." George says
"What is it O'Malley?" I question, not looking up at him
"Dr. Webber said he needs all hands on deck tonight, so you know." He informs me
"I can't leave her alone." I sigh
"Who's that?" George asks, stepping further into Mariah's room.

"Mariah?! Is she okay?" He questions
"She's fine. Well at least that's what Karev told me, she's just unconscious that's all." I shrug
"Well, Dr. Webber specifically said-"
"I know what Dr. Webber specifically said, and I'm going. Just give me a minute." I snap

"I'll be back as soon as I can." I whisper, squeezing her hand before getting up and leaving the room with O'Malley.
"Why were you with her anyways? She has nurses to take care of her." George inquires
"Why does that matter? It's none of your damn business." I huff
"You like her don't you?" He scoffs
"For your information O'Malley, Derek is in surgery and he didn't want Mariah alone. Since both of them are like family to me, I decided to stay with her." I tell him

"That's good, she wouldn't fall for someone like you anyways." He chuckles
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask
"It means Mariah is too good to fall in love with someone as bad as you. I mean you slept with her brother's wife, so loyalty isn't exactly your strong point." George smirks
"You don't know a fucking thing about me. And what, you think she'll fall for someone like you? Don't be an ass just because you know you'll never have a chance. I know you like her, but come on that's just unrealistic." I laugh

"I-"
"I don't care, I have patients to save. Go back to wiping someone's ass." I snap, walking away from him.

I finally get to the overcrowded E.R and begin helping patients.

Derek's POV

I finish the surgery on Meredith, everything turning out successful. She had a huge brain bleed but luckily I was able to fix it in time. My intern wheels her to a room, while I look for Mariah.

"George, have you seen my sister?" I inquire, stopping him in the hallway
"She in room 245." He mutters, and walks away

Not much of a conversationalist...

I walk to room 245 and see Mariah, still unconcious. I sit in the chair next to her, and sigh.

This wasn't supposed to happen, she's going to be so messed up....

Ever since our father's death, Mariah has had a slight case of PTSD and anxiety. Some nights she wouldn't be able to sleep because she'd have nightmares, and then sometimes she would have pretty bad panic attacks.

Now that this has happened, I don't know how she'll end up....

As I am thinking, the heart monitor begins showing a increasing heart rate.  I look at Mariah and her breathing becomes heavier. She begins shaking her head and mumbling words. "No, no." Mariah mutters

All of a sudden, she springs up, a scared look on her face The all familar symptoms of a panic attack. "Mariah, Mariah. It's okay." I tell her

Her breathing still remains heavy and her heart rate remains the same. "Mariah, you're fine. Everything's okay, you're at the hospital, it's all over." I say, attempting to soothe her

When that doesn't work, I resort to an alternate solution. I climb onto her bed and hold her, "You're okay, you're alive. Meredith is alive, you did good." I stammer
"I-Is Callie alive?" She stutters
"I don't know, but I can check." I tut
"Now come on, we got to control your breathing. Remember how we used to?" I question
"Derek, I'm not a child." Mariah remarks

"I'm trying to help you. It's not bad to need help, it doesn't make you weak." I tell her
She looks at me and begins breathing in and out according to our routine.

Little by little her heart rate begins to decrease and her breathing becomes steadier. "Better?" I question
"A little. Thank you, Derek." Mariah sighs
"No problem. I don't want to leave you but the E.R is packed, I neded to go." I say

"I can help too, I'm not badly injured." She mumbles
"I don't think that's best." I mutter
"You guys need help and I can help Derek. It's just a waste of talent with me in this bed." Mariah insists
"The only thing that bothers me is my ankle. I'll take some pain meds and I'll work. I'm fine." She tells me

"No, Mariah. You've just been in a bombing, you need to stay in bed." I say
"Okay I know I had an anxiety attack, but you know I have bad anxiety and things like this trigger it. I'm good now, I was just taking things in." Mariah assures me
"Oh, in that case... No." I tut
"You suck." She remarks, rolling her eyes.
"Don't be mad, until your ankle has been properly checked and treated, you will stay here." I say
"Derekkkkk." Mariah groans
"I'll check on you later, bye Mariah." I chuckle

I walk out of her room, leaving a upset Mariah.

Mariah's POV
With Derek gone, I have absolutely nothing to do. I can't go back to sleep because my brain hates me and everyone is busy helping.

I look down at my ankle, I attempt to move it but it hurts like hell.

I can't stay in this bed though, I tend to overthink in situations like these and I don't know how I'll react. I try to occupy myself, but it's hard because I can't work or do anything productive.

Before I almost die of boredom and drowning myself in my thoughts, Mark comes in. "You're awake." He smiles
"Yeah." I shrug
"I-I was so worried. When I saw it on the news, I didn't know what to think." Mark stutters, walking towards me and sitting down on the chair besides my bed.
"What's wrong? Do you need anything?" He asks concerned
"I'm just having trouble dealing with all this." I sigh

"You'll get through this, I'll be by your side every step of the way. " Mark tells me, holding my hand.
"You're the best." I smile weakly
"I'm just doing my job." He says, returning the smile.
"I'm sorry." I mutter
"For what?" Mark frowns
"For going to that stupid club. None of this would've happened if I didn't go." I sigh

"Hey, you can't take the blame for this," He tells me, lifting my chin up with two of his fingers "Nobody knew this was going to happen."
"It doesn't even matter, I had no reason being there. I know you didn't want me to go but I didn't want Callie to be by herself. I'm sorry, Mark." I say

"I forgive you." Mark nods
"And by the way, I never apologize so feel lucky." I smirk
Mark chuckles and then looks back at me, "You're something else, Mariah." He remarks
"You still like me though." I tut
"You know it." Mark smiles, kissing my hand.

"I don't want to do this, but I've really got to go. Webber is already pissed at me for being here so I need to go back." He sighs
"Oh great, I'm going to be alone again." I frown
"I'm sorry, believe me I want to stay here with you. But you know, duty calls." Mark shrugs, getting up.
He kisses my cheek and proceeds to leave, "Bye." He tuts, and walks away leaving me alone.

Great, juust great.

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Hey, I know I'm a little late but honestly my mind went completely blank writing this chapter. So yeah, this is a mess. Whatever, I'm so triggered because my ratings are messed up and have like 3 ratings per category. Anyways, I tried to incorporate more Mariah and Mark romance, but I crashed and burned. We reached 1k votes yesterday, so yay. I'm sleep deprived so imma take a nap. I hope you like it, don't forget to comment and vote!