Everything Changes (A Grey's Anatomy Fanfic)

Voices

There were voices. That was the first thing Lydia was aware of. Voices talking to her. She tried to open her eyes, but to her confusion, they stayed shut tight.

"Hey Lydia, it's Meredith," the first voice said softly. "Look um... I'm not sure if you can hear me, but... I just lost a sister. I really don't want to lose another. So... Yeah. Don't die for me, please."

***

"Hey kiddo," she woke to another familiar voice. "Look, I've got at least five minutes before they realized I snuck out, so I'm gonna make this quick. You screwed up. Royally. I'm kind of furious with you actually, but... God, I don't want you to die. I just lost someone and I can't... Whatever happens... We'll work on it, okay? We'll fix it all together." Before Lydia could even attempt a response, she felt herself slipping away again, the sound of someone discovering Mark fading out.

***

"Hey Jellybelly," she heard her brother whispering at last, his voice choked. "I heard you've been having a rough time lately." She felt his hand gently holding hers. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I didn't... Well anyway the point is I'm gonna need you to wake up. Okay, Jellybelly? Can you do that for me?"

She gathered every bit of energy in her, pushing with everything in her as she squeezed his hand. "Oh my God!" he gasped. "Oh my God, Meredith!" She smiled softly before the wave of nothingness started to drag her back under. "Stay with me Lydia! Stay with me!"

***

White. Everything around her was a blinding white. Slowly, and with a tremendous amount of effort, she turned her head. Derek sat in a chair next to her, disheveled and slumped over in a deep sleep. Suddenly, Lydia processed where she was. She felt the tube that was shoved down her throat. She heard the steady beeping of the machines around her and even through the fog of meds she was on, she could still feel the dull sting of pain.

Immediately, she was blinded by a wave of sheer panic. She kicked wildly, trying to free herself. Derek bolted awake, shocked by the sight of her. He jumped to his feet, shouting, "Can I get some help in here?" Lydia heard him as though he was miles away. She continued to fight as he and an orderly tried to restrain her. "Lydia!" he tried to soothe her. "Lydia, you're okay, alright? Lydia, stop!" She stopped kicking but her eyes were wide and pleading as her brother held her hands away from the tubes. "Lydia, you were in a car wreck, okay? You're in Seattle, not New York do you hear me?"

She gagged as she tried to speak around the tube. "Shhhh don't try to talk. You, um..." Tears started to pour down her older brother's cheeks as he tried to force the words out. "Well, we'll talk about everything that happened later. Just um... Don't fight it for now, okay?" She nodded slowly, still slightly panicked. "Okay, good."

Derek turned to the helpful orderly, assuring him that all was well and asking him to go get Bailey. He watched her for a moment, just making eye contact with her. Finally, he sighed. "Scoot." She forced a smile, carefully moving over to make room for him. He climbed up next to her, carefully putting an arm around her. For a while, they just sat there. Again, Derek broke the silence. "You know you gave us a big scare there, Jellybean. We thought- I don't even wanna say what we thought, but um... You better not pull this on me again, okay?" He leaned forward. "I mean it. Blink once for yes and twice for no." She blinked once, smiling softly. They sat there together, knowing that there was more to say, but nothing that could be said yet.

So they waited.