𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 - 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮'𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮 (ON HOLD)

seventy - two - "cahill" - seventy - two

CONTINUATION OF EPISODES FROM LAST CHAPTER.

The night of Derek's passing, Meredith laid in Anna's bed with Zola and Bailey sleeping between them. She couldn't bring herself to sleep in her and Derek's bed let alone enter their bedroom. Entering the house, now that he was gone, felt so surreal. The closet doors were open from when he chose an outfit for the day, his middle dresser drawer was cracked, the blankets on his side of the bed were dishelved, the bowl he ate breakfast out of was sitting in the sink, his shoes were by the front door, his coat was hanging up, his briefcase was sitting on the kitchen counter... and his cologne lingered in the air. Meredith and Anna couldn't sleep as they laid in the dark room listening to the sounds of Bailey and Zola sleeping. They thought about all they had to do still: make phone calls to relatives, fill out an obituary for the paper, and plan his funeral and wake.

Anna rolled over, onto her other side, and stared out the window as she watched the sun come up. Eventually, Zola woke up which made Bailey get up. Meredith gave them a morning bath and Anna got out of bed. She got dressed, splashing water over her tired face, and brushed her teeth and hair. She checked her blood sugar, but chose to skip a meal considering the knot she had in her stomach still. As Meredith fixed herself and the little ones breakfast, Anna held up her phone and stood out on the front porch. She unlocked her phone, her thumb hovering over the contacts. She made the difficult calls, family members she hadn't spoken to herself in years. After calling "Grandma," she spoke to "Aunt Nancy," then "Aunt Kathleen," "Aunt Liz," and finally a few of her older cousins. She didn't wanna answer their millions of questions, so she rushed them off the phone as quickly as she could. Hearing them cry made her feel even worse.

Meredith stepped out on the porch for a second, checking on Anna, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Anna nodded, "Grandma and all the sisters are done. They'll let the rest of the family know. Are you, uh, are you telling your dad?"

"I'll leave him a message." Meredith said, "I doubt he'll even pick up my call."

"You're probably right." Anna said, already tired of the emotions she was feeling.

"Are you..." Meredith asks, "Did you call Addison?"

"Honestly, I didn't even think about it." Anna said, "Or... her."

"I can call her?" Meredith offers.

"No. No, it's okay. I will."

Meredith nods and goes back inside the house. Anna scrolls down her contacts and finds Addison's picture under, "Mom." She hadn't talked to her in such a long time. She called and held the phone up to her ear, getting sent to voicemail. She left a message, "Hi... it's me, Anna. I know we haven't, uh, talked in a long time... um, I wished I was calling... with something different- um... I don't know how to tell you this, 'cause there's really no easy way to... dad died yesterday. He, uh- he was in a car accident. Meredith and I are still letting people know and planning his funeral. I'm sorry. I really am. Uh... I'll call you again soon, I guess. Bye."

~ GREY'S ANATOMY ~

"This is a day for us to celebrate Derek Shepherd's life and for each of us to say our goodbyes. Each day we celebrate him in some way... as a father, as a husband... as a brother, as a friend."

The following days leading up to Derek's funeral blurred together. Anna called the university and was given a leave of absence. And now, she stood around distant family members, her father's friends and coworkers, and her siblings. Meredith stood beside her, Bailey in her arms, while Zola held Anna's hand. All Anna could do was stare at her father's coffin with hurt, depressed eyes. Some family members spoke of him with their speeches, while Dr. Bailey read a poem she wrote. When it was Anna's turn to read her letter, there was not a dry eye in attendance.