Time Changes Things

Chapter 8

(Der pov)

I'm going crazy out here. I can't just sit her and wait. I need to be with her. I saw the 3 surgeons walk over and I stood up. "Her scans showed that the bullet has hit her lung which we will have to go in and fix, and there may be some nerve damage in her shoulder. We booked an OR in 10 minutes." Richard said. I just stared at him. "Okay." I whispered. "Can I just see her before? Please?" I asked. "Of course, but make it quick." Bailey replied. They led me to her room and there laid the broken shell of a woman I once knew. She was unconscious, but I knew that Meredith believed her patients could hear her. "You have to fight, Mer. Everyone's waiting for you. I love you. Please." I said fighting back tears. "I won't die. I promise." I looked up to see Meredith, trying to stay conscious. I kissed her on the lips softly, and then pulled away. "I love you." I whispered as she lost consciousness again. Apparently Bailey was watching the whole encounter, "Alright Shepherd, let's go." "Okay." I said as I kissed her forehead and watched as she was wheeled away. I sat back in the hard chair and felt myself falling asleep.

(Richard POV)

After we scrubbed in, we all said a silent prayer in our heads. "Is she under?" I asked. "Yes she is." The anesthesiologist said. "Okay, 10 blade." Dr Wells said as he made the first cut along Merediths abdomen. I watched intently as he pulled the bullet out of her lung and put it in a nearby basin. "Okay, 3-0 nylon." He said. He grabbed the nylon and perfectly stitched up her lung. "Page Dr Stanton from neuro, I want him here for that shoulder." I said. Bailey stitched up her abdomen. "Okay, I'm here, what do we got?" Stanton said. "Gsw to the right shoulder, possible nerve damage." Wells said. "Okay, open her up while I scrub in." He said. Bailey grabbed a scalpel and opened her shoulder up. Stanton walked in and assessed the damage. He got in there and stopped the bleeding. "Get me an nerve tester please." He requested. A nurse grabbed one and attached it to her nerve. "Turn it up to 3 shocks." He said. Nothing. "5 shocks." Nothing. "7 shocks." He said. "There it is. This is some serious damage, but I'm going to fix it now." Bailey and I exchanged looks, knowing this was bad. "She's a surgeon, can she still operate?" I asked. "Yes, she should be able to operate again, it will take a lot of PT, but she should get back to 100% function." He replied as he began on her shoulder. A few hours later, he finally finished. "She'll be okay." He said. A huge weight on my shoulders was lifted off. "Thank you so much." I said while shaking his hand. We head to the scrub room and I was met with Baileys tearful eyes. "I know." I said as I pulled her into a hug. A few minutes later she pulled away. "We should probably go tell Derek." She said as we walked to the waiting room.