Time Changes Things

Chapter 9

(Der POV)

When I woke up (apparently I fell asleep) I was gently shaken by Bailey. I looked around and saw everyone. The interns, Addison, nurses, and even some of my patients spouses. "She should be fine. Her shoulder had some serious nerve damage, but with PT she should have full function." Richard said. I jumped up and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you." I exclaimed. "When can I see her?" I begged. "Right now." I followed her quickly to her room. I stopped right as I got to the door and took a deep breath before going in. I turned and went into the room. She doesn't look like herself. She's pale, intubated, and has tubes sticking out of her everywhere. Her shoulder is in a heavy sling. "She should be waking up soon." Bailey said as she walked about the door. "I'll be back soon." She said. I nodded and pulled a chair over next to her. I grabbed her hand and stroked it gently. I was waiting for those big green eyes to open up. It felt like an eternity, but I caught a tiny hitch in her breath, and she opened her eyes. She was drowsily dazing, but I could tell she was looking at me. She then seemed to realize the tube down her throat and started choking. "It's okay, it will come out soon, let me page Dr. Bailey. Your okay." I said while I squeezed her hand. I paged Bailey and Richard and they all came into the room in a minute. "She's awake. Can we extubate her?" I asked. Bailey and Richard looked at her chart. "Yes, we can, but I would like her to stay on oxygen." Richard said as he prepped for extubation. "Meredith, this is gonna hurt for a minute, okay, but I'm gonna need you to cough when we tell you to." Bailey said. Meredith just nodded the best she could. "Okay, 1.2.3." She said. Meredith let out one tiny cough which seemed to cause an eruption of coughs. I quickly grabbed a pitcher of water and poured a cup. I stuck a straw in it and held it to her mouth. She drank the liquid gratefully, but not before some of it dribbled down her chin. I was quick to grab a napkin and clean it up. "H-hi," She said.

(Mer POV)

What's going on? Why was I intubated? Where derek? Why am I in a hospital? I have so many questions, but I'm too tired to talk. "Hi gorgeous. We missed you." Derek said. I smiled and felt my eyes drooping closed. "It's okay, sleep, I'll be here the whole time." He whispered.

"You don't get to ask questions about my wife."
I shot up from my nightmare only to be met with overwhelming pain. Derek shot up and was quickly by my side. "What happened?" He asked concerned. "Nightmare." I said with tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry Mer. What can I do?" He asked. "Ho-hold me?" I asked. He looked at me with love in his eyes. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." He replied. "Pl-please." I choked out. He nodded and climbed into the bed behind me. He put his legs around me and wrapped his arms around my stomach, careful of my incisions. I leant over to the morphine pump and jabbed my finger in it a few times. I leant back into his chest and fell asleep.