It's been a long time

Chapter 17

Meredith 23, Derek 24

Meredith has been dealing with severe anxiety for the past year, and recently with mid terms coming up it's been even worse.

She paced around the dorm, desperately trying to calm herself. Derek was gettting ready. It was 30 minutes before her and dereks mid terms. She sat down at the kitchen and without knowing, she bobbed her knee up and down.

She didn't even have coffee that morning, she was just so stressed out and so anxious. Derek came into the dorm to pick her up and frowned when he saw his girlfriend pacing again. "Meredith." He said. "Meredith." He repeated. She just kept pacing. "Meredith." He said firmer as he grabbed her shoulders. "It's okay. You're gonna do fine." Derek said softly. Derek knew her anxiety had been getting worse, but it was to the point where she couldn't do anything without getting anxious.

Derek pulled her small body against his and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm scared." She whispered. "You have no reason to be. Youre going to do great, Mer. You know your stuff." Derek replied. She nodded against his chest and savored the feeling of his comfort. "I love you." Derek whispered. "I love you too." She replied. They pulled away. "Now let's go kick some ass on these mid terms." Derek said with a smile. He grabbed her hand and the two walked out to his car together.

They got out of the car and walked in to the exam room. "You got this." Derek said as he gave Meredith a kiss and went to his assigned seat. Meredith inhaled shakily and sat down in her assigned seat, next to Addison.

"You okay?" Addison asked. "I'm fine." Meredith replied. She rapped her fingers against the desk and bobbed her leg, signaling her anxiety. "Mer is very anxious, if you couldn't tell. Try to calm her down plz." Derek texted Addison. "I can tell. Poor kid. I'll try." Addison sent back. He looked at her across the room and gave a slight nod.

"You may begin...now! You have exactly 3 hours to complete. Anything you don't complete will be marked wrong." Their professor announced. Meredith took a deep breath and got started on her test.

Midway through, Meredith got stuck on a question and had felt a panic she had never felt before. She was 100% sweating, and her mind wouldn't stop racing. She tried to control her breathing, but felt as if everyone was watching her, even though they were. Meredith grabbed her hands and tried to stop them from shaking.

Not being able to breath, Meredith stood up shakily and left the room, not listening to the professor.

She ran to the bathroom and entered before sliding down the wall. She tried to control her breathing again, and couldn't until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso.

Derek had seen Meredith run off. "Sir, can I-." Derek asked. "Go." Their professor said, knowing he was running after Meredith. Derek took off to the bathroom he knew she entered and his heart broke when he saw her on the floor, sobbing and gasping for breath. He sat down behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her torso. "Just breathe. You got it." Derek said quietly. "I- I can't - I can't b-breathe." Meredith cried. "Yes you can. You got it. In and out, follow my lead." Derek said as he exaggerated his breathing so she could follow him.

Merediths breathing regulated after a few minutes, and she relaxed in his arms. She turned around in his hold and faced him.  "I'm okay." Meredith said shakily, like she was convincing her and Derek. "You're okay." Derek parroted. "I-I domt know what happened." Meredith said. "I think you had a panic attack, Mer." Derek said softly. "I-I don't know why. I just got n-nervous and panicky and then all of a sudden I couldn't breathe." Meredith said. "It's okay." Derek said softly. "Sorry." Meredith apologized as she looked down, embarrassed. "Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault." Derek said firmly as he lifted her head up. He pressed his lips against hers lightly. "Wsnt to get back there?" Derek asked. Meredith nodded. He helped her up and they went back to class. They slowly and quietly entered the room and took their seats. With a deep breath, Meredith resumed the test.

"Hey! You doing okay?" Derek asked as they exited the room and finished the mid terms. "I'm okay." Meredith confirmed. Derek wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close as they walked. "Should I get medication? For the anxiety or whatever?" Meredith asked timidly. "I think that's up to you Mer." Derek said honestly. "Derek, please tell me what I should do." Meredith pleaded. "Do you think the pills would work?" Derek asked. "I'm not sure." Meredith replied. "I think it's worth a shot. Mer, your anxiety is getting bad, whether you want to admit it or not. I just don't like seeing you scared and stuff." Derek replied. "I think I'll try it." Meredith said quietly. "Good. I'm proud of you." Derek replied with a smile. Meredith leant into his side and sighed.

When they got back to the dorm, Derek met with Addison and Mark and they waited for Mer to get ready. They were going bowling.

"What happened with Mer?" Addison asked. "Yeah, she bolted. Is she okay?" Mark asked. "Anxiety. It's getting worse. She's agreed to try some medication though. I just hate seeing her so...helpless." Derek explained. "That must suck." Mark said. Addison nodded in agreement.

Once Meredith was ready, they all left the dorms and drove togetehr to the bowling alley. Once they got there, they all got out and put on some bowling shoes and headed to an alley.

"No, you gotta hold it like this Mer!" Derek exclaimed with a smile. He properly showed mereditj how to hold the ball and he threw a perfect strike.

And that's how they spent their night. After a stressful day, they spent is bowling, drinking beers, and having fun.