Don't Give Up On Me

Chapter 2

"I- I have what?" Meredith asked, in shock.

"Stage 4 leukemia. I'm so sorry meredith." Bailey said. Meredith laughed bitterly. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I have a deadly disease? That's amazing. Awesome. My life couldn't get any worse now." She said.

"We'll give you a minute and then discuss medical history and treatment." Richard said before leaving the room.

Meredith couldn't believe it. She was a healthy 32 year old woman. And stage 4? That's bad. Really
Bad. She could die.

"Mer?" George asked pulling her out of her thoughts. "I need to get outta here." Meredith said quietly, pushing herself out of the bed and into a sitting position.

"No, no. You're staying here." Cristina said firmly, guiding her back into the bed. "No, I'm not. I can't deal with this now." Meredith argued.

"Well, you have to. So sit your ass back down and we'll figure this out." She said. Meredith rolled her eyes but did what she said.

•••

Outside of the room, Richard and Bailey were in shock. "Stage 4, Miranda, that's bad." He said, his voice wavering.

"I know, but it's not terminal if we start treatment right away." She replied soothingly. Although she seemed calm, inside, she was not calm. Her intern. Her baby. Cancer.

"Richard, what's going on with Meredith? Did they come back?" Derek asked, rushing up to them.

"They did." He replied shortly.

"And?" Derek asked.

"You need to discuss this with her. Patient doctor confidentiality." Richard said. "Oh god....you found sometning?" He asked.

"Talk to her, Shepherd. Not that it's any of your business." Bailey cut in. Derek scoffed and made his way to her room. "After, Derek. We have to talk to her now." Richard said.

"Then I'm in there." Derek demanded. Richard sighed. "Only if she lets you."

•••

The three surgeons knocked on the door and entered. Meredith visably tensed when she saw Derek come In.

"Do you want him in here?" Cristina asked quietly. "I'll talk to him after. Not now." Meredith replied. Cristina nodded. "Out Shepherd. She'll talk to you later."

Derek looked hurt for a moment but left the room. "Meredith. Are you ready to begin?" Bailey asked. She nodded.

"So, as you know, you have stage 4 leukemia. First thing, we need to start treatment right away. In this case, we need a few scans and labs before we begin radiation and chemotherapy. Once we see how progressed it is, we'll page our best oncologist, Dr  Rebecca Swender and she'll determine the treatment plan." Richard explained.

"Do you have any relatives that had leukemia?" Bailey asked. "My grandma. But...she died from it. Am I going to die?" Meredith asked, getting worked up as an indication of her high blood pressure.

"Calm down, Meredith. We don't know the severity yet, but based on just the initial labs, you have stage 4. As a doctor, you know that gives you about a 45% chance of survival." Richard explained.

Meredith sighed. "Okay." She whispered, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I need to...can I leave?" Meredith asked.

Richard looked at Bailey. "We think it'd be best if you stay here. You still have a small temp and you're at high risk for an infection, which can be deadly with leukemia." He replied slowly.

"I can't even leave? I can't get stuff from home?" Meredith asked. "Do you feel like you can go home? Do you have energy?" Bailey asked.

"No." Meredith admitted. "How long have you been feeling like this Meredith?" Bailey asked calmly. "We just want to help you."

"A few weeks." She replied. "Can you...can I talk to Derek now? He deserves... to know." Meredith said softly. "Okay. We're going to take some scans later." Richard said.

"Derek, she wants to speak with you." Bailey said as everyone shuffled out of the room.

Derek entered and gave her a small smile. "You can sit." Meredith said quietly. She looked so small in the bed, and she looked sick. But he still had no idea what was going on with her.

Derek took a seat on the edge of her bed, wanting nothing more than to take her into his arms and never let her go. "So what's going on with you, huh?" He asked, grabbing her hand lightly.

Meredith shook off his hand and looked at her lap. "I have stage 4 leukemia." She said. Dereks eyes snapped up. "You....what?" He asked. Derek felt as if she breath had been knocked out of him.

Meredith nodded. "I have a 45% chance of living and treatment starts tomorrow." She explained.

"What kind of treatment? Who's your doctor?" Derek asked protectively and quietly, still taking it all In. "Chemo and radiation. And Richard said our best oncologist." Meredith replied.

Derek saw the fear on her face. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "I'm....scared." She admitted, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm so scared. I don't want to die." Meredith said, tears falling now matter how much she didn't want to cry in front of Derek.

"Oh, Mer." Derek said, not hesitating to pull her into his arms. "You're going to be alright. You're gonna be fine. You have so many people in your corner, including me." He whispered.

"You have a wife." Meredith sniffled in between sobs against his chest. "I'm not happy with her. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow." Derek replied. "I'm so scared." Meredith sobbed again. "I know you are. It's okay. I'm here." Derek soothed.

Merediths breaths eventually became steadier and steadier, and Derek soon realized she was asleep. Asleep in his arms.

Meredith had leukemia, and it was going to be a long, painful recovery.

Hey guys! This is a merder story through and through. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you have any ideas for future chapters feel free to drop Them! I also don't know much about leukemia so the medical largo may be wrong. Hope you all are doing well.