Don't Give Up On Me

Chapter 24

Monday, 6:39pm

Meredith slowly opened her eyes, taking in faint glints of light as her eyelids fluttered. Her mind and body felt fuzzy, but she was alive. Definitely alive.

She felt a light squeeze on her hand, and bleary eyes focused on someone sitting by her bedside. She recognized Derek's voice as he spoke.

"Meredith? It's me, Derek. You're okay. You're just waking up from a medically induced coma. Take your time." The words were soft, but she internally winced as the throbbing pain in her head became more pronounced.

Meredith slowly glanced around the room as the tube in her throat became uncomfortable. Her eyes locked with Doctor Swinder's, who's faint outline hovered over the bed.

"Welcome back. We'll get that tube out in a moment." She said, smiling. Bailey pulled on a pair of gloves and brought tray to the bedside.

"Alright Grey, cough for me whenever you're ready." Bailey said. Once the words registered in her brain, Meredith let out a light cough, which escalated once the tube was removed.

Derek was quickly at her side with a small glass of water. Meredith graciously accepted his help with the straw, and the cool liquid clung to her dry throat.

Meredith looked around again, but her vision appeared sharper this time as the water helped wake her mind up.

"W-what happened?" She questioned, finally feeling capable of forming a sentence. Derek gripped her hand as Bailey stepped into Meredith's line of sight and began explaining.

"Your infection escalated into meningitis. We placed you in a medically induced coma to prevent brain damage. Your immune system became quite compromised, but a bone marrow transplant from uh- a donor improved your condition." Bailey said. Now was not the time to bring up Meredith's long lost sister.

"You gave us quite the scare there, Grey." Swinder added.

"Thank you for fighting." Derek added, teary eyed. Meredith nodded, smiling slightly in response.

"Sleep now." She muttered, eyes drooping from the strain of their short conversation. The doctors nodded simultaneously.

"Good, you'll need plenty of rest to fight off the tail end of this infection." Bailey said, but her words fell on deaf ears as Meredith had already drifted off to sleep.

Swinder secured a nasal oxygen cannula against Meredith's cheekbones. Bailey scribbled notes in her chart before turning to face Derek.

"Keep an eye on her oxygen saturation and blood pressure. We can't let it drop any lower than it is now. Page me if her temperature spikes again. I've ordered repeat labs and an abdominal MRI for after her I.L.2 is finished." Bailey said gently.

"I'm recommending that we continue to implement isolation protocols until her temperature returns to normal. I'll send my resident in to start her I.L.2 session." Swinder added.

With that, the two doctors turned and left the room. Each smiled to themselves as they were relieved Meredith woke up.

Cristina entered the room shorty after, carrying the infusion bag filled with Meredith's treatment for the day.
She hovered near the entrance, hesitantly hopeful.

"She's okay? I mean, did the transplant work?" Derek nodded.

"She's still not out of the woods, but her stats are more stable and she regained consciousness a while ago." Cristina closed her eyes and sighed, relieved. She recollected herself and began setting up the I.L.2, a wide smile barely contained under her mask.