Reaching Forward

19

A month had passed since Meredith had surgery to reattach the baby's placenta. Not long after the surgery, her mother died. Derek had become greatly concerned that this would put more stress on her pregnancy and that was the last thing she needed. However, Meredith seemed to take Ellis' death in stride. She had decided to forgo a funeral and had her mother cremated. Claiming that it was what her mother would have wanted, Derek and some of her friends doubted this. However, Ellis did seem to be an extreme version of Cristina and probably would have thought having a funeral would have been a waste of time when people could have been in surgery.

But whatever the case, no one argued with Meredith because one, she didn't need the stress of a funeral, two, funerals cost a lot of money and three, Meredith had been put on bed rest for a month to ensure that the placenta didn't un-attach again.

Upon having a placental abruption, not only was she put on bed rest except to use the bathroom and shower, but she had to visit her OB/GYN every week for the rest of the pregnancy to make sure everything was on schedule developmentally. Meredith was now considered as having a high risk pregnancy. After her latest appointment, her doctor told her that she could go back to work but not to overexert herself. Of course, being a doctor, that would be difficult to do. But, she was more than ready to go back to work. Most people consider being able to lie in bed all the time a great luxury but after a week straight Meredith got bored and antsy. However, she did her best to do as the doctor ordered. She didn't want to go through another scare of losing the baby again. So, during her time off when everyone else was at work, Meredith had begun shopping online for baby things. There was an ulterior motive to buying things online; she was able to get up and answer the door when the delivery man arrived. She always justified it by saying that she couldn't just let delivery man leave her son's things outside and she wasn't going to have the man ring the door bell five hundred times either.

The nursery was actually near complete now. One weekend that Derek had off, he had painted the room in a pale blue color that matched the color of the ferry boat bedding that they had bought earlier. And, Meredith had bought a dresser, changing table, and rocking chair that matched the wood finish of the crib. There were several small things that she lacked. She needed to buy more outfits, a car seat, a baby monitor, stroller and etc. While the nursery was getting completed, there were still things left unfinished, namely Derek's mother.

After Meredith was discharged from the hospital, Derek decided that he should at least let his family know what was going on. He purposely called his mother at a time when he knew she wouldn't be home. Even though knowing it was kind of mean of him, Derek still didn't want to directly talk to her after her visit.

So, his message went something like this, "Mom, it's Derek. I just thought I'd let you and the others know that Meredith had a placental abruption and we almost lost the baby."

He hung up after those two sentences. Needless to say, later that day he got calls from all of his sisters and his mother. Hearing that they almost lost a nephew and a grandchild respectively, their harsh criticism over the situation turned to concern and somewhat acceptance. Derek's mother of course wanted to come out and help but he reminded her of how Meredith didn't need any stress and considering what had happened the last time they met Derek refused her offer. Plus, Derek didn't like how it took almost losing the baby to have her want to be apart of his new life. So, he told her that maybe in a few months or when the baby was born that she could come out again.

Today was finally Meredith's first day back after the accident. She trudged down the stairs into the kitchen to find a hearty breakfast on a tray and Derek cleaning up. Turning around when he heard her, he asked, "What are you doing up? I was going to give you breakfast in bed."