Are you with me

11

"No, mommy! Please" Ellis was sobbing in Meredith's chest

"Come on, Ellie-Bell. It's important that you learn how to adjust" Derek whispered as he looked at his youngest daughter clutching to Meredith's cardigan while his wife was fighting the tears

"But daddy, it's hard!" Ellis kept sobbing

"Come on, pumpkin. You got this. Mommy and I are staying close with you" Derek tried to convince her

"It's really important that Linda shows you these things before you come home, Ellie.." Meredith quietly said

"Linda, what were you planning to do today?" Derek asked, maybe this could convince Ellis

"A little bit of sitting up, pushing her chair and maybe the three of you can go for a little walk afterwards?" Linda suggested

"You like your chair, baby. It will be nice to go outside for a bit" Derek told her

Ellis violently shook her head

"Can you give us a couple of minutes?" Meredith asked Linda

Linda nodded and exited the room for a moment

"Hey, Ellie. I know it's not fun but it's very important that you do these things otherwise they won't let you come home" Derek started

"Hey baby, can we make a deal?" Meredith softly asked Ellis

"What deal?" She looked up at Meredith

"When you're coming home, we'll make this way more fun but for now you need to work hard so we can take you home" Meredith quietly explained

"What about school?" Ellis frowned

"You won't go for a while, baby. We need you to get adjusted first" Meredith responded

Ellis nodded in response and even let go a little smile "I wanna come home"

"Let's do this all together, okay?" Meredith asked and Ellis nodded again "Can daddy ask Linda to come back in?"

"Okay" She agreed before Linda entered the room again and they started the session

...

After a long hour of PT, Ellis was visibly tired but was adamant about wanting to go for a walk still. Meredith and Derek both agreed and wrapped Ellis up with a blanket and made sure she had her favourite fluffy socks on her feet.

"Are you ready, Ellie?" Meredith asked as she crouched in front of her, placing a hand over hers.

Ellis nodded and Meredith resumed her position behind the wheelchair, with Derek slightly ahead holding the door open for the two of them. They made their way out of the room and through the familiar walls of the hospital. Neither Meredith or Derek were strangers to being the centre of the gossip within the hospital but this time felt a lot different.

They made it out onto the small hospital garden, secluded enough to make the whole family feel comfortable and able to relax. There were benches placed around for them to sit and look over the flowers and small lights that filled the small area with a warm glow.

"Do you want to cuddle?" Meredith asked Ellis once the brakes were applied on the wheelchair.

Ellis nodded yet hesitated slightly, "You're both going to stay, right?" she asked.

"Of course." Meredith replied as she unbuckled Ellis and pulled the small girl into her arms, sitting down on the bench.

Ellis curled into her mother and Derek covered them both in the blanket they had brought with them. He sat down next to them bringing her legs into his lap and putting an arm round his wife. The family cherished these moments that they had together, with no interruptions and time to be them without any of the worries they have to face. Ellis loved looking up at the sky and watching the colours change in front of her eyes as the sun began to set. The sky acted almost like a nightlight, causing Ellis to fall asleep holding onto Meredith, small snores coming from her.

"She looks so peaceful," Meredith commented, looking at her daughter.

"She does," Derek agreed, "I wish she did all the time."

"Me too, she did before, didn't she?" Meredith asked, looking towards Derek who nodded, "Do you think she can get back to that? Can we get back to that?"

"I believe we can," Derek said, squeezing her shoulder, "We are strong and we have so many people to help us, we can do this."

"Have you thought about what you are going to do when she is discharged?" Meredith asked.

"I know that I want to do what is best for Ellis, and if we have to take some of our holidays to help her adjust, that is what we will do." Derek said, resting his head against Meredith's.

Meredith lifted her head to look at Derek, "I have been thinking and.. I want to take some time off. Not just a couple of weeks, but a leave of absence. I think that is what she will need, you have seen how she is with the nurses here, let alone someone else if we are at work."

"You're right, if you're sure? We could share the time or get -"

"Derek, it's okay. This is what I want, I have thought about this a lot." Meredith interrupted her husband.

"Okay, we will have to talk to Bailey soon," Derek told her, "The house is nearly finished."

"It is?" Meredith responded.

"Yes. They've just finished the ramp into the house, the chair lift is done, tile in the bathroom has been replaced with non-slip. Ellis' room has been moved downstairs with everything wide enough so she can maneuver her chair around plus most of our hallways were wide enough for her chair anyway." Derek said.

"Have the sinks been lowered and have you bought her another wheelchair she can use upstairs?" Meredith worried, the time for her daughter to come home was nearing. Her anxieties are ever increasing, wanting everything to be perfect for her.

"Yes and yes," He kissed her on the lips, "I did everything on your list."

"We should probably look into getting a different car too," Meredith thought out loud, "We are not going to fit the five of us, and a wheelchair in this one."

"I will look into it, I'll find one to suit us." Derek said while running his hand up and down his daughter's leg, something he would do normally when cuddling with his family which would give him peace of mind knowing it was comforting to her. However, this time it was something that was more for his comfort than his daughter's.

"How did this happen?" Derek asked no one in particular.

"I can't understand it either." Meredith sympathised with her husband.

As the last of the light died down with the sun setting and the only thing illuminating the garden were the small lights dotted around which gave no warmth over the chill of the night. They both agreed to take Ellis back inside, Derek carefully picked her up and held her in his arms, being careful not to disturb her too much. Meredith went ahead to open the door and walked with the two of them back to Ellis' room where she was carefully laid back into the bed, still fast asleep. 

AN // Thanks to my amazing co writer who I'll tag in the comments ❤️