Love gives hope

Chapter 5 "the eyes"

Meredith's Point-of-View

"Have you diagnosed the patient in 4B yet Dr. Karev?"

I heard the chief of surgery barking down his neck in the recovery wing as I jotted down post op notes in Derek's chart. I was trying to keep my hands from shaking as I felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety to get back to him. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like he was always on my mind. I was convincing myself that it was just because he was my patient and it was my sole purpose to keep him alive...but there was something in his eyes.

"Yeah, she has post-op pneumonia." Alex shrugged, "It's a simple case, I put her on antibiotics."

"That was twelve hours ago." Chief barked again, "The antibiotics aren't working! So, what else could be wrong with your patient Dr. Karev? What are the possible complications leading to post-op fever?"

"Uh..." Alex stuttered. Chief stood up straight and grounded his teeth, I knew that was never good.

"Does anyone know the leading causes of post-op fever!" he shouted to the whole PIT, everyone looked at each other and then went diving for their little red books, I could see the smoke coming out of his ears, another bad sign, "From your head!"

"Wound, wind, walking, wonder drugs." I called out; his eyes snapped over to me, "The four W's. Most of the time it's the first two, wind is easy to assume, especially when you're too busy to do the tests."

He lifted his chin and looked impressed, "What do you think is wrong with 4B?"

All eyes were suddenly on me, and I took a deep breath "The third W, walking. I think she is a prime candidate for a PE."

"How would you treat and diagnose?"

"I would send her up for a spiral CT and dose with heparin."

"Very good." He smiled, then turned to Alex, "Do exactly as she said and then tell your resident that I want you off this case."

Everyone went back to doing what they were, and Richard walked up to me and leaned against the nurses' station with a satisfied smile on his face.

"I knew we taught you well, but it still makes me proud to see it firsthand." He glowed.

I smiled "Thanks, Dad."

I'm sure you're hearing that annoying record scratching sound you hear in movies when everything stops, and you think "What the hell?" So, let me explain... Richard is my dad. He's not my biological father, that guy left my mom before I was even born. Richard stepped in and convinced my mother that she could be a mother AND a doctor. They fell in love and raised me together as a family. I have a younger brother and sister. They're twins named Margaret, we call her Maggie, and Jackson. Both are in their first year of med school.

"So, is your second shift going better than your first?"

I groaned, "You heard about that, huh?"

"I told you years ago, I know all and see all."

"I told you years ago that you are not God. It is impossible for someone to be everywhere at once."

"You get more and more like your mother every day, you know that?"

"Thanks." I groaned.

"Working on a patient?" he asked as he glanced at my chart. "I'm sure they'll be out of here in no time."

"Not this one." I sighed heavily "he's in bad shape. Mom actually assigned him to me as punishment, but he's sticking with me."

"Well, it's good to take special interests in patients, but just make sure you don't get too attached."

"Of course not." I nodded, I flipped through the chart, and something sprung into my mind that I thought he might be able to answer, "Hey, have you ever heard the name Derek Shepherd?"

"Derek Shepherd." He frowned.

"Yeah, my patient's name is Derek Shepherd." I answered, "He seems to know stuff, medical stuff, so I thought maybe if he worked in the field before you might know him."

"Well, I did know a Dr. Derek Shepherd at one point in time." He said "But unless there is a Dr. at the beginning of his name I'm sure it's just a coincidence, the Dr. Derek Shepherd that I knew would never humble himself enough to forget to put that down."

"Right." I shook my head "Well it's probably just a coincidence."

"Pace yourself." I said, "You don't want to wear out in the first ten miles of the marathon."

I smiled in appreciation as he squeezed my shoulder, then went off to order the rest of his hospital around. I closed the chart and walked around the desk, then sat down at the computer as my mind churned and churned...according to Richard there was a doctor by the name of Derek Shepherd, but he was a pompous ass. I was sure it was just a coincidence but for some reason, I needed to see a picture of him to know that there was no possible way.

I brought up the internet and opened it to Google, "Derek Shepherd, Derek Shepherd." I mumbled to myself.

I hit send and it came up with all kinds of search results. I clicked on the most reputably looking site and read it. The guy was a freaking genius when it came to neurosurgery. He invented so many different methods to doing neurosurgery and there were many words such as "cavalier" and "ingenious" that I lost count... I then scrolled through the page until I saw a picture that was taken for publicity of a medical award.

I was caught off guard. I expected him to be nerdy and have huge bottle cap glasses, crooked teeth, and all that. He was hot. He had a huge mane of perfect hair, a decently sized nose and oh my god those eyes..

I gasped "Oh my god!"

It was the eyes...