Love gives hope

Chapter 25 "world upside down"

Meredith's Point-of-View

"Lab results for Meredith Grey." I sighed at the lab window. The man behind the window sighed as he shuffled through papers.

"Here you go."

It was the seventh day of running a high temperature and I was getting tired of only being able to talk to Derek through the phone. I looked over the results...my white blood cell count was back to normal, everything else was fine too...it was time to go see mother.

"Thanks!" I called over my shoulder as I darted off. I thought I heard him say something, but I was in too much of a hurry to go back and check.

I didn't have to hunt to find her and thankfully, she wasn't in surgery. I screeched to a halt at the third-floor nurses' station where she was scribbling into a patient's chart. She looked up with startlement.

"Meredith really? Do you think it's necessary to run like your ass is on fire?"

"I have lab results." I panted as I handed the paper over "See, my CBC is normal, chem 7 too. In all honesty I am perfectly healthy..."

Mom sighed as she grabbed a thermometer from the other side of the desk and quickly took my temperature.

"99.0 degrees." She said satisfactorily "I suppose you can go."

"Thank you." I breathed in relief.

"Only to say goodbye."

I gulped and gasped as the worst flashed into my mind...say goodbye? Say goodbye! No, I wasn't ready to say goodbye!

"Oh god!" I shrieked, "Oh god no..."

"Relax Meredith." She said as she reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I swore she shook it too "He isn't dying...in fact he is being discharged."

"D..discharged?" I stuttered.

"Yes." She sighed with annoyance

"Can I go?" I asked, too anxious to banter her sarcasm.

"Get on with it." She waved me off.

I turned down the hallway like a bat out of hell. I ran about three feet then stopped as I was getting looks, walking five feet into his room. I found it empty, but his bag was on the bed, and I heard someone in the bathroom that I assumed was him. I felt an amazing sense of relief and a smile grew on my face as I walked over to the bed. I saw my black bini that I'd given him as a date gift lying on top of everything and I picked it up and brought it to my nose and inhaled his serene masculine scent.

"So, I hear you're leaving me?" I called out.

"You know you'll never get rid of me for good." He called back; I could hear the smile on his face.

"I sure hope not." I giggled as I slipped the bini into his bag so he could take it with him "I've put way too much into you just to have you walk out on me."

"I thought you were the one dumping me, after I got better?" he reminded me as the door opened.

I smirked and turned around, only to be caught the hell off guard. For standing...no, leaning in the doorway was a man I hardly recognized. He hardly looked like the man that I had nursed back to health over a week ago, that man was sick, he was colorless and his bald head was covered with that stupid bini.

This guy, he was suave, he was healthy, he had color to his skin and..oh my god I could make love to his hair. It was only a few inches long, but it was beautiful, silky, raven locks of hair that went every which way. His stubbly lips smiled at me as I studied him over and again in sheer amazement. My feet slowly traveled to him still leaning in the doorway and I reached up and ran my fingertips through his hair.

"You have hair." My voice cracked.

I felt a warm tear trickle from the corner of my eye and down my nose. He reached up and caught it with his thumb and brushed it away quickly as he leaned into me.

"No more of that." He mumbled so close I could feel his breath on my cheek, "There's no reason to cry. Thanks to you."

"You're the one that did all the work."

He nodded with a smile as he studied my complex expression.

"Do you think you'll still like me with a complexion, hair, and the 50 pounds chemo took off?"

"No." I answered, his face fell in surprise just before I reached up and threw my arms around his neck "I'll love you."

His face looked pained, but not in a bad way. Before I could put my finger on it his lips crushed against mine and instantly sucked mine into his. I moaned as I opened my mouth to allow his tongue access, his arms wrapped around me tightly, I could feel his newfound strength hugging me tightly to him and I wasn't going to complain.

A moment before he was about to take me into the bathroom, shut the door, and have his way with me, I heard a throat clear loudly at the door. I jumped, expecting it to be a nurse, one of my moron friends or worse, one of my parents catching us in the act... when instead I looked up and saw a very pretty, very leggy redhead with an undeniable smirk on her red shiny lips.

I heard Derek gasp sharply and mumble her name, "Addison." I frowned as my mouth dropped open and I wanted to know exactly how he knew her. his eyes turned hard as did his jaw, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you would know." She scoffed as she stuck her nose up and walked across the room, "That is if you hadn't just up and deserted us all to make us think you were dead."

"I am dead." He replied, "to you that is."

"I...I'm sorry." I interrupted as my head started to spin, "Who are you?"

"Oh hi," she stuck her hand out to offer it to mine as she smiled in an arrogant kind of way, "I'm Addison Shepherd."

Derek flinched, "Sh..Shepherd?"

She pulled her hand from mind and whirled it as she pointed at me with another arrogant smirk on her face as she peered at me down her cocky nose.

"You are the woman that was kissing my husband."

I felt my head spin and suddenly I couldn't breathe. I felt Derek's fingers start to wrap around my arm in an attempt to keep me there, but I was already in flight mode and darted around the woman who just ruined my life, I think she blocked him from coming after me, I didn't look. I stormed into the stairwell as I felt ten different kinds of emotions all at once. I was about to let loose the tears that were welling up like a cracking dam. I heard someone coming up the stairs just as fast as I was coming down them.

"Mer." Izzie said as she caught my arm "Mer wait, I was coming to look for you."

"Not now, Iz." I wheezed desperately.

"Mer, wait, I have the second page to your test results."

"I don't care." I sniffled "It doesn't matter now anyway."

"I think it does, if you'll just look at section 17..."

"Izzie I do not care!" I shrieked.

"Meredith just look!" she yelped back as she shoved the paper in my face.

I realized that I wasn't going to get rid of her until I looked at the damn paper. I had on call rooms to destroy, tears that I needed to cry, surgeons I needed to plot death sentences, and...I looked at section 17 and gasped.

"Holy shit!"

"I know." She scoffed, I looked at her wide eyed as if my world couldn't get any more turned upside down.

"I'm pregnant?"