Today's Happiness Tomorrow's Pain

7

3 days post op and Meredith was actually feeling pretty good.

All thanks to the morphine she got the previous day, everyone felt all......spacey. She still had an ache in her chest that she knew would just get even worse when the drugs wore off, but she was enjoying the relief for the moment.

"Derekkkkk......" Meredith said with a sleepy grin. "Meredith......" Derek retorted with an amused expression.

"Do you.....you're so handsome. I got my.....McDreamy!" She said, smiling adorably at him.

"Yes, you do." Derek chuckled, grabbing her hand as his parents both walked in. "Hey, son. Hi, Meredith." Mike said, flashing a smile as he handed Derek a coffee.

"Hey." Derek answered. "Hiiiiiii!" Meredith squealed, wincing at the slight pull in her chest as she sat up.

"Lay back." Derek said softly. "Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Carolyn replied. "Really really good. Have you ever had drugs? They're so incredibly awesome." Meredith said eagerly.

"I'm sure they are." Carolyn chuckled. "Do you remember when your father was this drugged up? It was hilarious." Carolyn Asked, turning to Derek.

"Not really." He shrugged, looking at Meredith.

She was looking off at a random object, her eyes glazed over with morphine,  and her mouth was formed into a sleepy grin. 

"All right, Grey- oh, looks like we have a full house." Teddy said as she came in with Dr Schaffer. "I love that show!" Meredith exclaimed happily as she struggled to sit up.

"Looks like your feeling better." Dr Schaffer commented with an amused smile. "I sooooooo am. These drugs....they're amazing." Meredith replied.

"Glad to hear it. Uh, do you mind if we run a few tests to make sure everything's healing right? Might also try to get her standing up." Dr Schaffer asked.

"Maybe when the morphine wears off she can stand....I don't think she could bring this high even if she wasn't shot." Derek chuckled.

"We'll go find your brother." Mike said, leading his wife out of the room.

"Any pain in your chest, Meredith? You breathing okay?" Teddy asked, using his stethoscope and placing it on her chest.

"It kinda hurts but the drugs help." Meredith shrugged in response. "Okay, let's decrease the morphine." Teddy said quietly.

"Your breathing?" She asked again. "It's okay. Sometimes it's hard to catch my breath, but it's okay." She said.

"Okay." Teddy replied, doing a few more tests and checking her incisions.

"Alright, how do you feel about trying to stand up?" Teddy asked, sounding encouraging. "I guess if you say so." Meredith sighed.

"Okay, Dr Schaffer and I are going to help keep you steady. Can you sit up first?" Teddy asked. Meredith did so and Derek watched as she winced.

"Now, I want you to move your legs over the side of the bed. I don't think you've done this yet. If that's too much, then we can leave it at that for today." Dr Schaffer explained.

Meredith slowly put her legs over the edge of the bed and whimpered. Suddenly, it felt like the morphine just wore off completely with the movement.

"You're doing great, Mer." Derek said softly.

Even just sitting there, Meredith's breaths got heavier and sharper. It was really painful.

Teddy eyed Meredith's sats and started to get concerned. "Alright, that's enough for today. Derek, help me get her back into bed. Dr Schaffer, can you turn up the oxygen?" Teddy ordered.

Teddy and Derek helped Meredith ease back into the pillows and Schaffer strapped the oxygen mask over her face.

Despite how well Meredith was feeling just 15 minutes ago, the reality of it all was that she was shot in the chest. And the pain wouldn't go right away.

"You can take a nap, Meredith. You did well." Teddy praised with a nod, putting her hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently before her and Dr Schaffer left the room.

"You okay?" Derek asked gently, stroking her hand with the back of his thumb. "Mhm." Meredith whimpered, her voice cracking.

"You did great. I love you." Derek said, kissing her forehead. "Love you." Meredith mumbled as she fell asleep.

•••

Derek sighed as he walked to the cafeteria. He really needed to eat and then he really needed to go home. Derek had been staying in the same clothes for the best 2 days, and he was starting to smell.

"Hey. Can you guys plewse stay with Mer for a little while? I need to shower and change and go home for a minute." Derek asked as he saw his parents at a table in the cafe.

"Of course. Did she end up takin a few steps?" Mike replied. "No. She was having trouble sitting up, so...." Derek trailed off.

"Hey, that's tough." Mike defended her. "I know. I'm not saying it's not." Derek frowned as his fathers protective dad came out.

"We'll be happy to have a minute alone with Meredith." Carolyn cut in with a nod. "Okay. Thanks, guys." He said before walking off.

"Getting a little defense, Mike." Carolyn commented on their way back to Meredith's hospital bed. "I know how hard it is to recover after being shot. You don't understand it until you have to live it." Mike explained.

"You guys have a special bond." She said. "Derek picked well this time." Mike chuckled as they got to her room just as they heard Meredith making noises.

"Mike?" Carolyn asked, gesturing to the girl who seemed to be having a nightmare. "Wake up, Meredith. It's okay." Mike said, gently shaking her shoulder.

Merediths eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. "It's okay, kiddo. It was just a nightmare." Mike said soothingly.

"Dad....." Meredith whispered, taking the two parents off guard. "I'm here, kiddo. You're safe." Mike said, a smile on his face as he gave her a hug.

Hey guys!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. If you have any ideas for future chapters feel free to let me know. Thanks for reading!!