Lost and Found

Chapter 16

A/N: Thanks again, my wonderful fans! 

Enjoy!

The faucet in the Scrub room dripped down the seconds as Maggie contemplated if she should hug Richard Webber or... what? So she just stood there, gaping at him, her father,  and the moment surreally spun around her.

She had come to find a sister. Now she had a father. "I just- wow... you? How?" What was the story there?

Richard rubbed his goatee, his gaze deepening as he reflected. Finally he sighed and turned to look through the window at the OR in front of them. "Ellis was married," he said. "To Thatcher. Meredith's father. I was married." He shook his head and smiled a little... "But Ellis? She was...my soulmate. I knew it when I met her. She was fiery and passionate and fearless. There weren't many female surgeons. There weren't many black surgeons... so we just fit. One thing led to another... and we ended up together. Except we were still married.

"She left Thatcher, and I was going to leave Adele, but..." He sighed. "I chickened out. She was gone a few days later. I didn't even get to talk to her. I didn't know, Maggie. If I'd known... I would've liked to have been a father, I would've liked to have been your father. But I broke her heart, and she ended up raising Meredith alone in Boston."

Maggie sighed, nodding. But she still didn't quite understand something. "Why do you think she gave me up? I mean..." But the answer was obvious wasn't it? She'd been the product of an affair. She'd be a constant reminder of Ellis Grey's own heartbreak.

Richard tilted his head in a fatherly gesture. "Maggie," he said, his brown eyed gaze was warm and soft. "Giving you up would've been the hardest decision she ever made, but it was the right one. Your parents love you. They raised you and cared for you and loved you better than Ellis could ever offer. So don't question that for a moment. Ellis didn't abandon you. She gave the most precious part of herself away so you wouldn't suffer."

How did he do that? Just say the most perfect thing to make her feel... so welcome. "Can I? I just want to-" She stepped forward and Richard embraced her. Encased in his strong arms, Maggie felt... wonderful.

xxx

Thomas Sanderson. That was the name of the man from the woods. Meredith watched him for a moment as he lay in a half conscious stupor. Out of habit, she checked his chart again. No change, but... his condition was precarious. It could go either way, any time. But she'd be dammed if all the work she'd done on Thomas' innards was all for naught.

"Mr. Sanderson?" she called softly.

He murmured something, but kept his eyes closed.

"Mr. Sanderson..." she called again and shook his shoulder, "Thomas..."

"No... I want to sleep. Please, I just want to sleep," He said, shifting slightly in the bed as he tried to force his eyes closed.

"I know..." Meredith said.

"They come when I sleep." Thomas said, nearly crying. "Lily, and Emma. When I sleep, I can see them... they come when I'm asleep."

Meredith knew what he was talking about. She'd dreamed of Derek often after he died. Not always nightmares, sometimes they were good dreams... loving and happy dreams- but... "Thomas?"

"Can you give me something?"

It hurts!

He shifted his legs restlessly under the covers, "I want to..." Go to sleep.

Meredith sat on the far corner of the bed and stilled his right leg. He looked up at her and she saw her own tortured reflection in that gaze.. So much pain. So much blame. So much loss. Meredith schooled her features as her brain cycled through the possible responses she might have.