If that's what it takes

12

Derek's hearing focused on the sound of the heart monitor for a moment, his eyes were focused on the bed and the girl that lie within it, and his hands were holding the little girl in his arms securely. Derek stepped up to the bed, standing opposite of Cristina as they stood over the woman. She appeared to be sleeping, quiet and peaceful and Derek's eyes lifted to Cristina's. "What's wrong with her?" Derek whispered as he reached for her hand. "What's... what happened to her?" He whispered, his voice catching slightly as he watched Cristina looked up at him.

"Meredith wasn't always like this... obviously..." Cristina said, gesturing toward Zoey, who had no idea where the conversation was going, but held Derek as Cristina talked. "A little over six years ago, Meredith had a pretty serious boyfriend... and at some point, she became pregnant... and... around... the third month, the boyfriend was in a pretty nasty car accident." Cristina sighed. "He died." She swallowed. "Meredith... went into... a serious depression." Cristina explained.

"So..."

"So yeah... things were looking pretty dismal from the start." Cristina said softly. "She wasn't always this bad either... I mean... when the baby was born, she was having good days and bad days... Her mother and father were already on the rocks... Lexie is her father's child from his first marriage... and so after the baby was born, Meredith's mother took her to New York with her, separating from her husband, she raised the child as her own." Cristina explained as she held her friend's hand. "When the baby was taken away... Meredith slipped further away... into a catatonic stupor, like she is now... we don't know if she can hear us or when her eyes are open, if she can see us... but we talk to her and take care of her."

"Where is her father?"

"He actually died about a month before her mother died...Lexie took on responsibility for her. She has a trust fund that pays for her medical costs, and her mother had a payment plan set up through her lawyer to keep Meredith alive as long as possible." Cristina explained. "She was at Lexie's house until about two weeks ago, which is probably how Zoey came to find out about her.... she developed a cold and was having difficulty breathing so they brought her in for antibiotics and fluids. If something happens to Lexie..." Cristina shook her head as she looked down at her friend. "I don't know what's going to happen to her."

"Her mother left no instructions?" Derek asked, his eyes still never leaving the woman as he held Zoey's sleepy body against him.

"Her mother thought there would always be someone to take care of her. She has no immediate family... and no one to make decisions if something happens to Lexie, technically the next in line would be her daughter."

"Cristina." Derek said as he shook his head.

"She'd end up becoming a ward of the state until she's old enough to look after her... if she's still alive by then..." Cristina swallowed hard. "... and probably be put up in some long term hospital until the money ran out...Derek... I... can't talk about this anymore." Cristina said as she shook her head, her voice becoming higher as she struggled with her emotions, struggled to stay strong.

"Has she ever had an MRI done?"

"Yes... back when she first slipped into this state... but the findings were inconclusive... her mother has requested that no unnecessary tests be done. There are a list of changes that she included that would constitute for particular tests... and that was all... her file is about three inches thick, Derek... she had originally had every test under the sun done on her... but her mother didn't want her to suffer, so she put a stop to the tests." Cristina nodded.

"Cris, I've known you for three years, and not once have you mentioned her." Derek sighed as he gently rubbed his thumb over Meredith's hand.

"Derek... as you can see... there wasn't much to mention... I'm just glad she's close by now..." Cristina sighed. "I used to visit her on the occasional day off, and when her father died, Lexie kind of stowed her away... hired a nurse to look after her at the house... and wouldn't allow visitors. I'm glad she's here now... there are a lot of people in this hospital that love her." Cristina whispered as she watched her friend for several moments as Derek watched her emotional reaction to what she was saying. Normally Cristina was stoic and strong, and he had noticed that the moment that she had stepped into this room, her complete demeanor had changed. "She and I were best friends." Cristina whispered. "And although I know that her mother was just thinking that she needed to provide for her daughter... she took away the one thing that I think could have made her better." She swallowed hard as she let a tear escape her eye. "And now... I think it's too late for anything to bring her back..."