Strong enough

32

Charlotte had been calling and texting her mom almost constantly while Meredith was in the ICU

The girl was so anxious when she was away from her mom. She was currently on her way to the hospital, Mark had picked her up early after school and she was absolutely terrified. He had said there was some good news but still..

Mark and Charlotte entered the hospital, she frowned as they headed to oncology instead of the ICU.

"Is mom back in her own room?" The girl's eyes lit up

"Maybe." Mark chuckled and he saw Charlotte ran off, straight to the room her mom used to be in. "Hey, wait!"

"Mommy!" She stormed inside, seeing her mom laying down on her back

"Princess-" Meredith smiled, a bit pale

Derek immediately stood up to stop his daughter as she was about to jump in her mom's arms but he was too late, causing Meredith to whimper badly at her daughter's actions

"I-I'm sorry!" Charlotte backed off

"Are you okay?!" Derek lifted Meredith's gown, exposing the PEG tube that had been surgically placed in her mom's stomach a few hours prior

"Y-Yeah." Meredith nodded, it was sore and burning a bit

"Sorry.. What did they do to you?" Charlotte asked her mom, she hadn't expect this

"Monkey we need to talk to you." Meredith reached out to grab her daughter's hand

"Mer, give me a minute, I need to check it first. Seems like it's gotten a little loose." Derek muttered and put on some gloves

"I'm really sorry.." Charlotte muttered

"It's fine, monkey. You didn't know." Meredith assured her

Mark also had put on some gloves and helped Derek out, Meredith winced a few times in discomfort as everything was sore from the surgery

"Think we got it fixed but you need to be careful, I'll page Bailey in a bit to get it double checked." Derek said and grabbed his wife's hand

"Come here, climb in bed." Meredith told Charlotte

Mark left, he already knew what they were gonna tell her and they'd need some time to discuss this stuff, it was of no one to be around them

"Sweetie, do you know what a PEG tube is?" Derek asked his daughter who shook her head no

"My stomach is completely paralyzed from the surgery. They were able to take most of the tumor away, they placed the PEG tube because it will be my only access to get enough food. I might be able to eat a little in the future but never full meals again." Meredith started to explain to her daughter, really trying to not burst out in tears. She felt like she needed to be strong now, strong for her husband and daughter

"Mommy-" Charlotte whimpered, hugging her mom tighter

"But almost all the cancer is gone, princess. Aunt Addie wants me to continue some chemo to make sure everything has left my body, some very strong chemo's but if all goes well I should be able to come home after the next treatment and spend some days home in between the next."

"S-So you're getting healthy? And you're coming home?!" Charlotte sat up

"The cancer is slowly dying, yes. And after the next round of chemo I'll be home for some night, yes." Meredith giggled weakly, completely worn out from the procedure earlier

"Mommy! That's amazing!" Charlotte giggled, bursting in happy tears

"Mommy will still need to take things slow during the next rounds of chemo and during her rehabilitation but she's getting better, princess." Derek kissed Charlotte's head

"All will be okay." Meredith muttered, her eyes drooping as the surgery and drugs had made her completely exhausted

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Charlotte whispered as she kept hugging her mom while Derek tucked both of them in, feeling like both might need a small nap. Meredith had gone through a heavy surgery this morning and she needed to rest while he knew Charlotte had been sleeping terribly since her mom was in the ICU. He hoped their daughter would finally be able to calm down a bit again and relax more often

Charlotte looked really happy but mainly relieved after this news. He sat down on the chair next to the bed, he hated to see his wife so pale and even smaller than she already was but he could ignore that, but the scarf, her dry and broken skin kept reminding him of how bad she had been doing and how close it had been to him losing her forever

He would have never been okay if his wife would have passed away, if he would have had to raise his daughter all on his own. Derek needed Meredith, he needed her more than ever and he needed her here in Seattle with their friends and family

Sorry, busy days! I found my first apartment completely on my own and im having my surgery in less than a week so it's been busy! Thanks for leaving some ideas ❤️