If you were here

Chapter 19

A few weeks had past since Derek had taken Meredith out, and she had been doing a lot better since then. She was opening up to her therapist, and she was very eager to go back to work.

Derek had the day off one day, so he was staying home with the kids. She kissed Derek and all 3 kids goodbye, and got into her car and drove.

While she was driving, she saw an accident on the side of the road and decided to pull over and help. It looked like a single car accident, yet somehow the car was down a small hill.

She ran down and saw the car the wrong way, on the roof. Meredith got down and laid on her stomach, wary of the glass around her. "Can you hear me?" She asked to the woman, who seemed to be the only one in the vehicle.

"Yeah." The woman said, her voice strained. "Alright, I'm a surgeon. My name is Meredith. We're going to get you outta here, okay?" She said soothingly.

"Need some help?" Another bystander yelled at the top of the hill. "Call 911 and tell them we need them dispatched immediately. I'm a surgeon, but she needs to get outta here soon so I can work." Meredith yelled back.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Tina." She replied. "Alright Tina, help is on the way. Can you tell me what hurts?" Meredith asked. "Stomach. Legs." Tina choked out. Meredith looked around and saw her stomach was very compressed.

"Okay. How old are you?" She asked, trying to get a small history. "32. I don't feel so good." Tina said, seconds before throwing up blood. "Okay; you're alright." Meredith said.

•••

A few minutes later, an ambulance and power tools arrived. "Who are you?"  A paramedic asked. "Dr Meredith Grey. I'm a surgeon, And she needs to get outta here as soon as possible." Meredith replied.

"Tina, we're gonna flip the car, okay? It'll hurt, but we're gonna get you okay." Meredith said. Tina nodded weakly and Meredith gave a nod to the power tool guy.

The car was flipped back to the correct side and the door was ripped off. "Tina, are you still with us?" Meredith asked. Tina grunted. "Get a gurney and c spine stabilizer." She instructed. The paramedics nodded, just trusting her.

"I need help getting her out. Someone hold her neck steady, someone get her back and hold it flat. I'll grab her legs. If you move, she could be paralyzed." Meredith warned.

Tina was out, and writhing in pain. She was strapped to the Gurney, and that's when Meredith saw the giant tear on her abdomen. Without thinking, Meredith climbed onto the gurney and pressed down on tinas abdomen.

"Let's go. We gotta go quick. Can you have someone tow my car to the hosptial?" Meredith said.

They somehow managed to get out of the small hill and into the ambulance with no trouble. "Call ahead to Grey Sloan, let them know we have a 32 year old woman with definite internal bleeding and possible spinal trauma."

•••

The ambulance arrived at the hosptial and Merediths fellow surgeons opened the door. "Grey?" Bailey asked. "32 year old woman, she has internal bleeding and possible spinal damage." Meredith said as the gurney rolled quickly into a trauma bay, which just so happened to be the trauma bay where it happened, but she didn't even notice. She was too concentrated.

"Get off." Richard said softly, helping her down. "Someone get me a trauma gown!" Meredith yelled. "You staying on this?" Bailey asked softly. "Yea. I'm fine. Someone get me a portable ultrasound now." Meredith barked.

"There's too much blood. We need a chest tube stat and then get her up to the OR!" Meredith yelled.

Everything was happening fast. The chest tube was inserted, and she was under anesthesia. Meredith took a deep breath before taking the scalpel and cutting. It had been a while since she performed a surgery, but she was okay.

"Everything doing okay?" Richard asked over her shoulder. "I'm good. Finishing up the last suture." Meredith replied.

•••

About a half an hour later, Tina was in the ICU, after a successful surgery. Meredith decided to sit with her, not wanting her to be left alone. "We called her family. You can leave if you want." Bailey offered.

"No. I'll stay with her." She replied.

"You know, that trauma bay was the same one were it happened." Bailey said softly, sitting down next to her. "Was it?" Meredith asked. "It was."

"You did good today." Bailey said. "And I'm not just talking about the surgery. You overcome your fear to save a patient. You've worked hard, Grey. You deserved that." Bailey praised with a soft smile.

"Thank you Dr Bailey." Meredith said. "Anytime Grey. You staying until her family comes?" Bailey guessed. Meredith nodded. "Alright. See you around Grey. Nice job."

•••

An hour and a half later, tinas boyfriend came first. "She's okay?" He asked nervously. "She's going to be fine. The intubation is just precaution. Once she wakes up, they'll take it out." Meredith explained.

"You found her, didn't you? That's why your still here?" He guessed. "I did." Meredith replied. "Thank you." Her boyfriend said, hugging Meredith tightly. "Thank you so much." He whispered. "It's my job. I'll be back tomorrow." Meredith replied.

Meredith got back home and entered her house to tiny screams and laughter. "Mama!" Zola and Bailey exclaimed. "Hi guys!" Meredith exclaimed, walking over to them by the couch, kissing them both before moving on to Derek and Ellie.

"How was your day?" She asked. "Oh, it was good. We watched Doc McStuffins and played surgeoner." Derek replied with a smile. "That's good." She replied, ruffling baileys hair.

•••

They both put the kids to bed and then met back in their own bed. "How was your day?" Derek asked. Meredith sighed. "Eventful." She said. "How so?"

"I ate a sandwich, did some charting, oh, I operated on a patient, and did some crosswords." Meredith said with a smile. "You operated?" Derek asked with a smile. "I did." She confirmed.

"How? What was it?" Derek asked. "Well, i saw a car accident this morning and went to help. It was a single MVC, but the car was upside down. I helped extract her and went to the hospital together. She had a ton of internal bleeding. And guess what?" Meredith asked.

"What?"

"It was in that trauma bay too." She said. "The one.." Derek trailed off. She nodded. "That's amazing Mer! Did it go well?" He asked. "Yes. She's stable in the ICU with her boyfriend." Meredith replied.

"I knew we'd get through it. You amaze me everyday." He whispered, kissing her softly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

And at the end of something horrible, something good comes out of it. Strength. No matter what happens, you can get through it.

Hey guys! So I know this a very sudden ending, but I feel this was the best way to end. Thank you all so much for reading this story and supporting me, I truly appreciate it. If you want to check out my other stories, feel free. I hope you all are doing well and once again thank you so much for the support on this story. I love you all.