Chasing Cars

Chapter 31

"Mommy!" Maddie kept screaming for her mom

"Mads-" Derek held her in one arm, checking out Meredith with the other

"We called an ambulance, they will be here soon." The owner of the store said

The ambulance arrived a little while later, Meredith still barely conscious

"What happened?" Bailey asks confused as she sees Derek stepping out, a crying Maddy on his hip

"She fainted in the store. Check her blood levels and het stats. Her heartbeat is too slow, her blood pressure too low and she's pale. She's been barely conscious." Derek tells them

"What's wong with mommy?" Maddie hiccups

"Shh, they'll check her out now." Derek told his daughter. He wished he could join Meredith in the examination room, but feeling the tightness of his daughter's hug he knew he should stay with her

"Mommy is not gonna die, wight daddy?" Maddie looked into her dad's eyes

"I-" Derek felt like someone was choking him. He never wanted to lie to his daughter, but also didn't want to worry her right now. "They will do everything they can. Mommy is in very, very good hands." Derek rubs Maddie's back

"I wanna see mommy. My cuddles always make her feel better." Maddie quietly said

"I wanna see her too but I think we should let the doctors do their job first. What if we go get a bagel or a muffin and then wait?" Derek suggests, not hungry at all but wanting to be sure his daughter would be okay

"Hmm.. kay.." Maddie sighed, her dad still carrying her

Derek carried her outside, Alex promising him he'd call the second he knew more about Meredith. Derek was in a hurry as he went to the stand outside, quickly ordering a bagel with salmon and cheese, knowing it was Maddie's favorite, just like Meredith

"Thank you daddy." Maddie took the bagel. Derek walked quickly back inside, Alex telling him there was no news yet. Meanwhile Maddie took some bites of the bagel, but she wasn't even halfway when she ditched it. "We can keep the rest for mommy." She mutters, quite exhausted from all the emotions earlier

"That's good. Lay down, princess." He kissed her head, tucking Nanas in her arms

Every single second felt like an hour, waiting anxiously for someone to come out

"Derek.." He saw Bailey walking towards him

"Bailey-" He stood up, his daughter asleep in his arms

"Derek, she's doing a bit better. She was dehydrated and very confused. We'll take some new scans tomorrow, we wanna keep her here overnight. We installed her in a room, with an extra bed for you and your daughter." Bailey told him softly, feeling horrible for the small family

"Thank you, Bailey. I'll go lay Mads down, she'll be happy to sleep close to her mom." Derek nods

"Derek, you need some sleep as well." Bailey said and guided them to Meredith's room. "We got her hooked up to a lot of monitors, fluid etc. It might be hard to see her like that." Bailey rubs Derek's back as they walk closer to the room

"I- I will. I just need to see Mer and hold her hand for a bit." He nods, fighting the tears from welling up

"Of course, Derek. Here you go. I'll come check on her in a bit." Bailey watched him walk in.

Derek placed Maddie in the spare bed, making sure the safety rails were up, he tucked her in and kissed her head. "Mommy is next to us." He whispered

Then Derek stood up and walked over to Meredith's very small and frail body. He carefully kissed her forehead, being careful to not bump into any of the wires.

"You scared us. I thought it was over." Derek whispers, he'd probably never dare telling her if she was awake. "I thought you'd be gone. Meredith, I can't live without you. Mads can't live without you." He starts sobbing

...

Some hours went by. Meredith was still sedated and asleep, Derek had finally drifted off but Maddie woke up

The little girl slowly opened her bright blue eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them right away. And then she spotted her mom. She was confused, she felt her dad's hand but her mommy looked so still. So pale.

"Mommy?" Maddie's lower lip started trembling. "Mommy?" She tried again

"Mads-" Derek woke up, feeling his daughter moving

"Daddy- Why is mommy not wakin up?" Maddie looks at her dad

"Mommy's asleep, princess. Mommy's doing a lot better." Derek said, not sure how to ease his daughter either since his own heart felt like it was being crushed

"But I want mommy to wake up!" Maddie started sobbing

"I know, princess. I want mommy to wake up too." Derek rubbed her back, holding her tight

"I wanna hug mommy!" Maddie said upset

"Hey hey." Bailey enters the room, she had heard everything, seeing it was getting out of hand

"Mommy! Mommy wake up!" Maddie started yelling louder, Derek desperately tried to calm her down but nothing seemed to work

"Doctor Grey-Shepherd, come here." Bailey lifts Maddie in her arms. "Are we gonna do rounds on your mommy?" She asks once Maddie's screams got a little more quiet

"Yeah." Maddie eventually nods. "Is mommy 'kay?" She quietly asks

"That's what we're gonna find out now." Bailey nods and smiles warmly. Meanwhile Derek exhales, watching his daughter snuggle in Bailey's arms

"Daddy, you hold nanas, please." Maddie said to her dad

Derek nods and holds Nanas in his arms while Bailey explained everything to the little girl

"This wire is to give your mommy all the fluids she needs. It's very very important. And this wire is so that she can't get sick-" Bailey kept going on to explain

"Thanks Bailey." Derek mouths, watching his daughter slowly fall asleep again in Bailey's arms

"No worries, Shepherd. We all need Meredith to be okay." Bailey sighs and hands Maddie over. "Take care of them. I'll be back in a while to check on Meredith. I'll send Alex in, he's been waiting to see her." Bailey rubs Derek's shoulder and left

————-
Hi guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! We've both been super busy and Kelsey had so much going on also.

Kelsey also wanted me to tell you guys she's sorry for the long wait for this story and her own stories. She put something up on her account apologizing as well. She's just going through a lot right now but is trying to get back into writing more again!

We hope you enjoyed this chapter and we will get another chapter out soon!