In My Dreams II

Happy Grey's Day!

Enjoy!

The horizon was becoming too familiar. The green of the ocean and the blue white sky as comforting to her as the hugs of her children or freshly washed scrubs and the smell of antibiotic soap.

This was becoming home, and Meredith wasn't sure what to make of that.

And then...

It vanished.

Meredith woke gasping for air through her paper mask. She blinked, expecting to fade into the dark night again, back to the beach, but it didn't happen. She breathed deeply, expecting a coughing fit, but none came. What?

Strangely, despite her stiff muscles, she felt... refreshed. Like she'd woken from a deep healing sleep.

Well, she supposed she had.

The room was dark, though light shone from the hallway, illuminating the cards and the many well wishes from her friends. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the construction paper drawings from her kids. God, what she wouldn't do for one of their sweet kisses right now.

She probably should pull the call button, so the nurses would know she was awake, but...

She just needed a moment.

To breathe. And reflect that she was truly alive. And say goodbye to the beach.

xxx

Maggie and Amelia burst into her room about forty minutes later.

Oh my God, Oh my God, Mere!

It's a miracle. Meredith you are a freaking Miracle.

She rolled her eyes. But considering all that had happened in her life... Damn right I am, she muttered.

They laughed. Meredith laughed too. Laughed some more. What? She asked her shocked siblings.

You're laughing, said Maggie.

Why not?

Then they all laughed again.

Because she could.

Deluca strutted in grinning from ear to ear.

Andrew...

You really had us going, Mere, he said. I'm glad you're awake.

Me too.

Alright, I'm just going to check your lungs, okay?

Meredith knew the drill and sat up so he could check her lungs.

Ah, that's cold! She said of his stethoscope.

Deep breath please, he said.

But it tickles! She jerked under him slightly, laughing again.

He chuckled too. Lean forward, he said, placing the stethoscope on her back.

Okay, better lung sounds than yesterday, and your inflammatory markers are decreasing... but uh, how do you feel?

Like I've been asleep for a week... Or a month.

It's like that whether you have COVID or not.

You've been mostly asleep for... eight days. Deluca said.

Whew! Eight days. It felt like a lifetime. She remembered bits and pieces of people and events during her waking moments, but most of it seemed to have washed under the waves of the beach.