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Chapter 5

'I can’t lie to him," Meredith thought miserably to herself, 'I just cant, it's just im-freakin'-possible! What am I going to do?!!!'

"I surrender," Denny's voice interrupted her thoughts; she looked up and realized that Derek was doing a very strange victory dance on his seat. Meredith sighed.

"You shouldn't be here," a voice behind her said.

'I know that voice,' Meredith thought to her self, 'Mom.'

To be continued...

Seattle of the Living

As Chief Webber looked over the body of his former head of neuro, he couldn’t help the tears the fell. The man was not only a trusted employee, but a friend. Because of his job at the Hospital, Chief Webber didn’t have time to make many friends; his job was even ruining his marriage. The point being, he didn’t have time for much of a life outside the hospital, and he truly valued the friends he was able to make.

“That’s him,” Chief told the Coroner. The body did indeed belong to Derek, but it was just a body now. His friend was gone and would never inhabit it again. Shaking his head sadly he muttered to the body “Why’d you have to go off and get hit by a truck?”

But he knew.

Grief.

Now that was something everyone at Seattle Grace was familiar with. With the exception of pregnant women, nobody ever goes to the hospital for a happy reason. Most people are usually sick or dying. Those who aren’t are the friends and loved ones of the sick and dying. It was truly a rare experience to meet someone at the hospital during a good time in their life.

Of course everyone was familiar with it.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t hit them hard when it was one of their loved ones.

Tragic as Derek’s death was, Chief’s mission was not yet complete. One last glance at his former employee told him a truth that would take him months to accept: Derek Shepard was undeniably, irrevocably dead.

That truth in mind, he moved on to the second table in the room.

“Ellis,” he murmured softly as he looked upon the body of his former lover. He nodded to the Coroner, who respectfully accepted that as suitable identification, and covered the body with a clean white sheet just as he had done with Shepard.

Chief wiped his face with the edge of his shirt as he exited the room. As he reentered the chaotic ER, he knew there was nothing more he could do for his friends. He would attend their funerals and cry with their families, but for now there was work to be done.

It was time to focus on the living.

Seattle of the Dead

“Mom,” Meredith sighed softly, closing her eyes to count to ten. She felt Derek put his arm around her, and knew that he was attempting to comfort her. Or hold her to their current reality, Meredith really wasn’t sure which.

Truthfully, this was the last thing she needed.

“..And now I’m being selfish,” she berated herself. “My mother died, and I’m upset because it makes my decision of whether or not I’m going to stay dead even more difficult.”

“Hey mom,” she finally said, “would you like a taco?”

“Meredith this is serious,” Her mother said irritably, “you really shouldn’t be here. There are doctors down there working really hard to save you, but you’re running out of time.”

“I know,” Meredith said softly, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

Ellis Grey sighed in exasperation as she recognized one of the men seated with her daughter in the booth at Beef-in-Tortilla-Ding.

“You!” she pointed her finger accusingly at Derek, “you’re the reason this decision is so difficult for her!”

“Doctor Grey,” Denny said cheerfully in the attempt to calm everyone down, what he didn’t count on was having BOTH Doctor Grey’s round on him, “yeah, okay. Both of you. Why don’t we all just sit down and discuss this rationally?”

Meredith was all for it. Her mother however, glared at Denny, Dylan, and Bonnie.

“Who are you, and why are you here?”

“My name is Denny, and I had a stroke.”

“I’m Dylan, I blew up. If you look closely, I’m sure you can still find little bits of me near the OR.”

“Ew Dylan,” complained Bonnie, “I’m sure they’ve cleaned by now. I’m Bonnie, and I was impaled by a pole in a train accident.”

“I got hit by a truck,” commented Derek, feeling as if he should put his two sense in too.

“I drowned,” added Meredith.

“And I went into cardiac arrest,” Ellis said, completing the Dead-People-Anonymous circle.

The five dead folks sat in the booth for a rather long time. Sometimes arguing, sometimes shouting, and sometimes actually listening to what the others had to say. Finally, Ellis looked at her daughter in a whole new light.

“Meredith, you are anything but ordinary.” Ellis pulled her daughter into a big hug.

“Aw,” Meredith said, “thanks mom.”

Suddenly, all throughout Deadland there was a deafening sound. Some probably thought it was a siren of some sort, but those who had been there longest knew. As the noise got even louder it became clearer. The three surgeons sitting together in Beef-in-Tortilla-Ding stared at one another as the high-pitched sound of a heart monitor flat-lining echoed all around them.

A spot light appeared above them, and everyone in the taco joint was suddenly smiling at them and clapping their hands. Their message was clear.

Welcome Home.

Authors Note: Well, there you have it, My brilliant conclusion to the story I started writing a year ago. To those of you who are still with me, thanks, you guys are awesome. And the rest of you, ya'll are pretty great too. I apoligize for the long wait between chapters, it was due to an enormous bout of writers block and procrastination. Honestly, I'm pretty sure this is the last chapter. I might consider writing a sequel, but I'm not sure the story really needs one. Thoughts, opinions, and feedback of any kind would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading. Please review and tell me what you think.