Title: Ever Churning Sea.
Summary: Derek swam desperately, but his arms cut through the water ineffectually, as if this was a dead space where the laws of physics didn't apply. The harder he tried to swim the slower he seemed to go, the farther into the depths his baby girl sunk.
Rating: K+
Warnings: Angst.
Spoilers: Season 7 finale and Season 3 episodes 16 and 17.
Wordcount: 300.
A/N: This plotbunny struck me in the middle of the night and I couldn't let it go because it's been AGES since I wrote anything. It's my first time in this fandom, but I'm a long time fan of the show so I'm hoping I've done this justice. Please review and tell me if I have; it's been so long since I had any lovely reviews I'm experiencing withdrawal symptoms.


Meredith was sinking. Her skin was tinged grey, seeming almost translucent against the mottled, storm-coloured water. Her blonde hair floated up like seaweed, her eyes closed and unknowing, uncaring.

Derek took all this in almost calmly until his gaze met his wife's arms, because there baby Zola floated, still squirming in the cold, cold water. Her mouth was open in a tiny, helpless O, bubbles of air leaving her in an unrelenting stream.

Derek swam desperately, but his arms cut through the water ineffectually, as if this was a dead space where the laws of physics didn't apply. The harder he tried to swim the slower he seemed to go, the farther into the depths his baby girl sunk.

Zola's eyes remained wide open, brown and beautiful and begging, still encased in her adoptive-mother's grasp. He tried in vain to push, but the water seemed to be getting thicker. It churned around him, pressing into the sockets of his eyes and taking his daughter away.

His eyes shot open and starlight assaulted his corneas. He took in the view of the night sky past beams of wood, but couldn't connect it to anything that made sense. His sense of where he was came back as he tried to calm his heaving chest.

Sitting up cautiously, Derek winced at the effect of dirt flooring on his aging back. He rested his head in his hands as memories of that terrible day at the harbour. The stark difference between his fears in the dream and those of the actual day shocked him. Back then Meredith had been all he could think about, but this time some instinct had told him that she was already beyond his grasp. Some part of him had given up on saving her before he'd even begun.


A/N: Just to be clear this in no way means I'm on Derek's side in their whole argument. Oh, and review? =)