#hayes x meredith

[arcturusreads]

Caught Eyes From A Mile Away - My House, My Home (Chapter 1)

pairing: meredith grey x cormac hayes word count: 1142 request: yes/no prompt/summary: Meredith couldn't understand Cristina's gift. And no it wasn't down to his accent. Hayes was obnoxious, witty and gave as good as he got. The more Meredith found out about him, the more Meredith got confused about her own feelings. Cormac Hayes and Meredith Grey through season 17 because I still think they deserved better. ao3: saiwriteswords

Cormac Hayes was insufferable. Meredith couldn’t remember the last time she had wanted to kick someone so badly. In a short amount of time though, Cormac Hayes had created and put himself right at the top of a list of people she wanted to kick. This was her house. Her hospital. Her people. She’d grown up here. Done her residency here. Met her late husband here. Met Zola and had Bailey here. What right did a know-it-all, bald, Irish doctor have to come in and through his weight around? She’d had the same rant going on in her head after morning rounds. It wasn’t like she expected him to just bow down to her but maybe some basic manners from him would be welcome.

Their interaction in the CT room hadn’t helped matters.

“Maybe you haven’t seen many sarcomas.”

Who the hell did he think he was? She wasn’t some idiot intern. She was Meredith Grey. Chief of General Surgery at Grey-Sloan. But she couldn’t kick off at the new guy, especially when she had only just come back and she still wasn’t entirely sure how Bailey felt about her right now. So, she bit back a more scathing comment and instead let him know that this had been her patient a couple of years ago, hoping that would help him understand. Apparently not.

“So, your medical opinion is you did shoddy work?”

Maybe it was motherhood that mellowed her. Or maybe it was just the fact she was used to surgeons with way too big an ego doubting her capabilities. Either way, she knew that there wasn’t a point in fighting with him. Not unless it was for the sake of their patient. Her patient. But there was no way she was going to leave that room without having the last word.

She could deal with surgeons with big egos. Her husband had been one. This wasn’t new territory. Bite your tongue, take a deep breath. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to work with him too much. She could just make someone else on her service take any cases that he would need a general consult for, right? Perks of the job.

Meredith could have dealt with that thought and gotten through the rest of the day if it wasn’t for the fact that Hayes thought it was a good idea to scare Jamie and her mother with thoughts of a tumour. Was he actually insane? There was no conclusive evidence to even lead them to believe that there was a tumour. This was a kid for crying out loud! A young girl who needed her doctors to ease her worries. A single mother who needed to know that her daughter was going to be okay.

“This had got nothing to do with what I want.”

Then why scare a kid? He worked in paeds, he wasn’t some kind of intern. He should know how these kids worked, and how their parents worked. You had to have a more gentle approach with them. Meredith wasn’t just feeling angry at this point. It had turned into confusion. Why had the hospital hired him? It definitely wasn’t down to his bedside manner, that was for sure.

---

She’d had to go through an entire breathing exercise before she could go into the OR with him. She couldn’t find anyone to vent to, so it was the best that Meredith could do at the time. The minute they got the biopsy back, Meredith was ready to take over the OR. She wasn’t going to wait around and let Hayes take the reigns. Her house. Her home. She was a damn good surgeon and she knew what she was doing.

“You saw that from a scan?”

Meredith wasn’t going to even bother replying to that. Jamie had been her patient and funnily enough, a patient’s medical history did count for something.

---

Post-op Hayes showed a different side to himself. Maybe Meredith could understand why he was in paeds because a quick couple of words from him seemed to put Jamie at ease about her crush. It was a side of him that she hadn’t seen yet. And sure, they’d only been working together for a day but this was a side of him she thought she should have seen sooner considering his speciality.

---

The rest of her day had gone by pretty quickly though. Something she was glad about. And no more run-ins with Hayes, which was a relief. She really didn’t know how to read the new Co-Chief of Paediatric Surgery. She just wanted Alex to come back. She could still help with the cases, just not any of the ones that Hayes was working on.

With her shift finally done, Meredith grabbed her things from the Attendings’ Lounge and headed for the elevator. All she wanted to do was go home to her babies and grab a large glass of wine once they’d gone to bed. Hayes stepping into the elevator was not what she needed. Not at the end of a shift when she was exhausted and was still trying to figure out what Cristiana’s present was. None of the residents could find whatever gift it was she had sent. As exhausted as she was though, there was no way she could leave what had happened today slide. Meredith needed to know what Hayes had been thinking when he had scared Jamie with talks of a potential tumour.

“My wife’s doctors didn’t pay me that respect when she died.”

Oh. His wife. Late wife. Doctors. The puzzle pieces slotted into place for Meredith. She hadn’t known. How was she meant to? He was a widow. Like her. And apparently, the situation hadn’t been helped by his wife’s doctors. Maybe she could understand why he wanted to be upfront with his patients then. He didn’t want them going through the same thing as he had. Meredith still thought his delivery could use some work considering how upset Jamie had been when she’d gotten to the room but Meredith understood now.

“I can see why you were missed.”

She didn’t know what to reply to that and that wasn’t helped by the incessant pinging from her phone. When she finally looked down, it seemed like Cristina thought it was time to finally tell her what her gift was. Only, it wasn’t a thing. Cristiana had sent her a person. A full person. An Irish, Chief of Paeds if she was going to be exact. Meredith felt her stomach do a weird flip and by the time she looked back up, Hayes was walking away. She didn’t have the time to figure out what that weird stomach flip meant. Or maybe she just didn’t want to. Either way, she wanted to go home and have a large glass of wine. And maybe a long chat with Cristina.

[euripidesredux]

Extended credits for Museum at Tomorrow episode 5

Below the cut are all of the folks who I used (and asked to be credited) for recordings in Museum at Tomorrow episode 5- specifically, the "This is not for You" recordings.

(The list was too long for podcast episode descriptions)

These recordings were mixed into the soundscape of the show, heavily processed- so you may or may not be able to pick out your voice. Each unique recording is preserved as rhythem, timber, and shape within the episode.

Thank you for your work in creating the canvas of this piece.

Kate Bullen

K R Forsyth

Vega Jacobsen

Charlie

Rovi

Grace Gamble 

Wesley Lee Balete

Charlie Sloykowski

JC Hendry

Courtney Brothers

Arabella McDonald

Hanc Finestra

Katie H

Galacticguppy 

Beck Smith

GreenHeronHive

Micheal Vee

Mira Singer

Laurent J.L. Hall

Carley Mothersell

woaaah

cmt

November_Clouds

Elliott Neptune

Enrica Jossi

Ace

Jahan Shah 

Morgan Galagher

Niall LG

  Bates

Caroline Mincks

Daniel Kurtz

AJ Fidalgo

Tani

Shura

Zedek H

Halebop

Malia Northstar

Greg Ruddick

Solstice Hannan

Jessamy Thomison 

Cassie A.

Rachel Spokony

miss mr meow

Arti Richardson

Mattie J.

Geddy Cary-Avery,

 Ophelia Cary-Avery

Sophie Kaplan

X Speaks

Devin

Craux

Cap

Joe R

Ray Goldberg

Mog

The Marble System

Tina Case

Kate Bullen

Marionette

LD

Maddy Searle

Remi P

Meg Taylor

Beth

Evan Tess Murray

Amanda Jones

Amanda Ehrhardt

Nathan Fisentzou-Haji-Leonti

Johanna Andersson

Tess Huth

@faeriebullshit

Olivia Lion

Ange

Bridget M. Mueting

Wil Williams

Katie Utke

aceofgames

Savy Stay

Graham Rowat

Meredith

spaceacebreakface 

Molly Walsh

Belinda Parker

Erin Celovsky

liz

Caden Osojnak

Danniac 

Ray Schrader

Atlas Byrd

AJ. S.

JayseHasNoGrace

Fay Blackmore

Sharon Peterson

Katharina Abschlag 

Izzy

Ace Tayloe

kat B

Siz Hart

moth

Kathryn Cox

G. Honnigford

Pine Gonzalez

sisyphus

Essay

artie eigengrau

Rook Davis

Izzi Mata

grayson

Tamara Jones

Willow

G.F.

Leigh sharpe

Zelda MacFarland

Arkyn Wolf

Elany

Elaine Wiley

Mary Lewis-Phillipps

Claudia Elvidge

Kei Burke

Katie Vargas

Karleen Preator

Alicia Babich

Jonathan Sciance

Étoile

Hayden Laver

Barrett Vann

S Kramer

Maya Hiers-Lairson

judas

Archer Hickerson

Malinda

Nicole Liang

LF Haye

Louis Carroll

Stefanie K.

Autumn Wang 

jayvin

Badger Merriweather

Aiden

Sender Paulson

vexxervee

Rob Weiner

Peril

Lotte Schmidt 

fynn

Lor

Josie D. 

Jaryn Tyson

Common Blue Icarus

resplendeo

Claire Alpern

skelejor

Matt Weiss

M Zemlock

Kay Eileen

Callisto Holmes

Rhys

Noah Quinn

Sarah Elizabeth

Willow Belden

Amanda McCormack

Esrah Del Carlo

sunny

the Hartmans

Lee Ann Eden

Bob Proctor

Clueless

deda eliensis

Ohallo

Tara Schile

Marzi 

Flameheart Dryad

Sarah Lambrix 

JB Segal 

Ellis C

Ash

Autumn

Jaime Tamar

Haze Peers

Moose

Erin Bevan

Luci Tomich

Bryn

Michael W.

Kim Fukawa

Amy Strieter

Petra Hall

Mal

Charlie Rayshich

Susan Weiner

Everett Blackthorne

Vergess

Tor

ArionWind

M. Alti

N. B. Green

Aiden Nicholson

Jacky Rubou

Nura Lawrence

Gwen Clancy

Ollie M.

Caroline

Duo

Iris

ML Beck

Ray Makowski

Eljay Rich

MV8

Michelle Pigott

Rachel Pfennigwerth

Janika

Jamie Gump

Mason J Miller

Ella Watts

Cole

Mady Oswald

Valerie "ShinyHappyGoth" Kaplan

Anne Baird

Emily Ricotta

el-draco-bizarro

Ansel Burch

Nathan Sowell

LM Heß

Cy

Richard Peers

[fruitcakebimbo]

Okay but like… Meredith x DeLuca x Hayes…

[chachkayes]

if this is what heaven looks like after death i cannot wait to die

[jazy3]

I could watch this video a thousand times! They’re so great together! My heart!

[buckleys-diaz]

S18E01 - HERE COMES THE SUN

bonus:

[redhairedwolfwitch]

Doctor Y/n - Attending Orthopedic Surgeon - 7 - Grey's Anatomy x Fem!Reader

"Hey, you okay?"

You looked up, propping yourself up on your elbows as Teddy walked into the on-call room.

"Yeah, sorry, I just needed a minute to... Meredith's going home!"

"She's going home? Hell yes!" You smiled, watching Teddy walk around the room excitedly.

"I mean, I haven't had good news, since forever, and I-I know that we are still in the thick of things, but we're finally getting a handle on how to treat this. I actually feel hope!" Teddy grinned, her grin faltering into a smirk as she finally noticed you laying on the on-call room bed.

"What's with the smirk- oh!" You squeaked, cheeks feeling like they were burning as Teddy launched herself at you, pulling you into a kiss as her hands ran under your scrub top.

///

Joey: first day in OB

Braces: good luck, resident

Joey: you're a little shit

Braces: that's no way to talk to your superiors

Joey: omg

Braces: i'm kidding

///

"You called these guys?" Teddy stuttered as it was revealed that Winston had called Link and Owen up to the COVID ward.

"They said it was slow downstairs." Winston admitted as Link chuckled.

"Y/n and Nico have it covered."

///

Joey: Jackson's leaving for Boston?

Braces: damn, happy travels to him

Joey: no breakdown over someone leaving?

Braces: you were closer to him than me

Joey: he thanked me

Braces: didn't need to know that

Braces: least he didn't say goodbye in a letter:/

Joey: you're not allowed to leave me any time soon

Braces: I'm never leaving you

///

"Sorry, it's just the new guy, trying to get the lay of the land. Alright, I couldn't help but notice earlier, you and Altman-"

"Teddy and I are just friends and co-parents. Teddy is dating Doctor S/n... I can't really explain it all." Owen admitted, shaking his head as Winston looked confused.

///

"Hey, Avery! Send some postcards from Boston, yeah?" You smiled, spotting Jackson leaving Meredith's room.

"Are you going to send me postcards of Seattle?" He smiled, chuckling as you stopped to consider it.

"Is that you asking for postcards of Seattle? You going to miss the west coast that much?" You teased, smiling as Jackson rolled his eyes.

"Give 'em hell, S/n. You, Jo and Teddy, the three of you are a force to be reckoned with." Jackson nodded before walking away, leaving you to smile as you watched him go down the corridor.

"Give them hell, Avery, and change things for the better."

////

"Braces! Teddy! Come on, it's time for Meredith's clap out!" Jo shouted down the hallway, breaking out into a jog as you and Teddy ran to catch up, heading down to stand outside of the ER.

"Okay, okay, okay, folks, I know we're excited, but you're gonna spoil the surprise, so let's keep it down until Perez wheels her out, okay?" Bailey instructed, waving at you, Jo and Teddy to get out of the way and stand near Owen so the ER doors wouldn't be obstructed.

"What happened?"

"uh, Doctor Grey is not in her room and all of her things are gone." Perez explained as he wheeled out an empty wheelchair.

"Hahaha, nice one Grey... evening everybody!" Hayes waved, heading back into the ER.

"Grey made a run for it and bypassed the crowd!" You realised, laughing as Jo, Teddy and Owen looked confused and Bailey wondered where the hell Meredith was.

///

"Hey, I'm going to go up to talk to Luna." Jo smiled, quirking a brow as she noticed how you and Teddy kept sharing looks.

"I'll come up later and see you both, if that's alright?" You enquired, barely taking your eyes off of Teddy as Jo smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I think the on-call room is free by the way, but I know you two have a thing with supply closets-"

"Not the orgy supply closet joke again." You grumbled, biting your lip as Teddy held your waist.

"I'm not letting you hear the end of it, and neither is Callie or Arizona, and I think Bailey would rather forget what she think she walked in on, to be honest." Jo teased before she headed up to see Luna.

"So... on-call room?" Teddy whispered, smiling as you nodded, a mischievous smile crossing your lips.

/// Time Skip /// Week One ///

"Has anyone seen my keys?" Jo enquired, looking around as you sat with Allison in the high chair, trying to get her to eat her breakfast.

"Uh, here!" You called out, flicking the keys at Jo.

"Oh, lovely, they have... whatever Allison is eating on them, thanks Ally." Jo grumbled, wiping the keys with a towel.

"She's not enjoying her oatmeal... probably because it's oatmeal." You replied, trying to persuade Allison to eat the incoming airplane of oatmeal as Jo got ready for work.

///

Joey: Luna's legal guardian sucks

Braces: I honestly forgot social services gives legal guardians

Braces: because you act like her legal guardian/parent, y'know

/// Time Skip /// Week 2///

Joey: Luna's guardian is glad she doesn't have to think about her because Hayes and I look after her

Braces: fuck that, i hate social services

Braces: we don't even know if my recorded birthday is my birthday because of them

Joey: we haven't celebrated your birth-month since before we were interns

Braces: maybe post-pandemic

Joey: i want to adopt Luna

Braces: I'm gonna be an aunt?

Joey: why are you so chill about this?

Braces: because you've basically been Luna's unofficial parent since Val died

Joey: I just never thought I'd be doing it alone

Braces: you've got me

Joey: you wanna raise a baby with me?

Braces: you're basically Allison's auntie Jo, let's be real, Allison loves you and the apartment is basically a matrifocal compound

Braces: I know you don't plan on living with us forever but

Joey: I don't want to think about men right now

Braces: fruity

Braces: I don't think about men really ever

Joey: shush you

/// Time Skip /// Week Three ///

"Okay, so what's the hold-up? Sorry, are we not thinking you're going to adopt Luna yourself?" Link enquired as Jo complained about Luna's social worker.

"Okay, it's crossed my mind, and I talked to Braces... I never pictured myself doing this alone... but Braces wants to help, and the three of us have talked about moving into a bigger place, a bigger 'matrifocal compound' as Braces calls it. Maybe it's the pandemic or the fact I felt connected to Luna's mom, or because Luna's perfect and I completely fricking love her." Jo admitted, leaving Link to grin.

"I think you can stop asking yourself if you can do it, Jo. You already are." Link patted Jo on the shoulder before walking away.

///

Joey: I want to adopt Luna

Braces: you're going to be an amazing mom

///

"Hey, can we talk?"

Your voice had Teddy snapping up from where she had been leaning on the railing.

"Hey, whoah, breathe, it's good, I think?" You chewed your lip, trying to calm Teddy down as she looked worriedly at you.

"What's going on?"

"Jo wants to adopt Luna... and I want to help her raise Luna, but I want your opinion, because we already have Allison with three parents and-"

"Would Jo still live with us whilst raising Luna? Because I think Allison would love a little sister." Teddy replied, watching for your reaction.

"She'd still live with us, because Jo needs us, and I need her, and then she was all 'i don't want to think about men right now'-"

"Then yes, but we're going to need a bigger place, and the dynamic is going to be very different..." Teddy replied, biting her lip as she began to overthink.

"Hey, it'll all fall into place, it's going to be hellish at first, but it's always hellish when there's babies involved and you don't have a routine yet-" Teddy cut off your rambles by pulling you into a hug, letting out a chuckle as your voice was muffled by her.

/// Time Skip /// Week Four ///

"I'm her mom. I'm gonna- I wanna be her mom." Jo exclaimed, letting out heavy breaths as she watched Luna be put on manual respiration after she aspirated.

/// Time Skip /// Week Five ///

"Her chest x-rays still shows aspiration pneumonia. We'll keep her on antibiotics and see if we can extubate her next week." Hayes explained as he found you and Jo sat at Luna's PICU incubator.

"Should probably call Carmen." Jo grumbled, looking down at Luna as Hayes pulled up a seat to sit with the three of you.

"Ah. It can wait. Wouldn't be a normal day if a parent or guardian wasn't mad with me about something." Hayes chuckled, leaving Jo to let out a quick chuckle too, "of course, when you become her legal guardian, I'll deny that I said that."

"If she lives long enough for the paperwork to go through." Jo sighed, rolling her eyes as you scoffed.

"If Luna is anything like you, she's a fighter, and a survivor."

"Were you here again all night?" Hayes enquired, glancing between you and Jo.

"If I went into cardiac arrest and had a tube shoved down my throat, I wouldn't want to be alone. Plus, Braces wouldn't leave my side, she's stubborn like that." Jo admitted, looking up at you as you smiled softly at Luna.

/// Time Skip /// Week Six ///

Joey: I failed my background check

Braces: ???

Braces: fuck

Braces: I'm sorry Jo

///

You were laying on the couch, watching Allison sit on her floor mat and play with her toys, when Jo walked in.

"Hey- oh, okay, okay..." you whispered, immediately wrapping your arms around Jo, as she all put flopped on the couch, on top of you, sobbing into your shoulder as Allison went quiet, watching the scene in confusion.

You already had a basic idea of what was wrong though.

Jo wanted Luna.

Jo wanted her daughter.

///

Tags: @nnightskiess @emskisworld @multifandomlesbianic @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived @inquisitive-nix @fire-and-blood-targaryen @unexpected-character

[amybennixox]

just curious how many #merhayes fans are there?? i m like a hardcore merhayes fan and still routing for them to be endgame so was just wondering if there’s anyone else hoping this too?

[ssa-kitsune1310]

I'm gonna go and rewatch greys anatomy. Starting from when Hayes first appeared. I just can't believe that he's really leaving. I'm going to really miss him. He was one of the best characters in Greys Anatomy. I wish the producers had created more scenes of him and Meredith. Them doing surgeries together or just hanging out. Because even though they had the potential to become a really good couple, they were also really good friends that understood each other. Again, I'm gonna miss you Dr. Cormac Hayes.

[shamelessbluebirdsong]

Did anyone else have that small thought that Grey’s Anatomy should end because they keep recycling old storylines, but now doesn’t want it to end because they love Cormac Hayes and wishes he had more scenes?

[jazy3]

This is hilarious! He hates set ups! He doesn’t even know he’s in one! And Jo’s sure not going to tell him. Where would be the fun in that? He’s right too. People are talking about his personal life when he’s not around. Specifically the fact that Cristina set him up with Meredith and everyone’s into it. I love it so much!

↳ Grey’s Anatomy ↬ 16x21— “Put on a Happy Face”

[arcturusreads]

still taking prompts? Ellis gets her tonsils out and she demands all the attention from the king of peds. Mer falls for him even more.

Tonsilitis - Merhayes

Sorry this took a while but I hope you enjoy! x

Three bouts of tonsilitis and tonsils now so big they were causing obstructive sleep apnoea was what had led young Ellis Grey into the hospital for surgery.

“My throat’s itchy, momma!” Ellis whined, clinging on to Meredith’s hand as they made their way into the hospital.

“I know, baby but we’re going to get it all sorted today. I promise.”

Ellis pouted, not happy that there wasn’t an immediate cure to her problem. The itchiness and discomfort had been bugging her for a few days and the frustration had made her burst into tears a few times. Meredith had known that Ellis wouldn’t have been able to have them out since most doctors wouldn’t have thought she had been infected “enough” times but when Ellis had woken up crying, calling out for her mum because she’d be struggling to breathe, Meredith knew that her daughter needed to get her tonsils out. The difficulty in breathing scared Meredith to no end.

After calling the hospital and assuring her kids that their little sister was going to be fine and they could visit her as soon as they finished school, Meredith and Ellis made their way to Grey-Sloan. Every cough and wince from her little girl broke Meredith’s heart. She couldn’t get her into the hospital quick enough.

“Momma, do I get to see Dr Mac?”

It wasn’t lost on Meredith that the past few times the kids had come to see her at work that Hayes always seemed to be around. Ellis was entranced by his accent, Bailey loving the fact that there was someone he could talk to soccer about and Zola had listened with earnestness to every story Cormac could tell her about Ireland.

“I’m not sure, sweetie. Dr Hayes is very busy and there might be other patients that he needs to see.” They stepped into the elevator and Meredith pressed the button to take them to the paediatrics ward.

Ellis thought for a moment before answering, “But momma, I thought I was going to be a patient?” she was slightly confused.

Meredith smiled down at her, swinging her joined hands. “You are but Dr Hayes but Dr Hayes is Chief of the department so he might have some very sick patients to see.” A tonsillectomy didn’t exactly require the Chief of Paediatric surgery but Meredith had to secretly admit that she hoped Cormac would be around to carry out the procedure. It wasn’t a major surgery but if her daughter was going under the knife, she needed someone she trusted to be holding the scalpel.

“Hmm…” Ellis still wasn’t too sure about the explanation.

When they finally made it to the ward, Meredith checked Ellis in at the nurses’ station and waited for the nurse to find her file.

“Excuse me!” Ellis grinned up at the nurse who smiled at her.

“Hi there, sweetie, is everything okay?”

She nodded vigorously, “Is Dr Mac working today?”

“Dr Mac?”

“Momma says he’s in charge here and he has a funny accent!”

Meredith didn’t know whether to laugh or to wince, “Sweetie, we don’t say that Dr Hayes has a funny accent.”

“Sorry momma,” she have Meredith a cheeky smile.

The nurse chuckled, “You’re looking for Dr Hayes? You’re in luck, he’s working today and I think he just got out of surgery.”

“Oh, we’ll be happy to see whoever free at the moment, won’t be, Ellis?” She looked down at her daughter who shook her head with conviction and a pout.

Giving Ellis a gently smile, the nurse whispered, “I’ll see what I can do for you, honey.”

The response was enough to melt Ellis’ pout into a grin. Once the nurse had pulled up Ellis’ file, Meredith led her into one of the examination rooms and lifted her onto the bed. Ellis kicked her legs back staying uncharacteristically quiet since her throat had begun to ache again.

They hadn’t waited for too long when there was a light tap on the door and Cormac popped his head around.

“Am I alright to come in?”

Ellis’ grin was so large, all her teeth were on show. “Dr Mac!” She squealed in delight before almost immediately wincing again.

“Baby, you’re gonna hurt yourself if you yell like that,” Meredith kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back.

Cormac fully entered the room, shutting the door behind him. “I heard that there was a little Miss Grey here asking to see me?”

Quietly giggling, Ellis was bouncing up and down as she nodded at him making Cormac chuckle.

“Hayes, you really don’t have to do this,” Meredith whispered knowing that Ellis wouldn’t be pleased if she sent him away.

“Nonsense, I have some free time in my schedule and I can’t keep away from this little cutie now, can I?” the comment ignited a fresh set of giggles from the youngest Grey-Shepard. “Now what seems to be the problem here?” Cormac pulled a stool over and sat down in front of Ellis.

“My throat hurt and it's itchy and my… my…” She looked up at Meredith trying to remember the word.

“Tonsils,” Meredith gently encouraged.

“Tonsils!” Ellis winced from the sudden yell and brought her voice back to a whisper. “Tonsils are big momma said.”

“Well, that’s just not going to do, is it?”

Cormac checked her tonsils before doing a quick swab to send to the lab. Whilst Meredith knew that he was just going his job, Meredith felt her stomach do backflips when she saw how gentle Cormac was being with her daughter, how he checked in on her with every step and made sure she wasn’t scared. The way he would crack a joke or make a funny face to take Ellis’ mind off the discomfort that she was feeling.

“No surprise but looks like you’re right, Grey. I need to send the swab off just to confirm but I’m going to book her surgery in for this morning if that’s alright. I’ve got some time so I can do it.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind doing the surgery?” She didn’t want to bother him if he had other surgeries going on.

Ellis huffed out a breath making both adults turn to her. “No surgery unless Dr Mac is there,” she demanded crossing her arms over her chest

Cormac held out his little finger to Ellis, “I pinky promise I’ll be the one doing your surgery.”

Ellis looped her pawn finger with his, “Okay then!”

Meredith’s heart fluttered seeing the scene. ‘Get a grip.’ She yelled to herself. The more control she tried to gain, the more her heart continued to fly with her stomach doing acrobatics.

***

Cormac’s schedule must have been fairly clear because it wasn’t long before Ellis was able to go in for surgery. Amelia had joined Meredith in the family area, knowing that Meredith would be going out of her mind with worry even though the procedure didn’t hold many risks. It was one that Cormac would be a seasoned pro at. Eventually, Meredith caught sight of a black scrub cap and immediately stood up. The smile on Cormac’s face eased her worries.

“She’s fine, Grey. Got them both out clean. She’s in recovery right now but it won’t be long before we move her back to her room.”

Meredith let out a sigh of relief, “Thank you so much for doing this.” She fought the urge not to hug him. ‘It was a routine surgery, Meredith. Anyone could have done it,” she forced herself to remember. Anyone could have done it and Cormac knew that but even as the Chief of Paeds, he still insisted on being the one to carry out the surgery and that was what Meredith couldn’t get out of her head.

Cormac shook his head, “You don’t need to thank me, Grey. Go on, head up to her room because I don’t think she’s going to be too happy if she wakes up and you aren’t there.”

***

When Ellis finally came around, she was all smiles. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the room before she set eyes on her mum.

“Hi there, Ellie Belle.”

“Momma,” she croaked out slightly groggy. “All done?”

Meredith gave her hand a squeeze, “All done, brave girl.” She felt more at ease knowing that her daughter was awake and talking.

Ellis shifted over in her bed, asking Meredith to join her. “Can you tell me a story please?”

Stroking her little girl’s blonde hair, Meredith grabbed ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ from the side table. She’d gotten it ready knowing that Ellis would have wanted her to read something. They were midway through the story when Cormac walked into the room, hands in the pockets of his lab coat.

“Just wanted to check in to see how our little trooper was doing.” An easy smile was on his face and Meredith fought to tear her eyes away from him in case he caught her staring.

Immediately losing interest in the book, Elli gave Cormac all her attention. “Dr Mac thank you!” She held out both of her arms and Cormac walked over before hugging her.

“It was my pleasure,” the sincerity in his tone made Meredith melt a little.

“Will you finish the story please?” She took the book that now rested on the bed and held it out to Cormac.

Cormac arched an eyebrow and Meredith laughed, “I’m not sure whether I should be offended that my daughter doesn’t want me to read to her.”

Worried she’d upset her mother; Ellis threw her arms around Meredith and kissed her cheek. “I love you loads, momma but Dr Mac has an accent.” The novelty of the Irish accent wasn’t going to wear off anytime soon.

“I love you too, Ellie Belle but Dr Hayes might be a bit busy with other patients right now so he might not have the time to read to you. The other kids need him to help too.”

“Oh,” Ellis nodded in understanding. “Sorry, Dr Mac.”

Cormac shook her head, dragging the armchair over to the bed and gently taking the book from the little girl. “You’re in luck, I don’t have any other patients to see to right now, so I think I’m going to be able to finish reading this book to you.” He gave her a wink and looked at the book cover. “No way!”

“What?” Ellis was suddenly worried that Cormac didn’t like one of her favourite books.

“I love this story!”

“Really?”

Cormac nodded and the two of them launched into a conversation about their favourite parts. Meredith could have listened to the two of them talk all day. She loved seeing how intently Cormac would listen to everything Ellis had to say, never hurrying her or seeming annoyed at her constant babbling. He listened and he cared. The moment was cut short, however, when Meredith's stomach growled loudly.

“Momma, you’re the very hungry caterpillar!” Ellis quickly pointed out.

Embarrassed at her stomach picking that very moment to make an announcement, Meredith muttered a sorry to Cormac.

“How about you head down to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat, Grey, whilst Ellis and I finish the book?”

She hesitated for a moment; it was no lie that she was starving having not had anything to eat since dinner last night. “I can’t just leave you here, you have work.”

Cormac waved off her arguments, “I think my department will survive, you might not if you don’t eat soon. So, go!”

Meredith looked down at her daughter, “Do you mind if momma goes to get something to eat?”

Ellis shook her head, “Nope, I’ve got Dr Mac.” Meredith was pretty sure Ellis wouldn’t even notice if she didn’t come back as long as Cormac was around.

Shuffling out of the bed, Meredith grabbed her handbag and kissed Ellis’ cheek, “Momma won’t be long.” But Ellis had already launched into a new conversation with Cormac.

She quickly grabbed a bagel and some coffee before heading back up to the room. Even though Cormac had said he had the time to read to Ellis, she didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness. She knew Ellis could be a little demanding at times and she didn’t want him to feel as though he was under any obligation to stick around.

As she walked back onto the paediatric floor, she looked through the window of Ellis’ room to see her daughter hysterically laughing at something Cormac had said.

“It’s really sweet of him,” the sound of a nurse’s voice behind her made Meredith jump.

“I’m sorry, what’s really sweet of who?” She was a little confused.

“Dr Hayes, him sticking around for so long after his shift.” There was a dreamy smile on the nurse’s face that caused a wave of jealousy to roll over Meredith but she quickly pushed that feeling aside.

“When did his shift finish?” She pressed.

The nurse looked down at her watch, “Probably around three hours ago now?”

Furrowing her brow, Meredith balanced the bagel and coffee in one hand as she pulled out her phone to look at the time. If Cormac’s shift had finished three hours ago then he should have been clocking off as she had come in with Ellis. As the nurse wandered off, Meredith looked through the window again, not fighting against the smile on her lips. Knowing that Cormac was willingly spending his free time with her daughter brought down every single defence mechanism that Meredith had had in place since Derek’s death. What was this man doing to her?

[chachkayes]

You Get What You Give - Merhayes

Inspired by this anon, sorry Clo but I stole this one from you. You can still do your Mernick idea but this one is mine now! This will NOT be getting a pt. 2.

“Nick, you’re a great guy, and I have enjoyed our time together – really. But-“ Meredith stood bashfully in front of her soon-to-be ex, in the middle of the airport, about to head back to Seattle. Nick ran his hand through his hair, and finally looked Meredith in the eye, cutting her off.

“But you’re still in love with the other guy.” He could barely hear her whisper he has a name before he saw her nod. “It’s cool, I mean, I can’t say I’m not disappointed – but you deserve to be happy. And if he’s who makes you happy, and what you want, then it’s cool.” He smiled sadly at her, and a pang went through her heart, knowing she was leaving him. But it was for the best. The entire time she was with him, all she could think about was Hayes. And it felt unfair to Nick to continue seeing him when she could only think about someone else.

“I’m sorry, and thank you. You deserve to be happy too.” Meredith squeezed Nick’s hand, and said a quick, soft goodbye before heading to her boarding gate.

-----------

By the time Meredith got back to Seattle, her only mission was to find Hayes and ask him out on a proper date. She didn’t want to waste time anymore.

MG: You around?

…

CH: Almost off shift. Why?

MG: Can you meet me at my parking spot when you get off? It’s important.

CH: Sure, be there in 15.

------------

Hayes had no idea what on earth Meredith could need or want so late at night, and he was surprised that she’d texted him so quickly when he knew she’d just got off her plane. He figured she’d want to head straight home to her kids.

“Hey – what’s going on?” Meredith heard Hayes call out from behind her, and she felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She quickly spun around and smiled at him.

“Go out with me. On a date. A proper one.” She said as soon as he approached her. “Woah, wait – what?”

“I want to give us another chance, a real, earnest chance.” Meredith said to him, making direct eye contact with the man.

A second goes by, a surprised look on his face, no response. He thinks it over in his head.

This is the one thing he’d been waiting for her to ask him for so long – for timing to finally be on their side. For them to finally be together, with nothing in their way. And he’d have said yes with no hesitation if he didn’t know about who she’d just been with.

“I’m sorry, Grey. I can’t.” He said, diverting his eyes from hers. And now the surprised look found itself on her face.

“What, why? I thought you said Austin was doing better?”

“It’s not because of Austin. I… Grey, I heard about the guy from Minnesota.” Meredith’s eyes went wide. She hadn’t told him about Nick. “Wait – how?”

“Overheard Shepherd talking to Pierce about it.” She could feel his eyes piercing into her, and yet somehow, she couldn’t look away.

“Hayes, I’m-“

“Don’t. I don’t know what happened, and why you’re here now, and frankly I don’t want to know. But I do want to know why you didn’t tell me you were seeing this guy in the first place, yourself – why I had to overhear it accidentally from your sister. Why I’m always the fallback. I can’t go on a date with you because I need to stop letting you treat me like the second choice, the person you go to when things go wrong in another relationship. I am perfectly content just being your friend, and I will never regret having you in my life. But I need to respect myself enough to remove myself from a situation where I’m not a first choice. I’m sorry Grey – but I can’t do this anymore.” Meredith was speechless. His stoic stance and facial expressions showed no remorse. She had really screwed up.

“I’m sure the Minnesota guy is great, and I hope you can go back to him and live happily ever after. But I need to just be in your life as a friend right now. I need to know that I’m not just a fallback. Abby wouldn’t want that for me – I don’t want that for me.”

“Hayes – you’re not a fallback. You’re not a second choice.” Meredith said, tears threatening to fall, an intense desperation behind her voice. No man had made her feel the way he did, and she hated that she made him feel like she only wanted him when someone else didn’t.

“Then prove it. But don’t be surprised if I move on. All Abby wanted for me was to be happy.” And with that, he walked away from Meredith, over to his car and drove away, leaving her standing alone, filled with immense regret and shame over how badly she screwed things up with him.

And she didn’t know how to fix it.

[jazy3]

MerDer Beach Thoughts 17X13

I loved seeing Meredith and Derek talk about their kids and Amelia on the beach and I loved their beach wedding. But the thing I loved most about the beach scenes was when Meredith asked him if he had been watching over her and had seen her the last one to two years and cringed when she said it. Then Derek grimaced back and said it was hard watching her be lonely. I feel like there are a lot of ways to interpret that scene so here’s my take. I really loved that exchange because at this point Derek has been dead about five years so averaging about one year per season the last one to two years would encompass seasons 15 and 16. During that time Meredith was single, went on blind dates that her friends and CeCe the matchmaker set her up on, and dated DeLuca on and off for several months. 

I loved Derek’s line because Meredith was cringing when she said that because she knew she’d made mistakes and that would have been hard for Derek to watch. I love that he told her it was hard watching her be lonely because you can be lonely if you are alone but you can also be lonely if you are in a relationship that's not right for you that makes you feel alone. Meredith talks about this very thing in one of the earlier seasons. The romantic storylines they’ve given Meredith over the last couple of seasons have not been well received on the whole so I’m glad they addressed that. I was wondering if they would and I know other fans were too and I was definitely one of those people that liked the potential of Meredith starting to date again but didn’t like where that storyline ended up. I felt like Derek and Meredith (and by extension Patrick and Ellen) were echoing what a lot of fans have been feeling the last few years in that scene. I love that they addressed that in a subtle way that made sense. 

Derek doesn’t want Meredith to be lonely and he told her often in life that he didn’t want her to be alone which is why he pushed her to open up to the idea of having kids and having sisters in her life. If something ever happened to him, like what happened to his Dad, he didn’t want her to be alone. He wanted her to be surrounded by love. If you take those comments in conjunction with what Derek says earlier on the beach when he tells Meredith she should hear Hayes out it really felt to me like he was giving her his blessing to be happy with someone who could really love her and be a part of the family. Who could love her and the kids the way they deserve to be loved because he can’t be with them anymore. I think Hayes could be that person and Derek and Cristina clearly think so. As do Amelia, Maggie, and Jo which warms my heart. Meredith deserves someone amazing who loves her for her and who is impressed by her but not intimidated. 

Who really loves kids and can be a parent to hers. Who can be her partner and stand beside her not in competition with her. Who can be a part of the friend group and a part of her family. Hayes is well liked by her friends and family and is well respected at work for being a good doctor and an excellent surgeon who cares about his patients and who people trust. I can’t wait to see the scene between Meredith and Hayes when he finds out she’s awake and doing better. More than anything I want to see them have that drink and get together. I want to see Meredith get to know his boys the way he’s gotten to know her kids while she’s been sick. I want to see him spend time with Link and Winston and become friends with them. I’ve been waiting ever since the elevator scene when we found out he was a gift from Cristina for this and I think we’re about to get there. 

[jazy3]

Oh my god! It’s finally happening! He asked her out! She said YES! They’re going to go out on a date to get drinks some other time when she’s not so exhausted! He’s so smitten! She’s so into him! My heart!

Grey.

[thedefinitionofendgame]

18.02 grey's anatomy *spoilers* opinions:

go Jo & Link parenting as friends for the win ;)

Helm and Schmitt being competitive was super funny ahhh

Megan and Hayes? Meghayes? What is this new season?! (not saying it's a bad thing lol, I'm indifferent)

Levi going solo was amazing. And his intern year helping was everything, please. THIS IS GREY'S ANATOMY.

honestly don't know what I feel about Mer & Nick

but the decision to work on the new case splitting time between Seattle and Minnesota is a great idea/compromise

also get ready cause next week, ADDISON MONTGOMERY RETURNS