Meredith opened the doors to her house, and she and Hayes were met with laughter and joy from every room, and the smell of turkey radiating throughout the house. The laughter died down very quickly as everyone realized Hayes and Meredith had entered. Bailey was sipping on a glass of wine and eyeing the couple up and down from a corner in the kitchen. Meredith played it cool, taking off her jacket. Hayes did too and looked around to see who all was where. Link held Caleb as he sat on the couch, and waved Hayes over to come sit down beside him, Owen, and Jackson.
"I'll be right back down; I'm going to go get changed. I feel a little under-dressed." Meredith said to Hayes with a slight chuckle. "Sounds good." He gave her hand a quick squeeze, and then walked over to the group of men who were laughing at Harriet, who was reaching out her little hand and trying to pet the baby. Meredith quickly ran upstairs and got changed into something a little fancier and sexier. She grabbed her phone, and texted Cristina, asking her when she wanted Mer to facetime her. Then, she headed downstairs to see her the kids, her sisters, friends, and now boyfriend. She walked over to Link, who was showing off his son to anyone and everyone.
"Alright, I want some time with my nephew. Pass him here, Lincoln." Meredith said, with her arms extended, ready to hold Caleb. She could sense Hayes eyeing her up and down, but she decided she'd let him stare a little longer before joining him on the couch. Link begrudgingly passed Caleb off to Meredith, who quickly cradled the 2-month-old baby, kissing his little head and cooing at him. She kissed the top of Zola's head, who said hi to her mom and cousin, then headed up to her room, where Joey, Tuck, Bailey, and Ellis were. Mer headed into the kitchen where April, Teddy, and Maggie were finishing things up with dinner - and Amelia, Jo, and Bailey were seated at the island, all smiling and smirking at her. Bailey was still eyeing her. Meredith had figured that Amelia or Maggie would tell all the adults about the date, and by the smirks and stares at her from the women in the kitchen, and the slight teasing from the men to Hayes, she knew that she was right. Lucky for Meredith, the baby was a good enough distraction for the ladies in the kitchen that the subject wasn't going to be brought up just yet.
Amelia stood up and hugged her sister from the side, while running her hand over her son's head, as he dozed off to sleep in his Aunt's arms. She gave him a quick kiss and motioned for Meredith to sit down beside her. Meredith stood over beside Amelia's shoulder, but didn't sit down since she was rocking the baby to sleep.
"You know, you're pretty lucky. Ellis and Bailey were never this easy to rock to sleep when they were babies." Meredith said with a smile to her sister. Maggie turned around from her station at the kitchen and placed a small kiss on her nephew's forehead.
"Oh, he's just so perfect." Maggie fawned over the infant. "I know, we made a perfect kid." Amelia smiled brightly. Meredith looked over and gave a thumbs up to Link, who was smiling with so much love and pride over his son. Her eyes glanced over, meeting Hayes's eyes. He looked down at Caleb, then back at her and gave her a warm smile which she reciprocated. She looked back down at her nephew, who was now fast asleep.
"So…" Amelia started. Meredith knew that Amelia had seen the smile shared between the new couple, which meant copious amounts of teasing from all the ladies in the kitchen was about to ensue. "Tell us about that date." She finished. Bailey chimed in, "yeah, Grey… what's that all about?" Meredith could sense every eye on her, and every ear waiting to hear about the date. The men especially, who had tried multiple times but hadn't gotten a word out of Hayes. "We walked around at the Arboretum. That's it." She explained – and she was technically telling the truth. She just left out a singular important detail. "Mhmmm… you guys and your dating hospital staff. Do you know how many HR relationship reports I get each month at this point?" Bailey said, judging Meredith lovingly. "You started dating Ben when he was an anesthesiologist and married him when he was a surgical resident. Don't give me that." Meredith stated, raising her eyebrows at Bailey – this prompted laughter from the kitchen full of women, and Owen, Jackson, and Ben from the living room. "If you weren't holding that baby, I'd smack you Grey." Bailey said sarcastically, smiling and shaking her head. Meredith smiled brightly, scrunching her nose. Still bouncing Caleb lightly, she pivoted on her heel, exiting the kitchen and sitting down beside Hayes on the couch.
"Oh, he is really cute." Hayes said as he looked over Meredith's shoulder to take a look at the baby. Meredith turned her head and smiled at Hayes. He met her gaze and smiled right back at her.
Jo and Maggie set the table, as Teddy pulled the final things out of the oven and Amelia called everyone over to eat. As everyone stood up to head to the dining room, Meredith brought her non-supportive arm out from underneath Caleb, and reached her hand out to Harriet, who ran over to take it. She stood up and lead the toddler up the stairs and into the room with all the kids. She carefully passed Caleb over to Joey, and like the dream-baby he was, he stayed fast asleep. The kids had already been fed 30 minutes before Meredith and Hayes had arrived, so they were playing happily with their toys and enjoying torturing the older boys.
She gave instructions to Joey about Caleb, and quickly rejoined the adults downstairs. To absolutely no surprise, they had saved the spot beside Hayes for Meredith. She took her seat, and everyone made small conversation as they passed food around. Everyone laughed over fond memories and teased each other as they ate. Hayes was bonding really well with Link and Jackson, as they conversed about their children and sports. The atmosphere in the house was light and comedic. No major drama, unlike the last time she'd hosted a big dinner party at that house.
As the food dwindled, conversations swirled around the dinner table. Meredith listened intently, not partaking too much in the conversations around her. She remembered last time, how Penny showed up and shoved a wedge in between her and Amelia. As she thought some more, and those thoughts began to deafen out the conversations beside her, a hand on her outer thigh snapped her back to reality. She turned her head quickly, meeting Hayes's eyes. He looked at her with a little concern, after noticing her slight change in mood. "You okay?" He whispered in her ear. She leaned into him, and whispered back, "Yeah, I am. Just listening. Promise." She grabbed his hand that was on her leg and laced their fingers together. Before pulling their faces away from each other, Hayes placed a small kiss on Meredith's forehead, catching the attention of every single person around the table. They all stared at them, waiting of one of them to say something.
"What? You guys are looking at us like you've never seen a guy kiss their girlfriend like that." Meredith responded to all the eyes on her and Hayes, officially confirming that they had placed a label on themselves. The table caught on quickly to what Meredith was insinuating, and everyone immediately broke out into smiles and cheers, celebrating their happiness. Amelia reached out her hand, and squeezed Meredith's arm, smiling so brightly. "I knew something more had happened. I'm happy that you're so happy." Hayes turned to look at Amelia as well. She looked back and forth between her sister and Hayes, who were both smiling at her and each other.
Suddenly a small vibration came from her phone in her pocket. It was Cristina saying, "I'm good to go whenever you are." Meredith smiled at her phone, and quickly facetimed her best friend.
"Hey guys, look who it is!" Meredith said to the table as Cristina answered the phone. She turned her phone around, so everyone could see Cristina waving to them. A chorus of "oh my god!" and enthusiastic hello's rung out from everyone. Meredith laughed at everyone's reaction. Teddy was the most enthusiastic. She'd visited Cristina in Switzerland a couple of times when she was living in Germany, and she'd missed her former student quite a great deal. She hadn't told Cristina why she moved back to Seattle, however. Meredith turned the phone back to herself, and immediately Teddy, Jackson, Bailey, and April got up and huddled behind her.
They talked and reminisced for a little while. Everyone else stopped by and said hi, and eventually Bailey and Teddy left to go help out, but Jackson and April huddled closely beside Meredith on the couch, catching up with their friend. About 20 minutes later, Cristina said goodbye to everyone, as it was very late in Switzerland and she had to be at work later in the morning. The adults adjusted themselves on the couch accordingly, and left space for Amelia in between Meredith and Link, since she'd gone upstairs to get and feed her son. Meredith rested her head on Hayes' shoulder, and he slipped an arm behind her back and around her waist. Amelia joined the group with Caleb, and everyone fawned over the baby boy who was wide awake and looking around at the family around him.
15 minutes later the doorbell rang. Everyone looked at each other, not wanting to stand up. Meredith gave in and stood up. "Fine, I'll go get it." She made her way over to the door, unlocking it to see none other than Andrew DeLuca standing there. Without even looking back, she exited the house and quickly closed the door behind her, before he could say anything. This confused just about everyone inside the house.
"Andrew, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" As rough as things had ended, Meredith did still care for the resident. "Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks for asking. I came here to apologize, for my behaviour the other week. It was out of line, and I'm sorry." He told her, and he truly did mean it. Meredith was glad to see Andrew healthy and that he was trying to make amends. "I forgive you." She told him. She was hoping that was all, and that she could get back inside. Unfortunately, in Meredith Grey's world, 'simple' was not something that came by too often.
"I want us to start over, Meredith. I miss you and I want you back." Andrew said out of the blue, after Meredith turned ever so slightly towards the house. She whipped her head back around, and her heart sunk through her chest. "Andrew… I care about you, and I would like to start over, as friends. We can't be together. I'm sorry." Andrew's eyebrows furrowed, completely confused. "What do you mean? Why not?" He still hadn't thought of the possibility of Meredith and Hayes being together.
"I'm… I'm with someone else, now." Meredith said softly. Andrew's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me. Let me guess, you're talking about Hayes." Andrew crossed his arms, and Meredith nodded. He rolled his eyes at her response. "Please don't get angry, Andrew." She said, trying to diffuse the situation before it exploded. "Too late for that." Meredith felt every emotion under the sun – she was furious, she was heartbroken, and yet she still cared so deeply for Andrew, but the only outcome he could accept was her being with him instead of Hayes. That's when the arguing started.
Inside the house, Amelia was relentlessly and inappropriately teasing Hayes, trying to distract him. He was concerned about Mer. Hayes ignored Amelia's taunts, and looked to her, saying, "She's been out there a long time. Should I go out and see what the problem is?" He didn't want to intrude, but he wanted to help her out if he could. Amelia turned her head and peeked out the curtain. She quickly shot her head back around. "No, absolutely do not." That response clued Hayes into exactly who was outside, and he was truthfully a little annoyed. As commotion started to build and the adults could hear the two out front talking very loudly at each other, Amelia handed Caleb to Hayes and rushed to the front porch, with Link and Maggie behind her, in order to settle whatever was going on out there.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Amelia said lightly, as she stepped out onto the porch. The two exes finally stopped arguing as Maggie, Link, and Amelia intervened. Meredith was hurting and was rightfully pissed off. She wanted nothing more than to be friends with Andrew, but he couldn't accept that she had moved on. He wanted her to be happy with him, but she was happy with Hayes now. She was more than happy to be his friend and care about him, but it wasn't enough. He figured that since he'd gotten his disorder under control, Meredith would automatically want to be with him again. It didn't help him that he kept talking about Derek – something that kept breaking her heart over and over again.
Link walked over and placed his hand on Andrew's shoulder. He sat him down on the bench in front of the house and talked him down as best possible. Amelia and Maggie escorted Meredith back into the house. They'd hoped she'd come back into the living room, but instead she walked right upstairs. Everyone in the house was silent. Hayes watched her walk away, and he was furious that she was hurting. Maggie and Amelia nodded at each other and followed Meredith upstairs. She had gone into the room with the kids. Zola hugged her mom immediately, as did Bailey and Ellis when they looked up from their toys and realized she was there. Her grief was hitting her hard. She wanted Derek back so bad. She stared at Bailey for what felt like an eternity, picking out every single feature he had of Derek's. Then she did the same with Ellis.
When she finally left the kids room, Maggie and Amelia were already waiting outside the door. They followed her into her bedroom and sat her down on the bed.
"Mer, are you okay? What happened out there?" Maggie said softly, rubbing Meredith's arm. "I told him about Hayes and me. He was understandably upset, but he kept bringing up Derek. It kept making me think about the fact that he's gone. I'm happy, with Hayes, obviously. But God, what I would give to have him back for even one day. I wish the kids looked more like him." A tear rolled down her face. Amelia pushed Meredith's hair out of her face, and she and Maggie enveloped her in a hug. The tears flowed as her sisters comforted her.
A slight knock on the door broke the hug up. "Who is it?" Maggie said. "It's just me. Is it okay if I come in?" Hayes's Irish accent rung from behind the closed door. Maggie looked to Meredith, who nodded. "Yeah, come on in." The doorknob turned, and in came Hayes, still holding Caleb. He had been concerned since Meredith answered the door but became more visibly concerned as he saw Meredith's tear stained eyes. He knew the look in her eye – the look of grief. He'd had that look plenty of times. Without saying a word, he passed the baby over to Amelia and wrapped Meredith in a tight hug. Immediately she felt better. Maggie and Amelia sensed Meredith's ease, and left the two to be alone.
They broke their hug and Hayes sat down beside Meredith. "Are you okay?" He asked seriously, looking deep into her eyes. "I am now." "Are you sure?" He rubbed her back with one hand, while the other caressed her cheek. "Yeah, I am. I promise." She grabbed the hand on her cheek and placed a small kiss on his palm. He hugged her again, and she sunk into his embrace. She let herself rest in his arms for what felt like forever. When they finally broke apart, Hayes looked Mer up and down. "I didn't get to tell you earlier tonight, but…" He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look so incredibly beautiful." Meredith smirked at him. She had a feeling he'd like her outfit. "Oh yeah?" She smirked even wider, wrapping her arms around his neck and hooking one of her legs over his, bringing herself closer to him. He grinned at her devilishly, and responded, "Mhm". The low tone in his voice was enough to set Meredith over the edge, and she very passionately kissed him, which he'd been waiting to do pretty much all night. It was one of those kisses that had she been with anyone else, she already would've had half of their clothes off. But not with him. She knew full well that he wasn't ready, and she wanted him to let her know when he was.
15 minutes later they finally headed downstairs, and everyone looked at Meredith, concerned. She settled in on the couch beside Hayes, and let everyone know that she was okay now, as she rested her head on his shoulder. Meredith shifted slightly to look at Link. "What happened after I went inside?" She placed her palm on Hayes' chest, and felt his heart rate increase when she asked it. She placed a small peck on his cheek, which calmed him down. Link sighed heavily and explained that he spent 10 minutes outside with DeLuca. "I told him how I had to accept that you and DeLuca were together when you chose him over me. I was upset about it, of course, but when I met Amelia, I realized that everything happens for a reason. Now he's the one dealing with that hurt, but he'll find someone who makes him as happy as Amelia makes me. I think he understood what I was saying, and it helped to have advice from someone who went through the exact same thing. I think he'll be okay now. You guys are free to do… whatever you want, whenever you want, around the hospital now." Link teased them. Bailey made a disgusted face at Link and corrected him. "Not whatever you want,and especially not whenever you want, you two. No being nasty. Got too many nurses and doctors doing that already." Bailey eyed Amelia and Link, to which Amelia smiled brightly. She loved Link and was unapologetic about it. Meredith and Hayes laughed. "You shouldn't have to worry about it too much right now." Hayes said with a laugh, insinuating that she would indeed have to worry about it a lot, but later on. Bailey caught on and made another disgusted face.
Conversation flowed around for another 40 minutes, lightly, and happily. One by one, people started to leave as it got later and the start of the next workday drew nearer, until the only people left were the people who lived in the house, and Hayes. Maggie was upstairs with the kids, Link and Amelia were putting Caleb to sleep and getting ready to sleep themselves, which left Hayes and Meredith downstairs alone.
"It's getting pretty late; I should probably head back home to my boys, shouldn't I?" He looked at her, as she closed her eyes and sighed. "Mmm… yeah. You probably should. I don't want you to though." She said with a slight chuckle. The arm he had loosely around her shoulder tightened around her waist, nuzzling her closer to him. "I had a lot of fun tonight, except for when you were arguing with DeLuca." He told her, prompting a tiny laugh from her. "That wasn't great, but I mean, it wasn't all bad." Meredith referred to their intense make-out session up in her bedroom. Her hand trailed down his chest, until she wrapped both of her arms around his torso. A small smile spread across his face, understanding exactly what she was talking about. "You are amazing." He said, kissing her forehead. She met his gaze, and whispered in his ear, "And you… are everything I needed and more." She kissed his ear, then his neck, jaw, and finally their lips met again. One very long, romantic kiss later, and they finally stood up so Hayes could get home to his kids and sleep before work the next morning.
"So, I guess I'll see you again tomorrow." Hayes said as he stood outside her door. "Oh, absolutely." She smiled brightly at him. One final quick kiss, and the new couple said their goodbyes, anticipating seeing each other again the next day, and hoping they'd get to work together.