Meredith had never been good at gift wrapping. It was something she never bothered to learn because it didn't seem all that necessary. Between having the worst childhood and arguably an even worse adult life, learning how to properly wrap gifts was always at the bottom of her to-do list. Besides, she always figured as long as the person receiving the gift couldn't see what it was, then she was okay. Perfection wasn't needed. She bought the kids numerous gifts this year. This was Ellis's first year finally being able to comprehend the joy of Christmas, so she went all out. Zola's wish list was a hefty one, and Bailey had been talking about Christmas since December 26th of last year. She wanted it to be perfect for them, and it seemed like the universe did not care about that. Meredith had been working long shifts, so by the time she got home she was ready to sleep. Not wrap gifts. And when she didn't have long shifts, the kids would be around needing all of her attention, so she still couldn't wrap their gifts. The only option was to turn her office into Santa's workshop and wrap in there, but the task was proving to be a lot harder than usual. Even as a terrible gift wrapper she could usually still cover the present. That was not the case this time. She kept cutting the paper too big. Then too small. Then when she finally got the size right, she couldn't fold the paper properly. She was wrapping her third present, which was a 38-inch flat screen TV for Bailey because he kept insisting on having a TV in his room. The box was too damn big, and the wrapping paper was too damn small. She was still trying to make it work when Hayes walked in and looked at her sitting on the floor amidst all the chaos around her.
"What. Are. You. Doing?" He asked with a teasing undertone and a slight smile on his face. He was clearly trying to hold back some laughter.
"What does it look like? I'm wrapping gifts," Meredith knew he was teasing, so she didn't hold back on the snark in her response.
"Well first of all, it looks like you're strangling that TV. And second, that's not wrapping. Your youngest could do a better job than that with her eyes closed, Grey," he quipped back, not missing a beat.
He always loved his verbal spars with Grey. She was the only one in the hospital that could match him tit for tat in the verbal ring, and he enjoyed the challenge.
"You're talking quite a bit of trash. What does your gift-wrapping look like?" She replied. She was hoping his gift wrapping would be just as bad as hers so that she could shut him up.
Cormac knew his gift-wrapping skills were superb, so he took his time with his response. He stared at her directly in the eye and furrowed his brows jokingly.
"Like Santa did it himself," he said proudly. He then walked from the doorway and kneeled on the floor next to her.
"Take notes," he teased as he slid the tv and paper over so he could reach it. He saw how small the paper she had already cut was and grabbed the roll to cut a new sheet.
"So, you never learned how to gift wrap?" He asked not knowing that one simple question had an entire unpacked history behind it.
Meredith didn't mind the question. Ever since her and Deluca had agreed that they wouldn't continue pursuing a romantic relationship, she was more open to Hayes. They had been growing closer for the past few months, so she felt comfortable with sharing the baggage that came with the question he asked. She just didn't know if he'd be comfortable with it.
"You want the real answer or the fake one? Fair warning the real one is pretty harsh," she said wanting to give him the opportunity to decide if he wanted to get to know that side of her.
"Real. Always," he replied instantly.
They'd gotten to know each other lately, and he wasn't interested in the surface level answers. They'd shared some pretty deep parts of their lives, and although it could sometimes get dark, he appreciated her past. It's what made her who she was, and he respected it immensely. He put the new wrapping paper on the floor then turned towards her to give her his undivided attention.
"Well, to sum it up… I had a rough childhood. Mom who loved surgery more than me and a dad who wasn't around, so I barely ever had Christmas, let alone anyone to teach me how to wrap. Then I grew up. Became a surgeon and then that became my life. Between medical school and being an intern and moving up the ranks and plane crashes, shootings, drownings and death, Christmas was never really a priority to me. Then of course I adopted Zola, and that's when Christmas became important. But Derek was always the gift wrapper in our house. Then when he died, Maggie started wrapping for me. But she's just as busy as me this year, if not even more busy. And well now I'm sitting in here trying to wrap their presents myself," she knew she was starting to ramble, but everything she said was true. She knew he'd get it, so she felt safe telling him.
Hayes looked at her for a moment. He didn't know what he was expecting for her to say, but after she spoke his admiration for her grew tenfold. He didn't even know it could grow more than it already had but seeing how strong she was made his heart big.
"Hmm," was all he could offer at the moment. He just stared at her because that was all he could do. She blew him away, and he couldn't express how much he appreciated her.
"What are you thinking? Too dark and twisty?" She asked. She didn't know how to interpret his silence. Judging by the look on his face she was sure he wasn't going to be scared off.
"No, of course not. To be honest, I'm just amazed. The person you are is not the person anyone would expect you to turn out to be. You chose to be this selfless, loving, strong and forgiving woman despite all the adversary you've faced. You are something special," he said as he stared at her in admiration and chuckled to himself before putting his head down slightly in embarrassment. He may have said too much.
"Thank you," Meredith said to reassure him. She'd never seen this bashful side of him, and she actually enjoyed it.
He was always so playful and confident. Seeing him be shy and unsure made her stomach flutter and knowing that it was her causing this side of him to show was even better. They both knew there was something a little bit more than friendship brewing between them, but neither of them would act on it until they both knew the time was right. Hayes had a lot more to unpack than she did. He hadn't been with anyone since his wife, and she knew that meant he needed time. Although, she didn't mind being friends and waiting at all.
"Alright well let's teach you how to wrap these gifts," he said, trying to divert the tension that was starting to fill the atmosphere of the room. He put the TV on top of the gift-wrapping paper and looked at Meredith.
"Come here," he instructed her. She moved closer next to him and awaited further instructions.
"Okay, so in order to measure the wrapping paper, you want to make sure both sides will reach the center of the box. I usually guesstimate but teaching purposes we'll measure. So, you bring the paper over to the center of the box. And put your hand right here," as he gave the last instruction, he reached for her hand and placed it on the box with the paper. He couldn't lie, he kept his hand on hers as long as he could until it might seem like he was being weird. When he grabbed her hand, Meredith instantly felt heat. He was being assertive, but kind, with his teaching, and she couldn't be more grateful.
"So now we measure the other side and cut," he moved to the other side of the present so that he was facing her instead of next to her. From there, he explained the rest of the present wrapping process, and they went through and wrapped all of the gifts she had in her office. They were in there for about 45 minutes discussing a plethora of things as they wrapped all the gifts. Over time conversation had become so easy to them. They could talk about anything and it'd entertain them for as long as they needed. They finished the last gift and sat next to each other in relief.
"Thank you so much, Hayes. Seriously. I know I give you a hard time, but I'm very grateful for your help today. I owe you one," she spoke. Her eyes were sparkling with thankfulness and he could get lost in them forever.
"It's really no problem, Grey. And you don't owe me anything... For now. I might cash in that favor later on," he said with a chuckle. She laughed along with him, and they enjoyed a moment of silence.
"What are your plans for Christmas?" She was curious to know.
"Well ever since Abby died, we just spent Christmas alone. Just us three holed up in the house. The boys open their presents, and we watch some Christmas movies. What about you?" Abby and him had always been very simple, and they never did much for Christmas, but they loved it. It worked for them. He looked at Meredith waiting for her response.
"Well, you know since I practically run a hotel service at my house, Christmas is always a big gathering. This year will probably be the biggest. Amelia and Link with Scout. Maggie and her new boyfriend, Winston. Jo, and with her comes Schmitt. And with him, Nico. Jackson and his daughter Harriet, who only stops by for a few hours but it's nice. This year we invited Ben and Bailey and their two kids. And then Richard, Catherine and of course, my babies."
"So basically, the whole hospital is what I'm hearing."
"Might as well be," she said with a smile.
"They've all become my family. We've been through so much together so…" she hesitated a moment and then continued, "But I asked because you can come if you'd like. I understand if Christmas is a thing you do with just you and your boys, but the invite is there. There'll be kids, and games, and movies and of course, the presents."
"That actually sounds great. I'll talk to the boys about it. I'm sure we'll be there," he said.
"Great," she said, smiling. They stood there together, enjoying the silence and moment of relaxation. Until both of them received a 911 page.