Thirty hours. That's how long it had been since Meredith had been in her own bed, at her own house. Trauma after trauma just kept coming in that demanded her attention, and the most she'd managed was three hours sleep, not consecutive, on one of those awful on call room beds that she normally avoided like the plague.

She had just checked up on her last patient and was ready to grab Ellie from daycare, to take her home and finally see her family for the first time in two days, to spend time with them. Her hand reached to her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze and she groaned softly, her head tilting to the side as she walked down the hallway. She reached the elevator and pressed the call button, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for it to arrive. Her whole body ached, and she knew she'd definitely need to find the time for a hot bath before bed. It was the best she could do these days when her body ached like this. Her eyes closed as a fleeting memory hit her, a time when she'd go home with Derek and he would help her massage the kinks out. She took a deep breath to clear the memory from her mind, opening her eyes again as she heard the ding of the empty elevator and stepped inside.

"Hold the elevator!"

Her brow furrowed as she heard the shout, holding her arm out to stop the elevator door closing. She watched as Hayes did a little jog to catch up and he stepped inside the elevator with a relieved sigh.

"Thanks, Grey," he said with a nod, his gaze lingering on her slightly.

"It's no problem," she said with a small smile as she moved to lean against the back wall of the elevator.

"You okay?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Long day… or days I guess," she said with a short laugh, her hand moving back to try and self massage her shoulder again as the elevator moved slowly.

"You look…" his voice trailed off a little.

"Like crap?" She said with a short, harsh laugh.

"I was thinking more exhausted, not crap," he tilted his head to the side a little, in a way that made her curious to know what he was thinking.

"Exhausted is definitely a word for it… dammit," she hissed, struggling to ease the ache in her shoulder.

"Do you, I mean, I could…" Hayes fumbled a little with his words, gesturing toward Meredith's shoulder.

"You… oh," her eyes slightly widening at his offer.

"I get it if that makes you uncomfortable, or…" he trailed off again, stepping a little closer.

"No, I mean, you could try," she laughed a little as she stepped forward, allowing him to move behind her.

"Okay, yeah, just let me know if it's too much, or you feel uncomfortable," he murmured.

His hand moved to her shoulder with a gentle pressure and she closed her eyes, embracing the relief that coarser through her at his touch. She couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her as she leaned back into his touch and he pressed his thumb more firmly against the back of her shoulder in small circles.

"Does that feel better?" He asked as he moved his free hand to her other shoulder, massaging both of them now.

"So much better," she whispered, her body starting to fully relax in front of him.

At her encouragement, one hand moved down her back in similar circling motions, kneading out her tense muscles with his knuckles, her back arching in response. She tried to ignore the heat emanating from her body as she focused on his touch, the slight tightening of her abdomen as she imagined his massage against her bare skin rather than through the blouse she wore. An overwhelming urge to hug him came over her, an urge to be closer to him in that moment as they were alone in the elevator. She turned to look at him, her eyes looking up into his as he gave her a questioning look.

"I… can I hug you?" She breathed, before biting her lip slightly.

"Oh, yeah," he nodded.

She moved her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer against him as one of his arms tightened around her middle, holding her close. Her face instinctively buried against his neck and she felt his fingers running through her hair.

"I needed this after today," she murmured, feeling like she needed to give him some explanation.

"Happy to help," he murmured back, tightening his hold around her.

He didn't know how he'd even built up the courage to do this. Sure, he could act confident when they were just talking, around other people, but there was something about them being alone that made him falter. Physical contact had been pretty rare between the pair up until this point. He definitely didn't want that to be the case, but he felt like he had to be careful with her and he felt like she was trying to be careful with him. Trying not to break him. He wanted more, he just didn't know how to ask for it.

The elevator dinged and it seemed to bring them both back to reality, pulling her arms back from him and immediately smoothing out her clothes as she stepped back from him, almost as if they'd done more than hugging. He wished they'd done more than hugging.

"This is… daycare, I need to get Ellis from daycare," she murmured as a few nurses boarded the elevator.

"I'll walk with you," he said, swallowing a little, not wanting to part ways with her just yet.

She simply nodded and he followed her out the elevator, walking beside her. He needed to do this. Take the leap. Just ask her for a drink. One drink.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get a drink. Not tonight, I mean, you've been her for god knows how long and I completely understand you want to spend time with your kids but… soon?" He asked, keeping his voice low as they walked side by side.

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Good, yeah," he said as he smiled back, catching the slight sparkle in her eyes. Did she even realise they did that?

They arrived at the daycare and Hayes couldn't help but watch as she walked ahead, hearing the excitement coming from Ellis as she spotted her mother. A grin took over his face as he watched their interaction.

"Mommy!" The little girl giggled as she ran straight to Meredith, reaching her arms up for her.

"Ellie Belle," he watched as she grinned and leaned down to pick up Ellis, letting her balance on her hip as she held her close.

Meredith came back out to where he stood waiting, and he wasn't surprised to see Ellis burying her face against Meredith's neck, hiding in her hair when she first saw Hayes. Meredith's hand rubbed Ellie's back a little as she smiled at him.

"I'm going to get home, you're making me want to go hug my boys even though they probably won't let me," he chuckled, "it's lovely to meet you though, Ellie."

"You're not normally this shy, Ellie," Meredith laughed softly with a slight shake of her head, "she's probably just tired. I'll see you tomorrow and we can catch up about that drink?"

"Definitely. Enjoy your night, both you," he said.

"You too," Meredith said with a nod.

"Night," he heard the slight mumble from Ellie which made him grin involuntarily.

"Night, Ellie," he chuckled softly, watching as Meredith walked away, still carrying her daughter down the hallway.

He never thought he would feel this way about another woman again. Meredith Grey was something entirely unexpected and he couldn't help but be in awe of her. He wasn't even planning on ever getting involved with anyone, he didn't think anyone would be able to understand how he'd already had the one great love of his life, how he would never be able to have something as intense as that again. But he knew Meredith did understand. She understood more than anyone.