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Meredith Grey hated respiratory therapy. Truthfully, she hated all kinds of therapy – despite her intense need for it – but she hated respiratory therapy the most. After being discharged from the hospital, Bailey wouldn’t let her back at work to do surgery until a respiratory therapist signed off saying she was in the clear to withstand a long surgery. She had specific goals to meet before Bailey would even think about letting her step foot in the hospital as a doctor again, and Meredith was determined to meet them, damnit. There was only one bright spot in her days in therapy, and that was the man running the floor below her. Since the pandemic had resulted in fewer pediatric patients, Hayes was always one text away from keeping her company and helping to keep her encouraged throughout her appointments. After a few trips upstairs he quickly learned her appointment schedule so he could block out that part of his day to be there with her.
-
The day of her first respiratory appointment, Meredith was naturally quite nervous. The virus had done significant damage to her lungs and she knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park to get back to where she once was, if she ever would. She told herself she’d get through it and be back at work in no time. As she sat in the therapy room, her phone buzzed.
Hayes: You resting?
Meredith smirked and laughed slightly at the text message – Hayes had been constantly checking in on her while she was at home, he had insisted that he wanted to be the first person she did a surgery with when she was back at work.
Meredith: No.
Hayes: Grey…
Meredith: I have my first respiratory therapist appointment today. I’m in the hospital.
Hayes: Oh, I bet you’re enjoying that.
Meredith: Funny. It’s boring up here and I’m still waiting. I want to get back to work.
Hayes: I know you do. My schedule is free right now, would you mind if I came and kept you company?
Meredith: As long as there aren’t any little lives in danger that need your expertise right now, I wouldn’t mind that at all.
Hayes: Be there soon.
And he was there soon. Within a few minutes, in fact. One thing he’d never say out loud was how he never got tired of seeing her smile, especially since she’d woken up. Even behind her mask, he noticed the way her eyes sparkled, and he’d missed how his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her smile. So, he certainly noticed the pang of happiness inside of him when she looked and smiled at him as he entered her room. Knowing he was just a floor below her during these appointments was something he would forever be glad about.
“I’m honestly glad you were able to come, I was not looking forward to this appointment.”
“But you know why you have to do them?” He asked her as he sat down, turning his head towards hers. “Yes.” Meredith replied flatly, knowing exactly why she had to be there. “I still think it’s dumb.” She rolled her eyes and raised her eyebrows.
“Just think, a couple weeks of these appointments, and you’ll get cleared with ease. And then I can get you in on your first surgery back.” He told her sincerely. “I thought you were joking when you said that.”
“Why would I be joking? Although I have to ask that you don’t pass out in the parking lot afterwards next time… You really gave me one hell of a scare that night, Grey.”
“I guess I should probably thank you for saving my life.” Meredith said as she turned her body in her chair to face him completely. “What? No. Altman, Webber, Winston – they saved your life.” Hayes quickly tried to deflect her thanks off him, he really didn’t feel like he’d done any saving.
“Don’t sell yourself short, had you not found me when you did, who knows what might’ve happened to me. You saved my life just as much as Altman, Richard or Winston. You all saved me.”
All Hayes could do was give Meredith a small smile from within the confines of his mask.
-
Meredith’s third appointment was when Hayes started attending the appointments with her. It made her feel much more confident than when she attended them alone, and it helped to have a familiar, encouraging voice there for her when she needed it. She never even had to say when she needed the encouragement. He just knew. And he always knew exactly what to say. It reminded her a lot of Alex, who she knew would also be at these appointments if he was still at Grey-Sloan. But Hayes was different from Alex. Alex was like her brother. Hayes was… something else to her. But she hadn’t quite put a finger on what it was yet.
By her 6th appointment, she felt as if she was making substantial progress. She’d been able to spend more time using the incentive spirometer, and she found herself wheezing less after using the stairs at home. By her 7th appointment, she felt like she was ready to take the test for surgical clearance.
An hour and a half into the 5-hour test, she noticed her breathing start to feel heavier. Still, she pushed through. She needed to pass this test. She held her composure so that her therapist, nor Hayes could notice the weight behind each of her breaths. And that worked, until they got to hour 3. Her vision had started to go blurry, and she felt like she was gasping for air. Hayes had been left in the room to continue monitoring her, as her therapist had been called away. He looked at her with immense concern in his eyes – something was wrong. When she finally looked up at him, he quickly jumped in. Her face was filled with fear. He stopped the timer and raced to grab a chair and oxygen before she collapsed.
She was holding onto a nearby surface with everything in her. She could hardly hear or see a thing and voices were muffled. Hayes quickly grabbed her hand, holding her close to him as he moved her from her space over the mock-surgical table, over to the chair he’d gotten for her. He sat her down and crouched down in front of her, placing an oxygen mask on her face, holding it there while she took deep breaths.
“Calm down, Grey. It’s okay.” He said, one hand holding the mask, the other placed on her knee.
“Damnit. Damnit!” She yelled when she finally got enough oxygen to do so. Through heavy breaths, she looked at Hayes with sorrow in her eyes. “It’s not the end of the world, Grey. You almost made it halfway through.” Meredith knew Hayes meant well, but she was frustrated with herself.
“Halfway through isn’t all the way through. I needed to be cleared today. I need to go back to work. If I can’t cut, if my body can’t withstand surgery – what was the point of coming back?” Meredith complained, tears fighting to make their way through. Hayes understood her frustration but knew she couldn’t give up.
“Grey, you have had 7 appointments so far. And you were able to make it 2 hours. It’s just a setback. And I know you want to go back; I want you back just as bad – but we both know you’re no use in the hospital if you’re struggling to breathe after two hours. You just need another week or two of appointments and you should be good to go.”
Meredith hated that he was right. She glared as best as she could over the oxygen mask, and he simply just laughed at her
-
On the day of Meredith’s final respiratory therapy appointment, there was a joyous feel throughout the hospital. Meredith Grey would soon be coming back to work. No one was more excited than Meredith herself, and Hayes – who’d stuck by her side for every appointment and kept her going every step of the way. He spun her around in a hug when her therapist said she’d passed the faux-surgery test with flying colours and signed off on her going back to work.
“I couldn’t have done this without you.” She whispered in his ear while they hugged. “You could’ve. You’re… you. You can do anything.” He responded sincerely as they pulled away from their celebratory hug. Meredith smiled at him, and for the first time, neither of them were contained by a mask. They just smiled at each other, taking in the other’s facial expressions and appreciating the simplicity and happiness in that moment.
In a moment of quick thinking, Hayes leaned in and kissed Meredith quickly. He hadn’t even really thought about what he was doing until he was doing it. And then he couldn’t take it back. He hesitated to look at her afterwards, worried about what her reaction might be. But when she grabbed his face in both her hands, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a passion he could’ve only expected from Meredith Grey – he knew she’d had a good one. And he thanked God every day that no one had seen the two of them kissing in the respiratory therapist’s office. Kissing her in private made the moment all the more special.