Chapter Text
The comfortable air of the hotel room was a welcome feeling as the two returned from spending 16 hours straight jumping back and forth between calling codes on dying patients to performing emergency surgery together on a 14-year-old boy. Standing by the operating table may have been the most relaxing part of the day for both of them. Entering the quiet hotel room meant it was time for just a handful of hours of peace and quiet, paired up with a few moments of... you know.
Feeling the shower rain hot water over her body, burning off the pain of a long shift, not to mention the residual germs she felt following her everywhere, Meredith relaxed into the feeling of those 16 hours being washed away for good. It was her time to escape from it all. There were days the pain of a long shift was best spent being washed down the drain with ten minutes of loud music blaring through the hotel room bathroom, probably pissing off all of the neighboring guests. Some days, on the other hand…
“Shh, I’ve got you,” Cormac said softly as he wrapped his arms around her body from behind and held her close, kissing her shoulder as he rocked her under the steady stream of hot water.
Her tears came hard, flooding down her cheeks as she tried to wash away the pain of telling people’s loved ones they’d died, not to mention the pain of her tired, aching feet that never seemed to get a break for long enough to catch up. Some days she was the one pouring her tears down the drain, other days it was him that she was holding onto, stroking his back gently to ease the suffering they both felt as the long days dragged on.
“I’m just so tired,” she squeaked out between sobs, allowing him to hold her body as tight as he could to help soothe her.
He turned her around and pulled her into his arms again, stroking his fingers through her wet hair and nodding as he held her face to his chest, “I know, babe. I know.” He shifted to reach for the loofah she’d hung on a hook inside the shower, extending his arm to pump a dollop of body wash onto it for her. He stepped a few inches back to look at her, seeing her puffy, red eyes from her tears and heat-reddened skin from the temperature of the shower water. He placed a finger under her jaw to tilt her face up to his before bending down to press a kiss on her forehead. She sighed into his contact as he ran the loofah down her sides, gently over her breasts, and continued to cleanse her body from head to toe. She kept her hand on his bicep as he moved the loofah at different angles, cleaning all the way around her body.
Her tired, swollen eyes closed as he turned her around and began washing her hair delicately with the shampoo and conditioner that rested on the shelf inside the hotel room shower. He ran each product through her hair quickly, but thoroughly, allowing the water to rinse it clean each time. As she stood under the flow of water to finish rinsing the final wash of conditioner out of her hair, he proceeded to wash himself off with his own loofah before hanging it back in its rightful spot.
He wrapped his arms back around her, pulling her into his chest and kissing the top of her wet hair softly. He nuzzled her close to him, rocking her gently as the water continued to flow. “We’re going to get through this. All of this,” he whispered, “Now let’s get some rest.” She nodded, looking up at him as he shifted away from her to turn off the water and help her step out.
He held out a thick, white bath towel for her, wrapping it gracefully around her body before doing the same with his own. He pulled her in close, looking down to see her resting her chin on his chest and eyes looking up at him.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He nodded and looked down at her, leaning down to kiss her lips softly, “I’ve got you. You’ve got me. Any time.”
They didn’t need forever anymore. They each needed the person who understood them in the now. They each needed a partner who could feel when they’d found their breaking point and needed to escape from it all. Thankfully for them, as the steam cleared within the walls of the small room, they each basked in the relief that they’d finally found that person.