Amelia was upset as she slipped her ring off her finger, placing it in Owen's hand. In turn, he took off his own and placed it in her hand, gently closing her fingers over it.
"Until the next time," he promised her, kissing her forehead sweetly.
"Until I'm yours again," she said softly, kissing the back of his hand, tears filling up her eyes.
He kissed her again and pulled her tightly to him, hating that this was happening.
"I know who I married, Amelia. I know who I love. But I think we should take some time, take this time to get to know another again. Explore each other from the beginning. You had a tumor…"
"No, I was the one who decided this, O. I had a tumor. We don't know where the tumor stops and I begin anymore," she breathed. It was painful, this idea of separation, to her, but she knew it had to happen. They had been apart more than they'd been together during their first few years; she was used to this. And yet she wasn't. She didn't want to be apart from him at all, this wasn't her first choice. But at the moment it seemed like the best one.
Her bags sat by the front door; she wasn't entirely moving out but she was staying with Meredith for the time being. Looking at the ring in her hand, her heart sank. What if they didn't reconnect? What if they didn't find their way back to each other? They said they'd try and date other people, and if things worked out with them coming back together, they were fated to be together. Sliding the ring into the pocket of her jeans, she reached up and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek.
"I'll be seeing you," she said, reaching for her coat and scarf, heading outside as he helped her with her things, stowing them in the trunk of her car.
"Mia…don't be a stranger," he told her, as she slid into the front seat of her car. A tear slid down her cheek as she sat there, her feet still on the ground.
"I love you, Owen. I know that. My tumor didn't influence that, I already know that," she said quietly, letting the soft rain hit her face. Owen in turn, looked like he was in pain.
"I love you too, Amelia. I just…I want to be sure. That you're it for me. My heart is sure, but my brain is scared to get hurt again. The past year for both of us was hell. We spent our first year of marriage apart. We need to be sure," he told her, kissing her forehead and brushing her damp hair back, his fingers brushing against the scar still prominent hidden in her hair. To her credit, she simply nodded.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at work. First day back and all," she said with a smile of resignation.
"Love you," she said, getting in the car and driving to the other side of the city, looking back one last time.
The next day at work, Amelia was rushing, but thankfully she caught up to her sisters in the hallway, coffee in hand.
"Good morning ladies!" she sang out, a smile on her face as she fell into ranks with Meredith and Maggie.
"First day back and I get to see what I have to work with!" she grinned, sliding an arm through Meredith's. Maggie laughed, leaning forward to see her.
"Well somebody's excited," she teased her, and Amelia smiled. She had been late and missed carpool that morning, but she was excited to be recovered and back in business.
"Why shouldn't I be? Tumor's gone and I'm back in action. Ahhh, I can already smell the OR," she laughed, taking a deep drink of her sweet coffee as they walked towards their respective offices. Passing Owen in the hallway, Amelia gave him a smile and a nod. Meredith gave her an eyebrow raise.
"What was that for?"
"Owen and I are friends, or something. We haven't figured out what that something is yet, but we will," she mused, drinking more of her coffee, feeling the caffeine fuel her body.
Peeling off from the group as she reached her office, she changed into scrubs and her lab coat before meeting Dr. Koracick.
"So, I'm ready. To operate again," she said, standing in front of him. He looked up from his chart.
"And I'm ready to clear you, I want to get back to Baltimore. Don't really like it here."
"And I don't really like you," she shot back, pursing her lips.
"So if you could sign off on my chart and clear me, I'd like to get to my first patient," she said, watching as he signed off.
"Fine, Dr. Shepherd, you're officially back to work."
"Thanks," she said, in an annoyed voice, before turning on her heel and going off to find her first patient.
With just her luck, Amelia was on a similar case to her own tumor. Scared she couldn't handle it, she consulted like she said she would, before running through the hospital at top speed. Koracick was still here and she screamed, stopping at the back of his car.
"STOP! I need you," she yelled, breathless. He got out of his car, irritated beyond belief.
"The fuck, Shepherd?" he said, as she smoothed down her hair and scrubs.
"I have a case, it's almost identical to mine. I don't think I can do it on my own," she breathed, her whole body shaking as she bit on her lip. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his briefcase.
"You can do it but if you need me to hold your hand, I'll do it," he told her, heading back inside.
Throughout the day she kept feeling her heart pounding, plagued by anxiety and heart palpitations, right until the moment they closed after surgery. She had managed to get through doing the surgery mostly by herself, even though she was terrified the entire time. The case mirrored her own, and afterwards in her office, she brushed her fingers against her scar, against the raised bump that was still there. There was a knock on the door as she sat at her desk.
"Come in," she said, taking a sip of tea as she rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. When she looked up, it was Koracick. Of course.
"What are you still doing here? You made it clear that you hate it here and you hate me," she said.
"Plus, you also made it clear you know I'm better than you, as evident by my successful surgery today where you complimented me greatly," she smirked, standing up.
"I do hate it here, and I do hate you," he smirked, holding his briefcase again.
"But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye." She came around in front of her desk, moving close to him.
"Well goodbye," she said cheerfully, smirking right back.
"I hate you so much," she said, breathing deeply, breathing him in deeply. In the next moment, in one of her more spontaneous moments, she leaned in and kissed him.
"Truly, deeply, hate you. Actively hating you right now," she said as he kissed her back.
She found herself on the couch then, her scrub top already off, unbuttoning his shirt. She was surprised, somewhat, even though she'd been there many times before in her life, and soon they had a rhythm going.
Afterwards, laying there, she turned to him, a blanket covering both of them.
"I still fucking hate you," she told him
"And I'm still better than you," she smirked, sitting up.
"Now get the hell out of my office, I can't stand to look at you anymore," she promised him, watching as he got dressed and left. She ran a hand through her hair, hating that she had just slept with him, but little did she know Owen was sleeping with Carina at the same time.
Amelia went home to Meredith's that night, feeling dirty having slept with him. After a beyond-hot shower where she scrubbed her body raw, she collapsed into bed, making a mental note to stop by her and Owen's house in the morning. Once she woke up, she dressed quickly, grabbing her favorite leather jacket and just walking in, using her keys. Embarrassingly enough, she walked into Carina and Owen naked in the kitchen.
"Crap! I can go. I um, I'm sorry," she said, looking away.
"I was just leaving," Carina said, putting some clothes on, as Owen reached for boxers and a shirt.
"Wow we really are seeing other people, huh?" Amelia said, her heart sinking in her chest. This wasn't what she wanted, at all, she hasn't predicted them actually seeing other people.
"French toast?" he said, handing her a plate. She bit her lip and took a piece.
"I can go, really. You're preoccupied," she said, upset with herself and all of this. She was fed up with her life-ruining tumor, her own life-ruining self, and just about everything else under the sun.
"Amelia, stay," he told her, as she shoved her hands in her pockets, feeling his wedding ring there. She had decided to keep it on her in some way all the time, keeping him close to her
"Why? What's the point? You have a new girl," she said, her hands on her hips.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"She's not you," he told her, and her heart skipped a small beat.
"She's not you, she's not my beautiful wife, who I love," he expressed, as she continued to melt. Sighing lightly, her fingers closed around his ring in her pocket.
"I slept with someone too. And…he wasn't you. Nowhere near you. I don't think I could ever actually love someone like I love you. I mean….this is stupid, but I've been with you for years, and I envision being with you forever," she swallowed slightly.
"Let's not do this. The dating other people. Let's just…start over. Dating, romance, weekends away. Doing the things we love as a couple. I'll even sacrifice plumping and heating for you," she teased lightly. He came around from the kitchen and stood in front of her, taking her in his arms.
"Mia I love you so much. It's always been you, since the day you moved here. I don't want to be without you ever again. But I agree. Dating, romance, the small things we missed because we rushed the wedding. And maybe a second wedding in the end," he smiled, kissing her lips gently. Her heart swelled as he kissed her, her hands on his forearms as he held her close, letting her know everything would just be fine.
So I love the idea of the show rebooting Omelia but I'm too impatient to wait to see how they redo it! So I'm doing it by myself. And before you ask, no Derek in this as I'm starting it off canonically. Sorry folks, please don't complain, I have plenty of MerDer stories to y'all :)