Owen pulled up in front of his mom's house at 7 am. It was earlier than she expected, but she had always been an early riser, so he knew she would be up. When he had spoken to her the night before, she had not too subtly suggested that maybe he could come by and help her clean up the storm debris from her yard. Owen didn't consider it at first, but then they got word that the ferryboats would be running for the first time since the storm. It was decided that Owen would go help out his mom then take the ferry out to the Shepherd property to get supplies for them from their house and for him from the trailer. He would also be able to survey the damage and make sure everything was in good shape for them before they made the trip there with their new baby. Owen didn't really want to want to leave the hospital. It had been just three days since the storm, and while most everything was up and running, there was still clean up to be done. He finally decided to go because he would only be gone a few hours and Avery promised to let him know immediately if anything needed his attention.
Owen got out of his truck and walked around the outside of his mom's house to survey the damage. There were small branches and clusters of leaves all over the ground. There were several broken limbs hanging from the trees that would need to be cut down. There was a young fruit tree that his mom had planted in the backyard that had been nearly uprooted. Owen wasn't sure if it would survive. Luckily, the house itself looked unharmed. His mom had a new roof put on the previous year and it had held up nicely. It was an hour's worth of work, maybe a little more. Perfect because he wanted to be back to the hospital by noon.
As Owen approached the back door, he could see his mom sitting in her armchair with her back to the window reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. When he gently wrapped on the back door, she turned her face toward him and the morning sunlight made her blue eyes glow like hot coals. "Owen!" he saw, but didn't hear her say. He used his key to unlock the door and come inside. She met him at the door and gave him a big hug. As she pulled back, she held onto his shoulders and examined his face critically. "You're early. I didn't get a chance to make breakfast yet."
"I'll have time to eat before I leave. I just have some other things to take care of this morning, so I wanted to get an early start."
"Mm-hmm," she said as she finally released him. "I hope a nap is on that to-do list of yours. You look exhausted, honey. I know it's been a rough couple of days, but-"
Owen interrupted her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see what I have time for. I'll get started outside while you make breakfast."
Ruth Hunt shook her head. "Come on and get a cup of coffee to take out there with you." Owen followed her into the kitchen. "- and don't think I'm not wise to your plan."
"What?" he asked, knowing full well what she meant.
"I said I wanted you to help me clean up the yard, not do it all yourself."
"There will be plenty left to do after we eat," he said with his best dutiful son smile.
"Mm-hmm."
Owen got about 25 minutes worth of work in before his mom called him in for breakfast. He got all of the most strenuous tasks out of the way. He knew if she were out there when he did them she would insist on helping him and while she was in excellent shape for her age, he didn't want to risk her getting hurt. His plan to keep her out of the way for a while had worked.
When Owen stepped into the house after his mom called him for breakfast, the smell of the food made him realize how hungry he was. Normally he would balk at the vast amount of food she had laid out for him- scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon, hash browns, biscuits with sausage gravy, fruit salad, juice and some muffins, but as he slowly approached the kitchen table he had no doubt he could eat it all. His mom glanced at the rapturous expression on his face and was taken aback. "Oh, honey, when was the last time you ate?"
Owen slowly eased himself into his chair and stared at his plate. He didn't know where to start. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "An apple. At about 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon." He opened up his eyes, picked up his fork and dug into his scrambled eggs. His mom just sat and watched him shovel the food in his mouth while she waited for her oatmeal to cook. After about 5 minutes, Owen slowed down his pace. He didn't feel light-headed anymore and his mom's staring was slightly disturbing. He set down his fork, took a drink of his orange juice, and then smiled at her. "Everything is really great, Mom. Thank you."
She smiled back. "Thank you for helping with the yard."
"My pleasure," he replied. "So, how have you been?"
That was all the encouragement Ruth needed to start talking. She covered all the happenings at her church (the new pastor was making waves), the latest gossip from their extended family (his cousin was on wife number four), a rundown of the other various clubs and meetings she went to (Bunco club was on the second Friday of the month instead of the third, now). She peppered her monologue with the odd complaint about her various aches and pains. Owen smiled and nodded and asked her questions as she talked. He was just finishing eating when she turned the tables on him.
"So, how have things been going with you, honey?"
Owen smiled, then started his own monologue. "Well, there was this little storm, recently…" He told all about the damage the storm had done and what a nightmare it had been transferring all the patients. He told her about the bus explosion, (but failed to mention he had been inside it moments before it happened). He talked about where they were on the clean up effort and found that his fingers were itching to grab his phone and check his messages-something he normally never did when sharing a meal with someone. When he finished talking his mom smiled at him. He smiled back at her.
"Is anything else on your mind, Owen?"
Owen thought for a second. "Yes! You remember Richard Webber?"
"The former chief of surgery?"
"Yes. Well, he got electrocuted when he went down to the basement to check on the back-up generator."
"Oh my goodness!"
"Yeah, we're still not sure if he's going to make it. That's been really tough on the staff."
"I'll be sure to put in a prayer request for him."
"Thanks, Mom."
"Do you want another waffle honey?"
Owen had eaten everything she had put in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "I don't know, Mom, I'm not sure-"
"Nope! 'Not sure' means 'yes' when it comes to food. Just wait, I'll make one for you." She snatched his plate and got up and took the waffle batter out of the refrigerator and poured some into the waffle iron. Owen couldn't protest, because those waffles were damn good.
Ruth stood at the counter while she waited for the waffle to cook. After a few moments she said, "I think something besides the storm and Dr. Webber is on your mind."
Owen sat up straighter in his chair. "I don't-"
"Stop it, Owen, I can tell," Ruth said, giving him a sharp look out of the corner of her eye.
Owen slumped back in his chair. He had carefully avoided the topic of Cristina all morning. Suddenly, he realized his mom had done the same. Usually, Cristina was the first thing she asked him about when they saw each other. He sighed. "How can you always tell?'
"I can see it in your eyes and your face and the whole way you carry yourself." She used a fork remove the waffle from the iron and dropped it on his plate. She set it in front of him and then sat down. "Besides, it is not the first time." Owen stared at his hands. She continued, "I can tell you two are going through a rough patch, but I don't know how rough." Owen sighed and shook his head. Ruth leaned forward and studied his face. "She broke up with you." Owen rubbed his eyes. Now that he wasn't hungry, anymore, it struck him how tired he was.
He never went into detail when he told his mom about the things he and Cristina were going through in their relationship, and this time would not be different. He took a moment to choose his words carefully. "Cristina is doing what she thinks is best for me."
"Are you sure?"
Owen paused for a moment before he answered. He hadn't spoken to Cristina about anything personal since the night of the storm. It had been strictly medicine and hospital business. He remembered how sad she had looked before she walked out of the on-call room the night of storm. "Yes, I'm sure."
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
Owen picked up fork and started eating his waffle to buy himself some time. When he was finished eating it, he continued. "She thinks that I don't know what I want out of life and that when I figure it out, I'll realize that there isn't room for her in it."
"Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Know what you want out of life?"
"Yes! I mean, I think so, I just-I know that I want her to be part of it."
Ruth nodded. "Okay, then you have to figure it out. You have to be sure and you can't figure it out by sitting and pondering it. I didn't like how you moved out into to that trailer when she went to Minnesota and I certainly don't understand why you stayed out there after she came back. It's like you're stuck in some holding pattern." Owen stared down at his hands. She continued, "Do whatever you need to do to figure out what your life to be, then start building it. It sounds like she has some things to figure out for herself, and when the time comes, if you still have a place for her, you can show her what it is. That's a strong-willed, independent woman you've got there-"
"I know, Mom-"
"-and it's going to have to be her decision to come back to you."
"I know."
"This is your time, Owen. This is your time to be strong-willed and independent, so don't waste it." Ruth pounded on the table with her fist to drive home her point, then stood up and started clearing the table.
"If I build it, she will come," Owen mumbled.
"What?"
"Never mind, it's from a movie, just- let's head outside, I've got about a million calories in breakfast food to work off."
Owen stood up and headed toward the door, but his mom reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. She looked up into his eyes. "You're not ready to move on from her?"
Owen shook his head. "No, and I don't think I ever will be."
Ruth set down dishtowel she was holding and pulled him into a hug. "I know you'll figure this all out, honey, and you let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
An hour later, Owen drove his truck onto the ferry. He pulled into a parking spot and turned off this engine. This was the first time since the storm that he allowed himself to sit and think. He had been running himself ragged, so that when he lay down to sleep, he would be out as soon as his head hit the pillow. This wasn't without design, of course. He hadn't been ready to think about what had happened between him and Cristina, but now he felt like he had to.
He hadn't wanted to think about it because it made him sad and angry. He felt like she had blindsided him, but then, he was sure she had felt blindsided when Meredith had told her he was thinking about adopting Ethan. He felt like she had accused him of lying, kind of, and definitely of being secretive. He felt like he needed to set her straight on that. Mostly, he just couldn't believe she had broken up with him again. He'd lost count of how many times she had done it.
It had been only about 2 week since the Dawson's had entered their lives. Prior to that, things had been good between he and Cristina. They both worked hard and spent time together whenever they had the chance-even if it was just five minutes here and there. After Ethan had arrived, Owen would spend some of those five minutes here and there with him, instead of Cristina. Maybe she felt neglected, he thought.
He couldn't explain why he had clicked with Ethan so easily. He supposed that Ethan reminded him of himself at that age. He too had been obsessed with soccer and had a tendency to think he could take care of himself that had led to more than one incident of him wandering off. The whole thing was an unusual situation, with both parents injured and nobody from their lives stepping forward to help with Ethan. It turned out that they had just moved to the area the day before the crash and didn't know anyone in the area. Owen had enjoyed spending time with Ethan, and had only just started to allow himself to imagine how he might fit into their lives, when Paul had woken up.
Owen didn't know if that meant he had to have kids some day, but he could accept that he needed to explore it. He knew that being with Cristina meant that he would probably not have a traditional family. He had made peace with that. He thought he had, anyway.
What do I want? he thought. He closed his eyes and saw Cristina standing in front of him. She had a smirk on her lips and a devilish twinkle in her eye. It was exactly the look she would get when she was plotting something he knew he was going to enjoy. Owen opened his eyes and sighed. "I want Cristina," he declared out loud to no one.
His mom was right, though. It would have to be her decision to come back to him. Next time, he wanted them to stay together for good, and seeing as she was the one who was always leaving, she needed to be sure.
So, he thought, taking stock, I want Cristina. I might want kids. What else do I want? He wanted to think about it, but decided to close his eyes again to give them a rest for a moment, first.
The next thing he knew, someone was knocking on his window. Owen woke with a start. The ferry attendant moved on without giving him a second look. It took him a moment to get his bearings before he drove his truck off the ferry. He decided to go to Derek and Meredith's house before going to the trailer. As he drove the familiar route through the island, he couldn't believe what a mess things were. Someone had obviously been through to clear the roads, because there were large piles of debris along the sides of them. It looked like there had been significant flooding in the area. He was grateful Derek had built his house on a hill. It was early, so most of the businesses were still closed, but there seemed to be a lot going on at the hardware store. The parking lot was about half full and it looked like people were camped outside of it waiting for it to open.
Finally, Owen made it to the road that led to the Shepherd house and the trailer. As soon as he turned onto it, he groaned. This stretch of road had not been cleared and there was debris all over it. He proceeded down it slowly. The road ran about a mile and a half though the woods. It was littered with leaves and branches, most of which his truck could easily drive over. He stopped and dragged some of the larger branches out of the way and hoped against hope that there wouldn't be any downed trees.
It took him a while, but finally, he made it to the Shepherd house. Meredith had left her car parked in the driveway and a tree had fallen on it. Miraculously, it appeared to have done minimal damage. None of the windows had broken, but there would be some dents and scratched paint to deal with. Owen unlocked the front door to the house and found Meredith's suitcase for the hospital right inside the door, where they said it would be. Owen made his way through the downstairs of the house looking for damage. He could tell that there had been some flooding in the laundry room and garage. The water had receded, but some of the stuff they had stored there was ruined. He turned on both the washer and dryer and they worked, but they would need to have a serviceman come out to check them to be sure there was not any lasting damage.
Owen found a small broken window panel in the master bedroom. He cleaned up all the glass and taped a trash bag over it as a temporary fix. He would have to go to the hardware stop after all to get plywood to cover it up better.
Next, he gathered up the items on a list Meredith had give him of things they needed. In addition to Meredith's suitcase, they needed a couple of changes of clothes for Derek and Zola, some overnight diapers for Zola and some of her books and toys. She had been spending a lot of time in the hospital daycare, but she needed things to entertain her when she in Meredith's hospital room.
As he walked around the house, Owen couldn't help taking stock. If it were his house, he would have used less wood paneling; he would have the kitchen a bit more closed off, so it felt more like its own room; he liked that the master bedroom was downstairs; he would have two living areas- a formal one for guests and a more casual one for the family to use everyday, etc, etc.
After he had everything packed up, Owen looked at his watch. It was 10 am. He was going to be cutting it close by the time he grabbed what he needed from the trailer, visited the hardware store and came back and fixed the window.
Owen talked to Derek on the phone as he drove to the trailer. Derek was glad the damage wasn't worse and profusely thanked Owen for his help. Owen had to drive down the road that led to the trailer slowly because of the debris on it, and when he finally reached the clearing and could see the trailer in the distance, Derek heard Owen curse.
"What? What is it?" Derek asked.
Owen couldn't believe his eyes. His mouth hung open as he drove closer.
"Owen?"
"I- it's-" Owen took a deep breath as he stopped the truck and turned it off. He shook his head. "It rolled over."
"What? The trailer?"
"Yeah the trailer." Owen got out of his truck and walk slowly toward it. "A tree fell and pushed it over on its side. The front door is pointed up at the sky, now. I'm sorry, Derek."
"No, I'm sorry, Owen. All your stuff is in there!"
Owen cringed. "Let me climb up and look inside, then I'll call you back."
"Okay. Send me a photo!" Derek replied.
"You got it," Owen said before hanging up. He took a picture of the rolled over trailer and sent it to Derek. Derek texted back the same obscenity Owen had uttered when he first saw it.
Owen walked around the trailer and finally found a place he could climb up on top of it. He gingerly walked across what used to be the front of the trailer to the door and unlocked it. When he opened the door, the smell about knocked him over. The freezer and refrigerator had come open and there was rotting food all over the floor and it was all mixed in with his clothes and personal affects. He hadn't brought a lot with him to the trailer, mostly just his clothes, but he did bring some photos and some mementos from his time in the army. He held his breath and stuck his head down into the trailer and looked toward the bed area. He could see the picture of him and Cristina that he'd had by his bed. The glass of its frame was broken and it looked like it had gotten wet.
Owen practically slammed the door before locking it and getting down off the trailer. He got back in his truck and sat there. This was nobody's fault, but he was angry. He needed to cool down. He needed to call Derek back. He needed to go to the hardware store. He needed to get all his stuff out of the trailer before it got worse in there. No way in hell he was going to get back to the hospital by noon, now.
"I want a house," Owen declared out loud to no one.