This is for omeliafics theme of the week: meeting the parents. I also felt it fit well with Mother's Day being today; hence, the timing! I needed some gaps filled in so I hope you like it!

A Mother's Love

"I didn't know you were planning a visit, Mom," Amelia says, logging her patient's neuro exam on one of the iPads. Her mother had just walked into the ER, asking for Dr. Shepherd, to which April had pointed her in the right direction.

"I know, I know," Mrs. Shepherd nods along with her words.

"Then why are you here?" Amelia turns her head, looking in her mother's direction, but refusing to meet her eyes. Instead, they glare steadfastly at the wall just behind her mother's shoulders. There's a crack in the wall they still haven't fixed. It's been there long enough for some discoloring, and she fixes her eyes on it. There are too many emotions inside of her. She can't do this. At least not here, in full view of everyone.

Mrs. Shepherd tilts her head, trying and failing to meet her youngest's eyes. "Maybe we could talk?" She watches as Amelia walks a few steps away to set the iPad on a charger. "Please, Amelia."

Exhaling deeply, Amelia makes her decision. "I know a place." She turns quickly, motioning for her mother to follow. Amelia makes her way down the hall and up the stairs, then turns into a teaching room. "No one should come in here. Classes are in the morning," she says, pulling out a metal stool to sit on. She waits for her mother to do the same and, after she does, Amelia folds her hands in her lap, looking up at her mother expectantly.

Mrs. Shepherd blows out a steady stream of air, fiddling with her fingers. It's a habit she's passed on to her daughter. That thought alone only serves to increase her feelings of guilt. "I lied to you."

Amelia cringes. The last time someone had said that, it was Addison telling her she didn't think she was good enough to be her surrogate. Of course, Addison had corrected it, saying she was important in her son's life, but the fear of those words still linger. It's because they are tethered with inadequacy and failure. She was never enough. She is never enough. "About what?" she asks, trying to keep herself calm, her breathing level and even.

"Why I didn't come to your wedding." She lets out a breath, finally looking her daughter in the eyes. The eyes that remind her so much of her husband; the eyes that remind her so much of Derek. "I told you it was because you two were on and off again. That you were rushing things." She gently holds Amelia's hand, letting out a little sigh of relief when she isn't shaken off. "It was fast, but I know you. If it wasn't serious, or serious enough, you wouldn't have wanted to get married at all. I mean, I saw what happened when James proposed." She shrugs. "He wasn't the right guy. But Owen," she says, pausing to squeeze her daughter's hand, "Owen is the right man. He loves you so much." A stray tear begins it trek down her mother's softly-aged cheek.

"So why didn't you come?" Amelia tries to keep her composure, silently cursing how her voice wavers.

Mrs. Shepherd sighs. "I didn't come because of Derek." Her blue orbs meet her daughter's, mixing and melding in a way only mother and daughter can do. "I couldn't come back, not after the funeral. I couldn't face it." She sniffles. "I couldn't watch your father not walking you down the aisle. I couldn't watch Derek missing his chance to fill in. But I should have. Because you are my daughter and I love you. I've loved you since the moment you were born, probably even before that." She releases Amelia's hand and moves her left palm to cup her daughter's cheek. "I hope that, one day, you can forgive me."

And, with those words, it's as if the storm is lifted. The dam is let loose and all the emotions, all of the hurt, all of the fear, from that day is gone. Amelia starts to cry, loud, gasping sobs, as she allows her head to fall forward to her mother's chest. Her body is wracked with sobs, emotions swirling in the vortex of her mind, but instead of feeling miserable, she feels relieved. Her mother is still her mother. Her mother loves her. She does not break everything she touches.

When they finally part, Amelia sniffles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hands. "Good thing I don't wear a lot of make-up." She chuckles, then meets her mom's eyes once more. "Thank you. For telling me that."

Her mother nods. "It's the least I could do. I owed you an explanation." She stands up, wrapping her hands around her daughter's cheeks. She gives her daughter a tender kiss on the forehead, then steps back. "I'll leave now. I just wanted to tell you that in person." She turns to pick up her discarded bag, pulling it over her shoulder.

"Wait, Mom," Amelia says, standing up quickly and placing a tiny hand on her mother's back. When Mrs. Shepherd turns around, Amelia continues. "You could stay over, if you want. Owen's off and my shift ends in twenty minutes. You could have dinner with us." She stutters, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "I mean, if you want to. If you don't have a plane to catch or-"

"Amy," her mother cuts off her hurried words, "I'd love to." Amelia exhales, the corners of her lips turning up. "So, I'll see you in twenty minutes?"

Her mother nods. "I'll be waiting," she says with a smile.

The twenty minutes pass quickly for both women: Amelia has one more ER consult and Mrs. Shepherd takes her time grabbing a coffee and chatting with Meredith. They meet in the lobby, Amelia in her street clothes, at 6:45 and the drive home is a quick, somehow trafficless, ten minute ride of easy conversation.

"Oh, this is so cute," Mrs. Shepherd says as Amelia parks on the gravel lot. "Nice location, too."

"Owen picked it." Amelia unbuckles, and unlocks the car doors. "Before we were married." Once the get out of the car, Amelia points a little ways down the lot. "I proposed to him right there." She smiles, her voice taking on an airy quality Mrs. Shepherd hasn't seen since before her husband's death.

Her mother wraps an arm around her waist. "I'm sure you caught him off-guard." She laughs when Amelia nods, her baby cackling herself. "My little hurricane," Mrs. Shepherd says fondly, "what am I ever going to do with you?"

They walk to the front door, both giggling slightly, before Amelia takes out her key and slides it into the lock. Hearing the faint click, she pushes the door open and calls, "Owen, I'm home."

He walks out from their bedroom, no doubt working on the piles of laundry they've left sitting for far too long, when he stops in surprise. "Hello, Mrs. Shepherd," he says, offering her a tight hug.

"Nice to see you again, Major Hunt." She pats him on the back as she withdraws from his touch.

"Wait, what did I miss?" Amelia asks, looking between the two, eyebrows furrowed. "You two know each other?"

"I met him several years back when I came to meet Meredith for the first time. Derek introduced us, albeit quickly." She smiles in Owen's direction.

"But, of course," Owen says, taking the few steps to meet his wife, pushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear once he does, "we haven't officially met as your daughter's husband." He leans in to peck her lips ever so delicately, before stepping to her side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. At his soothing touch, Amelia allows her head to relax in the crook of his neck.

"And I am terribly sorry for that." Mrs. Shepherd looks between their eyes, her sincerity radiating from her own blue orbs. "That was actually the reason for my visit. To make amends with Amelia."

Amelia nods, her hair tickling the sensitive skin of his neck. "We can talk more about that later. As for now, maybe we could get some dinner? I'm starving," she chuckles.

"I was just about to text you. I figured we could get take-out?"

"Sounds good. I don't think we have any food in the fridge to begin with, so take-out is our only option."

"I don't know if I would trust your cooking even if there was food," Mrs. Shepherd says with a laugh, earning an indignant "Hey!" from Amelia.

"How about Thai?"

"Okay," Amelia says, nodding. "But not the one on Mercer Street, the one on 1st Ave is better."

He laughs, his eyes crinkling at his wife's antics. "They taste the same! And 1st Ave is farther away."

She pulls away, staring at him in mock disappointment. "I cannot believe you just said that." She shakes her head. "I'll have my usual, from 1st," she emphasizes, "and only from 1st." Her mother looks fondly at the two of them, now lost in a silent conversation, and can't help but feel her chest warm at the sight.

"Fine," Owen relents, tickling her sides lightly. "I'll drive to the one you like." Amelia wiggles a little in victory, even though they all know he was never going to say no to her. "But you have to call it in."

"Deal." She takes everyone's orders, then excuses herself to call it in, leaving her mother and husband alone in the living room.

"Want to sit?" Owen motions to the couch, happy when she accepts. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, no dear, I'm fine," Mrs. Shepherd says, patting his thigh gently after he sits beside her. "I can wait for dinner first." He nods, not sure where to go from there. She tilts her head, smiling a little at this man before her. Always so reserved and respectful. "Thank you, for loving my daughter." She smirks at the speed at which he meets her gaze. "I've never wanted anything more for her than to be happy and loved. And you gave that to her. You give that to her." She moves her hand to squeeze his lightly. "So thank you. For being her person."

His voice catches, choked by emotion, at the words so easily spoken. They hold so much meaning and yet she had no qualms saying it. It's all he's ever wanted with his wife: to be her person, forever and always. "You haven't even seen me with her. How can you know that? How can you be so sure?"

She sighs, light and free. "I don't need to spend a lot of time with a person to get a good read on them." Her eyes are bright with raw emotion as she says her next words. "The look in your eyes," she whispers, as if sharing a secret. "There's no denying the love there. Then there's the way she talks about you and you, her. The quiet intimacy that is so evident in your interactions." He blushes at her words. "My daughter is not a hard person to love. Never has been," Mrs. Shepherd says. "But she's never been one who loves easily." She watches Owen's eyes soften, his concern for his wife registering as pain. "But she loves you. You broke through her defenses." She pats his cheek, the pressure tender but strong. "I am so happy to call you my son."

He is at a loss for words, so he simply wraps his arms around her, holding her close, a few tears dropping despite his will to keep them at bay. "Thank you."

She grips him a little tighter, and he knows she heard him. "What's going on?" Amelia asks, voice high and confusion evident in her voice.

The two take their time separating, wide smiles painted across their faces. "Wouldn't you like to know." Mrs. Shepherd says with a chuckle. She looks between her children, heart bursting with love. "Conversations between a mother and her son are serious business-secrets really-just like those with her daughter," she turns her head in Amelia's direction, catching the softening of her daughter's face as the meaning of the words wash over her.

Now more than ever, love is all that lives here.

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

~Agatha Christie

Thank you for reading! I really needed a better reason as to why Mrs. Shepherd didn't come to the wedding. Comments are much appreciated :)