Hey Guys!
Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback I've been getting with My Boys. This story is a sequel to it. If you haven't read it, you can find it easily by clicking on my profile and going to my stories.
This one sets about six months after the first one ends.
I hope you all enjoy it!
My Boys: Better Days – Chapter One
Amelia came down the stairs, tying up her hair in a loose bun. She had a long day at work, scrubbing in on seven surgeries. It was already past 9 pm when she was finally able to drive home through the snowy streets of Seattle. As they entered the weeks before the holiday season, every house in the neighborhood was being decorated with colorful lights, Santa dolls and reindeers. Amelia had always been a huge fan of Christmas, but ever since she had been able to celebrate it with her own family, the holidays had become even more special.
After a hot shower and checking on her four sleeping sons, she joined her husband in the living room. Owen was looking through his cell phone while the news played on the TV.
"Baby, are there any dinner leftovers?" Amelia asked as she entered the room.
Owen distractedly put his phone aside to look at her.
"I don't think so, I didn't save any because I thought you would have eaten at the hospital. But if you're hungry I can cook you something."
"Nah, that's ok, I'll just make a sandwich, thanks." She smiled and left to the kitchen.
Owen noticed her toned, naked thighs at the hem of the tiny shorts she was wearing. It was freezing outside, and she was usually cold all the time, but it wouldn't be Amelia if she didn't wear shorts in the winter.
When she made it back to the room, holding a sandwich in one hand and a mug with hot chocolate in the other, Owen stretched out one of his arms, silently inviting her to join him on the couch.
"Something smells good," Owen said as she snuggled next to him, sitting with her folded legs.
"What, the hot chocolate?"
"No, you" Owen smiled at her and touched his nose to the crook of her neck, breathing her in. She smelled like vanilla and clean clothes.
Amelia chuckled when his stubble rubbed on the soft skin of her neck, almost spilling the content of her mug on his leg.
"Be careful, it's hot," She laughed as she reprimanded him, giving Owen the mug. He took it and stole a sip before holding it while she ate the sandwich.
"How were the surgeries today?" Owen asked, shifting on the couch to make himself more comfortable.
"I drained an abscess from a cerebellum today. I can't remember if I had ever performed one of those," Amelia commented casually, finishing her sandwich. "What about you? Busy much?"
"Nah, just the ordinary stuff," Owen flipped through the channels, looking for sports news.
"Not with the football again," Amelia protested, trying to steal the remote, but Owen moved it away from her reach.
"I was here first," Owen hoped to avoid any discussion from her part with that simple argument.
Amelia frowned, but it didn't soften him. When the sports guy started talking about the NFL week, she gave up trying to get his attention and went back to the kitchen to wash her dishes.
"I'm going to bed because I'm exhausted," She informed him "You stay there and finish your news." She scowled at him on purpose, rolling her eyes.
"You can deny all you want, but the truth is you love our team," Owen pointed at her shirt with his eyes. Amelia was wearing a white T shirt with the Seattle Seahawks logo stamped on the front.
Amelia looked down at the shirt, noticing the stamp for the first time. She shrugged, unwilling to admit he was right. Over the years she had been bombarded with every single piece of news about the team her husband and sons loved so much, she had actually become a fan of the game herself.
Amelia laid on the bed, snuggling the soft pillows. She didn't like going to bed alone, it felt cold and empty but she was so tired from spending the entire day standing up in the OR that she really needed to lie down and relax her muscles. She dozed off almost instantly, but minutes later, she woke up when Owen softly slid beneath the duvet, his chest touching her back gently as he tried not to wake her.
Amelia shifted lightly, leaning against him and pulling his arm around her waist. Once he realized she was awake, Owen buried his face on her hair, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't surprised when his hand grasped her chin possessively, bringing her to face him so he could kiss her at his will. Owen brushed his lips with her, gently making her open her mouth to deepen the kiss for a good few seconds.
"And now you can go back to sleep," Owen teased, running his fingers through her hair to caress her as he pulled apart.
Amelia smiled with her eyes closed, nestled in his arms and finally relaxed enough to fall into a deep sleep.
"Momma, can we write ours letters to Santa today?" Thomas asked cheerfully at the breakfast table the next morning. "My teacher said it's already time to put it on the mail."
"Sure we can," Amelia replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee "What are you guys asking Santa this year?"
"I was a good boy," Lucas said without modesty "So I'm gonna ask for the new lego that has the big fireman station."
Amelia thought to herself that was an easy one. She waited to see if Thomas would also cooperate with her Christmas shopping.
"I want a gas station for my cars," Thomas said, a big smile on his face "Do you think Santa can make one that comes with a parking garage too, mom?"
"I am sure he will try very hard," Amelia made a mental note not to forget about the parking garage when she went out to buy their presents.
"I love Santa," Lucas said, taking another bite of his eggs.
"He loves you right back," Amelia grinned, thinking how much longer it would take the boys to find out that the Santa Klaus who they visited every year at the hospital was actually Alex Karev in a costume.
Later that day, Amelia helped the boys fold and finish the letters they'd written to Santa. She noticed, not for the first time, that while Thomas could easily write all letters and vowels, despite still being in kindergarten, Lucas, who had already started 1st grade in the fall, was still struggling to write appropriately. Aside from his own name, there was hardly anything else that was understandable in his letter, and more than a few times, the letters were mirror-written.
Amelia left out a sigh and decided she needed to do something about it. She and Owen had spoken to Lucas's teacher more than once about the same problem, but had been told some kids struggle a little more than others to learn the alphabet. Amelia knew deep inside her that was probably not Lucas's problem, he had always shown signs of an above average intelligence and his speech was very fluent. Things were just not adding up. So, after talking to Owen, they decided to schedule an appointment with his pediatrician to investigate what might be causing Lucas's difficulty.
After setting up the dishwasher, Amelia sat on the kitchen counter, sorting the mail. Owen noticed his wife's bare feet hanging from the marble counter, moving back and forth. He loved it how she managed to look so beautiful, relaxed, and happy, even after pulling long hours at work.
"Did you know we have a subscription for National Geographic?" Amelia frowned, opening the bill "Have we ever received an issue? Like, ever?"
"We sure have," Owen informed her, putting the leftovers from dinner on the fridge. "I read it every month."
"And what do you do with it afterwards? Because I've never seen it around," Amelia asked provocatively, laughing at the situation. According to the bill, the subscription was on her name. She didn't remember ever signing it.
Owen was about to tell her he stacked them in the coffee table in the living room, as he had done for the past six months, but his cell phone buzzed and he got distracted by it.
"Owen?" Amelia tried to bring him down to Earth "Do you have a new secret you need to tell me about?" She kept on her playful voice. Owen looked at her in confusion, and Amelia explained "You've been on your phone a lot, lately. I'm just wondering if there's something new I should know about… New research, new employee, new girlfriend…"
Owen immediately looked into her eyes and Amelia burst out laughing, making him loosen up too.
"Nope, just a bunch of emails pilling up on my inbox," Owen answered honestly and Amelia believed him. He took one step closer, still tapping on his phone and got within Amelia's reach. She wrapped her legs around his hips, keeping him near her while his free hand ran through her back, beneath her shirt. "Actually… I wasn't going to bring this up, but it's the Army that's been sending me all these emails."
"The Army?" Amelia asked in confusion, swallowing hard. She was actually afraid of what she would hear next.
"No, nothing like that," Owen saw the terror in her eyes and dropped his phone on the counter, cupping her cheek with his hand "It's not another tour or anything like that," He noticed Amelia had relaxed and let out a breath she probably didn't know she had been holding. "They've invited me to a camp in Charleston. A new team of doctors is deploying soon and they wanted me as an instructor. You know, someone who's been on the field long enough and who has been through… well… bad circumstances. They thought I could help the new team by sharing previous experiences so the surgeons know what's expecting them on the field."
"And do you want to go?" Amelia placed her hand on the top of his that was resting on her face.
"I can't," Owen confessed, visibly disappointed "It's a three week program. I could never leave you here alone with the kids for so long."
"Babe, if you want to go, we can work something out," Amelia said, trying to be supportive. She knew Owen loved the military and even though he had retired a long time ago, in his heart he had never stopped being an army man.
"Absolutely not," Owen brought her hands together with his and kissed her knuckles "All I want to do is stay here with you and the boys."
"But it sounds like…"
"It sounds like there is nothing left to decide," Owen interrupted her, and to make sure she wasn't going to insist on the subject, he stole her attention with an insistent kiss.
The following week, Amelia entered the hospital on a Wednesday morning holding hands with Lucas. She had dropped off the rest of the gang on the way to work, and would meet Owen at work after his night shift, so they both could be present for their oldest son's consult.
The minute Lucas stepped into the hall he was instantly recognized as Owen Hunt's son and a lot of people waved from distance or said hello. Amelia noticed with a smile how her six old year loved the attention and got into the elevator with him, skipping the surgical floor straight to the Pediatric Wing.
Dr. Oliver Davis was a man in his fifties and had been a pediatrician for nearly thirty years. After a thorough history and simple neurological exams, he decided to keep Lucas scheduled for a follow up, but his final opinion was that Lucas had a very good chance of being dyslexic.
Amelia and Owen, being doctors and attentive parents, weren't exactly surprised with the very likely diagnosis, but Amelia felt like a piece of her heart had been ripped from her chest. Later that day, as she helped Lucas with his homework, she started to wonder how was it fair that her perfectly healthy and happy child had to go through that. Lucas was still young, but the condition would affect him his entire life, and he would struggle a lot, especially in school.
The thought of her adored son being hurt or feeling unworthy because of the neurological condition made Amelia cringe. She didn't want that for Lucas, no mother would want it. She knew it was possible to live with dyslexia and actually succeed academically, but she feared Lucas's motivation in school would take a toll. He had never struck her or Owen as a much disciplined kind, and deep down in heart she knew this was going to play a big role on her son's school years.
"This is not a death sentence, Amelia," Owen tried to comfort her, after seeing his wife standing by the living room window, aimlessly gazing through the glass doors to the snow outside.
"I know," She said distractedly.
"Davis isn't sure if he can call it dyslexia. He said frequent mistakes in spelling, reading and writing are to be expected at this age. We can't know for sure yet."
"Oh, I know," Amelia said. In her heart she knew Oliver Davis was right.
"Babe, this is not a prediction of failure," Owen took one step closer, joining her. "He will still learn. We will support him, always. And we will make sure he knows he is bright, and creative and smart and that we will love him no matter what."
"This is going to affect his self esteem, Owen. He will often be frustrated and he will think he is dumb."
Amelia understood about feeling unfit or unworthy. She didn't want that for any of her boys, ever.
"We will be here to make sure he doesn't feel that way," Owen reached out to her and Amelia wrapped both arms around his shoulders, needing that hug more than ever.
Owen knew there wasn't much else he could say. As a parent, he felt the stabbing pain too. Their son had a chronic condition that could be lessened, but never cured. Lucas was six years old and he would have to go through life struggling to learning. The thought of that made Owen immediately want to take away the pain from his son, but he know he couldn't. Unfortunately, Lucas would have to grow up and face the world with.
"I wish he could stay forever young," Amelia said, as if reading Owen's mind "I wish he could stay forever in my arms so I could protect him from everything."
Owen chuckled, understanding the feeling very well himself.
"Me too. But unfortunately, we can't. We can't shield him from the world. All we can do is prepare him the best way possible to defend himself. And that, we can do together."
Amelia still felt sad and heartbroken when she went to bed that night, but she didn't feel so scared anymore. Owen's words had a calming and comforting effect on her, as usual. She was still worried and upset about Lucas's condition, but she knew they would have the strength to get through it.
For her family, she was capable of anything.
Thoughts?