Amen2
Make You Feel My Love
That afternoon was the first time Amelia had run into Owen since they'd been together at the trailer. He saw her and was just beginning to call out to her when their eyes met, "Dr. Shep…" Amelia interrupted as she smiled back, "Yes, Dr. Hunt?" Owen paused and slightly sputtered, "Ummm…could we… uh, chat for a moment?" Amelia noticed Owen seemed just a touch anxious as she responded, "Of course." Her confident and reassuring response was met with Owen putting his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into a nearby empty patient room.
"How are you?" Owen asked methodically. He was really trying not to be awkward. "I'm good," Amelia smirked, "Really. We're just moving on like it didn't happen, right?" She confirmed the agreement they'd made in the Airstream that morning, "Friends." Owen did not respond, so Amelia added, "Friends." Owen, looking a little puzzled yet relieved, echoed, "Yeah, friends," as he awkwardly hugged the body he'd passionately explored with ease only hours earlier. Owen's mouth was near her ear as they hugged and Owen whispered, "Yeah…friends."
Amelia pulled back and looked at the floor, "So, friend, I have a small favor to ask of you." She concluded her sentence by looking up at Owen while her head remained tilted downward. Owen, unconsciously, put his fingers to her chin to gently pull up her face, saying a bit too romantically, "Anything." Amelia kept her chin up but looked at Owen's shoulder as she explained, "Well…I need a scrip." Owen snapped back into the moment and responded, "Oh. Something controlled for a patient? I've got time for a consult." Amelia explained, "I'm the patient." Amelia smiled awkwardly as she finally found the courage to look Owen in the eye, "Umm… I'm not using any birth control and… well, neither did you. Everything just kind of happened, and…" Amelia felt so awkward. Owen broke the discomfort, "Do you need a prescription for Lovonorgestel?" he asked as he took out his iPad to order the scrip. Amelia sighed in relief, "Yeah. Thanks."
Owen, now clearly in doctor mode, clarified, "Which pharmacy?" Amelia responded, "Well, hell, I'm not getting out of here anytime soon. Just send it to the in-house pharmacy and I'll pray anyone involved is discreet." Owen chuckled, "I'd suggest using the Walgreens about two blocks from here." Amelia nodded and smiled. Owen continued as her doctor, "Any surgeries today? I'm concerned about the dizziness and other possible side effects." Amelia nodded, "Right. Nope. It's a paperwork, pre-op and post-op kind of day. If an emergency comes in and I don't feel up to it, I can assign someone else – it's looking like a light day for neuro at this point." Owen smiled as he hit the button to send the prescription through, "Done. Sorry you had to ask for that – it's not a problem, but I guess we should have…" Amelia interrupted, "It's ok, Owen, really. Let's just stop talking and get back to work." The two left the room, one headed to the elevator and the other toward the nurse's station.
About an hour later, Derek was tapping a pencil on his desk wishing he had a packed schedule. Nothing made him more antsy than having too much time on his hands. He sent a text to Meredith to see if she needed any errands run. At least a walk would help break up the time, he thought. She texted back a request, asking him to go to the pharmacy down the street to pick up a prescription for Bailey. Derek took the stairs so he could stretch his legs and headed down the street.
When Derek arrived at the pharmacy, he spoke to the pharmacy assistant, sharing, "My wife sent me down here to pick up a prescription for our son, Derek Bailey Shepherd." The assistant went to the bins to locate the scrip. As she went through the prescriptions awaiting pick up, she noticed one for Amelia Shepherd at the same address and with the same insurance carrier. "It looks like you have two prescriptions ready to take home actually," she announced. Derek, who was engaged in a game on his iPhone, glanced up absent-mindedly and offered his credit card saying, "Oh. OK." The clerk put the scrips in a bag, rang up the transaction and handed Derek his card. Derek took the bag and headed back toward the hospital, wondering what he would do once he returned.
To pass the time, Derek lingered in the main lobby and tried to connect with friends and colleagues as they passed by. Once everyone seemed to head in their own directions, Derek sat down on one of the lobby chairs. Without much to do, Derek reached into the bag to see what Bailey had been prescribed. Instead, as he reached in, he pulled out Amelia's prescription and became completely puzzled. He thought to himself, "Why would Mer need the morning after pill?" He looked more closely at the bottle and saw that Amelia's name was on the label. The protective big brother in Derek sighed heavily, wondering, "Really?! Who is she having sex with and why isn't she being more careful?" He felt like grabbing Amy's shoulders and shaking some sense into her. Derek grasped the prescription and put it into his lab coat pocket, then he leaned his head against the back of the chair and looked up at the skylights.
About five minutes later, Amelia walked by the waiting room bundled up in a coat and heading toward the main doors. She noticed Derek sitting there looking ridiculous and decided she'd go surprise him with a sisterly shove. Derek's eyes were closed and he didn't hear Amy coming toward him. Amy saddled up alongside his chair as she swiped her hand on the back of his head and said, "Hey, Slacker." Derek lowered his brow and looked at her seriously. He slowly offered, "Amelia." Amelia was caught off guard, Derek always called her Amy. Only their dad and Derek called her Amy. Amelia grinned curiously and asked with a hint of laughter in her voice, "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?" She wondered why Derek was being so serious and stern.
"Well," Derek said as he reached into his pocket, "Follow me." Amy responded with a twinkle in her eye, "I'm on my way down the block. Can I catch you later or am I grounded?" Derek rolled his eyes, "Very funny. It'll just take a minute and, trust me, you don't want to continue this conversation out here in the lobby." The two headed down to a Consultation Room just at the end of a nearby hallway.
Amelia asked, "So what's up with you, Mr. Serious?" Derek looked at her and asked, "So how are you settling in here in Seattle?" His voice communicated that there was an agenda behind his question. Amelia was puzzled and wondered what the hell was up. She responded slowly, "Fine…Is that what you couldn't ask in the lobby? What the hell, Derek?" Derek explained, "I'm worried you are in over your head and being careless." Derek reached into his pocket and handed Amelia her scrip, "I went to pick up a prescription for Bailey and I think the clerk thought we were married – same insurance company, same last name, same address."
Amelia was frustrated with herself as she noticed her heart was beating fast in response to Derek's manner and words. She flashed back to when she was a teenager, and their mom would often ask Derek to speak to Amy to try to talk sense into her. Amelia felt like she was seated on the couch in their childhood home with her college-aged, uber-successful brother sitting across from her with his arms folded, looking at her sternly and with disappointment. But in the few seconds between his words and her response, she remembered she was a grown up and realized she didn't owe him any explanation whatsoever.
"Umm…yeah, cool. Saves me an errand. How much do I owe you for the copay?" she asked as she pulled out her wallet. Her tone of voice was chatty and sounded like nonchalant confidence. Sternly and seriously, Derek said, "I'm not concerned about the copay, Amelia, but I am concerned about the prescription. I'm also wondering why the Chief of Surgery wrote the scrip." Amy approached Derek and lightly touched him on the arm even though she would have much rather punched him in the face. "Derek," she offered with gentleness using every ounce of self-control she could muster, "I truly appreciate your concern. I'm an adult, not a troubled teen or active addict in need of your rescuing. I don't need to explain my prescriptions to you, especially a Schedule 5 non-addictive medication."
Derek pulled his arm away from Amy's hand and raised his voice, "Amelia. I'm concerned about you because you're obviously going around having unprotected sex and needing to take the morning after pill. It's careless. If you're taking this, you're being impulsive and lacking self-control." Derek paused and brushed his hand through his hair as he stood up and leaned down to his sister who still seated, then he continued, "Your problems become my problems whether either of us like it or not." Amelia stood up, hoping the non-verbal positioning would make a point even though she was much shorter than him. Firmly and loudly, she declared, "Derek, this is absolutely none of your business. Furthermore, I am not responsible for your codependence, so knock off the 'your problems become my problems' crap." Amelia held his gaze, determined to be the last one to look away.
After a full minute of silence, Derek broke the silence, "Amy, it just seems reckless. I get worried about you when I think you're making reckless choices. I'm your big brother, but you are completely right. It isn't my business. I'm sorry. I apologize for confronting you on this." Derek extended his arms out to hug his sister, but Amelia's anger was now boiling. She allowed Derek to hug her but she did not reciprocate. She pulled away with intensity, saying flatly, "Reckless, huh? Seems pretty damn responsible to me." Amelia turned to leave, and Derek stepped next to her. He put his arm around her, trying to shift the tone and lighten her anger, "So, who's the lucky guy? Anyone I know?" Amelia retorted quickly, "None of your damn business." Then she playfully shoved his upper arm.
Just then, Owen knocked softly on the door and entered. One of the nurses had alerted him that they could hear yelling from the conference room. Seeing the siblings, he asked with a grin, "Sharing a little Shepherd family love?" Owen really hoped he didn't sound as uncomfortable as he was. Amelia responded quickly, sensing an opportunity to extricate herself, "Pardon me, gentlemen. Owen. Derek." Both men offered their goodbyes. Now alone with Owen, Derek looked into Owen's eyes. He considered pushing Owen about writing Amelia's scrip. Instead, knowing that was completely out of line, Derek nodded his head and smirked as he explained, "I have a surgery." Owen nodded in response and went looking for Amelia.
After he turned the corner, Owen spotted Amelia on a computer. He approached her and asked gently, "Gotta minute?" Amelia looked up at him and shook her head, "Sure." Owen looked around to ensure that nobody else could hear them as he stammered, "I was thinking of seeing a movie tonight, which isn't very fun alone. I'm wondering if my friend Amelia might want to join me for dinner and a movie." Amelia beamed and patted Owen's shoulder, "Sure, friend, that sounds nice. What time?" Amelia was relieved to have a reason to be out of her brother's house. Owen tried to contain his joy and suggested, "I'll pick you up at 6?" Amelia suggested, "How about if I make my way to your place and we go from there?" She nodded toward the waiting room, "Less for big brother to worry about that way." Owen chuckled and agreed.
Dinner that night was a touch awkward as the two attempted to navigate the conversation and to contain their growing feelings for one another, "So," Owen began, "help me get to know my new friend better. Let's see…favorite color?" Amelia smiled, "Red." Owen responded, "Ah…a wild girl, huh?" Then he pointed at himself, "Orange." "A unique answer from a unique guy," Amelia observed, "Ok, my turn, Where were you raised?" Owen responded, "Here in Seattle, about 6 blocks from the hospital." Amelia responded, "New York." "Med school?" Owen asked. "Harvard," Amy shared. Owen responded, "Me too!" "Siblings?" Amelia asked. "Only child," came the response, "and you have a brother and…three?...sisters?" Amelia nodded and added, "I'm the baby, actually the 'oops, surprise, black sheep baby of the family." Both giggled as the waitress brought their food.
After a few bites and a bit of silence, Owen asked, "So do friends talk about past relationships? Or should we avoid that topic?" Amelia suggested, "Let's avoid it for now. I think it's fair game, I'm just not in that space right now." Owen nodded, wondering about her story and life.
After dinner, the couple walked to the movie theatre. The sun had gone down and the temperature had really dropped. Seeing Amelia folding her arms and rubbing her hands together, Owen took off his jacket. He put it around Amelia's shoulders and left his arm around her as she returned the gesture by putting an arm around his waist. She looked up at him, smiling, "Thank you, friend." Owen smirked, but deep inside thought, "Friend…great. I'd rather be more."
During the movie, Owen set his hand very close to Amelia's, letting his index finger touch her pinky. Her hand fell naturally into his and remained on his leg throughout the film. The friend-lover line seemed to have the potential of being crossed again tonight. Amelia wasn't so sure she'd resist that. In fact, she was kind of hoping for it.
At the end of the evening as they drove onto Derek's property, Owen pulled in and asked, "Shall I drive you up to the house or walk you home from the trailer?" Amelia chose the latter. Moments later, they parked and she tried to subtly indicate that she was open to going inside. Owen grabbed a sweatshirt from his truck, put it on and began walking toward the house. The two walked silently as they headed to Derek and Meredith's with their hands in their pockets. Occasionally, they caught glances and smiled. They reached the house and Amelia offered, "Want to come in?" Owen was trying so hard to respect the decision they'd come to that morning. He explained, "I'd better not. I've got to be at the hospital early tomorrow, but…uh… thanks." Amelia wanted to wrap her arms around him and start ravenously kissing him, but instead said, "Tonight was lovely. Thanks for the nice night." Owen gave her a quick hug and said, "Yes, it was, friend." Amelia took off Owen's coat and handed it to him as she went inside.
As Owen walked back to the trailer, his head hung low as he thought with regret, "Damn. I should have gone in. I really like her." Meanwhile, once inside, Amelia leaned against the closed front door, breathing deeply and feeling full of emotion. A few tears silently fell down her face as Amelia began to realize that she clearly wanted to be more than Owen's friend. Derek poked his head out from his bedroom, "Aims? You're home late." Amelia took in a big breath and said, "Goodnight, Derek" as she walked to her bedroom.
Lyrics from the title
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
no doubt in my mind were you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love
FF_6295206_ 1/31/2015
