Here goes Chapter 2. Hope you all like it. Reviews are much appreciated. Thanks especially to Belle for proof reading this.
My Boys – Chapter 2
Amelia paced down the stairs holding one of the twins in her arms, an empty milk bottle in her hand and one sock to which she couldn't find the pair. Everybody was going to be late for school and work.
It was a typical morning in the Hunt household.
"Momma, will you and dad make it to my soccer game today? Pleeease" Lucas begged as he watched his mother put one of the twins in the folding highchair.
"I promise I will try my very best, honey" Amelia replied, as she poured orange juice in two sippy cups and started scrambling eggs almost at the same time. She hadn't scheduled any complicated surgeries for the day because she wanted to go watch her son, but she couldn't fully promise him because of the last minute emergencies that arrived often in the ER.
"Babe, have you seen my car keys?" Owen asked rushing down the stairs with the other twin in his arm. The toddler was missing a sock.
"No, I haven't" Amelia replied, dividing the eggs between two blue plates "Have you tried the living room toy chest? And where is Thomas, by the way?"
Amelia proceeded to put the orange juice and eggs in front of Lucas and went upstairs in search of Thomas. When she came back, Owen was holding his car keys in his hands with a baffled look on his face.
"Don't ask me how they got there" Amelia read the question on his face and anticipated the answer "But my best guess would be either Danny or Robbie."
"Right" Owen rolled his eyes playfully and noticed Thomas's grumpy face "What's wrong, buddy?"
"He is just upset he doesn't have a soccer game today" Lucas provoked.
"No!" Thomas denied, visibly hurt and upset "My tummy hurts, mommy".
Amelia ran her hand through her child's hair and gave him a quick kiss, knowing how it bothered Thomas that Lucas already got to do a lot of things he still couldn't.
"Eat your eggs, Tom, and you will feel better. And also, don't worry because next year we are going to be there to watch you play, too."
While the boys ate, Amelia grabbed a red apple from the fridge and ate it while packing the twins' bags for daycare.
"You should eat something more, you have an early surgery this morning" Owen offered her a piece of toast but Amelia refused it, grabbing four kids' bags.
"I'll eat at the hospital, we're already late, let's go."
As usual, all four boys demanded attention at the same time, which demanded a lot of effort to put them in the appropriate car seats. First stop was daycare for the twins and then kindergarten one block away for the eldest kids.
"So, our anniversary is coming up on Friday" Amelia ran her hand on Owen's thigh while he drove through the morning traffic "We have to at least celebrate it this year, since last year we hardly remembered it."
"We have four children under the age of 6, babe. Sometimes I can't even remember my own name." Owen grinned at her direction when they stopped at a red light.
"Well, I am sure that if I asked Maggie she wouldn't mind having them for one night. Or we could get your mom to take the twins and Maggie could have Luke and Tom…"
"Amelia, it's a lot of work and…"
"Owen, please, I want to have sex!" She practically yelled, interrupting him. He was startled for a second and when he focused his eyes on the road again, Amelia explained "I want to have a real, grown up, romantic evening. Not us sneaking up upstairs to have a quickie before someone wakes up in the middle of the night asking for cookies. I want to be dressed up, and wear makeup, and look sexy to my husband instead of wearing your clothes and smelling like play-doh!"
"I think you look very sexy in my clothes" Owen flattered her "You look even better without them, though. And for what it's worth, I like the smell of play-doh."
"Owen…"
"I am kidding. Alright" He gave in, knowing how much it meant to Amelia to have a night alone with him "Let's do it. I'll talk to my mom and you check with Maggie. Don't worry about the rest. I'll take care of it."
"A yes and the promise of a surprise on our anniversary? What has gotten on you today?" Amelia flirted with him.
"Well, be aware that I expect lots of sex." Owen explained his reasons as they parked the car outside the hospital. "And also," He wrapped one hand on Amelia's waist from behind as she picked up her purse inside the car "I am looking forward to having you dress up for me." Owen gave her a quick kiss on her temple before they entered the hospital together.
Both parted ways in the ER and Amelia proceeded to the fourth floor where she would be taking rounds with the residents before joining her fellow surgeons in the OR.
Owen involuntarily smiled when he predicted Amelia wouldn't stop talking about their upcoming date. It was only Tuesday but for the next three days, she would be all smiles and excitement and plans. Life with her was never boring.
"Hey, Kepner" Owen approached the ER isle, where they kept all the tablets with the patient files "Slow day?"
"Last night was pretty busy but we managed to send all the incoming traumas up to surgery and discharged all the patients in observation this morning. There's a head lac in curtain 3 and they asked for a surgical consult on a vomiting senior."
"I'll take the head lac, thank you very much" Owen stole the tablet from her hands, laughing at April's expression. Two interns were passing by and he signaled them to come over "Johnson, Willis, Dr. Kepner has a patient for you two."
The eager interns went towards April and Owen was looking for a suture kit when he felt his cell phone vibrating insistently in his pocket. Owen ignored it because he was already wearing gloves but when the phone wouldn't stop, he decided it was better to answer it.
Amelia's mask covered her immense smile of pride when she realized how many people were lining up in the OR gallery to watch her. Lately, it had been like that, even for small procedures like aneurysms or placements of VP shunts. It seemed like Neuro had become a popular and very sought after specialty among the residents.
She was almost finished dissecting a meningioma when the corner of her eyes caught Maggie entering the room, one hand holding a surgical mask over her face.
"Hey, are you almost done?"
"Yeah, why, do you need the room?" Amelia replied without taking her eyes off the field.
"No, I don't" She looked at Amelia's right side and saw Stephanie Edwards assisting. Stephanie had been Amelia's resident and now was a fellow working in Amelia's service "Owen just got a call from the school."
"What's wrong?" For the first time Amelia stopped what she was doing and took her eyes off the field "Please tell me Lucas didn't jump from the swings, again" She said, recalling the last time school had called them at work. The boy had hit his head and needed three stitches.
"No, it was about Thomas this time" Maggie said. Thomas was the calmest of their children and it was unlikely he would be doing anything like that "They said he has a fever and is complaining of abdominal pain. Owen just went over to get him. He asked me to come find you. Oliver Davis is taking a look at him right now" Maggie added, referring to the chief of Peds.
"Oh, God" Amelia stepped back, an awful feeling growing in her stomach "Edwards, will you close for me? I have to go downstairs."
Amelia followed Maggie outside and noticed how scared her sister looked, Maggie tried to calm her down.
"There's no need to be worried, Amelia, he probably has a viral gastroenteritis or other kind of stomach bug he caught from the other kids at school. I saw Owen bring him in and he looks fine. His only complaint is a stomach ache"
"He was complaining about it this morning and I didn't listen" Amelia felt a lump in her throat "Now I am feeling like the worst mother in the world for sending him to school in pain."
Maggie heard the 'ding' from the elevator doors and followed Amelia into the ER. They quickly spotted Owen in one of the consult rooms, sitting on a chair while their little boy had his arms wrapped around his neck, head resting on his shoulder.
"Tommy!" Amelia announced, entering the room and at the sight of her, Thomas instantly lifted his head and offered his arms to be held by his mother "Oh, baby, what's wrong?"
"Davis paged Karev for a consult" Owen got up and explained, looking from Maggie to Amelia. "He wants to rule out appendicitis but it's looking a lot like it."
"Oh, God" Amelia crashed on the chair previously occupied by Owen and tightened her embrace on Thomas. The thought of her four year old going to surgery made her want to drop to her knees.
"He is going to be fine, Amelia" Owen approached them and leaned in to give his son a kiss on the head "Aren't you, buddy?"
Thomas nodded, visibly distressed and Maggie volunteered to help.
"Let me know if you guys need anything, ok? Do you want me to go pick up Lucas and the twins later today?"
"Oh, shit" Amelia remembered "Lucas' game. Damn it" She cursed once more and when Thomas's bright blue eyes looked at her, in shock, Amelia calmed him down "It's okay, baby, it's not your fault. You're going to be fine" Amelia rocked him back and forth, trying to think of what to do.
"I called my mom and she will go pick up Lucas and take him to the game if we're still here" Owen said, knowing if Thomas really needed surgery they wouldn't be home in time "Maggie, if it's not going to ruin your evening plans, would it be too much to ask if you could pick up the twins from daycare? I will let them know it's you who's going today" Owen added, knowing the strict rules of the private daycare they sent their smaller children to. Maggie and Owen's mother were the only ones other than the parents with authorized privilege to go pick up the twins.
"Not a problem at all" Maggie assured them "I'll go see a patient upstairs and I'll catch up with you guys soon"
Maggie had recently married Andrew Deluca, after years of hot and cold romance. They had finally decided to be in the same place and had gotten married last summer. Lucas had been their ringbearer and Ellis, their flower girl.
Ever since Meredith had gotten together with Nathan Riggs, with whom Owen didn't have a good relationship, Amelia and Meredith had grown a bit apart but they always made sure their kids saw each other and played with each other.
Owen didn't realize he was pacing back and forth in the room when Alex Karev went inside, looking for them. Thomas was a bit reluctant to leave Amelia's arms but Karev convinced him to lay on the hospital bed so he could be examined. Being surgeons, both Owen and Amelia knew that fever and abdominal pain in a small child could be a number of things, but appendicitis was a very likely cause in their son's case.
"His bloodwork came back positive for infection and his Blumberg is positive" Karev told them assertively "Considering the abdominal pain, the nausea and the fever, it's pretty safe to prep him for an appy. I'll just order a CT to confirm it and we'll get going. I'll try to have him back to you before lunch, ok?"
"Karev?"Amelia spoke, her voice in fear "You will be doing it yourself, won't you?"
"I wouldn't let anyone touch him" He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and a head nod towards Owen before leaving the room.
Owen tried to calm down and process all the information but Amelia looked like a trainwreck. He knew she was a protective mother and if she could, she would submit herself to any pain or discomfort rather than let one of their children go through it. Owen knew it because he felt the same way. But unfortunately, having the surgery was the only option for Thomas and he knew the sooner they removed his appendix, the better.
"Momma, what's happening?" Their son asked, trying to sit up unsuccessfully.
"Uncle Alex is going to take you to the place where mommy and daddy work" Amelia sat on the bed and caressed his hair, pushing it out of his eye "And he is going to give you medicine that will make you sleep. And when you wake up, you will be feeling a lot better, ok?"
Thomas nodded in agreement, despite being scared. Just recently, a woman in white clothes had come and stuck him a needle in his arm. He didn't want anyone other than his mommy near him now.
"Is he gonna give me another inkjection?"
"Injection" Amelia corrected him, wiping the tears of her eyes and smiling to him while she cried to the world "No, honey, it's all good now. No one is gonna poke you anymore, ok?"
"And when we get out of here" Owen said, bending down to their height "We are gonna go home and watch a lot of cartoons in mom and dad's bed, ok?"
Amelia didn't know why, but she felt really uncomfortable about the whole situation. Her mother's instinct told her that something was terribly wrong, while all signs pointed to a very ordinary, common condition that happened every day to thousands of kids and adults everywhere. Her son's labs were within expected, his CT scan did show a swelling of the appendix wall, but nothing they couldn't easily remove before it could rupture. His nausea and pain were under control now the IV meds had been administered but she felt like something was missing. Deep inside her, her heart was constricted and she felt very scared.
"Owen" Amelia caught his hand when Thomas fell asleep on the hospital bed "I have a bad feeling about this."
Owen tried to read what she meant by that, but this time, he couldn't.
"I don't know what you mean."
"I don't know either. But I just have this terrible feeling of anguish that won't go away."
Owen reached out to her and wrapped his arms around Amelia's body, kissing the top of her head.
"Karev is an amazing surgeon. Thomas will be fine, Amelia. He will." He said to her, but also to himself.
Soon after, Owen and Amelia walked up to the OR accompanying their son, but as they made it to the OR door, Karev kindly explained they couldn't stay for the procedure.
"Can I at least stay with him until he's under?" Amelia asked, referring to the anesthesia. Karev agreed and everyone in the OR that knew them gave the couple gentle nods and kind words of support. Amelia and Owen were nice doctors and good surgeons and the whole staff sympathized with their ordeal.
Afterwards, the couple headed to the waiting area. They knew an appy lasted usually less than hour and when the clock passed the mark of 60 minutes, Amelia got up, unable to control her anxiety.
"Easy, baby, I am sure everything is ok." Owen tried to calm her down but the truth was he was getting just as scared.
"I told you, something was wrong" Amelia eyes were watery and her pulse was racing. It was hard keeping quiet when by having OR privileges she could burst inside the room and find out what was happening "Why hasn't anyone come here to update us? I am starting to freak out."
Owen knew it was useless to try to talk her into calming down and so he let her resume her pacing. It felt like an eternity before they saw Alex Karev coming out, taking off his scrub cap, a defeated look in his eyes.
Amelia never felt more scared in her life.
Her eyes widened as she looked in terror to Karev. Owen got up and stood by her side, noticing something was clearly wrong. He held his breath as they heard the Peds surgeon in front of them start to speak:
"Guys" Karev looked bravely into their eyes "I am so sorry".