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My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 2

Amelia juggled preparing breakfast while she checked in for her flight later that morning. She was going to Vancouver as a guest, to lecture residents and fellows on her latest described surgery technique, the ASH method, which had granted her the prestigious Harper-Avery Award two years before.

Her career was taking off like she had never imagined, and Amelia wasn't sure what was more exhausting: running a house with five kids, or traveling back and forth to give lectures, participate in seminars and speak in conferences. But right at that moment, cooking breakfast was her most latent problem.

"Hey, mom." Megan came running down the stairs, fully dressed in her school uniform. "Can I sleep over at Claire's tonight?"

Amelia distractedly checked her phone while trying to scramble eggs.

"Sure, honey."

"Awesome, thanks!" Megan took a seat on one of the counter stools.

"Mom!" One of the twins approached Amelia from behind, heedlessly scaring her."You're still taking me tonight, right?"

Amelia put her phone down and looked puzzled at Danny, wondering what in the world he was talking about.

"Mom!" The boy protested. "It's my date with Sarah!" He reminded her. "I've been waiting all week for this! You spoke to her mom on the phone?" The boy tried to remind her.

"Of course," Amelia finally realized what he was talking about. She had completely forgotten about it and her son looked deeply offended. "Ok honey, I'm flying to Vancouver in a few but I'll make it back in time to take you two, ok?" She assured him, seeing the look of satisfaction on his face.

"Big date?" Thomas asked with a smile as he came down the stairs, dropping his school bag and books on the counter.

"You bet," Danny replied, with pride.

Everyone knew this was his first date because his siblings hadn't shut up about it all week, giving him a hard time during every meal. Amelia had called the girl's mom to set up a time she could go pick up Sarah and drive both kids to the movies that Friday after school.

"Danny and Sarah, under a tree…" Megan started, making her brother blush. "K-I-S-S…"

"Okay, I know you can spell," The thirteen year old refuted, seeing his little sister openly mock him.

"Guys, cut it off," Amelia intervened with a smile, watching as each of them started their breakfasts. "Where is everyone?"

Just as Amelia asked the question, she saw Owen and Robbie getting downstairs. Minutes later, Lucas came rushing too, as usual running late.

Amelia said goodbye and watched as Owen left with the five kids, wondering if she would ever make it to the airport without the risk of losing her flight.

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Later that day, Thomas left literature class, watching as Matt checked if they hadn't left anything behind.

Matt Robbins was one of Thomas' closest friends since they both had been five years old. Their parents worked together at the hospital and Matt had always been in Thomas' class in school.

"Is Missy going to join us for lunch?" Matt asked, making his way through the mass of students that left their classrooms towards the cafeteria.

"She is having a meeting with the organizing committee about the dance," Thomas explained.

"Geez, sounds like her mom," Matt rolled his eyes and took a seat at one of the central tables in the big lounge. "Hey, did you do your calculus homework? I kind of need to copy it."

Thomas didn't reply because he wasn't paying any attention anymore. With the corner of his eye, he spotted Joe Avery walking side by side with Katherine Karev.

"Kate!" Matt changed his focus when he noticed their other two friends approaching and taking a seat at the table "Did you do your math homework?"

"You want to copy it?" Kate asked in her usual practical manner, already handing her notebook to Matt. All three boys knew she could predict every movement they would make, and she was very good at getting ahead of them.

"Where's Missy?" Joey distractedly asked while eating from his tray, watching as his friends did the same.

"Homecoming dance," Thomas explained, avoiding looking in their direction. He was happy when Matt started to inquiry Kate about math, because that would make the atmosphere less awkward.

And God, Thomas knew how awkward it could be sometimes.

Much to his dismay, minutes later he saw his oldest brother running in their direction and summoning Matt and Joey, who were in the school soccer team, to join him on the table where the players were gathered, discussing tactics for their game the following day.

Thomas found himself sitting alone with Kate and he felt the atmosphere suddenly getting dense again.

"So…" Kate started and Thomas could swear he'd heard some bitterness in her voice "Are you sure you're allowed to sit here with me?"

For the first time, Thomas made eye contact with her.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, trying not to show how her ironic question had infuriated him.

"I wasn't sure if you'd asked for your girlfriend's permission," Kate bluntly said.

"I don't need her permission," Thomas replied, in his usual calm and controlled manner, but deeply irritated on the inside.

Kate tried to not sarcastically laugh. It was sad how Missy had Thomas wrapped around her little finger, making him get more distant from his friends every day. She sat silently beside him for some long seconds, feeling how thick the air seemed to be. When Kate was sure Thomas would make up some sad excuse and leave, as he'd been doing for the past three months, she heard him comment:

"I heard my brother invited you to the dance." Thomas didn't realize he was trying to sound neutral and indifferent.

"He did," Kate said, unaffected. Both she and Lucas knew he hadn't been serious. Kate had known the Hunt brothers pretty much ever since she'd been born, and if there was one thing she was sure of was that Lucas Hunt was definitely not to be taken seriously. "He'll ask out anyone who has a pair of boobs."

"Then he should ask Mr. Reynolds," Thomas added, referring to their physics professor. "He fits the criteria."

He saw Kate's face lighting up with a smile as the sound of her musical laughter filled the air, making him laugh too. He'd forgotten how easy it was to talk to her. Kate Karev had been Thomas' best friend ever since they were little kids. The two of them, Matt and Joey had grown up together, both in and outside school. Thomas was very close to both boys, but he had always felt like he and Kate shared a special connection.

He could vividly remember Kate being there in pretty much every moment of his childhood. Thomas had lost his first tooth after hitting his mouth on the door handle while chasing after her in her house. It had been Kate who had called his mom that one time Tom had thrown up all over his history paper in fourth grade.

When he'd turned ten, Kate had blown his birthday candles on purpose, just to tease him. She had worn his school suit many times over her own, because she was often cold. And it had always felt very natural to the two of them that a boy and a girl could grow up being best friends.

Thomas remembered Kate being on the bleachers on his first competitive tennis match. And he remembered attending every single one of her yearly piano recitals. She was the only one who would compete with him for best student in class, and every day she made sure he knew it. Kate had stolen his favorite books, written him letters from her summer camps, bought him chocolate chip cupcakes because she knew they were his favorite. And every year, she would call Thomas on September 18th at exactly midnight just to be the first one to wish him happy birthday.

They had always been the best of friends.

Until one day, they weren't anymore.

At that moment, Thomas could swear he could no longer recognize what they were. Kate felt older, more mature and she wasn't as easygoing and fun like she used to be. Instead, ever since Thomas had started dating Missy, he'd distanced himself from Kate, because truth was, it felt weird to be so intimate to her when he was in love with someone else.

"Are you going to the game tomorrow?" Kate asked, hopeful. She didn't remember sharing a moment like this with Thomas for a long time and she had missed him more than she would care to admit.

"I don't know," Thomas replied. "Missy's father invited me to his yacht club sail."

"But it's your brother's game!" Kate was obviously outraged at him. "It's the semi finals, Thomas. You never miss your brother's games."

"He has too many games," Thomas justified. "I've seen him win everything there is to win already. I can't dedicate every weekend to him."

"Because now you have a girlfriend," Kate added what had been left unsaid.

Thomas took his eyes away from her and concentrated on what was left on his tray.

"You're unbelievable…" Kate shook her head in disapproval and got up, carrying her tray. "You know what?" She turned around, hesitantly. "I hope you have a lot of fun with the people you don't know and who mean nothing to you on that yacht sail." She added bitterly, before walking away.

Thomas watched as she left, unable to take his eyes off her back. Soon after, Missy approached him, happy to find him alone and available to herself. Thomas was visibly upset, but Missy started her usual chatter about her favorite subject- herself- making Thomas once again shove his feelings somewhere deep inside him to concentrate on hers entirely.

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Owen heard his phone insistently ringing and picked it up, seeing on the screen that it was his wife who was calling.

"Hey," He greeted her. "Are you back from Canada?"

'Yeah," Amelia's voice sounded rushed as usual. "You coming home anytime soon?"

"I'm leaving in about twenty minutes," Owen checked his clock just to make sure his shift was about to end. "I'll see you at home?"

"No, don't come home," Amelia's voice sounded excited. "Go take a shower or something and wait for me. I'll drive by to pick you up in about half an hour."

Owen hung up, wondering what in the world she was plotting. Thirty minutes later, he saw her car pull up at the hospital parking lot and went in its direction, noticing Amelia was accompanied only by Danny.

"Nice clothes," He frowned, seeing how dressed up Danny was. He had on a blue button up shirt, dark slacks and light brown loafers, not at all what he would expect a teenager to wear. "Are you taking dressing lessons from Tom?"

"Very funny, dad." Danny shrugged, tidying up his collar.

"Oh, it's tonight?" Owen's eyes enlarged as he watched Amelia drive off "The big date?"

"Yeah," Danny answered with a nervous smile.

Owen knew Danny had asked out one of the girls in his class and Amelia had called the girl's mom and made sure they would pick her up and drive her back once the date was over. When they pulled the car on her driveway, Owen noticed how anxious his son looked as he walked up to the door to ring the door bell.

Minutes later, Sarah was in the back seat with him, happily chatting. She was a young girl of thirteen, same age as the twins. Amelia could see why Danny had a crush on her: the girl was witty, polite and she had the cutest black hair that matched very well her almond eyes and Asian features.

"Why am I here, again?" Owen whispered to Amelia, seeing on the rearview mirror how the two kids were engaged in their own conversation. When Amelia had gone to pick him up later that evening, he had no idea what her plans were.

"Well," Amelia stopped at a red light and put a hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze before looking into his eyes "I was coming back from Vancouver today and I realized that even our thirteen year old son is having more romance in life lately than we do."

"Babe, it's his first date ever," Owen reminded her.

"Exactly," Amelia thought it proved her point. "And how many did we have in the last year?" She made a dramatic pause. "That's right, none." She focused again on the road and moved the car. "I haven't seen you in forever outside of work or the house, Owen. When was the last time we did something together, just the two of us? You're always traveling, I'm always traveling. We barely have any time to spend with our kids, let alone to enjoy each other's company."

Owen thought about it for a while, realizing how right she was. They were happily married and generally got along very well, but over the course of the last few years, they'd seen each other less and less. The kids were growing up and soon Lucas and Thomas were going off to college and once they blinked, the same would happen to Megan and the twins. He and Amelia were very close and very comfortable around each other. She was still his favorite company, together with his children. He didn't want that to change, ever.

"I guess you're right." He stated, getting her point entirely. "Well, I'm glad you asked me out on a date then," He added with a gentle smile, as Amelia parked the car at the mall.

They went to the movies and Amelia let Danny choose which one he wanted to watch with Sarah, on purpose choosing a different movie to go to with Owen. It felt wonderful to spend some time away from her hectic daily routine while snuggling up next to her husband in a movie theater, eating chocolate and forgetting about her problems for the following two hours.

Afterwards, they made it to the restaurant of Danny's choice and Amelia couldn't control her laugher when the boy asked the maître for two separate tables. She and Owen watched from a distance as their son listened to the girl during most of their meal, with a look of utter infatuation in his eyes.

"Did someone cast a spell on him?" Owen asked smiling widely, unable to take his eyes off Danny's table on the opposite corner of the restaurant.

"It's called testosterone," Amelia laughed with him. "An insane amount of it rushing in his veins causes that."

"Not just his veins," Owen took his eyes away from their son and starred at Amelia's neck suggestively. She turned her head sideways to face him and they exchanged a meaningful smile. "How are you always so beautiful?" Owen's hand traveled from the menu to her face, his thumb gently caressing the outline of her lips.

Amelia touched her forehead to his, breathing in his amazing familiar scent.

"I missed this," She confessed, her hand gently running on his forearm to his elbow. "I missed you."

"We should date more often," Owen proposed with a teasing smile, showing he was having a great time.

"We definitely should," Amelia agreed and leaned over to reach his lips. Owen promptly kissed her back, just as eagerly. She pulled apart at the same time her cell phone buzzed on the table. Amelia picked it up and read the message on her screen.

Owen saw his wife burst out laughing and couldn't help smiling, contaminated by her sight.

"What happened?" He asked, starting to laugh at her reaction.

"Look at this," Amelia showed Owen her phone, where a text from Danny was visible.

Stop making out. You guys are embarrassing me. I'm on a date, not you two. Quit it.

"He even added an angry emoji," Owen noticed, laughing along. He saw the happiness in Amelia's eyes and driven by the desire he felt for her, stole another kiss from her lips.

"Dan is going to be mad at us for a whole week," She joked when they pulled apart again.

They both instantly looked at their son's table, getting a deadly glare back from him. Soon after, Owen asked the waiter for the bill for both tables and they drove Sarah back home. The boy left the car to walk her to her door and came back seconds later, getting inside the SUV in silence, with a heavy frown on his face.

"What?" Owen innocently asked, noticing how upset his son looked. "She doesn't want to go out with you again?"

"Your guys' behavior today was unacceptable," Danny commented, very seriously. "I don't want to be seen in public with you two ever again."

"Because we made out more than you did tonight?" Amelia asked, openly teasing her son.

"If I need a shrink when I'm grown up, it's on you." Danny bitterly replied, looking out the car window on purpose, clearly mad.

Owen and Amelia exchanged amused smiles and when they parked the car at home, Danny led the way in silent, storming out in frustration.

"Seriously, Dan, what happened with Sarah?" Owen asked, seeing his distress. "Did she turn you down?"

"She asked me if it was normal that my parents were kissing like that," He sighed heavily, as a typical teenager. "But she did agree to another date," His face changed expressions completely as he said the words.

"We can't help it," Amelia teased, looking suggestively at her son, as if about to attack him "We like kissing so much," She joked, taking large strides in his direction and wrapping him in her arms, showering Danny with kisses.

"Mom, stop!" The boy asked, unable to contain his laughter.

Even though the twins were already about an inch taller than Amelia, she still treated them like her little boys because in her heart that's what they always would be.

At the sound of their voices, Robbie joined them in the living room and Amelia left her sons with Owen watching a game when she made her way upstairs, exhausted and willing to finish her day with a long hot bath before bed. She knew Megan was sleeping at Maggie's, spending her Friday night with her daughter Claire and Thomas was out at dinner with Matt and his girlfriend.

She had just entered her room when she was startled by two large blue eyes staring at her from a distance.

"Jesus Christ, Luke, you nearly killed me!" Amelia reflexively took her hand to her heart. She went on preparing things for her bath when she noticed Lucas was lurking around. "What are you doing here?"

When she finally gave him her full attention, she noticed he was paler than usual and seemed extremely agitated. Lucas had been debating for the last two days whether or not to tell his mom the truth about what was happening, but today, after class, he had finally decided he should come clean and just admit it already.

"Lucas?" Amelia insisted, watching him unknowingly pace back and forth in her room.

"I have to tell you something," He looked up to meet her eyes, visibly anxious. "But I'm afraid of your reaction."

"What happened, Lucas?" Amelia was instantly worried. She remembered the talk she'd had with him two days before and how she sensed he was hiding something. "Did you do anything? What is going on?"

"Mom," Lucas' voice was almost a plea. "I got myself in a situation and I am not sure how to get out of it. I don't even know if I can get out of it."

"Oh, for God's sake, Lucas!" It was Amelia who was now extremely nervous. "Just tell me already!"

Seeing the desperation stamped in his eyes, Amelia's mind was racing with a million of questions. Was he doing drugs? Drinking? Had he gotten a girl pregnant? She felt her heart beating faster as the sound of his hesitant voice reached her ears.

"Mom," Lucas was nearly sobbing when he finally admitted the truth. "I think they're gonna kick me off the soccer team."