It turned out that trying to avoid Owen and Link while working in the same building was really, really hard work. It felt like every time she went around the corner one of them, or occasionally both of them, were stood there.
She'd managed to avoid Link for four days. She hadn't slept after he'd left her hotel room that night. She'd laid there tossing and turning for a couple of hours, running through things over and over again. Eventually, she'd given up, grabbing her things and heading to the airport to get on the first flight home. She'd lied and told Meredith that the conference wasn't worth staying for. Then she'd headed back to work and her mission to avoid him had begun.
It would've been fine had Tom not have called in sick. It had left her with no choice but to answer Link's page to the pit. She'd been sending Tom down there in her place all week- something he'd teased her relentlessly about- so she wouldn't have to work with Link. She'd been unable to hold back the groan of frustration when the page came through and she saw what it was. Meredith had raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously before Amelia turned around and dragged herself towards the ER.
"What have you got?" She asked, walking into trauma one. She kept her eyes fixed on the patient, or at least she tried. She was acutely aware of Link's gaze burning into her skin. "Dr. Kim?" She asked, looking up at him when Link didn't answer her.
"Pedestrian vs. Bus." He explained. "She was KO'd for about five minutes, left femur fracture… Otherwise, she got off pretty lightly."
She nodded, turning her back on Link and starting to examine the patient. "Okay, can you get a CT and page me when it's done? I want to have a look before you take her into surgery."
Dr. Kim nodded in agreement and Amelia let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't until she turned to leave and was almost out of the door that Link moved. "Dr. Shepard, can I speak to you please?" He asked, following her out of the door.
"Actually, I-" She started, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the supply closet behind them before she had a chance to argue with him. "What are you doing?"
"You've been avoiding me for days and it needs to stop." He told her.
She shifted uncomfortably, trying to put some distance between the two of them. It wasn't easy given the tiny little closet they were standing in. The smell of his cologne filled the air around them and for a moment all she could think about was that night at the conference.
"I've not been avoiding you." She muttered, still not looking up at him.
"No, you've just been deliberately not being in the same place as me, sending Koracick to all my consults and not answering my calls." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Something like that." She muttered under her breath, finally looking up at him.
"So, come on then. Whatever it is just get it off your chest?" He challenged, leaning back against the shelves behind him.
"Can we not just pretend that none of that ever happened?" She sighed. "That was the deal, it was a one-time thing and we were going to forget it and move on." She went to leave and he put his arm out to block the doorway, meaning he was stood even closer to her. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he watched her.
"We could…. But I'm not here because I'm trying to sleep with you again." He said slowly.
"Then what do you want from me Link? She snapped, glaring at him. "Because if you're trying to make me regret that night you're going about it the right way."
"I'm worried about you, Amelia." He sighed in exasperation. "Is that a crime?"
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fi-"
"Are you really though?" He cut her off. "Because you practically jumped me at that conference, then you kicked me out in the middle of the night and got on the first flight home. You haven't said a word to me since."
"This isn't about you Link!" She snapped, ducking under his arm and out of the door before he had a chance to react.
"Amelia wait!" He called, running after her. She didn't even look back, all he saw was the back of her head disappearing around the corner.
He was finally getting to eat some lunch in peace when Meredith sidled up beside him in the cafeteria. "Dr. Grey, can I help you with something?" He asked as she sat herself down opposite him, looking at him intently.
"Why is my sister avoiding you?" She asked.
"Maggie's avoiding me?" He asked, deciding to play dumb.
Meredith rolled her eyes at him. "Shut up, you know I'm talking about Amelia."
"Oh…" It slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
"And from the guilty look on your face, there's definitely something going on… So spill." Meredith demanded.
He shrugged, shoving another mouthful of salad in his mouth to give himself time to think. "I didn't know she was avoiding me. We bumped into each other at that conference and I haven't seen her since apart from when she came to the ER for a consult earlier."
"You were at that conference too?" Meredith asked. "Alternative pain relief?"
He nodded. "I was giving a lecture."
"Amelia said it was a wasted trip," Meredith smirked.
"Yeah well, she wasn't exactly a fan of my lecture as it turns out." He grimaced.
"So you upset her?" Meredith pressed.
"No, I didn't upset her." He sighed. "Nothing happened, why don't you go and ask your sister?"
"Because she's avoiding me too," Meredith admitted.
His pager went off and he frowned before turning it around to show Meredith. "See, she's not avoiding me at all. I'd better go and see what she wants." He got up and headed for the door before she could say anything else.
"You paged?" He asked, sticking his head around the corner warily.
She was sitting in front of the computer in the CT room and waved him in. "I just wanted to let you know you're good to take her to the OR now. I did page Dr. Kim but he didn't answer."
"He's probably with Schmidt." Link muttered, rolling his eyes.
"That's a thing?" She asked, surprised.
"Yep." He nodded. "You're way out of the loop here Shepherd."
"It's not so much fun listening to the gossip when it's about you." She sighed. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd overheard the nurses gossiping about the situation with her, Owen and Teddy. She'd been trying to tune it out before it drove her insane.
"Right." He cringed. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault." She shrugged, twisting around on her chair to look at him.
"Does this mean we can be friends now you're talking to me again?" He asked hesitantly.
She shook her head and his heart sunk. "I'm willing to call it a truce, but we weren't friends before and we don't need to be now."
"I can work with that I guess." He agreed, albeit a little reluctantly. He would very much have liked for them to be friends but it was a small step and that was going to have to do, for now at least.
He stood there for a few moments, just looking at her. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She asked eventually. "Like in the OR? With your patient?"
"Right." He nodded, still not taking his eyes off her. "I should go do that."
He still didn't move and she had to hide the smile on her lips. "Bye Link."
"Bye Shepherd." He smirked, lingering for a few seconds longer before heading off to the OR.