Recovery part 2
This part is actually a belated birthday gift to dear friend Lizzy who always makes nice banners for me and I felt like I need to reciprocate. 3 She requested for a fic with Amelia being jealous about Teddy and Owen. I thought that it would be easier to integrate Teddy into this fic, instead of starting another concurrent post season 13 finale fic.
Sorry that this is so late and way past your birthday, Lizzy, but I really hope you enjoy it! *hugs
P.s This does not follow the promo pics or promo clips of the season premiere as I have actually started writing this quite some time ago
' Ryan and my unicorn baby are my past, but you are my present and future too.' Amelia said. ' We'll get through this together right? Both of us, Megan and the babies we'll have together. We'll get through this together and as a couple and then as a family.'
Owen felt his heart swell at the mention of the word 'family.'
' Yes, we will. We're in this together. For better or for worse.' Owen promised as he stuck his pinky finger out and she linked her finger to his.
They, Owen Hunt and Amelia Shepherd were a team. Nothing could get in between them now. They would get through this together stronger than ever.
Owen and Amelia returned hand in hand from breakfast, after having a heart to heart talk. Amelia felt so relieved now that she had opened up to Owen about her innermost fears and insecurities. For the first time in months, she felt an entire burden being lifted off her shoulders. Owen for his part, was also glad that Amelia finally decided to open up to him about her past and her fears. Now he felt like he had a better understanding about why she was suddenly afraid of having babies and shouted in his face that she didn't want a baby when she had been on board the idea just a couple of weeks before. He now knew that she was afraid of having another anencephalic baby, something which she should have told him about earlier. He would have understood and not pushed her to start a family.
Amelia had a smile on her face. Now that she had cleared things up with Owen, she could focus on taking care of Megan. She guessed that Megan would still be fast asleep on her hospital bed at the moment, recuperating.
As they approached Megan's room, she stopped on her tracks when she saw an unfamiliar tall, slim, blonde haired woman standing beside Megan's bed. The woman was chatting comfortably with Evelyn. It was apparent that they both knew each other. Meanwhile Megan, who also seemed comfortable with the blonde woman's presence, was sitting upright on her bed seemingly interested in the conversation.
To Amelia's uttermost surprise, Owen's face lit up as soon as he saw the woman. He rushed into the room without hesitation.
'Teddy! ' he called out excitedly. At the same time, Amelia realized that this was most likely the woman she was speaking to on the phone the night before Megan's arrival.
The woman turned around at the mention of her name and her face lit up too.
Owen swiftly closed the gap between them and embraced her in a tight hug as Amelia looked on, confused.
Forgetting Amelia's presence for a moment, Owen continued hugging Teddy tight. They both refused to let go of each other. A stray tear rolled down Teddy's cheek and Owen looked like he was about to cry too.
After a few long moments, Owen finally let go of Teddy and gave her a quick glance as she wiped away the stray tear. She seemed different compared to when he last saw her- she was glowing, and looked happy and fulfilled. Physically, she still looked the same as before- tall, slim, blonde and pretty, but she now spotted a happy and cheerful look. He was just so glad to see her after so many years.
When Teddy left Grey Sloan Memorial - she was feeling depressed and still reeling over the loss of her husband Henry. He was actually a patient of hers, whom she had married so that he could use her health insurance, but it eventually developed to become true romance. It was a brief but sweet love affair between them, which unfortunately ended when Henry eventually succumbed to his illness - Von Hippel Lindau disease. After his death, Teddy was distraught. Sensing her sadness and hopelessness, Owen had no choice but to fire her so that she would accept the job at MEDCOM. The years of serving in MEDCOM had given her more joy and fulfillment than she could have ever imagined.
However, despite the fact that she was happy working there, she couldn't help but feel that there was something missing in her life. She was lonely. She devoted all her time and energy to her work and serving the soldiers in the army, and barely had time to think about her personal life. Since Henry's death, she had pushed that aspect of her life aside, focusing entirely on her career instead.
Now seeing Owen after so long opened up the flood of memories about her past and her time in Grey Sloan Memorial. She and Owen were good friends during the time in the army, and she did have feelings for him initially when they were working together in the battlefield and subsequently in Grey Sloan Memorial. When she expressed her feelings to him, he chose Cristina instead, so she accepted the fact and they remained good friends until she left for MEDCOM.
For Teddy, Owen looked the same as when she last saw him. He seemed to have aged a bit, but still had the same muscular build. She didn't realize how much she missed him until she saw him in person after so many years.
She had wanted to escort Megan over to America- but she had plenty of stuff to settle back in Germany before she could afford to fly over. So being rest assured that Megan was being accompanied by the best colleague she could find on the flight and subsequently on the helicopter, she remained back in Germany for another week to tend to her stuff before flying over to check on Megan. But now that she was finally back here in America, she realized how much she actually missed her home country.
'I called.' Teddy said, her voice shaking, still unable to believe that her good old friend Owen Hunt was actually standing in front of her. ' After Megan arrived in our Germany quarters, I called and you never answered.'
' You never replied to my emails either.' Owen retorted. ' I emailed you daily after you left and you never replied them.'
Teddy remained silent for a while- a bit taken aback by Owen's retort. But what he said was true.
' I was busy settling down to my new life.' she told the half truth. It was true, she was busy settling down to her new life, but another reason why she failed to contact Owen after her departure was that she didn't want to have anything to do with Grey Sloan Memorial any longer. To her, after Henry's death, the hospital only harbored painful memories- memories of Henry's death and memories of what should have been with Owen. She wanted to start anew and make a brand new life for herself. To do that she had to cut off all connections with the people there.
' I'm sorry . I was in a daze after receiving the news- I just wasn't up to having a conversation.' Owen apologized sincerely, regretting his earlier accusation. ' But I'm so glad to see you again. How have you been?'
'I'm good.' Teddy answered. 'Busy with work.'
' She's more than good. She took very good care of me.' Megan who was silently observing the interaction between her brother and her friend chimed in. 'She was the one who nursed me back to health when I was in the army hospital in Germany until I was stable enough to be transferred.'
' Thank you, Teddy.' Owen said gratefully. ' Thank you for taking good care of my sister for me.'
'Yes- thank you so much Teddy for helping to take care of my daughter.' Evelyn chimed in.
'I'm just helping out a friend.' Teddy replied as she squeezed Megan's hand and smiled at her. 'I'm just so glad that you're better now. You also look much better and more nourished now than when I last saw you.'
'Yes, the staff here have been taking good care of me.' Megan answered, giving Teddy a small smile.
Amelia- who was quietly observing the interactions and feeling left out, decided to join in the conversation.
She cleared her throat- catching the attention of everyone else in the room.
'So you are Teddy Altman?' she asked Teddy. ' I'm Amelia Shepherd, the person who spoke to you on the phone.' she introduced as she extended her hand for Teddy to shake.
Teddy politely shook Amelia's hand.
' Oh hi- nice to meet you Amelia.' she greeted.
'So you and Owen are friends?' Amelia asked.
' Yes, we were friends back when we were in the army and later on in Grey Sloan Memorial.' Teddy answered. ' We've worked together for a long time.'
Amelia nodded silently, but her facial expression told Teddy that she didn't seem satisfied with the explanation.
Teddy's smile faded as she realized that her and Owen hugging each other tightly didn't seem to bode well with this woman. She wondered what connection did Amelia have with Owen.
' So what connection do you have with Owen?' she asked Amelia, a cautious tone in her voice.
Sensing the tension between the two women- Owen decided to intervene.
' Actually- she's my wife.' he answered as he wrapped an arm around Amelia's shoulder.
Teddy's attention was now on Owen as she raised an eyebrow at him.
' I didn't know you have a new wife now. What happened to Cristina?' she asked genuinely surprised. It was obvious that she and Owen hadn't kept in touch for so long.
'Well- we divorced and parted ways. She moved to Zurich.' Owen admitted. ' But Cristina is my past and Amelia here is my future.'
' Oh wow- ok, that's a lot to catch up on. But I'm so glad that you have found someone to settle down with now.' Teddy said earnestly. ' I'm so happy for you Owen.'
'Thanks.' Owen answered smiling as he exchanged a knowing glance with Amelia.
'Their wedding was beautiful.' Evelyn chimed in. ' I was at the wedding. Amelia was a beautiful bride. Weren't you, dear?'
Amelia blushed. She certainly wasn't used to being praised by her mother-in-law. They had always maintained a friendly relationship and Evelyn had always been nice and kind to her, but she wasn't used to being called 'dear' and receiving compliments from anyone other than Owen. Her own mother would never compliment her.
'Yes she was.' Owen agreed.
' I wish I was at the wedding.' Megan muttered. 'I've always wanted to be a bridesmaid at my brother's wedding.'
The entire room became silent at Megan's declaration. Owen felt guilty about the fact that his sister was unable to attend his wedding. Again, it reminded him of how he went on with his life while his sister was being held captive for 10 years in a building.
Megan covered her face as she realized that she had inadvertently changed the atmosphere in the room.
'I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything. I just really wished I was there.' she apologized earnestly. ' Please don't take it personally.'
' It's ok Megan. I know.' said Owen as he gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.
'Why don't you get some sleep dear. You seem tired.' Evelyn suggested to her daughter as she adjusted her pillow and blanket.
Owen, Amelia and Teddy took it as the cue for them to leave Megan's room to let her rest.
They sat in the waiting room for a couple of hours, chatting. Owen and Teddy were busy catching up with each others lives over the past few years. Teddy told Owen about her entire experience working with MEDCOM. Owen, meanwhile, filled Teddy in with the latest happenings in Grey Sloan Memorial since she left. Teddy was sad to learn about the plane crash which took the lives of both Mark and Lexie and cost Arizona her leg. She was also equally shocked and saddened to learn about Derek's death from a car crash. The staff of Grey Sloan Memorial had suffered so many losses over the recent years, she felt really sad for them.
While Teddy and Owen were busy catching up with each other's lives- Amelia listened attentively while pretending to be occupied with her phone. She had very little to add to the conversation as she wasn't in Grey Sloan Memorial when the incidents occurred, except for Derek's death which she would rather not talk about. She had to admit- she was feeling a little left out as Teddy and Owen continued chatting animatedly to each other. They had so much to catch up on, so many things to tell each other. Owen was so caught up in his conversation with Teddy and filling her in about the recent developments in the hospital that he had forgotten that his wife was still there and listening as well.
' So why did you and Cristina get a divorce?' Teddy asked Owen, also seeming to have forgotten about Amelia's presence.
' We had differing views regarding our priorities in life..' Owen admitted. ' I wanted a baby, she didn't. When she aborted my baby, that was the final straw for me. It made me realize that no matter what- she would never change her mind about babies. For her, career always came first.'
' I see.' Teddy nodded. ' How about Amelia? Does she want a baby?'
Before Owen could answer, Amelia cleared her throat loudly- having had enough of being ignored.
' I'm going to go outside to take a walk.' she announced. ' I need some fresh air after staying In the hospital for the whole day.'
Without inviting Owen or Teddy to come along with her, she strode down the hospital corridors towards the hospital exit.
Once she reached the hospital compounds, she took a deep breath to calm herself down as she sat on one of the benches. Something about Teddy irritated and aggravated her. She didn't know if it was due to the fact that Teddy and Owen seemed so close to each other or that Owen never even mentioned to her about Teddy. If they were so close friends before, why didn't Owen ever tell her about Teddy? She seemed to be such a significant part of Owen's life, and yet he neglected to tell her about it. Maybe Owen didn't consider Teddy important enough to be mentioned. Or maybe he didn't consider her important enough to tell her every single detail about his past. Anyways, she herself was also guilty of hiding many dark secrets of her past from him so it was only fair and square right?
Who was this Teddy anyways? Was she just a friend? A good friend? Or maybe more than that? An old flame? Maybe Teddy and Owen had a relationship with each other before but broke up? The more questions that crossed her mind about Teddy, the more irritated she was by the fact that Owen failed to mention anything about Teddy to her. She had told him about Ryan and about James, shouldn't he open up to her about his past relationships too? Also, the fact that both Owen and Teddy had hugged each other so tightly when they first reunited, seemingly so glad to see each other and had chatted non stop to each other for the past couple of hours, practically ignoring her strengthened her suspicion that they were more than just friends.
' Amelia!' she heard a male voice call out her name. She didn't need to turn her head around to know who the voice belonged to.
She continued staring out at the hospital compounds, choosing to ignore the person.
' Amelia.' Owen now appeared breathless beside her. Right after Amelia had walked away, he knew that it was a sign of her being mad and immediately excused himself to go after her. Teddy also urged him to go after her, saying that she would go back into the room to check on Megan.
' Amelia.' he was now sitting beside her, touching her by the arm to catch her attention.
She swatted his hand away gently as she turned to look the other way.
' Don't Amelia me.' she muttered.
'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just so happy to see Teddy after so many years.' Owen admitted earnestly.
' Yes, I can see that.' Amelia said in a low tone of voice as she finally turned around to look at Owen. He was silently pleading for her to forgive him with the look he was giving her with his eyes. ' It's obvious that you were so overjoyed to see her.' Owen could detect a slight hint of bitterness in her voice.
' I just got carried away.' Owen admitted. ' We had so much to catch up on after all these years.'
' Yes, I know you got carried away and that both of you have so much to catch up on. But that doesn't justify you both treating me like I am an invisible person.' Amelia said, raising her voice.
Owen was taken aback by her accusation. How dare she say that? First off, she was the one who ran away from him without an explanation, making him feel responsible for her actions. And now here she was, accusing him of treating her like an invisible person when he was just too engrossed in catching up with an old friend.
' You could have just joined in the conversation.' he answered, careful not to raise his voice.
' I just don't know what to say. I mean its obvious you two miss each other so much and know each other very well, and that she knows a lot about your past. She seems very close with your mother and sister. Are you both childhood friends?' Amelia probed, wanting to know.
' We met while we were both army surgeons. We were both serving in the battlefield together.' Owen explained. ' We worked closely with each other in Iraq. I was the one who convinced her to come work in Grey Sloan Memorial, where she worked for a couple of years. We were good friends, best friends even. We knew everything about each other. However, it never managed to go further than that.'
He paused for a moment, wondering how to go about explaining to Amelia about his complicated relationship with Teddy.
Amelia furrowed her eyebrows.
' What do you mean by that?' she asked in curiosity.
Owen cleared his throat before continuing.
' Well, there was a point when we both admitted that we actually had feelings for each other, but we never acted upon it. That time I was already with Cristina and I chose Cristina. She was disappointed at first but eventually moved on with Mark….'
' With Mark Sloan?!' Amelia interjected, her eyebrows raised. ' Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.' she shrugged, recalling that Mark would sleep with anyone. ' Sorry for interrupting, you can continue.'
' Yes, it was just a short fling…. and then there was Henry, a patient of hers with Von Hippel Lindau disease. She actually got married to him. Sadly, shortly after they got married, he succumbed to his illness. It was so sad.' he recalled, shaking his head sadly. ' She was so devastated after his death, I could see the sadness in her eyes. It was obvious she really loved him and his death affected her so much. I saw that she had nothing left in Grey Sloan so I had to fire her in order to convince her to go to MEDCOM, which was what she really wanted to do.'
Amelia listened quietly, suddenly feeling some pity for Teddy. It certainly wasn't easy losing a loved one, she knew that.
' So even though we did have feelings for each other, we were never in a romantic relationship in case that was what you were wondering.' Owen added.
Amelia nodded slowly, digesting the information about Teddy that Owen had told her. He seemed honest in his explanation, and she really appreciated that.
' Then if she was a significant part of your life and your best friend, why didn't you tell me about her before?' she asked him, her head tilted to one side as she looked at him for answers.
Owen cleared his throat again, his mind trying to think of a suitable answer.
' It's because shortly after she left, I tried to contact her. But she never replied my emails so I guess she was too busy and preoccupied with her new job and new life to remember me. So I put her in my past and moved on with my life with Cristina and then with you.' he explained. ' Like I said, Teddy and Cristina are my past, but you are my present and future.'
Amelia smiled, finally fully accepting his explanation.
She linked her arm in his and placed her head on his shoulder as they sat on the bench.
' Ryan and James are my past but you're my future too.' she said as she smiled up at him.
They sat together on the bench for a few more moments, just enjoying the peace and quiet, before they re-entered the building, hand in hand.
Teddy was sitting by Megan's bedside when they re-entered the room. Megan was still fast asleep. Evelyn had gone to the cafeteria to get some food.
She smiled as she looked up at the couple walking into the room.
' Well, hello there.' she greeted softly so as not to wake Megan up. ' So I see that you both have made up.'
Owen and Amelia exchanged smiles without replying.
' Where's my mom?' Owen asked.
' She went down to the cafeteria to get some food.' Teddy answered.
Owen nodded as he looked at Megan who was still fast asleep on her bed.
' Listen, I'm sorry for just now.' Amelia apologized to Teddy. ' I overreacted. I didn't know that you both are good friends.'
' It's ok, I didn't know that he's remarried either.' said Teddy. ' Guess we both haven't kept in touch with each other for so long.'
The three of them started chatting together as Teddy told Owen and Amelia how Megan was rescued from the abandoned building and how she was in a really bad shape when she first saw her. She also told them of how she nursed Megan back to health in Germany before Megan's transfer. They also discussed about the plans of transferring Megan to Grey Sloan Memorial for further observation within the next few days since Megan's vitals seemed to be stable now.
Shortly after, Megan woke up and they had small talk with her, being careful not to touch about any topics which might trigger her PTSD.
Owen let Megan play around with his IPhone, to her delight as she had never seen an IPhone before.
' Gosh I feel so out of touch from reality.' she admitted as she fiddled around with the phone's touchscreen. 'Everything has changed so much from since I last saw the outside world.'
They all chuckled at her, glad that she had recovered a little of her sense of humor.
Just then, Evelyn returned into the room and joined in the conversation.
That night, as Evelyn had gone back home to rest, Megan was fast asleep and Owen was dozing off at the bedside chair again. Being unable to sleep, Amelia decided to get some fresh air outside the room.
As she walked outside to the waiting room, she spotted Teddy sitting alone on one of the chairs.
'Hey.' she greeted softly.
Teddy looked up and gave her a small smile.
' Hey.' she greeted back.
Amelia took a seat next to Teddy.
' You're not going back yet?' she asked.
' In a short while- I figured that I want to stay here a little longer as I would feel bored alone in the hotel room.' Teddy replied.
' You would feel bored here too.' Amelia joked, winking. ' It's not like there are many interesting things over here.'
' That's true.' Teddy laughed.
A tense silence filled the room as both women struggled to continue the conversation.
' So how long have you and Owen been married for if you don't mind me asking?' Teddy asked.
' For about a year.' Amelia answered as Teddy nodded.
' I can see that he really cares about you.' said Teddy. ' I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you and the way he speaks to you.'
Amelia smiled. ' I know he really cares for me.' she admitted. ' He's a really kind, loving, caring and passionate man.'
' Yes he is.' Teddy agreed. ' When he loves, he really loves passionately. He would climb mountains to protect his loved ones. He and Megan are very close and he's always really protective of her.'
' He was in a daze when he first learnt that Megan had been found alive.' Amelia recalled.'That time when I spoke to you on the phone, he couldn't come to the phone because he was not in the right state of mind to speak to you. I guess he was in a shock to discover that she was alive after thinking that she was dead for so long.'
' I know- he would usually act that way when he has his PTSD episodes.' Teddy nodded. ' They both share a very strong bond with each other. I know that by observing the way they interact with each other.'
' I can see that.' Amelia agreed.
' You're lucky to have him as your husband.' Teddy pointed out as she touched Amelia on the arm.
' Yes, I know.' Amelia replied, realizing that Teddy's words were true.
' I know him. He's kind, loyal and caring. He would love you deeply to the ends of the earth if you let him.' Teddy continued.
Amelia nodded as Teddy's words resonated with her, making her feel bad for running away from Owen a few months ago.
' Do treat him well.' Teddy added. ' And he'll treat you even better. Please take good care of him.'
' I will.' Amelia replied earnestly.
' Are you both planning to have children?' Teddy asked suddenly.
' Well….. we've talked about it before, but haven't had any success yet.' Amelia half lied, being caught off guard by the question. Teddy certainly didn't need to know about her running away from him due to her fear of having another baby.
' I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you both. Owen has always wanted to be a father.' Teddy pointed out.
' I know.' Amelia replied softly, feeling more guilty now for having let Owen down.
' It's getting late- I guess I've gotta go back to my hotel now.' Teddy excused herself, as she gave Amelia a pat on the shoulder. 'Remember what I said.' she added, winking at Amelia before she left.
' You're lucky to have him as your husband.' Teddy's words resonated in Amelia's mind as she returned back to Megan's room where Megan was still fast asleep and Owen was still dozing off at the bedside reclining chair.
She stood for a moment, staring at him, admiring his broad, muscular features and his rough facial contours. Even when he slept and was snoring, he still looked handsome to her.
Sensing that there was someone staring at him, he stirred slightly and opened his eyes.
Their eyes met and they gazed at each other for a long moment.
Amelia sat down next to him and gently took his hand in hers.
Relishing in her soft, tender touch which he missed, Owen squeezed her hand as they smiled at each other.
Amelia struggled in her mind to find the right words to say to him.
' Are you ok?' Owen asked, as she continued gazing at him lovingly. ' Is there something you want to say?'
' I just wanted to say that I'm so lucky to have you as my husband.' she finally admitted in a soft voice, careful not to wake Megan up. ' You're so kind, loving, caring and forgiving towards me, so thank you.'
Owen chuckled, amused but pleased by her sudden admission.
' I'm lucky to have you as my wife too.' he said earnestly as he squeezed her hand. Her heart leapt with joy upon hearing his words.
They sat in comfortable silence, hand in hand by Megan's bedside, watching her sleep.
At that moment, they both realized that they had each other to lean and depend on. No matter what obstacles came their way, they would get through it together. They were a team. They were lucky to have each other indeed.
So this is it guys, we've reached the end of this fic. As usual- comments, reviews and messages are very welcome- I always love hearing from you all! Do let me know what you think ;)
