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My Boys – Chapter 12
"Amelia, this is not the best way to do that," Owen tried to be gentle as he observed Amelia's awful gift wrapping skills "It shouldn't have loose ends." He explained, trying hard not to be cynical.
Amelia gave him an icy glance and sighed out loud.
"Fine," She gave up, more amused than she would ever admit "You finish this and I'll go make us coffee."
It was early Saturday morning, and they were using the time when the boys were still asleep to wrap the Christmas gifts they had gotten during the week. The kitchen table held a pile of cars, balls, lego sets, and action figures.
"Who's getting a plush Darth Vader figure?" Owen frowned at the toy, inspecting it.
"Danny. You know how obsessed with Star Wars he's become."
"This is just wrong," Owen scowled at the toy "Darth Vader isn't supposed to be cute and fluffy. He is dark and cruel."
"Exactly," Amelia stared at him. "I don't want my toddler with an evil doll. The cute one is more positive." She argued.
"I should just give to this to Lucas," Owen wrapped the gift against his will, "Imagine me saying this, 'Luke, I am your father.'"
Amelia unwillingly laughed at his horrible joke and filled two mugs with steamy hot coffee.
"We should hide those before one of the boys decides to wake up," She picked up a pile of wrapped boxes and took them to the guest room, where they could lock the presents, making sure the boys wouldn't find them before Christmas morning.
"Hey, you know I have a shift tonight, right?" Owen asked as he followed Amelia to the living room "I was thinking we could take the boys to the skate rink and have dinner there? I can take a cab to the hospital if you don't mind driving them back home by yourself."
"No, that sounds great," Amelia put the last wrapped box on the top of the pile and locked the door after her "You know what, Maggie mentioned Andrew is on call this weekend too, I think I'll see if she wants to come over tonight."
Later that day, Maggie helped Amelia put the boys to sleep. After that, they went to the living room, sat down on the couch with junk food on the coffee table to catch up on each other's lives. Maggie shared the amazing news she and Deluca were expecting their first baby. No one knew about it yet because she was only seven weeks along, but she couldn't help not telling her best friend.
Amelia shared with Maggie the awful news they'd gotten earlier that week about Lucas's likely diagnosis. Maggie tried not to freak out and be supportive, but Amelia could tell she was deeply saddened by it too. She really appreciated how caring and loving Maggie was not only towards her, but also with her children.
"Also, this week Owen told me he's been getting pretty much summoned by the Army," Amelia confessed, later that same night "They want him to go away to South Carolina for a couple of weeks to help train rookie surgeons for the line of duty."
"Is he going?" Maggie asked, filling a spoonful of ice cream. Ever since she'd gotten pregnant her appetite had practically doubled.
"He says he doesn't want to, but I know he does," Amelia confessed. "I feel good that he doesn't want to leave us here, but I know this would make him really happy, you know? I told him he should go."
"It's a lot of time to be alone with the boys, Amelia. I can see why he is hesitant," Maggie pondered.
"Yeah, I guess you're right but Owen is really passionate about the military. I know he misses it. Sometimes I feel guilty because I knew if it wasn't for us, he probably would have signed up for another tour. I don't get it, but somehow being there makes him happy. He has a family now and I know in my heart he loves us and would never leave us. But I also know he would be excited to be able to serve his country again, even if it's not on the line of duty."
"It makes sense," Maggie showed support "Well, if he does decide to go, we can make arrangements. I can help you out with the boys."
"Yeah?" Amelia said, thankful.
"Of course," Maggie smiled "It's just for a few weeks, it's not gonna be a problem. Besides, I'm gonna need all the practice I can get. After I moved out of Mer's, I became childless."
Amelia laughed with her sister and secretly hoped Maggie would have a boy, so they could have that in common too.
"I love being a mom to boys," Amelia said, honestly "They drive me crazy most of the time with their never ending energy, but I like it that they're explosive, and fierce and curious about the world all the time. They are driven. But you're probably more the mother of girl kind, I guess."
Maggie frowned for a second, but after remembering how all over the place Amelia's boys were all the time, she thought of Zozo and Ellis, two very sweet girls who were just as smart and creative, but much less troublesome.
"I think you're right," Maggie realized, moving her hand to her still flat stomach "You're gonna get me hoping for a girl now, Amelia, damn it." She laughed when she saw Amelia was having fun with it. "What about you? No girls?"
"God, you sound like Owen!" Amelia rolled her eyes playfully. Maggie raised her eyebrows in question and Amelia explained, dismissively "Owen has been bugging me lately that we should try and have a girl. I think it's an insane idea. We have four children, they're more than enough, believe me." Amelia opened another bag of chips.
"But wouldn't you like it?" Maggie daydreamed "I mean, how nice would it be if you had a little girl, Amelia? We both could have girls and they could grow up together and be like sisters. Like us." Maggie tried to sound convincing.
Amelia thought about it for a while, imagining a mini version of each one of them, in piggy tails in their school clothes.
"I guess that would be pretty darn cute…" Amelia gave in, smiling fondly "But no! No more babies." She decided, for the hundredth time.
Maggie wasn't done trying to convince her sister. When they realized the blizzard that had formed outside, both agreed it was better if Maggie spent the night rather than risk driving in the awful weather, but that didn't keep them from talking about their lives until late in the night.
.
Maggie had her share of training when the Nanny Cam woke up Amelia at 2 in the morning because Danny had lost his green stuffed dinosaur and couldn't find it in the darkness. Almost an hour later, Maggie was startled by Thomas, who had climbed into their bed looking for his mom because he really needed to pee and couldn't reach the bathroom lights.
It was past 4 am when Maggie was finally able to relax again and finally fall into a deep sleep.
.
Owen got home the following morning, after a busy 12 hour night shift in the ER. Every time it snowed, people seemed to come up with great ideas to do dangerous things outside like going up their rooftops to fix things or drive after having too much eggnog. He had been up most of the night dealing with minor cases, mostly domestic accidents.
Much to his surprise, Amelia wasn't up when he entered the house, despite it being several minutes past 7 am. He made his way upstairs, loosening his tie, and was startled to find out there wasn't one, but two people sleeping in his bed.
Amelia, who was awake but not up yet, smiled lazily at him when she saw his figure cross the bedroom door. Owen noticed the amazing blue of her eyes in the dimly lit room. Every morning, when she woke up, they had this amazing shade of grayish blue that matched so perfectly with her dark hair and cartoon-stamped white shirt.
Careful not to wake up Maggie, Owen went around the bed and kneeled down on the floor by Amelia's side, whispering in her ear:
"Whoa, I imagined two women in my bed lots of time before, but it usually involved nudity and something sexier than Spongebob pajamas."
Amelia muffled her laughter, wrapping both arms around Owen's neck to bring him closer. His face was still cold from the air outside. The weather wasn't going to give a break any time soon, it appeared.
"Maggie couldn't go home because of the blizzard," She whispered back to him, lying on her back so she could be face to face to him "How was your night?"
"Awful," Owen shared honestly, noticing the outline of his wife's breasts against the white shirt "Too many minor cases, which means I hardly got any rest at all."
"Aw, I'm sorry," Amelia struck his hair gently, sitting up "Do you want to go take a shower while I make you breakfast?"
"It's very early and the boys won't be up for another two hours, go back to sleep, babe," Owen tried to convince her, but he knew once Amelia was awake, she was instantly loaded with energy.
"Don't wake up Maggie," Amelia instructed him, trying her best to climb out of the bed silently "She needs her rest now she's doing everything for two."
"Really?!" Owen's eyes glowed in the dark, his smile forming small wrinkles around his blue globes.
"Yes, but shh, she hasn't told anyone yet, we're keeping it a secret," Amelia followed him to the en suite.
Owen closed the door behind him and got rid of his clothes while Amelia brushed her teeth.
"This is great news for Maggie," Owen said, turning on the hot shower "She will be a great mom."
Amelia agreed and left him to relax and get cleaned, while she rushed downstairs. Night shifts were always a bummer, especially for the ER workers, who would catch no breaks if the influx was busy. She took a peek outside; it was still dark and heavy gray clouds were gathered in the sky. The sun hadn't risen yet and the tiles of the kitchen floor made her shiver on that cold Sunday morning.
After fifteen minutes, Owen joined her in the kitchen, wearing sweatpants and a V-neck shirt. Amelia felt his arms wrapping around her waist from behind as she finished putting two loaves of bread in the toaster.
"You're wet," She bit her lower lip when the water droplets from his washed hair sprinkled on her neck.
Owen kept one hand around her delicate frame and used the other to reach for a coffee mug on the shelf above their heads. He didn't bother to reply, keeping himself busy in brushing his lips against the skin of her neck instead.
"So," Amelia spun around in his arms after putting his toasts on a plate "I was thinking," She said, taking both his hands in hers.
"That's never a good warning," Owen smiled, openly mocking her with a loving smile.
"Ha-ha" Amelia joined him in the fun, "Really though, I mean this, Owen. I think you should go to Charleston."
"Babe, I've told you, there's no need to-,"
"Owen," Amelia interrupted him "Look, you want this, and I want you to go. It's gonna be good for you. You love trauma surgery but what you're really, really passionate about is being an Army surgeon. I'd rather have you being that inside the safety of our borders than to see you deploying, or to see you sad because you've missed out on an opportunity as great as this. I know it's a great honor they've invited you out of all people. I'm proud of that," She splayed her hands on his chest, watching as he took a bite from the toast "I think you should go. Maggie has agreed to give me a hand with the kids and there's also your mom, who I know won't mind coming over if I need her. It's all going to work out."
Owen seemed hesitant for a minute, but once he processed what Amelia had said, it was hard to keep pretending he didn't want to say yes to the offer.
"But I feel bad leaving you and the boys for three weeks." He stated the biggest reason that was holding him back.
"We'll do fine without you."
"Well, not too fine, I hope," He chuckled and sat on a chair, seeing Amelia stand right next to him.
"Never," She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his head. "If you don't come back I'll follow you to the ends of the earth," She meant every word. "Can you imagine that, a caravan with a crazy wife and four little beasts bursting into your army camp to demand you came back home?"
"You're definitely scarier than my commanding officers when you're mad," Owen joked, "the unit won't know what kind of Hurricane hit them," He joked, making the choice of words on purpose.
Amelia laughed and kept her embrace on his back.
"When do you have to go?" She asked, trying to get used to the idea.
"If I go," Owen reminded her "Probably right after New Year's Eve."
Amelia knew it was soon, but also it wouldn't make sense if they contacted him to train out doctors who weren't deploying any time soon.
She had just sat down to join him in the meal when Amelia caught sight of Thomas coming down the stairs, still rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," She immediately walked towards him and picked him up, feeling his body still warm from the covers. "Momma loves you so much." Thomas lazily curled up on her arms, using her shoulder as a pillow while his mom kissed him good morning.
"Hey, nugget," Owen squeezed his nose lightly, getting a smile from his son "Did you sleep well?"
Thomas nodded affirmatively, still not awake enough to speak.
Owen got busy preparing a bowl of cereal for the boy while Amelia sat down on one of their chairs with him, running her hand through Thomas's long strands of silver blond hair.
"You need a haircut," She realized, while Thomas still yawned "Did you go potty when you woke up? I don't see any brushed teeth here either."
The boy didn't protest when Amelia took him to the nearest bathroom to do both. Once they were back, Owen waited for them in the living room with Thomas's breakfast ready in a bowl. He turned on the TV on a classic cartoon channel and Thomas again snuggled next to his mom, as he sat on her lap eating his cereal.
About an hour later, Maggie came down the stairs, holding the hand of each twin on one side of her.
"Oh, Maggie, crap, I forgot to turn off the cam when I came downstairs, I'm sorry," Amelia felt bad "But wait, they didn't cry, I would have heard them."
"They were already wide awake in their cribs when I found them," Maggie confessed "But none of them were making a noise. Two perfect gentlemen."
Amelia welcomed the twins, who smiled when they saw their mom.
"Good morning, Maggie," Owen smiled at her, almost proudly.
"You told him, didn't you?" Maggie laughed at Amelia's incapability of hiding anything from Owen.
"Sorry…?" Amelia tried to sound regretful.
"It's no problem at all, I knew he'd know the moment I told you," Maggie teased, sitting next to Owen "Hi Tommy. You're an early birdie."
"Someone has to keep up with me," Amelia teased, going to the kitchen to prepare the bottles for the twins.
Maggie left shortly after, hopeful she would find Deluca in time for breakfast. Owen was almost asleep on the couch when Lucas finally rose from his bed, shortly after 9 am. He joined his brothers on the play mat in the living room and Amelia noticed her husband's sad predicament.
"Go to bed, babe," She pulled him up, gently "You can barely keep your eyes open. I'll wake you up for lunch, I promise."
Owen tried to protest, but Amelia was insistent.
"Go lie down on a decent bed, the kids will definitely make a noise and wake you up if you stay here," She finally made him stand up "I'll take care of lunch."
"You're the best," Owen admitted, longing for a couple of hours of uninterrupted rest.
"I'll charge you with interest later," She gave him a naughty smile from the corner of her lips.
Owen laughed and went upstairs feeling more driven than before.
Resting was his main priority now, but he could barely wait for that part of the day Amelia had just promised.
