Zola has been listening in on the conversation her mom and aunt are having from a distance but as soon as she hears them mentioning having breakfast with Owen she runs over. "Can I go wake uncle Owen? Please?!" She whines, and the two adults laugh.
Meredith hesitates though. She's seen first hand what can happen when Owen wakes up, not to mention the time he choked Cristina in his sleep, and she isn't sure if she wants her daughter in that kind of danger. Even though he got help and his PTSD is almost gone, there's still a risk involved.
Catching on to her doubt, Amelia speaks up. "How about we go wake him together Zo? how does that sound?" She proposes, and she meets Meredith's eye.
"You know?" Meredith asks and Amelia nods. "He told me last year. Nothing ever happens, but he sleeps better knowing that I'm prepared if something did". It's enough to satisfy Meredith and she turns to her daughter, "You can help your aunt wake your uncle".
The sentence causes butterflies to stir in Amelia's stomach. One day Owen could truly be Zola's uncle, and maybe she'd have cousins too. It terrifies Amelia that she's not more terrified at the idea, but merely excited.
"Come on Zo" She says, picking up the little girl, "Let's go wake the sleepyhead".
They trek up the stairs together. When they reach her bedroom door Amelia dramatically puts a finger to her lips "Shhh". And they walk in on their tippy toes.
It would most likely be impossible for Zola to climb up on the bed without waking Owen, and so Amelia picks her up again, hovering her above Owen's sleeping form. Zola puts her little hands on his face and pries open one of his eyes with her fingers.
A small smile plays on his lips, betraying that he's already awake, and Amelia takes revenge by dropping Zola on top of him. The little girl squeals as Owen picks her up with his big hands and moves her up and down. Then he drops he by his side and tickles her, making her laugh uncontrollably.
Amelia watches them with fondness, but is rudely interrupted when Owen comes after her next. "You're going to regret waking me" He teases as he pulls onto the bed and tickles her sides. Amelia can't help but laugh, "Zola, help me!" She exclaims in between laughing fits, and her niece flings herself at Owen, knocking him back into the pillows.
"Okay, okay, I surrender!" He yells and Zola crosses her arms across her chest triumphantly as Amelia sits upright.
"Hey Zo" Amelia says, "Why don't you go help your mom set the table while uncle Owen gets dressed? We'll be down in a minute". The little girl nods enthusiastically and jumps from the bed. Before she runs out she turns to Owen with a big smile on her face, "We're having waffles". And then she's gone.
Owen looks at Amelia, "So we're having waffles". She smiles, "We are". And then she kisses him. He leans into the kiss eagerly but pulls away after a few seconds. "I wasn't sure if I was allowed to come down stairs yet" he questions.
To his surprise Amelia smiles broadly. "You are", She says, "Meredith caught us last night and she's okay with it. Apparently we look cute together. Her words, not mine".
"That's great" He beams. "Now let's get downstairs before princess Zola decides we're taking too long". Amelia grins, knowing full well that her niece would be capable of that, and gets of the bed to walk towards the door.
Owen follows right after her and stops her. "I'm gonna need that shirt back" He teases. She sticks out her tongue and moves over to her dresser. After rummaging around for a moment she hands him a pair of sweats and.. An army t-shirt.
"These are mine" He comments dryly. She blushes slightly and shrugs her shoulders, "I may have borrowed them a year ago and never given them back". The notion of her borrowing his clothes makes him very happy and he smiles, "Good to know". She sticks out her tongue and then leaves the room.
He quickly puts on the garments and heads after her, thinking he'd be happy to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life.