Thank you everyone whos been kind to leave some sort of response or feedback.
This chapter focuses mostly on Megan and a situation that I think will ultimately serve to add a lot of personal growth to her. As a teenager, she is just uncovering the world and being challenged is a big, important part of the process of self discovery IMO.
It also has a cute Omelia moment that I just couldn't resist not adding. Cute bubbly Omelia flirting just makes my heart very happy.
I hope you guys enjoy it!
My Boys: Beyond the Horizon – Chapter Ten
JD looked away from the music sheet. For the third time in less than five minutes, he caught blue eyes intensely staring at him. Just like it'd happened in all previous times, Megan looked away quickly, too embarrassed to be caught in the act.
For the past hour, they had been quietly sitting facing each other inside the music classroom. Every now and then, their teacher Mrs. Julian would walk by and ask if they needed any help, but Megan would quickly and politely refuse it, only to immediately go back to studying her own sheets.
But since she couldn't seem to stop stealing a peek at him every ten minutes, JD could tell she was probably making a big effort to continuously stay in his presence without saying a word.
"You can just ask me, you know," he decided to break the silence, instantly regaining her attention.
Megan turned her eyes up to meet his, mortified that she hadn't held back the urge to look at the guy, especially because he'd caught her doing it every single time. Trying not to think about that, the teenage debated with herself whether or not to accept his suggestion. It would be too much of an obvious lie if she said there was nothing she wanted to ask. Megan was usually very good at reading people and she took pride in having a good intuition. Everything JD had showed so far had led her to think he was a terrible person and yet, for the past two days she hadn't been able to stop thinking about what he'd said in the school hall.
Sighing with resignation, the girl gave in, finally voicing the doubt that had been bothering her ever since.
"Were you really upset about what I said that day at Steve's party?" she asked carefully, unaware of how adorable she looked when she frowned like that. In her mind, JD wasn't really the kind of guy who cared about anyone or anything. So the fact that he had openly pointed out he thought she had accused him unjustly could only mean that… well… maybe he had actually been bothered by it?
JD successfully hid his surprise with the question. He lazily tapped a pencil on the sheet while thinking about an answer. He had never been one to lie and usually, the consequences of his excessive honesty didn't bother him. But for some reason, that annoying girl looked so vulnerable and legitimately concerned with her widened blue eyes that he caught himself measuring his words not to come out too aggressive.
"I guess I was," he replied sincerely. "You weren't very fair to me," the boy added, instantly noticing how she turned her chin up very proudly.
"You treated my friend like garbage!" Megan hissed, the fair skin on her face instantly flushing as made eye contact with him. "What was I supposed to think, that you-"
"Wait, what?" JD unceremoniously interrupted her, "how did I treat her like garbage?" the boy frowned heavily. "Only because I told her I didn't want to be with her?"
At the same the boy admired Megan's loyalty to Marianne and understood why she'd take her friend's side in the messy situation, JD was also aware that the girl probably had been told about relationship only through her friend's point of view.
Megan went silent for a few seconds. She knew Marianne was no saint and often idealized things too much, but it still didn't justify JD doing things such as taking the girl's virginity and then openly ignoring her days after.
"You were horrible to her," Megan said, noticing a few people around had turned their heads to look because she'd just raised her voice.
"Because I treated her with honesty and truth?" JD replied unaffectedly.
Megan narrowed her eyes, suddenly not as compelled to give him a chance to talk. Did he seriously think he had actually been anything resembling nice to Marianne?
Megan had been there. She had witnessed firsthand how the guy had mostly ignored her friend. After what she'd heard about it and the alarming energy she'd felt in his presence, it really shouldn't have come as a surprise.
There had been so many rumors… The girl thought back about the day she'd seen him for the first time. Claire had come up with absurd tales about his past and Megan had quickly dismissed them, judging the stories too ludicrous to be true. Over time, however, she'd come to wonder if Claire wasn't right after all. Megan had never heard or seen anything remotely positive about the boy sitting right in front of her. He was cold, uncaring and absolutely selfish, exactly the kind of person she didn't want to be around.
And yet, the shadow sparkling in his emerald green eyes made her question whether he was really being truthful or if he was just very good at manipulating people.
Well, not her, Megan decided. There was simply no way he could possibly charm her into believing he was worthy of her time or energy. Not after everything he'd showed. People often teased her about the way she couldn't see an outcast and not reach out. This was probably just her nature tricking her into thinking she could somehow rescue that estranged boy from his own awful manners. It really was better to stay away and simply focus on the music work she had to do.
Restlessly fighting the urge to find out more and end her agonizing doubts, Megan couldn't help herself. He'd said she could just ask him. On an impulse, the girl fired the first question that came to mind.
"Did you really take a knife to your old school?"
Megan raised her eyes and met his, immediately regretting having touched such an alarming subject. It had been bothering her ever since the day Claire had whispered that in her ear over the summer. Megan wished she had controlled her impulsivity a little better.
"Yes."
His direct answer sent a shiver that ran up the girl's spine.
So, there she had it… Megan had been brave enough to ask and looking into his eyes, she realized that JD really wasn't lying. His voice had sounded so serious, there were no traces of playfulness in it. Nothing that made her think he felt sorry for doing what he'd just admitted either.
How did JD have the nerve to do such an inconsequent, horrible thing like that and openly confess it without even trying to justify why he'd done it?
"I don't know how you sleep at night," the girl whispered in alarm, more to herself than to him, but the boy caught up on her remark.
"I have a clean conscience, thank you for your concern," JD replied in an ironic, dangerously low tone.
Megan noticed on his expression that his mood had gone from bored to suddenly very irritated. She could tell by the way his jaw was clenched that something she'd said had really gotten to him. And instead of making her feel satisfied, the realization made her feel strangely… agitated?
It didn't matter, Megan thought. He had just admitted the worst and she was the one who had the right to be angry, not him. Her curiosity about his sudden mood change wasn't enough to make her want to speak to the boy again.
For the following hour, Megan tried to devote her attention to the music sheet, not really sure how she should work as a team with JD, since after their brief dialogue he had simply pulled out what she later realized was a football playbook and remained focused on it for sixty whole minutes, completely ignoring the subject of the class they were in.
Even though rationally Megan had already decided that the best thing to do was to simply stay away, by the time class was over, she found herself waiting for the other students to leave the room so she could finally speak to him about the subject that had been bothering her. The girl had all the facts, she knew what JD had done. But what she couldn't figure out was his motivation… And that was consuming her.
"Okay, so…" she started hesitantly, hoping to hold his attention. JD still looked like he was angry, but at least he had stayed back to listen. "Do you really, honestly believe you treated Marianne with respect and honesty?"
Megan could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't expecting her question. She wondered if his surprise also had to do with the patient tone she was using. It occurred to her just now that this was probably the first time they were talking without shouting at each other or making accusations, but rather calmly and politely holding a conversation where both people involved could take their turn to speak.
JD stood at a distance, carefully examining her face. Megan realized he was probably trying to see if she was being serious or setting him up.
"Look, none of us happy with it, but we are music partners now… At least until Mrs. Julian changes her mind about it, what I hope happens soon," the girl explained, looking into his eyes. "If we sit together without saying a word for two hours like we did today, it's obvious she is not going to cave," Megan wisely pointed out. She was well aware the teacher expected JD to make progress in music class and more than that, after the little scene they had made in their previous class, it was very likely the teacher kept them together at least until they proved that they could work as a team. "And to be honest, I think it's a horrible prospect to sit here in silence hating each other for the entire semester," the teenager added with a half-hearted smile. She didn't like him and they didn't have to be friends, but at least they should be partners to actually work their assignments or else they'd be at risk for getting a bad grade like their teacher had kindly reminded them. "You think that I judged you without hearing your side of the story," Megan finally got to the point, seeing on his face that he was intrigued. "I will never know if you don't tell me."
JD's first impulse was to tell her that it made no difference whatsoever if he explained to her his point of view. In fact, he wanted to say that he couldn't care less what she thought. But before he could control, he heard himself taking part in the conversation.
"Does it really matter?"
Megan didn't know why, but something in his defensive tone let her know she was being tested.
"Yes," she responded to his doubt with security. JD had accused her of being unfair to him. Megan seriously doubted he could somehow justify his nasty behavior, especially when it concerned her friend, but since they were going to have to work together, she was kind of hoping he at least had a conscience or something that resembled a redeeming quality.
JD seemed to ponder whether or not to take that conversation forward but ultimately took a deep breath, slowly letting it out to finally answer her question.
"I never made your friend any promises," he explained. "I was very honest with her, from the start." On his first week in Seattle, his grandmother's neighbor had introduced him to her granddaughter and after finding out they were going to the same school, the girl had quickly supposed they could spend time together. "We talked and hung out for a few days since I didn't really know anyone in town yet…" Megan knew he was telling the truth because it was exactly what her friend had told her. "Marianne was the one who asked me out," he added, looking Megan deeply in the eyes. "I told her I wasn't looking for a relationship, I told her I didn't want anything serious, with her or anyone else," JD recalled, thinking about the disappointment in the girl's eyes after he said the words, "it was obvious it wasn't what she truly wanted but she told me it was fine. That we could just keep it casual and fun."
"But still you…" Megan tried to think of words to express her discontentment with the situation, noticing he had stopped talking to give her the chance to speak her mind. "How is that being nice to her? You knew she was at risk for getting hurt and still you accepted to keep it going when it was obvious she was going to have her heart broken."
"I never lied to her," JD raised his eyebrows as if Megan was accusing him of something that didn't make sense. "She is nice and I enjoyed going out with her, but to me that was it, I was clear about that. When Marianne started to act like it was more than it really was," JD added, thinking about how clingy the girl had become, calling him and showing up when he was hanging out with his friends, "that's when I had to be firm with her. So I ended it," JD wished he had stopped talking then, but against his will, the words kept firing from his mouth. "How is that being disrespectful, exactly?"
"But you…" Megan sighed heavily. The scenario he was exposing didn't surprise her that much, because it'd become obvious from the start to anyone who was paying closer attention that Marianne had been more involved with their brief relationship than JD had ever seemed to be. Megan remembered seeing how excited her friend always was whenever he was around, and how his façade often gave the opposite impression. When Megan had first seen the guy, he and Marianne had already been together for a few weeks. The girl supposed it was just when things had started to progress differently for each part involved.
But that wasn't what bothered Megan the most, though. Even though she supposed JD could have been a little nicer on his attempts to stop Marianne's advances, what had really annoyed the teenage girl was the fact that he had slept with her friend and then treated her like the moment had had absolutely no significance.
Just like Marianne, Megan was also inexperienced when it came to sex. And she just knew that if she'd lost her virginity to the guy she was in love with and he had coldly cast her aside only days after, she would have been devastated.
And very, very angry. Which was why she could relate to her friend's plight at the moment.
Megan didn't want to bring up the topic to discuss with him though because she believed she had no place exposing her friend's personal life like that. Megan had known Marianne for a while now, and they were close. The girl recalled the way her friend had naively imagined that just because she was in love with the guy, JD would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. But he had ended things with her right after her first time, breaking her heart in the process.
"But I what?" JD rolled his eyes, impatiently. Why had he been stupid enough to even consider that the little hothead proudly standing up to him could somehow be any different from everyone else? "Stop looking for reasons to hate me, Megan. You probably heard things about me, decided I am this big villain and now you are desperately trying to hold onto that concept. I get it," he raised his hands and added before turning around to walk away, "I know you are a spoiled little princess who's used to having your way but it's clear on your face you know that you know I did the right thing by being honest with your friend about the way I felt. But believe what you want to believe, I don't care."
Megan watched as he left the room. She knew she probably shouldn't care. The guy was a rude, selfish human being who obviously didn't care about anyone's feelings.
"Yeah… I know you don't… But you just had to sleep with her first, right?"
He still had his back turned to her, but Megan could hear his impatient sigh. He stopped walking and after a while of hesitation, finally turned around to look at her.
"What?" he impatiently asked.
"Before you decided to gallantly offer her your honesty, I mean," Megan asked with a mix sarcasm and disapproval. "You just had to take her to bed and make her feel humiliated to be ignored afterwards, right?"
Megan knew she should be furious. She knew she should hate how he'd called her spoiled. But they had exchanged so many indelicacies for the past few weeks that it didn't even bother her nearly as much as his unfeeling attitude towards her friend did.
"I didn't lie to her to have sex with her," JD rolled his eyes, censoring himself for not having already walked away like he normally would. "Marianne told me herself she thought we should do it," he added, looking at Megan with a loathing scowl. "You are so full of yourself, aren't you?" he asked in a low tone. "So much that you think you're doing your friend a big favor by fighting her own battles for her when you're really just labeling her as unfit to make her own decisions," JD fired, seeing the look of shock on Megan's face at his accusations. "You think you're helping Marianne but you are not. How are you respecting her, really?" he leaned over the girl, looking straight into her eyes. "How are you being respectful if you encourage Marianne to act like I somehow owe her anything just because we had sex? She wanted it, I wanted it and we did it. Then I didn't want it anymore because she was suffocating me after. I never made her any promises, I never signed a contract… On the contrary. I said I wasn't looking for anything serious."
"She was hoping that if she slept with you that would make you want to be with her, you stupid jerk!" Megan read the situation clearly now. "Is that really so hard to see?" she asked with a mix or irony and fury. "Couldn't you just have gone for someone who wasn't blindly seduced by your stupid act?"
JD took a deep breath, determined not to fight with her again.
"Marianne is a big girl, Megan. Don't coddle her and act like she was a victim to her own decisions," he looked into her eyes, seeing his words were infuriating her. "Of course I saw she was into me more than I was with her. But from the moment I told her I wasn't interested in being her boyfriend and she agreed to keep it casual, why should I be blamed because she didn't keep her word?"
"Because she didn't know any better and you should have!" Megan furiously strode towards him, proudly standing up to the guy who annoyingly seemed to have an answer for every one of her arguments. "She was in love with you, how did you ever consider she could have had her better judgment at the time?"
JD saw the rosy color on her cheeks as she defied him, visibly worked up.
"You know… Have you ever thought that maybe you spent all this time convincing yourself and everyone else that Marianne was somehow a victim to me, but in reality, it's you who constantly sees her as the victim?" JD raised his eyebrows suggestively. Megan had done something amazing by standing up for her friend when she was visibly in a fragile state, but up to this day the girl still seemed determined to apparently bring justice to a situation she wasn't really directly involved. "As the poor girl who deserves your help and can't speak for herself?" he added, taking Megan by surprise again. "Yeah, I figured you haven't," the boy answered his own question after seeing the look on her face, taking satisfaction in feeling like he'd won that battle against that daring hotheaded girl. "You are not helping Marianne by shielding her from things. Instead you should be helping her stand up for herself if she really thinks I screwed up."
Megan was alarmed by her own silence. What he was saying was absolutely despicable. It wasn't true, she knew. She indeed had stepped up for her friend the day of the party, but only because JD had put her in a horrible situation. And even though Megan was well aware she'd had all the best intentions, his accusation still got her thinking. Because it didn't prevent the girl from drowning in guilt for the way she really felt sorry for Marianne.
Maybe she just had felt too sorry?
Could it really be? Had Megan really acted like a super protective friend, shielding Marianne at all costs and perhaps only contributing to the girl's already low self-esteem?
No way, Megan realized, swallowing hard. Perhaps on the long run, Marianne would be able to fight her own battles, but right now, she was still too fragile. And Megan was only doing for her friend what she would have liked to have someone doing for her had she been in Marianne's shoes.
Maybe that was why it bothered Megan so much?
Just like Marianne, she didn't have a lot of experience. Megan didn't like to admit it very much, but that bothered her. When it came to relationships with boys, she felt too exposed and vulnerable. And because of it, she could totally empathize with her friend at the moment. One day, Marianne might be fit to defend herself. Until that day came, Megan would make damn sure no one abused her fragility like that dumb jock had just done.
Megan had done what she'd done with the best intentions. She didn't regret it.
"Still, you walked away and told her nothing had happened," the girl recovered from the blow, absolutely determined not to let him walk away feeling like he was right. "You're an asshole and nothing you say can change that. I was there. I saw it."
JD saw the spark of fury in her eyes and he could tell she was fighting an internal battle. Instinctively, he realized that his words had deeply messed with her, enough to make her rethink her own attitude. But it was the way that her fiery, hot approach had been replaced by a broken, hurt speech that really got to him.
It felt like all of a sudden, an uncomfortable feeling made him sick to the stomach and he didn't even understand why. JD had seen girls act much worse when faced with his honesty before. Hell, he'd even seen them cry and it still, it hardly ever bothered him. Girls cried for no reason and they had an awful tendency of taking advantage of their fragility to get what they wanted.
But now, the impulsive girl with fiery blue eyes proudly stood her ground, apparently too caught up with her own emotions to remember his presence. JD also went silent as he thought about what Megan had said. It made sense, he knew. He wasn't a hypocrite to think everything he did was justifiable. Sometimes, for reasons he couldn't explain, his behavior tended to really hurt people. Enough that he avoided getting close to them as much as he could.
Maybe he should have exploded at Megan like that. But at the same time, it had unexpectedly bothered him that the girl whose loyal manners he'd admired and who he had initially believed to actually be different from everyone else had obviously jumped to conclusions about him without even giving him the benefit of the doubt.
He really thought Megan might have been different... How stupid of him, JD figured. After so many years of people making assumptions about him, he had grown used to it. It didn't bother him anymore and JD should have known better by now. Why would Megan be any different? She was in the most comfortable place, surrounded by people who really seemed to love and admire her. Why on Earth would she ever have a reason to think her opinion might have been biased, or that maybe, there might be a different version to a story than the one she wanted to believe in?
Girls like Megan were too used to having things done their way. They had the world on a string and more than enough people willing to give them absolutely everything they wanted. Like her boyfriend, for example, JD thought with a scoff. The guy pretty much worshipped the ground she walked on and if he was trying to hide that, he was doing an awful job so far.
Yes, he really shouldn't care. Megan was too spoiled for own good. She was probably one of those girls who deemed her opinion as the absolute truth, without even bothering to fact check first. JD knew her kind. They were high maintenance and abused the effect they had on guys to manipulate them into doing what they wanted. He was better off as further away from her as possible.
But still… JD couldn't really ignore the fact that that small brave girl had stood up to him to defend her friend in a way he'd never seen anyone do before. So even though Megan was probably self-centered and obnoxious, he had to admit she at least was a loyal friend.
People were usually intimidated by him, he had long ago noticed that. Yet Megan Hunt had been more than willing to let him have it. At first, he had been impressed and even satisfied. After watching her from a distance and seeing the way she was kind and generous to her friends, JD had to admit that had been how he expected her to be different. But then as Megan had obviously made up her mind about him based on something as despicable as rumors – and judging by her question about the knife she had heard them - JD had to confess he'd felt rather disappointed… But mostly at himself, for having high expectations of her in the first place.
Turning around after giving up making sense of the entire thing, JD hesitated one more time.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," he advised her.
Megan noticed the way he calmly stood with his hands inside his pockets. His emerald green eyes stared into her with such intensity that Megan felt like he was baring her soul.
"I still think you're a jackass for the way you treated my friend but..." Megan bit her lower lip, taking one step in his direction. "It was wrong of me to call you out in front of everyone like that," she admitted, letting out a heavy sigh. Even though the girl still though JD deserved the scrutiny for the way he'd treated Marianne, there had been several ways she could have handled it. Ways that didn't involve humiliating him in front of their peers and openly making fun of him for things she didn't even know might have personally touched a wound. Truth was, Megan didn't know the guy. And she wasn't interested in being friends with him. But that didn't give her the right to treat him in a way she didn't want anyone to be treated. "I was angry with you that you had hurt my friend and I fought fire with fire. That wasn't very nice of me," she belatedly realized. A mistake didn't justify another. It didn't matter if she thought JD owed Marianne an apology or not. She knew she was only responsible for her own actions. "I am sorry for the way I talked to you… and for the horrible things I said."
Megan had seen him surprised a few times that afternoon, but just as she apologized, for the first time she thought the boy looked lost, as if he really didn't know what to say. And that impacted her, because so far, JD always knew what to say.
The boy recovered from the unexpected action and held the Megan's gaze, studying her expression to see if she really meant it, almost as if he couldn't believe it. That went against everything he had decided she was. The way he had categorized her and made up his mind about the girl had just been unexpectedly challenged by her heartfelt apology.
"Okay," it was the only thing he could mutter in response. She was still looking into his eyes and JD didn't notice how hard he was trying not to break that contact.
It was the first time Megan saw him with his guard low, seemingly unsure of what to do. JD always looked confident and on top of his game, but now he looked more confused than she'd ever seen. Taking advantage of the situation to try to understand the guy a little more, Megan kept looking into his eyes, trying to break past his defenses. Her skills at figuring people out didn't seem to work so well with him and that really bothered her.
"I have to go to practice now," he said, finally breaking eye contact with the girl after what it felt like forever.
"Oh, right, football," Megan reacted a little too quickly, instantly being brought back to reality as well. "Right. And I have to go to French class."
The girl noticed as he nodded his head affirmatively, looking as if he couldn't wait to get out of there. JD looked very uncomfortable. She was still trying to make sense of why things had gotten so awkward all of a sudden when, from across the hall, she heard his voice.
"Hey, Megan?"
The girl interrupted her thoughts to look up and once again meet his gaze.
"I didn't know until it was too late," JD sighed heavily, hating that he had the urge to tell her that, especially when he'd already decided he didn't care what she thought. It was beside her point, but he still felt compelled to share the truth, unaware of how important what he was about to say was. "I didn't know it was her first time," he explained after seeing the confusion on the girl's face. Instantly, Megan picked up on the fact he was speaking about Marianne and she was taken absolutely aback by the confession when JD added, "if she'd told me, I wouldn't have gone forward with it."
Before Megan could so much as open her mouth to reply, JD had already disappeared through the halls, leaving her only with several new doubts.
.
"Hey, Maggie," Amelia asked for her best friend's attention with a teasing voice. "Do you see that handsome man over there?" she pointed to the tall man with her eyes. "He's into me."
The two surgeons were standing next to the nurse station, both updating charts. Amelia had spoken loud enough so that only the two women and the guy approaching them could hear it.
Maggie chuckled with amusement at the same time Amelia received a look of pretend reprimand from her husband.
"What?" she openly flirted with him, biting her lower lip in a very tempting way, "I just called you handsome," she pointed out. "You have no reason to look at me like that."
"Right," Owen tried to keep a serious face but was having a hard time containing the smile that insisted on forming on his lips.
"You're into me," Amelia insisted, absolutely determined to pester him.
Owen noticed she kept staring at him as if undressing him with her eyes.
"I am married to you," he reminded her with his usual practicality.
"So?" Amelia blinked repeatedly as she approached him just enough to be able to whisper in his ear. "Have I told you that you look very hot with that tie?"
"What is it this time?" Maggie asked without taking her eyes off her chart. She and Amelia had been friends for years and she had grown used to the neurosurgeon's playful ways. "What is she after?"
"Christmas bonus for her department," Owen answered unaffectedly while checking lab results for the patient he was about to take to the OR. Even though they still had a few months before Christmas, he'd already notified his employees that whichever department showed the best performance during the semester would be granted a bonus check to invest in research at the end of the year.
"You know what I think," Amelia shamelessly kept her act. She was kidding and they both knew it. As long as she didn't resort to anything unprofessional such as speaking about their private life in front of colleagues or patients – and Amelia never did – she knew Owen enjoyed their playful banter as much as she did. "I think that Dr. Hunt is very interested in Neurosurgery."
"I am sure he is," Owen finally looked up to meet her flirtatious gaze and couldn't contain his laughter. Amelia was playing games with her words. Owen decided to believe she was talking about their son and he could see her sneaky, witty bribery. Sometimes, he could tell his wife was more interested in playing and winning a challenge than in the actual reward. This was one of the cases.
"Maggie, don't you think we owe it to the younger generations to make sure they get a good education?" Amelia asked her friend without breaking eye contact with Owen. It was now a game and whoever looked away first would lose.
"I think Tom would be much better off if he pursued a career in cardiothoracics," Maggie affirmed with conviction.
"You know what I think?" Owen stared into his wife's eyes, making a herculean effort to keep a straight face. She wouldn't stop tempting him and he could see her intentions so clearly that it made him want to be alone with her, just so he could kiss away that wicked smile off her lips. "I think Dr. Shepherd here has way too much free time on her hands. Maybe she should go back to work."
"You know what I think?" Amelia failed at her resolution not to laugh and finally stopped with the silly act, having way too much fun with the conversation, "I think you're pretty cute."
"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd," Owen's voice sounded serious but his smile and the look on his face translated just what he wanted to say to her.
Amelia saw his loving expression and watched as her husband walked away. Before the elevator doors closed, Owen looked in her direction one more time and the moment their eyes met, both surgeons exchanged a happy, genuine smile.
"You guys are so annoying," Maggie teased with a sigh, looking from the elevator to her best friend. Owen and Amelia had one of the happiest and nicest relationships she'd ever seen and Maggie felt nothing but proud of her friend for it. "By the way, how are things with Tommy?"
"They're better," Amelia shared. Earlier that week, Owen had had an important conversation with their son and Thomas already seemed to be a little more comfortable in his shoes at work. "We haven't had the chance to sit down and discuss it yet but from what little Owen has been able to tell me, I think Tom really needed that talk."
"Good," Maggie was glad to heart it. Thomas was her godson and even though she loved all of Amelia's kids, she had always felt a special connection to the boy. "He's rotating in my service next week."
"Don't contaminate my son with your nasty specialty, please," Amelia smiled mischievously.
"I can't make any promises," Maggie laughed along. "And how is that thing with Megan and the new boyfriend?" the cardiothoracic surgeon asked with interest. Her daughter and Megan had grown up best friends all their lives and both girls were very close to their mothers. "Claire told me she is dating one of the guys in their group. Has she told Owen yet?"
"Not yet," Amelia confessed with a lighthearted tone. "Meg is taking him to Lucas' game on Saturday but she is going to introduce him to her dad and the boys as one of her friends," Amelia shared. She was the only one in the house who knew about her daughter's plan and honestly, she considered it a wise idea. If Owen and her sons met Megan's boyfriend without the heavy weight of what the position meant, maybe they would be able to form a little less biased opinion of the guy before the Hunt boys crucified him, which would invariably happen as soon as Megan told her father and brothers about their real relationship status. "I actually have plans to pick up Megan from school tomorrow. She asked me to go the market with her to buy lobster or something like that… For some reason she is cooking dinner every night this week," Amelia looked up and met her friend's eyes. "I think she is really trying to soften Owen before Saturday."
Maggie had fun with the plot.
"Are you sure she is really your kid?" the cardiothoracic surgeon asked with playful sarcasm. Amelia laughed, agreeing with head. Her daughter had the same sneaky manners as she. "Well, I guess as long as Megan is happy, neither Owen nor the boys have any right to meddle," Maggie pointed out.
"Agreed," Amelia replied with heartfelt contentment. "Now, who is going to help me convince them of that? Because that's a whole different story."
Maggie stopped what she was doing and processed the question for a moment.
"Good point…" the surgeon added, glad she wasn't in Amelia's shoes. "I honestly have no idea."