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Chapter 37: Suspects

Owen opened his eyes lazily, the world was still foggy and his head hurt. Christina's hair lay across the bed, she had fallen asleep in a chair with her head on her folded arms. He smiled and reached his fingers to twirl into those curls, pain shot into his chest as his arm moved. He gasped at the unexpected sensation, his body was obviously not very happy with him. Sunlight tickled the blinds and spilled into the room, under other circumstances this would have been a good morning. He concentrated and slowed his breathing down to slow even breaths, even though they hurt he forced himself to relax. A thousand flashbacks threatened the edge of his consciousness, he swallowed and directed his attention elsewhere.

"Owen?" Christina picked her head up and rubbed her eyes.

"Mornin'," he managed.

"How're you feeling?" she pulled her hair back.

"Rough," he sat up slowly, it was just as painful as he'd remembered.

"I can get you some more..."

"M'okay," he ran a hand through his hair,' I'm on almost as much as Derek,' he thought as his stomach turned,' Such a high dose I'm nauseas,' he closed his eyes and forced himself to swallow back the feeling.

Derek curled onto his side and cradled his arm to his chest, his shoulder felt like it was dislocating. He was determined not to grab for more Morphine, sweat dripped down his chest and stomach in between the bandages. His mind raced, Clark invading his thoughts. Finally he couldn't take it any longer, he felt for the button to release more Morphine and remembered Bailey had taken out his IV the previous afternoon to give his arms a break. He silently cursed and pressed the call button, it seemed like hours before a nurse showed up.

"Mr. Shepherd?" she entered the room quietly as not to wake Meredith," What can I do for you?"

"I'm hurting," it must have shown on his face.

"Okay, I'll get you something to help with that," she was new, he didn't recognize her and he was very grateful for that. The past few days were hazy and he had thought he was getting better, this was a bitter reminder that he was healing slower than he'd have liked,' At least she's a good stick,' he thought as he felt only a slight prick in the bend of his elbow.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" her eyes were bright, she still had the enthusiasm of a newer nurse. He guessed she was fresh out of college.

"Mmmmmmph..." he wanted to ask her to help him sit up and get him out of this hellish position in bed, but words were escaping him.

"You look uncomfortable, can I help you sit up more?" she smiled warmly and it reminded him of Meredith, he managed a smile back at her and nodded.

"Okay," she moved his pillows and helped him adjust. She was patient and her touch was calm and soothing even when she touched a painful area it was like her hands were laced with Lidocaine," I'm Tessa," she talked softly while she readjusted the blanket," I'm new here, this hospital is really nice and I really like the staff."

"Y-yeah," he finally found a decent position and sank into the fluffed pillows.

"Are you still hurting?"

"Uh-uh," he shook his head as the room took on a familiar spin.

"Good, then can I check your bandages? I just came on shift and I like making sure my patients with more needs are comfortable while I change those," she didn't rush him, actually let him think about his answer and digest her question.

"Sure," he decided he liked Tessa.

"Okay, I'll go wash my hands and then take a quick look," she turned to the sink," it's my second week here and my first week on this floor," her voice was excited but not hyper," What do you do for a living Mr. Shepherd?" she asked as she came back and untied the shoulder of his gown. She started by wetting the tape with saline to help it slide off without pulling at the hair on his chest.

He couldn't help but laugh, she withdrew and looked at him puzzled. He shook his head and composed himself," I'm..." the meds were definitely working, he couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed like this before the attack without immediate regret," I'm the head of neurosurgery at this hospital."

Her eyes grew wide," Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed," I had no idea..."

"He gets a bit out of it on Morphine," Meredith kicked the door closed with the heel of her shoe," but he's harmless otherwise."

"Mer," Derek craned his neck to catch a glimpse of her, he hadn't noticed her move from the couch where she'd been sleeping.

"Don't get up," she joked as she came around and kissed him on the forehead," she's got you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled and leaned into her, nuzzling his nose on her chin.

"I'm Tessa," the nurse resumed peeling the tape away from his shoulder," I'm just taking a quick look at Mr...Dr. Shepherd's chest."

"I'll help you," Meredith washed her hands and gloved," he's a bit temperamental," she smirked at him.

Derek almost felt like his old self again, Meredith ran a hand through his hair and his world felt whole. She tossed the old dressing from his shoulder into the trash," I'm also a surgeon here," she told Tessa," this is my husband, I'm Meredith Grey."

"Oh, I didn't realize..."

"It's okay," Derek's tongue felt numb," you're doing great," the pain in his arm had reduced to a dull throb.

"I'm just trying not to hurt you," Tessa rubbed some moisturizer on the reddened areas where the tape had irritated his skin. He leaned his head out of the way as she gently massaged the muscles in his neck.

"So you're new here?" Meredith sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I was just telling Dr. Shephe..."

"Derek," he interrupted her.

"I was just telling Derek, it's my first week on this floor. I usually work in emergency rooms, but I wanted a change," she sprayed the suture site with antiseptic and started swabbing around them," I like it here, this hospital is..." Derek shuddered," you okay? Does that hurt?" he nodded," I'm sorry," she stopped.

"S'okay," he winced," it always hurts."

"I can give you..."

"I'm fine," his eyes closed," Really, I should be used to this."

"You never get used to pain," Tessa sprayed his shoulder again. She waited a few seconds before continuing, he braced and she could feel the tension in his body as he waited," Topical anesthetic," she smiled at him," Still hurt?"

"No."

"Good," she finished and dressed his shoulder, this time without the sticky tape that had left his skin raw. She wrapped an Ace Bandage around and beneath his arm and back," No more tape," she seemed pleased.

"You're good," Tessa had a feeling Meredith's praise wasn't usually given freely.

"These need to get some air before they get infected again," she started on his side.

Christina wished she could be like Meredith and Teddy, strong and put together; but truth was, she felt like a train wreck. Owen hooked up to machines that she usually loved, heart monitors, EKG leads, pulsox trapping his finger, oxygen mask over his pale lips. At least he was breathing on his own and sleeping peacefully. Condensation shadowed his mouth beneath that mask, but she took some solace in the fact that he was nowhere near as bad as Derek had been. Wide-eyed, shaking from blood loss and terrified. Owen stirred, slightly adjusting himself on the pillow. She was scared he would wake up, or not wake up.

She wasn't sure which was worse, usually she didn't see this part too often. It was the nurses who dealt with the post-ops during their recovery, his chest was a mass of gauze and tubes running in and out of the bullet hole. He'd been in and out of consciousness, Teddy had been helping her take care of him and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wanted to call his mother, wanted to tell her that her son was okay.

"Chrisss..." a moan worked its way from the bed next to her.

"I'm here," she put her hand on his, he squeezed. This wasn't a flashback, he was there and wanted her," Are you okay?" the sentence sounded stupid from the moment it left her mouth. Of course he wasn't, he was probly in pain or so drugged he didn't know where he was.

He pushed himself up higher on the pillow with his legs and winced, his hand went to his forehead.

"Does it hurt?" the question had left Meredith's lips a few thousand times since Derek had been attacked, it sounded foreign as if the words no longer had their original meaning.

"Nnnno," he rubbed his eyes," I missed you," he nuzzled into her.

"I'm glad you're all right," she moved his oxygen mask and kissed him, ignoring the morning breath, the coolness of his lips, the weak attempt to kiss back. His kiss was usually rough and passionate, his lips pressed hard against hers and his hand intwined in her hair.

"'Mmmm fine," he said when they broke and came up for air. Then he did something that scared her, he propped up on his elbow and sat up.

"Owen, you're still on..."

"I've survived worse," he tested his range of motion in his shoulder before pulling the blanket off his legs. He stretched his neck and dangled his legs off the bed," besides, I got shot in the shoulder," he flexed his hand.

"You got shot in the upper quad of your stomach, centimeters away from your lung!" she saw shock register on his face," you can't feel anything right now because just like Derek you're on a lot of medicines!"

Owen felt dizzy, he grabbed at his chest and grit his teeth. Maybe Christina was right, he settled back onto the pillows and pulled the tie loose from his neck and tore the fabric away from his body. He looked down and saw a mass of gauze covering the lower half of his torso, tape just beneath his nipple. His head swam as he remembered the rippling shock through his body as the bullet hit, the man's gloves, eyes, hair...

"Please, I'm no good at this," Christina had her arms around him.

"I remember," Owen shook his head as if trying to see the image more clearly.

"Remember?"

"The man, he had taken his glasses off and I remember his face. He said something during that call... "

"I'll get the police on the phone," Christina grabbed her cell.

Owen barely heard Christina's conversation with the police, he was wracking his brain to recall every detail. The man's voice, his face, beard, skin tone, anything he could remember to help them catch him and Gary Clark for what they'd done to Derek.

Fifteen minutes later the police still hadn't came, Hunt's chest burned and he understood what Derek when he described a tightness. The only comfortable position was sitting up with a slight amount of pressure on the area, he kept his hand pressed over the gauze to alleviate the pain.

"Let me get you some more..."

"No," his voice was short.

"Owen I don't want you to..."

"If I'm drugged I might not remember," he held onto consciousness," I want this fucker caught," Christina had never heard this tone of voice, if she thought about it it might have scared her. This side of him rarely came out, the side that had seen things, horrible things, killed people, taken lives. She put her hand in his and waited.

Derek had settled into the mattress, exhausted he enjoyed the company of the new nurse who didn't think he was a god and his soon-to-be-wife. The two of them seemed to be getting along quite nicely and that was rare for Meredith," How's Owen?" he invaded their conversation briefly.

"He's doing fine, last time I checked on him he was sleeping," Tessa tied up the garbage bag and set it by the door.

"Good."

"Shift changes in a little while," Tessa was writing some notes in Derek's chart," Peter will be replacing me in about half an hour, is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, I'm fine thanks," Derek smiled his old smile, Meredith melted.

"I'll leave you two and go finish up my paperwork then, if that's okay?"

"Go ahead, it's rare I get him alone," Meredith put her hand in his.

The pain was mind-numbing by the time the police officer made his way to Owen's room, sweat ran down his neck and beaded on his forehead. The police officer was the same one who had taken Derek's statement, Romero opened his notepad and sat down next to Owen's bed.

"Okay, Mr. Hunt what can you tell me about the man who attacked you?" he was much nicer this time around.

"He was tall, about six foot give or take, white male, roughly one-hundred and eighty pounds," he grit his teeth,' Almost over, then he can catch this man and Clark too,' his knuckles were white as he clenched the blanket.

"You're doing great," Romero scribbled the description," Did he say anything that would help me catch him? Notice any tattoos, piercings, moles or birth marks?"

"Clean shaved, mole on his top lip," Owen strained his memory to capture every detail he could," right side, hair was brown, blue eyes? He wore shades and I was drugged."

"Very good, I'll do my best for you. Anything else you can remember?"

Meredith ran her fingers up Derek's leg, his skin broke out in chills and tingled. He leaned into the pillow and drew a hissed breath," Mer..." her mouth was on his before he could finish whatever it was he was going to say, her lips soft but demanding, her weight shifted onto the bed next to him. He ran a hand up her shirt, he caressed the skin beneath and realized she had forgotten something when getting dressed. She slid beneath the blanket with him, her hand igniting a fire in him that the drugs had hidden for a long time. His left hand tangled in her hair as she pushed the offending fabric away, he moaned into her. His kiss tasted of heaven, no words needed, their tongues spoke their feelings for them.

She giggled as she felt his hand creep down the small of her back and pass the border of her drawstring scrubs. She helped him and untied the front, he shuddered as her hand returned to him. His fingers found their mark and he smiled as she tossed her head and bit her lip. Curtain drawn around them, Derek felt like they were in their own world. He leaned the bed back with the remote in his right hand and let her take over. He couldn't stop looking at her, her eyes, her hair, her body, this was the woman he loved. The woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

Mark sat outside between Owen and Derek's rooms on a bench, trying to stay awake. His eyes were black beneath them and his hair a mess. The detective had left a few minutes ago, he had heard Christina humming softly and Owen sniffling as he waited for the drugs to work. He wasn't as bad off as Derek and would recover fairly soon, but it didn't mean it was going to be easy.

Lexie came around the corner with a bag and sat next to him," You should eat something," she opened the bag and produced a sandwich from a deli they'd gone to on one of their first lunch dates.

"Thanks Little Grey," he knew arguing with her was futile. Besides, he was grateful for the food and if he didn't eat she'd worry.

"How're they doing?" Lexie started on her own sandwich.

"Owen's hurting, but he was able to give the detective something to go on. Apparently it was good, the guy almost ran out of here," he took a bite and chewed.

"There's a 'Do not Disturb' sign on Derek's door and the curtain is drawn inside..."

Mark laughed," Well, a man has needs."

"Oh...OH!" Lexie's face turned red thinking about her sister and Derek doing who knows what on the other side of the wall she was leaning against.

"Don't act like we don't..."

"That's my sister!" she hissed.

"What? You thought they just kissed?" he smiled and nudged her with his elbow.

"No!" she turned a darker shade of red.

The hallway busied itself, nurses ran this way and that, charts rustled, monitors beeped, drawers clicked open and shut as med-counts were done. A male nurse came towards them," Derek Shepherd and Owen Hunt?" he gestured towards the rooms on either side of Mark and Lexie.

"Yeah, that's Owen and that's Derek," Mark pointed," Shift change already?"

"Yeah, I'll be here all night. I usually pass my meds first thing so they won't lapse," he flipped through a chart.

"Well, you're going to have a rough time with that," Mark stood up.

"I'm sorry?" the man looked confused.

"Ummm, Peter," Mark checked the name tag," that's the wrong chart."

"Oh, my mistake!" Peter searched the R-charts on the cart in front of the desk and came back with the two correct ones," I'm new."

"It's okay," Mark said," Just be careful with that and take care of these two, that one's like a brother to me and the other one got into that bed by saving his life."

"I see, you must be Mark."

"Yeah, am I that well known?" Lexie felt uneasy.

Christina cradled Owen as they waited for the shift to change and the new nurse to bring him his meds. His eyes had teared up and the extra stress had triggered his PTSD, his hands shook and she prayed that Valium was on his list today. The door opened and the new nurse walked in, Owen didn't seem to notice. The man pushed some drugs into his IV one at a time, glancing at his watch to be sure they were administered in the correct amount per second. Owen's shoulders slacked and she felt tension drain from hers as well.

"Thank you," Christina mouthed as she propped a pillow for Owen to lay on," What was on the menu today?" she asked aloud.

"Demerol and Valium, I'm sorry how rude," Owen turned to look at him," I'm Peter, I'll be your nurse for the night," his eyes grew wide," if you need anything please let me know," he spun on his heel and left.

"That's him..." Owen's eyes drooped, he fought it.

"Who?" Christina asked," You've seen him around here? I don't recognize him, he must be new."

"No, that's the..." his vision blurred,' The bastard drugged me again!' he realized in horror," he did thishhh..."

"Owen?"

"Policssshhhh..." his speech slurred as the drugs kicked,' Same symptoms,' his mind raced,' How do I tell her?'

"The detective left, Owen. Just relax."

"Nooo...that'shhh him," Owen couldn't resist any longer, his eyes closed and sleep devoured him.

Long awaited update, working on next chapter so you won't be on the cliff hanger long! Promise!