This is a really short one but thats okayy! It's pure fluff. And YOU GUYS WHATTTT just happened. that was the best episode ever idc. i might have a follow up to this but in an Owen POV. stay tuned.

and thanks for your reviews you guys are the best and i love all of you! Apparently theres more than five of you out there and now im crying.

Still Into You - Paramore

Teddy sits on the kitchen counter, her legs swinging. She groans loudly, moans with passion, and throws her head back. It has been a very long time since she's bitten into a hamburger this good.

"Right?" Owen asks, chuckling at Teddy. "Best hamburger in Seattle."

"God, you've been hiding this from me this entire time?"

"I honestly forgot about this place. Until you brought up burgers and milkshakes. When we were in Iraq, this is what I always imagined."

On the way home from the hospital, Owen stopped by an old-timey drive-in burger joint in Seattle, while she picked up the kids from his mom's place. By the time she got home, the smell of the fries and the onion rings and burgers had already filled their home.

Teddy has not felt this good in a very, very long time. Today, she celebrates small—okay, big. Very big—victories. Meredith was finally discharged. Owen… is… Owen again. And Owen looks at her like he's in love with her again. And it feels good to feel free of anxiety or regret or fear or pain. For the first time in so long she felt hunger again—hunger in more ways than one. She felt elated eating a burger like she's never eaten a burger in forever.

She savors every taste of the bite and finally opens her eyes and sees him chuckling at her.

"What?" She asks, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Okay, she is aware that she probably looks feral at the moment, but she really doesn't care.

"You just look so…happy with that burger"

"It's so good."

He steps closer to her and steals an onion ring from her little basket of onion rings and fries. He stands in front of her and places her hands on her thighs.

"You are so sexy when—"

"When I act like I haven't been fed in decades?"

"That, yeah. I was going to say happy, but yeah that too."

She chuckles and leans into him for a quick kiss. "I'm in love with you, you know?"

"I know." He smirks

"This burger.. is like.. almost as good as sex."

"Almost."

"Hey" She says as she takes a deep breath and puts her burger down for a second. She takes his face and gives it a quick kiss. She pulls away and smiles at him. A real, genuine, smile. "I am so in love with you. And today… was good. And I want you to know that today wasn't a bandaid for anything. I didn't do it to feel something else or to distract myself from something. Today, both times, I did it because I want to feel you and be with you and be loved by you. I'm working on learning how to feel and expressing how I feel and processing how I feel. And today, I practiced all that and it felt good to do all that with positive feelings. So thank you. Thank you for today. Thank you for being here. Thank you for loving me and showing me love and care and affection. And thank you for this burger and French fries and milkshake—"

"You know I got you two burgers right? You specifically said two burg—"

She squeezes his face and leans in for another kiss. "Even better. There's definitely room for a second burger"

"I just don't understand how your body just absorbs it" He laughs as he pulls away from her. She shrugs and lets go of his face and picks up her milkshake.

"Oh and thank you for helping out on the Covid floor today."

"I just wanted to be near you"

She rolls her eyes, but she knows she's blushing. Her cheeks feel warm. She jokingly kicks him and he just laughs at her.

"No kicking, I got you food!"

She just makes a mischievous face at him and throws a French fry at him, which he catches and pops into his mouth.

"God, I love you" She snorts out

"I love you too" He takes her hand and entwines his fingers with hers.

She feels the tight grip, and she squeezes back. She doesn't ever want to let go. She will never, ever let go.

They were both too giddy to fall asleep. She made tea for them and snuggled up on the bench in the backyard, staring at the sky. The night cleared up and you can actually see the stars.

"I still don't understand how you just inhaled all the food"

"One of my many talents" She says, stifling a yawn. "This is nice. The stars, the snuggling."

"Do you ever think about Iraq?"

She sighs "Sometimes. I really miss the people. I obviously don't miss the chaos and destruction. But I missed just spending every hour with you. Or when it was you, me, and Megan and Riggs just messing around. Or playing soccer with the guys. It was so simple. Most of the time we just…hung out. Now it's exhausting to just keep running around the hospital trying to resuscitate patient after patient after patient." She takes his free hand and absentmindedly plays with his fingers. She admires his big, strong hands. The weight and the comfort it brings her. She loves his hands. Talented, skillful hands. "What else do you vividly remember about Iraq"

"A lot of things. I remember the first time we met. The first time I realized you were one of my favorite people. I vividly remember us sharing earphones and listening to music just to drown out the silence in the desert after a rough day. I vividly remember you getting really homesick when someone mentions pizza, but then you'd always say you're not even sure what home you're sick for."

"You remember that?"

"I think about it more than you'd think"

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess every now and then I just wonder if there's a place you consider home?" He says softly, leaving a kiss on her head. "Do you?"

"Yeah." She chuckles. "This … this is my home. We are home. It's not really a place, I guess. It was more of a feeling. It's wherever I felt…comfort. And I'm understanding that now. I didn't then. Back then it was just a longing, maybe because I was angry that my person then was senselessly taken from me. And I didn't know where to find comfort. I left comfort for the war, which still boggles my mind sometimes. But I think I was meant to do that so I can meet you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And then I met you and you became my annoying best friend who I've loved since the beginning, and I just found a new home."

"I see that therapy is paying off?"

"Shut up" She chuckles "I'm sharing my feelings!"

"I'm proud of you, you know. I know it couldn't have been easy for you."

"It was really annoying at first."

"I'm sure."

It was. It was hard for her to open up. It was hard for her to articulate how she really feels. She didn't want to feel broken, but whatever she experienced really scared her that she knew she needed to do something and actually do the work to get better. It doesn't just magically go away. It doesn't just pass. It gets buried and it comes back without warning.

"But I'm glad I'm doing it. I couldn't have done it if I didn't have your encouragement.. and support." She sighs "Hey Owen?"

"Mmm?" he murmurs into her hair.

"Come back home?"

"Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Mornings in their home is chaos. Two toddlers. Two adults who suddenly can't get their hands off each other. And time that seems to be moving faster than usual.

"We have to go" She giggles against his lips. His arms wrapped around her tightly. "We're gonna be late"

He chuckles and moves his lips on her neck "Fine," he mutters and "We will continue this later."

"Are the kids ready" She asks, her hand slipping into his pants.

"They were but I won't be surprised if Allison managed to strip her clothes off"

"We should really get going"

"You're the one whose hands are in my pants right now" Owen pants

"Okay maybe we'll be a little late"

"Teddy—" he pants, but not stopping her "Okay, fine"

"Okay." She giggles into his ear as she pins him against the wall.

She's happy. He's happy. She knows the darkness and pain isn't over but there's some bright light coming through and she'll welcome it happily because it feels so good to feel good.

pS gonna go get a burger now.