for alls happy birthday to my best friend across the country from me! I love you super big and I hope you enjoy this fic :)
Amelia pulled off her scrub top in the attending lounge, not particularly caring who was around. It was empty except for Owen sitting at the table having coffee and it wasn't like he hadn't seen her completely naked before. After finishing a five hour solo surgery, Amelia was wiped. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep and maybe eat something but certainly not do more than that.
"Hey Amelia, you feeling okay?" Owen asked, putting down the files he had been reading moments earlier. He glanced concerningly at his ex-wife, as she stood staring at her cubby in nothing but a bra and scrub pants.
Snapping back to reality and being more awake, Amelia nodded and pulled on a long sleeve shirt. "I'm great. Sleep deprived but not bad."
"Alright." Downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp, Owen stood up and put his mug in the sink. "Don't forget that you're getting the kids tonight. Pretty sure Link has that meeting with the chief."
"That's tonight?" Amelia groaned loudly. So much for going home and sleeping; she had to look after not only her son, but Owen and Teddy's two kids as well.
"Yeah. If you're tired, I can probably push my surgery until tomorrow and take Leo and Allison," Owen started to say.
Amelia waved her hand and rubbed her eyes. "Nope, it's my night with the kids; you guys help Link and I out enough as it is. You go work and I'll get the kids and the kids and I will be just fine."
Owen paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Are you absolutely sure? Because you just said 'kids' three times in a row practically."
"Go!" Amelia tried to laugh but it ended up turning into a yawn. "Before I take you up on your offer or fall asleep right now. I just need coffee!"
Actually laughing, Owen left and Amelia poured herself some of the leftover coffee, straight black. She needed all the caffeine she could get if she was expected to keep up with two boys and a girl all evening. After changing into jeans in the proper bathroom, Amelia grabbed her bag and set off for daycare. While all three kids were old enough to be in school, they still had to go to daycare before and after school. It was very handy to have a daycare shuttle that picked up the kids from the 3 local schools nearby and brought them back to the hospital so that their parents didn't have to go somewhere else after their shift was over.
When she reached the daycare center, the caretakers waved her in. It wasn't long before Amelia heard a familiar voice shout, "Mommy!" Scout spotted her first, and ran over with a big smile on his face. He launched himself into his mom's arms, and she stepped back a bit, off balance.
"Oof," Amelia said, wrapping her arms around her five year old. "How's my big boy?"
"Good!" Scout pulled away and gestured towards Allison and Leo. "Are they going home with us?"
Amelia nodded. "Yep. We're gonna go to Daddy's house, because your cousins are at Auntie Mer's." And I don't want to deal with six kids right now.
"Okay, let's go." Scout went to his cubby and grabbed his school backpack, as Allison and Leo did the same. Amelia took only a minute to sign the three of them out, then led the way to the parking lot.
In the backseat, the kids opted to play three-way rock, paper, scissors to keep themselves occupied. Amelia stopped at McDonald's on the way home to grab a quick dinner for everyone, plus an extra large black coffee. If she was to keep three wild children entertained all night, she better be awake and have energy. Last time Leo, Allison and Scout got adventurous, they ended up trying to leap off the trampoline into the pool at Mer's place. Luckily it wasn't Amelia who had been in charge that day or else she didn't think she'd be able to face Owen and Teddy again.
Once they reached home, Amelia told the kids to empty out their school bags and for Leo to get started on any homework he had. Being in the third grade meant that Leo had a worksheet or two every night. He, of course, didn't enjoy doing the work but the adult present always made sure it was complete.
Amelia changed into sweatpants and put her hair into a ponytail. The younger two disappeared into Scout's room, giggling. Not thinking anything of it, Amelia decided to empty out her own bag. A moment later she poked her head into Scout's room. "Have you guys seen my phone? I needed to message Auntie Maggie about a consultation. I could've sworn I brought it home with me."
Scout shook his head, then glanced at Allison who did the same. "Nope."
"Hmm, okay." Amelia didn't press her son further. Instead she completely dumped out her bag and saw nothing amongst the contents. After searching for nearly five minutes, Amelia gave up. She had been very tired leaving the hospital and probably left it in the attending lounge. Whoever wanted to contact her would just have to wait until the next day.
Leo ran over to Amelia and thrust a paper into her hands. "I'm done my homework, can I go play now?"
"You betcha." Amelia folded up the worksheet and slipped it back into Leo's backpack. Then she sipped her coffee at the dining room table, while the kids carted toys from Scout's bedroom into the living room, as there was more space to play.
Suddenly the door began to swing open. Amelia stood up, ready to push the kids behind her in case it was an intruder. She wasn't taking any chances because both Teddy and Owen were supposed to be at the hospital and Link had his meeting. But Scout darted around her and waved at the unknown figure. "Hi Daddy!" He said, a mile-wide grin stretched across his face.
"Hey Scout," Link said, wiping his boots on the mat. He looked up and saw Amelia with an arm around both Leo and Allison and a panicked expression on her face. "Hey guys, are you all okay?"
"We're fine," Amelia answered. "Thought you were an intruder. Didn't you have that meeting with the chief?"
"I did," Link said patiently. He took off his coat and hung it up, then shoved his shoes into the closet. "But I got a text from you about twenty minutes ago saying that you needed me so I ended the meeting early and came over as soon as I could."
Amelia frowned. "That's impossible. My phone's been missing all night. I thought I left it at the hospital."
"What? I swear I just got a text from you." Now both adults were puzzled, but their gazes turned to stare at the three possible culprits; Scout, Leo and Allison. Luckily Amelia or Link didn't have to say anything because Scout guiltily held up his mom's phone from behind his back.
"Scout, why did you hide that? And why did you text your dad? He was in the middle of something important," Amelia told her son, sternly. It was rare for Scout to act out, and Amelia was honestly just confused.
Looking upset, Scout hung his head. "I'm sorry Mommy. I'm sorry Daddy. I just wanted both of you to be home because Allison and Leo and me have a surprise." He shot a Look at the other two kids, who quickly sprang into action. Leo ran off and came back with a plastic bag that contained flowers and Allison emptied out her pockets to reveal a hair bow, clip-on tie and a small barbie pillow.
Link raised an eyebrow at his son. "What's going on here?" He asked for both his and Amelia's sakes.
Scout fixed the tie to his t-shirt, handed the bow over so Leo could put it in his hair and left Allison to open the flower bag. With a proud smile on his face, Scout announced, "Leo is the flower girl and Allison is the ring carrier. I'm the bestest-man, Daddy's the groom and Mommy's the girl-groom. Because you love each other and you're going to get married!"
It was all Amelia could do to not laugh. She refrained from looking at Link and instead crouched down in front of her son. "Honey, your dad and I do love each other. We love each other very much because of you. But we aren't going to get married and we never will. We both wanted different things in our lives and we've both moved on. But the idea was really sweet, Scout."
"But, you love each other! Isn't that what people are supposed to do when they love each other? Get married?" Scout's face began to crumple and tears formed at the corners of his eyes.
"Who taught you that?" Now a little miffed, Amelia pulled her son into a hug but glared at Link. "Did you tell him that love always ends in marriage?"
"No, of course not." Link frowned. He had never talked about marriage to his son, namely because he was only five years old, but also because it was a sore subject between him and Amelia.
"I told him," Allison spoke up, from beside the couch. Both parents had almost forgotten about the two other kids in their presence.
"Me too," Leo added. "My Daddy said that he married Mommy because he loved her when we asked."
"Oh." Anger subsided, Amelia rubbed Scout's back and tried to make him feel better. It was hard for him to be a kid and not have parents who were married, but also parents who loved each other. Besides motherhood, letting Link go all those years ago was the hardest thing she had ever done. Yet she had done it because it wasn't fair to keep him waiting for her if she knew she was never going to change. And it wasn't fair of Link to think that he could change her mind one day.
He will find someone else, Amelia always told herself. She knew that a good guy like Link would fall in love again one day with someone who would be able to love him back. Maybe the next girl would even be willing to give him another kid, and love Scout like her own. Amelia didn't want to be replaced in Scout's life, although she was willing to share. Sometimes compromises had to take part in co-parenting situations.
"How about we turn on a movie?" Link suggested, reaching for the TV remote. Allison and Leo nodded eagerly and squished themselves into the armchair in the corner. Amelia picked up Scout and settled onto the couch with a blanket and him, leaving plenty of room for Link on the other end. But he boycotted the couch and settled for leaning against it instead, stretching his long legs out on the floor.
Link turned on Frozen, which was still a highlight for the kids despite Leo being older now. He expressed his excitement by running to his backpack and pulling out the extra Elsa cape he kept for 'emergencies' like this. Amelia just smiled at Leo as he climbed back onto the chair to sit with his sister. Leo was perfectly himself, and loved everything from Elsa capes and ice queen dresses, to putting on gumboots and stomping in the mud.
About ten minutes into the movie, Scout lifted his head from beneath the blanket and peered up at his mom. "Mommy, can I tell you about the wedding plans?" Scout whispered, as he snuggled up against Amelia.
"Sure honey," answered Amelia. Even though the wedding would never happen, she could humor her son and let him tell her about it.
"Well it was gonna have daisies because Daddy said you don't like real jewelry. A bigger kid at school today showed me how to make daisy crowns, so at daycare Allison and Leo helped me. They were instead of rings because you didn't marry Daddy the first time because of the rings." His innocence along with the small pieces of the failed proposal story that Scout knew, hurt Amelia's heart just a little. Amelia didn't blame her nieces and nephew for telling Scout about why his parents weren't engaged or married; they were young when it happened and didn't know anything else to say except the truth when Scout asked last year.
"Daisy crowns sounded like a great idea, Scout. I would love to see them later, if only just to look."
Scout nodded. "Okay Mommy. I'm sorry you don't want to marry Daddy. I still love you."
Amelia pressed a kiss to her son's forehead, smoothing away his dirty blond locks. "I love you too." Then she leaned back and tried to focus on Frozen, even though she'd seen it a hundred times before.
After it was clear that Scout had fallen asleep, Amelia disentangled herself and made her way over to the kitchen, where Link was leaning against the counter looking at his phone. She sighed to herself, and then said, "I'm sorry for accusing you of telling Scout about marriage earlier."
Link put his phone down and looked back at her. "It's okay. I'm sorry he ambushed you today. Kind of reminds me of what I did four years ago."
"Very funny." Amelia tried not to laugh (because the joke was not funny) but in the end she couldn't help it. Link just had that effect on her. Whoever he ended up with for real, would live a very good life and marry a very good guy. "Scout told me he made daisy crowns instead of rings. Because you know, I hate rings apparently," she let out a small chuckle.
"I mean, he clearly thought about it. You'd look good in a daisy crown, Amelia," Link said, his voice huskier than intended. An awkward silence hung over the pair, forcing Link to clear his throat in order to break the tension. "Why didn't we ever think of it?"
Amelia tore her gaze up and off the floor, to stare into Link's impossibly blue eyes. She blinked a few times, then asked, "What do you mean?"
"A different kind of marriage," said Link. "I wanted you to be my wife, Amelia, because that's the title I associated with forever. I didn't care about the rings or the wedding or what you looked like in a white dress. I've seen you naked and honestly, that's my favourite look on you." His comment was sincere and Amelia tried to hide the blush rising to her cheeks.
One thought didn't sit right with Amelia though. "Marriage, the act of making our love legal, was the only thing I couldn't do for you. You wanted more kids and a house and a backyard then your job. I wanted you, Scout and my job. I knew that saying yes to being your wife meant saying yes to everything else. I love you, but I couldn't lose myself to be your forever. Her vision clouded, as tears threatened to run down her cheeks. Amelia angrily swiped them away; after letting Link go she had sworn to herself she would never cry over him again.
"Four years ago, I was so wrapped up in the life I wanted with you. I was selfish and I wanted what I wanted, and I didn't think about anything except marriage. But over four years changes a person." Link lifted a shoulder, unsure of how much he could say without making Amelia want to run away again. He loved her still, and would never make her uncomfortable because that's not the type of guy he was. But he did feel like she deserved an explanation of what he was feeling now. Wasn't that what they had promised each other back during quarantine? That they would check in every few days, weeks or months because they wanted to communicate? Sure, now it was a few years later but Link knew what he felt was still there. It's why every girl he'd flirted with at Joe's didn't go past buying her a drink. Every thought about what he wanted ended with Amelia and every time he looked forward to parent swapping Scout because it meant he might see her. He got to work with her on cases sometimes at the hospital, but it wasn't the same. All the new interns had heard their relationship rumors, and things were just awkward at this point. Was Link such a bad guy for wanting to clear the air? Maybe Scout's marriage idea wasn't so bad after all.
"Four years does change a person," Amelia echoed. She was nothing like who she had been when Link had proposed to her at Maggie's wedding. The change wasn't bad, it was just necessary when you go from living with your baby daddy, your sister and her kids in quarantine, to being a single mom working constantly.
"I want to marry you Amelia. That will never change. But," Link quickly said, as Amelia's expression began to change and her gaze narrowed with anger, "It doesn't have to be in front of other people or signed by some lawyer. I just want you to promise to love me forever because I know that's how long I'm going to love you for. And maybe you can wear one of those daisy crowns; Scout's idea was actually pretty genius."
Not knowing what to say, Amelia just stared at the floor. Link was offering her something that had never crossed her mind before. He was willing to compromise. That's what you did in co-parenting situations, in a friendship and in marriage. Amelia just had to say 'yes'. "I don't want more kids. I never will and if that's something you want, then please take back what you said. And I love my job and don't want to stop being a neurosurgeon for anything. Of course, Scout comes first. But doing my job helps me focus on sobriety and I need that to stay constant in my life, Link. I can't live without it again."
"Okay." Link nodded. He had enough "nieces" and "nephews" that he was good without a second kid. Plus Luna was like a daughter to him in some ways, what with how close friends he and Jo were. And he knew how much Amelia loved her job and he was willing to stay home with Scout more so that she could take on bigger projects. He'd done that throughout the years of co-parenting so it wouldn't be much different.
Amelia took a deep breath. There were so many emotions filling her head but one thing was clear; she loved Link and that would never stop. "My brother and Meredith got married on a post-it note. We'll ignore the fact they got it legalized a couple days later. If they can call a post-it note their wedding, I'm sure I can put on one of Scout's daisy crowns and call myself a girl-groom." She smiled, and snuck a glance at her son who was still sleeping peacefully on the couch.
Link took a step towards Amelia, but then had an idea. "Wait here," he told her, then ran over to grab the plastic bag from the living room. He pulled out two crowns and carefully placed one atop his head. The other he held in his palms as he bent to one knee in front of Amelia. "Amelia Frances Shepherd. I love you more than anything else in the entire world. I love you more than you hate marriage, I love you more than donuts and I love you more than pizza and donuts combined." Amelia rolled her eyes as she stared down at the man in front of her. Of course Link would have to bring his love for food into his proposal. "That being said, just remember that I love you. So will you do me the honour of 'not marrying' me?"
A smile broke across Amelia's face as she nodded. Everything about this proposal was different from the one on the beach, but that made it so much better. A messy kitchen, a sleeping five year old nearby, sweatpants instead of a dress and a messy ponytail instead of curls. It was all so much better than the times before. Which is why Amelia giggled as she pulled Link up off the ground and kissed him fiercely. He placed the daisy crown on her head, making it so that when Amelia looked up, she could see hints of white petals above her. Then she threw herself back into Link's arms. She broke the kiss long enough to tell him the word she had been so scared of saying all those years ago. The word that she could now say without a care in the world. "Yes."
find me on tumblr at thedefinitionofendgame. thanks for reading!