A month later Teddy and Owen walked their kids off the plane in Alabama. They quickly collected their bags for the month-long stay and got their rental car.

"You okay," Owen asked after they brought their things into their airbnb, they had booked a house for the month they were in Birmingham.

"We have to be here for Jordan and his family," Teddy replied, "we should get the kids cleaned up and go."

"You," Owen asked.

"Jeans and a clean top," Teddy replied, "I'm not conforming to their expectation of Allison and I in long skirts 24/7 I wear dresses when I want to."

"You look good in dresses," Owen smiled.

"Not the dresses they wear or the heavy denim skirts," Teddy answered.

They all got cleaned up and drove to Jordan's house.

"Not what I expected," Owen said, "they have 15 people there?"

"Kids share bedrooms," Teddy replied, "we know what Max told us."

"It's not right," Owen said.

"Our boys share," Teddy said.

"Two of them," Owen said, "not 5."

"We need a bigger place," Teddy said, "the boys can't share forever."

"When we go back to Seattle," Owen said, "my house has 4 bedrooms."

"Mommy who lives here," Allison asked.

"Uncle Jordan, Auntie Faith and your cousins," Teddy answered.

"Is Max here," Leo asked.

"Max is," Teddy answered.

They walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door.

A young woman answered the door, "are you auntie Teddy?"

"I am," Teddy replied, "this is uncle Owen and your cousins Leo, Allison and Daniel. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah," the girl said.

"Sarah who's there," a woman's voice called from inside the house.

"She says her name is Auntie Teddy," Sarah called back.

Jordan instantly appeared beside his daughter, "Teddy, Owen thanks for coming."

A short plump woman in her late forties joined them, Teddy couldn't believe that this was Faith.

"Thea," the woman asked.

"Teddy," Teddy answered, "this is my fiancé Owen and our kids Leo, Allison and Daniel. It's good to see you Faith."

The woman just stared at Teddy, this wasn't the sister in law she remembered, yes she had the same green eyes and blonde hair but this woman seemed to think she was incharge, she was confident, it would be hard to get her to do things her way. She had the nerve to show up to their house in pants, her daughter was wearing pants.

"Come in," Jordan invited.

They stepped inside and slipped off their shoes seeing that Jordan, Faith and Sarah were bare foot.

"Thank you," Owen said, "it's good to see you again Jordan. Faith it's nice to meet you. Teddy's told me some stories."

"I'm sure she has," Faith replied refusing to look at Owen.

"Are you staying with us," Sarah asked.

"No we didn't want to be in the way," Owen replied, "we rented something through AirBNB."

"We could have made room," Jordan said.

"For our kids it's better," Teddy replied, "we want to keep somethings on their routines as much as possible."

"Their education," Jordan guessed.

"Partially," Teddy agreed, "but we're almost 5, 3 and 14 months. It's reading to them, building, playing outside, baking and cooking with us. We need to keep up with their German as well."

"German," Faith asked.

"We live in Germany," Teddy replied, "my contract has two more years and Owen's has two and a half. We're thinking we'll finish our contracts out in Landshtul and then go back to Seattle."

"Seattle," Faith asked, "what's in Seattle?"

"My mom," Owen replied, "she's getting older."

"So you homeschool them," Faith said.

"No," Teddy replied, "they go to local schools. Leo and Allison go to kindergarten or preschool, Daniel is in day care. They all like it, the older two are where they should be for their age in german and english, they're bilingual, daniel is learning both. I'm fluent. We want them bilingual."

"Why not homeschool keep them with you all day, you decide what they learn," Faith said.

"I run an entire hospital," Teddy replied, "our kids like school and day care. It's important for them to get to know other kids outside our family and other adults. It's the best for them."

"And homeschooling is illegal in Germany," Owen replied, "We still have to follow local laws."

"Our kids are well adjusted," Teddy said observing the older two who had already run to Max.

"The older two seem to like Max," Faith said.

"He comes for dinner a couple times a week and babysits once in a while," Teddy replied, "they know him well. Where is he taking them?"

Jordan looked over his shoulder, "he's taking them outside to meet the younger kids."

"Let them play," Owen said, "they've been cooped up in a plane and the car for too long."

"Come sit," Jordan invited, leading Teddy, Owen and Daniel into the living room.

Teddy looked around at the cluttered living room it was clear there were too many people for the small space. She held Daniel in her lap on the couch, her youngest began pulling at her top.

"Daniel leave mommy's shirt," Teddy whispered to the toddler.

"It's after bed time at home," Owen said.

"It is," Teddy agreed.

"He's probably hungry," Owen suggested.

"I'll try the apple sauce pouch," Teddy suggested.

"It's only 4pm," Faith said, "he naps late?"

"Its a 5 hour time difference with home, our kids are in bed at 8," Teddy answered, "we know it's late but I finish work at 4:30 and Owen is off at 5 so we get a bit of time with them at night."

"Our youngest goes to bed at 7:30," Faith said.

"It must be a production around here," Teddy commented, "it takes both of us to get all three down on time."

"The older girls do a lot of it," Jordan said, "they have to help out."

"This week what happens," Faith asked.

"We want to come with you to meet your surgeon tomorrow," Owen said, "I know Dr. Riche he did his residency at Grey Sloan, I taught him."

"The surgery," Jordan asked.

"From the scans you've sent us it'll be a few hours," Owen said.

"The bag," Faith said.

"You'll need a colostomy bag," Owen said, "hopefully it's temporary but we will help you learn to manage them. They're easy to care for if you keep it clean. We will teach you. I can help at first or Teddy."

"They want to send a nurse here," Faith said.

"Accept any help you get," Teddy advised, "we took a month and have the airbnb for the same amount of time."

"So long," Jordan asked.

"We're here for the surgery and recovery and getting you started with radiation and chemo," Teddy replied.

"What about work," Jordan asked.

"We explained to the general why we need the time. Owen's sister is taking on our roles in person," Teddy explained, "I'll still be called to help out and will do admin work online. I have my work computer and we're both going to do as much as we can."

"What do you do auntie Teddy," Sarah asked.

"I'm chief of staff in Landstuhl Germany so I run the entire hospital there for the army and have teams in the middle east as well. I'm trained as a cardiothoracic, a heart surgeon," Teddy replied.

"Uncle Owen," Sarah asked.

"I'm chief of surgery so I coordinate the surgeons and surgical staff," Owen replied, "I'm trained as a trauma surgeon.

"Who's in charge," Bryn asked.

"I am," Teddy replied.

"Teddy out ranks me," Owen smiled, "she's earned it."

"How can she lead," Faith asked.

"Teddy earned it," Owen said, "she's worked hard for her entire career to get where she is and the respect that she has as both a surgeon and an officer. She's incredible."

"But a woman's place," Faith started.

"Faith you know I never believed that," Teddy replied, "I am with my fiancé and children every day. I am with my family and they come first. My daughter, my nieces need to see women in positions of power, women taking charge. They should see that I can lead or my sister in law who is our head of trauma. Leadership is a skill that our girls need to be taught two."

"But a man is the leader," Faith tried to argue.

"At home we're a team," Owen said, "both of us. I wouldn't want to tell Teddy what to do or control her. We both have strengths and play to our strengths but we're a team."

"Mom, what am I making for dinner," a girl in her early teens asked.

"Grace, I'll do it today. We have company," Faith replied.

"I'll come help," Teddy offered, "it's nice to meet you Grace. I'm auntie Teddy and this is Uncle Owen and Daniel."

"My girls and I can do it," Faith said.

"I'm happy to help," Teddy replied, "I like cooking."

"You cook," Faith looked skeptical.

"I do," Teddy replied.

"She's the better cook," Owen said.

"I'll leave pasta to you though," Teddy replied.

"Mom what am I making," Grace asked.

"The chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and green beans," Faith answered.

"Grace, can I show you something with the green beans," Teddy offered.

"Mom's recipe," Jordan asked.

"Mom's recipe," Teddy confirmed.

"Please Teddy for me," Jordan replied.

"Thea," Faith asked.

"I'm happy to," Teddy answered, "Owen can you take Daniel?"

"Is there a bottle in the bag," Owen asked.

"There is," Teddy replied.

"Should I," Owen asked.

"He's getting fussy," Teddy agreed.

"Dinner is about 90 minutes," Faith said.

"Do you have somewhere I can feed him," Teddy asked.

"I'll show you," Faith offered.

"Thank you," Teddy replied and followed the shorter woman.

"Teddy is something else," Jordan commented to Owen.

"She's amazing," Owen agreed, "I could not have done the last 20 years without her."

"You've known her that long," Jordan asked.

"Just about," Owen said.

"How did you meet," Jordan asked.

"Through work," Owen said.

"I knew that," Jordan said, "but how?"

"They were bringing in a new group of surgeons and I was told we had a woman coming from Columbia for cardio. Then Teddy came off the plane with my sister Megan," Owen said, "Megan had been at another base for a few weeks and was on the transport with Teddy. The moment I saw Teddy I had to get to know her, then we became friends over the OR table and working with patients."

"20 years," Jordan said.

"She was my best friend for a long time," Owen said, "she's gotten me through a lot. I wish we both would have seen this sooner but life had it's own plans for us."

"Do you have other kids," Jordan asked.

"Our three," Owen said, "we started a bit later with kids."

"From other relationships," Jordan asked.

"No," Owen said, "just our three."

"When's the wedding," Jordan asked.

"We've been engaged for two years," Owen said, "I proposed then a couple months later she was pregnant with Daniel, then the pandemic and a newborn. Teddy's not in a rush and it's not something I'm going to push her with."

"You don't want to," Jordan said.

"I do," Owen said, "we both do. But we've both also been burned twice by marriage."

"Twice," Jordan asked, "she's only had you and Paul."

"Henry," Owen said, "it was a couple years, she was happy but he died in surgery. Complications from a genetic tumor disorder."

"You," Jordan asked.

"Christina left for bigger and better things, we wanted different things in life," Owen said, "then Ameila wasn't right, we were in different places with what we wanted."

"So my sister," Jordan asked.

"We were always best friends," Owen said, "we had a while where things were a bit complicated but when I got transferred to Germany it all fell into place the first time."

"If something happens to me," Jordan asked.

"I won't leave Teddy," Owen said, "Teddy is the love of my life. I waited far too long for her and for the timing to work out to let her go."

"And you can just come with her," Jordan asked, "the army?"

"She's my CO," Owen said, "she decided she needed me here with her and the kids so she told her CO that's what needed to happen. We have a chain of command set up. My sister is doing a lot of it and a few others. Megan will do what we would and if she's not sure she'll call."

Teddy sat in the small master bedroom feeding her youngest, she knew it was time to stop nursing him but he was her last baby. She was happy to feed him and hold him close. She looked around the room, it was shabby and dated but tidy. The whole house was clean if not a bit cluttered and needed to be updated. She hadn't been impressed by Faith's comments about women belonging at home and not homeschooling but Teddy had seen the gaps in Max's understanding.

The next day Teddy and Owen followed Jordan and Faith into the surgeons office.

"Dr Hunt," Dr Riche smiled.

"It's good to see you James," Owen replied.

"Why are you here sir," James asked.

"Jordan is my brother in law," Owen replied.

"I heard you left Seattle," James said.

"My fiancé and I are both with the army in Germany," Owen said, "this is my fiancé Dr Teddy Altman."

"Dr Hunt, do you want to scrub in with me tomorrow," James asked.

"Teds," Owen asked.

Teddy nodded, "I scrubbed in on Megan's transplant. I'd like you to be with Jordan."

"Okay," Owen agreed.

They finished up the appointment and helped explain what would happen.

The next morning Teddy sat with faith in the waiting room.

"Will Jordan be okay," Faith asked.

"The tumors aren't huge," Teddy replied, "they'll know more once they get in and take them out. The surgery is hard but chemo will be bad. We went through it with dad. Faith he can't work."

"What am I supposed to do," Faith asked.

"Get a job," Teddy replied, "you went to college."

"Early childhood education," Faith replied.

"Start applying for jobs," Teddy insisted.

"I haven't worked in 24 years." Faith answered, "no one will hire me.

"I'm sure there's people you know that will give you a job if you reach out," Teddy answered.

"Max," Faith asked.

"He flies home with us," Teddy replied, "and Owen and I will look out for him. He'll still come Wednesday for math and SUnday for family dinner. He sees us twice a week every week, Max isn't alone. I know what it feels like to be alone in a military role, to not have family supporting you. I will support him. He's a smart kid and a hard worker."

At the house Max was trying to help his sisters corral all of the kids in the back yard.

"Allison and Leo," Max called, "in front of me soldiers."

"Yes sir," Leo said jumping in front of Max with a half salute.

"Both your parents are officers and you can't statute," Max teased, "we have to fix that."

"How," Leo asked.

Max knelt beside the little boy, "like this."

Max demonstrated a proper salute and then guided Leo and Allison's hands through it.

"Max can you read us a story," Allison asked.

"What type of story," Max questioned.

"A pirate story," Leo answered.

"No princess." Allison argued.

"Pirate," snapped Leo.

"Princess," whined Allison.

"What about a movie," Max tried.

"It's not Friday," Allison said.

"Do you only get movies on Friday," Bryn asked.

"Mommy doesn't let us watch movies in the middle of the week," Leo said.

"It's okay today," Max said, "she'll understand."

"Veggie tales," Bryn suggested.

"No," Max said, "magic school bus."

"Veggie tales is better for the little kids," Bryn argued.

"Auntie Teddy will not approve of those," Max replied, "let her and uncle Owen do their own religious education."

"What if we do a craft," Bryn suggested.

"Yay," Allison cheered, "can we paint?"

"I don't have paint but I have markers, glue and scissors," Bryn offered.

"When will mommy and daddy be back," asked Leo.

"I don't know," Max replied, "probably around dinner time. It's like when you go to school, you go all day so they can be at the hospital."

"I want mommy," Allison whined.

"She'll be back as soon as she can," Bryn answered.

"I want mommy now," Allison sniffled.

"She's at the hospital," Max answered.

"Max," Bryn said.

"They don't know you," Max said, "they see me twice a week. Allison is shy."

"Child care is my job," Bryn said.

"I've got the three of them," Max said.

"I'm hungry," Leo complained.

"Lunch is in about 20 minutes," Bryn said.

"Can I have an apple," Leo asked.

"Just wait buddy," Max said.

"I want mommy," Allison whined.

"She'll call us soon," Max suggested.

"Can we call her," Allison asked.

"Let's try," Max agreed. He took out his phone and called Teddy.

"Max, whats wrong," Teddy asked in a panic.

"Allison misses you," Max said.

"Is she anxious," Teddy asked.

"She is," Max agreed.

"Pass the phone to her please," Teddy asked.

"Allison, your mom is on the phone," Max said putting his phone on speaker.

"Hi baby girl," Teddy called, "are you having a good day?"

"No," Allison said, "when are you coming?"

"Daddy took uncle Jordan into surgery about 2 hours ago," Teddy said, "they need a couple more hours then we want to make sure uncle Jordan is okay. Daddy and I should be back for dinner and we'll bring pizza."

"Pizza," Leo asked.

"American pizza," Teddy promised, "like when we go to grandmas."

"Is grandma coming," Leo asked.

"Not this time," Teddy said, "we'll go to her house for Christmas. And she'll come see us for thanksgiving."

"Mommy come now," Allison demanded.

"Daddy and I will come as soon as we can princess," Teddy replied.

"Now," Allison whined.

"I'm at the hospital baby girl," Teddy replied, "as soon as I'm done here I will come see you and hug you."

"Mommy please," Leo tried.

"After work bud," Teddy responded, "daddy is operating, he's saving uncle Jordan."

"Mommy come," Allison whined again.

"At dinner time," Teddy repeated softly. She knew Allison sometimes struggled with separation anxiety, she wanted to ease her baby's stress but wasn't sure how, day care at home was no longer a problem because Allison knew the other kids and her teachers, she went easily to Megan, Nathan, Faroke or Max when they babysat and was just starting to go on playdates.

"Auntie," Max said, "is there something I can do to help Ali?"

"Read to her and wrap her up in a blanket," Teddy suggested, "her stuffed monkey is in her backpack with her favourite unicorn story."

Faith gave Teddy a look of confusion, Teddy responded with a shrug.

"Is that it," Max asked.

"For now," Teddy replied, "call me if they need me. Owen is in the OR."

"Have you heard," Max asked.

"Not yet," Teddy replied, "but Owen will be through, he was talking about using the path pen which will really help."

"I'll let you go," Max replied.

"Leo, Ali and Danny be good for Max and Bryn," Teddy reminded, "I love you so much."

"Bye mommy," Leo and Allison said together.

"You tell your kids you love them," Faith questioned.

"All the time," Teddy replied, "we both do. Kids need to know they're loved."

"Do you hug and cuddle the older ones two," Faith questioned.

"As much as they want to. Often on weekend mornings they all end up in our bed for a cuddle or we snuggle on the couch to watch movies. Leo isn't five yet," Teddy replied, " hugging them and playing with them is healthy. They should know what healthy affection looks like we did our research. The kids get lots of time to move and play with other kids but they love family time."

"You don't feel guilty about daycare," Faith asked.

"When I first started taking Allison at six months, yes," Teddy replied, "Owen and Leo were in Seattle. Owen had a contract at Grey Sloan. I was in Germany with Allison. Taking my six month old to daycare and she had some separation anxiety for the first six months. That was hard but she's good now. Allison is like my mom, she's more of an introvert with other kids, she's shy but insanely curious and wants to know everything. Leo is more social. He'll go right up to other kids and start playing with them and talk to anyone who says hi to him. Daniel I'm not sure yet. He's more social then Allison but he's only 14 months Owen is his favorite person until he's tired or hungry. Leo is our protective one. The name suits our little Lion. He's a lot like Owen and will do anything for the people he loves. He loves sports and swimming lessons. We might put him in a swim club and have him race. He asks every day about soccer practice. Allison is curious and thoughtful with big feelings. She loves stories and her ballet class anything pink and sparkly really. Allison loves to draw and paint, she makes up great stories and loves to look after her dolls and Daniel. She's a mommy's girl. Daniel wants to do everything Leo does. He loves going swimming and splashing in the tub. Bubbles are his favorite toy and he loves animals and echos any animal sound you make. "

"Your kids' names," Faith asked.

"Leo we adopted at six months so we didn't chose his first name," Teddy explained, "his middle name is James for Owen's dad. Owen lost his dad when he was 9. Allison is named for Allison Brown who I'm sure you remember and her middle name is Eloise for my mom and Owens sisters middle name is Eloise. Daniel we named after Dan Mooney who was our colonel in Iraq and introduced us and pushed us to be better surgeons and leaders, to be more then friends. Then Daniel's middle name is Robert for dad. All three are Hunt-Altman."

"Two last names," Faith asked.

"We hyphenated," Teddy said, "I'm not changing my name to Hunt. For me now and professionally Altman is better. My whole reputation is as Altman."

"Owen," Faith asked.

"Understands he won't push me," Teddy replied.

In the or Owen took control of the situation.

"This is worse than the scans showed," Owen snapped.

"It is," the doctor agreed.

"Take the path pen and run the colon and the entire large bowel," Owen said.

"He doesn't want a bag," the doctor said.

"He has 13 children," Owen said, "our goal today is for him to live and have a full life."

"Who the fuck has 13 kids," a resident asked.

"Some fundamentalist groups don't practice birth control," Owen said, "I don't agree with it and I have a larger family by most standards."

"How many kids do you have," the resident asked.

"Three," Owen replied.

"That is above average," the resident agreed, "how old?"

"Five, three and one," Owen answered.

"When I was at Grey Sloan you had just adopted a baby boy," James said.

"Leo," Owen smiled, "he's five now. Allison is three and Daniel is one."

"How's Leo doing," James asked.

"Smart," Owen said, "likes to bug his sister they're 16 months apart. He speaks English and German now and is starting to read in both. My fiancé reads to the kids in both she's better at German than I am but it's coming."

"You've been there how long," James asked.

"Almost three years," Owen said.

"Your Fiancé," James asked.

"Teddy Altman," Owen replied, "we were friends for years. She came out when my sister was found."

"I remember her she's a tall blonde woman," James replied, "our patients last name is Altman."

"Her twin brother," Owen replied, "my brother in law."

"I wondered when I saw you with her but you were with Shepard," James said.

"Amelia and I went our separate ways," Owen said, "after her tumor we realized we wanted and needed different things. She has a son now with Link from Ortho."

Owen stopped talking as Jordan's numbers dipped. Thankfully it was a temporary blip on the monitor.

Two hours later Owen scrubbed out leaving the rest of the team to close.

"Owen," Teddy asked.

"He's stable," Owen said.

"And," Faith asked.

"We got it all," Owen replied.

"How much bowel," Teddy asked.

"Half to find the last of the cells. We used Webber's path pen," Owen answered.

"The bag," Faith asked.

"Hopefully temporary but it could be life long," Owen said, "Faith he has a really good chance. With chemotherapy he should make a full recovery."

"Can I see him," Faith asked.

"They'll come get us when it's time," Owen answered, "I know it's a hard wait but it'll be okay. He's going to wake up and probably come home in a couple days. You stay with him tonight and we'll stay with your kids."

"I can't ask," Faith said.

"We're telling you," Teddy said gently.

Once they had seen Jordan awake and helped them understand what the next few days would look like Owen and Teddy left the hospital.

"Your not telling me something," Teddy said.

"There's other damage," Owen said, "not cancerous but something damaged his kidneys."

"When we were kids he had some sort of infection he was in the hospital for weeks he had a walker when he came home ," Teddy said, "grandma stayed with me."

"How old," Owen asked.

"Seven," Teddy guessed, "maybe eight."

"It'll change the chemo he can have," Owen replied.

"I know," Teddy replied, "mom kept journals. Jordan said they were all in the attic of his shop. Maybe his boys can find the boxes."

"Would that be in there," Owen asked.

"Maybe and I want them," Teddy said, "to read them."

"We can ask," Owen agreed.

"Dinner," Teddy said, "pizza and what?"

"Those kids don't seem to get a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables," Owen observed.

"It's expensive," Teddy agreed, "canned or frozen are cheaper."

"Fruit and veggie trays," Owen asked.

"Pizza, fruit and veggies, chips," Teddy said, "find a grocery store."

"We can," Owen said, "it's easy."

"Pizza," Teddy asked.

"Basic," Owen said, "like when we order for work. Cheese, pepperoni, and one other."

Teddy texted max to ask favorite pizza flavors.

"They like anything," Teddy replied, "he said the older girls like vegetarian pizza and the littles like Hawaiian."

"Ours like pepperoni," Owen said.

They pulled into a strip mall with a pizza place and grocery store. They placed their pizza order first then grabbed the groceries they wanted for that night and the next morning.

"Mommy," Allison yelled seeing Teddy and running to her.

"Hi baby girl," Teddy beamed holding her tight.

"I miss you," Allison said.

"I know you missed me," Teddy smiled, "did you have fun?"

"We played out side and fed the goats and Bryn let me ride the pony," Allison said.

"They have a horse," Teddy asked.

"Mom and dad board a few people's horses and we get to ride them," Bryn explained, "Allison was helping me in the barn and wanted to ride. Both her and Leo have today. We helped them and had the horse on the lead."

"Thank you," Teddy replied, "did Danny nap?"

"Both him and Allison," Sarah answered, "his was about two and a half hours and Allison about one. We were reading to them and she drifted off so we let her sleep."

"She still naps most days at home and they have quiet time at daycare," Owen said, "we have pizza for dinner let's eat while it's hot."

"I would have made dinner," Sarah said.

"It's the least we can do," Owen said, "I need some hands to help me unload."

The older kids helped Owen and Teddy bring the food into the kitchen and settle the younger ones on benches for dinner.

"Allison on the bench with your brother and cousins," Teddy scolded softly.

"I want to sit with you," Allison whined.

"I'm right beside you," Teddy answered, "we're going to stay here tonight so you can cuddle with daddy, your brothers and I."

Over dinner Owen and Teddy explained the surgery and what to expect in the next few weeks giving detailed science lessons as they went making sure most of the kids understood.

"It's bed time," Teddy declared just after 8.

"I'll read tonight," Owen offered, "some one bring me a story book."

A little boy brought Owen a story book and the kids all found spots in the living room to listen.

They both hugged all of the younger ones before they went upstairs.

"Uncle Owen can we play 99," max asked.

"We can set up a few games if you get the cards and counters," Owen agreed.

They spent the evening playing cards with the older nieces and nephews trying to calm their nerves and put them at ease.