Hey guy, like you'll see, this chapter doesn't take place in Seattle, I'm actually very proud of this chapter. I made a few pieces of research to be sure about the political situation in the countries I'm talking about and I'm sorry if I made mistakes that way. In this chapter, I tried to integrate my OC in Owen's life (didn't mean that they will end up together).

Good reading

Kisses


Chapter 6

For the first time in nearly ten months, Helena woke up naturally. Naturally means without being woken up by the loud noise of bombings or gunfire exchange. It was a sign, she was finally getting home.

She quickly stood up, stretched her still asleep muscles and sighed. She couldn't believe that the time got over so fast. A year ago she left Seattle, leaving behind Derek, Addison, the hospital and of course Ryan. She still remembered the conversation she had with Richard like it was yesterday, the conversation that changed everything. After he had left, she had stayed a while in the canteen thinking about what she was really expecting from her life. She then paid a visit to the Chief to accept his offer. He made a few calls and organized her the travel to Berlin, where his friends were currently staying. Helena then said goodbye to everybody, Derek was quite disappointed that she didn't stay longer and she took the first cab to the airport. She had no luggage, just her travel pass, and some cash as she got on the plane. The crew was looking at her like she was a fugitive or something. Arrived in Berlin, she met Richard's friends, a nice couple in the mid-thirties. Chris was American and worked for Doctors Without Borders since he was twenty. He met Anne, his wife, on one of his missions in Pakistan where she was teaching French in a primary school in the small village he was acting in. They immediately fell in love and married a few months later, she afterward chooses to follow him around the world. They offered to Helena to stay at their place during the time they had to wait before being send in another mission. The first assignation came very fast. All of them were sent to Syria where the conflict between the dictatorship established by the al-Assad family and the rebels had aggravated and made lots of injured. There Helena met a major of the American army who was quite impressed by her medical skills and who helped her join his medical unit of the army. She was then send to Iraq leaving Anne and Chris back. And there she was, a surgeon of the US-Army stationed in Iraq for nearly ten months by now.

She quickly grabbed her clothes, put them on and was about to leave her tent when the man who was lying on her bed suddenly woke up.

"Where are you going?" he asked with an asleep voice.

"I'm leaving," Helena said grabbing her package. "I'm getting back home."

The men sat up on the bed.

"You're saying you're leaving me?" he asked.

"We both know that you won't miss me, it was just sex between us. Officially you have a girlfriend and you should rather be concerned about her learning that you are cheating on her," the black haired girl stated with a small smirk. "Megan is a great girl and maybe you should think about taking the next step with her and become an honorable man, means you stop sleeping around and you propose to her at last!"

"You're probably right," he said falling back in the pillows.

"I have to stop by at the hospital before the helicopter gets me. You should better vanish before somebody sees you here."

She threw her pack over her shoulder.

"See you Nathan !" she said before getting out of the tent.

Outside the sun was already high in the sky and the camp was already awakened. Soldiers and medical staff were already running around. On her way to the hospital tent she greeted a few soldiers she knew as well as some natives in Arabic. In the few months she spends in Iraq, she learned the basics of the language which greatly eased her interaction with the people living here. She gets quite quickly accustomed to the life on the field. Being in the center of action made her recover the rush that she really missed when she was in Seattle. Here you never knew when something was going to happen. You had to act quickly to make space for the next arrivals. Mostly there was no time to check on the patient's post-ops. The most surgeries even must be done on the spot, without the time to get an OR ready. And the cases the had here weren't the easiest, mostly severe wounds due to pieces shrapnel or deep shot and stabbed wounds.

When she finally arrived at the hospital tent, she immediately spotted Teddy Altman who was checking over a post-op patient.

"Do you know where I can find the Major?" Helena asked the woman.

"He's at the command station," the blond said coldly.

Helena was used to the way Teddy applying to her. The woman knew about her and Riggs hooking up and she was clearly disapproving. It was quite understandable knowing that she considered Megan as her little sister. But Helena never understood why she kept the secret, probably to protect her friend.

"You're finally leaving," Teddy noticed not even trying to hide her happiness.

"Don't be that disappointed," the dark-haired girl joked.

"Don't worry about that," Teddy said putting on her usual fake smile. "I'm not gonna miss you at all."

Helena shook her head sighing.

"Well, then see you!" she shouted leaving the tent.

"Hopefully not!" Altman called her back.

Helena sighed. She never wanted to have problems with Teddy but when she arrived, the only thing she needed was someone to make her forget and get over Ryan and Nathan had provided her that distraction. It always had been clear between the two, no feeling, just fun. Nathan loved Megan but he was just a man after all.

Helena arrived at the tent housing the command station. Owen Hunt was leaning over a map and was talking to his sister.

"There was a strike on a village near Ramadi and because they are overwhelmed they are sending the injured to us," he was saying.

"Major Hunt!" Helena said.

The Hunt siblings turned around to face her.

"Helena," the men said smiling. "After ten months working together, you can call me Owen you know."

"Sorry Sir, the habit I guess."

"Well, are you ready to return?" he asked.

"I am sir," Helena replied. "Happy to go back."

"I totally understand that," Megan piped up. "I couldn't stand under his command any longer."

Her brother gave her a falsely offended look.

"The helicopter will be here soon," the Major continued as the three get out to the fresh air, watching up to the sky.

"So what will you miss the most," Megan asked Helena ironically. "The tasteless food or the uncomfortable bed?"

"I will miss the half to death bleeding soldiers asking when they will be able to get back on the battlefield."

Megan laughed. At some point, Helena felt guilty for sleeping with Nathan. The Hunt girl was a very nice person and she surely didn't deserve that. The loud noise of a helicopter engine over their heads made Helena stopped her sudden momentum of guilty conscience.

"Hope to see you one day in Seattle," the Shepherd said shaking Owen's hand.

She was surprised when Megan hugged her.

"It was nice to meet you," she said.

"You too Megan," Helena replied. "I hope you'll get you strats. You totally deserve that."

The red-haired smiled at her kindly. In the distance, she saw Teddy and Nathan walking by. They were talking actively, probably about her then Teddy seemed pretty angry.

"Major," the pilot said to them. "We have to leave now."

"Coming!" Helena called.

She winked at everybody and run head bent to the helicopter.

The flight to Baghdad only lasted one hour, then Helena was driven to the airport where she took the first flight to London. She spent a night at the airport before she could take the next plane to Seattle in the morning. During the flight, she sat next to the window, admiring the ocean she hadn't seen for over a year now. This wide blue area she had seen every day from her flat in the last years. She thought about how it would be when she'll be back. Did Ryan move out? Actually, he should have because she theoretically gave back the keys to the apartment. Her landlord was so kind that she offers to keep her furniture and belongings at the apartment for when she returned.

Helena had tried to keep contact with her brother as long as she could but the connections from Iraq to the States were rare and quite expensive and she quickly run out of money. It was much easier to stay in touch with Anne and Chris. They had made a break with DWB and stayed at their place in Berlin. Anne was even expecting a happy event. They had also bought her the news that Richard was ready to offer her a place as a resident when she decides to come back.

She also had a call with Mark a few months ago. He had come back to Seattle Grace Hospital and Richard gave him the place of Head of the plastic surgery unit of the hospital. Her friend had told about what was happening at the hospital, like that Meredith had started to date Doc's vet, who by the way died from a bone cancer (RIP Doc), that Derek and Meredith hooked up at the school prom that was organized for the chief's ill niece, that Izzie's patient-boyfriend died after she cut his LVD wire, that Burke was shot, that George was dating a hot ortho surgeon, that Richard was thinking about retirement and that he had to choose his heir and that Burke and Cristina were getting married soon.

In brief, lots of things happened.

"Madam, are you a soldier?" a small voice asked.

The little boy that sat next to her had spoken. He was approximately five years old, he had mid-long blond hair that was falling over his deep blue eyes. The place next to him was free, his mother was probably at the toilet.

"Why do you think I am a soldier?" Helena asked smiling.

"Because you are wearing a military uniform," the boy said pointing on her cargo pants. "My father is a soldier and he wears that too."

"Well I work for the army, yes, but as a surgeon. I'm healing people like your father."

"How can you hear people? Do you have a superpower?"

"No, I'm practicing medicine," she explained but pursue in front of the incomprehensive face of the boy. "You know when you have a stomach ache, your mommy brings you to a man who takes the pain away with this strange sweets."

"The one that isn't yummy at all?" the boy asked questioning.

"Yes, this one," Helena said smiling. "Well, I'm like that guy but for adults and on the battlefield."

"Cool," the little boy exclaimed.

He then turned back to his comic and completely forget her. Helena turned back to the window. In a few hours, she would be reunited with her brother again. And she will saw Mark and Derek again. Nobody besides Richard knew that she was coming back. She was impatient to see everybody again.

Helena slept the last few hours of the flight until the boy next to her shook he woken.

"Madam, we just land," he said.

"Thanks, buddy, she said (décoiffant) his hair.

She threw her package over her shoulder and got out of the plane. There was a bit of wind but the sun warmed up the air, it has nothing to do with the hot air of Iraq but still pleasant. Outside, she jumped in the first cab she could find. Driving, she watched at the streets of Seattle. It felt good to see skyscrapers, cars, and civilization again. Even if she gets used to the life back in Iraq, she had missed the life of the city.

"Where do you want to?" the cab driver asked.

She quickly thought about it. Showing up directly at the hospital may not be the best idea right now. She gave the driver the address of the hotel where she was staying with Mark a year ago. She wanted to take a good shower before doing anything.

Once the cab had dropped her at the hotel, she booked a room for one night. She'll see later where she'll stay. Helena then took the left up to her room.

After a long shower, she put on a white shirt and her last clean carbo pant. Maybe it was time for her to go shopping, she namely didn't have anything to dress other than her army clothes. In the bathroom, she dried her short hair and brushed the black locks into a messy ponytail. She then grabbed her jacket and her money and left her room. Outside, the sky had become dark. It was around 8 pm and she started to get really hungry. Understandable, the last thing she ate was a disgusting croissant at the airport in London.

Derek sat at the counter at Joe's with a very defeated face. The wedding was over, Burke was gone. Meredith was probably somewhere comfort Cristina. He didn't even know if Cristina was really sad about it, she didn't want this wedding after all. His thought wanders to his girlfriend, or maybe ex-girlfriend. He didn't really know what they were in that moment. When Meredith had shown up in the church and she had said that everything was over, she had clearly understood that she didn't only mean the wedding but also their relationship. He didn't really know why but Derek felt like their relationship was over since weeks now, since that ferry accident. Everything was different since that time. She was distant, not very invested in their story.

The seat next to him moved.

"A whiskey," a man's voice ordered next to him.

"Mark, what are you doing here?" Derek asked quite angry.

"Drinking," the blonde answered. "Addison left. Why are you drinking, mate?"

"Meredith left me," the neurosurgeon replied.

"Sorry mate. You really loved her didn't you?"

Derek nodded. Both toasted quite sadly. None of them noticed the dark-haired girl who entered the bar in that moment. As she spotted them, she draws from behind and the two mans jumped as she speaks.

"Why do you both look so sad? Is somebody dead or something?"

So, like you've probably noticed, I'm not a big fan of Teddy Altman, so I gave her the bad role, sorry if you like her but to me, there is something false in her that I can't stand. If you had the occasion to watch season 14 episode 5, you've noticed that Helena took the place of the girl who Nathan hooked up with when he was with Megan.