A/N: This story takes place loosely towards the end of Season 17, after Owen and Teddy start to mend their relationship after the Allison thing, with Teddy being back at work for a bit. However, I don't intend on following any of the other storylines that were going on at the time, so Link/Amelia aren't a thing, Meredith doesn't have COVID, etc. Really this is just going to be a few chapters ultimately ending in smut (porn with feelings) because I was looking for a story like this and couldn't find it, so I decided to write it myself. Hope you enjoy!
It was a typical rainy, Tuesday Seattle afternoon when Amelia Shepherd walked into the Attendings lounge to find Teddy Altman standing at the coffee bar, waiting for her coffee to brew. The sight brought a smile to Amelia's face; Teddy had been back at work for about a week after her not-so-tiny breakdown, but Amelia had been so busy with surgeries that she hadn't seen much of the blonde surgeon.
"Welcome back, Altman. I don't think I've had a chance to say that yet." Amelia said with a smile, pulling off her scrub cap and throwing it into her cubby. Teddy smiled.
"Thanks, Amelia. I'm glad to be back." The cardiothoracic surgeon said genuinely. Amelia kicked her running shoes off before rummaging around in her cubby for a fresh pair of scrubs.
"So, I heard you and Owen are on the mend." The brunette said, pulling her scrub top off over her head. Teddy looked over at the younger surgeon, who was now pulling a clean set of scrubs on over a lacy blue bra.
"Hm? Oh, I don't know. He said he wasn't sure if he had more in him than just being friends." Teddy said with a shrug, stirring a packet of sugar into her coffee. Amelia rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
"What? Ugh, I knew he'd fuck this up. Let me talk to him again. I'll tell him to just get over himself. I mean, he was in love with Cristina for like ever, so who is he to –" Amelia's rant was cut off by Teddy grabbing her arm.
"Amelia!" the cardiothoracic surgeon exclaimed. Amelia stopped talking, taking a deep breath and looking at the blonde surgeon expectantly. "It's really alright. I don't think I'm in a place to be in a relationship anyway. I'm just glad he's talking to me again – I've missed having Owen as a friend." Teddy explained, smiling softly. Amelia's expression softened before she nodded her head and bent down to pull her shoes on.
"Well, when you do feel like you're in a place to get back out there…let me know. Carina and I will have to take you to Wildrose." Amelia said with a smile. When Teddy didn't respond, the neurosurgeon continued. "Lesbian bar on Pike? It's pretty much a queer rite of passage in Seattle." Amelia added. Teddy's eyes grew wide, and she felt her cheeks flush with heat. The brunette woman frowned. Had she really just said something to scare Teddy away this soon after returning to work?
"Are you okay?" Amelia asked quietly, taking a step towards the clearly flustered older woman. Teddy swallowed roughly, trying to form a coherent sentence over the sound of her suddenly-racing heart.
"I –" Teddy was cut off by Amelia's pager beeping loudly. The brunette looked at the pager before stomping her foot.
"Shit. Meredith needs me in the Pit. I have to go. Talk later?" Amelia asked, already half-way out the door. Teddy nodded.
"Oh, yeah. S-sure." She said to the disappearing form of Amelia Shepherd rounding the corner. Looking at the coffee in her hand, Teddy sighed before pouring it down the sink. Suddenly she wasn't in the mood for caffeine.
It was almost three weeks later when Amelia and Teddy once again found themselves alone in the Attendings lounge. Amelia was stretched out on one of the couches – lazily scrolling through her phone while attempting to hide from the over eager resident assigned to her service for the day – when the door was thrown open with a loud bang. The blonde cardiothoracic surgeon stormed into the lounge, pulling off her scrub cap and balling it up in her hand as she dropped down into an empty armchair. Teddy jumped when she noticed the brunette on the couch in front of her.
"Sorry. I didn't think anyone was in here." She apologized, casting her eyes to the floor and running a hand over the braids that were slowly coming undone on her head. Amelia smiled, sitting up.
"That's okay. I'm just hiding from my resident. Rough day?" The neurosurgeon asked softly. Teddy nodded, sighing loudly. "Want to talk about it?" Amelia prodded. Teddy sighed again, looking up from the floor.
"It's just…been a day. I lost a patient on the table this morning…she just… wouldn't stop bleeding. And then we almost had a heart for this poor, sick little boy. And then we didn't. And then he died too. Plus, Owen's being weird again. I don't know. I'm just over it." The blonde said quietly, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the back of the couch. Amelia smiled sadly, looking at her watch.
"Do you have any other surgeries scheduled for the day?" The brunette woman asked. Teddy shook her head, eyes still closed.
"No. I'm on call tonight but –" Teddy was cut off by Amelia standing up and reaching out a hand.
"Great. Come with me." Amelia exclaimed. Teddy just stared at the outstretched hand, raising an eyebrow.
"Where are we going?" she asked hesitantly. Amelia rolled her eyes, extending her hand again.
"Stop asking questions and just come with me, Altman. I promise you'll enjoy it." The brunette surgeon promised. Teddy sighed before she reached out and grabbed Amelia's hand, allowing the younger woman to pull her off the couch.
About fifteen minutes later, Amelia led Teddy out on to the hospital's helipad. The two women, now equipped with fresh coffees – and a cinnamon roll that was serving as Amelia's dinner – walked out onto the roof and both took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Why are we up here?" Teddy asked, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Amelia smiled, stepping out on to the 'H' and throwing her arms out.
"You needed some fresh air to clear your head. Figured this was as good a place as any to get some air and to stay out of the way of the rest of the hospital." She shouted to the blonde. Teddy laughed, watching as the neurosurgeon took a big bite of her cinnamon roll.
"Plus, it looks like there's actually going to be a sunset today for the first time in forever." Amelia added, walking back over to Teddy and taking a seat on the ground and leaning back against the concrete wall.
"It really is beautiful up here." Teddy said with a smile as she sat down next to the neurosurgeon. The two women sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, staring out over the Seattle skyline that was beginning to take on a slightly pink tint from the slowly setting sun. After a minute, Amelia began to fidget with the coffee cup in her hands.
"So…I'm really sorry if I offended you the other day when I brought up the lesbian bar. I get over excited sometimes, and I really was just trying to be inclusive and I…well, sorry if I offended you." The neurosurgeon apologized with a shrug. Teddy looked over at the younger woman, feeling her heartbeat once again pick up.
"You didn't offend me. I was just…surprised. I didn't know that you were…" The blonde trailed off. Amelia laughed quietly.
"Bi? Owen really didn't tell you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Teddy shook her head, looking down at the coffee cup in her hands. "Oh. Well, surprise then, I guess." Amelia said with a quiet chuckle. Silence once again fell over the two women, until Teddy broke it a moment later.
"Can I ask you a question?" the blonde asked quietly. Amelia nodded, smiling softly at the other woman. "How do you…" Teddy trailed off, fidgeting with the cup in her hands. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, and she wiped them away; angry and embarrassed that she was already upset. Amelia frowned, reaching over and placing a hand on the blonde's arm.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. Take your time. I've got all night." The neurosurgeon reassured her friend, giving Teddy's arm a light squeeze. Teddy nodded, wiping a stray tear away from her cheek.
"Ugh, I'm sorry. I don't know why this is so hard for me to talk about. It's been like twenty years now and… I'm still so embarrassed to talk about it." The blonde woman explained, feeling her cheeks flush. Amelia nodded in understanding.
"I get that. It's hard to talk about stuff like this sometimes. But I think it gets easier the more you talk about it. So, if you want to talk about it…I'm here." She told her, shrugging her shoulders. Teddy sighed, wringing her hands together.
"I don't even know how to do this." The cardio surgeon said quietly, looking down at her hands. Amelia frowned.
"Do what?" The younger woman asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Teddy paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart.
"It kind of feels like I'm just now…coming out? Like, when I was with Allison…I was just with Allison. I never told anyone because it was still new and it was the early 2000's and I just never felt…safe enough, I guess. And then she died, and I joined the Army and then I couldn't tell anyone, even if I wanted to. And then I fell in love with Owen…and…I don't know. It just never felt like the right time. And then…when I did finally tell someone, it was Owen and he…well. It didn't get off to a great start. And that's getting better now and I'm really glad it's getting better now but it's still…so scary." She explained quickly, tears returning to her eyes. The younger woman next to her smiled sadly.
"Oh, Teddy." Amelia sighed. The other woman shook her head, wiping at her face.
"And I just…I feel like a… a teenager, having a crisis about my sexuality… I mean, I'm almost fifty years old. Shouldn't I have this figured out by now?" Teddy asked with a sad chuckle. Amelia shrugged.
"I feel like I should say something here about it being a journey and blah blah blah but…I don't know. Some people just figure it out later than others, I guess. I think it probably depends on the other stuff you have going on in your life." The neurosurgeon told the blonde. Teddy nodded, taking a sip of her coffee to help settle her shaken nerves.
"When did you…" She trailed off.
"Come out?" Amelia asked with a smile. Teddy nodded.
"Oh, god. Probably like… fifteen or twenty years ago? It was right around the time I started med school. Derek was the first person I told, actually." The brunette smiled. Teddy frowned.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up." She apologized.
"No, no. It's alright. I like talking about him." Amelia waved the apology off with flick of her hand. "He was very supportive. Of course, I think he probably thought a lot of it was just the whole drug addiction thing talking but…he was supportive. Mer's been really supportive too. Well, since I've been in her life, anyways." She continued, smiling softly.
"Have you ever dated women?" Teddy asked. Amelia shook her head.
"Dated? Not really. But I've been with my fair share." The brunette answered. When Teddy raised an eyebrow, Amelia laughed. "Like three." Amelia explained, rolling her eyes. Teddy laughed, taking another sip of her coffee.
"You and Arizona? At Hopkins?" She asked. Amelia shook her head.
"No. We made out at a party once…years ago… but that was it." The neurosurgeon told the older woman. She paused for a moment, debating whether to ask the obvious next question. Teddy was actually talking to her; she didn't want to go too far too quickly and scare her off again.
"What about you and Arizona?" Amelia asked, deciding to just go for it. Teddy laughed, shaking her head.
"No. Only Allison." The blonde said, laughing at the thought of her and Arizona together. A solemn thought crossed her mind. "I never even told Arizona about Allison. I…I probably should tell her. But I don't know if I'm there yet." Teddy continued with a shrug. Amelia nodded, placing a hand on the cardiothoracic surgeon's arm.
"That's okay, you know. I mean, Arizona is probably like the best and easiest person to come out to…but that doesn't mean you have to. You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to. It's your decision to share it – or not." The neurosurgeon reassured the older woman, squeezing her arm. Teddy smiled.
"Thank you, Amelia. Really. It means a lot that you took the time to listen." The blonde woman said genuinely. Now it was Amelia's turn to smile.
"Of course. You deserve to have someone listen to you." The brunette smiled, looking at the blonde fondly. The setting sun was casting a warm glow on Teddy's blonde hair, making it appear almost pink. Her face was lit by the sunset as well, her green eyes glowing in the pastel-colored light. Amelia felt her heart skip a beat; in that moment, she thought Teddy was maybe the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.
Before Amelia had the time to realize what she was doing, the neurosurgeon had leant in and met Teddy's lips with her own. Teddy's eyes grew wide for a second, caught off guard at the sudden movement. Amelia pulled away after a second or two, casting her eyes down to the ground. She ran a hand through her hair, upset with herself for acting so inappropriately.
"Shit. I'm so sorry, Teddy. I shouldn't have-" Amelia's apology was cut off by Teddy leaning in and kissing her again. Amelia sighed into the kiss, letting a hand come to rest on the side of the older woman's face.
"Don't apologize. I liked it." Teddy said as she pulled away a few seconds later. Amelia smiled, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. Before she had a chance to respond, Teddy's pager beeped loudly between the two of them. The blonde sighed, looking down at the device on her scrubs.
"Damn it! Trauma 911 down in the Pit. I have to go." Teddy exclaimed, getting up and dusting off her scrubs before pressing the elevator call button. "Come find me later?" The blonde asked the woman still sitting on the ground. The neurosurgeon nodded as the elevator arrived at the roof.
"Will do, doll face." Amelia said with a wink. Teddy smiled before turning around and rushing into the elevator.
A/N: I'm not from Seattle (or the Pacific Northwest) so my knowledge ends with my brief Google search about lesbian bars in Seattle. I apologize if anything was incorrect! Smut starts next chapter. Please let me know what you think about this chapter, and if there's anything you would like to see in the next few chapters!