Chapter 7: Questions from the Melee

"Oooohhh… I think I overdid it yesterday," Owen yawned as he woke up with a sore body at 9:00 am on Friday morning. He assumed he was speaking to Amelia as he made his announcement. However, she was upstairs on the phone. Instead, Nala looked over at Owen and cocked her head. "Looks like it's just you and me, Nala. C'mere girl," Owen encouraged as he patted the bed. She came over and leaned against his bum knee, licking his leg and looking up at Owen with her big brown eyes. Owen scratched her behind the ears and rubbed the top of her head before he stood up with the assistance of his walker.

"Mia?" Owen called as he shuffled out of the makeshift Master Bedroom. "Mia?" Looking down at the dog, Owen asked, "Where is she, Nala? Where's Mama?"

As Owen walked toward the kitchen, he heard Amelia's voice in the distance. He overheard her advising, "Let's repeat the head CT in two hours. If it's not clear at that point, we can try an iMRI… (Pause…) No, I don't want the iMRI nor an MRI now – the patient does not have great insurance. I don't want to saddle them with a bunch of unnecessary debt. Waiting two hours won't change the outcome. (Pause…) Sounds good, keep me posted."

"Mia?" Owen called out again.

"Upstairs," Amelia informed him. "Sorry, I was on the phone. Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Checking in. Just woke up – you let me sleep late," Owen chuckled.

Amelia came around the corner to the top of the stairs and winked, "It's all on me, huh?"

"I was teasing," Owen smirked. "What's our plan today?"

"Let me grab the girls and I'll be right down," Amelia stated. Moments later, she descended the staircase with a twin in each arm and Simba running ahead of her. Gwendolyn leaned toward Owen hollering, "Da! Da!"

"Good morning, baby girl," Owen offered warmly.

"Can you hold her and deal with the walker at the same time, O?" Amelia inquired as she turned her cheek toward her shoulder.

"Hmm…probably not if I want to move. Let me sit down," Owen realized. He walked slowly to the Dining Room table and held out his arms, grasping Gwendolyn and bringing her in close for a hug and kiss.

Ella watched the exchange transpire and locked her eyes on Owen. She lowered her eyebrows and shook her head, "Gwen-ie, no." Ella pointed at Amelia's arm and bellowed, "Gwen-ie."

Owen and Amelia smiled at one another as Owen commented, "Hmmm…must be the red hair. The girl knows what she wants."

Looking at Ella, Amelia clearly explained, "Gwen's with Da, Ella."

Ella pointed at Amelia's arm again, pouting, "Gwen-ie."

"No. Gwen's with Da. Da loves Gwen. Da loves Ella," Amelia clarified. Ella began to wiggle so Amelia would put her down. She got her way and walked over to Owen and Gwen. Owen said nothing, giving Ella all the space and time she needed. Gwendolyn, on the other hand, called out, "Ella…Ella!"

Ella stood about two feet from her father, examining him like a lab assistant reading an important slide. She was absolutely fixated as she stood still and investigated. Amelia and Owen quietly watched, occasionally exchanging glances and grins. Stepping closer, Ella reached for her sister and called her name repeatedly. Owen gazed away, wondering if eye contact would cross the line. Tentatively, Ella reached out her arm and touched Owen's leg, then quickly returned to her Mama, "Mama, Up!"

Amelia picked her up and affirmed, "Did you touch Da's leg? Da's nice. Da loves Ella and Gwen." Ella snuggled her head into Amelia's shoulder and popped her binkie in her mouth. Amelia sat down in her regular spot at the table to answer Owen's question. "Today…believe it or not, the only plan is PT at 1pm. Wanna go with me to pick up the big kids or would you rather stay here with the girls and nap?"

"Hmm…I'll make that call after PT. What's our weekend look like?" Owen inquired.

"A lot like today only without the PT. Didn't plan a thing since once I heard the Major was coming home," Amelia smirked.

"Want to go away for a night or two? Just you and me? Or just us and the twins?" Owen proposed.

Amelia bit her bottom lip playfully and looked to her left, "Just us… the twins can survive a night or two without me." Then like a little kid, Amelia smiled and pulled her shoulders up high, "Where shall we go?"

"Wherever the hell you want," Owen responded with a grin. "And I'll deal with arranging childcare."

"How many Percocets did you take this morning?" Amelia teased.

Owen sputtered out a laugh and Gwendolyn imitated him. He was smug as he responded, "None. I'm not on those anymore. I've got a Fentanyl patch now, thank you very much."

Grinning, Amelia stood up and ran her hand atop Owen's head. She asked, "What do you want for breakfast, sleepy boy?"

"What are my options?" Owen asked back.

"I'm feeling nice, so…" Amelia admitted. "French toast or eggs and bacon or cereal. Coffee is a given."

"Mmmmm…" Owen reacted to the idea of real non-Army food, "How about French toast and eggs and bacon?"

Winking, Amelia smirked, "I suppose." As she walked over to the kitchen island, she opened up a conversation she knew they needed to have. "Owen, I'm just going to spit it out: if you want us to go to counseling, I'm all for it. But I don't want to go to your person from yesterday. I don't like the idea of encountering my therapist in the hospital hallways."

"That's fine," Owen answered. "Do you want me to dig up some suggestions?"

"Do you mind if I do it?" Amelia wondered aloud. "I'm kinda weird about therapists."

"Isn't your sister Kate a psychiatrist?" Owen sought to confirm.

"Wouldn't you be a little weirded out by psychiatrists and therapists if you grew up with her?" Amelia kidded with a hint of sarcasm.

Later that day, Sarah came over to the house. While the twins napped and their parents went to PT, Sarah helped out with some cleaning and laundry. Lynne and Sarah continued to work well with each other, and the kids adored them both. While Owen was away, Sarah's hours had dramatically increased. Now with his injuries, Sarah would remain a nearly constant fixture at the Shepherd-Hunt home.

When Amelia and Owen arrived at the hospital, Amelia went to check on the patient Edwards had called about earlier in the day. Although Amelia was officially on family leave so she could help take care of Owen, she'd made herself clear that she was open to consults and even occasional surgeries if the timing was right. Most days, being at the hospital and being in surgery felt far more manageable than her home life.

At PT, for the most part, Owen repeated what he'd done the day before. He inquired about starting to lift weights for the non-injured areas, and Bill was thrilled by the plan. Owen was really missing his runs that had become a daily and sometimes twice daily habit while he was overseas. It would be awhile before he could even begin to think about running again. But weights were a viable option now. Owen and Bill worked out a schedule so that Owen could lift weights there at the hospital after PT.

Amelia arrived in the PT room about five minutes before Owen's session concluded. Even after just one day, she was amazed at Owen's improvement. The morning had gone well, and Amelia was deeply grateful that PT only added to his pleasant day. After they picked the kids up at school, they were headed to a cabin in the woods about an hour from home but only five minutes from a quaint town with plenty of restaurant options. When Owen suggested she choose the venue, Amelia recalled that one of their colleagues owned a cabin and had invited her to use it more than once. One brief call took care of the plan.

After PT, the couple loaded into the rig without concern. Bill had suggested they keep a step stool in the Buick that Owen could use to help him get in and out. Both Amelia and Owen wondered why they hadn't thought of that option before. Amelia had to continually remind herself that Owen had only been home about 40 hours – in many ways, it seemed that he'd been home far longer.

"I forgot to mention, although it doesn't affect you and I too much, that Nai is coming home with us today. Her mom is going to pick her up around 8," Amelia shared.

"Nai?" Owen questioned.

"Naomi. It's 'Nai' now." Amelia clarified with a grin.

"So, Naomi is still in the picture? They've been together awhile now," Owen pondered aloud.

"Very much so. It's been quite the drama with Finley moving up to 9th grade classes this term. They don't get to see each other at school as much as they used to," Amelia stated.

"Mia, what are you talking about? Finley's switching grades? Skipping ahead two grades? What's that all about?" Owen inquired with surprise. He was also slightly perturbed that this was the first he'd heard of the shift.

"Didn't we tell you about that? At some point, we must have," Amelia responded. "I'm sure we did."

Owen answered her with a firm tone, "No. I have no idea what this is about."

"I'm really sorry, Owen. I can't believe I never shared this with you. Finley's class took some standardized test and he had an unprecedented perfect score. The school had him take another test to see if the first was an anomaly. It wasn't. He scored very high on that test also. Then he successfully tested out of 8th grade writing, English and history. Between the tests and his 4.0, Mrs. Tonnington suggested the shift. Lynne, Finley, and I met with her and with a few of his teachers. The consensus was that his 7th grade classes were not stimulating enough for him and were not challenging him sufficiently, so his schedule is filled with 9th grade courses. He was already in 9th grade math, geology, and Spanish anyway, so his only shifts were to 9th grade classes for writing, English literature and World History," Amelia paused and laughed, "Want to know which electives he selected? Latin 1 and PE. I cracked up when he chose to take Latin, but he's loving it."

"I guess that's all great news, Amelia, but I'm a little upset to just be hearing about it," Owen sighed. "Did you discuss social implications of moving him up? He's going to be much younger than all of his classmates."

Amelia raised her eyebrows and glanced at Owen, "Dear…this is Finley we're talking about. He's one of the oldest souls I've ever known. The school is small, and he already knows most of the 9th graders. Plus, he's taller than many of his male classmates. I think he'll be fine."

"I wish I'd been consulted and been part of the decision-making process. It's not that I don't trust your judgment, Mia. I do. But Finley's my son too. I want to be a part of significant decisions that affect him," Owen explained.

Amelia thought to herself, if you hadn't signed up for another tour, you would have been here and would have been part of the process, Owen. Saying those words, though, wouldn't be helpful. Instead, she responded, "I understand."

Owen half-laughed and half-complained, "Are there any other big changes I should know about? Is Bronwyn now studying dance at Juilliard? What about Oliver – did he get his pilot's license while I was away?"

"I'm truly sorry, Owen. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for not including you in the decision and for not telling you sooner. I screwed up," Amelia offered.

"I'll say you did," Owen huffed. The car filled with silence. Amelia did not feel that she needed to apologize again, and she didn't know what else to say. If Owen was going to be angry about her mistake, she knew that giving him time to cool off would be the best strategy. Besides, she truly did think she'd included Owen in the process. Somehow in the irregular life of deployment, she'd dropped the ball. Owen broke the quiet, saying, "I'm sorry. My last comment was inappropriate. By all means, Amelia, I forgive you. I'm sorry I left you alone to make significant decisions like that."

Amelia smirked and responded, "It's OK, Owen. Really." They arrived at Bronwyn's school and Bronwyn bounded in happily, describing her day by occasionally employing baby talk. Amelia had called the teacher earlier that morning to tell her about the shift. Later in the day, the teacher emailed sharing that Bronwyn was not using baby talk at all at school. Both agreed it was Bronwyn's unconscious attempt to ensure she received her parent's attention now that Owen had returned. While a happy event, Owen's re-entry created adjustment.

On their way to pick up Finley, Nai and Oliver, Bronwyn kept Owen entertained with her descriptive summary. "Dada, me went to why-berry (library) today and hearded a story about a GIANT green dino-so (dinosaur)," Bronwyn explained with inflections and hand motions, "and me painted at art time and learneded how to write 'excellent'. It's a super long word, so me takes a while to write it."

They pulled up to the boys' school. As always, Oliver came barreling up to the car and slammed into its side with his hands. As he climbed inside, Amelia directed, "Oliver, you're next to Bronwyn in the 2nd row today. Nai is coming home with us, so she's going to sit in your spot."

"Are you serious?" Oliver whined. "Finley has someone over and I have to change seats? He should have to."

"Oliver, please," Owen interjected.

"But it's not fair," Oliver added to his complaint.

"You know, Oliver, you almost sound like you need a nap when we get home," Amelia commented lightly.

Oliver rolled his eyes and buckled in next to his annoying, baby-talking sister, instructing her, "Don't look at me, don't talk to me, and don't touch me, Bronwyn Kate." Then he folded his arms in a huff.

Finley and Nai came walking up idyllically, hand in hand. As they approached, Finley was talking and Nai appeared to be captivated by each word. She laughed just before he opened the door and invited her to step in first. "Welcome back, Dr. Hunt," Nai offered right away. "Hi, Dr. Shepherd-Hunt. Thanks for letting me come over today."

"You're welcome, Nai. Our pleasure," Amelia responded.

Finley climbed in behind Nai and sat in the middle seatbelt, so he was as close to his girlfriend as possible. He offered an upbeat greeting, "Hi everyone!" His parents and Bronwyn returned the greeting. Oliver, who he'd seen on and off all day at school, remained silent and stewing.

As they headed home, Nai's manners shined as always. She inquired, "Dr. Hunt, Finley told me you had some injuries while you were overseas. How are you feeling?"

"Yeah, I did, Naomi," Owen confirmed. "You know, I'm in a tremendous amount of pain sometimes, but, overall, I'm feeling better each day. Thanks for asking. That was very thoughtful."

"Dad, it's Nai now, not Naomi," Finley pointed out respectfully.

"Right. Sorry, Nai. You'll probably have to remind me a few times before I commit it to memory," Owen shared.

"No problem," Nai responded with a smile before she looked into Finley's eyes and sparkled. For his part, Finley raised his eyebrows and bore his gaze into her eyes. Smiling would have gone overboard in Finley's book, so he slightly turned up the corner of one side of his mouth while his lips remained closed. He now made an effort to only laugh and smile in private amidst a select few.

"So…umm… Dada? Dada, what happeneded when you got hurted?" Bronwyn wondered aloud.

Owen twisted back so he could look at Bronwyn directly as he answered, "What do you mean, sweetie? I hurt my leg, my knee and part of my tummy. Also, I was pretty bruised up."

"I know," Bronwyn stated, "me meaneded how did it happen? How did you getted hurt?"

"Oh," Owen responded. "There were some soldiers from the other group that came to our OR, Bronwyn. They weren't nice."

"How weren't they nice?" Bronwyn persisted with curiosity.

Owen sighed and ran his hand over his short hair, "They knew I was in charge, so one guy threw me on the floor and kicked me hard. Another guy used his gun and shot me three times." The boys were unimpressed, they'd heard various versions of the story plenty of times since the scene occurred. Nai leaned forward and held her hand to her mouth, saddened and shocked by Owen's words.

"They should have to say sorry," Bronwyn concluded.

"Uh huh," Owen nodded, not reminding her that the invaders had been killed by the Marines.

"Were airplanes there when it happened, Dad?" Oliver asked.

"No. There was a Blackhawk helicopter close by that hurried in to help us. As soon as the Marines assumed control of the scene, they called for it," Owen described.

"How'd they get control of the scene? What's that mean?" Oliver wondered with intrigue.

Owen took a deep breath and continued, "They fought with the other soldiers, and they won."

"Like a fist fight or arm wrestling?" Oliver asked.

"Kind of," Owen responded, trying not to laugh.

"Why only kind of?" Oliver sought clarification.

Owen looked at Amelia with a hint of desperation. Pausing, Owen offered, "A lot of people were hurt, Ollie."

"Like blown up or shot or what?" Oliver inquired.

"Shot, Ollie. That's enough description. It was not good," Owen tried to conclude.

"Dr. Hunt? May I ask a question," Nai's voice peeped from the back of the car.

"Sure, Nai," Owen agreed.

"It sounds like you were really hurt. But you weren't in a hospital when it happened, right?" Nai asked.

Owen confirmed and clarified, "Right. We were in huge tents and our job was to help wounded soldiers right after they'd been hurt. We did the big emergency stuff like stopping bleeding and making sure they were breathing and safe to take to a hospital. We didn't have a whole hospital there."

"Were there other doctors right there to help you like that?" Nai wondered aloud.

Owen explained, "Dr. Kepner, one of my friends, helped me at first. She tried to stop the bleeding from the bullets and worked hard to keep me awake. Her hard work made a big difference."

"Then you had to go somewhere else for more help?" Nai asked.

"That's a great question with kind of a long answer," Owen began. "Almost right away, a helicopter came to move us away from where we were. Then the helicopter people and Dr. Kepner helped me a little more inside the chopper. Pretty quickly after we boarded the helicopter, we stopped and switched to an airplane that was like a hospital inside. We flew to a hospital on the ground and I stayed there awhile before flying on another airplane with a hospital inside to Germany. That's where Dr. Shepherd-Hunt came to see me. Then…" Owen concluded, "I was at a hospital in Texas for a while before I flew home on another hospital airplane. There were a whole bunch of doctors, nurses, and other people who helped me. I'm very lucky so many people knew how they could help and decided to help me, and other soldiers like me."

"Your story is amazing," Nai stated with awe. "My mom and I prayed for you every single day you were gone. It's a bummer that you were hurt, and I'm really glad you're home. You're a hero, Dr. Hunt."

A few tears formed in Owen's eyes as he took in her words, "Thanks, Nai. It's really nice to know how much you and your mom cared."