Chapter 22: Happy Anniversary
When he woke up, Owen rolled over and snuggled up to Amelia. Nuzzling his cheek into her neck, he whispered, "Happy Anniversary, Mia."
Amelia opened her eyes, smiled and feigned ignorance, "That is today, isn't it? Are you going to surprise me with a trip to Turks and Caicos or a fancy dinner at the top of the Space Needle?" She stretched her entire body and her growing baby bump, now at 29 weeks, stood tall.
Chuckling, Owen admitted, "Honestly, I wasn't sure what you'd want to do. The trip to the Caribbean might be a stretch, but I'm willing to entertain other suggestions." Not one to usually talk with his hands moving, Owen's left hand joined in the discussion. He wondered if she would notice why.
"Let's save the Caribbean get away for another time - I'm huge," Amelia mourned as she grasped her bump.
"You're pregnant, glowing, and beautiful," Owen assured her as he swept a piece of her hair behind her ear and kissed her gently after each word he spoke. The kiss extended and was about to lead even further when Oliver burst into the room.
"Mom! Finley is being a big, huge, mean bully," Oliver declared as he stomped in seeking justice.
Steps behind his brother, Finley asserted, "Dad, that's not true. Oliver keeps coming in my room and taking my tie or a shoe or another part of my uniform and then doesn't listen when I grab him and tell him to give it back."
Amelia looked at Owen with a wide smile and whispered, "Happy Anniversary."
"Yeah," Owen chuckled. "You rest, I've got this." Owen, unable to get out of bed without certain obvious physical features, looked at both boys sternly. "Ollie, have you been bothering Finley?"
"I was just having fun. Just playing. It's not like…" Oliver tried to explain.
"Stop. So, the answer is yes?" Owen confirmed.
"Yeah, but I was just…" Oliver attempted again.
"Stop," Owen called out again, this time with his hand in the air. Owen turned to Finley and asked, "And how did you respond?" At this point in the conversation, Amelia slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Distracted, she didn't see the small wrapped gift waiting for her on her nightstand.
"Dad, he was stealing my stuff," Finley complained.
"So what did you do?" Owen asked again.
"He was bugging me," argued Finley.
"Dad! He caught me by my hair and then punched me in the gut," Oliver disclosed.
"I did not punch you, Oliver. You're exaggerating," Finley insisted.
Owen looked at the clock and then back at both boys, "You have 15 minutes until Lynne takes you to school. I'd suggest you go to your own rooms, finish getting ready, and go eat breakfast without interacting with one another."
"But, Dad, Finley should be in trouble for pulling my hair," Oliver whined.
"Last time I checked, thieves got sent to prison and you're a thief, you little punk," Finley threatened.
"Enough," Owen said calmly and quietly. "You both know what I asked you to do. I suggest you do it."
"Owen!" Amelia called out from the bathroom, "Could you come in here please? Now?"
"Go, gentlemen," Owen ordered as both boys slunk out of the bedroom disappointed the other was not in trouble. Standing up and throwing on a robe, Owen called out before he reached Amelia, "What's up, Mia?"
Owen opened the door and stepped in. She was standing at the sink washing her hands. Seeing nothing of obvious concern, Owen put his arm around her shoulders and repeated himself, "What's up?"
"I think I need to go to the hospital," Amelia said with a shaky voice.
Owen furrowed his brows and inquired, "Why? What's wrong?"
"I'm bleeding and the baby isn't moving," Amelia reported, trying to remain calm.
"Go lie down. I'll be right back," Owen instructed. He hobbled down the stairs far faster than he should have and headed toward the garage. His pace and the fact that he walked without a cane caught the attention of all five children and their nanny.
Lynne called out calmly, "Everything ok, Dr. Hunt?"
"Yeah," Owen quipped with pursed lips as he carried his med bag in from the car and limped up the stairs. "No worries. No problems at all. Just keep forgetting to restock my bag," he chuckled nervously.
When he entered the bedroom, he began peppering Amelia with questions, "Any labor pains? How's your heartrate? How would you describe the bleeding?" Owen fumbled through his bag hoping to find some sort of labor-stopping intervention. He placed his stethoscope on her bump and was reassured to hear the baby's heartbeat.
"Owen," Amelia stated calmly. When he did not respond, she repeated, "Owen…"
"Yeah?" he said quickly as he looked up.
"Stop. No labor pains. My BP is fine. Throw on some clothes and let's calmly head to the hospital," Amelia reassured her concerned husband.
Owen nodded and took a deep breath. He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. After walking over to the closet and finding a pair of jeans and a t-shirt he could throw on, he grabbed clothes for Amelia and took them over to her. "How can I help, Mia?"
"I'm fine. I can dress myself," she shared with a crooked grin. She reached over and covered his cheeks with her hands, pulling him toward her. She kissed him and shared, "You…are my life. I love you. And you really are adorable when you're fretting."
Lynne knocked softly on the bedroom door and Amelia called for her to come in. Looking concerned, Lynne asked, "Is everything fine?"
"It will be," Amelia assured her. "I'm having a little bleeding. I'm sure it's nothing. As soon as you leave, we'll head to the hospital to have it checked out. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Ok," Lynne nodded. "Can I help in some way?"
"Reassure and take care of the melee, Lynne. That's a tremendous help," Owen smirked.
Owen drove up to the ambulance bay and walked inside with the help of his cane. The first person he saw was Wilson. "Wilson!" he hollered.
"Dr. Hunt? Are you ok? What brings you in this morning?" Jo asked inquisitively.
In a low volume, Owen shared, "My wife is in the car. She's 29 weeks along. Having some bleeding. Can you get her set up down here and page OB or get her up to OB? I'll move our car before an ambulance crashes into it."
"No, you won't," Jo insisted. "You'll sit down in Exam 2 and I'll bring Dr. Shepherd-Hunt in there immediately. I'll find someone to move your car." She held her hands out so he could give her the keys and spotted his tattoo, "Nice tatt, Dr. Hunt."
Owen smirked and patted Jo's shoulders, "Thank you." He and his cane hobbled toward the exam room.
"Monroe!" Jo called out to an intern, "I need you to go park a car. Follow me."
Alex, who had come down to shoot the breeze with his girlfriend, followed her to the bay out of curiosity. He caught up to her before she reached the doors, grabbed a robe and threw it on as he asked, "Whatcha got?"
"Dr. Shepherd-Hunt. Pregnancy problems. And Dr. Hunt trying to hobble around and deal with it. I'm taking her to Exam 2. Oh, and Hunt got a tattoo," Jo spat out quickly before reaching the car. Alex looked at Jo with a puzzled expression. Why would a tattoo have anything to do with the situation at hand?
Jo opened the passenger door and smiled widely, "Good morning, Dr. Shepherd-Hunt. Would you be more comfortable in a wheelchair or on a gurney?"
"I'd be more comfortable walking," Amelia insisted as she lowered her chin and looked at Jo through the upper portion of her eyes.
"Yeah, that's not happening," Alex declared. He'd already brought out a chair and ordered, "C'mon, load on up. The sooner you sit down, the sooner I'll hide you away from everyone and their freaking curiosity."
"What about our car?" Amelia asked as she sat down in the wheelchair.
"An intern is going to take care of it," Jo promised. Alex, Jo and Amelia made their way inside and to Exam 2. Owen's brows were impinging on the bridge of his nose as he watched the trio enter the room. He walked over to his wife and stroked her hair, asking, "How are you?" He looked terrified.
"Owen, I'll be fine," Amelia assured him. "Can someone find Annalisa or Arizona?"
"On it. A fetal monitor is on its way. Lie back and let me get some basics out of the way. Jo, will you get her vitals and start a workup, please? I'll be right back," Alex requested.
"Absolutely," Jo nodded as she began to place a thermometer in Amelia's mouth and wrapped a BP cuff around her arm. She smiled sweetly at Owen and Amelia and encouraged, "Let's start at the beginning. You woke up this morning, and…"
Amelia described the estimated blood loss and confirmed she had no cramping or contractions. Jo called for a portable ultrasound and shared the bullets when Arizona walked in.
Arizona declared with loving disappointment, "I thought we weren't going to have drama this time around." She hooked up the fetal monitor that had just arrived and listened for the baby's heartbeat. "Amelia, everything looks great. Heart rates are fine, no contractions, your vitals are stable, no fever. Here's what I'd like to do: let's keep you monitored for now and move you up to L&D. There is no reason to be in a hurry – everything looks steady."
"That'd be great," Amelia smiled softly as she held her hand toward her husband. "Owen?"
He responded as he grasped her hand and kissed it. "I'm right here with you."
Once settled into a room, Arizona explained that they would start with an ultrasound, "I try to avoid third trimester internal exams because of the chance of infection. Let's give the ultrasound a try first and take a look at the placenta." She moved the transducer over Amelia's bump and smiled broadly, "Look at that! Hi, baby. You're looking great. I bet you're wondering about all this fuss."
Arizona looked up at Owen and Amelia and reassured them, "See how he's sucking his thumb? He doesn't have a concern in the world. That's a great sign. His little world seems to be fine."
"He wasn't moving earlier," Amelia mentioned.
Arizona reassured her friend, "At this stage in the game, he has extended periods of sleeping and waking. Maybe he was simply sleeping."
Arizona was able to definitively rule out any placenta concerns. She turned off the ultrasound and wound the cord around the transducer as she handed Amelia a few towels to wipe off the gel. Owen grasped them and gently tended Amelia's baby bump, concluding his task with a gentle kiss on her belly.
"These kind of questions are always fun between us, but I need to ask: when did you have sex last?" Arizona inquired.
"Last night," Owen shrugged.
Amelia smiled up at him with a glimmer in her eye, "Well, more like early this morning. I mean, yes, last night but then…"
"That's enough detail," Arizona smirked. "I'm pretty sure that's what caused the bleeding. We could screen for infection, but that would involve a pelvic exam that wouldn't be very comfortable. Besides, it isn't ideal to screen within 24 hours after intercourse. Amelia, that's your call."
"Let's wait," Amelia shrugged.
"That works for me. Let's keep you here for a couple hours, watch the monitors and keep track of the bleeding," Arizona explained. "Sound like a plan?"
Amelia nodded and Owen grinned as he sat beside his wife's bed. When Arizona stepped out, Amelia patted the spot beside her and Owen cuddled up next to her on the bed. He set his head on Amelia's shoulder, let out a large sigh and muttered, "Happy Anniversary, Mia. Party at Grey Sloan in Room 434."
In response, Amelia kissed the top of Owen's head and chuckled. "We seem to have a knack for false alarms and peculiar experiences. I love you, O." He fell asleep with his left hand on her baby bump. Glancing down later when the baby kicked, Amelia spotted ink on his ring finger. Assuming it was from a permanent marker or ballpoint, she licked her finger and tried to rub it off. When that didn't succeed, she shrugged and opened up a magazine.
A few minutes later, still intrigued, she grasped his hand and brought it closer to her face. At first, the small lettering looked like some sort of design. As she studied it, she realized it was partially a design but also her name. On the top side of his ring finger and underneath, it read Mia. Patterned lines filled in the space between each name.
Fascinated by the fact that Owen had gotten a tattoo, Amelia turned his hand up and back as she studied it. He woke up, barely opened his eyes, and whispered, "What do you think?"
"I think you have a tattoo," Amelia responded flatly, "with my name."
Nearly giddy, Owen smirked. He wrapped his arm around her proudly and squeezed, "Now people will know I'm married even when I take my ring off and wander to the cafeteria."
"Umm… yeah," Amelia replied in disbelief, "they will."
Propping himself up on his elbow, Owen looked at her with a disappointed frown, "You don't like it."
Forcing a grin, Amelia insisted, "I didn't say that."
"But…" Owen inquired.
"I'm… I guess I'm just surprised." Amelia shrugged playfully, "You've just never struck me as a tattoo guy." She paused before adding with a smirk, "but, yeah… there's my name. Right there… on your finger." Giggling, she concluded with, "Now, you're either stuck with me forever or you just tremendously shrunk your future dating pool." She kissed his finger and then worked her way up his arm and to his lips.
After being monitored for a few hours and experiencing no further bleeding, Arizona released Amelia with the caveat that she rest for the remainder of the day.
Unable to carry her or physically assist in a way he'd prefer, Owen walked alongside Amelia as she returned to the upstairs bedroom. While she took a shower, he sat on the balcony with a cup of coffee. He glanced inside when he heard the water turn off. A few minutes later, Amelia opened the door. She headed toward him as she towel dried her hair. She was dressed in one of his big t-shirts and a pair of maternity PJ pants.
"I think I'm going to lie down and watch some TV. Wanna join me?" she inquired.
Owen turned and smiled at her, "I was thinking that we probably both need some food. What sounds good?"
"Bacon," she smirked.
"Just bacon?" he laughed.
Amelia shrugged and offered a coy grin in response, "And another peek at that cute tatt."
He held up his hand and added, "How about if I surprise you?"
"Haven't you surprised me already?" Amelia grinned as she grasped the base of his ring finger between her thumb and forefinger.
Owen chuckled, "I meant surprise you with something for breakfast."
"That works," she giggled. She kissed his tattoo and headed to bed, musing, "Actually, I think I really like this."
While Owen was away picking up food, Amelia ran through all of the channels on TV multiple times. Nothing piqued her interest. She turned the TV off and turned to set the remote on her nightstand. As she set it down, she noticed the crisply wrapped box with a simple bow. Underneath it was an envelope. Written in Owen's writing, the outside of the envelope read Mia.
Wondering briefly if she should wait to open it, Amelia grasped the gift and admired the wrapping. The plain, thick black wrap was sharply folded at each juncture. A one-inch wide ribbon tied in a bow adorned the package. As if her mother were standing over her shoulder reminding her of proper gift opening etiquette, Amelia set the box down with a sigh and opened the envelope.
She slid the card out of its envelope. The card itself was nothing amazing – a simple but lovely card with a mushy set of lines about love and marriage that Owen had spent an hour selecting. Inside, a folded note was written on, of all things, paper with an embossed US Army heading. Unfolding the paper, Owen's scrawl appeared:
Mia – I'm told that the appropriate gift for a second anniversary is either cotton or china. Cotton was too wide a category for me – I couldn't figure out something specific. And china? Well, that just seemed odd, especially considering that I'm pretty sure we don't own any china and that, if we did, the kids would have already chipped or broken it.
Dismissing Hallmark's recommendations left me on my own. I thought and I pondered. Nothing came to mind. I contemplated more and an idea arose. What you'll find in the box is something I believe you deserve far more than I do. While it is deeply meaningful to me on many levels and for various reasons, it really belongs to you. You've earned it. Your willingness to grasp my hand as we help each other heal (remember that dream you had?) is worthy of recognition.
I love you more than words can express. Owen.
Curious and intrigued, Amelia slowly peeled the perfectly folded paper away from the box. The box itself had no identifying words or features, so she opened it to find something wrapped in tissue paper. After unfolding the paper, Owen's Purple Heart fell into her hand.