(Two months post breakup)
Seattle
I sat in my bed thinking. Not about anything in particular, just letting my thoughts wonder, my imagination run loose. I imagined Leo, but older. It was his birthday and he was turning seven. He ran into my room and jumped on my bed in excitement. 'Mum! Dad! Get up! Its my birthday!' he yelled. I laughed and turned to kiss Amelia, but Teddy was there instead. I kissed her and turned back to Leo. He was jumping on the bed, narrowly missing our legs. His smile stretched from ear to ear. 'Leo, stop jumping on the bed.' Teddy laughed. He plopped down between us and Teddy wrapped an arm around him and started kissing him all over. Leo squealed in enjoyment.
The sound of Leo crying broke my thoughts. 'It's only a dream Owen.' I told myself. I shuffled into Leo's room and picked him up. "Hush Leo. Your okay. Daddy's here." I whispered to him. His cries let up for a bit, but I knew he was hungry. I carried him to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of milk out of the fridge. His crying grew louder so instead of boiling it on the stove, I put it in the microwave. I rocked Leo gently, counting down the seconds on the microwave. The timer went and I carefully took the bottle out. I poured I drop on my arm to check to see if it was warm enough. "It'll have to do." I mumbled. I offered it to Leo who took it willingly. His crying turned to soft whimpers as he drank his bottle. I walked to the living room and sat on the couch. 'This was easier with Amelia.' I thought. When I got Leo, Amelia had offered to help which I willingly took. She knew what to do with Leo. She had stayed over for a bit but in the end she had basically moved in. When Leo's mother Betty showed up, Amelia took her under her wing and tried to help her get over her addiction.r addiction. To fully help her, Amelia thought it would be a good idea for Betty to stay away from Leo for a bit. The late nights and howling fits might tempt her to use drugs. So she decided to go to Meredith's for a few days.
Looking after Leo myself wasn't that hard to be honest. I started weaning him off milk and onto solids, and he was getting the hang of crawling. It's not hard, but it's easier with another person. I looked down at little Leo in my arms. 'Teddy would love him.' I thought. The sun shone through the window reminding me of the time. "Well Leo, time for daddy to go to work." I said to him. He tossed the empty bottle aside and smiled. His front two teeth were coming in. I took him back into his rom and got him dressed. He got a little fussy when I went to put his hat on, so I decided to wait. I left him in his crib while I got changed. I packed our lunches and some extra clothes for Leo. I went back to his room, got him and his favourite toy, and headed out to the car. I put him in his car seat. I cranked the heat and hit the road. It was a good twenty minute drive to the hospital and Leo often fell asleep.
We arrived at the hospital right on time. Amelia was waiting at the entrance as usual. "There's my favourite boys!" she smiled. She reached out for Leo and I gave him to her. "How was it this morning?" she asked. "It was good. He got up at his usual time, but I didn't give him solids."
"No hat today?"
"Nope wasn't feeling it, huh Leo?" I said looking at him. He gurgled and put his fist in his mouth in response. "How come you're so cute?" Amelia asked in a high pitched voice. She buried her nose in his neck. "Hey can you take him to daycare? I gotta run."
"Ya of course."
"Thanks." I smiled. I touched Leo's head. "See you later buddy." I said kissing the top of his head. I ran off to the attendings lounge, leaving Leo with Amelia.
The lounge was empty, except for Bailey, who didn't acknowledge I was there. She didn't stay long, a beep from her pager sending her somewhere in the hospital. I changed quickly into my scrubs and headed for the ER.
The ER was quiet. It wasn't unusual, in fact it was a good thing. No major trauma meant no big accident, which meant no deaths. I was at the nurses station reading over the charts of previous patients when a call came in. "Everyone listen up! We got a car crash victim with severe injuries coming in. I want two interns with me and for someone to page Avery." I yelled. I didn't have to yell it out, but everyone looked half asleep. "Kepner, your gonna take this one." I said to her. She nodded and grabbed a gown and some gloves. Two interns approached me, waiting for their tasks. "You two help Kepner." I said. They nodded and hurried off to join her. "Since when do you not take on a major trauma?" A voice said behind me. "Since you called me in for surgery Dr. Grey." I replied turning around.
"I figured you would still take on a trauma had it been anyone else."
"I just want Kepner to take the lead more. I'm planning on making her the next head of trauma."
"Don't get used to it. You're still the head." I laughed at her comment. "Let's just get to surgery."
We walked to the patient's room on the fourth floor. He was a kind man, always cracking jokes. He suffering from kidney failure and needed a new one. Today was the day he got a kidney. "Hey Jona." I said walking into his room. "Hey doc. Big day." He smiled.
"Yes it is. You ready?"
"Of course!"
"A nurse will take you to get prepped, and we'll see you in there." Meredith said. I flipped through his recent labs to make sure he was ready. "Everything checks out." I said closing the IPad. Jona smiled and Meredith and I left his room. "I'm going to go get scrubbed. See you there?" Meredith asks me. "Yeah I'm just going to check on Leo.". She nodded and I ran off to the nursery. Out of nowhere, my dream from this morning returned. Feelings for Teddy were bubbling through my body. 'Why do I long for her so much? She kicked me out.' I asked myself. I tried to shake it off. We were over. I tried to tell her how much I love her, but she wouldn't listen. I remember returning to Seattle and telling Amelia what had happened. She was sympathetic and comforting. 'She is just angry. Maybe you'll get another chance.' She had said. I repeated what she had said over and over on my way to the daycare.
"Okay Jona, you ready?" I asked as his gurney was rolled into the OR. "I'm all set doc." he said. I nodded first at him, then to the anesthesiologist to put him under. " , care to make the first cut?" I asked. "Love to." She said holding out her hand for the scrub nurse.
The surgery went well, Jona expected to make a full recovery. He thanked us repeatedly, telling us how he was going to call his sister to come over and make us gifts in thanks. We said it wasn't necessary, but he insisted. We laughed, checked his post-ops, and left his room. "That went well." I said to Meredith once we left the room. "Of course it did. I was the one cutting." She replied laughing. I rolled my eyes. "I'm going back to the pit to check on Kepner." I said leaving her to review the charts.
The pit was four floors down but I was in no rush to get there. I walked slow, absentmindedly walking the halls. Once again my thoughts drifted back to Teddy. I saw us, together, back in Iraqi. She was on my back in victory, laughing and screaming. Her eyes glowed so bright when she was happy. The vision faded and the vision of her and Leo came back, but it was different. Leo was younger, and we were all in the hospital. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of defibrillators going off, and staff running everywhere.
