Hey guys, so I WAS hoping to finish this Thursday night and get it posted, buuuuut then Amelia was crying and my precious nuggets hugged and basically I died and was nonfunctional for the rest of the evening. Friday and Saturday were busy so writing just didn't happen. I am sorry for that but such is life.
Owen stared up at his wife's heartbroken face. "Amelia, where's Isla?" he repeated, louder this time.
"Owen, she...she didn't make it," Amelia said before her face crumpled.
"Where is she? Amelia…"
"Owen, listen to me! She died. Isla's dead." Amelia put her hands on either side of his face and stared into his eyes, willing him to believe her. "There was nothing they could do. They couldn't save her."
Meredith and Nathan watched from the doorway as the couple held each other and cried. Finally Meredith stepped into the room. "Hey, you guys need anything before we leave?" she asked softly.
Amelia shook her head and hugged Meredith. "No, but...can you...do you think you could call mom? Not now, of course. In the morning?" She knew she'd have to talk to her mother eventually, but couldn't imaging breaking the news to her. "And Addison? Please?"
"Of course. Let me know if you need anything in the morning." Meredith gave Amelia one last hug and squeezed Owen's shoulder before leaving.
By the time they got home Maggie was passed out on the couch. Meredith covered her with a blanket and was about to slip upstairs when she heard Maggie call her name. "How are they?" she asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
Meredith shrugged. "Devastated." There really wasn't anything else to say.
"God, I can't even imagine...three years old. Why?"
"I don't know. I just don't know." Meredith sighed and continued upstairs while Maggie flopped back down and tried to go back to sleep.
Meredith checked on all the kids, sure Nathan had done the same thing, before joining her husband in their room. She changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers, snuggling up to him and holding him tightly. For hours they tossed and turned, Nathan finally drifting off around three o'clock. Around five thirty Meredith accepted that sleep wasn't going to come and went downstairs. She started a pot of coffee and sat down with her phone. It was eight thirty on the east coast, she was sure Carolyn would be up and about getting ready for a soccer game or ballet recital, whatever the grandkids had going on. She took a deep breath and dialed.
"Meredith! How are you? How are my beautiful grandkids?" Carolyn chirped brightly; it hadn't yet dawned on her how early it still was in Seattle.
"Oh, my kids are fine. But I have to...tell you something."
"What is it? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It-"
"It's Amelia, isn't it? Is she using again?" Carolyn asked with a sigh.
"No, it's not Amelia. Amelia is...it's not…" Meredith stuttered.
"Meredith, what is it?"
"It's Isla," Meredith finally got out, her voice cracking. "We...we went to a baseball game yesterday, and they stopped to pick up milk on the way home. There was a shooting, and Isla...oh, God…" By now Meredith's chest was tightening, her breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps.
"Isla what?" Carolyn pressed, mentally willing Meredith not to say what she thought she was going to say.
"The injury was too bad. There was nothing they could do. I'm so sorry," Meredith said before giving in to the tears. "I'm so sorry."
Carolyn took a few minutes to let it sink in. "How's Amelia? And Owen?"
"Owen's in the hospital. He got shot too, but he's okay. Amelia's with him. I'm going back to the hospital later."
"Okay. Tell her to call me if she needs anything. I'll call the girls and catch the first flight I can get."
"Will do. Give me a call if you want one of us to pick you up."
"Okay. See you soon."
Meredith sat and had a few cups of coffee, putting off calling LA until a decent hour. She was trying unsuccessfully to read the paper when Maggie shuffled in. "You get any sleep?" Maggie asked.
Meredith shook her head. "Not a bit. You?"
"Yeah, maybe a couple hours." Maggie stifled a yawn as she poured herself some coffee and sat down. Shortly after Nathan joined them and they all sat staring at each other, no one really knowing what to say.
"I called Carolyn. She's gonna catch the first available flight," Meredith finally said, more to break the silence than anything else. "I'm supposed to call Addison but I guess I should hold off another hour or two…"
"What about Richard? And Bailey? I wonder if anyone told them yet," Maggie mused.
"You should call them before they hear it through the grapevine," Meredith decided. "I'm going to take a shower and go back to the hospital."
By the time Meredith was ready she could hear the one-year-old twins stirring and popped into the nursery. "There's my big boys!" she cooed as she grabbed Charlie, who was clearly in need of a new diaper. She hugged him a little tighter and longer than usual before changing him and returning him to his crib so she could tend to Danny. Finally both were changed and she went downstairs with a boy on each hip.
Danny squealed and reached for Nathan as they entered the kitchen. Nathan forced a smile and took the boy from his wife. "Hey there, buddy."
Meredith got Charlie settled in his high chair and filled two sippy cups with milk before planting a kiss on each boy's head. "Bye guys, be good for daddy!" she called with false cheeriness before heading out the door. Once she was in the car she decided it was time to call Addison.
Addison was in the kitchen giving Diana her multitude of medications when her phone rang. She was going to let it go to voicemail, but noticed it was Meredith. That's odd she thought. Although they had exchanged numbers they never called each other, so she figured it must be important. "Hello?"
"Hey. Addison. It's Meredith…"
"Hey. What's up?"
"I...um...well...Amelia asked me to call you…"
"What's wrong with Amelia?" Addison asked, a knot forming in her stomach.
"Amelia's fine. Well, I mean, she's not fine but…"
"Meredith, spit it out," Addison snapped. She was getting more nervous by the second.
"Isla died," Meredith blurted out.
"What?!" Addison sank down into a chair, her stomach churning. "How? When?"
"Last night. There was a shooting in a convenience store. She got hit."
"Oh my god. Oh my god. How...how are they?"
"Heartbroken." That was the only word that came to mind. "Owen got shot too. They had to remove his spleen but otherwise he's okay. We left right after he got out of surgery. I'm on my way back to the hospital now."
"Okay. Well, um, I have to figure out what to do with the kids so I'm not sure when I'll be there, but tell Amelia I will get there as soon as possible. And just...keep an eye on her, you know…"
"Yeah, I know. I will."
"Thanks, Meredith." Addison hung up and set Diana on the living room floor. "Henry," she called to the little boy that was curled up in the couch watching cartoons, "can you play with your sister for a little while?"
Henry sighed. Addison and Jake had just adopted the four-year-old from China two months ago and Henry wasn't exactly crazy about his new sister yet. She didn't understand much English, and didn't speak it at all, so he found communicating with her to be frustrating. On top of that, he was a bit jealous of all the attention she got because of her multiple medical needs.
"Please, buddy? Just for a bit so I can go talk to daddy for a minute?"
"Fine," Henry grumbled with an impressive eye roll.
Addison ruffled his hair. "Thank you." She hurried upstairs, where Jake was just getting out of the shower.
"So, I was thinking, maybe today...hey, what's wrong?" Jake's brow furrowed in concern at his wife's pained expression.
"Meredith just called…"
"Who?"
"Meredith Grey. Derek's wife," Addison explained.
"Okay...and why did she call?" Jake asked, his curiosity growing.
Addison took a few deep breaths and swallowed hard before speaking. "Amelia asked her to. Isla died."
Jake was at his wife's side immediately. "You're kidding me!"
Addison shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks. "Apparently there was a robbery or something, and she got caught in the crossfire. I should go to Seattle…"
"Of course."
"But what about Diana? I hate the thought of leaving her, but obviously flying is out of the question, and I don't know if I should have her around Amelia right now anyways...seems kind of...cruel."
"Honey, she'll be fine with me," Jake assured Addison. After being cared for by all female nannies for four years in the orphanage Diana was understandably afraid of men and, after two months, was still a bit wary of Jake. She was slowly warming up to him but still had a strong preference for Addison. "Besides, she has a doctor's appointment tomorrow, don't want to miss that. You go to Seattle, and I'll drive up with the kids in a couple days."
"I should be here for Diana's appointment…"
"Babe, I got this. We'll manage," Jake insisted.
"Are you sure?"
"Totally sure. Go."
"Thank you." Addison forced a smile and pulled Jake in for a quick kiss before running off to check out flights.
Meredith grabbed some coffee, fruit and yogurt from the cafeteria before going upstairs. She peeked in the room and found Amelia perched, pale and solemn, on the edge of the bed, running her fingers through Owen's hair as he slept. "Hey. How is he?"
Amelia sighed. "He kept having nightmares. Waking up screaming and crying. Finally they sedated him so he can get some rest. But other than that, he's okay. I just called his mom. She'll be here in a little while."
"How about you? Did you sleep at all?" Amelia shook her head. "And have you eaten anything?"
Amelia's stomach lurched at the thought of putting anything in it. "No. I...I should go home and get some things for Owen. And I need to start calling people. Making...plans…"
"Amelia, wait. Just wait until his mom gets here, and I'll go with you.
"No, it's fine. I'm fine."
Meredith stood in the door with her arms crossed. "And how far do you think you'll get with no car? Sit down and eat something, and I'll take you when Owen's mom gets here."
Realizing Meredith had a point, Amelia sat down and opened a container of yogurt, but pushed it away after a few bites. "I can't," she muttered as she leaned forward, willing the wave of nausea to go away.
As Meredith sat rubbing Amelia's back and clutching a basin just in case, a voice came from the doorway. "Oh, sweetheart," Evelyn gushed as she approached. Amelia slowly stood and embraced her mother-in-law. They hugged for several minutes before the older woman played back. "You could have called last night, you know," she admonished gently as she brushed an errant lock of hair out of Amelia's face.
"I know. But Isla was...she was gone before they even got her here and Owen was stable. It just seemed cruel to wake you in the middle of the night when there was nothing you could do."
Evelyn nodded in understanding. "But still. I would have kept you company," was all she said before assuming a position by Owen's bed. "So, he's okay, right?"
"He is. He had a pretty rough night, couldn't sleep, so they did sedate him, but his surgery went well and he should make a full recovery. Now, if you'll excuse us I need to run home to get some things, and make some phone calls. If he wakes up, just tell him I'll be back in a little while, okay?"
"Of course, dear."
Amelia and Meredith headed out, planning on picking Owen's car up from the store parking lot. However, Meredith noticed the rapid rise and fall of Amelia's chest as they got closer. "You know what? We don't have to do this now," she decided as she accelerated and sped past the store.
"Mere, I'm fine," Amelia protested despite the fact that she was sweating and had to grip her purse to keep her hands from shaking.
"You're not fine! I'm not letting you get behind the wheel like this. I'll drop you off at home, and get Maggie or Nathan to come with me to get your car. It's no big deal."
Amelia nodded. When they got to her house she hurried inside where she changed, washed her face, and threw her hair in a ponytail before gathering up clothes, toiletries, and other necessities for Owen. Finally she sat down and pulled out her phone to make the call she'd been dreading. She dialed, her resolve crumbling as soon as she heard the familiar, comforting voice on the other end. "Mommy?" was all she could squeak out before dissolving into tears.
Confession: this chapter was hard. Harder than the last one. I struggle with these filler chapters, you know, that in-between-the-big-events stuff, with more feelings than action. Action I can do. I don't do feelings. I ignore them and hope they go away, so writing about them...it's just weird. So, sorry if it sucks.
Okay, so while I love Amelia, Addison is kind of my all-time fave. How would you guys feel about me doing a story about her and her little family? Probably not right away, but in the near-ish future.