Elevator Hug - part 3

This is based on on the promo and synopsis of 13x23, about Owen receiving some life changing news and Amelia being there to support him. This is also based on a prompt I received, with some modifications made.

P.s I know in the show and based on the promo Amelia hasn't returned back home and Owen would go to Meredith's to probably meet her. But for the sake of my 'Elevator Hug' series- Amelia is already back home in this fic. However the main point remains- it's Amelia's time to support Owen :)

It had been a very busy day so far for Owen Hunt. There was an influx of patients in the ER due to a huge pile up involving a bus, a van and several cars. He and April Kepner had been kept occupied.

It didn't dampen his spirits though. It had been 2 weeks since his wife, Amelia Shepherd had returned home, and almost 2 weeks since he had the first glimpse of their baby. All was well in the world again.

He was humming to himself, discharging a patient who was under observation for a syncopal attack when he heard his name being called.

' Hunt.' April approached him. ' I'm attending to the patient in bed 6 who has upper GI bleed. Can you attend to the patient in bed 3 who was just brought in? The paramedics said that she was in a car accident and suffered head trauma.'

' Ok,' Owen answered. ' I'm just about done discharging this patient.'

As he walked towards bed 3- he stopped in his tracks. It couldn't be her. He knew his mind was playing tricks on him, but from a far this patient looked rather similar to him. The red wavy hair, the slim body.

As he approached the patient, his heart sank. So much for getting his hopes up. Of course it wasn't Megan. It was just another patient who looked like her. Today he had been thinking about Megan a lot.

' Hello. I'm Dr. Hunt. May I know your name?' he asked the patient, who seemed fine at a glance, except for the laceration wound on her forehead.

' Michelle.' she answered. ' My head hurts.'

' I was driving when another car switched lanes right in front of us without signalling . I couldn't manage to brake and we collided with the car. I'm fine, but she hit her head.' a red haired man sitting next to her explained. ' I'm Michael, by the way. I'm her brother. We were on the way to our parents' place for dinner.'

' Do your parents know that you're here?' Owen asked.

' Yes, they're coming over in a short while.' Michael answered.

' Alright, Michelle, can you look right at me? I need to check your pupils .' said Owen as she obeyed.

' Do you have any dizziness, vomitting or blurring of vision?' Owen asked once he ascertained that her pupils were equal and reactive.

' No.' Michelle shook her head.

' She'll be ok right?' Michael asked, concerned. ' She's my only sister- I don't want anything to happen to her.'

She's my only sister. I don't want anything to happen to her.

Owen found his mind drifting again to his only sister, Megan.

He shook the thought of Megan off his mind as he answered, ' Yes, she seems fine at the moment. But I want to page Neuro to do a full examination on you just to be sure. And I'm gonna stitch this wound on your forehead ok?'

He began working on Michelle's wound as he ordered a nurse to page Amelia.

' You ok?' Amelia asked as she approached Owen at the nurses' station half an hour later. She had done a thorough examination on Michelle and reviewed Michelle's Brain CT which turned out normal. Being cleared by Neuro, Michelle would be discharged after another 6 hours of observation in the ER.

Owen had a distant look on his face, and she knew that something was preoccupying his mind.

' Huh? Yeah I'm fine.' Owen answered distractedly.

' Owen….'

' I said I'm fine!' he repeated, louder than he intended to.

However Amelia didn't flinch this time. No- Owen had always supported her all this while, she wanted to be the one to offer him support this time.

' You can always talk to me you know.' Amelia said softly as she rubbed his arm soothingly. ' You have always supported me, and now I'm here to support you as well.'

Owen nodded as he looked at Amelia. He appreciated her support, he really did. But this wasn't the time to be talking to her about it.

' Thank you, Amelia, I really appreciate it.' he said earnestly. ' But I'm rather busy now. I'll talk to you about it later ok?'

' Ok.' she nodded. ' Just know that you can tell me anything.' she offered, as she patted his shoulder before she left.

It was quiet in the house as Owen sat on the couch of their living room that night. He could hear the sound of crickets and the occasional car driving by. Amelia was on call- so he sat alone on the couch, just like he always did during the 3 months before her return.

He was exhausted after an entire day of attending to motor vehicle accident victims. Now all he wanted was to sit back and relax with a drink.

He poured himself a glass of Scotch as he leaned back on the couch. He savored the feel of the drink going down his throat.

The truth be told, he had been drinking every night since Amelia left with a simple note. Without Amelia around , there was no reason for him to stop drinking. If before, he always tried not to drink in front of her, now he binge drank. He drank to drown all the sorrows he felt deep down inside. He drank to fill the hole in his heart and the loneliness and emptiness he felt. He missed her laughter, her dimpled smile, the vanilla scent of her hair. He even missed their petty squabbles over the remote and the dishes.

Now that Amelia was back home, he had another reason to drown his sorrows with a drink today.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he really missed his sister Megan.

Today was supposed to be Megan's 35th birthday had she still been around. He stood up from the couch and walked over to the collection of old photo albums he and Amelia kept in one of the drawers below the TV.

He took out one of the photo albums and sat back down on the couch, flipping through the album. It contained photos of him and Megan from birth to adulthood. There were many photos of them both as babies, then as children, and subsequently as teenagers and young adults. He stared at a photo of him and Megan building sandcastles together at the beach. Their parents would make it a point to bring them to the beach every summer for vacation, and it was something they looked forward to the entire year. Then there were photos of him and Megan smiling widely during her 2nd birthday party, cakes smeared all over their faces. Another page of the album contained photos of them during their teenage years- him dressed smartly in a suit, going to prom with a girl whose name he had forgotten, and her looking so beautiful in a red dress during her prom day, being escorted by a boy who Owen disliked. Owen had always shown an interest in Megan's love life, much to her dismay. But the actual fact was, and they both knew it- he had her best interest in mind and just wanted to protect his little sister from getting hurt. As he turned to the last page of the album, a photo caught his eye. It was the last photo they had taken together, right before they were both posted to Iraq. They were both wearing similar army uniforms and smiling widely at the camera. Both Hunt siblings shared a similar passion for serving in the army.

He let his mind drift off again to Megan. He missed her so much. He missed her cheeky smile, her cheerful laughter, he missed the way she loved to tease and provoke him to make him mad. But he could never stay mad at her for long. He missed their happy childhood memories, cycling to the park and chasing around the neighbourhood with the neighbours' kids. He missed her interrogating him on every girl he brought home during his teenage years. Later as she grew older, he would do the same to her, scaring away every boy she brought home. He missed her provoking him by calling him sausage fingers while he operated on a patient in the battlefield.

He could recall the last conversation he had with her. She had been upset about Riggs cheating on her, but still managed to squeeze in a word of wisdom for him.

' Owen, I hope you find someone who would be your soulmate and companion for life. I hope you can build a happy family and future with her. Because you deserve it.' she had said as she hugged him tight before getting on the helicopter.

' Oh Megan - if only you got to meet Amelia.' he thought to himself. He was sure they would both get along great.

He took another sip of his Scotch as he wondered where she was now. Was she in hiding somewhere? Was she kidnapped and being held captive by the enemies all these years? If so, were they torturing her? Or…was she….he couldn't bring himself to think of the word 'dead.'

But if she was dead, wouldn't they have found her body? He didn't know. No one knew.

There was a knock at his front door.

Owen frowned, puzzled. Who could be visiting him and Amelia at this hour? Was it Meredith, Maggie or one of their colleagues?

He opened the door to come face to face with a buff man dressed in an army uniform.

' Hello, is this Dr. Owen Hunt?' he asked.

' Yes, it's me.' Owen answered, feeling a sense of trepidation. Surely this isn't good news, he could feel it.

' I'm Major William Allen.' the man introduced himself in a booming voice as he stiffly shook hands with Owen.

' Are you the elder brother of Dr. Megan Hunt?' he asked.

' Yes.' Owen answered in a small voice as he could feel his heart sinking. He had a very bad feeling about this- and he didn't want to hear what was coming next.

' I'm so sorry to inform you that we have found your sister's body today. The helicopter she was on was shot down in Iraq several years ago, but due to it being hostile territory, we could only manage to recover it now.'

At the Major's words- Owen's entire world collapsed. Even though he had tried to prepare himself for this possibility, now that her death was confirmed, he wasn't prepared for this moment. He had always clung on to the small possibility that she might be still alive and might return to him someday. And now- that hope was crushed just like that.

Owen remained silent as he stood there in a daze, a shocked and devastated expression on his face. He could barely register the Major's subsequent words.

' Her body was badly decomposed and beyond identification- we had to perform DNA testing.' Major William added. ' We guess the body had been there for a long time- probably many years. It was found near the helicopter wreckage, which leads us to believe that she might have died from the crash itself - if that's any consolation.'

' If that's any consolation.'

He wondered how could anything give him consolation upon receiving this devastating news about the confirmation of his sister's death. Maybe, the Major meant well. He understood, it would have been better for Megan to die from the crash itself than to die from being kept a Prisoner of War after all these years. He could never bring himself to imagine Megan having to go through all the torture had she still been alive. But still, the Major's words pierced through his heart like a double edged sword. His little sister, his only sister was gone. She was never coming back. He would never see her smile, hear her laughter or be provoked by her anymore.

' We'll help you to make her funeral arrangements.' the Major added in a serious tone.

Owen thanked the Major solemnly as he shook hands with him and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the front door was closed and locked, Owen sat on the couch with his head in his hands, silently mourning for his sister.

He wondered how the last minutes of her life were, and whether she died a slow, painless death. Did she think of him? Or of Riggs?

He lifted his head up from his hands and stared at the photo album full of photos and him and Megan, still placed on the couch. Now all that's left of her were just memories.

He knew that the first stage of grief was denial. Which was exactly what he felt at the moment. Maybe, just maybe he was dreaming and it was all just a nightmare. Maybe if he pinched himself, he would wake up from this nightmare, and Megan would appear to him alive and well the next day. Maybe he was just hallucinating, the Major was just a visual hallucination and the Major's words were just an auditory hallucination.

He progressed on quickly to the next stage of grief - anger. As if on reflex- his wrist slammed against the coffee table, knocking down his half empty glass of Scotch. Scotch spilled on the coffee table, but he didn't care. He was angry at the universe, angry at the God above for taking away his beloved sister from him. He was angry he didn't get a chance to say a final goodbye to her, angry at himself for letting her go on the helicopter in the first place. If only he had stopped her from getting on the helicopter- she would still be alive.

He threw the photo album across the living room and plunked back down on the couch, burying his head in his hands again, wrecked in silent sobs.

He didn't know how long he sat in that position. It might have been just minutes, or hours. Time seemed to stand still for him.

He jumped as he felt a warm comforting hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Amelia looking sympathetically at him.

' I heard.' she whispered, as she rubbed his arm soothingly. ' I rushed back right after April told me. 'I'm so sorry, Owen.' she added in a soft voice.

She had just finished reviewing a patient in the ER when she overhead April and a few residents talking about an army helicopter wreckage being discovered after so many years and several bodies being found. As she approached the group to learn more details, one name stood out for her, Megan Hunt. Upon hearing the name, she immediately rushed back home, asking April to page her if there were any incoming patients that needed Neuro consults. She knew that Owen needed her at that moment.

Owen looked up at her as their eyes met. His eyes were forlorn and filled with sadness, while hers were filled with sympathy and love.

He shook his head wordlessly, at loss of words to say to her. How could he tell her how receiving the news of a sibling's death felt like?

She pulled his body closer to her chest and hugged him tight as he finally broke down in her arms. The warmth of her touch and the feel of her heart beating broke down his defenses. He sobbed and sobbed, mourning for his sister. She rubbed his back soothingly in circular motions, knowing that the gesture would calm him down. She knew because he always performed the same gesture on her to calm her down, and now it was time for her to reciprocate.

' Its ok Owen.' she whispered as she continued rubbing his back in soothing circles. ' Just cry, let it all out. I know you miss her. I'm here for you.'

Amelia's comforting voice only made him sob harder in her arms. He sobbed, letting out all the emotions he had kept buried inside for so long. He had never told anyone else besides Amelia about Megan. He couldn't possibly talk to Riggs about her- it would be too awkward. He never told anyone this, but he would often dream of her being shot in the battlefield and would wake up screaming and sweaty. Only Amelia and Cristina knew about his condition. He had been to the psychiatrist and was diagnosed with PTSD. However, there was little that the psychiatrist could do to treat it. When Amelia left for a few months- those few months when he would wake up alone, screaming after having a nightmare were the loneliest months of his life.

' I know- you didn't manage to say goodbye to her.' she said softly, as she rubbed his arm. ' I didn't manage to say goodbye to Derek as well. I miss him so much too.'

Owen finally looked up at Amelia, as the realization dawned upon him that they both had something in common, they had both lost a sibling.

' How do you get over the loss of a sibling?' Owen asked, as he looked up at her with teary eyes.

' You don't get over it, the pain will remain with you for the rest of your life.' she answered sadly. ' It would dull over time, but there is this ache that remains. I miss Derek too and think of him all the time.'

' For years I was clinging on to the tiny bit of hope that she might still be alive.' Owen admitted, a downcast and crestfallen look on his face. ' And tonight that tiny glimpse of hope I had was crushed. I miss her so much. We had so many wonderful memories together. She's my only sister, my only sibling.' he shook his head sadly.

' I know.' Amelia whispered softly, nodding her head in an understanding manner.

' I shouldn't have let her get on the helicopter.' he said angrily. ' Had I prevented her from doing so, she would still be alive right now. It's my fault.'

' It's not your fault, Owen.' said Amelia earnestly as she held his hands in hers.

' It IS my fault.' Owen insisted, frowning.

' Owen, look here.' said Amelia as she cupped his face in her hands, tilting his head upwards so their eyes met.

' It's not your fault, Owen. You wouldn't have known that the helicopter would crash. I'm sure if you knew, you wouldn't have let her get on it.' said Amelia as she continued looking into his eyes.

' They said that they found her body near the wreckage site. I really hope that she didn't suffer too much before she…died..' said Owen sadly, a distant look in his eyes.

' I hope so too.' said Amelia softly, taking his hands in hers and using her thumb to rub soothing motions on the palm of his hands. ' I'm not religious, but I would like to think that she's in a better place. That's what I do to cheer myself up- I tell myself that my dad, Ryan, my first baby and Derek are all up in heaven, watching and smiling down at us.'

Owen closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to imagine Megan smiling down at him from heaven with her beautiful smile. He wasn't by any means religious, but he had to admit, it was a comforting thought indeed. And maybe, his and Cristina's aborted child was also with her, smiling down at him. Maybe Megan was taking care of his child in heaven.

They both sat in silence on the couch, thinking about their loved ones in heaven. Amelia's head was leaned against Owen's chest as she cuddled up close to him.

Amelia's hand covered Owen's as she slowly guided his hand until it rested on her growing baby bump. Over the past two weeks, the bump had grown significantly, and now more than half the hospital knew her secret.

She placed her hand over his, as both of them savored the feel of their baby under their touch.

It was then that Owen realized he had to let go of his sister, she was never coming back. It saddened him deeply, but he knew that Megan would always be with him- in his heart, and smiling down at him and his family. He loved her so much, she was his only sister and she occupied a special place in his heart. However, he knew that she was never returning to him and he had to move on. At least this was the sense of closure he needed, as sad as it was. Megan was his past, but Amelia and their baby are his future.

It was Amelia whom he would lean to for support during Megan's funeral, and throughout the subsequent years when he would think of her. Life went on though, and he knew that Megan was smiling down at him, watching him build his family as Charlotte, Noah and Olivia arrived. Megan would live through his youngest daughter, Olivia, whose middle name was Megan after her aunt Megan. As she grew, he would notice more and more of her aunt Megan's characteristics in her, not only in terms of appearance, but also personality. He knew that It was Megan's way of telling him that she was never truly gone.

Comments, reviews, and messages are very much appreciated! :)