Recovery

This is in response to a prompt sent to omeliafics

Prompt: Amelia and Owen are in the hospital with Megan and Megan tells them how she lost a baby when she was captive and amelia is very shocked and starts to think about her baby and maybe comforts megan or something that owen realize how much pain she went trough.

Thanks to the amazing jia911 for helping me to proofread this fic as usual!

*Trigger warning for mention of sexual assault and PTSD. Please do not proceed to read if these two issues trigger you.

It was late at night, and the atmosphere in the Madigan Army Medical Centre was quiet. In one of the private hospital rooms, Megan Hunt was fast asleep on her bed, while her elder brother Owen Hunt and her sister-in-law Amelia Shepherd were asleep on the reclining chairs by her bedside.

It had been more than a week since Megan was flown back to the USA. When he first laid his eyes on his sister, Owen's heart broke. She wasn't the same Megan, the cheerful, fun loving Megan who loved to tease and provoke him. Instead, she was being replaced by a stoic, solemn woman who looked malnourished and downtrodden. She had dark rings and eyebags under her eyes, and she looked like the burden of the entire world was upon her shoulders. Owen found it hard to believe that it was indeed his beloved little sister when he first saw her. She was so much thinner, and her eyes which were usually sparkling were dull, showing her pain. She just stared blankly at the hospital walls, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. No matter how hard Owen, Amelia or Riggs tried to get her to open up, she refused to utter a single word. Her behavior was starting to make Owen and Riggs worried. When Owen confided in Amelia about it, she comforted him by saying that Megan had gone through a traumatic experience during her time in captivity and needed some time to be able to open up to others. She made an appointment for Megan with the best Psychiatrist in the country. Although they both were too busy caring for Megan to talk about their own underlying issues, they maintained a friendly interaction with each other.

Owen and Amelia had been faithfully staying by Megan's bedside the whole time. Owen didn't leave her side, refusing to go home to shower and sleep even though the nurses there repeatedly told him that they could take care of Megan overnight. He politely declined Riggs's offer to take turns taking care of Megan. He gave the excuse that he wanted to keep a close eye on her. The truth was, he was still feeling so guilty about what happened to her and wanted to compensate for all the years they had lost by staying by her side the whole time now. Furthermore, he didn't trust Riggs with Megan anymore and didn't want them both alone in the same room. Amelia refused to leave his side as well. She had promised him that she would be by his side the entire time and she vowed to keep by her words. If Owen stayed by Megan's bedside, that was where she would remain as well.

The couple never gave up hope on Megan, staying by her side 24 hours a day. They both had requested a couple weeks of leave from Bailey to be by Megan's side, which she approved as neither of them had taken long leaves before. Owen told Megan how much he loved and missed her. He repeatedly told her about how he and their mom had been searching so many years for her, but to no avail.

Amelia watched the two Hunt siblings interact quietly, feeling her heart ache for Owen. It broke her heart to see Owen's expression of despair and anguish when Megan remained expressionless and refused to respond to him. It was obvious how much he cared for his younger sister and how strong their bond was.

A few days after Megan's arrival in the hospital, Evelyn Hunt appeared. Owen had called to inform her that his sister and her only daughter had returned back to them. She had shrieked in joy over the news.

As Evelyn hugged her beloved daughter tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks, Owen and Amelia watched the emotional reunion scene unfold in front of them, holding back their own tears.

At that moment, in her mother's embrace, Megan finally broke down and cried for hours, letting out all the sorrow, hurt, pain, anguish and suffering she had kept buried inside her after all those years of captivity.

After that, Megan slowly began to talk to those around her. She would utter a few polite words to Owen, Evelyn, Amelia and the nurses. When Amelia was first introduced to her as her sister in law, she maintained a noncholant expression which broke Owen's heart. As the week progressed, she eventually began to communicate with Amelia, much to Owen's relief.

Amelia's eyes opened as she thought she heard a sound being emitted from the direction of Megan's bed. A quick glance at Owen told her that he was still fast asleep. She didn't want to wake him as she knew that he was exhausted from barely having enough sleep for the past few days. Evelyn had gone back to their house to get some rest after having been with Megan for the entire day.

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she leaned over towards Megan's bed. Her sister in law seemed to be muttering something unintelligible. She strained her ears to listen.

'Please don't shoot me! I'm pregnant. Please don't shoot me, please! 'Megan whimpered, pleading.

'No, no, no, please, please. Please no!'' she wailed.

She then let out a gut wrenching scream as she clutched her stomach with an expression of pain on her face.

'Megan.'Owen was now wide awake too and shaking Megan's shoulders.

' No, no, please let go of me, it hurts.'Megan whined, as her hands trashed violently in the air.

'Megan!'Owen's voice was gentle but firm as he gripped her firmly by the shoulders. He had PTSD before and he knew that she was having one of those nightmares.

'Megan! Wake up! It's me, Owen, your brother. You're safe now ok? You're in America now, not in Iraq. You're safe now with me.'

Megan finally stopped trashing and looked at Owen for a long moment, staring into his sincere and sad eyes before breaking down.

Owen hugged her tight as her tears soaked his shirt and her heart wrenching sobs filled the room. They remained in that posture for a few long moments as he continued rubbing her back comfortingly and she continued sobbing in his arms, letting out all her emotions.

'Shhh… It's ok Megan, I'm here. You're safe 's just a bad dream. 'he whispered over and over as he rocked her in his arms like a baby, feeling his heart ache for her.

Amelia could only watch on helplessly, feeling her heart breaking for Megan and wishing that there was more she could do to help her sister in law.

Finally the tears subsided and the sobs became whimpers.

'You feeling better now?'Owen asked as he rubbed Megan's arm comfortingly.

'Yes.'she sniffled. 'I'm sorry, I had a bad dream.'she admitted, taking a quick glance at Amelia, who gave her a reassuring smile.

'It's ok, sis.'comforted.

Megan looked at him with dull, sad eyes, which showed so much hurt and anguish in them.

'I dreamt about the night I lost my baby again.'she said softly.

'Baby? You had a baby?'Owen asked, shocked by her admission. He had a niece/nephew he didn't know about?

He didn't dare ask whose baby it was.

' They shot me, they shot me in the abdomen and I lost the baby.'she muttered, wincing as she relived the painful memory.

'I'm so sorry Megan.'Owen whispered, at loss of the right words to say to her, while trying to control his own emotions.

'It was my fault.'she said as she looked up at him with a sad and pained look in her eyes. ' I secretly wished for the baby to be gone, because I couldn't bear to bring a new life into this world which was created as a result of something atrocious. I just couldn't do it.'she shook her head, her voice quivering, as tears started to fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

'It's not your fault.'Owen said softly, holding her hands supportively.

' I bled out from the abdomen and also from down below.'she admitted in a low tone as Owen's heart sank.

' I can still hear the gunshot and feel the bullet piercing through my stomach. I can still feel the blood gushing out from below.'Megan continued, her eyes staring at the blank hospital walls as she recalled the fateful night.

' I'm so sorry.'Owen shook his head as his fists involuntarily clenched. He would love to murder the culprits who did this, regardless of the consequences. He just couldn't imagine what his sister went through. He had never felt so hopeless before. His sister, the little sister whom he was supposed to protect had ben tortured and was in pain. The worst thing was, there was nothing he could do to help her.

' There's no need to apologize, Owen. There's nothing you could've done.'said Megan, shaking her head sadly. ' It's not your fault either.'she added, looking up at him with a downcast expression as their blue eyes met.

His eyes were filled with pain and hopelessness. Hers were filled with sorrow and hurt, reflecting all the torture she had endured over the years.

Megan now gathered the courage to open up to her brother about the horrendous experience she endured while in captivity.

' I don't even know whose baby it is.'she admitted in a whisper. ' They took turns on me one by one, every single night. Initially, I screamed and I fought. But they were much stronger physically, and I was alone and helpless. They overpowered me and I just couldn't fight back against them.'she continued in a low, monotonous voice.

Owen shook his head as his fists clenched again. If he could get a hold of them, he would have murdered them cold blooded. He couldn't even picture what the beasts had done to his beloved sister. He couldn't fathom how humans could be capable of doing such horrific things. It was too brutal for him to imagine. It made him nauseous.

' But when I lost the baby, I felt like a part of me was being ripped and torn apart from me.'she added as tears started rolling down her cheeks. ' I felt like I had lost a piece of my heart which I was never going to get back.'she added, her voice quavering.

'I almost died.'she continued.' I kept on bleeding out, but there were gunshots being fired everywhere. Our capturers had run way. I was the only female captive. My fellow captives kept on praying for the enemies to go away, but they came closer. When they freed us, we then realized that they were actually American soldiers who came to rescue us. They rushed me to the hospital, according to the hospital staff I was so pale and cold, I was almost dead. I had to be transfused 4 pints of blood.'

Her voice and entire body shook as she recalled the terrible memory. It was still fresh in her mind as it just happened not long ago, during their rescue.

Telling her brother and sister-in-law about her experiences opened up her floodgates of painful memories and now she couldn't stop recalling them.

Owen squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to prevent himself from picturing seeing his sister so pale and lifeless. When he first laid eyes on her, she was already in a bad shape, he couldn't imagine seeing her when she was bleeding out.

Megan didn't notice Owen's face turn red as his jaw clenched. She knew her brother well enough to know that those were the danger signs that he was about to explode into a fit of rage. But this time, she was too absorbed in her own pain and emotions that she missed the warning signs.

She was starting to rock back and forth on her hospital bed, repeating the words 'almost died and 'bleeding'over and over again. It was too heartbreaking for both Owen and Amelia to watch.

Amelia on the other hand noticed Owen's sudden change in facial expression and knew she had to get him out of there as soon as possible before he had a PTSD episode.

She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, knowing that under this circumstance she had to be cautious around him. She didn't want to trigger more PTSD episodes.

'Let's get out of the room.'she whispered as she gently took his hand and they walked out of the room to the hospital corridors.

' Can you take care of Megan please? We're going for a walk.'she politely requested the nurse at the counter, who nodded. As much as she would love to stay in the room with Megan and comfort her, she knew that Owen was in the verge of having one of his episodes. She needed to get him out of there fast before his temper flared.

She led him to one of the benches outside the hospital and ushered him to sit.

'Take deep breaths.'she instructed gently as he obeyed.

He finally calmed down and turned to look at her with an angry and hurt expression.

'Those bastards.'he muttered under his breath. 'How dare they do such an atrocious and heinous act towards my little sister! If I ever catch them, I'll beat them to death, no doubt about it!'

' I know.'Amelia said softly, rubbing his arm comfortingly. 'I know you feel very angry and outraged about this. But there's nothing you can do, Owen. You're far away here in America. You know it's not possible to fly back there to the war zone and find the exact people who did this. The only thing you can do now is to be there for her.'

Owen sighed heavily as he buried his head in his hands, knowing that what Amelia said was true. There was nothing he could do except to be there for his sister. He had never felt so hopeless before. He was used to being in control of things, and really hated the feeling of being helpless.

They sat in silence for a few long moments, Owen trying to recompose himself as he took a few deep breaths, and Amelia rubbing his back soothingly.

Owen's breathing finally normalized as he leaned back onto Amelia's chest, feeling the comforting sound of her heart beat and the soothing motions of her hands rubbing his back.

She led him back into the room when she was sure he was calmed down. Megan, who was already attended to by a nurse, was fast asleep.

The next morning, Owen woke up to the sunlight shining through the hospital window. He rubbed sleep off his eyes as he tried to look around the room. His neck was stiff from the awkward position he had been sleeping in the night before.

His gaze stopped at the hospital bed where his wife was sitting by his sister's bedside. Both women were chatting quietly to each other. Amelia was holding Megan's hand. Megan seemed to be really comfortable with Amelia's presence, and that made him feel better.

Both women were so deep in their conversation, they didn't notice that he had woken up.

He strained his ears to listen to what they were talking about.

' I've also lost a baby before.'he heard Amelia confess. 'He lived for 43 minutes, to be exact. He was anencephalic, no brain. But when I held him in my arms, I thought he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. When they had to take him away from me when he developed respiratory distress, I also felt like a part of me, a piece of my heart was being taken away from me.'

'I'm so sorry.'Megan whispered, as she touched Amelia's arm soothingly. This was the first time the two sisters-in-law bonded. For the past week, Megan had barely uttered a few words to Amelia.

Amelia felt her heart warm at Megan's touch.

' It's ok, I know that he's in heaven now, watching over me with his father.'she said, smiling at Megan. ' I called him my unicorn baby because he was such a miracle. He donated his organs to so many other babies, and they all survived because of him. He saved so many lives in the short duration of time he was here on earth.'

Owen watched the interaction between his wife and his sister with interest. He knew that Amelia had lost a baby before, she had mentioned in passing about her baby living for only 43 minutes while they were both sitting in the hospital chapel after lighting a candle for Samuel Avery. He didn't know the details of her baby's premature departure though, he never got around to asking her. At that time in the chapel, they were both mere acquaintances and he didn't want to interfere in her personal affairs. But as their relationship progressed, they had so many other things to talk about and he never got around to asking her about her baby. She also no longer mentioned her baby to him.

' Well, maybe our babies are up there in heaven and looking down at us.'Megan suggested as she looked up at the ceiling, finally smiling for the first time in ages.

' Yes, maybe they are.'Amelia agreed softly.

Megan's smile faded as another flashback of her time in captivity returned.

Amelia took Megan's hand in hers and gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze.

' You survived. You're a fighter and a survivor, Megan.'she said in encouragement.

' Thank you.'Megan whispered back as their eyes met. Amelia's eyes radiated such warmth and compassion, it made Megan feel much more relaxed.

Amelia turned and smiled at Owen as she noticed him awake.

'Oh, look who is awake.'she greeted. ' Good morning, sleepyhead.'

'He has always been like this since childhood.'Megan chipped in, smirking. ' I call him sleepyhead too.

Owen had to admit, it warmed his heart to see his sister and wife ganging up on him and teasing him together. And it made him so glad that a part of the old Megan was slowly returning.

' Megan.'he muttered.'I just…I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to say last night.'

'It's ok.'she dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand. ' I feel better just talking about it.'

He smiled at her, at loss of words to say to her. She seemed more like her normal cheerful self this morning, although he knew that PTSD survivors had unpredictable temper and their episodes could flare up anytime without warning. Gosh how he missed this Megan, the cheerful, kind, caring Megan who loved to tease and joke with him.

He knew that comforting words were not enough for her, he knew that nothing he did at that moment could heal her emotional wounds and scars and and reverse the trauma that she had been through.

' I know.' Owen said softly. 'I know how it feels like.'

' I also lost a baby before.'he admitted when both his sister and wife looked at him questioningly.

' Cristina aborted my baby.'he continued. ' She didn't want children and she aborted my baby. I was beside her during the entire procedure, and after that it was like a piece of me was being taken away. But she didn't even ask for my permission before making the appointment.'he said, shaking his head sadly at the memory.

' Oh, I'm sorry.' Megan whispered.

' It's ok, it's long ago, and we aren't even together anymore.' Owen said as he exchanged a knowing glance with Amelia. He had told Amelia about it before, and she knew how devastating it was for him as he had always wanted to have children of his own.

Her heart went out to him as she noticed the sad expression on his face.

A calm silence filled the room.

Megan stiffled a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.

'Why don't you get some rest now, Owen and I will be here by your side .'Amelia suggested, as Megan nodded in agreement. She never got much sleep for the past 10 years. While in captivity, she would always be on the guard for enemies or her capturers approaching. For the past week, even though she was safe back in America, her nightmares and PTSD episodes were keeping her awake at night.

A while later, as Evelyn arrived to take over the duty of caring for Megan. Owen and Amelia decided to grab a simple breakfast from the hospital cafeteria.

The cafeteria was almost empty, except for the cafeteria staff.

They ate in silence as she munched on her sandwich and him on his burger and fries. There were so many word unspoken between them, so many issues unresolved and they both didn't know where to start.

' Thank you, Amelia.'Owen began as soon as he finished his burger. 'Thank you for being there for Megan to comfort her when I can't. I just can't picture what those beasts did to my sister. She's my sister, my little sister.'he said, shaking his head with a defeated expression on his face.

'I know. 'Amelia said, a sad tone in her voice as she reached out her hand and their hands joined on the cafeteria table. 'I know you feel really upset about what happened to her and feel helpless that you can't do anything to help her. I'm sorry I can't do much to help, but I'll be here for you both the whole time.'she promised as she gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

' I had arranged the best psychiatrist in the country to tend to her.'she continued. 'She'll be in good hands. Don't worry ok? It'll be a long process, but we'll both see her through this.'

Owen nodded as he picked up a fry.

' Yes, the only thing we can do for her now is to be there for her.' he agreed.

He cleared his throat as he decided to change the subject. Talking about what happened to Megan would only make him more angry and upset and there was nothing else he could do to help her.

He didn't know whether it was the right time to be asking Amelia such a personal question, but she was his wife and he needed to know about her past.

' So….you said you had an anencephalic baby?' he asked softly, being cautious not to scare her off.

To his relief, she nodded.

' How much of the conversation did you hear?' she asked.

' From the part you said that you lost an anencephalic baby. I'm so sorry, Amelia.' he said as he squeezed her hand in support. ' I know you mentioned the baby in passing to me before, but I never asked you about it.'

' He was a special baby indeed.' Amelia said, smiling at the memory of her baby. ' The most beautiful baby ever. He saved so many lives.'

' Yes, I know how special he must be to you.' Owen said as their eyes met.

' Jake gave me the option to abort him, but I just couldn't. I was too far along. And I reasoned that if he couldn't live, at least he could give a chance to other babies to live.' she continued, remembering her baby. ' He had done so much during his short stay here on earth. I miss him.'

' That's a very noble thing to do, Amelia.' Owen said, as he held her hand comfortingly across the table. ' Not every parent would voluntarily give up their baby's organs like that, you know.'

' I know, that's what everyone says.' Amelia admitted, as she looked down at her empty plate before lookin back up at Owen. ' But I just felt like it was the right thing to do, you know. I mean if my baby couldn't live, why can't he help the lives of other babies?'

Owen looked at Amelia with awe, having newfound respect for his wife.

' Remember Ryan, the guy I told you about that night when we opened up to each other about our past?' she asked as he nodded. ' Well, it's his.' she added as he remained silent but nodded quietly, silently urging her to continue.

' For some time, I blamed myself.' Amelia continued. ' I kept on wondering whether my drug addiction was to be blamed for my baby being anencephalic. Jake assured me that my addiction had nothing to do with my baby's condition, but I still couldn't stop blaming myself for a long time.'

' And so this is why I don't want to get pregnant again.' she admitted. ' I don't want to go through the pain of having yet another anencephalic baby. I don't want to lose another baby.' she added, her voice quivering as tears pooled in her eyes.

A moment of silence ensued before Owen asked gently, ' So this is the reason why you ran away? You were afraid of having another baby?' he wanted to confirm.

' Yes.' she answered softly, nodding her head solemnly. ' I was frightened, Owen. And when I'm frightened, I run. I'm so sorry. I should have talked to you. But I couldn't face you. Not yet. I was afraid that if I told you everything, you would leave me too. Just like everyone else I've ever loved in my life.' she felt tears rolling down her cheeks at her confession.

' But why were you frightened? You should have talked to me, Amelia. I wouldn't judge you. I would never leave you, you know that. I'll be here for you no matter what. I love you, Amelia.'

' Will you still love me if I only give you anencephalic babies?' Amelia half joked as she searched his eyes.

' I'll always love you no matter what.' Owen answered earnestly. 'Healthy babies or not. But I do have faith that we'll have healthy babies.'

Amelia finally let herself smile as their hands joined across the table again.

' I'm sorry to hear about Cristina.' she said earnestly. ' You have to know that I'll never abort your baby.'

' I was devastated too, but it's in the past now. It was her body, her choice and there was nothing I could do about it. We both had different views of what is really important and different priorities in life. She's the past, but you are my present and my future, Amelia.' he said as their eyes met.

' Ryan and my unicorn baby are my past, but you are my present and future too.' Amelia said. ' We'll get through this together right? Both of us, Megan and the babies we'll have together. We'll get through this together and as a couple and then as a family.'

Owen felt his heart swell at the mention of the word 'family.'

' Yes, we will. We're in this together. For better or for worse.' Owen promised as he stuck his pinky finger out and she linked her finger to his.

They, Owen Hunt and Amelia Shepherd were a team. Nothing could get in between them now. They would get through this together stronger than ever.

As usual,comments, messages, and reviews are very much appreciated. I love you hear from you all! 3

p.s Teddy is not mentioned in here as I haven't figured out how to fit her into the post season 13 finale story line