#standbymeomeliafic

[omeliashepherdhunt]

Stand By Me pt. 3

After an extremely trying trio of surgeries, Amelia was ready to get home to her husband, babies, and mother in law for their Sunday dinner. Owen was making hamburgers while Evelyn promised Amelia her famous homemade pasta salad. She still couldn’t believe her mom was living so close by and that Carolyn thought they could just pick up where things left off many years ago. She was hesitant because she didn’t want to be hurt again— especially in front of her own little family. She had been getting on so well with her life since marrying Owen, albeit knowing it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and now it felt like her mother was sabotaging it all.

.

She unlocked the front door and was greeted by the sound of Eli crying, Pippa running around, and Evelyn humming in the kitchen. She followed her son’s wails to their dining area where Owen was trying to soothe him.

“Oh look, Eli. Mama is home.”

Owen handed him to Amelia and grinned as he watched her coo at their littlest baby.

“Oh what’s wrong buddy? You sound hungry, hmm? Maybe you can soak in the tub with me for a few minutes.”

Owen stood up and pulled his wife lovingly into his arms and gave her a kiss.

“Did you have a good day?”

“Three head traumas throughout the course of my shift. It was probably the busiest day I’ve had since my tumor removal and maternity leave.”

“Sorry. You should go relax. I’ll take him.”

“No it’s okay. He can nurse while I sit in the tub. I think the both of us could use the quiet time.”

Just then, they were interrupted by Pippa running full speed into the back of Amelia’s legs, causing her to stumble.

“Pippa! You have to be easy when I’m holding your brother.”

“Mama, you’re home! I’ve been waiting all day so you can play dress up with me!”

“Oh honey, give me just a little bit to get cleaned up and get Eli squared away.”

“Mama. Pleaseeeeee.”

“Pippa Evelyn Hunt. Give me just a few minutes.”

The five year old immediately furrowed her brow at the same time her bottom lip started to quiver.

“Mama.”

“Go help Nana finish up with the pasta salad. We can maybe play dress up later but it’s getting late.”

Pippa stomped her feet the whole way to her grandmother, making Amelia feel even more helpless.

“Have they been like this all day?”

“Eli still doesn’t appreciate a bottle unless it’s the perfect temperature which I can’t seem to get and Pippa didn’t nap at all so she’s been short fused.”

“Why didn’t she nap?”

“We were at the pool for most of the afternoon.”

“We always have her nap. Owen, come on. You know our kids are schedule oriented.”

His brow furrowed just like Pippa’s.

“It was one day. She’s going to be fine. I already gave her a bath so she can go to bed after dinner.”

“You’re waking up with her in the morning then.”

Amelia couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed. She walked into chaos and now had a pounding headache from her even more chaotic day. Evelyn came around the corner so she greeted her as brightly as she could before she got in the bath with little Eli.

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The baby was squeaky clean and had a full belly so Amelia finally pulled them out of the warm bath to get dressed. She was in her normal house attire: a nursing camisole and yoga pants. Amelia always loved to dress the kids. They were like living dolls. She combed Eli’s little tufts of chocolate hair and dressed him in a pair of dinosaur footie pajamas.

“Look at you! So handsome just like your daddy even though you have Mama’s hair.”

When they went back downstairs, the table was set and Owen was bringing out the last of their plated dinners.

“Amelia, dear. I got to meet your mother today when we ran into each other at the grocery store. I didn’t know who she was but she recognized me from pictures in this house.”

“Oh great. How did that go?”

“She seems really lovely but told me you banned her from coming around unless you say otherwise.”

“Yep.”

“She’s trying to make things right. She wants to get to know Pippa and Eli.”

Amelia took a sip of her water once she felt her appetite shrink the more she talked about her mom.

“Maybe she will eventually. I’m not rushing it. She gave up on me when I was 5. Derek picked up the pieces. She supported me financially as a kid but Derek deserves all the credit. He taught me everything I knew. He’s not here anymore so I don’t know why she feels the need to come around.”

Owen looked up from his plate feeling awkward as he witnessed their conversation. His wife could fight her own battles which is why he didn’t intervene.

“She told me she’s sick. Carolyn has stage 4 melanoma that has metastasized.”

Both Amelia and Owen choked on their food with their eyes bugged out.

“What?”

“She came here to spend some time with Meredith and the kids and is hoping to make amends with you before she goes.”

“Go where, Nana?”

The three adults looked at Pippa and scrambled to figure out what to say.

“Back to New York. Pip, do you want to go set up your tea party table and we can finish dinner there?”

“Ooooh, yes Mama! I’ll be ready in 2 minutes!”

Pippa hopped down from her chair and took off for the playroom.

“Owen, Evelyn, for all we know my mom could be lying. I can talk to her tomorrow and figure it all out. I however don’t want to talk about it anymore today. I’m sorry but today has exhausted me and I’m over the day. I’ll go eat with Pippa. Sorry for the shit show that was this family dinner.”

.

When the house was tidied up and the kids successfully tucked in and asleep, Amelia finally climbed into bed. Everything hurt and she felt completely floored. Her mom could be dying. She would be another person she lost and now she knew she cared about her mom more than she wanted to. She was devastated. She had been so cold to her mom. Maybe she had a reason to be but now she felt it didn’t matter.

Amelia was pulled from her thoughts when Owen came into the room.

“Mia, I know you had a hard day but you were short with Pippa, short with me, then short with my mom once she tried talking to you about your mom. What is wrong?”

“I told you! My day was long, I lost one of my patients on the table, then I get home and the baby is screaming and Pippa is running around tearing up the place. Then your mom drops the news that my mom is dying. So forgive me for being short. I’m exhausted and I want to sleep.”

Owen pulled off his shirt and climbed in on the other side, trying his best to cozy up to her.

“I’m sorry today sucked. I know something that could maybe help?”

Instantly Amelia pushed his arm off of her and hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Are you freaking kidding me? I’m having an awful day, feeling like crap, and you want to have sex? No way. No way in hell would I have sex with you. Oh my god, you’re impossible!”

“I was partially kidding. Amelia, come on. I was kidding. Any other time you’d be all for it. Please don’t be like this. Let’s just sleep. I want to hold you. I missed you.”

“Don’t touch me. I just need to sleep.”

“You’re crying.”

“Leave me alone.”

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.

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Come morning, Amelia finally pulled herself off of the loveseat in Eli’s room to change his diaper and feed him again. She had tossed and turned for hours until she gave up and moved to the nursery during Eli’s 2 a.m feed. She felt even more exhausted than the night before and was eager to speak to her mom. Once her phone showed seven in the morning, she called her mom’s cellphone. It rang four times before she answered.

“Amelia? How are you? Is everything okay? It’s early.”

“Everything is fine here. My mother in law had some interesting news to share with us over dinner last night.”

“Oh honey. I wanted to tell you but there was never the right time. You were so angry.”

“I have a lifetime of anger. You didn’t cause it all. I blamed you for a lot of it but like you said, you did the best you could. Is it true? Metastasized melanoma?”

“Yes. I’m planning on being in town until the pain gets to be too great then I’ll be going to Oregon for physician assisted suicide. I don’t want any of you to take care of me and I don’t want to be in a home. I’d like to go with dignity. I’m at peace with the decision and look forward to being reunited with my two guys.”

“Mom, please. I’ll let you come around. We can work this out. Your children are doctors. All of us are doctors. Please let us help you.”

“Honey, there is nothing any of you can do. It’s in my blood stream now and I get a bit more tired each day. I’m sorry but I won’t be changing my mind. I’d love to make the best of my last days here. I’d love to get to know your beautiful babies. Nothing would make me happier than to make up with you after all these years.”

“Okay. Would you like to come over later afternoon and stay for dinner? I can make Dad’s old pasta recipe.”

“That sounds lovely. I’ll be there. Thank you Amelia.”

“I’ll see you later Mom.”

Next she called Evelyn to see if she could watch the kids until her mom came. She needed to spend time and make up with Owen. She dropped the kids off, went through the drive thru for their favorite donuts and coffee, then went back home. To her surprise, Owen was still asleep. Normally when she’d wake up before him, he’d be sleeping with his face soft from any expressions. Now his face was tense and she knew he slept just as shitty as she had. As emotional as she had been, tears started to pool in her eyes. She wasn’t surprised but she felt awful about how she treated him. He had been nothing but good to her and she was just mean. She tiptoed to the bed and got in. He started to wake up and open his eyes. As soon as his eyes met hers, she flung herself into his arms. Sobs wracked through her entire body. Owen was definitely confused but held her close and lovingly anyways. He knew she was probably struggling to process everything and it was a lot for her to take in all at once.

“It’s okay Mia. You’re alright.”

“I’m so sorry. I was mean and it was uncalled for. You’re my best friend. I love you so much. I missed you yesterday too.”

“I know you did. I know you love me. You don’t have to say it for me to know.”

“I do though. Life is too short to not say it. You, Pippa, and Eli are all I have. You three are everything to me. You three are the reasons my heart still beats. I’ve lost my dad, my brother, our son, and soon will lose my mom. I can’t lose you.”

Owen held her even tighter, stroking her hair to bring her any sort of comfort while he kissed her forehead.

“I’m right here Amelia. I’m not going anywhere for a very long time. You’re Amelia Grace Shepherd Hunt— Mother of three, smoking hot wife, and brilliant life saver. You will get through this and I’m right here all the way.”

[omeliashepherdhunt]

STAY CALM! STAY TUNED!

Monumental Evelyn/Amelia chat leading to even more monumental Amelia/Carolyn chat headed your way in Stand By Me’s newest part!

[omeliashepherdhunt]

Stand By Me pt. 2

Amelia had been on call which meant she got very little sleep in the on call room in the last 24 hours. She was exhausted but it was only 4 p.m which meant she still had at least another four hours of caring for the kids before she could rest. It was another beautiful summer evening so she wanted to do something outside until it was time to cook dinner and start Pippa and Eli’s bedtime routine. Once she checked the kids out of daycare, they went down to the pit to tell Owen goodbye. They saw him standing at the nurses’ station updating charts on one of the tablets. Amelia’s heart instantly fluttered as she saw her best friend and lover all wrapped in one standing there, oblivious to his family admiring him. Amelia released Pippa’s hand and she took off for one of her Daddy’s huge hugs.

“Daddy!”

He immediately put the tablet down on the desk and picked her up to twirl her around in their hug.

“Hi pretty Pippa. It’s only been a few hours since I dropped you off.”

“Mama said I was in daycare for 9 hours. That’s a lot!”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay! I got to play with Ellis and Grandma today!”

The blood drained from Amelia’s face and she didn’t know if she was more pissed at the daycare workers or at her mom for not obeying her wishes.

“I bet you had a blast. Why don’t you sit on the bench over there while I talk to Daddy for a second?”

“Okay mama!”

Owen pulled Amelia close for a hug and deep kiss, making sure to be careful of a sleeping Eli in the sling on her chest.

“Hey pretty lady. I guess we have to have that chat with your mom sooner than later about boundaries. You’re taking them home?”

“I was going to clean up Tyler’s headstone and place fresh flowers by it then maybe take Pippa to play at the park. Though now we will go visit Tyler then go to Meredith’s. I’ll pick up food on the way home from her house.”

“Are you sure you want to go alone? I should be done here within the next 2-3 hours.”

“I can handle it. I’ll keep you updated. Call me if you’ll be home any later than 8 p.m.”

“I will. I love you like crazy.”

“I love you more. See you tonight.”

With a departure kiss to his best girls, Amelia headed off with the kids for their visits.

.

Amelia let the kids and herself into Meredith’s house. Pippa immediately took off to Zola’s room so Amelia followed her mom’s voice into the kitchen.

“Oh Amelia, you’re here! I was just baking the kids some cookies — chocolate chip, your favorite.”

“My favorite cookie is snickerdoodles. Kate and Nancy loved chocolate chip.”

“I was close. What brings you by? Meredith went to grab some groceries before she goes to work.”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Oh good! Can I hold Eli?”

She looked down at her sleeping son, knowing it was only a matter of time before he woke up and was ready to eat.

“It won’t take long. You can maybe hold him next time. I need to establish some nonnegotiable boundaries with you. You cannot visit Pippa or Eli without my or Owen’s direct permission. Don’t show up at my house uninvited. Don’t show up at my job uninvited. You are my mother but we’ve had no relationship for a decade and I am not ready to build one right away. If you can respect my wishes, I’ll put more effort into coming around.”

Carolyn was taken back by Amelia’s list of demands but she also knew if she wanted any chance at knowing and having a good relationship with Amelia, Owen, and her youngest grandchildren, she would have to play by Amelia’s rules.

“Okay sweetie. I understand. I didn’t think it would be an issue if they were in daycare but I get what you’re saying. It won’t happen again.”

“Thanks. We can talk soon, maybe on the phone. Bye.”

Once she wrangled Pippa out of Zola’s room and into the car, she was more more than ready to sleep. Eli woke up screaming half way through their drive home so she decided to not stop. They had leftover lasagna they could heat up.

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“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... You make me happy when skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Amelia looked down lovingly at her little boy who was now in a deep milk coma. He looked so comfy and peaceful which he was. Although her husband was waiting for her in bed and she was looking forward to sleeping in his arms. Amelia placed Eli down in his crib and made sure his sleep sack was fitted right. Then she padded down the hall and into their room. Owen was laying on his back, shirtless, with an arm over his head.

“Little man went down?”

“Almost immediately. He’s nice and full so he should sleep a while.”

“Good. Come lay with me. I’m exhausted so I know you’re even more tired.”

“Sorry I didn’t cook dinner tonight. My mom is just draining to me.”

Owen pulled her close into his muscular arms, breathing in her lavender-vanilla scent.

“It’s okay. I wish it wasn’t so hard for you two to see eye to eye. I also know things have happened that makes that nearly impossible. You’re still so strong and beautiful.”

Amelia stole a kiss which made Owen smile.

“I love you O. You’re my rock.”

“And you’re mine. Sleep. I’m right here.”