lxxxviii. amelia shepherd
7.03

Atlas and Derek were doing good, really good if you asked them. Since the shooting they had been on a few dates, trying to make sure that things between them were strong and there wasn't anything hidden between them.

It was for sure helping with the fact that both of them could have died. Derek could have died on the operating table, just like Atlas could have when he hit the hallway floor that day. Fortunately, they hadn't died and they were making the most of it again, like they had every other time something happened.

"Remember, we have a meeting with the adoption agency after lunch." Atlas told Derek as he picked Starlee of the floor where she had been walking around his legs. "It's right after lunch, but they're meeting us here."

Derek nodded and tickled his fathers side lightly, giggles and giggles falling from her lips. "I won't be late, promise. I even made sure Nelson could take anything so I could be there for our appointment. Christina is on my service today..."

"Shadow Shepherd. Christina can watch a movie on my phone? And good, thank you love."

"She's not two. And of course —" Derek paused as he turned to look towards where Mark and Eliza where. "What is my sister doing here?"

"Oh my god." Atlas started to panic as he looked around for one of the Shepherd siblings. "Is it Nancy? She scares me."

Derek grasped ahold of his husbands shoulders and turned him so he could see Amelia, Mark and Eliza talking. "Yay! It's Amy. Oh, she's cool."

Atlas didn't waist another second in standing around, instead he held his daughter in his arms and practically skipped towards the Shepherd sister.

"Atlas!" Amelia cheered as she brought her brother-in-law and niece in for a hug. "And little Starlee."

"Amy! It's wonderful to see you. Oh we need to go get coffee."

"We should! Oh, oh!" Amelia gushed before she looked towards her brother who had just walked up to everyone. "Derek finally. You know, if you had retuned my calls I wouldn't have had to come all the way down here."

"Yeah." Mark nodded as he wrapped an arm around Eliza. "Why didn't you call your sister."

"Meredith, Christina, this is Amy." Derek avoided the question as he introduced the Shepherd sibling to the two of the residents that had just shown up.

"Amelia. He — well Atlas and Mark too, are the only ones who can call me Amy." Amy stuck her hand out for the residents to shake. "Nice to meet you."

Meredith shook Amelia's hand before Christina did. The two residents sending almost everyone looks that said 'what the bleep' and when Atlas saw that look, he chuckled.

His chuckle had caused Amelia to turn towards him with an eyebrow raised. "Something funny?"

"No..."

"Atlas."

"It's nothing."

"Atlas Peter Lee—"

"Let's have coffee." Atlas blurted as he wrapped an arm around Amelia, his other hand still holding his daughter to his chest. "There's a great coffee cart down the hall."

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Atlas, he liked to think he was a pretty cool person. He really did. He thought that he had amazing impressions on people, but today, it seemed like something was not right with his mojo.

"We've been through the adoption process before." Derek spoke towards the woman sitting across from himself and Atlas, she was from the adoption agency that would hopefully grant Atlas and Derek a change to have another kid.

"Your paper work states that you hadn't really gone through the process, the child had been left in your care and that's how you became her parents." The lady spoke as she looked up from her papers.

Atlas tried his best to not roll his eyes. "Well, that's true. But it doesn't mean that we didn't just skip everything.

"So you know there'll be home visits, classes, records you'll have to show?

Both Derek and Atlas nodded. "We know."

The lady stood up, extended her hand and seemed to flash a smile. "We'll be in contact. Thank you for your time, doctors."

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Oliver, he liked to think that he was good in neurosurgery. He's been by Derek's side for a lot of cases, and he's even got a knack for it. Maybe that's why he was so happy that Derek had told him he could take a case.

There had been an emergent case come in. A patients aneurism has burst during the time Derek and Christina had their surgery. And since shadow Shepherd wasn't available, and Derek said he could fly solo, he was the one that was called.

Well, Amelia Shepherd had also been called. Derek had said "if I'm not there, she's the next best. Don't make me get your brother." Let's just say that Olly was quick to be okay with having the Shepherd sister observe.

"So, are you and my brother close?" Amelia asked, trying to strike up a conversation as she watched Oliver start the surgery.

"Well, he did marry my brother. I've hung out with him, he's been my mentor, he's taught me things, he even asked me to help him pick a ring out for my brother. So yes?" Olly didn't look up from the patients brain as he spoke.

"We're you there, uh ... the day of the shooting?" Amelia timidly asked, she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she would get — good or bad.

"I was. My friend was shot, my brother was shot, Der was shot. Lots of people were," Olly looked up quickly towards the gallery, seeing his wife sitting there smiling at him.

"Meredith, she's your wife, correct?" The female caught his glance and looked up too.

"She is." Oliver clipped the aneurism before speaking again. "Enough about me. What's your favourite breed of dogs?"

╚═ ☆ ═╝

"Don't worry. I'm leaving the premises." Amelia spoke when she saw her brother leaving against his car, her niece in his arms.

"We were in the back of the store. Dad had just given you two pennies, and you always hide them behind the counter in this big cracks in the floorboards." A smile made its way into Derek's face. "You said you were saving them so you could buy a town.  And then two guys came in. We could hear them talking, but you weren't paying attention until dad yelled, and you looked up. They had already pulled the gun, they had already taken the money, but now they wanted the watch that mom gave him." Derek paused, the sound of rain  hitting the ground filled the silent air. "He wouldn't give it up. There was a gunshot. You ... lunged forward."

Bright blue eyes of Amelia Shepherd looked towards Derek, "I remember. I was trying to get to him, but ... " Amy exhaled. "I couldn't move."

"That's because I was holding you so tight that you couldn't budge." There was another long pause as Amelia moved so she was standing besides her brother, leaning on the car. "Put one hand over your mouth so you couldn't scream and wrapped the other one around you and just held on for dear life, prayed to god that you'd be quiet and you wouldn't say anything. You were so little. I think that's what I've always wanted all these years, is you just to stay little ... quite and safe. But you're not any of those things." Starlee babbled and her father held her closer to his chest. "You're loud and fearless, and it scares the crap out of me. How am I supposed to call you up and tell you that I've been shot? I can't tell you about my pain. I don't want you to know that pain exists."