Seattle Move

3. Professional

Monday morning at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was bustling with doctors and nurses rushing around, tending to their patients. In the midst of the chaos, Amelia found herself inside the elevator with her son, trying to catch her breath and make it to daycare on time before her shift. As the elevator doors closed, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Good morning, Dr. Shepherd," Owen greeted her, offering a smirk.

He was in his dress clothes, instead of scrubs, and he looked incredibly attractive. She greeted him with a flirtatious, "Good morning, Dr. Hunt."

"And who is this little guy?" Amelia couldn't help but feel her heart flutter as Owen looked at her son with genuine interest. Ryan giggled as he looked at Owen, his eyes analyzing him from head to toe, lingering on his strawberry blonde hair.

"Ry, you remember Owen," she replied, feeling a bit flustered. "He's my boss."

Her son looked up at Owen with wide eyes, calling out, "Hi, Mr. Owen!" before giggling and burying his face in his mother's shoulder. He wanted to be respectful, and he knew people used Mr when they wanted to be respectful. Amelia couldn't help but smile at her son's naïveté.

Owen chuckled at his innocent mistake, "Nice to meet you, Ryan."

Amelia could feel her heart beating faster as she faced Owen. "First day," she told him, trying to make small talk. But her mind was elsewhere as she looked at him.

The memories of their passionate kiss at the welcoming party flooded back into her mind. It had only happened last night, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. The chemistry between them was undeniable, but their moment had been interrupted by Meredith and Derek's intervention.

Surprisingly enough, Owen remained professional and cool, as if nothing had happened between them. She could see the faint hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he replied, "You've been finding your way around the hospital? I can have one of the doctors give you a tour."

Amelia tried to play it cool as well now. "Derek's giving me a tour after I drop off Ryan in daycare," she assured him, "I would've asked you for a tour, but I didn't think you'd be in work today."

Owen shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to revisit what had happened between them. "Yes, well, we were all a bit drunk last night," he said, trying to brush it off, "But there are lives to be saved, and a hospital to run, so I can't take a day off because I drank too much."

Amelia could tell that Owen was trying to distance himself from that moment. She decided to address it head-on. "Look Owen, I know you might regret it now, but you can't deny that..."

Owen could feel his resolve weakening, but he knew he had to be strong. "Dr. Shepherd, we are colleagues, and we need to keep our relationship strictly professional," he informed her, gesturing between them, "This can't happen again." She was starting to see the stick up his ass that everyone had been warning her about.

Amelia could see the seriousness in Owen's eyes. "So you're going to pretend it didn't happen?" she asked, a bit annoyed now.

"I'm not pretending!" Owen exclaimed, suddenly losing his cool. He took a deep breath and centred himself once more. "I was really drunk at the party, and I shouldn't have done that. We're colleagues, and we should remain professional," he reaffirmed in a monotone voice.

Amelia felt a pang of sadness as Owen made it clear that they would remain 'professional colleagues' from here on out. She knew she shouldn't have crossed that line with a coworker, especially her superior, but she couldn't help how she felt about him in that moment.

As much as she wanted to continue this flirtation, she also respected Owen and didn't want to make things uncomfortable between them. "I understand," she whispered sadly, and oddly enough Owen felt a little bad. He hated being this rule enforcer.