Amelia rustles the sheets to get comfortable and I pull her in closer to me. She usually makes eye contact, but this time she looks down.
"What's up Mills?"
"My mom's in town, and she saw me with Scout today." She mentions.
God, I remember when I met Carolyn. Amelia's plan to keep it a secret that she was divorced. Makes me laugh now when I look back at it, but I was so terrified.
I really liked Amelia then, she didn't know it though.
I think our relationship grew from that night and I'm grateful for every minute. We have a sort of trust now, that keeps us closer everyday.
"Did she say anything?"
"Yeah, and I ignored her. I just don't know if I'm ready to let her in. I don't know if I want her to be in Scout's life." Amelia admits.
"I understand. Why is she here in the first place?"
"She's here to see the kids. Meredith 'forgot' to inform me."
"Ah, I see. Well, she obviously cares about her grandkids, so maybe you should give her a chance." I add.
"She cares about her other grandkids. I just don't know if she even cares about me." I can tell Amelia is really hurt by this, so I rub her shoulder for comfort.
Feeling neglected is one of the worst feelings in the world.
"I'm here for you, and I stand by what you decide."
Our noses touch and she whispers 'I love you' gently.
I kiss her lips softly. "I love you too."
The next day I go to Amelia's gallery and take a seat in the front row next to Jo.
"Hey bud," Jo greets.
"Hello, Jo."
"Come to see your wife rock a glioma resection?" She asks.
"Most definitely. How are you doing lately?" I ask.
"Enzo is finally potty trained and can sleep on the bed with me at night," Jo informs me excitedly.
"Oh, interesting." I say as if it's not really interesting at all.
She nudges my shoulder and laughs. "Sorry I don't have a wife and a freaking adorable kid."
"Scout loves you, Jo. He talks about you all the time."
"Speaking of kids, Amelia's pregnant." I announce unexpectedly.
"What?" Jo smiles and laughs. "Oh my god, congratulations!"
"Twins,"
"Wow. Busy household in the Lincoln residence. I'm over here with my dog Enzo and a lot of wine."
Jo gets a page and walks out. Carolyn brushes by and takes the seat next to me. "Oh, hey," I greet awkwardly.
"Atticus," she says slyly.
"Please, Ms. Shepherd. It's just Link."
"Okay, then I'm just mom."
I sigh. "Wedding rings? I'm guessing either both of you got married to different people or-," she tries to get the truth out of me.
"I'm not here to lie to you anymore. Yes, we got married. About four years ago."
"And the boy? With the sandy blonde hair and blue eyes?" She already knows, she just wants me to say it.
"His name is Scout. He's five."
Carolyn smiles. I sigh again.
"Look, Amelia doesn't have anything against you. It's more that she just wants to protect everybody. I guess she didn't feel protected by you." I'm worried that she's going to snap, but instead she relaxes in the chair.
"Amy was Scout's age when her father died. That experience changed her, and it caused a barricade between us. Because she was so little, and I was grieving, I shut her out. And I can admit that. Derek was her only role model. Until he left the nest and Amelia's only friends were druggies."
She dangles with her earrings. "I'm so proud of her, but she won't let me say it."
We both notice Amelia look up at us talking in her gallery. "Everything good up there?" She asks.
I smile and nod.
"Do you treat her well?"
Here's the quiz. "Her and Scout are the best things in my life. I take life seriously. Trust me."
She pats my back and stands up. "Good talking to you, Att- I mean, Link."
"Yeah it was." I admit.
Mills and I sit with Scout as he draws us a picture in daycare. I hold her hand as she asks questions about my talk with Carolyn.
Carolyn walks in, so I stand up to give them a minute. I go outside of the room and watch through the window. Owen is standing there, watching Teddy with their girls.
"That must be hard for her," he notices.
"I think she's just done with secrets."
"I met Carolyn before I met Amelia, and damn, she's an intimidating woman." Owen says and we both laugh.
"I met Carolyn and all of Amelia's crazy sisters on a lie, so I looked like a total douche. That did not make our first encounter easy, for sure." I laugh. "Although, it did make it easier because it wasn't my lie, but Amelia's.
"Did you ever see this?" He asks.
"See what?"
"Us all being friends."
"Not really, actually." I admit.
"Yeah, me neither. I look back at it and think, how the hell did I get so lucky?"
"I feel the same way." My face softens when I see Amelia and her mother hugging.
Owen and I walk in and Teddy moves over to Mills. Leo runs up and wraps his arms around Amelia. "This is Leo, the boy Link told you about." She informs Carolyn.
"By accident," I add and they all laugh.
Ally, Scout and Leo all fall to the ground laughing and it feels really sentimental.
