𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐓, 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝₁

𝐯. 𝐢'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚

SECOND CHOICES 3x20

"Hey." Addison said, coming into the room Athena was sitting in. "Are those, uh, Carl's cardiac C.T.'s?"

Athena stays silent, ignoring Addison.

"So what, are you not talking to me now either? Because you know what? I really can't handle that today, Athena. Your one of my best friends, almost like a sister. So be a grown-up. Use your words."

"It's nothing. I got into a fight..with my sister." Athena lied. She couldn't tell her she was her sister, and that she hated when she fought with her. The fight would just have to dissolve—like all of their other fights.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Athena ignores her again.

"Carl has a block in his L.A.D. it's called a widowmaker. We're lucky we found it. Could have killed him." Athena handed Addison a file.

"So what are you gonna do?" She looked into the file.

"Well, he's a perfect candidate for a stent. After the procedure, he should be good as new." Athena fake smiled.

"Maybe drug therapy would work." Addison questioned the brunette.

"Wait." Athena looked at Addison, "The kids serving in a war zone, Addison. You want to slow down his heart, his entire system? You know, do you think he can perform to the level he needs to on— on beta-blockers?"

"Probably not. He'd be discharged." Addison crossed her arms over her chest.

Athena scoffed, "So you're saying you want me to do something less effective so that they'll pull him out of military service?"

"This is not about me, Athena. Lucia's gonna have his baby. She wants to keep him around."

"Well, you can't always get what you want." Athena answered harshly. It was true, you couldn't always get what you wanted. She wanted a nice family. She wanted her mother to still be alive. For Addison to know she was her sister. To have a relationship with her father. But she knew none of that was gonna happen. Not anytime soon, anyways.

"Ugh." Addison scoffs and walks away, setting the file on the desk.

🪷

"I don't know." Lucia said.

Athena was meeting with Lucia and Carl.

"Surgery sounds risky." She shook her head at Athena.

"But if I take the medication I can't go back?" Carl asked Athena.

"I can't make that determination, but will it have an affect on your performance? It might." Athena nodded.

"But, honey, if you're sick, then—"

"Look, I'm not sick." Carl told his wife. "I'm not. I have a thing, and Dr. Knotts can fix it. I locate I.E.D.s, bombs. I have people in my squad who depend on me to stay alive." Carl looks between Lucia and Athena.

"I depend on you to stay alive. Your baby depends on you to stay alive. The army can replace you. I can't."

"Can you fix this with surgery, make me good as new?"

"I can." Athena nodded.

"I want the surgery. I'm a soldier. It's what I do. And I want to go back." Carl looks at Lucia.

🪷

"It's a routine surgery. I'm coming back." Carl assured her.

"Your wife really loves you." Amelia told him. "I mean, it's gotta be hard on her, worrying about you all the time."

"What, you think that I don't worry about her, especially now?" Athena listens to the conversation. "Hell, I know that I should be here. I do. A man should be with this child. But, you know, Lucia's gonna be here when I get back, and if I stay, I can't say the same thing about my guys."

"There are other guys." Athena told Carl. "Who can take your place over there."

"If everyone said that who'd be fighting for us?"

"Well, I'm guessing your wife would rather you were fighting for her." Amelia smiled at Carl. "It's a girl thing."

"Well, you pull me through this, and I'll make sure I fight for both." Carl promised.

Athena and Amelia looked at each other, and entered the O.R.

"His vessels have calcified. I don't know if the stents are gonna hold." Athena looked at the screen, "I'm gonna open up his chest and bypass the vessel."

"The stent should compress and seal the tear. You could wait, see if it holds. I mean, you convert to bypass, he's not going back." Athena looked at Carl for a second, "All right, notify O.R. I'm gonna switch to bypass."

🪷

Athena was ready to leave, go home, sleep, read, whatever.

"Hey, Athena!" Amelia ran after Athena, her bag hanging on her shoulder.

"Amelia." Athena smiled.

"Do you wanna like, get dinner? Or something?" Amelia asked, smiling nervously.

"Uh, sure. I could go for some spaghetti or something." Athena laughed.

"Great." Amelia links her pinky around Athena's. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Why do you always wrap your pinky and not your hand?"

"I feel safer. It's something I used to do with my dad."

"Okay," Athena nods.

Once dinner was over, they headed back to Athena's and Charlotte's shared home.

"Wait, wait." Athena giggled as she tried to put the key into the lock. "It's not going in."

"Here. Let me do it." Amelia put the keys in, unlocking the door.

"I don't think Charlotte is here." Athena leaded Amelia up the stairs, into Athena's very, very, bland room.

Amelia giggle as they climbed onto the bed.

🪷

"Amelia." Athena whispered, as she woke up the next morning.

"Good morning, beautiful." Amelia kissed Athena.

"Amelia, we need to talk." Athena sat up. "I'm not—" Athena scoffed, "I'm not ready for a relationship."

"What? Who said anything about a relationship?" Amelia started to question.

"Look, I do like you. Your nice, kind, funny, hot— that's besides the point. I'm not ready for anything that's..real. I— I don't even know if your staying— I mean, are you..staying?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Amelia. But, this shouldn't happen again."

"I understand." Amelia got up, and left the room, leaving Athena, to think for herself.

sorry? i don't—