What Next?

Chapter 2- No One Knew.

With a screech of tyres and a small cloud of dust, he was gone. His thoughts were consumed by questions, worries, and a whirlwind of mixed emotions. Where was she? How was she? Would she remember him? Could she recognise him? When she disappeared they were going through a seriously rough patch in their relationship- Nathan had cheated and she couldn't look him in the eye ever since she had found out. He blamed himself for her disappearance. Every day for 10 years. Up until recently, not a day went by where he didn't think about her. About her vibrant red hair, and her matching fiery attitude. She made him laugh, made him happy, and made him feel as though he hadn't a care in the world.

Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly noticed he was doing twice the speed limit and slammed the brakes. Meredith would kill him if she was in the car with him; she hated it when he drove too fast, although he never knew why. Meredith. She'd become such a huge part of his life so quickly. He loved her. She challenged him, she made him frustrated,  but he loved her. He knew he did. But he also loved Megan once.

He drove in silence for an hour and a half, his mind swimming in memories and anticipation. Meredith had been very brief, but she told him all she knew. He was desperate for more information, he needed to hear her voice and her unmistakable laugh, both these sounds had been absent from his ears for ten years, and his soul craved them.

Making a sharp right, he headed down the road towards Madigan Army Medical Centre where he was met with miles of tall metal fences lined in barbed wire. He slowed the black Range Rover and lowered the window down. The guard in the box looked up.

"Madigan Army Centre, please state your business and name."

"Nathan Riggs ex-military cardiothoracic surgeon, here to see Megan Hunt"

"And your relation to Megan Hunt"

"She was my fiancee"

"Was?"

"Before she went missing, yes"

"Very well, I'll need to see your Uniformed Services ID card"

Nathan reached over to the glove compartment and pulls out his old ID card and showed it to the guard.

"Very well, Follow the signs towards wing 4C, someone will be able to assist you there"

"Thank you."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently as the metal gates took what seemed to be a lifetime to open. Once he was in the clear he headed down the gravelled track following the signs which led him to wing 4C. There were endless amounts of guards roaming the premises, the majority staring down the black range rover as it passed.

The car came to a grinding halt as Nathan parked up in the nearest space to the entrance. Yanking his ID from the passenger seat, he quickly locked the car and began to run. After acquiring some suspicious looks, he slowed to an awkward walk. Upon reaching the reception he blurted:

"Nathan Riggs here to see Megan Hunt"

The officer eyed him up and down, glancing briefly at the ID badge which Nathan was holding.

"We don't seem to have you on our database as someone of relation to Megan Hunt, Mr Riggs."

"No, I'm not family, she was my fiancee"

"I am sorry Mr Riggs, but given the extremity of the current situation, I cannot allow you access unless a member of the family has given permission. If you'd like, you may wait here until given authority."

"Please, I need to see her, I can get Owen to give me access once we're in there, but I just need to see her now, please?"

"No, please take a seat, Mr Riggs"

Defeated, Nathan's face fell as he slumped down in a chair, his palms supporting his forehead. But then, a familiar face came around the corner. Not the familiar face he had hoped to see, but a familiar face nonetheless.

"Nathan?" Amelia exclaimed.

Nathan's face lit up.

"Amelia, I need you to give me access so I can see Megan, apparently I can't see her until I get permission from a family member and-"

"Of course, just give me a few minutes, I need to call Evelyn back"

Amelia walked outside and rang Evelyn whilst Nathan paced the reception, suddenly becoming very nervous. His hands grew clammy and he rubbed them against his jeans in an attempt to reduce the sweat. He wondered if he should ring Meredith to let her know that he was here and about to go in, but he decided against it because he didn't know where they stood now that Megan was alive- whether they would stay together and support each other through it, or whether he would try and rekindle his relationship with Megan. He just didn't know.

Amelia re-entered the reception and saw Nathan pacing looking very pale and very anxious. She quietly gave her word of consent to the officer, who nodded in response.

"Nathan-" She began.

His head whipped round towards her.

"Nathan, you shouldn't go in there with any expectations... She's been through hell these past 10 years and that changes a person."

"I know I-"

"Just don't expect her to be the same person she was before, okay?"

"Okay."

She gave a warm rub of his shoulder and led him down the corridor, through a set of double doors and past 2 patrolling guards. They stopped outside a room labelled "Intensive Care" and she looked at him, giving him a slight nod. In an attempt to compose himself, he swallowed. Hard. Amelia reached for the handle and opened the door.

It was a dark room, lit only by the monitor next to the bed. Her bed. The light reflecting off of her infamous red locks. Her eyes were sealed shut, like a perfectly preserved statue. His heart swelled, tears began to form in his glassy gray eyes. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. It was as though he couldn't see the cuts, scrapes and bruises which littered her creamy skin. There were bandages, stitches, swollen muscles and obvious broken bones. But that didn't phase him. She was alive. Alive and breathing.

The tears began to fall. And when they started, they wouldn't stop. He collapsed into a seat, emotions overwhelming him. She had been alive all this time, being tortured and beaten and no one knew. No one heard her screaming.

A knee jerk from the seat next to him caught his attention. He knew exactly who that knee belonged to. His former best friend. His former fiancee's brother. He could feel the waves of invisible hatred being emitted from him, no sympathy, no forgiveness, simply pure hatred.

Owen was sat bolt upright with an unreadable expression. The bags around his eyes were dark and heavy. Despite the small amount of light, his eyes were quite visibly bloodshot and tearstained. His hair appeared greasy and lacked its usual brightness and fresh orange colouring. His breaths were deep, slow and the only thing preventing him from losing his composure.

"I'm so sorry Megan" Whispered Nathan.