What Next?

Chapter 4- Bloodstream

The gentle sunrise seeped through the slits of the blinds which covered the window. Although Nathan's attention was not on the fresh sun, nor the sweet singing birds in a distant tree. His bloodshot and heavy eyes focused on something much important. With every second which passed, slowly but surely, Megan's features became slightly more visible. He had sat like this for hours, not willing to give himself a minute of sleep as her sealed eyes could have opened at any moment, and Nathan wanted to be awake when they did. Owen, on the other hand, had fallen asleep shortly after 1:30 AM and Amelia soon followed with her cheek resting on Owen's head which lay against her shoulder.

Nathan rubbed his face in an effort to soothe his watery eyes and noticed his newly formed stubble. He became all too comfortable with his hands on his face as, after a few moments, his eyelids began to droop. Quickly he sat up and stretched out his legs. Seeing Owen and Amelia asleep so soundly made him want to see Meredith desperately, even if it was only for a conversation or a hug. He needed to feel her presence and warmth.

A slight rustle of a pillow caught his attention and sent his heart racing at a thousand beats per minute. Megan's head jerked slightly and her forehead wrinkled up. Eyes fixated on hers, Nathan held his breath as her eyes gradually peeled halfway open and turned to look around the room. She gazed over the sleeping Owen and Amelia and then her eyes pierced directly into Nathan's, immediately sending an overwhelming rush of guilt through his body. He couldn't move. He was fixated within that moment even after she had moved her watch onto the heart monitor on the other side of her bed.

Observing her every movement, he watched her as she raised a thin finger and started to follow the lines on the monitor, flinching slightly whenever a quiet beep was emitted. A few minutes passed whilst she continued to trace her heartbeat and Nathan realized that Owen and Amelia needed to be woken up. He gently tapped Owen's shoulder but he did not stir, as the time they had spent in the military together had turned them both into extremely heavy sleepers. After his attempts failed he began to shake his shoulder, which did not wake him, but it did wake Amelia who looked at Nathan, then to Megan, and back at Nathan once more.

Amelia sat up properly and squeezed Owen's arm twice, not too tightly, but enough to wake him. He let out a "Hmmm" sound and then opened his eyes. The sight he saw before him was one which he had dreamt about for 10 years. She was there, moving and awake. His mouth opened slightly and he let out a breath which he had felt he had been holding for eternity.

"Megan?" He croaked.

She did not turn.

It was this moment which both Nathan and Owen's hearts sunk into a bottomless pit. Sure, they were grateful she was alive and breathing, but what if she couldn't remember anything from her former life. What about all of the childhood games, the stories they used to tell, the secrets that they kept? What about the tricks she and Nathan would play on each other, the jokes they would make, or the love that they shared? Where did it all go?

"I should tell someone she's awake" Amelia whispered into Owen's ear.

He gave a slight nod in response and so she quietly got up and left, leaving a blank, empty room behind.

Megan stopped tracing the lines and begun to sit up in her bed, paying no attention to the wires inserting various fluids into her bloodstream. She turned to completely face the monitor, with her back towards where Owen and Nathan were sitting. She delicately placed one feeble, bruised hand on the monitor and watched the little blue line as it traveled from the left side of the screen to the right.

Just then, Amelia re-entered, followed by 2 military officials. They both looked at Megan crossed legged on the bed and then back to Owen and Nathan.

"My name's Officer Williams, I was in charge of the operation which led us to where Megan was found. This is Sergeant Crawford, he will be overseeing the transfer which you have requested to Grey-Sloan Memorial hospital."

"T-Thank You" Owen's voice cracked. Nathan gave a sincere nod of appreciation to the two men.

"I would like to move her as soon as possible if that's suitable, as disruption during her recovery is not ideal. We shall do some tests to check that she's stable, and then transfer her in an ambulance whilst she's under anesthesia." Sergeant Crawford added.

"Yes, that's fine," Owen replied.

Officer Williams left the room whilst the Sergeant was joined by a nurse who worked together to coax Megan back into the bed. Once she seemed comfortable they set upon taking various tests, she did not flinch once despite the prodding and sharpness of the needles, she just sat there numbly, as though she was only a shell of her former self.

A silent, anxious hour passed, and then the results came back all clear. Her unconscious form was wheeled out on a gurney where she was loaded into the back of an ambulance. Nathan, Owen, and Amelia followed behind and climbed into the ambulance after her, the deafening noise of the sirens filling the empty atmosphere as they headed towards Grey-Sloan.

It only took them just under an hour for them to arrive at the hospital, where she was wheeled out of the Ambulance and into the emergency ward. There they immediately came face to face with Dr. Bailey.

"Follow me" She instructed as she led them towards the VIP wing. Owen took the left side of the gurney whilst Sergent Crawford took the right. Amelia and Nathan followed behind. They turned the corner where they passed the nurses station.

Meredith had just finished filling in a patient's chart and was ready to head to her next surgery when she looked up to see Owen and a man in uniform wheeling a young woman with fiery red hair towards the VIP wing. Megan Hunt. Trailing behind was an exhausted Nathan who looked as though he hadn't slept in years. She didn't mean to catch his eye, so she offered him a weak smile, which he tried to return but his eyes said otherwise. She watched them turn the corner once more until they were out of sight and gave the nurse her chart which she had filled in half heartedly.

Meanwhile, Megan had arrived at her room, and it was immediately easy to see why it was in the VIP wing. It was a lot larger than all of the other rooms and looked a lot more expensive, with a large 42-inch television on the wall, its own couches, and a huge set of windows lining the main wall.

They lifted her into the hospital bed and removed the gurney. The Sergeant gave his best wishes and requested that the hospital kept them up to date with any progress before leaving a tension thick room and an unconscious Megan behind.

Owen and Amelia occupied the couch closest to her bed whilst Nathan settled into an armchair in the corner. Megan would not wake for a few hours and so Nathan decided to get some sleep. Owen was quickly becoming more and more irritable, particularly towards Nathan; his fists begun to clench as he shot glances towards him. Amelia noticed the agitation and attempted to calm him down by massaging the top of his hand, but it was not enough to prevent the brewing anger from boiling over...