Owen and Amelia sat in the kitchen, surrounded by wedding magazines and brochures. They had been engaged for seven months now and were finally starting to plan their dream wedding. However, their differing opinions on when to have the wedding had caused some tension between them.
Owen was ready to get married as soon as possible. He didn't want to wait any longer to make Amelia his wife and start their life together. Amelia, on the other hand, wanted to wait a few months after she gave birth to their baby. She didn't want to be heavily pregnant and uncomfortable on her wedding day, and she wanted to have time to lose the baby weight before walking down the aisle.
Owen impatiently drummed his fingers on the kitchen counter as he watched his fiancée browse through wedding websites. He idly flipped through a bridal magazine, pointing out dresses and venues he liked, while Amelia scrolled through Pinterest on her laptop, pinning ideas for a beautiful outdoor wedding.
"Look at this venue, Amelia," Owen said excitedly, showing her a picture of a grand ballroom, finally finding something he liked.
Amelia looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow. "Owen, that's way out of our budget. And besides, I don't want a big ballroom wedding."
Owen let out a sigh. "Why does everything have to be so specific and complicated? Can't we just pick a date and get married?" They'd been going back and forth for weeks now, trying to solidify some sort of plan towards their venue; it was getting tiring.
Amelia could hear the frustration in his voice and it made her feel guilty. She knew Owen was eager to marry her and she didn't want to keep pushing the date back, but she also didn't want to sacrifice her dream wedding. She and Ryan had gotten married before he'd overdosed, and their venue was anything but romantic. She hadn't even picked out a dress that she actually wanted. Plus, she was high, so she couldn't even remember if they'd made their own vows or just repeated the regular ones. It was ill-advised, and she really should've listened to Addison on that one.
She wanted her wedding with Owen to be all the things that her last one hadn't been. She wanted it to be a fairytale, because her love for him felt like one.
"I know you're excited, Owen. I am too. But I don't want to look like a whale in my wedding photos. There's really no rush to choose a venue; I don't want to get married now. Can we please wait a few months after the baby is born?" she politely asked, hoping it would increase her chances of getting a yes in response. But no, she was wrong.
Owen shook his head, his anger rising. "You won't look like a whale, Amelia. You'll look beautiful, just like you always do. And I don't want to wait to marry you. We've been engaged for seven months already, I don't want to wait any longer."
Amelia pointed to a picture of a pregnant bride in the magazine Owen had in his hand. "That woman looks like a whale."
Owen looked at the picture and scoffed as he blushed. "You don't look like that."
She sighed and rolled her eyes; it was obvious he was lying. "I want to wait until after the baby is born. That way, I can lose some of the baby weight and not be waddling down the aisle."
Owen groaned in frustration. He had been looking forward to marrying Amelia for so long, and now she was putting it off, again. "Why can't we just have a small, intimate wedding now and then a bigger celebration later?"
"Because I want our wedding day to be perfect," Amelia replied, her tone growing more annoyed.
"Well, it's not going to be perfect if you keep getting bigger and bigger," Owen retorted, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.
Amelia's eyes widened as they filled with tears, and she turned away from him, hoping he hadn't seen any of them fall. She had been feeling self-conscious about her changing body, and Owen's comment only made it worse.
Realizing his mistake, Owen immediately regretted his words. He went to Amelia and tried to comfort her, but she flinched away from his touch.
"Don't touch me," she said, her voice trembling. She got up and disappeared upstairs to their bedroom, making Owen feel even worse. By the time he'd gotten upstairs to go to her, she had already locked the door behind her.
He paced around the living room, trying to come up with a way to make things right. He knew he had to give her time to calm down, but he couldn't wait any longer. He wanted to fix things now.
Feeling guilty and helpless, he called his mother, Evelyn. If anyone could talk Amelia off the ledge, it would be her.
Half an hour later, Evelyn arrived at their house and Owen let her in. He explained the situation and Evelyn gave him a knowing look.
"Owen, you have to understand that Amelia is going through a lot right now. Her hormones are all over the place and she's probably feeling overwhelmed. You need to be patient with her," Evelyn said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know, but I didn't mean to upset her. I just want us to be a family," Owen said, feeling defeated.
"I know you do, and I'm sure Amelia knows that too. But she needs to feel like she has a say in this too. You can't just rush her into marriage because of the baby," Evelyn replied, giving him some much needed perspective.
Owen hung his head in shame as Evelyn approached their bedroom door and knocked on it. "Amelia, honey?" she called, "It's me, Evelyn. I brought macarons." Owen watched as Amelia eventually unlocked the door and opened it for his mother; macarons had become her new craving these days since they'd done a taste test a couple weeks ago for desserts at their wedding, and it was becoming hard for her to resist them. Amelia's face softened as she saw the treat, but she still looked hurt and upset. Evelyn gave her a hug and reassured her that she was still beautiful, and Amelia couldn't help but cry in her future mother-in-law's arms, feeling hurt and unloved by Owen's words.
Owen watched with guilt, trying to speak up and apologize, but Amelia gave him a dirty look and closed the bedroom door behind the two of them, leaving him outside by himself now.
"Are you okay?" Evelyn asked her as they both sat on the bed. Amelia frowned and broke down again, and Evelyn's heart ached for her; pregnancy hormones were no easy task. "I know it's hard, Amelia. But you need to understand that Owen just wants to marry you as soon as possible because he loves you and wants to make you his wife. He's not thinking about how you'll look in your wedding dress," Evelyn said gently, handing her a macaroon, "That's something only us girls care about."
Amelia took a bite of the sweet treat, savouring the taste as she thought about what Evelyn said.
"It feels like he just wants to be married before I give birth, so he can fulfill some sort of traditional desire," she mumbled, nibbling on the macaron. Owen seemed so hellbent on marrying her before she gave birth, she couldn't help but feel like she was just fulfilling some traditional wife role in his life.
Evelyn smiled. "Well, you know Owen, he plays by the rules. That's probably why he liked the army so much." Amelia smiled a little, but not for long. "It's possible that it could be something else, though..."
"Like what?" Amelia asked, not getting where she was going with that.
"Well," she pondered, "You two have broken up a number of times, so maybe he wants you two to get married before you change your mind again." Evelyn laughed.
"Probably," she mumbled, giggling and grabbing another macaron.
"I don't mean to be nosy," the older woman cautioned, "But considering all the times you two have come apart, do you think it's a good idea to go through with the wedding? I understand if you feel obligated to, because of the baby, but..."
Amelia sighed. "I do love Owen, Mrs. Hunt."
"Oh, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Evelyn," Owen's mother teased, and Amelia smiled.
"I do love him, but I get scared easily," she confessed to her, "And Owen isn't always the best at reassuring."
"You could say that again," Evelyn bluntly responded, and Amelia giggled. Once the space got quiet again, she asked, "Are you sure that you love him?" She searched Amelia's eyes for any falter, and found none. Amelia loved Owen, and though Evelyn did not know much about Amelia's previous partners before her son, she believed her. That look in her eyes, it was love, in its rawest, most unconditional form.
Amelia nodded solemnly. "More than anything."
"Well then give him a chance," she offered wisely, and Amelia smiled shyly, "He loves you and this baby, more than anything. He had me up past my bedtime last week, talking about the both of you." The Shepherd blushed and, after some contemplation, nodded at Owen's mother.
Evelyn patted her leg and stood up, helping Amelia up as well. "Now, let's go talk to that stubborn fiancé of yours and make things right." Amelia giggled and followed Evelyn out of the bedroom, feeling lighter and happier than before.
Owen's face lit up when he saw them both emerge from the bedroom with smiles on their faces.
"Amelia, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," he swiftly apologized. He got down on both his knees and looked up at her, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, "I just want to marry you and start our life together." He took her hands in his. "Please don't be mad at me." Amelia and Evelyn shared a look, and Owen's mother raised her eyebrows. She was right, Amelia realized. Owen was genuinely afraid that she would end things before they could get married.
Amelia smiled, tears still glistening in her eyes. "I know, Owen. And I want that too. Let's wait a few months after the baby is born. That way, I'll have enough time to get back in shape and look beautiful for our special day, okay?"
His face look troubled. "Okay...I just..."
"Owen, I'm in this with you," she promised him, and he listened carefully, "I'm not going anywhere, I swear. I just want to look, and feel, pretty on our wedding day."
Owen's face broke into a weary smile as he stood, and he pulled her into a hug. "You are always gorgeous, Amelia. You'll always be the most beautiful woman to me. I just want to be your husband." His reassurance was all she needed to forgive his thoughtless comment from before.
But just to be on the safe side, Owen made a promise to himself that he wouldn't bring up the subject of their wedding again until after the baby was born. They settled on a date three months after the baby was due, giving Amelia enough time to recover and feel comfortable in her own skin.
At almost eight months pregnant, 6 weeks earlier than her due date, Amelia felt her water break.
She was having a lovely afternoon at home with Ryan, who had just turned 4 a month ago. They were playing with his toys in the living room, Amelia smiling and laughing as she watched her son's imagination come to life. They had just finished building a fort when suddenly, Amelia felt a gush of water between her legs, followed by a blinding pain.
"Oh crap," she exclaimed, realizing her water had broken. She hadn't been expecting it to happen so soon, and she wasn't quite expecting it to happen while playing with Ryan. Almost immediately, Ryan could sense the change in his mother's calmness; she was afraid of something.
"Mommy, what happened?" Ryan asked, looking up at her with curiosity. He could see her wincing, as though in pain, and it scared him.
"Ry, we need to go to the hospital," Amelia explained, trying to stay calm as the contraction passed, "Your little sibling wants to come early."
"Can I help you call Mr. Owen?" he asked earnestly. He loved playing with his toy phone and pretending to call people.
"Actually, that's a great idea. Can you please call Mr. Owen for me and tell him mommy needs him quickly?" Amelia asked, handing Ryan her cell phone.
Ryan eagerly dialled Owen's number and put the phone to his ear. Amelia could hear him talking, telling Owen that mommy's water broke and she needs him at home.
Amelia smiled at her son's determination and resourcefulness, but her peace was quickly interrupted by the intensity of her contractions. She had an entire plan of how she wanted the birth to happen, at the hospital with no epidural, with Owen by her side, but now she was starting to worry that they wouldn't make it in time to follow through.
Meanwhile, Owen was in the middle of a surgery when his phone rang. He saw that it was Amelia calling and answered it, thinking it might be a regular call. But instead, the excited voice of Amelia's son rang through the OR.
"Mr. Owen, Mommy's having the baby!"
Owen's heart stopped for a moment as he processed the news, with some of his subordinates already congratulating him. He quickly excused himself from the surgery and rushed out of the hospital. He had been waiting for this moment for months, but now that it was actually happening, he felt a wave of panic wash over him. Amelia was 6 weeks early, and home alone by herself. How could he have let this happen?
He arrived home to find Ryan waiting anxiously at the door. Owen scooped him up in his arms and rushed inside, only to realize that he had completely forgotten about their birth plan. He frantically searched for their birth bag, trying to remember all of the items they needed, but he couldn't seem to think straight.
"Mr. Owen, are you scared?" Ryan asked, sensing the soon-to-be father's panic as Owen gathered the items he and Amelia had set aside for this moment.
Owen took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Just a little bit. But don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
Ryan nodded, reassured by his words. "Don't forget the diapers." Owen chuckled as he realized he had forgotten to pack them, and quickly put them in the bag. As Owen grabbed the now packed birth bag and headed towards the door with Ryan, he heard a familiar voice pull him out of his frenzied state.
"Owen, wait!" Amelia called out to him, trying to sit up by herself, "You're forgetting me!"
Owen felt his face flush with embarrassment as he realized he had almost left his heavily pregnant fiancée behind, the entire reason for his panic. He quickly helped her up and guided her to the car. As they drove to the hospital, Owen's mind was racing with a million thoughts. Did they have everything they needed? Would Amelia be okay? What if something went wrong?
"I can't believe you were about to leave without me," Amelia hissed as another contraction enveloped her.
Owen chuckled nervously, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were beginning to turn white. "I would never, love." So much for being a trauma surgeon, able to work well under pressure.