Chapter Text
Owen didn’t do well with being idle, he never had and probably never would.
His hands shook and his legs, when able, would bounce.
If he was able to stand, he’d be pacing.
He needed something to keep him busy, something to keep his mind from straying too far.
And yet, here he was, two hours post-op from his tumor removal surgery and he would do anything short of running a marathon to get himself active again.
He hated hospitals too, that was another thing.
He hated the smell and the stark white walls.
He hated the constant beeping and the nurses coming in every thirty minutes to check on things they really didn’t need too.
And the food, oh God don’t even get him started on the food.
“I’m bored.” He didn’t know why he was saying that out loud, it’s not like anyone was there to hear him.
“You just had surgery Owen,” Or maybe someone was lurking in the hallway and observing him without his knowledge, “you’re supposed to be bored.”
“Well hello to you too Michelle.” He hadn’t expected to see her here, especially after she had made it rather clear that he wasn’t getting a visit from her until after he was home and slightly more recovered. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your beautiful face today?”
She rolled her eyes as she pushed herself off the door frame and stepped into the room, extending a bag in his direction as she smirked at him.
“I come bearing gifts.” He raised an eyebrow as he accepted the offering from her, almost afraid to look inside. “I figured you could use some things to keep you busy.”
“TK and Carlos already got me a puzzle.” He held up the ridiculous object and scoffed.
It’s not that he didn’t appreciate the offer, but really, a picture of dogs playing poker, did that really scream Owen Strand?
“So I heard…” So she had already had contact with one, or possibly both, of the younger men.
“TK called you?” He reached into the bag and pulled out yet another puzzle, this time it was a picture of an old Route 66 scene, something that may have possibly caught his eye once upon time.
That was until he noticed the 5000 piece sign at the bottom of the box and he shifted his gaze to her slowly, praying that she understood that he was silently trying to smite her.
“I expect to see that put together, or at least started, when I visit you next week.” He huffed as he dropped the item back into the bag.
“Your sense of humor leaves something to be desired.” She chuckled as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, grabbing the bag from him and dropping it into the chair beside them.
“I’m just trying to help.” He nodded as he watched her yawn, shaking her head as she did so.
“Long night?” He knew nothing of her life outside of the bare bones of a job description he had gotten when he googled the company Carlos had said she was working for.
It wasn’t something they had talked about in the two weeks since their reunion.
In fact, they hadn’t really talked about much since that afternoon fourteen days ago.
“Uh yeah.” She had a sheepish look about her and he groaned. “What? Not like that.”
The playful slap she gave his arm caused him to fake a wince, pretending to be harmed by her attempt at scolding him for his unsaid suggestions.
“Just curious…” He leaned back against the pillow as he fixed his gaze on her. “You never did tell me whether or not you were seeing anyone.”
“Because, Owen Strand, it’s none of your business.” He attempted a pout but it seemed to fail miserably because Michelle just erupted in laughter.
He simply closed his eyes when her giggles didn’t seem to die down, waiting until she was either gone or ready to talk again before he reopened them.
It took what had to have been ten minutes for her to come around, so he opened them one by one, finding her still sitting in the same spot as before.
“Are you?” She sighed as he asked the question she had clearly been dreading.
“Are you?” Well the sass was totally not needed.
“Ha. You’re funny.” Of course he wasn’t seeing anyone.
Did she really think he would be losing his mind like this if he was?
“You should rest Owen.” It was probably a good thing that she made the suggestion because he suddenly didn’t feel like talking about it anymore.
If Michelle was avoiding answering the question then she obviously had something to say that was going to bother him.
He simply nodded his head in response, tilting his head so that he was staring up at the ceiling again, his mind going a hundred miles a minute as he tried to process that added tidbit of information.
“I’ll come see you on Saturday if I can.” Yeah, okay, whatever. “Try and rest. Please.”
“Yep.” He would try and rest alright, it wasn’t like there was anything else for him to do.
She let out a sigh and then she was gone, the room suddenly feeling very cold and empty without her.