Led Astray

Owen was confused, head tilted slightly as he tried to follow the reasoning and he wasn’t sure he fully understood. Since the incident outside of the club, he could vaguely remember what had happened since then and his brain was struggling slightly trying to remember. What he could remember was the feelings he had been feeling for Rose and while the logical side of his brain said to be upset with her, he honestly couldn’t bring his heart to be upset. He slowly sat up, one hand on his head and the other pushing upwards, wincing slightly as he looked down. There had been a pain in his side and he could see red starting to stain his shirt. “Shit…” He said as he put his hand over the wound.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, Owen tried to put some pressure on his wound. He opened his eyes after a moment, letting the pain pass. “Rose..I….look….it wasn’t cool to lie but I..I love you and nothing is going to change that in my heart. and Liv…man I love that girl. I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it. It’s gonna take me some time trying to figure everything out…but…I just..it’s a lot.

Rose’s eyes followed Owen and she saw the deep red seeping through the bandages. It wasn’t the first time the wound had bled so she didn’t immediately panic. But that didn’t stop her from standing and grabbing fresh bandages from the medicine cabinet. As she settled back down, Rose sighed, refusing to meet his eye. “I know…I know… it was just supposed to be for the hospital and we were going to laugh it off when you woke up but when you didn’t have any memories. I didn’t know what to do.”

Anger was the emotion Rose expected but not even her best case scenarios came close to what was happening. “You what?” Rose whispered, eyes wide as saucers and heart soaring as he mentioned how much he loved her daughter. “Owen, you don’t have to be nice to me. I can pack up and go, I never… I never expected anything from you. I just…you were hurt and you didn’t have memories and I... I just wanted to help you.” The hand with bandages reached out and motioned to his wound. “Can I help you change the dressing?”

Astrid looked over at Rose, shaking her head softly. “Still a lie but it’s natural to be scared. When you love something or someone, the thought of losing them is scary. Who knows, maybe he will stick around if he’s really that good of a guy.” She said and leaned back against the couch. “I just think you need to tell him, he deserves to know.” She said and grinned as she rested a hand on her belly. “Maybe you and your new guy can have a few of your own. I am exhausted. I mean on top of Stella, the twins are taking all of my energy but I’ll get through. Declan has been amazing.”

“If he doesn’t stick around, that doesn’t make him a bad guy. It makes him normal... I lied to him. I gave him a fake fiancé and a fake daughter and I’m the worst person in the world.” Rose waved at Astrid’s comment, knowing that Owen deserved to know. He deserved a lot. Shifting on the couch so that she was upside down, letting her head hang off the couch. She loved sitting like this, she only stopped when she was pregnant. She stopped a lot of things when she knew she was carrying Olivia. “Ha! yeah right. He won’t even look at me when he knows.” A warm smile crossed her face, happy for Astrid. “I’m happy for you and if you ever need help, I can take the twins off your hands for a bit. We have fun together. How are you and Declan doing?”

Owen tried his best to stay awake, feeling his head being moved over into Rose’s lap. He groaned as he faded out, reopening his eyes a few minutes later. He blinked away the bright lights, tryin to reorient himself in the room. He looked up to see Rose starring down at him and he squinted his eyes a bit. “R-Rosie?” He asked, moving to carefully sit up and lean against the chair. He carefully moved a hand to touch the back of his head, wincing slightly as he touched a soft spot. “What happened…?” He asked. “I’m confused…” He said softly. “I just met you…and I’m not at my place…I saw you outside of that club when I was leaving work…what…”

There was a sense of relief that came to her when Owen finally called out her nickname, the one only he used and sat back as he readjusted. “I think you hit your head,” She murmured softly, shifting closer to him to gauge his head. Her entire body froze as he spoke, the realization that Owen remembered. Owen remembered everything. “Oh shit.” It was all that came to her mind, it was all she could say. This wasn’t how she wanted him to know. This wasn’t how she wanted him to find out. She had plan, a plan to sit him down and talk but she kept pushing it off and now.... now she couldn’t. “Owen....”

Rose stopped, chewing her lip as she sat on the floor, eyes on her hands as she tugged on her fingers. “I lied to you.” She finally whispered, unable to look at him as she felt the tears start to sting at her eyes. “You rescued me but you were hurt, really bad. They brought you to the hospital but they wouldn’t let me ride with you or tell me anything so... I told them we were engaged.” It was such an innocent thing, it would have been fine if he hadn’t lost his memory. “And then you didn’t remember and I didn’t know how to tell you and I didn’t want to leave you alone to take care of yourself and I...” She sighed, feeling horrible because she knew this was it. This is when she lost him and he had ever right to walk away. Rose had lied to him. “I’m so sorry Owen; I know I lied to you but everything that happened afterwards... that was real.”

Owen looked down at the little girl on his lap. He couldn’t help but smile at her, watching her smile back at him. “And it’s the best part of my day.” He bounced his leg gently and looked over towards Rose. “Sure, that sounds like a nice idea.” He said as she mentioned a movie. He raised an eyebrow as she yawned, wondering if she would make it through a movie or if she would end up falling asleep. He didn’t care though, he would probably fall asleep too because he had been planning on actually taking some of the pain meds that the doctor had prescribed him, even though he hated them. He watched as Rose took Olivia upstairs and he stood up slowly, making his way to get the meds.

There had been a lot of things going through his mind, especially with Andie having come over and things that she had told him. Owen reached for the pill bottles and as soon as he touched the bottle, his dog tags fell to the ground and he grabbed them from the ground carefully. As he was moving to stand back up, he felt the back of his head hit the table hard and he yelped, louder than he had wanted to before hitting the floor, black fog trying to pull him under. He knew he must have made a loud noise and he hoping Rose would find him soon.

Rose got up from the sofa with Liv on her hip and began to trek towards her room. She had just settled the baby down and was watching as she began to doze off when she heard the crash coming downstairs. Immediately, her mind went to Owen, worry gripping her. With one final look at her baby, she rushed downstairs. It didn’t take her long to locate where Owen was on the floor. “Owen!” She cried out, rushing to him and kneeling beside him and pulling his head onto her lap. 

“Hey, hey, what happened?” She could see him fighting consciousness, and she raked his hair back. It seemed all too familiar of a scenario and it caused her to worry. “Hey, stay with me okay. Do you need me to call an ambulance? Owen? Baby? Owen?”

Astrid looked over towards Rose with a raised eyebrow. “Uh huh…” She said as she tried to keep up with her story. “White lies never pan out. It’s always better, to tell the truth.” She said and offered a small smile, sipping on her water. “You should tell him before somebody else tells him. It’ll be better to come from you.” She frowned softly as she took another sip of water. “He sounds like he is a good guy, I mean, he’ll probably be mad at first but it sounds like he already loves Liv and that he’s good for you.” She said as she gently rested a hand on her stomach. “I think there needs to be a conversation that happens between you two.” She said and looked down. “I’ll tell you what, at least you aren’t dealing with hormones.”

“It was a lie just so they would tell him his medical information at the hospital!” Rose defended herself, knowing that it didn’t really help her case much at all. With a deep groan, Rose leaned back against the seat, eyes shut as she listened to Astrid’s words of wisdom. She was right, Rose knew that, but that didn’t mean she liked it. “I know, I’m just scared. He’s been so good with Liv and I...” Rose paused, sighing. “ I really like him, Astrid, and I don’t want to lose him but I feel like the minute he knows the truth, I will. And I’ll deserve it.” At the following comment, Rose chuckled, at Astrid, a small smile on her face. “I miss that, actually. The hormones. The whole thing. How do you feel?”

Owen looked over towards Rose and nodded his head. He would probably never tell her when he was actually in pain, raised to be the ‘tough man’ that didn’t show those type of things, not that he truly remembered any of that himself but once raised that way, he supposed it was ingrained in his head somewhere deep down. “Yeah, I’m doing alright.” He said and offered her a smile, hoping it would come across as fully truthful to her. He was actually hurting a bit because he had been overdoing it, wanting to be able to do everything himself. He smiled softly as Olivia crawled towards him. He reached over and picked her up carefully, setting her into his lap away from his wound.

Looking down at their hands now intertwined, Owen couldn’t help but smile. The whole journey they had been on seemed like a long one for him, even though it wasn’t really that long in the big picture. “It’s just a little painful. Just overdid it a bit. It’ll be okay.” He said and gave her hand a soft squeeze before looking down towards Liv, making sure to keep an arm around her so she wouldn’t fall off his lap or anything.

“You’re a horrible liar.” Rose chuckled when he tried to play off the pain he was obviously in. Rose had always been pretty good at picking up on things like that and she figured Owen felt like he needed to hide that from her. Given that he had been in the army, she figured he was raised be that guy but in her mind, he had no reason to pretend. They didn’t know each other and even though he believed they were engaged, with his memories gone, she was just as much of a stranger to him as if he did know the truth. “You gotta take it easy; you know what the doctor’s said.” She chastised him, a small smile on her lips as she watched Liv settled on his lap happily. “She only smiles like that when you pick her up.” Gosh, her sweet little girl had truly gotten attached to Owen and Rose felt like such a complete asshole for letting that happen. For dragging Olivia into this. 

Leaning her head on Owen’s shoulder, mindful of his wound, Rose sighed contently, reaching over to tickle their - no, wait, her - daughter’s belly. She was getting to used to having Owen in their life... she had to get her mind straight. “I was going to settle her down for a nap and take a shower. Do you wanna watch a movie or something after?” She asked him, stifling a yawn as she spoke. Though Owen helped more than he should with Olivia, no doubt because he thought she was his daughter too, Rose still tried to do most of the work. It didn’t feel right letting him do much of anything because well... this was all a huge lie that was only bound to implode eventually. 

Owen had been spending the afternoon taking a nap. He was almost fully recovered and even though he sometimes still felt some pain coming from his abdomen, he didn’t take any pain meds, not enjoying how they made him feel. He still didn’t remember anything except that he was once in the military but he was doing alright, figuring it was a waiting game and even accepting that his memory might not ever come back. He got up from the bed and walked down to find Rose and Olivia in the living room and he smiled softly. “Hey. No, don’t worry about it. Sometimes fun involves a mess.” He said as he moved to sit down on the couch, holding his stomach as he did before relaxing on the couch.

The last few weeks had been nice honestly, just getting to know Rose and Olivia. He had been struggling with the fact he would have to re-learn about people in his life but there was something special about it as well. He had wondered how Rose felt about it but he hadn’t really asked about it. “So uh…this whole thing is crazy right? How are you holding up through it all?”

“You okay?” Rose asked, eyes full of concern as she watched Owen hold his stomach. He was almost all better, much to her relief, but it still worried her that he was still in pain. Shifting Olivia in her arms, Rose stood up before sitting down on the couch next to him, setting Liv down in the space between them and watching fondly as she babbled and crawled towards Owen.  In the last few weeks, Liv had really bonded with Owen and he with her. It made Rose feel terribly guilty to know that eventually, she would have to break this up. Owen deserved the truth and the more time went by, the closer they got, the more she dreaded having to tell him. He was going to hate her and rightfully so. And she didn’t want to think the effect it would have on Liv. 

“Crazy doesn’t begin to cover it.” She said softly, leaning back on the couch, giving him a soft smile. Why couldn’t things be different? Why couldn’t they have met earlier? “I’m okay, Owen, really. I’m more worried about you.” She admitted, the sentiment coming from deep inside her heart. Rose reached for his hand, her eyes leaving his for a moment to watch Liv, before glancing back up as she laced their fingers together. Though she knew she shouldn’t, this had become a comfortable form of affection between them. “Are you doing okay? Honestly?” She questioned him, her gaze finding his and searching for the truth in his eyes as she, subconsciously, lifted their joined hands to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. 

If she was being honest, there was a part of her that didn’t want to be honest because she enjoyed spending time with Owen. He was unlike any man she had ever met in her life and he had needed her right after the accident, to help him heal. And now... well, now, they were in this sort of routine and she wasn’t sure how to even speak the truth anymore. 

Olivia’s babble snapped her out of her musing and Rose’s attention went back to her daughter fully, smiling as she watched her crawling around Owen’s living room. Rose reached over and picked up Liv, placing her on her lap and peppering her tiny face with kisses, earning happy laughs to come from her daughter. Rose laughed along, grinning at her. “You’re just the happiest little baby in the world, aren’t you?” Her voice was full of love, tickling her daughter lightly to just hear her giggle again. It made her so happy to know that Liv was getting a life Rose had never had growing up. That she was genuinely happy and safe and loved -- something Rose never got a chance to experience. The sounds of footsteps cause her to shift her gaze to the entrance of the living room and find Owen there. “Hey...” She said softly, still a bit awkward around him though she was trying so hard not be. This mess was her doing after all.  “Sorry for the mess, we got a little out of hand this morning.” @owen-samuels​

Owen tilted his head slightly as Rose said something about a baby and he looked at her questioningly. Once the doctor’s left the room he turned to the other. “A baby? I…we have a kid?” He asked her, almost forgetting about the dog tags in his hand as he pushed himself to remember about any kids. “It’s a girl..I have a daughter? Olivia is a pretty name…” He said as he turned towards her, wincing slightly as the movement cause a bit of pain in his side. “Maybe seeing her would help..I dunno…bring back any memories.” He said. “One should remember their kid right?” He asked softly. 

When she asked if the tags had triggered anything, he just shook his head. “Nothing…” He sid and nodded. “Yeah. I guess I was in the military. I wonder if I’m still on active duty or something.” He wondered aloud, blinking his eyes slowly as a bunch of kids filed into the room and went to whoever was sharing a room with him. He would have to figure that out later as it seemed the other was in possibly worse shape then he was. He let out a breath, moving himself up further on the bed slowly. 

He looked up in time to see a baby coming towards his side of the curtain and he looked up towards the person carrying the baby and then to Rose. “Is this her?” Owen asked her, looking back towards the baby in the other person’s arms. “Olivia, right?” He asked, a little unsure.

Ah, fuck, Rose thought to herself, forgetting entirely about the lie she had entangled them in and how now Olivia would be involved. She sincerely hoped that tomorrow morning, after he woke up, all the memories would there, and they could go back to being strangers and on their merry way. Though Rose would hate to just part ways, having felt a sort of connection to the man before her, but she wouldn’t expect him to want to continue knowing her after all o this. She glossed over his initial question and just hummed softly at the last one, squeezing his hand comfortingly. “We’ll see if it triggers anything.” Though she had no such intentions of bringing Liv here. Drawing her attention back to the dog tags, Rose sighed, and she reached over to trace them with her fingers. “I don’t know but I’m sure we can find out.” She murmured, eyes widen as she caught her words because wouldn’t she as his fiancee know that? “I mean…you never really talk about it…so I never really knew were you stood.” She lied and it was a half – truth. He hadn’t talked about it but the fact that it was because they had met literally a few hours prior was left unsaid.

Rose was thankful for the distraction as she heard the noise of kids coming into the room, dashing for the opposite side where Owen’s roommate was. She scrunched her eyes, really taking them in and realized it was Siggy that was there. Her eyes widened and she made a mental note to check on her later on. Before she could think on it any further, Owen’s comment drew her attention to Clarissa as she entered the room, Olivia with her. She groaned silently – One thing…why couldn’t one thing go the way she wanted. “I’m sorry, Rose. I had to bring Siggy’s kids here, so I figured you’d want to see Liv too. I’ll take her back once they’re done over there.” Rose nodded at Rissa’s words, a thankful smile on her lips. “It’s alright; I appreciate all the help, really.” She said as she took Liv from the carrier and cradled her in her arms. “Thanks, Riss.” With a nod, Clarissa dropped the carrier on the floor and walked out of the room, the faint mutterings of I need a coffee, being heard.

With a snort of amusement, left her before she turned back to Owen, knowing there was no way to avoid this now. So, she smiled at her fake fiancée and walked back over the bed, sitting down next to him so he could see Olivia more clearly. “This is Olivia.” Rose’s tone was full of all the affection and love in the world as she said her daughter’s name. A tone that was so unfamiliar on her lips and reserved only for the bundle she carried in her arms. “She’s just about to turn 6 months old and she’s a fussy little thing but that’s probably because she’s spoiled rotten.” Rose chuckled, lifting her gaze for a moment to meet Owen’s. It was supposed to be a quick glance, but his eyes captivated her for a second too long and she had to inhale sharply to center herself again and draw her attention back to the baby in her arms. What the hell was that? “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Owen listened to her and nodded his head slowly as she told him his name and what happened. “No wonder my side hurts.” He said as he looked down at the sheets and moved his hand the rest on the incision spot. He groaned as he put some pressure on it and looked up towards the redhead. ‘Rose, right, her name is Rose.’ He thought to himself as he pushed himself up slowly on the bed. Even after being told everything, he still couldn’t remember it happening or anything and it was more than frustrating. He was about to ask more questions when the doctor came in and he looked over towards him.

“It is something that sometimes comes along with head injuries, especially his grade concussion. You don’t remember anything, Mr. Samuels?” The doctor asked him, and it took Owen a solid couple of seconds to remember what he was told his last name was and he looked up. “No, I don’t remember anything.” He said and looked over towards Rose, reaching his hand out towards her and grabbed it. Though he didn’t remember her, there was definitely some sort of connection there and he was comfortable enough to hold onto her hand. 

The neuro doc did a few more tests. “The only thing we can do for memory is wait. The brain will either repair that section or it won’t and he will have to make new memories.” He said and looked over towards Owen and placed a set of dog tags in his free hand. “We took these off during surgery, figured you might want them back. Maybe they will trigger some sort of memory.” He said before leaving. Owen looked at the tags which had his name and a few numbers. 

Rosemarie nodded along to what doctors said, glancing down at Owen just in time to see him reaching for her hand. Without hesitation, she grabbed it, lacing their fingers together as if it was second nature. She was surprised he sought her out but she was willing to comfort him. He was in this mess because of her and she had just lied to him about being engaged but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit there was a connection between them. What had made her so protective and concerned over him.  She stepped away momentarily as the doctors did their exams but immediately by his side again once she was able to, her hand finding his once more. “I’m sure they will come back, Owen.” Rose reassured him softly, glancing down at the dog tags that were given to him. 

Before she could really get look at the tags, the doctor spoke again. “If you want to stay the night with your fiancee, we can set up a cot for you.” He offered, looking at Rose and it took her a couple of seconds to figure out that he was talking to her. “Oh I...I would but I...I can’t.” She said, the guilt in her voice genuine because she would want to stay but she had to get home to Olivia. Clarissa had already done her a huge favor watching her for this long. She probably needed more formula and diapers and... “I have to get Olivia from my friend’s house. She’s not used to being away from for this long” Rose rambled, a small smile lifting her lips as she thought of her daughter. “And Riss is still a little nervous with babies.” The doctors offered her a smile and nodded. After assuring them that they would be back periodically to check on Owen, they exited the room. 

Once they were alone again, Rose took a seat on the edge of Owen’s bed, her eyes trailing from their hands to the dog tags still in his free hand. “Did...did they trigger a memory?” She asked cautiously, craning a little bit to see them. During her earlier years, when she lived on and off the streets, she had run into enough homeless vets -- something that always fueled anger and bitterness with in her. People like her deserved to be homeless but people like that? Heroes? They didn’t -- to know what they were. “You were in the military,” She said softly, with a hint of surprise.