Title: In Forty Years

Author: Rachel2008

Disclaimers: They aren't mine, no copyright infringement is intended, blah blah blah.

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Forty years, folks.

Rating: Disney.

Feedback: Like it, don't like it, just let me know.

Archive: No.

Writer alert: Just a small fic prompt written for the hiatus guide survival at the Cristina/Owen community at LJ. No beta, all mistakes are mine. Tell me and I will fix them.

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Cristina walked in the alley of trees feeling the soft breeze touch her face. It was a magnificent day, one of the very few like that in Seattle, sunny with clear blue sky. The place was quiet and the silence made her feel very peaceful. She had officially retired from her position as Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Seattle Grace, but she had accepted to consult for the hospital board. That plus the conferences and the teaching at University of Washington would keep her busy for the next years.

Nobody had to pry a scalpel out of her hand, for she had planned her departure months in advance. It had been only fitting that her last surgery had been a very difficult case, where she had brilliantly executed her own technique – the Yang Maneuver. Medicine had evolved so much during all those decades, but a surgeon's talent and capable hands were still irreplaceable. She was a Cardio god, and she was leaving her craft as one. No fall for Cristina Yang.

Looking back she couldn't believe how much she had changed and yet she was the same. She had learnt to be patient, to share, to listen. She refused however to lose time with lazy stupid people and she had never tried to be anything else than the best. She regretted never having children, she had found her faith again for science itself couldn't explain everything and she had, indeed, witnessed a couple of miracles. She had seen family and friends go, she had met new people. She had loved and she had been loved.

She reached her destination, and heart tightened, skipping a beat. He had never stopped affecting her that way.

"So, forty years, uh?" she said, brushing a dried leaf from the top of the headstone. "I did well, you would have been proud of me," she whispered softly, her eyes watering. Her hand reached the pocket of her coat and she gently placed her scrub cap on the grass in front of his name. "But you still owe me seventeen years…so wherever it happens… whenever it happens…" she smiled, tears rolling down her face "… see you, Owen."

Finis.