A/N: This came to me while I was at the vet's office, waiting to take home my dog. Tell me what you think. This is AU, naturally.

"Daddy," Matthew said. "Are we there yet?"

"Just two more blocks, Matt," Owen Hunt said. "Are you excited for your first day of kindergarten?"

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed five-year-old nodded. He had been looking forward to this day all summer. As an only child, it sometimes got lonely and he desperately wanted to make new friends. Daddy was gone at work all day and he was tired of spending his days with the babysitter. Nina, his babysitter, was very nice but she wasn't a kid and didn't want to play all of the time, like he wanted her to do. He wanted to meet boys his own age, so he could have play and have fun.

Owen smiled at his son. He thought about his late wife, Miriam. It had been two years since she was gone. She had died of cancer. The last year of her life had been terrible, as he saw his once-vibrant wife wither away, right in front of him. Matt was only three when she died. He sometimes wondered if his son would remember much of his mother so he always kept her picture up around the house so that Matt could look at her face, whenever he wanted. Miriam would have loved to be there to take Matt to his first day of kindergarten, he thought.

He parked his car in the parking lot of Kingston Academy, a private school that took kids from kindergarten to Grade 8. It was very difficult to get into, and only the smartest, well-rounded kids gained entry. Even the kindergarteners had to do an entrance test, with only those scoring in the 90th percentile and up would be given an interview. Matt had scored in the 95th percentile and had done well at his interview. The only reason that Matt was going to this school was that Miriam felt that it would start him off well and give him the right footing in his academic life. Owen didn't really see what the big fuss was all about as he found the entry requirements for five-year-olds were ridiculously strenuous.

He held his son's hand as they walked together to the kindergarteners' classroom. He went straight up to the teacher's desk to introduce himself.

"Good morning, I am Owen Hunt and this is my son, Matthew, who is here for his first day of kindergarten," he said.

"Ah, Mr. Hunt. I am Miss Thompson," the bespectacled brunette said. "Let me take a look at my papers. Yes, Matthew Hunt. Here it is. We have all of your contact information. Just one thing, for security reasons, will you be the only person allowed to pick up Matt after school?"

"Yes, but if there is an emergency, I may designate my assistant to come for him but I will call first if that is a possibility," Owen said.

"Good. If you want to take a look around the classroom before you leave, you can do so. We have about half-an-hour again before school officially starts," Miss Thompson said.

"I would like that, Miss Thompson," Owen said, noting that there were other parents milling around the classroom.

He and Matt went to look at the hamster cage at one end of the classroom. There were two hamsters and the sign outside of their cage said their names were Stan and Ollie. Matt seemed fascinated by them.

Owen was distracted by the sound of a little girl's laughter. A pretty little girl entered the classroom. She had long, dark curly hair and hazel eyes and looked smaller than the rest of the children. She was clearly half Asian/half Caucasian. Then he heard a voice say, "Leah, wait for me." The little girl stood near the doorway, waiting for the person who owned the voice. A beautiful Asian woman with the same long, dark curly hair as her daughter, entered the classroom. She took his breath away.

"I keep telling you to stop running ahead of me," the woman said to Leah.

"I'm just excited, Mummy," said the little girl.

They both went up to the teacher's desk. Owen found himself eavesdropping.

"Good morning. I am Cristina Yang and this is my daughter, Leah Murphy," the woman said.

"Ah, this is little Leah, who topped all of the kids in the entrance test," Miss Thompson said.

"Well, I am just grateful that you all are accepting her, even though she is only four years old," Cristina said.

"Well, we at Kingston, recognize brilliance from an early age and Leah is showing that she is going to be an academic superstar. We are pleased to have her," Miss Thompson said. "Just a little housekeeping note here. For security reasons, will you be the only person coming to pick up Leah after school?"

"Yes, I am," she said.

"What about Leah's dad?" Miss Thompson enquired.

"Leah's dad and I are divorced. He lives about 40 miles from here," she said. "It could be the rare occasion that he picks her up if he is taking her to his house for the weekend. His name is Ian Murphy."

"Alright, then," Miss Thompson said. "If you want to take a look around the classroom before you leave, feel free to do so, Ms. Yang."

"Thanks," said Cristina, as she took her daughter to admire the fish. She noticed the tall handsome man with his blonde son at the hamster cage. If she was into dating and he was single, she thought she wouldn't have minded going out with him.

Since she and Ian had got divorced a year ago, she really hadn't been dating at all, especially as a single mom, taking care of a little girl. Ian would come by on Friday nights and pick up Leah to take her to his house for the weekend and drop her off on Sunday nights. So, while she did have her weekends free, she really didn't have the zest for dating right now.

The man smiled at her. She smiled back. She wondered which of the other ladies in the room was his wife. She looked at Leah, who seemed mesmerized by the fish. Her face was pressed against the aquarium.

She bent down to her daughter's height. "Leah, I have to go to work now. Will you be okay?"

"Yes, Mummy," Leah said. "I am so happy to be in school."

"Well, I will come and pick you up as soon as school is over," Cristina said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "You will be alright."

"Okay," said the little girl, as she turned to watch the fish, once again.

As Cristina walked away, Owen found himself admiring the curve of her body in her short skirt and the smooth, slim legs. "Hmmm," he thought.

"Matt," he said. "There's a cute little girl at the fish tank. She looks lonely. Why don't you talk to her?"

"Daddy, she's a girl. I don't play with girls," Matt said, as he folded his arms.

"Well, she's littler than everybody else here. It must be scary for her. Why don't you just say hi?" Owen encouraged.

"Oh, alright," Matt said. He went up to Leah. "Hello, my name is Matt. Is this your first day here?"

"Yes," Leah said. "I am Leah. It's my first day, too. Do you like fish?"

"Yup, I love fish. I got a fish tank at home with lots of goldfish," Matt said, eager to talk about his pets.

Owen smiled, as he watched Matt and Leah engage into an intense conversation about taking care of fish.

Owen called out to Matt, "Buddy, I have to go to work, now. Will be back later to pick you up." He hoped that the woman, Cristina, would be there at the same time to pick up her daughter. He found himself a little bit excited at the prospect.

"Bye, Daddy," Matt said and he returned to his conversation about his fish.

Cristina arrived at her workplace at Fishburne & Marshall Advertising, 15 minutes later. She was an advertising account executive, in charge of several major accounts.

"So how was the first day of kindergarten?" her fellow ad exec Shauna Atkins asked.

"Oh, she took to it like a fish to water. Has been looking forward to this for weeks. Not a single tear was shed. Me, I was a little bit wistful because she is growing up so fast," Cristina said.

"Is she going to Ian's house this weekend?" Shauna asked.

"Yes. Despite all of our problems during our marriage, I must say that Ian is a good dad," Cristina said. "I have to give him kudos for that, even though I couldn't forgive him for cheating on me. No wonder I can't date; I just don't trust anybody anymore."

"So did you meet any of the other parents?" Shauna asked.

"Not really. But ooh, there was one gorgeous guy there. He had a little boy. Probably married to one of the other women there. Not that it matters, I am not even dating," Cristina said.

"Well, you better get back on the dating scene, Cristina. It has been a year since the divorce came through. You've got to get out there," Shauna sighed.

"I haven't dated since college," Cristina said. "That's when Ian and I met. I haven't dressed up for a guy in ages."

"You are a beautiful girl, Cristina," Shauna said. "There would be a line of guys, all ready to date you."

"I just am not ready to trust," Cristina said. "I have a little girl and I have to be careful who I bring into her life."

"I get that, Cristina, but you don't have to bring them into your lives. Date a few guys here and there. Get back into the groove. There is no commitment until you're ready," Shauna said.

Cristina nodded, thoughtfully.

Owen arrived at his workplace, Showalter Foods, twenty minutes later. His assistant, Miss Debbie Beasley, already had his coffee on his desk and there was a ton of paperwork already there. He groaned. He had recently been named as the vice president of marketing for the snack foods division at Showalter and while he was ready for the challenge, the amount of paperwork was overwhelming, sometimes.

As he read the latest sales reports, his mind wandered about the woman he had seen at the kindergarten. He knew her name, Cristina and her daughter's name, Leah. She was divorced, which was a good thing, for a man wanting to get to know her better.

Owen had dated sporadically since Miriam's death. It was true that he had not been celibate but none of his dates had blossomed into long-term relationships. He had to think about Matt's welfare, if he was going to introduce a potential stepmother into his life.

His thoughts were interrupted by Debbie. "Mr. Hunt, I have rescheduled the meeting with the advertising agency for tomorrow at 10 a.m. They're going to present their ideas to promote the potato chip line. The meeting is in the conference room."

"Thanks, Debbie. That's fine," Owen said. The rest of his day was packed with meetings, meetings and more meetings. At 2.30, he grabbed hold of his jacket and headed down to his car, as he was going to pick up Matt and drop him off at home where the babysitter was waiting. He hoped he would catch glimpse of Cristina while she picked up her daughter.

Cristina had also left her office to pick up Leah. Unlike Owen, she would have to leave Leah in her office until it was time to go home.

He parked his car and looked out for the dark-haired woman. He saw her, waiting with the other parents. He went and stood next to her. She acknowledged his presence with a smile. He gave her his most welcoming smile. She wondered if she should say something.

When the children came streaming out of the school, they both looked out for their kids. Owen saw them first. They were holding hands. Cristina was shocked to see her little girl holding hands with this boy.

"Hi," Matt said. "Leah, this is my daddy."

"This is my mummy, Matt," Leah replied, as she hugged her mother's legs.

"Hey there, sport," Owen said, tousling his son's hair.

"Hey, baby," Cristina said, as she kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves," Owen said, putting out his hand. "I am Owen Hunt and this little slugger is Matt."

"I am Cristina Yang and this is Leah," Cristina said, as she simultaneously picked up her four-year-old and shook his hand.

"Well, it seems our kids are friends, we should be at least friendly," Owen grinned.

"I guess so, too," Cristina said. "I'll probably see you tomorrow morning."

"Looking forward to it," Owen said. He watched Cristina carrying Leah, walk away and get into her Honda Civic.

"Come on, Matt. Let's get you home," Owen said, with a smile, as he took his son's hand. His plan had worked perfectly.

A/N: Please leave your review. Thanks much.