AU: A chance encounter at a rustic bed and breakfast inn brings Owen and Cristina together.

Thirty-two-year-old Owen Hunt sat quietly on the patio of Tulley's Inn, a bed and breakfast establishment, where he had many childhood memories. His parents had frequented the inn, whenever they wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. He and his dad would spend many a day, hiking or exploring around the inn or fishing in the stream that ran near the back of the inn. It was a place where he could come and think about his life.

There had been so much change in his life within the last few months. He had decided to give up his corporate job back in New York and moved back to Palo Alto. His mom, now widowed, was not in the best of health and she needed him to be closer to home. He had tried to persuade his girlfriend, Jenny to move to Palo Alto with him but she decided to stay in New York instead, ending their three-year relationship.

She said she was a New York girl through and through and moving to California was not in the cards for her. He respected her wishes and they ended their relationship, amicably. He moved out of the apartment they shared together and sent his belongings to a new condo townhouse he had bought in Palo Alto.

He got a job at Stanford, as an assistant professor at the business school. He had always enjoyed the academic track. He did his undergrad work at Stanford and had gone on to Columbia to do his PhD. In New York, he had been lured by the bright lights of Wall Street and had joined a major investment firm, where they considered him a hotshot on the street. The firm was very disappointed, when he quit, leaving behind his cushy job, office, salary and bonuses.

Owen really didn't need money, having made a fortune in his past investments. With his future financially secure, he could get back to his academic roots. His mom's illness had just been the impetus for him to start a new life.

He had come back to his childhood haunt so he could clear his head before the new school semester started. This rustic hideaway could make him forget about his real life at least for the weekend. He had planned to stay from Thursday night, before returning back to his townhouse on Sunday night.

As he relaxed on the porch, he caught a view of some of the newly-arrived weekend guests. Most interesting were the two pretty 20-something girls, who arrived by car. One was blonde, (he called her Goldie) and the other had the darkest curls he had ever seen. He decided to call her Raven.

Goldie was holding on tightly to Raven's hand and it almost seemed that she was dragging her friend into the inn. He wondered if they were friends or a couple. He hoped they were just friends because he felt an instant attraction to Raven. "What am I thinking?" he thought. "I just got out of a long-term relationship."

Meredith Grey was indeed dragging Cristina Yang into the inn. Cristina had been very reluctant to come but Meredith had forced her into the trip. Cristina had complained all the way down on the drive to Tulley's.

Meredith had originally planned to come to the inn, with her boyfriend, Derek Shepherd but they had a huge fight and there was no way that she was going to spend a romantic weekend with Derek after that blow-out. Since the accommodations were already paid for, she had no choice but to go. She had managed to get Cristina packed and in the car and finally, the last hurdle, actually, trying to get them checked into their room.

Cristina complained, "What the hell am I going to do in the boondocks?" Meredith gave her an evil glare, as Mrs. Tulley, owner of the bed and breakfast, checked them in. Mrs. Tulley was a sweet old bird, with grey hair and sharp green eyes.

"Your room is on the third floor – 302. There is only one other guest on that floor – Owen. So it will be very quiet. You should have a chat with him; he has been coming here since he was a child, so he knows the inn and the surroundings very well," Mrs. Tulley said, as she handed over two old-fashioned keys to Meredith.

"Thank you, Mrs. Tulley," Meredith said, as Lorenzo, Mrs. Tulley's son, picked up their bags to carry it to their room. "Are you coming up, Cristina?"

Cristina replied, "No, I will just go and have a seat on the porch for a bit. I might as well enjoy the fresh air, while I am here."

"Oh, before I forget," Mrs. Tulley said. "The forecast says that we might have an electrical thunderstorm tonight and sometimes, the power goes out during the storms. Here are a few candles you can light. Don't worry, girls, the power comes back by morning."

"Just great," Cristina muttered, as she headed out to the porch.

There was already someone out there. A rather good-looking, redheaded gentleman was seated at one end of the porch. He nodded at her and smiled. She smiled back, politely.

"Nice evening," she said, making small talk, as she sat down on a bench.

"Yes, it is," he replied. He could smell her shampoo as the wind whipped at her curls and the scent wafted across towards him. It was the clean, fresh scent of green apples. It was rather enticing, he thought.

They both sat in silence, as they watched the setting sun. The sky was streaked red, orange and pink and it was absolutely gorgeous. Even though they didn't know each other, somehow, both of them felt it was something that they shared together.

As the sky darkened, she finally turned and bade him goodbye. He returned her farewell with a beaming smile.

She wandered up the flight of stairs to her room on the third floor, opened the door to discover a yellow room with a king-size bed on which Meredith was already passed out. She brushed her teeth and just fell into the bed, next to Meredith. They were so exhausted from that very long ride to the inn.

They even slept through the thunderstorm that raged that night, and neither of them woke up, even though the building was lit up like a Christmas tree from the lightning flashes.

As Mrs. Tulley had predicted, the power was knocked out by the storm.

Cristina woke up to a pitch-black room, feeling a little bit hot and thirsty. She tried the lamp next to the bed but when it failed to light, she groaned as she realized the power was out. She felt her way to the dresser, where she found the candles that Mrs. Tulley had given to them earlier, and fumbled with the matches to light a candle. She was going to find the ice machine to get some ice, so she could have a tall, cold drink of water.

As she made her way out of the room, she left the door of the room open, so she wouldn't have to fumble with the key to get back in. She wandered down the corridor but it was an exercise in futility as she failed to find an ice machine. As she walked back to her room, she suddenly tripped; her candle fell and went out. The corridor became pitch-black.

"Great, just great," Cristina muttered as she picked herself off the floor. "Why did I ever come to this place? The things I do for Meredith. This place is so rustic, they haven't even bothered to invest in a generator."

She blindly inched her way along the corridor, feeling the walls until she found an open door. She stepped in and closed the door, quietly. She found her way to the bed, slipped off her jeans and crawled under the covers.

Owen stirred in his sleep. Was someone getting into his bed? He had left his door open after the storm to let the air circulate through his room. He didn't think that someone would come into his room. The scent of green apples wafted over to him and he knew exactly who it was. It was the girl with the raven curls.

Cristina whispered, "Meredith, do you know that there is no ice machine on this floor? I just fell down in the corridor and the darn candle went out. Good thing I left our door open, so I could find the room again."

Owen smiled from his side of the bed.

"Meredith, are you awake?" she asked. "Please don't try and spoon me tonight. I am not Derek."

Owen stayed as quiet as possible. At least he found out that the two girls were not a couple, since she had mentioned that Meredith (Goldie) had someone named Derek.

She settled down to sleep and soon, he could hear her even breathing, indicating that she was asleep. He also drifted back to dreamland.

It was early morning when Cristina woke up. Sunlight was already streaming through the windows. She stretched out her arms and yawned.

"Wait a minute," she thought as she took a good look at the room. "I distinctly remember our room was yellow. This room is blue. I am in the wrong room."

She looked across at the person, who was sleeping on the other side of the bed. "What the hell?" she thought. "That's the red-headed guy from the patio. Oh my God, I have been sleeping in a bed with a total stranger." She was horrified, as she quietly slipped out of the bed. She tiptoed to the door and softly opened it. He would never know that she was there, she thought.

Owen was a light sleeper and he knew exactly when the bed shifted as she crawled out of it. He was greatly amused by her attempts at a quiet escape.

Cristina ran back into her room and jumped into the bed, waking up Meredith. "Meredith, wake up, wake up."

Meredith's eyes fluttered open. "Where were you, Cristina? I wanted to spoon you and you weren't there."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "That's because I was sleeping in the wrong room. The power went out last night and I went into the wrong room because I couldn't see. You would not believe this. I slept in the same bed with a total stranger. So glad that I got out of there before he woke up."

Meredith started laughing.

"This is not funny, Meredith. Oh my God. I just remembered. I took off my jeans before I got into the bed. They're still there, somewhere on the floor," Cristina shrieked in horror.

"Well, if he doesn't know that you were there, then he won't know who owns that pair of jeans," Meredith said in a consoling tone.

"Of course he will know. He knows that there are only two girls on this floor so it's either me or you," Cristina replied.

Meredith said, "Well, we will just leave him guessing, then. Come on, let's wash up and go downstairs and grab some breakfast. I hear the breakfasts here are legendary."

Meanwhile, back in his room, Owen got up to go to his bathroom. He did notice a tiny pair of skinny jeans lying on the wooden floor. He picked them up and grinned. He wondered if she was going to ask him about them. He folded them neatly and placed them on a chair. He went to the bathroom to freshen up and then, headed down to breakfast in the dining room.

Mrs. Tulley smiled broadly at Owen. It was heartening to see that little boy she had known all those years before, had grown into such a tall, strapping, handsome man. She placed him at his favorite table near the window and brought him his coffee and his breakfast.

He sat down to read the newspaper and kept an eye out for the raven-haired girl and her friend. As he saw them enter, he could see her scan the room, probably looking for him.

Their eyes met across the room. He smiled enigmatically at her.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW. YOUR THOUGHTS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED.