"You are going to win!" Meredith's voice is firm and friendly over the phone. "You're going to be the youngest winner of the Harper Avery award – until one of our kids wins it. Go get 'em, tiger!"
"Tiger? Really?" Cristina makes a face. "We're back at the suite, gotta go."
"Bye!"
Cristina ends the call and picks up her pace, walking down the corridor of Boston's finest hotel. Owen and his mother are already in the hotel suite, removing Chloe and Mallory from the double stroller.
"I think the girls are ready for a nap," Mrs Hunt yawns. "What a day."
"I think you're ready for a nap too," Owen grins. "Why don't you lie down in your room while we handle the kids and order dinner?"
"You're going to need your strength for tonight, babysitting these two monkeys." Cristina takes Mallory from her mother-in-law. "We can not thank you enough for coming to Boston with us."
"My pleasure, I loved seeing the city today. And I know you want the girls to see your Harper Avery Award as soon as possible." Mrs Hunt smiles knowingly before going to her room.
"Take my phone," Cristina says, handing it to Owen. "I can't handle any more calls tonight, they're making me nervous."
"I wanna snack," Chloe mumbles against Owen's chest as he carries her to the small kitchen area.
"You can have some fruit and then you're going to lie down for a while before supper," he tells her.
Cristina opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle for Mallory, who is fussing in her arms. "Be patient, you."
"Their schedule is off." Owen straps Chloe into a high chair. "Our first trip as a family, for Mommy's Harper Avery award."
Cristina smiles slightly, as she warms up the bottle. "Visiting the city was a good distraction."
He reaches out and touches her chin. "You've got this in the bag. You're going to win."
oOoOo
After the girls eat, Cristina tries to get them to nap. Chloe passes out in her little bed, but Mallory sits up in the hotel crib and starts to cry.
"We have to get ready!" Cristina whispers, stroking Mallory's red curls. "Lie down, close your eyes, give in to your body's need for rest."
"Maybe this will help." Owen enters the room and hands Mallory a stuffed dog. The baby gurgles happily before starting to gnaw on it. "I think she likes it."
"I bought it for her," Cristina says smugly. He chuckles and puts his hands around her waist from behind.
"I ordered room service, it'll be here in about 45 minutes," Owen whispers, huskily. "Why don't we go have a shower so you can ... relax? I'll wash your hair."
"And we can be noisy since your mom is asleep." Grinning, she scampers out of the room, unbuttoning her shirt.
oOoOo
Dressed in a simple black gown, and with her hair styled up off of her neck, Cristina sits down at the dressing table and pulls out her make-up bag.
"I wanna see!" Chloe walks into the master bedroom, her black curls damp from her bath. She smiles up at her mother.
"Really?" Cristina frowns.
"I loved watching my mother get ready for a party," Mrs Hunt smiles, pausing in the doorway with Mallory in her arms. "I think Chloe does too."
"Huh, I never did." Cristina looks at herself in the mirror, trying to remember the speech she'd prepared and rehearsed with Owen and Meredith. All she can think of is how scared she looks.
oOoOo
When Mrs Hunt returns with a freshly bathed Mallory, Cristina is putting on her rings as the final touch. Owen is fiddling with the cufflinks on his tuxedo.
"Mommy is pretty!" Chloe tilts her head up and purses her lips.
"So is Chloe." Cristina bends over and kisses her, before pulling her onto her lap. "Now listen up, I have something important to tell you two."
Mrs Hunt sits down while Owen cocks his head, amused.
"I'm nominated for a very important award," Cristina tells her daughters. "This didn't happen overnight, I worked very hard for it, and I want to tell you how to get nominated too."
Chloe nods, watching her raptly.
"First, you get an idea on how you can help save lives through surgery," Cristina tells Chloe. "And you do research. A lot of it. You apply for grants, and you set up a solid research team and find patients for your trials. Then you make mistakes but you also make serious breakthroughs."
Mallory burps before snuggling against her grandmother, sticking her thumb in her mouth.
"Mistakes are how you learn." Cristina shares a special smile with Owen. "Girls, you're going to make mistakes as you grow older, but they will make you better surgeons. Or whatever you want to be."
"Being a surgeon is cool," Owen whispers, playfully.
"And then you perfect a new surgical technique, that just happens to bear your name, and then you save a lot of lives. Saving lives is the important part. Getting nominated for a Harper Avery award that you totally deserve to win is also important. The end." Cristina picks up Chloe, whose eyes are shining. "Got that?"
The little girl giggles.
"And it really helps to have a husband like your daddy." Cristina points to Owen. "He did so much to help me by finding potential trial patients in the Pit, and doing all of the day care stuff and hiring a housekeeper, so that when I came home, I had plenty of time to spend with our smart children." She kisses Chloe's cheek. "You don't have to get married, but if you do, find someone like him."
Moved, Owen can only stare at her.
Mrs Hunt smiles widely at Cristina. "Have I ever told you that I like you much more than Beth?"
"Thank you." Cristina laughs as Owen gapes at his mother.
"Beth was nice but a little boring," Mrs Hunt tells a stunned Owen. "Cristina is a firecracker and so are my grand-daughters."
"That's true," he grins, before checking his watch. "Time to go."
Cristina nods, her smile fading. She squeezes Chloe before putting her on the floor. "Have fun with Grandma and Mallory." Then she bends over and kisses Mallory's cheek. "Behave."
"Good night girls," Owen chuckles, taking Cristina's hand. "The next time you see your mother, she'll have the Harper Avery award."
oOoOo
As Cristina steps down from the podium, filled with adrenaline, the first person she sees is Owen. Beaming with pride, he moves towards her, planting a congratulatory kiss on her cheek.
"I knew you would win," he says against her ear. "Congratulations."
"Congratulations Dr Yang." Catherine Avery steps forward, hand extended. "The youngest recipient of the Harper Avery award, by five years."
"Thank you." Cristina shakes Catherine's hand, before being surrounded by well-wishers. She quickly loses sight of Owen as everyone speaks to her at once.
oOoOo
Hours later, Cristina is exhausted and her throat is getting hoarse, Owen reappears and hands her a flute of champagne. "You look thirsty."
"I am!" Gratefully, she drinks until the glass is empty. "I needed that." She looks around the room. "Where did everyone go?"
"It's 2 a.m.," Owen informs her. "Let's go."
In the elevator, Cristina looks through the many messages on her phone, responding to a chosen few. She notices that Owen is quiet, but attributes that to their long day. They try to quietly enter the hotel suite, but see that Mrs Hunt is up with both girls. She's feeding Mallory a bottle while Chloe jumps up to greet them.
"Congratulations," Mrs Hunt smiles, seeing the trophy in Cristina's hands. "Owen texted me the good news."
"Thank you." Cristina kicks off her shoes.
"Yay Mommy!" Chloe points to the trophy in her hands.
"And why aren't you girls in bed?" Owen picks up Chloe and sits down with her. "Were you hungry?"
"They both were," his mother replies. "I don't think they like sleeping in a strange place, I couldn't get them to stay settled for long."
"Thank you again for coming with us," Cristina tells her, placing the trophy on the coffee table. Her fingers gently touch it, as she thinks of all the work that preceded it. The trials, the long hours spent in her research lab. She had truly made her mark in the field of cardio-thoracic medicine.
"That's pretty," Chloe says, reaching for it. Instinctively, Cristina raises a hand to stop her, then pauses. She watches as Chloe's little hands touch the trophy.
Owen grins. "Let her feel the trophy, and the thrill of surgery."
oOoOo
Once the girls are settled into bed again, they bid a good night to Owen's mother and go into the master bedroom.
Sighing, Cristina flops down on the bed. She stretches and removes her jewelry, while Owen pulls off his jacket. Without being asked, he unzips her dress, his fingers lightly caressing the small of her back. While she goes into the adjoining bathroom, he gathers up her clothes.
Cristina feels exhausted as she crawls into bed. Sleepily, she watches Owen put away her jewelry. "Come to bed," she yawns.
"As you wish." He slides under the covers and kisses her. "I am so proud of you."
She smiles, turning off the light. Sighing, she settles against her pillows. Owen makes himself comfortable beside her.
As his breathing begins to slow, Cristina stares at the ceiling. Instead of thinking of everything she did to win the award, her mind is racing through each room of their house back in Seattle. The kitchen full of food. The nursery that is always stocked with what she needs to take care of Mallory. Chloe's room, neat and tidy with everything arranged just the way she likes it. Their bedroom, where she always has clean clothes and underwear waiting for her.
Cristina flips onto her side and shakes Owen's shoulder.
"Hunh?" He squints at her. "What's wrong?"
"Thank you," Cristina tells him. "I know I said it in my speech – but thank you. For helping me win the award by doing so much at home."
He smiles, sleepily. "You're welcome."
"I mean it." She shifts closer. "You kept the household going while I was elbows deep in paperwork. You made snacks for day care and handled the play dates and birthday parties and babysitters. I could not have done it without you."
He reaches out and touches her cheek. "We're a team."
"And you gave up surgeries," Cristina continues. "just to make sure everything ran smoothly while I was absorbed in my trials. So that when I came home at night, I had time to spend with the girls instead of doing household stuff. I would've been a stranger to them without you."
"You've saved so many lives."
"Are we okay?" Cristina asks, anxiety creeping into her voice. "You were quiet in the elevator, are you mad that -"
Owen pulls her head down, stopping her words with a fierce kiss. His mouth and tongue work overtime to assure her of his feelings.
He grins when he breaks the kiss. "We're better than okay."
"Talk to me." She lies down on his chest, facing him.
"I'm proud of you," Owen says, stroking her hair. "Your research and surgical techniques are brilliant, and so are you."
"What's bothering you?"
"I talked to so many people tonight who are amazed by you, and they should be." Owen sighs. "There were a few who seem to think you're Superwoman, holding down two jobs of surgeon and motherhood all by yourself ... like I'm this guy who's just there, drinking beer or whatever while you do all the work, like you're a single parent or something."
"They've got it wrong," Cristina insists. "I am Wonder Woman at the hospital, but I'm not a single mom. I can barely make pancakes, never mind parenting alone. And you're a brilliant surgeon too. You know that I could never have married someone who is lousy with a scalpel."
He chuckles.
"I'm not the only one with ideas and ambitions," she says, reaching out to caress his face. "Maybe you should find the time to pursue yours."
"One of my ambitions was to have a family," he says. "It means the world to me that you chose to start one. I want you to have the family and the career that you want, and I wanted you to succeed with your project."
He pauses. "I have ideas for future research, yes, that will probably keep me from running the household from time to time. If that means that we all live off of take-out food for a while, I guess we'll survive. And I'll buy tons of clean underwear first because I know all about you and laundry."
"Aw." She smiles. "You're my hero."
"And you're mine." He looks at her. "I'm curious about one thing – why did you thank Ellis Grey in your speech?"
Sighing, Cristina moves against him. "Because of her journals which Meredith lent me."
"I didn't think she did a lot of cardio-thoracic research."
"She didn't." Cristina traces a circle on his bare chest. "Her journals showed me how to neglect a child in the pursuit of a career. I thought of her when I went back to work after having Chloe, and began my research project. I thought of everything Meredith had told me about Ellis, and didn't want Chloe to grow up miserable."
Cristina pauses. "I also didn't want to resent Chloe the way that Ellis resented Meredith."
Owen rubs her arm. "I think you love our babies very much."
"I do," she assures him. "And because I have you, I can balance work and family. It's not easy, but ... I'm very happy."
He kisses her, tenderly. "I'm extremely happy."
She slides a hand up his arm, coyly. "You are the wind beneath my wings."
His eyes glint with amusement.
"You raise me up." Deliberately, Cristina moves her hand lower.
"You're raising me up." Growling, Owen pulls her in for another scorching kiss.
"I can tell." Grinning wickedly, Cristina sits up and straddles him. "I'm going to give you my personal award for excellence in marriage..."
Author's note – this story was inspired by the "Sliding Doors" episode, specifically the notion that Cristina would be exhausted and bitter, while Owen blithely swung kids around at birthday parties. Not in my Parentverse! What do you think?