"Bye Mommy!" Owen stands at the front door, holding Chloe, while Cristina pulls on her jacket.
"Don't call me Mommy," she mutters. "Okay I'm just going two blocks away with Meredith. Call me if you need me."
"We'll be fine, you just fed her. Go enjoy being outside."
Cristina kisses Chloe's cheek. "I'll be back soon." After one lingering look, she leaves the house.
"It's you and me, alone at last!" Owen grins down at his infant daughter. "Want some tummy time?"
She blinks up at him.
Chuckling, he carries her into the living room and lies down on the couch. Very gently, he places Chloe on his chest, so that she is lying on her stomach and facing him. His hands steady her.
"You may think I'm crazy," he says. "The tummy time is so that you can strengthen your neck and upper back muscles. Some day, you'll be able to hold your head up all by yourself."
Chloe looks confused.
"We won't do it for long," Owen assures her. "Not at first. You'll gradually build up your muscles."
Wrinkling her forehead, Chloe's eyes roam the room.
"Mommy went out with Auntie Meredith because she's got a bit of 'cabin fever'," Owen smiles. "She spent a long time on bed rest to make sure you were born healthy, and now she needs to get out of the house. She'll come back before you get hungry, and if we miscalculated, she pumped out some milk and it's in the fridge."
He reaches out and strokes her black curly hair. "I loved you before you were born. Since I saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test, if we're being honest."
Owen sees that Chloe seems to be struggling with moving her head, so he sits up and gently flips her over, supporting her neck. "That's enough for today."
Smiling, he kisses her forehead. "I will always be here to support you," he says, softly.