Hot and cold
Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
Summary: Owen Hunt has been running both hot and cold with Cristina since he got at Settle Gray. But when one Preston Burke makes a shocking arrival- Owen finally decides what he wants and needs.
Feeback: Yes please
Trivia: Kevin McKidd says that his character and the character of Cristina Yang are soulmates. Just a little something to think about!! :)
Hot and Cold: Chapter One
Owen watched Cristina standing by the elevator, one hand resting against the wall, another at her hip. She looked tired- tired and downright defeated. It had been intense in that operating theatre, with all the snapping and snipping, and then what was that final comment Dr Grey had made? Oh, that's right, he remembered- well to some of us surgery comes naturally – others have to practice. And there was something in that little jab that told Owen that she meant it as more than just an insult to Cristina's surgical skills. Well, that and the all around deafening silence that consumed the operating room as soon as the words had left her mouth. Even Derrick, who was always on Dr Grey's side, seemed to wince and throw a comforting and apologetic looking at Cristina. And Cristina well, she said nothing, absolutely nothing. And to him that was strange. The whole time he had been at the hospital Cristina always had something to say, always brushed off abusive comments like they were merely an itch that needed to be scratched, always had a comeback- except then, when it had counted.
He approached her cautiously but with a determination in his step as he took off the surgical cap.
"You ok? You wanna get a drink or something?" he paused and waited, giving her a moment to collect herself. They didn't have the best track record with conversations, mainly due to the fact that they always ended up kissing: in the hospital, a dirty alleyway, on a vent or even on her front steps. No, Cristina Yang and Owen Hunt didn't seem to be able to converse well. Which was alright with him since he didn't seem up to talking much, and well she, she didn't talk unless she had to.
Whirling around, her eyes fierce, she glared at him, "Oh, now we're on again cause the mood suits you?"
He stared at her, starting to shake his head, whilst wondering where this person had come from? Hadn't the woman he'd seen standing here just a minute ago been a shell; nothing but a body with no soul and no fight. But then again him/Cristina converations? What else had he expected.
"Cause I'm the sad little girl" she continued "with no friends, and so I tripped your savior complex into action?"
"I-I – I"
She shook her head clearly frustrated, "Usually I can deal with the hot and cold thing, but not today". The lift pinged, opening behind her and she didn't hesitate to turn and walk into it. Then she looked up at him as if he was, for the moment, someone else or as if she had forgotten she had been talking to him. Waving a hand dismissively she spat, "Leave me the hell alone", pressing the button she moved her hand up to her head and rested it there. He stood by the lift and watched it close, seriously wishing that he had something to do. But then he realised he had nowhere to go and nothing to do, but to go back and work another 12 hour shift and think about all the ways he could have handled that situation better.
She would have been good in the military, he thought as he stared at the lift, because she had the ability to make a grown man sit up and weep. His old military buddies would have loved her spirit. His best buddy Ben would have said 'Finally one girl with the sense to not get bent out of shape over you. She'd be good for you, a man like you needs to fight and I reckon she's the one to do that with'.
But Ben was dead, and Owen didn't want to fight anymore, he just wanted to be left the hell alone. But still that was something about her. She was a reminder of his past. The days before he had witnessed all his friends get slaughtered and had been more than willing to joke and flirt and charm a girl into bed. But the past was the past and Cristina had no right to remind him of that when all he wanted to do was be left alone. So like she said he'd leave her the hell alone.
Today had not been a good day.
*****
A week later Owen entered the hospital to find a buzz in the air. He looked around to find all the residents, attendings and interns congregating by the canteen. He paused and stood behind them, "What are we looking at?" he asked, trying to peer around the crowd of people.
The chief turned to look at Owen as if he was embarrassed to be caught standing, gawking at whatever was going on in the empty canteen.
"Em…nothing." His eyes drifted to the canteen door, back to Owen and then to the interns, "We have lives to save people, so go save lives". It took a moment, but all the interns left, and then chief was staring at the residents and attendings.
"She's my roommate" said Dr Torres as if it explained her presence. The chief turned to Dr. Sloan.
"I've got nothing," he began to move away, "Torres: later." he called as he walked down the hallway.
"Karev, O'Malley, Stevens!" barked the chief and they turned to look at him; the picture of innocence.
"Hey, he's my friend" said Dr. O'Malley.
The chief sighed, "Fine: Karev, Stevens, Shepherd," he paused at Meredith, "Dr. Grey."
"She's my person," said Dr. Grey resolute, "I stay."
"You're not her person," said Dr Torrez suddenly and angrily, "you're her nothing, but a bitchy pain in the arse, you…" she took a menacing step forward, "you get to go."
That exchange further peaked Owen's curiousity. Normally, he wasn't one to get involved in personal affairs, especially Cris- damn it! he meant Yang's affairs. But still he stood. As a military man he had learned the importance of instincts and his instincts were telling him to stay. So he stayed.
Dr. Grey stood still and eyed Torrez "I'm her person," she repeated.
"No," said Torres, "For the last couple of weeks, I've been her person. I've been there for the phone calls and the letters and the emails- I've" she pointed to herself "I've been there, for the nasty little comments people have thrown at her about keeping and attracting a man, and how some of us don't need to try so hard while others need to," Owen saw her sneer "practice. I've been there. So you, you get to go, and I'll be her person". She pushed passed the doctors congregated in the hall and made her way into the canteen.
At least now Owen understood the dig Meredith had made a week earlier. But that was about all he understood of what was going on; the rest was a mystery. And by nature military men didn't like mystery, it was dangerous- exciting but dangerous.
The chief cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable, "You heard her, you all go save someone's lives," he waited 'til everyone began to disperse, but stopped Owen from leaving, "Dr. Hunt stay, make sure this ends ok."
Owen didn't know whether to tell the chief that his presence here could very well make things more awkward for Cristina. But the way the chief was looking at him as if he was the only sane one; that he was his only hope, made him keep his mouth shut. "Fine, but if this is about personal issues then I'd really rather not get involved".
"Look," said the Chief, "Cristina is the best resident we have this year. The rest of them are so wrapped up in drama that sometimes I think they forget that their doctors and not actors on a soap. Christina," he repeated, "is a great doctor and I don't want to lose her." He paused "But most importantly, I don't want to see her get hurt again, not by gossip, not by her friends and not by him. If you had seen her when he left, when he got that award and he didn't mention her- if you had to see her, the unshakeable Cristina Yang, break down in tears then…" he paused again, "This is personal for me, for her, for all of us this is personal. So I choose you, because for you, you get to go in there and be professional when I can't. You get to be the one to remind Cristina that her world does not end because he's back and that she may have been his hand, but she is not a ghost. Not in MY hospital. In my hospital she is Cristina Yang, she is an excellent doctor and she is one of the reasons why I don't give up hope on this hospital can go back to being number one. So yes, I'm telling you to get involved in a personal issue, but I'm asking you to be professional and to remind her who she is".
Oh hell, thought Owen, if that speech was suppose to make him feel better it hadn't worked. He actually felt worse. "And what if…what if I can't be professional in there either".
The chief looked at him closely a hint of a smile on his lips, "They don't call you McBadass for nothing. I trust you to do what's needed".
*****
Owen walked into the canteen quietly, his military training paying off as he kept to the shadows to watch the exchange. Dr. Burke sat comfortably and relaxed as he watched a rigid Cristina across from him. Torres shouldered Cristina, all the while shooting Burke dark looks.
"Is this really necessary?" he asked her shooting a look at Torres "Can't we handle this professionally". There was something about his tone, so condescending that it made Owen want to punch him.
"I don't know, is this even necessary?" she asked, her tone robotic. Owen fought a grin of amusement; she was doing that thing again where she made a man feel like a boy. He was just glad that this time he wasn't at the receiving end of it.
"Cristina, your acting immature; is that how you've been behaving since I went away".
Cristina snorted, "Behaving," she air quoted, "Went away," she quoted again, "You left Burke, and how I'm behaving now is none of your business".
"I left for you".
Cristina stood, "Save it Burke. Whatever you do is for you and your career, so don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I may have allowed you to get away with it when we were dating, but now, you are nothing to me so you don't get to talk to me like that".
"Cristina," said Burke "I'm going to be back in this hospital. I'm going to be heading Cardiothoracic and I'm-"
She didn't let him finish, "You what? You want me to be your hand again Burke? What do you want from me? What else is there for you to take?".
"You use to be stronger than this Cristina, what happened?".
"I am stronger," she countered, "I grew up and I moved on, and I'll tell you what, one day I'm going to be a better doctor than you, one day you're going to wish that you could spend a moment in my shadow being MY hand, one day you're going to realize that you made the biggest mistake of you career and life".
"What if today's the day? What if the reason I came back here was to say I'm sorry? What would you say?" God, Owen hoped she said go to hell, because the alternative was just too frightening.
"It depends, what are you sorry for?" There was a tightening in his stomach as he waited for his answer.
"All of it, the wedding, the article, all of it".
The wedding, thought Owen, as he looked between them. Cristina had a wedding with, he looked over at Burke, with that guy? Maybe he didn't know her at all.
"Then you're sorry, and I'm moving on". She began to walk towards the exit and stopped after seeing Owen in the shadow. She rolled her eyes with an expression that clearly said: could this day get any worse, before marching forward, but this time Burke stopped her.
"Who is he, Cristina?"
Cristina paused for a moment, her eyes searching for Owen's and, finding them, she whirled around. Owen held his breath wanting to know what she would say. Would she mention him? "Who's what?", there was laughter in her tone.
"Whoever did this to you? What's he been teaching you?". That was another dig at Cristina's character: that she was only attracted to those who could teach her something, who she could get something from. But there was also a hint of amusment, like he thought that nobody could teach her anything as well as he could, like he had the patent on skills and knowledge.
"Your unbelievable Burke. You really do believe your a God," and then she walked out. Torres looked at Burke, "You hurt her and I will kick your ass."
When Burke was all alone Owen made his presence known, "Hey" he said. Burke looked up and eyed him. "Burke," he said.
"Hunt. So you're the new cardio guy?" Owen's voive was flat, unemotional.
"Yes, and you." Burke replied in a similar tone.
"Head of trauma".
"Interesting. I wouldn't have though Cristina was interested in that".
He shrugged, "She isn't." Owen tried to keep his expression even despite the pain he felt about that fact.
"So your Cristina's new God".
"I'm Cristina's nothing".
"Which is exactly why you're standing by the exit acting like a jealous lover". Was this guy a joke?
"Why are you back, because if it's for her you've got no chance." Owen said, ignoring Burke's previous comment.
"Then you don't know her at all, when Cristina sees what I can teach her she'll be back. She needs me."
Owen laughed, a hint of a smirk at the corners of his mouth, "Can you perform a tracheotomy on a pig with a pen? Because if you can't I really don't think I have much to worry about," he saw Burke trying to work out whether he was joking. "Look, Burke, why don't you just go home, save yourself the effort and rejection because I don't like getting involved in personal crap".
Burke stood now and walked over to him towering over him by a good couple of inches, "I made Cristina Yang and I'm not going anywhere."
Owen wondered briefly if he should ask if Burke was threatening him, but decided not to continue the rather pointless discussion.
He vaguely remembered telling Cristina that he didn't need her, which was true: he could go his whole life without needing her. He didn't think Burke was that lucky; Burke was back because he needed Cristina and not the other way around as he claimed. Owen didn't need her or any of the things that came along with needing someone. He didn't have the time for it, didn't have enough space in his head or his heart to think about needing someone. But while Owen didn't need her, he had her- and she had him.
He didn't need to tell Burke to back off from Cristina because she would never go. She was his. He knew that from the very first time they kissed, he hadn't needed to kiss her back then either, he'd wanted to, but he didn't need to. Just like he didn't need to make love to her to make her his. No, she was his. It was in the way she let him kiss her whenever he liked, the way she kissed him back. The way she could looked into his eyes and be comforted without him having to say a word. She was his. It was in the way they argued back and forth and yet always went back for more. How she could say something like 'go to hell', and even though he believed he wanted to 'go to hell' he would still end up sitting on her front stairs again and kissing her.
But Burke he didn't know that, not yet, but he would.
Should I do my part 2: Cristina and Owen- Owen and Burke?
Review Please