I was doing research for my senior thesis and I found an article discussing the use of virtual reality as an extinction exposure therapy for post traumatic stress disorder and this fic idea popped into my head. I've discovered that taking a 15 minute break every hour of working on my paper helps me to concentrate a bit, so let's see if I can get this fic onto paper during that time.
Oh yeah, for those of you reading my story 'Sisters Grace', this is not in the same universe as that one, though to eliminate having to create a new character, I will be using the name and relation to our favorite peds surgeon for this fic.
"Dr. Shepherd, do you have a moment?" Arizona Robbins stops the neurosurgeon as he's about to get on an elevator to go home. The older man stops and turns around.
"I suppose. Do you need a consult?"
"Not exactly," she looks around. "Is there somewhere that we can speak in private?"
"Of course." Derek turns and leads the woman toward his office, stepping aside to allow her in first, shutting the door behind them. "What can I do for you?"
"Callie told me about what happened with Dr. Hunt last week, and I heard that you gave him an MRI to check for traumatic brain injury. May I ask how that went?"
"I haven't had an opportunity to look over it just yet, at least not in the depth the new research I found requires. Why?"
Arizona hands him a business card, explaining who it belongs. "My sister is psychiatrist with the VA, I relayed to her what little I know about his case to see if maybe she'd be willing to take him on as a patient in her research. She has a colleague here at Seattle Grace from her residency that would be willing to conduct the treatment if he qualifies. She's going to be here next week for vacation and is willing to take some time to go over the MRI with you, and see if Owen qualifies, if Dr. Hunt approves, of course. Her home number is on the back, she's expecting the call."
"What kind of treatment is she researching?"
"Using virtual reality as an extinction therapy. She's had some moderate successes lately, at least enough to warrant funding for a larger project. It's due to start in three weeks."
"I'll definitely speak with Owen about this, thank you."
"No problem." She turns to leave when she's stopped by Derek.
"May I ask why you're doing this? I know you care about people, but this is above and beyond for someone who's just a colleague."
"Dakota does the research that she does because our father fought in Vietnam, only he didn't recover when he came back. He never got to meet her, because he killed himself when our mother found out that she was pregnant again. I can see how much Christina likes him, and that she does make him happy. I like knowing that the people around me are happy. And I know that Christina and Calliope are friends."
"Hoping that this will get you into Callie's good graces?" He teases.
"I don't need this to get into her good graces. But I do care about her, and she cares about Christina – even if she doesn't admit it – and Christina cares about Owen."
"Caring by association, got it."
"Not by association, just caring. She's always been a light sleeper, especially when she's going through review boards for new trials; don't worry about waking her up if you want to speak with her tonight. Have a good night, Dr. Shepherd." Arizona isn't stopped this time and when she shuts the door behind her, Derek takes his coat off and turns his computer on to do some research before calling Owen.
oOo One week later oOo
"You sure this is a good idea?" Owen and Derek stand under the awning outside the hospital, waiting for the Dr. Robbins to appear with her sister.
"There's no guarantee that you'll meet the criteria for the trial, Owen, so what have you got to lose?"
"Point to the neurosurgeon." Owen gives him a tight smile, which disappears when he sees his blonde colleague approaching with a brunette that looks to be a few years younger than her.
"Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Hunt, I'd like you to meet my sister, the other Dr. Robbins."
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Robbins." Derek speaks first, Owen is prevented from speaking when his pager goes off. Glancing at it, he looks up.
"I know this isn't the best way to start off-"
"Go, Dr. Hunt." Dakota flashes him a smile that shows off her dimples and the warmth in her eyes. "I'll have you paged when I need to speak with you."
"Thank you. It's nice meeting you." Owen rushes off to the ER, leaving the trio behind.
"I have to leave, too; I have a surgery in 20 minutes." Arizona flashes her sister a smile. "Call me when you're ready for lunch? I'll join you if I can."
"Sure thing." Arizona rushes off. "And then there were two." Dakota flashes the neurosurgeon a smile. "Lead on Dr. Shepherd." She follows the older man into the hospital, flipping through the file he handed her.
oOo Later that day oOo
"Hey, Christina." Callie comes up behind her roommate. "What's so fascinating?" She follows the younger woman's line of sight to see Owen hunched over his tray, speaking softly to a woman that she notices looks to be a few years older than her.
"You broke up with him, remember?"
"That doesn't mean I can stop caring about him."
"Or being jealous of those he eats lunch with. Just go talk to him, who cares if you're interrupting their lunch."
"Hey, Calliope." Arizona appears behind them, giving her a kiss on the cheek, which causes Christina to roll her eyes. "Dr. Yang. How are you doing?"
"She was doing better until she saw who Owen was having lunch with." Callie answers for her, earning a dirty look from the Asian woman.
"Who?" Arizona looks around, allowing a smile to grace her features when she spots them. "Ooh, that looks promising."
"What!?"
"Come on, I'll introduce you." She grabs her girlfriend's hand, gesturing for Christina to follow them. "You too, Christina, I think you'll want to hear this." She leads the way to the table with her sister and colleague and unceremoniously drops her tray on the table with them, giving her sister a kiss on the cheek when she takes her seat.
"So, how'd it go?" She looks between the two, noticing that Owen won't meet Christina's gaze, something that doesn't escape Dakota's notice, which doesn't escape Christina's notice.
"Perfect…candidate…hi." Dakota trails off, wondering who the two other women are. Arizona tugs Callie down beside her, and motions for Christina to take a seat.
"This is Callie," Callie raises her hand in greeting, "and Christina Yang."
"I've heard a lot about you, Dr. Yang."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's always best if my patients have someone to want to get better for other then themselves." Dakota smiles brightly.
"Great, and you are…who, exactly?"
"Sorry, Dakota Robbins." Callie looks up in interest.
"My sister." Arizona elaborates. "Dr. Hunt is going to be a participant in a clinical trial she's running. So he passed?"
Dakota gets a silent nod from Owen before answering the question.
"With flying colors. I spent the morning up with Lizzie running her through the protocols for the procedure after arranging for one of my residents to fly out here to monitor his progress for the duration. And I have an appointment with your Chief of Staff later today to finalize the arrangements for the equipment to be delivered and set up tomorrow."
"Lizzie can't handle everything?"
"She'll be the one monitoring it and conducting the interviews, but I'd feel more comfortable if one of my people were here to monitor and observe her. I've heard a lot about you also, Callie… or is it, Calliope?"
"Callie," she hitches her head toward the blonde sitting between them. "She's the only one I let get away with calling me Calliope."
"Fair enough." Dakota smiles at her. "So will you be joining us at all this week?"
"Excuse me?"
"She's out here for a vacation before her trial officially starts. I've got the rest of the week off. You're welcome to join us for whatever you want."
"I'm in the mood for camping and rock climbing. Are there any good places around here?" Christina rushes off when her pager sounds, Owen smiles apologetically and follows. Once they're gone, Callie answers.
"A few."
oOo That evening oOo
Owen exits the hospital to find Christina sitting on one of the benches, waiting. Taking a deep breath, he approaches her and sits down next to her.
"What's the clinical trial?" She doesn't meet his gaze.
"Using virtual reality as an extinction exposure therapy to treat PTSD." He sees Christina nod in the corner of his eye. "I still want to be a better man, for you, I want to be the kind of man that you deserve. I've seen the literature, Dr. Robbins has had success with this."
"Okay." Christina gives his hand a brief squeeze before getting up and walking off.
Leaving Owen with a small smile on his face, with hope for their future.
Alright, so it actually took me just over 15 minutes, and this is unbetaed, so if you see any mistakes, I apologize. Maybe if I decide to continue, I'll go back, fix it and repost.
But let me know what you think.