A/N: New chapter!

Wish You Were Here: A Night at Joe's

She sat at the bar, trying to shake the trembling in her hands but unable stop thinking about what he had said. In her job, she saw the loss of human life daily. She saw people fight for one more day, one more hour. And yet, here was someone who willingly robbed others of their extra day, extra hour. He did it willingly and enjoyed it.

"Sick bastard," she breathed out, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to settle her breathing. Joe strolled over and gestured toward her glass with the bottle of scotch. "Another?"

"Yeah, sure."

"On the house," Joe said with a kind smile. "Looks like you need it."

"Uh, thanks."

She watched him fill the drink, her eyes following the amber liquid. Joe gave her a small nod when he was finished and she reached toward the glass as he moved on to serve another customer. She curled her fingers around the glass, pulling it toward her and then lifting it to her mouth for a long sip. When she returned the glass to the counter he had taken the seat beside her.

"Owen," she sighed. "I told you-"

"I know what you told me," he interrupted. "I know."

"Then what are you doing here?" she asked wearily. "Because I'm really not in the mood for you right now. I just-I can't."

"I'm no good at this," he said. Looking at him, she could tell that this was supposed to serve as an explanation. Snorting softly she thought, bad explanation, McMan.

He looked perplexed by her reaction and asked, "Do-do you find this funny?"

"Yes," she said, propping her elbow on the bar and resting her head on her hand. "I find this funny. The bipolar behavior, the jerking me around, all of it-fucking hilarious."

"Cristina-"

"Look, if you're so bad at this then just stop. Go back to ignoring me. Please, do that! Just stop pulling me in and then pushing me away because I can't do it anymore."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but his eyes roved over her face. She could tell he was trying to read her, to understand her. She knew because her eyes did the same thing with him. Neither of them understood the other, not really, so they didn't know how to field the landmines on the way to whatever their future held. "Okay," he finally said. "I'll stop."

He didn't clarify as to what he would stop doing, and she didn't ask. To be honest, she was too afraid that she would hear something that she didn't like. Instead she nodded and told him, "Good. Thank you."

"So, I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

She answered with a sarcastic lift of her glass. His small grin lacked any trace of joy as he pushed off the stool and said, "Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow."

He hesitated for a moment, probably waiting for some semblance of a goodbye, but all she did was raise her drink to her lips. Met with nothing but a cold shoulder, he left.

She didn't say goodbye because it was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. It was painful to have him sit there beside her, but she couldn't deny that she wanted it. She wanted him next to her. She wanted him to stop pushing her away, to choose her.

I'm sounding like Meredith, she thought.

Her mood only worsened when she thought of her wayward friend, because this was the exact sort of thing she would discuss with her. She would talk through his odd behavior and then the two of them would commiserate over the stupidity of men.

"Men are stupid," Callie slurred, dropping in the seat beside her. Cristina glanced over at her roommate and said, "You can say that again."

"Sloan, he is an idiot. Hooking up with Lexie Grey. It's just-"

"Sloan is getting it on with little Grey?" Cristina asked, nearly spitting out her drink. Callie's eyes widened and she murmured, "You didn't hear it from me."

Cristina glanced back at the table of interns and watched Mark Sloan lead Lexie away from the pack. She chuckled darkly and thought to herself that at least one woman had it worse than her.

A/N: Feedback would be awesome. Yay.