"Hey Cameron, are you excited to start treatment?" Doctor Robbins asked.
"No." Cameron said quietly, hiding under his blanket. Doctor Alex Karev kneeled by the bed so that he was level with Cameron's face.
"Come on, dude. This treatment is gonna make you feel a lot better." he said. Cameron came out from under his blanket and looked at Alex.
"Promise?" Cameron asked. Alex smiled at him.
"I promise. You might feel kinda crappy at first, but then you'll start to feel better." Alex said. Cameron agreed to start treatment and was set up with his first dose of chemo.
"You lied." Cameron said weakly while Alex checked his PICC line on the third day of his treatment.
"Did I?" Alex asked, distracted by the medical equipment.
"He's been throwing up all day. He ate a good breakfast this morning, but it didn't stay down, he ate some crackers earlier and those came up too. He can't even hold down water." Natalie said, holding her son's hand.
"Alright, well I'll see what I can do about getting some medicine to control the vomiting. That sound okay, buddy?" Alex said. Cameron nodded his head weakly.
As Alex left the room, another doctor entered. This one looked vaguely familiar to Natalie, and after a few seconds, she placed him.
"You work here?" Natalie asked sharply.
"Yeah." Owen said quietly, hanging his head. April had insisted that he see his son, and he spent the last three days practicing what he would say. Now that the moment had come, though, he was at a loss for words.
"Who is he, mommy?" Cameron asked quietly. Natalie turned to her son and put her hand on his.
"Close your eyes and ears, baby. I need to talk to the doctor." Natalie said. Cameron nodded seriously, much too seriously for a five year old, shut his eyes, and put his hands over his ears.
"Don't tell me you're going to be his doctor now. If you are, I'm getting him transferred to another hospital." Natalie said quietly, but with venom in her voice.
"I'm not, I just…" Owen started, trying to look Natalie in the eyes, but failing.
"You just what?" She asked. "Just thought you could come back into our lives because he has cancer? You don't get to do that. You never wanted anything to do with him and he's too young and too sick to have his head messed with like this. I know that when he gets better, you'll just leave again. Don't even try now."
"Listen, he is my son too. I may not have been there for him before, but I will be now and I plan to be long after he is out of this hospital." Owen said, finally gaining some confidence.
"You tried that once, remember? And you know what came of that. I don't want you in his life. I don't want you anywhere near him." Natalie said, her voice signaling that the conversation was over. Owen turned and walked out of the room, barely resisting the urge to slam the door.
"Hey, you probably don't remember me, but we had sex a few months ago and I have something to tell you. Call me back, please." Natalie said to a voicemail. It was the fourth message she'd left for the only Owen Hunt she could find in the phone book. Every day she'd say the same thing, hoping he would call back, but he never did.
Natalie was woken up by urgent knocks on her apartment door. She got up quickly and ran to the door, trying to get to it before the knocking woke up her infant son.
"I'm sorry." slurred Owen Hunt, leaning on the doorframe.
"Really?!" Natalie whispered in frustration. She grabbed Owen's shirt and dragged him to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and making sure the baby monitor was turned up loud so she could hear it.
"Please tell me you've been in Iraq all this time because that is the only excuse I'll let you live through." Natalie said angrily, running her hands through her hair. Owen was sitting on her bed, not entirely focused on anything in particular. Natalie snapped her fingers in his face to bring him to attention.
"I'm sorry." he said again, still slurred.
"Geeze, how drunk are you?" Natalie asked. Owen just stared at her, or stared behind her, she couldn't really tell where his eyes were going.
"Wait. Aren't you supposed to be pregnant?" He asked. Natalie sighed loudly.
"Yeah, I was, six months ago. The baby is in his room sleeping right now."
"It's a boy?" Owen said, smiling. Natalie slapped him. "Ow…" he said, rubbing the spot she slapped. She pushed him back onto the bed, pulled off his shoes and told him to sleep. She didn't have to wait long before he was out.
"Oh God." Owen said, rubbing his head as he woke up. He was extremely hung over and not in his own apartment. Then he saw the girl he'd dreaded seeing ever since he got back from the war. Had he come over to her apartment last night? He couldn't even remember leaving the bar.
"You're finally up. Your pager thing has been going off like crazy." Natalie said, holding a baby and throwing his pager at him.
"That's…" Owen started, pointing at the baby in Natalie's arms.
"Yeah, your kid. His name is Cameron, by the way." The baby clung to his mother like his life depended on it, but turned his little head to look at Owen. His ice blue eyes were just like his father's. Owen stood up slowly, headache forgotten, and walked toward Natalie and his child.
"Can I hold him?" Owen asked. Natalie knew she should say no. She knew that she should just kick Owen out and forget this ever happened, but part of her wanted so badly for her son to have a father, so she said yes. Owen smiled wide at the baby that had just been placed in his arms. The baby smiled back, and Natalie couldn't help smiling too. This was the perfect little family she'd always dreamed of.