Cristina changed into a hospital gown as Owen signed some paperwork. "I paged the on call doctor. He should be in soon." the nurse said as she left the room. Owen nodded as he helped Cristina into the bed. "How are you doing?" he asked. He hated being the family member and not the doctor in charge. "Honestly... I think this hurts more than the icicle... or the surgery pain." she said. She no sooner got the words out of her mouth before another contraction started. She tightened the grip on his hand. "I'm sorry. They will be here soon to check you and we will work on getting that epidural." he replied.
As another contraction was ending they heard a soft knock at the door. "Hi, I am Dr. Karev. I am covering for Dr. Timothy... Cristina... Owen. I am so sorry I had no clue it was you. I will see if they can page someone else." Alex said as he turned to leave. "No Alex." Cristina replied quickly. Alex and Owen looked at each other very confused. "If Dr. Timothy can't be here there is no one else I would want delivering this baby. You may be evil spawn but you are a smart evil spawn... and you care about your patients. Plus I can't have you off running your mouth about me being in labor." Alex looked to Owen for his approval. "You heard her," Owen said smiling at Alex. "Now hurry up and check her and see if we are ready to get this epidural... please."
Alex worked quickly checking Cristina. "Baby's heartbeat looks great. You are 7 cm and 80 percent effaced. You are progressing really well. Do you want the epidural now?" "Hell yes!" Cristina shrieked as another contraction began. "Alex, page Ben for the epidural and also page Dr. Bailey for me please." Owen replied he rubbed Cristina's arm. "Sure thing." Alex replied as he hurried out of the room. "Relief is on the way. Just hang in there." Owen tried to reassure her, but he felt completely helpless in the situation.
Within 5 minutes Ben and Bailey arrived to Cristina's room. Ben began to ask Cristina some questions so that he could fill out the epidural paperwork while Owen pulled Bailey off to the side. "Bailey, I need you to cover for me for a little while. I also need you to run crowd control for us. No one in this room except for you, Ben, or Alex. She doesn't need an audience for this." "No problem chief." Bailey replied. "Alright we are ready to get started on this epidural." Ben announced. "Cristina, you need to sit up on the side of the bed. We are going to put a pillow in your lap for you to lean on and you just rest your head on Owen's chest. Owen you stand in front of her and just keep your hands right here on her shoulders so she doesn't move." As Ben and Bailey helped them into the correct position, Owen breathed a sigh of relief. They were both doctors. The knew the procedure and could both place an epidural in their sleep. However right now all that knowledge was gone. His wife was in pain and he just wanted them to take that pain away.
Owen caught a glimpse of Cristina before she laid her head down on his chest. "You ok?" he asked as he held onto her shoulders. "Just a little nervous." she responded quietly. "It's ok," he whispered. "Ben will talk you through the whole thing." He looked at Ben who nodded his head in agreement. "Ok Cristina," Ben started. "First I am just going to feel your back to determine placement. Now we are going to clean the area... this is going to be a little cold." Cristina took a deep breath in as another contraction started. It felt 10 times worse to be sitting up. "Your doing fine honey." Bailey reassured her. Once the contraction ended Ben continued with the procedure. "I am going to give you the local now. Big bee sting on the count of three. 1 2 3." Cristina grabbed Owen's shirt as the medicine went in. "Big bee sting my ass. I won't every use that analogy again." she thought to herself. "Alright time for the big needle and I will place the epidural catheter. You may feel some pressure or a tingle go down your legs. I just need you to hold really still." Ben reminded her. "Ouch" she cried under her breath. "Cristina, what is it. Do you need more local?" Bailey asked as she moved closer to the bed. Tears streamed down her face. Owen could feel the dampness on the front of his shirt. "It's a contraction. Owen I need to lay down." "You can't right now Cristina. He is in the middle of the procedure. Just hang on." Owen replied. "Owen please," she begged. He glanced from Ben to Bailey not knowing what to do. Bailey moved in close to them and took over keeping her shoulders steady. Owen knelt down in front of her to where her face was only inches from his. He took her hands in both of his as he looked into her eyes. "It hurts." she cried. "Ssshhh. I know. Just squeeze my hands you are doing great. It is almost over then you can lay down and the pain will go away. Just look at me and breath. In and out deep breaths." He remained in that position, breathing with her until the epidural was in place. Ben and Bailey helped her lay back in bed. Bailey patted Owen on the back as he took his place by her bedside. "She will get some relief soon."