"Cristina," Teddy called after her, hurrying to catch up. " Cristina, wait. "
She kept walking.
She needed to get away. Away from the ICU, away from this place that she no longer recognized, and away from an Owen that she no longer knew anymore. He was alive and that was all that mattered. She could go back to Switzerland.
"I want to explain," Teddy went on, catching her arm gently. "Please."
Cristina abruptly turned to face her.
"You don't owe me an explanation," she said woodenly. "You've always been in love with him and he wants kids. It's good." She nodded unconvincingly, quirking her brow. "Shepherd might have something to say about it, but obviously you three have something going on."
She turned away again. "I'm leaving. Congratulations to you both."
Teddy opened her mouth to speak again. But suddenly they were interrupted by the hospital loudspeaker calling a code.
"Code Blue, ICU room 3. Code blue, ICU room 3."
Cristina's heart went to her throat.
Teddy paled. "Shit. "
The two of them ran down the hallway toward his room. When they got there, the room was crowded with nurses and interns.
Cristina's eyes widened at the sight that greeted them. Owen was lying prone, unconscious and intubated with Meredith squeezing an ambu bag.
"What happened?" she asked frantically.
Meredith looked over at her as she squeezed the bag.
"He stopped breathing in the middle of rounds," she said. "I'm thinking a possible PE in the lung. We're going to have to go back in and open him up."
"We'll scrub in and assist," Teddy immediately said.
She didn't bother asking Cristina or Meredith if it was alright. She didn't have to.
Meredith nodded. "Page Kepner and Pierce to meet us in the OR."
Cristina and Teddy stood side by side silently scrubbing as Owen was being prepped for surgery. They avoided looking at each other.
Teddy reached for a mask.
"Did Owen ever tell you about his sister?" she asked quietly.
Cristina was shocked into stillness at her words. Teddy turned to look at her grimly.
"We were all in Iraq together 11 years ago," she went on. "And one day, after Owen and Megan finished a surgery, he told her to accompany the patient on the helicopter. And then...the helicopter vanished."
Cristina swallowed, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"All that time Owen blamed himself, thinking he had killed her. And then suddenly we found out she was alive and he fell apart." Teddy shook her head. "He called me and I came when she was transferred here."
Her voice became hard. Cristina watched anger cloud her eyes.
"And Amelia? Once Megan got here, Amelia disappeared. She left him completely alone to deal with everything," she went on bitterly. Kind of like she is right now. And it killed him. He had a complete breakdown while Megan was in surgery and his wife was nowhere around. "
She looked at Cristina with a steely gaze.
"When I left here, I told Owen to fight for you," she said. " And I don't even have to ask you if he did. Owen fights for everyone. He does everything, for everyone, always because he is that kind of man. So when is it going to be his turn? When is someone going to fight for him, Cristina? "
She angrily got ready to step through the doors. Then she turned back.
"He is my best friend in the world, " she said. "I didn't plan this. But I will do all of it to give him this child, no matter how it turns out. But I know him, Cristina. He will choose you every time because he is still in love with you. He deserves you to fight for him too."
She disappeared into the operating room. Cristina shook herself. She had to focus.
When they got started, the issue became apparent quickly. The laparotomy incision was infected worse than they had thought and had caused a blood clot to travel to his lung, which was still healing and too weak to handle it. He went back into the ICU, this time sedated and breathing with a ventilator.
Cristina sat next to his bed, no longer caring who saw her.
"I would never want to forget you," she said softly, holding his lax hand in hers. "I haven't stopped loving you just because we've been apart, Owen. "
She bit her lip and gently brushed her hand across his forehead.
"Just...just wake up," she whispered desperately. " Ok? Wake up so I can tell you that. "
She heard soft footsteps coming in and knew without turning around who it was. Meredith slipped quietly inside. Her shift was over but she was on-call. She pulled up a chair next to Cristina and didn't speak.
Cristina sighed heavily.
"What do I do here, Mer?" she whispered in anguish. She glanced at her friend in desperation. "Zurich is my dream. My dream. These past five years have been what I've been waiting for my entire career."
Then she gently fingered through Owen's hair.
"But I can't leave him again." She looked tearfully at Meredith. " Not now. I couldn't take it." She shook her head. "But now Teddy-" She rubbed her left temple. "This is so screwed up."
Meredith smiled gently. "When have we ever been not screwed up?" she said. She raised her eyebrows. "You and I are kind of experts at it. "
Cristina was silent for a minute.
"He wants a baby, " she said quietly. "Once he finds out Teddy is pregnant, he'll drop everything to be with her. I know he will."
When she got no response from Meredith, Cristina glanced at her. Meredith was looking thoughtful.
" I don't know about that. " Meredith said.
Cristina looked at her incredulously.
"I've gotten to know Owen a lot better since you left," she went on. "I do think he'll drop everything...to be a Dad. Not necessarily to be with Teddy."
Her pager went off. She grimaced, looking at it.
"I've got to go," she said, standing up.
Her friend still looked devastated. She walked over and laid a hand on Cristina's shoulder.
"You told me not to let what Derek wanted eclipse what I needed," she said. "You were right. Because what I needed was him. Once I knew that, it was easy to figure out how to make the rest work."
With a squeeze on her shoulder, Meredith left. Cristina blew through her cheeks.
Amelia had performed a craniotomy that took almost 20 hours to complete and then collapsed into the first empty on-call room she found. She slept like a rock for 7 hours and then blearily stumbled out in search of caffeine and food.
She approached the nearest coffee cart.
"Large black coffee and a chocolate muffin," she said tiredly, digging out some cash from her pocket.
She leaned tiredly against the counter to wait for her order.
After a minute, she got the uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched. She turned her head.
Teddy was walking toward her with a dark glare.
"Where have you been?" Teddy demanded angrily as soon as she was in earshot.
Amelia was immediately defensive. "What?"
"Did you know that Owen threw a blood clot yesterday morning?" Teddy said.
She paled.
"No," she said in shock. "Is he ok?"
Teddy looked at her in disgust.
"He stopped breathing, " she said. "We had to do emergency surgery to remove it." Seeing Amelia's eyes tear up suddenly infuriated her. "He almost died, Amelia. He's almost died twice in the last five days and you've been AWOL. What the hell is wrong with you? "
Amelia looked at her darkly.
"I had a surgery," she said. " I was in there all day."
She swallowed hard.
"I try to see him whenever I can, but you and Cristina have both made it obvious that I am not exactly welcome. " She shook her head. "I don't know what I ever did to you, but I'm not going to stick around when you guys are there."
Teddy looked at her incredulously.
"You can't seriously be that dense," she said.
At Amelia's uncomprehending look, she sneered angrily.
"You're right. You're not welcome and you want to know why? Because you promised to be there for Owen when you married him and then you screwed him over when he needed you."
Teddy was so angry that she was almost shaking.
"I had to advocate for him during the entire situation with Megan. To you. His wife! It killed me to see you not care about him then and I'll be damned if I'll let you do it again now."
Amelia's eyes flew wide in disbelief at her words. Then she narrowed her eyes.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Altman, " she said darkly. "He cried in my arms for over an hour the day he found out she was alive."
The words were like a punch to Teddy's stomach.
"I arranged to have her transferred," Amelia went on. "I drove him 12 hours to see her. I stood on the damn helipad with him. I did everything possible to make sure he got what he needed."
The barista called out her order, interrupting the tension. Amelia whirled around and grabbed her items. She strode back toward Teddy.
"Don't you dare tell me I don't care about him," she said angrily. " Don't you dare. "
She stalked away, leaving Teddy standing there.
Cristina stretched her back and shook out her shoulders. It had been a few hours and she had kept herself busy as she sat by Owen's bed, texting back and forth with Shane Ross with updates on one of her latest cases. Still, she was going a little stir crazy. She decided to go outside for a walk in the fresh air to clear her head a bit.
She leaned over to put her phone into her purse and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Amelia out of the corner of her eye, standing silently just inside the door.
"Geez!" she breathed, startling. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
Amelia looked at her for a minute.
"Sorry," she said apprehensively.
They stared at each other uncomfortably. Finally, Cristina shrugged.
"You can come in, you know," she told Amelia evenly.
Amelia hesitated a minute and then crossed across the floor toward the side of the bed opposite Cristina. Cristina stood up as she passed, stretching again and grabbing her purse to go outside.
"You don't have to leave," Amelia blurted out. Cristina looked at her in surprise and her face got warm. "I mean...you can if you want. But you don't have to leave because of me."
Cristina got ready to say that she had planned to go anyway. But something stopped her and, against her better judgment, she sat back down.
She stared at Amelia without speaking. Amelia looked away uncomfortably, raking her gaze over Owen.
"How is he?" she quietly asked.
She half-expected Cristina not to answer.
"He's been stable since the surgery yesterday," Cristina said. " Kepner wants to wait until he wakes up to try and take him off the vent again."
Amelia winced. "Teddy said he had a blood clot."
She nodded. "Most likely from the laporatomy getting infected."
"I was doing a surgery," Amelia said quietly. " I didn't know. "
She met Cristina's piercing gaze for a minute and looked away just as quickly. "I'm sure you don't like me. I know Teddy doesn't. I...seem to get that from a lot of people."
Cristina kept her voice indifferent. "I don't know you. Frankly, I've never given you much thought."
The words stung and Amelia was certain it was intentional. She raised an eyebrow, deciding take the bait.
"Until I married him, you mean," she said. " Right? "
For her part, Cristina's gaze didn't waver. They stared right at each other in almost a standoff until Amelia looked away.
"I don't really blame you," she went on. Her voice took on an air of edgy amusement. "Derek used to call me a 'time bomb.' Pretty accurate. My mouth rarely waits for my brain to tell it to shut up. So...I get it. I'm not easy to like."
She smiled suddenly.
"Sometimes I would wonder whether Owen had blinders on or was just a sucker for punishment." Her eyes shone as she gently traced the back of his hand with her fingers. "Because no matter how much I pushed, he just kept loving me. And I realized I love him too. I love the hell out of him. "
Silence met her ears.
"Me, too," Cristina said after a minute. "It's impossible not to."
Amelia turned to look at her square in the face.
"In case no one has told you, you should know Owen and I ended our marriage," she said.
Cristina couldn't hide her reaction of surprise.
"It wasn't an angry decision, or a bitter one," she went on. " Turns out, we Shepherds apparently are so into brain tumors that I got one of my very own. Once it was out, we both realized that it was the reason we had been having so many issues being together. I love him...but I wanted him to have the chance to be with someone who would love him unconditionally. He deserves that. "
Cristina looked away and down into Owen's face.
"Yes," she agreed quietly. " He does. "
They were both quiet a minute. Then Cristina looked at Amelia.
"Thank you," she said. Amelia raised her eyebrows questioningly. "When I left, I was scared. I was afraid he would spiral, or self-destruct, or work himself to death with no one to pull him out of it. You gave him a place to land. I want you to know...I am grateful for that."
Amelia swallowed hard and nodded. She managed a watery smile.
The monitors suddenly began beeping. They both were startled.
He became aware of voices and struggled to open his eyes. They felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
Then suddenly he felt nothing except a searing burn in his throat. Something was jammed there. It was pure agony and he needed it gone. He lifted his hand to remove it.
Someone gripped his wrist, preventing him from reaching it. He grunted and then gagged.
"Easy." A soft hand stroked across his forehead. "Don't fight it. Try and relax."
The foggy haze began clearing. He recognized Cristina's voice before he finally managed to get his eyes fully opened.
"I'll go get April."
His eyes darted over in surprise when Amelia spoke from his other side. She smiled tenderly before walking out. Owen looked back at Cristina, wincing painfully.
"Welcome back," she said, brushing her fingers through his hair.
The touch was welcome and felt good. He closed his eyes and hummed contentedly. She smiled, keeping it up.
"Good to see you awake!" April said brightly, coming into the room, followed by Amelia. Cristina moved away to let her come to his side. She looked at the monitors. "Your stats look good...let's see how you do breathing on your own."
She got closer. "Take a deep breath," she instructed. " Ready? "
He nodded. She gently began removing the tube. Cristina winced as he gagged and then retched.
"Breathe," she said.
April finished taking out the tube. He rubbed his throat with a groan.
"I'll be right back," April said, carrying the plastic cover and tube out of the room.
Amelia came over and handed him a cup full of ice chips. He smiled gratefully as he took it from her.
"Thanks," he croaked hoarsely.
Her pager sounded. She grabbed it. "They need me in the ER," she said, reading the code.
She sounded apologetic. Owen swallowed a mouthful of ice and shook his head.
"It's ok," he said, smiling again. " Go. I'm not going anywhere. "
She squeezed his hand before hurrying out of the room. He scooped up more ice and then turned his gaze to where Cristina stood silently, watching him.
He took a deep breath.
"Cristina-" he began.
She surprised him by holding her palm up and interrupting.
"No, wait," she said quickly. "Let me say something."
He raised his eyebrows, intrigued, and stopped. She swallowed and stepped up close to his side.
"I know things are a mess," she began. "And there a million good reasons why we are better off staying the way we are." She shook her head. " But-Owen, you almost died this week. Twice. "
Her voice broke. His brow furrowed sympathetically and he reached for her hand. She smiled tearfully and cleared her throat.
"My career is thriving. I have everything I've ever wanted. But the moment I heard you were hurt...it was like time stopped," she continued. "The thought of living in a world without you in it was worse than anything I've ever experienced."
She squeezed his hand and placed her free one on his cheek.
"I haven't stopped loving you, Owen. I couldn't," she said. "And I can't go back to Switzerland without telling you. I thought I couldn't live without my work, but I was wrong. I can survive that. I can't survive without you. "
His eyes widened, realizing what she was saying.
"You mean...you want to try again?" he asked hesitantly. "With me?"
Instead of replying, Cristina leaned closer and gently pulled him into a tender kiss that she allowed to linger. He let out a breathy chuckle when they broke apart, staring into her dancing eyes.
"If I'd known that's all it took to get you back, I would've acted a lot more recklessly these last 5 years," he said mischievously.
On her way down to the ER, Amelia crossed paths with Teddy.
Teddy looked abashed.
"Amelia," she said. " Look, I'm-"
"Don't worry about it," Amelia interrupted, waving her off. She raised an eyebrow. "You should go see Owen. He's awake."
Teddy looked surprised. Amelia continued on her way without another word.
Teddy wasn't expecting to see Owen sitting up and breathing without assistance. She broke into a huge smile.
"Oh, my God!" she said excitedly, striding across the room quickly.
She went right up to the bed and engulfed him in a hug. He seemed surprised as he returned the embrace. He looked at her in concern when she released her grip, seeing tears on her face.
"Hey," he said, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm ok. I'm ok, Teddy."
She sniffled and gave an embarrassed laugh.
"I know," she said. " You just scared me. "
He looked at her contritely.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. He looked at her and then Cristina. "I'm sorry to make you both come halfway across the world because of me."
Teddy shot Cristina an uncomfortable look. Owen didn't miss it.
"What?" he asked.
Cristina cleared her throat. "Um...I'm just going to let you guys talk."
Teddy stopped her. "No, stay," she said quickly. "It's fine."
Owen was looking suspicious.
"What is going on?" he said. " Why are you guys being weird? "
Taking a deep breath, Teddy smiled gently.
"Owen," she said. "I'm pregnant...with your baby."
If she wasn't able to see the oxygen saturation monitor beside the bed, Cristina would have sworn he stopped breathing yet again. He looked so shocked that it was almost comical.
"Are...you serious?" he finally managed to say. The shock gave way to a smile so wide that it nearly split his face. "Are you serious?!"
Teddy broke out laughing at his reaction. She nodded.
"When are you due?" he asked.
"In about 6 months," she replied.
Owen swallowed as the reality set in. "Are you coming to stay here?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"I...don't know about that," she said hesitantly. " Landstuhl is my perfect job. They have an excellent maternity leave program there...and paternity. "
His brows furrowed.
"You want me to go to Germany?" he said incredulously. "How exactly would that work, Teddy? I run the entire trauma department here. You think I could that in MEDCOM?"
Cristina watched the exchange silently, sensing both of them growing frustrated.
"We can work out joint custody," Teddy said. "You know I won't keep you from seeing your child, Owen."
"I want to be with my kid, Teddy!" he exploded. " Not just see it every month or so."
Teddy sighed and didn't reply. Owen looked torn.
"Come work for me," Cristina said suddenly after a minute.
Owen and Teddy both looked at her, startled. She raised her eyebrows.
"Serioiusly," she went on, looking at Teddy. "The cardiothoracic program is one of the best in the world. Or you and Owen can both head the trauma department."
Owen was looking at her like she was nuts.
"The Klausman Institute doesn't have a trauma department," he said doubtfully.
Cristina shrugged.
"So I'll start one," she said. "I run the place. I can make it happen."
His face softened and he reached his hand out toward her. She took it, rubbing his knuckles.
"I'm not going to ask you to rearrange your life for me," he said. " You and I will figure things out. So will Teddy and I. We'll find a way. "
"I think it's a good idea," Teddy said abruptly.
Owen looked surprised. She nodded.
"It works," she insisted. "My senior officer at MEDCOM is itching to take over and he would have to once I have the baby anyway. Neither of us would have to sacrifice time with it once it's born."
Both women looked at Owen, their minds obviously made up. But he still looked doubtful.
"You don't want to be a mom, Cristina," he said uncertainly. "I can't force that on you now."
She shook her head.
"I don't want to be a mom," she agreed. "That doesn't mean you can't be a dad."
He looked at her warily.
"What? I'm not a child-hating monster. I don't have to birth a human to like them. Someone is going to have to save the poor kid from being put in an Army uniform the minute it comes out. " She shrugged. "I can teach it the proper technique when it tries the first cigarette away from you two hard asses."
Owen smiled, looking at Teddy.
"You really think this could work?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Cristina was almost knocked off balance when Owen suddenly pulled her down and kissed her breathless. The happiness radiating from his face was dizzying.
"Thank you," he said, cupping her face. He smiled widely again and kissed her once more. " Thank you, Cristina. "
Teddy watched them with a soft smile. Owen moved so he was looking at her.
"You, too," he said seriously. He shook his head like he couldn't believe it. "Teddy, you're giving me everything I've ever wanted. You amaze me."
She grinned. "We'll see if you're still saying that when I'm hopped up on drugs, yelling at you in the delivery room."
He yawned then, unable to help it. He still felt incredibly weak and was trying to hide it.
Cristina smiled, seeing through his act easily.
"I'm going to go make some calls," she said. "You need to rest."
He got ready to protest. They both fixed him with stern looks and he rolled his eyes.
"What am I getting myself into?" he groaned jokingly as they both left, settling back against the pillow
Owen's room was considerably more crowded when Amelia made her way back to see him a few hours later. Almost every attending in the hospital was circled around his bed along with a few nurses and interns near the doorway.
It warmed her heart to see him animatedly laughing. Several other colleagues shuffled in for a moment to tell him congratulations and good luck. She looked at them in confusion.
"Hey," she said, catching Arizona as she was walking out. "What's going on? What is everyone congratulating? "
Arizona smiled. "Owen and Teddy are going to work with Cristina in Switzerland."
Amelia felt her stomach momentarily drop. She quickly plastered on a smile.
Swallowing hard, she slipped quickly back out before he noticed her.
Owen was overwhelmed by the number of people who stopped by to see him. Bailey wasn't thrilled when she found out his plan to resign, but wished him good luck anyway.
As people began dispersing, he caught sight of someone he wanted to make sure he spoke to.
"Hey-Avery!" he called out, catching Jackson by surprise. " Hold up a second, will you? "
Owen looked at him seriously as he approached.
"I want to thank you," he said. Jackson looked surprised. " I don't remember much about that night...but I do remember you being there. You kept me calm when I was freaking out. " He cleared his throat against a sudden rush of emotion. "It made a big difference. Thank you."
He held his hand out. Jackson blinked rapidly and quickly averted his eyes until he was composed. He gripped Owen's hand in a strong hold and then clapped his shoulder.
"Anytime," he replied. He let go of Owen and grinned. "I heard you're going to be a dad." Owen's answering smile was proud. "Call me if you ever need any advice. "
"I might take you up on that," Owen said.
April came into the room with Cristina behind her. Jackson smiled as he passed them on his way out. He was the last to leave.
The sudden quiet after so much commotion was slightly jarring. April smiled sympathetically at Owen's expression.
"You should take it easy," she said, looking at his chart. "Everything looks in order for you to be discharged in the morning, providing you don't strain yourself."
She looked at him knowingly. "But don't expect to just get up and walk out of here tomorrow. No exerting yourself and don't even think about getting on that plane until after I do your follow up appointment next month, got it?"
She ended her statement sternly and Cristina stifled a laugh.
"He won't," she said. " I'll make sure he won't. "
She fixed him with a teasing look. He rolled his eyes.
Suddenly, his face sobered. He looked past April and Cristina. Cristina looked behind them to see Amelia standing inside the door.
"Can you give us a minute?" he asked quietly.
They both left. Amelia avoided their gazes.
"Hey," he said softly.
She looked at him. Her eyes were teary.
"Hey," she replied in a choked voice.
Owen looked at her tenderly, holding his hand out toward her. She went to him without hesitation and wrapped him in a long hug.
"So it's true?" she said, pulling away slightly. " You're leaving. "
He nodded. "Yes," he replied. Swallowing hard, he struggled to speak around the lump in his throat. " Amelia...it's not because of you. Please believe that. What we had was real and I meant it. "
A tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly swiped at it. She bravely smiled, brushing his hair back with her fingers.
"I know," she said, nodding. "I meant it, too. I'll always love you. We're just...not meant to be together." She cupped his cheek and looked into his eyes. " You are a good man, Owen. I want you to be happy. "
She stepped back .
"I'm always here for you," she said. " You know that, right? "
He smiled. "Of course."
More tears fell. Owen wanted to reach for her again but Amelia moved away. She gave him a quick kiss.
"Goodbye, Owen," she said.
He blinked back his own tears.
"Goodbye, Amelia," he replied shakily.
She managed to make it out of the room before breaking down. She passed Cristina next to the nurses station.
"Take care of him," she whispered.
She kept walking without giving Cristina the chance to reply.
A few hours later, Cristina once again sat by the hospital bed, watching Owen sleep. It was a position that had become unfortunately familiar.
Except he was actually sleeping this time. There were no monitors. He was breathing strongly.
And in the morning, they would be leaving Together
Her life was going about to be completely turned upside down. A week ago, she would have laughed at the absurdity of the idea of ever seeing Owen again, let alone jumping back into a relationship and taking him back to Switzerland.
Owen sighed in his sleep. She smiled and stroked his face.
But they were different people now. With her position in Zurich and him about to have a child, they were both getting what they had always wanted.
And by finding their way back to each other, what they had always needed.
The End