*Author's Note- I want to say a big thank you to those loyal readers and reviewers as well as to those new to the story. I truly appreciate all of the reviews. Thanks so much. I've finally gotten over the hurdle of writing the most difficult chapters…for now Updates should be more frequent as I have the rest of the story more or less 'written' in my head.


After I have travelled so far

We'd set the fire to the third bar

We'd share each other like an island

Until exhausted, close our eyelids

And dreaming, pick up from

The last place we left off

Your soft skin is weeping

A joy you can't keep in

I'm miles from where you are,

I lay down on the cold ground

And I, I pray that something picks me up

and sets me down in your warm arms

~Snow Patrol~ Set Fire to The Third Bar~


A groan escaped Cristina's mouth as she awoke the next morning. She slowly opened her eyes, but quickly shut them in attempts to lessen the pain from the vicious, throbbing headache she had. With a deep breath, she managed to pry her eyes apart long enough to realize that she was laying on the futon in Owen's office. Cristina slowly turned her head to see a near empty bottle of scotch and two glasses sitting on the desk. What the hell had she done last night? The pounding in her head intensified as she sat up and stretched. Some how she managed to pull herself to a standing position. Cristina hastily pulled on the oversized Army hooded sweatshirt Owen kept in his closet then stumbled into the hallway.

" Good. You're awake."

" Ugh. Your voice is so…loud," said Cristina as Meredith approached her holding a large coffee.

Please tell me that cup has coffee in it and not scotch." Meredith laughed as she handed Cristina the coffee and Tylenol.

" Meredith Grey. I love you."

" I know. You told me that last night when I called Derek."

" Ugh…what else did I say?" Cristina asked warily as she greedily sipped the cup of coffee.

" Not much. According to Derek you passed out after four glasses," Meredith explained as they approached the ICU.

" How's he doing?" questioned Cristina as she looked through the glass door into Owen's room.

" His blood pressure is up to 55/35. It might not seem like a lot, but it's a sign his body is healing."

" But he's still in a coma," Cristina pointed out as she turned and walked away.

" Cristina! You can't keep running," yelled Meredith.

" Watch me."

" Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with this."

" Right now I'm going to go sleep off this hangover. Page me if anything changes." With that, she was gone. Meredith sighed as she approached the nurse's station where Dr. Bailey sat.

" Is she still avoiding it?" Bailey asked.

" She's starting to worry me."

" Give her time. It is Cristina after all. She'll come to terms with this in her own way."


Hours later Cristina awoke for a second time on the futon in Owen's office. The raging headache that she had earlier in the day was nearly gone. She sat up and crossed the office to retrieve her phone and pager from Owen's desk. Her stomach growled loudly in protest as she checked for messages, but found none. Glancing at the clock, Cristina saw that it was 4:00 in the afternoon as she opened the refrigerator in search of something to eat. She scowled as she withdrew an expired container of yogurt and what appeared to be a half eaten burrito. Cristina quickly tossed the two items into the trash then took the lone power bar that sat on top of the fridge. She grabbed Owen's keys, locking the door behind her and headed for the attending's locker room. The room was thankfully empty as she entered, placed her phone and pager in her locker, then grabbed her things for the shower.

Nearly thirty minutes later, Cristina emerged from a long, steaming hot shower feeling refreshed. She tied her wet hair back into a ponytail and placed her dirty towels into a laundry hamper before returning to her locker. As she picked up her pager, she realized there was a missed page from a number she recognized as being from the ICU. Her iPhone showed three missed calls from Meredith. Cristina exited the locker room and began sprinting towards the ICU as she frantically tried to call Meredith.

" Where have you been?" Meredith asked as the call connected.

" Taking a shower. I smelled like a distillery," responded Cristina as she jogged up a set of stairs, taking them two at a time.

" I've been looking all over for you!"

" Is he awake? Mer, is Owen awake? Is he dead?" Cristina asked in a panic as she burst through the door near the ICU, gasping for breath.

" What are you doing?"

" Just. Took…two flights of stairs at warp…speed," she replied as she headed for the nurse's station where she found Meredith.

" It's good news. His blood pressure is up to 58/40, which is close to what it was when he was brought in. It's still very low, but this is a good sign," stated Meredith as Cristina glanced into Owen's room from where she was standing.

If everything continues to go well, Derek is going perform another neurological exam tomorrow afternoon."

" I could hug you right now, but…"

" I know, you're not a hugging person. I get off in half an hour. Derek is taking Zola to the movies. Do you want to order in Chinese and watch trashy reality television at our place? It will give you a chance to take your mind off the situation." Cristina hesitated before turning back to look at Owen.

Or we could order in here and watch sappy romantic comedies on Netflix."

" If you order from Dragon China and make it an action movie, I'm in," replied Cristina.


" I'm starving," Meredith declared as she sank into the recliner next to Owen's bedside. Cristina unloaded the various cartons of Chinese food onto his bedside table before pulling a chair up beside Meredith.

" Did you order one of everything off the menu?" she asked as Meredith opened a carton of Sweet and Sour Chicken.

" Hey! I'm eating for two here!" Meredith responded.

" Excuses, excuses," retorted Cristina as she used her chopsticks to steal a piece of Meredith's chicken.

" Get your own!" she declared playfully as the door to Owen's room slid open.

" Are you two really eating Chinese take out in here?" Richard asked as he entered.

" Would you like some?" Cristina offered as she extended her carton towards him.

" How's he doing?" he asked, ignoring Cristina's offer.

" His BP is up a bit," answered Meredith as Richard flipped through Owen's chart.

" I was just heading out, but I wanted to give you these first," he said as he withdrew Owen's truck keys and iPhone from his pocket.

" The police dropped these off earlier. His truck is in his spot downstairs."

" Thanks," Cristina responded as she took the items from Richard. She sat down her chopsticks and pressed a button on the phone. The phone's lock screen popped up, revealing a candid photo of Cristina.

" I don't think I've ever seen that picture of you. When was it taken?" Meredith asked as she bit into an egg roll.

" Owen surprised me with a picnic late last summer. He took me out in the woods near your house," she said, pausing as the memory flooded her brain.

He must have taken it while I wasn't paying attention." With the flick of her finger, the screen unlocked and was replaced by a series of text messages.

Owen: Trust me. Let me surprise you

Owen: I want this night to be special

Owen: Can't wait. See you soon (Sent at 6:08p)

Cristina felt a lump rise in her throat as she read the messages over and over.

" Are you okay?" Meredith asked as Cristina sat down the phone.

" I need him to be okay Mer. We need to make this right."

" Will a bloody, gory horror film and a fortune cookie make you feel better?"

" Maybe," replied Cristina with a small smile as Meredith set up the iPad. Cristina finished her dumplings then took a fortune cookie from the table. She cracked the cookie open and carefully extracted the fortune inside.

'Good things come to those that wait'


" Mrs. Barrett, I'm going to have Dr. Edwards prep you for surgery. I'll see you in a little while," Meredith explained as she left her patient's room. As she exited, she found Derek standing outside of the doorway.

" Hey I've been looking for you. Have you had a chance to check on Owen today?"

" That's why I'm here," Derek said with a sigh as he ushered Meredith into an empty room.

I just completed a second neurological exam."

" And?"

" He's still unresponsive. I ran an MRI to check for any potential brain damage caused by deprivation of oxygen during the two cardiac episodes. It came back normal."

" So there's no apparent brain damage?" Did you order an EEG to check for brain activity?" Meredith asked.

" You and I both know that MRI results can be inconclusive so soon after a trauma. I ordered an EEG, they're setting it up right now. I'm actually on my way back upstairs to observe it."

" Don't you have a surgery scheduled at 3 p.m.?"

" I moved it to tomorrow."

" Have you talked to Cristina yet?"

" She's in the middle of a surgery. I didn't want to get her worked up."

" And what happens if the results of the EEG aren't good? What are we supposed to do then? Let him die?" Meredith questioned as a pit formed in her stomach.

" Let's cross that bridge if and when we get there," reasoned Derek.

" He can't die. He's her person Derek. Owen is her McDreamy. They're supposed to get their happily ever after. They need the opportunity to make things right," she responded, fighting back tears.

" It's going to be okay," Derek said as he hugged Meredith in an attempt to comfort her.

You've got a surgery to go scrub for. We'll talk when you're finished."

" I love you," she replied as she embraced Derek before heading towards the operating rooms. Derek sighed as he headed for the elevators. For everyone's sake, most importantly Owen's, he hoped he was right. Everything had to be okay. It just had to.