Okay, I realize it was a bad idea to start a new story so close to the season premiere as I am quite distracted with the new season, as I'm sure many of the readers are as well. I'm really really not pleased with this chapter but I am passing the blame over to Erin, whose recent review nudged me to post it anyway. Haha =P. Anyway... thanks for reading and reviewing. I get quite a bit of inspiration from reviews (esp milee–thanks!) so do not hesitate to share if there is something you would like to see happen in the next chapter.

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.


Cristina woke up with a knot in her stomach as she realized tomorrow was D-Day for dinner at Owen's. Cristina had always avoided dates like plagues. When all her friends in high school were busy finding dates for the weekend to show off on Monday who they tongued with, Cristina busied herself by hunting down her science teacher to argue the 1 point deduction on the extra point question – she deserved 105, not a 104. When all her peers were busy vying their bids for the future doctors in her program, Cristina went straight for the professor who she knew commitment would never be an issue between the two. Till this day, she shuddered thinking what would have happened if the man next to Cristina and Burke hadn't collapse during their first date. At one point during dinner, she seriously wondered if a second date would be in store for them. And now after avoiding dates for as long as she could remember, she had stupidly agreed to dinner at Owen's without giving it much thought other than he had her intrigued and his steak looked damn good. The date jitters were now in full effect.

"Ugh…." Cristina droned out a loud moan. "Stupid, stupid. Stupid me."

"Wow," Alex's voice loud rang through the basement. "Self deprecating talk from Yang?"

"Oh, shut it." Cristina was not in the mood for Alex's jeers.

"Where do I sign up for the smackdown?" Alex took a seat next to Cristina.

Cristina shot him an agitated look. "Who gave you permission to sit next to me?"

"I did," said Alex as he stuffed his face with a banana. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Waiting for Mere," wearily replied Cristina.

"I smell girl problems. Sorry Yang, I don't do girl talk." Alex scooted closer to the edge of the gurney.

"Oh, and here I was expecting to have a bonding moment and shed some tears on your shoulder,"dryly remarked Cristina.

"Whatever. Grey's scrubbing out right now. I'll be at Joe's." Alex lifted himself off and made his way out.

"Get a booth! And shots–tequila!" yelled Cristina at Alex's backside from the gurney.


"Are you calling it a night here?" Meredith nudged Cristina, who was stretched out on the gurney. "C'mon, let's go to Joe's."

"Actually, I was thinking of camping out here till Saturday," responded Cristina.

"And you would do that because…?" Meredith curiously asked towards Cristina's quirky response.

"Breathe a word and you die." Cristina let out a deep sigh. "I agreed to go over Owen's place for dinner tomorrow and now I'm kicking myself in the rear end for it."

"Oh, juicy!" Meredith's eyes gleamed at the news of Cristina's date. "Who's Owen? How'd you meet him?"

Cristina shot up from her position and raised her hands in disbelief. "Seriously Mere?"

"What?" innocently asked Meredith. "Do we know an Owen?" She pondered, racking her brains, until a light bulb went off and her mouth dropped wide open. "Wa-wait. Owen as in Owen Hunt as in the new Head of Trauma here? When did he become Owen to you? And why," Meredith lightly smacked Cristina's arm. "Why am I hearing about this right now? OH MY GOD! Izzie was right–you did have a crush on him!"

"Mere…" Cristina shot her a look. "Shut up and let me talk."

Meredith suddenly let out a loud gasp. "Is that why you called off the wedding with Burke?"

"Writing trashy romance novels as a side job now? It's not like that and you know it," said Cristina. "I dunno…" Cristina mumbled. "He put together my furniture for me this week and asked me to come over for dinner and I stupidly agreed."

"Wait… that's it? You're fussing this much over that?" Meredith laughed a sigh of relief that Cristina wasn't hiding something as scandalous as how she and Burke first started their relationship. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit here? He's your neighbor, right? Maybe he just wants to make some friends at the hospital."

"He has friends. He's BFFs with Callie and Sloan," Cristina pointed out.

"Fine, then maybe he just wants to get to know you a bit more," rationalized Meredith. "And you agreed which makes me believe you do too. Besides, this will be a good way for you to finally move on from Burke."

"Who?" Cristina rose from the gurney. "Let's go to Joe's before Alex takes our shots."


It was only when Cristina neared Joe's that she realized there would be a good chance Owen would be there with Callie and Mark. Hoping for some peace of mind over drinks with Meredith, she quickly scanned the room and let out a sigh of relief seeing the Three Musketeers absent at Joe's. They walked over to the booth Alex was holding for them and quickly downed the already prepared shots.

"What is up with you two?" asked Alex. "I am calling myself off of barf duty tonight so if you two are getting hammered, let me know now."

"We're off tomorrow," stated Cristina. "And, please, drink with us and you're the one who will need to be escorted home."

"Wanna do a bottle?" bravely asked Meredith. She too was facing the never ending Derek issues and was thisclose to swearing off all guys for the rest of her life.

Joe brought over a bottle of Patron and placed it on the table. "I have my eyes on this table. No dancing, especially on top of tables, tonight and definitely no barfing in my bar!"

"Cheers," Cristina poured three hefty shots and pushed it towards Alex and Meredith. "And yes, I am getting hammered tonight."

Almost done with the bottle…

"I don't trust him. How does he explect me toooo?" Meredith wagged her finger in Cristina's face as she slurred her words.

"I'm not getting invulved with anothur attending," Cristina spoke over Meredith and pushed her finger out of her face.

"I'm going to the bar," Alex rose and left the table, leaving the two drunk ladies to slur on their own.

"But attendings are hawwtt," Meredith said with eyes half closed.

"Mmmm… not true. They're not hawwt, it's the powur that makes them so damn irresistibul. And they know how to fauk." Cristina emptied the bottle into their two shot glasses. "But, they're nothing but troubul."

"Stoopid. And they think we're troubuul! Always want something more all the time and fauk us ovur in the end." Meredith banged her shot into Cristina's, spilling half of Cristina's shot.

"Bitch!" yelled Cristina.

"Sorry, sorry. Joe!" Meredith yelled across the bar. "One more bottul!"

"No, you two had enough," a voice came out of nowhere. "You guys finished a bottle tonight?" Callie approached from behind.

"It's my rooomie!" happily stated Cristina. A large figure appeared behind Callie. "And my neighbur!" she exclaimed seeing Owen, too drunk to remember her nerves for their date tomorrow.

"Hello," greeted Owen, thoroughly amused at the sight of the two very drunken residents. He watched how quickly they polished the bottle from the other side of the bar and was set on leaving them alone until Callie heard Meredith ordering another bottle. They both rose, knowing both ladies were beyond the ability to make their own decisions for the rest of the night.

"Joe! Where's my bottul!" yelled Meredith.

"We're outtt," Cristina held her shot glass upside down and pouted as not even a drop of tequila fell out.

Owen calmly took the shot out of Cristina's hand and placed it on the table. He knew telling her she's had enough would only get him an express ticket to his own misery. Instead, he went over to the bar and returned with two glasses of water. "How are you guys drinking this much?"

"Are you saying we can't handul our liquor?" Meredith asked defiantly, amidst all the slurring.

"Uh, no. I'm just saying… uhm. You two are quite small…" Owen wavered off not wanting to piss off Cristina's friend.

Callie looked at Owen and her eyes assured him there is no need to worry about the ramblings of a drunk girl. "You are going to pay for it tomorrow at work."

"Whut wurk?" asked Cristina. Owen silently pushed the water towards her motioning her to drink. Cristina looked at Owen. "I'm off tomorrow. I don't need wutur, I need more tuhquila," she stubbornly demanded from Owen.

"If you finish the water, I'll get you a shot." Owen tried to negotiate with Cristina.

"Promiss?" Cristina grabbed the glass with both hands and took a large gulp. "Mere, drink up! We can get anuther shot aftur!" Meredith immediately opened her eyes and chugged her water.

Owen and Callie exchanged amused looks as Owen could not help but laugh at their drunk behavior. "Do they do this often?" he asked.

"More often than you think," Callie responded. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into," she teased Owen.

"Hey! Stop talking about us in frunt of us." Cristina called them out on their exchange.

"How ruuude! Cwis, don't go ovur to this rude guy's house tomurrow!"" Meredith rose and sauntered over to the bathroom.

Callie, shocked, looked back and forth at Owen and Cristina. "You two have a date tomorrow?"

"No," exclaimed Cristina, louder than intended, masking the soft but firm, "Yes," simultaneously spoken by Owen.

Taken aback at Cristina's no, Owen intensely looked at Cristina until she met his eyes. Deeming herself too drunk to even try to figure out what he was trying to convey with his piercing eyes, she pushed his face to turn his head, breaking the gaze, and rose to go to the bathroom.

"Ouch, Owen," Callie winced in sympathy.

Owen sighed. "You are right, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into," Owen stated to Callie and left to refill the empty water glasses.


Cristina stopped her walk and twisted her legs in agony. "I have to go to the bathroom," she complained. "It's your fault for making me drink that wutur."

He laughed inside, pleased with himself at tricking her to drink four glasses before she finally decided she was incapable of finishing 'one' glass of water and gave up on the promised shot.

"I can carry you if you want," he offered.

"No, I can wulk." Cristina stubbornly refused and straightened up, spreading her arms to maintain her balance. "But it's so far…"

"It's because you're walking really slow," explained Owen from a distance but close enough to catch her if she stumbled.

"I can wulk faster if the ground stops moving." Cristina focused intently on the gravel that refused to stay still. "It won't stop, Owen."

"Let me carry you," Owen insisted again.

"No. Stop treating me like…" Cristina paused to carefully place her one foot forward.

Owen drew in his breath, as a quick thought passed in his thoughts, 'like what, my girlfriend?'

"…a child," Cristina finished her statement as she proudly placed her foot forward.

Owen stood by and silently observed the deliberation that went into walking without stumbling. Very cautiously, without breaking her concentration, he placed his palm at the small of her back, securing her stance. Cristina felt the support immediately and the next steps were much easier to take. "See! I can wulk on my own!" she proudly stated, eyes gleaming with a strong sense of accomplishment.

Owen was close enough to see the pure excitement in her eyes. Thinking she was too cute for words at the moment, he could do nothing but let a smile reach his eyes and nod his head in acknowledgment. Resisting a strong urge to claim her rosy lips to his eager lips as she was drunk and he was not, he vowed to himself that he will make progress tomorrow, whether she was ready or not.


Cristina spent the majority of the day sleeping off the pounding headache and moaning in bed nauseous from tequila and the night that was to come. She vaguely remembered Owen and Callie there with them at Joe's and could not recall how she got into bed the night before. Memories were a blur and it was unsettling not knowing how much of a drunken mess she had been the night before.

'When did Owen and Callie come to our table?' Cristina texted Meredith in bed.

'We drank with them?' Meredith responded in seconds. Cristina sighed as she was left to piece her night together herself.


'Ding Dong, Ding Dong' Cristina jumped at the sudden sound and rushed to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Owen," came the voice from the other side.

Cristina momentarily froze in front of the door and quickly smoothed her hair down. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Owen stood before her in his olive jacket, soft maroon v-neck t-shirt and dark blue jeans with a beautiful red and orange bouquet of roses, gerberas, carnations and huckleberry. Cristina stepped aside to let him in. "I thought we're having dinner at your place?"

"Change of mind. I have a place in mind for dinner." Owen stepped inside and pushed the flowers towards Cristina. "For you."

"Um… thanks." Cristina took the flowers and looked around the kitchen registering she had no idea where Callie kept the vases. She rested the flowers on the counter. "I'm not really dressed for a night out." Cristina debated changing, glancing down at her casual black loose cowl neck sweater and fitting jeans.

"What you're wearing is fine. I wouldn't dare ask you for a night out after last night," said Owen with tease in his eyes.

Cristina chewed her lower lip, uncomfortable at the mention of the night before. 'Shit, why'd I drink so much?' she silently chastised herself.

Owen noted her fidgety behavior and quickly added, "We're going to a casual place so don't worry. And besides," he stepped closer and gently lifted her chin, forcing her eyes away from her clothes and into his serene eyes, "You look beautiful."

Relief flooded her body as she realized whatever happened last night could not have been that bad for Owen to show up and say those words to her. Cristina felt herself drowning in his earnest eyes and she managed to form a small smile.

"Let's go. I'm starving," Cristina grabbed her coat from the coat rack and stepped out.


Owen rushed ahead to open door of his truck for Cristina and held it open, sparing room for her to get in.

"Thank you." Cristina stepped on the door step and settled in the seat. Owen stayed put in front of the door and waited until she was settled. Before she could reach for the belt herself, Owen leaned in, pulled the belt across her body and latched the seatbelt to the buckle. He tugged for good measure.

Cristina rolled her eyes at his unnecessary chivalry. "For the record, you don't have to do everything for me. I'm not a child."

Owen took his hand off the latch and placed both hands on the Cristina's seat, meeting his eyes with hers with mere inches between them. He smiled, remembering the same words spoken last night.

"What?" Cristina squirmed a bit in her chair, uncomfortable at the proximity of their faces with his eyes saying too much and his mouth not saying enough.

Having decided he tortured himself enough by playing coy in hiding how much he wanted Cristina for the past 6 months, he decided not to waste a second more. Owen pushed through the heavy air that was trapped in the tight space between them and angled his face to capture Cristina's slightly parted lips. He rested his lips on hers to savor the first taste of her lips. It was sweeter to taste and softer to touch than he could have ever expected. His hand moved from the seat to gently stroke her neck as he drove harder to taste her lips and moved eagerly to take in her supple bottom lip to his own. He nibbled gently before turning his head the other way to take her whole mouth into his.

The kiss was unexpected, to say the least. The slight tickling of the beard sent flutters throughout her whole body. The initial shock was quickly buried by the pleasant surprise of how soft Owen's lips felt against her own. She had imagined his kisses to be rough, like his tough exterior, but the kisses that claimed her lips were slow and sensual. The kiss spoke volumes and instantaneously erased all jitters and doubts.

Finally, Owen gathered strength to tear his lips from her hot mouth and pulled away to look at Cristina's rosy mouth opened in shock and eyes still closed from their kiss.

The emptiness she felt when Owen finally pulled away was another loss she was not ready for. She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds to gather herself, not wanting to show the longing in her eyes.

Owen waited for Cristina to open her eyes when she was ready. When her eyelids finally lifted to expose soft brown eyes he was already a goner for, he brushed the strand of curls aside to fully expose her beautiful porcelain face. "For the record," Owen stated repeating her previous words, "this is a date, Cristina."

Cristina acknowledged with a nod, surprised how much she found herself wanting to grab his face and return his kisses, this time with her in control. "Well then, let's get this date started already. I said I'm starving."