Owen rushed into the emergency room and found out that they had transferred Cristina to the OB/GYN department. He was about to ask the nurse at the nurses' station, when he saw Janet.
"Janet, what happened?" he asked.
"Mr. Hunt, glad you're here. You can handle this better than me," she said. He didn't understand the sympathetic look on her face.
"Janet, what's wrong?" he said. "Is she okay?"
"I guess, yes, considering what happened," Janet said.
"You are driving me crazy," Owen was exasperated. "Just tell me, please."
"Mr. Hunt, she had a miscarriage. I am so sorry," Janet finally said. Owen's mouth dropped open. A miscarriage? This was something he had not expected. They didn't even know that they were pregnant and they already lost their baby.
"Where is she?" Owen's voice cracked. He wanted to be with her, so badly.
"She's in 211. They are going to discharge her," Janet said. "I just saw her. I was going to take her home but I suppose you would want to do that, since you are here."
"Yes, I will. Thank you, Janet, for everything," Owen said, gratefully.
"Oh, it's nothing. She's my friend. I would do a lot of things for her," Janet said. "I am going to head home. Waiting rooms can be exhausting. Please call me when you get home."
"I will," Owen said. Janet watched as he walked to Room 211. He gently knocked on the door before he entered. Cristina's body was turned away from him.
"Cristina," he whispered. She turned around. Her face was puffy and tears were streaming down her face.
"I lost our baby, Owen," she sobbed.
"I know, I know," he said. He got in next to her and pulled her close to him. "It's okay."
"The thing is I didn't even know I was pregnant and I don't know why I am crying like this. I didn't even know about it," she said.
"I think you're crying about what could have been," he said. "The potential of it all. I am sad, too, that we lost our baby."
"When did you hear that I was here?" she asked. "I thought you would have come earlier."
"I would have. I would have, baby. But Denise didn't call me when the ambulance took you to the hospital. She only told me when I came back from my meetings," Owen said. "I really can't blame her. To her, I am just your supervisor. If she had known that we were together, she would have known to call me, immediately."
"I guess that is one disadvantage of keeping it a secret," she said.
"Well, I don't know if it is a secret, any longer. You did leave the office in a very public way plus I flew out of there like a bat out of hell to come to you," he said. "I am pretty sure that Denise already figured it out and has told all of her cronies."
"Oh," Cristina said. Just then, the door opened. An older woman stepped inside. Owen immediately jumped out of the bed, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I am Dr. Fields," the woman said. "I guess you are aware that Cristina had a miscarriage. It was a complete miscarriage. We didn't have to do a D & C. We are going to discharge you, Cristina. You do have someone to support you over the next few days? It is an emotionally trying time."
"Yes," Owen piped up, immediately. "I will be there."
"Good," Dr. Fields said. "Here is what you can expect. You will probably continue to have some bleeding. It will probably continue for about a week. You will get some cramping. Also your period should return in three to six weeks. To prevent infection, I am going to give you a course of antibiotics. Use only sanitary pads, no tampons. No douching, swimming pools, hot tubs. Take showers. No sex until maybe two, three weeks after. I am going to give you a note for a couple of weeks off. You can always contact me if you need more."
"Okay," Owen said. He figured that sex was the last thing Cristina would want to think about after the miscarriage. The doctor signed the discharge papers and as she left, she said, "I am sorry, Cristina, that this happened to you. But you're only 24. You will have other babies. I am going to send an attendant in with the wheelchair so he can take you out."
Cristina got up and started taking off the hospital gown. "Can you hand me my clothes?" she asked Owen. Owen stared at the bloody clothes and felt dismayed that she would have to wear that again.
"Tell you what," he said. "I will go to the hospital store and get you a big t-shirt. You can't wear those again." He rushed to the gift shop and got an extra-large t-shirt that read St Luke's Hospital.
"Here, wear this," he said. "It will fit you like a dress." She took off the gown and slipped on the t-shirt. Her tiny body was swimming in it but at least everything was covered. Owen found a bag and put her bloody suit in it. He didn't think that she would want to wear that suit, again. "Do you want this?" he asked.
"No," she said. "It would just remind me of the day I lost our baby. You can toss it." He nodded. "I will take this out and bring round the car to the front and wait for you there." He left the room and threw the bag into a trash can right outside of the hospital. He brought round the car and waited for the attendant to bring her out. When she did, he helped her get into the passenger seat.
"Let's go home," she said, as she strapped herself in. When they got to her house, she went straight to her bedroom at the top of the stairs and went to her bed and just lay there.
"I am going to get us some dinner and I am going home to get some clothes, so I can stay here for a few days," he said. "If you need anything while I am out, call me, please."
"Okay," he heard her small voice say. He sighed. She was not taking this well. He hoped she would not get too depressed about it.
"Bye, baby," he said. "Bye," she answered.
He returned about an hour later. He had gone back to his apartment and packed enough clothes for a week. Cristina was not going to work for a while. Thankfully, it was only two days before the weekend. He could stay home with her over the next few days and then, go back to work on Monday. Then he stopped off at a Thai place and picked up some takeout. Cristina loved shrimp pad thai. Maybe, she would enjoy that, he thought. When he got back to the house and went up the stairs, he found her asleep. She had changed into her own nightshirt and discarded the St Luke's t-shirt on the floor. He didn't blame her. It was just another reminder. He picked up the shirt and threw it away. It had already served its purpose.
He went back downstairs, found Janet's number on Cristina's phone and called her. "Cristina!" Janet said. "Are you okay?"
"Um, Janet, it's me, Owen. We're home and she is asleep. I am going to stay here for the next few days to make sure she's alright," Owen said. "I think physically, she is okay but emotionally, she is pretty down."
"I am glad you're there for her," Janet said. "Today was a very trying day. I will pass by tomorrow, after work. Are you coming in?"
"No, I think I will take the next two days off and stay with her," Owen said. "Then we have the weekend, so that makes it easier. I will go back to work on Monday."
"Alright, bye," Janet said. She hung up the phone. Mr. Hunt was really a great guy. No matter how much Cristina fought it, Janet was sure that her friend was going to fall in love with him.
Later that evening, he warmed up some of the take out and brought it up for her. She was awake, watching cartoons. "Hey," he said. "Did you get a good rest?"
"Yes," she said. He placed the bed tray in front of her with the shrimp pad thai with some iced tea. "Here is your dinner." She stabbed at the food with her fork, swirling it around a bit, before she finally put a forkful in her mouth. He watched her eat, as she finished off the plate. He was glad that at least, she still had her appetite.
"Do you want me to stay with you, tonight? Or could I just sleep in one of the bedrooms on the second floor?" he asked.
"Stay with me," she said. "Okay," he said. Later that night, as he held her in arms, he could feel her shaking. He knew she was sobbing, again.
"Cristina," he whispered, as he buried his face into her hair.
"I think it is all of the pregnancy hormones," she squeaked. "I am very emotional. I am sorry for all of the crying."
"Cristina, you are allowed to cry," he said, turning her around to face him. "We lost our baby. It is an emotional thing."
"Even if we didn't know about him?" Cristina said.
"Even if," he said. Owen found himself, shedding a few tears, too, as he pulled her closer to him. They fell asleep in each other's arms.
He had only planned to stay for one week but he found himself staying the entire two weeks of her medical leave. Though he went back to work, he always came back in the evening to stay with her. She was prone to burst into tears at any minute, when she thought about the lost baby. He would rock her in his arms, until she stopped. He was her rock and her anchor, while she was in this depressed state.
On the day she went back to work after her leave, they went into the office, together. There was no need to pretend anymore. Everyone knew that they were a couple. People gave them sympathetic looks as they walked past them. He dropped her off at her office before he went to his own. A lot of the women passed in and told her they were sorry. Some of the guys brought flowers. They found themselves unable to express what they wanted to say so they brought flowers. It was not as bad as she thought it would be. At the end of the day, he took her home.
She watched as he packed his clothes to go back to his apartment. As he packed them, he wanted her to ask him to stay but she didn't say anything. She was sad to see him go and wanted him to stay but she refrained herself from saying it. Half his time here in San Francisco was already over and there was no need for her to get even more attached to him, than she already was.
"Okay, so I am gone," he said, as he started to leave. "So you're going to be okay?" She nodded. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. They had not been intimate since the miscarriage and he hoped the time was coming when she would allow him to make love to her, again.
He lay on his bed, that night, staring at the ceiling, wishing he was still at the Victorian house, holding her in his arms. She lay on her bed, that night, missing the warmth of his embrace. They missed sharing the same bed, so much.
They continued seeing each other, like they did, before the miscarriage. He would come over and they would have dinner, together and watch a movie. He would stay over, sometimes, but other times, he did not. The day they made love again was one he had been hoping for. He so missed it but he hadn't wanted to rush her into it. And when they did, he was very gentle with her. After, as she lay in his arms, resting her head on his chest, she murmured, "Do you want to stay?"
"What? What did you say? If I want to stay? Yeah, I am staying over, tonight," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"No, I don't mean just tonight. I mean do you want to stay here, for the rest of your time in San Francisco?" she said, softly.
"Are you asking me to move in with you?" he said, the happiness in his voice was evident.
"Yeah, if you want to," she said, looking up at him.
"Yes, yes, yes, I want to move in with you," he said. "Oh, I want to be with you, all of the time. I have to tell the company I will be vacating the apartment, though."
"Will you miss your city view from high above?" she asked.
"Your city view from your bedroom is just as awesome. You're here, that's the best thing. No sky-high city view could ever compare," he said, as he pulled her up to kiss her. He almost told her how much he loved her but it wasn't fair to say that, he thought. Their time together was limited and he didn't want it to hurt any more than it would, when they would have to separate.
After their kiss, she snuggled against him, once again. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. She knew that she had broken her first rule that she had decreed, when she started this relationship. She had fallen in love.
A/N Please leave your reviews. I do appreciate when you take the time to let me know what you think.