A/n: I KNOW. I'M SORRY. LIFE I JUST. THANK YOU FOR READING.
Chapter 10 – It looks like rain
Now that Derek was back in town, Owen had some thinking to do. He wasn't entirely sure about rehiring him if this was just temporary and if it wasn't, it was clear him and Mer couldn't live together anymore. Owen wondered if he should buy a house for him and Lily. It would certainly give her a yard and maybe they could think about getting a dog or something. Her life might be a little more normal that way. Of course, having said that, she'd never been happier to have extended siblings and an Auntie that loved her. Regardless, Owen was deep in thought, his fingers laced together as he sat at his desk. "Hey!" A familiar female voice said, breaking Owen out of the daze he was in. He looked up and smiled. "Hey." Cristina walked over and kissed him before sitting in a nearby chair. "You almost done?" Owen nodded. "Yeah. I'm done now. I was just thinking is all." Cristina frowned. "You alright?" She asked, putting her hand in his. "Oh yeah. I'm okay. I was just thinking about Derek." "Is there something you want to tell me?" Cristina asked, raising her eyebrows and smirking a bit. Owen laughed. "No. That would be awkward. I'd be setting myself up for heartbreak. No, I was just thinking about what to do if he stays. Lily and I can't live with Mer anymore if it happens. I was trying to decide if getting a house was the right thing."
Cristina listened to her boyfriend. What she wanted to say was why didn't they get a house together? They could have a life together again but of course the last time they'd rushed, they'd ended up divorced. Of course there was also the thing about how Owen was trying to think of Lily in this. She agreed with it even though she was tempted to fall back into their routine. "You should get a house Owen." Cristina encouraged. Owen got up from the chair and grabbed his jacket and put it on. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards her as she got up. Owen kissed her again and they headed out. They walked towards the elevator and rode it to the daycare floor. Once they got off, they headed towards the daycare and walked inside. "Daaaaddaaaaa!" Lily said with a grin on her face, running towards Owen. He grinned back at her and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her gently. "How are you Lily bean?" Owen asked her, setting her down so he could get her coat on. He dressed her up and got her shoes on. "Good! Haaaii Cissy." Lily said grinning at Cristina. Cristina smiled back and patted her head. "Hey Lily."
They carried her out of the hospital and towards the truck. Lily tripped and fell and immediately started to cry. Owen turned towards her. "Are you okay sweetie?" "Daaaaddaaaaaaaaa." She wailed, holding her arms out. Owen walked over to her and inspected her knees. She was fine but maybe a little freaked out. He helped her up and kissed her knees better. Lily was still a little teary eyed as they finally reached the truck. Owen got her into her car seat and one of her shoes fell off. She cried again. He sighed heavily. This was just going to be one of those nights. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Owen got her shoe on and they headed home. He wasn't entirely sure what she was wailing about now but Owen was just about to lose it. Cristina was seriously annoyed as well and kept glancing over at Owen, wondering what he was going to do about it. She was kicking her legs and wailing about god knows what. Finally once they got home, Owen parked his truck and got out. He opened the door and scooped her up as she wailed again. Lily refused to walk so Owen tucked her under his arm and carried her suitcase style into the apartment. Cristina was rather horrified and wondered if she might just go into her own apartment and leave Owen to deal with his brat of a child. He carried her into the apartment, taking her shoes and jacket off, not saying a word as she wailed. He took her into her room and closed the door behind him as he left. Owen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Every once in a while, she turned into a different child.
"Sorry." He finally said to Cristina, opening up the fridge and grabbing a beer. He cracked it open and took a sip. Cristina shrugged. "It's okay..." And a fucking significant reminder as to why she didn't want kids. She had been so swept up in Owen that she forgot that with him comes an infant as well. "You know, maybe I better go.." Cristina offered to him. Owen frowned. "If you want..." "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah." He replied with a sigh. Cristina kissed him gently and left, retreating to her apartment. She felt a little bad and then a lot bad that she'd left but she just didn't want to be around the cranky 2 year old. Owen sat on the couch and sighed, running a hand through his hair, wondering if being a parent and a boyfriend was really doable or not. He got up from the couch about 10 minutes later and walked towards Lily's room, cracking the door open. "Are you going to behave now Lily Bean?" She nodded from the floor where she was sitting. "I sowyy." "Good. I bet you're hungry." "Yessssss!" Lily got up and walked with Owen into the kitchen. He suspected she might just be over tired which meant, early bed time. Owen started in on dinner as Meredith arrived with Zola and Bailey. "Hey." He said cheerily enough to her. "Hey Owen. Lily bean. How was your day?" She asked, shedding her coat and hanging it up. Mer took Bailey's coat off and hung it too while Zola took her own coat off. "Ah busy but okay. Lily had a little bit of a meltdown which scared Cristina away...How was your day?" "Hmm...Alright. One of my patients thinks I can't tell when she's lying but she obviously doesn't know I'm a parent. Ridiculous." Meredith said, rolling her eyes. "Oh and Derek is still hovering...I'm sorry about Cristina..." "Ah I can't expect her to deal with that. Well let's hope Derek continues to hover..."
It seemed as though the two friends continued to dance around their relationship issues up until they put the kids to bed. Owen sat on the couch, tea in hand and book in the other. Meredith walked back into the living room with her own cup and sat down next to him, scanning a medical magazine. "I don't...know if I want Derek back..." Meredith piped up carefully, sipping her tea. "I don't think..Cristina likes the fact that I come as a set..." They both sighed at the same time. "You know, I just...you and Derek...I wanted that and I think...I just think he was being an idiot. I can't imagine he'll just throw it all away. I mean I know he left because of that job but he's got you and Zola and Bailey. I just don't get him." Owen said, his words coming out, slowly and carefully. Meredith listened to Owen and nodded. It wasn't anything new but at least someone else felt the same way. "Maybe Cristina will come around..." Meredith said, wondering if that was really the right thing to say. "If you recall, I tried that but it ended up with us fighting and breaking up. I just...I don't know why I pine after her when we want such different things. I love my daughter and I just want a house full of children. She just wants her career and if she feels like it, a man in her life to share her joy with. I just have to accept that and accept that I'm going to be a single parent. She's the love of my life and I can't do anything about it."
They both sat there quietly for a couple of minutes. "Well fuck this." Meredith said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. A moment later, after digging in the cupboard, she pulled out a bottle and a couple of glasses. She walked back to where they were sitting and set the cups down. Owen noticed the bottle of whiskey. "You're damn right I got your 20 year old whiskey. Our lives suck. We need alcohol." Owen laughed. "This reminds me of that night that Emma left me. God you and I got so..so drunk..." Meredith laughed too. A mess of a night but at least they could laugh about it now.
The two stayed up late and finally went to bed at around 2. The next morning, Owen rolled over and groaned. Getting up was hard. He finally managed to drag himself from his bed and headed down the hall to get Lily up. She'd been laying there for a minute or two working up the energy to get up when Owen walked in. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before scooping her up.
And then the apartment shook, violently.
Owen held onto Lily tightly. "It's gonna be oka-" He started to say as he nearly started to drop to his knees. Lily's bookshelf shook and fell on top of him. Owen got knocked to the ground, his daughter still in his arms. Lily wailed. Apparently the previous owner of the apartment had not screwed it into the wall properly. He supposed that, at least it had fallen on him. That was Owen's last conscious thought before he slipped into unconsciousness.
GAGAGGAGAGAGA
Meredith managed to drag herself out of bed and into the kitchen. Coffee was the first priority and she was planning on making a massive pot. She stared at it as it brewed, wishing it would go faster.
When the apartment shook, she got down and ducked, covering her head. Something fell and broke the coffee pot, boiling hot coffee raining down on her. Meredith yelled.
GAGAGGAGGAGAGA
Cristina yawned and sipped her coffee. She leaned against the nurses station and poured over a chart before setting her coffee down and closing it. Cristina picked up her coffee again and finished it off. She just had to do a few more things and then she could finally operate on her patient. The hospital shook violently as she braced herself on the counter. Cristina scrambled underneath the desk and held on tightly. She swore. Just fucking great. She thought to herself. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Once the after shocks were over, she finally stood up and grabbed her phone. Cristina immediately dialled Owen's number but he didn't answer. She dialled Mer's. "Hello?" Meredith practically yelled into the phone, panicked. "Cristina?" "Mer, are you okay? Holy crap that was a big one." Cristina said, leaning against the counter, trying to calm her nerves. Meredith groaned. "I think so. I burned my fucking arm with the coffee though. I think I hit my head..and I've got glass in my arm. Fuck." "Well try to make it to the hospital when you can. How's Owen? Do you know yet?" Cristina enquired, worry clear in her voice. "I don't know yet." Meredith replied, sighing and looking down at her arm. "Fuck...God my kids.." She carefully tiptoed out of the kitchen and found her shoes, slipping them on. Meredith ran down the hallway, Cristina still on the phone, and headed into her kids room.
"Mummy!" Zola said, coming from behind the bed, holding her arm. "Oh Zola, you hurt your arm?" "It hurts Mummy." Meredith looked down at it and frowned. She examined it a bit and it appeared to be broken from what she could see. Meredith grabbed a thick magazine and some gauze from her first aid kit. She got her arm on the magazine and wrapped it up tight for a make shift splint. Bailey appeared to be fine physically. He was a little freaked out and rightfully so of course. Bailey cried and hurried over to her, clinging to her leg. "It's okay..." Meredith's arm was throbbing and she glanced down at it. It was blistering like crazy and boy was it red. She noticed the glass protruding out of her arm and knew she'd have to get that out. "Are they okay?" Cristina asked, into the phone as she hurried down the hallway of the hospital. "Yeah, freaked out mostly. Zola broke her arm I think but otherwise okay." "Thank god. How's Owen?" "I don't know yet..." Meredith replied hoping to hell he was fine too. "Okay, Bailey, Zola? You both need to stay in your room okay until Mummy gets your shoes. There might be broken things on the ground that you could hurt yourself on. Just wait okay. I'm going to check on Uncle Owen and Lily Bean..." She reluctantly left her children in their room and headed down the hall. "Owen?" Meredith called as she reached Lily's room. She hurt him groan and she hurt Lily crying. Meredith saw the bookcase on top of him and her eyes widened. "Owen! Are you alright?" Clearly he wasn't but she had to ask. "Apart from the bookcase.." Owen sort of joked. "Can you help me get this thing off me? I think one of my shoulders is dislocated..." Which was fucking perfect.
Hearing all this news second hand was freaking her out. Cristina didn't like the sounds of any of it. Hopefully they could make it to the hospital soon so she could see them. She knew full well it would be packed with traumas but at least knowing they were there and safe would be comforting. "Is...is Owen okay?" Cristina repeated into the phone, not hearing him before. "He's...Yeah. He's alright..." Meredith replied, figuring that was the best thing to say. "Just a second Cristina. I need my hand..." She set the phone down. "Okay..." "I'll lift with my good shoulder and you lift too." Owen said to her. They both slowly lifted it up. He managed to free Lily from his arms and pushed her towards her bed. Lily seemed okay, no visual injuries but Owen was damn well going to get her checked out once they got to the hospital and definitely once he freed himself from the bookcase. He slowly wriggle out from underneath the bookcase with Meredith's help and sighed in relief as they set it down. "Does anything hurt baby?" Owen asked Lily walking up to her. She sniffled. "I don't know..." He bit his lip. Owen carefully took each of her arms in his hands and gently pressed. He checked the rest of her. She seemed okay but again, this was just a first inspection. "How are yours?" Owen asked Meredith turning towards her. "Thank you, by the way. How are you?" He glanced down at her arm and made a little face. "That looks like it hurts." "It does. Oh shit.." Meredith picked her phone up again. "Cristina?" "I'm still here. Everyone's okay?" "Yes. Everyone. We're coming down there. Go save a life." "Can..can I just talk to Owen for a moment.." Meredith handed the phone to him. "Cristina? Are you alright?" It was a relief to hear his voice. "Yes. Are you? How's Lily?" "We're both fine. A little banged up but everyone's accounted for." "Good.." "I'm glad you're okay." Owen said quietly into the phone. Cristina smiled a little. "I'm glad you're okay too..." They both stood in comfortable silence for a moment, listening to the other breath over the phone.
Finally, Meredith broke the silence. "Okay, tell her we'll we there soon." "Take care now." Owen said into the phone with a smile. Cristina smiled back. "You too." They finally hung up. Owen headed into the living room and went over to the door, grabbing everyone's shoes. He brought them back into the bed room and they got everyone ready. "I'll grab the first aid kit too...just in case." Owen headed into the hallway and opened the closet, digging around before finding it. Who knew how long it would take to get to the hospital so they should be prepared. His shoulder was throbbing like crazy and he did everything to ignore it. "Mer, I need you to pop my shoulder back into place..." She frowned. "Seriously?" "Yes. I'd ask the kids but I don't think they're strong enough." Owen replied with a small smile. Meredith shook her head and hit him. "Okay..." He braced himself as Meredith got behind him. "Can you sit?" She asked, realizing how tall he was compared to her. Owen sat. "One, two-" He yelled as he waited for her to say three. Apparently she wasn't. It hurt so much but the pain subsided a bit. It throbbed some but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been.
They got the kids carefully out the apartment and headed outside. It was a little bit of a struggle getting to the hospital with all that debris, traffic and people but they made it. The hospital was slightly chaotic as they headed inside. They were immediately directed to another area and sat down to wait. As April hurried around the hospital, she noticed the crew and rushed over. "Oh you guys! I'll be right with you. I promise." She assured, and hurried away again. Owen sighed. He knew they would have to wait because of how busy it was but damn if he wasn't in need of some painkillers. Meredith noticed his discomfort and frowned. "You want me to find you something for the pain?" "No, it's fine. I can wait." Owen replied, sighing a little. She wasn't so sure.
They waited for a little while longer. "Okay, come on you guys. Let's get a look at you." April said, helping them all up. "Come on Owen...Owen.." She reached over and shook his shoulder and he fell over from where he was sitting, blood running from his nose. "Crap!" April yelled. "I need a stretcher right now!" Her interns sprang into action and got a gurney. They got Owen onto it and wheeled him away.