Cristina could blame the fact that she was going all out for Christmas because of Owen. He and Jordan had mentioned Christmas and Santa Claus to Xander during one of their Skype sessions. Cristina had rolled her eyes because she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from Xander. She wasn't a very religious person and was not into the holidays. In fact, she was going to ignore it like she usually did. But now, she couldn't do so anymore.

Xander was three and he was understanding everything, a lot more. It was easy to get away with it when he was two years old and she didn't even have to put up a tree. Now he wanted a Christmas tree and to put up decorations , to see Santa Claus and to buy presents. For days, Cristina could not stop hearing about Christmas.

It was now Christmas week on December 23. Cristina and Xander were going to do some shopping. She had to buy presents for Betsy, Owen and Jordan. In fact, she explained to Xander they had to buy two presents for Jordan – one for her birthday and one for Christmas.

"How come?" Xander asked. He was getting only presents for his Christmas. His 4th birthday was in August.

"Well, that's because Jordan's birthday is December 24. That's Christmas Eve and the next day is Christmas. So we are buying her a birthday present and a Christmas present," she told him. "Besides, you got presents when we were celebrating Chanukah."

It was true that Xander had got presents for Chanukah. Cristina was trying to instill some of her Jewish traditions that she had been taught by her stepfather, Saul. She probably wasn't the best teacher because she wasn't very religious but she wanted him to know a little bit of the religion in which she was brought up.

"Oh," Xander said, thinking it over. "Am I going to get any Christmas presents?"

"I didn't forget about you, Xander. I bought all of your presents, already," she said. "I couldn't buy them when you're with me. Then, you would know what I bought for you."

"What about Santa?" he asked. "Will he still bring me presents?"

"If you've been a good boy, he will bring presents and put them in your stockings," she told him. She hadn't really wanted to teach him about Santa but Jordan had already told him about the fat, jolly guy in the red suit who lived in the North Pole and brought presents for little kids all over the world. He became so excited that someone like that existed that she couldn't tell him it wasn't real. She had never taken him to see Santa before but this year, they waited in line at Macy's Herald Square flagship store, with all of the other parents and kids. There was a point where she got tired of waiting and wanted to leave but all she could see was Xander's excited face, as he got closer and closer to the man with the white beard and rosy cheeks. When they finally got to Santa, Xander was so pleased. He had the biggest grin on his face, when they took their picture. When she saw how happy he was, she knew standing in line was worth it. Yeah, it was definitely all worth it.

They were doing their final bit of shopping and were going to make a trip to the post office to send their presents to Owen and Jordan but the scene at the post office was just pure chaos and the line was very long. She couldn't face that so she decided to abandon her place in the line. She would probably have to spend an hour or so, just standing in line. She figured she would send the gifts the day after Christmas two day priority mail. Surely, the lines would have dissipated by then. She didn't think that Owen and Jordan would mind getting their packages a couple of days later. At least, it would arrive before the New Year. She was glad that she had bought Zola and Sofia's gifts online and had them sent directly to Seattle. Maybe, she should have done the same with Owen and Jordan's gifts.

She went home to relax after a tiring day of shopping. Betsy was leaving to visit her family in Massachusetts. Cristina gave her the present and thanked her for all she had done for Xander during the year. She also gave her a hefty check that included both her December salary plus an end-of-year bonus. The nanny thanked her profusely, then gave Xander a kiss and a hug before going to catch her train to Boston.

It was just going to be Cristina and Xander alone at Christmas in their apartment. She wasn't going to cook and they were going to go out for each of their meals for the day. She lay back on her armchair, glad she was finally done with her shopping. She felt her baby bump. It was a more substantial baby bump because she was now past her 16th week. Ah, yes, she thought, it was going to be a lovely Christmas with just her Xander. She watched the blinking lights on her Christmas tree before falling asleep.


On the other side of the country, Owen and Jordan were also doing their Christmas shopping. They were shopping for his mom, Cristina and Xander. He was also getting presents for some of the folks at Grey Sloan. The present he had wanted to get for Cristina was an extraordinary surgery. He had consulted with the head of cardio at Grey Sloan, Dr Russell who had informed him that at the moment, there was nothing that would interest a surgeon of the caliber of Dr. Yang. Owen was disappointed but he told Dr Russell to keep him informed of any development. He said that Dr Yang had agreed to do a surgery, once it was a challenging case. He told Dr Russell that it was a teaching hospital and the residents and interns would benefit from seeing a surgeon like Dr Yang in the OR. Dr Russell agreed.

Now, he was shopping for another present for her. It would definitely pale in comparison to a challenging surgery. It was really hard to buy anything for Cristina. She already had everything. She really didn't care much for jewelry. She wore mainly earrings and a watch. Even when they were married, she hardly wore her wedding ring, except for special occasions. So, he found himself looking at earrings for her. He didn't know what to buy. He was driving the salesperson crazy because everything she showed him, he shook his head. He felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down at Jordan. He wondered if she was getting restless.

"Daddy, are you buying me two presents?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, I usually do. One for your birthday and one for Christmas," he said. "I never forget that it is two presents."

"You only need to buy me one present this year. Just one for Christmas," she said, firmly. Owen was surprised. Why would she only want one present?

"Why, Jordan?" he asked. "Why no present for your birthday?"

"Well, I still want a birthday present but not the kind you buy in a store," she said. "I want to go see my brother. That's what I want for my birthday present."

Owen could not believe that she was saying this. "Why, Jordan, that must be the best birthday present ever. Why didn't I think of that?" He swung her up in his arms. He was definitely going to do that. He, too wanted to see Cristina and Xander. He finally decided on a pair of earrings for Cristina and a bracelet for his mom and some toys for Xander. He called the airline, immediately and booked some tickets for himself and Jordan. He also made some arrangements for hotel accommodation but he hoped he wouldn't need them, if Cristina allowed him and Jordan to stay at her apartment.

He called his mother and told her of his plans to go to New York. She was glad since she was going off on a holiday cruise to Mexico and wouldn't have been with them, anyway. She told him it was an excellent idea. He said he had to give credit where it was due and that Jordan had come up with it.

He went home and packed clothes for the two of them. He also packed the presents for Cristina, Xander and Jordan in one of the suitcases. He was getting really excited. He called a taxi, which came to pick them up. He dropped off his mom's present at her house. She hugged both Owen and Jordan, telling them that she hoped they have a lovely Christmas.

"Good luck," she whispered to her son, since she knew the visit was going to be a surprise. Sometimes, surprises don't go as planned. But Owen was confident. This was going to be one of the best Christmases ever.

The taxi took them to the airport and as he and Jordan took their seats on the plane, she expressed the concern that maybe, Cristina and Xander won't be happy to see them.

"I don't think so, Jordan," he said. "I am sure that they would love to see us." They both settled down for a nap on the plane. By the time they got to JFK, they were both feeling a little bit frazzled. They had slept on the plane but it wasn't a restful sleep. They got their luggage and made their way out of the airport. He took the first taxi he saw and gave the driver Cristina's address. They were on their way.


Cristina woke up and found herself feeling cold. She noticed that Xander was asleep on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket. She had forgotten to put the heat on, when she came home. Now the apartment was freezing. She put the heat on but lighting the fireplace might also warm the place up. She hadn't used it all season and this was the first time she was going to use it. She tried but it wasn't turning on. She knew what to do. She would call her neighbor, Darby. He would know what to do. He was one of those fix-it-all geniuses. She called him and he promptly came over.

"I think you may have a clog in your line," he said. "So you haven't used it at all for this season? I think we may need to clean it. I can do it for you."

"Can you?" she said. "That would be so wonderful." As Darby got to work, cleaning the fireplace, she went to make some hot chocolate in the kitchen. That would help to warm their bodies, she thought. In the meantime, Xander had awakened to the sound of Darby cleaning the fireplace. He went to the kitchen and saw his mother, there. He went and hugged her legs.

"Hey, baby. You are up. Want some hot chocolate?" she asked. ruffling his curly hair.

"Yesh," Xander said. "Can you put some marshmallows, too?"

"Sure," she said. "Why don't you have a seat at the table and I will bring it for you." Xander sleepily walked to the kitchen table and sat down. Cristina brought him his hot chocolate with marshmallows and she sat down herself with her own cup. She called out to Darby and asked if he wanted his hot chocolate, now. Darby replied he would take it, after he was done cleaning the fireplace.

She and Xander were starting to warm up with the hot chocolate in their bodies and the heat kicking in to make the apartment a lot more toasty. Mother and son sat in comfortable silence, drinking their hot chocolate. When they were through, she made another hot chocolate for Darby. He should be almost through with the fireplace, she reckoned. Then, she heard a knock on her front door. Darby would get that, she thought.

"I'll get it," Darby shouted from the living room.

Owen and Jordan stood on the other side of the door, waiting for Cristina to answer it. As the door swung open, he had a great, big grin on his face, which quickly disappeared when he saw this burly man, answer the door. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Who was this guy?

"Can I help you?" the man asked. Owen finally found his voice.

"Um, I am not sure if I have the right apartment," Owen started. "Dr Cristina Yang?"

"Uh, yes, you have the right apartment," the man said. "Come on in. Your little girl looks tired." Owen stepped into the apartment, holding Jordan's hand and dragging their suitcases.

"Thank you," Owen said. Who was this guy? Darby went back to cleaning the fireplace. Was he a handyman? Was he some guy she was dating? Owen shook his head and put that last idea out of his mind. No, that definitely couldn't be, he tried to reassure himself.

"Is Cristina around?" Owen asked, hopefully. He needed her to be here to tell him who this guy was.

Cristina came out of the kitchen, with Xander following her. She was carrying a giant mug of hot chocolate with her.

"Hey, Darby, here is your hot chocolate," she said. Then, she noticed Owen and Jordan sitting on the couch. Her mouth dropped open. Xander spotted them, too.

"Daddy!" he screamed, as he ran to Owen. Owen got up and scooped him up in his arms.

"My boy, my beautiful boy!" he said, hugging the child, tightly. Cristina was still frozen to the spot in which she stood.

"Owen, what are you doing here?" she said, her voice betraying the fact that she was still in shock.


A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate them very much. Please keep the reviews coming.