Sophie had now been home a month, now. Truth be told, she and Owen had never spent that amount of time with each other in the years that they lived together. There was such a thing as too much togetherness, they both thought.

One morning, when she and Owen were having their breakfast at the table, she decided to make an announcement. "I was thinking," Sophie said. "That I should go back to work." Owen looked up, surprised.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I know your physical therapy has been going well but are you ready?"

"Yes, I am ready. My legs may not work as well, anymore but my brain is still intact. I am a trained lawyer and I can still be a lawyer. Lots of people in wheelchairs work," she said.

"Okay, Sophie. This is a good sign and I am happy for you," he said. "Do you want me to drop you off at work and pick you up?"

"Well, I was thinking that since Julian and I both work downtown, maybe he can drop me off and pick me up," she said. "In that way, it won't be so much of a bother to you."

"You know it's not a bother," he said. "But logistically, it does make sense for him to take you. I guess you will have to ask him."

"I already did," Sophie said. "He said he doesn't have a problem with it. I also called my boss and he said that he was pleased that I wanted to come back to work. So it is all settled, really. I start next week Monday."

"So, I guess then everything has already been in train," Owen said. "It will probably be good for you to start work, again. What about your physical therapy sessions?"

"My boss said he had no problem with me, keeping up with my physical therapy and he said he would arrange for his driver to take me to them," Sophie said. "Isn't he a great boss?"

"Yes, he is," Owen said. It was terrible but the first thought he had was he could resume having breakfast with Cristina, now that Sophie was going back to work. With Sophie home, he hadn't had breakfast with Cristina for a while, now . He missed that, so badly and so did she.

Cristina was alone in her apartment, chewing on a piece of burnt toast, when she heard the knock on the door. She was a little surprised that someone was there. The only person who ever came to her house at an early hour was Owen but he hadn't done that in a while, since Sophie came home from the hospital. She missed their breakfast mornings when he would come by after his morning run and bring baked goodies for her. Here, she was, eating a piece of burnt toast and drinking some brackish tea, all by herself. She got up and answered the door. She was more than pleasantly surprised to discover that it was Owen at the door. He had a huge smile on his face.

"Hey," she said, happily. "What's up? Come on in." He stepped into the apartment and eyed her woeful breakfast. She followed his gaze and knew what he was thinking.

"What are you eating?" he asked. She felt a little ashamed. "Um, some toast and some tea. I burned the toast a little bit."

"That wasn't a little bit. That's a lot," he said. "Didn't I teach you how to make a good breakfast for yourself?"

"Yes," she said. "But it is kinda hard to make a fuss about breakfast when there is no one to share it with." She looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"Ah, that is what I have come over to tell you. From next Monday, I can resume my morning runs and having breakfast together," he said.

"How come?" she said. "What about Sophie?"

"Well, Sophie is going back to work and she has arranged with Julian for him to take her downtown," Owen said.

"Really?" Cristina replied. "He didn't tell me about it. Well, if that is the case, yay for Sophie for going back to work and yay for us, we can have breakfast, again." She ran and gave him a hug. He held her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. It smelled clean, citrusy and fresh. "You washed your hair, this morning," he said. "It smells good." She suddenly became self-aware of how close their bodies were. It felt good to be in his arms but yet, it felt wrong in one way and oh-so-right in another way.

She released herself from his arms. "Yes, well, let me finish my breakfast," she said. She went and sat down at the table and started chewing again at her toast. What had just happened there, he thought. Why did she pull away from him?

"Why don't I make you a good breakfast?" he said. He headed straight to the kitchen and put together an omelet in a jiffy. "Here you go, my lady," he said, as he served her. "Plus toast that is not burnt."

"Thank you," she said, gratefully. That piece of burnt toast did not taste good. "You aren't eating?" she asked, as she dug her fork into the omelet.

"No, I ate already. I had breakfast, already," he said. He watched her ravenously eat her breakfast. "Seems you're hungry." She nodded.

"So if Sophie is going to work, then we can go out and you can come with me on my interviews and we can cook, together, once again," she said. "It will be just like old times."

"Yes," he said. "Just like how we were, before the accident." Well, not exactly like how we were, Cristina thought. She had become even more aware of how she felt about him. When he was no longer spending as much time with her, she had greatly missed his presence in her life. It made her feel empty and alone and it seemed the light had gone out of her life. She never thought that she would feel like this and she came to the realization that she loved him. But he was with Sophie, who was in an accident and who couldn't walk at the moment. It was not a good time, she knew. There was no way that Owen was going to leave Sophie, while she was in this state. She knew it would be best if she kept all of her feelings bottled inside. What good would come of it, if she told him that she loved him, she thought. Except for the fact that he would know that she loved him but there would be nothing that either of them could do about it. She wondered how he felt about her Maybe she was only fooling herself. She decided to broach the topic of in a more subtle way, or so she thought.

"Owen, I need your advice. I have a friend, who thinks that he may be in love with someone, who may be taboo to him. Should he tell her how he feels?" she asked. She had deliberately changed the gender of the "friend", so he would not have an inkling that she was talking about herself.

He, on the other hand, was confused. Who was this guy she was talking about? Did she get a new friend while he was busy taking care of Sophie? He was alarmed at the thought. Had he been replaced as her friend? He racked his brain, thinking who in the apartment building, could it be.

"Who is this friend?" he asked. He wanted to know.

"Just a friend. Who he is, is not important," she said. "Just answer the question and let me know what you think."

"Well, it depends on the situation. Why is she taboo to him?" he asked. "Her dad is going to take the shotgun to him, if he reveals his feelings to her."

"No, that's not it. There are other people involved. She is with someone else," she said. "He doesn't know if he should do it because of that. But the longer he waits, the more it is killing him on the inside." Wait a minute, he thought, was she talking about him? How did she know all of this? As far as he could remember, he never let on that he loved her. Did she already know that he loved her?

"Oh," he said. "Would the situation change if he told her?"

"Maybe," she said. "They could get uncomfortable with each other after he told her." It seemed to him, like it was this was more and more like his current situation.

"Then, maybe he shouldn't risk it," Owen said. "He could still have her in his life, if he didn't tell her."

"Plus he doesn't know if she feels anything for him," Cristina said. That definitely sounded like him, Owen thought. "That's a bummer," he said. "Has she shown any interest in him?"

"Well, they do hug and they spend a lot of time together," she said. This was hitting too close to home, Owen thought. It was as if she was in his mind and reading all of his thoughts. He felt uncomfortable discussing this any further. He got up. "I think I have to check on Sophie," he said. "I will talk to you, a little later."

"Okay, Owen," she said. "Thanks for talking to me." She watched him open the door and leave. She was such an idiot, she thought.

Owen got back to his apartment and sat down on the sofa. He could hear the television on in the bedroom. It seemed like Sophie was watching a movie. That last conversation with Cristina had him uneasy. It was like his life was an open book and Cristina was reading it, page by page. Was she telling him that he should say what he was feeling? It was too much to fathom, right now, so he took out his computer and started working on his latest assignment. He became so engrossed that he had not realized that hours had passed. He looked at the time on his computer and realized he had to get lunch for Sophie. He made three club sandwiches, one for himself, one for Sophie and one for his little curly haired neighbor across from him. After seeing about Sophie, he walked across the hall and knocked on the door. Cristina yelled, "Come on in!"

"Cristina, you don't tell people to come on in, when you don't know who they are," Owen said, as he opened the door and stepped inside the apartment.

"Oh, I was expecting someone," she explained. "I thought you were him." Who was this someone she was expecting? Was this her "friend" that she had talked about, earlier? His hackles were raised. There he was, taking time out to take care of Sophie, and she had replaced him with another "friend." He did not like that, at all. Was he that replaceable in her heart?

"I brought you a chicken club sandwich," he said. "I thought you might be hungry." Her face lit up when she saw the sandwich. She came forward and took it from him.

"Thanks," she said. "I am hungry."

"So when is your 'friend' coming over?" he asked.

"What friend?" she replied, as she bit into the sandwich.

"The one, you're waiting for," he fumed. "Who is he? What floor is he on? Does he work at home, too? How come I have never seen him? Is he the stupid guy in love with a girl that he can't have?"

"Hold on, where is all of that coming from?" she said. "I am not waiting for a friend. I am waiting for the cable guy. The cable went out and he said he was coming."

"So who is your friend, the one you were talking about this morning?" he asked. Cristina didn't quite know what to say, given that the friend really didn't exist and it was herself that she was talking about. Owen seemed quite upset and getting more agitated, she thought, maybe it was time to come clean.

"There is no friend, Owen, I just made that up," she said. He look puzzled, now. "Why?" he asked. "Who were you talking about, then?" Was it him she was talking about?

"Me," she answered, staring at the ground. She put down the sandwich. She really couldn't eat, anymore. "I was talking about me. I am the guy, even though I am not really a guy."

"So you are in love with someone?" he asked.

"Yes, I am in love with someone I cannot have," she said, looking up at him. His heart started beating faster.


A/N: Please leave your comments. I do appreciate when you do.