Owen stared at his phone, wondering whether to call Cristina or not. It was the day after Olivia and Kady had come into the ER. He replayed the whole conversation with Olivia in his mind - her explanation, her apology and her plea for Owen to call Cristina. He had to admit it felt good that she did that.
He had thought about it all day. He weighed the pros and cons about it. He even thought about it during his date with Roxanne, the night before. He hoped that Roxanne had not figured out that his mind was elsewhere. It had been a pleasant enough date. Roxanne was a good conversationalist but there was one thing that bothered him about Roxanne. She was a very touchy-feely kind of woman.
Several times during the date, she stroked his arm. He hadn't reciprocated. After all, they didn't know each other that well and he felt uncomfortable doing that. However, Roxanne seemed oblivious to his discomfort, as she continued to stroke his arm during the dinner date. When he took her home, he walked her to her front door, and bent down to kiss her on her cheek. She had moved her head a little and his lips brushed the edge of her mouth. He apologized and told her good night and that he would see her at the hospital.
At work, the patients that came in, provided him with a little bit of respite from thinking about Cristina. But now, it was quiet time and he was all alone in an on-call room. There was nothing else to think about. As much as he wanted to call her, he felt that he shouldn't. He was pretty sure that Olivia had already told Cristina what had happened and she should be back, after her trip out of town.
He wanted her to be the one to make the first step. Cristina had wounded him, greatly. He wanted her to be the one to call. He wanted her to fight for him and for their relationship. He wanted to know that he mattered to her.
He put away his phone.
Cristina stared at her phone. She was back from her trip to the other university. She thought about the previous day's events. After her lecture, she had received a call from Olivia, telling her what had happened to Kady. She had been angry that Olivia had allowed Kady to get hurt and told her that. Olivia apologized and told her about how Owen had taken care of Kady at the hospital. She also said that she had apologized to Owen about her behavior and attitude towards him.
Olivia had also said that if Cristina wanted to date Owen, it was okay with her. She wasn't going to give any trouble anymore.
When Cristina came home, Olivia had reiterated what she had said to her on the phone. Kady, with stitches on her face, told her mama that she had seen Daddy and he had taken care of her. Cristina had given her a kiss and told her that daddy would always take care of her.
Now, she was all alone, in her bedroom, with her phone. Should she call him? Well, she knew she had to show some sort of gratitude for all he had done for Kady. But she was also filled with a bit of trepidation. What if he didn't want to hear from her, anymore? After all, she was the one who broke up with him. She knew she had hurt him, deeply.
Still, she reasoned, she had to be the one to make the first step. There was so much she needed to say, so much she needed to tell him. In the two months they had been apart, she had thought about him, often. She had cried at night, when all of the children were asleep. She had missed him so much.
She put away her phone in her handbag. She wasn't going to call him. Instead, she was going to see him. She picked up her handbag and left the house.
Owen pressed the button for the elevator. The doors opened and to his surprise, Roxanne was there. She stepped out of the elevator and gave him a winning smile.
"Why, hello handsome," she said, coming up really close to him. He watched as the doors closed and the elevator went away. It would have been rude to step on the elevator, when it was obvious that Roxanne wanted to chat with him. They had not seen each other all day and he had been grateful for that. But, now it could not be avoided, especially, since she was that close to him.
"So I haven't seen or heard from you all day," Roxanne gave him a coy smile.
"Been busy," Owen replied. "ER has been packed from since morning. I haven't had much time to breathe."
"I was hoping that I would have caught you in the cafeteria. We could have had lunch together," she said, touching the lapels of his lab coat.
"Um, well, we were slammed in the ER, so I just grabbed a sandwich and a drink," he said. "It was all hands on deck for most of the day."
"So we have a little quiet time now?" Roxanne said, running her hands on his arms.
"Er, yes," Owen said, feeling uncomfortable.
Little did he know that they had a spectator, watching the two of them. Cristina had come in, looking for him. She had asked the nurse at the nurses' station where she could find Dr. Hunt. The nurse had pointed him out at the elevator. Cristina looked in the direction of where the nurse was pointing and saw them – Owen with the tall, brunette woman.
She stared at them. It was clear to her that they seemed to be intimate, especially the way the woman was running her hands on Owen. There was a lump in her throat. Cristina felt like crying. Owen had a new girlfriend. It was too late for her and Owen and it was all her fault. She really couldn't blame him. She was the one who turned him away. She was the one who broke his heart. It was probably right that her heart was the one being broken, now. She turned back to the nurse.
"Could you give me a piece of paper? I think I will just write him a note," Cristina said. The nurse handed her a piece of paper and she wrote her thanks to him about taking care of Kady. She handed the nurse her note and asked that the note be given to Dr. Hunt. She took one last look at Owen and quietly left the lobby to go home.
It took Owen another 15 minutes to extricate himself from the clutches of Roxanne. As he walked away from her, he decided that he had to find a way to let her down, gently. No, there was not going to be a second date. It had been an okay date but he hadn't experienced any fireworks. There was only one person he felt that way about and he was still waiting for her to call him.
As he walked past the nurses' station, the nurse on duty called out to him. "Dr. Hunt," she said.
"Yes," he said, turning to face her. She handed him a note.
"A woman came by and dropped off this note for you," the nurse said.
Owen stepped away from the station to read the note. It was from Cristina. He could almost feel his heart leaping. He read the note.
"Owen,
"I just wanted to thank you so much for the kindness you showed Olivia and especially, Kady, when she came in with her injury. Kady told me how she saw you and you took care of her. Olivia also expressed how grateful she was that you were there in their time of need.
"As their mother, I would also like to add my gratitude to you.
"Cristina."
Owen read the note over again. There was no mention in it about the two of them, only about Olivia and Kady. He was very disappointed. He turned back to the nurse and asked how long ago was the woman here.
"About 15 minutes ago," the nurse said. "She had wanted to speak to you but she changed her mind and decided to write the note instead."
Fifteen minutes ago, he was at the elevator, talking to Roxanne. Roxanne had her hands all over him. From the nurses' station, Cristina had a clear view of him and Roxanne.
"Oh, no, Cristina," Owen said. She had probably got the wrong idea that he and Roxanne were together.
"What was that, Dr Hunt?" the nurse asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Thank you for giving me the note."
"No problem," she said. Owen turned away. He wondered if to call Cristina. He had wanted her to make the first move but if she had been at the hospital, maybe that was her first move.
Then, his phone rang. Maybe it was her. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the phone, as he eagerly answered.
"Hello, Dr. Hunt here," he said, almost breathless in anticipation.
"Hey, hey," Mike said on the other end. "Why are you sounding so breathless? I am not a girl."
"Oh, it's just you," Owen said, his voice sounded down.
"Well, you don't have to so sound so unenthusiastic, Owen. Jeez. I have some news for you. Actually, I think it is good news. Maybe it will take you out of this foul mood," Mike replied. "You know how I am getting this transfer to London for a year. Well, Tabby and I were going to do the long distance thing and then, we realized we couldn't do it, so we are getting married!"
"What!" Owen replied. "Married? But you've only known Tabby for about six months, right?"
"Yup," Mike said. "But I am telling you, she is the one!"
"Well, congratulations, my man!" Owen said. "When is the wedding? It has to be soon, given that you are leaving in a month."
"Yup, we are going to get married in two weeks," Mike said. "And I need you to be my best man."
"Two weeks – that is soon. Yes, I will be honored to be your best man," Owen said. "I am looking forward to it."
Cristina came home with a heavy heart. She and Owen were over. Truly over. She went to the kitchen, hoping to make herself a hot cup of tea and a cupcake. She needed to comfort herself. She was surprised to find Tabby there, waiting for her.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" she said, rushing forward to give her friend a hug and a kiss.
"I have some exciting news," Tabby said. Cristina started to make herself a cup of tea. She looked at her friend, who seemed ready to burst.
"Okay, tell me," Cristina said. "You can't seem to hold it in."
"Mike and I are getting married," Tabby announced, triumphantly. Cristina ran to her friend and gave her a huge hug.
"I am so happy for you," Cristina said. "So when is the big day?"
"Two weeks," Tabby said. "We have to do it soon because Mike is being transferred to London for a year. I am going to go with him."
"Wow. That soon," Cristina said, a little bit in shock. "What about your job?"
"I am taking a year's sabbatical," Tabby replied. "I already talked to the head of the department and he is fine with it."
"Okay, I am going to miss you so much, Tabby," Cristina said. "Looks like you have a lot of planning to do in a hurry."
"Yup, that is why I am roping you in," Tabby said, with a grin. "You are going to be my maid of honor or is it matron of honor, since you've been married. Oh, whatever it is, you are going to be it."
"I accept," Cristina said, with a laugh. She needed something like this to help her out of her current doldrums. "Let's get started."
The two friends sat down at the kitchen and excitedly, started planning the wedding.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate them.