Month Twenty-One - September

September 22nd.

Owen brings Cristina a cup of coffee, while she's working on paperwork in the clinic.

"Thanks," she says, rubbing her stomach.

"Is McBaby kicking?"

"No," she says. "Feels like Braxton-Hicks. My uterus is probably as bored with clinic duty as I am. I don't know how I'm going to stand two more months of this."

"At least you haven't been put on bed rest yet," Owen smiles.

"And we are all happy about that," Cristina snorts. "How is your day going?"

"Two car crashes and a duplex fire so far today. This is the first quiet moment I've had."

Cristina opens her mouth to say something - and then her expression changes rapidly from confusion to concern, her eyes suddenly losing focus. Owen stands to attention.

"I think I - we - " she says, hands going to her stomach. "I - ow!" She screams.

Owen doesn't need to signal the staff - they quickly help him get Cristina onto a bed, pulling the curtains shut. Bailey appears out of nowhere and takes charge of the situation.

"Oh god, it hurts," Cristina moans, as Owen rapidly undresses her and gets her into a gown. "Owen, this isn't labour."

"What do you think it is?" Bailey is guiding her legs apart.

"Placental abruption?" Cristina gasps as she feels a warm gush between her legs. "Crap! My water broke?" She looks at Owen and sees stark terror on his face and feels afraid.

Miranda beckons to a nurse. "Placental abruption. Page Dr Robbins and get Dr Yang into an OR STAT for a C-section."

"Owen?" Cristina looks at him for an explanation. His face is ashen white and he's already helping Bailey move her bed.

He looks at her. "Your amniotic fluid is full of blood. The baby has to come out now," he says, fighting to stay calm as she is wheeled away.

She takes a deep breath to centre herself. I am Cristina Yang. I do not panic.

"Placental abruption," she says. "I understand. The baby is coming out now." He nods at her, watching her carefully.

"Good thing this happened at work?" Cristina tries to crack a joke, but nothing is funny.

**

Owen is impressed with the speed of the staff, getting Cristina set up in the OR. He smiles bravely for her as she goes under general anesthesia, gripping his hand. His own hands are itching to join in on the C-section, but one glare from Bailey lets him know he's lucky to be allowed in the OR.

"Here's the baby," Bailey announces. "Aspirator, now."

"It's a girl," Arizona says.

Owen feels a chill watching them working on the small figure - and exhales when the baby moves and kicks. He watches his daughter turn pink as she breathes in air.

"Cristina is very lucky this happened at work," Bailey says. "She's going to be fine, Owen."

He nods and strokes Cristina's hand, wishing she was awake. "Thank you, Miranda."

Owen notes that his breathing and his heart rate are increasing. And he's feeling lightheaded. Recognizing the signs of a panic attack, he closes his eyes and tries to slow his breathing down, gripping Cristina's limp hand.

"I know, baby, you weren't expecting to be born today," he hears Arizona say.

"Dr Hunt?" A nurse asks. "Are you okay?"

"Hey," Derek's voice says, by his right ear. His friend grabs Owen's right arm securely. "I just got here. What's going on?"

Owen opens his eyes and turns toward Derek. "Placental abruption. It's a girl."

"Cristina's going to be fine," Bailey announces.

"The baby is looking good, all things considered," Arizona calls over. "Owen, you can come say 'hi'."

Owen quickly walks to where Arizona and her nurse are working on the baby, putting her on a ventilator. Derek follows him, resolutely standing by his side.

"She's a scrappy girl," Owen says, watching her furiously wave her arms.

"She is," Arizona agrees.

Owen looks over to where Bailey and her team are working on Cristina.

"Don't even think about coming over here, Hunt." Bailey's voice is firm but friendly. "We're taking good care of her. Stay where you are."

"Yes ma'am!" He turns back to the baby, watching her get weighed.

"She's looking good," Derek says quietly. "It's going to be fine."

"She'll have to go to the NICU," Arizona says, wrapping a blanket around the baby. "But you can hold her first. Ready?"

Owen smiles softly and holds out his hands. Arizona carefully places his newest daughter in his arms.

"Hi there," Owen quietly speaks to her. "We weren't expecting you for a couple of months. But I'm glad you made it here safely."

**

Cristina comes out of anesthesia briefly, fighting for consciousness. She's in the recovery room, a tired Owen waiting beside her bed.

"Did the baby die?" she whispers, her hand going to her stomach.

"No," he says, stroking her face. "She is a fighter. Another beautiful girl. And this one has red hair."

Cristina smiles weakly. "I wanted a redhead."

"She can't breathe very well on her own and she's small, but her chances are good," Owen assures her.

"How much does she weigh?"

"3 lbs, 12 ounces."

"How am I?" Her voice is shaky.

"You're going to be fine, they stitched you and closed you up without complications. You'll be okay."

"Where's Chloe?"

"With my mother. Go back to sleep, Cristina."

"Okay."

**

Cristina wakes up again when she hears Chloe calling for her. This time, she's in a private hospital room. Owen is standing and holding Chloe beside her bed, with Owen's mother and Meredith also standing there. How strange to have two daughters now, she thinks drowsily.

"Hi sweetie," Cristina smiles, weakly reaching her arms out. Owen places Chloe beside her, carefully avoiding her surgical incision.

"How are you?" Mrs Hunt asks.

"Okay," Cristina yawns. "I can't believe the baby was born."

She looks up at Owen. "How is -?"

"She's good," he assures her. "I called Saul, he's going to fly out as soon as possible," Owen reports. "And the whole hospital is sending their love and best wishes."

Cristina nods and strokes Chloe's curly hair.

"I'd like to take Mom to the NICU. Are you okay having Chloe with you?"

"She's fine," Cristina says, rubbing Chloe's back. "I want her with me. Meredith, are you staying?"

"I'll stay," Meredith promises. "I can grab Chloe if she starts being a problem."

"We'll be back soon," Owen says, escorting his mother out.

"I hope you didn't want a brother," Cristina yawns, playing with Chloe's hair. "Meredith, have you seen the baby?"

"I have," her friend says. "She's small but I think she will be fine. She is the centre of the NICU's attention. And she's cute."

Cristina finds herself drifting away, and decides not to fight her sleepiness. "Maybe you should take Chloe."

**

Cristina wakes up when Owen and his mother reappear. "She's doing great," he says, kissing her cheek. "Her vitals are as good as can be expected."

"She's beautiful," Kathy adds. "Owen's hair was that red when he was born."

"Mom's going to take Chloe home and sleep there so I can stay here tonight," Owen says, taking Chloe from Meredith. "Chloe, give Mommy a kiss."

Chloe obliges, before leaving with her father and grandmother. Cristina dozes off again until Owen reappears. They're alone in her room now. He sits by her bed and takes her hands.

"Is the baby really all right?" Cristina asks.

He nods. "The doctors are watching her closely, she's definitely a preemie and her lungs aren't fully developed. She needs to put on weight, she probably needs to stay here a couple of months. You can go see her tomorrow."

"I want to see her now," Cristina pouts. "Tell me everything about her."

Owen smiles gently and pulls out his phone. He flips through to show her pictures.

"She looks more like me but she has your mouth. You can't see it with the ventilator mask on. And there's you around her eyes, see? She keeps making little noises. She's big enough that she can be held, the doctors want me to go down later and give her kangaroo care. You'll be able to do it when you're feeling better. And you can pump breast milk for her when your milk comes in."

Cristina frowns.

Owen looks at her. "Are you okay?"

"I - can't look at the pictures and see the baby that's been kicking me and making me throw up," she confesses. "She doesn't look like she's mine. I want to see her as soon as possible."

"You will." Owen starts rubbing her hands. She sees worry etched all over his face.

"Owen, what's wrong?"

"This morning, I handed you a cup of coffee, and then I watched you get cut open. It was close, Cristina. I thought that I would lose both of you."

She squeezes his hands. "I'm not going anywhere."

He lifts a hand to his mouth for a quick kiss.

"So, Owen, do you have any ideas for a name? You've seen her."

"You saw her too. Sort of"

She sighs. "Thank you for the pictures on your phone, but they're not enough. I can't name her based on those."

Owen smiles quietly and looks at their hands, still joined. "I do have an idea."

"Go on."

"Remember before Chloe, when we were discussing possible boy names?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, I was down there earlier, after she got settled in the NICU, and for some reason I thought about how we were talking about using my father's name. Malcolm Hunt." He looks at her quickly.

"And?"

"Mallory," he says. "I think she looks like a Mallory. But you need to see her too."

"I'll have to have a good look at her," Cristina agrees. "But I don't hate the name Mallory."

September 23rd

The next day, Cristina is carefully transferred to a wheelchair and taken to the neo-natal ICU. She holds her breath as Owen wheels her to their baby's isolette.

Their newest daughter is wrapped in a blanket, wearing a tiny ventilator mask, with a feeding tube down her throat. Cristina carefully takes in the sight of all the tubing and wires. It's hard to see the baby's face with the mask. A small knitted cap is keeping her head warm. The baby is awake and restlessly moving her hands.

"Hey you," she says softly, reaching in to stroke a tiny arm. Owen's hands grip her shoulders.

"She had an exciting night," one of the nurses walks over to tell them. "There were some apnea episodes, but she came out of them on her own. She's very sociable, she likes having people around her."

"Thank you," Owen says quietly. The nurse nods and leaves them alone.

"She's so small," Cristina frets. Owen squeezes her shoulders.

"She's a tough one," he says. "Look how alert her eyes are."

Cristina nods, continuing to stroke the baby's arm. The baby looks at her, staying still while receiving attention.

"She does look like us," Cristina says softly. Owen rubs her shoulders.

One of the doctors comes over. "Do you want to hold her before we consult?"

Cristina nods. A nurse helps the doctor transfer the tiny baby into Cristina's arms, trailing her tubing behind her.

Cristina sighs, looking down at the small baby. "I keep going over everything in my mind," she says. "What could I have done differently to prevent this?"

"Don't do that," Owen advises, stroking her hair. "You know as well as I do that these things happen all the time."

"It's hard to remember that when it's your own child," she replies. She nudges the knitted cap up so she can see the baby's hair. A few tufts of bright copper stick up.

"That is red," Cristina smiles. "Maybe her middle name should be Anne, after Anne of Green Gables. Although I was thinking she could have two middle names - Helena and something in Korean. I just can't name her Helen Hunt, even as a middle name."

"I like Helena as a middle name. Maybe she could have Sun-Hi, like Chloe?"

"Maybe. I like the name Mallory," Cristina says quietly.

"Let's try it out. Hi Mallory."

Cristina's eyes fill with tears, as she looks down at Mallory. She blinks and the tears flow down her face. Owen finds her a tissue.

"She's so small," Cristina murmurs. "Owen, we could have lost her."

"But we didn't. We won't. She comes from us, she's made of tough."

"Everything happened so fast," she sniffles. The full weight of the last 24 hours comes crashing down on her and she continues to cry.

"I know." Owen stands there and strokes her hair, letting her cry. Mallory looks up at her, small eyes bright and alert behind the oxygen mask.

September 24

"She's lovely," Izzie whispers. She sits in her wheelchair, beside the isolette, surrounded by her friends.

"Do you feel up to holding her?" Owen asks.

"I'm afraid of dropping her," Izzie says quietly, looking down at her frail hands, with the needle for the IV drip.

Cristina and Meredith exchange a look. Cristina gestures helplessly at her own wheelchair.

"We'll help," Meredith says. She and Owen get pillows to prop up Izzie's arms. Then Owen carefully places Mallory in Izzie's arms, while Meredith supports her friend's arms.

"Wow," Izzie smiles, lifting one hand to touch Mallory's face. "She is so beautiful. Her hair is beautiful. Even her name is beautiful."

"Thanks," Owen chuckles. "We named her after my father, Malcolm."

"Oh." Izzie looks confused. "I assumed you named her after George. O'Malley, Mallory..."

Owen looks chagrined. "Sorry," he says. "I didn't think of that."

"I did," Cristina says quietly. They all turn and look at her.

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I'm blaming the drugs."

A glimmer of Izzie's former radiance illuminates her eyes. "I hope your next child is a girl too, so you can name her after me," she teases Cristina.

"What next child?" Cristina protests. "We just had this one!"

September 27

Derek strolls through the NICU, walking over to where Owen and Cristina are sitting. Chloe is sleeping on her mother's lap. Owen's shirt is open and Mallory is snuggled against his bared chest, cradled in his huge hands for kangaroo care.

"Ah good, you've got a shirt on," Derek says. Owen raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have any idea of how pale you are?" Derek jokes, pulling up a chair. "You could blind people."

Owen smiles and shakes his head in amusement.

"I told him he has to wear a shirt from now on," Cristina says with a smirk. "One of the interns was watching him too closely."

Derek chortles. "Which one?"

"Kari. And maybe Jeff too." Cristina grins.

They laugh. Owen smiles and gently strokes Mallory's hair.

"She's looking stronger," Derek says.

Cristina nods. "She's getting some breast milk now and she gained a few ounces."

"Every little bit helps," Owen says quietly.

"How is Chloe doing?"

Cristina smiles and smooths her oldest daughter's hair. "She's a little bit jealous. We snuck her in tonight because she's been getting cranky without seeing me."

"I thought you said Chloe was going to be reasonable -"

"Yeah, yeah," Cristina laughs. "We get it now. We've certainly had a few previews of the terrible twos. She does understand that she has to be on her best behaviour while visiting me, so don't throw her out, Uncle Derek."

"Uncle Derek would never do that."