A/N: I know it's been about a while since I updated this. Sorry about that. I started writing three other stories – all AU fanfic. They are Teenage Dreams, Stormy Weather and Blind Date. If you haven't checked them out as yet, please do. Much appreciated.
With regards to this story, I am doing a time jump of four years, so that the babies are now five years old. There's only so much you could do with babies. I needed to have them talking.
It was rare that five-year-old Zachary Hunt would not be up by the crack of dawn. He was an early bird, unlike his lazy sister Annabella, who loved to grab a few extra winks. Every morning, Zach would climb the stairs from his second floor bedroom to his parents' bedroom on the third floor.
Sometimes, he would catch them doing some wrestling. His parents love to wrestle a lot, he thought. He usually respectfully allowed them to finish their wrestling match, before letting his presence be known. After all, he didn't like to be disturbed when he was playing his games. It seemed to him, though, that Daddy seemed to be winning all of the time, not that Momma seemed to mind. In fact, she always smiled after their wrestling match. He did think that Daddy should let Momma win some of the time. It was only fair.
Today was different. As Cristina emerged from underneath Owen, she wondered where Zach was. He usually was up there really early in the morning and they usually tried to finish their lovemaking before he showed up.
"Hey, shouldn't Zach be up here now?" Owen said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Cristina said. She pulled on her pajamas and headed down to the second floor. They had converted the second floor to be a kids' domain. Zach and Anna each had their own bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge play area and a homework/study room. At five, they didn't use the homework/study area as yet but Owen felt that they should designate an area where the children would be able to do their homework, keep their books and have their own computers. He was thinking about their future academic careers.
Cristina looked in on Anna, who, as expected, was still under her covers, fast asleep. Her long, dark curly hair was spread across her pillow. Then, she went to Zach's room and found the little redhead, staring at his ceiling.
"What's up, Zach?" she said, as she gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Why didn't you come up today?"
The little redheaded boy looked at her with his blue eyes. "Momma, I think we should have another baby. I want a brother," he said.
Cristina was alarmed. "Why do you want to have a brother? You have your sister, Anna. She keeps you company."
"Momma," he said, most solemnly. "Anna is a girl. She doesn't want to play with my dump trucks, trains and soldiers. She wants to play with stupid dollies and comb their hair and have tea parties. She has Zola and Sofia to play with and I got nobody. Please, Momma, I want a brother."
"Okay, Zach, we will think about it," Cristina said, hoping that it was just a passing phase that her five-year-old son was going through. "Let's go upstairs and have some breakfast. Do you need to use the bathroom first?" Zach nodded and got out of bed and went to the bathroom. As she waited for him, Cristina made a mental note to discuss this predicament with Owen and what they were going to do appease Zach.
As Zach emerged from the bathroom, he put out his hand for Cristina to hold and they both trudged up the stairs. Owen was already making breakfast for the family.
"What are you making, Daddy?" Zach asked.
"Mini-pancakes with maple syrup," Owen answered. "Here is your first stack."
"Yum," Zach said, as he launched into his breakfast.
"Owen," Cristina said. "We need to talk." She ushered him into their bedroom.
"Zach is asking for a brother," she said. "Can you imagine that horror?"
But she didn't get the reaction that she had expected from Owen. "I don't mind," he said.
"What?" Cristina shrieked.
"If you want to have another baby, I am totally up for it," he said. "In more ways than one," he added, with a smile.
"I don't want to have another baby. I am talking to you so you can help me convince Zach that life will be okay without a brother," she said, starting to pace the floor.
"Cristina, I have always wanted children. I love the two that we have, more than life itself. If that is all we're all going to have, that's fine with me. But if we were blessed with more children, I will be okay with that, too. I guess it comes from being an only child; I always wanted to have a brother. I understand how Zach feels," he said.
"I am an only child, too but it never bothered me that I had no siblings," Cristina said.
"Well, I guess Zach is more like me in that respect," he said.
"Zach is exactly like you. He looks like you, he thinks like you. He is your 'mini-me'," she said. "So, you're not going to help me with this?"
"I'm with Zach. He only has little girls around him all of the time. Kinda hard on the little guy," he said.
They both walked out of the bedroom and faced their five-year-old son. He gave them a huge smile. "See, Daddy, I finished my pancakes," he said, triumphantly. "More, please."
"Okay, buddy," Owen said, going to refill his little boy's plate.
"I am going to wake up Anna, so she can have her breakfast. They can't be late for their first day of kindergarten," Cristina said. She ran down the stairs and went into Anna's room.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," as she gently shook her curly-haired daughter awake.
"Let me sleep, Momma," Anna groaned, rubbing her eyes.
"Today is a big day, Anna. First day of kindergarten. No more going to daycare at the hospital," Cristina said. "Sofia and Zola have been going there since last year. You already have friends there."
"Yay, I have friends there so I won't feel lonely," she said. Then she said something that tugged at Cristina's heart. "Zach won't have any friends there."
"Come on, Anna, go get washed up and let's go have breakfast. Then Daddy and I will drop you off to school," Cristina said.
"Okay, Momma," the little girl said, as she went off to the bathroom.
Cristina thought about poor little Zach, all alone at kindergarten. He wasn't as boisterous or as outgoing as Anna. She wondered if he was going to have a hard time, adjusting to the new environment.
She and Anna went up the stairs, together. "Morning, Daddy," Anna said, as she ran to her father for a big kiss. He picked her up, "Morning, princess. Pancakes for my little girl?"
"Yes, Daddy," Anna said, as her daddy put her on a chair at the table.
Zach had already finished his second helping and he turned around to look at Cristina. "I'm ready to get changed, Momma."
He took Cristina's hand down to his room. She supervised him brushing his teeth and then, she changed him into his first day of school outfit. He wore a blue striped shirt to match his eyes, jeans and sneakers. He looked so adorable that she hugged and kissed him over and over. He laughed and laughed.
Anna and Owen had come downstairs, after she had her breakfast. She had been very particular about what she planned to wear for her first day of kindergarten. As Anna brushed her teeth, Owen laid out her clothes on the bed. She had decided on a pair of khaki cargo pants, a mint-green blouse and leather sandals.
As Owen dressed his little girl, he thought about how proud he was of his little family. He never knew he could love anybody as much as he loved his wife and kids. He started brushing Anna's unruly ebony curls that were so much like her mother's. "How do you want it today, Anna?" he asked.
"I want two ponytails," she said.
"Your wish is my command," he said, as he set to work on creating two ponytails from all of that hair. Cristina looked in on them. It always amazed her that her big, tough, strapping ex-army husband would be the one, who combed their daughter's hair everyday.
Soon, everyone was ready for the day ahead. They went first to the kindergarten, which was located about two blocks from the hospital. The kindergarten was part of a school that ran straight from K-5. As soon as they opened the doors, Anna eagerly got out. Zach was a little less eager in coming out of the car. He held on to Cristina's hand, while Anna took Owen's hand. They walked into the school to meet their new teacher.
"Hello, Dr Hunt and Dr Yang," Miss Michaels said. "Are Anna and Zach ready for kindergarten?"
Anna grinned happily, while Zach held on tighter to Cristina's hand. Miss Michaels showed them around the facility. It was at this point Anna spotted Zola and Sofia, sitting on a bench in the playground. She released Owen's hand and ran to meet her friends.
"Oh, I see, Anna already has friends here," Miss Michaels said. "It will be easy for her to adjust."
"Well, we've got to go now," Cristina said, as she bent down to her son's eye level. His blue eyes were rimmed with tears. "It's going to be okay, Zach." She kissed him on his cheek. "Yeah, buddy," Owen said, as he gave his son a hug. "Soon, you will have lots of friends."
As they drove away and waved goodbye to Zach, he cut a forlorn little figure, holding on to his teacher's hand.
Cristina silently wiped away a tear from her face. Her babies were no longer babies. They were growing up.
"Hey, why are you crying, Cristina?" Owen asked.
"They're just growing up so fast," she said.
"Aw," he said. "Well, we could always have another one."
She glared at him. He chuckled.
Owen headed to his office. He was now Chief of Surgery, while Cristina was an attending in cardio-thoracic surgery, working under Dr. Buchanan. She saw Meredith at the nurses' station. Meredith was now an attending in neuro surgery, working under Derek.
"So how was the first day of kindergarten?" Meredith asked.
"It was hard for me, since we no longer bring them to the hospital with us," Cristina said.
"When I dropped off Zola last year, I cried more than she did," Meredith said. "How did Zach and Anna take it?"
"No problems for Anna because Zola and Sofia were there. Zach, on the other hand, was a little teary-eyed. By the way, he is asking for a brother," Cristina said.
"Ha, ha," Meredith laughed.
"Don't laugh. This is serious business at my house. My husband says he's fine with having another one, so he is no help. I am the one who has to deal with the 'no baby brother' issue with Zach," Cristina said.
"Well, you could always tell Zach that even if you have another baby, there is no guarantee that it is going to be a boy. That will make him have second thoughts because I am sure that Zach doesn't want another girl around. He already has Sofia, Zola and Anna hanging around; they are a handful for any little boy," Meredith said.
"That is so true," Cristina said. "I will tell him that tonight."
Since the kindergarten only took children up to 3.30 p.m., Cristina had to pick up her kids before her shift was over and leave them in Owen's office. As they climbed into their booster seats, she asked, "How was your first day? Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Great, Momma, I had a great time," Anna said. "I played, I drew, I sang, I did crafts."
"What about you, Zach?" Cristina asked her quiet son.
"I made a friend, Joey," Zach said. "He's five years old like me and today was his first day, too. His daddy is a fireman. Joey has three brothers and they are mean. They take away his toys, play tricks on him and don't let him watch his shows or play his video games.
"Momma, I changed my mind. I don't need a brother, anymore," he said. "I like Joey."
Cristina had to smile.
A/N: Please review. It spurs me on to continue.