A/N Sorry I have not updated this in a while. I will try and do better with this story.

Owen paced in his office, as he continued to think what would be the right course of action. Should he confront Marilyn about spreading rumors in the office? The rumors, he knew, were true to an extent. He and Cristina were sleeping with each other but it wasn't a sordid affair, where a subordinate is trying to get ahead by offering personal sexual favors to a senior manager. They were a couple that had been built on many years of friendship and trust. This was no quickie romance. This had been years in the making.

He was so mad that he even had to strategize about the fact that he had to do damage control. He had so many things to do and here he was, having to protect the reputation of his girlfriend. Cristina, he knew, was unaware that her name was on the lips of people in the office. What could he do? He thought for some more and he came to a decision. There was no way around it. He had to come clean with everyone. That was the only way he could save Cristina's name from being dragged through the mud by the office gossips. He didn't know why but it always seemed that it was the woman, who usually bore the brunt of the slander, whenever there was an office romance. That was blatantly unfair, given that there were usually two people involved.

He left his office and told Norah that he would be back soon. He made his way to Cristina's office and quietly knocked. She told him to come in. As he opened the door and their eyes met, he was greeted by a huge smile that lit up her entire face. He could not help but smile back.

"Hello, my lovely," he said, as he closed the door.

"So what do I get this honor of your visit so early in the day? You're only here at noon to have lunch with me," she said. He took a seat in a chair on the other side of the desk.

"There is something I need to discuss with you," he said. "I think we need to go public with our relationship." Cristina's mouth dropped open. She could not believe that Owen was suggesting such a thing.

"B-b-but why?" she spluttered out. "I thought we discussed this. That it would be better for me if people didn't know about it."

"Here's the thing, Cristina. They already know," he said. "I overheard a conversation between my assistant and Ophelia from the accounts department, discussing us just right outside of my office door. To be sure, I was taken aback. I went out there and stopped that nonsense, immediately. Ophelia hurried off like if her pants were on fire. I spoke to Norah and told her that I would not be tolerating any gossip at her desk."

Cristina was silent for a bit. There was only one person who could have figured it out. Cristina remembered how Marilyn had given her lots of curious smiles. Then, there was the incident where she and Norah were giggling about something. They were probably talking about her, Cristina realized. Her face turned red at the thought.

"Was it Marilyn?" she asked. She remembered her dress and underwear that had been on the floor, when Marilyn had come back to get her phone, the night of the dinner party.

"I greatly suspect so," Owen said. "She was the only one who was at the apartment when you were there." He sighed.

"Yes, I knew she saw my clothes on the floor," Cristina said. "What kind of person is she that she would spread gossip about us?"

"Someone who has too much time on their hands, clearly," Owen said. "So, since it is already out there, I think we should go public with it. Most importantly, we should emphasize that we knew each other from before your assignment here. I know there is a double standard when it comes to male-female relationships in the office. A guy is a stud while a woman is a slut. That's not just acceptable. We can't have people thinking that you're sleeping with a senior manager to get ahead. Your reputation is most important to me. You are my girlfriend."

"So how are we going to approach this?" Cristina asked.

"I am going to start at the top," Owen said. "Bradley, of course. There is no way I am going to endure him setting you up with his smug nephew, again." Cristina laughed.

"Jarrett isn't so bad," she chuckled. "He is quite good-looking and funny."

"Hmmm," Owen said. "Not from where I was observing. Bradley should stop trying to push his nephew on you. That has got to stop, immediately. After Bradley, I am going to finally confront Marilyn about it. Just because she is Brad's assistant doesn't mean she can get away with unacceptable behavior."

"I don't want any trouble," Cristina said. "I have to work with these people. I don't want to be the one causing all of the waves."

"Don't worry. I will be the one making the waves," he said. "I just wanted to let you know what was going on in this office and to be prepared for what I do next."

"Okay, Owen. I trust you," she said. He got up and gave her two soft kisses on her lips. "I will see you, a little later." He left her office and went straight to Brad's office. Marilyn was there at her desk.

"May I go in, Marilyn?" he asked. "Is Brad busy?" His voice was stern, as he spoke to her.

"No, you can go in. Mr. Fillmore doesn't have anyone with him," Marilyn said. She noticed the lack of warmth in his voice as he spoke to her. That certainly was not the way he normally spoke. He seemed to be very serious about something.

He gave a gentle knock on the door, before opening it. "Hey, Brad," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Owen. What's up?" Brad said. "You seem to be a man with a purpose this morning."

"You could definitely say that," Owen replied. "I have come to talk to you about Cristina." That was odd, Brad thought, since in terms of their daily working relationships, Owen had very little to do with Cristina.

"What? Did she do something that you have a problem with?" Brad asked. "Tell me. I will speak to her about it."

"No, it is nothing to do with work, actually. Well, it kind of does in terms of the work environment but not with the actual work that we do here," Owen answered. "It is actually about Cristina and me. There is no other way to say this but to just come out and say it. Cristina and I are in a relationship." This time, it was Brad's turn to drop his mouth open.

"What?" he said.

"I thought you needed to know this because you were trying to fix her up with your nephew. That cannot happen again," Owen said. "Also, you already know that Cristina and I knew each other from way before she came here. Things have progressed and we are now a couple."

"Oh, my God. No wonder you weren't too pleased with my dinner arrangements with Cristina being put with Jarrett and you with Marilyn," Brad said. He slapped his forehead and let out a loud guffaw. "Now that I am aware of the status of things, I will make no more matchmaking attempts."

"Speaking of Marilyn," Owen said. "I am going to have to speak to her about her spreading gossip about Cristina and me in the office. I wanted you to know this before I approached her."

"Oh, dear," Brad said. "I do apologize about that." He felt some sort of responsibility since Marilyn was his assistant.

"That's not your fault, Brad. She is a grown woman and should know better," Owen said. "I am not worried about me but I think I have to defend Cristina's reputation. She has only been here two weeks and she is already been subject to a lot of speculation. I am going to deal with this, right now. I will see you, later, Brad."

"Good luck," Brad said, as Owen left his office.

As he closed the door, Owen looked directly into Marilyn's direction. She felt immediately uncomfortable. When Owen Hunt glared in your direction, you could feel the venom emanating from those piercing blue eyes. It was like being an ant under a magnifying glass. He stepped towards her desk.

"Can I help you?"she asked. She hoped that her voice sounded steady. He did not seem to be in a very good mood.

"You most certainly can help me, Marilyn," he said. His voice was cold and deadly. Marilyn swallowed hard. She had a fair idea about what he wanted to speak to her about.

"Yes," she answered, weakly.

"I would like to speak to you about Cristina," he said. "I have been hearing her name being bandied about in this office. And I might add, not in a very flattering manner." Marilyn swallowed, again.

"By any chance, do you know anything about that?" he asked. Marilyn said nothing.

"Yes, I thought that would be your answer," Owen continued. "I just need to get some things straight here with you. Yes, Cristina and I are a couple. But it is nothing as sordid as your imagination came up with. We have known each other for about 10 years. So this isn't some ploy by a young employee trying to get ahead by hooking up with a senior manager. There is real affection and caring behind our relationship.

"That's the first thing that I wanted to say. The second is this. I really do not appreciate any of the gossip that you have been spreading among your cronies. Now that I have explained about our relationship, none of this was warranted at all. Marilyn, I do hope that in the future, you will keep my name and Cristina's name out of your gossip. I am calm, right now. You wouldn't like to see me when I am angry."

He left her desk and chuckled to himself. He had pulled that last line from the Incredible Hulk. He went back to his office, feeling a lot better about everything. He was pretty sure that Marilyn was going to keep her trap shut from now on, when it came to him and Cristina.

He called Cristina and told her that everything was now okay.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I spoke to both Bradley and to Marilyn and they are aware of the situation. I am certain that you will not be set up on any more dates and Marilyn will no longer speak ill of you."

"Yes, but what about the rest of the women?" Cristina asked. "They will still be talking about me. Your assistant? Ophelia?"

"Norah knows better than to indulge in any more gossip. As for Ophelia, I have something planned for her. She is the worst gossip in the company," Owen said. "I told you if we take this thing public, there is nothing more they could say about us." He then told her what they should do.

It was the lunch break. Instead of having lunch at her office as they usually did, they were going to join the rest of the staff in the lunch room. It was rare that a senior manager would join them, so there was a hush in the lunchroom. Cristina and Owen took a table near the corner. She could feel the eyes on them but Owen told her that she should act natural. It was kind of hard to do so, when everyone was staring at you, Cristina thought.

When Ophelia, the office gossip came in, she nearly dropped her lunch when she saw them there in the corner. She took her seat to get a good view of the couple. Cristina and Owen conversed as they normally would, during lunch. When they had eaten, Owen got up and took Cristina's hand in his. Then, they stopped, right outside of the lunchroom. He kissed her, right there in front of everyone.

Owen looked directly at Ophelia, as he spoke, using the same deadly tone that he had used on Marilyn. "Any questions?" he asked. "Please feel free to ask." There was a snicker in the room, as everyone started staring at Ophelia. She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair as she knew everyone was looking at her. Owen had called her out as the office gossip and it did not feel good. She stared at her shoes.

"Okay, no questions," Owen said. "I hope that is the last I hear on the matter." He and Cristina walked away.

A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks.