Chapter 77: Decisions

After Amelia made a quick exit, Owen noted he had a few minutes to spare. "Well, Gwendolyn, pretty soon we'll go grab your sister and then head out to get the big kids," Owen suggested as he walked to his desk and gathered papers to put in his briefcase. "C'mon over," he encouraged enthusiastically as he bent down and hoped Gwen would scoot the 3-4 feet between them. She popped up on all fours and swayed forward and back. "C'mon, baby girl, come see me," Owen encouraged again as he held out his arms.

Gwen collapsed onto her tummy, whimpering with a feeble cry. "Gwen…." Owen repeated eagerly, "come on. Come see Daddy. Come on!" She pulled back up on all fours. Owen reached over and gently pulled her right hand toward him. Her left knee followed naturally. Owen celebrated and urged, "There you go, come on, Gwen. Be a Hunt. Don't give up." Owen nudged Gwen's left hand. "Keep your leg strong, baby, come on. Come to Daddy." She moved forward with both her hand and right leg and laughed as she realized what she'd done. Owen leaned back and offered with exuberance, "Keep coming. You're almost here. Come on, sweet girl." Gwen crawled on all fours the rest of the way, burying her face in Owen's leg and laughing heartily once she reached him. With tears of joy, Owen rubbed her back and celebrated, "That's my girl!" He rolled onto the floor and embraced his daughter, laughing with joy as they celebrated her huge accomplishment.

Cristina, who had approached and leaned against the office door just as Gwen had collapsed onto her tummy, applauded with a smile, "Fatherhood becomes you, Owen."

Owen rolled onto his side and sat up, holding Gwendolyn in his arm. He was grinning broadly. "Cristina, this is my youngest daughter, Gwendolyn. Gwen, this is Dr. Yang." Gwendolyn reached out for Cristina's curly hair, grabbing a handful and bringing it toward her mouth.

"Umm…that's not necessary, little baby. Let go of the hair," Cristina instructed, attempting to reason with the 10-month-old. Gwen simply laughed as she pulled on the hair. "Get your kid under control there, Hunt," Cristina commanded, only half kidding.

"Gwen, no. Let go," Owen said firmly yet softly as he nudged her fisted hand with a finger. Gwen let go and moved her hand onto Owen's head, grasping his hair. "Oh, now it's my turn, huh?" Owen laughed as he kissed the baby and let her continue pulling his hair.

"Uh…what can I do for you?" Owen asked, shifting awkwardly into professional mode.

Cristina reached out and tentatively grazed Gwen's upper arm with her finger. "For a baby, she's kind of cute. Looks a lot like her mom."

Owen chuckled, "Thanks. Now what can I do for you? I'm on my way out the door."

"Oh, sorry. I was coming by to see if you were free for dinner," Cristina explained. "Mer and Derek have some stupid fundraiser thing. Given my choices of attending the fundraiser or babysitting my godchildren, I chose going out to dinner with an old friend. What do you say, old friend?"

Smiling at her knowingly, Owen clarified, "I'm on Dad duty through bedtime. You're welcome to come along, but I'm not sure it'll be your kind of day. I'm running kids to and from practices, picking up a pizza, and heading out to our house." He grabbed a kleenex and wiped off Gwen's drooly face.

"Will I have to change diapers or directly deal with children?" Cristina asked seriously.

Owen chuckled, "No, but I assure you that they will want to interact with you and will breathe the same air." He grinned at her, charmed by her comfort in her own skin and way of being. Then he added, "I'm sure you and I will have another opportunity to chat before you leave. I completely understand your preference to not hang around 5 kids and 2 dogs the rest of the day."

"Ufff! Ufff!" Gwen barked when she heard a reference to Simba and Nala. Owen laughed softly as he quietly barked back at her and bounced Gwen in his arm.

"Actually," Cristina declared, "I would enjoy watching you be Mr. Mom and seeing your house. If your invitation was sincere…I understand if you were just being nice."

"Da! El-la El-la," Gwen interrupted and inquired.

"Excuse me, mini-Shepherdess, I was speaking with your daddy," Cristina quipped.

Owen, once again, laughed, and suggested, "She's less than a year old, Cristina. Cut her some slack." Then he turned to Gwen and asked in baby talk, "You want Ella? Shall we go find her?"

"Ya…ya," Gwen responded.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Owen shrugged as he threw the diaper bag over his shoulder. He looked back at Cristina, who was still standing at the desk, and asked, "Are you coming or are you chickening out?" Cristina looked to her side coyly and caught up with the duo.

After picking up Ella and the babies' stroller in the daycare, Owen pushed the girls as he and Cristina made their way to his Buick. He stopped briefly to sign some orders and to text Amelia. His text read; Cristina was looking for something to do tonight. I dared her to experience the Hunt 5. That's ok, isn't it? You good with that? Amelia, on her way to check on a post-op patient, read Owen's message and wrote back, Absolutely. Enjoy your time with her.

As Owen buckled the girls into their car seats, they competed with one another as they called out their siblings' names. Ella bellowed, "Fin-Yee! Ol-Wee! Bon-Wyn!" Gwen echoed, " Fin-Yee, Fin-Yee, Fin-Yee."

"What the hell are they so chatty about?" Cristina asked brusquely.

Owen laughed, "They know we're on our way to pick up their siblings. Fin-Yee is Finley, our oldest. He's almost 13. Ol-Wee is Oliver. He's 8, 9 in January. Bon-Wyn is Bronwyn, our kindergartener. And I'm Da."

"When do they learn to speak properly?" Cristina inquired with a slightly jaded tone.

Owen just rolled his eyes as he turned into the Montessori school. "Would you like to come in with me or can I trouble you to sit in the car with a set of twins buckled in their car seats while I run inside?"

"That's making me directly responsible for them. We had a deal," Cristina kidded. "Now hurry up and get the hell out before I change my mind."

When Owen and Bronwyn headed toward the car hand-in-hand, Cristina uttered aloud to herself, "Oh. My. God. She's a miniature, girl-version of him."

"Bon-Wyn!" the twins began screaming repeatedly in a high pitch, causing Cristina to jump.

Owen pulled open the side door. As he playfully pulled Bronwyn up by having her hang on his forearm, he introduced her, "Bronwyn, this is Dr. Yang. Cristina, this is Bronwyn."

Bronwyn walked over to Cristina and studied her briefly before extending her hand, "Hello."

Cristina grasped Bronwyn's hand and shook it feebly, "You look like your dad."

"I know! I'm so lucky!" Bronwyn celebrated with a giggle.

"Climb on back and buckle up, Bron," Owen instructed. Even though the interior of the car was small, Bronwyn took the long route, stopping to greet and kiss each baby before grabbing a book off the floor of the car.

"Are we leaving or what?" Cristina inquired flatly to Owen.

"We're on kid time now, Cristina. Everything takes a while," Owen responded with contentment. "Let's go, Bronwyn Bolivia."

As they drove up to the boys' school, Cristina commented, "Oh my. They are all dressed the same."

"Ol-Wee! Fin-Yee!" the babies began repeating with joy. Oliver, as part of his daily routine, ran up to the car full speed and fell against it dramatically before opening the door. Cristina jumped slightly as she heard his impact.

Oliver hollered, "Hi Bron. Hi baby sisters…how are my minions today?" He kissed the babies over and over, then tickled them.

"Minions?" Owen asked.

"Just kidding, Dad. Hey, who are you?" Oliver, both stunned and curious, asked Cristina.

"Try that again, Mr. Hunt," Owen instructed.

Oliver leaned over from his spot between the babies and extended his hand, "Hi. I'm Oliver."

"I'm Cristina Yang."

"Cool. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Yang," Oliver responded.

"Dr. Yang," Owen corrected.

"Yeah, ok. Anyway, hi ma'am," Oliver quipped between playing with his sisters.

"Ma'am?!" Cristina mumbled to Owen.

Finley opened the side passenger door and discovered Cristina. "Excuse me," Finley offered with surprise and headed into the car through the next door.

"Hello, I'm Finley," Finley offered as he extended his hand and greeted Cristina.

"Hi, Finley. I'm Cristina Yang. It's lovely to meet you," Cristina responded.

"She's a doctor, Fin, so don't call her Mrs.," Oliver advised.

Finley looked at his brother impatiently, "You don't need to yell, Ollie." Then he stopped to say hello to the babies and asked Owen, "Gwen's brace came in? How's she doing with it?"

"She crawled in my office today. Maybe about 4 feet!" Owen celebrated as the rest of the melee applauded.

"This is quite the sensory experience," Cristina observed.

"Hey, Dr. Dang, how do you know our daddy?" Bronwyn called out from the back of the car.

Owen burst with laughter. "She's got a knack with names. Derek was Dr. Pepper for a while and Karev is Dr. Doughnut. Looks like you're Dr. Dang," he concluded as he continued to laugh.

Cristina turned back and looked at Bronwyn and at all the other small faces examining her. She explained, "I used to work at the hospital where your mommy and daddy work."

"Why don't you work there anymore? Did you get fired?" Bronwyn asked curiously.

"No," Cristina stated flatly, "I acquired my own hospital in Switzerland."

"Cooooolllll," Oliver said. "Like you're the boss of all the bosses?"

"Yes," Cristina confirmed.

"First stop – Finley. Got your bag and gear?" Owen asked as he parked.

"Yep. See you later. Bye baby girls, bye Dr. Yang," Finley shared.

"Ollie, swap seats with Bron so you can change in the backseat on the way to practice," Owen requested.

Oliver crawled over the back of the seat and commanded, "Get moving, Bron."

"Be nice to me," Bronwyn declared.

"Get out of my way," Oliver argued as he gently shoved her.

"DadddddddyyyyyY! Oliver pusheded me hard," Bronwyn tattled.

"No, I didn't, Dad. I was helping her move to the babies' row where she belongs," Oliver protested.

Owen began counting, "One… Two…." By two, both kids were buckled in their new seat.

As evidenced by her quiet giggles, Cristina was delighted by this unfamiliar facet of Owen, "Have you ever tried that at the hospital? It might work on interns," Cristina chided.

Owen grinned, "You haven't changed."

"Why would I?" Cristina quipped.

After dropping off Oliver and settling Bronwyn in at dance class, Owen led Cristina to the playroom at the dance studio. He changed the babies' diapers and set them up with some snacks before letting them play. The ex-couple sat on the floor as Owen fed the girls some cereal and mashed fruit. Unconsciously, Owen opened his mouth as he pushed the spoon toward either baby's mouth. His baby talk was charming and endearing as he flirted with his girls. Cristina observed without judgment that she was more like an accessory than the main outfit. He tended to her now and then but focused much more on the babies.

"You're happy, aren't you?" she asked evenly.

"I am," Owen smiled as he paused and nodded.

"You're a good dad, Owen," Cristina observed.

Owen kept looking at the babies as he responded, "Thanks, Cristina." He grabbed a washcloth to wash off Ella's face as she began to fuss about some cereal on her chin. Without further conversation between the adults, the girls finished eating and Owen cleaned them up before setting them on the floor to explore.

"Hey…ummm," Owen began as he struggled to find the words.

"Yes?" Cristina asked as she leaned her head to the side and looked toward Owen.

"I dunno…it's weird. I was just going to ask you…never mind," Owen stuttered.

"Spit it out, Owen," Cristina ordered with impatience.

Owen straightened his back and lifted his knees up halfway from the floor as he rested his elbows on his knees. His chin rested in his hands as he looked away and shared, "I received a call from the Pentagon the other day."

"Whoa," Cristina sighed. "What do they want? And why are you telling me?"

"They want me back overseas for a 3-6-month tour, then at the Pentagon," Owen said distantly.

"What?!" Cristina exclaimed as she wrinkled her brow.

"The Colonel who was tasked with overseeing medical processes and protocol in the field retired. The candidate pool is very shallow, and they want me to step into the position. But first, they want me to go clean up a unit that's being poorly run," Owen clarified. "I don't know how to even begin to bring this up with Amelia."

"So, what? I'm your trial run?" Cristina quipped. Owen just glanced at her without expression. She continued, "Wait. Wait. I have so many different questions. First, where would you be deployed? Second, the Pentagon thing…that's a permanent move? Third, you've decided to take the position and aren't sure how to tell your wife or you don't know what to do and aren't sure how to talk with your wife about it?"

"First off, you're not my trial run. I value your input. Derek would be biased, plus I harassed him about being willing to serve when the President called him. He wouldn't be able to be objective. My Army friends would be biased and tell me about how their families all survive. I don't have a lot of other friends – well, not the kind of friends who I'd talk to about this. Really, there's nobody else I can talk to about this. You're the only person besides Amelia who gets me," Owen disclosed.

"Thanks, I think," Cristina responded dryly.

Owen continued, "I can't say the location of the deployment, but it is in a warzone. Yeah, they'd like me to consider the Pentagon position long term. As far as what or if I've decided? I have no idea. The bachelor in me, who I really haven't been for nearly two years, is ready to jump on a plane tonight. The husband and father wants to yell that there is no way in hell I'd leave my home, wife, and kids. The doctor in me…he's on the fence. He loves the field more than anything but isn't so sure about becoming a lifetime bureaucrat."

"That's quite a bit to consider," Cristina reflected.

"Yeah," Owen whispered as he crawled over to redirect Ella. On his way back to Cristina, he grabbed Gwen. As he sat back down, he placed her on all fours and began encouraging her to crawl.

"Tell me about her leg," Cristina requested.

"Spina Bifida. Mia…well, Gwen had surgery at 24 weeks, Addie operated. Amelia was on bedrest most of the pregnancy and away from performing surgery for nearly a year," Owen recited flatly.

"It must have been low on her spine if she's this able-bodied," Cristina analyzed.

"L4-L5. She's lucky. Quite a fighter. Both girls were born premature," Owen shared. He choked up quickly as he added, "Karev resuscitated Gwendolyn. She wasn't breathing when she was born and had various initial challenges in the NICU." Owen buried his head in his hand and took a series of deep breaths. Mumbling from his position, Owen admitted, "Cristina, the whole pregnancy was horrendous. So terrifying. So many touch and go moments. And then to almost lose Gwen. Oh God. I owe Alex Karev everything I have. His brilliance saved my daughter."

"Now there's a phrase I would never admit to uttering, even though I know its truth," Cristina kidded gently.

Owen looked up with a grin and promised, "I won't tell."

"It's been a helluva time, hasn't it? I'm sorry," Cristina offered compassionately. She placed a hand on Owen's shoulder as they sat in stillness. Owen wiped his eyes and blinked rapidly.

"Dddddaaaaaddddddddddyyyyyyyyyy!" Bronwyn yelled as she entered the room. "Daddy, Daddy, ummm…Daddy. Look. Watch my new steps!"

"Oooooooooooollllliiivvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiaaa," Owen answered with glee and delight, "Show me! Show me!"

Bronwyn clumsily displayed a series of steps and then insisted on repeating them. She tried the steps again and danced well. "Can I teach them to you, Daddy? Can I?" Bronwyn begged.

Owen looked at his watch, "We need to leave in 5 minutes. Can you start now and finish teaching me at home?"

"Yes," Bronwyn nodded. "You too, Dr. Dang. Stand up! Let's dance!" Owen grinned mischievously as Cristina couldn't bring herself to ignore Bronwyn's plea.

"Yeah, Cristina, dance it out," Owen nudged.

"Ok, ok…now listen. First you put your foot like this and then like this. Try that much first," Bronwyn taught. She continued step by step, teaching the adults new moves. Owen leaned down and tried to coax Gwen to dance with them as he held on to her. Bronwyn led Ella in a mish-mash of missteps.

Cristina giggled as she tried to memorize the moves. "You just giggled," Owen observed.

Reaching down for her purse and fluffing her hair, Cristina insisted, "No I didn't. I did not giggle. I don't do that."

"Ah…ok," Owen responded with raised eyebrows and a wide smile.