Peyton sniffed then sat up more in her bed
"I haven't cried since…well since I called Owen 2 years ago in Iraq"
Cristina leaned forward interested in anything Peyton could tell her about Owen.
"It was the first time I talked to him since he had been over there and I was so excited to finally hear his voice, but as soon as I got on the phone I knew something was wrong, he didn't even say hello I just knew it was him and he was totally silent for about 5 minutes then he started breathing really heavily and the phone was breaking up, he was taking in these huge gulping breaths like a fish searching for water, except, except he never found it, he was taking huge gulping breaths , just, just like a fish and he just kept trying, like, like if he kept doing it, if he just kept breathing everything would be alright. That's what I used to tell him, that this world was going to keep sucking and the only thing we could do, was to keep breathing."
"He was never a crier, Owen, I don't think I've ever seen him cry, but that night, that's the night he lost it. He lost his belief that the world would eventually…that the world would get better. That all the fighting and all the dying and all the pain that everyone was going through, that it all be okay because, because soon it would stop, it would stop and everyone and everything that suffered would be alright. He always believed it, I never did. I knew better, I knew it would never stop."
Cristina nodded once as Peyton continued.
"He kept breathing heavily for a while then, then he started to tell me what happened. Now you know what Owen did over there, he basically came in after the enemy was gone and picked up all the pieces all the broken soldiers, but sometimes he had to work under fire because if they waited until they retreated, too many of the guys wouldn't have made it. Owen tells me that he and Nate, his best friend also a trauma surgeon were trying to airlift these 2 brothers who had gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen and were bleeding out fast. He said that something was wrong with the helicopter and they were stuck waiting for another on to come get them. Owen was a doctor, so they didn't arm him with everything a soldier usually had, they just gave him a gun just in case he needed it. So he said while they were waiting, he could hear the shots getting closer and closer to them. Out of the corner of his eye, he said he saw this guy aiming a gun at Nate from behind a sand pit and without thinking, he just pulled out the gun they gave him, and shot him, just… shot him, quick and dirty, no time to think it through, it was just instinct for him. He says after that was the worst feeling he had ever had, he kept saying that he couldn't get the guys face out of his head and what if he had a family and what were they were doing when they got the call, and I didn't know what to do so, I started crying, we sat there for three hours, me in a phone booth in downtown LA and him at his military base, just crying and trying to keep breathing, not saying anything. Before we hung up, because I ran out of quarters, he said that he wished he could come home and that he was sorry if this world had already broken my heart. That was the last time I talked to Owen until today."
"I thought he was dead you know? I thought since he hadn't come looking for me by now he was dead, so I guess I stopped breathing."
There was a knock at the door and Owen entered a moment later.
"Peyton, Cristina…Hi" Owen stated awkwardly
Peyton snorted," You always knew how to make an entrance"
Owen smiled, "So have you two gotten to know each other?"
"ohh yes" Peyton said. "I like her, she's better than Beth; she was always too bright and shiny, peppy even, I mean in this world? Who needs pep?
"How did you…?" Owen said because he knew Cristina wasn't the type to tell anyone unless they asked.
"Owen, Owen did you think you could hide anything from me? This is me remember? I can still read you like a book."
Cristina laughed, "He is very predictable"
"I am not!" Owen exclaimed
"See, I knew you would say that" Peyton said with a shake of her head. "Yepp predictable"
Owen moved closer to her bed shaking his head. "You, young lady need to get some rest, you just had a major surgery…."
He was cut off Peyton
"And my body has sustained massive amounts of trauma; I need to sleep to re-energize myself so I am ready for my difficult recovery process"
"I've done this before Dr. Hunt"
"You've done this before" he repeated.
How did you like it??? Too over the top? Please leave a review!!!!!!
