Love Me Tender
"This sucks!".
"Great Mark, tell us how you really feel".
Owen couldn't help but laugh at the antics of the two men sitting with him on the porch.
Shepard was giving Sloan a look of mock-annoyance. Being that it was still 28 degrees Celsius, at eight in the evening, he wasn't getting worked up over anything. But Shepard still put on a good show.
Mark was undeterred though. "I'm just saying; this is all wrong", "this is a stag-night, your stag-night; and we are supposed to be the ones partying with the loud music and the tiny, tiny shorts".
He leaned back and raised his hands defensively when the other two shot him identical, warning, glances.
"Just saying!, this is wrong, all wrong". And he stared ahead of him, shaking his head at such a crazy, cock-eyed world.
Derek was watching him with a smile, then turned to Owen, "I don't miss the shorts, no matter how tiny they are. I'm getting married tomorrow. I will soon have a life long, guaranteed supply off shorts". A snort told them, Mark was not impressed by the argument.
Owen smiled, but his answer had to wait while they listened to a particularly forceful delivery of "Girls just wanna have Fun", by Calliope Torres, exploding out of the house.
When he could make himself heard again, Owen leaned over, "Do you want to see if you can find O'Malley before we hit town?", this directed at Shepard.
*
They had gathered here after shifts to "paint the town Red". Mark, Owen, Derek, The Chief and O'Malley that was. Karev had chosen to stay with Izzie in the hospital, it was too hot for her to join the women at their party. The Chief had been one of the first to arrive, puffing in a very fancy outfit. He had been sipping on a cocktail, slowly regaining his cool, when he had spotted Callie in the hallway. She was making her way to the bathroom, dressed in what appeared to be a shocking pink baby doll. Owen wasn't too sure that was the name of the colour, but he was sure it had shocked the hell out of the Chief. Not long after, seeing more of his female staff arrive, he had excused himself and left.
O'Malley had been torn between loyalties from the start, soon disappearing inside the living room amidst much squeals. He had not been heard from since.
*
Immediately, Mark got to his feet; "I'll go!", and disappeared inside the house, doubtlessly heading for Lexie Grey in a straight line. She had changed into a pair of hot pants when she got there, that made Derek more than a little uneasy, considering she was going to be his little sister very soon.
He looked over at Owen again, and saw him grinning, before becoming aware that he was being watched, and hiding his mirth with a large gulp of beer.
Try however hard he may, Derek could not stop himself from laughing as well. "My fiancé gives a better stag-night than I do", he hung his head in pretended defeat. Owen was now laughing overtly, "Listen; they have tiny shorts, a karaoke installation, and it's 28 degrees out, you never stood a chance buddy".
They held out just a while longer for good measure, staying for another beer, before taking the walk of shame towards the music.
When they walked in, the scene that greeted them was enough to stop them in their tracks and bring smiles to their faces.
*****
Sure enough, Sloan was standing next to Lexie, but not for much longer. Calliope Torres was slowly but surely dragging him over to the make shift stage that had been erected in front of the fire place. Both George, and Arizona Robbins, the later dressed in what seemed to be Barney the Dino pyjama pants and a halter top, were cheering Callie on as she pushed the microphone into Sloan's unwilling hands.
Meanwhile, Cristina and Meredith were splayed out over the couches that had been pushed back to allow for a "dance floor".
Meredith was wearing an ankle-long, satin negligee. It was green, and her eyes changed with it, hair falling loose to her shoulders.
The impression of serene beauty was sadly marred, however, by the bottle of Vodka she was holding.
Back resting against the couch, one naked leg drawn up, she let the bottle dangle from one hand, using the other to whistle at Sloan. "Pfffeewwwt", "Yeah!, You work it baby!".
Cristina was wearing a short black lace negligee, that didn't reach all the way down to her knees. It had spaghetti straps and she wore it under a little lace vest with long sleeves, that showed her pale skin gleaming through them.
She had stretched her naked legs comfortably, resting, crossed at the ankles, on the low table in front of them. Her hair was up, revealing the graceful line of her neck, again the impression of elegance was tainted, here, by the cat calls she was giving Sloan, and her raucous laughter.
*****
Owen had to blink for a moment when he the thought of Beth came out of nowhere. He simply could not picture her like this, in fact he could not even remember her face when he was looking at the woman he loved, jeering like a truck driver, clad in black lace.
"Ladies and Gentleman", Callie's voice came through the mike, "In a unique, one time performance, we give you;.. The Reformed Man Whore". There was general laughter as Mark rolled his eyes, "Tonight he pays for his drinks in singing, let's give him all a big round of applause!".
"Oh! Oh, Meredith!". Cristina was kicking her friend. "Go get the condom jar!", she motioned with the chips she was holding; "Quick!".
Meredith ran off to the kitchen, and there were loud cheers as people recognised the first notes of the song.
Giving them all a look of the utmost contempt, Mark opened his mouth and started.
"Rolling, Rolling, Rolling"…
Loud applause and peals of laughter made the next line impossible to hear,
"Keep them doggies rolling, Rawhide".
Mark's face was priceless, and Cristina was now on her feet. When Meredith rejoined her, she was carrying the jar and they wasted no time grabbing hands full of the rubbers.
"Move'em up!", "Move'em on!", "Move'em out, Rawhide".
General uproar was here and Mark was getting showered in popcorn and condoms by this time. He didn't seem to mind too much though, focused as he was on the cutesy little cowboy dance Lexie was doing, fingers hooked behind the loops of the waistband of those miniscule hot pants.
"Rawhide!", he ended the song on a positively fiery note, to wild cheers.
*****
Avoiding the hailstorm of popcorn and contraceptives, Derek and Owen had made the drinks- station their first target. They got their poison and turned to take in the rest of the room. An uninformed outsider might have felt that it was a little early in the evening for this level of drunken excitation, but Owen knew Meredith had decreed that the plug would be pulled at 23h00, come hell or high water.
She wanted to make the ceremony alive, and it would be nice if the guests would make it as well, preferably on time and not smelling like a brewery.
Sloan was finishing up, diving into the arms of Lexie as soon as the last word had left his lips. Arizona and George took the stage at once, bursting into an enthusiastic version of "Hit The Road Jack". Cristina turned away tot take her seat again when she saw Owen, standing only a few feet away. The laugh from Mark's performance still on her face, her eyes lit up and she walked straight over to Owen, jumping into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He was surprised, holding his drink away from his body, as he catched her and held her against him with his other arm.
"Hello?!", he was amused and slightly taken aback, she was not normally so ostentatious. She didn't answer him however, kissing his socks off instead, before unwrapping her legs and signalling that he could put her down.
Once she was on her feet again she held him close, pressing her face against his shoulder, "You're here, that is so cool".
He grinned to himself, she could make him so happy with just a few words. "You missed me, hunh?". She looked up, smiling, but her eyes were serious; "Yeah, I always miss you when you're not there".
Before he could catch his breath after that remark, she turned around and pulled him over to the couch. He didn't protest when she pulled him down and snuggled up to him. Whatever the lady wanted, suited him just fine.
*****
Derek had been spotted as well. Despite his loud protests, that he was the groom, that he would soon be an honourable man. That they couldn't expect him to lose his dignity under the eyes of his bride, he still ended up on the stage. Callie was kind enough to get up there with him, but soon enough he found himself belting out the lines to "Paradise By The Dash Board Light", as well as he could.
On the couch, Cristina and Owen were in stitches. Fortunately, Callie was an amazing singer and she carried the song effortlessly. Derek getting all excited was too funny though. By the time he had reached the last part of the song, tears were in Cristina's eyes.
"Ow! I couldn't take it any longer, Lord, I was crazed, when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave, started swearing to my God and on my mother's grave".
After that much upheaval they needed to sit down or go to the loo. Callie sat down and sang a beautiful rendition of the "Ave Maria". She wasn't sure where it came from, or if you were allowed to sing it in a pink baby-doll, but it was gorgeous, and they enjoyed it in silence.
Owen had his face buried against Cristina's neck and curls, breathing in her scent as the music played around them. Sitting there, her body resting against his in the cooling summer evening was.., perfect. For lack of a word that described this feeling of peace, while feeling utterly alive.
When the song ended, they decided to eat some and after, Lexie surprised them all with a very lively "Going to the Chapel". That got them going again, the drinking now starting in earnest.
Callie and Arizona fired them all up with "Jackson", the duet by Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter. They rocked the stage until they almost fell off it, and Owen was just thinking they were cutting him some slack as the new guy, when Meredith gave a little "Oh!", and started pointing at him. "Owen hasn't sung yet, he has to sing!".
This got immediate, and loud agreement from across the room. Next to him, he could feel Cristina cringe, and he turned to her, laughing.
"Looks like I'm going down". She gave him a pained look, "Don't worry, just don't try and make it any better than it is. I sucked one time, and I sucked so bad, they never asked me again".
He was laughing out loud now, "So she thought he would embarrass her?".
He got up to pick out a song, "She expected to be embarrassed?" He chuckled some more as he found the perfect song for the big embarrassing gesture he'd give her.
Getting up, he walked over to George and asked him to kill the big light, leaving the room only dimly lit. His audience hushed and settled deeper into their seats, he saw Cristina almost disappearing into the couch.
Callie was operating the machine and when he showed her the title he picked, her eyes widened and she gave him an impressed little smile.
He smiled and walked in front of the stage, checking how long the cord of the mike was, before giving Callie the go-ahead.
*****
"Ladies, Gents", he used the deepest voice he could muster, taking a few steps up and down, with a noticeable swagger. "A vurry good evening to you", he stretched his arms out in front of him and gave a little shake with his shoulders and his wrists, before putting up the collar of his shirt. That got him some claps and whistles, Cristina was looking terrified.
"This here goes out to a vurry special little lady, right here in the audience", and he fixed her with a stare that was pure McBadass, flashing her a smile.
More whistles, that died down instantaneously when the music started
He didn't look away from Cristina as the first three notes sounded, that was all it took for her eyes to widen and the shock to show on her face.
"Oh no!, Seriously?!, he has got to be kidding!".
"Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go."
"You have made my life complete and I love you so"
Their eyes had remained locked, she was unable to look away. His voice was clear and pleasing, it had her listening to the words, perhaps for the first time.
"Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfil"
"For my darling, I love you, and I always will"
"O.k, so it's still incredibly sappy, but I just don't care". A little smile made it's way over her face as she kept looking into the beautiful eyes of the man she loved.
"Love me tender, love me long, take me to your heart"
"for it's then that I belong, and we'll never part"
He was making his way back to the monitor now, looking away for a moment, to read the text, with a little wink.
She smiled and looked away from him long enough to see the smiling faces of the others turned to her. But she almost immediately forgot about them as she turned to Owen again.
"Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfil"
"For my darling, I love you and I always will"
"He's really singing this to me", the voice in her head insisted. "he's singing that he loves me, in front of everyone".
"Love me tender, love me dear, tell me that you're mine"
"I'll be yours throughout the years, till the end of time"
She hated herself for it, but the swelling music and his voice brought tears to her eyes. And in a reflex, her right wrist came up to her face in the gesture of a sad child.
His eyes never left hers, he was kneeling on one knee before her now, in front of the couch. Ignoring all others, he took her left hand and held it in his while he sang the last lines.
"Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfil"
"For my darling, I love you and I always will"
The music stopped and she was left shaking her head at him in silent.., awe.
He put the mike down without taking his eyes away from hers, then took her other hand as well, waiting for her reaction.
She had to look away, just to be able of coherent thought. "Owen", she started, before looking back at him. "You serenaded me", that made him laugh. "I didn't give you permission to serenade me!". He looked at her, eyes sparkling with the memory of their first meeting. He knew she could read the "So?!", on his face.
He caressed her cheek, with his hands, with his eyes.
She was looking at him as she had back then, eyes open and soft, asking him if this was really happening.
"I love you", she said it, and he knew it was true. It was what he had needed to hear and finally, he could kiss her.
"I love you too", he had to take his lips away for a moment to say it. "love you, Cristina".
And she held him even closer, her hand in his hair.
The End