Meredith was making her way to the attendings lounge, she was exhausted from her long and torturous night up with Bailey, who didn't let her get a wink of sleep given the fact that he had contracted the flu. She wanted nothing more then to put her feet up for a minute and grab a bite to eat while she could, she was on call and wanted to take full advantage of the unusually slow night at the hospital. She had just made herself comfortable on the couch, with her feet resting on the coffee table and hurriedly unwrapping the snickers bar she pulled out of her lab coat. She took a big bite and sighed in contentment.
How could we ever think of having another baby? she thought. The thought made her want to run screaming in the opposite direction whenever Derek made his way towards her. She had been avoiding him a little bit ever since he made a comment about adding to their family, she was not thrilled that he had even considered the topic. After all, he wasn't the one who would be forced to carry the baby for nine months and then push it out his penis, not to mention he conveniently slept through the babies cries every night, yet he was the one who was exhausted. Men. She thought, God, they are aggravating.
Though he had stepped back to let her shine and work on her clinical trail, which made her love him even more, she was just not ready to consider having another kid, they had one of each anyway, that should be good enough for now, plus she wanted to concentrate on proving Cristina wrong, that she could be just as good if not better then her, and still do it with a baby on each arm. She was on a mission, and getting pregnant again would only set her back a couple steps. In a sense she was kind of thankful to Cristina, even if she had the most ruthless and insensitive ways of pointing out her flaws and mistakes; her criticism only pushed her to do better and be better. She just had wished that Cristina could find a less blunt and back-stabbing way to voice her opinions, and also to encourage her and have her back like she had hers time and time again.
She had to admit, as much hate as she had towards her these days, she did miss her tremendously, she missed grown up adult conversations and she missed having someone around who knew her inside out, she tried to find a replacement for her, but nobody was good enough to take her place, nobody could ever be her Cristina. At one point in their friendship she truly believed that even though she loved Derek very much, and Cristina loved Owen, the true love story, the one that was the purest and would outlast time, was the love story between them two, Meredith and Cristina- twisted sisters- and soul mates. Because in all honesty boys could come and go but them two, they were forever. Or she used to think at least.
Meredith let out a loud growl when her pager started going off feverishly and snapped her out of her thoughts. So much for having a couple minutes to myself, she thought. She quickly swallowed the last of her chocolate bar and got up to to attend to the 911 page that Owen had sent her.
Owen had just got the call that a VIP patient was being rushed in the hospital. He was notified that it was a very important sportsman, Brady McGuire, a player for the Boston Red Sox, he had heard his name before in then news when he was crowned the Triple Crown, but didn't know too much about him since Owen was a Seattle Mariners fan through and through. For some reason the city that Brady played for didn't resonate with him, that tidbit went in one ear and out the other. The player had collapsed at practice after trying to steal third base and inadvertently also slipped and fractured his leg, his whole team and coaches were in a frantic frenzy. Owen made sure to page who he felt was most worthy of taking care of a patient of this caliber, so without a second thought he summoned Meredith and Callie.
All three made their way to the ambulance bay as Owen filled them in on the situation. He made sure to emphasize discreetness and to ensure this patient get the best care possible at their hospital. The ambulance was two minutes out, but before they knew it it was descending to the entrance. A man who looked like the coach stepped out of the ambulance right before the paramedics ushered the patient towards the hospital.
"He was fine all practice until towards the end, he just froze and collapsed mid-run, I think he might of hurt his ankle." The coach said to Meredith while Owen talked to the paramedics and Callie examined his ankle.
"Don't worry, we will find out what's wrong and take care of him, he is in good hands coach." Owen yelled as he guided the gurney into the ER. The coach made sure to follow right behind with worry written all over his place.
"I'm sure you guys are great doctors over here, but this is my star player, I called his personal doctor and she's on her way from Boston as we speak." He said hurriedly
"She doesn't have to make the trip to Seattle, I assure you that we are one of the best facilities that he could of ended up in." Owen said, the irritation evident in his voice. What was it with these celebrities and athletes that made them think they were superior to everyone else, Owen thought.
"She's been monitoring his heart condition for the better part of a year, she knows him inside and out, and he would want her here." Owen could tell that the coach wasn't trying to step on his toes, he was just conceded about his all-star player's health and the future of the team.
Giving a sigh of defeat, Owen nodded.
She tried to deny it, but she knew in her heart of hearts that she would walk through these doors again, one day, she just had anticipated it to be later rather than sooner. It felt like yesterday when she had last walked out from the hospital and walked away from her life in Seattle. In reality it had only been a year, a year didn't seem like such a long time, but a lot had happened in that year. She had thought that her stint in Mayo had changed her, had breathed new life into her, had made her a better person, the truth of it was, it only bared a small layer of skin, but her time in Boston had seemed to shed her bare to the bone and then forced her to grow a whole new self, she stripped away all her demons and transgressions and then she began to build her person again. She had been such a difficult and complex person her whole life, she didn't change, she was still Cristina, she just evolved. Like a snake that sheds its old skin to make way for the new, Cristina had essentially done the same.
A driver awaited for them to land and then they quickly made their way to the car, they had no choice but to get off the plane and make their way to the hospital, this was an emergency case and had to be dealt with immediately. The world series was a couple days away, and the fate of the championship and the star player was in the hands of Cristina. They made the trip from airport to hospital in record time, Cristina carried Teagan inside the hospital with Minka by the side. She quickly made her way to the day care center that was set up in the hospital and ushered Minka in.
"Okay." Cristina turned to face Minka, completely frazzled and out of breath from the hurried pace they had jogged to get to the day care. She gave Teagan a kiss on the cheek and forehead and handed the baby to Minka. "You stay here, I will be probably be on the third floor, if you need anything just text or call me." She shouted as she hurriedly made her way out the room. Minka held the baby and started rocking her back and forth while she started to sob at the realization that Cristina was no longer holding her.
Cristina made her way through the hospital trying to find a familiar face, she needed scrubs and she needed the room number to where her patient was being treated. She glanced around the hospital, which seemed unusually slower then what she remembered but she could not spot any of her old colleagues. She let out a sigh of frustration and started making her way to the old locker room, she was just about to walk in when she heard a voice yell out behind her.
"Cristina Yang, are my eyes deceiving me, or are you here in the flesh?" Bailey's shriek resonated throughout the empty hallway, the disbelief and surprise evident in her voice. Cristina released the hold she had on the door knob and turned to face Bailey. She stood there for a minute contemplating what she should do, she wanted to run up to her and give her a hug, this woman was more then just her supervisor, she was closer to a mother then even Helen was. Her contemplating was interrupted when Bailey decided the course of action.
"Well, don't just stand there Yang, its only been a year, you couldn't of forgotten me that quick." She said with a smile starting to crack at the corner of her lips. Cristina let out a sigh and quickly walked over to Miranda and wrapped her arms around her. "I could never forget you Dr. Bailey, even though all your babies are grown up, we will never forget you." She tried to keep an even voice but it was beginning to be too hard. This reunion was hard, and it was only the tip of the iceberg, she didn't know if she was ready to face the people of this hospital, the unconventional family dynamic that they had created made things so much harder and complicated. These people weren't just co-workers, they had become so much more, and yet they had been pushed so far away.
"I know you missed me, but let go of me now." Bailey said laughing, "I wanna look at you." They broke from their embrace as Miranda examined Cristina, "you look different Cristina, you have made me so proud, you did good." Was Bailey on the verge of tears?. Cristina thought, but Miranda quickly composed herself again, "What are you doing here? Are you coming back?" Her voice was hopeful.
"No, not permanently, one of my patients from Boston was admitted to the hospital, I got on a plane and rushed to get here, He is a Boston Red Sox player and is in Seattle for the World Series." Cristina momentarily wondered if she could ever come back here permanently, she dismissed the thought when Owen and the new family she was sure he had started forming came into her mind.
"Oh my god." Bailey said in surprise as the realization hit her, "your talking about the VIP patient that was just admitted, nobody would tell who who he was. "Well, thats probably him, I need to change into scrubs Dr. Bailey, can you find me a pair?" She asked.
"Of course, C'mon, lets get you dressed and changed." Bailey responded as she guided Cristina in the locker room to change. "Cristina, we have missed you so much, especially Owen and Meredith, they were a wreck when you left, but hopefully you can mend your relationships with them." Cristina wanted to believe what Miranda said, but she just couldn't escape the hurt she felt the months before she departed, both Meredith and Owen had treated her like she was a ghost, non-existent, they had moved on way before she decided to move on, and move across the country. "I'm sure that they've forgotten about my existence, we were already broken way before I left.' She answered as they both ushered out the room. Cristina looked down at herself with her dark blue scrubs and white lab coat, Bailey noticed and said, "Looks like you never left Yang."
"Owen!" Emma called out when she noticed him going into the VIP area. He turned around with his iPad in hand.
"Hey, sorry, I don't have time to talk, this patients personal doctor is on her way and I need to educate myself on his case and prior medical history so I look informed and this hospital looks worthy enough to treat this hotshot." Owen answered as he continued to walk in determination with Emma right on her heels.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, your not the Chief for no reason." She gave him a longing smile, "I just wanted to ask if you would like to have dinner tonight." They stopped walking and he turned to directly face her.
"I'm not sure when I will be outta here tonight, I think I might need to stay and monitor the patient and keep his personal doctor company." He sighed when he saw the look of disappointment in her voice, though they had taken a break, due to her insistence, he felt bad for turning her down when she was trying to mend their relationship. "Maybe another time, this patient is really important." He gave her an apologetic look and wrinkled his eyebrow's. "Another time then." She smiled and turned around to walk the other direction. She turned her head while walking in hopes of meeting his eyes, to no avail, he had already left and was walking into another hallway.