Chapter 13

Cristina was standing outside Owen's office, gathering the strength to go in and talk to him. After she met Jennifer and Jack, she had busied herself with commitments outside GSM. But after the party last night, she was unsure if staying in Seattle any longer was a good idea.

She knocked lightly on the door "Hey, do you have a minute. I need to talk to you about something"

"Yes, off course please come on in. Take a seat"

"Oh! That's ok. It's not going to take that long… I know we talked about lectures and a few surgeries…"

"Yes, about that, I do have some interesting cases I would like to discuss and also I was thinking about scheduling a lecture for tomorrow evening. What do you say?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, I can't do it. I don't have the time. I… I'll be leaving earlier than planned".

"What?... But you said you'll be here for at least a week"

"I know, what I said, Owen. But.. I can't"

"Cristina, it took you 4 long years to come back, you were so excited to be here"

"Yes, yes I was. It was great to be back. But I can't stay"

"Why? Why do you have to leave so early all of a sudden? Come on, Cristina I'm sure there would be some way you can stay" Owen reached out for her hand which she brushed off.

"Owen, I can't. Can't you see, I can't… stay.. HERE" it took him a few seconds to realize what she meant and he took a few step back from her, understanding her need for distance.

"Aaa….Ok… So when.. do you leave"

"Tomorrow. First thing in the morning" Owen lets out a surprised gasp.

"So I guess, its goodbye then"

"Yeah, it's goodbye"

"Cristina…"

"Goodbye Owen" and with one last glimpse she quickly left.

Cristina was just turning in when she heard the knock. She reluctantly got up and open the door.

"Owen…" she wishpered under her breath.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you much"

"No, no you are not. Please come on in"

"Thanks" Owen said entering her room.

"Sorry, for the awesome get up. I was just going to bed"

"I know, it's late and you have an early flight"

"Yes, I do" Cristina could feel the sadness in his voice. She knew exactly how he felt, because she was feeling the same way.

"Don't worry I won't take much of your time" He sat down on her bed and gestured her to come sit next to him. "I want to talk to you. About so many things. Explain things…"

"Owen... don't. There is no need. You don't owe me any kind of explanation"

"But I do. I should have told you about Jack and… and about Jennifer. I should have… I guess I… I was just so caught up in the moment with you and I didn't wanted to burst my bubble. I just couldn't tell you."

"Owen its fine. Really. And it's not solely your fault. I should also have known. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. This was the hope after all"

"But still I shouldn't have kept it from you"

"Its ok, Owen. I happy for you. for the life you have built for yourself" He looked up and into her eyes which were shinning with love and tears. And he couldn't say anything further. So They just sat there, looking at each other, not saying anything.

"I have something for you" he took a small ring box from the bag he had brought with himself. "You forgot this here" Owen said, opening the box for her. In it was the ring he had given her on their wedding night. It was his family ring. Every daughter-in-law in the Hunt family had a ring like this. Cristina had never been the jewelry kind. She hardly wore her wedding ring or this one. But this ring was very close to her heart. She loved it.

"Owen…" Her eyes filled with giant tears as she traced her fingers over the ring.

"This is yours Cristina"

"Owen. It's your family ornament. It's supposed to stay in the family. Jennifer should..."

"Yes, it's my family jewel. It is meant for my ONE TRUE LOVE. It's meant for you Cristina" He took her hand and placed the ring on her finger. "It's not meant for Jennifer. It belongs to you" And finally they both allowed their tears to fall.

"Owen I'm really happy for. I am. You have your family. You achieved your dream"

"Cristina… this was not the dream. This life. Yes I do have a family. A child. And Jack is the center of my world. He makes me incredibly happy. But he too can't fill the void that you have left in my life. He can't repair the hole in my heart that is there because you are not"

"The dream was, a HUGE LIFE with YOU. Not this"

"Oh, Owen…" Cristina let out a heavy sigh.

"I do have something else for you." Owen suddenly said, lightening the mood instantly. "I know you are not the jewelry kind but I think you will like this" he handed her another jewelry box. Cristina let out a gasp as she opened the box. Inside the box, there was an original silver anatomical heart locket, which opens to reveal meticulously detailed interior.

"Oh my God, Owen... it's incredible"

"I got it, a little after we got married. I always knew what a brilliant surgeon you were. I knew you would win your first Harper Avery pretty early in your career. Just like you have. I always believed in you. I had all of it planned, you know. You were supposed to wear this to the ceremony, when you received the award. I was to sit among the guests, a proud HUSBAND applauding to the success of my brilliant WIFE. And then we were to celebrate all night long. I had it all planned. It was supposed to be an amazing night… I didn't get to do any of it"

"Owen..." Cristina wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest as many desperate sobs escaped her mouth.

"When we met I really thought that; this was it, you know. That I had found my perfect man. Although I have never believed in the stupid happily ever after's and everything. But you made believe in true love. You taught me how to truly love someone. How to let someone in. How to allow someone to love me. And I did everything with you. I let you in, I allowed you to love me and I…. I truly fell in love with you"

"I really thought that I had made the right choice, you know, when I left. But there hasn't been a single day when I haven't wished to just come back. And now… I can't come back. It's too late. I'm too late," Cristina says, with a million questions in her eyes.

"Cristina… I… "

"I know. You have a family. A son and I can't come in between him and you. I know that"

"Owen I'm sorry for screwing us up. We had something beautiful, something extraordinary and I …."

"Cristina." Owen cups her face in his hands and looks directly in her eyes "Look at me. None of this your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing. You did what you thought was the right thing to do. You have nothing to be sorry about Cristina. This is not your fault" Owen wraps his arms around her tightly and cradles her to his chest for a long time.

"Cristina I want you to be happy too. I don't want you to be alone"

"Owen don't. Please don't"

"Cristina I need to know that you have someone with you, who takes care of you"

"Owen I can't… I can't be with someone else. I can't. I'm happy Owen. This is the life I wanted, structured around my work. I left; for this life. This was the hope. I don't want someone else in my life."

"Cristina, but you can't just stay…"

"I can't be with someone else" she holds his face in her small hands and looks directly in his eyes, "Owen Hunt… you're the love of my life. I can't love someone else. I can't be with someone else" Owen tightened his grip around her, eliminating any space between the two. Their faces just inches apart, eyes locked in a deep conversation. Owen places his forehead against hers and stays like that for several minutes.

"Cristina Yang, you an extraordinary woman. You were made to make miracles happen. And you are the love of my life... I'll always be in love with you"

"I'll always be in love with you Owen"

Hello every1. I hope U guys are not too mad with me but I understand if u are because I myself am very mad with me. I started a new job and life has been super crazy since den.

Please tell me what you guys think so far about the story...