TWO

Meredith was happy, smiley and happy. Izzie was bubbly. Alex had smiled. George was George, soft, gooey, annoying, but in a good mood. It had been a good day. Cases were challenging. Interesting.

Blood and science. Delicious. Nothing light today; and Bailey was in a good mood, Bailey was in a great mood.

As Cristina eyed her large sandwich and picked up her yoghurt, her eyes came back to her fellow residents, thanking whoever was 'upstairs' for aligning this as the perfect good mood day. She surveyed her friends, her team, her peeps, who, finally collapsing onto their chairs in the canteen, sat around at dinner hungrily loading up on the calories that would take them through the next few hours. Alex concentrated on eating. George organised food around his dinner tray. Meredith and Izzie talked and laughed about the same thing they had been talking and laughing about all day.

Cristina knew it was now or never, she had been holding out all day. Her engagement ring was shoved in her coat pocket which sat crumpled in her locker, and even though she wasn't that type of girl, she wanted to put it on. She wanted to have Owen's ring around her neck. Sad. Girly. Pathetic. But true. So she should announce. Let them freak out, they'd have the rest of the shift to calm down and after work at drinks at Joes, they would be buying the rounds. She spoke casually but loudly, pulling her spoon lightly across the top of her yoghurt and appearing as cool as she could.

"Owen and I are engaged."

Utensils stilled. Heads stuttered round in her direction., mouths fell open, eye brows wrinkled in confusion. "What did she say?" Quizzed Izzie looking at Alex, Meredith, George.

"Last night I got engaged." Cristina slid her spoon into her mouth and dragged it out between pressed lips. "Actually, I got engaged on Thursday morning, but we bought the ring this morning, before work."

Food in Meredith's mouth separated, some stayed in her mouth, some slipped back down her throat. She spluttered and coughed. Alex pounded on her back, she coughed more and her body pitched forward, she held up her hand. "Alex... ... Alex..." She croaked. "I'm fine. I'm okay..."

"What did she say?" Izzie asked again, looking at George, looking at Alex, looking at Cristina.

"I think she said she got engaged." George took a bite out of his sandwich.

Meredith wanted to say something, but didn't want to say anything, but she had to say something. She squinted at Cristina. "What?!" Was all she managed to splutter out.

"Owen and I are engaged." Cristina peeled back the saran wrap from her sandwich, and placing her fingers neatly around one half took a bite, and leant back in her chair chewing. "Tonight we will be at Joes, no, not signing autographs, but buying drinks if you want to join us."

Izzie had a distasteful look on her face and downed her cutlery to consider what Cristina had said and what she wanted to say to Cristina. "You're engaged? But a few days ago Hunt was breaking up with you. But now you're engaged to him?"

There was an awkward silence.

"You couldn't tell Hunt that you loved him, but now you're engaged to him?" Izzie clarified.

"Hunt?" Laughed Alex. "Go Yang and McDude."

They all continued to stare at Cristina, then raised eyebrows at each other and looked at Meredith who sniffed at Cristina's nonchalance. Alex expected an explosion, a turning over of dinner trays, a mad grab for Cristina's hair, something. But Meredith finished her dinner without drama. Izzie chomped noisily, stabbing at pasta on her plate, cutting snide looks at Cristina, who continued her dinner unaffected by the conundrum of noisy silence.

"You know, she's going to ruin Dr Hunt, and he'll break up with her, and then we'll lose another great surgeon at this hospital." Izzie fussed.

Cristina started on the second part of her sandwich. "You know, mustard can just kill a sandwich. Like the mustard on this sandwich is a little too tangy for me, and its destroying my enjoyment." She leant out for her drink and took a long sip from the straw.

Meredith was organising the remains of her dinner neatly on her tray. She pushed herself up from the table, turned her body with a nod at George, Alex, Izzie, a look at Cristina and left. Izzie shoved a large bite into her mouth, packed up her things hastily and stood up moving after Meredith.

Alex's shoulders jerked in silent laughter. "This is gonna be good."

Still leaning back in her chair Cristina continued with her mustard commentary. "If I gave them the name of mustard I like. Perhaps, perhaps, the hospital could use it in their sandwiches."

Alex continued to shake his head between mouthfuls. George shook his head but braved an opinion.

"I would say Hunt is a lucky man, but, you'd know I was lying. So I will say that you area lucky woman, because Dr Hunt is a great man... and you deserve great. " He looked toward Cristina who was pushing to her feet.

"Shut up." She growled.

"You're welcome." Nodded George.