*Author's Note- I apologize for the delay with posting. I've had a lot on my plate these past few weeks. I want to say a big thank you to those loyal readers and reviewers as well as to those new to the story. I truly appreciate all of the reviews. Thanks so much.
If you only knew
I'm hanging by a thread
The web I spin for you
If you only knew
I'd sacrifice my beating
Heart before I'd lose you
~Shinedown~ If You Only Knew
" I came as soon as I got the page. What's going on?" Derek asked Meredith as he stepped off of the elevator near the ICU.
" He's been fading in and out of consciousness for about half an hour now. He's off the vent and has been responding to simple commands," she responded as she handed Owen's chart to him.
What were you doing?" Meredith asked as she eyed Derek's clothes. He was wearing jeans, hiking boots, a long sleeve shirt, and vest which had a stray smear of paint near the waist.
" I was putting together Zola's new swing set when you paged," he replied, rolling up his sleeves as they headed for Owen's room.
" Where is she?" Meredith questioned.
" Bailey took her to the cafeteria for some ice cream," Derek explained as they entered the room.
How's he doing?"
" His vitals are getting stronger," Cristina replied absentmindedly as Owen stirred beside her.
" Owen, it's Derek." Owen's eyes fluttered open as he slowly turned his head towards Derek.
Welcome back," Derek said as he shined a penlight into Owen's eyes.
" I need you to squeeze my hand if you can. Good. Now wiggle your toes." Derek lifted the sheets on the bed in time to see Owen's foot twitch.
Who is this?" he asked, pointing to Meredith.
" Mmm. Mer." Owen's hoarse voice seemed to echo in the otherwise quiet room.
" And do you recognize her?" Derek asked as he pointed to Cristina.
" Nev…er…seen…her…be…fore," he responded with the hint of a smirk on his face.
" That's what I thought," replied Derek as he jotted down several things in Owen's chart. Behind him, Meredith did her best to stifle her laughter.
" Why don't you two go out in the hall while I finish up?" he suggested. Cristina begrudgingly ushered Meredith out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
" What is wrong with you?" Cristina asked as Meredith fell into a chair at the nurse's station.
" I'm sleep deprived and in need of a foot rub. Oh, and a peanut butter sandwich with pickles."
" You have issues," she replied as Derek exited Owen's room. Cristina immediately shot up from the seat she had taken next to Meredith.
How is he?"
" I've got his GCS at a 13 now, but I expect it to improve. His motor response isn't as strong as I would like, but you have to take into account that he was in a coma for almost three days," Derek pointed out as Zola came running down the hallway, followed by Bailey.
"Is he awake? What's his GCS?" Bailey asked as she caught up with everyone.
" Thirteen. He's been drifting in and out of consciousness. It's going to be at least a few days until he fully regains consciousness, but…"
" But what?" Cristina, Meredith, and Bailey asked in unison.
" The fact that Owen is awake and his scores show such a drastic improvement in such a short period of time is a good sign of things to come. I don't want to speak too soon though. I have a surgery scheduled for 7:30 A.M. tomorrow, but as soon as I am finished, I've got him scheduled for a follow up MRI. We'll know more then as to whether or not he's sustained any permanent brain damage."
" Cristina, why don't you come home with us? You should get some decent sleep. Owen's got a long recovery ahead of him. You won't be any use to him if you're sleep deprived," Meredith stated as Derek picked up Zola.
" I think I'm going to stay here," she replied.
" I'm on call tonight. Don't hesitate to page me," Bailey offered.
" Let us know if anything changes," Derek instructed as he hoisted Zola onto his back for a piggyback ride.
" Will do," replied Bailey.
" I need to go get a few things…would you mind…" stammered Cristina as she turned towards Bailey.
" Go. Take all the time that you need. I'll stay with him until you get back." Cristina muttered a thank you as she rushed off in the opposite direction.
Cristina stifled a yawn as she rearranged her self in the recliner beside Owen's bed. She had tossed and turned for the past four hours, worried that Owen would awaken and need her. Cristina pulled her phone out of the pocket of Owen's hoodie and checked the time. 12:18 A.M.
" Cris?" Owen's raspy voice nearly caused Cristina to drop her phone to the floor.
" Hey, I'm right here," Cristina replied as she took his hand.
" How bad?" he asked as he slowly gestured towards his chest.
" You were shot twice at close range. The first bullet shredded your spleen and damaged a portion of your liver. The second punctured your lung."
Cristina watched the nearby monitor as his heart rate began climbing. A deep groan escaped Owen's mouth and his eyes clenched shut.
" Is it the pain? Do you want me to page Bailey?" Owen winced as he slowly moved his head up and down. Cristina quickly punched Bailey's pager number into her phone and waited for the message to be sent. Once the notification popped up on her screen, she turned her attention back to Owen. She felt as if her heart was lodged in her chest as she watched his face twist in pain.
" I felt this crazy attraction to you though the minute you jumped out of the ambulance after using that ballpoint pen to trach the guy. Shepherd wanted to kill you." Cristina paused long enough to note that Owen's climbing heart rate had slowed down some.
I didn't think you were insane though until you started making out with me after you removed my icicle. We were nothing more than strangers, yet that did nothing to stop you." The hint of a smile crept across Owen's pain stricken face as the door to his room slid open and Bailey entered.
" Good to have you back Dr. Hunt. How are you doing?" she asked as she leaned over to listen to his chest.
" Whoever…cracked…my…chest…I'm going to…fire."
" That would be Dr. Webber," replied Bailey with a smile.
How bad is the pain?"
" Bad," he replied, the look on his face giving it away.
" It looks like your last dose of Morphine was earlier this afternoon. I can give you another dose if you'd like."
" Please." The pain in Owen's voice startled Bailey as she retrieved the medicine from a locked cart in the room. She had grown accustom to Owen's tough as nails personality.
" Thanks," Owen mumbled, a look of relief sweeping over his face as the Morphine began coursing through his veins.
" Next time someone points a gun at you Hunt…try not to wrestle it away from them. Too many people from this hospital have died."
" I'll…keep it…in mind," he mumbled as his eyes closed and he fell asleep.
" How's he doing" Derek asked as he entered Owen's room the next morning. Cristina quickly sat up and raked her fingers through her hair as she yawned.
" What time is?"
" Almost 9:00," replied Derek as he flipped through Owen's chart.
" Didn't you have surgery?"
" Already finished. It was a quick surgery, inserting a shunt for a newborn with hydrocephalus."
" He's been asleep most of the night. Woke up around midnight from the pain and vowed to fire Webber for cracking his chest."
" I'm going to take him up for an MRI now. I got the tech to bump up his appointment."
" I've got surgery in half an hour. Let me know when you get the results," Cristina said as she bent down to plant a kiss on Owen's cheek.
" Will do."
Almost 45 minutes later Derek found himself staring at a screen in the observation room of the MRI machine.
" Are those Hunt's latest scans?" asked Dr. Webber, stepping into the room.
" They are," replied a somewhat puzzled Derek.
" He's one lucky son of a bitch," Dr. Webber responded, as he studied the scans in front of him.
" We won't have any way of knowing if there are any lasting effects from his injuries until he's more alert, but as of now, there is no apparent brain damage," Derek concluded.
" Have you spoken with Yang yet?"
" She just went into surgery. Would you mind going to give her an update?"
" No problem," Richard replied as he exited the room and headed for the elevators. After ensuring that the results of the MRI had been properly saved in the computer system, Derek went out into the hallway where an orderly was waiting next to Owen's bed.
" I've got this Rob," he said as he eased the gurney onto a waiting elevator. Owen stirred beside him as the doors to the elevator whooshed shut.
" So I still…have a brain?" he asked, his voice still raspy.
" It must be that thick skull of yours," Derek answered as he turned to face Owen.
" What happened?" he asked, shifting his focus to the bandage that was still wrapped around Derek's forearm.
" Cristina happened." A sense of confusion washed over Owen's face as he looked to Derek for an answer.
" When you crashed in the ER, I had to physically drag Cristina out of the trauma room and restrain her. She bit me."
" Damn," Owen replied as he attempted to process the seriousness of the situation.
" You got extremely lucky," Derek answered as the elevator reached their destined floor.
Hunt?" There was no answer as Derek rolled the gurney into the hallway. He looked down to discover Owen had fallen back asleep.
" We'll continue this later," he muttered as he approached the ICU.
