Dead star shine
Light up the sky
I'm all out of breath
My walls are closing in
Days go by
Give me a sign
Come back to the end
The shepherd of the damned
I can feel you falling away
No longer the lost
No longer the same
And I can see you starting to break…
~Breaking Benjamin~ Give Me a Sign
" I'm worried about Owen," Derek stated as he sat down with Meredith in the cafeteria fifteen minutes later.
" So am I…and Cristina too. I finally convinced her to go see him earlier."
" Hopefully she did better with him than I did."
" Well…it depends. Define better," Meredith challenged as she bit into her sandwich.
" I think he's depressed."
" That's an understatement. He tried to throw a crutch through the window of the PT room. I think he was aiming for Aaron Prescott's head."
" He asked me how many times a person can cheat death before they die." Meredith paused
" What do we do?"
" If he keeps this up, the chance of him being able to walk without assistance will greatly diminish. His brain will stop trying to heal itself." Meredith sighed as she ate a spoonful of yogurt.
Owen and I may have not always seen eye to eye on things, but I'm genuinely worried. I don't know what's going on between him and Cristina, but if anyone can get him to snap out of this funk, it's her." A series of beeps from Derek's pager broke the silence.
" I need to take this. Will you talk to her?"
" I'll do my best."
" Alex, have you seen Cristina?" Meredith asked as she approached Alex who was studying the OR Board.
" Yang….haven't seen her recently," he replied as a frantic Shane approached the two.
" Dr. Grey…I need to talk to you."
" Just a second Dr. Ross."
" No…I need to talk to you now." Alex cast a skeptical look at Meredith, silently trying to indicate just how crazy he thought the young resident was.
" I…uh…I don't want you to worry or panic."
" Dr. Ross, a little bit of advice. NEVER tell a woman who feels like she's ten months pregnant not to worry…because they'll worry. Do you want to send me into labor?" she snapped.
" No."
" No what?"
" No mam."
" Now what is going on that's so urgent?"
" I…um…was supposed to be checking on Dr. Hunt through out the day for Dr. Bailey…and…um…"
" Spit it out Ross," challenged Meredith.
" I…uh…I kind of lost him."
" YOU DID WHAT?" Meredith and Alex replied in unison.
" I was supposed to be bringing him back from therapy and check on his meds…but when I went down to PT, he wasn't there…and he's not in his room," he replied in a rush.
" Alex get him out of my sight before my raging hormones get the best of me and I beat his ass," Meredith ordered as she pulled her iPhone out and began angrily typing out a group message.
" Get lost. NOW," shouted Alex as Shane stood frozen in front of them
" Ross, I swear to God. You better pray we find him soon or I'll see to it that you don't see an OR until my son is out of diapers," Meredith threatened as he ran in the opposite direction.
Owen grit his teeth in pain as he stumbled down a hallway in the basement, his leg muscles protesting every step and movement. The numbness and weak feeling in his legs was one that was foreign. Owen had always been a strong, physically fit individual. He had always been in shape. The possibility that he may never walk again with using assistance haunted him. He paused, steadying himself against a wall, his lungs heaving in protest. By the time that he reached his destination, Owen found himself barely able to stand. He mustered up every ounce of strength he had and opened the door to the vents. He let the door slam behind him then slid down into a sitting position against the wall. As gusts of air forced themselves into the room, Owen felt his level of anxiety drop dramatically. He was sick of the pitying looks his co-workers were giving him. The anxiety was eating him alive, sending him spiraling even further into the depression that had been sneaking up on him. The icing on the cake had come this morning after Cristina had stormed out on him. Despite the obvious tension between the two, the pain he felt inside as he relived that moment was almost as bad as the residual pain he felt from his gunshot wounds. Owen knew he shouldn't be internalizing everything. It was bound to implode as his PTSD after the war had. Owen could feel his phone vibrate in his pocket, temporarily distracting him. He fumbled with it, noticing that a call was coming in from Cristina. As he attempted to answer the call, the phone slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor. Owen turned to his right, stretching in attempts to reach his phone. His fingers wrapped around the phone's protective case as a sharp, stabbing pain shot through his chest, causing him to drop it. The last thing Owen remembered hearing before blacking out was Cristina's worried voice shouting his name, her words swallowed up by the whooshing of the air vents.
Author's Note: Yes, I realize how evil this is- two cliffhangers in a row. This chapter was much shorter than I wanted it to be. However, I wanted to get a new chapter out ASAP rather than make you possibly wait a few more weeks for a longer one. Enjoy!
