Warning: Get your tissues ready! This is going to be an emotional rollercoster! I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter, but it's worth the read!
' We should bring Dylan to the hospital now to see her.' Amelia suggested. ' He needs to see his mother. I know how it's like to not be able to see your loved ones when they need you most.'
' But he's sleeping.' Owen reasoned. ' I don't want to wake him up. Nothing is going to happen Cristina tonight- I know her, she'll fight through it.'
' Well, in that case I'll stay back to take care of him.' Amelia offered. ' You go to see Cristina in he hospital.'
' Ok, I love you.' Owen gave Amelia a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Amelia stayed in Dylan's bedroom- watching the boy sleep. Just seeing his innocent sleeping expression and how his chest rose and fall with every breath was enough to stir up something deep within her heart. In some ways, he reminded her of her unicorn baby- and how she didn't get the chance to care for him. Now , she had been given a second chance and she would cherish it.
She dozed off at Dylan's bedside and was awoken by her handphone vibrating. She had put it on silent mode so as not to wake Dylan up.
' Hello' she whispered sleepily into the phone.
' Mia' Owen's voice had a sense of urgency. ' Could you bring Dylan to the hospital now? Cristina is now awake and asking for him.'
' Ok- just give me a minute…. I'll get dressed, wake Dylan up and go.' Amelia answered.
15 minutes later, Amelia was driving as fast as she could to the hospital, with Dylan in tow. He protested at first when Amelia grabbed him out of bed. She changed his clothes, packed a few of his things in his backpack, and bundled him into her car.
Now that Dylan was wide awake- he was full of questions.
' Where are we going auntie Amelia?' he asked.
' To the hospital dear.' she answered.
' To the hospicle? Why we go to the hospicle?' Dylan asked confused.
' To see your mommy.' Amelia answered.
' To see mommy?' That word caught Dylan's attention.
' Yes- to see your mommy. She was asking for you.' Amelia said gently.
' She is wake?' Dylan asked.
' Yep, she is awake.' Amelia answered as they pulled up to the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial. Honestly, she didn't know what condition Cristina was in, but if she was awake and asking for Dylan, it shouldn't be that bad. Or so she hoped.
Amelia gasped at the sight that greeted her when she walked into Cristina's room with Dylan. Cristina was connected to numerous wirings which hooked her up to various monitors , and she was connected to IV fluids on both arms.
She looked so pale and fragile- so different from the strong willed surgeon she usually was. She still looked fine when they last saw her the night before- Amelia wondered how she deteriorated as fast as she did.
Cristina managed a weak smile when she saw Amelia entering the room with Dylan.
' Hey Dylan' she croaked. ' Come here' she gestured, lifting up her arms up slightly and then dropping them down as if even that simple gesture sucked all the energy out of her.
The little boy was hesitant at first, all the wires connected to his mother's body scaring him.
' Go on Dylan.' Amelia encouraged , as the little boy looked at her. ' Go to your mommy.'
Dylan walked over hesitantly to Cristina.
' Mommy' he whimpered. He could sense that something was wrong with his mother. ' Mommy you sick.'
' Yes, I'm sick Dylan.' Cristina answered in a weak voice.
' Mommy you get better?' Dylan asked her, as Owen and Amelia exchanged glances.
' I don't know kiddo- I hope so but I don't know.' Cristina answered honestly.
' You must get better mommy!' Dylan cried out. ' I love you!' He looked like he was about to cry. He slowly crawled over to Cristina as Amelia gently placed him on Cristina's bed. She knew it was against the hospital rules, but at this point, rules didn't apply. Dylan needed his mother desperately.
Dylan reached out his chubby little arms to his mother , unaware of the fact that she was unable to hug him due to her current weakened state. Cristina however tried her best to lift her arms and hug her son.
Amelia could feel tears pooling in her eyes at the scene before her. Even Owen- who seldom cried, could feel his eyes beginning to sting.
' You be a good boy ok Dylan? ' Cristina said, kissing his forehead. ' Be a good boy for daddy and auntie Amelia. They'll take care of you and they love you too.'
' But where you going mommy?' Dylan asked confused.
' To heaven.' Cristina answered.
' I want go with you.' Dylan insisted.
' Not you can't Dylan.' Cristina croaked. ' You have to stay here with daddy and auntie Amelia.'
' But I wanna go with you!' Dylan cried. ' Not them.'
Meanwhile, Owen and Amelia were standing speechless at Cristina's bedside, watching the whole mother- son exchange.
Cristina beckoned to both Amelia and Owen to come over to her bedside.
' I need you both to promise me something.' she croaked so that her voice was barely audible above Dylan's sobs. ' Promise me that you'll take good care of him for me.'
She turned to Owen. ' Now that I brought our child you, I feel like I can go in peace.' she said. ' I know that you'll be a great father to him.'
' Don't say that' Owen scolded gently. ' You aren't going anywhere anytime soon.'
Cristina ignored him and turned to Amelia. ' Promise me that you'll be a good mother to him.' she said, grabbing hold of Amelia's hand. ' I know you will.'
Before Amelia could reply- Cristina's monitors beeped. Her hands dropped to her side and her head dropped back on her pillow. Her blood pressure and her heart rate dropped rapidly.
Owen pushed the code button and soon an entire team of oncologists and nurses rushed in.
Amelia grabbed a wailing Dylan from the bed and carried him to the waiting area.
Meanwhile, Owen stayed behind- but soon discovered that he was still too emotionally attached to Cristina to be of much help. He felt the helplessness of family members of a coding patient, and decided to join Amelia and Dylan in the waiting room.
Meanwhile, the action continued in Cristina's room.
' She's coding!'
' Blood pressure and pulse rate are now unreadable!
' Monitors are showing Vfib- prepare to shock!'
' Pulse is undetectable- get ready for CPR!'
' Prepare some adrenaline!'
After 45 minutes of CPR- 15 minutes longer than the usual CPR duration- it was clear that Cristina wasn't coming back.
' Time of death- 12:45 am' the head oncologist pronounced solemnly as he tore off his mask and walked outside to the waiting area to deliver the bad news to the waiting trio.
' I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry' he said, almost in the verge of tears himself as he approached them.
' No- don't tell me she's….' Owen muttered.
The oncologist nodded solemnly. ' Yes, she's gone.' he confirmed. ' She deteriorated very rapidly after the chemotherapy - we don't know what is the cause. It could be due to sepsis.'
Owen sat down on his seat and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't deny it- he did in fact still have a soft spot for Cristina. They did have a child together after all.
Amelia knew that she had to be the strong one now. She placed a comforting hand on Owen's shoulder.
Suddenly Dylan, who was in her arms, let out a loud wail. He had a very advanced understanding for his age, and he knew that something was very wrong with his mom.
' Mommy! ' he cried out- his wails piercing the entire waiting room.
Amelia hugged him tight and patted his back to comfort him, but the little boy was beyond consolable at this point
' I want Mommy!' he cried out again, his arms flailing in the air and his legs kicking hard. One of his kicks accidentally hit Amelia on the stomach and she winced. She hoped her baby was ok- she would ask Arizona to do an ultrasound later. Right now though, Dylan and Owen needed her.
Owen, meanwhile, was still rooted to his seat, his face still buried in his hands in shock.
At that point, Meredith and Alex arrived to say goodbye to their friend.
Amelia ushered Owen and Dylan out of the waiting room to drive them both home.
Dylan had fallen asleep on her chest after non stop crying, and Owen seemed emotionally drained as well. They both needed their sleep badly.
The next few days were rather challenging for them.
Cristina's funeral came and went. Many of the Grey Sloan Memorial doctors attended the funeral service, indicating how well liked and remembered Cristina actually was. The mood during the funeral was solemn and somber. Dylan, dressed in a tiny black suit showed no emotion at all during the entire service. He didn't bother to greet the people who approached him to offer their condolences.
After the service, things only got worse. Dylan wouldn't touch his food at all and wouldn't utter a single word to everyone. He wouldn't even react when anyone spoke to him. It reached the point where Owen and Amelia were considering sending him to a child psychiatrist.
Owen himself was rather affected by Cristina's passing too. He was in a somber mood throughout the whole week- and would barely utter a few words to Amelia.
It made Amelia sad to see them both in this state of mourning, and part of her wanted to mourn with them. But the other part of her knew that they both needed her to be the strong one.
' Dylan- do you want some spaghetti?' Amelia asked one evening. ' I made some spaghetti bolognaise for you- your favorite.'
Dylan shook his head without saying a word.
' Dylan- you have to eat.' Amelia coerced him. ' I tell you what- if you finish eating this spaghetti- I'll read you a dinosaur story tonight and bring you to the dinosaur museum tomorrow- ok?'
Even that offer didn't appeal to the boy as he shook his head solemnly.
Amelia sighed internally. She was at a loss of what to do to cheer this poor boy up. She really wished she could do something to help him.
' Don't want eat. I want mommy.' he said suddenly- the first words he had uttered since Cristina's death.
' You have to eat Dylan. If not you wouldn't have energy.' Amelia reasoned with him.
' I want mommy.' he whimpered again. ' I miss mommy.'
Amelia's heart broke for the little boy as she crouched to his level and spoke softly to him.
' Dylan- your mommy is not here anymore. She has gone to heaven.' she explained to him.
' Heaven?' Dylan asked, his eyes open wide with interest now.
' Yes- heaven is a nice place up there where there are many angels. She must be looking down and smiling at you from heaven.' Amelia said.
' She see us?' Dylan asked.
' Yes, although we can't see her, she can see us from up there.' Amelia confirmed. ' And you know what? She isn't truly gone. She'll always be in your heart.' She continued, using Dylan's finger to point to his heart.
' She aways be with me?' the little boy asked.
' Always.' Amelia confirmed.
' But mommy up there, who with me here?' Dylan asked again.
' Your daddy and I will take care of you.' Amelia answered. ' I'll be your mommy here from now on ok? I wouldn't replace your mommy- but I'll take care of you like your mommy did. Your daddy will take good care of you too- he's just sad at the moment.'
Dylan suddenly lifted his arms to Amelia and she hugged him tight. Now she couldn't imagine a life without the little boy in it. He had stolen her heart.
7 months later
' You ready to meet your new baby sister Dylan?' Owen asked, holding the little boy's hand and leading him down the corridor of the maternity floor.
Dylan nodded excitedly. Since Owen and Amelia broke the news to him when she was 5 months pregnant that he was going to be a big brother, he had been asking them at least a hundred times each day when was his little sibling coming. And each time they had to explain patiently to him that he would have to be patient and wait, his sibling wasn't coming anytime soon yet. Now, the time was finally here for him to meet his new sister and he couldn't be more excited.
The journey to where they are at the moment wasn't an easy one.
Dylan took months to recover from losing Cristina. He eventually asked less and less for her , but there were still moments in the middle of the night when he would wake up crying and screaming for his mommy. Owen or Amelia would immediately go to his room to hug and cuddle him and give him comfort.
Dylan's appetite slowly returned to normal, but he lost some weight and experienced a growth stunt as a result of his loss of appetite for the few months. He still had moments where he would give both Owen and Amelia a hard time- such as when he pushed away his food, refused to wake up or refused to sleep, or refused to take his shower. But they both handled him with extraordinary patience. Owen was awed by how easily Amelia adapted to the role of being Dylan's mother. She was amazing with him- preparing meals for him daily, dressing him up for nursery, taking turns with Owen to send and pick him up from the nursery, spending time with him and reading bedtime stories to him. Owen knew he wouldn't be able to do this whole father thing without her. She was already an amazing mother to Dylan- and he knew that she would be an amazing mother to their baby and to any other children they might have in the future.
Dylan was not amused at first when Owen and Amelia told him that he was having a little sister. He wanted a brother to play with. But when they convinced him that having a little sister was cool too because he would have a big role to play in protecting her from the bad people, he accepted the fact and was looking forward to meeting her.
They opened the door to Amelia's room- and Amelia was sitting up on her bed holding a pink bundle in her arms. Evelyn, Owen's mother, was by her bedside.
' Mommy!' Dylan cried out upon seeing Amelia. Owen and Amelia exchanged quick glances. This was the first time he had called her mommy.
Amelia's heart burst with joy upon hearing Dylan finally call her mommy.
' Hey Dylan- come here.' she beckoned to the little boy. ' Come and meet your new baby sister. Her name is Charlotte Addison.'
Owen carried Dylan over to Amelia's bed and placed him to sit beside Amelia.
Dylan peered at the pink bundle curiously.
' She so little.' he proclaimed. ' How she gonna play with me?'
' She'll grow bigger.' Amelia laughed. ' Then you can play with her.'
' She grow big like me?' Dylan asked.
' Yes, you were little like that too once.' Owen replied. ' She'll grow to be as big as you. You're a big boy now, aren't you? '
' Yes, I am big- I am big bwother now!' Dylan exclaimed proudly.
' Why yes, you're indeed a big brother now, aren't you?' Amelia smiled. ' Remember what I told you about being a big brother?'
' I pwotect my little swister.' Dylan answered.
' You hear that Cwar?' Dylan turned to his baby sister. ' I your big bwother and I take care of you fowever. I pwomise.'
He then placed his little finger on her palm and her tiny fingers gripped his finger tight.
All 3 adults in the room felt their hearts melting at the interaction between Dylan and little Charlotte.
Owen took out his handphone to capture the tender bonding moment between the two siblings.
He wouldn't exchange his wonderful little family for anything in the world.
So that's it- the ending of this series ' Dylan'. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
Do let me know what you think- I would really love to hear from you! Comments, reviews and messages are very much appreciated :)
