During the two years that passed Ethan and Evan amplified in all aspects of development, beyond any expectations. One to two word reactions and answers turned to full on fathomable sentences. Walking turned to running and was soon accompanied by climbing. Due to their parents' repetitive teachings, counting went beyond one through ten, now able to count by two's, four's and five's. They were showing great understanding to recent teachings of adding and subtracting, Cristina of course throwing in a little multiplication. She wanted them to be prepared as possible by the time they entered school. Their second birthday was a little difficult for Cristina. It brought back the memory of Owen's accident, his coma and the difficult wait for him to wake up. With the loving and great husband Owen was, he pulled Cristina out of her slump by the time their party started. It went as perfectly as planned, as it could ever go, and when their third birthday came around it was just as successful.
Home life grew more exciting and a little tiring with Ethan and Evan's added limitless energy. Their make believe adventures continued, but now lasted hours, and ventured outside. Like any toddler, Ethan and Evan got into their share of mischief and trouble. More often than not Cristina and Owen would argue about disciplinary actions. Cristina always gave into their puppy dog eyes, and forgave them easily when they uttered the worlds cutest sorry. Owen on the other hand did not budge, giving them lectures and taking away their favorite toys or movies temporarily. Now with their imaginations reaching new heights, their 'adventures' were starting to take place on hospital grounds.
Ethan and Evan continued to watch Cristina's surgery videos. The sight of blood and organs did not make their stomachs' queasy. Instead it intrigued them and asked as many questions as possible. When both parents worked, they begged them in attempts to avoid daycare. They longed to watch their parents in action, and offer their own advice on what to do. Now that they were older they only got glimpses of surgeries. Their eyes caught sight of instruments and equipment that were not in Cristina's medical videos and their brains were itching to find out exactly what they were and their purpose.
That is what sparked their latest mischievous ways and as always Owen was not pleased as the caretakers informed them.
The twins instantly knew they were in trouble, so they allowed their father to walk ahead of them and stayed close to their mommy.
Owen kept sighing and looking back at his sons. He finally stopped to let Cristina and the twins catch up with him.
He shook his head in frustration. "I cannot believe you guys have been sneaking out of daycare."
Ethan and Evan apologized. "Sorry."
Cristina turned her head to smile. The way they said it, the way it sounded was beyond cute. Then she spoke.
"Okay, well just don't do again, okay guy? It's not safe."
The twins smiled, thinking they got off easy. "Okay mommy." Before they could begin trotting away in happiness their father interrupted.
"That's it? 'Don't do it again?' " Owen asked, giving Cristina a confused looked.
"Owen not here. They're three olds. They're just curious." Cristina answered.
Owen took in a deep breath and decided to save his conversation for inside the car.
Once everyone was buckled up he finally vented. He turned around in the driver's seat and gave Ethan and Evan an intense glare.
"Now listen up. No more watching mommy's medical videos. No more staying up late to watch cartoon movies. No more make believe adventures. Nothing until you show me you can behave." He said it in a sternly manner that had Ethan and Evan nodding silently,as they understood. They briefly looked to their mother for comfort but this time all she could do was shake her head.
As Owen began driving home Evan mustered the courage to ask a question.
"Can we still-"
"No." Owen stated before he could fully ask his question.
Evan merely sighed an adorable sigh and fell into silence once more. That silence continued at home and all through dinner. When it came time for the twins to say their good nights they hesitated with their father.
"Hey get over here." Owen stated as they were making their way towards their bed room. When they were close enough Owen engulfed them in tight hugs and planted soft kisses on their foreheads. They smiled and returned the hug.
"Guys, I'm only hard on you because it's not safe to sneak out of daycare and wander around the hospital. There are crazy people out there who can snatch you and take you away. Now we don't want that do we?"
The twins shook there heads no.
"Alright then. So tomorrow while you spend the day at the nurses' station, promise me you'll be good?"
"We promise." Ethan said. Evan nodded his head yes and smiled.
Owen sighed. They knew just how to melt his heart. He carried each one of them over his shoulder and read them Where The Wild Things Are as they drifted off to sleep.
When he finally made it to his bedroom Cristina was already wrapped up in the covers dozing off. The minute he snaked his strong arms around her she woke up fully.
"Hey," she whispered.
Owen kissed her cheek. "Hey."
"So are you on good terms with the boys yet?
Owen furrowed his brow. "Shouldn't they be the ones trying to get back on good terms with me? They are the ones who got in trouble today, remember?"
Cristina chuckled. It was true.
Owen shook his head, feeling a little frustrated and amused. "You need to jump on board with some discipline. Remember how hard you used to be on the interns? A little of that wouldn't hurt. I can't always be the one who looks like the bad guy. I could use your support in punishment Cristina."
Cristina turned on her back to look at Owen. "Okay, okay. It's just hard. They get me every time."
Owen smiled. "Well, they were graced with my good looks so I understand." All Cristina could do was laugh.
- - - - - -
The next morning Owen found himself speaking with a pair of nurses who stayed firmly planted at the desk closest to the ER and Cardio wing. Cristina did not join him, her and nurses will forever remain divided. Owen put on his best charm and eventually got them to look after them. After all these years nurses, even the new ones still swooned over him.
As Owen continued to speak, giving instructions about snacks and lunch time Ethan interjected.
"Careful lady. He's a married spud," he said to the blonde nurse, who was practically drooling. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red and averted her eyes.
Owen glared at his son and continued before kissing them goodbye. "Be good, please."
As always Cristina and Owen's day was filled with a number of patients. Surgeries kept them busy. Only this time they both constantly kept an eye out while wander the halls of the hospital in search of any pair of red-headed mischievous twins.
Cristina was the first to visit Ethan and Evan at the nurses' station. Aside from her sons, she did not enjoy the surrounding company. As usual she shared her intriguing stories from the OR and Ethan and Evan's ears were perked up the whole time, theirs brains swallowing all the details and information. When she ran out of stories the twins showed her the pictures they drew.
"Oh wow, how cool are those." Cristina said with a smile. "Some masterpieces you got there."
"Like pecoso?" They both asked.
"Definitely." Cristina said.
The nearby nurses looked confused. "Pecoso?"
Cristina hesitantly turned the nurses. "Picasso," she informed them before turning away.
"Mommy, mommy, wanna hear our music masterpiece?"
"You know it." Cristina said with excitement.
Ethan brought out his xylophone and Evan brought out his muppet babies keyboard. They both pounded their instruments, creating noises that only sounded beautiful to their parents' ears. When they finished Cristina applauded.
They both set down their instruments and bowed. "T'ank you," they said.
"You guys are definitely going to be up there with Mozart."
This brightened their eyes. "Even with Baytoben?"
The nurses heard this word and again asked. "Who?"
"They mean Beethoven." Cristina answered once again. "Oh," were their only replied.
"Dad sure did pick some uncultured swines to watch us," Evan stated. The nurses were shocked to her those words escape the mouth of a three year old.
"Excuse me? Did he just call me a swine?" The blonde haired nurse asked, feeling quite offended.
Cristina was doing her best to fight back her laughter. After a moment or two she managed to suppress it. She remembered her conversation with Owen and needed to show some discipline.
"Evan, go apologize this instance. That's a very rude and mean thing say."
Evan and Ethan were surprised. Cristina rarely ever made them apologize or get angry with them, that was Owen's job in their mind. The looks on their mom's face meant she meant business, so Evan immediately went to apologize to the nurse. The twins possessed the same charm and piercing eyes as their father and the nurse immediately forgave him.
"Alright boys, give me big hugs. Lunch time is over."
They both went running to Cristina and hugged her tightly. "I'll see you in a bit. Your dad should be getting here in a little bit. And remember to be good."
They nodded and kissed their mom goodbye.
One of Owen's surgeries ran a little long, causing him to have a late lunch. He scurried off to the nurses' station, rounded up his little hunts and made his way to the cafeteria. They plopped down at a table in the corner and dived right into their turkey and cheese sandwiches.
"Yummy," Ethan stated as he chewed a bite of his sandwich.
"Not as yummy as mommy's." Evan corrected.
"Got that right," Owen added. "So tell me about your day. Nurses' station better than daycare?"
Both boys shook their heads no. "It's so boring there." Ethan complained.
"Yeah. They're both uncultured swines." Evan added. Hearing those words made Owen choke on a piece of his sandwich.
Through coughs he managed to ask, "Wha-wha-what?"
"Uncultured swines. It's true, they didn't even know pecoso or baytoben." Ethan stated.
Owen shook his head and wondered where exactly his twins learned these words. Before he could ask, his thoughts were drowned out by loud and quirky interns. One was reading a set a flash cards and each of them trying to guess the diagnosis or disease. It caught the attention of Ethan and Evan and they both listened intently to the words. They began to laugh as the interns kept guessing wrong. Finally Ethan could take no more.
He yelled from his chair, "Did you all swallow a stupid pill this morning? Its valbular heart disease."
The interns were shocked, and were on the verge of saying something back to the smart mouthed kid but refrained when they saw who they sitting with. Instead they ignored the twins and went back their lunch.
Owen could not believe his ears. "Hey, what is with the smart remarks? Stupid pills? Swine? Those are not appropriate words for three year olds. I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again. It's rude and very un-polite. I didn't raise you with such awful manners."
The twins bowed their heads and continued to eat their sandwiches in silence.
"And it's valvular." Owen corrected with a smile. Cristina was right; it was difficult to stay upset with them.
- - - - - -
When their shifts finally ended, Cristina and Owen walked hand in hand to the nurses' station. They scooped up their sleepy children and made their way to the car.
As Cristina started the engine Owen asked. "Did you know our sons say things like uncultured swine, and asking if people swallowed stupid pills?"
Cristina laughed. "Yes, I found that out during my lunch break with them. I told them not to say things like that."
"Where do you think they learned that?
"What? It wasn't me. I don't say that. Although I don't mind stealing those words for some interns."
"Come on Cristina, where else would they learn that?"
Cristina was slight taken back. "How could you think that? I didn't teach them that."
"Okay, so where did they learn that?"
Their voices must have become slightly louder because now the twins were awake.
"Toy Story," Evan mumbled.
"Huh?" Owen asked as he turned herself to face them in the back seat.
"We got it from Toy Story."
"They say that?" Owen was shocked. In all the times they saw that movie together as a family he never noticed.
"Well those words are not a polite thing to say." Cristina informed them.
"Or appropriate for little boys your age." Owen added.
"Then why are they saying them in a cartoon movie?" Ethan asked.
This questions stumped Cristina and Owen. What kind of children's movie did say things like that. It was a good point.
"Good question, "Owen finally said. "No more watching that movie."
The twins gasped. It was their all-time favorite movie.
"Well not all the time, anyway."
- - - - - -
Life continued this way. Ethan and Evan would learn new inappropriate words through TV and overheard conversations at the hospital. They knew they could not guard them from it, and would eventually learn those words; all they could do was simply teach them it was wrong to use.
Owen eventually got the twins back into daycare, and they stopped trying to bust out when Cristina compromised with them. She promised two days out of their working week they could watch one of hers or Owen's surgeries.
However as months and another year passed Ethan and Evan began watching every surgery. Daycare was no longer an option. The twins were too intrigued by every item in the hospital. They thought x-ray scans were one of the coolest things ever. They saw the MRI and CT machines as awesome spaceships.
Rather than get frustrated or upset with their sons' curiosity and mischief, they laughed and once again explained and did their best to show them all the equipment to calm their eagerness.
Shortly after their fourth birthday, Owen decided to make a decision that surprised Cristina but brought great joy to Ethan and Evan.