It was late when he woke up, with her weight on his chest, and her legs wrapped around his. Instinctively he caressed her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her black curls.

He sighed and silently looked at her. So beautiful in her sleep, he could get used to waking up with her by his side every day. He would have been the happiest man on earth if he didn't remember how he had ended there. The couple of scotches from the previous night hadn't been enough to cloud his mind.

He had seen her in the scrub room as he had pronounced George dead, and it had broken his heart. It was hard enough not being able to save George, but he could not see her hurting. And she had run away in the time he had needed to take care of things in the OR. With Derek supporting Meredith, he was the only one left to organize the OR.

He had nearly run after her, scared that she would blame him for George's death. He had done his best to save him, he knew there was nothing more to be done, but nevertheless, he felt a tad guilty, and Cristina was hurting. What if she pushed him away? The simple thought made his guts clench. He needed to find her as soon as possible, but fate was not on his side. He had not been able to avoid the Chief and Bailey, and that had also meant a delay. Everyone was in shock in the hospital, and so was he, but being there for her was his first priority. All the others had someone to support them. Meredith had Derek, Callie was with Arizona, Izzie would have Alex the moment she found out the news. Even the chief had Bailey to mourn with him. But Cristina was somewhere alone, hiding her feelings, and with anyone else oblivious to her pain. He couldn't believe most people thought Cristina was a robot.

In spite of the urge to find her, he took his time in the shower, letting the hot water soothe his nerves. He needed to be calmed and in control when he found her. He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to lose friends, and for the first time; she needed him to be her rock. He had to overcome his own grief and his issues to ease her pain.

He had found her at Joe's holding a half-empty bottle of Vodka. He had known that there was nothing he could say to make her feel better, so, he sat down at her side, ordered a scotch and toasted "To George". At first she had just looked at him and remained silent, drinking. And then she had begun rambling about their first days as residents. How O'Malley had become Bambi and 007. How he had become the brother you never paid too much attention to, and part of the family. Owen hadn't really said much himself. He had just sat there, close to her listening. Maybe she had told him too much in her drunken state. She had told him about her colleagues standing at her side during the ectopic pregnancy, and about Burke. He hoped she wouldn't regret it, or feel bad about it. Actually she hadn't said much; and most of that he had already gotten from gossip, even trying to avoid it. SGH was not a place to keep secrets…

He watched her as she stirred in his arms. She looked peaceful and relaxed. Hopefully she would sleep a little longer; she would need all her strength to cope with the following days. He was worried about her reaction. Probably he should have ignored her plead to stay. He knew he shouldn't have made love to her. But he had been unable to resist her moist eyes. Still holding her, he prepared himself for the worst. She would be hurting, and might blame him for staying, for taking advantage. Or she could regret having said too much about her past. She might even fault him for not being able to save George. Pain wasn't always fair.

For a while, he just remained there, trying not to think too much, and enjoying the feeling of her body in his.

He didn't know how long it had been when she felt her move again; her eyelashes fluttering against his skin, and her nose rubbing his chest. Still sleepy, her eyes met his, and he held his breath until she smiled at him and placed a kiss in his shoulder. A big weight was removed from his shoulders.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" he said with a smile.

"Sshhhhh… morning" was her pained answer, blood pounding in her temples.

"Hangover?" He asked.

"Hangover and depressed" she whispered as she buried her face in his shoulder "Just let me die"

"Never" He whispered with half a smile placing a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep a little longer. My shift begins in an hour, and I need to go, but sleep. The next days are going to be tough".

Kissing her sweetly in the lips, he got up and headed for the shower. He allowed himself to relax under the hot water, smiling while smelling the toiletries… today her scent would accompany him the whole day…

She startled him by hugging him from behind in the shower. He hadn't heard her entering the bathroom or the shower, and she loved being in the shower in such different circumstances as the last time. These were not the best circumstances, but she couldn't let him go away without telling him that she was OK. She knew him well enough to know that he was worried, and probably feeling guilty for staying overnight.

"Thank you for staying" she said, laying her cheek against his shoulder blade. "I meant every word I said yesterday, I love you. And "yes" means that we are doing this no matter what. We might be dead tomorrow Owen, so, I'm not going to waste one single day scared and away from you. We are stronger together".

He turned around, unable to speak. He couldn't believe his luck finding her. He just held her tight under the hot shower. She was right, they were going to get through the pain, and together they could overcome anything.