Dr. Preston Burke parked his coroner's van next to the sheriff's office. He hated when he had to leave his office in Millbrook to deal with the problems of a smaller town. Unfortunately, he was the only coroner around, so the towns of Millbrook, Brewster and Huntsville all fell under his purview. Still, he had to admit that his trips to Huntsville were very infrequent.

He went into the office and noted the presence of the young red-headed deputy. He had met her once before. What was her name again, he wondered, going through his mental rolodex. Kepner, that was it, he finally remembered.

"Deputy Kepner, good to see you again. I am here to do the autopsy on Mayor Jennings," Burke said.

"Dr. Burke, it has been a very long time, not since that out of town visitor died at the inn," Kepner said. Burke nodded.

"Where is Shepherd?" Burke asked. "I thought he would have been here."

"He is out investigating a theft. Mrs. Bokhee said that someone stole her lawnmower," Kepner informed him.

"Hmm. So you will take me to the undertaker's place, I assume," Burke said.

"Yes, we can walk it. It is just down the street," Kepner said. "You can leave your vehicle parked outside our office. The undertaker's place is opposite the mercantile store and there won't be much parking there, if people are shopping."

"Okay, then. Shall we?" Burke said. As they arrived at the undertakers, he noticed a vehicle pull up in front of the mercantile store across the street, two girls, along with a tall blonde man emerged from the truck. One of the girls was blonde while the other was brunette with the prettiest raven curls he had ever seen. They didn't look like they were from around here. He could tell from the way they dressed that they were big city girls, since he himself originally came from Houston before settling down in a small town, to be closer to his wife's family.

Cristina, Meredith and Owen had taken up Jackson's offer to visit the mercantile. Owen had been there, many times before and he was just there to observe Jackson's actions around Cristina. They soon saw the handsome young man, helping a young woman choose the best drill for her needs. The woman seemed to be more interested in staring at him, than learning the attributes of the drills. Eventually, she chose the most expensive one and he sent her off to the cashier, with a brilliant smile.

"Cristina," he called out. "Sorry to keep you waiting but was just trying to wrap up that sale."

"Good day, Jackson. I am sure you know Owen Hunt and this is my friend, Meredith," Cristina. The two men nodded at each other while Jackson shook Meredith's hand. "You pretty girls brighten our town," he said, smiling widely. Owen wanted to smack the smile off Jackson's face.

So they were given a grand tour of the entire store. It was an impressive operation for such a small town like this. It covered housewares, hardware, appliances, electronics, groceries, hunting equipment, camping equipment, vehicle accessories and even, clothing.

When they reached the clothing department, Jackson said, "This is the one area where my grandpa and I are at a loss. My grandma used to handle this but she died last year, and since then, we haven't been able to update the inventory in this department."

"So sorry to hear about your grandma," Cristina said, reaching out and touching Jackson's hand. He gave her a brief smile. Owen's thoughts were less charitable. "Good grief, was he using his grandma's death to gain sympathy from Cristina?" he thought. "Cristina, stop falling for this."

"I mean, Grandpa and I did the best we could with the Men and Boys area but the Women and Girls section completely baffled us. I think this is one area which we could use someone to take over all of the purchasing," he said, looking at Cristina.

Cristina finally caught on to what he was saying. "Are you offering me a job?" she asked, a little bit incredulous.

"Yes, you're young and you're from LA and you would know about all of the latest fashion trends. And you dress really nicely. Didn't you tell me last night that you worked as a buyer in a boutique? And we're looking at expanding to include perfumes, make-up and jewelry," Jackson said, enthusiastically. "No offense to my grandma but she was kinda old and not too up-to-date with trends."

Owen had a mix of conflicting emotions. First of all, he chided himself that he didn't even know that Cristina was a buyer in a boutique. Their bodies had already become acquainted in the most intimate way and he didn't even know that about her. Secondly, if she took this job, she would stay in Huntsville and be with him. He had been dreading the day she would leave him because he was starting to become seriously attached to her. But then again, she would be working closely with that Avery kid, whose intentions towards her he was really not sure about.

Cristina, too, didn't quite know how to feel. Other than her job, she really didn't have that much in LA. Her parents had moved to Florida, after her dad retired. The lease had just expired on her and Meredith's apartment and they had just put their clothes and personal belongings at their friend Neeta's apartment, until they found another place to live. She also knew she was developing strong feelings for Owen, even though she didn't really want to admit it.

Meredith looked at Cristina in disbelief. Would her best friend really consider moving to this small town and leaving LA? She knew that Cristina had already got herself involved with the farmer but Meredith thought that was just a passing fling. What if her friend was also becoming emotionally involved with him? Where would that leave Meredith? Sure, she liked the sheriff but she wasn't sure she would give up living in LA to live in Iowa.

"Thank you, Jackson," Cristina finally said. "It is very kind of you to offer me this. I will have to think about it and I will let you know."

When Owen heard her words, his heart jumped for joy. She was going to consider taking the job. That held a lot more promise that they could have a real relationship with each other.

"Thank you for considering it," Jackson said. "And this, my friends, concludes our tour of the mercantile."

"Thanks," Cristina said. "I will get back to you on the offer."

"Looking forward to it," Jackson said, as he flashed her another one of his patent brilliant smiles.

As they left the mercantile, Meredith asked, "You're not really considering this, are you?"

"Well, there really is nothing left for me in LA except for my job. My parents moved to Florida and our apartment lease expired. We really have nowhere to live. Who knows? This could be a new chapter in my life," Cristina said, as she slipped her hand into Owen's. He squeezed it, gently.

Meredith was aghast. It was clear – Cristina was falling for the farmer and had been sucked into the small town ambience.

"Let's just grab some lunch at Lucky's Diner," Owen said. They got into the truck and drove to the diner. Cristina wondered why people drove around town. Everything was within walking distance.

They got out of the truck, entered the diner and chose a table near a window, so they could look out on the street.

"Well, hello there, Owen and your out of town guests," Teddy said, coming across to their table. "I don't think you told me their names. But I do recognize that you're getting to know one of them really well, if I can judge from what happened on that dance floor, last night."

Owen went a little red, which Cristina found to be quite endearing. He started, "Well, yes, Teddy. This is Cristina Yang and her friend is Meredith Grey. You did tell me to bring them across for some good Huntsville hospitality."

"I did say that, didn't I? Pity what happened to Jennings at the wedding," she said. "I heard the coroner was in town and was doing his autopsy." Owen could swear there was a flicker of emotion on Teddy's face, when she mentioned Jennings. He had heard rumors that Teddy and Jennings were bed partners before he married Gloria Karev but he didn't want to indulge in gossip. Maybe it was true, he thought.

"Yes," Owen said. "I do hope that it is natural causes. I would hate to think that one of the townsfolk is capable of murder."

"Hard to imagine," Teddy said. "So what can I get you guys?"

Cristina piped up. She was hungry. "Can I get the soup of the day? And a club sandwich." Meredith said she would have the chicken Caesar salad.

"And, Owen, I am going to guess that you're going to take Lucky's hamburger with fries and coleslaw," Teddy said.

"Um, yes," he muttered. He felt a little uneasy that Teddy knew so much about him.

"And what would you like to drink?" Teddy asked.

"Can we have a jug of your lemonade? I am sure the girls would like it," Owen said. The two girls nodded.

"Okay, no problem," Teddy said and made her way to the kitchen to give the cooks their order.

Cristina recognized Owen's discomfort with Teddy and she decided to needle him a bit.

"So that was your high school girlfriend?" Cristina said, even she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Owen said, quietly.

"So, why did you break up?" she asked.

"I was going to Yale and being young and adventurous, I thought I was never going to come back to Huntsville. Here in Huntsville, a lot of people end up marrying their high school sweethearts. I knew I was not going to marry her because while I liked her well enough, I didn't love her. She deserved someone who loved her and it wasn't me," Owen said. "Can we stop talking about this?"

"Okay," Cristina said. Teddy returned with the jug of lemonade and three glasses with ice.

"Food will be here in a jiffy," Teddy said.

"Thank you very much. I am sure it will be delicious," Cristina said, giving the woman a huge smile. She realized that it must have been difficult for Teddy, when Owen broke up with her, all those years ago, especially in a town where people married their high school sweethearts. She had probably set her heart on marrying him and it must have been devastating. Teddy smiled back at Cristina, surprised because she realized that the younger woman probably knew about her past relationship with Owen.

Another waitress came out of the kitchen and brought out the food for the table. The three eagerly got into their food. Cristina was right – it was simple food but it all tasted really great. There were lots of other Huntsville townsfolk, who came to partake in the diner's delicious food. The diner was alive with idle chatter and laughter.

But a hush came over the room, when Sheriff Shepherd entered with the dark gentleman. Everyone except Cristina and Meredith knew that this was the coroner, who was accompanying the sheriff. The two men sat at the counter and started perusing the menu.

"Who is that?" Cristina asked, curious as to why the diner had fallen silent when the man entered.

"Dr. Preston Burke, the Millbrook coroner, here to do the autopsy on the mayor," Owen said.

As if on cue, the dark man turned around, spotted the dark-haired girl, with her two blonde companions, looking at him. He gave her an enigmatic smile.

A/N: Please leave your reviews. Thank you for your comments. I appreciate reading them.