Meredith woke up the next morning, a little groggy. She and Cristina had spent the better part of the night, discussing the situation. She could hear her best friend already on the phone in the living room. Meredith rubbed her eyes.
"Is that the best you can do for me?" she heard her friend say. Who was Cristina calling so early in the morning, Meredith wondered. She got out of bed and wandered into the living room.
"Well, okay, then," Cristina said. "If that is all I can get, then I will have to take it. Thank you." She hung up the phone and sighed.
"Who are you calling?" Meredith asked. "It's really kinda early."
"The Millbrook Women's Clinic. I was trying to get an appointment," Cristina said. "They open at 7 a.m. so I was hoping to get this done before we go into work."
"So you're really going to go through with this, without discussing it with your boyfriend," Meredith said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I am as pregnant as the length of our relationship. Can you imagine me dropping that bombshell on him? I mean, neither of us is ready for this in this stage of our relationship," Cristina said.
Meredith shook her head again in disapproval.
"Will you stop doing that? We already talked about this last night," Cristina said. "I could use some support, here."
"Okay, you are my best friend. I will support you in whatever you do," Meredith said.
"Thank you, Meredith," Cristina said. "I really need it this time."
"So what did the clinic say?" Meredith asked. "You didn't seem too happy when you hung up the phone."
"They won't be able to accommodate me until two weeks from now," Cristina responded. "They are booked up."
"Ooh, so what are you going to do? I would expect that you would want to take care of this, as soon as possible," Meredith asked.
"I am going to get Dr. Webber to call them and see if he can use his influence. They asked who recommended the clinic and I told them that Dr. Webber did. Apparently, they know who he is," Cristina said.
"Well, good luck. How is your nausea this morning?" Meredith asked.
"I am doing okay," she said. "The anti-nausea medicine that Dr. Webber gave me is working."
"At least, that is one good thing. Let's just get ready for work," Meredith said.
"Yeah, work. How am I going to face Owen today when he comes and picks me up for lunch?" Cristina said. "I am sure he is going to see it in my face."
"Poker face, Cristina, poker face," Meredith said.
An hour later, both girls were at their respective workplaces. Jackson stopped by Cristina's office. He saw her munching on the bagel and cream cheese he had left for her.
"Oh, good, you are feeling better, today. You are actually eating. So I take it the stomach flu has been vanquished," Jackson said.
"Yes, the stomach flu is no more," Cristina said. "Thanks for asking."
"Great," he said. "So we can expect a better day, today."
"Yup," she said, giving him a huge, fake smile. As Jackson left, her phone rang. She knew immediately that it was Owen.
"So how are you feeling, baby?" he asked.
"Okay," she said. "I am doing much better, today. The medicine, that Dr. Webber gave me, has worked wonders."
"Happy to hear that. So I guess that means we can have lunch today, as usual, since we missed lunch, yesterday," he said.
"Yes, certainly," she answered. She knew she had to say yes because otherwise, it would be too suspicious that she would be missing lunch, two days in a row.
"Okay, I will come and pick you up at 12 noon," he said. "See you then. Missed you. Didn't see you at all, yesterday."
"Yeah, me too," she said.
"Okay, bye. Love you," he said.
"Yeah, bye," she said and hung up the phone, quickly.
Again, Owen noticed that she did not respond with her "love you, too" as she usually did. Cristina felt bad to say it because she knew she was hiding something from him. Somehow, it just didn't feel right to say it.
She took in a deep breath before she made her next call. "Good morning, Patricia. This is Cristina Yang. Can I speak to Dr. Webber for about two minutes?"
She waited while Patricia transferred the call to Dr. Webber. She heard his booming voice. "Cristina, don't tell me you are still not feeling better? I was sure the anti-nausea medicine was going to work."
"Yes, sir. It is not that. The medicine has been working. I need your assistance," she said.
"I will try to assist in any which way I can," Dr. Webber said. "What is the problem?"
"I called the Millbrook Women's Clinic this morning and they can't give me an appointment for two weeks. I was wondering whether you can help in getting me an earlier appointment," she said.
"Oh," he said. He paused for a moment. He really had not expected this outcome. He would have thought that young Hunt would have welcomed a baby, given that his mother had been clamoring for grandchildren for the last couple of years. He always thought that the young man was someone, who would take his responsibilities very seriously. He was a little disappointed.
"Alright, then. I will give them a call," Dr. Webber agreed. "I will let you know later today."
"Thank you, Dr. Webber," she said.
It was a quiet morning until Owen came promptly at noon to pick her up to go to the diner. "It's just lunch," she told herself. He came to her office, closed the door, took her face in his hands and kissed her square on the mouth. "That's because I didn't see you all day, yesterday." He took her hand and led her out of her office and out of the store. They walked hand-in-hand to the diner.
In her mind, Cristina said, "I can do this." She looked up at him and gave him the same huge, fake smile she had given Avery earlier in the day.
The lunch was pleasant enough as Cristina put all thoughts of the pregnancy out of her mind and chattered about everyday topics. It was nearing the end of the lunch that she got a phone call. She looked at the screen. It was Dr. Webber. She needed to take this call but she was in front of Owen. She had to make her conversation as neutral as possible.
"Hello Dr. Webber," Cristina said. "You have that information for me."
She took out her notebook. "Tomorrow at 10 a.m. Yes, that will be fine. Thank you."
"What was that all about?" Owen asked, curious.
"Oh, he was just telling me what time he would be in the mercantile to pick up a special package we had ordered for him. That's all," Cristina said.
"Oh, okay," Owen said. He paid the bill and together, they walked back to the store.
"Should I come over tonight?" he asked, hopefully. He raised his eyebrows to let her know what he really wanted.
"Um, no. I think it will be an early night. Still recovering from that flu," she said. She could tell he was disappointed but she couldn't take facing him for an entire night when she knew she had that appointment, the next morning.
"Oh, okay," he said. He kissed her before he got into his truck and went back to the farm.
Cristina immediately sought out Jackson. "Jackson, I was wondering whether I could borrow your vehicle, tomorrow. I have some business in Millbrook," she said.
"Sure, that will be fine," Jackson said, before turning away to deal with a customer.
She went to her office and called Meredith. "Hey, Mer, I got an appointment for tomorrow at 10 a.m. I am borrowing Jackson's car to get there. Would you be there for me?" she asked.
"Yes," Meredith said. "I will discuss it with Miss Bailey and I am pretty sure I can get the morning off, since I worked last Saturday for her."
"Okay, thanks," Cristina said. The rest of the day was a blur and when she got home at night, the guilt of not telling Owen was weighing heavily on her mind. She had a restless night, tossing and turning. She dreamed of Owen and could only see him with a sad face.
She woke up early the next morning and went down to the mercantile and picked up Jackson's car. She drove it back to the cottage. Meredith was already up, having her morning coffee.
"So we are really going to do this," Meredith said.
"Yes," Cristina said, softly. "I got the car from Jackson, this morning. I will drive down to Millbrook and I guess you should drive us back."
"Millbrook is about 50 miles away, so we should get there in less than 45 minutes," Meredith estimated. "So let us leave by 9.00 a.m. to get there on time."
"Okay," Cristina said, as she headed to her room to take a quick shower. The girls were ready to be on their way by 9 a.m.
Meredith observed her friend, her fingers were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. "Cristina, you can still change your mind, you know," Meredith said.
"No, no this is the right thing to do," she said, trying to convince herself that she was doing what was best for her and Owen in this stage of their relationship.
"Okay," Meredith said. "If you say so." The two friends rode the rest of the way in silence.
By the time, they pulled up in front of the Millbrook Women's Health Clinic, they found a parking spot. Cristina stared at the nondescript building with just the sign to the front. They watch several women enter the building; all were accompanied by a friend.
"Ready?" Meredith asked.
"Give me a minute, please," Cristina said. She started muttering to herself. "I can do this, I can do this."
She turned to Meredith, "Let's go." She picked up her handbag and they made the short walk into the building. She went up to the receptionist's desk.
"Good morning. My name is Cristina Yang. I have an appointment for 10 a.m," she told the receptionist in a breathless voice.
"Ah, yes," the receptionist checked her appointment list. "You were a last-minute addition for today. Well, fill out this form. After you're done with that, you will have to undergo a mandatory counseling session with one of our therapists."
"Counseling?" Cristina asked in surprise.
"Yes, we have to ensure that you are in the proper frame of mind and that you are ready to do this," the receptionist said. "We have had people change their minds. Some come back at a later date, some don't. It is a huge step and we just want to ensure that it is the right thing for you. And if you do decide to go through with it, we want to prepare you on what to expect, afterwards."
"That won't be me. I'm going through with this," Cristina said in a shaky voice.
"Well, okay then. Just fill out the form and I will set you up with Sandy," the receptionist said.
Meanwhile, back in Huntsville, Owen had come into town to go to the bank. He decided to step into the mercantile to visit with Cristina. He went to her office and found the door locked. That was strange, he thought. He spotted Mr. Avery at the cash register and enquired about Cristina's whereabouts.
"Jackson told me she had some business to do in Millbrook. He was rather vague about it. She borrowed Jackson's car to go to Millbrook. That's all I know," Mr. Avery said.
"Thanks," Owen said. He found it strange that Cristina had not told him that she was driving to Millbrook that morning. He decided to stop in the book department and was surprised to find Dr. Webber browsing the book section.
"Ah, Owen," Dr. Webber said. "How are you and your lovely mama?"
"Mom's fine. She expects you to come by for lunch on Sunday," Owen said.
"I will be there. Your mama is a fine cook and a beautiful lady," Dr. Webber said.
"So are you here to pick up your special package?" Owen asked.
"What special package? I am just here to pick up a few books. A little slow in the clinic, right now, so I thought I would get some reading done," Dr. Webber said.
"I thought you called Cristina yesterday, saying that you were going to come in this morning to collect your special package," Owen said.
Dr. Webber looked confused for a minute, then he said, "Oh, no, no. I had called her about her appointment in Millbrook."
"Appointment in Millbrook?" Owen said, perplexed.
"Yes, at the women's health clinic," Dr. Webber said.
"Why is Cristina going to the women's health clinic in Millbrook?" Owen asked, more than a little confused, now.
Dr. Webber look at Owen's baffled expression. "You don't know, do you?" He slapped his forehead with his hand. "I thought you had discussed it and made a decision."
"Made a decision about what?" Owen was becoming even more agitated.
Dr. Webber sighed. "About terminating the pregnancy. She had an appointment at the women's health clinic this morning," he said.
"What? Cristina is pregnant!" Owen exclaimed. He didn't know what to think. He saw her yesterday and she didn't even mention something as important as this. "Thank you for telling me," he said, as he rushed out of the mercantile.
He jumped in his truck and started to drive to Millbrook. Speed limits be damned, he thought. He would pay the fine, if he got pulled over. There were more important things at stake. He needed to stop her.
A/N: Please leave your comments. I do appreciate reading them. Reviews are love.