Cristina was crying, uncontrollably, in the passenger seat. Meredith took several glances at her.
"Cristina, you have to stop crying," Meredith said. "You're distracting me from driving."
"I am sorry," Cristina whimpered. "But I can't help it. Did you see the way he looked at me?"
"Yes, I did. I was there," Meredith said. The look of disgust that he gave Cristina also shook Meredith, too and she wasn't even the recipient of that glare.
"He looked at me like if I was dirt," Cristina cried. "Like if I was a piece of trash that needed to be thrown away."
"Well, you've got to see it from his point of view, too," Meredith said. "He thinks you terminated the pregnancy, without telling him."
"But I didn't," Cristina wailed. "I had second thoughts about it."
"He doesn't know that, Cristina," Meredith said. "He thinks that you just terminated his baby. By the way, how did he know that you were here?"
Cristina thought for a moment. The only people who knew she was pregnant was herself, Meredith, Dr. Webber and Patricia. The culprit had to be Dr. Webber. After all, he was quite close to Owen's mom and she sat across from him at the Hunts' dining table on Sundays.
"It had to be Dr. Webber. He is too close to them. I think he is kinda seeing Owen's mom," Cristina said. "Do they call it dating at that age?"
"Are you okay, now?" Meredith asked, noting that her friend's sobs had diminished.
"Yes," Cristina said, softly, staring out the window. They continued down the road in silence. Soon, they had reached the outskirts of Huntsville.
"Do you want to go into work or should I drop you off at the cottage?" Meredith asked.
"No, I will go into work. It will keep my brain occupied so I won't think of certain things," Cristina said. Meredith stopped the car in front of Bailey's law offices and picked up her handbag from the back seat, before getting out. Cristina climbed across the gear shift and slipped into the driver's seat.
"So you are going to be okay?" Meredith asked.
"Yes," Cristina said. "I will see you tonight at home." She drove off and parked the car into Jackson's parking spot. She waved at Mr. Avery at the cash register and headed to her office. She hoped to clear up a lot of paperwork that evening. She needed to just dive into it and forget all of her troubles.
There was a small rap on her office door. She recognized Jackson's special knock. "Come in, Jackson," she said. Jackson opened the door and stuck his head inside.
"I saw my car parked in its spot and I knew you were back from Millbrook," Jackson said. "Did you get through with what you needed to do?"
"Yes," she answered, even though it was not really true. He noted her red eyes, so it looked like she had been crying. He didn't venture to ask because if she had wanted to share, she would have told him.
"Okay, that's good," he said. "Call me if you need anything."
She nodded. "Thanks, Jackson for lending me your car."
"That's okay. You can borrow it any time you want. I can always use Grandpa's car, anyway. It's not like he goes anywhere with it," Jackson said. "Okay, see you. Going to do some stocktaking, now."
"Yeah, okay," Cristina said, as Jackson closed the door, quietly. She buried herself in work for the rest of the day.
Back at the farm, Owen, too, was working hard. He didn't want to think about Cristina and what had transpired during that day. He still could not believe that she could do something like that. That wasn't the girl he knew and loved.
He had cried a lot that morning, on the way back to Huntsville. When he got to the farm, he went out to help the farmhands . Maybe, some good manual labor would help him forget his troubles. In the evening, he went home and took a long, warm shower before heading downstairs for dinner. He was quiet, Susannah noted. Owen was always quiet but this time, she could sense a sadness in his silence. Especially since he wasn't eating; he was absentmindedly turning his fork around in his plate. Susannah could not take it, anymore. She had to ask.
"Owen, is something wrong?" she asked, in a concerned voice.
"Why do you ask?" he said, wondering if he was so obvious.
"Well, I know you are a quiet man, but there is something different tonight," she said.
"Something is bothering me," he said. "But there is nothing you can do about it."
"Oh," she said. "Well, why don't you go over to Cristina's place? She always cheers you up." Owen looked at his mother with such pain in his eyes that she knew immediately that it was Cristina who had her son in this depressed state.
"What happened between the two of you?" Susannah asked. "Did you have a fight?" She had been certain that this girl would have been the one for her son and be the person he would settle down with. She knew her son was totally enamored with the girl, so she was surprised by this turn of events.
"Cristina and I have broken up, Mom," Owen said. He hoped she would leave it that but he knew his mother would not be satisfied by that.
"Well, why don't you just go over there and fix it?" she asked. "I know you have deep feelings for the girl."
"It's not that easily fixed," Owen said, putting down his fork. He was only fooling himself that he could eat, he thought.
"Why, son?" Susannah said. "Everything can be fixed with a little understanding and love."
"Mom, it's like this. Cristina did something without telling me and it is very upsetting what she did," Owen said.
Susannah could not imagine what it was that Cristina did that could upset Owen like this. She could only think of one thing. "Did she cheat on you? Is that it? With that Avery boy?" Susannah asked. She would be so angry if Cristina had cheated on Owen. She was also aware of the Avery boy's terrible crush on Cristina.
Owen sighed. His mother was so persistent with her line of questioning.
"No, Mom, she did not cheat on me," Owen said, sadly. "And I really can't talk about it, right now. When the time is right and I feel up to it, I will discuss with you. But for now, I don't want to discuss it."
"Okay, son," Susannah said. She knew when to back off. She was not going to get anything out of him, tonight.
"I think I am going to my room," Owen said. "I need some time to think." He got up from the table and headed straight upstairs.
Just then, the phone rang. It was Richard Webber. "Hello, beautiful Susannah," Dr. Webber said.
"Oh, you know how to flatter the older ladies," Susannah said.
"It's no flattery but all true," Webber said.
"Well, it's good to hear your voice. At least someone wants to talk to me," she said.
"What? Owen isn't talking to you?" Webber asked.
"Well, he's gone all broody and won't tell me why," Susannah said. "I am pretty sure it has to do with his girlfriend, Cristina. Oh, sorry, ex-girlfriend. He says they broke up. Now, that I find hard to believe. He loves the girl. He said she did something without telling him and that's why they've broken up."
"So he didn't get there in time," Webber muttered.
"What?" Susannah asked. "What are you talking about?" Clearly, Webber knew more about the situation than he was letting on.
"Oh, nothing," Webber said. He knew he had to end this conversation, soon before he said anything more than he should. "Well, Susannah, just called to see how you were doing. Good night, lovely."
"Good night, Richard," she said, hanging up the phone. She knew she had to get to the bottom of this. She made a mental note that she had to speak with the young lady who was clearly at the center of all of this.
Cristina was at her cottage, after work. Meredith was working late and she was alone. Today had been a really tough day, she thought. She took out her phone out of her bag. There were no calls from Owen. Not that she really expected any but she still hoped a little. She went to the bathroom. This was not going to be a quick shower night. She was going to take a soak in her bathtub.
As she slipped into the tub, she allowed the warm water to envelop her, as she tried to soak away her troubles. She closed her eyes and tried to relax but all she could see was the look of revulsion on Owen's face. She started to sob, again. The bathroom reverberated with the sound of her sobs. As she cried, she felt her still flat stomach. There was a baby growing inside of her. The enormity of it finally hit her. There was a life inside of her and she could be its mommy, if she tried.
It was at that moment she had finally made up her mind. She was going to be a mommy. She got out of the bathtub, dried herself, went to her bedroom and took out the card from the Millbrook Women's Health Clinic that the receptionist had given her. She tore it up and threw it in the bin. She had made her decision – she was going to have this baby.
Having finally made a definitive decision somehow calmed Cristina's troubled mind. There was no more doubt. She brushed her teeth and pulled on a nightshirt and slipped into bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in five minutes.
While she slept, the father of her baby was not having a good night. He lay in his bed and tossed and turned all night. He was sad, he was angry, he was still in total disbelief that she could have done this without telling him. He wondered what he was more angry about – that she did it or that she failed to discuss any of it with him. After all, he was the father of this child. Shouldn't he have had some say in what they were going to do. She didn't make this baby on her own, he thought, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
The next morning, Cristina woke up early, dressed quickly and headed over to the clinic. She knew that Dr. O' Malley came in at 7 a.m. and Dr. Webber did not come in until 8 a.m. She needed to see Dr. O' Malley before Dr. Webber came in.
She walked swiftly to the clinic. Only Olivia was there.
"Dr. Webber doesn't come in until 8 o' clock, Cristina," Olivia said.
"I didn't come in to see Dr. Webber," Cristina said. "I would like to see Dr. O' Malley."
Olivia was very surprised. Since Cristina had been in town, she had only seen Dr. Webber.
"Okay, then," Olivia said, heading to the filing cabinet s to take out Cristina's medical records. She took the file into Dr O' Malley's office and came back out.
"Go into Exam Room 1," Olivia said. "You can change into a gown and wait for Dr. O' Malley."
"Thanks, Olivia," Cristina said to the redhead before she went into the exam room and changed her clothes. Five minutes later, Dr. O' Malley came in, reading her file.
"Good morning, Cristina," O' Malley said.
"Good morning, Dr. O' Malley," she said.
"Oh, call me George. We're pretty close in age," he said. "Dr. O' Malley sounds like my dad."
"Okay," she said. "George you are."
"Well, I see you are pregnant – about seven weeks," he said. "You came in earlier in the week. You already had an ultrasound. So why are you here today? It seems that Dr. Webber has prescribed anti-nausea medicine plus pre-natal vitamins."
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make you my primary doctor during this pregnancy," Cristina said. O'Malley looked a bit shocked.
"But Dr. Webber has been your doctor, since you moved into town," O' Malley said. "Why do you want to change?"
"Dr. Webber is a little too close to the father of the baby," Cristina said. "We've broken up and I would like to keep my medical issues private."
O'Malley knew she was talking about Owen Hunt. He had seen them kissing at the ill-fated Karev-Stevens wedding where the Mayor had been poisoned. Little did he know that was the same night that Owen and Cristina had consummated their relationship.
"Oh," O'Malley said. He was not going to question her motives. It was not his business. "You do know that I am a family doctor and while I can do a normal baby delivery, we don't have the equipment here in Huntsville if it is a complicated delivery. So while I will take care of your pre-natal needs, it might be wise for you to have the baby at the Brewster hospital. There is a fine ob/gyn there called Dr. Withers, who would be able to deliver your baby or do a C-section, if necessary, if there are complications."
"Okay," Cristina said. "Can you set up an appointment for me with him?"
"Yes," O' Malley said. "I will. Okay, so now that you are now my patient, I am going to set up a schedule of appointments for you, so we can take care of you during the pregnancy. Olivia can set that up for you."
He did a physical examination of Cristina, after which he reported, "You are a healthy, young woman and I think this will probably be a good pregnancy."
"Thank you for everything," she said.
"Okay, get dressed and you can have a chat with Olivia about setting up your schedule," he said. "She also has lots of literature about pregnancy and birth. You should get yourself familiarized."
As she got dressed and left the exam room, she was getting her appointment schedule from Olivia when Dr. Webber came in.
"Cristina, are you here to see me?" Dr. Webber asked.
"No, Dr. Webber," she said. "I just saw Dr O' Malley." She stared at the floor because she did not want to look at him in the face.
"Okay, Cristina," he said. "I am sure he took care of your needs." Cristina quickly got out of there before any more questions were asked. She picked up a sandwich and a coffee at the diner, before heading to the mercantile.
She settled down into her office and had her breakfast. She was so incredibly hungry. She realized that she was going to be very hungry over the next seven months. She smiled to herself.
She heard a knock on her door. It didn't sound like Jackson. She knew his special knock. It probably was a customer. She tidied up her desk before she went to open the door.
She was very surprised when she saw Susannah Hunt standing in front of her.
"Mrs. Hunt, what are you doing here?" Cristina asked.
"I am here to find out what has happened between you and my son," Susannah said. "I am going to get to the bottom of this."
A/N: Please remember to leave your reviews. Thanks.