Cristina drove the girls back home to the apartment. She was thinking about that kiss she gave Owen. She wasn't quite sure why she did it. She had kissed him before, when they got married. That one was by necessity. This one, she wasn't quite sure.
She didn't know whether she did it out of gratitude for all he had done for them. Maybe it was because she knew he was going off to the combat zone and that kiss was kind of a good luck and to let him that someone cared.
Maybe it was because she found him attractive. She blushed at the thought. She hadn't wanted to admit how much she found him to be attractive.
She chided herself. How could she be feeling this way? Josh just died. Josh had been the love of her life for the past eight years. Josh, whom she had known since they were both 16 years old. Josh, the father of her children. She still loved Josh. She hadn't forgotten him. He would always own a major part of her heart. Yet, she could not deny that she liked Owen. A lot.
When they got home, she began to unpack some of her belongings that had been shipped to the apartment. She dug into the boxes until she found Josh's picture. He looked very handsome in his uniform. She dusted it and then put it up on the fireplace. She then put up a picture of Iris and Laurel, both dressed in red and white from last Christmas. Then, she put up a new picture. It was a picture of Owen and herself. It was the picture of their wedding day – the one that Betty Lou, the chaplain's wife had taken. Owen had received the pictures in his email and she had asked that he print an 8 x 10 so she could frame it. She stepped back and examined the mantel. Everybody had their rightful place, there. She was satisfied.
She was not the only one who was looking at their wedding picture. Owen, too, was examining it. While on the plane, he pulled out his wallet and flipped it open to look at the picture. He had printed wallet sized pictures of him and Cristina and the one of all four of them on the wedding day. Betty Lou was a good photographer, he had to admit. She obviously had a lot of practice. The guy next to him looked across, curiously and asked, "Your family?"
Owen nodded, "My wife and kids." The guy asked, "Can I see?" Owen handed over the picture to the man. "Gorgeous family," the man said, giving him back the picture. "You're a lucky man." Owen tucked the picture back into his wallet and shoved it back into his pants pocket. "I am that, indeed. Very lucky."
Without Owen, Cristina had to do everything for the family. Not that it was a hardship, she was used to it. After all, she had been a soldier's wife for the last four years. Her first order of business was to get a job. Owen was very kind to her but she didn't want to be a burden to him. She wanted to pull her own weight, too, and provide some income, too, especially since she was the one with the little children. She had seen there was an opening for an assistant guidance counselor at the middle school. She was going to apply for that. She knew she didn't have much experience, just the practical training she had when she was in school. But she was enthusiastic and willing to learn. To her surprise, she got the job. It seemed that the current guidance counselor was going to retire, soon and they wanted to groom someone to take her place. Cristina had the right qualifications and a terrific attitude, that she was hired two days later after she interviewed for the job.
When the term started, it was rather hectic. She had to drop off Iris at her school, then drive back to the base, drop off Laurel in the day care and then, start her job at the middle school. It was a full day but she didn't mind. She liked to be fully occupied, so she wouldn't think about her husband in Iraq. She didn't want to think that he would meet the same fate of her first husband. But she knew the circumstances were different. Josh had been actively fighting in the combat zone, while Owen was in the relatively safer confines of the combat hospital.
He called them every week, not every day but at least twice a week. It was the highlight of Owen's week when he got to talk to his family. Since there was a time difference of 10 hours, they had to schedule their webcam calls, usually at 8 p.m. at night, when it was 6 a.m. the next day in Iraq. He loved hearing about their lives back home. Iris told him about all of the new things that she was learning at school. He was pleased that she was settling down, nicely there. She told him that her handwriting was getting a lot better. Her teacher had told her so.
Cristina told him about her new job at the school. She said that she was enjoying it a lot. Working with the kids was very fulfilling, she told him. She said that current guidance counselor was retiring at the end of the school year, so she was going to step into that job, in the next academic year. Owen congratulated her and said he was very happy for her.
Laurel didn't talk much. She just smiled, mostly and spoke about new toys at the daycare center and her friends, Molly and Stewart. Sometimes, she fell asleep, while sitting in Cristina's lap.
Whenever they had to end their conversation, everyone felt happy that they got to speak and see each other but they were sad because they had to end it.
"Good night," he said. "Good night," Cristina would say. "Good night," Iris would say. "I love you, Papa Owen."
The first time she said it, Owen was almost overcome with emotion. "I love you, too, Iris," he said. "Very much." It was true that he did love her. She was such an engaging child. In fact, he also loved Laurel but in reality, he was closer to Iris.
The first time Cristina heard Iris tell Owen that she loved him, she realized how attached her daughter had become to her step-father. Iris was a little girl, who wore her heart on her sleeve. Owen had shown Iris such kindness, it was easy for her daughter to love him. She knew that Iris also missed her father very much because she used to see the little girl, staring at her father's picture on the fireplace. She knew Iris used to cry at night for her father but the tears had lessened since Owen had come into their lives. For that, she was glad because it hurt her so much when she heard Iris grieving for her father. Cristina, like her daughter, also cried for Josh, when she thought about him. But for her, too, the tears had become less frequent.
She was a little worried about Iris' attachment to Owen. She and Owen had never discussed how long their arrangement would last. She did not want her child's heart to be broken, if and when the marriage ended. "If," she thought. "That was a big if." She wondered if she and Owen could make it last. She wondered if they could fall in love with each other. But then again, she didn't really have Owen's thoughts on the matter. Maybe he thought it would be a limited arrangement for a while. It made her feel a little uneasy. She didn't want the rug pulled out from under her and the kids. Especially since she was getting used to him as her husband and them being a family.
At the combat hospital, when Owen first returned, he surprised everyone by announcing that he was a married man and he had a family. Everyone was shocked. The last they had heard was that he had broken up with his fiancée. It was rather quick that he had found someone else and had gotten married. Even more so, when they found out that his new bride had children from a previous marriage. Owen Hunt had gone for a two week break and had come back a husband and a father. Everyone offered their congratulations. It was clear to them that Owen seemed quite happy, a much happier man than when he had left. He had proudly shown his colleagues the picture of his family. Everyone said he was a lucky guy.
Owen's days were still filled with incoming casualties of the war. Before Cristina and the girls, it used to get depressing at times, when all of these young soldiers would die, despite his best efforts. It still bothered him but not as much as before. Thinking about his wife and family always made it all seem better. The only thing was that he missed them a lot and could not wait for the next time, he was given leave to go back to them.
The months passed and even though they were thousands of miles apart, the family became closer. Christmas was hard for all of them. When the kids got up on Christmas morning, Owen called to see them open their presents. He had made sure that his mother had sent presents to all of them, on behalf of himself. He told her what to buy and then, she shipped the presents to them. For Laurel, he had bought a large teddy bear that was bigger than the two year old herself. For Iris, he knew that she would want something that was challenging, so he bought her puzzle games. For Cristina, he bought her an emerald bracelet, since May was her birth month.
Cristina told him that the army gave them a really awesome Christmas present as they were assigned a house on the base, starting in January. "A four-bedroom house," she declared. "Everyone can have their own room. Owen had to agree that it was a wonderful present.
By the time, it was Iris' fifth birthday in January, they had already moved into the house. Other than giving Owen a tour of the house via the webcam, Cristina made sure that he could also see when Iris blew out the candles on her cake. They cut the cake and put aside a ceremonial slice for him. "Thank you," he said. He just loved that he was not missing out on any major family events. It was the same for Laurel's third birthday in March. Cristina's birthday was in May. She was turning 25. When he called, it was her alone, who answered.
"Happy birthday, Cristina," he said. "Where are my two girls?"
"Oh, they're tired. They both went to bed, so it is just me tonight. We went to an amusement park today ostensibly to celebrate my birthday. But as it turned out, they had a better time than me. One of the teachers at school came with me to help out," she said. "I am tired, too but I knew you were going to call."
"So I see you don't have any cake," he said. "Didn't you want any?"
"No, I think the cake is important when it is the kids' birthday. I had a cupcake with a candle at the park," she said. "That was enough."
"Did you get my present?" he asked. She grinned. "Yes, your mom sent it," she said. "I haven't opened it as yet. I was waiting until you called."
"Okay, then, open it," he said. She pulled out the small box. She opened it. It was a sparkling diamond solitaire ring.
"What's this?" she said, softly. "It's beautiful."
"Well, you never got an engagement ring. So I chose a ring and asked Mom to send it to you. You may have to get it resized in case it doesn't fit," he said. "Put it on. Let me see."
She slipped on the ring next to the plain gold wedding ring that she wore. Both she and Owen had matching plain gold wedding rings. She put up her hand to show him. "Yes, it is beautiful," he said. "Just as beautiful as the person wearing it." She blushed.
"Thank you," she said. "It's a little big but I will carry it to the jewelers to have it re-sized."
"I have some great news, too. Clear your calendars in June because your husband will be home on leave," he said, excitedly.
"What? You're coming home," she said, happily. "The girls will be so pleased, especially Iris." It would a be a year since they last saw each other in the flesh.
"What about you? Are you going to be happy to see me?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Very happy for you to come home," she said. "More than anything."
"Yes, me too," he said, as he touched the screen where her face was with his finger. "More than anything."
A/N Please leave your thoughts and your reviews. I do appreciate it very much.