When Owen stepped off his transport, all he could see was dark and rainy skies. When he got into the building, he was surprised that his mother was not there. He didn't expect to see Cristina, especially since she was close to her delivery date. They were going to do a C-section in two days.
"Is there a Major Hunt here?" a young brunette female soldier called out. Owen's ears perked up immediately.
"That's me," Owen said. "I am Major Hunt." He hoped that nothing was wrong.
"Oh, good, I have a message for you," the soldier said. "It is from Irene Hunt. She said to tell you that Cristina has gone into labor and is at the hospital."
"What!" Owen said, immediately panicking. "Cristina's already in labor. She can't be. I just got here."
The young soldier looked amused. "Well, you know, sir, babies have minds of their own," she said. "At least you are back in time for the birth."
"Yes, yes thank you," he said. "How the heck am I going to get to the hospital?"
"I will take you, sir," she said. "I have a vehicle right out front. I don't want you to miss your baby's birth."
"Thank you so much, Private …." Owen said.
"Flanders, sir. Private Flanders," Flanders said. "Just follow me." Owen raised his duffel bag over his shoulder and followed the soldier. They had to make a run for the vehicle because the rain was coming down in a stream.
They got into the jeep, brushing off the water on their uniforms. "Spot of bad weather, eh?" Owen said.
"Yeah," Flanders said. "You were lucky that your plane came in on time. Imagine if it didn't and you missed the birth of your baby."
"Yes, that would be a nightmare," Owen said. "But it is not just one baby, it is actually two babies."
"Wow, twins. Congratulations, sir," Flanders said, smiling. "That's an even bigger celebration."
"Thank you, Private," Owen said. He relaxed back into his seat. Though the welfare of Cristina and the two babies were the most important thing at the moment, there were other issues that needed to be resolved. Things were not the best for Owen and Cristina over the latter part of her pregnancy. He could feel a distance from her and it was most worrying. He had stopped chiding her about taking better care of herself but the damage was already done. He hoped that with him coming home and the birth of the babies, they would be able to repair their relationship because he loved her so much.
After the Christmas break, Cristina's doctor had advised that she continue her bed rest. That didn't really go down well with Cristina but she didn't fight it, since she knew it would be futile. Owen was secretly pleased but he didn't tell her that because he knew that she would take it the wrong way.
As they pulled up in front of the hospital, Private Flanders turned to him and said, "Well, here we are, sir. Good luck and congratulations."
"Thank you, Private," Owen said, as he opened the door and made a dash to the hospital doors. He shook off the rain and entered, heading straight to the reception desk.
"Good evening, my name is Major Owen Hunt. My wife, Cristina has gone into labor and is here. Can you please direct me on where I should go?" he asked the nurse. The nurse started checking her computer.
"Okay, you should head to the delivery rooms. According to the computer, she is in Room 12. It will be the end of the hall, when you get there," the nurse said.
"Thank you, thank you," Owen said. He was so excited. It felt like his feet were flying as he ran to the delivery rooms. He found Delivery Room 12 and his ears were assaulted by the sound of Cristina screaming. "I am here, I am here," he shouted. His mother, who had been holding Cristina's hands, turned around, immediately.
"Oh, thank God, Owen," she said. "I thought you would have never made it. She went into labor early this morning." Owen rushed to Cristina's side and took her hand from his mother. Irene went out into the waiting room, since only one family member was allowed in the room.
"I am here," he said. "I got a ride to the hospital. How far gone are we, Doctor?"
"The first one is coming," Dr. Ratner said. "Okay, push, Cristina." Cristina pushed again and screamed. She also squeezed his hand, so tightly, that he too wanted to scream.
"I thought you were going to do a C-section," Owen said to the doctor.
"Well, she said that you were coming home today and she wanted you to be here for this," Dr. Ratner said. "I could have done a C-section this morning. So she was waiting for you, but as we waited, her labor progressed naturally and here we are."
Owen kissed Cristina on her forehead. He was so grateful that she waited for him. "Thank you, Cristina."
"These are the last babies I am ever going to have," she said. "You needed to be here for their birth. You almost didn't make it. I just didn't remember it hurting this much. Maybe I really should have done the C-section."
"Another push, Cristina. I can see the head," Dr. Ratner said. Cristina did as she was told and pushed the head and the shoulders out. "Oh, great, here is our first baby boy. Major Hunt, I know you are a surgeon, do you wish to cut the umbilical cord?"
"Yes," Owen said. "Yes, please." He eagerly took the scissors from the doctor and cut the cord. As soon as he had done that, the doctor handed over the baby to a nurse, who cleared his nostrils and rubbed the little guy, who cried loudly. "Baby Boy A has some good lungs. Let's see about getting his brother out. Cristina, are you ready?"
"Yes, yes, I just want them out," Cristina said. Owen went back next to Cristina to hold her hand, once again.
"I think this one will come pretty fast," Dr. Ratner said. She was right. With just two pushes, Baby Boy B out, screaming. Owen again cut the umbilical cord for his second son. The nurse took him, cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blue blanket. She brought both babies for Cristina to see.
"Here you go, momma," the nurse said. "Your two beautiful boys." The nurse placed the babies on either side of Cristina. She looked at both boys, wondering whether they were identical or not. They both had dark hair. Owen could see Cristina's head going back and forth and smiled because he knew she was trying to figure out whether her babies were identical.
"Cristina," Owen whispered. "Right now, they just look like wrinkly, newborn babies. We wouldn't be able to tell if they are identical. Their features don't really look like anything as yet." Cristina sighed.
"Hey babies," she said. "I am your mommy. Don't take this the wrong way but I am so glad that you are out of my body."
The nurse said, "I will have to take them now to get them checked. I will bring them back later for you, when they are properly cleaned up." She took the babies away and Cristina felt a pang of pain from being separated from them. Owen kissed her on her forehead, again. "You did good, Cristina. Really good."
Later that day, the babies were wheeled into Cristina's room. The nurse placed one baby in Cristina's arms and the other in Owen's arms. "So what are we going to call them?" Cristina said. "Have you come up with some names?"
"I thought that you would have thought of something," Owen said, grinning.
"Well, Josh was the one who named the girls. I was thinking that you would want to do the same thing," she told him. "Though I must warn you that I have veto power."
"Ah, that is a good idea. Okay, I admit that I have been thinking of names, while I lay on my bed in Iraq," he said. "I was thinking that they should have their own first names and that the middle names could be our dad's names."
"Okay, I can live with that," she said. "I loved my dad with all of my heart but I have to admit that I prefer the name Harry to Harold." Owen laughed.
"Well, my dad's name was August," Owen said. Cristina nodded. She was fine with that as a middle name.
"So what about first names?" she asked. "What are your thoughts?"
"Since they are twins, I thought they could have their first names could start with the same letter. I was thinking of Parker and Payton," he said, raising his eyebrow. He was waiting for her approval. She mulled it over, staring at the baby in her arms.
"Okay, the one in my arms is Parker August and the one you're holding is Payton Harry," she finally said. Owen was relieved that his chosen names had passed muster with his wife.
"Cristina, now that we have named our babies, there is something that I need to discuss with you," he said, taking a seat on the side of her bed. "It's about us."
"Yes," she replied. Their relationship had been extremely strained over the last few months.
"I know that things have not been good with us," Owen started. "And I want to change that. I am sorry that I tried to dictate what happens here when I know that I am not here to understand the situation. We have to change that – we have a family. I love you more than anything else in this world. I hope you still love me the same way."
She was quiet and then she said, "I love you, Owen. I have never stopped loving you."
"You haven't said it in a while," he said. "I was beginning to doubt whether you still loved me. Long distance relationships can be very hard, especially so for a military family because there is the added element of being in a war zone. We never know when it can just end with a bomb."
"Don't say that," she said. She physically shuddered. "I don't want you to die. I want you to come home safe."
"Yes, I have been thinking about that," he said. "I know that having the two babies and the two girls will be a tremendous strain on you. I know Mom will be here but I am aware that you will be handling the bulk of the responsibility since they are our kids. I am coming to the end of my third tour of duty and I was thinking that maybe, it is time for me to come home, permanently."
Cristina was shocked. She knew how much serving his country meant to Owen. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "On those nights I was pondering about the baby names, I was also giving this serious thought."
"So are you going to leave the army?" she asked. "I know it means so much to you."
"Yes, but I have realized my family means more to me," he said. "With my training, I am pretty sure I could get a job at a civilian hospital. I was thinking that maybe, we could move to Seattle since it is my hometown. Plus Mom will be around to help with the kids."
"So you've really thought this through," she said, as she stroked Parker's cheek with her finger.
"Yes, and I have already put out feelers for jobs in the area. There is one at Seattle Grace available. They desperately need someone in charge of their trauma/emergency room. I have been in contact with their Chief of Surgery, Dr. Webber. He said he was willing to discuss it with me," Owen said. "I think it could work out at that hospital." He took her hand into his. "My family is what is most important to me and I want to make sure that we are together."
"Yes," she said. "I want us to be together. I don't want to be alone, anymore. I want you to come home for good."
"Okay," he said. "I will start the paperwork. I will finish up this tour and then, I am coming home."
He leaned over and kissed her on her lips. The babies cooed as they kissed. "I think they approve," Owen said, as he examined the faces of both babies.
"Cristina, I don't think you're going to like this but I think there is a strong possibility that they may be identical," he said. He had almost an apologetic tone as he said it.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Cristina shrieked.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you take the time to do so.