The first voice he heard when he opened his eyes was the last voice he heard before he lost consciousness. "Hey, Major Hunt, how are you feeling?" Nurse Redding said.
"Like I have been hit by a train and left for dead," Owen said, weakly.
"Ah, at least, we still have a sense of humor about it," Redding said, with a laugh.
"How am I doing?" Owen asked. This time, he was serious.
"Pretty okay, considering everything," Redding said. "Your leg was broken in two places and it is in a cast, now." He sighed as he observed his leg up in the air.
"And internal injuries?" Owen asked.
"Well, we did take quite a bit of shrapnel out of you. I was assisting in your operation. Colonel Hamlin operated on you," Redding said. "Kept saying that you had a lot to live for and he was going to make damn sure that you were going to make it. He will probably come by in a bit. It was a rough time for all of us, with all of the casualties. We lost two more on the OR table."
"Damn!" Owen said. It was always hard to lose people, especially those who worked on the hospital compound.
"Well, get some rest, sir," Redding said. "I placed some ice chips next to your bed, if your mouth is dry." She went and was checking on another patient.
As Owen lay in his bed, he realized how lucky he was. He could go back to his family but there were four other comrades who were not going to do so. Such was the business of war, where people died, every day. The sacrifice, sometimes, was just too great.
He closed his eyes and allowed the image of his wife to fill his mind. It was the last thought he had before he fell asleep.
When he awoke a few hours later, it was a different face that greeted him. It was his CO, Colonel Hamlin.
"Colonel Hamlin," Owen said. His hand automatically went up to his forehead to salute him. It was just a normal reflex. "Ow!" The pain of raising his arm shot through his entire body.
"This is no time for salutes, son," Hamlin said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like every bone in my body is broken," Owen said.
"Well, luckily for you, it is only your leg that is broken," Hamlin said. "In a couple of days, we are going to move you to Germany. You are going to recuperate there. Your wife can come and visit you there."
"I seriously doubt that, sir," Owen said. "Our babies still need her. They are a little more than three weeks old. I will probably have to find my way back to them."
"You were lucky, son," Hamlin said. "I am so glad that you made it. We lost four people." Hamlin let out a long sigh. It always hurt him to the core, when they lost people.
"I heard you were the one, who operated on me," Owen said. "Thank you for everything."
"That's nothing, son. I was just doing my job," Hamlin said. "For the most part, we did have a trying time, removing all of the shrapnel. Major Johnson worked on your leg. I am just happy that you are doing well. When we are sure that you're stable and you can be moved, we will send you to Germany."
"Thanks," Owen said, again. His CO touched him on his shoulder, before he left.
The Army had informed Cristina of what had happened to him. She had broken down and cried. She, Irene, Iris and Laurel all held each other and wept together. This was better than the last time the Army officers had come to her door to tell her that Josh was dead. She had cried, then, too because of her loss. This time, she cried because Owen was alive.
She desperately wanted to talk to him but they said that given his condition, he would only be able to call when he got to Germany. When she knew he was being transferred, she waited, anxiously for the call. She slept lightly in her bed, ready to stir awake if the phone rang. She was used to a light sleep because of the babies. She didn't care what time it was; she just wanted to hear his voice.
It was 3.32 a.m. when the call finally came. "Owen," she said, softly.
"Hey there, now," he said. "How are you, my love?"
"Just fantastic after hearing your voice, Owen," she said. "How are you doing?"
"Pretty good, I think," he said. "A lot better than before." Then, he heard her sniffling. He could tell that she was crying.
"Hey, don't cry," he said. "I am alright. I am coming back home to you."
As the tears streamed down her face, she told her husband that she was crying tears of joy. She was crying because he was alive. Then, he remembered that she had suffered a loss before.
"This time, it's not like Josh," he said. "This time, I am coming home."
"I am just so happy," she said. "I still have my husband. One of the teachers at the school, Sharon Robinson, just got the news that her husband died when his vehicle hit an IED. She broke down in the teachers' lounge and nobody knew what to do. I thought about you and was so grateful that you were alive but so sorry for her."
"Yes, it is hard," he said. They were both silent for a bit. "I know you won't be able to come to Germany because of the babies but that's okay."
"Sorry about that," she said. "I really want to come but the babies are so young and I can't leave your mom with four little children. It just wouldn't be fair and I don't think that she would be able to handle it."
"Yes, I know. You know what? I want us to start thinking about the future," Owen said. "Our lives when we leave the army. Moving back to Seattle is going to be good for us. Why don't you go online and start finding our house for us?"
"Yes, yes, I can do that," she said. "I can get our house for us." He was glad that other than the babies and the girls, she would have something else to occupy her mind, other than worrying about him.
"Goodbye, Cristina, I have to go now," Owen said. "Talk to you soon."
"Goodbye, Owen. I love you," she said.
"I love you more," he replied.
By the time Owen came back to California, they were ready to leave. He had been discharged from the army and they were moving to Seattle. Their furniture was to be shipped to an address that Cristina had not told Owen about. She had bought them their house in Seattle. She wanted to surprise him. Owen was under the impression that they were going to stay with his mother until they found their own place. Little did he know that they already had a place.
They were driving up to Seattle – it was going to be difficult for the children, so they had planned a lot of rest stops in between. It was going to take a lot longer to get there to Seattle than they normally would. When they finally got to Irene's house, the children were dead tired. After putting the children to sleep, Cristina asked Owen to go somewhere.
"Now?" he asked. "It is pretty late." But he knew he could not deny her anything, so they wearily got into the car and she put in the address on the GPS. He was confused. Where were they going? Ten minutes later, they pulled in front of a large two-storey house. He looked at her, with one eyebrow raised.
"Is this ours?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, yes," she screamed. "I bought it. Isn't it beautiful? It has five bedrooms, five and a half baths, a big backyard for the kids to play. Come on, let's see."
Owen parked in the driveway and Cristina pulled out the keys to the front door. As she opened the door to reveal the two-storey foyer, which led to the open plan living and dining room, Owen was suddenly overwhelmed by everything. He took it all in - the large picture windows, the wooden floors, the curving staircase that led to the upstairs bedrooms.
"Wow, this is ours," he said, appreciatively. She said she had done a tour of the house online, contacted the realtor, went to Seattle on a one-day trip and made an offer. Her offer was accepted, an inspection was done and all the paperwork was completed. The realtor had sent her the keys by courier.
After they both toured the house, Owen took Cristina in his arms, raised her face to his and gave her a kiss. "Thank you," he said. "This is an incredible house."
"I bought it for us. Our family. I think we are going to be very happy here," she said."Just imagine our kids running up and down those stairs."
"Yes," he said, as he held her in his arms.
Their furniture arrived the next day and they made quick work of fixing up the house. More furniture was bought to fill up the rooms. They wanted to complete it as quickly as possible because Owen was due to start work at Seattle Grace Hospital, very soon. Finally, they all moved out of Irene's house and into their own.
When Owen finally started working at the hospital, she took the twins in for their six-month check-up at the pediatrician. Owen had gone with her for the appointment. The twins were declared healthy and doing well. Both parents were very pleased.
Owen had to go back to work but he took her to the garden dining area, so she could have lunch. He couldn't join her because there was a trauma in the ER. She told him to go ahead and that she would go home after lunch. He kissed her before he left her there.
She sat down by herself at a corner table. She fed both babies before putting them back in the twin stroller. She then started eating the sandwich that Owen had bought for her from the hospital staff cafeteria.
As she sat there, she noticed a boisterous group of interns in light blue scrubs – two guys and two girls. They were surgical interns, she knew because her husband had navy blue scrubs and the surgical interns wore light blue. Maybe they were residents, she thought, because they also wore light blue scrubs. They looked very animated. One was a tall, statuesque woman with light blonde hair; she looked like a model. The other girl was smaller; slim with dark blonde hair. She was probably only slightly taller than Cristina. One of the guys was short with floppy dark hair and blue eyes. He looked a little bit insecure. The other guy was different – he had brown hair and brown eyes. He was quite good-looking but had an arrogant air about him. She wondered what it would be like to be an intern.
It was the slim girl with the dark blonde hair, who noticed her looking at them. The girl smiled and waved. Cristina smiled and waved back. She didn't know the girl but she seemed quite friendly. She saw the girl say something to her friends before she walked across to Cristina's table.
"Hi, are you Dr. Hunt's wife?" she asked. Cristina nodded.
"Yes, I am," she said.
"Can I sit?" the blonde girl asked. Cristina nodded, again. The girl sat and said, "I just wanted to tell you that your babies are beautiful."
"Thank you," Cristina said, smiling. She loved when people noticed her babies. "They are both boys. Parker and Payton. They came in for a six-month check-up."
"So would you like to join us? You're sitting here by yourself," the girl said.
"I don't want to intrude," Cristina said. "You all look to be having a lovely time by yourself."
"Don't worry about it," the girl said. "Come on, you can't sit here by yourself with your babies."
"Oh, alright," Cristina said, grateful to start making friends in her new city.
"Yes. By the way, I am Meredith," the girl said.
"I am Cristina," Cristina replied.
"Nice to meet you," Meredith said.
"Nice to meet you, too," Cristina said. As Meredith pushed the double stroller to her table, Cristina picked up her lunch and handbag and followed her.
As the young interns cooed over her babies, Meredith introduced them all. "This is Izzie, George and Alex. Guys, this is Cristina, Dr. Hunt's wife."
Cristina looked around at all of her new friends. "Pleased to meet you all," she said.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you do so.