Owen was very pleased that his family was settling down very well in their new home, Seattle. As a son of Seattle, he was gratified that this was the place he was going to raise his family.
They had placed Iris in an excellent school for gifted children. She had done an interview and an evaluation test and the school's admittance officers had been blown away by how gifted she was. Iris was happy with her new school because it was the much more challenging than the school she attended in California. There was nothing that Iris liked better than a challenge.
Laurel was showing signs that she was above-average, academically. She could possibly be as gifted as Iris but because she was shyer and quieter than her older sister, it was hard to tell what she was actually thinking. She told her parents that she did not want to go back to pre-school, saying it was too babyish and would like to go to kindergarten, instead. The kindergarten did not want to take the four-year-old but Cristina and Owen persuaded them that Laurel was ready for kindergarten. Personally, Owen thought that Laurel was already past kindergarten level but he didn't want to push his younger daughter as aggressively as Iris, who loved to be pushed. He knew that when Laurel was ready for more, she would say so.
As for the babies, they were spending more and more time at the hospital daycare. It wasn't because Owen was bringing them to work but more because Cristina was spending so much time at the hospital. He was glad she had new friends but he did worry because her friends were known for getting in trouble around the hospital and that she, too would get into mischief with them and would be banned from the hospital premises. Her friends were rule-breakers, with the exception of George, who was anxious enough for all of them. Meredith even lent Cristina her light blue scrubs so she could sneak into the OR's viewing gallery to see surgeries.
This was Cristina's favorite part about hanging around the hospital – watching the surgeries. In fact, it seemed that she was more into it than her friends. Once, Owen caught his wife in the viewing gallery during one of his operations. He looked up and saw the face of the woman he loved. He knew she wasn't supposed to be there. He reprimanded her about it and she said she wouldn't do it, again. It was a bad example, he knew, since he was the chief of trauma surgery.
She did try but it was hard to keep her away from the excitement of the surgical viewing gallery. So, what she did was to avoid the viewing gallery, whenever her husband was in surgery. Sometimes, her friends would tell her when they would be in surgery but she noticed that most times, they were confined to holding clamps. Still, she wanted to be down there with them, even if it was just to hold a clamp. It was while she was sitting in the gallery, watching a cardiothoracic surgeon work on a man's heart that she finally made up her mind.
The surgeon was named Dr. Burke and he was a genius at what he did. She had watched him many times in the Operating Room and she knew this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. All she had to do was convince Owen.
It was during dinner that she decided to bring up the topic. The two little girls were busy eating, while she and Owen each fed a baby. "Owen, I was thinking of going back to school," she said.
"Really?" he asked. "I mean we probably would have to hire some help but if you want to do it, you can go ahead. Are you planning a PhD in psychology?"
"No," she told him. "I want to be a surgeon." She said, very quietly but rather firmly.
He looked across at her. "What? Did you say a surgeon?"
"Yes," she said. "I think I want to be a surgeon. I love it. It's in my blood. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier. My dad's a doctor but I think it was because he was a doctor that I didn't want to study medicine. I wanted to do something different from what he did. It must have been my rebellious teenage years. Plus he was giving me such a hard time about Josh that I turned away from everything he did. Gosh, why was I so stubborn? I could have been an intern by now."
"Cristina, you know it is going to be a lot of hard work. You have four years of medical school and then five years of residency plus two years of fellowship training. It is a very long time. Plus we have our four children," he said.
"Are you trying to discourage me?" she asked. Her lips were drawn in a thin line.
"No, I am not trying to discourage you. I just want you to be aware of everything. It is a huge commitment. Lots of late nights studying," he said. "I wanted you to be prepared for that. Also, our kids. What's going to happen to them in the meantime?"
"I am going to get us a full-time housekeeper, who will take care of the cooking and the cleaning and a babysitter who will come in every day to see about the babies. I can afford it," she said. "I can put my dad's money to good use." Owen could see the determination in his wife's eyes. He smiled.
"Okay," he said. "I know you will be able to get through it. You are a strong woman. Look how much you have been able to survive over the last few years. I will support you, every step of the way."
"Thank you," she said. Iris, who had been listening intently to the conversation, decided to pipe up.
"So, mommy, you're going back to school to be a doctor," she said. "That's just awesome. You will have homework to do, just like me."
"Yes, Iris, I am pretty sure that I am going to have homework just like you. Very hard homework, too," Cristina said. "But I am ready for it."
"Mommy, I think you are going to make a great doctor," Laurel said, between pushing forkfuls of food in her mouth.
"Why, thank you, Laurel for that vote of confidence," she told her younger daughter. "I am so happy that I am getting all-around support from everyone."
"I just thought about something. You will probably have to beef up on pre-med courses before you can even apply to medical school," Owen said.
"I already thought about that," she said. "I am going to take them at the University of Washington. I have already investigated that."
"What about the MCAT?" he asked.
"I have thought about that. I bought some prep books and I am going to practice as many tests as I possibly can," she said.
"So you've thought about everything," he said. "That's good."
"I had to, because I knew you were going to ask all these questions. I know you don't want our family to suffer, so I thought what you were going to ask and came up with solutions for all of them," she said. "I tried to cover all of the bases."
Both Cristina and Owen smiled at each other across the table. It was good that they could discuss things, when major events were going to overtake their lives. They were fully a team, now. It wasn't like before when they were separated and Cristina was making decisions without him. He was now fully integrated into his family's life. It was a good feeling.
Later that night, as they lay on their bed, with her resting her head on his chest, he asked, "Are you tired?"
"No," she whispered. "Well, yeah, a little bit. The kids can be tiring."
"You know when you start medical school, it is going to be even more tiring," he said.
"Yeah, I know," she replied. "But I am ready for it."
"So you're going to be a surgeon? Do you want to be a trauma surgeon like me? We can be Team Hunt, able to save people in a single scalpel stroke," he laughed.
"Well, um, I was thinking of cardio-thoracic surgery," she said. "Your head of cardio, Dr. Burke. He is just brilliant. I have seen him do things that are just amazing. Not that you aren't amazing, too but the heart is pretty darn fascinating."
"Back up there a bit. When did you see Dr. Burke do all of these amazing things? Are you still sneaking into the OR viewing gallery?" he said, shaking his head.
"Um…," she said, quietly.
"Cristina, we talked about this, already. I don't want you to get kicked out of the hospital for breaking the rules. I know it is their fault – those interns you hang out with. Grey, Stevens, Karev and O'Malley. They've already gotten into quite a bit of trouble in their first year," Owen said.
"Well, not O'Malley so much," Cristina admitted. "He is always the one warning us about the consequences of our actions."
"He is a good kid, that O'Malley. Has the makings of a fine trauma surgeon," Owen said. "Good thing, too, since my wife obviously does not want to follow me in my field and wants to train under Burke. Jeez. You know I don't like that guy. I know he is a brilliant cardio-thoracic surgeon but there is something about him that rubs me the wrong way."
"Are you jealous of Burke?" she said, laughing. "There is no way that he is as sexy as you."
"What? You think I am sexy," he said. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes.
"You are the sexiest man ever," she told him. "It's not just your body which I love very much. I love your voice, the way you walk, the way you hold me in your arms, the way I feel when I am in your arms. You're so sexy that it makes me feel sexy."
He flipped her over on to her back. "Let me show you how sexy I can be." He bent down to taste her lips, once, twice, three times. For the fourth time, he deepened his kiss, as their lips and tongues crashed against each other's. Her hands were under his t-shirt, caressing his muscular chest, before she found herself tugging at the drawstrings of his pajama bottoms. He decided to help her out and stripped away his clothes, while still kissing her at the same time. He then stripped off her clothes, until she too was bare.
As he examined his wife under him, he was drunk with desire. "You are so beautiful, my wife."
"So are you," she responded. "Make me yours."
As they made love, the joy he felt was overwhelming. With their bodies joined together, all he could think about was how much he loved this woman. His life had completely changed the day that Josh told him to find his wife. Little did he know then that he would fall in love with her.
Even as their bodies moved together in rhythmic fashion, he felt that they were not just physically connected, their souls were, too. It was like if their souls were one. Cristina felt it, too. They couldn't be any closer than two people could be.
As they lay together after making love, Cristina said, softly, "I am so glad that you came into my life."
"Me, too," he replied. Everything in the world seemed right.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate it.