**Thanks for the reviews, I feel intimidated by now. To post this chapter feels like I'm letting you guys down, consider it's already written. So please read and know that it will lead to an explosive chapter next time. Also, just sit tight and enjoy these family fluffiness while you can, because you will be on a roller coaster very soon. :)
**Also, I decided to add some graphic details to this story. So have a sneak peek at Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang's house by going to TUMBLR and look for the tag #gaucung89.
The Day After Graduation, cont. (In My Veins 2)
One of Owen's unique features is his voice. Every time he raises his voice, people feel like a storm is coming. Most of the time, he's gentle and sweet. He melts people's hearts with his giggles. But other times? God, the nurses at the pit and Owen's children know it's better to follow his orders, for Owen can become very bossy and aggressive.
Only one person has the power to rage the Owen storm out, and it's Cristina.
Hearing the loud yelling, Cristina stumbles out of her bed and walks toward the library. She spots Owen, Theo and Bailey hanging out near the entrance. She asks:
"Bailey! What brings you here?"
"I was explaining to Uncle Owen I came here to find Faith, not Teddy." He feels much better for his godmother, the savior is present.
"Isn't she upstairs?" Cristina is confused.
"No, she's not at home. I need to talk to Faith but she doesn't pick up her phone. I'll come back in the evening. Goodbye." Bailey mumbles incoherently then walks out of the house briskly. He wonders how on Earth he can think of the idea of liking Teddy. He would have been killed by Owen before he can officially ask her a date out, if he ever really likes her. Does he really like her? Bailey is not sure; all he knows for now is this feeling causes him more harm than good.
"Why are you yelling? It's 7 in the morning." Cristina asks Owen.
"Teddy wears a panty when Bailey is here. A very small and inappropriateone. I don't know what she's thinking. She's seventeen, for God's sake. And where's Faith? She stayed with the guy overnight. What is wrong with my daughters!" Owen shakes his head before walking into the bathroom to take a morning shower.
Teddy descends the stairs after finishing her morning routine and getting fully clothed. Everyone is already at the table, having bread and jam that Owen just bought from a convenient store during his morning exercise. She can tell her father is still upset. She explains:
"No one opened the door, and who would expect a guest that early in the morning? I was half asleep, Dad. I realized the dilemma just when you entered the house."
Owen sighs. "You're seventeen, Teddy. You know what is appropriate. And speaking of today's incident, let me remind you that I don't even want to see you wear a boy short around the house. There are men living here. There are your father and your brother in the house." He takes a sip of coffee.
"Come on, Ma wears panties sometimes! What's the big deal?" She snaps at him.
Owen turns around and looks at Cristina, doesn't know what to say next. He loves her to be sexy when there are just two of them. But sometimes she becomes so careless, and it makes it hard for him to teach his children. He can't teach her, but he sure wants to teach the kids to behave appropriately.
Cristina glances at Owen. She knows it's partly her fault that the girls couldn't care more about dressing appropriately in the house. It wasn't a big thing when the children were young, but now they are grown up man and women. Cristina pats Teddy's back:
"Sometimes I forgot so I walked out of my room in my underwear. But most of the time, I do put on a robe, Teddy. I know today you were not fully awake when you saw Bailey, and your dad understood. He's talking about the other times when you watch the TV with us all."
"Fine. Let's move on. This is not a topic to talk over breakfast." Teddy mumbles. She looks down and intentionally focuses on spreading the jam onto the bread.
Owen feels grateful that Cristina's got his back when it comes to talking with the children. They usually argue about many things and raising the kids is among those, but they barely let the kids see the disagreement. That's one thing he feels satisfied, because it makes his children respect their parents and listen to them.
Faith eventually arrives home and is surprised to see every one eating breakfast. Routinely, the family gathers at the kitchen a little bit later, and she calculated the time so that she could be home before everyone realized her absence. Never did she know her friend Bailey came over and woke up everyone. She tiptoes to the kitchen and throws herself onto the stool next to Theo, smiling: "Morning!"
No one responds to her greeting.
"What's going on?"
"Did you come home last night?" Cristina snorts at Faith, eyes narrowing.
"I did!" Faith exclaims.
"So where were you going this morning?" Cristina continues.
"Why would you ask?"
Cristina shakes her head. "Don't promise something if you plan to break it, Faith."
"I did! I came home at three last night and just got out of the house at….five." Faith defends.
Owen rolls his eyes and slips out a sigh. "Look, I'm not scolding at you because you spent your night with Daniel. It's normal if you want to be with him. I said I hoped you'd stay at home, because I wanted you to spend your last two days with your family. You come back for only a week, Faith, and we want to be with you. Daniel came, and we were worried that you get involved again, right here, in Seattle. "
"He means he's afraid that you end up your last two days in Seattle with Daniel, sis." Theo smiles.
"I came home last night. I just had something going on…so I needed to see him this morning. Anyway I sent him off on the earliest flight to SanFran. So here I am, with family." Faith murmurs.
"Great, then this morning you can go with Theo and Teddy around the town to apply for some volunteerings at the hospitals." Cristina's eyes sparkle as she figures out the solution to the issue that has bothered her recently.
"I don't want to volunteer….Ma." Teddy exclaims.
"Why not? You need to start building your resume now." Cristina turns around and stares at Teddy, her eyebrows start to furrow.
"I don't want to make charts or wheel an elder in a clinic, Ma. I only have a month left. Please, let me just stay home."
"Well then you'll be a loser right when you enter Berkeley." She snorts at her youngest child.
"It's not healthy just to stay at home and watch TV all day, Teddy. Be productive." Owen gives Teddy a stern look.
"I really don't want to volunteer any time soon, Dad." Teddy murmurs.
"Well then, go find a job and work!" Cristina raises her voice.
"Ma, I studied hard, I got full scholarship to Berkeley, can't I just have a month off to do what I want?"
"Look at Theo, he's all prepared for college. If you're in premed, you need to be ready now."
Teddy looks at Theo angrily. He gently raises both of his hands, implying he's also suffering in this conversation. She exhales deeply, gathering all the courage to continue arguing with her parents.
"I honestly don't want to follow a premed track."
"Then why did you get yourself into AP Biology and AP Chemistry and all other courses?" Owen asks her, his face is full of surprised.
"Because I can do well in whatever I want to. They are not hard, Dad. But that doesn't mean I love Biology."
"Then what do you want to study? Tell me, what do you see yourself in four years?" Cristina stares at Teddy with a challenging countenance.
"I don't know…I really don't know. I'll figure out eventually." Teddy purrs her lips.
"Well then go work on something in the meantime. And before you figure out what you want to do, just please complete the premed track. You'll be behind everyone once you don't have something to pursue, if you're in Berkeley."
"Fine. I'm always the black sheep of the family. I'll go find a job. I have no idea why everyone is snapping at me today. Friendly reminder that Faith is the problem, not me. And Faith, Bailey looked for you today, at 6:40 am. He made Dad yell at me, just so you know." Teddy stands up, signaling a surrender then leaves the kitchen for her room. She shuts her door angrily.
Owen decides to leave his shift earlier than other Saturdays. Normally, he tends to stay one or two hour longer after April Kepner takes over the pit. As good a trauma surgeon as she is, Owen still considers this little woman his student. She is, in fact, still his favorite student, for teaching her also brings him many valuable lessons about life.
But today, Owen signs out all of the computer work, grabs his coat then leaves the pit at five. He wants to spend some time with his beloved dilemma family, especially with his smart daughter Faith, for she will be leaving tomorrow night back to Stanford. The house has been less lively since Faith got to medical school for a year, so having her back home is truly exciting. Thinking about his adopted daughter, now a beautiful girl who is going to be a second year medical student, Owen can't help but slips a proud smile. He can't wait till the day of her White Coat ceremony. He would be there, observing his daughter wearing a fresh white coat with her name on the right chest and taking the Hypocratic oath. Some people dislike Stanford for hosting the White Coat ceremony in the second year, but Owen thinks it's a wise decision. The institution subscribes to the belief that students must earn the honor of having a white coat bestowed upon them, and he absolutely likes it.
As Owen walks out of the hospital, he inhales deeply the refreshing air of a clear, beautiful afternoon. He just realizes how relaxing it is to leave the place only two hours earlier. Maybe he's older now. He's aged. Theo recently makes fun at Owen for losing weight, despite his effort to run every morning with his son. Theo criticizes that there must be something wrong with Owen's skill in exercising, for he just becomes more muscular and gains weight healthily, in spite of his father.
Jackson catches Owen right at the parking lot.
"Dr. Hunt!"
"Hey Avery, what's up?" Owen cheerfully greets his coworker.
"There's a change of plan. I need you on board with me for the upcoming bid. Most potential bid for the last ten years." Avery smiles, his eyes sparkling.
"What happens to Shepherd?" Owen gives Jackson a quizzical look.
"Ok, long story short, he's on the board and I'm on the board. And we have sort of different opinions. So the Foundation decides that I should invite you to avoid the conflict of interest among board members."
"The Foundation is your mother and your family, Avery. Anyway, I'm really glad I'm independent from you guys, Grey Sloan board members. So what's the plan?"
"We can discuss later. Just giving you a heads up."
"Alright, see you later." Owen climbs onto his truck and starts reversing the car.
It takes him forty minutes during the rush hours to arrive home eventually. To Owen's surprise, he sees Cristina's car parking in the front garage. It's strange of her to be home this early, but he's glad anyway, they can spend some more time together as a family.
"Cristina? Kids?" As Owen opens the door, he yells out excitedly, just like he often does every time he's got a chance to go home early. Checking out who is at home is a thing Owen enjoys very much, for most of the time he comes home late when everyone already has dinner and is working on their own thing.
"Hey honey, how's your day?" It's Cristina cheerful voice echoing from the kitchen.
Owen rolls his eyes as he loosens the tie and strides to the kitchen. Did she just call me honey? This is precious, it happens once every three years.
"Wonderful, how's your day, honey?" Speaking with his playful voice, Owen wraps his large arm around Cristina's tiny waist, leaning over for a kiss.
"Can't get any better, honey." Cristina grins. She helps him loosen his tie and offers to bring his suitcase to their bedroom, to Owen's amazement. The smell of the soup on the stove even surprises Owen further. He comes over the stove and gives the soup a stir.
"What's the occasion, Cristina? My birthday is not until the end of August."
Cristina is tying her hair to a high bun in her bedroom. She had an amazing work day performing a heart surgery and meeting a very important person to the Institute's business. Her day couldn't be better. She also thought randomly about Faith and her boyfriend, thinking their love was rather cute. She somehow wanted Faith to make it through with Daniel, because Cristina felt her own love story with Owen reviving through Faith's story. The only thing that mattered was the way Faith coldly demanded Daniel, and for some reasons Cristina didn't like it last night. Consequently when Owen compared her to Faith, she was really sad. So she decided that she would change her manner for him every time she is aware of it.
"Nothing, honey. It's just canned soup being reheated. Teddy made some dinner for us before going out." Cristina walks to the kitchen, smiling.
"What's with the honey and the smiling, although I absolutely love that?" Owen chuckles.
Cristina just grins mischievously. She watches Owen walking to the bedroom to take the shower with content. Well, he looks a little bit older, a few more wrinkles pop up on his eyes, and he seems a little thinner, but she loves him no matter what.
The front door opens abruptly and an incoming sound of laughter enters the house. Faith and Theo just arrive home, and they both look satisfied with a handful of shopping bags. Theo throws the bag on the couch in the living room then rushes to the smell of the clam chowder soup. He dips his pinkie quickly into the soup then licks it enthusiastically. "You're cooking, Ma?"
"It's canned soup. I just heat it up." Cristina murmurs as she pours out the soup on a big glass bowl.
"I knew it." Theo beams at his mom. Faith comes by the kitchen to help her mother placing out the food on the table.
Owen comes out from the shower, feeling refreshed. He rubs his hands excitedly as he glances at the tempting food under the yellow shade of the kitchen lights.
"What about some Sauvignon Blanc, Cristina?" He walks over to get two glasses and fills them with wine.
"Sounds great, honey." Theo and Faith look at their mother suspiciously. They rarely hear her calling Owen honey, and they know normally she tries to get something from him when she flirts him.
"What do you want from Dad, Ma? I detect something dangerous in your eyes." Theo makes fun of his mother.
"See, even your son realizes something's abnormal in you today." Owen turns around, laughing out loud.
"Nothing, I'm still me. Just enjoying my day." Cristina exclaims uncontentedly.
"Where's Teddy?" Faith asks as she sits into her chair.
"Uhm, Teddy texted me that she would be home late tonight and she would have dinner outside." Theo murmurs.
"She cooked and she left, that's hilarious." Faith can't hide her disappointment.
Owen, Cristina, Faith and Theo don't mention Teddy anymore. They know she had a rough morning being lectured out of the blue. She was sad, but she still cooked for everyone before leaving home. Owen's heart just sags a little bit when he thinks about his little daughter. Teddy is lively, tomboyish, careless and naturally cheerful, but she always cares about everyone in the family. Faith is passionate in bringing joy to people around her: her parents, her siblings, and her friends; and Owen believes that personality of Faith is a lot like his.
"So what did you guys do today?" Cristina asks the children.
"I applied to volunteer for a non-profit primary health clinic, Ma. I think I like the place. They are overcrowded with uninsured people." Theo tells his mother about the day with excitement.
"That's good, you can see many rare diseases and meeting poor people, which mean you can learn a lot about medicine and patient care. That's very good to put in resume." Cristina comments, her mouth gulping a big piece of chicklen.
"Cristina, it's not about having something to put in the resume. It's about he wants to help the less fortunate. It's important to have the correct incentive of the volunteer." Owen turns to his wife, slightly crunching up his brows.
"I know, Dad. I know what I'm doing." Theo grins.
"I know that, honey. That's why I mentioned patient care in there. I'm sure he'll learn many valuable things from the volunteer." Cristina defends her previous sentence, not forgetting to put a honey in between the words. She is trying to show him love even when she disagrees with him.
"Okay, Mom, what is it about the honey? You're very strange today. You're unnaturally…happy." Faith chuckles as she takes a spoonful of clam chowder.
"Oh, I know it, but sorry, honey, you can't trick me into leaking any information about this upcoming bid this time. I'm not even bidding with Jackson." Owen smiles, his hand gently strokes Cristina's cheek. He feels very satisfied that he figures out her incentive behind the word honey. Even though he has to lie to her about being on board with Jackson, he's glad that his wife cannot trick him into any lust trap again.
Cristina feels very upset that everyone finding her calling Owen honey strange. Based on her children's reactions, is it true that all these years she's been treating him badly? She stands up, groaning:
"Enough. What's wrong with me calling you honey? I don't freaking care about your project, Owen. I'm just trying to improve our marriage." Cristina pouts.
Owen looks up at his wife, his face half surprised, half amused. He holds her hand and pulls her down the chair, smiling:
"Oh, I'm sorry then, honey. Forgive me?"
"Too late, Owen. You won't hear me call you honey again in another three years." Faith and Theo bite their lips to avoid a hysterical laugh at their pouting mother. Owen stands up and pulls Cristina to the bedroom. He winks and Faith: " Can you do the dishes, Faith?"
"Sure, Dad. Just enjoy your time with your honey." She chuckles.
**Please review. It means a lot to me. Other than those who actively give me thoughtful feedback, where are my dear Nein, Annamaria and plenty anonymous guests? Where have you been all my life?