**Finally, Owen's birthday is here. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
**I've been rushing to write the last chapters of Today Has Been OK because I have to be back to working mode next week. So, fasten your seatbelt because the ride will be pretty fast! And as always, I very very appreciate any reviews. I don't care if you're not native English speaker because I'm not either. You can even review in your language and I will Google translate it. I love your reviews!
The last Friday of August
The alarm goes off exactly at 5:30 a.m and Owen shuts it off immediately, hoping it hasn't annoyed his wife snoring softly next to him. Turning around, he gazes at Cristina's fine features, realizing that she, too, gets thinner due to the hectic workload at Kraums Institute. Cristina had gone to Washington D.C in two days for an important conference, and she just returned home last night at 2:a.m. So Owen gets up from bed quietly, trying not to wake her up.
He carries an exercise mat to the back patio and starts to work on his daily yoga dose. As he inhales deeply, the smell of fresh air soothes his mind and soul. He's been too busy to realize that it's almost the end of August, and that autumn is coming with it cool breeze and golden maple leaves. After thirty minutes of practicing the yoga poses, his body shines with sweats. He feels content that he listened to Cristina suggestion to practice this alternate exercise, for he doesn't feel as exhausted as he used to when he comes home from work, even though he still has to stop to catch his breath sometimes.
After taking a shower, Owen dresses up in his business casual clothing. He eats some oatmeal and fruit along with a cup of coffee. Cristina and he decided to maintain a healthy diet because both of them are middle aged now and they are on the edge of falling into diabetes, stroke and all other kinds of disease.
Then, he walks by their bed and kisses Cristina hard before he leaves at 6:20.
As Owen reverses his truck from their front yard, he hears the phone ring. He turns on the blue tooth and picks up Faith's call:
"Hey, sweetie! How are you?"
"Great, Dad. And happy birthday to you. Any plan for today?" Faith's cheerful voice echoes in the car.
"Your mom and I will have a dinner at 6. That's pretty much it. But it's great!" He laughs gently.
"We're sorry Dad that we can't be home today for your birthday. But we will be tomorrow! Will you pick us up?"
"Of course. Text me the time. Bye, sweetie."
Owen strides along the shiny hallway of Grey Sloan Memorial, giving greeting smiles as he sees the familiar faces. He encounters Meredith and Derek in the elevator.
"Owen! Happy birthday!" The couple cheerfully exclaims.
"Thanks guys. Any presents for me?" Owen teases them.
"Of course, an early retiring package from the board awaits you. It's the same gift you gave Webber decades ago." Derek laughs out loud. Meredith elbows her husband, smiling shyly: "Ignore him. May we buy you a lunch at the cafeteria today?"
"Sounds great. At one?"
"Deal. See you later." Meredith waves at the men as she leaves for her floor of General Surgery.
Owen enters his office and starts tackling down the huge pile of paperwork on his desk. A nurse brings in some basket gifts for him, birthday presents from the pharmaceutical and medical solution companies. After signing a whole bunch of paper, Owen starts on mapping out the schedule of the surgeons for the next day, as well as posting new agendas for the surgical floor for September. He then takes a look at the revised financial statements that the finance department prepared, making sure he gets all the categories covered because he will be presenting next week.
The pager goes off and it's from the pit. Owen reaches to the Ambulance bay to see Dr. April Kepner.
"Kepner, what's going on?"
"Hi Chief. Will you take over the upcoming trauma? I'm in room 2 and probably I will be in a surgery for the next 5 hours. Dr. Scott, the resident is also in another case."
"Alright."
As Owen is about to walk away, April continues her high pitch voice: "And happy birthday, Chief. You are a great chief."
His student's smile is one of the things he likes when working at the pit. It eases his stressful day.
"Thanks, Kepner. And I just want to make sure that you forwarded the letter paper that Theo wrote for Jane."
"I did, Chief. I forwarded to Jane two weeks ago, right after you came back from Stanford and gave it to me."
"Great. Thanks. I know I look kinda like a soft father, but my son has a troubled past and I really want to help him." Owen mutters.
"I understand, Chief. Theo is adorable and I'm glad Jane has a good friend. It's just whether they want to be friends again…or not." She shakes her head.
"Uh huh, anyway I did my part and you did your part. The rest is upon them." Owen smiles as he walks away to change into scrub.
Returning to the pit, Owen patiently waits for the coming ambulance. His left hand forms a fist and it hits his right palm gently as he looks up to the sky. His experience with Seattle tells him that it's gonna rain later today, like most of the days in this state. A few rain are needed to switch the season from summer to autumn, he thinks.
The siren of the ambulance becomes louder and Owen opens the door. Owen is surprised to see Cristina in a grey suit, hands on chest of a victim that is lying on the cart. Next to her is another man, looking very frustrated at the situation.
"Cristina?" He raises his voice.
"I had to crack his chest. He had heart attack."
Cristina and Owen helps the paramedic moves the man on the cart quickly inside. "John Kleins, 53,myocardial infarction….."
Cristina abruptly stops the paramedic from reviewing the man's situation. "I know his situation. He's my patient now. Thank you."
Owen gazes at her as they move the patient inside "What do you mean? You want to operate on him?"
Cristina nods: "Uh huh, he's very important to me. Also, he is my patient at Kraums, so I'd rather have myself scrub in and remove his blood clot than any other CT surgeons in this hospital. Will you set him up and prep the OR while I change into a scrub?" She looks up to Owen as she listens to her stethoscope.
"Okay. OR 5?"
"See you in there, Owen." Cristina smiles.
"You want me to scrub in with you?" surprised, Owen asks her.
"You're the trauma surgeon, you should be in there. Also, it's your birthday, how about scrubbing in with the famous Cristina Yang as a birthday gift?" She beams at him.
"Absolutely love that gift." He smiles then quickly moves the patient away. As they depart from Cristina, he can still hear her whispering to the man following her behind: "Mr. Wellington, you're in the territory of Grey Sloan now, one of my opponents. Friendly reminder that we have signed non-disclosure on our contracts…."
Cristina walks inside the once familiar OR 5 and see her husband ready on the left side of the patient.
"I read his chart. Mr. John Kleins is the new vice president of Kleins Co., a family construction company. Notable for cooperating with Scraze and Winters Co. Construction Company to build the Seattle Space Needle." Owen talks to Cristina.
"They are non medical terms." Cristina speaks in a motonous tone.
"Are you planning to build something huge, like a second Space Needle?" Owen asks her, half teasing, half prying for information.
"You should trick me into another lust trap if you want to retrieve any information, Owen. What makes you think I'm out of control now when you're completely covered from top to toe?" She answers sarcastically.
"My sexy voice is seducing you." He responds playfully.
"Erhem, please focus on operating the patient, not on flirting your wife, Dr. Hunt." It is the voice of Derek through the telecom. Cristina steers her eyes to the gallery up high and sees Derek and Jackson watching them.
"Aren't you supposed to be working now guys?" Cristina speaks loudly towards the telecom.
"No, we'd like to observe Dr. Cristina Yang operate on one of the most important men in the construction industry." Jackson chuckles.
"Observe but don't listen, please. I'm having an intimate time with my husband here." She snaps at them and hears series of laughter in response.
"Give us some private time, Derek. Maybe I can retrieve some information for you." Owen speaks up with an amusing tone. This is going to be an interesting surgery.
"Alright, Hunt. We count on you. By the way we really look forward to your presence at the Foundation Gala tomorrow night." Jackson insists Owen on going to the gala that they planned a few weeks ago.
"I can't, gentlemen. My kids will be home tomorrow and I want to celebrate their birthday. Cristina and I already prepared amazing presents for them. Plus if I go to the Gala with my wife, she will steal all the donations from the guys again." Owen laughs out loud.
"Ok then. Good luck with your surgery." Derek wishes him well then turns off the telecom and they both leave.
Now alone with Cristina and a few nurses, Owen starts to enjoy the rest of the surgical procedure. It has been years that they have a chance to operate together again. Owen suddenly recalls the canvas hanging behind his desk at home: the picture of him and Cristina operating on a patient, taken by a resident. They were in their first marriage at that time, and they were fools in a young, wild and passionate love.
"You are thinking about that picture of us operating together behind your desk." Cristina states the fact.
"How do you know?" He rolls his eyes.
"I marry you for 20 years, Owen. I can tell what's behind your blue eyes." Still with a monotonous and emotionless tone, Cristina answers him.
He looks at the surgeon in front of him with love and pride. Oh, how he misses seeing this little frame in the blue scrub and the surgical coat very much. Every time she's completely covered in surgical clothing, he usually stares at her eyes with much affection. His wife has small, single-eyelid, brown and sparkling eyes. People say you can tell how smart a person is by looking at the eyes. And he thinks they speak the truth.
"Are you excited about the presents we're gonna give them tomorrow?" Cristina asks Owen.
"Of course. I hope things go according to plan." He chuckles.
"Don't worry. Things will go according to plan. On their 18th birthdays, all of my children have to go to hell first before they can enjoy heaven." Cristina laughs.
"You're a cruel mother, Cristina." He shakes his head and jokes.
"My cruelty makes them stronger, Owen." She cheerfully responds.
They continue working on the patient for another three hours. When they finally finish the surgery and the nurses have carried the patient away, Cristina looks up at the clock, which indicates 5:00pm.
"Oh, I'm sorry Owen, I don't think I can have dinner with you tonight. The surgery was out of my plan so I have to go to Kraums and at least finish half of the tasks I planned out for today." Cristina shakes her head apologetically.
"It's okay. I understand."
"I will be home at eight then. We can have dinner at home together. I'll buy some Chinese wonton soup that you like." She reaches to his cheek and gives him a kiss.
"Sounds great. I will see you at home. I'm about to leave the hospital now anyway. I don't have to cover the pit today." He wraps his arm around her shoulder as they walk out of the surgical floor.
"See you later, Owen." Cristina steers to another direction and approaches the elevator.
Meredith was riding elevator when she sees Cristina. They smile as they meet each other.
"You're here. That's why he blew off the lunch with us." Meredith chuckles.
"It's healed. I'll show you." Cristina freezes the elevator, and then she turns around and unbuttons her white shirt. She reveals a portion of her right chest to Meredith.
"You're so cool. He'll be crazy tonight." Meredith's eyes sparkle as she speaks.
"Uh huh. That's why I have to cancel the dinner reservation and have him go home. I'm sure he'll relax and get some sleep when he's alone, and so he'll be energized when I come home at eight. I don't know what happens to him lately, Mer. He easily gets tired." Cristina sighs.
"Maybe it's time you two have a complete health checkup. We're middle aged now, Cristina."
Owen walks out of the hospital and encounters Callie and Arizona at the entrance.
"Owen! Happy birthday. Shall we hit Joe's?" Arizona cheerfully greets him.
"Thanks. I prefer to go home actually because Cristina will be home at 8 and I want to have a decent dinner with her." Owen genuinely smiles.
"Oh come on, it's your day! Let's hit Joe's. We'll take you only an hour." Callie pulls Owen's arm and the three head to Joe's bar.
"How's Faith enjoying school so far?" Arizona asks him.
"She's doing very well. We just attended her and Bailey's white coat ceremony. I'm glad they are good friends, they help each other a lot in their studying."
"Oh, I thought Faith and Bailey were a thing? Derek keeps talking about her as if she was his daughter in law." Callie laughs out loud.
"I…don't think so. Hahaha." Owen answers.
…
Cristina gently unlocks the front door and enters the house. Not hearing Owen's voice, she figures out he must either be sleeping or taking a shower. She tiptoes inside, glancing at each room as she walks past by. There he is, in the living room.
Cristina quietly comes over the couch. Owen is sleeping safe and sound, spreading his long and solid frame along the entire cushion. She sits on the floor next to him, gently threading her fingers through his auburn curls.
"Hi, dear. I'm home." She smiles at him as he blinks his eyes.
"Oh, I was about to make dinner but I must have fallen asleep. Anyway, glad that you bought wonton soup. I'm craving for Asian food recently." Still lying on the couch, Owen turns around and levels his eyes to hers.
"Oh my god, I completely forgot to buy the wonton soup! How about I drive you to the Asian restaurant near the hospital, the one you took me out when I first came back from Switzerland? You told me it opens 24 hours." Cristina scratches her head apologetically.
"Deal." Owen sits up from the couch and a few minutes later coming out from his bedroom in his old army T-shirt and jeans. Cristina stares at her husband lovingly. The T-shirt clings to his chest not tightly, but enough to leave an urge to see it bare. His jeans hang perfectly on the hip, and as Owen stretches himself out after a powerful nap, the jeans expose a subtle amount of boxer.
"You look…great." Cristina comes closer to him and leans on him to reach for a kiss. "Uhm, my husband puts on Acqua Di Gio when he goes to eat wonton soup." She breathes in the cologne from the nape of his neck.
"Add-on for my birthday." He giggles. Owen holds Cristina's hand and leads her outside then locks the door.
Hand in hand, they stand at the front yard for a minute, feeling the soothing breeze sweeping through their bodies. "It's almost autumn." Owen gently says.
"I have an idea." Cristina's eyes twinkle with mischief. She rolls on the garage door and fetches him two helmets. "One for you, one for me."
Owen rolls his eyes. "Now?"
She gestures her head towards the shiny motorcycle in the garage. "Come on, are you gonna take it out or not?"
He giggles and quickly removes the motorcycle from the garage to the front yard. Owen climbs onto the bike, putting on his helmet while Cristina sits behind him.
"I don't want you to die on your birthday, so we don't need to go on highways. Just ride it through the streets, I'll love that." She speaks to his ears as he starts the engine. Owen smirks; he abruptly rolls the throttle back and the bike swiftly strides forward. Cristina is pulled back by the force of inertia, so she bends forward and holds Owen tight around the hip.
"I almost forget this awesome feeling!" Owen laughs out loud as he gradually releases the throttle and maintains a steady speed. The wind sweeps through the part of Cristina's hair that is not covered by the helmet, and blows it widely.
"I love the weather tonight. It's cool and soothing." She tells him.
Noticing that Cristina is enjoying the view along the way, Owen relaxes his grip on the throttle a little bit more and slows down the motorbike. "Where's your hand?" Owen asks; his left arm folds behind the back, searching for her hand. Cristina puts her hand in Owen's, and he pulls it to the front, placing it on his left lap.
"Don't remove it from my lap." He glances over his shoulder and orders her.
"Why not?" She playfully asks him.
"And lean closer on me." He fakes a cold demand.
Cristina chuckles then leans on his back. Her chin gently places against his left shoulder.
The bike strolls steadily on the little roads of Seattle. As they enter Seattle Chinatown, Owen slows the speed down further, and they leisurely pass through the closed doors of Chinese restaurants and ethnic shops. Cristina glues her eyes to the giant red and yellow columns painted with dragonflies and carps. She is mesmerized by the shades of the red paper lanterns that shine up the little street in a peaceful night.
"This place is breathtaking." Owen comments as he is also stunned by the view.
"Why did we never ride our bike to this place before?" She wonders.
"I know, right? Just the two of us riding on the street makes me feel high, as if I were taking you out on a first date." Owen chuckles.
They quietly enjoy the tranquil atmosphere as they progress to the Chinese restaurant that Owen took Cristina out when Faith was hospitalized. It's been years since their last visit to this restaurant because they moved to a different city.
"Oh no, it's closed on Fridays, Owen." Cristina purrs her lips as she looks at the operating hours on the door.
"Too bad." Owen shakes his head regretfully. He turns his motorbike around and heads back home.
A lightning bolt strikes up afar and suddenly it rains. It's Seattle, what can they say. Now they wish they had some sort of raining gears to keep them from being wet.
"Hold tight." Owen tells Cristina over his shoulder. She wraps her arms around his firm belly as he rolls on the throttle and swiftly accelerates the speed. The bike rushes rapidly into the rain.
"This couldn't get any better." She laughs enthusiastically as it continues to pour heavily onto them.
"Are you okay? Are you cold? We're almost home." Owen yells loudly as the sound of the rain overwhelms his voice.
"Of course!" Cristina exclaims as she leans closer to his back, trembling.
Owen tries to run fast but not too fast because the sight distance is shorter now. He keeps a steady pace for twenty minutes until they finally arrive home.
"That was so much fun!" Owen laughs heartily when he parks the bike and removes his helmet. He gazes at his wife's beauty as she twists her mouth to one side, trying to take out the house key from her pants. Owen gently wipes the raindrops that are dripping from her hair onto her face. Then suddenly, he places a hand at the nape of her neck and pulls her closer to him. They both pant as they look into each other's eyes before his lips search for her lips.
"Hold on, it's cold out here." She winkles as she removes her face from his.
Cristina shoves the door open and they step inside. Owen turns on the yellow chandelier at the hallway then slams the door closed. He stares lustfully at the breasts that are pounding wildly. Owen can't wait any longer. He picks her up and guides her legs to wrap around his firm hip. His right hand supports her lower back while his left hand slowly unbuttons the completely soaked shirt that clings tightly to her body.
Cristina smiles mischievously as she patiently waits for him to take off her shirt and throws it on the floor.
Owen drops his mouth when he notices the little tattoo "Yang heart Hunt" on her right chest.
"What the heck, Cristina?" He can't believe in his eyes.
"Happy birthday, honey." Cristina playfully beams at him.
"You meant it when you said Faith's tattoo was rather sexy?"
"Uh huh." Cristina nods.
"My wife is so hot." He slightly bends his head down to kiss on the tattoo.
The chemistry becomes intense so Cristina jumps off from Owen's embrace. She quickly pulls off his wet t-shirt and throws it on the door as well. "I'm happy the kids are not home."
"Uh huh. It's only me and my sexy wife…" Owen unbuttons Cristina's grey pants and strips them off. She kicks the pants aside as they continue to approach the kitchen.
"….and anything can happen now…" It's her turn to take off his jeans.
"…such as I make love to my wife in the kitchen…." Owen smirks as he picks Cristina up again and places her on the emptykitchen table.
Cristina gently pushes Owen away and slowly unstraps her bra. He crosses his arms and gives her an amazing look as she throws the bra into the sink then squeezes her breasts together: "How about this for appertizer, chief Hunt?"
"Delicious." He smirks and enjoys the striptease.
"And this for main course?" She removes her panty then slowly widens her leg. The pink Little Yang makes Owen lick his lip.
"Can't ask for more." Owen shakes his head and walks towards Cristina. He gently bends her down the table then pulls her to the edge. With hands on her hip, Owen drives himself into her. He sighs in pleasure as he withdraws. Cristina's legs wrap around Owen's hip as he starts to thrust in again rhythmically.
"Argh…." Cristina's moan turns Owen on even harder. He grabs her breasts and pounds into her faster. As the desire courses through his bloodstream, he releases his energy from the shaft into her womb. Cristina reaches an orgasm as she hears Owen roars wildly.
"Now comes the desert…" Cristina jumps down the table and guides Owen to sit on it instead. He rolls his eyes: "What are you doing?"
"Desert, chief Hunt." She grabs hold of his semi-erect thing and gently runs her fingertips along its length. Cristina stares at Owen lustfully as she lowers her head to his thing's level. "Oh, you're fully erect again." She smirks.
Suddenly, there's a loud sound of the door slamming. Owen and Cristina drop their mouths as they hear the familiar voices yelling. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!"
Owen jumps down the table, his hands covering the penis. Cristina quickly hides behind him. They freeze for a moment, not sure how to react.
"Oh my god! What are you doing in there?" As they hear Faith's voice echoing from the hallway, Cristina and Owen figure out the kids have seen the wet clothing scattered on the floor.
"To the library now, kids!" Owen yells back at them. Cristina grabs her bra in the sink then follows her husband to the bedroom.
After putting on dry clothing, they walk out to the kitchen and Owen fakes a cough. "Erhem, we're ready…"
Faith, Theo and Teddy tiptoe inside and place the birthday cake on the kitchen table. They stare at their parents and shake their heads as Cristina bites her lips and Owen flushes: "You said you'd come back tomorrow!"
"We want to give you a surprise. But I think we'd better come home tomorrow, indeed." Faith purrs her lips.
"Sorry, kids." Cristina murmurs. She quietly walks towards the hallway and picks up all the wet clothing dropped on the floor.
"So, are we…good now? Can we still celebrate your birthday? It's only 11:25 pm." Theo looks at his father.
"Of course. Thank you for coming home today." Owen shyly answers.
"We made the birthday cake for you, Dad." Teddy genuinely smiles.
"You did! That's amazing!" He rubs Teddy's hair.
"Common, Dad. Make a wish then blow the candles!" Faith plants the candle on the cake then strikes the match. Cristina turns off the kitchen light then walks next to Owen. He looks at her and grins: "What if I already have everything I asked for?"
"Then wish it will never change." She chuckles.
**Bonus: sneak peek at the kitchen of Owen's house. Please go to tumblr and look for tag #gaucung89. If you only see two posts (and there are supposed to be five or more), click on the tag #gaucung89 at the bottom of the picture you're viewing and you will see more posts relating to the story.