A Love So Absolutely Clear {Crowen} ✔️

16: we are the same

life was pretty much the same, besides the fact that owen was able to spend more time with his daughter and that he didn't have anything more to do. cristina went to work early and came home around eight o'clock every night to find her family eating dinner or watching something on the tv.

novella opted to stay home. she hadn't been anywhere in months besides the house. she would play outside with her dog almost everyday, though it would never go past their backyard, and she hadn't been in contact with anyone in forever besides people in the hospital and her close relatives.

"so, what's on the roster today?" owen was preparing to give novella an early morning bath after breakfast. she was too hyper while playing with lolo and would have to go and get herself cleaned. he got out the towels and soap just to wash her off, and it was a relief novella didn't have any hair that would've taken hours to dry.

"i don't know. summer is boring." novella sat down on the counter where the sink was, waiting for the water in the tub to heat up or at least fill itself. they didn't know what to do for days. occasionally, she would read books while owen looked for jobs online, or she would color while watching tv, but nothing stood out to her. she was bored, and so was owen.

"there's always something. summer is supposed to be fun. next year, you'll be in second grade and second graders don't have a lot of free time." he helped novella get her clothes off and carried her over to the bathtub like a small child.

"that is not true." she stated. "can you make me a bubble bath?" he poured some soap in the water and began to mix it around with his hands so that the water would become bubbly.

"do you want to invite zola and bailey over?" owen suggested, turning off the water so that the tub wouldn't overflow. it was now full of bubbles and novella splashed around in it giggling.

"i don't know if they will like me because i look different now." she said it like it didn't matter to her, as if it didn't hurt. novella said this multiple times before, and each time it concerned owen greatly, but this time was different. he really knew how much it meant to her and no matter how undisturbed she looked, he knew what she felt.

"is it because of your hair?" he gave her a downcast look. novella wasn't herself for months. she used to be outgoing and she loved to have fun with her friends. and he really wanted his daughter back, especially now that he could spend time with her.

she nodded her head, playing with the bubbles that covered the clear water. he watched her for a while, helplessly playing with her hands. he would do anything for her.

owen grabbed shampoo from the cabinet and put some on top of novella's head. she picked her head up as she felt the cold shampoo on her warm head.

"what are you doing?" she lifted her hand up and felt the strawberry scented shampoo on her head that she hadn't smelled in months. "i don't need to use that anymore!"

"sure you do, kid. you have a little bit of hair." he began to massage the shampoo around and rubbed circles on her head. she laughed.

"that tickles!" he laughed in response, tickling her some more. "stop it stop it!" she said in between giggles.

"okay," he chuckled, taking his hands away from her head that was now full of soap. "okay i'm stopping." she gave him a wide smile, then continued playing in the water.

"so when you change your mind, just tell me and i can call aunt meredith or uncle derek so that they can go and play with you." he continued, starting to wash off the soap on her head. she sighed.

"maybe when i am all better."

...

cristina was in surgery, as she always was. it was a solo surgery, and it was a very complicated one at that. she had been in there for at least four hours until somebody called her cell phone. all concentration broke loose, and she gave a loud groan in frustration.