Try Again

A New Beginning

"So, what now?"

"What do you mean 'what now?' You're the one who just confessed how hopelessly in love with me you are."

"Okay, stop, you don't have to make it all mushy."

"I always knew you were soft at heart. Nobody believed me when I would tell them."

"Owen," Cristina shot him a warning glare. He just chuckled in response.

Cristina sat in the passenger's seat of Owen's truck as he drove them back to his trailer. She held her hand out the window and felt the breeze flow through her finger tips.

"Are you sure we should go back to your place? We kind of have a track record in-," Cristina warned.

"We're just going to talk, you know, figure things out."

"Okay."

"Okay," Owen nodded.

They arrived to Owen's trailer, a little later than expected but he was in no rush. He stepped out of the car and opened Cristina's door for her. She rolled her eyes but smiled.

As they made it inside, Owen asked "Who do you want to start the talking?"

"Um, I will," Cristina offered. "To begin with, it probably wasn't the brightest idea for me to even open my mouth. But I let Mer talk me into it, with her fake Gandhi speech."

Owen began to look nervous.

"But," she continued. "Even though it wasn't that smart of me to do, everything I said was true. All of it." Owen smiled.

"You know I feel the same way, Cristina."

"Okay."

"Okay."

They purposely avoided the elephant in the room.

"Our issue is still the same. That hasn't changed. We're back in this cycle. So what makes this time different from the others?" Cristina was back to using logic and worried she opened a can of worms by saying how she felt instead of keeping her mouth shut.

Silence arose.

"Owen?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

"Well, while you're thinking, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Uh, yeah. Leftover pizza."

"Ooh, yes," She squealed. Owen glanced at her and shook his head as he went toward the refrigerator.

This is good, he thought. Normal conversation. We're just fine. We're going to be fine. This isn't like our past times, right? We've both had time to grow.

When he returned with the pizza, Cristina dug in almost immediately.

Owen didn't seem to be hungry so he just watched her eat.

"I..."

"What?"

"I still don't plan on having kids."

Owen gave a slight smile and sighed. "I didn't think otherwise."

"So..."

"I've been holding on so tightly to ideals..." he paused for a moment. "I wanted this idea of a family, the whole white picket fence. And then I lost you. So I thought, what if I had my dreams and they're over now?

You were the family I had. And I let you go. But now you're here and," he softly put his hand over hers. "You're back."

"I'm back," Cristina said nervously, unsure of herself.

"Though I know you have a hospital to get back to and all."

"Thank God," Cristina let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I'm glad you didn't lose sight of that. That hospital is everything, I've worked so hard."

"No, no I didn't forget. How long do you plan to stay here?"

"I don't know? As long as-, I don't even know. I really shouldn't stay too long. Not sure I trust everyone back there. They'll probably try to replace me. But we all know that won't work."

"Nope."

"'Cause there's only one Cristina Yang," they both said in sync.

Laughter erupted in the trailer.

"So, you're saying..."

"I'm saying, letting go of those ideals may not be the worst thing in the world."

"Owen, no. No, we're not going to do this. I'm not going to have you give up things for me."

"Cristina, I love you. And I want you. It's as simple as that. When you left, there was this pit in my stomach, a pit I wasn't sure was ever going to be filled again. A darkness. But here you are and things are suddenly... bright. I'm aware of the decision I'm making and I am choosing you."

Cristina looked intently at him, not sure of what to say.

"It'd be nice if you, you know, said something back."

"Well, if you're sure.."

"I'm sure."

"Okay."

"Alright."

They both tried to stay calm but quickly rushed into each other's arms, engulfing themselves in a big hug. Owen held his arms around her with his eyes closed, softly running his hands over her hair. Cristina smiled but her eyes were open as she pondered what could be considered a new beginning for them. Things are not always as simple as they appear.

A/N

Whewww I'm a little late but I loved the 300th episode! When Owen told Mer that there's no one like Cristina, I got season 10 feels. He definitely holds a place for her in his heart. <3