The After

Chapter 1

"Owen Owen Noooooo" Cristina whispered in her sleep. Owen woke up hearing his wife's cries and was pained to realised he was the subject of her nightmare. He gently stroked her face and shook her lightly in an attempt to wake her. She jolted awake gasping for air and after coming around she looked into Owen's bright blue eyes and clung onto him, pulling him in to a tight embrace. Owen stroked his wife's curly hair and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. Cristina rested her head on his chest and listened to the comforting sound of his heart beat in an attempt to reassure herself that he was alright, between breaths she whispered

"You're alive" more to herself than him, it was so soft she didn't even know if he had heard. But he had and it tore him apart to see his wife experiencing the feelings he knew all too well. He kissed the top of her head and once her breathing had returned to normal he asked her

"Do u want to talk about it?". He felt her shaking her head against his chest and so left it at that, he had learned not to pry into her recurring nightmares and he hoped she would open up when she was ready.

She lay awake in his sleeping arms not able to get the image of her husband's lifeless body out of her head. She felt safe wrapped in his strong arms, but the prospect of falling asleep where images of that day haunted her made her feel uneasy and so, she just lay there enjoying the rising and falling of his chest and forcing her eyes to stay open. She thought back to her wedding day a week ago in an attempt to distract herself from her tired eyes. That day was the best she's had in a while, since the incident to be exact. Remembering the look on his face as she walked down the stairs brought butterflies to her stomach. Though, their first week as newlyweds could have gone better, between collapsing in the OR and handing him her wedding band back. But they made it through and Cristina was surprisingly content about being a married woman. Being legally bound to the love of her life put a smile on her face.

Owen made marriage seem a lot less scary that it had years ago. She was enjoying ticking the married box on forms and being introduced to as "my wife". Little things she had never thought she would care about but at this point in time her relationship with Owen was the one thing she could count on. She watched his sleeping face as she nuzzled into his neck and thought of how lucky she was. Owen would always fight for her, fight for them. He always knew what to say or when not to say anything at all. He was so good to her and she appreciated it more than she expressed. She made a mental note to thank him for being so patient with her.

A loud snore escaped Owen's mouth making Cristina jump and snap out of her thoughts. Suddenly her stomach flipped and she bolted for the bathroom, maybe those weren't butterflies earlier. She emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. When her stomach was empty she went to get up but the dizziness in her head sent her straight back down. So, she settled against the bath tub.

Owen woke up before the alarm and immediately felt the emptiness of his arms. He searched through the bed before opening his eyes and seeing her side was empty. He dragged his body, still half asleep, out of bed towards the bathroom where he saw the light on. He pried the door open and found her sitting there slumped against the tub looking quite frankly like death. Her eyes were red, her skin blotchy and a hue of green. He crouched down beside her.

"Cris...what's wrong babe" She looked him in the eyes only just realising his presence after being in an exhausted haze.

"Oh, I didn't feel good so I stayed near the toilet...you know in case I hurl again". Owen looked at her with pity in his eyes

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asked sounding slightly irritated.

"Uhm I didn't think I needed an audience" she replied.

"Cristina...in sickness and in health remember, I could have at least held your hair back" he said pointing at her hair infused with crusty vomit. Cristina saw it and groaned which turned into a low chuckle. Soon they were both cracking up.