See Me

"Please Cristina, see me. See me."

It took her a minute, but she finally looked up at him. As their eyes connected Owen felt all his fears disappear. She was here. She could see him, and she wasn't going to leave.

He felt his shoulders relax as he slipped his hand into her hair. Wrapping her dark curls around his fingers, he closed his eyes and leaned forward, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt their foreheads touch.

Cristina slipped one of her arms around his wait, pulling him closer to her as she slipped the other behind his head, running her fingers through his red hair. She felt his breathing slow as her fingers caressed his hair.

She knew how Beth felt, being dumped without an explanation. But at the same time, she understood that Owen was no longer the person Beth thought he was. He was no longer the man she had met the night he pulled the icicle out of her chest. He was harder. He was tougher. And he was darker.

But that change didn't scare her. Just like him, she had seen things other people hadn't. Just like him she knew that one experience could change your entire world. Just like him, she was living in The After.

"Do you have to go?" He whispered and she shook her head.

So they stood there. Two people who understood one another. Two people living in The After.