It was now 3:00 in the morning, and Cristina hadn't slept very much. Meredith was upstairs, up with the baby for what seemed like every hour on the hour. Cristina had been nursing a headache something fierce, and the incessant crying was not helping. She hadn't wanted to take anything because she'd rather just suffer. She knew that everything bad that happened to her she had brought on herself, or at least that's how she felt at this moment.

Wow, she'd slept for 2 whole hours. Now, her sciatic nerve is killing her. How in the hell a baby the size of a grain of rice is putting pressure on a nerve that runs under her uterus she'll never understand. Just great. She got up off the couch she'd been on for hours and walked. She actually ended up pacing back and forth to ease the pain. It worked, but every time she lay down again, the pain came back. Fabulous- now she's got a headache and a backache and will most likely never sleep again. Oh, and her husband threw her out of her home that she actually sort of liked living in. She thought of that popular saying a few years back and repeated it out loud- "Sucks to be me."

At 7, she managed to shower and get dressed and hop a ride to work with Lexie, who though curious about why Cristina was staying at Meredith's, wisely stayed silent. Cristina's goals for today were simple- stay awake, keep moving to avoid the nerve pain, and avoid her husband, whom she was not prepared to go another 12 rounds with. She also managed to avoid Meredith, who was suspended and was spending her first day home alone with the baby. Cristina felt guilty about not asking Meredith if she needed anything. Oh well, she thought, there's always tomorrow.

Her phone hadn't rung all day. No text messages, no anything. Cristina wondered why she had expected Owen to come running to her on his white horse. It was just that he always did. Isn't that a reason why she had loved him? He was always strong, dependable, reasonable (some times), and for some unknown reason, he loved her.

She returned to Meredith's at 9 that night and had seriously thought about getting a hotel. Then she felt like she'd already been a jerk to Meredith all day, so maybe she could make it up to her. She called Meredith and asked her if she needed her to stop off and get some things.

"YES! I need a swing and a bath thing, and a bouncer seat, and a high chair, and some bath toys, oh and some regular toys and bath shampoo and that baby towel thing with a hood and." Cristina hung up on her.

She returned to the house with exactly 2 things for Meredith- a baby bath and a bath toy. She figured it was her job as Zola's sure-to-be-Godmother. Meredith was grateful but wanted to talk.

"I can't. I'm all talked out," lamented Cristina.

However, she did pipe in with, "I can't believe you kicked Alex out. He deserved it. Oh well, I'm totally taking his room. I probably should disinfect it first, but I'm dead tired. Good night." She fell on the bare mattress and immediately to sleep.

2 hours later, that pesky sciatic nerve again. You've got to be kidding me, thought Cristina. How is one supposed to function without sleep? She was ready to get in the car and buy an over the counter sleep aid but decided to try walking again. She didn't sleep again until 3 and then woke up at 5 with more back pain. This time, her walking took her straight to the bathroom, where she puked in the toilet 5 times. Hanging over the commode was not good for her sciatic nerve, and the puking (and lack of sleep probably) was making her shake. Then the tears fell.

Meredith was managing to calm Zola by patting her with her left hand while holding Cristina's hair with her right. "It's time to talk, Crissy."

Cristina let the nickname slide since she couldn't care about anything at this moment and lifted her head from the toilet and replied, shouting, "What the hell is there to talk about?" Tears were now free falling down her face as she once again returned to hug the toilet.

Meredith secured Cristina's hair with a pony and left the bathroom (and Cristina) alone. "What the hell is going on?" asked Derek. Meredith talked fast. "Short version- she's pregnant and is getting an abortion. Owen threw her out of the house. She can't sleep because her sciatic nerve's killing her, and nobody can get in the bathroom because she can't stop puking."

Without responding to Meredith, Derek turned around and left their bedroom. He showed up in the bathroom and pulled Cristina from the toilet by her hips. "I want you to eat these", shoving 2 saltine crackers into her mouth. "Keep your stomach filled but not stuffed. When you're up at night, eat. You understand?"

He called over Meredith, Lexie, April, and Jackson. Dutifully, they all packed into the bathroom. "I'm going to show all of you how to help ease her sciatic nerve pain. He then used Cristina for his example and explained precisely where to press and massage. Cristina was so relieved that, for a moment, she thought about stealing her best friend's husband.

"I called you in sick for this morning", explained Derek. "You need sleep. You can go in later." After the crowd dispersed, Derek dried her tears and told her to go back to bed. While she lay down, Derek did that magical thing he did in the bathroom, and she quickly fell back asleep. She woke up at 5 in the afternoon and realized that not only had she missed an entire day of work, but she had also missed that appointment.