A/N: AU. Dr. Owen Hunt meets law associate Cristina Yang on a blind date.

Dr. Owen Hunt hated blind dates.

Since coming back to Seattle, his social life had been in the doldrums. He had not met anyone that he would even remotely consider dating, let alone entering into a full-blown relationship. Not that he had much opportunity, the only people he met were at the hospital and he hadn't met anyone who had turned his head.

His friend, Steve Johnson, offered to set him up. Steve, who was a partner at a law firm, said he had the perfect woman for him to meet. "She's younger than us, a law associate, just two years out of law school. She's just 27. But what man complains about dating a younger woman, right?"

"Unless she is an airhead," Owen said. "When they can't carry a decent conversation, that's when you run far, far away from them."

"This one is no airhead, my friend. IQ of 150. Her name is Cristina Yang, originally from California. Went to Stanford Law. JD/MBA joint degree. Blessed with the best head of hair this side of the Mississippi. Really attractive. If I weren't happily married to Penny, I would have asked out myself. The kid is a spitfire," Steve said.

"And what did you promise the young lady to go out on a date with me?" he asked.

"Nothing. I told her you were a handsome doctor, just back from the war and you were head of trauma at Seattle Grace," he said. Owen was skeptical, so Steve added, "I also promised her a juicy case she can work on."

"That's more like it," Owen said. "I hope that the young lady turns out to be interesting. So far, all the dates I have had have been total disasters. There has been nobody I have yet wanted to ask out on a second date.

"I am 35 years old and my mom keeps asking me when I am going to bring a nice girl home. I think she is hoping that her only son produces grandchildren for her. The truth is I have reached a stage in my life where I am really looking to get into a committed relationship."

"Well, I can't promise that you're going to get a second date or a committed relationship out of this. But I do think that you will find Cristina very appealing," Steve said.

"Now, you have me really intrigued. I will call her and invite her out," Owen said. "Give me that number."

Back at his office at the hospital, Owen pulled out the paper with Steve's unmistakable chicken scrawl. He cleared his throat before he dialled the number.

A crisp, business-like voice answered after three rings, "Rosenblatt, Withers & Johnson. This is Cristina Yang. How may I help you?"

"Hello, Cristina. This is Dr Owen Hunt. Did Steve Johnson mention you to me?" he asked.

"Yes, Dr. Hunt. Mr. Johnson said that I would receive a call from you? Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Where and when would you like to meet?" she asked.

He was a bit surprised by her forwardness.

"I was thinking Tulio's downtown. Is that okay with you? 8 p.m. tonight," he said.

"That's fine. I will see you there. I will be wearing red," she said. "Goodbye. See you then."

With that, Cristina hung up the phone. Just one date with Johnson's homely friend and she could get that her hands on the Warwick case. He had to be homely if Johnson was setting him up on a date.

She had been at this prestigious law firm for a little under two years and was determined to move up. Two years at this firm and she had only been working on these petty cases. She wanted bigger and better cases. Her record over the past two years had been impeccable. She had not yet worked on a losing case. She was going to be a superstar at this law firm.

She wondered what she was going to wear. She had arbitrarily said the color red because it was her favorite color. It always made her feel powerful. She headed out of the office and back to her house to get ready for her date.

At 7.45 p.m., Owen Hunt was sitting at his table at Tulio's, awaiting a woman he had never met before. He kept staring at the door, scrutinizing every woman that came into the restaurant, wearing any semblance of red.

Cristina arrived exactly at 7.59 p.m. She had hoped to arrive a little earlier but the taxi got caught in a traffic jam. She entered the door and headed straight to the hostess to ask for Dr Hunt's table. Fortunately for her, she did not feel a pair of piercing blue eyes boring into her or she would have been very uncomfortable. He knew immediately that it was her and he let out a little gasp.

Steve was right about her having the best hair west of the Mississippi. It was long and curly and very dark, providing a sharp contrast to her porcelain face. The red long-sleeved knit dress hugged every curve and was quite short to show off a great pair of legs, in addition to being a little low cut to the front, exposing the smooth, flawless skin of her décolletage and neck.

Cristina had decided to go all-out sexy on this date. The chances were that she probably would never see this guy, again, so she might as well give him a little thrill.

She followed the hostess, as she led her to Dr Hunt's table. She let out a little gasp. "You have got to be kidding. This cannot be Dr. Hunt. This is no homely specimen. This gorgeous hunk of a man is Dr. Hunt. Wow," she thought. "This man was not the type that needed to be set up on a date. He could blink and there would be women lining up for him."

She started second-guessing her dress choice. "My dress is too short and cut too low and is a little too snug everywhere. Jeez, I must look desperate," she thought.

Little did she know that Owen was fully appreciating her dress choice. "My God, this girl is amazing. Why did Steve not set me up sooner?"

He stood up to greet her as the hostess showed her to the table. "Hello, Cristina. I am Dr. Owen Hunt."

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Hunt," Cristina said, as she took his hand and shook it. He immediately went to her side of the table and pulled out her chair for her. "Thank you," she said, as she sat down.

"So what would you like to drink?" he asked, as he called over the waiter to their table.

"Some white wine would be nice," she said.

"White wine for the lady and I will have another scotch on the rocks," Owen told the waiter.

As the waiter left, Owen said, "You can stop calling me Dr. Hunt. It's Owen."

"Okay, Owen," Cristina said. "So how do you know Mr. Johnson?"

"Steve and I go way back to high school. He was a senior and I was a freshman and he took me under his wing and helped me through my first year of high school, for which I am grateful. I was a terribly geeky kid and he kept the bullies at bay. He went off to college after that but we have kept up the friendship for 20 years. He's a good friend," Owen said.

"I can hardly believe that you were a geeky guy, Owen," Cristina said, smiling.

"Oh, yes, I was. I was the quintessential 90-pound weakling and people picked on me all of the time. Steve started taking me to the gym to build up my muscles and luckily for me, I grew six inches between freshman year and sophomore year. So with my increased height and bigger muscles, I filled out in all of the right places," he said.

"Well, you certainly did," Cristina said. She was horrified that those words just came out of her mouth. She thought, "Oh, my God, what the hell is wrong with me? Did I just say that aloud? I was supposed to think that, not say it."

He smiled, especially at how flustered she looked after she said it.

"Tell me about yourself, Cristina," he asked.

"California born and bred. Went to Stanford for both undergraduate and law school. When I was little, I decided I was going to be on the Supreme Court, one day, so I needed to be in law school to be able to do that. Have been in Seattle for nearly two years, when I got the job at the law firm. I am an only child and my parents still live in LA," she said.

"Well, I am from Seattle, born and bred here. My family's house is not too far from here I am also an only child. Went to med school at Harvard, served in Iraq and came back to join Seattle Grace as the Head of Trauma. Love the adrenaline rush of trauma. It makes me feel alive," he said.

The waiter brought their drinks and took their order. For their main course, Owen ordered the wild salmon, while Cristina ordered the rib eye steak. He was surprised at her order, given her very slim build. He liked the heartiness of her appetite, given that many women he had dated, would just order some sort of salad for the night, when they probably wanted to order something much more substantial. Cristina obviously had no pretensions of that sort. He certainly liked that.

"So, now that we know all the background stuff about each other, is this the point where I ask about your favorite color and your horoscope sign?" she asked.

"Ha, ha," he grinned. "First dates can be a bitch, aren't they?"

Cristina was taken aback, "Did he just say first date? This was supposed to be one and only kind of thing," she thought. "Does this mean there is a second date?"

Owen could have just kicked himself. He could not believe that he just said first date. "Am I going to scare this girl away even before we even get started?" he thought.

She answered, "Yes, they can be. So what drew you to medicine, Owen?"

He was glad that she did not dwell too much on his first date slip. "My dad was a doctor and my mom was a nurse. I kinda grew up into it. I literally grew up in the hospital. It just seemed a natural fit to me and I could see how much good my parents did for their patients. I wanted to do the same," he said.

"Well, you're a lot more altruistic than I am, Owen. I guess that's why you served in Iraq," she answered.

She added, "You may be disappointed in me, Owen. I think that I am sometimes blinded by my own ambition. My goal is to be the best damn lawyer I can be. That is so far from being altruistic."

He replied, "Why sell yourself short? I am sure in your own way what you do helps other people."

She scoffed a little, "Don't you know who I work for? Rosenblatt, Withers and Johnson, defender of the corporate fat cats of the world. Surely, your friend, Mr. Johnson, has told you of the work that we do. We help the greedy corporations of the world when they get themselves in trouble, usually screwing some poor town out of potable drinking water or something heinous like that."

"You don't seem to be too enamored by your clientele," Owen said.

"I am not. I know exactly who they are and what they stand for. But I am still going to the best job that I possibly can for them," she said. "Is that wrong?"

"No, everyone is entitled to a good defense. The question is that what you want to be doing for the rest of your life," he asked.

"I don't know. I am only a second year law associate. I do what they tell me to do," Cristina said. Since she probably would not see this man again, she figured she might as well be honest. He found her honesty very refreshing.

"Well, you're young. You can always change your mind when you want to do something else," Owen encouraged.

"I do realize what working at my law firm can do for me. It is one of the best in the country. If I establish myself there, I would probably be set for life, possibly even make partner if I am really good," she said. "But some of these corporate clients are so sleazy, I wouldn't want to invite them into my home.

"Yet, I still defend them. On the one hand, there is my burning ambition to be the best at what I do. On the other hand, I wonder if my ambition is blinding me from choosing the side which I think would help the greater good. I feel so conflicted, sometimes," she added.

Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter bringing in their orders. Cristina was particularly pleased by her rib eye. "Yum," she said. "I am so starved." She grinned.

"Bon appetit," he said, as they both started on their meal.

"This is so good," Cristina said, between bites. He was amused to see her launch into that rib eye like it was her last meal.

They ate mostly in silence because they were both so hungry. When he suggested dessert, she asked for a large slice of strawberry cheesecake. Where she put all that food, he could not tell.

He was a little disappointed when the dinner was over and he had to take her home. He wished the night would have been longer. He drove to her house and he walked her to her door.

She turned towards him to bid him goodbye. "It has been good to meet you, Owen. I am sorry that I may not have made the best impression. But I still hope that you had a reasonably enjoyable time." She put out her hand to shake his.

He looked at her outstretched hand and then stared into her eyes, "May I kiss you instead?" he asked. She looked surprised but she nodded. She closed her eyes and waited for the light brush of his lips against her own.

If she was expecting a little smack on the lips, she was sadly mistaken, he thought. He took her face into his hands and started softly kissing those full, pink lips, waiting for her to respond to him. When she started kissing him back, he crushed those lips under his in a deep liplock. She opened her mouth to accept his tongue, as their kisses deepened and became even more urgent.

Cristina never really expected to end the night, kissing a man she barely knew on her doorstep. Yet, it was obvious that they had a very strong physical chemistry. She started to feel weak in the knees and would have collapsed if he had not been holding on to her.

When they finally broke off their kiss, he again gazed into her eyes, "Can I see you again?"

She had no words. She just nodded.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW. REVIEWS ARE LOVE.