Catherine Avery, MD

Meet the Folks || Catherine, Cristina, Jackson

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 21:40:00 -0500

Cristina took a deep breath, while thinking of an adequate answer. She knew that Catherine would eventually get to questions like that. And even though she wasn’t really comfortable with it, she knew she had to answer. She didn’t want Catherine to think that she was hiding something. “We weren’t supposed to get married in the first place. It was in the wrong time and for wrong reasons. But we found out too late,” she answered honestly, hoping Catherine wouldn’t ask about details. Even though it’s been some time since Cristina and Owen got divorced, it was still quite painful. She didn’t like thinking about her past with Owen. He hurt her too many times and she’d rather forget about it. Cristina hoped that after this question Catherine would move to something easier, but she was wrong. “You’re right. I am a very focused surgeon, but I can always find time for the things I lov- like.” She bit her tongue as she realized what she almost let slip out. She felt really nervous while talking to Catherine, but she remembered what Teddy told her. If Catherine knew how nervous she was, she would eat her alive. So Cristina had to at least pretend she was confident. “A few years ago Ellis Grey told me, that if I try enough I can have both. Career and love. So I’m trying.”

Catherine scoffed, “Ellis Grey.” She shook her head. “Ellis Grey,” she repeated a little louder. “Ellis Grey didn’t have both, now, did she? She was a magnificent surgeon; legendary, in fact. But that greatness came at a price and you have to know that. Trust me, I know that.” She didn’t mean to come across as rude but she had no faith that Cristina cared enough about Jackson to make it work. “You’re trying? You’re trying? And what makes you think that’s gonna be enough? What part of ‘trying’ sounds promising to your future!? You have a bright career ahead of you, I can see that. You’re a talented surgeon. You will be one of the greats. I don’t want to see you compromise your talent to ‘try’ having a relationship. And I most certainly don’t want my son to waste his time with someone who doesn’t care about him as much as he cares about them.”

Meet the Folks || Catherine, Cristina, Jackson

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:54:54 -0500

mdcristinayang:

Cristina was caught by a surprise when she saw Jackson’s mum in the doorway. She put on a polite, yet nervous smile and greeted her before joining Catherine at the table. She sent Jackson one more nervous glance, but he just smiled and continued to prepare the meal. Cristina took a deep breath, knowing that Catherine would probably ask her a lot of question and she was right. Just a second later she started to ask her about her family. It was not the best topic, since Cristina wasn’t really close to her family, but she had no choice. ”I grew up in California. Beverly Hills. Then I moved here because of work,” she said and bit her lower lip, not knowing what to say about her family. She liked them, but she wasn’t close to them. She didn’t need to see them every other weekend nor call them every day. When she was with them too often, they drove her crazy. So staying apart and meeting each other occasionally was better. “My family is… Complicated. I love my mother. And my step-father. But we’ve never been really close,” Cristina answered honestly, hoping it wouldn’t look like she wasn’t capable of feelings. Because she was. She just didn’t know how to show it.

Catherine nodded understandingly. She couldn’t really judge; she and Jackson weren’t too close when he was growing up. But she did suspect that Cristina’s personality was altered by that lack of closeness, thinking maybe Cristina wasn’t capable of committing to Jackson, to anyone. “So I don’t mean to invade, but I heard you were married? What exactly happened with that?” Catherine was grateful Jackson couldn’t hear the conversation; she was really grilling Cristina. “And your career? You seem so incredibly focused, I don’t know how you have time or passion for anything else? Do you even have time for anything else? For my son?” She asked, her voice sounding more accusatory than she meant to. But she knew how it was. She, too, was a dedicated surgeon and she compromised many relationships to focus on her career, even the one with Jackson.

Meet the Folks || Catherine, Cristina, Jackson

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:33:00 -0500

mdcristinayang:

After Jackson quickly introduced Cristina to his mother they left and let her come back to her work. But truth to be told, she couldn’t focus on anything at all. She was making up the worst scenarios about the upcoming dinner in her head, stressing herself even more. It was shortly after 5 o’clock when Cristina’s shift finally ended. She took a quick shower in the hospital and put on some light make up, trying to look as good as possible before heading to Jackson’s apartment. She could feel the delicious smell of Jackson’s food in the hallway outside the apartment and a small yet nervous smile appeared on her face. She lightly knocked on the door, taking a deep breath, trying to tell herself that everything was going to be okay. But was she right?

Catherine stood up at the sound of the knocking. She saw Jackson was about to go answer the door but then said, “No, you’re cooking. I’ll get it,” and she sauntered to the door. She smirked slightly before opening the door. “Cristina! So nice to see you!” Catherine made her way back to the table and asked Cristina to join her. Once they were both seated, she began interviewing Cristina, starting off simple with general questions. “So Cristina, where are you from?” and “What is your family like?” Of course, the questions weren’t going to stay as simple; Catherine planned to move on to more pressing things, about Cristina’s career and personal life. She just had to make sure that Jackson was too busy to hear her, so he wouldn’t stop her.

Meet the Folks || Catherine, Cristina, Jackson

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:41:02 -0500

Catherine arrived in Seattle at about 2:30, Tuesday afternoon. She met with Jackson at the hospital, after dropping her stuff off at his place. She was excited, to see her son and how his life has been. She heard about his newfounded relationship with Cristina Yang and she wasn’t entirely convinced. He kept telling her how happy he was, but she really thought he was supposed to be with April. He was knew April for years, April was his best friend. He told her that she’d have to accept the fact that he and Kepner did not work out, that he’d have to get used to Cristina being around for quite some time. So, she knew she had to at least try. After arriving at Seattle Grace Mercy West, Jackson soon led her to Cristina for a formal introduction. “Dr. Yang,” she started, “it’s surely nice to see you again.”