Kristen Peterson is a strong and independent woman who owns her own business, lives alone, and is comfortable with a long-distance relationship in which she only sees her boyfriend two weeks out of the year. She rarely lets herself be vulnerable enough to cry or admit her true feelings to others. She is very witty, but her sense of humor often functions as armor that protects her from potential emotional pain.

Kristen also suffers from debilitating pain during her periods, which last three weeks. This pain is caused by fibroids in her uterus. She is planning to have a hysterectomy and is reluctant to tell Sloan because she doesn’t want to detract from Sloan’s wedding festivities. She also resists telling Josh, but meanwhile, she agonizes over the tension between her attraction to him and her refusal to deprive him of the family that he so earnestly wants to have someday. Because of her health condition, she thinks that she could never bear his children.

Her internal struggles reveal that she is willing to sacrifice her own comfort and happiness for the people she loves, but eventually, she lets go of some of her inhibitions and allows Sloan and Josh to support her.