Rainbows on the Sidewalk
By greyeyedgirl
C/B fic, of course. :D
Summary: C/B fic. Set a few years into the future, read to find what it's all about.
Cristina and Burke had "officially" been a couple for almost 3 and a half years. The house they'd moved into was nice, but not we're-rich-doctors-ish. It was comfortable, and they were happy.
Their daughter had just turned two, and she was the splitting image of her parents, with Burke's natural good-looks, but Cristina's shy smile and unruly hair.
"Daddy, are you operating this weekend?"
McKayla liked to try out new words, and was proud of saying "operating" as opposed to just "working." The word stuck on her tongue for a moment after it left her mouth, and she clicked her teeth. Op-errrrr.
"On Sunday, but not on Saturday. Mommy and I took it off, we thought we'd take you to the park. There's a carousel horse there, you know." He lifted her off the rocking horse and kissed the top of her hair, which was held in place by a large purple scrunchie.
"Yay!" McKayla exclaimed, grinning at her father. "I like horsies," she said, smiling.
"I know you do," Burke said, bouncing her a bit in his arms and making her giggle. "That's why when you're big enough you can take lessons."
"Daddy, I'm big enough nowww."
Burke kissed her quickly on the forehead. "You will be eventually. You just have to wait a little bit."
McKayla pouted briefly, but it turned into a smile a few moments later. "When's Mommy coming home?"
"She'll be here in a little bit. I have to get dinner started, do you want to be my big helper or do you want to go read your book?"
McKayla paused, obviously trying to decide. Burke laughed, watching the young girl struggle. "How 'bout you get the book out of your room, then you can read to me while I get the water going."
"Okay!" McKayla exclaimed, happy for the compromise. "I'll be right back," she stated, as Burke set her gently on the ground. He could hear her hurrying to her room as he filled a large pan with water and set it on to boil.
"Daddy, I'm back!" Burke turned around to grin at her, holding his hand up for a high-five. "Can you read me its title?" He asked. She inspected the book closely.
"The Cat in the Hat." She giggled. "That's a funny name."
Burke laughed. "It sure is. What do you think it's going to be about?"
McKayla squinted her eyes, deep in thought. "Maybe the cat is wearing the hat?"
Burke leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Such a little smarty-pants I've got here."
McKayla beamed at the praise, sitting down at the table and opening the book.
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"So did Micki have a good day?" Cristina asked, taking the earring out and shaking her hair as she inspected herself in the mirror.
"Yes. I bought her 'The Cat in the Hat' and she read almost the whole thing to me. And we practiced writing our letters after that."
Cristina smiled in spite of herself. "Sorry I had to work late. We got this case brought into the pit-"
Burke shrugged, smiling. "It's fine. McKayla and I had fun."
Cristina picked up her brush and started combing her hair as Burke came and stood behind her in front of the bathroom mirror. "We're still on for this weekend?"
"Yep. I told McKayla about it, I think she's excited."
Cristina smiled. "Good. It seems like forever since we all spent the whole day together."
Burke put his hand on her waist, turning her so they were facing each other and kissing her forehead. "Do you think we should tell her?"
Cristina shrugged. "We have to sometime. Obviously. And better sooner than later." Burke nodded. "Yes," he agreed.
"So Saturday?"
"How do you think she's going to take it?"
Cristina paused to consider. "I'm not sure. We might have spoiled her a little bit, and I don't know how she's going to react."
Burke nodded. "She'll get used to it, though. But it's a big adjustment."
Cristina nodded. "Yes. But who knows? Maybe she'll be excited."
Burke smiled, kissing her quickly, as they both pretended not to know what they already did.
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"Mommy, look! A worm!" Cristina jumped, feeling herself acquire distance from the long slimy animal in her daughter's hand. "Put that down, McKayla. It's yucky."
McKayla widened her small hand, letting the worm crawl over it. "He's cool. I want to name him Henry." She paused, examining it. "I wonder what's inside him."
Burke made a choking sound into his coffee, before wiping his mouth with his hand. "Sweetie, do what Mommy said. Worms are yucky. Look at you, you're getting all dirty." McKayla's freshly pressed jeans were wrinkled, and the white sweater her parents had put on her that morning had turned a murky gray. "Daddy, I like him."
"Don't you want to do something fun? Me and Daddy'll push you on the swings again. Or you could ride the carousel or go down the slide..."
McKayla was studying the sidewalk intently. "Look how pretty it is," she said, pointing. "There's rainbows."
Cristina looked down at the sidewalk, where the early morning's rain had caused the sun to set into different colors. "Those aren't exactly rainbows, Mcka-"
"Yes, they are. Look at the colors. They're so pretty."
Burke smiled at his daughter, picking her up and sitting her on his lap on the bench. "It is pretty." She looked up at him and smiled, the splitting image of Cristina, except with skin a few shades darker. "Are you about ready to go home, McKayla? Mommy rented the Princess Diaries movie you wanted to see. Plus, me and Mommy have to talk to you."
McKayla looked up at him with big, wide brown eyes. "How come?"
Burke stood up, gently nudging her off of him. "We'll talk about it when we get home. Come on. We can stop for ice cream."
"Yayyyy," McKayla said, as Burke hoisted her up into his arms and kissed her forehead, as Cristina, Burke, and McKayla headed into the parking lot.
