C for Coffee
Disclaimer: The characters (Burke, Cristina, Bailey, and Meredith) were created by Shonda Rhimes and are owned by ABC. No copyright infringement is intended.
Written on May 22, 2006. Set after the S2 finale, a continuation of my fan-fic "Pain"--Please review both :-) This one will be updated later...
At Seattle Grace loves coffee, well almost. Surgeons, interns, nurses… perhaps the patients too, that is, when they are not infirm. Coffee is not only a stimulant, but also a communication tool—to please your resident, flirt with your attending/intern, or show the hot-shot surgeon that you could be both a better friend and girlfriend than a woman (look at O'Malley!) They said some men actually fall for their secretaries because they make excellent coffee. The question is—are we born to be attached to coffee?
Cristina loved coffee, or at least everyone who knew her thought so. When Burke woke up the morning after the prom and saw the curled up body of his favorite woman beside his bed, instantly he wanted to shower her with love… and coffee.
"Good morning, Dr. Burke—"
"Shhh! Hi, Dr. Grey," Burke whispered when Meredith entered the room.
"Is there anything you want me to bring you?" Nobody asked Meredith to come but she wanted to make up for the fact that she committed a crime of happiness when her friends were in pain the night before.
Burke gave a warm smile and looked over Cristina before saying, "could you please get her a coffee? You know, no sugar, double-shot, her style."
Meredith was surprised he was in such a good spirit. He is a patient. People who are suffering ought to feel miserable and damaged, just like me.
I'm late again. Burke has already made coffee. Cristina, count to three and you'll wake up, ready? Cristina was talking to herself in her dream when that familiar smell went up her nostrils. When she opened her eyes and saw the coffee, she was confused.
Since when has Burke started working at Starbucks instead of making me his own coffee?
"Good morning, sleepy head."
"Oh."
"Where's your manner, Dr. Yang? You should say 'good morning', not 'oh'," Burke teased her, without being irritated at all.
"I'm sorry."
Cristina slowly remembered what happened the day before and she was a bit disappointed to realize that she would not be having Burke's home-made coffee for a while. When he first started making her coffee, she thought it tasted like water. What she wanted was something stronger, something that made her feel like a superwoman. Sipping her Starbucks coffee now, she actually wished she was having the water-like coffee in her traveling mug.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, Cristina." The enthusiasm in Burke winded down a bit as he thought about his injury. He was still troubled by it, but he did not want anything to break his spirit, not in front of the scared child sitting on his bed.
"What are you looking at?" Cristina blushed when she noticed that Burke fixated his soft brown eyes on her face.
"You know, Cristina, it's been a while since I last watched you finish your coffee—"
Cristina frowned. Was he about to fall into one of those melancholic speeches, reminiscing the good old past? Was he mad at her for rushing out of the house every morning with her traveling mug without giving him a long loving kiss?
"Right." Instead of over-interpreting the situation, Cristina covered her face with a smile.
Burke smiled back. He loved seeing Cristina's little girl smile. He wanted to tell her that was better than the Cappuccino George O'Malley made.
"Dr. Yang, I KNOW you're here. The Chief wants to see you. Now run!" Bailey broke the electric currents passing through the two pairs of brown eyes.
"Good morning, Dr. Burke, if you would please excuse Dr. Yang."
Burke knew he had to let the woman go, but he knew she would come back to him, the same way she needed her coffee every morning.
Cristina took a satisfying gulp of her coffee, rushed out of the room, only to rush back seconds later to give him a coffee-scented kiss on his belly before leaving again.
Next time, she would tell him why coffee alone was no longer enough.