Title: Aftermath
Author: teenage-dirtbag
Summary: Meredith helps Cristina cope with Burke's sudden departure, while at the same time reflecting on her own life.
Parings: Meredith/Derek, Cristina/Burke
Rating: T

…

Meredith, moaning grumpily, hit the snooze button on the alarm clock. She got up, her eyes half closed, and fumbled for the doorknob to her bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged, organizing her thoughts and duties for the day. As she stepped outside the hallway, she bumped into Alex, who looked like he didn't get much sleep.

"Sorry," he mumbled before heading towards the bathroom. Meredith shook her head, concerned. As she reached the stairs, the delicious smell of baking muffins wafted upstairs. She shook her head again; Izzie was upset as well. Three glasses of milk stood at the counter as she went inside the kitchen; a basket of freshly baked muffins beside them. Meredith took a small sip of milk and dumped the muffin basket in a brown paper bag.

"Everything's here." Izzie said, handing Meredith another paper bag.

"Thanks, Iz." Meredith replied, smiling. She took another sip of milk and grabbed one of the corn muffins that littered the countertop. Just then, Alex stepped into the kitchen. Izzie glanced up at him, smiling sympathetically, although he didn't seem to notice. He took one of the blueberry muffins and started chewing on it, his eyes having that faraway look Meredith and Izzie noticed every time he was quiet.

"Have some milk." Izzie offered, moving the full glass closer. He incoherently said a thank you before gulping down half of the contents. A few minutes passed by as they ate in silence.

"I need to go now." Meredith said, glancing on the wall clock. She looked at Alex and Izzie, still eating quietly, and sighed. She grabbed the paper bags and her car keys and headed out the door, ready to drive to Cristina's apartment.

…

Cristina Yang stared up at the ceiling, feeling numb. She'd been crying over the past few days, and Bailey, concerned, gave her time off to rest. She didn't complain. She heard the front door open, and she directed her eyes to the living room of the small apartment she used to share with Burke. Tears stung her eyes at the very memory of him, and she let them flow freely down her cheek. Meredith peered inside the bedroom, seeing Cristina lying down.

"Come on, Cristina." Meredith said, walking to her and helping her up. "It's time for breakfast."

Like a sick patient, Cristina willingly obliged to Meredith's commands. She ate the muffins and the meal that Izzie prepared for her, and drank the supplements that Alex got from the pharmacy. Meredith watched her solemnly, wondering if Cristina would ever get over this. Seeing her friend so broken prompted her to fix her life, to mend the brokenness inside of her. She remembered the third night after the wedding…

Cold, Meredith shivered as she knocked forcefully on Derek's trailer. She tightened her jacket as she heard shuffling sounds and the opening of a door. Derek looked at her, confused. "Can I come in?" She asked. Derek didn't say a word, but opened the door for her. He just stared at her, seemingly unable to utter any words.

"Everyone's sad. Cristina's sad because her wedding got called off and Burke left, Bailey's sad because she lost chief resident, Izzie's sad because, well I don't really know, maybe weddings remind her of Denny. Alex's sad because Ava left, George's sad because he failed the intern exams, the chief is sad because he just lost a baby, Addison and Mark are sad because they lost the race for chief." Meredith gazed at him warmly. "I'm sad because my real mommy and my fake mommy's dead, my real daddy hates me and my fake daddy's the chief of surgery. You're sad because of me,"

"Meredith—"

"Everyone's sad right now. But you want to know what makes me smile despite all of this sadness? You. I love you, and I'm sorry if I made you think that you were losing me. Because you're not." Meredith's voice was breaking now, and she held on to the kitchen counter for support. "You are the only good thing in my life right now. And I'll always be here. But," Derek bowed his head, expecting a catch. "I need to take care of my friends right now. It's not fair that I'm happy with you while they're sad. They helped me when I was sad. They were there when you left me. Cristina, especially. Now she needs me, because she has no one else. They all need me."

Meredith caressed Derek's face and smiled at him lovingly. "I love you, and I'll always be here. But you have to let me take care of them first, okay? You're not losing me. Because frankly, I won't be able to handle everything without you here."

Derek smiled tenderly at Meredith, pulling her into a deep embrace and leaning in for a passionate kiss.

…Meredith smiled to herself, looking away. She watched Cristina again, who was staring at her with a curious expression while chewing on a muffin.

"Izzie baked again." Cristina said, which startled Meredith. Cristina rarely spoke after Burke left, crying instead to convey her emotions. "What's wrong?"

Meredith didn't want to burden her with their other friends' problems. "I don't know." She answered anyway.

"Oh." Cristina said, before taking another bite. The front door suddenly creaked open, and Cristina looked at it with a horrified expression. Meredith turned around and saw Dr. Burke standing there, holding his coat and a large, leather bag. She looked back at Cristina, whose face now showed anger and rage. Burke stood there, trying to understand what was going on.

"Cristina," He started.

"Cristina," Meredith said worriedly. She offered her hand to Cristina.

"I'll be fine, Meredith. Please go." She whispered, and Meredith walked slowly towards the door, closing it behind her.

…

"Cristina—"

"No!" Cristina said, her pent up anger releasing itself. "You walked out on me during our wedding day. I come back here, and find you gone. You left me." Burke opened his mouth to speak, but Cristina cut him off again. "What more do you want? I moved in. I helped you cover up your hand tremors. I agreed to marry you. I agreed to a traditional wedding. I agreed to wear a white dress. I became less selfish to please your mother. I even let her shave off my eyebrows! I struggled to write wedding vows. I gave you everything," fresh tears spilled out of Cristina's eyes, "and you couldn't give me what I wanted."

"What did you want?" Burke asked.

"You," She breathed. "I wanted you. I sacrificed so much, and I didn't care, because it would get me you. And you left me."

Burke took a step closer. "But I'm here now. I—"

"No. Just," she said, walking towards the door, "no."

Cristina took a deep breath, feeling lighter for the first time in a week. She let the tears fall as she walked out, seeing Meredith leaning beside the car anxiously. Meredith stood up when she saw Cristina, and took her in a sisterly embrace. Cristina sighed heavily, leaning her head on Meredith's shoulder. She knew things were far from okay. She was angry and sad and still hopelessly in love with Burke at the same time. But all that mattered now was that he'd come home. She knew that things would eventually get better because he was here again. She looked at the car, then at Meredith.

"Come on," Cristina said, wiping the tears from her face. "We're going to be late for work."

…

A/N: This two-part story will center on Meredith and Cristina and how they deal with things, since Meredith and Cristina's finale sucked. We fans can do nothing but write fanfiction and hope for the better. PLEASE REVIEW:D