Cry, Cry, Cry
It was hot. Gross hot. California hot. She hated this weather. Sliding her sweater off she couldn't believe she was actually here.
The sun was gone and his last surgery had ended two hours ago. Groaning she stood from the bench she was sitting on and headed towards his office. It was dark except for the lamp that glared on him and the file he was reading.
"Working hard." She whispered after standing in the doorway and not being noticed.
Jerking up from the file he was reading he was in utter disbelief. It was her, Cristina. "I'm I interrupting." she asked after he just kept sitting there and staring at her not saying a word.
"Cristina?" he asked unsure if he was still awake or if it was a cruel dream.
"Yup it's me." She replied nervously. He didn't look happy to see her. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Slowly he stood from his chair and walked towards her. It felt real but he had to touch her to make sure. Taking her hand he led her to the couch in his office. "What are you doing here?" He smiled, that was a good sign. He wasn't too mad about seeing her.
"How've you been?" she asked avoiding his question. She slowly realized that she didn't think this all the way through.
"I'm okay… Been working hard" he answered his smile fading.
"You're chief of surgery. Congratulations."
"Thanks. Ahh what are you doing here?" he asked again anxious to know. "Not that I'm not happy to see you because believe me I am. I'm just curious to know why." He was talking fast and it was so unlike him but he couldn't help it.
Letting out a sad smile she decided to rip the band-aid off. "I need closure."
"What?"
Pulling out two diamond rings from her pocket she held them in front of them. "I need closure." This was harder then she thought. "There is this guy I've been seeing and he asked me to marry him. I kept telling myself that I was over what happened between us but I just need to know that I'm not going to screw this up like I did with you."
The dream feeling was long gone and it started to feel like a nightmare. "You didn't screw anything up. He said swallowing the lump in is throat. Any happy reunion he pictured was just a fantasy. She had someone else.
"You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings. I have to know the truth. What made you decide that you didn't love me anymore?"
Looking into her eyes he realized just how much he hurt her, she actually believed he stopped loving her. "I never stopped loving you." He said firmly. "Me leaving. Us not being together now is my fault. I got scared and ran way."
"What could you have possibly been scared of?" she asked confused. She expected him to tell her it was because she didn't cook or was too messy.
"That you'd just leave me one day. That you would consider our marriage a mistake and just walk away." He let out a sad laugh. "I see the irony now."
"But I did everything that you wanted. The dating, the moving in and the wedding. After all that you still thought I'd leave?"
"I knew that you didn't want all that stuff but you did it for me. I wanted you to want it. I didn't want to be married and still have to push you. I knew that if I kept pushing you that eventually I'd just be pushing you away."
"I did want all that stuff. I just didn't want to make a big deal about it." she said with a sad smile.
"I get it now." Burke nodded. "Are you happy?"
It was Déjà vu. "Yeah I'm happy. He's a great guy."
"He must be if you love him." Tucking the curls in her face behind her ear he fought the urge to kiss her.
She was suddenly aware of her surroundings. It was dark and she was alone in a room with the man she once loved. And he was looking at her and touching her. She could hear every breathe they took. His eyes were darting from her eyes to her lips and his fingers gently caressed her check. Was he thinking about kissing her?
She wanted that kiss. One last goodbye to Preston Xavier Burke before she left to go spend the rest of her life with Owen Hunt.
"I should go" she muttered when she realized nothing had been said for several minutes and they were just staring at each other. Before she was able to fully stand up from the couch, Burke grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back down. "Have dinner with me?"
Doing her best to hold back tears she gently placed the diamond ring he'd given her six years ago into the palm of his hand. "I can't I have to go. I have to say yes to a marriage proposal. I can't lose him. It took me so long to trust him with my heart."
She wiped away a single tear the rolled down Burke's face. "It's too late for us. But I want you to be happy. Get married and have kids because I know that you'll be amazing at it.
Shutting his eyes he pulled her closer and crushed his lips against hers. It was a soft, gentle kiss that lasted longer then either of them had intended it to.
Her fingers touched down on the smoothness of his cheekbones and she gently pushed their lips apart. With one final look she walked out of his office with the closure she needed to move on with her life and be Owen.