Ch. 2
Who said there wasn't going to be a ring? It just wasn't the right moment yet.
Burke found it hard to contain his excitement as he approached the on-call room. "Is there something I should know about what you said to them?"
"About what?" Agitation continued to dominate Cristina as Burke climbed up and touched her forehead.
He just messed everything up and embarrassed her in front of her friends! Why should she play nice and talk to him now?
"I thought there's a girl out there who wants to get married. I thought I could be of some help."
"This girl must be drunk and having a problem with making judgments. Who wants to get married these days?" Cristina reacted in such a way to downplay the desire sitting at the back of her head.
"Why not?" Burke smiled as he continued to play this game with her. "Doesn't every girl want a Prince Charming?"
"Well, not every man can be Prince Charming," Cristina was slowly letting her guard down as her voice trailed off.
Burke was amused by the pout that was still visible on her face. "There might be one who's waiting for you, just that you're too busy to notice."
The pout finally melted into a smile as Cristina poked her finger into his chest.
"Are you suggesting that you're as handsome as Prince Charming?"
"Nope," Burke said confidently. "I think I am better than that."
"You know, I am not the typical Cinderella. I hate fairy tales," Cristina gave him a lazy yet mesmerizing gaze. "I mean, how can you walk with such a pompous and useless dress without tripping over and breaking your hip?"
"Well, I figure we'll have to find a dress that wouldn't make you walk like a mermaid down the aisle."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Cristina sat up and looked at Burke with some uncertainty. Did he mean what she thought he was saying?
"We could wear scrubs." Cristina rolled her eyes in mischief.
"I am not sure if our mothers would like that."
"No. No mothers. No mothers allowed if I have to wear one of those disgusting white gowns," Cristina was very obstinate about that.
"That would be tough," Burke laced his fingers beneath his chin.
"You can't make everyone happy."
"You'll regret it some day when you're 70 and your grand-daughter asks you why her grandma never wore a huge fluffy white gown on that very special day."
After looking at his suspiciously for a few seconds, Cristina eventually relaxed her shoulders and said, "Whatever. You won."
"Seems like we've got one detail settled. Shall we move on?" Burke blew her a kiss at the back of her neck.
"Look, Mister, I don't have a very good sense of time; that doesn't mean you can make plans for something before you decide to pursue it."
Cristina really did want him to propose after all. Burke pulled her closer to him with one arm across her body from behind, feeling satisfied.
"I thought you already said yes when you told everyone."
"I can't say yes when there isn't a question posed to me," Cristina remained stubborn. "As Meredith said, sometimes we want to be treated like some freaking lady."
"I never noticed what a big influence Grey has on you," Burke burst into laughter. "Do you really want to be that lady?"
The stillness in the room was unnerving to Cristina. Why couldn't he just be a nice guy and make that one proposal without teasing her left and right?
"What do you say, Cristina?" Burke pushed harder for a response.
"If you want to ask me one simple question, do it now. I am not a patient person and you know that," Cristina jumped off the bed.
The woman was always full of surprise. How would he have imagined that she suddenly seemed to want to get married so badly?
"I don't know what you're talking about, Cristina," Burke was suppressing the giddy feeling rising from the bottom of his heart. "Why don't YOU ask me that question instead?"
"Fine. If you aren't gonna do it, neither will I," Cristina turned around and added, "Besides, even if you do ask, I don't guarantee you a yes."
"Even if you really want it?" Burke gently shook his head, the smile never leaving his face.
"I have good self-discipline," Cristina tried to sound like she was bragging about it.
"I guess you won't be interested in looking at this loop then," Burke was playing with that elegant piece of gold with his long and dexterous fingers.
The reflection from the ring blinded Cristina's mind. Her hand instinctively reached out, trying to catch the ring before he took it back. "That's sneaky!"
"That's called ingenious," Burke pondered on it for a moment and said, "Too bad this beautiful ring doesn't have an owner."
"I don't like rings," Cristina responded.
"Stop being difficult," Disregarding her pretense of displeasure, Burke snuggled her firmly. "If you want to hear something, you have to at least give me a chance to say it!"
A smirk spread on Cristina's face.
When Burke geared up his confidence again and was about to open his mouth, Cristina covered it with her hand and said, "Ok. I mean, yes."
Later whenever people asked them about the proposal, they always looked into each other's eyes and smiled.
Did it really matter whether it was spoken in words or something else?
Two months before she turned 30, Cristina marveled at how the rest of her life was suddenly mapped out perfectly. It amazed her how much she actually enjoyed and looked forward to spending the rest of her life with Burke.
The little girl was finally getting married. Cristina smiled in pride.
THE END
