Twenty Eight

What she was doing tonight was weird. Sure, on the surface, she was just visiting a colleague at his home. He was making dinner for her and another one of their colleagues. Then again this colleague just happened to be the guy who left her person at the altar, and he was her boss and teacher. To make matters even more interesting, the other colleague who happened to be her ex-boyfriend had convinced her to engage in this crazy wild plan, to get the original colleague and her person back together.

That was not weird at all.

The apartment building was only a block away from Cristina's apartment which was interesting. It was a very solid building, very Burke-like in its tallness and straightness. Yet when Meredith thought about it, it would have been rather odd if the building leaned. A doorman waved her in. His apartment was 5C. Meredith could not help, but hesitate before knocking. Here she was just standing outside the green door unable to raise her hand to know. What, she wondered, had caused this burst of paralysis? Suddenly, Derek pulled open the door.

Now, the opening of the door without her ever knocking was creepy and strange.

He pulled her inside. The smell of cooking greeted her at the door, and she inhaled deeply. Meredith could not even remember the last time she had a home-cooked meal. Burke had not noticed her yet. That was strange; usually, Burke, being a gentleman, would have been the one to welcome her into his humble abode or whatever. She was about to say hi to Burke when Derek shushed her. What the hell? Wait, did Burke not know she was coming. She would kill Derek. Seriously, kill him. Cristina would help her bury him on his land.

Derek pushed her behind a wall so she was hidden from the kitchen. "Why won't you let me say hi to Burke?"

"He doesn't know you're here or that you're coming." Derek tried to grin nonchalantly.

"So you just invited me to his apartment without telling him?" Way to go Derek really.

"Yeah, well, yes. So I need you to go back outside so I can tell him."

"Why did you open the door then?"

"I thought you were going to knock."

Derek peeked around the corner, checking to see if Burke was paying attention. When he was satisfied, he rushed Meredith back out the door and shut it softly. She wondered how long she would have to wait out here. Their voices were muffled from within. Derek was probably trying to use his "charm" on Burke, which would probably fail. Maybe she should just leave. After a few more minutes, Meredith turned to the elevators, but before she could walk further, Derek opened the door. Burke was back in the kitchen. He seemed a bit angry, but dealing with Derek generally gave one that look. Ever the gracious host, he greeted her and handed her a glass of wine.

The first time Meredith had been in the apartment, she had not had the time to really look around. It was very organized, but nothing near the immaculate his old apartment had been. The coffee table had a few books piled haphazardly on it. The coasters looked dusty and unused. A little disorder had apparently crept into Burke's life and stayed there. Inside the bedroom she could see the bed was unmade. Burke was not being perfectly OCD clean. Wow, Cristina had really gotten to him.

Meredith knew it was the same at Cristina's. Her books, though not organized in the Dewey Decimal System, were actually on shelves. There was less clutter around the apartment. It could not compare to Burke's apartment, of course, but still. Cristina was semi-clean. She was even using coasters. Okay, most of the time she forgot, but still she used coasters!

Violin music floated through the apartment. Was this the Eugene Foote CDs that he had taken with him? That reminded Meredith that she should not get to like Burke too much. She had to remember that he had left Cristina and he should be treated accordingly. Her smile became a frosty one. Derek noticed and frowned, but he did nothing to stop her. Not that he could have stopped her if he tried.

Dinner was spent in companionable silence, occasionally interrupted by hospital talk. Derek seemed to have no need to broach the Cristina/Burke thing while eating. Neither did Burke. At least it was not awkward. If Meredith actually believed in God she would be thanking her right now. Awkwardness really sucked. She hated it with such a passion.

When they were done and Burke had cleared away the dishes, Derek said, "So it's new plan time." He looked around. "Any ideas?"

Burke looked down, clearly a bit angry with Derek. Meredith did not bother to respond.

"I guess not. How about we work with that jealous rage thing? I'm sure Meredith is capable of stopping Cristina from murdering whoever we use."

"No." No way would that work with Cristina, Meredith thought.

"Why not? Last time she gave Preston coffee."

Meredith was sure of this. "It didn't mean anything."

"Right, of course it didn't mean anything. It was just coffee."

"Yeah it was just coffee." Okay, Meredith understood the coffee thing, but she knew Cristina and she knew that she was telling the truth about the coffee Cristina gave to Burke.

"You know that's not true."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not," she retorted, well aware of how childish they sounded. Whatever, she was going to win.

Derek pouted. "Yes."

"Now that we've decided you two are going to interfere in my life, I don't even get a say in it?" Burke had an amused smile. So he was amused by her and Derek? Har-dee-har-har Burke.

"I will not date another woman." In a softer voice he said, "She's the last woman I'll ever be with."

How was she supposed to be righteous best friend angry with Burke if he spent all his time saying things like that?

"Fine. We won't go with my idea. Let's see you two come up with something better." Oh, little boy was starting to pout. God, she could not remember why she had actually loved him.

"Bur-uh Pres….um anyways I think you should wait."

Derek seemed positively insulted which was all for the better."We already waited. He's not doing that again."

"He thinks that he can speak for himself." Derek looked apologetic.

"Not for too long, but right now she is very, very angry and Cristina doesn't forgive easily." Burke nodded. "Then you start chasing after her, doing whatever you guys liked to do, but for the love of god no elevators, no on-call rooms- no awkward uncomfortable dates."

"Elevators worked with you."

"Yeah, well Cristina has better taste than I do." Burke laughed at what she said.

"Just take it slow. She doesn't even know if she wants you back. I don't know if this will even work, but you can try or whatever."

"Thank you Meredith."