Baby It's You
Grey's Anatomy Cristina/Burke fanfic-Chapter 3
Author: greyeyedgirl
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own and I'm not affiliated with Grey's Anatomy.
Summary: Chapter 3 is up, and Cristina & Burke learn about parenthood.
"Ready?"
"Mamma."
"Okay." Burke opened the door, carefully leading Cristina and the baby into their house. "See this, Preston? This is where we live. Do you like it?"
Cristina laughed as Burke cooed at baby Preston. "You know he has no idea what you're saying, right?"
Burke smiled at her. "Well, he has to learn."
They walked through the hallway and past the living room and turned to go up to the stairs, making their way to the baby's bedroom. Baby Preston cooed as Burke opened the door to the bedroom and laid him gently in his crib. Preston reached his hand out, poking with his right index finger the teddy bear laying in the large metal crib with him. "Do you like that, Preston? That's your teddy bear. When you're bigger you can come up with a cool name for him." Burke continued to sweet-talk the baby as Cristina took a step back and watched them.
It was a nice picture, seeing him bent over their baby, and she did feel happy, delirious even, that they were starting a family. But she still felt weird about it. She knew she'd acted softer when she'd went into labor, and know she felt back to her old self. Sort of. She'd heard that motherhood could change a person, Bailey was living proof of that. But she was still amazed at how different everything suddenly was. There was Burke, looking at their little boy like he was the most amazing thing in the world. She'd seen him look at her like that. He turned around and looked at her, and she forced a smile. "Want to play with him?" He asked.
Cristina took a few small steps forward, and looked down into the crib. Preston really did look like his dad. She smiled at him, and he made a gurgling sound. "Hi," she said quietly. She could see Burke grinning at her from the corner of her eye. She scooped the baby out of the crib and bounced him a little in her arms, smiling at his laugh. Preston reached his arm back toward the crib, and Cristina picked up his teddy bear and handed it to her. "Are you hungry?" She asked. Preston looked at her, and Burke handed her a bottle from the big baby bag they'd lugged home. Cristina put the bottle in Preston's mouth, and Preston made little slurping noises as he drank the milk. "You were hungry, weren't you," Cristina said quietly. Preston drank most of the bottle and Cristina sat it on the changing table, next to a bottle of baby powder. Preston made a little yawning noise, and Cristina moved to set him in his crib.
With that, Preston started to wail, and Burke, who had turned slightly to start reorganizing the changing table, spun around to look at him. Cristina had already picked him back up, and looked at Burke, anxious. "What do we do?"
She needn't have asked, though. The second she picked him back up, his crying had faltered, and he stopped after a second. Cristina looked at him. "I think," Burke said gently, looking slightly amused, "He doesn't want to go to sleep by himself."
Cristina shot him a dirty look as she slowly rocked Preston back and forth in her arms. Preston yawned again and started to close his eyes. Cristina rocked him for a few moments, before, after making sure he was asleep, setting him back down in his crib. She looked at Burke. "I'm exhausted."
Burke nodded at her, looking tired. "Me, too." They walked a few meters down the hall, opening the door to their bedroom. They changed into their pajamas in silence, lying down on the bed together. "I took tomorrow and the next day off. I can take more off if you need me too, though." Cristina shrugged against his shoulder, leaning her head against him. He wrapped his arm around her. "I'll probably be taking more time off, so we can check out daycare centers together and stuff."
"We have to do it soon. I want to be back at work by next week." Preston bent his head to look at her. "Yeah. Right."
"I do!"
"You just had a baby."
"So?"
"So, you can go back in a few weeks."
Cristina sat up in bed. "A few weeks?"
"Yes. I'm the Chief, I said so."
Cristina stared at him.
Burke sat up the rest of the way and looked at her. "I thought you were tired."
"I am. But I want to go back to work."
"Cristina-"
"No-Burke!"
Preston leaned towards her and rested his hand on her face. "You're tired. You had a baby. We had a baby. We have to get used to having a kid, period, before we can throw 32-hour shifts into the deal."
Cristina looked at him quietly, but sighed, resigned. "Fine. But only 3 weeks."
Preston sighed, too. "3 weeks." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, before laying back down, pulling her gently towards him. "Night," she murmured, kissing his forehead.
"Night."
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76 hours later, Cristina groaned in bed at the sound of a baby crying. Burke rolled over in bed, rubbing his eyes. "I think it's your turn," she whispered.
He groaned and went to sit up, but Cristina got up anyway. "It's fine," she murmured, still tired. "I'll get him."
She stumbled, still half-asleep, down the hall towards Preston's room. She opened the door and picked up the screaming baby from his crib. "Shhh," She murmured, patting him on the back. "Are you hungry? Do you need your diaper changed?" Preston continued to cry as Cristina did a quick diaper check and, finding him clean, carried him into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and picked out a bottle, before setting it in the microwave to warm up. Preston leaned his head against her shoulder, his crying quieter. "Shhh, it's okay," she said again, running her fingers over his hair. Preston's hand came up, and he started to feel her hair too. He pulled lightly on a curl, before letting go and watching it spring back into a perfect curl. He giggled, delighted. Cristina smiled at him, taking the bottle from the microwave and offering it to him. Preston drank a little, but stopped quickly and began to cry. "Shhh, it's okay. Don't cry." Cristina took hold of one of his hands, letting him squeeze her finger. He blinked at her several times, obviously getting tired again. She took him back to his bedroom, the light blue walls looking eerie in the dark, and turned on a small CD player Burke had set into the room. She pressed play, and a soft music came out, as Preston closed his eyes and yawned. She sat down on a chair with him, rubbing his short hair and leaning forward to kiss his forehead. "Nighty-night, Preston," she said quietly, setting him down in his crib and removing her finger from his grasp. She put his teddy bear into his arms, listening to the small steady breathing noises he made as he slept. She turned quietly around, and jumped. "Hey," Burke said quietly. "Hey," she said, still tense from him sneaking up on her. "You were great," he murmured. She smiled lightly. "Yeah?" "Yeah."
Cristina and Burke were quiet for a few moments, as they stood together and looked at the sleeping Preston. His breathing was rhythmic, and his eyelashes fluttered as he slept. He led her quietly back to their own room, turning off the light in their bedroom,. They kissed each other lightly before going to bed.