Burke arrived home after his shift of fifteen hours at the hospital. He stopped suddenly as he entered the living room and felt a slight pain in his heart. He watched Christina as she cradled Jesse loving in her arms. He'd never seen this side of her ever before. She hummed a tune which sounded to him like a Korean lullaby and cooed to the baby. He stood still as images flashed through his mind of the baby they lost and it broke his heart.

Christina turned slowly as she felt a presence in the room. The facial expression of sadness and grief on his face made her heart break in two. He didn't say a thing, but gently took Jesse away from her and swayed back and forth for several minutes until the baby had fallen asleep in his arms.

Christina stepped back. She felt wetness on her face, as she brushed her fingers on her cheeks, only then had she realized it was tears. Meredith was a welcomed interruption as she joined them in the room.

"Burke, thank you so much for letting us stay here." She gently hugged him.

"Stay as long as you want, Meredith," he whispered as so not to wake little Jesse.

"Here, I'll take him into the bedroom, I'll be right back."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air. Burke took careful steps towards Christina as she looked up at him. No words were said as he drew her close and held on to her petite frame. She laid her head on his chest and embraced him tightly.

A few hours later, as Christina reported to work, she was amidst the talk of Addison's departure. She smiled to herself, thinking that bloody jerk didn't deserve someone like her. She surprised herself of that thought. Addison Shepherd was not one of her senior favorite doctors. She was partial to Burke, of course, but, given a choice of the two Shepherds and Bailey, who would she save in a matter of life or death situation? Probably Bailey, she told herself. Although, she hollered constantly at the interns, at least Christina knew where she was coming from, unlike the other two with their little secrets.

Derek walked out of his office and bumped into Christina. She could tell by the look on his face that he had a sleepless night. His McDreamy eyes did not look so dreamy. The whites of his eyes were redden and he sported a five o'clock shadow.

"Christina," he acknowledged her. "Do you have a minute?"

She half rolled her eyes. "This must be a Christina-Derek conversation which has nothing to do with hospital procedures. Something you need to talk about, Derek?" She accentuated on his name.

"Have you heard from Meredith lately?" He sounded pathetic.

"What is wrong with you? Your wife just walked out on you and already you're asking about Meredith? Addison was right to leave you! Do you just need a woman at your side at all times? Time to give that pecker of yours a rest!" Dr. Yang stomped away.

As Christina arrived home from work later that night, she peeked into the guest room at Meredith in bed fast asleep with Jesse snuggled in her arms.

After a long hot shower, Christina quietly slipped into bed. She let out a loud sigh.

"What's wrong?" Burke turned to her and laid his book down.

She rested her head on his chest. "Did you hear about Addison?"

"Yes, I did. She finally left Dr. Shepherd." He snickered, which was very unlike him.

Christina raised her head and sat up. "What was that about?"

"He came in several hours before his shift. I passed him in the hallway. Thought I'd be polite and acknowledge him, considering the talk all over the hospital. Dr. Shepherd, I say. He said something about why not I call him Derek, being that his ex-girlfriend's best friend is you. You know, we could call each other on a first name basis."

"So, what'd you say?" Christina asked as she gently rubbed his chest.

"I flatly said no. Like a child, he says but, you called Addison by her first name."

"Her, I like, you, I don't."

"He did ask about Meredith. His wife just left him!" Christina raised her voice.

"Uh-huh," was all he said.

"You know, Burke, I don't care for him, either, actually I really can't stand the sight of him...but, if Meredith decides she wants to be with him, be a fool to run back to McDreamy, we'd have to, for Jesse's sake, try to be a little nicer to him. God, I can't believe I just said that."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. He didn't chose her, what makes you think she'll run to him as soon as she finds out Addison's gone?" Burke asked as he pulled Christina closer into him. "She's stronger than she looks. I can't imagine having thanksgiving dinner with that man, christmas or any other holidays with him. We already see him at work, don't need him in our personal lives."

"Okay. I'm tired. So, do you mind? I think we've talked enough about Dr. Derek Shepherd for one night." Christina kissed him passionately as he fumbled for the off switch on the lamp.

Meredith had gotten up early to fix Jesse's bottle when she practically jumped to the sound of the telephone and nearly dropped the baby's formula. Immediately she ran and picked it up quickly as so the ringing would not wake the baby.

"Hello," she whispered.

"Uh, Dr. Yang?" Derek asked not quite sure if it was Christina.

The voice on the other end was a familiar tone to her. How could she not know who he was. It was only the father of her baby, the man who didn't choose her. He was the one who broke her heart into a million little pieces, the man she thought she loved more than life itself. But, that seemed like a long time ago. Jesse was now the love of her life. Meredith held her breath, exhaled slowly, then spoke softly.

"Hello, Derek."

TBC - Chapter 8