Meet the Parents

chapter 3

greyeyedgirl.

"Good morning."

"Mmmmm."

Burke laughed softly. "I let you sleep in. It's almost eight o'clock."

Cristina allowed herself to sink into his embrace, smiling as he tightened his arms around her. "That was very generous of you."

"I like to think of myself as a generous person."

"Don't get cocky with it," Cristina teased, letting out a soft yawn. "I'm hungry."

"Mom's still here, she made eggs and bacon. I told her how you can't eat pancakes, they make your stomach hurt-" He frowned. "I know you're Jewish so you're not supposed to eat pork, but I've seen you eat hot dogs, so I figured you must be okay with bacon."

Cristina laughed. "I think I'll survive eating a strip or four." Burke smiled, sinking his face into her hair. "Mmmm. Your hair smells great."

Cristina grinned, as Burke wrapped his hands onto her stomach, feeling her soft abdomen under her shirt. "My shampoo. It's Herbal Essences."

"I like it."

Cristina smiled. "So are we going to see your happy place today?"

Burke laughed. "Yes. If you still want to."

"Tell me about it."

"It's...by a lake. It's very beautiful. Peaceful." That was the word. Peaceful.

"Come on. Let's get up. I'm starving."

"G'morning, Cristina. Did you sleep well?" Samantha Burke smiled at the short woman, taking in Dr. Burke's approving glance, as the two doctors came into the room.

"Um, yeah. Did you?" Cristina glanced up at the older woman, taking a seat at the table.

"Yes. So what are you two kids planning to do with your last day here?" Sam asked, sitting a large plate loaded with edibles in front of each of Cristina's and Burke's places.

"Burke is going to show me a place by the lake. Wow, Mrs. Burke, this looks great." Sam beamed down at her, turning to turn off the stove. "Thank you, Cristina." She paused, picking up the plate from where she had obviously finished eating just minutes before. "I'm going to get back to the restaurant, poor Lydia, her son caught mono, so I've got full reign over the restaurant again. I'll be back about 4, though, so we can spend your last few hours together."

"Sounds great, Mom," Burke said, looking at her significantly. Sam smiled.

"I've already got it, Preston."

Burke let out a breath of relief, but Cristina looked up from her toast, confused. "Gowat?"

She covered her mouth, chewing then swallowed, then repeated.

"Got what?"

Burke smiled. "Never mind. Nothing important." Cristina frowned at him, unsure, but when Burke and Sam merely smiled demurely, she shrugged hesitantly, going back to her food.

"I'd better be off. I'll see you this afternoon. Love you, Preston. See you, Cristina." Sam bent quickly to kiss her eldest son good-bye, sending Cristina a knowing smile.

"Bye, Mom. Love you."

"See you, Mrs. Burke."

"Come on, Burke. Is the blindfold really necessary?"

Burke smiled, inside his mother's other car, turning carefully to drive down the one-way dirt road. "You'll like it, I'm sure of it. It's really beautiful."

"I feel like Helen Freakin Keller."

Cristina paused. "Hey, wasn't she from around here? Hellen Keller was Southern, wasn't she?"

Burke sighed. "Yes." He smiled at her again.

"Are we almost there?"

Burke shut off the ignition with a fast force, hearing the engine slowly falter, then cease to noise. "We are there."

"You're kidding. Already?"

Burke laughed. "I used to walk here as a kid. So it couldn't have been too far from home. Sometimes I rode my bike, but I never really liked riding on this dirt road."

"Yeah. So, can I get the blindfold off now?"

"Yes," Burke laughed, reaching forward to unwrap the small bandanna wrapped around her eyes. For a moment Cristina didn't say anything, as she stared down at her seat belt, focusing on the buckle. She pressed the button to unhook the clasp, then pushed open the car door. Burke followed obediently, as Cristina made her way down the small hill, looking down at the ground to avoid the rocks. "Come on," Burke said softly. "There. Look."

Cristina's eyes had been carefully rooted in concentration, inspecting the dirt surroundings and large patches of bright, pale green grass. At Burke's guiding, though, she looked up, and felt her mouth open slightly, a tiny intake of breath entering her lips.

Peaceful. It was a nice word for it, and it described all the aspects of the nature around her. The hot sun beating down was ripening, but just staring at the lake allowed her to feel the cool rushing of what it would be like to swim in it. There were flowers by the side, almost like someone had chosen to plant a garden there, but that wasn't what caught her attention. The lake almost didn't look like a lake, the way it stretched out for what seemed like forever reminded her incomparably to the ocean. The sun sparkled down on it like a very beautiful painting, with the artist carefully making some portions a sparkling green, and others a dark, melodramatic blue, powerfully mastering all the dips and curves of the water.

Burke looked down to see her face, and smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist. She stared out at the lake, feeling its peace and its beauty, and wondered if there was more to see here than what it seemed.

"Hey. You said you got it already?" Burke smiled at his mother, a nervous excitement growing in him. Mrs. Burke smiled up at him.

"Where's Cristina?"

"I told her she should probably pack up her things, since our flight's only in four hours. So, since I did that, I would imagine she's flipping through a magazine." Burke smiled to himself, picturing her doing just that.

"Come on. I put it up." Burke followed his mother to where she had set the ring, up in a high cupboard. The small velvet box was dark, and Burke felt his breath intake when he carefully flipped it open. "It's beautiful."

"Worth a fortune, I'm serious, Preston, you know how valuable that is, it was a nice ring even in its time, but by now...Just be careful, with it, all right?" Sam smiled at him.

Burke grinned, inspecting it carefully. "It's perfect." He carefully shut the lid, slipping it into the pocket of his khaki pants.

"Hey. What are we doing?" Cristina slipped around the corner into the room, smiling at Dr. Burke and his mother. Burke looked at her, startled, then smiled. "Just talking. Are you all packed?"

Cristina stared up at him, eyes wide. "Oh, sure. Yeah," she said quickly. Preston grinned, turning her to lead the way back upstairs. "We have to pack." He told his mother. Sam smiled willingly, sending Burke a quick wink when Cristina had glanced away.

"Flight 293 to Los Angeles, now boarding."
Cristina and Burke made their way onto the plane, Burke carrying two carry-on bags as Cristina flipped through the latest issue of Seattle Magazine.

"I still don't get why we can't fly coach, Burke. It's no big deal."

Burke looked at her. "Do you really want to sit by some 20-year-old woman with a screaming child or be cramped against a 300-pound man with a sweaty bald head who keeps shoving his suitcase into your knees?"

Cristina grimaced into her magazine. "Never mind, then."

Burke carefully opened the door to the first class lounge, letting Cristina go in first. "Here. Give me my bag."

Burke handed it to her, Cristina reaching in to pull out a bright reddish-maroon jacket. "So what was up with all your secret conversations with your mom?" She asked, laughing.

"I don't know what you mean," Burke said, smiling. Cristina turned to stare at him, barely paying attention as she showed the tall, uniformed man her ticket. "What do you mean, you don't know what I mean? Burke...!" Burke laughed, pushing her forward, as they took their seats in the lounge.