Main ballroom

Derek and Richard are standing by the bar talking to a distracted Burke about new OR technology. Burke had spent the past 30 minutes watching the clock waiting for Cristina to arrive. She had called him to say that Sheppard was letting her scrub in on a craniotomy and that she would meet him at the hotel. He was okay with this because he knew that she had not gotten many surgeries this week and although craniotomies were not her favorite she wouldn't let the opportunity go to another intern. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that Sheppard had arrived 1 hour ago and Cristina had still not made it to the hotel yet. Over the past 10 minutes he had convinced himself that she'd gotten cold feet and was sitting at Joe's with Meredith. He knew that she felt uneasy about attending the fundraiser with him. If he remembered correctly her exact words were that she "didn't need to torture herself by getting all dressed up just to be gawked at by a bunch of people who thought that they were the best Seattle had to offer." He had told her he thought that she was being irrational but deep down knew that part of what she said was true. People were curious about the intern who had taken Preston Burke off the market. Burke's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Adele and Addison coming towards him laughing.

"Preston, what did you think about the robotic arm when you tried it out?" Richard stood in front of him patiently waiting for a response.

Silence

The Chief reaches over and taps Burke's elbow "Preston, are you listening?"

"Wow!" He was definitely not listening and didn't take his eyes off of Cristina as she approached them wearing a sexy white dress, her hair straightened and pulled back off her face with a beautiful flower in it. He rarely saw her looking so polished and he was surprised that he could find her any more beautiful than he did when she woke up in the morning.

Richard and Derek quickly turn around to see what has captured Burke's attention and are greeted by Addison, Adele and Cristina.

Derek is grinning "You're back. We thought you ladies found new dates."

"No we struck out but we did find Cristina making friends in the bathroom." Addison took a sip of Derek's drink.

"Hey" Cristina looks Burke up and down taking in how good he looks in his tuxedo. She always thought he was handsome but seeing him left her breathless for a moment
"Dr. Sheppard, Dr. Webber" As a nervous habit, she pushed an imaginary piece of hair off of her face.

Derek tries to put her at ease and set the tone for the evening "Cristina we're not working tonight. We can use first names." Cristina smiles as she is trying unsuccessfully to ignore Burke's gaze.

Burke takes a step closer to Cristina "So this is what took you so long, huh? Derek's been here for an hour."

Cocking her head she asks "Wasn't I worth the wait?"

"Of course" He could've sworn that her eyes were dancing.

"Nice tux." Burke just smiled a sexy smile placing his hand on Cristina's lower back and for a moment they were alone in the room. The Sheppards and Webbers stood with the couple catching a rare glimpse into the intimacy of their relationship.

Adele's voice pulled the couple back into the real world "Preston, you'd be proud. Your girlfriend just passed a little Seattle society initiation." Cristina for a split second felt a twinge of discomfort listening to Adele refer to her for the second time tonight as Burke's girlfriend but that passed as he squeezed her back a little tighter prompting a shy smile.

Addison continued proudly "Yes, Cristina certainly proved why Seattle's most eligible bachelor scooped her up."

Derek and Richard are confused. Burke is both proud and concerned "What's that all about?"

"Nothing important. Where's the bar in this place?" Cristina gives a knowing glance to Adele and Addison as she and Burke walk away his arm still wrapped around her waist.

As they walk across the room to the bar, Cristina swears she can feel a hundred pairs of gossiping eyes on her. Burke interrupts her obsessing by leaning down and whispering in her ear "Hmmm. Did I mention that you were definitely worth the wait? You look breathtaking." He brushes his hand against her face and kisses her softly.