The show Grey's Anatomy and the characters are the sole property of Shonda Rhimes and do not belong to me.

Chapter 16

He dressed left the hotel and went to pick up his son. It was Saturday and he had told Meredith that he wanted to take the child out to lunch. As usual the little boy was very excited to see him but he was much quieter than Burke had come to expect. They went to the mall and shopped for clothes. They visited a pet store. Burke remembered that Cristina said Christopher wanted a cat for his birthday which was in three months and he wanted to see what kind of cat Christopher liked. At the entrance to the pet store was a large bird cage with a parrot that greeted people by saying hello. Christopher was fascinated by this and spent some time talking to the bird. Burke had a hard time getting him to leave the bird but once they visited the cats he was happy again. He set his sight on a tiny white kitten who looked more like a ball of cotton instead of a living thing. The pet store attendant took the tiny kitten out of its cage and allowed Christopher to touch it. For the first time that day the child actually smiled. He held the cat up to his face and rubbed his cheeks against it. Burke stooped down and patted the kitten's head. "You know Christopher. I had a cat when I was your age too." Burke was hoping that by talking about the cat Christopher would open up to him and tell him what was wrong."

"Did your cat have a name?"

Encouraged by the question Burke went on "his name was Linus, he was grey with black stripes and he had big green eyes."

"Where is your cat now?" Christopher finally started to show some interest in the conversation

"He got sick and then he died."

Again the child's disposition changed and he asked "can we go now?"

"Sure buddy, anything you want."

After leaving the pet store they went to lunch but still the child would hardly speak. He barely picked at his lunch and would only speak when he was spoken to.

Burke knew that something was wrong but he couldn't put his finger on it. He felt inadequate as a father. He wished he had more experience dealing with children, especially this child who has a way of tugging at his heart just like his mother did. He wondered what happened to the cheerful little boy of yesterday. He decided that they were not leaving the table until he found out what was wrong.

He leaned forward and asked "do you need anything else?"

The little boy shook his head indicating no.

"Are you mad at me?"

The little boy looked at him with a surprised look on his face and answered "No"

Burke decided to try another technique. "You know Christopher sometimes grownups don't have all the answers. Sometimes we need little ones like you to teach us things, and you could teach me a lot today if you would tell me what's wrong."

"I want mommy."

Relief washed over Burke, Christopher was missing his mother. "If I take you to see mommy, will that make you happy?"

All of a sudden the little boy's face lighted up and his eyes sparkled again and he answered "Yes"

"Okay, to mommy we'll go then."

"You promise?" the child asked, wanting to make sure that Burke wouldn't change his mind.

"I promise" Burke answered and he started to wipe the little boy's hands and mouth.

He picked up their bags, took the child's hand and walked toward his car. Christopher's disposition had changed drastically, he was now the cheerful little boy he was the day before.

"Do you think mommy will be happy to see me?" He asked.

"Mommy will be very happy to see you" Burke was sure that a surprise visit from Christopher would mean the world to Cristina.

"Should I still call you Preston?"

The question took Burke by surprise. He had never thought about it but obviously, Christopher had.

"Do you want to call me Preston?"

"nope"

"Wanna call me Dr. Burke?"

"Nope"

Burke stopped walking, bent down in front of Christopher, took his little hands in his and asked, "how about calling me daddy?"

The familiar giggle was there again, and the little boy answered "okay daddy."

They continued on their journey, one happy little boy and his father. Burke wondered at the ironies in his life. He had planned his life every step of the way, and for the most part everything worked out exactly as he planned. But the best part of his life, the happiest part was the part he didn't plan. This little boy was not planned.

As they passed the nurses station heading toward Cristina's room, Burke could feel all eyes on them. To most, this was the first time that they would see father and son together, and hopefully, would end years of speculation as to who the child's father was. Just outside the room Burke stopped and bend down to speak to Christopher. "Mommy is in this room. I want you to go in and see mommy. I'm going to see Dr. Shepherd then I'll come back to get you okay." Burke wanted to give mother and son time alone.

"Okay daddy"

"Can I get a hug?"

Christopher wrapped his little hands around Burke's neck and hugged him. Burke peeked in the room, Cristina was sitting up in bed reading a magazine. He moved out of sight and told Christopher to go. As the child entered the room Cristina looked up and saw him. She screamed his name in such delight and Christopher shouted "mommee" ran toward her. She picked him up and pulled him unto her bed oblivious to any pain that the act may have caused her. She hugged him to her so tightly and he hugged her back and they stayed that way for a while without talking. Finally Cristina released him and had to physically ply his little hands from around her neck. She held his little face in her hands and looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. She remembered doing the same thing when he was first born and she would sit and stare at him wondering if he was really hers. She hugged him again and kissed his little cheeks and as much as she tried to fight it, the tears came. She was trying so hard not to let Christopher see her cry, so she held him to her with one hand and wiped her tears with the other. When she was finally able to compose herself, she put him in a sitting position in her lap and asked. "Who brought you here baby?"

"Daddy" Christopher answered proudly. He went to see Dr. Shepherd.

"At that moment Burke who was still standing outside the room out of sight, peeked in wanting to make sure that they were okay before he leaves. She saw him and their eyes locked for a moment and she mouthed 'thank you." And he left.

Cristina ran her fingers through Christopher's hair. "I missed you so much baby"

"I missed you too, mommy." Christopher was looking at her as if he was searching for a sign that she was okay then he leaned back into her and she cuddled him. "Are you still sick mommy?"

Cristina thought about the question carefully. She didn't want to worry him. 'No, mommy just need a little bit more rest okay, so don't worry mommy will be home real soon." She ruffled his hair, "your hair has grown so much, I think you need a hair cut."

"That's what daddy said."

The ease at which Christopher referred to Burke as daddy did not go unnoticed by Cristina and she felt a little bit uneasy. Her son, in a very short time had become very attached to his father and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She had always dreamed of this day and now it scares her. What if he loves Burke more than he loved her?

"Mommy, you're not listening" Christopher's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm sorry sport, what did you say"

"Daddy took me to the pet store today and I saw a bird that talks."

"You did, what did the bird say."

"It said, hello my name is Polly."

"Sound like a very smart bird" Cristina answered kissing her son on the top of his head.

"Know what else I saw?"

"What else did you see."

" A cat and the man let me hold him. It's a baby cat. It's very tiny."

"You had a good time with daddy hmm?"

"Yeah, I love daddy" Christopher said innocently.

Cristina closed her eyes tightly as if to stop the tears from flowing. You and me both sport. She thought to herself.

Christopher started to yawn, the busy day finally caught up with him. " I'm tired mommy."

Cristina moved over on the bed making space so Christopher could lie down. "Close your eyes and go to sleep and I'll be right here when you wake up okay."

"Okay mommy," he said sleepily, . . . "mommy, tell daddy not to leave me."

"Okay baby" She kissed her son's cheek and started to hum a little song to him which had been their routine since he was a baby. In no time Christopher was fast asleep.