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

Chapter 20

The proposal was unexpected. It shocked her, and rendered her speechless. Why did those words scare her so much? Her heart was beating faster, her palms were sweaty and she dropped the phone. If he had popped the question three years ago when they lived together, it would not have surprised her as much. Back then, she was sure that the next step in their relationship would be marriage or at least the question of marriage. She knew that he would not settle for them just living together. He was methodical in everything he did and asking her to move in was just the beginning. The next step was just looming, unspoken, waiting for the perfect opportunity. She reached down to retrieve the phone which had fallen to the floor, on picking it up she could hear him call her name but she didn't answer.

She was thinking that this was the lamest proposal she has ever heard. And she secretly smiled because she thought it was so like him to do something so unusual.

The silence didn't surprise him. He expected it. In his mind's eye he could see her mentally shut down, trying to run, only, he knew she was trapped and one way or another she would have to give him an answer. "Cristina" he called her name again and this time she did answer.

"I'm thinking."

"It's a simple question."

"A simple question with huge implications. Are you seriously proposing to me over the phone?"

Her question surprised him but it also pleased him because even though she didn't say yes, she didn't say no either. It never occurred to him that his method could be wrong. He never planned it that way. He would have preferred to be on his knees in front of her when he asked. But like almost everything else in their relationship, it was spontaneous. The entire process didn't matter to him, all he cared about was the end result. Her, wearing his ring. He answered her question cautiously, wanting to prolong the conversation as long as possible. "Cristina, since when did protocol enter into our lives? We had sex before we dated, got pregnant and lost a baby before we went on our first date. We have a child out of wedlock. You were an intern when we first started seeing each other. We have broken every taboo in the book. It's a little too late for protocol. Marry me."

"Why would you want to marry me anyway? I can't be the person you want me to be." The despair in her voice was so evident that he wished he was there to hold her.

"I want to marry you because I love you and I don't want you to be anyone or anything other than who you are."

"If I didn't have Christopher, would you still want to marry me?"

"If we didn't have Christopher." He stressed the we, wanting her to know that they were a team even if she hasn't yet accepted it. "Yes, I'd still want to marry you."

"Do you really love me that much?"

"More than you can imagine."

"If I can't give you an answer right now, will you be upset?"

"I won't be upset, I want you to think about it, but I want you to know that I'm not going to ask you to marry me again. The ball is in your court now."

"You're mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad at you, a little disappointed, but there's still reason to hope."

"What reason is that?"

"You still love me."

"I've forgotten how arrogant you can be."

"I wouldn't call it arrogance, just self assurance and god know any man who wants to marry you has to have a sense of self or you would walk all over him."

"What if we've just outgrown each other?"

"Not possible" he said smiling, "you'll never be able to outgrow me."

"Shut up Burke, I'm serious. What if your family hates me." "Cristina, my family will love you, besides they think that I have great taste in women."

That statement got her attention and even though she knew he was joking, she couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous. "If you have such great taste in women why didn't you marry one of them?" She was waiting on pins and needles for his answer.

"Because they weren't you."

"You know, I should really marry you and spend the rest of my days making your life miserable."

"See. That's an incentive." He was enjoying teasing her.

"I'm going to sleep now Burke. Take care of Christopher." She was yawning and he could hear the tiredness in her voice.

"On the subject of sleep, What the hell are you doing with a king size bed? You could get lost in this thing."

"What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"You didn't expect me to sleep on the couch, did you?" He knew she was just joking about him being in the bedroom.

"Oh, you can sleep in my bed anytime you want. Just imagine all those orgies I have had in that bed. You know I could fit six people in there."

"Oh, it took that many to replace me?"

"And you thought you were irreplaceable."

"For you I am."

"Burke. You're full of yourself."

"Play your cards right and you can be full of me too." He enjoyed bantering with her.

"We're not going there."

"Scared?"

"I'm so scared, I''m shivering."

"See how good I am, even from this distance I can still make you shiver."

"Good night Burke . . . Take care of my baby,"

"I'm trying to take care of both my babies."

"You're doing a good job."

"I can do better if you'll let me."

"Burke"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's crazy to be glad that something bad happened in someone's life?"

"I don't know. I've never thought about it. His mood became pensive. "Why?"

"In a way, I'm kind of glad that I had the accident."

"What! Why would you say that?"

"Because it brought you to Christopher, and he needed you."

He knew what she was saying and it had nothing to do with Christopher. He knew that he was home and he was never leaving. "I love you too, Cristina." He hanged up the phone just after she said good night.