A/N: Special thanks to cristinayang4ever, Patsy and Beth! Thank you for your kind reviews and you guys gave me so much motivation to write!
Chapter 9
2017 3/F On-Call Room, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Seattle
"There you are." The door was opened from the outside abruptly. The flashy light beams from the fluorescent shines into the dark room made Burke squinted uncomfortably. He couldn't see clearly who is standing by the door, but he knows her voice.
Cristina flickered on the lights and handed him one of the cups. He took it and sip the coffee.
"It's cappuccino. You remember my taste."
"Because I care?" Cristina rolled her eyes at her ex-husband and replied, referred to their unpleasant divorce.
"Cristina, I…" Burke apparently think of their divorce as well. He sighed and whispered her name. Cristina stopped her before he can finish, as she knows the man is trying to apologize again.
"Stop it. I know what you are going to say. Let's not talk about that again."
Burke nodded obediently. The room fall into silence again. They sipped their coffee in silence and none of them wanted to be the first to talk.
"Meredith… Is she alright?" After what feels like a year passed, Burke finally asked. He has been worrying about Meredith the whole night. He was scared, for the first time in his career, because he nearly killed Meredith: a wonderful colleague, wife of his best friend in Seattle, his ex-wife's person… He was outside Meredith's room when she woke up, but he didn't have the courage to knock. He felt so guilty that he didn't want to speak to anyone, he just want to hide in somewhere dark and punish himself.
"She is fine. I stayed with her until she woke up. She seems great, she was teasing Lexie with Derek when I left." Cristina briefly updated him on Meredith's condition. But she knows that he wanted to hear something else.
"I told Meredith and Derek the whole accident." Burke looked up from his lap instantly, he stared at Cristina, urging her to continue.
"I told them you were scraping the exterior when it happened. You slipped, so the laser scratched the vein and created a laceration. She lost a lot of blood, which makes her heart stopped and went into fibrillation temporarily. But we revived her heart quickly and repaired the tear. Everything is fine afterwards. Burke, they are all surgeons, they understand it. Accident happens, it doesn't mean that you are incompetent or anything. It just means that you are unlucky."
"Look at me." She held his head up to face her, "It is an accident. Anyone doing that surgery could experience the same thing. The thing that matters is that you fixed it."
Burke's hand grabbed Cristina's, he took them away from his cheeks and held them tight. He looked at her, hesitated before he speaks.
"I… I am Preston Burke." Hearing the familiar phrase, Cristina couldn't help but rolled her eyes secretly. "I am the best in the field, yet I almost killed Grey. I… I froze when I should be calmly fixing the wound. And I needed help to save her…"
Seeing that arrogant man looking like a vulnerable kid makes her heart ache. Of course she wanted to roll her eyes a thousand times for his arrogance, but that is what she fell in love with. She loved the way he runs the OR like the king, she loves his confidence and his determination. That's why she couldn't stand seeing the man she looked up to being all weak and defenceless. She wanted to cuddle him in her arms, but she shouldn't. He is no longer hers.
Though her body is stronger than her mind, that no matter how many times she told herself she should not hug him, her arms reached out like they have their own thoughts. Her face rested against his back and her arms surrounded his waist firmly. She is sure Burke was as shocked as she is.
Burke's body stiffened as he felt a warm body cuddling him. He gently covered his hands over hers on his stomach. Unlike most Asian women, her hands aren't tiny and soft, but she had the hands of surgeons: long, skinny fingers and big palms. He loved holding them in his palms and entwining his fingers with hers. He closed his eyes and reminisced the feeling of being hugged in her arms. It feels so… right.
"I missed you." She murmured. Normally, the great Dr. Yang wouldn't allow herself to show a bit of her weakness and emotions, especially to the man in front of her, the only man she had ever loved in her adulthood. But it feels so good to lean against him and listen to his strong heartbeat. Burke turned his body around and tugged a strand of her curl to the back of her ear gently.
"I missed you too." He brushed his lips across her forehead lightly. Cristina closed her eyes to savour his kiss. It has been ages since his soft lips landed on her face. It felt… so right, so completed. She had been with other men since their divorce, but none of them feels like him. Her body shivered as he pulled away from her.
"Cris…" He whispered her name, trying to resist his desire of continuing further. She opened her eyes and looked at his gorgeous face, gently sliding her hand on his cheeks.
"Burke… Preston… Did you ever regret… the divorce?"
He frown at her question. She stared into his eyes, he knows that means she is determined for an answer, and she would not back out. Although he knows what she wanted to hear, he didn't say it. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her lips.
The soft kisses gradually turned into passionate, sexy kisses. He stripped off their scrub tops and her hands travelled on his toned torso, from his muscular chest to his perfect abs, and down to his manhood. He moaned and pulled away the remaining clothing on their body. He landed kisses all over her slim figure and lingered around her neck.
In the exact same room where they started, it feels like their very first time. A trip down the memory lane is always mesmerizing.
