A/N To everyone that's been reviewing, especially regularly, thank you so much!! You guys make me want to keep posting.
This chapter is dedicated to all the awesome people that hang out at the MTC boards, who are desperate for some happy Bang!
Chapter Five: You Give Me Something
"Ready," Meredith emerged, and they walked out of the hospital together. They saw Derek and Addison up ahead climbing into Derek's car, and Meredith rolled her eyes. "I'll follow you to yours."
"Yep."
"Nice going Dr. Burke," Meredith commented as they entered the building, and took the elevator up to the third floor. "The man has taste, Cristina."
She smirked. "Obviously. He's with me, isn't he?"
Cristina led her down the hallway, and into the apartment. She dumped her bag by the door, and motioned for Meredith to do the same. "Hey," she said, walking through to the kitchen, and stopping short at the sight of Burke. She was painfully aware of two separate worlds that were crashing into each other. Meredith was about to see domestic Cristina and Burke, a sight foreign to anyone but them. Until now.
"Good evening," Burke said, clearly more comfortable than her. He leant down to kiss her. "Hi, Meredith," he greeted her over Cristina's head. "Please make yourself comfortable."
"You can just sit on the sofa," Cristina said, and they both went to sit down, Cristina swinging her feet up on the coffee table.
"Can I get you ladies a drink?" he asked.
"Just last night's red," Cristina answered, and Meredith nodded.
"That sounds good. Thanks, Dr. Burke."
"I'll tell you what, Meredith; how about you call me Preston for the night?"
Cristina inwardly cringed at the contrast of their hosting styles. As Burke went to pour them wine, Meredith whispered, "why are you all stiff?"
"I've never been your friend Cristina and Burke's girlfriend Cristina in the same setting before."
"What about me? This isn't my place. I don't know how to act. I take my lead from you."
"Oh please. The first time I went over to yours I barged in, searched through your Mum's boxes, and pulled out her surgical tapes. And you weren't even there."
"Well, do you have any surgical tapes here?"
Cristina paused. "A few of Burke, but we can't watch them casually, like we do yours. He gets all intense, and gives you a running commentary. He'll tell you what he was thinking, and how long it took, and every other inane detail you never wanted to know."
"Sounds annoying."
"Are you kidding? It's totally hot. But you don't need to be here for that. We do have basically every medical journal ever published, arranged according to the Dewey decimal system."
Meredith twisted in her seat. "Let's see them then, as long as the viewings not followed by hot sex afterwards."
Cristina retrieved a pile of journals, and staggered back with them, placing them with a thump on the coffee table. She and Meredith flipped through the first one, side by side on the couch.
"Ah, life as an intern," Burke commented, as he delivered their drinks, and sat opposite them. "It never lets up, does it? When you leave the hospital, all you can think about is going back. And you barely leave."
"It doesn't seem to change that much though. You still think about going back, don't you? And this place is full of journals and textbooks."
Burke grinned. "It's an obsession that continues to grow and thrive. But you should know that, growing up as Ellis Grey's daughter."
"I think I knew it too young. Even my first biology textbook was fascinating."
Cristina glanced up from the excerpt she'd been reading. "The first thing my friends and I did when we took biology in sophomore year was to look at all the pictures of STDs. That was the most interesting part of it for most people. But that was my year my obsession began."
"Oh yeah, we did the STD thing too, those were some cool pictures." Meredith put in.
Burke turned his wine glass in his hands. "I used to think this place would be a haven of high culture. I have my journals, and my classics in the bookshelves. I have my trumpet, and my jazz and classical music. And then this one moves in," he motioned to Cristina.
"You asked me too!" she protested.
"Glad to see we're helping you slum it, Preston!" Meredith exclaimed cheerfully.
Cristina caught Burke's eye, and knew immediately he was thinking about last night. She supposed you could call dirty scrabble 'slumming it.' She hastily dropped her eyes to the journal in her lap, as he rose to get their roast dinner out of the oven.
Cristina automatically crossed to set the table, and Meredith watched the domestic scene with amused interest. Burke placed an array of cooking trays on the counter, and began to serve chicken and vegetables onto their plates. Cristina laid a table cloth, cutlery, napkins and condiments. She also placed a jug of water and three glasses on the table. Meredith shook her head with a smile, and went back to reading an article.
"You can bring the journal to the table if you want, Mere," Cristina told her, as she sat down.
"Which means, dinner is served," Burke added. Cristina shot him a dirty look, and he smiled back serenely.
Burke kept them entertained with stories of his fraternity days, including a lost bet that resulted in a mass streak across campus, at which he commented, "losing bets is a character building exercise, I think." He gaze lingered on Cristina, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, sure. I bet running across campus butt naked is one of your fondest memories."
"It's up there, yes. What wild things happen at Dartmouth, Meredith?"
"Oh, just the usual crazy partying, perhaps being overly fond of tequila." She paused, and Cristina knew she was reflecting on her mother's declining health, something that began to be a burden on her after college, during med school. "But it seems I've caused the most stir during my time as an intern."
Burke raised his glass to her. "It wouldn't be Seattle Grace without drama."
"But why do we as Bailey's interns seem to be at the centre of it?"
Cristina smirked. "Haven't you heard about the E.R interns? They're a regular soap opera."
"One intern was caught sleeping with two nurses, and a fellow intern, in one shift," Burke put in.
"No wonder we have syphilis outbreaks," Meredith mused.
Cristina grinned. "I'm glad we can bring it back to STDs."
As Burke cleared the table, Cristina asked, "want to stay for desert?"
Meredith shook her head, as she helped clear plates. "No thanks, I'm on call tomorrow night, so I should at least try to get some sleep tonight."
"You're not sleeping so well?" Burke asked evenly.
Cristina jerked her head up to see Meredith's reaction. She hesitated. "No. Not since…everything."
Burke nodded, as he rinsed the dishes, and stacked the dishwasher. "Understandable. I still sometimes find myself, standing back there in that O.R…you should see someone about it, if it continues."
Meredith nodded, and Cristina relaxed. "Maybe. I'm just hoping it will pass."
Burke looked up at her. "And perhaps it will. But there's no shame if it doesn't. Even the best surgeons can be haunted by some of the horrors they witness, Meredith. What sets you apart is if you can continue in spite of the ghosts."
"Thank you. For dinner, and everything." Burke smiled at her, then she glanced back at Cristina.
"See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, see you."
Meredith picked up her bag, and left.
"That was nice," Burke commented, as he continued loading the dishwasher. Cristina studied his face for a moment, then walked over to him.
"Thank you," she said, and in an uncommon show of affection, she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her face against his chest. He automatically returned her embrace, and squeezed her gently. "For what?"
She tilted her head back to look up at him. "She needed to hear that from you, I think. You were the only one with her in that O.R the whole time."
Burke glowered. "I still can't believe you went to join Shepherd after I asked you to go."
"Would you have been able to just walk away from that floor, knowing I was there?"
He opened his mouth to argue, but acquiesced. "No."
She reached up to touch his face. "Then what makes you think I could do any differently?"