Chapter 4: Keyed
(Note: Yang and Burke's conversation is changed somewhat)
Cristina, Age 15
It had been a couple of months since her mother and Saul had been dating. A couple of short months, and already Cristina could tell things were becoming very serious between the two. They were holding hands, going out to fancy restaurants, and having movie dates all the freaking time. Her mother seemed oblivious to everything around her, and acted twenty times more annoying despite it all. Cristina was ambivalent about this.
On one hand, Cristina loved learning about Shabbat and how to make potato latkes and kugel.
At the same time, she also remembered dancing on her dad's feet at age three to Mary Chapin Carpenter tunes. Carpenter tunes were a mix of country/rock—its lyrics were mainly about heartache and wives leaving deadbeat husbands, but then again, her father had been known for his quirky tastes. She and her father both. She could recall one Thanksgiving where her mother was too sick to cook the dinner. Her father performed a mock-lobotomy on the turkey, demonstrated a running whip-stitch, and proceeded to label and describe all the innards.
Cristina rose out of bed and headed downstairs for her usual breakfast—a slice of toast, unbuttered, with a cup of dark coffee on the side. It was a Saturday morning, so her mother was likely scouring the malls for discounts and Saul was probably on rounds.
She yawned as she made her way downstairs, her bare feet squeaking softly on the hardwood floor. But something made her stop. On the way to the kitchen table, something golden and glittering caught her eye. It was on the mahogany table feet away from the front entrance. Cristina picked it up.
It was a key. A house key. To this house. And it had Saul Rubenstein's name inscribed on it.
Cristina, intern at Seattle Grace
"Burke, what is this?" Cristina picked up the gold-colored key, using her fingers as forceps.
"It's a key." Burke calmly sipped his espresso and scanned the headlines of the newspaper he was holding.
Cristina sighed in annoyance. "Yes, I know it's a key. Why is it here?"
"You know why."
"No, I don't know why."
"Think of it as moving forward in our relationship, Cristina, its no big deal."
"No big deal???" Cristina sputtered. "I have a relationship with you, spend some nights with you, hunky-dory, happy-happy, and this is what I get?"
"Cristina. Its. Just. A. Key." Burke swept a strand of hair from Cristina's forehead and kissed her. "Anyways, I have to go, mandatory attendings' meetings. I'll see you tonight." He departed, leaving Cristina standing in the kitchen.
"No big deal???"