I didn't read over my stuff. If you spot typos and so on, please bear with me. It's almost mid-night now... So much for failing to be a responsible writer.

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Ch. 23

"Honey, let's go upstairs and find Mommy and Grandma, OK?" Burke parked his car and pulled his daughter out, clearly evading the question.

"Dr. Burke."

"Jenny, where's Cristina?"

Standing at the nurse counter, the intern nearly jumped when the Chief walked towards her.

"Room 407." Jenny sensed that something was wrong with Dr. Burke. He was very tense and jittery today. "Are they expecting you?"

"Thank you Jenny." Burke rushed off, his demeanor resembling that of a mad man's.

The intern threw a puzzled glance over the father and daughter and swore to herself she would never get married.

Getting out of the elevator, immediately he saw Cristina prancing back and forth, looking obviously torn apart. That image alone made him shiver. The only other time Burke saw that face was after he was shot. It was an expression of fear and avoidance, frustration and apprehension.

"Burke." Cristina kneeled down to give Asha a half hug and threw her arms around her husband immediately afterwards, stroking the back of his head. "It's my fault, I should have told you earlier."

Burke knew it was cruel, but he pulled away from her embrace and asked matter-of-factly, "Where is Rose?"

"She's in the room with your father."

"What do you mean, Cristina? My father?"

Rose stood up and froze the minute she saw her son hurried into the room. One hand of hers was still holding Samuel's, the other covering her face. It probably wasn't a big deal lying to her son about his father all these years, giving him the illusion that his father died a hero who served his country with much bravery. That did not stop Rose from feeling like an extremely inept mother. "Preston, I—"

"What's this all about? Is this a prank?" Burke motioned forward and continued, "What am I supposed to believe in? Why would this man be my father? My father has already passed away."

"Preston, my son, let Mama explain this to you later. He is your father. He really is. He was here in Seattle just to see you before he dies."

Walking even closer to the bedside, Burke now had a clear view of the old man, his old man. It was the familiar stranger he met outside Seattle Grace. Maybe, maybe his mother wasn't lying. Not at this moment. But if that was the case, she had been lying over the past three decades.

"Then why did you tell me my father's dead? Did you know where he was?" Burke needed to analyze every piece of information, because he could not bear to hate his mother because of this incident.

"No, my boy. I knew he's alive, but I never managed to ask."

"I can't believe that. And you, Cristina, you knew it the whole time but you hid this from me? How many more secrets could our relationship tolerate?"

"They're only trying not to upset you or grandpa." Asha protested as she walked towards her grandma and hanged onto a corner of the older woman's dress.

The word grandpa came off her mouth so naturally that it amazed everyone in the room, including Samuel, who was coming in and out of his coma after the previous scare, which he struggled through without any help from emergency medicine. He knew that would be the last time, because he had already signed the DNR papers and his strength was not enough for him to sail through another attack.

Seeing the old man's eyes twitch, Burke instinctively laid his hand on Samuel's cheek. He couldn't explain what motivated him to do so, nor could he tell why his fury towards Cristina and his own mother had evaporated.

Feeling the warmth and softness of his son's hand, Samuel opened his eyes.