Chapter 3

Leonard was the most worried of the whole group, and he had reason to be; his parents, the cardio gods, his parents, the cardiothoracic surgeons, his parents, the perfect ones!

Beneath that charismatic and cheerful personality lay the pressure of living in the shadow of his parents. It wasn't that he was the only one in the group of friends feeling that weight; it was just that his parents were the most demanding and perfectionist to the limit, and he, he was just Leonard.

Anyone who knew his parents would assume that their son would be a scholar, some kind of cold kid lacking humor but with a huge arrogance to deal with. After all, Preston Burke and Cristina Yang were his progenitors; he was expected to be excellent. Leonard Burke was different; he always had been, and that caused his parents' anger to the point of feeling belittled by them. It wasn't easy being their son; it wasn't easy being their shadow.

"Don't you dare go lock yourself in your room, young man," Preston said in a highly annoyed tone.

He dropped the house keys on the table and approached his son with a cold stare.

"You will talk to me."

"Fine," Leonard replied dryly.

He wasn't in a position to contradict him, especially not an annoyed Preston Burke.

Burke went to the kitchen to open the pantry door and took out three plates to serve the Korean food he had bought on the way home.

He was indeed angry with his son; smoking marijuana? Impossible. All his life, from the time Leonard was a small child, he had taught him the consequences of smoking. He even remembered showing him a smoker's lung one of the many nights on duty when he would take him out of daycare for a few minutes to spend time together.

He knew it was wrong, and yet he did it. That was unacceptable. For Preston Burke, discipline and behavior were paramount in human beings, especially during a formative stage like adolescence. He needed to talk to him; he felt that the father-son relationship was deteriorating little by little over the years. They were so different, the two of them.

Meanwhile, Cristina was sitting on the living room couch, flipping through a medical magazine. Leonard approached and sat beside her, searching for some response from his mother.

"Dad is really upset, Leonard," she said, still keeping her eyes on the magazine. "You know what this means."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I thought you could help…"

"No," she said, lifting her gaze to her son, who sat with fear marked on his face. "You knew this would make us angry. Every day, your dad and I see cases of people dying from addictions to cigarettes and more." Cristina realized she was yelling, so she decided to lower her tone.

"Son, we just want you to be more aware."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Leonard finally said.

"I know, baby, I really do." Cristina lovingly stroked her son's defined jaw, which he had inherited from Preston. "Now go and tell your dad that."

She could be very strict with Leonard regarding school and always had her classic phrase, "Second places are for mediocre people," but far above that competitive and cold Cristina, there was also a mother. She was Leonard Burke's mother. At first, when Leonard was a baby, she struggled to accept her role as the mother of this little being; everything seemed so confusing and strange. But over time, she realized he was the true challenge of her life, her little "sharky," as she affectionately called him.

Burke entered the living room and announced that dinner was served. Soon, the little Burke-Yang family sat at the table and ate together in silence. No one wanted to exchange a single word throughout dinner; only Burke occasionally glanced at his young son, but it wasn't a look of annoyance; it was strangely one of tenderness that a father is capable of giving his son.

"Good night, Leo," Cristina kissed her son's curly hair, then turned to her husband and, in a low, seductive voice, said, "See you in bed." This last remark made Burke laugh; how he loved that woman.

A few minutes later, Burke went to the kitchen to wash the dishes while Leonard cleared the table. Luckily for Burke, his son had inherited the love for cleanliness and order; from a very young age, he had been educated that way. The two of them kept the house "clean enough for surgery," according to Cristina.

Leonard was heading to his room after leaving the table spotless. He knew he had to say goodbye to his father, so he headed to the kitchen.

"Good night, Dad," Leonard managed to say.

Preston turned to look at his son, stared at him for a few minutes, and simply said, "I want to talk to you. Wait for me in your room."

"Yes, sir."

At first, Leonard didn't know how to feel; his father didn't seem to be entirely angry now. The most likely scenario was that he would receive a punishment. "That's a fact," he told himself. He just had to wait and accept what was coming. It was not a good idea to rebel against Preston Burke.

About five minutes passed before a light knock at the teenager's bedroom alerted him to his father's presence.

"May I come in?"

Leonard sat on the bed, ready to face what was coming. "Yes, of course."

Burke sat beside his son, knowing exactly what to say but not how to say it.

"You need to know that what you did today is wrong, and you will receive a punishment accordingly…"

Leonard interrupted, "I know, Dad. I wish I could…"

"Let me talk, please."

Leonard merely nodded.

"I know it's normal for teenagers your age to smoke; believe me, I know." Burke looked intently at his son. "But Leonard, you are my son, and yes, for better or worse, you are the child of two cardiothoracic surgeons who see adults every day fighting for their lives because they started smoking at your age, and we will do everything possible to ensure that our son doesn't follow those footsteps."

He sighed and took a brief pause.

"You're already grown up, and I really don't know if my words matter much; punishments are only short-term, but afterward, it will just be you against the world, Leonard. And you have a way of being… God! You're identical to your mother." Burke raised his voice slightly. He was trying to vent.

"You two… seriously make me lose my patience. You are stubborn, competitive, disrespectful…" Preston Burke walked around his son's room, looking at the floor while continuing to enumerate the similarities between his son and Cristina.

"Smart-alecks, defiant, messy, lazy… but I love you both, I love you with my life, Leonard. I will protect you even when, well, even when you leave this house. Do you understand? You are my son, my only son." Burke sighed and sat on the edge of Leonard's bed.

Meanwhile, Leonard was astonished by the different emotions his dad was experiencing at the moment. His father rarely showed his emotions openly. He was usually a reserved and extremely cold man.

Leonard continued with his mouth agape and a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Uh… um, I also love you, Dad." Leonard smiled at his father, trying to calm his anger.

Preston Burke sighed, genuinely wanting to laugh at his son's carefree expression, but he needed to maintain composure.

Burke headed to the exit of Leonard's room. Before closing the door, he said, "You're grounded for two weeks, and to keep you from getting bored, you'll work at the hospital with me after school. You'll be my assistant."

Leonard took a deep breath and nodded, then lay down on his bed. "Good night, Dad."

Burke was about to close the door when he said, "Good night." Just as he was about to shut it, he turned to Leonard.

"Oh, I almost forgot… tomorrow you're coming with me to pick up your grandmothers from the airport." Burke said.

"Wh-what? Grandmothers?!" Leonard jumped. He hadn't counted on the visit from his grandmothers.

"Yes, young man, your grandmothers," Burke said seriously, still holding the doorknob.

"Tomorrow they'll arrive, and I want you to come with me to pick them up. Is there a problem?" Burke raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… no, it's not me; it's just that Mom knows, right?" Leonard mentioned Cristina, well aware that she despised the visit from Grandma Helen and Grandma Jane, especially if they showed up at the house together. It was her true hell.

Burke froze. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "I didn't tell her. I forgot completely." Burke grabbed his head.

"Dad…" Leonard said.

Burke continued with his hands on his head. "Yes, Leonard."

"You're a dead man." Leonard said in a concerned and hesitant tone.

Burke knew how Cristina felt about those matters and the reprimand he was going to get from her. "Yes, Leonard." He finally affirmed and looked at the floor, trying to mentally prepare himself to face his wife's wrath.

Leonard silently laughed at his father's expression.

Burke sighed and closed his son's door. He walked to his room to face what seemed to be the real challenge of the day: talking to Cristina and not dying in the attempt.