A Love That Will Never Grow Old
chapter 12
greyeyedgirl
The sun was shining, almost tiringly, on young Ashley's bright face on the lank Seattle evening, when some sudden unexpected color, besides the blank white of the hospital corridors, as the door to the hospital swung open.
The boy who entered was tall, seemingly older than his almost fourteen years. He seemed to emancipate some odd kind of charm, at the sight of Ashley a smile flitted across his face and the glow in the room seemed to take on an even odder tint.
"Hey," he exclaimed excitedly, moving to take the distilled chair at the foot of Ashley's hospital bed. Ashley beamed, sitting up further in her bed, barely acknowledging the presence of her older sister and Dr. Burke standing in the corner, Cristina with one eyebrow slightly raised, her face otherwise some forced mixture of nonchalant and bored, Burke, however, looking observant, his eyes focusing lightly on the two teenagers in front of him.
"Oh...ah, Cristina? This is Jeremy Robbins. Jeremy, this is my sister, Cristina Yang, and her boyfriend, Dr. Burke." Ashley's voice was light as she smiled hesitantly under the bright evening light seeping through the window.
Jeremy swung his gaze so his charmed smile was facing Dr. Burke. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Yang, Dr. Burke." He moved his hands to shake each, Cristina pretended not to notice, but Burke extended his hand, taking in Jeremy's grip with the same politely observant expression.
"It's nice to meet you too, Jeremy. So, how long have you two known each other?" Burke asked smoothly.
"Oh, we've went to school together since we were younger," Jeremy responded, looking back at Ashley.
"That's nice. And how long have you been seeing each other?"
Jeremy blushed. "About a year."
Burke smiled, his face still politely observant, as he leaned his head slightly to the side. "Quite a period."
Jeremy just smiled. Ashley was playing with the thread on her sheet, her feet still jumping, almost as if she wasn't really listening to what was going on around her. Cristina was frowning now.
"Yeah." Jeremy said finally, grinning. Cristina cleared her throat, moving her hand to tug lightly on the cuff of Burke's lab coat. Burke glanced down at her, shifted one eyebrow upward, the fake smile still intact.
"I'm sorry, Ashley, we have a patient to attend to. We'll check in on you later, all right?" Burke said smoothly.
Ashley's head snapped up. "Oh, right, Dr. Burke." She blushed, seeing Burke's slight smile. "Oh, right. Preston, I mean."
"There ya go," Burke said, slightly teasing, as he turned to escort Cristina out of the room.
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Several Hours Later
"I don't like him."
Cristina paced restlessly around the on-call room. "Your point is?"
Burke frowned. "There's something about him. It's not right. A boy that age hardly ever sticks to one girl."
Cristina plopped down on the lower bunk bed, brushing her hair from her face. "Maybe he likes her." She looked at him pointedly.
Burke squinted his eyes at the ceiling, wringing his hands. "That boy is beating her."
Cristina turned to stare at him. "What did you say?"
Burke looked at her. "Are you honestly surprised?"
Cristina glared. "I'm never surprised."
Burke stood up from the hard wooden chair in the corner. "This isn't a joke or a game, Cristina. He's hurting her. Your sister. Don't you think she's been through enough?"
Cristina didn't answer.
"Cristina." Burke bent down on his knees in front of her, taking her hand. Cristina stared. "This is your family. Someday she is going to be my family. And more importantly, she is an innocent child." Burke shook with his inner anger. Cristina watched him carefully as he took his glasses from his front scrubs pocket and started to clean them furiously.
"What do we do?" She murmured finally.
Burke looked up at her. "We have to have proof."
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Eight months earlier
"Daddy, what are you doing?" The tiny girl looked up at her father in confusion.
"It's okay, baby. Daddy loves you."
"It hurts, Daddy. I don't like it."
"It's okay."
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eight months earlier
"Get off of me! What are you doing?"
"I thought you loved me."
"Jeremy...Jeremy!" Ashley cried desperately into the pillow, covering her face as she felt a bruise bloom. "No. Please don't."
Jeremy pulled himself off of her. "Stupid bitch. Got what you deserved." He hit her, straight to the stomach, and Ashley's vision got blurry as she clutched over.
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"Jeremy." Burke walked up smoothly, smiling pleasantly at the young boy in front of him, more than half a foot shorter.
The boy grinned, charming in his own right, the odd glint in his eye concealed beneath a spark of friendliness. "Dr. Burke."
Burke forced a smile, leading the young man down the hall. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Man to man."
Jeremy: "Sure, Dr. Burke."
Burke smiled. "Excellent. Well, as you know, I'm in a very serious relationship with Cristina. Your girlfriend's sister."
Jeremy smiled hesitantly, looking at Burke's face carefully. "Yes, sir."
"Well, someday in the not-so far-off future, I'm going to ask Cristina to marry me, making Ashley my sister-in-law."
Jeremy looked at him curiously, the smile still plastered on. "...Congratulations, Dr. Burke."
Burke grinned. "Thank you. But now, on to more important matters." He paused in his step, and Jeremy turned to watch him.
"I've never had a little sister. I was always rather protective of my best friends', but I never had one of my own. You should know that I already think of Ashley as one, though."
Jeremy watched him closely from beneath the friendly curtain, before answering. "I'm sure Ashley would like that. She seems to really like you."
Burke went on as if Jeremy had never spoken. With his words he stepped closer, until he almost had Jeremy cornered in the nearly deserted hospital hallway. Jeremy took a step back, this time almost in fear.
"I do not deal well with my baby sisters, or anyone that my girlfriend finds an important addition to her life, being punched or beaten."
Jeremy didn't flinch. Burke went on.
"And if I find out...about any bruises...or beatings...or even harsh words, you will be a very sorry young boy, do you understand me?"
Jeremy froze, not sure what, and if, Burke knew.
"Yes, sir," he said strongly. Don't show fear. Maybe he's just protective. Maybe he doesn't know anything.
Burke smiled again. "Excellent. We have an agreement, then." He took a step backwards away from Jeremy, who let out a small breath. Burke tipped his head a bit. "I'll be seeing you around, Jeremy."