A/N: This story will have five parts, each a moment that hasn't happened to Cristina and Burke. The stories exist in separate universes from one another and are obviously all AU. Please review!

It wasn't until they walked into the dark-wood paneled restaurant that Cristina realized where they were.

"This is where we had our first date!" Burke smiled at her as he told the concierge that they were a party of two, and had a reservation under the name Burke.

"That was an atrocious date," she remarked conversationally as they made their way through the restaurant, slipping her arm casually through his as they threaded through the tables.

"I thought you said it was the best date you've ever been on!" Burke looked wounded though she could see a smile tugging at his lips.

"You know what I mean. The heart surgery part was awesome. The eating and the not talking and the awkwardness, that was just painful. Seriously." They reached the table and Burke held out the chair for her, and then they sat down.

"It was pretty uncomfortable. But we didn't know each other at all. First dates are supposed to be awkward." He handed her her menu and opened his.

"Yeah, but first dates after sleeping together for months? They aren't supposed to be that awkward. Thank god for that guy's heart attack or we might have broken up then and there." She opened her menu and looked at it, missing Burke's incredulous look.

"Did you just say you were thankful that someone had a heart attack?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"Have you ever met me?" Their laughter mingled as they got down to the serious business of deciding what to order. Burke didn't comment this time when she ordered the sirloin.

They ate and talked, mostly about that week's surgeries and the new crop of interns. Her bunch was currently driving Cristina up the wall, and she remarked that she couldn't imagine that her own group of friends had ever been so clueless.

After they finished eating their waiter brought coffee to the table. Cristina looked at Burke quizzically.

"We didn't order coffee."

"I know, but I thought you might like some." Confused by this, Cristina looked down at the bright white cup and saucer. On the dish sat a beautiful ring, a diamond solitaire set in a gold band. She looked back across the table, but Burke was kneeling next to her.

"Cristina." He paused and looked up at her, as if searching for his answer in her face.

"I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Despite the panic that welled up inside of her at his words, Cristina looked into Burke's dark eyes and had no doubt of her answer.

"Yes." His answering smile lit up her heart.

When they got home they called their mothers, him from excitement and her because he made her. He confessed then that he'd agonized over this for about a week, and that his mother had been very helpful. She'd also sent the ring from Alabama, it had been his grandmother's. As he chatted calmly with his mom in the corner of the living room Cristina held the phone away from her ear in the kitchen, trying to minimize her ear damage from her mother's squealing. Then she was kept busy shooting down all of the harebrained plans for the wedding that kept popping up, like groundhogs, she thought. What she needed was a big, heavy mallet. Maybe Burke would take her to a video arcade, she mused.

When she finally extricated herself she called Meredith, since she was her best friend. Cristina figured that best friends did things like that, called each other if they got engaged. Meredith squealed too, and the phone went right back away from her ear, but this time it brought a smile to her face.

When they climbed into bed a little later Cristina turned to Burke and said "We're getting married."

"We are." He put an arm around her.

"This is weird right? It's a little weird that we're getting married. I mean, not bad weird, just strange weird. I never thought I would get married, but now I'm getting married and – " Burke cut her off with a question.

"So now you're not even waiting for me to go to sleep before you go a little bit crazy?" He quirked his eyebrow at her.

"Sorry. But I'm not crazy, I'm just freaking out a little." Burke turned out the light and rolled over to put his arms around her.

"Freak out in the morning, if you don't mind." She smiled at that and snuggled closer.

When she walked into the locker room the next morning Izzie attacked her. She shot Meredith a look as she held her hand out for inspection.

"What? I told her. You're going to have to get used to it. People get excited about engagements." Cristina rolled her eyes. Izzie was still in raptures over the ring.

Alex grinned at her from across the room. "So Burke's finally making an honest woman out of you? Never thought I'd see the day.

"Shut up, Dr. Evil Spawn." She wrenched her hand away from Izzie and threw open her locker.

As they followed Bailey down the hall she glanced at Cristina's hand and then up at her face.

"Congratulations," she said in the deadpan way that only Bailey had mastered.

"Thank you."

"Now put the rock away before you leave it in someone's body cavity." Cristina smiled.

Unfortunately, the day only went downhill from there.

She threw open the on-call room, startling Burke so much that he fell off of the bed. Thankfully he was on the bottom bunk.

"We're eloping." She sat down on the bed.

"What?" He picked himself up off of the floor, rubbing his eyes in confusion.

"I mean it. Izzie's already planning the reception, and my mother's out of control, as usual. We've been engaged for less than 24 hours and I can't deal with this!" She put her head in her hands.

"Hey." Burke grabbed her hands and held them. "It's going to be ok. We're going to plan our wedding, not Izzie and not your mother. It's going to be exactly what we want, and nothing else. "

This comforted her a little, and she allowed Burke to pull her down so that he was spooned behind her. He kissed the hand that wore his engagement ring and held her tight.