A/N: Part 4. Thanks SO much to everyone who's reviewed! I really appreciate it.
Cristina stared up at him, the dim stairwell adding shadows and planes to his face she would have sworn had not been there before. He held her by the arms, pinning her in place. She could feel the heat from his body, could see the heat in his eyes.
Liz Fallon was dead and all Cristina could think was that Burke was standing soclose and she didn't know what was going on.
"Let her go." Cristina gasped at this, and swayed, her eyes never leaving Burke's. She thought she could lose herself in his eyes, which in the dark stairwell looked as black as midnight. They had been standing like that for forever and for an instant.
He leaned towards her and paused, never breaking eye contact. Her small gasp was swallowed as his mouth met hers, tentatively at first but then with growing pressure. After her initial shock Cristina kissed him back, the thought that this is Burke! was immediately pushed to the back of her mind as she leaned closer, losing herself in how right this felt. His arms enclosed her, making her feel fragile and safe. The comfort her offered her was tangible, his body seemed to say that it was ok to feel fragile, to feel upset.
He pulled back when a door above them slammed, and by the time the nurse walked by them on the stairs, Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang were discussing their recent case. If they were standing a little close together, well, there was better gossip to be had around Seattle Grace these days. Cristina felt strangely bereft at the loss of body contact. She took a step backwards, leaning against the wall, her eyes never leaving Burke. Distance was good. Distance meant that his body heat couldn't mess with her head. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and wouldn't meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry. That was inappropriate." He suddenly sounded older, and very tired. When he put down his hand he seemed to not know what to do with them, he placed them in his jacket pockets with an air of distraction.
"Don't be sorry." Cristina had no idea what had just happened, but that didn't mean that she hadn't enjoyed it.
"That was inappropriate. You're an intern, I'm an attending. This can't be." He had his arms on the railing now, and looked down into the stairwell, like maybe it held some answers for him.
"But –" Cristina was nothing if not stubborn. He looked up, savagery shining in his face.
"No! Don't you get it? This could destroy your career before it's even begun, and it won't do me any good either. Lets just forget this ever happened." He moved restlessly, and started towards the door to the stairs.
"Hey." She grabbed his arm. "I won't be an intern forever." He paused.
"I'm counting on that." His smile stayed with her even after the door slammed shut behind him.
The next nine and a half months were torture for Cristina. Every time she passed Burke in the hallway she blushed, certain that the heat she saw in his eyes was mirrored in hers. She dreaded being in surgery with him, there always seemed to be some reason why he would place his hand on hers to guide her movement, or else he was standing so close that she could smell his aftershave and feel a little bit of electricity when they brushed against each other. She had no idea why no one else noticed, not even Meredith commented on how she always acted strangely when Dr. Burke was around. Then again, Meredith's talent for self-absorption was profound.
Frequently she cursed Burke's honor and sense of responsibility, and her own ambition. She knew that part of her fixation on Burke was fear of what would occur after her internship was over. She would be a resident, would have to be competent, responsible. She knew she could do it, but it was still a daunting proposition.
She had no idea what, if anything, would happen with Burke when she became an actual resident, but she hated being told that she couldn't have what she wanted.
She stood there, Meredith on one side and Izzie on the other, as Dr. Webber congratulated them for officially completing their internship. It wasn't much of a ceremony, most of the doctors were busy with other things, but the room was full of all of the other interns in the program, as well as their supervising residents. When the chief was done talking George grabbed her in a hug but was rebuffed, of course, because she hated being hugged. She suffered herself to stay, and be happy with her friends, but she was itching to find Burke. When she couldn't take the squeals anymore she moved subtly towards the door, ignored by the celebrating mass of interns.
She was stopped by Bailey, though, who stood right by the door.
"Congratulations, Cristina. Where are you going?"
"Thank you. Uh, I thought I would, just…get a little air, um, it's stuffy in here…"
"I figured you were going to find Dr. Burke." Bailey crossed her arms over her chest.
"What?" Cristina couldn't entirely conceal the note of panic in her voice.
"You're not as sneaky as you wish you were, Yang." Bailey's smile was terrifying.
"We're not, I mean, nothing…I…" Cristina trailed off, at a loss.
"I know. Go on now, what're you waiting for?" She turned away and walked back into the crowd.
Cristina stood there a second, then resolutely walked out of the door.
She found him exiting a patient's room, and he smiled when he saw her.
"Is the ceremony over, Dr. Yang?"
"People are still there, but I got a little bored." He smiled bigger at this.
"As it just so happens, I'm a little bored myself. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"
"Actually," she said, "I'd much rather go have sex in the on-call room."
He laughed. "Lead on, then."