George knocked on the thick wooden door of hospital room number 338. He wasn't spending lunch eating with Callie, who was getting on his nerves. In fact, he was avoiding her. The far better alternative to wandering down the halls where he might be seen was to visit Burke.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Burke standing, looking perfectly healthy and wearing jeans and a sweater. Cristina sat cross-legged on his bed wearing her standard scrubs and her standard pissed-off frown.

"Are you going home?" George asked Burke, ignoring Cristina's glare.

Burke grinned from ear to ear. "Yes, finally. I can't stand to be at the hospital and not working. I'd much rather be home if I'm not working." He glanced at Cristina, who had decided to avert her glare to the wall in front of her. "Not for a while at least." He added hastily, looking back at George.

Just as George was going to ask when Burke thought he'd be back to surgery, his cell phone rang. It was Meredith. "S'cuse me." He said, before slipping out the door. Even before he closed it, he could clearly hear Cristina's angry mutter, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

Then he flipped open his phone. "Hello?"

There was a pause before Meredith answered in a loud, agitated whisper. "George, I need you to do me a big favor. I need… some IV equipment. Izzie's worse. All I did was give her a popsicle and... she's collapsed and thrown up again, and her fever's gone to 103.8 She –"

"So why can't you drive her into the hospital? Are you asking me... are you asking me to steal hospital equipment?" George lowered his voice and looked around. The hall was empty, and the only sound he could hear was Cristina yelling about God knows what.

Meredith sighed impatiently. "She won't go. She says she can't ever go back to Seattle Grace. When I told her she had to, she started shaking and hyperventilating." George could hear the electric worry in her voice. "I need that stuff. Here."

He shook his head and stared down at the white tiled floors. "Uh…okay, okay." He took a deep breath. "If this is what we have to do." He hung up without another word, before he could waver and change his mind.

He stepped back into the room to see Burke with his arms crossed and looking furious. Cristina was standing, rigid in front of him.

"You can't just tell me how to act, Burke! I don't function by getting all teary eyed and emotional. That's not what I do! I-" she realized George was behind her and stopped, livid. With one final nasty look at both of them, she stormed out.

Burke rubbed his forehead tiredly with his good hand. "O'Malley, couldn't you have –"

"It's important. I kind of need your help." George said nervously. "Actually, Izzie needs your help."