A/N Sorry for slight delay – uni finals are inconveniently getting in the way of Bang. Very rude, I know.

Chapter Four: Could be Nothing

Burke was perched serenely on the bed in the on-call room when she stormed in. His head was leant back against the wall, his eyes closed.

"Oh yeah. You're tired."

He opened his eyes. "May I remind you that the game was you're idea? And you 'finished' as you like to put it, was it five or six times last night?"

"And I had to start two hours earlier than you!" she sighed, kicking off her shoes. "Fine. What now?"

"Nothing. I was just going to spend the lunch break having a nap, and wondered if you wanted to join me."

Cristina opened her mouth automatically to retaliate, but he was already lying down. Damn him for being considerate. He glanced up at her, his eyes liquid chocolate. "Coming?"

"Whatever," she replied, lying down and refusing to face him. She settled into the familiar circle of his arms. She fell asleep almost instantly. A while later, she came to as his thumb stroked her hip. "Is it time to go?" she mumbled.

"Almost," he replied. "Sleep well?"

"Mmm."

"Good," he moved his hand under her scrubs and pressed it flat on her stomach, almost covering its entire surface area. His fingers began to trace slow, agonizing circles around her belly button.

"So, this whole time you just wanted to grope me in the on-call room?" she asked.

"If you insist," he replied, trailing his hand up to her bra.

He had the hands of a god, she mused, as he took his agonizing time. She felt a familiar tugging at her insides, and her breath began to quicken as he nibbled her ear. "Shall we play again tonight?" he whispered huskily.

"I need to sleep," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I guess I'll just have to make the most of now then." His hand left her breast, and a noise of protest unwillingly escaped from her. He pressed his lips to her neck, as his hand traveled further south.

"My god, you were ready to kill me this morning," Izzie commented as they rinsed their hands, ready to scrub into an appendectomy of the whiny pre-pubescent girl. "And now you're practically humming. PMS much?"

"Not until next week. But maybe your ideas aren't so bad after all."

Izzie raised her eyebrows questioningly, as Cristina backed into the OR.

"You look like hell," Cristina observed that evening, as she and Meredith packed up their things in the locker room.

Meredith yawned. "You did earlier in the day."

"But getting lucky at work does wonders for your complexion. You, on the other hand? You haven't been on call one night this week, why so tired?"

"I haven't been sleeping well, not for a while." Cristina read the subtext. Ever since she had stuck her hand on live ammunition, and saw Dylan, the bomb squad guy, get blown to bits. Ten seconds earlier, and it would have been her.

"Seriously, it's embarrassing. What sort of surgeon has nightmares?"

"Burke wasn't exactly the most peaceful sleeper the first couple of weeks after," Cristina confided carefully. She didn't want to betray a confidence, but she also wanted to comfort her friend. Burke had practically knocked her out one night as he thrashed in his sleep. She knew how heavily the sense of responsibility lay on him, and he would always partially blame himself for that death, even though he saved the patient. That was Burke.

"Yeah, well. I just feel like I'm a downer on everyone, at home at least. Izzie's just obsessed with heart guy Denny, George is developing a thing with an ortho chick, and I'm just this thundercloud of depression. And I hate their happiness, when I just want to mope. Is that bad?"

"No. That's Meredith Grey after a year of sleeping with her boss, finding out McDreamy's married, breaking a guy's penis, and almost blowing up." Cristina hesitated about the right course of action to take. After her and Burke's seeming reconciliation, she didn't feel right blowing him off to go drown Meredith's sorrows at Joe's. But she couldn't just leave her best friend standing there with that look on her face either.

"Hey…why don't you come over for dinner tonight?"

Meredith looked up skeptically. "At Burke's?"

"Yes. Mine and Burke's. That way you can see just how freakishly neat he is, so you can empathize when I bitch about it. And he's a good cook."

"He's my boss."

"Oh please. He's my boss too, but I still live with him. And you already slept with one of our bosses. That's so not an excuse."

Meredith shrugged. "Sure, I like pity dinners. But I'm not playing dirty scrabble. Just let me change."

Cristina walked out of the locker room, and pulled out her cell.

"Hello?" Burke answered.

"Hey, its me. Listen, Meredith is all depressed and still a bit freakish after the whole bomb thing, even though it was a little while ago now, and her roommates are too sunny for her, so I invited her over for dinner. I know it's weird, with the whole attendings and interns socializing, but you should see the look on her face."

She was met with silence. "So…is that ok?"

"Of course. I'm just cooking now, so I can add some extra food."

"It's really ok?"

He sighed. "I was just making sure you were done ranting. Cristina, this is your home. You do not need my permission to bring your friends home. But thank you for letting me know."

"Ooookay then." She paused. "We'll see you soon."

"Bye."

They still had stilted conversations like this. They were different, in so many ways, Cristina wondered if it would always be that way.

A/N Angst always has a way of creeping back in when its Cristina and Burke, doesn't it? Keeps it interesting!