A/N Here you go again! Please keep reviewing, I really appreciate it. Hope you guys are still enjoying the read.

Burke:

She'd started as entertainment. She then progressed to being captivating. And now? She was downright infuriating. A regular pain in the ass. She avoided him at all costs. She wouldn't give him anything – no information, no personal feelings, no random thoughts or recollections. Just stares full of meaning that he couldn't decipher, and the occasional quickie in the on-call room. There were rare times – once or twice when she opened up to him – but they were brief glimpses into her life, before she clammed up again.

What was most infuriating of all was that Burke couldn't get away from it, from that feeling. He wanted more of her, and he didn't know how to make that stop. So, he just decided on pursuing her, until he figured out how else to handle it.

She eluded him several times. She didn't answer his pages. It had been a while since she'd even met him in the on-call room, and she admitted outright she was avoiding him. Burke begin to seriously consider the prospect that he needed his head examined – a neuro consult, a CT, an MRI, anything. Because if she wouldn't even meet him in the on-call room anymore, what was he even pursuing? He was the annoying, needy, clingy person that hung on after a fling had fizzled out. That was not Preston Burke. He didn't need anyone. He'd have much more of a chance of letting it go if she stopped giving him that look. His scrub nurses kept looking at him in alarm when he kept sighing in frustration, or groaning incoherently. Something was going plaguing Dr. Burke, and they didn't know what it was. Even he could barely decipher what it was.

Then something happened, that turned everything around. There are moments in life when one feels all hope is loss; when one is at the end of one's tether, when there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and all other clichés used to express extreme frustration and hopelessness. Preston Burke was consumed by this feeling whenever he spied or thought about Cristina Yang.

Then there was a syphilis outbreak. Seattle Grace was having its own daytime soapie drama, with this incestuous news. Burke was contributing his own small part; but he didn't realize it was so widespread. The Chief summoned the entire surgical floor to deliver the news, and told everyone having unprotected sex with another member of staff to get tested. Burke grimaced internally. They'd been safe since that slip up the first time in the on-call room…he didn't glare glance at Cristina, and kept his face perfectly impassive as they were given a ludicrous safe sex demonstration.

He didn't feel the pressing need to get tested, he wasn't itchy at all…unless Cristina was sleeping with someone else? He dismissed this thought. When would the most driven intern at Seattle Grace find the time to sleep with someone else….but was that why she was pulling away? She had been awfully distant lately, he knew something had been on her mind. Being Cristina, she of course refused to talk about it…

Burke folded his arms, his pride wounded. What the hell was this woman doing to him?

He hurried out of the room as soon as he could, for once having the self-control not to look at her. He had other things occupying his mind – such as the fact that Bill, his best friend from college, had an ovary. That didn't happen every day.

A little while later, on his way down to the labs, the elevator door opened to let some others out, and Burke glanced up on instinct. He saw Cristina, trying to lean against the wall inconspicuously, and failing miserably. Stopping the door from closing, he walked over to her, with the intention of setting everything straight. He wanted to know if she was seeing someone else, and this provided the perfect opportunity to pry.

Plus, he wanted to see her. And the look she was giving him as he approached her told him that she might actually talk to him this time. He leant against the wall behind her and stared evenly ahead. "You're avoiding me."

She twisted. "I'm busy. I'm working."

Burke cleared his throat, deciding a different approach. "Why are you in this line?"

Now she turned to look at him, giving him the disdainful expression she usually reserved for the other interns, when marveling at their simple-mindedness. "It's the syphilis line," she murmured.

"You don't need to be in this line." He removed his glasses and began to clean the lenses. He couldn't look at her at this moment, if he found out they did need to be in this line.

"I don't?"

"There's no-one else." He polished in a clockwise direction, focusing too hard on the object at hand.

He saw her straighten up. "That surprises you?" He held his glasses up to the light, to check for any smudges.

"Nothing surprises me." She hunched over again, resting her chin in her hand. Was she smiling?

Deciding he had to seize the moment before it slipped away, he asked, "do I need to be in this line?" He buried his hands in his pockets, balling them into fists, hoping with all of his strength he didn't need to be. He didn't know why he cared so much. But he knew he wanted more of the confusingly fascinating and annoyingly attractive woman in front of him, and he didn't want to share her with anyone else.

"No."

Burke straightened up immediately, pride back intact. "Ok." He strode away before she caught sight of the wide grin spreading across his face. He couldn't control it, so he decided to let it escape. But he didn't need to give her the satisfaction of seeing it. They were still playing games, and Burke was more than willing to engage.

She was avoiding him, and near impossible to talk to. But there was no-one else. That was enough for now.

Burke was preoccupied for the rest of the day, which iwasperhaps why he didn't notice all of the sneaking around happening in front of his face. Usually his sharp observance of his colleagues meant he didn't miss a beat. But he wasn't aware of the Chief's 'super secret sunset surgery' because he discovered Bill's sterility. And Bill's wife Holly was eight months pregnant with Burke's godson. And she downright refused to tell Bill. So that fell to Burke.

Bill stared at him in horror for a moment. He saw the truth in Burke's eyes though, and let his head fall back to his pillow. Burke lowered his gaze, pretending not to notice his friend's tears. "We've been trying for ten years," Bill eventually croaked. "I should have known."

"You couldn't have." This reply felt enormously inadequate, but it was all Burke could think to say.

"I need some time alone, man."

Burke nodded, standing up. "Of course."

He gaze lingered on Bill, who turned his head to the window, before reluctantly walking out. He habitually walked towards the on-call room where it had first happened, not expecting her to be there. So he was pleasantly surprised to find her sitting on the top bunk, legs dangling over the edge as she leant against the wall, staring at the ceiling. She was still in her scrubs, but he'd thought she was off hours ago.

She glanced up when he entered, then returned her gaze to the ceiling. She shuffled over on the bunk, making room for him to climb up beside her. This subtle move was a huge gesture from Cristina, and Burke didn't hesitate. He sat next to her. "What are you still doing here?"

"Just having a moment of triumph, before I join the other's at Joe's. What's up with you? You look like someone just ran over your puppy."

Burke sighed, massaging his temples. "I don't have a puppy. But my best friend is in here as a patient, and I discovered today that he was sterile."

"So what, he really wanted kids and now he's bummed about it?"

"I think he's more bummed about the fact that his wife is eight months pregnant."

"Oh." Cristina glanced at Burke, unsure of what to say. "That sucks."

"It sure does. Why are you enjoying a moment of triumph?"

Her eyes flashed, and she grinned. "Izzie and I performed an illegal autopsy. Well, it's legal now, but the forms weren't signed while we did it. We saved a woman's life by doing it though."

Burke's shoulders began to shake with silent laughter. She was unpredictable at every turn. "Of course. The everyday happenings at Seattle Grace."

Deciding this was the safest time to press her, he asked, "so, why have you been avoiding me lately?"

She immediately drew her legs up to her chest. "Life as an intern, Burke. I can't always respond to your pages. I have things going on, you know," she finished sharply.

"I know," he responded gently, not meaning to make her get so defensive. "But you seem to be more preoccupied lately."

"Yeah, well. Look, I better get to Joe's, the others are waiting for me."

Burke suppressed a sigh. "Ok." He expected her to vault off the bunk, and leave without a backwards glance. But she briefly turned her head to meet his eyes, and that's all he needed. He leant over to capture her lips with his. She let out a whimper and allowed herself to fall into the kiss, he hands moving to hold his head. She pulled away just as abruptly. Burke raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"They really are waiting for me, so I have not time for that. And we both know if we keep on kissing a moment longer, that's what will happen."

He smirked. "Perhaps."

Then, she leapt of the bunk without looking back, and swept out the door.

Burke lay back and closed his eyes. He was hanging in there. He would, for as long as she let him.