A/N Hi all. I know this is SO overdue, I'm sorry. Been enjoying some beach holidays, but I've been neglecting you all, so this chapter is for all my fabulous reviewers, your words are always so encouraging!

Cristina:

She felt like she was suspended in time. She was a realist, bending on the side of cynicism; she knew this would come to a head soon. She spent her days waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Even in the early stages of her pregnancy though, weird things were happening. Annoying things. She found his nearness…what was that feeling, comforting? Had all the hormones made her – she gagged at the mere thought of it – caring? She shuddered.

Damn him, and his rippling biceps. She hoped he impaled himself on his own ten blade. What had he done to her?

Like one night, not too long after his bovine replacement surgery, she'd responded to his page immediately. Usually she made him sweat it out a bit. She wasn't desperate, after all. But this time, she went straight to the on-call room. She was too tired for games.

When she entered, he was leaning against the wall, arms folded, absently examining his feet. He began kicking his shoes off, and glanced up at her.

"That's a first, for a while."

"Hmm?" she asked, leaning back against the door.

"You haven't answered a page without at least some resistance, if at all, in a while."

"This may amaze you to hear, Burke, but not all members of the female population are at your beck and call."

He rubbed his neck thoughtfully. "Does that mean most members of the female population are? Who, pray tell? Perhaps I should page them…"

"Of, you arrogant jerk." Cristina turned to yank the door open. In a flash he pressed his hands flat against the door to prevent her escape. Conveniently, she was now trapped between his arms. The generic nature of this seduction would have made her gag.

That is, of course, if it hadn't been so completely alluring.

"Did you just call me an arrogant jerk? Cristina, that's not very nice." His lips hovered inches from hers.

He wasn't usually like this, so playful. He'd grown in confidence around her. As hard as it was to focus, with his breath whispering across her face, she still found her voice. There was still an ounce of Cristina Yang somewhere inside of her, hiding amongst the hormones.

She let a small smile play across her lips, and looked into his eyes. "I never said I was nice."

"Mmm…" was all the response she got. Far more rewarding was the swift movement of his head, ducking to capture her lips with his. She was pinned between the door and his body, but they couldn't stay standing for long.

There was only a brief reacquainting with each other's bodies, before he tugged her scrubs off, and hurriedly removed his own. His passion was sometimes overwhelming, but this time was surprisingly tender. It tugged at Cristina's core, so much so that afterwards, she swallowed a lump in her throat.

It was that blasted thing again.

He kept his arms around her, and for once, she didn't object. Cristina lay for a time, counting the rungs on the bunk bed above her, and his heartbeat simultaneously. "I'm glad you answered my page," Burke whispered in her ear eventually, and she burst out laughing.

"That's a brilliant analysis of the situation. But you know what? Me too."

She could sense rather than see his smile. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends what it is."

He shifted slightly, moving his arm so he could fiddle with her hair. "Why haven't you been answering as many of my pages lately?"

"It wasn't so long ago you were an intern, Burke. You know what it's like."

She knew there were so many things he could say. Like 'you didn't have trouble in the beginning,' or, 'I barely ever page you when you're on-call,' but instead, he let it slide.

"Ok."

Cristina began to wish he'd do something wrong. It would make it so much easier to hate him for putting her in this state. Instead, on extremely disturbing occasions, she get this feeling, like she needed him. That made her hate him and want him even more.

It was a complicated emotion. Pregnant women were allowed such liberties.

She tried harder to avoid him, and go back to what she was good at: mocking the misfortunes of others. That became increasingly easy when George was diagnosed with syphyllis. She found a banana from a few months ago stinking out her locker, so she left it in Bambi's as a replica of what his favourite plaything could become if he let it be.

That was fun. But then there was a spanner in the works, again. There was a syphilis outbreak on the whole surgical floor. And they recommended that anyone having unprotected sex with another member of the staff get tested.

Damn that one time. She tried to stand inconspicuously in the line, but Burke came across her. And told her that she didn't need to be in that line. That she was the only one.

Another disturbing thing: that news made her happy.

HAPPY!!

She was so screwed. No pun intended.

What's worse, in her happiness, she let her guard down enough to let him know that there was no-one else for her either. They parted in mutual agreement.

What the hell did that mean? Had they just nonverbally agreed on some form of mutual exclusivity? Or was he just glad that they wouldn't turn out like Typhoid Mary and Bambi? Would he have ever told her that she was the only one if there hadn't been the risk of STDs looming overhead?

Cristina groaned as she strode away with Izzie. She had to clear her head and stop this over analysis. Or she'd end up as a blond stick insect on a stool at Joe's downing tequila shots and whining about McDreamy.

Cristina got her groove back by performing an illegal autopsy, and possibly saving the daughter's life. Oh, yeah. That was satisfying. There was the control.

Problem was, she told Burke about it. She didn't know why. He'd just found her in the on-call room, and was confiding in her about his best friend Bill's ovary troubles, it had just felt natural to share.

And that was the problem, right there. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Their acknowledgement in the syphilis line had created some illusion of coupledom.

So as much as the kiss that followed made her toes curl, she ran away to Joe's as soon as possible. Because when in emotional turmoil, that's what Cristina Yang did best.