Ch. 2

"Why did you have to tell me this?" Richard grimaced, "You did a marvelous job yesterday and nobody would have noticed."

"Chief—"

"But since you've now told me, I can't sit here and do nothing," Richard clasped his hands together with a troubled expression on his face.

"What're you going to do, Dr. Webber?" Cristina appeared to be more anxious than her boyfriend did.

Immediately, Cristina felt that a hand rested firmly on top of hers. She was unsure if it was Burke's attempt to stop her from talking. The last thing she wanted was to annoy her emotionally-vulnerable boyfriend.

"Dr. Yang. Seattle Grace has one of the best Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery across the country. I revealed your records and believe it's a legitimate move to assign you to the department until further notice."

"Thank you, Chief," Cristina and Burke responded in unison.

"Preston, I want to make it clear that this is not a personal favor. I am considering the benefit for the entire hospital." Richard spoke sternly.

"Can I be taken off all surgical cases then?" Burke demanded.

"People in this hospital can't live without gossiping. We'll just keep everything the way it is. I'll assign you with more paperwork so that you won't need to see the inside of the OR for small things. But if we need you for big cases, we will."

Richard Webber's response intimated and infuriated Burke. Cristina could sense that too. She remembered how he stepped up to defend Meredith by giving his little story about the towel incident, and how he valued his moral integrity, but she understood where the Chief was coming from. She wanted to support her man by asking the Chief to give him more time, but she knew Burke was not going to like it.

"What if others find out?" Cristina briefly glanced at the two authority figures in the room. Suddenly, she was feeling very small. "Maybe we should let them know now than later?"

"Dr. Yang. Wasn't you the one who came up with this scheme of hiding?" The Chief shot her an icy stare. "As long as none of you kill a patient, I will cover this up until Dr. Burke is fit to operate on his own again."

"Chief—"

"Preston, you're a leader, so act like one. Besides, the tremor only happens once in a while and it certainly will go away. Dr. Yang, can you promise to make sure nothing goes wrong?"

"Richard, Cristina is only an intern. Why are you asking her to—"

"I have my trust on you both. Now go back to work and prove me right." Richard dismissed any further discussion.

Cristina nudged Burke's elbow gently and pulled him out of the room. The two of them tried to search for an answer in each other's eyes but neither of them could see beyond the cloud of darkness. Finally, Burke spoke up.

"We'll be fine, right?"

Cristina squeezed his hand and looked squarely at him, unable to get herself to nod. "Page me if you need me, babe. We'll talk when we're home."

As Cristina's figure moved out of his visual field, it became clear to Burke that he had become very dependent on her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cristina didn't mean to give him an empty promise, but there was so much work that by the time she was home, Burke was, as usual, already asleep. Relieved that they did not have to talk about their meeting with the Chief, she carefully took the book in his hand and placed it on the nightstand.

Rinsing her travel mug in the open kitchen, Cristina found a note at the counter: "I bought you strawberries."

Their dimly-lit apartment was quickly brightened up by the radiance on her face. Even at the height of this mess, Burke had not lost his ability to surprise her. Well, of course he was being really demanding for a while after his injury, but once he was regaining some control over his life, things seemed to be more manageable—or were they?

The sweetness of the strawberries did not wipe out the bitter reality facing her.

Cristina was a fighter, the one with the best game plan since high school. She would not allow anything to slip, ever. But the game was becoming harder to play each day. She wanted her man to be happy, but by volunteering to help, she only seemed to have gotten them into more trouble.

Of course she would be glad to assist him and do everything she could, but the fact that the Chief actually coerced them into hiding the tremor did not make her comfortable. She asked to be Burke's assistant, but she did not deliberately ask the Chief to hide the truth from others. Why did he have to put the blame on her in the end?

"Cristina?"

Burke heard the running water in the kitchen and called out faintly her name from their bed.

Not knowing if he was awake or talking in his dream, Cristina did not respond. Slowly, she walked back to their room and knelt down by his bedside and stroked his face. He didn't stir at all and remained completely still. Obviously, he was only pretending to be asleep.

After brushing her teeth, Cristina slid into her pre-assigned spot and moved his arm, so that it would rest firmly around her waist. Why did they have to go through all these? Why couldn't they press the erase button and start over?

Perhaps they didn't need that. They were two smart and strong individuals. This was not going to break him, her, or them.

They had already done their part by telling the Chief. A promise had been made; a secret to be kept. She swore she would do everything to protect him, even if this very thought sounded unassumingly dangerous to her.

"We'll be fine."

Cristina looked at him again before closing her eyes. It was going to be another long quiet night.