A/N: Thanks for reviewing. More is coming, unless the actual 3.06 kills my story or my hope.

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Burke knew he should go and prepare for surgery. There was no time to worry about what others would think of him or Cristina or the two of them. Now was the time to stay steady and focused. As much as possible, Burke hoped that he could perform the surgery alone.

"Hey," Cristina broke the silence in the on-call room as she swept through the door like the autumn breeze.

"Cristina," Without meeting her eyes, Burke called out her name weakly.

"I've got the labs. This guy's carotid pulse is very weak and his EKG looks bad," Cristina was speaking at the rate of the bullet. "Webber authorized me to get the OR ready. I've talked to the patient's wife and she's agreed to sign the papers…"

The words went on and on but Burke was not listening anymore. The more she tried to ignore the negative vibe he was emitting by pretending to be busy, the less support he was feeling from her. Burke knew this was the way how Cristina dealt with things. It was her way of conveying to him that she was there for him.

"Cristina, you seem very excited."

"Burke," Cristina stopped and looked at him in silence, trying to find the safest words to utter. "I miss scrubbing in with you."

Cristina was thrilled not because of the surgery, but because she was working with him again? Burke did not want to read too much into it, but it certainly soothed him a little.

"Right. It's been 2 weeks."

"We're here to save a life. That's the most important part," Cristina wasn't sure if that would make him feel better, but they both needed that. "Don't think about anything else for now."

If she was ready to step up to the plate, how could he not take up his share and move along? Burke gently forked through Cristina's curls as she stood on her toes to press her lips on his forehead.
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Up in the gallery, the interns and other surgeons were observing the humpty dumpty procedure.

"Dr. Burke is giving her the chance to do it!" George was brooding. "This is so unfair. Cristina stole the patient from us!"

"George, she wasn't stealing. She was assigned," Meredith wondered since when had the good-natured male intern turned into another bitter sister.

"Why can you be so calm Meredith?" Izzie whined. "Webber is going all out to stop us from entering that OR."

"Only because the Chief doesn't want you to kill another heart, Dr. Stevens," Dr. Savoy smirked. "Maybe if you give a part of you to the Chief, he'll be nicer to you."

"Dude, not everyone here is obsessed with others' hormone levels and body parts," Alex spitted that out of pure distain towards the surgeon who previously insulted Bailey, without consciously intending to defend anyone.

"People, keep quiet. This is an OR gallery, not a movie theatre," as much as she disliked the Chief's decision, Bailey was not ready to completely give up the belief that the people working ceaselessly below them were still worthy of her respect.

Had the Chief not been so obstinate about having Cristina in Burke's OR, Bailey would have given up hope on the attending she had grown to admire. The minute she saw the despondent eyes of Preston Burke when the Chief butted in, she knew something was wrong in the bigger scheme of things.

But was Cristina stepping beyond the line to make Webber favor her? Although Bailey herself was guilty of that thought when she was talking to Burke, she couldn't bring herself to really believe in it. Cristina might be ambitious, but she didn't seem like someone who would prostitute herself to get ahead.

Regardless, if anyone were to question Dr. Burke's or Cristina's integrity, it would have to be her, the uncompromising Miranda Bailey. Everyone else should stay off the territory of interrogation.

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"Tell me about it," Bailey grabbed Cristina by her elbow after the surgery.

"As you can tell from the gallery, Mr. Sade's surgery was a success. We're expecting a full recovery and—"

Crossing her arms, Bailey shook her head. "I didn't ask you to give me a case summary, Yang. You know why I am here."

"No, in fact I don't," Cristina put on her non-committal smile.

"C'mon, Yang, why did you suddenly apply to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery? You should have talked to me about it first."

"Oh, that?" Cristina continued to feign ignorance. "Alex was having fun in the vagina squad, Meredith with the brains, and George the bones. So I thought it's about time for me to move on."

The logic behind it seemed to sink in so well that it actually escalated Bailey's suspicion.

"Yang, do you think I'm convinced?" Bailey stopped Cristina from leaving the room. "The other interns were only assigned to those departments occasionally, but you, why would the Chief let you stay in the most competitive department? You're only an intern, not a CT fellow!"

"Well—"

"Ok, you're smart, the Chief likes you. You got what you want. But why would he be adamant about who's to scrub in with Dr. Burke today? I thought he would want less gossip in the hospital. So why did he put a dating couple in the same OR?"

"It isn't what you think, Dr. Bailey." Cristina pushed her curls to the back of her ear.

"You didn't sleep with anyone, or accidentally got a hold of some dirty little secret about the Chief, did you?"

The question made Cristina laugh. She couldn't believe Bailey thought she would get ahead through blackmailing the Chief.

"You mean apart from the fact that they all live in a hotel in downtown Seattle now?" Cristina smirked before her face turned solemn again.

"You're not answering my question."

"Dr. Bailey, it's not about the Chief," Cristina sounded very determined as she explained her situation. "Even if there're 10 more syph outbreaks here, I still won't need to be in that line. Does that answer your question?"

The manifestation of commitment inherent in that reply might not have been apparent to Cristina herself, but to Bailey, it meant something bigger.

"Yang, you're not stupid, nor am I. Whatever this is about, it'll come to the surface sooner or later. I don't want to see another brilliant intern ruined by their personal attachments."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey."

Right after she left the room, Bailey turned back and looked at Cristina pensively.

"He's not a baby, Cristina. Even if he is, you can't be watching over him all the time. People can't help you if you don't let them know." Bailey closed her eyes. "Trust me. I have way more authority in giving advice in this regard. The Chief has never been a parent himself, what does he know?"

Bailey knew. Cristina felt a lump in her throat as Bailey left her alone in the supply room.