'I don't need you.'

Her words ripped through his heart like a dull butter knife as he stalked down the skywalk of the hospital.

His mind drifted back to a time where he'd said nearly the same words for her. 'I don't need you for this.', he'd told her after she'd put so much effort into helping him get back to his level of functioning prior to being shot.

But he'd said 'for this'.

She merely said, 'I don't need you.'

"Dammit." he cursed under his breath as he reached Webber's office, his mind racing with the things he'd planned to say.

But her words continued to grind down his confidence, sear through his soul and leave him feeling like nothing more than a bumbling idiot, he placed his hand on the door anyway, poised to fight for Cristina.

"Chief, I need to talk to you."

Webber looked up from his desk, peering over a pair of dark rimmed glasses, "Preston, I heard about Cristina, I'm sorry. Is she going to be okay?"

"No."

Webber sat down his pen and pushed away the papers he was looking at, "Oh really? I thought she was just dehydrated. Did they find something else?"

"No." he repeated.

"Then what's going on?" Webber questioned, his eyebrow raised in question.

Burke took a seat in front of him and put his hands against the desk, "Let her come back."

"She can come back in 11 months with the new interns, Preston. We've been over this." he sighed, folding his hands together impatiently, "She could still be a second year resident if she would've joined up with the cardiology program as recommended, but she's too arrogant for her own damn good, so she'll have to wait."

"No, let her come back now. She's ready. She can handle it, it's not fair to her that she has to start the program all over again.", he protested.

"And she'll be a second year resident again, but she'd be nothing more than a liability to this hospital if she came back now."

"A liability? Richard, do you want to talk about liabilities? Because I assure you, Cristina would be the least of your worries in that department."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Webber questioned him, folding his arms across his chance, his eyes glowering with anger.

"Let's talk about Meredith Grey if you want to talk about liabilities."

"You're out of line, Preston."

"No, you're out of line." Burke interrupted him, rising to his feet. "Meredith Grey drove under the influence of alcohol, her BAC was twice the legal limit, she nearly killed Cristina, and she got away with a small fine to the MRB, a small suspension, and a six month probation within the hospital."

"She was punished, she is being punished for her actions, but this has nothing to do with Dr. Yang." Richard shot back, rising to his feet as well.

"And what's Cristina being punished for? Is it because her mother isn't a world renowned surgeon, or is it because you never slept with her mother?" Burke questioned, not the slightest amount of hesitancy with his words evident.

"Get out. I expect to see you back at work on Monday morning, and in that OR doing what I pay you to do. There is no more time off for you, no matter what the circumstance. Cristina Yang is a girlfriend, she's not family, she's not your wife, and I've been lenient with you up to this point and taking time off to take care of her. No more." Webber motioned to the door.

Burke pressed his lips together, and turned away from Webber, "Yes sir."

As he exited the office, he shot one more glance back at the Chief, who was still staring him down, and shook his head.

"I do what's best for my hospital, Preston. You'd do well to remember that." he lectured.

"I do what's best for Cristina, Richard. You'd do well to remember that." he answered quietly and pulled the door behind him.

He processed her words through his head over and over again, and paused on the skywalk to look at the families below, trying to remember Cristina before all of this happened, when she was still stubborn, when she was still arrogant, but when he could look into her eyes and see a woman that loved him with all of her will, even if she wasn't able to admit it.

He let out a long exhale and started back towards her room.

He was going to fight for her.

Even if she didn't want him to.