Nobody deliberately wanted to be a hero, but sometimes life didn't allow one to choose.
Twitching and perspiring uncontrollably under the hazard control helmet, Burke knew he was about to faint. The moment his left side hit the ground, everything blacked out.
In the land of fairies and elves, Burke felt the loving strokes of the morning breeze and the sweetness of a familiar scent swirling in the air. The dream was colorful and calming, but it didn't stop him from stretching his arm to catch the faceless mist that was singing praises to him as a hero.
The next minute Burke was on his feet again, he squint his eyes in search of the angel. All he found was the other two Attendings, teasing him behind their oxygen masks about how he had just been pampered like a baby but crowned as a hero.
The only time when Cristina was so affectionate in public was the time Burke actually missed! Hero or not, he couldn't help but shook his head in proud disbelief.
Lying on the side of his back with his hand still clinging on the mask, Burke wished Cristina had stayed longer. If that's what she called sticking, it surely wasn't long enough.
Still recuperating from the deprivation of oxygen, the three Attendings each looked around. Addison knew Alex's whereabouts, but Derek and Burke were being kept in the dark.
Once the brain was filled with oxygen again, their logic also resumed. Where would they be, apart from that most toxic room?
The realization hit them and off the gurney they jumped. Burke didn't ask Cristina to be a hero, he only wanted her to be his wife.
Limping through the hallway to the OR, the only thought that was repeating in his head was the safety of his woman.
However tremendous was Cristina's trust in him, Burke was not ready to dismiss the wickedness of life.
She was an independent and competent woman, but he didn't want her to risk her life.
He was foolish enough to have gone into the room and there needn't be another foolish soul to follow his footsteps.
Ready to kick open the door to question Richard's decision and pull Cristina out of the plight, Burke was stopped by a hand over his shoulder, which brought him back to the world of reason.
Cristina Yang came to learn to be a surgeon, and that's who she'd become.
If he was so determined to get her to open up, how then could he deter her from showing her selfless love? If he really wanted to win Cristina's heart, Burke would have to let her be who she was.
Despite all the reasoning going on in his head, Burke couldn't stop his feet from pacing back and forth. The sense of helplessness overwhelmed him as he prayed for the safe return of Cristina.
Nothing would matter, as long as she was back in one piece.
When he couldn't hold it anymore, Burke ripped off his scrubs cap and headed straight to his locker.
How did Cristina manage to be sticking, while he was the first to walk away?
Buttoning his shirt in rigidly, Burke shut his eyes.
Not only wasn't he a hero, he too wasn't perfect. But with every little step they took together and apart, they were shaping each other's path, growing into better persons.
Excellence would always be a goal, but being ordinary and content was what Burke would settle for.
As long as Cristina said yes.