There's a sharp pain in Addison's side and she jumps, "What the hell was that for?"

"Look who decided to finally come back," George mumbles into her ear, trying to be obscure despite the fact that he's anything but, "what do you think they did all weekend long?"

"I'd rather not think about that. I have work to do," she says, closing a chart definitively, "and it's none of your business either. Just pay attention to the patients."

"Addison," Burke greets, Cristina still at his side.

She glances at the two of them and then lifts her chart from the counter without another word. She walks away and knows fully that Burke will follow her. Burke and Cristina share a glance and Cristina hangs back while Burke walks ahead to catch up with her, "You're angry with me?"

"Did you enjoy your little weekend off while we were here trying to cover your ass?" She asks, making no effort to be even a little bit quiet.

"We were working."

"Right," she says slowly, "you were working."

"Addison," he sighs. He's been privy to these moods before and he knows how difficult it is to console her when she's this angry.

Burke also knows that the anger is well deserved.

"Don't. Do not make me feel guilty for being angry with you. This was us. You, me, George- the three of us were in this together and then you drag her into it or she put herself in it and suddenly, you just abandon us, so what? You can get laid, Preston? Is that what this is?" She asks, "Because if you gave a damn about the department anymore, maybe you'd pull yourself away from Dr. Yang long enough to see that you're being careless."

Addison's words surprise Burke and he can see that she's hurt, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not listening to you apologize. It's a waste of my time and it's a waste of our patients' time. You're losing your focus and she's to blame for it. I don't know how you can't see that."

"Addison," he says again, losing count of how many times he's tried to explain himself, "I'm going to Webber."

"You're what? Is this her genius idea? Turn yourself in and he'll be totally fine with it? I can't believe you're listening to her Preston. You have got to see through her motives," Addison says, glaring past him to Cristina, "she's got you right where she wants you and you're just going along with it."

"Actually," he interrupts, moving to obstruct Addison's view of Cristina, "it was my idea."

Addison falls quiet and her gaze shifts to the floor, "You're being careless."

"I'm making this right," he says in a low voice, "I can leave you and O'Malley out of this, if you prefer. It's up to the two of you. I'll accept all responsibility but what Cristina and I have worked out, the research and the database, it's your work too."

"You're saying what?"

"I'm telling Webber the truth, the records, the patients, the referrals, all of it. It's up to you if you want to be a part of that. It's your work but if you're concerned about your career, I'll understand. I'll shoulder the blame and whatever consequences come with it."

She chews on her bottom lip for a minute, trying to contemplate his so called consequences. There's no way she's letting go of all of that work but she's not going to let that on so easily, "I want to know exactly what you two have been plotting. All of it. And I want to know why you've kept it from me."

-

The office door seems heavier than normal when Cristina pushes it open. The room is smaller, he's bigger and everything is more daunting. Especially with what they're about to do. Webber looks at her, an expression of displeasure already clearly painted across his face.

When Burke follows her inside, the look of displeasure turns to something much more frightening.

"Close the door," he says through gritted teeth, immediately putting his pen down.

Burke does as asked and they both take a seat in front of his desk. The glance Webber aims at Cristina does not go unnoticed by Burke and he smiles inwardly at the way she doesn't shrink away from it. She does a good job of hiding her emotions.

Almost too good of a job.

"Dr. Webber, I requested to join Dr. Yang in this meeting," Burke says, disrupting Webbers silent admonishment.

"Is that so, Dr. Burke? And you're aware of what this meeting is about?"

Cristina answers before Burke can, "He does."

"I hope you're aware of what this means, Dr. Yang," Webber says, "and Dr. Burke, you can expect the same treatment for your blatant disregard of this hospital and the hospital's goals and missions."

"Actually, sir, that's why we've come here today. I want to speak to you about the hospital's goals and missions and how my department not only meets those expectations but exceeds them," Burke says evenly, extending a heavy folder to Webber.

"Your department is a disappointment and nothing but," Webber spouts, ignoring the folder.

"With all due respect sir, look at the folder," Cristina chimes in, "what Dr. Burke is doing is groundbreaking stuff. It would put Seattle Grace at the forefront of cardiothoracic medicine if you hear him out. Take the folder."

"And what exactly is Dr. Burke doing?" Webber is doing his best not to satisfy his curiosity as to the folder's contents, especially without an explanation as to what's going on. "Please, explain yourself."

Burke inhales deeply, steels himself to Webber's judgment. What he's doing is right and what they're doing is going to work. That's the only acceptable outcome, "With the assistance of few, I have been performing surgery on non-operative candidates. Renal failure, long term uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetics, peripheral vascular disease, amongst others. The short term complications are apparent as you well know, but the long term outcomes are desirable."

"You've been what?" Webber asks incredulously, "Your medical records reflect nothing of the sort."

"The reports are inaccurate," Burke says, "due to the fact that I knew it would interfere with my ability to help these patients. I have the accurate medical records stored in a safe place and their privacy has been maintained."

Cristina flinches when Webber tells the two of them to get out but neither one of them move. She can see the vein on the side of his head pulsing with his heart rate- about 110 right now- and she knows they're pushing their luck, "Sir, please just look at the folder."

"What's in the goddamn folder?" Webber finally asks, taking the folder and dropping it on his desk without opening it.

"A grading scale for high risk patients. It lists the complications to expect when dealing with the patients, management of, risk associated with surgery. It's simply waiting to be published," Cristina explains, "we're also pending accreditation from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons to back up what we're doing. They have full knowledge of the patient outcomes, both long and short term. The accreditation should come through any day now."

"If it comes through," Webber counters.

"It will come through," Burke interrupts, "this work could make a difference in the lives of thousands, Richard and Seattle Grace will be the pioneer. It's the publicity you want, the work I want, without obsessing over frivolous numbers."

"Those so called frivolous numbers are what keep us at the top of the field."

"And this changes the field," Cristina points out, "in a major way."

"You've put the hospital at risk!" Webber roars, standing up, "You've put our accreditation at risk with CMS, you've put your careers and medical licenses at risk. What you've done is dishonest, dangerous and irresponsible. What you've done is-"

"Groundbreaking," Burke answers calmly, "and right. It's the right thing to do."

"You could have lost our funding."

"The funding that my patients funnel into the hospital is more than enough. What I'm doing isn't going to lose accreditation as long as the hospital backs me. It will only raise eyebrows from the more conservative surgeons."

Cristina reaches forward to nudge the folder towards Webber, "Just look at the information before you do anything."

Webber looks down at the file and then at her, "Was this your intention all along, Dr. Yang? Mislead me until you could help Dr. Burke?"

She shakes her head, looking away from Burke. She still feels guilty for the pretenses under which she was hired, "No, sir. At first, I-"

"I dissuaded her from her original assignment," Burke interrupts, without so much as looking at Cristina, "nurses overheard a conversation and alerted me to what was going on. Dr. Yang was doing her job and I dragged her into it."

Cristina looks at Burke for only a moment, angry and awestruck all at the same time. She turns her attention back to Webber to offer her side of the story but he speaks again.

"You're both suspended. You so much as set foot in an OR and I'll see to it that you're fired immediately," Webber says, sitting down.

"What?" Cristina asks, looking at him with raised eyebrows, "We're not fired?"

"Do you want to be?"

"No," Cristina answers immediately, "no, I just…if we're not operating who's going to-"

"Dr. Montgomery will be covering for both of you," he mutters and then adds, "on stable patients only. None of this crap. Am I understood?"

"If a patient comes in-" Burke starts and then stops, "we don't have to declare them inoperable immediately. We can wait until we hear from you?"

Webber clenches his jaw and rather than answering gives the slightest of nods. It's not exactly something that he likes the idea of agreeing to but he's also intrigued- and slightly proud- of the presentation that his two surgeons have put together. Anything that puts Seattle Grace on the map is at least worth hearing out.

He's hoping it's also worth the headache that he's going to get when he goes before the board to explain the delay in the investigation.

Again.

"Thank you sir," Cristina says, "thank you. You won't regret this."

"Get the hell out of my office."

Without another word, the two immediately stand and walk outside, fighting back smiles until they're in the hallway. They're not relieved by any means, but they're also not fired which is cause for celebration enough.

-

Cristina leans back against the wall and sighs. So many things could have gone wrong today but they didn't. She's thankful for it but she's still uneasy, no matter how much Burke had told her to relax. She doesn't understand how he can seem so calm right now. This is his work, mostly. She should be the one telling him to relax.

"You realize that you're supposed to be looking out the window, right? That's the purpose of an observation gallery." Burke walks over to Cristina and pauses to watch Addison down in the OR for a moment before taking a seat next to Cristina on the floor, "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that," she says softly.

"I'm hopeful," he says, looking over at her. He resists the urge to reach out and tip her chin up, to kiss her and soothe her in a different way. Their weekend shared together was an even mix of work and the other stuff, the latter leaving him only wanting more rather than being able to focus completely on work. Despite that fact, they haven't discussed it and now isn't a good time to bring it up.

"Be hopeful for both of us." It's her way of admitting that she's scared, nervous, whatever feeling it is that she rarely ever acknowledges. She glances over at Burke and sees the look in his eyes and she falters slightly, remembering their weekend as well.

"You realize that you don't have to keep this up?" He says, "You can go back to winning your awards and your perfect numbers. You don't have to do this."

"What? And give up working with you?" Cristina smiles faintly, "No award is worth that. Besides, there's no way I'm letting you outdo me with some stupid high risk scale."

Burke's smile mirrors her own and he stretches his arm out to slip it around her shoulder and pull her close. His lips brush her forehead when she settles against him, "Good."

-

The messy black curls are unmistakably hers and Addison doesn't even hesitate for a moment before taking a seat next to the woman. She orders a glass of white wine from Joe and looks over at Cristina picking at a peanut shell, "Where's Preston?"

Cristina's surprise finally fades from Addison sitting next to her and she shrugs, "At home trying to get some sleep. I don't think either one of us have slept for at least a month."

"Then why aren't you at home sleeping?" Addison cares less about whether or not Cristina is getting any sleep and more about what she's doing at the bar while Burke is at home sleeping. She doesn't like Cristina but she'll like her even less if she does anything to hurt her friend.

"Couldn't sleep," Cristina mumbles, reaching for her drink.

"You know," Addison starts, "Preston is a good guy. He's a great guy, even. Very focused on his work, always wanting to do the right thing, even to his detriment. I care about him a lot, what he's doing for people."

"I know. That's why I'm trying to help him," she looks over at Addison, "I know that you don't like me and that's fine. You don't have to. But I care about what he's doing too." She leaves out the part where she cares about Burke because that's not really any of Addison's business and Addison definitely doesn't have a right to know before she actually says it out loud to him.

If she can ever work up to that.

"I don't like you," Addison agrees, "but Preston does. You've…you've brought out another side of him. He's always been focused on his work, maybe too much. He's never joked, smiled rarely. And now he does. He seems happy."

Cristina doesn't have a response for what Addison has said. She was the same prior to meeting Burke, prior to really getting to know him and she thinks, no, she knows that it means something.

"I thought you were bad for him, for the department. And I was wrong," It's the closest that Addison will ever get to an apology to the other woman. The two of them still went about things the wrong way, they still hid things from her and she'll take a while to get over that, but what Cristina did for him was unexpected.

A faint smile traces Cristina's lips. It's a blessing of sorts for whenever their thing can become a priority, "Thanks."

"You have feelings for him," Addison says, less of a question and more of an observation that's been in desperate need of acknowledgement. Not because she doesn't already recognize it but because she needs to know that Cristina is willing to verbalize reciprocation for what she knows Preston obviously feels.

Tracing her fingers around the top of her glass, Cristina considers the woman's words for a moment and then looks over at Addison, "I wouldn't want to work with anybody else."

-

Webber paces back and forth behind his desk, hands clasped firmly behind his back. The room is stiflingly silent as Burke and Cristina look on, watching as Webber passes like a caged animal. By the time he finally speaks, they're sufficiently uncomfortable.

"Do you realize the position you've put me in?" He asks, and his voice is a lot more threatening than either one of them could have possibly imagined, "What you've done to the hospital? This Robin Hood act has done nothing but make me very angry and put me under a lot of stress. The last thing you want to do is piss off the Chief of Surgery, the Medical Review Board, and the Chief of Staff. I would think that you'd both know that."

They agree in unison but are afraid to even apologize afterwards.

"I should report you," Webber continues, "have your licenses revoked. You know the legalities of the situation, the compromise that you placed on your career and yet you did it anyway-"

"Dr. Webber," Burke starts to contend, now sufficiently certain that he's going to lose his job and possibly his license.

"Because you wanted to do the right thing," Webber finishes, sitting in his chair, "you nearly lost your jobs. I was preparing to go to the review board with your termination papers when Patricia brought this to me," he extends a letter to Burke.

"What is this?" Burke asks, looking down at the letter.

"It's notification from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons recognizing your advances in Cardiothoracic Medicine and certifying your department as a center for cardiothoracic surgical studies. I showed it to the board, along with your scale and your…transgressions."

"And?"

Webber looks intently at Burke, "You're suspended from the OR for six months. You may oversee the department and cases, continue your research so long as it doesn't involve a scalpel in your hands. Dr. Yang and Dr. Montgomery will operate on patients, including the high risk ones. All medical records will be reviewed by a third party for tampering and we will require a copy of all medical records from outside facilities and referrals to come through my office prior to surgery being scheduled. Any sign that you're putting this hospital at compromise, Dr. Burke, and you'll be out of a job and a license to practice medicine. Do I make myself clear?"

Burke can't fight back a wide grin. It's the validation that his work has needed, "Yes, Dr. Webber."

Cristina blinks, still in disbelief, "You mean we're not fired?"

"Do you want to be?" Webber asks, this time amused by the seemingly steely surgeon's reaction.

"No, sir. Not at all," she answers quickly and then adds, "thank you."

"Don't thank me. I want you to do your jobs. If the budget falls out of the green or you start killing patients more than you save them, I'll cut you both off." Webber watches as they fumble over themselves to express their understanding and shakes his head, "Get the hell out of my office. Now."

The two leave his office immediately, not taking time to ask any more questions. Pushing for anything else right now would be foolish and they know that. They share a suppressed celebration a few feet outside Webber's office, relieved that everything seemed to work out with such minimal consequences.

-

George's head tilts to the side in confusion, "Seriously?"

"Would I lie about this O'Malley?" Burke asks, the slightest smile still turning up the corner of his lips.

"I still don't believe it," Addison admits, "it doesn't seem real."

"It's real," Cristina finally chimes in though she still feels out of place. Though she had a hand in developing the scale, a hand in working with Burke for the past few months, she's still very much the outsider.

Addison looks at Cristina, slightly unhappy about the fact that she has to answer to the other woman for the next six months on all things surgical but it's a small price to pay for Preston's work being validated.

It's an even smaller price to pay to keep their careers intact.

"So, should we celebrate or something?" George suggests, "We could all go get a drink at Joe's."

"Actually, there's a patient in the ER," Burke answers hesitantly.

Cristina sees the look of disappointment mixed with exhaustion on Addison's face and glances at Burke apologetically, "I'll take care of it. They've been here all weekend long. They need a break."

There's surprise in Addison's eyes but it fades quickly, "You just want to show off."

A slight grin crosses Cristina's lips, "You'll never know either way."

Burke looks between the two women and senses that they may butt heads more than once over the next few months. It amuses him when the thought crosses his mind that it may have been easier to deal with covering up his patient's histories than dealing with two stubborn women.

-

"You're sure that Webber is okay with you scrubbing in?" Cristina asks again, looking over at Burke, "I'm not accepting responsibility for you going against his orders."

"He said I couldn't hold a scalpel. A suction catheter is totally different," he grins beneath his surgical mask and then adds, "and yes, he said it was fine, especially after I told him that O'Malley and Addison were over hours. You worry too much."

"Do not," she answers haughtily before backing into the OR.

Burke is still grinning beneath his mask when he follows her into the OR and watches as she gowns up. They're celebrating tonight, as soon as they get out of surgery. What they've set out to do is done and he has a hundred things to say to her.

None of them pertain to work.

Cristina makes the initial incision and Burke feels a twinge of jealousy that he's not able to operate for six months. It's a long time spent out of the OR but he tries to remind himself that it's worth it. When Cristina opens the chest cavity and reveals the patient's heart, the jealousy changes to pride as she immediately gets to work. Her hands are delicate as she works, following almost every piece of advice that he's ever given her when it comes to working with these complicated patients.

Despite his instruction, however, she still uses a bit of her own technique too. She pauses to point out that her technique would be more appropriate in this situation and he's too busy being amused to actually listen or agree with what she's saying.

It's still surreal to him that they're doing this and the Chief of Surgery is aware of it.

Once her work is done and they begin rewarming the heart, his hand brushes hers at the base of the chest cavity and their eyes meet. There's suggestion lingering between the two of them and she clears her throat but doesn't even bother to tear her eyes away from his.

She has no reason to for at least the next ten minutes.

The surgery ends without incident and their patient is wheeled out of the OR by anesthesia and the heart nurse. They discard their surgical garb but linger in the OR, leaning against the table. "Beat your best time," she teases him gently.

"Oh, is this a competition?" He asks, "I wasn't aware."

"It's always a competition with me. You should know that."

Burke crosses his arms, taking in the information, "Is there anything else I should know?"

"I take my coffee black, I prefer my Chinese food from Shanghai Garden, locally brewed beers are the best, and I'm off this weekend. But I think you already knew that one," she rattles off, never taking her eyes off of him.

"I did know that one," he confirms, placing one hand on either side of her against the OR table, "and I intend on taking full advantage of it."

"You should," Cristina slips her arms around his waist and pulls him closer to her, "as a matter of fact, I insist."

Burke smiles before he kisses her and holds her body tightly against his. She responds, matching the fervor of his kiss before pulling back with a small smile.

"You know it's a bad idea to fall for your colleagues."

"I think it's far too late for that," he mumbles in a low voice, fingertip tracing against the small of her back.

Cristina smiles faintly and kisses him briefly once more, "Yeah. I know."

-

There's a quiet intensity about him as Burke stands before the roomful of his colleagues, alongside the woman he loves. The moment is surreal, accepting the Harper Avery award for his advances in cardiothoracic surgery. His speech is short and it centers on the patients affected by his work rather than his work itself. After a brief thanks to the people who matter most to him, he steps aside and the room applauds.

Not so long ago, many referred to Preston Burke as a great disappointment to cardiothoracic surgery. The board questioned his lackluster numbers and the Chief of Surgery questioned his competency as a surgeon. He was falsifying medical records just to give his patients a chance at living.

Though his methods are not widely accepted, there have been several articles in response to his two, the fact remains that there are some who accept them. There are surgeons who have reached out to him for further education on how to manage the patients beyond the scale, surgeons who respect and want to learn his surgical techniques.

Just as before, the award in his hand still isn't of importance to him.

While the recognition is nice, the acceptance of his work is better. He's learned though that there's more to his life than his work, that the people who have been at his side are what matter the most.

He's not the only one who has learned that lesson.

Cristina's fingers are loosely laced with his, obscured between their bodies as he examines the award. She reaches out to take it but he pulls it away teasingly and then steals a quick kiss, a rare public display of affection. Addison fakes a gag and pulls the award away from both of them to look at it for herself.

"It's not that impressive," Addison mutters.

"Tell that to Shepherd," George smirks, nodding in the direction of the man stewing in the corner.

Addison glances towards Derek sitting in the corner and then back to her dear friend, "Actually, I'm going to borrow this for a moment if you'll excuse me."

Cristina watches as Addison walks away from them with the award that wasn't 'that impressive' only fifteen seconds ago and then shifts her gaze to George in curiosity, "What is that all about?"

"Cocky neurosurgeon ex-boyfriend," he explains and curses a moment later when the sauce from his hors d'oeuvre drips onto his tie. He walks away, muttering to himself and dabbing at the tie with a rumpled napkin, leaving Burke and Cristina alone.

Burke surveys the room, taking it all in one final time. The attention has been exhausting but well worth it.

Her fingers tighten around his slightly, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking that while it's been a nice evening, I am sufficiently ready to go home," he answers, turning his gaze to hers.

She smiles faintly, "You actually think you're going to be able to pry that award out of Addison's hand anytime soon? It seems as if she's enjoying it despite the fact that it's not that impressive."

"It's not ours to take home yet. Richard wants to place it on display in the lobby for a while."

Cristina frowns slightly. She knows that the Harper Avery isn't a big deal to him but she's proud of the fact that she's finally got one under her belt, though she really only did the data analysis and compilation.

The next Harper Avery will be hers and hers alone.

"He had better give it back," she mumbles begrudgingly.

"If I didn't know any better, Dr. Yang, I'd say that you were rather taken with that thing. Perhaps I should leave the two of you alone."

"Fine. You can do that," she answers, though she means anything but. While she came to Seattle Grace for the awards and the recognition, what she's got now with Burke isn't something that she would give up so easily.

Burke brushes her hair from her shoulder, leans in so that only she can hear him, "I'd rather take you home." His voice is low and tone suggestive of how he'd rather be celebrating their achievements.

"You don't think they'll miss us?" she asks weakly though she doesn't give a damn about any of them. She's more than happy to shed her heels and dress in lieu of something more comfortable, or preferably, nothing at all.

"I don't care if they do," he responds, slipping his arm around her waist and guiding her from the room. Burke has spent the better part of his life working to make sure his patients had a chance to live their lives and now that he's succeeded, he is looking forward to living his.