Cristina sees Burke inside the Chief's office and watches as they shake hands and Burke leaves. On The Walkway of Truth, he motions Cristina over to the side so that they look as nonchalant as if they're discussing dinner. Before he can speak, she begins to reassure him that things are okay, but he breaks in to tell her that the meeting was about Richard retiring and wanting to name Burke the new Chief of Surgery. They stand in stunned silence. It's interesting to note, also, that clearly Burke did not tell the truth, as he told Cristina he was going to do. I know there's not a good time for "So, Chief, turns out I've been shaking while doing delicate and rare procedures on people's hearts, and lying about it while relying to heavily on my intern girlfriend," but being offered a promotion might have been a good spot to mention it.

Welcome to one of the hardest scenes I've ever had to watch, much less watch multiple times. Burke and Cristina are in the on-call room, each talking quietly to themselves. Cristina is pacing and he's sitting in a chair against the wall, each dealing with the information in their own ways. She's relieved George said nothing and is working out how to ensure that he stays quiet. Burke just repeats over and over again that he can't believe it. Cristina finally concludes out loud that this is a good thing, and that no one will ever have to know. It's not a good conclusion, she's in too deep, but this gives everyone a way out and no one gets hurt or killed. Burke, though, explodes with unhappiness. He's gotten his dream the wrong way. Point-blank, he announces, "I had a tremor and I didn't say anything about it. It's unimaginable. It's unethical. Dishonorable. I crossed a line." Cristina jumps to his defense, assuring him that they both crossed a line, and so Burke decides to get angry at someone other than himself. "You dragged me across the line. You made us a team. You told Shepherd I was fine, you said nobody has to know. I was out there on my own. You made us a team." She tells him that she did what he needed, and recounts how he'd cried about having no life without surgery and how he couldn't be Preston Burke. Infuriatingly, he yells, "That was your concern, not mine." He keeps saying that, keeps throwing in her face that she's only in love with Preston Burke, Surgeon, but I think the fact that it's what springs to his mind every time means that he's the one who can't see himself as anything else but Preston Burke, Surgeon. She yells back as much, saying, "No, no, no. YOU put that on me."