Index: wp-includes/functions.php
===================================================================
--- wp-includes/functions.php	(revision 18990)
+++ wp-includes/functions.php	(working copy)
@@ -3801,7 +3801,7 @@
 			if ( is_object( $row ) )
 				$value = $row->meta_value;
 			else
-				$value = $default;
+				return $default;
 
 			$value = maybe_unserialize( $value );