Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy, which I obviously don't, things on the show would very different.

A/n: Another George/Izzie one-shot. I love them as a couple too much and am dismayed (to put it lightly) to see the way the show has been going lately. This one-shot was inspired by something I was talking about with some other Gizzie fans at one of new fav hangouts, and is therefore dedicated the other posters there. Enjoy, guys. ;) Note: Alex/Izzie fans, stay away from this one-shot. Also, this is extremely fluffy. So anti-fluffers should stay away too. :P You all have been warned.

There was a full moon out but no one could see it for the rain clouds completely obscured it. The rain was coming down hard and though Izzie tried to use her coat as a shield from the water, it didn't help much. She made a break for it, nearly slipped and fell up the steps into the house and then made her entrance, dripping wet but quiet, into the darkened house. She wasn't expecting anyone to still be up this late and it wasn't until she'd dumped her things on the bench in the front foyer that she noticed George sitting on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn in his lap. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him there and she kicked off her shoes and shed her coat so she could join him.

"Whatcha watching?" she asked as she plopped down beside him and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"Some old movie." George replied.

"Is it any good?"

"Not really."

"Mm."

"You're wet."

"It's wet out."

"Apparently."

They were quiet for a moment, just sitting side by side on the old green couch, listening to the cheesy dialogue of some black and white drama and enjoying each other's company. Izzie wanted to ask why George had chosen to wait up for her but she was pretty sure she knew the answer, which kept her from saying anything at all. Finally George broke the silence.

"How was your… date with Alex?" he asked in a less than enthusiastic tone, never taking his eyes off the TV.

Izzie winced slightly. She knew he'd ask. That's why he'd waited up – so he could hear how things had gone with Alex that night. She debated whether or not to tell him the whole truth and decided to tell it in part, to see his reaction. George had never approved of her being with Alex in the first place and liked it even less that she'd decided to try getting back together with him. If she was completely honest with herself, she wasn't one hundred percent sure why she was giving Alex another chance either. He hardly deserved it, after the way he'd been treating her lately and after how they'd ended things in the first place. She was sure he cared for her, though, and while her feelings for him were not nearly as strong as they'd once been, she did still care for him too, to some extent. Dating him again was determining exactly how deep her feelings for him ran.

"It was fine, I guess," she said finally said truthfully with a shrug. "He said he thought he might be in love with me."

George snorted and shook his head.

"What?"

"He might be? Either - either he is, or he isn't. He should know. People… people know when they're in love with you – with people. People know when they're in love or not."

"Sometimes they don't know for sure." said Izzie a little defensively. "Sometimes they… sometimes people need to do things to make sure they know for sure. Like date people."

"Sometimes people do know when they're in love. And they've known for a long time and… Just… People - they should know." George shot back, almost angrily. "Love is a big thing. You don't mistake it. You don't not know."

Izzie scrunched her forehead in irritation and confusion. "Who are we talking about here? Why are you being weird?"

"I'm not being weird." George said quickly. "Just…" George sighed frustratedly. Though he seemed to want to say much more, he held back, Izzie noticed with disappointment. "Why don't you tell me more about your wonderful date." he added.

Izzie eyed George for a moment, noting the sarcasm and displeasure in his voice, before continuing. "Well, he actually took me to a nice restaurant. He wasn't exactly a charming ray of sunshine, but that's Alex for you. He said I should've worn the pink and orange satin dress because I look hotter in it."

George shook his head and made a noise of disgust.

"What now?" Izzie asked.

"Nothing." George grumbled.

"Well, George, it's obviously something. Are you pissed that I went out with Alex? Is that it?"

"Why would I care if you went out with Alex?" said George dismissively.

"You obviously do." Izzie pressed. "You've never been okay with the fact that I liked him. He's not that – "

"Don't you dare say 'bad'." George slammed the popcorn bowl down on the coffee table so hard that popcorn pieces jumped and flew all over the table and carpet. "I have tried to be the supportive friend. I have. I can't… I can't sit here… I can't take it anymore. Alex is that bad. You shouldn't be with him, you shouldn't date him. He's – he treats you terribly. He calls you names, he uses you, he treats your friends horribly. He – well, he cheated on you. No guy who does all that should get another chance."

Izzie opened her mouth to protest, though only half-heartedly, but George kept talking.

"You deserve so much better. You deserve the best. You deserve someone who will only call you names like… like Honey, Sweetheart, Beautiful… Goddess. Or something. Someone who treats you like a queen and like someone to be respected and not trod on or mistreated or used. Someone… someone who will never – would never dream of breaking your heart, as long as he lives."

George took Izzie's hands in his and dropped his voice to a soft tone. Her heart sped up and she looked directly into his blue eyes, hanging on his every word.

"Someone who has always been there for you and… and always will be. Someone who wants to cry with you and hold you while you cry. Someone who wants to laugh with you, do stupid things with you and do nothing at all with you, because he just wants to spend… every waking minute with you. Someone who… holds your hand while you're giving bone marrow to your daughter and holds your hand while he tells you why you shouldn't be dating another man."

Izzie's eyes glistened. "Oh George…"

"Izzie, I don't care if we eat here on this couch or in the fanciest restaurant in Seattle or – or in the streets. I don't care if you wear the pink and orange satin dress or a pair of old, holey sweat pants. You always… you're always beautiful. You always… make me stop breathing, just for a second, when I see you. You're stunning in every way and you deserve the best man the world has to offer.

"I… I may not be that guy. But I am, without a doubt, completely in love with you, Izzie Stevens. I love you all my heart and there's no maybe about it." George stared deeply into Izzie's shimmering chocolate brown eyes for a moment and added quietly, "So… I'd like it if, maybe, you – if you didn't go on another date with… you know. Alex."

Izzie couldn't help but laugh as tears spilled onto her flushed cheeks. Her date with Alex that night had revealed to her one thing: that she no longer had deep feelings for Alex. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about George, how sweet he had always been to her, how wonderful he was, how she definitely had more-than-platonic feelings for him, her best friend. She'd been afraid of how George felt about her. Though she knew he disliked that she was going out with Alex and she knew it was because George thought he was a terrible match for her, she'd only hoped – not known for sure – that maybe he felt more-than-platonic towards her too.

"Finally." She said and leaned forward to kiss George deeply as she'd been wanting to do all night. When they eventually broke apart, George put his hand on the side of Izzie's face and grinned.

She grinned back. "I would have tried dating Alex again a long time ago if I knew how this night would end."

"End?" George raised an eyebrow. "Oh, not a chance. We still have at least another hour of a mildly entertaining B-list movie from the 1950s to get through and then who knows what comes on after that."

Izzie laughed again, her heart light and full. She wished she'd realized her love for George sooner, that he'd confessed his sooner, that they'd been together as a couple long before this night. At the same time, this night was turning out to be perfect and she knew as solidly as she knew the sun would rise in the morning, that she had a whole lifetime to be a couple with George.

George slid his arm around her and they cuddled closer on the couch.

"In case I forgot to mention earlier," said Izzie. "I love you too."

George chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Good."

-end-

A/n: Wow, fluff galore. But George and Izzie deserve it. Thanks for reading and reviews are like oxygen. :)