'I just wanted to…make sure there was nobody around so I could say this,' Izzie said, in a low voice as she poked her head around the rows of lockers.

With an effort, keeping all emotion out of his voice and turning his back to hide the fact that his hands were shaking, he did up his tie. 'You've said everything there is to say-'

'Shut up. And let me do that.' Izzie took the fabric from his hands and began to slowly knot it, her eyes never leaving his face. He turned to face her as her finger struggled with the tie.

'I am at fault. And I –'

'Here, let me do this-' His hands tried to tug the ties from between her fingers.

'Let me speak.' He stopped protesting and she studied his face until he raised his eyes to meet hers.

'Because I'm your best friend, and because I love you, if what you want is to be with Callie, I will do everything in my power to support you, and help you make your marriage work, because I'm your best friend, and because I love you.' George dropped his eyes. Her hands flattened and straightened his collar against his neck.

'I … also … have to say … that I am in love with you,' she let her hands drop down, smoothing out creases in his jacket. He looked at her wordlessly.

'I'm in love with you,' she repeated, voice gaining strength, 'And I can't promise the future, I can't promise perfection, because we're us, and I'm me and who knows what will happen.' George's eyes never left her face as she spoke.

'But in my heart … I am sure. I'm in love with you George, and I hope you're in love with me too.' There was a silence as they both studied the other's face, eyes barely moving. George registered her lips, trembling just the littlest bit, full and he wished he could kiss them. Pull her into him, and kiss her and never let her go.

'Say something.'

Bang!

The door swung open and crashed off the opposite wall as Alex, Christina, Meredith and Derek crashed through it, diving for suits and dresses.

'What time is it?'

'We got thirty minutes.'

In less than ten the interns were dressed, and Christina was wriggling as Meredith tried to repair the damage to her eyebrows. A secretary panted into the room, waving test results. There was a general cry as the letters were unfolded.

'How did you do? Did you pass?'

George skipped a beat before answering. 'Yeah, I'll talk to you at the church.'

'OK.'

'If you wanna break up with me, so you can see other women, just do it. Don't tell me you met another woman, just end it if that's what you want.'

'Sure you can. Here's how it goes…'

Derek took in her neckline underneath the brown straps, the way her hair tumbled over her shoulders and one hand rested on her hip in impatience. The way her mouth moved at one corner as she looked at the ground, and the way the dress fell over her hips and flowed to the floor.

'Meredith. I don't wanna see you anymore. Meredith. I don't love you anymore –'

'Meredith.' Derek took a step forward, half smiling.

'I do love you.' He put out a hand to touch her cheek.

'Don't you see? Don't you understand?' With his thumb, he stroked her cheek, palm warm against her neck.

'You're the love of my life.' He slowly moved his hand away. 'I can't leave you. But you're constantly leaving me. You go away when you want, you come back when you want. Not everyone, not your friends, just me. So I'm asking you, if you don't see a future for us, if you're not in this, please, please just end it because I can't, I'm in it. Put me out of my misery.'

'I –' Meredith shook her head. 'I can't, I – I – Christina's ... getting married. I have to go, make sure she gets married.' The ghost of a tear started in the corner of Derek's eye as he shook his head slightly.

'Meredith?' Now the tears sprang to her eyes.

'I really need to make sure she gets down that aisle.'

'Then let's go. We're running late.' And on that frosty note, they walked side by side out of the locker room.

Alex sat down next to Addison, noticing the way her pale blue dress clung to her curves.

'I'm always confused,' she commented, 'If you know both the bride and the groom, which side do you sit on?'

'I just look for the hottest chick in the room and sit next to her.' They both looked straight ahead.

'Stop.'

'Wanna skip the reception, grab a drink instead?'

'Stop it,' now Addison looked over at him.

'You don't want me.'

'Maybe I do.'

'No, you don't. You want Ava.'

'She's not Ava anymore, she's Rebecca now and I hardly know her.' Addison looked at him.

'Look at me.' Alex stared straight ahead. 'Look at me.' Grudgingly, he turned his head.

'You suck. To me, you suck. I kind of … hate you. But Alex, we do not get unlimited chance to have the things we want, and this, I know. Nothing is worse than missing an opportunity that could have changed you entire life. And no matter that her name is, she'll always be Ava to you.'

'Derek.' Meredith caught his hand, and pulled him around to face her. 'I have to say this, because…' She took a deep breath, 'You told me you were just a guy in a bar, and that if I got to know you, I'd love you. And I did – get to know you. And I do – love you, I mean. I do. Derek, I'm not constantly leaving you. I got scared, because I had something real and something good, and according to Izzie , good things are hard to come by, and … now you're mocking me.'

Derek had started to smile. 'I'm not mocking you.' He smiled again, and then stepped towards her. They both looked into each other's eyes, and in one swift, fluid movement she was in his arms, kissing him and stroking his hair with her hands, and then, without quite knowing what was happening because she was too lost in the kiss, he was pulling her into the on-call room and she was underneath him and all she could feel was his arms around her, and his lips on her neck and his chest on top of her.

'Derek…wait…' breathlessly, Meredith pushed his mouth away from hers.

'Weddings always start a bit late anyway,' Derek murmured in her ear, reading her thoughts.'

'At least … half an hour …'

'Works for me.' And he rolled back on top of her, kissing her and they were both glad that they were back where they belonged; in each other's arms. And neither one was letting go.

'Meredith! Please! Say something! Say anything! Say what I would say to you if you were me!'

'Ok! Ok! Got it!'

'Good – Go!'

Meredith strode over to stand in front of Christina, and opened her mouth.

'Stop whining! This is your wedding day! You will go down that aisle and you will get married! If I have to kick your ass every step of the way to get you there - you will walk down that aisle and you will get married! Do you hear me Christina? We need this! We need you to get your happy ending!'

'Ok! I'm ready.'

Inside, the music was playing, but the doors didn't open. Burke shook his head, small smile in the corner of his mouth.

'I'll go.' Derek watched him walk back down the aisle.

But as his hand reached for the door handle, it swung open to reveal Christina, with Izzie and Callie holding her train and Meredith fingering the ring in her palm, all smiling. Burke smiled in relief, and offered Christina his arm. Together, they walked down the aisle. Mama Burke raised her eyebrows in disapproval at the bride and groom walking down the aisle together.

Alex ran through the hospital, narrowly avoiding several wheelchairs and scattering a bunch of scrub nurses in his wake. He didn't care though. He careered around the corner and came to a dead stop in the doorway that he knew so well … Room 2245. It was empty. Utterly deserted. Devoid of Ava's chart, x-rays, everything that he knew. He sat down on her bed, head in his hands, until he heard a slight sob outside the window.

On a hunch, he sprinted down to the carpark and gasped for breath as he saw the small form of Ava standing in the entrance in the rain, by herself.

'Hey,' it took Alex less than two seconds to be at her side. She turned, and a tear rolled down her cheek, joining the raindrops.

'Hey… no, what is it?'

'It's Jeff …. He, left …' Her shoulders shook as she lifted her face to Alex's. He took a deep breath.

'Rebecca –' She put her hand over his.

'Ava.'

'Ava. Anyone who loves you, wouldn't let you go twice. Twice. He didn't come looking for you, and now he's not coming back. And I … I can't understand how anyone could do that to you. You're beautiful. Even when your face was broken, and all I could see were your eyes, you were beautiful. To me, you were beautiful. And now, you're here, in the rain, and I came to tell you. That here is your reason. It's here. Standing right in front of you. In the rain, in a suit. Me. I'm your reason. I – love you.'

Ava gasped, and put a hand to her cheek. Alex put a hand over hers, feeling her skin warm despite the rain, and removed the traces of tears on her face with his thumb. And then, not even moving out of the rain, he put his lips to hers and kissed her, other hand in her hair, both of her hands stroking his chest through the sodden shirt under his open jacket.

It was as if all the previous months had led to this moment, and in a way, they had. Ava kissed him back, passion and love spilling out of her lips and making them both feel like they were finally home.

'Christina. I could promise to hold you, and to cherish you. I could promise to be there in sickness and in health. I could say, 'till death do us part', but I won't. Those vows are for optimistic couples, the ones full of hope and I do not stand here, on my wedding day, optimistic or full of hope. I am not optimistic and I am not hopeful.'

Christina's raised her pencilled eyebrows a bit in confusion. Burke made a small signal with his hand.

'I am sure. I am steady. And I know that I am a heart man, take it apart, put it back together, I am a heart man. So this I am sure; you are my partner, my lover, my very best friend. My heart beats for you, and on this day, the day of our wedding, I promise you this, I promise to lay my heart in the palm of your hands. I promise you – me.'

Christina breathed out a half-sob and a half-sigh and smiled, a true, sincere smile.

'You may kiss the bride.'

Burke turned to her and put both of his hands on the pearl bodice of her wedding dress and pressed his lips into hers. And in that moment, it all came together. The sex in the on-call room all those months ago, the break-up in the stairwell, the pregnancy, the miscarriage, the shooting, the proposal, the arguments, and fights, the make-ups; it all came together in that moments, in that kiss. Their lips moved as one. Mama Burke and Mrs Yang held hands and the couple kissed in front of the altar.

'I now pronounce you … husband and wife!'

They held hands and squeezed them tight as they walked back down the aisle, together, full of happiness and joy for a new life.

'I wasn't sure you were going to come,' Izzie whispered in his ear as he started down the stairs when most of the guests had already left. George turned around with a start, and then breathed out in relief when he say it was Izzie. He touched her hand with his fingers. She didn't move away, so he grasped her whole hand and pulled her into a corner behind the stairwell.

'Izzie … I have to tell you … I'm in love with you too. And that's all that matter. I'll sort out Callie, everything will be fine.'

'Oh, George…'

Izzie wrapped both her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers, in a kiss that unleashed all the passion that they had both felt since the impromptu sex the night that they were both drunk together. They moved as one, and in that moment, every intern at Seattle Grace got their happy ending.