NO MATTER WHAT
Chapter Two : Catastrophe.
George stood on the side of the road limping back and forth. Oh my God. What did I do? Oh my…Gawd. What have I done? What am I supposed to do? He thought, knowing his phone was completely covered in water and blood and therefore, utterly useless. He had barely managed to crawl out of the crunched up piece of metal, which was his pricey sports car only minutes ago. He was in terrible pain, but could still walk. Though, there was no way he had the strength to pull Hannah out. She lay inside the passenger side, or what used to be the passenger side, covered to her face in water and debris.
He continued to pace for what seemed to be an hour, but time was in slow motion for him, it had only been a few minutes. He looked over at the bright yellow school bus sitting in the middle of the road at an angle, where it had swerved to avoid colliding with his car. There had been no children aboard and it was around 6:30 now, as George looked down at his watch, the face of it, completely shattered. He figured he was unconscious for about an hour or so. The driver of the school bus was slumped over the steering wheel and obviously was not awake at the moment.
He waited on the side of the road, in hopes of someone driving by, but there was no one. Not a person. He looked in the distance and saw a light burning. He figured it must have been a porch light or garage light, so in an instant he sprinted for the flickering glow down the country road ahead of him. He was grunting as he ran, blood running down his leg. He was in severe pain, but at the instant he started running he became num and the only thing he could think about was getting Hannah out of that car and getting her to the hospital.
"Mommy. We are gonna be late for Ms. Bailey's party." Tucker said, with a sad face.
"No we won't, it starts at 7:00. Why don't you go upstairs and get your suit on. I will be up in just a minute to help you with your bow tie." Izzie said, comforting Tucker, as she rubbed his shoulder.
"Okay!" Tucker said, with a big smile on his face.
Izzie was really beginning to worry. Where is he? Did Hannah's flight get delayed? Are they stuck in traffic? Why isn't he picking up his phone? She thought.
"I will try calling him one more time." Izzie said, rocking Brooklyn back and forth in her arms.
Beep.
"Well, honey. I guess we got our paths crossed. Maybe you thought we were just gonna meet at Miranda's. So, we will just head over there, it is about 6:45 right now. Can't wait to see you and Hannah. Take care of my girl."
An hour had passed since Izzie left her last message for George and she had become quite distracted at the party and had lost track of time. Alex and Cristina were not there yet. She thought that was weird, considering they always seemed to be on time. She figured they might have got caught up at work. They were both workaholics, but that was just who they were. Callie and Matt's plane had just landed and they were waiting for Mark and Lexi to pick them up. Derek and his wife, Cherri were there. She was a delightful woman and they really worked well together. She had been chatting off and on with them, as well as Miranda and some of her other co-workers from SG.
"Still no word from him?" Miranda asked, as she sat down next to Izzie on the couch.
"No, not yet. Actually, what time is it?" Izzie asked.
"It's about 8:00." Miranda said, as she looked down at her wristwatch.
"It is?" Izzie asked.
"Yeah, that is why I asked about George. Maybe you should go try calling him again. Why don't you step outside, so you can hear better. It's a little loud in here." Miranda said, motioning towards the front door.
"Okay. Can you watch them for me?" Izzie asked, pointing in Tucker and Brooklyn's direction.
"Of course, sure." Miranda said.
"Thank you." Izzie said, getting up from the couch.
Izzie stood outside on the porch. As the phone rang, Izzie glanced down the street and noticed a car jostling back and forth. There seemed to be a couple in the back seat. Well, you know…getting busy. The windows were dripping with condensation. Looks like they're having fun. She thought. For some reason the car looked familiar, but she could not put her finger on it. Oh, well. She thought.
George's phone again went to voicemail, but this time she just hung up and figured she would try again in a few minutes. She sat down on the nearby stair step. At this point, she was scared out of her mind. In a total of about five minutes she had gone from being completely distracted to being off the wall freaked out. There was something wrong. Seriously wrong.
After trying numerous times to reach George, she gave up. As she got up to head back inside, her phone rang. It was not George's ring tone, Sexy Back. The ring tone she had secretly put on her phone when she caught him singing in the shower, as she watched his body pulsate through the shower curtain when he did not know she was watching. It was a tone she did not have linked to a certain person, but she knew she needed to pick up. Maybe George had left his phone at work or something and he was calling from a pay phone. She thought.
"Hello?" Izzie said.
"Hello, may I speak to Isabel O'Malley." The man on the other end asked.
"Yes. This is her…" Izzie said, shaking.
"I wanted to inform you that your husband George O'Malley was in a car accident with a young woman, by the name of Hannah. He was too distraught to call you himself. Could you please come to the scene as soon as possible. We are at the corner of Shower Hill and Crest." He said.
"Yessss…I can…is he ok, is she ok?" Izzie asked, frantically.
Izzie began to pace up and down the steps.
"George seems to be fine. The EMTs are checking them both out. Your husband seems to be reluctant to getting any help. His leg is bleeding pretty bad, but he says he is ok and not in much pain." The man said.
"Well, he is a doctor…so that is why he is being stubborn. What about Hannah…is she ok?" Izzie asked.
"She is not doing too good, Mrs. O'Malley. You need to get here as soon as possible. I am going to let you go now, I need to get back to directing the traffic." He said.
"Ohhh. Ok. Thank you, sir." Izzie said.
"You are most welcome." He said.
Izzie closed her phone after talking with the officer and fell down on the step beside her and began to weep, rocking back and forth. She did not hear Mark's car as it pulled up, but soon was comforted by the sounds of Callie and Lexi's voices.
"Iz, are you ok? What's going on?" Callie asked, running towards her.
"Oh my gosh. Izzie." Lexi said, walking at a faster pace to catch up with Callie.
Callie and Izzie had gotten close over the past few years. Surprising, huh? So, Callie was the one to rush to Izzie's side. Lexi was her friend too, but was not the girlfriend she called when she needed something, it was Callie she called.
Lexi, Mark, and Matt stood to the side as Callie consoled Izzie. They all had fear in their eyes. They could tell there was something wrong, and whatever it was, it was serious.
"What am I doing here? I need to go." Izzie said in a whisper, as if talking to herself.
"You need to go? Need to go where?" Callie asked.
"It's George." Izzie said, looking outward, not making any eye contact.
"What about George? Is he ok?" Callie asked.
"And Hannah." Izzie said.
"Are they ok? What is going on, Iz?" Callie asked, looking at her with more concern with every moment that passed.
"They were in a wreck and I have to go to them." Izzie said, tears in her eyes, as she looked up at Callie.
"Oh no. Iz... It's going to be ok." Callie said.
"No. It's not." Izzie said.
"What do you need me to do? Want me to come with you?" Callie asked.
"No. I can go by myself." Izzie said, as she stood up and began to dig in her jeans for her car keys. She then headed towards her car.
"No, Izzie. I am not going to let you drive in this condition; I don't want you getting in a wreck. George would never forgive me." Callie said, holding her hands out, wanting Izzie to give her the keys.
"I'll drive." Mark said, walking towards his car with Lexi in hand. "Come on."
"But someone has to watch Tuck and Brooklyn, they can't be worried…" Izzie said.
"It's ok, I will watch them and tell Miranda what is going on." Matt said.
"Ohhh. Okay. Thank you Matt." Izzie said.
"Yeah, thanks dear." Callie said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Just let me know when you hear anything, ok?" Matt said.
"Ok, we will." Callie yelled out, from the car.
They arrived to the intersection and before Mark could put the car in park, Izzie already had her door open and was stepping out onto the pavement. She saw George sitting in the end of one of the ambulances, staring off into space and ran over to him.
"Are you ok, you are bleeding?" Izzie asked, grabbing a hold of George tightly.
"I will be ok I guess. I am sooo sorry Iz…" George said, looking over towards the ditch.
"It's not your fault George...let me go see Hannah, I will be right back." Izzie said, as she jetted in the other direction towards the stretcher that lay a few feet from the pile of metal.
George was in complete shock as he sat there, with red soaked bandage wrapped tightly around his broken kneecap. He couldn't even remember how it happened. It all happened so fast. What was I thinking taking that exit, in this weather? Why couldn't I have even remembered her last name? What is wrong with me? He thought.
Izzie could hear Hannah yelling as they pulled her from the wreckage and as she got closer she could make out what she was saying.
"I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!" Hannah said.
