Doc: Here's another edition. I always wondered what really happened with that Secret Santa Izzie mentioned during the Christmas episode. The last one's just a bit of fun being poked at the Chief, and the first is obviously what happens when doctors and snow are mixed.
DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Grey's Anatomy.
004. In the Meadow
Continuity: The first snow of any winter.
Forty-eight hour shifts left some exhausted. For others, like Doctor Cristina Yang, it left them energized and ready for more. But with the new eighty hour work week in full effect, she couldn't get away with sticking around the hospital all day. Or at least she couldn't stick around the inside of the hospital.
Seattle winters were almost the same as their springs, and summers, and falls. There was rarely a day when precipitation didn't fall from the sky, but now, with the temperatures dropping, snow fell instead of rain. Large flakes of snow were currently pelting the ground below, but Cristina didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was sprawled out on an icy bench seemingly ignoring the snowfall.
Her fellow interns, on the other hand, exited the hospital with an extra spring in their step. George was spinning around attempting to catch snowflakes on his tongue. Izzie had flopped down in the grass surrounding the entrance to the hospital and was making a snow angel. Cristina rolled her eyes lightly. It was strange to her that people who were so immature managed to become doctors in the first place, let alone surgeons.
She only looked up for a minute, and then lay back down, eyes closed. Cristina sprang up when a snowball connected with the side of her face, ice sliding down her cheek as she glared at the other three. "Meredith," she growled, getting to her feet. Meredith dashed behind George for cover as Cristina balled up a huge wad of snow.
"Hey, wait," George insisted, pushing Meredith away. She simply clung to his arm. "I didn't do anything! You hit her and you're gonna hit me!" Cristina shrugged.
"Tough luck, Bambi." She drew her arm back only to be distracted by Izzie, who was rolling a snowball the side of her head along the parking lot. Tilting her head slightly to the side Cristina changed aim. "You better not think of throwing that thing at me, Izzie. You'll be dead."
Izzie looked up, a frown crossing her face. "I'm not gonna throw it at anyone. I'm building a snowman." It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to Izzie to make a snowman out of freshly fallen snow. George and Meredith seemed to agree with her, as they drifted off to help construct the snowperson. Cristina let her ammunition fall to the ground.
"Snowmen?" She muttered shaking her head slowly, watching her fellow interns piling their three snowballs on top of each other. George pulled some loose change out of his pocket and stuck them in for eyes. Meredith put her scarf around the snowman's neck. Izzie stood back to admire it, yanked a carrot from her pocket, and jammed it in as a nose.
"There," she stated proudly, after using a few rocks to make a smiling mouth.
"He needs arms," George pointed out, glancing about for twigs of some kind.
"And a hat." Meredith snatched George's from his head and plopped it onto the snowman. Izzie dug some spare buttons out from her jacket pocket and stuck them onto the snowman's chest. With a triumphant cracking noise George returned with two sticks of equal size and jammed them into the second snowball.
"He looks pretty good," Meredith commented, surveying the snowman. Cristina was hovering behind them, just outside of their little circle. A frown was set upon her lips and her head was still cocked to the side.
Again she repeated the word silently, "Snowmen?"
George nodded his approval. "Yeah. He really looks good with all of our combined stuff."
"He's the official intern snowman," Meredith declared with a light smile, tilting her head to stare at the snow falling upon them. Izzie stared at the 'official intern snowman' thoughtfully. They'd all added something, herself, George, and Meredith. Staring around the snowman, which had comically been named Doctor Snow by George, she found Cristina staring at them, almost as if they were insane.
"It's not really official unless all of us put something on it," Izzie murmured in an offhanded sort of way to Meredith and George, though she made sure Cristina could hear it. She shrugged lightly, strolling around the snowman to Cristina and giving her playful smile. "So, you gonna put something on it or what?"
Cristina just stood there, again staring from her three friends to the snowperson they'd created and back again. "I've never really made a snowman before." Meredith and Izzie exchanged glances.
"First time for everything," George chimed in as he threw a playful punch into Cristina's arm. Sensing her glare on him he backed away instinctively, slightly surprised when she edged toward the snowman and withdrew one of the only things she carried on her person, a stethoscope, and placed it around Doctor Snow's neck. She stepped back to stare at the snowman and somehow found herself smiling.
"Hey, that's perfect for the hospital," Meredith murmured. "Now he really looks like a doctor." At that very moment Alex had burst through the hospital doors into the biting cold. He cast the other interns a passing glance but stopped upon seeing their snowman. A smirk playing at his lips, he turned to them.
"Your snowman looks like the dude from geriatrics," he commented. Alex turned to walk away only to feel a cold slush hit his back. He glared at the others, not surprised to see Cristina holding another snowball ready. "You asked for it, Yang!" He chucked a snowball at her but she dodged, only to have it smash into the snowman. It had landed directly on the chest of the snowman, much to Alex's amusement.
Carrying the snowball he'd been about to throw at George he moved toward Doctor Snow and placed another snowball of equal size next to the first. He turned, grinning lightly. "Guess your snowman was really a snowwoman after all."
Now it was officially the intern snowman.
Er, snowwoman.
005. Secret Santa
Continuity: First Christmas; Season Two.
"I got myself again." They all groaned. It was twenty minutes after their shift had ended and it was the seventh time someone had gotten themselves in the Secret Santa drawing and the fifth time George had gotten himself. Izzie had cornered them all in the locker room and insisted they do it now because there were only ten more shopping days 'til Christmas. She said this all with such a huge grin on her face that it took all of Cristina's composure not to smack her.
Izzie simply gave her offhanded grin and shrug again and held out the scrub cap they'd been drawing from. "It's okay. We'll just go again." Alex was muttering under his breath, but she ignored him. Cristina was glaring at George as if he'd purposely picked his own name. Meredith was trying to keep them all from killing each other.
"Look, Izzie, why don't we just-" Meredith trailed off lamely at the sight of her friend's face falling. "-draw again." Cristina moaned as she plunged her hand into the cap. Alex followed, then Meredith, then George. They all backed up a bit to examine the small scraps of paper, everyone making eye contact. Izzie snatched her slip and stared at it for a long while.
"We have to draw again," she murmured dully. The others exchanged glances.
"Why?" Someone stated bluntly. "I didn't get myself this time!" George. Izzie was staring conveniently over his shoulder. "Izzie?" Her head snapped up at the sound of her name. Apparently she realized she'd temporarily lost her holiday cheer and plastered that grin on her face again.
"No reason. I was just kidding. Wanted to see if Cristina would actually kill you, George." He looked indignant though his eyes widened as Cristina nodded menacingly at him. "Remember, guys, gift exchange is Christmas Eve. And no telling! It's called Secret Santa for a reason."
Alex and Cristina shuffled out first. "Who'd you get?" He muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Cristina simply stared at him.
"I'm not telling you. What, you want her to make us draw again?"
GA
The hospital was always busy this time of year. Accidents increased almost triple the amount of other months, but mainly emergency room visits were made. People got scrapes and cuts and needed stitched up. So that's what most of the interns were doing, sutures. Meredith and Alex happened to be stitching up the same patient. He cast a cautious look around. Izzie was nowhere in sight. He leaned forward a bit and murmured, "So who'd you get for Secret Santa?"
Meredith glanced up, doing a quick scan of the room. The patient was staring at them. "None of your business." Alex gave a knowing smirk. "Don't worry. It's not you. George has you."
"What?"
She shrugged lightly. "Just what I heard."
Later, Alex found himself in the hallway with O'Malley, going over patient files. He leaned his weight against the nurses' station, jabbing George in the back with a chart. "What?"
"Who you got for Secret Santa?" George shot him a glance.
"No one. Why? You don't have me, do you?" The look of apparent shock in George's eyes was enough to amuse Alex at least somewhat.
"No. I hear Cristina does. She's going to get you a customized shirt that says 'Don't ask me about Meredith' on it." Alex then walked away, leaving a very bemused George behind him.
"Hey! Cristina!" She turned at the urgent voice. George. Arching a brow, she signaled for him to enter the patient's room. She was only checking vitals anyway.
"What?"
"Who do you have for Secret Santa?" He sounded strained, as if the answer was going to decide his fate. She gave him a funny glance before shrugging lightly.
"Meredith."
"No, you don't! I have Meredith!" Cristina smirked lightly. George groaned. "I can't keep a secret. This is too much pressure!"
"Don't worry, Bambi, I won't tell anyone."
"So," Alex muttered as he leaned over a case file. "Who you got for Secret Santa?" He was more then slightly startled when he was hit over the head by a chart. Whipping around on the prospect of telling Cristina off, he gave a startled intake of breath and took a step back. "Izzie..."
"You know the rules. No telling until Christmas Eve."
Nine days later...
"Come on, Izzie!" George sounded like a, well like a kid at Christmas. They were all sitting around the tree, drinking eggnog and hot cocoa, and the presents were just sitting there, staring them all in the face. "You've already made us sit through dinner, dessert, and this after-dinner drink session. Can't we open them now?"
"No," she responded simply, setting her mug on the table. "We still have to sing Christmas carols." There were varied reactions to this, from Alex's disgusted scowl to Meredith's half-smile half-grimace to George's disappointed stare. Cristina was the only one to speak.
"Listen, blondie, I'm tired, cranky, and I don't care about the meaning of Christmas. I just want to open my present and get out of here." Izzie stared at her and for a moment the other three were sure there was going to be a brawl under the Christmas tree. Then Izzie gave a wry smile.
"Kidding. Who wants to go first?" George's hand shot up. Izzie rolled her eyes lightly. "Fine, George, give your gift to your Secret Santa." His face fell.
"Hey, wait, I wanted to open mine first!"
Alex simply chuckled. "It is better to give then to receive, O'Malley." George shot him a glare before sifting through the small pile of gifts to retrieve a long box. Without looking at her he handed it over to Meredith, who gave a surprised smile. George cast Cristina a glance. She hadn't told her, in the spirit of the holidays he supposed.
"George? Really?" Meredith gave a laugh. "I thought Alex had me, what with his asking me who I had and all." The others shared glances while Alex stared at the star atop the tree to avert his gaze. Then Meredith tore into the brightly wrapped box and burst out laughing. "Thanks a lot, George. We really do need to keep some of this in the house." She laid a bottle of tequila and five shot glasses off to the side; they'd probably need them later.
"Alright," Izzie murmured, acting much like the coordinator of this event, "Now you give your gift to your Secret Santa." Grabbing a thin box wrapped in simple green paper she tossed it to Cristina on the couch. She gave a knowing sort of smile before tearing right into it and flinging the lid off of the box.
"Whoa, Mer..."
"Hold on, is that a ten blade? An engraved ten blade?" Alex seemed shocked. Cristina shook her head.
"It's an eleven blade. I prefer an eleven blade. How'd you know?"
Meredith simply shrugged. "I know you."
Izzie gave Cristina a nod and she snatched a lopsided package that looked to be wrapped in newspaper at George. He barely got it, having to dive and almost knocking into the tree. With a sort of giddy grin he ripped off the newspaper. A comic book tumbled out. "You-I-it." It took him a moment to form a coherent sentence. "How did you get issue number one of Batman?"
Cristina simply shrugged. "I have my ways." All eyes were now on Izzie. With George having already given his gift, it was up to Alex or Izzie to keep the chain moving. But neither of them was looking up; they both seemed very interested in the floor. After all, with the gifts already been given it was quite clear that they had each other. Meredith nudged Cristina. She nodded slowly. "Ah, Alex?"
He nearly jumped. Snapping out of it he slid a small bow wrapped in shiny red paper to Izzie. She stopped it with her foot and picked it up, staring at it for a long moment. There was a green bow capping it, making it look very festive. She almost started pulling it off slowly, like she used to to save the paper, but thought better of it and tore it open, revealing a small white box. She shot Alex a glance before pulling the top off revealing a pair of earrings in the shape of candy canes. She didn't want to smile, but she did anyway. "Thanks, Alex..."
Everyone seemed to finally let out the breath they were holding in. Izzie grabbed the biggest box from under the tree and shoved it at Alex wordlessly, taking to staring at her earrings rather then look at him. He opened the present quickly and found a large box, like one you put clothes in. Izzie bought him clothes? Pulling the top off he found a green sweater. Alex stared at it for a long while before staring at Izzie. She bit her lip before standing up and exiting the room, muttering something about cookies in the oven.
"What was that about?" George muttered, clueless. Meredith elbowed him in the ribs.
Alex tucked the box under his arm and took off after her, finding her in the kitchen where she said she'd be. "Izzie-"
"I don't want to hear about it, Alex. Your gift was great and mine was crappy, but please, don't ruin this for me. It's Christmas, and I seriously don't need to hear any of your crap." He stood there, silent, for a long moment, waiting for her to turn around. She dumped a tray of cookies on the counter and glared at him, obviously irritated. "Well?"
"Well what?" Izzie simply strode past him. He grabbed her wrist. "Izzie, what are you talking about?"
She gestured to his box. "Don't even tell me you like that sweater."
"I don't like the sweater," he admitted. She shook her head in disbelief. "I love this sweater. You made it yourself, didn't you?" Alex held up the box and she stared at him. She didn't think he'd notice that much.
"I-what?"
"Didn't you knit this sweater?"
"Yeah..."
"I love this sweater." He pulled said sweater out of the box and pulled it over his head. "How's it look?" Izzie gave a light grin, still clutching her earrings in hand.
"Great. Very festive."
"Yeah." Alex noted they were standing in the doorway. He also noted that there was mistletoe hanging from the doorway. Izzie probably hadn't counted on his being around when she'd hung that there. "Know what else is festive?" She shrugged. "Mistletoe."
Her eyes widened in realization. Alex gave a smirk before placing a hand at her waist and leaning in, his lips brushing hers. She was shocked at first, but just as she began to lean into it he pulled away. It was a quick kiss, not like the ones they'd shared before. Apparently he respected her wanting to have space. "Merry Christmas, Izzie."
He then turned and exited the room. The front door shut behind him. When Cristina came wandering in looking for beer, she noticed Izzie's bemused expression. "What? Part two of your gift was sex?"
Well, it was Christmas after all.
006. A Christmas Carol
Continuity: Second Christmas Season.
It had been a long day at the hospital and quite frankly he would have rather just gone to bed and slept it off. There had been seven fatalities that day, yes death apparently comes in seven, and the family of one of those patients was suing Seattle Grace. The last thing he wanted to do was sit down and eat dinner with his wife. But he would anyway, because he knew that was what Adele wanted.
He stepped inside and shed his heavy coat and hat. Inhaling deeply the Chief smelled his favorite dinner, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, and probably some assortment of vegetables. Sighing heavily he trudged into the kitchen, where his wife stood wearing a festive Christmas apron. "Richard!" She bellowed, shooing him away with her hands, "Get out of here! Dinner will be ready in only a minute." From experience, the Chief knew 'a minute' generally meant at least ten minutes.
Heaving a sigh he ignored the growling of his stomach and shuffled into the dining room. There his reading glasses and the newspaper sat, just how he liked it. Sliding into his leather-backed chair, he folded the newspaper to the sports section and settled down to read.
Of course, like it was inevitable that telemarketers always called during dinner, salesmen always came just when the Chief was going to read his paper. With a groan he rustled his paper irritably, expecting Adele to answer it. The doorbell rang once, twice, five times. He laid the paper flat and sighed heavily. "Adele!"
"Richard!" She shot back, obviously busy with dinner. "Get the door!" The Chief pulled his glasses off and left them on the table. Putting on what his interns knew as his angry face, he wrenched the door open.
"We don't want any!" He growled, slightly startled to find the very interns that knew his angry face so well standing at his door. Stevens, O'Malley, Grey, even Yang and Karev were there, singing away to 'Winter Wonderland'. He promptly slammed the door in their faces, though you could still clearly hear their voices through the door.
From the kitchen Adele called, "Richard! Aren't those your doctors singing out there?! Invite them in for dinner!"
Correction. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with his wife and his interns.
And he had come to the conclusion that he hated Christmas carols.