Chapter 6

George opened the door to the locker room to peek inside, hoping to see Alex. Thankfully finding him alone, he walked over to his fellow intern, feeling a little self-conscious about the conversation they were going to have. He and Alex weren't close, they could barely stand each other, but they both cared about his roommate and George hoped that it would be enough for Alex to understand why they needed to talk.

Izzie had confided in him what had happened between her and her former boyfriend while she was shadowing him on probation. Though she had made it clear to Alex when he kissed her that she wasn't ready to move on from Denny, George wasn't so sure that he got the message. He always knew that the cocky intern still had feelings for his best friend; anyone with eyes could tell from the tenderness he had shown the night Denny died that he still wasn't over Izzie. The problem was, Izzie didn't need that kind of pressure right now; she had just lost her fiancé, her job, been reinstated without privileges, and was still trying to get through each day at a time. If Alex really cared about her, he would wait for her and give her the time and space she needed; as her friend, George would make sure of that.

"Look, I know it's really not my place, but Izzie is my best friend," he said when he reached Alex's locker, careful to make sure that they were still alone in the room, "She told me that you still have feelings for her but you really need to back off. She's not ready for anything yet."

Alex looked up for a moment, confusion written across his face, "Izzie? What are you talking about, O'Malley? Since when do I have feelings for Izzie?"

"She told me you kissed her!"

Alex suddenly remembered the kiss; it seemed such a long time ago, when she was still on probation. Yes, he'd be the first to admit that he and Izzie had a complicated relationship and most of it was his fault. When they first started dating, he was the one who pushed her away, not even kissing her after their first date. He didn't know what was wrong with him at the time, but his usual arrogance had just seemed to dissipate. Izzie was undoubtedly beautiful, kind, and brilliant, but that had never been enough to shake his self-assurance before. Perhaps it was because they had started off as friends, but that still didn't explain why he suddenly felt inadequate and uncertain around her. Whatever the reason, it was the sudden lack of confidence on which he had come to rely, compounded with his failure at the Boards, that led him to sabotage everything he could've had with her.

Alex was truly sorry about the way he had hurt her, and suddenly the chance to be with her again became more important than any insecurities he may have had. When she actually came back to him, he took the opportunity to prove to himself and the world that he really didn't have to ruin every good thing in his life. He knew it was different this time though, even if he chose to ignore it. Meredith hadn't needed to point out to him that Izzie didn't feel the same way about him as she had before; all he had to do was look into her eyes to see that all the respect and trust was gone. Yet, he was determined to not let their relationship become just another disaster in his life. It was why he fought so hard for her, refusing to let her go even when the writing was on the wall. He had known that Izzie would fall for Denny, had seen it the moment she rushed to his side when he arrived at the hospital. However, Alex just couldn't let her go, because that would mean that he had failed once again.

In hindsight, he could see that his behaviour at the time left a lot to be desired; the cockiness that he normally wore as a badge of honour had disappeared once again, this time to be replaced by jealousy and possessiveness. Now that time had passed and he could gain some perspective, he realized that their relationship would never have worked. Though he still thought the world of Izzie and his feelings for her at the time had been genuine, their actual relationship had more to do with his desire to succeed. Izzie deserved someone who cared enough to make their relationship about her, the way Denny had cared about her and, Alex was surprised to realize, the way he was starting to care about Addison.

Returning to the conversation at hand, Alex shook his head, "Look, I've moved on. I did want to be with Izzie but that's water under the bridge now. She's fantastic and any guy would be lucky to have her, but I'm not going to be that guy. She needs to deal with her issues with Denny first and I've got my own personal life."

"Right," George said disbelievingly. From what Izzie had said, Alex had been quite adamant about his feelings for her and he didn't think that the other man could've moved on so quickly.

"It's true," Alex insisted, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this, since you're right about it being none of your business, but you have to swear that you won't say anything." He hesitated for a moment, not really knowing if he should reveal his secret, but he didn't really have any close friends and he once again found himself outside his usual realm of smugness. What is it about that woman, he asked himself, that has me confiding in O'Malley of all people?

George shook his head slightly, "I won't, I swear."

Alex took a deep breath before he continued, "I'm kind of seeing someone. I've been pursuing her for a while but she only just agreed to go out with me. I…I like her a lot and I'm really gonna try to make this work."

"Who is it?" George asked, curiosity getting the better of him, "One of the nurses? A paramedic? Oh, I know! It's that new intern that transferred here from Mercy!" He was a little surprised by the sincerity in Alex's voice and manner; he had never known the other man to be more than just cavalier about a woman he was dating. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would've thought that Alex was actually nervous about this date, but since when was Alex Karev nervous about women? Though he never doubted his feelings for Izzie, George always suspected that the popular intern would never be able to settle down and commit to her. Yet, George had also never seen Alex quite so eager, quite so excited. It seemed that someone had finally appeared who could convince him to give up his womanizing ways.

"Will you keep it down?!" Alex hissed, "You have to swear on your life that you won't say anything. I don't care myself but I don't know if she wants people to know."

"I already swore, Alex!" When Alex simply glared at him, George relented, "Fine, I swear on my life that I won't breathe a word of this to a single soul."

He hesitated for just a moment longer before he spoke. "It's Addison Montgomery," he whispered under his breath.

George burst out laughing, but at the scowl on Alex's face, the laughter quickly died away.

"Dude, you're dating Dr. Montgomery?" George asked incredulously.

Alex continued rummaging through his locker as he shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, so? It's not that big of a deal. I mean, it's a big deal because it took her forever to say yes, but it's only our first date."

George felt torn between his loyalty to Izzie and this new camaraderie he was sharing with Alex. Since the tremors in Burke's hand had been revealed, and thus the cover-up that had almost led to him operating on George's father, the friendship between the two doctors had cooled considerably and the intern found that he missed having a male friend. He and Alex had never confided in each other before and George found that, as a break from being constantly surrounded by a sea of estrogen, it was nice to be able to have a friendly conversation with another man again. He could tell by the way Alex was speaking that he was serious about this new relationship, that he really wanted it to work, but George wasn't sure how Izzie would feel about this sudden turn of events. Though she had been resolute about not being ready for another relationship so quickly, it was evident that she was pleased that Alex still had feelings for her. Now though, George realized that she had read too much into the situation, because Alex had obviously forgotten all about the kiss and was more focused on his pursuit of Dr. Montgomery.

"So, where are you taking her?" he finally asked. Just because he cared about Izzie didn't mean that he couldn't be a friend to Alex, too. If Alex was serious about this relationship, then George would do what he could to help.

Alex shrugged again, "I don't know. Hadn't really thought about it. Down to that new pool hall, maybe?"

George's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "You're kidding, right?"

Alex finally stopped what he was doing to look at his sometime friend, "Dude, what is your problem? What's wrong with the pool hall?"

"Alex, this is Addison Montgomery," George insisted, "The original Uptown Girl. The very definition of class and style. You've seen the clothes she wears, the way she carries herself. You really see her enjoying an evening in a pool hall?"

Alex tried to keep his nonchalant demeanour but his nervousness began to grow. "So, what do you suggest, Bambi?"

"A woman like Dr. Montgomery needs to be wined and dined. She wouldn't be easily impressed, so you have to go all out. She can have any guy she wants, so you have to make sure that you stand out. You can't just bring her to a pool hall and expect her to agree to a second date."

"Look," he continued, "To impress a woman like Dr. Montgomery, you'd probably need to shell out the big bucks. You know, fancy dinner at a snooty restaurant, box seats at the opera or the theatre, renting out a boat for a river cruise, that sort of thing. You're gonna have to put more thought into it than just a night at the pool hall. You sure you know what you've gotten yourself into?" George slapped his now worried fellow intern on the back before walking off.

Alex took a deep breath. He tried to forget everything George had just said, not liking the way it made him more anxious than he already was, but what if he was right? With all her beauty, talent, and sophistication, Addison really was in a class by herself. Why would Alex actually believe that he could belong with her, that he could treat her the way she deserved to be treated? What could he possibly have to offer her? Maybe this was a bad idea, he thought, maybe I'm in over my head.