The next morning, Alex woke up in an uncomfortable position on the couch. The almost empty wine bottle was on the nightstand and all of the lights were still on. Great. Just what I need. With a grumble he got to his feet and checked his watch. Despite his hung-over state, he had woken up with plenty of time to get ready before his flight. The conditioning he'd had at Seattle Grace had never left him… his internal clock was always right on time.
After taking a shower and brushing his teeth, Alex packed what few things he'd actually taken out of his suitcase and checked his cell phone. No messages. Not yet, anyway. It was still early. Looking around the suite one final time, it was hard to believe anyone had stayed there - it certainly didn't look lived in. Satisfied that he wasn't forgetting anything, he left his room and made his way downstairs to the lobby.
It was easy enough to check out of the hotel, but now he had the problem of retrieving his car. Right. It was still in the parking lot at that restaurant. Time for another taxi ride. Soon he had explained what had happened to the manager on duty and was given the keys to his rental car. Alex still had time to spare and his head was killing him, so instead of going to the airport right away he decided to stop for some coffee. It would also give him time to read the newspaper; he always liked to read newspapers from other places in the country.
Finding a small but bustling café nearby, Alex parked in front of it and strode inside. The smell was delicious and he could feel his mouth watering and his body craving the caffeine even before he took a place in line. Once he ordered his coffee, he took it to what looked like the perfect spot in a corner and settled himself in a chair. The liquid was hot and delicious and seemed to wake him up as soon as it touched his tongue.
Meanwhile George had slipped away from Izzie and headed home to take a quick shower and grab a change of clothes before he returned to deal with the fallout from her encounter with Alex. He was frustrated, no beyond frustrated with how everything was playing out and he couldn't help but feel extremely helpless in the situation. Who the hell did he think he was by marching back into her life like that? Sure she had left him, but Izzie had explained and George understood. And okay maybe he hadn't fully been able to understand her insane female logic, but he supported her nonetheless.
He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair as he got back into his car and headed for her house. He still didn't know all of the details about what had happen the night before and that was what partially drove him crazy. It was the not knowing, not being able to offer anything other than a shoulder to cry on that added to his feeling of helplessness. But then again that's what made him George and he was Izzie's George, her friend, her family and that's all that really mattered in the end.
A low grumble in stomach caused him to pull over and he figured that a large cup of coffee and something to eat would help him survive the rest of the day. So he got out of the car and headed into one of the busier coffee shops around. And as an added sort of bonus, it just happened to be the one that had scones that Izzie loved. Hey, maybe they would help cheer her up a bit?
He mentally crossed his fingers as he bumped into people as he made his way up to the counter. How was it that even now as a successful surgeon he appeared invisible to the rest of the world? Oh well, he knew there was no reason to get upset over it, so he merely fumbled his 'excuse mes' and placed his order. And that's when he saw him. Well not right away, but just as he was turning around to head back out.
His eyes blinked rapidly and he shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming. When the figure didn't disappear, he stood frozen for a moment before his feet marched him right on over to the side of his table. "What do you think you're doing here?" His eyes went wide as the words escaped him, but he quickly put on one of his angrier looks. Granted he really wasn't an intimidating guy, but it was worth a shot.
Alex hadn't noticed George entering. So when the man was standing before him demanding to know what he was doing here, Alex was very surprised. George looked almost exactly the same as the last time he had seen him, and it didn't look like his confidence had grown very much over the years either. Even though the man was attempting to be threatening, Alex was not intimidated at all.
"Drinking coffee." He wasn't exactly in the mood for a confrontation, so he merely snapped the newspaper he was reading and pretended to continue scanning the article with a disinterested expression. "How's it been, O'Malley?" Alex guarded against any irritation showing in his voice, knowing that this wasn't the time or the place for whatever this was. Whatever George was trying to make it into.
He fought the urge to rub his forehead and instead looked up at O'Malley with a small smirk. It was a smirk that tried to convey a lot of things… Do we have to do this now? Does it matter? Is it any of your god damned business in the first place? Alex was not in the mood. Not now, when the last couple days had been complete hell. Not now, when he mind was still feeling the effects of too much alcohol. Not now, when his heart was still bleeding from the freshly opened wound.
Alex blinked, hoping that George would disappear when his eyes opened again. Unfortunately, he was still there. He was still standing there glaring at Alex with a look of what seemed like hatred.
George had decided about five seconds after his initial confrontation that he wasn't going to back down this time and for more than just the obvious reason. Yeah letting him have a piece of his mind regarding the Izzie situation was high on the list, but he was also doing something that he had never gotten the chance to do back when they were interns. He was fighting back, standing his ground and showing that smug bastard that he wasn't afraid of him.
"It's been great," he managed as he tried to stare the man down. Alex might not have wanted to get into things, but it was a little late for that. He was tired of having to pick up the pieces and more importantly he just wanted his friend, no best friend, to be happy. "Yeah it's been real great up until you decided to show back up." Well, it was a start.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hand clenching his cup of coffee. He really did feel ridiculous just standing there and rather than causing a scene, he slipped into the seat across from Alex. "Just tell me why you came back," he said in a lowered voice as he shifted a somewhat nervous glance around. "And then, then you can tell me what you're going to do about it." Yeah, that sounded good for the most part.
If George thought his words stung, he had another thing coming. Alex was beyond all of this. It was bullshit. Complete. And utter. Bullshit. With a silent groan on the inside, he closed the paper and looked across the table at George as the man took a seat. Is he actually doing this? I don't have the time. Or the patience. Or the stomach for this. Despite his hangover and his growing frustration, Alex took an easy stance in his seat, his ever-present smirk not failing him now.
"Well don't worry, O'Malley, I'm leaving today and I don't plan on ever coming back." Slowly he took another sip of the coffee, trying to judge the situation. What is it that George wanted to hear, exactly? There wasn't anything that Alex needed to say to him. "What was I doing here, hmm…" It was sarcastic, and he paused to pretend to think. "Let's think about that for a second. Izzie walked away from me with no explanations six years ago, so I came back for that explanation. For closure. To give her something of hers that I've had for awhile." He shrugged. "So you can go to her and let her know she doesn't have to worry her pretty little head anymore, either, cos big bad Alex Karev won't be around these parts unless it's for a paid lecture."
He meant every word he said, too. There wasn't any possible way he could see himself coming back here unless it was for something medically related. With another swallow of the coffee he thought to himself about how nice it would be to board his flight and go back to his office. And since she obviously didn't want him to have anything to do with their son, that wouldn't be an issue either.
George's mouth opened and closed like a fish and he had to turn his eyes down to stare at the cup in his hands while he gathered his thoughts. "So you're just gonna leave?" His brow furrowed as he glanced up to look at Alex. "You're just gonna walk away like some, some coward?" His eyes lit up and for a second he even surprised himself. Where was he going with this anyway? He wasn't quite sure he knew himself.
"Well I guess it's a good thing I'm here to clean up after you again," he stammered with a nod of his head. "At least Izzie knows she can count on me not to give up on her even when she makes mistakes." He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his coffee from the table. "So you go on and run back home and I'll keep raising the son you're turning your back on."
He didn't bother waiting for Alex to respond and with his coffee clutched in one hand and the bag containing Izzie's scone in the other, he fled out the door. Now all he had to worry about was whether or not he was going to tell his friend what he had done.
George called him a coward for running away, and then ran away before Alex could respond. For a moment Alex just sat there in confusion, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore so he didn't bother to try and rationalize it. Instead, he calmly finished his coffee, tucked the paper beneath his arm and left the café.
There was a part of him that was shouting at him to fight like hell for his son. Not that he wanted to take the boy away from Izzie, but he did want to have something to do with his life - something more than just pretty words about what he was supposedly doing and why he wasn't there. But the other part of him felt like it was a lost cause and that all he had managed to do was cause a lot of pain to resurface for not only himself but Izzie too. Pain that he had to feel to get on with things.
As he drove towards the airport, it began to rain. He hadn't noticed it before, but the sky had turned an ugly grey color and the clouds were swollen and angry. Wasn't it ironic that the weather always seemed to mirror his moods?
Alex turned on the radio and accelerated on the thruway. He couldn't afford to be late.
After all, he had a flight to catch.