Something to Talk About
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.

Part Eleven: Bleed Like Me

"She might die." Izzie stated softly, coming up behind Derek. He turned around stricken.

"Yes," he said flatly, "she might."

"She might die and all I can think is how angry I am with her." Izzie confessed. "I can't think that she's fighting for her life--all I can think is that she stole Alex. Except, she didn't, but..."

"I threw her away." Derek said softly. "I let her down, once again, and... Now, I know its too late, even if she lives... Its too late and I hate myself for it and I even hate her."

He wasn't sure why he was pouring it out to Izzie Stevens, of all people, he'd never really liked the other girl all that much, but...

"I... I kept pushing Alex away." Izzie confessed. "I told him he wasn't good enough for me or for anyone... I just, I was angry, but... I expected him to be there waiting when I was ready and now... Now he's in love wit her."

"It's hard not to be." Derek said quietly. "There's just something about her that draws you in and makes you love her, before you even realize what's happening."

It had been like that for him and he was sure the same was true for Alex Karev, that the other man hadn't even realized he'd loved her until it was too late to do anything about it. Perhaps even too late for Meredith.

No, Derek wasn't going to let himself think like that.

Meredith was going to be okay, even if it meant that she was going ot be with Alex Karev, instead of with him. He'd rather face a life where she was in love with someone else, than a life without her in it at all.

George was trying to hold himself together.

Izzie had taken herself to God knows where, Alex and Christina were holding vigil in his room, Shepherd had disappeared, Burke and Bailey were working, the Chief was held up in his office, and Callie had gone back to work, so it was just him in the waiting room.

He could join Alex and Christina, but he felt like an outsider to their grief, which was silly because he loved Meredith too. He was trying to think of what he could do to help her and he couldn't think of anything, all he could do was sit there like an idiot, waiting for word on one of his best friends.

Just then Burke entered the waiting room. "Where's everyone else?" He asked.

"Christina's with Alex, everyone else took off." George explained. "Is there word on Meredith?"

Burke nodded. "Yes. She pulled through the worst of it and she's stable. Tentatively, I'd say that she's going to be okay."

George let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"Yes." Burke agreed. "We should be thanking him a lot."

"You should go tell Christina and Alex." George told him. "They'll want to know."

"Yes." Burke agreed and disapeared down the hall.

George just sat there, unable to hold back tears. It was okay. She was going to be okay. Of course, things were going to be messy, especially with Izzie, but there lives were messy. In the end all that really mattered was that she was going to be ok.

Alex felt his heart stop in his chest when Burke entered the room. He was praying for good news, but being a pessimist, he was expecting bad news.

"She's stable." Burke told him. "She's made it through the roughest patch and she should make it through the rest."

Alex was so relieved that he almost started to weep. Meredith was going to be ok.

Christina squeezed his hand. "Did you here that?" She whispered. "She's going to be ok!"

Alex nodded and squeezed back. Tomorrow he and Christina would go back to sniping at each other, he was sure, but right now they were bonded by their relief over Meredith's well being.

Neither of them noticed Burke leave the room, they were so caught up in their own emotions. Alex had so many things running through his head, things he'd only just realized and that he was so grateful that he'd have a chance to tell Meredith. Like how much she meant to him, how the idea of a world without her terrified him.

Maybe, what he and Meredith had had started out as casual, but it wasn't anymore. At least not for him.

Alex was terrified at the thought that she wouldn't share his feelings, but he could live with that pain, as long as he knew for sure that she was going to be okay. Because, if he'd learnt anything today it was that he couldn't bear the thought of living in a world without Meredith Grey in it.