Chapter Twelve

Izzie and Gwen were just checking out at the last store they had decided on. "I think that's everyone," Izzie said as the two of them gathered their bags. "Did you get everyone on your list?"

"Mine and Alex's," she said, impressed with herself.

Izzie's beeper went off. "What do you say we go to the hospital," Izzie asked.

"Sure, I guess," Gwen said. "Is everything alright?"

"Just something I need to check on," Izzie said, absently. They hopped into Gwen's rental car and went to the hospital. "This way," Izzie said, looking around as they went.

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Fine," Izzie said, "I'm sure everything is fine." They stepped off the elevator to have a nurse rush past them with a crash cart. "Oh, no." Alex stood outside of the room where all the commotion was going on. "What happened?"

"He's, uh, he's circling," Alex said, looking nervously at Gwen. She was biting her bottom lip.

"I think I'm going to go back to the hotel," she said, quietly.

"How about, instead, we stop at the grocery store and pick up some ingredients. I have a new cookie recipe I want to try," Izzie said, hoping to be able to distract the younger Karev.

"Are you staying," Gwen asked her brother.

"My shift ends in six hours," Alex said evasively. Gwen sighed. "I'm probably going to stay here, Gwen. But, I'm working," he said.

"Not as of now, you aren't," Dr. Bailey said, walking up behind him. "Go change, Karev. You want to stay around here, you'll do so as a son, not as a doctor."

"Listen to her, Alex, she's a doctor," Gwen said, hoping that the woman she didn't know would make her brother stay with her.

"So am I," Alex said, irritated.

"Yes, well, I'm Chief Resident. I'm sure that Dr. Heron will take care of your interns for the day. If I see you trying to be a doctor, I'll put you on Clinic duty for a month. Do I make myself clear, Karev?"

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," Alex said, looking properly chastised.

"Are you okay," Nikkos asked, coming down the hall. Gwen turned and hugged her boyfriend. "Everything will be alright."

Alex glared at him. Lexie came out of their father's hospital room. "Dr. Shepard will be out to talk to you in a moment," she said before walking off.

"Derek is a neurologist," Gwen said, "what does that have to do with Dad?"

"I don't know," Alex said, quietly.

Nikkos' pager went off. "I have to go. I'll find you later," he said, kissing her quickly before running off. Alex glared at him as he past.

"What was that," Gwen asked.

"What?"

"What's with the face? What happened," she clarified.

"Don't worry about it," Alex responded as Derek came out into the hallway.

"Aw, Hell," Gwen said.

ALEXALEXALEX

Gwen found her brother in the tunnels, sprawled across a gurney. Derek had been very apologetic and thorough with his explanation of what was happening to their father. The valve replacement was still doing well. However, the cancer had continued to spread and Edward Karev didn't have much time left.

She grabbed his legs and held them up, hopping up onto the gurney. One of his legs fell back down onto her lap and the other one hung over the side. Alex sighed. "What?"

"I'm not used to this," he said. "Having you here and having Dad around." He sighed again. "Not that I don't want to have you here," he said, "I almost want you to stay in Seattle, but I know that we both have our own lives. I just . . . I don't know."

Gwen patted his leg. "This is weird for everyone," she said, "including your friends. How do you think I feel having Nikkos around when I've been spending most of my time with you and your friends? It's weird."

"Have you talked to him," Alex asked, glad that he was lying down and not able to see her. He didn't want to lie to her, he had never really lied to her, but he wouldn't tell her what he knew – what Nikkos had said - if he didn't have to. Not today, at least.

"Not since we saw him outside of Dad's room," she said. "Why?"

Alex didn't say anything. A lie of omission was a lie none-the-less and Alex hated to lie. The two of them had always been so open to each other and now Alex was going to have a secret. He hated secrets. Not telling Gwen about most of the happenings in his life in Seattle was a silent agreement between the two of them. She didn't tell him about Chicago or Nikkos after all.

"Nikkos is taking a job in Texas," Gwen said suddenly, relieving Alex of his burden. "He doesn't think I know, but I do. He also doesn't think I'd go and he might be right." Gwen looked at him. "I thought he was going to propose, but he really doesn't want me to go with him. I don't know when he and I got so messed up."

Alex reclaimed his legs and sat up.

"He told you, didn't he," she asked.

He nodded.

Gwen gulped. "I think he found Dad so I'd come see you. I think Nikkos wants me to be taken care of. Not that I can't take care of myself or anything, that's just how he is."

"That's just how he is," Alex asked, glad they weren't going to talk about their Dad. "Accepting a job in another state and hoping your girlfriend of two years doesn't want to tag along. He's a great guy, Gwen."

She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "He's a brilliant surgeon, though." And then she didn't say anything for a while. She was thinking. She thought it was ironic that she had found the letter from Dr. Robert Pinafore, offering him the Head of Cardio job until he retired in a couple of years, before Nikkos said anything. At first, Gwen had been happy. Texas was a chance to immerse herself into a new culture and find new muses in everyday life of the people around her. She had been ecstatic at the idea of moving the next book to Texas to mirror her own life. Then, last week, she had over heard Nikkos telling his Mother he planned on moving to Texas alone. His mother had argued with him but ultimately agreed that it wouldn't be fair to her, Gwen, to be stuck in a new place by herself.

Gwen had been upset. Shouldn't the decision to move be hers? And recently she had come to the conclusion that Nikkos didn't want her anymore and moving to Texas was just a lame excuse to end a relationship that no longer worked. They cared for each other, sure, but it wasn't what it used to be.

"So close to Christmas, too," Gwen said, aloud, suddenly.

"What," Alex asked.

"Breaking up so close to Christmas," Gwen explained. "If I do it now, maybe he can be back in Chicago to spend some time with his family. It's only fair since I'm spending Christmas with you."

"What are you talking about," Alex asked, not sure what his sister was thinking.

"I have to go find Nikkos," Gwen said, hopping off the gurney. "Everything else will fall into place," she said, leaving the tunnels, "it always does."

ALEXALEXALEX

Alex found Gwen in their Father's room. Edward Karev was now intubated and on a feeding tube. Derek was very clear that their father might not wake up. He was no longer stable enough to transport back to the treatment center. Derek told them that, if they wanted to, they could try right after Christmas to transport him back. Alex had just come from talking to Chief Webber who told him that Nikkos Rowan had left town. The Chief wasn't sure if the doctor had talked to Gwen or not before leaving. Alex wasn't sure himself since when he found Gwen she was silently crying.

"Gwennie."

"Yeah," she said, quickly trying to wipe away her tears.

"What happened," he asked, not really wanting to know.

"We decided to go separate ways," she said. "You know, after I confronted him about his moving to Texas and not really wanting me to go. He told me that he had talked to you and he really was going to propose but he's glad he didn't because we both would have been miserable."

Alex sighed. "I told him not to screw up Christmas."

"What does he have to do with Christmas," Gwen asked. "I'm still staying unless you don't want me around either."

Alex laughed, although it was forced. "Don't ever think that," he said, "not even if I'm mad and tell you that. I won't mean it."

"You rarely say things you don't mean."

He nodded. "True enough." He sat down beside her. "What are we going to do with him?"

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know. Send him back? God, that sounds horrible." Gwen took a deep breathe. "We're horrible children, aren't we? People should be with their loved ones when they go and we went to send him back to a treatment center."

Alex bit his bottom lip, contemplating his answer. "He's our father. We call him Dad but he wasn't really . . . anything. We shouldn't feel bad about this. We have every right in the world to write him off and never think about him again, but . . ."

"Demons," Gwen supplied. Alex nodded. "So," she said, smiling, "we aren't doing this for him. We're doing it for ourselves."

"Yep," Alex said, "completely self-serving." They sat there for a while, just staring at their father. "Let's go," he said, "Izzie wants to make cookies and make sure that all the presents get wrapped."

Gwen laughed. "Sounds like fun."

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. I don't reply back to them often, because I really don't know what to say except Thanks, which I try to say when I post. That's my reasoning as stupid as it is. I see a few more Chapters in this story yet, so hold on. I have some loose ends to tie up. I say that now, but you never know.