-1Tattoo (Jordin Sparks)

The familiar tinkle of laughter teases George's ears as he enters the almost empty locker room. As though in a trance he follows the bell-like giggles around a row of lockers. He stops short, one hand gripping the edge of the of metal. His blue gaze drinks in the site of Izzie lifting her slender arms to gather her long, golden curls into a some what messy bun at the nape of her neck. Her full lips were up lifted in the first truly happy smile he had seen in a while.

"…Cheesecake Factory."

George's eyes swing to the immediate right of Izzie. A grinning Alex stood there, leaned against an open locker. Izzie's body moved closer to the other man's, her still smiling lips brushing across Alex's. Alex lifted one arm, the fingers of his hand curving to the soft, swell of her cheek. They were lost in their own world, not noticing others around them. It was in that moment George knew. Izzie was gone to him. Not that she had ever really been his. A drunken mistake that had cost him more than he had thought possible.

"Hey."

The irritated snap was enough to jerk his attention away from the giggling, whispering pair a few feet away. The cool dark gaze of Cristina greeted him. "Uh…hi?"

"You're blocking my locker." Cristina crossed her arms, her frosty glare paralyzing him momentarily. "That means move. Now."

His feet stumbled over one another as he hastily moved out of the way. Embarrassment stained his cheeks when he noticed he had become the center of everyone's attention. Clearing his throat, he took a step back. His body connected with the soft curves of a dark haired fresh faced intern. "Sorry," he whispered, the flush in his cheeks burning brighter. Fire licked his cheeks when his gaze shifted from the girl he had stumbled against to the locker row where Izzie stood. Her dark eyes were upon him, watching with an expression he couldn't read. "I'm just going to…" He clamped his mouth shut, lifting his chin a bit as he made his way to the door. Behind him a few people snicker. He tried not to let the giggles and whispers bother him, he was use to people mocking him, he cannot help the twisting in his stomach or the hurt.

"George!"

The sound of his name being called doesn't detour his exit. Nor does the sound of someone following him. They would all be following soon. The person behind him was nothing personal. "George!" A hand curves over his shoulder, firm pressure turning him towards the person who had followed him from the locker room. Izzie. "I think we should talk."

George blinked, a film of uncertainty fogging his eyes. There had been a time when he would have welcomed a talk with Izzie. That time had passed. To much had occurred between the two of them for him to go blindly into a talk with her. "Is there anything left for us to talk about?"

Izzie glanced away, her head tilted down ward. "There's always something left to talk about George. And I think we left a lot unsaid, don't you?" She raised her chin, her dark eyes meeting his light blue ones. She was right, he knew she was right, it didn't solve anything though. They still had the drunken sex and the 'I love you' between them, no amount of talking would erase those.

"Sometimes it's best to leave things unsaid." George crinkled his brow, clenching and unclenching his fists. This conversation fell into the best left unsaid category, of that he was certain.

"True," Izzie agreed. "This isn't one of those times though. There are things we need to say George. Things that…they just need to be said." She stepped to the side as a rush of new interns exit the locker room, including the one he had stumbled into. "That night…it was a mistake. We both know that. And I do love you. I meant it, when I said I love you, and I mean it now. I'm just not sure what kind of love it is. And I don't want to know. I don't think you do either. If you do…and I don't think that you do…it would be a mistake. Our timing…it isn't right. I don't think it will ever be right. Not for us. Not like that. Maybe if things had happened differently…" She paused, glancing towards the locker room door, which had opened again. Alex stood there, watching them, an odd look on his face. A sweet smile softened her mouth. She lifted one hand, waving. Alex grinned, waving back, then sauntering off to the nurses station. The sweet smile disappeared when she looked back towards George. "Or maybe they wouldn't have been. We're not meant to be. At least not…that way."

"I couldn't agree more." George was a bit surprised by the clarity, the certainty, in his voice. It wasn't that he had had any doubt about what she was saying or that he hadn't thought of those very things beforehand, he had, he just wasn't use to sounding so assertive.

"You couldn't agree more?" Izzie echoed. Shock registered on her face, then gave way to relief. "Well…that's great. I'm glad. Really. So…you and Callie…" She stopped when she noticed the pained look on his face. "There's no hope?" He shook his head, shrugged. "Oh. Well…maybe that's for the best. I mean…if you had really loved…"

He held up his hands, digging his fingers into his curly dark hair. They were back to this? "Izzie, please don't. She loved me. She loved me for me. She didn't expect me to change. She didn't try and control me. She just loved me for me. I loved her to. I loved her more than I could possibly explain to you. I was mad and hurt that night. I let her insecurities build up in my head. I let myself think they could be true. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I've always been the loser, the guy chosen last, and never chosen by someone like…well like you." His fingers slid from his hair, dragging down his face. From the corner of his eye he can see Cristina gathering the rest of his group of interns. He would catch up. Cristina, of all people, would understand the need for closure. "It doesn't really matter why it happened. Just that it shouldn't have."

Izzie nodded slowly. "You're right. Bottom line is it shouldn't have happened. And I'm sorry for what I said…about Callie. It was out of line. I shouldn't have said it. Do you…do you think she will ever…forgive you?"

He looked towards the nurses station. Cristina wasn't alone anymore with her little group. Callie had joined them. She hadn't noticed him and Izzie, or if she had she wasn't acknowledging it. "I don't know. I think she might. Maybe. I don't know." They would have to come to some sort of understanding. At least for the baby's sake. The baby. He hadn't really thought about the little person growing inside her. Thinking about the baby they had created reminded him of the life they could have had but he messed up. "She's pregnant," he heard himself say. Izzie's eyes widen, her lips parted slightly. "I don't know what to do."

The shock on her face faded, replaced by a stern mask. "You grow up George. You grow up and you stop letting everyone else make decisions for you. Life isn't about you anymore. It's about that baby! Your wants and needs are no longer important. Every choice you make has to be about what is best for them." The vehemence in her voice stunned him. It was almost as though she was speaking from personal experience, which just wasn't possible. If Izzie had a child he would know. "Which means you need to stop dwelling on what we did. It's done. Over. We both agree…it was a mistake that we both regret. This is where we move on. You with the baby, maybe Callie…"

"And you with Alex?" He interrupted. He knew that he shouldn't have brought the other man up, he couldn't help asking though. He still cared enough about Izzie to worry over her happiness, over her heart getting broken yet again.

The sweet smile lifted her mouth again, her dark eyes drifting to where Alex stood speaking with not only his group of interns but her's as well. "Maybe. I don't know yet. We're taking it…slow. I…I think he might be it George. The one. A bit ironic, you know, considering how much I hated him at first…how much we hurt each other…or maybe it isn't. Maybe those things happened so we could reach this point."

"Maybe," George murmured. He watched as she walked away, her long blonde pony tail bouncing. He looked in Callie's direction again, found her staring. He squared his shoulders and headed towards her. He laid a hand on her arm. "We need to talk."