A/N: Okay, just letting everyone know I am officially back from the dead. I promise. I won't give excuses, but I will say I'm pretty upset with myself. But now, moving on. Big shout-out to: RunningWithScalpels78, Murgy31, Amnesie, and tivo, all of whom knew that the title from the last chapter was a song from RENT. Another one of my obsessions. They win….more McStizzie goodness! I hope my return is up to par. Thanks for those of you continuing to read! Much appreciated.
Disclaimer: Still own nothing.
Alex decided to take matters into his own hands. He pulled on her arms, jerking her toward him so their lips met. Well, technically, Izzie's lips met the surgical mask, but she could feel the movement of his lips beneath it. Alex's "kiss" was long and as deep as it could get through a mask. Izzie didn't exactly reciprocate his actions, but she didn't exactly stop him either.
When Alex finally pulled away, Izzie was even more speechless than before. "I…I…" she stammered.
She looked back at Mark, who was looking at the two interns with an expressionless face. She then looked back to Alex who was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something, anything.
Izzie's breathing got heavier, and the room stared spinning. "I think I'm going to faint," she managed to whisper before the world around her was plunged into complete darkness.
Chapter 25: Harder to Breathe
Mark's eyes widened in horror as he witnessed Izzie's knees beginning to buckle beneath her. "CATCH HER!" he barked sharply at Alex, who was the closest to her.
Alex did just that, managing to grab her before she hit the floor. He carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently. He brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen across her face. "Oh, my God! She's burning up!" he exclaimed, looking up at Mark with a face of pure alarm.
Mark, immediately realizing the magnitude of the situation and what it could mean, went quickly over to Alex and literally shoved him out the door. "Get the chief. NOW!"
Alex also knew what a fever could mean, and wasted no time ripping off his surgical mask and taking off down the hall.
As he rounded the corner to pass the nurses' station, Meredith, who was still standing there, waiting for the signal to bring in Izzie's surprise, watched as he blew past her without so much as a glance. "Alex! I kept waiting for my cue. What happened? Alex?" she called after him.
Alex burst into the chief's office. "CHIEF!" he exclaimed, causing the elder doctor to drop the paperwork he was looking over in surprise.
"You need-" Alex gasped, doubled over, out of breath from both his sprint down the hall and his emotional shock. "You gotta-" he tried again, struggling to pull himself together. "It's-"
"Go on. Spit it out," Richard ordered impatiently. "I'm a little busy here."
His prompting, however, did nothing to help Alex find his words. In fact, he was so emotionally wore out that he collapsed in a chair in front of the chief's desk.
Richard, seeing his affected intern and the tears brimming in his eyes, knew immediately that all was not right in his hospital. "Just breathe, Karev. Breathe," he encouraged. "I need you to tell me what happened."
Alex obeyed and finally took a deep breath. "Izzie-" was all he managed to spit out before he broke down again.
Richard jumped up quickly from his chair, causing it to fall over backward. "What happened?" he asked, his voice alarmed, his eyes boring into Alex's. "Is she all right?"
"She-She-" Alex took another deep breath, trying to steady his voice. "She fainted, sir. And when I caught her, her forehead…it was on fire."
"Wait a minute. You caught her?" Richard asked sharply, his concern for Izzie momentarily replaced by anger with Alex and his flagrant disregard for rules. "Would you mind telling why in the hell you would be in-"
Alex cut him off. "With all due respect, sir, that's really not the issue here. You can yell at me all you want later, but for now, you have to come with me," he told the chief seriously, surprising himself with how steady his voice had become.
His words brought Richard back to reality and he bolted out the door without another word, with Alex trailing closely behind him.
As the duo approached the quarantined room, they passed Meredith who was still standing by the nurses' station. And when they passed by her without a word and at such an alarming rate, she followed after them.
She caught up to them when they reached the room. "Alex!" she exclaimed, finally getting him to acknowledge him. "What is going on?!" she asked as the chief was about to enter the room.
"There's something wrong with Izzie," Alex told her, the seriousness of the situation radiating in his eyes.
Hearing that, Meredith made a move to enter the room too. "Oh, no," Richard said, putting his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "You have to stay out here, Grey. I can't risk you to exposure too.
Alex elbowed his way past Meredith, also attempting to go in. "You too, Karev."
"But, chief-" Alex started in protest.
"You are in no state to be dealing with this situation," he said seriously. "Grey, take Karev to the locker room."
Meredith looked at him incredulously. "Sir, she's our friend!"
"And I will keep you informed. Go."
Both Alex and Meredith didn't move a muscle, trying to defy him. Their efforts, however, were futile as Richard stood firm. "Now!" he yelled forcefully.
Meredith made a move to leave, but Alex stood rooted to his spot, arms crossed, ready to battle it out. Meredith, making eye contact with the chief and knowing that it would be better for them to leave, took Alex by the arm and gently led him off back down the hallway.
Satisfied that they were indeed going, Richard took a deep breath and entered the room. "Talk to me, Sloan."
Mark was over by the bed, running a damp towel over Izzie's forehead. "I don't know, Chief. One minute she was fine, the next she fainted. And she's definitely running a fever. I'm checking that now," he said, pulling the thermometer off the wall and inserting it carefully into her mouth.
"Had she complained of any pain or weakness? Any signs of nausea?"
Mark looked up at him with an amused look on his face. "You mean other then the whole fainting thing?" he asked sarcastically.
Richard looked at Mark disapprovingly. "Now's not the time to get smart, Sloan," he admonished.
"No, sir," Mark adjusted, looking down with slight embarrassment. "Like I said, she was fine just a minute ago."
"What's her temp?" Richard asked.
Mark pulled the thermometer out of the intern's mouth and studied it carefully, his eyebrows kneading together in seriousness. "100.1."
"Hmm," was all that Richard said, stoking his chin as he considered this answer.
"Chief, is it-?" Mark began worried, not wanting to continue, as if saying it aloud would make it true. "Do you think it could be-?"
Richard knew exactly what the attending was trying to ask and came over and placed a comforting hand on Mark's shoulder. "It's too early to assume the worse. If she starts showing other symptoms, or if her temp spikes to 101.5, then it would be time to worry. But even so, I want to put her on an antibiotic IV drip just in case."
"I understand," Mark answered solemnly.
Before leaving, Richard turned around to look at Mark again. "Page me immediately if her condition changes."
Mark nodded his head. "You got it," he said, his alert, icy eyes connecting with the chief's weary, brown ones, each surgeon showing support the other so desperately needed. Mark needed it because if Izzie was sick, there was an alarmingly high chance that he would become sick as well. As for Richard, well, the stresses of being Chief at Seattle Grace just seemed to increase with each passing day.
Meanwhile, Meredith had managed to coax Alex all the way into the locker room and was now in the process of trying to calm him down, as he had lost what little semblance of composure he had earlier and was, once again, struggling to regain it.
"Alex, you need to breathe," Meredith said softly, as she gently rubbed Alex's back as he hung his head in his hands, on the verge of hyperventilation.
Upon hearing her words, Alex's head shot up and he glared at Meredith, his eyes flashing. "Breathe?! Seriously?!" he exclaimed incredulously. "How could you possible expect me to breathe in a situation like this?"
He suddenly jumped up from the bench they were sitting on, startling Meredith. "There I am, pouring my freaking heart out to the girl, kissing her, and then-"
Meredith jumped up, shocked, interrupting Alex. "Wait, you kissed Izzie?!"
Alex's eyes grew wide. "Meredith!"
"Right. Sorry," she said, sitting back down, allowing him to continue.
Alex stared pacing, running his hands over his head. "I kissed her and she fainted. Fainted, Meredith," he reiterated with an ironic laugh. "And now, she's unconscious. I did this," he said, shaking his head, his tone dazed.
"Alex," Meredith began carefully, looking at him sympathetically. "you did not do this."
"I put too much stress on her. It's my fault," he moaned sorrowfully, plopping back down next to Meredith.
Meredith's heart was breaking just seeing how sad Alex looked. "Okay, listen to me," she said seriously. "If there's any reason why Izzie fainted it's because she caught the virus. Not because of you."
Alex turned his head slowly, looking at Meredith in disbelief. "In what world is that helpful?" he asked, almost slightly amused. Almost.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "All right, so I'm not so good on the whole advice thing or whatever, but the point is, Alex, you didn't do a single thing to cause this," she said as he hung his head down again. "And right now, there's really nothing you can do for her."
Alex looked up at Meredith with such intensity that she was almost taken aback. "I'm scared, Meredith," he said sincerely.
She studied him, knowing there was nothing she could say to take his pain away. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him and was surprised when he allowed himself to fall into her embrace. "I know you are. I know. I am too," she said calmingly as she held him, wishing that this could all just go away.
Back in the quarantined room, Izzie woke up feeling confused. The last thing she could remember was enjoying a conversation with Mark over Italian takeout.
"Hey. Welcome back, Stevens," a voice from her left said softly.
Looking over, she found Mark sitting in the armchair, looking as if he hadn't slept in days. Still groggy, she rolled her head to the left, preparing to go back to sleep. But before she could close her eyes, she caught sight of a tiny tube coming out of her arm. Recognizing that it was an IV she looked back over to Mark in alarm. "Wait. What happened?" she asked confused.
In the few brief moments that he hesitated, it starting coming back to her. "Oh my, God! Am I-, Do I-, Did I-, catch-" All she managed to get out between breaths were these fragmented questions as she quickly began to panic. If she was hooked up to an IV it could only mean one thing: she had contracted the virus.
In a flash, Mark had bolted from the chair and was at Izzie's side, softly pushing her hair back from her face, trying to soothe her. "Hey, hey. Easy there. Breathe," he said, taking his own deep breaths, encouraging her to do the same. "You're okay. Just breathe."
Once she had calmed down a bit she asked, "What happened?"
Mark sat down on the side of the bed and took her hand. "You don't remember?" he asked, slightly worried.
Izzie squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose, trying to remember. "I remember eating the dinner Meredith sent but after that…nothing," she said, looking at him, frightened. She didn't understand why she couldn't remember anything after that.
"Seriously?" Mark asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "That's it? You don't remember Karev-"
Alex's name triggered something inside of Izzie and it all came rushing back to her, hitting her like a flash flood, the speech, the confession, the kiss. "Oh, my God," she groaned in recognition.
"Coming back to you now?" he asked with a small smirk.
"I think so."
"What have you got?"
"Alex came in here and kissed me," she answered. And when Mark had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, she knew that she was right. "But that still doesn't explain why I'm hooked up to this IV," she said, lifting her arm, offering it as proof.
Mark shrugged his shoulders. "You fainted," he stated blatantly.
Izzie felt like the breath was knocked right out of her when he heard his words. "Does that mean-?" she began panicking once again. "Oh, my God," she exclaimed, yanking her hand out from under Mark's. "I'm going to die!"
"Breathe, Stevens. You're not going to die," he said, looking her straight in the eyes, trying to be reassuring. "You just have a fever, which by the way has gone down. That does not mean you caught the virus. The chief put you on IV antibiotics just to be on the safe side. If your fever doesn't spike, you don't show any more symptoms, and, you know, don't go unconscious in the next day or two, you'll be in the clear."
"What's my temp?"
"It was 100.1. And I know you're hot for me and everything, Stevens, but don't you think that may be pushing it a bit?" he asked, flashing his infamous grin.
Izzie could only glare at him. "Too early for jokes?" he asked, his eyes now gleaming.
When her response was the same glare, he shrugged. "Yeah, maybe you're right," he acknowledged.
Choosing to ignore him, Izzie changed the subject. "How long was I out for?" she asked, needing more information on her condition.
Mark glanced at the watch adorning his left wrist and sighed. "Well, judging from the fact that it's now 9 in the morning, I'd say about 14 hours."
"14 hours!"
"Relax," he told her, rolling his eyes.
"Relax? Seriously?! I was unconscious for 14 hours and you're telling me to relax?!" she asked, her voice becoming increasingly higher with each statement.
"It's really no big deal. You weren't really unconscious for that long. You woke up after about 10 minutes, but you immediately went to sleep. Like, normal sleep."
"And it didn't enter your thought process to maybe, I don't know, lead with that?" she asked sarcastically, and throwing her right arm up in frustration as her left was still occupied with the IV.
"Now where would the fun be in that?" he said wickedly. "I like watching you get all riled up."
Izzie's jaw dropped. This guy was unbelievable. "Are you not capable of human emotions?" she asked, completely serious. "I'm, like, dying over here and you have the nerve to-"
She was cut off when an evil grin appeared on Mark's face. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Fever- in the morning, fever all through the night."
Izzie pulled her head back so she could see him, ready to declare the man officially insane. "What are you-?"
"Fever- when you kiss me," he continued singing, place a soft kiss on the skin below her ear. " fever when you hold me tight."
"Okay, you've lost it," she said, laughing, despite all her best efforts not to since he would win. "I think being cooped up in here has finally gotten to you."
"You give me fever."
Izzie smiled. Leave it to Mark to calm her down in the most ridiculous way imaginable. "Those so aren't the words," she teased, giving into him.
He pulled away from her, his mouth hanging open in mock-offense. "What are you talking about?" he said incredulously, throwing his hand over his heart. "Of course those are the words."
"No way," Izzie replied adamantly, shaking her head. "You reversed the order of the phrases."
"I did not," Mark replied defensively.
"Did too," Izzie insisted.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did too," Mark switched, trying to catch Izzie.
It worked. "Did not," Izzie retorted automatically. "Wait! Hey!" she exclaimed, realizing she had been tricked.
"Ha!" Mark laughed aloud in triumph. "Gotcha!" he said, sticking his tongue out at her playfully.
"What are you, five?" Izzie asked, going back to what was now beginning to be like an inside joke between the two of them.
Mark rolled his eyes jokingly. "How many times do I have to tell you, Stevens? I'm six," he replied, just as a six year old would, in a tone which showed how very offended he was that someone would think him younger than he was.
"Really? I'm an inch away from death and you're mocking me? Does it feel good? Does it make you feel special?" she asked sarcastically.
He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, stop being so melodramatic. You are going to be fine."
"You don't know that," she said, lowering her voice, once again becoming grim.
He stood up from the bed and place one hand over his heart and held the other up. "I promise you're not going to die."
She knew he was just playing around, but she was nothing but serious. "There's absolutely no way you could promise something like that."
"Wanna bet?" he asked grinning, trying to make light of the situation.
Izzie wasn't having any of it. "Oh, that's real nice. Betting on my life. I feel so protected."
"Again with the dramatics. It really doesn't suit you, Stevens."
"Again with the mocking."
"Listen," he said, seriously this time. "You are not showing any of the early signs of the virus besides a fever. Lots of people have fevers without having Ebola."
"Lots of people don't do medical procedures on people with Ebola," she snapped.
Mark had had enough. He couldn't keep up with her switching moods every three seconds. It got freaking tiring. "Fine. You're dying," he told her, his expression deadpanned. "Are you happy now?"
"Seriously?" she asked, appalled by the audacity of the cocky surgeon, every though she knew she should have need used to it by then.
Realizing that he may have been a little harsh, he sat back down next to Izzie and took her hand again. "Okay, look. I'm sorry. But you really are going to be okay."
Izzie looked at him helplessly, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "How can you be sure?" she asked in a shaky voice.
Mark leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I would never let anything happen to you," he promised softly.
To say the least, Izzie was shocked by the latest gesture. The kiss wasn't like any of their other kisses. Those, well, those ones held the promise of sex. This one, seemed to hold a promise of something else entirely. A promise of comfort. And she knew that he was sincere, that he truly meant what he said. She could even see it in his eyes. His sharp, icy eyes had changed. They were soft. As if, in an instant, everything had changed.
That prospect was so greatly daunting that Izzie had to change the subject. She couldn't think about it at the moment. "So, what an end to a birthday, huh?" she said awkwardly.
Mark noticed the abrupt change in subject, yet decided not to bring it up. After all, he too, was somewhat rattled by his words. He let them leave his mouth without a second thought, but now, he almost wished he could take him back. Not that they weren't true, but the fact that he said them because he was feeling something that he hadn't been expecting to feel was the most unsettling.
So he let it go. "You can make jokes but I can't?" he asked, like Izzie, trying to mask the awkwardness with a joke.
Izzie, thankful that Mark took her subject change bait, smiled sweetly. "That's right."
Mark rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's fair."
"Talk to me again when you're the one dying," she said, laughing.
"Well, all things considered, did you have a good birthday?" he asked, laughing along with her.
She pondered this for a moment. "All things considered, I'd have to say…yeah, I did," she decided. "Meredith really outdid herself."
Mark's gut twisted at the mentioned of the other intern's name. "Meredith," he repeated softly, standing up abruptly.
Izzie, however, was too preoccupied with the memories with notice. "I mean, it was nice enough of her to send that care bag, but the decorations and the food and that cake!"
He began clenching his hands into fists at his sides, trying to remain expressionless. "Stevens-" he began, trying to get her attention.
"'Cuz, you know, normally she's not into the whole 'celebrating' thing-"
"Stevens-" he tried again. She had to stop talking about Meredith. If she didn't, he was going to lose it.
"But she probably just figured since I'm stuck in here and everything-"
"Stevens!" he called, louder this time, his breathing beginning to get heavier and more rapid.
He had finally gotten her attention. "What?" she asked, surprised that he was interrupting.
Now that he had her attention, however, he was not sure that he wanted it anymore. Normally, he was the kind of guy who kept his emotions to himself. But for whatever reason, Izzie freaking Stevens was getting to him. Correction. She got to him.
So, against his better judgment, he took a deep breath, and just let it out. "Okay, I told myself that I wasn't going to do this. I told myself that if you needed to believe that your whiney, 'it's all about me' friend pulled off the surprises yesterday, I wouldn't care. I didn't want to care. But I do. And I'm not sure why. To be honest, I'm not sure if I want to know the reason why. But it is what it is, and I just have to tell you…"
"Tell me what?" Izzie asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.
"It was me," he admitted with a short laugh. "I did it. I put up those god-awful pastel-y streamers. I had the nurse order the delivery. I looked through a catalogue to pick out the perfect freaking cake. So, no. It was not Meredith, Izzie. It was me. And the fact that I care so much is a prospect so unnerving that I really don't want to think about what it may mean."
When he finished his little rant, he looked at Izzie, trying to gauge her reaction. That was impossible, however, since she was only staring at him blankly.
Knowing that he would invariably ruin everything if he opened his mouth again, since he would make some sarcastic comment and laugh the whole thing off, he waited. Waited for her to respond.
After a few moments, she spoke. "You realize that's the first time you've ever called me 'Izzie'?"
It took a few more moments for Mark to register what she had just said. "What?" he asked, blinking a few times, trying to make sure he had heard her correctly.
"Izzie," she repeated. "You called me 'Izzie'. It's always just been 'Stevens'," she said, her eyes beginning to water.
Mark was taken aback. "I- Well-," he stammered, not sure what to say. "Wow. I guess I never really thought about it."
Izzie couldn't believe what was happening. She felt as though she had entered a new dimension. "What's going on, Mark?"
"I don't know," he replied, refusing to look at her.
"No, clearly, you do know," she said with a short, sarcastic laugh.
"And you don't?" he asked, looking up at her.
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she saw the emotion radiating from Mark's eyes. "You have to say it. I won't believe it until you say it," she said, her voice sharp. Not that she was upset. But she needed to hear it from him.
Mark cocked his head to the side and looked at her helplessly. "Izzie-" he said, balking.
"I'm being serious. No bullshit," she said, wiping at a few more tears that were beginning to fall.
While he was watching her, Mark was waging an inward battle with himself. He didn't want to say it. This was the part of him that he didn't want people to see. He was used to being the arrogant man-whore. No one expected anything from him. It was easier that way. But then again, he had already let himself get this deep with Izzie. Maybe it was the fact that they were very much alike, her and him, and she could see him like most other people couldn't. Or maybe it was the fact that he was trapped in a room with her, and would be for the next two weeks, and reality has he had knew it just six days ago had changed. He wasn't sure. But whatever it was, he took a deep breath, and just said it. "It seems that I may care for you more than I ever thought I would. More than I ever wanted to."
"Mark-" Izzie sighed breathlessly.
He smiled uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair. "God, I feel like such a wuss," he admitted.
"You said you wouldn't fall in love with me," Izzie said softly, hanging her head, her tears now flowing freely.
Mark could only stare at her. "Okay… I have to say, that was not the type of response I expected," he said, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"You can't."
"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, now very confused.
"I said, 'you can't'," Izzie repeated, looking at him sorrowfully. "Mark, you can't fall in love with me."