Long Time Gone
Disclaimer: Not mine, can't even compete with Shonda. I'm just chilling with the characters, I promise I'll put them back when I'm done so please don't sue!
Chapter Two: King of Wishful Thinking
George had given notice at the hospital and even left a message on Lydia's cellphone telling her where he was going. He seemed to be all ready to leave- except for one thing.
He had no idea where he was going to live.
He had checked classified ads in Seattle but found nothing to his liking so far. The last time he had found himself homeless in Seattle, he had crashed on Burke and Christina's couch. While they had moved into a large house, the awkwardness of that last extended stay and the addition of their son would make it impossible. Besides, George was older now, almost 39, and needed a place of his own. All of this left him with one option- he would have to call Meredith.
After their one-night stand, George and Meredith had slowly re-build their friendship and it had taken a long time, but they were now quite close and spoke frequently. She and Derek had finally married 8 years ago, and now had two children, Clara and Benjamin age five and three respectively. Meredith had kept her mother's home after she and Derek built their place on the land where the trailer once stood, renting it out to incoming interns. He hoped that perhaps he could persuade her to rent it to him until he could find his own place.
Tentatively, George picked up the phone and dialed and as soon as he heard the ruckus on the other line he worried that he had made a mistake. On the other end George could hear a screaming five year old Clara, Meredith and Derek's eldest daughter.
"Hello?" An exasperated Meredith answered.
"Hey, Meredith. It's George."
"George! How are you!" Meredith's voice brightened considerably when she heard him on the phone.
"I'm doing alright. Have I called at a bad time?" He could still hear Clara's plaintive tears now joined by the howls of the three year old Ben.
"Yes, its fine- we just got some cranky kids who just got home from day-care. Hey! Hey! Clara, what did I say about the cookies? No, more cookies! You're going to ruin your dinner!"
"Look I can call back later if it would be better."
"No, no this is fine. Benny get out of the cabinet. Burke says your planning on coming back to Seattle, is it true?"
"Yeah, actually that's why I'm calling." George began to pace in his living room. He was never very good at asking for a favor. "I was wonder- you still own your mother's old place right?"
"Yeah. Actually, the interns who had been living there just moved out."
"Really, so it's available if I wanted to, say, rent it from you? It's just that I haven't found a place yet, and I don't really want to live in a hotel. I can afford to pay you a good price and I'll take care of it."
"Of course George! I'd much rather have you and Lydia in the place than try and find some new interns who will undoubtedly trash the place."
George's heart sunk a level when he heard Meredith mention his ex-wife. He hadn't told anyone yet, but he knew he would have to eventually.
"Um, look Meredith, Lydia won't be coming with me. We're getting a divorce."
"I'm so sorry George."
"Thanks" Suddenly George heard a loud crash over the phone.
"Oh, Shit! George, I've got to go, Benny just nocked over Doc's water and food bowl. When you get in, just stop by my house and I'll give you the keys. I've got to go, bye!"
The phone clicked dead on the other end. George felt an odd nostalgia fill him. He missed his friends but was aware of just how much their lives had moved forward when compared with his. Christina and Burke, Meredith and Derek, even Izzie and Alex had their families. Without Lydia, George was just George. Going back to Seattle would be difficult. Would his old friends have time for him? Would they be wrapped up too much in their own lives? Looking around his apartment at the boxes that surrounded him, he wondered if he made the right choice.
A/N: So I realized after I put this chapter up that it had some huge, I mean HUGE, continuity errors. I changed the names and ages of children (even the number). So, I'm replacing this- hopefully to much better reception.