So this has been a fun time…but where are Christina and Burke? Don't worry. It's all good in the hood for our favorite multi ethnic couple. But for future reference, I cannot remember a thing about what was going on between those two. It's very vague.
Christina spent the night at Burke's side in the hospital. She held his good hand loosely as she snored quietly, her head at an awkward position on his bedside. Burke stayed awake, enjoying this precious time where he actually got to touch her.
Instead of spending his time worrying about himself and his future, his thoughts were with Denny and Izzie. Izzie was going to be in so much trouble. He did not envy her situation. She had done something to outrageously unethical. No doctor would ever dream of killing a patient, especially to abuse the rules of another medical organization. His experience told him that Izzie would never have a job at Seattle Grace or any other hospital. She needed a miracle. Ironically, so did he.
He tightened his grip on Christina's small hand for comfort. Her show of support earlier was incredibly encouraging. She had finally let go of her emotional issues. Hopefully this new Christina was here to stay - he would need her in the next few weeks.
George awoke after a few hours less sleep then he would have liked. At least he had a day to himself today with a night shift.
He rolled out of bed in boxers and old slippers, and groped his way down the hallway to the bathroom. He yawned absently and scratched himself as his other hand waved around the general area of the light switch. He turned on the light and examined himself in the mirror as his arm reached out and turned on the shower. A yelp greeted the splash of water on the shower floor. George jumped and shouted in surprise. He opened the door of the shower to find Alex curled up on the floor, sputtering in the cold water.
"What'd ya do that for?" he demanded as George quickly turned off the water.
"What the hell are you doing here?" George said, completely confused. Now that he looked around the bathroom, he saw Alex's suit jacket, pants, shirt, and tie folded neatly on the toilet. Alex got up, his undershirt and boxers soaked. George handed him a towel apologetically.
"I stayed here last night because I was worried about Izzie," Alex explained angrily, grabbing the towel and drying himself off. "I didn't trust you idiots to take care of her."
"I'm sorry, what authority do you have in this situation?" George asked, still a little mad about his early morning fright.
"Lay off, I'm her friend too."
"Since when?" George asked, defensively.
"Since now!" Alex said, annoyed.
"Could you leave now?"
"No!"
"At least leave the bathroom!"
"Fine!"
Alex walked out, grabbing his clothes and shoes. Meredith opened the door to her room, yawning. "Alex? What are you doing here?"
"He stayed over because he was worried we wouldn't take care of Izzie!" George shouted through the bathroom door.
"You didn't trust us to take care of Izzie?" Meredith asked.
"No, okay. No," Alex said.
"Ouch," Meredith joked. "Why are you all wet?"
"He slept in the shower," George shouted.
"You slept in the shower?" Meredith asked in teasing disbelief. "How could you even fit in there?"
They stopped their joking when the door to Izzie's bedroom slowly swung open. The smile faded from Meredith's face.She realized how loudly they had been talking. Izzie emerged from her bedroom, her hair and make-up from the previous night still in place.
"Guys…I had a rough night. Do you want to just…remind me exactly what happened yesterday? I can't…" Her sleepy confusion caused her words to be slow. "I can't tell what was a dream and what wasn't."
Meredith walked over to her and took her hand. Alex stayed where he was, watching Izzie intently. "Izzie, Denny died. You quit your job before the Chief could fire you for malpractice." Izzie nodded, biting her bottom lip and fighting tears.
"Okay," she said. "So there was no wedding."
"No wedding," Meredith confirmed, her hold tighter on Izzie's hands.
"Damn," she said, laughing. "I had an amazing wedding dress. Like, really gorgeous."
Meredith led Izzie back to her room. She sat her down on the bed and Izzie rested her head on Meredith's shoulder. Alex stayed in the hallway, absently rearranging his pile of clothes. He didn't want to leave.
"Izz…"
"Don't say anything. You…you can't," Izzie said softly. "I just…I just don't know what to do. I was going to marry him. In a really incredible dress."
Meredith made soothing sounds, rubbing Izzie's arm.
"And now he's dead." Silence fell upon them for a while. Meredith heard the shower going again.
"Can I do anything for you?"
"Yeah," Izzie said. "Remind me again…who took me home?"
"Alex," Meredith said.
"And he took me here?" she asked, meaning her bedroom.
"Yes."
"And he's still here?"
"Yes. He slept in the shower. He's really trying to prove something to us."
"Hmm," Izzie said. "And you and George…"
"Were right behind you. We got home just a few minutes after you did." Meredith did not feel it was right to tell Izzie about what happened last night. Izzie had enough to deal with.
"Oh." She paused. "Who's making coffee?"
Meredith sniffed, and smelled coffee in the air. "I don't know. Do you want some?"
"I'll come down," she said. They got up and went downstairs. They could hear George singing in the shower.
Downstairs they found Alex, still in his wet clothes, reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Do you guys want some?" he said, raising his cup in the direction of the coffee pot, which was full. Meredith gave him an I-can't-believe-you're-still-here look and he smiled sheepishly, returning to his paper.
Izzie slumped down next to Alex as Meredith fixed coffee for both of them.
"Meredith, this was in your mailbox," Alex said abesently while reading his paper. He held up a sealed, official-looking envelope addressed to Izzie. He angled it in a way that Izzie couldn't see. She wasn't interested anyway.
Meredith went to the table, coffees in hand. She set one down in front of Izzie, who drank it quietly, examining her cup after every sip. She took the letter from Alex, who looked up from his newspaper to give her a significant look. Meredith looked back at him in a curious but bemused confusion, opened the letter, and scanned it quickly.
"Izzie?" Meredith said slowly. Izzie looked up in response. "I think you should see this," she said, sliding the letter over to Izzie.
Izzie picked up the letter, and her tired eyes looked over it. Her mouth slowly dropped in disbelief.
AN: Ooooohhh! What was in the letter? Apologies for the short chapter but now you have an intersting cliffhanger.
