AN: In defense of Addison's actions: I envision Addison as the kind of person who wants to deal with their problems and deal with them quickly and in the best way possible. I don't think she's a wallowing-for-days kind of person. She realizes that she needs to move on, and she also realizes that she has nothing left in Seattle (besides that whole…job issue). So she seizes her opportunity.
I also want to apologize for this chapter as it is kind of like filler. But next chapter will be better.
"Where is Meredith?" The Chief was angry, they could all see that.
"She was right behind us sir," Christina said, her head down. The three of them were seated in chairs in front of the Chief's desk, with an extra one next to Alex for Meredith. This meeting had obviously been planned.
"Well when is she going to get here?" he asked, just as Meredith ran in, out of breath.
"Sorry chief," she said as she went to her seat.
"Where were you, Grey?"
"Bathroom," she said quickly. The other three looked at her, concerned, but Meredith smiled faintly, trying to tell them Izzie was okay.
"Well now that I have all of you here, I can begin." He began to pace in front of them, much like an angry teacher. "What happened yesterday was disgusting. It was such a gross infraction of everything that medical professionals are to uphold-"
"With all due respect, sir, she was trying to save his life," Alex said, still looking at the floor. Even he was scared.
"I've never heard of saving a life by ending it, have you?" the Chief snapped. He paused and took a breath. "Listen," he said, softening a bit and sitting down at his desk. "I'm not saying that what she did wasn't for the best. I get it. What I'm upset with is that no one tried to stop her. I know you all are bright kids. Tell me, please, why didn't anyone stop her?"
No one said anything. The live-as-a-group, die-as-a-group policy was still in effect, as the Chief noticed.
"Fine," he said, annoyed at how unruly these interns were. He changed the subject. "I know it's going to be hard for Miss Stevens." Everyone noted that he did not refer to her as 'Doctor Stevens'. "Which is going to make it hard for the rest of you. I'm aware that you surgical interns are close. I want to impress upon you the importance of supporting Izzie through this difficult time. She is going to need companionship." Everyone felt awkward that the Chief was giving them unsolicited social advice, but no one said anything. "She's also going to need some talking to. If she wants to be a doctor again, and something tells me she does, she's got some work to do. She needs to contact me before trying to get a job again. Is that clear?"
They all nodded. Meredith squirmed in her seat, impatient. She was worried about Izzie.
"But for now, since we have an extra intern position, we're talking to all the medical schools in the area, trying to get a replacement. We don't want to be understaffed; we all know how that ends up. You will have a new intern within the week.
"Alright. You can go." They got up and left the Chief's office and went to see Bailey.
"So…so that means he might give her a job again, right?" George asked. No one said anything, because no one knew an answer.
George, Christina, and Alex met Bailey in a hallway. "Where is Dr. Grey?" Bailey demanded.
"Don't know," George said, trying not to look at Dr. Bailey. She could tell he was lying but did not have the time to track down Meredith.
"Alright, we've got an appendicitis case, pretty simple stuff, Karev, why don't you see to it that she's comfortable. For the rest of you, rounds. Now. And because we're missing an intern you all are going to have to work extra hard. When Meredith gets back from her little 'vacation', she can join you." Bailey handed them the necessary paperwork. The interns were prepared to leave when Bailey said, under her breath, "I hope ya'll are taking care of Izzie." They nodded together slowly, unsure of whether this meant Bailey had seen Izzie or not.
Meredith entered the locker room, and was happy to find it empty. She headed for the bathroom stalls and almost tripped over Izzie, who had fallen off the bench and was sleeping on the floor. Meredith shook her to wake her.
"Izzie," she said. "We have to hurry. I'm going to take you upstairs to the closet, okay?"
Meredith helped the half-asleep Izzie up, and led her to the door, which she peeked out of before slowly leaving. She then yanked on Izzie's arm as she dashed for the stairs. Izzie stumbled but followed, not having the energy to cause trouble. After they got past the stairs, where Izzie would be most visible, it was easy to take the unused hallways to the closet in question. Meredith threw open the door and rushed inside.
Izzie crawled up on the bed and tried to sleep again. Meredith sat down next to her. Izzie's eyes were closed, but Meredith knew she was not asleep.
"So," Meredith said. Izzie said nothing.
"Izz…" Meredith pleaded, putting a hand on Izzie's shoulder. "You can't just shut down until you forget about last night – you'll explode. You're going to have to deal. And it'd be better with me than with Christina." She smiled, and nudged Izzie's shoulder. Izzie responded by opening her eyes and biting her lower lip, staring out at the wall across from the bed. She stayed like this, with Meredith beside her, for the rest of the time Meredith spent with her. Meredith wanted to tell her on more than one occasion about what the Chief had said, about the possibility of a job but also about how he was trying to replace her. But she did not. Izzie looked like she had enough to deal with.
Christina and George were not having any fun. They could never have guessed how hard it would be not only doing their own jobs, but having to make up for the lack of Izzie and cover up for Meredith on top of it. The hospital had an impossibly large number of patients – all of which had nothing unique about them. There were literally no interesting cases, and absolutely no surgeries that needed extra hands (conveniently on the one day where they would be understaffed). Christina was about ready to rip someone's kidney out just to get some excitement into the hospital. George reminded her that, after what Izzie had done, this would be a very, very bad idea.
Alex was having a similarly boring time, stuck with the appendicitis patient. Upon entering the room, he found a very sweet looking girl no older than thirteen. "Uh…did you need something?"
She looked surprised. "No, I'm perfect, thanks. Did I accidentally press the button?"
Alex didn't really like her innocent tone. Her happiness made him angry for some reason. She sounded fake. "No, I've been…uh…assigned to help you recover from your surgery for some reason."
"Ohhh," she said, a looked of dawning realization on her face. "I know why. My dad, he's the lead singer of Wild Jungle." Alex had no idea what she was talking about and his face displayed this. "They were the best-selling rock group during the late eighties and early nineties? Anyway, my dad's band is looking to donate a bunch of money to get back into people's heads. Your hospital must be interested." She smiled, and Alex saw something so evil in that smile. He wanted to leave, to go check on Izzie. But he knew he couldn't.
He sat down next to her and examined her chart. Her name was Melanie, and according to her chart she had a very smooth surgery that required only a night of recuperation.
He had been looking it over for about a minute when Christina entered the room. "Alex, please tell me this little girl has an impossibly small object that needs removal lodged in her brain," she said as she slumped down on the floor next to him.
"Sorry," Melanie said. "Just a burst appendix."
Christina rolled her head to face Alex. "Why are you taking care of this kid all day?"
"My dad's famous," she said.
"Oh," Christina said, uninterested. Melanie seemed to take offense from this but said nothing. Christina examined Alex. "What's on your shirt?"
"I spilled my tea in the car," Alex said, grumpily. Christina stifled a laugh.
"You drink tea?" she snorted. Alex glared at her.
George ran by the door, looking in for a second before passing. He backtracked and stuck his head in.
"There you are. Bailey wants to know where her suck-ups…I mean, interns are. I think she's suspicious about Meredith," he panted with worry, hunching over to catch his breath. He looked over at Alex. "What's on your shirt?"
"He spilled his tea," Christina explained, smirking.
"You drink tea?" George said, trying to keep from laughing.
"I was just trying it," Alex mumbled.
George looked up at the clock. "We should really go."
Christina groaned and stood up. She followed George out of the room, before turning back to say to Alex, "Alex, will you go take my place? I need to visit Burke. I'm sure she'll be fine." She gestured to Melanie.
Alex looked over at Melanie as Christina left. "Some friends you have," she remarked, quite unlike the sweet girl he had first met. He laughed. He liked this new girl better. "Those are the people you have to work with everyday?"
"Yep."
"I'd get 'em fired if I were you," she said, smiling. Alex could see why her smile had put him off. She was genuinely evil. Her charm was completely false. He left the room and followed Christina and George.
Meredith did not want to leave Izzie when George knocked on the door. Izzie had finally fallen asleep, a single tear stuck on her cheek. Meredith wiped it gently before opening the door, where George was waiting anxiously. She looked around the empty hallway, double checking to make sure no one was there.
"Anything I should know?" George asked.
"She wouldn't talk to me. She's asleep right now." George nodded in understanding. She left him to the closet. He glanced at her sleeping figure on the bed as he closed the door. He wanted to wake her. He wanted to talk to her, to try to help her deal with last night.
Luckily, he didn't have to wake her up, because as the lock clicked on the door her eyes flew open. George stood for a moment, watching her watching him.
"Why did you guys bring me here?" she asked, after a minute.
"Izz..."
"No, really," she said, almost angry. "Whose bright idea was it to bring me back here? You all tell me to deal – you think this is helping? You think being in this fucking hospital is helping?" Her face broke and tears fell down her face. George felt terrible, realizing now that the hospital must be unbearable for her. He sat down on the bed and pulled Izzie into a hug. Her arms hung limp and she did not rest her head on his shoulder, so he let her go. She pulled her legs up and sat up next to George.
"George…being here is awful. You have to let me leave."
George considered this, thinking about what Meredith and Christina would say. "I can't, Izzie. We can't leave you alone."
"I don't need to be on suicide watch, George. I just…I just need to leave Seattle Grace."
