Chapter 29

"What in the hell am I doing?" Cristina exclaimed in her hotel room the next day.

Meredith tried to calm her down. "Just breathe," she suggested soothingly.

"But it won't even be my breath anymore," the bride rambled. "Half of it will belong to Burke, right?"

"This is what you wanted remember?" Meredith said. "You're going to marry one of the most prestigious doctors in the country. You're going to be Cristina Yang Burke."

"Cristina Yang Burke," she repeated quietly to herself. She was wearing a white summer dress with tiny purple flowers in it. There was a purple flower to match sticking out of her dark, curly hair, which was down and flowing freely over her shoulders.

Cristina looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing down her dress with her hands. "I can't be a wife. I can barely function as an adult."

………………………………

"What in the hell am I doing, O'Malley?" Burke asked as he readjusted his tie.

"Well, you're going to get married to Cristina," George relied, sitting down on the hotel bed. He was still a little weak, but as bright as ever.

The surgeon glanced back at the optimistic intern. "Cristina can't be a wife. She barely functions as a social adult."

George laughed softly. In his wise way, he responded, "Isn't that why you love her, sir? That's why I do. She's crass and unpredictable and scary, but she has a good heart."

Burke smiled at the thought. "It's the quiet moments when you here it, isn't it?" he asked his friend. "That's when you can hear her heart."

…………………………

"What in the hell am I doing?" House asked Wilson as he shaved just right to retain his five o'clock shadow.

Wilson was lying back, relaxed on the hotel room bed eating peanuts. He was already dressed and waiting. He was not nervous to go to the wedding with Addison because it felt right to have her hold his arm, to touch his hand. They were meant to be together, whether it was as friends or lovers. "I assumed you were shaving," Wilson teased. "Are you doing something in my bathroom that I should know about?"

"Only a line of cocaine, and I think it's from Addison's stash anyway," House retorted. "I mean taking Cameron to this wedding. I thought it was a good idea at first, but you know Cameron. She'll be picking out my tux and cuff links and finding a cute little flower girl the next thing you know."

Wilson's eyes squinted as they often did when House said something that he did not buy. "I seriously doubt that this will be enough to convince her that it would be a good idea to marry you," he countered.

"I just don't understand it," House said. "Why didn't she go after you or Chase or Foreman?"

Wilson shook is head. "Because you're the only man she wants. You can believe that Stacy loved you. Start believing that Cameron does, too."

………………………

"So are you going to the wedding with Chase?" Cameron asked with a grin. She could tell that he was falling hard pretty quickly. It surprised her because she had never seen her colleague like this before.

Izzie could tell that he was as well. "I think that I might go alone," she answered. "I don't want anyone to get hurt." In truth, she had had a dream last night that had shaken her a bit. Denny had came to her, telling her to let him go. It's time, Izzie. I want you to be happy. You know who to turn to. She had needed to hear him tell her that. And Izzie Stevens did know who she was supposed to lean on.

"Well, it's probably for the best," Cameron said in her motherly tone. "We'll be going back in two days."

"You know, I'm going to miss you, Allison Cameron."

Cameron glanced up at her, her hands still on a bobby pin attached to her hair. Izzie's smile was big and infectious. Laughing, she said, "I think I'm going to miss you, too."

A knock on the door tore them away from the moment. Cameron bounced over to the door to get it. Her grin was sly as she said, "Stevens, I think it's for you."

…………………………

Derrick knocked lightly on the door. He gasped when he saw Meredith in her soft, yellow dress. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear while the rest was picked up in a loose knot on her head. She shuffled on her feet. "What do you want, Derrick?" she asked.

He gave her "The Dreamy" look and smiled. "I hoped that we could go to the wedding together and work through all of this," he said convincingly.

"Do you really want to fix it, Derrick, or do you just hate it when someone's disappointed in you?" Her eyes were trained on him. For once, she thought that he really did not look that attractive at all, maybe even a little ugly.

He puffed, aggravated. "I want to fix it. Go with me," he encouraged.

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I already have a date," she said, although it didn't sound apologetic.

Shepherd clenched his fists at his sides. "With whom?" he asked, almost accusingly.

"With the Best Man," Meredith said proudly.

He looked confused. "Who?"

"She's going with me," George confirmed firmly. He stood straight next to Derrick, his face like stone yet somehow still sensitive. Something went off in Meredith. She had another first thought: George O'Malley was quite a man. And she liked it.

Derrick was still lost. "What?"

"He's right, Derrick," she told him. "I'm going on a date with George." She and the other intern smiled at each other as she ushered him into the hotel room, leaving Derrick Shepherd in the hall alone.

…………………………………

Cameron stepped aside to let Alex Karev into the hotel room. Karev's lips turned up shyly. Izzie Stevens was the only woman that had ever made his knees tremble and his head go woozy. She was the only one to ever make him nervous. "Hey, Izzie."

Her smile brightened even more, if it was possible. "Hi, Alex. What are you doing here?" she asked, but she thought she knew.

Scratching his head, he said, "Do you want to go to this wedding with me? We can bet to see how long it takes Meredith to sleep with a guest and Cristina to completely break down."

Izzie giggled. "Sure, I'll go with you. You just better not expect wedding sex," she joked.

He smiled that small grin Izzie was so used to seeing. "I can never promise that, Izzie," he teased, taking her arm. They both told Cameron goodbye and left for Cristina's room.

…………………………

Derrick trudged dejectedly down the hall. He ran into a near-bubbly Addison. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Her smile faltered as she answered, "I'm trying to find Jimmy. I think he's in his room with House. I wonder if I should be worried."

Her ex-husband didn't find it funny. "He's not a good idea, Addison," he warned.

"I loved him back then, Derrick. I still love him," she said with joy bursting from her body.

"That's not always enough," he pleaded.

"No, it just wasn't enough with you," she said bitingly. Addison was the second woman that day to leave him in the hallway alone.

………………………

Cameron was finishing her makeup when she heard another knock at the door. This time, her heart clutched as she scurried to answer it.

House stood there, awe-struck. Allison Cameron often took his breath away and she certainly had that effect on him today in a silky, light green dress. She had her hair pulled back, but instead of putting it up had let it flow, curly, down her back. The hair do elegantly displayed her long neck and the amulet she often wore. It was all he could do not to grab her and kiss that spot on her neck that was just beneath her chin.

She glanced down, nervous from all of his staring. "Hi, House," she said wistfully, as if out of breath.

He had a hard time speaking as well. His eyebrows raised and his eyes sparkling, he said, "You look beautiful."

Cameron humbly tugged at her dress. "Thanks, House."

He chuckled when he noticed that she kept calling him House. "We've fondled each other a few times now. I think 'Greg' would be appropriate now considering I plan to do it again."

She blushed, but was smiling. Coyly, she replied, "How do you know I'll let you maul me again, Greg?"

He gave a crooked grin as he bounced his cane on the floor. "Let's just say it's a hunch." Opening the door, he held out his elbow. "You ready to experience this 'divorce-court date in the making,' Allison?"

Cameron blinked rapidly as her body quaked from his voice ringing in her ears. Allison.

She had no idea that he could barely stand up after she had called him Greg.

TBC