It was all so quick. He ran down the hall, saw the nurses rushing in the machines and general panic around the room. It was Meredith Grey's room. "She's bleeding out! Call Bailey and Burke, prepare OR3 and O'Malley, scrub in if you want, but if you're too involved, you leave now, I will not have your emotions interfering with this case!" Dr. Ashland was shouting orders at everyone.

"I can't… I can't be here for this. I'm sorry…" George rushed out of Meredith's room, running straight into Derek. He was panicked, ashen, crying. They both looked into the room, the scene playing before them in slow motion. They watched as Ashland pulled out the defibrillators and applied them to Meredith's chest. They waited patiently for her heart beat to return immediately, but it didn't. They watched as it was recharged, reapplied… and watched with joy as her heartbeat returned. They breathed deeply, relieved. Meredith was alive… but the thought that crept into their heads, that plagued their thoughts in that second after the relief, was how long it would stay that way.

"George… will you go sit with Grace? I want to stay here for a second…"

"Of course, Derek. Please… call me if anything changes," George wiped his eyes, and stepped towards his niece's room.

"You too, George."

George entered Grace's room hesitantly. It was too hard to not cry. But he was a firm believer that even unconscious… they hear things. He had to tell someone, though. He had to get it off his chest. He pulled a chair up to her left side, so he could hold her hand and hopefully not hurt her anymore. He struggled to keep his emotions in check, to keep from crying. He didn't want her to hear him sad, or to scare her. "Hey, Grace. I don't know for sure if you can hear me. I hope you can… I think you can. I know that you know you're the most important thing to all of us. And you know you can't leave us… not now, not like this. You're going to grow old… you've got to make Derek a grandpa, because we both know he'd be so good at that. Look how amazing he was with you. You turned out so well. So amazing. You're the best daughter, the best niece… and we will fall apart if you don't wake up, sweetie. Not too put pressure on you, or make you feel guilty. But…" he broke down, he'd tried to be strong but he knew it could only last so long, "if you need to leave, if you need to be with Addison, your mom… we'll understand. It'll hurt like hell, and we'll be broken. But you do what you need to, angel. You're the glue that holds us together… you're the only thing that kept us all in Seattle."

He squeezed her hand, and kissed her cheek. "Oh, Grace… I have something to tell you… it might cheer you up. It'll definitely make me feel a little better. It's something you've joked about since you were little. Remember how you always said that the reason Izzie and I were still single was because, subconsciously, we knew we were meant to be together? I think you're right, Grace. When I heard about the accident… When I found out you were hurt, my heart broke in a million pieces. The first thing I thought was that I hoped you were all right… and the second thing… was that I didn't know if I could live without Izzie. I'm in love with her, Grace. You were right all these years…"

"Of course I was…"

"DEREK!" George screamed as Grace's eyes flew open.

"Shh, quiet, Uncle Georgie… the yelling hurts." She winced, "so does everything else. What happened?"

Derek ran into the room, panicked. He fell to his knees and laughed through his tears, overjoyed and overwhelmed. "Thank God!" was all he could manage to say.

"Daddy, why does everything hurt?" She looked scared, of course she was.

George decided to speak up, "One of the tires on the car blew as you guys went on the highway. One car flipped over you, and one crashed into your side. You were pinned under the seat, and that broke both of your legs… and the impact broke your right wrist."

"Will I be alright?" She whispered, closing her eyes to avoid crying.

"You'll be in a wheelchair for a few months, and after that, you'll need to go to rehab to learn to walk again. You'll be pretty weak, and you'll have to do physical therapy as well. But you'll be fine." George looked to Derek before continuing. "I need to go check on Mer…"

"And Izzie… you can't forget her," Grace smiled, and looked at him. "You should tell her, you know." She whispered as he kissed her cheek.

"I will, one day… maybe." He laughed as she gave him a stern look; "it's easy for you to say, you're not the one with your heart and pride on the line. Not to mention your best friend in the entire world…"

"Did you finally realize what everyone else has known forever?" Derek laughed.

"Excuse me! You have got to be kidding me. You, of all people…" He shook his head. "If you all really did know, the kind, friendly thing to do would've been to clue me in. I'm going now, please, feel free to make fun of me after I leave…"

"You expect us to wait!" Grace laughed as her dad sat next to her.

"I'll stop by later."

George went to Meredith's room, but it was empty. Empty. 'Oh, God…' he thought, 'Is she dead?' He ran to the nurses' station, "Where is Meredith Grey? She was in room 4694, where is she?"

"Relax, Dr. O'Malley. She's in the operating room."

"She's not…" She shook her head, and he smiled. "Good…"

He rode the elevator down to the second floor, where Izzie was. A million thoughts were running through his mind, what he should say and what he shouldn't… when and where and how it should all happen. He smiled and went to go into her room. He stopped… "No way…" the body standing next to her bed, making her laugh… couldn't be who it looked like it was. It wasn't possible… was it?

It couldn't be Alex Karev, could it?