Title: World Spins Madly On
Author: Holly-Dane
Rating: T
Summary: After the prom, Meredith left Seattle, planning to never look back. When she is forced to return after her mother's death, she finds the world she used to know turned upside down (marriages, babies, divorces, disaster) MerDer Lexie Bang O'Callie Maddison.
Authors Note: You guys did such an awesome job of review over this past chapter, so thank you! I was so happy with all your reviews; I decided to make this a nice, long chapter. Yay, good for you guys!!! Ok,so real quick, here's my little review tizzyPlease, if you're going to read it, just review!!! It means a lot to me, and really pushes me forward. I really want to know what everyone thinks, and without reviews I can't get that. And just remember, reviews are what help these chapters get posted sooner, so the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to continue! I also accept any kind of review – corrective criticism is ok with me as long as nobody is flaming anything. I also accept reviews from anybody, so just please review
Reviews: I'm thrilled by the support that everybody has show this story; it makes me so happy. So thank you very much to all those who reviewed, each and every one of you proved to be a huge motivation! I really appreciate it. So anyway, I just wanted to clear some things up – I had several questions asked to me in your reviews, and I would just like to take this as an opportunity to answer the questions posed by some of you.
ilovepatrick – First of all, I love your enthusiasm! I'm glad that you asked some questions. So here are your answers (without revealing too much) you will be meeting Derek in a few chapters, but hearing a lot about him before that. You will also find out what happened with Addison, as well as see her in the future. Next, you will learn some things about the interns in the chapter and a lot in the next one too. As time goes on, more and more of the past is uncovered. I want to keep that suspense, lol.
Kilikina1 – It will be revealed that the surgery was performed by Derek – trust me, this is important!
Kissedmetillthemorninglight – Fan of George, eh? Don't worry, there will be a lot about George revealed in the next chapter, and you will also get to see him of course. I couldn't have a story without George – I love him too much.
IslandGurl90 – I just couldn't help myself; I'm glad that you like my penname. Thanks. :)
I also want to thank everybody else who reviewed, you guys are great!!!
Chapter Four: Just a Ride
As Meredith sat silently in her room, dwelling on her past and presumably future, Izzie Stevens ran down the hallway in excitement.
"Hey, where are you going?" A fleeting Christina Yang asked as Izzie sped past her.
"It's Meredith!"
"What?" Christina shrieked, receiving glares from several angry nurses.
"Excuse me," One of them said as Christina began trailing Izzie down the hallway.
"Yeah," Christina said sarcastically, turning around as she walked, "Excuse you."
Izzie laughed, "Christina," She could barely contain her giddy excitement.
"What?" Christina sighed, "They're just nurses." For some reason, all surgeons held nurses in a low bracket of medical care. They were considered the underbelly of the medical staff at Seattle Grace Hospital.
"That makes it so much better." Izzie scoffed, rounding the upcoming corner with increasing speed. She couldn't wait to find Alex and tell him all about Meredith's return.
"So what is this about Meredith?" Christina asked bluntly, completely ignoring Izzie's previous statement.
"Oh," Izzie stammered, "She's here…"
"Here. Like here, here," Christina's narrow eyes widened, "In the hospital?" Her mouth hung agape as she waited for Izzie to respond.
Izzie shook her head, "Yeah, here here." She stressed both 'here's'.
"Hey," Christina hollered, suddenly realizing something, "you aren't supposed to be running...you're pregnant."
Izzie turned to look at Christina, "We are not running. What we are doing is more like...power walking." She tried to weasel her way out of trouble.
Christina glared at Izzie, "You have a bun in the oven, slow down."
"Fine," With this statement, Christina's hardcore expression vanished, and in its place, one of awe and speculation appeared.
"Where are you heading anyway?" she asked, eyeing the buxom blond inquisitively.
"To find Alex."
"Oh," Christina said mockingly, "of course." It was so like Izzie to go looking for her 'precious' Evil Spawn.
"Well I thought he'd like to know about Meredith." Izzie admitted, causing Christina to stop walking and turn to face her.
Christina glared at her, "and what about me...Meredith's used-to-be best friend, huh?" The fiery Korean pointed to herself as if she were the Queen of England.
"I was going to tell you too." Izzie said, "I just wanted to tell Alex first."
"But I'm Meredith's best friend." Christina blurted.
"And Alex is my husband." Izzie countered, holding up her hand and showcasing her ring, "husband." she repeated.
"Best friend." Christina stated as she began walking again.
Izzie hurried to catch up with her, "husband."
"Best friend!"
"Husband!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Within a few minutes, Christina and Izzie stood at Meredith's door, lightly knocking, so that they might have her approval to enter.
"What are you doing?" Christina asked, looking at Izzie as if she had just attempted something utterly stupid.
"Knocking," was her only reply.
"We don't need to knock." Christina laughed, ripping Izzie hand from the door.
"But she's asleep," Izzie protested.
"So?" Christina said, walking into the room and lightly shaking Meredith's shoulder.
"Mer…Mer,"
"Huh? What?" Meredith twitched awake, slightly startled by the appearance of Christina that loomed over her.
"Christina!" Meredith screeched.
"Shhh…." Izzie said, motioning for them to quiet down.
"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked, absolutely stunned.
Christina looked at her as if she were smoking something, "To see you of course." She replied, "I mean…it's been three years." She said the number with huge emphasis, obviously a bit angered.
"I know." Meredith said apologetically. God, had she missed seeing Christina; her best friend. It felt so weird to think that she hadn't seen her best friend in three years.
Christina took a seat on the edge of Meredith's bed, "Izzie, close the door." She commanded.
"Why?"
"Because it's not visiting hours…and we want her all to ourselves." She said it as if it were the most obvious fact.
"I came here as soon as I found out you were back." Christina said, leaning forward, dark curls spilling over her shoulders, "Sorry I didn't come sooner…Izzie wanted to go and find Evil Spawn." She added with a slight snarl.
Izzie gave Christina a frustrated glower, "I just thought he'd like to know, too."
"Well he can come later…this is female time, can you feel the estrogen?" Christina asked, looking around the room as if in search for the previously mentioned, invisible aura of estrogen.
Izzie laughed, "Estrogen is all I feel these days."
Meredith smiled, "Well I would think so, with all the extra pregnancy hormones."
"Yeah," Izzie said, pulling a chair forward and collapsing into it, "you have no idea." Pregnancy had, in so many ways, becoming increasingly exhausting. Izzie was beat.
Christina laughed, "I feel for you…I really do, being knocked up sucks."
Meredith giggled at Christina's comment, "I wouldn't know." She was now the only one of the three that had never experienced pregnancy.
"I don't think it sucks," Izzie stated, "in fact, I love it."
"Are you kidding me?" Christina gasped.
"No." Izzie looked at her confused, "why would you ever hate being pregnant?"
Christina started counting the reasons on her fingers, "First, you get fat; second, you cry all the time; third, you have to pee – a lot; fourth, it is painful." She accentuated the last word.
"It's not that bad…" Izzie said, staring into space, "I do have to pee a lot though." She added the latter as a quick afterthought.
"No kidding," Christina chimed, "You're always going to the bathroom, especially since you're so close now."
Meredith looked at Izzie, "I forgot to ask…how soon are you due?" She had been so preoccupied with everything else that was going on, she had forgotten to ask Izzie when her baby was due.
Izzie though for a moment, "It's due on April 15th….I only have another three days of work before I'm forced to go on maternity leave."
Christina frowned, "Maternity leave would literally kill me," She though about the time she was cooped up in a hospital room with her mother, "remember what happened when I was forced out of work for one day?" She added, shaking her head at the mere thought of being forced to experience unending bed rest.
Meredith laughed, "Yeah, with your mom." It was another one of those downright hilarious memories that she kept with her.
Christina laughed, "Don't even mention my mother…what a nightmare. Izzie, I don't know how you're going to survive." She leaned back and ran a hand through her raven's hair.
Izzie shrugged, "I think I'll do fine…I actually like being pregnant. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want."
"That might me nice." Meredith commented.
"It is," Izzie grinned, "but I feel like a whale."
"Yeah," Both Christina and Meredith sighed at Izzie comment.
"Speaking of food," Izzie said, looking around the room, "Is there any in here, I'm starving." If there was one thing pregnancy surely did, it was make her hungry…very hungry.
Meredith thought for a minute, "Yeah, there's some in that basket." She pointed to the gift that the Chief had left for her.
"Great!" Izzie shrieked happily.
A minute later, she returned to her seat with a Hershey's milk-chocolate candy bar.
"I love chocolate." Izzie muttered to no one in particular.
"Craving chocolate, huh?" Meredith giggled. Maybe chocolate was her pregnancy must-have.
"Definitely," Izzie sighed, taking another bite of the candy bar. "Now that you mention it, I've actually been craving a lot of stuff lately."
"Good job Mer," Christina sighed, "Now we'll be listening to her 'cravings list' for the next five minutes…I've heard it already."
Izzie slapped Christina lightly, "It is not a five minute list."
"Yes it is."
"I want to hear." Meredith nodded her head, breaking their banter.
"Ok," The cheerful blond smiled so wide it looked like her face hurt, "Well, you know, when I was pregnant with Hannah…"
Meredith interrupted her, "Hannah?"
"Her daughter," Christina stated coolly.
"You guys have another kid?" Meredith groaned referring to Izzie and Alex, "Why didn't I know."
"No, no," Izzie corrected her, "I had Hannah when I was a teenager…I gave her up for adoption."
"Oh." Meredith sighed, not knowing what else to say. She had never heard about Izzie's daughter before, and now that she had, she couldn't quite believe it.
"Yeah," Christina said, "I've know about that for a while now."
"Are you boasting?" Meredith laughed, recovering from her stupor.
"I might be."
"Anyway," Izzie interrupted, "When I was pregnant with Hannah all I really wanted was potato chips…lots and lots of potato chips, preferably Doritos."
"Nice." Meredith sighed.
"Yeah," Izzie laughed, "a fat girl's dream."
"Yep," Meredith chuckled, her dishwater locks bobbing up and down.
Izzie smiled and then continued, "So I though that this time would be the same, you know? I thought that I'd be hungry for like one thing… I was so wrong." She paused.
"So what is it that you're craving?" Meredith asked, genuinely curious about her friend's pregnant needs.
"Well," Izzie contemplated the question, "I want pickles all the time…I like to dip them in Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream."
"Eww." Meredith laughed.
"I know," Izzie giggled, "It's nasty, but I love it."
Christina leaned back on Meredith's bed, "That's pretty gross."
"Thanks." Izzie said mockingly before continuing, "And I love the smell of toothpaste….the Crest Mint kind."
Meredith looked at Izzie as if she had just said that the moon was made of cheese, "toothpaste?"
"Yeah," Izzie said stuffing another piece of chocolate into her mouth, "weird, huh?"
"Very." Christina replied, crossing her feet against the nightstand.
"That's what I thought…you should have seen the look on Alex's face when he saw me smelling the toothpaste."
Christina laughed, "I would have loved to see that."
"The look on his face was priceless," Izzie said, remembering the way that Alex's face contorted, showing utter confusion.
"I bet it was…" Christina said, using the tone that she usually used while envying another's surgery, "I would have killed to see that."
Izzie laughed, "Yeah, and it's weird because I never noticed how great toothpaste smelled before I got pregnant."
"Well," Meredith admitted, "It's not something that most people pay attention to."
"I know." Izzie said with her mouth full, "but I crave it…but not nearly as much as I crave sex." She stated boldly.
Christina sat up immediately, "Too much information…" she tried to disguise her obvious interest, being the gossip hound that she was, "sex with Evil Spawn."
Izzie leaned forward, "You have no clue how badly I want sex…all the time, literally. I want it right now."
"Alex must love that." Meredith laughed.
"Oh," Izzie chuckled, "he does."
Christina made a disgusted face, "How can you sleep with him?"
Both Izzie and Meredith turned to her, wide-eyed. Even Meredith realized how stupid the question was; Alex was gorgeous!
"Um," Izzie stumbled, "Are you kidding?"
"No." Christina said curtly.
Izzie just stared at her, "First, he's my husband; second, he's smoking hot;" Meredith laughed, "and third, he is really, really good." She shook her head happily, thinking about it.
"Please," Christina sighed, "Evil Spawn can't be that good."
Izzie shook her head, "Oh, yes Christina, yes he can."
"Oh, yeah," Christina said sarcastically, trying to provoke a response from a highly emotional, hormone-filled Izzie. It wasn't that she doubted Izzie at all; in fact she believed her, it wasn't as if she was blind. She knew that Alex was hot, and she didn't doubt his 'abilities.' She just wanted to see what Izzie would say next.
"Well," Izzie laughed, "If you want me to go into detail, then…"
"No!" Christina cut her off. "Would you like it if I talked to you about my sex life with Burke?"
Meredith laughed, "I don't think Izzie would mind."
"I wouldn't." Izzie shook her head, "there was actually a time when I was begging Meredith to tell me intimae details about her tryst with McDreamy." Izzie laughed as if no time had gone by. It seemed like Meredith had never left, if only for a moment. Then, it all came crashing down as she noticed the look on Meredith's face. Oh no, she though, I shouldn't have brought up Derek.
"I'm sorry…" Izzie trailed off.
"It's fine." Meredith said calmly, trying to look unaffected. But in reality, 'unaffected' was the farthest emotion from reality. The minute she came back to Seattle, the 'Reality Rule Book,' had been thrown out the window and left in the dust.
"Are you sure?" Izzie asked.
"Yeah," Meredith replied, "So about you being pregnant…do you know what sex the baby is?" she asked curiously, but also with a sense of urgency to change the subject.
Christina shook her head, answering the question for Izzie, "She doesn't want to know until it's born."
"Really?" Meredith asked, surprised.
"Yeah," The vivacious girl replied, a huge grin spreading across her face, "I want it to be a surprise."
Meredith leaned forward in her bed, "So does Alex want to know?"
Izzie sighed, tucking a flaxen curl behind her ear, "At first he wanted to know, but when I explained to him that I really, really wanted it to be a surprise, he understood."
"The softer side of evil," Christina said nonchalantly.
Meredith laughed, "Christina, Alex is not evil."
The petite Asian shrugged, "could have fooled me."
"Ha, ha," Izzie faked laughing, "You are so very funny."
"I know," Christina grinned.
"But yeah, he's on cloud nine…he doesn't even care if it's a boy or a girl." Izzie smiled, thinking of how much she loved her husband. Husband, she thought, I love the sound of that…it never gets old.
Christina couldn't help but smile a little, "You should see him Mer, it's really quite pathetic, I mean he's like delirious with happy. You need to stay away from the two of them or else you may catch the happy…the sheer magnitude of their frickin' happiness is blinding." She warned.
Izzie laughed, "First; there's nothing wrong with being happy, and second; of course we're happy, we're having out first baby."
After a minute, Meredith looked at Izzie, her expression a little nervous, "Can I ask you a question?"
Izzie smiled, "Yeah, of course."
"Did you guys want a baby or did you pull a Christina?"
Christina picked up a pillow and hit Meredith on the arm, "Hey."
"Sorry."
Izzie smirked, "We were trying to get pregnant."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we both really wanted a kid." Izzie stated.
Meredith smiled happily, "Now that's a side of Alex I've never seen."
"I know what you mean." Izzie admitted. Alex wasn't exactly the type of person that one would pick out as a 'want-to-be dad.'
"So is Alex still…you know, all Alexy?" Meredith asked, hoping that the answer was yes. He just wouldn't be Alex is he wasn't.
Without hesitation, both Christina and Izzie blurted, "Yes!"
"If by Alexy, you mean chauvinistic, rude, sexually inappropriate, smart ass…then yes." Christina smiled, "Sorry Izzie."
Izzie laughed, "Don't worry; I was the one who chose to marry him."
Meredith suddenly realized that she hadn't even bothered to ask how long her friends had been married, "Izzie, when did you guys get married, anyway?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Izzie teased, "We've been married for two years - almost….well more like one and a half." She giggled.
"Wow, that's great." Meredith beamed, genuinely happy for both of her friends.
"I think so." Izzie smiled.
"Spare me." They both looked over to Christina, who sat with her arms crossed in annoyance.
"We missed you at our wedding." Izzie finally said, wanting to let Meredith know her obvious disappointment.
"What wedding?" Christina laughed, "You guys got married in the hospital!"
"No!" Meredith shoved Izzie's arm playfully, "You got married in the hospital?"
"Yeah," Izzie said her extravagant lips curling into a smile, "we did."
"Why?"
"Well," Izzie said leaning back in her chair, "it's actually quite a long story."
Meredith laughed, "In case you haven't noticed, I have nothing but time." Her question had been innocent enough, but she had no clue how dramatic an event it had been for both Christina and Izzie.
"Right," Izzie smiled, embarrassed, "Well, I was finally getting over my stage of Denny induced depression, when there was a 911 page for all of us to head to the scene of a huge explosion." Izzie paused, noticing Meredith's interest in the story, "a passenger ferry had set on fire in the middle of the water. We all headed over to the scene in copters. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen...hundreds of people were burned; tons of people were already dead." Izzie looked over to Christina, who was obviously remembering the horrific event; her face was pale, "So anyway, we were in one of the choppers when a fuel line or something in the ferry set on fire and exploded. The helicopter lost a wing, and we went into the water. It was during winter, so the water was like ice. It was me, Alex, Christina, and George. We were all in there, with a couple of burn victims." Izzie stopped again, as if some of the memories from that day were still painful to her.
Christina grabbed a hold of Izzie's hand; being more supportive than usual, she continued for Izzie, "We were all in the water, freezing...the water was so cold, it felt like we were being stabbed with thousands of knives, " She shivered, "Well, Izzie had gotten hit with a piece of debris, right in the head. She was sinking fast...Alex went in after her...George and I climbed up onto one of the wings, and tried to calm one of the patients who we pulled up. We just sat and waited...George was freaking out, he though Izzie and Alex were dead and even though I would have never admitted it to him at that moment, I did too. The water was just too choppy...too cold." Christina looked Meredith directly in the eyes before continuing, "I don't even know how long it was...it seemed like forever, but Alex finally came up with Izzie. She was bleeding like crazy...but head wounds will do that. He thought she was dead...she wasn't breathing. He started to give her mouth to mouth while holding her in the water, but he was so exhausted, so I offered to take over but he told me 'no.' He just wouldn't give up." Christina remembered watching Alex tread water with a bloody and limp Izzie Stevens in his arms. He was holding her close; clinging to her for dear life as he tried to breathe life into her. Her hair had been matted with blood, and her skin had lost all color; she was white as a ghost. "After a few minutes, another helicopter arrived, and we all got in...Izzie was still out, but Alex kept going, trying to save her. We all thought she was gone…but by some miracle, she started to choke on a bunch of water. She spit it out and started coughing. Alex was holding onto her, and they were just crying. She was shivering like crazy, and the rescue team covered here in blankets to try and get her temperature up. She was just about to pass out when she just, out-of-the-blue said 'Marry me.' – then she fainted."
Meredith looked to Izzie in complete shock. She couldn't believe the story that she had just been told. It seemed so impossible.
"Izzie…" Meredith sighed, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly.
"It's amazing, I know." Izzie laughed, wiping away a small tear that had formed at the corner of her warm, brown eye. "Sorry," She apologized, "it's all the damn estrogen."
Well, there you have it, Chapter 4. I really hope that you guys liked it. Once again, I would really love it if you guys reviewed after reading – it motivates me so much. So if you want another long chapter, or another quick update – Review. Simple as that. Next chapter will build on what you just heard in this chapter, so be ready. Ok, please - review, review, review. I accept corrective criticism, and I would also love to know what you guys thought!
Thanks for reading,
Holly Dane