Izzie felt Meredith's presence beside her, not really registering the movement as her friend step out and placed herself between Izzie and George. The three of them stood that way for several seconds, and Izzie didn't dare try to breathe. George was the one person in the world that she most wanted to see, and yet…He was also the one person in the world that she last wanted to see.

"Izzie," George acknowledged with a brief nod, his eyes on the floor as he tried to step around them and into the elevator.

"Seriously?" Meredith exploded furiously. "Seriously?"

"Meredith, it's okay…" Izzie whispered.

"No, it is not okay. It's not okay!" To George, Meredith said, "This is not fair. You need to talk, you both need to talk, and you need to talk now, even if I have to tie you to chairs in the lobby and force you to do it."

George nodded without any hesitation. "So…you want to talk…now?" he asked Izzie hesitantly.

Meredith looked at Izzie. George looked at Izzie. All Izzie wanted to do was back up into the elevator and disappear.

"Iz…" George said, "I'm…sorry for how I treated you."

Meredith squeezed Izzie's shoulder as Izzie pulled away and crossed into the lobby. She folded herself into one of the cheap lobby chairs, placing her overly stuffed purse beneath her, and waited for George to settle beside her.

"I'm sorry about Callie. You don't even know how much."

"Thanks," he whispered. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, with…with everything. I just…"

"It was very sudden," Izzie finished for him.

George's head bobbed in agreement. "I didn't even say goodbye to her. I never got to say…goodbye." He hung his head, and Izzie grabbed on to his hand.

"I'm so sorry, George. I'm so very sorry. I did everything I…"

"That you could?" he interrupted. "I know. And I never should have blamed you. That was…I was…I guess I just…"

Izzie stared out the lobby window over George's head, watching the warm Seattle rain trickling across the glass. Repeatedly in her head, she rehearsed all the things she wanted to say. George, I'm…pregnant. How do I say that? Do I just come out and say that? I mean, seriously, is it even appropriate? Of course it's not appropriate. It's never going to be right, I just…I should…

"I needed to blame someone, anyone…but…It was really all…It was all with me. And I was looking for somebody else, anybody else, to blame, and I know…I know that doesn't make it right, Iz, but…I am sorry."

"It's okay," she replied, though she wasn't sure if it really was.

"We can't be what we were, but…we can start over."

Izzie nodded without a word, even though that wasn't what her heart wanted at all.

"Listen, I've got to go up…I'm here…to get Callie's stuff, and…"

Izzie let go of his hand. Should I tell him? Now's not the time, isn't this whole thing just getting to know each other again, I mean…I should wait. There's never going to be a good time. But if I wait much longer, it's lying, and I don't want to lie, I want…Out loud, Izzie said, "You can call me, sometime. If you ever want to talk about stuff, I mean." Izzie chomped down on the inside of her lip, trying to keep the tears from flowing.

"I will, Izzie. I promise." With that, he got up and disappeared into the elevator.

Izzie pulled her purse out from under the chair and drifted randomly towards the doors, right past where Meredith was waiting for her. Meredith knew without even being told that Izzie hadn't said a word about the baby, and she was right there to catch her friend as the tears finally broke through in the pouring rain.

"Mer, why is this so hard? Why is this so…hard?" Izzie sobbed. "I'm going to have a baby, a baby…How hard is that to say, why can't I just…say…"

Meredith found herself totally at a loss for words, and the two of them stood in the rain until they were soaked through to the bone.