This was quite a hard chapter, took me about a day to have 60 percent done but then I just blocked, nothing came out right and I re-wrote it about 10 times, finally I came up with this ending (not to the story but to the chapter, obviously) today. The name of the chapter was also a bit tricky...see if you can figure it out before reading the story and what part belongs where...hehe
Hope you like it!
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Chapter Seven: Missing, Rumor Has It and Uphill going Downhill.
Alex Karev breathed in and out, trying to calm himself and stop looking at everything with paranoia.
He closed his eyes, attempting to dissolve his anger and failing miserably.
"Are you okay?"
He opened his eyes to find the cause of his anger standing in front of him; her green eyes looking strangely at him and her teeth biting her lower lip in confusion. He looked down at her lips and, without caring who saw them, dragged the red head into the nearest supply closet.
"Alex! What the-"
He shut the door with a vengeance and quickly pushed her against it, his left arm finding her waist (and bringing her closer to his own body) and his right hand sneaking beneath her purple skirt.
"Alex..." she hissed, feeling the caressing movements in her thigh completely irresistible.
"Shut up", his lips found her neck and she leaned her head to the other side, giving him more space and moaning when his hand came in touch with the lacey fabric under the skirt.
Addison bit her lips again and her eyes connected with Alex's brown ones, her lips instantly (and almost instinctively) attacking his own.
"Oh god, I missed you"
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George found Isobel Stevens against the nurse's station, her brown eyes trying to concentrate hard on her patient's chart, but he knew better. He knew from the way she was slightly biting her cheek, he knew from the way she was carelessly curling a blond lock, and most of all, he knew from the way her eyes held a special twinkle; he knew that her thoughts where nowhere near the chart in her hands.
"There's a rumor going around"
There, he said it.
Izzie turned to look at the upcoming man and slightly glared at him, causing George to scoff and look at her with eyes wide open.
"You've got be freaking kidding me"
Izzie handed her chart to one of the nurses and, shaking her head, walked towards the elevator; her hand pressing the white button (quickly turning it orange).
"Is it true?"
She rolled her eyes and remained silent, her anger being kept under control for the time being.
"So it is true"
Pursing her lips she looked straight at him, her eyebrows rose in an angry demeanor, "Seriously?"
George looked back at her, his eyes never leaving her own and she pushed her hands inside her lab coat, her feet carrying her inside the elevator; George following every step she took.
"Izzie..."
The doors closed and she turned to him, her anger now proving to be too much to control, "Seriously George, and I mean god damn seriously!"
Her sudden scream took him a bit for surprise and he took a step away from her, his back against the wall of the square elevator.
"Izzie...", George tried again but her glare shut him right up.
"No, no 'Izzie', you made your choice George, damn it, you chose Callie, not me, Callie, and it's alright, I'm coping, I'm starting to breathe again, starting to forget your kisses and that fucking smile you had when you looked at me-", she paused closing her eyes and the guilt seemed to wash over George, "but no, nonono, Izzie cannot be happy, can she? Because when I finally decide to follow my instincts and go ahead, and yes, kiss damn McSteamy in front of twenty other doctors, you just have to come running up to me right? And why George, Why?"
Her pleading tone made him feel sick to the stomach, "Izzie, I-I'm sorry...I just, I just don't want to see you get hurt!"
She laughed, laughed and pushed the stop button, "Hurt? Hurt George?", she laughed again, her hand still on the button.
"Let me set this straight for you George, because I don't think you're getting it...", her dark tone made him nervous and suddenly he wished he hadn't pursued her at all.
Izzie took a step forward, her eyes never leaving George's (and for a second she noticed how much more piercing Mark Sloan's were), "I poured my heart out, I fucking told you I loved you, I said I was in love with you, and that I wanted to be with you, and you – you said nothing, zero, zilch", she paused and her eyes looked to the side, "and then – I, I have to find out that you're starting a family, a baby...so no, George, don't worry about me, because no one can ever hurt me like you did"
Her words stung and she knew that, that was exactly the reason behind them, to hurt him, because, damnit, she wanted him to feel her pain.
Izzie took several steps back and released the stop button, the elevator opening to the fourth floor.
"Loved?"
Izzie walked out of the elevator when his voice was heard, a slight tremble in his words.
Her blond hair moved while she nodded, "Loved"
And George looked one last time at Izzie as the doors closed and the slight 'ding' made it's presence known.
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"Miss Doris Warren"
Doris looked up, her brown eyes smiling at her friend.
"Hey Mark"
He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes, a laugh followed by it, "It's no use, your charm doesn't work with me"
Mark smirked again, "Oh, it does work; you just are too blind to notice...I swear one of these days you're going to wake up and realize just how much you're in love with me"
Doris laughed and pushed some of her bangs behind her ears, "Right, just how you're going to realize how deep in you are with blondie"
"Blondie?", he raised one of his eyebrows, a slight smile on his lips as she laughed, "Yes blondie, now Mark Sloan, what could you possibly be doing here, I'm going today"
"Exactly"
Doris looked at him strangely and got up from her bed, her legs a bit wobbly, "Exactly what?"
Mark grabbed one of her arms, keeping her steady, and led her to her bag, "You're finally moving to a decent room, so, we're celebrating"
"We?", she inquired while shutting her bag and grabbing her make up kit.
Mark smirked, "Yes we, not just us (as much as I know you want that), but the two of us are included, and so are the other bunch who call themselves friends"
"Hey!"
Naomi Bennett walked into the room and Doris laughed as she hit Mark in the chest, glaring at him, "Watch it"
Mark rolled his eyes but then smirked, pressing his body a bit closer to Naomi's, "You know, we can ditch Doris and the gang...my room is just in the same hotel as yours...", his husky voice made Naomi look at him from the corner of his eye and then shake her head.
"Stop it", Naomi now looked at Doris, "Addison is...well actually I don't know where she is, she was supposed to be here already"
Doris shrugged, "I don't know, and yes, stop it Mark, you do like blondie, so don't screw it up"
"Screw what up?"
Izzie walked into the room and smiled at Naomi and Doris, who smiled back; Mark smirked in her direction but she resolved to ignore him.
"Oh nothing Izzie, what are you doing here?"
Izzie smiled at Doris and went further to hug her, "I just wanted to say good-bye; it was so nice to meet you"
Doris grinned and then looked at Mark (who was now pouting slightly, his frown making it clear he didn't like being brushed off), "Well, Mark was actually telling me about a little get together that we were having tonight...you're welcome to come if you want to"
Izzie turned to look at Mark, her nervousness showing and he only shrugged, still annoyed at her, "Yeah whatever, Dr. Bethany can come..."
Izzie glared at him, hissing a slight "Ass", at which he smirked and licked his lips.
Naomi rolled her eyes and looked at her watch, "Where can Addison be? It's been an hour!"
Mark's demeanor suddenly changed and he went a bit rigid, muttering, "Probably at some closet with a suck-up of an intern..."
Doris was the only one who heard him and looked at him strangely, knowing him too well, "So, I'll see you guys tonight then?", she turned at Izzie's question and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm sure Mark wouldn't mind picking you up...right Mark?"
His eyes looked at the door and Izzie felt uncomfortable as he wouldn't even look at her, "Sure", she looked at him oddly but still smiled at Doris.
"Okay...see you tonight then..."
As soon as Isobel Stevens left the room, Mark felt two pair of hands slapping his arm, "Ow! Hey, what the hell?"
Naomi pursed her lips while Doris glared at him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"One minute you're flirting (and almost taking blondie in my bed) and the next you're all cold and not giving her the time of the day! If this is your idea of being romantic, I hate to tell you, but you suck"
Mark sighed and shook his head, deciding to not answer either of them and leaving the room before any more slaps came his way.
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"Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all loose our charms in the end, but square cut or pear shape these rocks don't loose passion, diamonds are a girl's best friend"
"Hmm, I like square cuts better"
Izzie gasped as she felt Mark put a hand, possessively, in her waist, as she had been singing while waiting for her hot chocolate.
"Mark..." she hissed looking at their sides and glancing at the coffee boy (who only gave her a wink to go along with her chocolate).
He smirked and placed a kiss in her neck, "I like your voice, you could have been in American Idol, although I doubt they would've have liked any Moulin Rouge songs, not Simon anyway"
She pushed herself out of his touch, "Thanks", took her chocolate and smiled at the guy standing in front of them; Mark handed him a $10 bill, not waiting for any change.
She turned around, "Mark, you can't do that, it's enough with the rumors that are going around, and how the hell do you know Moulin Rouge? I'm not even going to start on A.I"
He shrugged and moved a blonde lock behind her ears, she shivered then, "Addison and Derek made me watch it about ten times, and I don't care about the rumors, so what if we're dating?"
"We're not dating!", she hissed and some on-lookers smiled amused as they walked by them.
"So what do you call me paying for your-", he took a sip out of her foam cup, his hand feeling a bit too good against her own, "chocolate?, what the-"
"I can't drink caffeine, and I didn't ask you to pay for it, so technically, it's not a date"
Mark raised an eyebrow at her, interested at the small piece of information she had just provided for him, "Really, then what is, in your words, a date?"
"Flowers, movie, dinner, you know, the whole chick flick kind-of date"
He smiled at this and shook his head amused, "Ok then, we'll do the whole chick whatever, as long as I get to do the planning"
Izzie smiled up at him, the urge to kiss him in her gut again but then remembered his coldness in the fourth floor of Seattle Grace; something was up with him, and she, as he smirked at her, only came up with one answer.
"Addison"
Mark's face changed, "What?", his tone was full of shock as Izzie had slipped the red-head's name.
Her cheeks turned a rosy color and she noticed she had voiced her thoughts, "No-Nothing", she bit her lip and quickly walked in the direction of the elevator.
Mark caught up with her and shook his head; brows furrowed together, "It wasn't nothing, if it was nothing you wouldn't have run away"
"I didn't run away", she blurted and saw the glass doors slide open for them, "I just – Forget it, I shouldn't have mentioned anything, it-it was nothing, okay? just forget it"
Her rushed tone and rambling made him more suspicious and, as soon as they entered the elevator, he pushed the 'stop' button, "Stevens, spit it out"
The use of her last name shocked her a bit, not that she remembered him ever using the name 'Izzie' but still his tone made her stop and look at him, "You're still in love with Addison"
Mark glared and as if looking for an excuse started at her, "You're still in love with O'Malley"
Her eyes opened wide and she felt her breathing stop, how did he know? No one was supposed to know, no, no one, ever, it was all a mistake, a silly mistake, a mistake she thought was more than just that.
"You have no idea what you're talking about", her voice was low and full of hatred.
He glared back, "You neither"
They both stood like that for moments, his hand still in the red sign and her eyes never leaving his. Finally she raised her head further up (meeting even more his cold gaze), "Maybe this is a mistake"
Mark was a bit surprised, her tone had made him take a second look at her, now (as if for the first time) taking a good look at her. Izzie's blonde hair (usually up) was curly and falling freely around her face and shoulders, her lab coat had a tiny chocolate stain (so did her lips) and she wore a, light pink, long sleeved shirt beneath her blue scrubs.
"Maybe", his eyesight fell from her eyes to her rosy lips, "you're right"
He let go of the red button and the elevator started moving (free to leave the lobby), a 'ding' broke their staring and Izzie got off, "Tell Doris I'm sorry I couldn't come tonight"
And that was the last he saw of the blonde, his blue eyes shutting in anger.
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"I heard you were supposed to be leaving"
Cristina looked up from her seat and nodded, "Yes, supposed being the key word"
Callie smiled at that, "It's only a – what – week? You'll survive, go on a tour, to the beach, I hear L.A. is full of pointy things that make you relax", she laughed at her own inside joke but Cristina only glared.
"I don't need to leave, I need to cut, to cut and cope, and I can only cope if I cut, so I cut, I need to cut"
Callie sat down next to her, "You need to leave"
Cristina was about to let a lonely tear escape (most likely against her own will), when a blonde passed by, muttering under her breath about 'McAsses and their McTheories, oh yeah like he is so over her, I'm over him so why does he say it like it's a fact, 'you're still in love with him' right, what the hell does he knows!'; Cristina only shrugged at Izzie but as her eyes met Callie's she noticed the fury in them and thought it was safer to get back to herself.
"I don't know where to stay, I can't go back to Bu – to that apartment", Callie suddenly looked at her, almost as if she forgotten what they were talking about.
"Right", she shook her head, "Well, where have you been staying?"
The response was almost automatic and so was her appearance, "At Meredith's"
"What about me?"
Cristina looked at her friend, a sigh on her lips, "The Chief's making me take a week off"
Meredith looked at her, "Oh...I'm guessing you're not happy with that"
"Oh yes, I'm just so freaking happy I could actually cry, seriously Mere"
Meredith nodded at her deadpan tone and gave her a small smile, "You can stay at my place"
"I'm already staying at your place", Callie took their conversation as her cue to leave and with a small smile in their direction (and a glare where the blonde had disappeared) she took off.
Meredith took the place where Callie was before, "I know that, I'm saying you can stay as long as you like, and well I don't have tomorrow off but I could ask for it if you want"
Cristina shook her head, "No, you're going to cut things, I need you to cut things"
Her tone made Meredith nod and Izzie appeared again, this time noticing the two of them, "Oh, hey"
Cristina merely looked at her and Meredith was at once on her feet, "Isobel Stevens you have much explaining to do!"
Izzie and Cristina both looked shocked at Meredith's mother instinct and couldn't help but laugh, "What?"
"Okay, seriously Mere, that's so not you"
Izzie agreed, "Yeah, sorry, no offense but no mothering from you"
Meredith rolled her eyes at them, "Whatever, but still how could you kiss Mark Sloan and don't tell me this!"
(Cristina beamed at this, "You what?", Izzie ignored her)
"Don't worry, I won't be kissing him again anytime soon", Izzie glared into the wall while saying this, Cristina (who looked a bit confused and excited at the new gossip) and Meredith just looked at her.
"I have to take the week off", Cristina blurted out, finding this to be a new ice breaker.
Izzie grinned, "That rocks, I have tomorrow off; we can go yoga-ing together!"
The tone of excitement in Izzie's voice made Cristina groan (and ask herself what had she gotten into) and Meredith merely laughed, her eyes trailing from the pair as Derek Shepherd passed by them, a new intern laughing along with him.
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Okay so don't kill me!! I just felt everything was going to good and quick, I needed their fight (Mark and Izzie) and also George talking to Izzie, it makes sense in my head and so will it in the rest of the story so bear with me!
Also, I've noticed I have like 20 story alerts (and even favorites) from people I have never received a review from...I'm not complaining, it's nice to know so many people are reading it, but still I would (very much) like to know what those other twenty-something are thinking!
Please review, and don't kill me!
-Kath