-1Chapter Six
Worry Wart
Four surgeries. Thirteen scheduled consultations. Two emergencies. One phone call from his oldest son's principal concerning a frog in the teacher's coffee cup. Four phone calls from Callie reminding him she is on call and not to forget that he has to pick the kids up from daycare. None of it has fully distracted him from the situation Izzie is facing. It was Cristina to spill the news. Meredith told Alex about Lexie. George's first reaction had been anger. Anger at Meredith for opening her mouth. Anger at Alex for showing back up after all this time. The anger was short lived. Much as he dislikes Karev, he wouldn't wish a sick child on anyone.
"Deirdre, unless you tell me I have some patients I forgot about, I'm calling it quits for the day." George pauses next to the receptionist's desk. There are several people lingering in the waiting area. Most likely they belong to Cristina. One of her surgeries has taken longer than expected, resulting in backed up appointments. In typical Cristina fashion, she refused his offer of help.
"Callie called. She says to remind you that you need to pick the children up from daycare. Please don't forget them this time, as it upsets Garret very much. She also said to remind you that Jordan has soccer practice at six, and Shelby has piano at six-thirty. You will need to drop Jordan off at the field, but don't leave without being sure someone else is there. Then take Shelby to her lesson." Deirdre hands him the sticky note the message had been written on. "She also said not to take them out to eat. It won't kill you to cook."
"Yeah. Thanks Rose," he crumbles the note up, stuffing it in his pocket. One time. He had forgotten to pick the children up one time. Callie has never let him forget it. There are times he is tempted to call her and remind her to pick them up, just to show her how annoying it really was. "Let Dr. Yang know I've left for day."
"Will do, Dr. O'Malley," she says not looking up from her typing. Always doing something, he muses as he adjusts his leather satchel. Using the back elevator reserved for business owners, he leans against the wall, sighing. Taking his cell phone from his pocket, he dials a familiar number. Four rings before going to voice mail. "Iz. It's George. Again. Please call me back. Let me know you're okay." He hangs up, sighing again.
He starts to shove the phone back into his pocket, then changes his mind. Unlike Izzie, Callie answers on the second ring. "I'm not going to forget to pick the kids up." he grins when she teases him about the one time he had. "Hey, define cooking." He listens as she rambles off several easy choices for him to make for dinner. Macaroni and hot dogs, the one thing he is a master at making, isn't on the list. They chat a few moments longer, teasing each other about who loves who more. The tone turns serious when he finally works up the courage to tell her about Alex. He holds the phone from his ear while she rants about what a sorry bastard she thinks Karev is. It takes him four tries to tell her what is going on. "I'm worried Cal. Iz isn't answering her phone. I haven't been able to get a hold of her all day." He resists the urge to roll his eyes as Callie went into her worry less about Izzie's life and more about his own lecture. He knows this. He knows that Izzie doesn't need him worrying about her or Lexie. It isn't something he could help. Callie knows this. She only lectures because Izzie had bitched about him interfering one to many times. Izzie could bitch. Callie could lecture. George would worry. That is just the way it is.