Chapter 18

Derek walked out of the OR. He took his time, dreading the news he was about to give.

He had tried. He had done everything he could. But she was basically brain dead.

There was little to know activity, something that nobody cold really survive. Not without a mirical.

Izzie had insisted that he were to do everything that he could not to kill her.

And he did.

But the tumor was too big. It had grown and it had ruptured durring the surgery. If he was anybody besides Derek Shepherd she would have just died on the table. But he was able to keep her breathing... on life support.

And now the only activity left in the brain was in very little the parts that were all associated with feelings. With love.

Izzie Stevens had wanted to live. She wanted to have a very long life with her husband.

And Alex Karev. He would be crushed. He would want to die, to be with Izzie.

His life had been hard enough already.

As Derek slowly rounded the corner to the waiting room he paused for a moment, his heart breaking slightly.

Alex sat with Meredith and Crisitina. They were all asleep. Meredith held Alex's hand, sharing fear together. Cristina rested her head on Meredith's shoulder. And Alex had his head resting on his hand, dry tears on his face. He looked so innocent. They all did.

He couldn't move as he just stared at Alex. His throat began to feel swolen. His eyes filled with tears.

Move, he told himself. Tell him.

Derek was so focused on what he would say that he didn't even hear the footsteps coming up behind him. So when he heard the soft voice he jumped.

"Should I take this as a bad sign?" the voice shook.

Derek turned quickly to see Bailey standing there. She saw the tears in his eyes and she knew what they meant.

"Oh no," Bailey whispered. "No."

"I'm so... sorry," Derek's voice was so weak, barely a whisper.

Bailey wipe at her eyes andher chest heaved for a moment. "D-does A-Alex kn-kn-know?" she whimpered.

Derek shook his head and looked away. He couldn't take the pain in her eyes, not now.

"She's brian dead," Derek whispered. "She is brian dead, and she signed a DNR."

Miranda placed her hand over her mouth, holding back a sob.

"T-tell him," she choked out. "Tell Karev." And that's all she could bring herself to say.

Derek turned towards Alex and began to make his way over to him. He clearted his throat and took a deep breath.

Now it was time.

Alex was having a dream. It was a very good dream. Izzie never left, never had Cancer.

They had a house, four kids, a dog, an amazing life.

But when he heard the sot shuffeling of footsteps he awoke out of wondeful dream to find that it had turned into a nightmare.

Derek was standing there. And his eyes... his eyes were red. He was crying.

That couldn't be good.

Derek opened his mouth and shut it. He opened it again but no words came out.

Alex was so weak. He wanted to yell, 'Spit it out Shepherd!'

But his energy was drained.

In the time since Izzie had come back he had fallen realized how he was still in love with her, found out she had cancer again, had to retell her about O'Malley dying, had to be by her side and beg her to have surgeries.

He was exausted.

So now the answer could be one of two things.

Yes or no.

She was either dead or alive.

Alex just needed an answer. No hesitation. No confusion. Just an answer.

So all Alex was able to say was one word.

"Please," he whispered.

Derek looked away and ran his fingers through his hair. He was nervous.

"Please Shepeherd. Just tell me."

Meredith stirred in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. She saw Derek and they locked eyes. She knew him so well. Through their silent conversation she found the answer almost immediately.

And her hopes fell.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth and Cristina woke almost immediately at the moment.

"I'm so sorry," Derek's voice was mostly gone. He was exausted too. "We did everything we could. But... she's mostly brain dead. There's little to no activity left. She's on life support. But she signed the DNR."

Alex's eyes closed as the nightmare washed over him.

"I'll do everything I can to stay alive," her voice clicked into his head. "I promise. I'll try to stay alive because I love you. I love you so very much. DOn't you ever forget that." Those were the last words she had said to him before they rolled her away into surgery.

"I love you too," he had whispered back, mostly to himself.

"Did I die?" Izzie whispered.

George stepped towards her, reaching his hand out. "Nobody lives forever," he told her.

"But I can try," Izzie said. "I want to live for as long as I possibly can. I want to die of old age."

"Izzie," George said, holding his hand out straighter to her. "They did everything you could. You did everything you could. You tried. And no wit's over. It's time to give up now."

Izzie swallowed hard and slowly reached for George's hand, steping out of the elevator.

The ddors began to very slowly close. They weren't like normal doors. They were very, very slow. They were moving away as fast as life was from her body.

And she was trying to hold on.

Izzie took a deep breath and threw her arms around George's neck. She pulled him tightly to her and just held him for a moment.

"Goodbye George," Izzie murmured. "I will always love you, and I will always miss you. You will always be my best friend."

There was crying from somewhere far away.

It was Alex.

And Meredith.

And Bailey.

And even Cristina.

Izzie slowly pulled away and kissed George's head. "Goodbye," she murmured. "I'll see you in another lifetime."

George smiled. Izzie was a fighter. She was back.

"Goodbye," he smiled a crooked smile. "Goodbye for now."

"For now," Izzie agreed with him.

Izzie pulled back, still holding his hand in hers. She held his hand until she walked too far to hold his hand any longer. She couldn't reach any longer.

Her hand left his all except for their fingers which lingered against each other for a moment, until that moment ended.

George watched asd Izzie steppe dinto the elevator and the doors that were now halfway closed sped up immediately.

As the doors shut they watched each other as the faded away.

"I'm always with you," George murmured as the doors shut.

And then she was gone.

And then he was gone.

Alex hardly had any energy left to cry as Derek took Izzie off of life support.

Derek stepped back and wrapped his arms around Meredith.

Meredith just stood there, emotionless.

Owen held Crisitna's hand, but she just let her hand hang limply in his.

And Alex held onto Izzie's hand with all the strength he had left, expecting her heart to stop beating any moment.

But it didn't.

Her heartbeat became stronger. Her breathing became faster.

And suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

A/N: So this story is coming to the end. Why have I lost so many reviewers? Please review. I hope you all haven't given up on me. I'll choose five previews to give to five reviewers of my choice.

Why have you stopped reviewing?