I'm back! Apologises for leaving it for so long, in truth I completely forgot about this story since life decided to get in the way but I'm here now.

Alex: Thank god! Where the hell were you? You think it's funny to leave me unconscious for so long?

Alex, nice to see you again.

Alex: Is that all you've got to say for yourself?

Umm...I'm sorry?

Alex: What's the point? She owns nothing!

Chapter Three

By Rosa241

Alex POV

God my head! Man what did I do last night? Seriously the last time I had a hangover this bad was...wait, where the hell am I? What's with the room? Hold up, am I in a hospital?

Opening my eyes fully, something I instantly regret when the light hits me full force, I can't help but groan. What the hell happened to me? Why can't I remember anything? There's something so wrong about waking up in a hospital with no memory what so ever. What exactly am I supposed to do? Scream? Yeah right! Cry? Never! Panic? Sounds reasonable...

Just as I'd finally begun to panic movement caught my eye.

"Bailey?" My voice crackles and breaks, damn when did that get so sore?

"Relax Karev, take a deep breath and sip some water – and I stress the word sip – the last thing I want is you throwing up over me like Sloan. Man you really made a mess of him." She giggles whilst handing me some water.

She keeps speaking but for some reason her words by pass my ears, it's like they're suddenly filled with cotton wool or something. White spots begin to enter my vision before the black cloud of unconsciousness takes over.

It's several hours later when I finally come round once again, this time feeling decidedly worse than before. My head is pounding so much more, the churning in my stomach seems to have increased ten fold and generally everything ache's a great deal more.

"What happened?" I whisper to what I think is an empty room. "Oh..." I moan pathetically, what the hell is wrong with me?

"We're working on it." I immediately know that voice, it's Bambi. "They're not sure what it is right now but we'll figure it out." He sounds panicked...when the hell doesn't he sound panicked...but this time I fear it's with good reason. Judging from how I feel right now there is something seriously wrong with me, something despite the hangover I can only guess isn't making this any better. I'm a doctor I'm not stupid enough to pass this off as flu or something else...there's something really wrong with me. I know it.

"You'll be okay." Bambi, why the heck is he still here? "Bailey's good, she'll figure it out before too long."

"Wait...Bailey's treating me?" My words come out slightly above a whisper, my voice cracking horribly as I speak. I only notice now just how sore my throat is, no sooner do I think it than a glass of water is placed at my lips. Damn Bambi, he's like a freaking mind reader! I take a sip and quickly regret as my throat protests the action. I wince incredibly as the water sends a searing, burning pain down the back of my throat; it seems to last forever before finally dying down.

"Ow..." Sipping the water was a bad plan! Now it hurts to speak. Damn!

"Don't worry Alex, you'll be okay." He's said that already. "We'll find out what's wrong." Said that too. I half feel like punching him in the face, but then again that requires energy, of which I have non. Before long I feel myself falling back to the land of black clouds, all the while wondering, what the hell is wrong with me?

George POV:

I've been sitting here for almost three hours now, pretty much since he was admitted. He woke up for a few minutes when Bailey was here but he's been out of it since. I don't know why I volunteered for this, well I guess it's better than spending the day with Sloan, that guy kind of freaks me out. A small groaning breaks through my thoughts.

"What happened? Oh..." Alex's eyes flitter open and closed for a few seconds.

"We're working on it." He seems confused for a moment before his eyes settle on me. I see him make to speak before deciding against it, the wince in pretty obvious. I quickly grab the glass of water and hold it out for him. I hope he'll take a sip, I know how stubborn he can be. Thankfully he drinks it without complaint, well almost without.

"Ow..." He's visibly wincing now.

"Don't worry Alex, you'll be okay." I've already said this but what more is there? "We'll find out what's wrong with you." Thankfully his eyes flutter shut and he passes out again. It's not that I want him to not be conscious it's just that we don't really talk that much; I never know what to say to him. I think that's got something to do with the gigantic crush I have on him. Yes, I know how lame that sounds but it's true. At first I thought it was just admiration at his doctoring skills, yeah right! I – George O'Malley – am completely and hopelessly in love with Alex Karev.

It's not like you can blame me I mean, he's pretty hot. I seriously have to stop myself from drooling in the locker room sometimes, that's when I fail to stop myself from staring – something that's been getting increasingly difficult since he's been working out lately. He can be an arrogant jerk sometimes but that doesn't bother me. I think it's a defence mechanism, if we can't get close to him then we can't hurt him. At least that's what I like to think. In my own little world that's why he's like that. I know that makes me sound kind of crazy but I can't help but picture the two of us together when my mind wanders. I've thought about telling him before but I chicken out every time. Of course now I've started thinking about Alex my mind has completely wandered.

I've always wondered what dating Alex would be like, would he be gentle? Rough? Caring? There's so much that could happen between us...yeah I know I'm deluded but hey! Everyone can dream right. The door opening interrupts my thoughts.

"How's he doing?" Bailey questions as she heads towards the bedside, she frowns as she feels his forehead. "He's still got a fever." She quickly takes his temperature, frowning once more as she look at the numbers. "102.4 degrees, man what is going on with you Karev."

"We don't have a diagnosis?" I can hear the worry in my voice, I'd have thought by now they'd have had something at least.

"No, the lab's been having some technical problems, not to mention they've got a huge back log and Karev is not top of the list." Bailey didn't seem concerned so maybe I shouldn't be either, easier said than done. I see her slowly draw her eyes over Alex's chart, I can't quite tell what she's looking for but she's looking for something alright.

"His fevers gone up by a degree and a half in the last two hours since it was last checked. What is wrong with you boy?" She slowly begins checking things clearly trying not to wake him up.

"Looks like he's got the beginnings of a throat infection, his tonsils are starting to look white not to mention his throat is pretty damn red." She rattles off her observations; I think she knows I'm worried.

"What about strep throat? That would account for everything, fever, nausea, sore throat..."

"Maybe, except his lymph nodes aren't swollen enough, neither are his tonsils...and I don't remember him complaining about abdominal pain either..." It's almost as if a light has switched on inside her head. She suddenly lifts his t-shirt, swears loudly and heads out the door. It takes me a moment before I put the pieces together and the answer is staring me in the face like an oncoming train.

Bailey POV:

I've said it before and I'll say it again...these interns are going to be the death of me! If it's not Yang and Grey with their stupid 'relationships' or Stevens with some other life altering news – seriously that girls like a one woman drama magnet – then it's those boys and their ego's. When are those two going to realise they like each other? O'Malley's 'little' crush hit my radar months ago, what with the damn staring it was pretty damn obvious but Karevs was a lot harder to spot. It wasn't until two weeks ago when I caught the man staring at O'Malley's butt...

"How's he doing?" O'Malley snaps out of whatever day dream he's in – probably fantasising about Karev – I don't wait for an answer instead I feel his forehead. "He's still got a fever." I quickly take his temperature, what the heck is wrong? "102.4 degrees, man what is going on with you Karev."

"We don't have a diagnosis?" Ooh even thinking about diagnosis' gets my blood boiling, those lab rats have got a lot to answer for!

"No, the lab's been having some technical problems, not to mention they've got a huge back log and Karev is not top of the list. His fevers gone up by a degree and a half in the last two hours since it was last checked. What is wrong with you boy?" I quickly start checking him over, maybe I can find something...by the time those stinking lab rats have get this sorted he'll be worse than ever.

"What about strep throat? That would account for everything, fever, nausea, sore throat..."

"Maybe, except his lymph nodes aren't swollen enough, neither are his tonsils...and I don't remember him complaining about abdominal pain either..." O'Malley's words turn a light on somewhere in the back of my head. Lifting his shirt reveals a bright red rash that confirms my worst fears. Swearing loudly I shoot out of the room faster than I thought humanly possible armed with a diagnosis that makes everything so much worse.

Scarlet Fever...my intern has scarlet fever!

Tada! There we go Alex a diagnosis...

Alex: SERIOUSLY! You're giving me scarlet fever!

Yes, personally I think it's a good plot.

Alex: Well I think you've gone completely insane...

Be careful...I can make it worse!