Oct 08, 2006 23:16
My first Grey's Anatomy story. I wrote this a while ago, but never wanted to post it because I thought it was too cheesy. There are so few George/Izzie stories though that I felt I should put this one out there.
Just so you know, this story is *extremely* fluffy! You have been warned!
Title: The Essence of Friendship
Author: sigf
Summary: George is there when Izzie needs a friend.
Status: Complete
Rating: PG
Length: About 1,930
Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, but if I did I would make George my pet.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This story takes place immediately after George and Meredith sleep together! George has moved out and is living with Burke and Christina. Izzy and Denny are involved, but they are not as close as they were by the end of the season.
The cell phone version of "Staying Alive" pierced the ears of Dr. George O'Malley, carrying him away from sleep and bringing him into a state of half-consciousness. Opening his eyes, he squinted to see the bright red numbers displayed on the tiny alarm clock he had brought to Burke and Christina's apartment. The numbers flashed 1:27. That meant he had less than four more hours to sleep. Great. Whoever was calling him at this hour was going to get an ass-kicking.
Silencing the increasingly annoying song, George picked up the phone. "What?! " he grumbled with annoyance.
"George," a voice choked out on the other side. Izzie's voice. Hearing the distress in his friend's voice caused George to sit up, immediately alert, with all thoughts of an ass-kicking leaving his mind.
"Izzie? What's wrong?" he asked. His heart raced with worry for his friend.
A long pause followed his question, and he could hear her trying to choke down her tears so that she could talk. "It's Denny. He… he's… he died."
After she spoke he heard her sobs start up again. "Oh Izzie…" he trailed off. He didn't know what to say. All he wanted was to make it better, but he knew that nothing he could say would do that. "I'm so sorry," he said with sympathy in his voice.
She collected herself again and took a deep breath. "George can you… can you please come here?" she pleaded with her voice cracking.
George swallowed hard. Come there. There, where Meredith was. But he knew he couldn't say no to her. Not even at 1:30 in the morning when he had to be at work in a few hours. Not even at the risk of having an awkward and painful confrontation with Meredith. No, there was no way he could refuse, especially not when she needed him. "Of course. I'll be there soon, I promise."
He heard Izzie squeak a weak "thanks" on the other end and he hung up the phone. All thoughts of Meredith left George's mind as he headed for his old home, worrying about Izzie.
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George slowly opened the door to Meredith's house and crept in slowly. He was glad that he hadn't given his key back yet, because that just would have made things more difficult. The scent of baked goods from the kitchen assaulted his nostrils, which didn't surprise him. Izzie always baked, cleaned, or did something of that sort when she was upset.
Heading up the stairs, he passed Meredith's room and stopped in front of Izzie's room. He knocked lightly, but she didn't answer. Figuring she was asleep, he quietly opened the door and peered in. He was surprised to see that she wasn't in her room.
Fear immediately clouded his mind. He hoped that she hadn't tried anything stupid in her condition, like driving, and he tried to remember if he had seen Izzie's car in the driveway. Suddenly, though, a thought struck him. He went to his room and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Izzie, lying on his old bed.
"George… " she whispered. That one word was a plea; he could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. She needed him to hold her, to comfort her. She was pleading with him to make it better. But could he?
He lightly closed the door and sat down at the edge of the bed, on the side closest to her. They stared at each other in silence for a minute. Eyes of grief and pain met eyes of tenderness and concern. She sat up and he got a better look at her face. Seeing her puffy, red eyes shining with the tears that slowly fell down her cheeks, his heart broke for her. "Izzie… Oh Izzie," he finally replied and wrapped his arms firmly around her.
She hugged him just as tightly and before she could help it, she started to sob loudly. Izzie cried as if she were falling to pieces for the millionth time that day. The difference was, however, that this time George would help put her back together.
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It seemed like forever before Izzie's sobs finally quieted. Through her tears, George just held her. He didn't try to soothe her or tell her everything would be okay, because honestly, he didn't know if it would be. All he could do was let her know that she wasn't alone and that he was there for her. He just hoped that was enough.
As he lightly stroked circles on her back, George was surprised to hear her speak. "I'm not just upset because I'm too attached to my patients, George. I just really… cared about him."
Of course, her words weren't a surprise to him. The two of them hadn't really talked about it much, but it was obvious that Izzie was smitten with Denny. Even if Izzie wasn't one to wear her heart on her sleeve, Alex's pissed off mood this past week certainly would have been an indication that something was up. "I know," he responded softly. "Even if I didn't, the smell of baked goods could have given that away. It smells as if you've been baking for days," he said, trying to lighten the mood.
"I have been baking for days," she answered quietly, looking into his eyes. "Ever since you moved out I've been so… sad. I hate that you don't live here anymore," she told him. "I miss you," she said so quietly that he wondered if he imagined it. She then quickly pushed herself out of his arms and sprawled back onto the bed. Refusing to look at him, she stared at the window. "I'm sorry that I'm being so emotional," she said self-consciously.
For a moment he remained where he was, letting his mind take-in her words. His body almost tingled. It was nice to feel missed. It was definitely a strong contrast to how Meredith made him feel. She always treated him as if he were invisible and unimportant. Izzie, though, always made him feel appreciated, and he was lucky to have her. She made him realize that he didn't need to bring about world peace or find the cure for cancer in order to be worth something, and that just being George was enough.
He positioned himself next to her, so that he was lying on his side and staring at her back. "Izzie," he said while putting his hand on her shoulder, "I miss you too. And I hope you know that even though I'm not living here anymore, I'll always be there when you need me. Even if you have to call me at 1:30 in the morning," he said with a smile.
She rolled over so that she was facing George and smiled back at him. "Thanks. And the same goes for you, if you need me," she replied.
Their faces were so close that when she spoke, George couldn't help but look at her lips. His heart was beating so fast, but he tried to ignore it. He was probably just feeling weird because he hadn't 'fed his beast' in so long.
Her yawn broke into his thoughts. "You should probably get some sleep," he said with concern. Tomorrow would be hard enough for her to deal with without falling down from exhaustion.
"Yeah," she agreed. "But will you stay with me? At least until I fall asleep? I mean, I know you probably want to get home but I just really don't want to be alone right now," she said with such vulnerability that George's heart seemed to melt.
"Yeah, I'll stay," he assured her. He knew that if he left, she'd probably start crying over Denny again and not get any sleep. Besides, he wanted to be around her right now - just to make sure that she was okay, of course.
Izzie kissed George on the cheek and his body tingled again. She didn't say anything, but just snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes. They both fell asleep comforted that night.
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George watched the clock in his room as the minutes slowly changed. He tried to will himself to leave, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew leaving now would be the best way to avoid a confrontation with Meredith, but that still wasn’t motivation enough. Looking at the woman in his arms, he realized that he was exactly where he wanted to be. With Izzie. Because he always felt his best when he was with her.
Izzie stirred and he watched her open up her eyes. "Good morning," he said quietly.
She looked at him in surprise. "Hey," she greeted. "I didn't think that you'd still be here."
"Yeah, I hope you don't mind," he replied. "I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving you alone after last night."
He was rewarded for his comment when Izzie's eyes lit up and she smiled at him. He vowed to try to put that look on her face as often as possible. He was convinced at that moment that there was nothing better than seeing Izzie happy, especially after seeing her so sad last night. "Thank you, George," she told him. "For helping me through this and for being there when I needed you and... well for everything. I know that coming here last night couldn't have been easy, and staying here this morning at the risk of running into..." she trailed off and looked away.
Ah, Meredith. It somehow always came down to Meredith, and honestly, he was tired of it. He wasn't going to let her rule his life anymore. He deserved better, Izzie had taught him that. She made him realize that he was needed and loved. It's funny that he came there last night in order to help her, but in the end it was her that helped him. "You don't have to thank me, Izzie," he stated. "And you don't have to worry about Meredith."
"Oh really?" she asked simply, with her eyebrows raised.
He laughed. "Fine, don't believe me. But honestly, nothing she does can hurt me." Imitating a little boy's voice he said, "I'm not afraid of her anymore."
There it was again. That smile, those bright eyes. That was twice already in one morning. He realized that the one thing better than seeing Izzie happy was being the one to make her happy. "That's great George. And really, I do believe you. I can already see a change in you. It's as if you finally understand how great you are." He blushed at her words. "I'm really glad that you finally get that."
"And I'm really glad that I have you," he blurted out before thinking about it. His face turned even redder with embarrassment as he realized his words.
She smiled warmly at him and entwined one of her hands with his. "I feel the same way George." His heart seemed to be doing back flips. Little did he know, her heart was doing back flips too.
Even though he let his mind entertain thoughts about himself and Izzie, he knew that it wasn’t their time yet. Maybe one day, when she was fully healed from Denny and he was healed from Meredith, and Alex was completely out of the picture. For now, he was content with the fact that they had an unbreakable friendship. And if one day he and Izzie were meant to be, well then he'd wait. Because Izzie was certainly something worth waiting for.