For whom the doors close (confession is the last stop on the elevator to heaven)
Title: For whom the doors close (confession is the last stop on the elevator to heaven)
Pairing: George/Alex
Word Count: 1505
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In response to Prompt 23 of Gex-Fest: " After George dies, izzie admits she knew Alex loved him."
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Authors Note: Written from Izzie's POV, convo between Izzie and Christina with heavy mentions of George/Alex. This turned out a little more Izzie-centric than I would've liked but it still gets the job done. Thanks to my friend (who would like to remain anonymous) for being my beta.
For whom the doors close (confession is the last stop on the elevator to heaven)
It was finally happening.
After months of struggling, weeks of being stuck in bed, several risky surgeries and two instances of heart failure, the damn elevator doors were closing. But this time, Izzie Stevens was on the wrong side; she was on the outside looking in.
She blinked a few times. Finally awakening from the state of unconsciousness she'd been in for the past three days. All Izzie could remember was talking to George's dead body, going back to her room, and going to sleep. "George is dead..." she remembered. "So why is he standing next to me?"
To her left, George was standing, squeezing her hand. To her right stood Denny, looking down at her with a knowing smile. Izzie blinked a couple more times. She was in her hospital room . George and Denny were still there. And the set of translucent open steel doors in front of her were getting closer by the minute.
The end had finally begun.
The blond began to panic. She frantically scanned the rush of people in the hall, straining for a glimpse of a familiar face. It was at this moment when Cristina walked by.
"Cristina!" Izzie shouted once she saw the shorter woman. Cristina stopped, did a double take and rushed into the room.
" Izzie! It's about time! You've been out for three days! All I've been doing is running test after test to figure out what the hell was wrong with you. I mean, I ran a CT, an MRI, every kind of blood workup imaginable..I even ordered bone density scans for you! I'm not sure why, but Callie told me that she once had a patient who fainted because of complications arising from poor bone density and they sawed the bones in half. Not that I wanted it to happen to you, but it sounded like a pretty cool--"
"Meredith tried to seduce me when she broke up with McDreamy."
Cristina stopped mid-rant, her features twisted in a rare look of confusion. "Excuse me?"
" The night Derek left her for Addison, Meredith got drunk and seduced me. As in grabbed my boobs and tried to kiss me. I didn't let her of course, but I just though you should know."
The confused expression on Cristina's face remained "Okay....."
" And another thing," Izzie continued as she noticed the still closing doors," a month after Burke left, he sent me an email asking how you were doing. "
"WHAT?!" Cristina exclaimed.
Izzie kept speaking as if she hadn't heard the protest " I told him everything, but he never did email me back--"
Cristina cut her off " Izzie you had no right! He left me! He didn't want anything to do with me after he left the church and moved out! You had no right to tell him any of those things!"
Izzie tried to quietly interrupt. "Cristina."
" He should've been a man and asked me himself!"
"Cristina!"
" You're supposed to be on my side! How you tell him any of those things?!"
"CRISTINA!!!"
She stopped and turned to face Izzie.
The blond took a deep breath. " I don't have much time--"
"Time for what?"
Izzie ignored her " Someone needs to know. Somebody needs to know so they can help Alex."
" Help Alex with what ?! Izzie, you aren't making sense" Worry began to creep into Cristina's tone.
"Alex was in love with George. Not me. George."
For the first time in her life, Cristina Yang was rendered completely speechless
" It started after the whole Rebecca thing. They dated for about 6 months before Alex broke it off. And they thought no one knew."
Cristina finally regained her ability to speak. " Wait, how do you know this? '
Izzie let out a bittersweet laugh. " It wasn't so obvious at first, but once I figured it out, it really seemed so open. Cristina, they really loved each other. I mean, the playful banter and discreet touches were what made me suspicious, then everything fell into place. They were always late on the same days. George had suddenly become confident and even Alex was becoming nicer and wasn't a total ass. George moved out around the same time Alex told us about getting a roommate. Joe told me Alex could afford to start paying off his tab because he wasn't drinking as much. Bambi became an affectionate nickname. Oh, and--" Izzie chuckled before continuing"-- you know how Alex came into work a few times with a band-aid on his neck? Those weren't covering 'shaving cuts' or whatever he called them."
Cristina scrunched her eyes as she tried to rid herself of the mental image. " Damn, Bambi and Evil Spawn. They really had it that bad ?'
Izzie giggled " God, it really was. Everytime I'd mention one of them in a conversation with the other, he looked like he was going to die from trying not to smile. One time, I was talking to Alex and mentioned how George had suddenly started working out like crazy and was doing like 200 sit ups a day. You know what Alex did? He glanced across the room at George and licked his lips!" she finished.
Cristina let out an amused sigh before tentatively asking "So what happened?"
Izzie swallowed hard and took notice of the gray doors. Under her breath she whispered " God, they're moving way too fast,"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing." Izzie swallowed once more before starting. " One night, around Christmas time, I decided to stop by George's apartment to drop off Christmas cookies. And , when I got there, they were fighting. From what I heard, George wanted to tell us about it but Alex was freaking out. I mean, you know, it's Alex. He doesn't like telling us anything."
Cristina nodded in silent agreement
" Alex just couldn't bring himself to come out. So he yelled about how George deserved a guy who could be out and how George should stop being clingy like a girl. George yelled back about how he could wait and didn't want it to end. And Alex wound up leaving and they pretended nothing ever happened."
Cristina remained quiet
Izzie kept talking. " Then Alex went after me. I know what you're thinking Cristina. How could I be in a relationship with Alex after what happened with George? But the thing is, I needed someone. I deserved someone. After Denny...I hadn't had anyone and Alex was there. I know I should've let Alex go after I kept seeing Denny. I know I should've let him go after he woke up one night from a nightmare asking for George. I should've let him go after George asked how Alex was sleeping because of a 'rumor' about him having nightmares. But then the cancer happened and I needed people. I needed Alex, so I married him. "
Cristina blinked "B-but George..he gave you away."
Izzie looked up. The doors were only letting a small beam of light through. " I know. I looked George right in the eyes when he did it. But, at that moment it finally hit me. George was giving me to Alex..he was giving Alex to me."
Cristina pressed her hand to her forehead " But why are you telling me this? W-why not Alex?"
Izzie smiled as her eyes began to water. "I love Alex. Even though he only used me as a replacement, I still love him. And since George is dead, he's going to need people. But he can't know Christina, he won't be able to live with himself. If he knew he could still have George if I'd been honest , well..just, you can't tell him. Promise me."
Cristina faltered, "I promise."
"Take care of him."
The doors shut with a deafening clang.
Izzie's eyelids fluttered and shut.
Her head hit the pillow.
Her heart stopped.
Even as she hit the code button, even as she charged the defibrillator, Cristina knew it was no use.
"Time of death- 23:10"
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Alex ran into the room 2 minutes later. His eyes were bleary and red from crying, but he burst into tears as his eyes settled on his wife.
Alex held Izzie's hand and buried his face in her shoulder.
Cristina moved over to the broken man and tapped his shoulder.
Alex looked up.
She looked at the floor as she said "Alex, you should know...before she died, Izzie told me...."
The shorter woman took another look at the crumpled face of the man before her.
"Told you what?' he tearfully whispered.
"....that she loves you very much" Cristina half-heartedly finished.
Alex nodded quietly and turned to face Izzie.
Cristina slowly dragged herself out of the room. She needed to go to the ER to notify Dr. Shepherd and Bailey.
As she slowly made her way down the hall, she heard the familiar ding and rush of air.
Cristina couldn't explain why, but she was going to take the stairs.
Pairing: George/Alex
Word Count: 1505
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In response to Prompt 23 of Gex-Fest: " After George dies, izzie admits she knew Alex loved him."
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Authors Note: Written from Izzie's POV, convo between Izzie and Christina with heavy mentions of George/Alex. This turned out a little more Izzie-centric than I would've liked but it still gets the job done. Thanks to my friend (who would like to remain anonymous) for being my beta.
For whom the doors close (confession is the last stop on the elevator to heaven)
It was finally happening.
After months of struggling, weeks of being stuck in bed, several risky surgeries and two instances of heart failure, the damn elevator doors were closing. But this time, Izzie Stevens was on the wrong side; she was on the outside looking in.
She blinked a few times. Finally awakening from the state of unconsciousness she'd been in for the past three days. All Izzie could remember was talking to George's dead body, going back to her room, and going to sleep. "George is dead..." she remembered. "So why is he standing next to me?"
To her left, George was standing, squeezing her hand. To her right stood Denny, looking down at her with a knowing smile. Izzie blinked a couple more times. She was in her hospital room . George and Denny were still there. And the set of translucent open steel doors in front of her were getting closer by the minute.
The end had finally begun.
The blond began to panic. She frantically scanned the rush of people in the hall, straining for a glimpse of a familiar face. It was at this moment when Cristina walked by.
"Cristina!" Izzie shouted once she saw the shorter woman. Cristina stopped, did a double take and rushed into the room.
" Izzie! It's about time! You've been out for three days! All I've been doing is running test after test to figure out what the hell was wrong with you. I mean, I ran a CT, an MRI, every kind of blood workup imaginable..I even ordered bone density scans for you! I'm not sure why, but Callie told me that she once had a patient who fainted because of complications arising from poor bone density and they sawed the bones in half. Not that I wanted it to happen to you, but it sounded like a pretty cool--"
"Meredith tried to seduce me when she broke up with McDreamy."
Cristina stopped mid-rant, her features twisted in a rare look of confusion. "Excuse me?"
" The night Derek left her for Addison, Meredith got drunk and seduced me. As in grabbed my boobs and tried to kiss me. I didn't let her of course, but I just though you should know."
The confused expression on Cristina's face remained "Okay....."
" And another thing," Izzie continued as she noticed the still closing doors," a month after Burke left, he sent me an email asking how you were doing. "
"WHAT?!" Cristina exclaimed.
Izzie kept speaking as if she hadn't heard the protest " I told him everything, but he never did email me back--"
Cristina cut her off " Izzie you had no right! He left me! He didn't want anything to do with me after he left the church and moved out! You had no right to tell him any of those things!"
Izzie tried to quietly interrupt. "Cristina."
" He should've been a man and asked me himself!"
"Cristina!"
" You're supposed to be on my side! How you tell him any of those things?!"
"CRISTINA!!!"
She stopped and turned to face Izzie.
The blond took a deep breath. " I don't have much time--"
"Time for what?"
Izzie ignored her " Someone needs to know. Somebody needs to know so they can help Alex."
" Help Alex with what ?! Izzie, you aren't making sense" Worry began to creep into Cristina's tone.
"Alex was in love with George. Not me. George."
For the first time in her life, Cristina Yang was rendered completely speechless
" It started after the whole Rebecca thing. They dated for about 6 months before Alex broke it off. And they thought no one knew."
Cristina finally regained her ability to speak. " Wait, how do you know this? '
Izzie let out a bittersweet laugh. " It wasn't so obvious at first, but once I figured it out, it really seemed so open. Cristina, they really loved each other. I mean, the playful banter and discreet touches were what made me suspicious, then everything fell into place. They were always late on the same days. George had suddenly become confident and even Alex was becoming nicer and wasn't a total ass. George moved out around the same time Alex told us about getting a roommate. Joe told me Alex could afford to start paying off his tab because he wasn't drinking as much. Bambi became an affectionate nickname. Oh, and--" Izzie chuckled before continuing"-- you know how Alex came into work a few times with a band-aid on his neck? Those weren't covering 'shaving cuts' or whatever he called them."
Cristina scrunched her eyes as she tried to rid herself of the mental image. " Damn, Bambi and Evil Spawn. They really had it that bad ?'
Izzie giggled " God, it really was. Everytime I'd mention one of them in a conversation with the other, he looked like he was going to die from trying not to smile. One time, I was talking to Alex and mentioned how George had suddenly started working out like crazy and was doing like 200 sit ups a day. You know what Alex did? He glanced across the room at George and licked his lips!" she finished.
Cristina let out an amused sigh before tentatively asking "So what happened?"
Izzie swallowed hard and took notice of the gray doors. Under her breath she whispered " God, they're moving way too fast,"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing." Izzie swallowed once more before starting. " One night, around Christmas time, I decided to stop by George's apartment to drop off Christmas cookies. And , when I got there, they were fighting. From what I heard, George wanted to tell us about it but Alex was freaking out. I mean, you know, it's Alex. He doesn't like telling us anything."
Cristina nodded in silent agreement
" Alex just couldn't bring himself to come out. So he yelled about how George deserved a guy who could be out and how George should stop being clingy like a girl. George yelled back about how he could wait and didn't want it to end. And Alex wound up leaving and they pretended nothing ever happened."
Cristina remained quiet
Izzie kept talking. " Then Alex went after me. I know what you're thinking Cristina. How could I be in a relationship with Alex after what happened with George? But the thing is, I needed someone. I deserved someone. After Denny...I hadn't had anyone and Alex was there. I know I should've let Alex go after I kept seeing Denny. I know I should've let him go after he woke up one night from a nightmare asking for George. I should've let him go after George asked how Alex was sleeping because of a 'rumor' about him having nightmares. But then the cancer happened and I needed people. I needed Alex, so I married him. "
Cristina blinked "B-but George..he gave you away."
Izzie looked up. The doors were only letting a small beam of light through. " I know. I looked George right in the eyes when he did it. But, at that moment it finally hit me. George was giving me to Alex..he was giving Alex to me."
Cristina pressed her hand to her forehead " But why are you telling me this? W-why not Alex?"
Izzie smiled as her eyes began to water. "I love Alex. Even though he only used me as a replacement, I still love him. And since George is dead, he's going to need people. But he can't know Christina, he won't be able to live with himself. If he knew he could still have George if I'd been honest , well..just, you can't tell him. Promise me."
Cristina faltered, "I promise."
"Take care of him."
The doors shut with a deafening clang.
Izzie's eyelids fluttered and shut.
Her head hit the pillow.
Her heart stopped.
Even as she hit the code button, even as she charged the defibrillator, Cristina knew it was no use.
"Time of death- 23:10"
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Alex ran into the room 2 minutes later. His eyes were bleary and red from crying, but he burst into tears as his eyes settled on his wife.
Alex held Izzie's hand and buried his face in her shoulder.
Cristina moved over to the broken man and tapped his shoulder.
Alex looked up.
She looked at the floor as she said "Alex, you should know...before she died, Izzie told me...."
The shorter woman took another look at the crumpled face of the man before her.
"Told you what?' he tearfully whispered.
"....that she loves you very much" Cristina half-heartedly finished.
Alex nodded quietly and turned to face Izzie.
Cristina slowly dragged herself out of the room. She needed to go to the ER to notify Dr. Shepherd and Bailey.
As she slowly made her way down the hall, she heard the familiar ding and rush of air.
Cristina couldn't explain why, but she was going to take the stairs.