fic: Falling Awake (6/?)
Here's chapter 6 of my fic.
Fic: Falling Awake
Rating: Nothing bad here, unless you would count angst.
Feedback: Of course, feedback is like our crack!
Summary: Just when George thought his life couldn’t get any more complicated, it does.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, unfortunately. It would be cooler if I did though.
Spoilers: All the way until the end of the episode “The Other Side of Life” after that my version takes a different route. I started this fic over the summer so this season doesn’t really count, any similarities is only by coincidence. If you haven’t watch S4 yet and are staying away from spoilers don’t worry nothing here will spoil you.
A/N: Many thanks goes to those who have already read a lot of this and help me sort through my writers block. It was much appreciate! :)
Just a little warning, the medical situations in this may be completely off, I don’t know anything, really, when it comes to hospitals or medical knowledge, so prepare yourself for having to suspend your imagination and belief.
///000///
“We think a shunt would be a good way to approach this case,” Dr. Savoy said, as he stood outside of George’s room with his interns and explained their case to Derek.
“A shunt?” Callie asked standing in the hallway with them. George mother stood at the door listening intently. “Do you think that would work?”
“Well it’s just one option to look at now,” Derek said, looking at George’s chart. “We usually like to wait awhile before we install a shunt.”
“But if it could help him better than we should do it, right?” George’s mother asked.
“Right,” Dr. Savoy said. “Dr. Howard would you like to explain how a shunt works?”
“Yes sir,” the intern said. “A shunt can be installed to relieve some of the fluid build up and pressure. You can think of it like a faucet. You can put it in and let all that fluid come rushing out.”
George mother winced at the doctor’s explanation.
“A faucet?” She said, unsure. “That sounds a bit serious. I’m not sure my boy would like hardware installed into his head.”
“That’s because he wouldn’t,” Bailey said, loudly as she walked up with her interns following close behind her.
Dr. Savoy sighed in annoyance.
“Dr. Bailey,” He said, annoyed. “A shunt is a perfectly good way to handle the case.”
“Yeah if you want to walk around with a waterspout in your head,” Alex retorted.
Bailey held her hand up at Alex.
“Karev,” she warned.
“What?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s true. It’s a stupid plan.”
“Of course it is,” Bailey said, knowingly. “But you don’t have the floor right now.”
Dr. Savoy crossed his arms.
“We all know that with the kind of pressure build up he has, he’s treatment is limited. Dr. O’Malley is a special case,” The smug doctor said.
“He sure is,” Bailey said, nodding her head. “That’s why it’s going to take special treatment.”
“Dr. Bailey, if you have any other grand ideas,” Savoy said. “Please, by all means, tell us. If you don’t, than I think we’ve got it handled from here.”
“Okay then,” Bailey said, looking at the arrogant doctor. She smiled and then turned to her interns. “Now you have the floor.”
“We have a plan that doesn’t involve installing bathroom appliances,” Alex announced.
“Right, we’d like to suggest Therapeutic Hypothermia,” Izzie said, smiling.
Derek looked over at the interns with an interested look.
“Really? Hypothermia treatment?”
“You want to send a patient into hypothermia?” Dr. Savoy asked, condescendingly. “Wow, just when I thought Bailey’s group couldn’t come up with a more absurd plan…”
“This plan has been shown to have favorable outcome in a few cases in Scotland. The body’s core temperatures are lowered to about 95 degrees to slow the flow of blood and other fluids to the brain. That way the fluid and pressure build up can be relieved more naturally. Studies have shown a better outcome with this type of treatment,” Cristina explained.
“Hypothermia? That’s pretty dangerous,” Callie said, worried.
“Nah, it’s not that bad,” Meredith said with a wave her hand.
“The best part of our plan is that it is the least invasive procedure. There’s no shunts or drilling into his skull or even surgeries,” Izzie said, proudly.
“Dr. Shepherd, do you think this could work for Georgie?” Mrs. O’Malley said, concerned.
“Well I have read some positive cases on cardiac and stroke patients with this sort of treatment. However, hypothermia has its down falls,” Derek said, glancing at Meredith.
“Right, well we would have to keep a close eye on George to make sure his body responds well or doesn’t go below the 95 degree mark. We would have to cover him in ice packs, cover him in cooling blankets, and lower the temperature in this room and watch him around the clock. It’s a tricky procedure but with the right care it could lower the pressure build up,” Bailey explained.
“Well I would need more research,” Derek said. “But so far I like what I’m hearing.”
He handed George’s chart to Bailey and started to walk away.
“I want all the information you can find on Therapeutic Hypothermia and we’ll go from there. Good work, Dr. Bailey.”
“Thank you,” Bailey said, smiling at Dr. Savoy.
Her interns all smiled at each other proudly. Bailey looked at them and cocked her head to the side.
“You heard the man, go. Research. Save George.”
They all turned around and quickly went back down the hallway.
“Well, I guess organs aren’t the only thing you and your little interns are willing to steal,” Dr. Savoy said, annoyed. As his interns walked off disappointed.
“Dr. Savoy, I don’t know about you, but I’m in the business to save lives,” She said, smiling while crossing her arms. “Besides isn’t it a little ironic how my interns can out perform your interns?”
She turned to leave but turned around as she walked away.
“By ironic I mean typical,” She repeated his earlier statement with venom as she backed away.
Dr. Savoy looked at her retreating form with narrowed eyes before turning around and walking off in a huff.
///000///
Callie stood outside in the hallways and watched George’s friends work around him. Alex was setting up portable air conditioners around the room to keep the room temperature down. Meredith and Cristina were administrating medication through George’s IV that would help lower his body temperature quicker. However, it was Izzie who she was keeping a close eye on. She watched Izzie as she worked so carefully on her husband. The blond doctor did it with such a loving care and soft touch that it made Callie’s stomach turn. She was gently placing ice packs and covering him with cooling blankets. She pulled the blanket up and made sure he was comfortably tucked in.
As hard as it was watching other people take care of her husband, it was even harder to watch them to worry over him. Watching Izzie as she looked over him made something inside of Callie twist with anger and disappointment. Izzie was watching over her husband with a look that sent a chill up Callie’s spine. It was a look that was all too familiar to her. She had seen that familiar look staring back at her in the mirror from her own reflection. The look could only be described as a look of love.
“I heard they were going to try Therapeutic Hypothermia on George,” Addison said, coming up to stand beside Callie at the window. “That’s an interesting approach.”
Callie looked over at the other woman before turning back to look back into the room.
“Yeah, they think it would be the least intrusive procedure. Your ex-husband wants to try this new procedure that he’s never done before on my husband,” Callie said, unhappily. She then snorted before adding sarcastically, “George the lab rat. He’s always wanted to discover some medical miracle, but somehow I don’t think he had this in mind.”
“Do you not want them to try the hypothermia treatment?”
“I just want my husband to wake up. I want him to not need the assistant of others to stay alive,” Callie said as she watched Izzie carefully place ice packs around George.
Addison nodded her understanding.
“George isn’t a lab rat. Derek isn’t in this to prove anything. The only medical miracle that he is looking for is one that will come from George. Not something he did. Derek just doesn’t work that way.”
“Sorry, I’m just in a weird mood,” Callie apologized.
“Don’t worry, if there is a chance you can find fault in my perfect ex-husband, I’m all ears,” Addison smiled softly at her friend. “But here, as a doctor, Derek is flawless.”
Callie just nodded her head.
“So why are you way out here then?” Addison asked. “Shouldn’t you be in there with the rest of them, instead of out here looking in?”
Callie stayed silent for a moment as she watched the others work diligently on George.
“It’s always been this way, why change now?”
When Callie noticed the confuse look from Addison she continued.
“George and his friends, they have this weird support thing. They give each other strength when they need it the most. They get each other and can reach each other at a level that outsiders of their little group can never truly get too. No matter how hard they try. Even when they are fighting they get each other,” Callie said, shaking her head as she tried to put into words how out an outsider really was with the group. “God, its even worse when they are fighting. When they are fighting its so annoyingly obvious just how much they truly need each other. And how much they don’t need the outsider.”
Addison looked over at her friend sadly.
“When you say friends, do you mean one friend in particular?” She asked, turning back to watch Izzie work on George.
Callie allowed her silence to answer the question.
Both women stood in silence as they watch the group inside George’s room work attentively. Suddenly, Callie turned and walked off.
“Where are you going?” Addison asked, confused as she watched Callie walk away.
Callie turned around and looked over at Addison sadly. “I’ve been here for two days and there’s been no change. I don’t know, maybe he just needs…” She looked over into the room at Izzie. “…maybe he needs his ‘friends’. Maybe they can reach him in a way I can’t. I’m going to go somewhere that’s not anywhere near… his friends. If there is any change beep me.”
With that she walked away. Addison sighed heavily as she turned back around and looked into the room. She watched as Bailey entered the room.
///000///
“Alright people, here’s the plan,” Bailey said, walking into the room and getting everyone attention. “You all will be monitoring George in shifts.”
They all listened to their mentor intently.
“There are rules. There will be no big decision making without my consent. Don’t think for a second I didn’t notice you all going behind my back to come up with this plan when I specifically told you to stay off the case. The only thing that’s saved your sneaky but caring behinds is the fact that this plan is actually beneficial to George. But the line stops there. You will not even think without notifying me first. You will not move a muscle without the thought crossing your mind, would this piss off me, the one, who holds your precious little dreams of becoming world renown suck ups, in my hand. Do I make myself clear?”
Her interns stood around uncomfortably as she explained the rules.
“Okay, I know I’m the big pink elephant standing in the middle of the room,” Izzie said with a small laugh that was anything but happy. “I can step down. If you think its best… I know the last time when Denny,” She tried to explain, swallowing hard. “… I know I didn’t use the best judgment. So if you want, I can just step down. I just want full updates. That’s all I ask for.”
“No,” Bailey said, firmly.
“I can’t get updates?” Izzie asked, hurt. “I think I at least deserve that!”
“I mean, no,” Bailey interrupted, annoyed. “You’re not stepping down. You’re not allowed. And you’re not the only one who has pulled some bone-headed moves because of a loved one in this hospital.”
Bailey looked at them each individually. Cristina and Meredith looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“This is a chance for *all* of you to prove that you can do this,” Bailey started again. “This is chance to show that you can think rationally and sanely without coming up with schemes or risking lives. Sadly, it is true, you’re that group of interns that everyone talks about. I would be lying if I said this group didn’t have a nasty reputation following it. That you weren’t being mocked or looked down upon in the gossip mill of this hospital. So for once, be *that* group of interns that proves all those gossip mongers wrong. Be the *that* group of interns who are known for what they do professionally not personally. But mostly just be the *best * group and get George back.”
They all nodded their understanding. For once they were speechless. It felt like she was giving them the pep speech before the big game.
“Now back to George,” Bailey said, walking over to his bedside. “You will have to watch him closely. Watch his vitals. Make sure his temperature doesn’t go lower than 95 degrees. You must also make sure his body doesn’t try to warm itself up through shivering. If he does that, than we’ll have to lower his body temperature more, which could do more harm than good.”
She looked down at her intern who was lying so still on the bed, he was now covered by the cooling blankets and ice packs. She looked back up at her other interns.
“Meredith you’ll go first. You’ll probably need to go get your field jacket. Its only going to get colder in here as we lower his body temp and keep it that way for the next 24 hours. The last thing I need is for the rest of you to get sick. Lord knows you’re whiney enough when you’re well.”
“Yes mam,” Meredith said.
“When one is in here keeping an eye on George, the rest of you will be running labs to see how his pressure is doing. You’ll be doing research based on those findings to see if any of the previous cases could give us more information on how to handle George’s case.”
They all agreed by nodding and taking her instructions down in their small notepads.
“Cristina, you’ll be at point on this case. You’re in charge so I expect you to handle things.”
“What?” Cristina asked, looking up in surprise. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Bailey said, narrowing her eyes at the intern. “Aren’t you the one who is always salivating for a good case? Always hounding me for the best ones?”
“Yes… but…I..I just thought…” Cristina stuttered. She looked at her friends for back up but they all just gave her confused looks. “… I mean…wouldn’t you rather have Meredith or…” she looked at Izzie with her rocky past and Alex who wasn’t the biggest fan of George’s… “or well Meredith?”
Bailey put her hands on her hips.
“You were here when this case started,” She explained in a stern tone. “And unless you can give me a reason why you shouldn’t be in charge, you’ll be here until the end of this case. Is there any good reason why you can’t handle the case?”
Cristina swallowed hard. The sight of George lying lifelessly on the hospital floor flashed through her mind. She looked at her friends as they all waited for her answer.
“No,” she gave in, finally. “No good reason.”
“Good,” Bailey said with a nod of the head. She walked towards the door. “Besides I’ll be checking up on you all every half hour, so you better not screw this up with in those 30 minutes. If you do, there will be four hospital beds lined up beside his with your names on them.”
///000///
“You know George everyone is missing you,” Meredith said, from her spot by his bed “All the nurses are pissed that out of all the interns who could be in a coma, its you, their favorite. When you wake up you’ll have to tell me your secret on how you got all the staff wrapped around your little finger. Even the scary lunch lady with the mustache asked about you today. You know if you’ve got her on your side, you must be doing something right.”
Meredith looked at her friend sleeping peacefully in his bed. She was just talking at him to pass the time. She pulled her jacket closer around her as she talked to her sleeping friend.
///000///
“Dude, you’re missing some kick ass surgeries,” Alex said, from his spot by the bed, his feet were propped up on the bed as he talked at George. “Burke had this really crazy surgery where this old guy almost died from an aneurysms that was ready blow. Burke caught it right before it exploded in the O.R. It was awesome to witness.”
///000///
Cristina checked the heart monitor and wrote down the numbers in the chart. She then went over to George bed and checked the urine bag and wrote the findings in her chart as well. All she had to do was keep her mind busy by treating George like any other patient. She was there to monitor his results not to coddle him. This wasn’t George her fellow intern in the bed in front of her, it was patient number 8543, that’s all she had to keep telling herself.
Cristina briefly looked down at George who was lying motionless in front of her. She clenched her teeth as she went back to the heart monitor.
///000///
“Then there was this wicked plastic’s case where this guy got shot in the face,” Alex said, still in his reclined position by George’s bed. He hands were behind his head as he talked. “Half his face was gone so Sloan just gave him a new one. Too bad you weren’t there to see it… actually I’m kinda glad you weren’t there, if you were still up and about then there would have been less of a chance of me getting to see it. So I guess you being coma-guy sucks for you but better for me getting awesome surgeries.”
///000///
“You’re going to have to wake up soon because I gotta say not having you here throws our little group really out of orbit,” Meredith said, sitting by George’s bed. She rubbed her hands together to warm them up from the cold room. “It’s just weird not having you here. I keep expecting to see you come around the corner to talk about the latest squabble you and Izzie are having. Speaking of Izzie, this is really hitting her hard. She’s hardly come to see you, in fact the only time she’s been here was when Bailey made us come prep you for hypothermia treatment. As we both know Izzie likes to talk, and lately she’s been extra quiet, which is seriously weird and add the fact that she’s even quieter around you and it’s down right creepy. Alex is being his own version of creepy by being attentive and caring about your case, which I’m sure you’ll find quiet disturbing once you wake up. And Cristina, she’s acting unusual too. Well more unusual than she already acts. I don’t know what’s got into her but she freaked in your surgery, even if she won’t admit it. It’s like you left me alone in bizarro land.”
///000///
“And Addison,” Alex said with a small smile. “Dude, let met tell you, the gyno-squad…it kicks ass. Of course the only reason why I’m saying this is because you’re in a coma and you won’t remember this when you wake up. And if you do remember I will deny everything as I’m kicking your ass.”
Alex smiled as he looked over at the other man lying in the bed. His smile faltered as he saw his listless state. He sighed as he crossed his arms uncomfortably, trying to keep warm as he sat in the cold room.
///000///
“Oh and if you see dead people… well don’t freak,” Meredith snorted. “Well okay, freak a little, they’ll probably be all preachy and melodramatic, but just listen to what they have to say and it will make things a lot easier. If you see Doc running around give him a hug for me…actually if you see Doc running around it probably means your in your own version of hell since you hated him with a fiery passion, so scratch that idea.”
///000///
Cristina checked the bandages on George’s head. She carefully pulled them back and checked the stitches that Dr. Shepherd had given him in his surgery. She thought back to that day in the scrub room as her mentors fought to save George’s life. She had stood frozen in place as she watched them shock George with the paddles. She could still hear all of the monitors going off signaling that they were loosing him.
Cristina shook her head as she went back to checking his bandages.
///000///
Izzie stood at the end of his bed with her arms crossed. She just stood there watching his chest go up and down with the rhythm of his breathing. It was the only thing she could focus on.
She couldn’t get out of her head how this sleeping George was so different from the sleeping George she was use to. He was one of those sleepers that rolled all over the bed and usually woke up in a tangle of sheets. Sometimes when it was really cold in Meredith’s house or when she just felt lonely, she would go sleep with George in his bed. Before he moved out. When things were much less complicated between them and she could tell him anything. She always teased him about him being such a messy sleeper and told him it was a like the sleep version of wrestling. He always told her that if she was going to complain than she wasn’t going to be allowed back in his bed, but the next night she would show up at his door and with out a word he would pull back the covers for her. He was George and she was Izzie, those simple gestures were things that meant the most. She missed that. She missed being able to go to his room and him just automatically know what she was there for. She missed the warmth of him sleeping beside her. Or how when she was having a bad day or missing Denny more than normal he would wrap his arms around her and hold her. But most of all she missed talking to him. Even before he had his accident she couldn’t tell him all of this. She couldn’t tell him that it took loosing him to realize what she had right in front of her all along.
Now though she was on the verge of loosing him in a way she was all too familiar with. Loosing Denny was the hardest thing she had lived through, but loosing George, she wasn’t sure she would be able to survive that.
If it was fate, it was fate. She knew she was helpless to what fate had in store for them. She also knew from her experience with Denny she couldn’t stop fate. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t save Denny’s fate with death or the heartbreak afterwards and she knew this was the same thing. So she watched George chest rise up and down and prayed that it never stopped.
She pulled her jacket closer around her as she stood there. The room was freezing but she didn’t care.
“So I have a confession to make,” Izzie whispered to him, slowly coming up to the side of his bed.
“I lied to you the other day. When I told you that I didn’t have any feelings for you…” she said, keeping her eyes on his chest. “When I told you that our night together didn’t mean anything, I lied.”
Her eyes slowly made their way up to his face for the first time since she had entered the room. He was so pale and fragile looking. She swallowed hard at the sight.
“I was being selfish-Izzie again when I said you should stay because our night together was just a mistake. I just couldn’t stand the idea of you transferring to Mercy West, so I lied. Just to keep you with me.”
She watched George’s face, as he lay there unmoving. Nothing but the beep of the monitors and the roar of the portable air conditioners could be heard.
“You’re probably pissed that I lied to you,” Izzie laughed out as tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’d probably say to not make this about me and you’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just that… the idea of not having you by my side… it’s a little terrifying.”
She wiped away the tears that were running freely down her face.
“But in the last couple of days I’ve realized that there are a lot more things in life to be afraid of than you transferring to Mercy West. So I’m giving you a warning in advance because I’m about to go into selfish-Izzie mode again.”
Izzie watched his face for any indication that he could hear her but his face remained blank. She carefully placed her hand on his chest. She could feel the faint pounding of his heartbeat just below her palm.
“I’m giving you an out,” She said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’m letting go. If you want to transfer to Mercy West, that’s fine. I won’t object any more. If it will make things easier for you than I get that. If you want to work things out with Callie, I’ll help you in any way I can, I wont stand in the way anymore. I’ll even be nice to her for you. But please… please stay in this world. That’s all I ask. As long as you’re in this world, no matter where you are, I’ll be okay.”
The tears were coming so fast now that even if she wanted to she couldn’t stop them. She didn’t care because she was laying it all on the line for him.
“If you can hang on a little longer and really fight that would be great. I just need to know you’re living, breathing, and walking around in this world, because you see I’m in love with you. I love you and you’re my best friend and it makes it all kinds of complicated, but I do. I’m head over heals, no turning back, completely in love with you. And when you love someone it’s imperative for them to be alive and well. That’s all I’m asking for. Just be okay. So wake up. Wake up for Callie, or for you’re Mom, or for even freakin’ Mercy West, I don’t care, just as long as you wake up. Wake up, George. Just wake up!” She cried out.
She allowed her body to give away as she collapsed in the chair beside him. She laid her head on his chest and let out all of the emotions she had been holding back.
"Just wake up," She whispered, listening to the pounding of his heart.
///000///
Fic: Falling Awake
Rating: Nothing bad here, unless you would count angst.
Feedback: Of course, feedback is like our crack!
Summary: Just when George thought his life couldn’t get any more complicated, it does.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, unfortunately. It would be cooler if I did though.
Spoilers: All the way until the end of the episode “The Other Side of Life” after that my version takes a different route. I started this fic over the summer so this season doesn’t really count, any similarities is only by coincidence. If you haven’t watch S4 yet and are staying away from spoilers don’t worry nothing here will spoil you.
A/N: Many thanks goes to those who have already read a lot of this and help me sort through my writers block. It was much appreciate! :)
Just a little warning, the medical situations in this may be completely off, I don’t know anything, really, when it comes to hospitals or medical knowledge, so prepare yourself for having to suspend your imagination and belief.
///000///
“We think a shunt would be a good way to approach this case,” Dr. Savoy said, as he stood outside of George’s room with his interns and explained their case to Derek.
“A shunt?” Callie asked standing in the hallway with them. George mother stood at the door listening intently. “Do you think that would work?”
“Well it’s just one option to look at now,” Derek said, looking at George’s chart. “We usually like to wait awhile before we install a shunt.”
“But if it could help him better than we should do it, right?” George’s mother asked.
“Right,” Dr. Savoy said. “Dr. Howard would you like to explain how a shunt works?”
“Yes sir,” the intern said. “A shunt can be installed to relieve some of the fluid build up and pressure. You can think of it like a faucet. You can put it in and let all that fluid come rushing out.”
George mother winced at the doctor’s explanation.
“A faucet?” She said, unsure. “That sounds a bit serious. I’m not sure my boy would like hardware installed into his head.”
“That’s because he wouldn’t,” Bailey said, loudly as she walked up with her interns following close behind her.
Dr. Savoy sighed in annoyance.
“Dr. Bailey,” He said, annoyed. “A shunt is a perfectly good way to handle the case.”
“Yeah if you want to walk around with a waterspout in your head,” Alex retorted.
Bailey held her hand up at Alex.
“Karev,” she warned.
“What?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s true. It’s a stupid plan.”
“Of course it is,” Bailey said, knowingly. “But you don’t have the floor right now.”
Dr. Savoy crossed his arms.
“We all know that with the kind of pressure build up he has, he’s treatment is limited. Dr. O’Malley is a special case,” The smug doctor said.
“He sure is,” Bailey said, nodding her head. “That’s why it’s going to take special treatment.”
“Dr. Bailey, if you have any other grand ideas,” Savoy said. “Please, by all means, tell us. If you don’t, than I think we’ve got it handled from here.”
“Okay then,” Bailey said, looking at the arrogant doctor. She smiled and then turned to her interns. “Now you have the floor.”
“We have a plan that doesn’t involve installing bathroom appliances,” Alex announced.
“Right, we’d like to suggest Therapeutic Hypothermia,” Izzie said, smiling.
Derek looked over at the interns with an interested look.
“Really? Hypothermia treatment?”
“You want to send a patient into hypothermia?” Dr. Savoy asked, condescendingly. “Wow, just when I thought Bailey’s group couldn’t come up with a more absurd plan…”
“This plan has been shown to have favorable outcome in a few cases in Scotland. The body’s core temperatures are lowered to about 95 degrees to slow the flow of blood and other fluids to the brain. That way the fluid and pressure build up can be relieved more naturally. Studies have shown a better outcome with this type of treatment,” Cristina explained.
“Hypothermia? That’s pretty dangerous,” Callie said, worried.
“Nah, it’s not that bad,” Meredith said with a wave her hand.
“The best part of our plan is that it is the least invasive procedure. There’s no shunts or drilling into his skull or even surgeries,” Izzie said, proudly.
“Dr. Shepherd, do you think this could work for Georgie?” Mrs. O’Malley said, concerned.
“Well I have read some positive cases on cardiac and stroke patients with this sort of treatment. However, hypothermia has its down falls,” Derek said, glancing at Meredith.
“Right, well we would have to keep a close eye on George to make sure his body responds well or doesn’t go below the 95 degree mark. We would have to cover him in ice packs, cover him in cooling blankets, and lower the temperature in this room and watch him around the clock. It’s a tricky procedure but with the right care it could lower the pressure build up,” Bailey explained.
“Well I would need more research,” Derek said. “But so far I like what I’m hearing.”
He handed George’s chart to Bailey and started to walk away.
“I want all the information you can find on Therapeutic Hypothermia and we’ll go from there. Good work, Dr. Bailey.”
“Thank you,” Bailey said, smiling at Dr. Savoy.
Her interns all smiled at each other proudly. Bailey looked at them and cocked her head to the side.
“You heard the man, go. Research. Save George.”
They all turned around and quickly went back down the hallway.
“Well, I guess organs aren’t the only thing you and your little interns are willing to steal,” Dr. Savoy said, annoyed. As his interns walked off disappointed.
“Dr. Savoy, I don’t know about you, but I’m in the business to save lives,” She said, smiling while crossing her arms. “Besides isn’t it a little ironic how my interns can out perform your interns?”
She turned to leave but turned around as she walked away.
“By ironic I mean typical,” She repeated his earlier statement with venom as she backed away.
Dr. Savoy looked at her retreating form with narrowed eyes before turning around and walking off in a huff.
///000///
Callie stood outside in the hallways and watched George’s friends work around him. Alex was setting up portable air conditioners around the room to keep the room temperature down. Meredith and Cristina were administrating medication through George’s IV that would help lower his body temperature quicker. However, it was Izzie who she was keeping a close eye on. She watched Izzie as she worked so carefully on her husband. The blond doctor did it with such a loving care and soft touch that it made Callie’s stomach turn. She was gently placing ice packs and covering him with cooling blankets. She pulled the blanket up and made sure he was comfortably tucked in.
As hard as it was watching other people take care of her husband, it was even harder to watch them to worry over him. Watching Izzie as she looked over him made something inside of Callie twist with anger and disappointment. Izzie was watching over her husband with a look that sent a chill up Callie’s spine. It was a look that was all too familiar to her. She had seen that familiar look staring back at her in the mirror from her own reflection. The look could only be described as a look of love.
“I heard they were going to try Therapeutic Hypothermia on George,” Addison said, coming up to stand beside Callie at the window. “That’s an interesting approach.”
Callie looked over at the other woman before turning back to look back into the room.
“Yeah, they think it would be the least intrusive procedure. Your ex-husband wants to try this new procedure that he’s never done before on my husband,” Callie said, unhappily. She then snorted before adding sarcastically, “George the lab rat. He’s always wanted to discover some medical miracle, but somehow I don’t think he had this in mind.”
“Do you not want them to try the hypothermia treatment?”
“I just want my husband to wake up. I want him to not need the assistant of others to stay alive,” Callie said as she watched Izzie carefully place ice packs around George.
Addison nodded her understanding.
“George isn’t a lab rat. Derek isn’t in this to prove anything. The only medical miracle that he is looking for is one that will come from George. Not something he did. Derek just doesn’t work that way.”
“Sorry, I’m just in a weird mood,” Callie apologized.
“Don’t worry, if there is a chance you can find fault in my perfect ex-husband, I’m all ears,” Addison smiled softly at her friend. “But here, as a doctor, Derek is flawless.”
Callie just nodded her head.
“So why are you way out here then?” Addison asked. “Shouldn’t you be in there with the rest of them, instead of out here looking in?”
Callie stayed silent for a moment as she watched the others work diligently on George.
“It’s always been this way, why change now?”
When Callie noticed the confuse look from Addison she continued.
“George and his friends, they have this weird support thing. They give each other strength when they need it the most. They get each other and can reach each other at a level that outsiders of their little group can never truly get too. No matter how hard they try. Even when they are fighting they get each other,” Callie said, shaking her head as she tried to put into words how out an outsider really was with the group. “God, its even worse when they are fighting. When they are fighting its so annoyingly obvious just how much they truly need each other. And how much they don’t need the outsider.”
Addison looked over at her friend sadly.
“When you say friends, do you mean one friend in particular?” She asked, turning back to watch Izzie work on George.
Callie allowed her silence to answer the question.
Both women stood in silence as they watch the group inside George’s room work attentively. Suddenly, Callie turned and walked off.
“Where are you going?” Addison asked, confused as she watched Callie walk away.
Callie turned around and looked over at Addison sadly. “I’ve been here for two days and there’s been no change. I don’t know, maybe he just needs…” She looked over into the room at Izzie. “…maybe he needs his ‘friends’. Maybe they can reach him in a way I can’t. I’m going to go somewhere that’s not anywhere near… his friends. If there is any change beep me.”
With that she walked away. Addison sighed heavily as she turned back around and looked into the room. She watched as Bailey entered the room.
///000///
“Alright people, here’s the plan,” Bailey said, walking into the room and getting everyone attention. “You all will be monitoring George in shifts.”
They all listened to their mentor intently.
“There are rules. There will be no big decision making without my consent. Don’t think for a second I didn’t notice you all going behind my back to come up with this plan when I specifically told you to stay off the case. The only thing that’s saved your sneaky but caring behinds is the fact that this plan is actually beneficial to George. But the line stops there. You will not even think without notifying me first. You will not move a muscle without the thought crossing your mind, would this piss off me, the one, who holds your precious little dreams of becoming world renown suck ups, in my hand. Do I make myself clear?”
Her interns stood around uncomfortably as she explained the rules.
“Okay, I know I’m the big pink elephant standing in the middle of the room,” Izzie said with a small laugh that was anything but happy. “I can step down. If you think its best… I know the last time when Denny,” She tried to explain, swallowing hard. “… I know I didn’t use the best judgment. So if you want, I can just step down. I just want full updates. That’s all I ask for.”
“No,” Bailey said, firmly.
“I can’t get updates?” Izzie asked, hurt. “I think I at least deserve that!”
“I mean, no,” Bailey interrupted, annoyed. “You’re not stepping down. You’re not allowed. And you’re not the only one who has pulled some bone-headed moves because of a loved one in this hospital.”
Bailey looked at them each individually. Cristina and Meredith looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“This is a chance for *all* of you to prove that you can do this,” Bailey started again. “This is chance to show that you can think rationally and sanely without coming up with schemes or risking lives. Sadly, it is true, you’re that group of interns that everyone talks about. I would be lying if I said this group didn’t have a nasty reputation following it. That you weren’t being mocked or looked down upon in the gossip mill of this hospital. So for once, be *that* group of interns that proves all those gossip mongers wrong. Be the *that* group of interns who are known for what they do professionally not personally. But mostly just be the *best * group and get George back.”
They all nodded their understanding. For once they were speechless. It felt like she was giving them the pep speech before the big game.
“Now back to George,” Bailey said, walking over to his bedside. “You will have to watch him closely. Watch his vitals. Make sure his temperature doesn’t go lower than 95 degrees. You must also make sure his body doesn’t try to warm itself up through shivering. If he does that, than we’ll have to lower his body temperature more, which could do more harm than good.”
She looked down at her intern who was lying so still on the bed, he was now covered by the cooling blankets and ice packs. She looked back up at her other interns.
“Meredith you’ll go first. You’ll probably need to go get your field jacket. Its only going to get colder in here as we lower his body temp and keep it that way for the next 24 hours. The last thing I need is for the rest of you to get sick. Lord knows you’re whiney enough when you’re well.”
“Yes mam,” Meredith said.
“When one is in here keeping an eye on George, the rest of you will be running labs to see how his pressure is doing. You’ll be doing research based on those findings to see if any of the previous cases could give us more information on how to handle George’s case.”
They all agreed by nodding and taking her instructions down in their small notepads.
“Cristina, you’ll be at point on this case. You’re in charge so I expect you to handle things.”
“What?” Cristina asked, looking up in surprise. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Bailey said, narrowing her eyes at the intern. “Aren’t you the one who is always salivating for a good case? Always hounding me for the best ones?”
“Yes… but…I..I just thought…” Cristina stuttered. She looked at her friends for back up but they all just gave her confused looks. “… I mean…wouldn’t you rather have Meredith or…” she looked at Izzie with her rocky past and Alex who wasn’t the biggest fan of George’s… “or well Meredith?”
Bailey put her hands on her hips.
“You were here when this case started,” She explained in a stern tone. “And unless you can give me a reason why you shouldn’t be in charge, you’ll be here until the end of this case. Is there any good reason why you can’t handle the case?”
Cristina swallowed hard. The sight of George lying lifelessly on the hospital floor flashed through her mind. She looked at her friends as they all waited for her answer.
“No,” she gave in, finally. “No good reason.”
“Good,” Bailey said with a nod of the head. She walked towards the door. “Besides I’ll be checking up on you all every half hour, so you better not screw this up with in those 30 minutes. If you do, there will be four hospital beds lined up beside his with your names on them.”
///000///
“You know George everyone is missing you,” Meredith said, from her spot by his bed “All the nurses are pissed that out of all the interns who could be in a coma, its you, their favorite. When you wake up you’ll have to tell me your secret on how you got all the staff wrapped around your little finger. Even the scary lunch lady with the mustache asked about you today. You know if you’ve got her on your side, you must be doing something right.”
Meredith looked at her friend sleeping peacefully in his bed. She was just talking at him to pass the time. She pulled her jacket closer around her as she talked to her sleeping friend.
///000///
“Dude, you’re missing some kick ass surgeries,” Alex said, from his spot by the bed, his feet were propped up on the bed as he talked at George. “Burke had this really crazy surgery where this old guy almost died from an aneurysms that was ready blow. Burke caught it right before it exploded in the O.R. It was awesome to witness.”
///000///
Cristina checked the heart monitor and wrote down the numbers in the chart. She then went over to George bed and checked the urine bag and wrote the findings in her chart as well. All she had to do was keep her mind busy by treating George like any other patient. She was there to monitor his results not to coddle him. This wasn’t George her fellow intern in the bed in front of her, it was patient number 8543, that’s all she had to keep telling herself.
Cristina briefly looked down at George who was lying motionless in front of her. She clenched her teeth as she went back to the heart monitor.
///000///
“Then there was this wicked plastic’s case where this guy got shot in the face,” Alex said, still in his reclined position by George’s bed. He hands were behind his head as he talked. “Half his face was gone so Sloan just gave him a new one. Too bad you weren’t there to see it… actually I’m kinda glad you weren’t there, if you were still up and about then there would have been less of a chance of me getting to see it. So I guess you being coma-guy sucks for you but better for me getting awesome surgeries.”
///000///
“You’re going to have to wake up soon because I gotta say not having you here throws our little group really out of orbit,” Meredith said, sitting by George’s bed. She rubbed her hands together to warm them up from the cold room. “It’s just weird not having you here. I keep expecting to see you come around the corner to talk about the latest squabble you and Izzie are having. Speaking of Izzie, this is really hitting her hard. She’s hardly come to see you, in fact the only time she’s been here was when Bailey made us come prep you for hypothermia treatment. As we both know Izzie likes to talk, and lately she’s been extra quiet, which is seriously weird and add the fact that she’s even quieter around you and it’s down right creepy. Alex is being his own version of creepy by being attentive and caring about your case, which I’m sure you’ll find quiet disturbing once you wake up. And Cristina, she’s acting unusual too. Well more unusual than she already acts. I don’t know what’s got into her but she freaked in your surgery, even if she won’t admit it. It’s like you left me alone in bizarro land.”
///000///
“And Addison,” Alex said with a small smile. “Dude, let met tell you, the gyno-squad…it kicks ass. Of course the only reason why I’m saying this is because you’re in a coma and you won’t remember this when you wake up. And if you do remember I will deny everything as I’m kicking your ass.”
Alex smiled as he looked over at the other man lying in the bed. His smile faltered as he saw his listless state. He sighed as he crossed his arms uncomfortably, trying to keep warm as he sat in the cold room.
///000///
“Oh and if you see dead people… well don’t freak,” Meredith snorted. “Well okay, freak a little, they’ll probably be all preachy and melodramatic, but just listen to what they have to say and it will make things a lot easier. If you see Doc running around give him a hug for me…actually if you see Doc running around it probably means your in your own version of hell since you hated him with a fiery passion, so scratch that idea.”
///000///
Cristina checked the bandages on George’s head. She carefully pulled them back and checked the stitches that Dr. Shepherd had given him in his surgery. She thought back to that day in the scrub room as her mentors fought to save George’s life. She had stood frozen in place as she watched them shock George with the paddles. She could still hear all of the monitors going off signaling that they were loosing him.
Cristina shook her head as she went back to checking his bandages.
///000///
Izzie stood at the end of his bed with her arms crossed. She just stood there watching his chest go up and down with the rhythm of his breathing. It was the only thing she could focus on.
She couldn’t get out of her head how this sleeping George was so different from the sleeping George she was use to. He was one of those sleepers that rolled all over the bed and usually woke up in a tangle of sheets. Sometimes when it was really cold in Meredith’s house or when she just felt lonely, she would go sleep with George in his bed. Before he moved out. When things were much less complicated between them and she could tell him anything. She always teased him about him being such a messy sleeper and told him it was a like the sleep version of wrestling. He always told her that if she was going to complain than she wasn’t going to be allowed back in his bed, but the next night she would show up at his door and with out a word he would pull back the covers for her. He was George and she was Izzie, those simple gestures were things that meant the most. She missed that. She missed being able to go to his room and him just automatically know what she was there for. She missed the warmth of him sleeping beside her. Or how when she was having a bad day or missing Denny more than normal he would wrap his arms around her and hold her. But most of all she missed talking to him. Even before he had his accident she couldn’t tell him all of this. She couldn’t tell him that it took loosing him to realize what she had right in front of her all along.
Now though she was on the verge of loosing him in a way she was all too familiar with. Loosing Denny was the hardest thing she had lived through, but loosing George, she wasn’t sure she would be able to survive that.
If it was fate, it was fate. She knew she was helpless to what fate had in store for them. She also knew from her experience with Denny she couldn’t stop fate. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t save Denny’s fate with death or the heartbreak afterwards and she knew this was the same thing. So she watched George chest rise up and down and prayed that it never stopped.
She pulled her jacket closer around her as she stood there. The room was freezing but she didn’t care.
“So I have a confession to make,” Izzie whispered to him, slowly coming up to the side of his bed.
“I lied to you the other day. When I told you that I didn’t have any feelings for you…” she said, keeping her eyes on his chest. “When I told you that our night together didn’t mean anything, I lied.”
Her eyes slowly made their way up to his face for the first time since she had entered the room. He was so pale and fragile looking. She swallowed hard at the sight.
“I was being selfish-Izzie again when I said you should stay because our night together was just a mistake. I just couldn’t stand the idea of you transferring to Mercy West, so I lied. Just to keep you with me.”
She watched George’s face, as he lay there unmoving. Nothing but the beep of the monitors and the roar of the portable air conditioners could be heard.
“You’re probably pissed that I lied to you,” Izzie laughed out as tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’d probably say to not make this about me and you’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just that… the idea of not having you by my side… it’s a little terrifying.”
She wiped away the tears that were running freely down her face.
“But in the last couple of days I’ve realized that there are a lot more things in life to be afraid of than you transferring to Mercy West. So I’m giving you a warning in advance because I’m about to go into selfish-Izzie mode again.”
Izzie watched his face for any indication that he could hear her but his face remained blank. She carefully placed her hand on his chest. She could feel the faint pounding of his heartbeat just below her palm.
“I’m giving you an out,” She said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’m letting go. If you want to transfer to Mercy West, that’s fine. I won’t object any more. If it will make things easier for you than I get that. If you want to work things out with Callie, I’ll help you in any way I can, I wont stand in the way anymore. I’ll even be nice to her for you. But please… please stay in this world. That’s all I ask. As long as you’re in this world, no matter where you are, I’ll be okay.”
The tears were coming so fast now that even if she wanted to she couldn’t stop them. She didn’t care because she was laying it all on the line for him.
“If you can hang on a little longer and really fight that would be great. I just need to know you’re living, breathing, and walking around in this world, because you see I’m in love with you. I love you and you’re my best friend and it makes it all kinds of complicated, but I do. I’m head over heals, no turning back, completely in love with you. And when you love someone it’s imperative for them to be alive and well. That’s all I’m asking for. Just be okay. So wake up. Wake up for Callie, or for you’re Mom, or for even freakin’ Mercy West, I don’t care, just as long as you wake up. Wake up, George. Just wake up!” She cried out.
She allowed her body to give away as she collapsed in the chair beside him. She laid her head on his chest and let out all of the emotions she had been holding back.
"Just wake up," She whispered, listening to the pounding of his heart.
///000///