The Starting Line

Chapter 19

Christina sat on the bench outside the clinic, looking ahead. Izzie looks at her, but she soon moved her eyes forward again.

"Sometimes we fail, but that's not always the case." Cristina tells her, Izzie sighing.

"I know."

"Vent has a new face. And whatever they call it to get through it-"

"Cristina, I know." Izzie said quietly, not looking at her. She really couldn't, not since she told her...

Cristina turns to look at Izzie, the sound of her jacket ruffling filling the air before her voice. "I told Alex. And Bailey. And they'll tell Meredith and George, and then George will tell Eleanora because he knows how to handle her when she cries, and we both know she's going to cry."

"Cristina-"

"No, I couldn't do my job! I think you came to me for help, even though I've made it very clear in the past that you're not my favorite person, and that's what I did. Because sometimes we win, Izzie. And and... I want you to fight, okay? You know, for whatever it's worth. I want you to fight."

There's silence between the two again, tears gathering in Izzie's eyes. Since she found out that she had cancer, she didn't really want to deal with it. She just wanted to work, find a way to tell everyone. She though she knew she had to say it. But she just...she couldn't.

"Thank you." Izzie exhaled, Cristina looking at her confused. Izzie lets a deep exhale escape her, the weight of what happened lifting a little from her shoulders.

For the first time since before Alex and Eleanora broke up, Cristina felt a small part of her heart ache at the thought of losing the blonde woman by her side. And so, Cristina took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

Inside the hospital, Eleanora was preparing to return home. She was about to pull her scrub top over her head when George entered. Of course, because they shared locker rooms and a house, he had seen her topless several times before. But still, she stopped pulling her blouse over her head to show him a smile, instead, she took off her shoes first.

"Hey, Georgie. Are you going home soon? I was thinking about maybe cooking. Mark won't be there until later tonight, mainly to see if Derek actually shows up, but we can all eat. I think Alex has the night shift, but..."

"Ella." George spoke, his voice a little heavy. She looked up from her shoes, nose wrinkled.

"Why did you say my name like that?" She let her eyes dance over the face of her best friend, moving slowly to stand at her full height when she noticed the expression on his face. "George, what's wrong?"

George approaches her, not meeting her eyes. He takes a few moments to speak, and in those moments Eleanora's heart rate increases.

"Georgie?" She speaks softly, her voice a little shaky. "You are scaring me."

George finally speaks, looking his best friend in the eyes. "Izzie has cancer. Stage 4 metastatic melanoma."

Eleanora looks at him, her eyes searching for some kind of sign that he was joking. "George, that's not... that's not funny."

George moves to put his hands on her shoulders, shaking his head. "I'm not kidding, Ella. Izzie has cancer."

Eleanora feels the tears building and falling, slowly moving to hug her best friend. She doesn't sob, she doesn't make much noise. If it weren't for the obvious tears streaming down her face, no one could tell that she was crying.

Holding her to his chest, George begins to cry as well, squeezing his eyes shut.