The Starting Line (Reupload)

10

   "No, I am not a violent person. I am a pacifist. But he kept pushing and pushing and I pushed back. And honestly, after what happened last night with Eleanora, I'm glad I left him with a black eye!" George exclaimed to Izzie, looking over his shoulder at Alex on the other side of the locker room.

Izzie nodded and closed her locker. "If Alex tries to lay a hand on you, let me know and I'll take care of him." She then leaned over a small to talk to Eleanora, who was sitting on her bench tying her shoes. "And if you want me to take care of him, just give me a sign."

Eleanora simply shook her head, not looking up from her shoes. Everyone had noticed that she seemed smaller, more reserved. Of course, Izzie, Meredith, and George knew why, and Eleanora was sure Mer was updating Cristina by her locker if Cristina's angry and slightly murderous face was anything to go by.

Eleanora also knew that other interns were already noticing that Alex and Eleanora were not acting normally. For starters, Eleanora hadn't approached Alex as soon as she walked in, and he hadn't reached out to press a hand on her hip or kiss her good morning. She gave them a total of half an hour before the gossip train began to emerge, and then she was never going to escape.

So, she kept to herself, concentrating on the task of preparing herself completely and trying very hard to keep her eyes off of Alex Karev.

Alex, however, seemed to be doing the opposite. He'd been called to the hospital late the night before, so he couldn't exactly run to Eleanora's house and apologize if he wanted to.

He was sincere in the aspect that he didn't want a relationship. Relationships were a lot of work and too much trust, and he knew he would screw it up big time.

Now, he just kept his eyes on Eleanora, examining her. It took everything he had in him not to walk up and drag her to a private area to talk, or simply ask if she was okay. But he knew that with Amedeo's guard dogs, he probably wouldn't get closer than ten feet to her.

"Okay people, assignments!" Dr. Bailey shouted, entering the room. Eleanora stood, shrugging on her lab coat, keeping her eyes on her Resident. "Yang, you're in the pit. O'Malley report to room E19. Grey and Amedeo come see me. And who was on duty last night?"

Before anyone could respond, Bailey shoved a stack of charts into Izzie and Alex's hands, looking unimpressed. "These are sloppy! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. You two redo this and give them back to me before lunch, understood?"

"Understood," Alex responded, clenching his jaw. He didn't look at Bailey, just kept her eyes on the back of Eleanora's head.

"Karev, don't tempt me. And you better keep icing that eye. I don't need patients complaining that their doctor looks like he just came out of an underground boxing match." She turned on her heel after giving him one last look, leaving the room. Eleanora and Meredith followed right behind her.

"You, Dr. Grey, seem to be special today."

"Special?" Meredith asked, looking at Eleanora with a confused expression. Eleanora simply shrugged, a frown seemingly replacing her permanent smile.

"Well, you've been requested. And I decided to go ahead and put Dr. Amedeo in the mix to make sure you stay in line and all the work is done perfectly! New attending, I have to show her our best cards!" "

They walked down the halls, Eleanora falling slightly behind Meredith. Dr. Bailey looked back when she didn't hear the happy chatter that normally came out of the young interns' mouths, seeing sadness clouded around her.

Bailey looked at Meredith, almost as if she was accusing her of ruining Eleanora. The girl simply shook her head, whispering. "Karev."

Dr. Bailey let out a 'humph', shaking her head. She soon slowed down, indicating that they had reached their destination. Meredith felt panic rise within herself, Eleanora stopping next to her as she looked at the three people in front of them.