A Kind Girl In A Cruel World (Grey's Anatomy AU)

Chapter Twenty-One

I hopped out of the bus to take some pictures of the castle we stopped at, and Izzie's face popped up on my phone. I hit ignore the first time, but then she called me again, so I answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey George, where have you been? I haven't seen you at work these past couple days." she asked.
"I'm on vacation."
"Hmmm... I haven't seen Lara lately either."
Then she gasped.
"Are you two vacationing together?"
"Yes, we are."
"Oh my god, that's so cute. How's it going?"
"George."
Lara came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder, and I jumped.
"Who's that?"
"It's Izzie."
"Well, hurry up! We're moving in to the next sight!" she said excitedly.
"I got to go, Iz."
I hung up on her and got back on the bus.
Lara put her head on my shoulder and held my hand, and I kissed her forehead.
-Lara-
As George and I ventured on, we came to another stop, and I saw somebody I never thought I'd see again. I hid behind George, and he turned around and looked at me.
"What's wrong?"
He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes.
"Um, Eric is here." I mumbled.
"What?"
"Eric is here."
"Your ex? Why's he here?"
"I forgot he said something about moving back home after I finally dumped his ass."
He spotted me, and I tried hiding my face.
"Hey, beauty. Long time no see."
Eric used to call me beauty all the time, and it made me feel so good... until he started saying it when he abused me. He'd always say, "I'd hate to do this to you, beauty." then he'd raise a fist.
"Hey, leave her be. She's with me."
George pushed me back behind him to keep me safe.
"Lara, who is this clown?"
"I'm her boyfriend."
"A new boyfriend, huh? Well, isn't that sweet?"
He shoved George out of the way so he could get to me, and I stood as strong as I could.
"Eric, just leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you anymore... or ever again." I shook my head.
"Are you sure about that, beauty? Remember all the fun we used to have?"
"Yeah, she also remembers all the times you beat her." George chimed in.
"What? Who told you about that?"
"I did." I said.
"Listen here, you little bitch!"
He grabbed me by the arm and dug his fingers into my skin. George went for it and took a swing, and his fist met Eric's chin.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's go. Are you okay?"
He's never called me sweetheart before...
"Yeah, I'm fine." I sighed.
We walked all the way back to our rental car, and sat down in the driver and passenger seats. He started driving, and I looked at him.
"You've never called me sweetheart before..." I said softly.
"I'm sorry, I guess it was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing."
"It's okay, I like it. And thank you for defending me." I smiled.
"That guy really pissed me off. Him grabbing you like that? No, not on my watch, and never again."
"I can't believe you punched him." I laughed.
"That jerk had it coming. I'm always going to keep you safe, no matter what the cost."
He grabbed me by the hand and squeezed.
"Thank you. I love you so much."
"I love you too. So, you liked it when I called you sweetheart?"
"Yes, I can tell you put a lot of feeling into it."
"Does that mean I can call you that more often?"
"Of course, as long as I get to call you baby."
"I don't know about baby. I-I'm not big on pet names."
"How about Dr. Love?" I said, in a sultry voice.
"Uh, no."
"Captain America?"
"No."
"Georgie Bear?"
I pouted with a baby voice.
"Drop the Bear." he said.
"But people call you Georgie all the time."
"Alright, you can call me Georgie Bear."
His face turned red, and I chuckled softly. I ran my fingers through his soft, curly hair, and he smiled.