The Starting Line

Chapter 21

The buzzing of her pager woke Eleanora from her sleep with a start. She was the only one of her friends who was on day and night shift today, and she had finally had time to take a short nap after 11 hours.

She yawned, kicking the blanket that grabbed her in the tunnel. Reading it, she felt a slight panic take over her and her breath caught in her throat.

O'MALLEY - 9-1-1

"Not again." She whispered to herself, starting to run. She ran quickly, the nurses and other doctors on the night shift quickly moved away from her and looked at her strangely.

Stopping suddenly when he saw George and Callie, she spoke quickly, her voice stern. "What's going on? Did you page?"

George turned around and looked at his best friend. Eleanora's anxiety and fear soon disappeared after she saw his red eyes and his frightened face.

"George?" She asked softly, taking a step towards him. He took her hand and held it as if it were her lifeline, Eleanora allowed it.

"My... my dad. He's... he's here. In the hospital. As a patient." he growled. Eleanora let out a small gasp and her eyes widened. She looked behind him at Callie, who just nodded with a somber look on her face.

"Oh my God." Eleanora whispered, concentrating on her best friend. His eyes filled with more tears and she quickly put her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

The two stood there for what seemed like an eternity, holding each other tightly. Eleanora rested her head on George's shoulder and closed her eyes as she whispered sweetly to him.

"I'm here, Georgie. I'm going to help you, okay? You've got me."

Sitting with George as he read his father's medical history while Alex, Cristina and Izzie asked him questions, Eleanora fought against the fatigue she felt. She was supposed to have already finished her double shift, but she refused to leave George's side.

She had her arm intertwined with his, resting her head on his shoulder as he whispered the entire graph to himself. Alex gave them a strange look when he first arrived, but once he heard what happened, he quickly pushed any stupid jealousy or anger he felt aside.

Eleanora and George were best friends. Sure, she, Meredith, and Cristina were an oddly close trio, but Eleanora and George? Those two would be meaningless without each other, and they rarely are without the other around.

That was something Alex had to get used to, and he still struggled with it sometimes. He knew that Eleanora would never cheat on him, plus he knew that she loved him and not George O'Malley. But he saw the way O'Malley looked at her when she wasn't looking. How he was soft on her, protective and a little too touchy.

"Today is the day people!" Meredith exclaimed happily, entering the locker room with a smile on her face. Eleanora looked up and wrinkled her nose at the strangely happy mood her friend was in.

"Today is the day that 'Dark and Twisted Meredith' disappears forever, and 'Bright and Happy Meredith' takes her place! You probably don't want to be my friend anymore because the sheer intensity of my happiness will make your teeth hurt. Well, Eleanora will still be my friend because we will be on the same wavelength. But that's okay, because life is good." Meredith stopped in her footsteps, looking at the group of her sad-looking friends. "What's going on?"

"George's dad was admitted last night." Izzie speaks, George wincing at her words. Eleanora squeezes his arm comfortably, looking at Meredith.

"He's fine." George murmurs, flipping through another page of the chart. Eleanora sighed, hating how he was trying to act like it was no big deal to him.