DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, this was not written for profit, please don't sue.
CHALLENGE: Written as part of the 1001 Nights Challenge - cold.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Cold
By hirai
Izzie Stevens awoke to an overall sensation of cold. The first thought that struck her was of the floor. The linoleum floor, even after absorbing her body heat for untold hours, still maintained the strange feeling of chilled dampness that it always seems to hold. Though the air around her was of an agreeable temperature, her surroundings exuded a sense of loneliness and sorrow, and suddenly she wondered why she was lying on the bathroom floor of Meredith's house in a prom gown. All at once, the events that had transpired recently came rushing back and a fresh wave of tears threatened to surface. Her lips parted slightly and she uttered a strangled cry. In a rush of sound, the rest of her surroundings came to her attention, most noticeably the banging on the door and loud yelling outside of it.
"Izzie, I'm about three seconds away from breaking down this door!"
From anyone else, Izzie would have been worried, but Meredith was much too fragile to break anything, much less a door. The next shout came from Cristina, and though it bore the same warning, Izzie was sure that the feisty woman could go through with it. Slowly rising off the floor, she winced at the marks left on her skin by the tile. As she opened the door, she took note of her friends' expressions of shock at her disheveled appearance, but her temper flared when she saw their gazes change to looks of pity. Turning quickly to shut herself back in the bathroom, she stopped when a hand closed around her wrist.
"You can't just lock yourself in there forever."
The warmth from the hand and that voice swept through her and her head shot up as she realized who it belonged to.
"Why are you here?" She whispered, turning her head slightly to look at the person who gripped her arm so tightly. It was Addison Montgomery-Shepard.
"Your friends called me, they must've run out of choices," Addison chuckled softly.
"If you're so worried, then you can come sit with me. At least that should keep them from banging down the door," Izzie spat, glaring at the others. Suddenly she pulled forward, and Addison stumbled after her, still holding onto her wrist. Izzie used her available arm to shut and lock the door. She then pried her hand out of Addison's grasp and sat against the bathtub, laying her head back against the cool glass door.
"I'm still mad at you, you know?"
"I kind of figured that, but I really am sorry that I hurt you. Do you mind if I sit? I have the feeling you're going to keep me in here for a while."
"Do whatever you'd like, it didn't stop you before."
Addison sat down next to Izzie and sighed. This was insane. How in the world did she end up being the one that was supposed to confront Izzie about her withdrawal? She turned slowly to the right to look at the other woman.
"Do you want to-"
"No."
"Well then why did you drag me in here with you?"
"Could you just-"
"Ok, ok!" Addison held her hands up defensively and turned to stare blankly at the wall across the room.
"You do realize that everyone coming to hang out in my hallway must have created a pretty interesting shortage of surgeons at the hospital."
"Yes, but some of us are pretty stupid outside of an operating room."
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean."
"Nothing."
"Are you implying that I'm stupid?" Addison brought two slender fingers up to rub her temple upon hearing this. What had she gotten herself into? "Falling for a patient doesn't mean that I'm stupid. Careless maybe, but definitely not stupid."
"Izzie, I wasn't even talking about you. Obviously my method of teaching you with the quints was the wrong way to go, because you will never stop caring about your patients. I think Denny was probably glad that you were there for the last of his time instead of being alone. Caring is just…your thing."
"My thing? You seriously just said that? You sound like a life coach or something." Izzie looked over at Addison like she was crazy. "Seriously?"
"Yeah…seriously." Addison had heard the interns go through their routine often enough to know the proper response. "If you didn't care, you'd end up just like one of your friends. Meredith is bordering on insanity, Cristina only cares about the job, George acts like a puppy sometimes, and Alex…let's not even go there." Addison grinned over at Izzie and she grinned right back. Without thinking, she leaned over, closed her eyes, and softly kissed Izzie. Snapping her eyes open, she pulled back quickly. It had lasted only a second, maybe she could pass it off as something chaste? She glanced at Izzie to take note of her expression. Her eyebrows were drawn together, there was a slight frown present, and her head was tilted slightly to the side. Addison opened her mouth to apologize when she felt cold hands grasp her face softly. Her eyes widened when she felt Izzie's mouth cover her own. Her hand flew up to hold onto the back of Izzie's neck and they sat like this for a moment before Izzie pulled back slightly. Addison opened her eyes to look at Izzie and saw that her eyes were half opened and she was breathing rapidly. Suddenly Izzie sprung away, gaping.
"We can't do this you're-you're married!"
"Oh, Derek wouldn't care, he's got your slutty friend." Realizing what she said, Addison quickly backpedaled. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Meredith's your friend after all."
"No, you're right. She is slutty. I'm surprised someone hasn't started calling her McSlut, with the way she goes through men." Izzie laughed softly and Addison grinned. Izzie's expression sobered quickly and she cast her eyes down. "I'm not sure what I could offer you. My heart feels so cold. I don't think you could warm it again." She shook her head slowly, tears welling in her eyes. Addison stood up and offered her hand.
"Well I can surely try." With that, Izzie grabbed her hand and was pulled off the floor. "What do you say we get out of McSlut's bathroom?"
"I'd have to say that you're not as stupid as you said you were earlier." Izzie smiled cheekily at Addison, and together they headed toward the door.
The End