DISCLAIMER: Grey's Anatomy and its characters are the property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So much has changed since I wrote the first part of this. Please excuse any serious omissions, or other possible literary faux pas.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Partly Cloudy, Bridal Shower
By BadTyler
Part Two
Callie had been laughing as she reached for the bottle, but her eyes met Izzie's, and she abruptly put it aside. Izzie tried to look away, but found herself unable to break contact with Callie's angry, hurt look. She was actually grateful when Meredith staggered over to where Callie sat, and promptly fell into her lap. She pushed the bottle away, drunkenly proclaiming "Truth or Dare!"
Callie shoved her aside, softly but angrily hissing, "Get off me, you bag of bones!"
Addison wished desperately that she could click her heels three times and find herself miraculously transported back to Los Angeles. Not back in the elevator, kissing the Quack—back to Violet's place. Isobel Stevens could make her hot, but Violet made her scream. How the hell did I end up here? Truth or Dare sucks. Seattle Grace sucks. I suck.
Cristina was up for anything to avoid thinking about the impending wedding. Since her mother and 'Mama' Burke had charged in and taken control, she was just counting the hours before the whole frilly, flowery, butter cream frosted fiasco was over and done with. She jumped to her feet. "I'll go first!"
"Well… Truth or…" Izzie relaxed; for the moment, the spotlight was not on her.
"Dare!"
"Fine. We dare you to call Burke—right now—and have phone sex!" Meredith shouted.
"No! No way! Ever since that 'naughty nurse' patient, I can't even…" Cristina wavered a minute before giving in.
"OK… if that's what you want…"
"I get to call and make sure it's him!" Meredith added, smirking.
Cursing under her breath, Cristina punched in some numbers and threw her cell phone to Meredith. "But YOU have to explain WHY I'm doing it."
Burke wasn't thrilled, as he had been called in on an emergency procedure. He gave Meredith a quick lecture; she turned rather green and handed the phone back to Cristina.
"Ooops… sorry about that!"
Callie raised her hand. "I think Izzie should go next."
The rest of the group rallied, goading Izzie into making her choice. She waited, momentarily indecisive. "Um, Dare. Definitely Dare."
"I knew there was no way in hell you'd pick Truth!" Callie looked satisfied. "OK, tell you what--- I DARE you to tell the TRUTH!"
"Is that in the rules?" Addison felt she needed to protect Izzie. She had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.
Callie faced Izzie. "Truth… did you fuck my husband?"
An audible gasp came from Meredith. Suddenly, all traces of alcohol seemed to disappear. "Callie—that is not funny. In fact it's…"
Izzie slowly stood up and walked towards her room, slamming the door. Meredith jumped up and went after her. From behind Izzie's firmly shut door, everyone in the living room—except for Sydney—heard Izzie's voice.
"This so-called party is over!"
Moments later, Meredith returned with a plastic trash bag. "I'm cleaning up. Because that is what you do when a party is over. If anyone wants to help me, fine. If not, then it would be really great if you'd just leave."
Addison walked towards the bedroom. "I, um, I think I might be able to calm her down."
Callie turned to Cristina and Meredith. "Thanks for the fake shower. It's pretty much like our fake friendship, isn't it?"
Cristina glared at her. "This really was at least partially for you, you know. And we appreciate you sharing those cards. I asked you to be a bridesmaid because I wanted to include you. But you need to get over this crap about Izzie and George. They've been friends since we all met. Hell, Mere slept with George and you're not mad at her!"
"We weren't married then," Callie said defensively. "That was different."
Addison reappeared. "She's calmer now. I think we should give her some space for a while, though. Listen—I'm going to stop by the hospital for a while, but I'll come back later and see how she's doing." She glanced over at Sydney, shaking her head.
"You might want to call her a cab. Make sure she can't get at her car keys."
She halted by the door. "Thanks for… well, the beginning was fun, anyway."
The red convertible backed out of the driveway.
Cristina and Meredith bagged trash, got Sydney into a taxi and walked back inside.
"What a mess…" Meredith collapsed on the couch. Cristina joined her. Lazily, Meredith gazed around. "Hey, where's Callie? Wasn't George supposed to pick her up?"
Cristina shrugged. "Maybe she decided to walk. She's pretty pissed."
"All the way back to the hotel? That's a long walk…" Meredith picked up a gift box and pulled out a purple thong. "Think 'Mama' Burke is gonna approve?"
Cristina made a face. "If things go smoothly, she'll never see them. God, I just wish this was all over with… promise you'll run interference if necessary?"
"Of course I will. I'm still your person. That won't change."
"Then can I tell you something?"
"What, Mere? You're not pregnant, are you? Please—tell me you're not pregnant!"
Meredith sighed. "I just wanted to say that I may never forgive you for picking out those hideous bridesmaid's dresses."
"As if I had a choice? Blame Burke's mother! It was impossible to find anything that looked good on all of you!"
Meredith smiled. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"You know what would have been perfect? Scrubs! We should all be wearing scrubs!"
"At least it would have jazzed up the wedding pictures!" Meredith punched Cristina playfully with her tiny, ineffectual fist.
"Ouch!"
In Izzie's bedroom, Callie sat on the edge of the bed. Izzie was lying under the bedspread, face down in her pillow. She lifted her head and stared blearily at Callie.
"Why are you still here? Go away. Go back to your husband. You wanted me miserable?
You got what you wanted, so just… get out."
"No. Not yet. I want to hear it from you."
Izzie sat up, eyes red from tears, her lower lip trembling. "If I say no, you say I'm lying. If I say yes, you get… what? Vindication? A reason to punish George even more? Do you enjoy hurting people, Callie? Because you've hurt him enough already. Regardless of anything you say—I know him better than you do. I've known him longer, and I still know him better. It takes time. Someday… unless you drive him away—you'll be the one who knows him best. So think on that before you start the inquisition again."
Callie sat silently for some time before she burst out, "Poor, poor Izzie! Poor sad Izzie.
How is it that you always get whatever you want? "
Izzie was furious. "Get what I want? Get… I don't even know what the hell you mean anymore!"
Callie went on, "You're pretty. People like you from the start, just because you're pretty.
You're smart enough—you did get this internship—but you get nearly everything else just because of your looks!"
"Oh, really? Did my looks save Denny's life?"
"Your damn looks killed him." Callie bit her lip. She knew she was on the verge of going too far. "If you hadn't pleaded and gotten all your friends—including George—who told me he begged you to stop—to back you up on that stupid, stupid thing you did—he might still be alive!"
Izzie leaned over and slapped Callie's face. When Callie started to speak, Izzie slapped her again. Furious, Callie grabbed Izzie's shoulders, shaking her like a rag doll before releasing her. Izzie fell back against the pillows. Pure malevolence narrowed Callie's eyes, and she softly whispered, "But I had something you'll never have, in a way you never will."
Izzie's eyes widened as she realized what Callie was telling her.
"No."
"Yes. I slept with Denny Duquette. Several times. Want to know what it was like?"
Izzie, shaken to her core, shook her head, but Callie was relentless.
"It was good. Better than George and McSteamy. In fact, it was the best sex I've ever had with a man. I met him way before you showed up; he was in and out of the hospital a lot.
And he wasn't really sick yet. What? Did you think he was waiting to meet you?"
"Bitch," whispered Izzie.
"I'll bet you'd like to know how it felt. All the things he did. I can tell you, because sex like that is hard to forget…"
Izzie said nothing. Callie moved closer. "He kissed me like this." She bent her head and placed her mouth over Izzie's. "But you did get to kiss him, so let's go on to something better. This is how he unbuttoned my shirt." She began undoing Izzie's blouse. "And this is how he touched me."
Izzie didn't protest, or try to stop her.
"This is how he undid my pants… how he took off my underwear… how he licked my breasts… this is how he touched me… you're really wet now, aren't you?"
They were engaged in something no one else would ever understand. It wasn't tender and loving, it was rough and hot and dangerous. Callie slid her knee between Izzie's thighs, and Izzie responded, arching her neck, a low moan coming from someplace deep inside.
It was nearly five o'clock, and Cristina gathered up her things. Meredith was putting gifts into several shopping bags. "Don't forget your bag."
Cristina looked up; she was trying to jam a box into an already overstuffed package.
"That's not my bag. I left mine in your kitchen."
"Did we put Sydney's bag in the cab with here?"
Meredith nodded. "I took out her car keys before I gave it to her. I was going to give them to her in the morning."
"Shut up!"
"No, I really did."
"No, really, really shut up. Listen… what does that sound like to you?"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"What are we going to do?"
Cristina frowned. "I don't know about you, but no way I'm going in there."
Meredith reached for the remote. "Maybe some TV, then?"
About ten minutes later, Izzie's bedroom door opened and Callie walked out.
"Everything OK in there?" Cristina kept her voice casual.
"Yeah, we're OK."
George's car pulled up in front. Callie hastily picked up her things.
"Look, I'm sorry I got so nasty before. I'm just, you know… stressed."
"Right. Stressed. Got it." Meredith waved to George from the doorway. "Goodnight!"
Her back leaning against the shut door, she slid to the floor, head in her hands.
A few minutes later, Burke pulled up. Cristina waved Meredith away. "I'll explain to him about the phone call. Don't come out with me, it'll be better if you talk to him tomorrow. Thanks for the … party. And quit hugging me, for God's sake!"
Meredith was left alone in the living room. She tried to get Derek for the fourth time; still no answer. Leaning back into the softness of the couch, she murmured "Seriously…"
Later that night, as Callie stood under a scalding hot shower, she realized that Izzie had never actually confessed to sleeping with George. And when Addison returned to check on Izzie, she found her sound asleep. She was somewhat relieved. What she had to say could wait for a better time and place.
Now that my mind is made up, I've got to tell her goodbye. Just not right this minute.
Wondering if Violet might be home, she hit speed dial, looking forward to hearing her
voice.
"Hi, it's me—Addison."
The End