chapter fifty nine

elevator love letter.season five, episode nineteen.

author's note — the song i mention at the end of the chapter is called by barry manilow!i recommend playing it as you read that part to get all the feels [3

. She looked down at a sleeping Izzie in the hospital bed, thinking about the possible outcomes of her diagnosis.

Sensing a presence in the room, Izzie woke up, startled by the sight of Cassie staring down at her. "Um, hi?" she mumbled groggily, turning onto her back and sitting up slightly. "It's like, four in the morning. What are you doing here?"

Cassie pursed her lips. "I don't like you."

"I— what?"

"I don't like you," she repeated. "And I haven't liked you for a long time. But then, George calls me in the middle of the night, telling me you have freaking , of all things, and suddenly I'm not sure how I feel anymore."

Izzie frowned, sitting up straight and resting her back against the headboard. "I don't need your pity, Cassie. You don't have to change your mind just because I'm dying."

Cassie sighed, shaking her head. "I spent years of my life watching my mom die of cancer, Izzie." Playing with the hem of her sweater, she glanced down at the ground. "Call me selfish, but there's not a chance in hell I'm going through that again."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Izzie knit her brows together, confused after not having an actual conversation with Cassie in months.

"I'm saying, that even though I may not like you, we were friends once," Cassie shrugged. "I cared about you, and despite what I've been telling myself, that didn't stop just because of what happened with Denny." She sat up straight, looking at Izzie with an unreadable expression. "I refuse to just sit back and watch you suffer, Izzie. If you're going to fight this thing, then I'm going to be here for you."

Izzie grinned slightly, the prospect of getting Cassie back as a friend giving her a new sense of hope. "Even if you don't like me?"

Cassie nodded as she, albeit reluctantly, returned the smile. "Even if I don't like you."

It was silent for a while, before Izzie spoke up once again. "I am," she said assuredly, elaborating at Cassie's raised brow. "I am going to fight this."

The moment was cut short when Cassie's phone rang, the noise loud in the quiet room. She looked at the caller ID, holding a finger up to Izzie as she answered.

"Hey, Cristina, I forgot to leave a note, but I'm actually at the hosp— wait, what?" she furrowed her brows, her heart rate picking up slightly as she listened to the other woman on the line. "Callie?"

Izzie watched in confusion as Cassie's posture went rigid, a deathly calm look coming over her face. "Is everything okay?"

"No, don't let him leave. I'll be right there," she deadpanned, hanging up the phone and abruptly getting to her feet. She didn't say a word to Izzie, other than sending her a curt nod of acknowledgment, before bolting out of the room with a murderous glare.

☆

"Where is he?" Cassie demanded, the door nearly breaking off the hinges as she stormed into her shared apartment. Callie stood nervously in the living room, talking a moment too long to speak. "Where the hell is he?!"

Callie pointed towards the bathroom, where Owen was crying outside of the door, and the sound of Meredith comforting Cristina could be heard through the thin walls.

In the blink of an eye, Cassie had Owen pinned up against the wall, her forearm pressed tightly against his neck as she held the rest of his body down with one hand.

"You think choking women is fun?" she questioned lowly, not allowing him to move even an inch. "Huh? Let's see how fucking like it."

"Cass!" Meredith shouted, the bathroom door opening just enough so her head could peek out. "Get in here." Cassie didn't move. "Please, Cristina needs you, ."

Reluctantly, Cassie nodded, releasing her hold on Owen, who was silently crying as he remained slumped against the wall.

Wordlessly, she turned on her heel, entering the bathroom and looking between a shaken up Cristina and a pissed off Meredith. "What can I do?"

"Oh, nothing," Meredith waved her off. "I got this. I just wanted to avoid you being sent to jail for attempted murder."

"More like successful murder," she scoffed as Cristina finally turned to face her, exposing the bruising hand marks on her neck. Cassie's eyes went wide at the sight. "Oh, he is —"

"No, no, no. It was a nightmare," Cristina insisted, pulling her back from where she was storming back towards the door. "It-it was a nightmare."

There was a soft knock at the door, accompanied by Owen's voice. "Cristina, please," he begged. "Is she all right? I just need to know that she's all right."

Cristina made a move for the door, Meredith and Cassie instantly going to block her way. "No, no, no, no, no," Meredith said rapidly. "Cristina, no—"

Ignoring their pleas, Cristina opened the door, revealing Owen, who couldn't look her in the eye. Cassie tensed up, ready to punch him out at any given moment.

"I am sorry," he whispered, tears streaking down his face. "I don't know what happened. I don't remember." He choked on a sob, his voice breaking. "I don't know what happened, I'm sorry."

"Look at me," Cristina ordered. "Look at me. I'm fine, see? It's okay, you were asleep. It's okay, okay?"

Cristina reached out, hugging Owen tightly as he sobbed into her chest. Meredith, Cassie, and Callie shared a look, not sure how to feel about the action.