⇢ CHAPTER 20

as he, Meredith, Cristina, and George ate the food for Meredith's reception, "Good chicken."

"Yeah," Meredith and Cristina spoke at the same time, "chicken."

"I know it's chicken." Izzie rolled her eyes, "I want to know what it tastes like."

"Tastes like chicken." Alex shrugged as he ate more. 

Izzie sighed, looking at the group, "I'm having surgery today."

"Maybe." Bailey corrected, "the mets have shrunk."

"I am maybe having surgery today," Izzie remarked, "And as such, I cannot taste the chicken for myself, so I need you guys to tell me what it tastes like. I need to nail down this dinner so I can announce it on Meredith and Derek's wedding web site."

Holly snorted as she walked around Izzie's bed with Bailey to update Izzie's chart and Meredith almost choked on the chicken, "There's a web site?"

"So can you please be a little more articulate than just chicken?" Izzie gasped as she saw Derek walk out of the bathroom, "Yay! Oh, that's the one."

Holly chuckled as Izzie took a picture and Bailey laughed, "Very dapper, Dr. Shepherd."

Derek nodded at Bailey before looking over at Izzie, "You're serious about this? It's not some cruel joke?"

"You look fantastic." Izzie smiled, taking more pictures, "He looks fantastic, right?"

George and Meredith nodded, "Yeah."

Holly shrugged, "Sure."

"Uh," Cristina tiredly looked back, "whatever."

As Derek went back to change, Meredith, Cristina, and George said goodbye before leaving and Izzie stared at Alex, "So?"

Alex nodded, "Pork." He gave her a kiss before leaving, which made Izzie stare at the intern and resident.

Bailey turned around slowly and saw Izzie staring at them, "Fine." She walked over to the tray, "I'll taste the chicken. Kepner--"

"Already on it." Holly nodded, walking over to grab the chicken. 

✧

"Dr. Bailey," Holly sighed as they walked towards Izzie's room after taking Izzie's scans and finding new mats, not to mention Izzie's "limited" mother had come to visit Izzie, "how are we gonna go in there a-and lie--"

"We have to." Bailey nodded, her hand on Izzie's door as she looked at the intern, "Our patient wants to be comfortable and, right now, she isn't with her worried 'limited' mother pacing around." Bailey inhaled deeply, "So we have to go in there and do what's best for our patient, can you do that?" Holly nodded, "Good."

Holly breathed in and out before nodding at Dr. Bailey again and walked inside once she opened the door.

"Okay," Dr. Bailey announced, a smile plastered on both of their faces, "uh, good news. Great news."

"The cancer's practically gone." Holly smiled at Izzie's mother, "It looks like your psychic back home was right, Mrs. Stevens."

Bailey nodded, "Looks like we caught it early after all."

"Oh!" Izzie's mother cried in relief, "Oh, thank you God! Thank you. Oh, my baby. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, thank you," She walked over to the doctors and gave them a hug, "thank you, thank you. Oh, thank you!"

"Oh." Bailey laughed. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you. Mm." Izzie's mother let go, "But I knew it." She laughed, "Didn't I? I knew it." She leaned down, holding Izzie's cheek in one hand, "I knew because you're my cricket. Nothing can happen to you."

Izzie tightened her smile, knowing Bailey and Holly were lying as she pulled her mom into a hug with tears in her eyes, "I love you, mom."

"Oh, I love you, too, my baby girl." Her mother sighed, "I love you so, so much." Holly wiped a small tear that came out and Bailey felt her eyes begin to water so she looked away, "God," Izzie's mother sniffled, "look at me. I must be a mess." She laughed, "Well, I'm gonna go clean up, okay? And then, uh, and then I'm gonna call Jade... and Mrs. Norris, too. I got them all so worried. Oh."

Once Izzie's mother shut the door to the bathroom, Izzie paused as she looked at the ground before glancing at her doctors, "Just tell me."

"The mets have shrunk some." Bailey recalled.

"But there are new mets, too." Holly added, "Several of them are in the small bowel."

Izzie sighed, wiping away a tear, "No surgery, then."

"Oh," Bailey corrected, "I'm gonna operate. I'm going to take out absolutely everything I can, be as aggressive as I can, and then we'll take it from there."

Izzie nodded, her tears flowing, "Okay."

Bailey assured, "Okay."

✧

"Holly," George smiled, running up to his girlfriend with a huge smile on his face, "I'm on Hunt's service for the rest of the month-- the guy's incredible. He saved a guy that shouldn't be alive-- seventeen bullets. He has one lung, one kidney left-- it's amazing. ," He laughed, "is amazing. Oh," He noted, "and never say it's a slow day in the pit, it's practically like saying MacBeth or something in the theatre."

"That's great." Holly smiled, turning around to face him as she wiped off a few tears, "T-That's great."

"Holl--"

"Izzie's got new mets on her small bowel." Holly revealed, causing George's smile to fade slowly as she shrugged, bringing up her hands to show the scarf she was knitting, "And I can't knit for the life of me." 

✧✧✧

holly really just said my knitting skills suck and im sad cause i can't knit anything for izzie 

✧✧✧

"You should see the bridesmaids' dresses, Dr. Bailey." Izzie smiled as Holly made Izzie follow her finger before using an otoscope, "Oh, and the flowers-- they're being delivered at 5:00. I had to pay extra for them to decorate the church, but Derek gave me his credit card, told me to do what I had to do, so..." She laughed as she grabbed Alex's hand, "it's gonna be perfect."