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happening?" Eleanora piped up, stopping in her tracks as George pushes past her and goes towards the staircase. Meredith chases after him, calling and begging for him to stop.

The two of them had been acting weird all day, and Eleanora had just assumed they ended up having a fight the night before or something. She had gone on with her shift, occasionally bugging George and asking if he was okay or wanted to talk. Each time, he brushed it off and changed the subject.

Cristina shrugs, Izzie falling in line behind her as they chased after the other two. Alex takes her hand and pulls her to the staircase, chuckling to himself. Eleanora furrows her eyebrow, repeating her previous question.

"Can we just talk now?" Meredith asks, everyone stopping behind her as George dramatically turns around. Eleanora gets on her tiptoes, looking over Izzie's shoulder from the step above her.

Eleanora thought.

"You want to talk now because you told everyone !" George screams, gasps falling from the three girls who had just joined.

Eleanora's eyes were wide as she stared between George and Meredith in shock. They had sex? ?!

"You had sex?" Izzie screeched, Cristina's voice full of disbelief and slight disappointments as they spoke in unison.

"You had sex with George?!"

Alex was laughing quietly, and Eleanora flicked the side of his neck. "Not now!" She hissed, and he gave her a slightly apologetic look. She knew he really wasn't sorry, but she didn't have the time to manage that and the fact that

"You didn't tell them?" George's voice was weak and broken as he stared up the steps at Meredith. Meredith just replied with a 'no'. "Dammit!"

George tried to rush down the stairs, but ended up tripping and falling down them instead. A cracking sound was heard and Eleanora let out a loud yell, pushing past her boyfriend and her friends as they stared down in shock and worry.

"George!"

Eleanora got on her knees when she reached George, her worried eyes dancing over him. He let out a groan and laid his head on his best friends legs. Eleanora shushed him, running her fingers through his hair comfortingly.

She looked up, glaring at a laughing Alex. "Izzie, smack him!" The tall woman did as she was told, Alex letting out a whine.

"It's not fair when you get them to do it!" He protested, but Eleanora ignored him.

"Someone get a wheelchair or something, and page ortho!" They quickly did as she told them, noticing the serious tone in her voice.

Eleanora looked back down at George, her voice soft. He looked up at her with pained eyes, a frown on his lips. "Dammit, Georgie." She whispered.

_____

Alex, Izzie, Meredith, and Cristina were waiting outside of the trauma room George was in. Ortho was supposed to be there any minute, and none of them really wanted to leave.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Meredith asked, her voice worried. Eleanora didn't look up at her, clearing her throat.

"He dislocated his shoulder, he's gonna be fine." Alex's voice was sarcastic as he gave Meredith a 'are you stupid' look. He gave Eleanora a quick kiss, mumbling against her lips. "I have to go back to my patient."

She nodded, shooing him softly. He gave Meredith one last look before he left, Izzie going to follow behind him.

Izzie stopped, turning her head to look at Meredith over her shoulder. "Meredith, if you can't make this right, if you can't fix this with George, just so you know if it comes to choosing sides? I'm on his."

Meredith turned to look at Eleanora and Cristina. Eleanora still refused to look at her, picking at her nails.

"He's the weaker kid." Cristina added, shaking her head. "Even I don't beat up the weaker kids, it's cheap."

"He loves you, Mer." Eleanora spoke up, finally dragging her eyes from her hands to her taller friend. Meredith had tears in her eyes and looked more guilty than Eleanora had ever seen. Eleanora didn't want to place blame on anyone, because it took two. But even if she didn't know what truly happened, all she did know was that George was too torn up for it to have gone .

"He loves you, and you aren't stupid. You to have noticed. So, all I have to say is that I hope you didn't pretend to be stupid." She pushed off of the wall, passing by the trauma room.

She gave George a soft smile, but he just nodded back. Her smile slipped off her face, and she sighed, crossing her arms as she walked down the hall.

_____

   upstairs when she got home, Eleanora didn't even look at the attic stairway. She quickly went into George's room to see him struggling to pack his bags.

Her face fell, letting her bag slide off of her arm and land on the floor with a small "thud". George looked up, sighing.

"I was going to tell you before I left. Just wanted everything packed and ready before everyone got home, that way nobody could try and get me to stay."

Eleanora walked towards him, slowly helping him pack. He couldn't do it efficiently with the sling, and even though the idea of George leaving broke her, she didn't want him to be in a house with someone he didn't like anymore.

George watched her, his eyes softening. She was trying to understand, he could tell. He leaned against his dresser, watching as she reorganized his suitcases. It was only a matter of time before the rambling started-

"I'm going to miss you." She started, blinking away a few tears. "I know we'll still see each other, at work and out of it, but it's not going to be the same." She finished repacking his last shirt and turned to him, crossing her arms.

"Promise me that you won't just leave me, Georgie." She whispered, her eyes teary. He felt his own tear up, stepping towards her. "Yo-you're my best friend. I can't live without you, ever. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I was in a world where you weren't in my life."

George opened his one arm so she could run into his arms, which she did. He squeezed her tightly into his side, careful of his hurt arm. He spoke into her hair, closing his own eyes.