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had one leg perched on the chair she was sitting on, licking the ice pop Izzie snuck them during her I.L-2. Flipping through a chart, Eleanora looked up when she heard Cristina speak.

"These are good. Do they sell these in the cafeteria?" Eleanora shook her head, focusing back on the chart in her lap.

"No, only the gross grape ones." She replied. Izzie nodded, readjusting herself in the seat.

"Those are the Cancer Pops."

Cristina flops down in the chair beside Eleanora, reclining herself so she can relax. Meredith snorted at the look on her friends face, shaking her head as she double checked Izzie's vitals as she ate her own 'cancer pop'.

"Why do cancer people get all the fun?" Cristina asked. Everyone slowly looked at her in shock, Cristina not even flinching. Eleanora sighed, closing the chart as she leaned back a bit in her own seat.

"How do you feel, Iz?" Meredith finally asked, Izzie shrugging.

"I'm not looking forward to the hurling that's about to happen, but I feel okay."

"Bailey's on some sort of rampage." Cristina tells them all, putting one arm behind her head. She snorts, Eleanora turning her head to face her. "I think it's Post-O'Malley Stress Disorder."

Eleanora closes her eyes at that, taking a small breath in before turning to look back at Izzie and Mer, who were just staring at Cristina with an annoyed and worried expression respectfully.

"She's not dealing with her grief." Meredith tries to explain, Eleanora shrugging.

"I know. She's pushing her emotions to the side, waiting until they explode to deal with them."

"You two sound like Owen's shrink." Cristina snaps, Eleanora hiding a small laugh. Izzie looks at Meredith, who raises a teasing brow.

"Owens shrink is withholding sex. So she is grumpy and inappropriate."

"Is Derek doing that, too? Withholding sex?" Izzie asked. Meredith raised a brow, continuing to eat her ice pop.

"Why would Derek withhold sex?"

"Alex is withholding...... It's like he's afraid, but I don't know what he's afraid of."

"He's afraid of the cancer sex." Cristina butts in. Eleanora's head swivels to her, leaning across the chair to smack her.

"Cristina!" Meredith exclaims, eyes wide. Izzie just closes her eyes, trying to breath calmly.

"He doesn't want to end up with a cancer pop."

"Cristina!" Eleanora snaps, smacking her again. "Not appropriate."

"Just shut the hell up! I'm not contagious, Cristina." Izzie snaps. Cristina sits up, her face serious.

"I know that. I would have sex with you."

Eleanora sighed, leaning back in her chair. She hums, taking a pause in eating her ice pop to speak to Izzie. "I've technically withheld sex from Mark for almost two and a half weeks. Didn't do it on purpose, I was just too busy being stuck in bed and not moving because of my grief, ." Eleanora directed that last part to Cristina, the woman rolling her eyes.

"So you think Alex is withholding sex because of George?" Izzie asked her. Eleanora made a face, shaking her head.

"I don't know, but think about it. Would Alex let George ever get in the way of him screwing someone? I mean, the two of them shared the same Syphilis." Eleanora starts to giggle at the end, the three other women joining in after a moment.

It was starting to be normal again. But then, Eleanora's giggling went away when the little pang in her heart hit like it always does when she thought about George. Max said that it was normal, and that since it's been taking longer to hit that she's doing better. Healing, even.

Eleanora didn't know if she wanted to heal just yet.

______

   " Eleanora stated firmly, holding up two yellow throw pillows, her face set. Mark narrowed his eyes, in the exact same position except for the pillows in his hand being dark blue.

"The couch we picked out is grey, Doll. Not to mention the walls are grey, so obviously dark blue is better."

Eleanora huffed, shaking her head. "No, the couch and walls being grey are precisely why we need a pop of color. These are cute pillows, Mark, and I like yellow."

They stared each other down for a moment, not even tearing their eyes away from the other when Max and Lexie walked up. The two of them had agreed to help them up or their stuff, Max mostly wanting the food from IKEA, and Lexie actually being able to stay on task on what they need.

"You know, you don't have to have throw pillows right when you move in." Lexie told them, elbowing her boyfriend when he snorted. Max rubbed his stomach, face scrunched in pain before he continued.

"Please, we both know Mark is going to get his dark blue pillows and Ella is going to get that bookshelf she was eyeing."

"Please," Lexie whispered to him, not taking her eyes off of the showdown in front of her, "Mark is wrapped around her pinky finger. She'll probably end up getting both."

Eleanora, noticing her boyfriend wasn't backing down, pulled out the only card she knew would for sure work. Her eyes turned soft and big, a sweet smile pulling on her lips as she took a step closer to her boyfriend. Mark's confidence crumbled, his own face softening at the sight.

"Baby, I really want these color pillows. Please?"

Mark didn't even hesitate in setting the pillows in his hands down, taking one out of his girlfriends hand to look it over. He cleared his throat, noticing Max's look of disbelief at how easily he turned into goo.

"You know what? I like them, too, doll. Just didn't notice before." Eleanora brightens, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before turning to grab a couple more, rambling about how there needed to be an even number on both sides and a few in different sizes or patterns.

Mark risked a glance over at Max, who was just shaking his head. "I thought you had more power over yourself, Sloan."

Mark narrowed his eyes, huffing. "I don't appreciate your tone."