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sat down on the bench outside of the clinic, looking ahead. Izzie glances over at her but soon moved her eyes forward again.

"Sometimes we fail, but that's not always the case." Cristina tells her, Izzie sighing.

"I know."

"Blowhole has a new face. A-and what people call him to get through the day is-"

"Cristina, I know." Izzie said softly, not looking over at her. She couldn't really, not since she told her....

Cristina turns to look at Izzie, the sound of her jacket ruffling filling the air before her voice. "I told Alex. And Bailey. And they're telling Meredith and George, and then George is gonna tell Eleanora because he knows how to handle her when she cries, and we both she's going to cry."

"Cristina-"

"No, I couldn't do my job! I think you came to me for help, even though I have made it quite clear in the past that you are not my favorite person, and that is what I did. Because sometimes we win, Izzie. A-and....I want you to fight, okay? You know, for whatever that's worth. I want you to fight."

It's quiet between the two again, tears building up in Izzie's eyes. Ever since she found out she had cancer, she didn't really want to deal with it. She just wanted to work, find a way around telling everyone. Even though she knew she had to tell them. But she just.....

"Thank you." Izzie breathed out, Cristina looking at her in confusion. Izzie let's out a deep exhale, the weight of what has happened falling off of her shoulders a bit.

For the first time since before Alex and Eleanora broke up, Cristina felt a small part of her heart ache at the thought of losing the blonde woman beside her. And so, Cristina took her hand and squeezed it, hard.

Inside of the hospital, Eleanora was getting ready to head home. She was just about to pull her scrub top over her head when George walked in. Of course, due to sharing locker rooms and a house, he had seen her shirtless a few times before. But still, she stopped pulling the shirt over her head to flash him a smile, instead going to take off her shoes first.

"Hey, Georgie. You heading home soon? I was thinking about maybe cooking. Mark isn't coming over until later in the night, mostly to see if Derek will actually show up, but we can all eat. I think Alex has the night shift, so he won't come, but-"

"Ella." George spoke, his voice a little heavy. She looked up from her shoes, nose scrunched up.

"Why'd you say my name like that?" She let her eyes dance across her best friends face, slowly moving to stand at her full height when she notices the look on his face. "George, what's wrong?"

George walks over to her, not looking her in the eyes. He takes a few moments to speak, and in those moments Eleanora's heart rate increases.

"Georgie?" She speaks softly, her voice a little shaky. "You're scaring me."

George finally speaks, looking his best friend in the eyes. "Izzie has cancer. St-stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma."

Eleanora looks at him, her eyes searching for some kind of sign he was joking. "George, that's not...that's not funny."

George moves to put his hands on her shoulders, shaking his head. "I'm not playing a joke, Ella. Izzie has cancer."

Eleanora feels tears build up and fall, slowly moving to hug her best friend. She doesn't sob, doesn't make much noise. If it weren't for the obvious tears running down her face, nobody could tell she was crying.

Holding her into his chest, George starts to cry as well, squeezing his eyes shut.

_______

up beside Mark, Eleanora slowly wakes up to the sound of someone storming up the steps to the attic. She furrows her brows, sitting up slightly. Mark makes a noise, the arm around her waist squeezing her a bit closer.

The door swings open to reveal Meredith, who is a mess. "Ella, get up, we gotta go to Cristina's."

Mark wakes up at the loud noise, throwing an arm over his face to try and ignore the conversation. Eleanora glanced at her alarm clock, her voice confused. "It's 3 am, Mer. Why-"

"Callie just called, crying and screaming. Apparently Owen choked her or something. I-I don't know, I couldn't understand her."

Mark stiffened and Eleanora let out a gasp. Without a seconds hesitation, Eleanora was up and shrugging on a hoodie and shoes. Mark was quick in putting his own clothes on, and the three ran down the steps and to the car.

   door is unlocked when they get there, Eleanora letting out a small noise when she saw Callie screaming at Owen, who was standing by the door to Cristina's room.

Eleanora's slightly pushed her boyfriend towards the other man, her and Meredith starting for Cristina's room. "Mark-"

"Got it." Mark didn't even let her finish her sentence, grabbing the man by his shoulders and pushing him away from the door. He stood in front of him, glaring him down as the two women ran to the bathroom door.

Meredith knocked, her voice a little panicked. "It's me. I have Ella here too." With no answer, Meredith knocked again. "

The door unlocked, Eleanora and Meredith both entering the bathroom. Cristina was standing by the sink now, looking at herself in the mirror. Eleanora gripped Meredith's arm, her voice worried.

"Cristina? What happened?"

"Owen's out there upset, Eleanora stuck Mark on him like a guard dog, Callie was screaming, said-"

"No changes in visual acuity. No petechiae. I'm fine." Cristina turns to face her two friends, showing the bruises in the shape of hand marks. "I-I'm fine."