Title: Moving On

Pairing: George/Izzie, some George/Callie

Spoilers: Season Three

Disclaimer: Not mine

Summary: He just wishes there was some way to do the right thing without breaking his wife's heart.

When his dad died, he thought that marrying Callie was the answer, that making up with her like his father had wanted him to would somehow solve all of the other problems that were slowly suffocating the life out of him. She made him feel something other than the debilitating numbness he'd been choking on since Dr. Bailey had snuffed out that last little bit of hope he'd been clinging to, and he just thought that if he could dedicate himself to her, tie himself to her in such a life-altering way, that she could pull him back from the edge he'd been balancing on and he could become the man his father would've wanted him to be.

He wants to be a good husband, wants to be worthy of all of the love and devotion he sees shining out of his wife's chocolate colored orbs. He's always been the good son, the good brother, the good friend; he'd always assumed that being the good husband would come just as easily to him as the first incision he'd made in med-school, and it's tearing him apart that no matter what he tries, there isn't a chance in hell he's going to excel at this. Because when he closes his eyes he dreams in shades of gold and yellow, and when he licks his lips he can't taste anything but vanilla cream. He would give anything to think of nothing but his wife, but every time he takes a breath all he can feel is Izzie.

He just wishes there was some way to do the right thing without breaking his wife's heart.

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She knew it was a mistake, knew it was the wrong thing to do the second the words came out of his mouth. His dad had just died and he was broken and confused and she knew there was no way he had really thought this through, so she can't help but feel that she's just as responsible for this catastrophe as he is.

He was a desperate man just trying to find a solution and she should've loved him enough to force him to wait, she knows that now. She's always been one step ahead of him but she thought that if they got married, if they were tied together in such a permanent way, that one day he could grow to love her just as much as she loves him. Some part of her has known from the very beginning that he needs Izzie to get by, knew enough to feel threatened by the blonde's very presence from day one, but she had been so certain that saying I do would prevent her from losing the only man that's ever really loved her for her. But as the days go by she can feel him slipping further and further away and she knows it's only a matter of time before he's somewhere only Izzie Stevens can reach.

She never thought she'd say this, but right now, in this very moment, she'd give anything to be that naïve, annoyingly cheerful, optimistic blonde.

He's trying, she can see him trying so hard to hold on to this, to do everything he can to keep from hurting her, but seeing Izzie Steven's face reflecting in his eyes every time he looks at her is doing more damage than she can possibly explain, and she finally loves him enough to let him go.

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She isn't this person, isn't the girl that swoops down on someone else's marriage and destroys someone else's dream just so she can be happy. She's never been Callie's biggest fan, sure, but she knows what it feels like to have your heart broken in two and she never would've wanted to cause anyone to feel like that, even Callie. But he's George, the same George that stayed with her on the bathroom floor and let her crawl into his bed and steal his tooth brush and she doesn't know how to live her life without him.

She didn't realize how much she needed him to get by until that day Callie walked in with a ring on her finger and a smug smile plastered across her face, didn't know that having him was an option until she tasted the alcohol on his breath and felt his touch on her skin.

He's married, he's told her more times than she can possibly count that he's a married man, and she doesn't want to be a home wrecker but he's George and the spark she feels when she kisses him feels a lot like home and not remotely tragic and when he looks at her with that look in his eyes she knows there's no turning away from this.

It's almost enough to make her cry when he looks at her and she can see he's found himself again, and when he touches her face like he can't believe she's here, sharing this moment with him, she knows there's no way she'll ever regret this.