IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

Chapter 2 of 2

This is the last chapter of this short story. It's much shorter than part 1, but I hope you enjoy it just as much as you enjoyed the first part. Your reviews were fantastic. I really appreciate them. You guys are the best! :) Be sure to let me know what you think of this last part in the Review section.

Someone asked about "Another" in their review, and I am working on it, slowly. I think the next chapter will be ready soon, so have no fear, I have not abandoned that story. It just hasn't come to me as easily as "Again." Thanks for the interest!

He heard the noises first. Someone pacing the floor, shoes squeaking against the linoleum. Back and forth, back and forth. Papers shuffling. A sigh. A sniffle, followed by a muffled sob. The steady beep of a monitor, the only assurance he had that he was still alive. Then voices. But he couldn't decipher who was talking or what they were saying. And he didn't have the energy to try.

Later, minutes or weeks, he couldn't tell, the smell of coffee assailed his nostrils, causing his stomach to churn. But his eyes were still closed and he couldn't open them or move any part of his body. He was aware enough, though, of the tube down his throat. His life line.

Then the sensation in his body began to return. Slowly at first. Someone fussing with an IV in his arm. A touch on his shoulder. And more powerfully, he felt a hand gripping his. His instinct told him to hold it tighter and to never let go. But he was too weak and the drugs too strong.

Eventually the fog began to clear. He knew they were weaning him off the drugs. The sounds were louder. More recognizable. The smells were stronger and the touches were felt more deeply. But all thoughts of those things disappeared as the pain moved in. Each time the machines forced him to breath, he was in pure agony. And there was nothing he could do about it.

So he took the pain.

Until he couldn't anymore.

They had to stop this pain. He forced his eyes open, just enough to be blinded by the florescent light filtering into the room. He shut them again instantly.

"Alex?" the voice asked in a tentative whisper. "Alex, are you awake? Open your eyes again."

He felt the presence of someone else moving over to the bed closer to him. "Did he move?"

"He opened his eyes."

"Are you sure?" a third voice asked.

"I'm sure. I saw it. He opened his eyes."

"I'll page Altman." The third person moved away, as he heard footsteps exiting the room, leaving only the first two beside him.

"Alex, if you can hear me, you need to open your eyes." The second voice again. Meredith.

"Please Alex. Open your eyes or squeeze my hand. Please." The last word came out in a sob and it was only then that he realized. Gathering up all the strength he could muster, he cracked his eyes open, confirming his theory. He had known the feel of her hand against his. He couldn't forget. ... even after all these months apart, he couldn't forget her.

He saw her chocolate brown eyes widened as he blinked against the light. Relief washed over her face as she moved closer over his face. As close as she could get around the tubes and wires. But Izzie didn't speak. She just looked in his eyes.

Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw Meredith to his left. He felt her grab his other hand as she began to soothingly speak. "Alex, you're in the ICU at Seattle Pres. Do you remember what happened? Why your here?"

He blinked once, unsuccessfully trying to keep the fear and tears out of his eyes.

"You're going to be all right, but you have to stay calm, okay? Cristina just went to get Dr. Altman. Don't try to move," his friend said, reassuringly. Izzie still hadn't said a word.

Altman and Cristina returned quickly, explaining to him what had happened inside his body more than a week ago. It didn't sound so bad, and he had a hunch that they weren't telling him the whole story. Weren't telling him how bad it really was. He couldn't ask with the tube still down his throat. They also explained that he'd be on the vent for a little longer, at least a day, as the attending wasn't entirely happy with his lung capacity yet. They asked him if he was in pain and he blinked once as emphatically as he could. Altman immediately ordered more morphine and a nurse quickly went to fill the order.

Soon it was just Meredith, Cristina and Izzie standing by his bedside and he felt a little like a fish in an aquarium as they watched him in silence, knowing that the meds would start working soon.

Meredith looked up at the clock on the wall and then at the other women meaningfully. She then looked down at him. "Alex, I have to run home now. Check on Derek. He went home yesterday. Chief Webber is with him, but I should go. I'll be back to visit tomorrow, okay. Feel better." She squeezed his hand and exited the room quietly.

Cristina moved into his line of sight, an unfamiliar look of compassion on her face. "You're past the hard part, Alex. Recovery won't be easy, but you'll survive it. You're tougher than I thought. Who knew?" she said, with a twinkle in her eyes. A retort came to mind, but the tubes prevented it from coming out. He could tell by the look on her face that she knew what he would say, though. You can't blink smart ass. A grin crossed over her face. "You know, maybe I should tell Altman to keep this tube down your throat. You can't be an asshole this way." She gently touched a hand to his shoulder and then departed as well, leaving him alone with her.

With Izzie. Who hadn't said anything since he had woken up. Until she did.

"Oh God. You're alive." She blinked back tears as she said the words, her hands never leaving his. They simply stared at each other for a few moments until she took in a deep breath and began to speak again. "I know this isn't the time or the place, and I know you can't speak, but I've got to tell you. And I'll probably screw it up like I've screwed up everything else in my life recently, but I owe you an apology. I realize now that it's the one thing I didn't do when I came back. I never said I was sorry for treating you so horribly. I just expected you to take me back. I was wrong. Wrong to leave in the first place. Wrong to blame you for getting fired. Wrong to come back here and say the things I said. So I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me. One day."

Her words soaked into Alex, breaking his heart a little more with each passing second. He knew that the morphine was working, so the pain he felt was obviously caused by what she was saying. She paused, and Alex wasn't sure if she was finished. He looked briefly around the room, not for anything in particular, but rather to give her time.

"Lexie went home. To get some sleep." Izzie's eyes filled up with tears and her hands began to shake as she said the other woman's name. "Would you like me to call her? Get her to come in?"

Two blinks. No.

Alex put all his strength into squeezing her hand. She looked down at their intertwined fingers. "Do ... do you want me to stay?"

One blink. Yes.

"Why?" Her voice was hopeful but uncertain as she asked.

Three blinks. I Love You.

So, what did you think? Reviews are awesome!