Well this is the final chapter of this fic (sobs!) I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you to all who have reviewed. I've loved reading your feedback. Special thanks to gizziefan118 who has been an amazingly loyal reviewer. Hope you all enjoy this last chapter. Please review.

Also, I've just started co writing a fic with gizziefan118 at the moment. You should check it out. The link is on my profile.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Eight months later, the guests assembled at the historical church where George's parents had married thirty-five years earlier for what was to be the happiest day of Izzie and George's lives. The church had an off white interior with wooden pews which had been decorated with pink and white flowers. George waited at the front of the church, flanked by his groomsmen: his brothers Ronny and Jerry, Preston Burke and to everyone's surprise, Alex.

"Thanks for coming all the way back," George said to Burke.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Burke replied. "You're my guy, O'Malley. I wouldn't be anywhere else."

"You nervous?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Ronny said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the satin handkerchief from his suit.

"Dude, I was talking to-" Alex started.

"Ronny!" George snapped, grabbing he handkerchief from his brother and putting it back in his shirt pocket. "These were expensive!"

"George, don't shout at your brother," George's mother said sternly from the front pew. George looked embarrassed at his public reprimand.

"Just take a few deep breaths," Burke said calmly. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"Yeah don't be so nervous, man," Alex said. "We all know Izzie's gonna show." George glared at Alex.

"I never doubted that she would!" he said. "I just want it to be perfect for her."

&&&

"How are you doing, Iz?" Meredith asked as Izzie and her bridesmaids prepared to walk down the isle.

"Good… I think," Izzie said nervously.

"You look beautiful, Izzie," Hannah said with a smile. Izzie turned and looked at her daughter. She was looking much healthier now. Bailey's fellowship study had produced better results than any of them had anticipated. Hannah was now in remission. It hasn't been an easy road but it had worked out for the best. Hannah looked even more like Izzie now that her health had improved. She had gained a few pounds which accentuated her facial features, she had grown taller and much to her delight her blonde hair had started to grow back. It was cut in a fashionable short pixie style, much to the envy of her classmates at her new school. She was wearing make up and high heels for the first time and Izzie was blown away by her beauty. "Izzie?" Hannah said. "You're kinda staring."

"Sorry," Izzie said, snapping back into reality. "You look beautiful. She turned to Meredith, Cristina and Bailey. "You all do." Izzie's bridesmaids were all wearing pale pink strappy floor length satin gowns and white heals. The gowns were a colour that Meredith and Cristina had never envisioned wearing but they were surprised at the result. Meredith, Cristina and Bailey all wore their hair down, with light curls through it for extra glamour. By contrast, Izzie wore her hair in an intricate up style that had taken the hairdresser two hours to complete. Her dress was a strapless, floor length ivory creation with detailed beading. It was a design that she'd secretly had in mind ever since she was a child.

"Okay," Izzie said, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready."

The traditional wedding music began playing and the doors opened. Hannah was the first person to walk down the isle, the hospital staff and her parents admiring how healthy and happy she was. Hannah lapped up the attention, a different kind of attention than she was used to and that she much preferred. She gave George a wink and a smile for encouragement. Bailey was next.

"Whoa, Bailey looks hot," Alex said. George elbowed him, as the priest gave Alex a disapproving look. Meredith followed. As she walked down the isle, Meredith could feel Derek's eyes on her. She looked over at him in the crowd and smiled. They had been back together for four months and everything was going smoothly. Cristina was the final bridesmaid to walk down the isle. She had insisted on being last, much to everyone's discontent. Meredith especially, knowing that this would be the first time that Cristina would see Burke since their ill fated nuptials, feared that Cristina would sneak out the door of the church and not walk down the isle at all. But to the relief of everybody in the church, she had made it down the isle.

George felt his heart pounding in his chest as he caught his first glimpse of Izzie in her wedding dress. She looked even more beautiful than he'd imagined she would. She had a smile on her face that exuded radiance. As she walked down the isle, Izzie tried to savor every memory; those she cared about watching her, her bridesmaids, her daughter and most of all, George. She recognised pure love in his eyes. A look that she had seen many times before but nevertheless a look so powerful it almost made her knees buckle. When she reached the front of the church, George planted a kiss firmly on her lips.

"Sorry," he said, pulling away. Everybody giggled except for the priest who shook his head. George and Izzie locked eyes and linked hands and the love in the room was apparent. They went through the traditional start of the ceremony and then the priest announced that they had chosen to write their own vows. George took a deep breath ready to begin.

"Izzie, you have given me the most precious gifts I could ever ask for. The gift of eternal friendship and the gift of eternal love. I am the luckiest man in the world to receive these gifts from you. I promise that I will honour you, support you, respect you and love you with my whole heart forever. I will treasure you and I will love your daughter as my daughter. I will grow old with you and I will never live a day without thanking God for the gift of you being in my life. Today you make me the happiest man in the world and I will do everything possible to make you as happy as you've made me every day for the rest of our lives." On cue, Meredith handed Izzie some tissues that she had strategically placed in her flowers. Izzie wiped her eyes, trying to hold herself together so that she could deliver her vows. Guests, most notably George's mother, had shed tears through George's vows. They braced themselves for Izzie's turn.

"In your own time," the priest said.

"I never thought that this day would come," Izzie said in a shaky voice. "I had love and I lost it and I thought that was it for me." She paused for a moment to collect herself as everybody's mind crossed to the memory of Denny. "But, my best friend came along and filled a hole in my spirit had been there for most of my life. He saw through to my soul and made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. George," she said, squeezing his hands for a moment. "I love you more than I love life itself. My world has meaning and my life has purpose with you in it. Everything that I do is for us and I promise to love you and cherish you with all my being for the rest of my life." There wasn't a dry in the church by this stage. Even Cristina pretended to be distracted by something behind her until she had settled herself.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said. "You may kiss the bride… again." George and Izzie shared a long and passionate kiss as everybody stood and applauded.

&&&

After the formalities and speeches at the wedding reception, Izzie and George took to the floor for the bridal waltz. They stumbled a few times but they didn't care. They danced close together and frequently kissed and whispered to each other. When the waltz was over, the guests toasted once again to the new bride and groom and filled the dance floor.

"You look insanely hot in pink," Derek said seductively to Meredith, kissing her on the neck, as they danced in each other's arms. Meredith laughed.

"I'll have to track down some pale pink scrubs and heals to wear in the OR," she said.

"Don't tease me," Derek replied. Meredith laughed again.

Burke walked through the dancers on the floor and found Critsina sitting by herself at an empty table. He held his hand out. Cristina just stared up at him.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. Cristina's usual instinct would have been to stammer an excuse and get out of there but she was unable to move when he was giving her that look that she missed. She nodded and allowed Burke to lead her to the dance floor.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Burke asked, pulling Critsina closer to him.

"No," Cristsina replied. "Are you?"

"No," Burke answered.

George went over to another table where Hannah was sitting with her parents, clearly enjoying the celebrations.

"Hey, little lady," he said to Hannah. "Wanna dance?" Hannah nodded with a smile and allowed George to lead her to the dance floor just as a dance track began playing. They pulled out their best dance moves and both laughed at George's goofy style as he twirled Hannah around. Bailey and the Chief were the most impressive dancers on the floor, pulling out moves no body knew they had, while Alex and Callie danced together in the corner.

Izzie stood back and took in the sight before her: her friends dancing and enjoying themselves and George and Hannah dancing together, having a great time. They had become good friends. George was even helping coach Hannah's soccer team. Somehow, it had all come together. A feeling of serenity and contentment swept over Izzie. This is what life is about, she thought to herself. Moments like this that make it all worth it.

THE END