Story by: Kassie King

Title: Always at Home

Category: Romance/General

Rated: T

Summary: George never understood what boundaries he could cross. Especially when he was with Izzie. Read and Review please. George/Izzie pairing. Created after My Favorite Mistake, but b4 Time after Time.

Friends… It's a funny and fickle word. Just Friends… even more uncertain. The word is supposed to create boundaries, I suppose. It's supposed to clear things up. Yet when I'm near her I feel the haze thicken. It's like I'm lost in two words that confine me to this unhappy drawl.

I know I've made mistakes, probably more than the next man, but isn't part of being human moving past them. I know I feel things too deep and that I often hurt people in those extremities. I also know I didn't love Callie, that I never could. I shouldn't have married her. If I stay like this I'll never be happy.

But even before Callie I lost my sense of acceptable behavior. My mind just skipped through her- recalling everything we've been through. All those years she slept in the room next to me and I had the comforting notion of possibility. She's captivating. The way she handles herself, holds herself with pride. Nothing touched her until Denny.

He changed her whole world completely. It was the first time I saw real love in her eyes. It was the first time I saw real happiness. When he died so did her world. She stopped spinning if only for a while. She stopped being Izzie. It tore me up inside to see someone so completely fragmented in the shell of such a beautiful being.

Before Denny there was Alex. Izzie couldn't love him if she tried- and she did try. The problem with Izzie and Alex is they can't settle on who gets the power position. If Alex takes control Izzie gets temperamental. If Izzie took control Alex got frustrated. Each of them made too many mistakes together to keep a relationship going. In the end they didn't work.

Alex got his shot and Denny got his, but when does George O'Malley get to try to woo the girl. Oh yeah I forgot… I can't woo her, she's my best friend.

Izzie and I could never work. With us it's not about a fatal health problem. It's not about power (she can have all the power she wants). With us it's always about limits. It's about where we cross the line. Even if I dropped Callie and moved back in with Izzie and Meredith things could never work for us.

Right now is really hard, though. Every time I see Izzie I act like a magnet to her. Her eyes, hair, and… other features. She's gorgeous. My god she's… Izzie. All I have of her right now is the faint memory of one night. The night I can't begin to deal with. The night I had waited so long for.

It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't drunk. We wouldn't have done that. I have more common sense. We know our boundaries. Even if it was wrong it felt right. It truly did. I felt honest with Izzie. I felt passionate. There was a flame inside that never sparked with Callie no matter how long I tried.

That's why I just called Callie and told her I wouldn't be home tonight. I told her I had to work the all-nighter- it wasn't true. I'm going over to Meredith's to sleep. I don't want anything out of it, just memories.

So here I stand in front of the door. I never realized how big this door is when you're scared of what's inside. I rapped the huge knocker on the hard wood. I heard someone stir inside.

Izzie Stevens opened the door to me and my breath caught in my throat. She was in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess and there were heavenly smells from the kitchen… something was wrong.

"George?" She questioned lightly.

"Hey, do you guys think you could spare a room tonight?"

"Did Callie kick you out?"

"No, I just… I just wanted to come home."

"Well, this home is always open to you George."

She looked tired, defeated. If I asked her what was wrong she would get defensive and the last thing I wanted was an emotional Izzie right now. I stared into her eyes and smiled. It was good to be back home. Her arms snaked around my neck and I returned the hug pulling her closely. I inhaled the sweet smell of Izzie. The smell of Izzie would never die.

I knew that Alex had taken my place in my old room so I wondered if I'd take the couch. I asked Izzie and she told me I could take the couch or half of her bed. As appealing as her bed would have been the couch was safer.

I knew it was late and both of us had morning shift so I bid her goodnight. I walked around the empty room and sat down on the couch. I felt like a part of me was back. Izzie and I were different people. We'd gone through a lot lately. It weakened me and made her stronger. There in lies our difference.

Before I even laid down I felt myself being smacked with a large flying object… it was a pillow. I turned to face the hallway and all I saw was a flash of blonde locks disappear beyond the corner and a laugh continue down the hall. Izzie would pay for that later.

I suppose I fell asleep around 11 o'clock. However I woke right back up at 12 sensing someone standing over me. I opened one eye. It was Izzie. My god didn't this girl need rest.

"Izzie?"

"Why are you here George?"

"What?"

"Why are you laying on my couch?"

"Uh… you invited me in, I can leave."

"No. I don't want you to leave I just want to know why you aren't with Callie."

"I just felt like coming home tonight."

"Is this your home?"

"It will always be my home."

"Good."

She was strange sometimes. She was a mystery to me. Izzie was definitely unpredictable, no doubt about that. She sat down on the couch next to me and once again I felt myself haze on boundaries.

I wanted so much to hold her, to touch her again. I wanted to be with her more than these distant shadows would allow. I held her hand in mine loosely and she sank into my chest lightly. Was this wrong? How could it be?

It was just Izzie and I. George and Izzie- we used to do this all the time. She always said she fell asleep easier when she was with the people she loved. Then she would point out that Meredith snores. It's not as if I can't control myself. Really, I'm perfectly fine- I'm not looking down her shirt or stroking her hair. In fact I'm looking at the wall, but the wall isn't stacked.

Oh, Izzie. Why couldn't she just understand? I need her to be my friend and nothing else because I have a Callie. I have a wife. Urgh! That is so weird for me to say. I have a wife. I have a wife. I have a wife?! What the hell was I thinking? Oh yeah, I wasn't. So I suppose my punishment for not thinking is lying on a couch with Izzie alone and unable to do anything that crosses the line of friends.

I have to tell Callie that I'm done. I have to tell her that I need Izzie right now. In fact I need Izzie for forever. Wrapped in this thought I kiss the top of her head and snuggle into the cushion of the couch. Thank God I'm home.

A/N

Yay! First Grey's Anatomy fic done. I love George and Izzie. I hope you enjoyed this. I know the dialogue was a little awkward, but I figured that they would speak awkwardly anyway. Please review. If I get enough I might write a sequel, I have some ideas.