waltzmatildah

Title: J is for Jurassic Park
Word Count: 1000
Characters: Alex, Izzie, Cristina, Meredith, George
Rating: PG
Summary: The fab five back together again...

The first night it is just the five of them again is unremarkable in so many ways. They eat vegetarian lasagna, home cooked by someone that isn't any of them and drink diet coke from cracked tumblers with ice blocks in the shape of triangles. Jurassic Park, the first one, is the featured movie on the murmuring television and even that is unremarkable. They've all seen it before, some of them (George) more than once and, yeah, it was probably a decent flick in its day but now, now it's just dodgy acting and even dodgier special effects and they pretend to be interested for about thirteen and a half minutes.

It is Izzie who starts and, to be honest, when wasn't it her?

She giggles, under her breath at first, eyes clenched closed and hand over mouth, until she can't control it a moment longer and sprays coke through her fingers.

Cristina has stopped mid chew and is staring at her curiously, like maybe her head is about to explode because, afterall, it wouldn't be the first time. Alex is coiled tightly, ready to launch off the couch at the first sign of disaster, the fact that she is laughing does not even begin to diminish the paralysing fear he carries that things are too good and too perfect and have been for too long. George is propped in an armchair, more white bandage and purple fibreglass cast than he is human being. His tumbler has a straw in it, red and curled with an Astro Boy figurine attached to its side, and he uses his fork to both dissect and transport his lasagna, it will be a while yet before he can manage a knife. All three are staring, slack jawed, in Izzie's direction.

“What?”

Izzie barks the word indignantly but there is laughter in her eyes still, tears on her flushed cheeks. She catches Meredith's gaze last and finds a knowing grin mirroring her own. Meredith is there, in fact she was probably there before Izzie spurted soft drink all over the carpet. Her smile widens and she giggles again. Meredith joins her this time, wrapping her arms around her ribs and tilting her head back against the side of George's armchair, unable to speak, to explain.

“What the hell?”

Jurassic Park continues to rumble along in the background. An unremarkable soundtrack to a truly remarkable moment... 'You shouldn't use my name.... Dodgson, Dodgson, we have Dodgson here! See? Nobody cares. Nice hat! What are ya tryin' to look like - a secret agent?' ...

Cristina is watching Meredith, but Meredith's eyes are closed and her shoulders are heaving and for a moment Cristina thinks she might even be crying. For real.

George slurps the dregs of his near finished coke through his plastic straw like a child and slides his gaze conspiratorially in Izzie's direction. He is there too. His lips curl and it's still hurts like a bitch to actually laugh but he does his best impression of it and for that the others are more than grateful.

“For God sakes, what the hell...?”

Alex is thoroughly confused and as he looks around the room, at Izzie's kerchiefed head and George's scars and still healing bones, he really doesn't think there is much to laugh about here. The fact that the sound of uncontrolled laughter is so foreign to him speaks volumes for the months that have preceded this moment. They are making him nervous, the three giggling crazy people, although, to be fair, almost everything makes him nervous these days. Nervous and wary and terrified to the tips of his toes.

Meredith can barely breathe, let alone speak and so she shrugs her shoulders and raises her eyebrows in George's direction, imploring him to let the other two in on their little secret. He nods but turns to Izzie, this is her explanation to give.

“Nothing... everything... this...”

She sweeps her arm expansively around Meredith's living room, as though the room itself holds all the answers.

“...it's just like old times only... more diamonds and less hair and internal organs...”

Izzie collapses back into laughter, rolling to her side on the floor. Meredith's shoulders continue to shake and George's lips remain curled in silent agreement. Cristina catches Alex's gaze briefly, long enough to see him visibly relax, just a little. Just enough. And she settles back into the couch with a satisfied smirk.

The first night it is just the five of them again, it is the most remarkable thing of all.