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waltzmatildah ([personal profile] waltzmatildah) wrote2010-01-06 11:26 pm

Fic: Round Robin Part 6

Previous parts can be found HERE!

Grey's Round Robin

Part Six...

It takes three and a half minutes for Reed's breathing to resemble anything approaching normal, and as she pushes her way into the nearest bathroom, her heart rate still hasn't quite managed to follow suit.

She leans over the basin, both hands clenched firmly to its porcelain sides, and squints intently at her reflection. She's almost convinced that the elevator sex, legendary as it is within the hallowed walls of Seattle Grace, is somehow evident on her features, around the curve of her lips, echoed in the slight smudge of her mascara. It's not, of course, but she grins suddenly, triumphantly, and pretends that it is.

She's well aware of the fact that Alex Karev loves Izzie Stevens to the depths of his core. It radiates from his pores. You can't be that angry at someone you don't love with every fibre of your being.

She runs smooth fingertips over stubble roughened lips that have slid into a celebratory sneer and laughs harsly, victoriously.

“I'm trying to be nice...”

She mimics her previous plea savagely and watches her reflection slip a little in the mottled mirror. Licking the tip of her index finger, she grins and drags it straight down the water marked surface; chalks up round one to herself.

“Oh, Alex, Alex, Alex... 'silly rabbit'...”

*

The thing with Reed, he's refusing to name it anything more than that, helps Alex to forget about Izzie and the medical bills and the wedding that should never have been and the DNR and friggin' everything else that has exploded in his face during the last couple of months, for about twenty nine seconds.

He still marks it down as a resounding success because twenty nine seconds is twenty eight seconds longer than his previous attempt.

Fuck.

He hates with a passion the fact that she genuinely seems to care about him. About what's been happening to him. About what might be about to happen to him next. He hates all of that.

But, he also kind of likes it as well.

*

Richard scratches his fingernails through a beard that is a little longer than he'd usually like to keep. He's finding, more and more these days, that tasks such as shaving and eating and sleeping are not as second nature to him as they once were.

There is a folder open on his desk; open and only partially read. The mere thought of finishing it suddenly bone numbingly exhausting.

An insistent knock sounds at his door and he raises his chin an inch, calls out for the enquirer to enter. The remnants of last night's liquid dinner swim shallowly at the base of a heavy cut crystal glass and he only just manages to push it into the depths of his top drawer before his door pushes open.

“You paged, sir?”

It's more a statement of fact than a question, and that degree of confidence and certainty is what had him summons Miranda in the first place.

“Yes. Yes, I did.”

He slides the opened file across his desk towards her as she makes her way into the room, lab coat in place, the picture of professionalism. She looks down at the papers but makes no move to touch them. He encourages her with a sharp nod.

“I need your opinion.”

“On what, exactly?” She doesn't bother to mask her confusion.

“It's been brought to my attention that...” he trails off, unsure exactly how to explain, gives himself some added seconds to put the words into a semblance of order and cohesion, “...that when the finance department were finalising the budget and dictating staff numbers that were to be cut, they... they failed to account for... for O'Malley's... departure...”

Miranda's eyes widen, impossibly huge, and he looks down at his hands, laying idle in lap.

“So...?”

“So, I've been given permission to... hire or... re-hire...”

“And this?” She grabs at the file now, no longer hesitant, shuffles through the pages quickly.

“They're test results, they were sent to me, along with a host of other documents...”

“Are they saying what I think they're saying?”

He nods, allows himself a smile at the hope in her voice, at the inflection of disbelief that she can't quite hide. Her eyes brighten and he watches as she goes back through the pages noisily and with renewed appreciation.

“And what do you need me to do?”

She doesn't look up from the bulging folder, seems to ask the question as though she thinks she couldn't possibly be of any assistance to him and he wonders, suddenly, why she still doesn't seem to realise that, at work, her opinion is everything to him.

“Miranda,” he states, waits for her attention to be drawn from the ink and the numbers and the levels, “I need you to tell me if you think it's a good idea...” He nods to the file, “... if you think it could possibly work...”

Her eyes widen again and her fingertips fly to her lips, make it as far as her chin, pause there as she seems to be considering his words, “Wait, you're saying you want to re-hire Izzie Stevens and you need me to tell you whether I think Alex Karev will bring an automatic weapon to the hospital and open fire in the hallways?”

Richard sighs heavily and sinks back into the leather of his desk chair, welcomes the unconditional support it offers, “Yeah... something like that...”

[identity profile] foibles-fables.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 12:55 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG

GENIUS

this was great!! Reed made me grin, just so you know. your alex is perfect, as always lol and i loved your introduction to the chief. and bailey's automatic weapon line? priceless!!

i' d be less brief (and would use proper capitalization), but i'm at school once again on my cell phone and icant skip that physics quiz today! but thiswas a wonderful continuation, great stuff!!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! Phew! I was super nervous because all the parts so far have been brilliant, and I know I kinda chickened out a little on the ending to Part 5, but... yay! I'm so, so glad that you still liked!

(Also, glad you liked evil!reed, I've been wanting to write that storyline for weeks!)

[identity profile] mammothluv.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I like the idea that there's more to Reed besides just an innocent crush on Alex. Awesome.

He still marks it down as a resounding success because twenty nine seconds is twenty eight seconds longer than his previous attempt.
Gah! Poor Alex.

I really enjoyed the Chief's interaction with Bailey too. Great job! Now *bites nails*. This means it's my turn. Ahhhh!!!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, yes, Evil!Reed has been a plan of mine for some time now...!

Thank you!

And yeah, you're up!

[identity profile] badnews-blair.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Absolutely fabulous, m'dear ... fabulous!

I love Reed's devious side and that there is more going on than just a crush on Alex, damn it you're making me like her a little more!

I always adore the way you write Alex, SO true to his character.

That Chief is such a resounding mess, showing his human, not so strong side is great.

Loved it a lot <3 !

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Why, thank you! I'm glad you like Reed's deviousness, as for liking her? Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the comment, chickie!

[identity profile] addikat.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent!

I seriously need to catch up on what's been happening at SGH this season, but I'm thinking I won't enjoy it nearly as much as what I've been reading!

[My Addison bit won't require as much knowledge as the other parts! But, I still need to catch up.

Oh, and this rang so very true -

"You can't be that angry at someone you don't love with every fibre of your being."

Nail meet hammer on that issue.

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!

And yeah, hmmm... you probably won't enjoy it as much (though, having said that, it has been a pretty good season...).

[identity profile] caer.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)

I agree with the others, that was awesome! Interesting twist on Reed with the evilness. And, zomg, I didn't find the Chief annoying like I usually do! ITA with whoever said that Bailey's machine gun line was epic :D I could definitely see her saying that, ha.

Great work :D

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha, an un-annoying Chief? My work here is done!

As for Bailey, yes, she is prone to overly dramatic one-liners!

Thank you!!!

(ETA: *points to your icon* THAT'S the quote I had in mind when I wrote that line... priceless!!!)
Edited 2010-01-06 22:31 (UTC)

[identity profile] her-lovelyheart.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Darn, no Lexie/Mark stuff which is what I really care about ha, but love the last section.

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, M/L is not really my thing... I'm here to bring the diversity...! (there are many more authors involved in this who do it better and with more passion that I could give it...)

Glad you liked the last bit though... thanks!!

[identity profile] her-lovelyheart.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
That makes sense. And love your icon!

[identity profile] citron-presse.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
He still marks it down as a resounding success because twenty nine seconds is twenty eight seconds longer than his previous attempt.

I loved this line - in fact, the whole of Alex's section. The Chief and Bailey were beautifully written - and I liked the plot twist to bring Izzie back. Your Reed is intriguing!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the Chief and Bailey, I know it was probably a bit of a stretch to bring them in just yet, but I was a bit stuck and I really wanted a plausible reason for Izzie to come back...

Thanks again!

[identity profile] lumifan99.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh...Izzie is back? This is going to be interesting. I love the way you worte Reed!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Izzie could be back, I guess it depends on what my fellow authors decide to do with her! (I HOPE Izzie is back!!!)

I'm glad you liked Reed, I was a bit nervous of that characterisation of her, but I really wanted to give her more depth than just her puppy dog crush on Alex, and I figured giving her an evil undertone may just achieve that!

Thanks for your comment.

[identity profile] nursebadass.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
GENIUS!! I love it so much. I love the line that [livejournal.com profile] citron_presse listed above as well. It's just fantastic. It's all fantastic. The setup is perfect. Great work!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!!!

The setup is perfect. Phew! I really didn't think I could do M/L or the medical stuff involving Sloan justice with no time to research, so I went with opening some doors for you other authors to have a play around with some of the other characters... seeing that you are one of the few other non M/L centric authors involved in this, I'm super glad you liked!!

[identity profile] nursebadass.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Not gonna lie, I like that icon too, hahaha.

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Heheeeee... SEE there is Alex!love in you for sure!

[identity profile] nursebadass.livejournal.com 2010-01-06 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah, there is. Just not as much as Burke. ;)

[identity profile] littleone87.livejournal.com 2010-01-07 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
YAY! I told you it would be AWESOME no matter what you wrote! I loved all of it. And the bit with Reed in the beginning was just wonderful!

Love the Chief and Bailey's interactions! \o/

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-07 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you!!!

Devious!Reed is fun to write!

I'm so glad you liked this. This round robin thing is turning out to be so much fun!

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-07 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Checked and added my two cents...

[identity profile] miss-blanche.livejournal.com 2010-01-07 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
“Oh, Alex, Alex, Alex... 'silly rabbit'...”

Um... I love you? Pretty much? I don't know how to better encapsulate my feelings. Caps lock perhaps:

YOURREEDSECTIONWAS-O-M-G-AWESOME!

AND IZZIE COMING BACK, EEEEEEE :D DRAMA!

Also, fantastically written. I savoured every bit of this :)

Edited 2010-01-07 07:42 (UTC)

[identity profile] waltzmatildah.livejournal.com 2010-01-07 12:00 pm (UTC)(link)
YOURREEDSECTIONWAS-O-M-G-AWESOME!

Oh, THANK YOU! As the only other person I have come across in the whole of fandom that seems remotely interested in the comings and goings of Reed Adamson, I am SO, SOOO excited that you liked my little take on her character... It was fun to mix things up a bit!

I really wanted to have Alex thinking that she's genuine and that she really cares for him, while she's actually plotting against him in a way... and she's not even plotting for any real reason other than to mess with him and to prove that she can. Also, for the double whammy..., yeah... HOPEFULLY Izzie is coming back!

*sends evils eyes to the other participating authors*

(Also, did you get the 'silly rabbit' quote? I wasn't sure how popular that movie had been and whether it transcended age gaps... - considering that I'm *gasp* almost ten years older than you.)

[identity profile] miss-blanche.livejournal.com 2010-01-08 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I've heard the quote on Cruel Intentions if that's the movie you're talking about, but I have a feeling that that's not its original source...? Given it's use in Cruel Intentions though, I got the inflection :) And if it is the movie you're talking about it definiely transcended age gaps. I love it :D

Definitely loved your take! It was so surprising but I can SO imagine her doing this. There's a bitchy-evil streak there that definitely needs to be explored, I.e Puttin her stuff in George's locker just to spite Izzie.