Chapter Text
it was a freezing autumn night in Seattle. November 5th. everyone’s Christmas decorations were up, the lights illuminating the midnight sky.
it was snowing. hard. not hard enough to cut your face, but your nose and fingers were numb. every now and then you’d pull your hand up to rub your nose just to feel how cold it was.
you were looking around at the street signs of Seattle, desperate that you would soon find your home street. but the more you walked, the farther you were convinced you had strayed from home. once you realized this, your steps slowed and you stood still on the sidewalk, staring at your snow-covered boots.
“god dammit…” you whispered.
“h-hello? hey, are you okay??”
your head shot up in the direction of the voice. it was a man, young looking with a worried look painted on his round face.
“uhm… no actually. i’m- i’m kinda lost.”
“well where are you headed?” he called from his porch.
you stepped closer to him without actually entering his property.
“i’m TRYING to get home, but uh… see, i just moved to Seattle a couple weeks ago and don’t know my way around. and my phone’s dead so i can’t call anyone to pick me up.”
just ‘home’ would have been a good enough answer, you scolded yourself internally.
“do you want to use my phone?” he offered.
you bit your lip. your mother raised you to not approach to strangers, especially strange men. ESPECIALLY especially at an ungodly hour of the night. but you obliged, desperate to get home.
“yes, please. thank you.”
you approached him. he was sitting on the steps of his home, with all the lights on inside. there was music and conversation coming from inside. so at least you weren’t alone alone. you sat next to him and grabbed the phone he was holding out towards you.
you dialed your friend’s number immediately and silently panicked as you prayed for them to pick up the phone. much to your relief, they did.
“hey, i’m lost… y-yeah, i took a walk and i dunno how the hell i ended up out here… yeah, i know. i’m sorry… yeah… i’m at, uh…”
you turned to the man who was much more visible to you now. he had soft downturned eyes. thanks to the Christmas lights hung above the patio you could see his eyes were a pretty blue. his hair was dark and curly, and draped down over his eyebrows. he had a wide nose and smile lines which were pronounced due to the lighting. he was looking at you shyly with the biggest puppy eyes.
“oh, you- you want the address?”
you nodded, holding the phone a little closer to him so that your friend could hear him speak the address. he did, and you pulled the phone back, nodding your thanks.
“alright, thank you man… I know, i-i said i was sorry! okay… okay bye.”
you hung up the phone and handed it back to him.
“thank you again. i don’t know h-how else i would have m-made it home.” your teeth chattered as you spoke, the cold getting increasingly unbearable.
he nodded and smiled. “don’t mention it. hey, you look really cold, do you want to borrow my sweater??”
you shook your head. “n-no! i’m f-fine,” you lied.
he shook his head back. “i insist. you’re gonna catch a cold if your body temperature falls too low,” he explained as he removed his sweated and placed it around you. it was a little big on you but all the more room to warm up. you smiled and nodded your head in gratitude.
“i’m uh… i’m not used to the cold,” you chattered.
the man chuckled. “I can see that. how long until you get picked up?”
“ ‘bout 20 minutes.”
“right. i can stay out here with you until then!” he sounded so happy to have the opportunity to do so, as if you were doing HIM a favor by sitting there.
“th-thanks.”
an excited wave of cheers sounded from inside the house. you both turned around and he laughed awkwardly.
“i’d invite you inside,” he explained, “but uh… there’s a lot going on in there.”
“oh it’s no worries. i’m cool out here.”
he nodded and scratched his neck nervously. he looked around, as if trying to figure out what to say.
“s-so uhh… why Seattle?”
you looked into the distance and prepared your shpeel.
“well I just finished college back home and it’s been my goal for years to move to the pacific northwest. so as soon as i finished i left and got a place here. i just… i wanted to start someplace new, and it’s so pretty here. plus, i’m a city girl. i don’t like living in buttfuck county where the nearest burger king is 40 minutes away.”
you turned back to him as he laughed. “yeah, yeah, I get that! well I hope you like it here,” he smiled, his blue orbs darting back and forth between your two eyes. “what- what did you go to college for?”
“graphic design,” you answered.
“really! that’s so cool! i don’t have a single creative bone in my body. i’m just not hardwired that way haha…” he trailed off.
“ahh, we’re all good at something. i may be good at art, but math and science were the bane of my existence back in high school.”
his eyes widened. “science is my strong suit! i’m a surgeon, actually…”
your jaw dropped as you stared at him. “woah, really? like an actual real surgeon?!”
he stuttered and avoided eye contact. “well, i mean, a surgical intern…” he muttered. “b-but yeah! i work at Seattle Grace Hospital.”
you shook your head n amazement. “that’s incredible! i could never. that’s such a cool job. you’re saving lives, like, every day! i just draw…” you laughed weakly.
“n-no! we need artists! the world would be so bland without you!”
you felt your face get a little warm and your stomach fluttered a bit at his remark. you know he didn’t mean it like that, but hearing someone tell you the world would suck without you was still nice. you gave him a cheeky grin.
“oh, i didn’t-“ he stammered as you laughed.
“i never caught your name,” you commented.
“George. Dr. George O’Malley,” he said in a rather confident tone. but your unimpressed stare made him shrivel a bit, immediately losing his confidence.
“[Name].”
“nice to meet you,” he grinned.
just then your friend’s car approached the front of his house. you stood up, feet aching, but ready to go home. George kept his desperate gaze on you as he stood up, his eyes screaming for this moment not to be over. you found it endearing. cute.
“thank you again, George.”
“y-yeah… uh- yeah… get home safe!” he called out as you got in your car.
only by the time you got home did you realize you were still wearing his sweater. you took it off and examined it.
G. O’Malley was embroidered on the front.