George Clooney and Julianna Margulies have been dating in secret for about a month now. George is "single" and Julianna is still "with" Ron Eldard.
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"Do you want to be daring?" George asked through his phone to the person on the other end. We hear the person sigh.
"George...what are you thinking about?" Julianna asked.
"I want to take you out to eat." George replies.
"George...I dunno..." Julianna says sighing again.
"Come on, it's our one month anniversary. Puh-leessss?" George begs.
"What if there's someone we know there? Or one of Ron's friends?" Julianna asks.
"Julianna, we cannot hide forever. We are movie stars, we're on one of the highest rated drama series', we can't keep this a secret forever if we still want to see each other. You know that." George says.
"This is really important to you, isn't it?" Julianna asks.
"Yes. I just want to take you out. I don't like sharing you." George said.
"I know. I'm sorry." Julianna said.
"Don't be." George said.
"I'll go." Julianna says quietly.
"You'll go out with me?" George says, smiling.
"Yes. I suppose." Julianna says.
"Great! This is wonderful! Thanks Jules!" George says. Julianna can't help but smile at his enthusiasm.
"You're welcome George." Julianna says.
"I'll pick you up tonight at seven. We'll go to Fettichuno's. Is that okay?" George asks, referring to the fancy restaurant where lots of rich people dine.
"That's fine." Julianna said.
"I'll call my buddy with the limo service and see if he can get us a limo and a driver and then I'll get you at 7 and we can go there and get a limo, instead of having one pick you up at your house. Okay?" George says.
"That would be nice. Thank you." Julianna said and smiled.
"Kay, I'll see ya at seven then?" George asks.
"Seven." Julianna said.
"Bye." George says and hangs up. Julianna smiles to herself but can't help but think bad things about this. She sighs and runs her hand through her hair.
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George has a hold of Julianna's elbow as he steps out of the limo. He walks into the restaurant and sees the manager.
"Hey Frank." George calls out.
"Ah, George, how are you today?" Frank called out in his deep Italian accent.
"I'm fine thanks. Well, Frank, is that table in the back corner available?" George asks.
"Only for you George." Frank says and George smiles.
"Ah, my good friend. I owe you one." George says. Frank smiles and he leads them over to the table in the back corner which is partially hidden from the rest by a tree. Julianna and George sit down and he smiles at Frank then turns his attention back to Julianna.
"You seem to know him well." Julianna said.
"Yeah, well I used to come here a lot. And I used to work here. I was a bus boy." George says.
"Really? You worked here?" Julianna asks.
"Yeah, when I first started to audition for parts I worked here." George says. Julianna smiles.
"You're just full of surprises for me, tonight, aren't you?" Julianna asks.
"Maybe." George says. He chuckles and she reaches her hand across the table and entwines her fingers with his.
"This is nice." Julianna says a few minutes later.
"I'm glad you think so." George says, genuinely happy. She smiles. They order their food and enjoy a good meal.
A slow song comes on over the radio. Julianna smiles.
"I love this song." She says.
"Would you care to dance?" George asks. Julianna smiles wider, forgetting all about being secretive.
"Yes, please." Julianna says. George grins and rests his hand lightly on her hip, leading her to the dance floor. He smiles at Frank and he pulls Julianna closer to him and she smiles. She wraps her arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her as close as he can without hitting her face with his. They stare into each other's eyes and sway slowly to the music. Julianna cannot wipe the smile off her face. Another slow song comes on and they continue to dance. All of a sudden we hear some commotion off to the side and a shout. George and Julianna look towards the noise and there's a sudden flash of light. Julianna immediately turns her head away and George quickly grabs her and pulls her towards the back entrance. Two more flashes go off. We can hear some wrestling going on. Frank runs over quickly.
"Frank, can you get my limo driver to bring the limo to the back entrance please?" George asks. Frank nods and runs off. George hovers closely to Julianna who looks at him nervously. He smiles reassuringly, making sure to keep his back towards the front entrance, even though he knows no one can see anything. Frank comes back.
"Your driver is going around back. The man that took the pictures got away, but he went running the other direction. I think you should be safe to get into your limo. I'm really sorry about this George." Frank apologizes.
"Not your fault Frank. Here's two hundred dollars. This should cover our dinner and I want you to keep the rest." George says.
"No, I don't need it." Frank protests.
"Keep it. We're going now. I'm sorry for all the commotion." George says and takes Julianna by the elbow. He sticks his head out the back door and looks around, he doesn't see anyone so he looks back at Julianna and nods. She walks out and he shields her body with his and they get into the limo quickly. She smiles weakly at him.
"I'm sorry about all that Julianna. Are you okay?" George asks. She nods.
"I'm fine." Julianna says.
"You're sure?" George asks.
"Until this gets out." Julianna says and looks down at her hands.
"Hey, this might not even get out. You know the restaurants around here in New York do anything to protect their customers. And I know Frank will do more because I'm a good friend of his. Don't worry Julianna." George says.
"But what if Ron hurts me?" Julianna asks quietly.
"Then I'll hurt him worse. Don't worry, I won't let him touch you." George says.
"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." Julianna says.
"Don't worry about it sweetheart. It'll be okay. I promise." George says. She smiles and leans into him. He wraps his arms around her and holds her close.
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It's about a week later. Julianna, George, Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, and Alex Kingston are all on a plane going to Chicago. Julianna isn't too worried about the other night because it's been a week. Julianna is sitting next to George in first class. Tony is across the aisle beside Alex. Noah is in front Alex. The stewardess on the plane just turned the news on the TV because Tony asked her to. The five of them watch the news for a few minutes before something catches all of their eyes. Show the news person announce George and Julianna's names. Tony glances quickly at the two who have stiffened in their seats. A picture of George and Julianna dancing closely as they look towards the camera flashes onto the screen.
"George Clooney and Julianna Margulies were spotted dancing, very closely, at Fettichuno's, last Monday night. We know that George is single, but the last we heard Julianna Margulies and Ron Eldard were still an item. Could this be the end to their relationship and a hot new Hollywood relationship of the two ER stars or is this some sort of estranged love triangle?" The announcer says and it shows a split screen. One picture is of George's face looking down at Julianna, whose head is turned away from the camera. The other side is a picture of their backs as they walked towards the back entrance. Then it flashes off and goes to some other topic. George groans loudly and Tony, Noah, and Alex all look over at the two. Julianna is staring at the back of the seat in front of her. George looks at her.
"Are you okay?" George asks very quietly. She shakes her head.
"I'm going to puke." Julianna says. She doesn't move and he goes to grab her a barf bag. She grabs his arm and puts it back in his lap. She looks uncertainly at him and smiles weakly.
"He'll hurt me." Julianna says.
"I won't let him Julianna. I won't let him near you unless I'm there." George says.
"Then he'll hurt you." Julianna says.
"I can take it. Don't worry about it." George says and wraps his arms around her. She rubs her face into his shoulder and stays there for a few minutes. Then she moves and she leans against his shoulder and closes her eyes, to get to sleep. He watches her carefully until he is sure she is asleep. Then he turns his head and finally looks at his friends.
"I would really appreciate it if you guys didn't ask Julianna about this. Please." George says. They nod.
"Are you...." Tony trails off.
"A hot new Hollywood relationship?" George asks. Tony nods. "I guess so." George says and glances back at Julianna quickly.
"For how long?" Noah pipes up.
"Well last Monday was one month, that's why I wanted to take her out. If I wouldn't have taken her out like she wanted this never would have happened." George says and rubs his face roughly with his hand and sighs gruffly. "Please don't tell anyone about this and if anyone asks you, tell them to ask me if they have any questions, not her." They nod their agreements. He smiles weakly at his friends then leans back and closes his eyes, trying to get some sleep.
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George awakens later to Julianna thrashing about in her seat. He grabs her shoulders and shakes her awake.
"Jules! Wake up! You're just having a bad dream!" George says. She looks up at him with fear in her eyes but calms down as soon as she sees its him. She grabs onto him and buries her face into his chest and starts shaking. He rubs her back. "Shhh...Jules it's okay. It's okay. You're awake now. I'm here. Shhh." George says, rubbing her back until her crying subsides. She looks up at him, her face red with embarrassment.
"Oh god." She whispers.
"What? What's wrong?" George asked, concerned.
"They all probably think I'm crazy." Julianna says.
"No they don't. We all have bad dreams sometimes." George says.
"Not like this one. It was so real. Ron was coming after me, you tried to stop him but he threw you into a wall and knocked you out. Then he came after me and I was screaming to you but you wouldn't wake up. He was going to kill me." Julianna said, as she started shaking again.
"He is not going to hurt you. I swear to you Julianna. I will not let him lay a finger on you." George says. She rubs her eyes wearily.
"You probably think I'm a nutcase." Julianna says.
"Of course I don't. I would never think that." George says, taking her shoulders into his hands and rubbing them.
"Would...would you just hold me?" Julianna asks, looking down at her hands.
"Anytime you want." George says and takes her into his arms and rocks her slowly. She falls asleep in his arms and soon after her with his head nestled into her hair, he falls into a light sleep also.
"They are truly adorable together." Alex said, sneaking glances at them.
"Yeah. You're right. It's weird isn't it?" Tony asks.
"What's weird?" Alex asks.
"Seeing them together like that." Tony says.
"Well, you've known them a lot longer than I have and it's weirder for you I think. You've been great friends with them for quite a few years. I've only known them a few months." Alex answered.
"Yeah, you're right. I just hope everything works out for them. I don't think Ron would hurt Julianna but she would know him better than I." Tony whispers. Alex nods and turns towards the window. Tony turns back to the TV and we hear Noah snoring slightly, having slept through the whole thing.
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As they step out of the plane Julianna looks around uncertainly at her surroundings. George smiles reassuringly at her and she smiles back, and slips on her sunglasses. Alex walks next to Julianna with Tony and Noah walking closely behind. They gather their luggage and head for a hotel where they regularly stay when they come to Chicago to film.
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George and Julianna have adjoining rooms. They keep the door open the whole time, even though George hangs out in Julianna's room most of the time.
"Do you want me to come over and sleep in your room or do you want to sleep by yourself?" George asks Julianna later that night before they go to bed. She stands up and wraps her arms around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder.
"I want to try and sleep by myself. I can't be afraid forever." Julianna said. George smiled at her.
"Okay, well then I'm going to go and try and get some sleep okay?" George asks.
"Okay." Julianna agrees. He smiles as he leans over and kisses her sweetly. He then lets go of her and walks back to his room. He brushes his teeth then climbs into bed, turning out the light. He hears her rustling around for a few more minutes, then she turns off her light and settles in. He smiles to himself. About thirty minutes later as he was about to doze off he hears her shuffling around in her room. He turns sleepily towards the doorway between their rooms and she soon appears there. George props himself up on his elbows and motions for her to come in with him. She slowly walks through the door and climbs into his bed like a little child.
"What's wrong Jules?" George asks slowly, reaching his hand up to brush a stray piece of hair out of her face.
"Nothing. I...I just want you." Julianna says. She leans over him and kisses him, pushing him back onto the bed. He gladly wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her down onto him. In his mind he thinks about the only other time they have made love. It was near the beginning of their relationship, only one week into it. He knew she had enjoyed it as much as he had but he could tell she was nervous about it, about Ron. So he had suggested they take things slower after that and she had readily agreed. But now it was her coming to him. That was the way he wanted it. When they were done and her head was resting on his chest with him playing with her hair she whispered the words he had been waiting to hear.
"I love you George." Julianna said so quietly he could barely hear her.
"I love you too Julianna." George said, smiling lazily. He pulled her close and they quickly fall asleep.
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George is sitting on a gurney in the hallway and Tony is sitting across from him on another gurney. George sighs deeply.
"Has anyone asked you about Jules and I?" George asks.
"No. No one has said anything to me, but I have seen some people looking at you funny." Tony says.
"I noticed that too. I just hope no one talks to Julianna about it." George says sighing again.
"Hopefully people will mind their own business or they at least know it will eventually all become public." Tony says.
"I'm just so worried about her. She's scared to death Ron is going to hurt her." George says.
"I don't think he would, but she would know him better than I." Tony says.
"I don't think he would hurt her but he does have a temper. Julianna told me once that he loses it sometimes over small things and now she's worried about him really losing it since this is something big." George says.
"It wouldn't be a very smart thing for him to do if he did hurt her. That would definitely get out and cause a whole lot of hell." Tony says.
"You're telling me." George says wearily and rubs his hand over his eyes. Tony just nods. "Well, I'm going to go and wait for Julianna." George says and hops off the gurney. He smiles at Tony then turns and walks away slowly, his head down and his hands in his pocket, thinking.
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George and Julianna walk into Julianna's trailer. She smiles at him and he smiles back.
"Are you okay?" George asks.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Today has been a distraction." Julianna said and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He chuckled and pulled her into his arms. "You know what? I seem to have forgotten everything that happened last night after light's out. Do you think you could show me what happened tonight so I can remember?" Julianna asked. He chuckled again. He kissed her lips passionately and when they pulled apart she smiled.
"I remember so sure I'll show you. More than once if we really need to study it." George says and she laughs.
"Then we can take the test." Julianna says and he chuckles. She grins as she rests her head onto his shoulder, just letting him hold her. Alex opens the door to Julianna's trailer, without knocking. Before Julianna and George can pull away they see who it is. When they see that it is Alex, they just stay in each other's arms.
"Oh I'm sorry. I should have knocked." Alex says.
"It's okay. We weren't doing anything." Julianna says and George chuckles.
"Well...I will leave you two alone." Alex says and turns to leave.
"Wait. What did you want?" Julianna asks.
"Just to talk." Alex says.
"Well then why don't you go find whoever and bring them on back. We can have a little party." George says. Julianna nods.
"Okay, I'll go try and find everyone available." Alex says and leaves. George pulls Julianna to the couch and he sits down and she sits beside him. She leans into him and gets comfortable. A few minutes later Noah walks in followed by Tony, then Alex.
"I could only find these two." Alex says. Noah plops down in a chair across from George and Julianna and Tony sits beside Julianna on the couch. Alex has no where to sit. She goes to sit on the floor but Julianna stops her.
"Here. Sit here." Julianna says and moves onto George's lap as she pats the place she had just occupied. Alex smiles and sits down as Julianna gets herself settled.
"Thank you." She says.
"No problem." Julianna says. She leans back into George and he wraps his arms around her waist. They just sit around and talk and laugh, having fun like normal.
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Later that night Julianna is waiting in George's room for him to come out of the restroom. She is sitting on his bed looking towards the bathroom. He comes out and bends down to pick his shirt off the floor to put it on.
"Are you ready to show me what happened last night?" Julianna asks seductively.
"We've only been here for 15 minutes." George says.
"So? I really need some study time." Julianna says and he chuckles. Just then someone knocks on the door to Julianna's room. "That's probably Alex. I'll be right back. Don't move." Julianna says grinning and runs toward her door. She flings it open and there stands Ron. She gasps.
"Ron!" Julianna says. George's ears perk up at the sound of his name. He moves quickly behind the door separating the two rooms so Ron can't see him when he looks into his room.
"Can I come in? Or are you busy?" Ron asks with a sneer.
"I dunno..." Julianna says, hesitating. She wonders where George went, she doesn't want to be alone with Ron.
"Come on Jules. We need to talk about this." Ron says pushing past her and into her room. Julianna quickly glances towards the doorway looking for George. She doesn't see him. She turns her attention back to Ron who is glaring at her. "Are you dating him?" Ron asks.
"Dating who?" Julianna asks innocently. He grabs her shoulders, shaking her once.
"Don't even play dumb with me. Are you dating George?" Ron says shaking her a little bit more. She looks down and nods. He shakes her hard before he pushes her away, disgusted.
"How long?" He asks. She doesn't answer. He grabs her arms and holds them tightly. "How long Julianna?" She looks up into his eyes, her own eyes, fearful.
"A little over a month." She says quietly.
"Oh, that's great! Do you know what it feels like to be cheated on? Oh, that's right, of course you don't cuz I never cheated on you." Ron said gripping her arms so tightly it was starting to hurt.
"Stop it." Julianna protested. He just gripped harder. "Let me go!" Julianna says trying to pull away, silently willing George to save her. George hears the distress in her voice and he swings out from behind the door.
"Let her go!" He booms. Julianna and Ron quickly look to him. Ron lets go and steps towards George.
"Oh, big bad boyfriend to the rescue, huh?" Ron sneers.
"Don't you ever touch her like that again." George threatens.
"Or what?" Ron says. George stays silent, knowing he shouldn't say what's on his mind. "Do you actually think that this little whore loves you?" Ron asks. George clenches his fist, ready to punch Ron. "She'll probably go running to some other man and cheat on you for over a month before you find out. And you find out from the news. From your friends. You better watch this little bitch closely or you'll be her next victim." Ron says and George is clenching his fist tightly. Julianna rushes behind George and takes his fist into her hand, so he won't hit him.
"George, don't." Julianna says quietly. He relaxes just slightly so he doesn't scare her.
"Move out of the way! If he wants to fight, we will." Ron says and goes to grab Julianna's arm to throw her out of the way. George steps in front of her quickly and Ron smacks him in the chest. George doesn't flinch, as he stares straight into Ron's eyes.
"You better leave." George says and glares at Ron. Ron just glares back with equal intensity. George shoves his shoulder a little. "I said go!" George says. Ron turns towards the door and walks out, looking over his shoulder the whole time, glaring at Julianna. George shuts the door quickly and locks it, turning around to face Julianna who is trembling and very pale. He puts his hands gently on her waist, bending his knees slightly to bring his face level with hers, making her look at him.
"Are you okay Jules?" George asks.
"He's not finished." Julianna whispers, shuddering slightly.
"Yes he is. I don't think he'll do that ever again." George says. Julianna looks into his eyes and then collapses into his arms and buries her face into his neck. He holds tightly onto her and she just stands there. Not crying or shaking or anything, just still. He drags her over to her bed and pulls back the covers as she clings to him. He drags them into bed and pulls the covers up to their waists. He holds onto her tightly. Eventually she falls asleep and he can feel her loosen her grip on him. He twists in the bed and reaches to set the alarm.
"Where are you going, George?" Julianna asks sleepily, putting a hand on his chest.
"I'm just setting the alarm. Go to sleep baby." George says and sets the alarm. Then he turns back to her and she snuggles against his chest and he wraps his arms around her. She falls asleep and he finally goes to sleep with her.
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