Title: The Only Exception

Author: Darley1101

Rating: Mature Readers Only (Contains language as well as sexual content)

Characters/Pairings: Mostly consists of Alex/Lexie, Mark/Lexie, and Alex/Izzie

Premise: News of the shooting reaches Izzie in Tacoma, causing her to break her word to Alex. When she reaches Seattle Grace she finds that nothing is as she remembers it and the people she cared about are changed forever; especially the man she loves. In the aftermath of the shooting Lexie is forced to examine every aspect of her life. What she finds has her questioning not only her relationship with Alex but why she turned to him to begin with. Faced with his past and his present, Alex must decide once and for all what…or rather who…his future will be.

Author's Note & Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, nor do I own any of the lyrics or quotes that are used throughout this story. To get an idea of the direction I am going listen to Paramore's song The Only Exception.

**A quick apology for how short this first chapter is! They will get longer and better, I promise.

Chapter One

"Its fear of the unknown. The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that-its all illusion. Unknown is what it is. Accept that it's unknown and its plain sailing. Everything is unknown-then you're ahead of the game. That's what it is. Right?" John Lennon

Isobel Stevens had never considered herself a coward, but as she stood outside the giant steel and glass structure that was Seattle Grace Hospital she gave serious thought to tucking her tail between her legs and running. Except she had done that once before and it had gotten her a broken heart, divorced, and alone. She wasn't too keen on going down that road again, not that she had another husband that she could walk out on and she was pretty sure her heart was shattered beyond compare.

Guilt seeped through her veins as she forced herself to walk through the sliding doors of the Emergency Room. She had walked out on Alex without giving him the chance to explain or redeem himself. He had gotten even with her though. He'd replaced her with someone else and told her to stay out of his life. Oh sure he'd thrown in the bit about her finding happiness but did he really expect her to be able to do that without him?

She felt a lump form in her throat as she thought about the newscast that had brought her back to Seattle Grace. It wasn't every day a girl turned on the television and seen that her old work place had been shot up by some crazed gun man. Even worse had been finding out Alex had been one of his victims. Every single hateful word or deed she had said or done to him flashed through her mind. The guilt of leaving him threatened to swallow her up. Worse had been the pain of realizing nobody had contacted her because he didn't want her to know.

'Which is why you shouldn't be here,' a small voice in the back of her head whispered. She pushed the thought aside, even though she agreed. Alex didn't want her anymore and she had no reason to be there. Except she loved him and she needed to see for herself that he was going to be okay. Once she accomplished that she would do as she promised and walk out of his life forever. Hell, she would ever try to find some how to be happy…without him.

"Shoulders back, chin up, and just remember to breath," Izzie murmured as she slowly made her way through the semi-crowded Pitt. Former coworkers were staring, a few leaning close to one another to whisper about the return of Izzie Stevens; heart valve cutter, dirty mistress, and Alex Karev's unwanted ex-wife. Screw them and their gossip loving hearts. Their opinions might have mattered in the past but she grown past that. Tacoma didn't produce tender loving physicians but rather top-notch surgeons who either rid themselves of emotions or Tacoma rid themselves of them. A couple months there had done wonders for her bleeding heart. She still cared what happened to people but had learned to separate herself from her patients, especially the ones who didn't look like they were going to make it.

"Dr. Stevens?"

Her name was a bare whisper across the lips of Meredith Grey's lips. Izzie swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. So she was Dr. Stevens now, not Izzie? Alright. She supposed she had that coming, considering how they had parted. Meredith had begged her to stay, called her family, and Izzie had thrown the offer and the sentiments in Meredith's face.

"Meredith," she whispered back, her tense face softening slightly. She hated how things had ended with her and her former roommate. They had been through so much together; it seemed rather horrific that they had parted as strangers instead of friends.

"What are you doing here?" There was a glisten in the other woman's large grey-green eyes.

The million dollar question that Izzie had a ready answer to but wasn't sure she wanted to give. At least not to Meredith. At the moment her only concern was Alex. "I just…" Izzie gulped. She couldn't bring herself to lie, not to Meredith. "I need to know everyone is okay."

Meredith stared at her for a moment, a lone tear trickling down her pale cheek. "Is anyone ever okay after something like that?"

"No," Izzie answered, her voice soft. Before her eyes one of the strongest women she knew crumbled. Meredith's tiny body folded into itself. "Mere." Part of her wanted to reach out and engulf her friend in her arms, to whisper everything would be okay. She refrained though. Things were still up in the air where Meredith and her were concerned.

"I keep going over it all in my head, trying to make sense of it but it never does." A hunk of hair fell across Meredith's brow, strands of dark blonde silk sticking to her damp cheeks. "I just want to know why. Why he did what he did. Why Derek? Why Alex…." Meredith paused, her chest visibly heaving as she sucked in air. "Alex. That's why you're here, isn't it? You're here to see Alex. I should have realized that the moment I seen you."

Izzie hung her head, shame slumping her shoulders. She should have known the shooting had effected everyone she cared about, not just her ex-husband. "It isn't just because of him," she whispered, hoping Meredith believed her.

"Mostly because of him though, right?"

She didn't bother lying. Three years of living together had given Meredith an insight into how she thought, how she felt. "Mostly because of him," she agreed. Her dark eyes started to sting. This was so much harder than she had expected. Why hadn't she realized she couldn't just walk into Seattle Grace and just see Alex. She had too many former coworkers and friends that she cared about who had been effected by the tragedy.

"Its okay. If I were you and it was Derek…I would think about him before I thought about anyone else. I think that's the way its suppose to be when you love someone." The tip of Meredith's tongue darted out, ran across her lips, and then retreated. "You do still love him, don't you?"

Izzie hesitated only a moment before nodding. God help her but she did. She would probably die loving Alex Karev.