King Alex, Protector of Puppies

Author: Lammy

Disclaim: Money can't buy me love, but if I had enough of it, it could buy Grey's Anatomy. However, I am but a poor student, and therefore must disclaim.

A/N: Ahahaha! It's just a little Alex/Izzie ficlet in honor of National Hangover Day. A warm holiday wish on this most dignified of days: may the Tylenol be extra-strength, the sounds all be muted, and the memories from last night be totally worth it.

………………………………………..

Izzie did not drink. Even in college the whole party scene had never really attracted her. It's not that she was a prude; just that she had thought she'd had better things to do. And while she enjoyed the occasional glass of Chardonnay, she never got drunk. Never had more than she could handle.

A huge hiccup erupted from her willowy frame, causing her to bounce in her stool at the bar. Giggles escaped as she took another swig of her vodka. In lieu of the fact that she never drank, Izzie was pleasantly surprised at how well she was holding her liquor. She wasn't even close to drunk. A huge burp moved up and was released into the air. Nope, not even close.

Joe gave her a worried look as he tried to get the glass from her.

"Maybe you should go a little slower. I mean, it's only 10:00. Why don't you let me take that?"

Scandalized, Izzie moved the glass away from Joe's reach. "No! It's New Years Eve, Joe. I am entitled to all of the alcohol I want, because," she paused dramatically and took a deep breath. "…I am totally alone. Mer and George are both working, and I have no one to spend the Big Moment with. Other than my good friend right here, that is." She patted her glass lovingly and took another big gulp.

Leaning closer to bar, she motioned for Joe to lean in. Looking around to be sure that no one could overhear, she whispered, "I think I'm wasted."

Her breath was a formidably soaked in alcohol, and Joe moved back.

"I can tell," he assured her. "Why don't you let me call Christina so she can drive you home?"

"No good." Izzie shrugged simply. "She took Dr. Burke to meet the parents…officially." Her voice held awe and as she said the last word, her eyes widened in earnestness.

Other costumers had come in and were demanding Joe's attention.

"Well, you just sit there for a little longer and I'll think of some way to get you home safely."

As he turned back to his work, Izzie turned back to her drunken musings. What was she doing? This wasn't like her at all. She was the responsible one, the one that kept everything together while the other's ran off in there little love triangles, or squares, or…whatever a five sided thingy is called. Poor Izzie, the only time that she had tried something romantic, she'd been burned. By Alex.

Ugh, Alex. She hated him. She hated his lame name, and his lame cologne that she still took note of whenever she smelled a trace of it, and his lame attempts to talk to her, and the lame flowers that he sent, and the lame messages that he left on her phone, and…

To her horror, she felt heat run to her face and tears begin to prickle her eyes. Desperately, she wiped them away, and breathed with relief when she didn't feel any others coming. He was the reason she was alone tonight. He was the reason she had been alone over Christmas, and it was guys like him that were the reason she had been alone all her life. Stupid, they were all stupid.

Still, she couldn't help missing the banter that they had, or the late night talks when all of their patients were asleep. She had been so sure that he was a good person with a soul. Clearly, she had been wrong.

"Hey, cutie, mind if I sit here?"

Izzie was startled out of her dark thoughts by a deceptively handsome man. He had wavy blonde hair, perfect teeth, and red sweater that showed off broad shoulders. She squinted to try to see him a little better.

"I don't know you, do I? Let me guess, patient? Maybe you're the sibling of a patient?"

"What are you talking about? I'm just here for a good time on New Years Eve." His laugh was disarming.

"Nuh-uh. No way, everyone in this bar is connected to the hospital; it's just how it works."

"Well, I suppose I defy convention then. Say, what's your name, cutie?"

Izzie giggled once again at how easy it was for him to flirt. Taking another big drink, she debated answering him. It wasn't her usual style to give out her information to strangers, but then again, it wasn't her style to get wasted. Tonight was a night to branch out.

"Izzie Stevens. What's yours?" she answered, and flashed him her megawatt smile.

"Henry Mallory. So, are you looking for someone to spend midnight with, or do you already have someone in mind?"

His bluntness would have annoyed her if she was sober, but it seemed to make perfect sense to her now. She informed him of being alone and lonely on New Years, and he commiserated.

"What are two tragically good looking people like us doing all alone on one of the most romantic nights of the year? Here, let me buy you another glass."

Grateful, Izzie accepted and spent the next half of an hour chatting with Henry and drinking like a fish, all on his tab. He was funny and smart and perhaps a bit of a smart ass, but that's the way she liked them. In fact, if he didn't remind her so much of Alex, she might have been seriously interested. As it was, she simply looked at this as a carefree, commitment-free flirt session that they would both walk away from at the end of the night. Henry, it seemed, had other plans.

"What do you say we get out of here? We could go back to my place and bring in the New Year right." He winked and leaned forward in a sensual way. Izzie leaned back, but felt dizzy from the movement, and had to rest her head on her hands to steady herself.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm feeling really woozy. Maybe I'm just going to go home and lie down."

"Well, I'd let you lie down at my place, as long as you don't mind two in the bed. Come on, it'll be fun."

He grabbed her by the arm and started to lift her off of the stool, but she stubbornly sat back down. Joe came up to them immediately.

"Is there a problem here, Izzie? Do you need some help?"

Henry put his hands up in a calming way, and took a step back from the intimidating bartender. "Look, me and the girl were just having a good time, and we're just going to continue that good time back at my place. There's nothing for you to worry about."

Izzie shook her head violently. "But I don't want to, Joe. I think I'm really, really drunk," she whined. "Can't you just take me home?"

"Don't worry; I called a friend to drive you home. You aren't going anywhere with this guy." The whole time that he had been talking to Izzie, his eyes had been on Henry. "I got your number, pal. I watched you sit here and get her good and drunk so that you could bring her home guilt free. That's sick, you know?"

Henry looked back and forth between the two. Joe just stared back menacingly, and Izzie hiccupped pathetically. It didn't take much to understand that Joe was one hundred percent serious about not letting him leave with her.

Henry pushed past Joe and grabbed Izzie's hand roughly, dragging her to her feet. Quickly he walked toward the door, calling over his shoulder, "Jesus, what are you her boyfriend?"

"He's not, but I am. Take your hands off of her, you son of a bitch."

A fist came out of nowhere, and a dull thud sounded. For a minute Izzie didn't understand why Henry was lying on the floor, and why another hand had grabbed hers and led her back to the stool. Looking up, she was amazed to see Alex. As fact that he had just fought for her processed in her drunken mind, she laughed out loud. He didn't say anything to her, just sat her firmly down before going back to deal with Henry again. Turning to Joe desperately, she crinkled her nose in distaste.

"Him? You called HIM? Is there no God on New Years Eve?"

Joe held up his hands defensively. "He was the only one available. It's better than the other option." With that, he walked back behind the bar.

When she turned her attention back to the men arguing over her, she found that the argument was over. Henry had stalked to the opposite side of the room, and Alex was heading back towards her.

"Come on, let's get you away from that creep." He grabbed her arm and led her firmly out the door.

Outside, the bitter rain had turned into snow, and all of the roads and sidewalk were nothing but slush. She loved it there, but sometimes Izzie couldn't believe how ugly Seattle could be. The snow was beginning to freeze the ground, however, and she could tell that they would have a few inches left over in the morning. Alex walked her past the parking lot and farther down the street.

"Where are we going? Where's your car?"

He glanced at her and hesitated a moment, before answering quietly, "It broke down coming back from Iowa after Christmas. We have to go to my place and call a cab."

"Uh-uh," Izzie immediately turned and started to head back to the bar. "I am not going to avoid one slime bags apartment, just to go to anothers."

"Come on, Izzie, I'm not going to try to sleep with you." He ran to catch up with her and turn her back around. "God, knows I couldn't if I wanted to." He muttered to himself.

Izzie laughed in his face for the second time that night. "That's right!" she crowed gleefully. "'Cause you couldn't get it up. You're only at half mast, captain."

As she continued to mock him, Alex's jaw twitched, but he didn't say anything to her. He seemed extremely focused on walking down the street. His lack of response caused Izzie to hurl more and more hurtful insults until she finally went quiet. They walked in silence for a moment.

"You know who you could get it up for?" She asked mournfully. Once again, he didn't answer, and she stopped walking. "Come on, Alex. Answer the question. Who could you get it up for? Huh?"

"Fine!" he yelled into the night air, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Fine, I slept with Olivia, and I'm SORRY! I've told you I'm sorry. What can I do to make it better? Huh? I don't know what else I can do."

He spun around and hit the wall of the nearest building with his fist. They stood there in the dark street with the outburst ringing between them, neither of them moving. Finally, Izzie shook her head gently.

"Wrong. Not just Olivia. Every other girl. I bet you could be turned on by any girl that I point out to you. But not me." Her voice began to rise in anger. "Oh, no, the underwear model isn't sexy enough for Alex Karev. Give him a stupid, ugly nurse, but not me."

"Izzie, come on! You know I like you! A lot. I…I think I…" He rubbed his face in frustration. "Look, I fought for you. I protected to from that jerk back there, doesn't that mean anything?"

"No. Shut up. You'll throw punches to protect my honor from some guy you didn't even know, but you won't be honest with me. You get no points for beating some guy up. What would you have me say? All hail King Alex, protector of puppies and rainbows the world over. Marvel at his right hook, and be awed by his ability to break your heart in a single minute. Ooo and aah, but don't you dare fall in love or he'll stomp all over you until you're drunk on New Years Eve, standing in the middle of the street, yelling like an idiot."

She finished and stood there panting for a minute, waiting to see how he'd react. His face was unreadable, but turned a little bit redder by the second. Finally, the corners of his mouth twitched, then he chuckled softly, then he outright laughed.

"Did you just call me the protector of puppies?"

Izzie couldn't believe that he was laughing over what she had said, but as she reviewed it in her mind, she realized that it was a little ridiculous. In fact, it was down right hilarious, and if she hadn't been so hurt, she would have laughed with him. Instead, she just huffed and turned away.

Alex realized the distance that had been created and came up behind her. She could sense him dangerously close, but refused to turn around and face him.

"Hey now, don't be upset." His voice was a low rumble in her ear that sent shivers down her spine. She tried to reason it off as simply being drunk and probably horny, but deep down she knew that her heart was betraying her once again.

"You fell in love with me? Is that true?"

She turned her head away and refused to answer.

"Look, I…I know that I don't deserve another chance. I didn't even deserve the first one, but you gave it to me. You gave me a chance, because you are the most caring, generous, loving person that I have ever met. It's wrong of me to ask you for a new start. It's wrong of me to even try to talk to you, because I blew it. I blew it big time. If I was even remotely a decent person, I would walk away and never try to see you again. But that's where you and I are different. I'm selfish, and rude, and I can't help the fact that I want to be with you all of the time. When I'm not around you, I'm wishing I was. I can't let you go. So, please, Izzie…please. It's New Years. We only get one fresh start a year, let's not waste it."

Izzie wiped the tears that had run down her cheeks at his gentle plea, but couldn't force herself to look at him. She couldn't let go of the anger that had fueled her for the past weeks. If she let go of that, gave him that, then she would truly have given him everything. There would be nothing left to hold on to when he left her again.

As time passed, he realized that she wasn't going to give him an answer. Quickly he took a step back, and cleared his throat gruffly.

"Right, well, let's get that cab."

He started walking down the street again, but Izzie couldn't make her feet move. She didn't want to leave it like this, but she also didn't want to give into him. There was no way for her to figure out what she wanted. For a second she stood in agonizing indecision, before she ran after him.

"Please, wait! I…I want…"

There was no way for her explain all that was going on in her head, because she wasn't sure of what it was herself. Maybe she really was way too drunk for her own good, but for the first time in her entire relationship with Alex, she did exactly what she wanted to, without thinking about anyone else. Izzie grabbed his face roughly and pulled him in for a kiss.

"This doesn't mean that you're off the hook for what you did," she warned him as they pulled apart. "It doesn't mean that I trust you again, or that I'm even sure there's a chance for us. It just means that I want to try." She hesitated, and her voice faltered for a minute. "I want to be with you, too."

Slowly, there lips met. It was gentle and nothing like the hard kisses that she was used to getting from him. As they pulled apart, they heard cheers coming from the houses around them. Clocks were chiming, and they realized it must be midnight. With a grin on his face, Alex took her arm again and led to his building down the street.

As she waited on the couch, he called a cab. Before she left, he gave her a small kiss goodbye and she grinned all the way home through the headache that was beginning to form.

She'd deal with the hangover in the morning, but for now…all of her dreams were of him.

……………………………………………

A/N: Awwww, sappy. Sorry if you got diabetes from reading that. If you liked it, review. If you didn't, shhhhhh.

"You're so cute when you're slurring your speech/ but they're closing the bar and they want us to leave" – Death Cab for Cutie