WRITER: Emma // BrightYellow

FANDOM: Grey's anatomy

PAIRING: Alex Karev & Izzie Stevens

CHARACTERS INCLUDED: Reed, Meredith, mentions of Derek

RATING: It's rated M because it involves harsh language and sexual content. Please respect this.

DEDICATION: Dedicated to Nilly, Dani, Mysha, Nadi, Sandi, Nati & Mai.

A/N: Because of all the crap we AIers are going through right now, I thought I would give my fellow shippers a treat. This got much longer than I thought it would, so I split it into two parts. It's dedicated to some pretty girls that love AI just as much as I do. I don't know what I would do without you girls!

So, this is how I think they could end the show for AI. I bet there are several other awesome ways, but this came to my mind and I just had to write it. And when I write, it always gets dirty, but you know that by now. *chuckles* Hope you enjoy!

PART 1.

***

The sound of high heels against the floor filled the silent dark house. A shadow of a woman figure danced along the walls as the moonlight gently sneaked passed the protecting glass of the windows. The sound of the heels faded, and suddenly the room was dancing with light.

The kitchen looked just like she had left it. Clean and neat. Almost… cold. No forgotten cardboard boxes of fruit loops on the wooden table. No cookie crumbs on the counter. No piles of dirty dishes in the sink.

Somehow, these facts seemed to bring sadness to her dark eyes. The heels echoed thought the room as she walked over to the counter.

She poured her self a glass of red wine, and lifted it to her full lips, taking a long sip. Putting the glass back down, she gently worked her feet free from the high heels, before she walked across the room. She drank some more wine as she stared out through the window at the dark night.

The house was so quiet. Suppressing a small sniffle, but failing, she felt a cold chill go through her body. Watching her reflection in the glass of the window, only served to make the tremble in her body increase. Her hands were shaking as she put the glass down, before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as to calm her self down.

"You're done crying over him."

Her quiet demand filled the silent room, bringing some of the coldness away. Wrapping her right arm around her self, her left hand raised to run along both cheeks, removing any trace of tears that may have remained.

"You claimed the divorce. You left him."

The thickness that filled her chest showed that the words she had spoken didn't help her situation. Not at all. Actually, it only made it worse. Looking up at her reflection, a pair of tear filled eyes stared back at her.

"It's your fault."

***

Gently folding the small shirt before placing it on the small pile next to her, Meredith raised her head. Concern filled her eyes as she watched her friend who sat across the room, folding one of her husband's shirts with a distant, sad look on her face. Izzie placed the folded shirt neatly on top of the small pile of folded clothes, before reaching for a pair of tiny socks.

"What's wrong?"

Meredith addressed her question gently, while she accepted the socks from Izzie's hands and placed them on the pile of miniature clothes. She knew better than to push. If Izzie wanted to talk, she would talk. It was usually getting her to stop talking that was the problem.

"Nothing."

Izzie's replay was a mumble, as she once again was concentrated on folding one of Derek's shirts. "This one is nice."

Rising her eyes to look at the piece of clothing, a smile tugged at the corners of Meredith's lips. She sure had great things to relate to that one shirt.

"I got him it last year. He wore it on our anniversary," her smile took another form as memories of the night caught up with her, "It was an amazing night…"

Making a soft grimace, but not being able to keep from smiling, Izzie threw another pair of socks in her friend's face. "Eww."

Coming back to reality, Meredith giggled and folded the socks softly before she turned to face Izzie completely. Taking a look at her, she knew she had reason to be concerned.

Izzie hadn't been very, Izzie like, lately. The usually happy and bubbly person she had come to love seemed to have lost her glow. Loosing her fiancé and being diagnosed with stage four Melanoma may have shaken her, but she had still kept the bubble that made it impossible not to admire her. Now however, the bubble seemed to have burst, or was at least close to the edge. Meredith would lie though, if she said she didn't know what had caused it.

"What happened?"

Izzie fingered on the collar of the dark red shirt she still had folded in her lap, her eyes dropping to the soft fabric. She closed her eyes and swallowed the slight lump that had formed in her throat.

"That guy at the cafeteria asked me out again, and I guess I just felt… Lonely. So I said yes."

"David? He seems nice."

Izzie tilted her head upwards, smiling sadly as her eyes met Meredith's. "He is nice. He picked me up in his car and drove me to this really nice restaurant. He even gave me flowers. Bright yellow roses though, which I hate, but still."

"That's nice." Meredith agreed, encouraging her to continue.

Izzie's eyes dropped downwards again, and her shoulders sank slightly, "It was going great, and I was having a really good time, when… When I saw him."

There was a moment of silence between them, but with no questions to ask. Meredith didn't need to ask who 'he' was. She had a pretty good idea, which prompted her to stay silent and let Izzie tell the story in her own time.

"He was with her, obviously. They got a table a bit away from ours. I was close to asking David to fix us another table, so I wouldn't have to…"

The sentence faded out, and she shook her head with a small painful laugh, still keeping her eyes down. Meredith nodded a little, giving her the assurance that she got it. Swallowing hard, to fight the lump that had only increased, she continued.

"He never took me out to dinner… That was the only thing I could think about. That he never did that with me."

"So, what happened?"

Looking up at Meredith, Izzie smiled sadly, her eyes shinning from tears. "I couldn't do it, Mer. I couldn't sit with David and have him there with her. I just… Couldn't. So I left."

Meredith reached out and placed her hand on top of Izzie's. "Im sorry, Iz."

"I asked for the divorce, Mer. I did! I left and I broke his heart. Im not supposed to be the one who isn't able to move on."

Feeling the tears on her cheeks, she couldn't keep the sob from leaving her slightly trembling body. "But when I see him, with her… It hurts, Mer. It hurts so bad."

The last words came out weakly as she started to cry, and her head fell to Meredith's shoulder as she moved in to comfort her.

***

Closing the door to the bedroom, he leaned heavily against it, releasing a deep sigh. Running a hand through his short cropped dark hair, he came to lean the back of his head against the door as he opened his eyes.

The king sized bed in the middle of the room was pretty sloppily made in light blue sheets, reminding him of the colour of the scrubs he used to wear. And not in a good way. The closet across the room from him was half open, and most of its contents were spread over the floor beneath it. The man he had been in the past wouldn't have reacted to the mess. Hell, he would probably have found it a turn on. Chicks who dared to get messy, usually put out easier.

But the man he was now, looked at the mess with an irritated frown. He was sure as hell not gonna pick it up though. He hadn't lost that much of his pride.

"Alex, Im on the phone with my mom, and she wants to know if you are coming with me to them this weekend."

Closing his eyes, he sighed heavily. Fuck. He had forgotten about going away to Reed's parents for the weekend. He had only been there a couple of times before, and it hadn't been what he would call, fun.

"Sorry babe, gotta work this weekend."

He called back, and pushed away from the door to walk across the room while he was taking his watch off. That wasn't entirely true. As an attending in peds, he had a pretty free schedule, and he could have probably asked Arizona for a couple of days off. Especially since he was one of the hardest working attendings on the floor.

But since Seattle Grace and Mercy West had parted again a couple of year back, Reed wasn't able to be as involved in his work as she used to be. Which he was thankful for, and it made him feel a little bad.

It wasn't that he didn't love her. Because he did. She had grown on him, and she had been a great support throughout his divorce. Without her, he probably wouldn't have made it. She'd picked up the pieces that Izzie had shattered.

He felt a pain in his chest as he thought of his wife. Ex, wife. He had actually done pretty good, avoiding thinking about her the first couple of years after she left him for real. Mostly, it had been because of the anger. He had been able to suppress the sorrow with anger. Anger at her for ditching him like she didn't give a shit in him. Anger at him self for letting her get under his skin, for letting him self trust her.

He had started sleeping with Reed shortly after the divorce was finale, to show everyone he was fine.

"Except you weren't fine."

He muttered to him self, removing the shirt he wore before dumping it on the bed as he walked passed it. He was over at the closet looking for a clean t-shirt, when he heard the door open. He continued to go through his clothes like he hadn't reacted, but he could feel her eyes on him.

"My mom says hi."

Her voice was small and kinda baby like. Frowning, he wondered why he never had noticed that before.

"Yeah, sorry I can't come."

He said, his voice slightly distant, still with his back to her. What the hell did you need to do to get some clean t-shirts!?

"No, it's fine. Work comes first."

She approached him gently, and he stopped looking as she paced her hand on his back. Turning around to face her, he found her looking at him with an odd look on her face.

"What?"

Her lower lip sneaked in between her teeth and she bit it gently. There was clear hesitation in her eyes and her breath trembled slightly. "Look, I just need to know something."

Crooking one eyebrow, Alex crossed his arms over his bare chest, looking at her for her to go on. She seemed to take a deep breath, before she looked him in the eye. "Are you still in love with her?"

Alex froze slightly, the features of his face tensed and his jaw twisted. "What the hell, Reed! We've been over this, and I told you to drop it!"

"That is not an answer, Alex! You're avoiding! I can't believe, after all these years, you still can't say you don't love her!"

Sighing, he softened a little. "Look, there is nothing going on between me and Iz. And even if it was, Im over her. We're divorced."

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Im with you," he said, hoping his voice and eyes were as reassuring as he tried them to be. Reed looked up at him, still slight uncertainty in her eyes. "Tell me you don't love her anymore."

He rested his forehead against hers, bringing her closer him. Looking into her eyes, he nodded a little.

"I don't love her anymore."

***

"I still love him."

Staring down at the piece of stone on the ground in front of her, Izzie sniffled, her eyes fighting tears. She gently lowered so she was kneeling by the stone, and placed the small bouquet of lilies on the ground by its feet. Looking back up at the stone, she let out a small sob.

"I still love him, and I don't know what to do. Please George, tell me what to do."

The last sentence was a pleading whisper. A cold wind went by, making her shiver slightly and wrap her coat closer around her.

"I feel so lost. It's at times like these that I miss you the most, you know. You always listened to my problems, no matter what they were. And you always had something great to say that made me feel better. I need some of that now, George. Please."

She reached out and traced the engraved letters of his name on the stone, smiling a little. "Your stupid friend could really use some advice here."

When everything remained the same, she lowered her head, another tear running down her cheek. She didn't even bother to stop it.

"He will never forgive me… I don't even deserve to be forgiven."

Her eyes rose and she watched a family that walked by, two adorable kids running around their parents. Her heart ached, and she looked back at the stone.

"I want a house with a swing set at the back, a puppy and children. I want a family. And I…"

She looked back up at the couple, who exchanged a quick kiss. Feeling her eyes burn with tears, her face fell as she quietly spoke the words that came right from her aching heart.

"I want them with Alex."

***

She found him by the bar, nursing a beer. At first, she hesitated. They hadn't been the greatest of friends since the divorce, so who said he wouldn't move the second she sat down. The easiest thing would probably be if she just picked a table across the room. But right now, she needed to hear his voice, even if it would be while having him yelling at her. She would take her chances.

"Is this seat taken?"

She silently begged him to say yes. Hoped with all she had that she wouldn't just be at the bathroom to return in a minute.

"Not that I know of."

The response was short. There was a coldness in his voice that made her heart sink a little bit more. Soon it would be in her stomach, because of all pain she was feeling lately. Recovering, she gently took a seat next to him, shrugging of her coat. The corners of her lips lifted in as small smile as the bartender approached them.

"Izzie! I was wondering when you would drag your ass back here."

Joe said with a smile, leaning over the bar to give her a friendly hug. Settling back down on the stool, Izzie smiled, feeling a little better in the kind bartender's company. He seemed to have that effect on everyone.

"So, a vodka tonic for the lady?" He smiled when she nodded, before he took a quick look at her ex-husband who was playing with the now empty bottle, his jaw tense, with usually meant he was in a bad mood. "Another beer, Alex?"

As Joe went off the get their drinks, Alex tilted his head slightly, looking at the woman next to him. She was leaning her chin in the palm of her hand, a sad look on her pretty face. She was as beautiful as she always had been; witch left him with a slight lump in his throat. He looked back down at his hands.

She could feel the air between them thicken, making it harder to breathe. She knew he was angry. She knew if because of the tenseness of his shoulders, the twisting of his jaw. She knew how to read every emotion he may feel. After having been his friend, girlfriend and wife, she knew. He may have not thought she was paying enough attention to him to notice, but he was wrong. She knew him, better than anyone.

"I went to see George today."

Her voice was quiet, just loud enough to reach the ears closest to her, witch were his. None of them ever really spoke about it, but they had all gone to see George their faire share of times. Even Alex had gone by the cemetery once, around the time of the divorce. Izzie and Meredith had tired to go by as often as they could, but it rarely became more than twice a month. Plus, after having been away for so long, Izzie owed him some time.

"I think Grey was there last week. Cleaned up and stuff." Alex murmured, taking a sip of his new, fresh beer. Izzie let out a quiet sigh of relief. What they were doing now was the closest to normal communication they'd had since she left him, almost 3 years ago years ago.

"That's good." A small smile teased over her lips, "Being a mother has really got to her."

Alex smiled a little. "Yeah. Dude, she's even learning how to cook now. Me and Reed had dinner with them a couple of weeks ago. Actually not that bad."

At the mention of the other woman, Izzie's smile faded and she looked down at her glass, swallowing. They were quiet for a while, both slightly uncomfortable.

"Alex…"

She said his name quietly, raising her eyes to look at him. He looked up from the bottle, and for the first time in a long time, their eyes met. He saw sadness and longing. She saw uncertainty and a small hint of the hurt she had caused. And, looking deeper into those beautiful hazel eyes, she could swear she saw some of the warmth his eyes had been filled with in the past. The warmth that had told her that she was the one for him.

Blinking to keep her eyes from filling with tears, she asked for the answer she dreaded the most, in a soft whisper.

"Are you happy with her?"

***

She had no right. She had no right coming into his life again, and ask him something like that. She had broken them up. She had asked for the divorce. He had loved her more than anything, and even though she'd hurt him, he had known he would never want to lose her. That he'd fight for their marriage with all he had.

But it hadn't been enough. And when she had left him, he'd felt like he had nothing left. He was empty, and it took him longer than he had wanted to realize to get over it. Honestly, he had never gotten every piece of him self back. And now it seemed like she wanted back in his life and he didn't know what to do.

When it was about his ex wife, he hardly never knew what to do with him self. It was like she woke up a whole other part of him that no one else could touch. And it frustrated him that after all these years of being apart; she still was able to wake it up, just by one simple question.

Slamming a chart down on the desk at the nurses' station, he started to scribble on it, an angry frown in his face. Because he was angry. Or at least used the anger as his prime feeling to not have to think about the other things he was feeling at that moment.

"Hi. Didn't you just get off?"

He looked up, meeting a pair of confused but greeting, green eyes. He looked back at the chart, sighing a little. It was proven to be impossible for him not to talk to Meredith about his problems. She was the closest he had to a real friend, and she had been there for him through the divorce and the time after. She was the one who had watched him break down. She was the one he'd yelled at. She had taken it all, just so he would release it. Be able to move on.

"Iz asked me if I was happy with Reed."

"You talked to Izzie?" Meredith asked, blinking in surprise. He didn't blame her. The first two years after the divorce he had refused to even mention her name. Only Meredith knew though, that it had been because it hurt too much. And since she returned, 6 months ago, he hadn't spoken a word to her. He nodded, his jaw twisting slightly.

"What is her problem? She has too much pride to see the husband she dumped with someone else? She wants me to be chasing her for the rest of my life!?"

"It's not like that Alex, and I think you know that."

"Then what is it like!? What does she want?"

Alex asked, his voice turning desperate and he searched Meredith's eyes for an answer. Meredith closed the chart he held in his hands and handed it to a nurse who was watching her exchange with interest. Disappointment coming over her face, she walked away to put the chart on its right place. Turning back to look at Alex, she reached out her hand and placed it on his arm gently.

"I don't know. Now, go home."

***

The house was quiet and empty as Alex closed the front door behind him. Remembering that he was supposed to have hurried home after work to see Reed off before she went to her parents, he muttered the small curse. She was probably pissed, but right now, he had bigger concerns. Flicking the light on in the kitchen area, he served him self a beer from the fridge.

Turning the TV on, he sat down on the couth in the living area, sighing. He turned on ESPN and lifted his feet up to rest against the small table in front of the couth.

He felt a smack against his leg and he lifted his eyes of the TV, meeting a pair of dark, determined ones. "Take your feet of my table, Mr Karev."

A small grin grew in his face, and he let his feet remain on the table, making Izzie glare at him.

"Alex." She said his name in a warning tone, only serving to make him chuckle. "What will you do to me if I don't, Mrs Karev?"

One eyebrow rose and he shoot her a seductive grin. He could see her trying to suppress the giggle, her eyes turning playful. "Well, take your feet of the table and I'll show you."

She giggled as he did as he was told, before pushing her down onto her back on the couth, his body hovering over hers. "You're so easy." She said softy, playing with the hair at the back of his neck before pulling him down to her.

Slowly taking his feet off the table, he swallowed sadly, before taking a long gulp of the beer. Things had been so great. For the first time in his life, he had finally been happy. He had meant it when he told Shepherd that Izzie was the one good thing that had ever happened to him. And then she ended up being the worst.

A knock on the door brought him back to reality, and he blinked in surprise and looked down at his watch. 11AM. Pretty late for a visitor. He stood up and left the living room. Reaching the door, he didn't mind checking who the person was; he just simply opened the door.

"Please don't slam the door in my face."

He swallowed hard as a lump formed in his throat, staring at the woman before him.

***

CONTINUED IN PART 2.