Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Grey's Anatomy, The basic storylines, or anything from the show. They belong to the wonder Shonda Rhimes and all ABC involved peoples. While I love them greatly, I borrow them for enjoyment and make no money off of their use. I claim no relation to the cast and/or crew of this AMAZING television show.

A/N: I've been doing one shots up the wazoo, and this is no different! It's Azzie, and my first ever attempt at such a story. I really just want a short, simple drabble, so we'll see how this ends up. Takes place right after Losing My Religion and is Izzie's point of view. If Izzie is out of character, I apologize, but she did just lose Denny…and…well…just read and find out…then tell me how much you hate it.

That's Love

In his arms, she felt safe. He was warm and gentle, loving and understanding. He wasn't telling her not to cry – maybe he knew how it felt. He, however, wouldn't leave her alone. They'd gotten to Meredith's house and she'd collapsed on her bed. Her pink dress still billowed around her, hair falling into her eyes, streaks of mascara streaming down her cheeks in the paths her tears had been taking the entire evening.

Yet, when she demanded that everyone just let her be, he stayed. He held onto her, allowing her to clutch back for dear life. He just rubbed her back in small, rhythmic circles and kept her in his arms. His head was leaning against the wall, back against her headboard, and legs spread out across the bed. His shoes were still on, and usually, she wouldn't have been able to stand for shoes on her clean bedspread.

She switched positions, resting her head on the opposite shoulder of the man protecting her. It made so little sense that she felt fine in his arms. She knew it was wrong – even sinful – to have been engaged to one person and still love another. Yet, when he was condescending, the dying man had made her felt like more than just a pretty girl.

A pretty girl, maybe that's all she was, just blonde hair and big boobs. That had been her biggest fear in life, was ending up a pretty girl. Denny didn't cheat on her, didn't lie to her, and didn't judge her. He had loved her, honest to God loved her, and while he hadn't exactly had the chance to cheat, she was sure the southern boy wouldn't. The man rubbing her back had sex with a nurse while the she'd been seeing him. She'd considered an actual relationship with someone; she'd made an effort to trust and care for him. He'd ruined it.

Still, he was there with her now. When no one else would dare to say it, Alex had given her the cold, hard truth. Denny Duquette, the man she had loved, was dead. Now she found herself questioning the love she'd seemed to feel. It wasn't like this. She could sit with him and play scrabble with him, but he hadn't been given the chance to love the flawed, imperfect Izzie Stevens that the world saw daily. He had just loved his doctor – a woman who was giving him a second chance at life. Logically, she figured that any dying person would love the person who may save their life.

That didn't mean he was in love with her, but it would never change the fact that she thought she was in love with him. She was in love with two different men.

Realizing that she had agreed to marry a man who wasn't necessarily in love with her was complicating the situation and increasing her horrible feelings. The sobs hadn't stopped once. She was going to cry until there were absolutely no tears left in her system, and it seemed as though the man holding her had no problem with that. He just kept his vigil, rubbing circles on her back, through the pink ball gown.

She didn't deserve his love. She knew that. Not only had she hurt him by all but rubbing her relationship with Denny in his face, she had loved him while it happened. Despite all of the reservations, she was trusting and loving him again. He was the only one who stuck it out – forced her to keep human contact.

She pulled her head away from his shoulder, sick of thinking about what could have happened and what did. She looked at his shoulder, the jacket soaked with her tears. Her eyes were red and puffy, obvious side effects of bawling for over an hour straight. She looked into his eyes – eyes that showed concern, passion, love, and fear. She leaned in closer to him and placed a gentle, loving kiss on his lips and cupped his face with her hands.

While he kissed back, it was only shortly before he pulled away. Looking Izzie in the eyes, he spoke for the first time since they had left Seattle Grace. His voice was dripping with the compassion he obviously felt. "I don't want that to stop," he told her. "But it has to. It's too soon and you're too tired and upset. I'm not taking advantage of this situation, and, as much as I want to see you happy, you and I doing anything besides being friends right now won't make you happy. If we start something, I don't know that I could stop before I took it too far."

She looked hurt and broken. It was both from his words and from the events of the day. A good man who loved life and deserved another chance had received it, and then it was gone. The worst part, she knew that Denny's death had been her fault. She had made the decision to cut the LVAD wires, and then, in her attempt to stop George from calling the code, she had stopped pumping his heart. She had thought nothing of it, but she knew it was long enough for the blood clot to form in the tin can that was acting as the southern man's heart. She could have thrown a clot into his circulatory system. She killed Denny Duquette.

"It's not your fault," He whispered. It was as if reading her mind was his specialty. She looked at him curiously, the brokenness from his words slowly disappearing. Did this man honestly believe that she hadn't killed the transplant patient?

"We all do stupid things, Izz. You know that and I know that. We all make mistakes, and as surgeons, those mistakes can cost a life. Still, we have to do what we think is best for us, the patient, and everyone involved. You made a judgement and did what you had to do."

She hiccupped. He continued, "While the events all played out in a rather untimely manner, don't you think that someone else would have been shot if not Burke? Don't you believe that Denny came into your life and made you happy in a time when no one else could?" His voice was soft, caring; it was so unlike Alex Karev.

She looked away, burying her head back in his shoulder.

"I know it's tough, but let me tell you something," The man spoke into her ear. "Even though it's going to take you time to heal, I'm okay with that. I'll wait for you Izzie Stevens, I can guarantee that."

There was doubt in her eyes when she finally looked at him again. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he sealed the promise and, in a heartbeat, her eyes looked a little closer to the sparkling, Izzie eyes that everyone loved. He offered a sad smile in sympathy and pulled her close to his chest. She could feel it rise and fall as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, a man's arms rocking her back and forth.

Running a hand through her blonde hair, Alex looked at her affectionately and spoke gentle words to the resting figure, "I love you so very much, Izzie."

--FINITE—

A/N: Short and sweet…and not so great…I think it's rather confusing. Let me know you're opinions, though! Thanks for reading…now just press the purple button and type a review. You know you want to! I've had people say before that they thought Izzie moved too fast...and that's not what I meant to have happen. What I meant was for her to be desperate and scared and alone and all of the emotions made her do something crazy, something she shouldn't. It's not like she "wanted" to, I guess. I don't know Thanks for reading, and please review!