Set more than a year or 2 years after the shooting incident. I haven't watched any episodes from season 7 but I read episode summary from the internet every now and then. I used what little information I have from the recent season in this fic. But, Cristina does not have PTSD.

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy does not belong to me.

Enjoy!

Izzie is nervous. She returned to Seattle last night. Two weeks ago, she received an e-mail and a call from the organizers of the event she was about to attend that she will be honored for making a free clinic possible. The woman said that the money she donated made it possible for sick people who don't have enough money a clinic to run to. She also said they heard amazing feedbacks from the patients about her hard work and passion to help people. Upon hearing this, Izzie felt elated. At least her (or Denny's) 8 Million dollars was put to good use and her hard work paid off. But realizing that accepting the honor would mean going to Seattle, that made her nervous. Of course, it didn't help that the chatty woman didn't fail to mention that 4 other doctors would be given the same honor as hers. She mentioned the name of the doctors but only two names struck her, Dr. Miranda Bailey and Dr. Derek Shepherd.

Great. If Derek would be there, of course Meredith would be there too. If there is something she is more afraid than going to Seattle, that is facing her friends and her ex-husband, Alex. They may even be the main reason why she doesn't want to go there. She would be lying if she would say she that didn't miss them. She misses her friends including him. God, she misses him. There's no day that passes by that she wouldn't think about him. But she wasn't ready to face them yet or Meredith for that matter. Too many things were said. Or she said some hurtful things to Meredith. Her good old friend called her family and even begged her to stay. She can still even recall the moment Meredith told her those things- she sounded broken and her voice shaky, a clear indication that she was about to cry. But what did she do, she pretended she didn't care, grabbed her things and left.

So she decided that going back to Seattle wouldn't help anyone, it would just open up closed wounds that were so hard to heal. She told Mrs. Howard, the woman from the organization, that she couldn't make it. Life as a doctor, she said. The woman on the other line was disappointed but said she understood. Mrs. Howard also said that in case she changed her mind, she is still very welcome to come.

Two days after, she received an unexpected call from Dr. Bailey. The doctor was furious that she is not going. Apparently, Mrs. Howard was kind enough to share the information (as well as her contact number and whereabouts) to her former resident when the woman called Bailey to inform her about the award. Bailey threatened her that she would go to L.A to make sure her stupid ass would be on Seattle to receive the award. And then with a motherly tone, she said that she deserved the award as much as she did. And that they both worked hard for the clinic to run as smoothly as possible and she must accept the recognition even though it was just a plaque or simple certificate. And before hanging up on her, the doctor added that if the clinic meant anything to her, she would come.

And now, here she is nervous as hell and on her way to the restaurant that was chosen as the venue for the gathering. "Izzie, are you okay?" ,the man beside her asked. Shit. Because of her nervousness, she forgot about her date, Dr. Brad Michael Keaton.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just nervous, you know I've never been here for more than a year. Thank you for coming here with me. It's not like we're.."

"I'm here as your friend.", he cut her off. "I know I sucked being your fiancé, so I'm here being a great friend." , he said before giving her a reassuring smile and hold her hand. "Izzie, I know how hard it is for you to come here. I'm here for you though. You know that, right?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah I know. Thanks.", she said before kissing him on the cheek. Then she made a big grin on her face, making the mood lighter."It's unbelievable how we managed to be friends after having such a bad break up! We really sucked at being boyfriend and girlfriend."

He chuckled, "Yeah."

Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd arrived in one of the top restaurants in Seattle. Of course, it was beautiful and everything screams glamour. But being there is something Meredith Grey doesn't want. She is not that kind of girl. Yeah, she and Derek would often dine at a cozy restaurant, the one that involves her wearing a dress and Derek wearing his long sleeved shirt. But not like this. This is beyond too much. She hates formal gatherings.

She really wouldn't be here if her husband is not one of the recipients of some association that gives honor to people from different walks of life who made a great difference in Seattle over the past few years. She heard there were five doctors who will be given honor tonight. She only knew two doctors, her husband Derek and Dr. Miranda Bailey. Derek was noted for inventing the Shepherd method and Dr. Bailey for opening up a free clinic. She wonders who the three doctors were.

She glanced to her right to see Dr. Bailey, wearing a green dress, arriving. She immediately stood up from where she's sitting to greet her attending.

"Good evening, Dr. Bailey. Congratulations again", she said, smiling.

"Thank you. Congratulations to Shepherd, too. You must be a very proud wife", Bailey said with a grin. Her eyes wandered around the spacious restaurant, looking for someone, before she spoke. "I'm actually looking for someone. And I haven't asked the usherette yet where I am supposed to sit. I forgot. I'm not really used to this kind of gatherings."

"Yeah. me either."

She chuckled. "Yeah. See you in a while."

Izzie is really thankful that Brad is with her right now, holding her hand. It's weird how from bitter lovers, they ended up as great friends. She met Brad in the hospital she's currently working. He is a pediatric surgeon. He is good with kids and he sees to it that the parents are not overly worried to their kids especially if there's really nothing to worry about. Brad is a great man. She knew that, that's why when he asked her out, she said yes without hesitation. He was not the first guy to ask her out though after her divorce with Alex. Many guys tried to get her attention but she felt that she was not ready. Not ready to love again, to kiss someone other than Alex, to move on and leave behind the memories they had and the future she and Alex made when they were together. She had to though. She can't live a life waiting for Alex to show up. She can't wait for him to tell her that she can go back to Seattle and they can live the rest of their lives together. That's not how she wanted to live her life, waiting in the sidelines when the guy she's waiting for might not come or may never come.

Brad knew about her and Alex. He knew she was trying to move on from her ex-husband. He was patient at first, telling her that he will be waiting for her until she's ready to fully commit to him. Apparently, it was taking her long enough to lose his patience. He felt she was not trying hard enough. It was not the case on Izzie's side though. She was really trying her best to love Brad. It even came to a point that she loved Brad but she just loves Alex more. And she feels guilty about it. She is with a man who loves her the way she would want Alex to love her. The way she would want Alex to need her and would not ask her to go and leave his side.

One night, while they were in a restaurant, Brad presented her a princess cut diamond ring and asked her to marry him. She was shocked; she really didn't know how to respond. He's a great guy and all but them getting married? It was too fast. Way too fast. She was about to tell him no but Brad cut her off by saying that if she really wanted to move on with him, then she must accept his proposal. He said that them being engaged wouldn't mean that they would marry right away. That all he wanted from Izzie was a reassurance that she really wanted to move on from her ex, that one day she would want a future with him and that they would move forward together. That night they left the restaurant as a newly engaged couple.

But waiting for her to move on must've taken a toll on Brad. He would nag at her; they would fight at little silly things, out of nowhere he would ask her if she's thinking of getting back with her ex-husband, if she would go out with her friends, he would think that she is planning to leave him. Izzie put aside all these things thinking she made this to Brad. She made Brad insecure, of himself and their relationship. Until one day (one week before the call from Mrs. Howard), Izzie woke up with a furious Brad asking her what are her plans with her and ex-husband's embryo. He read the letter from the laboratory that keeps the embryo asking her whether or not she would like to renew the contract and if she would like to renew, she must inform them as soon as possible and of course, pay the corresponding bill. Alex gave her the full custody of the embryos during their divorce. It had cut her deep. How could he not care about the embryos? It was them. Those were their future. When she told Brad she wanted to keep them, he became more furious reminding her that she's already ovulating and that they have a chance to have a baby together. She just continued to sob, not knowing how to tell Brad that she can't let go of the only thing she and Alex have together. He seemed to get it though and told her they were over and that she can do whatever she wants with her miserable life. She can go back to Seattle with her ex-husband and ask him desperately to take her back for all he cares.

After the break up, Brad and Izzie pretended the other doesn't exist. They would just do their work, talk to each other when they needed to but won't look at each other's eyes. When the news broke that she was about to go to Seattle to accept an award, Izzie was surprised to see Brad at her apartment asking her if they could talk. They talked all night, asking each other for forgiveness, both realizing that maybe some things aren't just meant to be. She was also surprised when Brad asked her if he could accompany her in Seattle. He said he knew this was not easy for her and that she doesn't need to be alone as she face her fears. She accepted his offer at friendship, and here they are, about to face her fears.