Alex Karev stood at the scrub sink but his mind was far from the surgery about to take place, he was thinking about how completely lucky he was. He finally found the girl of his dreams. It had been nearly 5 years since his previous girlfriend Jo Wilson had been taken away by war and killed in an accidental explosion. Alex Karev was totally and completely in love again. In fact he had been in love for quite a while but it hadn't really hit him until this moment. The funny thing was that this girl wasn't a doctor or a nurse. In fact she was a total stranger until the night his life had changed forever.
It was after a long day at the hospital. He decided to go over to Joe's for a drink. All he wanted to do was unwind from the day and be able to go home and sleep before having to return to the hospital the next day. He sat at the bar and looked around wondering when someone he knew would come in. It always happened considering the bar was right by the hospital. Normally he wouldn't have even thought of looking for someone to take home with him. He was over that. Those days were in his past and the old "evil spawn" mentality was gone. After Jo's death he could barely bring himself to talk to women who weren't his patients. And he even found it difficult to talk to the single mothers of some of the kids he took care of. There was just something about women that confused him after that devastating event. He realized that he always seemed to choose "damaged" or "wrecked" women and was tired of it. It was emotionally draining having to constantly keep up.
But this was different. Different from anything he had ever experienced before. This girl was mesmerizing even to tired Dr. Alex Karev. He wanted to know all the mysteries and all the secrets inside her head. He thought maybe he should go over to her. Or maybe she would notice him and approach him. She looked like she was alone, just sitting at the other end of the bar. Before he could even form one more thought the girl was paying her bill and pulling her jacket over her shoulders only to talk out the door without even giving him a glance.
Why was this so weird? Why did he feel like his heart had just been ripped out? Was this how real love felt? No, he know what love felt like he had been in love with Izzie before she walked out on him. He loved his family no matter how messed up they were or how much they hurt him. He loved his friends. This was different, but even if someone laid it all out for him he didn't think he would have been able to lay his finger on it.
He slowly paid his bill and put on his jacket without even putting it on, walked out the door of the bar and got a taxi home. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop reliving the moment at the bar. Seeing that girl, wondering what her story was, and watching her leave. It all just kept replaying in his mind. As he lay in bed he thought about her until finally the alcohol had gotten to him. He was slowly fading into a deep sleep, a sleep that was very much needed.