Learning How to Bend

Tragedy strikes in Seattle and Alex's world falls apart. Will he be able to move through the pain to the other side?

WARNING: Character Death ... do not read if this makes you uncomfortable.

I own nothing. Shonda owns it all ... I just wish she'd take better care of it.


"No ... move it over to the right about a foot."

"Like that?"

"A little further, Alex."

"There?"

A huge grin spread over Izzie's face.

"Perfect!"

Alex joined his wife to admire their work. Well, his work, her directions. The wide vertical stripes on the wall, a pale pink and warm mocha, had taken forever. Hanging the white curtain rods above the windows had been a nightmare. Putting together the crib had required Derek, George and Mark's help. But the room was finished ... and it was perfect.

He walked slightly behind her, wrapping his arms around her swollen belly. She groaned slightly as she leaned back against his firm chest.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. My feet hurt. My legs are swollen. I've had continuous back pain for weeks, but yeah. I'm okay. Great even."

Beneath his hands, Alex felt the kick of a tiny foot or maybe a fist.

"That's my girl."

"God, Alex. Two and a half more months. I can't wait until we get to bring her home."

"I can't either."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, knowing that the only way his life could get any better was if his baby girl was sitting in the crib in front of them.

Sure, they had been through hell to get where they were. With Olivia and Denny and George and Rebecca. Rebecca ... He knew he had changed after she went away. It made him realize that he needed Izzie. That when it all came down to it, she was his rock. She was there for him. He wanted to be there for her, so finally he told her.

Their reconnection hadn't been immediate, but slowly and naturally they grew back together. Since their wedding two years earlier, an outdoor affair on Derek's land, they had settled into a life of domestic bliss.

Neither of them had ever been as happy as they were the day she told him that she was pregnant. It had definitely been a shock, as they hadn't really been trying to have a baby. But as soon as Izzie told him, he took her into his arms, wanting to never let her go.

He hugged his wife a little tighter as the thoughts of the past were over shadowed by the pure, innocent joy that the nursery held.


He hated the nights where she was working and he wasn't. He'd lie in bed alone, trying to push the memories of his lonely past away. A smile crossed his chisled face as he thought back to the previous night.

"You don't think this is bad for the baby do you?"

She was wrapped in his arms, her bare body flush with the heat they had just generated. He nuzzled the nape of her neck, barely pausing to answer her question.

"What, sex? Iz, come on, you know better."

"I'm just saying ..."

"Don't. You'll just get mad at me for making fun of you after you say it."

"You're mean!" she said as her lips settled into a faux pout. She smacks his shoulder as she continueds. "If our daughter turns out to be mean, we'll know exactly where that comes from."

"She won't be mean. She's got your genes, too. And hopefully she'll look just like you too. If that's the case, I'll have to buy a shot gun when she turns 15."

Izzie laughed that laugh that still drove him wild.

"No, you won't."

"You think I'm gonna let my daughter go out with guys who aren't terrified of me? You're out of your mind. I used to be a teenage boy. I know what goes through their minds."

"Yeah, I can only imagine what you were like as a teenage boy. Knowing you at 28 was bad enough."

"Funny."

A comfortable silence settled in the room, and they spent the quiet moments just enjoying one another, the feel of their skin together, the mixing of their breath, the movement of their child in her belly. Nothing could ruin this.

"You think we can do this? The whole parenting thing?"

"Yeah, I do. We'll get each other through it." He kissed her forehead softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Alex," she said as she rested her head back against him, the picture of pregnant bliss, falling into a peaceful rest. Like an angel, Alex thought to himself.

Now he was laying in the same bed, alone, wishing the morning would come sooner, so that they could spend the whole day together. The night felt like it would never end.