Author's Note: I'm sorry for the delay. With Christmas and family in town I have been a little busy these past few days. Also, I only got four reviews for the first chapter. Now, I'm not one of those authors who refuses to update unless I get a certain amount or anything; I write because I love to, and the characters inspire me. However, it is a little discouraging when you know people are reading and yet you aren't getting much feedback.

Anyway, there isn't a great deal of progress in this chapter, though it does start to get the story rolling a bit more. The final scene was one of the images that helped inspire this story so I'm hoping you like it. Also, this will be both an Izzie and Addison centric story, just to clear up any confusion. Their relationship when Addy was still on Grey's was one I wished Shonda and co would have explored more.

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Grey's or Private Practice. All characters included are property of ABC, Shonda Rhimes, et al. I just can't catch a break.

Addison waited in the hope she'd say something but wasn't all that surprised when she didn't. "Stevens?"

Izzie fidgeted, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she stifled a laugh. "Karev. For now."

"What do you mean?" Addison asked with a frown. "For now?"

There would be no escaping it Izzie realized, and after everything Addison had already done for her she figured that there wasn't any other choice. "I don't know, I just feel like maybe some things just aren't meant to be." Izzie held her mug tightly as she stared into the inky darkness, trying to decipher the shapes of waves hitting the shore and ships out in the distance. "I love Alex, I really do, but we rushed into this. He married me because he thought I was going to die, and now that I'm going to live neither of us are sure of how to adapt."

It was obvious she was in pain, but Addison wasn't sure what to do other than listen. She set her cup on the table next to the chair before pulling her legs up and resting her chin on her knees.

Izzie looked over to see Addison apparently paying deep attention. She let out a laugh before resting her head on the back of the chair."I've gotta be boring you by now."

"No, not at all." Addison replied in honesty. "You boarded a bus and came here to Los Angeles, which means that something is wrong. Which leads me to my next question: why isn't Alex here, and why doesn't he know that you are? I get that something happened with the Chief, but-"

"I told you. I made a mistake, and Alex...he didn't stand up for me in the way he could have. That, and the whole getting married thing. He's-" Izzie stopped, pretending to pick at lint on her jeans before speaking. "Alex is a great guy most of the time, you know that. However, I can't keep doing this to him. To me."

"Did you ever think that maybe he wasn't sticking around just because he felt bad for you, and that maybe he did truly love you?" Addison asked, not quite believing the words as they left her mouth. She knew it was all true-or at least hoped it was-but hearing herself say it was a little unexpected.

Izzie's eyes glazed over as she started recalling the events from the days and weeks before. So much had happened that she never could have predicted, and yet she felt leaving Seattle was the only natural conclusion. "I made a mistake with a patient. I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been, and it cost us both. I'm the one that gets to live with the pain of knowing I should have performed differently." Izzie spoke softly, eyes focused on something in the distance rather than any one thing in particular. "I guess now there's no telling whether or not Alex really could have done anything to help me keep my job, but you've gotta understand. That time that I wasn't a surgeon? It hurt me like hell. Being a doctor and helping take care of other people, healing them again, is what has been ingrained in me for years. He knows that, and so he should have at least tried."

Thunder rumbled low and quiet in the distance as the weight of what Izzie said settled between them. Addison knew enough about her to realize her opinion wouldn't change soon without just cause, and as she herself was stubborn she couldn't exactly blame her. "You've had a long day, why don't we just head inside and call it a night?"

Izzie leaned forward and picked up her mug from the table, watching as the small amount of liquid that remained inside splashed, reaching closer and closer to the lip until she brought it to her mouth. She settled her elbows on her knees and sighed. A sudden fear crawled up from inside; the fear of being found out. "Listen, Addison...thanks for helping me and I know you don't really owe me anything, but could you just not tell anyone I'm here? From Seattle, I mean."

"Of course," Addison agreed, biting her tongue the second she did because eventually the issue would probably rise again. "I want you to take whatever time you need."

Addison walked into Oceanside Wellness with the intention of getting work done. She had a few appointments with expectant mothers and a lunch with Naomi took look forward to. If no emergencies came to her attention, she'd get to go home early. There was the matter of Izzie and whatever it was that was happening with her, which God willing would be figured out in due time. She pressed the up button and stood patiently.

"Morning." Pete said as he walked in the door. He smiled over his coffee cup and raised a brow. "Everything okay?"

Addison didn't realize how tight she was gripping her purse strap and how fast she was tapping her toes until she heard him ask. "No, I'm fine. Everything's good."

Pete sighed as they walked into the elevator. They hadn't been as close what with her being busy leading the practice and him getting used to being a single father, but he still felt like they had a friendship. If something was bothering her, he wanted to help. "Well if you want to talk, you know where to find me."

"Right." Addison leaned against the back wall and looked at him. He was patient, scrolling through messages on his phone, so he probably didn't notice. It was then she realized it hadn't been just Naomi she'd been pulling away from, but everyone in the practice as well.

"What?" Pete asked, not looking up from his phone. His thumb carefully traced over a few keys before he slipped it into his pocket.

The doors slid open as she stepped forward. She stopped in the doorway and held it open, offering him a nod. "Just...if you need to talk-"

"I know where to find you." Pete ended her sentence and offered a smile in return before heading toward his office.

Addison stood near the reception desk for a moment to collect her thoughts. Had she really been as neglectful to her friends as it suddenly felt like, or was it just the guilt from a fallen friendship with Naomi that led her need to salvage everything else?

Violet passed her in the hall as she was heading to her office. "Mrs. Harding is already waiting in exam room two."

"Thanks, Violet. Hey-" Addison spun around quick, a questioning lingering in her mind, but it hadn't really formed yet.

"Yeah?" Violet asked. She closed the file in her hands and curled her arm close to her chest.

"Nevermind, it wasn't important." Addison replied before walking away. Whatever it was that was bugging her, she hoped to fix it soon.

Waves lapped at the shore as Izzie stared out into the ocean. She could feel the water seeping between her toes and crawling beneath her feet. The sand was slowly covering her, making her sink.

Maybe coming to L.A. wasn't such a great idea. She was grateful to Addison for letting her stay of course, and Izzie knew it wasn't going to be the easiest thing for her to keep it a secret, but she knew the time would probably come when she'd have to leave because there was only so much she could expect her to do. She wondered why the thought never crossed her mind that Addison lived there before boarding the bus. It was something so ridiculously dramatic-buses were notoriously dirty and filled with older men or lonely single mothers trying desperately to keep their children under control, not for smart former surgeons-but she needed to get away.

She was alone, which was a good because it gave her the chance to think and process things freely.

Her skin itched, like everything inside her was pressing with a sudden force, pleading to be set free. Tears welled up and clouded her view. The storm that had been threatening to start the night before was drawing even closer.

Izzie gazed down to see her feet were almost completely covered with sand. A tear trickled down her cheek as the wind kicked up, whipping her hair to and fro.

The sky fell open.