After Alex had left, she couldn't really recall what had happened during her consultation with Mrs. Evans. She felt like she had been in a movie, one where the main character just kind of sat there as the world continued to move on around them. She felt numb, distant and above all things, horrible for not being able to give her patient the attention she deserved.

Izzie sat alone in her office for several long minutes before she finally pushed herself to her feet and pulled the pristine white lab coat from her shoulders. He had no right to barge back into her life like he had because she wasn't ready to answer all of the questions she had so meticulously pushed into the far recesses of her mind. Even if her heart hadn't fully backed her, she had meant everything that she had said on that day so many years ago.

The bone-chilling wind whipped through her hair as she turned and walked away. He had begged her to stay and that fact alone assured her that she had made the right decision. They each had their own life to live, their own goals to accomplish before they could ever consider losing themselves for another person. He was destined to be a great plastic surgeon and there was no way in hell she was going to stand in his way. So against the protest of her heart which threatened to no longer beat, she had walked away.

A heavy sigh parted pale pink lips as she reached up to run a hand down the length of her neck. She didn't have the time or the energy to deal with any of these resurrected feelings, not when she had places to be and appointments to keep. So after putting on her bravest of smiles she grabbed her purse and headed out of her office. "Leaving for the day Doctor Stevens?" Izzie laughed as she grinned down at her receptionist. "Yeah I've got hot date with a gorgeous blonde guy."

She was definitely grateful when she stepped outside and saw that the weather had decided to clear up and that fact alone was able to bring a genuine smile back to her lips. While she did love the rain, it would have been a slight hindrance and would have caused her to change her plans while potentially causing her to break a promise.

With her purse slipped over her shoulder, she crossed the street and walked the short distance to where she knew the love of her life would be waiting. "MOMMMMYY!" Her smile reached her eyes and her laughed filled the air as she bent over and held her arms out to catch the small boy who was leaping into her arms. "Hey you," she grinned into his hair as she spun him around. "Oh I've missed you today!"

Her son beamed up at her as she carefully set him back onto the ground and kneeled in front of him. "Mommy today Miss Parker let me color and I made a dinosaur! RAWR!" She laughed as she feigned being frightened and then turned to look at the babysitter who had made her way over. "How was he today?" she asked she gave her son an Eskimo kiss. "He was a bit of a terror, but charming as usual," the woman replied. "Yeah, that's my little guy."

She smiled to herself as she stared at her son with a mixture of wonderment and awe. She had never thought she could have loved a single person as much as she did that little boy. He was her everything. It was funny how when she found out that she was pregnant that there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was going to keep it. At that point in her life she was far more mature than the sixteen-year-old girl in the trailer park who had given up her daughter to survive and yet somehow she knew that she would be able to take care of the life that was growing inside of her. A life that had been created out of love rather than lust.

"So who wants to go get some ice cream?" she asked with a bright smile as she pulled herself away from her thoughts. "Ooo MEEEE!" he squealed as he jumped up and down in excitement. "Okay let's go then." She pushed herself to her feet and waited for him to reach out for her. When he did, her heart threatened to burst as he slipped his small hand in hers.

"Mommy can I get chocolate ice cream with the rainbow sprinkles and…" Another laugh filled the air and was blown back to where Alex stood watching under the shade of the trees. "Of course you can. Now let's go before it starts to rain again."

The clouds rolled in as the trio disappeared off into the distance and for the second time in his life, the heavens opened up and unleashed their fury as he watched her walk away.