Izzie awoke early the next morning with a burning throat and a sting in her eyes. She guessed those were common side effects when you spent the night crying your sorrows away, but she had definitely seen better days.

After Grace Stevens had led an inconsolable Isobel into her trailer last night, no words had been spoken except for the hushed whispers of comfort that she had muttered into her daughter's hair while hugging her close. Now, she was leaning against the kitchen counter, silently mustering her only child over a cup of tea.

Izzie looked up only to find her Mom's questioning gaze upon her. She noticed that hot chocolate had been prepared and left for her on the dining table, but no words had been spoken yet. It was then that Izzie leapt off the couch without warning, rushing off to the bathroom in a hurry. No matter how little she ate, her convulsing stomach just wouldn't settle down before noon.

When she reemerged sometime later, her Mom smiled knowingly. "So, you're pregnant again…congratulations darlin'! I assume you're gonna keep it this time around?"

Izzie briefly wondered how the hell her mother knew, but figured it was useless speculating. She was a Mom after all, and Moms just knew things. Maybe out of instinct, or maybe simply because this exact scenario was like history repeating itself.

The blonde doctor drew in a shaky breath as she confirmed her mother's suspicions.

"You wanna go for a walk darlin'? I'll show you around my new neighborhood," Grace suggested, holding out a steady hand while waiting for her daughter to take it. It was time for some serious bonding.

--

Cristina finished tying her shoelaces and was just about to rise from the uncomfortable wooden bench in the resident's locker room, when her colleagues Alex and Meredith burst through the door, looking around feverishly. It was just past five and no one else seemed to wander the halls of Seattle Grace yet, so seeing those two so out of breath immediately sent her body into action. She jumped up. "Where's the emergency?"

Meredith gasped before putting a hand over her heart to still its racing. "Alex needs to borrow your car!"

"You're joking, right? Don't you own a car Evil Spawn?" Cristina felt like a weird-ass player in some lame game that she didn't realize she was participating in. This situation just seemed too familiar to be coincidental.

Apparently Alex had lost the ability to form words, as Meredith was acting as his spokesperson again. "It's back at my place and a piece of junk that won't get him anywhere, so we drove straight here from my house. Just give him the keys," her friend urged, eyes conveying the gravity of the matter.

Cristina was at a momentary loss for words, not something that happened on a regular basis. She opened her mouth, just to close it again a second later, an expression of total bewilderment gracing her features.

Meredith was rapidly growing impatient. "Cristina, hey!" She waved a hand in front of her person's face. "Car keys?"

The Asian woman was at a crossroads. Was Izzie's abrupt departure in the middle of the night supposed to be a secret? And if so, was she supposed to keep it even though technically they weren't even close friends? While she contemplated that dilemma, she thought of another proposal, and turned to Meredith. "Just give him your car! What's with my car that people have grown to love all of a sudden?"

"Well, my car kinda ran out of gas a couple of blocks down, hence the running…What, you think I've taken up jogging in the middle of the night? Shame on you, you know I'd never go without you."

At that point, Alex decided to join their conversation, sensing it was slowly getting out of hand. Those two could bicker back and forth the whole day while never actually talking to each other, and he had more important issues at hand. "Yang, I need your car asap. I promise I'll get it back to you in one piece." He wouldn't go so far as to beg, it was Cristina after all, but if she didn't hand over those damn keys soon, he'd actually consider it.

Cristina seemed to make a quick internal decision before stepping slightly away from Meredith to fully face him instead. "I don't know where my car is. But if you find Izzie, tell her I'll need it by Wednesday."

"What?", both Alex and Meredith yelled at the same time, causing Cristina to cover her ears quickly. "Ow!"

Alex jumped forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, determined urgency filling his voice. "Where is Izzie?" And just like that, a light bulb went off in Cristina's sleep-deprived brain. Maybe skanks hadn't been the problem after all. This seemed more like a good old lover's spat that she had, unwillingly, been dragged in the middle of.

"Don't know. Same place as my car I'm guessing?"

"Cristina," Meredith interrupted, exasperated. "Just tell him, I'll give you the run-down later."

The other doctor shrugged her shoulders, growing tired of this game. "Said something about visiting her Mom. I didn't know she even had one…within driving distance at least."

"Ok," Alex breathed, clearly holding back the anxiety that had built up. "Now, where does her Mom live?"

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Do I look yellow to you? I don't know, like a phone book?"

Alex threw his hands up and turned to Meredith. "Mer, give me your keys please? I'll catch a cab to the next gas station."

Meredith wordlessly handed over the stainless steel goodies, watching worriedly as Alex raced back out where they had come from. She wearily glanced at her best friend, who only shook her head. "Seriously? You look even worse than I do!"

--

While Alex raced southbound on Interstate 5, breaking every speed-limit available, he briefly wondered how many trailer parks could possibly exist within Chehalis's city limits. He vaguely remembered Izzie talking about growing up there and figured he'd just have to knock on every single door period. For once in his life though, he didn't care if he was making a fool out of himself. He had to fix things with his girlfriend, and nothing and no one was going to stop him.

It was like he had told Mer last night; his first reaction to Izzie's pregnancy news had been fear and self-doubt. He wasn't scared of the responsibility itself, but of how it was going to affect him in the long run. His Dad hadn't always been violent. The stress of having to provide for a family with two small children had somehow pushed him over the edge. In his rational mind, Alex knew that he was nothing like his old man, but who could guarantee it was going to stay that way?

Initially, after his talk with Joe, Alex had somehow figured that he'd just apologize to Izzie and everything else would magically work itself out. When that hadn't happened however, and their fragile truce had come to a sudden end last night, he knew that he'd have to sort out his deeper issues first before being able to fully commit to Izzie and his soon-to-be-born child. That's where Meredith had come in, letting him talk about his past and listening objectively to the drama that had been his upbringing. Somehow, he had found comfort in her silence, realizing for the first time that talking about things was not only not overrated, but actually easier than he had always assumed. The fact that he'd been able to open up to Meredith hadn't come as a big surprise either, since the other woman was pretty much his non-emotional soul mate, if things like that existed. After their one-sided chat, he'd resolved that he would definitely try out the whole 'talking thing' with Izzie as well, figuring that things couldn't get much worse than they were now. And since he was known for his honesty, maybe she'd even believe him if he spoke from his heart. After that revelation, Mer had decided that he couldn't just wait around for Izzie to come back any longer, he'd have to 'proactively seek her out' instead. The last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place with Cristina, and that's why he was currently speeding down I-5 in his former roommate's Jeep, high on caffeine and the anticipation of what was to come.

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I love Cristina in this. LOVE! Do you agree or disagree? I'm really curious, because I've never written her before...Thanks for your continuous reviews, I really appreciate them :)