Izzie insisted they go to Joe's for dinner, she had promised to teach Walter how to make a few more dishes. After spending the entire day helping him cook, he was getting the hang of breakfast. Now they would move on to dinner. Alex was actually looking forward to the food until they walked through the door…it was karaoke night and the talent was scarce.

Immediately, Izzie disappeared into the kitchen. Alex took a seat at a table as far away from the stage as he could get, not that it mattered. The woman on stage pushed the unruly mass of dark curls from her face and began to screech out 'Like a Virgin'. Even in the far corner of the room, Alex winced every time she tried to hit a high note.

He tried to focus on the fact that someone was coming for him. Lexie needed no convincing. The argument he had been expecting, never happened. It was almost too easy. He would worry about why later. Whatever the reason, it would be worth it to get out of this crazy ass town.

The song was ending and Alex was anxious for her to get off the stage, she was horrible. Unenergetic clapping faded quickly and to Alex's dismay, the woman remained on the stage for another round of Madonna, this time it was 'Material Girl'. "Fucking perfect." He groaned. If he weren't worried about Izzie being alone in a place like this, he would have fled sooner. Alex drummed his fingers on the table. He was being tortured.

"I thought you could use this." Addison placed a tumbler in front of him. It was nice of her; he really could use a strong drink if he was going to endure any more. She nodded toward the stage. "Big Madonna fan….don't worry, it'll be over soon."

One more verse wasn't soon enough; he tipped back the glass, gulping down the contents. "Good to know." He looked around the room, was everyone just too drunk to notice how awful it was? He imagined these were the type of people who convinced the terrible singers of the world to audition for American Idol, because when you're drunk the truth becomes severely distorted.

The man to his left leaned over and whispered. "She tried out for American Idol, you know?" Yet she was still singing karaoke in a bar. Go figure, he snickered.

"I told Izzie I would bring her some clothes. I brought some for you too, my ex-husband left them behind." Derek had left a closet full of clothes, ran off to live in the woods in a tin box. The tiny apartment they shared was small enough, living in a 10x10 trailer in the woods sounded anything but appealing. Not that she had been invited to come along. "They're in my car. If you need more let me know."

"Thanks." He half smiled. He hadn't told Izzie yet, but they wouldn't be there much longer. "I'll make sure you get them back before we leave."

"It's really no problem." Addison was happy to help. She really liked Izzie. It was too bad the young couple were only passing through. "I gotta get back to work before Joe fires me again." She giggled. At least once a week Joe got frustrated with her non-existent waitress skills, only to call her the next day and beg her to come help him. Walter flat out refused to wait on people, he was a cook and the cook belonged in the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~*

Things were calm in the kitchen, just the way Izzie liked it. People weren't ordering food because they were still used to Walter's rubbery steak, dried out chicken, instant potatoes and homemade bread that was so hard, you could loose a few teeth if you dared to eat it. It had come in handy in a few fights though, Joe joked, earning him a dirty look from Walter. "I'll just let you two get to work." He excused himself.

"Okay, I think it's going to be less stressful for you if we go over one thing at a time. Let's start with the bread." Izzie tied her apron around her waist and pushed up her sleeves.

The doors swung open and Addison, ears covered, hurried in. "I think Yang is going for a record tonight." Placing her hands on either side of the table, she leaned forward and peeked into the mixing bowl. "It already looks better than yours." Walter scowled; all that was in the bowl so far was flour. He used flour too, just not the same amount.

"I gave your boyfriend a drink, poor guy looked like he was going to jump on stage and yank the microphone out of Cristina's hand." It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried.

"He's not my boyfriend." Izzie looked down as she measured the salt. Maybe, if she were lucky, they would drop it.

Addison's eyebrow peaked upward, maybe it was a misunderstanding but she thought Izzie and the man with the great ass were sharing a suite. Nothing traveled faster than gossip with the ladies of Cherry Valley, especially when it involved a sexy man. "Really? There is nothing going on between you and…"

"Alex." Izzie provided, a twinge of jealousy hung in her voice.

"Is Alex single?" Walter asked. A slight twinkle in his eye.

"I don't think you're his type." Addison smiled, poor guy. It must be hard living in a town with little to no options when it came to available men. Hell, it was hard being a single woman in a town where all the men were either ugly and fat, or married. They were in the same boat.

"Alex and I are…complicated." She bit the corner of her lip, mulling over whether or not to spill the details of the night before to people she didn't really know. "It's complicated." Sparking an interest, they began to pry it out of her until she told them the entire story.

~*~*~*~*~*

With both elbows on the table, Alex rubbed his temples in agony. The Madonna tribute was still going strong. He couldn't take it anymore, he wouldn't….he was getting Izzie and they were leaving. A bag of chips and a candy bar for dinner were sounding more appealing with every torturous note. They didn't need to have a real meal. It wasn't worth it. He stood, about to storm into the kitchen and demand that they leave, when the tall redhead pushed him back into his seat as she walked by. "What the fuck?"

Her heels clanked as she hurried up onto the stage, she had to do something to help her new friend. Covering the handle of the microphone with both hands, she bumped an angry Cristina Yang out of the way with her hip. "Thank you Cristina, that was…"Pausing a moment to search for the right word to describe Cristina's performance, in a non-insulting manner. Addison cleared her throat and decided not to waste her time trying. It just wasn't going to happen. "Lets here it for Cristina Yang everyone."

One man in the front stood, clapping and letting out a low whistle. Cristina blushed; the man was a mystery to her. Kissing her one night and ignoring her the next. "What do you think you're doing, I wasn't finished!" She hissed under her breath.

With a fake smile, Addison turned her head towards Cristina and whispered. "There's a bottle of Vodka at the bar, it's yours if you stop singing." As she suspected, it worked like a charm.

~*~*~*~*~*

If there was anything Cristina Yang loved more than singing Madonna on stage, it was alcohol. Especially when it was free. Aspiring singers didn't make much money in a dive like this. Well technically, she didn't make any money.

"Can I buy you a drink?" His gruff voice startled and excited her at the same time.

She shrugged. "If you want." She could save the bottle for another night, a night when he wasn't so friendly.

~*~*~*~*~*

Wrinkling her nose, Izzie listened as Walter told her how he pre-cooked the chicken at the beginning of the week, reheated them every night and let them sit in the oven with the setting on warm. Then when they were ordered, all he had to do was zap them in the microwave for five minutes to make them hot. "Oh my god, don't do that." No wonder the chicken was dry. "Why don't you tell me how you prepare the steak?"

"The same way, except I microwave it for an additional ten minutes because it's thicker."

Izzie smiled. "Oh, well maybe we should try cooking as they order from now on." Maybe this wasn't going to be that hard; maybe it was just a matter of showing him how to properly prep. "On to the potato, why instant?"

"I like instant, the texture is just the way I like it." His mother always made instant potatoes, sometimes she would let him help.

"That's fine, for you…but you're not cooking for yourself here. You are cooking for an angry mob of hungry people who want their potatoes real, not instant." He nodded in understanding, she was right. There would have to be some changes made, if he wanted this to succeed. "Now let's talk new dishes." Walters brow raised, half concerned and half intrigued.

~*~*~*~*~*

The empty glass was lifted off the table and a new, full one replaced it. Alex wasn't sure whether the waitress was trying to get him drunk, or she was just really great at her job. From the irritated looks on the faces of the people couldn't get her to take their drink order, he decided it was the former. "You know, I'm not even ordering these. Maybe they belong to some of these other people, they kinda look pissed." One man shook his cane at Alex; he ordered a shot of whiskey twenty minutes ago and hadn't received it. Alex had finished off two drinks in those twenty minutes.

"Don't worry about Richard; he's not even supposed to be drinking." She raised her voice, loud enough for the entire bar to hear her. Smirking at him, she pointed out what he already knew. "His wife would kill him if she knew he was even in here."

"You're a horrible waitress." Richard snapped, grabbing his hat off the table. The mention of his wife had him running, if he hurried he would make it home before Adele and spare himself the twenty questions about where he had been.

"Drink up." Addison nodded toward the drink. "Your ice is melting."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" He thought he knew the answer, what he didn't understand was why.

"Of course not, why would I do that?" She smiled as she walked back to the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~*

"If you don't get laid tonight, I'll be surprised." Izzie's head shot up as Addison leaned against the wall, giggling softly.

"What?" Izzie squeezed her eyes shut, she didn't ask for any help. "What did you do?"

Taking notice of the tension in the beautiful young woman's voice, she pushed off the wall and stepped closer. "Nothing really, I've just been keeping his glass full." Izzie breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't say anything. I wouldn't betray you like that."

Izzie thought of Olivia, her best friend. The person who vowed never to betray her trust, and then did exactly that, twice. "I'm sorry…it's just hard to trust anyone after what my best friend did to me."

Walter stirred the pasta cooking on the stovetop. "Now that sounds interesting." He placed the slotted spoon on the counter and folded his arms across his chest. "Do tell."

She told them about Olivia and how she screwed George, the night he asked her to marry him. Olivia swore it was an accident, it just happened. It wasn't even very good, she had cried, begging for forgiveness as the tall blonde loomed over her. Foolishly, Izzie gave in. At least until Olivia went after something else she knew Izzie wanted. Olivia went after Alex.