A/N: Hmmm, three chapters in eight hours. Wonder if I'll lose my job if I stayed home again tomorrow. LOL.

"Holy crap! What the hell … are you two … I knew I should have come home early last night … did you two … holy crap," Izzie shrieked, walking in on Meredith curled up in an almost fetal position against Alex' back.

"Unbunch your panties, Stevens. We didn't have sex," Alex grumbled, sitting up on the bed, shaking the cloud of sleep from his head.

"Fully clothed, Iz, see," Meredith assured, peeling off the covers to prove her statement.

"You didn't have sex last night?"

"No, Iz, we didn't have sex last night," Meredith patiently said, raising herself into a sitting position before leaning her back against the propped pillows.

"Then what the hell are you doing in his bed?" She jerked her thumb at Alex with disgust and bewilderment on her face.

"Didn't you know … he's our new Georgie," she said, giggling as she saw his eyes roll in disgust. She gestured for Alex to move to the middle of the bed, turning to Izzie invitingly, "C'mon, Iz, get in the bed, like we used to do. It's surprisingly comfortable."

"Uh, yeah, I'll take your word for it. You swear you didn't have sex last night?"

"Yes, Izzie, we swear we didn't have sex last night," Alex and Mer said together.

"O-o-o-o-kay, then, 'coz seriously, the two of you together, that's just too weird. By the way," Izzie added on her way out of the room, "the mess in the living room? I ain't cleaning that up. Better hurry, too, or you're gonna be late."

Groaning at the thought of having to do chores before getting ready for work, they rose from the bed, both of them deliberately opting to ignore the implications of Izzie's comment about them as a couple.

X ---------- AFTER LUNCH, AT THE NOT-SO-SECRET HALLWAY ---------- X

"Argh. I have got to get out of the pit. I'm sick of suturing," complained Alex as he lowered himself beside Meredith on the gurney.

She was lying on her back, her arm draped across her eyes. He turned to lie on his stomach, his head turned to her.

"What are you doing here," he asked, when she remained quiet for several minutes.

"Hiding. Thinking."

"Hiding from whom?"

"Izzie --- she's still freaking out about seeing us in bed together."

He grunted. "Okay, forget Izzie. What are you thinking about?"

Another few minutes passed before she turned her head to face him, indecision clouding her eyes.

"Derek called again this morning. He said he was coming back tomorrow, first flight in from New York."

He really didn't know how to react to her announcement. Hell, he didn't even have the right to be jealous or indignant. He also knew that Derek was going to come back eventually, but he spent the last few days ignoring that fact. It's not as if Mer and I are a couple. Yeah, we had sex once, and we've been hanging out a lot, but it doesn't mean there's something there. She's in love with McDreamy, and I'm in-(pause)like with Addison.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, huh?"

"Just because he's coming back doesn't mean we stop being friends, Alex."

"Yeah. Are you gonna tell him about what happened between us?"

Well, how's it so far? Thanks again for reading. Looking forward to your reviews.