Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie stood in the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest. The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to suppress the smile from forming on her face. Mark was in front of her. He held a movie in one hand, the other combing through his hair.

"Are you serious?" Izzie asked.

Mark nodded his head.

She couldn't stop the smile on her face from turning into a full blown grin. "And you want to be friends with him again? Why?"

"It's not that bad Izzie." Mark set the DVD down on the counter.

"Yes. It is."

He threw his hands up in the air. "You're right Izzie. I should just cut my losses and start over. I need to find new friends. Derek is obviously defective."

Izzie laughed. "Defective? The guy is seriously disturbed. How the hell were you friends with him for so long when you knew this about him?"

Mark shook his head. "It used to drive me and Addison crazy. He would make us watch the movie whenever we hung out together. But he loves it."

Izzie shook her head. "Fine. I'll do it. But you so owe me." She grabbed the movie off of the counter and walked toward the living room. Stopping at the kitchen door, she turned around to face Mark. "Sweet Home Alabama. Sweet Home Alabama. I can't believe that Derek's favorite movie is freaking Sweet Home Alabama."

Mark put his arms up in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I personally never got the movie. He finds it charming."

Izzie smiled, just another reason why she liked Mark. She had hated the movie the first time she saw it. She never understood why Melanie chose to stay with her husband instead of marrying the new guy. Andrew never did anything wrong and yet she dumped him for the man who disappointed her years earlier. Izzie never would have done that. She would have stuck with the man that loved her, not the one that broke her heart. She shook the thought from her head, the DVD tight within her grasp.

She pushed the door open. Derek and Meredith were snuggled on the couch together watching some documentary about the brain.

"Um… is this almost over?"

Meredith looked up. "We've already seen this twice. Why? Is there something you wanted to watch?"

Izzie bit her lip and looked at the movie in her hands. She didn't want to do this. She just did not dislike the film, she hated Sweet Home Alabama. She started to walk back to the kitchen; tell Mark that she wasn't going to do this. She took two steps before she stopped herself. She couldn't do that. After the dinner party the month before, Mark and Derek's friendship had hit a plateau. Derek no longer made his underhanded comments toward Mark. He didn't yell at him or argue either. The two of them just stopped talking to each other. The only comforting thought about the whole thing was that the other relationships that were affected that evening had strengthened. Meredith and Derek made up and were stronger than ever. Alex convinced Rebecca that the party was just an anomaly and his friends were actually nice people. She forgave him and now Alex was talking about commitment and moving out of Meredith's house. Her friendship with Mark had strengthened as well. They did less drinking and more baking, both opening up about past mistakes. She told him about Denny, breaking down in his arms as she explained the circumstances surrounding his life and his death. He told her about Lucy, his college sweetheart that had manipulated him to the point of insanity. But his friendship with Derek was stalled and this was their last ditch effort to get it started again.

"Did you guys want to watch a movie?"

Meredith made a face. "No offence Iz, but your taste in movies sucks."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does. Remember Under the Tuscan Sun? Worst. Movie. Ever."

Izzie rolled her eyes. Meredith hated chick flicks. It was part of her dark and twisty attitude that made her dislike anything that ended happy.

"Ignore her," Derek said. "What's the movie?"

"Sweet Home Alabama."

Derek's eyes lit up, a huge smile on his lips. "Seriously?"

Izzie held up the DVD case.

"No way," Meredith replied.

"That's okay," Izzie said. "Mark and I are going to watch it anyway. If you don't want to, you guys can do something else."

Derek's smile grew wider. "You're making Mark watch this movie?"

She nodded. This might just work after all.

"Come on Meredith. Let's just watch the movie. It's not that bad."

Meredith groaned. "Fine. But you have to make it up to me later. In bed."

"O...K," Izzie said. "I'm going to get Mark now. Why don't you put the movie in?"

Derek took the DVD from her and turned to go put it in the DVD player.

Izzie went to the kitchen. Mark was near the door.

"So? Did it work?"

"Yes," she sighed. "But I have no intention of actually watching this movie."

"Izzie, I don't think Derek's going to want to watch it with just me there. You have to watch it."

"No. I don't. I just need to be in the same room. I am very tired and I am going to sleep. You will not wake me when I fall asleep."

Mark smiled. "Only if you don't wake me up if I fall asleep."

"I am so going to wake you up. But only because you and Derek need to talk."

He nodded his head. "Okay." He grabbed her arm and led her to the living room. Meredith and Derek had already settled themselves on the left side of the couch. Mark sat down on the other side of the sofa, Izzie right next to him. Derek pressed play on the remote and the movie started. Andrew was proposing to Melanie when Izzie laid her head on Mark's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Izzie jumped when somebody slammed the front door. She blinked, her eyes focusing on her surroundings. The movie was half over, Lucas and Melanie fighting about something. Alex was in the foyer, furiously tearing off his coat.

"Geez, Alex. What the hell is your problem?" Meredith said.

"Bite me," he said as he threw his keys on a nearby table. He stomped up the stairs and slammed the door to his room.

"What happened?" Izzie questioned Mark. Did she miss something when she fell asleep? She had never seen Alex that angry before.

Mark shrugged his shoulder. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I'm going to go check on him," she said as she got up from the couch. She cracked her neck, sore from having fallen asleep on Mark.

"Do you want me to stop the movie?" Derek said.

"No. It's okay."

"I'm going to pause the movie."

Damn. She walked upstairs and lightly knocked on Alex's door. "Can I come in?"

"NO!"

She opened the door anyway. "What's wrong?"

Alex was on his bed, a pillow over his face. He didn't say anything. He didn't move.

Izzie sat down on the bed next to him. Alex had been out on a date with Rebecca that evening. He spent the entire day bragging about it. He had planned everything perfectly. He made reservations at Marinelli's, an expensive Italian restaurant in the Seattle area and Rebecca's favorite. He ordered a bouquet of purple lilies, also her favorite. He was going to ask her to move in with him. But as Alex threw the pillow against the wall, Izzie knew that the answer wasn't the one that he had wanted.

Izzie placed her hand on Alex's shoulder. "I'm sorry Alex."

"She dumped me. She said that she missed her kid. She went back to her husband." He laid his head in his hands. "I'm an idiot."

"She's the idiot," Izzie replied. "You're a really great guy."

Alex pushed Izzie away. "Stop it, okay. I'm not one of your chick friends that get over things by eating a gallon of ice cream and crying about how my girlfriend broke my heart."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. That was not the reaction she was waiting for. He was supposed to thank her; tell her that she was right and say that there were other fish in the sea. Blah. Blah. Blah. She had never seen him like this. She didn't know how to fix him. What would Mark do in this situation? Izzie smiled. She grabbed Alex's arm and yanked him off of his bed. "Let's go," she said.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she dragged him out of his room and down the stairs.

She stopped in the living room, the others still on the couch, looking at her.

"Meredith, let's go."

"What's going on?" Meredith asked.

"We are going to Joe's," she said.

"Um…why?"

"So that we can get Alex drunk and then get him laid." Izzie grabbed Meredith's arm and pushed her roommates out the door.

"What about the movie?" Derek asked.

She turned around. Mark and Derek remained seated on the couch, both still staring at her.

"Watch it without me," she said. She exited the house and locked the front door. Nothing like killing two birds with one stone.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie sat on a stool at the bar sipping the same beer she had ordered an hour ago. Meredith was next to her, already on her third beer. Alex was at a table by himself, checking out prospective women.

"Why exactly are we doing this again?" Meredith asked as she picked at the corners of the label on her bottle.

"Because Alex is our friend and he is in pain."

"But why are we here? Why didn't you send Alex out with Mark or something?"

Izzie laughed. "Because Mark would have spent the entire night trying to find a woman for himself instead of helping Alex."

Meredith stopped peeling the label off her beer. "Do you really think that Mark would cheat on you?"

Izzie took a swig of her beer. Why did she say that? If Mark were here, of course he would be flirting with other women. That's what Mark did. But Meredith would never understand why Izzie let him do it.

"Izzie?" Meredith said. "Why don't you trust Mark?"

"I trust him," she said. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted anybody. She told him things that she had never told anyone before, not even George. But that didn't change the fact that Mark was having sex with other women. It didn't change the fact that he really wasn't her boyfriend.

"Then why do you think he will cheat on you?"

"We don't have that kind of relationship. We're not that serious."

Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Not serious?" She shook her head. "You are either in denial or really stupid."

Izzie took another gulp of her beer, finishing it. "Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you think Mark would have willingly watched Sweet Home Alabamaif he didn't care about you? If he wasn't serious about you?"

The only thing Mark was serious about was reconciling with Derek. She just happened to be the person that linked the two men together.

"Mark likes sex," Izzie said.

"Mark likes sex with you. That must mean something."

Izzie bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing. If Meredith only knew.

"Are you and Mark still having problems in bed? Is that it? Is that why you think he'll seek other women?"

Izzie grabbed the untouched beer that Joe left on the bar in front of her. She drank half of it in one gulp. She was not having this conversation. It had taken her three weeks to convince everybody that she had said those things to Mark because she was angry at him and wanted to hurt him. She told her friends that she knew they were there and that they would tell everybody what she had said. The last thing she needed were more rumors floating around the hospital about her non-existent sex life.

"Mark and I are fine. The sex is great." She took another long swallow from her beer. "Really, really great. Best I've ever had."

"I don't get it."

Izzie finished her beer. "What?"

"You and Mark. I thought I did. But now I'm not so sure."

What's not to get? She and Mark were friends who occasionally made out because they were pretending to be in a relationship so that Mark and Derek could be friends again.

"How's everything with Derek?"

"We're fine," Meredith said. "As long I don't mention Addison and he doesn't say anything about Mark."

So much for trying to change the subject. Izzie motioned for Joe to give her another beer. "I understand Addison. But Mark? Why would you care what Derek says about him?"

"After that night. You know the one."

Of course she knew the night. It was the one that she was one week away from getting rid of Mark as her boyfriend. If she would have kept her mouth shut, she would be single right now instead of having this conversation about her fake boyfriend.

Izzie downed the entire bottle of beer. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Meredith shrugged her shoulders. "Derek was the one that lied." She took a sip of her beer. "I was convinced that Addison was trying to get him back. And he was convinced that Mark was using you."

Izzie grabbed another beer. She needed to be drunk for this.

"He insisted that Addison had moved on and I insisted that Mark cares about you. We decided that it would be easier to agree to disagree than fight about it. Now I'm thinking that maybe Derek was right. Maybe Mark is using you."

Izzie took a sip of her beer. "Why do you care? Whatever is going on between me and Mark shouldn't be your problem."

Meredith took Izzie's beer away from her and set it on the bar. She took Izzie's hand and looked into her eyes. "You're my friend Izzie. You've been through so much this last year."

Izzie pulled her hands away and reached for her beer. The glass was cool against her lips, contrasting the warm liquid as it slid down her throat.

"Alex," Meredith said as she pointed to him.

Izzie turned. He was still at the table, a young brunette caressing his cheek. "What about him?"

"He hurt you."

"I'm over that. We're friends now. That's why I'm here. I care about him."

"Maybe. But then there was Denny."

Izzie wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "Meredith." Why was she bringing this up now? They were supposed to be discussing Mark.

"You were devastated after he died. I lied on the bathroom floor with you. I don't want to ever do that again."

"You won't have to," Izzie said as she took another sip.

"I hope not. But after George..." Meredith sighed. You lost your best friend, Iz. You haven't spoken to him since that night."

"I know that," she said, her voice raising more than she intended it to.

"But now you're with Mark. At first I was worried. I thought he would hurt you, just like Derek said he would. I thought he would break your heart and I would have to pull you off the bathroom floor again. But I've seen the two of you together. Derek is wrong. Mark won't hurt you. At least that's what I thought."

Izzie set her beer on the bar. "Meredith, Mark is not going to hurt me."

"Then what is going on between the two of you?"

Izzie took a deep breath. How the hell was she going to explain this? She chewed her bottom lip. "Mark and I are having casual sex."

"You're not the kind of person who has casual sex Izzie. I should know; I am the type of person who has casual sex. And someone who has sex with somebody exclusively with one person for four months is in a relationship."

Izzie could kill Mark right now. It was his fault that she was sitting here trying to define a fake relationship to her friend. She picked up her beer. No, tonight she would get drunk; tomorrow she would kill Mark.

"At first it was about sex," Izzie said. "That's what I needed after everything fell apart with George. Now, I really enjoy Mark's company. He's a lot better once you get to know him."

"So you do care about each other?"

Izzie picked up another bottle of beer. Why didn't Meredith just let this go?

"You don't have to worry about me Meredith. I knew what I was getting into when I got involved with Mark. His reputation is well known. I know about Addison and Callie and half the female staff at the hospital. Even though I may like spending time with him, I'm not going to fall for him and get my heart broken."

"Izzie…"

"I haven't lost sight of the fact that he is still Mark Sloan and one woman will never be enough for him."

Meredith laughed. "This is the same argument that Derek and I keep having. He doesn't think that Mark is capable of being in a long term relationship with one woman. But you're both wrong. Mark is committed to you. He cares about you. He's in it for the long haul."

Izzie shook her head. Mark was committed to Derek, not her. She and Mark may spend a lot of time together but in the end, Mark was still Mark and once this arrangement was over, he would go back to his former ways with multiple women. "Mark likes sex and when I stop giving him what he wants, he's going to find it somewhere else."

"Then why are you still with him?"

Because he and Derek still aren't friends. "Because right now things are good between the two of us so why should I end it?"

"I think it's because you like him."

Izzie sipped her beer. She did like Mark, but not the way that Meredith was implying.

"And you know what else? I think Mark likes you too. And not just for the sex, but for you."

Izzie took another large gulp of her beer. Mark did like her; he's told her that on more than one occasion. But they were friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I think you need to stay out of my sex life. Mark and I are currently having monogamous sex with each other. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Don't kid yourself Izzie; you don't have sex with someone unless you feel something for him. It's not your style."

Izzie finished her beer and set the empty bottle on the bar. It must be a good thing that she wasn't having sex with Mark then.

"Why can't you just admit that you and Mark are in a normal relationship and that the two of you care about each other?"

There was nothing normal about their relationship. "I care about Mark, but we're not going to fall in love and get married and have kids. We're just having fun with each other."

"Damn it Iz, you sound like me before I met Derek. Now look at me."

Izzie slammed her head on the bar. She needed to break up with Mark. The fake relationship was going on for too long and her friends were starting to question her reasons for staying with Mark. She would go home tonight and tell him that it wasn't working. He would have to find another way to get Derek back.

"Iz, if you're worried that Mark is going to hurt you, don't be. He cares about you more than you think he does."

Izzie lifted her head off the bar and signaled Joe for another beer. Mark didn't care about her, not like that at least. They had promised each other that they wouldn't fall in love with each other. Izzie knew that she could never fall in love with a man like Mark Sloan. No matter how charming and vulnerable he was with her, he still liked sex and was having it with other women. And Mark would never fall for her because he was Mark and he didn't fall in love with women.

"When did you become so bright and shiny?"

"When Derek and I got back together this last time, I promised myself that I wouldn't do anything to screw it up. I love him and I really want our relationship to work."

"That's great," Izzie said as Christina sat down next to Meredith. Izzie turned around. Alex was alone at his table. The brunette was with another man, her arms around his neck, kissing him.

"I'm going to go check on Alex," Izzie said. "Meredith, do me a favor. Don't tell Derek what I said tonight. I don't want it to affect his relationship with Mark. Mark is trying to fix their friendship and after everything that happened at the dinner party, I don't want to ruin any more progress that the two of them have made."

Meredith smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Derek about your interpretation of your relationship with Mark. I've seen the way that Mark looks at you. He isn't going to hurt you. He isn't going to sleep with anybody else. So, there really isn't anything to tell Derek."

Izzie chose to ignore that. Mark didn't look at her in a special way. Meredith only saw what she wanted to see and she wasn't interested in having another long discussion about the status of a non-existent relationship. Izzie stood up, her head pounding against her skull. She placed her hand against her head as the room began to spin. She grabbed her beer and wobbled to where Alex was sitting alone at his table. "Hey," she whispered into his ear. "Want to get lucky tonight?" She sat down in the chair opposite him and placed her beer on the table in front of her.

Alex smirked as he lifted his beer to his lips. He took a quick swallow before he put the bottle down and shook his head. "I thought I was the one who was supposed to get drunk and get laid tonight."

Izzie laughed. "Then why…" she pointed toward the brunette that was with Alex earlier in the evening… "Is she over there with some other guy?"

Alex's eyes darkened, his entire body slumping against the chair. "I told her about Rebecca. She got bored and moved on to somebody else."

"You know, the whole point of this evening is to forget about what's her name."

Shrugging his shoulders, he took another swig of his beer. "I can't. I miss her already."

Izzie reached across the table and placed her hand over Alex's. "I'm sorry that she hurt you Alex. I know how much you loved her."

Alex gave her a weak smile. "It's not the first time that I got my heart broken."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. Alex usually didn't discuss his feelings with her. Or anybody else for that matter. Rebecca must have really had an affect on him. "Um… what happened?"

"She fell in love with a heart patient." He looked up and stared into her eyes.

Pulling her hand away from his grasp, she shivered, the hair all over body standing on end. "I'm sorry," she whispered as a single tear cascaded down her cheek. "I never meant to hurt you."

Alex leaned over the table and wiped the tear away with the back of his thumb. "I never meant to hurt you either," he said. "But we did." He sat back in his chair and picked up his beer. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't cheated on you." He sipped his beer.

She sometimes wondered the same thing. Her life would have been so much better. She wouldn't have fallen for Denny that was for sure. She wouldn't have slept with George and the two of them would be friends right now. And she never would have been in the position to accept Mark's plan. She sighed as she picked up her bottle. She took a sip and smiled when Lexie Grey entered the bar.

"What about her?" she said as she pointed at Lexie.

Lexie sat down at a table. She brushed her fingers through her short brown hair. She looked at her watch as she started picking at the peanuts from the basket in front of her.

"Lexie? I don't think Meredith would like it very much if I used her sister to get over my ex-girlfriend."

"Why not? It's not like the two of them are close. Besides," Izzie pointed to Meredith. She was at the door leaning on Christina. "She's leaving."

"Lexie is hot," Alex said.

"And I'm sure she would love to hear your sob story."

"I think she already has somebody else's sob story to listen to."

Izzie turned around and gasped. George was standing next to Lexie's table. She stood up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She sat back down as he took the chair next to her. She laughed at something he said, her hand softly caressing his hand. Izzie turned back around, her eyelashes coated with unshed tears. He had moved on. George had already moved on. It wasn't fair.

"Izzie," Alex's voice broke through her thoughts. "Does that bother you?"

Izzie wiped the tears from her eyes. She grabbed her beer and finished it before she responded. "Why is he with her?" she slurred. "It's only been a month since Callie filed for divorce. It's only been four months since he dumped me. He isn't supposed to move on."

Alex reached across the table and took her hand in his. "You do realize that you started dating Dr. Sloan the same day that George broke up with you. Hell, you guys were together before you and George were officially over."

Izzie pulled her hand back. "I need something stronger." She stood up and walked to the bar, avoiding George and Lexie as she did. She ordered a chocolate cake shooter. She swallowed it in one gulp, the hazelnut liqueur masking the bitterness of the vodka. She ordered four more and walked back to Alex. She put two of them in front of Alex and the other two in front of her. "Here's to George repeating his internship." Throwing back her head, she downed one shot after another.

"He never would have made you happy. He's too weak."

Izzie shook her head. "We would have been very happy. And he's not weak."

"Yes, he is. O'Malley wouldn't have known what to do with a woman like you. You're a strong, independent and very opinionated woman. You need a man that keeps you on your toes. Somebody like me." He winked at her.

"George could have kept me on my toes."

Alex laughed. "He couldn't handle Callie. He definitely never would have been able to handle you." He drank his first shot, his face contorting into an ugly grimace. He pushed the other shot in front of Izzie. "That was gross."

"Why did he move on so soon? You didn't move on so soon after we broke up, did you?" She picked up the shot and drank it quickly.

Alex shook his head. "Nope. I waited five months after we broke up before I started dating Rebecca."

"See Alex. That's why I like you best." She hiccupped, the alcohol threatening to come back up.

"Better than George?"

Izzie nodded her head. She scooted her chair closer to Alex and placed her hand on his thigh. "I've already told you that you're better than George. You've always known how to satisfy me."

Alex grabbed Izzie's hand and put it on the table. "If you and O'Malley were dating right now, I would be taking you up on your offer right now."

"Would it be only if I was with George? What if I were single?"

"I would be all over you if you were single. I would be all over you if you were dating anybody but Sloan."

Izzie laughed. The thought that Mark would care about who she slept with was ridiculous. The arrangement of their relationship allowed them to both have sex with whoever they pleased. Sure, Alex worked at the hospital and fell under the category of off-limits, but it wasn't like she and Mark discussed who they were sleeping with. Or rather, who he was sleeping with because she didn't need to have sex as often as he did.

"Are you afraid of Mark?" she said through her alcohol induced haze, the ability to form coherent thoughts slowly disappearing.

"A little," he admitted. "But that's not why I'm not going to take advantage of your drunkenness tonight."

"Why not?"

"Two reasons. Mark is an excellent plastic surgeon, one of the best in the country and I respect that. I would never do anything to disrespect him, especially sleep with his girlfriend."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. Addison. Coffee. Since when did Alex care about respecting anything that had to do with Mark? Ever since Mark relegated Alex to errand boy as an intern, the two of them didn't exactly get along. Either Alex had changed or Mark had. Izzie suspected that it was probably a little bit of both of them.

"You said two reasons. What's the other one?"

Alex smiled. "He makes you happy. Even if you're having one of those horrendous days, he still has the ability to make you smile. I can't compete with that. And Alex likes it when Izzie is happy."

"And Izzie likes it when Alex is happy. But Alex isn't happy."

"No, he's not." Alex stood up and went to the bar. He came back a few minutes later with several shots. "Here's to getting dumped." He lifted one of the shot glasses and consumed the amber colored liquid.

Izzie picked up one of the shots. She threw back her head and swallowed the bitter liquid. She slammed the shot glass against the table, the glass cracking against the wood. She picked up another shot and drank it just as quickly as the first. She slammed the glass against the table next to the other one.

"What can Izzie do to make Alex happy again?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can you make my heart stop hurting?"

Izzie tapped her finger against her lip. She stood up; her legs were jell-o as she walked the short distance to Alex. She grabbed his hands and forced him to stand up with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on his lips.

He pushed her away. "Iz, what are you doing?"

"Shh," she whispered. "Just go with it." She cradled his face with her hands and brought his face to hers. Her lips lightly brushed against his, her fingers inching to the back of his head. Pulling his head closer to her, she deepened the kiss, their tongues dueling for control. All thoughts of Lexie and George left her mind. Alex groaned as his fingers dug into her back. This was great yet something didn't feel quite right. Mark. Opening her eyes, Izzie ended the kiss. She looked around the bar. Nobody was looking at them, judging her for kissing one man when she was supposed to be dating another. There were no nurses. There were no interns. George and Lexie were too engrossed with each other to notice anything. Focusing her attention back on Alex, Izzie placed her hand on his cheek. "Now Rebecca isn't the last woman that kissed you."

Alex smiled at her. "Thanks Iz."

Izzie nodded. Her fingers lingered on his cheek for a few more seconds before she pulled away. She walked back to her seat, her body swaying as the alcohol began to overtake her body. She took one more step, her legs buckling beneath her. Alex wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. She leaned against his body, her brain pulsating within her skull. Everything was fuzzy, nothing making sense, the entire room spinning.

"I think we should get you home," he said.

She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Okay."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Alex unlocked the front door and pushed Izzie inside. Izzie hit her knee against the table, knocking something to the floor. She giggled and turned to face Alex. "Shh," she whispered as she placed her index finger against her lips. She giggled again. "We don't want to wake up mom and dad." Izzie took another step. Tripping over her own feet, she crashed to the floor, her knees throbbing as she tried to stand back up.

"Let me help you," Alex said. He bent down and wrapped his arms around her waist. He helped her stand up. Using his muscular body for support, he led her upstairs. Stopping at her bedroom, he opened it and pushed her inside. "Get some sleep." He closed the door behind him.

Izzie wobbled to her bed, stopping when she saw a large form beneath her covers. Mark was asleep; his body sprawled over her entire bed. Sighing, Izzie made the daunting journey back to the door, being careful to fall back on the floor. Groping the hallway, she inched against the wall until her hand made contact with the door to Alex's room. Without knocking, she opened it.

Alex was in the corner of his room, his pants pooled around his feet, his arms over his head as he pulled his shirt off. "Geez, Izzie," he said as he turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"Mark is in my bed."

"So?"

"I didn't want to wake him," she replied as she crawled into Alex's bed. She sighed as her head made contact with the soft pillow.

Alex got into the bed next to her. "Get out."

She turned around to face him. "I promised that I would get you laid tonight." She traced lazy circles on his chest.

He pushed her hand away from him. "I'm not going to have sex with you while your boyfriend is in the next room."

Turning back around, Izzie closed her eyes. "Your loss."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie's head was pounding as she opened her eyes the next morning. Groaning, she stretched her arms, her hand coming into contact with a muscular chest. She placed her hand against her temples, trying to remember the previous night's activities. There was a movie. There was Mark. There was Alex. There was Meredith. There was alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. The memory started to get fuzzy. There was George and Lexie. There was Alex again. Alex, that's who was behind her. She turned around. Alex's eyes were closed, his hair rumpled against the pillow. Izzie looked beneath the covers. She still had the clothes on that she had worn the day before. Hopefully, that meant that she didn't have sex with him last night. Twisting her body, she threw her legs over the side of the bed. She rubbed the side of her head, her headache becoming more painful as the light reached her eyes. She got up slowly and walked to the door, each step like a chainsaw ripping through her brain. Her fingers gripped the doorknob as her stomach started to churn. She opened the door quickly.

She started to run toward the bathroom, her stomach slowly threatening to empty itself on the floor, but she stopped herself when her eyes made contact with somebody's feet. Slowly, her eyes moved up. His body was rigid, his hands tightly clenched. Her eyes remained fixated on his face. His mouth moved back and forth as he ground his teeth, his eyes staring directly back at her. She took a step back, her body pressed against the door to Alex's room. He never took his eyes off of her and he didn't open his mouth. The crestfallen expression on Mark's face said it all.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Go on. Tell me how much you hate me. I dare you.

Wow! This is the longest chapter that I've ever written. But it has a lot of good stuff. I know I've said this before, but I've got things to do and I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get it done so it may be some time before I get the next chapter written.

Thanks to everyone that has read it and a special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review.

Read & Review!