A/N Melanie – good point, but whoa, there! You see how short my chapters are. I'm getting to Alex, don't worry.

Izzie wakes up smelling spices. Someone is cooking in the kitchen, the scents wafting through the open door. To her amazement, her stomach rumbles softly and she realizes that she is hungry for the first time. She sits up, ignoring the dizziness and the blurring of her vision.

When she reaches the kitchen, she sees Burke sitting at the table, reading a thick book. He looks up at her and puts the book down. "Izzie," he says. "Where's your IV?" He doesn't sound patronizing, just gentle and inquisitive.

"I pulled it out. Can I have some of what you're making?"

"Really?" Burke is surprised too. He glances at the stove, and Izzie's eyes follow his. It must be a kind of soup. He gets up as Izzie sits down gingerly in the chair across from him. She runs her hands over the smooth wooden surface of the table. It is clean and warm.

Burke puts a small bowl of soup in front of her. The steam travels upwards into her face, hitting her skin like backwards rain. It is a simple meal, made with chicken broth, rice and vegetables. It smelled enticing before, but with it in front of her, she suddenly felt nauseous again. She doesn't reach for the spoon Burke put in front of her.

"Why aren't you working?" she asks instead.

"I was shot." Burke says flatly. She sees him glance almost imperceptibly at his right hand before lifting his head.

Izzie remembers this now, the truth slapping her in the face. She had forgotten. She hadn't even asked if he was okay this whole time. It was okay, she tells herself. She couldn't be blamed; something is wrong with her. She keeps thinking Denny was going to walk through the door, but she can't evenfeel the appropriate griefwhen she remembers that he never will. She can't even eat, for God's sake. She doesn't say anything to Burke in apology; she is too embarrassed. Besides, too much time has passed now, and it would be awkward.

She dips her spoon into the soup, filling it only with broth, and lifts it to her lips. She gags when the broth hits her throat, and she coughs it back up.

Burke looks concernedly at her. "Izzie?"

"I can't do it." She says, and she notices that her hands are shaking and her skin is prickling.

"That's okay. Let's just hook you back up to the IV…" but his voice slurs together, and Izzie can't see him, she can only see blurry shapes and fading colors. She feels herself being lifted from the chair, and she tries to make her legs move, but they are leaden. She tries to speak but nothing comes out of her mouth. She tries for the hundredth time to cry, but her eyes are dry and lifeless.