Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Post S2. Mostly Mer/Der with the other conventional couples. Meredith and Derek have a lot to sort through as do the other characters. Their situations are not made easier by certain complications that arise. (Addie friendly).
Dropping her keys on the counter Meredith surveyed the house. It was immaculate; even the inside of the cupboards were shining. On top of that there were three cakes, each more beautifully decorated than the next and a plate full of chocolate chip cookies.
"Izzie, Izzie, Izzie" she said to herself.
Making her way up the stairs Meredith couldn't help but feel the total mental and physical exhaustion set in. When was this ever going to get better?
Knocking softly on Izzie's door Meredith entered. Izzie looked up from her position at the top of her bed; legs crossed clutching a teddy bear.
"Oh, hey. I half expected Alex; he keeps calling."
"He's not as evilspawnish as we originally thought," Meredith replied sitting down on the edge of Izzie's bed.
It was quiet for a minute before Izzie broke the silence,
"How'd you do it Mere? How did you do it?"
"Do what?" Meredith asked confused.
"You loved Derek. I know you did. How did you move on? How did you fall out of love with him?" Izzie questioned.
"There's no such thing as falling out of love. Love is such a strong emotion; it binds you and takes a hold of you, you can't just let those binds fall away. You learn to work around them; you learn to heal." Meredith answered surprising herself at how far she had come since Derek had chosen Addison- well as far as she was prior to the night before.
Izzie moved over and sat next to her friend. Slowly laying down she placed her head in Meredith's lap and allowed the tears to start trickling down her cheeks.
"I loved him so much. So much. It took me by surprise you know. You never plan to fall in love; and it hurts so badly."
Meredith nodded along as she rubbed her friend's back.
"All I want is the sadness to stop. I want to be able to feel happiness again," Izzie let out a small sob as her tears flowed freely.
"The best step towards that is getting back into your routine Iz; start the track back to normalcy. Sure at first it won't feel normal but by continuing to persevere it will become your normalcy," Meredith expressed half to Izzie and half to herself.
Izzie nodded taking in Meredith's words.
"Bailey wants you back tomorrow," Meredith added.
"Oh Mere I don't know if I… if I can go back and walk those halls again." Izzie exclaimed sitting up.
Meredith turned to face Izzie looking her in the eyes "Look at me, if I can go back there every single day and walk those halls then hell knows you will be able to to. You understand?"
Izzie studied her and slowly nodded. She could do this, she could take the first step and she would. She would make it out of this. Meredith got up and walked down the hall to her own room, changing into her pajamas. Walking back down the hall she looked into Izzie's room. Izzie had gotten under the covers and was now asleep. Meredith quietly walked over to the bed and sat down sliding under the covers next to her friend and quickly fell asleep as the days events finally took their toll.
George stumbled into the house after his twenty hour shift. Throwing his backpack and keys onto the couch he made his way up the stairs. Once he reached Izzie's room he peeked in. Seeing his two girls asleep a little smile appeared on his lips. Kicking off his shoes he laid down on the other side of Izzie and fell asleep.
A/N Thanks for all of the reviews guys it's great to hear from you. I'm writing almost everyday now so I hope the updates won't be to far apart. Like I said I have a lot of ideas for the story I just need to put them in place and clean them up a little so hang in there with me. I know the chapters are short but I'm really just setting everything up still! I hope you all had a great weekend! -Loti
