A/N-Thanks for all the great reviews so far, guys! I'm really glad you all like this so far! Hope you like this chapter, too!

-Kaitlin

She gave me a quick hug once more and we were on our way into the living room, side by side, ready to face our peers.

We walked back into the party room, expecting everyone to be staring straight at us. They had to know something was up, and it wouldn't be like them not to ask what was going on. But to our surprise, my guests were well behaved, for once. They didn't bombard us with questions. They probably figured it was none of their business. Plus, they knew they'd find out eventually. I swear, you say one thing to one person and ten seconds later, the whole hospital knows.

Let's face it; we're gossip whores. And we're unstoppable.

Addison had walked over to Hannah to say goodbye to her. Hannah didn't seem to realize that having her aunt attend the same party that her mother hosts wasn't something that happened on a daily basis. Hell, if Addison wasn't here, I probably would have never known she was Hannah's aunt.

They said their goodbyes and Addison was on her way, back to the trailer for an unfulfilling night of solitude. Sure, Derek would be home, but he really wouldn't be there. His body would be sleeping beside her, but his thoughts, his feelings—they'd be with Meredith.

I'm beginning to feel sorry for Addison, as well. It's like Derek can't get through one day without making the lives of the women at Seattle Grace, notably Meredith and Addison, miserable. And since Meredith is my friend, and since Addison is now becoming my friend, I'm obviously going to be on their sides. But whose side do I belong on?

After Addison left, I sat down next to Alex and Cristina. She sent Burke out to the store to get alcohol, claiming that she'd get up and leave this, and I quote, "lame-ass" party, if she didn't have something to drink in the next twenty minutes.

I sunk deeper and deeper into the couch as I sighed.

"What the hell happened in there?" Cristina asked.

"Yeah, what'd she want?" Alex inquired.

I took a deep breath. "Well, she's Hannah's aunt."

"No shit. Tell us the details," Cristina said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Hannah's adoptive mother was Addison's sister," I told them.

"Dude, that sucks. At least she's leaving, though. You won't have to deal with her anymore."

"She's leaving?" I asked. "No one told me she was leaving!"

"She's not leaving. What the hell are you talking about, Alex?" Cristina asked.

"What? Her and Shepherd and getting a divorce, or at least that's what I've heard. She has no reason to stay here, so she'll go back to New York and be with Sloan. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah, it makes sense. But are you sure they're getting a divorce? Who'd you hear it from?" I wondered.

"Don't remember. But you know how the gossip is around here. Sooner or later it'll be true. Just watch. You don't believe me? Wait a few weeks. You'll see."

I shrugged my shoulders. Cristina was about to say something, but as she looked out of the corner of her eye, she saw Burke come in the door with her alcohol. "Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed. She ran over to him and immediately ran with the bag to the kitchen and poured herself something to drink.

By the time I looked back to Alex, he was gone. Meredith had taken his spot.

"Hey, Iz. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. And Addison's her aunt. And they're getting a divorce. And everything is so screwed up. And I have to work tomorrow. And I don't want to. And—"

"Izzie," she began.

"—what?"

"Take it from the beginning. How is Addison her aunt?"

"Hannah's mom was Addison's sister."

"Wow. Okay. Who's getting divorced? Derek and Addison?"

I nodded. "Well, that's what Alex thinks, anyway. Said he heard it floating around the hospital. I don't know if it's true, though."

She sat back. "Oh. Well, I don't care. I have Finn. And Finn has plans. And I like Finn's plans. And I like Finn. And—"

"Mer!"

"Now you take it from the beginning. Do you really want Finn? Or do you still want Derek?"

"Izzie! I want to be with Finn! I'm done with Derek. He had his chance and he lost it. I'm over him."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"Fine. I don't believe you, but I have bigger problems to deal with now. Example: What am I going to do with Hannah tomorrow? I have to register her for school, I guess. But I have to work tomorrow. I don't work on Tuesday, so maybe then?"

"Tuesday sounds good. Where's she going to go tomorrow, though?"

"I don't know. I just asked you the same question."

She laughed. "Oh, yeah. Well, Bailey's here, so ask her. DOCTOR BAILEY?" she screamed.

Bailey walked over to Meredith. "You rang, Grey?"

"Izzie has a question for you."

I rolled my eyes at Meredith. "Um, yeah. What do I do with Hannah tomorrow while I'm working?"

She stared at me. "Is that my problem to deal with?"

"Well, no. But I was just—"

"No! You figure it out. Motherhood doesn't come with all the answers, Stevens." And with that, she walked away.

Izzie…not everyone goes through life knowing all the answers. Not everyone knows everything they need to know. No one's perfect. Trust me, you'll figure it out.

The party ended at a fairly decent hour, seeing as it was a party for a child. Hannah had gone upstairs to get ready for bed after the majority of the people had left. Everyone left without a problem except Cristina. Sober Cristina would have left the party before it even started. Drunk Cristina was still convinced the party was still going on even after everyone was gone. She whipped out her iPod, placed the headphones in her ears, and started to dance to the music. We couldn't do anything but laugh.

Burke finally dragged her out, leaving behind a peaceful house for the four of us. George and Meredith retired to bed and Hannah came downstairs soon after. I was in the living room cleaning up when she came down and sat on the couch. She turned on the television and raised the volume way too high for my liking. Anyone's liking.

"Can you turn that down? Meredith and George are sleeping."

"Well, if they're asleep, they can't hear it. It'll be fine, okay?"

"No, I still want you to turn it down. You're gonna blow out your eardrums if you keep listening to it like this."

"It's fine, Izzie."

"Hannah, turn it down or I'm turning it off."

She sighed. "Fine. Be that way." She lowered the volume with a sourpuss look on her face.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well you're not welcome," she mumbled.

I let it go this time. I could sense things were beginning to get really tense between us all of the sudden. It was like she was a complete polar opposite of the girl I had spent the majority of my day with. She was so great earlier, and now she's acting like a little brat. Tension was the last thing I wanted. I needed this relationship to work. I needed it to work the first time.

"You're in the way," she said.

"What?"

"You're in the way of the TV. I can't see anything."

"Well, I'll be done in a minute. I'm trying to clean up around here."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"What's gotten into you? You were fine earlier and now you're being really rude to me. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not being rude! I'm just asking you to move so I can watch TV! Is that too much to ask, or should I find something else to do?"

"I'm still cleaning, so find something else to do, please."

She stood up abruptly. "FINE!" She ran up the stairs and slammed the door to her room shut.

I just stood there, completely unsure of what had just happened. Was this even the same person I spent my day with? What happened that sparked this ridiculous behavior?

I finished cleaning up the living room and then went up to bed. I was debating whether or not to go in and talk to her, but I thought she needed her space. I remembered that this was exactly how I felt when Denny died. It was like a shock; so sudden. All I needed was the support of my friends and space to grieve in my own way. Maybe this was what Hannah was doing. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote her a note, saying:

Hannah-

I'm sorry if anyone did something to make you upset this evening. If anything's bothering you or you just want to talk, know that I'm always here for you. I know that what you've been through has been hard. I just went through it myself. And I also know that keeping your emotions bottled up inside isn't the best therapy. It makes things worse, and it's like a release to talk to someone about it.

I know that it'll take time to get used to living with Meredith, George, and I, and I know that it'll take time getting used to Seattle in general, but I really hope you like it here. We all want to get to know you and hear about your past, so when you're ready to let us in, we'll be here. I want you to know that I love you and that you'll always have someone on your side, someone to cover you. You're not alone in this world. You'll always have me.

Love, Izzie

I slipped the note under her door, hoping that she'd read it before the night was through. Now the only thing to do was wait.

Did I ever say I was an impatient person?

A/N- Not my favorite chapter, but let me know how you liked it. Hannah's not such a perfect angel after all, is she?

Loved it? Hated it? Review, please!