Disclaimer: Not mine. Got it? Olay, moving on…

"Izzie, c'mon, you've got to get out of this house. It's been three weeks since Denny, you, he, um, er, Meredith says to get your ass out of this house and meet her at Joe's."

Izzie couldn't help but smile at George. So many things had changed in the past two weeks, but not George. He was still her awkward, lovable best friend, and that's what she loved about him.

Of course, now Callie was in the picture. Callie, who apparently got extreme pleasure from cracking people's bones. She would have to talk to George about that. But not now. Right now she was going to Joe's to meet Meredith. It really was time she got out of the house.

Izzie walked into Joe's, smiling at the familiarity of it. There were so many good memories there, things that she could think about without crying. Drinking with Meredith, talking with George, overhearing nurses spread all kinds of gossip.

Kissing Alex.

No, she thought. She had vowed not to think about that. She was trying as hard as she could no to see him, or even think about him, until she figured out what she was going to do with her life. But he always seemed to creep into her thoughts when she least suspected it, like now.

She tried to shake all thoughts of Alex from her head as she walked over to the bar, where Meredith was chatting amicably with Joe.

"Hey Mer. Hey Joe." She smiled at both of them.

"Izzie, how've you been. We miss you around here. You aren't quite as good a customer as Dr. Grey here, but I miss seeing that smile." She grinned at Joe.

"Yeah, well, you've heard from everyone I'm sure, because drunk people are honest, and you have a lot of drunk doctors in here. But not Mer. She's knitting, you know." She winked at Joe, and they both laughed.

"Shut up Izzie!" Meredith scowled and turned back to what was presumably a scarf, but could have easily passed for a bunch of tangled fishing line.

"So are you really knitting, Mer, or is that just what your boyfriend thinks?" Izzie had heard all about the latest installment of the McDreamy saga from Alex, back before the kiss.

"I'm knitting! And he's not my boyfriend anymore, but I'm still knitting. It's very therapeutic!"

This was why Izzie liked talking with Meredith so much. Her life was almost as screwed up as Izzie's, and a lot more confusing. Yet she still pretended she was knitting. IT was nice to think about someone else's problems for a change.

"Plus, you can't talk to me about knitting. Why has Alex been skulking around the hospital all week. He's back to being Dr. Evil Spawn again, and I haven't seen him around the house all week."

"Why would I have anything to do with Alex's issues? I'm still mourning the loss of my fiancée."

"Of course you are, Iz, and I'm totally over Derek. You didn't love Denny, but I don't think you can say the same for Alex. And I don't know if he told you or not, but he cares a hell of a lot about you."

"He told me," Izzie sighed. "Or rather he kissed me, and then professed his undying love for me."

"And…" Meredith prompted.

"And then he left."

"You let him leave!"

"What was I supposed to do, tell him I'm madly in love with him and can't live without him and have forgiven him for all the awful things he did to me. I've already been hurt by him, Mer, and I just lost my fiancée, who I thought I loved and was going to spend the rest of my life with. So yes, I let him leave." One lone tear trickled down Izzie's cheek, and she choked back a sob.

"Iz, I know you need time. And that's okay. But if you love him, don't take too much time. He's not going to wait forever. Sooner or later he'll get fed up with waiting, and then both of you will be unhappy. Believe me, Iz. I know. You don't want to end up like me, a slutty mistress. Not that I think Alex is hiding any wives. But don't wait too long Izzie. You'll regret it."

With that Meredith got up and walked out of the bar, her "scarf" trailing behind her. Izzie sighed.

Why was it that Meredith had to be so right?

Ok, first of all, sorry this chapter took so long. I have no excuse except a really bad case of writer's block. I'll try to do better.

This chapter was mainly a filler, but I needed someone to knock some sense into Izzie, and Meredith seemed like the one to do it. I'm not sure if I like this chapter, but tell me what you think. Reviews make me write faster!