Chapter 2- "Imploding"

Izzie sat in the corner chair wearing a hugely oversized sweatshirt and lounge pants. Her hair frizzed at the edges and hung limply at her chest, and her face was dulled and emotionless. She had been this way for a week or so now, tears long dried out, long cried out.

Denny hadn't really had much family and so, following his wishes, his body had been cremated without any pomp and circumstance. Izzie didn't think this was fair, not for a man like Denny, but she had learned the hard way that things weren't fair in life and this arrangement suited her because she didn't think she could stand another "goodbye". There was a memorial for him in the cemetery though, maybe she would visit it when she was strong enough to face this harsh reality with composure. But not now, no, she hadn't been her composed and chipper self for a while and no one must see her any other way. So she continued to implode.

Alex walked in and sighed sadly. He hated seeing her liked this. If he tried hard enough, he could make her smile, and he had been trying whenever he could, but fleeting happiness wasn't good enough for him, not when it came to her.

"Iz," he said cautiously and interrupting her thoughts, "why don't you… you know… wash your face, brush your hair, get changed into something a little…nicer…" His words trailed off.

"Oh!' Izzie whirled on him, her eyes ablaze, "So! You only hang around with me because I'm 'beautiful', a 'glamour girl', 'the centerfold of some freakin' magazine'? I-" She had trusted him, believed him… enjoyed his company

"SHIT!" Alex thought, "that had come out wrong" and so he quickly interrupted her

"Izzie, Izzie-"

Through tears she interrupts and continues between sobs, having now walked over to him

"I CANNOT… believe…y-you wou-" How could he turn on her like that?

He put his hands on her shoulders and tries to calm her down

"Izzie, no, listen to me"

Izzie tried to push his hands of, "You are SUCH a-" Seriously? Was he that shallow! She had thought he was being sweet! Seriously!

"Look at me," he said dipping his head slightly to meet her eyes, "that's not what I mean at all. I could care less if you walked around in muddy rags and looked like you were just hit by an eighteen-wheeler, but doing what YOU'RE doing usually means a person isn't taking care of herself and isn't happy.

Izzie opened her mouth to say something, indignation showing through her tears, but Alex put up a hand to stop her.

"And I know it sounds inconsiderate and disrespectful to be talking to you about being 'happy' considering what happened, but why do you think Denny asked you to marry him? Why do you think he went along with all your plans? Why do you think he was willing to do anything for you? He loved you and he wanted to see you happy… and I do too-."

He looked down unsure of how much to say. He knew that both things applied to him as well as they had for Denny, but…now wasn't the time for that and he knew it. He may be an ass sometimes but even HE knew where to draw the line…and this was Izzie! She needed time to heal. He looked up again and met her eyes.

"-I want to see you happy too." The pain in his eyes was evident at leaving so much unspoken, but he was ashamed of how small his 'pain' was when he weighed it against how she must be feeling. His love had not been shattered as hers had been by Denny's death, he had merely broken it and destroyed any chances of a relationship with Izzie himself… it was his own damn fault. But, if given the chance he would not let it happen again.

Izzie just stared at him, almost incredulously, mouth slightly agape and blinking through teary eyes. She wondered if he realized just how honest, genuine, and kind he was being.

Alex shuffled nervously under her intense and somewhat perplexing gaze. However, his gaze remained sincere and he was not unnerved.

A slow hint of a smile spread upon Izzie's lips. She took a few small steps toward Alex until there were but inches separating the two of them. Taking moment to freeze time and space and cause the entire world around them to ever so briefly come to a screeching halt, she locked eyes with him as she looked him in the face. The slight height difference between them had no inhibitory effect on the connection their shared eye contact created, it was more powerful than any physical contact most people ever encounter in their entire lives. Words were not needed here.

Suddenly she flung her arms around his neck with a nervous half-laugh that served partially to mask the hiccups of raw emotion, left over from her breakdown moments earlier, that were still bubbling up from inside her.

Alex filled the remaining awkward space between them by letting out the breath he had been holding. He in turn wrapped his arms around her supportively and gently stroked her hair. Some time had passed when abruptly Alex felt the beautiful angel in his arms begin to shake slightly and then heard a faint and muffled sob. Easing up on the soft strokes he had been giving her back, he held her away from him at arms length. Seeing her tear-stained cheeks he asked, "Izzie, what's wrong? You're crying again."

Izzie looked down, ashamed.

"I just can't do this anymore" she whispered.

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A/N: Ok, that's Chapter 2…once again please review and give suggestions. I love feedback. I'm working on Chapter 3 but it probably won't be up for a while…it will be called "Exploding" though, so I'm sure you can make a few guesses about it.