Author's Notes: Gosh, where to even begin? I have so much I could say, but I'll try to keep it brief (P.S. I failed miserably at this :))

First, a guest pointed out that a comment I made on the last chapter seemed hateful & looking back at it, that's a totally legit. I sincerely apologize if anyone was offended or hurt by that, it certainly was not my intention at all. I have a very dry and self-depreciating sense of humor that doesn't always come across well in written form. So again, I'm sorry. Lesson learned.

Second, I appreciate all of you that checked on me after some of these reviews, but it's all good. It's a chance you take when posting like this and to be honest I'm kinda surprised that it was chapter 11 before this kind of thing happened. Given how I chose to write this and the characters involved, I was completely prepared for a backlash of some type from the first day I started writing this back in November. Having said that, please be kind to other writers. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there. I'm blessed with a pretty thick skin, but some authors aren't. Just please think about that before you push send.

And on that same note, I won't tolerate anyone bashing other reviewers in comments. I've never moderated reviews and I never thought I would, but I will if I need to. It's okay for people to have a different view than your own and okay to disagree civilly, but bashing others just because they don't share your opinion is just not cool. I want people to be able to write however they are feeling about a character, plot, or past stuff from the show. That's part of the fun! So please don't insult and bash others just because they interpret things differently than you do.

I'm (finally) done writing this story except reworking the final chapter. There are still some twists and turns coming up and a lot of things change for Izzie, Alex, and Jo. So hang on! You may read something you were hoping for...or maybe not ;)

Also, just for those that are still reading and feel Izzie is being hated on or other characters are out of character, I've added a note at the end with my reasoning for writing them all the way I did if you're interested.

Thanks guys, as always, for going along for this ride with me and your amazing support. I appreciate you guys so much!

Izzie walked the corridor of the rehab unit clutching her lunch. She was having a rare slow day and wanted to take advantage by enjoying a relaxed lunch with Matt. She had made a conscious decision to be happy in the life she has now and part of that was to focus on her relationship with Matt and to not think any more about Alex.

That was easier said than done.

Although she had moved on and was happy with the way her life was going, in the back of her mind she always believed that if she and Alex ever reconnected sparks would fly. However, in all their time apart, she never had allowed herself to think about Alex being with someone else, let alone happy with someone else in a committed relationship. She had always thought if they reconnected, they would be able to get past what had happened between them. After all she had forgiven him for cheating on her with Olivia and he had worked through his anger about her choosing Denny over him. Surely they would have been able to eventually work their way back to each other.

They always had before.

Izzie casually glanced into the patients' rooms as she passed and came to a complete stop as she noticed Jo sound asleep in a bed to the left. Her hand was resting on her belly that seemed to have grown a good bit since the last time Izzie saw her.

She once again found herself feeling jealous of the younger woman and quickly walked away from the room to continue on her way to find Matt. She had to quit thinking about Alex and feeling envious of his wife. It was unhealthy and she wanted so badly to put it all behind her and move forward.

She looked for Matt in his office and the nurses' station with no luck before making her way to the therapy room at the end of the hall. Her breath hitched in her throat and her heart began to flutter as her eyes landed on Alex.

He was sitting on a far bench with a couple of four pound dumbbells. She approached him slowly, seemingly drawn to him by a greater force, not really knowing what to say. What does one say upon seeing a former spouse after several years of silence? She couldn't help the butterflies that came to her stomach at the sight of him. He had aged a good bit, but seemed even more handsome than she remembered. She wondered briefly what his perception of her would be after all this time. She stopped a few feet away from him, "How are you doing Alex?"

Alex sighed, not looking up. "I'm fine. You?"

Izzie took this as an invitation to sit beside him and eased herself onto the bench, "Okay, I guess."

They sat in silence for a bit before Alex asked abruptly, "Why are you here?"

"I'm dating a physical therapist. He works on this unit."

"Crap, he's not mine is he?" Alex asked sarcastically.

Izzie smiled slightly at the familiar tone of his voice, "No, he's not. When did you get moved up here to rehab?"

"Two days ago," he said finally glancing at her briefly.

"That's great Alex."

"Yeah. It's good to be back in regular clothes and be able to use the bathroom on my own," he said smirking at her before awkwardly looking back at his feet.

"Jo said something similar when she was taken off complete bedrest."Izzie said with a smile.

Alex sighed and rubbed his face, "She didn't tell me about that."

There was a short, uncomfortable silence before Izzie smiled and declared brightly, "So you're remarried!...Yay!" Alex looked up to give her a surprised and baffled look before looking back at the floor wordlessly. "She's really great Alex."

"You think I need you to tell me that?" he asked exasperated. "I don't need your freakin' blessing."

"I know that Alex! I know that. I just...I'm happy for you. Really happy for you. The way she talks about you..." Izzie took a deep breath, "I was jealous of Jo and the relationship she had with her husband before I ever realized that her husband was you." Alex glanced at her with a conflicted look as she continued, "But knowing it's you..." She paused to gather her thoughts before whispering tearfully, "I can't help but wish that we could have had another chance."

Alex squinted his eyes in disgust, "When you really love someone, you don't need second chances. You just work through your crap and keep going."

"Alex..."

"No, I'm serious. I gave my relationship with you my all. I tried so hard. With Jo, I don't have to work so freaking hard to keep her. She loves me for me and it's nice to just be myself and know that's enough."

"I did love you Alex. I just..."

"No, you're not hearing me. She loves me, the real me. I can be an ass and throw things and say exactly what's on my mind and she's still there. She helps keep me calm and gently tells me when I'm out of line. She doesn't tell me I'm not good enough or I'm broken. And when bad shit happens and I get upset, she doesn't throw it back in my face later that she had to wipe my snot. And she doesn't leave when things get hard. She's just there day in and day out supporting me and I do the same for her. That's what love is supposed to be."

Izzie sat silently soaking in his words getting more upset by the second. She then quietly but resolutely countered, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret leaving you. I was just so confused. So much had happened, the cancer, George, the merger, our wedding..."

"So marrying me was just one more thing for you to get over? Nice." Alex sneered.

"No! It was just so much at once..."

"It was a lot for me too! It was a lot for me too Izzie, but I was still there. I was there for you through it all and the second you really got back on your feet, you run." Alex paused briefly before asking brokenly, "Was I that terrible?"

"God no Alex, I just... I needed to find me again. I lost myself in all of that."

Alex rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth, "You know when would have been a good time to fill me in on that? Maybe in the note you left for me to find. Or, or maybe you could have just freakin' talked to me about what was going on with you. I was your husband."

"I know that now, I do. And I'm sorry. You'll never know how sorry I am. I've changed a lot since then. And I've learned from my mistakes." She paused briefly to gather herself before adding softly, "I've grown up."

Alex curved one side of his mouth slightly, "Yeah, me too."

They sat in silence for a bit before Izzie softly stated, "I still have feelings for you, Alex."

His eyes flew up to meet hers as he slid slightly away from her, "What? Are you crazy?" he whispered harshly.

Izzie looked to the ceiling trying to find strength, "I've tried not to, but having you here makes me realize that I never stopped loving you."

"Sure as hell seemed that way to me!" he hissed in a low voice.

"I know you have a lot going on and I don't want to cause more problems, but..."

Alex laughed with a sneer, "No. No, no, no, no, no. You don't get to do this. Even if I had doubts that Jo is the one for me, even if I wasn't crazy in love with her, I'm married Izzie! Married. I know that doesn't mean anything to you, but it means a hell of a lot to me!"

"Marriage means something to me!" Izzie countered angrily.

Alex laughed sarcastically, "Could've fooled me."

"Alex, I..." Izzie began, but she was interrupted by her pager. "Damnit I have to go its 911. Maybe we can pick this up later?"

She suddenly noticed how tired he looked, "Izzie it doesn't matter. Nothing's going to change. You get that right?"

Izzie wanted to argue with him and try once more to convince him that she had changed, that maybe they had matured to a point that a relationship between them could work, but she knew she needed to go. She silently turned and walked back down the hall in the direction she had come. When she turned the corner she saw a flurry of activity close to Alex's room. She quickly jogged down the hall and entered his room to see nurses loading Jo onto a gurney with blood everywhere.

"What happened?" Izzie demanded as she rushed to help put Jo on portable oxygen.

"I don't know, I was just walking past and glanced in the room and saw the blood," a young nurse offered.

"We've got to get her downstairs now! Did you page a team for an emergency c-section?" Izzie asked frantically.

"Yes, they were supposed to page you," a different nurse explained.

"Page Daniels and have them get some blood ready. And get this room cleaned up before her husband gets back," Izzie instructed as they rushed down the hall. Izzie looked down to see Jo's eyes fluttering open, "Jo, we've got you. It looks like your placenta is separating. We're getting a team together. We'll take care of you and the baby, okay? Don't worry."

"Alex?"

"One of the rehab nurses will tell him and you'll see him afterwards okay?"

Jo looked squarely at Izzie and gasped out weakly, "Tell him we didn't shake on it. Make sure you tell him that... Please?" Her eyes then closed and she went limp.

Izzie checked for a pulse and couldn't find one, "Damnit we're losing her, get a crash cart!" She then began CPR all the while thinking of how in the world she could ever explain this to Alex.

Additional A/N: Okay so here's the deal with the main characters, starting with Izzie. I did not write this story as a way to bash her or punish her. At the beginning, I wrote her as being a skilled doctor in a relationship with "a decent guy," maybe even a "perfect guy." Sure she was having doubts about if it could become a long term relationship, but don't most people early on in a romance? And yes she was comparing him to what she had experienced before, but again I think that's normal for people to do especially early in a relationship. And remember how she was the one that put Jo on complete bed rest and the other doctor lifted some of the restrictions? And now Jo's bleeding out. So maybe Izzie is the more competent doctor on the maternal fetal team. I wanted her to be in a good place emotionally with a good life. Plus, she's been very compassionate and comforting towards Jo. Yes sometimes she's a little snarky, but she's confused and at times jealous not to mention worried for Alex. However, more often than not she's been kind to Jo which even Jo acknowledged to Alex.

Another thing is that I intentionally wrote Izzie a little all over the place and that's because she got thrown for a loop. I tried to imagine how I would feel if I had been married to an Alex Karev only to lose him and then see him again years later without any forewarning. Not to get too personal, but I have been through something similar and when I hear someone mention this particular guy or I see him, I do pause for a second and wonder what might have been and maybe have a moment of brief regret, and I think that's normal. Even Izzie confessed "I don't know what I'm feeling." She's confused and trying to figure out what's going on in her mind. Even when she was fishing for info, she wanted to be sure Alex was okay because she still cares about him regardless. Like she said to Meredith, "Do you really think she's good for him?" She doesn't know Jo at the beginning so in my mind she's trying to figure out this woman and is looking out for Alex in her own way. And with her going to visit Alex before Jo got moved into his room was comforting for her, but maybe too she didn't want him to be alone. He had no one there but Jo and she wasn't able to visit often. Plus that's not entirely out of character for her. It was said over and over when she was on the show that she got too close, overstepped boundaries, etc. and I don't believe that part of her personality could ever go away completely.

Plus, like I said at the beginning no one is perfect here. Yes Izzie has overstepped some boundaries and been kinda flaky, but Jo kinda misled Izzie herself. Jo hid info from Alex. Even with good intentions, she wasn't on the up and up with her husband on more than one occasion. She even got info out of Izzie by acting like she didn't realize who Izzie was and later said to Alex "How could I not be curious?" So at least part of her motivation was coming from a selfish place. And she tried to pry information out of both Alex and Izzie about their relationship. Maybe it was smart and sly on her part to act clueless as to who Izzie was, but not really how a saint would act. She also just threatened to kick Izzie's ass, not exactly goody-goody behavior. But at the same time, I wanted her to be really solid because I think she has proved over and over on the show how strong she can be for Alex when he needs her to be. And Alex needed her to be a rock in this story.

And well Alex has mostly been unconscious, so he's probably been the most well-behaved, but still he was kinda cruel here to Izzie. Maybe some was justified, but still-not perfect. He kinda lashed out at Jo a few times, not perfect, just human. And pretty minor, but he was also an ass to medical staff.

I've already explained Meredith and with Cristina I selfishly tried to keep as close to snarky Yang as I could because I like that side of her and it was fun to write. Amber I just winged and tried to make her a girly version of early GA Alex with a dose of protective sibling. Maybe one day we'll see the real Amber and have something to base her character on :)

Maybe none of that was clear in my writing, but that's how I felt writing it. And despite some reviews being a little on the cruel side, I'm still thankful for them because hopefully I will learn from this and do better at writing what I really intend to come across if/when I decide to tackle something this big in the future. Hugs to all!