Author's Note: Being an author is sometimes frustrating. Things can seem clear in a story and most of the readers will seem to get it but there is always a handful who don't. I am not trying to be mean but please, PLEASE read the forward! I specifically mention that there will be chapters where I use characters I have made up. Rebecca is one of those characters. I think you will like this chapter more than the last one. It is much longer, has characters we know and love. The ending is a bit meh but over all I love where this chapter went!

On another note, if you have not checked out my other story There All Along take a moment to do so! It is really light hearted, fun, and soon to be full of hotness!

Chapter Two

How To: Make New Plans

Having an emotional breakdown and blubbering about her problems on the internet was not Izzie Stevens' proudest moment. Stay professional at all times had been her mantra. Until it wasn't. Something about having Dr. Webber tell her that the baby she carried didn't belong to her best friend George but to some unknown man named Alex Karev had thrown her for a loop. Paired with her boss telling her that having a baby out of wedlock conflicted with the moral clause in her employee contract had made her snap. One moment she had been calmly accepting the hand fate had dealt her, the next she was uploading a video where she told all of cyberspace just how messed up her life was. No, it definitely hadn't been her proudest moment. She had toyed with deleting the video. Any other person would have. Or, she thought, maybe not. The reason for leaving the vlog up had been simple: that moral clause was unfair! She had worked for the Springdale Times for two years; first as an intern and then as their How To columnist. Two years of putting her whole heart into a job only to get canned because she decided to have a baby on her own. What really pissed her off was she knew for a fact that Jodie in Sports had gotten pregnant after a one night stand. Had she been fired? Nope. It had been poor Jodie, getting pregnant and not knowing how to contact the father. When she had brought that to her former boss' attention he had retorted with Jodie's pregnancy had been an accident while Izzie's had been intentional. What that had to do with anything was beyond Izzie. All she knew was her life was slowly crumbling around her and all she had to cling to was the fact that she was going to be a mother.

Letting out a sigh, she tugged on the hem of her skirt and wondered if maybe she shouldn't have chosen something more professional than the white eyelet sundress and silver sandals she had on. Meeting the father of her child, as well as the woman who would be having George's baby and her life partner seemed rather ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was the fact that the other woman was partially to blame. From what George had been able to dig up, Callie Torres had been involved with Erica Hahn, the nurse who had "accidentally" mixed up their sperm samples. The break up had been nasty and there had been plenty of hurt feelings. While there was no proof, George was fairly certain the mix-up had been on purpose; a way of sticking to Callie for breaking up with her for Arizona Karev. Apparently, Arizona and Callie were now married and sharing the last name Robbins. The father of the bay Izzie carried was Arizona's twin brother Alex Karev. Dr Alex Karev. George had been a little too giddy about that detail. Izzie didn't care if the guy was a tow truck driver. He had no place in her life. None of these people did. And the first chance she got to tell them that she would!

"You're late," George chided when he seen her walking toward him. So what if she was late? Her life was in ruins and she had embarrassed herself online. She was allowed to be a little late. Not to mention, the restaurant they had all agreed to meet at notoriously stayed busy. Even with reservations it was almost impossible to get in on time.

"Five minutes, Georgie. Five minutes." She waved him off and stopped a few feet from him, her dark gaze wandering over her best friend. He had dressed rather conservatively, at least for him. In fact, she mused as she took in the hot pink and white stripped button down and dark washed jeans, he looked almost straight. Almost, because there was no way a straight guy would have spiked their bangs with pink and purple glittery gel. At least none of the straight guys Izzie knew. "Besides, you're lucky I even came." She understood why George was so insistent on knowing these people. They were going to be raising his child. She, on the other hand, was going to be raising her baby on her own. Just like she planned before the whole mess with mixed up sperm samples, hypocritical bosses, and cyber embarrassments. The baby nestled in her womb was the only bright spot in her life right now and she was not going to share.

George shook his head, disappointment etched on his feature. "Don't make this situation any harder than it already is, okay? None of us wanted this but it happened. There is nothing we can do."

There had been the abortion option. Dr. Webber had offered to perform the procedure for free and to foot the bill for another round of artificial insemination. For a split second she had considered it. And then she realized that no matter how messed up the situation was or much she wished things weren't so complicated, none of that was the baby's fault. "I'm not trying to make things harder. And I know there's nothing we can do to change what happened. Which is why I don't see why I have to be here. It doesn't matter if who this baby's father is, my plans haven't changed." She hoped her voice sounded more sure than she felt. This whole thing had really thrown her for a loop. She could claim her plans hadn't changed but truthfully she didn't know how the father was going to react. Maybe he was going to want to be a part of the child's life. In the long run, she knew that if that was the case there wasn't much she could do to prevent it. All he had to do was go to court and petition for shared custody. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought and once again she felt the turmoil of anger and fear bubbling in her gut. She wasn't going to break down. Not again. Not here. Not right before she met the other people involved in this whole fiasco.

"Your plans suck." The sensor in his voice wasn't lost on her. They never agreed on how life should be lived. George was a day by day kind of guy. He didn't spend much time worrying about the future or planning for it. Izzie was the opposite. Every little detail of her life was mapped out. Or it had been. Losing her job and having someone other than George father her baby put a real kink in everything. She would have to sit down and regroup.

"My plans don't suck. You just hate that you can't come up with plans that are equally brilliant!" She was hoping the gentle teasing would help ease the tension that was wrapped around them. As nervous as she was, she knew George was more so. He had counted on the baby as the perfect way to get his mother off his back about settling down. Like Izzie he hadn't met the right person and wasn't going to settle just to make his mother happy.

"No. I'm pretty sure most of your plans suck. Like that time you thought it would be cool to make your own stationary. Remember how gross and clumpy that crap was?" The good natured ribbing relaxed her a bit as they made their way toward the entrance of the bistro Arizona and Callie Robbins had chosen. It wasn't a place Izzie frequented. For two reasons. One, it the wait was always longer than she wanted to wait; and two it cost more than what she was willing to pay. George had assured her that Dr. Karev was footing the bill. A tiny part of her was just as impressed as George that the other sperm donor was a doctor. Hopefully the baby was smart enough to pull off medical school. Not that she wanted her child to be a doctor, but it would be nice if they had the intellectual option.

"It was an experiment, Georgie, not a plan. Besides, you were pretty stoked yourself about making your own stationary. What was it you said? Oh. Yeah. Oh. M. Gee. Isobel we could totally personalize it and nobody would ever have it but us!" Rolling her eyes, she waited for George to open the restaurant's beveled glass doors. It felt good to joke around, even though she knew that at any moment the mood would turn serious. She was right. The second they entered the dimly lit interior of Rigsby's they were greeted by a cautious looking blonde with the bluest eyes Izzie had ever seen and a dark haired beauty who seemed to exude life. Arizona and Callie Robbins. Noticeably missing was one Alex Karev. Izzie didn't know if she should be relieved or pissed off. It would be nice to be pissed, she mused. She didn't get the chance to decide what she felt because Arizona excused her brother's tardiness by explaining that he had a work related emergency. It was hard to be pissed at a doctor for running late due to a work emergency, Izzie thought with a sigh.

Silently, the foursome let a cheery waiter named Timothy lead them to a private dining room. Instantly, Izzie started making mental notes. It was a habit she had developed since starting her how to vlog. Anytime she seen an interesting décor she studied it and then started mentally mastering how to achieve the same look…for a whole lot less. The textured walls were nothing more than painted over burlap, she mused. And the twinkling lights above the bay window were Christmas lights. A cheap but effective way to dress up a window for next to nothing, she thought with a silent chuckle as she took the seat closest to George. She had hoped for one of the other women to sit on her other side but she had no such luck. Which meant she would be stuck sitting next to Alex when he finally arrived. The idea left her nauseated.

"You know, I've spent the last twenty four hours thinking about what I was going to say to you guys. There doesn't seem to be any right words for something like this though." The uncertainty in Callie Robbins voice eased some of the fear mounting in Izzie. It helped to know she wasn't the only one confused and unsure of how to proceed. "I know if you're anything like Arizona and me you've talked about whether or not you want to sue the clinic."

They hadn't talked about it, but Izzie had thought about it. Erica Hahn had screwed up their lives. Her act of revenge had altered all their lives. If given the chance Izzie would ask her if it had been worth it. Whether or not they sued the clinic, Erica had lost her nursing license. Most likely some sort of charges would be filed against her as well. "I've thought about it and as tempting as it is to sue the clinic I don't really hold them responsible." She bit her tongue to keep from saying more. Before meeting the pair Izzie had been prepared to put the full brunt of blame on them. After meeting them, seeing them warring with the same confusion, pain, and torture that she felt, she no longer felt that way. Yes Callie had broken up with Erica for Arizona but people broke up every day. Normal people did not switch out sperm samples to get even.

"They owe us something," George muttered. He was all for suing the clinic. Principal, not money, he had told her. They had been careless. Izzie hadn't seen the point in reminding him that the doctor had trusted his nurse, Erica, to bring him the right specimens.

"What Georgie? What do they owe us? They offered to 'correct' the situation and we all declined. They're going to foot our medical bills. They reported the nurse to the State Board. What more do they owe us? A public apology? No thank you. I don't know about you but I don't want my life flooded with nosy reporters or money hungry lawyers. The less people that know about this, the better." Which was why she had taken down her last video. The last thing she wanted was for her child, or the child Callie carried, to stumble across some article or vlog or report, where they were labeled as a mistake. No child should have to bear that burden, she thought sadly. It was a burden she herself bore. Her mother barely admitted to being a mother. Most of the time she let people think she and Izzie were sisters. And most of the time Izzie let her. It was easier than stirring up a fight where her mother droned on and on about her childhood ending because she'd gotten pregnant with Izzie when she was fifteen. Reminding her that it wasn't Izzie's fault did no good. Addison Montgomery wasn't just self centered, she was stubborn. Once her mind was made up, it was made up. Izzie never knew if her mother was aware of how awful she had made her daughter feel and at this point in the game Izzie didn't care. She just knew she wasn't going to do that to her child. "We can't just think about ourselves. There are two babies involved here too. What we do now will effect them when they get older."

"Ooh, listen to you, Miss Grown Up!" George chuckled. His chuckle gave way to a sigh as he let her words digest. "You're right of course. Just doesn't seem fair that our lives are all messed up and they get off with only having to pay a few medical bills." His voice had become a little shrill. A warning that he was on the verge of a dramatic fit. Biting back a groan, Izzie slid down in her seat as he let loose. Her loosing her job. How the baby would have gotten his mom off his back about never having grandchildren. His heart just being broken because he would never be a father.

"Is he always like this?" The low, sensual whisper sent a shiver down Izzie's spine as the empty chair next to her was occupied by a man who looked more like an underwear model than a doctor. It was on the tip of her tongue to say he could play doctor with her anytime. She refrained. This guy wasn't someone she could just pick up and play with; not that she had ever done anything like that. She had never met a man like the one next to her though and if she had met him at a bar or a club there was a good chance she would have invited him back home.

"Most of the time," Izzie admitted, her fingers shaking as she reached for the glass of water a waiter had placed in front of her only a moment before. "Something has to set him off though."

"And there has been plenty to set him off," Alex finished for her. He twisted in his chair and motioned for the waiter to come over. "We're ready to order." Without giving much thought to whether or not everyone else was ready he asked for a double cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and both mayo and mustard with a side of onion rings.

Blinking, Izzie stared at him. It took a second for her to realize he was ordering for himself, not her. It was a little embarrassing to ask for the same when the waiter turned to her. When she heard George let out a small giggle she kicked him. "Just give me a chef salad with ranch," George grunted when the waiter asked what he would like. "No eggs or carrots though! And make sure the dressing is on the side. In a cup. Not the side of the salad. Oh, and make sure its light ranch. Ooh. Wait. Do you have bleu cheese?"

Ten minutes later, once all the ordering was done, Izzie found herself stealing glances at the father of her baby. It was a little comical to think of him that way. He was a stranger to her. A hot, sexy stranger she wouldn't have minded creating a baby with the old fashioned way. Heat crept into her cheeks as he caught her staring and raised a brow. "We've all decided that we're not going to sue," she blurted out. "It seems kind of pointless, you know? Especially when there are more important things to think about. Like the babies. We really have to figure out…." Her voice trailed off when George gently elbowed her in the side. She was babbling. Great. Not only had she stared, she had followed it up by babbling. The man probably thought she was a moron. Which was perfect really since she felt like one. "I'm sorry. I tend to babble when I'm upset and this whole thing is just…it doesn't seem real. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up or someone is going to jump out of some corner and yell gotcha!"

Silence wrapped around them as they all silently agreed. It didn't seem real. In their lives things like this were movie plots. They weren't in a movie though and the situation they found themselves in wasn't a plot. It was real. "It's a nightmare," Callie agreed, her dark eyes shining with unshed tears. "And it feels like its my fault."

George shook his head. His hand slid across the table to grab her's. "Girl, only person to blame is Nurse Evil."

Nurse Evil. Izzie bit back a laugh. She couldn't believe George had actually said it! When they first learned what happened he had dubbed Erica Hahn as Nurse Evil. "He's right. If anyone is to blame, its Erica Hahn."

"See. I told you they didn't blame you," Arizona whispered. Her arm wrapped around her wife's quivering shoulders as she murmured words only Callie could hear. That's what I want, Izzie thought. Against her better judgment she spared another look in Alex's direction. Once again he caught her. This time instead of a raised brow she got a dimpled grin. Dimples. Her stomach did a small flip flop. Would the baby have dimples? Wouldn't that be delish! She loved fat little babies with dimples. The icing on the cake would have been big blue eyes but the more she studied his hazel ones the more she realized hazel was better than blue. More mysterious.

Clearing his throat, Alex folded his arms and rest them on the edge of the table. "I think we all agree that Erica is to blame, Call. Right now our main focus needs to be figuring out what we're going to do as far as the babies are concerned. This whole thing has altered whatever plans any of us have made. Which means we need to make a new one." His words seemed to echo what she had been attempting to say. It amazed her how different her feelings were now that she had met them. Now that she had met him. Meeting him, hearing him say they had to put the children first, broke through her resolve to raise the baby on her own. George would have been a fun uncle but a father? Not really. That was why she had chosen him. He would be around to help when needed and would have made things interesting but he wouldn't have been a father. Alex was another matter. He was the kind of man who was made to be a father. She wasn't sure why she felt that way. It wasn't any one thing he had done or said in the short time she had been around him. It was more like a feeling deep in her soul.

"Would this new plan let my mother see the baby?" The neediness in George's voice almost broke Izzie's heart. What a blind fool she had been. George wanted to be a father. Sure he liked to wear glitter and women's underwear, but that didn't mean he didn't long for parenthood. God she felt like a first class idiot. They had been friends since junior high. She should have realized he wanted to a father.

"George. You're this baby's father. Callie and I talked about this last night and again this morning. Whatever role you want in this child's life is up to you. If you want to be their father, then you're their father. If you want to be cool Uncle George then you're their cool Uncle George. We just want them to know you. You and your mother." A wave of shock, mixed with shame, washed over Izzie. While she had been plotting how to get Alex out of her child's life, Callie and Arizona had been talking about how to include George. Another reminder that plans had to changed. Including her's.

Ducking her head down, Izzie studied her perfectly manicured fingernails. Hot pink with black zebra stripes on them. So immature. She had let George paint them. The uncontrollable fear that had prompted her to spill her guts on her vlog threatened to rear its ugly head. She had never felt so uncertain in her entire. The one thing that kept her from caving in to the desire to throw another emotional hissy fit was the fact that it wasn't just her life that had been turned upside down. Every single person seated at the table was having to re-evaluate the roles they had cast themselves in a month ago. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Alex, hoping she would find an answer on his handsome face. There was nothing there. No hope. No fear. Nothing. Great. She was going to have to ask without having some clue how he would answer. The question was how did she ask? Did she just demand to know what role he wanted? Or did he leave it up to him the way Arizona had with George? She wasn't very good at being diplomatic. It was, she admitted grudgingly, one of the reasons she had been fired. In the end Alex saved her. He laid it all out there, leaving no room for doubt what role he would play in their child's life. Planned or not, he was the baby's father.