A/N -Hey guys sorry for the second upload but I realized I missed some of this chapter out, in my haste to get it written :) Hope you like it.

IZZIE

"My phone, it's downstairs." Izzie exclaimed, throwing her top back on and darting down the stairs, shaking her long blond hair out behind her as she rushed panic stricken to the bottom.

Racing in to the front room she saw her phone was still sat on the coffee table, exactly where she had left it moments earlier. Picking it up her heart pounding, she saw three missed calls and an answer phone message from the hospital. She quickly listened to the message, as she heard Alex walking down the stairs to join her. It was Dr Robbins, telling her that Sarah had woken up unexpectedly and had got herself pretty upset asking for Izzie.

Izzie looked over distraught to catch Alex's eye as the message ended. He was now fully dressed too, and touching her arm he said. "It's probably nothing, but Arizona..I mean Dr Robbins, said that Sarah woke up disoriented and wanted to see you. They couldn't calm her down."

"Okay, I need to get back to her as soon as possible." Izzie said trying to stay calm and act rationally.

"I can still drive, we can be back there in ten minutes." Alex said, grabbing his coat and car keys.

Inside the hospital Izzie followed Alex quickly across the pediatric floor. To where his boss Dr Robbins, an attractive blond woman with pretty blue eyes, was stood chatting to a nurse. She turned to acknowledge Alex as she sighed and said. "Hey, you didn't need to actually come in, Karev. I'm sorry I had to page you, but we couldn't reach the mother and the patient was getting kind of hysterical. She kept asking for you whenever we tried to get near her, so I thought maybe you would know…" She stopped mid-sentence as she suddenly clocked Izzie stood next to Alex and her eyes moved from his face to hers and it was as though a light bulb had suddenly gone off in her head as she realized they must have been together.

Then forcing a smile at Izzie, she said. "Ms Stevens, we tried to contact you.."

"I know, I'm so sorry, I left my phone downstairs when I was taking a shower and.." Izzie said, realizing her face was turning bright crimson as she told what was clearly a blatant lie. She felt mad, not at the slightly judgemental look Dr Robbins was giving her, but more at herself, that she had put herself in this position and not been there for her daughter when she had needed her.

"Well, no harm done. These things happen. She's quietened down a bit, but she's still awake." Dr Robbins said as she gestured for them to follow her in to Sarah's room.

…

"Mommy," Sarah exclaimed her face lighting up as soon as Izzie walked in to the room, followed closely by Alex and Dr Robbins.

"I am so sorry princess." Izzie said as she hugged her daughter gently.

"I didn't know where you were, and it was a different doctor, not Dr Karev, I was scared…" Sarah said sounding upset and confused.

Izzie glanced across to see Alex was busily checking Sarah's patient chart a worried look on his face. She felt bad for dragging him back in when he wasn't working, but her heart melted a little to see how concerned he was about her little girl.

"Well, I just popped home to see Miranda and have a shower. I'm here now.." Izzie replied, turning back to Sarah, as she stoked her daughter's face.

"Can you bring Miranda in?" Sarah asked.

"Well, you'll have to ask Dr Karev about that." Izzie said as she turned to smile at Alex.

"The cat." Alex explained to Dr Robbins, as he turned back to Sarah and said, "I don't think Miranda would like it here very much , do you?" Sarah giggled and nodded, suddenly looking a lot more relaxed.

"What's her stats?" Alex said in a low voice to Dr Robbins.

"She's fine, no cause for concern at all." Robbins replied in a low voice, then addressing Izzie she said in a more upbeat tone. "Dr Shepherd, will be around to conduct a post-operative check on Sarah in the morning. But for now I suggest you both try and get some sleep."

"Is there anything I can do?" Izzie replied anxiously

"She's fine for now, just wanted her Mom I think. Hospitals can be scary places for kids." Dr Robbins replied, smiling warmly, her eyes twinkling a little as her voice softened. Izzie sensed she had dropped the slightly judgemental air she'd had when she'd first seen her arrive with Alex. But then Robbins turned back to Alex, as she said more firmly. "Dr Karev, can I speak to you for a minute." Before smiling and turning back to Izzie. "Buzz us if you need anything Ms Stevens."

Alex looked away as he nodded at his boss and quickly stood up to follow her out of the room.

...

Alone in Sarah's room, Izzie lightly stroked Sarah's hair as she tried to sooth her back to sleep. Just as Izzie sensed her daughter's eyes closing, Sarah suddenly said sleepily. "Mom, Dr Karev is really nice. And I just want you to know it's okay with me..."

"Ssshh..go to sleep." Izzie whispered as she continued to sooth her daughter.

"Mom, it's okay with me if you like him, that's all." Sarah said her eyes shutting.

Izzie stayed glued to the side of her daughter's bed as she watched her drift back to sleep, content that her Mother was now close by and Izzie dropped her chin on to her folded arms, resting on the side of the bed and she exhaled. What the hell had she been thinking? She'd been in the middle of making out with a hot guy, when her little girl was alone and scared after having a major operation. At that moment in time Izzie felt like the most irresponsible parent in the world. She had let her own desires get in the way of being there for her child and a single tear slid down her cheek as she realized she would never have been able to forgive herself if anything had happened to Sarah and she had been back at her house with Alex. A guy she barely knew and who also happened to be Sarah's doctor.

Then Izzie thought back to her evening with Alex and she felt a flutter in her chest as she remembered how she had felt when he had kissed her. How much she had wanted him, how comforting it had felt when he'd had his arms around her.

She glanced at her watch, it had been over thirty minutes and Alex hadn't been back. She didn't want to get dependent on him, she knew that she and Sarah weren't his responsibility. But she'd kind of hoped he would have come back. Even just to tell her he was going home, because after everything that had happened over the past couple of days Izzie couldn't believe that Alex would just abandon them now. He'd been so concerned earlier.

But after another thirty minutes had passed. Izzie could barely keep her eyes open and it was starting to become glaringly obvious that Alex wasn't coming back. She contemplated going to look for him, but she didn't want to leave Sarah and she knew he was due back in to work the next day, so most likely he would have gone home by now to get some sleep. She peered out of the blinds to see Dr Robbins stood in the corridor outside Sarah's room, chatting to what looked like another female doctor, with no sign of Alex in sight.

The next thing Izzie remembered was being stirred awake by a soft female voice, saying, "Izzie, Izzie…"

Izzie opened her eyes to see it was morning as bright sunlight streamed through the window, blinding her slightly as she focused on the figure in front of her. It was Lexie. She looked fresh as a daisy with her dark hair pulled back in to a sleek pony tail, her skin glowing and flawless, wearing just a slick of lip-gloss and mascara as her eyes looked on a little concerned at Izzie.

"What time is it?" Izzie said as she sat up, to see that Sarah was starting to open her eyes too and Izzie realized she must have passed out in the chair by Sarah's bed.

"Just past seven. Dr Shepherd is on his way over to carry out the post-operative check." Lexie said smiling at Sarah.

Izzie sat up smoothing her hair down as she realized she was still in her clothes from the night before. "Err..okay." She stuttered a little embarrassed as she looked around for her bag to find her hairbrush and hand-mirror.

Before she had the chance to do anything else the door burst open and Izzie looked over to see Dr Shepherd walk in. "Beautiful morning." He said beaming at Izzie and Sarah, adding."Okay, so this won't take long we just need to carry out a few simple tests."

"Okay," Izzie nodded as she squeezed Sarah's hand.

"I had an interesting call last night from an old buddy of mine back in New York, Dr Sloan. He was a little concerned about you, Sarah." Shepherd said as he gently turned Sarah on to her side.

"Uncle Mark." Sarah said excitedly.

"Mark's married to my best friend, Addison Montgomery."Izzie explained.

"I know Addie, we go way back." Shepherd said smiling a little mischievously. Arousing Izzie's curiosity. Addison had said they all knew each other from med school, but she had been a little dismissive. There was obviously a story there though and Izzie was going to hear it later.

"My wife and I were at their wedding. You don't remember us? You were maid of honour, right?" Shepherd said, still examining Sarah.

Izzie blushed a little as she said. "I'm sorry there were so many people there.."

"Oh, it's okay, we didn't stay long. Meredith, my wife, was pregnant at the time." He replied as he stepped away from Sarah and wrote something in her chart.

"I'm sorry Mark called you, I told Addie there was no need. They're a little over protective of me. They're actually hoping to come over to Seattle soon." Izzie said as Shepherd turned back to her daughter.

"So he said. It would be good to see them." He replied as he turned to Lexie and said, "Okay, Dr Grey?"

"All tests would indicate at this time that the operation was a success. There is no damage to the spinal cord." Lexie said straight away.

"Quite right," Shepherd said appraisingly to Lexie. "I'll carry out anther check in a couple of days, but for now you're doing great Sarah." He added, just as his pager went off and he looked down at it saying, "If you'll excuse me, I'm needed elsewhere."

…..

"Are you okay?" Lexie said as she looked on at Izzie after Shepherd had left.

"Yeah…I guess." Izzie replied as she scooped her hair back in to a messy ponytail. She wanted to tell Lexie what had happened the night before, but she knew she couldn't say anything in front of Sarah. She stood up to walk in the direction of the door as she glanced at her daughter lying in the bed her eyes closing again.

"Look, Izzie, I know this isn't my place to say anything, but do you not want to call your Mom now? I know you said you don't want to panic her, but maybe you could do with the support. It's a lot to deal with on your own and you don't want to rely on…" Lexie said lowering her voice.

Izzie pressed her lips together, she knew what Lexie was implying, warning even. She shouldn't rely on Alex. But she just wasn't sure if she could handle her mother coming in yet as she replied slowly, "I don't know."

"Well, I just know if it was one of my nieces or nephews in here my Mother would want to know." Lexie said passionately, as she added, "If you like I can call her for you?"

Deep down Izzie knew Lexie was right as she just nodded and said, "No, it's fine. I'll call her."

…

Izzie knew she had made the right decision as later that day she looked over to see her mother sat next to Sarah's bed, the two of them engrossed in whatever trashy magazine her Mother had bought this time. Sarah looked happy. Izzie knew that however much she struggled to find common ground with her ditzy mother, however much Robbie Stevens had frustrated Izzie over the years. Robbie was one of those women that was born to be a mother, she was fantastic with Sarah, she always had been.

"If you two are okay for a bit, I'm just going to go and get some fresh air, call Addison." Izzie said as her mother looked up and waved her hand as she said. "Okay, cricket, you take as long as you need. We're just fine here."

"She's probably going to go and find Dr Karev.." Sarah teased as Izzie walked out of the room and she heard her mother say to Sarah. "Oh, who is Dr Karev?"

"A doctor Mom likes." Sarah replied giggling, as Izzie shut the door, blushing a little as she thought of Alex and how much she did like him.

….

Izzie felt her pulse racing a little as she wandered around the hospital. Now that she could relax a little knowing Sarah's operation had been a success. She was torn between feeling nervous butterflies at the memory of being with Alex the night before and slight anxiety that she hadn't seen or heard from him since he had left with Dr Robbins shortly after they had got back to the hospital. She could accept that he had been busy all day, maybe in surgery. But she at least would have expected him to have popped in to check on Sarah. Then she remembered she was out of practice at dating and the rules you had to follow. If she could even call what she was doing with Alex, dating! Maybe she was expecting too much from him and this was normal and she should just chill out. But she knew she couldn't do that, she was already head over heels and she couldn't help it she was desperate to see him again, to finish what they had started the night before.

...

Pressing the button for the elevator she suddenly stopped as she heard her phone ringing in her hand. A rush of excitement hitting her as she wondered if it could possibly be Alex. Looking down her heart sank a little with dissapointment as she saw it was only, Mark Sloan.

"Hey, blondie." Mark said as she picked up.

Izzie rolled her eyes as she replied. "You know I hate it when you call me that, Mark." Izzie was fond of Mark, he had been a good friend to her over the years and she was in awe of his surgical ability. But she couldn't help but resent him slightly for the way he treated his wife, her best friend Addison. She knew he loved Addie, but he just couldn't seem to keep it in his pants and Izzie feared Adddiosn had made a huge mistake marrying him. Despite that though he remained effortlessly charming and funny and everyone seemed to love him. All her model friends went to him for their surgical procedures.

Mark laughed down the phone as he said, "So, how's that god daughter of mine getting on then?"

"Good, she's doing good." Izzie replied. Just as the elevator door pinged open and she said. "Was there something you wanted, Mark? It's just that..."

"Actually, yes there was. I've decided to surprize Addison with a weekend away in Seattle. I know she's dying to see you and Sarah and well she could do with some pampering." 'More likely you've got some making up to do.' Izzie thought bitterly as he continued. "So, we'll be flying in tomorrow. But she knows nothing about it, so if you speak to her."

"I'll be sure not to mention it..." Izzie finished off as her face lit up and she almost let out a small squeal as she said. "That's so great, Mark. I can't wait to see you both."

...

Walking in the direction of the coffee cart Izzie suddenly felt as though everything was going to be okay now that Mark and Addison were coming to visit and she was excited for Addie to meet Alex. Then she suddenly froze, adrenaline filling her body. For the first time that day she finally spotted Alex in the distance. He had his back to her, but it was definitely him, she could tell by the way he was standing.

She felt her fingers shaking slightly as she debated whether to buy him a coffee or not. She knew it might appear a little forward, especially if he had been avoiding her. But she did want to thank him for everything he had done for her the night before. Plus, she wanted an excuse to speak to him and he had been more than eager to spend time with her the previous two days, so she couldn't imagine how anything could have changed now.

...

Gripping the two coffees tightly in her hands, Izzie took a deep breath as she made her way over to where Alex was stood. She was glad she had made sure her hair and makeup was immaculate and she had changed in to a fitted black top and her favourite brown boots.

Alex still had his back to her as she approached him. He was deep in conversation with three other doctors. A tall handsome guy with cropped dark hair, the same Asian female doctor Alex had spoken to briefly a couple of days ago when Izzie had been with him at the coffee cart and another female doctor with light brown hair and pretty green eyes. All dressed in identical dark blue scrubs.

As Izzie got closer she suddenly slowed down a little as she was sure she heard her name. She stood still, trying to work out exactly what they were saying. The other male doctor was laughing and shaking his head at Alex as he said. "Seriously, man, I'm impressed. A little surprized, but impressed. She's way out of your league. I honestly didn't believe you had it in you."

Izze felt her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she heard Alex say a little arrogantly. "Well, believe it."

"Oh, please. She's a complete airhead, he looks like that. It was always going to happen, it's hardly some great surprise." The Asian doctor said rolling her eyes as she sipped her coffee.

"Well, airhead or not, she's still a person with feelings you know, Alex. Maybe if you actually bothered to get to know her you'd find out that there could be more to her than blonde hair and big breasts. When are you going to grow out of being such a jerk and actually settle down?" The other female doctor said scolding slightly.

"He'll never settle down, he's evil spawn." Her friend said smirking a little as she looked at Alex.

"Oh, relax, he won the bet cut him some slack. Looks like I owe you fifty then, Karev." The male doctor said.

Izzie could hardly believe her ears as she dug her nails in to her palm to try and stop herself from crying, her eyes feeling hot and stinging as she waited to hear Alex's response, as he simply replied. "Looks like you do."

"Well, how about I buy you a couple of beers later and you can give me all the details. Is she really as hot as she looks in her photos? I mean are they even real?.." The tall handsome doctor said grinning as the two women both rolled their eyes.

Alex opened his mouth to reply and Izzie realized she couldn't bear to hear anymore. Quickly going from hurt to mad as she stormed straight up to the group, instantly catching the eye of the attractive green eyed doctor whose face dropped slightly as she gestured behind her and said.."Err…Alex." Stopping him before he had the chance to say anything else.

Causing Alex to turnaround, a look of shock and panic quickly crossing his face as he saw Izzie. She had both hands placed firmly on her hips as she yelled. "Well, are they?...Let me see, kind of hard to tell when you couldn't even undo the clasp on my bra... Fifty bucks, fifty lousy bucks…that was all I meant to you?" And she dropped the full cup of coffee that she had so excitedly bought him moments earlier, down on to the floor. Narrowly missing his shoes as the warm liquid oozed out in to a rapidly expanding puddle across the floor. As humiliated she turned and rushed away, not looking back as she tried her hardest not to let them see her cry. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of that. She wanted to at least maintain that small piece of her self-respect.

She didn't stop until she was outside the hospital. It was nearly dusk and once she had stepped out in to the fresh evening air, she finally allowed herself to let go as the tears streamed down her cheeks and shaking slightly she felt her heart breaking a little. She felt like such a fool, she couldn't believe she could have been so stupid. She had let her guard down, allowed herself to fall for a guy that she had naively thought was falling for her too. He had made her feel different. He made her feel as though he didn't just like her because she was a pretty girl, but he liked her for her. But, it turned out she should have trusted her first impressions of him, he was an arrogant ass. She should have paid more attention to what Lexie had said. He had been using her all along, it had all just been a bit of fun to him, just a game. Because she was Isobel Stevens the Bethany Whisper's model. She felt physically sick at how close she had actually come to sleeping with him too. Plus, he was still Sarah's doctor. But from now on until Sarah was better she would just be Isobel Stevens the Bethany Whisper's model. Her mask firmly back in place. This was just another reminder of why she simply couldn't trust guys and get close to anyone.

Then she suddenly tensed as she heard footsteps coming up behind her and sensing a dark shadow next to her, she looked up to see Alex. His eyes looked sad and full of worry, remorse and slight desperation as he said hastily. "Izzie, Iz…let me explain."…

A/N- Sorry for the ending to this chapter. But next chapter I promise Alex redeems himself :)