Author's Note: Guys, this fic is so much more difficult than I imagined. Please forgive any character or plot details from past seasons that I forget or mess up. As I said before, this could get OOC or far from canon just because I am currently not watching this season of Grey's and I have forgotten things that have happened in the past. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the first chapter! It is slow-going and I am unsure of where I am going but that makes things fun right? Maybe

OH YEAH. PLEASE REVIEW.

The familiar rush, the chaotic atmosphere, the people running frantically down the halls, it all came back to Izzie as she walked through the sliding doors of Seattle Grace. She didn't know exactly where she was headed, or whom she thought she was supposed to go see. It would have made much more sense to contact Meredith and extend her condolences about Derek through the phone, but here she was, standing stoic at the entrance to the hospital. She couldn't just burst into the ER, or pediatrics or general surgery. She fantasized about how that would go,

"Hi, everyone! Remember me, Izzie Stevens, the girl who survived cancer, fell in love with a dying patient, broke Alex's heart, and then walked away from all of you, only to never hear from me again?"

That would earn her a displeased look from Christina, a somber look from Meredith, and Alex would most likely ball up his fists and storm out of the locker room they all inhabited when they first began their journeys. So, no, barging into the daily life of her ex-friend surgeons would have to wait.

She glanced at her phone, 12:15. Lunchtime. "Running into" her past fellow interns in the hospital cafeteria was not any less random than her bumping into them as they tended to a patient, but Izzie saw it as her only window of opportunity at the moment. She remembered the way to the cafeteria almost all too well, trying not to blink an eye at the memory of herself and Alex socializing over a cupcake in an adjacent hallway. Before she knew it, she was stuck in the middle of a cafeteria overwhelmed with people dressed in blue scrubs. Her eyes scanned for anyone she knew, when she bumped into a girl with long, raven hair.

"Oh my gosh – I am so sorry. I was just – uh, looking for a friend," Izzie exclaimed nervously, bending down to pick up the Jell-O that had bounded off of the girl's lunch tray.

Izzie met eyes with the girl, and couldn't help but notice that she looked like she herself belonged in a modeling agency, her piercing blue eyes complimented by a pale pink lipstick.

"Don't worry about it. Is there someone, or something I can help you find? We do have waiting rooms you know, if the person you are looking for is a patient, or something," the brunette stated.

Izzie realized that this was a girl with a strong personality, and that she might have been a bit annoyed at the idea of a random woman bumping into her at her hospital's cafeteria.

Concealing a smirk, Izzie made it clear that she knew her way around, "Actually, I'm very familiar with hospitals so I think I can find my way around, thanks. I didn't catch your name, though. You know, just in case I do lose my way to that – oh what it's called – a waiting room, that's it."

The pretty brunette, taken a bit back at Izzie's tone, reluctantly answered, "Dr. Wilson. Welcome to Grey Sloan Memorial, I hope you find who you're looking for…"

With that, Jo Wilson took her lunch tray to the conveyer belt, emptying it and returning it a pile. Izzie, however, realized she had been gone far too long, and couldn't help but blurt out another question.

"Grey Sloan? Don't you mean Seattle Grace?"

Jo turned around, apparently confused. "Uh no, Grey Sloan. We used to be Seattle Grace. Do you…know someone here or do you know the hospital –"

Izzie was tired of covering up her identity any longer. If this girl knew Meredith, she would be much easier to find.

"Izzie. Izzie Stevens. I…I have a lot of history in this place. I actually was a surgeon here with Meredith Grey herself. Miranda Bailey, Christina Yang, Richard Weber…Alex Karev, any of these names ring a bell to you?"

Jo took a moment to respond, and then it clicked. This was the blonde. The notorious Izzie Stevens, the one Meredith and April had chattered about in regards to the only name in that list that caught her attention – Alex Karev. This was the woman who screwed him up so badly he won't even mention her name.

Jo, swallowing the urge to burst into interrogation about Izzie's history with her own boyfriend, answered Izzie's question, "Oh my god. You're Dr. Stevens. I'll tell everyone you're here. If you want me t-"

Izzie nervously cut her off, "No. No. I, uh, I don't want – I don't need a welcome back party. In fact, I don't think it would be exactly a "welcome" party at all. I just…I just wanted to see Meredith. I'm here about Dr. Shepherd…Derek. I knew him too."

Jo, realizing Izzie was beginning to get emotional, nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll just tell Meredith you're here. I promise. I'm assuming you know where the Attending's Lounge is?"

Izzie, clutching her coat, and brushing a hair away from her face, quietly nodded. She had been quite snappy to this girl at first, but now she felt bad for it, and was thankful for her help.

Jo smiled and said, "I'll tell her to meet you up there when she's done with rounds."

Izzie sighed, "Thank you, Dr. Wilson."

As she left the cafeteria, Jo looked back over her shoulder and said, "Call me Jo!"

Jo was thankful Izzie couldn't see the bitter expression on her face as she went to find Alex.