Author's Note: Sorry guys! It's been a while since I've updated. This story is giving me enough writer's block for my entire Fanfiction career. Despite that, I finally got to the next step, which happens to focus a bit on Meredith rather than Izzie. I tried to include a little bit of the famous "voiceovers" that happen in Grey's, so look out for any italicized things, or whatever. Oh, and forgive my characterization of Meredith. I am finding her difficult to write, because I was never really invested in her as a character. I hope I am doing an okay job. Lastly, I am loving how many reviews and follows I am getting. I didn't want to write tonight, but then I thought of you guys. So keep reviewing!

Enjoy!

Meredith flipped over the next page of her clipboard, making marks next to each patient she had checked in on. Mrs. Roberts, sudden aneurysm, Miles Drew, in pre-op for an appendectomy, and Lucy Harmon's biopsy results had just come back negative. Running a hand across her brow, Meredith placed her clipboard down at the nurses' station. She checked her pager. Nothing. Shoving her hands in her coat pockets, she started to get nervous. Whenever there was a lull in her day-to-day routine, it meant there was a window of time for her to remember the recent details of her life. The main detail being that the harsh reality was that Derek was gone. It was in the quiet moments that she remembered this. If a patient's heart rate dipped drastically low, or they needed a shot of epinephrine, she was healthily distracted. When everything came to a halt, she was forced to come back to the reality of the past few months. She lingered in her thoughts until, thankfully, Jo approached her.

"Done with rounds?" Jo asked.

Meredith nodded, "You look like you want to tell me something."

Jo started to walk alongside Meredith. "Actually, I think I have something worth telling you."

"I would tell me now because I have two patients in pre-op and a Skype call scheduled with Cristina in an hour…" Meredith said.

Jo hurried to keep up with Meredith. "There's someone here who wants to see you. She heard about De-" Jo caught herself quickly. She didn't want to bring it up, and she certainly was not close enough to Meredith to talk about Derek casually.

Meredith seemed unshaken; always putting on a strong suit when subjects like that arose. "Derek. You can still say his name, Jo. When people die their name doesn't turn into some curse that you can't have on your lips."

Jo sighed, "Of course not. I'll just get to the point then. She's waiting for you in the Attending's Lounge."

Meredith stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Jo. "She?"

Jo snuck a smile saying, "Can't surprises be fun?"

Meredith, not amused, responded, "I don't think I can take anymore surprises."

"Trust me. She's one of you. Like Alex…or Cristina," Jo persisted.

It didn't take much for Meredith to come to the realization of the identity of the "mystery visitor." After all, Cristina was in Switzerland, Alex was downstairs in pediatrics, George was dead, and she herself was standing right in front of Jo. There was only one other component to the famous team – Izzie Stevens.

Meredith, with a wavering breath, inquired, "You said the Attending's Lounge?"

Jo, realizing that Meredith now knew that Izzie was the one waiting for her, nodded.

Meredith swiftly turned away from Jo, making her way to the elevator. As it opened, a flood of thoughts tortured her mind. The face that came out of the elevator doors interrupted these thoughts.

"Hey, Mer, have you seen Jo?" Alex looked at Meredith, waiting for an answer.

For a moment, Meredith wondered why he was acting so calm, like nothing groundbreaking was going on. Then, she realized that he was completely naïve to what was transpiring, and whom Meredith was going to meet.

She opened her mouth to respond, looking a little unintentionally frightened. "Uh – I just saw her, near the nurse's station…"

Alex raised an eyebrow at Meredith. "Alright…Grey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Alex said with a chuckle.

Meredith shook her head. No, but I feel like I am on my way to meet one, she thought.

Alex smiled, and playfully squeezed her shoulder before walking past her. He turned around and shouted, "You need anything, you know where to find me!"

Meredith walked into the elevator, muttering to herself, "First I have to find your ex-wife…"

The doors to the elevator slid shut, and Meredith leaned her head against the wall. She expected Derek's death to take everything she had ever known away from her in an instant. She had never expected that his death would bring back the things, the people that she had known before. How would she even greet Izzie? She hadn't thought about her feelings towards her in years. Should she be mad at how she left – the hospital, and Alex? Or should she be happy that she chose to come back, and that she survived the horrible disease that almost claimed her life? At the end of the day, it didn't matter how Meredith felt about her. She was sure that Izzie was not the same Isobel Stevens that had sat by Meredith's side in the operating view room. Meredith knew that because, none of them were those people anymore. Life invites you on its rollercoaster, and you see so many different things that by the time you get off, you aren't the same. You've been happy, excited, sick, scared, and reshaped before you even get to finish the ride. So, if Izzie had seen as much as Meredith had over the past few years, a whole new person would be sitting in that lounge.

Ding! The elevator snapped Meredith out of her trance, and back to reality. She walked through the doors, taking a right down the whitewashed hallway and heading towards the Attending's Lounge. It seemed like a mile-long walk, at the pace Meredith was going. Then, all of a sudden, the blonde hair came into view.

"Izzie," Meredith said, practically because she couldn't think of anything else to say in that exact moment.

Izzie turned around and met eyes with Meredith. She didn't know if she should be smiling or frowning, but she did a little bit of both. She couldn't help her eyes tearing up at the sight of her once friend. Izzie wasn't sure if this was because she was here to discuss Derek, or if she had simply missed seeing Meredith.

Izzie, at a loss for words at this reunion, rushed at Meredith an embraced her.

A hug is a common thing, a known exchange of emotion. Yet, many people do not use it to their advantage. Because if you really think about it, an embrace can be a way to hide the emotions on the face – an easy solution when words just won't come.