Author's Note: Hi everyone! I am excited because this is probably the longest chapter that I have written so far. It is very dialogue-heavy, so if that is not your speed, I apologize, but I tend to love to write intense conversations. You guys have been so incredible with your feedback and you are all so encouraging! Some of the reviews I got this week made my day! You guys really seem to want more frequent updates so I am going to try my hardest. Please always keep in mind that I have no idea what is going to transpire in future chapters and therefore things could appear to be going slowly. Any ideas from you guys are greatly appreciated!

I hope you enjoy, as always!

Meredith sipped on the insanely bitter cup of coffee that she had just brewed. She couldn't have been bothered to sweeten it, under the circumstances that she was sitting in the same room with Izzie Stevens, and they had not exchanged many words.

Izzie traced her fingers around the grooves of the coffee cup lid, and then began to speak softly, "When I heard about Derek, I – I thought of this place. More importantly, I thought of you, Meredith, and how – ridiculous it is that I just packed up my bags and never came back. I am so sorry that he's …"

Meredith leaned her back against the wall and set her coffee cup down on the counter. "I appreciate it. And you. I don't think that any of us thought we would ever see you again. It's been six years, Izzie."

Izzie sighed, looking down at the carpet. "I guess I missed a lot, huh?"

Meredith scoffed, "Yeah…yeah you could say that. You could also say that you're lucky. You got out, Izzie. Before everyone started to disappear…"

Izzie looked up at Meredith, "What do you mean, disappear…?"

Meredith tossed her head back, allowing a piece of hair to escape her face. "Do you want the official death count, or a summary?"

Izzie stood up quickly. "…Who else, Meredith? I mean, I lost George; we lost George but – what about Cristina? And Alex, what about Alex?" She hadn't realized that her voice was slowly increasing volume, and she tried to relax herself as a result.

Meredith fiddled with her scrubs, and gazed out of the window, as if she was recounting all of the lives that the hospital had lost since Izzie had gone.

"Alex is fine. Cristina is in Switzerland. Izzie, how exactly did you hear about my husband's death? My point is, with the lives that we've lost over the years, how was Derek the first you heard about?" Meredith asked.

Izzie, feeling a bit embarrassed by Meredith's question, turned her back to her. "Bellevue. I've been living in Bellevue, just outside of Seattle. There, I worked in the ER at Overlake Hospital…yeah I know, I left one hospital just to end up in another. I guess some habits you just can't kick. Anyway, Meredith, you have to believe me when I say that I have tried my absolute hardest to keep my distance from this place. I can't – I can't bear to think about – Denny, or about Alex, or the cancer, or anything that happened while I was here! I feel guilty that I have built walls so high to protect myself from the memories of this place that I never once made an effort to get in contact with you, or anyone else. But it was the only way I could escape. I needed a rewrite, so I did it."

Meredith looked at Izzie, who was pouring her heart and soul into this declaration of her story. She was broken. She escaped the place that broke them all, but she didn't get to stay in one piece. Sometimes the present can grab you and keep hold of you, tearing you to shred after shred. Then, the future can tease and taunt you, reminding you that you could be torn to pieces soon enough. But there was a sneaky thing called the past that always followed you around, reminding you of the pieces that you have left behind, and kept haunting you for life.

Meredith couldn't help but feel badly for Izzie, and she was telling her more than she even asked for. But she wasn't going to grant her the part of the victim in the story. "I get that. I get that you needed a new start, a new place, away from all of us, away from the hell that you went through here. But, Izzie…we've been here for years. You may only be finding out this valuable information out now, but we have been losing people left and right. You don't know anything! And you wouldn't have because you didn't bother to check in! Let's see, there was the shooting, the plane crash, the outrageous storm…disaster after disaster. So, I'll ask again, Izzie. What was it that made you conveniently hear of Derek's accident? Or was it the only thing you saw fit to return for?"

Izzie stood stoic, alarmed and attacked by Meredith's words. But, remaining true to herself, she retaliated, "A doctor! Is that such a big deal, Meredith? I heard it from a doctor at Overlake!"

Izzie took a moment to collect herself, and lowered her voice, "I was on call at the ER, and it traveled through the hospital like wildfire. Your husband, Meredith, was a big deal. You might have lost a lot of people since I have left but I heard about Derek immediately. Dr. Redford, an Attending at Overlake went to med school with him. He knew I had worked here for a while, and he asked me if I had known – Dr. Shepherd…"

Izzie had to stop, because she felt the tears creeping up the back of her throat. She didn't want to cry, she had done enough of that to last her a lifetime. And, she was positive that Meredith was all out of tears. But telling Meredith, who was now a widow, the story of how she had found out that Derek had died – made her unsteady.

Meredith saw her getting visibly upset, and interjected, "You – you don't have to tell me the whole story. It doesn't really matter how you found out anyway. The bottom line is, you found out, and you're here."

Izzie ran an unsteady hand through her tangled hair and spoke hesitantly, "It's just…telling you…being here…it makes it real, you know? It's like if I hadn't come here, if you weren't standing in front of me right now, I could make believe he was still here – at Seattle Grace. But that's not real. And I know, what it feels like, Meredith, to suddenly find yourself breathing but knowing that the person you love no longer is. But you need to know, that there is no way that I would've hid behind my made up walls when I heard about this…"

Meredith placed her coffee cup down and took Izzie's out of her shaking hands. "I forgive you. I do. I can't live hating people anymore, or being mad at anyone. I'm angry. But I'm angry at the world. I'm frustrated at this big, grand picture, of life that paints everything to be so perfect until it shatters. So, if it seems like I'm mad at you, please, please know that I forgive you. And I hope this visit lasts longer than you planned. Because I could use a reminder of who we used to be."

Izzie forced a smile, and nodded, holding back her tears. "Thank you."

She then remembered that unfortunately, she had to bring up the truth that she knew all too well. Izzie whispered to herself, "Sloan Memorial…", hoping that Meredith would take it from there.

Meredith took a deep breath, realizing that they had arrived at the death notice installment of the reunion. "Mark's dead. That was the plane crash. It took my sister with him too…"

Izzie felt like she was going to be sick. She wanted to close her eyes and when she opened them, she would be back as an intern. This way, she could have cherished everyone when they were here, because now, she didn't know who was left.

She nodded, trying to be strong for Meredith. "Let's get this over with, Mer. Who else?"

Meredith remained her stance, and said matter-of-factly, "My mom. Adele Weber."

Pursing her lips together, Izzie rocked back and forth, nodding. "Anything else I should know?"

Another voice entered the conversation, "Yeah, I got one. What the hell are you doing in my Attending's Lounge, Stevens?"

Dr. Bailey stood with her arms crossed, waiting for an answer.