A/N: To the guest who left the review about disliking the foursome of Meredith/Callie/Alex/Maggie. I don't care for Maggie much at this point either. She could be a character I grow to love, but I'm just not sure about her yet. Lexie will always have a special place in my heart, so seeing Mer take this quickly to Maggie is slightly unsettling for me. I do agree that Alex would not be as close to Callie as he would be to Arizona. Mostly, I had Callie more prominently in that last chapter because I needed someone else who could reflect on Izzie's past. Also, remember, this is more than two years into the future. A lot can happen in two years. I feel like by that point, given that Alex and Jo are married in the fic, Alex and Callie might grow closer than they are in the show right now, since it seems they are trying to throw Jo into the direction of Ortho, and by association, Callie. I do think he would still be closer to Arizona however, which I think you will find reflected in this chapter. I think the group of doctors are closer, as a whole, since the death of Derek, in this story anyway. That includes everyone.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I think it would be nice for Alex to have a couple of guy friends, so in this fic, he has grown closer to Jackson.

Disclaimer: I really wish I did. Then thing would go well for my ships. Alas, I have nothing but my computer, imagination, and this website.

"Your patients are fine. Just focus on getting this out of your system so you can come back without infecting us all." Alex rolled his eyes as he listened to Arizona jabber endlessly on the phone about all her very important patients that need tending to. "I'm covering your patients. So is the OB. It's fine."

"That's all well and fine Alex, and I have complete trust in your capabilities, I do. But what happens if there's an emergency? You aren't exactly trained for in-uterus surgery. And most of the tiny humans I care for are not ready to come into the world yet!" Arizona rambled.

"Look, Pierce has a consult with a neonatal surgeon. She's staying in town for a while. I'm sure if something goes horribly wrong, she can step in." Izzie wasn't Alex's favorite topic in the world, but if it put Arizona's mind at ease long enough for her to shut her mouth, he'd mention her.

"Who is it? I want to check their credentials."

"Dr. Isobel Stevens." He mumbled, hoping she wouldn't make the connection.

"Dr. Stevens? That sounds familiar. Maybe I met her once at…wait a minute. Alex, isn't that-"

"Yes," Alex said quickly, cutting her off. "she's my ex wife. Maggie called my freaking ex wife out here for a consult."

Arizona sighed, speaking her words carefully. "Are you…are you okay with this? With her being here?"

"I'm going to have to be. Look, I gotta go. Your patients are fine, I'll call you if anything happens. Just get some rest so you can get back here soon." Alex hung up the phone, slipping it into his pocket. He walked into the attending's lounge, thankful when the only person occupying it was Jackson, who was scribbling notes in some files. He grabbed a pack of chips from the cabinet and sat down on the couch. Jackson looked up from the file, raising an eyebrow. "So I heard Izzie's back."

"You actually remember her?" Alex scoffed, giving Jackson a dubious look. Jackson shrugged. "I have vague memories. Honestly, April remembers more about her than I do." Alex nodded. "Are you okay with the fact that she's back?" Alex shrugged indifferently. "Honestly, I don't have any feelings for her anymore. It's just weird seeing her here. The hospital has been just mine for so long. It's kind of like I got it in the divorce. It's just…weird."

Jackson nodded. "I can see that. Have you guys talked? Or has she tried talking to you? Usually when someone show up at their ex husband's place of work, they at least try to talk about what happened. I'm assuming, anyway."

Alex scrunched up his nose. "No. And I don't really want to talk to her anyway. What's done is done. It's over now. It's been over for a long time. Besides, she came for one of Maggie's cases, not to reconnect with me. She didn't have a choice."

"She could have said no. I don't think many girls jump at the chance to go visit their ex's hospital without a slight ulterior motive. Does she know you're married?" Alex nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately Jo and I were bringing Mer's kids home at the exact moment Izzie decided to pay her a visit."

Jackson grimaced. "That sounds like so much fun. How's Jo handling it?" Alex leaned back on the couch. "I think she's okay. I mean, she's got nothing to be worried about, and I think she knows that. Izzie is more of an annoyance than a problem."

Jackson nodded. "Hey, April's heading over to check on Arizona tonight, which will probably last for a couple of hours. Want to grab a drink after work or something?" Alex agreed. "Yeah. I think Jo was going with her, so I've got nothing better to do." He joked.

Jackson leaned back in his seat. "I'm offended. What about 'bros before hoes' or whatever?" Alex smirked. "I don't think you can entertain me the way my wife can." Jackson laughed, standing up to gather his files. "Fair enough."

"What do you think you're doing?" Meredith said, sliding onto a bar stool next to Izzie. "Where are your kids?" Izzie returned, sipping out of her glass. She'd arrived at Joe's about half an hour ago, and her eyes had been glued to a certain man from her past ever since. "With Maggie. Now answer my question. What do you think you're doing?" Meredith repeated, narrowing her eyes. "Feeling nostalgic." She deflected, turning back towards the bar. "Well stop feeling nostalgic about him." Izzie sighed. "We used to be friends, Mer. Good friends. You let Alex and I get married at what was supposed to be your wedding. You were his best man at that wedding for God's sake. You used to love him and I together. What happened?"

Meredith leaned forward. "Exactly. I was his best man. Not your maid of honor. If things had gone differently, Izzie, and the situations were reversed, and he left instead of you, I would probably be doing the same thing for you that I'm doing for him. When you left the last time, you didn't just leave Alex, you left all of this. You told me that this wasn't your home anymore. That it was just a place you worked. You basically told me that I was not near important enough to you for you to stay. That I didn't matter to you. Since Cristina left, Alex has been my person. So I'll protect him from whatever I can. Even if it's you."

Maybe it was because she'd had three drinks already and was feeling a slight buzz coming on. Maybe it was because she'd had a bit of shitty day. Maybe it was because she'd had it up to here with people telling her to leave Alex alone. Whatever it was, Izzie rolled her eyes and snapped sarcastically. "I can feel nostalgic about whoever the hell I want, Meredith."

But she wasn't done. "Alex and I were married. That counts for something. I can feel nostalgic about it if I want to. I can think about him if I want to. Nobody tries to stop you from feeling nostalgic about your dead husband." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, her buzzed brain not realizing just what she'd said until she saw the look on Meredith's face. "Mer, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Meredith held her hand up. "You're right, no one tells me to stop feeling nostalgic about Derek. But there are many differences between Derek and I, and you and Alex. I did not accuse Derek of getting me fired. I did not walk out on Derek without even a word, informing him of my leaving in a letter. I didn't leave Derek with no forwarding address for the mountains of bills I left behind. I didn't come back later, only to still believe that Derek got me fired, and not listen to any defense he had. I did not come back, weeks later, expecting to be welcomed back. And I did not desert all my friends, and my husband. I did not stay away, not bothering to even call when my friends and husband were slammed with tragedy after tragedy. And I didn't show up, some eight or more years later, out of nowhere, with no warning at all. It's not the same thing, Izzie. I know you say you came back here to reconnect, but don't even try reconnecting with Alex. And you're about to lose your chance with me."

Meredith slid back off the bar stool. "I'm so sorry Mer, I wasn't-" Meredith turned back around, cutting her off. "Don't call me that. Only my friends call me that." She said tiredly, turning to walk out the door.

Izzie sighed, placing her head in her hands. She turned her gaze back towards Alex, who was still sitting in a booth with the Mercy Wester- Jackson, she thought his name was.

"Does she think we can't see her staring?" Jackson asked through a fake smile, jerking his head towards the blonde sitting at the bar. Alex shrugged. "Who even knows. She never was very subtle with her gaping."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Oh, here comes Grey." He muttered. "Looks like they're arguing. Maybe she's defending your honor." He teased, with a knowing smirk. "Probably. She takes this 'you're my person stuff' way too seriously." Alex scoffed with a begrudging smile.

"Oh, she's taking off. She looks really angry." Alex glanced towards Meredith. "Yeah, she's definitely pissed." They watched as Meredith stormed out the door, and Izzie put her head in her hands. Then they felt her attention turn back towards them. Alex sighed. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

Jackson laughed. "Where? This is literally the only bar we go to." Alex shrugged. "I don't know. To Arizona's if we have to. Just anywhere that my ex wife isn't." Jackson nodded and they grabbed their coats, standing up to leave the booth. They made it about halfway to the door when Izzie jumped up to meet them. "Heyyyy guys. What're you up to?" She said enthusiastically, swinging her arms back and forth.

"We were just headed out." Jackson flashed a smile and she grinned back. "Oh really? I was hoping we could catch up." Alex smirked. "Maybe another time." He said sarcastically, brushing past her to move towards the door. "I'll hold you to that!" Izzie called after them, making her way back to her seat. "Right." He muttered, letting the door slam behind them.

A/N: Thanks for reading, chapter 5 will be up soon! Maybe not tomorrow, but it should definitely be up by at least Monday. Reviews make my day, even if they're just a word or two.