Okay, so who thought the Grey’s season finale was awesome?! Seriously, after that episode, I almost had no motivation to write this chapter because I was really uninspired. Who can compete with that ending?! Besides, all new plot bunnies completely popped up in my head with an Izzie/George pairing. Don’t worry though, I fully intend to finish this story! (Does anyone even still read this fic? I crave reviews…)

Parts of this chapter came from the episode ‘Testing 1-2-3’ and Grey’s Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes, who is absolutely brilliant.

Btw, I wasn’t sure if Ava ever named her daughter on the show, but in my story I gave her the name Emily. If anyone knows what her real name is, let me know and I’ll change it! Thanks!

Warning: this chapter is full of fluff because well, I love fluff.

--

Before they all knew it, the two weeks leading up to their exam had passed quickly and it was the day that would make or break their career as doctors – with any luck, they would all become residents in just a few days – providing that they all passed the exam. In those two weeks, there had been much drama for her friends, which made Izzie wonder just what had happened to her friends’ lives when her own life was so calm and happy. It was strange to think that just a few months ago, she had been the one that was so mess up and her friends were so happy and together – now it was just the opposite.

Cristina was still being difficult with the details of her wedding and it was becoming fairly obvious that Burke was becoming more and more frustrated with his bride. There were several times that Izzie had tried to talk her friend into becoming more involved with the planning, but Cristina had just scoffed and went about studying for their intern test. Izzie privately hoped that her attitude wouldn’t somehow cause karma to come back to bite her in the ass for being so uninvolved.

Alex had his hands full with Ava and her baby. Izzie hadn’t caught onto it at first, but after spending so much time together studying, she was starting to see that her friend had feelings for the young mother. The blonde intern could only hope that Alex knew what he was doing because she knew better than anyone, that there were big consequences of getting too involved with a patient. Ava still hadn’t gotten her memory back yet, and she could only hope that Alex wouldn’t get hurt in any way by Ava’s past.

As far as she could tell, George and Callie were still trying to have a baby together. Izzie’s friendship with George was still on the mend and there were still times it was awkward but they were getting through it, something that the blonde intern was immensely grateful for. There had even been a few times within the last two weeks where she and Callie had exchanged pleasant and civil conversations and she was beginning to understand that while she still didn’t think Callie was the girl for George, he did love her and she loved him in return. You can’t help who you love, she supposed.

Meredith had had the toughest week of all, it seemed. Her stepmother had been admitted into the hospital for a case of hiccups and then had ending up dying on her way to surgery. On top of that, Thatcher Grey had blamed the whole thing on Meredith and had slapped her in front of everyone. Izzie could not imagine anything worse than having your own father turn on you in room full of doctors and nurses. Poor Meredith, she had a tough day ahead of her.

Izzie inwardly groaned as she let out another tired yawn. It was the day of her intern test and she had been up all night studying with Alex and Cristina, trying to prepare for one of the most important exams of her career. Two weeks of stressing out, studying every minute she could… Izzie could honestly say that she couldn’t wait to get this test done and over with so she could go back to her real life. And get some sleep. Oh, how nice it would be to get even an hour of sleep. She sighed, grabbing her coffee cup and prepared to get up.

“How do you treat pancreatic divisum?” Cristina asked, looking at the card in front of her. “Izzie.”

“Oh, Cristina,” Izzie sighed once more, slumping back into her chair. “If you’re not going to let us sleep, at least let me put coffee in my cup.”

“Okay, so go,” Cristina rolled her eyes, staring back down at the flash card in her hands. “No one’s stopping you.”

Izzie shook her head, placing her cup back onto the table and slumping back into her chair. “Now I’m too tired to go.”

“Pancreatic divisum,” Cristina prompted.

“Dorsal duct sphincterotomy,” Alex spoke up, shooting a concerned glance at Izzie.

“Not your turn,” Cristina pointed at Alex, “but correct. Test me.”

Alex accepted the cards that Cristina handed to him. “I can’t believe O’Malley is missing this. How is he going to be ready?”

“O’Malley is ready!” George announced as he, Callie and Mark came into the kitchen – Callie and Mark were carrying what looked to be boxes full of pastries and a tray of steaming coffees. The other three interns cringed at George’s cheerful tone; he had obviously gotten enough sleep the night before. “You guys may have the cards, but I’ve got the genius behind those cards!”

Mark went over to where Izzie sat and placed a cup of coffee in front of her. He began rubbing her shoulders as the blonde grabbed the coffee and drank deeply, smiling gratefully at her boyfriend when she lowered the cup. “Thanks,” she sighed. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”

He took a closer look at her, taking in her tired appearance. Poor Izzie, today was probably going to be hell for her. “I’ll try to keep you supplied during the day,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“No,” Izzie couldn’t even muster up the energy to roll her eyes. She just leaned against Mark, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of his hands massaging her shoulders. “Sometimes I think Cristina is a robotic machine. She made us study all night. I’m so tired.”

“Hey, when you kick this test’s ass you’ll be thanking me,” Cristina spoke up from where she sat. “Or when you fail, you’ll be wishing that I made you study harder – either way, I win.”

Mark chuckled. “You can take a nap in the car. I’ll buy you another cup of coffee when we get to the hospital.” He pulled the box of pastries sitting in front of them closer to their direction. “You should eat something. You’re going to need your energy today.”

“You’re the best boyfriend ever,” she replied. Her eyes were still closed but she made no attempt to reach for the food.

“Wow,” Callie mused, as she sat in the chair next to Alex, across from Mark and Izzie. George pulled a chair from the other side of the table and sat down next to his wife. “You guys really are the real deal. I mean, you two are a real couple and everything.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark asked. He stood up straighter and stared at Callie, feeling a little defensive.

Before Callie could respond, Izzie opened her eyes and looked up at Mark. Patting one of his hands (which were still on her shoulders) she smiled at him reassuringly. “Callie is just making an observation, babe. She didn’t mean anything by it. You have to admit, people are surprised at the fact that we’re together.”

Mark didn’t tear his gaze away from Callie, though the tension from his shoulders faded. “Maybe.”

“I meant no offense,” Callie added, looking apologetic.

The blonde intern smiled at the ortho resident and patted Mark’s hand, which was still on her shoulder. “No biggie. He’s just protective of our relationship, that’s all. Are you coming to Cristina’s bachelorette party tonight? It’s going to be fun!”

“Yeah,” Callie smiled. “I’ll be there.”

“Will there be strippers?” Mark asked. “Can I come?”

“It’s going to be a bachelorette party, Sloan,” Cristina looked up from her flash cards. “No men allowed. Why do I even have to have a bachelorette party anyway? I don’t understand all the fuss about weddings. I don’t need that crap.”

Izzie sighed. There was no use arguing with Cristina about the issue. Her friend was just too stubborn and plus, she was tired.

“Can we get back to studying, please?” Alex asked. “We have a very important exam later today if you all don’t remember. What’s the most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients?”

“Rotavirus,” Cristina answered. “No… no… wait! Salmonella!”

Izzie shook her head. “No. C. diff is the most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients.”

“My girl is smart,” Mark grinned, looking down at the blonde. Izzie smiled back halfheartedly.

“Most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients is C. diff,” Meredith suddenly appeared through the doorway of the kitchen, heading towards the counter where the coffee was kept. The interns in the room all exchanged concerned looks with one another as Meredith grabbed herself a cup of coffee. She was dressed in funeral clothes, ready to head to her stepmother’s funeral later on before their intern test. “…which can lead to toxic megacolon, perforation, sepsis and death.” Meredith looked up at all of them. “That’s what killed Susan,” she informed them before leaving the kitchen.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as they heard the back door slam shut. Izzie looked over at Cristina only to see her friend staring at the back door. “Is she okay?”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Cristina tore her gaze away from the door and looked down at her cards.

Alex shook his head. “Dude, she’s messed up.”

“Of course she’s messed up,” Izzie nodded. “Susan was basically her surrogate mother.”

Cristina stood and went to get more coffee. “Yeah, fake mom was better than her real mom.”

“Is she going to the hospital first or the funeral?” George asked.

“First to the hospital, then to the funeral, then to the test this afternoon,” Cristina replied.

“Did she even study?” Alex accepted the cup of coffee that Cristina handed to him.

Cristina nodded. “Yeah, she’s studied. She’s fine – she just needs to be left alone. So, what’s inside the carotid sheath?” She looked over at the blonde. “Izzie?”

Izzie groaned and slumped over the kitchen table. “I think my brain is fried. I can’t study anymore.”

Just then a pager beeped and the plastics surgeon pulled put his own little black box. He looked down at the tiny screen and sighed before placing his pager back into his pocket. “And I think that’s the cue for us to leave,” Mark announced as he began closing up the blonde’s text books and gathering all her study notes together. He placed them all into a pile and then picked them up, placing them under his arm. “Come on, Iz – go get dressed. I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Izzie yawned as she stood up from her chair. She waved to everyone before following Mark out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you guys at the hospital.”

Minutes later, Izzie was seat belted in her boyfriend’s car as they made their way to Seattle Grace Hospital. Stopping at a red light, Mark looked to his right and grinned as he saw Izzie dozing, her head resting against the seat. Words could never describe just how wonderful his life had become, it seemed the broken man from months ago was gone and was replaced with someone new. Someone loved him. Someone was in love with him. And that someone was slightly drooling onto his detailed seats. The plastics surgeon chuckled as he pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked near the entrance. Twenty minutes had passed since they had left Meredith’s place and Izzie had almost immediately fallen asleep the minute she had strapped herself in. The chief had paged him to the hospital a half hour earlier, but he was in no hurry to head inside, preferring to sit and just look at his girlfriend for a few moments. He took in her appearance, dark circles surrounded her eyes indicating just how tired she was, her hair tied back into a messy bun – Mark thought she looked beautiful. He hated to wake her but found that he had no choice. He reached out and gently shook her awake. “Izzie… time to wake up.”

The blonde intern opened her eyes and groaned loudly. “How long was I asleep for?”

He glanced down at his watch. “About thirty minutes.”

“That’s the most sleep I’ve gotten in thirty-six hours,” she sighed as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

They both got out of the car and after locking it, Mark placed an arm around her shoulders as they walked into the hospital together. He guided her to the nearest coffee cart and quickly bought her a steaming cup (as promised) as well as a muffin and kissed her forehead when his pager rang again. “The chief is paging me, I have to go. I’ll find you before your exam, okay?”

“Okay,” Izzie smiled as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you for the coffee… and the muffin.”

He smiled at her before walking towards the elevators and taking it up to the third floor where Derek, Callie and Preston were all huddled and waiting around. “What’s going on?”

Before anyone could answer his question, Addison walked into the room. “They paged you guys too?”

“I think we all got paged,” Burked replied.

“That can’t be good,” Addison shook her head as she headed towards them.

“Sure it can!” Mark said, his trademark grin appearing on his face. “The chief could’ve called us all together to let us know that I won the race for chief of surgery.” He watched with amusement as annoyed expressions appeared on each face with the exception of Callie’s. The truth was, he had given up competing for the chief of surgery position ages ago – he just wanted to see how far he could get away with pushing everyone’s buttons. He knew he wasn’t going to get the position but no one ever said he couldn’t have some fun at everyone’s expense.

“He isn’t,” Bailey appeared, walking towards them. “The chief will be making his recommendation to the board tomorrow.”

“Then why were we paged?” Derek asked.

“Because Search and Rescue found those lost climbers who were up on Mount Rainier,” Bailey answered.

“People, the climbers are on their way,” Webber joined their little group just then, his expression somber and grim.

Derek shook his head. “Any specifics?”

“They found only three so far, one’s still missing,” Webber glanced from one doctor to another. “They’re reporting severe dehydration with traumatic head and chest injuries.”

“Bad day not to have interns…” Bailey trailed off, looking worried.

“You all have to do your own heavy lifting today. If you see an intern, which you will because they can’t help themseveles, turn them away until after the exam. Ambulances are five minutes away – it’s time to do what we do best, let’s roll people!”

--

“We’re supposed to be studying,” Izzie stated as she, Cristina, Meredith and George stood outside the pit watching through the window as all the attendings worked on the climbers that were being brought in. “If Bailey finds out, we’re dead.”

“We are studying!” Cristina insisted. “How do you treat frostbite?”

“Re-warm, avoid early surgery unless there’s a deep infection due to autoamputation,” George replied.

“See?” Cristina shrugged. “Studying!”

“What are you fools doing here?” Bailey’s sharp voice rang out and all four interns cringed. “In a few hours, you people are taking a test that will determine your entire medical careers. The five interns with the lowest test scores will be cut from the program!” Bailey’s fury was obvious as she charged towards them, an IV stand trailing behind her. “But are you studying for this test? No, you’re not!” She stood there glaring at them all. “Are you helping out in the ER? You are most certainly not. Are you getting the hell out of here before I throw you out?”

The interns began inching away from the window and leaving the way they came in.

“I think you are!” Bailey’s voice could still be heard, even as they turned the corner.

By unspoken agreement, the four interns split up from one another and after stopping briefly at her locker to grab her notes, Izzie decided to find Alex so they could study together. Knowing where her fellow intern would be, she headed up towards the nursery and towards Room 304 where all the newborns in the hospital were placed. She pulled opened the door and headed inside to find Alex holding Ava’s daughter, while Ava was quizzing Alex. Both of them looked up at her as she entered.

“Hey guys, mind if I joined your little study session?”

Ava smiled. “Not at all.”

She shut the door behind her and headed over to where Alex stood. Peering over his shoulder, she looked down at Ava’s daughter and grinned. “Oh, she’s gorgeous, Ava. What’s her name?”

“Emily,” Ava grinned.

“Beautiful name,” Izzie held out her arms. “Can I hold her?”

“Of course.”

Alex turned to Izzie and carefully transferred the baby into her arms. The blonde intern supported Emily’s head before bringing the baby closer to her face. “Hi Emily,” she cooed. “You’re gorgeous, yes you are…” She looked at the people in front of her. “So, how are you doing Ava? Did some memories come back yet?”

“Yeah, she remembered something about her dad this morning,” Alex replied, looking at Ava with a fond expression.

Izzie didn’t miss the uncomfortable expression that crossed Ava’s face and her instincts rose. Something wasn’t right but she decided that it wasn’t any of her business. “Really? That’s great!”

“Yeah,” Ava nodded. “It just kind of happened.”

Watching her actions, Izzie knew something was up. She smiled at the young woman and turned her attention back down to the baby. “I’m glad.”

--

“Do you have plans after work?”

Mark looked up from the patient’s file to see Derek standing in front of him, glad for the interruption from his work. His neck was stiff from bending over and hours had passed since he had arrived at the hospital that morning, he was starting to get hungry. He placed the file down onto the counter and gave the neurosurgeon his full attention. “Not really. Izzie is going to be at Yang’s bachelorette party so I have nothing to do, barring any medical emergencies.”

“Good,” Derek nodded. “Then you’re going to come to Burke’s bachelor party tonight at Joe’s.”

“Bachelor party?” He straightened and stretched his back slightly.

“Burke’s best man couldn’t make it to the wedding, so he asked me to fill the position. You in?”

“Sure,” Mark nodded.

“Alright then,” Derek replied. Something to his left caught his attention and Mark turned to see Meredith turning around the corner, disappearing from sight. He turned back to Derek. “You two are still having problems?”

“Her stepmother’s funeral was today. She couldn’t attend though because her father came into the hospital and caused a scene – he blamed Meredith for Susan’s death and then slapped her. Then he yelled for everyone to hear that she was banned from the funeral.” His best friend sighed. “I just don’t know how to help her and she won’t open up to me. What am I supposed to do?”

Mark shook his head. “You’re asking the wrong person.”

“Yeah well, I don’t think anyone can really help me,” Derek shrugged. “I just wish she would let me in.”

Glancing down at his watch, Mark saw that there was about an hour before the intern test was about to begin. He looked back up at Derek and reached out to pat his shoulder. Derek smiled, understanding the action for what it was. An acknowledgement that no matter what happened, Mark would always be there to help out if he could. The plastics surgeon turned and left the pit, heading towards the elevator to look for Izzie. He knew she was still in the nursery with Alex and Ava studying for the test, he had looked for her a few hours earlier and had found the three of them with books open, standing around Ava’s sleeping baby.

He headed towards the closest coffee cart and bought his usual caffeinated drink and a mocca latte for Izzie, as well as two sandwiches. He then headed towards the elevator and once he was inside, he pressed the button for the nursery floor. He smiled to himself, looking forward to seeing his girlfriend after a couple of hours spent in the ER – anytime he got to see his girlfriend was something he looked forward to and he was particularly anxious to see Izzie before her exam to wish her luck. The ride in the elevator was quick and when the doors slid open, he hurried through them and walked along the hallway, looking for the nursery. Spotting the blonde through the nursery window a few feet away, Mark quickened his pace.

As he came closer, he stopped just outside the doors and watched his girlfriend through the window. Izzie was alone in the nursery, her textbooks and notes clearly abandoned on a nearby counter. Alex and Ava were no where to be found and he could see Izzie fawning over Ava’s daughter. Mark had no idea why he was so surprised at the scene before him, but he was captivated nonetheless. He watched Izzie all the time while they were working together or when they were hanging out and he had gotten to know the blonde pretty well over the last few months. He learned a lot about her from just observing her on a daily basis. When one met Izzie Stevens, it was easy to deduce right away that she was a born nurturer. She was the kind of woman that you knew would be a devoted mother, the complete package of cleaning, cooking and baking, among other things.

Mark knew this about her even before they had really gotten to know one another. But as much as he watched her, Mark found himself unable to tear his gaze away from what he was seeing before him at that very moment. Izzie’s tired face was gazing down at Emily with awe as she tenderly held the newborn baby in her arms. There was a bright smile as she made funny faces and even though he couldn’t hear it, he knew that Izzie was giggling along with Emily as the baby laughed at her facial expressions. His heart flipped over in his chest right then and he realized that Izzie Stevens with a child in her arms was somehow exactly right – an image that he would now carry with him always.

Izzie looked up at that moment and spotted him through the window and waved, effectively breaking him from his thoughts. He shook his head slightly and smiled, opening the doors to the nursery and headed inside as Izzie placed Emily back into her hospital crib. The blonde straightened as he walked up to her and Mark could hear his heart still pounding from what he had witnessed earlier, thanks to how quiet the room was. He grinned down at Izzie as he handed one of the coffees he had bought, along with the sandwich.

She accepted the items with a grin and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

He waited for Izzie to gather all her notes and study materials together before following her out of the nursery, passing a nurse that was coming in to check on all the babies. As soon as they were out of the quiet room, they headed down to the second floor where the intern test would be taking place in a nearby conference room. There was still about forty-five minutes until the test began so the couple sat in the corner of the waiting area and proceeded to eat their sandwiches. No words were exchanged during this time, briefly reminding him of the early stages of their relationship. One of the things he loved about being with Izzie was just how comfortable he was with silence. He was just content to sit there in the waiting room next to her.

The silence was soon interrupted though. A half hour passed by and then –

“I haven’t written my vows!”

An annoyed expression appeared on Mark’s face as Cristina Yang appeared and sat down across from them, interrupting their peaceful silence. Izzie, who had been leaning against Mark, sat up straight and stared at her friend. “You haven’t written your vows?” she repeated.

Yang sighed and shook her head. “No.”

“Cristina, you’re getting married tomorrow!” Izzie looked scandalized. “Vows are probably the most important part of marriage! It signifies your commitment to each other for the rest of your lives!”

“It’s all stuff I don’t care about!”

Before Izzie could say anything else, a bell sounded throughout the waiting area signaling that everyone could now enter the conference room to begin their exam. Within a blink of an eye, Cristina had stood up and disappeared into the exam room before Izzie had even begun to stand up. The blonde just shook her head and turned to Mark. Her boyfriend smiled down at her and then proceeded to kiss her deeply. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” she smiled nervously. “I’ll find you after?”

“Actually, how about I find you? I’ll probably still be in surgery – you should get some rest for Yang’s party tonight.”

That was probably a better idea. Izzie nodded. “Okay, I’ll be in one of the on-call rooms.”

Mark gave Izzie one last encouraging smile before she turned and walked into the exam room.

--

As promised, Mark found Izzie sleeping in one of the on-call rooms four hours after her exam had ended. For a moment, he just stood there and stared at the blonde intern – well, blonde resident now. He was fairly certain that she had passed her exams because he had quizzed her relentlessly and he knew that Izzie knew the exam material inside and out. Gently, he eased himself onto her bed without waking her and just sat by her side. Minutes passed and eventually Izzie stirred and she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her with a loving expression on his face.

“Hi,” she smiled at him, letting out a yawn before sitting up and stretching.

“Hey,” Mark leaned forward and pressed a brief kiss to her lips. “How did your exam go?”

“It went fine. I even had enough time left over to check my answers.”

“That’s great,” he gathered Izzie into his arms. “How’d the others do?”

She sighed, leaning against him. “Meredith didn’t even write the test. George said that she was sitting in that chair for two hours, not moving and just staring into space. I guess the stress of the exam, her stepmother’s death and everything else that happened this past year just finally sunk in and she couldn’t do it. I think the others did fine though.”

Mark frowned. “She just gave up? What’s going to happen to Grey if she didn’t write the test? I don’t think there are a whole lot of options for her now.”

“Oh, George talked to the chief. Meredith got to write the test in the conference room about an hour later,” Izzie informed him. She hesitated as if she had something to say and after a moment, decided to just come out with it. She shook her head. “Have you noticed that lately people aren’t as happy as they used to be?”

Mark nodded and for a brief moment, he felt a tiny flare of fear welling up within him. Fear for what, he didn’t know but it was there nonetheless. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. It wouldn’t happen if they could just talk to one another.”

Izzie grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “I hope we never end up in a position where we couldn’t talk to one another.”

“Are you happy with me?” he asked.

“Extremely,” she nodded. “You.”

“Extremely times ten,” he answered.

She grinned. “I guess we just need to reassure each other every once in awhile.”

Mark said nothing as he leaned forward and kissed her softly. These stolen moments when they were alone at the hospital almost had an almost dreamlike intensity and he had never felt anything like it. He was attuned to Izzie’s every move, aware of the way she ran her fingers through his hair or pulling him closer to her and rubbing the back of his neck affectionately. It had never been like this with anyone else and he hoped that it never would be.

--

“This is what you invited me to? This is your big bachelor party?” Addison asked as she took off her coat and draped it over a chair. Mark, Derek and Burke were all sitting in front of her, occupying the other three chairs of the table. Joe’s was full of people and was sure to be a good time that night despite the small number of bodies at their little party.

Derek grinned. “It was last minute – I needed some warm bodies.”

“Why am I the only girl?” Addison looked around at her colleagues. “What, am I the entertainment? I’m not stripping.”

“That’s okay. We’ve seen it already,” Derek shook his head.

Mark chuckled. “True.”

Burke shrugged, staring up at the redheaded doctor expectantly. “I haven’t.”

“Yeah,” Addison sighed. “Well, why don’t I buy you a drink instead? First round’s on me.” She looked at Mark. “Want to give me a hand?”

The plastics surgeon raised an eyebrow before shrugging and following the redhead to the bar. He hadn’t really been around Addison much since he had realized his feelings for Izzie, preferring to spend most of his time with the blonde. As a result, whenever he saw Addison around the hospital, there were always a brief exchange of smiles and waves or an occasional nod of acknowledgement; he was never in her company for more than five minutes unless it was work related. It wasn’t that he was avoiding Addison; it was more like he had nothing left to say.

When they reached the bar, they found that Joe was currently busy serving other customers so the two doctors waited patiently for their turn. Over the last two weeks, Addison had thought a lot about her conversation with Izzie and had come to the realization that the blonde intern had been right – she didn’t know Mark Sloan anymore. In fact, it felt as though she never really knew Mark Sloan at all and considering how long they had been in each other’s lives – frankly, it was just plain sad. So many years wasted…

Addison looked sideways at Mark and found that her friend looked deep in thought. She knew without a doubt that he was thinking of Izzie Stevens at that very moment. She cleared her throat and the plastics surgeon turned his attention to her. “So…” she began. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I was in L.A. this past week.”

The plastics surgeon nodded. He had heard. “How are Naomi and Sam?”

“Different,” Addison replied. After a pause, she began to speak again. “Everyone is different.”

Mark smiled. “That’s what time does, Addie.”

“Look Mark, I don’t know if Izzie told you, but I had a talk with her two weeks ago.”

“What?” This was news to him. Izzie had never mentioned a talk with the redheaded doctor. An uneasy feeling began to surface within him.

Addison looked apologetic and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off. “I saw the two of you coming out of the observatory one day, just laughing and smiling. Stevens… she just looked so happy, Mark. And after everything that had happened to her this past year, I believed that you had her so wrapped under your spell that she wouldn’t be able to take it when you broke her heart. I didn’t really believe that you were serious about her and I tried to warn her about you. I tried to tell her that you would eventually hurt her.”

Mark felt anger beginning to boil up within him, combined with a hint of fear that Izzie had believed Addison’s words. “You…” he began, trying to figure out the right words to say. “You had no right…”

“I know,” the neonatal surgeon interrupted him. “Stevens really loves you, Mark. She completely disregarded everything I said and told me that I had missed out on a wonderful man who loved me.”

Mark was at a loss for words. He just stared at Addison.

Addison smiled at him sadly. “Look, I know I screwed up our pact, and yet, you took the blame for it anyway. I’m really sorry Mark.”

“Izzie, she loves me, I know she does…” Mark started to say. “Izzie didn’t believe anything you said about me?”

“None,” she shook her head. “She stood up for you, which was something I should’ve been doing since the beginning. You weren’t to blame for everything going wrong between me and Derek, but yet, everyone blamed you anyway, myself included. Stevens saw a different person in you, Mark.”

Mark suddenly grinned, feeling his emotions turn into happiness. “Izzie really loves me.” He would never get tired of hearing this particular phrase, that he was sure of.

Addison nodded. “She really does.” She stared at him and smiled. “Does this mean we can really and truly put everything behind us and become friends again? The kind of friends that talk with one another and hang out from time to time?”

The plastics surgeon stared back at the neonatal surgeon for a moment before nodding. “As long as you don’t ever try to convince Izzie to leave me again.”

“Deal.” Addison leaned forward and the two doctors shared a brief hug, this time truly putting the past behind them.

--

“What the hell am I supposed to do about the stupid wedding vows?” Cristina asked as she slumped over the kitchen counter clutching at her margarita.

“You still haven’t written anything?” Meredith looked at her best friend with an alarmed expression on her face.

“It’s stupid crap!”

Izzie looked up from her spot in the kitchen, feeling indignation and annoyance course through her. She, Meredith, Cristina and Callie were currently standing in Meredith’s kitchen, celebrating what was supposed to be a fun bachelorette party but instead, in a typical Cristina Yang-like fashion, she was taking everything for granted. “No, it isn’t!”

Cristina sat up straight. “What am I supposed to say? I swear to love and cherish you every moment of every day of my life?” The intern turned to face Callie. “That’s not real. That’s not how it works, right?”

“It does, at first,” Callie sighed. “Then…”

“It passes,” Meredith interrupted.

“No, it doesn’t!” Izzie shook her head and stared at the other three women in the room, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You guys are just used to it, that’s all. You already have it; you have that thing that everybody else wants! You can take it for granted! But let me tell you, if you didn’t – if you couldn’t be with the person you love, I guarantee that hearing him promise to love you and honor you and cherish you no matter what, it would be pretty much all you could think about.”

There was a moment of silence and then –

“Wait! Could you just say all that again more slowly?” Cristina grabbed a pad of paper and a pen.

Meredith looked up from where she was making another pitcher of margaritas. “You’re talking about Denny, right?”

“Yeah,” Izzie nodded.

“But I thought you were happy with Sloan.”

“I am,” Izzie held Meredith’s gaze. “I love Mark. He’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, but a part of me will always love Denny. All of you don’t know what it’s like to really lose someone you loved with all your heart – someone that you were planning a future with. All of you have someone that is willing to do anything for you, someone that loves you no matter how difficult you are, someone that will always be there. But do you ever wonder what you would do if they were taken away from you?”

Izzie moved her gaze from Meredith to Cristina and Callie, wondering if her words were sinking in. She had seen all the struggles that everyone had been having lately with their relationships and if her words could convince them not to take everything for granted and to cherish every moment, then all the better. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time with Denny, it’s that life is short. It’s one of the reasons that I work as hard as I do on my relationship with Mark because I want him to know that I love him before it’s too late to say anything and I do my best to show him that fact everyday. He knows I love him. He knows I’m committed to him. Can all your men say the same thing about you?”

Feeling the sudden need to hear her boyfriend’s voice, the blonde intern turned and left the kitchen heading into the living room where her purse sat near by on the coffee table. Digging through her purse, she quickly located her cell phone and began dialing Mark’s number. Relief coursed through her when she heard his voice on the other end of the line, though relief for what, she didn’t know.

“Hi baby.”

“Hi,” a smile came to her face as Izzie settled herself onto the couch. “How’s the bachelor party going?”

“It’s not bad. We’re just sitting around and reminiscing about stuff. How are things on your end?”

“The usual,” she sighed. “Cristina’s stressing over what to write for her vows and complaining about how useless they are, which they aren’t.”

“Yang still hasn’t written anything?”

“Nope.”

“She better get on that, Burke was complaining about it to Derek a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, she’ll write it. I won’t let her put off doing it,” Izzie paused. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Iz,” there was a moment of silence on Mark’s end before he spoke again. “Why didn’t you tell me that you and Addison had a talk a few weeks ago?”

Izzie sat up straight. “How did you know about that?”

“Addison told me. But the point is, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it was important. She was trying to convince me that a relationship with you wasn’t worth having, Mark. I told her she was wrong.”

A moment of silence and then –

“I love you, Izzie.”

She grinned, a bright smile coming over her face. “I love you too.”

--

Another chapter done… someone asked about a sequel and I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any plans for one at the moment. However, if anyone has any ideas that they’d like to see happen with Mark and Izzie, I’d happily consider it. Never say never, right?

Please review and make my day!