Title: Long Road To Ruin
Pairing: Izzie/Addison
Rating: PG-15
Summary: "My ex-husband's sleeping with a dark and twisty intern."
"My fiancé died because I cut his LVAD wire and now everyone's afraid of me."
"Ok," Addison sighs. "You win."

Izzie knows, somehow, what's going to happen before it actually does.

She's alone in the on-call room, trying to take a nap, and when Addison Shepherd walks in looking as though she's just watched someone get hit by a bus, Izzie can see right where this is going, like she has a sixth sense.

Or maybe she just has a mind in the gutter.

Addison stops when she sees Izzie, and turns as though she's about to walk out again and Izzie has the decency to feel slightly annoyed by Addison's obvious displeasure at her presence.

"Doctor Shepherd," she says though, calmly, and Addison halts, her hand on the doorknob. "Are you alright?" Izzie asks, and Addison, still facing the door, says, "Derek's kissing your slutty intern friend down the hall."

Then she turns.
"Sorry," she says, and Izzie can't help noticing that she doesn't look sorry at all. "I know Meredith's your friend."
"It's ok," Izzie replies. "She can be slutty. Want to sit down?"
"I want to punch Derek in the face."

Addison sighs and sits down on the bed next to Izzie, anger seeming to fade, which is a shame, because Izzie was surprised at how much Angry Addison turned her on.
"My ex-husband's sleeping with a dark and twisty intern."
"My fiancé died because I cut his LVAD wire and now everyone's afraid of me."
"Ok," Addison sighs. "You win."

There's a pause in which they look at each other, and then somehow they're kissing, and Izzie isn't sure if she started it or if Addison did but there's hungry moans and exploring tongues and soft hands and it hardly seems to matter.

II

"I had sex with Addison in the on-call room last night," Izzie says over breakfast after Meredith's left early for the hospital, and George drops his packet of cheerios but doesn't seem to notice.
"You what?"

Izzie shrugs. "It was an accident."
"An accident?" George actually splutters. "An accident? You're telling me you fell and your fingers just happened to land in her -,"
"George!"
"What? I'm just saying…"
"It's no big deal," Izzie says, because George is looking a little traumatized and she doesn't want to be the one to ruin his breakfast. "But don't tell Meredith, ok?"

George gives her a look that says he won't be telling anyone, ever, and stomps back up the stairs, muttering. Izzie's pretty sure it sounds something like, "Izzie and Montgomery-Shepherd… everyone else getting laid…" and then from the top of the stairs but still audible, "Seriously!"

II

Izzie doesn't know how to feel when Bailey assigns her to Addison that day. She goes from happy – because Addison is a great doctor – to elated – because they slept together last night after all – tries out awkward – because, hello, the sleeping together thing – and finally settles on nervous – because there's a complex surgery to do and Addison's letting her scrub in.

They get the chart from a nurse and they look at it together and Izzie can't concentrate because Addison's standing so close, and she wonders whether she should feel this way about a woman she had sex with like it was No Big Deal.
"What do you think, Doctor Stevens?" Addison asks, and it's not fair because Addison says her name like that and Izzie can't help but remember Addison's gasp as Izzie kissed her way down her body in the on-call room.

"Doctor Stevens," Addison says again, smirking a little and Izzie's sure Addison knows exactly what's going through her mind. "Would you prefer I let Karev scrub in instead?"
"No," Izzie says quickly. "Twins, attached, got it." Addison raises her eyebrows a little and then turns and head away from the patient's room toward the supply closet.
"Where are we going?" Izzie asks, even though she's pretty sure she knows.
"We've got half an hour until surgery," Addison says, shutting the door of the closet and pushing Izzie against it.
"But shouldn't we be, I don't know, preparing or something?"
"Do you want me to stop?"

Izzie looks at Addison, takes in her appearance and tries to say yes.
"No."
"Good."
"But shouldn't we -,"
"Shut up Stevens."

II

"Doc – Addi – Doctor Shepherd," Izzie begins, sitting down next to Addison in the stairwell. "Do you like – eating?"

Addison looks at her quizzically and Izzie feels herself go bright red.
"Are you here to tell me I'm fat? Addison asks. "Because I've got surgery in ten minutes and I need my self-confidence."
"No! I mean -," Izzie's stammering and Addison begins to smile. "I was wondering," Izzie persists, "whether you'd like to get dinner with me… sometime."

Addison's smile disappears.
"Uh, I don't think -,"
"It's ok," Izzie stands up quickly. "Forget it."
"Doctor Stevens." Izzie turns back hopefully. "Does this mean there'll be no more illicit on-call room sex?" There's mischief in Addison's eye, but Izzie just shakes her head. She has time to see Addison looking downcast before she turns on her heel and walks away.

II

It's when Meredith finds Izzie crying in the bathroom in her house that she finds out.

"You slept with Addison? Addison? McSatan?"
"So?" Izzie shoots back. "At least I'm not the Slutty Intern Who Broke Up The Shepherd Marriage."
"I am not a slutty intern."

Izzie raises her eyebrows.

"Ok, maybe I'm a little McSlutty. But seriously. Addison?"

Izzie sniffs and wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I like her," she says, and it feels weird to say it to someone who isn't herself, and then she looks at Meredith.

She's never seen someone look more stunned in her life.

II

"You know she's McBitch, right?" Meredith asks, lying on top of Izzie's bed and peering over George to look at the blonde.
"No," Izzie says.

Meredith gives her an annoyed look.
"I'm good at hating the people I've slept with. It's what I do. It's how I'm going to help you."
"Right."
"Isn't that a little bitchy?" George asks and Meredith glares at him.
"You're a little bitchy, George."
"What? No, I'm not."
"What a McWhore," Meredith says to Izzie. "For all she knows, you're still grieving. She could be sending you right back from acceptance to depression."
"I'd have to be a girl to be bitchy," George says. "I'm a man."
"I don't really want to hate her," Izzie says. "I like her."
"I'm manly right?" George asks, looking from Izzie to Meredith. "Manly attitudes and… stuff?"
Meredith sighs. "Well then maybe you should just talk to her."
"I agree. Face it like a man. Like me. I'm manly."
"I tried that," Izzie says. She stands up and heads for the door. "I'm going to bake some cookies. Who wants some?"
"I don't know if it would be manly to eat your cookies," George says earnestly.
"Seriously George?" Izzie says, and she doesn't have to look at Meredith to know that she'll join in for a loud rendition of, "Shut up."

She walks out of the room and Meredith gives George a look before going after her.

"Manly," George says to himself, gives a little nod, and follows.

II

"I need to talk to you," Meredith says, standing in the doorway of a patient's room where Addison is monitoring the new Henderson baby. Addison turns, eyebrows raised.
"Doctor Grey," she says, and Meredith fidgets with the cuffs of her scrubs. "Spit it out, Meredith. It must be really important for you to talk to me."
Meredith blinks. "I don't like you."
"I know," Addison says, and smirks. "Was that all?"
"Yes. No! I need to talk to you because, Izzie, Izzie is slightly insane but she likes you and you're using her and that is not ok!'
"I didn't hurt her," Addison protests.
"Yes you did! She's crying and depressed and she's baking again and I don't know if I can stand another chocolate chip muffin being stuffed in my mouth without going crazy so you have to stop her!"

Addison smiles slowly, and Meredith can almost see her self-satisfaction.
"McSeriously?"

II

"Yes."
"Yes what?"

Addison clears her throat nervously and pulls Izzie into an empty patient's room.
"Yes, I do want to have dinner with you… sometime."
Izzie frowns. "Why?"
"Because… I like you."
"You didn't like me before," Izzie says, and tries not to feel like a sulky child.
"I was scared before."
Izzie's eyebrows shoot up. "Scared? You? Seriously?"
"Seriously," Addison murmurs, threading her fingers through Izzie's, and Izzie tries not to smile.

"Tonight," Addison insists. "I'll take you out tonight."
"You'll take me out?" Izzie asks, and she can't stop her smile coming through now. "How can I repay you?"
"I have ideas," Addison grins. "For starters… I want a McName." Izzie giggles.
"You've already got one, didn't you know?"
"I do?" Addison's surprise is almost palpable.
"Yeah," Izzie grins and counts them off on her fingers. "McSatan. McBitch. McWhore."

Addison silences her by covering Izzie's lips with her own.
"You, Izzie Stevens," she says. "Are a brat."
Izzie smiles slowly. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, Addison says, smirking. "I'm going to do a lot about it."

"Seriously."