Leah finds Richard getting ready for surgery and gets him to come help out the horrific Smash/James situation.
Wedding time! It's adorable to see that Paramedic Nicole is there as Matthew's groomswoman, in a grey version of the bridesmaid dresses. I always think that's such a nice touch when someone has a close friend or family member of the opposite sex in the wedding. One of my friends made the best damn bridesman that you could ever hope for in our friends' wedding. Anyhow, they all walk down the aisle, and April's sisters decide to give Cristina the stinkeye though I have no idea what made them hate her so much over everyone else. Was it the laughing at the shower? Then I'd be getting the stinkeye too. When April walks in and sees her friends, family, and future husband, she positively beams. We see Matthew, and I think he's supposed to be beaming too, but because he's Matthew he just wears the same bland, nice, open-mouthed he always has, whether he's caring for a patient or supposedly trying not to burst with lust for his fiancée.
When Richard gets to the OR, he finds Shane covered in blood, just staring into James' open chest. He quietly tells Leah to re-scrub, and then conversationally asks Shane what's going on. Shane has come crashing down, and he just repeats that he did this, it's his fault. As he says all this, we see a flashback to him sending Heather to the basement. Richard stays totally calm as he tells Smash he did a good job, and what does he think about putting James on bypass? Smash just keeps flashing back to the storm, and finding Richard and Heather electrocuted. As April makes it up the aisle, Richard tries to assure Smash that they are all done, but when he reaches forward, Smash physically stops him and cries that when he comes back, “she'll” be dead. He adds that it's his fault, he sent her to the basement. Whether Richard has absorbed the entirety of what he's saying isn't clear, he just makes Smash look up in his eyes and assures him that he's got this, “She's going to be fine.” He tells Smash to get some rest, and Smash finally turns and slowly walks away. As soon as he's out of the room, Richard jumps into action and yells for Leah to come help. Mere VO's that failure is inevitable, but it should never get the last word.
The wedding ceremony begins. As soon as the Reverend begins to lead a prayer, Derek's phone rings and he gets up to answer it outside. The hospital tells him it sounded urgent, so Derek has them patch through someone who then tells him to hold for the President of the United States. So maybe Owen's take on this situation was the right one, after all.
As the Reverend talks about love weathering storms and stress, Arizona turns and gives Callie a smile. At the other end of the happiness spectrum, Bailey and Ben are actually physically leaning away from each other. Cristina looks out at Owen, who is sitting to Emma. Derek returns to his seat, looking shellshocked, and tries to give Mere a smile as she VOs that you can't take no for an answer and can't give up.
Smash shuffles to the elevator, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and slumps against the wall looking very much like an actual zombie. In the OR, things seem to be going from bad to worse and Richard starts massaging James' heart in a desperate effort to get it beating again.
The Reverend then turns to the guests and tells them that they are all there to bear witness, asking them if they promise to love and support Matthew and April's marriage and if so, to say they will. Everyone but Jackson repeats it, and Stephanie notices but doesn't seem too worried yet. Jackson looks like he's contemplating something hard, turns to Stephanie, and after a moment tells her he's sorry and stands up. The pastor trails off and everyone turns to look at him, so Jackson quickly sits back down. Stephanie is now incredibly confused. The Reverend starts back up but then Jackson stands again and declares, "I love you, April." She is shocked, and Matthew manages to screw his face into, "mildly displeased," which must mean he's aghast. He declares that he has always loved her and everything about her, even the things that bug him, and he thinks that she loves him too. "Do you?" Stephanie's confusion has turned to horror, while hilariously Alex just rolls his eyes at the scene. Two of the three Nitwits are appalled, but N1 looks kind of intrigued. April takes one shaky, long breath, and then… THE END. (Until February.)
Lauren S is a writer who lives and works in Atlanta and wishes everyone a happy holiday of their choosing and brilliant start to 2014. She wants everyone to know: "The views expressed in my recaps and anything else I might write on TWoP are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer."