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It's been so long since a new episode, where to begin? First of all, Meredith snores. She snores so loud that Derek apparently never actually spends an entire night in her bed, but sneaks off to get sleep elsewhere and sneaks back in before she wakes up. While dealing with this new knowledge about herself, she's also dealing with running into her father repeatedly; he's hanging around the hospital looking after his new granddaughter whose mom and grandma are conveniently gone with the flu. They share a couple of awkward meetings with one another but she still can't forgive him. When the baby is rushed to surgery, she can't bring herself to help comfort him or give him updates, though Richard tries to tell her to ask him what really happened when he left and why he didn't ever get in touch with his firstborn daughter. The baby's surgery isn't alienating everybody, though, as afterward Alex and Addison almost share a kiss after he admits that he's not going to pursue plastics with extra-grumpy McSteamy.
George's dad has his cancer surgery and, unbeknownst to George, has told Bailey and Richard that he wants them to take out the tumor no matter how badly it has spread. When they open him up, that means removing quite a large portion of various vital organs as well, and it looks like he could have a tough recovery ahead of him. But so far his kidneys are working, which is a sign so good that it makes George dance and kiss Callie in front of his mom and brothers. They're much more functional than Cristina and Burke, who are together but each refusing to be the first one to speak to the other, and by the end of the hour, neither one has broken down.
In the Shocking Medical Anomaly of the Week, Ann from Arrested Development is in the hospital with a rare condition that has left her spine severely bent and she has to live life at a 90-degree angle. Callie convinces Derek to see her, and he says he can do an experimental surgery that might actually help straighten her out. Izzie wants to be in on the surgery but Bailey won't let her until she gets the all clear from psychâ¦which psych is not doing until Izzie deposits The Check. She finally realizes that surgery is more important to her, and takes her crying self down to the bank to leave the eight million dollars somewhere safe and interest-bearing. Unfortunately, she's not going to be in on the surgery in the end anyway, since the girl's insurance company has turned it down and her mother can't afford to pay for it. Wow, whatever might happen with this story week? I cannot possibly imagine. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Meredith and Derek are in bed between some awesome red sheets that I don't believe we've seen before, and she's snoring as he gazes at her. Eventually, she snores herself awake, and he wishes her a good morning and gives her a very McDreamy kiss on the lips. She's all cute and charmed that he's so sweet, oblivious to her nose trumpet.
Downstairs, George goes into the fridge and as he's getting out some mayo, he knocks the magnetic clip holding The Check -- looking wrinkled, grimy, and stained --to the floor. After pondering this a moment, he points out to Izzie, "I just dropped 8.7 million dollars on the floor." She's unconcerned, sipping coffee and reading a newspaper much in the same manner as those of us non-millionaires and asks, "And?" George replies, "I shouldn't be able to drop 8.7 million dollars on the floor." He finally throws something at her paper to get her attention and demands that she deposit The Check, but she calmly asks if he's misplacing anxiety about his father's upcoming surgery. She's no longer depressed, now she's just condescending. George asserts that it ruins every morning for him, not just this one, and pleads with her to deposit it as a favor to him. She declines but finally tears her attention from the newspaper long enough to offer him a ride to work, complete with a little, "ta-da!" face at the end that I love, even though I also get nervous now every time I see The Check, and I'm a viewer who knows that this is a fictional show and it's fictional money. Defeated, George picks it up, but before sticking it back on the fridge, he shows it to her face and growls, "You don't deserve 8.7 million dollars!" "Hmm, so true," she agrees. I guess you've got to hand it to her that she does realize that.
The merry band of interns is following Bailey through the hall and, in tag-team conversation, ask Cristina how Burke is doing. Despite Burke's surgery being the day before, she doesn't know, since they're still a couple but aren't speaking to each other. ... Okay. Cristina then asks Mere if she asked McDreamy about Burke's hand, because apparently now this is junior high school. In a rare wise move, Meredith says she's not going to be in the middle of The Most Dysfunctional and Baffling Relationship Ever. (Fine, so the last part was maybe a leeeetle bit of editorializing on the part of your recapper.) Izzie suggests swallowing her pride and ASKING HER BOYFRIEND how he's doing, but Alex smarms, "Her gut's not big enough for that." It's funny 'cause it's true.
They arrive at O'Malley Sr.'s room, where a huge group of loud O'Malleys are wearing party hats and laughing loudly and break into a giant cheer when George walks in, followed by the others. George looks overwhelmed, but all of the other visitors, including his mom, are beaming. When the Chief asks who is presenting, George's dad excitedly asks if George can do it. "He's real good," George's dad says, and his whole family cheers. It's endearing, having seen what a fish out of water George generally feels like around the fam. The fam applauds and cheers as George explains that his dad is looking great after heart surgery and is having his cancer surgery the morning, though he uses far more technical terms than that. His dad looks so proud that he might burst, and all of this is making me a tad nervous about what might come from said surgery. When he's done, everyone bursts into applause and cheers, to the delight of Bailey and the interns. Bailey sends the crowd out, though, for the examination. Mrs. O'Malley explains that her husband is feeling great, which is why they invited everyone -- they figured that after tomorrow's surgery he wouldn't be feeling up to it. He asks how long after surgery he'll start chemo, and there's a pause before the Chief tells him it will depend on what they find once they're inside. Mere explains to them that the tests can only tell so much and they'll learn more once they can actually see for themselves. What's telling is that they seem to be answering only as much of each question as they have to, and George's parents keep gently asking for more information. Richard deftly passes the buck to the oncologist that they will be meeting with later. Mere will be doing tests on him today, and Bailey suggests it would be best if the rest of the family left. George's mom quietly removes her party hat, and George kisses her cheek; the air in the room is much more somber and it's fairly obvious that tomorrow could be a bad day.
The visit is to Burke's room, and before McDreamy can get inside, Cristina corners him to ask about the tremors. You know, as one of his doctors. Derek points out that she's also his girlfriend, and it's confidential, so she needs to ask Burke herself. Once they're all inside, Alex presents, and the gist is that everything looks good, so Cristina adds to the room in general, "Ask about the hand." Meredith tells her to ask, Bailey puts her on the spot, and she declines to ASK HER BOYFRIEND HOW HE'S DOING, which causes Burke to smirk. This is so stupid, and the whole storyline makes me mad. Talk or break up, morons. They file out, but Burke calls George back in to ask about his father, which is really endearing and goes a long way towards making me feel a bit of sympathy for him. I'm sure that will somehow go to hell later. George is obviously still a bit uncomfortable, but the two seem to be working on it which is good, and functional, and Cristina might take a few notes. Well hell, I guess Burke could, too.
A young girl comes out of the bathroom hunched over -- at first I thought she was clutching her stomach, but it turns out that's just her posture. She's bent at a 90-degree angle at the waist, and the interns look on somewhat horrified. Once she's sitting down and we see her face, it's revealed to be Ann from Arrested Development, but with a significantly different attitude. Ann, a.k.a. Heather, warns them not to expect her to be all sunshine and light and just tells them to do their routine. With raised eyebrow, Bailey unties Heather's gown to reveal a horribly misshapen, twisty spine. Izzie explains that she has a genetic condition that affects the vertebrae, as well as a few other various internal systems, and Heather snarks at her efforts and about living with the condition. Izzie's taken aback, but Bailey has her continue. She's there to have kidney stones removed, and also to have some ribs removed to take pressure off her lungs. Callie's there because of the whole ribectomy thing and asks if they've ever tried more radical surgery. Heather's heard that one before and informs them that when a rod was put in her spine, the rod just ended up bending. That sounds like an awesome power if only she could harness it, but this isn't Heroes, it's Grey's Anatomy so instead it's just a completely debilitating. Izzie tells her this surgery will improve Heather's quality of life, and Heather asks if it's going to get her laid. Her mom is understandably shocked, but Heather forges ahead that the doctors shouldn't make promises they can't keep.
Gathered around a tiny baby incubator, Mere is giving the rundown on her new niece when her father walks in. He's flustered and explains that he's there since baby's mom and grandmother weren't pertinent to this story... I mean, they have the flu. He asks for an update and then sees Meredith, and blustering, he excuses himself from the room. Mere is so flustered that Cristina jumps in and takes over for her.
Bailey gives each intern their orders: Mere is running tests on O'Malley Sr., Cristina's in the pit, Alex is with Sloane, and Izzie is to prep Heather for surgery. George is taking the rest of the week off, and so she cuts him loose for the rest of the day. He thanks her and then takes a moment to ask her not to sugarcoat any information they have about his father. He wants it all straight, and she agrees to that. Izzie asks if she can scrub in on the surgery as well, but Bailey says absolutely not. She argues that she's ready, but Bailey points out that Psych hasn't cleared her yet. Izzie argues that she's done everything they want... everything, that is, except deposit The Check. Bailey is aghast, as she has not had the pleasure of spilling each and every one of her meals on the pricey slip of paper and therefore assumed it was put in the bank rather than used as a placemat. Izzie argues that it's an unreasonable request, and Bailey points out that "unreasonable" is the amount of interest she's losing each day, and the fact that Izzie is unreasonable is probably Psych's point. She's a wise one, that Bailey.
Mere is waiting in the lab, and Cristina joins her in typical fashion, sassing the overworked lab tech. When he walks off, she asks Mere if she is okay, commenting that what happened that morning was "mortifying." Mere thanks her for her sensitivity, but Cristina only challenges her to say it wasn't mortifying. Meredith admits that she just wants the baby to get better and go home. "Is that wrong?" Cristina lets her know, "Wrong would be if you wished the baby wouldn't get well." Mere thanks her, and Cristina pounces, informing her that a real thanks would be asking Derek about Burke. Mere's spine is solid today, though, and she declines and tells Cristina to talk to him herself. Cristina adamantly declares, "No. Because then he wins." "Wins what?" Mere asks. They stare at each other a while, Cristina possibly pondering how much she loves winning a big bag of lonesomeness, and Meredith probably thinking that even when she was involved with a married man, she never reached this level of dysfunction. Cristina tells her to forget it, so Mere asks if she has a father. Confused, Cristina tells her she's got a stepfather. The only point I can possibly get from this exchange is that maybe some Cristina/parent issues are coming up in a future episode.
Sloane gives Alex shit about the charts, and Addie asks him if he enjoys torturing the interns. I think we've seen this scene before: we get it, he's a jerk, let's move on. And also as we've seen before, Sloane does enjoy it. However, the script veers from normal when he reminds her, "In case you've forgotten, you don't get to high-horse this week, Addison. Not this week." Alex remarks that he's an ass, but she grudgingly tells him, "Not this week."
Finally, in less angsty conversation, Callie asks Bailey, "You know Shepherd pretty well, yeah?" Bailey explains, "Lots of hair. Too many women. Likes elevators and long walks on the beach." In that case, Callie asks what's the best way to get him to do something like, oh, a consult not requested by a patient. Bailey explains that he's a busy man wrapped up in his own importance and will say no, which means Callie will have to stare him down. Callie snorts and questions this, but upon receiving her own stare-down, she gets scared and leaves. Bailey giggles delightfully at her own awesome superhero powers and goes about her day.
Izzie's in Heather's room, looking annoyed while she does her work, and Heather comments that she's too hot to be a doctor. She makes sure Izzie won't be on her surgery, and when it's confirmed, takes that as proof that Izzie's dumb. To clear things up, Izzie explains, "When my fiancé dropped dead not too long ago I went a little nuts, so no surgeries for me for a while." Heather is finally stunned into submission and acknowledges that maybe life can suck for pretty people too. Izzie concedes, "Well, you're in pain. Sometimes I'm a bitch when I don't have a good reason at all." Again, she's more self-aware than I think many people realized.
In the Elevated Hallway of Confrontation, Callie catches up with Derek and explains Heather's case, asking him to consult. As Bailey predicted, he says no, and so Callie jumps in front of him. He tries to brush past, but she stares him down. It's a pretty good novice stare, veering only into slightly into wide crazy eyes. He's affected, and says he'll be by the morning. She congratulates herself on her staring ability.
Bailey and Richard are talking when George Sr. comes out to talk. After some greetings where he amends how he's feeling from "great" to "fine," he explains what he was told by the oncologist: If the surgery show that the cancer has spread badly, they won't go forward with removing the tumor and will instead just close him up to live out the short rest of his life. Richard agrees, explaining that they couldn't continue because it would compromise his ability to recover. Sr. doesn't want that and tells them that they need to take it out no matter what. The O'Malleys are fighters. Bailey tries to tell him it's not a good idea, but he pleads desperately that his family needs him, and that he knows he can fight. You can see some of George in him now as he pleads his case. He makes them promise to take out the tumor, and so a troubled Richard finally agrees, much to Bailey's surprise. They shake hands and Sr. thanks him and returns to his room. Bailey looks upset and asks if this falls under confidentiality. Richard is smarter than that and tells her, "If you're asking if you can tell his son, the answer's no." She looks pained. It's a horrible situation for everyone involved.
The morning dawns the same way as the last, with McDreamy watching Meredith snore, although he seems a bit less enchanted by it this time. She wakes and asks him again what he's doing. He softens at that, tells her she's cute, and kisses her again, and I'm just as jealous this time as last. His excuse for being up before the alarm is that he's a light sleeper, and it's not a big deal, but she guesses that something woke him up He eventually gives up that she snores. She's completely appalled and denies it, but he tells her, "I find it charming that such a big noise can come from such a little person." She searches for a counter-insult and lands on his bad morning breath, suggesting he brush his teeth with the extra time he has in the morning. Pot-kettle there, Mere, if you're breathing through your mouth like that, not that I'd have any idea at all about that personally, since I wake up with my mouth smelling as if daisies are actually sprouting from it.
Izzie's all done up in a blousy pink top with curled hair. This may not sound relevant, and as you'll see later it apparently isn't, according to this episode's editor. She asks George if his dad's surgery is today and when he confirms, she tells him she feels really good about it. "I didn't even bake anything for you." It's a really cute moment between the friends, and he thanks her. She turns back to the fridge and sees The Check.
For what I feel to be maybe the first time ever, it's raining. In Seattle. Mark comes in grumpily and asks if it ever stops, and despite the sheer quantity of dry outdoor scenes we've had, Alex tells him it doesn't and hands him a bone-dry cappuccino. Mark takes a sip and then does a spit-take without the actual spit, since it's vanilla. Addie calls his name in a warning, and Alex just grins that the coffee cart must have screwed up the order. It's the last straw for Mark, though, who declares, "If you can't handle coffee, you can't handle plastics. You've gotta head back to the gynie squad where life is all squishy and pink." To prove his point, he's in a black leather jacket, just so that we're sure there is nothing squishy about him at all, though we already learned that back when he appeared in a towel and a smile. Addison tells Alex, "Squishy and pink though it may be," she has a great surgery that day, and he tells her he wants in.
Olivia wishes McShakey a good morning; he's in a serene good mood, gazing at the rain like a schoolgirl. She asks him about his pain and then tries to ask specifically about his hand, but she's not very suave. He answers, "You're going to have to tell Dr. Yang that I'm not ready to give her that information." She smiles, completely busted, and her face just lights up. So not suave, but completely cute as a button. Cristina's hovering outside the room when George walks in, and she grabs him to try and ask about the hand but he brushes her off and shuts the door. Once inside, he asks Burke if he knows she's out there, and he does. He hands over his dad's chart for Burke to look at it and mentions that the surgery has a 50% morbidity rate. Burke, despite basically giving up on his own self with regards to his own surgery, points out that also means the glass is half full, and tells George that if he's going to go on statistics he has to see both sides.
McDreamy is in Heather's room with Callie, Izzie, and Heather's mother, and he lets Heather know that he thinks he can operate and straighten her spine, which she can't believe. He explains that the surgery involves removing part of the spine and replacing it with a titanium mesh cage. Callie excitedly chips that case studies have shown many successes. Her mom asks about the ones that were not successful, and Callie must admit they ended in paralysis or death, but assures them that McDreamy is the best doctor there is. Mom is really scared, but Heather makes an impassioned argument, assuring her mom that death isn't the worst that could happen. To her mom's credit, she sees how serious Heather is, and Heather tells them that she's on board.
After the meeting, Izzie finds Bailey looking at x-rays and explains what is happening, begging to be in on the surgery. Bailey's having none of it until Izzie deposits The Check and won't let up on the "unreasonable" aspect of her behavior, so she's still out of luck.
George and his dad play cards, alone together in Sr.'s hospital room. Out of the blue, he apologizes for running over George's dog. George, however, didn't know it happened until this moment, as he was told the dog ran away. George doesn't want his dad talking like he's dying, but his dad wants to tell George what a good person he is. He also wants him to give Callie a chance, and as George sputters, his dad explains that she gets George the way his family never did. He's sorry that George grew up feeling different. George is clearly paralyzed with fear at having this conversation, but I love his dad for forging ahead with it anyway, though it worries me more and more about his outcome. George finally puts his foot down, saying the sorrys and goodbyes are no way to go into surgery. When his dad asks if there's anything George would like to say to him, George just yells, "Dad!" exasperated, and goes back to playing cards. As he lays his hand down, he mutters, "Dog murderer," and his dad cracks up. It's the sweetest non-gesture he could give before his dad goes under the knife.
George, his mom, Meredith, and a random hospital worker wheel Sr. down the hallway on his way to surgery. Mom has him repeat her warning, which he knows well and dutifully repeats, "If I die, you'll kill me." At that moment, Thatcher turns the corner and runs into all of them. He says hi to Meredith and then to each present member of the O'Malley family in turn, before she points out that she's busy and they go on their way. Once they're past him, Mrs. O'Malley conspiratorially asks if he's an ex-boyfriend, but Meredith mutters that he's an ex-father.
Once the doctors get inside, the news is really bad. The cancer has spread everywhere. But when Meredith assumes that they're going to close him up, Bailey and Richard share a glance over their surgical masks and Bailey tells her they'll proceed. Mere is confused, and Richard explains to her that the patient asked them to proceed with the surgery. "This man asked for a chance to fight. What it means is he's gonna have to fight like hell." Mere asks if there really is a chance he'll recover, and Bailey starts to answer and then realizes what she is really asking and tells her the request was confidential. The air in the room is that of resignation.
Addison, looking spectacular in glasses and high heels -- with her hair up, it's very sexy librarian, and very hot -- pops into Burke's room to see how he's doing. Eventually, she realizes that the gossip about he and Cristina not speaking to each other is in fact truth and asks him why. He asks her if she's ever played Uncle and goes on to explain the pain-inflicting pastime of many a young boy's youth where one's arm is twisted behind his back until he yells uncle. She's extremely unimpressed, asking what the person wins once his prisoner yells uncle. He matter-of-factly tells her, "Then they have all the power." So, she surmises, neither of them is playing uncle. She voices the viewers' opinion, declaring, "That's pathetic." He's unconcerned with his own stupidity and half-smiles, and she goes on to say that if he says something wrong, he should apologize. He very quickly asserts that he didn't do anything wrong, prompting her to ask, "Did she?" Burke answers, "She doesnât seem to think so." That's the kind of boyfriend I want: one with whom I'm repeatedly engaged in power struggles and who considers himself to be a vastly better person than I am even when faced with a colossal mistake that he got himself into. Addison just repeats, "That's pathetic," and leaves.
Callie finds George alone and pacing in the waiting room; his family is eating, which seems to be their preferred way of dealing with stress. He's worried about how long the surgery is taking -- again looking at the bad side of things, like that there could be complications -- while she points out that it could mean they're just being thorough and that he would have been told if something were wrong. She tries to tell him it's okay to be scared, but he denies it unconvincingly, so she puts her staring to work. Unfortunately, this time it comes out a bit more psychotic/crazy-eyes but it makes him giggle a bit, pointing out that now he's just scared of her. He can't believe it when he hears that it worked on Shepherd. At that moment, an exhausted-looking Meredith and Bailey appear at the door and he runs over for an update that we don't hear.
The docs and the O'Malley clan all walk to the room, and George tells the family to prepare themselves, telling them to expect a breathing tube and a large scar. Clearly, the pep talk is as much for himself as everyone else, and when they walk inside, he can only get just inside the door. His father is lying on the bed while they minister to his incision, which runs down his entire torso. His mom welcomes her husband back, and his brothers talk about the cool scar, but Meredith glances at George, who hasn't said a word. He steps outside the room and leans up against the door, where she comes out and quietly tells him, "You need to breathe." Desperately, he grabs on to her arm as if he's hanging from a building and clinging to her for life and just repeats, "He's my dad. He's my dad." He's shaking, and she just lays her head on his shoulder to help him. I'm really glad these two have found their way back to being friends.
By my count, we're now on day three of six, once again featuring a snoring Meredith. This time, however, she wakes up alone, and on looking for Derek, finds him sacked out in another bed. George's, to be exact, since he stayed at the hospital. Turns out Derek snuck out to blissfully silent quarters after Meredith fell asleep. (Though really, in an old house like that, wouldn't the walls be thin enough for the buzzsaw to carry through to a neighboring room?) She asks how he slept when they were on round one of dating, and just then Izzie shuffles out of her own room, answering, "He usually sleeps on the couch, sets an alarm, gets back in bed before you wake up." He mumbles that he didn't want to hurt her feelings, and she comes and attacks him with a pillow fight and giggles. Giggly flirty-fighting does heal all wounds, including broken ear drums.
Downstairs, Izzie stares at the filthy check and, after a moment, pulls it off the fridge. Cut to her at the bank, in the same pink top and curly hair she was sporting the morning before. Methinks the continuity police might have been at a Golden Globes pre-party for this episode. She is gulping and crying, only confusing the man who has come to help her since she can't form an actual sentence. Through the hysterics, he finally makes out, "eight million" and thinks it's a joke. Oh, but the check is real, as food encrusted as it may be, and she finally spits at him to just deposit it already.
George has brought Burke his father's chart and he looks it over, surprised they did the surgery. So is George, who too quickly and perkily says they must have done it since they think he can fight the cancer. Burke explains what he should look for in the near future, which is kidney function. If the kidneys go, it is the first indication of multi-system organ failure. George thanks him and asks, "You mind if I ask, how's your hand?" He pompously answers, "I won't mind if you ask; I will mind if you tell Cristina." I'm still baffled by his insistence at being so conceited about the whole experience, but maybe I take endangering patients' lives and lording power over my girlfriend too seriously. George just remarks, "You two have a strange relationship." Burke agrees with this, the biggest understatement in the history of relationships.
Baby Grey is in her incubator, and Thatcher is cooing over her as Mere watches him stealthily through the window. Alex catches her, and she stutters and hightails it out of there as he heads inside. He was paged by the nurse because the baby's stomach looked distended. Thatcher is immediately concerned and confused that he could have missed it, but Alex says it's hard to see, also thereby proving just how good he's gotten on the gynie squad in the last weeks/months/alternate time units used by the show. He has Addison paged immediately and calmly tells a worried Thatcher they'll wait for her to see if anything is wrong. It's nice to see Alex grow, that he's getting better and better at being professional with patients. This one really is going to make it as a doctor, it seems.
Meredith saunters up to Derek, who is hanging out at one of the nurses' stations. She says that her dad is there, and when he asks if he's there to see her, she scoffs, "No, he's here with his other family." For all Meredith's bravado, it's very clear it's cutting like a knife. She changes the subject by asking Derek where he sleeps when they're at the trailer. They must be there during those same mythical time units that we don't see, since they appear to basically live at Meredith's house. He cops to sleeping outside on the hammock -- practical, really, considering they live in such a dry and temperate climate as Seattle. He apologizes and she informs him, "I'm a girl with abandonment issues. You have to sleep with me from now on." He agrees, and it's a little act that speaks volumes about the nature of their relationship, that she can say that to him and that he can agree to be there for her.
Izzie catches up to Bailey in the hallway and delivers a note from psych clearing her for surgery. As Bailey looks it over, they hear yelling coming from down the hall. It's Mrs. Heather's Mom, screaming at someone on the phone about what cheap sons of bitches they are. It turns out that the surgery is too experimental to be covered by insurance, and there's no way they can afford it, so Heather is S.O.L. Bailey hands Izzie back her note, saying there won't be any surgery. Oh but will there? There's 8.7 million dollars no longer covered in food, waiting to be put to good use. It will be interesting and shocking to see where this storyline might continue week, won't it?
Addison is checking on Baby Grey and orders surgery immediately. They hand Thatcher the consent form, but he's very reluctant to sign without talking to his daughter. When they tell him there is no time, he signs and they whisk the baby away.
Once in surgery, Addie asks Alex to do something, but he admits he's afraid that he might hurt the baby. She tells him kindly, "Well, it's tougher than you think. Go ahead and give it a little squeeze." It's amazing how this almost seems like a metaphor for people, isn't it? Crazy how sometimes the surgeries and the lives of the staff intersect on this show, almost as if it were written that way. Alex seems genuinely delighted at helping out with the surgery and continuing to learn more. There's one scary moment where the monitors all begin beeping but they get her back on track. Alex remarks that it's scary, and Addie agrees, "You're telling me. This is Meredith Grey's niece. If I lost her, people might say I did it on purpose." And once again, I appreciate the continuity that it's still hard to work with her ex-husband and his girlfriend every day, and not just pushing it under the rug like happens so much on shows.
Despite her insistence that this isn't her family, Meredith is watching the surgery, and Richard finds her and asks how it's going. He points out that her dad is waiting anxiously and she might give him an update, but she glumly tells him to do it. He points out, "He's not a big fan of mine." Mere replies, "He's not a big fan of mine either." Richard, however, doesnât think that's really true, and he fights a moment for her father, pointing out how strong-willed her mother was and that Meredith only knows her side of the story. Mere points out that her life doesn't usually work out in ways like finding out there's a stash of unopened birthday cards he sent each year, but Richard counters that she won't really know unless she asks.
George's brothers watch, horrified, as George kneels near his father's bed, inspecting his catheter bag. Callie comes in and asks what's up, and they disgustedly tell her, "Georgie's obsessed with our dad's pee." Their mom tries to quiet them, but she's clearly also a tad confused by the actions of her youngest son. George doesn't look up but corrects that he's obsessed with kidney function, and that he's not obsessed, he's excited. He jumps up and yells, "130 cc's of shiny yellow urine!" Callie gets just as excited, asking how long it's been, and when he says four hours, they begin laughing and dancing, to the delight and horror of the family. In the heat of the moment, he grabs her and kisses her, and then he thanks her. The boys are aghast, but his mom just smiles. So do I, as I've been waiting and hoping for George to actually appreciate Callie and her awesomeness. In my living room, I do my own happy pee dance of joy.
Addison comes out of surgery and sees Mark, and tells him, "I'm sorry you're hurting." He counters, "You're sorry I'm hurting, or you're sorry?" I'm sorry she's not hurting him right now, personally.
Alex is watching over Baby Grey, with his hand inside the incubator, stroking her tiny head. My womb just made a little squeal. Addie walks in on him and he immediately tries to cover that he wasn't just engaged in a tender moment but she's caught him and assures him it's good and that, "We all need a little human contact from time to time." He explains that it's hard to see the baby like this since they didn't sign up for the pain, and she guesses that's why he liked plastics -- because those people were mostly asking for what they got. She tells him that watching the struggle sucks, but that watching them get better and go home is so fulfilling that it's worth it. She's smiling to herself thinking of those good parts of the job, you know, in addition to being surrounded by the hottest stable of male doctors ever assembled in a single building, two of which she's seen naked. She then asks if he wants to go back to plastics, but he admits defeat and says no, and also admits that he gave Mark the vanilla coffee on purpose. When she asks why, he tells her seriously, "Because he was rude to you." They have A Moment, and awkwardly lean in for a kiss, but with a centimeter to go are saved by a nurse walking in. There are a lot of awkward apologies, and he flees. Addison needs somewhere to bang her head and nearly uses the incubator until she jumps up in realization and just puts her head in her hands. So it's looking like maybe this will be Naked Hot Doctor #3.
Izzie goes into Heather's room and finds her walking to the bathroom, and her knee-jerk reaction is to ask if the girl needs help. Heather's beyond angry and tells her she can do it and to get out of the way. Oh, those $8 million wheels must be turning in her pretty head.
Meredith comes across Thatcher, again waiting at his granddaughter's incubator, and she flees. He heads into the hall and hopefully calls out her name, but she's already gone.
Props to the poster who nailed the tone of the final scenes, but who I can't thank by name because when I went to credit them, the forums had crashed. As music plays, each character gets their own thoughtful shot, and it looks like we should really have captions underneath each a la "Everybody Hurts." George flips through a magazine while Bailey looks sad. Cristina lays on a couch, while Burke lays in bed. Alex looks to the heavens in one of the elevators, and Addison does the same in a different elevator (in a scene cut straight out of a long-ago episode, in fact, going to show more crack editing.) Mark sits angrily at a desk, and Richard and Bailey exclaim grim glances. Cristina is still on the couch, but as the camera pans back, you see that the couch is in Burke's hospital room, and they're just silently staring at one another. Callie sits alone in the stairwell, and then we see George, as a friend takes his hand. It's Izzie, and they sit silently. Meredith and Derek sleep in the same bed, she sporting a red nose strip. Unfortunately, she starts to snore anyway, waking him up. And we're to be continued.