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George has become the love doctor, chasing after Callie like a dog in heat. This freaks Izzie out, because she thinks he's not dealing with his grief. (It freaks Callie out, because she's getting kind of sore.) But in dealing with a patient and her best friend, she realizes that she can't force George to deal with things the way she does and that she has to let him go a little bit in order to help him. Meanwhile, the rumor is flying that the Chief is retiring, setting off a race among the attendings to land the job. Derek learns that the Chief had offered the position to Burke, and he becomes bitter and jealous. Addison also decides that she'd like to go for it. And Mark changes his plans to move back to New York once he learns about the opening. By the way, the rumor turns out to be true, but the Chief declines to name a replacement for the moment.
In other news, Bailey has decided that Seattle Grace needs to open a free clinic. She spends most of the episode running around trying to get each of the attendings to sign off on the idea, with little success. And then she finds her inner Bailey and kicks their asses into giving their support. To top it off, Izzie offers to provide initial funding for the clinic. We also see Addison doing her damnedest to avoid Alex after their unfortunate kiss. He finally confronts her and tells her that he'd rather be her surgical intern than her boyfriend. And Cristina and Burke are still not speaking to each other -- at least not until the shocking final moments of the episode.
And shocking those moments are. First, the Chief returns to his wife to tell her he's finally retired -- only to find that she's already moved on to another man. Cristina finally caves and speaks to Burke -- and he responds by proposing to her. And George runs into Callie's apartment, and when she tells him she can't take any more sex, he responds by proposing to her. Neither of the proposals is answered this week. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
I don't know if there were no previouslies or if my recording started late. If you want to know what happened in episodes, I guess you can go read the recaps.
Bailey stands still, looking pensive, as a thousand people rush around her in the hospital. Mere V.O.: "No one believes their life will turn out just kind of okay. We all think we're going to be great." If Meredith is suggesting that Bailey is anything less than great, I would suggest she think again. Meredith tells us that surgeons especially think they're going to be great. They expect it in fact -- hence the title of the episode. Sometimes I think the writers of this show are competing with the writers of Desperate Housewives and Heroes to see who can use narration to drive the show's theme home in the most ham-fisted fashion. In any case, based on the look on Miranda's face she's just realized that there's something wrong with her great expectations. Or that her copy of Great Expectations is overdue at the library.
We pan across the Seattle skyline to find that Burke and Cristina are having Meredith and Derek over for dinner. Actually, it looks like just Burke is having them over for dinner; Cristina is sitting on the counter eating cereal or crackers out of a box. Burke offers Meredith seconds. Ha! As you might expect, Meredith turns him down but suggests that maybe Cristina would like some of the dinner. Burke tells her that he only made enough for three. Meredith's no dummy; she points out that Burke just offered her seconds, indicating a surplus of food. It's all very awkward, as Derek notes. Meredith offers to leave so that Burke and Cristina can talk. They each shout out, "We're talking!" But Meredith thinks they should really be talking to each other and not to the poor unfortunates they've dragged into their domestic mess. Meredith calls Burke's apartment the "International House of Silence," and tells him that he has to feed Cristina because she will starve otherwise. I think she may be smart enough to order takeout, but what do I know. Burke asks them to please talk about something else. Derek decides to make things even more awkward by telling Burke that he's heard a rumor that the Chief is retiring. Burke nearly chokes (poetic justice) and then tells Derek that it's not a rumor. In fact, Cristina tells Derek that the Chief already asked Burke to take over the job. Cristina takes the opportunity to point out that Burke is being an ass by blaming her for his screw-up. Derek doesn't care about their domestic squabbles; he's much too upset by the fact that the Chief offered the job to Burke. Didn't they establish that they were in competition for the job a long time ago? Yeah, I thought so. Burke tries to avoid the entire messy conversation by offering everyone dessert.
Back at Meredith's, she's brushing her teeth while McDreamy unmakes the bed. Meredith is talking about Cristina and Burke's ongoing competition to be the worst mate in the world. Derek is still freaking out about the Chief offering the job to someone who isn't him. At one point, Meredith wanders across the bedroom asking, "How can two people be in a relationship and not talk?" Well, it's pretty much the same way two people can be in a relationship and not listen.
Down the hall, Izzie knocks on George's door. She's bearing a plate of baked goods. As she describes the various brownies and muffins, Callie runs out of George's door all frantic. Callie's in her bra and throwing on a shirt as she tells Izzie, "Thank God you're here. I can't take it anymore. Three times already tonight, and he's getting ready for a fourth." Someone should tell George that if you take one of those pills and your erection lasts longer than four hours, you should see a doctor. Although I suppose he is. Not that anything they're doing is part of any treatment recognized by the A.M.A. Callie, still talking a mile a minute, says that she knows everyone grieves in their own way, "but this is not about grieving. This is about my legs being bent in ways my legs do not go." As Callie keeps talking about how much pain she's in, Izzie just looks more and more creeped out. Izzie tries to leave so George and Callie can have some privacy, but Callie (almost finished getting dressed) tells her to stay and "take over for me." This draws a loud protest from Izzie, but Callie tells her that she just means for Izzie to be his friend and take over "George Watch 2007." The two of them are talking over each other in loud whispers and then we hear George casually call out Callie's name. Callie and Izzie stare at the bedroom door as if some horror movie monster is on the other side of it. And then Callie takes off running. Naked George opens the door and finds Izzie and her platter of pastries standing there. She can't help but gawk at Little George. He hides behind the door and asks where Callie is. Izzie, awkwardly: "Uh, she had to go. You hungry?"
Morning at Seattle Grace. Alex walks up behind Addison. She awkwardly tells him that she is totally and completely fine, and he accuses her of avoiding him since their kiss a week ago. She denies it, and he walks away. Callie passes Addison, who tells her, "I kissed Karev." Callie: "George has become a sex machine." Both of them: "Hmm." They walk away in opposite directions. I like the friendship between these two. And if it's been a week since George's dad died, and if he's been going at it with Callie that entire time, I can understand why she's sore.
In the locker room, Izzie is telling the other interns (but not George) that George has become a sex machine: "Are you hearing me? A machine of sex. We have to do something." Like what? Climb on board? Nobody else seems to care in the slightest. Izzie asks what's wrong with everyone, and Meredith tells her that Derek kept her up all night ranting about the Chief, and that Cristina is still not speaking to Burke. Meredith doesn't know what's wrong with Alex. He completely overcompensates when he tells them that everything is just fine. Izzie goes through the litany of all the things that are wrong with her (dead fiancé, nearly ruined career, mandatory psychiatric care) and tells them that if George is losing it, she needs one of the others to pull it together and lend a hand. But probably not the hand George really could use right now. George enters the locker room and asks, "Anyone seen Callie? I kind of need to find her for something." George, you might want to close your lab coat -- scrubs aren't really the best clothes to hide your boner.
Izzie walks down the hallway with George and tells him, "Last I heard, perpetual sex is not one of the five stages of grief. But denial is." George denies it and tells her it's rude to listen at other people's doors. She points out that she kind of couldn't miss him since she saw him standing their naked. George: "I blocked that out." Izzie: "Denial." They find Addison standing around the corner, and Izzie asks her if sex is just another form of denial. Addison takes the question a bit personally and asks them, "What do you know?" What I know is that she has another pair of awesome glasses -- the frames are brown plastic on the outer face and white plastic on the inside. The shape, and the contrast in color are just perfect for her face and coloration. Other than me, nobody in this conversation has the slightest idea what anyone else is talking about. After a few seconds, George tells Addison that what they know is that she has a case for them to work on.
The Chief, dressed in a very sharp suit, enters the elevator. Before the doors can close, both Bailey and Derek come running up, calling his name. (Or his title, really.) They both arrive at the elevator doors at the same time, but there is no way a lightweight like Derek is going to beat out Miranda Bailey. The Chief tells her that she can talk to him in the elevator because he has to get to a very important meeting. He makes the same offer to Derek, if he can talk fast. Derek: "Mine's not fast. It's epic." Derek lets the elevator doors close, leaving Bailey and the Chief together. She asks him why he's so dressed up. Rather than answer, he tells her, "You have the length of this elevator ride, Miranda. Use it well." Unlike some forum posters, it only takes one reminder for her to get on topic, and she tells him that she want the hospital to open a free clinic. She acknowledges that there may be reasons it's a bad idea, but he points out that the main problem is that a free clinic has nothing to do with surgery. He resists and she persists. He eventually tells her that he'll think about it if she can get the support of the department heads. He runs off to his meeting, and she looks thoughtful.
Addison, George, and Izzie are in an exam room with two pretty young women. One is a patient and the other is her friend. It's not clear for a while whether they are friends or "friends" (you know, the kind of friends that make Isaiah Washington say bad words). But there's no sapphic barn raising going on in this episode, if you catch my drift. Anyway, Jillie is the blonde patient, and her brunette friend is Rachel. Jillie has been having some bleeding and cramps, so Rachel dragged her in to the hospital on their one mutual day off from work at the restaurant. Addison explains that, since this is a teaching hospital, she wanted to have one of the interns conduct the pelvic exam. Jillie gives her okay and Izzie steps up to bat. Except with a speculum, not a bat. While Izzie preps for the exam, Jillie and Rachel chat, and we learn that they do everything together (um, except for that one thing that they don't do together) and that they were born two days apart. Apparently they're members of the Jets, as Rachel tells the doctors that the two of them are together "from cradle to grave." Once Izzie gets down to examining Jillie, she asks Addison to take a look. Addison rolls her eyes a bit, as if she expects to have to explain that all women have that dangly bit of flesh, but once she actually gets into the matter (so to speak), she looks concerned herself. Addison is about to tell Jillie what they're seeing when Jillie stops her to tell her that George should get a chance to ogle her before they proceed. George doesn't need to see much before looking pretty shocked. Rachel is getting kind of antsy, and jumps to the conclusion that Jillie must be pregnant. Jillie's not pregnant, and she clearly knows what's going on. Commercials.
In the hallway outside Jillie's room, George and Izzie talk about her very, very large cervical tumor. Rachel walks out of the room and, near tears, asks if Jillie has cancer. It will take a while to get biopsy results, and Rachel begs them to let her know before they tell Jillie so that she (Rachel) can keep it together when they give the news to Jillie. George tells Rachel that this would be a good time to call Jillie's parents or other family, and Rachel tells them that both girls left home when they were sixteen and haven't been back since. Not unkindly, Izzie tells Rachel that, under the circumstances they're facing, Jillie may very well change her mind and want her family. Rachel: "I am her family. She is my family. I'm not contacting her parents, and neither are you."
Mark leads Meredith and Alex into a patient's room. Mark introduces them as "annoying interns," and then tells them that the patient is actually semi-comatose and has serious bedsores. So their job is to clean his wounds, change his dressings, and reposition him every two hours. Apparently, that's going to take up all of the interns' time. And yet Mark doesn't seem to care. He also tells them that having the two of them take care of the patient is his going away present to the nurses. And in case anyone didn't get the "going away" part of that, he tells them that he's doing one last rhinoplasty before leaving Seattle forever. Oh man, my prayers have been answered.
Bailey accosts McDreamy in the hallway. He's kind of bitter about losing out on the Chief's time. When she asks him to support the free clinic, he tells her, "That kind of project requires logistic, strategic and administrative components. Something the Chief does. Apparently I'm not cut out for that kind of work." Didn't the Chief tell Bailey to get the support of the department heads? Doesn't that mean, like, the head of radiology or the chief of medicine? Why is she talking to another surgeon? In fact, why aren't there any other doctors working at this damn hospital?
Cristina and Callie walk down a corridor, and Cristina asks how George is doing. Callie says that he seems fine, but he has a "voracious appetite." Cristina was apparently not listening to Izzie earlier, because she thinks Callie is talking about George stuffing his face. With food, you perverts. When Callie explains it, Cristina grabs her hand and tells her, "Okay, we're not friends. You and I are not friends. So please don't talk to me about what George eats." Callie: "Okay, I was just concerned, and I thought you'd be concerned. But you know what, forget it. I don't like you."
And they walk right into the scene, in which they are examining a runner who dislocated his knee while running in a marathon. Apparently he passed out while running. The cause of the passing out is a mystery, and Callie talks to the patient to try to identify the cause. The crucial clue is that he took two aspirin to fight a cold that was coming on. Look at me, I'm just like Blue, putting my pawprint on the important clues. Unlike the real Blue, I don't get to nuzzle Steve with my wet nose. Anywho, while Callie is getting the runner to talk about his routine, she casually, um, undislocates? relocates? locates? his knee. She gives some instructions to Cristina and tells the runner that the time he has a cold he should skip the race. And she and Cristina give each other one last dirty look before walking away from each other.
Walking down a hallway, Izzie tries to get George to talk about his feelings, asking him if he'll be okay working on a cancer case. You know, since his father just died of cancer. But George sees Callie, so he doesn't want to talk about his feelings. Unless it means feeling up Callie. He calls out her name and she practically runs in the other direction. George asks Izzie if Callie's avoiding him. She claims not to know but tells him that she's always there if he wants to talk. He asks, "Why are you making this about you?" Izzie: "It's not about me. It's about me wanting to talk about you needing so much sex your girlfriend's vagina is broken." George: "Puritans." Izzie takes offense, but George wasn't talking about her; he was talking about the man and woman in Amish garb looking very scared of the hospital hubbub surrounding them. George and Izzie approach them to see if they need help. At first, the Amish dude talks to them in Pennsylvania Dutch (or Low German, or whatever -- don't email me). Did he really think he would find random people in a Seattle hospital speaking his language? Anyway, they speak English and we learn that Jillie is their daughter. Commercials.
In Jillie's room, Rachel is trying to reassure Jillie that if her health problem is serious, Rachel will switch her schedule around at work to help take care of Jillie. And then Jillie looks up and sees her parents walking in the door. She seems pleased to see them. Mrs. Jillie greets her, nervous but happy. Also, Mrs. Jillie only talks out of one side of her mouth, kind of like she had a stroke at some point. Rachel is angry that Mr. and Mrs. Jillie are there, and she accuses Izzie of calling them. At this point, I assumed that they were from some Amish/Mennonite/Brethren community in eastern Washington or Idaho. Izzie denies calling the parents, but Jillie implies that it was indeed Izzie. In their natal tongue, Rachel tells Jillie's parents that everything is fine and that they should go away. They don't respond, and Jillie helpfully informs us all that her parents can't speak to Rachel because she's been shunned. Which I guess Rachel already knew, but thanks for explaining it for us slow kids. Addison enters with the bad news. But before she can even give the news, Jillie's dad confirms that it's cancer. So either he has prophetic powers or there's something going on that we don't know about. Addison tells them that they have to perform a radical hysterectomy immediately. And Jillie (the patient) has to comfort Rachel (the friend) over this news. Mrs. Jillie tries to ask questions, but Rachel throws a hissy and demands that the parents leave. And Jillie gives in and asks her parents to leave.
Meredith finds Mark standing at a desk and comes to gloat about him finally leaving. He says he's taking off as soon as he can find the Chief to give him his letter of resignation. So he's quitting with one day's notice? Asshole. She asks why he's leaving, and he tells her that he hates the weather, the town, and the people. He calls them "unforgiving." She asks if he's talking about all the people, or just the ones whose initials are "D.S." and who are sometimes called "McDreamy." She also casually drops the news that the Chief probably won't care that Mark is leaving, since he's about to retire himself.
In another hallway, at another desk, Derek casually asks Addison what bait the Chief used to attract her to Seattle. She tells him, and then he asks her if Webber happened to dangle the prospect of becoming the new chief in front of her. From the look on her face, he did. And now she's suspicious.
And then Alex walks up to Addison. She fumbles with her notebook and walks away, claiming to be busy. Before she gets too far, he loudly calls out, "When you get a minute, I'd like to talk about the kissing." She's a little rattled and drops her notebook onto a shelf before stumbling away.
Cristina enters the room in which Alex and Meredith are cleaning their patient's bedsores. The three of them chitchat, but as Cristina turns to leave she runs smack dab into Burke. He asks if any of them is available to assist him on a surgery with a very complicated name. Meredith and Alex are both eager, but he says they can only help if they can describe the procedure. Neither of them can. Cristina clearly can, but that would mean talking to Burke. So she doesn't. Burke leaves, and Cristina chastises Meredith and Alex for being so stupid. Dude. Even the semi-comatose guy with bedsores can sense Cristina's own stupidity in this scene.
Derek leaves an O.R. and walks into the prep room to wash his hands. Burke is there scrubbing in for the surgery. He apologizes to Derek for the way he heard about the Chief's offer to Burke. There's some bitterness and recrimination, but Burke tells Derek that he doesn't plan to run for chief (like it's an election?) because he's planning on simplifying his life and focusing on the important things. He also thinks it wouldn't be right for him to take the job. Derek: "Well, whether something's right or not doesn't seem to matter much in this place." I think someone needs to remind him that Seattle Grace is not his wife and Burke is not the guy who slept with his wife. And also that he fully knew the two of them were both being considered for the job, at least in the months (or weeks? or days? who can tell with this show) since the second episode.
Cristina is giving the runner an update on his completely nonsurgical case, telling him that he's dehydrated and that his muscles are breaking down and that they want him to be in better shape before they release him. She tells him that his knee looks fine, and he tells her that his whole leg is kind of sore. So she pulls the sheet back and sees that his legs are grossly swollen. And then it's all "emergency" and "trauma" and overhead shots of his fat, fat legs. Callie is summoned, and the patient is suddenly in extreme pain. And then Callie and Cristina take some scalpels and cut the guy's legs open. Commercials.
The Chief examines the runner and wonders why his kidneys are failing so quickly. And then Callie realizes that the aspirin, the dehydration, and the running all got together and decided to kill this guy. Or something. This is why I don't exercise -- it will clearly kill you. And then it's off to the O.R. to perform more surgery.
In a hallway, Izzie tries to get George to join her for lunch. Unfortunately, he was hoping to get in a quick nooner with Callie. Izzie says his name like she's going to lecture him, but she's actually just trying to point out that Mr. and Mrs. Jillie are still there, sitting stiffly in a waiting room. And then George runs off to try to fuck his girlfriend.
Alex runs into Addison in the hallway and forcibly pulls her into a supply closet. I see he went to the Danny Tripp school of romance. Oh, but he's not there to snog her. Instead, he wants to talk. He accuses her of avoiding him because she egotistically assumes that everyone who looks at her wants her. My impression from the forums is that there's more than a little truth to that. He tells her that he has no interest in her romantically and only kissed her because she was his boss. So you mean she sexually harassed you, Alex? He tells her that he'd really like to get back to working with her if she would just stop avoiding him. Alex: "It happened. But it doesn't have to happen again." I love how the music gets all whimsical in this scene, as if the notion of an intern behaving responsibly with regard to inappropriate relationships with an attending is just so wild and crazy.
Derek runs into Mark and tells him that he's heard he's leaving. But Mark is, in fact, not leaving. Now that he's heard there might be a chance for promotion at Seattle Grace he's decided to stick around and try to get the Chief's job. He also tells Derek that he heard the news from Meredith.
Callie and Cristina are scrubbing in for the surgery on runner man. Cristina is pretty impressed with how decisive and downright crazy Callie was with the whole leg slicing thing. Callie was pretty impressed by Cristina, adding, "Not that we're, uh, friends or anything." Good Lord, does everyone on this show have to like everyone else? We're heading for a place where Mark will be the only one that everyone else dislikes. Cristina gets serious and asks why Callie is worried about George. It's because he doesn't talk about his dad, or about anything. Cristina thinks talking is overrated. Callie wonders if that means Cristina is still not speaking to Burke. Cristina wonders how she knows, and Callie responds that she heard it from George. Cristina: "So you talked about that." Yes, but it was a week ago. Callie: "This keeps up, you and Burke might be the very last thing we ever talk about." I don't know, there's always things like "do you have any more condoms?" or "why don't we try this position?" Callie asks Cristina what the last thing was that she and Burke talked about. Cristina doesn't answer, either because she can't remember or because it's an unpleasant memory. Callie: "Silence is overrated."
Izzie examines Jillie, and for once Rachel is not in the room. Izzie tells her that her parents are still there. She also points out that since she (Izzie) didn't call Jillie's parents, it's not hard to figure out that Jillie did. And that she had to do it at least a day or so beforehand, or else her parents couldn't have arrived so quickly. It turns out that Jillie went to an E.R. and found out about the tumor, but didn't have money to see a specialist. She got scared and called her parents, but sent them away to spare Rachel's feelings. You see, Rachel was shunned for wanting to leave the community after being baptized. Jillie was her best friend and couldn't let her go alone. Jillie wasn't yet baptized, so she was free to leave with Rachel and return. But if she goes back, Rachel can't come with her, and she feels an obligation to stay with Rachel. But she really does seem to want to go back. (And she calls herself Amish, so that ends that question.) She reminds Izzie that she's promised Rachel that they'll be together "cradle to grave."
In the O.R., Addison is operating on Jillie. Addison PSAs about the need to get regular pap smears, because cervical cancer is highly treatable if caught early. So listen up, ladies -- let's not have any dying from diseases we can cure. Bailey jumps on this chance to ask Addison for her support for the free clinic. George and Izzie are also in this crowded O.R. Izzie asks why Bailey wants to open a free clinic. Her only answer is "because." Addison clearly only wants to discuss the surgery, not the clinic. And then Addison sees the tumor and finds that it's invaded other organs beyond the cervix, which means Jillie's cancer is stage 4. Which also means that they can't continue with the surgery. And since this is exactly what happened with George's father (except that they continued the surgery at the patient's insistence), George becomes upset and runs away. Addison is confused, but Izzie realizes immediately what's going on. Commercials.
Izzie is walking along and through a window she sees Jillie's parents holding each other in a tender embrace.
In an O.R., the Chief, Callie, and Cristina perform surgery on running man. The Chief hears that running man ran twelve miles before collapsing and says that he must be insane. Cristina points out that nobody could realize that a cold and two aspirin could be fatal. And then Callie notes that running man must have felt some symptoms before he collapsed -- he should have had the good sense then to stop running. But Cristina thinks that if you're in it to win, you have to push yourself beyond your limits. And then she makes the metaphorical leap to surgery as a race which all surgeons are out to win. The Chief tells her, "It's a long road, Dr. Yang. When you get to the end of it, you're not gonna care about winning. You're just gonna be relieved that you made it to the finish line." If I ever find myself undergoing surgery at Seattle Grace, remind me to ask them to spend less time gabbing and more time operating.
And then Derek bursts into an office and yells at Meredith for telling Mark about the Chief. He's mad at her for giving Mark a reason to stay. He yells and then walks away, as assholes often do. Meredith calls after him, but he doesn't respond.
And now we see Bailey trying to pigeonhole Burke into supporting her clinic. It turns out that she's actually asking them for more than just moral support; she wants the attendings to volunteer a few hours each week in the clinic. Burke tells her that he can't deal with any more distractions at the moment. Bailey: "You owe me!" Burke: "What?" Bailey: "When you had that tremor, you cut me out of surgery after surgery, made me feel like I was the one who couldn't do her job. You made me doubt myself. You owe me this." He tells her, "You need someone who can provide leadership, direction to the project. I'm not that man." Bailey: "Not anymore." I don't know -- maybe there's some magic rehab center he can check into that will help him get his mojo back.
Jillie is sleeping after her surgery while Rachel sits by her bed. Izzie tells Rachel how much Jillie is going to go through over the few months and how much help she's going to need. Rachel is adorable as she takes her little notepad out of her purse and asks Izzie for the names of the doctors and medicines she's going to need to learn about. Izzie steps up and tells her, "Rachel, you can't be everything. It's too hard. Jillie has parents who love her. They love her, and they're here, and she wants to go home." Rachel denies that's true and Izzie tells her that Jillie was the one who called her parents. Izzie tells her that Jillie is dying. Rachel is taken aback, but is smart enough to know that she's still within the "cradle to grave" commitment that she and Jillie made to each other. Izzie: "It's possible that the very best thing you can do for her, if you love her, is let her go." Izzie leaves Rachel to mull this over.
Showdown on the bridge. Burke finds Addison standing on the bridge of sighs and whispers and asks her if she's waiting to see the Chief. She is, don't you know. So is he. But neither one really wants to say what for. And then Derek walks up. He thinks it's incredible that Addison is waiting to see the Chief. She calls him on his bullshit for thinking that he and Burke are the only candidates. And then Mark joins them. And then the poor Chief comes walking across the bridge. He's nearly mobbed by the four attendings running up to him. I think I saw a scene like this in ads for 300. (Now I'm picturing Derek, Mark, and Burke in leather loincloths. Niiice.) They're all shouting and screaming over each other. The Chief shuts them up and then asks Mark what the hell is going on. Mark tells him that obviously, they all want to take his job. The Chief: "I have had a perfect day. I went to the Board this morning and told them I was retiring. I saved a life. And now I am off to see my wife. It has been a perfect day until you four fools tried to ruin it. A man can't be happy he's retiring around here. Not with you vultures trying to pick my bones." Bailey has walked up behind the Chief and hears this speech. She interrupts him, asking, "Chief? You stepping down?" He tells her that he's stepping down as soon as the Board finds a replacement for him, but he doesn't know how long that will take considering what slim pickings there are in terms of potential replacements. The Chief walks away, followed by the slim pickings. Bailey just stands on the bridge. She looks steamed. Commercials.
The Chief, in his suit and out of his lab coat, is waiting for an elevator. Bailey walks up to him and asks him why he didn't bother to tell her he was stepping down when she came to him for support on the clinic instead of making her chase after the attendings for support. He tells her that she'll need them to sign off on the clinic, since one of them might end up being Chief of Surgery before too long. The Chief tells her that since she's not ready for the job, one of the attendings will have to do it for a few years. Bailey is as shocked as we are that he thinks a resident will be ready to be Chief of Surgery in a few short years. Weber: "It's you in the chair eventually. That's who you are. But you're going to have to get a new chair, because you're short. You have short legs. But someday you are going to be Chief of Surgery." He leaves her.
On the bridge, the four attendings are all sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, in the pose we've seen the interns in so many times before. They can't believe he's really going to retire. Mark: "One of us could be Chief." Burke, gesturing at Addison, Derek, and himself, tells him, "No. One of us could be Chief. You? I don't think so." Derek and Addison agree, shockingly. And then Bailey stomps up to them. She hands them each some papers and tells them to sign the letters of support for the clinic. Someone finally asks her why she really wants the damn clinic. And it's because she needs something more in her life besides surgery. I guess her husband and son aren't cutting it in terms of "life purpose." She needs to believe that medicine is about more than surgery to fix problems but that it can change lives. Bailey: "I need... I need to believe in something the way I used to believe in you all." They stare at her, and she tells the again to sign the papers. And they do. But Derek points out that she still needs funding. Gosh, where could that possibly come from? She takes the papers from them and stomps off. Derek: "Nazi's back."
Jillie wakes up and finds a smiling Rachel at her bedside. Rachel tells her, "Go home." This is an incredibly touching scene, as Rachel tries to convince Jillie that it's okay to leave her and Jillie tries to get over her guilt at wanting to go home. Jillie: "I can't shun you." Rachel: "You can. And you will. And I won't take no for an answer." They embrace, and we see Jillie's parents waiting in the doorway. Rachel signals to them that they can enter. And then Jillie's parents walk up to Jillie as Rachel walks away. Jillie cries, and her mother kisses her hand. And then Jillie's mother turns to Rachel and tells her, "I will tell your parents that I saw you and you are well and happy, and have grown into a fine woman." And then Rachel gives Mrs. Jillie the hug she can never give her own mother. Izzie has been eavesdropping on this scene, and now she walks away. And then Rachel leaves Jillie forever.
Adele, played by the lovely Loretta Devine, opens the door to find the Chief standing on her door holding a bouquet of lilies and peonies (I think -- just because I'm gay doesn't mean I know flowers). She asks him what he's doing there, and he holds up the bouquet. And then she asks again, more seriously, what he's doing there. He tells her that he quit his job to be with her. Adele: "But when I told you I didn't have any more time to wait, I meant it." He tries to tell her that he quit as soon as he could, and she starts yelling about how that was months ago. Whatever, show. I am beyond caring about the timeline on this show. Life is too short. Especially if weeks can turn into months like that. She looks over her shoulder, and that's when Richard realizes that she ain't alone. Did he think she was wearing that fine pink satin bathrobe for herself? Adele: "I'm so sorry Richard. But what did you expect?" And then she slams the door on him. Poor Chief.
George sits at a table in a hospital conference room and stares at nothing. Izzie enters and sits to him. She apologizes to him, and he asks her, "What's wrong with having a lot of sex if it makes me feel better?" Izzie: "Do you? Feel better?" He asks her if lying on the bathroom floor made her feel better. Izzie: "Maybe you're not supposed to feel better." And then he tells her that there's nothing she can do for him that will help him. He stands up to leave, and she tells him, "I have to let you go." But she stops him for one last thing, and then gives him a hug. And after a second he hugs her back. Izzie: "Life is short, George. Life is short, and it sucks a lot of the time. And if being with Callie makes you happy, then go, be with Callie." She lets him go, but he grabs her back and hugs her some more. And obviously she's not going to shun him and he's not moving away. But it's nice to see her realize that she can't be the one to take care of him and make things right for him. They're both crying when he leaves.
And then Bailey walks into the room and asks if George is going to be okay. Izzie thinks he will. Izzie asks how the clinic is going, and Bailey tells her that she got the signatures she needed to open "the Seattle Grace Free Clinic." And then Izzie gets a look on her face and says, "the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic." Because she's going to give Bailey $8 million to make it happen.
Meredith closes the door on her wardrobe (in her bedroom), and sees Derek in the mirror behind her. He's surprised that she left the hospital without him. She doesn't respond, and he realizes she's not talking to him. So he apologizes for being a jerk. Meredith: "You yelled me for no reason, and then you walked away. And then you show up here?" Derek: "Of course I showed up. Why wouldn't I?" He tells her that occasional fights, followed by apologies, are normal parts of relationships. That's a surprise to her, and he realizes that she's never been in a relationship that got to the point of occasional arguments. He tells her, "From now on, you can expect that I'm gonna show up. Even if I yell. Even if you yell. I'm always gonna show up. Okay?" That's okay with Meredith. They kiss, and she tells him he'll be a great Chief. And now Mere's V.O. starts going on about expectations of greatness and how it feels when they don't work out.
Addison is walking down some stairs at the hospital when she sees Alex in his civvies, clearly headed home. She tells him that she has an emergency surgery and asks him if he'd like to scrub in.
Burke and Cristina sit at their dining table. She finally speaks directly to him, telling him, "I was right. I swear, I really believe what I did was right. I don't want you to forgive me, frankly. I'd find it patronizing if you did, because while I know I was right, you think I'm wrong. Which doesn't matter, because I'm in this. I'm in this for the long haul. And I'm in this to finish the race. So if that means I don't win this one, then fine. I don't win. You win. I'm talking. See, I'm talking first. You win." Burke: "Marry me."
George walks into Callie's hotel room. Still? In the hotel room? Isn't there some other hospital basement she could have moved into by now? George tells her, "I don't want to waste any time," and you can see her mentally gird her loins. So to speak. She tells him that she's had enough of the constant sex. George: "Since my dad died, I feel like someone ripped out my stomach, filled the hole with asphalt. And I laugh every time I remember I'm never gonna talk to him again, because it just sounds like the stupidest thing I ever heard. Can't believe it's real. But, every time I look at you, I feel better. It shocks me, and it knocks my wind out, but it's true. I don't have to have sex with you. I'd be happy just to look at you from across the room. Even that, anything, any piece of you, but hopefully all of you, that'd be the best thing. 'Cause I love you." And then he drops to one knee and asks her, "Marry me? Will you marry me?"
The camera cuts back and forth between the faces of George, Burke, Cristina, and Callie. Mere V.O.: "You gotta wonder why we cling to our expectations. Because the expected is just what keeps us steady, standing, still. The expected's just the beginning. The unexpected is what changes our lives." Credits.