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Meredith tries to quit therapy except she refuses to call it quitting and refuses to admit she quits anything, despite the fact that Dr. Amy points out all of the times she's tried to quit, up to and including when she tried to quit being alive. She and Derek have another clinical trial patient, a woman this time, who refuses to have her surgery until her boyfriend arrives at the hospital. The only thing is, given the evidence that her sister provides, it seems like the boyfriend doesn’t exist and is just a hallucination from the tumor. She breaks down and goes into surgery, and as they inject the virus someone comes in to tell them that the boyfriend has arrived. Unfortunately her brain swelled so much during surgery that she'll never wake up. But Meredith seems to finally have been shaken into realizing that love might be able to exist and that she's colossally screwed up, and she goes back to therapy. Derek, meanwhile, wanted to let the patient go on believing she had a boyfriend, thinking that was better for her than having to face the harsh reality. The harsh reality for him is that he doesn't want to talk to Rose, but when she finally pulls away he tells her he just wants to be happy and uncomplicated, and they wind up holding hands because Rose is spineless and won't send him away for being an ass.
Mark is trying to turn over a new leaf and be romantic rather than sexy, much to the disappointment of Callie, who desperately wants to get laid. The subject of a threesome comes up, and Callie teases Mark about wanting one with her and Hahn. When they all end up in the elevator together she teases him about it and Hahn tells him he could never handle it. To prove her point, she grabs Callie in a long kiss before leaving with a smirk, leaving Mark slack-jawed and ready for sex again, and Callie looking stunned and somewhat worried. Hahn might just be feeling good because she did a surgery on the Chief's mentor, who was a pioneer in the field of cardiothorasic surgery. She didn't want to do it and tried to refuse, but eventually Richard got her into the OR. She starts to freak out, but while she's yelling at Richard for ruining her career, she does the procedure without even thinking about it, so all is well. George has spent his day running around doing errands for the Chief, but has a nice moment with Richard's mentor where he tells George that he's doing a good job. George asks him to pass that along to Richard, and later Richard compliments him and sends his confidence back up to where he might really be able to make a good doctor one day. In all his running around, he also manages to smoothly get baby Tuck out of the way when Bailey and Tucker start to have a huge fight about their family that starts to reveal what the problems might have been that they never actually talked about before.
Izzie spends the day getting alternately getting yelled at by Alex and examining Ava, who still isn't pregnant but completely believes that she is. She also goes to Sloane to try and get a breast enhancement and he realizes that she might be having some sort of post-traumatic stress, so he tells Izzie to get a psych consult. Ava tells Izzie that she can say whatever she wants to Alex, so she tells him that his girlfriend isn't really pregnant. She gets yelled at for her efforts and I hate to say it, but I sided with her in this one since Alex really was an ass. Once he realizes that Izzie was telling the truth and that something is really wrong, he brings Ava home to care for her. And finally the other person being a big jerk is Cristina. She's still completely messed up over the Burke thing and instead of doing surgery or meeting the man who is a God in her chosen field, she chooses to update charts and cruelly insult George and Lexie. But the scariest thing -- the one thing that means she's really in a bad place -- is that she cleans her apartment. Looks like someone might need therapy even more than Meredith does.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!"The problem with being a resident is, you feel crazy all the time." One could argue that that's because Meredith IS crazy. To prove the point, she walks into Dr. Amy's office. VO: "You haven't slept in years. You spend every day around people in massive crisis. You lose your ability to judge what's normal." Callie is getting ready for work but while brushing her hair and hears a sound she's never heard in this apartment before -- a vacuum cleaner. She walks out and Cristina is angrily pushing one around, threatening to use it on Callie's things if she doesn't pick them up. Mere's voice adds, "In yourself or anyone else. And yet, people are constantly asking you to tell them how they're doing. How the hell are you supposed to know?" Alex walks out ... from the kitchen at Joe's, maybe? When no one else is there? It's not explained at all. Are we just supposed to assume that Joe thought all these crazy kids should have keys to his business so they couldccome in whenever they wanted and cook their crazy girlfriends some eggs and bacon? That seems to be the case, and Ava gazes up at Alex as she scarfs food. But then she suddenly feels sick; she makes a run for it but ends up vomiting on the floor behind the bar. Joe's going to LOVE that.
Mere's VO continues, "You don't even know how you're doing. To illustrate, she's pacing in Dr. Amy's office. Dr. Amy is yelling at her that they finally had an honest conversation about her feelings but now she wants to quit. Meredith insists that she's firing the doctor and not quitting, because she doesn't quit things. Dr. Amy pulls no punches, informing her that she does: "Your mother quit your father, your father quit you, you quit your boyfriend and if I read your hospital chart correctly, you quit your life momentarily on a couple of occasions. You quit! It's what you know how to do." Mere tells her that now she's really fired and stomps out. Rather than look defeated, Dr. Amy says to herself, "Now we're getting somewhere."
The Chief speeds around a corner while George races to keep up, loaded down with a giant stack of charts; Richard tells him to take care of everything and anything that doesn't require his help. He then descends on Hahn and tells her that Walter Tapley is coming in and he wants to know if there is anything he can scrub in on. Tapley is apparently what's known as a "big deal" which we know from George's awed tone when he tells Hahn that Richard was Tapley's student. "You studied at the right hand of GOD?" she asks. Richard wants an impressive surgery and Hahn promises to stab someone in the chest if need be. He shouts some more directions but as George runs off, he stops him to find out if he's got messages. George quietly passes on a message from Patricia that his wife hadn't called in the twenty minutes since he last asked if his wife had called.
Derek and Meredith are getting ready for their patient and they seem to have tweaked the virus that they're using. Derek is optimistic and says they're going to open that bottle of champagne soon. Meredith's distracted and he asks if she's okay -- when she says that she's fine, he tells her he knows clinical trials can be hard and he can do this patient on his own if she likes, because then he can feel even more brilliant and superior as a surgeon and human being. Well, I might have editorialized that last bit from his stupid hushed tones and furrowed brow. "I'm not a quitter. I don't need you to rescue me. Let's just do this," she rushes through the words and runs off to the patient's room.
This week's tumor patient is Greta, who is arguing with her sister when they walk in. She asks if they can push the surgery for a few hours. She wants her boyfriend, whose flight was cancelled, to be there, since he has questions to ask. Derek wonders if she's thinking of cancelling the surgery but she skirts the issue, telling them instead that she just met Andre, her boyfriend, in January and they've had very little time together. She asks for confirmation that this treatment could potentially kill her. Derek also doesn't answer directly, saying that her tumor is very aggressive and if they chose not to operate, she'd only have a few months. She points out that she'd spend those months with Andre. "Do you know how precious that is? Time with the person you love?" Ah, the night's first subtle punch to the head. Greta's sister pleads with her but Greta insists that when Andre gets there, he'll help her decide. The sister and Derek share a look that they get one another, and she goes back to writing in her journal.
Ava is looking for Dr. Sloane when Izzie comes across her and angrily demands to know where she's been. Stating the obvious, Ava notes that Izzie seems upset. Izzie points out that she knows Ava isn't pregnant, that Alex is turning his life upside-down for her, and that Izzie can't tell him anything because of confidentiality. Ava just responds that Izzie can tell Alex anything -- she wants him involved -- and insists that she is pregnant. She thinks Izzie is the crazy one but Izzie says that if she's really pregnant, she won't mind if Izzie does another test to confirm it. Ava can't believe it and says that it's a good thing that she's pregnant because she's always wanted a baby, and it takes Izzie pointing out that she already has a baby for her to correct her statement to, "another baby." Ava tells her to go ahead with another test and asks if she can help her see Sloane as well, which Izzie grudgingly agrees to do.
Greta's sister catches up to Derek and Meredith to voice concern -- she tells them that Andre doesn't actually exist. Greta went on a cruise four months ago and came back saying she'd met him, but there are no pictures and no one else has seen him. That was also around the time that her symptoms started. She asks Derek if he'll talk to Greta about it since they can't wait for someone who doesn't exist to show up. Derek adopts his sadly thoughtful expression.
George is standing guard outside a conference room where Tapley is rumored to be with the Chief. As Mere hovers, Callie pulls Cristina around the corner and grabs Mere to tell her that something's wrong with Cristina. Cristina says she's fine but Callie points out that she cleaned, adding she doesn't actually know how so she pretty much just pushed the dirt around. Mere tells Callie to leave her alone, that not everyone has to be happy all the time. "That's not mental health. That's crap." Callie counters that Cristina doesn't want to meet Tapley, and Meredith has to admit that's a bad sign. Cristina tells her to mind her own business, and Callie shoots back that she needs help, and leaves. Meredith tells Cristina that if she hangs around until Hahn gets there, she might get to meet Tapley but Cristina pouts, "I don't give a damn about Walter Tapley." Good grief. Meredith finally gets help so we have increasingly one-note Cristina. This Cristina is no fun to watch. Mere pauses and then asks her, "Are you in the dark place?" Cristina admits she is and Meredith tells her, "Me, too." They part ways as Hahn barrels into the conference room.
Hahn greets Tapley and heaps praise on him, and he and Richard have a laugh like old buddies. But once the laughter dies down, he admits he didn't come to visit; he needs a double valve replacement and tricuspid repair. Everyone's faces and the music all go dramatically somber and Tapley pulls out his charts and x-rays for them. His colleagues refuse to operate on him because he's got all sorts of secondary problems and they think they might kill him. Hahn asks why he thinks they won't say no here, and he straight-up admits that elsewhere, he didn't start the careers of the presiding doctors. "They can say no to me. Webber can't." I like a guy who doesn't beat around the bush.
Hahn is in Richard's office freaking out about the surgery, which she really doesn't want to do. After some ranting, she sits down and Richard starts to tell her a story. She interrupts immediately to ask if it's a story about how he was a struggling black med student and then Walter Tapley gave him a chance and became his mentor, and without him he wouldn't be where he was today? It is. Hahn still refuses to do the surgery.
Oh, Rose, I am already so bored of you. Could you be any blander? She accosts Derek to say he clearly didn't like the sex since he didn't call, and then totally takes his bullshit answer that he just lost a patient and his mind is on work. She asks if she'll see him later and he gives her the most forced smile ever, which she accepts before bounding off. Not only is she bland, she has NO INTUITION WHATSOEVER. Sheesh. Mark walks up behind to hear the end of things, and can't believe Derek didn't call her. Derek just asks when the last time was that Mark called a woman after sex. Touché! However, he claims that he's turning over a new leaf as of now. Derek offers some legitimate advice for once, says who cares that he was called a whore? At least he was happy.
Mark gets cut off when the Chief arrives to tell them about Tapley's surgery and how Hahn has refused out of fear of killing him. Mark and Derek both comment, "Lightweight." Richard can't believe anyone would turn him down (in his post-sex haze, he must have forgotten about his wife giving him the boot not long ago) and Derek tells him that it's Hahn's choice since she's the one opening Tapley up. Before running off, the Chief asks what it means if a woman doesn't return your after-sex phone call. "Does that mean she had a lousy time, or does that mean her answering machine was consumed in a fire?" Mark points out to Derek that the Chief calls women after sex. Derek tells him, with too much force, that Richard doesn't even have to call her because it's new, fun, and casual! This would play better if you didn't then see her working to rub it in that you didn't call, Derek. Richard tells them it's his wife. There's a chorus of, "Ooooooooh!" They tell him another call looks desperate, and that he should send an email asking her to dinner. Derek: "Just be casual, confident." Mark: "Sexyyyyy." Derek looks at him. "I mean... romantic!" George runs by again and Richard grabs him for an update, which is that he ordered tests on Tapley and assigned Cristina to him. He then pulls George aside and admits straight-up that though he said he wouldn't use George to get Adele back, but he's desperate. He asks George to write her an email and then thinks out loud that he should ask, no, he should tell her to go to dinner. He gives a few more instructions before getting the bright idea that George should tell her, "The train is leaving the station and she better get on it." George makes a face that says even the already-divorced intern knows this isn't how you play it.
It has been a mighty long time since I can remember a scene in the stairwell -- it's good to have you back, old friend! Izzie catches up with Alex to talk about Ava and in an even, calm, un-Izzie-like voice says that she isn't pregnant, and she wanted to tell him. She explains that Ava thinks it's a false negative and it isn't. He protests that she was throwing up and her breasts are larger, and when Izzie holds firm he gets really pissed and yells that labs are wrong all the time and in fact SHE is wrong all the time. He then hollers at her to mind her own business and stay out of his life. I am so conflicted right now that he's made me feel for Izzie, who actually handled everything well and was trying to do the right thing.
Mere knocks on Dr. Amy's door and when it opens, demands her chart back. Dr. Amy reiterates the fired/quit distinction and informs Meredith it's not appropriate to barge in without an appointment. She shuts the door in her face, so, being Meredith, she barges in to have the last word and finds Hahn sitting there. "Make and appointment, Grey. It's what we do," she says testily. Dr. Amy gives Mere a pissy glare that mirrors Hahn's and Meredith retreats.
Bailey's got a team in front of her and gives directions for Tapley's care, including orders for Cristina to put in a central line. She's paged by the day care center but Richard has George go in her place since he needs her there for now. Once everyone disperses, Cristina blandly tells Lexie to give Tapley a central line. Lexie is confused, since, being an intern, she's never done one before but Cristina has no time to be anything other than morose. She verbally shits on her and leaves. Really mature way to handle your own disappointment and inferiority complex, Cristina.
Meredith finds Derek and is shocked to find out he hasn't yet talked to Greta about Andre. She already mixed the virus and they only have six hours until it goes bad, but Derek isn't concerned since they only have to wait three hours until he is supposed to arrive. He wants Greta to have a few more hours with the idea of him since they'll destroy that when they take out the tumor. Naturally, because she's out of therapy and back to being thoughtless as a result, I guess, Meredith thinks he should just rip off the band-aid so she can get fixed and go back to her life, but Derek thinks she was probably just a lonely person who will go back to being lonely after the surgery. He's probably right in this case, but I'm getting a little tired of his sincere, world-weary life lessons. Meredith informs him that love like Greta's only exists in delusional fantasies and that love like that doesn't actually exist, so Derek balks, "Good to know," at her and leaves. Dude, you broke up with her because of this shit, so get over yourself.
George shows up with Tuck in his arms instead of the usual stack of charts. It seems Tuck punched another kid over a graham cracker and the day care people want Bailey to talk to him. I'm glad at her response: "He's fourteen months old, what do they think I'm going to do? Give him a lecture on non-violent conflict resolution?" For a second I was wondering if they'd magically aged him like they do soap opera offspring. He hands over the boy and all of his accessories to Bailey who can't believe her boy's a puncher.
Lexie runs up to George in a panic -- with tears in her eyes, she tells him that Cristina is awful and making her do a central line. George goes on for a while about how Tapley, aka God, is a patient and as the Chief's intern he's too busy to do anything else except stay focused on him. Once he finds out that Tapley is the patient who needs the line, though, he agrees to do it. Cristina acidly starts to mock him for being a kiss-ass, all the while sticking paper clips into a Styrofoam cup. I have no idea if it's just a TV thing, or if it's actually a phenomenon in the medical world, but in any workplace I've ever been in, if someone stopped doing her work and just sat around being shitty to everyone around her while wallowing about her sad life, she'd be gone. George demands to know what's wrong with her that she throws away him giving her Tapley on a platter. A pretty fair point since she's spent so much time begging whoever can make a difference to get her in on cardio stuff. And yes, Burke won the award in the meantime but you know what? Just go home if you hate it that much all of a sudden. Why does no one think they're going to get in trouble if they don't do their job? Oh wait, this is Seattle Grace. I forgot. Lexie watches while Cristina berates George for still being an intern and supposes that if Burke was still there, he'd be able to work his way up to resident but since he's not, he's going to get shit. Projecting, much? God, she's miserable. I have literally zero pity for her in this situation.
Derek watches Meredith through a window and asks Mark if he was actually happy when they were together. Mark tells him it was off and on, which prompts Derek to announce that he thinks that he idealized it, and supposes Mark wouldn't stay with someone so unpredictable and unavailable. He reiterates his whole idea of keeping things light and casual. Here's another one -- fucking woe is me, Derek! You knew what you were getting into when you got back together with her for the forty-seventh time, so you can't have some epiphany about it now! Mark tells him not to sell himself short with Rose and advises that he grow and share experiences with her. It's that new leaf talking.
George is finishing the line and Tapley compliments his work, referring to him as a resident. George says that he's an intern, but Lexie adoringly adds that he's the best intern in the hospital. Richard pops his head in and orders George to give Tapley some specific meds, to which Tapley takes exception. Richard sends George out so that he can have a private talk with Tapley. Tapley announces, "If you can't get the head of cardiothorasics to do a valve replacement, then you're not the Chief I thought you were. And this is not the facility I thought it was, so maybe it's better for all of us if I don't get cut open here." I'll wager a guess that it really isn't what he thought it was, because I don't think this guy would stand for a resident spending her time making paperclip sculptures and demoralizing her interns while shunning actual work. He gets up and tries to disentangle himself from his various tubes until Richard demands that he get back in bed. A bit less forcefully, he promises to talk to Hahn again.
Cristina and Meredith are in the cafeteria, Cristina sucking on a soda and staring blankly into space while Meredith reads a magazine. She casually looks up and asks Cristina if she's even going to watch Tapley's surgery, but Cristina informs her that she wants five years with him, not five minutes. "Tapley's a star-maker. That's why the Chief's a star. Five minutes with Tapley is a slap in the face. Like giving an alcoholic a sip of wine." Lexie comes in and Mere cautions Cristina to try and watch what she says. Lexie asks Mere if they can speak alone, and motions her eyes toward Cristina. Mere says now's not good, and does her own eye-point to her friend. Cristina sits up and informs Lexie that Meredith hates her and finds her annoying. She says Lexie's showing up is the worst thing that's happened to her in months, "And that's saying a lot coming from Meredith Grey." Mere looks stunned but yet can't bring herself to say anything, and Lexie just takes off like she's been slapped. Mere eats a chip and tells Cristina that it will be okay but Cristina snaps, "Wanna bet?"
In a much lighter corner of the cafeteria, Mark sits down with Callie, who interprets this as a booty call. He tells her about his new leaf, which means sharing a meal and talking. He adds proudly, "From now on if you want this?" He points south, "You're gonna get this too," and he points to his temple. Callie looks a bit nauseated and breathes, "Ew." Hahn comes up and orders Sloane to move over, announcing, "Torres and I are going to share a Sapphic salad." Mark asks if he missed anything and Callie answers that they're lovers. Hahn adds, "It's a love that dare not speak its name." I'm glad they're joking about it, but you know it's still on Hahn's mind. Callie smiles and tells Mark she knows he's thinking about a threesome, but he maintains that old Mark would, but not this Mark isn't. Callie talks provocatively about the three of them and a video camera and Hahn lays her head on Callie's shoulder. Finally it's too much for Mark, who grabs his tray and leaves. Callie orders him to the on-call room but he refuses.
Richard strides up and declares, "I am the Chief of Surgery." Hahn responds, "I am not killing Walter Tapley. I don't care who you are." Callie tries to leave but Richard tells her to stay. They argue a bit and again Callie tries to sneak away, so Richard again tells her to stay and asks what's going on with all the women that none of them do what he says. Callie needs to stay there, Hahn needs to go over Tapley's chart again, and they're under orders if they see Adele to tell her it's polite to return a man's phone call. Cristina calls him a star. Can you be a star if your staff repeatedly disrespects you?
Mere and Derek are back in with Greta and he gently tells her that the tumor can blur the line between reality and fantasy. Eager to have someone else beaten down by life, Mere interrupts him to blurt out that Andre could be part of that confusion. Greta sighs and tells them that her sister is used to being the happy family woman and Greta being single, and that she can't stand that she found someone. Mere tells her there are no pictures, so she pulls out her journal and shows them drawings of a man's face. Mere points out that they're drawings, made from an image in her head, but Greta says she is an artist. Mere has lost all perspective and persists in asking if she did a lot of writing before, and finally Derek cuts in angrily and orders her to leave Greta alone, which he has to do twice. Greta remains remarkably calm, asserting that she fell in love with him and held him and that he's real. Her sister asks her to tell the story of how they met. Unfortunately, it's Cinderella's story -- Greta lost her shoe but the boat was about to leave so she left it and ran off. Andre found it and returned it to her, and the rest, minus all of the mice making her clothes and whatnot, is history, Her sister prompts her to tell how her first blackouts were on the ship as well, and Greta says that Andre carried her but her sister corrects her, saying that a woman found her passed out in the bathroom. Once she says Prince Charming wasn't there, Greta loses her patience and orders everyone out. She regains her composure and Meredith, not noticing Derek's clenched jaw, tells her that the virus serum will expire in a few hours. She asks if it will by 3:00 and Derek cuts in to say that it won't, interrupting Meredith's protest to assure her that they can't wait all day, but they can wait until 3. He tstorms out and slams the door, and either doesn't hear or ignores Rose when she calls after him to ask about his patient.
Mark examines Ava's face and calls it some of his best work. When he turns away Ava agrees that it's great but that it doesn't match her body, and she pulls open her gown so that when he turns around he gets quite the eyeful. He tells her to cover up, and she insists that her body doesn't match her face or her personality. Mark cuts in to remind her that she's pregnant and he can't operate but she cuts in to say she doesn't want a lecture, she wants him to "finish what [he] started." She asks him pointedly, "Can you do that?"
Mere, in typically bitchy and immature form, storms into the bathroom and begins talking to a stall door -- behind which is Dr. Amy trying to do her business in peace. Mere won't listen to another order to make an appointment and instead demands her chart back, asking where Dr. Amy gets off calling her a coward and a quitter. You won't speak to your therapist during a session but you will speak to her when she's incapacitated on the other side of the door, Mere. She asks if Dr. Amy is trying to make her feel bad about her life just so she can fix her in therapy and finishes with, "I don't need therapy!" On cue, Lexie storms in. She announces, "I forgive you." She explains that forgives Meredith for treating her badly and for letting Cristina do the same, explaining that their dad abandoned her, her mom was horrific and she can't be happy with Derek. Mere has failed to fulfill the fantasies Lexie had about having an older sister but Lexie still loves her and because of that, she forgives her. Lexie turns and leaves as a toilet flushes and Dr. Amy comes out and asks, "Two o'clock work for you?" Mere answers in a small voice, "Yeah, okay."
Hahn seems to have come around on doing Tapley's surgery: In his hospital room, she tells Richard that if Tapley dies she's going to tell everyone on earth that he forced her to do the surgery. She leaves and Tapley assures him he'll be fine, but Richard admits she's got "impeccable judgment. And this may be the dumbest thing I've ever done." Tapley then admits that another surgeon he knows would have done it, but just in case he didn't survive, he wanted to be in the OR with a good friend to say goodbye. Richard takes his hand and tells him that he's honored, but Tapley assures him he shouldn't be, and that he should have had a wife and kids so they could be there with him instead. Apparently, being single really is the worst thing that can happen to a person.
Sloane tracks Izzie down to talk about Ava and they fill each other in on what's going on. He tells her that she might have Acute Stress Disorder; that people who have had trauma and massive plastic surgery can look in the mirror and not recognize their body, which makes them unsure of who they are. He tells her to make sure she knows she isn't pregnant and to get a psych consult.
George runs in to give the Chief his Blackberry but Richard wants him to read out loud what he's got since he can't read the screen. George mumbles that it's a bad idea but does it anyway. The email to Adele goes: "Dear Adele, eat with me. The love train is leaving the station. You know you want to take a ride..." Mercifully, Richard cuts him off and says he'll write it himself.
Callie catches up to Mark to see if he really won't follow her into an on-call room. He asks her why she wants sex all the time, if it's replacing something... and she tells him she needs it to clear her head and opens the door for him. He tells her that they can talk but they can't have sex, and she stomps her foot and whines, "Whyyy? What are we gonna talk aboooouuuuut?" He wants to talk about threesomes. He tells her that Hahn certainly isn't a bad choice: "She brings that whole, 'We're naughty and we're getting sent to the principal's office' thing to it." He asks if she's really never thought about reaching across the operating table, ripping off her mask and grabbing her hair -- clearly, this is something to which he's devoted large portions of brain cells. She orders him to stop talking about Hahn and runs off.
Speak of the devil, she's staring down at Tapley's body, frozen. Richard asks if she's okay and she informs him that one of the founding fathers of cardiothorasics is there in front of her and she needs a moment before slicing into him. Once she's ready and moves to start he warns her, "Don't screw it up!" It's actually kind of funny and sweet since clearly he has utter faith in her to do this.
Meredith tells Dr. Amy about Greta and her supposedly fake boyfriend, mentioning that she's got true love only because it's not actually real. She's also baffled by the fact that Derek seems "broken up" about it. Dr. Amy points out that Derek wasn't ready to give up on their relationship and Mere was. Mere insists that she didn't give up, saying she wanted to make it work, but then he kissed Rose, blah blah blah he was the one who messed up. Dr. Amy reminds her that people make mistakes in relationships, and she just stands back waiting for the other person to fail so that she can quit them. Mere denies it and says that it just wasn't working, so Dr. Amy counters by asking if her life wasn't working when she decided to quit that. Mere asks when Dr. Amy will stop suggesting that she's suicidal. Fascinating, coming from the girl who finally admitted that she let herself slip under the water. Dr. Amy tells her she'll stop when Mere starts acting like someone who wants to be alive. Whoever wrote this dialogue has clearly spent some time in a therapists care. Mere demands to see her chart to see if it says that she's suicidal, which she says is wrong. She claims that she nearly drowned when she fell in the water; she just went in for fun. It is beyond aggravating to listen to this after she herself realized that situation was somewhat of a suicide attempt. Dr. Amy reminds her of the time she put her hand in a body cavity that contained live ammunition. Mere says she merely wanted to save a patient, but Dr. Amy points out that everyone else there hit the deck. "You know, people run away from this line between life and death; you seem to stand on it and wait for a strong wind to sway you one way or the other. You're careless with your life. You're not slitting your wrists, but you're careless." She tells her it's probably because her mother told her how she was a waste of space when she was little and Mere believed it, and warns that she'll die one day because of it if she doesn't watch out. Way too close to the truth, here -- Mere angrily demands her chart and orders Dr. Amy to never speak of her mom again before walking out.
Alarms are ringing in Tapley's OR. In the hubbub, Hahn starts to freak out. While she tries to take care of things she starts to yell at Richard about how stupid it was to do the surgery, how her reputation is going to be lost, and over Richard's trying to get her attention. She tells him it's not his reputation that will be ruined, even though she wishes it was. Once he can get a word in, he points out that the surgery is done. Richard asks, "You were saying?" and she has the good grace to let out a nervous, relieved, and mildly embarrassed laugh.
Greta, her sister, Mere and Derek all wait as the clock on the wall ticks from 3, to 4, and then to 5pm. At this point it's just Greta and Derek alone in the room. After checking that the clock is right she makes excuses that his plane was probably delayed, especially since she couldn't get through on his cell phone -- he's probably in flight. Derek says nothing, just hands her a tissue as she starts to cry. After she takes it she comments quietly, "My head did this." Derek corrects that the tumor did it. As her tears begin to spill down her cheeks, she asks if he was never there, and Derek shakes his head sadly. The realization fully hits her and she begins to moan and sob, in yet another of many examples of the guest stars getting to me emotionally far more than the regular cast members. Derek just takes her hand while she cries. Her sister and Mere come to see what's going on and Derek nods at them unhappily, indicating that she's finally accepted that Andre wasn't real.
Tucker comes to pick up Tuck. Bailey tells him that Tuck's been punching kids, and he says he knows and that it's happened before. She's angry that he didn't tell her, but he defends himself by saying that he doesn't judge how she does surgery, so she shouldn't judge how he parents. It quickly dissolves into a fight where Tucker yells at her for being the reason Tuck is in daycare instead of with his dad, just so she can see him for a few minutes every so often. George hears the voices (as does probably everyone working in the vicinity) and interrupts to say hi to Tuck and to ask if he can play with him for a moment. George leads Tuck away to play with office supplies while Tucker continues to yell at Bailey for all her time spent working. She says she does all of this work to build a life for them, and that she didn't have the luxury to take a year off to be with Tuck and have a job waiting at the end. His angry face gets even darker because clearly he did not see his full-time parenting as a luxury. The grass is always greener, indeed. George sits outside as they yell and tells Tuck awkwardly, "Uncle George says it's going to be okay," as he waves some scotch tape on his finger at the baby.
Izzie gives Ava an ultrasound and shows her that her uterus is empty, but Ava just calmly makes excuses about how it's too early to be able to see the baby. Alex comes in and demands to know what Izzie is doing and she quietly but angrily reminds him that she paged him twenty minutes earlier. She then holds up an image of what a fetus should look like at six weeks, and compares it to Ava's empty uterus. Alex orders Izzie out. She hands over Ava's chart and shows him that Sloane requested a psych consult but Alex just hollers at her to get out again. Alex tells Ava that there isn't a baby. She asks if she lost the baby, and he explains to her that there never was one. She crumbles, clearly not really understanding him, and apologizes for losing their baby. He finally seems to realize that something is incredibly wrong as she repeatedly apologizes for losing their baby, and he pulls her to him in a hug.
Derek and Mere are doing Greta's brain injection, and this time they seem able to stay in sync without looking into each other's eyes meaningfully. But alarms start ringing as her brain pressure increases. A nurse comes in and whispers something to Meredith -- is anyone actually surprised at this point that Andre has actually arrived? I guess Meredith might need to rethink her holier-than-though cynicism a wee bit.
George is still trying to qualify for the Olympic chart-hold-and-sprint. When he races into Tapley's room, the elder doc asks him if he runs everywhere or if George is just scared of him. George tells him he's trying to stay on top of everything, and Tapley responds sincerely that he's doing a fine job. "Very impressive work." With naked yearning, George asks if he would tell the Chief that, given that he was held back. Tapley tells him that he's sure Richard made the decision for a reason (I'm not sure it was that so much as George failed the test, but we'll let that slide for this Very Important Lesson) and that learning is like healing, it happens over time. He tells George to keep running, "Not because you want to cut corners, but because it makes you a better doctor." Richard comes in and mock-yells at him for talking, and Tapley just tells him that they're marveling at the fact that Richard hasn't killed him yet. Richard gives George some instructions so George heads out. Outside, he pauses a moment, and then runs down the hall.
Cristina is sitting in the hallway oozing "bitch" from every pore when Lexie walks by. After thinking a moment, she turns to ask her if she's okay. Cristina cuts her off snottily, and then decides to tear Lexie apart, spitting that Lexie makes her sick, that she needs to have fire. Wow, this is the pot calling the kettle a wallflower. She tells Lexie to be a force of nature, better than anyone else, and not to give a damn what others think. She also tells her there are no teams and no buddies, that she's on her own and needs to be on her own. Oh yeah, she and the others never bailed one another out or stood up for each other. This is so revisionist and hypocritical I can barely stand it. Lexie turns to leave but thinks better of it and turns back to announce that she just got to scrub in and watch Walter Tapley's heart surgery from about three inches away while Cristina sat and did charts. So whatever crap she wants to hurl at Lexie she can just go ahead, because she can't take that surgery away. I can't tell if Cristina realizes she just had a valid argument thrown in her face or if she is just trying to get Lexie to leave when she says, "Yeah, okay." Lexie replies, "Okay, then," and leaves.
George runs in to give Bailey some charts and notices she has Tuck with her; she explains that she wanted the evening with him, so Tucker didn't take him. George asks if they resolved anything and Bailey's silence tells him no. He then asks if she'd like him to take Tuck for a couple of hours so that she and her husband can go fight some more (it sounded much more compassionate coming out of his mouth than typed on the page) because they won't fix anything in a day, but they can at least keep trying.
Izzie gets home to find Alex pulling clothes out of her drawers. Again the bigger person (killing me!) she doesn't kill him for doing so without asking but just listens as he tells her that Ava is staying there for a couple of days and needs some new clothes. Izzie reasonably asks if Alex called Ava's husband or set up the psych consult. He ignores her, so she reminds him of the little fact that Ava just had a hysterical pregnancy. He interrupts to yell at her that Ava's fine and he's handling things, and then demands that she give him some clothes. He takes what Izzie hands him and without a word goes back to his room where he starts to change a seemingly catatonic Ava.
And now the time has come for Richard to be welcomed to the 21st century. George comes in holding Tuck -- I guess Bailey took him up on his offer -- and Richard asks what he's doing with the baby. George deadpans, "Dr. Bailey and I are in love. And I'll be heading back to Vegas with her just as soon as my divorce with Dr. Torres is final." Richard glares at him and then tells him that Adele responded to his email with a typo. He hands over the Blackberry to George, who corrects that it's a wink. Richard corrects, "That's a semicolon and a closed parenthesis." George tells him to turn it sideways, and opens Richard up to a whole new world of e-flirting . He's stoked that his wife is flirting with him and his good mood reminds him to tell George that he did good work today. George heads out of the office with Tuck and tells the baby happily that he got an attaboy, which makes all of his hard worth it. He tells Tuck that he's turning it around and adds, "And you're going to get the punching under control, right? You and me -- it takes us a while, but we get there, right?" I am so happy that lovable George is back.
Mere and Derek are in Greta's room giving the results of the surgery, and they aren't good. There was too much swelling in her brain, and that caused so much damage that she won't wake up. Her sister cries, and then we see Andre, with tears running down his face, holding Greta's hand and gazing at her lovingly. Mere can barely hold it together as she tells them how sorry they are, and that they should have waited. "We didn't think... I didn't think you were coming." She explains that the story was so incredible, and Andre smiles as he reminisces about the shoe and their meeting. He asks if she might wake up and adds, slightly desperately, "I mean, it's been a fairy tale from the start. They always wake up!" Derek shakes his head sadly, and everyone cries. Andre touches Greta's cheek. Voiceover time: "Don't wonder why people go crazy. Wonder why they don't." Meredith, bereft, glances over at an upset Derek while Andre sobs. "In the face of all we can lose in a day, in an instant, wonder what the hell it is that makes us hold it all together."
At a much happier spot in the hospital, the doors to the elevator open for a waiting Mark. Hahn and Callie stare out at him. He pauses, but gets in while Callie smirks and tells Hahn that he's thinking about a threesome. After some teasing he admits, "Okay, fine. I got a new leaf, not a lobotomy." Hahn tells him that he couldn't handle the two of them and when he tells them he surely could, Hahn reaches over and plants a long, steamy kiss on Callie. Mark's jaw drops, and Hahn tells him triumphantly, "See? Too much for you." She steps off the elevator, leaving behind a stunned Callie. Mark fidgets before yelling, "Dammit! On call room. Now." Callie follows him in a zombie-like stupor
Derek is walking down the stairs when he sees Rose angrily attacking some licorice. He calls after her, but she's finally fed up with her treatment and refuses his invitation to go to dinner. He actually has the gall to act like she's the one in the wrong. She tells him that she wishes she was the kind of person who didn't care or worry when the guy she slept with just vanishes but that's not her. She tries to walk away but Derek stops her and asks stupidly if they can't just make it easier. He stutters, "See, I've done complicated. I don't want to do that again. Let's just be easy. Fun? We don't need that fairy tale thing right now. We just need a little happy." And because she's a moronic pushover, she accepts this pathetic little bone from the man whom she feels way more than casual about. They hold hands and leave.
Dr. Amy is at her desk when the door opens, and she turns to find Meredith in tears. Mere sits and takes a few deep breaths before admitting, "My mother tried to kill herself when I was a kid. After the love of her life disappeared. I never told anybody that before." Dr. Amy sits and calmly says, "Okay," waiting for Mere to go on when she's ready. She finally replies, "So you think I'm broken? Fix me. 'Cause I'm no quitter. Let's go!" And on that note, we go to black to wait for the season finale. I don't know, it looks suspiciously like Meredith might actually be willing to work on becoming less of a neurotic mess in the future, and more of an adult trying to take control of her life. We'll have to wait and see.