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There's not a whole lot of levity this week, other than Mark having a patient who wants some Kardashian-sized butt implants. Lexie thinks she's doing it for a guy (and finally lets out some of her own issues with regards to what happened with Mark, although only for a moment) but when she and Mark talk to the girl, it's clear she's just totally doing it for herself. All's well that... ends well! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. But Mark and Lexie seem to be starting up some tentative flirting again, so yay. But while his patient wants this change for herself, Mark realizes that Callie is doing the equivalent of getting a boob job for a guy by going to Africa. She's actually quite a jerk to Arizona as they are finishing up packing and getting ready to leave, and it's more and more obvious that her heart isn't really in the move. Mark finally calls Callie on it, and she says that she knows, but she loves Arizona and is doing it for her. But when the two women are at the airport heading to their plane, and Callie can't help but still be kind of passive-aggressive about the whole thing, Arizona finally snaps and admits that she won this amazing grant and can do exciting things but that Callie is ruining all of it for her. They have a standoff, and the result is that Arizona tells Callie she doesn't want her to come along after all. Callie threatens that if she really does this, they are over, but Arizona rightly points out that as they are screaming at each other in the middle of an airport, it seems to be over already, and she leaves.
Owen is doing his own thing for the day, running a trauma clinic for the residents as part of winning the Chief's contest a few weeks ago. He sets up a mass trauma situation with nearly 30 dummies in the parking lot that all have horrible injuries, divides the docs into teams, and has them get to work fixing their "patients." Everyone gets frustrated pretty quickly because Owen keeps thinking up imaginary wrenches to throw into the imaginary situation, like the medical helicopters never arriving, and slowly all of their mock-patients start to mock-die. Jackson, Alex and April are on a team together and after it starts raining and shit keeps going wrong, Jackson just up and leaves. April and Alex keep working and eventually, April goes kind of nuts and starts screaming at Owen about what is going to happen, making up her own situations to match his. It's kind of insane, but shows she might be a good trauma surgeon one day. Afterward, Owen goes after Jackson who tries to play the "I lost friends that day," card to excuse his behavior, but Owen has him beaten thoroughly by having been through actual war, and he puts Jackson right back in his place saying that losing people isn't an excuse to act like this. Jackson seems to finally realize that he's right, and he goes back to his own trauma training.
Bailey has the sad task of helping out with Mary's autopsy, not because she has to, but because she's desperate to figure out what went wrong. Anna Draper from Mad Men is the pathologist and she's much less endearing here than she is in the 1960's -- as she works she seems more concerned with fixing some botched dinner reservations than figuring out what is wrong, and Bailey's cookies are good and frosted about it. It's a bad combo of Anna not being emotional at all, while Bailey's emotions have taken her over. Sadly they can find nothing wrong, though they can't test Mary's brain for another two weeks because [insert technical medical explanation here]. Bailey goes to gripe to Derek about it and while he sympathizes, he admits that Anna is right and they have to wait that long, much to Bailey's distress since she's not sure how she's going to really face Bill and tell him they have no answers about why Mary died from a simple surgery. Derek, meanwhile, spends the whole day in a conference room trying to write a grant proposal to start up his Alzheimer's clinical study, but he can't actually figure out anything to write other than, "Alzheimer's is bad, y'all." Bailey is the one who points out that he's too consumed with worry about Meredith possibly coming down with the disease to actually focus on the proposal. Derek realizes she's right, and though Meredith wanted to take part, he tells her that night that he can't work on it with her because he'll just see her there and only think about the what ifs rather than get any work done.
It's the second blow of the day for Meredith -- the first being that Cristina unloads on her that she thinks what happened to her is all Mere's fault. Cristina has to spend her day looking after Roy, because the lungs that she won him a couple of weeks ago have finally become available so Teddy goes to pick them up. Cristina's pretty freaked out but manages to do what she needs to do when all sorts of complications arise as they wait for Teddy's return. Owen releases Meredith from the trauma exercise so that she can go help out but Cristina is totally cold towards her, which seems weird since they were getting along fine until Meredith called her a hero last week. I guess somewhere between now and then, Cristina decided that it's Meredith's fault that she kept operating with a gun to her head, because Meredith was begging her to save Derek and offering herself up to be shot. It's slightly shaky logic, and Meredith argues that Cristina wouldn't have let someone die no matter who it was on the table, but Cristina's mind is made up. It's compounded by the fact that Cristina is completely livid that Meredith seems totally okay now while she's still a complete mess. Teddy finally gets back with the lungs and Roy is saved, thanks to Cristina's work, but she realizes that she's had enough and goes to the Chief and quits. She seems quite satisfied with her decision when she tells a shocked Owen what she did, but it will be interesting to see how long it lasts.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!The documentary cameras have left, the state-of-the-art security system that only showed up for five minutes has been dismantled, and Meredith's voiceover is back. "Question: When was the last time a complete stranger took off her clothes in front of you, pointed to a big purple splotch on her back and asked, 'What the hell is this thing?' If you're a normal person, the answer is never. If you're a doctor, the answer is probably about five minutes ago." Arizona and Callie are packing for Africa but Callie seems perturbed and isn't happy when Arizona tries to get rid of some sort of ... chopper thingy by giving it to Mark. She manages to mentally convey that he shouldn't accept it, but then she's irritated anew when he claims the waffle iron instead, and hits the roof when Arizona tries to throw in a French press. Arizona points out that they can't really use these things in Malawi and that they won't do anyone any good in storage, but Callie seems to think that if she can't use them, nobody is going to. She growls at Arizona to stop giving her things away, stomps off and slams the door, while Arizona looks confounded and Mark wisely decides to leave the press.
"The truth is, we love to think that we have all of the answers too." Derek and Meredith arrive at work and Meredith is in the middle of explaining which companies she thinks they should reach out to for Derek's I-guess-it's-really-happening Alzheimer's study. She's done a ton of research and tries to convince Derek she's just the one he will want as an assistant for his clinical trials. Cristina rounds a corner and gives Mere a tight smile, which she returns, and when Derek asks how things are going, she says they are fine. Wait, so is there a problem between these two now? Because Cristina is always crabby and I wouldn't have read a single thing into that moment if Derek hadn't pointedly asked about it, and also, except for their one awkward interview where Cristina didn't want to be called a hero, there has been no evidence up until now that there are any problems between the two. Derek then asks if things are frosty between them because Richard gave the money to Hunt instead of him. Wait, no, seriously, what? Didn't we all come to realize that in the scheme of things, that wasn't a terribly huge sum? And didn't that happen, in the scope of the show, a few weeks ago? Why would either of them even care, especially as they've gone weeks so far not caring about it? I'm calling shenanigans already on all of this. Meredith denies that things are frosty and then tries to get out of a trauma certification lab that Hunt is running (with the mil he won) but Derek sends her to go do it. She VOs: "Basically, doctors are know-it-alls. Until something comes along that reminds us we're not."
Hunt offers to Cristina that she can help him set up and the skills lab, which would give her both her certification and an easy day. She shows a spark of her former self by snarking that it's a skills lab, so it's already an easy day. However, the point is moot because Teddy runs up to tell them that lungs are now available for Roy, and since Cristina is the one who helped him get on the list, he's now her patient. She wants Cristina to monitor him until she gets back, and New Cristina is back, as she very tensely asks if she'd be on her own. Teddy reminds her that a doctor none of us have ever heard of, Dr. McQueen, will be there if she needs him. Before she runs off she throws out that she managed to convince Roy's daughter to show up, and then she leaves for lung transport duty. Cristina tries to pull herself together and Hunt assures her too heartily that it will still be an easy day, and she'll be fine. In her strange, perky voice she answers, "I know!" and takes off while he watches her go, obviously not as sure as he sounds that she will be fine.
Meredith saunters into the skills lab and she and Alex gripe about how dumb this is going to be; Alex explains to Jackson that they will work on some dummies and get an early lunch, and that it will overall be a lame experience. But Hunt then runs in with a stack of gowns, yelling that a plane made an emergency landing and collided with a bus, and has them follow him. They are all too suddenly pumped up to realize what's obviously coming -- Hunt leads them outside, where they find bloody dummies all over the ground, and while he looks on proudly, Mere grouses, "This is gonna suck."
Owen then divides them into teams of four, and they get nine casualties each. Resident Steve shows back up as if, like the security system, he's been here all along -- he's there to help organize and run the lab since Cristina is busy. While he seems to be randomly putting different colored tape on each docs' gown to divide them into teams, of course the only four we know (Mere, April, Alex and Jackson) wind up together. An ambulance is in front of them and Owen tells them that all they have to work with is what they can grab from the ambulance with their two hands, a helicopter is on its way, and if they can get their patients on the helicopter they will get certified. He then lets them at it and they all run and shove their way inside to grab supplies.
For reasons I don't quite understand, Lexie isn't taking part in the certification drill (since Steve has the job Owen offered to Cristina, I assume this means he'll come out of the day certified himself, and he and Lex are the same year) but she's working with Mark instead. They meet their patient, Christy, a 28-year-old wisp of a girl who is there for a gluteoplasty. Lexie murmurs to Mark that she's so tiny, there is hardly anything to lift, and Christy of course hears but good-naturedly tells her that's the point. Lexie is mortified but Christy is fine and Mark explains that she is getting implants so, as Christy finishes, she can get some, "junk in this trunk." Mark pulls up a computer rendering of what her new butt will look like but Christy has him bump up the size a few times, until he's reached Kim Kardashian proportions. Lexie is horrified but an excited Christy just tells them, "That's my ass!"
Roy and Cristina have already fallen into their old pattern of him trying to get any sort of reaction out of her while she stays totally straight-faced, in this case informing him that no joke that starts with two animals walking into a bar is ever funny. Roy wants her to humor him, and finally admits that he's nervous about getting new lungs and also about seeing his daughter -- the latter possibly making him more nervous than the former. As Cristina gamely tells him to just look at it as getting rid of his crappy lungs, his daughter Corrine walks up to the door. Poor Amber Benson. I'm sure she's a lovely girl but whenever I see her I think, oh, it's sad sack Tara from Buffy again. My friend Jessica in fact nailed it -- she's like the female version of Paul Giamatti -- someone who always shows up and mopes their way through whatever sad-sack role they are playing that day. She greets her dad as "Roy" and immediately gets snotty when he asks how she's been, but when she apologizes he assures her he loves her snark, and that she got that from him. It's sad how nervous he is and how much he clearly wants things to be right between them. But he doesn't have a chance, because suddenly he can't breathe, and a bunch of nurses run in with a crash cart and start doing compressions. Cristina is totally wigged out and just stands back, and when Corrine sees her she yells at her to do something. Cristina, though, just stands there while the nurses work.
Cristina has finally started doing her job in the form of an ultrasound, and she tells a worried Corrine that his lungs are putting extra pressure on his heart, which she grudgingly admits means his heart is now failing and it's bad enough that he might need a new one. Corrine is aghast, but as Cristina has given her this news she won't look the other woman in the face, and finally has a nurse take over so that she can go and call Teddy to give her an update. She manages to get out of the room never looking directly at Corrine.
Mark, in a moment away from his butt-building duties, tries to engage Bailey about a bon voyage party he's throwing for Callie and Arizona in the lounge that evening. She's not terribly interested since she's late for an autopsy, and when Mark tells her that Teddy had to go pick up lungs instead of cupcakes as planned, she finds herself even less interested. After she asks him if he wants her to go to the bakery or bake them herself Mark sizes her up and realizes this is not a battle he should even start, much less fight, and she marches off. Lexie comes up to talk about their patient but Mark first decides to stick her on cupcake duty instead.
Callie is stealing supplies from the closet when Arizona comes in with some awesome, shiny, thick pregnant lady hair, wow! Oh, and a box of things that the kids made her which she strategically holds in front of her stomach during the entire scene. She thinks it's cute that the kids want her to take pictures of their crafts in Africa and then send them back, but Callie just shoots back nastily that that's awesome, they can totally use those crafts more than they could use gauze or malaria meds. This is one of the few times this hour that I felt like she had a legitimately good point -- they probably don't have a ton of extra room given everything they are putting in storage but on the other hand, how much room does a plate with macaroni glued to it really take up in one's bag? Arizona tries to stay cheerful as she asks Callie if there's something she wants to talk about, but Callie's much happier being passive aggressive and tells her no. Richard then runs in to them as they are walking away, and instead of commenting on all of the supplies Callie has taken, they chit chat and he tells them their work will reflect very highly on the hospital. It's not all sweet, though -- he can also play the passive aggressive game -- and he comments on how he was surprised to have to replace not one but two attendings. He then says this is a "Chief Problem" that no one wants to hear, but tells Callie it is a shame since he had big plans for her. Callie can't completely hide the longing from her face at the idea.
Cristina goes into an OR to find the mystery Dr. McQueen, since she needs his help. But he has already been briefed on what is going on with Roy, and asks her if she's done x, y and z. She admits that she has like it's a bad thing that she knows how to do her job, and also admits that he's stable but adds that he's also critical. McQueen isn't swayed, though, and just asks what she'd do for a patient with what are presumably Roy's symptoms. Cristina's voice catches as she says she'd put in some sort of balloon pump and he pointedly tells her she's right. I guess he never got the memo that she still needs to be treated with kid gloves. He just calls that he'll be there when he can, but it doesn't sound like he needs her at all; she just shakes her head and then leaves, obviously not relishing that she now needs to do some sort of procedure.
Bailey walks into the morgue to find a very dead and pasty Mary on the table and gazes at her for a few moments before finally covering up her face. Obviously this is the autopsy to which she was heading, and after a moment none other than Anna Draper, head of pathology, comes in to conduct it. She looks at the chart and Bailey explains sadly how she just never woke up, but Anna either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore her gloomy tone and just pops a piece of gum, happy that this is something to sink their teeth into. Bailey offers up a list of possible causes which she would like to check on but Anna shuts her right down, saying firmly but cheerily that they have an order of doing things and will stick to that. Bailey, being both overly emotional and also used to being the person who informs others how things will be done, is already not a fan of the woman.
Out in the disaster area, all of the dummies have cards that detail what's wrong with them. April goes through the first one and the poor dude has a laundry list of horrible injuries, but she doesn't realize that he might in fact actually be dead until Meredith points it out. Owen is watching over all of this like a proud king surveying his domain until he sees Cristina standing awkwardly to the side, watching the action. He runs over to her and she claims to need fresh air, but one of those injured dummies could tell that's not really true. She tosses off that there are some complications but claims her patient is fine, and then when she gets a page about him she has to leave. Owen calls after her that she can do this and she whispers, "Okay, thanks." It's not her normal response, and she's still operating in that strange, light, dreamy voice she's put on lately, and she obviously needed the encouragement before going back to face whatever Roy has going on now. After she leaves Owen thinks for a second, then calls Meredith over and announces that she's certified and can leave to go help her friend. Mere is skeptical and pointedly asks if Cristina requested her help but Owen just asks, "Please." Mere doesn't like it, but she goes.
Mere finds Cristina in the OR and by way of greeting Cristina demands to know what she's doing there. Mere admits cautiously that Owen sent her but tries to keep her tone light, though it doesn't really work and Cristina spits that she doesn't need a babysitter. Mere just tells her calmly that she's an extra set of hands, trying to placate her. Seriously, the two of them having problems just seems too sudden and clumsily done. I mean, Cristina's problems have been building and I believe her stress, but this fight with Meredith is just awkward and doesn't fit with everything we've seen thus far since their relationship seems to be one of the few things keeping Cristina functioning at all. Cristina explains that she's putting in the balloon pump and hopes there are no other complications, so Mere lists all of the things they need to look for that might indicate problems -- the only one that I can understand involves getting a blue leg. Cristina cuts her off and declares that if she wants to help, she can go update his daughter; Mere agrees and flees the OR.
Outside, Owen asks his students for a status report and April stands up and proudly runs down what is going on with each one. Her perk is dampened, though, when Owen tells her that one of them actually developed complications and died -- and to show it, he just kicks the poor dummy over onto his stomach. April protests that it's not on the card but that's just the cue for Steve to go and hand out new cards that give updates on all of the "patients" while Owen lectures that patients don't just die, it just seems that way when you stop paying attention. He is positively in his element leading a group of people like this -- you can tell he is quite used to and relishes it. Steve is rather apologetic as he hands out the cards that will make everyone's duties that much harder and then, as a wet cherry on top of the trauma sundae, the skies open up and it starts to pour.
Mary may not be alive and pumping blood through her veins, but the autopsy is still nice and disgusting as Anna finishes cutting out her ribcage. Bailey takes it and moons over it while Anna gets to work and simultaneously handles some dinner reservations thanks to the modern marvel of bluetooth technology. Bailey notices that she's pulling out blood clots that resemble pebbles but has a hard time breaking in through Anna's arguing with the poor sod on the other end of the line. Finally she manages to get the other doc's attention and asks if they could mean something baditis, but Anna just brushes off that these are normal postmortem clots before getting back to the task of straightening out her supper plans.
Callie is signing some final paperwork but is much more interested in griping to Mark about Richard's "big plans" comment. She snarks that it doesn't matter, because she'll be creating bones out of dirt, then decides she's thinking too small and upgrades herself to using blood diamonds and ivory as well. Way to be a mature individual about the work you're going to do for needy children in Africa, Callie. Mark comments that those things might be frowned upon by the world community, but Callie flippantly jokes that it's not about making friends. Neither is the way she's behaving right now.
Outside. Dummies. Fake guts. Pouring rain. Basically, this has turned into the most miserable certification any of them could ever imagine, and April either hallucinates or tries to one-up Owen and make up her own rules when she claims to hear a helicopter. Owen doesn't answer because he's too busy chastising Alex for having mocked up some rain gear for himself out of a biohazard bag, since that would be better used on a patient. Alex doesn't care, seeing that the patients aren't actually real, but April is livid that he might mess up their certification. Alex just needles her that she's too uptight, which is why she has no friends, but Jackson actually calls, "Hey!" so Alex graciously amends it to her having one friend. It's kind of a nice reminder that these two supposedly really are friends, since we don't really see much interaction with them that would lead us to believe they are any closer with each other than with any of their other co-workers. Something about this exchange, though, makes April finally snap, and she goes and rips the bag off of Alex and puts it on her dummy, turning slightly manic as she does. Owen then announces that the green team's patients are all dead, but he makes the team "take a knee" and watch everyone else as they continue to work. Something about "take a knee" is what sets Jackson off -- he announces, rather crazed, that this is Apocalype Now and that Owen is going to just scalp all of them.
The problem with having Mere go talk to Corrine is that she doesn't actually have any answers, and after having to admit that she has to check with either Teddy or Cristina about everything that Corrine asks, Corrine loses her patience. Mere apologizes, though, and quickly Corrine begins to melt down about what is really bothering her, which is that she called her dad by his first name. She slumps down and starts to babble about their past, that she was mad at him but that he really did try to be there for her but she just sided with her mom and then eventually he stopped trying. She's totally ashamed and Mere just listens quietly with her best, "I care" face on. Eventually, though, she does seem to be genuinely sympathetic and finally gives Corrine a real smile because if she was going to unload to anyone about her Daddy Issues, she unknowingly picked the best possible person in the hospital who might understand.
Afterward she high-tails it back up to Cristina to try and convince her how much Corrine needs to talk to her dad's actual doctor, but Cristina just growls at her to try reading the chart. In this segment full of breaking points, Mere seems to have hit hers, and tries to have it out with her friend. But Cristina cuts her off that she doesn't have time, because... and she dramatically pulls back Roy's sheets to show that he has the dreaded Blue Leg that Mere referred to earlier.
She gets to be the one to call Teddy and tell her what's up, and Teddy tells her that once they get in Roy's new lungs then his heart might repair itself. She then tells Meredith to suggest that Cristina do soemthingorother but when Mere calls it out, Cristina is already doing it and points that out with some venom. Teddy asks Mere sincerely how Cristina is doing and Mere just reports that she's great -- technically, she is actually taking care of everything so it's all Teddy really needs to know. Teddy doesn't sound entirely convinced but Mere wraps up the call so that she can go help, or rather, so she can go get snapped at some more by her best friend as she tries to help.
Hmmm, I suddenly have a craving for some link sausage. Oh wait, that's probably because Anna is pulling out all of Mary's intestines and notes that they look very well healed before stuffing them into a biohazard bag just like the one Alex was sporting as a raincoat earlier. She decides this would be the perfect break for lunch, but Bailey is positively shocked and appalled that she would possibly consider that when they still have work to do. Anna tells her that everything will hold, and when Bailey argues she cuts her off with a smile and says that she'll see her in 45 minutes, in a tone that tells even Bailey to stop trying to argue about it.
When Lexie returns from her cupcake run, Mark is dismayed to find out that she just got some from the grocery store, when he thinks that Callie and Arizona deserve top-notch bakery concoctions. Lexie doesn't really care, though, on account of the fact that she's a doctor rather than an errand girl, and because she's worried that Christy is making a mistake. Mark says that it's not for Lexie to say but Lexie persists that someone has to, because the only reason a woman does something like this is to impress a man. She goes on that this is just the first step, but then she gives up her friends, moves in with him before she's ready, and then if she's not careful winds up a 26-year-old stepmom to a pregnant daughter she never knew he had. Then after that she finds herself single and dying her hair, but that becomes a problem because one can't keep up with their roots when they are committed to the psych ward. Now hang on a second, this is another storyline that I feel has relied on some revisionist history. I don't recall Lexie giving up her friends, she could have said no to moving in and to be fair, he didn't know he had a daughter either, much less a pregnant one. This isn't to say that Mark wasn't at fault with a lot of how he handled those situations and their relationship, but the decision to pin it entirely on him just rings false. Also? Lexie, you were in the psych ward for only a few days. Your roots were probably fine. And also, everyone else has already LET IT GO so please do the same!! Mark seems to have that same last thought, he asks, "Psych ward?" and she just claims, "It happens!" before heading off.
Derek is staring at his generic-logoed laptop when Bailey walks in, but she heaves a sigh when she sees him and asks where she should go to sulk since he's already claimed the room. He invites her to join him since he apparently was already having a pity party for one, and asks her what's up. She complains about how she's desperate to figure out what happened to Mary and how she could have survived the shooting only to die from routine surgery, but that Dr. Anna is only worried about her dinner reservations and her lunch. Has she magically forgotten that every other surgeon in this hospital spends all of their time in surgery discussing nothing but personal matters, most usually too personal to be appropriate? Though to be fair, she herself actually is the one who mostly manages to stay away from that kind of thing. Derek stares at her and finally asks if she's feeling better, but getting it off her chest hasn't helped. Instead she asks him what he's doing, and he explains that the more research he does about Alzheimer's for his proposal, the more depressing it gets, especially when one then tries to add in the information about the early-onset variety like Ellis had. Bailey doesn't have a good response to this, because it IS depressing, and instead gripes that Anna chews gum while she works. Derek can't help himself and laughs, admitting that it's disgusting. She manages to laugh too, and then thanks him.
Mark and Lexie head in to Christy's room, and she looks like she might just break into a happy dance in her bed as she waits to be wheeled in to surgery. But Mark admits to her that Lexie was worried she was doing this for the wrong reasons to please someone else. Christy takes a deep breath but doesn't look mad, instead she tells Lexie that she hopes she doesn't take this the wrong way, but... she can tell, even though her lab coat, that Lexie has a great ass. As most women would, Lexie looks surprised and mildly embarrassed but yet pleased at the comment. Christy then tells them what her life has been like, not having ever been able to find the perfect pair of jeans that made her feel sexy, because all jeans hang off of her frame unless she buys them in the boys' department. She's tried everything she can but even gaining weight doesn't change her shape the way she wants it, so she's finally doing this surgery for herself so that she can get the butt she's always yearned for, and assures them it's absolutely just for herself. And actually, it's totally believable that she really is just doing this for herself, and Mark grins at her happily while Lex just stares at her in awe and comments on how nice she is. I took that to mean that Lexie realized she was telling the truth as well, and was amazed that she could be so happy and confident about her decision when Lexie is clearly still a bit of a basket case.
The rain is still pouring down outside but now the blue team is only one left with any "alive" "patients." Owen compliments Alex but then tells Jackson that he made a good effort but actually made an incision too big and killed a guy. April starts to hallucinate some more about hearing the imaginary helicopter, and Alex obviously thinks she's lost it and reminds her that it's both imaginary and not coming. Alex thinks he has it figured out, that Owen is just trying to break them and teach them that trauma isn't fair -- and that they will learn it when all of their patients are dead. Ever-optimistic April claims this is wrong but Jackson decides that he's hand enough, and he just stands up and leaves. Owen yells at him to come back but Jackson just tells him no, and when Owen stops in surprise Jackson icily replies, "No, SIR," before marching inside. I can't imagine this is going to turn out well for him whatsoever, but for now Owen is so surprised he can only stare after him.
Back from lunch, Anna plops Mary's brain into a jar of liquid, and when I paused my DVR at this moment I noticed what I had missed on first viewing -- a shot that shows right in to "Mary's" now-empty skull. Nasty. Anna says they are done for the day but Bailey argues that they need a brain sample, and doesn't seem to believe Anna that they have to wait for the brain to firm up in whatever liquid it's now in before they can do anything. Bailey comments that she's not trying to tell Anna how to do her job, but Anna cuts her right off and rightly points out that she is in fact totally doing that and that she's trying not to hold it against her. This Anna is less likable than her Mad Men alter ego but I have to say I'm on her side here, sorry Bailey. Anna defends that this is what she does all day, and then some of her own insecurities pop up as she asks if Bailey think that pathologists choose that path because they couldn't make it as surgeons? Obviously this is something she's fought against before. She reiterates that the autopsy was inconclusive, and that she hates that as much as or more than Bailey does. However, she then takes the biohazard bag o'organs and unceremoniously starts stuffing it back into Mary's chest cavity, more abruptly than I think Bailey would do it even if she wasn't personally involved with the patient.
Cristina has gotten Roy stable but when Mere tries to convince her to go talk to Corrine, Cristina still tries to push the task back on Meredith. She finally says that Corrine really only needs Cristina to know that she is afraid, and while Cristina already knows she can't actually face that because she herself is terrified. She tries not to cry but gets really heated as she yells at Mere that she has been scared all day and is in fact scared all of the time now. When Mere offers to help, Cristina angrily cuts her off and spits that she can't help. A nurse comes in and announces that Teddy is 30 minutes away, so Cristina declares that Mere can help get Roy to the OR and then she storms off, ignoring Meredith as she calls after her.
Party time! Except that it's a rather sad little party in the lounge, with only Mark, Lexie and Richard there to surprise the departing ladies. Arizona is delighted but Callie is disgusted and just asks ungratefully if this is a party. I get it, I do -- this is the saddest party around -- but the fact that she'd just blurt that out is a little bit disgusting. Lexie meekly says that it was a busy day, so Callie snidely responds that she understands, even though she's been there since residency, that people are busy. Richard manages to stay upbeat and teases her that since they are two attendings down so of course they are busy, but Callie just shoots back at him that she's glad he could take time out of all of his "big plans" to come join them. In real life, this would be burning bridges in a rather spectacular fire, but here everyone seems to just take it. Admittedly, Richard is also being petty but as her former boss, it's kind of interesting that he just lets her be such a snot to his face. After he leaves Arizona tries to smooth things over by saying he's just crabby and trying to mess with Callie's head, but she doesn't mention anything at all about Callie's even worse crabbiness, and she bitches that she'll never know if that's what's up, will she? Everyone is uncomfortable while Callie takes a giant bite of her supermarket cupcake. Arizona seems to have had enough for now, and thanks the others sincerely for the party before leaving to pack. Once she's gone, Callie heaves a martyr's sigh and says she doesn't want to go home, so Mark offers, "You want to see us give a lady a really big ass?" Lexie gestures to prove just how big it's going to be, and Callie happily accepts.
Night has fallen, and it's still pouring rain. Do you ever wonder if the producers regret setting this show in Seattle, where they have to make it rain all the time? That's got to be quite a water bill, though I applaud them for their accuracy. If looks could kill, April would have killed Owen dead by now as she does compressions on her dummy and gripes about the imaginary helicopter that still hasn't arrived. She really seems to be cracking up a bit as she starts maniacally laughing about their situation, but when Owen snaps at Steve for him to bring a new card, April screams and throws herself on her dummy, not wanting it. She then proceeds to guess everything that the card is going to say about all of the bad things her dummy has developed, which impresses Owen. But this seems to have sent her completely over the edge, and she jumps up and grabs her dummy, getting Alex to help her throw it in the ambulance. And I'm not kidding -- she literally tosses it inside. Owen is trying to reiterate that the ambulance was part of the accident and can't be used, but April just jumps in the cab and starts it, screeching gleefully that she's got AAA. She finally turns on Owen and, like she's possessed, yells at him to get out of the way or she'll run him down. She then takes off, and Alex and Owen run inside to meet her at the other doors.
When they meet her there she pulls out a dummy and slings it over her shoulder, yelling out what's wrong just like the paramedics do when they bring someone in. She does actually seem possessed, and Alex implores Owen to tell her she's won or else she won't stop. Owen claims it's not a contest but come on, seriously? You don't organize people into teams and create a last man standing situation if there isn't going to eventually be a winner. He did that all himself. He finally concedes and tells her that they won and her patient will live another 40 years, so April drops the dummy and runs into Alex's arms before letting out a triumphant yet also rather scary scream.
Bailey storms into the conference room, looking for some sympathy from Derek, but he just presents his laptop screen on which a document says, "Alzheimer's is a bad disease. We should cure it." After 12 hours, that's all he's been able to write. Bailey doesn't answer and goes back to her own problems, griping about Anna letting the brain sit. She wants Derek to go over her head and examine it now, but Derek admits that this is the correct procedure, and that just lets all of the wind out of Bailey's sails. He says that he knows it's personal, but she has to let it go. Bailey, however, can't do that -- she explains that she now has to go tell Bill they still have no idea why Mary died, and ultimately she can't accept that science has failed her this time. She then turns the tables back on Derek and warns him not to talk about letting things go since he can't stop thinking about Meredith's possibly getting Alzheimer's long enough to just write a proposal. That said, she storms out. Man, there is a lot of storming in and out of rooms this week.
Cristina is waiting for Teddy's helicopter when Mere joins her, and after she tells a perturbed Cristina that Roy is in the OR all ready for surgery, she announces that they have to talk. Cristina tries to brush her off but Mere comes and faces her friend, so finally Cristina laughs and asks disbelievingly, "How are you fine?" Cristina maintains that she is ruined but yet Mere went through the same thing and is fine and now acting as her babysitter as well. Mere admits she doesn't know so Cristina just goes on, reminding her about that day and Meredith's offering herself up instead to be shot with no regard for her own life or her pregnancy. Cristina insists that she didn't have a choice but to keep going and save Derek and then claims that if it was anyone else she would have walked away. By now she is starting to melt down, and the two are totally screaming at each other, Mere pointing out what she (and I) totally believe which is that Cristina would never have left a patient there to die in that situation. Also, Cristina seems to be forgetting that Mere was quite not fine for a while at the beginning of the season -- she just managed to work through that eventually. But Cristina has now found an outlet for some of her anger and fear, and she just screams that if she'd walked away she wouldn't be here now. The last part of their argument has been punctuated by the sound of an actual helicopter getting closer, and when it lands and Teddy gets out with her lung cooler she grabs Cristina to brief her on their way to the OR, leaving Mere literally out in the wind. This has been amazingly acted, and I totally understand WHY Christina would feel this way, but I'm just so frustrated that it seemed to come from out of the blue.
Mark must have finished the butt surgery because he's sitting outside with Callie, wondering who on earth he'll talk to about women once she's gone. They joke a bit but finally Mark seems to have something important to say, though Callie has to prod him to spit it out. He goes about it a little bit circuitously, by telling her about how he does a lot of boob jobs but then he does a lot of reversals as well, on women who were unhappy about their earlier decision. He witnessed Christy today making a decision fully for herself, that he knows she won't ever reverse, but it made him realize that Callie seems to be doing the equivalent of getting a boob job for her girlfriend who likes a big rack. "By big rack I mean Africa." Callie doesn't dispute it, but just tells Mark he loves Arizona. He knows, but he warns her that she's going to have to figure out how to love Africa too, and he's answered by her making a face at the idea. Finally, they just give each other a big long hug, so sad to be leaving each other.
When Jackson said he was done he meant it -- he's decided his day is over and is heading out in street clothes when Owen finds him and lectures that he doesn't just get to walk away while he is teaching. Jackson just sneers and answers that two of his friends died, so he doesn't need a lesson in the unfairness of trauma. Oh nooooo he didn't. Even before Owen said a thing I asked out loud, "Seriously, he is not the right audience for that." Owen shoves him into a room and basically says just that, reminding him that he lost dozens of friends in the field, but that he never used it as an excuse to quit. Jackson's glare softens, thank goodness, as the reality of Owen's going through actual WAR sinks in, and Owen reminds him that he has to figure out how to be a doctor no matter what he's dealing with. He also adds that he doesn't have to quit, and then informs him that he's going to finish the certification right now. Jackson tries to look tough but he doesn't fight it.
Teddy and Dr. McQueen have gotten Roy's new lungs installed but now they have to wait and see if his heart will actually start beating. Teddy tries to stay optimistic, saying they'll just have to wait and see if Cristina's work paid off, and after a few agonizing moments his ticker starts up again. Teddy congratulates Cristina on a job well done, and Cristina sighs with relief, tears in her eyes.
Arizona and Callie have finally made it to the airport, and as they walk along Callie continues to gripe about it, though extra passive-aggressively, saying that the lack of actual things to do will just give them more time to focus on medicine. Arizona, who must really love Callie to have put up with all of her bullshit until right now, finally just stops in the middle of the airport. She reminds Callie that she won this rare and special grant and is going to get to do totally amazing things with it, and that it's the biggest opportunity of her career. Callie just gives her a patronizing look as if to say, of course she knows all of this, silly girl. But then Arizona announces that Callie is totally ruining it for her with all of her passive-aggressive crap. Callie actually just smiles at her and says she's not, because that's always helpful, but Arizona assures her that she totally is. Callie's face goes serious and she seems to recognize, finally, that Arizona means it, but she also gets mad and admits that yes, she doesn't want to go, but she wants to be with Arizona so she's really trying. We all have different definitions of trying, I guess. And Callie really looks like she thinks she deserves a prize for this, to boot. I really can't stand this Callie.
She tries to walk to the plane as if she's just finished the conversation and when Arizona doesn't follow, Callie actually throws up her hands and assures Arizona that they will have time to fight on the plane. Arizona just yells back, "You're ruining this for me, and I don't want to do this." Callie gets really pissed and thinks Arizona is saying she doesn't want them to go, but Arizona, after a moment trying to find her voice, admits weakly, "I don't want to go to Africa with YOU." Her bluff called, Callie tries to be gentle but Arizona's done, and she tells Callie to take care of herself and then starts to walk to the plane. Callie yells after her and starts to beg that they can figure it out but Arizona has made up her mind and says that she'll go and Callie will stay and they will both be happy. Callie finally tries a threat, and says that if Arizona gets on the plane then they are really over. Arizona points out the obvious -- that they are screaming at each other in an airport, which pretty much means they are already over. She then turns and walks to her plane and her African adventure by herself as a brokenhearted Callie watches her go.
Richard goes up to check on the Roy situation and finds Cristina just staring blankly outside his room while the others celebrate inside. He congratulates her on her work, knowing that she's been through hell since the shooting, and she smiles and thanks him. He turns to go but she calls after him and asks if he has a moment.
Lexie, April and Alex are at Joe's, Lexie leaning up against the bar as the other two sit on stools and laugh about the skills lab. April seems the tiniest bit self-conscious about what happened but Alex is just totally delighted by it all and reenacts her yelling, "Move, or I'll run you down!" She also has a second look in her eyes, which I think might just be the tiniest start of a crush on Alex. Mere starts to draw us to a close for the week: "We're all looking for answers. In medicine, in life, in everything." Across the bar, Mark is staring at Lexie's ass in her great jeans, and when she realizes she saunters over to him. After she asks if that's what he was doing he just grins and tells her it's not the first time, nor will it be the last. Man, I have a slightly unhealthy love of these two and so hope they get back together. Lexie leans over and gives him a firm, "No!" like he's a dog, but as she saunters back to the bar, with an extra wiggle in her hips, she smiles to herself.
"Sometimes the answers we're looking for have been hiding just below the surface." Derek comes home and finds Mere sitting on the bed, looking rather like a miserable shell of herself. He doesn't seem to notice, though, and just tells her about his terrible day and how he was unable to write the proposal because he couldn't think of anything but her. He sits down and admits that he knows she wants to be involved but he can't have her be a part of it. Still, Mere doesn't look at him, nor does she react other than to give a tiny nod. But when he takes her hand she admits that Cristina blames her. "She hates me." There's not a whole lot to say to that, and Derek just gives her a hug.
"Other times, we find answers when we didn't even realize we were asking the question. Sometimes, the answers can catch us completely by surprise." Steve and Owen are out in the parking lot with Jackson as he works on a dummy. Cristina then walks out, happier and calmer than we've seen her, and Owen walks over to ask her to tell her about April's potential as a trauma surgeon (I guess he doesn't mind the heavy dose of crazy) and then asks about her day. Sounding more sure of anything since the shooting, more genuinely sure, she answers, "I quit!" Owen is stunned, and when he finally finds the power of speech he dismisses Jackson for the day. In a softer voice she admits that he was right, and she can still be a surgeon, but she just doesn't want to. As he mulls this over, seemingly horrified, she just stands calmly and basks in her decision. Mere wraps us up: "And sometimes, even when we find the answer we've been looking for... we're still left with a whole hell of a lot of questions."
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