Previously on Grey's Anatomy: Derek's married (still), Richard had brain surgery, Burke broke up with an unbeknownst-to-him pregnant Cristina. Cristina had to designate an emergency contact on a form and named Meredith her Person. And Meredith's mother has Alzheimer's and doesn't even recognize her, but most of the hospital staff think she's just out of town doing something brilliant.
When I re-watched this episode, I realized as soon as I saw Cristina and Meredith jogging that this was in fact the very first episode of Grey's I ever saw. And in re-watching it, it's no wonder it hooked me onto this show. I don't think I need to go into how these Season 2 episodes illustrate the glaring difference in quality between the show in Seasons 1 and 2 as compared to Season 3, not again. We all know, and for these last few classic recaps, I think I just need to accept it and appreciate revisiting these episodes.
So where were we starting? Ah yes, Cristina and Meredith are jogging through a park. Cristina is clearly struggling, and calls Meredith a sadist. I completely agree; I still don't understand anyone who claims they enjoy running. They are wrong. Meredith uses the reasoning that all those crazy running-lovers use, that the endorphins are supposed to make you feel better. Cristina asks her if she feels better and leans over to catch her breath while Mere runs circles around her. There's some affectionate name-calling: "Slutty mistress." "Pregnant whore." Cristina comments on what a great idea it was for them to sleep with their bosses. Mere says that since Derek has a thing for ferryboats (have you heard?), now they are ruined for her. As for Cristina, now coronary artery bypass grafts are ruined for her. It doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "ferryboats"; I can see why they kept one and ditched the other as a recurring theme. Both of the girls lie down in the grass.
Meredith VO: "Surgeons are control freaks. With a scalpel in your hand, you feel unstoppable. There's no fear, there's no pain." She asks Cristina if she's cried yet and gets a "hell-OOO" in response because seriously, has she met Cristina? They do admit they might feel better if they cried. Her VO continues. "You're ten feet tall and bulletproof. And then you leave the OR." With horrified realization, Cristina asked if Meredith wants to cry now, and Meredith immediately denies it and instead gets them up and jogging again. VO: "And all that perfection, all that beautiful control, just falls to crap."
In the locker room, Izzie is flirting with Alex while the other three interns look on, gaping and speechless. Wow, I wish I hadn't gone out with this kind of guy before who left my friends with the same looks on their faces. This is sort of a painful reminiscence for me. Unfortunately, mine didn't turn out to be gruffly sensitive down the road, dammit. Neither George, Cristina, nor Mere can fathom why she's hanging out with Alex or how a friendship might be forming. George finally whispers desperately, "Make the lambs stop screaming!" Oh, George, it's like you looked into my soul for all of Season 3. Too bad it was because of Izzie's relationship with you.
In the hallway, Izzie tries to convince them that Alex is sweet once you get to know him, but they aren't buying it. At that moment Alex, a few paces ahead of them, turns around and says he's heard Mere has tapes of her mom performing surgery and that he'd kill to see them. Meredith only glowers at him in response and, not reading the room, Izzie brightly suggests that he come over and they all watch! Maybe later they'll all braid each other's hair and make s'mores in the microwave! Cristina looks disgusted at the idea; Meredith only responds, "Oh yeah, if this were a hell dimension." Having had enough, Cristina orders him to "Run away, pig boy." George then performs his own meek beginning to an intervention, placing himself in Izzie's path and asking if she has a thing for Alex. She says "no" defiantly, in that totally obvious way that, despite how transparent it is, we've all done. Oh, come on, you know you've done it when you liked the bad/geeky/inappropriate guy at school/work/the mall. Bailey, sensing that the cats are starting to stray, tries to herd them back along with a yell.
Derek gets in the elevator, where the Chief is wearing a hat and trying to look nonchalant about it. After Derek compliments his style choice and asks him what he's doing, Richard defiantly tells him he's going back to work. Derek informs him that he's not been cleared for surgery. Richard: "Leave me alone. I've been sitting at home for a week, watching Oprah give away things on TV. Oprah, Derek. You clear me now or I'll hurt you." Oh, come on, Richard. You haven't liked that, just a little bit? Doesn't everyone watch the episode where Oprah gives away her favorite things to the audience, even though everyone admits it with a touch of shame in their voices? You haven't once hoped against hope that you could figure out how to become one of those audience members? Maybe it's just me, then. Derek tells him that if he wanted to be cleared quickly, "maybe you should have thought of that before you gave Chief to Burke and invited Satan to Seattle." The elevator dings, and Satan herself walks in and compliments the hat, much more sincerely than Derek did. He comments, "Satan speaks." Addie replies, "Actually, I prefer 'Ruler of All That Is Evil.' But I will answer to Satan." Ignoring her, Derek asks why she's still there, and Richard explains that he asked her to fill in for a pediatric attending who's on maternity leave. Addie then adds that she could use Derek on a consult. He gets off the elevator asserting that he's not clearing Richard for surgery, so Richard replies that he'll catch up on paperwork .
In a patient room, Cristina introduces Mr. Gaston and gives some really complicated description of his ailment which I didn't understand at all. As she talk, Burke just stares at her. Mr. Gaston then says he owns dry cleaning stores but never imagined he'd really get sick from all the chemicals. From that and Burke's presence, I'm guessing this is lung-related. Burke tells him they'll do everything they can. He and Cristina then have a very formal exchange about when the oncologist will see him, pointedly referring to each other as Dr. LastName.
Mere and Cristina follow Bailey out into the hall and whisper a conversation about Cristina's Delicate Condition. Meredith thinks Burke should be told so that he can at least help pay for the abortion. Excuse me, for "it." Or for "The Word That Still Makes Primetime Television Execs Squeamish." Cristina maintains that he'll never know and adds, "Once the pregnancy is taken care of, Burke won't even be a blip on my radar." Meredith just gives a dry "Riiight." Cristina orders, "Meredith, leave the sarcasm up to me. Really. It doesn't suit you." Derek walks past Meredith so that they can have their own awkward moment and remind us that both ladies got down with their bosses.
The patient that they visit is Kelly. The name of her condition is really complicated and, again, over my head, but I'm not alone; the interns need to look it up in a book as well. Bailey asks if Kelly understands it and the surgery, still not explaining the condition so it will pack more of a punch when we see it ourselves. Kelly says that Dr. Shepherd explained it, but as she says his name she gets flustered and begins sweating while she turns bright red. She apologizes, but Alex tells her not to be sorry: "Half the patients that come through here have the hots for Shepherd." Mere lets A Look cross her face and Bailey warns Alex against impropriety. Oh, if she could see the future; this is nothing, honey. Out in the hall, Izzie asks him why he always acts like an ass when anyone other than her is around. She adds, "They hate you enough as it is." He clearly doesn't care, though she clearly does, and he clearly doesn't pick up on it. Bailey then tells them that a likely diverticulitis is coming up from the pit, and they all run after her excitedly.
Mere is a hair behind the others when the elevator door opens and she hears a patient yelling and screaming. She looks up and sees that her nightmare is coming to life; they are wheeling her mother in on a bed. Her mom yells for the Chief and derides them all as amateurs. Nothing I type here could get across the venom and absolute disdain with which she screams all of her insults. It's easy to imagine why Meredith had such a hard upbringing with a mother who seems literally incapable of warmth, even taking into consideration the fact that she's descending into dementia. Cristina gives the bullet on Ellis and when she sees the name, hesitates when she realizes who she is. At that moment Ellis sees Meredith and begins to scream at her about how she's never to bother Ellis at work. Meredith runs away and hides behind a wall, glancing around the corner with the body language of a terrified five-year-old. Cristina finally admits the patient's name, and George is the one to realize out loud that this is Meredith's mother. Ellis continues screaming at all of them and Meredith hides completely.
The interns are now all in the hall yelling over each other through a doorway to a room beyond, and Bailey finally shuts them all up. George then calls through the doorway to ask Meredith if she is okay, and Bailey has to put her hand over his mouth. She starts to order them all away. Alex goes with Kelly and gets a warning: "Her blushing impulse? Is not a toy for you to play with or a button for you to push. Understood?" Instead of hearing his response, we hear Cristina call into the room that her great-grandmother died of Alzheimer's. Izzie is aghast that she'd say that, and there's more bickering, and Bailey shuts Izzie up by sending her up to both Drs. Shepherd in the NICU. Izzie is appropriately horrified at the idea of having to be the only other person in between two spouses who loathe each other, but Bailey sends her away. She then sends Cristina to Mr. Gaston, who is having a thorachotomy, who whines to go to a different patient. Wait, why didn't they say that before when they were in his room? I've actually had one of those; I can now imagine what's involved. That's...not necessarily a good thing. In response to Cristina's begging, Bailey gives her what for: "I'm sorry, I thought I was your resident, not your hostess. I assign. You take. Is there a problem? Is there some problem why it's inconvenient for you to spend the day in the OR learning from Dr. Burke?" Put in her place by probably the only person who could do so, Cristina announces, "No, I'm very happy to be learning from Dr. Burke thankyouverymuch," and flees. Inside, there's a glimpse of Meredith leaning miserably against the wall. Bailey tells George quietly to take care of Dr. Grey. He's thrilled and even hugs her, declaring that someone needs to be her friend right now, and Bailey needs to correct him that she meant the other Dr. Grey.
Having dispensed of the interns, Bailey goes inside and shuts the door. Meredith is spurred into motion and goes into her locker as Bailey asks her if she's okay to work, adding that she'd understand if Mere needs to be with her mother. Meredith opens up as much as she can to say, "No. My mother and I don't have the easiest...it's just better, if I'm working." When Bailey gives her scut, she's super-pissed, and unconvincingly tells Bailey that she's fine. Bailey gets firm and answers, "And I appreciate that you're fine, but I have to anticipate a certain level of distraction from you, even in the face of all that fineness. So scut, now."
In the NICU, Izzie touches a tiny baby in an incubator. The mom has fled and the baby is on drugs, which agitates Derek. I mean, that should enrage anyone, but he's especially pissed by this situation. Addison interrupts him to say she knows it's a long shot; it appears that she's asked him to perform a procedure on the baby. She neglected to mention that the baby was premature, underweight, and addicted to drugs. He's convinced the baby won't survive spinal surgery, and no matter how many times she tries to tell him he doesn't know that for sure, he counters her. She finally tells him that he's not God. "I'm sorry, honey, but you're not." As soon as it's out of her mouth they're both on alert, and Derek angrily asks to make sure he really heard the word "honey" come out of her mouth. She apologizes and tells him, "You're not God, Dr. Shepherd." She then tells him that if the baby is to have any chance of survival it's his responsibility to do this, which seems to be another hot button, and he yelps that she's not to talk to him about responsibility. It dissolves into an argument about her sleeping with his best friend, and her messing up but trying to make it right, et cetera. Then it further deteriorates into arguing about how the deed was done on Derek's favorite sheets. Izzie is still there having witnessed all of this, looking like she wants to die. She clears her throat and makes a getaway to check the lab results. Derek tells Addie not to get too attached, even though she argues that the baby is a fighter. Derek: "Don't make your life more painful than it already is." One might argue that you're doing that to her, Derek: even if this is going to result in divorce, you could try being mature about it. But I guess that's not good TV. He tells Addie that the baby's too far gone and she should let her go in peace. Addie retorts, "Fine, Derek, walk away. It's what you do best." And to the woman who cheated on her husband I also suggest, let's try maturity. You did make a rather large boo-boo. These two are such a headache.
Burke has already started on his surgery when Cristina comes in, and he snipes at her for being late. I'm going to have to recap parts of these scenes strictly by sound, as I'm still not so good at watching fictional recreations of a surgery I actually had. I prefer to not think of the details at all, actually, but of course this is one where special effects got to get their hands dirty (so to speak) and really show some slicing and dicing.
Alex is examining Kelly, and as soon as Derek walks in, she turns tomato-red. She apologizes while she's on the verge of tears, but Derek handles it gracefully (kind of the antithesis to his interactions with Addie) and tells her this could be one of the last times that happens. She asks her if she's ready, and she tells him she's been ready since the third grade. He then asks if she went over the literature and knows all the details and the risks of this surgery. Without missing a beat, she's able to rattle off everything. Alex isn't convinced she knows what everything she said means, explaining that a pneumothorax is a collapsed lung. Oh goody, my personal experience spans not one but two patient stories this week? This is like a very bumpy ride down memory lane. He asks her if she wants to risk all of that over "a little bit of blushing." Kelly asks him incredulously if that's what he really thinks she's going through. She says that the interns saw her reaction, and asks what they thought. They thought that she liked Dr. Shepherd, but Alex manages to contain himself and not add that she'll need to get in line. He does tell her, in a kind move, that it's not a big deal, and she has to explain that it's not just what they think. Alex is clearly particularly dense this week what with all the obvious explaining everyone has to do for him. Kelly starts to cry as she recounts that this happens every time she has a feeling for anyone at all. Mere seems troubled by her story as she goes on, "I can't get mad. I can't be happy. I can't feel anything without the whole world knowing. I can't have a secret. Can you imagine feeling that way your entire life?" I do think that Meredith understands, but right now would trade a medical condition for having to see her mother demented and berating the entire hospital staff.
Speaking of, Ellis is out of bed and screaming at George. He sends a nurse to get help, but while he waits he has to listen to the venom spewing out of the elder Dr. Grey. With nothing but rage and loathing she shouts, "Don't give me that look. That sad little soulful puppy pouting, I know it by heart, Thatch! And I'm over it." The help that was called turns out to be Alex, who arrives in time to hear her yelling that she doesn't want to hear about Thatcher's day or his "pathetic life." It's hard to even type out the details of this scene, and it is a testament to Meredith's friends that they were able to handle Ellis and all of these awful revelations about Mere's parents and her home life with such grace. Ellis screams, "My works is what counts!" and continues to detail how she pays for their life and that he needs to leave her alone so she can work. "Meredith may think she needs you but I sure as hell don't." Unfortunately, Meredith has arrived at the room and heard everything. George tries to stop her, but she runs away and into a room, where she shuts the door and collapses against it. She's run into Kelly's room, which seems unprofessional, but then again opens the door for a nice conversation between the two girls, who have more than they think in common. Kelly asks if she's okay, and Mere responds, "That's something I'm supposed to be asking you."
George is running down the hall and passes the Chief, who is now sporting a newsboy cap in his quest to find something in his pimped-out comfort zone. He tells George to keep him updated on Ellis and to take good care of her as she's a good friend. George stops to ask if he'd help examine her, and Richard stutters in response. In a complete role reversal, George breaks into his stuttering to blurt out, "It's just she seems to think I'm her ex-husband and she won't let me touch her." Richard muses that George does look a bit like Thatcher, who reacts with horror at the idea that he looks like his crush's father. He announces, "I need help." Oh, we know, George. And for a while it's only going to get worse for you.
Alex catches up to Izzie in the stairwell and notices an eyelash on her cheek, which he puts on his finger and tells her to make a wish. (Universal code for "wish for me, in your pants.") Then a nurse comes in and he yells at her, "Hey Nurse Ratched, there's a dead guy stinking up Room 4125, so do something before he rots." The magic has, surprisingly, been broken for Izzie, and she walks away while saying this is just what she was talking about earlier. She asks why Alex doesn't want anyone thinking he's a human being. By this time they're in the hallway, and George overhears her and asks if she remembers the time Alex wallpapered the hospital with her lingerie ad. She does, and it reminds her now to walk away. Alex yells after her that he did that before he knew her, then thanks George for all his help. George ignores him and asks for Alex's help in examining Ellis. Alex makes fun of him about not being able to perform a standard exam, and George explains the whole thinking-he's-her-ex-husband thing. Before Alex can get more mileage out of that, they open the door on Ellis, pacing with a cardigan on over her gown. She tells George she has no time for him, screaming, "No more cartoons!" George quietly tells Alex that she means "interruptions." Alex jumps on the opportunity and declares, "No more interruptions, Thatch, you heard the doctor!" He slaps him heartily on the chest and introduces himself to Ellis, pouring on the flattery about her surgical skills. He tells her he's studied the surgery she's performing later (in her mind) so she tells him he can scrub in. Deftly, he then says that he has to examine her first per new hospital policy, so she submits. He then tells "Thatch" to wait outside and that he can take it from here. It's the perfect situation for Alex -- he can be a doctor and step right in while belittling a co-worker at the same time.
Up in the NICU, Addie is gazing at the baby when Izzie walks in; Addie comments on the baby's good grip. The test results don't look good and the antibiotics aren't working, so Addie tells Izzie sadly that she should get reassigned since they won't be doing surgery on the baby. Izzie asks if it turns out Derek was right, and Addie merely answers by saying she's too far gone, but comments again that she has a good grip, while the camera pans in on the tiny hand grasping her finger and showing off her wedding ring. I'm not sure, but I think this might be a metaphor for the grip that Addie is keeping on her marriage. It's very subtle, however, so I can't be positive.
Burke's surgery is proceeding, but Cristina looks like hell as she observes; she's sweating and looking around, trying to focus her eyesight. He notices this and calls her name, asking, "Is my surgery interfering with your daydreaming?" She says no and apologizes, and you can tell she's sick by how submissively she answered the question. Izzie walks into the gallery to watch the surgery to Bailey, and lets out one of those Loud Dramatic Sighs that everyone just loooves hearing since they know they're expected to ask what the problem is. Bailey complies and asks if Izzie has a problem, and also asks if she has a mocha latte. As her reply is negative, Bailey orders her to go away. Izzie instead says she needs to be reassigned, and they both get a little bit sad that the baby can't be saved. The conversation turns, and Bailey asks Izzie if she knew about Ellis. Izzie angrily says no and begins ranting about how you think you know someone... "Share a house, make wishes on eyelashes together. But we don't know each other. None of us. We're just a bunch of interns who work together and there's nothing there." Well, that's just because the circle of sleeping with each other hasn't started in earnest yet, Iz. Be patient. Inside the OR, Cristina's POV shows Burke's face going fuzzy. She then can't answer a question that he asks, and he mocks her and tells her to do her homework. As the perfect comeback, she collapses at that very moment.
Burke has changed his tune and is, well, completely freaking out over Cristina, shouting instructions and trying to find out what they know. Dude! Hands in a guy's chest! And by the way, I'd guess everyone knows the same amount you do. Izzie and Bailey have rushed in to Cristina, and he orders them to give him an update once she's stabilized. Her pulse is racing, and Bailey orders meds to help when Cristina, somewhat conscious now, starts to look panicked. Izzie removes her oxygen mask so she can whisper desperately, "I'm seven weeks, I'm pregnant, Izzie. Izzie, I'm pregnant." It's horrible to see someone who's usually so composed so scared. Bailey is stunned but quickly gets back to business and sends her to pre-op, telling Izzie to get Addison and to be discreet. Izzie is still trying to absorb everything as the elevator doors close.
Addison is meanwhile in Richard's office, explaining why she's going to leave Seattle. He says he's not accepting her resignation, but she points out it's not a resignation since she doesn't actually work for him. I know that she and Derek were married for a long time and that they were close with Richard and Adele, but I never got the fever with which they wanted the two Shepherds to get back together. Addison cheated on Derek, and Derek loathes her, which to me seems like a good recipe to work on moving on with one's life rather than to try and fix something that seems irreparably broken. But again, good TV. And don't get me wrong, I love Addison on the show. I guess this means I should shut my yap with all this nitpicking and be glad they kept her in the cast. She sadly reminds Richard that Derek calls her Satan, but Richard tells her she never hides from a fight. She says she's leaving in the morning, and at that moment George walks in and tells Richard that it's about Ellis.
It turns out that in addition to her diverticulitis (seriously, try typing that quickly; oy), they found a mass in her liver. George is already sad for Meredith that she has to deal with Ellis's cancer on top of everything else, but Richard reminds him they don't know for sure that it's cancer until they do a biopsy. Addison has been following them down the hall when Izzie catches up with her. Addie tries to say no to a new patient until Izzie throws her cards on the table and admits that it's Cristina who has collapsed. George is worried, and also confused that she'd be asking Addison for help. After yet another Meaningful Glance, this time from Izzie, they all realize why. George, ever the model of restraint and discretion, exclaims, "Cristina's pregnant?!" Addison rushes off behind Izzie, calling over her shoulder that she's still leaving in the morning; the Chief takes off his hat and rubs his head; and George declares, "This is a very bad day."
Meredith and Alex are both in surgery with Mr. Dr. Shepherd. Richard comes in and without pretense demands that he be cleared for surgery, and that all he needs is a verbal okay. Derek won't do it, despite Richard declaring that he's the Chief and this is not a request. Derek points out that in this situation, it's his call, as he's Richard's doctor and Richard isn't ready. The Chief sends a Meaningful Glance in Mere's direction and says more quietly that it's a simple procedure. George is waiting in the doorway the whole time; wouldn't that have been a giveaway to Meredith already that this concerned her mother? Richard argues to do a simple biopsy, and Derek wonders what he's missing as to why a resident can't do it. Richard can't not look at Meredith guiltily, and she guesses that it's about her mom, asking if he thinks she has cancer. Richard just tells her that George needs her signature. Derek sympathetically but sternly says he knows Ellis is a friend, but that he's not clearing Richard for surgery.
Outside, Meredith looks over the paperwork and asks George questions. We all know how badly he covers any sort of secret, and she asks what he's not telling her. He admits, "It's Cristina."
Addison asks Cristina if she notified the father as Bailey tries to keep her focused, and asks if there's anyone to call. Just then they realize the problem is that the pregnancy is in her Fallopian tube, and she's bleeding out.
Burke's surgery is over, and Richard tells him that he needs to perform a needle biopsy. Burke tries to brush him off so that he can check on Cristina (without admitting that's what he needs to do), and when the Chief doesn't let up, he admits that his intern collapsed during surgery. Richard just tells him to do it now, and when Burke says now is not the time, he puts his foot down. "I'm not in the mood for debate. You understand. You'll do it because I asked you to. Because I need you to." Burke sighs, and Richard finally says that it's for Ellis. Burke is confused, but follows him out as a nurse writes "Yang" onto the surgery schedule.
Izzie asks Addison if Cristina will be okay, and Addison replies by asking how attached she was to the pregnancy. Izzie just says that Cristina was a private person. Addison: "She's lost a lot of blood, but we'll take it from here." Bailey is sitting and holding Cristina's head in her hands, and when Addison suggests she find a surgery to jump in on, she replies, "I'm fine right here," with a tenderness that gives away just how important her interns are to her.
Derek scrubs out of his own surgery, and Meredith comes in to ask him if Alex can do the follow-up so that she can check on Cristina. Alex asks what's wrong, and before she can answer, Derek takes Meredith's shoulders as if to hold her until she shoots him a look that could cut glass. He drops his arms and apologizes, which she orders him to stop. "I'm so tired of you being sorry." He gets snippy and calls her "Dr. Grey," which she laughs at. It's got a lot less punch than when the girls whose hearts have each been stepped on use it. She asks him if he's afraid of others finding out about them. "Alex, do you care that I was the intern stupid enough to screw the married attending?" Alex doesn't, and Derek says okay. Meredith tells him it's not okay, as he has a wife, "who is not easy to hate. Who's annoyingly kind and painfully smart, and currently saving my friend's life." Like a lovesick puppy he calls her name, but she orders, "Stop talking to me like you're my boyfriend. Stop talking to me at all." She leaves, and Alex chuckles, "Dude, that was rough." It was also AWESOME. Derek's not put in his place nearly enough for the whole "Oops, you mean I never mentioned I was married?" thing.
Meredith watches Cristina's surgery through the window and then puts on a mask and goes in. Bailey stops her immediately, and they argue about her staying. Meredith pleads that Cristina is her friend, which is Bailey's point. "She's naked, exposed, sedated, but scared out of her mind. Right now she's not a doctor or a friend, she's a patient, and she deserves privacy." I'm glad to see that in this hospital with all of its floating friend/family/surgery lines, Bailey makes sure that someone emotionally involved is left out of the operating room. Mere pulls her mask down and says, somewhat desperately, that she made Cristina go jogging, and asks if that could have done anything. Bailey softens and assures her that the pregnancy started this way, and no one could have done anything. Mere tells her that she has to let her in, but Bailey not unkindly tells her, "You can try...I'd have to take you down... Hey, I may be short but you're pretty tiny. I could do it." No shit you could do it, I'd put money on you versus Meredith every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Meredith tells her, "Right now, just in this moment, I hate you." Bailey assures her that she can take it.
Burke tells Ellis that he's putting her to sleep, but assures her she'll be back into surgery in no time. She smiles and says, "Richard. Thank God you're here. Beautiful men... That husband of mine has been making me crazy." George looks uncomfortable watching from the doorway, and Richard watches this through the window. I can't watch this now the same way I did when I didn't know that Richard and Ellis had a long and torrid affair, but I have to imagine that it was starting to feel uncomfortably obvious to everyone who had been involved in her care up to this moment. What's worse, having to admit to your co-workers that your famous mother is in the later stages of Alzheimer's and is a cruel and awful woman, or having those co-workers realize that she was having an affair with the long-married Big Boss of the hospital? I'm just glad I don't have to really wonder about that. (Well, at least let's hope not. Hi Mom and Dad, how you doing? Everything good?)
Derek stares out from the Walkway of Angst to the window at the rain outside, while Meredith huddles in the observation deck, watching Cristina's surgery.
Derek's taken his heartbreak up to the NICU, where he's watching the preemie. Addison enters and smiles when she sees him, and he comments that the baby's blood pressure is stabilizing and that she's stronger since that morning, even though there's no reason that she should be. Well, at least getting told off by Meredith will maybe lead to lifesaving surgery for Metaphor Baby, that's one good thing this hour. If only she knew just how ridiculously anvilicious Metaphor Baby really was going to be... Derek says that if the baby makes it through the night, he'll do the surgery, and he and Addie smile at each other. She tells him, "You know, the way I see it, we could deal with us in one of three ways. Option one, I could apologize, you could forgive me and come home and we could move on with our lives like adults." He looks horrified. "Or, option two, I could apologize, you could forgive me, come home, but! You can still bring it up to use against me whenever we argue." He smiles and asks if she's trying to be funny. She leans over him, holding the arms of the chair in which he's sitting, and says sexily, "Satan has a sense of humor." He asks what third is. She says she doesn't know, and kisses him. Really unfortunately, he kisses her back. She tells him, "I just know I still love you." He sadly smiles, and she leaves. Thus begins in earnest the spinelessness of Derek Shepherd when he has to choose between two women. My head hurts just thinking about his upcoming idiocy.
Burke rushes out of Ellis's operating room and orders George to put a rush on the lab tests on orders from the Chief. George turns to ask a question but Burke is no longer paying attention, having seen Cristina's name on the board. He tells George to have the lab run all the tests and then focuses on the board, where to Cristina's name it announces, "Ectopic pregnancy." I have to take a moment to ask, weren't there any condoms around seven weeks ago? They work in a HOSPITAL, after all, and clearly that's where the illicit sex was taking place. Okay, I'm done; back to Cristina breaking my heart.
Bailey is sleeping in a chair to Cristina's bed when Cristina wakes up and asks Bailey what happened. Bailey gently tells her that it was an extra-uterine pregnancy and that her left Fallopian tube burst. She says that they did all they could but they couldn't save the tube since there was too much damage. Unspoken is that they also couldn't save the pregnancy. Cristina closes her eyes.
Kelly wakes up from her surgery and says hi to Meredith, who reports that her surgery was successful. They're doing follow-up, and Dr. Shepherd will be in soon to check on her. Kelly smiles and then quickly asks Meredith to say that again. Alex, continuing to prove with nearly every scene that he's as dense as a mail-order fruitcake, asks what. Kelly says to say his name, and when they do, her face stays the same normal shade of pale. She keeps repeating his name happily, and Meredith says, "Guess it was worth the risk." Kelly can't stop happily touching her cheek. Mere and Alex leave her room, and Alex admits he still thinks she was crazy to have major surgery just so people can't tell how she's feeling. Mere asks if he really thinks that, and he finally shows a tiny shred of understanding and says he guesses not. Then in a surprising move, he tells Meredith that she can talk if she needs to. Predictably, she's "fine." Alex calls her on it with, "You've said that word so many times today, it doesn't even sound like a word anymore. I'm just saying you can talk to me, because even if I repeat every word you say, no one around here likes me, they'll just call me a liar and move on." Maybe he gets things a little more than I give him credit for. She tells him, "Izzie likes you." He smiles, and she says he's blushing, so he tells her to shut up. Aw. I just started singing "Puppy Love" in my head for a moment. He gets serious and tells her, "For what it's worth, I don't know how you're still on your feet. If I found out my mom might have cancer, I'd be under the bar right now." Meredith seems to feel confident enough now that she's found a safe outlet and admits her feelings to him. "You want the ugly truth?" Though he can't believe she has one, he asks for it. "I'm more afraid she doesn't have cancer." Alex says liver cancer is painful but fast, and they give you morphine. "They don't give you morphine for Alzheimer's." He agrees, and she asks, "What kind of person wishes their mother had cancer?"
Richard is in a dark room, talking to a sleeping Ellis and telling her that he knows it's hard being the one that's gone. "But it isn't easy being the one around." Well, it would be a little easier if he found the perfect hat, I'll bet.
Meredith and George are sitting at the nurse's station, and Izzie joins them. She reports that Cristina will be in a lot of pain the few days but she'll be okay, and Meredith sincerely tells her she's glad that Izzie was there. Izzie asks, "Are you?" This was back when a question like that really illustrated Izzie's insecurity at being part of the group, rather than later when they played it to the hilt -- past the hilt, even -- and made her a bitchy shrew. Le sigh. Meredith assures her that she does mean it, and Izzie admits that she feels left out a lot of the time. There's a moment while Mere considers this, and instead of addressing it directly she says, "About Alex?" Izzie interrupts to say, defeated, that she knows they hate him and that it's fine. George groans at the drama. Meredith agrees that it's true, but she also believes he's different when you get to know him. The bonding is interrupted when her mother's test results arrive. Meredith reads them and after a moment, tells George to let her know, and hands him the paper as she walks away. Izzie asks if she's okay and, still walking, she calls that she's not. George reads the results for himself.
He then goes into Ellis's room, which wakes her, and she demands that he go away. Seeing Meredith so affected seems to have moved the stick all the way up his behind into his spine, and he says he won't. "I am Thatcher Grey, and I'm you're husband. And I know you don't like me very much but the fact is, sometimes I don't always like you very much either. I don't like the way you speak to me. And I really hate the way you speak to Meredith. She deserves better from you." She doesn't appear to care much about this display of cojones, but she does say she's sorry. George is stunned. Ellis then asks what's wrong with her. He begins to speak but she interrupts and asks if it's algebra. Frustrated, she tries again and again; on the third try she gets out the word "malignant." George tells her that it's benign. She stares at the ceiling and lets out a little sigh. It's like she's got the worst of both worlds -- she remembers nothing but her medical knowledge, which of course means she can understand the other ailments that she has, at least sometimes.
Derek finds Meredith crying outside. (In the rain, natch.) When he says her name, she again tells him, "Don't." She then begs him not to say anything at all. He agrees, but his inner turmoil is all over his pretty face and he clearly wants to go to her. She gets up while he's waffling and turns to him, announcing that she's exhausted. "My mother's exhausting, what happened to Cristina...and you. Hating you is the most exhausting." She then takes his face and kisses him. "I don't want to do it anymore." Then runs inside. He's stunned and sad. Mark your calendars! I believe this is the very first of many occasions to come where Derek kisses both his wife and his girlfriend on the same day and looks really tortured about his situation.
Meredith VO: "No one likes to lose control. But as a surgeon, there's nothing worse." Ellis is suddenly all sweet, reacting favorably to George's confidence (take note guys -- that gets us every time). She pats the bed for him to sit down and when he does, she pulls him down to lie to her. Thankfully, that's all she does; there's no attempting to "play doctor."
VO: "It's a sign of weakness. Of not being up to the task." Izzie asks Alex, "How can someone be so offensive and yet so charming all at the same time?" He tells her it's an art form, to which she smiles and walks away. On cue, he follows her. Mere continues, "And still, there are times where it just gets away from you." Ellis kisses George/Thatch on the cheek. "When the world stops spinning, and you realize your shiny little scalpel isn't going to save you." Mere walks in and sits to Cristina's bed.
Burke tells Mr. Gaston that when they went in, the surgery turned out to be more complicated. He gives a long technical medical explanation that something in his lung had spread and had caused a rip in his heart. Mr. G. asks what that means in English. Burke takes off his glasses, stutters, and then manages to get out that he literally had a broken heart. "But now I'm...um, you're going to be fine." He laughs nervously at himself and walks out. Well, at least he's stuttering and giggling after the man's surgery is over. Meredith says, "No matter how hard you fight it, you fall. And it's scary as hell." Burke blinks back tears and arrives at Cristina's room to see her lying in bed with her eyes closed. But she's not alone, all of the other interns are in with her. Mere: "Except if there's an upside to freefalling, it's the chance you give your friends to catch you." Burke puts hands in pockets and walks away. He seems puzzled but intrigued by this idea of "friends." Suck it, Burke. I wasn't a fan of yours and Cristina's relationship even this early; score one for her kick-ass friends being better for her than you could or will ever be.