My TiVo keeps cutting off the first few seconds of all my favorite shows, and this one is no exception. Stupid TiVo. Anyway, Izzie and George are standing about a hundred feet from the hospital entrance, and striking nurses are lined up on each side of the walkway leading up to the door, chanting and waving signs around and being generally strikey. George tells Izzie there's no way he can cross the picket line -- his parents are both union lifers, and if they see him on the news walking into work, they'll outlive him just to pee on his grave. Izzie doesn't see what choice they have, and stands there in her little argyle sweater and her little green coat, looking primly distressed. Mere voice-overs that, in general, lines are there for a reason -- "for safety, for security, for clarity." Cristina runs up behind them and excitedly asks if there's been any bloodshed yet. Izzie frets that surely the nurses know they're doctors, and they have to tend to their sick patients. Cristina volunteers to go first, and walks across the picket line as stoically as she can for someone having edible objects thrown at her by angry nurses. Izzie can't believe they threw food at Cristina, and runs across the line with her head down. George refuses to go, and stands outside with his union compatriots.
Cut to Meredith at the nursing home. She asks a nurse how her mom is, and the nurse says she's great. "She really lights up when Dr. Webber visits!" Mere looks over to see her mother and Webber sitting together, having a big time, and also getting kind of handsy with each other. She sticks out her lips way out in a sort of horrified grimace and walks out. MereVO: "So why is it that the bigger the line, the greater the temptation to cross it?" I don't know, Mere. Why is it that the bigger the problem, the greater your lips become on your face?
Back at the hospital, Webber's assistant tells the temp nurses what they need to be doing. She notices Burke and McDreamy standing around not helping, and barks at them, "You know why I stopped being a nurse? Doctors. Doctors who don't know how to pitch in." The non-pitchy doctors then turn around and complain to Webber about the mean lady and the lack of nurses. Webber says resolving the strike will cost the hospital two million dollars a year they don't have. McDreamy snarks, "Did you look under the couch? I always find spare change under the cushions." Webber is not amused. McDreamy shows himself out.
The interns speculate about who their replacement will be while Bailey's on maternity leave. They soon find out when Kali Rocha (also known as the awesome Halfrek on Buffy) comes bounding down the stairs yelling their names. "Here you are!" she chirps in a total golly-gee-Beav tone. As the interns -- well, mostly Cristina -- stare in horror, Kali enthuses, "You guys look like a great group! Which is awesome, because my horoscope said it was going to be a very challenging day! But no! This is GREAT, we're going to have so much FUN!" Haaaaa. And then she hugs Cristina, which I am not ashamed to tell you makes me have to lie down on the floor. At Cristina's cries of "Ow, ow, ow," Kali asks sadly if she's hurting her. Cristina: "Uh, no, you're touching me." Kali introduces herself as "Sydney Heron," a fourth-year resident, whose philosophy is...heal with love. Heal with love! She asks who they're missing, and Cristina explains that George is cowering behind the picket line like a little girl. Sydney: "Standing up for what he believes in, that's my kind of little girl! Am I right?" Oh, Sydney. You are so, SO right. She then lets them choose where there going to go for the day, and everyone bolts but Izzie. Sydney: "Looks like it's just you and me, Izzie McGee!" Izzie doesn't understand Sydney's strange language of happiness, and gets all confused. She is rescued by Addison, who says she needs her on a consult. Izzie escapes also, leaving Sydney to charm no one but herself. And this here recapper.
Cristina and Alex pull back a curtain in the pit, and find a couple macking down on one of the hospital beds. They unlock lips at the interruption, and explain that they're on their honeymoon. Cristina's all, "Great. Can you...dismount, please?" Hee.
Mere's walking down the hall and stops when she hears an old woman moaning to herself. Her name is Grace Bickham, and she's clearly at death's door. Mere asks Grace if she knows who her doctor is, because she doesn't see a chart. Grace just keeps calling out for someone named Lennie. Mere sees that Grace is having trouble breathing, and calls for a nurse.
George stands resolutely outside the picket line. Nurse Olivia walks over and tells him he can go -- they won't throw donuts at him. George says he's not scared of donuts; his mom was in the teachers' strike of '03. Olivia asks why he doesn't go home. Unfortunately, he can't do that either, or he'll get kicked out of the program. He takes some deep breaths, gathers his courage, and says, "I'm a union guy. Give me that sign." Olivia smiles, and everyone starts clapping as George walks the line holding up a gigantic sign that reads, "Proud To Be A Nurse!" Sucker. Credits.
We return to Meredith coaching a nursing student named Angela through Grace's intubation. The poor girl is about as dumb as she is pretty, which is very. When Mere announces that she's got the tube in, Angela looks at Mere with wonder. "Awesome!" Mere stares her down, and Angela shuts it quickly.
Cut to Addison and Izzie with their patient, a pregnant black teenager (wow, how's that for a stereotype?) named Cheyenne; they tell her that she's got a lot of extra amniotic fluid, but the baby looks okay. Cheyenne's concerned mother asks if that means they can go: it was a long drive to the hospital for them, and she can't afford to miss another shift. Addie explains that a mass on the baby's neck is what's causing the build-up of fluid, and also obstructing her airway and spine. Cheyenne looks terrified, but her mom tells her that they need to listen to the doctor. Addison says they're going to do what's called an exit surgery on the baby, which means that they'll deliver it via C-section, but not cut the umbilical cord until the baby's operation is over. Izzie adds, "It's kind of cool if you think about it. You'll be like your baby's life support machine." Cheyenne looks slightly less scared as Addie asks her how that sounds. Cheyenne's mom interjects, "That sounds expensive." Addison says Cheyenne's doctor at the clinic is a former student of hers, so it's covered. After she leaves, Izzie, well-versed in the ways of the poor, tells Cheyenne and her mom that the hospital gets a write-off for the surgery. Cheyenne's mom correctly understands this to mean that it's not a charity case. Izzie assures her it's not. She asks Mom what time her shift is, to which she replies, "Six to six." Izzie is familiar with the graveyard shift. She tells Mom she'll look after Cheyenne while she's gone.
Mere finds Webber staring at the board, and fixes him with a knowing little look. She says she saw her mother this morning. Webber's all, "Did you? How is she?" Mere says she's fine. Webber briskly says he's glad to hear it, and asks Mere to give Ellis his best as he takes off. Mere responds by sticking her lips out at his back.
The honeymoon girl is at the hospital for a nasty-looking rash on her leg. Cristina has drawn a line just above the rash; she tells the girl that if the rash doesn't cross the line in one hour, she'll get antibiotics and be fine. If it does cross the line, Alex explains, it would mean the infection's aggressive and they'll have to do a muscle biopsy. Honeymoon Girl, whose name is Claire, finds this unacceptable, as she and her new husband are supposed to run a 10K tomorrow. They are a power-outdoorsy-activities couple; they first noticed HG's rash when they were hiking up Mount Rainier the day before. Sydney overhears this as she's walking o
ver, and is most impressed. "Wow, that's amaaaazing!" Cristina, trying to ignore this and be all business, asks if Claire fell or sustained any kind of trauma on the hike. Claire's husband Wade says she cut her foot on some oyster shells at the beach a few days ago. They were windsurfing in Puget Sound, obviously. Here's something funny about this storyline. Actually, it's not about the storyline, it's about me. I started a new job on Monday on the second floor of a big old building. Tuesday morning, I woke up to find that my legs were so sore I could barely stand up. They were sore, you see, FROM THE WALKING. Take that, Claire and Wade! Sydney giggles that they're going to need a honeymoon to recover from their honeymoon. Alex totally does the butt-kiss laugh, and it is awesome. Claire asks if she's going to be okay, and Alex says it's probably just a simple skin infection. Cristina says it's not, either, and points to Claire's leg. The infection has spread way over the line, and her leg is all puffy and angry-looking. Uh oh!Mere runs into McDreamy and asks how the dog is. McDreamy says he's great, and they get to laughing about him. Before they can say much more, though, Addison comes over and marks her territory and ruins everything. "You should come visit! The dog, I mean." Mere's all, "Uh huh. Bye!" After she leaves, Addison tells McDreamy that she's looking for a neurosurgeon to consult on a fetal-spinal tumor. "You know anybody good?" McDreamy fakes a laugh, still having to pretend he likes his own wife.
Outside in the picket line, Olivia, Mean Nurse, and Hot Man Nurse corner George. They need him to go in and check on some of their patients. George is confused; how can he both picket and cross the picket line at the same time? Olivia says the patients are theirs, too, but they can't go in, so they need him to go in and do it for them. George doesn't know what to do, so he just stands there being a sad little union guy.
Claire's biopsy. Sydney asks if anyone would like to probe the wound. Alex: "I do! I'd really like to try your method of healing with love." Hee. Sydney tells Alex that she likes the way he thinks, and chides Cristina, "Looks like someone needs to learn how to share, Cristina!" Cristina looks like she might vomit. Sydney gets a phone call from pathology, and they find out that Claire has necrotizing fasciitis, better known as the flesh-eating disease. Mmm, delicious!
Mere checks on Grace and finds Webber's assistant there. She can't believe Meredith intubated her; a temp nurse found the paperwork, and Grace is DNR. Just then, three sassy old ladies appear at the door of Grace's room. "You put a tube in Grace?" "She put a tube in Grace!" "You put a tube in Grace!" Oh Lord. Mere stares at them until one of them throws something at her and declares, "You little schnook, you were supposed to let her die!" Then she tries to duck. Commercials.
When we come back, Grace's three bestest friends are telling Mere all about it. They've surrounded her on all sides, and they're all talking over each other. One of them, who is talking in this absolutely bonkers Southern accent, drawls, "Naaaaw mo-shaaaanes, she saaaayud!" She reminds me of my grandmother, and I kind of love her. Another one explains that she remembers when Grace said that, because Alice was there with her girlfriend. "The daughter. She's a lesbian." Heh. The third tells "Agnes" to stop with the rambling. Mere steps out from under them and asks for a little clarification on who these three old loons are, anyway -- her sisters? Agnes laughs, "No, her sister Rose died back in '83." Number Three adds, "May she rest in peace." The one who reminds me of my grandmother says Grace's other sister died, too. Number Three: "May she rest in peace." They tell Mere that this really is what Grace wanted. Mere says she needs to speak with Grace's husband. My grandmother: "Lennie never talked much when he was alive. Good luck getting a word now!" Number Three: "May he rest in peace." Okay, that's enough. Mere tells them that Grace said she just saw Lennie, and the ladies explain that it's because she's trying to cross over to get to him. My grandmother: "Haaay wuz a-waitin' for huh in the laaaaght." Agnes: "Which she can't reach now, thanks to you!" Poor Mere.
Webber finds George skulking through the hospital on his nursing errands, and orders him to do something. George stutters that he's here, but he's not really here. Webber says he won't be anywhere in about thirty seconds if he doesn't do what he's told. George: "Sir, all due respect, no offense intended, but I won't cross the picket line." Webber doesn't see how that could be, since George is standing right in front of him. George says he's checking on some patients for the nurses, but he's going right back out to join them. Webber reminds George that he's a doctor. George says yes, but he's also a union man. "All due respect, no offense." Webber rolls his eyes and walks off, but George follows him, reading off orders from the nurses he's written down on a notepad. Webber is all, "Fine, fine. I will do these things, but I will smash you if you keep bugging me." George stops talking for a second, then yells at the top of his lungs, "Forty to fifty hours of mandatory overtime is extremely..." Webber turns around to smash him, and George takes off the other way with his notepad, calling over his shoulder, "Yes sir I'm very sorry no offense intended sir!" I could not love George more if I tried.
Claire's doctors are telling her poor husband Wade about the flesh-eating bacteria that's invaded Claire's body. Cristina says they need to amputate Claire's leg immediately, but Sydney tells Wade that amputation might not be the only option. Cristina looks at Sydney like she's grown another head, and says, "Excuse me? It's the only SANE option." She says if they don't get all the infection out, Claire will die. Wade can't believe this is happening on their honeymoon. He asks about the other option. Alex, ass-kisser that he is, stands to Sydney and says they might be able to save Claire's leg by cutting out the infection. Unfortunately, there's no time to take Claire out of anesthesia and put her back under, so Wade needs to make a decision now. Wade: "She runs marathons. This is our adventure honeymoon. It's who she is." Gag. Try walking sometime! Sydney tells Wade they'll do everything they can to save the leg. Cristina clearly has more to say, but holds her tongue for once in her life.
Cheyenne's room. McDreamy tells her how the surgery will go, and Addison says she may even be able to take her baby home by the end of the week. Cheyenne doesn't look too sure about this. "That soon?" Addison says yes, she thinks the surgery will be a great success and the baby will be fine. When they leave, Izzie notes that Cheyenne is reading Shakespeare. Cheyenne says it's homework for English class. She corrects herself, "Was. The baby wasn't due for a few more weeks. Now, I guess..." Izzie finishes for her, "No more school." Cheyenne says it's weird how when you're in school, you hate it, until you can't go anymore. Izzie asks Cheyenne if she's made any plans: bought a crib, called about childcare, looked at assistance? Cheyenne says she hasn't done any of that yet. She was trying to save money to get her own trailer home, but she thought she'd have more time. "Nine months goes by fast." Izzie gets this look on her face, the one that is a big flashing sign reading "Foreshadowing Ahead!" and says, "Yeah. Yeah, it does." Sounds like someone's been pregnant before. Who could it be?
Back in Claire's surgery, Cristina can't take it anymore. She tells Sydney that if the infection moves to Claire's bloodstream, she'll die. Alex: "If she wakes up without her leg, she might wish she had." Sydney says her new BFF Alex is right; Claire's young, healthy, newlywed, and fully able to recover from this. Cristina can't believe Sydney's basing Claire's treatment plan on cuteness. "If she were an eighty-ye
ar-old man, you'd amputate in a heartbeat." Sydney snaps, "She's not eighty. Where's your compassion?" Cristina points out that trying to save a patient from death is pretty compassionate. Sydney lays it on thick: "I must say I'm disappointed in you. Why can't you be more like Alex? This guy, he's compassionate, he's warm. He's fighting with me to save Claire's leg." Heeeeee. Alex gives Cristina a look like, "Yes, why can't you be more like Alex?" Cristina has to excuse herself from the room, and immediately runs off to tell on Sydney to Burke. After she tells him what's going on, and how Sydney is the exact opposite of Bailey in all the worse ways, she gets all dramatic: "I think the new resident is KILLING her PATIENT." Jeez. Commercials.Burke busts up in Sydney's surgery and introduces himself. Sydney is all excited that Burke has joined them; she says she's a huge fan. Burke tries to pretend he's just interested in this rare and exciting case of necrotizing fasciitis, but Sydney isn't fooled. She asks him if he was just curious, or if Cristina was concerned that the "perky little bimbo cheerleader" wasn't in here trying to kill a patient. "Am I right? Now, with all due respect, Dr. Burke, I know you don't know me very well but I'm pretty good at what I do. And my patient is a twenty-five-year-old marathoner, and I told her husband I would try and save her leg. So, my plan is to stand here as long as it takes to scrape away every last cell of necrotic flesh." Whoa! Go, Halfrek. Sydney goes on to say that if she misses any, then they'll take the leg. "And when I do, our eager young intern here can hold the saw. Unlike Dr. Karev, kindness and compassion aren't very high on her list of priorities, but a little bone-saw action? Maybe that will earn me some respect, am I right?" Oh, yes. Once again, you are.
Out in the hospital lobby, Grace's three friends are trying to charm Webber into honoring Grace's DNR request. They're all extremely annoying here with their crazy old lady jabbering, and I refuse to recap it. Mere says she wants them to realize that if she pulls out the tube, Grace will die. "We're old, not deaf. Pull the plug already, it's what she wants," they all say. Webber says he knows they're concerned for their friend, but he's going to need someone with power of attorney to make the decision. My grandmother: "That's Aaaaaalice! Cawl Ayulllice!" They all agree that Alice, the lesbian, should be called. Webber says they'll need Alice's signature -- her real signature, not just a faxed copy. Sadly, Alice lives in Oregon. Webber walks off with Mere, and my grandmother bats her eyelashes after him in a final attempt to make him do her bidding. Mere comments that he's like the Old Lady Whisperer -- they sure do cheer up when he comes around! Webber wants Mere to realize that if the daughter shows up tomorrow and confirms she's DNR… "I have to kill my patient, I know," Mere says. Well, I'm sure Alex could counsel her on that. Webber asks Mere how she's doing, and if she needs anything. Mere: "Oh, I'm fine, sir. I don't need any help from you." Nyah! That'll show him, Mere.
Later that night in Joe's bar, all the nurses raise a toast to George. "To Dr. O'Malley!" George eats it up. Elsewhere at Joe's, Cristina is recounting Sydney's smackdown to the other interns. She can't believe Sydney called her out for lacking compassion in front of Burke. Mere moans about having to kill her patient tomorrow. Izzie says nothing, just sits there looking like she's about to cry. She suddenly stands up and puts her coat on, saying she forgot something at the hospital. Cristina bitches at Alex for being such a kiss-ass, and Alex tells her to shut her pie-hole. Yes, very compassionate. George walks over to get another round. Alex calls him a nurse, which starts a huge fight between the doctors and the nurses. One of them pours her drink all over Cristina's lap, and Cristina stands up ready to fight. "Bring it on, soccer mom!" Heh. Mere pulls Cristina out the door by the arm, and an all-out brawl is avoided.
Izzie, meanwhile, has gone back to bare her soul to Cheyenne. She confesses that she grew up in the same town Cheyenne is from, in a trailer park Cheyenne knows. Izzie says her mom still lives there, then asks Cheyenne if she can keep a secret. Cheyenne can, and Izzie tearfully pulls a picture out of her pocket to show her. "This is my daughter." Well, that wasn't obvious. Commercials.
When we get back, Izzie is telling Cheyenne that the picture she has was taken when her daughter was six, but she's eleven now. She says she lived in Santa Barbara, but they moved. "I don't know where. But I know her name is Hannah, and she likes pigs. I think it's probably because her mom read her Charlotte's Web." Okay, now it's sad. Cheyenne says she thought Izzie was her mom. Izzie can barely speak through her tears. "I'm her mother, but I'm not her mom." She says she knows that where they come from, this kind of thing doesn't get talked about, but she wanted her to know that there's more than one way to be a good mother. "I wanted better for her than I could do at sixteen." Cheyenne breaks my heart by welling up herself and telling Izzie she loves her baby. Izzie says she knows that. "But you're reading her Shakespeare. When you're working twelve hours at the diner, like our moms, you won't be coming home and reading her Shakespeare." Tears!
And just when you thought he couldn't get any hotter, Burke is sitting alone in his house playing a freaking jazz horn. Cristina walks in and says she could hear him all the way down the street; she likes it, too, but she doesn't know what the neighbors will think. "Which, by the way, is not a thing someone lacking in compassion would be concerned with." Nice try, Crissy. Burke coldly asks how the patient's leg is. Cristina says it's carved all to hell, but still on her body. She adds compassionately, "We're watching it overnight. What's going on." What's going on is that Burke is upset about questioning a fellow surgeon in her OR, which he's never done in his career. "I never understood what the problem was with an intern dating an attending...until today." Cristina looks sad and walks into the bedroom. Hey, that's not very compassionate!
The day in the hospital, George gives Meredith nursing tips from his notepad. Burke calls over to George that he has sutures to do. George is all, "Sorry, can't help you!" Burke gives him just about the same look Webber did earlier, which stops George short. With nothing else to do, he starts yelling again. "Fair hours! Fair wages! Fair hours! Fair...no offense." Hee. George starts to tell Izzie how the strike is going, then checks himself. "I shouldn't even be seen talking to you!" Strike George might be my favorite George ever.
Alice, Grace's lesbian daughter, finds Mere and introduces herself. Mere is totally freaked out, but asks Alice (go ask Alice!) to come with her. Just as they're walking away, Cheyenne's mom confronts Izzie. "You told me you would look after her. You told me to go to work, and you said you would look after her." Izzie tries to steer Mom away from George's big ears, and they start talking. Mom can't believe Izzie told a scared kid to give her baby away. Izzie says she didn't advise her, or pressure her; they just talked. Mom informs Izzie that she's not a shrink, nor her mother. "She's my kid, and you crossed the line." Izzie says she's very sorry. Mom says no, she's not sorry -- she's superior, and she doesn't need to be judging them, or telling Cheyenne how to live her life. Izzie says Cheyenne is smart, and thoughtful, and she can have more. "She can have more than a trailer park and a graveyard shift at a truck-stop diner. Don't you want that for her? I mean, if you can get past the fact that I'm superior, and that I'm judging you, and telling you what's best for your family...if you can just get past all of that, isn't it possible that I'm also right?" Damn. Mom ponders this, but also looks like she might kill Izzie right afterwards.
Claire's room. The patient is awake, and Sydney tells her that she's made a spectacular recovery. Claire asks if she's going to be all right. Sydney says she should be just fine after a few rounds in the hyperbaric chamber. Claire thanks her, and Sydney compassionately says it was her pleasure. Cristina looks on with little to no emotion, and even less compassion. Sydney tells Claire that Dr. Karev, the best doctor ever, will explain the hyperbaric chamber. Alex is all magnanimous: "Why, thank you, Dr. Heron!" On Sydney's way out, she gives Cristina a big smile. "I'll take that apology anytime!" Awesome.
Mere and Webber are with Grace, who is surrounded on all sides by her friends and family. Mere explains that she's going to give Grace a sedative and then remove the tube. She looks like she's been crying for about five hours. Alice's girlfriend asks her if she's ready. Alice says she is, but as Mere goes to push the sedative, Alice tells her to wait. She leans over and kisses her mom on the head, whispering, "Goodbye, Mommy." Alice looks at the three old ladies. Agnes tells Alice they've already said their goodbyes; they just wanted to be there when Grace crossed over. Alice tells Mere she's ready, and Mere gives Grace her sedative and turns off the machine. She tells the women that it might take a while for Grace to go. A sad song starts playing, and we cut to...
…Cristina, in the on-call room with Burke. She paces around, all upset that Sydney wants her to apologize. Burke says she needs to apologize. Cristina disagrees, and paces some more. Burke tells her the thing with him wasn't her fault -- he's supposed to be her teacher, but she came to him as his girlfriend, and he responded in the same way. Cristina says she's not used to being wrong. Burke: "I know. But you're an intern. Second-guessing a resident? That's not your job." Cristina considers this as she hatches evil plans in her head to get back at Sydney for this.
Outside Grace's room, Mere finally tells Webber she saw him at the nursing home with her mom. Webber, trying to stay cool, says he goes whenever he can. Mere asks why he kept it a secret, and he admits that he doesn't know. "Would you like me to stop going?" Mere starts to answer, then changes her mind and says she's going to check on Grace. Before she enters the room, she turns back and asks Webber if he thinks her mom is lonely. Webber says he does think that. Mere hangs her head at this, and goes in to see her patient.
Inside Grace's room, all the people in her life surround her, rubbing her arm and patting her shoulder and being about as sweet as anything I've ever seen. Another song starts playing, this one telling us it's a big-girl world now, as we cut to Cheyenne's surgery. Izzie looks on sadly as the baby is delivered and cleaned up. Grace's friends continue to comfort her as her breathing becomes more labored, and Mere watches them with tears in her eyes. We get an overhead shot of everyone holding on to Grace as she goes, and Number Three says softly, "May she rest in peace." I don't have to tell you about the tears this time, do I? Mere announces the time of death, her voice cracking, and she walks quickly out of the room so she won't completely collapse in front of Grace's family. She runs into a supply closet and tries to catch her breath. McDreamy, of course, sees this and follows her inside.
He sits down to her as she starts crying and hyperventilating and trying to talk. "I can't...I don't...I can't...I don't want my mother to die alone!" She's now sobbing uncontrollably, and McDreamy tries to get her to calm down. He finally has to hand her a paper bag to breathe into, and y'all, it is fucking gut-wrenching. She pulls herself together and says she's okay. He looks into her eyes, and damn if I didn't think they were going to kiss. Mere forces herself to look away, and runs out of the room. McDreamy sits on the floor of the closet wondering how he got to be such a jackass.
In the nursery, Cheyenne looks at her baby and asks Izzie, "Do you ever wish you hadn't done it?" Izzie says no, she really doesn't. Cheyenne asks if she still gets to name her baby, even if she gives her away. Izzie tells her kindly that she can name her for herself. Cheyenne: "Did you name yours?" Izzie hesitates for a second, then says, "Sarah." Cheyenne gets teary-eyed, and says that's a pretty name. Izzie ha
s to turn away, and Jesus Christ why is this episode so sad?Mere, still red-faced from her breakdown, finds Webber and tells him she thinks he should keep going to visit her mom. Webber wants to make sure it's all right with her. Mere says yes, she's sure. "She lights up when you're around. She's alive." Webber nods, and Mere goes off looking like she might need to cry just a little bit more.
Cristina and Burke are staring down the hall at Sydney and Alex healing each other with love. Cristina says she can't apologize right now, no way, not with Alex there. Burke says she can, and she will. Cristina turns it around on him, all, "Excuse me, why aren't YOU apologizing?" Burke says he's an attending; he doesn't apologize to residents. "You, on the other hand, are an intern." Cristina walks over to Sydney like she's Anne Boleyn facing the guillotine, and stutters, "Uhh...Sydney? I just wanted to...uhhh...uh...ap...apoloshsshize....for you know...overstepping...uh, mmmmsorry." Sydney gets all happy again, and folds her hands in the most insane gesture of peace I've ever seen. "Well, there's the compassion I was looking for! Apology accepted. Okay, you wanna hug it out?" Jesus Lord, I cannot TAKE it. Sydney extends her arms for the big compassionate hug, and Cristina doesn't know how to act. Alex is all, "Come on, hug!" and Burke is standing off to the side barely containing himself. Cristina finally just turns around and walks away. Best hug ever.
Webber watches the strike on TV with his assistant. He asks her where he's going to find the spare change -- it's not like what he's got hiding under the couch is going to do it. She says she seems to remember pushing through paperwork for a multi-million-dollar surgery rollout. Webber insists it will bring in huge business. "And can you and the robot handle that business without nurses?" Webber, of course, doesn't like robots, so it looks like the strike is over. As he goes outside and shakes hands with the jubilant nurses, Mere voice-overs, "We can't help ourselves. We see a line, we want to cross it. Maybe it's the thrill of trading the familiar with the unfamiliar -- a sort of personal dare. Only problem is, once you've crossed, it's almost impossible to go back." Cut to McDreamy in bed with Addie, thinking about a certain hyperventilating intern he once knew.
Union George is in his bed playing GameBoy. The door opens and Izzie flops down into the bed. "You okay?" Izzie says yeah, she's fine. The door opens again, and Meredith flops down on the other side. "You okay?" Mere says yeah, she's fine too. George asks them what the hell happened today. Both girls are all, "Nothing." Aw. He goes back to playing his game, and Izzie says they don't know everything about each other. Mere agrees. As does George. And a final MereVO: "If you do manage to make it back across that line...you find safety in numbers." Mere switches off the light and over the title screen, we hear George's voice: "Anybody wanna have sex?" The girls laugh, and that's it.