Mark's man-whore ways have finally bitten him in the ass, as the nurses all refuse to work with him. They've called in a union rep and someone from human resources to talk about what's going on before someone actually sues for sexual harassment, and the rep is none other than Adele! Oh, how I missed her. She's all awesome and employed and sassy and her life seems to have changed for the better. The Chief tries to prove that he's changed as well, though we all know he hasn't really. Due to the Mark/nurses shenanigans, the hospital institutes a "date-and-tell" policy so that everyone has to fill out a form and report all of the other hospital employees that they have slept with. To show that he can delegate, the Chief tells George he wants him to be his "Chief Intern," which involves going around and making sure that everyone has filled out their forms. Rose realizes she doesn't have to fill one out, since she hasn't slept with Derek, Alex actually forgets -- to her face -- that he slept with Lexie, and Cristina just avoids doing it. She's had a rough day when an article is posted about Burke winning an extremely prestigious award. She actually volunteers to work in the morgue harvesting hearts for Hahn rather than participate in a crazy heart transplant later that day, and once there sings "Like A Virgin" to herself and ignores Lexie. Once Meredith finds out that she's singing, she realizes that things must be horrible and runs off to talk to Cristina, admitting that she's in therapy. Cristina is finally called in front of Richard, Adele, and the HR guy to fill out her form and she gives a speech about how unbearable it is to see Burke get an award and not even mention her considering she was his right hand during all of his tremors, and about how awful it is now not even have the chance to participate in procedures because of Hahn's dislike of her.
While he's doling out forms, George tells Bailey that she's the one person in the hospital who is exempt from filling one out. This pisses her off, but not so much that she can't see that Mark is having a hard time. After having lots and lots of sex with Callie he's suddenly not in the mood because a surgery of his was cancelled. He begs Rose to talk to the nurses on his behalf and she won't, so he blows up at her for withholding sex with Derek because she thinks she'll lose him if she gives it up. She then rethinks everything and requests a form from George after all. Bailey ends up smacking Mark upside the head and then gets an audience with the nurses, where she awesomely reminds them that every one of them knew what they were doing when they hooked up with Mark in the first place, and that even though he's a giant whore he's a good doctor and so they should work with him. It's the scene that saves the whole episode. She then goes and gives the Chief hell for not treating her like the single woman she's been for weeks, and he's appropriately embarrassed, in front of Adele, no less. But she seems to like what she's seen since they end up doing the horizontal tango after work.
Alex tells Izzie that he and Ava are going to move in together and then gets mightily ticked when she's not happy about it. She manages to keep her giant trap shut and not give up the fact that Ava isn't actually pregnant, though she takes a lot of abuse from Alex who thinks she just has no faith in him. He has a moment with the heart transplant patient where he has to quickly do a procedure to save her life, and he has to deal with her panicked husband and two little girls who won't leave the room. He handles it really well and maybe he might be an OK dad to his imaginary baby after all. And finally Derek and Meredith are working on their fifth trial patient, Santiago from Friday Night Lights. He's a secretly gay Iraq vet and when his dad walks in on him making out with his soldier boyfriend, he flips out. He turns the boyfriend away because he can't deal with his dad, and won't even see him before he goes into surgery. The surgery seems to go well, and Derek and Meredith have sexy intense eye contact throughout. He then offers to stay with her to monitor Santiago, but she sends him home with Rose where they actually Do It. Santiago dies, and Derek gives a big speech about how they're really going to be successful one day -- it couldn't have been more clunky and obvious. Meredith has a session with Dr. Amy afterward where Dr. Amy finally calls her on all of her crap and basically tells her the only reason she's not with Derek (who admitted to Mark that the whole time with Rose he could only think of Mere) is because she's a big old coward.
Who's the cutest baby in the world? Tuck, that's who. Bailey's helping him "walk" down the corridor as Meredith VO's: "There's this person in my head. She is brilliant, capable, she can do chest tubes and craniotomies, she can run a code without freaking out, she's a really good surgeon. Maybe even a great surgeon. She's me. Only SO much better." Bailey picks up Tuck and goes to see what the Chief has posted up on the bulletin board -- whatever it is, he says it's great for the hospital, but then sighs and asks if Cristina's going to have a problem with it. Bailey confirms this.
Mere's still in therapy and leads off with the line we saw in a million promos: "Every time Derek walks into a room, all I can think about is his tongue. In my mouth." Dr. Amy reiterates that she thinks about kissing Derek and Mere adds, "It's making surgery very difficult." Matter-of-factly she informs Dr. Amy that she needs "therapy tools" so that she can move on, but Dr. Amy just asks if she's sure she wants to move on. She claims she does, but her motivation is another clinical trial surgery that day that needs her attention, as opposed to her wanting to be over him just to be over him. Their fifth patient is coming in and she explains that they've learned a lot from the first four, but they haven't saved anyone yet. Dr. Amy tells her that the only way to stop fantasizing about Derek is to remind herself of the reality of the situation: He's with Rose. "Powerful stuff, reality," Dr. Amy adds smarmily. Seems even Meredith's own therapist thinks it's dumb for them not to be together.
Pausing to chant, "He's with Rose, he's with Rose," to herself, Meredith makes it into the room to meet her patient, Santiago from Friday Night Lights. Okay, so his name is Darren here, but FNL is a show I hold very dear so it's hard to separate and easier to just keep up with that name. As evidenced by the presence of an army doctor, Santiago is a soldier. Santiago's father is there too. The docs explain everything to them, and Derek mentions the risk. At this, another soldier arrives at the door to say that Santiago survived two tours of Afghanistan, so he knows risk. He salutes the army doctor and Santiago's father, but Santiago seems thrown for a loop and tries to keep his composure. His friend, Todd, explains that Santiago's dad called him. (Todd, incidentally, is played by David Giuntoli who, it appears, was on Road Rules.)
Bailey knocks on the door of the on-call room and Mark answers sans clothes, half-hidden behind the door. He makes it about two-thirds hidden when he realizes her son is there too. She tells him that his nurse is no longer available for his 10AM surgery and would he like to reschedule? He asks for another nurse -- Kate -- and shuts the door. Giggling issues from the room. Bailey looks down at her file and then knocks on the door again, informing Dr. Torres that Mark would like to use the nurse scheduled for her surgery, and could she push it back a bit to accommodate both? When there's no answer but for the muffled sounds of people dressing hastily, Bailey bangs on the door and informs Callie that she knows she's in there. Callie pulls open the door, top off, pulling on her pants, to say that it's fine. She then drops her voice and sternly whispers, "Don't judge me, Bailey."
The residents -- sans Cristina -- are reading whatever it was that Richard put up on the board, wondering if she's seen it yet. They bicker about whether or not to take it down and how to hide it when Cristina walks up and asks what they were talking about. Izzie has made a quick move and thrown herself up against the board with her arm behind her head like an America's Top Model reject. She tries her best but Cristina gets wise and pushes her aside. She reads the bulletin and after a beat, says, "Good for him," and walks away. After a moment we all see that it's an article announcing that Burke's has won a prestigious award, the Harper Avery. Later when Izzie and Alex are in the break room, Izzie marvels over how cool it is that they know someone who won it -- clearly it's a Very Big Deal. Alex interrupts to ask if she can ask Meredith if Ava can move in for a couple of weeks. Izzie's face registers sheer panic as Alex explains that they're going to get their own place but he needs to save up for a deposit first. She's apparently going to leave her husband. I'll give Izzie this -- I assumed she was immediately just going to blurt out what she knew, but she didn't. Growth! She does tell Alex to wait, but before she can put her foot in her mouth he tells her that Ava is pregnant, that things are a mess but they're figuring them out. It's heartbreaking to see that underneath his nervous urgency there's actually a glimmer of excitement. He runs out before Izzie can say anything.
Hahn's got the entire circus in a patient's room and when she asks who wants to present, nearly every arm shoots up. The patient is Kyra, who desperately needs a heart transplant. Her antibody levels were so high they feared her body would reject any heart, so they bombarded her with chemotherapy to kill the antibodies. Since her immune system is so compromised, she's been living in a sealed-off, sterile environment -- a bubble. In the middle of all this Hahn notices that Cristina is not jumping to participate but rather staring into space. Snottily, she asks Cristina if she's boring her, and offers her the chance to go harvest hearts from cadavers for research. Cristina says she'd love to do it and leaves. Hahn tells the others, slightly less sarcastically than one would expect, that "there's no shame in grunt work." They all go in to meet Kyra. What they find is a woman having a panic attack, crying, moaning and begging them to get out. She says she was told it would be three weeks to get a heart, and it's now been eight. I realize we're supposed to be all sympathetic towards her but her emoting is so over the top that I found myself hoping someone would slap her a la Airplane. I'm not sure what this says about me as a person. Hahn tries to calm her, but can't make herself heard over Kyra's screaming. Eventually she puts her hand into a glove and manages to get Kyra to take her hand. Hahn looks her in the eye and tells her that they have a heart for her. Her panic turns to sobs of joy.
Richard and Mark are walking down the hall and Richard explains testily that he got a call from human resources that the nurses are boycotting Mark's surgeries. He complains he didn't do anything to them (that wasn't consensual) but Richard informs him that they felt strongly enough about what he did that they sent a union rep. He opens the door to the room where they will be meeting and comes face to face with his amazing ex-wife. (Are they actually divorced? I can't quite keep track.) "Wait, your wife's the union goon?" Mark asks. "Nurse mediator, Doctor Sloane," she replies. Also known as the woman who is going to eat you alive, methinks. An HR rep, Wayne Sheehan, is there as well. Richard tells Mark that Adele used to be a nurse and it seems she's gone back to work. She declares pointedly, "I'm not just a housewife any more." She tells them there have been complaints against Sloane and adds that the hospital has ignored them until now. He can't help himself -- he says that everything was consensual, "In fact, some of them even begged for it." It's like he's got Sex Tourrette's. Wayne explains that there have been no formal complaints but to protect themselves from possible litigation in the future, they're going to start making people register any sexual relationships they have with other hospital employees. Mark is appropriately horrified but Adele asks if he wants a $20 million lawsuit, and Richard orders him to shut up and fill out the form. I think he's going to need a few extra pages for this list.Richard bristles when Adele coolly orders him to fill one out too.
Lexie is down in the morgue with Cristina, who is staring mutely at a corpse. If only Lexie knew what kind of horrible, bad-idea, foolish surgery pact was made here. She awkwardly asks Cristina if she's okay, noting that she just passed up an incredible heart transplant with Hahn, which seems a little out of character. Cristina says nothing, and just stands with the scalpel frozen over the corpse's chest. Lexie tentatively asks if this has to do with Burke, but Cristina finally moves to turn and give Lexie a magnified death stare through her goggles. Lexie is finally silent, so Cristina... starts to sing "Like A Virgin." Lexie looks around as if maybe she's on Candid Camera, then asks Cristina if she can help. Cristina only sings louder. Unsure of what to do, Lexie just stands behind Cristina and eventually starts grooving a little bit to the song. When Cristina reaches the chorus, she's into it and adds, "Hey!" at the appropriate moment. It's completely endearing, but naturally Cristina turns to glare at her again. After another death stare, she offers to go upstairs and bolts, relieved. Cristina picks up the song right where she left off and gets back to work.
Line of the night: "I don't need more money, I have fifty percent of yours." Adele seems to be having a hard time getting through to Richard about why she is working; he can't fathom it even when she explains that she loves working and being taken seriously. She asserts that she has changed, and so to save face he tells her that he has too. He tells her he's delegating and going home early but unfortunately she's heard that before and it doesn't hold water. Richard goes so far as to say he's got an intern -- the Chief's Intern.
With that, he has to go find an intern. He finds George and tells him how he's been watching him and thinks that he needs to be challenged more than he is. He lays it on thick, and it works like a charm on George, who isn't used to receiving compliments. He asks George to be the Chief's Intern, and George is in awe of the idea. Then it occurs to him to ask if "Chief's Intern" is a real job.
Derek and Mere are looking at scans of Santiago's brain. He tells her that they have to get more aggressive, and that they should inject the virus into the tumor from both sides to saturate it and therefore have more of an impact. He's got a fancy light-up brain complete with realistic squelching sounds for them to practice on, and he shows her that they'll each take one needle and inject in perfect unison. They practice with the lights off, their faces each lit up by the romantic glow of the practice brain. He reiterates that they must be completely in sync (oh my god, could this be some sort of double entendre? I don't know, it's subtle...) and she chants to herself under her breath, "He's with Rose." Even if he were concentrating on a real brain, there's no way he wouldn't hear her and wonder what the hell was going on, but for the purposes of this scene he remains oblivious.
Naturally, Kyra has an adorable little daughter dressed as a princess. This means two things: First, that something bad will happen to Kyra, and second that the little girl will bring about some change in Alex, the supposed father-to-be. The kid asks Alex if he likes princesses. After he says yes, she asks what's going to happen to her mom. He says they'll put her on a heart/lung machine and that it will be just like Snow White in that she'll die for a while but not really be dead. Kyra takes a disappointed breath. The little girl's older sister yells, "My mom's gonna be dead?!?" The princess cries, "Snow White dies?" They run to their dad as Kyra points out that Alex must not have kids, as they fast-forward through the scary parts at this age.
Izzie can't get a hold of Ava, so she asks Bailey, if it's ok to give a patient's test results to her friend if the patient can't be located. When Bailey tells her no she asks, what if the friend is also a friend of Izzie's who is changing his whole life around because he thinks their mutual friend is pregnant with his child when she isn't. If Bailey decides to think through that riddle for a fraction of a second she'll know yet another hospital secret. Bailey tells her that if she ever wants to win a Harper Avery, she needs to know the basics of privacy. Clearly someone's never winning a Harper Avery.
George comes in beaming, informing everyone that the Chief needs to know who they've slept with as he passes out the forms. He gets to Izzie and his voice drops, but when she tells him it's no one's business he raises his voice and proclaims assertively that it's the Chief's business and therefore also his. He has a clicker in his hand to tally how many forms he's handed out. When Bailey asks to see it, George leans in and as if bestowing a blessed honor tells Bailey she's the only person in the hospital who is exempt. Sexual frustration must be good for one's hair, as Rose's is bouncy and full of volume and waves and she looks the best I've ever seen her. She asks what exactly George means by "sexual relations." After some verbal dancing they come to the conclusion that he means going all the way (I'm using the mature term for these mature individuals) and so she hands the form back since she doesn't need it, while Izzie watches with interest and enjoyment at George's discomfort. As he leaves she calls after him that Chief's Intern isn't a real job.
Out of the blue, Hahn asks Callie, "It's because I don't have a penis, isn't it?" Callie is completely freaked out and looks around to see if anyone heard. Hahn starts ranting about how she deserved the award more than Burke. She admits she wasn't going to say anything until she won, adding that she was prepared to act all nonchalant and like awards meant nothing to her. Callie can't help but laugh. But when Hahn asks her to drinks that night, she makes up a lame excuse about having "a thing" later on. Mark comes up and asks Callie if she'll talk to the nurses and tell them he's really a good guy. Hahn answers for her that they don't really think he's a good guy. Mark informs her that Callie thinks he's a good guy, and slaps her on the butt as he asks for confirmation. Hahn looks at her with pursed lips and storms off. Callie orders Mark to the on-call room.
While Mere putters around Santiago's room taking care of pre-surgery things, Todd asks about the recovery time. When Mere says it will be four to six weeks he happily says that's how long Santiago will be stuck with him then. Santiago points out he deploys in five days, and without any of the emotion that is thick in Todd's voice, reminds him that he's a soldier and he shouldn't screw things up for himself -- adding that he probably won't live through surgery anyway. Todd answers, "Cool, then I'll be good to go in about five days." Santiago just stares at him, and in the moment of silence Mere seems to have a little light go off over her head about all of the underlying tension in the room. Santiago demands to know why Todd came. Todd asks him, "How could I not?" He sits on the bed and Santiago just stares straight ahead with a face like a stone as Todd comments that he's paranoid. Mere gives them a quick reassuring smile and turns away to work on something else. Todd touches Santiago's check and then they grab at each other and start making out in what I have to believe is one of the most passionate gay kisses ever shown on network prime-time television. Meredith watches them wistfully but the moment is broken when Santiago's father walks in. Todd jumps off the bed, but he's already seen too much and orders Todd out. Santiago only stares the other way as the army doctor walks in and, sensing the tension, asks what's wrong. Todd tells him professionally that it's nothing and makes his way out. Santiago finally turns and looks at his dad with tear-filled, red-rimmed eyes.
Callie pulls her coat back on as she hustles down the hall and says, "Thank you for the consult, Dr. Sloane," seemingly for Bailey's approval. I say once someone has seen you in the buff, it's not as necessary to keep up the act. Mark then tries to talk to Rose, but she shuts him up despite his argument that she's dating his best friend, telling him she won't talk to the nurses for him. Bailey watches this, clearly thinking they're all ridiculous. Mark asserts that Rose could tell the nurses he's a good guy. ("Who just happens to be mind-blowingly good at sex.") She tells him that all the talk about sex isn't her definition of good-guy behavior, then gets in the elevator. But before the doors can close, Mark tells her this is exactly why he hates girls like her. "You string guys along acting like sex is some prize when really you're just afraid that once you give it up, he'll lose interest." Her face falls as if to say this is exactly true as the doors close and Mark walks away.
Santiago and Mere are alone and he tells her that his dad isn't a bad guy. "He's just... a soldier. We're all soldiers." Rather than respond to that, Mere tells him that Todd is in the lobby. Santiago sighs and says that Todd should go and put him out of his mind, and when Mere tells him that's not that easy to do, he raises his voice to assert that it would be better for everyone. He's worried about the army doctor finding out and while Mere comments that it's crazy that he has to worry about this, Santiago informs her without hesitation that he knew the deal, "don't ask, don't tell" when he signed on. He tells her that in the military, you keep your personal and work lives separate, adding wistfully, "I just never thought I'd meet my personal life at work." She tells him that she can still go get Todd, but Santiago tells her he can't, because of his dad -- then immediately says he guesses that she's thinking that a soldier can't even stand up to his dad. Meredith tells him she was thinking it was hard. He asks softly, "The gay part, or the tumor part?" "The whole part," and they have a quiet moment. There are still plenty of things that bother me about Meredith, but I do really like that she's acting like an adult, and like a doctor, and that she's helping people like she's in control for once.
Alex throws down a tray down in the cafeteria, clearly wanting to sulk, but George comes up for his form. He also grabs Lexie, who's walking by, to fill hers out. Lexie sits down at Alex's table. Mere sits down and tells George, "Don't ask, don't tell." The Chief's Intern doesn't care and gives her one anyway. As she sits, Rose comes up (of COURSE it's in front of Mere) and whispers that she needs a form after all. Well, well, the office inquiry that Mark caused with his whoring ways had at least one good side effect: It helped his buddy get some. Mere, George, Rose and Lexie are all uncomfortable realizing what's happening, and George tries to slip her a paper stealthily, but it's not so smooth. Lexie apologizes and George asks if he should get Cristina, but Meredith just grins and says that she's totally okay with Derek dating Rose. George then makes a note into a little recorder to get Cristina's form. Lexie admonishes that he shouldn't go near Cristina, and Meredith knowingly asks if she's crying (no), or if she's, "staring straight ahead, being super-scary quiet." Lexie informs Mere that she's singing. Meredith suddenly looks worried and power-walks away without turning in her form. Alex turns his in, but when George looks it over, he tries to tell Alex that he knows he forgot someone. Alex has no clue so George makes a tiny motion towards Lexie. Alex chuckles that he forgot and adds her to the list. Once he leaves, Lexie is appropriately appalled.
The needles are set in Santiago's brain and Derek reminds Meredith that they have to be in perfect sync for the virus to have the most effect. She nods, and they begin. A monitor shows the progress of both injections side by side, and Meredith's is going a hair faster. Derek tells her to slow down but she keeps up slightly ahead of him. He gets more urgent and then tells her to look at him rather than the machine. Completely unrealistically, gazing into his eyes steadies her and the monitor shows that they're now at exactly the same rate and finish the injection at exactly the same time. It's pretty ridiculous even for this show. Everyone else in the OR claps for them, and Derek tells her, "We're standing on the moon, Dr. Grey." I just puked a little bit.
In the conference room where Richard is sitting with Adele and the HR rep, Bailey comes in and plunks down her form, telling him she wanted to deliver it herself in case he had any questions. He comments that there are interns on the forms and she tells him, "I require the energy of youth," adding that Derek was a moment of weakness on her part. Adele raises her eyebrows at what she knows is coming. If those two ladies did some sort of buddy TV show, I'd be first in line to watch. Richard also notices Sloane's name and Bailey looks to the ceiling as she recounts the "many moments" between the two of them and how hot it was. Adele adds, "Mmm, steamy!" Richard tells her he gets the joke and she yells back that in fact the joke is on him. She can't believe that she's been single for weeks now but that he finds the idea that she would have a sexual encounter to be a joke. She continues yelling at him for singling her out as the single person who "couldn't interest a member of the opposite sex." She searches for the word to describe it and Adele pipes up, "It's harassment!" Richard yells her name in protest while Bailey, near tears, whacks him with the form and yells shame on him. She runs out and Adele glares at him.
Izzie brings Alex some juice to help his fever but he turns it down, so she pushes him about being run down, which turns into her admonishing that Ava can't just move in yet and that they have to take it slower. Alex demands to know what her problem is, as she loves every other baby she's ever seen. She tells him that it's not him but when he demands to know what it is, she takes a deep breath and says it's nothing. He storms off and she chews on her cheek and sulks.
Hahn is scrubbing in when Callie joins her, and Hahn asks if they're on for drinks. Callie reminds Hahn about her "thing," and Hahn just nods her head a while before telling Callie she doesn't make friends easily and admits her faults -- she's awkward, bad at small talk, and usually doesn't like people she doesn't know, exhibiting these faults as she says it. She takes a moment and says that she made friends with Callie but now Callie has a "thing" called Sloane. When Callie asks, she says she isn't mad that she's sleeping with Sloane, she's just upset that Callie didn't tell her. She says Callie is one of those girls who turns into a flaky airhead when she gets a guy. Hahn storms off but before walking into the ER repeats that she doesn't make friends easily. Callie's shoulders slump as she watches her go.
A gorgeous nighttime shot of the city lets us know that time has passed. Derek and Meredith are out of surgery and she's giddy that they were in sync and things seemed to work. After the little congratulatory celebration Meredith says she'll stay and monitor him overnight, but Derek jumps in immediately to tell her that he'll stay too, adding, "We can stay together." After that schlocky line, it's only fitting that Rose should show up and ask how it went, because remember? He's dating someone else and has conflicting feelings as he gets closer to his ex who clearly still loves him. He's all stilted and nervous as he tells her, and she then awkwardly asks if he wants to go with her. Derek tells her he has to stay but as she walks away, Meredith takes a deep breath and calls after her on his behalf. He's all flustered by the change in events, and breathily tells her that if she asks him to stay, he'll stay. But she merely smiles at him and tells him he should be with Rose.
Normally an invitation to have sex immediately would send Mark to the designated rendezvous site faster than an Olympic champion. But when Callie orders him to the on-call room, he sulks in a chair and tells her he's not in the mood. She's as surprised as anyone, given that it's probably the first time he's ever spoken those words. She tells him he's always in the mood and, shocked at himself, he breathes, "I know!" He turns and tells her that one of his surgeries was cancelled earlier. She informs him that he's useless and takes off.
Alex goes to tell Kyra and her family that the heart has arrived but as he gets to the room, Mr. Kyra yells that something is wrong and Alex finds her struggling to breathe and convulsing on the bed. Alex listens to her chest and figures a lung has collapsed and calls for Dr. Hahn to be paged, then orders the family out. But they're too terrified and instead huddle together, begging to know if she'll be all right. Alex stares at Kyra, who seems to have passed out. He begins to pull aside the plastic around her bed. The husband starts yelling that he can't go in and break the isolation barrier. Alarms are going nuts and Alex tries to get Kyra's husband to take their daughters away from this scene. He's been reduced to tears, however, and can only hold them and ask, sobbing, if she's going to die. Alex takes a breath and tells the girls (Jessie and Zoë) that this is a scary part and so they have to turn around. They do, and actually I do as well, since he's putting in a chest tube and that's on my personal "been there, done that, don't need to see it" list. They bury their faces in their dad as Alex gets in, and a hiss lets out the extra air, causing Kyra to let out a cry as she regains consciousness. Her husband cries with thanks that she'll be okay and Alex tells the girls that everything is okay and they can turn back around. Fine, so I have to admit that was really kind of sweet. I don't know what it is about Alex, but when he plays the part of reluctant good guy, it really gets to me.
George drops off the forms, alphabetized and divided by department, and as he leaves the Chief reminds Adele that he's delegating and he didn't have to lift a finger. She congratulates him on his progress and he thanks her happily. George is beginning to realize he was just a pawn. He thinks a moment and then asks to have a word with the Chief alone. Adele leaves and as the door closes he yells, "I gave up a major surgery today! And all my friends think I'm a brown-nosing perv." Stuttering, he explains that it was worth it because he thought the Chief really understood him, but that he's not so cool with being used so he can get back together with Adele. He goes on to say that he doesn't know if one can really quit something that isn't a real thing, but that regardless, he quits his job as Chief's Intern. He goes to leave but Richard stops him. He says that he really does see how hard he works. He admits that the Chief's Intern isn't a real job, but that he would like it to be.
Mere stands over Santiago and gives the nurse some orders. When the nurse asks if she wants to be relieved she says she's fine to stay up and sits down to his bed. Outside, Bailey passes Mark slumped in a chair in the hallway.
Something clearly went wrong in the meantime as back in Santiago's room they are using the paddles on him. Bailey passes by Mark again.
And then Meredith is sitting with Santiago's father, who has his chin in his hands. Todd walks up and says that he knows his being there makes him uncomfortable, but that he was trained to not leave a man when he's down and adds, "Our man is down." Mere tries to interrupt him but all the time alone has clearly given him time to work out what he needs to say. Todd adds that they both love Santiago, and that all he wants to know is how he's doing. At that, his father turns up with tears running down his face, and Todd reels, breathing, "Oh God."
Hahn explains to Kyra that Alex saved her life but that the risk that she was exposed to infection is too great and they can't give her the heart. But she'll be at the top of the list to receive the one available. She starts to freak out that that's not enough. Look, obviously I have no idea how she feels. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to go without human physical contact for months. But on the other hand, if he hadn't done what he did, she would be DEAD and that would really mean less human contact. So the panicking anew is just a little much for me to bear. My heart is cold and black.
Bailey walks back to where Mark is sitting, and he looks up at her with eyes red from crying, wallowing in self-pity. She reaches out and slaps him upside the head.
Meredith also looks worse for wear as Derek explains to her that the virus somehow reverted, and there's no way they could have predicted it. She turns to face him and he sits down and shows her a bottle of champagne that he bought on the way over. "For when we get it right." He quietly tells her that they'll succeed and save someone, and then they'll drink the champagne, "to all the patients who helped us change the face of medicine." He repeats again that they will open the champagne, and she finally lets the tears fall.
Cristina is in the conference room facing Adele, Richard, and Sheehan. Richard comments that her form was not turned in. Now, why this meant she ended up standing in front of all of them as if she was being interrogated is beyond me, but isn't it DRAMATIC? Sigh. He tells her she has to fill one out because the hospital is still liable even though Burke is gone. Seriously? Are you going to go after every former employee of yours? No? Only this one, for plot purposes? Okay. Adele looks down, seeming a bit mortified, and Richard fidgets, embarrassed, as he hands over the form to Cristina. She takes it, scribbles it out, and hands it back. "There. My sexual relationship with Preston Burke, on paper. Satisfied?" As she leaves he comments that he knows this is difficult for her. She stops in her tracks and turns back to tell him that it's not difficult, that he left and won the Harper Avery, and is being celebrated all over the world. She goes on that it's not difficult that he's gone and she's still there, living in his apartment and working in the same hospital, wearing the same scrubs, where she chooses to be. "But sir, when his hand was shaking? I performed his surgeries. I kept his secrets, I nursed his pride. You know it, and I know it, and he knows it. He knows it. And yet no where in that newspaper article does my name appear." She pauses. "I am the unseen hand to his brilliance." At this she turns away and wipes her face and excuses herself before going on, "And yet while everything is the same it's very, very different. Now I'm lucky if I get to hold a clamp. Hahn treats me like... I was his hand. And now I am a ghost. That's not difficult. It's unbearable. I know everybody is proud of him, but I'm not. And I do not wish him well." As always when given this kind of material, Sandra Oh is incredible. The Chief looks sad, and chastened.
Bailey stands facing all of the nurses, with Mark behind her. She informs them that their boycott has gone on long enough. She says that she has no authority, but wants to offer her thoughts on Sloane. The nurses all collectively roll their eyes, while Sloane leans in to tell her how great she's doing. "This man is a whore. Has always been a whore, will probably always be a whore!" Mark's looking a little bit less pleased now. Bailey reminds them, though, that he's never hidden that and that they all knew this full well when they decided to hook up with him, and now they're trying to act the injured party. Mark's face is a thundercloud as she declares, "He's nasty." But, she adds, he's also quite a good doctor. She concludes, "So let us all close our knees and get back to our jobs so he can get back to his job and help the people that really need it!" She turns and gives Mark a, "See? Done!" face while he stares at his shoes, then sends them all on their way.
Kyra is resting when the plastic around her bed parts and her husband and daughters, dressed in gowns, caps and masks, come in to see her. Since she's already been exposed, what's one more? She pulls down one of their masks to rub noses with her, which seems to be taking it a little far, but hey. Alex watches from outside when Izzie comes up behind him and tells him softly that she heard he did great. I love that he turns on his heel and leaves, even though I know he also needs to find out that Ava's not pregnant and that it's going to be bad when that happens. Izzie runs after him and he turns to yell at her that he knows she thinks he can't do it, but it's his kid and what she thinks doesn't matter. He runs off, leaving her with her hands in her pockets and nothing to say. Blissful!
Todd comes to Santiago's room, where his father is telling the army doctor that he wants Santiago to have a full military burial. As they walk out the door, he looks at Todd and gives him a nod, a truce. Meredith leaves as well and Todd goes in to have a private moment, where he leans down and kisses Santiago gently on the lips while Mere watches with fresh tears in her eyes.
Time to go home, time for voiceover. "It was a good day." Richard and Adele are waiting for the elevator and he reminds her he's heading home early. She comments, "Maybe you have changed." He looks at her and compliments her blouse; she turns away as he smiles but fights her own smile so he can't see it. "Maybe even a great day," Mere's VO adds.
Izzie passes Bailey outside with Tuck, and Bailey asks if she ever got in touch with her patient. Izzie admits she did not, and Bailey asks if she told her friend. With a slightly stronger voice, Izzie tells her no and sits down to coo over Tuck, adding, "Even though it killed me, I didn't tell her." Bailey tells her that she's growing. Grudgingly, I must admit it's the tiniest bit true. True to form, Izzie says she wishes it would stop. Bailey takes a breath and tells her that Tucker is out on a date right now, then stands up and heads home with her baby for Izzie to chew that over. VO: "I was a good doctor. Even when it was hard. I was the me in my head." Bailey walks away with her head held high.
At Joe's, Lexie drunkenly tells George she just called three ex-boyfriends to find out how unforgettable she was. She adds that she's sure they'll call her back. George tells her whatever. She made a mistake sleeping with Alex, but no one can hold a candle to him when it comes to making mistakes, sleeping with the wrong people, and being humiliated. He should be her inspiration. She wrinkles her nose and giggles. Already, whether they actually hook up or not, these two have more chemistry than George and Izzie could ever hope to muster. George declares that he's the Chief's Intern. "I am the man, at the right hand of... the Man." They clink glasses.
Elsewhere in the bar, Callie admits that she's been avoiding Hahn. Haltingly, she gets out that Addison had implied that she and Hahn seemed like they were lesbians. After a moment, Hahn bursts out laughing and after waiting a second to make sure it's really okay, Callie does the same. But in her eyes you can still see some doubt about the whole thing. Their laughter sort of dies out and they go back to seeming uncomfortable.
"There was a moment when I thought, 'I can't do this.'" I don't think that thought went through Richard's or Adele's minds this evening, as they are happily cuddling in bed together -- all that's missing is for one of them to be puffing contentedly on a cigarette. She tells him saucily that she's glad some things haven't changed.
Mere continues, "I can't do this alone." Mark and Derek are in the elevator, of course. Mark announces, "The most refined, professional, ladylike doctor in this hospital came to my defense tonight, and the best she could come up with is 'He's a whore.' I'm a whore." He turns to Derek with a wounded look, as if this really is news to him. Derek stares up at the floors as they light up and admits that he slept with Rose, and the whole time he was thinking about Meredith. He turns to Mark. "Who's the bigger whore?" Well, probably still Mark. Who's the bigger cad? Derek, at least tonight.
"But I closed my eyes, and imagined myself doing it. And I did. I blocked out the fear, and I did it." Cristina is lying on her sofa with her eyes open, as Meredith sits in Dr. Amy's office and cheerfully concludes that it was a really good day -- presumably she just told her everything she voiced over. Dr. Amy leans back, nods, then says that since Mere's insurance will only cover 20 sessions, she's going to cut to the chase. Meredith smiles benignly. Dr. Amy throws her pen and paper on the table and tells her it wasn't a good day. Her patient died alone without being able to tell his boyfriend how he felt. Mere defends that it was actually heroic, since it would have busted Todd. Dr. Amy tells her to shut up and says she'll spell it out. Her patient died alone while the love of his life was literally in the room. "That's you!" Meredith is dense enough to be genuinely surprised and ask what she's talking about, that she's not alone, but Dr. Amy says she's calling herself a hero when she's really just alone. This Dr. Amy is MY hero! Meredith calls it a load of crap and Dr. Amy says, "He's with Rose." Mere gets up to leave, and she just repeats it until Mere yells and asks why she's doing it; Dr. Amy points out that if he's with Rose, he's not with Mere, and asks her if she knows why. She then answers her own question. "You're scared." Meredith demands to know if Dr. Amy is calling her a coward, and all of her walls are going back up in record speed before our eyes. Meredith repeats the question and Dr. Amy answers, "What do you think?" And, with two steps forward, one step back, Meredith storm out of the office and the door slams shut. Dr. Amy, I lift my glass to you.