The Uncoupling

S06E11

The first episode back since our long holiday break starts innocuously enough -- Seattle's pro quarterback is brought in after getting injured in a game, and a whole slew of doctors are on his case. Since Bailey is busy with him, Derek helps her out by taking one of her patients -- none other than the guy who the Chief accidentally nearly killed a few weeks prior when he was operating drunk. Derek's suspicions are raised by the fact that this guy has had six follow-ups for a supposedly routine procedure, so he starts digging around to find out what could be wrong. After Bailey tries to throw him off the scent by saying she has a thing for the guy, he eventually goes to Meredith, and she finally admits to him that Richard is drinking again. At least this revelation doesn't cause them to break up -- they're one of the only couples that make it through the hour unscathed.

Sloan is still there and to my surprise is actually pregnant. When Lexie performs an ultrasound (and while Lexie tries to gently suggest that Sloan might like getting her own apartment) she realizes that something is wrong -- it turns out the baby has amniotic bands wrapped around its legs which could ultimately cause amputation. Mark calls Addison down to help out with the surgery to remove them, but it turns out more complicated than she thought. She wants to proceed as she's 95% sure she can do it with no harm to Sloan, but Mark is adamantly against it and orders her to quit. Addison points out that he's really become a father, and that is also why he'll not be allowed in the OR again for another of Sloan's surgeries, if there is one. Mark then talks to his daughter who pleads with him to let Addie do the surgery, and as he relents he also offers to have Sloan move in and raise the baby while living with him and Lexie. He didn't actually talk to Lexie about this first, though, and as she didn't sign up for anything of the sort they get into a fight over the situation. When Mark tells her not to make him choose between the two women, Lexie realizes that he would choose Sloan over her, and that is a pretty clear sign that their relationship is over. She of course heads back to Meredith's with her suitcase, finds that Alex has moved back in too as he also has completely given up on his own relationship, and he convinces her to partake in a little bit of rebound sex. He was considering doing it with Reed, who was considering it too, to the point that she kinda-sorta offered it up if he would let her help with a surgery. But when Alex calls her bluff she relents and backs off. Obviously, however, she left Alex in the mood.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to just break up Lexie and Mark so abruptly; Cristina and Owen seem headed for serious trouble too. Teddy offers Cristina her first solo cardiac surgery, and after dealing with a difficult patient who can't make up her mind about what surgery she really wants, Cristina finally makes it into the OR on her own. When the surgery takes a turn for the worse, she finally asks for Teddy's help but Teddy keeps reading a magazine and assures Cristina that she can figure it out on her own. Owen realizes what's happening and flips out, going into the OR to yell at Teddy, but Cristina throws him out and then of course manages to pull out a successful surgery in the end. Afterward, Teddy defends herself by saying that Cristina needs to be pushed. That may be true, but Owen prods her to admit that she also didn't want to help Cristina for personal reasons, and Teddy's face cracks enough to totally give away that his suspicions are correct. Owen tells her she has to leave Seattle, but when Cristina finds out she runs after Teddy and tearfully begs her to stay, saying that Teddy believes in Cristina more than she does herself, and that she needs that. As she keeps asking what Teddy wants to stay in Seattle, Teddy finally blurts out that she wants Owen and Cristina, without thinking, says she can have him. After it slips out of her mouth she seems stunned, but she also doesn't take it back, and we're left hanging until week to see what the fallout might be. All I know is that Grey's is back to its old ways -- no couple can ever actually be functional and happy for any real amount of time. Derek and Meredith, you'd better guard that post-it with your lives!

Find out what happens with Sloan's grandkid and his annoying daughter in our Private Practice recap.

Previously on Grey's Anatomy, I totally thought Sloan Sloan was lying about being pregnant in order to get Mark's sympathy, and it turns out I was totally wrong on that one. The Chief got drunk and nearly killed a dude in surgery, Mere covered it up for him, and Teddy is in love with Owen who's in love with Cristina. Welcome to 2010, dear readers! I hope your holidays were lovely.

"We assume the really serious changes in our lives happen slowly, over time. But it's not true. The big stuff happens in an instant." Probably not the instant we're seeing, though, which is Mere watching old surgery videos with the Chief, who is miming the actions on the screen.

Meredith accidentally wakes Derek up while she's getting ready for work -- she's going in early to get her stuff done so she can watch more videos that evening. Derek points out, not very happily, that they've been watching videos every night this week and pointedly says he thought last night was the last time. He sounds totally accusatory, as if Meredith is pouring booze down Richard's throat while they watch, even though Derek still doesn't really know what's going on with his former mentor. It turns out that the Chief never made it to their video date the night before, and Derek says he saw Richard sleeping in his office. Meredith makes some lame excuse that honestly really should by now have tipped Derek off to what is going on, but instead Derek remains in the dark, knowing something is wrong but not exactly what.

Lexie and Mark are lounging in bed being schmoopy and he asks her for a favor, which is to give Sloan an ultrasound. Lexie is less than thrilled at the prospect and wants someone else to do it, but Mark says Sloan likes her. Mark, saying it a bunch of times is never going to make it true, and you're old enough to know that even with your lack of parenting skills. Lexie climbs on top of him for some nookie, and that's just when Sloan waltzes in blabbing about them being out of something. She yelps and runs out, totally grossed out by what she's just seen. Mere VO's: "Becoming an adult, becoming a parent. Becoming a doctor. One minute you're not and the , you are." I don't think this is a seminal "becoming a parent" moment for Mark, but he does run out and apologize. Lexie asks why he's sorry since Sloan didn't knock, but the Sloans ignore her and Sloan Sloan whines that they have no cereal. The girl is a complete brat and Mark clearly thinks parents shouldn't have spines and left his at the door, as he's become a complete pushover. He gives Sloan money for breakfast and when she whines and says she needs lunch money too he forks more over. He's actually helping Sloan take advantage of him by putting the words in her mouth about her needing the money, too. Lexie is unimpressed and goes to take a shower, but Sloan claims the bathroom for her inevitable morning vomit.

She heads over to Cristina's to use her shower and finds her eating cereal, but Cristina tells her that Owen is in her bathroom. Not remembering her own morning experience with the not knocking, Lexie walks into Callie's bathroom and right into some morning shower nookie between Callie and Arizona. Lex runs out and whines that she's late, her hair is dirty and Mark gave Sloan $80 "for a muffin and a sandwich." Cristina remarks, "That's quite a sandwich!" and Lexie just moans that Sloan will spend it on jeans that show off her buttcrack and then will mooch half of Lexie's lunch. Cristina points out that Lexie sounds like her mom. I think we're all at the point these days where we have to admit to becoming at least somewhat like our moms, and that seriously, one's crack should be covered by one's pants, am I right? The girls come out and Lexie goes to take a shower, but Callie calls that there's no hot water. Lexie just can't catch a break.

"Ask any doctor, and they can point to the one moment they became a physician. It usually isn't med school graduation." Yes Mere, you said that already, we get it. This is going to be an Hour Of Moments, isn't it? At least in the past she mixed it up a little with her meandering voiceovers. "Whatever it is, nobody forgets it. Sometimes you don't even know anything's changed. You think you're still you and your life is still your life. But you wake up one day and you look around and you don't recognize anything." Teddy finds Cristina and tells her that she gets to fly solo that day, but the exciting part for Cristina is that this is actually a solo cardio procedure. I thought she kind of did that already when she was covering for Burke, but I guess this is her first LEGAL solo cardio procedure, a valve replacement. Owen walks up and she tells him what's going on and then happily runs off to prepare. Owen then looks over at Teddy, and the look that passes between them shows that things aren't entirely comfortable after they bared all their feelings at the holidays. He gives her an awkward smile and leaves, and she's clearly disappointed as Mere finishes up, "Not anything at all."

As Lexie gives Sloan her ultrasound, Sloan has the balls to actually ask for money for a headset for her phone, as she lost hers. Girl, pick your sucker wisely -- clearly Lexie isn't the one who is going to play like Mark is. They bicker back and forth about holding a phone to one's ear and the volume at which Sloan talks on the phone, and Lexie suggests that if Sloan had her own apartment she could talk on the phone whenever she wanted, "But we're all making compromises." Just then she sees the baby on the screen and is obviously worried at whatever she sees. The shot then goes to the ultrasound itself, as if us laypeople are going to look at the blobs and say, "Why yes, clearly I see that the blahdeeblah doesn't look like it's supposed to!" Sloan wants to know the sex but Lexie just stutters as she does when she's trying to cover something up and says they should go to a better machine upstairs and have someone else take a look.

By Lauren S

Derek leads a whole team of doctors out to the ambulance bay to meet his patient, the starting quarterback for Seattle's football team, Tom Kates. He tells the awed doctors to call security if they see photographers, and Bailey threatens them as well against getting autographs and the like. When the residents -- Mere, Alex and Reed -- realize they are all there for a single patient, they're less awed and more disappointed but Derek ignores them and greets Tom, for whom this is clearly not his first concussion. Callie's there as well to check all of his joints, and while they work his wife runs in with a heart-meltingly cute baby, totally worried. Derek assures her that Tom is fine and sends her away while Tom tries to act brave but is clearly shaken up.

Mark greets Lexie upstairs and before she can say anything asks her accusingly if she told Sloan to move out. Lexie says no but adds that it's not a bad idea, which is not what Mark wanted to hear. He starts to yell at her for making Sloan feel crappy and for not wanting to be alone with her. He talks over Lexie's protests and when he finally asks why he has to chaperone the ultrasound, Lexie is able to tell him that something is wrong with the baby.

A doc we've never seen before and surely will never see again is doing the honors this time and they are looking at a 3D image of the baby that shows things wrapped around his legs. Sloan first hears that it's a boy, which Lexie hadn't had a chance to tell her earlier, but then hears them say that the baby has amniotic bands wrapped around his legs which could cause trouble as he grows and at the worst, cut off his legs. Sloan, ever the wordsmith, begins to freak out at the idea of her baby having stumps. The doctor says she doesn't know if they can fix it, which brings out Mark's papa bear -- he orders the doctor not to say she doesn't know, dismisses her from the case, and then walks out into the hall to call Addison.

Teddy introduces Cristina to her patient, Ruthie, who is charming and sweet and shockingly, Cristina is actually incredibly pleasant back. After a few moments, though, her good cheer starts to fade. Ruthie, while sweet, wants to go over all of her allergies, and this turns into her worrying about every little thing including dust mites in her pillow, and she asks to have a new nurse. All of this still doesn't prepare Cristina for where Ruthie goes , which is saying she's worried about her new mechanical valve making a clicking noise. Cristina immediately tries to brush off her doubts since switching up and using a porcine valve would be a whole different procedure than what they planned, but Ruthie is really into the idea of a pig. Teddy watches with bright-eyed amusement as Cristina is finally left speechless by Ruthie's musings.

Addie, joined by Arizona, gets down to work and sees the same thing everyone already has, but she does a better job explaining more thoroughly that as the baby grows, the bands will cut off the circulation and possibly result in the loss of the right leg and bad damage to the left. I guess Sloan is 22 weeks along and Addison warns that surgery now could be risky, but Arizona says that it wouldn't kill the baby if they just left it for now, and that they could fit him with a prosthesis after birth so he could most likely walk one day. Sloan completely freaks out at the idea and Mark tries to calm her down. She then throws the room for a loop when she asks which one of the ladies Mark slept with. Arizona quickly absolves herself and Mark explains to a rather horrified Addison that he and Sloan had been bonding. She points out that talking about one's sexual exploits isn't the generally accepted method for that, but Sloan just wants to be sure he didn't get Addison pregnant and then leave her alone and wanting revenge. On paper, as I type this, it sounds like we're supposed to realize all of Sloan's trust issues and maybe cut her a break for being a boorish, snotty pain in the ass but I have to say, I'm totally not there. I still find her a pill without any redeeming qualities and think that by now her attitude might have helped balance some of the guilt Mark is feeling over the situation and made him a bit less gullible, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Addison just assures her that they hooked up a long time ago and that she's going to do everything she can, so Sloan decides she wants the surgery right now.

By Lauren S

Reed joins a frighteningly orange Alex and laments that Tom only has a concussion and that she probably won't get in to surgery. Seriously, has Alex been applying a layer of tan for each day his annoying, crappy wife has been missing? He's closer to the same shade as a Spanish tile roof than of an actual human being. Anyhoo, Reed asks Alex if he wants to share a patient and when he asks why he would, she tells him that she loves a man with terracotta skin and would take him out for drinks, "And, you know..." With that she gives him a sly sexy look, and Alex agrees. Charles has been watching and after Alex leaves, runs up to Reed clutching his pearls to yell at her for being a prostitute who trades sex for surgery. Mere is down the hall watching the whole exchange, a bit troubled herself. Reed defends herself, saying she's just messing with Alex and they both know it, and she shoos Charles away. As she does, she sees Meredith watching her, and Meredith gives her a scary half-grin before Reed leaves.

Cristina finds Teddy and tells her about Ruthie now wanting a pig valve instead of a mechanical valve; she seems pretty freaked out at having prepared for hours for the mechanical surgery when now she's going to have to do something else. Teddy just tells her she's learning a lot and asks if she should find someone else if Cristina isn't comfortable. Cristina, never one to back down, assures Teddy that she's fine and runs off.

Derek walks in to find Tom and give him the good news: he's only got a concussion and they don't need to go in and fix anything. Well, anything in his head, at least -- he does need his spleen removed but that's a simple procedure that will only keep him out for the end of the season, and he'll be back playing in no time. Alex is there too and smiles encouragingly, but Tom starts to hyperventilate and the docs immediately get him an oxygen mask as he grasps at his chest.

It turns out that Tom was having a massive panic attack, and Derek asks him if he's ever had one before. Tom insists he's fine and when his wife comes in with his son, he cuts off Derek so that he doesn't tell her about what just happened. He tells her that he can't play until season but she assures him that the season will be here in no time. Derek watches with his patented solemn/thoughtful/worried/mildly judgmental face.

After witnessing Reed's show Mere isn't clutching her own pearls, but she is kind of appalled at her friend and goes to ask him if he's trading surgery for sex. Alex doesn't really answer the question and just says he'll sleep with Reed if he wants to before pointing out that Mere probably got a few extra surgeries from Derek after some time in the on-call room. Meredith reminds Alex that even if it doesn't feel like it, he's still married, but he's not having any of it and cuts her right off, telling her that he's done worrying about Izzie as she clearly has done the same. She says that this is the old Alex, and reminds him that they both grew up and got married. Alex retorts, "Yeah, well it turns out your stupid post-it is ten times the marriage my church wedding ever got me. I'm moving on." While I pray that's true since these episodes without Izzie have been glorious, I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to have to face her and his broken marriage sooner rather than later.

Bailey is stunned when Derek tells her about Tom's panic attacks, and Derek muses that he doesn't know why Tom isn't talking about them. I don't know, Derek, could it be because he's a big-time, famous, supposedly-tough football player who might not want to show weakness? I don't know, that's a tough one to guess at. He then tells her about Sheldon's follow up, and begins to fire questions at her about the level of care he is receiving and if there was a mistake made by the Chief during the surgery. She can't get him to stop so she pulls out the big guns, telling Derek she has a thing for Sheldon and that's why he's been in so often. It's so farfetched that Derek's anger subsides enough for him to look amused as he holds up the yellow photo. Bailey tries unconvincingly to say that she is drawn to Sheldon but can't put her finger on why that is, and Derek smirks because he knows "humpin' and pumpin' is not Sheldon's strong suit." When he offers it to her, she snatches the picture from him before stalking away.

By Lauren S

Ruthie, meanwhile, is having a crisis because she watched her sister eat a pork chop and didn't feel any kinship with the pig, so she wonders if she should cancel the porcine valve after all. I personally think it's a good thing to not feel kinship with the animal flesh on your plate, but for Ruthie, it's a problem. Cristina asks if Ruthie might feel kinship with cows while a very amused Teddy watches this all unfold. Cristina tries to tell Ruthie that a bovine valve surgery is totally different from both the porcine and the mechanical valve surgeries but Ruthie isn't worried about Cristina's feelings and instead asks if she could see the valves. Cristina tells her that it's impossible but this makes Ruthie want to call it all off, so Cristina changes her mind and offers to bring her valves so that she can bond with one. Ruthie is thrilled and after Cristina leaves, can't stop telling Teddy how wonderful Cristina is.

Joking time is over for Derek, and he finds the Chief and asks if he wants to do Tom's spleenectomy. Richard tries to brush it off and have Bailey perform it, but Derek is tenacious and gets Richard to agree by pointing out that he might make an exception to his surgical vacation for such a high-profile client. Richard agrees halfheartedly to do it, but as he goes Derek stares him down with a Death Ray of Judgment.

While Cristina begs a technician to bend the rules and bring her a couple of valves, Mere tries to make a phone call. Cristina gripes that prepping for three different surgeries might kill her and Meredith counters that it's a gut decision Ruthie has to make: pig or cow? Cristina totally disagrees and says it's an educated decision. Golly, I wonder if Cristina will be faced with making a gut decision later? Mere doesn't answer because Izzie's voicemail picks up, and she leaves a message warning her that Alex might be moving on. Cristina takes a different approach, and yells into the phone that she needs to come work in the clinic because she's throwing her career away. Meredith admonishes her (as do I, because seriously the quality of the show is exponentially higher without having to shoehorn in Izzie's sneering face and shitty storylines) but Cristina explains that she was fired from surgery, not all medicine. My favorite thing is that they had that exchange while Mere was still leaving a message, so Izzie will get to hear all of that when she retrieves her voicemail. Mere hangs up as the tech brings a delighted Cristina two containers that hold a pig and a cow valve, respectively.

Ruthie, meanwhile, is staring intently at the two valves in front of her, waiting for one to sing her a sweet song of love. When she admits that neither is speaking to her, Cristina tries to keep her cool and points out that if her own valve were there it wouldn't speak to her either. Ruthie then remembers that her cousin's wife is a cardiologist and thinks about calling for another opinion, which is it for Cristina. She says that no, this is Ruthie's heart and she should follow her instincts and make a decision right now. "Pig or cow. Don't think! Pig or cow?!" Ruthie finally picks pig, and seems happy to have finally made a decision.

Tom is out of his surgery, and Derek reports that everything went well and Tom will be back on his feet in no time but Tom is clearly not happy with the news. As he is all-knowing, Derek says rather than asks that Tom is scared to play, and thought he was done for good with this injury, but that when he found out he could play again he panicked. Tom doesn't even try to hide it and talks about how he knows guys that are so messed up from getting hit for so many years that they can't remember their own names. He's terrified at his son growing up without a dad, and Derek tells him that this is natural and suggests that he retire. Tom thinks the idea is crazy, though, as he's only two years in to his career. He points out that while he knows he's not a soldier, rocket scientist, or any kind of real hero, he's someone the whole city roots for and he can't let them down. The fear is the tradeoff. He reiterates that he's not complaining, but that he is scared of the hits and wants to remember his own child. Honestly, knowing your own child isn't really an outlandish request in my book.

Cristina has finally made it into the OR and is operating away while Teddy reads a magazine. Why is that the prop of choice for the surgeon who is there to supervise someone's first solo surgery? I remember the Chief doing it too, and it just seems super contrived.

Upstairs in the gallery, things are coming to a head regarding Reed's possible surgery prostitution -- Alex tells her that he told Callie to let Reed scrub in if there's a surgery later, and tells Reed to book an on-call room. She seems disconcerted by his laying it out just like that, and tries to flirt about drinks first, but Alex deems drinks a waste of time and thinks they should get right to it. Mere is watching with a disgusted look, and then asks Reed pointedly if she knows Izzie. Reed's claws come out for the first time in weeks and she snarks about meeting Izzie before she got fired, and Alex tries to shut up his friend as she reminds Reed that Alex is still a married man. Reed cuts her off effectively, though, when she points out that Cristina has had something go wrong with her surgery. It's weirdly refreshing to watch Reed be a bitch again since she was so hardcore the first couple of weeks -- and I just don't believe that Alex's burnished glow put her in such a trance that she'd be nothing but sweetness and light now.

By Lauren S

In the aftermath of Mark's outburst in the OR, he says he's sorry that she didn't like his judgment call. Addison very rightly reminds him that he put her on a plane immediately precisely because he wanted her judgment call, and cuts him off when he talks about the risk to point out that he acted like a father, which is why parents aren't allowed in the OR. He tries to deny it but clearly that's what happened, as he wouldn't have reacted like he did if he just had his surgeon hat on at the time. She toots her own horn a little saying that while most surgeons wouldn't want to take the risk and do the surgery she could handle it, and tells him that she can go in and try it again but that he will be kept in the waiting room. He tells her it's too risky, so she tells him positively that in that case they will monitor the baby's growth and see what happens. She leaves to go back to her actual job but before she goes, congratulates him on being an actual parent. She smirks while he heaves a pathetic sigh.

Richard is once again showing Meredith surgery videos -- this time it's the moment her mother's genius first shone through. "She walked in that room a resident, and walked out a legend." Mere is less interested in the video and more worried about what is going on, but when she tells Richard that Derek was worried about him skipping out on surgery that day, Richard blithely brushes it off, calls Derek a good guy, and goes back to the video.

Mark is now explaining to Sloan while he called off the surgery, while Lexie listens from the foot of the bed. Sloane is much more worried about having a "gimpy kid" than about herself, and when Mark tells her to stop saying "gimp" she breaks down and cries that her kid has no dad and a stupid, slutty mom, so he is going to need feet. I'll give her that one, actually. She cries and begs Mark to let her have the surgery while he comforts her, saying she's not stupid or slutty. Well... I wouldn't go that far. He tells her that she came this far to get help from him and that is actually being a mom, and he won't let anything happen to her. From her spot where she's been quietly listening, Lexie tells them to go to LA and get the surgery, as a 95% chance at success isn't bad. Mark agrees, and Sloan happily gives him a big hug. Unfortunately, he's then carried on a wave of his new paternal feelings, and he tells Sloan she won't have to do this alone, and invites her and her infant to keep living with him Lexie, so they can be one big happy family raising the child. Lexie is absolutely gobsmacked as this was clearly a spur-of-the-moment decision, and glares at them both as Sloan accepts happily.

Knee replacement apparently demands awesome surgical spacesuits, and Reed and Alex are suited up behind Callie as she gets ready to start Tom's surgery. Reed asks if she can do anything to help and is totally disappointed that there's nothing to do, while Alex smirks and asks her if it wasn't worth the price she paid. Callie's still pretty touchy about the whole situation and shuts them right up, warning that this moment is about a talented athlete's career ending and not about their own budding careers. She then mutters to herself that she can't believe she's taking out Seattle's best quarterback, but Derek sagely tells her she's not: "He was out of the game a long time ago." He's really in fine high-and-mighty Derek form today, sheesh.

Teddy and Hunt have continued their argument now that Cristina's surgery is over, and Teddy defends herself, saying she would have stepped in and not let the patient get hurt. Hunt claims he knows but doesn't seem to mean it, so Teddy goes on, saying Cristina needs to be pushed or else she'll lose her mind. Hunt then finally gets down to what he really wants to know -- was there anything else going on with regards to her not helping Cristina. Teddy is confused but as he stares her down, she puts her head in her hand which seems to be the sign for, "It might not have been the worst thing if your girlfriend had failed, either."

Alex and Reed are out of their own surgery and standing in front of the on-call room; Alex asks her if she's ready to pay up. She balks and makes some excuses while trying to still be flirty, but Alex keeps at her until she says that they might have had a misunderstanding about the definition of, "You know..." Alex clearly knew this already, and tells her in no uncertain terms that he doesn't trade surgery for sex, and if she wanted sex she should have just asked for it. He adds that if she wants surgery, she needs to kiss someone else's ass. Charles then shows up for his second scene only so that he can chastise both of them, but is surprised when Reed tells him to go to hell and Alex smirks at him before stalking off. Charles asks the empty hallway how he became the bad guy. It's because you're the idiot jester of the hospital now, Charles -- every show... I mean hospital, needs one.

Dude, this was the scheduled hour for Big Talks at Seattle Grace Mercy West, it seems, and Mark and Lexie are back at the apartment talking about his surprise offer for Sloan. He's happy and thinks it's totally the right thing to do, and tells Lexie that he only knows what the right thing is because she's in his life. Lexie is happy for him in that regard, and tells him that he became a father while Sloan shockingly became a mom that day. However, Lexie herself didn't become a mother and reminds Mark that she was barely ready to move in with him, so now moving in with Sloan and a baby are too much. Mark argues that this is what you do for family, reminding her that she was ready to give Thatcher her liver. Yes Mark, her liver, and a month of recovery -- Thatcher wasn't moving in with you for the two of you to care for him 24/7 for the rest of his life after that. Lexie assures him she knows why he is doing it, but not why she should be, and Mark actually tells her that he's doing this for her. Lexie immediately tells him not to make her the selfish one, and that he can't make this decision by himself. He just tells her about how this is his second chance, and he needs them, and then drops the bomb when he asks her not to make him choose between the two women. Lexie quietly asks him if that's because he would choose Sloan, and without much hesitation Mark tells her that's true. Lexie, upon hearing this, tells him, "I think our relationship just ended." She kisses him and leaves, and I totally started asking the television why Mark couldn't at least have had a remotely likeable daughter, because then the break-up of one of my favorite couples on this show would at least be palatable.

By Lauren S

Back at their house, Lexie laughs that she's too young to be a grandmother, and then admits that she doesn't even know anymore what people her age are doing. Jeez, Lexie, you guys weren't dating THAT long, and you do know other young people. She muses that she's supposed to be coming home from work and doing stupid crap, and that is all Alex needs -- he suggests, "I know something stupid you can do." They smile at each other, and after a moment kiss and fall back on the bed. He may be overly tanned, but as rebounds go she could do way worse.

"You never forget the moment you become a doctor," Meredith VO's, and then to her husband she admits she doesn't know why she's having such a hard time saying what's wrong if it really isn't a problem.

"A switch flips. Suddenly you're not playing dress-up anymore. You own the white coat." Cristina sprints through the hospital and finds Teddy walking about; she runs after her and begs to know what she wants to stay. She suggests more money, and offers to talk to the Chief, then suggests that she could work with vets. She's so panicked that she doesn't hear Teddy's protests and cries that Teddy believes in her more than she does herself, which she needs. She's absolutely beside herself, thinking she's going to die without her mentor, and gets louder and louder as she demands to know what Teddy wants. Teddy tries to protest but finally yells back, "I want Owen!" Without a single nanosecond of hesitation, Cristina answers, "Fine, then take him!" Teddy is stunned, while Cristina just seems to absorb what she just said, though she doesn't look like it's a mistake and she's about to take it back. Wow, did things just get awkward.

Mere VO's: "What you may not notice is the moment that being a doctor changes you." As much as I love Cristina, and Cristina and Owen, I don't know that this was a full-on personality change for her, but it was certainly a big and pretty horrible move if nothing else.

Mere, meanwhile, finally sucks it up and tells Derek, "He's drinking again." There, now was that so hard? I do love it when a storyline finally gets a chance to move forward, and now we'll get to see what Derek's latest pair of Judgment Pants look like when he pulls them on week.