Owen and Cristina wake up the morning after their wedding, and he certainly knows his new bride -- he's ready for it when she seems to realize what they did and she starts to panic. Unfortunately, his ultimate solution to help her get her mojo back is to get her back into the OR. It's a good thought, and I might have done the same thing in his shoes, but it doesn't go well. When someone knocks over a tray of tools that creates a loud bang, Cristina drops to the floor, literally paralyzed with fear. Meredith manages to help her enough to get her back to the locker room, and after the surgery Owen comes to talk to her and to admit he was totally wrong about what she needed. Cristina, upset over both what happened in the OR and the fact that the marriage didn't actually make her feel immediately better/cured/happy/etc., gives her wedding ring back to Owen and walks away. She finds sanctuary at Meredith's house, but, shockingly, after letting Cristina wallow a bit, Meredith gently tells her that marriage is for better or worse and that this is just the "worse" part, and that Cristina should stick it out. Just then Owen barges into the house to say that she was there for him when he was going through his own PTSD and that he'll be there for her as well, no matter what, because he loves her, and they go home together. Meredith must have been able to finally dole out some actually good advice, because she herself finally told Derek that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage, and she then admits that his driving terrifies her, so that all she does all day is worry that he will die. He seems to agree to become a safe driver once again, and she finally gets cleared for surgery now that she's no longer ignoring her own problems.
Meanwhile, if anyone was going to be able to help Alex get over himself, it's Bailey. She realizes he's still got the bullet in his chest and doesn't allow him to operate as long as it's there. He sulks and complains all day long but finally she just orders him onto an operating table and he goes with it, and as she works she explains that they're going to be carrying around enough about that day with them forever, so he doesn't need this extra souvenir. As she pulls the bullet out they also talk about Reed and Charles and how it was basically just the luck of the draw (and their multi-season contracts) that spared their own lives that day.
The big medical drama of the week is that an entire flag football team was struck by lightning, so the ER winds up full of them and their burns, temporary paralysis and romantic drama. Mark has Lexie help him out with one of the team members to keep her away from doing any actual surgery, because he is still worried about her. He also admits to Callie that he's in love with Lexie and wants to propose immediately, but she advises him to wait on that, seeing as how they aren't that far removed from his having had Lexie committed. Lexie, however, doesn't get that he's hovering and keeping her out of the OR because he is worried about her, and she just gets angrier and angrier because she thinks he thinks she's a walking time bomb, and she is convinced that his behavior is influencing everyone else, as well. Mark, though, comes to the realization through their patient that life is short, and he decides it's time to declare his love to Lexie. Unfortunately, when he goes to make his move, Lexie lets him have it and begs him to leave her alone, and because he's decided to do whatever it takes to make her happy, he agrees. Aw. Callie and Arizona, meanwhile, have been involved in some stupid non-drama about what color the walls should be in their apartment. Seriously, these two deserve far better storylines than the stupid fluff they've gotten these first two episodes of season seven. It seems that the only real reason their whole arc exists this hour is so that a once-again heartbroken and slightly drunk Mark can advise Callie to realize she's got someone wonderful and that if Arizona wants to paint the walls beige, Callie should let her, because it really doesn't matter in the great scheme of life when you are together with the person you love.
ABC started the episode a moment early tonight, so Mere's VO kicks off with, "but that's a myth." Based on the theme of the episode, I'm going to assume she said, "They say lightning never strikes twice." Let's go with it, shall we? Mere herself is sobbing in yet another meeting with Perkins, her mascara running down her cheeks in gobs, and she tells him how scary it was to see Derek bleeding out like that, and how good it feels to just get it out. By the time she actually thanks him, it's obvious this is a total act, and he seems to know just how ridiculous it is when she sighs that she feels ready to go back to work now. Her VO continues, "It doesn't happen often. Lightning usually gets it right the first time." Also getting it right is Perkins, who tells her they will talk more tomorrow, and puts the surgery clearance form back in his folder, unsigned. She drops the act and says, "Come on," so he responds by kindly offering her a tissue or a hug. She spits, "Go hug yourself," and storms out of the room.
"When you're hit with 30,000 amps of electricity, you feel it." Cristina wakes up to Owen, who is watching her closely, looking worried as she wishes him good morning. She then looks at her hand, and after a moment comes her own personal 30,000 amps. VO: "It can make you forget who you are..." Fortunately she married someone who knows her quite well, so when she sits straight up and looks a little shocked he reassures her that she should take deep breaths, and that while they got married last night they're going to go to work like normal. He then hands her some sort of granola bar to get some food into her system. She's clutching the comforter to her much the way she was clutching her blanket when he proposed; it's obviously her safe place to huddle like that. She still hasn't said a word but Owen assures her work is what she needs (along with a hair wash and some shower sex) and while she looks overwhelmed, she nods at what he is saying.
Whatever budget goes towards making the surgeries look as vomit-inducing as they have lately is obviously taking away from graphics, because the wide shot of Seattle gives us some extremely fake-looking rain. We then come to the locker room, where all of the docs are getting ready while everyone's pagers start to blow up, indicating some kind of large-scale disaster. All of the doctors we've never seen before and will never see again are on one side of the room, staring at our gang on the other side like they are zoo animals. Jackson tells April it will stop when the novelty wears off. Cristina is talking now but still seems a little dazed; she is eating the bar that Owen gave her and tells Mere he booked her a surgery. She's a bride, she explains: he's in charge of her, and she's going with it. Mere reminds her of the small fact that she's not cleared for surgery, but Owen has promised to take care of it. Lexie is all agitated from the staring and finally yells at them that yes, she's the crazy one who freaks out and screams just like she is now. Mere tells them to go gawk at each other for a while, then asks Lexie if she's okay, but Lexie just wants people to stop asking her that.
I forgot that the VO was even still going on, but it continues, "...and cause massive internal injuries." Cristina is shocked to hear that Mere still isn't clear for surgery, but obviously she's still just hiding her own internal injuries. Cristina asks what Derek said but Mere just announces that she's avoiding him. At first Cristina thinks this is because she doesn't want to talk about the baby but quickly realizes it's because, "You left him in the pokey." And indeed, that is a pretty good reason for trying to avoid your husband for a little while. It's honestly a better reason than trying not to tell him about a major, life-changing experience you had. VO: "But for something that happens only in a millisecond..." Cristina changes the subject and asks if Meredith felt different after she signed her post-it. Clearly Cristina thinks she is supposed to feel different after her own millisecond and doesn't, which is some nice clobbering over the head with today's voiceover. Meredith unconvincingly tells her it takes some time, and Cristina tries to brush it off with a joke about her own marriage being full of "secrets and felons" so why is she asking anyway? Cleary, though, she's rattled, and the VO concludes: "It can change your life forever."
Speaking of felons, Derek is brought to work in a squad car and looks grimy and pissed-off as he climbs out. He isn't sporting his saucy rogue beard like last week, but rather his grody felon beard. April chirps that the Chief is looking for him, he missed the wedding and he smells like pee. He is, in fact, aware of all of these things.
He encounters his wife on the elevator and stops her when she tries to make a run for it, and they make some terse small talk about his missing the wedding. He's pissed that he now has an incarceration record, and asks if she knows what that means. She just retorts that it means he drives to fast. Point to Meredith. She just glares at him, probably because he has the nerve to act put out about finally being held responsible for his driving, and then runs off to the pit -- while she's not clear for surgery, she can still do consults. As she runs off, he yells after her that they aren't done talking yet.
Callie and Arizona have arrived and are talking about the decor in Callie's, but soon-to-be -also Arizona's apartment -- Arizona wants to paint the walls lighter on account of Cristina's "harsh and frowny" decorating. Of course, Arizona has just put her foot in her mouth because Callie was the one who decorated, so she tries to backtrack and call it, "modern and edgy." Once it is theirs, she wants it to be a bit happier. Callie gets paged and runs off but not without one more quick, "Frowny?" "Edgy!" exchange. Aw, these two are cute. But I'm already bored of this storyline.
Alex is rushing down the hall and runs, literally, into a totally unamused Bailey. But if he thought she was ticked off by the collision, it's nothing compared to her reaction when she puts her hand out to steady herself, and feels the bullet in Alex's chest. He admits it's there and that doctors leave that kind of thing in people all the time, but when a skeptical Bailey asks if it hurts, she then presses right into the spot and Alex yelps like a puppy. She points out that he's not fine and that it's a foreign object that should be removed, and then adds that if he doesn't do it she'll make sure he doesn't operate until it's gone. As she leaves he sneers and tries to straighten his shoulders to look tough, but Bailey totally just showed him up.
Owen has gone to Richard to ask him about letting Cristina operate on him again, but Richard is unsure since Perkins still hasn't cleared her. Owen has nothing but praise for the counselor (I wonder if he realizes that is Teddy's new guy yet?) (And yet even as I say that, if he hasn't and he makes A Thing of it, I'm going to hit myself in the face with my computer because that will be better than living through more of Jealous Owen.) Owen says that keeping residents out of the OR until they are ready is the right plan for everyone but Cristina, and Teddy materializes to chip in that Cristina won't feel like herself until she's back in surgery. It's worth it to note that Cristina herself hasn't expressed any of this yet, which is both shocking and pretty giant red flag, but they obviously mean well. Richard still can't believe that they want to start her right in on a heart reconstruction, which Teddy thinks is a once-in-a-lifetime experience but which Richard reminds her is a ton of pressure. Teddy reminds him back that she operated on Derek with a gun to her head, so she doesn't think pressure is an issue. But... really? I know this is Cristina we are talking about, and I know that I've obviously already watched the episode and that even before that they showed what happened a billion times in promos, but that still doesn't seem like a totally logical conclusion. She had a GUN to her HEAD. Owen, though, pleads to Richard that they owe her for doing that, and she needs this.
Obviously it worked, because Cristina is then in with the docs to meet the patient, Linda, who has been in a few times previously to have stuff removed from her heart. Teddy explains that this time they are removing both atria and that should remove the cancerous cells once and for all. Linda then sees Cristina and she and her husband both greet her warmly; Teddy realizes Cristina is confused and "reminds" her that she helped Burke on one of Linda's surgeries, and Cristina covers to act like she remembers this and greets them warmly. Of course this then leads to a mix-up because they recall that she was getting married last time they met, and there's awkwardness when she has to explain that she was supposed to marry Burke but didn't, and in fact married Dr. Hunt just the night before. It's a little creepy how invested Linda seemed to be in her ending up with Burke, and she's a little short when she tells Cristina that regardless, it's nice to see her again. Dear Lord, woman, this kind of thing happens all the time, and it wasn't like you were in just yesterday. I paused my DVR right here and got a pretty awesome freeze frame of Owen just looking completely terrified, which cracked me up, and Linda does sound at least sound a teensy bit nicer when she offers them congratulations.
Meanwhile, down in the pit, Callie tells Lexie and Meredith that they have multiple burn victims. After they all guess incorrectly what happened she tells them it was an act of God -- a single lightning strike that took out eight victims, all on the same flag football team. We pan around to see them all singed and moaning and as one guy is brought in having a seizure, Bailey notes, "God was in a mood today!"
April wonders for all of us watching how one strike could do this, so Mark explains that based on the burns, it probably his one person and conducted to all the rest. He then sees Lexie there so he tells her to assist with his patient, who has a ruptured eardrum. She's less than thrilled at the prospect but heads off, and once she's out of earshot Mark asks Callie, once someone is out of the "nuthouse"... what is the appropriate amount of time to wait to propose? Callie is flabbergasted and once she realizes he's serious, sputters that it's a long, long time.
Mere is working on one guy who immediately asks about his friend Kerry, the only girl on their team. Derek shows up to consult since the guy, Russ, can't feel his arm, and Meredith seems surprised yet relieved that he showered. I'm not sure where her surprise came from, as I don't think that patients are necessarily trusting when their doctor smells like urine. Derek figures out that Russ' paralysis is most likely temporary and should subside in a couple of hours and then decides Russ' bedside is the perfect time to pick up his conversation with Meredith without skipping a beat. I'm sure Russ is happy to hear that his doctor almost had his license revoked that morning. Russ asks again about Kerry so Meredith runs off to get news and avoid Derek some more, who is pissed and yells after her that they aren't done talking. Russ looks a little stunned but manages to keep from saying something about Derek's gross unprofessionalism.
Kerry turns out to be Mark's patient with the ruptured eardrums, and she also can't move her toes and is scared she's going to be paralyzed. Callie assures her that they'll do a CT but that it's probably temporary like her friends', who are already regaining feeling. Mere pops in to tell her Russ was asking about her but Kerry responds by asking how her friend Warren is doing, and did Warren ask about her? Then a third guy shoves past Meredith and into the room -- this is Mitch, and Mitch has decided that the lightning was a sign that he should declare his undying love for Kerry. Kerry pretends she can't hear him but as soon as they usher him out of the room she admits she can hear fine but didn't want Mitch to know she heard all of that.
Mere comments that Kerry is a popular girl, but Kerry is sure they are just overexcited given that the lightning strike was a one-in-a-million thing. While she's better than before, Lexie's Lexipedia is still working overtime and she corrects Kerry that this was a 1 in 6,250 chance. She babbles on and doesn't notice the other docs staring at her until Mark says her name, so she quickly tells Kerry it's still rare, not like handgun deaths... Mark cuts her off again, and she's peeved as she tries to explain that she's just telling Kerry she was lucky. Seriously, she's smart enough to know that all of this isn't a good idea -- I get that she might not be able to help herself but I think she should be able to recognize why she maybe shouldn't be saying these things to the patient. That part seems a little bit out of character. Kerry asks again if someone can check on Warren, but when Mere asks if Warren is her boyfriend, she starts to cry and answers in the negative. Mere trots off and Mark tells Kerry that her burst eardrums will heal themselves. When Lexie realizes no surgery will be involved she tries to go look for something else, but Mark has her stay and help him for now.
Teddy and Cristina are having Linda fill out the forms for her surgery, and her husband is pretty wigged out at all of the risks and wonders why this surgery is better than what Burke did before. Teddy patiently explains that Burke took the conservative approach, which was right for the time, but that her heart walls are weakening and she might not be able to withstand another surgery after this, so they need to try something radical in case this is her last chance. Linda is on Teddy's side and tells her husband she can't see him go through all of his own worry each time too. Finally, her husband turns to Cristina and asks if she thinks this is the best idea. Cristina tries to push it off but he persists and asks if this was her husband, would she let Teddy do the surgery? Yes, yes, we get it, she's married, she's wigged out about it, but she's already getting hammered with reminders, geez. Cristina tells him that yes, this is the approach she would take for her own spouse, and it's the one they want. With that, he finally agrees and then hugs his wife, but Cristina is left looking a bit unsure.
Callie is on the phone when Arizona approaches her with paint chips, and I can't believe how much time we are devoting to this. However... I kind of agree with Callie that they all look beige. Arizona says they are pastels and earth tones, but when Callie tells her she doesn't want to live in an Easter basket, Arizona retorts that she doesn't want to live in the bat cave, so meet her halfway. Girls, neither of you are remotely in the galaxy of "halfway", here. There is something in between maroon and white with a slightly pink tint. Saturated yet cheery exists! The grass-green wall in my living room can attest to this! They get a little snippy, blah blah blah.
Mere calls out for Warren, who turns out to be a slightly balding but totally pleasant-looking guy. He's a little bit disturbed to learn that the doctors think the lightning bolt went in his neck, out his foot, and then bounced off of him to everyone else on his team. The sole of his foot is totally blackened and crispy, as if he's just been subjected to interrogation by foot roasting. Alex tells him it wasn't his fault but Warren tells him it certainly feels like it is, and he doesn't even remember it happening. He then asks about Kerry, and when Meredith tells him she asked about him his face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. Russ overhears this and is clearly surprised, and Meredith finally asks them if they are all in junior high given how immature they are acting about Kerry and their crushes. Mitch runs up to tell the guys about his failed declaration of love, this kicks off a whole bunch yelling and limping to Kerry's room as they all to try and be the first to profess his feelings to her.
Kerry has just received the good news that her CT came back negative, so she should have no permanent damage to her legs. Lexie again tries to find another patient but Mark keeps her there, and she repays him with a long, withering stare. But it means she's there to witness when the boys all rush in, yelling and jockeying for position. Kerry finally gets them to stop, and then tells Warren to talk first. Warren's not looking too good, though -- he's all pasty and sweaty, and after he says her name he turns rather green, starts to cough blood and then collapses.
Poor Warren didn't have enough on his plate already, it seems, so he's now got a perforated bowel that needs surgery immediately. He's less worried about that than he is someone making sure to tell Kerry he's sorry he hit her with lightning. Bailey assures him they'll make sure she is okay, but that right now is his time. When she tries to find a resident to assist, Lexie runs up and tries desperately to get the job. Alex thinks it's his patient but Bailey just hits him in the bullet (that sounds like it should be some sort of gross euphemism, really) and tells him he can observe. Lexie again offers but Mark has run up behind her and shakes his head at Bailey; while she seems a little confused about why he's doing it, she looks for another candidate. Mere offers her services but April runs up and reminds all and sundry that Mere isn't cleared for surgery yet, and Mere growls at her that if they are going to be friends, she has to stop that. Lex makes one last plea but April gets the gig, and it's clear Lexie knows that Mark kept her from this one, especially with his false cheer that now she can continue to watch Kerry.
Teddy is using a spectacularly fancy computer to show her team how the surgery is going to work, and a little exponential chatter tells us that they have to do the procedure in under four hours. Everyone starts to file out but Cristina stays lingering over the monitor, moving organs around and playing with the picture. Teddy realizes she's there and asks her if she's excited (it was interested that she said "excited" and not "ready" but I guess everyone really has taken that part for granted -- maybe it was because they weren't there to advise on every single wedding decision when she turned into a little bit of a bridezilla?) and Cristina tells her absolutely, but with zero emotion behind it. Owen walks up to her and after a few moments tells her the fear of going back into the OR is worse than actually doing it. She looks up and her eyes are shining, but after a moment she turns to him and they kiss. He jokes that this is one heck of a honeymoon, and she smiles but continues to not actually say anything.
Teddy is up in the NICU examining a little baby, which gives her a chance to chat with Arizona -- apparently that's the only way we get to learn anything about her private life these days. She realizes that she seems more excited than Arizona does about her and Callie's moving in together, but Arizona protests with a big, overcompensating grin and promptly turns the conversation to Teddy's new man. Teddy is pretty cute as she dreamily tells her that the conversation never stops, but when Arizona asks what they talk about and what he is like, Teddy comes to the realization that mostly she talks and he listens. What she's saying seems to sink in after a moment but for good measure, Arizona gently reminds her that he should be a good listener, given that it's his job.
Mitch and Russ are doing well enough that they are now hanging out in Kerry's room, giving her a hard time about liking Warren. Both of them obviously don't get it since he's not as hot as either of them -- Mere was right, this really is junior high. Kerry hits the nail on the head, saying they don't really love her but they just think they do because she's a girl who likes to play flag football, and then they all got struck by lightning. She starts to cry and the boys start blaming each other and generally being doofuses -- they're totally not mean-spirited, but just clueless. Lexie finally can't take it any longer and tells them that she's crying because everything changed when the lightning struck, since Kerry used to be one member of a team but now everyone looks at her differently. The guys both look chastised, but Kerry speaks up with a shaky voice that no, she was just crying because she was worried about Warren. It's Lexie's turn to look sheepish, and Kerry sends her to find out if he is okay.
The one person around whom Cristina seems the most normal is Meredith, and Cristina can't believe it when she finds Mere sprawled in a chair in the waiting area, watching Wheel of Fortune. Mere gripes that this is what she is clear to do, and then she berates someone for buying a vowel. Okay, but seriously, why do people buy vowels?? If you can figure out enough of the word to know what vowel might go there, why waste money buying one? Try consonants! They'll earn you money, not cost it!! And welcome to one of the many reasons I can't watch that game show -- my inexplicable rage at the contestants for the mere act of buying an A.
Cristina, of course, then guesses the answer with only two letters showing. She then asks Meredith again if she's talked to Derek yet, and Meredith again makes an excuse for why today isn't a good day. Jackson and Alex then mosey in, and Cristina pointedly ignores Jackson when he asks her if she's ready or nervous. Alex gripes about not being able to operate and Mere tells him she'll cut his bullet out right now, and Alex calls her out on sounding like a complete junkie with the excited desperation in her voice. Lex then comes up to ask about Warren and to bitch about how she is never going to operate again since everyone is still afraid she's going to snap. Meredith counters that she won't because one single dude thinks she's crazy. Oh, denial and righteous indignation make a cozy little twosome, don't they? Jackson then calls their attention to the TV, where somehow someone got a cell phone video of the lightning accident. Lexie starts freaking out and yelling that she never saw it coming, and she runs off, which certainly doesn't do anything to dissuade them from thinking she's still a little cuckoo. Cristina makes a crack, but is seriously too scary calm -- her insult that Lexie will be back in the loony bin by lunch lacks her usual bite and swagger.
Derek and Mark meet up and Mark teases Derek rather awesomely, asking, "Did you shank someone right off the bat?" See, that lets the others know not to mess with him. Shockingly, Derek still has no sense of humor about the night's events and indignantly tells Mark they almost charged him with reckless endangerment. Richard overhears this and blows his lid. Derek dismissively claims that no one was in danger, and then asks Richard if he's gone over 120 mph before. He gets all giddy as he describes what it's like to almost lose control around a corner, while Mark nods dreamily in agreement behind him. If no one was in danger, he must have been out doing this in the magical Seattle desert where abandoned highways abound. Oh wait, no, that doesn't exist, and all evidence points to him doing this right in the city, so in fact I'd say that there were a number of people that could have been in danger, including Derek himself. The Chief actually starts to get a little swayed by this -- seriously, this must be a testosterone thing -- but the spell is broken when Lexie runs up and babbles that she's paralyzed and not going to get better. Mark gently tells her it's all right but Lexie swats him away, saying she's talking about Kerry and needs Derek to listen. She finally pulls Derek away to go check on the problem and Richard tells Mark to make sure she's all right. Mark tells him that he's trying to. Richard then goes back to thinking about that 120 mph, but he seems a little less romantic about it now.
Jackson and Cristina are scrubbing in for the surgery and he tells her he's glad they'll be back in there together; it makes him less freaked out. She asks if this spilling of his feelings will become a Thing now just because they were almost shot together, but he just tells her that now he knows she's back. He goes in to the OR and she pulls up her own mask, clearly not as sure about that.
In another OR, Bailey is working on Warren while Alex sighs like he's going for gold in the annual Martyrdom Games. She starts naming horrible things like staph infection, an abscess, and any number of things that can lead to sepsis and then even death. April is confused but Bailey calmly says this is what could happen if Alex doesn't get the bullet removed. He's not swayed, and just tells her he'll deal with that when the time comes. He then asks with a whine if he can go, but Bailey tells him no way, and that she'll keep him here watching because that means he won't be able to get into another OR until he's "lead free." One thing this bullet has done for him has let him really perfect his put-upon, tragic sighing.
Linda's surgery starts and Teddy starts the clock -- because there isn't a tense situation that can't be made tenser with the addition of a time restraint -- and has Cristina lift out her heart. I was worried a moment that we were going to have another organ-dropping debacle, but she takes it over and puts it on ice as Jackson comments, "Badass." Teddy then gets to work as Cristina holds it still, and she genuinely tells Cristina, "Welcome back." Cristina thanks her, but the tension is still coming off of her in almost visible waves.
Lexie has somehow found a laptop and is showing Kerry the cell phone video -- I guess Warren accidentally shoved her down before the lightning struck, and while it looks totally innocuous to me, Lexie somehow realized that this ruptured something in her spine -- Derek explains that it's an epidural hematoma, that was probably too small to see on her films earlier but that has now been bleeding for hours. The surgery to fix it is an easy one, though, and Kerry is thrilled to know that she'll walk again. Lexie has a thrilling moment herself when Derek tells her to book an OR and she realizes she'll be assisting with surgery once again. He glares at Mark pointedly, Lexie thanks him for the chance, and then she gives Mark her own stinkeye before leaving the room. Mark is left with Kerry, who muses that it was so stupid of her to go so long without telling Warren her feelings, and that all of her reasons seemed so good until she almost died. She smiles and shakes her head at herself, while Mark thinks about how amazingly this parallels his own feelings at this very moment.
Mere is up in the gallery watching the heart surgery when Alex comes in, and after he tells her Warren came through surgery fine, he asks Mere if Lexie is okay. Mere has had enough of junior high for one day and thinks he should ask her himself, but Alex thinks Lexie doesn't need him talking to her. Every other person on earth knows in fact that it might be a really good thing, actually (at least if he wasn't a jerk to her) but reading women and emotional situations in general has never been Alex's strongest suit. Mere's not going to indulge him and reminds him he ended it, so he moans that it ended like it always does: "Get close to a chick, chick goes crazy." He moans about how he attracts the crazy, but Mere tells him that he's not actually that special and goes through and explains how Lexie had actually a pretty normal reaction to something crazy that happened and that Izzie had BRAIN CANCER and therefore shouldn't be branded as plain old crazy. She concedes that Rebecca/Ava was crazy but even that was due to the tiny little matter of her facial reconstruction, and concludes that he's just a guy who has been through a lot. He just ponders this while rubbing his finger over the bullet (no, seriously) and Mere notices and again fantasizes about just cutting it out.
Down in the OR, Teddy hands some tissue to Cristina to cut down to a particular size, while Jackson assists Owen back at Linda's heartless body. He turns to get something and in the process knocks over a tray, which causes some brief excitement but pretty immediately everyone realizes that it's fine, and was in fact just a tray. Well, that is until they realize that Cristina isn't there, and they finally see her feet sticking out from behind something on the floor. Owen yells at her to talk to him but she's too busy hyperventilating, and Teddy's stern reassurance that she's okay is equally ineffective because Cristina is reliving her operating at gunpoint and Owen's getting shot. They're still on the clock and Teddy needs the tissue that is now lying on the floor so she tells Avery to get it, but Owen thinks this is the key and tells Cristina to get up and run to get it now. Yeah, that works about as well as you'd think it would, and after waiting only a second Avery runs off to get it. Up in the gallery, Mere jumps out of her seat and runs out the door.
It's far less dramatic in Derek's OR where he and Lexie are fixing Kerry right up. Derek compliments Lexie on catching the problem, and Lex thanks him for listening and not being afraid of her. In surgery, working through a microscope, Derek has to stay calmer and more contained than he's been lately (a welcome relief) and when Lexie complains about Mark's hovering Derek tells her that he does it because he's afraid for her, not of her. He realizes that Marks' hovering equals Mere's leaving him to get peed on in jail; it all comes from the same place. The music is dreamy so we know they are now all absorbing this Very Important Lesson.
Mere runs in to the scrub room and past April, who protests that she's not allowed and then meekly adds that they are friends now so she'll shut up. Mere grabs a mask and calls, "Good girl!" as she runs in and, ignoring Teddy's protests that she can't be there, rushes to her best friend. She immediately gets down on the floor so that she and Cristina are face to face. Cristina is an absolute mess, shaking, barely able to get out words as she tells Mere she can't be there. Mere tells her that's okay, let's go, but Cristina finally croaks out that she's scared and she can't feel anything or move her legs. She begins to panic but Meredith grabs her hand and pinches her palm, asking if Cristina can feel that. Slowly, she nods a shaky yes, and Meredith tells her that they'll just go when she's ready. She gives Cristina a smile, while Cristina just shakes and tears roll down her face and on to the floor.
When they finally hobble out of the OR Linda's husband sees them, and Cristina is totally broken and tells him she's sorry before shuffling away. He of course thinks this means the worst but Mere immediately tells him that his wife is doing fine and that someone will update him soon. She then runs after Cristina as he stares after them, probably thinking about how if she'd married Burke, Cristina would be just hunky-dory. I'm still a little irked at these two for their treatment of Cristina earlier.
Mark seeks out Callie, and after hearing Kerry's big epiphany he has had one of his own -- he tells Callie that she's wrong, and that there isn't time to wait because people do get struck by lightning and his best friend got shot. He's miffed because he thinks Callie shouldn't have told him to give it time when there is no guarantee that time will be there. I'm glad Mark's opening up, but he might also remember that he's a big boy now, especially with all of these actual adult feelings for a woman, and he could just do it without Callie's okay. Callie doesn't back down yet, though -- she tells him that they skip steps all the time and then pay for it, and points out that she nearly lost Arizona by talking about having a baby but then she went back and is now just crossing the bridge of moving in together, though it means Arizona is going to ruin her apartment. She thinks proposing might be too much, but Mark's got a comeback that is actually totally awesome. He tells her that if she's going through her worst he wants to go through it with her, because she makes him happier than anything he's ever known and if he can help at all with her being happy again that's all he wants to do for the rest of his life. Across America, ladies watching this episode all just gave a dreamy sigh, and even Callie isn't immune -- she smiles and tells him to go say that to her then, "But just like that!"
Owen is out of surgery and finds Meredith and Cristina sitting in the locker room. Cristina is certain Linda is now dead but Owen assures her she will be fine, and Cristina asks Mere if they can have a moment alone. She leaves without a look at Owen but I do feel like she reached some sort of peace with his being Cristina's partner, because she doesn't radiate the hatred that before emanated off of her before in almost visible waves. Once alone, Cristina barks at him that he was wrong about everything, and Owen immediately agrees and apologizes.
Derek runs up to Mere and I will give him credit that the first thing he asks, sounding genuinely worried, is if Cristina is okay, as opposed to asking first about the surgery itself. (Though I suppose he might already know that outcome, but I don't give Derek much so I'll give him this one thing.) Mere's hit her boiling point, FINALLY, and she snaps at him that no, no one is all right, but that Perkins is still clearing everyone for surgery anyway. Well yes, but in Cristina's case, he definitely had not cleared her for surgery, and what happened seems to be a pretty good explanation of why he had been holding back.
Regardless, Mere cuts off Derek as he tries to speak, telling him to get over it, it was one night in jail, and he drives too fast. This wasn't what he was going to say and he tells her not to worry, but this just makes her angrier, and she yells at him that all she does is worry that he's going to go kill himself while he's joyriding, and that the one night in jail gave her one night off from worrying because she knew where he was. Basically, she saw him nearly die during his gunshot surgery and she doesn't want to go through that again to which I say, fair enough. Amazingly, Derek seems to think the same thing, and he tells her that he is right there, and they are okay. Without missing a beat, Mere finally tells him that she was pregnant and lost the baby on the day of the shooting. Derek's mouth literally hangs open but he doesn't seem mad, just stunned, and when he finally speaks it's to ask why she didn't tell him, because he could have helped her. That's the question we all have, Derek, but I guess Meredith is so much more mature than she was at the beginning of the series that we should take that and not get greedy that she'd turn totally sensible. I'm just thankful this only lasted two episodes because if this had been, say, season 5, we probably would have had seven more episodes of this secret before it came out. Mere tells him that if he wants to help her, his driving is something he can control, so just do that. They kiss and squeeze each other tight, and he agrees.
Cristina is still facing the lockers, and Owen slowly works his was over to her as he assures her she couldn't have anticipated what happened in the OR. Well, she couldn't have anticipated that exactly, but I do feel like a whole lot of people could have anticipated something. Her eyes are full of tears and she tells him she can't do it. He's clearly upset with himself when he says he knows, and he thought she was ready. He knows that this was entirely his doing, though I will at least make a point of noting that it was only with the best intentions, if not the smartest thinking. What he doesn't realize is just how deeply Cristina is in crisis, and she tells him that she doesn't feel anything at all, and if she can't be in the OR, she doesn't know where she is supposed to be. He has worked his way over so he's sitting right to her, facing her, and he assures her she's supposed to be here, she's his wife, and she can just be there. Oh, Owen, here's your other big misstep -- Cristina can't only be your wife, and you know that. She finally turns to face him, says she's sorry, and leaves him alone and looking down at her wedding band, which she pressed into his hand before she walked out.
Lexie wheels Warren -- now with a hole-free colon -- in to see Kerry, who has to lie flat on her back due to her own surgery. He's totally appalled to have learned that he pushed Kerry to the ground pre-strike, which caused her injury, but she assures him it's okay. He's also feeling pretty bad about getting the team struck by lightning and as she searches for words, he tells her he's sorry. She just smiles and tells him she's not, and as a dreamy Lexie watches Kerry tells him she's been in love with him forever. He's dumbfounded but beams as she reaches out her hand to him, and he has Lexie wheel him closer so that he can happily take it. Mere VOs, "Lightning doesn't often strike twice; it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
"Even if it feels like the shock is coming over and over again..." Alex responds to a page and finds Bailey scrubbing in for surgery, but his excitement over getting to operate again is short-lived as she informs him that he is the patient. She informs him that she is going to be carrying around that day for the rest of her life already, so she doesn't need another reminder each time she looks at him. And though she's very good at it, she adds that she's tired of bullying him, so she is asking him, please, "Get in there and get your shirt off." Yeah, she's totally not asking, and he's smart enough not to argue and gets to it.
The music has started and we see but don't hear Teddy go up and talk to Linda's husband; after a second he grabs her in a giant, happy hug. Mere's VO continues, "...Eventually, the pain will go away. The shock will wear off..."
Cristina is on a sofa, once again curled up with a blanket pulled up tightly to her neck. A door opens, and we see she's actually at Meredith's house -- when Mere and Derek walk in Mere immediately goes to her while Derek goes upstairs so they can have their time.
Teddy, looking all made up and superfine, heads in to see hot Dr. Perkins, but before they go she closes the door to have a private conversation, and asks if she talks too much. She then proceeds to do that thing that all of the women on this show do, that very few women I know actually do in real life, which is where they babble really clumsily as they act cute and say way too much about every thought that is in their head all at once. I might find it endearing if it were one character's signature trait, but here it seems to be everyone. Basically, she tells him how much she enjoys being with him and what they have, but she knows she talks a lot and he listens and she hopes that she's not treating him like her own personal shrink. She finally comes up for air to give him a chance to respond, and he turns out to be a man of few words -- he tells her that he'd listened and talked (really?) a lot that day so all he wants to say is he's enjoying this too. They start making out and getting a little frisky when he stops to ask if she knew that Webber went over his head to clear Cristina for her surgery. Teddy giggles and assures him they don't have to talk right now, so they go back to the making out. VO:"...and you start to heal yourself..." It is definitely nice to see Teddy genuinely seem to be happy being out with someone that isn't Owen, and isn't just a sexy distraction like Mark was.
Mark runs after Lexie as she leaves for the night, and we get a new exterior shot with some pretty fountains and a bright new Seattle Grace Mercy West sign at the top of the building. She thinks he's coming to nag her some more, so she's not in the mood at all when he says he needs to talk to her. She stops him and instead tells him that while she knows he wants to be there, he doesn't have to. When he tries to protest she cuts him off again to say that she appreciates his help but that she's moving out of her funk but everything he's doing won't let her move on, and it's making other people think she's still nuts too. She asserts that she saved someone that day and is a good doctor who doesn't deserve to have people think less than that, so she finally asks if he can just leave her alone. She's so desperate and sad, Mark obviously realizes that this is what's going to help her right now, and as that's what he wants to do for the rest of his life, he has to obey it for now. He agrees, but looks sad as she turns and walks away. "...to recover from something you never saw coming."
Bailey is working away on Alex, and the quiet and the removal of this reminder finally lets him open up and talk a little. He says that Charles and Reed were good people. He trails off as he says he doesn't know why... something, then says that he shouldn't just get to walk away. Bailey obviously knows just what he's feeling, and she tells him she doesn't know why they made it, but they just have to figure out how to be grateful. She then pulls out the bullet, and Alex glares at it and comments, "Son of a bitch." Bailey just sing-songs, "Agreed." Hopefully this removal can be kind of cathartic for both of them, somehow.
Mark is at Callie's, drinking straight out of a wine bottle to drown his sorrows. He declares grandly, "Paint it beige!" Callie growls at the idea, but you'd think someone who was so desperate to get the love of her life back would be more willing to paint the walls a different color in exchange. That's basically what Mark points out to her, so she takes the bottle from him and takes a big swig before dramatically laying across the sofa in paint-color-distress.
"But sometimes the odds are in your favor." Cristina is citing divorce statistics and figures her divorce means Mere and Derek will be fine. It's a little bit too self-pitying for me, 24 hours after she got married in that very same room where they are now lying on the floor. Cristina admits that she thought getting married would fix her, but Mere counters that that isn't why Owen married her. Cristina mopes that Owen didn't marry her -- he married a corpse since she is now dead inside. Meredith reports that she finally told Derek about her miscarriage, and uses that to segue into a gentle reminder that marriage is for better or for worse, and she's just in the "worse" part right now. She assures her it will go better, and that she should go back. Cristina mulls this over and finally seems open to the possibility and asks, "Yeah?" Meredith replies, "Yeah."
The moment is broken by pounding at the door, and Owen blows in dramatically, covered in rain. He proceeds to declare that she's not really feeling nothing, she's feeling scared and angry, and he knows this because he was in her shoes not long ago. But she stuck with him then because she loved him, and he's going to stick by her now for the same reason. She listens to all of this with more tears in her eyes, then hauls herself up off of the floor and shuffles over to him, saying quietly, "Let's go home." It's kind of sweet how surprised he is; he obviously expected more of a fight before he got this response. Mere stands up and cheerfully tells him, "I already fixed her before you came. But... that was a nice speech." And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the moment this episode made me laugh out loud. It's funny 'cause it's true. And it's also a GIANT RELIEF because I would have been really angry to have to recap more of this, "I'm out after 24 hours of marriage" crap on top of everything else Cristina is dealing with right now.
The morning, Mere VO's "You can take a hell of a hit," before we see her calmly spilling everything to Perkins about the miscarriage and how she almost lost her husband and her best friend might never recover. She declares that she doesn't care whether he clears her for surgery or not, because she realizes she has no control over anything and is giving up. Well duh, of course this is what he had been waiting to hear, and he signs her paper that clears her for surgery as he tells her, "That sounds like a good plan." She tries not to look at him as she takes it and heads silently out the door with just a glance back as she leaves, and he watches her go, looking thoughtful. Oh yes, hot doctor, you haven't begun to realize the depths with that one right there. Mere wraps up, "And still have a shot at surviving."
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