For the first time in quite a while, the day starts out rather happily at Seattle Grace: Richard is performing his 10,000th surgery, Teddy and Cristina are getting along and working brilliantly together, and it's Zola's first birthday. Meredith actually bakes a cake for Zola's party that night, though the kitchen is a little crowded with April, Jackson, Alex, and Alex's latest Flavor of the Week. April finally realizes that she and Jackson really should move out, and so she sets about finding a place for them. Unfortunately, the one she wants is too expensive so she finally offers that Alex can move out with them. I mean, it is for hardwood floors and a washer/dryer. I can't really blame her.
The Chief's milestone surgery is a liver transplant between two sisters, played by Peri Gilpin and Nia Vardalos. Nia is the sis in need of a liver and Peri (who will forever be Roz Doyle to me) cannot stop being a total bitch reminding Nia just how much she's doing for her and how grateful she should be. Nia eventually tries to back out but it's too late, and so Mere and Bailey remove a portion of Roz's liver and Richard transplants it into Nia. It's not the easiest surgery for Richard, though it's not for any surgical reason -- Adele wandered out of the house and tried to walk to the hospital to find him, but fortunately a neighbor saw her. The woman brings her to Seattle Grace but because Richard is in the middle of surgery April winds up having to watch after Adele, who becomes agitated once again thinking that Richard has left her. When April takes her to the gallery to assure her that he is just working, she sees Meredith and, thinking she is Ellis, has a meltdown crying and yelling at her to leave Richard alone. April puts Adele on the intercom so that Richard can talk to her and Mere advises him to talk to her about a nice memory, so he winds up singing "My Funny Valentine," which was their wedding song, and she joins in for an incredibly touching, sad duet. Bailey had organized a party to celebrate the surgery but he cancels it so that he can take his wife home. While all of this is happening Mere is also trying to figure out what specialty she is going to declare and everyone thinks that it should be general surgery for a number of reasons, not least of which is that her mother was pretty much the best and most famous general surgeon in the history of the world.
Lexie is still kind of living Meredith's old surgical life working with Derek, who is still on his kick of taking difficult cases. Their patient is a boy with a spinal tumor, whose mother has been told by eight doctors that it is inoperable. Because the kid is going to die within three months anyway, she wants someone to take a stab at it, and so finally Derek agrees. One little complication is that she hasn't actually told her son that he has a tumor. When Lexie is alone with the boy he admits that he knows what it is since he overheard one of his last doctors talking, and she promises that Derek is the best and they'll do what they can. Unfortunately, once they are in there it really is inoperable and Derek finally makes the decision to close him up. Lexie tries to fight him on it to the point where he excuses her from the OR, and later that night at Zola's party they have a conversation where he admits that sometimes these things truly are inoperable and asks if she wants out. But despite how horribly sad it was to get through the day (including after the surgery, watching the boy admit to his mom that he knew he was going to go see his dad in heaven soon) she tells Derek she is still totally on board for all of these crazy cases.
Everyone is having a good time at the party, cooing over the insanely cute birthday girl and visiting with each other. Callie and Arizona have tried all day to get Mark to tell Julia he loves her but he finally admits that he doesn't want to rush into anything and ruin something potentially good. Richard is actually able to attend -- Adele insisted and he didn't leave until she was asleep and there with a nurse -- and so as they are preparing Zola's cake, Derek and Meredith have an idea. Meredith had written "Yay Zola!" in frosting but she scrapes off the "Zola" so that it just says "Yay!" and presents it to Richard to celebrate his 10,000th surgery since he didn't have his party. When he and Meredith are talking later he brings up the general surgery decision and she admits the reason she's balking is because everyone says she's just like her mother, and she doesn't want to be. He points out that she's actually a completely different person -- throwing a birthday party for her daughter, helping to celebrate Richard, being a generally caring and feeling person in general, etc. -- but that she does have a surgical gift. It's a really sweet moment, and it almost looks like we'll end there, but during a quiet pause in the party, the sounds of yelling come from the kitchen.
See, earlier in the day, after they had worked for some ridiculous number of hours straight, Owen orders Teddy and Cristina to go home and get some rest. But before they go a guy is brought in with a piece of rebar sticking through his heart, and they want the case. Some doctor I've never seen before and Alex claimed it first, and Owen lets the guys keep it despite arguments from Teddy and Cristina. Incidentally, this is the only communication at all he has with Teddy because she's still mad at him and otherwise ignoring him. He is rather desperate for things to smooth over and isn't happy when Cristina tells him he just has to ride it out for now. Teddy and Cristina desperately want the rebar heart case so Cristina pulls a fast one so that the patient's wife requests them personally. Owen doesn't find out until they are halfway through the surgery, and Cristina points out that it's a complicated procedure and so they will have to fight about it afterward. And so, we come to Zola's party. Owen arrives and sees Cristina not only cuddling and cooing at Zola, but cooing at her about the awesome surgery she just did. It finally causes him snap, and when the two of them are in the kitchen alone they have a horrible fight in which he tells Cristina he's taking her off Teddy's service. She yells back that he can't do that, and calls him on his feelings of guilt for putting Cristina on Henry's surgery in the first place. Cristina yells that since Henry died at her hands, Teddy will get whatever she wants from Cristina, forever, and Owen has to go along with that. Not only does he not want to go along with that, he starts yelling at her that everything in their lives is all just about what she wants... which culminates in his screaming at her that she killed their unborn child and with it the life he wanted for himself. And this comes during a lull in conversation so that all of their friends and colleagues get to hear it. I think, if one were to ponder it, there are very few social situations more horribly awkward than that right there.
"There's nothing else we can do for you." No, that's not what my doctor told me when the ghost sex made my brain explode. It's what, Mere explains, doctors never want to say; they will do everything in their power not to give up. Derek and Lexie are looking at scans of some horrible spinal tumor and Lexie explains to us that eight doctors have already said that it's inoperable. Derek can understand why, but tells Lexie they'll flip a coin to see if they try the surgery -- it's actually not as crazy as it sounds since he explains that once the coin is in the air he gets a gut feeling about where he wants it to land. I had this very situation when I had Jessica flip a coin for me to decide if I was going to get an iPhone. It's so very similar to trying to save a child's life from a vicious tumor. ...What? She flips the coin, but we don't see where it lands. You guys get three guesses as to what the end result is, and the first two don't count.
While Mere's VO drones on saying the same thing a million different ways, the actual Mere is frosting a very tall cake with the words "Yay Zola" written on it. Jackson is eating breakfast and making fun of her frosting penmanship while some random trashy girl rummages through the fridge. April storms in wondering who used all her deodorant and said girl -- wearing a corset top, like you do in a strange kitchen full of your hookup's coworkers first thing in the morning -- apologizes that she used it but saucily adds that she had a "workout" last night. Her "workout" partner Alex comes in, surprised she is still there, and she admits that she had to see cute little Zola. When she reaches for Zola's cheeks, Mere awesomely sweeps the baby away on account of them not knowing where Corset's hands have been. Mere leaves for a meeting with Owen while Alex propositions his friend for another quick "workout" before he heads to the hospital. April is squicked out and declares to Jackson that they have to move, though he's not immediately on board with the idea.
Callie, Arizona, Julia and Mark have become quite the little happy gang, and it's clear that Derek was right: everybody loves Julia. She gives Arizona a haircut that looks shockingly like her hair has been in every other episode but we're going with it being even sexier than usual and Callie can't wait to have Julia work her magic as well. Julia promises to do so tomorrow because she has to go to work and as she leaves, she kisses Mark and casually tells him, "Love you." Mark responds with the equally casual but not quite as romantic, "See ya." As soon as she leaves Callie and Arizona are quick to give Mark a hard time about how he gave the wrong response, and have no respect for his point that they've only been together three months and he thinks that is too early for Love Yous. Callie, rather than respecting this as valid, rolls her eyes and moans that this is "Classic Mark" -- he found out Lexie is single again and suddenly has cold feet. She reminds him how that ship sailed (and sank) and pretty much refuses to believe him when he says that this has nothing to do with Lexie. My opinion is that they both are kind of right: I think Mark thinks that this has nothing to do with Lexie while subconsciously, that's probably in play somewhere. When Arizona leaves Lexie can't help but pointedly tell her that she loves her, raising her eyebrows at an annoyed Mark.
Derek is still having Lexie walk him through the surgery but they reach a point where he shoots down every suggestion she makes by pointing out each will leave him paralyzed or dead. This isn't to say it is Lexie's fault, but just that the tumor is that nasty. Finally, over her protests, he tells her they have to just close him up. She argues that they can't do that and that they have a 5% chance, but he tells her that they don't even have that any more. As a last resort, she holds her hands out over the incision so that Derek can't do anything and blurts out that Wes knows he has a tumor, adding that he's known all along. Well, he's known since the last doctor, it sounds like, but the point is that he knows. She feels awful since she promised Wes they would try their best. Derek isn't getting any joy out of this but he knows what has to be done, and he orders Lexie out of the OR so that he can go ahead and finish.
Owen heads to the conference room for Richard's party and is surprised to see everyone dismantling the room, including taking down the banner with three exclamation points. He is more surprised, though, when he sees Alex tucking in to a large piece of red velvet cake. He asks why he's not in surgery and Alex, too enthralled with the cake, says that Teddy and Cristina took it. When he realizes how pissed Owen is, he calls halfheartedly that he could be wrong, but Owen storms out.
Lexie makes her way back over when Derek is scrubbing out, and she says that Derek has to tell Wes. I don't quite follow what she says but the gist is that she thinks they have to admit to him that they didn't do the surgery since his mom is just going to tell him that everything went great and Lexie doesn't want the kid going home thinking everything is hunky dory and having no idea he's going to die in three months. Derek is sad but firm as he reminds Lexie that Mrs. Connors is the parent, so it's her call, not theirs. It's true, this is a very good example of how it can sometimes suck to be a surgeon when you have to finally admit you can't fix something.
Cristina and Teddy are working away and congratulating themselves on a surgery well done when Cristina looks up and sees a steaming Owen glaring at her from the scrub room. He storms in and the ladies exchange a look as he demands to know what is going on. Teddy just replies that McQueen wasn't qualified, and when Owen yells that he thought he was clear, Teddy shrugs him off and says that as head of the department, this is the call she made. Cristina just continues to work and conscientiously ignore the argument going on, as Teddy tries to pretend there was no time to inform Owen of what happened and that when she saw him, she didn't even know yet that they were doing it. He announces that he thinks they are lying. And of course he's totally right, but with the two of them as a united front he's pretty helpless to actually do anything right now. Cristina finally pipes up to say that this is a complicated procedure, so can they all talk later? Owen finally allows this but orders Teddy to come talk to him afterwards. The dismissive "Mmm-hmm" she gives him is a pretty clear sign she has no plans to do anything of the sort. He finally storms out but before the door is even closed, Teddy and Cristina start laughing about the look on his face and he hears every word and cackle. He's the grown-up version of April right now, with a staff that seems not to respect much of what he says. Well, at least when it comes to Teddy and Cristina, and as those are the two most important people in his life, it might as well be everyone.
In Wes' room, his mom is already crying and is really doing a terrible job trying to convince Wes that the surgery was easier than expected which is such a good thing because now they can visit Pearl Harbor. Even if Wes was a "young eleven" like his mom thought him to be, there's no way as a child he'd see his mother like this and believe that everything was good. Wes finally turns to the doctors and says matter-of-factly that they didn't do it. Derek plays dumb and Wes reminds him that he was supposed to be out of commission for weeks, and Derek just says that sometimes once they get in there, things change, and that's why he gets to go home. His mom adds weakly that this is a good thing, and cries as if her heart will break while she tells him it's going to be okay, and he doesn't have to worry. Wes finally realizes now is the time and replies that she is going to be okay and doesn't have to worry about him because, "I'm going to be with Dad in heaven." This kid is adorable and this is awful, but I'm glad that line was kind of clunky and clichéd because it's what saved me going through yet more Kleenex for this show. She realizes he knows everything and starts to sob even harder as Wes takes her hand.
Yes, dark water and people screaming? I'm so totally not watching The River.
That night, Roz and Nia are back in their room and Mere tells them that the procedure went great; Nia is now human-colored again to prove it. She exclaims, "Thank God!" and Roz peppily calls from her bed, "Don't thank God! Thank me!" Nia gathers herself for a moment as Roz complains about her scar, and then once she starts she can't stop. Nia tells her she's thanked her a million times but it makes no difference and so now, she's done thanking her. She tells Roz she's never allowed to mention it again except for one day a year on Thanksgiving. (I'd just start spending that holiday with friends if I were Nia.) Mere tries to get her to stop so she doesn't hurt herself but Nia is on a roll and yells at Roz that she'll never thank her ever if she doesn't follow the rules. Roz is appalled at the idea of rules but Nia starts bringing up all of the stupid things Roz has ever done like losing money in a "lipstick ponzi scheme," and sexting her old college boyfriend when she is drunk. She then orders Roz never to mention her liver again. Roz tries to ask about the money Nia owes but Mere has had enough and keeps shushing them both until finally, a gobsmacked Roz stops trying to say anything else and Nia chuckles to herself.
Fence Guy is in the ICU hooked up to a respirator when Cristina comes by to check on him, and she tells Mrs. F.G. that she'll stay the night to check on him. Teddy walks in then and says she will do it instead, and Mrs. F.G. is thrilled and very touched that the head of the department will do that. Cristina offers to join but Teddy reminds her that she is Zola's godmother and has to go to her party. She admits that she's just going to hang out, eat widow casserole, and feel sorry for herself. She finally manages to shoo Cristina out the door.
Things are awfully festive at the house -- it's full of guests, balloons are hung, and the party girl is in a super cute pink party dress and being cooed over by everyone. Mere is happy to see that Richard made it and when she walks over he explains that Adele insisted he didn't miss it. He left her with the night nurse and she was already asleep when he left. He then holds up a gift for the birthday girl.
As Alex shovels some widow casserole on a plate, April walks by and casually mentions that she needs $800 from him. Alex mocks her about groceries but she tells him it's for a security deposit and they'll lose out on the apartment if they don't get money to the guy today. What, isn't it like 8 PM at this point? I'd worry about the landlord demanding cash late in the evening. Alex can't believe it and April starts talking about how gross a person he is but Jackson runs up and cuts her off, saying they both would be happy if Alex would be their roommate. Alex tells them, "Cool," and then wanders off, and Jackson asks April for confirmation that they couldn't afford the place, just the two of them. April reminds him that they will have hardwood floors and a washer/dryer, and she wants what she wants. Girlfriend, as I live in the first apartment I have ever had with a washer/dryer I say, DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. It will change your life.
In the kitchen, Derek is holding Zola and he and Mere are looking at the cake, Mere asks for confirmation that she'll forgive them one day. She must mean Zola, since Derek points out that she won't remember. They take a family self-portrait during which Zola scrunches her nose up and babbles, and my heart melts and leaks out my pores. Mere then scrapes Zola's name off of the cake, leaving just the "Yay" and takes it to the living room, where she presents it to Richard as congratulations for his 10,000th surgery. He's shocked but they insist that this is special and needs to be celebrated. Richard happily blows out the candle, and all the docs we know and a bunch of extras we've never seen before look on proudly and applaud him.
Mark is there with Julia and after some more stupid needling about the word "love" from Callie and Arizona, Julia leaves to refresh her drink. Mark tells them seriously that this is enough, but they laugh him off and tell him he's being silly. It's rather horribly patronizing and I'm glad Mark stands his ground. He points out that they are the ones that love Julia so much, but he's not at the "I love you" stage yet. He's happy and he's glad they all adore Julia but after rushing things with Addison and trying to force Lexie to be a grandmother, he's all about taking his time now. Callie is shocked and comments, "Wow, that is so adult!" Of course, then she laughs, because Mark trying to grow up a little is suuuper hilarious.
Owen walks in to the house and the first thing he sees is Cristina, with Zola in her lap, telling her in a baby voice all about the surgery she did today. Between the mention of the surgery and the sight of Cristina being loving with a baby, Owen's last shreds of self-control and dignity pretty much fall away.
Lexie is sitting by herself in the entryway, having a beer and being sad. Derek sits down to her and points out that these cases aren't called "lost causes" because they are fun. She insists she doesn't need fun, but needs them to not be like today was. Derek then pulls out a coin and goes to flip it to decide if she keeps doing lost causes or not but she grabs the coin and tells him, exasperated, that of course she's still in. Derek then convinces her to come back and join the party.
In the kitchen, Owen pours himself a scotch. In my apartment, I pour myself a glass of wine to get through these couple of scenes. Cristina walks in and tells him she knows he's mad and she's sorry, but Owen just snips back is she sorry because she did it or just sorry he is mad? She slumps, obviously not wanting to have this conversation for the umpteenth time. Owen, showing that he's not in the most rational discussion-having place himself, throws at Cristina that Teddy never came to find him after the surgery, and Cristina just tells him she was tired. He is so fired up, he just won't accept that Teddy is going to ignore him for a good long time, and while a lot of things going on between them are Cristina's fault, that isn't one of them. He thinks a moment, and then figures out what will do the most immediate damage: he informs Cristina that he's taking her off of Teddy's service permanently and gloats that he's not sure what Teddy will do without her as a security blanket. It's hard, because Cristina is super frustrating and not generally at (or near) her best with Owen lately, but this is all just coming off as a reaction to being the husband scorned. Cristina declares, "Absolutely not," but he just merrily keeps going on about it. Cristina interrupts him and asks if he heard her, and he replies that he thinks she should thank him because he could have fired them both. Thinking he just threw down a comeback like no other, he tries to walk away but Cristina yells at him that he has no idea what's going on. He claims to have a good idea but Cristina yells at him that he let her operate on Teddy's husband, now Henry is dead, and so Teddy will get whatever she wants from Cristina. "Understand? Anything she wants from me. Ever."
In the far lighter atmosphere of the living room, Richard walks up to Mere and tells her he's happy to hear that she is declaring general as her specialty. I'm not sure when during the day that happened but regardless, she says she's not sure about it anymore. Richard is surprised and again repeats how much sense it makes but Mere cuts him off and says she knows, her mom was amazing, and that's all anyone ever talks about is the legacy. She admits to Richard that she doesn't want to be anything like her mom. His face immediately goes serious and he reminds her of what she did just today: throwing a party for Zola, helping him in the OR, and then giving him a celebration too. "You don't have to ever worry about being anything like your mother." Mere chews on this as Richard reminds her that he knew Ellis, and repeats adamantly that Mere is nothing like her. That said, he adds, "You have a gift. Don't waste it." She thinks about it, but I believe, ladies and gents, that our show's namesake finally has a new specialization.
Owen tells Cristina that it was an impossible situation and she agrees, but reminds him that it was his call to put Henry on her table and then make her lie to Teddy about it. "You want to be Chief? These are the consequences." Worse for Owen, as much as Cristina can be selfish and aggravating, this is the truth and he isn't ready to absorb that. Instead, he yells at her that she's not allowed to talk about consequences since she can't even accept simple punishment. She's appalled that he thinks he's allowed to punish her and yells that it's not her fault Teddy hates him, so he's not to take his guilt out on her. He yells that he has nothing to be guilty about, and that this and everything else in their lives is all about her and what she wants. He's not wrong... but this also isn't a new personality twist.
Mere's VO asks, when do you throw in the towel? Zola has cake all over her face and is delighted about it as Bailey asks Richard if he remembers his first surgery. He does, and he starts to reminisce, but when everyone quiets down to hear the story, they can hear the very loud yelling coming from the kitchen. Mere goes in to try and quiet them down as she VO's that there comes a point when it all becomes too much.
Owen's self-control is gone. He screams that Cristina doesn't care who gets hurt, and when she comes back that it was just one surgery, he blows it up and tells him that he's talking about every single choice she has made. He admits angrily that this isn't the life he imagined for himself. Her face goes stony as she realizes where this is going, which is a place she thought they had left behind them. She can't believe it's come back to that again, and Owen grins at her, a sad, absolutely crazed, angry grin when he realizes she thought he'd never bring it up again. She yells, tears in her eyes, that it was a horrible situation but it's over, and is it too much to ask to try and forget it? With acid in his voice, Owen yells at her, "You killed our baby! You don't ever forget that." Mere has walked to the doorway just in time to see this exchange, and the entire party outside has heard it. My notes contained the word "horrified" about five different times because that's the best way to describe everyone's face, including Cristina's. Mere finishes up her VO telling us that that the real work begins when you try to find hope where it seems there isn't any at all.
p>Lauren S is a writer and gal-about-town who lives and works in Atlanta and is a total 'fraidy cat about jumpy, scary movies and shows. Unless it's comedy and then she happily makes an exception. She wants everyone to know: "The views expressed in my recaps and anything else I might write on TWoP are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer."
"There's nothing else we can do for you." No, that's not what my doctor told me when the ghost sex made my brain explode. It's what, Mere explains, doctors never want to say; they will do everything in their power not to give up. Derek and Lexie are looking at scans of some horrible spinal tumor and Lexie explains to us that eight doctors have already said that it's inoperable. Derek can understand why, but tells Lexie they'll flip a coin to see if they try the surgery -- it's actually not as crazy as it sounds since he explains that once the coin is in the air he gets a gut feeling about where he wants it to land. I had this very situation when I had Jessica flip a coin for me to decide if I was going to get an iPhone. It's so very similar to trying to save a child's life from a vicious tumor. ...What? She flips the coin, but we don't see where it lands. You guys get three guesses as to what the end result is, and the first two don't count.
While Mere's VO drones on saying the same thing a million different ways, the actual Mere is frosting a very tall cake with the words "Yay Zola" written on it. Jackson is eating breakfast and making fun of her frosting penmanship while some random trashy girl rummages through the fridge. April storms in wondering who used all her deodorant and said girl -- wearing a corset top, like you do in a strange kitchen full of your hookup's coworkers first thing in the morning -- apologizes that she used it but saucily adds that she had a "workout" last night. Her "workout" partner Alex comes in, surprised she is still there, and she admits that she had to see cute little Zola. When she reaches for Zola's cheeks, Mere awesomely sweeps the baby away on account of them not knowing where Corset's hands have been. Mere leaves for a meeting with Owen while Alex propositions his friend for another quick "workout" before he heads to the hospital. April is squicked out and declares to Jackson that they have to move, though he's not immediately on board with the idea.
Callie, Arizona, Julia and Mark have become quite the little happy gang, and it's clear that Derek was right: everybody loves Julia. She gives Arizona a haircut that looks shockingly like her hair has been in every other episode but we're going with it being even sexier than usual and Callie can't wait to have Julia work her magic as well. Julia promises to do so tomorrow because she has to go to work and as she leaves, she kisses Mark and casually tells him, "Love you." Mark responds with the equally casual but not quite as romantic, "See ya." As soon as she leaves Callie and Arizona are quick to give Mark a hard time about how he gave the wrong response, and have no respect for his point that they've only been together three months and he thinks that is too early for Love Yous. Callie, rather than respecting this as valid, rolls her eyes and moans that this is "Classic Mark" -- he found out Lexie is single again and suddenly has cold feet. She reminds him how that ship sailed (and sank) and pretty much refuses to believe him when he says that this has nothing to do with Lexie. My opinion is that they both are kind of right: I think Mark thinks that this has nothing to do with Lexie while subconsciously, that's probably in play somewhere. When Arizona leaves Lexie can't help but pointedly tell her that she loves her, raising her eyebrows at an annoyed Mark.
Webber arrives at the hospital in a rather jolly mood and when Bailey sees him, she congratulates him on his big day. He agrees, but tells her that he doesn't want people making a big deal. When she assures him blandly that they won't, his bluff is called and he backtracks, reminding her that they should do at least something since one's 10,000th surgery is quite an impressive milestone. He very obviously wants every bell and whistle that Seattle Grace can provide and Bailey drily lists them all out, barely pausing for breath: there will be a party in the main conference room with a hospital photographer and a cake (his favorite, red velvet), a toast with sparkling cider, and a banner with three exclamation points after the word "Congratulations." When she mentions confetti, however, he decides that's where he draws the line... lest it get in the cake. He rather hilariously glares at her as he warns her of this digestive point and it's obvious he's on cloud nine with this Celebration of Richard.
Mere finds Owen with all of his crap spread out over a table in the break room. Seriously, one of my biggest pet peeves this season is his "no office" stunt because every time we see he's at some random table with his computer and piles of papers spread out all around him. This, in fact, is the perfect illustration of just how much he needs an office and because he insists he doesn't, he just takes up other public spaces as part of fooling himself about it. It's stupid and unnecessary and I'm finding Owen rather annoying in general this season and I hate it. If he'd just use his stupid office that would be a good step in the right decision but this is just oblivious and kind of selfish. Though... that describes more than just his office decisions lately. But we'll get there soon enough. Right now he's called Mere in for a meeting to remind her that she hasn't yet chosen a specialty, and the clock is ticking. Mere's kind of anxious to be reminded of this -- it's clearly been on her mind. Owen then reminds her that she "ditched" neuro and wasted time in OB. I'll agree with the latter but as to the former, does everyone really think that? In this hospital where everyone knows everyone else's business, did it somehow manage to stay secret that Derek made her quitting neuro a condition of their marriage? I mean, in real life I can see this staying between husband and wife, but this is Seattle Grace. He then tells her she's drowning, presumably not knowing how that's a rather strong word for her since she almost did that literally one time. He thinks she should declare general since she's been working with Bailey and has Richard as a mentor, not to mention her mom being just about the best general surgeon ever. When he tells her that the legacy could make it a natural fit, she gives him the stinkeye before walking out.
Cristina and Teddy are walking down the hall and Cristina is fawning over how amazing Teddy was in their last surgery. Their conversation is interrupted by two nurses who walk up, somber-faced, and hand over casserole dishes while telling Teddy in low, sad, voices how sorry they are. She thanks them sincerely and tells them that it means a lot but once they leave, vents her frustration at the practice of giving a bereaved person a ton of food, or, rather, "widow casserole." Is that term a thing that I am just very lucky to have never heard since I have not been in many of these situations? Or was that made up for this episode? Either way, I rather love it. Cristina takes them as she offers to put these with the others. Owen gets off the elevator and sees them, so he runs up happily asking how the surgery went. In response, Teddy tells Cristina she'll see her in the pit and runs off. Owen is upset that Teddy is still mad at him and Cristina just makes polite excuses about Teddy being busy. She then brags about their surgery while Owen tries to pinpoint how much sleep, if any, Cristina has had lately. The answer is, almost nothing since she's done eight surgeries in 72 hours. "Teddy's boundless grief is one of the best things that's ever happened to me!" He gets a page and she immediately perks up at the idea that it might be a trauma case; when he refuses to tell her what it is she realizes she's right and runs off as Owen tries to yell at her to go home and get some sleep.
He's in for a fight, though, because a cardiac surgeon's dream has just been brought in: a guy with a long piece of wrought-iron fence sticking straight through his chest. They say he ran his bike into the fence and I really hope they mean motorcycle because I'm not sure how a street cyclist would have managed this. Alex and the almost never-seen-nor-referenced Dr. McQueen have got him, but Teddy and Cristina want him and argue about how they are better suited to the job. Owen tries to break it up and orders that it should go to the guys because Cristina needs rest and this is supposed to be Teddy's day off. Teddy is doing an ultrasound and ignores Owen pointedly while Cristina tries to argue for them. Owen replies that she's a liability since she's been up for 48 hours and then yells, "Hands off!" at Teddy. Teddy finally sighs, hands over the ultrasound, and walks out while Cristina glares at her husband.
Derek and Lexie are in the hall, talking to their patient's mother while the kid, Wes, is in the room in bed. Wes has a neuroblastoma that's usually found in younger kids, and trying to take it out would come with a huge risk of paralysis. The mom, Mrs. Connors, is well aware of this since Derek is in fact the ninth surgeon they have seen, and she lists all of the dire warnings about how crazy dangerous the surgery is. Her point is that Wes will die in three months if he doesn't have the surgery, so why not try? After warning her that there is only a 5% chance of success, Derek finally tells her that he's willing to try, and she grabs him into a fierce hug. But when Derek wants to go tell Wes, Mrs. C stops him and admits that Wes doesn't actually know he has a tumor nor that he's about to die. Derek asks why he thinks he's here and as dramatic music swells, Mrs. C admits that he thinks he's there for a backache. Unsurprisingly, Derek and Lexie are slightly aghast to hear this.
The River: A show I'll never be watching.
Mere finds Bailey and tells her that she has to declare a specialty, and of course Bailey suggests that general would be great and she'd be a, "Mini Ellis Grey." Mere hems and haws a little bit but Bailey cuts her off and warns her not to be an idiot, since it is in her genes and makes perfect sense. We can all, from a million miles away, see what Meredith's main issue with this is, right? Why is no one even pausing to consider the horrific mother-daughter non-relationship that Mere and Ellis had?
Meredith is spared the rest of the conversation because they walk in to a room where Richard is already with the day's patients, two sisters, one of whom is giving the other a piece of her liver. Kind of surprisingly, no one ever brings up the fact that Meredith has in fact been half of this surgery once herself. Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is the yellowish-grey-tinged sister who needs a new liver and Peri Gilpin (now and forever, Roz from Frazier to me) is the one who is giving it to her. As soon as Mere and Bailey walk in, Roz starts complaining, worried that her IV might be infected. You can tell right off the bat she's annoying but I will give her that having an IV in the back of your hand really, really hurts, to the point where I kept sweet-talking nurses to give me mine in the crook of my elbows until one day one of them realized I'd just kept switching arms and absolutely was not allowed to have one in the same spot anymore. But she's complaining about how she doesn't want to die of staph and Nia has to weakly remind her that Roz is not the sister in actual liver failure. Roz turns to the doctors and puts on an overly-heartfelt voice as she tells them that she was supposed to be in Hawaii with her family but when your sister calls and asks you to save her life, "You take that call." None of them were born yesterday and can all see that she's a drama queen, and Nia is pretty exhausted by it all as she assures Roz for what sounds like the umpteenth time that she'll reimburse her for the trip. Roz continues to needle her that she hopes she doesn't die; when Nia forces a smile and thanks her, Roz tells her she's welcome like she's a benevolent overlord giving the peasants some extra bread and celebrating herself for her generosity.
Wes is talking to Derek and Lexie all about various battlefields -- this kid and my dad would get along famously. Derek is checking his reflexes but Wes barely pays attention because he is too excited to tell them all about of the ones he has visited, adding that his mom says he got this from his dad, who died when he was two. His mom home schools him on account of his "back pain" and so this gives them the chance to travel to various battlefields all the time, which Wes loves. He tells them that week they are scheduled to go to Pearl Harbor but his mom cuts in to say they might have to postpone it because Derek might be able to fix Wes' back after all. He is super excited at the idea of having no more back pain, while Lexie struggles to hold her smile since she knows the truth of the situation and it's kind of heartbreaking.
Cristina is tossing out specialty ideas to Mere, but she's not interested in any of them. Cristina's not super invested in the conversation, to be honest, and just orders Mere to pick one because, "This is important." Mere doesn't point out that the importance is why she can't just pick out of a hat, which Cristina seems too consumed with her own business to fully realize today. Alex comes over and brags that Fence Guy's heart is the size of a football, which riles Cristina to no end.
She and Teddy then start spying on Alex and McQueen from behind a computer monitor and hatch a plan, though Teddy tells Cristina she doesn't have to do it. Cristina can't think past anything other than the rush of a heart the size of a football and once the guys leave, Cristina goes to the patient's room to talk to Mrs. Fence Guy.
Mrs. F.G. is understandably upset, and Cristina puts on her most Concerned Doctor Voice as she assures her that the doctors are doing everything they can to help her husband. Mrs. F.G. cries, frightened, as she thanks Cristina but the tears don't have the full effect that they might since upbeat music is playing in the background. With that soundtrack behind her, Cristina gets to work, casually saying that Dr. Altman is the best and will do everything she can. Of course, Mrs. F.G. hasn't heard Altman's name, and starts to worry when Cristina backtracks and tells her that her doctor, Dr. McQueen is "fine." Cristina lays it on thick that Teddy just happens to be the head of the department, and amazing, and she's sure she's just busy saving other lives. Of course we know that Mrs. F.G. is now going to turn around and request Teddy by name.
Roz is on the phone with one of her kids, wistfully telling Nia that they just swam with dolphins, but then pointedly tells her child that she has to go save Aunt Nia's life now. Nia is fed up and promises that after this is over, she'll never ask Roz for a single favor again. Roz gets all offended and demands to know what she means, and despite Mere trying to distract them Nia yells that Roz is going to hold this over her for the rest of her life, just like everything else. Nia's not doing so well, heaving breaths each time she yells, but she won't be stopped. Roz yells at her that she lined up jobs for Nia that Nia lost and never asked for anything in return, but Nia points out that Roz in fact wants lifelong ass-kissing in return. She then declares that it's off, she can keep her liver, Roz also has the husband and kids and she has won the invisible race they have going on. She starts to gag and Mere rushes to her side, but Roz snottily informs Mere that whenever Roz wins a fight, Nia suddenly doesn't feel good. Roz doesn't take it well when Nia reminds her again that she in in liver failure; as Roz is ranting about her sister being a drama queen, Nia decides to really up the ante and starts vomiting up chunks of blood while Mere yells for help. It's true, this is a very effective way to win an argument, though maybe not the easiest way to go about it.
Once Richard and Bailey join Mere and Nia is done puking they explain that this was a symptom of end stage liver failure; the good thing is that the surgery is imminent, and Bailey orders her to relax until then. Nia maintains what she said earlier, that she doesn't want the surgery and just wants to go back on the transplant list, but by the time one is barfing up blood like she did it's too late and she can't wait. Roz spits at her not to be stupid but Mere shuts her right up, and Nia finally, reluctantly agrees. Roz really is a piece of work, reminding Nia that she's put the family through hell. She then calls her own family to report that Nia will go through with the surgery after all. When... did she have time to call them and tell them this was in doubt? I think it's just yet another point she's trying to make. And hey, we don't know what, if anything, Nia has done to the family but I would think the poor woman gets a pass for a little while at least until all of her organs are functioning correctly again. I assume, though, that Roz has just always been an overbearing, selfish pain in the ass. Nia just looks exhausted, as much from her sister as from her failing liver.
After finishing a scan on Wes, Lexie helps him get back in his wheelchair and as she does, he asks if the tumor grew any more. Bum bum BUUUUM. She carefully asks what he meant and he explains that he knows exactly what's going on with him since he overheard some doctors talking. At last! It is proven that hospitals are not sound vortexes! He hasn't admitted to his mom that he knows, though, because he sees her crying and sad all the time and is convinced that the only thing that makes her happy is to think that he has no idea. He begs Lexie not to tell her, adding that he's happy if his mom is happy. Lexie promises, though reluctantly. He then asks if he's going to die and she kneels down to his level to give herself time to form the most diplomatic answer possible. Very carefully, she says that she's worked with Derek for a while now and that Wes couldn't have a better doctor, because he's the best. That seems to satisfy him and he grins.
April is going through apartment listings and telling Jackson what she's found, but he still seems a little bit unsure about the idea. April points out that Meredith and Derek now have a baby and Jackson is living in the same house as his ex are two very valid reasons to move out. Alex overhears and wants to move too since Zola is "killing his game" -- all the girls that come over suddenly want babies when they see her. Well... yes. My ovaries squeal each time that little face gets on camera, so I can't argue that point. But April is adamantly against it and Jackson wants to live with April because she cooks and cleans. Oh, boys. So predictable. Mere comes in to raid the fridge for some widow casseroles for the party, since she won't have time to get food. Convenient, and only a little disturbing, that. Cristina assures her that Teddy won't care, and then turns her attention to Alex who she mocks for losing Fence Guy to them. The subject of Mere's specialty comes up again and April adds her voice to the legions of people who have already suggested doing general, just like her mom. Avery, however, totally gets it and pipes up that you can't win when you've got a name that's a legacy.
Back in the dumbest storyline of the week, April and Callie are clearly scheming as they sneak up on Mark and then Callie puts on a deep voice and pretends to be him so that he can pretend to be Julia. She then tells him it's been a great few months, and I love you. Mark is decidedly not amused, which seems to surprise them because this week we are pretending that these two are massive airheads. They list all of Julia's awesomely wonderful qualities and add that the four of them could buy houses door to each other and vacation together. Teddy walks up and innocently asks what's going on with Julia, and Mark just sighs and leaves. Teddy seems uncomfortable but resigned to this situation and asks if he left because of her. Now, in this particular case, I think Mark left because he couldn't handle talking about Julia anymore and actually not at all because of Teddy's delicate emotional situation. But Arizona and Callie sound super fake and over-sweet as they assure her it had nothing to do with her, and just sort of freak out Teddy who probably now thinks that's totally a lie and she's making people uncomfortable, or that these two are off their rockers. Or both.
Richard is about to start his surgery and a ton of folks are holding up cameras to get a snap of him as he starts. April tells him to smile and he acts all put out and like he wants to get on with it, but you know behind the mask he's loving it, especially when everyone applauds him. He then sends everyone out so he can get to work, but his pager goes off. Since he's got his hands full, he sends April to the lobby to take care of whatever it is.
Cristina is in scrubs, obviously ready for surgery, when she sees Owen and tries to sneak past him. He sees her and reminds her of her ordered nap, but she tells him a bald-faced lie, that she's off to go observe Derek's neuro procedure. And he actually believes her. I love these two, and I have loved them forever, but I do think it wouldn't hurt if they would both try communicating and doing so honestly. And Owen could just get himself an office, already. He does ask Cristina if she's really not mad for his pulling the fence surgery away from her and she tactfully replies that she didn't say that. He then wants to talk about Teddy and how he might be able to help them get past everything. Cristina tells him frankly that her husband is dead, she's taking it out on Owen, and he has to just deal with it. She cuts off any other wistful what-if-ing on his part and he finally admits he needs to just try and talk to Teddy directly. They then agree they'll see each other later at the party.
April heads downstairs and tries to tell the nurse that Richard is in surgery but the nurse directs her across the room where Adele is waiting with another woman. April is immediately worried and it's not made better when she walks over and Adele immediately starts demanding to know where Richard is. The woman is their -door neighbor and explains that she found Adele trying to walk to the hospital from their home, seven miles away. Adele is incredibly agitated but April begs her to wait for one moment and then pulls the neighbor aside to talk to her. The camera is pulled off Adele, much like April's sight, as she asks if the neighbor will stay with her for a few moments while April talks to Richard. The neighbor agrees to try, and April offers her office as a spot to wait. But when they turn around, they find that Adele has already disappeared again, and April starts to freak out.
She finds Adele in Richard's old office, now Owen's almost-empty not-office. I'd point out the stupidity of wasting this space once again but I think you all know my irrationally strong feelings about this quite well now. Adele is totally confused and gets very upset thinking that Richard has gone and left her. April desperately tries to assure her that Richard is just in surgery but Adele can't seem to stop crying that Richard always wanted to leave her, and never loved her because he loved Ellis instead. April is at a loss and begs Adele to try and calm down as Adele sobs that she can't do it alone, and begs the Richard in her mind not to leave her. It's awful.
Bailey and Mere are working together to take a piece of Roz's liver and it's really kind of disgusting how it looks like they are just searing off a corner of a raw steak. Bailey compliments Meredith's technique by saying she has her mom's hands and Mere is quick to tell her that she hasn't declared anything yet. Bailey asks what else she's going to do and then muses about how awesome it is to be good at everything, rather than just focus on one measly little organ. She then finally frees a corner of the liver and puts it on ice so that Mere can take it to Richard.
Lex goes to Wes' room to tell them that it's time. Mrs. Connors faces her son and starts to cry even before she starts to talk, assuring him that he's going to be okay and the doctors will take good care of him. I'm actually glad he knows what is really going on because I think if he didn't, this would freak him out. He assures his mom that he'll be okay and parrots what Lexie told him: Derek is the best. They hug, while Lexie watches and silently wills someone to admit that everyone knows what Wes really has.
Owen finds Teddy working on a computer and tries to strike up a conversation but she has no interest in talking. Instead of gently working his way back into her good graces, Owen gets mad and tells her that this has gone on too long, and that he thinks he understands why (or at least wants to) but that they have to talk about it. Teddy insists it's not a good time and tries to go, so he reaches out and grabs her arm. It's the wrong move -- she turns on him as if his touch burned her and yells sharply, "Don't!" before fleeing. I know this is Owen's best friend and it has to be awful for him but I always thought he'd have a better understanding of people to know that this is something that just needs time. I suspect, though, that the stress of being chief, and Henry's death, and his not-totally-idyllic marriage is starting to pile up and it's not leaving a lot of room for deep emotional understanding.
Derek and Lexie start Wes' surgery and are disappointed to see that the tumor is even worse than they had thought from the scans. He has Lexie tell him how they should start and then walk him through the procedure step-by-step. She's unsure and asks some questions but he just makes her decide for herself and tell him how she would proceed. However, when she gives him her opinion, he doesn't respond.
Richard is working with Meredith when April brings Adele to the gallery. It might have been a good idea had she not been so fixated on the memory of Ellis; when she sees Meredith she mistakes her for her mom and begins yelling that she needs to leave, and Richard is her husband, not Ellis'. At a loss, April turns on the intercom so that they can talk to Richard, and he's shocked to look up and see his wife. His shock turns to dismay when he realizes she's having an emotional meltdown. He tells April to leave the intercom on and tries to talk to Adele, but she just continues screaming at "Ellis" to get out. Mere offers to scrub out but Richard needs her help and, already exhausted, he calls up to Adele an assurance that he isn't leaving her. Mere then quietly suggests that he bring up a happy memory to try and ground Adele, which is something that worked for her mom. As Adele sobs uncontrollably Richard thinks a moment and then begins singing "My Funny Valentine" while she begs him to come home to her. April can barely watch, it's so heartbreaking, but finally after a few moments Adele realizes what is going on and eventually, she starts to sing along. A smile breaks out on her face as she transforms into a giggly, wide-eyed girl. The two of them sing together and while Adele is still crying, she seems happy. She then takes over and sings the rest of the song herself, finally clamming down. Richard reminds her sweetly that that was the song they first danced to at their wedding, and how beautiful she was. She giggles and adds that it's because they are getting married on Valentine's Day. She's off in another time, but she's happy and in love. Richard tells her that he loves her and then turns to Meredith and quietly asks her to tell Bailey to cancel the party. Upstairs, April puts her hands on Adele's shoulders as she looks around, still kind of confused at her surroundings.
p>Lauren S is a writer and gal-about-town who lives and works in Atlanta and is a total 'fraidy cat about jumpy, scary movies and shows. Unless it's comedy and then she happily makes an exception. She wants everyone to know: "The views expressed in my recaps and anything else I might write on TWoP are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer."