Crash Into Me

S08E14

Valentine's Day has arrived, that most infamous of holidays that people either celebrate in an over-the-top fashion or go out of their way to insist they don't care about. Or, here at the hospital, some actively try to ignore it. In that category we have Owen and Cristina; he's not just ignoring Valentine's Day, but ignoring his wife altogether. She finally gears herself up to tell him she deserves to be back on Teddy's service again and is shocked when he agrees to it almost immediately, though it seems that might be because he finds that preferable to having to carry on an actual conversation with her. As she starts to walk away, a van plows into the ER (a flower delivery van, no less) and Owen instinctively dives across its path to push Cristina out of the way. Once he establishes that she is okay, though, he goes back to not talking to her until he, Teddy and Cristina have to perform a surgery together. It's about as uncomfortable as you'd imagine. Things get even worse afterward, though, when he and Cristina have to ride the elevator together and he tells her that he's moving out. You can actually see her heart break and the effort it takes her not to completely fall apart at the news. Afterward, he tries to talk to Teddy because if nothing else he needs a friend, but she turns on him and yells at him that she wishes he had died instead of Henry, and that they will never, ever be friends again. Later, she complains to Cristina about him, wondering how he could possibly expect her not to hate him. It winds up being sadly parallel to what is going on with Cristina and Owen, and at the end of the night Cristina finds Owen having some quiet time standing over the air duct. She swallows all of her pride and pleads with him not to hate her, and he at least doesn't yell at her or kick her out of the room, so it's a start of sorts.

All of the patients of the week are Valentine-related, and the cutest is a little girl brought in with a horrible peanut allergy -- she ate a chocolate from the boy who likes her that she didn't realize had nuts in it. The boy's mom is the one to bring her to the hospital and she and her son wait there until the girl's mom arrives, and the son has the little girl hold his hand and squeeze it any time she needs to. When her mom arrives she flips out and completely blames the other mom for what happened, and creates quite a scene yelling at them to go. The little boy refuses, so Alex tells him that he will be there when the girl wakes up and will tell her whatever message the boy wants to give. He winds up sweetly reading a note that the boy had dictated, that ends romantically by saying that he doesn't care which of them gave the other head lice since at least they had it together. (No, seriously, it's actually extremely cute.)

Callie has a surprise planned for Arizona but with all the hints she drops about it, Arizona thinks they are going camping and she's dreading it. However, she wants time alone with Callie no matter what so she tries to get Mark to babysit. Eventually the two play rock-paper-scissors to see who has to watch Sofia. Mark loses, but it's just as well since Julia winds up having to cancel on him because of work and he and Lexie wind up eating the chocolates he bought while hanging out at the hospital. Later, Lexie has a revelation after watching a patient die that she wants to at least admit her feelings to Mark. She packs up Zola and takes her over to his apartment, but when she arrives it turns out Jackson has beaten her there. He bribes Mark with steak and good wine to help him study for his Boards. When Lexie sees him she tries to backtrack but Mark has her come in and join them, so she winds up spending her Valentine's night with both of her exes and two babies. The night turns out great for Arizona and Callie, though -- Callie fakes Arizona out by taking her up to Derek's trailer and acting like they really are just camping. But it turns out she's set up the inside like a love nest complete with tons of candles, wine, scarves draped everywhere, and even some fancy jeweled light fixture over the bed, and she points out to Arizona that she knows she hates actual camping. The two of them then get down to business and I just hope they don't knock over any of those candles.

Meredith and Derek are having an issue of their own, which is that Meredith sees Zola everywhere in the house and it's killing The Mood for her. She and Derek run around like giggling teenagers trying to find a spot in the house where they can get down to getting it on, but they are thwarted at every turn. Once Meredith goes to work she and Bailey get totally absorbed with a patient who has been having seizures -- they figure that she has to have some particular type of tumor and eventually figure out it must be on one of her ovaries. Unfortunately for the woman, they have to take out an ovary and have it tested to see if the tumor is there, and this runs a pretty decent risk of them just sterilizing the poor girl for no reason. After lots of waiting, though, it turns out that they were right, and there was much celebrating throughout the land. Because it was such a tricky case, though, it took all day and into the evening and Bailey had to keep pushing her dinner plans with Ben. He tells her he can move the time around because he's got "connections," but she ends up busy until well past dinnertime. She's saved from being any later by Richard, who went home to celebrate his anniversary with his wife but when he got there, she didn't recognize him. They had dinner anyway and she seemed quite interested in getting to know him better, but he decided just to head back to work instead and he takes a surgery from Bailey so that she can finally meet up with Ben.

She runs into him in the hospital, seemingly looking for her, and immediately gets defensive that she's been saving lives and he can't get mad about that keeping her late, not letting him get a word in edgewise. Finally, she realizes he's still dressed for a date, and he leads her into the cafeteria which he has set up with a gorgeous, fancy, romantic dinner for two complete with smiling waiter to pour them champagne. He tells her sweetly that he knows her well enough to realize that she was never going to be able to make a dinner reservation, so he started planning weeks before to bring the romantic dinner to her. And while they are enjoying that romantic dinner, Mere and Derek make it home and manage to run upstairs and fit in some lovin' before all of the baby toys kill the mood again.

Ah, this week we return to the Seattle we know and love, where Meredith and Derek are like two giggling teenagers in love, and all they want to do this Valentine's Day is It. They have an adorable roadblock, though, in the form of Zola, sleeping in between the two of them in their bed. They decide that they'll go take a baby-free shower together, but once they get there a flock of rubber duckies is watching them and Mere doesn't want to perform in front of this particular audience. They run downstairs and fall onto the living room sofa, laughing so loud that they don't realize Lexie is there having morning coffee and watching a tape of a surgery. Well, we all do what we can to get ourselves out of bed in the morning. Mere yells at her to listen for the baby, and she and Derek run out to try and have a quickie in the Jeep.

They're interrupted by Lexie, who knocks without looking and holds Zola -- who woke up and somehow told Lexie that she wanted them and couldn't wait 20 minutes -- so that she can't see her mommy and daddy making a human pretzel. Derek laments that they might never get to have sex again but the two of them are still so baby-high that they don't seem super bothered, at least not yet. Mere gets out of the car and takes Zola, and Lexie calls after her that because she is sad and single, she can babysit later to give them a chance to be alone.

Callie is in charge of planning her and Arizona's V-Day this year and Arizona hopes it's going to involve somewhere with lots of flickering candles. Callie tells her she should definitely pack a bag, and Arizona is giddy at the thought of a night away, somewhere romantic. She asks about Sofia but Callie tells her that Mark got a sitter and then when he gets home at 11 he'll have her overnight. It all sounds great until starts dropping hints that seem to indicate that they might be camping. Arizona can't hide her dismay and barely even tries, but Callie assures her that it will be fun. Mere tells us that there are times when love really does conquer all.

Then, there are times when love brings you nothing but pain. Like when you are Cristina, alone in bed and wide awake while her husband hides at the hospital, standing over a blowing vent in an effort to find some inner peace.

But Valentine's Day doesn't stop for the broken hearted, and the hospital is decked out in red and pink decorations. Bailey and Ben get some coffee and he confirms with her that she really will be able to make their date that night. She promises that she rearranged her schedule especially for the occasion and saucily adds that she's even got high heels in her car. With that thought to keep him warm all day, they both head off to work.

By Lauren S

Arizona and Mark walk in and she's pestering him to find out if she really is going camping. I am finding this incredibly annoying -- just let Callie surprise you, she's doing something nice! -- and yet I also totally understand, because camping is down near the bottom of my list of fun things to do. It falls somewhere in between sitting in traffic for hours and mopping floors. Mark then points out that they can't go camping since Sofia would hate it. There's a virtual record scratch, and Arizona demands to know what he's talking about since Callie said he was getting a sitter. I could never quite tell if he was just reneging on his promise or if there was a genuine misunderstanding in the first place but regardless, there are now shenanigans to be had. Arizona insists she needs to have sex with her wife, while Mark insists he has to have the perfect V-Day to impress his new girlfriend. Lexie overhears him talking about his young, fragile new relationship and can't help herself; she blurts out that she's got some hot plans too. Mark just seems confused.

April has decorated the ER while Jackson and Alex gripe about Valentine's Day and how you don't see all of the awesome booze-fueled injuries that you do on St. Patrick's Day. April thinks Alex is just bitter about being single but Alex insists that this holiday is actually about hitting on girls that don't have dates. How come there is never any in between? According to television, people (ladies especially) either have to be super into the holiday or vehemently against it and outspoken about it. How about those of us that are single and not angry nor crying into our soup about it, and who are looking forward to an evening with a glass of wine and the latest Downton Abbey? Alex points out that he has to study for his Boards anyway and Jackson's ears perk up. He obviously has not started studying yet (though he bluffs awkwardly that he has) and it seems like he's the only one not to do so yet. Owen walks up and, given the state of his personal life, shows his distaste for April's decorations by crushing one in his hand.

At the hospital, Meredith good-naturedly moans that her baby has ruined her sex life while a despondent Cristina says that hers is already dead. Mere's mood immediately deflates on her friend's behalf, especially when Cristina declares that she knows Owen is going to leave her. Mere tries to deny this but Cristina is certain, and then claims in that way we all have, when we are so emotionally exhausted that we feel like we can't expend any more energy on something, that she doesn't care and she can't make someone stay who doesn't want to. Mere points out somewhat quietly that Cristina could beg him, but Cristina has no interest in lowering herself to that. She starts to talk about how she's a busy, focused surgeon but Mere points out that they all are, so that doesn't count. As if Meredith just tried to rip away Cristina's life and identity with one cruel stroke, she pleads that it absolutely does count for her. And she really has let her single-minded surgical goals dictate all of her life decisions, so I guess she is kind of right. That might sound like I'm putting this all on her and once again, let me assure everyone that I'm not. She and Owen are having a pride-off and both are right and both are wrong. Cristina just assures Meredith that she doesn't beg, and if he wants to go, then fine.

The two then walk into the ER and as they pass Jackson, he asks if they are studying for their Boards yet. Both are, of course, and he might be kind of screwed. They then walk up to Owen; he gives Meredith a patient and then turns and walks away from Cristina, ignoring her completely as she asks if there is anything for her. His maturity level exponentially sinks with every episode.

Meredith walks over to her patient, Janell, who has been having excruciating headaches. Her husband Randy explains that they came in before and a brain scan showed nothing, so the doctors figured it was a migraine and sent her home with medication that then did nothing. Mere asks Janell to rate the pain but as she answers, she goes dead-eyed and her voice trails off. Mere tries to get her attention as Randy worriedly explains that this happens a lot, where the pain is too much and her body just shuts down. Meredith calmly but urgently has someone page Derek as Randy asks, already knowing the answer, for confirmation this isn't just a headache. Mere tell him that Janell is actually mid-seizure.

Cristina gears herself up for a fight and seems to have a speech prepared as she follows Owen and reminds him that she's been off of Teddy's service for two weeks now, and that she crossed a line and he reprimanded her... as she tries to go on Owen just shuts her up by saying, "Fine," and then walking away. He doesn't want to talk to her so much that he'll give in just because it is the path of least resistance. These two are a walking brochure for the importance of communication in a relationship. Cristina just stands there, not quite sure what to make of their non-conversation, and this turns into a moment of silence... which is then shattered by a pink van crashing through the glass doors. Owen throws himself at Cristina and pushes her out of the way, landing on top of her. As other people scream and ask if everyone is okay, he asks her the same thing, and though she says yes she's really shaken up. He asks if she's sure and when she says she is, he just gets up and leaves as she sits amid the dust and broken glass. It's really a perfect metaphor for their marriage. He does care that she's okay but once he knows it that's all the effort he's willing to make.

I guess when someone almost runs you over, you earn that person as a patient. She sits in the van while she checks out the driver, and Owen is helping out as the guy explains that he fell asleep at the wheel. Because nothing is too subtle for this show, he's a flower delivery man with a van full of Valentine's roses, and he starts to panic that they are all now going to wilt. He has two doctors that absolutely couldn't care less about floral love tokens, though, and they just call for Teddy.

By Lauren S

Across the ER, where no one seems terribly concerned about the van resting inside their workplace, Janell isn't responding to the seizure medication. Derek explains to Randy that he wants to put her in a medically induced coma, which freaks him out, especially as she just turned 32, and the two of them hadn't ever discussed any medical decisions. Once Derek and Mere explain just how bad her situation is he agrees to it, and Derek calls to a nurse to get some Propofol or, as I will now always think of it, Michael Jackson's sleeping potion.

A tow truck pulls the van out of the ER and we see all of the bouquets left in its wake. April starts to pick them up but Owen angrily yells at her to throw them out and get back to work. Man, I'm tired of bitter, angry, martyr Owen. He made his bed, or he at least saw what the bed looked like before he decided to climb in. This Owen is no fun to watch in any way.

Richard and Lexie, waiting for an ambulance, see this exchange and when Owen is out of earshot, Richard acts horrified as he asks April if she's really going to throw those all out. He then tells her conspiratorially that Owen doesn't have to know, and April grins as she sprints off with some saved flowers. Richard then turns to Lexie and comments at how everyone is a cynic. On the one hand... yes. On the other hand, in this particular scenario he was at the worst first birthday party on earth and heard the outburst from Owen, so he shouldn't bother acting surprised that the guy isn't into this day of loooove. He tells Lexie that he takes this holiday seriously which is of course due to the fact that it is also his wedding anniversary. He's looking forward to leaving work early and spending the rest of the day with Adele. He asks Lexie if she's going to be hitting the town and before she can stop herself, she answers, "I'm not hitting much of anything these days." She's horrified as soon as it passes her lips but I think it takes a lot more than that to shock Richard after so many decades in this place. She apologizes profusely and then is saved by the arrival of an ambulance.

Alex's patient is a little girl named Clementine -- Clem -- who was brought in wheezing, with a rash covering her face. It turns out that the woman who brought her in, Karla, is not her mom but is the mom of Clem's admirer, Nico. Nico took Clem some Valentine's peanut clusters that Karla had purchased, having no idea that Clem was allergic to nuts. Nico, by the way, is super cute in a button up shirt, tie, and sweater. Karla is incredibly upset as she explains the story to Alex and tells him that Clem's mom is at the gym so that's why she brought her in. Alex tells Clem he has to give her an IV and Nico adds that if it hurts, she can squeeze his hand as hard as she wants. That's true love for ten-year-olds. Karla has her hand on his shoulders, obviously proud of him.

Sharon has no respect at all for the fact that Charlie is in a neck brace with internal injuries and a broken nose and just keeps hollering at him about the non-proposal. Lexie is kind of appalled, and poor Charlie just keeps pointing out that she didn't even look at the necklace she gave him. Sharon's angry reasoning is that she didn't have to, because it wasn't a ring. As she holds her naked fourth finger in illustration, Richard notices she has a gash on her arm and pointedly asks Lexie if she'll take her to another room and take care of it. After they leave, Richard turns to Charlie and tells him a man should be able to bleed in peace. Weakly, Charlie thanks him.

Meredith is happily munching on some Valentine's chocolate and looking at some test results on a computer when Bailey walks in, and she and Meredith have a slightly hamfisted expository conversation where it's explained that Meredith figured out that Janell has some sort of autoimmune issue and thinks that her antibodies might for some reason be attacking her brain. That's why Bailey is here and not Derek -- so that she can wind up busy and late for dinner. I mean, because Meredith's findings mean this is a job for general surgery rather than neuro. Bailey of course reminds Meredith she has plans and they have to solve the case quickly, just so that we know for sure some wrench will be thrown into things and she won't be on time. They start going over possibilities and it turns out Meredith was already doing some research and is pretty sure Janell must have a type of tumor called a teratoma.

Owen is sullenly looking at his own patient's scans while Christina stands a little ways away in dead silence. Their poor guy never even gets a name so to me he is now christened Sleepy Delivery Guy, SDG for short. Teddy walks in and Owen gives her the rundown -- SDG has a bunch of things that sound bad and all have some form of "card-" or "cardio-" in the name. Teddy immediately tells Cristina to book an OR and to find someone to assist, and very carefully Cristina tells her that Hunt has allowed her back on Teddy's service. Owen can't even look at them, which gives the impression that it's killing him to have given Cristina something she actually wants. But he can't have his cake and eat it to, and if he wants to not ever have a conversation with her again, that's what it takes. Teddy is equally careful not to act too excited, but she is cautiously pleased. Owen grumpily tells her they have to get into the OR as soon as possible and Teddy grumbles back, basically, "Duh."

As Lexie bandages Sharon's arm, Sharon points out that Lexie must think she's a total bitch. Lexie scoffs though it's exactly what she was thinking, and Sharon explains that she and Charlie been together for eight years, and that each year the buildup gets worse. I notice as she gesticulates that she has a fresh, perfect manicure which was obviously so that the ring would look even more perfect on her hand. Lexie suggests that maybe Charlie doesn't know how bad she wants it, but Sharon says that they go to 20 (!!) weddings a year (the girl has got to learn how to start politely declining invitations, by the way) and that she sobs through each one when she's normally not sentimental. She assures Lexie that means that Charlie knows. And I had the thought that guys never get clues like that and she might have to just talk to him like an adult, but I can assure you readers now that as it turns out, she's right and he knows.

Just then Richard wheels Charlie out of the room -- Charlie seems to be unconscious -- and calls to Lexie that he's got massive internal bleeding and they need to get him to the OR. As Lexie joins him he calls to Sharon that they are taking her fiancé to surgery but once in the elevator, Lexie corrects Richard immediately that he isn't her fiancé.

I have to laugh every time an old character makes an appearance as if to remind us that there really are other regular staff members here. Intern Steve -- I guess he's Dr. Steve now, but in my head he's forever going to be Intern Steve -- is the lucky one who gets to work with Owen, Teddy and Cristina. In an effort to break the icy silence, he asks if anyone has Valentine's plans. Maybe we haven't seen him in a while because he's been on Mars, since that's the only reason I could possibly believe for not knowing just how stupid a question that is right now. After they all look at him like he has lost his marbles, Teddy finally explains with a bite in her voice that her husband died in that OR, Cristina did the surgery, and Owen hid his death from Teddy until she was done with her own surgery, so she ignores him. It's almost like she's recapping for us in case we lost track recently. She then explains that while Owen and Cristina are married, he wants kids and she doesn't so they don't speak to each other. That's the most delicate way I could possibly think of to describe the giant mess that is their marriage right now. So Teddy summarizes that no, they don't, then asks, "How about you?" Having been on Mars, Steve has lost the ability to read a room, so he actually starts to answer the question until he's almost turned to dust by the looks of the other surgeons and he shuts up.

By Lauren S

Charlie's surgery is not going well and Richard finally tells everyone that they should just pack him up and let him stabilize in the ICU before they do anything else. Before that happens, Mark and Jackson come in so that Mark can fix Charlie's broken nose, and as he does so he tries to order Jackson to babysit for him. Jackson wonders why Mark would even trust him as a babysitter and Mark tries to flatter him that he knows CPR, he's smart, he could run out of a burning building... all of the babysitting essentials. He then lectures Jackson that while women claim not to care about Valentine's Day they all care a lot. Mark, I love you, but sometimes you are a Neanderthal idiot. Way to stereotype, and in front of your ex-girlfriend too. Though judging by Lexie's expression over her mask, I think we're supposed to realize that she's pining a little for Mark to give her that perfect V-Day. Richard then says he'll stay with Charlie in the ICU but Lexie immediately offers to do it so that he can go celebrate his anniversary. Mark is quick to remind her that she said she had a hot date, and Jackson's ears perk right up about this. Richard comes to her rescue and breaks in to the conversation so the boys leave, but not without Jackson shooting a curious look back at his ex. Lexie thanks Richard sincerely for saving her.

Out of surgery, Cristina is waiting for the elevator when Owen comes up and rather pointedly stands in front of the doors to the other lift. He gets aggravated when nothing seems to happen and starts hitting the button some more; Cristina begins to point out that this is dumb but then just lets it go, not having the energy to fight about yet something else with him. She gets in the elevator, and Owen thinks a moment before following her. She leans against the back wall while he stands in front of the doors, and without ever turning to look at her he finally says, toward the door, that he's moving out. Cristina's face looks like he just drove a knife into her gut, and he manages to say that he'll be at his mom's place until he figures out something else. Her eyes are full of tears which he can't see, since he refuses to look her way. She's dumbfounded, and starts to crumble, but when he asks, "Okay?" she waits a moment and says the same. Once he gets off the elevator, though, she starts to fall apart.

Ben runs after Bailey and tells her that he got her message and that he was able to push their dinner reservations to eight. She's all impressed that he has the clout to change a reservation on Valentine's afternoon but he insists he has connections. She assures him that she won't be any later than that and that as soon as they confirm that Janell had a teratoma, she's putting on her sexy heels. But when she walks in the lab and sees Mere's face, she knows her day isn't going to work out that easily. Mere tells her that what they took off Janell's lung was a Benign Other-oma, and so Bailey tells an unsurprised Ben to push dinner until nine after all.

By Lauren S

When Terri sees that Karla is still at the hospital, she goes over and pointedly tells her it is okay to leave. Karla would love to, but explains that Nico won't leave until he knows Clem is okay. Instead of finding this innocent and heartwarming, Terri starts whisper-yelling at Karla, asking who the parent is in their relationship and saying that she lets her children run wild. Karla whisper-yells back about Terri's helicopter parenting. The two start going at it and the fight (de)escalates to the point that Terri claims Nico gave Clem head lice. Neither of them realizes that by now, both of their children are upstaging them in the maturity department, and not by a small amount. Alex again intervenes, yelling at them to let the kids be cute and in love, and then Nico comes to alert them to the fact that something is wrong, illustrating my point brilliantly. Clem's airway is closing and Alex is going to have to intubate. Nico seems to be the strongest one there as he watches the procedure and as soon as the tube is in, Clem starts doing better. Alex tells them that she has to stay overnight but she will be okay, and Terri turns and begs Karla to now leave, already.

Meredith and Bailey are baffled by Janell's test results because they are sure that she has to have a teratoma somewhere. The two start to discuss how it could be microscopic and if so, where it might be. Meredith points out that commonly these are found on the ovaries. Bailey realizes that's the answer, and that they'll have to take hers out, but Meredith is rather horrified at the idea in such a young woman and thinks maybe Bailey is jumping the gun. Bailey sadly points out that these things always show up on young, wonderful people and it's implied that this has to be the only place the thing can be. Look, this wouldn't be a TV medical drama -- especially not THIS TV medical drama -- if horrible things weren't happening to nice young people. At least the rest of Janell's family isn't dying on her birthday.

By Lauren S

Sharon is sitting by Charlie's bedside as Lexie checks him out and he doesn't seem to be doing too well. She asks Sharon if she can get her anything and Sharon answers by admitting to Lexie that she had the ring picked out, and had sent pictures to her sisters so that they could help Charlie out when the time came. But now, seeing him battered and broken, she has realized that it's no longer important to her, and all she needs is him. She begs Lexie to make sure he's okay, and Lexie can only give her a sad smile because he's in no shape for her to be making any sort of promises.

SDG is now W(ide)A(wake)DG and the accident and surgery seem to have given him some clarity. After Teddy and Owen give him some post-surgery instructions that include taking it easy and laying off the all-nighters, WADG declares himself done. He then goes on a rant about what a stupid business he is in where someone wants to send flowers and act nice to someone that they treat horribly the rest of the year. Owen seems sad to hear all of these things as WADG concludes that he used to buy into the whole game, but now he's over it. But then he says something that perks up Owen's ears: he declares that people should just try not being awful to each other and leave him and his flowers out of it. Teddy just replies by telling him Cristina will check on him later, and she leaves.

She's not excited to realize that Owen has been inspired, and he runs after her and asks if she has a moment. She turns, but says nothing, and he immediately tells her that he knows she's been through hell and he's part of it, and there's no magic solution, but that they used to be friends and he now needs a friend today. Dear Readers: If you are trying to mend fences with someone and something you did is a very large part of why your fences were crushed in the first place, the best approach to that first conversation is probably not to tell the other person what you need. He seems to think things are going well, I guess because Teddy hasn't stormed off, so he continues that he'd like to buy her a drink or five. He does not expect her reaction to be, "Are you done?" and he really doesn't expect the tidal wave of hatred that then comes crashing over him. Teddy spits, "I hate you." She goes on to tell him that from the second he put the hospital before her own personal needs she's hated him, and that at night when she looks at Henry's empty side of the bed she wishes actively that Owen were dead instead. Owen has the grace to look completely ashamed, and I would feel almost sorry for him if I didn't think that he should have known this was coming and in fact was warned by everyone that Teddy was going to hate him once she found out what he had done. "Hate" is almost too mellow a word, though; she goes on to say that when she thinks of all of the good soldiers that have been killed, she wonders how God could let them die while Owen is still alive. That's hatred exponentially compounded by raw grief, right there. She yells at him that they are not friends and never will be, that she hates him, and that he's never to speak to her again unless it is work related. Then, she turns and flees.

While Karla is good and ready to get as far away from Terri as possible, Nico is having a tantrum and refusing to leave. Alex comes over and interrupts their fight, telling Nico conspiratorially that he's kind of embarrassed for him right now, since his mom is right and he's kind of too big for this behavior. But our little Romeo doesn't care; he is worried that if he's not there when Clem wakes up, she will think he doesn't love her. The adults share a glance but to their credit they go along with this, and Alex offers to be there when Clem wakes up and to give her any message Nico wants. He finally agrees, but warns Alex that he's going to need a pen and paper for the message. Alex could probably take some pointers from this little guy when it comes to dealing with love.

While they wait for the results, Mere and Bailey play tic-tac-toe on one of the sheets covering Janell while Dr. Thompson stands by and judges them harshly. To their dismay, when they get the call from pathology they are told that the ovary they removed was totally clean. Dr. Thompson reminds them that the other could be too, but Bailey snips at her that she doesn't think she has a good personality. Meredith just ignores her, sure that the teratoma has to be on the other one based on their tests. Bailey points out that if not, they will have just sterilized a young woman for nothing, but they get back to work and take that chance. As they pointed out to Randy, she'll be sterile but still having seizures until her brain dies so they are probably making the right call to see it through.

Cristina is sitting alone when Teddy walks by, and she flops into a chair and immediately starts to rant that she's done with Owen, and she can't believe he thinks that she could forget everything that has happened. She's indignant that he believed they could ever possibly be friends again. Unfortunately, she's so mad that she doesn't see how what she's saying could rather easily be flipped to Owen and Cristina, and if they did that, Cristina would come out the loser in that relationship. Cristina doesn't say anything, just stares straight ahead, and Teddy finally lapses into sad, angry silence.

Mere and Bailey aren't wasting time with tic-tac-toe now, instead they literally hover over the pathologist while he looks at slides from Janell's left ovary. He's perturbed and claims it's going to take a little while to be sure if the abnormal cells he sees really do indicate a teratoma, so finally Meredith orders him out of the chair. He tries to fight her but pretty quickly realizes he's not going to win this and she sits and takes a look into the microscope herself. She finds what she is looking for and has Bailey take a look -- they expectantly turn back to the pathologist who claims that they can't confirm it yet but finally is pressed into admitting that what he's seen so far all points to a teratoma. The women jump up and cheer like their team just scored a goal. Yay, microscopic autoimmune tumors!

By Lauren S

And sure enough, when Richard and Lexie walk out to see Sharon in the waiting area, they are wearing their sad, serious faces and Sharon realizes she's about to get the worst news of her life. She starts to cry as Richard tells her he's so sorry, but Charlie died.

Bailey and Meredith are rooting around in Janell's insides and are joined by a new doc, Dr. Thompson, who seems to be the gynecological surgeon? It feels maybe like we're supposed to have met her before but I think I would have remembered the quite pregnant new surgeon if we had seen her before now. Her role is to be the killjoy as Meredith and Bailey try to find their microscopic teratoma, and she really thinks she should be the one to actually remove the first ovary. Meredith just informs her that she can't trust her third-year hands, and Bailey backs her up, so Dr. Thompson sighs heavily while being reduced to nothing more than a bystander in scrubs. Their plan is to take out Righty and then send her off to the lab to see if their teratoma is indeed there. Bailey asks Mere if she ever thought she'd be hoping so badly to find a tumor.

While Karla is good and ready to get as far away from Terri as possible, Nico is having a tantrum and refusing to leave. Alex comes over and interrupts their fight, telling Nico conspiratorially that he's kind of embarrassed for him right now, since his mom is right and he's kind of too big for this behavior. But our little Romeo doesn't care; he is worried that if he's not there when Clem wakes up, she will think he doesn't love her. The adults share a glace but to their credit they go along with this, and Alex offers to be there when Clem wakes up and to give her any message Nico wants. He finally agrees, but warns Alex that he's going to need a pen and paper for the message. Alex could probably take some pointers from this little guy when it comes to dealing with love.

By Lauren S

When Clem wakes up, Nico isn't at her bedside as promised. As Nico predicted she is kind of confused and sad that he isn't there but Alex makes her feel better when he says that Nico's mom made him leave, like, you know, MOMS are such a drag. The girl just mutters that it figures, so it's clear her own mom has done a good job already instilling in this ten-year-old that Nico's mom is evil. These two ARE Romeo and Juliet. Let's hope neither of them actually winds up dying. Alex tells her that he has a note from Nico and then reads it to her, and it's totally ten-year-old cute but still could probably teach a thing or two to men three times his age. He's sorry Clem is sick but not sorry she's his girlfriend, and that it's the worst to be alone on Valentine's Day, but he's thinking about holding her hand and jumping on the trampoline. He actually says he loves her, at which point even Alex can't help but exclaiming over the depth of Nico's feelings, and then finishes up by saying he doesn't care who gave who lice, he's just glad they had it together. Why has that not yet been printed in a greeting card? Clem smiles happily and Alex is completely charmed, telling her she picked a good one. The Grinch's heart grew three sizes that night as he learned that Valentine's Day wasn't all about just picking up lonely sad chicks after all.

Lexie is at the house holding Zola, pacing, and talking herself into going over to tell Mark how she feels so that he doesn't accidentally die not knowing. Sharon's future therapy is Lexie's personal gain. As she discusses this with Zola, Mere and Derek burst in the door and Lexie is anxious to leave her little niece there so that she can go declare herself to her ex. But they are too turned on by Mere's teratoma and anxious to take advantage of the moment. As they run upstairs, Derek suggests that Lexie go drive Zola around the neighborhood for a little while.

Bailey finds Ben and immediately begins apologizing for being late, in scrubs, and generally looking like she just blew him off since it's almost 11:30 PM. He points out that given the time, she blew off dinner quite a while ago. She's sorry, but then she does that unfortunate thing where she keeps talking and it goes from an apology, to defending herself for being a surgeon who saves lives, to blaming him if he wants to break up with her when she's been saving lives. He's got an eyebrow raised and finally manages to cut her off; when he does, she notices he's still in a suit. He points out that Valentine's Day is actually not over yet, and then he leads her around the corner to the cafeteria which has been decorated with twinkle lights and roses, and just one table set for two. There's also a smiling waiter pouring champagne. She's dumbfounded, especially because she thinks he pulled this all together that day. But he points out that he knows her quite well, and knew she'd never in a million years actually be able to make a normal, scheduled, dinner reservation. He tells her again that he knows her and she's quite sexily taken with him and agrees, "You know me." As if he wasn't hot and perfect enough, he adds that he even arranged for there to be extra crumb topping on her mac and cheese. Well, now he's just TOO perfect. While she might not be good at these "romancy" things, he lifts his glass and smoothly tells her that he's really good at it. She happily agrees, and they clink glasses.

As Meredith VOs that we're always looking for ways to ease the pain, Lexie and Zola ring the doorbell at Mark's apartment. He's surprised to see her, and her excuse that she thought the girls could have a playdate is pretty thin. Especially if we are assuming that the episode is taking place in at least some semblance of linear order, which means it is actually way past Zola's bedtime. But she does actually add that they could also talk as there are some things she wants to say to him. She then hears something from inside and is horrified to think that Julia might be there after all. It's only slightly less embarrassing for her when she finds out that it is Jackson. Mark immediately offers to send him away so that they can talk -- I think he's probably got genuine feelings for both of the women in his life right now, given all of his actions today. Jackson walks to the door and is surprised to see her, especially when he realizes that Mark is offering to kick him out. Lexie assures them that it was nothing and tries to leave, but Mark tells her she's being silly and invites her in for steak. She walks inside and looks around at the setting of the most awkward Valentine's evening she could possibly have imagined. Mere tells us that sometimes we ease the pain by making the best of what we have...

By Lauren S

Once inside, however, she sees that Callie transformed the place into a romantic love den, complete with lingerie on the bed, scarves hanging from the ceiling, an exotic light fixture and Arizona's requested flickering candles. As the camera pans around I'm also convinced she used the Harry Potter spell to make the inside bigger than the outside -- I know it's the same set always used but somehow that thing seems extra roomy compared to the little silver shell you see from the outside. I guess looooove made it bigger. Arizona is enchanted, and thrilled not to be camping, and Callie points out that duh, Arizona hates camping. She's very gracious to leave, "I'm your wife and I know you so you might have trusted me a little," but I guess the whole reason the surprise worked is that Callie counted on and stoked Arizona's reaction. The two then get all flirty and kissy and down to the business of removing one another's puffy winter clothes.

Mere has Derek come to the lab where she gleefully shows off her teratoma in a Petri dish. She's high from her surgical victory, and Derek starts getting turned on by her excitement and sexy medspeak.

Bailey's still happy over their teratoma triumph as well, but then her phone rings and her face falls as she's given another surgery. Dejectedly, she tells whoever it is to send the patient over. Richard walks up and she tells him that a ruptured kidney is now going to ruin her Valentine's Day. He offers to do the surgery instead but she insists that she doesn't want to ruin his holiday too, and that he should go home and celebrate with his wife. Sadly, though, he already went home, where Adele didn't recognize him at all. However, she thought he was handsome and nice and invited him to dinner, where she proceeded to flirt mightily with him during the meal. His whole being radiates sadness and resignation and Bailey is brokenhearted on his behalf. But he finally convinces her to go, and insists that time alone with a kidney and scalpel will be good for him. She's hesitant at first as she walks away but as the gets further down the hall her step becomes surer and she starts into an excited run.

By Lauren S

...while sometimes we lose ourselves in the moment. As she and Derek are finally doing. With gusto.

Owen is still trying to blow his problems away on the vent, but the door squeaks and he turns to see Cristina walk in and lean against the door. He looks away from her and she's quiet for a moment before she can suck up all of her pride and courage to ask him not to hate her. He doesn't react, and she pleads, "I'm begging you." It's rather powerful since we know how against the idea of begging she really is, but she is just laid bare here. He finally turns around and looks at her, and she makes her way slowly over until she is standing in front of him, and tentatively puts a hand on his chest. He manages to put a hand on her arm, and the two look at each other, with so many feelings obviously still between them both in addition to the anger and hurt. Mere concludes that sometimes all we need to do to ease the pain is call a truce. I have no idea if this momentary truce will even last until week, but it's a relief to have it at least for a moment.

p>Lauren S is a writer and gal-about-town who lives and works in Atlanta and would love for someone to give her some sea salt caramels like Mark had, Valentine's Day or not. 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."