It's the day before Bailey's wedding and she's starting to get cold feet. Like really cold feet, not just chilly feet because she didn't want this overblown stupid Christmas-themed wedding in the first place. It's weird to see a woman that used to be the epitome of confidence so flustered over a wedding, especially since she's been married before, but Richard chalks up her nerves to the wisdom that comes with age. Still, old-Bailey wouldn't have been steamrolled into a wedding she didn't really want, no matter how good the sex was. But still she asks Arizona, Callie and Meredith to be her bridesmaids, in typical old-Bailey fashion, which sort of made me smile, because I've really missed her awkward social interactions. Anyway, she plans on driving herself to the wedding, but Richard (who also worked out a plan with Ben to get her a pre-wedding distraction surgery) arrives in a limo to take her in style. It's really sweet and shows what a great relationship these two have. And they are on their way, until the hospital calls and says Adele is coughing up blood. When they arrive, some doctor we don't really know is working on Adele, and Richard tries to commandeer the situation, but as the husband he's pushed aside. So since all of the other semi-competent doctors are already at Bailey's wedding, waiting for her to walk down the aisle, she strips off her veil and dress in the middle of the ER and gets down to work. Ben's probably gonna be pissed for being left at the altar, but maybe now he'll actually listen to her instead of pushing her too fast. No matter how pretty he may be, Bailey listened to her gut and made the right decision.
The other big doings is that Neve Campbell is there and totally calls Meredith out for being a shitty sister-in-law. Thank you, Neve Campbell. She says that their family is close-knit and Mere keeps them all away from Zola and doesn't include them in crap, but calls when she needs something. That said, Neve would do anything for her brother Derek, so she agrees to have her nerve cut out of her calf. But it turns out her legs are stumpy, so they need to cut nerves from both legs, and Derek has his normal hissy-fit about the whole thing, but eventually caves and has the surgery. As a reward for going under the knife, or just in an attempt at being in a functional family, Mere decides to tell Neve about the baby, even though she's still thinking that her unstable uterus might not be able to carry the baby to term.
The other person Mere hasn't told about her pregnancy is Cristina, and she senses some awkwardness in their friendship when Derek says the whole reason that Owen is asking for a divorce is because it will allow the crash victims to get more money. The thinking being that Owen has a conflict because he's married to one of the victim's, so they won't have to pay as much settlement. Mere accuses Cristina of keeping secrets, but a gobsmacked Cristina is clueless. So she confronts Owen about the whole thing, since he sped up the divorce papers, and the two get to reconciling, quickly.
Also possibly getting their relationship on track are Arizona and Callie, since Arizona is whining about having to wear flats to the wedding (she needs one of those high-heel legs like Aviva has on Real Housewives of New York City). Callie loses it and says that she's sick of talking about nothing but the damn leg, and sick of not having sex, and Arizona puts her shoes on… and this seems like progress, of sorts.
In the dumbass part of the hospital, April tries to get out of going to Bailey's wedding because she thinks she'll cave and sleep with Jackson. So she tells Jackson to bring a date, because he won't be able to resist her in her strapless dress. Her shoulders are just TOO sexy. Whatever, she's not that irresistible, and she could also wear a sweater, but instead she picks Stephanie to be his date. Then he sets April up with Smash. Both Smash and Stephanie are freaked to be "dating" their residents. Then, because this show has to be stupid, Alex is jealous, as Jackson was supposed to be his date for the night, so Jackson gets Stephanie to bring a friend. This is an insanely ridiculous way to bring Alex and Jo together for some awkwardness, as they are fighting because he let her do part of a surgery and she nearly killed a patient… and then she told Arizona it was Alex's fault for pushing her beyond her abilities. Alex gets pissed that he got in trouble with his boss, and Jo still doesn't get the idea of a teaching hospital, or how to be competent and recover from setbacks, so they have a super awkward trip to the wedding that doesn't end up happening.-- Angel Cohn
It's Bailey's Wedding Eve, but instead of looking forward to the day with giddy anticipation, she's testily barking detailed instructions at April to care for her various patients. April then in turn gives instructions to Leah, which sets Bailey off -- not because Leah is the second most detestable intern in the hospital but because she's an intern, period, and Bailey thinks she'll kill the folks and the worry will stress her out. April is more excited about the wedding and honeymoon than Bailey is and tries to ask about details; when Bailey fixes her with a death glare, April just assures her she's got it. Mere tells us that our adrenal system reacts to stress by making us alert and reactive but the one little issue is that we can't tell the difference between regular nerves and actual impending disaster.
Alex is stuck with Princess again and he's telling a kid about the stomach implant that they are putting later. He and his family are excited and grateful, and Alex introduces Princess and tells the family that they have a great team of doctors. Well, that statement is 50% true.
When Bailey encounters Callie, Callie has the nerve to act excited and hum "Here Comes the Bride." Once Bailey shuts that down, she tersely instructs that when she and Arizona arrive at the venue, they aren't supposed to sit down. Callie is all confused and alarmed since she wants a good seat, but Bailey just gets indignant and starts ranting about how Callie is a surgeon but can't follow simple instructions. Finally, a light clicks on above her head -- this is Classic Awkward Bailey (welcome back!) trying to ask Callie and Arizona to be her bridesmaids. She gets even more annoyed when Callie has the gall to be excited and honored about it.
Jackson is in a meeting with Derek, Meredith and Lizzie to go over the surgery and Derek is being his usual ray of happy sunshine -- for each thing Jackson tells Lizzie, like how she will have some discomfort, Derek counters that it's going to hurt like a bitch for months. The two start bickering like the siblings they are while Mere presses her fingers to her forehead as if that will help her keep her sanity. Lizzie finally says something about cutting off a leg for Derek, he jumps on that and tells her it's just a nerve, and Mere tersely orders them to focus. Jackson thinks Lizzie has actual doubts but she's just trying to wind up her big brother and she cheerfully signs off on all the paperwork. Lizzie can be a little much but I'm starting to think you don't want Mere as a sister-in-law as she barely knows how mold her face into any sort of pleased or thankful expression. Once the forms are signed Lizzie asks if she can go see Zola in daycare -- it sounds like she's been chomping at the bit for it. Mere tells her she's sorry (not sounding very sorry at all) but that they don't let adults come and go because it's harder on the kids. This must be a new policy after all of the years that we have seen Bailey, Mark, Meredith, Derek, Callie and Arizona, oh, coming and going from the daycare whenever they want to say a quick hello to their offspring. Lizzie purses her lips, which Derek notices and immediately promises to bring Zola over later.
When Meredith walks out she passes Bailey, who calls out gruffly the same instructions not to sit down at the wedding. Meredith just looks confused but doesn't seem to question it. I have to assume Callie handled telling her the actual details later.
Cristina is looking at some scans when Owen comes in and tells her that the lawyer will be sending over papers the day. She tells him that she already signed a whole pile of lawsuit stuff and is taken aback when he tells her that these are their divorce papers, since it seems to be proceeding so quickly. He asks her if it's a problem for her to sign tomorrow and she has a bit of an edge to her voice as she chirps that it's fine. It's only the dissolution of their marriage, after all.
In a nice callback to seasons of yore, there's a loving shot of a ferry boat before we see Mere and Derek in the doctor's office for her secret ultrasound appointment. Derek mentions that he would like to tell Lizzie about the pregnancy but Mere is sure she'll tell the whole family and doesn't want that. (Why throw her a bone? She's only donating her nerves, after all.) Through this it comes out that Mere hasn't even told Cristina yet, and Derek is shocked, to say the least. Mere tells him clinically that there's no point since she's probably going to miscarry anyway given her angry uterus, and she's just being realistic. Derek is not my favorite guy in the world, but my heart breaks for him a little because he's so saddened by this. When the doc comes back in he pointedly asks if there are things they can do to help the pregnancy given their history and she happily assures them that there are, and she'll be keeping a super close eye the whole time. Derek holds Meredith's hand as the doc gets to work and then they hear what seems to be a strong little heartbeat. Derek is happy, but Meredith's face never changes, and she finally just looks away. Poor Dr. Simpson seems to be the most excited one in the room.
Callie finds Bailey to tell her that she and Arizona are set with red dresses that are complimentary but not too matchy; Bailey doesn't want too many details because thinking about any wedding details at all is stressing her out. Callie finally gets sick of it and informs Bailey that she is in fact the only person who cares that this is her second wedding. Bailey finally admits her legitimate concerns -- that she lives in Seattle with her son and a demanding job and is about to marry a man who lives in Los Angeles and is a surgical intern himself. Callie thinks a moment and then tells Bailey conspiratorially that if she's worried about the marriage, she can run -- leaving him at the altar would be a super clean break since he'd be so pissed at being humiliated in front of friends and family. She then gets a little bit caught up in her own advice as she rants that marriage starts out fun but can wind up with you cleaning your spouse's pee off of the floor and sleeping with a "foot-wide demilitarized zone" down the center of the bed. When Callie looks up, Bailey's mouth is actually hanging open in complete horror and Callie tries to laugh and say she was kidding. She then assures Bailey that Ben is awesome and everything will be okay.
Alex is going over the kid's surgery with Princess Jo and tells her that she's the lucky winner who gets to remove some adhesions from the kid's stomach. She's thrilled but when he advises her to spend the hours practicing in the skills lab she thinks about what it actually means to do actual surgery and gets a little bit freaked out. She then asks Alex if he's letting her do the surgery because she admitted her past to him. Alex sneers, "Oh yeah, I feel so bad you were a dumpster-diving orphan, I'm letting you hack up a 10-year-old." I wonder when she's ever going to remember that she's supposed to be a surgeon?
April is eating lunch with Mere and Cristina or rather, those two are eating lunch and she's freaking out about how she can't handle being at such a romantic event with Jackson across the room. Cristina can't help herself and says she is right to worry because once they are dressed up and lock eyes across the room, the thing she knows they'll be doing it in the coatroom. April can't recognize the teasing and instead thinks about her dress and exclaims in horror before running off. Mere laughs at Cristina for being cruel and then takes a deep breath and stares at her... but says nothing. Cristina realizes something is up but when she asks what it is, Mere brushes it off.
Leah and Heather are eating lunch in the skills lab while Princess practices, and Leah asks if Alex is into her now because why else would he let her do this? They add that none of the other interns have removed adhesions. Yes, morons, it's because you are all super-new interns at a teaching hospital! Someone has to be first to do any of these procedures! This is, in fact, the point of your being here! Also, Leah seems genuinely casual about Alex maybe having a crush which is disconcerting since all we knew about her for weeks is that she was totally obsessed with him, at least until we learned she had a bitter competitive streak in her. I would have thought she'd be much more biting about it. Arizona comes in to ask Princess for a chart and when she hears about the adhesions, comments that Alex must really trust her. She does seem a little bit surprised and then notices that Princess is practicing using the totally wrong instrument. She asks if Princess is sure she's ready and she claims she is; Arizona then leaves her so that she can get in as much practice as possible. Leah then mocks Princess that she obviously shouldn't be doing this procedure, so it must mean Alex likes her. They could be writing a storyline in which Alex is slowly developing feelings for a plant in the waiting room and it would be as believable as this inevitable pairing with Princess Jo.
April finds Bailey and lamely tries to tell her that she'll skip the wedding to monitor her patients, which she tries to sell as a completely selfless act. Bailey sees right through this and knows that April is just worried about seeing her ex and getting herself into trouble. She's unsympathetic and barks, "Suck it up, Kepner. If I have to go, you have to go." April runs off while Richard, who happened to walk in during this exchange, points out that this is a beautiful sentiment. She growls and stalks off while he chuckles. Seriously, some of this is vintage Bailey and cold feet would be understandable, but at this point I am kind of wondering why she's getting married and why no one is taking her worries this even remotely seriously.
Jackson, meanwhile, is actually thinking about work and a little problem that they have -- he tells Mere and Derek that Lizzie's got short calves so they will have to cut into both legs to get as much nerve as they need. Derek is against it and immediately tries to shut down the procedure yet again. Meredith reminds him that they couldn't find another donor and this is their only chance but he's quick to declare that the dream is just over, then. He won't allow discussion and refuses to let anyone even ask Lizzie what she thinks. Everyone who thinks he's terrified of trying this surgery, raise your hand!
April's great idea to avoid coatroom sex is for Jackson to bring a date, so that his focus will be on that person. He suggests, like a mature adult, that they could choose to focus on the bride and groom instead. But she is wearing a tight strapless dress, which means she'll be naked on the top 20% or so of her body, and apparently has reached age 30 with only one single wedding-appropriate dress so she can't wear something else. Jackson seems to finally think she has a point (and also finds her weird for her single dressy dress) but he's not sure how to find a date with one day's notice. Thank goodness the hospital is full of attractive young people, then; April sees Stephanie and yells out an invitation to her. Jackson tries to stop her but April presses on and Stephanie is so gobsmacked that she can barely form words. With one last reminder about her dress, Jackson caves and tells Stephanie he'll pick her up at 1 in the locker room. But as revenge, he tells April he gets to find her a date and just at that moment, an unsuspecting Smash comes walking down the stairs.
Lizzie is appalled to learn that she has stumpy calves, and Mere is quick to assure her that as calves go, they are fine -- they just don't have quite enough nerve. Mere is there to secretly tell Lizzie about what is going on after Derek refused to ask her, and Lizzie is of course fine to go ahead and give some nerve from each leg. But when Mere asks her not to tell Derek that it was she who approached Lizzie, Lizzie can't take it anymore and tells Mere she's got some balls. Mere seems to deliberately try to misunderstand and pretends Lizzie thinks it might be too much to ask after all but that's not it -- Lizzie is mad that there was no wedding, there was no invite to meet Zola, there was no accepting the family's invitation to visit, and in fact were only ever a couple of pictures sent to the Shepherd family of the newest addition. But yet Derek needs a nerve, and here Mere is. Lizzie has to explain that this is what sisters do for each other but if Mere wants to be a sister, she needs to actually act like one. Finally, Mere falls back on the old reliable excuse of her own shitty family growing up and she doesn't know how to have a family, waaaah. Lizzie brings up Lexie but Mere has no interest in talking about the sister she did actually love and shuts down any more talk of family (especially the reminder that Zola is a part of the big crazy Shepherd family) before she runs off.
Now that Jackson has a sort-of actual date, he has to break the news to his dude-date, Alex, that he's taken. Alex is pissed off since they were going to pick up lonely bridesmaids together and blames April for ruining everything. He's even more appalled when he finds out that Stephanie is said date. Jackson offers that Stephanie probably has a friend but Alex stalks off... though he comes back long enough to agree with the caveat, "Just don't get me an ugly one."
Lizzie goes to find her brother, who tries to tell her they are not doing the surgery. Fortunately for him, she finds this ridiculous and insists that they are. She also jokes that with him being mom's favorite, she just locked her position as second favorite and she's not giving it up. He guesses (correctly) that she thinks he's using this as an excuse because he's too scared to operate. I'd say he's the last one of his family and friends to have this idea. Derek asks her what happens if the surgery fails but she tells him at least they tried. She then declares that they are doing it, and he's just to say thank you. He doesn't say it, but he does give her a sincere smile which seems to indicate he's back on board.
Alex and Princess are in the OR and after he asks if she is ready, she starts on her adhesions. He tells her to take her time, and for approximately two seconds everything goes great until she accidently puts a hole in the kid's stomach. Alex yells at her to move over and jumps in to fix the mess.
When Jackson walks up to Stephanie she turns into a blithering idiot again and initially thinks he's trying to cancel their date. In fact, he's trying to find a date for Alex, and Stephanie is further weirded out by the social goings-on at the hospital. That's just because she's new. She'll learn soon enough about the true extent of the drama that takes place there and how 99% of it has to do with sex.
Alex yells at Princess for some help, but she's having a complete meltdown and can't get her hands to stop shaking. He yells at her to get a hold of herself and come over, and adds that the kid will be fine but he needs her assistance. When she can't do it, he hollers at her to get out so she runs into the hall, hyperventilating.
Arizona and Callie are getting into bed -- it's good to see that at least they are in the same bed once again but they are far from cuddling. Arizona is down in the dumps and keeps trying to make excuses so that she can avoid the wedding the day. Finally, her real reason for wanting to skip it comes to light: she is mortified that she can't wear heels to the wedding since she doesn't have the correct prosthetic foot for them. Callie tries to tell her it's not a big deal but that makes Arizona even more upset and Callie has to plead with her and try to convince her that she's totally beautiful no matter which shoes she is wearing. Poor Callie; it seems exhausting to have to constantly have conversations like this. She kisses Arizona's cheek and then Arizona rolls over and faces away from her wife to lie there and fret some more. Callie slides down under the covers too, leaving the requisite demilitarized zone that makes her visibly upset.
Derek and Meredith are in bed that night and Mere asks if he is still mad at her for approaching Lizzie. So I guess after that whole conversation, she went ahead and fessed up anyway? She is just desperate to get Derek fixed and to put the crash behind them. Derek tells her that he spoke to the attorney who thinks they have a strong case now that Cristina and Owen are getting divorced. She doesn't understand why that would matter so Derek explains the conflict of interest -- I love that this conflict that was such a big secret that the conversation about it required a confidentiality agreement actually is obvious enough for everyone else to figure it out immediately. Mere is troubled as to why Cristina wouldn't tell her about the link between the divorce and the lawsuit, but Derek points out that Mere also still hasn't told Cristina that she's pregnant, so maybe things are different now between them. I don't think things are different, I just think both of them are so scared about these two particular developments in their own lives that they don't want to talk about them and give them actual credence.
Wedding morning dawns and Richard is shocked to see Bailey at work. She tells him that the house is a den of overexcited women freaking out about hair and makeup so she's happier at the hospital. When he suggests she relax and do something nice for herself she snaps at him that he's just like all the ladies. April is shocked to see her there too but obediently follows her to check on patients.
Stephanie and Princess are hanging out by the trash bins and Princess is ranting that Alex must have known the surgery was risky, so he wanted to be able to pin it on her if it failed. I am going to go ahead and declare that she is the worst regular character this show has seen since Izzie. (No wonder Alex likes her, she's a basket case, as is his type.) Is she fucking kidding? Sadly, no; when Stephanie tells her to calm down she screeches that she's going to get fired. Stephanie tries to calm her and tells her she won't if she just keeps her head down and does her work. Wow, it's like Stephanie actually has an understanding of what being an intern means. Stephanie then prefaces her question by saying she knows it will sound stupid since Princess is worrying about her job, but... she's going to this wedding, she can't handle actual words around Jackson, he's got a friend, so he wants her to bring a friend and this will be one big happy group activity so will she go? Princess spits back at her that she's right, it is stupid. Stephanie gets it, but asks if she'll do it anyway.
Owen and Cristina wind up in the ER working on a patient with a gunshot wound to the chest. He tells her that the guy also has a bullet in his abdomen so he can take care of it or he can page someone else. She tells him that he can do it and chirps, "Amicable, right?" Hmm, so this is what trying to act like an adult looks like.
Richard finds Bailey rechecking April's work -- I know she had a problem with April's rehire but this is obviously stress-related, it's so over the top. Richard offers her the chance to scrub in on a short surgery to calm her nerves and for the first time in a long time, Bailey relaxes and looks utterly happy. She thanks Richard but then Ben walks in and it turns out that he's the one who called Richard and gave him the idea. This is why I love Ben -- not only is he a (ridiculously) pretty face (and more) but he's consistently shown how well he knows Bailey and how much he loves her. Hmm, I guess that statement does exclude how much she didn't want this wedding ceremony, though. Her glow dims when Ben asks her if he can send a car to take her to the ceremony. This appears to be an ongoing argument but she insists she wants to be an independent woman during the last few minutes of her singlehood. Richard leaves, and Ben gives her a long, lingering, sexy kiss and tells her he'll see her at the altar. Once he leaves, she looks terribly worried yet again.
Princess goes to find Arizona, who asks with a smile how the adhesions went. With a petulant look on her face, Princess reports that some of them stuck, the stomach was injured, and the kid could be septic by now. She goes on in a rush that Alex had no business giving an intern that responsibility, blah blah blah. I am already turning bitter that I have to work my finger muscles at all to recap this totally stupid drag of an intern. Arizona is rightfully appalled since she doesn't know yet to take anything this girl says with a grain of salt. Finally, Arizona cuts her off and asks very specifically what she is saying about her attending, with a warning tone that whatever it is, this is serious.
Meredith and Cristina wind up at the surgical board and Cristina reports that she and Owen are scrubbing in together; she follows this up by casually mentioning that he wants to sign the divorce papers today. Mere turns to her and asks why she didn't tell her that the divorce was only because of the lawsuit? She doesn't pick up on Cristina's confusion and just plows ahead about Derek saying it makes the case stronger, and that makes her happy especially if it means that Cristina and Owen are getting back together. I have no idea how that goes hand-in-hand, by the way. I mean, I get it in theory but as a best friend myself, I'd not just immediately assume that they were getting back together and this was merely a ploy for the lawsuit. Other than knowing that Cristina wanted Owen back, she has no idea if a reconciliation is happening or not. Mere is just upset that Cristina didn't feel she could share it and Cristina finally gets a chance to say that she didn't share it because she didn't know. Owen walks up at this very moment, and when the women turn to him and give him incredulous looks he looks terrified. His mouth says, "What?" while his eyes finish: "...did I do now?"
Callie and Jackson have Derek on the operating table -- because it wasn't enough to just have Bailey's wedding be today. Callie asks if Mere will be watching but Derek says she doesn't want to make Callie nervous. She says she doesn't get nervous, and they have a nice little moment as she tells him to close his eyes and enjoy a nap. "You've got nothing to worry about." He looks right at her and tells her exactly the same thing. She gives him a big smile behind her mask and they put him under; she takes a deep breath before starting on the career-restarting or -ending surgery of the best neurosurgeon in the history of ever.
Mere isn't in that gallery because she's in the gallery overlooking Lizzie's surgery instead. She threatens Jackson that he better do a good job; when he turns to begin and knocks over all of the instruments she starts to freak out. Also freaking out is Stephanie, who is still too nervous to function like a normal human being around him. It doesn't help when Jackson tells her to get Mere out, and she begins yelling threats about how Mere will make her life a living hell if she does. Stephanie has no idea what to do but then looks into Jackson's limpid green eyes and presumably... turns off the intercom? I don't see her physically removing Mere from the gallery.
Alex is incensed when he confronts Princess about telling on him. She just yells that she worked really hard to get here and isn't going to let herself get fired. OH FOR THE LOVE OF LITTLE GREEN APPLES SHE IS THE WORST. And Alex basically says that when he hollers that nobody is firing her, he was just trying to help. She yells back that she clearly wasn't ready -- because nothing is better when you are a student than repeatedly belittling your abilities to your teachers and bosses. I mean, I'm all for being realistic and not killing patients, but this is way past that. Alex yells at her that she can't cry every time she gets scared because it's always scary in the OR. Of course, she's basically crying again already, and tells him she thought that after she blew the appendectomy she'd be a good target to pin something on. I... can't. She then reminds Alex that she doesn't trust people who are trying to help her, but he cuts off her sad story and tells her he doesn't give a shit and she needs to get over this and fast if she wants to be a surgeon. He declares that she burned a bridge with him, and better grow up before she does the same with every other attending who tries to teach her. This is not Alex being Alex-y; this is so very totally deserved. She is the worst.
Jackson walks in to the OR and delivers a long piece of nerve to Callie. (Shouldn't there be two pieces?) Callie gets right to work with it and then asks the room if there is no small talk just because it's Derek on the table. She reminds everyone that small talk keeps them awake during difficult procedures. Smash screws up his courage to speak up and then says that he took a giant mass off of a woman's butt with April the week before. Callie is disgusted that Smash thinks this is good OR banter. Again, he's new - he'll get soon that sex is the best topic.
Cristina and Owen are working together but Cristina is being extra snappy towards both him and Heather. He tries to make small talk but Cristina shuts him right up so that she can work.
When the surgery is over, Owen confronts Cristina in the scrub room to find out what on earth is going on. She just demands to know if they are getting divorced because of the lawsuit. He seems stunned that she found out -- despite Derek treating it as a widely-known fact -- and tells her that he wants all of them to get the money and knew that she might reject the divorce idea just because it was him that suggested it. This of course pisses her off even more and they begin screaming at each other for making unilateral decisions about their marriage, such as moving across the country or divorcing. She's convinced that he's using the plane crash as an excuse because he's too chicken to just ask straight out for a divorce. But he finally yells back that when he makes decisions, he does things like choose an airline whose planes fall apart in midair. He's completely wracked with guilt, and she is stunned. And let me point out that in his meeting with the lawyers it was pointed out that he signed off on the switch to that company, but other people were the ones who made the actual choice, so this is by no means just his fault. As he goes on, a horrified Cristina tells him gently that he didn't build or fly the plane. But he thinks that someone has to take responsibility; normally people just shy away from it and say they only had a little part of the decision. He tells her that it takes a lot of small mistakes to destroy something. Hmmm, how conveniently that statement could also apply to their marriage. He reminds her that he's one of those people who helped make the decision, and then leaves while she watches him with tears in her eyes.
Music plays as we watch a montage of everyone getting ready in the locker rooms; a shot of April's tennis shoes to presumably her one pair of dressy heels is incredibly reminiscent of the show's original credits. She and Jackson share one long meaningful glance. Cristina just sits in her scrubs, still sick from the conversation she had with Owen. In the intern locker room, Stephanie acts like she's never put on makeup before and has no idea how to use an eyelash curler.
Meredith looks stunning in a satin red halter dress with a plunging neckline; when she goes to see Derek he wakes up from surgery and delighted that this is the first thing he sees. She reports that Callie said the surgery went perfectly. He asks about Lizzie and Mere says that she had been sleeping, but she'll go by before she leaves. After they kiss he tells her hopefully that it might have worked. They gaze at the bandages covering his arm and hand and she just raises her eyebrows, seemingly not wanting to get her hopes up too much. Kind of like with her pregnancy.
Arizona is in a gorgeous deep red dress but we see her flat prosthetic foot to her flat shoe as she lets out a defeated sigh. Callie looks hotter than the sun in her own slinky red dress and she can't believe they are back on the shoe issue. Arizona snaps at her to stop talking about it since it makes her feel even more stupid, and tries to get Callie to go without her. When Callie has the nerve to get fed up, Arizona snaps that she has no idea what it's like. Finally, though, Callie snaps back that she in fact has every idea because that's all her life is about these days. Everything has revolved around Arizona's leg since the plane crash but Callie's over it and thinks Arizona has to suck it up and start living. She points out that Arizona is exactly the same person that she was before, just minus one leg. Callie pleads with Arizona to let them have one night that actually isn't about the leg, PLEASE. When she's done with her outburst she looks shocked at herself and a little scared, and she opens her mouth like she's about to offer an apology. But Arizona is totally taken aback and after staring at Callie for a few moments, she reaches down and puts her shoe on her foot. Callie allows herself one of the only genuine, triumphant smiles she has had since the crash.
Meredith then heads into Lizzie's room where she can barely bring herself to sound like she actually cares how Lizzie is doing. She tells her that her vitals are okay and Derek is awake and doing well. Lizzie admits she knows she's pushy and that not everyone loves that, and then tells her that she doesn't have to want Derek's sisters. (Unspoken: But we're here anyway so get over it.) Mere gives her an actual smile and tells her she's a pain in the ass and Mere barely knows her. It's said kindly but she's totally serious. However, what both Lizzie and Derek said seems to have gotten through her prickly exterior, and she pulls up a chair. She tells Lizzie she has something to show her but she can't tell the rest of the fam. Lizzie agrees, so Meredith reaches into her purse and pulls out an ultrasound image and hands it over. Lizzie grins with excitement and softly cheers, "We're having a baby!" Even Mere finally looks actually happy about it, and the fact that she has the picture in her evening clutch shows she is more attached to this baby than she wanted to be during her appointment.
It's almost time, and Bailey is in her dress and heels, storming to the car while her mom and one sister follow her, yelling at her to at least have someone actually drive her in her car to the venue. As they argue, a black stretch limo pulls up and when the door opens, a very dapper Richard gets out and smiles at her.
Speaking of dapper men, Jackson and Alex look really hot as they walk over to meet the girls. Stephanie has transformed into a sexy woman in a long purple dress, with perfect hair and makeup despite her earlier nerves. Jackson is slightly taken aback by just how amazing she looks. Alex wants to know where his date is and this is just at the moment that Princess walks out in a black dress. Both she and Alex are disgusted, but Alex finally gives a really fake smile in the spirit of making the best of things. Come on, folks. In the show-world, Stephanie has four friends, one of whom is Smash. There was a one in three chance this would happen and everyone should have known that.
Owen is pulling on his own suit jacket when Cristina appears at the door looking gorgeous. He's wary when she closes the door, and after a few moments she finally asks if the lawsuit was the only reason he asked for a divorce. He has no idea what to say and finally tells her that she was done with the marriage long before; Cristina tells him she wants to know how HE feels. Judging by the look on his face at this moment, I'm going with tortured and confused. She then tries a different approach and admits to him that she was going to ask him to try again when he said he wanted a divorce. It takes him no time at all to cross the room, grab her, and kiss her like his life depended on it.
As the limo drives down the street, Bailey fidgets nervously and finally Richard takes her hand with a smile to calm her. His phone rings and he's apologetic as he answers. Finally, we get a little dose of reality on the show - since they are in a quiet car Bailey can overhear the conversation clear as day and learns that Adele has just been brought in to the hospital, vomiting blood. She yells at the driver that they have to turn around and go to Seattle Grace immediately and we see the limo rather impressively swing right around and head in the other direction.
Her wedding venue really is beautiful, all snowy trees and glittering accents and a roaring fire. April and Smash both seem nervous and unable to talk to each other, and she shoots a glance back at Jackson who is actually talking to Stephanie. I guess her dress gave her the power to string words together. Alex and Princess, on the other hand, are sitting and staring straight ahead. Finally, he bitches that he thought it was supposed to start already.
Richard rushes in as Adele continues to vomit blood and she cries to him that she is terrified and hurting. He vehemently disagrees with the orders of the doctor on duty and yells that he's going to take care of Adele himself, but as he is her husband he's not allowed and this doctor we've never seen before yells at him to back off. Finally, Bailey jumps in and tells Richard she's got it. Once Richard calms a little she pulls off her veil and has Leah help her get the wedding dress off. She puts on a gown over her gorgeous lace underthings and immediately gets to work. Things go from bad to worse, and Adele loses consciousness while Richard watches helplessly and Bailey works her ass off.
Unfortunately, she doesn't think to have anyone call the venue to tell them what happened and her family is freaking out. The three bridesmaids sit together and finally Callie admits the conversation she had with Bailey earlier about just fleeing. Meredith and Arizona are shocked, but Callie defends that she was joking and Bailey was nervous. From the doorway a deep voice asks, "How nervous?" They turn and see Ben, but none of them really have an answer for him.
Mere reminds us about the body's confusion when it comes to nerves, excitement, and panic. Bailey and the others wheel Adele out to surgery as Mere concludes that sometimes you listen and just have to trust your gut. "When your body says run... run." The last shot is of Bailey's wedding gown stuffed onto a cart to the bloody gowns, and I fear that's a sign of what is to come with regards to her relationship with Ben.
Lauren S is a writer who lives and works in Atlanta and would love to gaze for a while into Jackson's limpid green eyes. 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."