By Lauren S
This week's overarching calamity is a car accident involving a gasoline tanker, which is then compounded when one belligerent gas-soaked victim decides to go outside and have a smoke and a lot of things blow up. The first two patients brought in are a married couple with a 10-year-old son. The son is okay but Dad has massive cardiac issues and Mom has a brain hemorrhage, so they are both rushed into surgery. Owen takes the kid under his wing, and they bond and it's very sweet but also a reminder of the one major issue that exists between him and Cristina. Because he gets attached to the kid, Owen kind of freaks out at the course of action that Cristina decides on for the dad but she reminds him that no matter what the situation of the patient, she's going to do all she can to save them.
Owen tells the docs that they can't play favorites and keep working with the same interns, so Heather joins Smash and Derek on the mom's brain surgery. Heather is nervous and desperate to impress Derek while Smash is secure in his role as teacher's pet and advises her to just give it time and one day Derek might come around. But when he drops a tool, she catches it and impresses Derek with her lightning reflexes to the point where later at the desk Derek starts throwing things at her unexpectedly to see if she can catch them. (She does.) When they go back into surgery, Derek decides to let Heather have a chance after afterward boots Smash for a few days. At the bar that night, Smash tells a surprised and confused Heather he knows what game she's playing and he won't go down without a fight.
Is Grey's now being sponsored by TED? In yet another episode that touts the conference, Callie is preparing to fly out and give a speech. As has happened to her before she's totally nervous and when she practices on Arizona she's stilted and boring. She gets busy with too many ortho surgeries from the crash and ultimately has to cancel her trip but Arizona tells her that this will just give her a chance to spice up her speech for year. Callie is totally offended at the suggestion that her speech needs spicing, and Arizona realizes that she just accidentally crapped on the best thing to happen to Callie in a while. To make up for it, she and Richard arrange for Callie to speak via videoconference. Once Callie is in front of the camera, she puts down her notes and speaks from the heart, and all is hunky dory.
One of the victims brought into the ER is none other than Hot Paramedic Matthew, who threw himself in front of a kid during the explosion and now is somewhat barbequed. Honestly, I'm surprised he wasn't clutching orphaned puppies at the same time, given how unbelievably perfect they are making him. Jackson winds up having to tend to his burns, which is awkward for both of them since a lot of the burn is on Matthew's ass, and even more awkward for Jackson because Matthew doesn't know about his and April's history.
April then takes care of another patient, a pregnant woman in such bad shape that they have to deliver the baby, which gives Alex plenty of time to be shitty to Jason, who in turn is getting really tired of it. April then does the surgery on the mom, but a while afterward, the mom winds up dying. In the meantime April met the woman's husband and heard the story of how they wound up together, which seems to show that the universe intended them to be together and gets under her skin with regards to her own recent romantic history. Once the woman dies, April is really affected by it and has a bit of a breakdown. On Jackson's shoulder. Which almost leads to a kiss. (They are saved when Alex walks in on them.) It all seems to make her start thinking twice about her relationship. But when she goes in at the end of the day and begins telling Matthew about her day, he thinks she's trying to say she loves him and he tells her he loves her back, leaving her even more conflicted.
In the midst of all of the tanker explosion crash victims a woman (played by Sarah Chalke) brings in her son, convinced that something is seriously wrong with him. She first enlists Princess' help since that's who she saw a week earlier, so Princess runs tests and they show that the kid has strep. Sarah takes him home but is soon back, and when they can't find anything else wrong with her son they call over a psychiatrist, wondering if the problem is actually with her. As she's melting down Mere hears it and offers to do all she can, since she can sense as a mother herself that Sarah's instincts could be right. Sarah pulls out a bunch of notes with all of her internet research and Meredith goes through all of them, ruling out all of the various diseases. At a loss, Mere finally has to send the kid home since they can't find anything wrong. Before she discharges him she goes through all of the labs once more with Princess and when they discover the strep result was a false positive, she realizes that the kid has a rare illness called Kawasaki Disease. They manage to get him the treatment at the last possible moment, and he winds up being okay. Mere, inspired by seeing Sarah fight so hard for her child, then gets Zola and visits Bailey in her fancy new genome mapping lab so that they can both be mapped -- Mere can then learn important info on Zola's genetics, and she can also finally learn if she's got the Alzheimer's gene.
Meredith and Derek are getting hot and heavy in bed one morning as Meredith tells us that you have to have good instincts and confidence to do surgery. My guess is that we're about to learn that you also need those things for life in general. Mere suddenly pushes Derek away like his lips are on fire and tells him that Zola's up. Derek's lips aren't on fire but his loins are, and since they didn't hear anything he wants to get back to business. Mere insists that she just knows, so Derek opens the door and is shocked to see a delighted-looking Zola on the other side. Mere grins about her Mommy ESP as Derek chases Zola.
At their apartment, Callie is holding flashcards and giving a really stilted speech about cartilage. As someone who loathes public speaking I like that they haven't made her magically over her fear as the years go on. Arizona tries to get her to relax, but Callie is freaking out that she's giving a speech at the TED Conference in 48 hours. Seriously, is this show sponsored by TED now? I know it's supposed to be amazing but it's starting to feel a little weird after Jeff's raving about it a few weeks ago and now this. Arizona tells Callie to picture the audience members naked and then when that doesn't work, starts taking her clothes off to distract Callie for a little while. That does work, and Callie forgets about practicing her speech altogether in favor of some nookie.
Everyone in Seattle is having a little horizontal fun before work -- Cristina falls off of Owen and they giddily wish each other good morning. Owen gets a page and remarks that a gas tanker crashed into an SUV and there are a lot of traumas coming in. He turns to tell Cristina that they should go in to work but she's already up and half dressed.
Stephanie is giddy at the idea of mass injuries and goes up to Alex to ask him what he knows. Alex is grouchy when he realizes he's got Stephanie on his service instead of Princess, who is with Mere. Alex then sees Princess through a window, sucking face with Big-Armed Jason. He oh so subtly pounds on the window and orders her to check her pager. Are we supposed to think that she has no idea he has a crush on her? I think so, but Alex is making things so obvious (and everyone else in the hospital can tell) that it seems a little weird that she's just all chipper and seemingly oblivious to the situation, thinking he's just mad because she's no longer his nightly drinking buddy.
Princess gowns up and chases after Stephanie but once in the OR she runs into a woman, Casey, who is back in the ER with her son Parker. Princess was their doctor the week before and Casey is frantic because Parker still has a spiking fever and now a large rash on his torso. Princess tries to convince her that a 5-day fever isn't super unusual while she glances longingly at the gathering of docs waiting for tanker injuries. Casey pulls out some notes she made from online research, asking about the possibility of various diseases and tells Princess that she just has a gut feeling that this isn't a normal virus. Princess does the right thing and goes to get Parker's chart instead of joining the others.
Princess gowns up and chases after Stephanie but once in the OR she runs into a woman, Casey, who is back in the ER with her son Parker. Princess was their doctor the week before and Casey is frantic because Parker still has a spiking fever and now a large rash on his torso. Princess tries to convince her that a 5-day fever isn't super unusual while she glances longingly at the gathering of docs waiting for tanker injuries. Casey pulls out some notes she made from online research, asking about the possibility of various diseases and tells Princess that she just has a gut feeling that this isn't a normal virus. Princess does the right thing and goes to get Parker's chart instead of joining the others.
Owen runs into Derek and seems surprised to see him there, because why would a neurosurgeon be needed after a giant accident with potentially lots of traumas? Derek is all excited, asking if the tanker blew, and Owen tells him, exasperated, that it didn't blow. This happens a few more times with a few more docs as they all walk towards the ER, and I have no idea why it seems to be such a big point in the scene except to make us all super, totally, positively sure there was no explosion so that we are oh-so-surprised later. Owen is also pissed to see that Smash is with Derek again and reminds them that he sent out a memo saying the attendings can't have favorites and need to rotate all of the interns. Derek just pooh-poohs this. Bailey and Richard have joined them on their way to the ER and while they walk, Richard asks Bailey if she can genome map him. Like Owen last week with his beloved LODOX, Bailey points out that genome mapping isn't something they just do for fun.
The ambulances then start to arrive and when the paramedics open the door to the first one the docs all choke and wave at the air from the massive gasoline fumes since the patient inside is soaked in gas. Owen hollers a reminder that there is to be no open flame, smoking, or anything else that could possibly make a spark. The ER doesn't need to go up in a fireball just after they got so much fancy new technology, after all.
The patient is a woman named Rachel who is more worried about her son Ethan than she is about herself. Her husband Paul is unloaded from the ambulance, also yelling for his son. Cristina escorts him inside as Ethan himself is pulled from the ambulance. The kid is totally freaked out but overall seems to just have a minor wrist scrape. Owen assures him that his parents are alive and inside, and promises that he'll look after him.
When Princess comes back to the ER she finds Casey going over all of her notes with Mere but Princess can put her mind at ease since Parker tested positive for strep. She prescribes amoxicillin and Casey thanks her, super relieved that they have an answer and vindicated that her instincts were right and it was more than just a virus.
Bailey and Richard are trying to examine Mr. Gasoline but he's combative and demands to know where his sweatshirt is so that he can get his cigarettes. He's a really exceptional breed of stupid because when Bailey says that he could die doing that, the guy sneers at her for judging his lifestyle. Richard sneers back that she was referring to the fact that he's soaked in flammable liquid. Owen runs by and reminds them to let him go if he checks out fine, since they need the space. In other words, he'll have a very good reason to wander outside alone in a little while.
Leah bandages up Ethan's wrist as Owen comes over to check on him. He's adamant that he wants to see his parents, so Owen takes his hand and walks him over to where Cristina is working on his dad. She comes out and reports that she thinks Paul's aorta is hamburger meat, and fortunately I don't think Ethan knows what an aorta is so he doesn't freak out though Owen does as he whispers that Ethan is the son. They wheel Paul out to go to CT and he's conscious enough to assure Ethan that he'll be fine, and he should stay with his mom. Owen then takes him to try and find where Mom might be.
The fancy new ER screen shows that she's in radiology, and Owen promises Ethan that Leah will let him know when he can see her. He then whispers to Leah that she should call social services, and Ethan's hearing should be checked because he apparently doesn't overhear though it's really not quiet. They must have put in even higher-grade sound-deadening invisible walls than they had before in the ER. Owen then goes to April to check on everything and she proudly reports how everything worked like clockwork in terms of getting all of the patients in and taken care of super quickly. Their joy is short-lived, however, when there is a giant boom and the building shakes. Owen realizes the tanker must have finally actually blown and quickly kneels down and assures Ethan that it was far away and everyone is safe. Everyone, that is, except for the guy running around in the ambulance bay, engulfed in flames. Richard dryly notes that their patient must have gone out for that smoke. As the screen fades to white there's a disgusting yet hilarious sizzling sound.
We then see a shot of a giant black cloud over a crowded highway so I guess the tanker must have blown simultaneously with Dumbass lighting himself on fire. The docs run him back inside on a stretcher, covered in bandages, and Jackson escorts him to the burn unit. Owen calls out that more patients are now coming in and (duh) it's going to be a long day.
April gets the patient, a woman named Elyse who is 37 weeks pregnant and really not doing that well. She begs April to save her baby above all else, but April suggests that she save both of them. Elyse agrees that this would be best, then asks April to call her husband as they take her for treatment.
Ethan is now hanging out in a seating area and seems awfully nervous when Owen goes and checks on him.
His mom is having her CT scan and she's as nervous about Ethan but Derek promises they'll have an update on him soon. Smash comes in and reports on Ethan and Paul just as Rachel's scans come up and show that she's got a brain hemorrhage. Heather comes to the door and chirps about how cool it is; she's met with two withering stares from the boys. When asked what she's doing, she reports that Hunt decided she needed neuro experience so he sent her up to work with them that day. Smash is really picking up on Derek's mannerisms nicely after becoming his favorite and the two have matching skeptical faces at the idea of working with her.
As April works on Elyse she takes a turn for the worse and it's clear the baby is in distress. They roll her on her side to check something and from another bedside Alex notices that she's bleeding and runs over to help. The baby's umbilical cord is trapped and Alex tells Elyse urgently that they have to keep the cord inside her which is going to require him putting his hand in there. And it's going to hurt. A lot. April makes Elyse hold her hand and as Alex makes a move, she lets out an unholy scream. He then yells for OB as they start to move her to the OR to deliver the baby, and April keeps assuring her that they are going to take care of both of them.
After they take Elyse away, April turns around and sees a very crispy Hot Paramedic Matthew on a gurney of his own. Nicole is there with him and is berating him for being a hero and running towards the explosion to shield a kid with his own body. She's clearly scared and her way of dealing with it is to nag him and finally give him a worried smack for his recklessness. He's got burns up and down one leg and arm but insists that April go see other patients that are worse than him. Jackson notices what's going on and promises to take care of Matthew, so April begs her boyfriend not to do something crazy like go into shock and die. She then gives him a kiss and runs off. Jackson still seems mildly uncomfortable witnessing any kissing between those two.
Callie responds to a page and quietly pleads for it not to be something surgical, but when she sees the mayhem in the ER she pretty quickly realizes it's going to be All Surgery, All The Time. As she checks Bailey's patient she asks to have the other ortho surgeon paged since her plane to TED leaves in four hours. The patient is just conscious enough to be totally jealous and tell an anecdote about his roommate doing tequila shots with Bill Gates at the last conference. Seriously, this show, "Brought to you by TED." Bailey calls it a "fancy people frat party," but then Arizona brings up her genome mapping and says she'll be speaking there soon enough. Really, it's a way to have yet another person ask to be mapped for fun, and for Bailey to remind us that it's a serious scientific thing. Callie tries to bring the talk back to her speech but Arizona mercifully stops her and Callie meekly agrees that she'll keep it fresh for later.
Somber guitar music plays as Owen goes in to the OR for a report on Ethan's dad, so we know he's not doing well. Cristina is waiting for Jeff for a second opinion thought she admits that she doesn't really need it. However, since she became Jeff's boss she likes to throw him a bone sometimes so that he still feels like he's her boss instead. She tells Owen she'll know more in an hour.
Heather tries to make cheerful conversation as Derek works on Rachel's brain -- she asks him where he got, "It's a beautiful day to save lives," and the conversation of course turns kooky when she says that sometimes she'll say something and then realize she accidentally lifted it from a detergent commercial. For the record, Derek didn't lift it from anything. He is totally not amused and asks her if she's familiar with how people downplay a difficult situation by saying, "It's not brain surgery?" He then flatly reminds her that this IS, in fact, brain surgery. This from the guy who just last week distracted Smash during a really difficult surgery with a story about fly fishing. Smash whisper-demands to know what Heather is doing and she admits that she's nervous and wants Derek to like her. Smash tells her that he takes a long time to warm up but that eventually it will happen. He's then pretty proud when Derek calls him over to do something, but he then drops the tool he was just handed. Heather reaches out and grabs it, and her ninja quickness seems to impress Derek.
Jason is the OB who delivers Elyse's baby and once she is out, he and Alex take the opportunity to trade really nasty insults. Jason finally tells Alex that he's unprofessional and while I'm not actually really a Jason fan, Alex did start that whole thing and it was super inappropriate. April gets to work on Elyse's injured abdomen but then alarms start to ring and Elyse starts losing tons of blood.
Leah reports to Owen that social services came for Ethan but as she says so, Ethan sprints past them with a harried woman running behind and yelling. She apologizes to Owen that Ethan is a runner, which seems to be something she's used to. Ethan wants to see his parents and screams that he's totally not going somewhere to get some sleep as she's suggested. Owen tells her to give the kid a break, since he's terrified, and then makes a deal that they will set him up in a room at the hospital for the night. The social worker is worried that this isn't a permanent solution - why would they already need a permanent solution when the parents aren't even out of surgery yet? -- but Owen assures her it's fine for one night. She doesn't seem like a bad person, just one who is trying best to look after him while following her job protocols.
Elyse's husband Vince has arrived and as Alex and Stephanie tend to the baby, Jason brings him over and introduces them. Alex growls about what a douche he is and OH MY GOD JUST TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL IDIOT. Stephanie basically points out that Jason is handsome and wonderful, which makes Alex even crabbier. Poor Vince is in shock but they promise him an update soon and let him hold his new baby girl.
The object of the guys' affection is back in the ER and she sees that Casey is back with a very sick-looking Parker slumped against her shoulder. Casey is screaming at a nurse to try and get some help so Princess runs up to take over and Casey reports that the medicine isn't working. She's not interested in the explanation that it can take up to 24 hours and just maintains that he should be getting better by now instead of worse. Princess then makes the mistake of telling Casey to calm down, and Casey goes full-on Mama Bear on her, yelling that people have been dismissing her at every hospital and urgent care around town but she knows this isn't strep. Princess is shocked to hear she's been all these other places too but can't get in much more of a conversation because Casey finally yells that Princess sucks (has she been reading my recaps?) and she wants another doctor.
He takes him to the cafeteria where the two eat ice cream in the dark and talk about soccer. Finally, Ethan ventures to ask why his mom didn't know him, and Owen explains that sometimes when you hurt your head it can make you act really weird. He tells Ethan that he thinks that she will get better, and man do I hope he's right. He gets a page so asks Ethan if he'll stay with the social worker this time, and after much discussion Owen convinces Ethan that this will give Owen a chance to help them and they will get better more quickly. They then walk out, talking some more about soccer, and we are all reminded like a subtle two by four to the face just how good Owen is with kids and how much he cares about them.
Derek and his interns are looking at Rachel's shiny new hematoma and discussing how best to treat it. Smash suggests something that sounds very smart and medical-y, but then Heather gives suggests idea and Derek compliments her on it but ultimately decides to go with Smash's idea. He the tosses her a pen and when she catches it happily comments that she never misses. After he leaves Smash starts giving Heather a suspicious stinkeye but she reminds him that he's the star pupil while she is a circus act.
Mere is in Parker's room with Casey, and she's at a loss because his CT came back completely normal. Casey has calmed down exponentially now that someone is listening to her, even if that person can't find anything wrong just yet. Casey reaches into her purse and pulls out a number of scraps of paper with notes that she made from internet research, and admits that she knows she's annoying... Mere won't even let her finish and instead has her hand them over. She then systematically goes through each possible diagnosis letting Casey know why they are good guesses but also why each one doesn't quite fit. She is seriously awesome. One of the diseases that Casey found is something called Kawasaki disease, which can cause a heart attack. Mere thinks this is a good idea but aside from the fever and rash, Parker doesn't have the other symptoms. In addition, there's that pesky positive strep culture. Casey is still sure that isn't it, but she's nice about it and thankful for Mere's help. Mere assures her that she's happy to do it, and she's going to continue to run other tests.
April goes to Elyse's room and sees Vince talking to her unconscious form, pleading with her not to leave him and their baby. April smiles sadly as she goes in, and the situation only gets more bittersweet as he names the baby Rose, which is what Elyse had wanted. He then goes down to visit little Rosie after giving Elyse one last kiss. Jackson comes in to check on her burns and April reports that she's really not doing well. April then tells him how they met: they dated in college but she had to leave school suddenly and they lost touch until they both happened to move to Seattle and join the same bowling league. April is in awe at how the universe kept pulling for these people to be together, but can't understand why then then a tanker would explode and leave her fighting for her life in the hospital. Jackson sadly agrees that it's messed up, but then reports that at least Matthew is going to be fine. She seems to have forgotten about him, just the teeniest bit, just for a little beensy moment until Jackson said that.
Callie finishes up surgery on the human fireball and then runs over to Bailey and begs to be mapped. Not a toy! Expensive! Science Etc.! Bailey finally leaves the room, exasperated, as Arizona walks in, confused to find Callie still there. Callie admits that she had too much surgery and so had to cancel speaking at TED. Arizona is supportive and tries to look on the bright side, that Callie can now "spice up" her speech for year. Callie gets totally offended, Arizona tries to backtrack, but it's too late. Richard is in there and he and Arizona try to tell Callie about how TED speeches are made of magic and after you hear them, you realize it was actually about something totally different than the stated subject and makes you love life, or some such. Arizona's point is that right now, Callie's speech really is just about cartilage and nothing else. Poor Callie is totally deflated and tells them that this speech was the first uncomplicated good thing to happen to her in forever, and now they just crapped all over it. Arizona overcompensates, trying to tell her that the speech is great, but Callie tells her that she's totally saying the opposite and hey, at least the bright side is that it makes Callie feel better about not going. Wah waaaaaaaah.
Owen and Cristina are taking a quick rest in an on-call room and for once, this really means actual rest as she sits against the wall and he curls up with his head in her lap. He asks about Paul and she reports that she's not sure how long he'll be in the CCU since some of his levels are not where they should be. She then muses about whether or not to use the half hour to sleep or shower, but Owen can't answer because he's fallen asleep. She smiles and sits back but the peace is broken by her pager, and after she looks at it she swears and runs out. Owen is so exhausted that once she gets up he just rolls over and keeps sleeping.
Paul is coding, and as Cristina runs into the room she calls for the paddles. Simultaneously, Elyse is coding as well and April runs in and takes the paddles from Jackson. Apparently as he was examining her, her surgical sites all started bleeding through the bandages, which is basically a sign of utter doom. There's a montage of shocks and pleading for the patients to come back and finally, Paul's heartbeat returns. But sadly, Elyse's does not even with April desperately begging her to live. Finally, Jackson has to physically hold April back and tell her that Elyse is gone. It's too much, and April runs out, stricken.
Jackson then sits with April in an empty exam room as she tries to get a hold of herself and admits she's not sure why this particular patient death is hitting her so hard, but we all know, and I'm sure Jackson knows, that it's tearing her up that something that seems meant to be has been so cruelly destroyed. She tries to pull herself together so that she can tell Vince, knowing it's not fair if she's upset when she does. But she breaks down in sobs and leans against Jackson, who puts his arm around her shoulder and holds her for a long time. She finally pulls her heads back, and her eyes start darting between his eyes and his lips. But just as she starts to lean forward a bit, Alex comes in to try and get an update on Elyse and the two are snapped apart. Jackson tells him and April starts crying again as she tries to say she can do the notification. Alex offers that "Chest Pecwell's" name is still on the file, so shall he make him do it? Both April and Jackson jump at that, and when Alex leaves they seem to realize that they were just kind of saved from themselves.
Mere is helping Cristina pack Paul's body in ice in the CCU while they muse about what could be wrong with Parker. Mere still respects Casey's instincts but since it seems to fit strep and he tested positive... she thinks that's what it has to be. Owen then runs in, all atwitter because Cristina didn't wake him when Paul coded. She points out that this is her patient, so why would she? Especially since I don't think she's realized that Owen has been watching out for Ethan all day and night. Owen is freaked out about the therapeutic hypothermia that Cristina is implementing and despite Cristina's calm explanation of how it could help, he throws out all of the things that could go wrong. It's obvious that he's overreacting because of Ethan, because every surgery in the history of medicine has risks. Owen asks if Jeff agreed with the treatment but Cristina just points out that she didn't ask him since this is her patient. Fed up, Owen storms out while Mere giggles that she thinks Owen is going to tell Cristina's teacher. I do seriously think that this is leading to another showdown about wanting children, sooner than later.
Oh ew, we get the sound of a bone saw as Smash opens up a chunk of Rachel's skull. Derek compliments his work, and Smash manages somehow to suck up even just in the way he says thanks. But then Derek calls Heather over to take Smash's place and help out with the surgery. Derek loves her quick hands (thankfully not a euphemism), and is too excited to notice that Smash's head is about to explode.
Mere goes back to Casey, feeling terrible that she has to admit she's found nothing wrong with him so she has to go ahead and discharge him. Casey is more disappointed than angry, though of course she's also still sick with worry. She knows that she should trust Mere but her gut is still telling her something is wrong. Mere thinks this over some more.
Alex goes in search of Chest Pecwell and with only a bit of help from Stephanie, who could be half in love with Jason herself given how much she talks him up to Alex, finds him making out with Princess in the conference room. Princess gets a page from Mere at the same time so she runs out with a cheerful, "Hey!" and affectionate arm tap for Alex. Let's all refer to my earlier comments about her obliviousness. Once alone, Alex tries to get Jason to notify Vince that his wife died, but Jason refuses to do it since she wasn't his patient anymore. And again, I don't like the guy, but he's kind of right since he did hand her off to April after the baby was delivered. Alex gets all mad and finally Jason calls him out on hating him just because he's dating Princess. Alex ignores this and instead gives him one more chance to come along and talk to Vince. When he refuses, Alex snaps that he'll just go do Jason's job AGAIN, THEN. Good lord, Alex.
Mere had paged Princess to go over all of Parker's results one last time before she discharges him, so Princess gets ready with her tablet and they go through all of the numbers. But as they reach the end, there's a magical Update Beep, and Princess sees that the lab realized the strep culture was false positive. Mere checks her calendar immediately and asks when Parker first got a fever, and then swears that they are already on day 10. She then asks if he had red eyes, but Princess doesn't know since he's been asleep.
The two sprint into Parker's room and check, and sure enough his eyes are demon red. Mere shouts for Princess to page pediatrics and cardio and then orders some kind of IV to be started immediately since it's day 10. Casey is absolutely terrified and only after a few moments does Mere finally has a chance to say that this could be Kawasaki Disease after all. If it is, he needs this IV immediately since they are at the very end of the window in which they can prevent heart damage.
April walks up and sees Alex giving Vince the news; when he breaks down, April almost falls apart again. But she manages to pull it together to go in and comfort him with her hand on his shoulder.
Casey is having a cry in the hall when Mere walks up and shows her the echocardiogram which shows that Parker does have fluid around his heart, but the IV will totally fix it and he just will need one more echo in six months. She then holds up the wrinkled receipt on which Casey had written her notes and says that Parker did in fact have Kawasaki disease, and Casey helped diagnose it. Casey is overjoyed as she cries, and Mere beams as she tells Casey proudly that she fought for her son and actually saved his life. Casey sobs with relief. After this episode I was looking online and found out that in fact, this storyline was super personal to Sarah Chalke as it was basically her own story -- when her son was one year old he turned out to have Kawasaki Disease but it also was only diagnosed at the very last moment. So it's no wonder she did so well playing the desperate, terrified mother since this is totally something she went through herself. Fortunately, they caught it just in time and her son is now fine.
Smash is monitoring Rachel after her surgery and when Derek comes in Smash excitedly reports on the patient's and promises that he'll be back first thing in the morning to prep for their surgery. But Derek has had a change of heart and tells him that Hunt was right, they should mix things up, so he's going to work with Heather for the rest of the week. Smash is totally disappointed but tries to control himself as Derek cheerfully says he'll see him when it's his turn again.
As Callie's day winds to a close she just wants to go curl up at home but Arizona ushers her into a conference room where she sees a video camera set up. Richard made a call, and she's going to be giving her TED speech live via video stream in just a few seconds. Callie panics but Arizona hands her her notecards and assures her that she already knows it by heart, and it's a great speech. Richard drops her in the chair, and all of a sudden we can hear her being introduced. She's really nervous and for a moment it looks like she's going to freeze but then she puts down her cards and begins talking about how rough her last year had been, and how it had gotten her thinking about what holds people together when things fall apart. JUST LIKE CARTILAGE. Ohhh boy. But as cheesy as this is, it seems to be perfect given Richard and Arizona's reactions.
Owen then takes Ethan to see his mom, who is still sleeping. I guess we are assuming that Derek and Co. fixed her up and she really will remember him later. Owen assures Ethan that she has awesome docs taking care of her, and that he can see her tomorrow after he actually goes and gets some sleep. The two of them again start talking about soccer as they walk down the hall.
When Mere walks in to see Parker and Casey, it's obvious that the IV worked as Parker is up and drawing pictures for his mom. Casey gives her a huge smile and mouths, "Thank you."
This experience has taught Mere something, and she picks up Zola and goes to see Bailey in her genome lab. She points out that she doesn't know anything about Zola's genetics and she wants to be able to fight for her daughter if need be, so she wants Bailey to map her. In addition, she needs to know if she's going to get Alzheimer's, so she wants Bailey to map her, too. The thought makes Bailey sad but as this is the first meaningful request she's gotten from one of the other doctors, presumably she agrees to do it and we'll likely find out Mere's fate week.
Lauren S is a writer who lives and works in Atlanta and has the reflexes of a ninja. (Not really.) 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."