Callie is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. First off, she's got a young patient who she has been working with for three years to try and fix her legs; the patient has had a condition since birth that resulted in them being misshapen and causing her constant pain. She's decided that she wants them amputated, but her dad and Callie are against it. Arizona, however, realizes that this might not be the worst decision in the world and when the dad asks her about it, tells him it's probably a better solution. Callie feels like this is throwing three years of hard work and surgeries down the drain, but eventually has to concede that it's the right thing to do. But she can't do the surgery because she's called into HR to address one of Leah's complaints, which turned out to be against her and not Arizona as it first seemed. When Leah is sent to assist Arizona with the double amputation, Arizona tries to turn her away since she's upset that Leah is taking her jealousy out on Callie. But Leah reminds her -- rightly -- that Callie refused to teach her during a surgery, out of spite, and Leah wound up running a drill through someone's leg and into the table. When Leah points out that the complaint was to keep this kind of thing happening again, Arizona decides to let her help out after all and even to amputate one of the legs on her own.
The other thing Callie is dealing with is that she can't continue the research that she and Derek started because Derek no longer has time, but also -- and more importantly -- because a condition of Derek getting the Presidential research is that their sensors are now only to be used for that project. That night, Callie is barely able to control herself because she's so hurt and angry, and she can't take it when Arizona starts to apologize again for something. But Arizona tells her that after a year of having to be self-centered -- in order to figure out who she was and how to live her life -- she realized that the only things she really needs to be happy are Callie and Sofia. In response, Callie winds up pulling out Arizona's old wheely sneakers and helps Arizona learn to use them again out in front of their marriage-healing house.
Stephanie keeps trying to hide from Jackson, but she's so distracted that she winds up hitting Arizona with a gurney and breaking her good prosthetic leg, and then later she runs another gurney into Jackson. They both have to fill out accident reports and just happen to wind up in the HR lady's office together where Jackson pleads with her to let him apologize. She does, but tells him she's decided that she's going to get over him and never waste any emotion on him ever again, because she never wants to be pitied again like she was after the wedding.
After Alex's shenanigans in front of the board last week, Owen has to follow through and actually punish him so he's taken off of surgery for three days while Jo is given a mandatory break from pediatrics. She's extra pissed about that because she and Steph found an abandoned baby in a box while they were outside on a coffee break, and she wanted to take care of him. Instead, she's tasked with watching over an organ donor until the mandatory time has passed to declare him brain dead and harvest his organs. She realizes that the organ harvest is going to be like doing six surgeries in one, so she's stoked, but at the last minute the patient's heart fails and he dies with no viable organs after all. The guy's buddy had been at the hospital and asked April if he could get back the kidney he donated to his friend a few months previously, and stalks her all day trying to get her to agree even though she keeps telling him no. It turns out that was just his way of coping and when Jo runs up and tells April that the guy has died, his friend falls apart and finally starts to grieve.
Alex is pissed because he has to miss doing a surgery on one of his longtime patients, even after he has a really great idea of a new way to do the procedure. He has Mere talk to Owen on his behalf, but Owen holds firm and instead tells Mere to assist since someone has to take Alex's place. Alex is pissed at her for taking his place, but is also glad the surgery went well. Mere ultimately makes up for it because she found out a way for Jo and Alex to be together, and it's as simple as filling out HR paperwork about their existing relationship. Then they can get back to pulling off each other's clothes in supply closets. Alex goes on a rant about how he can't ask Jo to sign it, because he doesn't want to freak her out after the proposal debacle, but it's all pretty stupid and Mere basically tells him that and to just sign the thing, already.
Cristina winds up getting the box baby since he's got a scar on his chest that indicates he's already had heart surgery. Richard forces her to take Smash back on her service, and though she doesn't want to work with him she manages to pull herself together and teach him. Smash also feels weird about the whole thing, but when she keeps prodding him he gets back to being a good student and they work well together. During surgery they have a brief conversation about what happened when Cristina tells him he shouldn't need to do things for doctors (like get them coffee or "relax" them) because he's a brilliant doctor who can make it on his skills alone. That settled, she can get back to whatever is going on between her and Owen -- she's thrown for a loop when she hears that he dumped Emma and confronts him, telling him he was stupid for throwing away someone who was going to give him everything he'd ever wanted. They have a weird awkward kinda-argument where Owen contends that Cristina just wanted him to end up with Emma so that Cristina could stop feeling guilty about not giving Owen what he wanted, and she jokes with him but doesn’t actually deny it. So, they aren't at all back together, but… well, I don't know what is going on with them, but they're getting along so I'll take that at least. -- Lauren S
Hellowe. Here I am again, Al Lowe, sneaking up on your recap when you least expect it.
Arizona wakes up, ready to greet the day, stretching like a happy woman in a tampon commercial until she looks down and sees that someone has spilled juice on her prosthetic leg.
Mere voiceovers about body parts that have changed as we have evolved -- our tailbone used to be a tail, that pink fold in the corner of our eye used to be a third eyelid, etc. Um, are we sure about that tail thing? Owen and April are treating a guy who was in a horrible car crash, and since you can see part of his brain and blood is spurting from it, I don't think he's doing too well.
Stephanie arrives at work but when she sees Jackson, she hides behind a cart while Mere tells us that the story of our evolution is what we leave behind. How Lauren S deals with this opening montage every week is beyond me. It's already on my nerves.
Callie sees Arizona drying her leg with a hair dryer and Arizona gripes that Sofia might have fried the processor with her juice. "I've told her not to play with my leg!" she yells. Callie points out that actually, she's never said that, and then gently adds that she just found Arizona's wheelie sneaks while unpacking and wonders what she should do with them. She's a little surprised when Arizona tells her to toss them, but Arizona assures her with a quick smile that it's fine.
Sure enough, Owen and April are getting no response from their patient and realize that they've lost him as Arizona, just arrived, sees the guy's wife/girlfriend at the desk crying and begging to see him.
Jo, Alex and Arizona (who seems to be everywhere, all at once), are with their patient, a kid who is bright orange due to a liver condition he's had since birth. They have an idea for a procedure that should hopefully mean he wouldn't need a liver transplant; it involves taking a piece of his intestine and turning it into a drain to get bile out of his abdomen. The kid is a little weirded out at the idea of having a hole in his stomach but Arizona is great with him and comes around the bed with reassurance and a good oompa loompa joke. She doesn't realize that her pant leg has caught on her prosthetic and the kid stares a moment before asking if she's a robot. His poor mother is mortified but Arizona handles it in stride, joking secretly with him that she can now jump super high, reminding us just how awesome she is with kids.
Alex doesn't like the idea that they have to cut into the kid's healthy intestine but Arizona points out it's the only way and then Owen comes up and informs him that he's not going to have to worry about it, anyway, since he's suspended for three days and Jo is off pediatrics. Everyone is indignant, but Owen points out that the two would have only gotten a slap on the wrist had Alex not made a huge scene forcing the board to actually discipline him. Alex claims that this is messing with patient care but Owen ignores that and gives the case to Arizona, who snarks that that this makes her day way easier. Owen is sorry to announce that it's about to get harder, dropping the bomb that Leah was the one who filed the "anonymous" HR complaint. Arizona will have to go answer some questions. Yay. They hope that that will then be the end of it, and Owen reminds her not to have any contact with Leah.
Callie runs up to McD and Meredith as they're coming in, asking Derek if he's stopping by the lab any time soon, as they are losing their Phase 2 momentum on the sensor project. Derek yeah-yeahs her but says he's got to set up his new office and oh, yeah, he needs to grab one of those sensors so that the Washington guys can duplicate it. Callie teases him a little about that and says to let her know when he's ready. She practically skips away, while Meredith smirks from the sidelines. "I haven't seen a blow-off like that since high school," she chides Derek, who insists it wasn't a blow-off, but Mere knows.
Cristina is arguing with Richard, who is insisting that Shane stay on her service. She thinks Shane lost his footing partly because she was not the best influence, she says, to Richard's immense eye-roll. "And, plus, we had inappropriate, uh…" Richard: "Shenanigans? I know." He reminds her that that's what the whole sex police rule is for, so that the hospital staff can work together, shenanigan-free. This show has been on for, what, 10 years? And it's basically about medical professionals having sex with each other, correct? I mean, there may have been an episode or two that I missed along the way, but I'm preeeettty sure that's what this show is about. So, the Law of Shenanigans in this case does not apply. It's a dumb rule, but Cristina says yeah, she knows and that only makes her point. And, she goes on, she doesn't think the Chief (Owen) would like it. "Huh," Richard snarks. "Well, the Chief asked me to keep an eye on Ross, so it's my call, not his. And, as far as you're concerned, Dr. Yang? I am still, and will always be: THE CHIEF." Damn, Richard!
Outside by the dumpster, Jo comes to apologize to Stephanie for assuming she was the one who made the anonymous complaint. Jo has brought coffee to this apology, so all is forgiven. "Heard you got busted," she says to Jo, who confirms that yep, she has to "miss out on my education" so that she can stay on a separate floor from Alex. Stephanie says she wants that rule – if she has to be in the same room with Jackson she's afraid she's going to nut-punch him. Thus, every time Jackson's in the ER today, she's taking a break. At the dumpster. Jo disagrees with this whole idea and supports the nut-punching idea. Poor Stephanie mulls over the absurdity of Jackson marrying April. "One day we were together, and the day they were married," she says. What was she to him? She wonders, and how could Jackson just toss her aside, like garbage. For emphasis, she gives a swift kick to a cardboard box at the dumpster and both women leap into the air when they hear a baby cry coming from the box.
They take the HUGE and very healthy-looking adorable 8ish-month-old baby inside to Arizona, who notes the scars on his chest and sees he's had some surgeries before. Stephanie goes to get a gurney (of foreshadowing) while Arizona tells Jo to get all the baby's particulars, prints whatever and to try to figure out if he was born there at the hospital. "We're going to find out who this little guy is!" Arizona chirps, seriously full of vim and everybody's acting like a baby found in a box is just another day at the office. Which, sadly, I guess it is. She's still all smiles as she walks out of the room only to get mowed down with Stephanie's Gurney of Doom. She does quite the acrobatic flip and hits the ground. "I think you broke my leg," AZ says to the very upset Stephanie. I guess it's good that she means her prosthetic. "It's okay," she continues, "I have another one in my car." Heeee.
Later, half the hospital comes in to check on Arizona in an exam space. She's fine, she says, and assures Bailey, Owen and Jo that Stephanie is bringing her spare leg and she's okay. Stephanie is the one who's not okay, spazzing through the curtain with the leg before being sent to deal by Owen to deal with the baby. "But that's my dumpster baby!" Jo says, upset. Wrong. Owen says she can't go on the ped's floor and pushes her out while Arizona recruits Bailey for the little orange boy's surgery. Here comes Callie, charging in like the cavalry, making everybody leave while she fits AZ's backup leg on and Arizona tells her about Leah's complaint to HR. Callie glares and swallows the million curse words she obviously wants to scream about that.
Jo is bitching and moaning to Owen (again) about how she's being unfairly punished by the peds floor banishment yadda yadda. Owen is not sympathetic and says that you know, she needs a well-rounded education, not just a pediatrics one. So, today he's assigning her to the trauma car crash guy who, brain dead, is an organ donor that they have to keep "alive" for six hours so that his organs can be donated. She will then be allowed to scrub in on the organ recovery. Turn your frown upside down, Jo, with your purple hair, that's like six surgeries in one. See? Hot Owen is going to come through, every time. She skips away and April walks up, and is giving deets to Owen about the donor paperwork when a friend of the trauma guy approaches. It seems that four months ago, this dude donated an organ of his own, a kidney, to his friend. And, well, he just wants to know if he can uh, you know, get that kidney back.
In his new office, Derek seems overwhelmed by boxes and files while he Skypes with his Washington contact. They discuss some particulars of the work and the D.C. guy casually throws out there that, hey, he'll need to stop all sensor work he's doing outside of the program. The needle comes off the record. Derek says wait, his work with Callie is ongoing, but the Washington dude, Lloyd, is not hearing that. The sensors have to be proprietary to the gubment job. "Our NIH grant depends on that," he says, obviously annoyed that Derek cannot seem to… read a contract or something? I feel like this would have come up at some point in their negotiations. Anyway, Derek says he's not sure Callie will be understanding about this, but Lloyd doesn't care and why should he? He's Lloyd.
In the PICU, Cristina is examining the dumpster baby, who has had a whole raft of procedures and needs to have another one to determine if he's had a coarctation of his aorta. This poor little buster in his tiny hospital gown. The gown really got me. The tiny shoulder snaps! Arizona asks if Cristina has cuddled him, and Cristina obviously says no, she can't be cuddling when she should be examining him. Arizona, though, always has time for a cuddle, and duly delivers one. Shane comes in to say that there's no record of him being a patient at the hospital and while he's talking the BABY puts his hand on Shane's shoulder like, "thanks for the update, sir." Arizona gets a page and has to go, with her leg squeaking out the door. "Long story," she tells Cristina. She asks Shane to take the baby, which he says he'd rather not do, but Cristina commands him to cuddle. "You're not going to hurt him," she says. "And… I don't want to do it."
In the elevator, Stephanie pointedly avoids standing to Jackson who very foolishly tries to make small talk with her, anyway, asking about the baby. "I imagine it's pretty traumatized having been suddenly left behind, thrown aside – dumped, as it were, in the trash," she says, and Jackson has the nerve to ask her to let him talk. No. She flatly tells him that he's going to want to get out of her way and flounces out.
Rounding the corner, Alex is complaining to Meredith about how, when she banged a coworker, she got a house and two kids and he got suspended. Now he can't even do the liver surgery for the orange kid, who he has been treating for years. He asks her to talk to Owen about it, reiterating his rage that everybody at the whole hospital is a hypocrite and that they all suck.
Mere slides over to the nurse's station to see Cristina. "Did you know Grumpy and Hairpuff found a baby in the trash?" Cristina asks, but Meredith doesn't want to talk about that. She informs Cristina that Owen's girlfriend came by earlier to get a key to the trailer so that she could get her stuff out. Cristina is obviously surprised, and kind of alarmed, to hear they have broken up. "I can't tell if you're happy or sad," Mere says. Cristina: "Neither can I."
Arizona and Callie go to see a patient together, a tween girl, Alyssa, who has had multiple surgeries throughout her life and can't walk without pain. In fact, as they hear her yelling at her father, "it hurts like a bitch." I'm THRILLED to see that her dad is played by the brilliant W. Earl Brown, of whom I have been an adoring fan since I was recapping
Out of the room, Callie is pissed. Arizona obviously showing her leg bias, says, you know, they should consider the amputations as an option. As Derek walks up to ask Callie to talk, Callie continues to go off, saying it sounds to her like Arizona is asking her to throw away three years of investment and hardwork in this patient and she doesn't want to do it. Derek swallows his tongue, since that is what he came to ask her do about the sensors, and chickens out of talking to her.
Cristina and Shane have the baby in surgery and Shane is only half into it, until Cristina snaps him out of it. They discover that the baby has, basically, the trifecta of heart defects. Shane says that explains why he was abandoned. Um, I don't know if "explains" is the right word, but he goes on to add that "someone thought he was trouble than he was worth." Even Cristina, whose heart is made of ice, is affected by the sadness of that.
Jo is standing over her organ donor when Alex comes in to ask what she's doing. "I have to keep him alive until they can say he's actually dead," she says. Alex can only snark that that's great – Hunt has him off peds and has her arranging a meat platter. Nice. Jo is into it, though, and swears she's going to keep the guy so healthy that someone can even use his appendix. Alex has a brainwave. "We could use his appendix!" he says, suddenly excited. Jo, concerned, says she was just joking. He's about to explain when Owen comes in and makes him leave. "Did an alarm go off somewhere?" he snaps and storms away.
Poor April is again trying to explain to the kidney guy that his kidney "cannot be regifted." He's not giving up, though. "It's mine," the guy says. "And now he's not using it. I'm still down one kidney. I loaned him my bike, am I not going to get that back?!" April tries to gently explain that, well, transplanting a kidney puts a strain on it. "To do it again would be risky for you and your kidney," she says and the guy pounces. "You said my kidney!" he insists, and April pretty much dives away to escape.
Bailey is helping Arizona with the chafing from her spare leg, applying a bandage to her stump, when Alex bursts in to share his big idea about using the orange kid's appendix for the procedure, instead of his intestine. It will be less invasive, require a smaller hole in the stomach and the results will be even better. He's evangelizing about this awesome idea and walks around the couch to get a full view of Arizona's bare legs. Well, her leg.5. He is immediately embarrassed, turning around and covering his eyes. "Sorry," he says, "I've never seen you like that." Man. Arizona assures him its' fine, and, keeping his back turned, he says he can go and get the kid prepped. No can do. Arizona tells him that this does not mean he's scrubbing in, that he's still suspended, and now he's mad all over again and storms out AGAIN. Bailey is amused at how Alex freaked out when he saw her. Arizona is cool about it. When people see her without the leg, she says, they feel sorry for her. "And with the leg on," she says, "they think that you're amaaazing and brave… or, a robot." Cute.
Cristina finds Owen in radiology and makes small talk about the baby's medical status before cutting to the chase. "What's this I hear about you being an idiot?" she asks, and he seems confused as to her meaning. "You broke up with her? She was it, Owen. Picket fence, dozen kids, fresh baked goods." Owen says he doesn't want to talk about it. "Because you're dumb," Cristina says. Owen says no, because it's not anyone's business and he hurt the lady and feels bad enough about it. Cristina, naturally, presses. "Why throw that away?" she asks. "Is it because of what happened in the trailer? Because…" Owen says to give him some credit, that he knows what that was all about, but you know, it's pretty clear neither of them have any idea what it was about since they have broken up and gotten back together and broken up again having sex in between a hundred times in the last season alone. Owen wants to know why Cristina is so upset about it. "Because…" she stutters. He asks HER if it is because of what happened in the trailer. She is taken aback, very cutely. "I don't like the direction this is taking," she says. He says he'll tell her if she'll tell him. She stares at him. He stares at her. I stare at them both and wish they would get (re)married and live happily ever after. She nervously says "nooo" and rushes out.
Arizona walks by Alyssa's dad, who is all fatigued and miserable and worried about his daughter. He asks her if she has children. She says she does, a little girl. "A little girl," he says, angrily. "And you still tell me that I should let you cut my daughter's legs off?" Arizona says no, that decision is up to Alyssa, as it's her life. "You think her life is gonna be better with no legs?" he asks, and I wonder aloud how it is that, of the two recaps I have written of this show, both featured double leg amputations… Why, legs? Why? Dad goes on, ranting that kids are going to make fun of her for being "crippled." It's awk, and finally Arizona, raises her pants leg and shows him ol' squeaky. He is taken aback. She explains that she thought she'd never carry her daughter or be a doctor again and, now, there are very few things she can't do. He asks when it happened. "I've had it since before we met," she says, and he says he never noticed. "Why would you?" she says, smiling. She reiterates that Alyssa's condition is so severe, and that while the condition itself won't get worse, the pain will never stop. W. Earl Brown brings me to tears when he says that it's just him and Alyssa, and he doesn't want to make the wrong decision. Arizona is fully understanding. "She's your little girl," she says. Teeeaaaars.
It's time for Derek to bite the bullet. He breaks it Callie about the sensors, making her bad day worse. She is crushed. "You partnered up with me, but now you're taking your ball and going to play with your new friends. I understand that the last six months was a total waste of time." With that, she strides out. "She understands," Derek says, sadly, to no one.
Meanwhile, Arizona is facing the music in HR. Or, actually, she's not. Seems Leah made the complaint about Callie, not her, after the incident in the OR when she drilled the guy to the table. The blood drains from Arizona's face.
Finally able to get into some scrubs, Arizona finds Cristina preparing for surgery on the baby and asks what happened. "Oscar had flash pulmonary edema," Cristina says, asking if Leah is coming after her. "Worse," AZ says and explains that the complaint is against Callie. She's reflecting on that when she looks up realizes oh, they're calling the baby Oscar, because they found him in a trash can. Really, show? It's a baby. Cristina asks if Arizona needs to be in her other surgery, instead. AZ: "You sure?" Yeah, Cristina says, and you can see the smile in her eyes as she turns to look at Shane and say, "I've got Ross." Arizona is paged by Callie, and heads out to deal with Alyssa and her dad. He needs to hear again that the amputation is the right idea. Arizona says it is, that Callie has done everything she can do to stop the pain, but… "It's not working," Callie interrupts and agrees that without the surgery, Alyssa will be in pain the rest of her life. "She'll never run?" he asks. "I'll never walk her down the aisle?" Callie says no, not unless they amputate. With crushing sadness, Dad agrees and asks for the double amputation of his daughter's legs. "I want her pain to stop, today," he says, and Alyssa throws her arms around him. More teeearrrs.
Even if she agrees it's the right way to go, Callie's still upset. She slams around at the nurse's station, clearly over everything and everybody. "It's just one more thing, today," she says, bitterly frustrated. Well, actually, there's yet one MORE thing. Arizona decides to take the direct approach. "HR wants to see you," she says, unflinching. "Leah Murphy's complaint is against you." Callie, who is now barely holding it together, stares at the floor as Arizona, seeming to suddenly realize the absurdity of this whole mess, starts getting flustered. Trying to take the high road, Callie starts listing off the things she has to do, like pushing back the amputation. Arizona kindly says she'll take that off her plate and do it, herself, and Callie finally, JUSTIFIABLY, snaps. "I just got done with a malpractice suit and now I have to deal with your jealous ex-girlfriend trying to ruin my reputation?" she shouts. "I swear to God, I can't take any more of this."
Cristina and Shane are working on Oscar, when Cristina says she wants to ask him something, but all the new rules might mean asking is breaking them. Shane gives her permission to ask. "There was a complaint," she says. "I thought it might be you. And it made me wonder if you ever felt compromised. I didn't want you to." Shane says he didn't. Cristina asks him if saying that is not just him trying to curry favor. "I'm not currying anything," he assures her. Mmm, curry. Cristina says good, because he should never feel like he has to do that. He shouldn't feel like he has to get Derek coffee or fix Callie's babysitting schedule. "Or, 'relax' me," she adds, slightly guilty. She goes on to say that when he's a doctor in 10 years, he'll be relieved he didn't do any of that. Shane says he is not even sure he'll be a doctor in 10 years. "Shut up, you will be," Cristina says. "You'd better be." Shane laughs and points out that that's rule-breaking coercion.
Stephanie and Jo are watching the liver surgery that Jo was supposed to tag in on with Alex before they got smacked down. "That should be you down there," Stephanie says, but Jo's too high on the organ donor surgery thing she's going to do to care. Extracting all those organs will mean she's covering seven specialties at once. Stephanie is less than enthused. "Yay. I've got to go up to HR and fill out an accident report," she drones. Jo: "For hitting [Arizona] with a gurney?" Stephanie sighs. "For hitting Jackson with a gurney." Ha! Jo is thrilled and offers her fist for bumping. After a moment of reluctance, Stephanie bumps back.
This moment of triumph is cut short when Jo gets paged and has to leave. She passes Alex, arriving just in time to watch his appendix idea get put into action by… Meredith. They lock eyes and Alex is ticked. Meanwhile, Jo's patient is dying. She desperately tries to shock him back, yelling that there are at least nine people counting on him to not be gone. Is anybody in this joint having good day today?
Not really. Arizona is scrubbing in for the amputation when the door opens. It's Leah. She says that AZ requested a resident and she's the only one who was available. "Ugh, I'll do it, myself," Arizona snaps. Leah, pausing, asks if she's actually going to refuse to work with her. "Leah, I cared for you. I liked you, that's all that it was," Arizona says. "But if you're going to come after my wife, now…" Leah cuts her off, saying she knows what the relationship was, that she's not a child. Um, I'm sorry, but weren't you acting like a child about it for like, five spiraling episodes? You were. Anyway, her larger point is that Arizona is the one who brought it into the hospital by telling Callie about it. "And Dr. Torres chose not to teach me in a moment that put a patient in danger," she concludes. "It wasn't fair, it wasn't safe, and it shouldn't happen again, to me, or anyone." Suitably shamed, Arizona brings her into the surgery, even guiding her through one of the amputations.
It's Cristina's turn to come upon Arizona changing her squeaky leg bandage. They talk about the amazing save they all made for Oscar, today. After a moment of reflection, Cristina asks if AZ still has dreams about the plane crash. Arizona says yes, whenever she's anxious. Recently, worried about Sophia starting pre-school, she dreamt about it all night. "For me," Cristina says, "I dream about you, screaming. You wouldn't stop screaming." She takes a sarcastic beat and adds: "So, thank you for that." They squeeze hands for a second before Cristina heads out again. "Lucky kid," she says, of Oscar, and Arizona concurs.
My God, how long is this episode? Everybody's back in HR. Stephanie is filling out an accident report when Jackson comes in to fill out his. He says he'll come back, but she says it's okay and asks how his leg feels. "I'm fine," he says. "How are you?" Finishing with her paperwork, she first says again that she didn't see him coming when the thing happened with the gurney. He says he knows and asks if he can tell her he's sorry. He didn't know that he was going to do what he did at April's wedding. He said he had told himself that he didn't want April, that she didn't want him. She tries to stop him, but he goes on. "I'm trying to say that I didn't see it coming," he says. "There's no way I wanted to hurt you, and I don't know how I can make that better." She says he can't. "And, anyway," she adds, "we both got a day we'll never forget. You got a day to tell your grandkids about, and I got pitied." She says she was suddenly the girl who wasn't smart enough or pretty enough or deserving enough to have him. "I've never gotten that look before, because I'm not that girl," she says. He says no, she isn't and that she can hit him with a million gurneys and he'll still feel bad about it for the rest of his life. She says to go on and do that, but she won't. She's not going to be sad or angry about it for one more minute. "Because I don't care," she says. "So if I don't say hello, or make small talk in the elevator, or acknowledge your birthday or acknowledge that you're alive, it's because to me you just exist. Because I don't care."
As the worst version of the best song ("Time After Time) plays, Mere asks in voiceover why it feels so good to get rid of things, to let go. (I originally typed "to leg go," right there and laughed for… a while. It's late.) Callie arrives home to find Arizona hanging out, waiting for her. "I think Murphy was right," AZ blurts, and Callie says of course she was right! She mistreated Leah and was petty and at her worst because Arizona slept with her so, yeah, she was right. Siiiigh. Poor Callie. "I keep thinking we're okay," she says, sadly. "And, we buy a house and then this happens, and I'm not sure we'll ever be okay!" She says in one day she lost her research, failed a patient and got a disciplinary report that will follow her forever, so she's going to bed. Yeah, girl, but ain't you the boss, tho? Arizona splutters that she's sorry, and feels like she's only been thinking of herself. CORRECT, but Callie says she can't take one more apology. "You have made it very difficult to keep forgiving you." Arizona can't ever resist getting her words out, though, and goes on. She says that since the plane crash she has been trying to figure out how to be herself again. She used to be someone who was always happy. She woke up happy and skated at work. "And then this happened, and everything was hard and took thought and planning," she says. She wanted to tear everything down and throw it all away. "But I'm starting to feel like I know who I am again," she says. "And I've had to give up things, but what I've learned is that I don't need much to be happy. I don't even need two legs!"
She says she does know that she needs Sophia, and she needs Callie. "But I'm afraid that now that I've learned all that, that I made you give up on me," she says. Callie, who has been scowling, wordlessly walks away and Arizona breaks down. But Callie wasn't walking out, she was getting her skate shoes. "You shouldn't have to give up anything," she says, and kneels to put them on her feet.
Back at the hospital, Cristina and Owen are again talking about his breakup. He thinks she's obsessed with it because she wants to see him get what he wants so she won't have to feel guilty anymore. "About what?" she asks, incredulous. Owen: "About not giving it to me." Solid burn, Owen. It's either that, he says, or that she wants to see him get married off so that she's forced to stop thinking about him. "Oh, that's it," she laughs. "That's the one." IT IS THE ONE.
Mere says that stripping down to only what we need makes us realize how powerful we really are. And, in front of their house, Callie helps Arizona thrive, supporting her as she skates down the sidewalk.
Al Lowe is all for some glad-handing and back-slapping and high-fiving at deepsubject@gmail.com... so, come on with it.