EXPLORE All The Shades of Grey

An anonymous donation arrives so Heather can have the $300,000 experimental surgery to straighten her spine. Miranda knows it's from Izzie and asks if she did it so she could scrub in. Izzie says it was because she wanted Heather to have a normal life. Miranda tells her she's once again overly involved in a patient's case so she can't scrub in.

After their near kiss, Alex and Addison are incredibly nervous around each other. Callie is asking Addison's advice about George's suddenly kissing her and realizes Addison isn't listening. She confesses what's on her mind: she aborted Mark's baby and today was the due date. Mark had wanted the baby, but she had wanted a baby with Derek, not him. "I never thought I'd end up alone," she says.

The interns are all paged: George's dad isn't breathing on his own. Derek is surprised when Callie asks to be let out of Heather's surgery since it was her idea, but he lets her go. Miranda tells the O'Malleys that they need to put a new tube down Mr. O'Malley's throat and that with the swelling from the surgery, it may not go well.

Miranda is visibly anxious about performing the procedure, so Richard tells her that Mr. O'Malley is a patient, like any other, and that she needs to be calm. There's a brief complication but then she rights the problem. Richard tells her she did well and she responds, "I named my son after this man's son. I need a minute."

Alex tries to get back on Mark's rotation by bringing him his cappuccino, just the way he likes it. Mark just wants to know, since he's been working closely with Addison, if she's been miserable this week. Alex assures him she's been completely miserable.

Meredith's still snoring, even though she's tried a nose strip. She ignores Derek's suggestions for surgery to cure it so he ends up sleeping back at his place.

Meredith confesses to Cristina that she doesn't know what to say to her father, who's always at the hospital these days. And that she envies George his relationship with his father, even though he's dying. "If my father dies, it won't make any difference in my life," she says sadly.

Meredith finds her father with baby Laura and asks him for his version of events, since she's only ever heard her mother's side. Then she asks him if he snores. He tells her he does, that she gets that from him. He suggests she try wax earplugs, so she buys them for Derek next time he sleeps over.

In the waiting room, Heather's mom and Mrs. O'Malley compare notes over their relatives' risky surgeries. When his mother says she's surprised that they went through with the surgery, George realizes that the cancer had spread. He confronts Richard and Miranda and demands to know why they did the surgery, even if his father asked for it. "You knew better!" he shouts. "He could have had months!"

Addison walks in on Mark, who's crying. He says that if she'd had the baby, they'd still be together. She insists he didn't want to raise a child, he just wanted to trump Derek. She says she knows about all the women he slept with, and that they would still have broken up, baby or no baby. After telling him he'd have made a lousy father, she says, "I did want a baby. I just didn't want one with you."

Mark asks Callie if he'd be a good father. She asks if he likes kids, if he's a family kind of guy, and if he remembers birthdays. He says no to all three, and asks if there are any guys like that. She smiles and says, yes she knows of one.

Derek stops in to tell Burke about Mr. O'Malley. In front of Cristina, Burke suddenly tells Derek that he hasn't had any tremors all week.

Miranda tells the O'Malleys that their father is now completely dependent on life support and that it's their choice if they want to prolong his life or pull the plug. They all turn to George to ask what he thinks. George tells them he's not going to wake up and that it's time. George's family all gathers around Mr. O'Malley's bed. His mother kisses his father goodbye and then they disconnect his life support.

Afterward, Cristina is the one to find George and comfort him, by telling him that no one understands until you've gone through it, and that she lost her father when she was 9.

Izzie sees Heather walking upright and she goes to tell Miranda that she's learned her lesson from Denny. She'll never cross a line like that again, but she's not going to turn off the emotional side of her and she's not going to apologize for that.

Addison is drowning her sorrow at Joe's when Alex shows up. She asks him if he has a father and he says, "Not really." And then she kisses him.