EXPLORE All The Shades of Grey

"FAIRY TALE" LOVE........................................................................................

Meredith Grey, who is so put out by the therapists past comments from the last episode, goes into the office to demand her file. The therapist tells her she's quitting just like everything else in her life that she's been quitting on. Shortly after she sees Derek Shepard about the next clinical trial patient and he suggests that if she's overwhelmed she can take a break. "I'm not a quitter! I don't need you rescuing me, lets just do this."

Rose walks up to Shepard saying, "Okay, the sex, I thought it was mind-blowing myself, but I get the impression that you had a really bad time. . . Why are you avoiding me?" He tries to blow it off, but the fact remains that he hasn't called her since then.

Back in the patient's room, Derek and Meredith are asked if they can hold off the surgery until 3pm when the patient says that the love of her life, Andre is to arrive. But later in the hallway, the patient's sister tells the two that she thinks it's a delusion. The patient has never really found love before, no one has ever seen him or know anything about him, but still the patient has a "Fairy tale" type story of how the two met. She lost her shoe on the way back on the cruise ship and left it behind for fear of missing the ship. The mysterious Andre brings it to her and they had an amazing time together. Now she's considering canceling the surgery to spend her last few months with him. Meredith isn't buying this stuff and when she asks Derek if he's talked to the patient yet, she is upset that he's giving her until 3pm to wait for her mystery man. After all "She found a way to have real love," according to Derek. Meredith assures him, "Of course she did because that's where love exists - in delusional fantasies. Real love isn't like that." "Good to know," answers Derek before walking away.

In the midst of it all, Meredith is still trying to get her file away from the therapist. She even follows her to the bathroom, but while they're arguing over "quitting" Lexie Grey barges in. "I forgive you. I forgive you for treating me like crap and I forgive you for letting your friend treat me like crap. I don't know how you get up in the morning, I honestly don't. Our dad abandoned you and your mom by all accounts was the meanest person ever and you can't let Derek love you and it all really, really sucks, but ever since I knew you existed I had this fantasy abou my big sister and you have failed on every occasion to live up to that fantasy, but I still love you whether you're capable of letting me or not, so I forgive you." And she's gone as quick as she came, but of course the therapist heard the whole thing. They agree to meet at 2 o'clock for a session.

Again the therapy session ends with Meredith upset. She questions why the therapist would think she is suicidal and when she will give up on that idea. The therapist tells her "When you start acting like you want to be alive . . .You seem to stand on [the line between life and death] and wait for a strong wind to sway you one way or the other. You're careless with your life. . .probably because your mother told you you were a waste of space on this planet. The problem is you believe her." "Don't you ever talk about my mother." Meredith storms out. . . again.

Back with the patient, Derek and Meredith are waiting for the love of her life to arrive. Three o'clock comes and goes, four. . .five and still no sign of him. So they finally go into surgery. Of course, then in the middle of the surgery, Meredith is informed by a nurse that he just arrived. The injection is already done, the patient goes into distress, resulting in swelling of the brain. Derek now has the bad news to inform the loved ones that the patient will never wake up again. Its too much for Meredith, she begins to cry and quietly leaves the room.

Derek meets up with Rose, who is upset with him. "Derek, we spent the night togeter," she tells him," and then you vanished. Now I wish that I was secure enough to handle that without a bruised ego and a lot of processed sugar, but I'm not." "Wait!" he tells her, "Can't we just make this easier. . .I've done complicated. i don't want to do that again. Can't this just be easy. . . Fun. We don't need that 'fairy tale' thing right now. We just need happy." That seems to work for her and they leave hand-in-hand. It appears that Meredith is not the only one to change expectations to make it work.

Finally Meredith steps into the therapists office after she's been crying and hesitantly says, "My mother tried to kill herself when I was a kid. After the love of her life disappeared. I never told that to anyone before. You think I'm broken, fix me because I'm no quitter. Let's go." And so it ends with a new round of growing for Meredith next week.

THE UNEXPECTED KISS...................................................................................

Dr. Erica Hahn is faced with the choice to operate on one of the most famous cardio-thoracic surgeons in history, Dr. Tapley. Evidently he was a mentor of Richard Webber's. She doesn't want to do it because he is in pretty bad shape and she doesn't want to be responsible for killing this famous surgeon. After Richard steps up and demands she do it, she concedes, but still is planning for her terrible fate. The surgery does have a complication, but while she's shooting off her mouth to Richard about how her name is going to be ruined, he interrupts her to say that the problem is solved - he solved it while she was busy shooting off her mouth at him.

The real interesting plot with Erica involves Callie Torres and Mark Sloan, though. Mark walks into the cafeteria, sits by Callie and announces, "We're gonna sit and enjoy a meal together." "I don't get it," she replies. "I've turned over a new leaf," Sloan reveals,"from now on if you want this (points down) you're gonna get this, too (points to his brain)." "EW!' Up walks Erica, "Shove over Sloan, Torres and I are going to share a sapphic salad." "Did I miss something?" asks a confused Sloan. "Yah! We're lovers. Didn't you know," says Callie teasingly. Erica chimes in, "Its a love that dare not speak its name." Callie looks at Sloan, "Look me in the eye and tell me that you're not thinking about a threesome?" Mark insists he's not and excuses himself from the table.

Callie keeps asking Mark to meet her in on-call rooms because she needs to "clear her head." Mark starts talking about Erica saying, "C'mon, you never thought of reaching across the O.R. table, pulling down her mask, and ripping of her scrub cap so that you can grab a handful of that blond hair." Callie uncomfortably dismisses the thought.

To add to it all, the two girls are on the elevator when Sloan walks on at the end of the day. They start teasing about the threesome. "You couldn't handle both of us. . . .wouldn't you be too intimidated. . ." Then Erica Hahn reaches over to the back of Callie's neck and pulls her in for a big kiss. Hello? Mark is obviously turned on. Erica leaves, and Mark suggests an on-call room. A confused Callie emerges from the elevator and follows Mark Sloan. If that wasn't surprising, I don't know what was. It happened, and still we have no idea what it really means. Is she, isn't she? I don't know.

GEORGE O'MALLEY RUNNING THE HALLS..................................................

Even though it wasn't a real position before, George O'Malley is taking his new job as Chief Intern very seriously. He's running through the halls, squeeky shoes and all, trying to get everything done for Chief Webber. He even finds time to help out Miranda Bailey with her son several times through the day, but will it mean anything. An unusually harsh Cristina Yang has emerged this episode to crash everyones hopes and tell everyone what she thinks they need to hear. She even turns down the awesome cardio surgery. She seriously has problems right now. She mockingly tells George, "Yay, yay for Georgy, Georgy saves the day. You think if you kiss Chief's a** enough by taking care of Tapley, something magical's going to happen. Like what? You'll earn your magical resident wings, ah well, no, no, not going to happen, George. You're stuck. You are where you are. You know the only way you get out of your miserable situation is if Burke were here because you were Burke's guy. For some reason, he pitied your pathetic a**, but he's gone now. No wings for Georgy." Now it sounds to me that she isn't really talking about George but he can't help at least thinking a little about what she says.

Meanwhile, Bailey's son is hitting other kids in daycare, and she's starting in a new fight with her husband, Tucker over it. He's mad that she spends so much time at the hospital. She tells him, "No, I spend my time here because I'm building a life for us. I spend my time here because I don't have the luxury of being able to take a year off and spend it with our child and knowing that my career is going to be there waiting for me when I'm ready to go back." When their voices raise, George steps in to take little Tuck out of the room for a bit. The argument continues about how she misses out on being home, he feels stuck at home, he's not appreciating the time he gets, she's being unreasonable, you know. Later, wehn George finds Bailey working late with Tuck sitting with her, he offers to take Tuck for a couple hours. "Go talk with him go fight with him. You're not gonna fix anything in one day, but you can keep trying." So she does.

George, feeling a little prompted by Cristina's earlier remarks, asks the cardio "god" Dr. Tapley to put in a good word with the Chief because he was held back as an intern due to hard circumstances. Dr. Tapley assures him that Chief Webber would never take it lightly. "Learning is like healing," he tells George, "it happens over time. . . Listen, keep running, but not because you want to cut corners, because it makes you a better doctor." George leaves with his head a little higher and even gets a good word from Chief at the end of the day. Looks like his goo luck may have changed.

(Side note: My favorite line tonight was when Chief questions George as to why he has Tuck and George says, "Dr. Bailey and I are in love and I'll be heading back to Vegas with her as soon as my divorce with Dr. Torres is final." I got a good laugh from that one)

AVA ISN'T PREGNANT........................................................................................

Isobel Stevens finally runs into Ava in the hospital and confronts her about her test results. Ava just tells her she's wrong and that she just wants a baby. Isobel catches her saying "you already have a baby." Ava seems a little startled, but tries to recoup it. At least in the course of the discussion, Ava gave Izzie permission to tell Alex Karev everything going on- she wants him involved. When Izzie does confront Alex, he gets all defensive (as he always does) saying, "The labs are wrong all the time and you're wrong all the time. How bout you mind your own freaking business and stay out of my life."

Later Ava is in Dr. Sloan's office asking for a boob job because she thinks they don't match her face. When he tries to explain she can't because she's pregnant, she gets mad at him. He realizes that it doesn't seem right and talks to Isobel about it. She adds in her strange encounters and they agree that she needs a psych consult. Evidently sometimes patients who have a major trauma like hers, plus plastic surgery sometimes look in the mirror and see someone they're not. It leads to other problems. But of course, Alex, the bull-headed guy he is isn't going to be told what to do. Isobel does an ultrasound to try to bring some reality to Ava's situation and Ava doesn't want to/seem to be able to understand. Just as Alex walks in to confirm it all, Ava is still distraught thinking she had a miscarriage of their baby. Alex takes her home despite suggestions for psych saying, "I can handle it. I'm gonna take care of her."