The
attendings choose Cristina for the solo surgery, but the Chief has put
her on probation and orders her to select another resident to take her
place. The residents all plead their cases to her: George insists he's
grown the most, Meredith believes she's the most qualified but tells
Cristina to "do what she has to do," while Alex calmly recites the
surgical procedure to her.
Izzie, meanwhile, is not even trying to win the surgery, she's far too
occupied with Denny, who is now with her at the hospital. Izzie hasn't
been at the clinic all week and makes excuses why she can't work when
she does show up. George notices her talking to herself and tries to
tell Alex he thinks there's something wrong with her. Alex just snaps
at him, "Never talk to me about Izzie again."
Mark advises Callie not to flirt with "hot, crazy intern," Sadie, and
to channel all her frustrated sexual energy into surgeries. Mark
himself is trying to avoid Lexie: Ever since Derek ordered him to stay
away from her, he can't stop thinking about her, but she's helping him
wiht a patient whose voice box he is rebuilding.
Watching the residents scuffle for the solo surgery reminds Miranda
when she was "young, gifted black, and everyone knew it." Hearing about
Mark's cutting-edge surgery, she asks to scrub in, but asks him so many
questions he wants to know if she'd rather just do the surgery herself.
Besides punishing Cristina by not allowing her to operate, Richard also
makes her baby sit Dr. Virginia Dixon. "At the end of the day, I want
that woman to be my next head of cardio. If she's not, I know who to
blame." Virginia tells Cristina she should award the solo surgery based
on science, not on feelings. At the end of the day, Virginia decides to
stay on.
Cristina finally chooses Alex for the solo surgery. Alex eagerly tells
Izzie and wants her to scrub in with him. In his excitement, he blurts
out that he loves her and he knows she's been scarce because of the
patient who reminded her of Denny. "I'm not going to die, Izzie," he
tells her, assuming that her being so distant is fear of commitment.
He panics when she doesn't show for the surgery. He asks Meredith to
scrub in instead and calls himself an idiot for telling Izzie he loved
her. "You have to kick ass in there, Alex. You have no choice," she
tells him, just as Izzie shows up and tells the Chief, "He's ready."
Cristina tells a hurt Meredith that choosing Alex over her wasn't
a personal decision. "Unlike you, I can separate my personal life from
my job." She angrily tells the other residents watching Alex operate,
"None of you said anything. They were all our interns. I won this. They
picked me. If I don't deserve this solo surgery, then none of us do."
Cristina is on the verge of tears after leaving the O.R,. so Owen tells
her to follow him. He shows her his favorite place in the hospital: a
ventilation shaft that he likes to stand on to clear his head.
"Anything can happen on a vent," he says. "Like what?" she asks and
they kiss.
Sadie tells Lexie to stop feeling guilty about the intern surgery ring
--- and that Mark likes her. "You haven't noticed his eyes on your
ass?" she asks. Lexie tells her she's "delusional," but that night, she
goes to Mark's apartment to tell him his vocal reconstruction voice was
a success. She starts stripping, saying, "Teach me." Mark tries to get
her to leave, but when she asks, "Am I really so bad," he answers, "No,
I am," and kisses her.
