Grey's Anatomy

Meredith's House - Bathroom Shower - Meredith is taking a shower and sitting on the floor while the water flows over her.

Meredith (Voiceover): Remember when you were a kid and your biggest worry was, like, if you'd get a bike for your birthday or if you'd get to eat cookies for breakfast. Being an adult? Totally overrated.

Roseridge Home For Extended Care - Outside - Day - Meredith is outside fully dressed and walking into the building.

Meredith (Voiceover): I mean seriously, don't be fooled by all the hot shoes and the great sex and the no parents anywhere telling you what to do. Adulthood is responsibility.

Roseridge - Inside - Day - Meredith and a lady who seems to work at Roseridge are sitting at a desk and having a conversation about Meredith's mother. The lady is telling Meredith that her mother needs to sign everything over to her while she is still lucid enough to consent and Meredith seems shocked by this.

Meredith (Voiceover): Responsibility, it really does suck.

Meredith tells the lady that she hasn't slept in 48 hours and is getting her first shot at heart surgery this morning, and that she is missing rounds. Meredith asks if she really has to be the one to handle this. The lady tells her that she's talking about her estate, finances, and medical care. She pointedly asks her if she really wants to leave her mother's life in someone else's hands. The lady reminds Meredith that it is her mother they are discussing.

Meredith (Voiceover): Really, really, sucks.

Seattle Grace Hospital (SGH) - Burke's OR - Day - Meredith is in an operating room with Burke and a lot of other doctors and nurses. They are operating on the heart of Mrs. Patterson. Meredith is the one holding the heart.

Meredith (Voiceover): Adults have to be places. And do things. And earn a living. Pay the rent. And if you're training to be a surgeon? Holding a human heart in your hands? Hello! Talk about responsibility!

Meredith nods off for half a second. Burke notices and asks her what happened. She covers, claiming her hand slipped and she looks a little worried as she apologizes. Burke says it's okay and that they are done. He tells her that she can let go of the heart but very gently. She does.

Meredith (Voiceover): Kinda makes bikes and cookies look really, really good, doesn't it?

Meredith looks a little worried after she lets go of the heart. She self-consciously looks at her glove and rubs her fingers together and then looks to the side with a somewhat worried glance.

SGH - Burke's Gallery - Day - George, Cristina, and a few other surgeons are watching the surgery. George is talking about how he wishes he could hold a heart. Cristina makes a smart comment and George says she's just mad 'cause Burke didn't ask her. Izzie comes in and they talk about the party. Cristina says it's jocks only. Cristina thinks the party is DOA because Izzie invited doctors from all different specialties. George asks Izzie if she cleared it with Meredith but Izzie hasn't yet. Cristina wonders why Izzie is planning such a big party for her boyfriend: she thinks it's because he's bad in bed. But Izzie denies that and says she just wants him to meet some of her friends. Cristina replies with "Right. 60 geeks in scrub uniforms are your friends." Cristina gets paged, she groans about it and gets up and leaves. And while leaving, she tells Izzie that bad sex sucks for her. Alex comes in, asking about the party. Izzie and George deny it, Cristina stops from leaving and acts like she knows nothing either. Alex notes that the surgery doesn't seem to be going so well.

SGH - Burke's OR - The patient's heart isn't beating right: they're losing her. She flat-lines. Burke tries to massage her heart but that doesn't work. Burke shocks her but to no avail, she's still flat-lined. He shocks her again, and this time gets a heart rhythm. He instructs the staff to close up the body and to keep a close eye on her, and then he leaves. Meredith looks down at her glove and sees that it popped open.

Meredith (Voiceover): The scariest part about responsibility? When you screw up. And let it slip right through your fingers.

SGH - Hallway that leads to an elevator - Day - Derek is walking along and eating something when Meredith and George emerge from an adjacent hallway. Derek is asking Meredith about her first time holding a heart, but she's pretty much ignoring him. George says it's great just watching. Meredith looks zoned out. The elevator dings and George and Meredith enter. Derek notices her mood and continues eating his food. Derek says "See you later" to Meredith, she says bye. And the elevator doors close.

SGH - Elevator - Day - Meredith confesses to George that she thinks she may have done something to the heart while she was holding it. She says she nodded off a little and squeezed it. George says the heart's a tough muscle and can take a squeeze or two. She confessed that she popped the glove and asks George what if she punctured the heart. George says since they got Mrs. Patterson's heart beating that it's okay. Meredith considers confessing to Burke, but George thinks there's nothing to tell since Mrs. Patterson is okay. Meredith agrees.

Opening Credit Sequence
Grey's Anatomy

A shot of SGH - Outside - Day

SGH - Room where they go over x-rays - Bailey is asking George what he thinks. They are looking at the X-rays of Stephanie Drake. He tells her a list of things, including that he thinks the patient must be having trouble breathing. She asks him what they should to. He tells her that they should operate. Chief Richard Webber says they operated on her five years ago, back in '99. Richard tells them to talk her through the procedure and advises them not to give her the anti-smoking lectures. George asks Bailey if she thinks people would stop smoking if they put an X-ray on a pack of cigarettes. Bailey shakes her head.

SGH - Hospital Room - Day - The patient (Mr. Jerry Frost, revealed later) says he's in a lot of pain, feels like someone's stabbing him in the back over and over and insists on what painkillers they should give him. Alex suggests morphine but he declines in favor of much stronger drugs. We are shown several needle marks on his arm. Derek and Alex walk out of the room. Alex notes that the man is self-prescribing drugs and exaggerating his pain. He concludes that the man is a junkie. Derek asks him what he should do, and Alex tells him. Derek tells him that he still needs to give him something. Alex wants to know why. Derek teaches that it's the first rule in pain management. Derek tells him to start a central line since his veins are shot. Derek starts dialing on his phone and walking away. Alex looks kind of mad and walks in the opposite direction.

SGH - Mrs. Drake's Hospital Room - Day - Mrs. Drake is complaining that the last surgery didn't work. George says that she should have quit smoking. She says she did. She states she used to smoke four packs a day. George doesn't believe she quit because of the damage that showed up on the x-ray. Mrs. Drake says that everyone thinks her pain is in her head. George says that it's not, since he's seen the films. Mrs. Drake tells George that he's too damn young to be a doctor. George says he's older than he looks. She asks him if this is gonna work this time. He's says it's her best option. She asks him if he's a straight shooter, he replies yes, ma'am, she says that she likes that as they wheel her off to the OR.

SGH - Room for surgery outtake patients? - Day - It's an open room with several hospital beds. Meredith is standing and looking at a patient and her husband from a distance. Nurse Tyler Christian is checking her vitals. She finally approaches them. Meredith asks the nurse about Mrs. Patterson's condition. The husband is worried. Meredith says that heart surgery is complicated and Mrs. Patterson should be fine.

SGH - Mr. Sturman's Room (4856) - Day - Izzie is entering a patient's room. It's a double room and she is talking to Mr. Sturman who is lying on the bed closer to the window. In order to create some privacy, she pulls the curtain in between the beds of Mr. Sturman and what appears to be an Amish family. She says, "Let's see about getting you out of here today?" They joke around and then she asks him how he's feeling and stuff he tells her. Izzie is asking him questions about things and he's answering them. She catches him lying, and he tells her the truth. The patient says he went to med school but dropped out because of too many hours. He says he has a life now, a family, and tells her "no offense." She insists that it's okay because she believes that you can have both. He says maybe so, but your first responsibility is always gonna be to your patient.

SGH - Hallway/Nurse's Station - Day - Izzie leaves the room and passes Burke who is carrying a coffee. Burke walks over to Cristina and slides a cup of coffee over to her. She gives him a look, and stares and he says that it's just coffee. She says that's good. He says okay, she says okay. He walks away, leaving her making a face. She starts to walk away and stops, turns back and takes the coffee and drinks it as she walks away. Burke steps back to see her drinking the coffee and smiles.

SGH - Intern's Locker Room - Day - Meredith is bent over a sink and splashing water on her face to try to calm herself down. She lets the water drain off her face then stands up and looks at herself in the mirror.

SGH - Webber's OR - Day - Webber is operating and Bailey is explaining what the procedure is called and how it's done to George. Richard spots something with the scope and asks Bailey if she sees that, she does indeed see it. Richard says that they need to open her up. Bailey and Richard start opening her up. They open her up and Richard pulls out something. George asks if that's a towel. Richard asks for pan. George wants to know where the towel came from. Richard states that it's probably from her surgery five years ago. Bailey says, "Something careless this way comes."

Commercials.

SGH - Hallway - Day - George, Cristina, Bailey and Webber are walking in a hallway, discussing Mrs. Drake's surgery. "She complained about pressure on her chest. Said nobody took her seriously," George tells the others. "Not good for the patient, not good for the hospital. Not good," says Webber. Webber walks off. Bailey tells Cristina to hit the files and find out all she can about Mrs. Drake's initial operation, including who was involved. Bailey approaches the door to the stairway and George and Cristina are still on her heels listening for directions although it doesn't appear that they intend to follow her up or down the stairs. She tells George to stay with the patient and keep her happy because she seems to like George. George nervously asks her how long does she think it'll take, technically he's off at 6:00. Bailey stops in the doorway. "Am I invited?" Bailey asks him. George is confused. "Am I invited to the party?" she asks again. "Oh! You, well, yeah. Yes. Yeah. Of course." Bailey walks away, and Cristina gives George a look. What was he supposed to say?

SGH - Hallway - Day - Izzie is talking on the phone. She confirms that she wants 14 cases, maybe an assortment. Alex approaches and tells her to get microbrews and to make sure they throw in some bar nuts. She tells him that she's ordering office supplies. "Oh yeah, sure," Alex replies and walks away. Izzie finishes her telephone conversation: "Microbrews, locals, throw in some bar nuts. 7 o'clock would be better than 5:00." Mr. Sturman walks by. Izzie asks him if he has had any luck. He asks her sarcastically, if he does, will he be invited to the party? They lightly chuckle together. Derek walks by in the background and hears Mr. Frost, the guy with the back pain.

SGH - Mr. Frost's Hospital Room - Day - Derek walks into Mr. Frost's room. He is squirming in pain. Derek reassures him that they are going to take care of him, just hang on. "Where the hell have you been?!" he asks him angrily.

SGH - Research Room (behind the main station) - Day - Derek finds Alex in the research room. Derek tells him that when he tells him to start a central line, he starts a central line. No judgment, no question. Alex comes back with the fact that Mr. Frost has been in seven hospitals in the last four months. He's a major addict. Alex continues to argue, but Derek tells him that he's an addict "but his pain is real." He advises him to lose the attitude and get down there and start the central line. Alex leaves the room. Derek gets an introspective look on his face as if to ask "Why is Alex taking this case so personally?"

SGH - Surgery Outtake Area - Night - This is very much like the place where Mrs. Patterson was after her surgery. George walks up to Mrs. Drake's bed. She is having difficulty speaking, but tells George that Dr. Webber informed her about the towel that was inside her. "Who would do that?" she asks, upset. "That doesn't seem right, does it?" George agrees with her. "I was walking around with a towel inside of me. How could that happen?"

SGH - Filing Room - Cristina is looking through files in a room full of filing cabinets to find out just who left the towel in Mrs. Drake. She finds the right one. On the page:

Patient: Stephanie Drake
Date: 10-18-2000
Surgeon: John Davies, M.D.
Sugical Fellow: Preston Burke, M.D.
Anesthesiologist: Craig Lawson, M.D.
Assisstant: Angela Whiting M.D.
Preoperative Diagnosis: Emphysema
Postopearative Diagnosis: same
Medical Record #: PO29837??
Procedure Start Time: 8:05 AM
Procedure Stop Time: 10:5?:??
Procedure: Left Upper Lobectomy, Segmental Resection

Cristina looks up, concerned.

SGH - Room - Later - Cristina shows the file to Bailey and asks her what happens now. "Now, you keep this to yourself while we work it out," Bailey responds, taking the file and walking away, "Do this for me." Cristina nods.

SGH - Main Station - Meredith is standing at a counter with a file. Derek walks up to her and asks her if she's okay. Yeah, yeah, she's good. Derek doesn't think she seems okay. She tells him that her surgery was long. He suggests taking her out to dinner that night. He can tell her all about it. "Real food, waiters, big chunks of carbs in a basket." Meredith tells him she can't. He tells her to forget about the party. She is surprised that he knew about the party. "Your friends will be at the party. You and I can be alone somewhere else," he proposes. Meredith asks him how he knew about the party. He thanks her for not inviting him. It felt good. He reminds her to think about dinner, perfect opportunity. Meredith is about to respond when her beeper goes off. Derek walks away and Meredith runs in the opposite direction.

SGH - Surgery Outtake Area - Day -Meredith arrives in Mrs. Patterson's room, where Tyler tells her that she started having some swelling over the sternum and then "the blood just started gushing." Dr. Burke is on his way. Mr. Patterson asks whether his wife is dying or not. Meredith asks somebody to get him out of the room and tells the nurse to keep applying pressure. Burke arrives and tells Nurse Tyler to call for an O.R. He wonders what went wrong. Meredith confesses that she popped a glove. Burke is confused. She explains, "In surgery, when I was holding it. I popped a glove with my fingernail. I think I may have nicked her heart." Mr. Patterson looks on as they wheel his wife away.

Commercials.

SGH - Burke's OR - In the O.R. Burke reminds Grey that she had every opportunity to speak up before he closed. Every opportunity. Meredith apologizes. He then reprimands her for confessing in front of the patient's husband. After all, she doesn't even know if she was the cause. She has no idea. Meredith apologizes again. Burke shows her Mrs. Patterson's ventricular wall rupture. It's certainly a hell of a lot more than a fingernail. Her ventricular wall was weak. Webber enters the room. "I just had a conversation with Mr. Patterson. I want copies of his wife's chart in my office by 5:00. Tomorrow morning, the two of you are going to meet with me and legal and you better damn well be able to explain what happened here," he angrily informs the two. He leaves, muttering to himself "People poking holes in hearts, leaving towels in people." Burke tells Grey to go back and talk to the husband and apologize profusely. Her ass is on the line here.

SGH - Unfrequented Hallway - Day - Cristina, George and Meredith are sitting in the hallway, discussing Meredith's encounter with Webber. "You got called in from the chief?" George asks. Meredith wonders if she could get kicked out of the program. George doesn't think she will. Cristina thinks that Patterson's just going to sue, but George doesn't think that'll even happen either. Cristina wonders what Meredith was thinking confessing to Burke. George says that he told her not to. Meredith's phone rings. She walks away, telling them she has to take it and thanks them for their very comforting talk. Izzie arrives with food, coffee and water. Cristina and George take some. Izzie tells them that the beer's coming at seven and some of the floor nurses are bringing wine. Cristina sighs at the fact that she invited nurses. George once again asks Izzie did she clear the party with Meredith. Izzie tells George that a few more people isn't going to make a difference. A party's a party. "And the bigger the party, the less time for bad sex with the hockey player," Cristina pipes in. "Would you stop saying that? Hank and I have great sex," Izzie replies. Cristina doesn't believe her. Izzie says they'll probably have sex after the party, or during the party – as long as she clears it with Meredith, George reminds her. "Hank just needs to realize that doctors can have fun. We're not all workaholics with God complexes," Izzie says. Cristina however thinks that that's exactly what doctors are. Izzie gives her a look. George shows her an inflated glove puppet with a face drawn onto it.

SGH - Walkway-Balcony - Day - Meredith is on the phone to the nursing home. "And the notary can be there at 6:30 too? And the home's physician will be there to attest to her mental competency. Okay, is there anything else I need to bring besides my license? My checkbook. 6:30, I'll be there." She hangs up. Derek walks up to her and leans on the railing. He tells her that he knows about the heart thing. Does she want to talk about it? "We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?" she wonders.

SGH - Nurse's Station - Day - Cristina is putting chart away. Burke is there too. She looks at him awkwardly. They greet each other and talk about the bypass graft which Burke did earlier. It was nothing he couldn't handle. "Good," Cristina responds and walks away.

SGH - Outside - Day - Mr. Patterson is outside the hospital building talking on the phone. Meredith goes outside the hospital to try to talk with Mr. Patterson. When Meredith approaches him he tells the person he is talking to that he will call him back later, and tells Meredith that the person he was talking to was his lawyer and he advised him not to talk to her. Still Meredith tells him that although she knows he is angry and frustrated they need more information about his wife. Meredith starts to tell him that the walls of her heart were abnormally thin but then Mr. Patterson interrupts her and with an angry tone and says "Hey, don't blame this on my wife" and that he already knew what happened from her very mouth. Meredith tries harder to convince him of talking and he tells her that she was in the best shape of her life, that she had lost 100 pounds recently. Still Meredith tries to talk and Mr. Patterson interrupts her again and tells her that they're through talking and then walks away.

SGH - Mr. Frost's Room - Alex is checking on Mr. Frost, and giving him his central line of painkillers. While Dr. Karev does this Jerry tells him that he had noticed that Alex doesn't like him very much. Dr. Karev replies that it's not him specifically, just people like him. Derek enters the room and finds Mr. Frost in a very relaxed position and Mr. Frost tells him he's feeling pretty good, that his pain is about a three. Derek then tells him that that is excellent and they are glad they could do their part as well as a list of hospitals where he has been attended recently. Derek asks Dr. Karev who is on discharge that day. Alex tells him that Izzie is. So he tells Mr. Frost that Izzie will come in to discharge him. Mr. Frost protests and tells him that he can't be discharged because he is in pain, so Derek replies "You were in pain, now you're not," and also that Dr. Karev was going to recommend him some wonderful treatment programs that could help him. While Derek is leaving the room Mr. Frost tells him that he can't do that, and Alex answers "He just did, my friend," as Derek leaves.

SGH - Mr. Sturman's Room - Izzie enters Mr. Sturman's room and asks him if he had any luck yet. He answers him "Nada" in a disappointed tone. Izzie then tells him that it looks like he is going to have to spend another night in the hospital. Mr. Sturman then tells Izzie that he hates that he is going to miss the party and asks her if she is going to make it. She tells him that it's looking pretty good because he was the last person on his list. Mr. Sturman in a funny tone tells her "So, doctors have lives after all! Who'd have thought?" In that moment Derek tells Izzie to discharge his guy in room 342. Mr. Sturman gives her a look and she tells him not to look at her like that because it was not going to take very long.

SGH - Reception - George enters the reception and walks straight to where Izzie was. He asks Izzie if she had paged him. Izzie tells him that she has to stay a while in the hospital and asks him if he could go to their house and sign for the beer. Alex, who was in a desk near the reception and overheard the conversation asks "Why don't you have your boyfriend sign for it?" Izzie, a little bit surprised by this tells him that he has a very annoying way of sneaking up on people, and that he was kind of creepy. Alex, inviting himself, tells Izzie that he wouldn't go to the party anyway, he hates big parties. George once again asks Izzie if Meredith is the only person in the hospital who doesn't know that the party was going to be that big. Izzie, in a tired tone, tells George again that she was going to tell her. But Cristina, who also was overhearing the conversation, tells Izzie that she can't do that because Meredith had already left the hospital because of an errand she had to run. Izzie begins to worry about Meredith getting angry because of the size of the party, so George tells her that she wants Izzie to make very clear to Meredith that he had nothing to do with the size of the party, and then he walks away.

A shot of the town of Seattle - Night

Roseridge Home - Inside - Night - Meredith arrives at the nursing home and it seems like she's looking for someone. The caretaker walks toward her. Meredith apologizes for being so late, she blames the traffic. The caretaker tells Meredith that it doesn't matter. Meredith asks if the notary didn't show, so the caretaker replies that everybody is there, except for Meredith's mother. Meredith approaches her mother, who doesn't know what was going on. Meredith explains to her that she needs to sign some papers but her mother believes she has a cranial reconstruction and that she is in a hurry and needs to go. Meredith tries to convince her mom to sign the papers but her mother insists it's an emergency surgery. The caretaker tells Meredith that she can't sign anything if she doesn't know what's going on, and that they should have done it earlier. In an angry tone Meredith replies "I couldn't come earlier in the day. I have a job. And a life. And I'm here now." The caretaker insists that Meredith's mom has to be lucid so she was going to have to go back the next day. Meredith gets really angry and asks "You know, why did she put this off for so long? And why did you let her? Doesn't it strike you as slightly irresponsible? I mean, what the hell is wrong with you people?" and then she leaves the nursing home. The caretaker looks at Meredith strangely and slightly annoyed as Meredith storms out.

SGH - File Room - Cristina sees Bailey talking to Burke in a room across the hall. Bailey shows him some papers, and Cristina supposes they are the papers revealing the surgeon responsible for the towel founded in the patient, who is Burke. Bailey then is leaving the room and Burke stops her and asks for the papers. She stops and hesitantly gives him the file. Cristina leaves, looking surprised and disappointed in both of them.

Commercials.

SGH - Room - Burke is still looking at the files. He begins reading the file thoroughly.

Meredith's Car - Night - Meredith is driving her car. She's still reeling a little from the situation at Roseridge. She pulls up in her driveway and hears the music from the party inside her house. She sees people getting out of a cab and lots of people on her porch and front lawn.

Meredith's House - Outside - Night - She's still in the car and she's taking in her surroundings. She's noticed that Izzie's party has begun and that it is much bigger than what she had in mind. She says to herself "Izzie, I'm going to kill you!"

Meredith's House - Inside - Party - Night - Cristina is at the food table. She takes the last piece of food on a plate, but Bailey shows up and grabs the whole plate and tells Cristina "You could touch that, but I'd have to kill you." Cristina starts to talk about the towel thing and the only thing Bailey tells her is that it's been taken care of and not to concern herself with it. Still, Cristina insists on talking about it and asks what was going to happen, so Bailey responds that they are not going to talk about it anymore. She asks Cristina if she understands her, or if she had too much alcohol to understand clearly. Cristina confirms that they are very clear. Bailey then changes the subject by asking if they have any bourbon. Cristina doesn't answer, she just walks away.

SGH - Hallway - Outside Mr. Frost's Room - Night - Mr. Frost has been discharged by Izzie and now they are taking him in a wheelchair out of his room. He is arguing and complaining that he can't be discharged because he is in pain. He asks Alex to give him more Demerol. Izzie tells him that he has to leave. She gets tired of arguing with him and decides to call Psych. This causes Mr. Frost to alter more. He struggles with Alex and another doctor to get away and in the process he trips with a nurse, falls, and hits his head with a cart. Alex and Izzie rush over. Izzie thinks he might have a concussion. Alex inspects his eyes with the flashlight and realizes that he's blown his left pupil. He tells Izzie to page Shepherd and that they have to get him down to C.T.

SGH - X-ray Room - Night - Derek, Izzie and Alex are in the x-ray room checking Mr. Frost's C.T. exam's results. They find out that he has a subdural bleed with a midline shift. Dr. Shepherd tells them that they need to evacuate it now. He picks up the phone to prep the O.R. while asking Izzie if she has anywhere else to be or if she is in. Izzie without a doubt tells Derek that she is in. He replies, "That's what I thought."

Meredith's House - Inside - Party - Night - Meredith enters her house and finds people everywhere. She takes in more of the situation. Among all those people she spots George and walks toward him. She walks through the crowd and some drunken guy hands her a lamp. She unplugs it. She reaches George and in a very angry way she asks for Izzie. George finds that after all the times he told her to clear this up with Meredith she didn't do it, and he walks away. Meredith chases him and tells him "This was supposed to be a meet-the-boyfriend get together little thing!" George tries to defend Izzie and responds that she has a lot of friends. They are walking through the crowd, bumping into some people and Meredith tells George that Izzie doesn't know that many people. He stops walking and tells Meredith that he told Izzie to clear it with her. Meredith now looks worried instead of angry and responds "I can't handle this." George asks her if she wants him to kick everyone out. But just then she finds Cristina drunk and dancing on a table. Cristina sees her and shouts "Baby! You made it! Woo!" After seeing Cristina, Meredith tells George "Screw it. Hold this," and she gives him the lamp. "And give me this," she finishes while taking the bottle of tequila George was carrying. George almost drops the lamp. Meredith walks straight to Cristina and yells "I made it!" Meredith climbs to the table and begins to drink and dance. Cristina then calls "Georgie" over. He shakes his head. Then Meredith and Cristina yell together so that George would join them. He does, and stands between them. Meredith hands him the bottle and he takes a long drink and starts dancing between Meredith and Cristina.

SGH - O.R. - Night - Derek, Izzie and Alex are performing Mr. Frost's surgery. Derek tells them what Mr. Frost has, and Alex responds that he may be lucky, that this may be his way out of the "hole". After Derek tells him that's an interesting expression Alex opens up about his father. He tells them that his father was into drugs and that that wasn't good for his family, although it was tolerated in his line of work because he was a musician. There is a long pause and they all exchange looks.

Meredith's House - Inside - Party - Night - Meredith, George and Cristina are drinking and playing cards while the party is going on. Meredith is wondering why they wanted to be surgeons. George answers that surgery is a very serious business. Cristina has two cards stuck to her face and she burps loudly. "Full house!" George yells. Cristina makes an evil laugh and tells George "Royal flush. Get naked, baby boy!" While George takes off his shirt Cristina repeats the word "sexy" several times. Meredith is talking to herself saying that surgery is stupid, and Cristina takes the bottle of tequila from Meredith telling her that she was drunk. Meredith replies "I'm not driving. I'm not on call. I'm in my own house. My life is crap. And it's my party and I'll get drunk if I want to." George is still trying to take off his shirt. A tall, blond guy walks by. He asks for Izzie Stevens. Cristina tells him that he must be Hank and that he is very large and hockey-like, and also that Izzie isn't there right now, then she leaves. George, who has been staring at Hank for a long time, tells him "You and Izzie would give birth to very tall, blonde people, like Barbies." Hank comments that Izzie was supposed to be at home, and that he didn't know there was going to be a party. Meredith tells him that that pisses both of them off, she offers him some tequila. Hank wants to know at what time Izzie is going to get there. Meredith tells Hank that she doesn't know, but that they are low on ice. Hank, starting to get a little desperate, tells her that he is serious. Meredith replies "So am I. We're interns, Hank. Hospital owns us. It's what we do." Hank smiles, shakes his head, and leaves. George says "Bye" and Meredith says "Nice to meet ya."

SGH-Scrub Room-Night Derek asks Alex and Izzie to see him through recovery. Alex says he'll do it, but Izzie says she can do it. They argue over it, but Alex tells her to go "See your hockey player." Izzie thanks him. Alex leaves. Izzie seems surprised.

SGH-Outside-Night Izzie walks out of the hospital and sees her boyfriend Hank. They hug and Izzie says "Hey." He says hey back. She asks him what he's doing there, she kisses him. She apologizes for not calling, her patient needed brain surgery. Izzie explains they were inside her patient's brain, and how cool that is. "There was a party at your house," says Hank, chuckling. Izzie asks him if he got a chance to hang out and meet some of her friends. Hank says he doesn't care about meeting them; he just wanted to see her. Izzie points out that he didn't mind meeting the people she worked with when they were models. "Yeah, well, when they were models, you actually showed up to your own parties," Hank tells her. Izzie explains to him that this is her life now. She works one hundred hour weeks and can't always show up to her own parties on time. Her patients have to come first. "Yeah, I just flew across the entire country and there's 100 people at your house." Hank says. "Yeah, 100 people who understand what I do all day. I shouldn't have to apologize for that," Izzie tells him. Hank replies "No." Izzie tries to get Hank to go to the party for a while, but he thinks he should just go. She pleads with him, but he tells her he'll call her, kisses her and walks away. Izzie watches him leave and walks back to the hospital.

SGH-Scrub Room-Night Burke is in a scrub room looking contemplative, and he sighs and looks at some paperwork.

Meredith's House-Outside-Night Meredith is swaying drunkenly and drinking on the porch. Derek is standing next to his car, watching her. He tells her that in some states, she could get arrested for that. They walk towards each other. "So you blew me off for a bottle of tequila. Tequila's no good for 'ya. It doesn't call. It doesn't write. It isn't nearly as much fun to wake up to," Derek says. She smiles and pulls him in for a kiss. When they stop kissing Meredith tells Derek to take her for a ride.

In Derek's Car- Outside Meredith's House-Night Derek is in the passenger seat and Meredith is straddling him. She's wearing her bra and has his shirt down around her forearms. Derek says the party's winding down and they should probably sneak inside now. Meredith laughs and says they've done enough sneaking for the night, it was good sneaking but enough according to her. Derek pulls his shirt over her shoulders and states that they're pretty good sneakers. Meredith leans down and is about to kiss him when Bailey taps on the window. This startles her and she pulls away from Derek. Bailey asks them "If they mind moving this tail wagon, you blockin' me in." Derek says "Apparently not good enough."

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Meredith's House-Day There are many beer bottles, shot glasses, chips, and things all over the floor. George is walking through it carrying a mug. He hands the mug to Meredith who is laying on the floor, and just reaches her hand out for the mug. George plops down on the couch, and sits on something and it crunches. He asks her when her meeting with the chief is. Meredith says it's in an hour. Izzie comes home. "Holy mother of destruction," she says as she sees the aftermath of the party. Meredith tells her she missed Doctor-palooza. Izzie takes off her shoes and walks over to them. Izzie tells her that apparently she didn't. Meredith says she should probably never speak to her again. Izzie goes and sits on the couch next to George. Izzie apologizes. Meredith says it's okay and that she doesn't care, "What would I be doing anyway?" She asks. George says "preparing for her career-altering meeting?" Izzie looks at him, he says sorry. Meredith tells her that the heart wall shouldn't have torn. "Anything in the patient's history?" Izzie asks. Izzie takes a beer off of the coffee table and takes a drink of it. "Husband says she was in the best shape of her life. She lost 100 pounds last year," Meredith tells her. "100 pounds in a year, how's her muscle mass?" asks Izzie and she takes another sip. George asks her if she even knew whose that was. Izzie says she's hoping it was his. He says no.

SGH-Hallway-Day Izzie is wondering what will happen to Meredith. "50 says Meredith gets tossed out on her ass and Burke walks away clean," Cristina comments. "Please be nice to her," George says.

SGH-Chief's Office-Day "So, I have done a lot of research on this and Dr. Burke has been kind enough to help me. And I understand my responsibility, and what I've done wrong here. However, I do think the patient's history is significant in this case. She still weighs 200 pounds, which is why no one even noticed it, but with that kind of a weight drop, it doesn't matter how much you weigh, technically, you're anorexic." Meredith says. "So, along with all that fat, she was losing muscle, heart muscle," Burke adds. Webber thinks that that certainly could have caused a small poke to become a large tear. The lawyer states that it doesn't change the fact that the small poke wasn't reported by Dr. Grey when it happened. Meredith says "If I can change that…" The lawyer cuts her off and says she can't. She's left herself and the hospital open to a tremendous amount of liability. "No, not if the patient's weight loss caused the problem," Burke interrupts. The lawyer says that she has no choice here. Burke says that he's spoken to the husband and believes as long as his wife remains stable…the lawyer interrupts and says she can't take his beliefs to the bank, and says Dr. Grey made a huge mistake. Burke says she reported it. The lawyer says it was reported too late, and in front of the patient's husband. Burke points out that at least she reported it and spoke up. Burke tells them the story of how he happened to leave a towel inside of a patient and looks at Webber and says he and Dr. Bailey pulled the towel out from under that patient's lung. Why didn't he report it at the time? He states that it was because maybe he was afraid that some hospital lawyer's fear of liability would ruin his career. "Even great doctors make mistakes, and when we do we should be able to speak up without fear of retribution or else everyone suffers. Dr. Grey spoke up." Burke states. This seems to shut up the lawyer, and Meredith smiles at him.

Meredith (Voiceover) Responsibility: It really does suck.

SGH-Hallway-Day As she comes out of the chief's office, Derek walks up behind her and asks if she's alright. She says yeah, one month probation. He says that's good, she agrees. He walks away smiling. She walks up to Izzie, George, and Cristina and tells them that Burke saved her ass in there. They sigh in relief. Bailey comes up and asks them if they have something better to do, and tells them to come on and move. Bailey pulls Cristina aside. "He was always gonna tell them about the towel. Just wanted to wait for the right time. Information is power," she explains. Bailey walks off. Cristina looks in Burke's direction. He shakes Webber's hand and turns around, seeing Cristina. She runs off in the opposite direction to get back to work.

Roseridge - Inside - Day Ellis is signing papers. Meredith is there.

Meredith (Voiceover) Unfortunately, once you get past the age of braces and training bras, responsibility doesn't go away.

SGH-Mr. Frost's Room Alex introduces a woman named Sloane, who's here to talk to him, if he wants, about options for rehab.

Meredith (Voiceover): It can't be avoided.

SGH - Mrs. Drake's Room Burke sits next to Mrs. Drake's bed and tells her how truly sorry he is. George is watching Burke in the background.

Meredith (Voiceover): Either someone makes us face it, or we suffer the consequences.

SGH- Hallway - Night Derek jogs up a staircase, and looks at his watch. He accidentally runs into Bailey. That immediately stops him. They exchange awkward looks. He walks around her. She continues down the stairs.

SGH - Hallway - Outside Mr. Sturman's Room Izzie walks past Mr. Sturman's room. "Izzie! I did it. I pooped!" he tells her happily. "All right!" Izzie replies, laughing. Alex walks up behind her and taps her on the shoulder. He asks her if she missed her party. "Life as a surgeon," she simply tells him. "And loving every minute of it," he finishes. The hallway splits. They walk off in different directions.

SGH - On-Call Room Burke is taking off his shoes and shirt. Cristina walks in. They don't say a word to each other. She locks the door.

Meredith (Voiceover): And still, adulthood has its perks.

Cristina thanks Burke for the coffee. He looks at her, and walks over towards her. She looks down at the floor. He lifts her head up and pulls her into a kiss, as they kiss he un-ties her scrub pants.

Meredith (Voiceover): I mean the shoes, the sex, the no parents anywhere telling you what to do. That's pretty damn good.

Meredith's House- Night Cristina, Meredith, Izzie, and George are cleaning up the remains of their party last night.

Grey's Anatomy

Recap written by: Joker00303 (Kasey), Yakira, barahitas
Checked over by: Yakira and danawhitaker
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