The First Cut Is the Deepest

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired
EDIT

Episode Recap

SGH - Intern's locker room - Day

Meredith comes in and posts a "roommates wanted" ad on the bulletin board that reads: Two nice rooms with shared bath available immediately, close to Seattle Grace. Near coffee shop, public transportation, shopping, and convenient to almost everything. Non-smokers only please, no pets and absolutely no Bush supporters need apply. All applicants will need to have a credit check completed. First and last months rent and deposit is due in order to move in.

Meredith's Voiceover: "It's all about lines; the finish line at the end of residency, waiting in line for a chance at the operating table, then there's the most important line, the one separating you from the people you work with."

We see Cristina drive up on a motorcycle, and almost run over George.
"It doesn't help to get too familiar. You need boundaries between you and the rest of the world."
All of the interns walk in separately.
"Other people are far too messy. It's all about lines. Drawing lines in the sand and praying like hell no one crosses them."

Meredith places leopard print pumps into her locker.

SGH - Surgical floor waiting room
Meredith is talking to a girl who wants to be her roommate. Meredith explains that she doesn't think they would be compatible roommates. The girl wants to know Meredith's reasons, so Meredith counters, asking her where she was when the Challenger exploded. She tells her she was in Kindergarten. Meredith says "exactly" and walks away.

SGH - Stairwell

Izzie and George are begging to move in with Meredith, but she doesn't think it's a good idea. They are already together 100 hours a week; they couldn't handle living together too. Meredith is holding a mocha latte, which Cristina accuses of being a bribe for Bailey. Meredith denies it. Bailey comes down the stairs and they all rush up to her. Meredith asks if she may do a minor procedure by herself and gives Bailey the mocha latte. The rest chime in, whining like children: If Meredith gets to do a procedure, they should too. Bailey tells them it's not their job to perform surgeries. But it is their job to make their resident happy and she is not happy. Before stalking off, she tells them no one holds a scalpel until she is Mary freaking Poppins. Meredith is assigned to the trauma pages, George gets the code team, Cristina gets to deliver labs, and Izzie gets to do sutures.

SGH - outside the elevator

Derek is waiting for an elevator, and Meredith comes up to get on the same one. Derek talks about how he didn't know there were ferryboats in Seattle, and now he has to like it here because he had a thing for ferryboats. They board the elevator. Meredith tells him she is not going to go out with him, and he says, "Did I ask you to go out with me? Do you want to go out with me?" She tells him that she's not dating him, and she's definitely not sleeping with him again because he's her boss. She says she drawing a line; there's a big line drawn. He asks her if this is an imaginary line, or should he get her a marker. Meredith drops the folders she is carrying and pushes him against the wall, passionately kissing him. When the elevator dings, Meredith picks up her folders and runs off. Derek vainly asks if they'll talk later.

SGH - ER

Meredith is paged because there's a rape victim with a head injury, and she needs emergency surgery. The victim is wearing leopard print pumps, much like Meredith's.

SGH - OR

Derek and Burke are operating on the rape victim. Meredith tells them that her name is Allison. Burke finds an object inside the girl, and Meredith is the only one who can identify it. It's a penis: Allison bit it off.

Grey's Anatomy

SGH - OR

Burke and Derek are washing their hands after surgery. They say if Allison wakes up in the next 72 hours, she'll be fine. Burke asks Derek to go out for a drink sometime, so he can tell him why he left New York. Derek says it was because Chief Webber asked him to come. Burke comes to a disturbing realization.

SGH - Hallway

George tells Cristina how amazing it is to be on the code team because they save lives. Alex has been reassigned to Bailey's team and must follow Cristina around for the day, to learn how Bailey likes things done. Cristina tells Alex that she hates him on principal for insulting Meredith. He tells her that he hates her on principal, too. George gets a page.

SGH

George runs through the hospital with the code team. They try to restart the patient's heart with paddles, but they lose the patient anyway. Izzie is in the pit and comes upon a Chinese woman named Ms. Lu. She won't allow Izzie to stitch her up, and the language barrier prevents Izzie from understanding why.

SHG - Chief's office

Meredith goes in with the severed penis to give it to the police. The Chief comes in and asks Meredith about her mother. She tells him that she is traveling and writing another book. Meredith finds out that the cops can't come for a while. Until they get there, Meredith has custody of the specimen. Meredith is less than thrilled.

SGH - Hospital room

Cristina and Alex are delivering lab results to patients who are going to be fine and can go home. Cristina tells one man he will be fine, and the family comes and gives her a big hug. She glares at Alex while he laughs at the sight.

SGH - Nurse's station

Meredith comes up and places the cooler holding the penis on the counter. George is curious about its contents. Meredith tells him he doesn't want to know but he insists. She gives in and tells him. He agrees. He really didn't want to know that. Cristina and Alex come up, arguing. She wants to know why she was the one who had to be hugged. Alex says "Because I don't do that, and besides, you're the ovarian sister." Cristina is indignant. "Ovarians!? Ovarian's?!" she cries. "Since when does the possession of ovaries count as an insult?!" The two walk away bickering.

George can tell something is bothering Meredith. She tells him about what happened to Allison and about the coincidence with the leopard print shoes. He tells her he knows exactly what she needs. Meredith knows what he's thinking. She tells him that it's wrong and disturbing, and they could lose their jobs!

SGH - Pediatric ward

George and Meredith are standing outside the newborn nursery, talking baby talk to the infants. Meredith tells George that he is "such a woman" and seconds later, he gets paged away. Meredith sees one of the baby's turn blue and start crying. Meredith looks incredibly alarmed.

SGH - Newborn Nursery

Meredith goes inside the nursery. She pulls out her stethoscope and starts examining the newborn. A pediatrics intern walks in and tells Meredith that she can't be in there. She is a surgical intern, and she isn't authorized. Meredith tells her the baby has a murmur and she saw her turn blue. The intern tells her they are already aware of the murmur: It is benign. She orders Meredith to leave.

SGH - ER

Izzie is sitting across from Ms. Lu, looking defeated. Cristina comes in and asks Izzie why she paged her. Izzie asks if Cristina will translate for her. Cristina is indignant. She grew up in Beverly Hills and the only Chinese she knows is from a Mr. Chow's menu. Oh, and by the way? She's also Korean. Izzie is chagrined.

SGH - Hallway

Dr. Burke intentionally runs into the Chief to inquire about Derek and if he is considering him for Chief of Surgery. Richard tells Burke not to worry. It will be years before he retires. Burke yells "Chief of Surgery is mine!" Richard tells him to ask himself why he (the Chief) is no longer sure that he's the best. Burke just walks away.

SGH - Hallway

Cristina and Alex are complaining that no one seems to get sick anymore, and that they will never get any good surgeries. They decide it will be faster if they split up, so Cristina takes ten and Alex takes ten. Cristina tells him to get in and out; no hugging or crying. He tells her that she is the one who is slow. She tells him it's on, and they both race off in opposite directions.

A montage sequence begins. We see Cristina and Alex talking to patients, and dodging hugs; George running around with the code team, and losing a lot of patients; Meredith turning down potential roommates.

SGH - Outside Allison's hospital room

Meredith is looking in on Allison. Derek comes up and tells her that he called every hospital in the county. Eventually, the guy that raped Allison is going to seek medical attention. And when he does, the penis that she's been carrying around all day is going to nail him. Meredith asks him where Allison's family is. Derek tells her that she doesn't have any. Her parents are dead, and she just moved to Seattle two weeks ago. Meredith says she has to do something and runs off.

SGH - Stairwell

Meredith is hurrying after Burke. She tells him about the baby that she saw. He asks if pediatrics wanted a consult. Meredith says no: they aren't doing anything about it. Burke tells her that they can't just steal a patient from another service. It's not like he's the Chief or anything, he says resentfully.

SGH - ER

Izzie is bandaging a man that tells her she's hot, and she tells him that he's drunk. The man tells her that she's the girl from the magazine; the one with the red bikini. She tells him it was pink and sends him on his way. Ms. Lu comes up and starts yelling in Chinese again. Izzie tells her that she has to close her wound. Izzie sits her down and starts stitching.

SGH - Lobby

Meredith is sitting alone with her cooler as Cristina approaches. Meredith admits to Cristina that she kissed Derek. Cristina is shocked. Meredith tells her that she was having a bad day and it just happened. "So that's what you do on your bad days, make out with Dr. McDreamy?" Meredith looks at her. "Well, you know that and carrying around a penis just makes everything seem so bright and happy," Meredith says.

The conversation turns to Allison, the rape victim. Meredith can't get past how weird it was that Allison was wearing the same kind of shoes that Meredith owns. Cristina says what is weirder that she cares. They hear tires screeching, and run outside. A man with blood all over his pants falls out of the car.

SGH - Surgical floor

Meredith calls security. Bailey arrives, and Meredith shows her what's wrong with the blood covered patient. Bailey tells Meredith to call the Chief. They've caught the rapist.

SGH - OR

The rapist is in surgery. Bailey asks the interns to tell her why they aren't trying to reattach his "special" parts. Cristina knows the answer. It's because teeth don't slice, they tear. You can only reattach with a clean cut. His prognosis is grim. He will be urinating out of a bag for the rest of his life, and he'll never have sex again. The women take a moment to grieve. It lasts about a millisecond.

SGH - Hallway

Burke approaches Richard in the hallway to ask him why he isn't Richard's number one anymore. Richard tells him that it's because Burke is cocky and arrogant. He only does what's necessary and nothing more. He never goes any farther than what is asked of him.

SGH - The Brick Hallway

The interns all gripe about their problems. Alex complains of a headache. Izzie moans about suturing and worries about her Chinese patient. Meredith whines about how she now has to spend the night with the severed penis. George asks the group if anyone has "no idea what they're doing." They all raise their hands. George rants about how he doesn't feel like he's learning anything. Bailey walks up, and they all run away.

SGH - Pediatrics Ward

Meredith talks with the parents of the baby with the murmur. She explains that she thinks something is wrong with the child. The intern that kicked Meredith out of the nursery goes to get her resident. The resident asks Meredith who gave her the order to come down here. "I did," Dr. Burke says, appearing out of nowhere. Meredith is shocked and grateful. They walk over to the side, and Burke tells the resident that he is going to run some tests on the child. Burke and Meredith leave, with him telling her what tests to run.

SGH – ER

Izzie sees Ms. Lu again. She follows her outside and behind a building next to the dumpsters. There Izzie finds Ms. Lu's daughter, who has a large gash on her forehead. Izzie tells the girl to come inside. It turns out the daughter speaks English. She tells Izzie she can't come inside because she's an illegal alien. Izzie agrees to help anyway. She goes inside and steals all the supplies that she'll need.

SGH - Hallway

Burke tells Meredith that she was right. The baby has a birth defect and needs surgery. She thanks him for backing her up. He tells her she was right this time, but if she ever tries anything like this again, he will make sure her residency at SGH is miserable.

Outside - Behind SGH

Izzie stitches up the girl and tells her to come back in five days so she can remove the stitches. Izzie cautions them not to tell anyone or she could lose her job. They start to walk away but Ms. Lu comes back. She tells Izzie something with a huge smile on her face. Izzie just says thank you.

SGH - Stairwell

Burke asks Bailey if she thinks he's arrogant. She says no. He asks her if she is being honest with him. She tells him he is her boss: What else is she supposed to say? He gives her the next thirty seconds free. Anything she says cannot be held against her. Bailey makes the most of it. She tells him that he is arrogant, cocky, bossy, and pushy. He also has a God complex, and he never thinks about anybody but himself. Burke starts to interrupt but she tells him she still has 22 more seconds, and she's not done.

SGH - Intern's locker room

Cristina says she needs a drink, a man, or a massage... or maybe a drunken massage by a man. George says he lost four patients today. Four! Cristina tells him that 95% of all code team patients can't be revived. He wants to know why she didn't tell him that earlier, when he was going on about how great it would be. She simply says, "because you're George, and I'm Cristina."

SGH - Pediatrics Ward

The intern tells Meredith that the baby is scheduled for heart surgery tomorrow. She also tells Meredith that when she said the baby was fine, she really had believed that she was right. Meredith says that that they are both interns, and they shouldn't ever be right. When they are, it's shocking. They admit to each other that they are both terrified about being interns.

SGH - Allison's Hospital Room

Meredith walks in and sees that Derek has been there all night. She asks him why he didn't go home. He tells her that he has four sisters. If he were in a coma, they would all be there. More importantly, he would want them there. He can't imagine having nobody. Meredith can. He doesn't believe her. After all, Meredith's mother is the esteemed, Ellis Grey. If it were Meredith in that coma, Dr. Ellis Grey would be ordering all the surgeons around. Meredith agrees, noncommittally.

The subject shifts to the topic of their non-relationship. Derek is confused; they are kissing but not dating? "Don't get me wrong. I like the kissing," he tells her. "I'm all for the kissing. More kissing, I say." Meredith tells him that she has no idea why she kissed him in the elevator and then changes the subject. She tells him about the baby she helped. She wonders how babies get from being so small and loved, to so big and neglected. He doesn't get the chance to answer, because all of the monitors around Allison start beeping.

SGH - Outside the OR

Derek says he had to leave Allison's skull flap open. Meredith worries that she is not going to make it. He reassures her. She's going to be fine, if she can just wake up.

SGH - Hallway

Derek wants to get that drink with Burke. Burke declines and tells him that Richard promised Chief to both of them. Derek already knows. "Keep your friend close and you're enemies closer," Derek tells him. Burke tells him that he is not the enemy, just the competition.

SGH - Chief's office

Meredith is signing the paper work to give the police custody of the penis. The Chief has a hard time discussing it with Meredith, because he used to change her diapers.

SGH – O.R.

Burke is performing the heart surgery on the baby from pediatrics. He is going to let Meredith hold the clamp and assist with the surgery.

SGH - Rapist's Hospital Room

Derek goes into the rapist's room. The patient is sleeping peacefully, but Derek bangs on his bed to wake him. Derek tells him that the good news is that Dr. Bailey stopped the bleeding. The bad news is that they just gave his penis to the cops. "Have a nice life," Derek tells him. The rapist tries to move, but he is handcuffed to the bed.

Meredith's Voiceover: "At some point you have to make a choice. Boundaries don't keep other people out, they fence you in. Life is messy: that's how we're made."

SGH - Pediatrics ward

Meredith agrees to let Izzie and George move in. They shriek in excitement. Meredith moans to Cristina that she can't believe she caved by letting the other two move in. Cristina blames the babies. They're toxic.

Meredith's Voiceover: "So you can waste your life drawing lines,"

SGH - Allison's room
Derek is with Allison watching her wake up.

Meredith's Voiceover: "Or you can live your life crossing them."

SGH - Outside the elevator

Derek is waiting in the elevator when Meredith walks up. He says it's intense, this thing he has for ferryboats.

Meredith's Voiceover: "But there are some lines that are way too dangerous to cross."

Meredith takes the stairs.

Meredith's Voiceover: "Here's what I know. If you're willing to take the chance..."

Meredith walks out to the parking lot and starts talking to Izzie, George, and Cristina.

Meredith's Voiceover: "...the view from the other side is spectacular!"

Grey's Anatomy
Recap by: Crazylady22, edited by Adelette

Season 1 Episodes

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Ep 8
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The Self-Destruct Button
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