CHART 2.9
FULL RECAP
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Grey’s Anatomy
Season 2
Episode 9: Thanks For The Memories
Air Date: 11.20.05 (ABC)
Writer: Shonda Rhimes
Director: Michael Dinner
--Scene 1--
It’s Thanksgiving and the episode opens at Meredith’s house where Izzie is in the kitchen. She puts a frozen turkey in the kitchen sink and starts filling the sink with water then grabs an arm full of cookbooks and sits at the table. She is smiling. In the meanwhile, Meredith is sneaking down the stairs from the second floor as her voice over plays.
She muses about happiness: “Gratitude. Appreciation. Giving thanks. No matter which words you use it still means the same thing—happy. We’re supposed to be happy, grateful for friends and family. Happy just to be alive, whether we like it or not.”
Izzie rushes out from the kitchen, holding Julia Child’s The Joy of Cooking across her chest and demands to know where’s Meredith been. It’s Thanksgiving and everyone was supposed to meet her in the kitchen at nine a.m. to help her fix dinner. Meredith tells her that she just isn’t in the mood. Izzie wants to know if she was trying to sneak out and go to the hospital. Just then there is loud knocking on the door. Meredith says she’ll get it. When she opens the door there are three men standing there and they want to know if this is where “Georgie lives.” Meredith is confused at first until she realizes they are talking about George. The older man wants to know if George is upstairs and she indicates he is. The men rush in and head up the stairs chanting “O’Malley, O’Malley, O’Malley.” Izzie watches them in amazement, laughs then wonders aloud if she thinks they should call the cops. Meredith uses the distraction caused by the O’Malleys to slip out of the front door and rush off. When Izzie realizes Meredith is gone, she yells after her that she expects Meredith back for dinner at six o’clock sharp. “I mean it!” In the meanwhile, upstairs George is lying in bed with his eyes closed and using his fingers to count down the impending arrival of his family as he listens to them storming down the hall. They burst into his room and yell, “Happy Thanksgiving!”
On the ferry, Derek is holding a cup of coffee, walks to the railing and looks out over the sound. Addison, who is also holding a cup of coffee, walks next to him and leans her back against the railing. She glances at Derek then announces that she was thinking they “could have sex tonight.” He sputters, steps back from the railing, and laughs nervously. She tells him she has the day off and wonders if he does as well. He does but he has a few patients to check on. He then wonders if she is off today, why she’s on the ferry. She says, “Thinking we could have sex tonight.” He appears shocked, amused, annoyed, and confused. Addison tells him that she knows he was going to feel weird about it since it would be the first time since--. Derek supplies the name “Mark” and she counters with “and Meredith” but then goes on to say that she’s made reservations at noon and thought they “could do the Thanksgiving thing” then rip off the stitches. Get it over with. Derek states that in other words she means with “no anesthesia.” She nods in agreement and says, “Right. What do you think?”
At Seattle Grace, Bailey sticks her head into the locker room where Meredith is pulling on her scrubs. She tells Meredith that they will be dealing with a temporary attending from Mercy West, a Dr. Kent, and needs to get him oriented then thanks her for volunteering to work on Thanksgiving and saving her from having to decide who to torture. Meredith indicates she is “glad to be tortured.” As they walk to the elevator, Bailey wonders if Meredith isn’t a fan of Thanksgiving. Meredith states she doesn’t have a hell of a lot to be thankful for. Bailey tells her that she likes Thanksgiving because it’s a time when families spend a lot of time together and too much time together with too much alcohol leads to depression, repressed childhood rage, bitter fights over the remote control. People get stupid. People get violent. People get hurt. On the elevator, Meredith wonders why that makes Bailey happy. She explains that means there’s lots and lots of surgery. Meredith admits she had never thought of that. “See. The stupidity of the human race,” says Bailey. “Be thankful for that, Grey.”
In the meanwhile, Webber studies the surgery board and Derek swings into view. “You’re supposed to be home,” Derek says. “So are you,” responds Webber. Burke walks up behind them and brags about completing a surgery in one hour. Derek says that he thought Burke had the day off. Burke agrees that he did, he does and he’s leaving. He adds though that he simply likes to start the day cutting. It gives him a rush. Derek smirks and says that Burke is admitting that he can’t function ten feet away from the hospital. Burke notes that Derek and Webber are there. “Only for an hour,” says Derek. “I’m on my way home,” says Webber. Burke smiles at them and says, “Say it like you mean it,” then walks away. Derek glances at Webber and smiles. “I do know how to have a life outside of this hospital,” Webber says quickly. Derek smirks at Webber, obviously not the least bit convinced: “Damn right you do.” Webber grunts and they peel off and head in opposite directions.
When they reach their floor, Bailey spots Dr. Kent and introduces herself as the resident and tells him if he needs anything she will be glad to help him. He responds dismissively and indicates that he is only there for one day and there is no need for her to kiss his ass. All she needs to do, he says, is to do what he tells her to do and he doesn’t like mistakes. Bailey responds that she doesn’t make mistakes. Kent views her with clear disinterest and states that the only resident he is interested in having with him in the O.R. is this guy they call The Nazi. “Do you know him? Great word of mouth. Stellar rep. Balls the size of Texas.” Bailey and Meredith glance at each other. “That large,” says Bailey then indicates that the Nazi sounds like a truly impressively talented man. Ken wants to know if she knows him or not and Bailey says she doesn’t know him but she’ll keep her eye out for him. Kent nods and tells her to do that and until then she can work on the small cases. A patient has been brought into curtain three, he says, that she can look at. Kent heads away and says over his shoulder that to page him if she gets confused. Meredith and Bailey watch him go. “See,” says Bailey to Meredith. “The stupidity of the human race.”
At the house, George’s family rushes him down the stairs and out the front door. Izzie has a fit and wants to know about dinner. The O’Malleys assure her that they will have George back in time for dinner. “I don’t want to be here alone,” cries Izzie. “Who’s going to help me!?” George looks back at her with pleading eyes just before he closes the door and says in response, “Who’s gonna help me?!”
Meredith and Bailey see a patient brought from Mayfield who has been in a vegetative state (aka know as “being in the garden”) for sixteen years and was brought to the hospital because the orderlies dropped him on his head when they were trying to turn him. Meredith reads his file and learns he was a fireman who was hurt on the job from falling debris and then slipped into a coma. Bailey asks Meredith what she would do to handle the case. Satisfied with Meredith’s answer she leaves Meredith to attend to the patient and tells her that if anyone asks she is off looking for the Nazi. Meredith is relieved to be left alone with the patient. She is very gentle with him as she touches the cut on his forehead and indicates that she envies his serenity and peace. At that moment he opens his eyes and stares at her.
--Scene 2--
Meredith goes to tell Bailey that the patient opened his eyes and stared at her. Bailey and a medical team are prepping a patient for surgery who tried to deep-fry a turkey while drunk. The patient has third degree burns over half of his body. “This is going to be good, “ says Bailey, and wonders if Meredith wants in. Meredith explains that her coma patient looked at her and everyone looks over at Meredith and chuckles. Bailey assures Meredith that the patient did not look at her. It was only a reflex. Kent pops in and wants to know if anything interesting is going on. The medical team closes ranks around the patient so Kent can’t see him and Bailey indicates the case is of no real interest. She tells Kent that thirteen people need sutures in the E.R. and he could do that. He wants to know why Meredith can’t do it since she’s the intern but Bailey tells him Meredith is under special orders from the Nazi to take a VIP patient for a CT. Kent goes off but not before telling Bailey to let the Nazi know he is looking for him. Bailey tells the team to alert the burn team and to secure an O.R. and then tells Meredith to get a CT scan for her patient and to get a neural consult.
Outside of the door at Meredith’s house, Cristina and Burke are talking. She seems excited and nervous. He appears laid back and low keyed. She tells him “not to mention anything about Shepherd or Montgomery-Shepherd or about Shepherd and Montgomery-Shepherd being together. And nothing about syphilis.” Burke tells her he has been in social situations before. “Well, not with me,” she replies. “Okay then why are we here?” asks Burke. Cristina, who seems a tiny bit chastened, says, “Just try to be nice or something, okay.” Izzie swings open the door and immediately begins to berate Cristina. It’s after ten and she wants to know where Cristina has been. Everyone was supposed to be in the kitchen at nine. Burke looks around the door and Izzie spots him. She says hello to “Dr. Burke” and then glares at Cristina as she opens the door and Burke and Cristina walk in. Izzie stays holding the door and Cristina rushes next to her and whispers: “What was I supposed to do—blow off my boyfriend at Thanksgiving?” Izzie stares at her. “Okay, I tried to blow him off but he wouldn’t blow. He’s like this sticky something that won’t blow off.” Izzie whispers that Cristina has ruined Thanksgiving. “What am I supposed to talk to Dr. Burke about?” At that moment Burke walks closer to them and says: “People who are shocked when I show up uninvited to their homes call me Preston.” Cristina stares up at him: “No one calls you Preston.” “You don’t call me Preston,” he says pointedly and smiles. Cristina looks at Izzie. “Nice house,” says Burke. Cristina glances around and then a horrible realization hits her: “Why is it so quiet in here? Where is everyone?” Izzie explains that Meredith has gone to the hospital and George is out shooting things with his family. Cristina is shocked. “So you mean it’s just going to be me, you and Burke?” Izzie dials a number on her cell phone: “And Alex,” she says, “if he ever calls me back.” Cristina seems horrified then Burke frowns. Izzie leaves a message for Alex and asks him to call her back. Burke asks Izzie if something is burning. She sniffs the air and then yells, “Oh God! Yes,” and rushes toward the kitchen.
At the nurses’ station, Webber is studying a chart. Derek approaches him and Webber looks up and immediately says, “I’m going home.” Derek nods and says, “So am I.” Meredith walks up behind Derek. “I was supposed to meet Addison twenty minutes ago,” he says. Meredith asks Derek and if he’s leaving. Surprised, he turns toward her and says yes and Webber chimes in that he is too. Derek tells Webber to go then. Webber indicates that Adele’s sister is there and he “hates that woman.” Derek helpfully notes that the surgery board needs to be checked one more time. Webber agrees, smiles and rushes off. Derek is surprised that Meredith is there and she says she’s surprised to see him too then quickly tells him that she was asked to get a neural consult on her patient. She explains the situation to him. Derek looks at the CT report and notes there is no mass, no bleeding, no fracture and that the patient can be released. Meredith tells him the patient opened his eyes and looked at her. Derek assures her the patient could not have been actually looking at her. It was just a reflex. The patient has no conscious awareness. She tells him again that the patient was looking at her. Derek states emphatically that the patient wasn’t looking at her. Meredith gets angry: “You want to argue with me about what I know I saw?” Derek replies that he doesn’t want to argue with her at all anymore. He grabs his briefcase, turns and starts to walk away but seems to realize how harsh he sounded. He turns back to her and says: “So he was looking at you?”
George and his father and brothers traipse across a field in the woods. They are playing “the car game” where each person selects a car and everyone talks about the relative merits and faults of the car and why another car is better. His father tells George to pick a car but George instead responds that turkeys can be bought in a store without a whole lot of fuss. There are hundreds of turkeys wrapped in plastic and ready to go. George’s father doesn’t seem persuaded by the supermarket strategy. He tells George that this year George is going to shoot the turkey. He can feel it. George says his father says that every year and he never shoots the turkey. His brothers and father look at him as if this was the first time that fact dawned on them.
In the kitchen at Meredith’s house, Burke studies the charred remains in a pot: “What was this?” Izzie says, “It was supposed to be my marinade.” Burke realizes that Izzie has never cooked a Thanksgiving meal before. Cristina is aghast: “You can’t cook!?” Izzie explains that she can bake and she’s watched her grandmother cook a million times. Cristina is not impressed: “That’s it. If there’s no food, I’m out of here.” Burke takes off his jacket and tells Cristina not to worry, he “has this” (i.e., under control). He asks Izzie what reference source she is using. She tells him she is using the Joy of Cooking and some recipes she printed off the internet that seem to contradict each other and she can’t figure out which side of the turkey is the top and which is the bottom. Burke smiles then washes his hands in the sink and tells Izzie he is going to need a basting brush, a bowl, a clove of garlic and then asks if she has fennel. Izzie rushes around the kitchen gathering what Burke needs and is pleased that she has fresh fennel, which she hands to him. “Okay, lets get this bird up and running, Stevens,” Burke says. Izzie grins, delighted. He asks for garlic and sticks out his hand. She slaps the garlic in his hand as if it was a surgical instrument. Cristina is appalled by what she is seeing: “I’m gonna need liquor--lots and lots of liquor.”
Derek examines the coma patient, Holden McKee, with Meredith and once again states that the patient is not watching her. Meredith speaks and the patient glances over at her but Derek misses it. Meredith tries to explain what she saw but Derek dismisses it until while he is watching him the patient once again focuses on Meredith when she speaks. Derek tells her to keep talking and to move around the bed as she does. Meredith moves around the bed and calls: “Holden, can you hear me? Holden.” The patient’s gaze follows her. Derek realizes Meredith was right. The patient is tracking Meredith’s voice. Meredith smiles in vindication.
--Scene 3--
In Radiology, Derek and Meredith study the patient’s CT scans. Derek indicates the man is not in a coma, which accounts for the fact that there is no brain atrophy. The man is minimally conscious. Meredith is shocked but Derek says that was possible in the kind of institution where he was housed that no one detected it. Meredith notes McKee’s been frozen, sleeping for sixteen years, and no one noticed and that sucks. Derek says the good news is that they might be able to wake him up and that’s something to be thankful for.
Alex, who is in a vacant corridor in the hospital, sitting on a gurney and surrounded by legal pads and books, listens to Izzie’s phone message where she asks him if he’s not coming to at least call and let her know that. In the meanwhile, George, who is still in the woods with his brothers and father, is on the phone with Cristina, who is rifling through cabinets at Meredith’s. He tells Cristina that he’s in hell. Cristina counters that she’s the one in hell and demands to know where Meredith keeps the liquor because Burke has gone all “Iron Chef” on her. George counters that it’s like “Deliverance” out there for him. Cristina tells him she needs liquor but George says he doesn’t think Meredith has any. Cristina is shocked: “What? How can she not have liquor? She’s a WASP. That’s like oxygen to them.” George says that’s probably why Cristina is out of it. George begs Cristina to come get him. She hangs up on him. He looks at his cell phone, shakes it and then says, “Selfish,” through clenched teeth. At the same time, Addison is sitting alone on a bench near the waterfront. The city looms beautifully behind her on the other side of the waterway. There is a picnic basket at her feet. She calls Derek and leaves a message asking where he is.
At the hospital, Meredith and Derek stand on the second floor and stare down at the people in the waiting room. Derek wonders which one is the patient’s wife. Meredith scans the room and zeroes in on a woman. Derek wants to know how she knows but she just walks down the stairs and heads toward the woman. Meredith is right and she tells the woman, Cheryl, and her family about Mr. McKee’s condition. Cheryl corrects Meredith when she calls her Mrs. McKee and tells her it is Mrs. Leonard now. In McKee’s room, Derek and Meredith explain the situation to Cheryl, her new husband and her son Colby. Derek explains that over all of these years McKee’s brain had been trying to heal itself and the good news is that they have given him a course of amphetamines, which should give it the boost it needs. He could wake up in a few hours but in all likelihood he will have no idea how much time has passed. The son is shocked by the turn of events and rushes into the bathroom saying he might be sick. Cheryl also becomes very emotional and says she just got remarried and expects a baby in a few weeks and Colby has just turned seventeen. She and her son can’t be there “when Holden wakes up and finds out they have moved on.” She calls her son out of the bathroom and they leave. The new husband hangs back and explains it had taken his new wife a very long time to move on.
Dr. Kent complains to Bailey outside of the O.R. that he needs help in the E.R. There are lots of sutures to do and a line out the door. “It’s Thanksgiving and everyone thinks they’re a chef.” Bailey nods as if sympathetic to his plight. He wants her to take over but she indicates she is under orders from the Nazi to participate in this surgery then slips into the O.R, where there is a man on the table with a knife in his back. Webber is there and Bailey wonders if he shouldn’t be at home. Webber says he’s going but just wants to observe for a bit. Bailey explains the man on the table ended up there because his wife didn’t like the way he carved the turkey then opines that Webber could end up the same way if he didn’t go home.
Joe arrives at Meredith’s with his boyfriend, Walter. Cristina acknowledges Walter with a “whatever” and then wants to know if Joe brought liquor. Joe tells her no that he brought a pie. Cristina is aghast. “But you’re a bartender!” Joe counters: “Did you bring scalpels?”
In the woods, George and his father and brothers are sitting clumped together waiting for a turkey to cross their path. George is half-heartedly making turkey sounds with a handheld device, while his father and brothers are once again playing the car game. His brothers ask George to pick a car but he refuses. His father explains that George is tired. He works forty-eight hour shifts. His brothers are surprised by that and wonder if he likes it. He says he does then his father tries to get him to explain to his brothers what he does as a surgeon. “Go on. Make your brothers jealous. Let them know what it’s like to be a big surgeon.” George starts talking about a surgical procedure he was involved in the night before and immediately his fathers and brothers are lost. The brothers seize on the fact that he’s a “surgeon in training” and accuse him of doing nothing but standing around while the “real” doctors do all the work. George is frustrated. “I want to go home,” he says. His father ruffles his hair through his cap: “As soon as you shoot your turkey.”
Alex sees Meredith sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall in McKee’s room, reading patient charts. Alex knocks and asks her what she’s doing there. She asks him the same thing. He slips beside her and then tells her if she tells him something, he’ll tell her something. Meredith says that she is miserable, so miserable that she doesn’t think she should be around happy people because she might infect them. She feels like “a miserable, diseased, dirty ex-mistress.” Alex tells her he failed his medical boards and if he tells Izzie she’ll get all sympathetic and supportive and she may as well cut off his “nads” and make earrings out of them. Meredith tells him he should go to the dinner but not tell Izzie about the exam if he doesn’t want to. In any case, he should go because otherwise he’s just her. “A miserable, diseased, dirty ex-mistress?” he asks with a smile on his face then whistles. Meredith nods and laughs. Alex gets up, touches on her the head affectionately and wishes her a happy Thanksgiving. Alex leaves and Meredith gathers her charts and stands up. She is just about to walk out of the room when McKee suddenly wakes up and calls out for anyone who’s there. Meredith rushes next to him, tells him someone is there, takes his hand and holds it.
--Scene 4--
In McKee’s room, Derek, Meredith and a number of other medical personnel are standing around his bed examining him. Derek tells him that he should expect certain deficits such as muscle deterioration but the fact that his communication skills are still intact is remarkable. McKee wants to know what happened and if his family knows yet. He wonders how long he’s been out. Derek asks everyone to leave and they do. McKee though asks Meredith to stay. He senses that something is wrong and says since Meredith is the one who “found” him, he wants the truth from her and he’ll take it straight. “Do it quickly,” he says. “Rip off the bandage.” Derek nods. “No anesthesia,” Derek says then leaves. McKee looks at Meredith and says, “Truth time.” She nods her head and says, “Truth time.” Outside the room Derek watches the interaction and tenses when he hears McKee cry out after realizing he has been in a coma for sixteen years.
At the house, Burke is walking Izzie through the process of cooking dinner as if he was guiding her through a surgical procedure. Joe, Walter and Cristina sit at the kitchen counter and serve as the running commentary/peanut gallery. Cristina is obviously uncomfortable. When Derek quizzes Izzie on what to do next and she realizes it is time to test the turkey, Walter and Joe take bets on whether she has dried out the turkey. “Joe: “Twenty dollars she dried it out.” Walter: “Twenty she pulled it off.” Christine: “Seventy-five that I don’t care.” Burke and Izzie check the turkey and when the meat thermometer hits the bone, Burke quizzes Izzie on what that means. Totally frustrated with the domesticity and the warmth, Cristina gets up and rushes out of the kitchen and grabs her coat. Burke catches up with her at the door. He wants to know what’s wrong. She whines that he’s operating on a turkey! And he’s making friends with her friends. He is surprised and reminds her that she told him to be nice. She nods and says she’s going to get some liquor. She takes his car keys and says she’ll be back.
In the woods, George and his family spot a turkey. Jerry raises his gun as if to shoot but George pushes the barrel down and says their father said they weren’t going to go home until he shot a turkey and he was going to shoot the damn turkey. Jerry concedes the shot to George but Ronny jokes and tells Jerry not to worry because there’s no way George is going to hit the bird; he’ll chicken out. George aims and fires. They all look shocked.
Meredith takes McKee to get a MRI and tells him her impression of his son: “He’s tall like you and has your eyes.” She explains to him what a MRI does then joins Derek and the tech in the viewing room. The scan shows that McKee has an epidermal hematoma, which the CT scan didn’t catch. Later, in his room they explain to McKee that there two options. Derek can operate and try to repair the damage but there is a great risk of complications and he might die. If he doesn’t have the surgery, his brain could possibly heal itself but more likely his brain would continue to bleed and swell and he would most likely die. The patient asks Meredith what she would do. She explains she can’t make that decision for him.
At the house, Burke and Izzie continue fixing dinner. Having defined the situation as a familiar mentor-student relationship, they have settled into what appears to be a comfortable rhythm. Izzie wonders how he learned to cook and he tells her that his mother owns a restaurant in Alabama. Izzie is surprised and wonders if Cristina knows. He tells her she doesn’t. She never asked. Izzie notes that Cristina doesn’t ask a lot of personal questions and she’s kind of hard to get to know. Burke agrees. Burke asks her about Alex. “Karev didn’t show?” Izzie says he hadn’t. “Is that okay?” Izzie says it isn’t. At that moment Joe appears in the doorway holding an empty wineglass and asks if they knew there was no liquor in the house. Burke says yes and that Cristina has gone to get some. Izzie notes that was an hour ago and wonders where Cristina is.
At the hospital, Cristina is working. She calls Levi Johnson’s name in the crowded waiting room and when he rushes toward her she double checks that he’s the one who swallowed a wishbone. Cristina leads him to the examining room and chortles excitedly that he may have punctured his esophagus and that would mean surgery. The patient appears less than enthusiastic and slightly confused by Cristina’s obvious excitement but seems to be onboard for anything that will get the obstruction out.
In the woods, George is rushing to pack up everything associated with the trip: the coolers, guns and so on. His father insists on painting stripes on his face with blood from the turkey despite George’s protests. George is now “officially an O’Malley man,” his father announces. The brothers cheer. The father goes to get his hat that he left behind. The brothers decide to fire their guns in celebration. George tells them not to do that but they ignore him. The guns go off and the father is shot. “ You shot dad in the ass!” yells George in total frustration. “Are you happy now?”
--Scene 5--
George walks into the trauma room at SGH. His father, dressed in a hospital gown, is lying on his stomach on a table and his brothers are playing with the medical equipment. George yells at his brothers to leave the equipment alone and reminds them they are in a hospital trauma room. He tells his father that he’s going to give him a shot to numb the area around the buckshot wounds but his father says he doesn’t need the pain med. George assures him that he does and once he starts digging out buckshot he will know why. The brothers start playing the car game and once again ask George to pick a car. George refuses and Jerry says, “Georgie don’t know jack about cars.” Ronny responds that “Georgie don’t know jack about jack.” George loses all patience. He essentially tells them the game is stupid and repetitive and then lays out the entire course of the car conversation, which he claims never varies, in derisive terms and suggests they just skip to the end already.
Meredith is standing outside of McKee’s room. Derek walks up and peeks in. He sees that the son is talking to McKee. He is glad Colby came back but Meredith says he didn’t. The son leaves the room then says to Meredith, “He says we have the same eyes but I didn’t see it.” Meredith goes in to talk to McKee. He tells her that his son said he couldn’t stay because of the holiday but he’d try to come back soon. He also says that his son told him about his wife’s new marriage and pregnancy and that she’s happy. McKee then tells them her has decided to go with the surgery because his family has moved on and he might as well too. He’ll get the tumor out of his brain then get on with his life. Meredith says she’ll tell Derek. McKee asks Meredith if she thinks his son will really come back. She tells him she hopes so.
At the house, Burke checks the turkey just as Izzie comes into the kitchen. She tells him that Joe and Walter have set up the tables in the living room. Burke asks her why she decided to have this big Thanksgiving dinner when she knew she couldn’t cook. She hesitates and then says she just likes Thanksgiving. Burke seems unconvinced. She tries to explain by saying that they all work eighteen hours a day, six days a week, fifty weeks a year. They don’t really have time for their families or for friends that are not doctors. But that did have this one day to be like everyone else, to be normal. One day when no one lives or dies on their watch, which was like a gift and should be appreciated. Burke nods and she leaves to start setting the table. Burke contemplates the idea of a day without surgery.
At the hospital, Cristina assists Bailey in the operation on the patient with the wishbone stuck in his esophagus. “Who swallows a wishbone whole?” asks Bailey as she works on the patient. Cristina asks Bailey why she’s working on Thanksgiving. Bailey tells her she’s pregnant and wants to get as much surgery in as possible before she has to take time off. Bailey says her husband accepts it but is not thrilled about it but then he doesn’t really understand because he’s not a surgeon, then she asks in effect whether Cristina and Burke are a couple. Cristina says they are. Bailey tells her that Burke would have made a good father.
Outside of the O.R. Meredith is watching the preparations for McKee. Derek wants to know if she’s going to scrub in but she says she can’t because there are too few interns and she has to cover the floor. Meredith then wonders what she would have chosen to do under the same circumstances. Derek tells her she would have chosen the surgery. She nods and says she’d have wanted a future or to be asleep again, but nothing in between. Derek says he honestly doesn’t know what he would want. Meredith agrees that Derek doesn’t know what he wants.
George returns to the trauma room and his father is relieved to see him. He was afraid that George had forgotten about him. George wonders where his brothers are and his father tells him that he told them the cafeteria was open. His father states that George didn’t have fun today and George readily agrees. His father then tells him that he hurt his brothers’ feelings. George is unrepentant. He rants that his brothers treat him like an outsider and always put him down, treat him like he’s stupid and call him Georgie. His father reminds George that Jerry is a drycleaner and Ronny works for the post office and he drives a truck. George, on the other hand, is a surgeon. He’s happy that George is so smart. It makes him proud, feels like he did something right but George is not one of them. They all know it. George makes sure they know it. They try to include him but he doesn’t like what they like and they don’t know how to talk about the things he likes. They don’t treat George like he’s stupid, his father says, if anything he treats them like they’re stupid and maybe they are but they’re his family. “Give us an edge. Just once in a while couldn’t you pick a car?” Instead of picking a car, George tells him about doing open-heart surgery in the elevator. His father is impressed.
Meredith has found time to scrub in on McKee’s surgery. She is literally scrubbing her hands when she sees Derek call McKee’s time of death. She drops the soap and Derek looks over at her and shakes his head. Meredith is devastated. Derek and Meredith go to the waiting room to tell Colby his father has died. Derek tells Meredith he will handle it and walks toward Colby.
--Scene 6--
At the hospital, George, Cristina and Meredith all land in the locker room at the same time and realize that no one is home with Izzie. “This is beyond bad,” notes George.
At the house, the makeshift table is set beautifully (china, candles, white table clothes, dishes and so on) and Izzie and Burke are sitting on either end. Joe kisses Izzie on the forehead and explains that he and Walter have to leave. It’s after eight and Joe has to go to work. Izzie is shocked because Joe owns a bar but he explains that Thanksgiving is one of his busiest nights. A lot of people are not happy on this day. The bar is a safe harbor from bitterness, loneliness, and all the family time. It’s a port in a storm. Izzie thanks them for coming. They leave and Izzie tells Burke that he may as well leave too but he says that he will not leave the table until the hostess leaves the table. She tells him it’s okay. They are not coming. He reiterates he will not leave until she calls it quits. At that point, George and Cristina rush into the house and rush to the table. Cristina takes a seat to Burke’s left and George rushes next to Izzie. He says in a stage whisper that he had to commit bird murder today and was forced to touch his father’s ass so he gets extra points for showing up at all. Cristina says she brought booze as she puts two bottles of wine on the table. Burke glances at her. Izzie is obviously irritated. She slams the table with both hands and stands up and glares at Cristina and George as if just about to explode but then seems to consider all of her options and says simply, “Lets just eat.” Everyone exhales in relief.
Outside of Seattle Grace, Derek and Meredith are sitting next to each other on a bench. He gets up to leave but then turns back and looks at Meredith. He wants to know how she knew which woman in the waiting room was Cheryl. She explains that most people in waiting rooms are hoping for good news and she seemed to be the only one who had completely given up. He nods. She studies him for a second then asks him if he loves Addison. He blinks and walks back to the bench and sits next to her. He shakes his head and says softly, “I don’t know.” Meredith tells him that she thinks it’s good he’s trying to work things out. He wouldn’t be the man she thought he was unless he tried. It makes her think she wasn’t wrong about him. Derek is surprised and thanks her. She stands up and slings her purse over her shoulder. She faces him and says, “Goodbye, Derek.” He meets her eye, swallows and says, “Goodbye, Meredith.”
Voiceover: Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy.
At the house, Meredith stands on the porch and watches through the glass pane in the front door what has turned into a festive gathering. Alex walks up and wonders if she is going in. She says no but encourages him to. “Go make her happy,” she says.
VO: Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is…
Alex walks in and Izzie is thrilled to see him. They hug.
At the hospital, Webber is studying the surgery board once again. Bailey walks by and tells him to go home. He resists. She yells at him to GO HOME and then walks to the elevator. Bailey gets on the elevator and turns around and faces Webber. Kent walks by just as Webber yells, “This kind of treatment is why they call you the Nazi.” Kent whips around just in time to see Bailey. He stares at her in shock.
VO: …appreciating small victories…
Bailey locks her gaze on Kent, smirks, and then says, “Happy Thanksgiving.”
In Burke’s car, he and Cristina are heading home. “That was nice,” he says. Cristina nods and smiles then says, “I noticed.” Burke tells her that she doesn’t ask a lot of personal questions and she is hard to get to know. Cristina simply says, “Yes.” Burke tells her about his mother owning a restaurant in Alabama. Cristina says, “ I scrubbed in on a foreign body removal this afternoon. Guy swallowed a wishbone whole.” Burke stares at her then smiles.
VO: …admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human.
Derek drives up to his trailer and as the headlights of his truck illuminate it he sees Addison sitting on the edge of the porch with her arms circled around her knees, which are pulled up to her chest. He parks and walks over to her through the now pouring rain. “You didn’t show up,” Addison says. “And I waited.” He dips his head and tries to speak but no words come out. “Derek, are you done?” she asks. He looks at her. There are tears in her eyes. “Hurting me back, I mean,” she says. “Because I need to know because if not I need to special order a thicker skin or something.” He slips next to her on the porch and smiles at her. They stare into each other’s eyes.
VO: Maybe we’re thankful for the familiar things we know…
“No anesthesia this time,” he says. Addison is confused for a second until she realizes what he’s saying. He leans in to kiss her. “Here we go,” he says.
VO: …and maybe we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know.
At Emerald City, Joe is working the bar and Meredith is sitting at the bar drinking. A cute guy moves up next to her and wants to know if the seat next to her is taken. She demands to know if he is in any way associated with the hospital. He assures her that he isn’t. “You’re not a doctor or a nurse or a brain surgeon?” He again says he’s not. She agrees then that the seat is open.
VO: At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing…
The cute guy slips on the barstool and smiles at Meredith. She smiles back and asks if he wants to buy her a drink. Actually, he does.
VO:…is reason enough to celebrate.
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