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She's Gone
Season 8, episode 2

The social worker getting ready to take Zola away.
Episode Information
Airdate	September 22, 2011
Written by	Debora Cahn
Directed by	Tony Phelan
Episode Guide
Previous	Free Falling
Next	Take the Lead
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"When my mother left my father, she didn't tell him she was leaving and taking me with her until we'd landed on the other side of the country. In those days, it was called family troubles. Today it'd be called kidnapping. You think that true love is the only thing that can crush your heart. The thing that will take your life and light it up or destroy it. Then you become a mother."

—Meredith Grey

She's Gone is the second episode of the eighth season and the 150th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short SummaryEdit

News of Meredith and Derek's unsteady relationship raises a red flag for Zola's adoption counselor; Alex quickly realizes that he has become the outcast of the group after ratting out Meredith; and Cristina makes a tough decision regarding her unexpected pregnancy. Also, Chief Webber brings Henry in for a last minute surgery, alarming Teddy.

Full Summary Edit

Voiceover Meredith explains when her mom left her dad, she didn't tell him she was leaving until they'd landed on the other side of the country. "In those days, it was called family troubles," she says. "Today, it'd be called kidnapping."

Bailey tells the chief about "The Gunther." She says the fifth-years are at each others' throats. He gives Callie the clearance to do the Gunther.

Henry shows up and tells Teddy he's getting "the thing" put in.

Derek wants to know why his pager keeps going off. A nurse tells Derek he's got a call. It's about the baby.

Bailey explains the amputee patient to the fifth-years and tells them not to screw this up. They all rush into the room. Owen comes to the room and sees the scene. He doesn't want any part of the Gunther.

Derek can't get in touch with Meredith. He asks Cristina where she is. Cristina doesn't know.

Teddy is worried about Henry. The chief tells her not to worry about him. The chief has paged Bailey to spend some time with the mice.

The husband of the amputee is worried about his wife. Owen tries to tell the man his wife has "an incredible team." Meanwhile, they're still arguing over the woman and how to best treat her. Arizona, Sloan and others watch the fifth-years. Arizona explains the Gunther is a reference to the doctors, not the patient. Whichever of them steps up to lead is the Gunther, which is a reference to the first time this was done and the doctor's name was Gunther. They then place bets on which doctor will emerge. Sloan thinks "it's gotta be Yang." Arizona says "Kepner's kind of a dark horse these days." They put $50 on it. Cristina cuts into the woman's chest.

Teddy sits with Henry before his procedure and gets teary while telling him how much she loves him. He's worried it's a goodbye.

Derek tells Owen that Meredith left with Zola. He's worried about Meredith's erratic behavior.

Sloan watches and calls out Christina as "The Gunther," after she's taken over. Teddy is worried this is the opposite of what Cristina needs. Bailey says some doctors are race horses. Cristina is one of them. Suddenly, Alex screams in pain then holds up his own bloody hand. He collapses to the floor.

"Race horse?" Teddy asks Bailey.

"My bad," Bailey replies.

Alex has no pulse while laying on the floor. Cristina is treating him while Avery has taken the lead on the patient. Bailey and Teddy come in. Avery tells them not to. Cristina shocks Alex into consciousness. His first words are, "You crazy bitch. You almost killed me!"

Derek talks to his patient -- the father of the boy from the sinkhole -- and tells him he can't go see his son just yet. The man starts talking about how his child just slipped away while they were walking down the street. Derek, upset, leaves the room. Arizona apologizes on Derek's behalf, then tells the man he'll take him to see the boy.

Back in the O.R., Sloan finds out Avery is The Gunther. Sloan tells him, "Good job, son. I'm right here if you need anything." Sloan adds, "My guy won. We're gonna be great together."

Cristina asks Avery how it went with the patient and he says she'll be fine. Teddy walks up and asks Cristina how Alex is. Cristina starts to make an excuse before coming clean and saying, "I was going too fast and I made a mistake."

Cristina gets a page. She finds Meredith hiding in some dark corner of the hospital. "I think I stole a baby," Meredith says.

Cristina starts to try to give Meredith a string of excuses for what she did -- why she was AWOL for four hours. Cristina says "people make mistakes." She tells Meredith she almost killed Alex in the O.R. with a cc of eppie.

Teddy comes into the chief's O.R. and demands to know why Henry was rushed into the procedure. He tells her to get out of the O.R.

Arizona visits Alex and tells him he needs to go make up with his friends. She says she doesn't want to have to worry about him.

Owen asks Cristina if she wants to talk. She says she does but she has to go take care of something. She asks him to please believe her.

In the chief's O.R. Bailey asks why they're operating on Henry in such a rushed way. He asks Bailey to place the device in. She does. The chief leaves.

Cristina goes to Alex's hospital room and tells him to get up. He screams at her for almost killing him and says she has to forgive him for messing up. She says he's forgiven.

Derek comes to the chief's office to find the chief talking to Jennings, from the hospital board. The chief has told Jennings he was actually the one who tampered with Derek's trial.Meredith was just covering for him. The chief apologizes. Derek just stares at him.

After Jennings leaves, Derek asks the chief what the hell he's doing. The chief tells Derek that Meredith "was trying to save Adele, she was trying to save me. Now when are you going to stop punishing her for that?"

Teddy lays in Henry's hospital bed. They talk about how she was such a mess, "like any ordinary wife would be," when he went into surgery.

Callie finds Bailey and tells her "something happened with the chief."

Derek finds Meredith. She immediately says, "I'm sorry." Alex is checking Zola, who appears to be fine.

Bailey goes to see the chief and yells at him for taking the fall for Meredith. She tells him the FDA is not going to want anything to do with him. It's the end of his islet cell trial. The chief hands her a binder. He tells her to read it. The artificial pancreas trial now belongs to her.

Alex claims he wanted to check Zola because her white blood cell count seemed abnormal. Meredith says she forgot her phone and had to turn in her pager. As Alex continues to cover for Meredith, Derek buys into the story and plays along for Janet, who was waiting for answers.

Alex apologizes to Meredith, who then talks to Derek. She tells Derek she just had to take some time with Zola to figure out "how everything got so screwed up." She says Derek should take Zola. He tells Meredith she's not fired. The chief is taking the fall for her. Derek tells her to let him protect her, especially if she wants to keep the baby.

The husband of the woman who lost her leg goes to her room. They both cry while they talk about everything that happened. Cristina tests Alex's heart.

Avery introduces Bailey to the mice and starts getting her caught up on the trial.

The man whose son was found at the sinkhole sits with him.

Meredith sits with Zola while Sloan and Arizona wonder if they could just take the baby away. Owen sees Cristina. They go into the stairwell to talk. He tells her he knows she didn't have the abortion yet. She says she hasn't changed her mind. Hunt asks her if she's cut off his leg for him. She says she "wouldn't botch it like that guy did." He asks when her appointment is. When she says it's "now," he says, "OK, let's go." She starts sobbing.

Janet asks Meredith and Derek about the crazy day they've had. Derek steps up and defends Meredith, saying "she loves people so much that she'll do anything for them." She says social services needs time to evaluate their situation. In the meantime, Zola can't stay with them. She gives them a minute to say goodbye.

Cristina sits in place for her abortion. Given one last chance to confirm she's "absolutely sure" it's what she wants to do, she just closes her eyes and puts her head back. Owen's eyes water, but he stays by her side while she turns to her.

Derek hugs Zola one last time before Janet comes back in and says it's time to go. Meredith tells Zola that Janet is a nice woman who is going to find her a nice family to stay with for a while. She hands Zola to Janet and tells her some of the things the baby likes. Janet takes Zola and leaves.

Cast Edit

Main CastEdit

Guest StarsEdit

Scott Foley as Henry Burton
Mitch Pileggi as Larry Jennings
Mackenzie Astin as Danny Wilson
Amy Price-Francis as Susannah Wilson

Co-StarringEdit

Janora McDuffie as Social Worker Janet
Bruce Beatty as Jerry Hoffman
Kate Mines as Nurse Gloria
Teresa Huang as Nurse
Arlene Santana as O.R. Board Nurse
Steven Meek as Doctor

Medical Notes Edit

Music Edit

Song	Performer	Scene
"Bite Your Lip"	New Cassettes
"Jungle"	Emma Louise
"Atlas Hands"	Benjamin Francis Leftwich
"Thinking About You"	Big Scary

Notes and Trivia Edit

This episode's title originated from the song She's Gone, originally sung by Hall & Oates.
This episode scored 10.39 million viewers.

Gallery Edit

Episode StillsEdit

Behind the ScenesEdit

Quotes Edit

Derek: Yang, where's Meredith?

Cristina: I don't know, they fired her. Maybe she's putting anthrax in Karev's locker.

Alex: You're supposed to have my back, I made a mistake. You have to forgive me. You guys are all I have.

Owen: You'd cut off my leg for me, wouldn't you?

Cristina: Well, I wouldn't botch it like that guy did. I'd leave you with a good stump so you could get prosthesis.

Janet: A lot of questions came up today, about your relationship, your employment…

Derek: Well, she got her job back. That was a misunderstanding.

Janet: She disappeared.

Derek: Well, that was a miscommunication.

Janet: And the part about you two living in separate houses, that's miscommunication, too? Look, I get it. It's not easy bringing a child into a relationship, you're allowed to have some bumps in the road. But, this afternoon when it looked like you two had split up, your wife got fired, she lied to me and left with the baby. It set off some alarms. Now, I'm trying to dial them all back but it's not that easy to do. Once a system has been set in motion, there's protocol that needs to be followed once the agency believes there's questions about Meredith...

Derek: Janet, Meredith is the best mother a child could have. She loves Zola and she loves me, and if she has any flaws, it's that she loves people so much she will do anything for them.

Janet: Derek, please. I hear you. But no matter what I say social services still needs to re-evaulate the placement and when that happens, Zola can't be in your home. I'll give you a minute to say good-bye.

Derek: (to Meredith) I still don't understand what you possibly could've been thinking.

Meredith: They fired me. Janet basically told me that they were gonna take Zola away. I mean, possibly send her back to Malawi. You and me... I just needed some time. I just needed to hold her and look at her and just think about how everything, everything got so screwed up. You should take Zola. Janet has a problem with me, not with you and we need to do everything that we can to make sure they don't take her away and if that means that you have custody of her and I don't... then that's what we need to do.

Derek: You're not fired. Richard's gonna take the fall for you.

Meredith: What? He can't do that. I'm not gonna let him do that.

Derek: Yes, you will. If you wanna keep this baby, you will let him protect you.

Owen: (to Derek) Everything alright?

Derek: Uh, Meredith disappeared with Zola.

Owen: What do you mean she disappeared? (Derek sighs) She had a rough day, she probably just went out for a walk. Derek, there are a hundred possible explanations, don't assume the worst.

Derek: Do you know why I do that? Because lately the level of insanity in my wife's behavior defies imagination.

Owen: I know, but sometimes even with Cristina, sometimes they surprise us

Alex: (to Cristina after she stabbed him with an epi needle): You crazy bitch, you almost killed me!

Meredith: I think I stole a baby.

Cristina: Okay, first of all, you didn't steal the baby, she's your baby. What you did is... You took her for a nap... in a very odd location and you failed to answer your phone. But y'know, many people find all the technology in our lives to be intrusive, so you're not the first person who didn't answer your phone or your pager. You know, all we have to do is- is find a reason why you were AWOL for an hour.

Meredith: Four... hours. (Cristina glares) Janet was gonna take the baby so I took off.

Cristina: Okay, okay. You know, people make mistakes. I mean, I almost killed Alex in the OR today, so we'll just figure it out.

Meredith: How?

Cristina: I don't know.

Meredith: No, how'd you almost kill Alex?

Cristina: With a cc of epi. (Meredith looks shocked) Ah, y'know, whatever. He'll be fine. Just uh... stay here. I'll fix this.

Meredith: What are you gonna do?

Cristina: I'm gonna fix it.

Richard: (to Bailey) It's time to place the device.

Bailey: What do you want me to do?

Richard: Place the device.

Bailey: Sir, is there anything that you want to tell me?

Richard: Don't screw it up.

Bailey: A surgeon during the early stages of human tries on his experimental procedure never hands over the reins to someone else, ever. Unless something is wrong. Altman said this was weird, I just thought she was being a wife.

Richard: Bailey.

Bailey: Are you drinkin' again? Ah. That would explain a lot!

Richard: Yes, it would. God, I wish it was that simple. Pick up those forceps, Dr. Bailey.

Cristina: (to Alex) Get up.

Alex: No. I'm under 24-hour observation because you almost killed me.

Cristina: I revealed an arrythmia that you didn't even know you had. I probably saved your life. I'll run an EKG on you later, just get up.

Alex: You're supposed to have my back. I made a mistake, alright? I was drunk, I was pissed off.

Cristina: Oh, for the love of....

Alex: I screwed up. You screw up all the time. I don't have anybody. You guys are all I have. You have to forgive me.

Cristina: Fine. Whatever, forgiven! Now just get up outta the damn bed.

Derek: (to Richard): She wasn't covering for you. What the hell are you doing?

Richard: I'm protecting your wife. What are you doing?

Derek: This is wrong and you know that.

Richard: What are you trying to do her? She was trying to save Adele. She was trying to save me. At what point are you going to stop punishing her for that?

Bailey: (to Richard) What did you do?!

Richard: I want you to shut the door and then I want you to sit down.

Bailey: You're throwing your whole career away for that damn girl.

Richard: This is not the end of my career.

Bailey: The FDA will never come anywhere near you again. That is the end of your ilet cell trial, not to mention anything else you might be cookin' up with--

Richard: Sit down! (Bailey sits down and crosses her arms over her chest; Richard hands her a folder) Open it and read the first page.

Bailey: (grabs it from him and starts reading): 'The artifical pancreas the cure for diabetes...' How about 'the artifical pancreas, a huge missed opportunity that you blew because you...

Richard: Read the next line.

Bailey: Principle investigator, Miranda Bail...

Richard: It's yours now. I have no pending trials with the FDA.


Grey's Anatomy Season 8
#01	"Free Falling"	#09	"Dark Was the Night"	#17	"One Step Too Far"
#02	"She's Gone"	#10	"Suddenly"	#18	"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
#03	"Take the Lead"	#11	"This Magic Moment"	#19	"Support System"
#04	"What is It About Men"	#12	"Hope for the Hopeless"	#20	"The Girl with No Name"
#05	"Love, Loss and Legacy"	#13	"If/Then"	#21	"Moment of Truth"
#06	"Poker Face"	#14	"All You Need is Love"	#22	"Let the Bad Times Roll"
#07	"Put Me In, Coach”"	#15	"Have You Seen Me Lately?"	#23	"Migration"
#08	"Heart-Shaped Box"	#16	"If Only You Were Lonely"	#24	"Flight"
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