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Six Days, Part 2 is the twelfth episode of the third season and the 48th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

The O'Malleys await for a response from the surgery, Addison and Alex feel awkward after their almost moment and Cristina and Burke still are not talking, while Meredith's snoring is still annoying Derek.

Full Summary[]

Derek and Meredith are sleeping when her alarm goes off. He has his head covered with a pillow and yells at her to turn off the alarm. He hasn't slept much and spent the night shoving her. The nose strip doesn't work. He kisses her. She tells him to go shave and leaves the bed.

George panics when he sees that the check is gone. Izzie is making breakfast and rolls her eyes as he starts looking on the floor. She tells him it's at the bank. George is delighted to hear that. He starts fantasizing about what she could do with the money. He says life is short and now she can do anything she wants. Izzie is mad because he distracted her and now her french toast is burned.

Addison is riding the ferry.

Addison bumps into Alex at the hospital. Laura is doing good. Thatcher comes up and asks about the baby. They assure him she's out of the woods. He can tell Susan and Molly. He thanks them and walks off. Addison and Alex have an awkward moment before each going their way.

Izzie, Cristina, and Meredith are observing Thatcher as he makes the phone call. He spills coffee while doing so. Meredith can't believe she's related to that man. He's a stammering, mumbling, clumsy disaster. Thatcher uses a newspaper to clean up the coffee as Izzie and Cristina tell her she also has this way of nervous talking and being messy. Meredith points out their problems before walking off. Izzie gets paged.

She arrives in Heather's room, where Bailey and Derek inform her the surgery is on. An anonymous donor is footing Heather's bill. Izzie tells Heather she's a lucky girl, which Heather's never heard before. Bailey stares Izzie down until she leaves the room with her.

Bailey knows what happened here. Izzie says Heather's desperate, so she spent 300 grant to improve her life. Bailey was hoping she did it so she could scrub in, because this again goes to show that Izzie is overly involved. So she cannot scrub in.

Callie sits down with Addison for lunch. Callie tells her about George kissing her, but Addison is not paying attention. Callie jokes it's all about Addison. Addison says she aborted Mark's baby. Callie says it now is all about her. It happened about 8 months ago. She peed on a stick and she wasn't even going to tell him, but she did. He went out and bought this Yankees onesie and a calendar. He marked the due date, which is today. She wanted Derek, and a baby with Derek. She never thought she'd end up alone. Callie says she has not ended up anywhere. Addison says it just feels that way sometimes. This is one of those times.

Derek has begun operating on Heather with a full gallery. George comes in and says his dad's urine output is still steady. Cristina asks if he's seen Burke today, but George won't tell her. Izzie asks him why he can forgive Burke but not Cristina. George says because her career was not on the line when she lied. Meredith asks why she won't just talk to Burke. She insists that would mean he wins. Meredith then asks Alex how it's going with Addison. Alex gets panicky, but Meredith clarifies she meant Laura's case. Alex says she's doing good, but he needs to get back on Sloan's service. The others notice his weird behavior, so he leaves. George gets paged and runs off. Seconds later, Meredith gets paged 911 on Harold.

Callie has seen what happened. She tells Derek she needs to leave.

Meredith and Bailey have gathered with the O'Malleys. Callie appears outside the room and George gestures it's okay to come in. Bailey says the breathing tube has a kink in it, so it's straining his breathing. They need to replace the tube, but with the damage of the esophagus and swelling due to the intubation, they might be unable to get a new tube in. They need to prepare themselves in case it doesn't work.

The family and Callie are lost in thought outside Harold's room. Suddenly, they all smell something. Jerry apologizes. He's nervous. After another fart, they burst out laughing.

Cristina enters Burke's room and asks nurse Tyler to tell Burke about Harold's medical crisis. She figured he'd like to know, but she still won't talk to him directly.

Bailey is about to remove the tube. Richard is with her, and Meredith is ready to assist. Richard reminds her this is just another patient. There is no room for error, so there is no room for nerves. Bailey shakes it off, then starts the procedure. She can't past the vocal cords. She asks for a smaller tube. She manages to get it in. Richard checks for breath sounds. They are good. Meredith leaves to go tell George. Bailey says her son is named after Harold's son and she needs a minute to gather herself.

The next morning, Derek suggests laser surgery for Meredith's snoring. She brings up cures for halitosis for him. She also hates his stubbles. He says he's too tired to shave.

Alex catches up with Mark and gives him coffee. He noticed a reconstructive rhinoplasty on the board and he'd like to scrub in. Mark asks if he's worked with Addison this week. Alex awkwardly says yes. Mark wants to know if she's at least miserable this week. Alex says she's awful and pretends he needs to get away from her. She's definitely miserable. Mark says good, but Alex cannot scrub in.

Meredith and Cristina are lying in bunk beds. They haven't slept in days. Cristina can't sleep alone anymore. She wants to know how Burke is doing. Meredith says she could just ask him. Cristina says he could also just tell him. Meredith says Harold's going into renal failure. Her dad is here and she doesn't know what to say to him. Her life wouldn't be any different if he died. She wonders if it's weird she's a little jealous of George. Cristina says yes.

George is with Burke and tells him about his father's renal failure. Harold was without oxygen for about 2 minutes during the changing of the tube. Burke says his father's body is diseased and put under a lot of stress. His organs are shutting down. There's no blame here. George asks if people come back from this. Burke doesn't have any statistics or medicine to give. Now, it's about faith. Science is not enough, but Burke offers to hope with him.

In the waiting area, Louise connects with Heather's mother. Heather's surgery went well, but now she has trouble with her kidneys. She hasn't woken up. They knew it was a dangerous surgery. Louise tells her about Harold and mentions she thought it was weird they went through with the surgery. This alarms George. Izzie comes in to say that Heather is asking for her mother. Louise wishes her good luck. Mrs. Douglas reciprocates and leaves the room to go see her daughter.

An emotional George approaches Richard and Bailey. He asks why they did the surgery despite the fact that the cancer had spread. George realizes he asked them to do it no matter what. Richard says they had to honor his wish. George reminds Bailey of her promise to be straight with him. His father could have lived for months. Richard says he wanted to fight. George yells he didn't know any better, but they did. They shouldn't have done it.

Addison finds Mark. He tells her he's miserable. She says it takes the body a while to adjust to the constant rain. She tells him to go home. He says they would be together in New York right now if she had the baby. He'd have a family instead of walking pneumonia and an ex-best friend who hates him. Addison says Mark just wanted to trump Derek. That last woman Mark slept with before she left New York was not the only one Addison knew about. He's re-writing history. They wouldn't still be together. They were not a good couple, and Mark would have made a terrible father. She did want a baby, just not with him.

Cristina brings Burke lunch, but she withholds it in an attempt to force him to talk. He just presses the button. A nurse comes in and attempts to take the tray from Cristina. They struggle for a bit until Cristina gives up and leaves the room. The nurse offers to call security.

Alex enters the NICU as Addison is checking up on Laura. She hasn't see him in a couple of days. Alex says he's been covering the pit. It's been chaotic. As his attending, Addison apologizes for what happened. It's been a weird week for her. Alex asks about Laura's bowel function. Addison says she had her first diaper change today.

George is shaving his unconscious father. George tells him he did hit his neighbor kid in the face with a stick. When the kid's dad came over to yell, Harold asked him if it was true, and George lied. Harold took his side and it ended up in a big fight between the two households. The kid was teasing him and he was bigger, so George needed a stick. He says he's sorry. George asks Harold to fight a little harder and kisses him on the forehead.

Meredith enters the kitchen and tells Izzie that Derek slept at his place. Izzie admits that Meredith really does snore, but it doesn't bother her because she grew up by the freeway. Izzie didn't get any sleep last night. She stayed up baking and cleaning the bathroom floor in case George wants to lie down on it. Izzie says she'd give all her money so George wouldn't have to go through this, but she knows it's useless. She made cobbler instead.

Callie and Mark end up at the same nurses' station. Mark watches her face and realizes Addison told her. He asks her if she thinks he'd be a terrible father. She asks if he likes kids. He says it depends on how loud they are. She asks if he's a family guy. Mark says Derek was his family. She asks if he remember birthdays and anniversaries. He says sometimes, but he thinks that's true for all men. Callie says to some men, family is everything. She smilingly says she knows a man like that. Mark then realizes he would have made a terrible father.

The O'Malleys have gathered in a conference room with Meredith, Richard, and Bailey. It looks like Harold won't wake up. His organs are shutting down and he's entirely dependant on life support. They can keep him on life support and wait for nature to take its course, which can take weeks, or they can unplug him. They all look to George. George says it's painful for his father and medication can only do so much. Louise asks if he thinks it's time to let him go. George looks to an emotional Meredith, then to Bailey, but she says they cannot tell him what to do. George then decides to unplug. The family holds hands.

Meredith finds Thatcher in the NICU. She asks if there's a drawer of unopened cards somewhere. She wants to hear his version of the story of why he left. Thatcher says Ellis moved to Boston. She told him not to call or come around. Eventually, he remarried. He apologizes. She asks if he snores, because she does and her mother didn't. He says he does. He says he snores like a trucker, that she gets that from him. He says the wax earplugs help. Meredith thanks him.

Cristina is charting in Burke's room. They make eye contact until Derek comes in. Burke is curious about George's father. Derek says the family has decided to let him go. Burke then makes a point of telling "Derek" that he hasn't had a tremor all week, finally letting Cristina know that the surgery worked.

Harold is surrounded by his family as Bailey takes him off life support. They all comfort him as he flatlines. Bailey turns off the monitor and gives the family room to mourn.

The other interns and Callie have gathered outside the room. An emotional George leaves the room and walks past them all. Surprisingly, Cristina is the one to follow him.

Izzie walks down the hallway and sees Heather up and walking. Heather sees her and smiles.

Izzie sits down on a gurney with Bailey. She tells Bailey she's both a surgeon and a person who becomes emotionally involved. She won't ever again cross a line like she did with Denny, but she won't give up either part of her or apologize for it. She walks off and Bailey begins to cry.

Cristina joins George outside the hospital. She tells him about the dead dad's club. You can't get in it until you're in it. Her father died when she was 9. She's really sorry he had to join the club. George doesn't know how to exist in a world where his dad doesn't. Cristina says that never really changes.

Addison's sitting at the bar as Alex comes in and orders a beer. Joe asks about George's father. Alex shakes his head. Addison greets Alex. He moves closer to her. She asks if he has a dad. He says not anymore. She caresses his face and then leans in. They kiss.

Meredith is sleeping. She has left wax earplugs on Derek's pillow. He puts them in and smiles. He takes Meredith in his arms and finally goes to sleep.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Laura Grey-Thompson[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:
    • NICU care

Laura was said to be stable after her surgery. Her bowels started to function again.

Heather Douglas[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • VATER Syndrome
    • Severe scoliosis
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

After Izzie anonymously agreed to foot the bill, Heather's surgery went on as planned. After surgery, she was up and walking with a walker.

Harold O'Malley[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Stage II metastatic esophageal cancer
    • Multi-system organ failure
  • Treatment:
    • Life support

Harold's breathing tube kinked, so they had to remove it and insert a new tube, which was complicated by the swelling his throat. The first size tube they tried wouldn't fit, but they were able to insert a smaller tube and restore his breathing. However, his organs later started failing and they decided to turn off his life support.

Preston Burke[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:

Burke was still in the hospital recovering from his surgery. He revealed that he hadn't had any tremors.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Here It Goes Again" OK Go
  • Meredith and Derek wake up. The breathing strip didn't help, so Derek didn't get any sleep.
  • George sees that the check isn't on the fridge and panics.
"Fidelity" Regina Spektor
  • Callie tries to talk to Addison about George, but Addison is distracted.
  • Addison tells Callie she got pregnant by Mark after Derek left and had an abortion.
  • Addison's worried about having ended up alone.
"The Way I Am" Ingrid Michaelson
  • Addison walks away from Mark.
  • Cristina tries to withhold food in order to get Burke to talk to her.
  • He calls a nurse instead of conceding.
  • Addison checks on Laura. Alex comes in and they have an awkward moment.
  • They talk about Laura's improvement.
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" Susanna & The Magical Orchestra
  • The O'Malleys have to make a decision whether or not to turn off life support.
  • They turn to George to make the decision.
"Falling Awake" Gary Jules
  • Burke says, in front of Cristina, that he hasn't had any tremors.
  • Harold's family stands by his bedside as he dies.
  • The other interns and Callie wait for George.
  • Heather is up and walking with a walker.
  • Izzie tells Bailey she's a surgeon who cares about her patients.
"Life in Disguise" The Slip
  • Cristina talks to George outside.
  • Alex comes into Joe's and Joe asks about Harold.
  • Alex and Addison talk and then Addison kisses him.
  • Meredith is snoring and Derek finds earplugs she left for him so he can sleep.
  • He puts them in and cuddles up behind her.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode's title originated from the song Six Days, originally sung by DJ Shadow.
  • This episode scored 21.94 million viewers.[1]
  • This is dedicated to Bob Verne, who died of cancer in 2001. Bob Verne was the father of Krista Vernoff, co-writer and producer for the show.[source?]

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Quotes[]

George: Er, Izzie, t-the t-the check! It's not er-, it's not- D-did you drop it? It's not here! Izzie, it's not here.
Izzie: I deposited it, okay?
George: You didn't deposit it in the garbage disposal or something like that, did you?
Izzie: It's at the bank, okay George? So just shut up about it already.
George: I-it's at the bank? It's earning interest?
Izzie: Did I just not say shut up about it already?
George: Izzie. It's real now. Money could travel. It could buy things. It could buy many, many things. That's a- It's a lot of money, Izzie!
Izzie: Shut up about it, George!
George: I'm just saying. I'm just saying life is short. You know it's like cancer happens and surgery happens and you know, you got... rosebuds! (hits her with a piece of cloth) You got 8.7 million rosebuds, Izzie! (hits her again) Now go spend some rosebuds, that's what I'm saying.
Izzie: (loud sizzling noise) You made me burn my french toast.
George: (hits her yet again) You can buy new french toast!

Cristina: There's a club. The "Dead Dads" club. And you can't be in it until you're in it. You can try to understand, you can sympathize but until you feel that loss- My dad died when I was nine. George, I'm really sorry you had to join the club.
George: I... I don't know how to exist in a world where my dad doesn't.
Cristina: Yeah, that never really changes.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

The Grey Matter blog post on this episode can be found here.


References[]

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