BROKEN PROMISES

FADE IN

INT – SGH - EVENING

MEREDITH (V.O.)

We make promises…for whatever reason…that we may not be able to keep. You give your word and it's as good as gold…and while you may have meant it at the time…fully invested in the amount of effort it would take when the time came to deliver on that promise…imagining the situation before it happens and predicting how you'd react is always so much different when you are faced with the reality. Then it happens…and the gravity of your words come clearly into focus. What you thought you were so certain of suddenly becomes a nagging doubt coupled with a fear of the unknown. You begin to waiver…indecisive…and the longer you avoid making a decision the harder it becomes…until you can't put it off any longer and the situation forces you to react.

"Derek…let's go home."

Derek is sitting at a table in the Physician's Lounge…leaning forward with his elbows resting on top of it and his hands clenched into fists covering his mouth. His mind is spinning…unable to grasp what just happened.

"Derek…" Meredith says again.

"What?" He says looking over at her and then quickly looking away…not wanting to see the concern in her eyes. Already feeling over-whelmed by his own…if he knew she was also worried, he didn't know if he could handle that. He shakes his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We don't have to talk about it right now. Let's just go home and we can talk about it tomorrow."

Derek could barely process her words, but he latched onto the comfort of the word home and held on tight. He was consumed with the events of the day and was nowhere near ready to face the life-altering decision that stood before him. He needed some time to think about it. "Ok…let's go home."

"Do you want me to drive? I have my car here."

Derek agrees to let Meredith drive. He knew he'd eventually have to decide what to do…and even with the short overnight reprieve he knew he'd be too distracted to focus on anything important.

They drove home in silence with Derek once again leaning on his fist…elbow braced securely against the door…looking out the window at nothing.

INT – SGH LOCKER ROOM – EVENING

Izzie is in the locker room getting ready to go. While she was anxious to come back to work it was mostly just to see Alex. But once she began reading patient charts and her eyes blurred over…unable to focus…she realized just how tired she was from the flight and decided to go home and start fresh the next day.

Alex walks into the room. "So…you goin' home?"

"Yeah…I'm really tired. It just kind of hit me all at once."

"So…" Alex begins again…but Izzie continues gathering her things pretending not to notice him. "So…are we going to talk about what happened earlier?"

Izzie plays aloof. "Talk about what?"

"You know…the kiss…from earlier…you kissed me." Alex whispers to her so as not to be overheard by anyone in the room and then waits for a response…but instead Izzie furrows her brow as if searching for some kind of recollection.

"Oh…" she says making it look like it just came to her after having been reminded…knowing fully what he was talking about as she pretends it hasn't been on her mind since it happened. "I'm sorry…I'm so tired. Must be jetlag. Can we do this some other time?"

Alex is disappointed. He's so tired of the constant setbacks in his relationship with Izzie and after having spent the last few hours with her was hopeful that they were finally making some progress. He shakes his head. "Sure."

Izzie slams the door on her locker and walks past Alex on her way out not bothering to say goodbye. Before exiting…she looks back. "Dinner…Friday night…pick me up at 7."

Alex turns to respond and she is already out the door. He smiles and pumps his fist. "Yes!"

Izzie pokes her head back into the room. "And don't screw it up this time."

She walks out of the hospital with a smile on her face…feeling good about taking the upper hand even though she knew that the reason they weren't together was mostly her fault. But at that moment…she refused to let the past weasel its way back into her mind and destroy the possibility of a future.

On the way home Izzie squints her eyes as the headlights coming toward her seemed especially bright. She knew she was tired but didn't realize just how much. She rubs her eyes and tries to focus but that seems to just make it worse. She was relieved when she finally pulled up into the driveway at home.

INT – CHIEF'S OFFICE – EVENING

Richard is in his office and Catherine walks in. "You're still here?"

"I wanted to thank you for lunch but realized that was hours ago…any chance you'd like to join me for dinner?"

He asks her to sit down and then hesitates as he tries to find the right words to say…not wanting to look at her and instead…focusing on the glasses in his hands.

"Catherine…I need to talk to you about something and I'm not sure how to…"

She laughs a bit. "Well…don't sound so serious Richard. You know you can tell me anything."

He looks up at her. "I'm just not ready."

"Ready for what darling?"

"For this…you and me…to be called darling again by a woman that's not Adele. It feels wrong…or at least…too soon…like I'm cheating on her. And I know she's gone and had been for a while…and if she could have made a conscious choice for me…I don't think there's anyone she'd want me to be with that wasn't just like her. But it's too soon…I'm so sorry. I hope you understand."

Now its Catherine's turn to be at a loss for words. "So…we wait a bit. It not as if we need to rush into anything."

Richard is silent. Catherine stands up to leave and tries to get out the door before he can get around the desk. "It's ok…really it is. I have a million things to do really and…it's ok…"

She leaves his office and Richard feels horrible. He had been trying to avoid spending too much time with her only because he knew he wasn't ready to get involved with someone so soon after Adele passed and didn't want to lead her on. And they were so much alike…she and Adele. Making that decision meant he would be leaving Seattle Grace soon…and maybe that was his hesitation. He needed some time on his own to decide if he was ready to walk away from the hospital. The thought of it brought back the same uneasy feeling's he had when he first found out Adele was sick…and after they had reconciled. It was that punch in the gut that told him something was wrong.

INT – MARK'S APARTMENT – EVENING

The doorbell rings and Mark opens it to find Callie waiting on the other side.

"Why are you ringing the bell…don't you still have your key?"

Mark is making dinner and turns around to head back into the kitchen. "Do you need help with your stuff…just give me a second to turn this down."

"I didn't bring anything."

Mark hesitates for a second. "Well…that's ok…I think there still may be some of your things here from before. We can go pick up the rest of it tomorrow."

"Mark…I'm not moving back in."

"You're not moving in? What happened…I thought we agreed that would be the best thing…?"

"I know I said I would…but after thinking about it…I just don't think it's a good idea. I mean…we're two friends having a baby and then living together on top of that…I just think it would cause more problems than it would solve."

Mark questions her comment about just being friends. "Just friends…I think we're more than just friends at this point."

"Come on Mark…you and I acted impulsively. It was a momentary lapse in judgment. Just because we're adults doesn't make it any more irresponsible than two teenagers in the back seat of their Mother's hatchback on Prom night. Let's not make it anything more than what it was…a mistake."

Mark smiles while looking down at the contents of the pan on the stove. "Okay then" he looks over at her. "How about some dinner…friend?"

She walks over next to him and he lifts the wooden spoon up to give her a taste of the sauce on the stove…holding his hand under it so it doesn't drip.

"Mmmm" she says. "Perfect."

She stands next to him and wraps her arms around his waist…laying her head on his shoulder as he places one arm around her…and continues stirring with the other.

INT – BAILEY'S HOUSE – EVENING

Bailey is home alone while Tuck spends the week with his Dad and his new wife. She has once again made too much food for dinner and seems either unable or unwilling to adjust to being single. She looks down at Monte…the Rottweiler she received as a gift from someone at the local shelter for protection…but also as a companion now that she's alone most of the time. Out of frustration she considers taking the entire roast and just tossing it onto a dish and putting it on the floor for him and then thinks better of it…realizing not only would she be without dinner but would definitely be cleaning up the mess after the dog over-indulged.

Monte jumps up…hearing footsteps on the wooden front porch. Bailey walks over to the window to see who it is before opening the door. Instead of barking as he usually does…Monte sits still…the only thing moving is his tail which is swishing back and forth so quickly it almost resembles a fan.

Bailey walks over to open the door. "Chief…what are you doing here…is everything ok?"

"No everything is not ok." Then he smiles at her. "I miss my friend."

Bailey stumbles through her response…assuming he's talking about Adele. "Your friend?"

"You Miranda…I mean you."

"Oh" she says as the two of them stand there in awkward silence.

Richard looks over Baileys head toward the kitchen. Something that's not that difficult to do because of her size. "That smells delicious."

"I made a roast with potatoes and carrots for dinner. Would you like some?"

Richard smiles. "Like you wouldn't believe."

He steps inside the house and takes off his coat…hanging it on the hook behind him. Monte is at his feet demanding to be acknowledged and Richard bends over to play with him a bit. "Well who are you?"

"That's Monte" Bailey says as she walks into the kitchen to set the table.

"Monte…what a great name."

As soon as she turns around Richard reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a dog treat.