Author's Note: I'm still not convinced this is worth my time…but I like the story so I thought I'd add some more. This chapter gets into some medical stuff…I've researched all the conditions used in the story, so everything should be pretty accurate. Please review if you want me to continue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's.

Season Four

Episode One (continued): A Sorta Fairytale

(The clinic. Almost completely empty except for two patients. Cristina is suturing a young man's leg. Izzie is in the next curtain area starting an IV)

Cristina: (Rambling) It has to be him. He has to be one of the two. He had no surgeries on the board today, none of us got assigned to him. I mean, he's not here. He's really gone.

Izzie: (Looking up and over at Cristina, concerned) Look, are you freaking out? Because I'm not really in a good place to be handling heightened emotions. Do you want me to get Meredith?

Cristina: I am not freaking out. I am just logically processing the current situation. I do not freak out.

Suture Guy: (Nervously) Are you sure you're not freaking out? Cuz you're threading a needle through my skin, and I'm thinking that requires the majority of your focus.

Cristina: (Cocky) You think so, huh? Wanna know what I think? I think that you should shut up and let me finish. Unless you have a medical degree from an Ivy League school and feel like taking over.

Izzie: Cristina…

Cristina: Oh shut it Barbie.

(Suture Guy and Izzie exchange a look. Alex enters the clinic and heads for the desk. He notices Cristina and Izzie)

Alex: Wow, looks like you two are saving lots of lives down here.

Cristina: At least we're working with patients. (Sarcastically) Shouldn't you be fetching Sloan his morning cappuccino?

Alex: (Grabbing a file and heading towards the curtain area) Actually, I'm just getting a patient's file for a pre-op workup. (Cristina grabs the file out of his hand) Kid with Apert Syndrome. We're performing a LeFort III.

Cristina: (Jealously) This is so not fair. I'm stuck down here while you get to take a kid's face off and reattach it to his skull.

Suture Guy: (Disgusted) Gross.

Cristina: (Snips the excess thread) You know what? Go. You can go. (Suture Guy leaves. Cristina turns to Alex) You have got to get me in on this surgery.

Alex: No way. I'm lucky Sloan's letting me scrub in. Find another surgery to poach.

Izzie: Easier said than done. Have you seen the board? I've never seen it so clear.

Alex: Yeah well, that's what happens when the number one cardio guy decides to skip town. (Notices Cristina's face fall) Sorry Yang. I figured you knew.

Cristina: I did.

Izzie: (Trying to change the subject) Have you figured out who the other attending is?

Alex: (Confused) Other attending?

Izzie: Yeah, when we saw Bailey earlier she said that two attendings were gone.

Alex: I haven't heard anything. Everyone's been kind of busy though…I think they're announcing the new Chief today.

Cristina: (Determinedly) Well, I'm not sitting here suturing all day. I'm going to find a surgery. (To Izzie) Come on.

Izzie: Cristina, let's not piss off Callie.

Cristina: Since when do you play by the rules? Let's go. They have interns for this kind of crap.

(Izzie rolls her eyes and gets up to follow Cristina out of the clinic. Alex shakes his head and grabs his chart)

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(Patient's room. Meredith is making notes on the patient's chart. Callie enters)

Callie: Ok Grey, what have you got for me?

Meredith: (Glancing at her chart) This is Mrs. Stark…

Julie: (Interrupts) Mrs. Stark makes me sound like someone's mother in law. Please, call me Julie.

Meredith: Ok, this is Julie. She's 41 and is here for the third time in six months complaining of pain in her right knee. She had arthroscopic surgery two years ago to alleviate a bone spur in the same knee. Labs came back perfectly normal, but MRI shows complete erosion of cartilage.

Callie: (Sliding an X-Ray onto the light box. Quietly to Meredith) Oh wow, she's got nothing at all there. (Turns to face Julie) Are you an athlete Julie?

Julie: (Somewhat hestitantly) I was a figure skater when I was young.

Meredith: (Light dawning) Oh! You're Julie Simms! I knew you looked familiar.

(Callie looks puzzled)

Meredith: I used to love to watch figure skating when I was a little girl. I actually saw you once in a showcase back in Boston. (Julie smiles) I wanted to skate too. I lasted half a year in lessons…I hated falling so much.

Julie: You get used to it I suppose. And then you pay the price down the line. (Motions to her knee) I've been having problems with it since I was in high school. It cost me a gold in the Olympics. (Sadly)

Callie: Well Julie, what do you say we get rid of your problem for good? (Julie looks hopeful) Dr. Grey, what would you recommend for course of treatment?

Meredith: I would suggest a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Callie: (Nods)Excellent.

Julie: What is that?

Callie: It's a knee replacement.

Julie: (Scared) You want to replace my knee? Isn't that a little extreme?

Callie: I know this is a big deal, but I promise it's not as scary as it sounds. Dr. Grey, why is a UKR the best solution for Julie?

Meredith: Well, it's a lot less invasive than traditional knee replacements, we'll only replace the parts of the joint that are the most damaged. Also given Julie's young age, a UKR will allow for quicker recovery and better range of motion.

Callie: Exactly. (Looks at Julie) This surgery will get you back to your normal way of living. You'll walk better, move better, even skate better.

Julie: (AbruptlyOh, I don't skate anymore.

Callie: I see. (Pauses) Still, it's really your best option for treatment.

Julie: Ok then. Let's do it.

Callie: Great. I'll see what we can do to fit you in this afternoon. (She leaves the room and Meredith follows)

Callie: (Walking down the hall) I never would have pegged you for a figure skating fan.

Meredith: In a different life. (She laughs) But once upon a time, I did love watching them. So graceful. Something I never was.

Callie: (Laughs) You and me both. (Puts the chart away, then turns to Meredith) Um, you haven't seen George in the past 24 hours, have you?

Meredith: Only right before the church. He didn't come home last night?

Callie: Well, he wasn't there when I went to sleep and he wasn't there when I woke up.

Meredith: Did you have a fight?

Callie: No. I mean, yesterday was a big day, and a lot of stuff was going on, but everything seemed fine before the wedding. I thought maybe he ended up back at your house?

Meredith: No. Have you tried calling him?

Callie: No answer. And I don't have his Mercy West pager number yet.

Meredith: Well I'm sure he's fine. Probably really busy with first day stuff.

Callie: (Trying to brush it off) Yeah...So I need you to book an OR for this afternoon and start prepping Julie. You'll be scrubbing in on the UKR.

Meredith: Thanks.

Callie: Sure. Just page me when we're good to go. (She walks off)

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(The hallway containing the board. Derek is standing in front of the board, Mark approaches him from behind)

Mark: You hear about Addison?

Derek: (Distracted) What? Oh, yes. The Chief told me this morning.

Mark: You know, I thought that I'd be calling you Chief today.

Derek: It's not the right time. I wasn't ready. I thought I was, but I'm not.

Mark: Well, for what it's worth, I think you were the most ready out of all of us.

Derek: Thank you, Mark.

Mark: (Looking at the board) Quiet board.

Derek: Too quiet.

Mark: Look, you don't have anything scheduled for the afternoon, why don't you take off, clear your head. I know you can't be in a good place right now.

Derek: (Dejected) I'm not in any place. I have no idea where I am right now. Nothing makes sense anymore. I thought that I was breathing for her…but the truth is, I think she was breathing for me too…

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(Front desk. Cristina is rifling through charts, trying to find a surgical case. George sneaks through the front doors, glancing around, then makes a beeline for the desk, ducking behind a fichus tree)

George: (In a harsh whisper) Cristina. Pssst. Over here.

Cristina: (Confused, looking around for the voice. She spots George) Bambi? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Mercy West? I'm sure it's a hell of a lot more exciting around here. What surgeries have you done so far? I want details…

George: (Paranoid) Shhh. I'm on my lunch break. And I don't want Callie to find out I'm here. I need to talk to Izzie.

Cristina: Another fight with the little missus? No wonder she was on a warpath today. You know, if you could like, keep the fighting to a minimum that'd be great, because when she's in a bad mood we all suffer. And by we I mean me. And I really needed a good surgery today.

George: (Exasperated) Shut up! Just tell me where Izzie is!

Cristina: Don't get your panties in a bunch. I think she went outside. It's been really slow.

George: Thank you. (He slithers away toward the front door. Cristina rolls her eyes, and continues to leaf through the charts. One catches her eye and she grabs it, running toward the elevators)

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(OR 1. Alex and Mark are scrubbing in.)

Mark: So, you glad to be back with the rockstars?

Alex: (Laughs) Yeah, well I think I got a good enough sample of the gynie squad. Gotta test out my options, you know?

Mark: You're making the right call. Plastics is where it's at. And while vaginas are cool and all, ob/gyn won't be the same with Addie gone.

Alex: (Shocked) Addis…Dr. Montgomery is gone? Wow.

Mark: She resigned yesterday. Heading to LA to work in some quack co-op.

Alex: (Still shocked) Wow.

Mark: (Looking at Alex strangely) You said that already. (Finishes washing) Alright, showtime. Lets go peel back some face.

(Mark heads into the room, Alex, still stunned, finishes washing and follows)

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(Courtyard. Izzie is sitting on a bench with a textbook in her lap, eating an apple. George spots her, and approaches)

George: (Tentatively) Uh. Hey.

Izzie: (Looks up. Angrily) What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Mercy West? Or did you come here for a little procreation break?

George: (Confused) A procreation what? (Realizing) Did you talk to Callie?

Izzie: (Indignant) I'll tell you who I didn't talk to George. That would be you.

George: Izzie…I'm sorry I didn't come to the church. Well, I did go to the church, but I was too late and you had already…

Izzie: (Interrupting) Save it. I'm done.

George: Iz…please, listen. Yesterday was a mess and everything was happening all at once and I…

Izzie: (Standing up) No George, you listen. I poured my heart out to you yesterday. Do you think it was easy for me to tell you? It wasn't. I've wrestled with this for a month now, trying to decide what I should do, what I could say to you, whether it was worth sacrificing the best friendship I'd ever had. And I know that it was big, and inconvenient, and I'm not saying that you even have the same feelings back, but I wanted to know. I wanted to know where we stand. You kiss me in elevators, and tell me you can't be around me anymore, and I deserve to know why. But you don't have the decency to talk to me. No, instead I have to hear from your wife that things couldn't be better between you two, and oh, guess what? You're trying to have a baby. (Her eyes tearing up) We told each other everything. We always have, and that's why I thought I could tell you how I felt…about her, about your marriage, about you…And I expected the same. But you know what? I was wrong. I should have kept my mouth shut. So that's what I'm going to do now. (Openly crying) Goodbye George. (She runs off. George stands there, speechless)

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To Be Continued! REVIEW!