Steven W. Bailey

An exhausted Meredith thinks she may have made a mistake during surgery, which could jeopardize her career. Meanwhile Izzie’s plan to throw a party for her new boyfriend goes completely awry, and Alex deals with a patient who is addicted to painkillers.

Meredith grows increasingly dissatisfied with the unknown details of Derek's life. Meanwhile, Alex treats Devo, a patient whose religious beliefs jeopardize her chances for recovery; Izzie contemplates reconnecting with her estranged mother; Zoey, a pregnant woman in her 40s who's been diagnosed with cancer, disagrees with Cristina's medical advice; and the interns are mystified by Cable, a patient who's being treated for seizures and who thinks he's psychic.

Alex gains the trust of Annie, a nervous patient with an extraordinarily large tumor, only to humiliate himself in front of her later. Meanwhile Derek chooses Meredith to assist with an elderly Parkinson’s patient who may need surgery -- but Bailey disapproves of their relationship and is determined to make Meredith suffer -- and tensions escalate between Burke and Shepherd.

As Cristina tries to recover, she proves to be a very difficult patient, and a visit from her mother doesn't improve her demeanor any. And Meredith's mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, has the hospital staff running in circles. Jeremiah, a cystic fibrosis patient, could benefit from Dr. Addison Shepherd's medical knowledge, but her involvement in his surgery could delay her highly anticipated departure from Seattle Grace Hospital, leaving Meredith and Derek's relationship hanging in the balance.

Meredith and Dr. Shepherd have to use more than medicine when a young woman's traditionalist, religious father forbids her to have a life-saving operation. Meanwhile, George and Alex are forced to perform surgery under less than ideal conditions in an attempt to save a patient’s life, and its decision time for Derek and the two women in his life.