Slow Night, So Long

"We, doctors, take pride in the fact that we can basically sleep standing up. Anytime, anywhere. But it's a false pride, because the truth is after about 20 hours without sleep you might as well just come to work drunk. Doctor or not. So it's no wonder that fatal medical errors increase at night when we doctors are, proudly, sleeping on our feet. Recently, our communal pride has been shattered, and our egos have been wounded by new laws that require that we sleep all day before we work all night. We're not happy about it. But as someone who may one day need medical care, you really should be. Under the cover of darkness people do things they'd never do under the harsh glare of day. Decisions feel wiser. People feel bolder. But when the sun rises, you have to take responsibility for what you did in the dark. And face yourself under the cold, harsh light of day."

- Meredith Grey

 is the ninth episode of the seventh season and the 135th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
Derek lands the grant he needs for his clinical trial and all the attendings take him out to Joe's Bar to celebrate, but they get a surprise when they see someone they know already at the bar. Meanwhile, Meredith and Alex have to fend for themselves during the night shift with a nine-year-old patient who's experiencing post-surgical complications and his very pushy mother.

Full Summary
Avery wakes up screaming and asking for Charles. He gets up to get ready for work. Voiceover Meredith warns us that even though doctors proudly can sleep anywhere, anytime, more fatal errors happen at night when they're proudly sleeping on their feet.

Derek gets home and wakes Meredith up (at 6 p.m.) with news that he got the Alzheimer's research grant. She has to leave, rather than celebrate, because she's working the night shift.

Avery and Alex joke about their fight, with Alex telling Meredith, "Some of us can move on." April, still upset with Alex for yelling at her when they were about to have sex, tells him he's sitting on her coat. His response, "Some of us can't."

The doctors get to the hospital and get their assignments from the attendings. Meredith is working "with" Dr. Stark, who leaves without giving her his phone number in case something were to go wrong. He says she won't need it because she's "good." He's heading to dinner.

Hunt pulls Avery aside and tells him he doesn't have to prove anything. He wants to make sure Avery's head is straight. He tells him to talk to someone.

At the bar, Derek meets up with Sloan, Bailey and Callie, and they discover that Cristina is tending bar. She says Hunt told her to get a job.

Cristina serves her own concoction, which doesn't go over well. She calls it "The Early On-Set Alzheimer's" because "you won't remember anything after you drink it." Everyone else gags when they taste it but Bailey says it's delicious and Derek suggests the name is "distasteful." Hunt wants to talk to Cristina, but she leaves to tend to a large party.

A wave of patients comes into the trauma ward but Avery refuses to call Hunt. A car tried to outrun a train and failed. The passengers from the car are badly injured, one much worse than the other, and when Lexie and Avery see the extent of the second passenger's injury, Avery tells Lexie to call Hunt.

Meredith tends to a patient of Dr. Stark's, a boy who had surgery and isn't feeling well. His mother, a nurse at another hospital, is worried and asks Meredith to call Stark. Meredith says she will.

Teddy gets to the bar early after a bad first date. She met him on the internet. Teddy chokes on Cristina's drink. Teddy tells Callie to go to Africa and thank God that she never has to go on a first date again. Teddy is then shocked when she sees Cristina serving drinks.

April tends to a young couple who have glued themselves together because the boy is supposed to be moving to Wisconsin the next with his family and they love each other too much to let the other go.

Stark is annoyed that he had to leave dinner before having his tiramisu to tend to her patient who has gas.

In trauma, the passengers from the car that got hit by the train are brothers, and the driver is worried about his little brother and feels guilty about having tried to beat the train. The little brother dies, despite Hunt's efforts to keep him alive, but Hunt whispers his time of death so that his big brother in the same room (separated by a curtain) can't hear it.

At the bar, Derek asks Cristina if she's having fun and she says she is.

Meredith is having trouble with Stark's young patient -- and especially his mother, who is worried that her son will suffer because he's left in the care of a resident when the attending is nowhere to be found.

At the bar, Sloan tells Derek not to worry about Cristina. Teddy wonders why everyone is OK with Cristina tending bar. Callie asks Teddy if Arizona has mentioned her, because they write to each other. Teddy says Arizona has been busy. Sloan suggests a "sexual palette cleanser" for Callie. He points out a redhead who's been eyeing Callie all night.

Hunt, Avery and Lexie operate on the driver of the car and find pieces of the steering column in his abdomen. Meanwhile, the kids' parents have arrived and want an update. Avery wants to stay in the O.R., and Hunt agrees to let Lexie give the parents an update.

April asks for advice on her super-glued patients and Alex suggests acetone. She tells him to go away and asks Meredith for her suggestion. She suggests acetone and April thanks her and leaves. Alex calls Stark a "lazy, back-stabbing weasel." He then gives Meredith advice on more tests to run, in case she has to call Stark again, so that he'll have no choice but to come in.

Bailey, drunk, says she wants to find a man who's interested in fistulas.

The chief comes to the hospital yelling at Meredith about having gotten a phone call from the mother of her patient. Meredith says she's waiting for CT results and there's only one tech working. The chief goes and yells at the tech, telling him to call in the on-call backup. When the tech dials the phone, Webber does the talking, telling the on-call guy to be in within five minutes or he and his friend are fired. He turns to Meredith and Alex and tells them, "Now that's how you get things done at night."

Lexie gives the parents an update on their son who is in surgery. They thank her, but ask how their other son is doing. Lexie hesitates, then goes ahead and tells them that their youngest son couldn't be saved. Lexie tries to stay calm as the parents sob.

Lexie goes back into the O.R. and Avery asks her to shut up when she shares the parents reaction and wonders how the older brother will be able to live with himself if he survives. There's a bleeder and Avery does good work to fix it.

The acetone doesn't work for April, and she sees Dr. Bailey, who is drunk. Teddy comes into the hospital drunk, too, and tells Meredith that Cristina is bar tending.

Sloan puts Callie to sleep on his couch and goes to bed.

Meredith shows Alex her patient's scans and they realize he has a perforated ulcer, which is causing the pain. They tell the kid's mom that they need to operate and they've called Stark. Alex says he's doing the surgery whether Stark shows up or not.

Alex begins the surgery. He's nervous and wants to call Bailey. He has the O.R. call Bailey and April answers her phone. Bailey wants to drunk-dial Ben, her ex-boyfriend. April says it's a bad idea and Bailey calls her out for being a virgin. Bailey tells April that Alex "is not the boy you want to take your maiden voyage with." Bailey then advises April to use soap and water and a little acetone for the super-glue.

Cristina is at the bar doing shots with guys who are there for a bachelor party. He tells Joe he should fire her for drinking on the job. He says he fired her three hours ago. Derek says he's going to sit there and drink water and make sure Cristina doesn't go home with anyone. "If she's going to act like a stripper, I'm going to act like a bouncer," he says.

Avery saved the older brother and gets to tell the parents the news. Lexie tells him he can talk to her if he needs to, but he refuses to admit he has any problem.

Alex and Meredith are impressed with themselves over having called an entire O.R. team that actually showed up. They find the perforation and get to work fixing it. Alex says they have "balls."

Callie wakes up and finds Sloan in the kitchen, shirtless, getting water. He offers her water and she asks for "sorbet," referring to his "sexual palette cleanser" comment from earlier in the night. They get cooking in the kitchen.

Avery tells Lexie to tell the surviving brother that he's going to feel awful because he'll feel guilty about being alive for the rest of his life. Lexie realizes Avery just talked to her.

At the bar, Cristina is basically giving a guy a lap dance when Hunt arrives. He picks her up, tosses her over his shoulder and takes her home.

Bailey wakes up the next morning and April goes on about how she opened up to her and how maybe they're friends. Bailey tells her "this never happened."

Meredith and Alex wait for Stark's arrival, wondering whether he'll be upset with them for having done the surgery. They talk about how when they started the program, the chief said only two of them would make it. They both simultaneously say, "I thought it would be me and Cristina." Alex wonders, "How are we the last two standing?"

Stark walks in and tells them he's going to make their lives a living hell because of what they did. He shouts at them that "medicine has a hierarchy for a reason" and as he goes on yelling, Alex and Meredith notice the chief watching through a window, with a very slight smile on his face.

Cristina is at home puking her guts up. Meredith gets home and lays in bed at 7 a.m., when Derek's alarm goes off and he gets up for work.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan
 * Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey
 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins (credit only)
 * Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
 * Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner
 * Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest Stars

 * Peter MacNicol as Dr. Robert Stark
 * Steven W. Bailey as Joe
 * Kimberly Guerrero as Mrs. McNeil
 * Bubba Lewis as Kendrick

Co-Starring

 * Cathryn de Prume as Mrs. Nash
 * Jeffrey Cole as Mr. Nash
 * John Hemphill as Brad Nystrom
 * Christina Scherer as Lauren
 * Stephen Gabriel as Lucas Nash
 * Masam Holden as Reilly Nash
 * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole
 * Justin Alston as CT Tech
 * Payton Silver as Dr. Knox
 * Alixandrée Antoine as O.R. Nurse
 * Linda Eve Miller as E.R. Nurse
 * Alex Quijano as Random Guy
 * Charles Carpenter as Party Guy #1
 * Fabrizio Zacharee Guido as Drew McNeil

Notes and Trivia
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 * This episode's title originated from the song Slow Night, So Long, originally sung by Kings of Leon.
 * This episode scored 11.46 million viewers.

Quotes

 * Derek: (about Cristina) If she's going to act like a stripper, I'm going to act like a bouncer.


 * Cristina: I call this "Early On-Set Alzheimer's" because you won't remember anything after you drink it.


 * Derek: It's "Night of the Living Dead" out there.
 * Meredith: (has her head covered by a pillow) I'm still sleeping.
 * Derek: A whole day happened while you were sleeping. Let's see, I did three aneursym surgeries, I consulted on a massive spinal tumor, that was neat. I got the Phillip's grant, and oh, by the way, the soup of the day in the cafeteria was potato leek soup.
 * Meredith: You got the grant? You got the Alzheimer's grant?
 * Derek: Yeah, (They kiss.) I got the grant. Mark is putting together a celebration at Joe's but I would much rather stay here and celebrate with you. (They kiss.)
 * Meredith: I am late for work. (They kiss.) Gotta love the night shift. Proud of you.
 * Derek: Thank you.


 * Jackson: (to Alex) Nice face.
 * Alex: Well, at least I can do surgery. How's that hand?
 * Jackson: Ah, it'd be better if you hadn't run your face into it. (Alex laughs)
 * Meredith: So, he beats the hell outta you, and now you're laughing about it?
 * Alex: Ah, some of us can move on.
 * April: (sighs) You're sitting on my coat.
 * Alex: And some of us can't.


 * Callie: Alright, try not to screw up our patients. Good night, and good luck.
 * Mark: We'll be over at the bar, try not to need us.


 * Mark: It's rude to ditch out on your own party, you know.
 * Derek: Yang is bartending. You know how disturbing that is?
 * Mark: It's a phase. She's gonna be fine. Besides, you won one of the most prestigest grants out there, this night's about you, not Yang. (Derek continues to watch Cristina) Suit yourself.


 * Mark: (when Bailey is drinking) How many of those have you had?
 * Bailey: Hey, my son is with his father. I have 24 hours child-free. If Cristina Yang can tend bar because she wants to, then I can drink 'cause I want to.


 * April: What are you doing in the attendings’ lounge? You could get in trouble.
 * Alex: Pizza?
 * April: I have stupid teenage patients who super glued themselves together so that their parents can't tear them apart.
 * Meredith: Mmm. That sounds romantic.
 * April: Yeah, more like moronic. I have no idea how to get them apart without taking off half their skin.
 * Alex: Try acetone.
 * April: Try going away. Meredith, any ideas?
 * Meredith: Mmm. Acetone?
 * April: Thank you.


 * Bailey: (while she's drunk) Is there a box for fistulas? 'Cause that's what I want. A guy that can talk fistulas. I want a guy that can direct me towards a better scientific understanding of just why a fistula may occur in patients that are healthy one minute and die the next. ... Find a man that's interested in fistulas and pancreases and you'll find a man that's not internet dating.


 * Meredith: Hey, Dr. Altman, are you availible for a consult? I'm just waiting on some CT results.
 * Teddy: Oh, well, Joe took my keys so I'm-- I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be practicing medicine.
 * Meredith: What are you doing here then?
 * Teddy: Well, I'm killing time until Joe gives me my keys back.
 * Meredith: Can't you do that at the bar?
 * Teddy: Cristina Yang is bartending, so no, I can't. It's too... It's too depressing.
 * Meredith: Cristina's bartending as what? Some sort of joke? Or...
 * Teddy: As some kinda bartender. (Meredith makes a face) Yeah, I know, that look on your face, that's how my whole body feels. And not just 'cause Cristina makes the world's strongest drink. But because my aspiration couple has broken up and they're living on two seperate continents and 'cause I'm dating men who still live with their mother. But they don't admit on their profiles. They wait. They wait until I've spent an hour applying my make-up and driving cross town and then they tell me that small little detail. Oh, oh, and my star student, my most promising resident that I have ever seen, is mixing Irish car bombs for a bachlor party over at Joe's bar. I'm not even gonna mention that she's letting the bachlor's feel her up at will 'cause that just adds insult to injury. Crap. I'm really drunk.


 * Meredith: Can you believe that we called an entire OR team and they came? It's amazing.
 * Alex: We've got balls.
 * Meredith: You've got balls. I've got cajones.
 * Alex: You know those are balls, right?


 * Derek: Good morning.
 * Meredith: Good night.


 * April: I had to use soap and water.
 * Alex: What?
 * April: The acetone didn't work on the super glue until I mixed it with soap and water.
 * Jackson: I could use a little soap and water right now, I feel disgusting.
 * Meredith: I can smell you from up here.
 * April: Dibs on the shower.
 * Alex: I want a beer. Who's up for a beer?
 * April: Mm.
 * Lexie: Where do you get a beer at 6:00am?
 * Meredith: At home.