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Surgeons have a saying: all bleeding must stop. It's sort of our version of "this too shall pass". Every crisis will eventually come to an end. You either save your patient, or you won't. So, one way or the other, the bleeding will stop. Actually, as far as sayings go, this one's really not all that comforting. All bleeding must stop. Sometimes, it does so at a cost. You lose the arm, remove the organ. You choose to live with the loss, because at the end of the day, you'll do whatever you can to stay alive. And sometimes, by some miracle, it works. The bleeding stops. But sometimes, now matter how hard you try, it's still not enough.

It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) is the nineteenth episode of the twelfth season and the 264th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

Miranda continues to deal with the aftermath of Ben's reckless decisions and forms an advisory committee to recommend proper disciplinary action against him. Meanwhile, April and Jackson try to put their differences aside for the sake of their baby, and Arizona makes a decision that could affect her relationship with Callie forever.

Full Summary[]

Ben and Bailey ride in elevator together silently. Ben checks his watch. He tries to ask Bailey what the committee will ask him, but she can't tell him. He asks how Omar is. She can't tell him that either. She's doing her job. The elevator opens and he says it's a good thing he's not trying to save lives so he could hear see the elevator open.

Stephanie presents Omar's case. He's on therapeutic hypothermia as part of the new resuscitation protocol. Meredith leaves the room and tells Bailey and Richard that Omar is waking up and breathing on his own. Bailey tells Meredith they're waiting for her. Bailey tells Richard she put together an advisory panel made of Meredith, Maggie, and Owen, to interview everyone and advise her. He thinks she's side-stepping her duties. She says she can't be impartial about her husband and his career. She hopes her husband just didn't leave three kids with no parents.

Ben comes in and is surprised that it's Maggie, Meredith, and Owen instead of the lawyers he was expecting. He feels better because it's them. Maggie tells him the purpose of the panel and if he doesn't cooperate, he'll be fired. They begin.

Jackson is talking to his lawyer, Lee Parker, about April. He tried to take the high road, but April filed a restraining order. Lee says that works for them, because when they take her to court, she won't be able to prove her allegations, which will call her character into question. It'll help them get full custody once the baby's born.

April doesn't believe Jackson would go for full custody. Arizona asks Lucinda Gamble why he'd do that and she says it's what she'd advise April to do in that situation. The restraining order started an arms race and April wants to take it back. Lucinda tells her she needs to let it stand. This is what April wanted to avoid after Samuel. She wanted this baby to see safe. Lucinda says they can use her thinking her baby was in danger.

Penny comes into the viewing room where Callie is looking at x-rays of a broken pelvis. He was stepped on by a horse. Penny says tomorrow, she has to tell them if she's accepting the grant or not. Callie's surprised she hasn't answered them already, but Penny wouldn't give an answer without talking to Callie first. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Penny says it would involve moving to New York for at least a year. Callie asks if she's fine with that. It's once in a lifetime. Callie says she needs to get her patient to the OR.

Jo approaches Reggie Dalton in the ER. He has a hernia. She starts to examine him as he says he had surgery six months ago and that's when the hernia developed. He'd put off getting surgery, but it was allergy season and sneezing made the hernia pop out. He sneezes and Jo is shocked to see that it's very, very large.

As the committee reviews the security camera footage of the incident, Ben flashes back to Gretchen asking him if her baby was going to die. He tells her no. They tell him the doors were open before he touched Gretchen. He confirms that he didn't see the door open. It didn't register. Maggie proposes he'd already decided to cut and Owen suggests that he decided getting into the elevator and going to the OR would take too long. Meredith reminds him that lying will not go well. They go back to the footage.

Bailey tells Jasmine her grandma's on her way to the hospital. Omar has a long recovery ahead, but waking up is a good sign. Jasmine reminds her that she said she could see her dad when he woke up. Bailey says she did and takes Jasmine to see him. As they walk to his room, she prepares her for what she's about to see. They get there just as Omar is seizing. Bailey pushes Jasmine out of the room and away from the area.

Bailey comes into her office to find Ben. He's done with the committee for the day. He wanted to check on his post-ops, but they told him not to work. Bailey confirms that he shouldn't be seeing patients while they review his case. He says he'll go pick Tuck up early from school and take him to the arcade. Bailey asks if he cleaned his room, because he can't go to the arcade if he didn't. Ben knows because he was there when they made that rule. Ben approaches her and she says he was mean to her that morning. He apologizes and says it's been running him over like a truck. It has her, too. He says they need to separate it, work life from home. Church and state. A nurse comes and tells Bailey Omar's mother is there. Ben says he'll see her home. Before she goes, he asks if home is church or state. Church, she thinks.

April talks to Reggie about his hernia. He'll need a special procedure because of how large it is. He starts to push it back in, something he's gotten into the habit of doing. He asks if that's not okay. Jackson comes in and April pulls him out of the bay to talk. He was called for a plastics consult. He came to do it, but can't because of her restraining order. April says he should send someone else, but he suggests asking the patient whether he'd want the best plastic surgeon in the hospital or someone else. It's a general case as much as plastics and there are other general surgeons in the hospital. They hear Reggie sneeze again and Jo says, "Holy crap!"

Penny enters a supply closet. Callie sees her in there and comes in and closes the door. Callie tells her she ignored the moment where Callie tells her to go to New York and she asks Callie to go with her. Penny reminds her that she didn't even want Penny to meet her kid. Callie says she met Sofia and Sofia loves her and it's fine. Penny says she lives in Seattle. She has a job and a family there. She can't drop everything and move. Callie knows, but she wanted to be asked anyway. Penny says she's the most adorable woman in the world right now. Penny says she wants her to come to New York, but it's impossible, but there's long-distance. Callie starts kissing her as she talks about it. Weekend trips. Dirty phone calls. Penny removes her coat, but Arizona opens the supply closet, interrupting their moment. She needs a suture kit, but corrects that she doesn't need it anymore and leaves.

Alex and Arizona say they can't go back in time and see how it would have turned out if things had gone differently. Arizona wouldn't have opened her up in the hallway unless it was absolutely necessary, but Ben says he didn't have a choice. The only snag is that the doors were open and they wonder how he couldn't see them. They ask about the baby, whom Alex says wasn't oxygenating. They put him on ECMO, but it didn't work because he was so tiny. When Alex says Riggs suggested it, Owen is suspicious, but Alex agreed it was the best choice. They were out of options. Maggie says that's all they need and Alex and Arizona leave. Owen says they should meet again tomorrow, but Maggie says they've met with everyone. Owen says they haven't met with Riggs yet.

Stephanie gets several texts as she walks down the hall with Jo and Penny. Penny asks what they think will happen to Warren. Jo says Penny's already leaving, so if Ben leaves, they'll be worked to death. But Stephanie says they'll get all the surgeries. Stephanie gets another text. Jo steals her phone to see who it is. Penny asks who Kyle is and why he wants to do stuff with his tongue. Stephanie says it's the MS patient. They've been texting while he's on tour and she said they might go out on a date when he gets back. It's hot and dirty and she doesn't know how to respond to it. Jo takes her phone and replies for her. Stephanie thanks her. Penny asks Jo to teach her.

Callie gives Arizona a suture kit and apologizes. Arizona says it's fine and says she should have knocked. Callie tells Arizona Penny's leaving for New York because of the grant. Arizona says she's sorry, but that doesn't mean it has to be over. Long-distance relationships are possible. Callie doesn't know if they can survive that. Arizona says to decide she wants it to work and make it work. It's a six-hour flight. Weekends and phone calls. They can work it out and they should. Callie thanks her and goes to leave. Arizona stops her and suggests that maybe next time, they try a room with a lock.

April finds Jackson and Richard in the CT viewing room and is shocked that he stole her patient. He says he didn't and she needs to back up 100 feet. He says Richard will scrub in with him. He has seniority, so he's not stepping down. Richard tells them the patient's not getting less than their best because they can't be in the same room. He'll scrub in with Jackson and that's the end of it. April holds her belly and leaves. Richard says he can do tomorrow after four.

Mira Singh, Omar's mother, is told her son might never wake up again. He had a seizure that may have caused brain damage. His scans didn't show much activity. Bailey says he didn't have a directive and offers her DNR forms, so they would stop trying to resuscitate him. She says he's her baby and she doesn't know what to do. Jasmine comes in the room and tells her to sign the papers. He wouldn't have wanted to live like that, in a bed. And he'd want to be with Gretchen. Jasmine hugs her grandma and Mira asks for a pen. Jasmine kisses her father and says they love him.

Meredith comes into Omar's room and asks Amelia if there's any change. There isn't. Amelia asks about Ben's review committee. It's still going on, but Maggie says it shouldn't be. It's just Owen's beef with Riggs. There's bad blood. Amelia says it's really bad. Owen only told her headlines. It's hard to get things out of him. Meredith says it's probably because she was talking. Maggie tells them to be nice. Meredith tells them Riggs cheated on Owen's sister, which is why she got on the helicopter. He lied about it to her face, making himself look good. Meredith says Owen doesn't trust him and she's not inclined to either. Omar's heart rate starts dropping. Meredith turns off the alarm and they watch him. Maggie hates this part. Meredith leaves, saying Bailey will want to know.

Bailey looks around frantically for her keys. Ben gets up and turns on a light. He asks why she didn't wake him. She's supposed to wake him so he knows to listen for Tuck and to get him up and ready for school. She tells him she didn't wake him because she didn't want to talk to him because Omar is dying. She finds her keys and leaves.

Penny tells Callie she has skills, but Callie doesn't work alone. Callie says she'll be miserable without Penny. Penny says Callie never asked her to stay. Callie can't. She wants Penny to stay more than anything. But she knows better than to ask because she's been there before. It's the beginning of a new adventure for Penny and Callie couldn't ask her to give that up. She loves Penny too much. Penny starts to cry. She loves Callie and Callie loves her and now she has to leave to save lives. It sounds noble, like a movie, but it just really sucks. Callie kisses her and tells her it's the moment again. Penny should ask her again.

As the doorbell rings, Arizona tells Sofia to brush her teeth, because she wants to be on the road in ten minutes. Arizona opens the door to find April, who is out of breath and panicking. Something's wrong with the baby. She was driving to the hospital and got so scared, she couldn't breathe. Arizona's place was closer, so she came there. April starts to panic and says she can't do this again.

Arizona pushes and ultrasound machine down the hall with Sofia's help. When she sees Andrew, she hands Sofia off to him, saying Andrew will help her find the best coloring books. April's worried because she declined ultrasound before. She wanted the baby to be okay so badly, but what if she caused this? Arizona puts the wand on her belly and says they'll take a look. She finds the baby and April says that's the feeling and asks what it is. Arizona says it's the baby moving. Samuel never moved like that. She'll take cervical measurements to be sure, but she thinks that's just what a healthy baby feels like.

Richard and Catherine talk about the committee. Catherine thinks it was pretty clear. Richard says that doesn't make the decision any easier. Richard asks what if it were them. Would it be easy for her? She says they'd never be in that situation because she'd just strangle him with her bare hands. He says she'd be the only to do it. Jackson comes in and has all the papers together. All the documents related to his and April's marriage and divorce. The lawyer wanted him to put it together to make a timeline. Richard leaves the two of them to it. Jackson thanks him for backing him up with Reggie. Richard says he backed up a patient whose doctors couldn't stop fighting long enough to do their jobs.

Riggs gives his account of what happened with Gretchen's baby. Maggie agree that ECMO was the only option and tries to end the session, but Owen continues questioning Riggs about the case. Riggs answers and then Maggie dismisses him. Owen says if Riggs' recommendation kill the baby, they should ..., but Maggie says she would have made the same recommendation. There was nothing else left to do. They need to get back to the point, because Owen's been wasting their time. They have to answer one question: Is Ben telling them the truth?

Mira talks about Omar to Bailey, who says it's been hours since he starts coding and he hasn't had any more seizure activity. She suggests options to help his condition, but Mira says no, her son is gone.

Bailey sees Ben as he gets on the elevator with her. He asks if Omar is gone. Bailey says they're still waiting. She turns to him and he asks, "Church?" and offers his hand. She holds his hand for a moment, but then pulls back and says, "State." as she exits the elevator.

Ben sits down with the committee. They ask him why he chose to ignore the elevator doors opening. He says he didn't make a choice. He was forced to use the knowledge and resources he had to try to save her life. The door opened, but he didn't see it happen. Meredith doesn't understand how he didn't see it. Ben says as surgeons, they know what it's like when you operate. When you hold someone's life in your hand, you don't see, hear, or feel anything else. The rest of the world disappears and they know that.

Omar is in v-tach. Stephanie thinks he's going. Mira took the kids for lunch and Stephanie wonders if she should get them back. Bailey instead calls for a crash cart. Stephanie tries to stop her and so does Amelia, but she defibrillates. The third attempt works and restores sinus rhythm.

Back in Omar's room, Mira is questioning what Bailey did. She signed the DNR papers, so why would they resuscitate. They made a decision, but Bailey wanted to give him one more chance. Mira asks if she thinks there's hope, because yesterday, they were discussing brain damage. Amelia calls Bailey out into the hallway to talk to her.

Out in the hallway, Amelia tells her to explain what she was thinking. Bailey said he deserved a chance. Amelia counters that his family deserves for the hospital to respect their wishes. It's not fair to make a patient suffer so Ben won't. Bailey warns her to watch herself, so she leaves.

Callie passes Arizona in the hallway. She stops and goes back to tell Arizona she was right. Arizona loves being right and asks what she was right about. Callie says they figured it out. Arizona says great, but then Callie says she's going with Penny. Arizona is shocked. Callie says it's not impossible. It's an adventure. Arizona thinks she's kidding, but Callie says she can get a job out there and she has colleagues who can help her find a place. Arizona reminds her she has a daughter. Callie knows it's a lot to figure out, but tells Arizona it can be figured out. Arizona can see Sofia whenever she wants. They'll figure it out. Arizona is shocked, but Callie gets paged and has to leave. She says they'll talk later and thanks Arizona.

Maggie, Meredith, and Owen present their findings to Bailey. Every surgeon on the case said the same thing. They were backed into a corner and didn't have a choice. It comes down to whether or not she thinks he's lying about not seeing the elevator doors opening. Bailey asks if they think he was lying. They don't. They believe he missed it because he was so focused on the patient. Bailey thanks them and they leave. Richard tells her it sounds like they feel he tried. But two people are still dead. Richard asks what she's going to do.

Ben is shocked. No surgery for six months? Bailey says he's suspended from the residency program. He will get too far behind to catch up. Bailey asks if he feels remorse for what he did. He says he does and is surprised she's asking. All he does is play it over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what he could have changed. But six months isn't discipline. For a surgeon, it's a death sentence. He might as well drop out now. Bailey says that's all, Dr. Warren. Ben says he tried to save Gretchen and asks if they know that. And if she knows that. She doesn't reply and he leaves.

Jackson is packing his bag when a paper falls out. He picks it up. It's the post-nuptial agreement he and April signed. He flips through it and reads.

Arizona smiles when she sees Callie and Sofia down the hall. She stops and frowns when she sees Penny hug Sofia and kiss Callie. The three of them leave together.

Maggie is leaving when Nathan comes up behind her. He asks her about a patient Tacoma wants to transfer to them. She asks if the patient is stable enough to transfer and agrees to it when he says yes. Based on her reaction, he asks what Owen told her about him. She says Meredith told her about Megan. Maggie asks why he'd lie. It's not her business and she's not usually that person. He doesn't owe her an explanation, but he's a great guy and surgeon, so she wants to know why. Nathan says he didn't lie. She goes to leave, but he says everything he told Meredith was true. He just left out the parts that are for him and Megan. He doesn't owe anyone that. He made a mistake, a big one. And he's paid for it ever since. She says okay and they part ways.

Lucinda says she's glad her client's being strong. It's hard. Her client feels bad. She loved this person once. There's a child involved. But every custody battle has one thing in common: they're a battle. Even if you win, you'll still feel like you lost something. She asks again if it's a battle her client wants to fight. Arizona says her ex-wife wants to take their daughter across the country, so yes, she wants to fight.

April is leaving the hospital when Jackson approaches her. She tells him to stay away, but he just has something to say. She agrees to listen. He says he went over the paperwork for the lawyer and it was frustrating at first because it was so fair that he didn't find anything that helped his case. But then he realized it was because it was written by two people who really loved each other and wanted what was best for each other. He doesn't know where those people went. He doesn't know if they can fix them or if they should, but he doesn't like who he's turning into. The person who wrote that and signed it was her best friend. She was his favorite person in the world. He thinks they should treat each other like the people who wrote that paper. April steps toward him and asks if he wants to feel something unbelievably awesome. She puts his hand on her belly to feel the baby kick. He's in awe that their baby can kick.

Ben comes into Bailey's office and begs her to go to back to the committee and get them to reconsider. Bailey says they have nothing to reconsider. They made a recommendation and she made a decision. She's not talking about it anymore. Church and state. There's a reason they're separate, but he says to hell with that. She says six months is special treatment. If he'd been anyone else, he would have been fired. She wanted to fire him and she was talked down. He asks if she knows what she's done. He made a mistake. Surgeons make mistakes. Bailey says she doesn't make mistakes like that. He made a mistake she's trying to forgive and it'll take a lot longer than six months. He's sorry she disappoints him. She's sorry, too. Stephanie comes in and calls for Bailey, who leaves with her.

Amelia and Bailey talk about Omar, who started moving and responding to verbal stimuli. His vitals are stable and he's oriented. It shouldn't have happened, but he's awake. He doesn't know about his wife and baby. He's been asking. Amelia admits she was wrong and Bailey saved his life. Bailey says now she has to go in there and ruin it. Ben watches from afar as Bailey goes into Omar's room and starts talking to him. Ben turns around and walks away.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Omar Singh[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Seizure
  • Treatment:
    • Therapeutic hypothermia

Omar was post-op day one. He went into cardiac arrest shortly after surgery and was placed on therapeutic hypothermia as a resuscitation protocol. He was breathing spontaneously and starting to wake up, but he started seizing as he woke. After his seizure, his mother was told he might have suffered brain damage during the seizure. She and Jasmine decided to sign a DNR for Omar. He crashed and started to decline. When he went into v-tach, Bailey decided to ignore the DNR and attempt resuscitation. It worked and Omar's condition improved. He eventually woke up and asked about his wife.

Callie's Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Fractured pelvis
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Callie treated a patient whose pelvis was fractured after being stepped on by a horse. She surgically repaired it.

Reggie Dalton[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hernia
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Reggie had had surgery six months prior which caused a hernia. He'd had it checked out and was told he needed surgery, but it wasn't urgent. However, he got to the point where every time he sneezed, the hernia expanded his abdomen noticeably. He needed a special surgery in order to repair the defect.

April Kepner[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Pregnancy
  • Treatment:
    • Ultrasound

April came to Arizona's house panicked that something was wrong with the baby. Arizona took her to the hospital and did an ultrasound, which showed that her baby was healthy and the feeling she had was her baby moving.

Nathan's Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Failed stenting
  • Treatment:
    • Bypass

Nathan told Maggie about a patient Tacoma wanted to transfer to them for bypass. She authorized the transfer.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Waiting" Aquilo
  • Meredith, Maggie, and Amelia stand by Omar's bed as he dies after crashing.
  • Meredith leaves to tell Bailey.
  • Ben turns on the light to see Bailey looking for her keys.
  • He's upset because she didn't wake him when she got paged.
  • She tells him she didn't wake him because she didn't want to talk to him because Omar is dying.
  • Callie tells Penny she'll be miserable without her.
  • Penny says she didn't ask her to stay and Callie says she can't. She wants Penny to stay, but can't ask because she loves her too much.
  • Penny starts crying. She says she has to leave and it sucks. Callie says it's the moment again.
"Close to You" Rihanna
  • April puts Jackson's hand on her belly to feel the baby kicking.
  • Ben tells Bailey the committee needs to reconsider. Bailey says she's done talking about it. She says if he'd been anyone else, he would have been fired.
  • He says he made a mistake, but she says she doesn't make mistakes like that.
  • Stephanie comes to get Bailey.
  • Omar has woken up. Amelia tells Bailey his condition has improved and he's asking about his wife and baby.
  • Ben watches through a window.

Notes and Trivia[]

Grey's_Anatomy_12x18_"There's_A_Fine,_Fine_Line"_12x19_"It’s_Alright,_Ma"_Promo_(HD)

Grey's Anatomy 12x18 "There's A Fine, Fine Line" 12x19 "It’s Alright, Ma" Promo (HD)

  • This episode's title originated from the song It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), originally sung by Bob Dylan.
  • This episode scored 7.97 million viewers.[1]
  • The table read for this episode took place on February 19, 2016.[source?]
  • This episode is the second part of a two-hour event, the first part being the previous episode.

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Amelia: Owen only ever told me headlines, and I had to drag it out of him. It was impossible to get him to talk.
Meredith: It's probably because you were talking.

Ben: It's a good thing I'm not trying to save lives so I can see that the elevator doors are open.

Miranda: To be clear, it's a six-month suspension from the residency program.
Ben: I'm suspended from the hospital?!
Miranda: Yes.
Ben: How do you... Do you have any idea how far behind I'll fall? I'll never get caught up. What am I supposed to learn from this?
Miranda: Do you feel even the slightest remorse?
Ben: Yes. Yes! How can you ask me that? Of course I do! All I do is play it over again in my mind, trying to figure out how I could change it. Of course I do. But six months... it's... it's not discipline. For a surgeon, that's a death sentence. I might as well drop out now.
Miranda: That's all, Dr. Warren.
Ben: I tried to save her the only way I know how.

Maggie: You don't owe me an explanation, obviously, but you're a good guy and a great surgeon, and I just... Why?
Nathan: I didn't lie to Meredith.
Maggie: It's fine. Forget it.
Nathan: Look, everything I told her was true. There was a patient. There was a helicopter. I just left some parts out. The part where we fought... where I cheated... where I failed the best person I've ever met, the only woman I've ever loved. And those parts are for me and Megan. You're right. I don't owe anyone that. I made a mistake, a big one. And I've paid for it ever since.

Lucinda: I'm glad you're being strong about this. I know how hard this is. I know how bad you feel. You loved this person once. There's a child involved. But I'm gonna tell you, the one thing that all custody cases have in common is that they are always a battle. And no matter what, even if you win, you will still feel like you lost something. So, are you sure this is a battle you want to fight?
Arizona: My ex-wife wants to move across the country and take our daughter, so... yeah.

Arizona: Long-distance relationships aren't impossible.
Callie: Yeah, I don't know if we can survive long distance. I'm so afraid that it'll all fall apart.
Arizona: Then don't let it. I mean, decide you want it to work and make it happen. It's New York. It's a six-hour flight. It's weekends and phone calls. You can figure it out. You will. You should.

Jackson: All right, I have been going over the paperwork, you know, for the lawyer. The prenup, post-nup, whatever.
April: You know, I just... I don't need this.
Jackson: At first glance, it was actually really frustrating, you know, 'cause I wasn't finding anything that was actually gonna help my case. It was just so fair. Um, and I realized that was because it was written by two people who really loved each other, two people who really wanted to protect each other, who really wanted what was best for each other. And, April, I, uh... I don't know where those people went. I don't know if we can fix us, April. I don't know if we should. But I know I don't like who I am turning into. I don't want to treat you... This person who wrote this, who signed this, was your best friend. You were my best friend, April, my favorite person. And I realized that that's who I should be dealing with. We should treat each other the way we did on this paper.

April: You want to feel something unbelievably awesome?
(She lets Jackson touch her belly.)
Jackson: Oh, is that a kick?
April: Yeah.
Jackson: He's kicking?
April: Or she's kicking.
Jackson: This baby can kick.
April: Our baby can kick.

See Also[]

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


References[]

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