Don't Stand So Close to Me (Grey's Anatomy)

"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
Grey's Anatomy episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 10
Directed by	Seith Mann
Written by	Carolina Paiz
Production code	310
Original air date	November 30, 2006 (ABC)
Guest stars
George Dzundza as Harold O'Malley. Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn. Debra Monk as Louise O'Malley. Jennifer Aspen as Elena. Greg Pitts as Jerry O'Malley. Tim Griffin as Ronny O'Malley. Mandy Siegfried as Molly Grey Thompson. Jason Sklar as Jake Weitzman. Randy Sklar as Pete Weitzman. Mare Winningham as Susan Grey. Kate Burton as Dr. Ellis Grey.
Episode chronology
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Episode chronology

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is the tenth episode of the third season of the ABC series, Grey's Anatomy. The episode was written by Carolina Paiz and was directed by Seith Mann. It originally aired on November 30, 2006, , running for 43:09 min. This episode only features the closing voice-over and does not feature the opening voice-over.

Starring

• Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey.
• Sandra Oh as Dr. Christina Yang.
• Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens.
• Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev.
• T.R. Knight as Dr. George O´Malley.
• Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey.
• James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber.
• Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery.
• Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres.
• Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan.
• Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke.
• Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd.

Episode Recap

This episode opens with Ellis Grey fretting over Richard Webber leaving her, and Meredith tries to tell her that this had happened a long time ago but cannot get through to her mother. Meredith is hurt when Ellis cries that she should not have had a child so that Richard will stay with her.

Back at the hospital, Bailey insists that the Chief punish Burke and Cristina for their severe lapse in judgement but the Chief refuses, saying that no one was killed because of their cover-up. However, the Chief orders Burke to get his hand fixed by Derek immediately. Derek tries to help Burke fix his hand, but Burke coldly brushes him off and refuses his help because he feels that Derek is responsible for his hand tremors.

All the interns avoid Cristina and treat her shabbily except for Meredith, who comes to her best friend's defense. George is particularly miffed because Cristina was willing to let Burke operate on his father despite his shaky hand. However, Cristina refuses to let Meredith defend her or her past actions.

Addison calls Meredith and tells her that her half-sister Molly has been warded for an emergency C-section. Meredith tells her that Molly is not her family, but offers to be assigned to the case anyway. When Bailey assigns Cristina to George's father's valve replacement case, the interns are shocked because her mistake did not result in any repercussions. Bailey warns them not to jump to conclusions and shows the remaining interns their case for the day - adult conjoined twins Jake and Pete seeking to be separated. Jake wants to be separated from Pete so that he can pursue a real relationship with his girlfriend, Elena. The interns fight over who gets in on the case but because of the massiveness of the surgery, Bailey reluctantly allows George, Alex and Izzie to all be in on the surgery. The Chief, Derek and Mark are also performing the surgery. Mark whisks Izzie away to be his intern, to both Izzie's and Alex's disdain, albeit for different reasons.

In typical fashion, Izzie is delegated to get coffee for Mark. She is unfazed and refuses to get him any coffee, telling him where to find it himself. When he threatens her with the surgery, Izzie reluctantly gets him the coffee but tells him that he does not deserve any respect until he does something worth respecting.

The Chief lambastes Burke for blaming Derek for his hand when Burke was fully responsible for himself. He is also upset because he was ready to retire and pass on the torch to Burke but he "blew it out", so now he cannot mend his relationship with Adele. The Chief tells Burke that if he does not let Derek treat his hand, he is letting himself down.

George gets himself involved in his father's case and disregards Dr. Hahn's authority in the process. He is pulled aside by Bailey, who gives him strict orders to stay 50 feet away from his father because of her past experience with emotionally involved interns. But George nevertheless disobeys orders and finds Callie in his father's ward. Mr. O'Malley wants to know why George has been so angry at Callie and everyone else lately when the real person he is angry at is his father. George denies this but his father tells him that it is okay because he is angry at himself as well for contracting cancer. At this moment, his brothers return and tease him about how he is forbidden in his father's ward. He blows up at them once again, causing his father's heart to beat too fast. Callie pages the available cardio-thoracic surgeon and Burke comes in to assist. George reluctantly lets Burke help his father.

Meanwhile, Derek suffers his own crisis of confidence because of Burke blaming him for his hand. He is not confident of pulling off the separation surgery and does not see why the surgery should go ahead because of the complexity and risks involved. The Chief insists that he proceed with the surgery because it can be done and a successful separation will generate immense publicity for the hospital. Bailey shares with Derek about her own crisis of confidence after the fall-out of the M&M conference. She tells him that he was not responsible for Burke and it was Burke's own fault for keeping his hand tremors a secret.

During the separation surgery, Mark asks Bailey if Izzie can observe the surgery in the operating theatre instead of up in the gallery. Bailey approves despite the Chief warning her about Izzie's probation status. She counters saying that Cristina made a mistake too, but she is performing the valve replacement surgery with Dr. Hahn. Derek gets his confidence back after Bailey's pep talk and the surgery is a success.

George goes to observe his father's operation but is unable to bring himself to see his father go under the knife. At this moment, Burke walks in and allays his fears, convincing him of Cristina's stellar cardio-thoracic capabilities. Burke gives George a blow-by-blow account of his father's procedure when he is unable to look. His father's operation is also a success and George thanks Burke for his kind gesture.

During Molly's C-section, the baby is found not breathing and requires follow-up surgery for its jejunal atresia. Meredith tries to be emotionally distant, but fails when she is unable to tell Susan and Molly about the baby's medical complication. Addison refuses to let her in on the follow-up surgery because it was a mistake letting family treat family, so she sends Meredith to give hourly updates to Susan and Molly about the baby's condition during the surgery. When Meredith informs her stepmother and half-sister about the baby, she sees how other mothers provide comfort and care to their children. The baby manages to get through her procedure and Meredith informs a grateful Susan. Susan invites Meredith to be part of their family but Meredith coldly declines.

At the end of the day, Meredith castigates the other interns for being cold to Cristina. She reminds them that Cristina was there in their time of need, when Izzie cut Denny's LVAD wire, when Alex needed to study for his boards and when George was being called 007. She insists that they should return the favor now that she needs their support. George coldly replies that Cristina was calling him 007 and leaves, but Alex and Izzie apologise for their actions. Cristina asks Meredith why she cannot just mind her own business and is told that she is Meredith's sister and the only family she's got.

Meredith and Cristina see Derek and Burke going up in the elevator, so that Derek can take a look at Burke's hand. Cristina decides to follow and steps into the elevator as well. Back at home, Ellis is still ranting about how she should not have had Meredith and Meredith reaches forward and gives a hug, calling her Mommy. Ellis regains a moment of lucidity, calls her Meredith and returns the hug.

Title Reference

This episode's title refers to a song by The Police.

Music

• "Sociopath" - Anya Marina
• "Show Me" - John Legend
• "World Waits for You" - Son Volt