Season 2, Episode 17: As We Know It
Overall Episode Number: 26
Created by: Shonda Rhimes
/ / /
In hospitals they say you know. You know when you're going to die. Some doctors say it's a look patients get in their eyes. Some say there's a scent. The smell of death. Something. There's just some kind of sixth sense. When the great beyond is heading for you. You feel it coming. Whatever it is, it's creepy. Because if you know, what do you do about it? Forget about the fact you're scared out of your mind. If you knew this was your last day on Earth, how would you want to spend it?
- Meredith Grey
/ / /
Addison is talking to Richard at the nurse's station. "Calm down."
Richard is understandably upset. "Calm down? I have an evacuated O.R. A bomb in a body cavity. A missing paramedic! An intern with her hand on the explosive! Two world class surgeons in harm's way!" George walks up behind them. "A man on a table who may bleed out at any moment unless we move the bomb from his chest! And my favorite resident in labor who you're now telling me refuses to push! Really, calm down? You really want to say to me calm down?"
"Okay don't calm down!" Addison said frantically.
"Dr. Bailey is scared, sir. It's a day to be scared." George told Richard.
Addison sighs. "She won't let me examine her but from what I can tell her contractions are 40 seconds apart and she's refusing to push. The baby could go into distress and if she doesn't come out of this and soon, then I'm gonna need an O.R. to do an emergency C-section."
Richard is still upset. "I can't give you an O.R. Addie! I don't have an O.R. to give. Can't you convince her to push? Bailey's rational."
"She's not Bailey right now! She's a woman in labor whose husband is in surgery next to a bomb." Addison reminded.
"So is yours."
Addison shook her head. "This is about Bailey. I need an O.R."
"I don't know what to tell you."
Addison looks despondent. "Look Richard, we have about an hour to change Bailey's mind and then I'm going to need you to get me an O.R. Build me an O.R. Find me a helicopter to fly me to any O.R in the city. Otherwise instead of having a baby, she'll be losing one."
Addison walks off. Richard gives George a look and George scurries off.
/ / /
In Bailey's room, where she's sitting on a chair, in pain. George is standing in front of her. Mackenzie is still on the couch.
"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd just talked to the Chief. They're really worried about you. She's on the phone with Mercy West right now to see if they have any O.R.s available." George told her.
Bailey sighed. "I need someone to drive me home."
"They're talking about doing an emergency C-section."
Bailey shakes her head. "They can talk all they want. I'm not going to Mercy West. This baby is not coming out. I need a ride! I can't focus enough to drive myself," her voice cracks. "And Tucker... I need a ride."
"You could lose it! You know this!"
"I told you already. I'm not having this baby until tomorrow," Bailey said stubbornly.
George got a bit angry. "This baby could die before it's even born!"
Bailey yells, "Can you give me a ride home?"
"Dr. Bailey..."
"Then get out!" Bailey screamed.
George leaves the room, and he doesn't even see the upset look on Mackenzie's face.
All this yelling won't help anything.
/ / /
Addison is sitting on an empty gurney in the middle of an empty hallway, looking very upset. George walks up to her. "Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd. What are we gonna do? I mean about Dr. Bailey. Can, can we drug her?"
"Against her will?"
"No. Well... yes," George stutters. Addison looks annoyed. "Can't we force her to push? If we, ah, declare her temporarily insane."
Addison lets out a noise of frustration. "Ah. You want me to declare Miranda Bailey, Miranda Bailey incompetent? Do you think that will help? Do you think that will make her more inclined, more comfortable giving birth?"
"I don't know, that's why..."
Addison interrupts, "Do you think I'm not doing everything I can to help her? I mean do you think I'm just out here because I don't know feel a little lazy, just need a little me time?"
"I'm just asking."
Addison yells. "Stop asking! Because no matter what you ask the answer is I don't know. I'm doing everything thing I can! Everything I can! Miranda Bailey's husband is in mortal danger. Actual mortal danger! And there's not a lot I can say to comfort her right now because there's not a lot that anybody can say to comfort me! I'm doing my best! Dr. Bailey is doing her best! And I need you to do your best! And I need it to be better than standing here asking me the world's most stupidest question! I don't know O'Malley!"
George nods slightly, looking a little upset as he leaves.
/ / /
In Bailey's room, where Bailey is lying in bed, refusing to move. Addison is in there with her trying to get to her move. Mackenzie is spaced out, thinking about Derek. He could die today. Today might be her father's last living day.
Her thoughts then turn to Meredith. Meredith Grey had her hand inside a body with a live bomb inside of it. She wanted to scream, cry, and a lot more... but it was useless. All she could do was pray that she didn't lose a very dear friend and her mother today.
Mackenzie is pulled out of her thoughts when George starts speaking to Bailey.
"Dr. Bailey, I'm surprised at you. I really thought...this is not how I thought you would do this."
Addison stops at the door. "Dr. O'Malley I don't think that..."
George ignores Addison and moves to Bailey's bedside. "I truly... I expected more."
"George..." Mackenzie says hoarsely.
George takes a damp cloth and wipes it against Bailey's arm. Addison moves back into the room and watches. George leans down to talk to her. "You're Dr. Bailey. You don't hide from a fight. You don't give up. You strive for greatness. You Dr. Bailey, you are a doer. And... I know your husband is not here and I know that there are a lot of things going on here that we have no control over. But this..." he takes his hand and lifts up her chin for her to look at him directly. "this... we can do. Okay?" Bailey half nods, crying. George nods. "Okay."
Addison starts moving to prepare Bailey while George helps Bailey sit up. He gets on the bed and sits behind her to support her. "Let's have this baby."
Mackenzie holds Bailey's hand as George takes the other. "Let's have this baby, Dr. Bailey."
/ / /
Bailey is giving birth in her patient room.
"Augh!"
"Push!" George coaches.
Addison nods. "A little bit more. I can see the top of the head."
"I need to stop. Need to stop." Bailey pants. She falls back against George.
George nods. "Okay that was good." He silently pulls his hand back and makes a pained expression as if she's broken his fingers. "That was very good. That was — Okay." He helps Bailey sit up right again. "Are you ready?"
Addison looks to Bailey. "Ready?"
Bailey nods. "Okay."
"Push," George encourages.
"Oh god!" Bailey screams as she pushes.
/ / /
Bailey is still in labor and she's pushing. "Augh!"
Addison nods. "Good. Stop."
"Stop?" Bailey asks.
"Stop."
George looks up at the mirror hanging against the wall so that Bailey and him can see the actual birth. "Oh! Dr. Bailey I can see the top of his head!" Addison grins. "He's got a lot of hair. Oh he's cute."
Bailey glares. "O'Malley?"
"Yeah?"
"Stop looking at my va-jay-jay!"
George looks away instantly. "Yes ma'am."
/ / /
After Bailey gives birth to her son, George and Mackenzie go sit down in one of the waiting rooms on the floor. George has his arm around Mackenzie's shoulders.
"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Mackenzie asks.
"Dr. Bailey and her son? They're going to be fine," George answers.
Mackenzie exhaled sharply. "I was talking about... Papa and Meredith. Do you think they're going to be okay?"
George kisses her head. "You listen here, Mackenzie Eloise. Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey are two of the strongest people I've known. They are going to be fine. I know that. You know that. We are both going to sit here and wait for them to come back from their O.R.s. Okay?"
"Okay. I'm just... really scared. I don't want them to die, George. I can't lose them," Mackenzie says in tears.
George sighs softly and wraps his arms around her, consoling her. "They're not going to die. You know Meredith; she's too stubborn to die. And so is your father."
Mackenzie let out a laugh. "They are, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they are. And I am so proud of you, Ellie. You got to help Dr. Bailey deliver her baby."
"Me? All I did was hold her hand. It was all you and Addison, George. You convinced Dr. Bailey to have her baby. You delivered a baby today. I'm proud of you." Mackenzie said, now feeling much better.
George smiled a bit more. "I did, didn't I?"
"George O'Malley: Heart in the elevator guy and quite possibly Bailey's baby's godfather."
/ / /
Derek is walking around looking anxiously as if searching for someone. Richard and Adele notice and Richard walks up to him.
Derek is anxious. "Where is she?"
"You had to be a cowboy," Richard said.
Derek just looks around. "Where-Where is she?"
Richard points to Addison. "She's right here."
"Derek. You're okay." Addison comes up walking fast and hugs Derek, relieved. "Oh, you're okay."
Adele and Richard both know that Addison was not the 'she' Derek was referring to.
Derek was referring to Mackenzie... and in another sense, Meredith.
/ / /
Post-op room, where Tucker is awake and sitting upright. Bailey is standing there, holding their baby boy who is so cute.
"This is our son. William George Bailey-Jones."
/ / /
Mackenzie can't control her tears when she sees Derek talking to Addison at the nurse's station. She begins walking up to them.
Derek looks past Addison to see his daughter, and his eyes fill with tears instantly. He walks a few inches towards her before she fills his arms, both of them crying.
"You're okay. You're okay," Mackenzie told herself and Derek through her tears.
Derek silently cried into his daughter's blonde hair, not caring who saw. "I'm okay. I'm okay, sweetheart. Papa's okay."
This was a day that nobody would ever forget. It was tense, scary, and all around just awful.
/ / /
Mackenzie nearly tackles Meredith to the floor when she walks out of the elevator.
Meredith wraps her arms around Mackenzie, like a mother would with her child.
"I'm here, Mackenzie. I'm here. I'm alive. It's okay. It's okay," Meredith cooed gently in the girl's ear.
Mackenzie let more tears fall. "I love you, Meredith Grey."
Meredith let a single tear fall from her cheek. "I love you too, Mackenzie Shepherd-Sloan."
/ / /
In Meredith's house, Derek is standing in front of the door, waiting for Meredith. He sighs. Meredith comes up and stands right in front of him.
"Hey." She says softly.
He stares at her, looking very relieved. "Hey. You almost died today."
Meredith nods. "Yeah. I almost died today." He looks at her for a bit and then opens the front door to leave. "I can't..." he steps back into the house, "I can't remember our last kiss. All I could think about was I'm going to die today and I can't remember our last kiss. Which is pathetic, but the last time we were together and happy I... want to be able to remember that. And I can't Derek." He nods. "I can't remember."
"I'm glad you didn't die today." Derek repeats. He goes to leave out the door. Meredith turns around to back upstairs. He stops her when he speaks, standing at the doorway. "It was a Thursday morning. You were wearing that ratty little Dartmouth t-shirt you look so good in. The one with the hole in the back of the neck," he chuckles a little. "You'd just washed your hair and you smelled like some kind of flower. I was running late for surgery. You said you were gonna see me later and you leaned to me, you put your hand on my chest and you kissed me. Soft. It was quick, kinda like a habit. You know, like we'd do it every day for the rest of our lives. You went back to reading the newspaper and I went to work. That was the last time we kissed." He moves to leave again almost closing the door when Meredith speaks.
"Lavender." Derek steps back in. "My hair smelled like lavender from my conditioner."
Derek nods. "Lavender." He smiles. "Huh." He leaves and Meredith starts to head back up to her room.
/ / /
If this was your last day on Earth, how would you wanna spend it?
- Meredith Grey
/ / /
2246 words
Next Update: Yesterday
*This was an emotional episode, but it also gave us William George Bailey-Jones.*
Published: 3/02/2021