season 5 episode 23
"How are you gonna do it?" Holly asked, smiling as she walked down the hall with Derek to the Nurse's station."
"Well, I'm--" Derek stopped himself as he began to eavesdrop on the conversation with Mark and Lexie, leaning against the Nurse's station to do so and began to write in Izzie's chart.
"Der--"
"Shush." Derek whispered, nodding his head at the other two.
"So I was thinking I'd start looking for a condo." Mark smiled at Lexie.
"Perfect," Lexie nodded, "and then you'd finally have a place of your own."
"Actually," Mark added, "I was, you know, thinking maybe you'd, uh, you'd come with me."
"Absolutely." Lexie smiled, "No, I-I--I would love to see it." She grabbed her charts, "I'm so happy for you."
Derek cleared his throat once Lexie left to notify Mark of his presence as Holly facepalmed. Mark turned around slowly, "How much of that did you hear?"
Holly mouthed 'everything,' as Derek shrugged, "You mean the part where you asked her to move in with you, or the part where she shot you down?"
"Mm." Mark hummed.
"We were here for both." Derek clicked his pen into his pocket, "By the way, it's just way too early for you to be moving in with Lexie. You don't have to do everything I do."
Holly snorted, putting away the chart Derek had as Mark shook his head, "This is not about you. I have my own future to think about. Life is short. Look at what's going on with Stevens."
"Don't worry about Stevens." Derek shook his head, "I got a plan."
Holly smiled, nodding her head, "He's got a plan."
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Derek's plan was to remove one of Izzie's hippocampus, which meant Izzie could lose her memory and it would compromise her ability to be a surgeon as well.
By Dr. Swender's recommendation, Derek and Holly set Izzie up for a 'test run' where they would see if her brain could function without the ride side of brain.
"Okay, Iz," Meredith started, standing next to Izzie to show her some flashcards with images as Holly stood behind Derek, "I am going to show you--"
"A series of images that you want me to remember once Derek puts the right side of my brain to sleep." Izzie finished, knowing the drill.
"Mm-hmm." Derek and Holly nodded.
"Hit me." Izzie told Meredith, "Show me what you got."
"Okay." Meredith showed a card with a dog.
"Is that a schnauzer or a scottie?" Izzie remarked, "How specific do I need to be?"
Holly chuckled as Derek answered, "Dog's fine."
Meredith showed another card and Izzie noted, "It's either a 727 or a 747."
"Or plane." Holly shrugged, "Plane is also acceptable."
Meredith smiled as she showed another card, "Ooh," Izzie hummed, "a two-story victorian mansion."
"We should also accept the word 'house.'" Derek commented.
"Schnauzer, 747, mansion." Izzie repeated to remind herself of the images, "Schnauzer, 747, mansion. Schnauzer, 747, mansion. Schnauzer, 747, mansion."
"Or dog, plane, house." Derek suggested before advising her, "I'm gonna put the right hemisphere of your brain to sleep now, okay?"
Derek nodded at the doctors to inject the drug as Izzie sighed and whispered, "Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane, house."
The doctors injected the drug and Derek told Holly, "Okay, now we just wait for the brain activity in that area to stop."
"Dog, plane, house. Dog, plane... h..." Izzie trailed off as Derek nodded at Meredith, signaling that the right brain was asleep.
"Okay, Iz." Meredith began, "Can you tell me what you saw?"
Izzie frowned her eyebrows and blinked and Meredith worriedly looked back at Derek, who told her, "Show her the cards."
Meredith took out the dog card, "What's this?"
"Um..." Izzie stared at the dog, trying to remember the word.
"Dog." Meredith filled in the blank, "Can you say dog?" Izzie muttered, worrying Meredith when she couldn't sound out a single word, "What's my name?"
Derek shook his head, "Just stick to the cards, Meredith."
Izzie struggled, "M..."
"Meredith." Meredith finished and nodded her head, "You know my name. You can say my name."
Izzie nodded, "M..." She muttered more.
Dr. Swender whispered, "This is what I was afraid of."
"She's got it." Holly whispered back, holding faith, "She'll get it."
"Okay," Meredith held in tears, nodding her head at Holly, "what's Holly's hair color?"
Izzie struggled again, "R... R..."
"Who's Alex?" Meredith continued, noticing how stressed Izzie was, "Iz, okay, you don't have to speak. Just nod your head for me if you know who Alex Karev is."
Izzie looked around, trying to remember who the man Meredith named was.
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Considering the test was a worst-case scenario and Dr. Swender's "miracle case" died a few hours earlier, Izzie finally opted to have the surgery-- and she signed a D.N.R.
Alex ran to Izzie's side as a few nurses wheeled Izzie to surgery while Derek and Holly walked behind her. He told her how crazy he'd go-- comparing his craziness to Izzie's level of cutting L-VAD wires for Denny-- but she stuck strong with her decision.
So while Holly scrubbed in for surgery with Derek, thinking about LVAD wires and D.N.R.s, she didn't expect George to burst into the scrub room before the two.
"O'Malley, you can't--"
"I know." George nodded, slightly out of breath from running several flights of stairs to get to Holly, "I just need to tell Holly something then I'll get out of the way."
Derek nodded at the two, beginning to walk inside the O.R., "You've got two minutes."
Holly frowned her eyebrows, "George, what's--"
"I'm gonna join the army." George blurted out, "I--"
"You what?!" Holly's eyes enlarged as she forced herself to continue scrubbing instead of hitting George.
"They need guys out there-- surgeons, Holly." He sighed, desperately wanting her to understand, "There are guys out there sacrificing their lives for this country and I feel like I should do my part in helping those guys-- patching them up, it's what I feel I'm meant to do." He held eye contact with her, "Please, understand--"
"Kepner," Derek shouted out from the O.R. as Izzie was getting anesthetized, "you coming?"
"Y-Yeah." Holly shouted out, looking back at George, "Are you sure about this? Did you sleep on it? Did you tell your mother--"
"I did." George nodded with a smile, "I did, and I'm one hundred percent sure this is what I'm meant to do-- saving lives out there, it'll be--"
"Amazing." Holly nods, "I bet it will be." She exhaled deeply, finishing scrubbing in, "I want to be supportive but I just need time to process."
"Well," George nodded his head to Izzie, "seems like you'll have plenty of time."
Holly rolled her eyes, kissing George lightly before gesturing for him to leave, "Go."
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mm whatcha sayyyy~