Season 1, Episode 2: The First Cut is the Deepest
Overall Episode Number: 2
Created by: Shonda Rhimes
/ / /
"It's all about lines. The finish line at the end of residency, waiting in line for a chance at the operating table, and then, there's the most important line. The line separating you from the people you work with. It doesn't help to get too familiar. To make friends. You need boundaries between you and the rest of the world. Other people are far too messy. It's all about lines. Drawing lines in the sand, and praying like hell no one crosses them."
- Meredith Grey
/ / /
"You have reached the voicemail of Dr. Mark Sloan. Please leave a message."
"Hey Daddy, it's me. I know you're at work right now, but I just wanted to call you and tell you that I love you. I miss you and New York, but Seattle is cool. Call me back when you have a chance. I love you. Bye."
Mackenzie ended the voicemail message and closed her phone with a sigh. Mark promised her that he would call her every Wednesday morning before Mackenzie and Derek moved to Seattle. It conflicted with the time difference between Washington and New York, but Mark always went out of his way to call his daughter.
It was Wednesday, and Mark was supposed to call her an hour ago. Mackenzie thought he was just busy, but her mind thought of only one reason why he didn't call.
Mark forgot.
Derek walked in the trailer and saw the downcast look on Mackenzie's face. "What's wrong sweetheart?"
Mackenzie shoved her phone into her back pocket of her jeans. "He didn't call. He didn't call this morning like he promised."
Derek sighed and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry baby girl. I'm sure he'll call you back later." He consoled.
Anger pitted in Derek's stomach towards Mark, and it didn't have anything to do with the Addison incident. Mark made a promise to Mackenzie, and he was falling behind on it already. Derek decided he would leave Mark a very strong-worded voicemail later during his lunch break.
"Um, Papa? Not that I don't love the hug... but don't you have to be at work?" Mackenzie asked, pulling her father out of his thoughts.
Derek looked down at his daughter's face, and he gave her a smile. "You're absolutely right. We don't need to be late."
Mackenzie let a small smile grace her lips as Derek finished preparing for his shift. The pair left the trailer, got into Derek's truck and headed towards the hospital.
Mackenzie wondered how her day would go... considering Meredith didn't know that Mackenzie knew that Meredith slept with Derek.
What a day it'll be.
/ / /
After dropping Mackenzie off at the peds floor, Derek was taking the elevator back down to the first floor... where Meredith appeared on the other side.
Meredith stepped on the elevator, not even acknowledging Derek's presence.
Derek decided to say something. "Seattle has ferry boats."
"Yes." Meredith agreed.
"I didn't know that. I've been living here six weeks. I didn't know there were ferry boats." Derek stated.
Meredith nodded. "Seattle is surrounded by water on three sides."
"Hence the ferry boats. Now I have to like it here. I wasn't planning on liking it here. I'm from New York. Genetically engineered to dislike everywhere, except Manhattan. I have a thing for ferry boats." Derek explained.
Meredith turned around to face him. "I'm not going out with you."
Derek smiled. "Did I ask you to go out with me? Do you want to go out with me?"
Meredith glared. "I'm not dating you. And I'm definitely not sleeping with you again. You're my boss."
Derek smirked. "I'm your boss's boss."
Meredith looked at him. "You're my teacher. And my teacher's teacher. And you're my teacher."
"I'm your sister, I'm your daughter." Derek continued.
"You have a daughter, remember?" Meredith told him. Then she continued. "You're sexually harassing me."
Derek looked around the elevator. "I'm riding an elevator."
Meredith sighed. "Look, I'm drawing a line. The line is drawn. There's a big line."
"So, this line. Is it imaginary, or do I need to get you a marker?" Derek teased.
Meredith stares at him for a second, drops her folders and kisses him. He's just a tad surprised but catches on pretty fast, until the elevator doors ding and Meredith quickly crouches to pick up her folders and leave. Derek stands there looking bemused.
"We'll talk later?"
/ / /
Mackenzie decided not to hang around the peds floor, and instead found herself at a nurse's station with George and Cristina.
"Do you know what the code team does? Saves lives. I shock a heart and someone lives to see another day. It's upbeat. It's glass half full." George told Cristina and Mackenzie.
Cristina glared. "Bambi, don't say another word until after the hunter shoots your mother."
Mackenzie glared at Cristina. "You're rude to George. Shut up."
George fist bumped with Mackenzie. Then his attention went to Cristina. "I don't like you."
Cristina shrugged. "Well, I have a B.A. from Smith, a Ph.D. from Berkeley, and an MD from Stanford and I'm delivering lab results. It's going to take me all day to get through these."
Mackenzie was about to comment, but Bailey beat her to it. "Then get started."
Cristina paled. "Oh, uh, I wasn't complaining. I-I don't — "
"You're totally complaining. You're worse at lying than you are being a kiss-up." Mackenzie stated bluntly. This received a smile from George and a smirk from Bailey.
"This intern was reassigned, so he's mine, now." Bailey told Cristina. Mackenzie saw that it was Alex, the same intern who couldn't list off the common causes of post-op fever. "Have him shadow you for the day. You show him how I do things."
Alex looked at Cristina. "Alex Karev, nice to meet you."
"The pig who called Meredith a nurse, yeah. I hate you on principle." Cristina commented.
Alex smirked. "And you're the pushy overbearing kiss-ass, I, uh, I hate you too."
Cristina smiled. "Oh, should be fun then."
George's pager beeped, and Mackenzie watched as he ran through the corridor.
"Go save some lives, George."
/ / /
Meredith placed her cooler on a desk where George is working.
Mackenzie and George both look at the cooler in curiosity. "What's that?" They asked.
Meredith shook her head. "Don't ask, you don't want to know."
George looked at Meredith. "I do want to know. Really."
"You really want to know?" Meredith questioned.
George nodded.
Meredith looked at Mackenzie. "Do you really want to know? I mean, you're 11 years old."
Mackenzie shrugged. "And? I've read all the anatomy and surgical textbooks three times. Memorized them all."
Meredith caved. "It's a severed penis."
George looked disgusted. "Oookay. I didn't really want to know."
Mackenzie shrugged. "Not impressive. Would be cooler if it was another organ. Genitalia in coolers are overrated."
Cristina and Alex walked up.
"I don't know why I have to be the one who gets hugged." Cristina whined.
Alex smirked. "Because. I don't do that. Besides, you're the ovarian sister here."
Cristina looked at Alex. "Did you just call me an ovarian si- an ovarian - since when has the possession of ovaries become an insult?"
"Meredith's carrying a penis around in a jar." George blurted.
Cristina looked interested. "Oh, from the rape surgery?"
Meredith nodded. "Yeah, and it's not a jar, it's a cooler."
"Talk about taking a bite out of crime." Cristina said before she and Alex left.
George looked to Meredith. "You okay?"
"Yeah...Alison's shoes. The rape victim, Alison, her shoes. I have the same ones. In my locker. And I normally never wear them, because they're not comfortable, but today I did, and she was wearing the same shoes, and it's just...stupid, and I'm tired, and forget it." Meredith said.
George looked at her. "You know what you need?"
The two interns stare at each other while Mackenzie stared at them.
Meredith shook her head. "No. It's sick and twisted. We said last time was the last time."
George looked away.
Meredith dropped her jaw. "You've been doing it without me?"
George shrugged. "Nancy Reagan lied. You can't just say no. Come on."
"Do you know what would happen if anyone knew?" Meredith questioned.
George smiled. "I'm doing it. You can come with me...or you can stay here, and be miserable."
Mackenzie looked at Meredith and George. "What exactly are we doing?"
George smiled widely at his new friend. "You have to swear not to tell anyone we're doing this. This is your induction to our friendship. Swear you won't say anything?"
"Yeah, I swear. Now what are we doing?" Mackenzie inquired.
"You'll see." Both interns replied.
/ / /
Meredith, George and Mackenzie were looking at babies in the nursery.
"This is weird, but also therapeutic." Mackenzie commented.
George placed a hand on her back in a brotherly fashion. "Yes it is. It's why I like it so much."
Meredith smirked. "You are such a woman."
George's pager beeped.
George sighed. "It's a code. I gotta go."
Meredith watches them and sighed. "You are really cute."
Mackenzie looked up at Meredith and then at her phone. A text from Derek. "I gotta go. Thanks for letting me do this with you and George, Meredith."
Meredith nodded. "You're welcome, Mack. Now go. Don't keep Dr. Shepherd waiting."
Mackenzie walked to the elevator and she sighed once the doors closed.
She was so close to telling Meredith that she knew about her night with Derek.
Maybe she'd tell Meredith later.
/ / /
Mackenzie stepped off the elevator and walked down the catwalk to the Chief of Surgery's office. She saw Derek was talking to Richard.
Mackenzie knocked on the door, and she was let in by Patricia. "Am I interrupting something? My dad texted me."
Derek looked back and saw his daughter, and he smiled. "It's okay pumpkin. Come here."
Mackenzie sat down in the chair next to Derek, facing the Chief.
"Mackenzie, you remember Chief Webber, right?" Derek asked.
Mackenzie nodded. "Yes. It's wonderful to see you again, Chief Webber."
"Likewise, Mackenzie. How are you doing today? Your dad tells me you've been hanging out with some of the interns." Richard said with a smile.
Mackenzie became very sheepish. "I'm doing fine today. Wait... was I not supposed to hang out with the interns? Are they going to get in trouble?"
Richard shook his head. "No, my dear. It's a good thing. Considering your age, you're a breath of fresh air for our staff. I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with me today? I'd love to get to know you and become a friend of yours."
Mackenzie looked at Derek, who only nodded. She turned back to the Chief.
"I would like that very much."
/ / /
Cristina and Meredith sat in the lobby.
"What're you doing down here?" Cristina asked.
Meredith sighed. "Just sitting here with my penis. What about you?"
Cristina shrugged. "Hiding from Alex."
"I kissed Derek." Meredith revealed.
"You kissed Derek." Cristina repeated.
Meredith nodded. "In the elevator."
"Oh, you kissed him in the elevator." Cristina said.
Meredith sighed. "I was having a bad day. I am having a bad day."
"Oh, so this is what you do on your bad days. Make out with Dr. McDreamy." Cristina commented.
The girls got up to leave.
"Well, that, and you know, carrying around a penis just makes everything seem so shiny and happy." Meredith spoke.
Cristina nodded. "Mmm. George said Alison was wearing your shoes."
"Yeah. It's weird, right?" Meredith asked.
Cristina nodded. "It's weird that you care."
Meredith sighed. "I think it's weird."
They heard a car swerve and, looking through the glass at what happened, rush outside.
A man is staggering out of his car, his clothes soaked in blood, mainly around his crotch.. He collapses. In seconds there are doctors and nurses checking him.
Meredith instantly knew that this man was Alison's rapist.
/ / /
While the rapist stumbled in, Richard and Mackenzie were talking in an empty O.R. Richard was quizzing Mackenzie on all the surgical tools on a surgical tray. She knew everything from the Bovi to the 10-blade.
"I have to say Mackenzie, I'm impressed. For you to know as much as you know at your age... you're going to do great things one day." Richard praised.
Mackenzie smiled bashfully. "Thank you, Chief. That's what happens when you're raised by a family of doctors."
Burke walked up to the pair. "Richard."
Richard looked at Burke. "We got the rapist. He stumbled right into the hospital."
Burke nodded. "Yeah, I heard."
Mackenzie's eyes widened. "Alison's rapist stumbled into the hospital?" She asked. Burke only nodded in response.
Richard sighed. "Listen, Burke..."
"Why?" Burke asked.
"You really want to know?" Richard questioned.
"I want to know when you stopped thinking of me as your number one. Richard, I do more in this hospital than any other surgeon." Burke commented.
"You do only exactly as much as is necessary. You never take an extra step, you never give an extra minute. You're comfortable. And arrogant, and it doesn't impress me. You want to be chief, earn it." Richard told the cardiothoracic surgeon before he left.
Now it was just Burke and Mackenzie.
Mackenzie saw the disappointed look on Burke's face, and walked over to him to give him a hug. "Maybe if you went above and beyond, you could make Chief of Surgery. I think you can."
Burke chuckled as he hugged the girl back. "This is why you're my favorite Shepherd, Mackenzie."
/ / /
Alex, Cristina and Mackenzie are sat on the empty beds in the empty corridor. Mackenzie was eating a bag of M&Ms and drinking a bottle of water.
"My head hurts." Alex whined.
Cristina looked at him. "Maybe it's a tumor."
"Yeah, you wish I had a tumor." Alex deducted.
Cristina sighed. "Look, I'd rip your face off if it meant I got to scrub in."
Izzie walked in with George. "I have been suturing all day. My hands are numb."
George sat down next to Mackenzie. "At least you're helping people."
Mackenzie looked at George. "How Bad was it to be on the coding team?"
George raised an eyebrow. "It was bad. All my patients ended up dying."
Mackenzie offered George some M&Ms. George ate them gratefully.
Alex looked at Izzie. "At least you get to practice freaking medicine."
Izzie sighed. "I had to send one Chinese lady away. She was like, camped out down there."
Cristina rolled her eyes. "Oh, poor Izzie, turning away patients, boo-hoo."
Meredith entered. "So the police say that they can't send down the crack crime scene guy for hours. So I have to spend the night with a penis. Alex, don't say it."
Alex shook his head. "Ahh, it was too easy anyway."
"Who here feels like they have no idea what they're doing?" George asked.
Everyone raised their hands, except Mackenzie and Alex.
George continued. "I mean, are we supposed to be learning something, because I don't feel like I'm learning anything."
"Except how not to sleep." Izzie said.
Cristina nodded. "It's like there's this wall, and the attendings and the residents are over there, being surgeons, and we're over here, being..."
"Suturing, code running, lab delivering penis-minders." Meredith finished.
"Interns are freshmen. Attendings are seniors. The chief of surgery is the principal. This hospital is high school... but for adults." Mackenzie said.
Alex groaned. "I hate being an intern."
Bailey comes in and looks expectant. They get up and leave. She sits down and starts eating someone's chips.
Mackenzie sat next to Bailey with her bag of M&Ms. "I'll trade you a handful of M&Ms for six chips."
Bailey smiled. "Deal. You know how to bargain." She told the 11-year-old as she handed over six chips.
Mackenzie poured Bailey a handful of M&Ms. "I certainly don't get it from my dad... or my other dad. They're terrible negotiators. I think I get it from my Aunt Amelia; she can drive a hard bargain."
Bailey nodded. "You keep those interns in line for me, okay? I can't always be chasing after them."
Mackenzie shook Bailey's hand. "You've got yourself a deal, Dr. Bailey."
/ / /
Meredith walked into Alison's room, seeing Derek at Alison's bedside.
Meredith looked at Derek. "How is she?"
Derek sighed. "No change."
"Have you been here all night?" Meredith asked.
Derek nodded. "Mm-hmm. Yup. You know I have four sisters? Very girly, tons of kids. If I was in a coma, they'd all be here. I'd want them here. And I'd want Mackenzie, too. Having no one? Can't imagine that."
Meredith shrugged. "I can."
Derek furrowed his brows in confusion. "What're you talking about, what about your mother? She'd be in here ordering all the surgeons around. She'd fly these cowboys in from Prague to do these amazing medical procedures."
"That's true. I do have my mother." Meredith smiled.
Derek smirked. "So we're kissing but we're not dating?"
Meredith sighed. "I knew that was going to come up."
"Don't get me wrong, I like the kissing. I'm all for the kissing. More kissing, I say." Derek smirked.
"I have no idea what that was about." Meredith admitted.
"Is it going to happen again? Because if it is, I need to bring breath mints. Put a condom in my wallet." Derek amused.
Meredith gave Derek a straight face. "Shut up now."
Derek laughed.
Meredith continued. "There was this baby up in the nursery. He's brand new. No one's neglected him or damaged him yet. How do we get from there to here? She's wearing my shoes and someone's beat the crap out of her, and she's got nobody."
The conversation was cut short once Alison started to flatline.
/ / /
Mackenzie sat on one of the empty beds in the corridor where the interns hung out.
She checked her phone and her smile faded when she didn't see any voicemails or missed calls from Mark. It made Mackenzie feel queasy to think that her father hadn't thought to call her back. It also caused tears to form in her blue eyes.
George found Mackenzie crying, and he immediately switched from 'doctor mode' to 'big brother mode.' "Mack? What's wrong?"
Mackenzie wiped at her eyes. "I'm fine." Her voice cracked.
George sat next to her and gently rubbed her back. "Well for someone who's fine... you're doing an awful lot of crying. Come on. You can tell me what's wrong."
Mackenzie sighed. "It's my dad. Before Mom and I moved here, he promised me he'd call me every Wednesday morning. But he didn't call me at all today. I left him a voicemail, and he never called me back. I feel kind of dumb for crying about not getting a call I was looking forward to all day."
George nodded as he listened. "Well... there's a multitude of reasons why he didn't call. Give him the benefit of the doubt; he might call late tonight or early tomorrow morning. And you're not dumb. You are certainly not dumb. You are incredibly intelligent... and you will go on to do great things."
Mackenzie laughed. "You sound like a fortune cookie."
George chuckled. "You think so?"
Mackenzie nodded and then looked down at her lap. "Eloise."
"I beg your pardon?" George asked.
"My middle name is Eloise. I spilled my guts out to you, George. This makes us... best friends. So, you deserve to know my middle name." Mackenzie explained.
George's heart swelled. "I'm your best friend?"
Mackenzie nodded. "Yes. You're like the big brother I never had. We have a special bond that can never be broken."
George smiled as he hugged her close. "You're the coolest little sister ever."
"Nah. I have the coolest big brother ever."
/ / /
A little while later, Derek entered the rapist's room.
"I have good news and bad news. The good news is, Dr. Bailey stopped your bleeding. The bad news is, we're giving your penis to the cops. Have a nice life."
Derek left and the rapist realized he's cuffed to the bed.
/ / /
"At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made. So, you can waste your life, drawing. But there are some lines...that are way too dangerous to cross. But here's what I know. If you're willing to take the chance...the view from the other side is spectacular."
- Meredith Grey
/ / /
Mackenzie waited for Derek in the lobby of the hospital. She'd texted him after George got paged, letting Derek know that she was sitting in the lobby.
Mackenzie ended up falling asleep within 30 minutes.
Derek walked into the lobby, smiling at the face of his sleeping daughter. It'd been a long day for the both of them, and she was already on the track to sleep.
Derek saw Burke in the lobby. "Dr. Burke."
Burke looked at Derek. "Dr. Shepherd."
"Would you mind watching Mackenzie for a few minutes? I'm going to bring my truck to the front so I can just put her in the passenger seat." Derek said.
Burke gave the neurosurgeon a polite nod. "Of course. I don't mind watching her."
"Thank you Dr. Burke." Derek thanked before he practically sprinted out of the hospital towards the parking lot.
Burke carefully sat down in the chair next to Mackenzie, studying how peaceful she looked. "If only people could be this peaceful." He thought aloud.
Five minutes later, Derek had pulled his truck up to the door. Burke gently picked Mackenzie up and carried her out to her father, who had his passenger door and his arms wide open.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Burke. I can't thank you enough." Derek said as Burke transferred Mackenzie from his arms to Derek's.
"It was my pleasure, Dr. Shepherd. Have a good night." Burke said before he walked off.
Derek placed Mackenzie in the passenger seat, buckled her up and then shut the door. He walked back around to the driver's seat, buckled himself up and then shut the door before putting the truck in drive.
The entire drive home, Derek could only think of one thing:
If anything similar to Alison happened to Mackenzie... Derek would never forgive himself.
/ / /
After putting his daughter to bed, Derek stood outside of the trailer with his phone in hand. He pressed the call button and waited for the other person to pick up the line.
When they did pick up, Derek exhaled.
"Mark? Yeah, I'm calling. Do you have any idea how much you hurt our daughter today? She waited for your call all day long, and she was disappointed when you never called. You could've at least let her know what was going on. She had no idea you had a surgery today. Mark... you broke your promise to her. So listen up: you pull another stunt like this again, I swear to God I will hunt you down myself and end you. I can't be the only parent here, Mark Sloan! Act like a goddamn father before you become your father. Oh, trust me, I will take everything I've ever known about you and turn it into the ultimate weapon that destroys you. Be Mackenzie's father, Mark. She's not just my baby; she's your baby, too. Kiss my ass, you man-whore."
Derek ended the call abruptly and closed the phone with a bit of force. He wouldn't have called Mark if he didn't need to. But this concerned their daughter, so Derek had to call Mark.
Derek may hate Mark right now... but deep down, he still has some kind of affection for his ex-best friend.
"Mark, why do you make it so easy yet so difficult for me to hate you?"
/ / /
3984 words
Next Update: Winning a Battle, Losing the War
*I enjoyed writing this episode. I especially enjoyed writing the George/Mackenzie scene. What was your favorite scene?*
Published: 12/13/2020
Edited: 5/12/2022