Hunt does not take well to Alex's news about Hopkins and gets super shouty about how Alex already made a commitment. Alex is struggling to hold his ground since he feels guilty about this too but he points out that he hasn't signed a contract and just committed verbally. Owen's comment that he thought his word would be good doesn't knock Alex off track, and he says that normally that is true but Hopkins is HOPKINS and so kind of the exception. Behind Owen, Richard is treating a patient but also silently coaching Alex through the showdown. Alex struggles through and looks like he might crack at any moment, but Owen is so overwhelmed and angry that he somehow misses this completely. Alex tells Owen he wants them to up his salary the amount that would equal the moving expenses that Hopkins is throwing in. And then Owen plays right into Richard's and Alex's hands -- he claims he has no money and turns to leave, but Alex calls out after him that he should look at his Incidentals and Overhead fund. He's quivering with nerves but he it has the desired effect; Owen tries to deny he has any idea what that is but finally snaps up the paper Alex has with his demands and leaves. Alex heaves a sigh of relief, while Richard gives him a "You da man!" point of encouragement.

The residents then gather in the cafeteria for lunch and as Alex wolfs down spaghetti, Mere continues her Stanford presentation by telling Cristina that they have a chef who makes farm-to-table meals to order, which you can place by text message from the OR. Mere keeps hounding her and Cristina keeps trying to put her off, so Jackson changes the subject by pointing out that at Tulane he can have crawfish, but what kind of food would he get at USC? What do they eat there? "Souls," he's told. A lot of them just subsist on their own smugness, I've found. That and lots of beer. April's phone rings and she realizes the number is from New York which means it is Mount Sinai. April is inclined to ignore it and fully admits it is because she doesn't want the bad news to become real just yet. Finally, Cristina reaches over and grabs the phone and does a rather uncanny April impression. It's mean, but it's shockingly accurate. She sounds kind of upbeat and finally thanks the caller and hangs up. For one moment, April thinks they didn't pull the offer but Cristina tells her that they did, she just figured that's what April would sound like "in the face of rejection."