George (not wearing scrubs, since he's not working) enters the gallery where the other interns are watching Heather's surgery. Alex asks how George's father is doing -- you'll be happy to hear that he's still peeing like a champ. Cristina leans over and asks George if he's seen Burke. George: "Even if I did like you, I still wouldn't tell you that." I'm glad to see somebody knows how to nurse a grudge. Izzie asks George why he's so buddy-buddy with Burke and yet so angry with Cristina. George responds that he's forgiven Burke because his career was on the line when he lied, whereas Cristina's wasn't. Which doesn't really ring true to me, since I would think the lowly intern would have a lot to lose by participating in a cover-up. Meredith asks Cristina why she doesn't just ask Burke about his hand; Cristina reminds us all that she's not talking to Burke. Alex wishes that he could find a woman who would date him but not speak to him. And then he practically jumps out of his seat when Meredith asks, "Hey, how's it going with Addison?" Meredith, of course, is asking about the condition of her niece, but Alex turns into a slightly more stammery version of George as he fumbles to respond. Izzie and Cristina both give him odd looks. It's not clear what Izzie is thinking, but Cristina thinks that he's working some devious plot to get good procedures, and she wants in on it. Alex freaks out and leaves the gallery. After he's gone, Izzie starts complaining that she should be scrubbing in on Heather's surgery. And then George's pager goes off. He reads it and runs out of the room with a worried look on his face. In the O.R., Callie looks up and sees him run out. And then Meredith's pager goes off; it's a 9-1-1 on Mr. O'Malley, and she leaves. Izzie and Cristina both look worried, but neither one leaves the room.

Down in the O.R., Callie asks Derek if he can proceed without her. I know the interns don't actually do anything in a surgery (except, of course, for when they're covering up their boyfriend's inability to operate), but I would think the resident would be pretty involved -- especially in a procedure as complex as this one. Derek seems surprised, too -- but not because Callie is so essential. He just thinks it's odd that she would leave such a rare procedure when she was the one who brought the patient to him in the first place. Callie looks up at the gallery and sees Cristina run out, and she tells Derek that she doesn't want to leave, but she feels like she has to leave. She does, leaving McDreamy all on his lonesome to rebuild Heather's spine.