Cut to Lexie helping Avery ice down his hand. He asks if she thinks it was hard for Yang to just walk away. "Don't be stupid," she tells him, "you're not quitting." Besides, he might've just gotten himself fired, or at least arrested. Avery says he pretty much had to, since April is the only friend he's got left at the hospital. Lexie, again: "Don't be stupid." Is it me, or was all of Lexie's dialogue this week said twice to mean different things? Also, obvs, these two are going to hook up soon. Approved.

Outside, Mere is icing down Alex's face while simultaneously upbraiding him for what happened with Kepner. He knows he was wrong but ... wait for it ... he has his reasons. Are you sitting down? He wasn't in Vegas, he was in Iowa, tending to his dysfunctional family. Specifically, his brother from last season, who's been diagnosed schizophrenic after attempting to kill their sixteen-year-old sister. Alex was there to sign the commitment papers, and he's wallowing in his own self-loathing for not being able to be there while his family is going to shit. So, yes, we're just going to keep doing this same Sexy Damaged Alex story until it stops working, basically. Yes, at the risk of being unpopular, this recapper is placing the blame squarely on you, the viewer.

Up on the roof, Cristina decides she should probably get back down to her own party. Derek says that's for the best, yes. He pauses, then asks if there's anything else she'd like to talk about. She hesitates, then sits back down: "What do you do about bathroom tile." Pour another glass of wine, this could take a bit.

Joe R should give Derek more credit for being right about how to approach Cristina, but he doesn't want to. He can be reached for lavish praise and nothing but at joseph.reid21@gmail.com, and you can listen to him yammer on to his heart's content on the Extra Hot Great podcast.