Richard asks Mere if her mom is okay, but Ellis interrupts and greets him warmly, adding, "My god, you've aged!" She explains why she's there and congratulates him on being Chief, and she's lit up like a schoolgirl in his presence. When he explains that he's stepping down, she bitingly replies that she's sure that was Adele's idea. It would be interesting sometime to see what brought these two together, with him seeming so warm and she being such an absolute ice queen who speaks every thought she has every second it comes to her. Her nurse wheels her to the elevator, and Mere hangs behind to quickly explain that she's lucid (duh, that's a little late) and it's temporary. Richard is flustered and gives her the day off, echoing her mother's nurse that this time together is a gift. Mere blandly agrees and runs to go upstairs with her mom.

Burke orders Cristina to run tests on Ellis and then thinks to also mention that she's lucid. In a surprising moment of real friendship, Cristina immediately asks how Meredith is doing with it. It's a nice nod to the sister/best friend relationship between the two. Burke tells her that they'll give Ellis the best care possible and butters Cristina up by telling her that she's the best. Cristina takes a moment to puff her chest and beam before calling him out and fishing for an answer. Really, it's only been eight days, and it's just a little marriage proposal, I have no idea why the guy might be getting impatient. When he notes that she's not wearing the ring, she just replies, "I told you, it's under advisement." He asks if she likes it and she replies that just that it's a ring. Again, though, she's shockingly gentle about it. I'm a little bit stunned but delighted at the continuing humanization of Cristina. She tells him it's "the" ring, describing the 3 carats and the platinum. If she doesn't want it, I'll happily offer up to take it off of their hands; she's not kidding that it's "the" ring. "The" ring of this recapper's dreams. She then asks him if keeping her off the surgery is him trying to force an answer, but he merely says the other interns also need a chance, and she bluntly asks why. Ah, it's good to see she's not changing too drastically.