Derek and Mark are finally getting to take their turn with Alex's patient, and are dismayed to see that he used skin glue. Alex just tells them that Hunt wanted to get things taken care of fast, and Derek responds indignantly that the guy could lose half his face. Mark adds that he can't do [something-or-another to do with his skin] and tells Alex that if he can't take care of it, he needs to call someone who can. Alex defends that Hunt, who he seems to admire quite a bit, says that being in the ER is like being in the field. Mark just asks what qualifies the hospital as a war zone. "Our undermanned gift shop? The lukewarm drinks from the coffee cart?" Derek dismissively calls Hunt a meatballer, and Mark explains to Alex that as a trauma guy, he just slaps things together.

When Richard reaches Tori's dad, he makes no effort to hide his annoyance as Dad asks how his daughter is doing. Richard impatiently answers that she is stable, and adds that he should be there. When Dad defends that he just needed an update, Richard tells him that's not important; that it's only important that the best doctors he has are working on her right now. He chastises Dad for making so many calls, and Dad breathes kind of heavy, on the verge of tears. But he controls himself enough to apologize for being underfoot, while explaining that hospitals are horrible places to try and get information. The doctors never tell them anything, and he's not sure if that's ego or neglect. (Hint: Ego.) He reminds Richard that they are trying to take care of their scared, sick little girl, and they're doing everything they can. Richard, having been put in his place and taught an Important Lesson, replies, "Don't ever stop taking care of her like that." He then goes back to surgery.

In another OR, Hunt and Izzie are working on her abdominal guy. Hunt asks Iz if she's used a GIA stapler, and she jumps at the chance, saying she hasn't but she's ready. Hunt, however, has some fun up his sleeve first. He tells Izzie to first answer three questions, and number one is which animal she has to thank for the polio vaccine. She asks him if it's necessary, and he tells her it's only necessary if she wants to use the stapler. Glaring, she answers, "Flipper babies." She tells him that 10,000 babies were born with birth defects during the '50s because the mothers took medicine tested on guinea pigs, who had no side effects to the drugs. Her point is that animals and humans can have different reactions, and she's furious when he calmly tells her that they can, but not always. She gripes that he can tell that to the babies and their mothers. He happily announces that the polio vaccine was tested on mice and monkeys, but she's done and tells him to keep his precious stapler.