Schmidt starts his first official day back at the hospital and runs right into Nico in the elevator. Schmidt thinks about saying something, but he hesitates. Taryn can’t resist pointing out the awkward elevator situation.
Understandably, Katherine is furious with Richard and Bailey over the whole accreditation situation and the surgical residency being on probation. She is determined to course-correct and fast. In the midst of the hospital’s dire situation, Meredith is still going to Minnesota for her new job. She’s still in Seattle for the time being, but she’s made up her mind.
Addison Is Back
Addison returns for a special case with a pregnant patient. When the patient needs emergency surgery to save her baby and her uterus, she tells Schmidt to call Richard and Meredith. She doesn’t care what’s going on between Meredith and Richard. She’s putting the patient first.
Owen is back at the hospital full-time after his accident. A patient comes in with his arm cut off, so the docs brace for reattachment surgery. Link points out that the surgery could take up to 10 hours and wonders if Owen can handle it. Owen is determined to return to normalcy. Unfortunately, the patient codes and isn’t stable enough for surgery at the moment. Owen goes to great lengths to save the man’s arm and keep it viable for surgery.
Even though his sister is out of the hospital, Todd and Jo are still seeing each other. He stops by for a cookie delivery, and Link is not amused by the lovey-dovey vibes between Jo and Todd. Later, Bailey comes to Jo and asks her to be a general surgery attending again. This means Jo would have to leave her OB-GYN residency. Bailey doesn’t have any other options at the moment. She needs Jo to do this to help save the hospital.
Teddy is concerned after Leo told her and Owen that he wants to be a girl. Teddy goes to Owen ready to make a plan, but he’s busy trying to salvage his patient’s arm. Teddy storms off when Owen doesn’t seem too worried about the Leo situation.
Winston’s brother, Wendell, is busy pitching a medical product at the hospital. Winston and Maggie test out the product, it doesn’t work. When Winston confronts Wendell, he claims that was just the beta version. Winston is hesitant to believe his brother, but Maggie wants to give him a second chance. Later, Wendell reveals that he got a loan and bought thousands of dollars worth of this one product. If he can’t sell it, he’s in trouble. Wendell tells Winston that he has to help him sell it or pay back the $10,000 loan. Wendell pleads for Winston’s help.
Meredith goes into surgery with Addison, and they soon need Richard’s help when the surgery takes a turn. They decide to try Meredith’s idea to save the baby and the patient’s uterus. The baby unfortunately doesn’t make it through the surgery.
Wright is called into Bailey’s office with Katherine. Bailey tells him that she’s giving him his transfer papers to go back to the clinic in Minnesota. This isn’t because of their kiss. She doesn’t want him to be stuck in limbo and not be able to get a spot somewhere else if she can’t save the program. “I want to protect your future, so please go back to Minnesota,” she tells Wright.
Teddy and Owen get the chance to talk about Leo later in the day. “If Leo says I’m a girl, I’m gonna listen,” Owen tells Teddy. Teddy doesn’t think they should rush to any conclusions, while Owen wants to just follow Leo’s lead, even if he changes his mind. When the day is over, Teddy reveals to Owen that she just wants Leo to be happy. “I want to get it right and going all-in now, it just doesn’t seem right,” Teddy says. Owen replies, “Let’s listen when he tells us who he is.” Owen thinks it’s time for them to get a therapist.
When Katherine learns about Meredith leaving, she confronts Meredith in front of Richard and Addison. Addison snaps on all of them. She goes on to tell Richard, “You are trying to save a version of the program that is old. It’s broken. You gotta stop with the reminiscing about the past and look to the future.” She encourages him to try to find a new way to train the residents.
Jo invites Link and Todd out to drinks so they can talk about Jo’s dilemma. Link promises to help out with Luna if Jo decides to keep her residency and moonlight for Bailey. During the conversation, Todd definitely notices something between Link and Jo.
Schmidt and Nico cross paths again in the relevant. This time, Schmidt speaks up and says he was hurting when Nico came to see him. Nico is still in defense mode. “When you were in pain I kept showing up,” Schmidt says to Nico. Nico replies that he’s not the same kind of person as Schmidt and walks away.
Bailey declares to Katherine that she’s going on vacation. “This hospital needs too much of me,” Bailey says. She’s not leaving. It’s just taking a vacation. “I’m no good to you like this,” a burnt-out Bailey says.
Nick Pleads With Meredith Not To Leave
Meredith returns home and finds Nick waiting outside for her. He tells her not to move to Minnesota. She can’t leave Grey Sloan right now and thinks she’ll end up resenting him if she does. Nick reveals that he’s taken a few months of leave and will be getting a place in Seattle so they can stop with all the long-distance.
“I have the right to leave. I’ve earned the right to leave,” Meredith says, with tears coming to her eyes. She hates that she’s being viewed as disloyal to the hospital after everything she’s done for Grey Sloan. She points out that plenty of people have left the hospital for better opportunities. “It’s my decision, and I’ve made my decision,” Meredith says. Nick just wants to save the program, and then they can move to Minnesota or do something else. “We can stay, but just for a little while,” Meredith tells him.