Grey's Anatomy (2005– )
Ellen Pompeo: Dr. Meredith Grey
Photos
Quotes
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Dr. Derek Shepherd : So, who's next, Alex? He likes to sleep around... you two have that in common.
Dr. Meredith Grey : You don't get to call me a whore! When I met you, I thought I had met the person I would spend then rest of my life with. I was done. So all the boys, and all the bars, and all the obvious daddy issues... who cared? Because I was done. You left me! You chose Addison! I'm all glued back together now. I make no apologies for how I chose to repair what you broke. You don't get to call me a whore!
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Pick *me*. Choose *me*. Love *me*.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Maybe we like the pain. Maybe we're wired that way. Because without it, I don't know; maybe we just wouldn't feel real. What's that saying? Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : After all this time, all your warnings about me sleeping with my boss and you're doing the same exact thing.
Dr. Cristina Yang : Oh, it's not the same thing.
Dr. Meredith Grey : It's the exact same!
Dr. Cristina Yang : No, it's not. You and McDreamy are in a relationship.
Dr. Meredith Grey : And you and Burke are in?
Dr. Cristina Yang : Switzerland. It's very neutral there and they make very nice watches.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines... that are way too dangerous to cross.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Sometimes doing something is worse than doing nothing.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Sometimes reality has a way of sneaking up and biting us in the ass. And when the dam bursts, all you can do is swim. The world of pretend is a cage, not a cocoon. We can only lie to ourselves for so long. We are tired, we are scared, denying it doesn't change the truth. Sooner or later we have to put aside our denial and face the world. Head on, guns blazing. De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it?
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Did you let me scrub in for this operation because I slept with you?
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Yes.
[pause]
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Just kidding.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Okay, here it is, your choice... it's simple, her or me, and I'm sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Don't look at me like that.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Like what?
Dr. Meredith Grey : Like you've seen me naked!
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Dr. Cristina Yang : [they all see the Nazi] That's the Nazi?
Dr. George O'Malley : I thought the Nazi would be a man.
Dr. Meredith Grey : I thought the Nazi would be... the Nazi.
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : [Izzie walks up behind them] Maybe it's professional jealousy. Maybe she's brilliant and they call her a Nazi because they're jealous. Maybe she's nice.
Dr. Cristina Yang : Let me guess - you're the model.
[Izzie gives her an evil look]
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : [to the Nazi] Hi, I'm Isobel Stevens, but everyone just calls me Izzie.
Dr. Miranda Bailey : I have five rules. Memorize them. Rule number one, don't bother sucking up. I already hate you, that's not gonna change.
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Dr. Cristina Yang : What are you doing?
Dr. Meredith Grey : Sitting here with my penis.
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Dr. Derek Shepherd : So we're kissing but we're not dating?
Dr. Meredith Grey : I knew that was going to come up.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Don't get me wrong: I like the kissing. I'm all for the kissing. More kissing, I say.
Dr. Meredith Grey : I have no idea what that was about.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Is it going to happen again? 'Cause if it is, I need to bring breath mints.
[whispers]
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Put a condom in my wallet.
Dr. Meredith Grey : Shut up, now!
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Dr. Meredith Grey : [about her new roommates] They're everywhere. All the time. Izzie's all perky and George does this where he's helpful and considerate. They share food, and they say things, and they move things, and they breathe. Ugh, they're, like, happy
Dr. Cristina Yang : Kick them out.
Dr. Meredith Grey : I can't kick them out, they just moved in. I asked them to move in.
Dr. Cristina Yang : So what, you're just going to repress everything in some deep, dark, twisted place until one day you snap and you kill them?
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope...
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose... there are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field.
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Dr. Derek Shepherd : It's not the chase.
Dr. Meredith Grey : What?
Dr. Derek Shepherd : You and me. It is not the thrill of the chase. It's not a game. It's... it's your tiny ineffectual fists. And your hair.
Dr. Meredith Grey : My hair?
Dr. Derek Shepherd : It smells good. And you're very, very ballsy. It keeps me in line.
Dr. Meredith Grey : I'm still not going out with you.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : You say that now...
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Dr. Meredith Grey : At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be human. Maybe, we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Communication. It's the first thing we really learn in life. Funny thing is, once we grow up, learn our words and really start talking the harder it becomes to know what to say. Or how to ask for what we really need.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing, where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, is usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them, the people that are still with you at the end of the day - those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need.
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Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : [standing in the bathroom, outside the shower, where George is] I reminded you before you went.
Dr. George O'Malley : I forgot when I got there.
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : No.
[she opens the shower door]
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : No, you were so passive aggressive!
Dr. George O'Malley : Naked! I am naked in the shower!
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : [closes the shower door] Just tampons, George! I really needed tampons. God!
[Meredith enters the bathroom]
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : I'm not riding in the same car as him.
Dr. Meredith Grey : [looks at Izzie, who is standing in her "Hello Kitty" underwear] Unless you're going like that, you're not riding with me either. Where are the tampons?
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : He didn't buy them.
Dr. Meredith Grey : [to George] You didn't buy them?
Dr. George O'Malley : Men don't buy tampons!
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : [opens the shower door again, and George falls over] You know what? You're gonna have to get over the whole man thing, George! We're women! We have vaginas! Get used to it!
[she walks out of the bathroom, leaving George lying on the floor of the shower]
Dr. George O'Malley : I am not your sister!
[he slams the shower door]
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Katie Bryce : My head is full.
Dr. Meredith Grey : It's called thinking. Go with it.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : My mommy's a filthy whore.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Denial. It's not just a river in Egypt. It's a freakin' ocean.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : You're my teacher's teacher. And my teacher.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : I'm your sister. I'm your daughter.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : What was I to you? The girl you screwed to get over being screwed?
Dr. Derek Shepherd : You were like coming up for fresh air. It's like I was drowning and you saved me. It's all I know.
Dr. Meredith Grey : It's not good enough.
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Dylan Young : You realize how stupid that was...
Dr. Cristina Yang : It was Mer, incredibly stupid.
Dr. Meredith Grey : Ok, you know when you don't need to be made fun of? Like, when you have your hand inside a body that's got a bomb in it and a stranger is velcroing a flak-jacket to your boobs.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : There's something to be said about a glass half full. About knowing when to say when. I think it's a floating line. A barometer of need and desire. It's entirely up to the individual. And depends on what's being poured. Sometimes all we want is a taste. Other times there's no such thing as enough, the glass is bottomless. And all we want, is more.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : At the end of the day, there are some things you just can't help but talk about. Some things we just don't want to hear, and some things we say because we can't be silent any longer. Some things are more than what you say, they're what you do. Some things you say cause there's no other choice. Some things you keep to yourself. And not too often, but every now and then, some things simply speak for themselves.
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Dr. George O'Malley : 007. They're calling me 007, aren't they?
Izzie & Meredith : No-one's calling you 007.
Dr. George O'Malley : I was on the elevator and Murphy whispered 007.
Dr. Cristina Yang : Okay, how many times are we going to go through this, George? Five, ten? Give me a number or else I'm gonna hit you.
Dr. George O'Malley : Murphy whispered 007 and everyone laughed.
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : He wasn't talking about you.
Dr. George O'Malley : Are you sure?
Dr. Meredith Grey : Would we lie to you?
Dr. George O'Malley : Yes!
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Dr. Meredith Grey : [after a one-night stand with Derek Shepherd] Look, I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower, OK? And when I get back down here, you won't be here.
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Dr. George O'Malley : There needs to be some rules.
Dr. Meredith Grey : So, what we can walk around in our underwear on alternate Tuesdays? Or you could see bras, but not panties? Or are you talking Amish rules? Because if you think you're gonna get Izzie to cover herself...
Dr. George O'Malley : The amount of flesh exposed is not the point. You have to do something, it's your house.
Dr. Meredith Grey : It's my mother's house.
Dr. George O'Malley : Meredith!
Dr. Meredith Grey : Do you like Izzie? Is that was this is about? You have a crush on Izzie?
Dr. George O'Malley : Izzie? No! I don't like Izzie. Izzie? No! She's not the one I'm attracted to.
Dr. Meredith Grey : Not the one. So there's a one?
Dr. George O'Malley : Look, there just have to be some rules.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I think she's more of a "gentle stalker."
Dr. Miranda Bailey : Right. Well, let's hope she lives to "gently stalk" another day.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I have an aunt who whenever she poured anything for you she would say "Say when". My aunt would say "Say when" and of course, we never did. We don't say when because there's something about the possibility, of more. More tequila, more love, more anything. More is better.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I have custody of a penis?
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I am an evil mistress.
Dr. George O'Malley : But still... you look nice.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Surgeons are control freaks. With a scalpel in your hand, you feel unstoppable. There's no fear, there's no pain. You're ten-feet tall and bulletproof. And then you leave the OR. And all that perfection, all that beautiful control, just falls to crap.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : The fantasy is simple. Pleasure is good. And twice as much pleasure is better. That pain is bad. And no pain is better. But the reality is different. The reality is that pain is there to tell us something. And there is only so much pleasure we can take without getting a stomachache. And maybe that's okay. Maybe some fantasies are only supposed to live in our dreams.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : To be a good surgeon, you have to think like a surgeon. Emotions are messy. Tuck them neatly away and step into a clean, sterile room where the procedure is simple. Cut, suture, close. But sometimes you're faced to a cut that won't heal. A cut that rips its stitches wide open.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : How do you know when how much is too much? Too much too soon. Too much information. Too much fun. Too much love. Too much to ask... And when is it all just too much to bear?
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Dr. George O'Malley : I don't think you understand. Me - gonads! You - ovaries!
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : Oh, that reminds me. We are out of tampons.
Dr. George O'Malley : You're parading through the bathroom in your underwear, while I'm naked in the shower!
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : Will you add it to your list, please?
Dr. George O'Malley : What?
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : Tampons!
Dr. Meredith Grey : To the list. It's your turn.
Dr. George O'Malley : I am a man! I don't buy girl products. I don't want to see you walking in while I'm in the shower. And I don't wanna see you in your underwear!
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens : It doesn't bother me, okay? Look at me in my underwear, George. Take your time, it's no big deal.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : The key to surviving a surgical internship is denial. We deny that we're tired, we deny that we're scared, we deny how badly we want to succeed. And most importantly, we deny that we're in denial. We only see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe, and it works. We lie to ourselves so much that after a while the lies start to seem like the truth. We deny so much that we can't recognize the truth right in front of our faces.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : If you knew this was your last day on Earth, how would you wanna spend it?
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Dr. Meredith Grey : They say practice makes perfect. Theory is, the more you think like a surgeon, the more you become one. Better you get at remaining neutral, clinical. Cut, suture, close. And the harder it becomes to turn it off. To stop thinking like a surgeon and remember what it means to think like a human being.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Four hundred years ago, another well-known English guy had an opinion about being alone. John Donne. He thought we were never alone. Of course, it was fancier when he said it. "No man is an island entire unto himself." Boil down that island talk, and he just meant that all anyone needs is someone to step in and let us know we're not alone. And who's to say that someone can't have four legs. Someone to play with or run around with, or just hang out.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : When you were a kid, it was Halloween candy. You hid it from your parents and you ate it until you got sick. In college, it was the heavy combo of youth, tequila and well, you know. As a surgeon, you take as much of the good as you can get because it doesn't come around nearly as often as it should. 'Cause good things aren't always what they seem. Too much of anything, even love, is not always a good thing.
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Dr. George O'Malley : [talking to himself] Oh, hi, chief. Nope, not much going on, well, other than your intern chief making out with my friend in the stairwell, but hey... sponge duty sucks.
Dr. Meredith Grey : [walks up beside him] Talking to yourself now?
Dr. George O'Malley : Yes. No.
[pause]
Dr. George O'Malley : Damn it. I'm a bad sponge. A leaky sponge. I'm gonna leak all the wrong secrets. I'm a bad liar. I can't even lie about talking to myself.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I wish there were a rulebook for intimacy. Some kind of guide to tell you when you've crossed the line. It would be nice if you could see it coming, and I don't know how you fit it on a map. You take it where you can get it, and keep it as long as you can. And as for rules, maybe there are none. Maybe the rules of intimacy are something you have to define for yourself.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : No-one likes to lose control, but as a surgeon there's nothing worse. It's a sign of weakness, of not being up to the task. And still there are times when it just gets away from you. When the world stops spinning and you realize that your shiny little scalpel isn't gonna save you. No matter how hard you fight it, you fall. And it's scary as hell. Except there's an upside to freefalling. It's the chance you give your friends to catch you.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : As surgeons, there are so many things we have to know. We have to know we have what it takes. We have to know how to take care of our patients... and how to take care of each other. Eventually, we even have to figure out how to take care of ourselves. As surgeons we have to be in the know. But as human beings, sometimes it's better to stay in the dark, because in the dark there may be fear, but there's also hope.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : I want facts and until I get them my pants are staying on.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Goodbye, Derek.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : Goodbye, Meredith.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : Pain, you just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers, you just breath deep and wait for it to subside. Most of the time pain can be managed but sometimes the pain gets you where you least expect it. Hits way below the belt and doesn't let up. Pain, you just have to fight through, because the truth is you can't outrun it and life always makes more.
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Dr. Meredith Grey : [about her PVS patient] But he was looking *at* me.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : He wasn't looking at you.
Dr. Meredith Grey : He was.
Dr. Derek Shepherd : The CT report says he wasn't.
Dr. Meredith Grey : Do you wanna argue with what I know I saw?
Dr. Derek Shepherd : No, Meredith, I don't want to argue with you any more.
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Katie Bryce : You are so lost.
Dr. Meredith Grey : I am not lost. Okay?
