Grey's: "I choose my gift"

Here comes a recap of tonight's Grey's Anatomy episode.

- Derek wants to report Richard now that he knows he is drinking again but that would mean ending Richard's career. Meredith pleads with Derek not to while also voicing her opinion that the only reason he wants to tell is because then Derek would be named chief. The problem is that Derek no longer trusts Richard and for most of the episode he debates whether to go to the board with the information he has or to wait until Richard hurts someone. In the end, Derek goes to the board, with Meredith's reluctant permission, and Richard loses his job.
- Izzie is coming home and at first it seems like it would be for the long haul. Meredith walked in on Alex and Lexie in bed together but the three decided to keep it a secret. Later, Alex tells Izzie he slept with someone but not who, which seemed like the smart thing to do. In an out-of-character moment, Izzie tells Alex she is willing to work past his misstep. Later, Izzie realizes she is on the road to being herself again now that the cancer is gone, she is looking for a new job and she is willing to work on her relationship with Alex. So she goes to Alex, but he tells her he knows he deserves better than to be abandoned. He cannot forgive her for leaving when things got tough and he tells her to talk a job elsewhere and leave him behind. As she is packing, Izzie tells Meredith she is leaving and that she needs to start over.
- Teddy tells Cristina the chief wants her to finish up her contract, which means she will be sticking around for a few more weeks instead of leaving immediately. During this conversation, Cristina explains that she did not mean it when she traded Owen. From then, and for much of the episode, the question posed, mostly by Cristina, is would you give up the person you love for the thing you love? While responses are mixed, Cristina decides, in the end, that she could not live without surgery and after Teddy shows she has the same feelings, Cristina tells Teddy she cannot leave. Teddy then gets rather drunk and tells Owen Cristina was willing to trade him to Teddy if Teddy agreed to stay in Seattle. It seems like the correct response would have been for Owen to get angry, but instead he goes to Cristina and tells her he won't let her toss him aside because he matters.

Overall, this was an episode that was dramatic under the covers. Nothing crazy happened and no one bled everywhere. But it did examine love and the relationships the doctors at this hospital share. I liked it. Agreed?