Once upon a time. Happily ever after. The stories we tell are the stuff of dreams. Fairy tales don't come true. Reality is much stormier. Much murkier. Much scarier. Reality. It’s so much more interesting than living happily ever after.

Dream a Little Dream of Me, Part 2 is the second episode of the fifth season and the 80th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short SummaryEdit

Grey's Anatomy 5x01 Season Premiere Promo 6

Grey's Anatomy 5x01 Season Premiere Promo 6

The icicle is removed from Cristina's chest. Owen Hunt kisses her and leaves. The chief becomes fierce and tells everyone that the protocol is changing. Rose transfers to peds and Callie and Erica decide to give their relationship a shot. Meredith and Derek remain on track.

Full SummaryEdit


Meredith in Cristina's dream.

Cristina is still lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

An old Meredith takes a chicken out of a microwave and notices an old Cristina is eating cereal. Meredith wants to cut the chicken, but Cristina points out she's doing it wrong. Meredith starts looking for her glasses to do it right. Cristina points out they're around her neck and takes over. She puts on a glove and starts cutting. Meredith wonders what she'd do without Cristina. Cristina says she'd starve.

Cristina opens her eyes and finds Owen standing over her. He says she's a damsel in distress, picks her up and carries her inside.

He's put Cristina down in a trauma room. Cristina says they can just pull it out, but Owen wouldn't. Cristina is worried about screwing up in front of the Chief again. Moments later, Richard comes in and orders to put her on a monitor, but Meredith was already planning on doing that. She wants to keep the icicle in until they get the chest X-rays and CT back. Cristina claims she's fine. Meredith is worried about infection as the icicle is melting. Owen tells her to leave it in, and Richard sides with him. Richard thinks it's a good opportunity to teach her interns to treat her. She objects she's supposed to look after Vincent, but Richard transfers that to Meredith. He doesn't want to lose another trauma patient today. Richard then asks Owen for a word.

Izzie asks Derek if they can restore Betty's memory. He's not sure, but hopeful. He asks for a scalpel and Rose hands it to him blade first. He angrily calls her on that. She's shocked as he leaves to get the wound cleaned up.

Anna and Sarabeth are with Michael, who's totally okay except for his voice. Sarabeth brings up the insurance and says she can call people to fix it. Michael doesn't respond and Lexie says maybe later. Anna takes Sarabeth outside.

Derek walks into the ICU and asks what's going on. Richard tells him they're going ahead with the freezing. Derek doesn't think so. Owen wonders why he's not willing to do everything possibly to prevent the patient from being wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life. Derek wants him to leave, but Owen doesn't take orders from him. Derek says the patient is stable now, but he could throw a clot and die if they try this. Richard wants to go ahead anyway. Derek says Richard has been obsessed with the polls as of this morning. Making this decision is acting like number 12, Derek says. He wishes Callie good luck and leaves.

Derek tells Mark that Richard's under Owen's spell. Mark says that man saved his patient, but he doesn't like him either. He notices Derek's hand and after Derek informed him on what happened, Mark tells him he's gotta take care of the Rose situation. Mark offers to take a look, but Derek says Meredith's gonna do that.

Cristina is instructing her interns to take films, but they're screwing up. Meredith comes in and takes over. She informs Cristina that Vincent is stable. She tells Cristina to hold still because she wants to ask a question. She wants to know if Cristina meant what she said about her and Derek. She knows she talks about Derek too much, but she wants to know if Cristina just said that because she was mad. Cristina dodges the question and says it doesn't matter what she thinks, but Meredith disagrees. Cristina doesn't reply. Meredith gets it and leaves. The interns are taking pictures of Cristina, who yells at them to take her films.

Meredith finds Anna in the waiting room and sits down with her. Anna says Sarabeth has no idea her world is about to fall apart, and that's all her fault. She knows she's a terrible person and wonders what she should do. Meredith says Sarabeth should hear it from her, because she's her best friend.

Izzie asks Alex if he wants to go check on Callie freezing her patient, but he ignores her. He says he hopes that if he ignores her long enough, she'll get as annoyed by the sound of her voice as he is. She asks if she did something. He says he had a bad night and cried like a girl, but she should get over that. Izzie sighs and leaves.

Callie is explaining the procedure to Phillip. He's glad to have a chance at walking again. He's getting cold, but his temperature should be even lower. Callie wonders if they should use another cooling blanket. Richard tells her it's her choice. That's what a Chief of a number 1 teaching hospital does, he lets his talented surgeons take point. Bailey agrees. Phillip's pulse starts falling and Phillip asks how much longer. "No. 12 my ass," Bailey says.

Meredith is taking care of Derek's hand. She's not sure him moving in is a good idea. He's not surprised as he knows her. He really believed that she believed it was a good idea. She's like a deer in the woods, so he's taking gentle steps. She agrees to move in together again. He jokes about getting married right away. Izzie comes over and asks what she said to Alex. Meredith says she didn't say anything except it's nice they're friendly again. Izzie sighs and says she shouldn't have told Meredith, as she can only keep things to herself when it's for Cristina. Izzie walks off.

Alex asks Bailey for a word. He wants to take Michael to CT as his abdomen is still tender, but that'll mean they'll only get to operate after midnight, which means they'll basically be bankrupting him. Alex wants to skip the CT, but Bailey says they don't skip on medicine to save money. She orders him to take a CT. Bailey goes back into the room where Callie is administering a sedative to stop Phillip's shivering. They have to oxygenate him. Callie wonders if his body temperature is getting too low. Richard says she did all the research. The monitors start beeping and Bailey asks Callie what they do now. She asks what the research said. Richard tells her Phillip's heart is likely to stop, but Callie doesn't know what do.

Sarabeth and Anna are in the ICU in Vincent's room. Meredith tells them he's not as stable as they'd like him to be. The women sit down. Anna tells her they're freezing Phillip to help him walk again. Betty's having surgery on her brain and Vincent is barely hanging on, and not to mention Michael. Sarabeth tells Anna they'll survive, like they always do. She wishes Anna would just look at her. Anna does so and tells Sarabeth that Michael lost his job 8 months ago, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Sarabeth wonders how she knows this. Sarabeth figures out he told her because she's been sleeping with her husband. The monitors start beeping and Meredith calls a code blue.

Erica enters Phillip's room. They started him on ECMO, which she doesn't understand. Richard says it was the only thing to do. They need her to monitor him.

Sarabeth's sitting in the waiting room by herself. Alex approaches and tells her he sent Michael down to CT. He wanted to start the surgery already, but it's almost midnight. Sarabeth says she doesn't care and asks if he knows about Vincent. Alex doesn't, but he can go find out. Sarabeth asks him why men cheat. She tells him about her husband sleeping with Anna. Alex says that maybe her husband was down and didn't want her to see him like that, weak. Maybe he turned away because of his pride. It's not right, but it doesn't mean he doesn't care about her.

Phillip's tachychardic and Bailey wonders what to do. Richard asks Callie if the research said something about situations like this. Callie starts panicking, not knowing what to do. Erica tells her to look at her and focus. There's nothing wrong with pushing the boundaries and breaking new ground. She calmly asks her what her research said. Callie said it showed that arrythmias can occur at a certain threshold. Bailey suggests using the ECMO to get him back up. Callie says yes, but not too quickly cause that can cause problems on it's own.

Cristina asks her interns what her films say. They guess the icicle isn't hitting anything. Cristina asks if they don't know how to read an X-ray. Steve says no, because she always reads them herself. She throws them out. Owen comes in and  he says they seem scared of her. He takes a look at the films. He leans in closer and pulls out the icicle. Cristina says she didn't give him permission for that. "So?" he asks. Meredith comes in and Cristina derives from her face that Vincent died.

Derek is surprised that Phillip is still alive. He says they shouldn't have trusted the Major. Richard says Phillip deserved everything the hospital could've given him. Richard says he's let things slide, that he's gone soft. He thinks that is because Meredith is here. She reminds him of Ellis. Meredith comes over and tells him that Vincent has died. They did everything they could, but they couldn't bring him back. Richard gets angry and tells her none of them know how to do anything. They're halfway through their second year of residency and they walk around like it's their God-given right to be here, but it's not. He assures her they're all here because he allows it. They're here to do what he says. Derek stops him and says they can't save everybody. Richard thinks they should try harder.

Sarabeth enters Michael's room. Alex tells her the hematoma's gotten worse, so they'll take him down to the OR soon. Lexie says Michael wrote her a letter. Sarabeth isn't interested, but Lexie starts reading out loud. Michael knows Sarabeth hates him and she has every right to, because he betrayed her. He told Anna about his job and that was wrong, and he's wanted to let know how sorry he is about that a million times. But now he has no voice and he's begging her to listen with her heart when he tells her that he knows she can't forgive him right now, but he's gonna do everything to make it up to her. He'll love her till the end of time. Sarabeth starts crying, but leaves the room.

Izzie informs Anna and Sarabeth that Betty's out of surgery, but they don't know about her memory yet. Meredith comes over too and Anna figures out that Vincent has passed away. Both she and Sarabeth start crying. Anna wants to comfort her, but Sarabeth tells her not to. Anna says Vincent has died and they don't know if Betty's gonna be okay, or Phillip and Michael for that matter. More bad things have happened today than ever have before, which has made her realize that they were blessed. She took Sarabeth for granted. They've been friends ever since they were kids. She made one awful mistake, but she needs her best friend. Sarabeth reminds her she slept with her husband and says she's going to see her friend Betty now. She walks off. Meredith tells Izzie she's sorry about Alex. Izzie forgives her.

Owen is taking care of Cristina's wound as she asks him to talk about trauma. He says it's quick and dirty, no time for mistakes or to make things pretty. Cristina tells him she's the best in the program and today she killed a man because she couldn't do a stitch. He says in the field, you do what you can with what you have. It's not about being the best. He makes mistakes and good guys die, but nobody knows everything. He learns from his mistakes so he doesn't make them again, and the next guy lives. Mistakes are how you learn.

Sarabeth greets Betty. She has a headache. She asks what's going on. Anna informs her what happened and tells her that Vincent passed away. Betty says he was just in the other car so he'll be here any minute. Izzie looks at the clock and after a few more seconds have passed, Betty again asks what happened.

Lexie tells Michael he's stable, which is good news because it means he can have his next surgery. Lexie tells him people make mistakes, but she thinks making it right afterwards is the part that matters. She thinks he's made a good start at that.

Bailey finds Alex in the ambulance bay and asks if Michael's ready for his ex lap. Alex says he was ready an hour ago, mad over the fact that it's past midnight now. Bailey says she's ready now and tells him to go book an OR. He goes inside to so but tells her it's a new day, so the insurance's expired.

Rose approaches Derek and apologizes about the hand. Things like that didn't happen to her before he existed for her. She was good and every doctor wanted her in her OR. Now, she's the crazy girl who goes around stabbing surgeons. He apologizes for that. She says she starts on the peds service tomorrow. She walks off.

Mark has overheard Lexie talking to Michael and he tells her she sure has a way of words with patients and she's obviously not afraid to tell him how she feels, so he wonders why she doesn't tell George how she feels about him. She says he's the last person who should give romantic advice. He objects, because people he likes know he likes them. Life's too short to live any other way. She thinks he may not like her back. Mark says he'd be an idiot then.

Betty asks Izzie what she's doing here and asks about Vincent. Anna and Sarabeth can't tell her the sad news anymore. Izzie suggest they take a break and offers to sit with Betty until they're back. Betty asks her friends if she's in the hospital. Izzie decides to relieve them and tells Betty that Vincent is still alive. If she watches the doors, he'll come through any minute. Izzie tells Sarabeth and Anna that this is better for her. They thank her. Sarabeth takes Anna's hand and says they should go check on their husbands.

Bailey and Alex are about to operate. Bailey tells Alex that the clock is wrong. It's at 2:30 AM and she's pretty sure it should be at 11:58 PM. She asks him to set it back as it's important that the official hospital records show the right time since the insurance company needs it. And she says it's only 11:58 PM. Alex takes the clock off the wall and sets it back. Bailey begins the surgery.

Owen tells Cristina she'd be good in the field and she'd fit right in with this battle scar. She should leave here. He asks if this place is giving her a rush. She says it does. Richard comes in and asks about his leg. Owen says Cristina took good care of it. Richard made some calls and he's heard impressive things about him being very innovative. He offers Owen a job. Owen says he has to go back to the desert to finish his tour. Richard leaves. Owen closes the blinds and starts kissing Cristina. After kissing for while, she says she doesn't even know him. "So?" he asks. After sharing a romantic look, he opens the blinds and walks out.

Bailey, Derek, Callie, and Meredith are watching Phillip, who can wiggle his toes. Bailey asks Derek to say it, despite it technically not being true yet. They made a man walk. As Callie and Bailey take off, Anna walks into the room and kisses her husband. He wakes up and says it's a nice way to wake up.

Outside Michael's room, Lexie asks George why he slept with Meredith. He says he thought he was in love with her. He was too scared to admit and he knew she didn't like him that way, but he did it anyway. He shoudn't have because it's selfish and he really wanted her to want him like that when clearly she didn't. Like he said, he's made a lot of mistakes, but he's trying to get back on track and he's gotta do it by himself. Lexie says she only wanted to help because she feels like they're more than just roommates. He says they are. They're friends, and she's probably even one of his best friends. She loves to hear that. Sarabeth walks into Michael's room and kisses him.

Callie spots Hahn as she's on her way out. She walks up to Erica and says she doesn't like to experiment, but they did it and it was kind of a success. Erica figures out it's about their kiss. Callie says she's not even sure she likes kissing girls, but she likes kissing Erica. Erica smiles and says she doesn't have anything to compare it with, as Callie's the first woman she's ever kissed. They're both freaking out. Callie says it makes them virgins in a way. She says they can be scared together. Erica agrees to that. They smile and walk out together.

Meredith has put Cristina in her bed. She brings up what Cristina said again and said she was right. People rarely have happily ever afters, or ever afters for that matter. Meredith wonders why she and Derek would be any different. Cristina wonders why Meredith cares so much what she thinks. Meredith says that if she's going to do this with Derek, she's gonna need her person on board. Cristina is the only one who really knows her, all dark parts included. She needs Cristina to at least pretend like she can do it, because if Cristina abandons her now, she'll never get her happy ending. Cristina says that's life. Meredith says she's saying please here. Cristina thinks she and Derek will make it work. She's on Meredith's side.

Izzie walks into the hallway and sees Alex making out with a girl in his room.

In her daydream, Izzie is wearing her evening gown as she steps on an elevator. The doors open, revealing Denny on the other side. She tells him that she told him she'd show him her dress. She gets off the elevator as he compliments her looks. They smile at each other and walk out of the hospital together, into the light.

Alex closes the door of his room.

Lexie is helping George study in their apartment and gives him secret, loving looks.

In his trailer, Meredith is helping Derek pack his stuff. Her voice over says that reality is much scarier than happily ever afters and fairytale romances.

Richard has gathered his surgical staff in an OR. He tells them to listen up. They used to be the best surgical program in the West. They blew everyone out the water. Then overnight, they got old and sloppy like everybody else. They were resting on their laurels. They have all been failing to take initiative, ask tough questions, practice their skills, and give opportunity to practice skills. He let that happen. That stops now. People sliding over general surgery in favor of their favorite specialty, makes for bad teaching and bad surgeons. The surgical training protocol is officially changing. The bar's been raised. He tells them to consider themselves noticed. Richard leaves the room and slams the door.

Meredith's voice over says reality is also much more interesting than living happily ever after.


  • Meredith Grey
  • Cristina Yang
  • Izzie Stevens
  • Alex Karev
  • George O'Malley
  • Miranda Bailey
  • Richard Webber
  • Callie Torres
  • Mark Sloan
  • Lexie Grey
  • Erica Hahn
  • Derek Shepherd
  • Owen Hunt
  • Betty Kenner
  • Nurse Rose
  • Phil Loomis
  • Michael Breyers
  • Sarabeth Breyers
  • Anna Loomis
  • Intern Steve (left)
  • Intern Dani (right)

Main CastEdit

Guest StarsEdit



Medical NotesEdit

Cristina YangEdit

  • Diagnosis:
    • Stab injury
  • Treatment:
    • Controlled extraction
    • Stitches
    • Cefazolin

Owen carried Cristina inside to treat her injuries. She wanted them just to pull it out, but Owen said not to. They ordered an x-ray and a CT. When everything came back clear, Owen pulled out the icicle and stitched her up.

Vincent KennerEdit

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:

Meredith was charged with monitoring Vincent. He was still stable for a while after surgery, but then he coded and they were unable to save him.

Betty KennerEdit

  • Diagnosis:
    • Subdural hematoma
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Betty was taken into surgery to relieve the pressure and hopefully restore her memory. After surgery, she woke up, but her memory was still resetting every 30 seconds.

Michael BreyersEdit

  • Diagnosis:
    • Bruised kidney
    • Liver laceration
    • Hematoma
  • Treatment:
    • Exploratory laparotomy

Michael was stable after surgery, but his abdomen was still tender, so he was taken for a CT. His hematoma was getting worse, so they took him back into surgery. He woke up after surgery.

Phillip LoomisEdit

  • Diagnosis:
    • Paralysis
  • Treatment:
    • Therapeutic hypothermia
    • ECMO

Since Phillip was still paralyzed, Callie did research on therapeutic hypothermia and consulted with Owen about how to do it properly. They started lowering his body temperature. When his heart rate became erratic, they started him on ECMO and called Erica. Then they started to warm him up. Afterward, he was able to move his toes.

Derek ShepherdEdit

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hand laceration
  • Treatment:
    • Stitches

Derek was cut on a scalpel in the OR. He bandaged the wound. Meredith later stitched it up for him.


Song Performer Scene
"Mistaken Identity" Steve Reynolds
  • Anna comes clean to Sarabeth about her affair with Michael.
  • Vincent codes so they have to leave the room.
"Skinny Love" Bon Iver
  • Alex tells Sarabeth Michael maybe cheated because he didn't want her to see how low he was.
"Never Bloom Again" The Perishers
  • Owen pulls the icicle out of Cristina.
  • Meredith informs Cristina that Vincent died.
  • Richard and Derek discuss Owen. Richard is determined not to be soft anymore and yells at Meredith for failing to save Vincent.
"And Then You" Greg Laswell
  • Lexie finishes reading Michael's letter.
  • Izzie updates Sarabeth and Anna about Betty. Meredith tells them Vincent died.
  • Anna tries to patch things up with Sarabeth.
  • Izzie forgives Meredith.
  • Cristina and Owen talk about trauma and making mistakes.
"Crazy Ever After" The Rescues
  • Sarabeth and Anna tell Betty about Vincent's passing, but Betty keeps forgetting.
  • Lexie tells Michael people make mistakes, but the part where you make it right is what matters.
  • Bailey is ready for Michael's surgery, but the insurance has expired.
"White Horse" Taylor Swift
  • Izzie tells Betty that Vincent is alive as that's better for her. Sarabeth decides to forgive Anna.
  • Bailey decides to set the clock back.
  • Owen suggests Cristina choose adventure and then declines Richard's job offer.
  • Owen and Cristina share their first kiss.
"Another Door Closes" Jont Whittington
  • Cristina tells Meredith she'll always be on her side.
  • Izzie witnesses Alex taking a girl to his room.
  • She dreams about getting to show Denny her dress.
  • George and Lexie hang out at their apartment.
  • Derek and Meredith pack up Derek's stuff.

Notes and TriviaEdit

NEW AND EXCLUSIVE! Grey's Anatomy Season Premiere 5 Promo 6

NEW AND EXCLUSIVE! Grey's Anatomy Season Premiere 5 Promo 6

  • This episode's title originated from the song Dream a Little Dream of Me, originally sung by The Mamas & The Papas.
  • This episode scored 18.31 million viewers.
  • The prep dates for this episode (and the previous) were from June 28, 2008 to July 17, 2008.
  • Filming for this episode (and the previous) was scheduled from July 8, 2008 to July 29, 2008.
  • The episode begins roughly at 4:15pm and finishes roughly at 2:30am.
  • This episode marks the last appearance of Lauren Stamile as nurse Rose.
  • This episode, along with the first part, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-prosthetic).


Episode StillsEdit


Meredith: Okay, I built the house of candles, that is unprecedented in the Meredith chronicles.
Derek: Fine, let's move in together.
Meredith: Fine.
Derek: Unless of course you just wanna go ahead and get married .... AHA! Gotcha! You wanna know where I learned that? It goes with the story of how I cut my hand.

Richard: (to everyone) We used to be the best surgical program in the west, an upstart program that no one ever heard of, that blew everyone out of the water. Then overnight, we got old, entrenched and sloppy, just like everybody else. We've been resting on our laurels. You have all been failing...failing to take initiative, failing to ask tough questions, failing to practice your skills, failing to give opportunity to practice skills. And I let it happen. So you have not failed, we have failed. Well, it stops, and it stops now. People sliding over general surgery as though they will never see anything but a heart or a brain through the course of their career, as though blood from the heart doesn't make it's way through the whole body or the nerves don't travel past the brain stem. It's shoddy teaching and it makes for shoddy surgeons. We've failed. Get it? We all have. And it stops now. The surgical training protocol is officially changing, people. The bar has been raised. Consider your on notice.

Meredith: You said Derek and I would never make it.
Cristina: And then I was karmically impaled for saying it.
Meredith: But you're right. I mean, people don't really have happily ever afters. People barely have ever afters. So why would Derek and I be any different?
Cristina: Mer, why do you care what I think?
Meredith: Because you're my person. And... if I'm going to do this, and be whole and healthy and be a warm, gooey person who lives with a boy, I need you. I need you on board. I need you to cheer me on. Because you're the only one who knows me darkly, really knows me. I need you to pretend that I can do this, even if you don't believe. Because if you abandon me now, I will never make it, and I will never get my happy ending and that's just...
Cristina: Life.
Meredith: I'm saying please here.
Cristina: I think you and Derek will make it. You will make it work.
Meredith: Are you just telling me what I wanna hear?
Cristina: I am your person. I am on your side.

George: Like I said I made a lot of mistakes last year, but I'm trying to get back on track, and I gotta do it by myself, so...
Lexie: The only reason I wanted to help is that, um, I... I feel like you and I are more than just... roommates.
George: We are more than just roommates.
Lexie: We are?
George: Yeah. we're friends. I mean, right now, I'd probably say you're one of my best friends.

Cristina: I... don't even know you.
Owen: So?

Owen: You'd be good in the field. You've got this battle scar, you'd fit right in.
Cristina: Yeah, right ...
Owen: I'm serious. You should ditch this place. Go for the adventure. You telling me this place gives you a rush? A high?
Cristina: Yeah.

Lexie: What if he doesn't like me back?
Mark: He's an idiot.

Mark: You're never at a loss for words with your patients. You never hesitate to tell me how you feel. So why not tell O'Malley.
Lexie: You are the last person who should be giving romantic advice.
Mark: When I like somebody I make sure they know it. Life's too short to live any other way.

See AlsoEdit

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

The Grey Matter blog post on this episode can be found here.