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Germs, disease, toxins. Our bodies encounter dangers all the time, just beneath the surface. Hidden. Whether you realize it or not, your body is constantly protecting itself. Every time you blink your eye, you wash away thousands of unwanted microbes. Breathe in too much unwanted pollen and you sneeze. The body knows when it's encountered something that doesn't belong. The body detects the invader, it releases its white blood cells and it attacks. Just when we think we've figured things out, the universe throws us a curveball. So we have to improvise. We find happiness in unexpected places. We find our way back to the things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way. Sometimes it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong.

White Wedding is the twentieth episode of the seventh season and the 146th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

As Callie and Arizona's wedding approaches, the couple quickly realize that the day they've been looking forward to is not turning out the way they'd envisioned. Meanwhile Alex continues to make the other residents jealous as he appears to be the top contender for Chief Resident, Meredith and Derek make a decision that will change their lives forever, and Dr. Perkins presents Teddy with a very tempting proposition.

Full Summary[]

Over dinner, Derek is talking about how happy he is with his trial. Alex looks sideways at Meredith, suspecting she tampered with it somehow.

Arizona and Callie are having dinner at their apartment with their parents and Mark. Colonel Daniel Robbins wonders why the sperm donor is there. Mark proposes a toast to Callie and Arizona, the mothers of his child. They cheer and drink. Callie wants them to say grace before they eat. They all hold hands and Callie's mother says grace. Callie then stands up to go pick up her crying daughter as Carlos tells Arizona about a man he met on the plane who has was going to march in a pride parade. Callie comes back with Sofia and offers her mother to hold Sofia, but Lucia declines because she's eating now. Barbara, Arizona's mother, is happy to do it.

Alex is presenting the case of Zola, a 6 months old baby who was born with spina bifida. In the back of the crowd, the other fourth year residents agree that Alex is stealing Chief Resident right from under them with his sick kids. Cristina says the playing field has been leveled because she's benched. Meredith still has confidence that her trial will get her the job. Alex thanks everyone for participating in his project and they all give him a slow clap.

Richard and Jackson enter their mouse lab. Richard needs Jackson to clean the cages more often because that means fewer infections.

Derek and Alex walk into Zola's room. Zola is crying non-stop. They think there's a build-up of fluid in the brain, which is uncomfortable. Derek adjusts the head position and Zola stops crying. Makena says that is the first time she can remember that Zola stopped crying since she came to the orphanage. Derek says they'll do an MRI to decide if a shunt is needed. Alex thinks Zola likes Derek, who lets the girl keep his flashlight.

Teddy tells Sefu that she'll repair his brother's heart defect tomorrow while Dr. Sloan constructs a new sternum. Kondo wants them to wait to tell his family if he dies, because he doesn't want to ruin his sister's birthday tomorrow. Arizona tells him they'll take good care of him. Teddy lifts up the boy's gown to look at his chest. They can see the heart beating under the boy's skin. Lexie is amazed.

Owen is struggling to help a drunk man in the ER. Cristina comes over and administers a B-52 cocktail in the guy's butt to calm him down. She tells Owen that she needs in on Teddy's surgery if she wants a chance to become Chief Resident. Teddy is still shutting her out, and now that she's on Arizona's service, she'll only get to suction in the OR. Owen tells Cristina she needs to apologize. Cristina won't apologize for saving Callie's life.

Owen and Stark are looking at Asha's scans. Asha sustained internal injuries 6 years ago from an explosive device. She hasn't healed properly, and she's living with AIDS. April is trying to talk to Asha in Swahili, but Asha is really scared of her. Owen interrupts April's attempt to talk to Asha and tells her to administer antibiotics and LR. Stark tells her to spend more time doing her job and less learning languages.

Cristina ends up on an elevator with Teddy. She says she would like to apologize for going over her head and putting her in a difficult position. Teddy wonders if she means it or because she wants back on her service. Cristina thinks it doesn't matter, but it does to Teddy.

Daniel Robbins has created a schedule to help them through the next two days. Barbara has picked up a cute pink dress for Sofia. Arizona wants them to rehearse now because she has to get back to the hospital. She's disappointed to find out there's no moment of silence for her dead brother. Lucia is disappointed upon finding out that the wedding is officiated by a minister, not a priest. Callie tells her he practices in a beautiful church, though. Mark comes in late and tries to find his place, but Daniel doesn't seem to want Mark standing near him, so Carlos suggests Mark stands next to him. Carlos will try his best to like Mark, but he doesn't want him to call him father-in-law. Arizona walks down the aisle first with her father. Then it's up to Callie and Carlos. She wants to hand Sofia, who's the bouquet in the rehearsal, over to her mother, but Lucia leaves to go use the powder room. Carlos then asks for more bouquet time.

Lexie is practicing in the lab where Jackson is complaining about having to clean up mice poop, which means zero chance to become Chief Resident. Lexie says he'll get to work on humans once they have FDA approval, which she suspects will be soon. Lexie is peeling plums since her kid's skin has directly grown onto the heart, she's gonna be helping Teddy to remove the adhesions without puncturing the heart. 

Teddy asks Owen for 20 good reasons not to let Cristina back onto her service. She's about to cave because she could really use Cristina's help today, but letting her back on her service wouldn't teach her anything. Owen thinks Teddy is being harsh. Teddy says Owen shouldn't have enabled Cristina's behavior in Callie's surgery. Callie lived and now Cristina thinks she's right, but she actually just got lucky, which makes her dangerous right now. Owen tells Teddy to tell her that, but Teddy says there's no telling Cristina anything. Teddy can handle Cristina being mad at her.

Alex tells Derek that Zola does not have Chiari malformation, but she does have hydrocephalus. Derek asks him to book an OR for the shunt. Meredith comes over and tells Derek it's time to start with their second wave of patients. He walks off and Alex asks Meredith if Derek knows what she did. He saw her with the envelope and if she tampered with it, it could end badly for her. She pretends she doesn't know what he's talking about. Alex says whatever she did invalidates the entire project, but Meredith says she didn't do anything so he can shut up.

April tells Stark that Asha hasn't eaten since she arrived here, and she thinks Asha is really scared. Stark says it's not medical so he's not interested. April reminds him he promised they could work together if she told him no. Stark tells April he's treating her exactly like he treats other residents. They both get paged 911.

They enter Asha's room and they are informed that her blood pressure dropped out. Asha throws up blood. April asks for  central line kit and ignores Stark's warning to put on a gown.

Arizona and Callie are sitting in their bedroom by themselves. They tell each other they can handle two more days. Then their parents will be gone and their lives will be back to normal. They need to focus on the big picture, which is they are getting married. They smile.

Stark, Owen, and April are operating on Asha, who has a perforation at the lesser curvature. Her body cavity seems to be filled with wax, which is a result of her intestinal T.B. There are adhesions everywhere. April says they shouldn't be aggressive in order to limit the chance of short bowel syndrome. Owen allows her to ligate the bleeding vessel.

Derek and Alex are operating on Zola. Derek tells Alex his work is impressive, and he was right about Meredith. She is the right person for the Alzheimer's trial.

Teddy tells Arizona she's remarkably calm for a bride who's getting married tomorrow. Arizona says that is due to her father's schedule. Teddy gets a text from Andrew, who's gonna be her wedding date. Teddy hasn't told him about Henry, because he's leaving town in a week. She just enjoys what he has to offer.

Mouse H is looking great. Jackson moves on to mouse I, and then finds mouse J lying still in her cage.

Callie has a surprise for her mother. She had a veil made to look just like her mother's. She wanted to surprise her and she's always loved the picture of her mother with the vail. Lucia is not enthusiastic and just says it's lovely. Callie says she's been bending over backwards to make her comfortable. Lucia asks her not to imply that marrying a woman or a baby out of wedlock is for her. Callie asks which one of those bothers her more, and reminds her her secretary is gay. Callie says she's her daughter. Lucia says it's devastating to raise a child and know she's going to hell. She says Callie is not a bride. She is not the mother of the bride. This isn't Callie's wedding, it's not right. Lucia says she can't be here and leaves.

Arizona sits down with Sefu in the hallway. Sefu can't sleep. He has a lot of sisters back home, but Kondo is his only brother. He doesn't want to lose him. Arizona knows that.

Stark find April in the cafeteria, working on a sticky yellow mess. She's taken care of his post-ops as well as checked herself for cuts since the exposure to HIV positive blood. She knows the protocol. She says the sticky yellow mess is nsima, a maize porridge. She's making this for Asha, because she thinks Asha is not eating because she's not used to processed American food. She doesn't expect Stark to care, but this is about all she can do now for Asha.

Carlos tells Callie and Arizona that Lucia won't listen to her. He doesn't know what to say. Callie tells him to go because she'll start crying if he stays and that'll make him feel bad and that'll make her feel worse. He leaves and Arizona comforts Callie.

Alex ignores Meredith over breakfast because he's practicing to keep his mouth shut. She tells him she didn't change data or falsify results, but he's figured out that she's switched the syringes so someone would get the active agent. Meredith says nothing she did will change the results of the trial. He tells her that she did change the life of the patient who was supposed to get the drug. If the truth comes out, they'll invalidate SGMWH which blacklists all the doctors working there. What she did messes with everyone. Alex says he's not a liar. She asks if he's going to tell. Derek walks into the kitchen. Alex says he's late for work and leaves.

Mark enters Callie's apartment. Callie asks him if she can borrow something, because she needs something borrowed. Mark just got a call from Father Brooks. His wife got into an accident and he's not gonna make it to the wedding. Callie says it was so hard to find a minister willing to marry them. Mark says he's got some numbers to call. Callie tells him to forget it. She is not getting married.

Jackson tells Richard he did an X-ray on mouse J, who took a turn for the worse last night. That didn't show anything, so he did a CT. He couldn't make it out on the CT, so he did an MRI. Richard says that is $8,000 for a rodent. Richard sees the portal vein's not draining well. Jackson says that means the problem isn't how the device functions, but where. They need to put it closer to the surface, just underneath the skin.

Derek has paged Meredith to Zola's room. Meredith asks why he paged her. He asks her to hold the baby for a minute while he does some tests. The exam is good. He wants Meredith to be honest, and Meredith thinks Alex has mentioned something. Derek, ignoring her protest, says he wants them to adopt this baby. He was holding her yesterday and she stopped crying. He's fixed a lot of babies, but he looked at Zola and couldn't imagine her with any other family. They have been trying to start a family and Zola needs one. He's serious. Mer looks at him with a surprised, delighted smile.

Bailey finds the door to Callie's apartment unlocked. Callie's lying on the couch, looking all depressed. Callie knows why she's here, but the wedding is still off. Her mother was right, this is not a wedding. It's not legal so there's no point. It's just girls playing dress-up. Bailey says she doesn't need a law, a priest, or her mother to make the wedding real. The church can be anywhere. God is in everyone. Their church and her mother just haven't caught up to God yet, but that's okay. If Callie is willing to stand up in front of her friends and family and God and commit herself to another human being, for better or worse, then that is a real marriage. That is all that matters. Besides, legal marriages don't always turn out well.

Teddy is almost ready for Mark in the OR. Cristina is suctioning for Lexie, who's working on the adhesions. Teddy says there's a defect in the diverticulum. She goes in blind and starts sewing in the graft. She offers Lexie to tie off when she finishes. Bailey walks into the scrub room and gestures to Mark that everything's okay.

Owen and Stark are looking at Asha's post-op scans. They didn't have to sacrifice much of the intestines, so it's a hell of a save. Stark brings up the Chief Resident. He wants to talk about April. He rarely gives formal feedback about his resident, but he'd like to recommend April. She goes above and beyond for her patients, even when she isn't asked. She sees the patient as a whole, not just as a set of symptoms, and that kind of caring can't be taught.

While working on mouse J, Richard tells Jackson he couldn't have done this without him. He appreciates Jackson's dedication. Mouse J wakes up and they high five.

Mark is looking for Arizona as it's time to go. She comes out of the bathroom with wet hair, and she hasn't put on her dress. She tells Mark that when she came out to her brother, he asked if that meant she was going to marry a chick. He promised Arizona he'd dance so hard at her wedding. Her dreams are coming true and her brother is not here. She knows she's late, but her brother is the reason that her father schedules every minute of every day so there's no time to miss Timothy. She needs a minute to miss her brother. Mark hugs her.

Meredith and Derek are looking at the very long list that's meant to see if they are suitable to adopt. She does want to do this. He tells her not to get overwhelmed. They're going to take this list one step at a time. He points to something they can cross off. She says she doesn't want to do that. He says it's for the baby.

Meredith and Derek are at the Seattle Municipal Court. They are ready to get married.

Bailey walks down an aisle at a park. It's all set up for a wedding. She tells herself this is her own fault. Mark tells her she's doing fine. As she stands there in the front, ready to perform the ceremony, Daniel in military dress uniform, walks Arizona down the aisle. They are followed by Mark and Callie, as Callie keeps telling herself not to trip. She takes her place with Arizona. Bailey asks who gives this bride to the other bride. Mark says that'd be him.

The judge calls Meredith and Derek into his chamber. They show him their ID. He says he'll jump right in. They are here today to participate in a marital union.

Bailey tells everyone at Callie and Arizona's wedding that they are here to celebrate love, happiness, and loyalty, and a little bit of magic.

The judge says they're acting in conformity to the laws and regulations of the state of Washington.

Bailey says they are bringing together two exceptional and beautiful human beings.

Derek repeats after the judge: "I, Derek Shepherd,".

"I take you, Calliope Torres, to be my wife," Arizona says.

"For better or for worse, in good times and bad," Meredith says.

"I choose you to be the one with whom I spend my life," Callie says.

Meredith informs the judge they didn't have time to get rings. The judge says they'll skip that part, then.

Callie and Arizona put rings on each other's fingers and says they love each other as they do it.

The judge puts a stamp on Meredith and Derek's document and asks them to sign it. They sign. He signs, too. "By these acts and according to the laws of the state of Washington..." he begins.

"I hereby pronounce you wife and wife," Bailey finishes. Arizona and Callie kiss each other.

The judge congratulates Meredith and Derek and they leave his chamber.

The audience at Callie and Arizona's wedding applauds and cheers.

April snaps a picture of Callie and Arizona's first dance at their reception. As they look on, Owen asks Cristina what happened with Teddy. Alex comes over and says his date is stuck with a baby who's stuck. Jackson tells Alex that mouse J made him a contender today. Lexie and Jackson toast to mouse J and drink. Owen says his sources tell him that April's a contender as well. Alex takes away Owen's drink as he has a surgery on an African kid tomorrow morning.

Richard joins Cristina at the bar. They watch everyone dance on the dancefloor. He says it's weird how things can go. Alex stepped up, Jackson is starting to shine as well as April and Meredith. He always assumed that Cristina would be the front runner for Chief Resident, but this shows that you can't count anyone out. He leaves to go check if they've cut the wedding cake yet.

Teddy picks up a drink at the bar. Cristina says she has a sincere apology now. She's sorry that she's so exceptional that it threatens Teddy. She's sorry that her surgical repair saved Callie. She's sorry that Teddy's ego is so fragile that she had to stand on the sidelines of a surgery that she should have performed with Teddy today. She has been standing on the sidelines for 3 months now, ruining her chances to become Chief Resident. That is the sincerest she can be. "And yet, you still don't get it," Teddy says before turning back to her date.

She sits down with Andrew and empties her glass. Andrew says he's got a proposal for her. He's been offered a position at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. She says that's an amazing facility. He accepted the position because it's permanent, on one condition: that they find a spot for his great cardiothoracic surgeon girlfriend. He's never been bothered by his nomadic life until now. He wants to settle down and start a life with someone. He's hoping that someone is Teddy.

The emcee announces for the father-daughter dance. Arizona apologizes to Callie because she forgot to take that out of the schedule, but Callie says she should be able to dance with her father. She'll just sit this one out. As Daniel takes Arizona to dance, Mark tells Callie he's a father who can dance. They start dancing as well.

Derek is holding Zola. Meredith says they should leave if they are even going to make an appearance, but Derek is too enchanted by Zola. She realizes they won't make it to the wedding. Derek says they'll understand and they'll get them a really nice present.

Carlos appears on the dancefloor and asks Mark if he can cut in. Carlos takes Callie's hands and says that when he was driving back to the airport with her mother, it hit him. He's wanted to dance with her on her wedding ever since she was born, so he came back. He wants to have this dance with his daughter. Callie hugs him and they start dancing as more and more couples join them on the dancefloor.

Meanwhile, Meredith and Derek are still spending time with Zola.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Zola Limbani[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Spina bifida
    • Hydrocephalus
  • Treatment:
    • Shunt

Zola, 6 months, was born with spina bifida. She was brought to Seattle as part of Alex's exchange program. Derek went into to look at her and she was crying. He explained to Makena that sometimes babies with spina bifida can develop Chiari malformation, which causes fluid build-up. Adjusting the head position can relieve the pressure. Derek did this with Zola as he talked and she stopped crying. Derek said they'd run an MRI to see if she had Chiari malformation or hydrocephalus. If she did, they'd need to do a shunt, which would postpone her spinal surgery, but it'd be worth it. The MRI revealed no Chiari malformation, but she did have hydrocephalus, so he scheduled surgery to insert a shunt.

Kondo[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Pentalogy of cantrell
    • Ventricular septal defect
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Kondo was in Seattle to have his heart defect repaired. He didn't have a sternum, which caused the skin to attach directly to his heart and left his heart unprotected. Teddy would be fixing his heart defect and Mark was going to construct him a new sternum.

ER Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Head laceration
  • Treatment:
    • B-52 cocktail
    • Staples

Owen was trying to calm down a patient in the ER who was drunk. Cristina gave him a B-52 cocktail to calm him down. Owen then stapled his head laceration.

Asha[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • AIDS
    • Abdominal injuries
    • Intestinal tuberculosis
    • Intestinal perforation
  • Treatment:
    • Antibiotics
    • Perforation repair
    • Anti-TB meds

Asha, 10, was injured in an explosion. She hadn't healed well and her condition was complicated by the fact that she was living with AIDS. Asha began to cough up blood, which was treated with packed cells. They couldn't stop the bleeding, so they rushed her into surgery. In the OR, they discovered intestinal TB. They continued with the perf repair and then planned to treat with anti-TB meds. They were able to finish the surgery without having to remove much of the bowel, avoiding short gut.

Mrs. Brooks[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:

Father Brooks' wife was in an accident and she was taken to the ER, meaning he was unable to make the wedding.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"The Infidel" The Republic Tigers
  • Callie and Arizona's families have a tense dinner together.
  • Callie's mom turns down the chance to hold Sofia.
"Never Let You Go" Calahan
  • Arizona talks to Mark about missing her brother.
  • Mark comforts her while she cries.
  • Derek and Meredith fill out adoption paperwork.
  • They agree to get legally married to help the adoption.
"Love You Good" Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs
  • Callie and Arizona's, Meredith and Derek's weddings at the same time.
"Morning, Noon & Night" Ryan Shaw
  • Callie and Arizona's first dance.
  • Residents and Owen discuss the race for Chief Resident.
"Tightrope" Janelle Monáe
  • Cristina confronts Teddy after being goaded and diminished by the Chief.
"Old Fashioned" Cee Lo Green
  • Father-Daughter dance. Mr. Torres reappears.
  • Derek and Meredith spend time with Zola.

Notes and Trivia[]

Grey's_Anatomy_7x20

Grey's Anatomy 7x20

  • This episode's title originated from the song White Wedding, originally sung by Billy Idol.
  • This episode scored 10.11 million viewers.[1]
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Derek and Meredith's first child, Zola.
  • The dress Cristina wears to Callie and Arizona's wedding is the same one as Addison wore in What We Have Here....
  • Callie and Arizona's wedding was filmed on location at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flitridge, California.[source?]
  • Callie and Arizona's wedding party set was set decorator Nicole Cramer's favorite set to decorate to date, because of all the pink details. She also loved the pink and white candy bar, which was added per Shonda's request.[source?]

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Cristina: You know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm such an exceptional surgeon that it threatens you. I'm sorry my surgical repair saved Callie's life and yours didn't. I'm sorry your ego is so fragile that I had to stand on the sidelines of a surgery I should have been performing with you today like I have been standing on the sidelines for the past three months basically ruining my chances for chief resident. You want sincerity? I could not be more sincere.
Teddy: And yet, you still don't get it.

Bailey: OK, first of all, you do not need the law or a priest or your mother to make your wedding real. And the church can be anywhere you want it to be - In a field, on a mountain, right here in this room, anywhere, because where do you think god is? Come on, He's in you. He's in me. Just right here, in the middle of us. Your church just hasn't caught up to God yet. Your mother, she hasn't caught up to God yet. And, by the way, she may not ever catch up, but it's OK. It's okay. If you are willing to stand up in front of your friends and family, and God, and commit yourself to another human being, to give of yourself in that kind of partnership for better or worse, in sickness and health. Honey, that is a marriage. That is real, and that's all that matters. Besides... girl, I got legally married to a man in a church. Look how well that turned out.

Derek: Let's adopt this baby.
Meredith: What? Are you serious?
Derek: Yeah. You know, I was holding her yesterday, and she was crying and then she stopped. And I've- I've held a lot of babies, I've fixed a lot of babies. But, I looked down at Zola- - I don't know what it was. I just- I just couldn't imagine her being with any other parent or any other family. We've been trying so hard to start a family, and she needs one. Let's adopt her. I'm serious, Let's adopt her. (Zola coos in Mer's arms.)

Mark: Robbins, babysitter's here. Sofia's asleep. I look great by the way. Let's go.

Arizona: Who's that from? Hottie husband or hottie boyfriend?
Teddy: It's from Andrew. He's not my boyfriend, he's just my wedding date.

Mark: At least one of my fathers-in-law doesn't hate me.
Carlos: You're Sofia's father. I love Sofia so I'm gonna at least going to try to like you. But, if you call me your father-in-law again, I'll knock you out.

Mark: I'd like to propose a toast.
Daniel Robbins: Why is the sperm donor here? I thought tonight was a family dinner.

See Also[]

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

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

References[]

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