After being awoken by Cristina Yang and essentially kicked out of the bed while the girls talk, Derek Shepard gets up and hears a rap at the front door.  The young woman at the door asks if Grey is home.  He says yes and she barges in past him calling “Death, where are you Death?” leaving Derek even more confused than he started.  She jumps into bed and the two girls begin giggling and reminiscing while Cristina gets shoved aside.  “ Um, Hi, who are you,” Cristina asks.  “I’m Sadie, who are you,” is the reply.  “I’m Cristina.”  The two girls start giggling without her again while Cristina is left feeling awkward.  Sadie, as it turns out is an old friend of Meredith’s from medical school.  Now Derek and Cristina are both in the kitchen after having been pushed out of bed.  While Cristina questions how good of friends they can really be, Derek says, “Welcome to my world.”  Sadie is evidently joining the staff at Seattle Grace.  She left her residency before to work at the morgue.  Now she’s trying again.

Cristina goes inside and accidentally bumps Lexie Grey.  She sees something on her arm.  Lexie tells her that her kitten has been scratching her arms, but when Cristina questions again, the story changes to being a scratchy hairbrush.  Cristina explains that with a  solo surgery at stake, she better be on her game, but Lexie keeps assuring that she’s fine.  Just to be careful, Cristina sends her off to plastics to keep her out of her hair.

While Derek is trying to get more information from Meredith about this new mystery friend of hers, Cristina gives Meredith a message – something about “skinny little chicken arms,” and “miss H flying with the monkeys.”  Derek asks her to translate and Meredith explains that  “Lexie might be a secret cutter and there’s still no word on why Hahn left.”   Derek suddenly becomes concerned about Lexie and asks Meredith what she’s going to do about it.  Meredith was planning on doing nothing, but Derek says she should do something.  Not understanding why he tells her, “Lexie’s your family,” but she hadn’t really thought of that, so he says, “never mind,” and goes off to save lives.

In the basement, the interns are practicing more and more without the knowledge of the residents.  What started as practicing IV’s and bloodwork has turned now to using anesthesia to cut and stitch each other up.  George O’Malley walks in to ask for someone to run labs and is oblivious to what they’re doing.  He thinks they have a new cool hangout spot and doesn’t seem to notice that everyone is hiding their arms behind their backs to hide their wounds.

Meredith runs into Derek in the hallway and he just happens to be next to Lexie.  She says “hi” and leaves to do whatever she’s doing.  Derek gives Meredith a look like she knows what she should do and she says, “Come on, seriously?” before heading down the hall to follow Lexie.  She catches up and to her and asks how she’s doing.  Lexie quickly asks, “Why did somebody say something like I was doing something?” though you can hear the guilt in her voice.  “No, I was just asking, you know as a person who is sort of related to you, you know if there is anything bothering you,” Meredith tells her.  Lexie affirms it has nothing to do with being a resident over her as an intern, but Meredith assures that she’s just making sure she’s not “channeling her tragic pain into self-mutilation,” there is a confused pause by Lexie and Meredith comes out with it, “Are you a secret cutter?”  Before Lexie can answer, Mark Sloan walks up and propositions “Little Grey” to come and help with Callie’s surgery.  Meredith asks, “Little Grey?”  Mark explains that Lexie is “Little Grey” and Meredith is “Big Grey.” That’s how he tells them apart.  Meredith is left to ponder that one on her own.

Before going to the surgery, Lexie goes down to the basement to tell the other interns that they better take a break from their practicing.  People are starting to suspect things.  Sadie speaks up from behind in defiance.    Lexie remarks that she didn’t realize they were inviting more people.  “Are you kidding?  A secret society of interns, I’m all over that.”  Lexie stands up again and tells them that they need to take fewer risks.  Sadie tells them all otherwise.  She says that they’re being more careful than they should be.  She takes off her shirt, grabs a scalpel and cuts open the back of her shoulder and asks, “Who wants to stitch me up?”  All the male interns immediately volunteer.

In the cafeteria, Derek asks Meredith if she’s finally going to tell him about “Death and Die” (Meredith and Sadie).  She promptly tells him no, but tells him she needs a favor.  “I want you to tell Mark to keep his ‘Little Sloan’ out of ‘Little Grey’.”  Confused, Derek first thinks Sloan is hitting on her but she puts his mind at ease that she means Lexie.  “The last thing she needs is Sloan going on man-whore on her.  Just tell him to step away from ‘Little Grey’.”

Later in the surgery, Sloan mentions how well Lexie’s sutures are to the Chief when he steps in.  He tells all they are doing an “excellent job, and excellent job of teaching Dr. Yang,” he says, “Taking the time to teach your interns and they’re retaining that knowledge.  I haven’t made my decision about that solo surgery, but you keep teaching like that and you’re my one to watch.” 

Sloan is telling Derek in the hallway, “Man, that Lexie Grey sure knows how to wrap herself around a suture.”  Derek tells him, “Mark, Meredith has some concerns . . . about Lexie.  Apparently Lexie is fragile, and getting involved with a superior might make her more fragile.”  “I was talking about her sutures,” Mark defends.  “Keep ‘Little Sloan’ out of ‘Little Grey.’  That’s all I’m trying to say.”  He repeats it for him in case he missed.  “That’s just creepy and inaccurate – ‘Big Sloan’.”

Cristina barges into the interns’ locker room and grabs Lexie by the arm.  She sees all of the “scratches” differently this time.  She tears off the bandages and Lexie says, “I can explain,” but Cristina’s now seeing it on the other interns’ arms as well.  “I did not teach you the parallel poly stitch, I can barely do that stitch myself.  Whatever you guys are doing, shut it down.  Do not practice on yourselves.   That is insane.  Shut it down!”

At home in bed, each reading their separate books Derek asks again to hear about the stories of Meredith and Sadie.  “They’re ancient history,” she says, “humiliating and ridiculous.”   “Ridiculous is a grown man telling another grown man to stay out of his little. . .” Derek explains.  Meredith is excited he did it for her.  “I did it because it was nice to see you sticking up for your sister,” he says, “I did it for you, so now you owe me a story.”  “Okay fine,” she says, “but you can never tell another person, ever!”  

more from this episode. . .