'Grey's Anatomy' recap: 'Don't Wake the Monster'

If I'm being honest, I have missed Bailey this season. As much as I have loved her feisty one-liners and her relationship with Ben, this season hasn't allowed Chandra Wilson the opportunity to show off the true extent of her acting skills—just think back to that scene at the elevators in the season 6 finale. But this week, the tables turned, and the focus was back on the Nazi. Was Bailey at fault for the death of both of her patients? Did she bring an infection into the hospital? Let the investigation begin!

The Bailey-centric episode kicked off with a voiceover by—you guessed it!—Miranda Bailey. "Infections are like sleeping monsters. You can't see them. You can't feed them. But you must do everything in your power to contain them because when the monsters wake up, they're out of control." Ominous, right? Well, the voiceover wasn't nearly as ominous as the fact that Bailey's hospital access was restricted and every single doctor was being swabbed. Unable to see her patient's chart and much less her patient, Bailey headed to speak with a CDC representative.

But Bailey wasn't the only one feeling helpless. The board, led by Meredith, was defending Bailey at every chance they got…. except Jackson. As he put it, it was "five against one." Yes, Jackson. That's what happens when you turn your back on Bailey. I'm pretty sure this could all be explained by the fact that Jackson wasn't an intern for the Nazi back in the day, but I digress. Moving on, other than the countless CDC members swarming the hospitals' halls, this episode also marked a big moment for Alex and Jo's relationship (or lack thereof).

When Jo announced that she was thinking about moving in with Jason, Alex was quick to clarify that she had only known him for "two minutes" and that he was a total d-bag. But Alex still wasn't giving Jo a reason not to move in with Peckwell, if you catch my drift. Instead, Alex decided to try and be nice to the guy, a plan that Cristina quickly made fun of. As she put it, "Whatever, you love her." Cristina's plan? "You could punch him and take back your girl!" I never thought that Alex would have to be prompted to punch somebody, but I'm definitely not surprised that Cristina was the one to do the prompting. Hey, do you guys remember when Callie and Izzie almost got in a fistfight in the cafeteria? I love when people on Grey's throw punches (cough, Derek punching Mark in season 2, cough). Alright, I'll stop with the trip down memory lane.

NEXT: Bailey gets interrogated…

Back to Bailey! I quickly knew things were a little off in this episode when I spotted Bailey in a pencil skirt and heels. The Nazi couldn't exactly march around in her usual confident way with all of those tight clothes on. But Bailey had to look professional for her meeting, also known as her interrogation. Bailey spent the episode across from a CDC representative, recounting every last detail of both of her surgeries to the very stoic man. Cue the surgery flashbacks! We got to see each moment of Bailey's surgeries (sometimes a little too closely) as she stated time and time again, sometimes with hesitation, that she did everything perfectly. Fun fact: In order to properly scrub in, Bailey sings Aretha Franklin's "Think" two times through, meaning that she scrubs for 4:36 before each surgery. Who knew?

Stepping away from Bailey and into the relationship/parenting drama of the episode, Matthew dumped April, and she decided to blame Jackson, because, you know, he swiped her V card. Poor Jackson now had six people against him. And as one of those people against Jackson, Meredith spent her time avoiding him and instead trying to persuade Cristina to be in the delivery room with her when she gives birth. According to Mer, she wants a natural birth and is worried that Derek would be too preoccupied with taking care of her to fulfill her wishes. She did have a point with that one. But as much as Cristina would love to help, she was not a fan of the idea of watching her best friend poop on the table. As Cristina so eloquently put it, the twisted sisters have remained so close through the years "by not watching each other poop." Also, did Alex just say, "Holla?"

Alright, that's enough with our docs! The patient drama of the episode revolved around two families. First up, Ethan was still in the hospital. His dad was unconscious, so the young ginger hung out with his mom, his grandma, and his babysitter, the older ginger, Owen Hunt. The second family was a little larger, but they had a lot fewer fingers. Long story short: A family reunion got a little crazy when Uncle Al recommended a game of tug-of-war using a clothesline. Ouch.

Speaking of the older ginger, when Owen wasn't kicking the soccer ball around with Ethan, he invited Cristina to the on-call room, but his ex-wife was a little busy. She did however have time to catch him up on the idea that Meredith wanted her in the delivery room. Did anyone else see Owen's baby-loving eyes light up at this idea? According to him, "Watching a baby be born is like seeing God in person," which just didn't quite make sense to me. Who's your source here, Owen? Plus, Cristina wasn't buying it. She, like most people, prefers to enter rooms after everyone has control of their bowels, which sounded reasonable enough.

NEXT: Owen is the fastest man alive

Back in the interrogation room, Bailey started to grow weary of the process. She tried to turn the tables on her interviewer by asking, "Did you put the cap on the toothpaste this morning?" Of course, he didn't remember. So how was she supposed to remember every detail of two routine surgeries?! Well, he didn't see it that way, and so Bailey asked to take a break. Meredith found her old mentor in the cafeteria and tried to help her out, but Jackson caught her before she could show Bailey her patient's chart. That Jackson was so sneaky.

Another sneaky individual within the hospital? Arizona and Callie's patient, the high school journalist who was looking for her big break. As a victim of the family two's great tug-of-war battle, the curious young girl caught wind of the Bailey-CDC drama, and all she could see was a front-page story in The New York Times. Callie and Arizona knocked her out (literally, for surgery) to buy themselves more time.

Moving to family number one: When Ethan's mom seized while eating some ice cream, Derek rushed her to surgery. Sadly, she never even made it to the operating room. Ethan's mom died in the elevator. And while I do understand how sad this was, was anyone else distracted by the fact that Owen was able to calm down the kid and run up multiple flights of stairs before the elevator doors even opened?! All that soccer must have gotten him into cheetah-like shape.

Across the hospital, the much slower Richard was dealing with a life-or-death situation as he tried desperately to save Bailey's second patient. To do so, Richard had to convince the patient that the infection "came from one doctor and one doctor alone," which was a lie, but what Richard didn't know was that Bailey was right around the corner and heard every word. Everyone together now: "NOOO!!!"

Okay, okay, I have to put you Alex-Jo shippers out of your misery. Well, sort of. After Cristina talked their patient into going through with her C-section (did somebody just decide to help Mer deliver?!), Jason and Alex completed a surgery, which was followed by a quick chat between the handsome men. Jason tried to clear the air, and Alex was quick to explain that he and Jo were only friends who had bonded about their messed-up childhoods. The catch: Jason definitely didn't look like he knew anything about Jo's childhood. Whoops.

NEXT: Work-spouses Richard and Bailey hit a rough patch

After hearing Richard's comment, Bailey demanded to know the results of her staph infection test. And when she barged into the board meeting, nobody stopped her. Jackson might have tried, but he was out-voted. The CDC had concluded its investigation. Yes, Bailey was a carrier of staph. But no, she was not the culprit. The hospital had switched glove manufacturers during the Pegasus debacle, which resulted in them using defective gloves that basically had tiny holes in them. And as the doctors breathed a sigh of relief, Bailey didn't take any comfort in the fact that she had still killed two people. Outside on a bench with Richard—who wasn't aware that Bailey overheard him earlier—she informed him that she had stood by him when he was a drunk, and that he was too busy protecting the hospital to protect her. "You are not who I thought you were," Bailey said as she walked away. Oh no, I hate it when my favorite work-couple fights!

With the CDC investigation complete, Callie and Arizona shut up their little mini-journalist by giving her a 12-hour lead on the hospital's official press release, which was very sweet. But not everyone was as happy as the high schooler was about receiving new information. Jo found Alex and pretty much broke up with him (friendship-wise). Turns out, Jason didn't know about her childhood and now, Alex can't "talk about me or to me, ever," according to Jo. We'll see how long that lasts.

Cristina, after helping with her patient's C-section and realizing that Mer would be more traumatized by pooping on the table than she would be by seeing it, agreed to be in the delivery room with Meredith, which Derek will allow. Ugh, the man is the best husband. But despite the fact that Cristina was a good friend, things weren't looking great for her relationship with Owen. In a very telling moment, Owen decided to stay at the hospital with Ethan (again), even after Cristina told him that if roles were reversed, she would go home. If Ethan's dad doesn't wake up soon, things could get really ugly for our favorite divorced couple.

And in one last bit of couple news, Jackson finally stood up for himself with April, telling her that he was "never going to be sorry" that they slept together. And just in time for April to get lost in his eyes, stupid Matthew showed up to apologize for his actions. Once again, all together now: "NOOO!!!"

But fear not, the best part of the episode was the end, when Alex showed up in Cristina's doorway and the two seemingly became friends. Alex confessed that he loves Jo (yay!), and after climbing in bed with Cristina in a completely platonic on-top-of-the-covers way (which was so wrong it was right), Cristina told him about her Owen problems: "I think I'm losing Owen…. not today, but soon."

As Bailey's voiceover put it, "The monster's awake now, and there's nothing you can do about it."

So what do you all think the "monster" is for each character? Bailey is clearly doubting her place at the hospital. Owen's monster is definitely his desire for kids. Alex's is his love for Jo. April's seems to be her love for Jackson, maybe? What about everyone else? And what does the "monster's awake now" mean for the future of our docs and their many relationships?

Samantha on Twitter: @samhighfill