Knowing how to save a life
Derek got shot. Meredith nearly drowned. A man walks in with a bomb in his chest cavity. A plane crashes. If there is anything Meredith and Derek excel at outside of the OR it is staying alive. They have saved each other, saved hundreds of lives between them, but best of all, they have saved each other countless times. Even when there is no life threatening injuries, they find a way to talk each other out of corners they back themselves into. They seemed to always know when to come closer and when to back off and when to administer CPR.
Thinking inside the box
A hospital can be a very intimate place. During their 12 to 24 hour shifts, the doctors find themselves with no shortage of access to supply closets and on call beds. But downtime is rare when you are a surgeon on call and most of their flirting is left to longing gazes over their surgical masks. No matter what space you find yourself in, not much feels as rewarding as working together to solve a tricky tumor removal, act on shared instincts to save a life, or walk away from a routine procedure knowing that together, you gave someone else a shot at life.
Meredith and Derek have quite the history of surgeries and close encounters in tight spaces together. Which is exactly why he decorates their most intimate space, the elevator, with memories of their time in the OR. Could any proposal speak to their relationship better?
The student surpasses the master
There is a trade off on Grey’s Anatomy between Meredith and Derek that no other couple has seen. Meredith has risen from the intern Derek helped push from the nest to a brilliant surgeon capable of holding a 90 patient streak. She is invested in research, inspiring interns across the hospital, and her career has allowed her to define herself apart from her mother.
Some of her best work, though, does come form collaboration with Derek. While recovering from donating half of her liver, Meredith assisted Derek with a surgery that rivals Amelia’s groundbreaking operation on Dr. Herman this season. The spine drawing remains in their bedroom to this day, showing that their love of their careers rivals their love for each other, giving the audience something other than a kiss to root for between the couple.
Watch Grey’s Anatomy season 11, episode 17, “With or Without You,” Thursday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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