Event Year: 2005

All the nurses at Seattle Grace Hospital go on strike, leaving the doctors to fend for themselves. George refuses to cross the picket line and finally joins the nurses on their strike while Alex, Cristina, Izzie and Meredith meets Bailey's stand-in: Dr. Cindy Aaron, the complete opposite of Miranda Bailey. Izzie agrees to work on a difficult pregnancy case with Addison, while Cristina and Alex are in the pit attending to a young married woman with a real bad case of rash. Meredith happens on an old woman that she needs to intubate and then learns she was DNR.

Meredith and Cristina lie to each other and themselves about their relationships with McDreamy and Burke, respectively. George is given a hard task to expel a discharged and defiant woman from the hospital. Alex learns his fate after re-taking his medical exams. At the same time Izzie is trying to stop Alex from making stupid decisions when a patient that doesn't speak English is lied to by her coach. George, Cristina, and Alex compete in a hot dog eating competition.

Cristina is bothered by a new year's mandatory work limit. Izzie patient, Denny Duquette, wants two things: 1. a heart transplant, 2. Izzie. Addison detests Derek's trailer, Derek visits Meredith's mom, George treats a young teen hermaphrodite frustrated by her pre-pubescence. Other news includes patients doing uncanny things and relationship havoc being wrecked between the doctors, as per usual.

The holiday season has started but not everyone is in a festive mood. This is Alex's last day in the hospital unless he passes his boards practical exam the next day, thus everyone helps him to review so that he succeeds. However, Izzie is not happy about the others helping him and Meredith has to remind her of the true spirit of the Christmas holiday. Justin is in need of a new heart. One is available but he does not want it because he does not believe Santa gave it to him as his mother said. Cristina and Burke, both handling Justin's case, have opposing views on the matter due to their different stances on religion. Despite a reconciliation with his wife, Derek isn't in a festive mood. George has a simple case of a woman who has a bleeding ulcer, he realizes that the ulcer is caused by her entourage but fails to keep them away, with the consequence that it perforates.