Derek Shepherd quotes from Grey's Anatomy

Bailey

Dr. Shepherd?

Derek

Dr. Bailey.

Bailey

I need you to stop. I need you to put down the scalpel. This man is trying to kill himself and, God forgive me, I need you to let him.

Derek

It's your call, Dr. Bailey. It's up to you. Am I an executioner? Or am I a surgeon?

Derek

She said a thing about babies. Like babies are a totally ordinary idea. She's not afraid, she's ready.

Mark

When are you gonna do it?

Webber

Do what?

Mark

Shepherd's proposing.

Webber

No kidding? Outstanding! How're you gonna do it?

Derek

I don't know. Just decided.

Owen

Morning.

Mark

Shepherd's proposing.

Owen

Congratulations, that's a big step.

Derek

Thank you very much. [to Mark] You just gonna tell everybody now?

Mark

You need advice. Hunt, you ever proposed before?

Owen

Uh sorry I'm... not the guy to ask. When are you gonna do it?

Derek

Well more importantly how am I gonna do it?

Mark

:[sees Meredith, coughs] So, what do you use, like a twist drill for that?

Derek

Well not if you don't want a partial, pridal hematoma!

Meredith

[confused] Hi... [walks away]

Meredith

Hey, um did you eat? Let me change, I'll come with you.

Derek

No, no, no, I can't. I have to um, work.

Meredith

Ok, listen. You have been acting like a basket case ever since I dropped that stupid little comment about babies. And I'm glad I dropped it, because if you don't want babies, or you don't want babies with me and my crappy DNA... just say so. You don't have to avoid me. You don't have to make up lame excuses about work.

Derek

Meredith, I want your crappy babies.

Meredith

Hah, you do?

Derek

All of them.

Meredith

Ok, do you wanna eat?

Derek

No... I... I... I have to work.

Look, I know you guys want me to go down fighting but I––

Derek

Coward.

Excuse me?

Derek

I said "coward." You're a coward by trade. You're a neurologist. You guys feed off us, refer your patients to us, let us assume the responsibility and if god forbid something happens, well, I'll tell you what, I can assume the responsibility. The question is, can you?

Alex

[about Addison still being at Seattle Grace] Admit it. Her being around your guy bugs.

Meredith

It doesn't buy. You bug.

Derek

Karev, page Addison. Tell her I need her to stay.

Meredith

Okay, it bugs a little.

Derek

You're a good doctor. So am I. Let's just be good together.

Alex

Your guy and my guy work well together.

Meredith

Well, my guy works well with everyone.

Meredith

How'd it go with the lawyers?

Derek

They told me my death rate. [looks at a small pile] These are the people I saved. [looks at a big pile] These are the people I killed.

Meredith

Okay. Well most of those people were terminal when they came to you. You were their last chance, and you take on impossible cases. Look at the clinical trial.

Derek

It's just so many people. More than Dahmer, Manson, and Bundy combined.

Meredith

You're not looking at the big picture.

Derek

[points to the big stack of files] This is the big picture.

Callie

Look, I'm sorry about your patient. I know how hard it can be. I, I had a patient a couple of years ago, a young guy, 50 maybe. Simple knee replacement. He was post op, he was fine. I even told his wife she could go and get him lunch. I mean, it was a simple knee replacement, it was nothing. But, ah, he'd been getting short of breath so I'd put him on blood thinners for a post surgical PE. And, ah, It wasn't until he was vomiting up dark red blood, looking me in the eye, telling me that he was dying... that I figured it out. That I was wrong. That it wasn't a PE, he was bleeding internally. It wouldn't have been fatal, but the blood thinners. God, I will never forget the look on his wife's face. When she came back with that sandwich in her hand, asking me why her husband wasn't in his room anymore.

Derek

How do you live with it? Killing him. Taking him from his wife. How do you live with it?

Callie

We call it malpractice when we make a mistake.

Derek

Yeah, I know what we call it! I'm asking you, when you get up in the morning, how do you look at yourself in the mirror? I'm not... I'm... I'm asking.

Callie

[looks at the beer Derek is drinking] Can I have one of those?

Derek

Yeah.

Derek

[to Richard] Get out!

Webber

No.

Derek

Get out, Richard! Get out!

Webber

Look, I've destroyed lives before. Several in fact, and yours is not one of them. Now, I sent the woman you love out here to help you. I sent the woman who loves you, out here, to bring you back to your life. If you ruin it with her, that's on you. I don't accept it. You're scared, you're drunk. You don't know which way is up. You threw a punch at your best friend, you threw a ring at Meredith, and now you wanna throw me out. I'm not accepting it! Because, I'm older than you, and I've been where you are. You've been drunk for a few days, I was drunk for years. And I know you're gonna need at least one friend when you decide to come out of that hole you're digging. I hope you come out of it soon, and I'll be here when you do.

Derek

I don't think I can get her back.

Webber

Did you call her?

Derek

What am I going to say?

Richard

I had an affair for years and when Adele found out somehow she... She took me back... you can make your way back from anything.

Derek

We'll see you soon Dr. Stevens.

Izzie

I hope so.

Bailey

Know so.

Izzie

Dr. Bailey if something goes wrong...

Bailey

It won't.

Izzie

The scarf, I made it for you.

Derek

It's a beautiful night to save lives. Let's get started.

Webber

I said don't take it.

Meredith

I will take the elevator I want to take.

Webber

Well go on.

Derek

Hey! Come on in. This is a CT of Katie Bryce. 16 year old female, subarachnoid aneurysm.

Meredith

From a fall during rhythmic gymnastics, I remember.

Derek

It was the first surgery we ever scrubbed in together. Our first save. Right here is a cerebral cyst. Tough save, but we did it. I kissed you in the stairwell, after the surgery. And this right here is where Dr. Bailey kicked you out of the surgery because she caught us in your driveway in my car. [both laugh] And right here, this was a seven hour craniotomy and you held the clamp the entire time, never flinched. That's when I knew you were going to be an incredible surgeon. And right here, this is when I supervised you drilling a burr hole for the very first time. I was watching you more than I was watching the drilling, because I knew I'd fallen in love with you. Beth Monroe, made our clinical trial a success by surviving. You talked me into putting her under. That's when I knew I needed you. And this is today. Post op head CT of Izzie Stevens. See that, right there? Tumor free. Because of you. You got me into the OR. If there's a crisis you don't freeze. You move forward. You get the rest of us to move forward. Because you've seen worse. You've survived worse. And you know we'll survive too. You say you're all dark and twisty. It's not a flaw. It's a strength. It makes you who you are. I'm not going to get down on one knee. I'm not going to ask a question. I love you Meredith Grey. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

Meredith

And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

Meredith

[looking at the engagement ring Derek gave her] Does it bother you that I don't want to wear it? Because I could.

Derek

I don't want you to wear it. You're not a ring bride. [Meredith looks at him] What?

Meredith

I'm not really a church wedding bride or a poofy-white-dress bride either.

Derek

We'll get naked and get married in a field of flowers.

Meredith

[laughs] I'm not a naked bride.

Derek

What about scrubs? We can get married in scrubs.

Meredith

Ooh, now there's a wedding I could get into.

The test impaired your memory to such a degree that I have to strongly recommend you don't have the surgery.

Derek

Izzie, the test was the worst case scenario. The result has nothing to do with the surgery.

We don't know that.

Derek

But what I do know is that not operating is every bit as risky as the surgery itself. If not more. But, it's up to you.

Izzie

What do you think?

Alex

I think he's talking to you, not me.

Derek

I'll leave you two alone to discuss this.

Alex

Ah, I'll come with you. I have a couple of questions.

Izzie

Wait, Alex.

Alex

Think about what you want to do for a second, OK? I'll be right back. [everyone but Meredith leaves the room. Meredith closes the door]

Meredith

You are not having the surgery!

Derek

Meredith...

Meredith

No, you know let's go, we gotta go. We gotta run to city hall, we'll come back, you'll check on Izzie, we'll monitor John Doe, I'll go talk George out of joining the army!

Derek

Look, we can do this another day-

Meredith

There is no other day! Everyday is like this, everyday there's a crisis, there's no time.

Derek

Meredith...

Meredith

I love you and I do want to marry you, today. But there is no time.

Derek

[Cups her face with his hands] Do you have a piece of paper?

Meredith

For what?

Derek

I want to be with you forever. And you want to be with me forever. In order to do that, we need to make vows. A commitment. A contract. Give me, a piece of paper.

Meredith

I don't! I-I-I don't... I have post-its. [Hands him posts-its and a pen. Derek goes and sits on the bench]

Derek

Okay... what do we want to promise each other?

Meredith

That you'll love me, even when you hate me.

Derek

To love each other... even when we hate each other. [writes it down on the post-its] No running. Ever. Nobody walks out. [Meredith joins him on the benches] No matter what happens.

Meredith

No running.

Derek

What else?

Meredith

That we'll take care of each other even when we're old and smelly and senile. And... if I get Alzheimer's and I forget you...

Derek

I will you remind you who I am, every day. [They smile at each other] To take care when old, senile, smelly. This is forever. [Derek finishes writing on the post-it, then gives it and the pen to Meredith] Sign.

Meredith

This is our wedding? A post-it?

Derek

Mhmm. Well, if you sign it. [Meredith signs it happily and then hands it back to Derek]

Meredith

Now what?

Derek

Now, I kiss the bride. [He kisses her tenderly. Meredith's smiling as they kiss. Then Derek slowly pulls back]

Meredith

Married.

Derek

Married. [Derek puts the post-it note with their vows and signatures on the back of her cubby, then turns to her] You see that? Plenty of time.

Meredith

He wrote in my hand

What do you mean he wrote in your hand?

Meredith

He just grabbed my hand, and he squeezed it and he wrote with his finger.

Derek

He wrote with his finger?

Meredith

You know in my hand, he wrote 007.

Bailey

[grabs Meredith's hand and proceeds to write on it using her finger] Okay, what did I write?

Meredith

Joe?

Bailey

N! I did not write JOE!

Cristina

Are you serious!

Webber

You mean this might not be O'Malley?

Mark

This is funny.

Webber

Did anybody try to phone O'Malleyf? Can we get him on the phone?

Meredith

I'm telling you he squeezed my hand.

Bailey

[hushes Meredith] Shut it! You don't get to talk anymore! You don't get to talk ever again!

Meredith

I could have sworn it was George.