Season 8, Episode 17: One Step Too Far

"We're trained to be vigilant. To chase down the problem. To ask all the right questions. To find the root cause until we know exactly what it is. And we can confront it. It takes an extreme amount of caution. Or we can overstep ourselves. We can create problems where none exist."

"Our intentions are always pure. We always want to do what's right. But we also have the drive to push boundaries. So, we're in danger with taking things too far. We're told to do no harm while we're trained to cut you open with the knife. So, we do things when we should have left well enough alone. Because it's hard  to admit when there's no problem to treat. To let it alone. Before we make it so much worse. Before we cause such terrible damage."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/160

Season 8, Episode 16: If Only You Were Lonely

"As surgeons we're trained to consult with each other to get opposing views. We even encourage patients to seek second opinions. But why seek a second opinion when you know that you're right? Because if we're honest with ourselves, the surgeons are more like cowboys. We're more likely to go it alone."

"You can seek the advice of others, surround yourself with trusted advisers. But in the end, the decision is always yours, and yours alone. And when it's time to act, you're all alone with your back against the wall. The only voice that matters is the one in your head. The one telling you what you probably already knew. The one that's almost always right."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/159

Season 8, Episode 15: Have You Seen Me Lately

"When you've tried everything, but that headache won't go away, you can't stop coughing, the swelling won't go down... That's when you turn to a professional. As surgeons, we spend years developing skills of perception that allow us to see exactly what the problem is. The trouble is, some times all that time spent developing those skills of perception can leave a person with an extremely narrow point of view. And how are you supposed to argue with someone who has science on their side?"

"Actually, finding out that you've been looking at things all wrong can be sort of liberating. And suddenly you see a new potential where you've never seen it before. And that's all fine when a hopeless situation suddenly looks good. Unfortunately, some time it goes the other way."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/158

Season 8, Episode 14: All You Need Is Love

"There are times in our lives when love really does conquer all: exhaustion, sleep deprivation, anything. And then there are those times when it seems like love brings us nothing but pain."

"We're always looking for ways to ease the pain. Sometimes we ease the pain by making the best of what we have. Sometimes is by losing ourselves in the moment. And sometimes all we need to do to ease the pain is call a simple truce."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/157

Season 8, Episode 13: If/Then

"The baby you have is the baby you were destined to have. It was meant to be. That's what all the adoption people tell you. Anyway... I like to think it's true. But everything else in the worlds seems so completely random. What if one little thing I said or did could have made it all fall apart? What if I've chosen another life for myself? Or another person? We might have never found each other. What if I've been raised differently? What if my mother had never been sick? What if I've actually had a good father? What if?"

"Your life is a gift. Accept it. No matter how screwed up or painful it seems to be. Some things are going to work out as if they were destined to happen. As if they were just meant to be."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/156

Season 8, Episode 12: Hope For The Hopeless

"There's nothing else we can do for you." These are the last words a surgeon wants to tell a patient. Giving up doesn't come easy to us, so we do everything in our power not to. For surgeons, a lost cause just means – try a little harder."

"When do you throw in the towel? Admit that a lost cause is something just that? There comes a point where it all becomes too much. When we get too tired to fight anymore. So we give up. That's when the real work begins. To find hope where there seems to be absolutely none at all."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/155

Season 8, Episode 11: This Magic Moment

"Have you ever the starring role in a play? A solo in a recital? All eyes on you. Waiting for you to do what they came to see. Feeling the incredible pressure to perform. There was a time when they used to call operating rooms an operating theater. It still feels like one. Scores if people get ready for the show. The sets are arranged, there are costumes, masks, props. Everything has to be rehearsed, choreographed. All leading to the moment when the curtain goes up. You know what they say about the Carnegie Hall: there's only one way to get there."

"If only life was just a dress rehearsal. And we had time for do-overs. We'd be able to practice and practice every morning, until we got it right. Unfortunately, every day in our lives is its own performance. It seems like even when we get a chance to rehearse, and prepare, and practice… we're still not quite ready for life's grand moments."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/154

Season 8, Episode 10: Suddenly

“Victims of a sudden impact are some of the hardest to treat. It's not just the collision that injures them. It's everything after. The centrifugal force keeps them moving, tossing them from vehicles, throwing them through windshields, slamming their internal organs into the skeleton. Their bodies are injured over and over again. So there's no way to know how much damage has actually been done. Until they stop.”

“You can't prepare for a sudden impact. You can't brace yourself. It just hits you. Out of nowhere. And suddenly, the life you knew before is over. Forever.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/153

Season 8, Episode 9: Dark Was the Night

"I had a terrible day. We say it all the time. A fight with the boss, a stomach flu, traffic. That's what we describe as terrible. When nothing terrible is happening."

"It seems quaint now, doesn't it? The flood in the kitchen, the poison oak, the fight that leaves you shaking with rage. Would it have helped if we could see what else was coming? Would we have known that those were the been the best moments of our lives?"

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/152

Season 8, Episode 8: Heart-Shaped Box

"Say you're in the OR. Repairing the Vena Cava. When suddenly, everything goes to hell. So, you cut this, suture that and soon, that crappy situation is a thing of the past. Too bad you can't meet all of life's challenges with a surgical scalpel. I mean... you could try. But I'm pretty sure that would be considered assault."

"It's a little bit horrifying just how quickly everything can fall to crap. Sometimes, it takes a huge loss to remind you of what you care about the most. Sometimes, you find yourself becoming stronger as a result. Wiser, better equipped to deal with the next disaster that comes along. Sometimes... but not always."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/151

Season 8, Episode 7: Put Me In, Coach

“Surgeons can't be lazy. The risks are too great. The second we stop pushing ourselves, something terrible happens. Something we never see coming.”

“So we may not always be winners. But we're not lazy. We take chances, we go for broke, swing for the fences... And sometimes, yeah. We strike out. But sometimes, you get a home run.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/150

Season 8, Episode 6: Poker Face

"As babies, we were easy. One cry meant you were hungry, another you were tired. It's only as adults that we become difficult. We start to hide our feelings, put up walls. It gets to the point when we never really know how anyone thinks or feels. Without meaning to, we become masters of disguise."

"It's not always easy to speak your mind. Sometimes you need to be forced to do it. Sometimes it's better to just keep things to yourself though. Play dumb. Even when your whole body is aching to come clean. So you shut your mouth. Keep the secret. And find other ways to make yourself happy."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/149

Season 8, Episode 5: Love, Loss and Legacy

“A human body is designed to compensate for loss. It adapts, so it no longer needs the thing it can't have. But sometimes, the loss is too great, and the body can't compensate on its own. That's when surgeons get involved.”

“We're so hopeful at the beginning of things. But it seems like there is only a world to be gained. Not lost. They say inability to except loss is a for of insanity. It's probably true. But sometimes… it's the only way to stay alive.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/148

Season 8, Episode 4: What Is It About Men

“There are distinct differences between male and female brains. Female brains have a larger Hippocampus. Which usually makes them better at attention and memory. Male brains have a bigger parietal cortex. Which helps when fending off an attack. Male brains confront challenges differently than female brains. Woman are hardwired to communicate with language, detail, empathy. Men, not so much. It doesn't mean that we're any less capable of emotion. We can talk about our feelings, it's just that… most of the time, we'd really rather not. “

“Be a man. People say it all the time. But what does that even mean? Is it about strength? Is it about sacrifice? Is it about winning? Maybe it's simpler than that. You have to know when not to man up. Sometimes it takes a real men to set his ego aside, admit defeat and start all over again.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/147

Season 8, Episode 3: Take the Lead

“You work, you study, you prepare. Months and years leading to one day. The day when you step up. On that day, you have to be ready for everything. But there's one thing you can never quite prepare for: a day when you step down.”

“Sometimes, it happens in an instant. We step up. We become a leader. We see a path, and we take it. Even when we have no idea where we are going.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/146

Season 8, Episode 2: She's Gone

“When my mother left my father, she didn't tell him she was leaving him and taking me with her until we landed on the other side of the country. And those days, it was called family troubles. Today, it'd be called kidnapping.

You think that true love is the only thing that crush your heart. The thing that will take your life and light it out. Or destroy it. Then, you become a mother.

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/145

Season 8, Episode 1: Free Falling

“Even good marriages fail. One minute you're standing on solid ground, the next minute- you're not. And there're always two versions. Yours, and theirs. The both versions start the same way though. The both start with two people falling in love. You think yours is the one that's gonna make it. So it always comes as a shock. The moment you realize it's over. One minute you're standing on solid ground, the next minute, you're not.”

“Do you have what it takes? If your marriage is in trouble, can you weather the storm? When the ground gives way and your world collapses, maybe you just need to have faith. And trust that you can survive this together. Maybe you just need to hold on tight. And no matter what, don't let go.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/144

Season 7, Episode 22: Unaccompanied Minor

"Okay, so... this is the house. There's another house where you're gonna have your own room. But that right now is just wood and no walls. So we're gonna stay here for a while. Derek? Okay, he might be AWOL, he's had a bad day, and he's a little pissed off right now. But we're gonna be fine. So we had a big plan if this even worked out. We were gonna have a lullaby from Malawi to make everything feel homey for you. To be honest right now, I can't even thing of an American lullaby. Lexie? You know, a lot of people live here. It gets kinda crazy sometimes and it's usually not this quiet. Alex? Okay. We're gonna be okay. You and I. We're a team, right? We're tough. We have that in common. I am very glad you're here. I didn't think your first day is gonna be quite like this. But, I'm gonna get it together and we're gonna figure it out."

"I always said I'd be happier alone. I'd have my work, my friends... But someone in your life all the time? More trouble than it's worth. Apparently, I got over it. There's a reason I said I'd be happy alone. It wasn't cause I thought because I'd be happy alone. It was because I thought if I loved someone, and then it fell apart, I might not make it. It's easier to be alone. Because what if you learn that you need love. And then you don't have it. What if you like it? And lean on it? What if you shape your life around it? And then... it falls apart. Can you even survive that kind of pain? Loosing love is like organ damage. It's like dying. The only difference is – death ends. This? It could go on forever."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/143

Season 7, Episode 21: I Will Survive

"We've all heard the same. It's one of those things we learn in the seventh grade's science class. Adapt or die. Adapting isn't easy though. You have to fight your competition. Defend of their attacks. And sometimes, you have to kill. You do what you need to do to survive."

"Adapt or die. As many times as we've heard it, the lesson doesn't get any easier. The problem is, we're human. We want more than just to survive. We want love, we want success. We wanna be the best that we can be. So we fight like hell to get those things. Anything else feels... like death."

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/142

Season 7, Episode 20: White Wedding

“Germs, disease, toxins. Our bodies encounter dangers all the time. Just beneath the surface. Hidden. Whether you realize it or not, your body is constantly protecting itself. Every time you blink your eye, you wash away a thousands of unwanted microbes, breathe in too much unwanted pollen, and you sneeze. The body knows when it's encountered something that doesn't belong. The body detects the invader, it releases it's white blood cells, and it attacks.”

“Just when we think we have figured things out, the universe throws us a curve ball. So we have to improvise. We find happiness in unexpected places. We find our way back to things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way. Sometimes, it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong.”

Source: http://www.meredith-and-derek.com/quotes/141