'Grey's Anatomy' Season 11 Spoilers, Plot Recap: Episode 17 'With or Without You'
This week on 'Grey's Anatomy', Derek comes home to Meredith, and it's finally revealed whether he cheated on her or not while he was in D.C.
Derek is back and he's explaining to Meredith why a woman answered his phone when she called. He says that he was on the way to the airport when he realized that he left his phone in the lab. Once he got to the airport, he called his phone, and the woman told him about answering the phone.
Meredith is skeptical as she says that it seems like he came home because he knew he was in trouble. Derek says he came home not because of that, but because they needed to work on their marriage. Meredith leaves for the hospital, leaving Derek at home.
A flashback is shown of Derek in D.C. with a resident named Renee. They're in a lab, and she tells him that she got into this field because she wants to find a cure for autism. Derek asks her about what motivated her, and Renee tells him that it's because of her sister. They are seen glancing at each other over a microscope, and something seems to be developing between the two of them.
At the hospital, Alex runs into Callie and Dr. Pierce, and Alex tells them that Derek came home last night. They are devastated, as nothing good could come of this—surely he came home to apologize for doing something wrong?
In another flashback, Derek sees Renee in the break room and she looks upset. Derek asks her if she wants to talk about it, and they do. She says that she's frustrated with her research. Suddenly, there's tension between the two of them, and Derek gets up and tells her to get some sleep.
Back at the present time, Meredith's streak ends when a young man she's operating on dies on the table.
A flashback is shown of Renee celebrating because of a breakthrough in her research. She tells Derek that she could kiss him, and the tension between them returns. As Derek turns to leave, Renee grabs his hand and tells him to stay. They share a kiss in the lab.
Meredith returns home and sees Derek in the kitchen, and she's visibly mad at him, but Derek is not about to give up on them yet.
In the last flashback, Derek pushes Renee away and tells her that he loves his wife. He runs out of the lab, and we see his keys and phone on the lab table.
"I thought DC was everything, and I was wrong," Derek tells Meredith. "You. You, you're everything. I love you, and I'm not gonna stop loving you…I don't want to live without you. And I'm going to do everything in my power to prove it."
Meredith says, "I can live without you. But I don't want to. I don't ever want to."
'Grey's Anatomy' airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.