Basically, after playing Kerry Weaver for over eleven years, she just felt it was time to go. That's kind of a surprise to me, because for the first time in a few years, the Weaver character was actually going in a good direction, with a new hip, a new girlfriend, and that TV job. And, because she was just a plain attending and not management, her power-hungry side was gone. But that was part of the plan to have her leave, according to Innes, as well as making it a mid-season surprise.