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Perhaps fearing that reports about Monday's McDreamy Vs. McChokey smackdown on the Grey's Anatomy set might spiral into sensationalistic gossip about Isaiah Washington grabbing a prop scalpel and threatening to "go all Nip/Tuck" on Patrick Dempsey's "pretty, pretty little bitch face" before being felled by a shock from a fully functional defibrillator, ABC's damage control technicians already have their hunky combatants downplaying the fight:

"We were like two baseball players . . . nose-to-nose," Washington tells PEOPLE. "We had a difference of opinions while working on set but we've resolved it."

At issue, says Washington, was "time and (keeping) the production going. The communication was lost in translation."

But no punches were thrown: "Our faces are too beautiful for that!," says Washington, who plays Dr. Preston Burke [...]

"In close families arguments happen," Dempsey's rep tells PEOPLE. "They worked it out."

It's the sign of a true professional that even in the heat of the moment, Washington extended the courtesy of not marring Dempsey's money-maker with a flailing fist; simply applying some uncomfortable pressure to his co-star's Adam's Apple guaranteed that his message was delivered, and if any visible marks were left on McDreamy's throat, a simple one-line reference to Grace Hospital's Neurosurgeon Turtleneck Day would ensure that production could continue after a minor wardrobe change.