Episode Report Card Sars: D | 1 USERS: F YOU GRADE IT Leave It To Weaver
By Sars | Season 6 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.29.1999
Greene comes back into the ER. The nurses all applaud, and tell him when he asks that they heard about the meeting with Anspaugh; Yosh says, "Nurses know everything." A brief shot of Weaver filing a chart with a sour look on her face as Conni tells Greene he "fought the good fight." Um, writers? Enough with the "fought the good fight" phrasing, okay? Either give Dylan Thomas a writing credit or buy a thesaurus, but for god's sake don't use that truism again. Weaver asks Greene if he has a minute, and he says he's just heading out. Weaver thinks they should talk. Greene thinks they've "talked enough," but Weaver says, "This is about something else." Reluctantly, he follows her.
Cut to a patient-cam shot of the hallway, with Hathaway, Carter, and Haleh hovering as the paramedic describes a terrible car accident in which the pregnant patient pretty much got crushed by a "T-bone intrusion" and the medics couldn't intubate in the field. Carter tries to raise a pulse on the mother as Hathaway goes to get another doctor. She comes back with Kovac, who asks about the fetal heart rate; Haleh reports that they can't find one. A few questions later, Kovac announces that the mother is dead, and Carter wants to try something else, but Kovac says no, they need to get the baby out now. Chuny keeps doing compressions on the mother and calls for a baby warmer, and Kovac makes an incision. Hathaway calls for a cut-down tray, but Kovac says they don't have time for that. With the mother's abdomen more or less split in half, Kovac tells Hathaway to hold the flesh open while he cuts into the uterus and pulls the baby out. Hathaway says grimly, "It's a girl. Come here, sweetie," as Kovac hands her the baby, and the baby begins to cry a little bit as Kovac supports her head with his hands, and with Hathaway jiggling the baby to comfort her, Kovac cuts the umbilical cord. Foreshadowing much? Carter starts to work on the mother again. Hathaway and Kovic determine that the baby will be fine; in the background, Carter finally gives up and calls the time of death.
In the pedes ward, Jeanie checks on the Ortega baby. Kit says he's improved. The baby puts his fist in his mouth and kicks happily. I don't like kids much, but I mean to tell you that that baby is cute enough to eat. Jeanie asks about his mother, and Kit says she hasn't heard anything, except that the mother has end-stage AIDS, which she hadn't known before. Jeanie tells her to start the baby on the triple cocktail, and Kit points out, "He hasn't even been tested yet," but Jeanie says again, "Get him started, Kit." Kit gives her a knowing look before saying, "Okay." Jeanie watches the baby sucking on his fist.