By Wing Chun
Props to Sars, who did this twice in a single week, before Christmas.
Previously on ER: The rapist-murderer Elizabeth was treating was linked to another murder; Mark put Holling in a home, or a retirement community, depending on who you ask; Elizabeth's patient had to have surgery, and didn't particularly want it (nor did she particularly want to save his life), but then Anspaugh convinced her she had to convince him, so she did, by telling him she cared about him.
Mark Greene "Horn" is telling Elizabeth "Treat 'em and Get Way Too Personally Involved With 'em" Corday that he wants to barbecue something. She can't believe he intends to do so in January, and asks if it's a "San Diego ritual." Mark admits that he and Holling "did barbecue a few times last week." Elizabeth suggests they pick up some steaks after work. Mmmmmm, steak.
That bleached-blond clerk who is totally not Jerry is behind the desk. He hurries out solicitously when Mark and Elizabeth enter the hospital, introduces himself as Andrew (oh yeah, Andrew), and gives them each their messages. In the midst of this transaction, Robert "Rocket" Romano joins them and says that the first message is that he is looking for both of them. Andrew starts to correct him, shuffling through the messages to see which has the earliest time on it, but Romano gets all up in his face, asking his name (and when Andrew says "Andrew," calls him "Andy" in that passive-aggressive way that little men in positions of authority sometimes have), and telling him to get back to answering the phones. Andrew thanks him. Romano hustles Elizabeth and Mark down the hall, telling them they have a new resident starting today, "named Jing-Mei Chen, or Swing My...anyway. I need you to say howdy-doody." Elizabeth expresses confusion at the fact that she's starting in January, and Romano says that Chen's program in New York "fell through," and that she's "got a daddy with big pockets." Mark deduces that Chen's father made a large donation to County in exchange for the favour -- because he's smart like that, and can interpret metaphors that might stymie a lesser man with more plentiful hair. Romano calls Elizabeth away, and Mark takes off his coat behind the desk as Andrew catches back up with him to tell him that Holling's "disappeared from his retirement home." Mark says, "What?" Andrew explains, "Well, I'm sensing it's more of a runaway thing; I don't believe they're suspecting foul play." Duh -- what is Holling, the Lindbergh baby? Mark tells Andrew, "I feel better already."
In a wood-paneled conference room, Detective Cruson is telling Romano that another case has come up -- a woman named Jenny Cordova who went missing six weeks ago. They found her car, and Dean Rollins's prints (those would be the prints of the rapist-murderer in Elizabeth's care) were on it. Romano makes his closest approximation of a "care" face, and clarifies with Detective Cruson that the police have yet to find Jenny's body. Elizabeth steps between them and asks, with some horror at the idea, "And you want me to ask him where it is?" Romano reminds her that, for better or worse, she's developed a relationship with Rollins, and that she's already talked Rollins into telling her where the other body was, and into having surgery: "This family needs you." Pack your bags, Lizzie -- you're going on a guilt trip! Elizabeth squares her jaw and stares off into space for a moment before turning back to Romano and spitting, "He's a cold-blooded son of a bitch. I don't think he'll tell me." Romano makes a disappointed face (and are we absolutely sure this guy isn't someone's mother?), so Elizabeth relents, angrily: "I'll ask, but I can tell you now, it's hopeless." Detective Cruson says, "Well, the Cordovas don't have any option, so 'hopeless' is better than nothing." Turns out it's an all-expense-paid package tour of the Guilt Islands, off the coast of the Emotional Blackmail Peninsula. Bon voyage!
In a wood-paneled conference room, Detective Cruson is telling Romano that another case has come up -- a woman named Jenny Cordova who went missing six weeks ago. They found her car, and Dean Rollins's prints (those would be the prints of the rapist-murderer in Elizabeth's care) were on it. Romano makes his closest approximation of a "care" face, and clarifies with Detective Cruson that the police have yet to find Jenny's body. Elizabeth steps between them and asks, with some horror at the idea, "And you want me to ask him where it is?" Romano reminds her that, for better or worse, she's developed a relationship with Rollins, and that she's already talked Rollins into telling her where the other body was, and into having surgery: "This family needs you." Pack your bags, Lizzie -- you're going on a guilt trip! Elizabeth squares her jaw and stares off into space for a moment before turning back to Romano and spitting, "He's a cold-blooded son of a bitch. I don't think he'll tell me." Romano makes a disappointed face (and are we absolutely sure this guy isn't someone's mother?), so Elizabeth relents, angrily: "I'll ask, but I can tell you now, it's hopeless." Detective Cruson says, "Well, the Cordovas don't have any option, so 'hopeless' is better than nothing." Turns out it's an all-expense-paid package tour of the Guilt Islands, off the coast of the Emotional Blackmail Peninsula. Bon voyage!
In Curtain Two, John "Carter" Carter, assisted by Yosh, is treating a very agitated woman named Cassandra with restraints on her wrists and ankles from which she's apparently freed herself. Yosh asks Carter if he should administer "five of Haldol," while Cassandra insists, "I just itch!" Carter asks if she's seen a dermatologist, and she slides off the gurney and starts twitching down the hall, but Carter grabs her around the waist and wrestles her to the ground. ["Ah, so she's a blonde, then?" -- Sars] Yosh calls for Security, and a guard quickly appears to relieve Carter of the woman sitting on his chest. As he's lying on the floor, presumably to get his bearings, we see a pair of black-stocking-clad legs stroll up beside him and hear a woman's voice say, "John?" He says, "Oh my God," and as he gets up we get his perspective as the image of Deb "Mulan" Chen rights itself. She drawls, "Yeah, it's me." Yay!
Cue the credits, and the epileptic seizures. Ming-Na Wen is even in the opening credits, though it seems she's dropped the "Wen." I didn't know that. Anyway, cool! I always liked her.
After the credits, Chen and Carter hustle through the halls. She tells him she's surprised to see him "down here," since she was sure he'd get a surgical residency. For the benefit of less devoted viewers who don't get TNT as part of their cable packages, Carter tells her that he did, but that he gave it up. Mark comes up behind them and, recognizing her, says, "Deb Chen? You're the new resident?" She says hi, and adds, "It's Jing-Mei now. Actually, it always was." At the last part of this, she gently slaps Carter in the chest with her notepad. Maybe that's one I missed because I don't get TNT; did Carter give her the name "Deb"? If so, why did everyone else start calling her that too? Anyway, Mark tells Carter that he (Mark) may have to fly to San Diego in the afternoon, and asks that Carter show Chen "the ropes." Carter asks Mark if everything's all right, and Mark explains, "My father has barricaded himself in our old house. There's no heat, there's no electricity, he's running around in his underwear, so actually, everything isn't okay, but thanks for asking." Dammit -- heh. Seeming to take no notice of this monologue, Carter addresses Chen: "I'm actually pretty surprised to see you around here. I thought you dropped out of medicine after --" "I almost killed that patient by leaving a guide wire in his chest?" she finishes for him. Carter breezily says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." Chen replies, "Oh, yes you did, John. But that's okay. And, let's face it -- it was kind of a low point. But it did force me to face the truth: I was being way too aggressive, way too competitive, way too much of an overachiever, always trying to show people up." Carter mutters, "Well..." and she adds, "And way too successful at it. I'd left the patient out of the picture." They arrive at Cassandra's bed, where Chen observes, "It looks like your wrestling partner tired herself out." Yosh introduces himself to Chen and tells Carter that Cassandra is doing "much better" after the Haldol. While Chen gloves up, Carter tells her that Cassandra came in with "intense pruritis" (which the Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines as "severe itching of the skin"), and that he's called for a psych consult. Yosh tells Carter that Dr. Myers will be down shortly. Chen nonchalantly asks, "You think it's a psychiatric disorder?" With conviction, Carter says, "I do, yes -- either severe OCD or a body dysmorphic disorder." Chen examines Cassandra's arm and points out "burrows" and "papules," leading her to a diagnosis of "Lindane toxicity. She's got body lice." Carter leans back. Yosh looks at Chen with marvel in his eyes. She continues, "She applied Lindane for the lice, scratched herself, and the Lindane entered her bloodstream, thereby causing her altered mental status. Buuuut, I guess we should wait for Dr. --?" Yosh says, "Myers. I'll give him a call." No doubt sensing that he's about to step back into a distasteful pattern, Carter huffs, "Right." Chen looks smug. You go with your smug self, Jing-Mei.
At the desk, Andrew tells Mark that his taxi will be there shortly. Well, not "there" at the desk, of course -- at the hospital. Mark apologizes to Elizabeth for having to cancel the barbecue; she tells him not to be "ridiculous," and that she's worried about Holling. Mark says she should be worried: "I may have to kill him for pulling this. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get him into that retirement community?" Wryly, Elizabeth says, "Yes, I believe you have shared that with me." He tells her he wishes she were coming; she says she does too, not least because she's due to see Dean Rollins . The credits reveal that Baldo himself directed this episode. Mark says he'll be glad when Elizabeth's rid of Rollins. She says she will too, like, DUH, and tells Mark to call her when he gets to San Diego. They kiss. I take a mental health day. At the door, Mark pauses and calls Andrew. He gives Andrew his stethoscope, with instructions to give it to Yosh, assures Andrew that Dr. Weaver will be in shortly, and that, in the meantime, Andrew is in charge. Looking alarmed, Andrew asks, "What if there's an emergency?" Aw -- tee hee! Mark says, "Call a doctor." Apparently trying to decide what to do with himself and this new responsibility, Andrew idly swings the stethoscope and hits himself in the eye. Just then two bundled-up college-age girls giggle through the door and, seeing Andrew (who by now has but the stethoscope in his ears), yelp, "There's one! We need a doctor!" He asks what the problem is, and one of the girls says, "Smile!" and take Andrew's picture. The other explains that they're on a scavenger hunt, and that they need to find a doctor, a policeman, a bridegroom, and a polar bear. I know -- Things You Hope You Won't Need on Your Wedding Day.
In another curtain area, Carter introduces his patient Mr. Sumter, and his wife, to Chen. A small circle of what looks like Mr. Sumter's knee is exposed through a sheet with a hole in it. Carter tells Chen that Mr. Sumter slipped on his roof a few weeks ago. Chen adds, "No big deal at the time, but the pain kept getting worse, right?" Mr. Sumter agrees with that assessment and adds that it's really been bad the past couple of days. Chen says that it could be "a torn meniscus" or "an A.C.L." Carter rolls his eyes, not too subtly, and snaps, "I actually already told them that, Deb, but thank you!" She looks annoyed. The Sumters glance back and forth, clearly wishing not to get in the middle of this little spat. Carter calls for a syringe and an eighteen-gauge needle. Mrs. Sumter asks, "Won't that hurt?" Carter opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Chen coos, "It should be fine. Dr. Carter is going to insert the needle into the joint space and aspirate the blood, which should relieve the pain almost immediately." Carter waits for her to finish and inserts the needle. Ow. This dude's knee is, like, purple. As a murky liquid fills the syringe, Mr. Sumter says, "That. Is gross." Heh. But he's right. Carter says, "Definitely bacterial." He regards the contents of the needle and comments that it looks like Mr. Sumter "picked up a bit of a staph infection" after his fall.
Chen steps all over whatever Carter might have intended to say : "As soon as we get the results, we'll start you on some antibiotics, and you'll be better in no time." Mr. and Mrs. Sumter thank Chen, and Carter says, "You're welcome." Chen says that they'll be back. Yosh calls Chen and Carter over to Cassandra's bed, where Dr. Myers is waiting. He asks Chen about the diagnosis of Lindane toxicity, and with the most false of all possible false modesty, she calls it "just a crazy guess" and introduces herself. Carter looks like he swallowed a tack. Dr. Myers tells her it was "a great pickup" and hands the chart back to Carter, sarcastically saying, "Thanks for thinking of us." Heh. With completely undisguised glee, Chen tells Yosh, "Feels good to be back." Yosh shoots her a look that clearly states, "That makes one of us." ["I'm with Yosh. Sorry, dude." -- Sars]
As Cleo "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Finch takes a patient on a gurney to an exam room, Peter "All About The" Benton asks her if she needs a trauma surgeon. Finch tells him that the patient doesn't meet trauma criteria. He says that since he's there anyway, he might as well take a look. She stares at him, stone-faced (as usual), and says nothing. A moment later they're lifting the patient onto a bed and Benton asks her name, which is Tamara Davis (not to be confused with Bad Girls director Tamra Davis). She's fully conscious, her pupils are "equal and reactive," and she knows she's in a hospital. While Benton performs this test, Tamara testily tells them that she has a basketball game that night, and asks if she'll be able to play. Finch tells her they won't know until they finish examining her. Benton asks how the accident happened, and Tamara says that she was driving to school, and the thing she remembers is being put into the ambulance. Finch examines her hand, causing Tamara to yelp. Finch notes tenderness in "the snuffbox," and Tamara says, "That's my shooting hand!" Finch orders an x-ray of Tamara's hand. Handing Finch the chart, Benton tells her to "get a cone-down of the navicular," and books, as Finch yells after him, "Thanks, Peter -- what would I do without you?"
Carter is looking at an x-ray when Chen comes in and tells him Mr. Sumter's gram stain is back. Carter asks if it's staph, and Chen replies, "In his dreams. Try gonorrhea." Carter says, "Ouch." Chen asks, "Do you want to tell them?" Pointedly, Carter replies, "I'll tell him. Legally, we can't tell her without his permission; hopefully [sic], he'll tell her himself." Chen reminds him that they have to report the case to public health: "They can follow up -- tell the wife." Carter scoffs, "I kind of doubt it. Between syphilis and HIV, they kind of have their hands full." Chen asks, "What if Sumter doesn't tell his wife?" Carter is unperturbed: "Then he doesn't tell his wife." Chen watches him go, staring daggers into his back. Do you think she's going to find a way to tell his wife? Because I don't.
Elizabeth. Rollins. Elizabeth: "I want to talk to you." Rollins: "I'm in pain, and I hate you. You're fired." Blah blah blah morphinecakes.
At the desk, Andrew uses Mark's stethoscope to listen to his own heart, rendering him unable to hear Mrs. Sumter ask him where the pay phone is. Chen calls his name a little more loudly and he takes off the stethoscope to direct her, only Kerry "Kerry Quite Contrary" Weaver, coming in behind Chen with her cane in one hand and a big cup of coffee in the other, beats him to it, sending Mrs. Sumter to the pay phone near chairs. Giving Chen a quick once-over, Kerry says, "Okay, I know he's Andrew, but who are you?" Chen introduces herself and says she's a new resident starting today. At that moment "Dr." Dave Malucci sidles up beside Chen and introduces himself. Weaver introduces herself to Chen as chief of the ER and asks why Chen is starting in January. Chen fidgets nervously for a second and then asks Weaver if she may speak to her alone. Around the corner, Chen explains that her father "bought [her] way into the program," and that while she's not proud of that, she is grateful. Weaver knits her brows. Chen breezily adds, "I'm not a bad doctor, but as a med student I did almost kill a patient in this very ER. I'm more confident now, so hopefully [sic] this will all work out." That can't be an easy thing to tell a boss, but given that, if Chen hadn't, Weaver would have heard it from someone else within the space of a day, she doesn't have a lot of choice. Weaver replies, "Hopefully [sic], it will!" (And now, for this recap's Grammar Lessson: "Hopefully" does not mean "I hope." It is an adverb that means "to do something in a hopeful manner," as in "She looked at him hopefully." I know this is a usage error that seems to have entered the legitimate lexicon. It's still incorrect.) Chen perks off, and Weaver asks Andrew to find the yellow pages, since her car broke down across the street. Overhearing, Dr. Dave offers to help. She says, "I'm sure you have patients," and Dr. Dave says he doesn't, and that he's not even on yet; he's just in doing paperwork. Weaver says, "I hope I don't regret this: Give it a shot." As he takes off, she calls after him, "Remember, it's broke -- not dead." Chen asks Andrew to get her the number for the public health department, and then glances around shiftily.
Carter pulls the curtain around Mr. Sumter's bed. Mr. Sumter says that his wife went to use the phone, and Carter says that's okay, since they don't need her to be there for this. He then unceremoniously announces that Mr. Sumter has gonorrhea. Mr. Sumter makes shocked noises, and Carter explains that the bacteria is carried through the blood, and that it just happened to settle in Mr. Sumter's knee. Carter asks whether Mr. Sumter has had any discharge during urination. Mr. Sumter says that he did, a couple of weeks ago, but it went away. Carter asks if Mr. Sumter has had sex with anyone other than his wife. Mr. Sumter makes with the outrage routine, but Carter stops him cold and repeats the question. Mr. Sumter admits that he did have sex with someone other than his wife, one time. Carter tries hard not to look vindicated, and advises Mr. Sumter to tell his wife. Right on cue, Mrs. Sumter yanks back the curtain (pulling it far enough to reveal Chen standing beside her). Mrs. Sumter paces a moment beside the bed, wearing an angry smirk, and then starts cussing him out and beating him with her purse. And fists. Which is a perfectly acceptable reaction, if you ask me. Chen and Carter try vainly to separate them, but the Sumters cause such a ruckus that Weaver is forced to come crutching over to try to help break it up.
Elsewhere, a young adult in a toque is being pushed down the hall in a wheelchair, protesting that he can walk. From behind him, we hear the dulcet tones of Luka "The Dark Avenger" Kovac reply, "I'm sure you can." Beside the patient, a younger adult, also in a toque, says, "I can walk." The patient soothingly says, "It's okay, Jake." Jake, who evinces some kind of mental challenge, insists, "But I can walk!" Luka asks the patient whether he drove to the hospital by himself. The patient says he did. Jake says, "I can drive!" and makes steering motions with his hands. Aw. The patient, warningly, says, "Not right now, Jake." Luka tells the patient to sit on the bed. His hands are loosely covered with white cloths -- not tightly enough to be bandages, though. Jake sits down beside him and reaches over to touch the cloths, but the patient (whose name I really wish someone would say so I don't have to keep typing "The Patient") tells him not to touch. Jake puts his hands in his lap and looks down, ashamed. Luka gloves up, looking watchful.
At the desk, Chen and Carter are trying to give a recap of the Sumter Disturbance. Carter leads off: "She was not supposed to tell the wife." Chen replies, "I did not tell the wife. I held out the phone so that Public Health could tell his wife!" Carter starts to protest but Weaver essentially tells them both to cram it and says that no one has done anything wrong, and that time they should keep it from becoming "a slugfest." Weaver briskly tells Carter that since Mr. Sumter is his patient, he should "clean up the mess," and tells Chen that there's a Jane Doe in chairs with Officer Grabarsky (a.k.a. Lydia's husband Al), and asks Chen to check it out. Chen hoofs it over to chairs and introduces herself to Al, who says, "'Jing' what?" Um, hello? I know it's not spelled the same, but the second part of her name is pronounced "May," which as far as I know is not a phoneme with which most English speakers have a problem. God. Instead of poking him in the eyes, Chen takes a deep breath and asks if the girl sitting beside him is the Jane Doe. Al says that she's a probable runaway and won't give them her real name, and that she was panhandling under the El. He adds that she has some frostbite, and a "bad lac" on her forearm. Jane Doe wearily insists, "I'm FINE." Al, gruffly but not unkindly, tells her, "Hey, look. It's warm in here. They feed you. They let you sleep. My advice: Take the day off." Jane Doe looks defeated. Aw. Al!
Luka continues to investigate his young patient's case, while Lydia looks after the patient's hands, which seem to be burnt. Luka asks if the patient was cooking breakfast; he says he was, and that it was "no big deal." On the other side of the room, rocking slightly back and forth, Jake says, "I like french toast." Lydia tells him that she does too, "with maple syrup." Jake says again, "I like french toast!" Luka asks, "Is that what you were cooking?" Before he can answer, Jake gets agitated and starts repeating, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Dylan! I'm sorry!" Dylan! Thank you, Jake. Dylan, with exasperation rather than anger, yells at Jake to be quiet and sit down. Jake plaintively asks him not to be mad, and Dylan yells that he isn't mad, but that Jake just needs to "shut up!" Luka says, "It's okay, he can talk," and asks if Dylan was burnt by the grease. Dylan evasively asks what difference it makes, and exhorts Luka to just "put some stuff on it" so that he and Dylan can get out of there. As Jake continues to pace, and to tell Dylan that he's sorry, Luka quietly notes that they were having "kind of a late breakfast," and asks if they missed school. Dylan says that he's eighteen, and that he's out of school. Luka asks, "What about Jake?" Jake's apology increases in volume and intensity, and instead of answering Luka, Dylan yells at him to shut up. Jake punches in a light box. Glass breaks. The glass-breaking-in-fifty-per-cent-of-ER-episodes clause in NBC's contract is met. Jake sinks to the floor crying. Luka puts his arms around him and tells him it's all right.
The hood is up on what is presumably Weaver's car as Dr. Dave tries, and fails, to start it. Carter strolls by with a cup of coffee and asks if Dr. Dave is trying to steal it. Dr. Dave chooses to ignore this question and asks Carter, "Did you know this new resident -- Jing Something-or-Other?" As if I needed more proof that Dr. Dave is an oaf. Good lord. Carter dryly says, "That's good. Screw up her name. That'll impress her." Dr. Dave says he heard she was a medical student at County. Carter says, "Yes, she was. Yes, I knew her," and starts to walk away. Dr. Dave says, "And?" Carter says, "'And' nothing." Knowingly, Dr. Dave says, "Didn't work out, huh?" Carter saltily replies, "Dave, I did not try and [sic] go through every medical student." Dr. Dave smirks, "Oh yeah? Why not?" Carter is dumbstruck, so Dr. Dave says he was just kidding, and adds, "You want me to back off, you just say so." Carter says he thinks Chen and Dr. Dave would be great together.
Having apparently calmed Jake down (since he's now sitting quietly on the bed while Luka picks glass out of his knuckles), Luka confirms that, at the time of the accident, Jake was the one who was cooking. Dylan says that he had "some business to handle" that prevented him from getting home before 2 AM, so he slept in. Jake wanted some french toast so he tried to cook it himself, and ended up setting the kitchen on fire. Turning to Jake, Dylan adds, "He knows better than that. Don't you, Jake? You can talk now; I'm not mad no more." Jake says nothing, just rocks back and forth, and Dylan tells Lydia and Luka, "He hates it when he thinks he's done something wrong -- just goes all quiet." Luka asks where their parents are, and Dylan says, "They don't ask about us; we don't ask about them." He can't remember when their dad left, and that their mother is "on the streets," although they see her sometimes; he adds that he and Jake "move around a lot." Luka says that must make it hard for Social Services to keep up with them. Dylan angrily says, "They got enough to do without worrying about us." Luka suggests that Social Services might help him and Jake. Dylan says that he and Jake can keep on helping themselves. Without challenging him, Luka asks, "Can you?" Getting increasingly defensive, Dylan says they do all right; Jake works around the complex sweeping up, and people pay him, and they do fine. Jake says, "I do my job." Dylan says, "You do, man. You do a good job." Luka looks unconvinced, but doesn't argue.
Haleh undresses Jane Doe, now dressed in a hospital gown, and protesting that they "can't force [her] to do this." Haleh says that they're not forcing her, they're helping her. Chen adds, "That's the deal. You get to lie about your name and age --" "But you do not get to sit around in these stinky clothes," Haleh concludes. She says that she'll try to find Jane Doe some clean clothes in the lost and found, and leaves. Chen says, "So! Jane Doe, huh?" She says that her parents weren't very clever. Chen says that, clever or not, they must miss her. Jane Doe says, "I wouldn't know." Chen asks how she got "these other marks" on her arms. Jane says she doesn't recall. Haleh comes in to tell Chen she has a call on five about "that little boy with meningitis." Chen doesn't know what she's talking about, but Haleh insists that it's urgent, so Chen goes out in the hall, where Haleh tells her that she found Jane Doe's wallet, containing her name (Alyssa Adams), and her address and phone number. What a sly fox that Haleh is!
Finch pushes a wheelchair into Tamara's room and tells her that they're still waiting for her x-rays, but in the meantime they're going to move her to another room. Finch asks where she was going when her car hit the telephone pole. Tamara says she was on her way to school, and supposes that she fell asleep at the wheel. "At nine in the morning?" Finch asks. Tamara explains that she pulled an all-nighter because she had a Chemistry midterm that day. "School pretty tough?" Finch asks. "Sometimes," Tamara admits. Finch asks if Tamara ever gets depressed about it. Tamara replies, "Wouldn't you if you were getting a C-minus in Chemistry?" Finch says, "I'm not programmed to feel human emotions," and, turning the conversation back to Tamara, asks if she was "depressed enough to do something about it." Tamara expresses shock that Finch could even consider Tamara might have driven into the telephone pole on purpose, "like suicide or something." Finch says, "Did you?" Tamara says, "God, no! My parents would kill me if I ever did anything like that -- not to mention my coach. Especially today." Finch says, "That's right. Basketball game tonight." Tamara explains that tonight's game is against Union, which Tamara's school "hasn't beaten in, like, three years, except this year they suck and we're good." Finch remarks, "I used to shoot a few myself." Tamara makes a "yeah, right" face and asks, "You played?" Finch says she played basketball in high school and college, although "track was my thing." Tamara says that she runs track in the summer, the 100 and the four-by-one. Finch says she was a long-distance runner. At this point, Tamara's parents enter, looking relieved that she's okay. Finch introduces herself. Tamara's mom asks if Tamara's going to be all right, and her dad asks, "Will she be able to play tonight?" Damn. Finch tells them they're still waiting for the x-rays, and that she'll check back. Finch heads out, but stops at the door as Tamara's dad tells Tamara that they talked to her coach, and that he promised to keep her on the roster until he hears from them again. Tamara protests that she can talk to him. Her mom tells her that she's going to see about whether Tamara can take Chemistry in summer school. Wow, I remember when my parents were putting that much pressure on me, back when I was a star basketball player in high school. Not. I did almost have to re-take a class in summer school though. That class was Gym. Which I failed. But enough about me.
Romano. Elizabeth. Romano: "Cruson couldn't get Rollins to talk." Elizabeth: "I'm shocked. Not." Romano: "Maybe you could try again." Elizabeth: "I already tried, unsuccessfully, and anyway he wants another doctor." Romano: "I think you should try to talk him out of that too." Elizabeth: "I don't want to talk to him ever again." They stop at a glass door, on the other side of which Elizabeth deduces are "the Cordovas." Romano: "Jenny was only nineteen." Elizabeth: "I see it's going to be a two-week guilt trip, including scuba diving near the Great Manipulation Reef." Romano: "Word." Elizabeth: "Fuck."
Out in the ambulance bay, Dr. Dave continues to tinker with Weaver's car as an ambulance pulls up carrying Jason Bender, eleven years old, who experienced a shortness of breath during Phys. Ed., and also complained of pain in the upper left chest. As the paramedics pull his gurney out of the ambulance, Jason tells Dr. Dave that he got hit in the chest with a hockey stick. Dr. Dave tells him that he gets hit with hockey sticks all the time, though usually in the head. No shit. The paramedic, whose name I forget, asks Dr. Dave, "Is that why you're trying to take a car apart in the snow?" Dr. Dave ignores him and tells Jason they're going to fix him up.
Weaver and Luka walk down the hall. Weaver asks Luka about the boy who broke the light box, and Luka tells her he's all right. Weaver, none too subtly fishing, nonchalantly asks, "He lives with his...older brother? Right? There's no parents?" Luka confirms this bit of information. Weaver asks whether Luka has called DCFS, which I assume stands for the Department of Children and Family Services. Luka opines that Dylan needs a job more than he needs Social Services. Weaver asks whether either boy is in school, and Luka admits that they move around a lot. Weaver tells him that they see a lot of kids like this, and that "it's rough" (which, although she doesn't elaborate, I assume refers to their being put in the care of Social Services), but that if they get an education, they have "some kind of chance at a future." Luka's face is all, "We don't need your thought control," but when Weaver tells him again to call DCFS, he says, "Sure." They arrive behind the desk just as Chen is on the phone saying, "Mrs. Adams? This is Dr. Chen from County General. I'm calling about your daughter Alyssa." The focus then cuts to Andrew, holding the receiver of another phone against his chest, and asking Weaver where he should direct a call to Carol Hathaway. Weaver explains that she's on maternity leave for another week. Woohoo! That means Sars gets to recap St. Carol's triumphal return to the heavenly host. Since no further details are supplied about this call, I'm going to assume that it's Doug (since that name would mean nothing to Andrew) and that this is the first he will have heard about the fact that Carol had her babies. But that's just a theory. Another couple of scavenger hunters come in and take another picture of an obliging Andrew.
Elizabeth: "The cops know you had something to do with Jenny Cordova. Her family is here and they want to know where she is." Rollins: "Gasp. Choke. I'm the knife on the edge of the world, blah blah blah murdercakes." Elizabeth: "Will you tell them where she is?" Rollins: "Wheeze. I don't recall this girl." Elizabeth: "You've already been charged with murder. Why cause more needless grief?" Rollins: "'Needless grief' is what I do best." Elizabeth: "Fine. Bye." Rollins: "Wait! I'm not finished playing mind games with you yet! If I talk, will you still be my doctor?" Elizabeth: "Yes." Rollins: "Okay. But I'll only tell the sister." Elizabeth: "I don't think they'll allow that. Tell me." Rollins: "No. I want to do it, but I don't want to have to look at the mother." What follows, in this plot line, is so preposterous that I can't even believe I have to recap it. But I will. Under protest.
Dr. Dave examines Jason, asking him how long he's been short of breath. He asks Jason's mother whether Jason's had a fever. She says he had a mild one, and that she thought it was just a cold. Dr. Dave asks Jason if he's been tired lately, and he says that he has, since he has to get up at 5 AM every day, for hockey practice. Dr. Dave tells Mrs. Bender that Jason probably has pneumonia. Jason asks if that's bad, and Dr. Dave says they call it "walking pneumonia," because Jason's "such a tough guy, it doesn't stop [him] from playing hockey." Yosh gives him a printout from the EKG, and says he's seeing low voltage on all leads, but an otherwise normal EKG. Dr. Dave opines that the machine is "total bull," and asks Yosh to get another one. In the meantime, he says they'll start Jason on some antibiotics and get him a chest x-ray. On his way out, he asks Jason what his favourite hockey team is, and shoots him some good-natured attitude when Jason says it's the Bruins.
In the hall, Dr. Dave walks past Weaver and Adele. Weaver asks Adele whether she was able to help Dylan and Jake. Adele expresses confusion, since she clearly hasn't seen them, so Weaver says that Adele should assess them. Adele says she'll be around. Weaver runs into Benton in the hall and tells him there's a "rule-out appy in four," and that she knows it's not trauma, but Mark's off. Benton mutters that he'll take it, and goes back to checking out Tamara's wrist x-ray with Finch. Benton says he thinks it looks fine. Finch argues that "scaphoid fractures can be hard to see." Benton dismissively replies, "That's why we have multiple views." Finch looks annoyed. Benton adds that he "wasn't impressed with her exam," but that he thinks they should discharge her and have her come back week. Finch tells him he should tell Tamara's parents that, and that Finch herself will tell Tamara -- which she does, immediately. With some disappointed surprise, Tamara says, "Oh...really? So, does that mean I can play tonight?" Finch says that she can, if she feels up to it. Tamara is quiet for a moment, then starts to cry. Finch sits down on her bed and asks what's wrong. Tamara blurts, "I have a Chemistry exam I'm about to flunk, and all I do is practice -- three mornings a week, every day after school...I love it, you know. I really do. I'm just tired right now." Finch rather kindly suggests that Tamara "hang out here for a while," during which time Finch will take Tamara's films back to the radiologist. Tamara says she thought Finch said there was no fracture, and Finch says she'd rather get an expert's opinion. Tamara smiles. I don't want to be a downer, and I'm all for Tamara's not playing tonight if she has a big test she thinks she's going to fail, but I don't see how lying in a hospital bed not studying is going to help her; it's just going to mean she loses another day of studying. Wouldn't it be better for Finch to tell her to go home and rest (so that she doesn't even have to make an appearance at the game), so that she could spend the night resting her hand and studying? I'm just saying.
Behind the desk, a very anxious Alyssa is harassing Andrew: "The doctor -- she was Chinese -- or the nurse -- she was black...I need to speak to them right now!" Andrew tries to calm her down and get her back to her room, but this only makes Alyssa more frantic as she asks for some clothes out of the lost and found so that she can leave. Chen, hearing this exchange, says, "Alyssa, what's wrong?" Alyssa, shocked, squeaks, "What did you call me?" and then, not caring to wait for the answer, takes off, batting Chen's hands away from her and saying, "You stole my clothes, and you stole my coat. You're trying to trick me, just like they did!" Chen protests that they didn't steal anything, and that Alyssa can't go anywhere until Chen sews up Alyssa's laceration. She concludes by begging Alyssa to let Chen help her. Alyssa looks like she's about to cry, and yells, "You can't, okay?" Chen assures Alyssa that she's safe at County, and asks Alyssa who tricked her -- was it her parents? Alyssa said they tricked her into the treatment centre from which she ran away. Chen asks her if it was a drug treatment centre, and Alyssa says it was a centre for modifying "gender identity." Chen doesn't know what she means, and Alyssa says, "My parents sent me away because they think I'm sick and confused. I keep telling them, 'Mom, Dad, get over it! All I am is gay.'" Alyssa, dude. Your parents suck. You go with your gay self.
In a waiting room, Elizabeth is enjoying a Mai Tai with a twist of guilt, telling Jenny's sister, "Ultimately, it's your own decision." Jenny's sister: "Mom, I can do it." Mrs. Cordova: "I don't want you near him." Cruson: "I'll be right outside, and Rollins is still in restraints." Elizabeth: "Since the accident, he can't get out of bed. He can't hurt anyone." Mrs. Cordova: "He killed my daughter." Jenny's sister: "Sob!" Elizabeth: "Right now you have nothing to lose. If Lindsay asks him, I think he might tell her where Jenny is." Mrs. Cordova: "What if he doesn't?" Cruson: "We may never find her." Lindsay: "I have to know." Elizabeth: "I'll be in there with her." Jenny's mom: "[Indecision!]" Wing Chun: "Oh, for the love of Pete." Plausibility: "If you'll excuse me, Mrs. Cordova, I'm just going to jump out this window here." Elizabeth: "Waiter, a round of guiltinis for my friends here -- extra olives!"
Dr. Dave takes a scalpel to a couple of spark plugs. Lucy "Fuck You, Sars -- I'm NEVER Putting My Hair Up!" Knight has something she wants him to look at. He complains that he got Weaver's car started, but that these spark plugs are "ridiculous," and that he never should have offered to help Weaver with her car. Whatever. She tells him again that she wants him to look at these films, and he says he will when he's done with the spark plugs. Professional! She says they're Jason's x-rays, and Dr. Dave asks since when she pulls his films. Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Lucy tells him that radiology flagged it. Long story short, Jason seems to have lymphoma, which Dr. Dave deduces is the reason the EKG showed low voltage. It's spread to both his lungs. Jason has inoperable cancer. I think that kind of trumps the "ridiculous" spark plugs, dude.
At the desk, Chen is filling Carter in about the Gay-No-More clinic to which Alyssa's parents committed her; it seems Mr. and Mrs. Adams even granted the clinic guardianship. Carter tells Chen to get Alyssa out of the hospital before her parents (or a representative from the clinic) gets there. Chen sighs and says she didn't tell Alyssa that she called her parents, and she doesn't want Alyssa to bolt. Wearily, Carter says, "Call Social Services," and Chen asks what they could do, since the clinic is assumedly legal. Carter tells Chen not to assume that, and Haleh comes up behind them to tell Chen they have "a situation."
Alyssa is back in her bed, screaming at, and fighting off, some guy who's trying to get her dressed. Chen tells Haleh to call Security. The guy says there's no need for that, since he's Alyssa's legal guardian. At Chen, Alyssa spits, "You called my parents?! You bitch!" The clinic guy introduces himself as Dr. Ramsay, "Principal of the Second Term Treatment Centre." "Second Term," Carter repeats suspiciously. Dr. Ramsay says that Alyssa's parents called him to pick Alyssa up. Chen says that they can't allow that. Dr. Ramsay says that he has temporary custody, and Carter says that Alyssa can't be released, because they need to conduct further tests. Dr. Ramsay asks what kind of tests they need to perform, and Chen blurts, "She's pregnant." Dr. Ramsay, obviously, is unconvinced. Chen says that lab tests prove it, and Dr. Ramsay wryly replies, "I bet." Carter says that, unfortunately for Dr. Ramsay, this means that Alyssa is now an emancipated minor, and that she may decide where she wants to go. Is that true? If you get pregnant, are you considered an emancipated minor? Dr. Ramsay says that he doesn't know what Alyssa has told them about the centre, but "this is a load of bunk, and frankly an obstruction of parental rights." Chen asks Alyssa what she wants to do, and Alyssa says she wants to stay at County, duh. Dr. Ramsay says, "We all know she can't be pregnant." Carter says, "Alyssa is a healthy young woman of childbearing age; you might talk to some of the male members of your staff." Dr. Ramsay says that he wants to see the lab report, and Chen says that medical records are confidential. Dr. Ramsay reminds Chen that she just told him Alyssa's pregnant, and she says, "You're right; I shouldn't have." Dr. Ramsay says he'll be back with a court order, and adds, "I'll be praying for you, Alyssa," and she yells, "Don't bother!"
Prison ward. Rollins: "Cough." Elizabeth: "This is Lindsay Cordova." Rollins: "I'd shake hands, but..." Lindsay: "I want to bury my sister." Rollins: "Were you close to her?...I didn't have brothers or sisters." Elizabeth: "Oh, here we fucking go." Rollins: "All my life, I've never known what that was like -- to be part of a family. Boo hoo! Cough! I have done terrible, evil things, Lindsay. I'm paying for them now." Lindsay: "We don't want you to suffer. We just want to know where Jenny is." Rollins: "You're a good person -- more forgiving than most people. If I had met you, Jenny would still be alive." Lindsay: "What do you mean?" Rollins: "If only I had met you, Lindsay." Elizabeth: "Why, WHY did I agree to this?" Rollins: "You're warm. And loving." Elizabeth: "Goddamnit!" Rollins: "If only I'd met you, I could have had you instead." Lindsay: "What?!" Rollins: "Jenny screamed all the time. I was glad to get rid of her, Lindsay!" Elizabeth: "You bastard!" Rollins: "Hey, what's her problem?" Okay, hands up, everyone who didn't see that coming up Dearborn Street. What's that? Only those of you who have never seen a movie, watched TV, or read a book in your lives? Thought so.
Dr. Dave tells Luka that he pulled Jason's file and learned that Jason had lymphoma two years ago, and that chemo put it in remission. Luka asks if Mrs. Bender didn't mention cancer, and Dr. Dave says that she told him she must have blocked it out of her mind, and that it never affected Jason's breathing before. Luka asks whether Dr. Dave plans to do a thoracentesis. Dr. Dave says he will as soon as Mrs. Bender finds a way to tell Jason, and that she says she can't. Luka says, "Then you should." Dr. Dave says he paged oncology, but Luka insists that Dr. Dave should, since he's Jason's doctor. Dr. Dave looks disappointed.
Outside the hospital, Jake and Dylan are walking quickly, with their heads down, pretty clearly trying to "act casual." Luka comes up behind them and asks Dylan where they're going. Dylan tells Luka, "It's not your problem." Luka reminds Dylan that Jake needs a tetanus shot, and Dylan replies, "Sure he does." Luka says he doesn't understand why they're leaving, and Jake asks the same thing. Dylan tells Jake, "He gave us up." Luka and Jake are both confused, and Dylan says, "You called a social worker." Luka insists that he didn't, but Dylan doesn't believe that she just stops by "to visit all the retards." Jake pushes Dylan away and says, "I'm not a retard," and Dylan immediately apologizes and puts his arm back around Jake. Luka swears he didn't call anyone, but that they do need help. Dylan tells Luka he's got everything under control. Luka replies, "He doesn't go to school. You have no job, no money, God knows where you live -- yes, you've got everything under control." Dylan says, "We get by," and Luka agrees that they do, "but sometimes not very well." Luka gently asks Dylan to let Luka help them. Dude, if they don't want your "help," I'll take it, if you know what I'm saying. And I think you do. Awww yeah. Bun-chicka-wah-wah.
Chen and Carter give Weaver the lowdown on Alyssa's escape from the Homosexual Deprogramming Camp. Weaver asks if they've heard from Alyssa's parents. Chen says they haven't, and that Alyssa's not really pregnant. Drily, Weaver says, "I assumed that part," and checks to make sure neither Chen nor Carter wrote on Alyssa's chart that she was. (They didn't.) She tells them there's a Gay and Lesbian Centre on Wabash, suggests that Andrew call a cab to take Alyssa there, and that Chen or Carter then call Alyssa's parents. Chen thanks her, and Weaver adds that it's not cool to lie about your patient's medical condition. Carter smugly says, "It's her first day." Weaver gives him a "Cram it, Trust Fund" look, and he says he'd better get back to work. She agrees. Heh. As she crutches off to parts unknown, another JoyCam-wielding scavenger hunter asks if she's a doctor. Weaver says she is, and as the scavenger hunter asks to take her picture, and starts to explain why, Benton appears to ask Weaver who's cleaning auto parts in Trauma One. Weaver repeats, "Auto parts?" and then, understanding passing over her face, crutches off to kill Dr. Dave. The scavenger hunter turns to Benton and asks to take his picture. Benton says, "What? Go away." Go Benton! It's your birthday! Tamara's dad comes up to the desk to say, "I thought you said her wrist was all right." Benton says that it is -- it's just a little sore. Mr. Davis asks if she can play, and Benton says she can. Mr. Davis asks why, then, "the other doctor" is putting a cast on.
Benton and Mr. Davis come into Tamara's room, where Finch is, indeed, applying a cast to Tamara's arm. Benton and Finch greet each other coldly, and Mrs. Davis tells her husband that Tamara has "some kind of cult fracture" that's hard to see. Finch corrects her: "Occult. And yes, it can be hard to see. Radiology couldn't rule it out." Accusingly, Mr. Davis says to Benton, "I thought you said you looked at the x-ray." Benton says he did, and asks to see Finch alone. As she goes out, Mr. Davis leans in and says to Tamara, "I mean it feels okay, right? You think you can play?" She's going to dribble with a cast on her hand? Not. Tamara reluctantly says, "Sure," and Mrs. Davis says, "It's important that she plays [sic]." Finch calls out, "It's important that she stays [sic] healthy."
In the hall, Benton asks what Finch is doing, and reminds her that he told her parents she was fine. Finch says that she ran it past radiology and that they couldn't say for sure that it wasn't fractured. Benton says that Finch knows that the chances that Tamara's injured are small, and Finch says that Tamara is an athlete and might push herself too far. Benton says that, in that case, Finch should just tell her not to push herself too hard. Finch says that Tamara is under too much pressure, and that she needs a break. Again, I have to note that putting a cast on what is, if it's her shooting hand, probably also her writing hand, is only going to set Tamara further back. Benton asks if Tamara asked Finch to put a cast on her. Finch evasively says that Tamara is emotionally and physcially exhausted. Benton tells Finch that Tamara could always decide not to play, and Finch projects all over Tamara by saying that Tamara hasn't made a decision for herself since she was eleven, and that everything she does revolves around pleasing her parents, her coach, and her teachers. This way, Tamara will get a rest. Benton asks again whether Tamara asked Finch to put a cast on her, and Finch says, "She can't." Benton surmises that Finch is therefore "controlling" Tamara, and Finch argues that she's protecting her. Benton says, "I'm sure that's what her parents thought they were doing, too." Finch, I see what you're trying to do, but you totally are projecting. I'm just sayin'.
As his mom strokes his hair, Jason asks Dr. Dave, "That's why my chest has been hurting?" Dr. Dave tells him, "It's spread throughout your lungs." Jason says, "So, more chemo?" Dr. Dave says that's an option -- to try to shrink it -- "but..." Jason asks, "'But' what?" Dr. Dave says, "The cancer is surrounding your heart." Jason asks, "Am I going to be okay?" Dr. Dave says, "I don't think so." Weaver, unfortunately, chooses this moment to throw the door open and snap, "Dr. Malucci...did you leave something of mine in Trauma?" He snaps right back, "I'm busy." Realizing she's made a huge faux pas, she quietly apologizes and closes the door." Mrs. Bender hugs Jason. Dr. Dave looks sad. Ouch.
Somewhere warm and sunny, a "For Sale" sign lies on a lawn. Mark pounds on the front door, yelling, "Dad?" over and over until David "Holling" Greene, looking confused and possibly a little drunk, finally opens the door and says, "Oh, it's you." Mark holds up his key, and with forced cheer asks, "So...you changed the locks?" Holling asks Mark what he's doing there, and Mark says he was worried about Holling, since no one could find him, and Holling wasn't answering the phone. Holling says that the "damn realtor" keeps calling, and that he doesn't know how many times he has to tell her that the house is off the market. Mark asks if he can come in. Holling steps aside, and Mark sarcastically asks if Holling wants to search him first. Dude, trust me -- no one wants to "search" you.
In the hall outside Jason's room, Luka asks Weaver, "Why did you hire me?" Weaver, alarmed, says, "What?" and Luka tells her that he's not just there to perform procedures: "I'm an experienced emergency physician; you have to trust my judgment." Hey, if this hospital isn't treating you right, I know a medical centre in Toronto that would give you a lot of leeway. Although, technically, it's not a medical centre -- it's my apartment. And I don't really mean it would give you a lot of "leeway," I meant I would give you a lot of...well, never mind. ["Hey, hey, hey -- give the single women a chance, will ya?" -- Sars] Weaver asks if it's "about that developmentally disabled boy," and Luka says, "Yes -- you called DCFS." Weaver says, "Yes; I thought we agreed you would," and that if he didn't intend to, he should have said so. Luka tells her that they left: "Your social worker scared them away." Weaver, surprised and possibly a little chastened, repeats, "They're gone?" Luka says that he convinced Dylan to come back so that Luka could try to help him, and that henceforth Weaver should let him handle it. She agrees.
Finch comes into Tamara's room and asks if her parents left. Tamara says that they went to get the car, and explains that her basketball coach makes players sit on the bench if they can't play. Finch tells Tamara that she can play if she wants to. Tamara asks, "It's not broken?" Finch says she can't be absolutely sure, but that it probably isn't. Tamara looks annoyed, and asks (indicating her cast), "So I don't need this?" Finch says, "I was hoping it would slow you down a bit. But it's your choice." Tamara says that she can't slow down right now, and that things will get better once she gets through this season. Finch says, "You don't want to start resenting your talent. Don't let it get to that. Play for you." Tamara looks disgusted and says, "It's not that simple." Finch says, "I know. Promise you'll try?" Tamara nods. Finch fires up the saw. I need one of those for cutting that really crusty Italian bread.
On the phone in the lounge, Lucy repeats an address, and asks the person on the other end if he or she wants to speak to Dr. Kovac, but the answer is no, and she hangs up. She tells Luka that her landlord said yes; he owns a bunch of buildings, he's always looking for supers, and he'll interview Dylan the morning. Luka shines the full wattage of his gorgeous, gorgeous smile on Lucy and thanks her, then asks what a super is. She tells him that a super collects rent and fixes things, and Luka says that if DCFS can see that Dylan is supporting Jake, they'll let the brothers stay together. As they're having this conversation, from far away a voice is audible yelling, "Dylan!" over and over again. Luka finally turns around to see Adele, with two police officers, dragging Jake down the hall and outside. Luka demands, "Where are you taking him?" No one answers. Dylan yells, ineffectively, that they should leave him alone. Jake starts kicking at his captors. Adele introduces herself to Luka and tells him they're taking Jake to an emergency intake centre. Dylan yells, "You ain't taking him nowhere, you bitch!" and sort of advances on her, causing one of the cops to push Dylan back. Luka yells that he isn't releasing Jake, and Adele insists that Jake has been neglected, and that it's her duty to protect his safety and his health. Dylan screams, "I never neglected him! He's my brother!" Luka says, "I'm getting [Dylan] a job. They'll be fine." Jake sort of moans through his gritted teeth and Dylan tells them, again, to let Jake go. D'Shawn tells Dylan to stay back. Adele says, again, that she has to put Jake in protective care. Seeing that it's not doing him any good to fight, Dylan says, "All right, just let me go with him." Quietly, D'Shawn says, "I'm sorry." Jake sobs, "Don't leave me!" as they hustle him to a waiting van, and Dylan calls after him, "Don't be scared, Jake! Don't be scared! I'm gonna be right behind you!" Adele hands Luka a paper to sign, and he does so bitterly, telling her he can't believe she's doing this, and that Jake and Dylan are all each other have. She says she knows, but that she has to go. In the van, Jake bangs his head against the window, still sobbing, "Don't leave me!" Dylan yells, "Don't be afraid!" After the van pulls away, he stands there looking lost, and Luka tells him not to worry, that they'll get Jake back.
That scene choked me up. I'm not made of wood, people.
Elizabeth: "You wanted to see me?" Rollins: "Gasp. Choke. I'm sick." Elizabeth: "No more games. What do you want?" Rollins: "The games -- they're no fun anymore. Not even that last one. Dr. Corday, that day on the road, you should have let me die." Elizabeth: "Fucking duh." Rollins: "That's what I want." Wing Chun: "Me two." North America: "Me three."
Paramedics wheel in a girl on a backboard and tell Benton that she slipped down a fifteen-foot incline into a polar bear pit. Benton's like, "Huh?" and she explains that she's one of those damn scavenger hunters, and that they shouldn't call it "stupid" because she just won a thousand dollars. Benton says, "You also just broke both your ankles." The paramedic adds that she fractured her forearm, too. Benton asks Finch if she wants to take the patient and she replies, "No, I've done enough casting for one day." Smugly, Benton says, "Yep." Andrew scuttles up alongside the gurney and asks, "Will someone take this lady who burned her butt in the bathtub? She will not stop screaming for a doctor." The patient says, "You're not a doctor?" Andrew smiles and admits that he isn't. The patient starts whining for someone to get her a camera and that it's worth a thousand dollars. Walking past in time to hear the last part of the patient's plea, Weaver mutters, "Make her split it with us." She crutches up behind Luka, who's brooding in a trauma room. She tells him she heard what happened, and that she's sorry. He holds up a hand and says, "Don't apologize." Weaver says, "It may not always make sense to us, but when there's a difficult family situation, we call DCFS because they have expertise in this area; we have to defer to their judgment." "It may not always make sense to us"? You know, DCFS is just a government agency; it's not Solomon. Luka turns around and replies, simply, "You don't break up families." Weaver says, "Sometimes we do. It's complicated." Luka says, "No." Weaver is silenced (finally), and Luka goes on: "My wife and kids were taken." Weaver asks, "In the war?" No, in the Chuck E. Cheese. Appalled at her ignorance, he snaps, "Yeah. And then killed. You don't break up families." He walks off. She watches him go, probably feeling very, very small, as she really should.
Mark and Holling drink beer and eat pizza in Holling's empty house. Blah blah blah geriatricakes, Mark asks Holling to move in with him in Chicago, offering closer proximity to himself and Rachel as selling points. Um. Not. Holling reluctantly accepts. Do you see wacky intergenerational hijinx on the horizon? Because I don't.
Weaver and Dr. Dave walk out to her car. He tells her he was able to get it started; she thanks him. He spots Chen coming out of the ambulance bay with Carter, and comes over to ask how her first day was. She says she feels like she never left. Dr. Dave asks them if they want to get something to eat, and they both politely decline. I must say at this point that Chen is wearing a fuschia coat and a white wool tam that does her absolutely no favours. Dr. Dave asks her if she's working tomorrow; she says she is, and he says, "What a coincidence! So am I." As he heads back into the hospital, Carter asks whether he has to warn Chen about Dr. Dave, and she scoffs, "Please." He asks, "How was your first day?" She says she wishes she could have done more for Alyssa. He says, "At least you did something," and she says she guesses so. He asks why she came back, and she says it's because her program in New York closed. He says, "No, I mean, to medicine." She tells a story of being on the subway four months after she quit, when a man had a heart attack, and she realized she knew what to do, and saved his life. Then she figured she was "pretty good at this -- why waste it?" Carter says she hasn't changed, and calls her "Deb." She corrects him. They say their goodnights. Aw. Or something.
Prison ward. Elizabeth: "Morphine. A hundred milligrams injected into your bloodstream, and you simply drift away." Wing Chun: "Hey, just like my attention!" Rollins: "Is that an offer?" Wing Chun: "Say 'yes'!" Elizabeth: "You'd have to tell me where the body is." Rollins: "Why do you care so much?" Wing Chun: "I don't. Oh wait, you were talking to her. Carry on." Elizabeth: "Were you serious or not?" Rollins: "Won't you get into trouble? The Hippocratic Oath, and all?" Elizabeth: "You're worried about me, now, are you, Dean?" Rollins: "No. But I know you. As soon as you get what you want, you'll just -- you'll stop." Elizabeth: "I won't." Rollins: "But how will I know? Are you going to promise me, Dr. Corday?" Elizabeth: "Believe me, you'll know. You'll feel yourself going. I just hope you have breath enough to tell me." Rollins: "And what if I don't?" Elizabeth: "Then I'll crack open your chest and bring you back to life." Needle: "[Draws morphine from vial.]" Rollins: "Okay. Let's do it." Elizabeth: "Are you sure?" Rollins: "Yeah. Are you?" Elizabeth: "Nods." Rollins: "I'm glad it's you, Elizabeth." Needle: "[Injects liquid into tube of some kind.]" Credits: "[Appear.]" Wing Chun: "Cheque, please!"
week on ER: Bad Heart Girl brings her Bad Heart back to the ER, and Carol is "a little rusty" on her nursing skills. Take it, Sars.