Props to Sars, for all the usual reasons and then some, and to the MBTV L.A. crew, who I'll be seeing this weekend. I just wish they all knew how to let go and have a good time. It's sad.
Previously on ER: Weaver told Chen she was being considered for the Chief Resident job and Chen told Weaver she was pregnant; Carla told Benton that she and Roger hadn't been getting along lately; Weaver tried to make nice with Legaspi, but Legaspi was having none of it; Abby's mother Maggie went to court to contest her ninety-day psychiatric hold, and Abby freaked out in the courtroom; Luka told Abby that she knew Maggie needed her help, even if Maggie didn't want it; Abby opened the door to her apartment and Maggie was outside, looking for love...in all the right places?
Fade up on Reese Benton with Cleo "Net Nanny" Finch at her place. They seem to be playing a board game. Peter "Torn Between Two Lovers" Benton comes in all besuited and asks Finch whether she got Reese to eat his breakfast. She says she didn't, but that he ate some strawberries. Benton huffs that Reese is supposed to eat hot cereal and she's all, whatever, fruit's just as healthy, chill. Seriously, they should always put Reese in Finch's scenes because he seems to be the only character on this show that can stimulate her latent humanity. And when they cut to his face, he looks really happy to be hanging with her, too. Benton tells Finch to make sure she tells the babysitter to feed Reese a proper lunch, and Finch says that she cancelled the sitter: "I'm off today." Benton tries to cushion the "I don't think you're good enough to take care of my son" blow by euphemistically telling her that "Reese needs a lot of attention." Finch snorts a reminder that she's a pediatrician. Benton simmers, and signs a goodbye. To Reese, Finch enthusiastically says (and signs), "Say, 'See you at the game, Daddy!'" Benton stops and says he didn't say he was going to play. Finch says he's not: "You're going to sit in the bleachers with Reese....I'm playing first base!" Benton -- for some reason rigidly upholding the terms of some fun embargo the rest of us don't know about -- bitches that Reese doesn't have a jacket at Finch's. Finch says that she'll go to Carla's and pick one up, but Benton nixes that and says he'll go. Finch insists, "I can go!" but he shuts her up with a kiss. He leaves. Finch suggests that she and Reese play with his trains. Aw.
Abby "Lisa" Lockhart and Maggie "Sally Field" Wyczenski stroll through a park. Sally bores Lisa by talking about her dreams. I guess I made a real mistake in not reading Lisa's Desktop this week because I guess what happened after Sally showed up on Lisa's doorstep was that Lisa took her in and forgave all. Whatever Sally said to convince Lisa to open her home to Sally after the commitment-hearing débacle is something I would have liked to have seen -- but I guess that's not really that important to this story arc after all. Whatever, anyway, Lisa doesn't say much, and Sally pointedly notes, "Obviously the therapy sessions are working. And these walks." Lisa smiles noncommittally and says, "Good." Sally grabs Lisa by the arm and slobbers that Lisa doesn't have to stay home all the time: "I'm sure Luka would love to see you." Lisa shrugs that it's only been a couple of weeks. A couple of trouble-free weeks, I guess, if they weren't worth dramatizing. Wait, didn't I already say "whatever"? I did. You're right. Sally opines that Luka is "a good man" (I'll say), and Lisa agrees. Sally adds, "So's your friend John." Lisa agrees with that assessment, too. Sally muses, "Must be nice to have two men interested in you." Lisa makes a "not so fast, shut up, crazy" noise, and Sally boasts, "I've had men interested in me all my life -- you know, just, not good ones." She goes on to say that Lisa's father was probably the best, but that she messed that up. Lisa doesn't bother disguising her unwillingness to discuss her or Sally's love lives, and suggests that they head home. Sally stops and asks, "Why is it we can't talk?" Lisa chirps, "We're talking!" Sally means about important things, and then haltingly says that Legaspi has suggested that Lisa come to one of Sally's therapy sessions. Lisa rolls her eyes, chuckles, and refuses. Sally basically begs, saying that Lisa could come on her lunch break. Lisa starts backing away from Sally and says she's going home. Sally follows, still begging.
Kerry "Clarissa" Weaver trepidatiously approaches Legaspi's door. As she moves to stick an envelope into the mail slot, the door opens, and a brunette in workout clothes opens the door and smiles. Kim, you slut! Although it has been a couple of months since Weaver shat all over their relationship, so she's certainly entitled. Weaver is, of course, shocked to see Legaspi's new chippy, but manages to say that she was dropping something off. Chippy says that Legaspi's in the shower. Weaver summons a mental picture of Legaspi in the shower, and is thus momentarily too dazed to answer when Chippy offers to give the envelope to Legaspi. Weaver refuses, and stammers that she'll give it to Legaspi later. Chippy invites Weaver in to wait for Legaspi to emerge, wet and dripping from her long, hot shower, to take delivery of the envelope herself, but Weaver pretty much runs away as fast as her bum leg will carry her. Why, she runs right into the opening credits!
I don't plan to have children, but if I knew that changing my mind would get me a Dairy Queen ice cream cake once a year, I might reconsider.
County. Mark "Minor Dad" Greene is napping with his head on a desk in the hall when Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen approaches and wakes him up so that she can get some lab slips out of the drawer he's blocking. He apologizes, they blah about the baby keeping him up, no one cares, ! The surly dark-haired female paramedic -- until further notice, I'm calling her Heather, because she looks a little like a darker Heather McComb -- stomps down the hall, trailed by Lisa, to complain that she's been waiting ten minutes for a doctor. Mark follows her to the patient, as Heather gives him the bullet: "Seven-year-old boy, tried to put out a fire in a garbage can; partial thickness burns on both hands." As they draw near Thickness Burns, we can hear him screeching and carrying on and...yeah, forget about the ice cream cake. I'll just buy my own and skip the aggro. Lisa offers to help Mark. Mark comments that Thickness Burns sounds agitated. They finally reach Thickness Burns, and he's squirming all over his bed and squealing. Mark introduces himself to Thickness Burns, and asks Thickness Burns's name. Thickness Burns refuses to give it up, and the woman with him tells Mark it's Ben. Ben (formerly Thickness Burns) yells that he wants "this thing out of [his] nose," and Lisa tells him it's to help him breathe, and that it's only for a little while. Mark asks the woman whether she's Ben's mother; sounding like she's had just about enough Ben this afternoon to last a lifetime, she says that she's his neighbour, and that Ben is friends with her son. Heather adds that there's no answer at Ben's house. Mark examines Ben's lungs, which are fine. Lisa asks Mrs. Neighbour whether there's any way to contact Ben's parents; Mrs. Neighbour exposits that Ben "just has a father," and that she left him a message. Ben thrashes about some more and screams that he wants to go home.
At the desk, "Dr." Dave Malucci flips through a catalogue and asks Randi whether she sees him in a BMW or a Porsche. Randi drawls, "Most of the time I see you walking." Dr. Dave murmurs, "Okay, you can forget about a ride." Hee! If you had told me a year and a half ago that Dr. Dave would be one of my favourite characters on this stupid show, I would have called you a liar and spat in your face. But he is. He's ER's Pacey: they started him out as your average, unremarkable monkey boy, and then the writers went and gave him all these actual character traits that were sort of endearing and then the actor who played him decided to start caring about the role and made it all believable, and...well, uncle. Dr. Dave is great. John "Chief Trick" Carter rolls up, and Dr. Dave asks him, "Buy or lease?" Carter peers over Dr. Dave's shoulder at the catalogue. Dr. Dave points at one model and asks what Carter thinks; Carter opines that it's out of Dr. Dave's price range. Dr. Dave exposits, "I'm moonlighting at a Doc in the Box; figure three months, I've got my down payment." Carter asks what happens then, and Dr. Dave shrugs, "Fake my own death." In this context I don't know exactly what a Doc in the Box is; I assume it's a walk-in clinic, but maybe it's a medical-themed website? There actually is a site called Doc in the Box, but I doubt that's literally what Dr. Dave means. Anyway. Dr. Dave asks Carter whether he's "playing ball tonight," and Carter says, "Maybe." Conni comes up to Dr. Dave and pointedly tells him that one of his patients is waiting for him; Dr. Dave dismissively says he'll be there in a minute, and chases Carter with the catalogue, asking another stupid question. Weaver has unobtrusively appeared at the desk, and she barks that she hopes Dr. Dave isn't keeping patients waiting while he shops for a car. Dr. Dave briefly brown-noses before taking off to attend to his patient. Carter tells Weaver not to worry: "He still has to pass his driver's test." Weaver asks to speak with Carter for a minute, and he agrees and follows her.
In the lounge, Chen is pouring a cup of coffee when Weaver and Carter enter. Everyone greets one another, and then Weaver asks Chen to excuse them. Pulling a file from her briefcase, Weaver tells Carter, "Your application was intercepted by Administration." Carter is pulled up short by her total lack of preamble (or so it would seem), and comments, "The processing time has improved." Weaver prepares him for the bad news by asking, "You realize you're still in a probationary period?" "Which will be completed by the time the Chief Resident slot needs to be filled," says Carter confidently. He sits down opposite Weaver. She puts a hand on her hip and asks, "Why do you want to do this?" Carter, unconcerned, replies, "Well, it gets me closer to a junior faculty position. Looks good on the CV." Weaver explains, "No. I mean, why risk compromising your recovery by taking on a new and very demanding position?" Carter shrugs that he doesn't see it as a risk. Weaver elaborates, "Having teaching and administrative responsibilities along with your clinical shifts?" Carter still evinces neither deference to her position nor apparent contrition -- in other words, he's not doing anything to acknowledge her concerns, much less to allay them -- as he cockily continues, "I'm in the program, I've been managing my stress, I've got myself back to speed." Weaver, disappointed that she has to spell it out for him: "Carter, you'd all but give up nights and weekends. It's a tremendous amount of work." Carter insists, "I'm ready for it." Weaver finally cuts to it: "You can't just gloss over what happened last year. Neither can the committee." She hands him his application. Carter can't believe she's returning it, and Weaver -- a little bitchier than she might be if she hadn't unexpectedly run into Chippy a few minutes earlier -- demands, "Did you honestly think that you'd make the first cut?" Carter looks wounded. Aw. She's right, though. He should have given it at least six more months or so, given his earlier slip. Plus his palpable little-rich-boy sense of entitlement throughout this exchange would, if I were Weaver, only serve to cement my belief that denying him this position was the best way to teach him a little professional humility.
Mark continues to examine Ben, who continues to behave like a hellion. Lisa puts ice packs on his hands as Mark asks what happened. Ben refuses to reply, and Mrs. Neighbour pipes up to say she thinks Ben set the fire himself. Ben rears back and screams, "Shut up!" Lisa gives Mark a "dude!" look, as Mrs. Neighbour raises an eyebrow at his brattiness. Mark asks Lisa to get a burn tray. As she leaves, Mrs. Neighbour tells Mark that Ben is "home alone, a lot." Okay, not to destroy the whole latchkey-kid mystique, but I was "home alone, a lot" as a kid, too, and I certainly would have never screamed at an adult to shut up. Although, also, I wasn't left alone when I was only seven. I guess that might have messed me up a bit, too. But not to the point where I'd have set fire to a garbage can, mostly because I was terrified of fire and I'm still too lame to light matches on my own most of the time. But enough about me. As if (tm Jessica). Ben yells at Mrs. Neighbour to shut up again, and she tells Mark, "I just wish he would stop hanging around my son." Mark's all, "I hear you." Shut up, Mark.
In the hall, Lisa walks past Luka "Counselor Troi" Kovac, who tells her he has good news: "Our second baseman has stomach flu." Lisa insists that she's not playing baseball. He wheedles, "You don't have to be great -- it's just for fun." She informs him that, actually, she plays very well. Luka tells her that, in that case, she should go: "It'll be good for you." In a decisive tone, she tells him she can't. Luka murmurs, "One night away from your mother isn't going to do anything." Lisa makes a grapefruit face, but doesn't answer. Luka finally stops their pedeconference and says, "I miss you." He touches his forehead to hers. Aw. Lisa looks down for about ten minutes and then glances up at him to say, "Have a good time tonight," before taking off. Disser! Although as social invitations go, an intra-mural office softball game isn't exactly that hard to pass up. Try cooking her dinner again, why don't you, if you miss her so much! Isn't there some other way for you to be together than for her to skin her hands sliding into third? Luka, wouldn't you rather she skin her hands...er, never mind.
Desk. Carter is pouting over a chart. Chen spots him and comes up to him to ask what happened with Weaver. He pouts some more about Weaver's denying his application for Chief Resident. Not meeting her eye, he mopes, "Apparently, I still have a scarlet 'A' on my chest." Chen offers her sincere condolences. Carter glibs at her not to be sorry: "Makes you a shoo-in!" As they move out from behind the desk, Chen smirks that there are other candidates. "Not really," says Carter. "I guess congratulations are in order. [shaking her hand] Congratulations, you deserve it. Not as much as me, but..." Chen chuckles, "Yeah, right," but accepts the props. Yeah! Congratulations to her! Because I'm sure there's absolutely no reason at all that she won't get the job now! None!
Benton shows up at Carla's apartment. She and her ridiculously enormous breasts let him in; she's shoehorned into a clingy black v-neck sweater, and points him to the chair, where she's set out a bag containing some of Reese's clothes. There's some kind of smooth jazz playing softly in the background. As Benton grabs the bag, Carla seems to reach out as if she's about to touch his shoulder, then pulls her hand back and babies that he should stay a while. Oh, and her hair still looks terrible. I don't know why she's ironing it flat, but it looks all damaged and shitty. Benton tells her he can't stay. She limps dejectedly over to the couch, and Benton asks whether she's all right. Carla fusses with her hair and tells him in this phony steel-magnolia voice that Roger moved out a few days ago. Benton makes a mild "gee, that sucks" face, and Carla assures him that she'll be okay. Benton takes the bait, ambling over to sit to her on the couch and ask if she's sure she'll be okay. Carla fixes him with a soulful look and murmurs, "It would've saved us both a whole lot of trouble if we had just stayed together, you know, Peter?" Benton pinches the bridge of his nose all, "Shit, she played me! How do I get out of here now?" He resolutely shows her the back of his head as Carla adds that it would have definitely been better for Reese. She sighs, and then smiles ruefully as she continues, "He said he never loved me." Benton says that people say a lot of things they don't mean when they're fighting. Carla says she thinks maybe Roger's right. Benton shrugs that "it'll work itself out." Carla arches her back, and an eyebrow, and Jackées, "You and I -- we had something." Benton stares at his feet as she adds, "Didn't we, Peter. Hm? Hmmmmmmm?" He doesn't answer. Girl, please. You don't even like Benton. You're just afraid to be alone. Also, by the looks of things, you're drunk. Carla scooches closer and leans her cheek against his arm to coo, "Sometimes, I think we still do!" Benton, good boy, leaps to his feet and huffs, "I'm not doing this, Carla." She asks him not to go, but before he can answer, his cell phone rings. He flips it open and barks, "Yeah?" "That's a nice hello," says Finch, at the other end. She asks whether he's made it to Carla's yet, and he says he's there now. She asks him to "pick up deli" on the way home: "We can have a picnic on the field." Behind him, Carla's risen to her feet and is teetering toward him. "Yeah, sure, whatever," says Benton. Finch makes a quizzical face and asks whether he's all right. He says he is. Cut to Reese on the living-room floor at Finch's place, playing with his toy trains. Finch says that Benton sounds funny, and asks whether "she's giving [him] a hard time." Heh, not as hard a time as she wants him to give her. Benton's all, "Who?" and Finch is like, duh, Carla, but before they can get into it, Finch sees that Reese has stepped over to the piano and is striking the keys. She calls out to him to stop, but, duh, he's deaf, and his back is to her so he can't see her urgent expression. Suddenly the keycover falls onto his fingers and he cries in pain. Finch dives toward Reese, and Benton yells, "What happened?!" Carla husks, "Is there something wrong?" Benton hangs up.
County. Dr. Dave shows Carter a head CT and reports that there's nothing wrong with the patient. Carter tells Dave to "do an LP." To Chen, standing behind them, Carter says Dr. Dave has a chronic neck-pain patient. Dr. Dave can't believe that Carter wants to give a spinal tap to a Demerol junkie. Chen tells Dr. Dave that CTs are only 95% sensitive. Dr. Dave rhetorically asks whether Chen and Carter are a "tag team," and tells the smirking pair that he knows what he's doing. He takes off, and Carter wearily cracks, "Oh, to be a junior resident again." Oh, whatever, Old Man Drug-Abuse- Has-Probably- Destroyed-Your- Liver. (Oh, is that too long a derogatory nickname? Okay, I'll stick with "Mepooselah.") Before Chen can weigh in with her own nostalgia for her lost youth of two or three years ago, Weaver rolls up and asks to speak with her. Carter wishes Chen luck. She takes off.
Lounge. Weaver tells Chen, "As you know, Chief Residency is typically an extra year completing the emergency medicine program. In rare cases, we make an exception and allow a senior to be promoted into the position." Chen has her hands folded in front of her and she's beaming with barely contained excitement as she says, "Right." Weaver deflates her bubbly good mood by continuing, "Unfortunately, your maternity leave put you three months behind on shifts and procedures, keeping you just shy of senior status." Chen frowns a little as she replies, "But I'm in the process of making that up." Weaver knows, "but the academic year ends June 30th." Chen goes on, "And I'm planning on working every weekend and every holiday until then." Weaver quotes, "Hospital policy actively discourages work weeks in excess of sixty hours, and given that limitation, it doesn't seem feasible that you'd succeed in making the deadline." Chen knits her brow a little more and says, "Oh." Weaver concludes, "And, as a result, I'm afraid you won't be a candidate for Chief Resident this year." Chen sighs, swallows hard, and gets up, evidently trying to maintain her composure; as she stomps toward the door, Weaver tells her, "I'm sorry, I know it doesn't seem fair --" Chen snaps, "Wait, this is completely sexist and discriminatory!" Weaver's all, "Excuse me?" Chen continues, "You all but offered me this position prior to my pregnancy!" Weaver stammers, "Yes, and at that time I anticipated your completion of the program." Chen flaps her arms and chokes, "I had a baby. I think I made a choice that was both legal and responsible!" Weaver, uncomprehendingly: "Of course you did!" Chen, her voice breaking: "I made a sacrifice, largely for the sake of my career, and becoming Chief Resident is a huge part of that!" Weaver, sounding sad and maternal: "Jing-Mei...!" Chen, starting to cry in earnest: "I'm a good doctor. I've offered to make up for lost time. And [subtext: unlike Carter] I didn't screw up. Under the circumstances, I think I deserve a chance." Weaver admins, "I appreciate your thoughts and I'll take them under advisement." "I'd hope you would," snaps Chen, storming out. Catfight!
Lisa puts cream on Ben's burnt left hand. He's calmed down, it seems, and tells her that he can't feel "the ends" of his finger. As she examines the fingers of his left hand, he lunges for her boob with the right. She sternly tells him that wasn't funny, and then Mark comes in to break it up. Lisa reports Ben's claim of finger paralysis, and Mark goes to check it out, shining a light over Ben's shoulder. When he takes Ben's left hand, Ben squeals in pain. Mark asks whether he fell on it, and Ben says he doesn't know. Mark orders an x-ray. Ben flails about some more, and bashes his head on the lamp. Mark and Lisa both "hey, hey, hey!" him in unison. Ben whines, "My head!" Mark tells him to settle down and inspects his head for damage. Peering at the area around Ben's right ear, Mark asks when Ben hurt it. Ben doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. Mark tells him he has a big bruise there; it looks all pink and inflamed and the back of his ear has all these ugly bumps on it. Mark and Lisa exchange a loaded glance.
Desk. Dr. Dave is on the phone, holding the car catalogue and saying something about a six-CD changer, when Weaver comes up behind him and ends the call, handing him a chart. He scoots, and Weaver barks after him, "Dr. Malucci, you're a resident! You can't afford a car!" Behind her, leaning in the doorway, Kim "Mitchell" Legaspi husks, "What was all that about?" Weaver looks at Mitchell for about half a second, before turning her back and muttering, "Misguided sense of job security." She starts crutching away, but Mitchell follows, murmuring that there's a lot of that going around. She adds, "I heard you came by the house." Weaver plays it off like she was in the neighbourhood. Mitchell stops and says, "Laurie said that you had a letter, but that you didn't leave it." Weaver stares her down and says, "Just didn't seem like the timing was very good." Mitchell allows, "I can see how you would feel that way." Weaver sadly asks, "How long have you been seeing each other?" "Not long," Mitchell replies. Weaver nods, dazed. Mitchell goes on, "I'm sorry; I know this must be painful," but before she can finish her thought, Weaver's on the move, dismissively saying, "No, I'm fine -- I mean, it's fine." They pass by the door of a trauma room, from which Luka calls Weaver's name. Weaver keeps walking, Mitchell keeping pace, until Mitchell concludes, "You take care of yourself." "You too," says Weaver. Mitchell leaves just as Luka reaches Weaver with an AMA form for her to co-sign. Weaver watches Mitchell go for just a bit too long; Luka follows her gaze, and then apologizes, saying he didn't mean to interrupt. Weaver says he didn't interrupt, but she's still watching Mitchell leave as she accepts Luka's pen. Luka opens up a bag and matter-of-factly asks, "You two okay?" Weaver looks up sharply. Hey, where'd this cat come from?
Down the hall, Lisa catches up with Mitchell and asks how Sally's therapy is going. Mitchell says she can't answer that question, and keeps walking. Lisa follows, asking, "Even if she said you said I should attend one of her sessions? See, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw my mom pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious." They've reached the elevator by now; Mitchell presses the button and says she thinks it would be mutually beneficial for Lisa and Sally to share a therapy session. Lisa chuckles bitterly and asks, "Could you give me a little bit of an idea what to expect?" The elevator opens behind Mitchell as she says it's not an ambush. Lisa continues with the repressed hostility, saying, "I'm sorry. It's just that she lies a lot." Mitchell smirks tolerantly and says, "We meet at 1:00." Lisa exhales. Mitchell steps into the elevator and adds, "You don't have to come if you don't want to." Lisa rolls her eyes.
In an exam room, Reese sits in bed with an ice pack on his hand. Finch says/signs, "Still hurt? I'm sorry!" She kisses him on the forehead. Suddenly Carla totters in on her stupid, too-high heels, drama-queening about like the love child of Betty Boop and Rue McClanahan. She spreads her hands and bellows, "Oh, baby! Look at you!" She basically shoves Finch out of the way and drapes herself all over Reese. Benton asks Finch how bad the injury is, and Finch sheepishly replies that he has a fracture of the fifth metacarpal. Carla figures out that this means "his hand is broken," and Benton affirms that this means he'll have to wear a cast for six to eight weeks. Carla screeches, "How is he going to sign?" Benton curtly says, "He's not." To Reese, Carla puts on a sunny tone of voice and assures him that it's okay. Finch tearfully apologizes to Benton, who replies only by asking her to excuse them. Finch sadly agrees, and goes out to the hall.
Carla follows Finch, and, lowering her voice so Benton can't hear, declares, "Hey. This is your fault, you know." Finch -- looking like she'd open a vein if she thought high-octane oil would help to heal Reese's hand any more quickly -- sincerely apologizes once again. Carla puts her hands on her hips and leans forward, her breasts undulating rhythmically in order to hypnotize Finch into docility (much as a cobra does to disarm its prey), to sneer, "Reese is not like other children." Finch says she knows. Carla demands, "Then how come you didn't stay in his eyeline?" Finch blinks, and then, slightly more defensively, says, "It was an accident, Carla. I don't know what else to say. I feel horrible about this." In some really weird blocking, Carla grabs both of Finch's hands and announces, "I want you to stay away from my son." She turns to go back into the room, and Finch asks, "Carla, can we just --" "What would have happened if you had turned away again? What would have happened if he had run out into the street?! He is deaf!" Okay, but here's the thing. Carla totally doesn't sign to Reese at any point during this scene; I have to think we're supposed to notice that Carla hasn't learned sign language, which I think is pretty sick. A friend of mine works as a sign-language interpreter for a deaf high-school student; he lives with his mom, who never learned to sign. The kid is in high school, mind. In sixteen years, this woman couldn't be arsed to learn how to talk to her kid, or to understand what he said when he wanted to talk to her. I don't want to be all strident about this, but I like to think that if I did have a child who was deaf, and if his best and pretty much only method of expressing himself was ASL, I would sure as hell learn how to sign. It's pretty telling that the writers have chosen to portray Carla as lazy -- at least in this respect -- as well as emotionally manipulative, emotionally volatile, and ridiculously boobed. Finch, on the other hand, doesn't even live with Reese 10% of the time, and she's taken the time to learn how to communicate with him. Yes, obviously, she messed up this time, but she doesn't have the instincts (yet) to care for a deaf child; at least she has enough affection for him and interest in him to learn how to speak to him in his own language, unlike Carla. Anyway, Carla sucks so hard that I've been forced to defend Finch. That's sucking out loud, y'all. Benton comes out into the hall to break up the catfight (before Carla uses her enormous breasts to shove Finch into month), just in time for Carla to scream, "I don't want to see this bitch anywhere near Reese again, you hear me, Peter?!" Benton sends Carla back into Reese's room and huffs as Finch stands there all stone-faced. I guess Carla spat in Finch's face and shorted it out.
Ambulance bay. Luka is waiting, sipping coffee, when Weaver comes out (as it were) and warily greets him with a "hey." Luka tells her they're waiting for the victims of a hit and run. Weaver seems to be poised in a state of catlike readiness, as Luka yammers folksily about waiting for lightning after thunder strikes. When he stops talking, Weaver heavily declares, "Dr. Legaspi and I...it ended." Luka simply says, "I'm sorry. Something changed?" Weaver, barely audible, says, "Yes." Luka asks, "Do you want me to bash her head into the sidewalk until she dies?" Just kidding, he asks, "Do you love her?" Aw! Check him out, all Dr. Drew. Weaver turns to him, her face the very picture of naked vulnerability. Luka says, "Then you should go forward, not back." Weaver looks down and swallows hard.
Fortunately for Weaver, the rig has just arrived. Pam gives the bullet: "Fifty-year-old changing a blowout on the shoulder, got sideswiped by a car; LOC at the scene, but started coming around in the rig." As they unload the patient's gurney, Luka spots an "obvious femur fracture." Pam gives his vitals. Luka shines a light in his eyes and asks his name; it's Jim Vogel. Luka goes inside with Jim. The paramedic I call Dirk tells Weaver there's one more patient, and that she won't come out. She was restrained in the car when it was struck, but suffered a laceration on her head from the rearview mirror. She's gazing dreamily about the rig, marveling at all its unfamiliar contents; Dirk explains, "Brother says she's developmentally challenged; this is her baseline." Weaver asks her name, and as Dirk dabs at the cut on her head, he says Ms. Vogel won't say: "I'm not sure she understands the question." Weaver gently tells Ms. Vogel her name and asks, "Can you tell me who you are?" Ms. Vogel gives her a huge smile and answers, "Jim's sister." Weaver asks her to come out so that they can make sure she's not seriously hurt, but Ms. Vogel exclaims, "I wanna go again!" Weaver doesn't understand, and Ms. Vogel adds, "On a ride! It's fun!" She's grinning endearingly, and Dirk tells Weaver, "She's been smiling like this ever since I got her on the rig." Aw. Between her and Reese and the total absence of Elizabeth, they're really not giving me much to snark at, here.
Inside, Jim screams with pain. Machines beep. He needs a chest tube. Conni pushes Bonnie in a wheelchair, attended by Chen. Weaver enters Jim's trauma room, and Luka catches her up. Jim asks Weaver, "Where's Bonnie? Is she all right?" Weaver asks, "Is that your sister's name?" Jim says it is. Weaver tells him that another doctor's examining Bonnie, but that she seems basically fine. She adds, "Does Bonnie have any medical conditions other than her developmental delay?" Jim says that Bonnie's always been healthy.
Upstairs, Lisa checks her watch and then stands outside Mitchell's office door for a moment. We can hear the muffled sound of Sally's voice coming from inside. Lisa gathers her strength and then pushes open the door. Mitchell and Sally stare at Lisa for about ten minutes. Okay, I don't know what crack-smoking production designer dressed Mitchell's office, but it looks dumb. Like, fine, I can see where a psychiatrist in a County hospital would want to make her office look as homey as possible given its institutional nature, but the flowered chair and the African masks and the statue of the Degas ballerina, and...it's a tacky mish-mash. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the austere elegance of Jennifer Melfi's office. Plus Mitchell has a woolly brown plaid throw on her lap, and it just looks so affected and stupid. Anyway. Lisa says she's sorry she's late. Mitchell judgmentally says she's glad Lisa could join them. Lisa uncomfortably sits down across the coffee table from Mitchell; Sally's on the couch between them. Sally and Lisa awkwardly say "hi" to each other. Mitchell coolly tells Lisa that both she and Sally know how difficult it can be to step into someone else's therapy. Lisa insists that she's fine. Mitchell invites Sally to continue. Sally says that she and Mitchell were talking about ways Sally can stay healthy and keep on track: "Part of that is that I've decided to go home." Lisa seems cautiously receptive and asks, "Have you talked to Eric?" I think Mitchell's smirking, but I'm not sure. Sally explains, "No, not Florida. Home, home. I'm going back to Minnesota." Lisa throws back her head to guffaw at the ridiculousness of this statement and notes, "Uh, you haven't been to Minneapolis in fifteen years, Mom." She crosses her arms a little more tightly across her chest as Sally replies, "I know I haven't. But I grew up there and I feel like I belong there. I've got, you know, a little bit of family and some friends." "What friends?" Lisa challenges. "Gina," says Sally defensively. "You remember Gina? Well, I'm going to stay with her. She has a spare room, she thinks she can get me a job in the convalescent hospital where she works." Lisa sarcastically chirps, "Really. When did you arrange all this?" Sally says it was last week; Gina accepted a collect call from Sally and was glad to hear from her. Lisa smirks indulgently. Sally, hurt, goes on, "Anyway, I'll save enough money and I'll get a place of my own." Lisa laughs bitterly and repeats, "A place of your own." Sally insists, "Yes. A place of my own. With no roommates, no men, just me. Maybe a cat!" Lisa continues with the hostile laughing: "A cat! That would be a great pet, a cat." Mitchell calmly asks, "Are you reacting to your mother's plans?" Lisa snaps, "I am not 'reacting.' I'm just..." Mitchell presses, "'Just'? 'Just' what?" "Nothing," snips Lisa. Sally rakes her fingers through her hair and blurts, "I can't stay here in Chicago. I don't want to go to Florida. It's just too easy for me to be a drain on you --" "You know, I think we're way past that at this point," says Lisa. Mitchell asks Lisa, "What is your objection to your mother going home?" Lisa murmurs, "Nothing. It's very romantic." Mitchell leadingly asks, "You're not happy about it?" Lisa stammers, "I don't know what you want me to say. 'Yippee, she's going home'? 'Fabulous, that solves all the problems'? What?" Mitchell asks, "Then what is your solution?" Lisa testily says, "I don't have a solution. I, I don't have a...I don't think there is a solution, and to talk about this as if it were some sort of life-management problem that you can plan your way out of is...well, it's absurd." Mitchell makes her face a blank and asks what, then, Lisa suggests. Lisa wearily says, "I don't know." Sally does this very subtle snort that isn't actually audible but stops somewhere in her throat, as if to say, "Uh huh. Thought so." Lisa repeats, "You know what? I don't know. I don't know! So, I guess, you're right, you have to do something, Mom. Good luck!" Lisa gets up and moves toward the door. Sally cries out, "So, what -- you're leaving?" Lisa snipes, "You wanted to tell me, you told me." Sally imploringly says, "Well, I'm not going for a week or so!" Lisa curtly says, "Okay, great! See you later." She steps out into the hall, slamming the door behind her and rolling her eyes.
Desk. Mark snippily asks Randi, "When did Ben Fossen's father arrive?" Randi, on the phone, distractedly says it was "a while ago." Making for Ben's room, Mark snaps, "Someone should have told me." Randi makes a "whatever" gesture. Ah, Randi. Soon -- well, not soon, but in a year or so -- he won't be a thorn in either of our sides anymore.
Mark strides into Ben's room and introduces himself to Ben's father. Ben's entire demeanour has changed; now he's sitting silently on the bed, his hands folded demurely in his lap. Mr. Fossen thanks Mark for taking care of Ben. Mark asks to speak with him outside. Ben watches them go, all saucer-eyed and cowed and other mixed metaphors.
In the hall, Mr. Fossen leads off by saying that Mrs. Neighbour told him about the fire: "He's always getting into trouble." Mark makes a noncommittal noise, and Mr. Fossen continues, "His mom's out of the picture, and I think it makes him act out." Mark pointedly says, "Well, those burns will heal." Mr. Fossen thanks him. Mark adds, "I'm just waiting on the psychiatrist to come talk to Ben." Mr. Fossen asks why Ben would need to speak with a psychiatrist, and Mark explains, "We found some unusual bruising on your son, Mr. Fossen. Do you know about that?" Mr. Fossen defensively spits, "No!" Mark asks again whether Mr. Fossen's ever noticed bruises on Ben. Mr. Fossen says that Ben "gets into scrapes at school." Mark asks whether these fights have ever resulted in serious injuries, and Mr. Fossen plaintively says, "No more than any kid!" Mark judges, "Well, I'm sure he'll tell that to the doctor," and looks away from him. Mr. Fossen declares that Ben doesn't need a psychiatrist, and that he has to get back to work. Mark soothingly says that it won't take long. Mr. Fossen glares, and then stomps back into Ben's room.
Chen stitches the cut on Bonnie's forehead. Bonnie says, "We're supposed to be at the park." Chen pleasantly asks whether that's where they were driving, and Bonnie replies, "Two to four, we go to the park. But we had a crash." Chen says she knows. She helps Bonnie to sit up, as Bonnie adds, "My parents had a crash. When's Jimmy coming back?" Chen dabs at the blood around Bonnie's cut, and says she doesn't know. After a moment, Chen asks, "Did they die in the crash? Your parents?" Bonnie looks away and doesn't answer, so Chen tries another tack, asking what Bonnie does in the park. Bonnie beams, "The slide!...The swing! Jimmy pushes me. Not too high, though." Chen asks whether she has any other brothers or sisters, and Bonnie says, "Nope." Chen looks sad. AW! I know that the pathos-tugging orphaned disadvantaged person is a classic ER manipulation device. I know what they're doing. I resent it. But I am powerless to resist the heart-tugging effect of orphaned mentally challenged adults -- much more so than when they show orphaned kids. Everyone wants to help an orphaned kid: they're little and cute and they might grow up and be valedictorians of their classes and thank their courageous guardians in their speeches. You can't hope or expect the same from a mentally challenged adult, though, and hence no one wants one -- not even one as sweet and affectionate as Bonnie. Well, as we shall, perhaps, see. Later. Maybe.
In the room, Luka looks at one of Jim's x-rays and says that the c-spine is clear. Weaver can't find his spleen. Jim asks where Bonnie is, and Weaver says she's getting sutures. Lydia offers some test results. Weaver pensively says, "He's bleeding from somewhere." Luka points at the film in his hand and says, "Probably here." Jim asks what the problem is, and Weaver says he shattered his pelvis. Jim hopefully asks, "That'll heal, though, right?" Weaver replies, "Yes, but the edge of the bone may be cutting an artery; we need to do a CAT scan to see where the bleeding is coming from." Pretty much everyone in the room pitches in to turn Jim over; he screams in pain and asks whether he'll need surgery. Weaver says they'll know after the scan. Jim continues, "Because I can't be laid up. My sister --" Weaver knows, and says they'll try to stop the bleeding by injecting a clotting agent into the artery. Jim's blood pressure drops a bit. Weaver orders blood as they wheel him out for more x-rays.
Lounge. Finch looks blank (but at least this time it's appropriate) as Benton tells her he's going to take Carla home, then go by Finch's place to pick up Reese's stuff. "Fine," she sighs. Benton decides to twist the knife a little: "Cleo, I told you, you know, Reese needs special attention." Finch, exasperated, says that she knows she made a mistake, but that Benton's acting like Finch deliberately let him get hurt. Benton huffs, "I'm sorry about what happened. Carla gets upset." Finch glares, "Well, I don't get called a bitch by anyone." She stomps off. Yeah, Benton did really bend over for Carla in that scene, though Carla clearly was not in her right mind (if she even has one) and yelling back at her wouldn't have shut her up anyway.
Elsewhere, Bonnie is wandering down the hall when Weaver finds and intercepts her, asking where Bonnie's supposed to be. Bonnie politely says that she's looking for Jim. Weaver walks with her a few paces before Chen happens by and Weaver calls her over. Chen tells Bonnie that she has to stay in her room. Bonnie explains, "I have to tell my brother what I want for dinner!" Suddenly, Jim's bed is behind them; Weaver asks why he's back, and Luka says that he "dropped his pressure upstairs." Bonnie spots Jim as he rolls by and calls, "There he is! Jimmy!" Chen steers her away from the trauma as Luka and Weaver jargon back and forth. The Electronic Keyboard of Pathos pulses. Bonnie peers through the window into Jim's room even as Chen tries to impede her view. Luka says that Jim crashed before they got him on the table. Jim mumbles, "Dr. Weaver?...My sister has special needs." Weaver reassuringly tells him they're worrying about him right now. Weaver sends for Chen. Jim murmurs, "There's no one else but me." Which is why it would have been good for Jim to have written up his will at some point, naming a guardian for Bonnie who knew her and would treat her properly. I know they don't have any family, but Jim doesn't have any friends? Anyway, Lydia returns with Chen. Orders fly. Machines beep. Jim stops breathing. They do...something with blood that will determine whether Jim goes to the OR.
In the hall, Mark and Mitchell examine an x-ray of Ben's hand. Mitchell says that the hand's okay, but Mark directs her attention to his wrist. "Is that a Colle's fracture?" she asks. Mark judgmentally says that Ben claims he never hurt his wrist. Mitchell suggests that Ben might be too young to remember. Mark sneers, "His dad doesn't remember, either." Mark asks how their talk went. Mitchell says that Ben is "a pretty hostile kid." Mark notes that Ben "clammed up when [his] dad showed up, though." Mitchell agrees that it was hard to talk to Ben: "His dad was standing outside the door the whole time, and Ben knew it." Mark judgmentally snaps the film off the light box, commenting, "He's terrified of him." Mitchell says she thinks he is, but adds that he claims there's no violence in the home. They move down the hall as Mark scoffs, "You saw that bruising! That's him getting pulled by the ear!" Mitchell says that Ben claims he doesn't remember how that happened, and Mark sniffs, "You don't forget a broken bone or bruising like that."
Everyone loves Bonnie so they work extra-hard on Jim -- none of the half-assed medicine they usually practise on all the dying patients who don't have mentally challenged siblings. But despite their best efforts, it doesn't look good for Jim. He goes into v-fib. Weaver shocks him. Bonnie, sitting alone in the room, watches the proceedings through the window. Weaver and Luka argue over whether a thoracotomy tray would help. Weaver asks Lydia to close the blinds between the trauma room and the suture room, where Bonnie is. Bonnie looks like she can tell some bad stuff's going down.
Lisa and Carter stroll by the river. She complains that she's starving. Carter suggests that they pick something up from Doc Magoo's. Lisa snarks that if she were smart, she'd have gone to lunch instead of "getting reamed" by Mitchell and Sally: "I don't get it, because a week ago, she wanted to have her committed, and now she's completely on her side!" Carter Yodas, "It's not about sides." Shut up, Carter. Lisa snaps, "It felt like it was! All of a sudden, it was all about me, and what was my problem, that I couldn't get on board with this plan she had figured out." Carter smirks, "Would any plan have made you happy?" "No," Lisa mopily admits. Carter asks when Sally was last in therapy, and Lisa says it was about ten years ago. "That's different," says Carter encouragingly. "Yeah," Lisa pouts. Carter adds, "So, you've got a choice: you can either hope that she makes it this time, or give up." "Right," Lisa agrees. Carter says it doesn't seem like she wants to "do that," by which I assume he means give up. Lisa admits that she doesn't know what she wants to do. Carter decides that the Lisa part of their conversation is over, and announces that Weaver "bagged" him for the Chief Resident job: "Apparently my rehab has caught up to me." Lisa says she's sorry, and Carter mumbles, "It's not your fault." "Not exactly," Lisa replies. Carter twelve-steps that "part of facing the problem is accepting that some people won't get over it." Lisa repeats that she's sorry. Carter says, "Me too -- for you." Lisa huddles into her coat.
Jim's trauma room. Oh, it's bad -- it's bad. Jim's heart's not filling with blood. Bonnie wanders in and stands at the end of Jim's bed, calling his name. Chen tells Bonnie she has to go outside, but no one's really free to take her out of the room. Weaver shocks his heart with internal paddles, and Bonnie sobs, "I don't like that!" She grabs Weaver's arm and says, "I don't want you to do that!" Weaver calls for Lydia, who rushes over to Bonnie and gently explains that they're trying to help Jim. "But it hurts him!" Bonnie cries. Lydia moves Bonnie away from Weaver, who shocks Jim again. Bonnie tries valiantly to stay in Jim's room, but Lydia gets her out. Jim goes into asystole. Weaver sadly calls the time of death, gives some final instructions, and says she'll tell Bonnie.
In the hall, Chen offers to join Weaver; Weaver accepts. They remove their yellow gowns and go into the suture room, where Lydia sits with Bonnie. Bonnie politely tells Lydia, "I'm tired of it here. I think me and Jimmy should go home." Lydia tells Bonnie that the doctors are going to speak with her, and quickly makes herself scarce. Chen explains to Bonnie that Weaver is Jim's doctor. "Is he ready to go?" Bonnie asks Weaver, with a hopeful smile. Weaver huskily says, "Bonnie, Jim was very hurt, and he couldn't recover from his injuries." "'Cover'?" Bonnie asks. "Get better," Weaver explains, continuing, "Your brother died, Bonnie. I'm sorry." Chen pats Bonnie's shoulder and asks whether she understands. Bonnie says, "Like Ernie. He died." Chen asks who Ernie is or was, and Bonnie says, "My hamster. We put him in a box." "Okay," says Weaver. "Well, like your hamster, Jim won't be with you anymore." Bonnie excitedly says, "I got a new hamster -- his name is Ernie II!" As Chen's and Weaver's hearts break, Chen attempts, "You know how your parents went away?" "In the crash?" says Bonnie. Chen nods, "Jimmy went away like that, too." Bonnie, grasping the situation, says, "But it's library night." Okay, now my heart is broken. Bonnie, you can come live with me! I'll take you to the library and make you hot dogs whenever you want! Bonnie adds that she gets scared at night. Weaver very seriously says, "Bonnie, you're going to have to be very brave." Bonnie tries to smile and asks, "Where's Jimmy?"
Lounge. Mitchell enters, and, seeing Lisa, she says, "There you are!" Lisa says hi, and Mitchell chirps, "Do you have a minute?" Lisa warily asks, "Am I in trouble, or something?" Mitchell says, "I don't usually do this, but I think that it's important." Lisa's like, "Yeah...?" Mitchell declares, "I think you need to give your mom one more chance." Lisa snarks, "Didn't I just do that today?" Mitchell judges, "Well, you started to, and then you ran away." Okay, Lisa? Plow her one in the face for me. "You ran away." Bitch. Lisa agreeably says, "Maybe that's because I've heard it about a hundred times before." Mitchell says she thinks that this time it's different. Lisa, with barely tolerant amusement, asks, "Do you? Why?" Mitchell points out that Sally hasn't been willing to enter therapy in ten years, and now she's embracing it. Lisa snaps, "I'd love to believe that meant something." Mitchell husks, "Don't let your mom go away without being able to really talk to you. That won't make either of you happy." Lisa snaps, "I don't think 'happy' is on the table." "Why?" asks Mitchell. Dude, deal with your own patient and butt out of Lisa's business! Lisa basically says that, pointing out, "Look, I'm not in therapy!" "Fair enough," says Mitchell, turning on her heel and marching to the door. "But I'll consider it --" Lisa says, just before Mitchell leaves. "What you said," Lisa adds. "Okay," says Mitchell, and books. Okay, I'm glad Mitchell said she doesn't normally do that, but she should never do what she just did; it's extremely inappropriate.
In the hall, Weaver's telling Adele the Social Worker that Bonnie has the mind of a seven-year-old. Adele confirms that there are no other relatives, and Weaver says that Jim was Bonnie's only family. Weaver and Adele reach the desk, where Chen tells them, "I tried ARC, Protection, and Advocacy -- no luck." Adele says that all the facilities are full, and that Bonnie will have to go to a temporary group home. Weaver gets all shirty, declaring that she doesn't want Bonnie sent to a place like that: "They've got four or five people in every room!" Adele, not unkindly, retorts, "Well, unless you want to take her home, this is all I can offer." Weaver relents, saying that she doesn't want to hear that Bonnie had to sleep on a couch, or the floor. Adele patiently says she'll "pass that along." She hands Weaver a slip of paper and says she'll have to get Bonnie there herself: "They're too backed up to come pick her up." Chen moans, "Come on!" Adele reminds them that she's just the messenger, adding, "In time, she'll adjust." Weaver informs Adele that "this stinks" -- because Adele doesn't have a sense that the social welfare net might be just a little inadequate, you know, working, as she does, as a social worker. Adele tells Weaver that Bonnie can enter a job training program and perhaps learn a skill. Mark comes out at this point to grab Adele. She offers a final "sorry" and leaves with Mark. Chen and Weaver are sad.
Adele and Mark enter Ben's room. Enough time has passed that it's dark out. Mr. Fossen rises, barking that it's "about time" and complaining that Ben hasn't eaten since noon. Mark's all, "Yeah yeah, we'll take care of that -- 'cause you won't." He introduces Adele to Mr. Fossen and tells him she's a social worker. Mr. Fossen does not look pleased to meet her, and announces, "Look, my kid does not need any more counseling or whatever." Adele tells Mr. Fossen that they're taking Ben into emergency custody. Mr. Fossen makes with the righteous anger. Ben looks stunned, but it's hard to tell whether he's relieved at being separated from his dad, terrified of the retribution he'll suffer when they're reunited, or just hungry. Mark tells Mr. Fossen, "I'm not comfortable with the bruising I found on your son." Mr. Fossen sarcastically bellows, "Oh, god forbid you're not comfortable!" Mark adds that he found evidence of a broken wrist that neither Ben nor Mr. Fossen mentioned. Mr. Fossen barks that he already told Mark that Ben fights. Not even looking at Ben, he orders, "Would you tell them, please?" Ben instantly pipes up, "I fight a lot!" Adele tells Ben that, if that's true, that he'll get to go home in three days, but that, for now, he needs to come with her. She moves toward him, but Mr. Fossen stands between them. Ben says that he doesn't want to go. Mr. Fossen yells that they're not taking Ben. He grabs Ben by the arm and storms out. Adele yells, "Security!" and...
...yeah, there are a couple of big dudes standing in the hall, each of whom grabs one of Mr. Fossen's arms and restrains him. "You think I hurt my kid, you're crazy!" "I don't want to go away, please let me stay with him!" "Why are you doing this to us?!" "Dad, Dad!" "Bastard!" The security guards hang on to Mr. Fossen. Adele hustles down the hall in the opposite direction with Ben in her arms. You know. The usual.
Lisa comes home to find Sally setting the table. They greet each other wanly. Sally says that the super "finally" fixed the stove fan, so she cooked dinner. Uh. The busted stove fan didn't stop Luka from cooking dinner in last week's episode, but whatever. Lisa doesn't seem to care much about dinner. Sally runs down the menu and suggests that Lisa invite Luka for dinner. Lisa says he's playing softball. Sally says that sounds like fun, and asks whether Lisa's going to go. Lisa curtly says, "I don't want to play." Sally gives her a trepidatious stare. Lisa tosses aside the mail she's been sorting and blurts, "The reason why I ran out today, like that, is because it's just...it's scary to hope too much. You know?" Sally takes this declaration in stride, saying she knows. Lisa bites her lip and nods continuously. Sally adds, "I know I might not make it, but Abby, something happened to me in that ICU room. I realized I don't want to die. And more than that, I don't want my little girl to watch me die. I can't do that to you -- not ever. That's what I wanted to tell you today. I'm going to handle my life. And I want you to get on with yours." Lisa blinks a few times, and then faintly says, "Okay." She moves to the living room, setting down her bag and taking off her coat. Sally follows, insisting, "You can't put your life on hold anymore!" Lisa mumbles that it's not on hold. Sally replies, "What do you mean? You won't even go play softball with your boyfriend!" Lisa pouts, "So? I don't want to play." Geez, if everyone thought I was depressed every time I turned down an invitation to play a sport, I'd be committed for life. Sally squeals, "Stop sitting things out!" Lisa snaps, "I don't!" Sally says that she does:
Sally: You can't use me as the reason for not doing the things you want to do in life. Go to medical school!
Lisa: Well, that's not so easy!
Sally: Get married!
Lisa: I was married!
Sally: Get pregnant!
Lisa: I was pregnant!
This news sucks all the air out of the room. Sally looks horrified. Lisa blinks away tears. Sally asks what happened. Lisa sniffles. In a single moment, she smirks as if she's embarrassed at the melodrama, rolls her eyes as if the answer to the question should be obvious, and looks resigned to tell the plain truth: "What happened. [sits on the couch] I had an abortion." (More virtuosi acting from Maura Tierney, by the way.) Sally's expression is dark. Lisa whispers, "Some people aren't meant to be mothers." Sally gets her meaning and leans in to say, "I was a lot younger than you are now when I had my first manic episode. I've watched you since you were a little girl -- you're not bipolar!" "No, but my kids could be," Lisa says. Sally gasps, "But they might not be! They could be anything, and you would just love them, that's all!" Lisa swipes the tears away with her hand. Sally asks, "You never even told Richard, did you?" Lisa shakes her head and says she thinks that was the beginning of the end of their relationship, because they just stopped talking about everything. Haltingly, she says, "I just was too scared, I -- I couldn't risk it. I just, I didn't want to..." "Turn into me?" Sally asks simply. "Yeah," says Lisa. "Or have to take care of another me?" Sally asks. Lisa nods, trying not to sob openly. Sally hugs her. Lisa cries on her shoulder. Sally says, "That's all there is, is risk. You just have to take a chance and leap into life! Otherwise, sweetheart, you're going to miss out on all the great things! Abby, you deserve all the great things. Do you hear me?" Lisa nods and cries some more. That scene could have so easily been wicked schmaltzy, but it was pretty good.
At County, Weaver walks Bonnie out to a cab. Bonnie is saying, "But I like my home!" Weaver promises, "Someone there is going to take good care of you." She explains that the cabbie is going to drive Bonnie to the home. Bonnie says, "Jimmy was going to make me hot dogs tonight." Weaver hands the cabbie the address and tells him to make sure Bonnie is met there by an adult. Bonnie asks, "Will they have hot dogs?" Weaver says she doesn't know, but she's sure they'll have something good. Bonnie gets into the back seat and tells Weaver, "I better go to my home." Weaver softly says she can't. Bonnie cries, "But I like my home. I like my bed and my blanket." Weaver sadly says that Bonnie can't live alone. Bonnie sobs, "But I need my blanket! Jimmy always gives me my blanket!" Man, I am so soft. But Bonnie is killing me. KILLING ME. Bonnie says that Jimmy gives her hot dogs when she wants them: "I like my home! I don't want a new one!" She sobs. Weaver leans in, and I think she's going to hug Bonnie or offer to go to the home with her, but she just zips up Bonnie's jacket for her and softly tells her it's chilly out. Poor Bonnie tries to catch her breath. Weaver looks wrecked but resigned. As she turns around, she sees that Chen's been watching the whole scene from inside the hospital, and that she looks all sad, too.
Softball game. Um. People play softball. The batter swings and misses. The umpire calls it strike one. In the field -- I can't really tell who's playing what position, so I'm just saying they're in the field -- Luka (who's wearing a Croatian soccer jersey) asks Carter, "That's good, right?" Carter confirms that it is. See, Luka's so fully recovered from his ennui or depression or whatever that he's gamely turned up to play a sport he doesn't even understand, just to have fun. Get it? Get it? Do you get it? Do you...now do you get it? How about now? Dr. Dave pitches another strike. Just then, Lisa nonchalantly strolls into the park. Luka spots her and waves, and Dr. Dave scolds him. The batter strikes out and the outfielders come in to bat. Luka trots up to Lisa and asks, "Change your mind?" She tells him she even brought her own glove. Dr. Dave tells her she's batting after Carter. Luka sees Sally coming toward them with a tray of drinks. "You brought your mom?" he duhs. Sally calls, "Go get 'em, John!" Carter thanks her and heads for the plate. Sally tells Luka that she didn't know he played softball, and he admits that he doesn't, and that he's last in the batting order. Heh. Sally moms, "You should put Abby up! She was an all-star in her Little League team!" Lisa kind of preens at the maternal praise (aw). Luka asks whether Sally's going to play, but she says she's just there to watch, and heads for the stands. Lisa compliments Luka's backwards baseball cap, and Luka cracks that it makes him "almost look American." "Almost," snorts Lisa. Carter hits the ball. People cheer.
County. Mitchell leaves Ben's room, noting that he has "some vocabulary for a seven-year-old." Mark tells her that the "bone survey turned up bilateral, healed, spiral fractures of the radius." Mitchell exposits, "So you were right." "Pin a rose on me," snorts Mark. Mitchell heads down the hall, where she meets up with Weaver. She produces the infamous envelope, proffers it to Mitchell, and says, "This is for you." Mitchell gingerly takes it, asking what it is. Weaver husks, "It's how I feel about things -- about you -- and I never really told you, and maybe it doesn't matter now, but I wanted you to know." Mitchell smiles, "Okay," and takes off. Weaver looks sad some more.
In Ben's room, Mark accusatorily says, "You broke both your arms, Ben." Ben says they're fine. Mark shows Ben his x-rays and points out where the fractures are. Ben says, "That was a long time ago. I tripped at school." Mark says you can't get fractures like that from falling. Ben embellishes his story by saying that after he tripped, he fell down the stairs. Mark gently says, "I think somebody grabbed your arm with two hands and then twisted it, like you do with a wet towel." Ben squeaks, "I'm bad a lot." "You are?" Mark asks, kneeling in front of him. Ben fake-cries, explaining, "I make too much noise playing. I leave messes!" "And your dad punishes you?" Mark asks. Ben shrugs. Mark asks how Mr. Fossen punishes him. Ben says, "Sometimes, like you said. He calls them Indian burns." Mark's all, "Just as I suspected." Ben tearfully says, "It's my fault! He wouldn't do it if I wasn't bad!" Mark tells him that no one should break his arm, no matter how bad he is. I don't know -- that kid was pretty bad. Kidding! I'm just trying to break the tension. Ben cries that he wants to go home. Mark purses his lips and tells him he can't.
Baseball game. Malik hits the ball. Lisa runs home. Sally cheers like -- forgive me -- crazy. Somehow they're all the way at the end of the batting order because Luka's up . Dr. Dave briefly coaches him. Lisa sits to Sally in the stands. Luka swings and misses. Sally yells at him not to crowd the plate, but he doesn't know what that means. Luka really fills out his jeans. I'm just saying. Sally quietly tells Lisa, "He's very cute, but he's no Mickey Mantle." Hee! Lisa agrees, giggling. Luka lets a ball go by. Lisa asks Sally whether she's cold. Sally says she's fine, and thanks Lisa for bringing her to the game, saying it looked like Lisa was having fun. Lisa says she was. Sally puts her arm around Lisa. They both look content. Luka hits the ball. The umpire calls it foul, but Luka's already put his head down and is running madly before someone can stop him. Sally yells, "That's a foul ball! THAT'S A FOUL BALL!" Lisa chuckles that she doesn't think Luka knows that. On the field, Dr. Dave yells for Luka to stop, but Luka's in the zone, rounding the bases. Everyone's standing back, like, "Uh, someone want to corral Euro, here?" I can't really do it justice in print, but it's very funny. Sally cheers as Luka hauls ass toward home.