Previously on ER: Nobody knew Darlene existed. Susan started laying down some rules, and Pratt thought it was stupid. Jake finished his ER rotation, which meant Abby was no longer his supervisor, which meant they could totally do it.
Weaver stands outside in the frigid weather, staring at a building. She finally gathers her courage and crutches into the building -- a hotel -- with determination. She takes the elevator upstairs and heads to Room 415, but has to ask a room-service waiter where it is, so this is clearly her first time in the place. She knocks on a door, and calls out to someone named Helen. Frances Fisher answers the door, looking way less glamorous than she did on The Lyon's Den. Kerry says, "I don't want to leave it like this. The things that we said. Is this how you want to leave it? If it is, tell me and I'll go away like we never even met." Helen just stares, and before she answers, we crash to credits. This would be a lot more suspenseful if NBC hadn't put out tons of press releases about how Frances Fisher would be playing Kerry's birth mother this season. ["Seriously, because the writer obviously set up that scene to make us think that Helen could possibly be Weaver's lover. Also, I realize that Helen is supposed to have given birth really young, but she wasn't seven at the time. They should have really hired an older actor for the role." -- Wing Chun]
Sam and Susan walk through the falling snow toward work, discussing the weather. An overly cheerful Sam tries to catch a snowflake on her tongue, and then stares at one on her glove. She delivers a huge speech to Susan on the properties of snowflakes. It's nice, but it's not something anyone would actually say, especially Sam, who would probably say, "Snowflakes are cool and crap." Susan is like, "What's your damage, Ms. Cold Miser?" Sam explains that she and Luka were carried away while helping Alex with a school project. I think it's great that Sam got excited about learning and all. I kind of hope it leads to a storyline about her furthering her education now that Alex is a little older and Luka is around to help. But the whole speech just seemed memorized, and inconsistent with what we know about Sam.
As Sam and Susan walk through the waiting room, a young woman asks how much longer she'll have to wait. Sam walks back and peeks at the giant gash on the woman's leg. The woman explains that it was an ice-skating incident. Sam promises to check her in a couple of minutes, and she thanks them.
Neela and Abby walk along and talk about Abby's relationship with Jake. It's revealed that Jake is sleeping over at Abby's place every night. Abby claims that it's easier, because Jake has been working long hours in surgery, and her place is closer to the hospital. Neela asks if it's all about convenience, and Abby grins, "No, we do like each other." She proceeds to fill Neela in on a bunch of useless trivia, like that Jake's real name is George. Abby stops herself when she realizes she's being obnoxious. I liked that exchange, because it's true that, in the first stages of a relationship, you think that everyone is as fascinated with your partner as you are. And really, they just want to hit you with a shovel to make you shut up.
Shane West and Luka sign over a bunch of charts to Carter and Weaver. As Shane walks out, Neela tells him to take the back stairs at home, because the front ones are frozen. Shane asks if she shoveled, and Neela gives him a look like, "Bitch, please." Neela also tells Shane that the kitchen window wouldn't close, so there's some snow in the kitchen, and that he might want to turn the oven on to melt the snow. Or, you could shovel it up and dump it in the sink or something. Why did she have the kitchen window open in the first place? Abby notices Shane's look of consternation and sweetly says, "She used to be my roommate."
Weaver hands out charts to various doctors. Darlene sneaks up and asks Neela why Weaver's working. Neela turns around and asks the same question of Susan, who says that Weaver does "two shifts a month to keep up her skills and stay in touch with the needs of the department." Sam walks through and tells them about the ice skater with the leg gash, who's out in chairs. Weaver tells Frank to get a wheelchair, and he informs her that there's a trauma at the back door. Weaver assigns everyone to various patients and tells Abby and Darlene to come with her. After she's gone, Neela tells Carter, "It must be awkward for Dr. Lewis, being chief, and then having Dr. Weaver back." Carter says it's kind of the opposite, because Weaver comes in and takes charge and Susan practically gets a day off.
Weaver, Abby, and Darlene help Doris the Paramedic to wheel in a gurney. Doris explains that the gurney contains a gentleman with multiple stab wounds to the back from a screwdriver. Ouch. Pratt walks in behind them and complains about the effect that snow has on traffic. Which is not exactly a new phenomenon, so watch a weather report and give yourself extra time, Pratt. Weaver yells to Pratt that she and Abby can handle this, and orders him to take Darlene and check out a woman with Pick's Disease. Pratt isn't psyched about having a student along for the ride, but Weaver insists.
Pratt and Darlene take off. Darlene says that she knows nothing about Pick's Disease, and then babbles while trying to remember if they covered it in the first or second year of medical school. Pratt sighs heavily as Darlene continues to babble through their entire walk down the hall.
Weaver examines the human piñata, who is drunkenly mumbling insults and swear words. Weaver and Abby roll the guy onto his side to examine the multiple puncture wounds. Dubenko and Jake walk in, and Dubenko cracks, "Regular or Philip's head?" Abby declares that there are at least twenty wounds, and that they're all superficial. Dubenko quizzes Jake on various items of medical terminology as he begins his own exam. Jake is not doing a very good job of answering the questions, which is interesting, since he always did well in the ER. Either he studied harder to impress Abby back then, or he's not getting enough time to study now. Things turn around when Weaver compliments Jake's answer about a pneumothorax, as does Dubenko.
After the exam is over, Dubenko wants to put the guy in the ICU for observation, but Weaver thinks he should get a regular room, because he's stable. Sam points out that ICU beds are hard to come by, and Weaver reiterates that the patient doesn't need one. Dubenko points out a number of problems that could crop up, and Weaver snaps at him as Susan walks in. Abby tries to offer up a compromise to keep the peace. Susan tells Weaver that the "lady with dyspnea, Sharon Williams," is asking for Kerry, and claims she saw her on an earlier visit. Weaver announces, "This Swiss cheese is stable! Let's get him a med-surg bed, and don't listen to any of Dr. Dubenko's suggestions." Dubenko starts to chase after Susan, who curtly tells him, "Don't start." Dubenko smarmily says that he'll leave it to the ER, but then orders Jake not to let them move the patient without "a foley, an NR, three crits, and a four-hour chest film." He starts to leave, but then turns back and tells Jake to "suture all the lacs." Jake says, disbelieving, "All twenty of them?" That's what Dubenko wants.
Haleh gives Weaver the bullet on Sharon Williams, who has good vitals and no history of asthma or emphysema. Weaver walks up and sees "Sharon," whom we now know as Helen from the opening scene. Helen says, "You're Dr. Weaver? Oh, I'm sorry. Of course you're Dr. Weaver." Weaver tries to get a history, but Helen is vague and insists that she can just leave. Weaver listens to Helen's lungs and asks questions, and then orders some tests and starts to leave. Helen calls out, "Dr. Weaver?" Kerry stops, and Helen just stares at her for a minute. Finally, after stammering for a few minutes, Helen says, "The daughter of a friend of mine is thinking about medical school. Do you like what you do?" Kerry says, "Very much." Helen asks if she always wanted to be a doctor, and Kerry says she has since she was a little girl. Helen says that Kerry was lucky to have the opportunity. Kerry, kindly, is kind of like, "What is your deal, lady?" Helen says, "I'm fine, Kerry. Really." Weaver blinks because she never told Helen her first name. Weirded out, she walks up to Haleh and asks her to pull Helen's records.
Pratt examines Mrs. Devon, the elderly woman with Pick's Disease. Everything Pratt says, Mrs. Devon repeats back to him. Then, Mrs. Devon starts worrying about people arriving for a dinner party. Mrs. Devon's daughter, Charlotte, reassures her. Charlotte starts to explain why she brought her mother in, and Mrs. Devon leans quickly toward Darlene, startling her, and asks about a bathroom. Chuny takes Mrs. Devon to use the facilities. Charlotte continues her explanation, and says that her mother was preparing for an imaginary dinner party, and thought she was cutting chicken, but she was cutting her own hand. Damn. That's messed up. Pratt says they'll take care of the hand, and asks when the symptoms started. Charlotte says they started three years ago, and that they've cared for her mother at home, but doesn't know what to do now. Charlotte adds that she has three kids. Pratt offers no useful information, and just raises his eyebrows at Darlene.
Weaver heads over to Admit and checks in with Frank on some test results. She then asks Pratt about his Pick's Disease case, and he passes the question off to Darlene, who is sitting in front of a computer. Darlene recites the symptoms of Pick's Disease. Pratt cuts her off and says she did a good job. Weaver wonders if Darlene found that out through Pratt's teaching skills, or if she read it off the monitor in front of her. Pratt doesn't see why it matters, since Darlene learned. Weaver says that Darlene got the facts, but not how to handle the patients or the family. Pratt says that they'll suture the woman's hand as soon as that Ativan kicks in. Weaver asks about the family. Pratt says that Charlotte is trying to line up a skilled nursing facility. Weaver thinks Pratt should help. Pratt thinks that's a job for a social worker. Weaver tells him to dive in and see what he can do, as Pratt walks away. Weaver asks Sam if Mr. Screwdriver Stabbing was sent upstairs yet. Sam says evasively that Dubenko wanted a few things taken care of first.
Abby and Jake are in the drug lock-up. Ostensibly, they're working, but in reality, they're having a flirtatious conversation about whether or not Abby said "Let's polka" in her sleep a few nights ago. Abby playfully swats Jake and causes him to drop a bunch of IV bags, and they giggle as they pick them up. Weaver walks up and busts them. They both make excuses for what they were doing. Weaver asks why Screwdriver Simon hasn't gotten a bed yet. Jake claims to be working on it. Haleh walks up and tells Weaver that they have no record of Sharon Williams/Helen being at the hospital before, and when Haleh told her that, she became agitated and said she wanted to leave immediately. Weaver takes off to deal with it. Abby teases Jake about his lame excuses to Weaver.
Weaver walks into the room where Helen was staying, but her bed is empty. The other patient in the room says that Helen "kind of bolted." Kerry takes off. Outside, she spots Helen walking away and calls after her. Helen says she doesn't need her test results. Kerry starts calling out all of the things that could be wrong with her. Helen says there's nothing wrong with her, and goes on to confess that she's never been to that hospital before. She concludes, "My name's not Sharon Williams. It's Helen Kingsley. I'm your mother." Kerry stares at her in shock and disbelief. Get used to it, because almost every segment of this episode ends with that exact facial expression on Kerry's face. Don't get me wrong; Laura Innes is a great actor. But it's a little repetitive.
Kerry walks back to the Admit Desk as Helen waits near the door. Kerry blows off a scheduling problem with Susan and tells Haleh to cancel all of Helen's labs. Susan tries to get Weaver's attention again, but Weaver distractedly ignores her and tells her to follow up with a patient. Jake and Abby walk up and Jake starts to explain about Dubenko's orders, but Kerry tells them not to worry about it. Abby asks if the guy needs a CT, but Kerry doesn't answer, instead telling Frank that she's going to take a break. Kerry hotfoots it over to Helen, and they leave. Susan, Frank, Jake, and Abby stare after Kerry in disbelief. I hope Kerry remembered her pager.
Kerry and Helen go to a diner and order coffee. Helen babbles about her drink. Kerry asks how Helen found her, and Helen pulls out the letter Kerry sent her four years ago. Kerry wonders why Helen didn't just write back instead of making up the whole Sharon Williams thing. Helen says simply, "I wanted to see you first." Kerry looks confused. Helen asks if the ice skater girl with the leg gash is okay. Kerry says woodenly, "She's young. She'll heal." Helen thinks that Kerry's job is really important, and then admits that she was scared. She explains that she's in Chicago for a week. Kerry realizes that Helen still lives in Indiana, and then says emotionally that it's close by, and that Helen could have come to Chicago a hundred times. Helen apologizes. Kerry, now in tears, says that she hired an investigator and finally found the right address. Kerry can't believe that Helen knew where Kerry was and still didn't contact her. Helen says that she can't explain it, and that she knows it wasn't fair. She starts to gather her things to leave. Kerry begs her not to leave yet. Helen slowly settles back into her seat.
Kerry shakes off her earlier emotion and starts a different conversational tack: "So, have you always lived in Indiana?" Now on more familiar conversational footing, Helen seems more comfortable as she explains that she's originally from South Carolina, and that she's in Chicago with her church choir, which was chosen to sing in the Christ Crusade festival. Kerry is taken aback by the whole Christ Crusade thing, but manages to ask when the concert is. Helen says it's the day, and then checks her watch and realizes that she's been missing for a long time, and that her choir will be worried. Kerry seems concerned that Helen will disappear again. Helen says that she'd like to talk to Kerry again, and wants to call after her rehearsal. Kerry gives her the hospital phone number. As Kerry writes it down, Helen searches her face. Finally, Helen takes the number. Kerry asks nervously, "So you'll call?" Helen promises she will in a couple of hours, and then takes off. Kerry looks like a bus hit her.
Abby, Dubenko, Jake, Susan, and Sam are working on a patient, who appears to be crashing. Weaver walks in and cheerfully asks if their "drunk vs. screwdriver guy is having some more trouble." Susan says darkly that it isn't the screwdriver guy. Weaver, undeterred, says that she heard he was still in the ER, so she assumed there was some emergency keeping him there. Dubenko says that their current patient is "motorcycle vs. tree guy." Weaver tells Jake that the patient is bleeding in the head and belly, and asks what his plan is. Jake closes his eyes to think, and says that they need a quick head CT before going to the OR for an ex-lap. Weaver says, "Good call...if you want him to bleed out in the scanner." Abby and Susan both kind of roll their eyes, like, "Um, we're trying to save a patient here. It's hardly time for a pop quiz." Weaver continues to quiz Jake, who is busy working and can't answer. She asks Abby the question instead, and Abby says she doesn't know. Finally, Dubenko answers, and Weaver looks pissed.
As everyone continues working quickly, preparing to put in a chest tube, Weaver says to Jake, "Stop what you're doing. Have you even read about this procedure?" Jake is silent. Abby reports that she supervised Jake putting in a chest tube last week. Weaver asks if Abby taught him always to insert a gloved finger and feel lung tissue before inserting the tube. But halfway through the sentence, Weaver loses her cool and has to hesitate and stop herself from crying. Maybe she needs to take a break or something. Jake can't tell Weaver why he would do that, so Weaver lists off the reasons. Susan turns and says sternly, "Kerry, I think we can take this from here." Weaver realizes she's in over her head and says she's sure they can before stomping out. Everyone glances around, and Sam says smirkily, "That was fun." Susan asks Abby why Weaver is so pissed off at the two of them, and gets silence in reply.
Carter checks out a woman with neck pain, as Neela assists. The woman says that she helped her brother to move, and aggravated an old injury. Her husband reports that she had an MRI last year and has three slipped disks. Carter asks if there are "any neuro findings." Neela says there aren't. The husband keeps butting in with more details. Neela suggests ordering morphine, but the woman says immediately that it makes her sick to her stomach. The husband insists that Demerol is the only thing that will work. Weaver walks up and overhears this last bit. Carter says that they could try another drug, Toradol, but the woman claims she allergic, and the husband insists again on Demerol. Weaver walks off, and Carter says they'll be right back.
As they walk off, Neela says that the woman's symptoms are consistent with herniated disk syndrome. Carter spits, "Allergic to Toradol. She might as well have told us she's a Demerol addict." Carter and Neela reach Weaver at the desk as their conversation continues. Neela points out that they have no objective test for pain, so they should err on the side of believing the patient. Weaver interrupts, "Give her the Demerol and get her out the door." Then she grabs a chart and walks off. Carter is kind of like, "Well, oooooookaaaaaay." He comments to Neela that Weaver wants to be involved with every case.
Weaver finds Darlene stitching up Mrs. Devon's hand. Weaver comments that the sutures look good, and asks if Pratt showed her the two-layer repair. Darlene is silent. Weaver asks where Pratt is, and Darlene lies that Pratt is looking for supplies. Weaver asks about Charlotte, the daughter, and Darlene latches onto that, saying that Pratt is helping the daughter to find a skilled nursing facility. Weaver just blinks, like, "How dumb do you think I am?"
Pratt presents some patients to Susan. Weaver walks up and asks why his student is unsupervised. Pratt says he has other patients, and runs through his charts to explain how busy he is. He adds that Darlene should be supervised by an intern. Weaver says she asked him to do it. Pratt rolls his eyes at Susan and walks off. Weaver tells Susan to "stay on these residents." Susan volleys back that Pratt isn't the problem (and how many times can you say that?) and adds, "You know that break you took? You may want to take another one." Kerry sucks on a lemon and looks busted.
Weaver asks Frank if she's had any calls, and he says no. She informs everyone that she's going out, and asks Carter to take over her charts. He takes the charts without a word, except for the last one, because he can't believe she's signing out a spinal tap. Neela walks up and says, "So much for every case."
Weaver walks down the sidewalk and into a church, where Helen's choir is rehearsing. She hesitates in the back, and then makes her way down the aisle to a pew and has a seat. She appears moved by the beautiful music. Helen spots her, and Kerry waves. Helen turns back to the task and finishes out the song.
Once it's over, Helen quickly walks over to Kerry and asks if it's already been two hours. Kerry says she just wanted to catch some of the rehearsal, and adds that it was beautiful. Helen says abruptly that she needs to get her coat. Kerry notices that many of the other choir members brought their families. Helen says, "I have two children -- two other children." She gives their details, and adds that she's divorced. Kerry says she always had an image of Helen living happily ever after with her family. Helen says that the end of her marriage was difficult, and that the church is what got her through it. Kerry looks away quickly. Helen says that she also owns an auto parts store. Kerry chuckles that it's unusual. Helen says it was part of the divorce settlement.
Kerry accidentally drops her crutch, and Helen grabs it for her, then asks why she needs it. Kerry is surprised she doesn't know, and says, "Congenital hip dysplasia. In common parlance, a birth defect." That's it? That's the reason? I always imagined it being something a lot more exciting, like the result of a girl gang initiation or a bad break from a motorcycle accident suffered in the Italian Alps. Helen says that means she caused it. Kerry says quickly that it's not so clear-cut. Helen looks away, upset, and then says she was thinking about what Kerry asked about why she waited so long to find her. Helen says she just recently got the news that Kerry's father died. Kerry, not getting it, says that her father died years ago. Helen explains that she means Kerry's birth father. Kerry looks like she never even considered the fact that she has a birth father, and stares in shock and disbelief. So that means it's time for a commercial.
Kerry and Helen walk through a park. Helen reports that Kerry's father's name was "Cody Boone," and that he was fifteen, while Helen was fourteen. Damn. ["Fourteen. NOT SEVEN, which is the actual age difference between Laura Innes and Frances Fisher." -- Wing Chun] Kerry clarifies that they met in South Carolina. Helen says her father had a miniature golf course in Myrtle Beach, and Cody worked there after school. Kerry asks for more details, and Helen says that she got pregnant, and that their parents pitched a fit, with good reason. Kerry adds, "And abortion wasn't legal." Helen says she never would have done that. She went to a home in Indiana, near her aunt, until Kerry was born.
Kerry asks softly, "Did you ever want to keep me?" Helen says, "Oh, of course! Cody and I had a whole plan. He was going to quit school, get work. There was a room over his parents' garage where we could live." Kerry turns away, tears in her eyes. Helen continues, "But in the end, you're fourteen, fifteen; you got no money. So, I came to believe that the best thing for you would be to be with people who could care for you and do things for you. It's true, right?" Kerry says she doesn't know. Helen tries to explain what she means, but Kerry understood the question. She says that she had two loving parents, but it still "always felt like rejection." Kerry asks if that makes sense. Helen says they took her so fast, and she never got to hold or even see her daughter. Kerry wipes away tears. Helen concludes, "And nobody ever told me anything about no birth defect." Kerry sniffles and says that when she was younger, she used to wonder if she was given away because she was "not quite perfect." Helen replies, "All Jesus' children are perfect!" Kerry changes the subject and asks about her father, Cody. Helen says that she never saw him again. Kerry is surprised. Helen says that when she heard he'd died, it "kinda pushed a button." Helen says she thought about Cody over the years, but not as much as she thought about Kerry. Just then, Kerry's beeper goes off. Kerry grabs it and says it's work.
Neela talks to the drug-seeking couple. The husband is upset that Neela won't give him the Demerol. Carter recognizes that the situation is escalating and joins them, and then calls Neela away. Neela tells him that the patient is still in pain. Carter asks if she explained that they already gave her Demerol, and then realizes that Neela was suckered into giving her a second shot.
Weaver practically skips back into the building and tells Jerry she's back. Jerry's hair is completely gray. That makes me feel old. Maybe it's for a part or something. Susan walks up and says that when she told Kerry to take a break, she didn't mean it literally. Weaver apologizes for having been gone so long. Susan says they're being slammed, and details everything that's going wrong. Frank sees Weaver and asks if she's going out again, and Weaver cheerfully says, "Yes!" Susan can't believe her ears. Haleh brings a chart up to Susan, for an "obnoxious bald guy," and Weaver offers to take it. Susan is confused, but accepts.
Weaver walks into Trauma Green, where Jake and Abby are giggling while suturing a patient. She tells them she's looking for an "obnoxious bald guy who needs suturing." Jake and Abby talk over each other nervously to point Kerry door to Trauma Yellow. Kerry looks through the window in the door. The patient spots her and starts yelling that his head is throbbing and no one will give him any drugs. An incoming gurney gets slammed into him, just as Kerry shuts the blinds. What in the hell was that? Weird. I get that they're trying to point out the huge change in Kerry's attitude from earlier, but weird. Weaver notices that Jake and Abby's patient is Screwdriver Simon. Jake and Abby both start to explain why he's still there. Jake takes full responsibility. Weaver asks if Dubenko doesn't deserve a little of that responsibility, since he ordered all of those tests, adding, "I hear everything, Mr. Scanlon." Abby agrees, "She pretty much does." Weaver asks if there's any hope that the patient will be sent upstairs in their lifetime. Jake promises it'll be ten minutes, and Kerry thanks him, and then orders them to handle obnoxious bald guy when they're done. Kerry walks out, and Jake asks, "Does she have multiple personalities?"
Shane West walks in, and Jerry comments that he's not working tonight. Shane says that Malarkey called in sick, so he was ordered to cover. Fucking Malarkey. Weaver asks Frank if he's seen Neela or Carter, and he hasn't. She hands the chart for the drug-seekers to Shane, telling him to review the chart and then kick them out.
Darlene goes over a list of skilled nursing facilities with Charlotte, who is very grateful. Weaver spots her and Darlene explains what she was doing. Weaver asks if Pratt is "remotely involved with this patient." Darlene says that they're swamped, and that Pratt is busy, but that he's involved, sort of.
Pratt checks out Darlene's suture work on Mrs. Devon, and is impressed, as is Chuny. Pratt grabs the chart to sign off, but Mrs. Devon drops a tissue box on the floor. Pratt picks it up. This goes on for a long time. Finally, Pratt realizes that he shouldn't give her back the box. He looks up and sees Weaver and Darlene smiling at him from behind the desk.
Weaver walks into the lounge, where Susan is working on charts. They make small talk about the weather. Susan can't believe that Weaver is really leaving. Weaver asks Susan if she remembers Sharon Williams, the patient from this morning. Susan does. Weaver admits that it's her birth mother. Susan is shocked. Weaver is giddy. Susan says she's happy for her, and then asks if it's weird. Weaver says it's a lot to take in, and while they've talked, Kerry still has many things to tell her. Weaver adds that she's going to go home and change, then go out to dinner. Susan tells her not to worry, that they've got it covered. Weaver says she'll stop by later, and heads out. She stops at the door and thanks Susan, who smiles.
Kerry and Helen have dinner in a nice restaurant. Kerry asks about photos of relatives, but Helen wants to hear about Kerry's childhood in Africa. Helen says the adoption agency told her that Kerry's family was involved in the church. Kerry says that while they were in Africa, her mother helped set up schools and her father was a civil engineer. Helen asks if she liked living there. Kerry says she was different for being white, so no one noticed the crutch. She adds that her parents were older, and their health wasn't great, so they had to move to Minneapolis when Kerry was twelve. They died when Kerry was in college. This is more information than we've gotten about Kerry total since her character was introduced. Helen is sad that Kerry's parents never got to see her become a doctor, and is sure they would have been proud of her. Helen adds, "I'm proud of you."
Kerry, emboldened by that show of affection, says quickly that her biggest regret is that her parents never got to meet their grandson. Helen can't believe that Kerry has a family. Kerry takes out photos of Henry and shows them off. The first one shows Kerry, Henry, and Sandy. Helen looks at the photo and says that between the baby and the full-time job, it's no wonder that Kerry needs a nanny. Kerry's smile fades, but she doesn't correct her. Helen asks if Kerry's husband is a doctor too. Kerry says carefully, "I'm alone now. There was an accident." Helen offers condolences and asks if it was recent. Kerry says it was last year. Helen is very sad, and then tells Kerry that she has to have faith to get through such things. Helen lists off a lengthy Biblical quote to support her assertion. Kerry stares at her in shock and disbelief. And guess what? Commercial.
Kerry stands in the bathroom, crying. A woman walks in and asks if she's waiting for the stall, and Kerry says she's not. She gathers herself together and walks out. Back at the table, Helen shares family photos. Kerry asks if there are any pictures of her father. Helen shuffles through and finds the one that she has. Helen is pregnant in the photo, and Cody has his arm around her. They are both grinning, and they look so, so young. Helen says that Cody drove up to see her in Indiana, even though he didn't have a license. She chuckles, "For the life of me, I don't know what we thought we had to smile about."
Kerry gathers up her courage and shows Helen the first photo she saw earlier explaining, "This is my family, Helen. This woman's name is Sandy Lopez and she's not my nanny. She was my partner." Helen doesn't get it. Kerry says sadly, "My lover, my wife, the mother of my child. She was a firefighter and she died last year." Kerry looks Helen full in the face, tears in her eyes. Helen asks, "You're gay?" Kerry says yes. Helen's face falls. Kerry says she wanted to tell Helen earlier, but she was afraid, and she never told her adoptive parents, because they died before Kerry accepted who she was. Helen gulps air like a fish and says slowly, "So they never knew you made this choice." Kerry says sharply, "It's not a choice. It's who I am. Who I was born as." Helen asks Kerry to pray with her, and Kerry says angrily that she won't. She stands up. Helen calmly asks her to stay. Kerry grabs her purse and runs out.
Outside, Helen follows Kerry as she angrily walks down the street. Helen says she didn't mean to offend Kerry, but she was glad to find her. Kerry asks if her sexual orientation changes that. Helen says that it's wrong, and it's not what God created. Kerry mutters that she knew this was a mistake, and asks why "people like [Helen] are always saying things like that." Helen wonders why "people like [Kerry] are so dismissive of people of faith." Kerry says that Helen has no faith that God knew what he was doing in creating her. Helen doesn't disagree with that. Kerry wonders what about gay people is so much more threatening than all the terrible things in the world. Helen asks Kerry not to dismiss her so easily. Kerry lists off all the horrible things in the world, and says that the faithful think that lesbians will destroy their lives. Helen says that the world isn't perfect, and that it's what they make it. Kerry reminds Helen of the verse she just quoted about how everything will be fine if we have God's love. Kerry adds that she knows the words, because she was raised in the church. Helen says that Kerry should know that the church wants to heal. Kerry says, "Except that the welcome sign's not out for everyone, is it?" Helen asks if Kerry hates all faith. Kerry says that she hates that her own faith excludes her because of the people she loves. Helen corrects her, "The people you've chosen to love." Kerry says, "I have made a choice: to stop living a lie about who I am. I was alone in my soul. Do you know what that feels like?" Helen doesn't have anything to say in response, and instead says that she thinks she'll walk to her hotel.
Shane West reports to Carter that he found out that the drug-seeking couple is in the turkey files in a hospital in Cleveland. Neela says they won't cure her drug habit by denying her drugs today. Shane begs Carter to kick them out to appease Weaver. Carter tells Shane and Neela to watch and learn. Carter tells the patient that he hears she's still experiencing pain. The woman says it's better, but that one more shot would help. Shane says that she's already had two. Carter explains that when you use Demerol regularly, it's not as effective, and that you can grow dependent on it. And he would know. The husband asks if Carter is calling his wife a drug addict. The husband gets angry that Carter is accusing his wife of various things, and Shane tells Jerry to call Security. The husband finally takes a swing at Carter, who blocks it, and then punches the husband himself. The wife gets out of bed and goes after Carter. Shane tries to help by pulling her off Carter's back. The wife thanks him by grabbing a bedpan and clocking Shane right in the face. Hee! If only it were used. You know I just rewound that part like ten times. Neela grabs a bedpan of her own, chases down the wife, and raises the bedpan above her head. She stops herself and asks, "What in the hell am I doing?" Security shows up at that moment. Weaver asks Jerry, Frank, and Sam, who've been watching from the desk, who is winning. Sam says that Neela was about to deck somebody with a bedpan. Jerry says he's always wanted to see something like this, and Sam says it's hard to let go of a dream. Weaver asks if everything is under control. Frank says it is, and that he thought Weaver was gone for the day. Weaver says she thought she was, too.
Darlene pushes Mrs. Devon around in a wheelchair. Mrs. Devon calls for her daughter, and Darlene says that her daughter will be there soon. Pratt walks up and asks what's going on. Darlene reports that Charlotte had to pick up her kids. Mrs. Devon is still worried about her imaginary dinner party. Darlene continues to talk about the case, but Pratt spots Weaver walking by and takes off.
Pratt catches up to Weaver and brings her up to date on Mrs. Devon's case. He also says that he's willing to have Darlene assigned to him anytime. Weaver agrees that Darlene is good. Pratt says the paramedics are bringing in fisherman vs. horse, and Weaver chuckles.
Luka walks in as Weaver walks out. Weaver notices that he's early. Luka says that since he's on days and Sam's on nights, they try to get some time together when they can. Weaver looks thoughtful, and a little sad, as she walks out of the ambulance bay.
Now we're back at the scene from the opening, where Weaver walks across the street and enters a hotel lobby. She gets in an elevator and goes to Helen's room. Helen opens the door and lets Kerry in, and then gets flustered when she can't figure out the coffee maker. Helen says that you think about a day like this for a long time, and play out every scenario in your head. Kerry says that Helen didn't plan on this one. Helen asks, "Is it because I gave you up?" Kerry says it's not. Helen asks, "Is it because I didn't come looking for you for so many years?" Kerry says that Helen doesn't get to get over her feelings of guilt just because Kerry turned out all right. She adds, "If you're disappointed, it should be with the limitations of your faith, not in the way that I've lived my life." Helen says that she gave up her child for what she was told were all the right reasons. She thought about Kerry, but she came to realize that she'd broken her own heart, and that faith is the only thing that gave her hope and courage, so she can't give up faith too. Kerry asks simply, "Can you accept me for who I am?" Helen says, "I can love you, whoever you are." Kerry says he doesn't want love without acceptance. Helen thinks that over. Kerry looks completely at peace as she says, "It was so good to finally meet you." She moves forward and hugs her mother, who hugs her back. They both part, crying. Kerry walks out of the room and down the hallway.