Previously on Gideon's Crossing: The doctors all contributed to accidentally killing a patient named Mr. Porter through a series of miscommunications and small accidents. Porter's wife was understandably upset. The hospital lawyer advised Ben to keep the details of the death to himself to avoid a lawsuit. Ben promised to tell Mrs. Porter everything that happened anyway.
Ben is called to Max's office. Max informs Ben that there's been "a request for medical records in the Porter case." Ben says that this is "the sound of the other shoe dropping." Ben wants to offer Mrs. Porter a settlement, since they killed her husband. Max insists that he died in their care, which is unfortunate, but that he's saving lives and careers. Ben thinks it's "splitting hairs" and "semantics." Ben's beeper goes off, and the number is from Vermont.
Cut to Ben telling Sid and Ollie about a patient who almost died last night, and was stabilized for the four-hour ambulance ride to Boston. Ollie thinks the guy must live in "East Cupcake," which must be the television-censor-approved version of "East Buttfuck." Which reminds me of a little story. When I was in high school, someone snuck into the social studies teacher's room and wrote "East Buttfuck" on the map, around the area of Siberia. The teacher pulled down the map without looking at it, and we all giggled for about ten minutes before he figured out the problem. Hey, when you're fourteen, that's high comedy. Anyway, Ben treated this patient years ago for "myeloma" (cancer of the bone marrow), and it was in remission. Apparently not so much anymore, and they're not sure exactly what's wrong with him. Ben tells Sid that the guy may have to be put on a respirator. As the paramedics wheel in the patient, he's sitting up and reading the paper, looking fairly healthy. Ben greets him as "Larry." Larry says his condition improved on the ride down, and he doesn't really need the oxygen anymore. Ben looks around like, "Well, what the hell do I do now?"
Stiles walks into Boies's office. Boies asks where she's going, and asks her to stay and help cover. Stiles begs rather whinily to be allowed to go home and sleep, since she's been on for many days. Boies tells her to go home. Suddenly, Stiles is all, "No, I'll stay, really." Boies keeps telling her it's okay to go home. Stiles keeps insisting she'll stay. She stays.
Ben walks into Larry's room and says that his doctor is confused by Larry's changing health -- one minute he's "ashen" with labored breathing and fever, and the he's "ready for the Boston bloody Marathon." Ben calls Larry a "clinical enigma," then asks about the time Larry contracted malaria in Senegal. Larry says he also contracted dysentery in Venezuela. Ben says Larry's immune response is low, and they'd like to see if it could possibly be a tropical disease of some sort, which means more testing. Larry says he's tough and can handle more testing.
Boies treats a woman who has had numbness and tingling in her hands and legs, headaches on one side, and difficulty speaking. Boies thinks they might be "transient ischemic attacks," or a series of small strokes. There is a little girl playing in the room, presumably the woman's daughter. The woman is surprised, since she thought only old people had strokes and she's 35. Boies asks about past drug use, or heavy alcohol use, but the woman insists that she doesn't even smoke cigarettes and only has the occasional glass of wine. Boies asks her to be candid. The woman, Lucinda, says that she used to drink in junior college, like everyone. Boies reveals that he's never been drunk or hungover. Lucinda can't believe that he's never lost control, since she feels like her "whole life is out of control," but insists that she hasn't gotten drunk since the birth of her child ten years ago. Boies smiles and says they'll get a CAT scan and find out what's going on. Lucinda starts breathing heavily, and everything goes slo-mo as she falls to the side and has seizures. Boies keeps asking if she can hear him, and the little girl calls for her mommy.
Ben hugs Larry's wife, Barb. She thanks him for the last five years with her husband, saying they've been "a real gift." Ben tells her not to sound so "elegiac," and that he thinks they can clear up Larry's problems and give him even more time. Ben doesn't think the cancer has returned. Barb introduces their son, Tim, who "flew in from San Francisco." Ben hasn't met this son before, even though he thought he met all their kids. Ah, so Tim wasn't around the last time Dad was sick. And Tim is an ICU nurse, so he "knows what happens in a place like this" and is "here to keep an eye on [his] father's care." Someone appears to be overcompensating for missing out on the last round of sickness, no? Barb tells Tim to "give it a rest" and says that "Dr. Gideon is on [their] side." Ben says that family members paying attention means that the patient gets better care, and that he hopes to convince Tim that he's not "an adversary." Tim shrugs, "We'll see."
Cherry sees Stiles in the locker room, saying that he thought she had the day off. Stile reveals that she stayed all night. Cherry tells her not to let them take advantage of her. Stiles says she's just trying to "do [her] bit" and "fit in." Cherry says that she fits in, and off Stiles's look, relents that she doesn't now, but she could. Stiles, looking exhausted, slams her locker and leaves.
Ben, Sid, and Ollie are looking at some sort of scan of Larry's bone marrow. Apparently, the chemotherapy caused the bone marrow to scar, which is causing problems now. Ollie explicates that the cure for his disease has caused another disease, which they'll treat later. Ben says that "the name of the game is buying time," and "like the song says, 'No one here gets out alive.'" Sid wonders what song, and Ben says at some future date, he'll teach Sid about the blues. Sid says he'd like that, "to get down with [Ben], as it were." Totally stone-faced, that Sid. Ben smiles and turns back to the matter at hand, asking about the recommended course of treatment for myelofibrosis. Sid and Ollie don't answer, and Ben says that there really isn't any treatment, and it's fatal, and the infection that he has now "will kill him if [they] don't figure out how to treat it." Which isn't exactly what Ben just told the family, now is it?
Ben has just told Larry the problem, and Larry realizes that he's "paying the price for the last five years," and that it's been worth it. His wife agrees. Tim the ICU nurse just lurks in the background. Larry coughs and wonders what's going on with his lungs. Ben says they don't know -- it's not malaria or pneumonia, and it's not caused by the myelofibrosis. Ben thinks if they can find the cause, they can give Larry more "quality time." Larry wants to know how much. Ben speaks carefully as Tim the ICU Nurse lurks in the background, saying it could be a year or more, but Larry would be prone to infections like the one he has now. Larry says angrily that he wants "a cure." Tim steps up and says that there's little chance of that. Larry says he's not a doctor. Tim says they keep reminding him of that fact. Ooh, some familiar tension here. Interesting. Another layer. Ben says that Tim's mostly right, and that the treatment options are "painfully, painfully limited." Ben brings up interferon, which has been successful in very few cases. Tim doesn't think it's worth it. Larry says he's tough, and can take the side effects. Ben says it's not about being tough -- it's about whether it's worth going through it when the chances of success are so small. Larry insists that it is worth it. Ben agrees to try.
Tim follows Ben out of the room and asks if Ben has any idea what's causing this infection. Ben says it's probably fungal, and if the interferon doesn't work, they'll try some other drug. Tim is worried that the other drug will cause kidney failure, requiring his father to undergo dialysis. Ben promises that it won't come to that. Tim doubts that Ben can save his father, and accuses Ben of "leading him on." Ben thinks he was straight, saying that the drugs have helped in "very few cases." Tim feels his father thinks he will be the one that gets cured. Ben says he might, or they might cure the infection and he can go home, and wonders why Tim is so dead set against it. Tim says that his father will die, and it affects his mother and him as well, and he's come to terms with his father's death. Ben says that Larry has "plenty of life left." Tim thinks that his father is deluded, like Ben. Ooh, harsh words there, mister. But as this show tends to do, it does raise the interesting issue of whether you're better off accepting your incipient death and enjoying your time left, or fighting against it with everything you have. And whether Ben is doing this guy any favors by feeding his hero complex.
Boies examines Lucinda's CAT scan, and realizes that she had a stroke caused by an embolus. But he can't figure out what caused the embolus, and neither can the whispering guy from last week. Boies spots a "defect in her carotid artery" and wonders if that caused it. Whispering Guy says it may have, or not. Boies just can't figure it out.
Cherry pulls up a chair and joins Wyatt, who is eating lunch. Wyatt was trying to be alone, but Cherry wanted to tell him that there's a rumor about a Porter lawsuit. Remember that Boies lied and said that he was the one treating Porter at the end, but really it was Wyatt. Remember? So Wyatt has a personal stake in this thing. Also, Wyatt's hair is a mess. It's kind of a nice bit of continuity -- with his wife gone, maybe there's no one around to remind him to visit the barber or something. Cherry wonders why Wyatt is worried, since he's "practically the only one who didn't screw up" and the rest of them are all in trouble. Boies walks up and horns in on the conversation. Wyatt tells him that Porter is going to sue. Boies appears unconcerned. Cherry asks who has "the most exposure," and Boies answers that just about everyone is in trouble. Wyatt asks Boies if he's worried, and gives him the eyes like, "Because we LIED!" Boies eats his chips and says that he's not really worried because "the truth shall set you free." I don't think that's the answer Wyatt wanted.
Ben, Max, and the lawyer (who I'll continue to call Ellyn, since that's who she was on thirtysomething) are reviewing the Porter case. Ellyn says that they have a good case, since Porter had arteriosclerosis. Ben argues that they are just covering themselves, when they all know the truth. Ellyn argues that they didn't kill him -- "ensuing complications" did. I'm sure you all know how this scene goes. Ben is all high and mighty, and Ellyn is all, "We don't want anyone to lose their license." Ellyn says that she'll talk to risk management and come up with a sum, and then use Porter's arteriosclerosis to bully the other side into settling. Well, that's not exactly what she says, but it's what she means. Ollie walks in and tells Ben that Larry's been admitted to ICU. They couldn't have paged him?
Larry looks bad. Like, unconscious bad. Ben tells Barb to call her other children and tell them to come quickly, and that they'll discuss options in the morning. Tim wants to know what options there are, and says so in a tone of voice that suggests there are no options. Ben gives him a sharp look. Barb sobs. Man, could this episode get any more depressing?
Boies is discussing Lucinda's stroke while he rides the elevator with Sid. Boies thinks there must be a cause for the stroke in an otherwise healthy woman. Sid thinks that it's karma. Boies brings up the carotid artery defect, then picks up Lucinda's daughter to take her to see Lucinda.
Cherry walks by with a piece of cake in hand, looking for something or someone. He wakes up a napping Ollie and asks if she's seen Stiles. Ollie is all grouchy. Cherry is worried about Stiles, and thinks she's burnt out. Ollie denigrates burnout, saying that she herself has never taken a sick day and had a perfect attendance record in medical school. Well, that's just foolish. Everyone needs a day off now and then.
Ben is explaining Larry's condition to Barb and Tim with the use of audiovisuals. Tim says that there's no need to get hung up on the details when the big picture is bad. Tim talks about Larry's current condition, and concludes that the step is dialysis. Barb snaps out of her zoned state, saying that Larry was always very clear about no dialysis. Tim says they discussed it as a family on the phone, and they want to take his father off the ventilator. Ben says he'll die within minutes, and Tim says he knows that. Ben makes an appeal to Barb that they keep trying. Tim paints a different picture, a bad one, that involves residential care and a wheelchair. Ben says the alternative is "killing him now." Ugh; I hope I die in my sleep, and instantaneously, because I never want to put my family in the position of making these decisions. This show makes me want to draw up a Living Will, people. Barb says that Larry wouldn't want to be confined to a wheelchair in a home. Tim wants them to ask Larry. Ben wants them to consider giving the drugs more time to work. Tim's wonders where the life-saving measures end. Ben appeals to him one last time. Tim's eyes well up and he says they could give him another forty-eight hours with no extraordinary measures. Ben goes off to talk to Larry about it.
Ben wakes Larry up and tells him that he couldn't get enough oxygen. They don't know if it can be reversed, and don't want Larry to suffer. Larry nods. Ben says they are in agreement with his last wishes, and even if he pulls through, he'll be confined to a chair or a bed. They're going to try the drugs for two more days to see if it works, but after that, they'll stop and take him off the respirator. Larry looks frightened and shakes his head. Man, this show makes me want to just end it now. Could this be a more bleak episode? And this was supposed to be the episode just before Christmas.
Sid finds Cherry trying to break into Stiles's locker. Apparently, she hasn't shown up for work in two days, and hasn't called either. Cherry went to her apartment and she wasn't there. Cherry is worried that something horrible has happened, and he's trying to break into her locker to find "clues." Sid makes fun of him, and Cherry kicks the locker in frustration. Sid gives him the combination. Cherry opens the locker and finds Stiles's purse, with her ID in it and everything. Uh-oh.
Boies looks at Lucinda's x-rays. Ben looks at Larry's x-rays. Cherry calls someone to report Stiles missing. Ben watches Larry on the respirator. Ben is sleeping on the couch at home, and there's a knock at the door. It looks to be the middle of the night, so you know it's not good news. It's Cherry at the door. Commercial. Oh, God. This is just awful. They're killing me here. No pun intended.
Boies, Sid, Ollie, Cherry, and Wyatt sit around a table in a bar, drinking. Wyatt expositions that Stiles borrowed a car, drove down the wrong side of the road and ran into a semi. No! Not Stiles! I liked Stiles! Ollie asks about the funeral. Cherry says her sister is coming over from England to claim the body. Sid asks, "Stiles had a sister?" They toast Stiles. Sid thinks they should be telling amusing Stiles anecdotes, but no one can think of any. Boies says, "Stiles, we hardly knew ye."
Ben tells Barb and Tim that there's no sign of a fungus in Larry's test, which doesn't mean that there isn't one. Tim starts to complain about Larry's care, but then realizes that it doesn't matter. Ben asks why Tim is there, when he's never been there before. Tim says that his dad probably never mentioned him either. Ben says that he did, calling Tim "the son that marched to the beat of a different drummer." Either Ben's lying, or this is bad continuity, because earlier in the episode Ben was surprised that there was another son. Ben says that Larry was proud of Tim, and asks why Tim showed up now. Tim says he's there to make sure that his father is taken care of properly, and that his father wouldn't be "kept alive beyond what was reasonable and humane." Tim asks what happens now. Ben says they keep him comfortable. Tim thinks it's a disaster, but Ben sees it as an opportunity for Tim to put things right. Tim does that "I'm going to look very angry so you can't tell that I'm crying" thing. He looks a lot like Joe Rogan.
Boies approaches Lucinda's daughter in the waiting room. She says that this hospital's food is way better than the other hospital's food. Boies takes the opportunity to discover that Lucinda "fell down the stairs" some time back and got a black eye and a broken nose. You know, I don't mean to make light of domestic abuse, but couldn't its victims (on television at least) come up with some other excuse? It's so transparent.
Ben finds Tim in Larry's room, and asks if they talked. Tim says they did, but he doesn't know if his father heard it. He asks Ben not to "say anything wise or uplifting." Brother, that's like asking the sun not to shine.
Boies walks painfully into Lucinda's room. Lucinda notices the hangover. Hey, Continuity! You're back! Boies looks for marks or bruises on Lucinda's neck. Lucinda says that her ex-husband tried to strangle her a month ago, but she didn't press charges because she didn't think it was a big deal. Boies asks where the ex is now. Lucinda says that he's in the waiting room to pick up their daughter. Boies runs out and confronts the ex-husband, and tells him the strangling caused her stroke. The ex denies it. Boies physically restrains him and spits into his face, "You could have killed her, you son of a bitch."
Mrs. Porter and her lawyer meet with Ellyn, Max, and Ben. Porter's lawyer says that the money is much less than they asked for. Mrs. Porter says that she wants a public apology. Max says that they can release a statement expressing their regret. Mrs. Porter wants the doctors named and their actions detailed. Max says they can't. Mrs. Porter says they can own up to it. Ellyn says it's out of the question. Mrs. Porter looks at Ben, who remains silent.
Outside the office, Mrs. Porter catches up to Ben and reminds him that he promised to tell her exactly what happened. Ben remembers. Mrs. Porter says that if she doesn't take the offer, she'll hold him to that promise. Ben says that she's not taking the offer, but Mrs. Porter hasn't decided. So, Ben's telling her not to take the offer. I don't think this is the last we'll be seeing of Mrs. Porter.
Ben looks at some pictures of Stiles on his desk and rubs his forehead. His beeper goes off. Cut to Larry's hospital room where the family is assembled. There's no respirator. Larry's dead, baby. Larry's dead. Ben hugs Barb.
Time for One to Grow On. This time, Ben is talking to the main characters about death in general, and Stiles's death in particular. This week's lesson is to take care of yourselves, and each other. Ben sits in the classroom as the others fade out, and the room goes dark. Max walks in, and Ben tells him that he found out that the problem with Larry was the myelofibrosis, and not any fungal infection. Ben thought he would solve the mystery. Max reminds him that he can't win them all. Ben asks why not, and then says that maybe they're to blame for pushing the family too hard. Max agrees, and then says that Mrs. Porter rejected their offer. Ben says she doesn't want money -- she wants the truth. Max walks out. Ben sits there some more.
So, one patient is dead, one has had a stroke, and one of the doctors died. Happy holidays from the writers of Gideon's Crossing. I know we were complaining in the forums about how the patients always get the miracle cure, but I've decided I'd rather have that than episodes like this one.
The teaser lets us all know that the show is moving to Monday nights. Don't forget!