Super big props to procrastinatrix for sending me a tape of this episode when I screwed up. Thanks, procrastinatrix!
Previously on Gideon's Crossing: Sid screwed up while operating on Mr. Porter. Boies had to tell Mrs. Porter that her husband died. Mrs. Porter sued. Ellyn the lawyer claimed that the hospital wasn't responsible. Ah, but it wasn't just Sid's fault. Cherry caused Mr. Porter's kidneys to fail. Wyatt, distracted by his wife's departure, left Porter unsupervised. Porter died. Boies took the fall for Wyatt. Ben yelled at Boies. Mrs. Porter wanted the doctors involved named, and for them to take responsibility for their actions. In other words, a whole heap of trouble is coming.
An orderly pushing a tray of food stops to blow his nose -- right near all the food. A nurse carrying a tray of meds drops them on the floor, then picks them up and puts them back on the tray. Another nurse brings urine samples to the counter, then picks up a bunch of I.V. bags. A patient walks through the spill on the floor. Some random guy totally sneezes on the patient. That point is that hospitals can kill you, I guess. But it's not like those same types of things don't happen in everyday life. I guess you're more vulnerable in a hospital, because of your weakened immune system from being sick and all.
Ollie is talking to a patient named Mr. Chin, asking about his stomach pain. Chin wants a glass of water. Ollie tells him he can't eat or drink, and offers ice chips. Chin isn't happy. Cherry shows up and summons Ollie. Chin goes on and on about the glass of water, saying he can get it himself. Ollie tells the nurse that she should "shoot to kill" if Chin tries it.
Ollie follows Cherry out of the room. Cherry gives her the bullet on a patient who is undergoing chemo but came in with "strep pneumonia" two weeks ago. She's had a relapse. Cherry is concerned because she crashed within forty-five minutes. Ollie thinks it's an infection, but Cherry doesn't think there are any signs. The woman groans in pain. Cherry mentions that it's one of Ben's patients. Ollie struggles to come up with an explanation for the sudden crash, while Cherry rips on her for suggesting Ebola. Hey, at least she's trying to help! Cherry leaves to get Boies, over Ollie's protests. Boies is in mid-complaint about another patient, who suspiciously had the same symptoms as Cherry's patient. Cherry points out that his patient "crashed like a Kennedy was at the wheel." Boies picks up on the similarities and runs off. When they arrive, Ollie is putting in a central line. Cherry accuses her of "muscling in." Ollie calls Cherry "Opie," and when he asks for some respect, she changes it to "Dr. Opie." Boies wants to intubate and take the patient to ICU. Sid comes in, looking for some help with charts. The others protest that they are busy with a patient. Sid starts detailing another patient who had a similar crash the night before. Boies finishes putting the tube in. Ollie asks what's going on. Boies replies, "I don't know. Things are getting distinctly hinky in this town." Get it? Because the title of the episode is "Hinkytown"?
Wyatt leaves a message on his in-laws' answering machine for his wife. They haven't talked, and he's wondering what's going on with them. He wants to talk. Yeah, maybe he should have thought of that a few months ago.
Sid complains to Ollie about the fact that she brought someone home the night before. Ollie feels like it's her business. Sid says he wouldn't care, except that he ran into the guy in the bathroom at 4 AM, and they had a chat. And the guy wasn't wearing pants. Ollie says breezily that the lack of pants isn't her fault. Except that it kind of is, but I'm not going to go down that road. Sid asks Ollie to "warn [him] time the navy's in port." Ouch. Ollie doesn't seem offended. Sid asks about the patient from earlier in the episode, who was intubated and sent to ICU. Ollie says that it's Cherry's case.
Cut to Cherry trying to fill Ben in on the status of the patient. Cherry reports that the patient is still "febrile and non-responsive." As he continues, Ben interrupts and says that the patient's name is Sharon. This recapper thanks him for that one. Cherry says that they took a bunch of cultures from Sharon. Ben wants a call when the cultures come in, but Cherry stammers that it might be a while because the lab is backed up, while making it clear that this is not his fault. Ben wants to know why, and Cherry tells him that "several patients developed sepsis at the same time."
Max is in his office, on the phone with a "Jason" who will be there "tomorrow for sure." Ben walks in and asks about the three patients who went into septic shock last night, saying that there must be a source of infection in the hospital. Given that opening montage, I can't imagine where it might be. Max corrects Ben, saying that six patients have gone into septic shock in the last two days. Ben asks about "Detwiler," the "Infection Control Officer." Max says that Detwiler left the hospital two weeks ago, and they hired Jason (the guy on the phone at the open of the scene) but, as we viewers know, Jason won't be there until tomorrow. In the meantime, Max is the Infection Control Officer. Ben protests that Max "wouldn't know an infectious disease if it bit [him] on the ass." Max can't get mad, because it's true, and in his own inimitable way he convinces Ben to take charge. I love Max. Ben asks about the Porter case. Max says that things should start moving shortly. Ben thinks they should give Mrs. Porter "what she needs." Max tells Ben to find the source of the infection, soon.
Wyatt walks into Boies' office/the lounge (still haven't figured that one out) to find an attractive woman sitting at Boies' desk. She's a friend of Boies, apparently. An FOB, if you will. Wyatt warns her that Boies doesn't like people sitting in his chair, but this woman isn't worried. She introduces herself as Caitlin Reese. Okay, I know I have mentioned the similarity in the Boies/Wyatt relationship to the Benton/Carter relationship on ER. And now Benton/Boies is involved with a woman named Caitlin/Carla Reese? Come on! Anyway, Caitlin is a "pharmaceutical representative," and does the old "I'm aware how cheesy sales are but I'm still going to sell you stuff, but in a sneaky way so that you won't even know it" sales pitch on Wyatt. She guesses his educational background, like she probably didn't just do the research before she arrived. Wyatt is dumbfounded. Caitlin really needs to get her bangs out of her eyes. Boies walks in and appears happy to see her. They banter. Boies puts her off for now. Wyatt points out that she's sitting in his chair. Boies doesn't care. Wyatt -- still dumbfounded.
Ben comes up on one of his patients, who is standing in the hallway waiting for a biopsy. I'm sure that will be important later. Ben finds Ollie and asks for her help with something. Boies volunteers to help too, but Ben puts him off in a way that suggests, "I think you are incompetent, so stop bugging me." Ollie shoots him a look like, "Dude, I'm so sorry that you just got burned, but I've got to do this so that I don't end up like you."
Ben tells Ollie to get some people together and tell them to "clear the day." Ollie wants to know what they are doing. Ben says they are "going on a bug hunt."
Wyatt checks his answering machine -- no new messages. I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for him, like, maybe he should have thought about how lonely he would be before he shut his wife out. Plus, he's a really handsome doctor -- I'm sure he wouldn't have any trouble finding someone to fill those empty nights, if you know what I mean. Wyatt, Ollie, Sid, and Cherry are gathered in a conference room, bantering. Ollie can't believe how Ben treated Boies. Sid thinks it's all about Porter. Sid's right. Wyatt is all, "Porter?" like he didn't kill the guy, practically. Ollie thinks Boies is "covering for someone." Wyatt shits his pants. Not literally. Ben walks in and presents the problem. Sid says there is a "reservoir of infection inside the hospital." Cherry is worried that it's "such a big hospital and bacteria is so...small." No one laughs, even though that was pretty funny. Lab Guy gives them the results of the cultures from the first patient. All of the doctors come up with reasons why this bug hunt is a bad idea, but Ben's not having it, because Sharon (Cherry's patient, remember?) has been fighting leukemia, and winning, and now she's probably going to die of an infection. Ben cares! About his patients! Ben starts handing out assignments. Wyatt will take cultures from doctors, nurses, and staff. Sid and Cherry will look at non-medical routes of transmission. Ollie will look at meds and charts.
Sid is talking to the chef of the hospital kitchen. The chef is offended that Sid is even suggesting that his kitchen might be the cause of the bacteria problem. Sid tries to explain that it wouldn't be the chef's fault. The chef scoops up a glob of something -- mashed potatoes, maybe -- and drops it on the floor. Then he scoops some up from the floor with his fingers and eats it. He asks Sid if he would do that if he wasn't sure that the kitchen was spotless. Sid guesses he wouldn't, and then tries to clean the mashed potato off his pant cuffs.
Meanwhile, Cherry is chatting with Caitlin, trying to get a Palm Pilot. You know, my friend used to work in a pharmacy, and he got some pretty cool stuff from the drug companies. And he was just a lowly assistant. Caitlin says that Cherry's not important enough to get the big gifts, and then mentions getting someone a hooker. Cherry is surprised. Caitlin asks if Boies is involved in the Porter case, and Cherry asks how she knows about it. Caitlin hears things. Sid grabs Cherry to continue their hunt.
Wyatt leaves ANOTHER message for his wife. Dude, she doesn't want to talk to you! He hangs up, and a candy striper approaches to tell him that all of the people who worked with the infected patients should start arriving in the ten minutes. There are one hundred nineteen of them. Wyatt wonders who will help, and the candy striper says that she will, because the nurses are busy. Candy Striper has never taken a culture before. It's her third day.
Mr. Schuster, the guy that Ben was talking to about the biopsy earlier, doesn't feel so good. Another one bites the dust.
Ben is checking out Sharon's status. Ollie wanders in and asks about her blood pressure. They talk about her medication. It all goes over my head. Ben asks what you do if you think she might be overmedicated, and don't have time to get lab results. Ollie's never heard of such a thing. Ben says that you take the patient's hand -- cold hands means poor circulation, which is a sign of overmedication. Sharon's hands are warm, but Ben think they are not warm enough. Ben is so folksy.
Ollie has the stats on the patients who were infected. None of them have anything in common based on the illnesses that brought them into the hospital. Ben pulls out a white board and starts making a chart. Just like Homicide! Boies stands outside the room and gazes in longingly. Caitlin sidles up and asks to talk to him, but Boies blows her off. I don't like that Caitlin. I don't trust her and I don't like her.
Cherry and Ollie walk down a basement hallway, discussing the Porter case. Cherry thinks the hospital will end up writing a big check. Sid feels like he killed Porter because he "pushed for the cath" and talked the doctor into letting him doing it, and caused the tear. Cherry points out that they all made mistakes and had a hand in it. Sid isn't convinced. Cherry points out all Sid's good qualities, saying that Sid is the doctor that Mama Cherry wishes Cherry was. Aw. Sid wants to find the "bloody office," and I'm assuming that he doesn't mean that literally. Cherry's beeper goes off -- it's Sharon. Well, she didn't page him herself, but she's got problems, I guess. He takes off, leaving Sid in the bowels of the hospital. Sid yells after him, "If I'm not back in half an hour, send a St. Bernard with a cask of rum!"
Boies comes upon Wyatt taking cultures from a large group of people. Boies is mad about the chaos. Wyatt just keeps sticking culture swabs up people's noses. The people don't look very happy about it. Boies grabs a swab and helps out, angrily.
A maintenance guy hands Sid a stack of pink slips, explaining that they are all the completed maintenance requests for the entire hospital for the past two weeks. Sid says that he only needs the ones on floors two through five for the past four days. Maintenance Guy says they are in there. Sid can't believe the guy won't help him find them. MG says, "Sure I am. Because I have nothing better to do." He takes off. Heh.
Ollie and Ben go over what they know about the sick patients. Basically, they had nothing in common. Cherry comes in and tells them what's wrong with Sharon. Ben orders more dopamine, but she's maxed out on dopamine. Ben orders another drug, and Cherry asks about the damage to her kidneys. Ben points out that death will damage her kidneys too. Yeah, good point. Lab Guy comes in and tells them that all of the existing cases show the same bacteria. Ben is glad. Lab Guy says there have been two more cases today. Ben is sad.
Ben can't believe that his biopsy guy has the infection. Boies and Wyatt walk in with their cultures. Ben scolds Boies for getting involved, but Wyatt covers. Cherry walks in, and Ben tells Boies that they'll talk later. Cherry reports that Sharon is not getting worse, but she's not getting better. Ben asks about the kitchen, and Cherry says they didn't find anything there. Ollie thinks they need to start ruling things out, like the food, because some of the patients weren't allowed to eat anyway. Ben isn't ready to, because something carried the bacteria to all eight patients. Boies interrupts and points out that they've been trying to find something common to all eight, when maybe they should look at subgroupings. Ben reluctantly listens to Boies, who points out that four of them were on I.V. drips, four were on the same floor, etc. Ben says that it can't be the I.V. solutions because they come sealed, and the whole batch would have been bad. Boies says that sometimes medications are added to the I.V. bags, and that's done in the pharmacy. Ben starts barking out orders, and he lets Boies be the one to check out the pharmacy. Aw, I hope they become friends again.
Wyatt complains to Ollie that his wife won't talk to him. Ollie isn't sure that that's bad, and thought that he wanted distance. Wyatt says that he "didn't ask for this." Ollie babbles about the difference between a bad husband and an unhappy husband, and says that she stays busy because "busy is happy." Wyatt wonders why she doesn't want something more long-term in a relationship. You know, I have to hand it to this show. Having the Ollie character be male would have just been another cliché -- the doctor who sleeps around and doesn't want to settle down, but deep down is unhappy. By making Ollie female, it's a little more interesting. Anyway, Ollie points out that Wyatt keeps changing his mind about what he wants. Wyatt says that he just wants his life back. Still not feeling sorry for him. Am I supposed to? Ollie says that's not that much to ask, and they go get more cultures.
Boies enters the elevator, where Caitlin the predator is waiting. She tells him that word is out that he's going to "take a hit" on "the Porter thing." She offers to help him find a new job if he wants one. Boies thinks that she's just doing it to get his business. Super tight close-ups on their faces. Boies says that Caitlin is "always about business" and he "admires [her] for it." She reminds him that they go back. He isn't buying what she's selling, either figuratively or literally. Boies says that he's not leaving the hospital.
Boies asks the pharmacy tech about the possibility of contamination. The tech insists that they are "strictly by the books." Boies wants to see the process anyway. The tech goes through a complicated procedure which involves two alcohol swabs. Boies asks how many he does per day, and the tech says sixty. Boies points out that there are not nearly enough swab wrappers in the garbage for that. Busted! Boies asks about the "negative pressure hood," which the tech says has been broken for "four or five days." Boies points out that it means that the bags are only good for eight hours. The tech concurs, and says that he throws them out if they aren't used in eight hours. Boies asks if he really throws them out. All of them. Boies tells him that they're going to test the bags and find out the truth, so if there's anything he wants to say now, he should say it. The tech says, "You go to hell, Boies." Boies laughs. That Boies, he's a regular Briscoe.
Lab Guy, Boies, and Ben do the test. It's positive for bacteria. Ben asks how many bags were prepared in the last five days. Boies estimates that there are two hundred. Ben says, "It's all over the hospital." Dun, dun, dun!
Boies, Ben, Cherry, and Lab Guy make phone calls telling everyone to toss their I.V. bags. They sit in a conference room, discussing the fact that the I.V. bags were only the cause of infection for four of the patients, and wonder what the source of the other ones was. Sid walks in with the maintenance records, although he doesn't think they are worth anything. Given his timing in entering the room, I'd wager that Sid is wrong. Cherry says that the patients were all immune compromised, and all on the same floor. Ben grabs the maintenance records for that floor from Sid, and tells Boies to come with him to check it out. See, Boies is back in Ben's good graces! I knew he could do it.
Ben and Boies try to figure out what could be connecting the four patients. They ask the nurse if she threw out the bad I.V. bags. She says they had already thrown them out, because one of them had a leak. Ben checks out the room where they were stored, now full of bags of saline solution. He asks what else is back there, and the nurse reels off a list of things including "icemaker." Hmm. Ben asks if the fluid spilled on meds, but the nurse doesn't think so. Boies start talking about how they laid the foundation for the new Infection Control Officer, but Ben interrupts to ask the nurse if her icemaker was repaired the day before. She says that it was, that the door was stuck open, and that they use the ice to give the patients ice chips. Ben re-enacts the series of events, just like Alice on The Brady Bunch when they lost Jan's necklace. The leaky I.V. bag would have dripped into the ice. Patients were given contaminated ice. Patients got sick.
Ben tells Lab Guy what happened. Lab Guy didn't think the bacteria would survive on ice, but Ben points out that all of the infected patients had compromised immune systems anyway. Ben says that now they need to figure out the deal with his biopsy guy. Lab Guy says that it was a different bacteria -- a staph infection. Ooh, I remember from ER that you can pass on a staph infection if you don't wash your hands after you go to the bathroom. Remember, Jerry was the culprit? Anyway, Lab Guy says that in this case, Ben was the culprit. D'oh! They both look embarrassed.
Boies is telling Ollie, Wyatt, Cherry, and Sid about his adventures with Ben in solving the mystery. Wyatt's beeper goes off, and he leave to make a call. Ollie wishes him luck. Boies finishes the story as Max walks in and says he needs to talk to them about something else.
Wyatt calls and gets his wife's father. Child Bride didn't make the page -- Daddy did. Daddy asks Wyatt to stop "pestering" Child Bride. You know the drill -- the calls make Child Bride upset, but Wyatt just wants to talk to his wife. Daddy hangs up on Wyatt.
Wyatt rejoins the other doctors as Max is finishing up. He brings Wyatt up to speed -- Mrs. Porter filed a suit, and Ellyn will be conducting an internal investigation to build the case. Max reassures Wyatt, "All you have to do is tell the truth." Wyatt shoots a look at Boies. Max tells them not to worry -- they're going to win.
Wyatt meets Caitlin on the way out. She's rolling a cigarette. They've both had bad days. Wyatt asks how she knew where he went to school, and Caitlin reveals that they have files on all the doctors. Caitlin used to be a nurse, but she wanted to make more money. She thought her new job would be similar, but it's a whole different world. She doesn't say it, but you know that she hates herself. Wyatt has nowhere to be, and asks Caitlin what she's doing. Ooh, Wyatt. Getting some action.
Ben talks to Sharon, who has stabilized. He tells her that she'll be okay.
Ben gets on the elevator with Boies. He tells Boies a story about his military brother-in-law, who always said that good things were "outstanding." Boies guesses that Ben thinks his work on the bacteria case was just that -- outstanding. Boies says that he still has "a few arrows in [his] quiver." Ben smiles and gets off the elevator. Boies smiles. Nice moment between those two.
Max and Ben meet up as they are exiting their offices. Max is psyched that they found the cause of the infections. Ben says that he still has a few arrows in his quiver. Wherever did he get that phrase? Max tells him about the Porter suit. Ben doesn't think that Mrs. Porter wants money or an apology anymore. Max says that she wants to hurt them. Ben realizes that to defend themselves, they have to go to war. Both men sigh and walk out.
Sid is complaining to Cherry about how they win this battle and get no gratitude. Cherry is worried that Gideon hates him. Sid is sure that if Gideon hated Cherry, the only means of identification would be "dental records and DNA." Sid wants to go out and celebrate their victory over "the big, bad microbe." Cherry claims a headache until Sid says that he'll pay. They banter their way out.
Wyatt is lying in bed when his answering machine picks up. The outgoing message is still him and his wife. Wyatt listens to the message -- it's Child Bride, and her father shouldn't have said what he did, and Wyatt should call her. In the background, we see Caitlin in the bathroom. She walks into the bedroom and lies down on the bed to Wyatt, smiling. Oh, Wyatt. You are in big trouble.
week: Well, it doesn't really matter, and here's why. Although I've really enjoyed talking to you guys on the forums, if you've been there, you know that there are only a handful of us. It's a good show, but it doesn't have a big enough following on the site to justify continuing the recaps, so this is the last one. We can still discuss in "Other TV Talk," because I'll probably continue watching, as long as the show continues! Thanks to all who read and posted in the forums. ["Give the little lady a hand, people. Great job, Kim." -- Sars]