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Partly Cloudy, Chance of RainAir date: November 15th, 2001 Plot I: I love a rainy day It's Cleo Finch's last day at County, and the staff has gathered near the admit desk for her farewell party. Chicago is being deluged with rain, and the television in chairs is tuned to the local news station so that everyone can catch the latest weather reports. Abby asks whether the Eisenhower freeway has been cleared yet; Frank replies, "Forget about it." Behind him, Lily anxiously searches her purse for some cash that she is certain was in there earlier. Abby wonders aloud whether the party is going to happen any time soon, because she needs to attend to a patient. Haleh announces noncommittally that Cleo is just finishing up a set of sutures. Carter bustles in and gives Chuny orders concerning a patient receiving anticoagulant therapy -- she promises to tend to him as soon as the party is over. "How long is that?" Carter grumbles. "Five minutes. Don't go anywhere," interjects Haleh, as Frank appears with a melting ice cream cake. Looking harried, Carter turns to Malik and complains that he's still waiting for an L-spine series on another patient. "Does she know we're waiting for her?" asks Abby, sounding impatient. "Nah, it's supposed to be a surprise," Chuny responds. Lily finally gives up looking for her missing cash, and promises Frank that she'll pay him later. Luka wanders in, glances at the board, and asks whether the ER is getting backed up. Carter assures him it isn't -- to the contrary, he's "kicking butt," and has victims from three different car accidents "all tucked in." Nearby, Malik tries to draw everyone's attention to a news report about a crane that has fallen in the river at a construction site. As they all glance at the television, Carter gives Abby some orders on another patient, then they both try to slip away from the desk area. "Where are you going?" demands Haleh. Carter irritably insists that Haleh can come get him whenever Cleo finally shows up. Abby confesses that she has to pee. Haleh doesn't want to hear it -- she thinks that if she lets Carter and Abby leave, everyone else will wander off, too. Carter is unimpressed, and after giving Gallant a disimpaction to deal with, he skulks off down the hall. Weaver appears and barks to Haleh that the basement is flooding and medical records needs help. "I don't work for medical records," she snips, but backs down when Weaver reminds her that the payroll records are also stored in the basement. Gallant approaches Kerry, introduces himself, and asks if he can speak to her about a disciplinary letter she put in his file because he missed an ER journal club meeting. He explains that he had mandatory army reserve duty that night, and Kerryagrees to rescind the letter. Meanwhile, Abby announces that paramedics are bringing in a stabbing victim, about ten minutes out. Weaver is leaving the admit area, but pauses long enough to tell Abby to prep a trauma room and page surgery. Later, Cleo stands at the nearly-abandoned admit desk, staring at the cake with obvious disgust. Turning to Susan, she announces, "I hate chocolate mint." "Yeah, I didn't pick it," offers Susan apologetically. Cleo asks whether she should stick around, and Susan opines that she should, because the gang will be gathering again shortly. Carter reappears, and pointing to the cake, announces to Cleo, "Hey, you weren't supposed to see that!" That's enough for Cleo, and she books, telling them she'll be upstairs if anyone needs her. Susan takes advantage of the moment alone to flirt with Carter. Both claim that they tried to call the other -- Carter says he couldn't leave a message because Susan's answering machine wasn't working, and Susan claims that she left a message with Carter's manservant, Harry. "Henry, the night butler?" corrects Carter. "He didn't say anything about it." Susan complains that Carter needs to get better help, and he offers her the job, telling her "the outfit" is one of the benefits. "Dream on!" laughs Susan. Plot II: Fire and rain Chuny and Gallant approach the admit desk, and Chuny announces to Carter that Gallant did a good job on the bowel disimpaction. Looking slightly queasy, Gallant asks Carter, "How do I know when I'm done?" "You develop a feel for it," Carter assures him. Just then, Weaver bustles in, and asks Chuny what happened to the stab wound that was supposed to be coming by ambulance. Chuny doesn't know, so Weaver instructs her to call dispatch to find out when it will be rolling up. Commandeering Gallant, she heads to the ambulance bay to wait. They hear a siren approaching, but it turns out to be a passing police car. Gallant offers to retrieve a jacket for Kerry, but she assures him that she's fine, and they won't be outside much longer. They exchange small talk about his military career for awhile, but Kerry finally heads back inside to find out what the holdup is. She spies Frank and asks if he's heard anything, but Frank gripes that he couldn't have, because he was sloshing around down in medical records. Kerry starts to ask him to call dispatch again, but Gallant bursts in and announces that the ambulance is pulling up. The paramedics, one of whom is Zadro, announce that their patient is a 24-year-old woman who was hit by a car in a crosswalk on LaSalle. The patient tells them that her name is Jill, and that the driver hit her dog too. As Zadro rattles off the woman's vitals, Gallant interrupts to ask her where she was stabbed. Puzzled, Zadro says, "Dude, she was hit by a car!" Kerry sends Jill's gurney inside, then turns to Zadro to complain that dispatch has screwed up -- they were waiting for a stab-wound victim that still hasn't arrived, and they had no idea this patient was even coming. Just then, Frank pokes his head out the door and advises them that Unit 37 (carrying the stabbing victim) was in an accident. Zadro notes with alarm that 37 is Doris Pickman's unit, and he rushes to his rig to go to the accident scene. Frank tells Kerry that dispatch reported that the stabbing victim is pregnant, bleeding, and in pretty bad shape. Kerry tells Frank to have Carter take care of Jill (see Plot Four), and then yells to the ambulance crew to wait -- she's going to ride along with them. "What do I do?" asks Gallant. "Get in!" barks Kerry. At the accident scene, a drenching rain is falling, and a broken power pole tilts precariously above the damaged rig. Kerry spots a couple of paramedics wheeling a gurney toward another ambulance, and offers to examine the patient. The paramedics decline -- the patient is stable and is ready to be transported. However, they advise her that Pickman and the pregnant patient are still trapped in the ambulance, and the pregnant patient may be hemorrhaging. Kerry, Zadro and Gallant hurry over to the damaged ambulance, where firefighters are working frantically to get the back doors off. They lean down to talk to Pickman through a broken pane of glass in the door, but are soon confronted by a female firefighter, Sandy Lopez, who tells them to back away from the rig. Kerry explains that she's a doctor, but Lopez is unimpressed and shoves her away. Undaunted, Kerry leans back toward the window and asks Pickman how the pregnant woman is fairing. Several firefighters continue to work on the door in front of her, and Lopez suddenly yells out in pain -- she has cut her hand trying to lift the door off. Kerry tells Gallant to give the firefighters a hand with the door, and they finally remove it. As the paramedics tend to Pickman, Kerry calls out reassurances to the pregnant patient, who, Pickman reports, is named Vicki. Kerry asks Vicki where her pain is located, and Vicki responds, "All over." Kerry asks whether she's having contractions, but their conversation is interrupted when the power pole above them suddenly tips further and explodes, dropping live wires toward the rig. Spotting the danger, Lopez tackles Kerry protectively. As they both recover and sit up, they see one of the firefighters, Brody, standing with one hand on the rig, his body frozen in place by the electric current passing through him. Gallant spots him too, and takes a running leap toward the ambulance just as Kerry shouts, "No! Don't touch him!" Fortunately, Gallant manages to break the current without getting shocked, and he and Brody fall to the ground together. Weaver rushes over and begins to assess the fallen firefighter, pausing just long enough to scold Gallant for his dangerous act of heroism. As she and Gallant begin CPR on Brody, Kerry asks Lopez to go check on Vicki. She reports back that Vicki is conscious and in labor, but there's power running through the rig and no one can get to her. Brody finally stabilizes a bit, and while Gallant escorts his gurney to the ambulance, Kerry hurries over to check on Vicki. Vicki is understandably terrified, and Lopez urges her to hang in there. Kerry asks Vicki whether she's having any vaginal bleeding; she responds that the baby isn't moving. At Kerry's urging, Vicki reaches down to check herself for vaginal bleeding, and when she brings her hand back out it is covered with blood. Kerry tells Vicki that she's coming in, but Lopez stops her, pointing out that the first rule of accident scenes is not to create more casualties. Kerry backs off momentarily, but when Lopez's back is turned, she vaults into the back of the ambulance. Gallant reappears a short time later, and Kerry informs him that Vicki is having hypertonic contractions and her pressure has dropped to 68 over 40. Gallant shouts back that the pressure is way too low, and hearing him, Vicki begins to panic. Just then, the power pole tips again, showering the rig with fresh sparks. Kerry nervously listens to Vicki's belly and establishes that the fetal heart tones are at 70. "Is that bad?" asks Vicki, tearfully. Kerry doesn't answer, but her concern is evident on her face. She sits silently for a moment, mulling over her options, and then comes to a decision. Turning to Gallant, she asks him to jump into the ambulance to help her. He does so immediately, and she sets him to work searching the cabinets for cardiac lidocaine. Looking back at Vicki, she gently explains that the placenta is abrupting and they're running out of time. She tells Vicki that the only way to stop the bleeding is to deliver the baby surgically. "It's too early," Vicki moans. Kerry assures her that the baby is mature enough to survive. "Take me to the hospital!" begs Vicki. Kerry tells her they want to, but they can't right now, because they can't get the power shut off. Lopez returns then, and is furious to discover that Gallant has joined Kerry inside the rig. Kerry pleads with her to get the power turned off, but she responds that the power company is having some trouble accomplishing that. Meanwhile, Vicki is becoming more hysterical with each passing moment. Kerry speaks to her in a soothing tone, but her message is dire -- unless Vicki lets her operate, she and the baby will both die within minutes. She explains that she is only trained to perform C-sections after the mother has died, but she might be able to save them both if Vicki lets her try. Left with no other choice, Vicki consents to the procedure. Gallant confesses that he's never even seen a C-section, and Kerry wryly observes that he'll be ahead of the curve. She instructs him to take Vicki's blood pressure every few minutes, and taking the lidocaine that he has drawn up, injects it into Vicki's spinal column. Kerry then asks Gallant to hand her a ten blade, but he gives her a confused look. "That's a scalpel," she explains. "When's the last time you've done this?" he asks, and she looks away without answering. A few minutes later, Gallant notes that Vicki's BP has dropped to 50, and Kerry tells him to spike another liter. "What does 'spike' mean?" he asks nervously. Kerry explains it to him, then looks out of the rig and yells to Lopez that she needs more light. Lopez turns and shouts to one of the other firefighters to turn up the high beams on his truck, and the inside of the ambulance is suddenly bathed in light. Kerry tells Gallant to move down near Vicki's feet, and then begins an incision on Vicki's abdomen. She and Gallant put their hands on either side of the opening and pull, further expanding the incision. Weaver continues to cut and eventually reaches Vicki's peritoneal cavity. She tells Gallant to retract the bladder anteriorally. "Like that?" he asks. She cautions him to watch his fingers, then announces that she's in the uterus. "It looks like a lot of blood," observes Gallant. Lopez hustles up to the door and announces that the power company is having trouble with a relay and still cannot cut the power. "I don't care -- just shut it down!" yells Kerry. As she turns back to her task, a look of panic crosses her face - she has nicked one of Vicki's uterine veins. She bellows to Gallant for another clamp, and he reports that Vicki's B.P. is down to 60 systolic. She tells him to squeeze in more saline, and he asks whether it wouldn't be better to give Vicki some blood. "I don't have any blood," snarls Kerry. After a moment she tells Gallant to apply fundal pressure, but he doesn't know what that means, and she has to explain how to do it. Hearing a siren, she calls out to Lopez and asks whether another ambulance has arrived. "Pulling up," confirms Lopez. Kerry asks her to call County and arrange for an OR, an O.B. attending and a neonatologist. She then turns back to Vicki's abdomen and begins to pull the baby out. Gallant suctions the baby's mouth and asks, worriedly, "Is he supposed to be this blue?" The baby begins to cry weakly as Kerry clamps the umbilical cord and Gallant cuts it. "Is that my baby?" murmurs Vicki. Kerry tells her that she has a son. Lopez approaches again, and announces that the power will be off in another ten minutes. Gallant informs Kerry that the baby's heart rate is 88, and she concludes that they cannot wait another ten minutes to transport him. "You need to get him to the hospital," she tells Gallant. Gallant agrees, and as he prepares to jump out, Kerry notices that Vicki has become unresponsive. "Damn it! She's exsanguinating! I need to -- I need to --" Kerry hesitates, unsure of what to do next, then decides that she must clamp off the uterine arteries. Meanwhile, Gallant tells Lopez to move out of the way so that he can jump out with the baby. "No!" she screams, but he tells her that if she won't move, he'll throw the baby to her. "No! No! Tell him to stop!" she begs Kerry. "Go!" says Kerry urgently, and Gallant leaps out with the baby as Lopez dives out of the way. Just at that moment, the transformer releases another shower of sparks, and then goes dark. Gallant climbs into the waiting ambulance with the newborn, and Lopez radios the power company to ask whether the latest explosion means that the power grid is now off. Apparently it does, and a few minutes later Kerry is barking orders to the paramedics as they wheel Vicki toward another ambulance. Halfway there, Vicki starts to crash, and the paramedics pause in the driving rain long enough for Kerry to intubate. Lopez uses her bloodied hand to shelter Vicki's face from the rain, and as Kerry finishes the intubation she glances up at it, and opines that Lopez will need to see a hand surgeon. Kerry tries to persuade her to join them in the ambulance, but Lopez refuses, presumably so that she can stay and supervise the clean-up of the scene. The doors close, and a wet and exhausted Kerry settles back for the ride to County. As soon as they arrive, she orders blood and fresh frozen plasma for Vicki, and then asks whether the OR is ready. "Oh, they're waiting for you," announces Romano, and he proceeds to dress her down for her foolhardy behavior. Kerry comments in a low voice that she could have let everyone die, and Romano suggests that it would have been smarter for her to do so. As the elevator doors close between them, Kerry suddenly remembers the baby. She is relieved when Chuny advises her that he's "pinking up," and when she slips into his treatment room, Kovac and Gallant confirm that the infant appears to have suffered no ill effects from his traumatic delivery. Later, Gallant finds Kerry in the lounge, putting on her coat to go home. He reports that Dr. Romano is looking for her, and that Vicki made it through surgery, although she had to have a hysterectomy. "Yeah, I know. Thanks," she replies. Gallant forges ahead. "He also told me that I should try to stay away from you if I'm going to survive medical school." Kerry grins at that and tells him that no one in the ER actually listens to Romano. Turning serious, Gallant compliments her on the amazing work she did in the case. Kerry admits that she was a little out of her element, but Gallant tells her that no one would know it from watching her. She returns the compliment, noting that he took risks, stayed focused, and did what needed to be done - all the hallmarks of a good ER doctor. Gallant confesses that he was "a little scared out there for a while," and Kerry interjects that she was scared the whole time. Following her outside, Gallant mentions that the fireman is also doing well, and that everyone is all right because they were there. "Some days are good days," offers Kerry. "Enjoy them when they come." Plot III: A Hard rain's a-gonna fall Just as everyone else has given up waiting for Cleo and gone back to work, Benton wanders in and asks whether he missed the party. Abby explains that they're still waiting for Cleo to finish up, and Frank hands Peter a letter that was dropped off for him by a messenger from Genetadine labs. Peter accepts the letter without comment, then hurries into the lounge to open it in private. His abrupt arrival startles Nicole, who offers a brusque "hi" and quickly zips her bag shut. They look at each other in silence for a moment, and Nicole uncomfortably asks, "Do you need something?" "No," replies Benton, staring at her pointedly. Nicole finally gets the hint, gathers her things, and leaves the lounge. Peter tears open the envelope, reads the results, then crumples the paper angrily and throws it in the trash. Cleo finds him in the lounge a short time later, exchanging words with his lawyer via telephone. Peter wants to see the lawyer immediately, but she tells him she's unavailable. Peter replies that he's going to pick up Reese and come to her office, and if she isn't there, he'll find another lawyer. She tries to calm him down, but Peter yells that she was the one who told him not to fight the DNA testing, and "now Roger is going to try to hang me with it." The lawyer finally agrees to meet him in half an hour. As Peter prepares to leave, he explains to Cleo that the DNA analysis showed that he is not Reese's biological father. Cleo expresses her sympathy, then offers to go with him to the lawyer's office. "No," says Peter. "They're getting ready to throw a party for you." "I don't give a damn about a party," she responds. "Let's go." At the meeting, Peter's lawyer explains to him that the DNA testing was inevitable. "There has to be a precedent," he argues, but she points out that his case is an odd one -- stepfather versus stepfather, with neither party having biological ties to Reese. "I'm not his stepfather," Peter insists. "I'm his father!" "Peter," she says firmly, "you are going to have to allow Roger to resume partial visitation." "No. No way," he responds. She explains that Roger will undoubtedly ask the judge to order visitation until the case is resolved anyway, and by refusing to cooperate, Peter is just painting himself as the heavy. The lawyer urges him to listen to reason, and not to let fear or anger impede his ultimate goal. Later, as Peter kneels by the tub giving Reese a bath, Cleo tries to reassure him that everything will be all right. Ever adorable, Reese turns suddenly and splashes his father with the soapy water. Peter mock-scolds him, and Cleo laughs at the father-son moment. Suddenly, they hear a knock at the front door. "Are you expecting someone?" Cleo asks. Peter opens the door, sees that it's Roger, and moves to close it in his face. Undaunted, Roger sticks his foot in the door and tries to shove his way in. Peter gives up, and opens the door wide. Roger is there to beg him not to take the custody battle any further, and to agree to some kind of visitation arrangement that takes into account the role Roger has played in Reese's life. "It's too late for that," snarls Peter. Roger asks whether he really wants to put Reese through the trauma of a trial, and Peter responds "I'm keeping my son!" He slams the door, and Roger shouts through the wood, "I guess I'll see you there!" "Yeah you will," mutters Peter. Plot IV: Who'll stop the rain? As Susan stands nearby, Mark examines a police officer who has been experiencing chest pain all day. Sounding annoyed, Mark asks how many heart attacks the cop has had, and the officer replies, "Just one. Angioplasty fixed me right up. Till this morning when I woke up, that is." Mark berates the man for spending the day working in the rain instead of going to a doctor at the first sign of chest pain, because the delay has probably caused further damage to his heart. "I'm going to be okay, though, right?" says the cop, sounding anxious. Mark doesn't give him a straight answer, but says that they'll want to keep him on a heart monitor overnight for observation. As Mark and Susan walk away, she calls him on his harsh bedside manner, and suggests that he might want to think about getting out of the ER. "Oh, that advice is only about nine years too late. But thank you," snorts Mark. "No, seriously," Susan continues, "you never used to talk to patients like that." Abby interrupts to advise Mark of an incoming Medivac patient, a "near-drowning." As he and Abby ride the elevator up to the helipad, Mark asks whether she thinks he's mean to patients. "Only the ones who deserve it," she replies, noting that he's nicer to patients than she is. "That's not much solace," jokes Mark. The elevator doors open to a heavy rain, and as they hurry up to the chopper, Abby grouses that the weatherman that morning distinctly said that the weather would be "partly cloudy, chance of rain." The paramedic gives them the bullet on Daniel, a twelve-year-old boy in moderate respiratory distress after a one-story fall and near-drowning in the river. Daniel frets about his little brother, Joey, who was with him at the river and also fell in. The paramedic explains that rescue workers are still looking for Joey. Down in the trauma room, Daniel continues to worry about his brother, although several monitors are beeping urgently in the background. His condition starts to deteriorate, and Mark discovers that Daniel is suffering from a sucking chest wound. He and Abby plug the hole with Vaseline gauze and elastoplast, and Mark orders a chest tube tray. Daniel eventually stabilizes, but Mark explains to him that they'll want to keep an eye on him for a few more hours to make sure he doesn't need surgery. "He's dead, isn't he?" asks Daniel, referring to his missing brother. Mark responds that the rescue workers are still looking for Joey. "He didn't want to go," confesses Daniel, "... he was scared, but I called him a baby." Lily pops in with some lab results and announces that Daniel's parents are on their way. "They're really going to hate me now," he moans. Abby tries to reassure him that his parents will be grateful that he's all right. Later, Luka asks Mark to move Daniel out of the trauma room so that he can use it for an injured fireman. (See Plot Two.) As Mark rolls Daniel out on a gurney, Abby announces that his CK level is normal, but his tox screen is positive for marijuana. "Marijuana?!" roars an angry voice -- Daniel's parents, the Pendrys, have arrived just as Abby is giving the report. His father immediately tears into him for getting high and taking his younger brother out to the river, but Daniel insists that he hasn't smoked anything that day. He tries to explain that he and Joey saw the river on the news and just wanted to go see it, but Mr. Pendry continues to berate him mercilessly as the gurney is rolled down the hall. Mark has had enough, and stops the couple just outside of Daniel's new room. He tells them that he needs to get Daniel settled and will be back out later to brief them on his condition. "I'm sorry, mom," murmurs Daniel. She ignores him and asks Mark whether he's heard anything from the fire department about Joey. "Not yet," he replies solemnly. "They're still searching." Mark preps Daniel's chest and prepares to stitch up the wound. Daniel remains silent as Mark explains the procedure to him. "You okay?" Mark asks. When Daniel doesn't respond, Mark gently tells him that he sees a lot of fathers who come to the ER upset because their kids are hurt or missing, and they sometimes say things they don't mean. Daniel explains that Mr. Pendry is his stepfather, but that Joey is Pendry's "real" son. According to Daniel, he himself is viewed by his parents as nothing more than "a pain in the ass." Mrs. Pendry steps into the room at that moment, and asks about Daniel's follow-up chest X-ray. Mark explains that the X-ray shows that Daniel's lung has re-expanded and the chest tube is well-placed. "So he's fine?" she snips. "For now," Mark answers, "but we'll need to monitor him in the PICU." Daniel tries again to tell his mother how sorry he is. She observes him sternly and says, "You shouldn't have been out there." Daniel says miserably that he should have been the one to drown, and his mother coldly agrees with him. Horrified by her lack of compassion, Mark takes Mrs. Pendry outside and dresses her down for failing to offer Daniel any comfort or love. Before he has a chance to finish, Mr. Pendry bursts into the room and announces that Joey has been found. Dispatch radios a short time later to advise County that they're bringing Joey in on the Medivac chopper. Mark asks Abby, "Is he alive?" She responds that she doesn't think the paramedics know for sure. After further communication, Abby reports that the chopper is about fifteen minutes out, and that Joey is in arrest. Mark wonders if he has a pulse, and Abby advises him that the boy is in PEA. As they ride up to greet the chopper a few minutes later, Abby comments on Daniel's parents. She observes that people think that kids don't listen to harsh comments, but he thinks they do, and if parents tell kids they're nothing, they'll believe they're nothing. Mark isn't really listening to her - his mind is on the incoming patient. "How cold do you think that water is?" he asks. Abby guesses it's around 40 degrees, and Mark replies, "I hope it's colder than that." When they reach the helicopter, the paramedic informs them that Joey has no pulse and no respiration and is "GCS three, for real." Mark asks how long he was under, but the paramedic doesn't really know - the rescue workers found him tangled in some debris down river. Abby interjects that she thought the boy was in PEA, but it turns out he has been asystolic for the entire flight. Once they get Joey to the trauma room, Mark tells the nurses to start two large-bore IV's and to "nuke the saline in the microwave." They remove Joey's cervical collar, and Mark calls for a "bear hugger." Joey's parents enter, and his father observes mournfully that the boy is blue. Mark calls for suction and a "number five and a half, uncuffed E.T. tube." Abby reports that Joey still has no pulse and is asystole on the monitor. Mrs. Pendry approaches and tearfully implores Joey to wake up, but Mark sternly tells her to back up. As Joey begins to vomit river water, Mark observes that his cords are closed, and calls for the fiberoptic laryngoscope. He also tells Abby to prep Joey's neck in case he has to "crike" him. Meanwhile, Daniel has noticed the proceedings from his room, and quietly lurks in the doorway. Mark urges him to get back to bed, and promises to update him when he can. Daniel's stepfather bellows, "You heard him! Out! Get out of here!" and Mark responds, "You, too." "What?" asks Mr. Pendry, surprised. "Out!" Mark orders. Abby reports that the warmed saline is running, and Mark calls for atropine and epi to be administered "down the tube." He asks Lily how high the temperature will go on the vent, then tells her to set the tidal volume at 200 on 100%. Abby reports that Joey still has no pulse and no pressure, but Mark insists that they can save the boy. He urges the nurses to get a foley catheter in so that Joey's bladder can be irrigated. As Mark continues to call out orders, Abby notices that there is finally cardiac activity on the monitor. Mark orders an amp of bicarb, and directs Lily to charge the defibrillator to 60. Abby reports that Joey has good lung sounds, and when the rhythm improves from PEA to v-tach, Mark shocks the boy's heart. After two tries, Joey's heart converts to normal sinus rhythm. Abby smiles broadly at the amazing save, and Mark signals Daniel with a thumbs up. Later, Mark reports to Daniel that Joey's EEG scan is completely normal. Daniel thanks him for saving his brother, and Mark replies, "You're welcome." Sitting on a nearby gurney, Mark says he has something to tell Daniel, but he has to promise not to tell other kids. Daniel agrees. Mark explains that parents don't always know what they're doing, and that just because they're adults doesn't mean they're always right. "In fact," Mark continues, "some adults are wrong most of the time." "I know that," Daniel replies. "Good," says Mark, and then he asks Daniel to promise that he won't listen to his parents when they berate him - that he should never believe that he isn't just as special and just as smart as his brother. "One day they may realize that," Mark continues, "but you can tell them it doesn't matter. Because you already knew. You knew before they did." Plot V: Here comes the rain Carter and Susan attend to Jill, the pedestrian brought in by Zadro. (See Plot Two.) Jill can't remember whether she hit her head when she was struck -- all she remembers is stepping into the street and seeing her dog, Gordon, lying in the rain. A police officer appears, and reports that Jill was struck by a hit-and-run driver. He tries to get a description of the car, but Jill doesn't remember much beyond the fact that it may have been silver. She asks the officer whether anyone took Gordon to the vet, but he gently responds that the dog died. Jill begins to cry, and Susan tries to console her by suggesting that Gordon "probably went really fast." Carter orders a trauma workup, and once Jill is stabilized, they arrange for her to undergo a CT scan. As Haleh pushes Jill's gurney toward the elevator, Susan offers her a few more words of sympathy about the dog. Carter finds this very amusing, and after Jill is gone, he begins to tease Susan about it. Susan explains that losing a pet can be traumatic, "especially if you saw it happen." "What was his name?" asks Carter, deducing that Susan must have lost a pet at some point in her life. "Happy," she responds. "He was a Lhaso Apso and he got run over by a car when I was eleven." "Awww. Did he go really fast?" Carter taunts unsympathetically. A few minutes later, Gamma's driver, Alger, hurries into the ER and calls out to Carter. Carter asks what he's doing there, and he somberly replies, "It's your grandmother. I found her in the driveway in the rain -- I think she may have broken her hip." Carter calls frantically for a gurney and rushes outside. Alger follows, explaining that Gamma says she slipped, although she has a mysterious cut on her head. "She was driving?" asks Carter worriedly. "She went out during the break in the storm," admits Alger. As they approach Gamma's Jag, a broken left headlight and damaged fender are clearly visible. Carter opens the car door and observes Gamma laying across the back seat, her face and blouse bloodied from a cut on her forehead. Susan approaches with the gurney as Carter bends to examine his grandmother. Gamma cries out in pain as he checks her leg, and tells him, "I think I broke my hip." "I think you did, too," he answers sadly. He asks how she got the cut on her head, and she tells him evasively that she thought it was best to drive home - that she didn't realize how much she was bleeding. "You were in an accident?" he presses. Gamma admits that she isn't sure -- she thinks she may have hit a dog. Carter's head jerks up at these last words, and he asks her where she was driving at the time. Gamma is clearly rattled, and replies tearfully, "It was supposed to be clear. It was supposed to be sunny." Carter doesn't answer, but his face bears a heartsick expression. Later, he checks in on Gamma as Susan sutures her forehead. "Does it still hurt?" he asks, and Gamma nods silently. Carter tries to get her to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten, and she responds irritably, "It hurts, John." He asks Susan how much pain medication Gamma has had, then orders four of morphine for her. Susan agrees to the extra meds, but says she'll want to monitor Gamma on that amount. Sighing, Carter informs Gamma that she has, indeed, broken her hip - she has an impacted fracture of the femoral neck. She pleads with him to speak English, and he tells her that he needs to get a more sophisticated scan to tell whether surgery will be necessary. Gamma apologizes for not listening to him about the driving, and Carter gently breaks the news that she may have hit more than a dog - that a young woman was brought in with injuries from a hit-and-run accident. Gamma is duly horrified, but Carter assures her that the woman is okay, although he has called Gamma's attorney, just in case. At that moment, Susan notices Haleh wheeling Jill's gurney past the window. They roll Jill into the next room over, and Haleh knocks urgently on the window to get Susan's attention. Noticing the developing crisis, Carter pulls Gamma's curtains shut to block the view and then hurries out to help Susan. He asks Haleh what happened, and she reports that Jill dropped her sats in the elevator and passed out. Susan tries to intubate, but is having trouble seeing Jill's vocal cords. She calls for the fiberoptic scope, and Carter frantically orders tests and tells Haleh to grab the "thrombolytic box." As Susan continues to struggle with the intubation, Haleh reports that Jill is "bradying down to 60." "Hurry up," urges Carter, "she's going to arrest." Susan responds that she thinks she's in, but Haleh calls out that Jill's sats are falling. Carter confirms that the tube is in the stomach, not the lungs; exasperated, Susan explains that she couldn't see because there was too much edema. She again asks for the fiberoptic scope, but Mark is using it next door on a pediatric drowning victim (see Plot Four). Carter decides to try suctioning the cords, and asks Susan to slowly withdraw the E.T. tube as he works. He finally spots the cords, and inserts another tube while Susan calls for someone to open a crash cart and draw up some atropine and epinephrine. Haleh reports that Jill's pulse ox has started to climb, and Susan confirms that Jill now has good breath sounds. Carter glances toward his grandmother's room with a relieved look. Later, up in the MRI unit, the radiologist gives Carter the lowdown on the extent of Gamma's hip fracture. Carter asks whether she should have hip surgery, but the radiologist advises against it, noting that, statistically, one third of elderly patients who undergo the procedure die from complications within a year. A monitor begins to beep in the background, and the radiology tech reports that Gamma is panicking. Carter implores him to get her out of the scanner immediately, and then hurries to Gamma's side to reassure her. Frightened and disoriented, Gamma says she wants to go home, and begs Carter to call his grandfather to come get her. Surprised, Carter stammers, "Grampa's not here." "Get him!" she insists. Carter pauses, then gently says, "Grampa's dead." Gamma absorbs the information quietly, then asks, "Where am I?" He reminds her that she's in the hospital - that she had a car accident and broke her hip. "Oh, yes," says Gamma, struggling to concentrate. Then she adds, "Of course. I hit a dog! I hit a dog! He was in the middle of the street!" Carter swallows hard, but says nothing as he regards her sadly. Misc. Plots: After the rain has fallen Frank is busily searching the admit area for his Palm Pilot. "Damn it, you can't leave anything around here!" he grouses. Carter asks what the problem is, and Frank announces that "some derelict" has stolen the Palm, which he just got out a few minutes ago. A while later, Nicole stops by the desk to ask whether anyone wants anything from the store -- she's going out for coffee. Frank asks for a grande vanilla cappuccino, and pulls out some money to cover it. "It's okay," says Nicole. "It's on me." "In that case, make it a venti," says Frank. As Nicole pauses to ask whether Abby wants anything, her bag begins to emit a beeping sound. Frank's ears perk up, and he asks what time it is. When Abby responds that it's 7:00, Frank turns to Nicole and demands to look in the bag. She resists, and they begin a tug-of-war for it. Luka moves to intervene, and Frank informs him that his Palm Pilot alarm is set to go off at 7:00 each night to remind him to take his Vioxx. Luka urges Frank to let go of the bag, but he continues to tug until it falls open, spilling its contents on the floor. Sure enough, Frank spies his Palm Pilot, now silent, laying in the pile. "Fabulous!" he snaps at Nicole. "First you steal it, then you break it." He threatens to call the police, and Luka tries to persuade him that he's made some kind of mistake. Luka turns to Nicole for an explanation, but she just looks at him guiltily and bolts for the door. He starts to follow her, but at that precise moment Gallant arrives with the newborn from the accident scene (see Plot Two), and Luka is called back in to care for it. Nicole reappears later that evening -- her face tear-stained -- and asks to speak to Luka. Abby later spies them talking in the ambulance bay while she's out on a coffee break. She watches as Luka helps Nicole into a cab, and tries not to meet her eyes as the taxi drives past. Once she is out of sight, Abby approaches Luka and asks if Nicole is okay. He replies somberly, "No. Not really." Abby tries to change the subject by asking about the baby that Gallant brought in, and Luka quietly reports that he's okay. Trying a different tack, Abby tells him about Mark's save with Joey, and marvels, "It was a miracle." Luka hangs his head and doesn't respond. "Are you alright?" she asks. "What is it?" Luka breaks the news that Nicole is pregnant. Stunned, Abby asks if the pregnancy is the reason why Nicole was stealing. "No," sighs Luka, "that's uh ... that's a habit." He explains that Nicole has trouble trusting people because her father kicked her out when she was sixteen. "Her father?" asks Abby, mentally recalling Nicole's story about her father's untimely death when she was eight. Luka says regretfully that he was just trying to help Nicole, and never thought he'd end up sleeping with her. Not unkindly, Abby asks if he's sure that the baby is his, or that Nicole is really pregnant. "She's not like that. You don't know her," Luka insists. "Do you?" asks Abby, pointedly. Luka has no answer to that. |
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Episode guides Flashpoint (episode guide) |
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