Chicago Med (2015) s10e20 Episode Script
The Invisible Hand
1
- We had a thing.
- Weren't you 15?
I'm not a victim here.
You're not being honest with yourself.
It also takes real bravery
to look a story in the face,
stare it down, see it
for what it really is.
You're making this sound
like I forced myself on you.
It was love.
That's something that I used to believe.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The hospital has already hired scabs?
It would be grossly negligent
not to have replacements
should the nurses strike.
I don't appreciate being played
by one of my best friends.
Let's not make this personal.
I'm sorry, Sharon.
I'm afraid it already is.
Did you book your flights
to the conference yet?
Yeah. Why?
Any chance I could get you
to join me for an extra day
in Myrtle Beach?
Mm.
Wow. [CRUNCHING]
Who's the lucky guy?
And what makes you think there's a guy?
It's the heart surgeon
that you mentioned, right?
What was his name? Shaye or Shader?
Dr. Hayes.
We're attending a conference, Kip.
It's the Summit
on Healthcare Leadership.
- Okay, Dr. Lenox.
- Uh-huh. Thank you.
- Try to have a good time.
- Okay. Goodbye.
Hey, Trini, let's grab
this guy a chest X-ray
and then have labs run a CBC,
BMP, and a, uh
- [COUGHING]
- Blood gas.
Okay. [COUGHS]
You should probably go home
and take care of that cough.
I'm I'm sorry, Dr. Ripley.
Uh, I don't know how it came on so fast.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
That's the third nurse this morning
that's had to go home, Mags
what the hell's going on?
Yeah, and it's not just the nurses, FYI.
Dr. Asher called in sick
this morning as well.
Something's going around.
Well, whatever it is, it's
coming on like a freight train.
Somebody please help.
Our boy can't breathe.
He's turning blue.
- I got him.
- [WHEEZING]
- You're going to Treatment 3.
- Yeah.
Right behind you. Hey, I'm Dr. Frost.
- Can you tell me your name?
- Bode.
We were at a birthday party
around the corner.
There was cake.
- Bode's got a peanut allergy.
- We forgot his EpiPen at home.
All right, no problem.
That happens. No need to worry.
Bode, can you open your mouth
for me, please?
All right, we got some swelling
in the pharynx, for sure.
But no need to intubate yet.
- There are no nurses here?
- Long story.
- Epi?
- Yeah.
Found it.
All right, Bode, slight pinch.
You ready?
[BREATHING SLOWS]
Starting to feel a little better?
- Oh, thank God.
- Okay.
If anyone's listening,
I could really use some help in here!
[RAPID BEEPING]
Yep.
A forklift dropped
a quarter ton of pallets
on this poor guy.
Chest took the brunt of it.
X-ray's up over there.
And it shows a hemothorax, which you're
in the process of relieving,
so what do you need help with?
He's having a run
of non-sustained V-tach.
I was worried we might
have to run a code.
You know, I'm kind of shorthanded here.
Yeah, we're working on that.
Well, what do I do if
he stays in V-tach next time?
I don't know, Loren quickly
grow another pair of hands?
Maggie, let's have CT bring
down a wearable defibrillator
for Mr. Marquez and see
if Dr. Hayes can weigh in.
Will do.
All right, just got
off the phone with Goodwin.
- She's on her way in.
- [COUGHING]
Says she's trying to call
in some agency nurses.
And she asks if you could hold
the fort down in the interim.
Not you too.
I've been fighting it all morning.
I should probably go home
before I get anyone else sick.
- Yep, of course.
- All right.
Yeah.
We got this, right? [DOOR BEEPS]
Excuse me. Can somebody help us, please?
My kid turned blue.
What's going on here? What's happening?
Well, I'm not detecting any
distress in your son's airways,
so that's good news.
But there must be something
wrong with him look.
Could there have been some kind
of gas leak in the restaurant?
Um
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Well, he was struggling
earlier back at the party.
Weren't you, son?
He said that his throat felt tight.
Ezra have any allergies
you guys know about?
Not that we know of.
I brought a slice in from the party
in case you wanted to run any tests.
I know Mandy said there
weren't any peanuts in it,
but you never know, right?
Dr. Frost?
I'll be right back.
Lana, Kirk, how you doing?
I'm Dr. Charles.
- How's Bode doing?
- Better since the epi.
But shouldn't his color
have returned by now?
Yeah, should have.
What are you doing?
I don't think that Bode's cyanotic.
I think his skin was dyed by a napkin
at the birthday party.
But he was gasping for breath.
I'm suspecting
that the allergic reaction
has more to do with the dye
itself than peanuts.
Okay. And what about the others?
♪
- Maggie?
- Sharon.
Yeah, did I hear you
weren't feeling well?
Yeah, I must have caught
a bug or something.
I feel horrible about this.
- Here, let me take a look.
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
I don't want you to catch this.
I just think it's it's
just best that I go home.
I'm sorry.
Well, that explains the cyanosis,
but what about the complaints
of shortness of breath?
Maybe some kind of mass hysteria?
I think that's taking it
a little too far.
I think it's more an example
of how suggestible
we can all get under the right
circumstances, you know?
Kids picking up on the parents'
panic, vice versa, you know?
And so none of these kids
are actually sick.
That's crazy.
My guess is,
they're not really sick either.
- Who?
- Nurses.
This is a sick-out.
♪
We've already called in temps,
so they'll be trickling in
over the course of the day.
I'll be gloving up myself
to help as best I can.
And, of course, we've got
our traveling nurses,
uh, Kacy and Darla, here to pitch in.
Any you thought of putting us
on diversion?
We hope that won't be necessary.
Look, I'm not saying
this is gonna be easy.
Our nurses, as we all know,
are irreplaceable.
But today we're gonna have to find a way
to do without them, okay?
Let's get to work.
Gentlemen, I am concerned
about this backlog.
Let's have you two rip through
all the fast-track stuff,
allow the rest of us to handle
anything that needs a workup.
- Sure.
- All right.
I heard you were looking for me.
So who can tell me what we see?
It's cardiac wall motion abnormalities
of the left ventricle.
And both the aortic and the mitral
look to be critically damaged
and need replacing.
This patient just underwent
severe trauma.
What should our timetable be?
With declining output and
diminished ejection fractions,
his heart's just gonna get worse.
Not sure how much risk
we're reducing by waiting.
So let's err on the side
of action, not caution.
We'll do a modified Commando procedure,
replace both valves at once,
keep his time on the table to a minimum.
This surgery is gonna require
another set of skilled hands.
I know it's not your specialty,
but I'm hoping you'll team up
with me on this one.
Well, I appreciate the offer, Nicholas,
but I'm not sure the E.D.
can spare me today.
It's kind of insane down here.
Because of the nurses?
I-I'm afraid I-I might
even have to cancel our trip
- to Myrtle Beach.
- No, Caitlin.
You can't. It's gonna be epic.
I booked us a-a private dinner
at the hotel tomorrow night
one of the finalists
from "Top Chef" season 12, apparently.
[CHUCKLES] Uh, trust me,
it's not what I would prefer.
I was looking forward to this.
Let's see how the day goes, okay?
We'll probably have to go on diversion,
which should open up my schedule enough
to at least assist you on the surgery.
Great.
But we'll need to be
working in unison, okay?
Like dance partners.
So I think we should practice
our choreography.
I'll have a training mannequin set up,
and I'll see you upstairs
in about an hour?
- Yeah, sounds great.
- Okay.
And I'm gonna figure out a way
to get you to come to Myrtle regardless.
Just warning you right now.
[CHUCKLES]
And we're gonna have to go analog
if we have any chance
of knocking these out.
Nurses really put us
behind the eight ball.
I take it you don't support them.
Not when they're pretending to be sick.
Do you?
I'm a proud union man
through and through.
I'm still holding on to my SAG card.
Can't beat the medical.
Oh, trust me, I'm sympathetic
to the nurses' demands
and to unions in general.
I mean, they did give us weekends off.
- Not that it matters in an E.D.
- Eh, I don't know, Dean.
You're giving off
some Scrooge McDuck vibes.
I mean, what, you believe
it's every man for himself?
Yeah, I believe
in enlightened self-interest,
you know, the principles upon which
- this great country is founded.
- Uh-huh.
Rugged individualism and
all that, the invisible hand.
Yeah, it's that old horror film
where the, uh, disembodied hand
comes creeping along at night
and just suffocates you
in your sleep, right?
It's Adam Smith.
Don't they teach you anything
at school anymore?
All right, how do you wanna
divvy these up?
I don't wanna throw too much at you.
So what about two for me, one for you?
I can hold up my end. Give me half.
Yeah, there's no need to be a hero.
We're just trying to make it
through the day.
No, no, no. Okay, you know what?
In fact, I bet that I get
my patients out the door
before you get yours out.
Really? And what stakes do you propose?
Loser buys lunch.
And not the free stuff
we get in the cafeteria
every day, all right?
I'm talking about a nice
restaurant off-site.
- Uh-huh. Winner's choice, huh?
- Yeah.
Like candy from a baby.
Cocky.
Okay.
[SOFT PLAYFUL MUSIC]
♪
Ambos are starting to peel away.
I hear they're rerouting to East Mercy.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate
the stroke of genius by Maggie.
Aww. [APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
- Wow.
For a bunch of people
who begged off work
because of illness, none of you
appear to be very sick.
Dr. Archer said that you were eager
to crawl back into bed, Grayson.
You too, Leah. What happened?
- Did you get lost?
- Grayson, Leah
most everyone here is just
waiting for the pharmacy
- to fill their prescription.
- Uh-huh.
Seems there's a bit of a logjam.
They said it might take a while.
I can help with that.
Have them all filled at Med.
What script are you waiting for, Doris?
I'm sorry, Sharon, but that
sounds vaguely like a violation
of her HIPAA rights.
I'm sure that wasn't your intent.
Well, would it be possible
for me to grab Maggie
- for a quick second?
- I'm not the boss of her.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
You gloved up, I see.
Someone had to.
Well, if you're trying to make
me feel guilty, save your breath.
I'm already there,
but you left us with no choice.
Maggie, if you guys
get caught faking this,
that's patient abandonment.
It could be grounds for dismissal
and even legal repercussions.
Perhaps we can establish
a side channel, the two of us,
to defuse this bomb before it blows up.
We already tried that.
And and you were somewhat
less than transparent.
Maggie, come back to work, please.
I don't want you to get hurt.
[SIGHS]
Thank you for your concern,
but I think that I'm just gonna
stay here with my people.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
♪
You know, for a second,
I was so lightheaded,
I thought I might faint
into my lobster bisque,
which would have been a disaster,
because everybody knows,
orange bah, not my color.
So this was at the Art Institute?
Yes, well, the Board of Trustees
they were having a brunch
for all the donors
and the friends of the museum.
They say I'm great at a cocktail party,
so I get a lot of invites anyway.
[CHUCKLES]
Okay, Mr. Lambert, um
Oh, no, please, call me Frederick.
Okay, Frederick, how long,
again, have you been feeling
- the numbness in your leg?
- It's been about three days.
Is this, uh, something
I should be worried about?
Tingling can be hard
to pin down sometimes.
Um, you do have
a low-grade fever, though,
and your heart rate's a little elevated,
so I'd like to get a chest X-ray
just to rule out any pneumonia
and, uh, also get
some lab tests done as well.
All right, Frederick,
registration gave me your wristband,
and they should be over shortly
for your ID and insurance card.
Ah, I'm afraid
that I don't carry a wallet
on me, ordinarily.
You know, it tends to destroy
the line of my suit jacket.
Okay.
Oh, uh, in here, Margaret.
Uh, this handsome young doctor
needs to see your insurance card.
It was trickier than I thought to park.
- Oh.
- Here it is.
Thank you.
Your name's Margaret Charles?
- Yes.
- That's funny.
We, uh we have a Dr. Charles
who works here.
That's funny I have a son
they call Dr. Charles
who works here as well.
Mom?
What are you doing here?
I'm here with Freddie.
- Who's Freddie?
- Ooh, uh, that would be me.
Although only she gets to call me that.
Pleasure to meet you.
He's my fiancé.
♪
Congrats.
Okay.
Hey, uh, you haven't seen
any monofilament, have you?
Yeah, right here.
Thank you.
Oh, looks like you're gonna
need a couple more of these.
What happened to her?
Walked through a sliding glass door.
Ugh. It's gonna take
a while to stitch up, huh?
Whole family with strep.
You know, these rapid tests
only take a couple of minutes now.
It's a real time-saver.
Hey, I was thinking Italian, by the way.
You know, Monteverde has
some white truffles in season.
It's crazy expensive,
but I hear you can really taste
the difference.
[CHUCKLES, SLAPS BACK]
How'd you two meet?
At the symphony,
through mutual friends
almost three months ago.
And there I was worrying
that you hadn't taken the time
to get to know each other silly me.
Maybe if you called a little more often,
you wouldn't have been so blindsided.
Where is he from? Does he still work?
Has he been married before?
Does he have any kids?
Uh, New Mexico, originally, I think.
Not sure about any children.
I'm sorry. What else did you ask?
No, I'm sorry, because it sounds
to me like you're getting married
to somebody you don't know
a whole lot about.
Honestly, Daniel, details
aren't that important to me.
Freddie's good company.
He makes me laugh.
And I am slowing down, after all.
Somebody needs to look after me.
I'm just trying to make sure
you're not getting taken advantage of.
I mean, is Lambert even his real name?
Who knows? Doesn't carry a wallet.
Honestly, Dan, can't you be
just a little happy for me?
And you wonder why I hadn't told you.
Excuse me, Margaret.
Frederick was wondering if you
could fetch his Hermès throw
that you bought him for his birthday.
He's feeling a little chilly.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Don't you start.
♪
Truthfully, I hate to admit it,
but patient care is suffering, no doubt.
I think we should consider
closing to ambulance traffic.
- Do we have any choice?
- We've heard rumors
they've set up a war room
around the corner.
No, it's not exactly a war room.
So it's true? You've seen them yourself?
I have.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Peter,
but if the hospital can prove
that the nurses aren't really sick,
that could be considered
an illegal work action
and they'd be in breach
of contract, wouldn't they?
If we could prove intent, yeah.
Is that something
you can confirm, Sharon?
No, I can't.
But I get the impression that
they're eager to resolve this.
How far apart were we, again, Peter?
On the coverage ratios,
we're in the same neighborhood,
but on the wage increases,
I mean, we're not even
in the same area code.
Look, Miranda, if the board is
willing to meet them halfway,
I'm pretty sure that's
a framework they will accept.
Okay.
But they need to know that this
is our best and final, Sharon.
This can't keep going on.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING]
[DEVICE BEEPS,
UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
Bossa nova?
I told you we're gonna be
dance partners, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- Here, you take the lead.
If I remember correctly,
the standard Commando procedure
involves starting
with an oblique aortotomy?
Normally, yes,
but I was hoping to save a little time
and get this guy off the table quicker.
So I was thinking we'd try
an aorto-annulo-septotomy.
- Through the left atrial roof.
- No.
We wanna leave that intact to
guarantee better homeostasis.
♪
I don't understand. Then where do I cut?
Let me show you.
It's tricky, but
we wanna incise the aortic annulus here,
only moderately apart
from the right fibrous trigone,
so as to avoid interference
with the major
conduction pathway, like so.
And voilà.
See how suddenly clearer our
field of vision is gonna be?
Now we can replace the mitral
and aortic valve simultaneously.
That's genius truly.
We'll be able to get
to everything faster that way,
like you said.
I have a habit
of doing that sometimes
taking things too fast.
Uh-huh.
You don't think that's
what's happening here, do you?
Because I don't wanna rush you.
♪
Maybe we should table this
until Myrtle Beach.
Yeah, I think that's wise.
Meet back here in 30, Dr. Lenox?
I'll go clear my schedule.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
I'll see you in surgery, Dr. Howard.
♪
A 6% wage hike?
Per year for the duration
of the contract,
plus a reduction of the coverage ratio
from 5 to 4 1/2 patients per nurse.
That's not exactly
what we asked for, Sharon.
I'm telling you, Maggie, as a friend,
this deal won't get any better.
Well, that's a nonstarter.
Really?
Because I feel like we're almost getting
everything that we asked for.
After only half a day sitting out.
Imagine what we could achieve
if we sat out till tomorrow
- or even next week.
- I don't know.
I mean, are we here
to win a fair contract
or to draw blood?
- Draw blood.
- What?
That's how you know you've won.
This fight isn't just about us.
It's for the generations
coming up behind.
We have a responsibility to get
the best contract we can.
Yes, but what if that's what this is?
Why do you think they sent
Sharon to present the offer?
She's preying on your
willingness to trust her.
We hold the line, Maggie.
There's more juice left to squeeze.
[SIGHS]
Hey.
How's, um, uh, old Frederick doing?
I'm not sure, to be honest.
I mean, at first glance,
he seems not so bad.
Lungs are clear.
Nothing terrible on his labs.
And yet?
And yet I can't seem to get
his BP off the floor, for example.
His breathing is becoming more labored.
Um, and then there's
the numbness in his leg
and and the pain in his back.
Think we could be looking
at pyelonephritis?
No, no. Urine's clean.
Uh, I thought he was septic,
but I don't see any cause.
I wonder if there's
a neurological angle to this,
you know, given the numbness?
Maybe it's a good idea
for me to do a, you know,
quick neuropsych eval,
you know, knock a few things
off the list.
Do you really think that's necessary?
Better safe than sorry, right?
Okay.
[STAMMERS] Hey, what's
the deal with this guy?
I don't recall him being on my roster.
Rear-ended, still waiting on an MRI.
Radiology needs all the metal
taken out of his body first.
- Okay.
- Don't look at me.
I gotta titrate a nicardipine drip in 7.
But [SCOFFS]
[SOFT PLAYFUL MUSIC]
Hey. Did you mess up my board?
I'm a Navy man, Dr. Frost.
I abide by a strict code of honor.
Doesn't answer my question.
Yeah, I I'm I'm too in the weeds
to resort to petty gamesmanship.
Get a grip.
♪
I'm Dr. Frost. How you doing?
No introduction.
Twist off, I think, right?
I'll figure it out.
Okay.
Sorry.
Hey, I just heard you're
bailing out on the surgery.
- What do you think you're doing?
- I'm heading home.
I think I might have caught
whatever it is
- the nurses might have.
- They don't have anything.
They're faking sick for leverage.
What's your excuse?
Naomi, I thought we resolved
this lack of commitment
you're exhibiting.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
- Dr. Hayes is a legend
- Just stop it already
with this worship of this great
and powerful Dr. Hayes!
You have no idea who he really is.
What are you talking about?
[GROANS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Naomi.
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
Excellent. Perfect.
Okay, now I'd like to try something
a little bit different.
I'm gonna say a category, okay?
And you just say the first
three things that come to mind.
For instance, um, animals.
Uh, uh, zebra, ostrich, jaguar.
Frederick, if if you're too tired,
- we can do this later.
- No, no, no, I'm fine.
- It's fun.
- Articles of clothing?
Ah, let's say
a Johnstons of Elgin cashmere sweater,
Gucci loafers, and then,
of course, a Brioni tuxedo.
Ooh, expensive tastes
exotic ones, too a man of refinement.
A tuxedo isn't exotic.
It's a staple
of any gentleman's wardrobe.
Don't you agree?
I haven't worn one
since my first wedding.
Mm, that's a shame.
How many times you been married?
Well, from what Margaret
tells me, fewer times than you.
You know what? I think you're
probably right about that.
And what do you do for a living,
if you don't mind me asking?
What's this about?
He disapproves of our relationship.
He doesn't like you, Freddie, at all.
And he thinks you're taking
advantage of me.
Right?
Mother, he is using you, okay?
And he's not even trying to hide it.
Come on, the clothes,
the the health insurance,
the the Hermès blanket?
I mean, all those procedures, my God.
You can be straight with me.
You paid for the last Botox, didn't you?
- That was a chemical peel.
- Oh.
And who cares? I like him.
I know what this is really about.
You do, do you? Enlighten me.
Cece.
Cece.
Huh. Tell me more.
I disapproved of your partner
once upon a time,
and now you're finally
getting your revenge.
Disapproved of my partner?
She was my first wife!
And you didn't come to our wedding,
and you never told me why,
but I got this crazy hunch
it had something to do with
the fact that she was Black.
Jesus, Daniel. I'm sorry.
If that's supposed to be an apology,
you're 30 years too late.
Okay, go ahead.
Flog your dear old mother.
I can take it.
The women in this family
have always been made
of stronger stuff.
Oh, is that right?
Stronger than who?
Me, Tommy
Dad?
All. All of you.
[SCOFFS] It's really Freddie
I should've been worried about
the whole time, right?
'Cause as soon as you start,
you're gonna drive him away
all by your lonesome.
Start what?
You know, picking on him,
wearing him down,
bludgeoning him with your
extraordinary eye for weakness,
your cruelty.
'Cause that's what you do, isn't it?
I mean, you grind the weaklings
down to a nub
until one day
they can't take it anymore,
and they walk into the garage,
and they close the door,
and they turn on the car.
Ah! Stop!
And you say I'm cruel.
I loved your father.
Yeah, until there was nothing left.
- [ALARM BEEPING]
- Little help in here!
Oh!
- He's crumping.
- BP's 78/50.
He's going into shock.
Give me an 8.0 ET tube and a Mac 3.
Draw up 20 of etomidate and 100 of sux.
Oh, my God, Freddie.
Okay, meds are in. BP's still falling.
Freddie!
You wasted all this time
interrogating him
when you could have been figuring out
what's actually wrong.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
We had just finished a long
and complicated transplant,
and Dr. Hayes asked me to stay behind
so he could teach me some
of the techniques that he used
- during the surgery.
- Okay.
I was so thrilled
at the opportunity that
I wasn't really paying attention
when he dismissed the rest of the team.
Anyway, um
he asked me to show him how
I would hold the instruments.
And he stood next to me, like
really, really close.
And he used his hand
to move mine into the right positions,
like so.
And after a little while,
I could feel his other hand
wrap around my waist.
And at first, I thought
it was part of the instruction,
you know?
But then he pressed his hips into me,
pinning me against the table.
He used his hand to move down my body
and over the back of my thighs.
And
I couldn't even speak or move
for what felt like forever, until
- Until what?
- I finally snapped out of it.
I-I pushed myself away from the table,
and I could see he could tell
what I was thinking.
Immediately, he started to gaslight me,
saying all he was doing
was trying to help me
master my technique.
[INHALES DEEPLY] I went home
feeling so humiliated
[SNIFFLES] And confused.
[SOFT SOMBER MUSIC]
[BREATHES SHAKILY, CLEARS THROAT]
I can't tell what you're thinking
whether or not you believe me.
[CLEARS THROAT]
No, no, I believe you.
The only reason I'm even saying anything
is because I know you're going
away with him for the weekend,
and, well, I-I just thought
you needed to know.
♪
And that's that's all that happened?
You're not withholding anything
'cause, I don't know,
you're embarrassed?
N-no, that that's everything.
Isn't that enough?
Okay.
Thank you for telling me.
I have to go to surgery.
And as soon as I'm done,
I will have to report this.
No. Please, you can't.
I-I don't want this
to jeopardize my residency.
I can't afford that.
Now that I know what to look
out for, I'll be smarter.
I-I can avoid situations like
that with him moving forward.
I can.
Naomi, you can't make this
your responsibility.
Please! Please!
You need to promise me
you won't say anything.
♪
[SIGHS]
[VELCRO TEARS]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Just one second.
Ready to get out of here, Joanna?
Wow, when you said you had
to keep me for observation
for an hour, I thought that
was just a ballpark number,
not 60 minutes exactly.
Well, we like to run a tight ship here.
And I think we can safely
rule out a concussion
from that fall you took.
- Discharge papers?
- Uh, signed and sealed.
All right, Joanna, ready?
- Wheels up. Let's go.
- Okay.
I should consider
getting one of these myself.
Do you know if they make
an electric version?
I'm not sure.
I got a stress fracture
in my knee is why I'm asking
about six weeks now.
My GP thought I'd actually gain weight
not being able to walk as much and all,
but I went the other way entirely.
- You lost weight?
- 23 pounds, like magic.
That's probably why I fainted earlier.
My body still isn't used
to the weight loss.
Uh, how'd your GP diagnose
this stress fracture?
- Did he get an MRI?
- No, just an X-ray.
Why?
All right, you know what?
Just to be on the safe side
I'd like to take a better look
at what's going on
inside that knee of yours.
Okay, I guess.
It shouldn't take too long.
Hoo-hoo! Yes!
Victory is mine.
Looks like you're buying, sucker!
I'm sorry.
Thought I had you there for a second.
Yeah, sure you did.
All right, let's go. [GRUNTS]
I mean, if he's not septic,
his body's doing
a pretty good impression of it.
Did your, uh, psych eval bear any fruit?
Uh, not really.
I'm sorry, buddy. I just
I-I-I couldn't help myself.
Come on, you you don't have
to apologize to me.
It's kind of comforting to be
reminded that you're human
and, I guess, that I'm not the only one
who has issues with his mother.
You know, we didn't speak
for almost 30 years.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
I thought I was over all
that stuff, but I guess not.
We really went at it, you know?
I guess I still got
some hostility to work through,
as well, it seems, as some, what,
complicated feelings
about men who are obsessed
with their appearance?
Like, where where's that coming from?
Maybe it's time to take
a little peek in the mirror,
- so to speak.
- Exactly.
Hey, maybe I'm the one
who needs a chemical peel.
[LAUGHS]
Chemical peel?
Didn't you say that he had
a pain in his in his back?
Yeah. Why?
We need to MRI his spine immediately.
Okay, patty melts and
milkshakes all around, okay?
[ALL CHEERING]
Or or or whatever
you want, all right?
Go crazy.
You shouldn't have, Dr. Frost.
Are you kidding me?
We're stronger together, right?
I think you didn't, actually.
Yeah, well, I did not,
because that's Archer's card.
Uh-huh.
But the sentiment is mine, so
- Yeah.
- Just saying.
Really thoughtful of you, all this.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Look, Maggie, if you have a minute,
I-I've just I've been thinking
Maggie, could you?
Okay. I'm sorry.
- Can this wait?
- Of course.
I'm so sorry.
We're in the middle of things.
- Go ahead. I get it, yeah.
- Okay.
- Anything?
- Go nuts.
Can I get a burger?
What's up?
Just got off the phone with leadership.
The hospital canceled our next sit-down,
and they don't appear eager
to reschedule.
It's like we've been ghosted.
I mean, what did we expect?
You need to reach back out to Sharon
and see if you can glean anything.
Wait, how is it that when
you want something from Sharon,
you tell me to exploit
the fact that we're friends,
but when she's offering intel,
you warn me not to trust her?
I mean, which one is it?
- We're at war, Maggie.
Friendship doesn't matter,
only leverage.
Call her.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
Peter.
What's going on?
Management wants to start
the ball rolling
on replacing the nurses.
Already?
Well, I just extended an offer.
At least give them the night
to mull it over.
The board doesn't wanna find themselves
in the same position tomorrow.
I mean, you know Miranda.
She hates feeling vulnerable.
So is this true?
You're you're letting them all go?
We're exploring our options, yes.
You know, our nurses
are not just numbers
on a spreadsheet, Miranda.
They're the lifeblood
of everything we do here.
And if the hospital
can't recognize that,
then I'll have no choice
but to tender my resignation as well.
If your salary even came remotely close
to bridging the gap, I'd accept, Sharon.
Unfortunately,
the money just isn't there.
If you can find some way
to show the nurses
how much we value them
which doesn't include a bigger raise,
by all means, bring it to the table.
But do it fast.
♪
A 5% pay bump.
That's less than what
you were offering this morning.
Keep reading the fine print.
"Illinois Public Act Number 102-064
"as an amendment
to the Nurse Staffing
Improvement Act of 2007"
Requires every hospital convene
a nursing care committee
co-chaired by a direct-care nurse.
We already know this, Sharon.
This is an eight-person committee
four nurses, four admin.
Every issue ends up
in a deadlock by design.
Maybe not anymore.
I spoke with the board.
They're willing to give you
an extra seat
and to welcome an active nurse
to sit on the advisory board
on a full-time basis.
Maggie, nurses will have a seat
at the table.
Your voices will be heard.
I mean, that's just something
you can't put a value on.
[SOFT MUSIC]
I'll run this up the flagpole.
Oh, and one more thing free lunch.
What?
Doctors get carte blanche
in the cafeteria
while nurses have to dig
in their own pockets.
It's unfair, and it's easily rectified.
It's amazing how happy people are
when they get something for free.
Copy.
♪
I can't believe that was
your first time doing that.
Your movements were
so precise and decisive.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
By the way, my procedure's
not the only thing
that went commando today.
I have a car waiting for us
to take us to the airport.
I'll meet you out front.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
So it's a bacterial infection?
When you had that
chemical peel done, Frederick,
it's as if your skin had been exposed
to a second-degree burn,
temporarily removing
a layer of protection
and leaving you susceptible
to a, uh, variety
of rare microscopic bugs.
In your case, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
It traveled through
your bloodstream to your spine,
where it created an abscess.
That's why you've been
experiencing numbness.
The good news is,
your body's been responding
to the ceftazidime
we've been administering.
We're very fortunate
Dr. Charles caught this in time.
It's always been
my greatest sin vanity.
It seems today it, uh,
nearly cost me my life.
You know, if I didn't have someone
as grounded as your mother
I fear I could be borne away
on even the slightest breeze.
I don't know how
to stop myself from feeling
[SNIFFLES] So
insubstantial.
You know, um, somebody
a whole lot smarter than me
once said something like, um
what was it?
Vanity self-love
self-love is nowhere near so vile a sin
as self-neglect.
[CHUCKLES] That's "Henry V," I think.
Who's gonna argue with the Bard, right?
You're very kind.
I can see why Margaret's
constantly going on about you.
You're very kind.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
[SNIFFS] [PHONE DINGS]
[PHONE CLATTERS]
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
♪
[SIGHING]
- Hey, Dean?
- Yeah?
You the one that sent
Joanna Richards up for imaging?
- Uh-huh.
- It's a good thing you did.
An aggressive little bastard
of an osteosarcoma
growing into her tibia.
We didn't catch it now,
she'd have lost that leg
- or worse.
- Yeah.
Thanks, Thalia. Thanks.
Well
good evening.
So glad you're all feeling better.
That dreaded 11-hour flu
I hear it's going around.
And thank you, Dean,
for your incredible generosity.
We knew you'd always have our back.
- You're you're welcome.
- So you bought lunch.
- Dr. Archer.
- Yeah, hi.
Um, just think of it as an example
of that invisible hand
you kept talking about, huh?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay,
this this number is far from
- Thank you.
- Yeah, you're welcome.
Far from invisible.
Whatever happened to starve a fever?
If it's any consolation,
I don't think the deal
gets done without it.
[SOFT MUSIC]
I mean, what?
So
what couldn't wait?
Yeah, I didn't mean to interrupt. Sorry.
Um, look, I've been meaning
to talk to you
for a while now, and
just the way I acted when
you were asking about Ainsley
- It's it's okay. It's
- No.
- It's water under the bridge.
- It's really not, Maggie.
Friends don't talk
to each other like that.
And I was accusing you
of interfering in a place
that you were not wanted,
o-of not knowing me.
But the truth is,
you knew me a little too well,
and it scared me.
You were in so much pain, Jonathan,
it just hurt me to see you like that.
I get that.
All right, and you made me
face up to something
that I hadn't wanted to in a long time.
I'm glad you did, though. I am.
And I-I just wanted to say thank you.
♪
Anyway, um
I'll let you get
back to the celebration
You confronted Ainsley about all this?
Yeah.
Yeah, I did.
How'd it go?
Well, how much time you got?
I got time.
[CHUCKLES]
I guess I'll give her
the good news about Frederick.
Oh, I got it, pal.
She's asleep.
Mom, time to wake up.
Dr. Ripley's got some good news.
Then we're gonna go have some soup.
Mom.
[TENSE MUSIC]
She's not breathing. Mitch.
Mom!
- Little help in here!
- Mom!
Code blue! Code blue!
Let's go! Full arrest!
Where's the crash cart?
Get a crash cart in here!
[ALARM BEEPING]
We got this, Mom. We got you.
♪
[ECHOING] No pulse.
Come on.
- Still nothing.
- No sinus rhythm.
- Charge to 200.
- Nothing.
[SUSTAINED BEEP]
♪
- We had a thing.
- Weren't you 15?
I'm not a victim here.
You're not being honest with yourself.
It also takes real bravery
to look a story in the face,
stare it down, see it
for what it really is.
You're making this sound
like I forced myself on you.
It was love.
That's something that I used to believe.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The hospital has already hired scabs?
It would be grossly negligent
not to have replacements
should the nurses strike.
I don't appreciate being played
by one of my best friends.
Let's not make this personal.
I'm sorry, Sharon.
I'm afraid it already is.
Did you book your flights
to the conference yet?
Yeah. Why?
Any chance I could get you
to join me for an extra day
in Myrtle Beach?
Mm.
Wow. [CRUNCHING]
Who's the lucky guy?
And what makes you think there's a guy?
It's the heart surgeon
that you mentioned, right?
What was his name? Shaye or Shader?
Dr. Hayes.
We're attending a conference, Kip.
It's the Summit
on Healthcare Leadership.
- Okay, Dr. Lenox.
- Uh-huh. Thank you.
- Try to have a good time.
- Okay. Goodbye.
Hey, Trini, let's grab
this guy a chest X-ray
and then have labs run a CBC,
BMP, and a, uh
- [COUGHING]
- Blood gas.
Okay. [COUGHS]
You should probably go home
and take care of that cough.
I'm I'm sorry, Dr. Ripley.
Uh, I don't know how it came on so fast.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
That's the third nurse this morning
that's had to go home, Mags
what the hell's going on?
Yeah, and it's not just the nurses, FYI.
Dr. Asher called in sick
this morning as well.
Something's going around.
Well, whatever it is, it's
coming on like a freight train.
Somebody please help.
Our boy can't breathe.
He's turning blue.
- I got him.
- [WHEEZING]
- You're going to Treatment 3.
- Yeah.
Right behind you. Hey, I'm Dr. Frost.
- Can you tell me your name?
- Bode.
We were at a birthday party
around the corner.
There was cake.
- Bode's got a peanut allergy.
- We forgot his EpiPen at home.
All right, no problem.
That happens. No need to worry.
Bode, can you open your mouth
for me, please?
All right, we got some swelling
in the pharynx, for sure.
But no need to intubate yet.
- There are no nurses here?
- Long story.
- Epi?
- Yeah.
Found it.
All right, Bode, slight pinch.
You ready?
[BREATHING SLOWS]
Starting to feel a little better?
- Oh, thank God.
- Okay.
If anyone's listening,
I could really use some help in here!
[RAPID BEEPING]
Yep.
A forklift dropped
a quarter ton of pallets
on this poor guy.
Chest took the brunt of it.
X-ray's up over there.
And it shows a hemothorax, which you're
in the process of relieving,
so what do you need help with?
He's having a run
of non-sustained V-tach.
I was worried we might
have to run a code.
You know, I'm kind of shorthanded here.
Yeah, we're working on that.
Well, what do I do if
he stays in V-tach next time?
I don't know, Loren quickly
grow another pair of hands?
Maggie, let's have CT bring
down a wearable defibrillator
for Mr. Marquez and see
if Dr. Hayes can weigh in.
Will do.
All right, just got
off the phone with Goodwin.
- She's on her way in.
- [COUGHING]
Says she's trying to call
in some agency nurses.
And she asks if you could hold
the fort down in the interim.
Not you too.
I've been fighting it all morning.
I should probably go home
before I get anyone else sick.
- Yep, of course.
- All right.
Yeah.
We got this, right? [DOOR BEEPS]
Excuse me. Can somebody help us, please?
My kid turned blue.
What's going on here? What's happening?
Well, I'm not detecting any
distress in your son's airways,
so that's good news.
But there must be something
wrong with him look.
Could there have been some kind
of gas leak in the restaurant?
Um
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Well, he was struggling
earlier back at the party.
Weren't you, son?
He said that his throat felt tight.
Ezra have any allergies
you guys know about?
Not that we know of.
I brought a slice in from the party
in case you wanted to run any tests.
I know Mandy said there
weren't any peanuts in it,
but you never know, right?
Dr. Frost?
I'll be right back.
Lana, Kirk, how you doing?
I'm Dr. Charles.
- How's Bode doing?
- Better since the epi.
But shouldn't his color
have returned by now?
Yeah, should have.
What are you doing?
I don't think that Bode's cyanotic.
I think his skin was dyed by a napkin
at the birthday party.
But he was gasping for breath.
I'm suspecting
that the allergic reaction
has more to do with the dye
itself than peanuts.
Okay. And what about the others?
♪
- Maggie?
- Sharon.
Yeah, did I hear you
weren't feeling well?
Yeah, I must have caught
a bug or something.
I feel horrible about this.
- Here, let me take a look.
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
I don't want you to catch this.
I just think it's it's
just best that I go home.
I'm sorry.
Well, that explains the cyanosis,
but what about the complaints
of shortness of breath?
Maybe some kind of mass hysteria?
I think that's taking it
a little too far.
I think it's more an example
of how suggestible
we can all get under the right
circumstances, you know?
Kids picking up on the parents'
panic, vice versa, you know?
And so none of these kids
are actually sick.
That's crazy.
My guess is,
they're not really sick either.
- Who?
- Nurses.
This is a sick-out.
♪
We've already called in temps,
so they'll be trickling in
over the course of the day.
I'll be gloving up myself
to help as best I can.
And, of course, we've got
our traveling nurses,
uh, Kacy and Darla, here to pitch in.
Any you thought of putting us
on diversion?
We hope that won't be necessary.
Look, I'm not saying
this is gonna be easy.
Our nurses, as we all know,
are irreplaceable.
But today we're gonna have to find a way
to do without them, okay?
Let's get to work.
Gentlemen, I am concerned
about this backlog.
Let's have you two rip through
all the fast-track stuff,
allow the rest of us to handle
anything that needs a workup.
- Sure.
- All right.
I heard you were looking for me.
So who can tell me what we see?
It's cardiac wall motion abnormalities
of the left ventricle.
And both the aortic and the mitral
look to be critically damaged
and need replacing.
This patient just underwent
severe trauma.
What should our timetable be?
With declining output and
diminished ejection fractions,
his heart's just gonna get worse.
Not sure how much risk
we're reducing by waiting.
So let's err on the side
of action, not caution.
We'll do a modified Commando procedure,
replace both valves at once,
keep his time on the table to a minimum.
This surgery is gonna require
another set of skilled hands.
I know it's not your specialty,
but I'm hoping you'll team up
with me on this one.
Well, I appreciate the offer, Nicholas,
but I'm not sure the E.D.
can spare me today.
It's kind of insane down here.
Because of the nurses?
I-I'm afraid I-I might
even have to cancel our trip
- to Myrtle Beach.
- No, Caitlin.
You can't. It's gonna be epic.
I booked us a-a private dinner
at the hotel tomorrow night
one of the finalists
from "Top Chef" season 12, apparently.
[CHUCKLES] Uh, trust me,
it's not what I would prefer.
I was looking forward to this.
Let's see how the day goes, okay?
We'll probably have to go on diversion,
which should open up my schedule enough
to at least assist you on the surgery.
Great.
But we'll need to be
working in unison, okay?
Like dance partners.
So I think we should practice
our choreography.
I'll have a training mannequin set up,
and I'll see you upstairs
in about an hour?
- Yeah, sounds great.
- Okay.
And I'm gonna figure out a way
to get you to come to Myrtle regardless.
Just warning you right now.
[CHUCKLES]
And we're gonna have to go analog
if we have any chance
of knocking these out.
Nurses really put us
behind the eight ball.
I take it you don't support them.
Not when they're pretending to be sick.
Do you?
I'm a proud union man
through and through.
I'm still holding on to my SAG card.
Can't beat the medical.
Oh, trust me, I'm sympathetic
to the nurses' demands
and to unions in general.
I mean, they did give us weekends off.
- Not that it matters in an E.D.
- Eh, I don't know, Dean.
You're giving off
some Scrooge McDuck vibes.
I mean, what, you believe
it's every man for himself?
Yeah, I believe
in enlightened self-interest,
you know, the principles upon which
- this great country is founded.
- Uh-huh.
Rugged individualism and
all that, the invisible hand.
Yeah, it's that old horror film
where the, uh, disembodied hand
comes creeping along at night
and just suffocates you
in your sleep, right?
It's Adam Smith.
Don't they teach you anything
at school anymore?
All right, how do you wanna
divvy these up?
I don't wanna throw too much at you.
So what about two for me, one for you?
I can hold up my end. Give me half.
Yeah, there's no need to be a hero.
We're just trying to make it
through the day.
No, no, no. Okay, you know what?
In fact, I bet that I get
my patients out the door
before you get yours out.
Really? And what stakes do you propose?
Loser buys lunch.
And not the free stuff
we get in the cafeteria
every day, all right?
I'm talking about a nice
restaurant off-site.
- Uh-huh. Winner's choice, huh?
- Yeah.
Like candy from a baby.
Cocky.
Okay.
[SOFT PLAYFUL MUSIC]
♪
Ambos are starting to peel away.
I hear they're rerouting to East Mercy.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate
the stroke of genius by Maggie.
Aww. [APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
- Wow.
For a bunch of people
who begged off work
because of illness, none of you
appear to be very sick.
Dr. Archer said that you were eager
to crawl back into bed, Grayson.
You too, Leah. What happened?
- Did you get lost?
- Grayson, Leah
most everyone here is just
waiting for the pharmacy
- to fill their prescription.
- Uh-huh.
Seems there's a bit of a logjam.
They said it might take a while.
I can help with that.
Have them all filled at Med.
What script are you waiting for, Doris?
I'm sorry, Sharon, but that
sounds vaguely like a violation
of her HIPAA rights.
I'm sure that wasn't your intent.
Well, would it be possible
for me to grab Maggie
- for a quick second?
- I'm not the boss of her.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
You gloved up, I see.
Someone had to.
Well, if you're trying to make
me feel guilty, save your breath.
I'm already there,
but you left us with no choice.
Maggie, if you guys
get caught faking this,
that's patient abandonment.
It could be grounds for dismissal
and even legal repercussions.
Perhaps we can establish
a side channel, the two of us,
to defuse this bomb before it blows up.
We already tried that.
And and you were somewhat
less than transparent.
Maggie, come back to work, please.
I don't want you to get hurt.
[SIGHS]
Thank you for your concern,
but I think that I'm just gonna
stay here with my people.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
♪
You know, for a second,
I was so lightheaded,
I thought I might faint
into my lobster bisque,
which would have been a disaster,
because everybody knows,
orange bah, not my color.
So this was at the Art Institute?
Yes, well, the Board of Trustees
they were having a brunch
for all the donors
and the friends of the museum.
They say I'm great at a cocktail party,
so I get a lot of invites anyway.
[CHUCKLES]
Okay, Mr. Lambert, um
Oh, no, please, call me Frederick.
Okay, Frederick, how long,
again, have you been feeling
- the numbness in your leg?
- It's been about three days.
Is this, uh, something
I should be worried about?
Tingling can be hard
to pin down sometimes.
Um, you do have
a low-grade fever, though,
and your heart rate's a little elevated,
so I'd like to get a chest X-ray
just to rule out any pneumonia
and, uh, also get
some lab tests done as well.
All right, Frederick,
registration gave me your wristband,
and they should be over shortly
for your ID and insurance card.
Ah, I'm afraid
that I don't carry a wallet
on me, ordinarily.
You know, it tends to destroy
the line of my suit jacket.
Okay.
Oh, uh, in here, Margaret.
Uh, this handsome young doctor
needs to see your insurance card.
It was trickier than I thought to park.
- Oh.
- Here it is.
Thank you.
Your name's Margaret Charles?
- Yes.
- That's funny.
We, uh we have a Dr. Charles
who works here.
That's funny I have a son
they call Dr. Charles
who works here as well.
Mom?
What are you doing here?
I'm here with Freddie.
- Who's Freddie?
- Ooh, uh, that would be me.
Although only she gets to call me that.
Pleasure to meet you.
He's my fiancé.
♪
Congrats.
Okay.
Hey, uh, you haven't seen
any monofilament, have you?
Yeah, right here.
Thank you.
Oh, looks like you're gonna
need a couple more of these.
What happened to her?
Walked through a sliding glass door.
Ugh. It's gonna take
a while to stitch up, huh?
Whole family with strep.
You know, these rapid tests
only take a couple of minutes now.
It's a real time-saver.
Hey, I was thinking Italian, by the way.
You know, Monteverde has
some white truffles in season.
It's crazy expensive,
but I hear you can really taste
the difference.
[CHUCKLES, SLAPS BACK]
How'd you two meet?
At the symphony,
through mutual friends
almost three months ago.
And there I was worrying
that you hadn't taken the time
to get to know each other silly me.
Maybe if you called a little more often,
you wouldn't have been so blindsided.
Where is he from? Does he still work?
Has he been married before?
Does he have any kids?
Uh, New Mexico, originally, I think.
Not sure about any children.
I'm sorry. What else did you ask?
No, I'm sorry, because it sounds
to me like you're getting married
to somebody you don't know
a whole lot about.
Honestly, Daniel, details
aren't that important to me.
Freddie's good company.
He makes me laugh.
And I am slowing down, after all.
Somebody needs to look after me.
I'm just trying to make sure
you're not getting taken advantage of.
I mean, is Lambert even his real name?
Who knows? Doesn't carry a wallet.
Honestly, Dan, can't you be
just a little happy for me?
And you wonder why I hadn't told you.
Excuse me, Margaret.
Frederick was wondering if you
could fetch his Hermès throw
that you bought him for his birthday.
He's feeling a little chilly.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Don't you start.
♪
Truthfully, I hate to admit it,
but patient care is suffering, no doubt.
I think we should consider
closing to ambulance traffic.
- Do we have any choice?
- We've heard rumors
they've set up a war room
around the corner.
No, it's not exactly a war room.
So it's true? You've seen them yourself?
I have.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Peter,
but if the hospital can prove
that the nurses aren't really sick,
that could be considered
an illegal work action
and they'd be in breach
of contract, wouldn't they?
If we could prove intent, yeah.
Is that something
you can confirm, Sharon?
No, I can't.
But I get the impression that
they're eager to resolve this.
How far apart were we, again, Peter?
On the coverage ratios,
we're in the same neighborhood,
but on the wage increases,
I mean, we're not even
in the same area code.
Look, Miranda, if the board is
willing to meet them halfway,
I'm pretty sure that's
a framework they will accept.
Okay.
But they need to know that this
is our best and final, Sharon.
This can't keep going on.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING]
[DEVICE BEEPS,
UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
Bossa nova?
I told you we're gonna be
dance partners, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- Here, you take the lead.
If I remember correctly,
the standard Commando procedure
involves starting
with an oblique aortotomy?
Normally, yes,
but I was hoping to save a little time
and get this guy off the table quicker.
So I was thinking we'd try
an aorto-annulo-septotomy.
- Through the left atrial roof.
- No.
We wanna leave that intact to
guarantee better homeostasis.
♪
I don't understand. Then where do I cut?
Let me show you.
It's tricky, but
we wanna incise the aortic annulus here,
only moderately apart
from the right fibrous trigone,
so as to avoid interference
with the major
conduction pathway, like so.
And voilà.
See how suddenly clearer our
field of vision is gonna be?
Now we can replace the mitral
and aortic valve simultaneously.
That's genius truly.
We'll be able to get
to everything faster that way,
like you said.
I have a habit
of doing that sometimes
taking things too fast.
Uh-huh.
You don't think that's
what's happening here, do you?
Because I don't wanna rush you.
♪
Maybe we should table this
until Myrtle Beach.
Yeah, I think that's wise.
Meet back here in 30, Dr. Lenox?
I'll go clear my schedule.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
I'll see you in surgery, Dr. Howard.
♪
A 6% wage hike?
Per year for the duration
of the contract,
plus a reduction of the coverage ratio
from 5 to 4 1/2 patients per nurse.
That's not exactly
what we asked for, Sharon.
I'm telling you, Maggie, as a friend,
this deal won't get any better.
Well, that's a nonstarter.
Really?
Because I feel like we're almost getting
everything that we asked for.
After only half a day sitting out.
Imagine what we could achieve
if we sat out till tomorrow
- or even next week.
- I don't know.
I mean, are we here
to win a fair contract
or to draw blood?
- Draw blood.
- What?
That's how you know you've won.
This fight isn't just about us.
It's for the generations
coming up behind.
We have a responsibility to get
the best contract we can.
Yes, but what if that's what this is?
Why do you think they sent
Sharon to present the offer?
She's preying on your
willingness to trust her.
We hold the line, Maggie.
There's more juice left to squeeze.
[SIGHS]
Hey.
How's, um, uh, old Frederick doing?
I'm not sure, to be honest.
I mean, at first glance,
he seems not so bad.
Lungs are clear.
Nothing terrible on his labs.
And yet?
And yet I can't seem to get
his BP off the floor, for example.
His breathing is becoming more labored.
Um, and then there's
the numbness in his leg
and and the pain in his back.
Think we could be looking
at pyelonephritis?
No, no. Urine's clean.
Uh, I thought he was septic,
but I don't see any cause.
I wonder if there's
a neurological angle to this,
you know, given the numbness?
Maybe it's a good idea
for me to do a, you know,
quick neuropsych eval,
you know, knock a few things
off the list.
Do you really think that's necessary?
Better safe than sorry, right?
Okay.
[STAMMERS] Hey, what's
the deal with this guy?
I don't recall him being on my roster.
Rear-ended, still waiting on an MRI.
Radiology needs all the metal
taken out of his body first.
- Okay.
- Don't look at me.
I gotta titrate a nicardipine drip in 7.
But [SCOFFS]
[SOFT PLAYFUL MUSIC]
Hey. Did you mess up my board?
I'm a Navy man, Dr. Frost.
I abide by a strict code of honor.
Doesn't answer my question.
Yeah, I I'm I'm too in the weeds
to resort to petty gamesmanship.
Get a grip.
♪
I'm Dr. Frost. How you doing?
No introduction.
Twist off, I think, right?
I'll figure it out.
Okay.
Sorry.
Hey, I just heard you're
bailing out on the surgery.
- What do you think you're doing?
- I'm heading home.
I think I might have caught
whatever it is
- the nurses might have.
- They don't have anything.
They're faking sick for leverage.
What's your excuse?
Naomi, I thought we resolved
this lack of commitment
you're exhibiting.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
- Dr. Hayes is a legend
- Just stop it already
with this worship of this great
and powerful Dr. Hayes!
You have no idea who he really is.
What are you talking about?
[GROANS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Naomi.
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
Excellent. Perfect.
Okay, now I'd like to try something
a little bit different.
I'm gonna say a category, okay?
And you just say the first
three things that come to mind.
For instance, um, animals.
Uh, uh, zebra, ostrich, jaguar.
Frederick, if if you're too tired,
- we can do this later.
- No, no, no, I'm fine.
- It's fun.
- Articles of clothing?
Ah, let's say
a Johnstons of Elgin cashmere sweater,
Gucci loafers, and then,
of course, a Brioni tuxedo.
Ooh, expensive tastes
exotic ones, too a man of refinement.
A tuxedo isn't exotic.
It's a staple
of any gentleman's wardrobe.
Don't you agree?
I haven't worn one
since my first wedding.
Mm, that's a shame.
How many times you been married?
Well, from what Margaret
tells me, fewer times than you.
You know what? I think you're
probably right about that.
And what do you do for a living,
if you don't mind me asking?
What's this about?
He disapproves of our relationship.
He doesn't like you, Freddie, at all.
And he thinks you're taking
advantage of me.
Right?
Mother, he is using you, okay?
And he's not even trying to hide it.
Come on, the clothes,
the the health insurance,
the the Hermès blanket?
I mean, all those procedures, my God.
You can be straight with me.
You paid for the last Botox, didn't you?
- That was a chemical peel.
- Oh.
And who cares? I like him.
I know what this is really about.
You do, do you? Enlighten me.
Cece.
Cece.
Huh. Tell me more.
I disapproved of your partner
once upon a time,
and now you're finally
getting your revenge.
Disapproved of my partner?
She was my first wife!
And you didn't come to our wedding,
and you never told me why,
but I got this crazy hunch
it had something to do with
the fact that she was Black.
Jesus, Daniel. I'm sorry.
If that's supposed to be an apology,
you're 30 years too late.
Okay, go ahead.
Flog your dear old mother.
I can take it.
The women in this family
have always been made
of stronger stuff.
Oh, is that right?
Stronger than who?
Me, Tommy
Dad?
All. All of you.
[SCOFFS] It's really Freddie
I should've been worried about
the whole time, right?
'Cause as soon as you start,
you're gonna drive him away
all by your lonesome.
Start what?
You know, picking on him,
wearing him down,
bludgeoning him with your
extraordinary eye for weakness,
your cruelty.
'Cause that's what you do, isn't it?
I mean, you grind the weaklings
down to a nub
until one day
they can't take it anymore,
and they walk into the garage,
and they close the door,
and they turn on the car.
Ah! Stop!
And you say I'm cruel.
I loved your father.
Yeah, until there was nothing left.
- [ALARM BEEPING]
- Little help in here!
Oh!
- He's crumping.
- BP's 78/50.
He's going into shock.
Give me an 8.0 ET tube and a Mac 3.
Draw up 20 of etomidate and 100 of sux.
Oh, my God, Freddie.
Okay, meds are in. BP's still falling.
Freddie!
You wasted all this time
interrogating him
when you could have been figuring out
what's actually wrong.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
We had just finished a long
and complicated transplant,
and Dr. Hayes asked me to stay behind
so he could teach me some
of the techniques that he used
- during the surgery.
- Okay.
I was so thrilled
at the opportunity that
I wasn't really paying attention
when he dismissed the rest of the team.
Anyway, um
he asked me to show him how
I would hold the instruments.
And he stood next to me, like
really, really close.
And he used his hand
to move mine into the right positions,
like so.
And after a little while,
I could feel his other hand
wrap around my waist.
And at first, I thought
it was part of the instruction,
you know?
But then he pressed his hips into me,
pinning me against the table.
He used his hand to move down my body
and over the back of my thighs.
And
I couldn't even speak or move
for what felt like forever, until
- Until what?
- I finally snapped out of it.
I-I pushed myself away from the table,
and I could see he could tell
what I was thinking.
Immediately, he started to gaslight me,
saying all he was doing
was trying to help me
master my technique.
[INHALES DEEPLY] I went home
feeling so humiliated
[SNIFFLES] And confused.
[SOFT SOMBER MUSIC]
[BREATHES SHAKILY, CLEARS THROAT]
I can't tell what you're thinking
whether or not you believe me.
[CLEARS THROAT]
No, no, I believe you.
The only reason I'm even saying anything
is because I know you're going
away with him for the weekend,
and, well, I-I just thought
you needed to know.
♪
And that's that's all that happened?
You're not withholding anything
'cause, I don't know,
you're embarrassed?
N-no, that that's everything.
Isn't that enough?
Okay.
Thank you for telling me.
I have to go to surgery.
And as soon as I'm done,
I will have to report this.
No. Please, you can't.
I-I don't want this
to jeopardize my residency.
I can't afford that.
Now that I know what to look
out for, I'll be smarter.
I-I can avoid situations like
that with him moving forward.
I can.
Naomi, you can't make this
your responsibility.
Please! Please!
You need to promise me
you won't say anything.
♪
[SIGHS]
[VELCRO TEARS]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Just one second.
Ready to get out of here, Joanna?
Wow, when you said you had
to keep me for observation
for an hour, I thought that
was just a ballpark number,
not 60 minutes exactly.
Well, we like to run a tight ship here.
And I think we can safely
rule out a concussion
from that fall you took.
- Discharge papers?
- Uh, signed and sealed.
All right, Joanna, ready?
- Wheels up. Let's go.
- Okay.
I should consider
getting one of these myself.
Do you know if they make
an electric version?
I'm not sure.
I got a stress fracture
in my knee is why I'm asking
about six weeks now.
My GP thought I'd actually gain weight
not being able to walk as much and all,
but I went the other way entirely.
- You lost weight?
- 23 pounds, like magic.
That's probably why I fainted earlier.
My body still isn't used
to the weight loss.
Uh, how'd your GP diagnose
this stress fracture?
- Did he get an MRI?
- No, just an X-ray.
Why?
All right, you know what?
Just to be on the safe side
I'd like to take a better look
at what's going on
inside that knee of yours.
Okay, I guess.
It shouldn't take too long.
Hoo-hoo! Yes!
Victory is mine.
Looks like you're buying, sucker!
I'm sorry.
Thought I had you there for a second.
Yeah, sure you did.
All right, let's go. [GRUNTS]
I mean, if he's not septic,
his body's doing
a pretty good impression of it.
Did your, uh, psych eval bear any fruit?
Uh, not really.
I'm sorry, buddy. I just
I-I-I couldn't help myself.
Come on, you you don't have
to apologize to me.
It's kind of comforting to be
reminded that you're human
and, I guess, that I'm not the only one
who has issues with his mother.
You know, we didn't speak
for almost 30 years.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
I thought I was over all
that stuff, but I guess not.
We really went at it, you know?
I guess I still got
some hostility to work through,
as well, it seems, as some, what,
complicated feelings
about men who are obsessed
with their appearance?
Like, where where's that coming from?
Maybe it's time to take
a little peek in the mirror,
- so to speak.
- Exactly.
Hey, maybe I'm the one
who needs a chemical peel.
[LAUGHS]
Chemical peel?
Didn't you say that he had
a pain in his in his back?
Yeah. Why?
We need to MRI his spine immediately.
Okay, patty melts and
milkshakes all around, okay?
[ALL CHEERING]
Or or or whatever
you want, all right?
Go crazy.
You shouldn't have, Dr. Frost.
Are you kidding me?
We're stronger together, right?
I think you didn't, actually.
Yeah, well, I did not,
because that's Archer's card.
Uh-huh.
But the sentiment is mine, so
- Yeah.
- Just saying.
Really thoughtful of you, all this.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Look, Maggie, if you have a minute,
I-I've just I've been thinking
Maggie, could you?
Okay. I'm sorry.
- Can this wait?
- Of course.
I'm so sorry.
We're in the middle of things.
- Go ahead. I get it, yeah.
- Okay.
- Anything?
- Go nuts.
Can I get a burger?
What's up?
Just got off the phone with leadership.
The hospital canceled our next sit-down,
and they don't appear eager
to reschedule.
It's like we've been ghosted.
I mean, what did we expect?
You need to reach back out to Sharon
and see if you can glean anything.
Wait, how is it that when
you want something from Sharon,
you tell me to exploit
the fact that we're friends,
but when she's offering intel,
you warn me not to trust her?
I mean, which one is it?
- We're at war, Maggie.
Friendship doesn't matter,
only leverage.
Call her.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
Peter.
What's going on?
Management wants to start
the ball rolling
on replacing the nurses.
Already?
Well, I just extended an offer.
At least give them the night
to mull it over.
The board doesn't wanna find themselves
in the same position tomorrow.
I mean, you know Miranda.
She hates feeling vulnerable.
So is this true?
You're you're letting them all go?
We're exploring our options, yes.
You know, our nurses
are not just numbers
on a spreadsheet, Miranda.
They're the lifeblood
of everything we do here.
And if the hospital
can't recognize that,
then I'll have no choice
but to tender my resignation as well.
If your salary even came remotely close
to bridging the gap, I'd accept, Sharon.
Unfortunately,
the money just isn't there.
If you can find some way
to show the nurses
how much we value them
which doesn't include a bigger raise,
by all means, bring it to the table.
But do it fast.
♪
A 5% pay bump.
That's less than what
you were offering this morning.
Keep reading the fine print.
"Illinois Public Act Number 102-064
"as an amendment
to the Nurse Staffing
Improvement Act of 2007"
Requires every hospital convene
a nursing care committee
co-chaired by a direct-care nurse.
We already know this, Sharon.
This is an eight-person committee
four nurses, four admin.
Every issue ends up
in a deadlock by design.
Maybe not anymore.
I spoke with the board.
They're willing to give you
an extra seat
and to welcome an active nurse
to sit on the advisory board
on a full-time basis.
Maggie, nurses will have a seat
at the table.
Your voices will be heard.
I mean, that's just something
you can't put a value on.
[SOFT MUSIC]
I'll run this up the flagpole.
Oh, and one more thing free lunch.
What?
Doctors get carte blanche
in the cafeteria
while nurses have to dig
in their own pockets.
It's unfair, and it's easily rectified.
It's amazing how happy people are
when they get something for free.
Copy.
♪
I can't believe that was
your first time doing that.
Your movements were
so precise and decisive.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
By the way, my procedure's
not the only thing
that went commando today.
I have a car waiting for us
to take us to the airport.
I'll meet you out front.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
So it's a bacterial infection?
When you had that
chemical peel done, Frederick,
it's as if your skin had been exposed
to a second-degree burn,
temporarily removing
a layer of protection
and leaving you susceptible
to a, uh, variety
of rare microscopic bugs.
In your case, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
It traveled through
your bloodstream to your spine,
where it created an abscess.
That's why you've been
experiencing numbness.
The good news is,
your body's been responding
to the ceftazidime
we've been administering.
We're very fortunate
Dr. Charles caught this in time.
It's always been
my greatest sin vanity.
It seems today it, uh,
nearly cost me my life.
You know, if I didn't have someone
as grounded as your mother
I fear I could be borne away
on even the slightest breeze.
I don't know how
to stop myself from feeling
[SNIFFLES] So
insubstantial.
You know, um, somebody
a whole lot smarter than me
once said something like, um
what was it?
Vanity self-love
self-love is nowhere near so vile a sin
as self-neglect.
[CHUCKLES] That's "Henry V," I think.
Who's gonna argue with the Bard, right?
You're very kind.
I can see why Margaret's
constantly going on about you.
You're very kind.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
[SNIFFS] [PHONE DINGS]
[PHONE CLATTERS]
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
♪
[SIGHING]
- Hey, Dean?
- Yeah?
You the one that sent
Joanna Richards up for imaging?
- Uh-huh.
- It's a good thing you did.
An aggressive little bastard
of an osteosarcoma
growing into her tibia.
We didn't catch it now,
she'd have lost that leg
- or worse.
- Yeah.
Thanks, Thalia. Thanks.
Well
good evening.
So glad you're all feeling better.
That dreaded 11-hour flu
I hear it's going around.
And thank you, Dean,
for your incredible generosity.
We knew you'd always have our back.
- You're you're welcome.
- So you bought lunch.
- Dr. Archer.
- Yeah, hi.
Um, just think of it as an example
of that invisible hand
you kept talking about, huh?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay,
this this number is far from
- Thank you.
- Yeah, you're welcome.
Far from invisible.
Whatever happened to starve a fever?
If it's any consolation,
I don't think the deal
gets done without it.
[SOFT MUSIC]
I mean, what?
So
what couldn't wait?
Yeah, I didn't mean to interrupt. Sorry.
Um, look, I've been meaning
to talk to you
for a while now, and
just the way I acted when
you were asking about Ainsley
- It's it's okay. It's
- No.
- It's water under the bridge.
- It's really not, Maggie.
Friends don't talk
to each other like that.
And I was accusing you
of interfering in a place
that you were not wanted,
o-of not knowing me.
But the truth is,
you knew me a little too well,
and it scared me.
You were in so much pain, Jonathan,
it just hurt me to see you like that.
I get that.
All right, and you made me
face up to something
that I hadn't wanted to in a long time.
I'm glad you did, though. I am.
And I-I just wanted to say thank you.
♪
Anyway, um
I'll let you get
back to the celebration
You confronted Ainsley about all this?
Yeah.
Yeah, I did.
How'd it go?
Well, how much time you got?
I got time.
[CHUCKLES]
I guess I'll give her
the good news about Frederick.
Oh, I got it, pal.
She's asleep.
Mom, time to wake up.
Dr. Ripley's got some good news.
Then we're gonna go have some soup.
Mom.
[TENSE MUSIC]
She's not breathing. Mitch.
Mom!
- Little help in here!
- Mom!
Code blue! Code blue!
Let's go! Full arrest!
Where's the crash cart?
Get a crash cart in here!
[ALARM BEEPING]
We got this, Mom. We got you.
♪
[ECHOING] No pulse.
Come on.
- Still nothing.
- No sinus rhythm.
- Charge to 200.
- Nothing.
[SUSTAINED BEEP]
♪