ER 12.6 Dream House

Previously on ER: John Leguizamo, aka Chi-Chi Rodriguez from To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, is the new Attending, Victor Clemente, who pretends to be a patient and congratulates Pratt for killing him; Weaver confronts Chi-Chi about something that happened at his last job in Newark and Abby overhears; Dubenko is recovering from his prostate cancer surgery and is confined to a wheelchair, telling Abby, “you think it stunk to work here, try being a patient”; Ray meets up with a heavily made up groupie named Zoe after his band’s gig; Pratt introduces himself to his half-brother, Chaz; Danny Glover, aka Mister from The Color Purple introduces Pratt as his son to his wife and daughter, Mrs. Mister and Sister Mister, respectively; Mister pulls a guilt trip on Pratt about having a relationship with his half-brother.


Neela is in her apartment, biting into an apple. Since one a day will keep the doctor away, one can only hope she is doing it to get rid of Ray. But no, I’m not that lucky because Ray just came out of his bedroom. Neela is holding the apple with her mouth, so her hands can be free to put on her coat. Ray asks her if she’s getting ready for a roast. Already, shut up, Ray! If anyone is the pig in this apartment, it’s you. Neela bitches to him that they need to clean up, and he reminds her that Gallant won’t be there for another three days. Neela thinks it will take a week to disinfect. She just wants it to be nice for Gallant, because he’s been in Iraq for a long time. Honestly, Neela, I don’t think he’s going to mind the mess as long as he’s getting some. Ray tells her they are going to be late, and Neela heads to the bathroom. Standing at the sink brushing her teeth is Zoe the Groupie, who with the make-up looked like Marilyn Manson, but without looks a bit like Liv Tyler – a very young Liv Tyler. How old is this girl? She introduces herself to Neela, who remembers. Liv tells her she has a cool place. Neela sort of rolls her eyes and tells her there are thin walls. Liv laughs and says that sometimes they really get it going. No kidding. If she was the girl Ray had in there a few weeks ago, it sounded like they were doing demolition on the walls. Neela starts to ask if Liv has seen something, but stops as the camera zooms in on a toothbrush. Liv says sorry, and Neela tells her to keep it because she has gum, which my husband, the dentist, says is not a substitute, Neela. Neela exits the bathroom and closes the door behind her. She confronts Ray in the kitchen and asks if he is just leaving her there. Ray wants to know if Neela is afraid that Liv is going to steal something, and Neela bitches that Liv already took her toothbrush. Ray tells her not to worry, because Liv will lock up. Neela can’t believe he gave her keys. Ray tells her that “it’s different with Zoe” and that there is something real between them. Neela snarks, “yeah, real loud”. Hee. I love Neela.


Chi-Chi is on the phone at Admit talking really low as Abby walks by. Of course, she looks over at him, trying to hear his conversation. She really needs to stop with the eavesdropping, because it is an annoying habit she has. Chi-Chi is telling whoever is on the phone that they do have a NICU, but it’s “not exactly S.O.P.”, as both Abby and Frank listen in. Abby asks Frank what S.O.P. is and Frank tells her “Standard Operating Procedure”, which I can’t believe she didn’t know nor could figure out. Again, Abby sometimes is a bit dense. Frank says that it’s military talk and Abby responds that must mean Frank likes him. Frank laughs and tells her it’s going to take a little more than that. I like Abby’s black turtleneck – she looks nice, though her hair is pulled back and is once again a mess and flopping in her face. Chi-Chi tells the caller that he “owes him” and hangs up. He then says “Lockhart” to which she responds “Abby”, and he tells her in a low voice that he needs a room with a warmer set up for an infant, miller one and a two-five. Sam walks by and says “Two-five? What’s it, a preemie?” Chi-Chi says yeah, thanks her, but he and Abby have it. He sort of grabs Abby by the arm and they walk away towards the doors. Frank watches after them and says to Sam that you can see it “in his eyes that it’s starting to sink in on the poor sucker”. Sam asks “what is?” and Frank replies “that he actually works here”. Sam chuckles.


Ambulance is backing up. Chi-Chi is telling Abby that this is a special case and it has to be treated on the DL. Since Abby’s so dense and I speak jive, I’ll translate for her. It means “Down Low”, Abby. He asks her if she follows. She wants to know if it is his illegitimate love child, which makes me laugh out loud. He sarcastically tells her to try to be cool. Tall order, Chi-Chi. A guy not dressed like a typical paramedic opens the ambulance door and tells them they have a nine week old with vomiting and diarrhea. Chi-Chi asks for the vitals, and Non-typical paramedic guy responds that he’s tachy, but they couldn’t get a BP. Chi-Chi asks for the SAT, but Non-typ tells him the probe wouldn’t stick to the fur. Uh oh. They pull the gurney out and Abby scowls looking at the patient. Chi-Chi says “Lockhart, this is Darwin” and they cut to a chimp in an infant car seat. Abby raises her eyebrows and with a really funny expression on her face says “that’s … the ugliest baby I’ve even seen”. Hee.


After Opening Credits, Sally from Third Rock from the Sun is sitting on a chair at Admit, again wearing a way too low cut top and I’m already hoping we are not going to be subjected to another camera shot of her cleavage. Because really, the one a couple of episodes ago was enough. She also has on a choker with a huge shell looking thing, which I’m sure would not get in the way at all when she’s treating patients. The nurses are all gathered around and Sally is telling them that the good news is that the hospital has approved 4-to-1 ratios. Sam responds “finally!” as Haleh grins. Sally continues that it means extra full-time equivalents and stresses, pointedly looking at Haleh, there will be zero tolerance for excessive OT. Sally is wearing her hair in a totally unflattering approximation of a late seasons Laurie Partridge hairdo – top part pulled back and then hanging down long. Just once, I’d like to not have a problem with the hair on this show. Haleh remarks to Sam that she hopes they have enough people to fill all those shifts.


We hear a voice saying to Sam that she got a haircut. She shakes her head and starts to say that it’s just highlights, when she notices where the voice is coming from and looks quizzically in that direction. Something that looks like a tall trashcan on wheels with a TV screen, video camera and antenna like My Favorite Martian on top comes rolling towards Admit. On the screen is an eerie black and white talking head close-up of Dubenko. The talking head says good morning to the ER staff. What an absolutely ridiculous looking contraption and I’m already annoyed with this scene. This totally reminds me of how this summer I happened to catch the world’s greatest cheese-fest on TVLand – John Travolta in the 70’s TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. There’s a scene where Travolta is in his habitat, or bubble-tat, and is monitoring a high school class via a TV screen. Good times. Frank looks at BubbleBenko and says “So it’s true … we’re not alone”. Sally wants to know what’s going on. BubbleBenko is smirking and moving the screen and camera around. He tells them that this device was designed to offer remote surgical consults. I’m not a surgeon, but doesn’t it help to actually be able to touch the patients to do a full assessment? BubbleBenko says that since he’s still at home recovering, he thought he’d give it a test drive. Sam and Haleh are amused as we see Chi-Chi looking in through the doors at the robotic contrivance. Sally says “okay, meeting’s over” and they all disperse. BubbleBenko follows behind Sam, Haleh and Inez calling that for the sake of the trial he’s going to need a few things, but they keep walking. Inez says she misses the Bronx and Haleh says this is why she doesn’t have cable. Sam wants to know how he is making it move and he says he has a joystick in his lap. Oh, for the love of God. Please don’t tell me that since Abby declined to be his concubine, he’s going to come on to Sam now. She tells him that is too much information and I couldn’t agree more. Abby and Chi-Chi wheel the gurney with Darwin past them and he tells her they will be in Sutures. She asks if they need help, but he tells her they have it. BubbleBenko says “Good morning, Dr. Lockhart”, and Abby does a double take and sort of trips over her feet as they wheel the gurney around the corner. Very funny. Maura Tierney has really good comic timing.


Haleh tells Pratt that a kid in triage is asking for him and that he says he knows him. Pratt looks over and spots Chaz, who waves at him. He tells Haleh to put him in Two and walks away. Sally walks up to Haleh and tells her to walk with her. She also calls Haleh something that sounds like “Holly”. Can’t believe the editors missed that. Haleh says “you sure like to walk”, which gives me a chuckle because what is it with Sally and asking people to walk with her, because she’s done it in every episode. Sally asks Haleh if she remembers the little chat they had. Haleh responds that she did what she promised, no more OT. Sally laughs and tells her that she knows Haleh is picking up extra time by taking shifts in ICU. Haleh smart-asses that Sally never said she couldn’t and Sally replies that she also didn’t say that Haleh couldn’t start flipping burgers around the corner or turning tricks in Lincoln Park. That is so not a good image. Haleh’s all “Excuse me???” Sally stares her down and tells her that it is overtime and that Haleh knows what she is talking about. Haleh apologizes and says it won’t happen again and walks away. Sally is not pleased.


Chi-Chi and Abby are examining Darwin. Chi-Chi says his temperature is only 94. Abby thinks she must have skipped school the day they taught monkey veins. Chi-Chi tells her that “word on the street” is that she “gives good neonate”, which should really not sound as dirty as it does. And, shut up, Chi-Chi! Last week you told her you hadn’t heard good things about her. Abby responds “Human neonate, Dr. Moreau”, which is kind of funny, though Chi-Chi doesn’t look anything like Marlon Brando. Chi-Chi bets her that she didn’t know that chimps and humans share 96% or their DNA, because obviously Abby went to medical school and not veterinary school. She shoots him a look as he continues that it’s fascinating. He explains to her that Darwin’s handler called him and told him that the vet was kind of nervous, and he figured Darwin’s best shot is with Chi-Chi. No explanation as to why the vet was nervous, nor do I suppose that it occurred to Darwin’s handler to try calling another vet, or the Lincoln Park Zoo or some such place. Stupid plot. Abby sarcastically says “oh, of course he does”, and I’m with her on the sarcasm. Chi-Chi says that Darwin is tachy and the carotid is weak as Abby keeps trying to get in a line. She wants to know if Chi-Chi knows the handler from going to clown school together. Chi-Chi wants to know how she guessed and she stares at him. He tells her he’s serious. He was at NYU and the handler was with Ringling Brothers and that he had kind of a circus thing. Abby waves her hand at him, like she doesn’t need to hear anymore and I’m kind of grateful to her for doing that because I don’t either. Awww, Darwin is cute. Chi-Chi says “we need access, Lockhart” and she again responds “Abby”. She tells him she is going to try to find a transilluminator. He wants to know if there is anyone else they can trust and she exasperatedly asks him “what are we doing?” He explains that he’s an Attending and he can’t spend all day with a chimp as his cell phone rings. Abby knows and she more pointedly asks “so what are we doing?” Chi-Chi looks at his cell, and closes it without answering. He tells Abby to go and not to forget to knock. He unlocks the door to let her out and she just stares at him. He tells her again to go, so she peeks out into the hall and then leaves.


Morris spots her in the hall and says that he heard she has a baby in there. He asks if she needs help, but she says they have it. He wants to know if it’s cute and she, again playing with the hair, replies “yes, it’s a … hairy little monkey”. Hee. Morris tells her he loves babies and that they love him and that he has a way with them, and I am so sure that is not true. Abby asks him if he can get her a transilluminator. He rushes off telling her he is like the wind, which I hope he means moving fast and not breaking wind. Neela walks by and Abby grabs her and asks her if she has a minute because they could use an extra set of hands. Again, she’s playing with her hair. Jeez, Maura, either get it cut or do a better job of pulling it back because that little habit is getting annoying. Neela says sure and they go to the suture room door. Abby sighs and raps on the door in an overly drawn out succession of knocking like a signal, and it’s funny. Chi-Chi lets them in and tells them to hurry up. Abby tells him she couldn’t find the transilluminator, but he tells her to forget it because he got some kind of tube that I didn’t catch and the Closed Captioning was unhelpful. Neela spots the patient, scowls and is like “oh, wait … what???”, and asks them if they do realize that’s a monkey. Chi-Chi corrects her by saying chimp. Neela looks both incredulous and amused as Abby tells her they are 96% human and who knew?


Close up of a hand with three things that look like claws sticking out of the palm. Pratt asks how it happened as I wonder whether this means Chaz is turning into a werewolf or something. Chaz says he was horsing around, but Pratt thinks it looks like a little bit more than that. Chaz says he got into a fight. Pratt wants to know if it was at school, but Chaz says it was at home, with Mister. Pratt wants to know if Mister hit him, but Chaz says he doesn’t do that. Pratt asks what they were fighting about. Chaz tells him he always thought there was something going on that he didn’t know about. Then he met Pratt and he realized what it was. He tells Pratt that he didn’t just cut off Mister, he cut him off too. He doesn’t want it to be like that and aren’t they brothers? Pratt doesn’t answer but tells him his hand may be worse off than it looks.


Someone’s banging on the Sutures room door. Abby tells Chi-Chi it sounds like they need the room for an actual patient. Chi-Chi ignores the door and tells Abby and Neela that another thing chimps share with humans is the tendency to get sepsis as neonates. Knocking stops, but the phone starts ringing. Neela answers it. Chi-Chi starts ordering tests, CBC, d-stick, cultures, portable chest, and 20cc’s per kilo bolus. Abby wants to know if that’s it, and sarcastically asks if he doesn’t want a foley or an LP, too. Chi-Chi thinks a tap might be jumping the gun, but a foley’s not a bad idea. Neela tells the caller to hold on a second, and then puts it on speakerphone. Sally’s voice comes over drippingly sweet and says that they are over in Trauma Two with their friend Jessie who has multiple fractures from a fall and they were wondering if it would be possible for him to get his ass in there. Hee. She hangs up. Chi-Chi starts to leave and tells Abby and Neela to shake a leg because if the chimp gets sepsis, he could “crump at any minute”. He heads out and tells them to lock the door. The song “Lime in the Coconut” starts playing and I start laughing out loud because it’s so ridiculous. Neela takes out a baby measuring tape to get Darwin’s size. They put on a pulse ox, blood pressure cuff. As the song plays there are cuts back and forth between Neela, Abby and Darwin as they are examining him like my pediatrician does with my baby. It’s actually kind of sweet the way they are treating him, but that stupid song is grating. Then there’s a shot of the three of them as Abby and Neela are playing with Darwin and sort of cooing over him. Abby tells Neela they should take a core temp and hands her the probe and Neela replies that she is not “sticking anything up this monkey’s ass”, to which Abby responds “you know, if I had a nickel for every time I said that”. Hee. Neela suggests they flip for it as Morris bursts into the room. Uh oh. Guess they didn’t lock the door after Chi-Chi. Abby and Neela quickly step in front of the table as Morris explains that the transilluminator is missing a bulb and he thought he would give them some help. Morris steps closer and spots Darwin. He’s taken aback and exclaims “By all that is good and holy, what diabolical spell have you cast on this child?” Hee. Obviously Morris never read MacBeth or watched the show Charmed, or he would know it takes three witches to cast a spell. Abby and Neela look at each other and then back at Morris and both go to say something but then don’t know what to say.


Pratt is at the board wiping off some patients’ names. Inez comes up and wants him to sign off on a chart. She tells him it is for the kid in two that got into it with his father and that the social worker is in with him now. Pratt’s pissed and wants to know why she started a chart. She says that Sally is really strict about that stuff and with suspicion of abuse she has to call them in. Pratt bursts into the room and sees the social worker talking to Chaz, who is telling her he doesn’t need any help. Chaz sees Pratt and asks why he has to go through all of this. Pratt introduces himself and asks if he can see her outside, and the social worker, Liz Dade, says when she is finished. Pratt tells her the nurse jumped the gun and that he knows this family and it’s a stable home. It was an innocent argument and the kid got a little too steamed. She wants to know if anyone hit anyone and Chaz says he just got real mad at a chair. I know what you are saying Chaz, because my recliner is really pissing me off right now because it snaps upright whenever I move. Liz scoffs and says “that’s not going to do it”. Pratt admits that Chaz is his brother. She wants to know why he didn’t say so and says she’ll do a follow-up phone call.


Crazy lady patient is thrashing around on a bed in the Curtain Area and screaming how Tom Cruise is retarded and I am so with you on that, sister. Then she says that Sammy Sosa is retarded and I now have to tell her to back off, because Sammy’s a cutie. Sam comes running over to try to calm her down. Crazy lady rips out her foley and sprays urine all over Sam, who rightfully spits out “son of a bitch!”

Cut to Sam in Trauma Yellow pulling off her urine soaked scrub top. Why is she doing that in there? Wouldn’t she just grab some new scrubs and go into the Ladies Room? Is this just for the gratuitous shot of Linda Cardellini in her black bra? Because if it is, my husband is so thanking the director. Of course, someone walks in on her, but it’s not Luka, who I was expecting. And speaking of, where the hell is Goran Visnjic??? We are almost to the first commercial break and we haven’t seen him yet. Is this like the Season Premiere, where we didn’t see Maura Tierney until the last 10 minutes of the show, because if so, I ain’t liking it one bit. I have nothing pretty to look at. Sally walks in on Sam, who whips around covering herself with the scrub top. Might have wanted to think about the modesty issue before you started changing in a public room, Sam. Sam starts to apologize to Sally, who tells her it’s okay and pulls over a screen for Sam to change behind. Sally asks her “how retarded was that?” and Sam chuckles. Sally tells her that she overheard her talking to Inez, which must have happened off camera because I don’t remember seeing any such conversation tonight, and Sam says she’s sorry for that. She thinks that Inez needs a little guidance. Sally says it’s okay, she’s actually really impressed. Interesting camera shot of both of them on either side of the screen. Sam is so short and Sally is so tall it’s like a before and after shot for some miracle growth hormone. Sally thinks Sam has fantastic interpersonal skills which is the funniest thing I have heard so far this episode because obviously Sally has not been around for the past two seasons to witness just how wrong that statement is. Sally keeps going with this fantasy dialogue by saying that the younger nurses respect Sam and the older nurses trust her. Sam says ‘thanks” in a rather surprised tone because she knows how clueless Sally is too. Sally thinks it’s time Sam moved up the ladder. Sam wants to know what ladder, because Sam is just as dense as Abby is sometimes. Sally is smiling and replies “nursing administration”. Sam says she’s happy doing what she’s doing. Sally tells her the job wouldn’t change that much, she’d help with staff education, implementing nursing policies and procedures. Sam thinks it sounds like a lot of work and Sally tells her there would be a big pay hike. Now Sam’s interested. She pushes back the screen and asks Sally how big, and Sally replies “shopping on Michigan Avenue big”, which I guess means it’s pretty substantial because Sam looks psyched and wants to know when she starts. Sally tells her right away and that her first duty is to fire Haleh. Sam’s like “hold on …what???” Sally welcomes her to management.


After commercial, Sam comes up to Sally in the hall. She’s wearing two different color scrubs now and it looks ridiculous. Sally asks her if it’s done and Sam says “no”. They pass Inez and Sally wants to know how the pulse ox probe is working out. Inez says fine, and they keep on walking. Sam tells Sally she is not going to fire Haleh. Sally tells her that management is a bitch, and she is so right because my manager is one. Under her breath Sam says “yeah, and not the only one”. Hee. Sally explains that Haleh has been warned three times, twice in writing. Three strikes, you’re out, Haleh. Sam’s didn’t know that. Sally states that with all the OT Haleh is doing, they could hire two nurses and still have enough for a wet bar in the Lounge, which sounds good to me, though I suppose drinking on the job would probably not be a good idea. Sam thinks they should counsel her, but Sally thinks Sam is confusing her with Oprah, which I don’t think is possible because Oprah would be smart enough not to work at County. Sally turns to Chi-Chi who is doing paperwork at the desk and wants to know if he signed the patient in who’s in Sutures. Chi-Chi looks like a deer caught in the headlights and starts saying no … VIP. Sally smirks and asks if it’s the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama or something? Did the Dalai Lama die? I don’t remember hearing Richard Gere moaning about it on TV, so I’m not sure Sally is right here. Chi-Chi tells her it’s a privacy thing. Sally thinks he still needs to be tracked and wants a name. Chi-Chi once again has a coffee cup in his hand, which I’m beginning to think is permanently attached, because this is the third scene so far this episode that he’s held it. Weird. Chi-Chi says “Darwin”. Sally asks “Darwin what?” Chi-Chi says “Magilla”, which would be really funny if Darwin were a gorilla. Sally’s not quite believing this and wants to know if Chi-Chi is going to need a NICU bed, but Chi-Chi stutters no, they will be transferring him back to the referring facility, because it’s closer to where he lives, and the mom can’t drive. Hee. Chi-Chi walks away as Sally watches him, skeptically. She turns back to Sam, who tells her she’s not doing it, she doesn’t need the job that badly. Sally shrugs and tells her that either way, Haleh is gone. Sam, whose hair is looking fab, btw, responds that Haleh is a great nurse. Sally looks at her and gets it, saying “you’ve never fired anyone before”. Duh, Sally. Sam says no. Sally tells her it’s a new skill that needs to be developed, so they’ll do it together. Sam’s like “what?” and Sally tells her to cheer up because it won’t be so bad. She then says that her EMT trainees are waiting for their 12-lead class, so she’ll come find Sam after.

More signal knocking on the Sutures room door as Abby and Neela are sitting with Darwin. Abby has him on her lap and is feeding him a bottle. Chi-Chi comes in and berates them for leaving the door open. How did they get Morris out? And they didn’t bother locking it after? Plot holes are annoying. Chi-Chi wants the status report. Neela says the heart rate is down and he’s on 100% room air. Abby says that he took 8 ounces. Chi-Chi is pleased and tells them they need to ship Darwin out before they all get put on a psych hold. Neela and Abby start talking over each other. Neela thinks they should keep him a while. Abby pipes in that they need to observe him. Neela says he’s awfully young. Chi-Chi tries to reassure them that it is just a bad viral GE. Neela thinks they should recheck the cultures, but Chi-Chi is sure that the vet can do that. Is this the same nervous vet, because maybe he can’t. Abby thinks Darwin is going to need another round of antibiotics. Chi-Chi is amused and says to her that he thought she didn’t like monkeys. Abby says she never said that. Neela corrects him that Darwin is not a monkey. Chi-Chi can’t believe this and says he doesn’t know if he is touched or nauseous, but they are done there because there is a giraffe out there clogging up triage. This scene was amusing.


Ambulance pulls up with a 12 year old crushed under scaffolding at a construction site. Pratt and Morris take it. Pratt asks Crush his name, which is Barry. He asks if his dad is okay. Morris asks what happened to the father and Pickman the paramedic said that the dad had a heart attack trying to dig the kid out. Pratt sends Ray to the second ambulance. The dad’s been down for 12 minutes. He’s been shocked three times and they are doing compressions. Ray says pulseless v-tach and tells them “let’s go”.


Pratt and Morris are in Trauma Yellow with Crush. Crush says his chest hurts. Yeah, I would think so. Inez says the pulse ox is 92. Morris calls for chest, c-spine, pelvis, CBC, sounding very competent, surprisingly. Pickman tells Crush to hang in there, who politely says “thank you, ma’am”. Awww, he’s cute and polite. Must mean he doesn’t make it. Morris calls for more tests, Chem 7, UA, type and screen. He tells Crush “Simon Says squeeze my fingers, pal”. Nice attempt, Morris, but I don’t know many kids over 7 who play that, except for the none to bright contestants on the Battle of the Network Reality TV Stars. Crush squeezes his fingers, and Morris tells him “good man” and asks him to wiggle his toes, and the kid does, to which Morris tells him he didn’t say “Simon Says”. Morris is actually really good with this kid. Who knew? Pratt says he’ll be back and heads into Trauma Green.


Ray is shocking Crush’s dad. They get a rhythm and a pulse. Pratt wants the BP. Chi-Chi walks in, again with the coffee, bitching that it’s hard to keep track of the Splenda in here. Shut up, Chi-Chi! Last week you were looking for sugar. Did you go on Atkins since last Thursday? I read an interview with John Leguizamo where he talked about how nerve-wracking doing this show was, so maybe he uses the coffee cup prop as a way to do something with his hands and maybe calm his nerves? Anyway, Chi-Chi’s phone rings again, he checks it and hangs up, as Pratt and Ray continue to work on Crush’s dad. Chi-Chi says the GCS is only 3, and if they save the heart and lose the brain, they might as well go home. Inez bursts in to tell Pratt that Crush’s respiratory distress is worsening. Over her shoulder we see Crush take off his oxygen mask and yell “Pop! Pop!” Pratt goes back into Trauma Yellow.


Morris says they need to paralyze and intubate and calls for a six and a half ET tube. Pratt tells him to hold on. He wants to know why Crush is so stridorous. Morris thinks it might be a laryngeal injury. Pratt says there’s no neck injury, no midline shift. He calls for lido and a tower clip. Morris asks if he thinks the clavicle is displaced and Pratt says he thinks it’s compressing the trachea, which gives me a bad feeling. I start flashbacking to the Hindsight episode from Season 9 where this happened to the kid in the car that Luka crashed into and how Luka used pliers to pull it out, and I almost passed out just watching. I can already tell I’m going to be viewing this scene through my fingers. Morris thinks Crush needs an airway right now. Pratt tells him not to push anything yet as he fills the syringe with lidocaine. Pratt asks Crush what his dad is building. Crush says “dream house” and that it’s for his mom and he’s helping. Morris tells him it sounds nice. Pratt injects Crush, telling him he’s going to feel a little stick. Pratt says he needs to get a good grip, and picks up forceps to grab the clavicle. He’s talking to Crush the whole time, and I have just gone to my happy place. I’m staying here until Pratt is done. Pratt asks Crush what kind of house they’re building and Crush says “craftsman” as Pratt does something and we hear what sounds like a bone snap and Crush groans, and I am in my happy place. BubbleBenko comes in asking if Crush is alright, and Inez says the sat’s coming up. Morris says the vitals are stabilizing. BubbleBenko calls for a CT abdomen and chest and asks what’s next door. Pratt tells him v-tach arrest, but they got him back. Pratt and BubbleBenko go into Trauma Green. Crush asks Morris if that’s a robot doctor and Morris replies “Oh, yeah. We’re very advanced here.”


In Trauma Green, Crush’s pop is not waking up. Chi-Chi says they have ROSC without RONF. Pratt and I are all “huh?” and BubbleBenko fills in “return of spontaneous circulation without return of neurologic function”. Thank you, Max Headroom. Ray says the downtime was over 10 minutes, to which BubbleBenko says “not good enough for brain cells”. Pratt nods and says cath lab. Chi-Chi doesn’t think so, all Pop has is a little ST depression and BubbleBenko interrupts that he thinks he should go to ICU. Chi-Chi says not yet, they’re going to go with a portable chest and a cardiac echo. Pratt wants to know what for and Chi-Chi replies “a little ditty” that he likes to call “induced hypothermia”, and says he’ll be right back. BubbleBenko raises his eyebrows.


Sam is wiping off the board. Haleh comes up and asks how she’s doing. Sam says she’s okay. Haleh comments that the board is not too backed up and asks Sam if she needs anything. Sam stutters that she’s good. Haleh says she like the new energy, and I have to agree with her. The show has had a much higher energy level this year than last season. I attribute it to more Goran, but not in this episode, damn it! I need my Luka fix real soon, my happy place was a little empty without him. Sam asks if Haleh means Sally. Haleh replies that Sally is tough, but it’s going to be good for everyone in the long run. Sam says she hopes so. Haleh walks away from the Admit desk, past Neela. Neela asks Sam if the new nurse manager is working out. Sam says “she’s a terrorist, Neela”, which is a real sensitive thing to say to someone whose boyfriend is over in Iraq because of real terrorists. Way to go, Sam. Sam walks away. Liv walks up to Neela at the desk. Neela asks if she’s looking for Ray, but Liv was hoping Neela could help her. Neela stares at her.

Chi-Chi and Ray are putting some kind of contraption on Pop’s legs. Ray asks where Chi-Chi got it, and he says he stole it from the last place he worked. Nice. Is that the trouble Weaver was referring to? Where is Abby when you need her to get the scoop? She’s around plenty when you don’t need her, but when you do, she’s unhelpfully not available. Chi-Chi conspiratorially tells Ray, Pratt and BubbleBenko “that’s between us, okay?” Pratt wants to know how cold you set it. Chi-Chi says 33 degrees Centigrade as BubbleBenko says 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Chi-Chi shoots a look at BubbleBenko, who says “which many consider dangerous”. Ray wants to know if they are decreasing Pop’s metabolism. And Ray once again is dressed in an inappropriate t-shirt. How’s about laying the smackdown on him, Chi-Chi? Chi-Chi responds only six percent per degree centigrade. Chi-Chi thinks they might get his brain started again. BubbleBenko asks about the effect on oxygen demand in low-flow regions. Chi-Chi scoffs that studies show a 23% improvement in neurologic outcome. BubbleBenko is familiar with the literature. Chi-Chi says that’s it, he’s done arguing with a television set. Hee. BubbleBenko is going on that it’s believed to suppress radical formation … “and did you just call me a television set?”, as Chi-Chi walks behind the robot and starts pushing it out of the trauma room. BubbleBenko thinks that’s pretty funny. Chi-Chi says this isn’t a surgical consult. BubbleBenko is still talking but I can’t make out what he’s saying as Chi-Chi is pushing him through the hall to the drug lock-up. He tells BubbleBenko that if he can’t get out of bed and come to work why should they have to listen to him. Chi-Chi puts him in the drug lock-up and closes the door, calling him a “little mechanical bitch”. Hee. In a really quick edit, the scene cuts to Neela and Liv, though I wished they’d stayed with BubbleBenko still talking and nobody able to hear him.


Liv tells Neela it hurts when she pees. Nice. Neela tells her it sounds like a bladder infection and that you can get it from many things, like having sex … a lot. Hee. Liv says she’s been doing that. Neela smirks and says “don’t I know it”. Have I told you how much I love Neela? Liv starts Valley Girl-ing how she hopes Neela doesn’t mind and that she didn’t want to ask Ray to do this. Neela says its fine and she’ll need a urine sample and she’ll run some tests, but she first needs to get some information. She asks Liv her name, which is Zoe Butler. Then she gives her address. Neela then asks date of birth. Liv hesitates, looking away, which is always a good sign. Then she says December 12 … 1990. Yikes!!! Neela scowls, which I’ve warned Parminder about excessively this season because she’s too young for the Botox and she’s really getting the forehead crease, and says “sorry?” Liv repeats and Neela is suitably scandalized. She confirms that Liv is only 14 years old, which Liv corrects that she’s almost 15, because her birthday is coming up, and smiles. Neela smiles back with a totally uncomfortable smile as we fade to commercial.


Crush is still lying on the table, looking through the door at Pop in the other Trauma room. He asks Pratt when Pop will wake up. Pratt says they hope soon. Crush tells Pratt that Pop cheated, on a business trip with some lady from work. Oh, Pop, I’m so disappointed. Crush continues that his mom kicked Pop out for a month after that. That’s it? Crush’s mom is much more forgiving than I am, obviously. Pratt tells him that parents make mistakes, too. Oh, yeah Pratt … you are soooo forgiving of Mister. Crush says that Pop is building the dream house as a way of making it up to her. That’s nice, but diamonds work well too, Pop. And groveling. Mrs. Pop walks in with Ray. Pratt tells her that Crush has some broken bones and a small injury to his liver, which doesn’t sound good to me, but Pratt doesn’t seem too concerned so I guess it’s okay. Mrs. Pop asks about Pop, as Neela knocks on the door and beckons Ray. Ray tells Mrs. Pop that Pop had a heart attack and that his brain has been deprived of oxygen and they are doing their best to help him wake up. Neela knocks louder and keeps motioning to Ray. Ray excuses himself to Mrs. Pop and glares at Neela. He heads out.


Ray asks Neela what the big hurry is. Neela tells him that Liv is there and is in Exam 2. Ray looks a little bit too psyched, like he thinks he’s going to get lucky. Think again, Ray. Neela says “oh, I almost forgot … she’s 14 years old”. Hee. Ray laughingly tells her to shut up. Neela informs him that Liv was born in 1990. Ray incredulously asks “what?” Neela sarcastically explains to him that it’s the decade immediately proceeding the one we are in. Ray wants to know if she’s for real. Neela says she is and in “prison math, I believe 14 equals five-to-ten”. HA! Ray wants to know where she is, and Neela reminds him Exam 2. Then she continues “here’s the kicker, Jerry Lee, your prepubescent penis pal has Chlamydia”. I hate that they are playing this basically statutory rape storyline for laughs, but I so love Neela’s one-liners. Ray says he had no idea she was that young, and I believe him, because apparently Neela thought she was older too. Neela responds “Young? She’s still teething … although I don’t know, maybe you enjoy that.” Ray says that Liv didn’t say anything, so how was he supposed to know? Really, where are her parents that she can spend the night at Ray’s? Unless she’s convinced them she’s sleeping over at a friend’s, I’d think they’d keep a little better track of her. Neela suggests that maybe he should have taken her out for coffee and conversed with her. I’ve never seen too many junior high kids at Starbucks, Neela, so I don’t think this suggestion is too helpful. Neela continues “before you start boffing and handing out house keys”. Ray replies that he doesn’t card his dates, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he will from now on. Neela thinks it’s time he started. Ray says “1990?” which Neela thinks was a very good year for Chlamydia”. They enter Exam 2 and Ray immediately asks Liv why she didn’t tell him. Liv, not getting, says she just thought it was a bladder infection from all the sex they were having. Ewww. Ray’s disgusted too, and says not that, he wants to know why she didn’t tell him how old she is. She replies sheepishly that he never asked. He reminds her that she said she was a student. She says she is. He says in what, 9th grade? She responds “Eighth.” Oh, yuck. And I thought most 8th graders were 13, so obviously Liv isn’t too bright. She tells Ray she didn’t think he’d like her if she knew. Neela is pointedly not looking at either of them during this exchange, but she has the best half smirk expression on her face. Ray tells Liv that she’s right because he also doesn’t like courtrooms and prisons and men named Hank who want to make him their bitch. Get over yourself Ray. I’m sure there are much better looking guys than you in prison for Hank to shack up with. Liv wants to know what the big deal is because they like each other and that’s it’s fun. Then she says “wait, who’s Hank?” Hee. Neela gives Liv a prescription for doxycycline for the Chlamydia and tells her that she is going to need to be tested for a bunch of other STD’s, as Ray paces the room. Liv waves her off with a “sure, whatever”. Neela shoots a look at Ray then says that under the circumstances, no parental consent is required, which I don’t understand, and she unhelpfully doesn’t elaborate. Liv thinks that’s good, and Ray sort of looks to heaven, agreeing. Liv wonders where she got it from. Ray says not him. Liv thinks. Ray says “whoa” and wants to know how many other candidates there are. Liv is surprised and replies “wait, were we being monogamous?”, which has got to be the most disturbing thing about this storyline. Ray and Neela sort of stare at her.


Sam is with Pop, which is strange because she wasn’t in on this trauma before, so there must be a reason she is now. Pratt comes in and she tells him that Pop is starting to shiver. He tells her to give him 25 of Demerol, IV push. Sam wants to know if the wife is coming in, but Pratt says not yet. And here’s why Sam is in here – Sally comes in and asks Sam if she’s ready. Sam wants to know for what, and Sally says that Haleh is in the Family Room, which they’ve been using for everything but family members of patients this season, including Abby and Neela’s R-rated photo shoot. Pratt tells her to go and he’ll push the meds.

Sam bursts out of Trauma Green to try to catch up with Sally. She begs her again not to do this because it’s wrong, and Sally asks if Sam thinks she finds this enjoyable. Sally thinks that firing Haleh will send a message to every nurse in the joint. Sam says “joint?” and reminds Sally that they are not in jail. Sally replies that it should feel like they are. They enter the room to find a confused looking Haleh. Sam hangs back. Haleh wants to know if something is wrong. Sam comes forward a bit as Sally explains that they’ve had quite a few meetings about her overtime, and asks if she agrees. Haleh does. Sally says that she’s discussed the meetings with Sam, who gives her a “please don’t drag me into this, bitch” glare. Sally asks Sam if that’s right and Sam says “yeah, I guess”. Sally looks pointedly at Sam to continue. Sam, really not wanting to do this, addresses Haleh and tells her what a wonderful nurse she is, to which Haleh grins. Sam continues, hating every second of this, and says that she’s sure Haleh will continue to do great work, but … and she can’t finish. Sally finishes for her saying “It’s going to have to be at some other hospital”. Haleh says “excuse me?” Sally looks at Sam, who says that Haleh has been warned three times and … again can’t continue. Sally goes on that they are going to have to let her go. Haleh can’t believe they’re serious. Sally just stares at her. Haleh looks at Sam and asks if Sally is serious. Sam nods sadly. Sally tells Haleh she can report to HR tomorrow. Haleh says to Sally that she can’t do this, and I think she’s right. What happened to the nurses union that always seems so strong whenever they stage a walkout like in Season 10? Sally tells her she can turn in her badge and collect her last paycheck. Haleh looks at Sam, who can’t meet her eye. Sally gives Sam Haleh’s file and leaves. Sam looks up at Haleh and says she’s sorry. Haleh just stares at her, looking like she is about to cry, and walks out. Sam does the Neela scowl with the forehead crease, and I’m afraid she’ll be needing the Botox soon too.


Pratt is listening to Pop’s chest. He spots Chaz outside the door and heads out. Pratt asks him if he’s just getting out and Chaz says he read some magazines and that he never realized the human esophagus could be so complex. If you’re interested in that, Chaz, why don’t you head over to Sutures where Chi-Chi can explain all our similarities with primate anatomy. Pratt apologizes, but tells Chaz that it’s like this because of the choices that Mister made and it’s not on him. Chaz says that Mister is hard to figure. He tells Pratt that he thinks stuff happened that Mister never talked about and that there’s some stuff Pratt doesn’t know. Stuff that his mom didn’t tell him the truth about. Pratt wants to know if that’s what Mister told Chaz. Chaz says it is.

Frank tells Luka (yeah, finally!!!) that Radiology faxed down results. Luka, looking as hot as ever in his dark jacket, tie, and blue shirt with top button unbuttoned, reminds Frank that he just got there and wants to know what patient. Abby grabs the results away and says that it’s her, actually. Luka turns to look at her. She backs up to read the report, and he steps closer to her, concerned. He watches her and it seems like he’s trying to look at the report she’s holding too. She pulls the results to her, looks up and tells him that she had a mammogram last week, and then smiling and obviously pleased, tells him that it was normal. Why would Radiology send the results to Luka, unless Abby put his name down as her doctor? Kind of weird. I at first thought that it might be the report on the chimp, but remembered that he had been released, and doubt that Abby would get Luka involved in that case and would have just used Chi-Chi’s name, so it probably really was Abby’s mammogram results. Luka, still looking at her, nods and says “Oh”, and then continues to look at her. Chi-Chi, who is sitting further away on the computer at the desk, tells her congratulations. Apparently, Chi-Chi is as much of an eavesdropper as Abby is, because I don’t think she said the results particularly loud and doubt he could have casually overheard. Pratt tells Chi-Chi he’s leaving and asks him to take over Pop’s case, and Chi-Chi says he’s on it. Haleh, wearing her jacket, walks up to the desk and asks Frank if he can forward anything to her house, and he says “of course”. Abby tells Haleh that they are all really sorry, but she doesn’t really sound sincere, which is weird considering they’ve worked together for six years. Maybe now that Abby’s a doctor, she could care less what happens to the nurses. Her tone of voice was just strange, even though she does look like she’s sorry. Haleh appreciates it and tells them she’ll try to come visit and with her voice breaking says “when I’m up to it” and leaves. Neela and Morris say goodbye, and look sad, too. Sam walks up and everybody stares at her. She says “what?” and Abby, Neela and Morris all shrug, “nothing”. Luka, clueless, wants to know what happened. Frank tells him that Sam fired Haleh. Sam disgustedly says “screw you, Frank” and explains that Sally fired her and that she just … Chi-Chi chimes in “helped?” And then says he’s sorry, that’s the word on the street. Where is this street that Chi-Chi keeps getting his information? Even Pratt and Ray don’t use as much slang as Chi-Chi does. Sam walks out in a huff and Luka watches her. He turns to Abby and asks if Sally is making a statement. Abby says “and all the words are dirty” as she and Luka exchange a look. Chi-Chi’s beeper goes off. He looks at it then says “Lockhart” and she again corrects “Abby”. He says “Code Banana”, which I think is funny and I’m going to steal that term to use when my two-year old starts eating the peel as he does with his breakfast every morning. He tells her that their VIP is bouncing back, and Abby looks concerned and follows him.


Haleh is walking through the ambulance bay and Sam runs to catch up with her. Haleh glares at her. Sam tells her that she feels terrible about this. Haleh wants to know who covered for Sam all those times that her kid was in trouble, or how many shifts when she was late or had to leave early. Sam looks a little ashamed. Haleh continues that Sam now fires Haleh for too much overtime. And then she says “For what, Sam? A couple extra hundred bucks a month?” As much as I like that Haleh called Sam on how hypocritical it is now for her to be in a position of power over the other nurses who have covered for her a lot in the past, I think it’s totally unfair because it wasn’t Sam who did the firing, it was Sally, and Haleh knows it. And as harsh as it is, Sally is acting like any other manager would when someone has been warned three times. Besides, as much as I love Haleh’s snarkiness, I still haven’t completely forgiven her for signing Chuny’s bogus petition against Luka back in Season 9, especially because she as much as admitted to Abby that she knew it was wrong. So now is it only Chuny, Malik and sometimes Lily left of the nurses from the olden days? Because that sucks.


Mister is raking up leaves in a park. Pratt comes up and asks if he’s “calling her a liar?” Mister doesn’t know who Pratt means. Pratt shouts his mother and wants to know if that was what Mister said. Mister tells him to slow down, son, which makes Pratt go off on him not to ever call him that. Mister wants to know if Pratt wants to talk about why he’s upset. Pratt bitches that he’s not one of the punks from Ceasefire that Mister has snowed. Pratt reminds him that he knows him and that he’s not a role model for anybody. Mister tells him that he doesn’t know everything that happened. Pratt says he doesn’t want to talk about it and Mister rightfully calls him on why the hell he’s there. Pratt tells him that he’s already lost one son and not to make the same mistake with Chaz. Mister asks if Pratt came to give him advice. Pratt wants Mister to leave Chaz out of it. Mister says that Chaz asked and he needed to know. Pratt asks “know what? How you spin it?” Pratt goes on about how his mother wasted her life away taking care of him with no help from Mister. Mister explains that he tried to come back, but Mama Pratt wouldn’t let him. Mister tells him that they both had rough days and they shouldn’t do this tonight and turns back to raking. Pratt grabs him by the arm and yells for Mister not to turn away from him. Mister tells him that he can come by the house some time because there is something of Mama Pratt’s that Mister thinks he should have. Pratt wants it, and wants it now. He grabs the rake away and tells Mister “right now”.


After commercial, Darwin ain’t looking too good. His handler, Alonzo, is telling Chi-Chi that he started breathing hard so he brought him right back. He thought Chi-Chi said Darwin was okay. Chi-Chi says he was. Abby chimes in that he looked great after the bolus and he was drinking and playing. Chi-Chi tells her to bag him because he’s not moving air. Alonzo thinks they should have kept him there longer. Abby says no, he seemed “buffed” after the fluid and that they thought it was just dehydration. Alonzo says that he promised Cookie’s owners that Darwin would be okay. Abby asks who Cookie is. Alonzo replies that she’s Darwin’s mom and she belongs to a really nice couple from Evanston. I know Michael Jackson has a pet chimp, but do people in affluent Chicago suburbs really keep zoo animals? I guess so, since we live outside Philadelphia and my mom once saw a hyena in her neighborhood. And no, I am not kidding. Alonzo also keeps the couple’s llama. Of course he does. Chi-Chi says that Darwin has gone hypertensive with a widened pulse pressure. Abby says sepsis, and Chi-Chi calls for dopamine at 10 mics. Abby explains to Alonzo that Darwin has a bacterial infection in his blood. Alonzo reminds them that they gave antibiotics. Abby says they ruptured the bacteria, releasing endotoxins which can make things worse, as she tries to intubate Darwin. Chi-Chi apologizes to Alonzo that he thought Darwin was doing too well to be septic. Abby calls for suction and then tube. She says Darwin is throwing PVC’s. Alonzo wants to know if they can put him on a vent. Chi-Chi says they are doing the best they can, which it looks like they are. Abby gets the tube in. They lose the pulse. Alonzo doesn’t want them to stop because the people really love the little guy. Chi-Chi says quietly to Abby that he thinks they should call it. Abby ignores him and tells him to charge to ten joules and she’s starting CPR. Chi-Chi just looks at her.

Mister and Pratt show up at Mister’s front door. Mister asks Pratt if he wants to come in, but Pratt says no. Mister rings the bell and Pratt snarks “you don’t have your keys?”, which Mister ignores. Chaz opens the door and Mister asks if he’s okay. Chaz says yeah. Mister tells him he has to get something for Pratt and walks past Chaz into the house. Chaz and Pratt exchange “what’s up’s?” Mrs. Mister calls Chaz for dinner, and Chaz invites Pratt, who declines. Chaz says it’s his mom’s mac and cheese and he swears it’s the best. Pratt smiles and finally gives in. Guess Pratt was hungry. Seeing as Mekhi Phifer has put on a few pounds, this is highly likely.

Ray is sewing up the top some unconscious guy’s head. Didn’t Abby use a staple gun for that in the season premiere because she said that you don’t have to worry about cosmetics on the scalp? Whatever. I guess the stapler would be too quick and since Neela just came in, they need to drag this scene out a bit. Neela apologizes to Ray. He asks why, because he talked himself into liking some groupie who turned out to be Hilary Duff with an STD? That would be funny, Ray, if Hilary Duff weren’t already 18. I think you need to bone up on your pop culture princesses. Although maybe I shouldn’t say “bone”, since that’s what got you into this mess in the first place. Neela knows he liked her. Ray says he’s an idiot, and I’ve never agreed with anything that’s come out of his mouth more. Neela tells him that the bright side is that his urine dip came back negative for Chlamydia. Ray thinks she must have gotten it from another “rock star” she was partying with, which is possibly the funniest thing he’s ever said because an opening act at the Aqua Lounge does not a “rock star” make. Neela’s smirking because she knows as well as I do how ridiculous that statement is. Ray thinks it was someone with a recording contract. Neela thinks she should swab him, which sounds kind of kinky and I don’t think Galant would approve, Neela. Ray tells her that he used a condom, and she asks if he used a dental dam too, which makes me sick because now that I have that image I will not be able to have one when I have root canal done next week. Thanks, Neela. Ray just looks at her as she hands him a swab. He rubs it on the inside of his cheek, and the way he’s doing it is really disgusting. Inez comes in and tells Neela that her “top secret baby” is back. Galant is back and is undercover on some clandestine Army mission? No, unfortunately, I think she means Darwin. Inez says that Abby needs Neela in Sutures, which again is kind of a kinky statement, or it could just be that I’ve had too much Chardonnay tonight and spent too much time looking at Orlando Bloom on the cover of this month’s GQ.


Neela walks into Sutures as Chi-Chi is shocking Darwin again. Abby says he’s still in v-tach. Neela wants to know what happened, but Chi-Chi doesn’t know and is resuming compressions. Abby tells her it’s septic shock. Neela asks how long since the last epi? Abby says two minutes and asks Chi-Chi if he wants another round of lido. He says no. Neela asks him if he’s sure and Chi-Chi says they’ve been doing it for 35 minutes and that his brain has to be fried. Alonzo begs him to keep going. Chi-Chi tells him he’s been through enough and they have to stop. Alonzo says his heart’s still beating, and Abby replies that it’s more like a twitch and it’s not actually pumping any blood to his body. Alonzo asks if that’s it. Chi-Chi says just about and that he’s fading. Neela looks sad as they focus in on little Darwin laying there and damn if I’m not getting a little choked up. Alonzo wants to know if he can go and get Cookie. He thinks if Darwin is dying she should be there with him. Chi-Chi stares at him so Alonzo continues that her baby was taken from her and she needs to understand why.


Cut to Chi-Chi, Abby and Neela standing outside Sutures. Chi-Chi says if anyone says “next of kin” he’s going to lose it. Hee. Abby thinks he’s already lost it. Chi-Chi asks why, because he tried to help a guy and it didn’t work out? Chi-Chi continues “game over, that’s all”. Neela thinks they are in it this far, why not let the mother in? Chi-Chi thinks there’s no need. Abby sarcastically says that there was no need to treat a chimp in the first place, but here they are. Chi-Chi fires back that the chimp was sick but the mom is what, a little depressed? Neela tells him it’s the humane thing to do. Chi-Chi says to forget it and that they are getting too carried away with this. Abby says “Oh, come on, you’re the one who started this whole monkey business” and as Chi-Chi raises his eyebrow and gives her a look, she whispers “I didn’t mean to say that”. Very funny delivery.


Pratt is at the dinner table with Mrs. Mister, Sister Mister and Chaz. Sister Mister is saying the blessing and she starts going on about God looking over the countrymen who fight to protect us in an overseas war founded on lies told to us by our government, because John Wells just can’t resist any chance of pushing his political agenda. Mrs. Mister says pointedly “Jocelyn?”, so Sister Mister continues about how they welcome Pratt and thanking the Lord for bringing him into their home and family. Awww. That’s actually kind of sweet. Pratt looks a little pleased. Though he hasn’t taken off his jacket, which was always a definite no-no in my house. That and baseball hats at the dinner table would drive my dad insane. They start dishing out the mac and cheese and Pratt asks Mrs. Mister why she is using a walker. She’s says she fell and broke her hip and she still has a way to go with her recovery. Pratt wants to know where she had surgery and she says “County”. Mister comes in and says what he’s looking for must be downstairs and that it will only take a minute. Pratt excuses himself and follows.


Pratt goes down to the basement. Mister is looking through a box. He asks Mister why he didn’t tell him about Mrs. Mister and that she was the one he was visiting at County that day. He thinks he might have been able to help. Mister tells him he didn’t seem in the mood to help. Mister hands Pratt a stack of letters wrapped in a rubber band which makes me remember him doing this AS Mister in The Color Purple when he finally gives Whoopi Goldberg all the letters that he’d been hiding from her for years. And if you haven’t seen the film, first off, you should because it’s excellent, secondly, you’ll have no idea what I’m talking about, which is probably true for most of my ramblings on this blog. Sorry. Mister tells Pratt that these a bunch of things that he sent to Mama Pratt that she sent back, plus a few notes she wrote him. He pulls a picture out of his wallet and hands it to Pratt. It’s of Mama Pratt and a very young Pratt in a suit, who doesn’t remember when that picture was taken. Mister tells him that he made mistakes, and he’s never denied it. He got busted for some stupid, petty stuff, and went away for awhile, and that he’s regretted it ever since. He continues that life is more complicated than Pratt thinks.


Alonzo and a big chimp who must be Cookie are next to Abby at Darwin’s bedside. Neela says there is no respiratory effect. Chi-Chi and Neela are standing at Darwin’s head and Chi-Chi says it won’t be long now. Alonzo wants to know if he’s in pain. Neela says no. Cookie starts cooing at Darwin. Abby, looking visibly upset, says she’s going to give him another milligram of morphine, just in case. When Chi-Chi and Neela look at her, she’s all “what?”, and she wants him to be comfortable. When she says that, Cookie looks over at her, and then kisses her on the cheek, which is very sweet. Neela is stroking Darwin’s head as Abby injects the IV. Cookie starts playing with the IV tube and goes to put it in her mouth, and Chi-Chi pulls it away and tells her to let go. Cookie strokes Darwin’s chest and makes noises as the monitor flatlines. Cookie sees that Abby’s upset and starts stroking the top of her head, which is cute and Abby she smiles at Cookie. Then she strokes Cookie’s head and whispers “thanks”. Again, very sweet. Abby continues to pet Cookie as Cookie rubs Darwin’s chest. Neela keeps patting his head as the monitor continues in flatline. Like I said, this is really getting to me, because they all played it totally straight. Until … Cookie reaches over to Abby’s hair, pulls something out and puts it in her mouth. Abby has the funniest expression on her face, and I’m cracking up. Because Abby obviously has cooties. Abby sort of shakes her head, and then starts playing with her hair again. Which now totally makes sense because I’m sure that cooties itch.


Chi-Chi is carrying his coat over his shoulder and looks in the doors at Pop in Trauma Green. Morris comes out and tells him that the GCS is up from 4 to 11 and that he’s blinking on command and starting to move his fingers. Chi-Chi says that sometimes you’re good, and sometimes you’re lucky. Morris wants to know which one is this, and Chi-Chi says that this is “sometimes you’re not sure”. Morris tells him they are waiting on ICU. Chi-Chi tells Morris to bring Crush in to see him. Morris thinks that’s a good idea and goes back in. Abby walks up to Chi-Chi and says hi. Chi-Chi is looking at her kind of weirdly. Please don’t tell me this is yet another guy who is interested in Abby, because this just has to stop. Just hook her up with somebody and be done with it, for God’s sake. It’s like they are throwing spaghetti against the wall trying to see what sticks. Or they could just ask me, because I’ve got ideas. She tells him that patients come and go and some days some of them don’t even register to her, which makes me so glad she is not my primary physician. She wants to know how it is that a hairy little chimp crumps on the table and it’s like … but she doesn’t continue and just looks away. Chi-Chi thinks that in any case it sounds like she’ll forgive him. She wants to know what for. He replies that there is going to be some kind of disciplinary … suspension. Abby just chuckles, but doesn’t seem too surprised. She asks if Sally found out. Chi-Chi says she’s not an animal lover and Abby thinks she’s more like an animal strangler. Hee. Chi-Chi thinks it’s funny because when he was a kid, he always wanted a robot, and a monkey. Abby smiles and says that doesn’t shock her. He says he’s serious and she says her, too. He says he’s over it and she chuckles. Looking into Trauma Green, we see Morris wheeling Crush in next to Pop and Pop opens his eyes. Chi-Chi says “spontaneous eye movement, that’s a very good sign, Lockhart”. She looks at him and replies that her name is Abby. He smirks and says he knows. She looks at him for a second and then walks away as he watches her. I hope John Leguizamo and Maura Tierney have more mutual scenes this season because they play well off each other, and I don’t mean in any kind of romantic way, just that they work well together. Chi-Chi’s cell starts ringing with some funky ringtone. He looks at it and answers, walking down the hall. He tells the caller “Jodi … if you call me one more time, I swear to God …”. We hear a woman’s voice incoherently bitching at him as he tells her she has to stop the nonsense. He says he’s not in New York and asks why he would tell her where he is. He keeps trying to respond to her, but she apparently keeps cutting him off. He starts yelling “Hey! Hey!” into the phone, but she doesn’t stop, so he opens up a bin marked “infectious waste”, drops the phone in and walks off.


Amos Lee’s “Seen It All Before” is playing as Pratt is reading some of the letters, first waiting for the El, then on the El, then walking down the stairs from the El, then walking up to a boarded up house. He sits down outside the house on some kind of bench. Mister walks up to him. Pratt thinks Mister is getting good at finding him. Mister says her talked to Olivia. Pratt tells him this was their house and how he used to play out here and that Mama Pratt would watch him from the window. Pratt says to Mister that he knows he tried to come back and that Mama Pratt pushed him away and that she lied to both of them and that he didn’t know any of it. Pratt wants to know what Mister did to make Mama Pratt hate him so much. Mister says he got into trouble and that maybe she felt she was protecting Pratt. When he got out of jail, Mister wanted them to be a family. Pratt says he was still a kid when his mom died, what about then? Mister was living in Gary with Mrs. Mister and that he came to try to find Pratt, but he had gone to Detroit with some cousins. Pratt wants to know why he gave up. Mister says that was the biggest mistake of all, but he had a life he was trying to hold together. Mister says he’s done his penance every day, but there’s only one person he still needs forgiveness from. Pratt says he hears him. Pratt stands up and tells Mister that he hears everything he says. Pratt has tears in his eyes as he goes to embrace Mister, but he only half does it. He tells Mister they are here now and as the tears streak down his face he says that none of the other stuff matters anymore. He says that even if the story is more complicated than the one he’s spent the last 20 years believing, Mister still was not there for him. And he doesn’t give a damn why, or who said what. Mister wants Pratt to listen to him. Pratt says they can never change that Mister wasn’t there. Mister thinks they can fix it, but Pratt says “never, man”. Mister sighs and walks away as Amos Lee starts up again about how he’s not going to be my fool anymore. Damn, Mekhi was good in that scene. But I guess that’s the end of Mister’s storyline and it just leaves me with the feeling of what the hell was the point? And what was the point of 30 seconds of Luka??? They better be gearing up for some heavy Luka action in the coming episodes or I swear I am going to go postal.


I was thinking about recapping the preview for next week but thought I would just tell you that you must watch, because if you haven’t seen the promo, suffice to say that it looks really good. Laura Innes is directing, which assures that it will be a quality show, well done and well paced. It looks quite heartfelt, and I’m hoping there is still something to snark about. Although this is ER, and they haven’t disappointed on the snark factor yet. Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders as a child kidnapper, lots of action, lots of angst, lots of Luka, and a really intense looking scene between Luka and Abby. I can’t wait.