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The work never ends for the physicians and staff in the
emergency room of Chicago, Illinois' County General Hospital. Naive Dr. John
Carter has just graduated from medical school and is now
a doctor, working as a surgical intern. He feels confident because the other
interns training with him have never worked at County and are unfamiliar with
their new supervisor, intense surgical resident Dr. Peter Benton. Benton makes Carter train as hard as the others. After botching
an operation, Carter offends the nurses, and they make his busy night hellish.
Fortunately, one intern, Dennis Gant (recurring guest star OMAR EPPS), helps
Carter when he needs it most, and Carter's performance improves. But his rivalry
with another new intern, Dale Edson (recurring guest star MATTHEW GLAVE), with
whom he has clashed before, is renewed.
Handsome pediatric emergency fellow Dr. Douglas Ross fails to convince recently divorced family man Dr. Mark Greene, an attending resident, of the joys of casual sex with
women. Ross' coworkers are all unimpressed by his behavior when he ends a
relationship with a needy woman by calling her answering machine.
Physician assistant Jeanie Boulet discovers that she
contracted the HIV virus from her husband. Benton, who had an affair with
Jeanie, tests negative for the disease. Although he is sympathetic to Jeanie, he
questions her decision not to tell the hospital about her diagnosis.
Meanwhile, everyone is worried that the hospital will be closed permanently,
especially capable head emergency room nurse Carol Hathaway. Hathaway almost quit recently in protest over the
bureaucratic health care system. Also, Greene clashes with abrasive Dr. Kerry
Weaver, who is his equal since her promotion to
attending physician. Weaver confuses and angers everyone, including tough,
talented emergency resident Dr. Susan Lewis.
And the paramedics beat the emergency room team in softball at the Fourth of
July picnic. Hathaway sees "Shep" Shepherd (recurring guest star RON ELDARD),
her former lover, there with his new girlfriend.
Jeanie starts aggressive treatment for HIV, which requires
her to take 14 pills a day. To avoid revealing her sickness to her employer,
County General Hospital, Jeanie doesn't submit her bills to her insurance
company; she pays them herself. She must also pay the bills of her estranged
HIV-afflicted husband, Al (recurring guest star MICHAEL BEACH), who is uninsured. When Jeanie assists on a bloody trauma operation,
Benton abruptly relieves her. Later, he tells her that he would quit if he were
HIV positive.
Everyone is reassured to learn that another hospital, Southside, is closing down
instead of theirs. Unfortunately, Southside's staff will be merged with County
General's under new Chief of Staff Donald Anspaugh (recurring guest star JOHN
AYLWARD). Almost everyone hates the former Southside chief, except Weaver. While
discussing the recent changes with Weaver, Chief of Surgery Dr. David
Morgenstern (recurring guest star WILLIAM H. MACY) ends up inviting
her to dinner.
Meanwhile, Greene and Lewis ignore their mutual attraction. However, when they
introduce their respective dates, the dates pair off.
When Hathaway's car is repossessed, she realizes that she must sell her house.
Unfortunately, her meddling mother, Halyna (recurring guest star ROSE GREGORIO), interferes with the real estate agent.
Carter's elderly neighbor Betty (recurring guest star EILEEN BRENNAN), who smokes cigarettes, comes to the emergency room unable to
breathe. When he hooks her up to an oxygen tank, Carter warns her never to smoke
near it or it will explode. She seems to understand. After Benton chastises
Carter for being late, Carter gets revenge by giving a local, rather than a
general, anesthetic to Benton's talkative hernia patient. Still awake, the
patient chatters incessantly while Benton tries to operate on him.
Other emergency room patients include a heavy woman on illegal drugs who becomes
violent and two 15-year-olds who lost a condom while having sex.
Music
Gene Chandler - Duke of Earl
Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild
When Lewis invites Greene on a vacation trip to Hawaii, he
hopes that she wants to be romantic with him. Secretly, she does. But Greene
decides not to join her, leaving her feeling foolish. Later, Greene worries
about the competency of the new residents from notoriously inferior Southside
Hospital. But he is pleased with Southside intern Maggie Doyle (recurring guest
star JORJAN FOX), who clashes with Hathaway but works well with Ross.
New Chief of Staff Anspaugh annoys everyone with his strict efficiency
standards. Because of Southside's closing, patient load will rise by 30 percent,
and Anspaugh vows to punish whoever treats the fewest patients. Greene gets
involved in reviving a mildly retarded adult's father and cannot find time to
see any other patients. Benton transfers out of Anspaugh's cardiothoracic
elective to work with a highly regarded pediatric surgeon, Dr. Abby Keaton
(recurring guest star GLENNE HEADLY).
Benton tells Jeanie not to risk mixing her HIV-infected blood with the patients'
and warns her to stay out of his operating room. Later, after Jeanie balks at
removing a foot-long shard of glass from a man's chest, Weaver realizes the
truth about Jeanie's previously hidden illness. She reassures Jeanie about
Jeanie's decision to continue working at the hospital.
Among the emergency room cases is Hathaway's former teacher, who assumes that
Hathaway is a doctor. Also, no one believes a drunken man who claims a kangaroo
attacked him until they hear about it on the news. Carter lies about a patient's
condition so he can operate on her, causing trouble.
Ironically, Ross advises a 15-year-old girl with gonorrhea not to have casual
sex, then has sex with a lab technician in an examination room. Benton
reprimands Gant for assisting on an appendectomy without permission. Carter
reacts strangely to medication and is embarrassed in front of Anspaugh. And
Carter's neighbor Betty, ignoring his earlier warning, smokes near her oxygen
tank, which explodes, burning down their apartment building. His neighbor
survives the blast, but Carter is left homeless.
The morning after Ross drinks alcohol heavily and has sex
with a woman whose name he doesn't even know, she dies from a seizure. Greene
detects cocaine in her blood and angers Ross by demanding a urine sample from
him. Cocaine is not found, but Weaver orders Greene to test Ross' alcohol level.
After Greene and Ross have a nasty public argument, the police question Ross.
When the dead woman's sister arrives, Ross pretends he didn't know the deceased.
Hathaway refuses to console Ross, and the staff gossips.
Benton doesn't know that the slides for his lecture burned up in Carter's
apartment until after Benton begins speaking to the audience. Anspaugh and
Benton are upset with Carter, but Keaton sympathizes. Later, Carter impresses
Keaton by subduing a rebellious teenage patient, drawing Keaton's attention away
from Benton, who is skillfully operating. Keaton invites Carter to assist in the
colostomy, which annoys Benton. When the patient's mother asks Benton for
guidance, he refers her to the psychiatric department. Keaton patiently rebukes
Benton, reminding him that the focus of pediatric surgery is the child, not the
illness. He apologizes. Gant allows Carter to move in with him.
Weaver continues to clash with Greene. She switches their duties, taking
surgical cases while Greene does boring medical matters. It doesn't work.
Meanwhile, Jeanie's medication for HIV is making her nauseous. When a handsome
construction worker, Mickey (BRIAN WIMMER), who brought in an
injured friend, flirts with her, she reluctantly rebuffs him.
A young Korean girl who is afraid of men needs a pelvic exam. Nurse Hathaway and
new female intern Doyle are the only ones she'll allow near her. Unfortunately,
Hathaway must teach Doyle the procedure. Hathaway considers studying to become a
doctor. Hathaway's mother, Halyna, offers to pay rent if Hathaway will let her
stay at Hathaway's house one night a week.
Benton visits a former lover, Carla Harris (recurring guest star LISA NICOLE
CARSON), at her restaurant.
Music
Martina McBride - Wild Angels
On a stormy Halloween, a huge man dressed as a monster is
shot in the chest. Gant impresses Weaver with his work on the victim. But Gant
doubts himself when Benton arrives, and Benton replaces him with Carter. Later,
Gant discovers that Benton is making him work harder than the other interns
because people might think that Gant's been given preference due to his race.
In another case, Carter treats a young girl and her father who were both hit by
a car. When the man dies, Carter decides not to inform the daughter until after
her operation. But when Carter later tells her the truth, she says that she
already knew--her dad communicated with her during surgery.
Jeanie clashes with new intern Doyle, who wants to obey a terminally ill
patient's "do not resuscitate" order and let her die. Jeanie follows the wishes
of the patient's husband, saving her life. Also, Jeanie must take a second
mortgage on her house to pay her and Al's bills for HIV treatment.
Hathaway enrolls in a pre-medical school physics class. Her lab partner is 15
years old and knows a lot more about physics. She also rides with Ross in the
health mobile, Anspaugh's ill-conceived idea, which travels through poor
neighborhoods giving free medical treatment. Wearing bulletproof vests, they are
more like ambulance workers treating crime victims.
While Benton and Carter examine a 2-year-old patient, they are quizzed by Keaton
on child development. Benton's answers are very wrong, while Carter, who is
naturally at ease with children, answers them all correctly. Benton's efforts to
make the children like him fail.
Greene and Ross are still tense around each other. Also, Lewis, who never went
to Hawaii because she is afraid of flying, still wonders if Greene is
romantically interested in her--and vice versa. At a Halloween party, Greene
dances with Lewis. Finally, rumors circulate about the ghost who inhabits the
fifth floor of the hospital. Greene and Lewis venture upstairs. While there,
they feel a strange rush of cold air . . .
Music
The Searchers - Love Potion #9
Ella Fitzgerald - Bewitched
Lewis momentarily overcomes her fear of flying when she and
Greene travel in a rescue helicopter to help a family of four, the Herlihys, who
were in a gruesome traffic accident in a rural area. When Lewis and Greene bring
the victims back to the hospital, the father suffers temporary memory loss from
severe head trauma, and the mother's condition stabilizes. Their two
children--seven-year-old Zach (recurring guest star JONATHAN PATTERSON/JOSHUA
PATTERSON) and infant Megan--are seriously injured but expected to live.
With one of the nurses on vacation, nurse Rhonda Sterling (recurring guest star
JENNY O'HARA) is brought in from another department. Because of Sterling's
complete lack of experience in the emergency room, the other nurses expect the
worst, but Hathaway gives her a chance. Unfortunately, Sterling proves not only
incompetent but annoyingly lazy. When Sterling's carelessness with medication
almost kills Zach, Hathaway orders her to restock supplies and stay away from
the patients.
Under Keaton's supervision, Benton performs exploratory surgery on Megan.
Assured of Benton's competence, Keaton leaves for another emergency, allowing
Benton to finish operating on Megan without her. However, Benton becomes
overconfident and bungles the surgery, leaving the baby in extremely critical
condition. Keaton castigates Benton, saying that it will be her responsibility
but Benton's fault if the baby dies. Although Benton insists--erroneously--that
he followed correct procedure, he is extremely agitated.
Elsewhere in the emergency room, Greene and Lewis continue to behave awkwardly
around each other due to their mutual attraction. And Jeanie must deal with an
elderly man's dying wish--to be cryogenically preserved with his deceased wife.
Music
Little Eva - Locomotion
Benton is obsessed with Megan, the infant whose condition
is critical due to his surgical error. Keaton orders Benton to observe the dying
baby to learn patience. Miraculously, Megan's condition improves. Benton tries
to regain his dignity by relentlessly attempting to revive a young shooting
victim. Keaton lets him continue so that he will learn another lesson.
Meanwhile, Mr. Percy (WILLIAM SANDERSON), a
mentally impaired man, sneaks away from Dale before an operation. After Carter
locates the man and saves his life, Anspaugh allows Carter to work on the
operation with a visiting surgeon. To no avail, Carter warns Dale and the others
that Mr. Percy is not competent to sign his own surgical consent forms. During
the surgery, Carter notices a hole in Mr. Percy's lung, causing Anspaugh to
compliment Carter and reprimand Dale, who is also present. This later leads to a
fight between Carter and Dale that is stopped by Keaton. Also, Carter and the
older Keaton finally act on their mutual attraction.
The incompetent nurse, Sterling, returns to the emergency room. When Sterling
commits another grave error while caring for an accident victim, Hathaway vows
to report her. But Sterling insists that she was unfairly assigned to the
emergency room because the administration wants to force her out before she can
collect her pension. She quits. Hathaway believes Sterling after another nurse
who is almost eligible for a pension is temporarily transferred out of the
emergency room to do unfamiliar work.
After Greene overrides some of Ross' decisions concerning patients, Ross
confronts Greene about his recent sanctimonious behavior. Greene admits that he
has been judgmental since the recent incident when Ross' date died in the
emergency room after using cocaine. When Greene apologizes, Ross confides that
he is consulting a therapist about his promiscuous lifestyle.
Greene worries that Lewis is dating Morgenstern. He's astounded when she tells
him that Morgenstern is only helping her transfer to a hospital in Phoenix,
Arizona, so that she can be near her niece.
Music
Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven
It's Lewis' last day at work before she moves to Arizona,
and Greene still hasn't told her that he's enamored with her.
While on the mobile clinic, Anspaugh's traveling care center for the poor, Ross
allows a streetwise 14-year-old girl, Charlie (recurring guest star KIRSTEN
DUNST), to forge the signature of a
baby's mother for a vaccination after lab tests indicate the baby needs
treatment and Ross cannot locate the mother. Meanwhile, the four members of the
Herlihy family, who were involved in a terrible car wreck, are all discharged.
Benton still feels guilty about his judgment concerning the Herlihy infant.
Suspecting a conspiracy to force employees to quit before they can collect their
pensions, Hathaway asks the nursing administrator to stop moving the nurses
around to different departments where they are less qualified. The administrator
agrees to a compromise in exchange for Hathaway serving on a hospital committee.
Nurse Lydia Wright (recurring guest star ELLEN CRAWFORD) ends her marriage
engagement to policeman Alfred "Al" Grabarsky (recurring guest star MIKE
GENOVESE) because he keeps delaying the wedding. Devastated, he marries her in
an impromptu ceremony at the hospital.
Jeanie's husband finally gives her the signed divorce papers--as well as their
house and car. He explains that not only does she deserve them, but his actions
will enable him to qualify for a state health program for the poor. Doyle causes
trouble by calling the police to charge a nine-months pregnant woman with the
attempted murder of her fetus. Also, Keaton tries to train a skeptical Benton to
visualize the body's interior before operating. Keaton continues her secret
liaison with Carter. Benton and his former girlfriend Carla become romantic in
an empty operating room.
Finally, a surprise farewell party for Lewis is canceled due to an influx of
patients from a car accident, and Lewis leaves quietly. Ross persuades Greene to
tell Lewis how he feels. Greene rushes to the train station and stops Lewis from
boarding a train. He breathlessly tells her that he loves her. However, Lewis'
feelings toward Greene are those of a loving friendship, and she leaves.
Without Lewis, the emergency room is even more
understaffed. Greene calls a staff meeting and outlines a new scheduling system.
He seems to be dealing with his heartbreak over Lewis' leaving by taking on more
responsibility at work.
Meanwhile, Hathaway studies hard for her pre-medical school midterm test in
physics, and she scores fairly well. Hathaway also gains a minor victory by
convincing the hospital administration to stop transferring the emergency room
nurses. Weaver inadvertently insults Hathaway by saying that she is acting like
management.
Worrying that he is not succeeding in his pediatric surgery elective, Benton
works hard at developing his visualization skills to impress Keaton.
Unfortunately, during an operation observed by Keaton, Benton is called away by
Morgenstern, and Carter is allowed to finish the surgery.
Keaton surprises Carter by implying that their relationship is strictly for fun.
He is sad to learn that she will soon be traveling to Pakistan for a few months
to teach. Later, she comes to the Carter family farm with him to cut down a
Christmas tree, and they have sex again.
Wanting to prove his worth to Benton, Gant, though overloaded with work, refuses
Carter's help. Gant blames Carter for helping Benton on a surgery instead of
allowing him to help.
When Greene treats Jeanie's ex-husband, Al, for HIV, he wonders if Jeanie may be
infected as well, although Jeanie denies it. Weaver, who knows the truth, tells
Greene to believe Jeanie. Even Anspaugh orders Greene to leave the situation
alone. Breaking hospital rules, Greene checks Jeanie's confidential medical
records and confirms his suspicions. He berates Weaver for not sharing the
information with him and possibly making the hospital liable for a lawsuit
should Jeanie spread the disease. When Jeanie finds out Greene violated her
privacy, she furiously confronts him.
With rumors abounding about her HIV-positive status, Jeanie
finally tells her co-workers the truth. Meanwhile, Greene and Weaver clash over
how to institute policies regarding HIV-infected employees. Also, Doyle helps an
abused woman escape from her husband.
Charlie, the 14-year-old girl who convinced Ross to immunize a baby that she
cares for, brings the infant to him again. Ross determines that the baby has a
tumor. The mother, Gloria (TIA TEXADA), is missing, so he operates without her
consent. When Gloria finally arrives at the hospital, she is on illicit drugs
and is furious about the surgery. When Ross threatens to call the authorities,
she leaves. Charlie is upset because she was staying with Gloria.
After performing well in the child's successful surgery, Benton asks Keaton to
recommend him for the next pediatric surgery rotation. She refuses because she
feels that Benton's remote manner would not make him a good pediatric surgeon
despite his excellent technique.
A critically burned homeless man is rushed to the emergency room, accompanied by
his dog, Nick. Greene promises the dying man that he will take care of the dog.
While washing Nick in the emergency room, Greene falls and gashes his forehead.
Jeanie is the only qualified staff person available to treat him. Reluctant
because she is HIV-infected, Greene finally allows her to stitch his injury.
After inviting Gant to attend a family holiday party with him, Carter reneges to
be with Keaton. Gant is depressed because his girlfriend ended their
relationship. Meanwhile, with nowhere else to go on Christmas Eve, Ross brings
Charlie to Hathaway's home. Hathaway, who is celebrating a Ukrainian Christmas
with her family, lets a now-homeless Charlie stay overnight.
Greene prepares for his tenure review next week, hoping to
join the faculty. His main competition is Weaver. When Weaver tries to recruit
subjects for a grant to study the physical behavioral patterns of night-shift
workers, Jeanie feels obligated to help Weaver, so she joins the study.
Hathaway and Ross volunteer to perform a designated safety check to help Greene.
They make a good team as they round up dangerous equipment. The former lovers
stumble upon a room where they used to meet, and they recall old memories.
After stealing expensive silverware from Hathaway's home on Christmas Eve,
Charlie comes to the emergency room to get money from Ross to pay her pimp. Not
believing her claim that she is in danger, Ross refuses her. Later, Charlie
returns to the hospital, beaten and raped.
Benton finds Keaton cuddling with Carter on her couch just before she leaves the
emergency room to go work in Pakistan. The mortified Keaton assumes that Benton
will blackmail her in order to get another rotation in pediatric surgery. But
Benton's ethics will not allow him to do that.
Gant feels Benton is being too tough on him. But when Gant's mistake nearly
causes a young patient to die, Benton gets even tougher.
Greene puts his career in jeopardy when he treats a woman who refuses to give
her consent. Later, he and nurse Chuni Marquez (recurring guest star LAURA
CERSN) subtly flirt during the night shift. After work, they consummate their
attraction to each other in Greene's bedroom.
Benton, Carter and Doyle feverishly work to save a victim who either tripped or
threw himself in front of a subway. Although the patient is unrecognizable due
to the injuries, they soon realize the victim is Gant.
Carter feels sorrow but also guilt about Gant's death even
though the police rule it an accident. He wonders if it was really suicide and
thinks that he wasn't a good enough friend to Gant. He also feels that Benton,
who will not discuss the matter, may be partly responsible due to his harsh
treatment of Gant. Later, Carter reads Benton's most recent evaluation of Gant,
which was positive. Unfortunately, Gant never saw it. Carter rebukes Benton for
his seeming lack of concern.
Meanwhile, Charlie asks Ross to be her guardian, and Charlie's mother, whose
former boyfriends have abused Charlie, agrees, claiming she can't control her
daughter. Ross refuses.
To protest cuts in their overtime pay, the nurses call in sick. Hathaway gets
temporary employees and closes down part of the emergency room. However, a
deathly ill patient from West Africa needs treatment. The doctors worry that he
might have the highly contagious ebola virus. Jeanie is willing to treat him,
helped by Dr. Greg Fischer (recurring guest star HARRY J. LENNIX) from
Infectious Diseases, who discovers that the man has malaria.
Fischer invites Jeanie to look at the stars with him through a telescope. She
mistakenly thinks that he is homosexual, but when he kisses her she realizes her
mistake. She tells him that she is HIV positive. Meanwhile, Greene overzealously
courts Marquez, who wants to let their romance develop more slowly.
When a homeless man dies in the emergency room, the overworked Hathaway takes
responsibility for giving him the wrong blood. Due to the lack of nurses, Weaver
and Greene don't think it is important to report the incident, but Hathaway
insists.
Greene concludes that he and Marquez have very little in
common and asks Ross for advice on how to end the relationship. However, Marquez
ends it amicably first.
Carter thinks Benton's unwillingness to deal with Gant's death is affecting
Benton's work performance. When Benton refuses to sign them up for any difficult
surgeries, Carter gets angry. Later, Benton and Carter are slated to give an
oral presentation to the surgical staff. Unfortunately, Benton never comes,
making Carter appear unprepared. Instead, Benton accidentally sees his
girlfriend, Carla, who informs him that she is pregnant. Disgusted and unaware
of this new development, a frustrated Carter tells Benton that he intends to
take a position that emergency room attending physician Dr. Angela Hicks
(recurring guest star CCH POUNDER) offered him on her surgical team.
Meanwhile, a newspaper article blames the emergency room nurses' strike for a
homeless man's death. Hathaway, who gave him the wrong blood type, believes the
strike was not a factor and that she is responsible. She tells this to a
reporter and is suspended for doing so.
Greene and Weaver show six prospective interns around the emergency room. Each
takes three interns. Weaver's tour is boring, but Greene allows his interns to
get involved in treating patients. When the tour is over, none of Weaver's
interns applies for a position. But all of Greene's interns rank the emergency
room as their top choice. Impressed, Anspaugh tells Greene that a tenured
teaching spot is available on the faculty.
Greene treats a woman, Heather Morgan (CAITLIN DULANY), who asks him to meet her
at a bar later that evening. Since he wants to date Heather, he gives her case
to Doyle and shows up at the bar.
Greene cancels one date so he can go on dates with two
other women on the same night. But all three women, including County General's
consulting psychiatrist Dr. Nina Pomerantz (recurring guest star JAMI GERTZ), discover the truth and get angry. Meanwhile, Fischer, the doctor
from Infectious Diseases, enlists Jeanie's help in testing emergency room
personnel for an infection. Later, Jeanie and Fischer kiss.
Doyle and Carter's work relationship changes from competitive to cooperative
after Doyle stops Carter from using his fingers to remove a razor-sharp bullet
from an AIDS patient. Later, Doyle, who grew up as a policeman's daughter,
teaches Carter how to shoot a gun at a firing range. Doyle casually reveals that
she is a lesbian when she sees her ex-girlfriend there.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old cystic fibrosis patient Jad Houston (CHAD LINDBERG) is in
respiratory distress. At first, Ross believes that the boy has signed an order
not to be resuscitated, but after he discovers that Jad is too young to make
that decision, Ross saves his life. Ross convinces Jad's mother (VERONICA
CARTWRIGHT) to sign the order as Jad wishes, but
when Jad almost dies again, she forces a reluctant Ross to revive him.
Also, Carter performs a perfect emergency appendectomy on his former teacher,
Benton. And Nurse Haleh Adams (recurring guest star YVETTE FREEMAN)
unsuccessfully takes over the suspended Hathaway's duties.
Music
Richard Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries
Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife
Hathaway remains on suspension from the hospital. While
Hathaway is shopping at a family-owned neighborhood store, two teenagers, Duncan
(EWAN McGREGOR) and James (Currie Graham), rob it. The
teens had planned a simple, nonviolent heist, but the situation escalates when
the elderly store owner shoots and injures James. Duncan shoots the owner, and
several customers are injured as well. Someone escapes and calls the police.
Trapped inside the store, the robbers take hostages, including Hathaway and her
10-year-old neighbor, Robert (MASON GAMBLE).
After persuading the thieves to allow her to tend to the injured, Hathaway uses
her medical skills and crude implements from the store to help the victims.
Unfortunately, she is unable to save the elderly shopkeeper. She also negotiates
with Duncan and James. Hathaway calms Duncan, who is upset that he killed the
old man. Despite the tense situation, Hathaway sympathizes with him because she,
too, killed an old man by accidentally giving him the wrong blood.
Later, Duncan attempts to escape, taking Hathaway with him. However, a police
officer shoots him. The standoff ends. Duncan and James are transported to the
emergency room, where Hathaway reluctantly relinquishes control of her patient,
Duncan, to Ross. The hostages are fine and owe their lives to Hathaway. Later,
Duncan dies, while James will probably live to be prosecuted.
The nurses get a new contract, and Hathaway is reinstated
after an investigation proves her not negligent in a patient's death. The nurses
belatedly realize that she is a good manager. On her first day back at work,
Hathaway leaves early to take the medical school admissions test.
Benton tells his pregnant girlfriend, Carla, that he wants to be a supportive
father. She informs him that she wants nothing from him. She believes Benton
only cares about himself. Later, Benton remorsefully confides to Hicks that he
was too concerned with his own career to care about Gant's feelings.
Greene's 37-year-old Down's syndrome patient, Louise (LOUISE C. BROWN), needs a
heart transplant. In the past, hospital therapist and transplant committee
member Dr. Nina Pomerantz recommended not to put Louise on a waiting list.
Greene argues with Pomerantz, but the patient's elderly mother supports the
decision because she does not want her daughter to outlive her and be left
alone.
Meanwhile, Jeanie wants to do something spontaneous and asks Fischer to attend
an opera with her. He treats her to a picnic in very cold weather. He suggests
they make love, but Jeanie wants to let the relationship develop slowly.
Cystic fibrosis patient Jad Houston signs a "do not resuscitate" order upon
reaching age 18. Ross removes him from the respirator, and Jad survives. Also,
Carter disagrees with Anspaugh's diagnosis and is proven correct, impressing
Anspaugh.
Music
Gloria Estefan - Conga
Two 17-year-old victims are rushed into the emergency room
after being shot during a drug deal that went awry at a diner. One is a white
diner employee, and the other is a black patron, Kenny Law (NORRIS YOUNG),
wearing gang attire. The white employee looks more seriously injured and is
quickly treated. But Kenny is actually the more critical patient and eventually
dies. At first, the medical staff assumes Kenny is a gang member, but later they
learn he was an innocent bystander and high school basketball star. The white
employee, who survives, is a drug dealer. Kenny's brother, Chris (recurring
guest star JOE TORRY), is outraged. Because of confidentiality rules,
Greene prevents Doyle from informing Kenny's teammates that the white employee
is a criminal. Later, a player from a rival team is brought in with a gunshot
wound.
Meanwhile, Hathaway convinces a rape victim to file criminal charges against the
man who drugged her with a substance that causes loss of consciousness and
amnesia.
After the pregnant Carla has a car accident, she goes into premature labor.
Jeanie treats her and stops the labor with drugs. Jeanie also discovers that
Benton is the child's father. Later, Benton peeks at Carla's ultrasound and sees
his unborn son. Also, Benton joins Dr. Hicks' general surgery team, which means
that he'll be working with Carter again.
Greene doesn't detect a serious heart problem in a patient until Carter makes
the correct diagnosis. Also, Greene must care for his young daughter, Rachel
(recurring guest star YVONNE ZIMA), when his ex-wife, Jennifer (recurring guest
star CHRISTINE HARNOS), goes to Florida to visit her own mother, who suffered a
stroke.
Anspaugh tells Greene to publish an article in a medical
journal in order to compete with Weaver for a teaching position at the hospital.
However, Greene cannot even maintain his commitments to the emergency room and
to his daughter, Rachel, who develops social problems at school. Later, Greene
consults with Dr. Pomerantz about a woman who wants surgery so badly that she
eats some surgical equipment. He decides this might make an interesting article.
Carter wants Anspaugh to perform delicate surgery on a patient, but Anspaugh
refuses because he doesn't believe that the patient will survive the surgery.
Carter convinces Hicks to perform the surgery without telling her about
Anspaugh's refusal. When Carter's deception is exposed, he is placed on
probation. The patient survives. Meanwhile, Hathaway continues to undermine
Doyle's authority. Benton lies to get Carla's confidential hospital files and
learns that she has gestational diabetes.
Fischer plans to take Jeanie out of town for the weekend, but she hesitates to
accept his offer. Jeanie treats a female AIDS patient who attempts suicide and
eventually dies. Instead of going with Fischer, Jeanie visits Al and finds
comfort with him.
Ross treats a high school student who insists on attending her school dance. She
needs gallbladder surgery. Ross orders an ambulance to drive her to the dance
and return her to the hospital that night for surgery.
Hathaway gets the results of her medical-school admissions
test. Not only did she pass, but she scored in the 85th percentile. Weaver
treats Hathaway as if she were already a medical student. However, Hathaway
reconsiders attending medical school, realizing that she loves being a nurse and
is not ready for a career change. Meanwhile, Carla has gestational diabetes, and
Benton worries about her, as well as their unborn child. He uncharacteristically
takes a day off from work and cares for Carla.
Carter is still in trouble for disobeying Anspaugh's orders recently. When a
mistake is made by Carter's rival intern, Dale Edson, it causes an allergic
reaction in a patient. Dale covers it up, and Carter does not report it, fearing
that Anspaugh would believe Dale instead of him.
Also, a genetically engineered mouse escapes from the genetics laboratory and
runs loose in the emergency room. A couple conducting a study on creative
problem-solving in emergency departments makes Greene wonder if they are insane.
Greene gives his daughter and her fellow girls' club members a tour of the
emergency room. Later, Pomerantz and Greene take their daughters bowling. And
when Carter tells Doyle that he is attracted to her, Doyle reminds him that she
is a lesbian.
Music
Elvis Costello - Everyday I Write the Book
When Jeanie learns that Al's medicine is not benefiting him
much, she helps him get accepted into a new drug study conducted at the hospital
by Fischer. Fischer learns that Jeanie and Al are seeing a lot of each other.
Eventually, Jeanie and Al have sex.
Benton acts as Carla's partner when she takes a birthing class, but he is
unreliable and too strict, so she tells him that she wants another partner.
Later, she is admitted to the hospital due to complications in her pregnancy and
must remain lying down.
Benton and Carter assist on a kidney transplant from a brother to a sister. The
brother suffers complications, but the surgery is a success. Later, Carter
astounds Benton by leaving a discussion among prestigious surgeons to check on
the transplant patients.
After his mother gets a bill from the hospital, Chris Law threatens Dr. Greene.
Chris' brother, a black student and innocent bystander shot during a drug deal,
recently died in the emergency room while the white drug dealer was successfully
treated. Greene also has hostile encounters with a doomsayer and the father of
an injured drum majorette (HEATHER MATARAZZO), who
wants his daughter to have unnecessary plastic surgery. Later in the hospital
bathroom, Greene survives a brutal attack by an unknown assailant.
Meanwhile, everyone wonders who is writing the romance novel found under the
admissions desk and less-than-loosely based on members of the emergency room
staff. Ross transfers his obsession with sex to golf. Greene learns that Doyle
is a lesbian. And a new emergency pediatrics intern, Anna Del Amico (recurring
guest star MARIA BELLO), joins the staff. Ross is somewhat
intimidated by her.
A battered and bruised Greene returns to work as additional
security measures are added to the hospital. Greene is convinced that his
attacker was a disgruntled patient or a patient's family member. But none of the
people he suspects are considered likely candidates by the police, who believe
that Greene was simply the victim of a random act of violence. Greene has not
recovered psychologically from the attack.
Meanwhile, Carter rethinks his career as a surgeon, feeling better utilized in
the emergency room. He's interested in the lives of patients--not just their
organs. His problems with Anspaugh continue when Carter devises a way to treat a
patient who doesn't want surgery despite Anspaugh's recommendation.
Al and Jeanie are very comfortable and happy as a couple for the first time
ever.
Carla delivers her baby two months prematurely and in critical condition. Benton
acts like a doctor instead of a father during delivery. Benton and Carla must
decide on a treatment option that could have serious risks for their tiny son.
Also, Ross gives Hathaway a surprise birthday party--at her house.
Music
Better Than Ezra - Desperately Wanting
Carter wants to leave the surgical residency program in
order to pursue emergency medicine, but Anspaugh angrily refuses to allow it.
Realizing budget restraints could hinder the transfer, Carter informs Weaver
that he doesn't need a salary. When Carter persists, Anspaugh considers the
change.
The risky treatment performed on Benton and Carla's premature baby is
successful. The baby improves, but there is a possibility that he will have
permanent brain damage.
Infuriated as a result of sleep deprivation due to his recent traumatic attack,
Greene destroys the lounge, throwing furniture and other items around. Ross
tries to help him, but Greene won't acknowledge that he has a problem. When
police detectives show Greene pictures of possible attackers, Greene admits that
he only saw his assailant's pants and shoes. He chooses a photo but is unsure if
it is the correct one.
Later, Greene is harassed on the subway by some teenage thugs that follow him
off at his station and demand money. Greene turns around, points a gun at the
robbers and forces them to board the train again.
The 14-year-old streetwise girl Charlie is brought into the emergency room
again. Tests indicate that she overdosed on cocaine and other drugs, and she
suffers from hepatitis. Ross notifies Child and Family Services, but Charlie
runs away before the authorities arrive.
When Hathaway returns home from a date with another man, Ross is waiting. Ross
and Hathaway share a kiss on her doorstep.