Mercy s01e15 Episode Script
I Did Kill You, Didn't I?
My name is Veronica.
I was a nurse in Iraq.
I had an affair with this doctor guy while I was there.
My husband found out.
- Can we just talk? - Don't come home.
- I have a date.
- With Dr.
Sands? - Yeah.
- I need some space.
'cause I was late for dinner? Welcome to the E.
R.
First rule: Don't let them die in the waiting room.
Hey! Who the hell are you? - I'm a nurse.
- Is she dead? - Just take the money and go.
- Stop lying to me! - He left.
- Who? That's how you're gonna play it? Get in here.
You gonna tell me what happened or what? I mean, I know you and Nick had a fight, but Look, I took control of the situation.
Don't tell me you're in love with the rich guy.
No, I'm not in love with him.
Paul was just a means to an end.
- And the end is - I'm free.
Free of your nice, sexy boyfriend who treats you like a queen? I never wanted it to get so serious.
I panicked.
Then lit the whole thing on fire.
You have to tell Nick.
You know that, right? I know.
Hey, Chloe, you haven't seen Veronica, have you? No.
Not unless she was in my toilet bowel, which is where I've spent most of my morning.
- It was tequila.
- Ah, yeah.
Well, maybe you should take the day off.
Second day in the E.
R.
I can't do it.
- Hey, have you seen Veronica? - Doc's jonesing.
No.
She's late.
Guessing your date didn't end in a sleepover.
What date? She didn't show.
She hasn't returned any of my calls.
- Seriously? - Maybe she got cold feet.
No.
I talked to her before the party.
She was all excited about it.
Hey.
Have you guys heard from Ronnie? No.
We were just saying that.
What happened? What? Last night, there was an attempted robbery at a donut store on 3rd.
Veronica was there.
Two people were killed.
Cashier and the perp.
Oh, my God.
Well, how do you know she was there? She was on the security tape.
You hear from her, call me.
Said she was on the tape.
What did you see? - You can't sleep here! - Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry.
I just need to use the bathroom.
- Five minutes.
- Okay.
Oh.
Hey.
What are you doing here? - I killed you.
- Yes, you did.
You look like ass, by the way.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm gonna count to three.
And when I turn around, you're gonna be gone.
- Okay.
- Shut up.
One Two Three.
- How's it going? - Bad.
Yeah? Me too.
You shot me to death.
Uh-uh.
Uh-uh.
That's not exactly how it happened.
It's not like you were just standing around eating a cruller and I ran up and shot you.
I had no choice.
You were gonna shoot me.
Are we gonna argue about this all day or get a drink? - We're gonna get a drink.
- Let's get a drink.
- All right, let's go.
- Start the car.
I am.
Bossy.
- I have a name, you know.
- I don't want to know it.
I don't think I can work today.
Shake it off, Winehouse.
It's not that.
It's Veronica.
I don't know what I'd do if I had to What, shoot somebody? If anybody can handle it, she can.
She's been through a war.
That's what I'm worried about.
Where is everybody? Three pronounced dead on scene.
We're sending approximately 60 victims to four receiving hospitals.
Stand by.
What happened? A bomb went off on a city bus.
- Caused a multivehicle crash.
- Oh, my God.
A bomb? What, like a terrorist bomb? No one knows.
It's chaos down there.
Back with you, Mercy.
How many can you handle? We can take four majors and 20 minors.
Copy that.
You have blanket orders for saline, o-2, C-collar, backboards, and morphine as tolerated.
We'll see you at the back door.
Mercy clear with rescue 29.
I'm holding all elective surgery and opening up both ct scanners.
Okay, let's take admitted patients up to the floor even if they don't have a bed.
They can board them in the hall.
Okay.
We can put three critical care beds against that wall.
We need two more vents from RT, Intubation and thoracotomy trays.
- Hey.
Where are you doing? - I'm going to find Veronica.
How? Are you are you Dog the Bounty Hunter? No, I'm not dog the I I just can't stay here and do nothing.
Look, Tim, Mike, the police, they're all looking for her, okay? They're gonna find her.
Don't worry.
We need you here.
It's a bombing, Chris.
There's no one that's better equipped to handle these types of injuries than you.
Everyone gets a triage tag.
Greens sit in the chair.
Yellows get the gurneys.
Reds we jump on right away 'cause we don't want to miss their golden hour.
What's golden hour? They die in 60 minutes without surgery.
Listen to me.
Follow my lead.
You'll be okay.
Can you please stop that? Just leave it, okay? Leave it right there.
Really? Yes, really.
I love this song.
This is my favorite song.
Turn it up.
What are you so mad about? Because I got through two tours of duty You know what okay without shooting anybody.
Oh.
Why were you robbing a donut shop? How much money could've possibly been in that safe anyway? - Does it hurt? - No.
Not anymore.
Let me see.
Oh, now you want to be a nurse.
Look.
Man.
I got you pretty good, didn't I? That one probably went through your aorta.
You never had a chance.
At least it was a small caliber though.
Not like the .
50-cal sniper round back in Iraq, right? Go through the body armor.
I'm telling you, it leave an exit wound big enough to fit a fist into.
That's carnage for you right there.
Keep a brother up all night just thinking about it.
That's true.
Yeah, could drive a person to drink.
That is also true, insightful ghost.
- Oh.
Ho-ho ho.
Shoot.
- Put that back.
God! - Why'd you keep this? - I don't now.
I just took it.
Look.
Don't worry about it.
Just put the gun in the thing and let's hit a bar! I got a great spot.
A place where a crazy lady and a ghost van go get a mid-morning drink in peace.
Penetrating chest trauma.
Hypotensive at 80 palp in field op to 100 with a liter.
Welcome to Mercy, ma'am.
Hemopneumothorax.
Two units o-neg.
Set me up for a chest tube.
And thoracic.
Take them up to O.
R.
Got it.
with back pain, but ambulatory and assisting others on the scene.
- 110 over 70.
Pulse 90.
- Sit him in chairs.
- Okay.
How's your back? - Uh, it's okay, really.
Other people here are a lot worse.
- Help them.
- Okay.
Well, just sit tight and, um, holler if you need anything.
What do we got? open femur fracture.
Ten of morphine didn't touch him.
Gram of ancef.
100 of gent.
hell out of it and call ortho.
- That's the last one.
- Okay.
I want to be updated on any changes in the vital signs or mental status.
Let's go.
We got to put in a chest tube.
Stay with me, Cuervo.
Soon as I get this IV going, we'll have the doctor come take a look at your belly, all right? Okay.
Do you always take that bus to get to school? Yeah.
When my dad split, my mom started working.
So I got real familiar with public transit.
Yeah.
I hear you.
I'm all about the bus lately.
Hey, what'd you do here? Did you burn yourself? Hey.
Everett.
Hey.
Everett, do you remember if you hit your head in the crash? I I don't know.
Why? Hey, Dr.
Sands.
Left upper quadrant tenderness.
Good vitals.
Hemocue of 14.
Probably post-concussive.
I noticed him drifting.
Hi.
Dr.
Sands.
I hear you're having some pain.
Pupils equal and reactive.
Any headache? No.
Just my stomach.
Looks like blood in the splenic capsule.
Not bad though.
Good vitals, hematocrit.
Probably a grade-2 laceration.
Means a small tear in your spleen.
Should probably heal up on its own, right, doctor? Let's get a ct scan, though, just to be safe.
And a titrate 4 of morphine.
I'm gonna get you a shot for the pain, but it might take a while.
Lot of people got hurt today.
- They're doomed.
- Not necessarily.
God said the doomed lose the right to be redeemed.
Seven stitches.
Good as new.
You have nice hands.
Smooth.
I moisturize.
There's something about being worked on by the hands of a trained professional.
Uh, Becky, are you a married woman? I'm a woman who happens to be married.
- Oh, my God.
- Maybe Where why did I do that? We should get a nurse chaperone in here.
Is someone making soup? Becky, how is your head? Fine.
Any nausea? Double vision? There's a tiny scrape.
Can you close your eyes, please? - Is there any pain here? - A little.
It it feels more, um, itchy than anything else.
Mm-hmm.
I need a skull x-ray.
Ap and lateral.
You're gonna be fine.
Thank you, doctor.
You're welcome.
- And, Becky.
- Yes, doctor? Would you kindly remove your hand from my crotch? I want this place locked down.
Only immediate family comes in or out.
And no one gets discharged.
Where were you last night? You could've called.
- I stayed here.
- Why? Can we talk about this later? Somebody blew up a bus.
- My best friend's missing.
- I heard about that.
She'll be okay.
So they put you on the bombing.
Yeah.
Me and everyone else.
Bomb squad guy said it was small.
Pipe bomb.
Something anyone could make if they looked it up on the internet.
Doesn't sound like a terrorist plot.
We need to start interviewing the patients.
We think it was detonated by someone on the bus.
You got any contenders? Could somebody burn themselves making a bomb like that? Hey, Everett.
This is my friend, Nick.
He's a police officer.
Hey, Everett.
So I was wondering that that thing you said about the people being doomed on the bus.
Why did you say that? Because that's what he told me.
You mean God.
What else did he tell you? Everett, there's a lot of people hurting here.
A thing like this stays with someone, makes them wonder what they did to deserve it.
They didn't do anything to deserve it.
Then why do you think it happened? He said it was a sacrifice.
What can I get for you? Irish whiskey.
Rocks.
- Hey, don't forget about me.
- Sure.
What are you drinking? Little early for me.
Thanks.
I didn't mean you.
I'm drinking whatever you're drinking.
Fine.
Make it a double.
- One at a time.
- It's Kerr.
K-E-R-R.
The first name is Wayne.
I'm sorry.
I have no patient by that name.
- Then where the hell is he? - I don't know.
Call the fire department.
People were taken to four different hospitals.
All right, I'm here to see my brother George saunders.
Okay.
Um, sorry, sir.
He already has two visitors.
- So unless one of them leaves - Well, is his wife in there? You tell her Rudy said to get off her gigantic ass and get out here.
Okay.
You're gonna have to wait.
- He's crazy.
- Where's she going, to lunch? - 'Scuse me, nurse.
- What? Um, you see that guy over there sitting with his dad? His name's Scott.
I think something's wrong with him.
Okay.
Well, he has a green triage tag.
So once we get done with our critical care patients No, you don't understand.
He's a left winger.
He gets hurt all the time.
Because he's a liberal? No.
He plays hockey.
It it's just the point is that he has a very high pain threshold.
And and he could be injured and he's just not showing it.
I was sitting behind him when we crashed.
He just he hit really hard.
Any pain over the bones here? Not really.
Well, the urine dip's negative for blood.
No kidney damage.
I like that.
No paraspinous muscle spasms.
Roll on your back.
Gordon cup starts in two weeks.
Is, uh, he gonna be able to play? As long as everything checks out, he should be back on the field in no time.
- On the ice.
- He's a left winger.
Uh, lift up your right leg.
Don't let me move it.
Scholarship's locked in anyway.
It doesn't matter if I play.
NHL scouts are all over that tournament.
Other leg.
And you're six goals away from a state record.
- It matters.
- Well, you got good strength.
I'm telling you guys I'm fine.
Your friend Abby didn't think so.
She thought you were being brave.
I don't know anyone named Abby.
So can I take him home? - Your, uh, foot okay? - Fine.
Just tingly.
Pins and needles.
Let's get a CT of the lumbar spine.
Just covering our bases.
- Everett's scan.
- Oh, thank you.
- Any word on Veronica? - Not yet.
I know.
All I can do is keep going here.
Let me see.
Must've blown a clot.
There's a lot of intraperitoneal blood.
At least a couple units.
Pulse 120.
Pressure 90 over 60.
Squeeze a liter of saline.
Transfuse two units type-specific.
Call up and prep an O.
R.
Everett, you're going to need surgery.
I'm going to try to repair your spleen.
If I can't, I'm gonna have to remove it, okay? Okay.
- Hey.
You got a minute? - No.
I got to find a surgeon.
If you want an encore, you're gonna have to wait.
Thanks.
But I was hoping we could pretend last night never happened.
Uh, sure.
You were never in my bed.
Or on my kitchen table.
Who's your patient? budding hockey star.
Nearly broke his back in the crash.
Ouch.
Epidural hematoma.
Is there a lumbar fracture? Just a torn artery.
Blood's pooling, compressing his spinal cord.
And he's been taking aspirin for a week for some hockey bruises.
So with the aspirin, his blood's slow to clot.
We need to drain the hematoma and repair the bleeding vessel.
- Who's available? - They're all scrubbed in.
Your patient's gonna have to wait.
Dr.
Sands.
I got a kid downstairs with a lumbar spinal hematoma that's compressing his spinal cord.
We're about to go into surgery, Briggs.
Yeah, I know.
That's the thing.
You booked the last O.
R.
My patient could really use it.
Well, so can mine.
But yours if I understand correctly put the bomb on the bus.
You really think he deserves priority? Well, I think he'll die if I don't operate.
Yours is a spinal cord injury.
That's not life-threatening.
It depends on your definition of life.
You know what could happen if we don't stop the bleeding.
I'm sure another O.
R.
will open up soon.
I think your judgment's clouded.
- My judgment? - Yeah.
What with your trigger-happy girlfriend going all awol.
Are we gonna kiss now? 'cause I got to warn you, I had an everything bagel about ten minutes ago.
Don't push, Briggs.
Stop it.
Stop.
Come here.
Dr.
Harris, come in.
This is my husband Tom.
Isn't he cute? Doesn't he make you want to just rip his pants off and make him dance? Uh, no, not really.
But I would like to show him this X-ray of yours.
- This is the area of concern.
- What is it? A tiny piece of shrapnel has pierced the thin layer around your eye socket and lodged itself in your right frontal lobe.
Trauma to this area can affect a person's impulse control, which would explain your lack of inhibition.
What do we do about it? Well, I've consulted our neurosurgeon and he recommends having it removed.
So after he takes it out, she'll go back to the way she was? Well, not immediately, but eventually.
That's the idea.
I know surgery can be frightening, but this is a relatively simple procedure.
- Hey, what's your credit score? - My credit score? I don't know.
It's good.
It's fine.
- It's possibly below average.
- Why? Because you could probably get a new credit card.
- Pull a geographic.
- You mean leave New Jersey? You say that like it's Aruba.
What about Australia? That is so weird that you say that because I have always wanted to go to Australia.
- So what's stopping you? - Well, I have people.
I have friends, and I have family, and I have an estranged husband, and I am in a relationship.
Kind of.
So why didn't you go to him after you shot me? I don't know.
I mean, he's seen me at my worst, but not quite like this.
It ain't pretty.
We spent a month at this cache in al Anbar.
Yeah? Lost more wounded there than during my entire second tour.
And then at the end of our stay, this dog that hung around the hospital got run over.
Wait.
Wait.
Your lowest point in Iraq is when a dog got flattened by a Humvee? No.
It wasn't about the dog, idiot.
It was about the stuff leading up to the dog.
I don't even remember the dog's name.
Okay.
It was "Happy.
" Chris put him down for me.
Can I see that phone? Hey, what are you doing? I'm calling him.
Okay, but if he doesn't pick up, we do things my way.
Hey, this is Chris.
Leave a message and I'll call you back.
Too bad.
He's probably busy.
So Australia? Well, let's get real.
You know that's not where we're going.
- How's the breathing? - It's fine.
There's an officer right outside the door.
- Are these necessary? - It's not up to me.
He's just had surgery.
He's not going anywhere.
It's okay, mom.
I'll be taken care of.
- How's your stomach? - Oh, it's a little Everett.
Everett, you okay? Has this ever happened before? Yes.
When I described it to our doctor, he said it was a symptom of A.
D.
D.
- Hey, mom.
- Hi.
Let's get an E.
E.
G.
going on Everett.
I want to be notified at the first sign of any abnormalities.
You said there was no sign of concussion.
I don't think we're dealing with a concussion.
You've reached the Red Fox Saloon.
We're open 6:00 am to 2:00 am - Yeah.
Hello.
- Um, hey, it's Chris.
Uh, I got a missed call.
I think she's at a bar.
I'm really worried about her.
How'd you know it was her? It's a feeling.
Listen, it's called the Red Fox.
It's in the 609 area code.
I'm at least an hour away.
Dr.
Sands to recovery, stat.
Listen, I've gotta go.
If anything happens, you call me right away, okay? All right.
Hey, thanks, man.
Yeah, I need a bedside E.
E.
G.
to room 511.
Thanks.
Some day, huh? You ever gonna tell me why you didn't come home last night? It's a lot of things.
Everything just happened so fast.
AndI don't know if we want the same things.
None of that is an answer.
Hey.
Paul, what are you doing back here? Taking my mom home, remember? Hear you guys could use the room.
- This is Paul? - Do we know each other? Detective Valentino's on the bombing case.
So, uh, what are you doing tonight? Want to get some dinner? - Nick, where are you going? - Don't worry about it.
Got my answer.
Scotty.
Hey.
- Can I get a drink of water? - Not just yet.
Scott, your surgery went well.
Just want to check on a few things.
Can you bend your knees up? Trying.
Okay.
Can you wiggle your toe? Hey, hey.
You can do this, huh? Okay.
That's good for now.
- Positive babinski.
- What does that mean? It can be a sign of a spinal cord injury.
Are you saying he's paralyzed? There's no way of telling how permanent the damage is.
How did this happen? He was walking when he came in here.
Dad.
Don't.
We didn't know the blood was accumulating until he started to lose sensation in the foot.
But when you did know, you made us wait.
In light of the accident, some tough decisions had to be made.
What? It wasn't an accident! And that bastard who bombed the bus, he was in the operating room before my son! You gave priority to a terrorist? Since he's six years old all he wanted to do is skate.
Where are you going? Dad! Sleeping like a baby.
You'd never know.
What happens to a kid like this to make him so disturbed? Nothing happened.
He's sick.
What are we looking at here? Interictal spikes at t3/4 and f7/8 Followed by sharp, rhythmic theta waves.
I think he has temporal lobe epilepsy.
T.
L.
E.
The seizures can cause visions, right? Yeah.
Religious ones.
And then he took the cns stimulant Because they thought it was ADD and that would've lowered his seizure threshold.
Heard your kid pulled through with flying colors.
My spinal hematoma, paralyzed from the waist down.
Good call.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Sorenson.
This is not a sex club! Give us a minute here, okay? I have some good news.
I was able to schedule your surgery for tomorrow.
Uh, actually, that's what we were talking about before, um, we got distracted.
We've decided not to do the surgery.
What? We don't want the procedure.
This situation has merit.
Mr.
Sorenson, you shouldn't be so willing to overlook your wife's health so that you can get a little nookie.
No, that's not what this is about.
We had a baby.
A little boy.
He's two now and he's he's great.
It's just I've had postpartum depression.
It's, um it's been pretty severe.
She sleeps all day.
It's been kind of like living with a ghost.
I'm sorry, Beck.
And now this thing in her head, it's woken up a part of the woman I fell in love with.
How do you feel about this? I feel alive.
Well, if we leave it in, there's the risk of infection or an abscess in the brain, at which point, we would have to remove it.
Then we'll make the most of it while we can.
Thank you, Dr.
Harris.
Come here, you.
The brain is a real mystery.
It's basically all about electricity.
Sometimes, like in your case, that electricity goes haywire.
It's like a storm.
That's happening in part of your brain called the hippocampus.
Ang when it happens, it can cause a seizure.
No, I I know what a seizure looks like.
- I don't have those.
- Oh, it's small.
It's not the kind that makes you shake.
But sometimes it can make you lose awareness.
And sometimes you will see things or hear things.
So that's what allows me to hear his voice.
No.
There is no voice, Everett.
It's your mind making it up.
Dr.
Sands wants to put you on teg.
It'll stop the seizures and and the symptoms.
God God is not a symptom.
It it's real.
You have a disease, Everett.
Dostoevsky had it, vincent van Gogh, maybe even Joan of Arc.
- They were all crazy? - No.
Van Gogh cut off his own ear.
You're telling me that's not crazy? You can get better.
All those people? He told me I had to do it.
I it was so clear.
Okay.
Your X-rays don't show a fracture.
So lucky you gets to wear this ugly splint while the ligaments heal.
Awesome.
'cause I'm not enough of a pariah as it is.
You can try to hide it in your shoe.
Um, flats.
No heels, okay? No heels? Darn.
Is Scott ever gonna walk again? Oh.
Um, I don't know.
You seem to know a lot about him.
How long have you two known each other? Well, uh, it It depends on what you mean by "known.
" I've taken the bus with him since seventh grade.
but I've never been able to talk to him.
And and it's not like I'm a stalker or anything.
I'm just really observant and deathly afraid of rejection.
Listen, Scott's dad took off and I think he could use a friend.
The hospital's kind of on lockdown, only family is allowed up, but if you can get over your fear, I'm willing to bend the rules a little bit.
Hey.
I brought someone to see you.
Hi.
I'm I'm Abby.
Oh, yeah.
You're in Potter's trig class, right? I I have the seat right in front of his desk.
That blows.
He always smells like vapo rub.
And cheese.
Yeah, it's gross.
Your leg okay? Oh, fine.
Just a sprain.
Maybe you should sit down.
Oh.
Okay.
Watch his leg.
- Did you see that? - I did.
It moved.
- He moved? - Your leg moved.
Hey.
I'm looking for a woman.
She's tall, blonde.
She's got a car out in the lot there.
Yeah.
I figured whoever came for her would have a butterfly net.
What do you mean? Well, she carried on a whole conversation with that bar stool right there.
That's a whole lot of crazy.
But, hey, I wouldn't kick her out of bed.
Listen.
Where'd she go? No idea.
She left these though.
Said she wouldn't be needing them.
- I got to call you back.
- Hey.
Been looking for you.
I've got work.
You've got dinner.
- Wait a second.
- Tell me I'm wrong here.
Tell me you weren't with that guy last night.
I'm sorry.
It was the wrong thing to do.
But I was scared.
I just should've told you where my head was at.
Your head was the same place as the rest of your body.
- Underneath Paul.
- No.
I'll have my stuff out of the apartment by morning.
I'm sure you can find someplace else to be tonight.
Nick, wait.
I freaked out.
Can we just please talk about it? I don't think so.
You know, all in all, you did pretty good for a girl with a killer hangover.
Thank you.
Clearly, you didn't see me puking in the medicine closet.
No.
I missed that.
Oh, Mr.
Cepek.
Mr.
Cepek! I wanted to tell him that Scott moved his leg.
He'll see for himself.
It'll be a nice surprise.
I was just hoping to give someone good news for once.
Here's some good news.
Shift's over in ten minutes.
Are you gonna throw up on me right now? No.
No, it passed.
Wait, I was wrong.
It didn't pass.
Everett.
- Where'd your mom go? - Talking to my uncle.
- He's a lawyer.
- Oh.
Well, that's good.
He can't help me.
If it was just electricity in my brain, then Then it was all for nothing.
No one can help me.
- He's just a kid.
- Sir, you can't be in here.
Get out.
- Get out! - I can't do that.
You know what he did? He doesn't deserve your help.
Well, this is a hospital.
That's what we do.
Yeah, tell that to my son.
He's crippled 'cause of this son of a bitch! Your s yeah.
- Scott.
- Well, that's my fault.
It's his fault.
Now get out! You want to blame someone, blame me.
You.
- You okay? - Yeah.
- Everett.
- He's right.
I don't deserve your help.
Everett, you listen to me.
You think this through.
What the hell is going on in here? Give me that! Ungrateful little brat.
So this is where it ends, huh? What the hell did you do that for? Why are you still here? What do you want? I want what you want.
To be free of all this.
I am not going to do that.
It's crazy.
I have a whole life here.
You know what's crazy, the fact that you think you can live a normal life.
You left a piece of yourself back there that you're never gonna get back.
You've seen too much.
And now you can add murder to that list.
Stop saying that word.
You know the reason he didn't answer his phone? It's 'cause he doesn't want to take care of you for the rest of his life.
You're never gonna be okay.
The nightmares are never gonna stop.
Maple bars are gonna start freaking you out now.
Nobody's ever gonna love you.
That's not true.
Mike loves me.
Not enough.
It's only a matter of time before he finds somebody nice and normal.
Let's just go.
Let's just go wherever.
I mean, as long as they serve booze.
- I hear Oregon's nice.
- Oregon.
Okay.
That's good.
Mike.
What? Well, what the hell is he doing here? What, is he telepathic? This is the beach we used to come to when we were kids.
This is where we said "I love you" for the first time.
Great.
That was, like, 100 years ago.
Let him be.
Just let him have a nice, normal life.
Mike! Mike! Hey! I'll see you around.
Ronnie.
God, you had me scared.
I'm sorry.
- Here.
- Something really bad happened.
I know.
I know the whole thing.
It wasn't your fault.
You're gonna be okay.
You promise? Yeah.
I promise.
I was a nurse in Iraq.
I had an affair with this doctor guy while I was there.
My husband found out.
- Can we just talk? - Don't come home.
- I have a date.
- With Dr.
Sands? - Yeah.
- I need some space.
'cause I was late for dinner? Welcome to the E.
R.
First rule: Don't let them die in the waiting room.
Hey! Who the hell are you? - I'm a nurse.
- Is she dead? - Just take the money and go.
- Stop lying to me! - He left.
- Who? That's how you're gonna play it? Get in here.
You gonna tell me what happened or what? I mean, I know you and Nick had a fight, but Look, I took control of the situation.
Don't tell me you're in love with the rich guy.
No, I'm not in love with him.
Paul was just a means to an end.
- And the end is - I'm free.
Free of your nice, sexy boyfriend who treats you like a queen? I never wanted it to get so serious.
I panicked.
Then lit the whole thing on fire.
You have to tell Nick.
You know that, right? I know.
Hey, Chloe, you haven't seen Veronica, have you? No.
Not unless she was in my toilet bowel, which is where I've spent most of my morning.
- It was tequila.
- Ah, yeah.
Well, maybe you should take the day off.
Second day in the E.
R.
I can't do it.
- Hey, have you seen Veronica? - Doc's jonesing.
No.
She's late.
Guessing your date didn't end in a sleepover.
What date? She didn't show.
She hasn't returned any of my calls.
- Seriously? - Maybe she got cold feet.
No.
I talked to her before the party.
She was all excited about it.
Hey.
Have you guys heard from Ronnie? No.
We were just saying that.
What happened? What? Last night, there was an attempted robbery at a donut store on 3rd.
Veronica was there.
Two people were killed.
Cashier and the perp.
Oh, my God.
Well, how do you know she was there? She was on the security tape.
You hear from her, call me.
Said she was on the tape.
What did you see? - You can't sleep here! - Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry.
I just need to use the bathroom.
- Five minutes.
- Okay.
Oh.
Hey.
What are you doing here? - I killed you.
- Yes, you did.
You look like ass, by the way.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm gonna count to three.
And when I turn around, you're gonna be gone.
- Okay.
- Shut up.
One Two Three.
- How's it going? - Bad.
Yeah? Me too.
You shot me to death.
Uh-uh.
Uh-uh.
That's not exactly how it happened.
It's not like you were just standing around eating a cruller and I ran up and shot you.
I had no choice.
You were gonna shoot me.
Are we gonna argue about this all day or get a drink? - We're gonna get a drink.
- Let's get a drink.
- All right, let's go.
- Start the car.
I am.
Bossy.
- I have a name, you know.
- I don't want to know it.
I don't think I can work today.
Shake it off, Winehouse.
It's not that.
It's Veronica.
I don't know what I'd do if I had to What, shoot somebody? If anybody can handle it, she can.
She's been through a war.
That's what I'm worried about.
Where is everybody? Three pronounced dead on scene.
We're sending approximately 60 victims to four receiving hospitals.
Stand by.
What happened? A bomb went off on a city bus.
- Caused a multivehicle crash.
- Oh, my God.
A bomb? What, like a terrorist bomb? No one knows.
It's chaos down there.
Back with you, Mercy.
How many can you handle? We can take four majors and 20 minors.
Copy that.
You have blanket orders for saline, o-2, C-collar, backboards, and morphine as tolerated.
We'll see you at the back door.
Mercy clear with rescue 29.
I'm holding all elective surgery and opening up both ct scanners.
Okay, let's take admitted patients up to the floor even if they don't have a bed.
They can board them in the hall.
Okay.
We can put three critical care beds against that wall.
We need two more vents from RT, Intubation and thoracotomy trays.
- Hey.
Where are you doing? - I'm going to find Veronica.
How? Are you are you Dog the Bounty Hunter? No, I'm not dog the I I just can't stay here and do nothing.
Look, Tim, Mike, the police, they're all looking for her, okay? They're gonna find her.
Don't worry.
We need you here.
It's a bombing, Chris.
There's no one that's better equipped to handle these types of injuries than you.
Everyone gets a triage tag.
Greens sit in the chair.
Yellows get the gurneys.
Reds we jump on right away 'cause we don't want to miss their golden hour.
What's golden hour? They die in 60 minutes without surgery.
Listen to me.
Follow my lead.
You'll be okay.
Can you please stop that? Just leave it, okay? Leave it right there.
Really? Yes, really.
I love this song.
This is my favorite song.
Turn it up.
What are you so mad about? Because I got through two tours of duty You know what okay without shooting anybody.
Oh.
Why were you robbing a donut shop? How much money could've possibly been in that safe anyway? - Does it hurt? - No.
Not anymore.
Let me see.
Oh, now you want to be a nurse.
Look.
Man.
I got you pretty good, didn't I? That one probably went through your aorta.
You never had a chance.
At least it was a small caliber though.
Not like the .
50-cal sniper round back in Iraq, right? Go through the body armor.
I'm telling you, it leave an exit wound big enough to fit a fist into.
That's carnage for you right there.
Keep a brother up all night just thinking about it.
That's true.
Yeah, could drive a person to drink.
That is also true, insightful ghost.
- Oh.
Ho-ho ho.
Shoot.
- Put that back.
God! - Why'd you keep this? - I don't now.
I just took it.
Look.
Don't worry about it.
Just put the gun in the thing and let's hit a bar! I got a great spot.
A place where a crazy lady and a ghost van go get a mid-morning drink in peace.
Penetrating chest trauma.
Hypotensive at 80 palp in field op to 100 with a liter.
Welcome to Mercy, ma'am.
Hemopneumothorax.
Two units o-neg.
Set me up for a chest tube.
And thoracic.
Take them up to O.
R.
Got it.
with back pain, but ambulatory and assisting others on the scene.
- 110 over 70.
Pulse 90.
- Sit him in chairs.
- Okay.
How's your back? - Uh, it's okay, really.
Other people here are a lot worse.
- Help them.
- Okay.
Well, just sit tight and, um, holler if you need anything.
What do we got? open femur fracture.
Ten of morphine didn't touch him.
Gram of ancef.
100 of gent.
hell out of it and call ortho.
- That's the last one.
- Okay.
I want to be updated on any changes in the vital signs or mental status.
Let's go.
We got to put in a chest tube.
Stay with me, Cuervo.
Soon as I get this IV going, we'll have the doctor come take a look at your belly, all right? Okay.
Do you always take that bus to get to school? Yeah.
When my dad split, my mom started working.
So I got real familiar with public transit.
Yeah.
I hear you.
I'm all about the bus lately.
Hey, what'd you do here? Did you burn yourself? Hey.
Everett.
Hey.
Everett, do you remember if you hit your head in the crash? I I don't know.
Why? Hey, Dr.
Sands.
Left upper quadrant tenderness.
Good vitals.
Hemocue of 14.
Probably post-concussive.
I noticed him drifting.
Hi.
Dr.
Sands.
I hear you're having some pain.
Pupils equal and reactive.
Any headache? No.
Just my stomach.
Looks like blood in the splenic capsule.
Not bad though.
Good vitals, hematocrit.
Probably a grade-2 laceration.
Means a small tear in your spleen.
Should probably heal up on its own, right, doctor? Let's get a ct scan, though, just to be safe.
And a titrate 4 of morphine.
I'm gonna get you a shot for the pain, but it might take a while.
Lot of people got hurt today.
- They're doomed.
- Not necessarily.
God said the doomed lose the right to be redeemed.
Seven stitches.
Good as new.
You have nice hands.
Smooth.
I moisturize.
There's something about being worked on by the hands of a trained professional.
Uh, Becky, are you a married woman? I'm a woman who happens to be married.
- Oh, my God.
- Maybe Where why did I do that? We should get a nurse chaperone in here.
Is someone making soup? Becky, how is your head? Fine.
Any nausea? Double vision? There's a tiny scrape.
Can you close your eyes, please? - Is there any pain here? - A little.
It it feels more, um, itchy than anything else.
Mm-hmm.
I need a skull x-ray.
Ap and lateral.
You're gonna be fine.
Thank you, doctor.
You're welcome.
- And, Becky.
- Yes, doctor? Would you kindly remove your hand from my crotch? I want this place locked down.
Only immediate family comes in or out.
And no one gets discharged.
Where were you last night? You could've called.
- I stayed here.
- Why? Can we talk about this later? Somebody blew up a bus.
- My best friend's missing.
- I heard about that.
She'll be okay.
So they put you on the bombing.
Yeah.
Me and everyone else.
Bomb squad guy said it was small.
Pipe bomb.
Something anyone could make if they looked it up on the internet.
Doesn't sound like a terrorist plot.
We need to start interviewing the patients.
We think it was detonated by someone on the bus.
You got any contenders? Could somebody burn themselves making a bomb like that? Hey, Everett.
This is my friend, Nick.
He's a police officer.
Hey, Everett.
So I was wondering that that thing you said about the people being doomed on the bus.
Why did you say that? Because that's what he told me.
You mean God.
What else did he tell you? Everett, there's a lot of people hurting here.
A thing like this stays with someone, makes them wonder what they did to deserve it.
They didn't do anything to deserve it.
Then why do you think it happened? He said it was a sacrifice.
What can I get for you? Irish whiskey.
Rocks.
- Hey, don't forget about me.
- Sure.
What are you drinking? Little early for me.
Thanks.
I didn't mean you.
I'm drinking whatever you're drinking.
Fine.
Make it a double.
- One at a time.
- It's Kerr.
K-E-R-R.
The first name is Wayne.
I'm sorry.
I have no patient by that name.
- Then where the hell is he? - I don't know.
Call the fire department.
People were taken to four different hospitals.
All right, I'm here to see my brother George saunders.
Okay.
Um, sorry, sir.
He already has two visitors.
- So unless one of them leaves - Well, is his wife in there? You tell her Rudy said to get off her gigantic ass and get out here.
Okay.
You're gonna have to wait.
- He's crazy.
- Where's she going, to lunch? - 'Scuse me, nurse.
- What? Um, you see that guy over there sitting with his dad? His name's Scott.
I think something's wrong with him.
Okay.
Well, he has a green triage tag.
So once we get done with our critical care patients No, you don't understand.
He's a left winger.
He gets hurt all the time.
Because he's a liberal? No.
He plays hockey.
It it's just the point is that he has a very high pain threshold.
And and he could be injured and he's just not showing it.
I was sitting behind him when we crashed.
He just he hit really hard.
Any pain over the bones here? Not really.
Well, the urine dip's negative for blood.
No kidney damage.
I like that.
No paraspinous muscle spasms.
Roll on your back.
Gordon cup starts in two weeks.
Is, uh, he gonna be able to play? As long as everything checks out, he should be back on the field in no time.
- On the ice.
- He's a left winger.
Uh, lift up your right leg.
Don't let me move it.
Scholarship's locked in anyway.
It doesn't matter if I play.
NHL scouts are all over that tournament.
Other leg.
And you're six goals away from a state record.
- It matters.
- Well, you got good strength.
I'm telling you guys I'm fine.
Your friend Abby didn't think so.
She thought you were being brave.
I don't know anyone named Abby.
So can I take him home? - Your, uh, foot okay? - Fine.
Just tingly.
Pins and needles.
Let's get a CT of the lumbar spine.
Just covering our bases.
- Everett's scan.
- Oh, thank you.
- Any word on Veronica? - Not yet.
I know.
All I can do is keep going here.
Let me see.
Must've blown a clot.
There's a lot of intraperitoneal blood.
At least a couple units.
Pulse 120.
Pressure 90 over 60.
Squeeze a liter of saline.
Transfuse two units type-specific.
Call up and prep an O.
R.
Everett, you're going to need surgery.
I'm going to try to repair your spleen.
If I can't, I'm gonna have to remove it, okay? Okay.
- Hey.
You got a minute? - No.
I got to find a surgeon.
If you want an encore, you're gonna have to wait.
Thanks.
But I was hoping we could pretend last night never happened.
Uh, sure.
You were never in my bed.
Or on my kitchen table.
Who's your patient? budding hockey star.
Nearly broke his back in the crash.
Ouch.
Epidural hematoma.
Is there a lumbar fracture? Just a torn artery.
Blood's pooling, compressing his spinal cord.
And he's been taking aspirin for a week for some hockey bruises.
So with the aspirin, his blood's slow to clot.
We need to drain the hematoma and repair the bleeding vessel.
- Who's available? - They're all scrubbed in.
Your patient's gonna have to wait.
Dr.
Sands.
I got a kid downstairs with a lumbar spinal hematoma that's compressing his spinal cord.
We're about to go into surgery, Briggs.
Yeah, I know.
That's the thing.
You booked the last O.
R.
My patient could really use it.
Well, so can mine.
But yours if I understand correctly put the bomb on the bus.
You really think he deserves priority? Well, I think he'll die if I don't operate.
Yours is a spinal cord injury.
That's not life-threatening.
It depends on your definition of life.
You know what could happen if we don't stop the bleeding.
I'm sure another O.
R.
will open up soon.
I think your judgment's clouded.
- My judgment? - Yeah.
What with your trigger-happy girlfriend going all awol.
Are we gonna kiss now? 'cause I got to warn you, I had an everything bagel about ten minutes ago.
Don't push, Briggs.
Stop it.
Stop.
Come here.
Dr.
Harris, come in.
This is my husband Tom.
Isn't he cute? Doesn't he make you want to just rip his pants off and make him dance? Uh, no, not really.
But I would like to show him this X-ray of yours.
- This is the area of concern.
- What is it? A tiny piece of shrapnel has pierced the thin layer around your eye socket and lodged itself in your right frontal lobe.
Trauma to this area can affect a person's impulse control, which would explain your lack of inhibition.
What do we do about it? Well, I've consulted our neurosurgeon and he recommends having it removed.
So after he takes it out, she'll go back to the way she was? Well, not immediately, but eventually.
That's the idea.
I know surgery can be frightening, but this is a relatively simple procedure.
- Hey, what's your credit score? - My credit score? I don't know.
It's good.
It's fine.
- It's possibly below average.
- Why? Because you could probably get a new credit card.
- Pull a geographic.
- You mean leave New Jersey? You say that like it's Aruba.
What about Australia? That is so weird that you say that because I have always wanted to go to Australia.
- So what's stopping you? - Well, I have people.
I have friends, and I have family, and I have an estranged husband, and I am in a relationship.
Kind of.
So why didn't you go to him after you shot me? I don't know.
I mean, he's seen me at my worst, but not quite like this.
It ain't pretty.
We spent a month at this cache in al Anbar.
Yeah? Lost more wounded there than during my entire second tour.
And then at the end of our stay, this dog that hung around the hospital got run over.
Wait.
Wait.
Your lowest point in Iraq is when a dog got flattened by a Humvee? No.
It wasn't about the dog, idiot.
It was about the stuff leading up to the dog.
I don't even remember the dog's name.
Okay.
It was "Happy.
" Chris put him down for me.
Can I see that phone? Hey, what are you doing? I'm calling him.
Okay, but if he doesn't pick up, we do things my way.
Hey, this is Chris.
Leave a message and I'll call you back.
Too bad.
He's probably busy.
So Australia? Well, let's get real.
You know that's not where we're going.
- How's the breathing? - It's fine.
There's an officer right outside the door.
- Are these necessary? - It's not up to me.
He's just had surgery.
He's not going anywhere.
It's okay, mom.
I'll be taken care of.
- How's your stomach? - Oh, it's a little Everett.
Everett, you okay? Has this ever happened before? Yes.
When I described it to our doctor, he said it was a symptom of A.
D.
D.
- Hey, mom.
- Hi.
Let's get an E.
E.
G.
going on Everett.
I want to be notified at the first sign of any abnormalities.
You said there was no sign of concussion.
I don't think we're dealing with a concussion.
You've reached the Red Fox Saloon.
We're open 6:00 am to 2:00 am - Yeah.
Hello.
- Um, hey, it's Chris.
Uh, I got a missed call.
I think she's at a bar.
I'm really worried about her.
How'd you know it was her? It's a feeling.
Listen, it's called the Red Fox.
It's in the 609 area code.
I'm at least an hour away.
Dr.
Sands to recovery, stat.
Listen, I've gotta go.
If anything happens, you call me right away, okay? All right.
Hey, thanks, man.
Yeah, I need a bedside E.
E.
G.
to room 511.
Thanks.
Some day, huh? You ever gonna tell me why you didn't come home last night? It's a lot of things.
Everything just happened so fast.
AndI don't know if we want the same things.
None of that is an answer.
Hey.
Paul, what are you doing back here? Taking my mom home, remember? Hear you guys could use the room.
- This is Paul? - Do we know each other? Detective Valentino's on the bombing case.
So, uh, what are you doing tonight? Want to get some dinner? - Nick, where are you going? - Don't worry about it.
Got my answer.
Scotty.
Hey.
- Can I get a drink of water? - Not just yet.
Scott, your surgery went well.
Just want to check on a few things.
Can you bend your knees up? Trying.
Okay.
Can you wiggle your toe? Hey, hey.
You can do this, huh? Okay.
That's good for now.
- Positive babinski.
- What does that mean? It can be a sign of a spinal cord injury.
Are you saying he's paralyzed? There's no way of telling how permanent the damage is.
How did this happen? He was walking when he came in here.
Dad.
Don't.
We didn't know the blood was accumulating until he started to lose sensation in the foot.
But when you did know, you made us wait.
In light of the accident, some tough decisions had to be made.
What? It wasn't an accident! And that bastard who bombed the bus, he was in the operating room before my son! You gave priority to a terrorist? Since he's six years old all he wanted to do is skate.
Where are you going? Dad! Sleeping like a baby.
You'd never know.
What happens to a kid like this to make him so disturbed? Nothing happened.
He's sick.
What are we looking at here? Interictal spikes at t3/4 and f7/8 Followed by sharp, rhythmic theta waves.
I think he has temporal lobe epilepsy.
T.
L.
E.
The seizures can cause visions, right? Yeah.
Religious ones.
And then he took the cns stimulant Because they thought it was ADD and that would've lowered his seizure threshold.
Heard your kid pulled through with flying colors.
My spinal hematoma, paralyzed from the waist down.
Good call.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Sorenson.
This is not a sex club! Give us a minute here, okay? I have some good news.
I was able to schedule your surgery for tomorrow.
Uh, actually, that's what we were talking about before, um, we got distracted.
We've decided not to do the surgery.
What? We don't want the procedure.
This situation has merit.
Mr.
Sorenson, you shouldn't be so willing to overlook your wife's health so that you can get a little nookie.
No, that's not what this is about.
We had a baby.
A little boy.
He's two now and he's he's great.
It's just I've had postpartum depression.
It's, um it's been pretty severe.
She sleeps all day.
It's been kind of like living with a ghost.
I'm sorry, Beck.
And now this thing in her head, it's woken up a part of the woman I fell in love with.
How do you feel about this? I feel alive.
Well, if we leave it in, there's the risk of infection or an abscess in the brain, at which point, we would have to remove it.
Then we'll make the most of it while we can.
Thank you, Dr.
Harris.
Come here, you.
The brain is a real mystery.
It's basically all about electricity.
Sometimes, like in your case, that electricity goes haywire.
It's like a storm.
That's happening in part of your brain called the hippocampus.
Ang when it happens, it can cause a seizure.
No, I I know what a seizure looks like.
- I don't have those.
- Oh, it's small.
It's not the kind that makes you shake.
But sometimes it can make you lose awareness.
And sometimes you will see things or hear things.
So that's what allows me to hear his voice.
No.
There is no voice, Everett.
It's your mind making it up.
Dr.
Sands wants to put you on teg.
It'll stop the seizures and and the symptoms.
God God is not a symptom.
It it's real.
You have a disease, Everett.
Dostoevsky had it, vincent van Gogh, maybe even Joan of Arc.
- They were all crazy? - No.
Van Gogh cut off his own ear.
You're telling me that's not crazy? You can get better.
All those people? He told me I had to do it.
I it was so clear.
Okay.
Your X-rays don't show a fracture.
So lucky you gets to wear this ugly splint while the ligaments heal.
Awesome.
'cause I'm not enough of a pariah as it is.
You can try to hide it in your shoe.
Um, flats.
No heels, okay? No heels? Darn.
Is Scott ever gonna walk again? Oh.
Um, I don't know.
You seem to know a lot about him.
How long have you two known each other? Well, uh, it It depends on what you mean by "known.
" I've taken the bus with him since seventh grade.
but I've never been able to talk to him.
And and it's not like I'm a stalker or anything.
I'm just really observant and deathly afraid of rejection.
Listen, Scott's dad took off and I think he could use a friend.
The hospital's kind of on lockdown, only family is allowed up, but if you can get over your fear, I'm willing to bend the rules a little bit.
Hey.
I brought someone to see you.
Hi.
I'm I'm Abby.
Oh, yeah.
You're in Potter's trig class, right? I I have the seat right in front of his desk.
That blows.
He always smells like vapo rub.
And cheese.
Yeah, it's gross.
Your leg okay? Oh, fine.
Just a sprain.
Maybe you should sit down.
Oh.
Okay.
Watch his leg.
- Did you see that? - I did.
It moved.
- He moved? - Your leg moved.
Hey.
I'm looking for a woman.
She's tall, blonde.
She's got a car out in the lot there.
Yeah.
I figured whoever came for her would have a butterfly net.
What do you mean? Well, she carried on a whole conversation with that bar stool right there.
That's a whole lot of crazy.
But, hey, I wouldn't kick her out of bed.
Listen.
Where'd she go? No idea.
She left these though.
Said she wouldn't be needing them.
- I got to call you back.
- Hey.
Been looking for you.
I've got work.
You've got dinner.
- Wait a second.
- Tell me I'm wrong here.
Tell me you weren't with that guy last night.
I'm sorry.
It was the wrong thing to do.
But I was scared.
I just should've told you where my head was at.
Your head was the same place as the rest of your body.
- Underneath Paul.
- No.
I'll have my stuff out of the apartment by morning.
I'm sure you can find someplace else to be tonight.
Nick, wait.
I freaked out.
Can we just please talk about it? I don't think so.
You know, all in all, you did pretty good for a girl with a killer hangover.
Thank you.
Clearly, you didn't see me puking in the medicine closet.
No.
I missed that.
Oh, Mr.
Cepek.
Mr.
Cepek! I wanted to tell him that Scott moved his leg.
He'll see for himself.
It'll be a nice surprise.
I was just hoping to give someone good news for once.
Here's some good news.
Shift's over in ten minutes.
Are you gonna throw up on me right now? No.
No, it passed.
Wait, I was wrong.
It didn't pass.
Everett.
- Where'd your mom go? - Talking to my uncle.
- He's a lawyer.
- Oh.
Well, that's good.
He can't help me.
If it was just electricity in my brain, then Then it was all for nothing.
No one can help me.
- He's just a kid.
- Sir, you can't be in here.
Get out.
- Get out! - I can't do that.
You know what he did? He doesn't deserve your help.
Well, this is a hospital.
That's what we do.
Yeah, tell that to my son.
He's crippled 'cause of this son of a bitch! Your s yeah.
- Scott.
- Well, that's my fault.
It's his fault.
Now get out! You want to blame someone, blame me.
You.
- You okay? - Yeah.
- Everett.
- He's right.
I don't deserve your help.
Everett, you listen to me.
You think this through.
What the hell is going on in here? Give me that! Ungrateful little brat.
So this is where it ends, huh? What the hell did you do that for? Why are you still here? What do you want? I want what you want.
To be free of all this.
I am not going to do that.
It's crazy.
I have a whole life here.
You know what's crazy, the fact that you think you can live a normal life.
You left a piece of yourself back there that you're never gonna get back.
You've seen too much.
And now you can add murder to that list.
Stop saying that word.
You know the reason he didn't answer his phone? It's 'cause he doesn't want to take care of you for the rest of his life.
You're never gonna be okay.
The nightmares are never gonna stop.
Maple bars are gonna start freaking you out now.
Nobody's ever gonna love you.
That's not true.
Mike loves me.
Not enough.
It's only a matter of time before he finds somebody nice and normal.
Let's just go.
Let's just go wherever.
I mean, as long as they serve booze.
- I hear Oregon's nice.
- Oregon.
Okay.
That's good.
Mike.
What? Well, what the hell is he doing here? What, is he telepathic? This is the beach we used to come to when we were kids.
This is where we said "I love you" for the first time.
Great.
That was, like, 100 years ago.
Let him be.
Just let him have a nice, normal life.
Mike! Mike! Hey! I'll see you around.
Ronnie.
God, you had me scared.
I'm sorry.
- Here.
- Something really bad happened.
I know.
I know the whole thing.
It wasn't your fault.
You're gonna be okay.
You promise? Yeah.
I promise.