ER s13e11 Episode Script
City of Mercy
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
It was kind of fun until the chemo kid called me Rudolph's skank.
One of them asked me if you were Sleepy or Sneezy.
What? I'm an elf, I'm not a freaking dwarf.
[SAM LAUGHING.]
- Oh, my God.
- Nice antlers.
SAM: You guys look so cute.
I gotta get my camera.
KOVAC: No, that's okay, really.
SAM: Was it fun at least? - Yeah.
Pedes was a war zone.
- Heard you lost the pool, sorry.
KOVAC: Yeah.
- That's one hot-Iooking dwarf you got.
- Know what? I'm an elf, damn it.
Whoa.
Oh, hey.
As we commemorate the birth of Jesus I find myself contemplating the vices I've been guilty of.
And also the virtues that I, that all of us born in sin and striving for sanctity should aspire to.
Turning our pride to humility.
Our envy to compassion.
Our anger to mercy.
Our laziness to activity.
Our greed to generosity.
Our gluttony to moderation.
And last but not least, our lust must be turned to? Archie? Um Consummation? [LAUGHING.]
Yeah, no, no, seriously.
Our lust must be turned to purity? Uh Well, I was looking for chastity, but talk about purity a little.
Well, you know, I've always taken it to mean purity of spirit as opposed to a literal, corporal purity.
MAN: Go on.
Uh Well, you know, we all live in the modern world.
Right? And our virtuousness shouldn't be locked into some antiquated notion of abstinence.
Should it? - Shouldn't it? - So You're saying that you can be sexually active and still retain moral purity? Not just me, sister, if you know what I'm saying.
Yes.
Yeah.
Look, well, no, no.
Because what I'm actually saying is, at the end of the day, it's just It's just us in the mirror and we're the ones who determine our own moral value.
And to me, that's what Christmas is all about.
So you're not mad at me anymore? This is the first time in a week I've seen you smile.
Well, the holiday spirit is just so infectious, I couldn't help myself and I was waiting for you to lighten up.
Really? I was waiting for you.
[ABBY LAUGHS.]
Don't try to be charming in that ridiculous outfit.
Who, me? Charming? Back off, Rudolph.
- Be nice.
- You be nice.
Or you're not gonna get your special present.
What kind of present? A slightly naughty one.
My favorite kind.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Dr.
Kovac? Sorry.
You got a minute? Yeah, sure.
Sure, yeah.
MAN: It's about Curtis Ames.
He's filed an order of protection against you.
- A restraining order.
- That's ridiculous.
Yeah, the judge who issued it doesn't think so.
- The guy says you threatened to kill him.
- What? Look, you should've let it go, doc.
Now you look like the crazy one.
Rufus Taylor, 35.
Going 60 on Dan Ryan, crashed into an embankment.
Icicle shattered the windshield, I couldn't see.
RAY: Icicle, huh? TAYLOR: Came out of nowhere.
It was really big.
- Anything hurt, man? - My stomach.
Trauma 1, let's go.
Gates, what's the RTS on this guy? - The what? - RTS.
Revised Trauma Score.
It correlates better than GCS for traumatic brain injury.
- Traumatic brain what? - You'll be fine, sir.
What's the matter with you? My shift was over.
I couldn't leave because you weren't here.
Five minutes late.
All right, 10 minutes.
I'm here, now go.
You have remedial command of basics.
I can't leave you.
I would love to, believe me, but it wouldn't be right, all right? [SIGHS.]
[INSTRUMENTAL HOLIDAY MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS.]
WOMAN: Yeah.
What are they gonna say about it now, right? Hey, merry Christmas, Neela.
- Where have you been? - On the floor.
- I thought we were rounding.
- What? No.
The Surgery Christmas Party is the one time of year when we can forget about disease and death and celebrate goodness, kindness.
I admit I would prefer black tie, sashimi and Veuve Clicquot but still, it's Christmas.
I love it.
- Yeah.
- Are you all right? Sorry, it's gotta be this punch.
There's nothing even remotely alcoholic in the punch, Dustin.
Right.
Okay.
Gotta go.
Neela, I want you to meet Manish Mehta.
- He's gonna be helping us around here.
- Hi.
Can I get everybody's attention for a second, please? Everybody, listen up for a sec.
Thanks.
Listen, it's fitting and appropriate at this time of charity and compassion for me to be able to announce the opening of Chicago's only paired exchange program.
Yeah.
And as an additional Yuletide treat we will be doing our first kidney swap today.
[PEOPLE CHEERING.]
Why don't we all get back to work before we crash from the sugar high? - Nice to meet you.
- You too.
Neela.
Hi.
Rob, you guys know each other, right? Neela Rasgotra, I've heard a lot about you.
- You have? - You're the golden girl Dubenko created a special residency spot for.
That's memorable.
God, you must really be something.
Okay, then.
It's nice to meet you, Rob.
No, the pleasure's all mine.
Would you excuse me a minute? [BOTH LAUGH.]
- You went to where Ames works? - The police wouldn't do anything.
And you threatened to kill him, and I'm the one who overreacted? - You think I made this up? - I think you got carried away.
I went to his work to stop and scare him.
Mission accomplished.
He's scared.
He can have you arrested if you get near him.
Look, I didn't know what else to do, okay? I did it because I love you, and I love Joe and I wasn't gonna let that asshole keep threatening us, okay? So it wasn't too geeky, was it? Geeky? Lord, no.
Or God, no.
I mean, no.
No, I enjoyed your Bible group.
They were impressed by you.
Yeah, what you said was really advanced.
- Really? You think? - Yeah, I do.
Oh, doughnuts.
Ha-ha! The perks of authority.
No, no, no.
What does this look like? - Gluttony? - Gluttony, exactly.
I was just testing you.
I'm gonna save these for the kids.
Lenore Simkins, found down on the street on 18th and Aberdeen.
Pulse ox is 91, looks like frostbite on the fingertips.
- Cold out there.
- Hi, Lenore.
I'm Dr.
Morris.
I'd wish you merry Christmas but as an employee of County I'm duty-bound to respect the separation of church and state.
Are you kidding? - Is he kidding? - I think so.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Got plans tonight? - Yeah.
Yeah, me too.
With Ray.
That's cool, right? - It's none of my business.
- Okay.
I just wanted to be sure.
You look annoyed.
Well, your friend from Vascular went in almost 10 minutes ago.
Yeah, I could tell you kind of aggravated his problem.
What problem? Rob's got a little auto-stimulation issue.
You know, he can't help tickling the Elmo, spanking his monkey.
- It's how he got his nickname.
- What nickname? We call him McCreamy.
McCreamy? [TOILET FLUSHES.]
Hey, guys.
Sorry about the wait.
It's okay.
God, it was great to finally meet you, Neela.
I hope we get to work together soon.
I gotta go.
- How's that, Lenore? Better? - Mm-hm.
What are you doing for the holidays? Besides taking my kid to go see Return of the Evil Zombies? Maybe before you go home, you can let me buy you that drink? I don't know.
I got presents to wrap.
- Lenore, were you recently hospitalized? - I was at City of Mercy till last night.
- What for? - Chest cold.
Winter's been hard.
BEN: How long were you there? Few days? I'm not good with time.
Did they release you? The lady at the hospital said the ambulance was gonna take me back.
- Back home? - Don't got one.
I make my own way.
Where'd they drop you off? They left me in an alley near 18th Street.
I haven't slept in that neighborhood in years.
Second unit's infusing now? I need sterile 10s and a cordis.
He needs central access.
- This is not good.
I'll handle this.
- I know how to put in a line, Ray.
Mr.
Taylor, we need to do an operation to stop bleeding in your abdomen.
- Is there someone you want to be here? - No.
You sure this can't wait? I don't really want this.
Not today.
It's okay, you'll be fine.
It's just, my karma's not so good right now.
It's not the best time to go under the knife.
Don't worry, sir.
Here, we treat the naughty as well as the nice all year round.
We'll take good care of you.
I promise this is the best thing.
BO Y: Mayday.
O.
R.
2.
Dubenko should be waiting.
BO Y: Mayday.
Go on, I'll be right up.
- Lizzie's sick.
- We were worried about you.
Lizzie's sick.
You need to come.
Your friend? Does she have what Paulie had? I don't know.
You need to come.
- All right, wait there.
- Pick up the old chart from Records.
- Get the echo from CICU.
- What about the toilet bowls? - I haven't scrubbed them yet.
- Come with me a minute? - Oh, thank God.
- Where do you think you're going? Do you have a toenail extraction you want me to take notes on? - Are you too advanced for this? - Lf we have problem, spit it out.
- I don't speak bitchy.
- Oh, you seem pretty fluent to me.
- Get somebody else, my intern's busy.
- Stop being an idiot, I need Tony's help.
And you too, I've had enough.
Why don't you either slap each other silly or kiss now and get it over with? She got bad last night.
Pains everywhere.
Tell me where, I'll send an ambulance.
- No.
I'll take you.
- Doesn't work like that.
Please.
You helped Paulie.
You heard about Paulie? I came back a few days after.
The man at the desk said he was at the care unit.
That's good, right? Come on.
If she's sick, she needs to be in hospital.
She can't walk and she won't go to a family again.
Teller.
You come.
Mayday and you.
- She can't.
We can't.
- You have to.
Or else I'm scared Lizzie's gonna pass.
All right, I'm out of here.
What? No.
What? You can't go.
I got no Kovac, no Weaver, no Pratt.
I'm flying without a net.
I'd prefer to be outside of the ER when it crashes and burns to the ground.
That's what Vegas oddsmakers say will happen the first time you're the only Attending on the floor.
Melia.
What are you doing here? Daddy.
Daddy? Great, another one of Morris's Petri-dish kids.
- What, Morris has kids? - Four that we know of.
- Hope, could you please BOBECK: Right.
No, I will take her to the break room, get her all settled in, come on.
Read her a story or something.
Hey, Morris, it's important.
I need a half-hour.
- Okay.
- It's slow, you can spare - Did you just say okay? - Me, you're trying to leverage.
Him, you just let go? - You're a Resident, he's an intern.
- I have a date.
So? My daughter's here, Ray.
My daughter.
You don't see me shirking.
Fine, go.
I'm already over you.
Hey, Sam.
You have a car? I heard snow, I took the train.
- Truck's in the shop, bro.
- I gotta check on a patient for Neela.
Can I talk to your supervisor? - Hey, what about Malik? Is he around? - No, he's not in today.
This is the second time I've called.
Can you ask her to call me? Sam Taggart.
Mercy said she walked out on her own, as far as they know.
Some administrator's gonna get into it.
Looks like they already have.
What? Hey, hey, hey, where you going? - She's not ready for transfer.
- You the nurse on this? We're from Mercy.
- We're gonna take her.
- What? Supervisor said it was a misunderstanding.
Are you taking me outside? No.
You're not taking her until somebody explains what's going on.
A patient ended up in the wrong place.
Let's not blow this out of proportion.
No, you heard the lady.
Turn it around.
- How far is this place? - Just across the bridge.
[CAR HORN HONKS.]
Hey, watch it, jerk-off.
I heard you needed a ride.
MELIA: What does the pancreas do? It makes hormones that help you process sugar in your blood.
- What are hormones? - Well Whoa, whoa.
Okay, okay.
You'll find out about that soon enough.
I was thinking Dr.
Seuss, not Dr.
Rosen.
It's okay.
I like gross stuff.
Honey, Melia, it is so good to see you.
What are you doing here? I ran away.
Why, sweetie? Because of Donald, Mom's new husband.
He won't let me celebrate Christmas.
He says there's no such thing as Santa.
No.
He didn't.
He says there's no elves, no reindeer and Christmas is made up so people will spend money.
No, that's crazy.
So I decided I would spend the holiday with my real dad.
That's you.
Crystal meth is some nasty stuff.
Makes you lie, makes you paranoid.
I'm clean now.
Good for you.
It's too late.
My wife, my kids, moved away as far as they could.
I messed up so much.
I missed so much when I was high.
This is where they live.
Oliver is 11 now, and Julia is 9.
They've gone so many years without hearing from me on Christmas.
Mr.
Taylor.
I fully expect this surgery to be a success.
I know but if you're wrong promise me you'll send them something.
It won't be necessary.
But okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
RAY: We should call this in.
This girl's really messed up.
If you make anybody come, we'll just run away someplace else.
It will be fine.
Stop.
It's here.
Hurry.
What the hell are we doing? GATES: We're helping kids, Ray.
TELLER: It's down here.
GATES: I love what you've done with the place.
TELLER: Follow me.
RAY: That's great.
A big old mouse hole.
NEELA: Jejunum looks good.
DUBENKO: So does the liver.
Lucien, Victoria's on the phone again.
Wants to know if you'd like her to wear blue dress or red dress.
DUBENKO: Tell her the blue is nice.
NEELA: Ileocecal junction's clear.
- Hot date tonight? - Something like that.
MAN: BP is down, 86/40.
NEELA: Retroperitoneum feels tense.
DUBENKO: Bovie to Neela, open it up.
WOMAN: Tachy to 120.
DUBENKO: Hang the blood on the infuser.
Whoa.
Suction, now.
DUBENKO: He's bleeding out.
NEELA: Satinsky.
DUBENKO: Packing.
Keep it coming.
NEELA: Five-0 Prolene.
DUBENKO: One Castroviejos.
WOMAN: PEA, lost the pulse.
Starting compressions.
DUBENKO: Amp of epi and call for blood.
NEELA: It's too fast, there's no way to Oh, crap, it's here.
Sponge stick times two, let's go.
DUBENKO: Five-0 Prolene to me.
NEELA: Drop pressure.
Up above and below.
DUBENKO: Okay, release pressure.
NEELA: Repair's holding.
DUBENKO: Stop CPR.
Normal sinus.
WOMAN: Good pulse.
- Well, strong work, Dr.
Rasgotra.
NEELA: Once you've seen one supraceliac aortic tear, you've seen them all.
TELLER: Don't be scared, it's safe.
RAY: Oh, thanks.
I feel so much better now.
GATES: Ray, I'm sure you've played gigs in worse places than this.
GIRL: Oh, God.
TELLER: Come on.
BO Y 1: Teller's back.
BO Y 2: Who's with him? RUBY: You said you'd get Mayday.
TELLER: It's okay.
He helped save Paulie.
GATES: She's diaphoretic.
- Please, please, make this go away.
RAY: Yeah, and tachycardic.
Hey, Lizzie, do you know what day it is? - It's Christmas.
RAY: It's close enough.
She's lucid.
She's pregnant.
She's very pregnant.
The baby's crowning.
I'm sorry.
I don't know how this happened.
[LIZZIE GROANING.]
[TRAIN RUMBLING.]
Lizzie, give it your all.
Come on, push.
- I can't.
GATES: Yes, you can.
Attagirl, come on.
- Attagirl.
- Teller! Teller! - Who's this baby's father? - It doesn't have a father.
- Of course it does.
- Lizzie will get the men to help us.
- Ruby, quiet.
- Ray, the shoulder's stuck.
Please get it out.
I can't! - Firm, downward pressure on the head.
- I am.
I am.
- Wanna take a shot at it? - Okay.
All right.
Here.
GATES: What was she talking about? What men? The Greek gives us food from the restaurant.
The cripple lets us sleep in the basement when it's cold.
Lizzie takes care of them and they take care of us.
[LIZZIE GROANING.]
Okay.
All right, here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
All right.
Okay.
It's a boy.
[BABY CRYING.]
It's a boy.
It's a boy.
Here you go.
Okay.
Here you go, okay? Hold the head.
All right.
There you go.
He's mine? He's so tiny.
- What are you doing? - Calling for help.
Teller, get them and run.
You and your baby need to be seen by a doctor.
- You're a doctor.
- But we can't do what they need here.
- Teller, get them and go.
- It's okay, guys.
- Teller, go.
- Okay, I won't, I won't, I won't.
You guys need to spend the night in the ER.
You, Lizzie and the baby.
Just the three of you.
Gates, they all need to come.
They look jaundiced, anemic, they got Others can stay.
I won't call foster care or Social Services.
Gates, what are you doing? - Promise? - Yeah, promise.
He lost a lot of blood.
It could be a while before we know his neurologic outcome.
I know.
Where are you spending Christmas? Oh, I spend the holidays with my sister every year.
That's sweet.
Older or younger? Both, actually.
Two years older but stuck at 17 in a car wreck the night of her prom.
Her boyfriend was drunk.
That's awful.
It could've been worse, though.
She's in an independent living facility in Evanston.
I see her fairly frequently.
In fact, I gotta get out of here.
We have a nice dinner tonight.
She likes to dress up.
Your oxygen level's back up.
Am I gonna be able to stay here? You're getting better, you don't really need to be hospitalized anymore.
Is there somewhere that you'd like to go? Not the street.
Not tonight.
Got any family? Well, my parents are in Gary, Indiana, where I grew up.
But we haven't talked in a long time.
I don't know if they'd even recognize me.
I'll be back to check on you in a little bit, okay? Any word from Mercy? SAM: Not yet.
Poor lady's all alone in the world.
At least we can clean her up set her up with new clothes for Christmas.
I'll see what I can do.
Hey, Sam, Drunk Santa needs a banana bag and a few hours to sleep it off.
Oh, that is such a shame.
Yeah, sloth, sloth, sloth.
Fifteen-year-old, postpartum, needs stitches little newborn baby, warmer and Pedes consult.
SAM: Where'd you find them? - We followed a star in the northern sky.
Okay, Trauma 2.
Children's Services is on their way.
I called up.
- You did what? - You'll be okay, Teller.
You promised.
- Gates.
- What? - You swore you wouldn't force them.
- I got them here, didn't I? You said we could trust you.
That's Nice job, Gates.
SAM: You from Mercy? Nurse Taggart? Hillary Lerner.
Is it your policy to dump destitute patients on the street? - Why would we do that? - It's bad for your neighborhood.
- No, there was a mistake with Miss - Simkins? - Lenore Simkins.
- Yes.
That's why I sent my people I'm not gonna release her so you can have a second chance to make her disappear.
- I don't know what she told you - Come with me.
You behaved badly, so here's your lump of coal, okay? You have your boys take Ms.
Simkins to her parents' place in Gary, Indiana.
Gary? That's over an hour away.
You'll pay for the round trip, and this will never happen again.
Because I ever get wind of a patient being dumped by your hospital I will call the cops so fast I'm not sure if you're gonna get fired or arrested first.
Yeah.
Got it.
Hey, Lenore.
This is Hillary.
She's gonna make sure you get to see your parents for Christmas.
We, by which I mean to say Dr.
Gates, promised no foster care.
Well, that would be a mistake.
By law, they need to be placed.
Getting them to give up the life they have that takes a light touch, Ray.
- Is that what you call lying? I wasn't gonna take a chance on losing them.
You turned us into every bad adult that these kids were ever screwed by.
- That's so sweet and so naive.
I'll send a van to pick up the other children.
- Good.
- Lf you pick them up today they'll be gone tomorrow.
These kids won't just submit.
Need to be convinced that they'll be safe and protected.
We'll try to keep them together.
I can't promise they won't end up in foster care.
- But you'll make sure they're okay, right? - We always do.
Come on.
These kids are smart.
They know that that's not how it goes.
A social worker will follow up.
It's the best I can do.
No, no, no.
That's not good enough.
I can't believe you got CPS to agree to that.
Actually, it was Ray's brainstorm.
The trick's getting the kids to accept it.
Teller.
Listen.
Child Protective Services has arranged for all of you to live together in a group home.
- You said no foster care.
- Hear us out, Teller NEELA: Wait, Teller, Teller.
TELLER: No, I won't go.
You lied! It's not safe out there, all right? We survive.
No one hurts us.
What Lizzie's doing, having sex for money and shelter? - That's hurting her.
Hurting all of you.
- Don't say that! If you weren't sleeping in old abandoned buildings Paulie would have never gotten sick.
But you fixed him.
He's getting better.
No, we didn't.
Paulie died.
I'm sorry.
I wanted to tell you his His infection was too severe and we couldn't save him but I wanna see him.
I know I lied to you.
I'm not gonna lie anymore.
I don't believe you.
It's not working.
The way you're living is not working.
- You're a smart kid.
You can see that.
- Let go, let go.
Listen to me.
You can't go on like this anymore.
RAY: Teller Lizzie agreed to go.
It's the only way she can keep her baby.
And the rest of us will just stay with them? That's right.
And Dr.
Gates will come and visit every two weeks and make sure things are okay, all right? You need me for anything at any time, you call me, and I'll be there.
You would do that? Yeah.
Listen.
Now, I need you to take the social workers to where the others are.
And let the kids know that it's okay and safe to come in.
Will you do that? I'll wait with you here, Teller.
Come on.
Thank you.
Well, that went better than expected, huh? Yeah? That kid may not survive another round of your games.
Come on, I've been trying to help the kid all day.
Gates, you'll say anything to seal the deal.
I understand that.
I've done that.
But these are messed-up kids.
- You gotta draw the line somewhere.
- And what line is that? If you're making promises you have no intention of keeping just cut loose.
Minimize the damage, okay? This isn't just about the kids, is it? No, it's not.
Hey, how about you give me a few hours to wrap some presents? - Can we talk? - Sure.
This scares me.
What, Ames? What it's doing to you.
To us.
It took us so long to get here.
All of us.
And the way you're acting, how it's taking over our whole lives it makes me scared we're gonna lose this.
When Jasna and the kids died I needed to make a change and I decided to move here.
Made my brother really angry.
He said He said that I was a coward and that I was running away.
And it's only recently that I've come to know that he was wrong.
I wasn't running away from anything.
I was running to you.
And I'll never let anything take this away.
ABBY: Did I mention how hot you look in antlers? - I think she's in here, Santa.
- Ho, ho, ho! Has anyone seen a little girl named Melia Simon? That's her right there.
Oh, my reindeer needed a little rest, so I thought I'd come by and say hi.
How do you do? I'm Santa Claus.
Hi, Santa.
Can't stay long, very, very busy.
Gotta deliver presents to the whole western hemisphere tonight.
Nice try, Archie.
I know it's you.
Archie? Who's Archie? I'm 9 years old.
I know there's no Santa, okay? You know, you're a bright girl, Melia.
But you're wrong about that.
It's a fake beard and a dumb suit.
Don't you know that there's a rule that if millions of kids believe in the same thing, it becomes real? - That's not a rule.
- Yeah.
Every time you're generous or thoughtful or help someone who needs help that's a little bit of Santa too.
What are you talking about? Come on.
Santa Claus represents one of the last remaining bits of magic left in this world.
Now, I still believe, so don't spoil it for me, okay? Come on.
MELIA: Where we going? Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! Wait, it's Santa.
Oh, you were a very, very nice girl this year.
Top of the nice list.
Would it be all right if I signed your cast? Thank you.
To Greta Keep on being nice.
Love, Santa.
How'd you know my name? Come on, I'm Santa Claus, huh? Merry Christmas.
It's the real Santa, isn't it? Yeah.
It is.
You lost almost a third of your blood volume.
Give us a few days to buff you up.
Plus, I have a present for you.
These are for them.
Things were a little touch-and-go for a while, so I called them.
- How do I explain? - It's Christmas.
You don't have to.
Trust me.
Hey, princess.
Hey, buddy.
Look at you guys.
You're all grown up.
DUBENKO: You getting out of here soon? I have a cajillion notes to write.
- You look nice.
- Thanks.
- Off to your sister's, I take it? - Yeah.
It's for you.
Merry Christmas, Neela.
I don't normally do this.
Work presents always end up being something edible and bad for you or something impersonal like organic soap.
Who needs that crap cluttering up their bathroom anyway? Oh, loops, wow.
Yeah.
That's my very first pair.
Bought them for myself in med school.
Thank you.
It's a lovely gift.
Listen.
You're an intern and I'm an Attending, and there are certain protocols certain hierarchies that preclude me from Lucien.
- Being direct about this, but it's Christmas what the hell, I'm just gonna say it.
You're a really good surgeon, Neela.
A few more years and you could be great.
Thank you.
You're gonna try them on? I will.
Beautiful.
You repeat this conversation to anyone, and I will deny it.
You know that.
What conversation? Lovely.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Yeah.
Transplant rounds are at 7.
Thank you.
Bye, sweetheart.
Look out, Kriss Kringle.
What's going on, Morris? Oh, we did okay, Greg.
Just okay? Either you rocked the house or you were closed to patients.
No, we just moved people through.
All right, all right.
Go ahead, you can gloat now.
Tell me all about what a great manager you are.
I saved Jerry, I diagnosed D.
I.
D.
, yadda yadda.
MORRIS: Know what? I'm gonna go with humility this time.
For real.
Humili-what? Hey.
I learned a lot watching you today.
Yeah, well, I'm full of it, Hope.
I get it, Archie.
I know you don't believe half of what you say but You know what? It doesn't really matter.
Because I saw you today.
And what I saw was a guy who's trying to be good.
And I don't know, that right there is half the battle.
Have a good holiday.
What are you doing? What? Now.
Are you going home? I thought maybe we could Grab a bite, get a drink, see what happens.
Chastity's always been overrated.
Purity of spirit is what it's all about, right? Wait, wait, are you? What are you saying? You know what? I don't think so.
What? I hate that I'm saying this.
It's like some dorky angel has taken control of my mouth.
But No.
What? What? It's Christmas, and people get Ionely on Christmas and we might do something that we'd both regret or could get in the way of a possibly deeper relationship in the future.
So I'm sorry.
Hey.
Hey.
You stole my suit.
Well, what about you? Me? Yes, where are you from what are you doing here, what's your damage? I spent a couple of years in the service and managed to spend my time in Okinawa which is a hell of a lot better than being in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Since I've come back, I work as a traveler.
Yeah, I did that for a while, but then I got tired of it.
So wait, you have what, a week or so left? It's supposed to be a week.
But this place seems all right.
It seems like pretty great people.
I mean, like, what we did for that lady today, what you did That was something.
Come on, everyone deserves a little bit of happiness at Christmastime.
Yeah.
So I called the nursing director, and I signed on for another month.
Really? Really.
Well.
Merry Christmas, Ben.
Merry Christmas, Samantha.
Idiot.
Moron.
She was right there.
Right there for the fondling, and you just let her go.
Why? Why? Why'd you have to be such a good Christian, huh? There's no God.
There's no Christmas.
There's no freaking Santa Claus.
MAN: Merry Christmas.
Holy
It was kind of fun until the chemo kid called me Rudolph's skank.
One of them asked me if you were Sleepy or Sneezy.
What? I'm an elf, I'm not a freaking dwarf.
[SAM LAUGHING.]
- Oh, my God.
- Nice antlers.
SAM: You guys look so cute.
I gotta get my camera.
KOVAC: No, that's okay, really.
SAM: Was it fun at least? - Yeah.
Pedes was a war zone.
- Heard you lost the pool, sorry.
KOVAC: Yeah.
- That's one hot-Iooking dwarf you got.
- Know what? I'm an elf, damn it.
Whoa.
Oh, hey.
As we commemorate the birth of Jesus I find myself contemplating the vices I've been guilty of.
And also the virtues that I, that all of us born in sin and striving for sanctity should aspire to.
Turning our pride to humility.
Our envy to compassion.
Our anger to mercy.
Our laziness to activity.
Our greed to generosity.
Our gluttony to moderation.
And last but not least, our lust must be turned to? Archie? Um Consummation? [LAUGHING.]
Yeah, no, no, seriously.
Our lust must be turned to purity? Uh Well, I was looking for chastity, but talk about purity a little.
Well, you know, I've always taken it to mean purity of spirit as opposed to a literal, corporal purity.
MAN: Go on.
Uh Well, you know, we all live in the modern world.
Right? And our virtuousness shouldn't be locked into some antiquated notion of abstinence.
Should it? - Shouldn't it? - So You're saying that you can be sexually active and still retain moral purity? Not just me, sister, if you know what I'm saying.
Yes.
Yeah.
Look, well, no, no.
Because what I'm actually saying is, at the end of the day, it's just It's just us in the mirror and we're the ones who determine our own moral value.
And to me, that's what Christmas is all about.
So you're not mad at me anymore? This is the first time in a week I've seen you smile.
Well, the holiday spirit is just so infectious, I couldn't help myself and I was waiting for you to lighten up.
Really? I was waiting for you.
[ABBY LAUGHS.]
Don't try to be charming in that ridiculous outfit.
Who, me? Charming? Back off, Rudolph.
- Be nice.
- You be nice.
Or you're not gonna get your special present.
What kind of present? A slightly naughty one.
My favorite kind.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Dr.
Kovac? Sorry.
You got a minute? Yeah, sure.
Sure, yeah.
MAN: It's about Curtis Ames.
He's filed an order of protection against you.
- A restraining order.
- That's ridiculous.
Yeah, the judge who issued it doesn't think so.
- The guy says you threatened to kill him.
- What? Look, you should've let it go, doc.
Now you look like the crazy one.
Rufus Taylor, 35.
Going 60 on Dan Ryan, crashed into an embankment.
Icicle shattered the windshield, I couldn't see.
RAY: Icicle, huh? TAYLOR: Came out of nowhere.
It was really big.
- Anything hurt, man? - My stomach.
Trauma 1, let's go.
Gates, what's the RTS on this guy? - The what? - RTS.
Revised Trauma Score.
It correlates better than GCS for traumatic brain injury.
- Traumatic brain what? - You'll be fine, sir.
What's the matter with you? My shift was over.
I couldn't leave because you weren't here.
Five minutes late.
All right, 10 minutes.
I'm here, now go.
You have remedial command of basics.
I can't leave you.
I would love to, believe me, but it wouldn't be right, all right? [SIGHS.]
[INSTRUMENTAL HOLIDAY MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS.]
WOMAN: Yeah.
What are they gonna say about it now, right? Hey, merry Christmas, Neela.
- Where have you been? - On the floor.
- I thought we were rounding.
- What? No.
The Surgery Christmas Party is the one time of year when we can forget about disease and death and celebrate goodness, kindness.
I admit I would prefer black tie, sashimi and Veuve Clicquot but still, it's Christmas.
I love it.
- Yeah.
- Are you all right? Sorry, it's gotta be this punch.
There's nothing even remotely alcoholic in the punch, Dustin.
Right.
Okay.
Gotta go.
Neela, I want you to meet Manish Mehta.
- He's gonna be helping us around here.
- Hi.
Can I get everybody's attention for a second, please? Everybody, listen up for a sec.
Thanks.
Listen, it's fitting and appropriate at this time of charity and compassion for me to be able to announce the opening of Chicago's only paired exchange program.
Yeah.
And as an additional Yuletide treat we will be doing our first kidney swap today.
[PEOPLE CHEERING.]
Why don't we all get back to work before we crash from the sugar high? - Nice to meet you.
- You too.
Neela.
Hi.
Rob, you guys know each other, right? Neela Rasgotra, I've heard a lot about you.
- You have? - You're the golden girl Dubenko created a special residency spot for.
That's memorable.
God, you must really be something.
Okay, then.
It's nice to meet you, Rob.
No, the pleasure's all mine.
Would you excuse me a minute? [BOTH LAUGH.]
- You went to where Ames works? - The police wouldn't do anything.
And you threatened to kill him, and I'm the one who overreacted? - You think I made this up? - I think you got carried away.
I went to his work to stop and scare him.
Mission accomplished.
He's scared.
He can have you arrested if you get near him.
Look, I didn't know what else to do, okay? I did it because I love you, and I love Joe and I wasn't gonna let that asshole keep threatening us, okay? So it wasn't too geeky, was it? Geeky? Lord, no.
Or God, no.
I mean, no.
No, I enjoyed your Bible group.
They were impressed by you.
Yeah, what you said was really advanced.
- Really? You think? - Yeah, I do.
Oh, doughnuts.
Ha-ha! The perks of authority.
No, no, no.
What does this look like? - Gluttony? - Gluttony, exactly.
I was just testing you.
I'm gonna save these for the kids.
Lenore Simkins, found down on the street on 18th and Aberdeen.
Pulse ox is 91, looks like frostbite on the fingertips.
- Cold out there.
- Hi, Lenore.
I'm Dr.
Morris.
I'd wish you merry Christmas but as an employee of County I'm duty-bound to respect the separation of church and state.
Are you kidding? - Is he kidding? - I think so.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Got plans tonight? - Yeah.
Yeah, me too.
With Ray.
That's cool, right? - It's none of my business.
- Okay.
I just wanted to be sure.
You look annoyed.
Well, your friend from Vascular went in almost 10 minutes ago.
Yeah, I could tell you kind of aggravated his problem.
What problem? Rob's got a little auto-stimulation issue.
You know, he can't help tickling the Elmo, spanking his monkey.
- It's how he got his nickname.
- What nickname? We call him McCreamy.
McCreamy? [TOILET FLUSHES.]
Hey, guys.
Sorry about the wait.
It's okay.
God, it was great to finally meet you, Neela.
I hope we get to work together soon.
I gotta go.
- How's that, Lenore? Better? - Mm-hm.
What are you doing for the holidays? Besides taking my kid to go see Return of the Evil Zombies? Maybe before you go home, you can let me buy you that drink? I don't know.
I got presents to wrap.
- Lenore, were you recently hospitalized? - I was at City of Mercy till last night.
- What for? - Chest cold.
Winter's been hard.
BEN: How long were you there? Few days? I'm not good with time.
Did they release you? The lady at the hospital said the ambulance was gonna take me back.
- Back home? - Don't got one.
I make my own way.
Where'd they drop you off? They left me in an alley near 18th Street.
I haven't slept in that neighborhood in years.
Second unit's infusing now? I need sterile 10s and a cordis.
He needs central access.
- This is not good.
I'll handle this.
- I know how to put in a line, Ray.
Mr.
Taylor, we need to do an operation to stop bleeding in your abdomen.
- Is there someone you want to be here? - No.
You sure this can't wait? I don't really want this.
Not today.
It's okay, you'll be fine.
It's just, my karma's not so good right now.
It's not the best time to go under the knife.
Don't worry, sir.
Here, we treat the naughty as well as the nice all year round.
We'll take good care of you.
I promise this is the best thing.
BO Y: Mayday.
O.
R.
2.
Dubenko should be waiting.
BO Y: Mayday.
Go on, I'll be right up.
- Lizzie's sick.
- We were worried about you.
Lizzie's sick.
You need to come.
Your friend? Does she have what Paulie had? I don't know.
You need to come.
- All right, wait there.
- Pick up the old chart from Records.
- Get the echo from CICU.
- What about the toilet bowls? - I haven't scrubbed them yet.
- Come with me a minute? - Oh, thank God.
- Where do you think you're going? Do you have a toenail extraction you want me to take notes on? - Are you too advanced for this? - Lf we have problem, spit it out.
- I don't speak bitchy.
- Oh, you seem pretty fluent to me.
- Get somebody else, my intern's busy.
- Stop being an idiot, I need Tony's help.
And you too, I've had enough.
Why don't you either slap each other silly or kiss now and get it over with? She got bad last night.
Pains everywhere.
Tell me where, I'll send an ambulance.
- No.
I'll take you.
- Doesn't work like that.
Please.
You helped Paulie.
You heard about Paulie? I came back a few days after.
The man at the desk said he was at the care unit.
That's good, right? Come on.
If she's sick, she needs to be in hospital.
She can't walk and she won't go to a family again.
Teller.
You come.
Mayday and you.
- She can't.
We can't.
- You have to.
Or else I'm scared Lizzie's gonna pass.
All right, I'm out of here.
What? No.
What? You can't go.
I got no Kovac, no Weaver, no Pratt.
I'm flying without a net.
I'd prefer to be outside of the ER when it crashes and burns to the ground.
That's what Vegas oddsmakers say will happen the first time you're the only Attending on the floor.
Melia.
What are you doing here? Daddy.
Daddy? Great, another one of Morris's Petri-dish kids.
- What, Morris has kids? - Four that we know of.
- Hope, could you please BOBECK: Right.
No, I will take her to the break room, get her all settled in, come on.
Read her a story or something.
Hey, Morris, it's important.
I need a half-hour.
- Okay.
- It's slow, you can spare - Did you just say okay? - Me, you're trying to leverage.
Him, you just let go? - You're a Resident, he's an intern.
- I have a date.
So? My daughter's here, Ray.
My daughter.
You don't see me shirking.
Fine, go.
I'm already over you.
Hey, Sam.
You have a car? I heard snow, I took the train.
- Truck's in the shop, bro.
- I gotta check on a patient for Neela.
Can I talk to your supervisor? - Hey, what about Malik? Is he around? - No, he's not in today.
This is the second time I've called.
Can you ask her to call me? Sam Taggart.
Mercy said she walked out on her own, as far as they know.
Some administrator's gonna get into it.
Looks like they already have.
What? Hey, hey, hey, where you going? - She's not ready for transfer.
- You the nurse on this? We're from Mercy.
- We're gonna take her.
- What? Supervisor said it was a misunderstanding.
Are you taking me outside? No.
You're not taking her until somebody explains what's going on.
A patient ended up in the wrong place.
Let's not blow this out of proportion.
No, you heard the lady.
Turn it around.
- How far is this place? - Just across the bridge.
[CAR HORN HONKS.]
Hey, watch it, jerk-off.
I heard you needed a ride.
MELIA: What does the pancreas do? It makes hormones that help you process sugar in your blood.
- What are hormones? - Well Whoa, whoa.
Okay, okay.
You'll find out about that soon enough.
I was thinking Dr.
Seuss, not Dr.
Rosen.
It's okay.
I like gross stuff.
Honey, Melia, it is so good to see you.
What are you doing here? I ran away.
Why, sweetie? Because of Donald, Mom's new husband.
He won't let me celebrate Christmas.
He says there's no such thing as Santa.
No.
He didn't.
He says there's no elves, no reindeer and Christmas is made up so people will spend money.
No, that's crazy.
So I decided I would spend the holiday with my real dad.
That's you.
Crystal meth is some nasty stuff.
Makes you lie, makes you paranoid.
I'm clean now.
Good for you.
It's too late.
My wife, my kids, moved away as far as they could.
I messed up so much.
I missed so much when I was high.
This is where they live.
Oliver is 11 now, and Julia is 9.
They've gone so many years without hearing from me on Christmas.
Mr.
Taylor.
I fully expect this surgery to be a success.
I know but if you're wrong promise me you'll send them something.
It won't be necessary.
But okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
RAY: We should call this in.
This girl's really messed up.
If you make anybody come, we'll just run away someplace else.
It will be fine.
Stop.
It's here.
Hurry.
What the hell are we doing? GATES: We're helping kids, Ray.
TELLER: It's down here.
GATES: I love what you've done with the place.
TELLER: Follow me.
RAY: That's great.
A big old mouse hole.
NEELA: Jejunum looks good.
DUBENKO: So does the liver.
Lucien, Victoria's on the phone again.
Wants to know if you'd like her to wear blue dress or red dress.
DUBENKO: Tell her the blue is nice.
NEELA: Ileocecal junction's clear.
- Hot date tonight? - Something like that.
MAN: BP is down, 86/40.
NEELA: Retroperitoneum feels tense.
DUBENKO: Bovie to Neela, open it up.
WOMAN: Tachy to 120.
DUBENKO: Hang the blood on the infuser.
Whoa.
Suction, now.
DUBENKO: He's bleeding out.
NEELA: Satinsky.
DUBENKO: Packing.
Keep it coming.
NEELA: Five-0 Prolene.
DUBENKO: One Castroviejos.
WOMAN: PEA, lost the pulse.
Starting compressions.
DUBENKO: Amp of epi and call for blood.
NEELA: It's too fast, there's no way to Oh, crap, it's here.
Sponge stick times two, let's go.
DUBENKO: Five-0 Prolene to me.
NEELA: Drop pressure.
Up above and below.
DUBENKO: Okay, release pressure.
NEELA: Repair's holding.
DUBENKO: Stop CPR.
Normal sinus.
WOMAN: Good pulse.
- Well, strong work, Dr.
Rasgotra.
NEELA: Once you've seen one supraceliac aortic tear, you've seen them all.
TELLER: Don't be scared, it's safe.
RAY: Oh, thanks.
I feel so much better now.
GATES: Ray, I'm sure you've played gigs in worse places than this.
GIRL: Oh, God.
TELLER: Come on.
BO Y 1: Teller's back.
BO Y 2: Who's with him? RUBY: You said you'd get Mayday.
TELLER: It's okay.
He helped save Paulie.
GATES: She's diaphoretic.
- Please, please, make this go away.
RAY: Yeah, and tachycardic.
Hey, Lizzie, do you know what day it is? - It's Christmas.
RAY: It's close enough.
She's lucid.
She's pregnant.
She's very pregnant.
The baby's crowning.
I'm sorry.
I don't know how this happened.
[LIZZIE GROANING.]
[TRAIN RUMBLING.]
Lizzie, give it your all.
Come on, push.
- I can't.
GATES: Yes, you can.
Attagirl, come on.
- Attagirl.
- Teller! Teller! - Who's this baby's father? - It doesn't have a father.
- Of course it does.
- Lizzie will get the men to help us.
- Ruby, quiet.
- Ray, the shoulder's stuck.
Please get it out.
I can't! - Firm, downward pressure on the head.
- I am.
I am.
- Wanna take a shot at it? - Okay.
All right.
Here.
GATES: What was she talking about? What men? The Greek gives us food from the restaurant.
The cripple lets us sleep in the basement when it's cold.
Lizzie takes care of them and they take care of us.
[LIZZIE GROANING.]
Okay.
All right, here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
All right.
Okay.
It's a boy.
[BABY CRYING.]
It's a boy.
It's a boy.
Here you go.
Okay.
Here you go, okay? Hold the head.
All right.
There you go.
He's mine? He's so tiny.
- What are you doing? - Calling for help.
Teller, get them and run.
You and your baby need to be seen by a doctor.
- You're a doctor.
- But we can't do what they need here.
- Teller, get them and go.
- It's okay, guys.
- Teller, go.
- Okay, I won't, I won't, I won't.
You guys need to spend the night in the ER.
You, Lizzie and the baby.
Just the three of you.
Gates, they all need to come.
They look jaundiced, anemic, they got Others can stay.
I won't call foster care or Social Services.
Gates, what are you doing? - Promise? - Yeah, promise.
He lost a lot of blood.
It could be a while before we know his neurologic outcome.
I know.
Where are you spending Christmas? Oh, I spend the holidays with my sister every year.
That's sweet.
Older or younger? Both, actually.
Two years older but stuck at 17 in a car wreck the night of her prom.
Her boyfriend was drunk.
That's awful.
It could've been worse, though.
She's in an independent living facility in Evanston.
I see her fairly frequently.
In fact, I gotta get out of here.
We have a nice dinner tonight.
She likes to dress up.
Your oxygen level's back up.
Am I gonna be able to stay here? You're getting better, you don't really need to be hospitalized anymore.
Is there somewhere that you'd like to go? Not the street.
Not tonight.
Got any family? Well, my parents are in Gary, Indiana, where I grew up.
But we haven't talked in a long time.
I don't know if they'd even recognize me.
I'll be back to check on you in a little bit, okay? Any word from Mercy? SAM: Not yet.
Poor lady's all alone in the world.
At least we can clean her up set her up with new clothes for Christmas.
I'll see what I can do.
Hey, Sam, Drunk Santa needs a banana bag and a few hours to sleep it off.
Oh, that is such a shame.
Yeah, sloth, sloth, sloth.
Fifteen-year-old, postpartum, needs stitches little newborn baby, warmer and Pedes consult.
SAM: Where'd you find them? - We followed a star in the northern sky.
Okay, Trauma 2.
Children's Services is on their way.
I called up.
- You did what? - You'll be okay, Teller.
You promised.
- Gates.
- What? - You swore you wouldn't force them.
- I got them here, didn't I? You said we could trust you.
That's Nice job, Gates.
SAM: You from Mercy? Nurse Taggart? Hillary Lerner.
Is it your policy to dump destitute patients on the street? - Why would we do that? - It's bad for your neighborhood.
- No, there was a mistake with Miss - Simkins? - Lenore Simkins.
- Yes.
That's why I sent my people I'm not gonna release her so you can have a second chance to make her disappear.
- I don't know what she told you - Come with me.
You behaved badly, so here's your lump of coal, okay? You have your boys take Ms.
Simkins to her parents' place in Gary, Indiana.
Gary? That's over an hour away.
You'll pay for the round trip, and this will never happen again.
Because I ever get wind of a patient being dumped by your hospital I will call the cops so fast I'm not sure if you're gonna get fired or arrested first.
Yeah.
Got it.
Hey, Lenore.
This is Hillary.
She's gonna make sure you get to see your parents for Christmas.
We, by which I mean to say Dr.
Gates, promised no foster care.
Well, that would be a mistake.
By law, they need to be placed.
Getting them to give up the life they have that takes a light touch, Ray.
- Is that what you call lying? I wasn't gonna take a chance on losing them.
You turned us into every bad adult that these kids were ever screwed by.
- That's so sweet and so naive.
I'll send a van to pick up the other children.
- Good.
- Lf you pick them up today they'll be gone tomorrow.
These kids won't just submit.
Need to be convinced that they'll be safe and protected.
We'll try to keep them together.
I can't promise they won't end up in foster care.
- But you'll make sure they're okay, right? - We always do.
Come on.
These kids are smart.
They know that that's not how it goes.
A social worker will follow up.
It's the best I can do.
No, no, no.
That's not good enough.
I can't believe you got CPS to agree to that.
Actually, it was Ray's brainstorm.
The trick's getting the kids to accept it.
Teller.
Listen.
Child Protective Services has arranged for all of you to live together in a group home.
- You said no foster care.
- Hear us out, Teller NEELA: Wait, Teller, Teller.
TELLER: No, I won't go.
You lied! It's not safe out there, all right? We survive.
No one hurts us.
What Lizzie's doing, having sex for money and shelter? - That's hurting her.
Hurting all of you.
- Don't say that! If you weren't sleeping in old abandoned buildings Paulie would have never gotten sick.
But you fixed him.
He's getting better.
No, we didn't.
Paulie died.
I'm sorry.
I wanted to tell you his His infection was too severe and we couldn't save him but I wanna see him.
I know I lied to you.
I'm not gonna lie anymore.
I don't believe you.
It's not working.
The way you're living is not working.
- You're a smart kid.
You can see that.
- Let go, let go.
Listen to me.
You can't go on like this anymore.
RAY: Teller Lizzie agreed to go.
It's the only way she can keep her baby.
And the rest of us will just stay with them? That's right.
And Dr.
Gates will come and visit every two weeks and make sure things are okay, all right? You need me for anything at any time, you call me, and I'll be there.
You would do that? Yeah.
Listen.
Now, I need you to take the social workers to where the others are.
And let the kids know that it's okay and safe to come in.
Will you do that? I'll wait with you here, Teller.
Come on.
Thank you.
Well, that went better than expected, huh? Yeah? That kid may not survive another round of your games.
Come on, I've been trying to help the kid all day.
Gates, you'll say anything to seal the deal.
I understand that.
I've done that.
But these are messed-up kids.
- You gotta draw the line somewhere.
- And what line is that? If you're making promises you have no intention of keeping just cut loose.
Minimize the damage, okay? This isn't just about the kids, is it? No, it's not.
Hey, how about you give me a few hours to wrap some presents? - Can we talk? - Sure.
This scares me.
What, Ames? What it's doing to you.
To us.
It took us so long to get here.
All of us.
And the way you're acting, how it's taking over our whole lives it makes me scared we're gonna lose this.
When Jasna and the kids died I needed to make a change and I decided to move here.
Made my brother really angry.
He said He said that I was a coward and that I was running away.
And it's only recently that I've come to know that he was wrong.
I wasn't running away from anything.
I was running to you.
And I'll never let anything take this away.
ABBY: Did I mention how hot you look in antlers? - I think she's in here, Santa.
- Ho, ho, ho! Has anyone seen a little girl named Melia Simon? That's her right there.
Oh, my reindeer needed a little rest, so I thought I'd come by and say hi.
How do you do? I'm Santa Claus.
Hi, Santa.
Can't stay long, very, very busy.
Gotta deliver presents to the whole western hemisphere tonight.
Nice try, Archie.
I know it's you.
Archie? Who's Archie? I'm 9 years old.
I know there's no Santa, okay? You know, you're a bright girl, Melia.
But you're wrong about that.
It's a fake beard and a dumb suit.
Don't you know that there's a rule that if millions of kids believe in the same thing, it becomes real? - That's not a rule.
- Yeah.
Every time you're generous or thoughtful or help someone who needs help that's a little bit of Santa too.
What are you talking about? Come on.
Santa Claus represents one of the last remaining bits of magic left in this world.
Now, I still believe, so don't spoil it for me, okay? Come on.
MELIA: Where we going? Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! Wait, it's Santa.
Oh, you were a very, very nice girl this year.
Top of the nice list.
Would it be all right if I signed your cast? Thank you.
To Greta Keep on being nice.
Love, Santa.
How'd you know my name? Come on, I'm Santa Claus, huh? Merry Christmas.
It's the real Santa, isn't it? Yeah.
It is.
You lost almost a third of your blood volume.
Give us a few days to buff you up.
Plus, I have a present for you.
These are for them.
Things were a little touch-and-go for a while, so I called them.
- How do I explain? - It's Christmas.
You don't have to.
Trust me.
Hey, princess.
Hey, buddy.
Look at you guys.
You're all grown up.
DUBENKO: You getting out of here soon? I have a cajillion notes to write.
- You look nice.
- Thanks.
- Off to your sister's, I take it? - Yeah.
It's for you.
Merry Christmas, Neela.
I don't normally do this.
Work presents always end up being something edible and bad for you or something impersonal like organic soap.
Who needs that crap cluttering up their bathroom anyway? Oh, loops, wow.
Yeah.
That's my very first pair.
Bought them for myself in med school.
Thank you.
It's a lovely gift.
Listen.
You're an intern and I'm an Attending, and there are certain protocols certain hierarchies that preclude me from Lucien.
- Being direct about this, but it's Christmas what the hell, I'm just gonna say it.
You're a really good surgeon, Neela.
A few more years and you could be great.
Thank you.
You're gonna try them on? I will.
Beautiful.
You repeat this conversation to anyone, and I will deny it.
You know that.
What conversation? Lovely.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Yeah.
Transplant rounds are at 7.
Thank you.
Bye, sweetheart.
Look out, Kriss Kringle.
What's going on, Morris? Oh, we did okay, Greg.
Just okay? Either you rocked the house or you were closed to patients.
No, we just moved people through.
All right, all right.
Go ahead, you can gloat now.
Tell me all about what a great manager you are.
I saved Jerry, I diagnosed D.
I.
D.
, yadda yadda.
MORRIS: Know what? I'm gonna go with humility this time.
For real.
Humili-what? Hey.
I learned a lot watching you today.
Yeah, well, I'm full of it, Hope.
I get it, Archie.
I know you don't believe half of what you say but You know what? It doesn't really matter.
Because I saw you today.
And what I saw was a guy who's trying to be good.
And I don't know, that right there is half the battle.
Have a good holiday.
What are you doing? What? Now.
Are you going home? I thought maybe we could Grab a bite, get a drink, see what happens.
Chastity's always been overrated.
Purity of spirit is what it's all about, right? Wait, wait, are you? What are you saying? You know what? I don't think so.
What? I hate that I'm saying this.
It's like some dorky angel has taken control of my mouth.
But No.
What? What? It's Christmas, and people get Ionely on Christmas and we might do something that we'd both regret or could get in the way of a possibly deeper relationship in the future.
So I'm sorry.
Hey.
Hey.
You stole my suit.
Well, what about you? Me? Yes, where are you from what are you doing here, what's your damage? I spent a couple of years in the service and managed to spend my time in Okinawa which is a hell of a lot better than being in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Since I've come back, I work as a traveler.
Yeah, I did that for a while, but then I got tired of it.
So wait, you have what, a week or so left? It's supposed to be a week.
But this place seems all right.
It seems like pretty great people.
I mean, like, what we did for that lady today, what you did That was something.
Come on, everyone deserves a little bit of happiness at Christmastime.
Yeah.
So I called the nursing director, and I signed on for another month.
Really? Really.
Well.
Merry Christmas, Ben.
Merry Christmas, Samantha.
Idiot.
Moron.
She was right there.
Right there for the fondling, and you just let her go.
Why? Why? Why'd you have to be such a good Christian, huh? There's no God.
There's no Christmas.
There's no freaking Santa Claus.
MAN: Merry Christmas.
Holy