Original subtitles

.

- Dr. Marcel, you saved Nathaniel's life

in spectacular fashion.

- Got 30 million social media followers waiting

to hear how this story ends.

- Get ready for what comes next.

- What's that?

- Fame.

- What the hell is going on?

- Will and Vanessa bought meds off a drug dealer.

- It's a little more complicated than that.

- You want to risk your own career, that's fine.

Don't risk Vanessa's.

- April?

Are you back in Chicago? - Yeah.

You didn't get married or anything, did you?

- No.

- Well, I'll see you around.

[pensive music]

* *

- Did you really ask Jack to dislocate your shoulder?

- Uh, didn't have much of a choice, really.

- I couldn't believe it.

Didn't even hesitate.

- Well, my arm was trapped, uh, at the time.

I felt it was the--the best way to continue treating Mr. Perry.

- Well, no wonder people are calling you a hero.

But is that how you would characterize yourself?

- Did you know that he, um, jerry-rigged a lung transplant

just days after the incident? Yes.

Confident, creative, future of medicine, this guy.

- Uh, it--it was a team effort.

Look, I'm-- I'm sure you'd rather talk

to Mr. Dayton here.

And my shift is starting soon, so--

- Dr. Marcel exemplifies the kind of selfless dedication

we here at Gaffney pride ourselves on,

and it's what has attracted a new crop

of generous donations to this institution.

Dr. Marcel's heroics that day saved

way more than just one life.

- That's very generous. - Mm.

- Thank you. - And we're cut.

- Hey. - Yeah?

- So I got you lined up for a few phoners...

- Uh-huh. - Later in the day.

And then we got "Today Show" end of the week, okay?

Friday, we're gonna try to do that.

* *

- Morning, Mags.

How's it going?

- It's going.

I have a twisted ankle for you in 5.

- Be there in a minute.

- You're still mad at him?

CPD and the hospital cleared us both.

They're letting it go. Why can't you?

- Because you brought drugs into the hospital, Vanessa.

It was irresponsible. It was dangerous.

- We were out of options, and it saved our patient.

- I expect that kind of foolishness from Will,

but he should have known better than

to drag you down with him. - No, no.

Will didn't drag me into anything.

It was my call. - You don't have to defend him.

I get it--the Halstead School of Medicine has its appeal,

but it's not who you are.

- What is that supposed to mean?

- It means you're not reckless. You're smarter than that.

And you don't have to be a cowboy to be a good doctor.

- Hey, Dean. How you doing?

- Oh, well, I thought a patient's bowel was nicked

during surgery, but it was just a flatulent intern,

so I'm excellent.

- Great, but I meant how are your injuries?

You're looking a little stiff.

- I've had worse.

- Oh, than being brutally attacked by a patient

on PCP-laced cocaine?

I need to hear your life story.

- Oh, another time.

Uh, I seem to remember being in considerable pain

when you patched me up.

So if I do need anything, I'll be looking elsewhere.

- Well, lucky me, seeing as doctors,

especially surgeons with God complexes,

make the worst patient.

- Help! Someone, please! [baby] crying]

Please, I need help!

- Okay, what happened? - Please, take him!

- T--tell me what's wrong.

- It's me. I'm what's wrong.

[tense music]

I'm gonna hurt him.

* *

.

- I'll be right back.

Her son, Edison, is in Treatment 2.

He shows no signs of abuse or neglect.

He's an entirely healthy newborn.

- Oh, that's a relief.

- Penelope, however, is not in great shape.

She's dehydrated, anemic, and is low in vitamin D.

- It certainly doesn't look like she's been taking

very good care of herself.

- Well, that's not unusual for a new mother,

but it could mean she doesn't have much of a support system.

- Yeah.

- Listen, I don't want to call DCFS,

but she did say that she was gonna hurt her baby.

Are you guys comfortable holding off for now?

- Absolutely--that's a drastic step for something

that just might be postpartum depression and treatable.

- Yeah, we're not there yet, but I--I should have

a little chat with her, though.

- Yeah.

[alarm blares] - Halstead!

Incoming. Going to Baghdad.

Says she doesn't want any doc but you.

- Okay.

- [sighs] 76-year-old female.

- Tell the whole world, madonna.

- Maria. What happened?

- Crush injury to the right upper arm.

Lacerations above the elbow.

Denied pain meds on the ride.

- I was just moving the stove.

- What, Anthony couldn't move it?

- He's useless.

- Okay, in we go. On my count.

- I can do it myself!

- Please lie still, okay?

- Okay. One, two, three.

- [groans] - I need an X-ray!

- All this fussing, Guglielmo. Basta.

- All right, I'm sorry.

- So you two know each other?

- Maria owns Marguerite's. Taylor Street institution.

When my folks were alive, we'd go there

every Sunday for dinner.

- Not so much recently, huh?

You look skinny.

- Uh, diminished right radial pulse.

Any numbness, tingling?

- Mm-mm. - Good.

Let's get a CT angio.

[soft sentimental music]

* *

- X-ray up.

[machinery beeps]

- Hey, no fractures, but those lacerations

still need to be repaired.

Let me get you some pain meds.

- Oh, so I go to sleep?

No, I have a dinner service tonight.

Uh, Maria, I'm sorry, but I--I doubt

that's gonna be possible.

We'll know more once we get better imaging,

but I'm gonna call a surgical consult.

- Surgery? No, no, no. [laughs]

If you think Antonio can run Marguerite's--oh-ho!

- Let's worry about that later. You just relax.

- [sighs]

- Hey, I'm gonna take care of you.

- Va bene.

- Hi, Caitlin. I'm Dr. Asher.

- Hi. - Hey.

This is my husband, Steve. - How are you?

- Hi, Steve. Okay.

So Caitlin, I saw that you're nine weeks pregnant

and experiencing spotting? - Yes.

It just started a day ago, but it hasn't been super heavy.

- Okay. Any pain or cramping? - Nope.

- I read it could be normal this early, right?

It doesn't necessarily mean that something's wrong?

- That's true, but it is wise to get checked out.

So let's get a type and screen, a CBC, and a quantitative HCG.

- It's taken us some time for us to get pregnant,

so we're probably a little more neurotic

than most first-time parents.

- Okay, so Caitlin, I'd like to do an ultrasound.

It'll have to be transvaginal this early.

- Ah, yes. The joys of being a woman.

- Yes.

Okay, let's get you set up.

Here we go.

A little bit of pressure.

- Mm-hmm.

- Let's see.

[somber music]

- What? What is it?

- I'm very sorry, but it's an ectopic pregnancy.

The embryo has implanted in your fallopian tube.

- What does that mean?

Won't it move to the uterus? - No.

No, it's not even viable.

- Unfortunately, that's correct.

We need to remove the ectopic

before it can rupture the fallopian tube,

which would be fatal for Caitlin.

- Okay, so, uh, what, uh-- what do I have to do?

- Well, we have two different options.

The first is a chemo drug called methotrexate.

It stops the cells from rapidly dividing

and ends the pregnancy.

The embryo ultimately reabsorbs back in the body,

and it successfully treats about 90%

of ectopic pregnancies.

- And how do you get that?

- It's an intramuscular shot,

typically in the buttock or the thigh.

- What are your other options?

- We would operate to remove the embryo and, if necessary,

the entire fallopian tube.

- The shot. Please, no surgery.

We're hourly workers at a bookstore.

We don't get sick days.

- I understand.

We'll just have to do some additional labs,

and then we'll go from there, okay?

Try and get some rest. - Thank you.

- Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

- [voice breaking] I'm sorry.

- It'll be okay, all right? Look at me.

- Penelope?

- How's Edison? Is he okay?

- Oh, he's fine.

He's just next door.

- Does he need breast milk? I express him.

He's not always great about waking up to eat,

even if it's been two hours.

- You know what? I'll--I'll tell the nurses.

I'm Dr. Charles.

- Psychiatry.

Maybe I have postpartum depression?

- You know, I don't know. Tell me what's been going on.

How you been feeling?

- Oh, um, I'm not like myself.

- Okay.

- I cry so easily.

My moods are all over the place, and--

and I have this ringing in my ears,

but my OB says it's all part of the recovery process.

- Hmm.

- But Edison was crying so loudly, and I was--

I was so tired.

And it's not an excuse, I know, but...

I thought about, uh...

I thought--I--

I thought about throwing him against the wall?

- Okay.

Well, it was just a thought, though.

Right? - Mm-hmm.

- Has--has Edison's dad been around to help out?

- [chuckles] Turns out he wasn't ready for a kid.

- Well, gosh, I mean, that's got to be so hard,

facing a life-changing situation like this

all--all by yourself.

- [cries] My mom came out for the first week,

but she had to get back to Ohio.

- How's it been since she left?

- [sniffs] Mm, hard.

Uh, my job doesn't have paid maternity leave,

so I've been working from home, you know,

juggling phone calls while I breastfeed every two hours.

And there are no breaks

and there's no time to, like, turn off.

And his cry, like a screech, it--

it's just--it's too much.

I--I can't.

I know it's his only way to communicate,

but it sets my teeth on edge, and I feel like I'm losing it.

So I just--

I'm sorry.

Can you please just-- just tell me what--

- You know what?

We're gonna--we're gonna get to the bottom of this, okay?

I promise you, we will.

- [sobs]

Thank you.

.

- No, no, I will make that flight, and I'm fine.

My doctor just walked in, okay?

[speaking Tagalog]

- It's good to see you, Samir. - You too.

- Mr. Baqri, I'm Dr. Taylor.

- Yeah. So sorry about that.

My work never stops.

And please, call me Samir.

- What seems to be the problem?

- Um, lethargy, myalgia.

It's hard to pin down.

- Ah, you're a physician.

- Oh, no. I--I work with them.

- Samir runs the Hamsa Community Health Foundation,

sets up clinics all around the world.

- Mm-hmm.

- Mm, I get your fundraising emails.

- Ah, wow. Hopefully, not too many.

- I haven't unsubscribed yet. [both chuckle]

Okay, let's check this out.

Open up.

You know, your polio vaccination program

in Pakistan, incredible. - Ah.

- I was obsessed with infectious disease

in med school, but they would always talk about polio

in the past tense, and I wanted to shout

at my professors that--

- We were still fighting it, right.

You know, we almost had it beat, but then the world

took its foot off the gas, started reallocating funding,

and now it's back, and well, you know,

we are struggling to get buy-in from our partners.

It's just, uh--ugh, I'm sorry.

I will step off of my soapbox now.

- No, do not apologize.

You're doing something.

I wish I knew how to help.

It's the entire reason that I got into medicine.

But instead, I just turn off the news,

and I eat a sleeve of Oreos.

But you know what?

At least now I can help the helper.

- Right.

- So how long have you felt this way?

- Um, a couple of weeks.

I've been traveling for work a lot recently--

Indonesia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone.

I leave for the Philippines on Friday.

I'm opening up a new clinic.

- Well, the most exotic place I've ever been is San Antonio,

and that was for a conference. - So no interest in travel?

- No, I'd love to.

But between school and residency, it's just--

- Well, let me tell you, it's not always so glamorous.

I'm glued to my phone, and I survive

off of peanut butter protein bars and coffee.

- Temp's normal.

- Well, you know, I'm not seeing

any obvious signs of infection,

but given your travel history, uh, I just want to cast

a bit of a wide net with your bloodwork,

if that's okay. - Yeah.

Anything that gets me on a flight, I'm good.

- Uh, CBC, CMP, bacterial and viral cultures,

O&P, and a sputum.

- On it.

- I don't understand.

You said that most people can do the drug option.

- Unfortunately, your liver function tests

were a little too elevated,

so you are not a candidate for methotrexate.

- Is there something you can do so that I can get the shot?

I can't do a big surgery.

It'll put me out of work for weeks.

- If we were to fully open up your abdomen, yes,

the healing time would take a lot longer.

Fortunately, this procedure is laparoscopic,

minimally invasive, meaning we could likely

send you home tonight and have you back at work

in a day or two.

- Okay. I guess I can do a day or two.

- Okay. I'll see you soon.

- Thanks. - Thank you.

[Edison giggling]

- Hey. How'd it go?

- A couple of red flags for postpartum,

but I'm not convinced yet.

You know, she was talking about this ringing

she had in her ears.

- Well, tinnitus could be caused by multiple things.

It could be idiopathic, medications,

hypo or hyperthyroidism.

You know, I can work all of those up,

but what do you want to do in the meantime?

- Honestly, I want to see her with her kid.

- Wait, Dr. Charles.

You didn't see her when she came in.

She was frantic.

And we can't be sure how she'll react to him,

especially without a definitive diagnosis.

- Absolutely gonna make sure the kid is safe, okay?

It's just that I can learn so much

from watching them interact, right?

How are they bonding?

Any warning signs of a lack of connection?

And if it is postpartum, it sort of helps me

gauge the severity, you know?

- While I understand your concerns, Dr. Choi,

since Dr. Charles will be there and Penelope

had the wherewithal to ask for help

before anything happened,

I think we should proceed.

Also, I'd like to be present.

- All right. Hey, thank you.

- Hey, Archer! - Yeah?

- Nursing said there's no fiber optic cables

for the laparoscopic tower. Where'd they all go?

I've got to do an urgent ectopic.

- I know we're down two.

Supply chain issue strike again.

Can't you just open?

- No, it's explicitly against my patient's wishes.

She needs it to be laparoscopic.

- Oh.

- So both options are bad.

Either wait it out, running the risk

it ruptures and kills her, or turf it to another hospital.

- Or you can go old school without video

and just look straight down into the scope.

- No one's learned how to do it that way since the Stone Age.

That's like performing surgery

with one hand tied behind your back.

- Eh, yeah.

I'm ancient enough, all right?

It's how I was trained.

- Well, this doesn't do me any good.

[tense music]

* *

- Oh, hi. Hey. So, uh, what's the good news?

- We're not seeing any signs of infection,

though you are slightly anemic.

- Which would explain your lethargy.

- Excellent, so I guess I can just take a couple

of iron supplements, be on my way?

- I'm actually not comfortable discharging you quite yet.

- You just said I'm not infectious.

- That's true, as far as I can tell.

But without an explanation for why you're deficient,

I'd just like to run a couple more tests.

- No, look, if I'm not sick, I really got to get going.

I've got, like, 1,000 planning calls to make.

And not to mention, I think there's people

who need this bed more than I do, so I think--

- Samir--oh! - Oh!

- [groans]

- You all right? - Yeah, I'm fine.

I'm not-- - Let's get back on the bed.

- I'm fine. - Both legs, please.

[groans]

- Dr. Taylor?

It's both legs.

- Do you know how long you've had this?

- I don't know. I thought it was a heat rash.

This is not from the anemia, is it?

- I don't know.

- Look, don't BS me.

I know what bad news looks like.

What is it?

- These are petechiae, a breakdown of red blood cells.

It's usually associated with a bleeding disorder.

But it could be any number of things.

- So what are we looking at?

I mean, is it an autoimmune disease or leukemia? What?

- We don't know until we do further workup.

Um, Maggie, let's get a lupus panel, an ANA, and an X-ray.

- Hmm. - On it.

- Thank you.

* *

- Maria.

This is Dr. Marcel.

- Apologies for the wait, Ms. Piscotta.

- You didn't tell me the handsome doctor

from the news was coming.

I look a mess. - No, please.

Uh, apparently, I'm addressing royalty.

The doctor also tells me you're the, uh, queen of pasta.

- Only woman in America who can make the threads of God.

- Oh.

- It's all done by feel.

You have to have the touch.

- Well, I look forward to stopping by

once we get you patched up.

So your angiogram revealed an injury to the brachial artery,

a pseudoaneurysm like, um, a balloon

pushing out from the vessel.

- What does that mean?

- Well, unfortunately, you'll need a surgical repair.

But it'll remove the risk of rupture

while preserving healthy blood flow to your arm.

- Now, Maria, there are non-surgical

options like stenting.

It's less invasive.

- Let Dr. Handsome finish.

- Uh, my opinion, surgery would offer

the best long-term results.

I know it seems like a lot, but it's standard procedure.

And if we did the repair today, we can send you home tomorrow.

- And you will do the surgery?

- I would.

- If that's what you think is best, andiamo.

- Okay. I'll make the call.

[knock at door] - You have a visitor.

- [laughs] There's my boy.

- Sit.

- Hi.

Ooh. [laughs]

[Edison fussing]

Shh, shh, shh.

[Edison crying] Oh, no, Eddie, it's okay.

It's okay. Come on. Don't cry.

It's okay.

Hmm. [sniffs]

Please, Eddie, please.

[Edison crying]

[exhales] Okay.

You see what I mean about this cry?

It's like a--it's like a drill in my head.

Okay.

Stop, baby.

Stop, baby. Please, stop.

[crying] Quiet, please.

- Penelope, take a deep breath. You got this.

You got this. You got this.

- I'm sorry. Can you please take him out?

I can't stand it. - I've got it. I've got it.

Shh, shh.

- [panting]

- It's okay. It's okay.

- [grunts]

- Penelope?

- What's happening? - Penelope? Penelope?

- What's happening to me? - Okay.

- Ah, help me. - Okay, all right.

Look at me. Look at me.

- We got you. - Look at me.

Look at me. Look at me.

Okay, can you smile?

Try to smile.

Okay.

Trigger the stroke alert!

Little help in here!

[alarm blaring]

- [groans]

- We got you. We got you. We got you.

.

- What the--hey, where's Maria?

- They just took her to pre-op.

- Look, I've been thinking about it.

We should hold off on surgery.

I want to pitch her the stent one more time.

- Come on, Will.

We both know that's not a long-term solution.

- No, but given her age and her livelihood,

we shouldn't be so eager to flay her arm,

risk nerve injury, put her through extensive rehab.

No, no. Her hands are her life.

We cannot take that from her.

- All the more reason to stick with a vascular repair.

Deal with the pseudoaneurysm with a stitch

and keep her off anti-platelets.

And besides, she's already consented.

- [scoffs] That's because she saw you on TV.

She's starstruck being treated by the hotshot doctor

from the news.

- [scoffs]

[tense music]

* *

Hey, you called me, remember?

- You don't think all that influenced her decision?

- I don't know, but maybe your connection with the patient

is influencing yours.

Hey, Will?

I'm gonna take good care of her, okay?

- Thank you.

- You got it.

* *

- Hey, Dr. Asher?

I think something might be wrong?

- Okay.

Hey, Caitlin.

Are you in pain?

- Uh, it's-- it's not super bad,

but, yeah, it hurts.

- Yeah, heart rate's in the low hundreds.

- All right, I want to do a quick ultrasound.

Do you mind? - Mm-hmm.

Can you lift up, please? - Sure.

- Here we go. It's gonna be a little cold.

- Mm-hmm. - All right.

There we go.

Okay, Caitlin, your fallopian tube is ruptured,

and there's blood in your belly.

- Oh, my God. Is she gonna be okay?

- Yes, but we need to operate now.

And I need to open your abdomen.

- No, no, you said that you could do it the other way.

I can't be out of work.

- I understand, but we don't have fiber optic cables.

- But we do have a camera scope, so we're still able

to operate laparoscopically,

just in a different way,

if you're good with that?

- Um, yeah, okay.

Yes.

- Can you open the hybrid OR, please?

- What do you think you're doing?

You jump in like that without consulting me?

- I'm sorry, but we don't have time for niceties.

You said yourself it was emergent,

and this way, we don't have to open her up.

- Oh, so now it's we? This is my patient.

- This is her wish.

Your way, she'd be in for a lot more pain

and a much longer recovery.

Come on, you'll see.

We'll make a good team.

Come on.

- Okay.

Clamps are off.

Check the flow.

[machinery beeping]

Triphasic flow is good.

Nice work.

- You almost finished in there?

- Yeah. Just about to close.

- Good, because the lieutenant governor

is here with cholecystitis, and she's requested

you perform the surgery.

- Big time.

- Oh, hush.

Okay, give me 30 minutes. I'll be right there.

- Come on. It's the lieutenant governor.

Dr. Tanaka-Reed can close.

- You good? - Yes, sir. I got it.

- Minimum two layers plus skin, all right?

- Mm-hmm.

- All right, I'll be right there.

- Penelope's MRI and CT are clean.

- Thank goodness, that wasn't a stroke.

- Yeah. No tumors, either.

Taken all together, her symptoms add up

to one thing. - Bell's palsy.

- Tinnitus. Of course.

Edison's cries must have been excruciating.

- Yeah, it's why she's having such a hard time

when Eddie was acting up.

- And it's no wonder she was at the end of her rope.

On top of everything, she was in pain

and told it was completely normal.

How'd her OB miss this when she complained about her symptoms?

- Well, unfortunately, many women

are failed by postpartum care.

And in American medicine, the mother is the wrapper;

the baby, the candy.

- At least this case has a happy ending.

We can treat Penelope's symptoms

and reunite her with her baby.

- You know, I'd say this is an important first step

in her mental recovery, but I don't know.

We're not out of the woods yet.

- Samir's labs are in.

No signs of autoimmune disease or cancer.

Small victories.

- But severe osteopenia?

He has the bones of a man twice his age.

None of this makes any sense.

- [groaning]

[tense music]

* *

What happened?

- I--I don't know.

Oh.

Where'd that laceration come from?

- Micro stitch? - Uh, no.

Grab me a heat cautery and lidocaine 1%.

- You got it. - Uh, it's okay.

Just slow breaths, okay?

In through your nose. [inhales]

Out through your mouth. - [exhales]

- Yes. Good job. Good job.

So what, did you cut yourself?

- No.

- Any injuries that you forgot to tell me about?

- No, no, nothing. What is happening to me?

- I don't know yet, but we're gonna figure this out, okay?

Just, um--just focus on me.

* *

- Maggie, what does this look like to you?

- An appendectomy scar.

- Yeah.

We're gonna figure this out.

[machinery beeping]

- A bulge on the left fallopian.

- Let me see?

That's the ectopic pregnancy. - Yeah, that was clear to me.

- Okay, so grasp the fallopian tubes.

Put them on tension,

and then take your needlepoint cautery.

- Thank you. Will you help me, please?

[groans]

- You all right?

- I'm fine.

- Okay.

Now, make a longitudinal incision over the bulge.

- [groans]

- What?

- Step in.

- Step in?

What--what are you talking about?

You're the only person here who knows how

to perform surgery this way.

- Well, you're about to learn it now.

- If you knew you were in pain,

you never should have started this.

- I'm just respecting your patient's needs.

Now, stop it. Come on now. Just take it. Go.

[sighs]

* *

.

[machinery beeping]

- It's not gonna magically appear on the monitor.

All right, just put your eye back on the scope.

Come on.

[tense music]

[sighs]

This would go faster if I could just open.

- You can do this, all right?

Use your assistant, me. I will guide you.

I will help you.

* *

Come on.

- I can't get the angle.

- All right, so come in through the other side.

Just tell me where the tube needs to be,

and I will hold it. - Okay, hold this.

- I got it.

- I'm going after the tube.

Give me the ligature.

* *

- All right. Got it? There you go.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

* *

Got it.

- All right. Wrap this up.

- How's Samir?

- His wound looks good, but he's understandably eager

to find out why his scar opened up.

- I have a hunch, but I feel crazy even saying it.

I want to run one more test.

- Okay.

- So fortunately, with time and steroids,

your Bell's palsy should fully resolve.

- But what about my terrible thoughts?

- Well, you know, there's actually a name for those?

They're called intrusive thoughts.

They're involuntary, violent, often self-destructive.

You ever been standing, say,

on a balcony, on a tall building,

and you look over the edge, and you go, oh,

what would happen if I jumped off?

I mean, you don't do it, but it's,

uh--it's disturbing, right?

- I have friends with kids, and none of them

ever mentioned having a thought like I did.

- Well, I mean, it's not exactly

the easiest thing to bring up.

And it's a problem because that means that people

just don't talk about it.

- Don't you understand that a good mother,

regardless of Bell's palsy or anything,

would never think of harming her own baby?

- No, y--you sought help.

There's proof you're a good mom.

- No!

God, you have to understand.

I could see myself throwing him.

This wasn't some fleeting, vague idea.

I actually thought about him hitting the wall.

It felt so horrifically real.

This is not gonna be my last stressful week,

so I can never trust myself with him.

- Look, we get it, okay? We do.

We understand, and we're gonna keep on working on this.

As a matter of fact, Dr. Choi and I

are just gonna step outside for a second, all right?

- Hey, we'll be right back.

[suspenseful music]

[sighs] I get it.

She's scared.

But separating her from her baby?

They should be together. - Oh, I completely agree.

I mean, look, we can try and normalize her fears

until we're blue in the face,

but I think she needs to hear about it

from a different kind of expert.

- There aren't many reasons a surgical scar can reopen,

especially an older one like an appendectomy.

So on a hunch, I ran one more blood test.

- So have you figured out what's happening to me?

- Hypovitaminosis C.

- Better known as scurvy.

- You've got to be joking.

Like old timey, sailor scurvy? People still get that?

- It's rare, but you mentioned having a limited diet.

Peanut butter, protein bars, coffee--

they all lack vitamin C.

And without that, your body can't maintain

the collagen, the connective tissue,

it needs in order to function.

- Which would explain your low bone density

and your petechiae.

- But this is all treatable, right?

I mean, what, eat a couple slices of oranges,

and I'll be fine? - Pretty much.

We're gonna set you up on an infusion.

And then after that, we'll get you on an oral,

high-dose multivitamin.

- You should start feeling better in about 48 hours.

- [sighs]

You know, I have been in some hairy situations in my career,

but this scared the crap out of me.

And you were so calm.

- Like I said, got to help the helpers.

[gentle music]

- Dr. Taylor?

Could I trouble you for another moment?

- Yeah, sure.

- I'll get the pharmacy to start

working on your infusion.

- Lieutenant governor did great.

- Oh. - Surgery went perfectly.

- Fantastic. - Yeah.

- I'll let her chief of staff know

he can release the statement. - Okay.

- Hey, nice having Gaffney and you name-dropped

by the people in Springfield. [phone buzzes]

- Oh, well, that's cool.

- Hmm.

- Uh, excuse me.

- Yeah.

[tense music]

[machinery beeping]

- Where you been? - What happened?

- Arm's cold and dusky. - Doppler.

- No blood flow below the repair.

- Must have thrombosed.

- How? - This soon after surgery?

It's got to be a technical error.

- No way the repair went down.

It was in good shape when you scrubbed out.

- You left the OR before the surgery was finished?

- No. Repair was complete.

- Clearly, it wasn't.

You should have been there.

She should have been your priority.

- We got to get her back into the OR.

Kai, let's go. Come on.

- Excuse me.

- Let's go.

Easy, easy!

.

- Penelope?

May I come in?

- How's Edison? Is he okay?

- Oh, he's wonderful, has the nurses

all wrapped around his little fingers.

[chuckles]

I could bring him in, if you'd like.

You're worried about your thoughts.

- How could I not be?

No one seems to understand how real it felt.

- May I?

[laughs]

Oh, look at that.

He's so cute.

And he's perfect.

You know that, right?

- Do you have kids?

- I do.

Two boys and a girl, all grown.

Tara was about Edison's age.

She had the worst colic--

I mean, screaming for hours.

Sleeping longer than an hour felt like a vacation.

One morning about 3:00 a.m., I had been pacing the hallway,

trying to soothe her.

My baby was suffering, and I couldn't fix it.

And I was bone tired.

I felt alone.

I felt like I was the only person awake in the world.

And I just

was desperate for quiet.

And out of nowhere,

I had this thought to just toss her out

of the second-floor window.

[pensive music]

It really frightened me,

and I questioned whether I could be a good parent.

And when I finally worked up the courage

to mention it to a friend

who I thought was like super mother...

- Mm.

- I was stunned when she told me she had had

similar thoughts with her babies.

And when I went to see the pediatrician,

he reassured me that it was normal.

- All anyone ever talks about

is the joy and the love and the happiness, and...

I felt all that too.

- But listen, have you ever really listened

to the lyrics of a lullaby?

Singing about dropping cradles from treetops

and feeding crying babies to crabs and monsters?

[both laugh]

But it's proof that parenthood throughout time

and the world over is hard.

And it is also true

that it takes a village to raise a child.

And there are mother groups

that have great resources for making friends,

finding support, asking questions.

I can connect you with one, if you'd like.

- I'd love that.

- And here.

You listen to me, Penelope.

You did not have an easy start...

But I have no concerns about you.

You hear me?

Edison is a lucky, lucky boy.

- Thanks.

- Uh-huh.

Maybe you'd like to see him after all?

- Yes, please. [sobs]

- Okay.

Bring him in.

- [laughs]

[Edison cooing]

Hi, sweet boy.

Oh.

- [whispering] Thank you.

- Hi. Mama is here.

[sniffs] Mama's here.

[sentimental music]

* *

- It was something we call a vasospasm,

random constriction of the blood vessel,

totally unrelated to the surgery.

That said, your repair was in good shape.

- This old bird still got her wing.

- She sure does.

But, uh, maybe just take it easy on the pasta roller

while you heal up, okay?

- We need to get your picture on our famosi wall.

- Getting to eat your pasta's reward enough.

- Ah, Guglielmo.

Thank you for getting Dr. Handsome to help me.

You bring him with you,

I'll make you two squid ink pasta.

- Wow.

She swore she'd only ever make that for the Pope.

- Oh.

- Grazie.

Grazie mille.

- You got it.

- I'm gonna let you get some rest.

- Okay.

[sighs]

- Thanks.

- Hey, Will, look, about the surgery, I, uh--

- It wasn't your fault. I was out of line.

- No, you had a point.

I got wrapped up in all the attention.

- Okay, that's true.

You're a good surgeon, Crockett.

Just not sure you deserve her squid ink pasta.

- Touché.

- So while the bleeding necessitated our removal

of your fallopian tube, this will not prevent you

from becoming pregnant again and carrying

a healthy baby to term.

- Thank you, Dr. Asher.

- Thank you both.

Hannah and Dean-- good baby names.

We'll have to remember that.

- Actually, I never liked Dean.

I think you can do better.

- Oh, yeah? [chuckles]

- Okay, we'll get you a diet ordered,

and if you do okay, we'll send you home tonight.

- Thank you. - Sure.

Hey, I wanted to say thank you.

I'm relieved we could respect Caitlin's wishes,

and I'm lucky I had your help.

- Well, you did good for a mere mortal.

- [laughs] Hey, Dean?

- Yeah?

- In the OR, you were in pain.

- Oh, please.

It's a--it's a--

it's a hard angle to hold

when your ribs are still healing.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- Don't kid a kidder.

Look, you don't want my help, that's fine,

but you have to let somebody check you out.

[pensive music]

- Hey, I'm fine, Dr. Asher.

Yeah.

- Okay. - All right.

[groans]

* *

- What's this?

- Recommended travel vaccinations.

I thought you could give me a hand scheduling them.

- I didn't know you were going on vacation.

- Samir offered me a spot on his team.

He thought I'd be a great fit.

- In the Philippines?

- I said yes.

- Wait, wait. You can't just up and leave.

What about your residency?

- I'll talk to my program director and Ms. Goodwin.

I'll defer finishing for now, but they'll understand.

- But I don't.

Where's this coming from?

- From me, Maggie.

Listen, you--you were upset, and rightly so,

when I bought those drugs off the street.

But what I didn't say to you earlier that

I should have is that I was--

I was actually inspired.

I mean, despite the risk, I helped my patient.

I was resourceful. I mean, I was a good doctor.

That's the kind of person that I want to be.

- And you can't be that person here?

- Maybe.

But I know that this opportunity will allow me

to be the kind of doctor that I want to be,

doing the work that I love.

I--this is my calling.

- Why don't you just take some time and think about it?

- I don't want to. - But--

- I just want to close my eyes and take the leap.

Okay.

* *

[dramatic music]

* *

[wolf howling]