Original subtitles

Colleagues date all the time.

It's not a big deal.

Yeah, but it is to me.

There's no rush.

It's fun sneaking around.

I didn't know you were a Chicago boy.

Born and raised.

Just been away a lot of years.

Must be nice, being home.

[dramatic music]

Public shaming is a way to get companies' attention

and move them to act.

It's not our lane.

We don't get involved with insurance.

I'm not sure that's the kind of impact

I'm trying to make.

Whoa, heads up, coming through!

Good job, Haley, you're doing great.

[Haley screaming in pain] You're doing great, Haley!

Baby one is almost out!

Get ready to give me everything you can,

and push as hard as you can, okay?

- What do you need from me? - Twins, four weeks early.

Neo's on their way down, but I need eyes on baby number two.

- Got it. - Okay, ready?

Here it comes. Give me one big push.

There you go! There you go! - [screaming]

Almost out! He's out!

[baby crying] - A quick breather.

Baby two is head down on its way,

baby three right behind it.

- Baby three? - Baby three?

No, no, no, no, twins. Not triplets.

One down, definitely two to go.

Haley, when was your last ultrasound?

Uh, I had one my first trimester,

another in my second,

and I was on my way to see my doctor next week.

Well, you would have gotten a big surprise.

Triplets? Twins. Two cribs, two car seats.

I have seven brothers and sisters.

Trust me, the more the merrier. - [laughs nervously]

Okay, you ready for round two?

- Come on, baby. - Yeah.

Okay, deep inhale.

Exhale!

Push!

- Coming through. - Whoops. Sheesh.

Home sweet home, huh?

There he is.

Welcome back, Dean. We missed you.

Yeah.

I appreciate the low-key welcome.

I was a little worried people would

make a big deal about it.

What, like with a...

"congrats on the new kidney" banner?

[chuckles] No.

We just delivered surprise triplets.

Kind of stole your thunder.

- My lucky day. - [chuckles]

So look, the whole kidney thing, dialysis,

and the house calls and the Sean stuff.

You were a saint,

even when I tried my hardest to push you away, so thanks.

Wow, look at you, practicing gratitude.

- Something wrong with that? - No, I like it.

It's just not normally your style.

Oh, really?

Mm-hmm.

That guy's scoping you out at six o'clock.

Wyatt from pharma.

Talked a few times. Seems like a nice guy.

Those weren't his babies you delivered, were they?

- [chuckling] Hey. - Hey.

There he is. Welcome back, Dean.

What do we got, LJ?

High-speed motor vehicle crash.

Car hit some black ice, skidded off the road.

Victim's Mark May, GCS 8, and hypotensive.

Gave him a unit of whole blood on the flight.

Okay. Here we go.

Thanks, guys. We got it from here.

Got a rail coming down.

You want to hop on the chest? - Yeah, you got it.

Hello, hello.

BP 102/96.

Breath sounds bilaterally.

Crockett, it's almost showtime.

Got to make a decision. - Thought we made it.

You host, I handle the menu.

- Oh, Lord. - Pelvis feels loose.

- Ultrasound coming in. - Mm-hmm.

I'm thinking barbecue now.

[suspenseful music]

Fast looks good.

He's not bleeding into his belly.

He's bleeding from somewhere. BP just dropped 95/60.

Hang another unit of blood and trigger the MTP.

Jimmy, that's you.

Mike, let's get some X-rays.

Chest and pelvis, please. - Yep.

So, uh, 11th-hour menu change?

Seriously now? - It's the middle of winter.

T-bones and filets just sound better than catfish and cod.

Clear. [machine beeps]

Good.

Resetting for pelvis.

Clear.

Chest is good, but his pelvis is busted.

Open-book fracture, probably bleeding into it.

All right, let's put them in a binder

to close down the pelvis until I can get in there and pack it.

- That's still you, Jimmy. - Yep.

Nice and easy, guys. I got his head.

Log roll on my count. One, two, three.

Easy, easy, easy.

Maggie, what do you think? Surf or turf?

Uh-uh. Don't put me in the middle of this.

Easy on your end.

To me.

- I got his head. Go. - You got it.

- Got it. - Yep. Put him down.

I'll call the OR and let them know that you're coming.

Yep.

I'm telling you.

Barbecue's the way to go.

Okay, well, we'll figure it out later.

Dr. Archer, good morning.

I'm Zola Ahmad, your new senior resident.

I'm not stalking you.

I just wanted to introduce myself first thing.

Yeah?

You mean before I'm caught up

on your renegade antics of the last few weeks?

Yeah, kind of. Too late?

Yeah, too late, too late.

[sighs] Look, I may have crossed a few lines

and stepped on a few toes, but--

you know what? There is no but.

The renegade is out of my system.

I am no longer going to be a headache.

Well, you know what, Dr. Ahmad?

You caught me on a good day.

I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt.

Tabula rasa. Clean slate.

- Mm. - Don't dirty it up.

Look at this.

D-E-N-N-I-S. Dennis.

Okay, that's your name,

but I'm not sure where you're going with this.

I've been Denny's, Dentist, Ennis, everything but Dennis.

- Denny's? - Until today.

[laughs]

Maybe 'cause everyone now knows

I'm the big boss's boyfriend.

You're ridiculous.

Ah, what you meant to say is "charming."

- Mm. - Or was it "handsome"?

Go with me here.

[notification chimes] "Charmingly handsome."

I like that.

Sharon. What is it?

My grandson, Isaiah,

is being brought into the ED by ambulance.

[dramatic music]

[baby crying]

Lungs are clear.

BP's 110/76. Heart rate's 115.

That's--that's good, right? He's--he's breathing okay?

His heart's fine?

Bert, let's step to the hallway.

Give the doctor some space to work.

- It happened so fast. - Yes, yes.

Well, we're gonna straighten it all out.

Bert, what happened? [baby crying]

I fell on Isaiah.

♪

[EKG beeping steadily]

He fell asleep.

Does that mean he's okay,

or did he just cry himself into exhaustion?

Shh. I don't know, honey.

Let's wait and see what the tests say.

Dr. Ripley has ordered a skeleton survey

to check for fractures

and a rapid MRI in case of a head injury.

[apprehensive music]

And Dad just fell on him?

They were playing.

Your father's legs got tangled up.

He couldn't really explain the details.

How is he? Dad?

Dr. Ripley is examining him now.

Hey.

Yeah.

It's okay. It's okay, baby.

Mama's here.

It's okay.

[whispering] This is the bravest face I've got.

[breath catches]

♪

Yeah, I saw you checking me out just now.

Earlier this morning too.

Hmm. Yeah, I think that was you checking me out.

Huh.

Not the first time, I might add.

I guess we should get dinner tonight then.

Right? Settle the whole who's-been-checking-out-who

once and for all?

Hmm?

Yeah, that sounds fun.

I'll, um, give you my number.

Until later then.

Mm-hmm.

What was all that?

Wyatt just asked me out.

Wow, face-to-face.

That's confident. Boyfriend material.

Mm.

- Or boy toy. - Easy.

Let's not get carried away.

I don't know.

There's research that shows your brain knows

the kind of relationship it wants

as soon as you meet someone.

So what do we think of the new resident?

- Who? Zola? - Yeah.

I like her. She's fun.

You're not a fan?

Cautious optimism, emphasis on cautious.

Mm. Shocker.

You didn't warm up to me for a few months,

but look at us now.

Bosom buddies. - What's good, guys?

- Hey. - Sean.

I thought you weren't supposed to be at the valet stand

until next week.

Well, that was the plan until this morning.

I came in to turn in my uniform.

What happened?

I got a new gig.

Recovery coach at a rehab center.

- Oh. - Wow.

Way to go. Proud of you, son.

- Congratulations. - Thanks. Thanks, Dad.

It's been a long road,

but it's all beginning to fall into place.

All right, well, I'm gonna go give notice.

[soft music]

- How about that? - [sighs]

No evidence he hit his head or lost consciousness,

but his left knee is swollen and loose.

X-ray's negative. It's not a fracture.

- A ligament injury? - That's my guess.

Ordered an MRI, techs will be by in a bit to take him.

All right. Thank you, Dr. Ripley.

Of course.

[apprehensive music]

How's Isaiah?

Well, he's getting X-rays and a rapid MRI.

Tara's with him.

The doctor said two-year-olds fall all the time,

that they're built for bumps and bruises.

But I fell on him, Sharon. It's not the same thing.

It was an accident, Bert.

Doesn't change where we are right now.

Any vomiting, Floyd? Diarrhea?

No, but I'm bloated morning, noon, and night.

Nauseous most of the time too.

- Appetite? - Zero.

I know it don't look like it,

but this spare tire's lost a lot of tread.

[chuckling]

How would you describe this pain in your abdomen?

Dull, sharp?

Um, mushy?

Is that a thing?

In here, we call it "diffuse tenderness,"

but I like your way much better.

So this mush, when did it start?

Uh, best recollection, two, three weeks ago.

It was after visiting Memphis

but before rolling into St. Louis.

Oh, you're on the road. Where are you headed?

Eh, don't know. I'm wandering.

[both chuckle]

Uh, I lost my job a few months ago,

and I'm just using my severance to zigzag the US of A.

Where'd you get this scar, Floyd?

Prior surgery? - A week after I was born.

It's been so long, I can barely remember what it's called.

A misrotation?

Malrotation.

Bingo, that's it.

Yeah, came out my mama with my insides all over the place.

Doctors had to put it back in the right spot.

You think that's why my gut's a mess now?

I don't think so,

but I also don't have any theories,

so I wanna run some tests and go from there.

CBC, CMP, LFTs, and a KUB.

Yes, Doctor.

Uh, that's a lot of initials.

And hospitals like to charge by the letter.

Well, we'll get an estimate on the cost

and see how much your insurance will approve.

I'm already in my pocket just visiting the ED.

If insurance ain't gonna pony up

for the rest of the tab,

I'm just gonna have to keep grinning and bearing it.

Well, you came here for help, Floyd.

That's what you're gonna get.

Thank you, Doctor.

Dr. Archer, incoming, going to treatment six.

Jordan Moore III, 32,

got lightheaded and fell down a flight of stairs at his office.

Initial GCS 13, now 15.

Witness said he was out about 30 seconds.

Been lethargic since we got here.

All right. On my count. Ready?

And one, two, three.

All right, got him.

- Take it easy with this guy. - All right, Jordan.

I'm Dr. Archer. This is Nurse Doris.

Do you know where you are?

[softly] Oh, man, I'm going.

All right. I'll take that as a no.

[tense music]

All right.

Lungs are clear.

Okay, Jordan, you are in the ED, Chicago Med.

You fell down some stairs, buddy.

My dad. My dad.

We'll call him, hon.

Okay, belly's good. Let's take a look at that arm.

Mm-hmm.

Jordan, I'm gonna open your shirt, okay?

Well, damn.

Anterior dislocation of the left shoulder,

CBC, CMP, cardiac labs.

Mike, give me the iPad.

Give me a 12-lead EKG and a panscan.

All right, Jordan, we are gonna start doing some--

What's happening to me now?

Please help. I don't wanna die.

All right, all right, all right.

♪

Dr. Ahmad.

Floyd's HMO isn't gonna cover

the labs that you ordered, so he's passing on the tests.

[scoffs] I expected as much.

I've never been pleasantly surprised

by an insurance company.

Me neither, which is why I reached out

to his primary care physician to get him seen there.

Oh, good call. His HMO should cover that 100%.

Yeah, but unfortunately, his PCP's in Kentucky,

and their next available isn't until the first of the month.

Insurance companies--the only thing that they're good at

is getting in the way. - Amen.

But we have to work with them.

Do we, though?

Three weekends now, I've traded drunk underage college kids

who have registered under fake IDs,

made-up names, made-up addresses.

Admin sends the bills. What happens?

It bounces back, and the hospital eats the cost.

Exactly.

So what if we register Floyd under self-pay

with a different name and a different--

no. - No.

- We can't do that. - Uh-uh.

- What am I saying? - It's fraud.

It's called fraud.

I know. Yeah, I know.

Can you just forget I said that?

Mm-hmm. Sure.

It just sucks that all we can do for Floyd

is make him an appointment with his PCP.

All right. I'll sign off on his discharge.

Hold on. Let me think on it for a bit.

Maybe there's something more that we can do

that won't cost Floyd a small fortune.

Yeah, sure.

[soft dramatic music]

Jordan.

I'm Dr. Archer.

Yeah, I, um--

I remember.

Well, vaguely.

Thanks for bringing me back.

I thought that was the big one.

No, no, no. Your heart's fine.

Your cardiac tests were normal.

Your troponins were a bit elevated,

so your heart was under some stress,

but nowhere near the level of a heart attack.

Yeah. Yeah, this time.

Next time, though.

Men in my family just drop dead out of the blue.

Both my father and his father

died of heart attacks when they were the same age I am now.

No warning at all. - Well, I'm sorry to hear that.

I certainly can understand your concern.

But I assure you, it was no heart attack.

Then why'd I collapse?

It's most likely from

a transient abnormal heart rhythm.

It's not uncommon.

They're often harmless. They're blips.

No.

This wasn't a blip.

I know what I felt.

It's the family curse, and now it's my turn.

Damn it.

[EKG beeping] I eat right. I don't smoke.

I don't drink. I exercise like a maniac!

[EKG beeping quicker] I see a GP, a cardiologist!

I am on top of my health, and yet here I am!

Okay, okay, okay. Breathe.

Breathe, Jordan. Come on, breathe.

[breathing heavily]

Hearts don't just skip a beat at random in my family.

All right? They give out.

Well, on occasion, and I'm not saying this is you,

but sometimes transient abnormal rhythms

are caused by cardiac miswiring.

Yeah, so I can repeat the EKG and get an echo,

and we can go from there.

I'll try anything.

I just want answers.

I'm terrified.

All right. All right.

[soft suspenseful music]

♪

- Hey, Marcel. - Hey.

Hey, I'll see you guys tomorrow.

How'd surgery go for our MVC?

Smooth sailing.

Packed his pelvis, got the bleeding under control,

embolized in angio.

Ortho has to go back in to reduce and fixate

the pelvis, but a couple of months, some rehab,

he'll be good to go.

Oh, that's great.

And knowing that he's on the mend means we can settle up.

Barbecue versus Cajun fish fry.

- Cajun fish feast. - [chuckles]

I'm not an amateur.

And I'm not just a helicopter pilot.

Grill master extraordinaire. - If you do say so yourself.

- So we dug in here? - Yep. How you wanna handle it?

Best of three? - Uh, no.

No, one and done. - Let's go.

Rock paper, scissors, shoot.

[groans softly] And barbecue it is.

Lucky break.

Oh, please, dude, I'm a surgeon too.

I know the first instinct is to throw scissors.

Oh, hey, Maggie, you got a sec?

Only if you walk with me.

Look, I just received

my general surgery credentials here at Med.

Mm-hmm.

Also applied for my trauma surgery fellowship in July.

- Nice. Good luck. - Thanks.

You know, in the meantime,

I'll be around the ED more often,

so if I can ever help out, hit me up.

Will do. Are you flying anywhere today?

No, shift just ended.

Treatment 7. Scrubs are in the locker room.

Welcome to the team, Dr. Johnson.

Okay, no problem.

And that's scheduled for tomorrow.

Ah, great. Caught you.

All of Isaiah's tests were negative.

No fractures, no head injury.

Then he's not hurt?

- He's fine. - Oh, thank goodness.

[laughs]

[soft music]

Whew. [chuckles]

[sighs]

Excuse me, Ms. Goodwin.

Dr. Washington. Thank you.

♪

So, ladies, Wyatt just texted me.

- Oh, no. - Mm-mm.

Uh, that's, uh--

yeah, that's his-- - Oh!

- Penis? - Yeah.

Yeah, no, I was expecting "Made reservations for 7:00."

Instead, bam, full frontal.

Mm-mm.

- Your first D-pic? - Uh, yeah.

- [chuckles] - Yeah.

Why, you've gotten one before?

- One? I'm to at least five. - Oh, I've got--

What? Okay.

Well, then, so, what was he thinking?

He sends this to me and I'll just start swooning?

I think some men are still cavemen.

Is that portrait mode?

Hmm.

[soft suspenseful music]

Ooh. You see that?

Underneath the shaft, next to the frenulum?

Some kind of lesion?

Syphilis?

It's hard to tell. It could be.

Disease is on the rise because of penicillin shortages.

- [groans] - Flashing his junk like that?

Gotta assume that he's sexually active.

Means he could be spreading it.

Oh, he's gotta get checked out.

Yeah.

That means that I actually have to respond to this

and get him to take it seriously.

What--what do I type?

Just keep it clinical.

I don't know.

I think you have to speak his language,

make sure that he really gets the message.

May I? - Mm, yeah.

Unfortunately, I'm fluent in alpha male.

♪

"Nice pic."

[laughs]

"Meet me in the ED. I want--"

"I want to see that thing in person."

Oh. Good luck with that.

[sputters]

Hi. Dropping off from Odyssey Labs.

Odyssey?

You sure you're in the right place?

Doris, I got it. Thank you very much.

Are you looking for me, Maggie Lockwood?

Yes.

- Where do I sign? - Right here.

Thank you.

Now, please get out of here quickly.

Floyd's now got a low-grade fever.

Says that his bloating and nausea has gotten worse,

and there are no tests this hospital can run

anywhere near his price range.

That's okay.

I took care of his blood work.

Lab results? How did you get these?

I outsourced Floyd's tests

to the lab contracted to his insurance company.

Everything's covered by his HMO and nothing out of pocket,

leaving Med out of the loop.

Shady!

But no fraud or lying.

So?

His EOS is a little high.

That's it? Elevated EOS? That could be from anything.

Simple allergy all the way to cancer.

And the only way to narrow it down is more tests.

A CT to start.

We're right back where we started.

♪

I just--I can't let him just walk out of here.

I need to make this right somehow.

Yeah.

[machines beeping rapidly] - [groaning] You see something?

Oh, it's bad, isn't it? - No.

Try and keep still, Jordan.

[groaning] Oh, God!

[machine beeping rapidly] Oh, this is it.

Oh, this is it.

My chest is getting tight. - All right, come on, Jordan.

Just deep breaths. Deep breaths, come on.

I can't breathe!

Two of Versed.

All right, we're gonna give you something to calm you down.

In the meantime, I want you to breathe with me, Jordan, okay?

Four seconds in, come on.

- [inhales raggedly] - Okay, four seconds out.

[exhaling]

[alarm beeping] - Jordan? Ah, he's coding.

Damn it, no pulse. - Need a hand?

All right, yeah. Bag him, okay?

Crash cart! Yeah, yeah, a V-fib.

Start compressions.

All right, charge to 200.

[tense music]

All right, clear.

Still no pulse.

All right, again. 200. Milligram of epi.

Clear.

No.

All right, again. 200. Milligram of epi.

Clear.

Pulse is back. ROSC.

All right, let's replay.

♪

Ultrasound's a little fuzzy.

He was clearly moving around a lot.

But overall, heart looks good.

Yeah, wall motion is normal.

Then why the arrest?

[sighs] I'm wondering that myself.

He still tachycardic?

Yeah, heart rate's in the 130s.

Given it just hit 190, I'll take it.

Hey, I was thinking, uh,

your patient going from panic attack to full arrest

in the blink of an eye could mean

there's a heart signaling or conduction issue.

Yeah, those are at the top of my list.

I'll run some more tests.

Uh, appreciate the help.

Yeah.

Dr. Archer?

CT's waiting for you on line three.

Got Floyd's CT.

[softly] Wait, how?

Tech ran it off book. We cut a deal.

What kind of a deal?

The kind that gets things done without red tape.

No fraud, no lying, promise.

Come on, fire it up.

Calcification and inflammation on the abdominal wall.

Seriously, nothing else?

A normal scan is a good thing.

Yeah, of course.

But just doesn't explain any of his symptoms is all.

We've been sneaking around all day,

and we haven't gotten anywhere.

Well--

All right, uh, I just got a call from radiology.

Seems a CT tech

didn't close down his window when his shift ended,

and he left up images of a patient

who's not listed on the log.

You can't go to CT without bloodwork first,

and yet, not one test run through our lab--

Well, actually, that was me.

Oh, that's wonderful. So what she has is catching?

Dr. Archer, I can explain.

My patient, Floyd, he's got a really crappy HMO.

His preventative care was literally preventing his care.

I've seen that movie before. It doesn't have a happy ending.

Yeah, well, at this rate, neither does your career.

You've already flamed out of two hospitals,

and you're doing your best to flame out of a third.

I hear you. I overstepped.

Okay, and we get it.

We won't dig the hole any deeper, okay?

[soft tense music]

- Archer. - [sighs]

What was that about? Uh...

it was about Dr. Ahmad trying

to make a good first impression.

You know, I missed everything about this place

during my recovery except idiot residents.

And there he goes.

Goodbye, Dr. Gratitude.

All right, can we get somebody

to take this thing down, please?

I know you're still feeling crummy, Floyd.

But all your test results were negative,

so it makes me think you're just fighting a bug

you picked up on the road.

Gonna just let it run its course then.

I wish I could have been more help.

Oh, you tried.

Confirmation with your primary care physician.

What's another three weeks, right?

[chuckles] Thanks, Doctor.

Dr. Archer looking for me?

[chuckles] No.

I think he's going out of his way

to avoid both of us for now.

[chuckles]

Sorry about today.

I shouldn't have led off by using an outside lab

for Floyd's bloodwork.

I set a bad precedent.

It was inspiring, but I made my own choices.

[notepad tapping]

Mind If I pry?

Oh, you're wondering why, aren't you?

I'm actually wondering who.

From the start,

you were willing to commit insurance fraud for Floyd.

A leap like that makes me think

treating him was really about someone else.

Shirleen Watkins.

Hmm. Is she a relative?

Not blood, but definitely family.

I was a surprise baby.

The next closest sibling to me was nine years older.

I was in grade school. They were adults.

My parents were great, but they were just old.

You know, almost 60 and working full-time.

I was alone a lot.

Shirleen was our neighbor. She was 24, super cool.

[soft dramatic music]

But my junior year of high school,

she came down with something. - Mm.

We thought it was just a cold.

I was already interested in medicine,

so I told her to see a doctor.

She had just started a new job.

Insurance hadn't kicked in, so she put it off.

By the time her insurance was active,

the runaround was so ridiculous.

Weeks were wasted before

she was able to make an appointment,

and by then, it was too late. - What was it?

Lung cancer.

Oh.

She died six weeks later.

If not for the insurance BS,

then maybe she'd still be around.

I'm sorry, Zola.

I was 16.

It still burns.

[somber music]

♪

[baby whimpering] - Oh, careful.

We don't want anybody else to get any more X-rays today.

Oh, but the tickle monster has been unleashed,

and he loves little boys named Michael!

That's Isaiah, Dad.

Knock, knock. Hope I'm not interrupting.

Hey, Isaiah. How you doing, buddy?

[chuckles]

Uh, so Bert, your MRI shows a tear in your ACL.

We got two options for you-- rest and rehab,

or surgery to reconstruct it.

But you can't do that until the swelling goes down,

so you don't have a decision to make now.

Okay. Thanks, Doc.

Meantime, ortho will be down in a few

to fit you with a knee immobilizer,

just to give you some added stability.

Immobilizer? Is it big?

I need to be able to drive. - [stammers]

It's bulky, but it's your left leg, Bert.

You use your right with the pedals.

You'll be able to drive.

Oh, yeah. My right leg. [chuckles]

[chuckling] Your father, without fail,

left is right, push is pull.

Thank goodness we have revolving doors.

Well, I got to imagine you had enough

of the ED for one day.

I'll get the discharge paperwork going.

Nice meeting you all.

See you later, buddy. [Bert chuckles]

- Thank you, Dr. Ripley. - Yeah.

Now, now, where were we?

Oh, yes, I remember, tickle monster!

[laughs]

Psst. [taps table]

Well, here I am.

All of me.

[whispers] This way.

Oh.

I can't believe it.

I get to play doctor with a real doctor.

Oh, not so fast.

The doctor will be with you in a moment.

What?

All right.

Hi.

I'm Dr. Ripley.

I hear you have a lesion on your penis.

[tense music]

Floyd!

[Floyd retching]

Here you go.

He went for deep dish pizza right after being discharged.

Shortly after, he started vomiting and couldn't stop.

Fever jumped to 102. Abdominal pains also got worse.

Oh, it hurts so bad right here,

and the pain started jumping up to my shoulder.

[groans] Don't press so hard!

Sorry, Floyd. I gotta get a good look.

His gallbladder is inflamed with pericystic fluid.

With the fever, it could be acute cholecystitis.

It needs to come out. - I'll call surgery. Brandon!

No. Page Crockett.

Likely have to be open because of his malrotation scarring

from when he was a baby. - All right.

You got it, Doctor.

- I can't afford an operation. - It's an emergency now, Floyd.

Everything's covered by your HMO.

So your father's gonna be out of commission

for a while with his knee.

I know some nurses who might want a part-time nanny.

Oh, that's okay.

I actually started putting feelers out last week.

Really?

I think that Isaiah is getting to be too much for Dad.

Last few weeks, he's been off.

He's forgetting things and misplacing stuff.

The last few weeks? Or forever?

I know he's quirky, but it's getting worse.

He keeps repeating himself too.

Tara, your father has always been a broken record.

I mean, how many times has he told the story

about meeting Michael Jordan in the DMV?

So you think it's just Dad being Dad?

If the shoe fits.

[pensive music]

You keep me in the loop with that knee, okay?

You got it.

♪

Love you.

Everything's fine.

Okay.

Is it syphilis?

No, actinic keratosis.

Oh, thank God.

Wait, is that still an STI?

No, it's a patch of rough scaly skin

caused by UV exposure.

Based on the pic you sent me,

pretty clear you like to bask in the sun.

Yeah, I guess I should have worn sunscreen.

Should have left it in your pants.

Well, then we wouldn't have

this great origin story about how we met.

For real, you think that...

we're gonna still date?

Yeah, it's a clean bill of health.

Something to celebrate.

Hard pass.

I can't speak for all women,

but for me, getting blasted with a closeup of your business

is a giant red flag.

- Oh. - Bye, Wyatt.

Prepare for takeoff.

Seeing big brother and going in!

[making blasting sounds] [kids giggling]

[imitating aircraft noises]

Difficulty in the air! Oh, no!

He's coming down for a crash landing!

[child laughing] [imitating aircraft noises]

So I didn't have a heart attack.

I went into cardiac arrest.

And they're different? - Yes.

So a heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked

and is starved of oxygen.

Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating.

Your arrest was caused by

a rare type of arrhythmia called CPVT,

catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.

Heart starts beating so fast, it essentially shorts out.

It's genetic.

- It's genetic? - Yeah.

So that means my father and grandfather had it too.

It's very likely.

It would have been easily missed in your grandfather.

That era was the dark ages for cardiac care.

So an autopsy, would have looked like a heart attack.

As far as your father is concerned,

your family history now established--

So the family curse is a strain of bad DNA

getting passed down?

Well, stress exacerbates the condition,

and there's no shortage of things to stress about

when you're in your 30s, right?

So it stands to reason that CPVT presented itself

to you, your father, and your grandfather

around the same age.

Is there a cure?

No, but it can be controlled

with beta blockers and an internal defibrillator.

[soft music]

How long have internal defibrillators been around?

Almost 45 years.

[chuckles]

So if the doctors would have figured this out,

my father could have had one.

And probably my grandfather.

Dr. Archer, if you hadn't cared enough to keep digging,

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been around much longer.

I'm very grateful.

♪

Should have been thinking gallbladder from the start,

especially when Floyd said that he dropped a bunch of weight.

There was no vomiting, pain was limited, no jaundice.

Plus, the CT didn't see any gallstones.

Hey, hindsight's 20/20.

We're getting Floyd fixed up. That's all that matters.

Well, if it's my last case at Med,

at least I'll be leaving on a high note.

Hey, Dean's no choirboy.

And he's definitely not a fan of bureaucracy.

He gets it.

So you think all's well that ends well?

I won't get fired?

Whatever happens, you're a good doctor.

Appreciate that.

Gallbladder coming out.

[EKG beeping steadily]

Lat.

[tense music]

Abdominal wall feels really inflamed.

Yeah, I saw that on CT, a lot of calcification.

No, I don't think that's the case.

Feels like something else.

Stomach is adhered to the abdominal wall.

Scissors?

Thank you.

♪

Ooh.

What are you seeing?

Not sure. Hemostat.

Ooh.

It looks like some kind of bristle.

Oh, my God, I think I know where that came from.

♪

Nice going, distracting that boy so he could get an IV.

The brother was a lot heavier than you thought, though, huh?

Like an anvil.

I might have to learn some magic tricks.

Easier on the upper body.

It's good thinking.

Check this out.

I have no clue what I'm looking at here, man.

Oh, well, that is a nylon bristle I just fished out

of the abdominal wall of Zola and Maggie's patient,

Floyd, just like the kind on barbecue brushes.

Oh, man, Floyd was in Memphis a few weeks ago.

Shortly thereafter is when his pain set in.

A lot of barbecue in that town. - Oh, yeah.

The bristle could have fallen from a brush,

ended up in the meat, and eroded through his stomach,

and migrated to his abdominal wall.

Sounds about right.

Magic bristle theory? Really?

Oh, it's not as farfetched as you would think.

Zola found a bunch of documented cases.

One patient even died.

They found a bristle during autopsy.

Okay. Guess we're hosting a fish fry.

- Feast, Johnson. - Feast.

- Feast. - When is the shindig?

Saturday.

What, are you coming?

I don't know. I was thinking about it.

[pensive music]

Okay.

What's up? Why wouldn't Maggie be there?

She's going through a divorce.

♪

I heard everything went well in the OR.

Your patient take a turn?

Nope.

Just hiding out, I guess.

Hmm.

The CT scan.

What'd you trade with the tech to get him to run it?

My Ventra card.

His commute's on me for a while.

ICU lounge, 20 minutes.

♪

I wish I could have seen Wyatt's face

when Mitch walked in. - Oh, this is fascinating.

I just clicked a link to an article

detailing how there's still Neanderthal DNA

floating around the population.

Variants are associated with a variety of traits:

neurological, immunological, and--get this--

dermatological, where they've been linked

to the development of sun-induced keratosis.

Shut up.

- [laughing] So Zola was right. - Oh, my God.

Some guys really are still cavemen.

That's hilarious.

And utterly depressing,

because now there's actual science

that states that dating is not for me.

Well, I bet the numbers are still on your side, though.

Yeah, Google estimates

40,000 single men in Chicago in your demographic.

So you've gotta click with at least one of them.

Mm?

Yeah.

Maybe.

♪

Get back to you.

- Hey. - Hey, nice surprise.

So how was your grandson and the ex-husband?

Oh, they're both fine. Catastrophe averted.

And I'm sorry about that deer-in-the-headlights stare

I gave you this afternoon.

It was just so much happening.

I didn't have the bandwidth for worlds colliding.

Of course not.

It wasn't the time or the place.

And I'm the one who should be apologizing.

Even though it's not a shortcut to anywhere,

I sometimes cut through the ED hoping to run into you.

And today, it was because I wanted to be supportive,

but I really didn't know how.

You see, it's that kind of honesty

that's gonna really make me fall for you.

I'm done for the day. You wanna grab dinner?

[sighs] Wish I could.

I still got a few things I gotta finish up with.

- Okay. - But we still on for Friday?

- Oh, I can't wait. - Aw.

- [chuckles] - Mwah.

[chuckles]

- See you. - All right.

[laughs]

Dr. Archer, I am so sorry--

I know, I know. Yes, you're sorry.

You're sorry.

All right, you got caught up in the moment.

It'll never happen again.

We're way past apologies, Dr. Ahmad.

[soft dramatic music]

♪

Primer for you for class.

- Class? - Mm-hmm.

Medical ethics course.

Eight hours every weekend for ten weeks.

I signed you up. You start Saturday.

If I were you, I'd take notes.

So I'm not fired?

Not today.

That's something to be grateful for.

♪

Ma!

Tara, what are you doing here?

Where is Isaiah? - Michael's watching him.

I need to show you something now.

I know you said everything's fine with Dad,

but I was looking through footage on the nanny cam

in Isaiah's room, and I saw this.

Take a look.

He goes to leave the room, but he opens the closet door.

And he's just standing there.

He doesn't know where he is.

[somber music]

♪

Something's wrong with Dad.

Damn.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

[wolf howls]