This episode picks up where season six left off. Peter Benton is with Carter and they are in Atlanta. They have arrived at a drug rehab for doctors. He will be there for 90 days. Peter is asked to leave because it is good for Carter to admit himself to the program. Carter is told that there will be group therapy right away. All the people have group therapy when a new patient arrives no matter what time it is. Carter is already having withdrawals from the drugs and is shaky and nauseous. 

The show Title comes up and when we come back from a commercial break it is present day at the ER. The custodial staff is on strike and the place is a mess. Mark and Elizabeth are coming back from a camping vacation. A group of new medical students have been waiting over an hour for someone to show them around. Priya Shailendra is one of the third year students. Dr. Colburn examines Jing-Mei and tells her that she is pregnant. She isn't ready to tell anyone yet. Carter is getting ready to leave rehab. He has grown a goatee. Peter and Elizabeth are meeting with Romano about Peter's application for Attending. He tells Romano that County is his choice for hospitals. Romano tells him that he will think about it. Elizabeth has poison ivy on her hands. We later see Mark scratching., he has seem to have caught it from Elizabeth. A football player is brought in after an injury at the homecoming game. Malucci shows the med students around, per Mark's request. Kerry asks Abby if she is sure she is suppose to be on her ER rotation this quarter because she never received any paper work on her. Kerry tells her that she will find out about it, that the office people may be slow processing it. Luka is taking care of an elderly woman that was dead when she arrived in the ER. He continues to work vigorously on her because her husband has brought her in too late and didn't call an ambulance. He finally calls time of death. He tells the man that his wife had died as the man brings in her medications ( a big bag full ). He told him that she had a massive heart attack. Mark tells the mom of the football player that his x-ray looks good and he should be okay. Priya takes her to see him. Benton is cleaning his patient's (Mr. Fletcher from Viable Options episode) foot as he is talking to Cleo. She tells him that she is concerned about the new group of med students because there isn't any black people in the bunch. Peter doesn't seem concerned though. The patient tells him that she sounds like she is his wife. Abby tells Luka that he did a good job with the elderly woman and her husband. Luka was wondering how long Abby has been married. Abby tells him that her divorce was final last month. The only good thing that she got out of the marriage was her last name. He asks her what her maiden name was and she tells him it was Wyczenski. Mark checks on Mike, the football player, and he tells him that his chest hurts and his belly does also. Mark thinks that it might be a broken rib. Another football player, from the other team, is brought in. He is the one that hurt Mike. His leg has been broken. Carter is on the airplane on his way back to Chicago. The passenger next to him asks him a bunch of questions. Carter tells him that he is an English teacher. Carter then excuses himself to the bathroom. We see him looking through his bag. The ER is filling fast, this time an assaulted cheerleader is brought in. Kerry tells Abby that she received a delinquent tuition notice and that Abby will need to go home. She will have to wait until next quarter before she can come back. Kerry tells her to turn her lab coat and ID into Frank and leave. Abby storms out. Carter comes out of the bathroom clean shaven. A stewardess comes up to him and warns him about the penalty for smoking in the bathroom. Carter hands her the cigarette butt per her demand. Kerry tells Romano that he needs to end the housekeeping strike. She opens the door to an exam room and it is full of soiled sheets and such. Romano tells Benton that he questions his loyalties, but then he hires him as a new Attending. Abby goes to see her ex-husband, Richard. She tells him that she is now one year behind on her residency and she will lose her last quarter of school. She put him through med school and now it is her turn. She is going to hire a lawyer to get her tuition money back from him. A riot has broke out at the high school football game and the kids are pouring in to the ER. Mark tells Mike's mom that they need to do a simple surgical procedure for Mike and she signs the consent. She goes to see Mike and she tells him that she loves him and he tells her the same. She is then asked to leave the room. Carter arrives in Chicago and Brian Bradford, a third year student, is there to pick him up for Benton. He talks Carter's ears off on the way to the hospital. Jing-Mei is going to the trauma room when she spots an elderly man who has overdosed on a bunch of medications. It is the husband of Luka's patient that died. He had been sitting waiting for the morgue to pick his wife up and took a lot of her pills. He is dead. Mike crashes in the ER as Mark and Elizabeth work on him. He is in need of a bi-pass. Mark tells Mike's mom that he might die. She tells Mark that he better fix him. The two football teams are in the ER and another riot breaks out. Malucci, Peter and a bunch of the others get involved.  Kerry has to get her cane after some of them. During all of the fighting, Mike's heart starts beating. Carter arrives at the hospital, but he does not go in. He goes home.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on 10-12-2000