Abby is woken up by the sound of her alarm clock and by her new neighbor's arguing.  Abby gets up to get ready for the day, but is stopped by the telephone.  The machine picks up before Abby can answer.  It is her mother calling to wish her a Happy Birthday.  Abby picks up and speaks with Maggie.  Sandy Lopez and Kerry are still in the bed on a cold Chicago morning.  Sandy gets out of the bed to fix her and her company some hot coffee.  She tells Kerry that she snores like a truck driver.  Kerry doesn't believe it and they begin to laugh and play around.  Gamma is returning home from the convalescent home and Carter explains to her that he has hired a nurse to come by to tend to her.  Gamma is not too happy about it, but seems even more unhappy to see Eleanor coming down the stairs.  Gamma tells her that she was missed at Christmas, but Carter seems to know better.  Eleanor tells them that Jack is on an extended business trip in Kansas City, but doesn't seem certain about it.  Eleanor tells them that she is hoping to stay with them in the house for her visit.  Abby comes down the stairs in her apartment building and sees that the new couple are still arguing.  He is blaming his wife for running the battery down.  The neighbor, Joyce, introduces herself to Abby.  They have just moved from Virginia.  Abby can see that Joyce's husband isn't too friendly and Joyce tells her that he isn't a morning person.  Abby tells them that she takes the El to work when they ask if she has a car.  They offer her a ride, but Abby tells them no thank you and walks outside in the bitter cold.  She tells them, "Welcome to Chicago".

Carter sees his mother getting ready to leave the house.  She tells him that she has volunteered to attend a luncheon for the Pediatric Cancer Society that Gamma is not able to go to.  Carter lets her know, that he knows that she didn't know where his father is staying.  Carter tells her that his father is in Denver.  The paramedics are bringing in a patient.  Abby is on her way in and Susan tells her to bring the patient in.  Abby hasn't even clocked in yet, but does it anyway.  She recognizes the homeless man as "Icicle Andy".  Frank tells them that he thought he had froze to death last year.  Susan, Abby, Gallant and Malik work on him.  Abby goes to check his pulse-ox and accidentally snaps the guys finger off.  A young boy walks in and is looking for his mother.  Abby takes the boy out of the room and asks him his name.  The boy's name is Douglas Leeman and he is looking for his mom.  He tells Abby that his mom's name is B.  Douglas tells Abby that his mom had a headache.  Abby asks Frank if he has seen the boy's mother, but Frank doesn't know.  Luka needs Abby to assist him, so Abby leaves Douglas with Frank.  Luka is tending to Merrill Stipes.  She is a young lady who has been having chest pain, shortness of breath, and has fainted.  Abby and Luka learn that she is trying to get pregnant and is on a fertility drug.  She has been taking them for ten days now.  Abby offers to call her husband, but she tells her that she is not married.  She is having the baby on her own.  Abby and Luka talk in the hall.  They discuss how they spent the holidays and Luka tells her that he will be leaving for Bosnia soon.  He is volunteering there for two months.  He tells Abby that he needs a change of scenery.  Mark complains to Frank about the temperature.  Elizabeth comes up and they begin discussing Rachel.  He found a lighter in her jeans while he was getting clothes ready for the wash.  Elizabeth is worried that Rachel may be smoking something other than cigarettes.  Mark tells her that he wants to search her room and Elizabeth warns him that it is a violation of her privacy.  Mark gets called away and they don't finish discussing it.  Carter and Jing-Mei are in the shopping mall.  They discuss the baby boy that she had given up for adoption and then the discussion turns to Kerry.  Jing-Mei had spoken with a waitress at Doc Magoo's and asked about the night that Weaver was there.  The waitress remembered Kerry coming back after her beeper.  Jing-Mei knows that Kerry did not have her beeper on when she tried to page her the night her and Malucci's patient died.  Icicle Andy dies and they find two tickets to the Blackhawks game in his pocket as they are cleaning him up.  Malik wants Abby to give him the tickets, but she tells him no.  She thinks that he may have family coming after him that can claim his belongings.  Gallant sees Abby and asks her opinion on his patient.  Abby sees that Douglas is still waiting in chairs.  Frank tells her that he thinks the boy had been dumped off.  Abby gets a visitor.  It is her ex-husband Richard.  They go to Doc Magoo's to talk.  He tells her that he is getting married again.  Abby laughs and then learns he is not joking.  He tells her about the woman.  She is a thirty-four-year-old teacher and she has a six-year-old son.  Abby tells him that she didn't know he wanted kids.  She is also shocked that he hasn't even remembered her birthday.  Abby walks off and Richard seems to want her blessings.  She turns around and tells him that she hopes it works out this time.

Carter and Susan are eating Chinese food in the lounge.  Carter hears a clicking noise and it is Susan chewing.  He kisses her as Abby walks in.  Susan gets up and leaves.  Carter apologizes for the scene.  Carter tells her that it is more about friendship than anything else.  She tells him that he doesn't kiss Frank like that.  Abby walks out and see Douglas is still waiting to find his mom.  She offers to get him something to eat and he tells her that his mom doesn't let him eat junk food.  Abby tells him that since they are in the hospital, the food has to be healthy.  She tells Frank to find the boy's mom.  He says he will find the mother if she lets him have the hockey tickets.  Gallant comes to ask Abby for her help.  Their patient, Ms. Stipes, is getting worse.  Her blood pressure is dropping.  Luka comes in and thinks Gallant has done a great job, but it is actually Abby that has done the work.  Frank comes in and tells Abby that he has found the boy's mother.  She was brought in with a brain hemorrhage the previous night and was admitted.  Her name is Belinda Matheson and she has died of a stroke.  Abby asks Frank if he has had any luck finding the father and he tells her that Douglas had told him that he was in Los Angeles, California.  Abby tells Frank to act like a cop and find the boy's father.  Frank tells her that Kerry was the doctor on shift.  Abby asks Frank if anyone has come down to tell him that his mom died and Douglas overhears them.  Douglas responds, "No, she didn't".  Abby takes him back to the chairs and explains what happened to his mom.  Douglas runs around the ER looking and screaming for his mother.  Abby grabs the boy and hugs him and he finally falls to sleep.  Frank has located his father in Australia and Douglas will have to go with Social Services until he can come and get his son.  Abby is not fond of this.  Gallant sees Abby and asks her for help again.  He tells her that there is a patient in Curtain Three who is asking to be moved.  He tells her that the man is agitated and was brought in with a minor scalp laceration.  The man is asking for his caseworker.  Abby opens the curtain and is shocked at who she sees.  It is Paul Sobriki (see Season 6 "Be Still My Heart & "All in the Family").

Susan walks in and sees that Abby is trying to have her patient restrained.  Susan wants to know why they are doing this to her patient and Abby tells her that she wants to speak with her in the hall.  Abby explains to Susan who the patient is.  Susan doesn't seem too concerned about it, but Abby is.  She wants to make sure he is removed from the hospital without Carter seeing him.  Susan tells Abby that Paul isn't going anywhere until he is examined.  Abby takes Douglas to see his mom in the morgue.  She thinks this may help him understand that he mom has really died.  Weaver learns of this and gets upset with Abby.  She tells Abby to get on the phone with Social Services.  Randi comes in and is reading everyone their horoscopes.  She asks Abby for her sign, but Abby refuses to tell her.  Carter comes up and asks Abby about a patient.  Abby gets real protective and Carter can sense that something is not right.  Abby sees Susan talking with Paul's caseworker.  He wants the restraints removed from Paul.  Abby is surprised that Paul is already out after only two years.  The caseworker tells her that he is doing well on his medications.  Abby goes in and checks on Merrill, who is very drained and emotional.  Abby has to empty her catheter.  Merrill is concerned about having to go to the Intensive Care Unit.  Abby assures her that it is just a precaution.  Abby speaks with her and learns that she had an abortion earlier in life.  She thinks she may be getting punished for this, but Abby assures her that it is not the reason.  Abby seems to be upset by this, but is interrupted by Chuny.  Chuny tells her that Weaver wants to see her now.  She wants to know why Abby hasn't called Social Services to come pick up the boy.  Abby goes to the phone to make the call and sees Paul's wife and child waiting in chairs.  Malik comes and gets the hockey tickets from Abby.  Carter comes up to Abby again and she is worried that he will see Mrs. Sobriki.  She then sees Paul being wheeled to his family.  Paul speaks to his wife and daughter and Carter recognizes his voice.  Carter turns around and sees Paul.  Paul sees Carter and begins to apologize.  Carter is surprised that Sobriki has been working and is loose.  Mrs. Sobriki tells Carter that he is on a conditional release.  Paul apologizes again for what he had done to Carter and his friend (Lucy).  He tells Carter that he is doing better and that he should know that it was his disease that caused him to do those things.  Carter turns and goes to the restroom.  He washes his face off and turns to go out.  As he takes a step, he turns back around and throws up into the sink.

Sandy and Weaver are leaving the hockey game and Kerry sees Malik and Susan.  She is worried that they may see her there with Sandy, so she ducks away.  Sandy notices this and it upsets her.  She sees that Kerry is still in the closet and she storms off mad.  Douglas gets to talk to his dad on the phone.  Abby sits with him and gets his things together.  Mrs. Sobriki walks up and asks Abby a favor.  She hands Abby an envelope and asks her to give it to Dr. Carter.  She tells Abby that Paul is getting better and they are taking him home.  She and her daughter cannot give up on him and she wants to keep their family.  Abby takes the envelope and tells her Good Luck.  Abby finds Carter in the lounge getting ready to go home.  She gives him the envelope and apologizes for not letting him know what was going on.  Abby wants to know if he would like to go get coffee or something, but he tells her that he needs to get home to Gamma.  Abby sees that Social Services has arrived for Douglas.  Douglas yells for her to let him stay, but she tells him that he can't.  She tells him that she doesn't stay at the hospital the whole time.  She watches, broken hearted, as they carry him away.  Gallant comes up and asks Abby another question and she finally just lets him have it.  She tells him that she is not his Attending and that she is just a nurse.  She lets him know that she isn't going to carry him through med school.  Mark goes in to Rachel's room searching for answers.  He finds a pack cigarettes and something more.  He spots a condom inside the cigarette pack.  Just then, Rachel comes to find her father snooping in her things.  She is angry and is able to come up with an answer for everything.  Carter arrives home to find that the nurse has already left, before her shift was to be over.  He picks up the phone to call the agency, but Eleanor tells him that she had sent her home.  This makes Carter angry.  He tells her that he is the one looking after Gamma's health and that she needs to stay out of it.  They begin to argue and Carter asks her where she was when he was stabbed and needed her.  She tells him that she came, but he reminds her that hit was three weeks too later.  She begins to cry and Carter stops her from leaving the room.  She asks him if he blames her for taking the drugs.  He tells her that he blames her for not being a mother.  She has been that way since his brother Bobby died.  Eleanor asks if she may leave now and she walks away.  Abby comes home to find her new neighbor, Joyce, is sitting on the stairs.  Her and her husband had been fighting and he kicked her out.  She tells Abby that he will be asleep soon and she will be able to go back in.  Joyce has a six-pack of beer with her and offers Abby one.  Abby tells her no thanks, but eventually takes one.  Abby tells Joyce that it has been a long day and she sees that Abby got a card in the mail.  She guesses that it is her birthday and they toast and Abby drinks the beer.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on January 22, 2002