Our opening scene is of a passing train and steps of the el station. As the train clears we see Luka going down the steps with Joe strapped to his front in a baby carrier. He is carrying his brief case and a folding stroller. Chuny and Malik are right behind him and hurrying to see the baby. They both ooh and ahh....and Luka said not to let the good looks fool them….that he is tough. “Like his mother,” Malik adds. Luka says that their babysitter didn’t come so they have reconsidered about hiring a nanny. Chuny says that her mother raised eight children by herself and she doesn’t know how she did it. Luka asks if she is available. Hee. The three of them enter the ambulance bay where Pratt and Gates are running through patient dispos as they wait for an ambulance. They both grin when they see the baby. Gates asks if he’s the new chief of the ER and Luka says yes...that he is training him so he can retire early. Pratt is glad and says they need some new blood around there. Gates adds that he’s new and Pratt tells him that he’s too old to be new and they head for the just arrived ambulance.

Cut to the admit desk where Joe is sitting on the counter with Chuny and Morris playing with him.   Luka is grinning as he stands behind him on the other side of the counter. “Look how cute you are...he has Abby’s eyes”, Chuny says. “And his dad’s head,” Morris says. “He’ll grow into it,’ he adds when Luka makes a face at him. Luka sees Curtis Ames coming in the doors and asks Chuny to watch the baby for a moment. He hurries after Ames and catches up with him at the elevators. He asks if he can help him with anything and Ames tells him no...that he has a meeting with Angela Gilliam about his appeal. He needs copy of some hospital records. He tells Luka that a settlement would save the hospital a lot of time and money. Luka tells him that he understands that the case hasn’t been easy on anyone…..especially him. “Maybe it’s time to move on,” he says, ‘Put the past behind us.” Ames says that he couldn’t agree more and gets in the elevator.

Cut to Kerry, Hope and Dawn working on a patient. Television reporter, Courtney Brown, is led to them and she tells Kerry that the station loved her and the segment they did. They have been given the green light to do more. Kerry scoffs and says that she is an ER doc not a television personality. Courtney tells her that she is exactly what they are looking for...someone ‘real’. Kerry is pulls her gloves off, tells Hope what to do and heads for the admit desk. Sam sweeps by and tells her that GYN can’t take their PID for two hours and Frank holds up the phone and tells her it’s radiology. Kerry casts a backward glance at Courtney and she say that she knows...Kerry is swamped. She smiles and leaves.

Cut to the ER waiting room where a slightly disoriented man in glasses is looking around. We see the packed and oddly disconcerting patrons through his eyes. Some are bloody and some are wondering. All are communicating in an confusing manner. He focuses on a little boy playing with cars on the floor. He gets on the floor and ask if he can play too. The little boy tells him yes and they are having fun as the Mom eyes the man suspiciously. She finally makes her son get up off the floor and into a chair. The man stands up and then is shaken as a gurney is pushed through the doors and past him. The man on the gurney has both hands wrapped in gauze and is screaming. The paramedic says that he is the fast food guy that dumped some oil. The man takes his glasses off and his body visibly changes as he takes on another persona. He goes to the glass windows of the triage desk and bangs on them. The nurse behind the glass sits back and Sam approaches her. He is agitated and hollers and Sam tells him to fill out an admit form and she will bring him back shortly. He yells at her and she shakes the clipboard with the form on it. He finally takes it and goes toward the chairs.

Abby is on a run toward the admit desk and apologizes - in advance - for the smell in the break room as Luka changed Joe in there. Pratt asks how bad it is and Frank tells her they DO have a men’s room. Morris asks if it’s carrots because he hates carrots. Abby tells them that their babysitter flaked and she feels bad enough that they had to drag the baby in there. A stunningly gorgeous woman steps up to the admit desk and says (in a heavily accented voice) “Excuse me....I am looking for Dr. Luka Kovac.” Pratt and Morris look at her and then slowly turn their heads toward Abby with silly smirks on their faces. Nice camera shot with the woman between them.

Cut to the break room where Abby and Luka are interviewing the Brazilian nanny prospect. Abby is interviewing. Luka is holding Joe and staring at the woman with a silly grin on his face.. She says that she likes cold weather as Rio is sunshine all the time. Abby asks her why she left her last job and she says that she didn’t like New York and wanted a ‘change for the scenery’. Luka corrects her and she laughs and says it’s her English. He tells her that he still makes mistakes himself sometimes. Abby looks at him in confusion and then says ‘Well...thank you for coming in.” Next we see a woman reminiscent of Miss Trunchbull from the movie “Matilda”. She is bearing down with a heavy Russian accent and going on about discipline...discipline...discipline...especially for small boys. Abby and Luka are dumbfounded but Joe, sitting on Abby’s lap flashes just a hint of a sweet smile. Next there is a heavy, heavily made up woman digging through her purse. She is telling them how the Amway money went with her husband so she had to think about what she loved and she said....”kids....crazy little bastards”. Abby shifts uncomfortably as the woman asks if she can smoke there. The third prospect is sitting before them in a demur sweater with a white collared shirt and tells how she loved her work. That she didn’t want to brag but her charges all called her ‘Mommy’ within the first three weeks. ‘Well...thank you for stopping by,” Abby says.

Cut to an exam room where Morris and Sam are working up the disgruntled young guy from the waiting area. Morris is examining his x-ray and Sam tells him to take off his shirt if he’s not going to put a gown on. Morris says that his heart is twice the normal size and he sees lots of old fractures...ribs, collar bone, arm. Sam asks about the burns and scars. The man tells them his dad was a 2 pack a day habit. He is visibly agitated and uncomfortable as Sam tapes on the EKG points and Morris squirts on gel and begins an ultrasound of his heart. Morris tells him he has pericardial effusion....fluid around the heart, Sam explains....it restricts the blood flow and makes it harder to breathe. Morris tells him that he needs a procedure where they will put a needle into the sac around his heart and draw off some of the fluid. The man’s agitation elevates and he laughs. He tells them no way and asks if Morris got his doctor degree through the mail. He screams and hollers as he makes his way through the admit area toward the glass doors of the waiting room. He screams and tells everyone to leave before Kevorkian starts sticking you! He bangs on the doors and leaves as Sam and Morris watch.

Kerry is talking to a patient, Oscar Batista, with Hope. He needs a refill on his blood pressure medication and can’t get into the clinic for several months. He tells Kerry he also needs a blood test. Kerry refuses and he tells her that he works two jobs and can’t take any more time off. Kerry tells Hope to discharge him and point him in the direction of the family center.

Ray asks Morris about his vertigo guy and Morris tells him the case is a little more complicated. Hope presses Sam for some drugs form the sample closet and Sam tells her to have an attending just write a script. Hope tells her that Dr. Weaver asked her to get the meds. Sam’s eyebrows go up and she nods.

Later, Frank hands Kerry a pink message note and tells her that ‘the news gal, Courtney Brown is trying to get a hold of her. Morris hears and is all ears. Kerry tells him that she offered her a job as a reporter but she turned it down. She is not interested in doing fluff pieces on sunburns and bee stings. Morris is quite upset and says that he loves fluff, that he is the king of fluff. Frank passes and tells him that the word is that he is the biggest fluffer in town.  Hee. Kerry wads the message up and tosses it in a passing trash bin. She leaves the desk and Morris waits a nanosecond before he dives head first into the bin to retrieve the message.

Remember the ER patient from several weeks ago? The one that burst into flames when a bovie malfunctioned? Cut to the M&M inquest on that event. Abby is holding Joe on her shoulder and he is fussing. Dr. Crenshaw is sitting across the aisle from her. In fact, it looks as though surgery is seated on the left and ER personnel are on the right of the aisle. The inquest is being led by Dr. Dubenko. Crenshaw is saying that it was an uncommon error and that his staff was clearly distracted by the ongoing debate with Abby and Gates. He said that it was all the more reason that ER docs should remain in the ER. “ER sounds like OR but it’s not,” he says. Abby is bouncing Joe on her lap and finally Luka take shim form her. Pratt says that the ER guys were up there to keep the OR guys from making a mistake. Crenshaw says that based on the information they had they were right to take the patient tot he OR. Abby tells him that they didn’t have all the information because he wouldn’t allow them to do a full evaluation. Dubenko interrupts to say that it’s not a witch hunt, that they are there to learn from mistakes and improve. Crenshaw says ‘their mistakes.” Luka interrupts to say that they need to remember that they are all on the same team. He stands up and takes a loudly fussing Joe from the room. Gates enters on the run and Dubenko asks him for a differential diagnosis from when the patient presented. Crenshaw and Abby exchange looks across the aisle from one another. Wooo...major confrontations are impending for these two.

Cut to Morris and Sam standing in the ambulance bay waiting for an incoming patient. Morris is sniveling about the woes of being an attending. Says he should have remained a resident...no responsibilities, just heal ‘em and deal ‘em. Sam rolls her eyes and asks if she can tell him something -as a friend. He nods and she says ‘Sometimes you can be such a little bitch. You make 3 times as much as I do and for what? To give orders instead of take them? Boo hoo for you....” The ambulance arrives just as Hope runs out the door to stop Oscar Batisa from leaving. She tells him that she is sorry she couldn’t get him into the family clinic and hands him a pill bottle. It’s thirty pills of Lovestatin to hold him over until his appointment. He takes them from her, clearly relieved, and thanks her.

Morris and Sam help the paramedics pull a gurney with a patient from the ambulance. The bullet is that he is a male in his 20's and victim from an altercation on a bus. A second ambulance pulls up and Morris helps them with a patient that is covered with blood form his nose but able to walk inside. He says that the dude was yelling at some lady and they started fighting when he told him to shut up. Cut to the trauma room where Morris, Sam and Hope are examine his nose for any bleeders that need to be cauterized. He is very worried about hurting the guy in the next room. He sneezes and blood sprays everywhere...mostly on Hope....and she says ‘God bless you.”

Cut back to the M&M where Crenshaw and Abby are going at it again. She says that you need a definitive diagnosis of a Triple A before committing an unstable patient to major surgery. Crenshaw disagrees because the mortality rate of a ruptured Triple A is 90%. Abby counters that ultrasounds can be done at bedside and Crenshaw argues that theoretically they can but not in this ER. He says that every textbook that this type of patient should be taken directly to surgery. Abby is distracted by Luka and Joe outside the windows of the room as she says that ultrasounds are relatively new and not in every textbook in print but that more recent articles have pointed out that they are accurate in diagnosing aneurysms. Crenshaw snickers and says ‘so patients should die because we have a new toy? We are to ignore decades of experience? Valentine 1993 says most Triple A’s need surgery of one kind or another....” Abby finally stands up and say ‘MOST...but not all. With severe heart failure, surgery can be fatal. That guy was lucky that all you did was torch him. You could have killed him.” She leaves and joins Luka in the hall with a crying Joe. Dubenko shakes his head and asks Gates about his experience with bedside ultrasounds. The camera shifts to Katey, who is sitting next to Neela. She leans in and tells Neela that she has heard that Gates lives with a woman and that she thinks he has a kid. Neela is watching him and frowns slightly. She shifts herself and then asks Gates about ultrasounds for Triple A’s specifically. She says that finding a gallstone is one thing but a n aneurysm is quite another. Crenshaw has a little smile on his face. Gates is flabbergasted that this would be coming from her. Says if they had seen the normal aorta with the enlarged liver they would have saved him the risk of surgery. Neela says they couldn’t do it in a reasonable time frame. Gates says they weren’t given a reasonable time frame. Their conversation escalates until they are shouting at one another about surgical protocols and grounded bovies and whose fault was what. Dubenko interrupts to say that providing the best care requires open communication and that when they fail to do that lives are lost.

Cut to Abby and Luka walking around a corner in the ER. She is carrying Joe and raging that Crenshaw is a little prick. “And I bet I could take him, too,” she is saying. “ I could definitely take him and YOU could definitely kick his ass!” “You’re scaring me,” Luka says. Hee. Angela Gilliam comes up to say she has been looking for him She tells Luka that she should have warned him that Curtis Ames was coming in. The hospital has no intention of settling with him, that as far as they are concerned the case is over. Ames can’t even find a lawyer to take his case. It’s over. Luka looks a little sad and Abby smiles encouragingly at him.

Cut to Ray working on the patient on the gurney from the bus fight. Morris steps up and recognizes the patient as the person he dealt with that morning. The patient - kind for mild mannered - denies having the flu or being there that morning. Morris calls Sam in and she verifies that he was the ‘flu jerk’.

Cut to Luka and Abby walking through the ambulance bay to the sidewalk. Luka is carrying Joe and asks him which one it’s going to be, the good looking Brazilian or the big, mean Russian...hmmmm. Abby is smiling and the camera shifts to Ames watching them from the mini-mart across the street. He is staring at them as Luka hands the baby to Abby. A bus goes by and then we see Abby walking away as Luka waves and watches with a huge smile on his face.

Cut back to Ray examining his patient - Willis Payton - who agrees to the needle aspiration of the fluid around his heart. Morris goes ballistic because the same guy refused the very same treatment that morning. Ray tells Sam to prep for the procedure and drags Morris into the hall. Morris adamant that the guy did not want it done that morning. Ray tells him he is a little disoriented from the head injury and to back off. Ray tells him it’s corny but he can catch more flies with honey. Morris calms down and realizes that ray doesn’t believe him. He is still angry but contrite and tells Ray he will make a great attending some day.

Cut to Abby in the park at a hot dog stand with Joe in a stroller. She is digging through Joe’s back pack and says her wallet is in there somewhere. Curtis Ames steps up and says he will get it and asks for a polish for himself. Abby tells him it’s not necessary but Ames says it’s just a hot dog and that his mom taught him that random acts of kindness make the world a better place. Abby says she can’t argue with that and thanks him. He asks about Joe and picks the baby’s stuffed frog up from the ground and plays with him a bit. Abby smiles as Joe kicks and grins in the stroller.

Cut to the admit desk where Kerry is looking over some files. Hope approaches and tells her that something is weighing heavily on her heart and she can’t take it any longer. She tells Kerry that she went over her head and got medication for Oscar Batista and goes on and on about how she felt sorry for the poor man and that Kerry’s television spot was so wonderful and and and.... Kerry stops her and tells her she did a good thing. “There’s hope for you, Hope,” she says as she walks away. Hope smiles and then turns to see Sam looking at her with a frown. Sam admonishes her for saying that the pills were for Kerry’s patient and Hope responds that they were...technically. Sam tells her that technically she lied to her and that there are ‘rules for breaking rules - Rookie - and rule number one is that you never lie to a nurse.’ Hope is clearly contrite as Sam walks away.

Cut to the park where Abby and Ames are walking side by side on the sidewalk. He tells her that he fell off a ladder at work, that he’s a carpenter and it’s tough doing the job with one arm. She tells him that sprains heal pretty quickly and he says that’s what they told him at the hospital. He says that he is headed for the red line and she says she is going in the other direction. He shakes her hand and tells her it was nice talking to her. She thanks him again for the hot dog and pushes the stroller onward. Ames watches her go, looks down at the ground and sees Joe’s frog. He picks it up and then watches her back.

Cut to the admit desk where Morris is asking Frank - quietly - if there are any messages for him yet. Frank tells him the television reporter lady has not called him and Kerry tells Morris to stop calling the station because the position has been filled. Morris asks who they found so quickly and Kerry says ‘Me....I changed my mind. I figured it was about time someone put something worthwhile on television.”

Pratt is walking from the triage waiting area with Smitty, an elderly friend from the barbershop several weeks ago. He is complaining about a rash. Pratt asks about allergies, food he’s eaten, etc. Smitty pulls out a bag of his blood pressure pills. Pratt looks at them and tells him that the meds he is taking can cause a rash and why is he taking this particular drug? It’s no longer the drug of choice for black men with high blood pressure. Smitty tells him about Pastor Watkins and a drug exchange program at a local church.

Cut back to the M&M which is just concluding. People are getting up and leaving except for Gates and Neela. He stands up and blocks her and asks why she didn’t tell him she felt ultrasounds were contradicted. She pushes past and says she didn’t feel she had to state the obvious. He says he can’t win with her and she says that they finally agree about something.

Cut to the trauma room where Morris is prepping Willis for the heart procedure. Willis is clearly agitated and uncomfortable when he sees the little kid from the waiting room in the room next door. The kid screams and Willis tenses and begins screaming at Morris about having short term memory loss. Morris tells ‘Willis’ to calm down and the young man screams that his name is ‘Clyde Sandberg’.....not ‘Willis’.

Cut back to Gates and Neela arguing in the classroom. Gates accuses her of ambushing him. She tells him he is a wanker...cocky...arrogant...and not as smooth as he thinks he is. Gates says he never said he was smooth. Neela hesitates and then rushes forward and they are locked in a kiss. She jumps up and wraps her legs around him as he pushes her back onto the desk. She says that she called him the other night and a woman answered. He says that he can explain and she says that now would be a good time. Cut to the hall where we see Ray watching them through the window.

At the admit desk Morris drops a book in front of Ray and says that it’s ‘DID’...Disassociate Identity Disorder’. Ray asks if Psych made that diagnosis and Morris goes on about the patient having all the classic symptoms - multiple old injuries, keeps changing his name, etc. he tells Ray they need to double doctor this guy because the effusion is going to kill him if they don’t treat him soon. Ray is reluctant but agrees to talk to the guy. He tells Morris to stay back because he has already pissed him off. Ray talks to ‘Clyde’ and asks if he knows the date and where he is. Clyde spits out that he sees ‘Stupid’, ‘Retard’ and ‘Jerk Off’ so he is at County General. Ray backs off and says he isn’t double doctoring with Morris. Says he already hates doctors and Morris wants to tie him down and stick a needle in him? Morris stops Pratt to ask him for help and Pratt listens to Morris and ray and says to treat the guy conservatively and wait for Psych. Morris goes after him and Ray looks up to see Neela and Katey working on a patient. He approaches and asks if he can talk to her for a minute. Neela says ‘sure’ and is surprised when Ray says he didn’t mean her. He pulls Katey aside and asks if she likes hockey. “Tonsil or ice?” she asks. He frowns a little and responds ‘ice’. She sighs and says that’s too bad....but that she will settle for a Hawks game.

Morris is standing in front of the trauma room studying Willis sadly through the glass and Sam approaches him. She asks how the patient is doing and Morris tells her that he is still refusing treatment and his vitals are down. He tells her that he found his old file. Willis Payton is his real name and probably the host name. ‘Clyde’ is one of his alters. Says he was there a bunch of times between ‘88 and ‘96....foster kid...abuse related injuries....classic DID symptoms. “I know everyone down here thinks I’m a joke. If Pratt had said DID, he’d be a genius. But I know that I am right about this. And all I can do is suck on it and watch this guy die.” Sam looks at him and then sighs. “You did what you could, “ she says. “And you’re no joke, Archie. You’re an attending.” He nods and walks away.

Cut to Pratt entering a church and sitting in the back as a minister preaches from the pulpit to a small congregation. He calls to Pratt to introduce himself.

Sam enters the trauma room and checks on Willis/Clyde. He spews something at her and then she tells him that this can go down two ways. One, the doctors can tie him down and and do the procedure....to which Clyde bellows that he knows his rights....or, Sam continues, we can stand here and watch you die. ‘Fun for you,” Clyde says. Sam tells him there is a third option...that he can give his consent, let them fix his heart and he can go home. She tells him that she knows he is scared....and he says he ain’t scared of nothing. Clyde’s eyes travel back tot he light and he visually changes back to Willis. He asks if the procedure is finished. Sam starts to talk and then he asks about Clyde. He tells her that his friends have told him about Clyde and how negative he is. Sam tells him that Clyde will not consent tithe procedure so all they could do was give him medication that is not working. Willis asks if they can still fix him. Sam tells him that she need’s Clyde’s permission to do it. She tells him to let her talk to Clyde. He shakes his head and she hollers at him until Willis becomes Clyde again. Clyde argues with her, calls Willis a pansy and Sam tells him to be a tough guy all the way to his funeral and turns to walk out. Clyde says ‘You stick my heart and then that means I get out of here, right?” Sam says yep and Clyde tells her to do the procedure. (The actor -Sean Hartosy? - playing this part has done an amazing job with the role.)

Pratt and Pastor Watkins are going head to head over the drug exchange program. Pratt tells him he will do a lot more good if he starts an exercise program and convinces his congregation to cut salt and fried foods from their diet. The drug exchange program is dangerous as well as illegal. Watkins tells him that his people are shackled by a system they had nothing to do with. They have no money to pay for the drugs they need. He is responsible for the community and the one thing he will NOT do is nothing.

Morris is at the admit desk and Hope approaches him She tells him that she lied to Samantha about something and now she is really steamed at her. Morris tells her that is a very bad thing. Piss one nurse off and you piss all of them off....like the mafia or something. Hee. He does a slight double take and then says that when something like that happens he always asks himself ‘What would Jesus do?” Hope asks what Jesus would do if all the nurses were mad at him. Morris thinks and then says ‘Why, the right thing of course.” She said that’s the problem because she thought she was doing the right thing but just went about it the wrong way. Morris says that is the story of his entire life. Hope quotes Matthew 15:54 and walks away with a laugh when Morris says he is a big Matthew fan.

Morris looks in the room with Willis/Clyde and sidles up to the bed. He asks if he is feeling better. He tells him that his blood pressure is back to normal and they are waiting for a bed upstairs. Now we are seeing a third personality - the little boy who loves Hot Wheels of the very first appearance - as he asks for his glasses. He is young, quiet and introverted. He asks about the little boy in the room next door. He tells Morris that his mom was mean. Morris calls him Willis and the man laughs. ‘My name is Andre,” he says. He tells Morris not to tell his dad that he is there because he is pretty mean as well. Morris tells him that his secret is safe with him. ‘Andre’ says it’s pretty dark and ask Morris to stay with him. Morris tells him he is there for the night and pulls up a stool. They start talking quietly about Hot Wheels that they have both collected and the camera pans back until their voices are inaudible.

Comments: A lot of the beauty of this episode were the side expressions....Luka’s smile during the Brazilian interview, Crenshaw and Abby’s as they were exchanging glances, Crenshaw’s snarky smile as Neela spoke during the M&M, Ray’s face as he watched Neela and Gates, Abby’s encouragement as Angela spoke to Luka about the malpractice suit, Ames as he watched the happy Luby family, Sam and Morris as they worked through this difficult case together, Clyde/Willis/Andre - amazing transformations...and even Baby Joe’s hint of a grin as the Russian nanny went on about discipline and small boys. Maura Tierney has always been adept at this sort of thing so it was wonderful to see the rest of the ensemble paying attention to this as well. I found myself going back to check who directed this episode. John Wells. I should have known. They were in the hands of an ER master. Well done one and all.

Reviewed by Lynda Foote on June 29, 2007

NBC Review

A PUZZLING PATIENT COMES INTO THE ER AND LEAVES THE DOCTORS STUNNED-- FOREST WHITAKER GUEST STARS- Abby (Maura Tierney) and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) finally decide to hire a nanny to care for their son Joe, but are troubled when they meet the potential candidates. Morris (Scott Grimes) and Sam (Linda Cardellini) try to treat a biligerant patient that comes in with seemingly simple flu. However, when they discover that his condition is much more complicated, the patient refuses treatment. During a trip to the park with Joe, Abby inadvertantly meets Curtis Ames (guest star Forest Whitaker). Meanwhile, Gates (John Stamos) and Neela (Parminder Nagra) argue with each other at a hospital board meeting. Laura Innes, Mekhi Phifer and Shane West also star.

TV Guide Review

November 09, 2006: Jigsaw:

The ER deals with a patient whose personality changes are more baffling than his physical problems; Abby has an odd---and unexpected---encounter with Curtis Ames (Forest Whitaker); and Weaver gets an interesting offer.