Tony is being funny as he makes his ‘yummy pancakes’……and Sarah doesn’t want to go to school. Feels the kids will be all weird on her and she doesn’t want to talk about her Mom. Asks Tony if he is sending her to live with Grandma and Grandpa. Says they were talking about it at the funeral. She says she’d rather stay with him and eat his crummy pancakes. Tony sends her out the door to school.

Grandma Gracie’s lungs are getting better. Sam tells her she might be able to go home in an hour. Gracie says to tell Timmy because he has been worried about her. Sam says that Alex has as well. Gracie asks how Alex is doing and Sam doesn’t know. Worries about his behavior.

Abby heads in to the ER with Ray and says Luka just needed to stay home and let his hand heal. At the triage desk she tells Morris he is taking one more day. Morris says all is good…he will deal. Timmy hands Morris a letter and tells him to ‘deal with that’. Morris groans when he opens it. He asks where Pratt is.

Pratt, Hope and Gates are working on a volatile druggy patient. Morris bursts in and tries to get Pratt’s attention. Pratt tells him he is a little busy. Morris finally just blurts out that the medical board has suspended his license. Pratt is dumbfounded.

Hope is following Morris and tells him that she was helping Pratt at the clinic. She tells him that Pratt is protecting her and told her not to say anything. Morris is pissed and tells her to listen to Pratt. Morris pushes the door of the break room open and Pratt is putting his things in his locker. Pratt says he thought he could work half a shift before his hearing, Morris reassures him that he will be reinstated. GI bleeds are very common with Dixon’s condition. Chuny opens the door to say that Abby is asking for Morris. Her patient is still vomiting. Morris tells Pratt to “Be strong brother…fight the power!” as he leaves.

Abby and Sam are working up a patient with apparent appendicitis symptoms. He tells Morris he has to get out because of a hot date. Several jokes transpire here but nothing funny enough to recount. Sorry.

Dubenko, Manish and Neela are clipping through the hall talking about the transplant exchange program. They enter the room of a husband and wife who will be receiving and giving a kidney. Dubenko introduces Neela and says she will be assisting in surgery. Neela is surprised at this announcement.

Screaming kid, disgruntled mom, Abby and Ray… Sam pushes Simon past in a wheelchair and Abby tells Ray that he’s got the kid. Ray is not pleased as she hurries after Simon. Head lice and hair cut were mentioned?

Abby tells Simon they are waiting on labs and they will probably have him out of there soon. Simon tells her he has a 10:15 gig at an apparently high end comedy club. He needs to be out soon. Tells them he moved there from Detroit. His old boss encouraged him by firing him twice. Also, his dad had a lot to do with his move. He died and gave life a whole new perspective. Abby is checking on his labs.

Chuny and Tony are working up a patient who chased a blind date for sticking her with the bill. She fell into a fire hydrant. Her date was mad because she said she looked like Cindy Crawford (in an email) but he told her HE looked like Matt Damon. Tony says she has a broken rib and will get some pain meds for her.

Pratt is in his way out and Hope catches up with him. She tells him everything will be fine because he has God on his side. Pratt says he hopes so. Pastor Watkins meets up with them at the door. He says he is going with Pratt and Greg tells him not to. That is how he got into trouble in the first place. Watkins tells him it won’t hurt to have the church’s support. Greg tells him no thanks……and stalks off.

Sam and Ben are walking to the roach coach and he asks how the visit with the counselor went. Sam says the counselor wants her to enroll Alex in an ‘academy ‘ for at risk teens. Ben thinks that might be a good plan but Sam is reluctant. Says they starve and beat kids in there. Ben offers to help her check some of them out. Sam tells him that he is a nice guy but it’s something she needs to do alone. She is sorry she dragged him into it all in the first place. He says that he understands. Her kid comes first. Take all the time you need .

Neela is examining Tony’s fire hydrant patient. They chat as Neela presses on her side and abdomen. She moans and Tony says that Neela is in to S&M and if she wants her to stop to say ‘mayday’ because that is the safe word. The patient immediately says ‘mayday…mayday.” Neela tells him to just watch the patient and she and Tony walk away. He tells her they got back from Wisconsin yesterday and that the funeral was weird with all the relatives. He apologizes for not calling and she says he has a lot on his plate…actually two plates and maybe a saucer. He tells her a heart shaped saucer and reminds her that it’s Valentine’s Day on Wednesday and he wants them to have a quiet dinner together. Abby approaches and Neela hurries off. She asks Tony how Neela is doing and then how he is doing. Tony doesn’t say anything and turns into another door. Morris catches up with Abby and tells her the comic’s labs are back and it’s not funny. He has leukemia.

Pratt is outside the Medical Board meeting room. He enters and walks down a long hallway. He enters a meeting room where a group of doctors are standing around chatting and laughing. When he says he is Dr. Pratt from County, their faces fall and they head to their seats. He sits at a table in front of them.

Surgical room and Neela is assisting in a kidney transplant. Crenshaw is there and harassing her. Shirley says that her ‘Valentine’ needs a surgical consult when she is finished. Crenshaw tells her Gates isn’t smart enough for her. Neela says he doesn’t even know him…..bla bla bla.

Abby and Sam are moving Simon to a different room. Abby gives him the run down on his labs. Simon has leukemia. He knows. Had it a year ago and did the whole bone marrow transplant route. HAS to get out for the gig. All hers at 10:35. Abby tells him no. If he wants to make it to next month then he needs a CT, surgical consult and chemo. Sorry…. she says and leaves.

Neela catches Tony at the triage desk and asks f he has a minute. She has just done the coolest surgery and wants to talk about it. Luka rounds the desk and Abby looks at him with a frown. He tells Gates he heard they were shorthanded and he got bored and decided to come in. Abby asks Neela for a surgical consult on Simon. Neela is looking at the x-rays when Tony gets a call from Sarah’s school. She is trying to listen as well as look at Abby’s patient’s x-rays. Sarah is in the office crying and Tony says he will be right there to pick her up. He apologizes to Neela and leaves. She moves toward Ray and tells him she is going to go have some coffee and asks if he wants some. Ray says he’ll tag along.

Pratt is arguing that the people he treated at the hospital do not have medical insurance.-at medical hearing. Says that County is now filled with critical patients…..no place for anyone needing to just refill a prescription. He thought he was giving the people guidance and caring medical care.

Neela and Ray are crossing the street and she is going a mile a minute about the kidney surgery. Ray is listening. An ambulance pulls up and Ray hurries off to help Luka and Morris. It’s a guy with burns from trying to cremate his cat in the microwave . Not sure what the cat ate last but it just exploded. Luka goes to catch a falling oxygen tank and hurts his injured hand. Morris tells him to go home. He has everything under control.

Sam is wheeling Gracie out if the ambulance bay and asks why she didn’t want to wait till she was off. Gracie tells her that she is going on a little cruise to give Sam and Alex some time to bond. Sam says all she ever wanted was to raise a good kid. Gracie tells Sam that he will come around. The good ones always do. A cab pulls up and Timmy climbs out the back door. He is dressed in cruise garb. Sam is aghast. Gracie tells her that only old people go in a cruise alone. They roll the window down and wave as the cab pulls away. I LOVE Gracie!

Abby enters the trauma room and Simon tries a couple of comedic lines on her asking which one she likes better. Abby tells Simon that he has a cecal infection and Simon just says that he needs her to buff him up so he can leave. She has spoken to his oncologist and he is out of treatment options. He can no longer fight infection. He has just a few weeks left. He says he doesn’t need his immune system….just his funny bone…..tonight. He argues with her and asks her if ‘she has ever wanted to do something that just scared the hell out of her….but you had to do it?’ He is weak and can hardly stand. He starts to cry and falls against her. Abby helps him back on to the bed and agrees to have him sign out against medical advice….but it’s ‘not her idea.’

Pratt is at the medical board hearing and being raked over the coals for not keeping accurate records per Medical Practice act. Tries to get off by saying he doesn’t charge money but one of the examining doctors tells him HE works at a free clinic and they keep accurate records. Reverend Watkins interrupts and says he would like to speak on behalf of Dr. Pratt.

Neela is visiting with the kidney transplant patient. She asks about her donor and Neela says that they can’t allow contact because of privacy. The patient says she just wants to see him once so she has a face when she says her prayers.

Morris enters Simon’s trauma room and checks Abby’s treatment. Simon has to pee…can’t do it in bed so they set up a screen. Morris says someone has to go with him but Simon insists he is fine. Abby says it will be a good test and Morris asks ‘test for what?’ Simon steps behind the screen and than faints. Abby and Sam get him back in bed and realize that he is septic. Morris wants to intubate. Abby says there is a spotlight and a curtain calling his name.

Tony enters the school office and Sarah picks up her backpack and pushes past him without a word. He watches her walk out of the office.

Abby working on Simon with Morris and Simon asks about their deal. Abby tells Morris they are trying to buff him up to get him out for the night. Morris tells him he is septic and isn’t going anywhere. Abby tells Morris she wants to talk to him in the hall.

Neela and Manish wheel the kidney patient’s bed to the hall. Manish is uncomfortable about breaking the rules. Crenshaw stops them. Neela tells him that what they are doing is unethical but nice. Sometimes they have to do things that are nice. Crenshaw puts his hand on her shoulder and asks if he has told her how well she is coming along? He walks away and Neela says ‘okay….we’re good…’ and goes back to the bed. They wheel it to the window so the patient can see the donor that saved her life.

Abby and Morris are arguing in the hall. She wants to buff Simon up and allow him to leave for his gig. Morris says no way. Abby says she is going to get another attending and he tells her that he is IT so she tells him to get some balls. He is stunned and says that he….has….balls. She tells him they aren’t any good if you don’t use them. Heh. He says okay…if she wants to play Super Doc…..then turn off the dopamine and put him on epi and prove to him that he can stand for 20 minutes. Fine, she says….Fine, he says. She turns and goes back into the room and he growls after her.

Reverend Watkins is speaking to the medical board panel as his congregation begins to file in behind him. He says that the regular people in his congregation are left with an understaffed hospital and feel the free clinics are for drug dependents and people with sexually transmitted diseases. Taking away Dr. Pratt’s license will just be another demerit to them on a system they feel has failed them.

Abby is showing Simon how to use an epi pen. He is telling a couple of jokes and then keels over into Abby and Morris’ shoulders. Simon can’t sustain an adequate blood pressure. Morris orders him back onto dopamine. Simon says the best thing about having leukemia is that everyone comes to see you…the guys from the plant…his ex-soccer coach….and even Father Dunleavy. Took 3 security guys to get him out of the pedes ward. Abby chuckles and tells him that’s a keeper. He says that he was going to kill tonight but instead he’s dying. He tells Abby that he would have left her name at the door but he doesn’t think he’s going to make it. She tells him to finish his act.

Neela knocks on the door of Tony’s apartment and he opens the door. She’s brought him some food. He tells her that he and Sarah are about to watch a movie and invites her to join them but she says she’s not staying. He draws her inside and sits her down to talk for a minute. He tells her that while he was working on Meg in the car she told him that Sarah was his. Neela asks if that’s possible and he sputters something about the three of them being so mixed up….high….and Keith would disappear for days… and that it did happen…and time passed and he believed what everyone else believed. ..that Sarah was Keith’s. Sarah hollers down that she can’t keep the movie on pause forever. Neela gets up to leave. She tells him it’s no big deal and leaves. Tony rolls his eyes upward. Nice scene between them….and Stamos is definitely a mite better groomed in this epi.

Pratt and the Reverend are standing to the side in the board room. Watkins tells Pratt he is going to be okay….that there are laws to be followed and then there are God’s Laws. Hope hurries in and tells Pratt that he covered for her so the least she can do is support him. The Medical Board enters and Pratt settles in his seat at the table. They tell him they have found that he has violated the medical Practices Act and that it’s substantial enough to suspend his medical license. Pratt looks sick. Then they tell him that in light of his attempt to help his community they are putting him on one year of probation and will require that he do 100 hours of community service….maybe finding a way to legalize a certain church clinic would be good use of his time. Pratt and Watkins hug.

Music Montage: “Skipping Stone” by Amos Lee
Abby, Morris, Sam and various aides and nurses are crowded into the trauma room as Simon puts them through his comedy act from the gurney. They are all laughing.
Neela is walking down the crowded sidewalk, alone and oblivious to anyone around her. She is dazed when a stranger bumps into her and then walks on.
A refrigerator opens and we see Ray reaching in for a bottle of beer. He stops to pull down a photograph hanging on the outside of the fridge – a picture of he and Neela smiling together.
Simon is laying on his gurney and looks up as Abby approaches and sits on a stool next to him. “How’d I do?” he asks. “You brought the house down,” she says. He sighs and thanks her for being such a great audience.
Tony carries a sleeping Sarah to bed and she cuddles into her pillows. He covers her and kisses her gently.
Sam is on her bed looking over some brochures. She glances toward the picture frame on the box next to her bed. It’s of a younger Alex in a baseball uniform.

The song fades and plays gently behind them as we see Luka going through a stack of CD covers. Abby breezes in the door of their apartment. “Hey you,” she says and tosses her bag onto a chair. “Hey you,” he responds. “I decided to put our CDs on the ipod. We don’t need these any more.” She drops onto the couch next to him and says “I need to talk.” He looks at her. “Is everything okay?” She is avoiding his eyes. “Um….when you were on the roof, I was thinking about what… what I would do if Joe didn’t have a father and um….we didn’t have….each other….and I realized if we could get through this we could get through anything.” “What’s going on,” he asks worriedly. She is looking at him now…almost tearfully…and speaks with a catch in her throat. “Have you ever wanted something so much…but it scared the hell out of you?” She is looking at him intently. “See, here’s the thing…I just….well I changed my mind and I was wondering if you could ask me again?” He is frowning slightly. “What?” “Ask me again,” she says as he begins to realize and smiles ever so slightly. “Ask me to marry you…” she smiles kind of shyly. His grin widens just a bit and she giggles as she looks down at her hands in her lap. He studies her for a moment with a smile and then takes her hands and draws her to her feet. The camera pans back and then sweeps slowly over their heads as Luka clings to her gently swinging hands and slowly slips to one knee.

The song picks up and the credits roll………… HUGE sigh.  Love the Lubiness!! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy........sigh. Sorry...gotta go watch this part again. and again....and again...........

Reviewed by Lynda Foote on July 01, 2007

NBC Review

LAST COMIC STANDING-- FREDDY RODRIGUEZ GUEST STARS-- Abby (Maura Tierney) and Sam (Linda Cardellini) try and treat an obnoxious, aspiring comedian (guest star Freddy Rodriguez) with mysterious symptoms. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) finds himself in hot water as he gets questioned about the death of a patient. Meanwhile, Neela (Parminder Nagra) is thrilled when Dr. Dubenko (Leland Orser) allows her to scrub in on a kidney donor surgery. Goran Visnjic, Shane West, Scott Grimes and John Stamos also star.

TV Guide Review

February 08, 2007: Dying Is Easy...:

With Pratt defending his work at the church clinic to the medical board and Kovac absent, Morris steps up as the lone attending in a busy ER; Abby treats a comedian on the verge of the big time but is concerned when he does not take his illness seriously; Sarah continues to come between Tony and Neela. Simon: Freddy Rodriguez.