Our opening shot is of Abby’s face as she carefully goes through the contents of her locker. She is startled when Frank comes into the break room and she falters as things spill from her locker to the floor. She hurriedly gathers her things and shoves them back in the locker as Frank tells her the medical office has banned her from working until she sees them about her charts. She is backed up six months. Abby blows Frank off as she shoves her arms into her jacket and goes into the corridor. Frank says he told them he would sling her over his shoulder and carry her down there himself. Pratt catches up to her in the corridor with Frank close behind. They have a patient coming in and Frank warns her not to go out to the bay. Abby scowls at him and tells Pratt she thinks Frank has a crush on her. The paramedics are wheeling in an agitated patient, trashing on the gurney. Apparently a drug addict Nemo - who was accosted running naked through the Watertower and has glass imbedded in his chest/stomach. Gates is whining about Moretti assigning him to the waiting room as the gurney very nearly runs over a girl sitting on the floor by the door. Cut to Neela striding down the hall with Harold close behind. She is asking him the medical issues requiring a surgical consult on Nemo. Harold isn’t really into that. He asks her if he can talk to her about his girlfriend issues. She is a high school senior and the member of the Homecoming court. He feels like she is going to expect certain ‘rites of passage’ and he isn’t sure what to do. As the elevator doors close, Neela is rolling her eyes as he tells her he is a virgin. Cut back to the trauma room where all of the interns, Abby, Pratt and Sam are working to restrain Nemo. Moretti tells the interns their quarterly reviews are in their boxes and they are all stunned as they look at him. He tells them every patient is a ‘test’. Nemo is screaming about snakes and Sam almost jumps on his chest as she tells him they are going to get the snake. Moretti grins a little and says ‘see…and Sam got an A this time.’ Nemo grabs a piece of glass from his stomach and flings it to the fire sprinkler over head and water begins to pour down on them all.

Harold is tripping alongside Neela as they get off the elevator in the ER. He is holding up a plastic model of a female genitalia. He tells Neela he just borrowed it and will be putting it back. They enter the trauma room where Nemo is calm, medicated and restrained on the gurney. Pratt and Abby are looking at his x-ray and say that there is no sub q air. Other comments are made and Neela asks if they are talking about Moretti. She says every time she comes down there, they are talking about him. Harold asks if Nemo can hear them and Abby says he has had enough meds to take down an elephant. Abby is leaving as Harold holds up his model and asks Neela where exactly is the G spot. Abby stops and glances back as Neela tells him to put that thing away.

Pratt is walking with Abby in the corridor and tells her that he has to study for his boards and that she will need to take all the hard cases. He has switched shifts with Morris because Morris said he would fail if he doesn’t get to study. Pratt is pretty confident that he will do fine. He tests well. He asks about Luka and Abby says it is taking longer than expected in Croatia. They have to retrofit his dad’s house for a wheelchair. Pratt walks on as Abby stops in front of the interns. They are looking over their quarterly reviews from Moretti and saying that he gave them all 1’s. No comments…just 1’s. They ask Abby to talk to Moretti for them. Sam passes them and asks Frank about some lab reports. He tells her there is a backlog and then that she has several messages from her kid’s school. He wants to know if he is biting off lizards’ heads again. She tells him to shut up and decides that it’s too late to call back so she will do it in the morning. Moretti tells her she is due in triage, all the nurses are rotating on two hour shifts. Abby approaches Moretti apprehensively and then says that slamming interns without giving them any suggestions isn’t helping anybody. He smiles a little and tells her that he has given her solid threes. She tells him they are freaking out about the bad evaluation rather than focusing on how to improve. He says that they are more concerned about their ‘grades’ than the care they are giving patients. She says they need mentors, guidance… Moretti interrupts to tell her that it might be her natural instinct to listen, to care but in the end…he trails off and then tells her never mind. She is confused as he walks away.

Cut to the waiting room where Gates is examining an older gentleman. A young girl interrupts him and then he is distracted by a woman with a coughing baby. He talks to her and then is distracted by a patient with a bloody hand. The young girl is incensed. She take Gates to task because she has been there with an exploding head for three hours and he takes some guy who just walked up. Gates looks up at her, tells the bleeding patient to hold onto the gauze roll he has put in his hand and then takes the girl to the desk. He introduces – Heather – to Sam and Sam says she will get her checked out. She tells Gates not to take the waiting room assignment personally because Moretti is having all the residents do it. Sam takes Heather to a gurney and the girls brushes it off in disgust before she sits on it. Sam asks about her parents and she says they are ‘out’. As Sam is taking her information, Morris steps up and asks about Pratt. Pratt comes up behind the gurney and is confused to see Morris. He says he is there so they can study together.

Abby is examining Heather and tells her she has a tension headache and will do fine with ibuprofen. Heather wants a CAT scan and Abby says they don’t do unnecessary test. Heather says he dad has money to pay for it and Abby says that is not the point. Sam approaches and ask why she gets a video rental store when she calls the home number Heather gave her. The girl says her mom is dead and her dad is in New York and doesn’t need them bothering him. Abby frowns and tells Sam to give her 600 of ibuprofen after they get the real number for her dad. She goes back to the desk and Grady tells her it was cool the way she stood up to Moretti for them. She says they were just talking about different teaching techniques and Grady tells her that her way is better and that is why he is not going to preset to him. Abby tells him he can’t boycott an attending. He says ‘not just for today?’ and she shakes her head as he grimaces and moves away. Moretti and Gates approach the desk and Gates is whining about being in the waiting room. Moretti tells him that a woman arrested in the waiting room because no one was paying attention and to get back out there. His attention is caught by scruffy looking young man near the elevators. He says ‘Brian? What are you doing here?” The waiting room doors open and the paramedics wheel in a young boy. It’s Joshua from ICU and his mom calls out to Gates. She tells him it’s really bad this time. Gates tells Moretti that he knows the kid from the ICU. Gates asks Joshua about the baseball game as he examines him and then says he needs oxygen. Moretti tells Brian to stay put and the two of them wheel the gurney to a trauma room as Joshua is gasping for breath. Gates tells Moretti to find someone else to cover triage because he is staying with this kid.

Moretti and Frank are discussing Brian disappearing as Neela approaches with Harold in hot pursuit. She is looking for a Crohn’s fistula, finds her on the board and turns to walk away. Harold is right behind her asking if woman often need lubrication. He wonders if you are willing to take the time to stimulate the area… Neela loses patience and asks if there is anyone in his life he can talk to about this…a brother? an uncle. He says no…just Grandpa and he thinks Harold still believes in the stork. Neela rolls her eyes and ask Moretti for more information about the Crohn’s lady. She tanks him and they move off. A woman approaches form the waiting room and introduces herself to Moretti as Skye Wexler, his new attending. They spoke on the phone. Moretti takes her through a quick tour of the desk area and board. Moretti introduces her to frank and Haleh. She asks if Skye is new to Chicago and Skye says she is, just taking a few locums (moonlighting) for the next month. She works nights because she doesn’t like to be inside when it’s beautiful outside. Frank tells her that he is a big hiker himself. Haleh asks if he bumped his head.

Cut to Gates putting a heart line in for Josh. Pratt looks at his x-rays and says that he has aspiration pneumonia because the muscles that help him breathe are wearing out. His mother says she shouldn’t have let him go to the Kelly Clarkson concert. Gates starts ribbing him about Kelly Clarkson. Skye pokes her head in the door and asks which one is Pratt. She introduces herself and while eyeing Gates’ procedures with Josh she tells Pratt she heard her is taking his boards in the morning and she is taking over so he can study. Josh’s mom tells Gates they need to report any ER visits to the study team. Pratt grins and asks Gates if he if okay with that and Gates tells him yeah. Pratt leaves and Skye asks to look at Josh’s x-rays. Cut to morose teen, Heather, checking out the computer at the triage desk. She tells Pratt that the hospital bites. She has been there for hours and no one has done anything. Sam approaches and tells her the computers are for staff only and to get back to her bed. Heather scowls as Sam walks away. She has a really, really bad chest pain. Pratt tells her he will find someone to help her and she is scowling more as he walks away. Moretti stops him and asks about the kid. He reprimands Pratt for leaving him with an unfamiliar attending. Pratt is worried and Moretti tells him that he is kidding…he sent her in there. Pratt doesn’t know what to do as Moretti grins. Brian approaches and Moretti turns around and asks were he went. Brian said he was busy and didn’t want to disturb him. Moretti tells him he looks like…hell. Brian grins and says he drove all night to get there. He wanted to give his dad a book – The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Moretti is trying to appear pleased but it is clear that he is confused…and a little worried. He puts an arm around Brian and they head out the door to get some dinner. He says that Skye has his sign out.

Cut to the door of Josh’s trauma room. A neurologist is talking to Gates and telling him it’s a natural course of Fazio-Londe disease. There is nothing more they can do. Gates sighs and then they enter the treatment room. Gates tells Joshua that the muscles that help him breathe are getting tired. They need to put in a tube to help him breathe. Sam says it’s just to help his muscles out so they can give him antibiotics to get better. Serena asks the neurologist of they will take the tube out then. The neurologist says that is the hope. She says she will see them up in the ICU. Josh tells his mom that the situation demands a slushee. Sam says he can’t but Gates says ‘aw come on…give the kid a slushee.” Serena asks where she can get one and Sam tells her at the Jumbo Mart across the street. When they are gone Josh tells Gates that he is not tubing him. Gates is dumbfounded.
Abby and Sky approach the desk and Abby is giving Skye a rundown about Heather. She smiles a bit too widely at Coburn, who is watching her. Skye moves to examine a disdainful Heather. She tells her that her pain must not be too bad if she can text her friends all through her exam. Heather says she isn’t texting but trying to get on line. The reception in the ER sucks. Neela and Harold interrupt and ask where Pratt is. Skye says he is studying in the break room. She turns back to Heather her tells her never mind. Skye shrugs and moves off. Morris and Pratt are in the break room and Morris is running through all the study helps he has brought – caffeine rich cans of drink, a rubber squeaky for good luck.. Pratt is watching him with a confused frown. He tosses the good luck charm back to an astounded Morris. Pratt says he doesn’t believe in good luck. He believes in preparation. Neela enters with Harold right behind and asks what is going on. Pratt says they are studying for their boards and she picks up a girlie magazine and wants to know how that fits in. Morris snatches it away and says it to perk up their flagging spirits. She asks if Harold can hang out there for a while. She feels that he can ….benefit from their..uh…tutelage. Morris says they are busy and Neela says that if they don’t know what they need to know by now. Harold interrupts to say that studies say cramming can benefit their performance by 23%. Neela tells him they are great guys…smart and very experienced. Pratt asks what subjects he wants to cover and Harold says just the basic fundamentals as Neela leaves.

Abby is examining one of Grady’s patients. She seems to have a fear of food…hormone pumped dairy products, etc. Grady thinks it is porphyria. Abby signs the chart and tells him it’s a cool case but to keep the other patients moving as well. Coburn stops her at the desk to ask how it’s going. Says she hasn’t seen her at any meetings. Abby says she has worked late and hasn’t made it to St. Mark’s. Says she is going someplace else where no one knows her. Coburn asks why and Abby says she doesn’t know. Coburn tells her the church on Franklin has meetings at all hours every day. Abby nods and says fine. Coburn watches her walk away disbelieving and a little worriedly.

Cut to Gates with Josh. They are tossing a ball back and forth. He tries to tell him they are doing all kinds of research and if he holds on long enough..but Josh says his mother is going to be upset and he would rather it be now than months down the road watching him wither away on a vent. He insists that it’s what he wants but his mom has to believe it comes from Gates and not him. Gates is running Josh’s request past Skye and she tells him top run it by ethics and he can say that his attending is on board. Skye asks Sam to give some medication to an asthmatic and she says she already did. It’s part of Moretti’s program to give a patient some meds if they meet certain criteria. Skye is approving and wants to see the flowchart. Sam asks Frank for it and he catches Heather on the computer while he is looking. She is incensed when he tells her that it’s a hospital not an internet café. Sam tells her that she has called her father and someone is on their way to get her. Heather is further angered because her father didn’t want to be bothered. Sam tell her that she is a parent and… Heather interrupts to tell Sam to shut up and calls her a phony bitch before heading back to her bed. Cut to Moretti and Brian finishing dinner at an apartment table Moretti tells Brian that it’s time they went to bed but Brian says no…it’s time to open another bottle of champagne. He carries on about the history of the world being told through wine…and tells his dad that he is changing his major to semiotics…. a degree in the meaning of meaning. Moretti is confused, amused and disturbed by this behavior as Brian carries on. He wants to know why he is there. Brian goes on about a day when he was a kid and his dad picked him up from school and took him to the lake to ice fish. It was a perfect day…just the two of them. He wanted to tell him thank you.

Cut to Josh’s trauma room. Serena is talking to Josh about some school matters and Tony enters with Skye. Sam says they are ready but Gates tells her they are not going to intubate. He says Josh’s lungs won’t tolerate the pressure from the ventilator. Sam is stunned as well as Serena. Same asks Skye if she is on board with the decision and then asks if she should really be doing this on her first night. Skye tells her she has been an attending for 10 years. Serena asks what they will do now and Tony tells her give him some medicine for the pain and take away the air hunger. Josh tells her to trust Gates. Serena knows this will mean the end for him but nods.

Cut to Abby and Neela walking together past the desk. Neela asks how Abby’s interns are and she says they are overzealous and inexperienced but okay. Neela says she had to send her to ‘man camp’ tonight. She opens the door of the break room and Morris talking about the big hairy mustache on the hottie from the night before. He looks up at Neela and Abby and says that is the reason that drinking is bad. Pratt stretches and says he is going to call it a night. Morris says that the night is young. He grabs a can and chugs down a can of his caffeine drink with the interns, Howard and Pratt all cheering and egging him on. Morris smashes the empty can on his forehead as a disgusted Neela tells Harold they are needed upstairs. Harold says they are just getting to toys and accessories and Neela says it was not an invitation. He trips after her to the elevator and Neela tells him he needs to forget every bit of poisonous advice he learned in there. Harold tells her they actually told him some good stuff. Morris said that the greatest sex happens if you wait till you are in love and Pratt told him to keep the communication lines open. But he still has some questions. Wants to know if two orgasms 40 minutes apart still count as a multiple?

Sam and Gates come out of Josh’ room and Sam is furious that Gates will not intubate. He tells her there is no cure and Josh doesn’t want his mom to know about the decision not to intubate. Sam says he is 13 and kids make bad choices at 13. Gates tells her that she is not the doctor, he is and she can either mix his bag of morphine or take her off the case. Nice, intense scene with the two of them.

Abby is intubating her food patient from before as Grady trips all over himself explaining to Pratt that she was being treated for porphyria. Pratt scolds Abby for allowing her intern to work up a zebra with out ruling out common causes of abdominal pain. The x-rays are handed to Abby and she says there is free air under the diaphragm, probably from a perfed ulcer. A perf that probably wouldn’t have perfed, Pratt adds. Neela arrives and says that OR3 is ready. Pratt kicks Abby and Grady out of the room. Grady apologizes and Abby says it was her fault. He got excited about his hypothesis. She was supposed to know better.

A disgruntled Sam is looking through a storage cupboard when a no nonsense business type business woman approaches her to say she is there for heather baker. Sam asks if she is family and the woman says she looks after the Chicago property and has a letter from the girl’s father saying she can take her. She has been waiting for an hour. Sam pulls back the curtain and sees that she is gone. Skye asks Sam to clean the wax out of a kid’s ear in curtain 4 and then wants her to find out a bout an MI. Sam goes to the computer and sees it still logged on from Heather’s session. She punches a key and then reads through some of Heather’s chat conversation. She reads failed…and valium…and nobody cares…and jump in front of a train. She tosses the saline bag at Lily and tells her to take it to Gates and she is off and running. She runs into the ambulance bay and looks around and then heads out into the street and up the sidewalk to the el platform. She looks around desperately and sees Heather contemplating as a train heads toward her . Sam screams her name and then pushes her away from the track.

Cut to the trauma room and Abby, Skye, Pratt and Sam working on Heather. She is arguing that she doesn’t want this. Skye says she is calming and Abby says that’s the valium. Next she is going to stop breathing. She tells Pratt she missed one again and Pratt tells her he did too. They all did. Sam says she pushed her pretty hard. She may have cracked her head. Skye shoves a tube in Heather’s nose and tells Sam to page psych. Pratt injects charcoal with a huge syringe. Sam says she should have seen it coming but Skye tells her she saves the girl’s life so to not beat herself up.

Abby is working on her charts at a desk and Pratt approaches with a cup of coffee for her. He sits down and sighs and tells her he over reacted with the ulcer. Abby tells him he didn’t. He tells her that it’s hard figuring out how to work with interns. She asks how people do it. All of it. Some guy shoved her in the el and she followed him off screaming at him and it wasn’t her stop. She fired Joe’s nanny which she says was really irrational because his accident wasn’t her fault. He says that’s understandable but she says it’s not. It’s like she is trying to screw things up. He tells her she needs a day off and she says it’s not that simple. He asks if there is anything he can do and she studies him a moment. She asks if he minds if she signs out a little early. He says sure.

Skye is listening to Grady run his cases by her. There are several things she ordered that he didn’t follow through on because Dr. Morris changed the orders. Skye is angry and heads toward the break room. She startles Morris awake and runs down the list of changes in treatment that have been attributed to him. He is dumbfounded and exchanges glances with Grady. Skye tells him that he doesn’t need to second guess her options. The only reason she is there is to make some extra money for a surf trip and that come December she is gone. He can stop worrying about his job or his promotion or (she glances downward) whatever he and his micropenis are worried about. Morris glances down and them up again and then looks at his watch. He panics, jumps up and looks at her. He introduces himself and says he has no idea who she is or what she is talking about. Gotta bounce, he says. You good? He leaves in a hurry.

Cut to a close up of Heather’s face. Sam is very quiet as she wipes away the sweat and charcoal residue. She apologizes for not taking very good care of her last night. She tells her that her dad is on a plane. Heather asks if ‘Elizabitch’ is coming too. She tells Sam that her father remarried 8 month after her mother died. . He visits and buys her stuff. Mainly pays people to look out for her. Like she is a high maintenance garden. She asks why Sam did it. She says she wants to die. Sam tells her that things will get better. She is quite stricken as she pulls a stool close and sits down to wait with her.

Pratt is cleaning up the mess in the break room and Gates is pouring himself some coffee. He tells Pratt to get going. Pratt says he still has an hour. Gates says he can’t believe he worked an overnight the day before taking his boards. Says he hates working nights and will never get used to it. Gates tells him good luck and leaves. Pratt brushes off his jacket and his shirt. He grins and goes through the garbage and picks up the squeaky toy Morris brought in. He chuckles and carries it with him from the room.

Gates is walking in the corridor with the chaplain from last week. He is explaining that Josh is still breathing but becoming more and more labored. Mom is in shock. She didn’t expect this today. Thought they had more time. Julia nods and they go into the trauma room. Gates explains who Julia is and Serena is distressed. Josh is breathing very, very hard but not really conscious. Julia asks if she wants to pray and Serena says no. Julia asks if she wants her to pray and Serena says no. Julia nods in understanding and then takes Josh’s hand in hers. Gates leaves the room.

Musical montage to the song,’How to Fight Loneliness’ by Wilco (thanks to thiswomanswork) Cut to Abby outside of a liquor store contemplating the bottles in the window. She looks around and then goes inside. Cut to Moretti sitting on his sofa watching as Brian moves through the room dramatically, still talking. Closeup in Moretti’s face as he contemplates the young man before him. Cut back to Abby walking on the sidewalk under the el tracks with a bag in her arms. The camera pans back so we can read the sign that says ‘Franklin St.” pass in front and then a slow motion shot of Abby crossing the street adjusting her bag on her shoulder. Pan up from the end of Heather’s bed so we see her sleeping with Sam sitting next to her gurney. She glances over at the room nest door where Gates is frowning as he looks at the baseball glove on a stool in front of him. He picks it up and slips it on his hand. There is a slow motion shot as he tosses the ball into the glove. Camera shot fades.

Reviewed by Lynda Foote on November 04, 2007

CRUNCH TIME IN THE ER- STANLEY TUCCI (‘The Devil Wears Prada”) AND KARI MATCHETT (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”) GUEST STAR—Morris (Scott Grimes) and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) are able to cram for their medical boards when Morretti (guest star Stanley Tucci) brings in a new attending (guest star Kari Matchett) to help out with the load. Sam (Linda Cardellini) and Abby (Maura Tierney) work on an attention hungry young woman that comes into the ER with elusive symptoms. Meanwhile, Harold (Steven Christopher Parker) tries to get tips on how to please the ladies from Neela (Parminder Nagra). John Stamos also stars.