02x04 - Defense

[bunniefuu]

Let's go, guys. Keep it.

I got him, I got him.

Alex: Come on, Charlie, you got this guy.

Charlie, stay on him.

Go, go, go!

Mine!

Unh!

Whoa! What the hell?!

[ whistle blows ] Ref!

We're up 2 points.

You got to call that, Ref!

What the hell was that, Birk?

Incidental contact.

It's a charity game. Grow up.

Alex: I'm okay. I'm okay.

I'm good.

Man: Boys and girls, we got this.

Time.

[ whistle blows ]

All right, we got this.

Man: Boo!

That's 5 grand for our charity.

It's not over yet.

He means the lawyer's lunch fund.

All right, listen up... last sh*t.

We need 3 to win.

We are not gonna let this ambulance chaser b*at us again, not this year.

Joel, cut to the baseline.

Get me the ball.

Charlie, you might as well have a target on your back.

Alex, you know my history with this dirtbag.

Get me the ball, please.

All right, Reycraft, bring the ball down, pass to me.

Joel, run a screen for Charlie, and I will get you the ball.

Revenge is sweet!

Sweet it is!

All: Hope Zion!

Let's do it!

Man: Let's go, guys! You got this!

Alex: Come on, come on.

Reycraft, Reycraft, here we go!

You all right, Alex?

Charlie!

Unh!

Aah!

[ cheering ]

Yes!

[ cheering continues ]

[ groans ]

[ groans ]

Charlie!

Hey, are you okay?

Nothing but net, baby.

[ chuckles ]

[ grunts, gasps ]

Russell. Russell.

I'm okay. I'm fine. [ grunts ]

Can you show me where it hurts?

I'm fine!

Are you sure?

Rusty?

What's wrong, buddy? Hey.

♪ got to be the way it is ♪

Zach: Is that Russell Birk in my E.R.?

Who's Russell Birk?

Oh, my god. It is Russell freakin' Birk.

Who is Russell Birk?

Charlie, what'd you do to the guy?

It was an accident.

He fell hard on a metal edge just under the ribs.

Get me an ultrasound. Check for free fluid.

Let us do our job, Rusty.

Should I start a morphine drip?

Yeah, as much as I'd like to see his ass suffer, give him 10 milligrams.

Okay.

We'll do a fast. I'm just gonna get changed.

Okay. Who the hell is Russell Birk?

He's a malpractice shark.

Guy's a Rhodes Scholar, got a photographic memory.

Sued Charlie for $6.5 mill on some trumped-up knee thing three years ago.

Did Dr. Harris lose the case?

Nope. Birk couldn't make it stick, but he made Charlie's life a living hell.

Charlie's his white whale.

So, he's an ambulance chaser.

Of the highest order.

Then I might have just a little trouble finding his vein.

More lawyers. [ sighs ]

Awesome. This day just keeps getting better.

Yep.

Maggie Lin.

Hey.

How are you?

Um, are you free tonight?

I have this stupid work fundraiser thing that...

I don't know, Joel.

It's not a date, okay? Don't confuse it.

It's a work thing, so Gavin would probably be cool.

Oh, let me think about that.

"Hey, Gavin, my ex wants to take me to a fancy party."

"You cool with that?"

"Supercool, Maggie. Supercool."

I will take that as a no.

Why don't you ask Alex?

[ monitors beeping ]

Aah!

You have rebound tenderness...

Peritonitis. What's the heart rate?

Tachy at 140. Systolic's down to 90.

Is there fluid in the abdomen?

I am not on the stand, Mr. Birk.

Not yet.

Yes, free fluid.

You have a positive fast, and you're hemodynamically unstable.

I need to get you in for an emergency laparotomy.

No, that's too invasive.

If you're gonna open me up, I want a second opinion.

We don't have time.

You could die while you're waiting for your second opinion, so it's your choice.

All right, fine. Get me in there.

Try to keep still.

[ retching ]

Victor: He's gonna hurl.

Okay, stop, stop, stop.

Raise the stretcher back. Let's get his airway clear.

Easy does it.

[ vomits ]

That's it. Feel any better?

There's a weird feeling in my legs.

What?

There's a tingling in my legs.

Put the stretcher back down.

I can't feel my legs!

Give me "C" spine control.

You paralyzed me.

Should we call ortho?

No. I need to do the surgery right now.

[ monitors beeping ]

You don't look happy.

I'm not.

I repaired his ruptured duodenum, but there's still ecchymosis on the wall, his bowel is distended.

He's tachycardic and hypertensive.

He's a mess.

We don't have time to fool around.

We've got to get that spine imaged A.S.A.P.

Okay, so, shrink-wrap it is.

I have to keep him open in case I have to go back in there.

Ready?

Yeah.

Gives me a flashback of too many liver sandwiches as a kid.

Alex, what's happening?

He had to vomit. We raised the stretcher back, and then he told me he couldn't feel his legs.

Wait. He's potentially paralyzed, and you still went ahead with the surgery?

I had no choice, Joel. His duodenum was pulped.

He was circling the drain.

But you got it under control now.

For the time being. She was a total rock star.

Okay, let's just save the champagne till after Mr. Birk walks out of here, please.

Let's get him to a C.T. scanner.

I couldn't close him. His fascia's too swollen.

What a day.

Biggest malpractice lawyer in the country is...

Ready for takeout.

Let's get him to imaging.

Bed 2, 38-year-old male, multiple lacerations to the face and hands.

Cause?

He had a disagreement with a stained-glass window.

Guy was renovating a church.

Wow.

I'm not treating him.

[ baby crying ]

Uh, Dr. Miller had to... go... do... medicine.

He doesn't want to treat me. I get it.

I'm sorry. You do?

I stole his wife.

Oh.

[ man speaks indistinctly over P.A. system ]

So, the X-ray only took an A.P. sh*t.

It's a little hard to see, but right there.

T11 body's wide. It's been fractured.

I don't understand.

He walked off the basketball court.

'Tis a mystery, and I hate mysteries.

I hear you.

Well, we'll know more when you get the C.T. back, but it looks like you're gonna have to do a spinal fusion.

I'd take a posterior approach.

No, I'll do anterior.

I don't want Birk's guts spilling all over the floor while I operate.

I'll get him laying on his back, and I'll do the retroperitoneal approach.

No, I'd do the surgery facedown.

That way you avoid the open abdomen entirely, but it's your call, and I'm so very glad it is.

Hey, would you mind swinging by with me later on to see the patient?

In case you need a witness in court?

Yeah, that did cross my mind.

Yep.

Hello.

Uh-huh.

Dr. Reid.

We meet again.

The great Randall.

You're my pancreatitis consult?

In the flesh.

You're not a grudge-holder, are you?

[ chuckles ] When a fake hypnotist pretends that he can talk to my comatose fiancé and then tries to hose me for money, I kind of am.

Point taken.

How is Charlie, by the way? Did he...

Wake up? Yes.

That's fantastic.

Any side effects, so to speak...

Do you have any idea what you did to me, pretending to be a medium or whatever?

It was a cruel hoax at a difficult time.

Yeah, well, that was a low point.

You're right.

In fact, you were my last.

Your last mark?

No... client.

I've given up doing hypnosis and acting as a medium for people.

On the straight and narrow now.

Indian head massage straight?

Oh, don't be cynical, Dr. Reid.

It doesn't suit you.

Yeah. She doesn't think so, either.

Very funny.

Ooh! [ stammers ]

That hurts?

Like a son of a bitch.

The book is about a technique called champissage.

It involves moving energy around the body and releasing...

Oh, for the love of god!

Sorry.

Releasing negative forces through the top of the head.

You've had pancreatic att*cks before?

Yeah. I usually just check myself into a hospital, they give me an I.V. of some morphine.

A few days later, it's done.

But not this time.

No.

Tell me more about the pain.

It's, uh... it's usually worse when I eat.

And it's actually right around my air chakra.

[ sighs ]

Randall, I think that your pancreas may be infected.

I'm going to book you in for a C.T.

Mm, okay.

You know, you actually have a lot of backed-up negative energy, Dr. Reid.

I'm sure that I do.

Oh, shut up.

She could be my daughter.

Melanda: Oh, my god. He's so cute.

What's his name?

Dexter.

Well, aren't you just the cutest little serial k*ller.

Is he yours?

No, he's actually kind of yours.

I want to try him out in the I.C.U. with a couple of my patients.

I have one word for you... infection risk.

I mean low-risk patients like Mrs. Rose.

Come on. She grew up with dogs.

I think pet therapy would really help with her anxiety.

Let me think about it.

Look at the little cutie.

Hey, Mel, I've got this hospital fundraiser thing tonight.

I don't date my friend's exes.

Girl code, Goran.

Not a date. It's just really bad form for the chief of surgery to turn up unaccompanied.

And I'm pretty sure you're not my type.

How many times do I have to tell you it's not a date?

How many times do I have to say no?

Why don't you ask Alex?

Why do people keep saying that to me?

[ sighs ]

What am I looking at?

Charlie: Uh, your husband's intestines, Sheila.

Your girlfriend forgot to close, Charlie.

You're making this very easy for me and Rusty...

Dr. Reid didn't forget to close.

I'm Dr. Goran, by the way. Nice to meet you.

Sheila Birk, Rusty's wife and law partner.

No judge will ever believe you shrink-wrapped Russell Birk.

Mrs. Birk, your husband's duodenum has been repaired.

Our next step is to find out what is going on with his legs.

What do you mean his legs?

He couldn't feel them... before Dr. Reid performed the operation.

We believe that he has a spinal fracture.

We would like to perform an instrument infusion.

Anterior or posterior?

We don't know that yet.

[ sighs ]

Tricky surgery, either way.

Don't screw up, Harris.

Uh, Sheila, Rusty and I have a little too much history.

So do we, for that matter.

Dr. Goran will be performing the surgery.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Mrs. Birk, I can assure you I am...

Rusty has lost one case in the last decade, and it was his, because he's the best.

You save his legs, Charlie.

[ gasping ]

What's happening?

He's fighting the tube.

Joel: Okay. Why don't you step aside for a moment, Mrs. Birk?

All right, he needs more sedation, please.

All right. He needs sedation. Come on.

Pushing 40 of propofol.

Oh, my god, honey.

Okay, SATs are improving.

[ sighs ] Something else is going on here.

Harris...

Am I dead?

Joel: Charlie, what do you reckon?

Um...

Can you hear me?

We'll know more when we get the results of the C.T. back.

Am I dead?

Maybe you could take Mrs. Birk down to the, um...

Yeah, why don't you come with me?

Harris. Harris?

You're not dead.

Ah.

No wonder I couldn't make that case against you.

You're kind of supernatural, Charlie.

I didn't have this back then.

Well, you have it now.

I wonder how I could use this.

You won't remember any of this when you wake up.

I remember everything, Charlie.

You know that.

Could've been a lot worse.

It's lucky you had your hands up when that window fell.

You haven't asked me a word about Zach.

It's because it's not my business.

This is.

I renovated his house.

I'm guessing he didn't love your work.

Well, he was pretty happy... till I hooked up with his wife.

You know, I'm not an introspective guy, but... maybe...

Maybe what?

Maybe I was brought here as an opportunity To make things right.

And I should seize the opportunity and go speak to Zach.

Just stay put. Let me finish, okay?

Yeah.

Okay.

I tell you, Dr. Lin, karma's a bitch.

Certainly looks that way.

Wow.

That is not what I expected to see.

Check it out.

Not at all isolated to the thoracic spine.

Bone spurs go all the way down.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.

Dish. He's got bamboo spine.

Disease has turned his entire spinal column into one long piece of brittle bone.

Which explains why, when he took that blow to the stomach, it fractured his vertebrae.

I'm gonna get some blood work done to determine the underlying cause.

Dish is an old man's disease.

Objection! That's defamation.

[ sighs ]

What do you think, Charlie?

You saw him out there. He's in great shape.

Doesn't make any sense.

Well, nothing makes any sense with this guy.

Well, he's wiley, all right.

Does this chief of surgery know about your powers, Charlie?

Might make him a little skeptical about keeping you on staff.

I got to tell you, too... this whole bamboo-spine thing, it's complicating the surgery.

I definitely think I'm gonna have to go in posteriorly after all.

No, no, no. No. I want you, Harris.

And if you don't do it, I'm gonna tell your girlfriend about this ghost thing.

I'm doing the surgery, Joel.

You heard the wife. She wants me to.

What are you talking... are you insane?

If something goes wrong in there...

Nothing's going to go wrong.

Hey, Charlie, if he sues you again, then he sues this hospital, too, all right?

Giving this guy an excuse to go after you again... that seems a little bit foolish.

Punting myself from an operation I'm the most qualified to perform seems even more foolish.

If you'll excuse me, I have an O.R. to prep.

Good call, doctor. Court is adjourned.

Your C.T. and blood work show that your pancreas is infected.

Oh, yeah?

The old panc's giving out, huh?

No, it's infected, and there is some dead tissue.

Eh? That sounds bad.

It's not good.

Mm.

So, what are you gonna do? You gonna take it out?

You gonna give me a panc-ectomy?

No, I'm gonna remove the dead tissue, and I'm gonna clear out your infection.

Now, before the procedure, is there anybody that you should call?

No, nobody that would answer the phone.

I have a daughter, Leslie, but I haven't talked to her in years.

No, it's just me and my chakras and apparently now my busted panc.

[ chuckles ]

He's ready.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, doc, do you think maybe you could call her?

Maybe that would work.

It'd be really great to see her again.

You will.

You can call her yourself when you're out of surgery, okay?

I'll see you in the O.R.

Hey. What brings you down to my lair?

There's a rumor going around the lawyers sprung for doughnuts.

No, and I wouldn't trust them if they did.

But I have half a fruit salad.

It's all yours.

Zach?

Hey.

I'll take a rain check.

Where's Hank? Is he okay?

Uh, I don't know.

You should talk to his doctor.

You're not treating him?

Why would I be?

Because you're the head of the emergency department, and he was brought here in an ambulance.

Lots of people get brought here in ambulances.

I don't keep tabs on all of them.

He's my husband, Zach.

And you're my wife.

At least, you were my wife.

[ sighs ] I'm sorry. I...

I know this must be a nightmare for you.

I understand.

Actually, it's kind of a dream.

I just wish another window would fall on his head.

Dr. Miller, I need you in bed 2.

Just wait out here.

I was removing glass from his head when his speech became dysarthric.

I think there's something wrong with me.

My head hurts.

Show me your tongue.

Show me your teeth.

Make two fists. Press down on my hands.

Equal pressure. No signs of a stroke.

Any dysphasia?

No.

You have any trouble swallowing?

No, but my head's k*lling me.

On a scale of 1 to 10...

Zach?

What is it?

I can't see.

I can't see anything!

Zach, you got to help me! I can't see!

Okay, okay, okay! Just sit back, stay calm.

We're gonna figure this out. Page Shahir.

Okay.

So, tell me, Harris, does anybody know about the ghost-whispering, or are we looking at a class-action suit here?

Hey, Russ, you sure you want to be messing with me right now?

Oh, that's very clever, the phone thing.

One of the many ways you hide your condition, I imagine?

I'll be bringing that up.

I'm about to operate on your spine, my friend.

What are you gonna do?

Are you gonna screw up the surgery on purpose So I never wake up and get to expose your little secret?

I will take that under advisement, counselor.

You don't have it in you.

We'll see about that.

Don't take it out on me in the O.R., Harris.

[ dog barking ]

Sorry, Dr. Harris.

I don't know what's got into him.

Come on! Stop it, Dexter.

It's okay, little fella.

I don't bite dogs.

Yeah, just innocent doctors, huh?

"Innocent doctors" what?

Uh, nothing. It's a cute dog.

He's not really like this.

He's usually much... uh...

Okay, we're gonna have to go talk to the nice lady, Dexter.

We're in the doghouse.

[ telephone ringing, cash register dinging ]

Oh, hey.

You.

Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying.

I was really hoping I'd bump into you again.

Although I got to say, I really miss our talks.

Uh, I don't.

I'm sensing you, uh...have some sort of a problem with me, Charlie.

Uh, you sense correctly. You must be psychic.

Okay, look... mea culpa and all that.

Can we put that aside? We need to talk.

I do not.

Well, I do.

I'm really sorry to see that you still have this curse.

Okay?

What curse would that be?

Yikes. I know that look. Bad outcome?

Carcinomatosis... tumors everywhere.

There was nothing we could do but close him back up.

That doesn't sound like you, Reid.

You usually go down with more of a fight.

Yeah, well, not this time. He's got about a month.

Got to go talk to the family now?

He doesn't have any family.

Well, he has a daughter, but I think they're estranged.

Way to bring me down, Reid.

Sad story.

[ monitors beeping ]

[ dialing ]

Hi. Is this Leslie Crane?

My name is Alex Reid.

I'm a doctor at Hope Zion hospital, and I'm treating your father.

There's something you should know.

Wow! That looks healthy.

Hey, Sonja.

It's about as healthy as putting a loaded luger in your mouth.

What are you doing here?

Oh, just a follow-up appointment.

Remember the whole "b*llet in the heart" thing?

I do, yeah.

But I'm doing good.

That's good to hear.

How is your boy, by the way?

Oh, he's so great.

Yeah?

And he actually asks about you every time I come to the hospital.

He does?

Yeah. You're kind of his hero.

You know, that whole saving his mom thing.

You should probably tell him to aim a little higher.

No, I think that, uh, they're high enough.

Anyways, it was great to see you again, Joel.

Yeah, you, too.

Hey, Sonja.

Yeah.

This might seem a little bit last-minute and completely left field, but, uh...I have this really, truly... and, I mean, excruciatingly boring fundraiser to go to tonight.

I'm supposed to bring someone with me.

Wait a minute. Are you asking me on a date?

No, it is not a date.

Oh, right. 'cause that wouldn't be allowed with the...

Technically, that's true.

But then again, you're not my patient anymore, and I'm not really much of a stickler for the rules, so... like I said before, not a date.

Right.

What if it was a date?

[ sighs ] Look, I don't want this to sound harsh, Joel, but some of the nurses, they told me that... you don't have the best reputation.

Which nurses said that I don't have the best reputation?

No, they just talked, and I listened is all.

But it was really sweet of you to ask.

Thanks.

[ clears throat ]

And, Joel, if it was a date, you'd probably want to work on your approach... just a little bit.

Duly noted.

Just a little bit.

Hank, Ariel, this is Dr. Shahir Hamza.

What's happening with my husband?

This C.T. here shows two foreign objects embedded in your husband's parietal region.

What do you mean foreign objects?

They look like tiny sewing needles, but we'll have a better idea once we get them out.

Well, are they from the window accident?

No. They've been there since infancy.

We think someone pushed them Through the soft fontanel of your husband's head.

They've been there ever since.

Oh, god, no.

Do you have any idea how this could have happened?

His mother. It must have been his birth mother.

It's a long story. It ends in adoption.

Unbelievable.

Actually, the accident must have jarred them into a new, harmful position.

Anyway, we need to remove them.

Will I get my eyesight back?

You should, when the hematoma obstructing your optic nerve heals.

Do you understand the course of treatment?

Could he die from the surgery?

Yes. It's always a possibility.

Dr. Hamza's an excellent surgeon.

I am.

You're in good hands.

Do the surgery.

Okay.

Okay. Dr. Lin, you can scrub in.

It should be exciting.

And weird.

Can I go up with him?

Uh, I'm afraid not, but I will update you as soon as he's out of surgery.

Okay.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Oh, my god. It's a funny world, huh?

Funny "strange" or funny "ha ha"?

I don't know, Zach.

What you doing, Joel?

Scrubbing in to assist.

Big surgery, mate.

My show, Joel.

Yeah, well, I will bill as your assistant.

I'll make all interoperative decisions.

Yeah, I get that, too.

You don't like that, you can suspend my privileges or you can fire me.

[ chuckles ]

I'm not gonna fire you, Charlie.

Sweet!

Scrub on up. I'll see you in there.

[ knock on door ]

Would you believe I got all my chakras wrong?

All of them. It's unbelievable.

It's incredibly difficult to learn new things late in life, you know?

I took the liberty of trying to get ahold of your daughter.

I couldn't get ahold of her.

Oh, yeah?

No, you got her. She's not coming.

You're not built for lying, Dr. Reid.

Do I have a tell?

No, it's just who you are.

You're a lot like her, actually... my daughter.

It's one thing I got right.

I'm sorry.

Don't be.

I don't deserve it.

May I?

Eh.

Do you mind putting the book down, just for a minute?

Randall.

Your pancreatitis is being caused by a tumor.

It has metastasized.

I see.

There's not much we can do, unfortunately, except for give you antibiotics for the infection, morphine to manage your pain...

Stop. Stop.

It's okay.

I know you think I'm a huckster, right?

Well, I wasn't always like this.

When my daughter was a little girl, I had a car accident, and I suddenly started to see spirits... dead people.

Shw-shw-shw-shw.

Since then, my whole life has been a disaster.

You mean the hallucinations.

No, I'm talking about talking to dead people.

You really think that you can communicate with ghosts?

I have empirical proof.

I know things I wouldn't otherwise be able to know.

I live in a liminal state between life and death.

I talk to the dead.

Nobody can do that.

"Can" implies a choice. I wasn't given one.

Look... was the tumor caused by drinking?

It may have exacerbated it.

[ chuckles ]

This is funny.

Oh, yeah.

I only ever drank to quiet the voices.

[ chuckles ]

I... I... death will be a relief.

[ chuckles ]

Don't screw this up.

You'll let me know if I paralyze him, won't you?

You got it.

I'll be checking his readings every 20 minutes.

Pedicle finder.

You got it.

Depth gauge.

Mm-hmm.

Don't shove the gauge in too far.

I won a huge case on that.

35.

Dr. Harris, you need to see this.

[ monitors beeping ]

What's happening?

Joel, we got a situation here.

Duodenum repair's bleeding out.

It's gonna k*ll him much faster than any spinal fracture ever could.

We need a general surgeon.

[ sighs ]

Got to get Dr. Reid right now.

Looks like you got your wish.

[ monitors beeping ]

There must be a tear in the repair line.

I need to get back in there.

Joel: No, that's not gonna happen.

Well, I can't assess the wound from here, okay?

You're gonna have to flip him over or he could bleed out while you're operating.

What's happening, Harris?

We can't move him. He's not stable.

[ sighs ]

I can use a scope.

While prone?

Yeah.

So, you want to operate on this guy upside down?

We don't have another choice.

An upside-down gastroscopy.

Okay, let's go, let's go!

Unless you have a better idea.

It's your call, Charlie.

You have to save my life, Charlie.

Get her an endoscope.

Okay. All right.

I need you to lower the monitor under the table, too.

Joel: You know, I've never seen anything like this in my life.

You just keep building the deck, gents, and I'll go in and try and fix the plumbing.

Okay, Charlie, how many levels do you want to do on this?

Three up, three down.

Let's do the rods next.

[ monitors beeping ]

I can't see anything with all this bleeding in here.

Oh, man, everything is backwards.

It's like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach.

B.P. is dropping.

There's the tear.

There's the tear on the first part of the duodenum.

[ monitors beeping loudly ]

He's going tachy, Alex.

It's not working, Harris. I can't...

Okay.

I'm gonna cauterize the bleeders.

Hurry up.

Almost there.

Got it.

B.P. rising.

80.

You got it.

You did it, baby!

Well done.

It's a piece of cake... upside-down cake.

[ all groan ]

Oh, so terrible.

That was good, right?

Okay.

Charlie, we ready for the cross-links?

Charlie? Ready to close the spine cross-links?

Are you gonna close up the spine?

Just a minute.

What do you mean you need a minute?

Charlie, what are you talking about, man?

It's showtime.

Just need a minute.

I can't get up.

Can you feel your legs?

No, I can't feel them at all.

When did this start?

I've been feeling weird.

It got worse a few minutes ago.

Damn it.

That could be an epidural hematoma compressing your spinal cord.

Can you fix me?

I don't even know this is present yet.

It could be 20 minutes Before the monitors record the abnormality.

So, what? I'm gonna be paralyzed?

I'm scared, Charlie.

I'm gonna look after you, Rusty, okay?

Trust me.

Okay.

Joel: Charlie, you sterile?

What just happened, Charlie?

Check his M.E.P.S.

I did 10 minutes ago. We're all clear.

Do it again. Send a little jolt up his spine.

Make sure we're all good.

What are we doing?

You got to finish fusing the spine.

It's my show, Joel, all right?

I'm worried about spinal compression.

Do it again, please.

You're the boss.

[ beeps ]

[ electricity crackles ]

Holy crap.

We have some serious lag.

His spine's being compressed.

How did you know that?

He's anaesthetized and intubated.

How could you possibly know he was paralyzed?

Just a hunch.

I need a number 4 kerrison punch.

We need to decompress the spine and evacuate the hematoma.

Come on, guys. Let's go. Let's move on this.

Start performing laminectomies at the inferior level.

I am on it. Need another kerrison punch.

Hey.

Hey.

You still take two sugars?

Yeah. Thanks. Any word?

No, not yet.

Crazy world, huh?

Where a mother can stick needles in her own baby's head and, 35 years later, come back to k*ll him all over again.

Yep, that's about as crazy as it gets.

But, hey, don't worry.

Dr. Hamza is a very skilled neurosurgeon.

We both know that's not always enough.

The nights you came home after losing a patient, the nights you didn't...

Will you pray with me?

For him?

I don't do that anymore... not since you left.

Please.

Ariel, I...

Zach, I am so scared.

[ breathes deeply ]

Dear god, you know that I don't talk to you often, but...

Please lay your hand of healing on Hank and be with the surgeons and guide them for he is a man who loves and... and is loved deeply.

His neuromonitoring is all clear.

His latencies are all normal.

No sign of spinal compression or hematoma.

Good work.

Thank you. You guys mind closing for me?

I'm b*at.

Give me a second?

So, uh, what happened before, during the surgery?

Since the accident, um... well, sometimes I need a little space to clear my head.

Well, whatever you came back with, you saved Birk's legs.

[ chuckles ]

Yeah, he'll probably still sue me.

[ chuckles ]

Well, he can call me to testify.

Whatever you pulled off in there, it was...

We pulled that off, Joel. It was a team effort.

Yeah, I'm glad we're on the same team.

[ monitors beeping ]

The disease has made your spine brittle.

We had to fuse it and put in rods.

Now, your mobility was preserved, but, um... no more full-contact hoops for you, okay?

What is this thing, this, uh... dish?

It's from human growth hormone.

Your blood work showed incredibly high levels of it, and dish is a known side effect.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I think you do, Rusty.

You've been injecting HGH.

Trying to stay young has made you old.

[ exhales sharply ]

My wife can't know.

She's pretty sharp.

I'm not sure she'll be surprised.

You don't get it. I can't slip, Harris.

I need to stay young, and I need to stay strong.

I'm the natural. I...

I am the prodigy with the mensa I.Q.

But I remember everything.

Your foot was on the line when you took that 3-point sh*t.

You might be right.

You know I'm gonna sue you, right?

That means you're still alive, Rusty.

Dr. Hamza says his vision will come back.

Says he's gonna be fine.

That's good to hear.

It'll mean a lot to Hank that you prayed for him.

I know it does to me.

We're really finished, aren't we?

I mean... no chance.

[ smooches ]

I want you to be happy, Zach.

The great Randall.

Why does he want to see me?

He asked me to bring you by.

Maybe he wants to meet you.

He's a lonely guy.

[ scoffs ] He must be.

His daughter said he was a wonderful man before he started seeing things.

Maybe it's a scam. Maybe...

What?

You believe him?

I believe he believes.

Randall...

I'd like you to meet Charlie Harris.

Charlie Harris? In the flesh.

Um, Dr. Reid, would you give us a couple of minutes alone?

[ clears throat ]

Randall: Have a good look, sport.

This is how it ends... dying alone.

She doesn't know, does she?

About the, uh, ghosts?

No. No, she doesn't.

Good.

Keep it that way.

Don't put it on her. She doesn't deserve it.

She deserves picket fences and... fairy tales.

She does.

Mess her up, I'll come back and haunt you.

I got it.

No, I don't think you do.

But you will.

This curse we have destroys everything.

I'm so sorry.

[ sighs ]

What did he want to talk to you about?

Oh... guy stuff, you know?

Really?

He just wanted to tell me how lucky I was.

Are you okay?

It was just... pretty weird when you took that surgery break to... kneel down, talk to yourself.

Are you sure you're good?

I'm good.

Okay. [ chuckles ]

Charlie, I wouldn't wish his life on anyone.

[ sighs ] Me neither.

[ indistinct conversations ]

[ clears throat ]

Wow.

Well, enjoy it, because I am returning this tomorrow.

You know, I was not altogether sure you were gonna show.

Really?

Mm. I guess this means you've reconsidered my reputation.

No. No, I just figured mine's so dodgy, you know, what the hell?

Cool. Then we should be dodgy together.

Wow. Your approach, it's... it's improving.

Help me work on it.

Okay.

You might want to start by asking me my last name.

I know that your last name is Sullivan.

I looked at your chart.

Very observant.

And, um... what else have you observed about me?

I have observed that you are a terrific mother.

Very good. And?

I... also...

Oh.

Too long of a pause.

Okay, um, I'm a social worker, but I don't have a bleeding heart.

And I have a motorcycle, but I haven't driven it since Ryan was born.

And I have a... a heart-shaped birthmark on my back that you won't be seeing tonight.

Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that.

[ chuckles ] Hmm.

So...

So...

Tell me, what do you do when you're not being a surgeon?

Um... I'm kind of always being a surgeon.

Hmm. Well, you're a tough case, Goran, but you're not a hopeless one.

Hey. Thanks, uh, for meeting me.

I just, uh, wasn't sure I could go out and eat alone tonight.

Eh, that's what pals are for.

Probably would have grabbed some takeout myself.

That's a beautiful shirt.

Thanks.

Hey, hold up a sec, will you?

I like to get that stuff out of the way right up front.

Or... maybe you're not ready to let things go with your wife.

Ex-wife.

♪ it could happen this way ♪
♪ and how you been ♪
♪ oh, no, I could not say ♪
♪ I watched you every single day ♪
♪ I couldn't help letting you know ♪
♪ even though someday I knew you'd have to go ♪
♪ it didn't stop me from letting it show ♪
♪ baby, don't blame me ♪

[ both laugh ]

Oh, my god. That was so dull.

It was... boring.

You did... you did warn me, but, I mean... that joke... what was that joke?

The proctologist and the flowers.

Yeah, did it even have a punch line?

No, that was the problem! There was no punch lines.

At all.

Nothing.

And why would you stuff chicken with raisins?

I mean, who wants to eat that?

Lunatics and idiots.

Hey.

I had a good time tonight.

Yeah. So did I.

♪ I thought that I was history ♪

Joel, just... just... don't screw me around, because you know that I'm not traveling alone.

Message received.

Yeah?

Okay.

Okay.