07x08 - Just as a Snake Sheds Its Skin

[bunniefuu]

I had your van towed.

You took my home. How could you?!

- I gotta go.
- Mom, stop! Mom!

- I'm a little concerned.
- What do you mean?

When capable people like yourself

feel like they need a
little extra help...

I'm not on anything.

Do you feel like you've
been morally compromised

promoting the Vas-COM?

I don't feel so good.

♪

How about drinks?

I don't think it's appropriate
for me to date a patient.

You know how to reach me.

You saved me.

Another round of Arnold Palmers?

Just because I can't drink doesn't
mean you have to abstain.

Arnold Palmer for me.
Mezcal for the gentleman.

Double sh*t. Best you got.

You trying to take advantage of me now?

Oh, no. I like my prey
alert and engaged.

Oh, I'm sure you do.

[LAUGHS]

- Hey, what's up, man?
- Hey, Big D.

What was I saying?

Oh, you was telling me
about some knucklehead kid

that busted up his leg on a skateboard.

He had a bone sticking through his shin

and then his foot just was like...

- Hey, come on. Stop it.
- [CHUCKLES]

Hey, Uncle Joe, I ain't
see him in a minute.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I think
it's probably best to let him be.

He's not in a good place right now.

- Why?
- Sergeant Kerry.

Oh, man. He up to his antics again, huh?

Yeah. He put him on rubber g*n squad.

Desk duty for what?

Some rookie cop was
mouthing off at your uncle

in the parking lot after work,

so Joe had to teach him
how to respect his elders.

Oh, Joe shaped him up?

- Joe shaped him up good.
- [BOTH LAUGH]

Well, we shouldn't be laughing.
But it was a sight to see.

- And he snitched, right?
- Yeah.

Because these young guys, what,
they as soft as tissue paper.

They wasn't even on the
clock, but you know Kerry.

I know Kerry.

I think he's just trying to make
an example out of your uncle.

- [PHONE CHIMES]
- Oh, excuse me.

You, uh, you mind if I...

Who's hitting you up at this hour?

Is it another lady friend?

No, it's your mom, actually.

And she wants me to meet her at Med.

I thought you weren't on call tonight.

No, I'm not. She knows that.

- I, just, um...
- Don't want to let her down?

Yeah, just... I wouldn't
have started drinking if I...

Crockett, you're allowed
to have a social life.

Yeah. Right?

Just... let her know that I'm
unavailable, and, uh, that's that.

And then what do you
say we get out of here,

go back to my place for a nightcap?

I would, uh, I would love that.

But I have to be up early.

I'm on in the ED at : .

Do-over tomorrow night?

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

So I'm thinking about getting
all the guys together, right?

And we're gonna have a poker night.

I'm standing right here,
and you come in the door

- and you knock me out of the way?
- Hey, pal.

Why don't you just go sit down, okay?

I said you cut me off, old man.

- Get out of my face.
- Get out of my...

- Hey!
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Chill out, bro.
- Take it easy.

Hey, I hardly touched him.

Uncle Joe, you're bleeding.

- Let me look...
- Hey, Joe! Joe! Joe!

- Hey, stop. Stop it. Stop.
- Enough!

- Let's get him out of here.
- Come on, man. Come on.

- Let's go.
- Let's go.

Take it easy.

I'll circle back later
after his wife leaves.

So you really think Cooper
was about to come clean?

I'm sure of it.

I'm telling you, Ms. Goodwin, he was...

- Keep me posted.
- Yeah.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- How you doing?
- I'm still in shock.

Matt seemed completely fine
at the convention center

and then all of a sudden, he just...

Yeah. I know.

Do you think it was my fault?

Maybe Matt overheard me
questioning his judgment

- on Eleanor Holt's case and then...
- No, no, no, Jessa.

- That's not why...
- And if that raised his blood pressure,

- then maybe...
- No, I'm positive.

There were... extenuating circumstances.

Good. I mean, not good.

The man had a heart att*ck. I just...

- No, I get you.
- Really?

You're one of the few.

- Anyway, I should get this.
- Yeah.

[SOMBER AMBIENT MUSIC]

♪

Hey, Unc. Good morning. How you feeling?

Just had whiskey and
bumped into some jackass.

You're a peach compared to the guy

that put that gash on your head.

Oh, crap. Not my money maker, D.

[LAUGHS]

Look, I would have sewn you up myself,

but I figured I'd let Plastics
take a cr*ck at it. You know?

Give you the VIP treatment.

Thanks, D. You and your pops
are always looking out for me.

Yeah.

On that front, uh, I heard about
the incident with the rookie.

What incident? Come on, huh?
Where we come from,

you pop off, you could get
your ass handed to you.

Kid didn't expect your unc to make
him eat pavement, that's all.

Well, what about you, you know?

How are you dealing with the fallout?

Heard you talked to somebody internally.

Yeah. They had me sit down
with some pencil-neck shrink

from the department, cover their asses.

It's not like I'm gonna cry
my guts out to the guy.

That'll give 'em a reason to
put me out to pasture sooner.

Well, um, you know, we got a guy here.

Dr. Charles, he's the
head of psychiatry.

He's becoming a really
good friend of mine.

- Here we go.
- Nah, for real.

He's a good guy.

And he has no connections
to the department.

No one will ever know that
you even talked to him.

Are you really gonna turn
down an opportunity

to bitch for an hour?

Ow. That does sound appealing.

Yeah.

You know, Marsha, she's been trying
to get me into therapy for years.

It'd make her happy.

Well, you got to wait
on Plastics anyway.

[MOODY MUSIC]

♪

So, uh, how are you doing this?

You taking steroids, huh?
You cloning yourself, huh?

Because you've seen more
patients this morning

than any other doc in the ED.

Really? I didn't realize.

Not that it should come as any surprise

seeing as you've learned from the best.

- You referring to yourself?
- Hey, you said it, not me.

Hate to break up the
love fest, gentlemen,

but we've got an MVC incoming.

Dr. Choi, you're going with
Dr. Marcel. You good?

- Yeah, good.
- Damn right you are.

[ALARM BEEPS]

Marcus Clemens, -year-old male.

Unrestrained driver, high-speed MVC.

Suspected chest trauma and
visible bulge in his abdomen.

GCS . Vitals are stable.

Gave him of morphine in the ambo.

It looks like some sort of
incarcerated ab hernia.

Might be traumatic. It's hard to tell.

I've seen it before when patients
get thrown against the gearshift.

Hey, Mr. Clemens, I'm Dr. Marcel.

You were in a car accident.
You're at Chicago Med now.

I'm gonna take good care of you.

All right, guys, here we go.
Whoa, no, no, no, no.

- Kayla, cover Dr. Choi for me.
- Come on.

Not yet, brother. Welcome back.

Here we go. On my count.

One, two, three.

Nice and easy.

- Ultrasound, please.
- Okay.

All right.

Diminished breath sounds on the left.

- Okay. FAST is negative.
- All right. Let's clear.

Mr. Clemens, I need you
to be still for me. Okay?

- X-ray's up.
- Yep. Left pneumothorax.

- I'll put in a chest tube.
- Go ahead and prep.

I'm gonna see if I can reduce
that hernia manually.

[MARCUS GROANS]

Okay, bear with me, Mr. Clemens.

Might wanna try the
Trendelenburg position.

That's not gonna make a difference.

- Some Brucet to relax him?
- No, this thing isn't budging.

I'm concerned it's
starting to strangulate.

- Might be the angle.
- Give me an abdominal CT.

Let's see what else is going on.

Mr. Clemens, you feel this right here?

All right, everyone, let's
simmer down and let's gather.

Good morning, everybody.

It's that time of year again.
Wyatt Labs is on site

to do our random drug testing.

Maggie will facilitate, assigning
each of you a time slot.

And I know y'all are slammed,
but no exceptions.

Everyone must give a sample
before clocking out today.

Uh, Doris, you're lucky número uno.

Thank you. Thank you, y'all.

Okay, well, you have my
number if she turns up.

Yeah. Thanks.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Oh, hey. I was just, uh...

My mom and I got into a fight
last night and she took off.

I've been up all night calling
shelters, trying to find her.

I'm sorry to hear that, Stevie.

Yeah, well, wishful thinking on my part

that she'd turn up in a shelter.

Any idea where she might have gone?

Uh, yeah.

In the past when things
have gotten chaotic,

she's turned to dr*gs.

Anything to numb herself.

So you think she might
be trying to score?

I don't know. I'm gonna see if I
can track down her friend Misty.

Um, see where people from
the encampment are buying.

Why don't I come with you?

Got a five-hour pharmacy

and therapeutics Zoom this morning
I'm sure I won't be missed at.

I appreciate the offer, Will,
but it's okay... I'll be fine.

Oh, I don't doubt that.

But everyone can use a
little backup, right?

Even the Hammer.

You call me that again,
I leave you on the curb.

Copy. Let me get dressed.
I'll meet you out front.

Okay.

How you doing? I'm Dr. Charles.

- You must be Uncle Joe.
- Yeah.

Well, Dylan here says that
you're a master of your craft.

So that's a ringing endorsement.

You know, he's enthusiastic,

so we try and look past his faults.

All right. I'll let you two
comedians get at it.

What's, um... what's been going on?

Well, didn't Dylan tell you already?

You know, just the broad strokes.

He said that you were having
a rough time at work.

Honestly, Doc, I was hoping you might
recommend some sort of meds.

- Oh, okay.
- My wife Marsha...

well, I don't know if she
calls herself that anymore.

She had me move out
when things hit the fan.

Oh, boy. I'm sorry to hear that.

Anyways, she always thought

that I should be on some
sort of pill, you know?

- Help even me out a bit.
- Right.

Guess cops are allowed to take them now

with a doctor's note. I don't know.

Maybe if she heard that
I was finally listening

to her advice for once, she
might let me move back in.

Okay. Look, we can absolutely
talk about medication.

But I guess I just...

I want to hear a little bit
more about what's going on.

For instance, you say
that your wife thinks

that maybe medication
might even you out.

- What do you think she means by that?
- No, no, no, no.

Look, it's not like I'm some sort
of loose cannon. All right?

It's just what happened with the rookie,

I know I crossed the line.

I should never have put hands on him.

I think you're... you're probably right

about that last part, but
I mean, look, I get it.

I've been doing this for over years.

I wouldn't want some first year
resident mouthing off of me.

Exactly. These kids
these days, no respect.

Punk got off easy.

Hmm.

[WOMAN RETCHES AND COUGHS]

Hey.

Is everything okay?

All good.

- Vanessa?
- [TOILET FLUSHES]

Are you all right?

Yeah, yeah. I'm fine.
Food poisoning, I think.

I stopped by a sketchy food
truck last night after work.

- My mistake.
- Oh, no.

Do you feel well enough to work?

Actually, maybe I should go home.

Oh. Sure.

Let me just check the testing schedule.

You know, can I just reschedule that

- for another day or something?
- Unfortunately, no.

They take a real hard
line on these things.

Anyone who misses is automatically
subject to investigation.

But no worries, I could just
move up your time slot,

and you can go home right after.

You know what, I, uh, I think I'll stay.

- You sure?
- Yeah. Yeah.

I think I probably actually got the...
the worst out of my system.

Okay, well, try to take it easy
and rest between patients.

- Oh, and don't forget to hydrate.
- I got it, Maggie. Thank you.

Okay.

Hey, morning, Dr. Blake.

Apologies I couldn't
scrub in last night.

You missed a once-in-a-year case.

Oh, well. My rule of thumb...

if I wouldn't drive, I shouldn't
operate, right? [CHUCKLES]

Maybe I made a miscalculation.

I beg your pardon?

I thought you were committed,
serious about the opportunity.

I am very much so.

Just not enough to prioritize
it above drinking and partying?

With all due respect, Dr. Blake,

- I wasn't on call last night.
- Okay.

If you want to shadow me,

when opportunity knocks,

consider yourself on call.
Doesn't matter the hour.

And if that doesn't work for
you, you just let me know.

Sooner rather than later.

I don't like having my time wasted.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Hey, Crockett, I just got
Marcus Clemens' CT back.

No solid organ injury and no free fluid,

but a clear abdominal wall hernia
with incarcerated bowel.

Yeah. Looks like he needs
an emergent laparotomy.

All right, I'll call the OR now.

Right now? You think that's a good idea?

He's got a pulmonary contusion.
His sats aren't great.

Well, it's not opportune.

But if we wait, we risk the bowel dying.

Yeah. This is Dr. Marcel.
Give me scheduling.

What about giving manual
reduction another sh*t?

I had this old-school surgeon
on my first deployment.

She taught me this method she swears by.

- Hold on for me.
- Heat followed by ice

and you kind of corkscrew
the bowel back into place.

I'm telling you, Ethan,
the sucker's stuck.

It's not budging, and the more
we piss off that bowel,

the greater the risk of
strangulation and perforation.

- You know that.
- Let me give it a sh*t.

I'm not trying to undermine
your efforts in any way, man.

I just... I saw this work on
the ship dozens of times

when surgery wasn't an option.

Yeah. Let me call you back.

You know manual reduction is a
physically involved procedure.

Yeah, I know. I'll be careful.

I understand that.

- But with your injury, I mean...
- Hey, let me worry about that.

I'm sorry, Ethan, but
when it has the potential

to negatively impact
the patient's outcome,

I can't do that.

I'm gonna book the OR.

Yeah, give me scheduling.

Yeah, laparotomy .

Didn't sound to me like
this Sergeant Kerry

has too many fans on the force.

I mean, is he giving
everybody a hard time?

No. No, no. This guy's had it out for me

ever since he got his stripes.

Listen, get this, every year, we
all get uniform allowance, right?

, bucks.

This year, mine doesn't
even hit my bank account.

- Not a clerical oversight, huh?
- Oh, no.

Kerry keeps track of every
penny, where it goes.

He did this on purpose just to snub me.

I mean, you should see this prick

sitting up there at his castle
at Mount Greenwood.

Then they're at Mastro's
every Friday night,

dining off the company dime.

- Every Friday?
- Like clockwork.

And in the meantime, this
jerk's cut me out of overtime

by taking me off-a patrol.

But I mean, Joe, that's... that's
a decision you can appeal, right?

And give him the pleasure
of sh**ting me down, huh?

Humiliating me again? Forget it.

But I'm gonna tell you what,

if he doesn't put me
back on patrol soon,

I can't say what's gonna happen.

What... what do you mean by that?

Joe, what do you... what
do you mean by that?

Listen, Doc, are we going
to do these meds, huh?

I gotta get going here.

Misty saw my mom last night.

Said she was headed to a pawn shop.

She's trying to hawk a gold bracelet,

which confirms she's
looking for fast cash.

Where do you think she
got a gold bracelet?

It's mine. Um, she must
have taken it with her.

She's not a thief.

She acts out when she's desperate.

Anyway, Misty gave me some addresses,

places where people are
buying, sh**ting galleries.

- I thought we could start there.
- Hey, if you want,

I can call my brother Jay,
get help locating her.

Will, if the cops find her
with dr*gs in her possession,

they'll lock her up.

Look, I don't want this to sound harsh,

but maybe that's the
wakeup call she needs.

She's already done time.

Served a one year sentence back in .

I can't put her through that again.

Whoa, whoa.

Hey, Joe, where are you going?

I thought we were gonna
talk a little bit more.

Buddy, again, medication
is absolutely...

I'm good. Okay?

Thanks for the help, Doc. I gotta split.

Hey, let's at least try and find Dylan.

I... I know that he wanted
to say goodbye to you.

I hassled the kid enough last night.

I won't bother him
while he's saving lives.

Take care, Doc.

Hey, Marcus.

Techs will be by shortly
to transport you upstairs,

and Dr. Marcel will meet you in the OR.

Oh, already? Okay.

Were you able to get in
touch with your wife?

Yeah.

She was hoping she could
get here before the surgery,

but I told her not to come.

Elaine's eight months
along with our first

and she's got preeclampsia,
so it's... too risky.

Ah, that's tough.

She could go into labor at any moment,

and if I'm not there,
she just might not...

Anyways, uh... [SNIFFLES]

not like I got any other options, right?

Guess surgery is it.

♪

And the patient was
referred by Dr. Scott.

Yeah. Close family friend, okay?

Calls him uncle.

Mm, understood.

You said he sounded paranoid?

I mean, maybe even a little delusional.

Did he make any direct threats

- against this sergeant?
- Not explicitly.

But, I mean, he's smarter than that.

He did, however, describe
in surprising detail

the habits of the sergeant and his wife.

I mean, I'm pretty sure
he's stalking him.

Yeah. But without an
explicit, eminent thr*at,

you can't commit him.

- A judge won't allow it.
- And that's a conundrum, right?

I have no way to force
him into treatment,

which leaves one option,

which is to alert the sergeant.

I mean, surely, I have
an ethical responsibility

to notify potential victims
of... of threats.

- A duty to warn.
- Yeah.

And yet I hate going that way.

There's already so much stigma
around first responders

seeking mental health support.

This is precisely the kind of situation

makes it that much worse.

I mean, you think Dylan
is ever gonna send me

a cop in trouble again?
He'll never forgive me.

But if this guy ends up
attacking someone...

Never forgive myself.

Whew, this is a tough one, Daniel.

I don't envy the position
that you're in.

But just know, whatever
decision you make,

I've got your back.

[SIGHS]

Vanessa.

Dr. Rush is looking for you.

Sorry. Um, I just need a moment.

- Wait, have you been crying?
- No, no, no. I'm fine.

- Vanessa.
- No, I'm fine,

I just need to go back
to work. Please, just...

- Vanessa!
- [HYPERVENTILATING]

Oh, my God. Okay. Sit down.

- Sit down. Okay.
- [HYPERVENTILATING]

I just need to go back to work.

Okay, you're having a panic att*ck.

Slow down your breathing. With me. In.

[INHALES SHAKILY]

- Out.
- [SHAKY BREATHS]

What's going on?

I'm so screwed.

[TENSE MUSIC]

I've been taking Adderall
for the past couple of weeks

to stay on top of work.

And now with this drug test...

If you have a prescription,

- he can't penalize you.
- No, I... I know. I...

I don't have a prescription.

I know! I know. It's just
because I've been so tired

and overwhelmed with work
and... and med school.

I know it's no excuse.
But everyone does it, Maggie.

I took a pill this morning,

and as soon as I found
out about the drug test,

I... I threw it up right away. But...

If you threw it up immediately,

it wouldn't have metabolized.
So you're fine for the test.

I took one last night.

And the half-life of an
Adderall is ten hours.

It takes a day to...

[SIGHS] to clear your system.

I'm not gonna pass this test.
I'm not gonna pass it.

Everything, everything
that I worked for,

I'm just gonna lose.

[SOBBING] I'm not gonna pass this test.

I'm not gonna pass this test, Maggie.

- Okay, okay.
- Maggie, I'm not gonna pass this test.

Okay. Look at me.

- We're gonna figure this out.
- No, no, no. This is on me.

- I'm gonna face the consequences.
- Okay.

Have you been guzzling water?

- Yes.
- Drinking cranberry juice?

- Yes.
- Okay, keep it up.

As much as you can handle.

And... and in a few hours,

we're gonna take an
off-the-record drug test,

and we're going to see where we're at.

Okay?

Okay. Yeah.

But that's the last
Adderall you ever take.

Yeah. Yes.

Okay.

Let's get you out of the cold. Come on.

Excuse me. Have you seen this woman?

[SIGHS]

Hey. Why don't I search upstairs?

Yeah?

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪

Hey. Is your mom or Dad around?

Hey, Stevie, I didn't see your mom.

Mr. Clemens, what are you
still doing down here?

Uh... Marcel.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Dr. Choi made a very compelling case

to give manual reduction another go.

I can't believe you signed off on this.

It's not safe for Dr. Choi,

and if it's not safe for the doctor,

I assume it's not safe for the patient.

If anything goes south,
we're both right here.

And if it still doesn't work,

Mr. Clemens goes straight to surgery.

No harm, no foul.

Oh.

My test result?

Just got the alert.

Let me see.

The Adderall's still
present in your system.

But it has to be a tiny
amount at this point.

It doesn't matter.

It's all over. I'm gonna
lose everything.

Vanessa.

Here.

What's this?

Lasix.

To dilute your urine.

Take it exactly minutes
before you give your sample.

If we're lucky,

it'll make the last traces
of the drug undetectable.

Maggie, I... I can't thank you enough.

Don't.

If you're just stopping
to pass this drug test...

No, no, no. I'm not. I'm not. You
have my word. I'm done with it.

I don't ever want to go through
anything like this ever again.

I'm done.

- Oh, my God!
- Hey, just try to relax, Marcus.

Take deep breaths.

Okay. I feel it's starting to go.

- I feel it starting to go.
- [MARCUS SHOUTS]

- Sorry.
- No, no, it's okay. It's okay.

I'm just getting a bit of resistance.

I need more leverage.

- Yeah.
- Maybe it's time to head upstairs.

No, no, no, no. I just
need a better angle.

Whoa, what are you doing?

Too restricting.

- Ethan.
- I'm good.

[TENSE MUSIC]

I'm good.

♪

There we go. It's going.

Yes, it's going. It's going.

- [MARCUS GROANS]
- Almost there.

We got it, Marcus. We got it. We got it.

- We got this. Yes. Yes!
- Ohh...

That's it.

[LAUGHING]

Hey, good job.

I guess you can cancel that OR.

We'll give you a little time to rest,

and then we'll check back shortly. Okay?

I can't thank you enough, Dr. Choi.

You take care of your
little one, all right?

Hope it's a smooth delivery.

[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]

♪

Gotta hand it to you, man. [CHUCKLES]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Hey, hey, hey.

[WHISPERING] Hey, hey, hey, hey.

- [ETHAN GROANS]
- Hey, you okay, man?

Hey, talk to me.

[INHALES SHARPLY]

I'm gonna need an MRI.

Okay.

Oh, that's a big one.

You're gonna feel a little pinch, okay?

- Ow.
- Sorry.

Hey. Get away from her.

I'm not hurting her. Promise.
I'm just removing a splinter.

[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪

Hey. What do you say we
go get something to eat?

No? Aren't you hungry?

I can't leave Mommy.

[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]

Hey. Hey, yo.

We gotta bounce.

- Come on, baby.
- No, no.

- She's not going with you.
- Let me go.

- Let me go. Mom. Mom.
- We don't have time for this.

- Just leave her.
- Let me go. Mom! Mom!

- Let me go!
- I'm sorry.

Mom!

Why the hell did I just
get a call from my father

saying that you've
reported Joe as a thr*at

to Sergeant Kerry and his wife?

Dylan, I'm really sorry that I
couldn't give you a heads up,

- but you know HIPAA.
- Do you know they called him in,

stripped him of his weapons,
and pending an investigation,

he could get kicked off the job!

And I would feel absolutely terrible

- if that were to happen.
- What did he say? Huh?

What the hell did he say that was so bad

that you had to go
and blow up his life?!

You know I can't tell you that.

Look, if he was using some
sort of heightened language,

it was all bluster. Okay?

It's a part of cop culture.
Macho talk, you know?

Joe... Joe's rough around
the edges. Yes.

But he's not a danger to anybody.

But, you know, I got to
go with my instincts.

You need to trust me,
Joe is a powder keg.

And I just couldn't risk
something terrible happening.

I told him you were gonna help him.

But instead, you destroyed
everything he ever worked for.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Thanks again, Rosado.

Yeah.

[ENGINE STARTS]

♪

Police just took her.

They said DCFS already has
a home lined up for tonight.

[SIGHS] That's good.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]

I just, uh...

No, I know how that girl feels.

Like this is all her fault.

I shouldn't have left Chicago.

- I abandoned my mom.
- Hey, this isn't your fault.

It was my job to protect her.

- [SOBS] It was my job.
- No, that was her job.

She was supposed to protect you.

Multiple herniated lumbar discs.

Yeah. Gonna set him back months.

Poor guy just can't get a break.

[SIGHS]

This wasn't some freak accident.

Katie, would you excuse us, please?

Say what now?

You should never have allowed
Ethan to push himself like that.

Navy men are a tough breed.
Sacrifice is second nat...

That's garbage.

As acting chief, it is your duty
to look out for your doctors.

If they can't say when,
you're supposed to.

Simple as that.

♪

Where you headed now?

Home.

Promise?

Good. I'll see you.

Hey.

I'm glad you were there today.

[ENGINE STARTS]

- Did you give your sample?
- Yeah.

Well, all we can do is wait now.

You did everything you could.

It's not in our hands now.

No, we did everything we could, Maggie.

Listen, I am so sorry for
how hard I've been on you

these past few months.

For you to put your
neck out for me, it's...

It means a lot. And...

I honestly owe you.

Believe me, Vanessa...

[SIGHS]

You don't owe me anything.

♪

Mmm.

Will.

Hey.

You, uh... gave me quite the scare.

Yeah.

Yeah. Seemed like you were...

I don't know, looking for
a distraction yesterday.

You got a lot on your mind.

Mm.

Yeah. What is it?

Having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

Yeah. I should, uh...

let you rest.

[LINE RINGS]

Hey, Pop. You heard from Joe?

No. I was gonna ask you the same thing.

No one's seen him.

He's not picking up his phone either.

Called him, like, a dozen times.

Yeah. You stop by the
apartment he's renting?

Just left. Nobody was home.

He took that news pretty hard, D.

I'm afraid he might do
something to himself.

Yeah. I got you.

Look, I'ma, um, hit a couple
more cop bars, all right?

All right. I'ma dip out of work.

Stop by Marsha's. See
if she's heard from him.

Okay. I love you, son.

Love you too.

Joe, what are you doing?

- Sit down. Now.
- Hey, hey. Joe.

- Joe. No, please.
- Now.

Hey, Dad,

Uncle Joe still drive a
' Camaro, bright orange?

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up.

Joe, whatever it is you're feeling,

- we can talk it through.
- Oh, you want to talk?

You want to talk, huh? What,
like we did this morning?

Huh? You're such a phony.
Do you know that?

You're just like everybody else,
trying to screw me over!

You're gonna get on your phone.

You're gonna call the department.

Tell them you messed up,
overreacted, I don't care.

You just get me my life back.

- Do you hear me? Hm?
- Okay. Okay.

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Shh. Shh.

Dr. Charles?

[DOOR KNOB RATTLING]

♪

[PHONE RINGING]

- Stop! Stop!
- [JOE GRUNTING]

Just stop. Please stop!

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

I know this isn't what
you were hoping to hear.

No, but it's certainly not your fault.

Thank you for stopping by, Dr. Yang.

- I'll follow up with my primary.
- Okay.

Oh, Dr. Halstead.

- I can come back later.
- No. It's fine. Come on in.

I just wanted to let you know that, uh,

my chat with Cooper was a bust.

He was totally out of it.
I didn't make any headway.

Dr. Halstead, I think maybe
we should put this on hold.

Wait. That... that's not
what I was getting at.

- I'm fully on board.
- No, I know you are.

It's just that I feel it's
taken a toll on us both.

What's going on?

I'm having some trouble
regulating my blood sugar.

We added an oral to my regimen.

But unfortunately, it hasn't helped.

I'm sorry to hear that.
What are they thinking?

Well, given that my
cortisol levels are high,

they're concerned that it might be...

- Stress?
- Yes.

Look, I got it from here.

I'm sorry, Dr. Halstead.

But I'm just not willing
to let you take that risk.

♪

Dr. Marcel.

Does this approach usually work for you?

Just pushing docs to their
edge, past their edge?

'Cause I saw how it worked for a
colleague today. And it doesn't.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I want to learn from
you, Dr. Blake. I do.

- But not if I have to...
- Pay a price?

Give something up?

Oh, you will, absolutely.

But it's the cost of not giving
everything you've got,

of not pushing past that edge,

that's what keeps me up at night.

And I suspect you and I are
cut from the same cloth.

Check your email. Got a kidney
transplant at : a.m.

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Uh, listen, um...

I apologize for coming
at you earlier, man.

I just never thought that Uncle
Joe was even capable of...

I get it. You have a long
history with him, right?

And it can be difficult to...

see people you're close
to in a certain light.

You were right to report
him. I talked to Marsha,

and he was making threats
against the sergeant.

I mean, that's partially
why she kicked him out.

Thanks again, by the way,
for not pressing charges.

Hey, that's the last thing

someone going through a mental
health crisis needs, right?

I mean, I'm just glad

it looks like he's gonna get
the right kind of help now.

Yeah.

Sit down, will ya?

I think that you're in
a tough spot, right?

You're... you're straddling
these two worlds, right?

And you got loyalty to both.

It's... it's just a tricky
tightrope to walk.

You know, back when I was
a cop, all that behavior,

that tough guy stuff, it was normalized.

Yeah, well, like I said,

I think... I think you should
take it easy on yourself.

Will. Hey.

Hey.

Um, I wanted to ask you this morning,

but it seemed like really
awkward timing.

I was wondering, there's a tree
lighting happening downtown.

My niece Holly is singing carols

and I thought, I don't know,

I thought maybe you'd
want to come with me.

Well, it's just you mentioned

that your mom used to take
you to see the lights,

and I thought, in the
spirit, it'd be great.

Yeah. Let's go cheer Holly on.

Okay. Yeah.

Dr. Choi.

Thank you, Daniel.

I heard about what happened.
Have you talked to Dr. Abrams?

I have. And, uh... after
reviewing all my options,

I've decided to have the
multilevel spinal fusion.

Oh, wow.

So I'm guessing you'll need
a little longer to recover.

Unfortunately, it'll require at least
two months of rehab post-op.

Oh, jeez.

- I'm so sorry.
- Don't be.

I knew the risks.

It was my decision.

Well, that's very noble of you.

But you have to take care of yourself.

So take as much time as you need.

We'll be thrilled to welcome you back
at Med whenever you're ready.

Yes?

- Yes, ma'am.
- All right.

- Excuse me.
- Ah.

Thank you.

Have a good night, Ms. Goodwin.

All right.

[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]

♪

Mom!

I... I took something of yours.

I just needed enough money
to get the van back.

- I'll get you the rest. I promise.
- No, no, Mom, no. It's yours.

- Keep it.
- No, no. It's yours.

Do you want to come up?

No. I... I gotta go.

Go...

Yeah, I'm heading out for a few months.

I... I got that itch to
be on the road again.

Mom...

[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]

♪

Take care.

♪

I love you, Stevie.

[SOBS] I love you too, Mom.

I'm always here.

♪

[ENGINE STARTS]