"Previously on E.R." "Jen is really pushing it." "She's having an affair and I have to give up my daughter at Christmas." "Loretta, right?" "Looks like the old PID shuffle." "Doctor, help her." "You have a choice of a new surgical technique." "Developed by one of the top vascular surgeons in the country." "He works here." "Okay, where do I sign?" "She's obviously high risk." " Has she consented?" " She's being prepped right now." "Maybe I'm not gonna help for this." "I guess it's your first Christmas alone too." ""Dead of Winter"" "Yeah." "We'll take care of it." "What's your ETA?" "Okay, no problem." " Where's Dr. Lewis?" " Suture Room." "Baby coming in, respiratory arrest." "Five minutes out." "Susan?" "Susan?" "Turn off the overheads, would you?" " We've got an unresponsive infant." " The lights?" " They'll be here soon." " Okay." " You up?" "You sure?" " Yeah." " Susan?" " Yeah." "I'm up, I'm up, I'm up." "Top on, lock it in again..." " This is Melody." " Melody?" "Those Indians, were they pretty close behind you?" "No!" "You 're wrong, Dr. Welby." " Now, Dean's going to recover." " Yes, she will recover." "But you must be aware that there was damage." "The damage can be corrected." "Dean has always been strong." "I know what she can do." "She's gonna make a full recovery." "I'll make sure of that." " You used to like her." " No, I didn't." "Yeah, you did." "Before Rodman, you talked about her all the time." " What have you got, sarge?" " Responded to a domestic-violence call." "He was in the street, buck-naked, waving a gun and screaming." " You'll need a light." " Did he shoot someone?" "No, he ran inside, slipped on the stairs and passed out, drunk." "You better not have dragged us from a warm firehouse to check a drunk." "Bunch of jelly-doughnut-eating pendejos." "Hey, Dumb and Dumber!" "Nobody got you out of bed for that piece of crap." " I got you out of bed for them." " Holy Mary, Mother of God!" "Welcome to Calcutta." "Twenty-two children, ages 6 months to 9 and a half years found in a single apartment on Calumet." "Malnutrition, suspect marasmus, kwashiorkor, who knows what else." "Northwestern took four, Mercy three, we got the rest." " Parents?" " Nobody knows." " Children and Family Services?" " On the way." "The cops took the kids and arrested the guy who says he's the uncle." " Of all of them?" " So he says." "I've got a toddler in 2." " How many have you seen so far?" " Four of them." "Thrush, chronic otitis media, ringworm, diarrhea malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances." "Let's get a CBC, Chem-20, protein, albumin, transferrin globulins, iron, UA and a folate level." "Doug, that baby's refusing formula." "Drop a feeding tube." "Thirteen pounds, maybe a year old." " Who's this?" " Can't get a name." "Says she's 3." "You're 3, sweetheart?" "What's your name, darling?" "Come on, what's your name?" "Let's get these sores cleaned up." "Start her on Keflex, 250 mgs." "Looks like impetigo." "Let's hope the others haven't caught it." "Chem-20, CBC, UA?" "Yeah, and let's get height, weight, head and arm circumferences." " I'm gonna go make myself useful." " Okay." " Last three." " We got the beds?" "Suture Room." " I'm Dr. Greene." "What's your name?" " Ty." " Are these your brothers and sisters?" " Some." " Who are the others?" " I don't know." "Cousins." " You know their names?" "A few?" " Some." "Right." "Some." " Lydia, why don't you find Ty a bed." " Come on, Ty." " Where's his shoes?" " Couldn't find them." "Looked over the whole place." "There were only clothes for half the kids." "Rubadoux." "Would you excuse us for a moment, Mr. Rubadoux?" " Sure." " Thank you." " Dr. Benton?" " Post-op, day nine." "Patient presented with type A aortic dissection repaired with clamp-and-run procedure." "Patient's surgical course was unremarkable." "There's evidence of partial paraplegia of the lower extremities." " And this morning?" " Echo shows ejection of 15 percent." "BUN's 45." "Creatinine, 2." "BP's 180/110." " Suggesting what?" " Heart failure, renal insufficiency." "None of this attributable to our lifesaving, aortic-aneurysm surgery." "I'm worried about her paraplegia." "It's too soon to say if it's not temporary." "Course of action?" "Increase cardiac output so we can send her to a long-term care facility." "Get her off our service." "Exactly." "How?" "Given her condition, I'd suggest dobutamine IV." "They wouldn't accept her in a nursing home with an IV." "Anybody else?" "Mr. Carter, a thought?" "On dobutamine, she'll be better for a few days but she'll decompensate and come back here." "Maybe an ACE inhibitor?" " We could do that." " Worsens her renal problem." " Carter?" " Nitrates." "Decreases her preload." " Digoxin?" " Kidneys can't clear it." " Diuretics?" " Decreases her cardiac output." " Quite the conundrum." " There's a solution." "A pinch of this, a touch of that." "We have to use our clinical judgment." " How many are you carrying?" " Five, but I can handle another one." "Show us what you can do without resorting to Dr. Benton's dobutamine." "Amaze us." "Impress us." "Work miracles." "Bad case of ringworm..." "Well, with kerion..." "Let's get him on oral griseofulvin." "Open up." " Ty, you had enough to eat?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "Like what?" " We eat stuff." " Fruits?" "Vegetables?" "Meat?" " Sometimes." "What about the babies?" "They get formula?" "Mom gives me the stamps when she don't need them, and I get us stuff." "Milk for the babies, bologna, bread." " You do the shopping?" " I'm good at it." "Trey okay?" " Is he one of your brothers?" " I look after him." "He's sick." " How sick?" " Cerebral palsy." " Your brother has cerebral palsy?" " He's in Trauma 1." "Doug's checking him." "CBC, Chem-20, protein studies, transferrin, iron and UA." "Let's call a dental school and get some students to take a look at the kids." "And I'm gonna go see how your brother Trey's doing, okay?" " Where's Doug?" " Trauma 1." " How's she doing?" " Anemia, neutropenic, thrush chronic otitis media and pediculosis." " Lice?" " You bet you." "And if she's got them..." "They've all got them." "Grab a basin, RID and start shampooing." " All of them?" " It's great to be the new kid, isn't it?" " Susan, weren't you off at 7?" " Yeah." "Jeanie too." "I've got a performance review this afternoon." "I'll stick around." "Come on, lice patrol." " Isn't that a nurse's job?" " No, not today, it isn't." "Finish this one and go home." "We've got it." "I signed them in." "I wanna make sure they're okay." "Let me see that." " Is this the kid with CP?" " Yeah." "Five years old, weighs 28 pounds." "Lethargic." "Slight abdominal edema." "Kid's starving to death." "Take a look." "Look at that." " Cigarette burn?" " Yeah." "Welts too." "You're gonna have to bring him in." "Who paged me down from rounds?" " If I got shot, I'd come to the hospital." " This better be important." "Look, lady, I'm not talking to him." "I'm a clerk, not a priest." "Call 911 or get on the damn bus." " The page?" " How should I know?" "Ask around." "Dr. Benton?" "Al Boulet, Jeanie's husband." " Oh, yeah." "How are you doing?" " Been better." "Have you seen her?" " No." "Is she working?" " She's meeting me for breakfast." "Do me a favor." "If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her, okay?" "Find out who paged me and tell them to be here the next time I come." " What was that all about?" " Dr. Personality?" "Who knows?" "Anybody seen a DCFS around here?" "Mark Greene?" "Dr. Mark Greene?" " You Child Services?" " Sorry, no." "Process server." "Sign here, please." " What for?" " Summons." "Third line, please." " Have a nice day." " Right." " Patient?" " Hope not." " Jennifer's suing me for divorce." " Oh, no." " You Dr. Greene?" " Not if you want me to sign anything." " What?" " I'm Mark Greene." "Pete Tuteur." "DCFS." "I understand you've got some kids for us." "A little more water." " Okay." " That wasn't so bad, was it?" " Got another one for you." " Alrighty." "Hi, there, sweet pea." "I'm Jeanie, do you have a name?" "That one doesn't talk." "Okay, we're gonna shampoo your hair and make it look all beautiful." "Is that too hot?" "Is that too cold?" "Must be just right, then." " How many more?" " You've done eight?" "Nine, I think." "What's that, sweetie?" "Did you say something?" "I didn't hear what you said." "I was talking to my friends." "Will you be my mommy?" " Where's the husband?" " Cafeteria." " Renal or Cardiology been up yet?" " Yeah." " And?" " Renal wants to use hydralazine." "Cardiology wants an ACE inhibitor." "The Renal/Cardiology push-and-pull." "And Pulmonary?" " They sent an incentive spirometer." " That should solve all her problems." " Partial paraplegia?" " Still present." " You know your beeper's going off." " I'm not deaf, Carter." "All right." "Well, hurry up." "Do something." "Time's wasting." "Forty milligrams IV push of Lasix, please." " Won't that volume deplete her?" " Just do it, please." "Sorry, but..." "Three girls aren't supposed to be living with the mother." "Grandmother's got the custody." "God knows where she is." " Why were they all in one apartment?" " Twenty-two AFDC payments." "Uncle's on disability." "The rent's maybe 300." "Hell, they're netting 4 grand a month for crack." "Your tax dollars at work." "Sounds like a press release for welfare reform." "That's all we need." "Less money trickling down to keep these kids from starving to death." "When the kids are cleaned up, I'll take them to Columbus/Maryville." "They're malnourished, dehydrated, electrolytes are screwed up and they've got infections." "They'll leave when they're okay." "Fine by me." "We haven't got anywhere to put them." " Seen Benton?" "I keep paging him." " He's around." "Ever get the feeling the system isn't working?" "You're just figuring that one out?" "One boy has an inguinal mass." "He needs a surgical consult." " Reducible?" " Yeah, but it's there when he's crying." "He's crying a lot." "None of the kids have ever seen doctors." " She had me served at work." " Jennifer?" "I'd hoped we were gonna be able to handle this amicably." " Guess this blows that one to hell." " I'm gonna need a good attorney." "Come over tonight." "We'll order a pizza." "You can watch me give Susie a bath, and you could change a diaper." " I'm gonna go and wallow in self-pity." " Anytime." " They find homes for the kids yet?" " Not yet." "DCFS took some to the emergency shelter, and we admitted three." " Want anything from the machines?" " Peanut butter crackers." "Got it." " He's cute." " Raul?" " You're not his type." " Really?" "You ever dress up like a lumberjack?" "Longshoreman?" "Greco-Roman wrestler?" " He's gay." " Really?" " Who's paging me?" " Not a clue." " Isn't that your job?" " No." "Check the board and the charts." "You should've seen this place." "Twenty kids and no refrigerator." "No heat." "Roaches everywhere." "Only food was a can of SpaghettiOs." "You gotta wonder about the mothers." "And what about the families?" "The neighbors..." "Can't these people take care of their own kids?" " What's that supposed to mean?" " What does what mean?" ""These people. "" " Come on." " Partner, catch." "Why can't these black folks take care of their kids, right?" " He didn't say that." " That's what he meant." " Then I would have said it." " What's going on?" " David Duke's enlightening us." " Oh, Malik, that's not fair." "Think those kids deserve to live like that?" " What about personal responsibility?" " You think it's equal?" " He's the surgeon." "I'm the fireman." " You would find it that simple." " The system works the same for all." " It works pretty well for you." "You don't know a damn thing about what works for me." "Peter, I've been paging you." "Trauma 2." " What was that all about?" " You, man, that's what." " Loretta?" " It's her kid." "Sore throat, temp's 101." " Where's Ross?" " Tied up with those kids." " How you been?" " Good." "This is Annie, and this is my Jimmy." "His throat's sore." "Well, let me take a look there, Jimmy." "Jimmy, open up your mouth." "Stick out your tongue." "That's good." "Does that hurt when you swallow?" "That hurts too, huh?" " Glands are swollen." " Still has his tonsils." "You've got a little strep throat, Jimmy, but we can clear that right up." " Is your throat sore, Annie?" " I'm okay." " Okay." "And, Mom, how are you doing?" " I'm doing really good." "I've still got the office job, and we moved into a house." " The PID hasn't flared up?" " I get a little bleeding sometimes." "Yeah?" "Lydia, why don't you take the kids and I can talk to Mom." " It's no big deal." " Come on, we've got some videos." " You've seen The Lion King?" " No." " Yes, you have." " Go on." "I'll be out in a minute." "So how long have you been bleeding?" "What do we have?" "Seven-year-old male." "Small, reducible, right-sided inguinal mass." "It's all right." "This is Peter." "He's a doctor." "He's gonna help you feel better, okay?" " You paged me this morning." " Where were you?" " On rounds, which you pulled me off." " I thought you were assigned to the ER." "No, I'm assigned to the surgical service." "I cover the ER." "And when I'm paged, someone should be waiting for me." "We've been a little busy today." "Almost over, Michael." "Almost." " He doesn't have a hernia." " Check him again." "You're wasting my time." " Peter." " It's not there!" "Check him again." "Still reducible." "I'll put him on a surgical schedule." "I'll operate tomorrow." "Draw pre-op labs." "Peter, what is the matter with you?" "If you're angry with me, take it out on me, not on some boy." "Give us a minute." "That little boy is scared to death." "You're poking around like you're stuffing a turkey." "Telling him he needs surgery." "He's never seen a doctor." " Is that it?" " No, that's not it." "If it's about you and me, get over it." "If it's something else, get over that." "I'm sick of it." "Don't you turn your back on me." "That boy needs compassion." "If you can't find that in yourself, get out of medicine." "Sixty-nine-year-old male." "History of Ml." "Experienced sudden onset of chest pain." "Took a Nitrotab, called his son." "Paramedics found him unconscious." "One, two, three." "They tubed him." "He's hypotensive, 40 palp." "O-2, 100 percent." "Let's get a 12-lead." "Pulse ox, chest x-ray, CBC, Chem-7, cardiac enzymes and grab a blood gas." " You the son?" " Yes." " He's had a heart attack before?" " Two years ago." "He's hypoxic." "Rales bilaterally." " Jugular venous distention." " Haleh, let's get an echo." " Dopamine?" "200 mics per minute." "Call Cardiology." " Hi, I'm Dr. Greene, and you're Mr...?" " Howard Mills." "Your father's in heart failure." "It's too early to know exactly what's happened." "We're running tests, and you'll know as soon as we do." " Can I stay?" " Get some coffee and let us do our work." "When your father's stabilized, I'll come get you, okay?" "Okay." " Bobbi, sorry I'm late." " No problem." "How about a cup of coffee?" "It's only a week old." "No, I'm already on my 1 Oth cup." "I was on all night." " How's it been going?" " Okay." "I'm a little concerned about your first student evaluation." ""Pleasant, helpful, lacks assertiveness, needs to take control to be useful." "Good skills, but may not be suited to work in the Emergency Department. "" "Is that from Peter Benton?" " Who?" " Dr. Peter Benton, surgical Resident." "No." "Residents don't evaluate physician-assistant students." "This is from Carol Hathaway, RN, M.S." "I didn't realize the nurses evaluated us." "Look, I realize that putting P.A.s into settings where nurses had a monopoly can cause problems." "But liked or disliked, we have to do a better job." "So I need to know, can you cut it?" "If you can't, I can't afford to have you fail down there." "I can cut it." " Are you sure?" " Yeah, I'm sure." " Jennifer filed for divorce?" " Word travels fast." "I knew you were breaking up, but I thought you'd hold it together." " With Rachel in the pic" " Trying to make me feel worse?" "No, but if you can't make a marriage work, how am I gonna?" " Why are you still here?" " Home away from home." " Cardiology's here on your Ml." " I want you out of here by 5." " Can someone help me, please?" " Randi?" " Can I help you?" " I'm looking for my grandchildren." "They were living down on Calumet." "Police said they brought them here." "The name's Proulx." "The littlest one, Trey, has got cerebral palsy." " What are her I's and O's?" "150cc's in, 800cc's out." " Pressure?" " Down. 80/40." " Down?" "Why didn't you call me?" " You didn't put it in your orders." "Give her 300cc's of bolus and monitor her pressure, please." " How's our girl doing, doc?" " Not much improvement yet." "Ruby, please." "Call me Ruby." " Coffee?" "Come on, I bought an extra." " Oh, no, thanks." "Come on, a cup of hot Joe?" "You look like you could stand a little pick-me-up." "Now, that's good coffee." "Should've seen her 50 years ago." "Backstage at the Majestic." "Great gams." "Hell of a looker." "Pal Joey, Way to the Forum, How to Succeed." "Broadway, off-Broadway, you name it." "I did a couple of musicals." "Back in school." "Pippin." "Fantastiks too." "Yeah, good shows." " Bet you were wonderful." " Not really." " Bet you were great." " Mr. Carter." "Mostly, I embarrassed myself." "Doctor?" "I'm not ready to let her go yet." "Carol?" " Can I talk to you?" " Sure, what's up?" "I just had my student evaluation with my program coordinator." "You've been unhappy with my work." "I think you're competent, but timid." "You need to be more aggressive." " I've been trying." " The ER isn't for everybody." "Don't feel bad if you're not comfortable down here." "Have I done something to offend you in some way?" "This isn't personal." "It's just..." "You wait for people to tell you what to do." "Like this conversation." "I tell you to be more aggressive and you want to discuss it." "I can't hold people's hands." "Just do it." " So it's not a P.A. thing?" " No, it's not." "But I've got nurses who've been here for 20 years." "P.A.s go to school for a couple of months and tell us what to do?" "Two years of training." "Two years of internship." "I went nights while working full-time, so my training took four years." "If you wanna stay in the ER, stop looking for validation and start doing the job." "You do that, and we'll get along fine." "Make sure that everyone's ready for the dog-and-pony show for the trustees." "I don't want a repeat of last fall's disaster." " You were looking for me?" " Yes, I was." " Have you met my assistant?" " No." " Hi." " Hello." " Is Mrs. Rubadoux's paralysis subsiding?" " No." "Don't be disappointed." "It was an emergency situation." "What was our other choice?" "Death?" "Besides, the woman was a bad risk." "Pulmonary disease." "Hypertension." "I'm concerned it's my fault." "I performed the procedure." "Oh, please." "Don't be so melodramatic." "Your technique was perfect." "We have to exclude her from the study." "She was never an appropriate candidate." "It's time we made Dr. Benton an official member of the team." "Don't you think, Claire?" "Research associate." "Yes." "Claire will make sure you have everything you need." " I don't know what to say." " "Thank you" will suffice." "Yeah." "Yeah." " Mr. Mills?" " Howard." "Please." "Howard." "We suspect that your father had a right-ventricle infarction." " Another heart attack?" " Yes." "We're sending him to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit." "They'll place a Swan-Ganz catheter... to monitor pressure in his heart and lungs." "They'll do an echo to confirm the diagnosis." "Doesn't look good." "I think he wants to go." "My mother died last year." "Breast cancer." "They were married 50 years." "This is you." "Coffee's in the lounge, bathroom's past the elevators." "Research staff meets every Tuesday, 8: 15 sharp." "Fill this out and give it back to me as soon as possible." " You have a parking space?" " I park in the Resident's lot." "Not anymore, you don't." " AW4?" " All research associates receive stipends." "And your first referral payment." "I'm Carl's secretary, not yours." "You want your phone answered, get a machine." "Anything else, I'm at the end of the hall." " Trey, how are you doing?" " He's doing better now." "Yeah, he is, isn't he?" "Mrs. Proulx, may I speak with you?" " I'll take the little girl." " Oh, that's okay." "Ty, can you look after your sister for Nana?" "Trey's well enough to be released to the DCFS." "This is Mr. Tuteur." "We'll be taking him over to Columbus/Maryville." " It's an emergency shelter." "You know it?" " Yes, I've been there before." " So you won't let me keep them?" " Department's been granted custody." " There'll be a court hearing next week." " They were with me till a month ago." "Then their mother came and got them." "I told her they should be with me." "They all have their own rooms and their own beds at my place." "They like it." "Why did you keep them there?" "You have custody, they're your responsibility." "She said she was doing better, and children should be with their mother." "She wasn't always like this." "She loved those babies a lot." "But, you know, it's the drugs." "Are these jackets for them?" "Okay, children." "Let's put these coats on, now." "Ty, you help your brother on with his coat." "Come on." " Be a good girl, you hear?" "Okay?" " Okay." "How are we doing?" "All ready?" "Come here, sweetheart." " You take care of little Trey, Ty." " Yes, ma'am." " I'm scared." " Come on, sweetheart." "Come with me." "There we go." "I got you, sweetie." "Okay, we ready?" " Let's go." " When can I go home?" "Ty." "Now, you take good care of little Trey, you hear?" "Yes, ma'am." "51-year-old woman." "Abdominal pain and cramps." "Thinks she ate too much." "Gotta weigh 300 pounds." "Is this day ever gonna end?" "Mrs. Saunders?" "Did you have a little too much holiday cheer?" "She's been in pain for days." "I had to drag her in." " When did the cramps start?" " New Year's Day, after dinner." " Any pain here?" "Vomiting?" " I've been nauseous." " Diarrhea?" " No." " What did you have to eat?" " Usual holiday stuff." "Potato salad, ham, cheesecake, pumpkin pie." "Some sushi." "Get a stool culture, rule out salmonella, and a rectal." "Chuny will help you." "I doubt if it's appendicitis." "It's probably viral gastroenteritis or a touch of food poisoning." "Get a surgical consult." "CBC, Chem-7, UA, abdominal series." "Set up for a pelvic and find Benton." "7-3-5-2-9-0-1." "Date of admission: 12-26-95." "Dictating..." " Can I interrupt you for a minute?" " You already have." "Mrs. Rubadoux isn't improving." "I've tried Lasix, nitrates, pressors." "She seesaws back and forth." "She's volume-depleted, pressure's dropping or pressure's up and her pulse ox is dropping." " Put her on dobutamine?" " You said not to." "Do you always follow instructions even when you've surmised they're incorrect?" "She's a sinking ship, and you're rearranging her deck chairs." "You're probably right." "Once we've bundled her off, she'll decompensate and end up right here." "But she won't be on our service, and she won't be your problem." "Let's see..." "Discharge summary on David Piscuscus." "Date of admission" "Did I make her worse today?" "She's dying, Mr. Carter." "Nothing you did is going to change that." "Date of admission: 12-26-95." "Date of discharge: 01-08-96." "Patient presented with claudication of the right lower extremity..." "Marcus Miller?" "Bill Evans?" "Wynton Marsalis?" "You gotta know him." "The Jay Leno show?" "Hold up a second, will you?" " Excuse me." "It's Malik, right?" " Yeah, that's right." "About earlier, I hope you didn't misunderstand what I was trying to say." "No, I didn't misunderstand." "I've got 10 minutes." "I think we're all doing okay, and nobody owes anybody anything." "Let's get on with our lives and do what we can." " Sure, whatever, man." " Shep, let's go." "Yeah, hold up." " I was trying to be nice." " What do you want me to say?" "That I don't think you're a bigot?" "Fine." "I don't think you're a bigot." "Shep." "God, please." " I'm not a racist." "You think I'm a racist?" " Just drink your coffee." "I ride with Raul 60 hours a week." "My sister dated a black guy two years." "Raul and I go to the Y twice a week to play ball." "I'm the only white guy there." "The only one!" "I'm not a racist!" "I'm not." " What do we have?" "51-year-old with abdominal pain." "Mark figures gastroenteritis, wants to rule out appendicitis." "The pain's getting worse." " Does it hurt here?" "How about here?" " No." " Okay." " Oh, God!" " What's happening?" " When did it get this severe?" " I don't know." "I just came back." " There." "Better." " Charts back?" " Chuny went to get them." "It keeps coming in waves." " How often?" " About every minute." " Anybody do a pelvic exam?" " Not yet." " When was your last period?" " Year and a half." "Oh, God!" " Okay." " Here it comes again!" "Okay, just put your legs up." " Her leg." "Grab her leg." " Forty-five seconds apart." "She's fully dilated." "She's crowning." "Get OB-GYN and find Greene." "Don't push, okay." " What's going on?" " Get Mark." "B.O.A." "Dr. Greene!" " What's happening?" " You're not overeating." "You're in labor." " She's having a baby?" " Where's everybody?" "Let's move!" " She's gone through menopause!" " Carla, call Daddy." " Oh, God!" "Here it comes again!" " Don't push!" "Don't push!" " I haven't delivered since med school." " Just guide the head." "Okay." "First time for everything, huh?" "All right, Mrs. Saunders." "Good girl." "Breathe." "Blow through your mouth." "Okay, good." "Good." "She's doing better." "Guess I'll have to start watching myself around those nurses." "We put her on dobutamine." " Hi, how are you feeling?" " Very tired." "Dr. Carter is gonna have you back again dancing in no time." "Well, for now why don't you try to get some more rest." "You too, Ruby." "Go home and get some sleep." "I promised Helen I'd stay until she could come home with me." "Ruby, I think you should consider the possibility that your wife may need long-term care." "You don't know my Helen." "She's a real trouper." "A real trouper." "Right, sweetheart?" "This is my beeper number." "If you need anything tonight or whenever, just give me a call." "You're the only person around here who gives a damn." "Thank you." "For both of us." " Mark, you missed all the fun." " That fat lady had twins." " My abdominal pain?" " Curtain Area 3." "Should've seen Benton's face." " Benton?" " That's why I was paging you." "We moved them to Postpartum." "Mom's fine, babies too." "Boy and girl." " Loretta Sweet." "Biopsy came back." " Really?" " Damn." " Stage 1 B carcinoma." "Missed those annual Pap smears." " Is she still around?" " Left with her kids hours ago." " Call her, get her back." " Already tried." "Number's disconnected." " Want me to send out a social worker?" " No." " You know her address?" "1604 North Sedgewick." "Out by Cabrini-Green." " Cervical cancer." "That's tough." " Couple of kids." " You want a ride out there?" " No, I drove in today." "Thanks." "Okay, '96 is gonna be a hell of a year, huh?" "Thanks." " I got you some pecan pie." "Looks good." " I don't like pecan pie." " Since when?" " Since never." " Thanks for meeting me." " You said it was important." " How's work going?" " Fine." " And your folks, they're fine?" " They're fine too." "Al, I've been on my feet since 4:00 yesterday afternoon." "So if it's the same with you, can we just...?" "Let's just do this some other time." "Maybe we should we give it another try." "Maybe we should give us another try." "I'll have kids if you really want them." "I've been thinking about it, and kids would be okay." "Great." " Isn't that what you wanted?" " Yeah, it was." "I gotta go." "I'm sorry." "I'm ready now." "Kids." "Being home." "No more playing around." "No more lies." "I gotta go." "SEDGEWICK AVENUE" "Michael, right?" "Hey, I'm Dr. Benton." "We met earlier this morning, remember?" "Michael, you're gonna have an operation tomorrow for a hernia." " You know what a hernia is?" " No." "It's when you've got a balloon poking out in your groin." " A balloon?" " Not a real balloon." "The part of your insides that looks like a balloon." "If we don't fix it, you can get sick." " Will it hurt?" " You'll be asleep." "But I'm scared." "That's all right." "It's okay to be scared." "You'll be fine." "I'm doing the operation." "You will?" "It's no big deal." "A lot of kids have had it done." "Will you stay with me for a while?" "Yeah." "Sure." " Did I wake you up?" " Oh, I was on last night." " I'm sorry." "I should've called." " No, that's okay." "Susie went down early, so I sacked out on the couch." "I brought pizza and beer." "I should've called." "See you at work tomorrow." " What kind of pizza?" " Meat." "Lots of meat." " Pepperoni?" " Probably some in there." " You have any diapers left to change?" " Always." " Hello?" " This is Carter." "Somebody beeped me." "Carter, this is Ruby." "Mr. Rubadoux?" "Hi, Ruby." "How's she doing?" "It's so late." "I was worrying about calling you." "Is it okay?" " No." "I told you you could call." " She's in trouble." " She's what?" " She's having trouble breathing." "That's normal." "Yeah, that's gonna happen." "Yeah, I'll talk to the nurse." "Hi, this is Carter." "What's her pressure?"