ER Episode 15.09 Let It Snow

Gates checks in with Sam to make sure she made it safely through near-blizzard conditions to work the night shift. Even though the kids made a deal to study Friday night so they could snowboard all weekend, Alex and Sarah beg Gates for permission to go to a nearby party. It's only five blocks away, and they promise to walk.

Neela wraps up a four-hour deposition in Bertha Mendenhall's wrongful death suit. When the prosecuting attorney presses her buttons too hard, Neela delivers a righteous rant about the reality of the ER, as her attorney talks over her. Outside the deposition, he warns her to follow his instructions and keep her mouth shut. If Neela is a good girl, she might not lose her license.

Snowed in while attending a conference in Omaha, Banfield exhales at a packed hotel bar. She is unpleasantly surprised when a gentleman at the end of the bar buys her a foofy drink -- Morris smiles and waves. Back in the ER, Neela unloads on Brenner, who reminds that it's the prosecutor's job to discredit her. Still, she can't help but feel incompetent.

Brenner tells Neela to take a break, check on the interns, who are practicing sutures in the break room. They give Neela a chilly reception, gossiping about last night's party at Tracy's; Neela wasn't invited. When Chaz shows up, Neela tells him he may as well go home; there shouldn't be much action tonight. Sam misses a call from Gates.

Banfield switches to red wine, as Morris asks if she's been avoiding him -- he hasn't seen her at all during the conference. He recalls the night she told him about her son's death. If Banfield wants to talk, there's a long night ahead, since the airport probably won't re-open until noon tomorrow. Banfield claims she has a lot of reading to do, as lounge singer Buddy Janukis takes the mike, delighting Morris, who's determined to turn the layover into a fun night.

Morris takes over the microphone, inviting the stranded doctors to get to know each other by introducing themselves. He introduces Banfield and gives her a hug, prompting her to toss back a double scotch. Sam is just calling Gates when 17-year-old Ashley arrives in full arrest. Very drunk, Ashley was ejected through the rear window of the car, and has a serious skull fracture. The driver comes in next -- it's Alex!

When Alex passes out, Brenner intubates him as Neela sews in a chest tube. Thinking Alex snuck out, Sam leaves Gates a voice message to check on Sarah, then asks Brenner and Neela to re-set Alex's dislocated shoulder before the paralytics wear off. Neela calls for a blood alcohol test, even though Sam insists that Alex doesn't drink.

A third passenger, Leo, is brought in, tripping on something. The nurses work to put him in soft restraints as he raves about Ashley. Sam barely holds it together as Neela and Brenner finally pop Alex's shoulder back into place, then work like maniacs to get him off to CT. As Ashley nears death, Alex comes back with a clean CT, but he won't wake up.

Back in Omaha, Morris tries to rally the doctors to sing along to "Let It Snow." When he shoves the mike in Banfield's tipsy face, she grabs it and proceeds to rock the room, delivering a hard-driving rendition of "Hot-Blooded." Morris is one-upped and flabbergasted when Banfield asks him to join her on stage for a duet.

Sarah, the fourth passenger in the car, wanders into the trauma room in a rough arm splint. She admits that she was drinking, but Alex wasn't. As Alex's alarms sound, distraught Sarah tries to explain: Ashley was too drunk to drive. Furious, Sam demands why Sarah didn't call -- what the hell is wrong with her!? Neela guides Sarah out as Ashley dies in the next room.

Gates arrives, taking Sam into the hallway for a little meltdown. Sam's not sure that Alex is going to wake up. Gates apologizes with a hug; he should have never caved to the kids and let them go to the party, but he did try to call Sam. Shocked, Sam pushes Gates away and stalks back into the trauma room.

When Banfield starts stumbling on stage, Morris improvises an exit strategy, then holds Banfield's head over the toilet. He flashes on memories of his estranged father, who died last year. His father left a storage locker behind, and Morris is wondering whether to deal with it or trash his dad's stuff.

Brenner and Neela check on Leo, who's tested positive for opiates, benzoates and marijuana. Laverne gives Neela attitude, proving the point Neela was trying to make to Brenner -- the interns hate her! When she was an intern, she was friends with all her residents. Brenner claims that Neela is more like an attending, and besides she makes the interns nervous when she shows her teeth.

Brenner and Neela rush off, leaving Chaz to deal with Ashley's brother, who's been waiting for an hour. It turns out that Ashley's brother Tyler is only seven years old. Ashley left him with a friend while at the party, and their parents are in Europe. When the babysitter leaves, Chaz is left to sit with Tyler, who's increasingly anxious to see his sister.

Sarah comes back with a fresh cast just in time to recognize Leo, who's seizing. She told him not to take "trail mix" -- kids steal prescription drugs from their parents and dump them in a big bowl. Gates warns Brenner that anti-depressants could be at work, and then pulls Sarah away. Meanwhile, Neela puts Chaz to work, giving Tyler a chance to get lost.

Sarah can't watch Brenner and Neela operate on Leo, as alarms sound on Alex, whose heart rate is up. Sam wants another CT, but everyone thinks Alex is okay, so she slams out to confront Gates in the hallway. Sam lets loose on her man; he can keep screwing up Sarah, but she's never letting him near Alex again. Gates attempts to comfort Sam, but she slips back to Alex's side.

n an empty coffee shop, Banfield confesses to Morris. She lost her son Daryl when she was 40, and when she tried to get pregnant again, she miscarried at three months. Now she has a great career, but she doesn't have it all. Back in the ER, Gates finds Sarah unable to sleep since she heard Sam yelling. Gates insists that Sam is mad at him, and she has a right to be. He promises it's all going to be okay.

Alex's alarms sound, indicating that his heart rate is up and his blood pressure down. Calling for Brenner and Neela, Sam wants to transfuse him, but Gates has another theory. When he proves Alex has arrhythmia from a bruised heart, he applies the paddles, and makes the save, ingratiating Sam.

Banfield gets a call that a hotel room has opened up. Morris tells her to go for it, but she can't help inviting him to crash, much as she doesn't really want to. Finding Tyler at Ashley's bedside, Chaz asks Brenner to deliver the bad news. Chaz promises to stay with Tyler until his parents get back.

Neela invites the interns to breakfast after their long night, but they all give her excuses. Brenner tries to reassure her -- no one likes hanging out with their boss -- but he can't go to breakfast, either. Gates is just about to take Sarah home, when the cop on the accident scene comes in. According to him, Alex swerved to avoid hitting another car, and the accident could have been much worse.

Sam apologizes to Gates. Everyone makes mistakes, but he made a big one. Alex means everything to Sam, and she's still just trying to deal. Suddenly, Alex's alarms blare, and blood pours into the thoraseal bag. He's lost his pulse and is in PEA arrest. Sam begins compressions, and Gates seizes a scalpel as Brenner announces a delayed aortic rupture. Brenner grabs Gates' scalpel and starts to open Alex's chest. All Sam can do is pray.