ER Episode 15.18 What We Do

Nervous, Carter submits to a videotaped interview for a documentary film about emergency care in the 21st century. Carter can't believe that he started at County 15 years ago as a med student -- it's mind-blowing. Although it never gets easier, and is sometimes the loneliest place in the world, sometimes the ER presents exactly what's needed.

Feeling frisky, Morris doesn't see why Claudia can't be a little later for work -- what's so important? Claudia has to interview suspects for a murder investigation, and she's on shaky ground with new partner, Bernstein. When Morris asks if Claudia really hates the décor of his apartment, she tells him to lose the futon, and that his walls are the color of feces. Once she rushes out the door, Morris prepares to make over his apartment to please Claudia.

Claudia and her partner Bernstein knock on the door of a tenement apartment, as Carter tells the interviewers that you never know what's coming in the ER. When no one answers the door, Claudia turns to walk away, only to have someone shoot her in the back. Bernstein shoots through the door several times, then tends to Claudia, who's bleeding out on the floor. Haleh halts Carter's interview -- two gunshot wounds are five minutes out, a police detective among the victims.

Chuny, Grady and Haleh enjoy their time with the documentary team, but Frank is offended that he and Jerry, the mighty desk clerks, have been frozen out of the interviews since they're "non-essential" personnel. Frank pulls out his Flip camera and has Jerry start taping their documentary. With nothing but a stack of files, a broken stapler and a three-hole punch, the admit desk is the nerve center of the ER.

Gates and Carter meet the ambulance containing Claudia, who's irate that Dickie the perp shot her in the back. Claudia bit her tongue, but she was wearing her bulletproof vest. Suffering multiple gunshot wounds, Dickie is already unconscious and intubated, in bad shape. Pale and shaky, Carter is beset with a racking cough while wheeling Claudia into the ER.

Neela stops by Morris' apartment. Morris explains he's painting in anticipation of asking Claudia to move in -- he's nervous. When he asks Neela how things are going with Brenner, she looks troubled, claiming Brenner is hard to figure. Morris thinks that's understandable, considering that Brenner was sexually molested as a child. Stunned, Neela rushes off to digest this news, as Morris gulps, realizing she didn't know. That's when his phone rings with the bad news about Claudia.

Morris can barely bring himself to enter the ER. Once he's inside, he defers the decisions about Claudia's care to Gates and Carter. One bullet entered Claudia's shoulder and exited her chest; the other is lodged in her pelvic bone and may have hit her bladder or uterus. Gates and Carter debate the course of treatment. As fluid gathers around Claudia's liver, Morris sides with Carter -- time to intubate. Meanwhile, Dickie's aorta has been transected by a bullet. Grady wants to try a thoracotomy, but Brenner insists he's a goner.

Sam visits her mom Mary in the nursing home. Unable to smoke, Mary is mad at the world and spiteful towards Sam. When Mary points out that Kelly stayed home to take care of her, Sam fights back. Mary kicked pregnant Sam out of the house when she was 15, calling her a slut that no one would miss. And by the way, Mary's grandson's name is Alex.

Morris asks where Bernstein was when Claudia got shot. Insisting Bernstein had her back, Claudia loses lucidity, then passes out. When Bernstein checks in, Morris lays into him, demanding to know if he really had Claudia's back. Offended, Bernstein snaps back, prompting Morris to lunge at him. Woozy, Carter steps in the middle and is thrown to the side, then crumples to the floor.

Jerry and Frank enlist Boris from media services to shoot their documentary on the unsung heroes of the ER. Boris is relieved not to be on camera, as the guys interview testy Sadiq, the computer guy, cranky Crystal the pharmacy tech, and spooky Fred, custodial engineer. Everyone explains how their job is essential to the smooth function of the ER, except Latina patient Marta, whom Frank and Jerry mistake for a cafeteria lady.

Morris, Gates and puzzle over Carter's loss of consciousness -- his dialysis is now public knowledge. Morris calls for an echocardiogram and a nephrology consult. Carter tells him to call his nephrologist from Northwestern, Gustavo Petrov. Morris walks into Trauma One where Neela and Brenner argue their way through Claudia's surgical consult. When Brenner accuses Neela of being unsystematic, Morris steps in, telling them to decide -- now. Carter pipes in from the next bed, siding with Neela: Claudia needs the OR.

In her interview with the documentarians, Neela claims that the ER demands being instinctual in the moment. She prefers to think things through, thus she's more cut out for surgery. Back at the nursing home, Mary smokes out her window. Sam warns that she could get kicked out, but Mary doesn't care, and refuses Sam's invitation to wipe the slate clean. When Sam smells urine on Mary's blanket, she offers to clean it, and a tug-of-war ensues. Mary loses her grip and stumbles, just as physical therapist Claire comes to get her for a "flex and fun" session.

Claire claims that Mary's stroke affected her frontal lobe, which often results in a loss of empathy and the ability to self-censor. Explaining that she's a nurse, Sam knows that Mary hasn't changed a bit. Meanwhile, Gates performs a periocardiocentesis on a conscious Carter, who's a bit of a back seat driver. Morris steps in to consult with Neela, who explains that Claudia will be operated on by three surgeons -- once they get inside, they'll be able to determine if her situation warrants a hysterectomy.

Carter passes out and starts coding on the table. Morris and Gates rush to shock his heart as med student Emily arrives for the nephrology consult. Outraged, Morris sends Emily to get her attending, pronto. By the time the nephrology attending shows up, Carter is thanking Morris for saving his life; he'll never live it down. Sam gets called into work to pick up a heart. She says goodbye to Mary, claiming she'll wash the blanket and bring it back that night. Whatever happens, Sam's not going to let Mary go through it alone.

Knowing that the UNOS can take a long time, Gates asks Carter if he's looked into County's direct donation program for a liver. Carter has, but he hasn't talked to wife Kem yet, much less told her exactly what's going on. She's still in France visiting her family. Gates runs into Sam, who's just returned from visiting her mom. Since Sam has to fly to Seattle to pick up a transplant heart, Gates offers to wash and return Mary's blanket.

Morris explains his history in the ER for the documentarians. It took a while to find himself, but now he's ready to take the next step, having found a woman with whom he'd like to start a family. Realizing that may no longer be possible, Morris chokes up and stops the interview. Jerry and Frank continue their documentary as Margie is brought in with a peanut allergy. When nary a doctor is to be found, Jerry grabs an Epi pen to relieve Mary's symptoms. Who's "non-essential personnel" now?

Neela bumps into Brenner while grabbing a coffee for her flight to Seattle with Sam to fetch the transplant heart. Before long, Neela and Brenner are arguing about their relationship. They hit a speed bump weeks ago, and Brenner has reacted by disappearing and accusing Neela of being irrational. Is there something he hasn't told her? When Neela lets Brenner know that she knows about his sexual abuse, he falls apart, crying and punching a car. Although Neela's sorry about what happened to Brenner, one thing's clear: they're not meant to be together.

Frank, Jerry and Haleh pack Carter into an ambulance bound for Northwestern, teasing him that he's bailing on County when it comes to his own medical care. Relieved to learn that hysterectomy was unnecessary, Morris holds Claudia's hand as she recovers from surgery. When he wonders if she's interested in making a gaggle of olive-skinned kids with red hair, an unconscious Claudia wiggles her finger.

Gates stops by the nursing home to return Mary's blanket, introducing himself. Complaining that she's the youngest person in the nursing home by 15 years, Mary wonders why her? And where's Sam? Assuring Mary that Sam will be back tomorrow, Gates advises her to get to know her daughter. When Mary claims that Sam hates her, Gates reminds her that she can change that.

The documentarians wrap up their day talking to Carter, now in a hospital bed at Northwestern. Five years ago, he started feeling that every day was the same old thing. Now, he tries to embrace the idea that everything is new, because obviously the unexpected is always happening. When his monitor stops beeping, Carter reaches over and turns it off with a smile for the camera.