Mercy Episode 1.03 Hope You're Good, Smiley Face

It's a hot and muggy night on the rooftop of Mercy Hospital, where the nurses have set up an impromptu lounge. Veronica is just wondering why there are no women depicted on paper money, when Angel spies Harris escorting a tall, sexy woman out of a shiny muscle car on the street below. The nurses hoot and holler when Harris and his date start making out, but their fun is cut short as all their pagers begin to ring in unison. It's a Code Black, which Sonia tells Chloe, means mass casualties.

Downstairs, Klowden preps the team: There's been a nightclub fire; 75 people were trapped inside, and they're just starting to wheel in 12 of the victims. Veronica starts freaking out, as one after another, the victims die on their stretchers, or worse yet, are wheeled in already dead. Refusing to take death for an answer, Veronica starts working on 25-year-old Erika. When Sands tells her that Erika has been gone too long, Veronica pounds on her chest like an animal, and surprisingly, Erika takes a breath. The team rolls Erika off to the OR, leaving Veronica to hyperventilate alone in the ambulance bay.

Veronica is at Erika's bedside when she wakes up, and explains what happened: The blast that started the fire must have knocked Erika out of harm's way. She's sustained a contusion on her heart. The good news -- she should be fine. Veronica offers to get Erika's fiancé Ron, but Erika's desperate to know what's become of her friends. Reluctantly, Veronica delivers the bad news. Erika was the only person to survive the fire. Erika can't believe it. Why her? Why was she the only one to survive? Speechless, Veronica backs out of the conversation and the room when Ron walks in.

Sonia tends to pilot Ray Barbera, who's recovering from a bypass operation. Ray is crowing about his accomplishments in the air, but Sonia recoils -- humans weren't meant to do anything at 30,000 feet. Overachiever Dr. Gillian Talbot walks up with another resident to check in with Ray, putting him on strict bed rest, and claiming that she'll cure Sonia of her no-fly policy. After all, she's gotta see Paris. Showing the resident a new heart monitor, Talbot claims its "nurse-proof"; even a one-eyed cat could use it, further insulting Sonia.

Bumping into Veronica in the hall, Sands commends her. Erika is lucky to have Veronica as a nurse; Veronica has survived similar trauma, and Erika may need someone to talk to. Sands is surprised to learn that Veronica never sought therapy after returning from Iraq. Veronica admits she's not a joiner. Besides, Sands likes people more than her. Even talking about talking about feelings makes her sweat. Feeling a little sweaty himself, Sands flirts, joking that Veronica could benefit from attending any one of many 12-step programs. Claiming he's got a consult on an animal bite, Sands walks into a door, and leaves Veronica glowing from a good flirt.

Sands tells patient Linda Kalinowski and her teen son Justin that she probably doesn't have rabies, but she should stay at the hospital for a few days to be sure. Chloe, who has been staring dreamily at Sands, shudders when Justin snaps her back to reality, then explains that rabies is serious, and could result in death. Just then, Linda's husband Leo arrives. He's killed Linda's "pet" raccoon Wanda with poisoned peanut butter and brought it to the hospital for rabies testing. When Linda asks to say goodbye, Wanda revives and jumps onto the bed, then runs out the door!

Chloe and Sands chase the raccoon into the hallway and around the nurses' station. Finally, a frenzied Chloe runs up with a crutch, which she uses to beat the raccoon to death. Sands pulls the crutch away from a stunned Chloe, then praises: "Thanks a lot, kid. I owe you one." Later, Angel and Sonia run into Harris by the roach coach. Angel complements Harris on his sexy car, which Sonia points out, could lead to a lot of sex. Reminding Sonia of their recent sexual harassment seminar, Harris stays mum about his lady friend.

It's Quiz Night at Delaney's, and Nick and Sonia join Veronica and Mike for the boisterous proceedings. Veronica and Mike are highly competitive, with each other as well as the other patrons. The final question concerns New Jersey's state bird. Veronica thinks it's the blue bird, but Mike insists it's the Eastern Goldfinch. When Nick sides with Mike, Mike submits his answer, claiming that his knowledge base is more varied than Veronica's. Mike's answer is confirmed, winning the match. When he jokingly consoles Veronica -- she's still pretty to look at -- she takes a last draught of her beer and walks out.

Mike follows Veronica into the street, concluding that she's still mad at him for sleeping around while she was in Iraq. He wants them to try couples therapy with Father Gus. Reminding Mike that he hasn't been in a church since their wedding, Veronica turns to leave, but Mike insists, this is important. Watching from the bar, Sonia assures Nick that Mike and Veronica have always been this way, and they were supposed to give her a ride home. Now what?

Nick and Sonia bust through the door to her apartment in the throes of passion, only to cool their heels immediately when they spot Sonia's brother Dominick kicking it on the couch. After quick introductions, Nick leaves, and Sonia quickly asks what's wrong. Dominick explains that he had an altercation over a woman. The upshot is, he's been shot -- can Sonia stitch him up? Disgusted, Sonia doesn't believe Dominick's story and tells him to go the hospital, but he refuses. The paperwork might get complicated for him vis-� -vis previous incidents which may or may not be his fault. When he moves to leave, Sonia relents, warning Dominick that it's going to hurt.

Veronica waits on the curb with a newly discharged Erika, promising her that everything's going to be okay. Ron drives up to collect his fiancée and thank Veronica for saving her life. Inside, Sonia finds Ray the pilot texting, and unceremoniously yanks the phone out of his hand. Calling Sonia a bully, Talbot orders her to give it back, then hands her a book to help conquer her fear of flying. Later, Sonia complains to Angel -- how rude is Talbot!? When Veronica teases Sonia for being defensive, Sonia literally throws the book at her.

A zoftic Russian woman stops by the nurses' station to drop off lunch for Harris, whom she admits is her husband! Digging for dirt, Angel learns that Yelena met Harris on the Internet when looking for a tango partner -- he's a fabulous dancer. Angel, Sonia and Veronica are just debating whether Yelena is a sex slave or a mail order bride, when Chloe appears to beg Sonia to take her shopping. It's time to change her look.

At the mall, Sonia lectures Chloe on how to dress like an adult as opposed to a silly person, and sends her to the dressing room. Veronica admits that Mike wants them to do couples counseling with a priest. Veronica doesn't want to do it; she likes her emotions compressed so they come out at inappropriate times. Sonia sets Veronica straight: Mike messed around with a few random skanks, but Veronica had an actual affair, which she shouldn't mention. If she wants her marriage to work, she'll let Mike take the blame. Chloe exits the dressing room in a sexy black dress, feeling uncomfortable, but looking bodacious. Veronica senses that Chloe has a secret crush, but she denies it.

When Chloe checks in on Linda, Justin immediately perks up -- did Chloe get a boob job while she was at lunch? Sadly, Sands doesn't notice Chloe's new look. He's busy informing Linda that Wanda the raccoon tested positive for rabies. That means Linda will need rabies vaccine, which Chloe promises to arrange. Erika's fiance Ron catches up with Veronica in the hallway. He's worried about Erika, who's not doing well. Knowing that she should reach out, Veronica tells Ron that Erika probably just needs some time, and offers an 800 number to hook her up with a therapist.

Veronica is clearly uncomfortable, meeting with Mike and Father Gus. Mike explains that he keeps saying sorry, but his words no longer mean anything; he's hitting a wall. Veronica simply says, "I'm good," but that's not enough for Father Gus, who reminds Veronica she needs to participate in her marriage. Mike complains that Veronica never talks about Iraq. When she was away, he wrote her epic emails. And when he finally got a reply it was simply, "Hope you're good :)." What's that even mean? Father Gus accuses Veronica of stonewalling. Is she committed to her marriage or does she have one foot out the door?

Chloe visits the pharmacy to get Linda's vaccine, only to learn that there's a shortage and it's on back order. Trying not to freak out, Chloe informs Linda there's been a "little hiccup," then runs off to find some vaccine. Dominick turns up at the hospital, looking sick. Sonia pulls him into an exam room to discover that he has an infection. Promising to get Dominick some drugs, Sonia tells him to go. If anyone discovers how he got stitched up, she could be fired. Talbot walks up, insisting Sonia stop what she's doing, and check Ron's labs immediately. Insulted, but playing it cool, Sonia tells Talbot that Dr. Underhill is looking for her, and stalks off.

Veronica is shocked to discover that a bounce back patient is in fact Erika, who swallowed 30 sleeping pills with a vodka chaser. Covered in her own vomit but conscious, Erika cries; she can't handle surviving when her friends didn't. Veronica shouldn't have saved her life. Veronica makes a beeline for Klowden, demanding to be taken off the case, then returns home to lock herself in the bathroom with a bottle and a box of mementos from Iraq. After looking at a photo of a fellow comrade and fingering a small flashlight, Veronica turns off the lights and sits in the dark.

Chloe stays up all night, calling all over the city to find rabies vaccine. Talbot finds Sonia palming pills in the meds room. Ha, ha, there is no Dr. Underhill; Sonia has paid Talbot back for her "nurse-proof" crack. Talbot demands to know if Sonia has stolen drugs, but Sonia denies it, leaving to check on Ray. Talbot follows Sonia to Ray's room, continuing her accusations, until Sonia points out that Ray has passed out and his heart rate is dropping. He needs a cardiac tamponade now. Talbot has only seen it done once, but Sonia points out that there's only a minute to save his life, and works with Talbot to crack open his chest.

Chloe proceeds to Hackensack General's Pharmacy, but Doris doesn't want to hand over the rabies vaccine without approval from the Health Department, which will take two weeks. Chloe freaks out, pleading with Doris to bypass the rules, and winds up pounding on the glass that separates them, drawing the attention of Doris' superior. Doris' boss explains there's a waiver for special circumstances which Chloe can mail in, and hands over the vaccine.

After work, Sonia congratulates Talbot for a job well done, then admits that she did take some drugs -- erythromycin for her brother. When Sonia confesses the whole story about Dominick, Talbot whips out a prescription pad, and offers a better drug. Veronica approaches Sands, telling him that she couldn't bring herself to talk to Veronica, and feels responsible for her suicide attempt. Begging Sands not to make her say anything else, Veronica asks him to do her job and talk to Erika.

Sonia hands over the pills to Dominick, telling him it's the last time. After talking to Erika, Sands congratulates Chloe on finding the rabies vaccine, calling her a rock star. Veronica returns home to tell Mike the story of her best friend Becca, who got her head blown off in Iraq -- it should've been Veronica, and it was only random chance that it wasn't. This is just one of the many things that happened in Iraq. Tearing up, Mike tells Veronica that he's sorry she lost her friend.