The Night Shift Episode 2.01 Recovery

Since we last saw the brave doctors of San Antonio Memorial, a lot of things have changed on the night shift. Jordan is still under investigation for Milo's death at the end of last season, so a fully recovered Topher has taken over as chief of staff, while TC has been suspended for his OR breakdown and subsequent attack on Milo. Ragosa took time off to have brain surgery to remove the tumor behind his eye, and the Psych Ward was shut down due to budget cuts, so his pal Landry won't be giving him free therapy sessions anymore. There's also a new doctor on staff, Dr. Joey Chavez, whom Topher's already nicknamed "Dr. Granola" due to his OR yoga sessions, new-age musical preferences and meditation techniques.

And it wouldn't be the night shift without a healthy dose of drama. Jordan broke up with Scott to get back with TC. Well, they're not exactly back together... it's complicated, as usual. Now the three of them have to work together, which clearly isn't going to go well. Kenny and Krista are hooking up, and Drew is concerned about his boyfriend Rick's growing addiction to painkillers after his leg was amputated last season. Now that you're caught up, here's what went down on The Night Shift this week...

Paramedics, including Jordan's best friend Gwen, burst through the hospital doors with a husband and wife on side-by-side gurneys. A six-foot piece of rebar flew off a truck and shot through the husband's head - and his wife's throat. Drew and Topher are on it, but they wish TC were there to help...

But it's not like TC isn't working. While on a search-and-rescue mission in the desert with Tricia, a veteran pal from his therapy group, TC comes across a boy who fell and badly injured his leg. As they pull him up the cliff, he suddenly starts choking and TC has to clear his airways by making an incision below his throat and snaking a tube in - all while suspended in midair on the side of a cliff.

Back at the hospital, Dr. Granola takes on the rebar couple, Craig and Mary Woo, with Krista and Jordan by his side. Scott comes in late and curtly informs Jordan that it's a surgical case now and she needs to leave. Suddenly Mary's condition worsens dramatically. Scott and Joey manage to stabilize her, and the couple is wheeled off to their respective surgeries, while Joey practices yoga in between procedures. Both surgeries go well, but as Craig comes to, Topher realizes he can only speak Mandarin - the brain injury must have injured the English language centers of his brain. Luckily, Krista has a genius solution and downloads a Mandarin-to-English app so the doctors can communicate with their patient.

Meanwhile, it's Ragosa's first day back and he's acting pretty weird, as in he's being upbeat and friendly. Apparently surviving a tumor behind his eye has given him a new lease on life. As Topher and Drew discuss how odd Ragosa is being, TC bursts into the ER carrying the little boy. After the boy's condition stabilizes, Tricia reveals to TC that she's been trying to get a doctor's appointment from the VA for months for a sore neck, so TC volunteers Topher to take a look at her off the books.

Jordan heads to the break room, where she finds Gwen reminiscing over college photos of the two of them dressed as Spice Girls. They were obsessed with them - okay, maybe they still are. Jordan reveals that Scott is still being a jerk to her, which, to be fair, makes sense considering she dumped him for his rival. Just then, Jordan and Gwen learn there's been a major crush injury at the courthouse, so they race off, with TC right behind them. He's not supposed to be working, but he just can't help himself. At the scene, they find a man trapped at his chest between an elevator and the ground. The man can't breathe, but due to his positioning, they can't intubate him, so TC suggests a battlefield solution: going nasotracheal. The plan works - now they have to get the elevator off the man's chest.

Back at the hospital, an unnaturally enthusiastic Ragosa tells Topher he wants to be more involved on the floor and get his hands dirty. He promises to stay out of Topher's way, but Topher is beyond confused.

At the crush site, the paramedics gently lift the elevator, but when they do, the man suddenly starts bleeding out. TC yells out to lower the elevator again as the man's teenage daughter looks on, terrified. It's crazy, but the elevator is actually keeping the man alive - its weight is stopping him from bleeding internally. He has severe injuries to his heart and aorta - what they need is an ECMO, but that's never done outside a hospital and they'll need Ragosa's approval. Shockingly, they get it - what is going on with Ragosa?! The only issue is they need a surgeon, so it looks like Scott, TC and Jordan are going to have to find a way to work together.

Scott is furious that Jordan and TC called for an ECMO - it's a Hail Mary and Scott doesn't trust their judgment. He rips into TC, who tells him that just because he's pissed at Jordan, he shouldn't let a man die. Scott finally agrees, and while he does the procedure, Jordan sits with the frightened daughter. Her mother died a few years ago and she can't bear to lose her father as well. The two bond over losing a parent at such a young age. The docs then race the elevator man back to the hospital, where Scott and Joey immediately operate on him. Against all odds, the surgery goes well and the man survives.

Things are looking up, but not for Ragosa, who gets an earful from his boss about approving the ECMO. But instead of just taking it, Ragosa dramatically quits in front of the whole staff. He has a new lease on life after undergoing surgery that should have left him brain damaged, and he's tired of being the miserable person this job has made him into. Later that night, Topher finds Ragosa in the break room flipping out about his rash decision to quit. Ragosa admits he's been studying to take the boards and get his MD, which is why he's been shadowing Topher. Topher then has an idea - while it would be a humbling experience and a huge pay cut, there's an opening for a physician's assistant, which would be a great learning opportunity for him. Ragosa is interested, and decides to think about the offer - and his future.

Meanwhile, Drew and Paul tend to Tricia, who has started coughing up blood. She gets scanned and it turns out her neck pain was caused by a stage-two Pancoast tumor at the top of her lung, likely caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals while on a tour in Afghanistan. The docs are in a bind, though - Tricia can't get into the VA hospital for months, but by that time the cancer would be so advanced, she wouldn't survive. Since she doesn't have insurance or savings, she can't pay for the surgery, and since it's technically not an emergency (yet), the ER can't treat her. The only hope is to convince a surgeon to help her pro bono.

The news hits TC especially hard, and he confides in Jordan that Tricia was the first person to really get through to him about his brother's death not being his fault. Thad was reckless and put the entire platoon at risk by putting a medical officer in jeopardy. Finally, TC is learning to stop blaming himself. After an emotional discussion, TC tells Jordan not to make any plans until two weeks from Friday. But why?

Just then, TC gets more bad news. The surgeon can't do Tricia's surgery pro bono, but he would cut his fee in half. It's still $15,000, and neither TC nor Tricia has that kind of money. But TC has a plan: he sells Thad's motorcycle to his bookie and uses the money to save her life. He knows it's time to let some of the Thad part of him go. But that's not TC's only good deed for the night - his big surprise for Jordan is two tickets to the Spice Girls concert for her and Gwen. When Jordan finds out, she decides she no longer wants to take things slow with TC... she's all in!