ER Episode 12.18 Strange Bedfellows

Abby was shocked when Kovak broke the news that he'd volunteered to assisted Carter back in Sudan. Kovak assured her he would be back in time for the baby's birth. Abby just figured that Kovak would want to stay by her side throughout the entire pregnancy. She was upset that he wanted to leave, but she didn't show it.

Neela's in-laws came to the ER to visit. At the same time, two people were brought in with injuries from a police chase that resulted in a car accident. Neela's father in-law watched as Neela, Abby and Archie worked on the female patient. Abby became annoyed when Neela tried to take over everything so she could impress her father in-law.

Ray and Sam worked on the male patient from the car accident, but he was not responding. Ray wanted the patient to be restrained because he kept moving around. The cops were on hand to keep an eye on their fugitive and make sure he didn't try to escape. The man did not talk, he just moaned in pain because his jaw was broken.

Kovak responded to an elderly patient who was brought in with bruises to the chest. It turned out his 80-year-old girlfriend had caught him cheating; which resulted in her throwing an urn at his chest. It turned out the man was in a lot worse condition than first thought and his girlfriend became very apologetic.

Ray tried talking to the suspected carjacker with the broken jaw and discovered the man was deaf. He was able to write down for the doctors that the girl he was in the car with was high on the drug Ecstasy, and that's why she was being unresponsive.

The deaf carjacker was able to sign to the doctors what had happened. It turned out he didn't commit a carjacking as the cops had reported. Instead, he'd found his friend, Brooke, passed out and he'd taken her in her car to the hospital. She had taken the car from her parents and they'd reported it stolen. On his way to the hospital with Brooke, he saw the cop cars. He kept driving, in fear that Brooke might die if she didn't get urgent care. He was bruised because when the cops finally forced him to stop the car, they beat him up — they'd misread his sign language for gang symbols.

Neela managed to escape the ER to catch a dinner break with her in-laws. She was in the middle of an argument with her father in-law, who felt Neela should move wherever Mike wants to begin his medical practice. Neela's mother in-law disagreed and thought Neela should stay in Chicago where she's happy, and Mike should have to adapt to what Neela wanted. She informed Neela that being a military wife always meant being in second place.

Kovak passed on the opportunity to fly to Africa to join Carter in Sudan. But, he decided to send Pratt instead. Pratt protested the decision, but Kovak told him he didn't have a choice. Pratt later ran into his girlfriend and broke the news to her that he was going to Africa for work. She thought he was lying to try to break up with her, and Pratt couldn't convince her otherwise. Meanwhile, Kovak broke the news to an ecstatic Abby, who was thrilled that he was staying.

Neela found her mother in-law crying and wondered what was wrong. She informed Neela that she and her husband were separated. They had just been putting on a front. Mike's mother in-law warned Neela, again, of the perils of being a military wife. Neela sympathized with her mother in-law.

Sam continued to work on her off days as a private nurse for wealthy businessman, Richard Elliot. She and her son lived with him in his mansion. When Sam returned back to the mansion after working at the hospital, she found Richard suffering from chest pains at his own party. Sam became frustrated when Richard refused her treatment. He later apologized and said he knew that Sam was just doing her job, and that was to watch out for his health.

Ray was shocked when Archie told him that everybody in the ER just figured he was sleeping with Neela. Ray set them straight — he and Neela were never together, they were just good friends. Archie promised Ray he would stop the rumors going around. When Ray got home, he found Neela packing her belongings up and moving out of the apartment. She told Ray it was best for the both of them if she stayed with Abby for a while. Ray was hurt but he understood the reasoning behind the move — she had feelings for him and feared one of them would act on those feelings.