The Night Shift Episode 1.04 Grace Under Fire

Emotions ran high this week after an Alamo reenactment gone wrong left San Antonio Memorial inundated with musket wound victims, Drew and his platoon were wounded on a training mission and Jordan broke the rules to save a patient with a "do not treat" bracelet. Heartstrings were tugged, too, as Ragosa opened up to Landry on what's been causing his headaches, Jordan had a birthday from hell and old feelings were stirred up between TC and Jordan. Here are the details from this week's episode of The Night Shift:

Medical Report:

The paramedics bring in a male musket wound victim who has no memory or ID except for a "Do not treat" bracelet - he's a Christian Scientist. One paramedic tells Jordan that they can't legally treat him. Jordan cuts off the John Doe's bracelet and takes him into surgery where she and TC find that he has a bullet lodged in his lung. Realizing his life is at stake, they remove the shrapnel and get him stabilized. When Ragosa finds out, he hits the roof. The only legal way to bypass a "do not treat" bracelet is to declare the patient mentally incompetent. Since Jordan operated without getting a psychological evaluation first, the hospital could face a major lawsuit. TC sticks up for Jordan but Ragosa suspends her.

At TC's request, Landry is brought in to evaluate John Doe. Landry shows the patient a series of photographs to jog his memory and after seeing a picture of pancakes he has a "eureka" moment! Er, sort of. He remembers a diner and a girl named Christine. That narrows it down. Landry and Nurse Molly head off to call every diner in the area. Meanwhile, John Doe's not doing so well. He has a rising fever and he isn't responding to the antibiotics. TC and Landry are stumped. Landry finally locates Christine who informs her that John Doe - aka George Collins - is bipolar and recently quit his lithium treatment abruptly. This is key information for Jordan. Going off mood stabilizers too quickly can have a disastrous effect, namely neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a condition marked by fever, confusion and delirium - basically all of John Doe's symptoms. Jordan and TC promptly treat him accordingly and save his life.

Trauma Drama:

It's Jordan's birthday but her long distance boyfriend, Scott, can't make it to San Antonio to visit.

Drew is at an all-night training mission as part of his army commitment. He and three soldiers, Javier, Mike and Charlie hop into a Humvee and head out on their mission through the bush. Soon the bro-talk about hot chicks and Ranger School evolves into a debate on gays in the military. Charlie's against it - he doesn't need "the guy that's supposed to be covering his ass, checking it out instead." For the most part Drew keeps quiet - why rock the boat? The conversation is cut short when Javier swerves to miss a coyote and the Humvee flips over. Charlie is badly injured and needs to get to the ER, stat. Unfortunately the radio is broken and they have no cell reception. They'll have to carry him, on foot, through a live shooting range to the extraction point. After getting Charlie to safety, Javier pointedly tells Drew that he supports gays in the military and says Drew would make a great Ranger.

Kenny, eager to watch Topher perform a surgical procedure, dismisses a female patient's stomach pain as the flu and puts off reading her EKG results. When the patient suffers from a heart attack, a furious Jordan reminds Kenny that, "it isn't all about the flashy procedures." Kenny feels awful and sits with the woman all night.

Meanwhile, the John Doe case has stirred up drama between Jordan and Landry. TC asks Landry to declare John Doe incompetent. Landry says the patient is still unconscious - she won't rush to label him and risk her license just to get Jordan off the hook. Landry tells TC that she must wait until the patient wakes up to conduct a full evaluation. TC apologizes, taking her hand. Jordan catches this intimate moment. Later, Jordan confronts Landry and after a moral debate about John Doe, gets to the real issue: Jordan totally knows Landry's sleeping with TC.

At The Tailgate later, Landry apologizes to Jordan for dating TC and not telling her, but Jordan's not having it. When Landry finds out John Doe has bipolar disorder and that the ER doctors saved his life, she feels relieved. And now it's Jordan's turn to apologize to Landry. She explains that the John Doe case hit close to home: her father, a religious man, died because he refused treatment for pneumonia. Landry and Jordan agree that while they might never be best friends, they can at least try to be work friends.

With John Doe in the clear, Nurse Molly informs Jordan that the paramedic changed his story - he can't swear that the patient was wearing a "do not treat" bracelet, which means Jordan is off the hook. It only takes a look from Molly to know that TC had something to do with it.

After a long, emotionally draining day, Jordan calls Scott to vent but as she's leaving the hospital she finds him waiting to surprise her. But Scott's not the only one who remembered Jordan's birthday. TC, holding a small wrapped gift, walks up just in time to see Jordan in a passionate lip-lock with Scott. Ouch. By the look on his face it's clear he's not quite over Jordan. Unseen, TC slinks back into the hospital.

Pain Relief:

Ragosa has a splitting headache and finds some aspirin in Landry's office. Unfortunately the "aspirin" turns out to be Ecstasy from an old experimental study on the effects of MDMA on soldiers with PTSD. Ragosa's not a happy camper but being high as a kite gives him time to think and helps him get in touch with some much needed empathy. When he comes down, he opens up to Landry: he's getting a divorce.

The entire night staff finds out that Topher's getting a vasectomy. They surprise him with a suggestive soccer ball-themed cake and a stirring rendition of "Taps."