The Night Shift Episode 1.08 Save Me

Last week, San Antonio Memorial was hit with a double whammy - a warehouse fire and a hostage situation. This week the night shift dealt with the fallout. As the ER flooded with burn victims, Topher was fighting for his life; Jordan made a grave mistake, and TC struggled with a devastating secret. Here's what happened on the season finale of The Night Shift:

MEDICAL REPORT

After being shot by a crazed drug-runner, Topher remains in critical condition. With no time to process what just happened, TC and Jordan rush him into the ER, but Ragosa pulls Jordan away to treat another patient. It's the shooter, Milo Osborne.

Jordan, clearly reluctant to help, tells Paul to scan Osborne for a carotid artery injury, and if necessary, put him in queue for surgery. Detective Gonzales notes her attitude and informs Jordan that Osborne's a key witness in many cases - they need him alive. Jordan snarls and tells the cop that her MRI technician Dwayne (whom Milo shot) should be alive too; Osborne can take a number.

By the time Scott, chief of surgery, arrives, Topher's not doing so hot - there's blood pooling behind his liver. Scott and TC rush him into the operating room to remove the bullet. While operating, TC starts having flashbacks of his brother's death in Afghanistan; Scott notices that he's distracted.

Osborne's scan comes back; he needs surgery. Paul's about to prep the OR, but Jordan shuts him down: she tells Paul the OR is full. Ragosa notices Jordan's disgust for her patient and tell her she must treat Osborne like everyone else. Fine. Jordan decides to a repair the artery herself in the trauma room. It's a temporary fix until the OR opens up. The procedure seems to go well, but suddenly Osborne's carotid artery bursts, and he dies; Jordan knows she's in trouble. Scott gently tells her she made the wrong call; Osborne should have been in the OR. Detective Gonzales is outraged: Jordan screwed up. Ragosa defends Jordan, but tells her she's going to need a lawyer.

With Topher finally stabilized, Paul comes into his room to insert a catheter. Topher refuses. He can pee on his own, he tells Paul. Pee he does, but his urine comes out blood red, and suddenly he can't breathe. They rush him to the ER where Scott finds that he has an epidural hematoma - blood is compressing his spinal cord. If they don't relieve the bleeding immediately, Topher could become paralyzed. When TC finds out, he loses it; he begins yelling and thrashing and has to be restrained. With TC out of the OR, Scott successfully gets the blood evacuated, saving Topher's life.

TRAUMA DRAMA

A woman with third degree burns is rushed into the ER. The burns have rendered her unrecognizable and the scarred skin around her abdomen is too tight, making it impossible for her lungs to expand. Krista performs her first escharotomy; she makes an incision through the chest wall, releasing the pressure. Now the patient can breathe, but she's not going to make it. They have to find out who she is.

Meanwhile, a man named Max Leonard runs frantically into the ER looking for his wife. She was working at the warehouse when it exploded. He describes her, mentioning a green fairy tattoo on her wrist. When Krista finds Mrs. Leonard's ID badge in the burn victim's jacket, Landry must break the news to Mr. Leonard - his wife is not going to make it.

Later, Ragosa notices a green fairy tattoo on the woman brought in from the second warehouse explosion and realizes that the nametag was a mix-up. This is the real Mrs. Leonard, and she's going to live. It's a happy ending for the Leonards - not so much for the poor burn victim in Trauma 3. But they track down her mother in New Orleans, and she's able to say a few last words to her daughter over the phone.

TC's debilitating flashbacks have everyone starting to notice, including Scott. When there's a secondary explosion at the warehouse and TC volunteers to go, Jordan asks Drew to tag along to keep an eye on him.

By the time they get to the factory, it's in imminent danger of collapse. A woman is trapped inside, under a fallen beam. TC and Drew manage to free her, but a crashing sound triggers one of TC's flashbacks; Drew has to go back in to find him. While giving the woman CPR on the ride back to the hospital, TC's memories haunt him again as he suddenly is returned to Afghanistan on the day his brother died. This time the memory turns nightmarish when his brother wakes and asks "Why?" Why what? TC is wigging out, and Drew is clearly worried.

Back at the ER, Drew tells Jordan that TC is suffering from some major post-traumatic stress. Jordan finds TC and insists that he take a break from his duties. TC takes a time out, but he's still plagued by visions of his dying brother. When he returns to find that Topher is crashing, he loses his grip on reality and becomes violent.

Later, Jordan finds TC in handcuffs in the waiting room. After demanding that security remove them, she finally gets TC to open up. All his flashbacks have been revealing a repressed memory; TC had the opportunity to shoot the sniper who killed his brother - but the sniper was just a boy and TC hesitated. It's his fault his brother died. TC breaks down and Jordan holds him, promising to take care of him. Unfortunately, Scott walks by just in time to see this.

Ragosa tells Landry that he got the diagnosis for his blurry vision from his eye surgeon; he has a tumor behind his eye.