Saving Hope Episode 1.04 The Fight

A melancholy looking Alex sits in Charlie's room. Clearly, the waiting is getting to her. After laying her head on Charlie's chest, she jumps up and heads off to talk to Melanda, determined to get another chest X-ray for Charlie - his lungs sound crackly. Could this be pneumonia setting in? Melanda is disturbed to hear Alex is scheduled to work the night shift in ER, since she just finished her last shift. Spotting Joel at the nurses' station, Maggie stops to plant a kiss firmly on his lips, raising Jackson's eyebrow - though he promises Joel he neither saw nor heard anything at all. Alex takes Maggie's place, teasing Joel about his fancy jeans. Is he going to Shahir's birthday party tonight at El Convento Rico? Well then, he might be underdressed... Joel recovers quickly, telling Alex she's working too much. She explains that she's picking up extra shifts to pay for Charlie's coma arousal therapy.

Sucking on an energy drink, Alex reports to Zach in the ER, remarking that it looks like a quiet night. Zach insists that she's just jinxed them as an ambulance pulls up with Eddie Markes in the back. Suburban punk Eddie got knifed during a fight in a nightclub, and now he's bleeding out. Since he won't make it to the OR, Alex is ready to perform surgery on the spot. Charlie's on hand to observe and counsel Eddy when he flatlines. Eddy takes a swing at Charlie, demanding to know what's happening. When he learns that he's dying, he starts yelling at his unconscious body on the table, "Fight!" Charlie watches in amazement as Eddy wills himself back to life.

Hockey fan Alex is delighted when Zach assigns her next case: hunky hockey superstar Todd Fahey has a cracked rib. Todd was out to dinner with his loving girlfriend Amanda when a guy picked a fight with him - they always do - and sucker punched him in the back of the head, then kicked him in the ribs. Alex orders an X-ray to check out Todd's ribs, and she wants him to have a CT scan in case he has a concussion. Todd refuses the CT scan - he knows the drill, and he's not doing anything that will keep him off the ice. Alex checks in with Zach, who gives her the go ahead to try a new diagnostic blood test for concussion on Todd. He points to the waiting room, which is full of angry young toughs; half of them are friends of Eddie's; the other half are friends of the stabber, and the tension is thick.

Gavin asks Maggie if she wants to share a cab to the birthday party - or is she going with Joel? Maggie insists she's not dating Joel, and she can't go to the party until later. Gavin meets Joel at El Convento Rico, which turns out to be a gay bar with a swinging drag queen show. Everyone's loving it except for Shahir, who's clearly having a miserable time at his own party. Meanwhile, Alex tells Todd that his rib is merely cracked, no punctures or bleeding. Todd thinks he's being released, but Alex ties up his arm and starts drawing blood, claiming she's just going to run a few more tests. Smelling a rat, Todd grabs Amanda and heads for the door.

Melanda pages Alex to the ICU to deliver the news that yes, Alex was right, Charlie has pneumonia. When Alex freaks out and starts hurling accusations, Charlie decides to try touching her, and she instantly calms down, apologizing to Melanda. Afterwards, Charlie finds Eddie standing over his comatose body; apparently he didn't come out of the anesthesia. Charlie wants to know how Eddie willed himself back to life. Instead of a direct answer, Eddie leads Charlie to the waiting room to explain what happened in the club. Eddie's a drug dealer, so when he found out another guy was selling in "his" nightclub, he broke the guy's jaw. Knowing the stabber can't hear or see him, Eddie goes on a tirade, promising to kill the guy's friends, family and dog when he comes to. Eddie never loses a fight!

Alex runs after Todd into the waiting room, just as a gunfight erupts between Eddie's friends and enemies. Innocent bystander Irene, in the waiting room with her husband Anthony, is hit, and the bullet lodges somewhere in her pelvis or spine. When Irene reports she can't feel her legs, Zach pages Joel, who rushes back to the hospital. Despite Zach's protests that Irene is too unstable, Joel wants to perform surgery immediately to save her spine. The only trouble is, Irene's husband Anthony isn't thrilled with this idea. Meanwhile, Eddy is yelling at the guy who stabbed him, who got shot in the waiting room melee - why won't he die already? And why can't Eddie wake up?! When Eddie doesn't like Charlie's answers, he pretends to punch him, laughs maniacally, then runs off to find his body.

Todd's feeling steamed; since the cops have demanded statements from everyone who witnessed the waiting room shootout, he can't leave. This is fine with Alex, since Todd's blood test results have come back, indicating that he does indeed have a concussion. Todd explains the only thing that's keeping him in the NHL is his fists, and he can't quit the game, even if it might kill him. He's only got a few seasons left anyway. When it's his turn to give a statement to the cops, Todd regales them with a funny story, but strangely, he can't stop laughing. Suddenly he's down on the ground having a seizure.

Shahir lays into Victor at El Convento Rico. They've been dating a year and a half now - how is it that Victor doesn't realize that Shahir hates surprise parties, and that large groups of people make him very anxious? Luckily, Shahir is paged to the hospital, to consult with Alex on Todd, who needs immediate brain surgery for a ruptured aneurysm. Later, Alex finds Amanda in the waiting room. Amanda keeps begging Todd to quit hockey; now what's she going to do if Todd doesn't wake up? Alex assures Amanda that Todd will wake up. But for Charlie, her prognosis isn't as rosy. After three weeks, only 4% of coma patients regain consciousness, and as of this moment, Charlie is officially in week four and in PVS, persistent vegetative state. Melanda prefers to think of Charlie's state as minimally conscious.

Joel meets with Irene, who wants to have the risky surgery, rather than spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Anthony wants to take more time and refuses to sign off. Joel complains to Alex, who gets mad. Joel just wants to show off doing hotshot surgeries, but maybe Anthony just wants his wife to live. Is that such a crime? Once out of surgery, Todd is feeling fine and ready to get ambulatory. Shahir cautions that he couldn't get all of Todd's several aneurysms, and there's one that could burst at any time. One slight knock to the head could kill him. His hockey career is over. Alex returns to the ICU to learn that Charlie's fever has risen to 105. In the next room, Charlie stands by as Eddie yells at himself to wake up. Eddie wants to know why Charlie isn't doing the same thing. Has he given up?

Melanda and Alex rush to Eddie's side as he wakes up, leaving behind a stunned Charlie. Is Eddie onto something? Joel starts off Irene's surgery with confidence, then pauses before making the first cut. He steps outside to settle, then re-enters the OR with a new, more conservative strategy. He's going to leave the bullet where it is and stabilize the spine, in order to give Irene more time. Alex finds Todd yelling at Amanda to get out of his way - he's leaving the hospital! Threatening to order restraints, Alex puts Todd back into bed. When he threatens that he's going to keep playing hockey, no matter what Alex thinks, Alex gives him a piece of her mind. Todd is an idiot. He has a life and a woman who loves him - who in his right mind would turn his back on that?

Charlie stands over his body, yelling at himself, giving Eddie's technique a try. He's sitting with his head in his hands by the time Alex comes in to check on him, relieved to find that his fever has broken. Alex proceeds to the doctor's lounge, where she flashes back to happier times, walking down the street with Charlie. She wants to know if they'd be together if they weren't doctors; Charlie assures her that his love for her runs deep. Dressed in his tux, Charlie interrupts her reverie, calling her name. Both Alex and Charlie are amazed - they can see each other! Sadly, Charlie melts away, leaving Joel standing in his place. Has Alex seen a ghost? Joel advises Alex that it's time to lie down and get some rest. Little does she know, Charlie is watching over her as she sleeps.