01.16 The Birthday Party

Doug has a one night stand and does the classic calling the other person by the wrong name. He comes in early and finds Carol is still in, looking after Tatiana, so he offers to cover for her for a bit so she can sleep before her shift.

Peter is sleeping on the couch because he's exhausted. It's the 16th, and Mrs Benton's birthday (and Rachel's). Peter promises to be at the birthday party, since he's one of the few people Mrs Benton really recognises. He spends much of the episode trying to swap shifts, until Hicks slaps him down.

Carter and Benton deal with a guy threatening to set fire to himself. Doug gets a kid with his head stuck in the mouth of a stuffed and mounted tiger head.

Renee, a regular overdoser, is brought in. Mark and Susan are used to her. She goes in trauma 1. She's been brought in by her father, but the creep boyfriend eventually arrives.

Tatiana is taken to the sunshine home for kids with AIDS.

Benton gets a guy who has sliced off his finger gutting fish (trauma 2). His collegues have brought the crate of gutted fish so they can find the finger. Chen and Carter get the job of looking through the fish. Carter is starting to think about an ER elective. I'm starting to really notice the dynamic similarities between Chen & Carter and Neela & Ray. One is all ambition, the other is great with empathising with the patients.

A kid with a GSW to the spine (trauma 1). He's been shot by his brother, after they got into their cop father's guns.

An end stage lung cancer guy is brought in: Mark and Susan play paper-scissors-stone to see who gets to sort him out.

Carter mishears and thinks it is Benton's birthday. So he and Lydia organise a surprise party, complete with two belly dancers.

A little girl comes in, having fallen out of window (trauma 1).

Pasta name guy - oh, alright, Tag - and Carol are looking at churches for the wedding. She suggests they adopt Tatiana, but Tag is not keen on the idea.

Diane Leeds - the lady from the upper floors with son Jake - is looking for Doug. She arrives in time to see him punching out the father of the little girl who fell out the window, having found a massive boot print on her back. Doug isn't the least bit sorry, even though Morgenstern is going to make him undergo therapy etc. Again, I'm wondering how come Eve gets summarily fired for punching out Santa in 12.10.

Jean Boulet is coming to the party. Benton is clearly pleased.

A white supremist is brought in with a knife in his heart (trauma 2). He's got 'die nigger die' tattoed on one arm, but Benton tells the team - all black or asian - to be professional. He ends up taking the guy into OR and saving his life, but missing his mother's birthday party.

Carol visits Tatiana in the home.

It's Rachel's birthday party, which Mark has also missed, but Jen got "Craig, the other clerk" to help her. Hmm. Mark produces a pressie for Rachel, which Jen is pleased with until Mark reveals it's from Susan. Then Jen reveals that she's going to do another year in Milwalkee. So, if Mark hadn't been late, or if the pressie had been from Mark, would Jen have made that decision?

Renee bounces back (trauma 2) and Susan starts the stomach pump.
"We haven't lost anyone today, we are not starting with you."

Which trauma room is unlucky? A running total of doom...
Except they didn't lose any...
trauma 1: 4
trauma 2: 2