1.9 Mother's Day

Plot
It's a hot, hard, sad day at Richmond Trinity.

In the main storyline hospital administrator Morrissey is having everyone come before him and present budget cuts, really difficult budget cuts. First he makes Wakefield fire an elderly doctor who has given 30 years of service to the hospital. Then he tells Christina that all of the complicated math she's showing him doesn't matter, she simply has to cut six nurses, period. He says that the hospital is taking bids from outside contractors who will make the tough choices that she can't because she's soft.

Meanwhile, Christina has put Bobbie in charge while she's dealing with Morrissey. She seems to be handling all the various fires just fine and then a woman shows up with her mother. The mother is seizing outside the woman's minivan and they rush her in thinking she's had a stroke.

Bobbie heads off to put out another fire so Kelly and Dr. Marshall ask about when the symptoms started and the daughter says while they were driving. Since the woman appears to be within the first three hours of the stroke onset Dr. Marshall puts her on a "miracle drug" called TPA. Later, however, the daughter remembers some odd behavior from the previous evening and that morning, putting the woman outside the optimal TPA window. In fact, the drug could be dangerous to her. Kelly finds Dr. Marshall and tells her but she refuses to change the drug. Kelly later brings it up with Wakefield and a neurosurgeon in front of Marshall. The daughter admits what she told Kelly is true and they get her off the TPA. Marshall is pissed and tells Wakefield to never dress her down in front of a nurse again. He points out that what's important is the patient, not Marshall's ego. Marshall says she knows Wakefield is just defending the nurses because of his girlfriend Hawthorne. Marshall goes to Morrissey who suggests to Christina to make Kelly one of the cuts.

During lunch, as several administrative types are talking about the budget problems and potential pending cuts the loathesome Larry from accounting starts to choke on a donut. After some initial hesitation Ray saves him. (Later as Candy is looking him over, clearing him to go back to work, Larry claims he practically saved himself).

Christina goes to talk to Kelly about the Marshall issue and Kelly freaks that she's going to get fired. Candy reassures her that she won't. Ray says she's might considering the older doctor who was let go. He leaves the ER on a mission.

Ray goes to Marshall and gives her what for about being arrogant, rude, patronizing, and sometimes wrong when it comes to patient care and defending Kelly. Marshall is appalled, and then, of course, turned on, and the two kiss.

Bobbie and Christina talk about the potential Kelly firing. Bobbie can't believe it. Christina is worried about the community that needs a hospital. Bobbie thinks Christina is trying to now save the whole city.

Camille has also been calling all day, begging Christina to go on a trip to Virginia Beach since a boy she likes is going. Christina keeps turning her down and at one point as she is saying to her "I'm the mother, you're the daughter..." the daughter of the stroke victim suddenly realizes she left her baby in the mini-van.

The nurses rush out to the minivan, bust the window, and get the baby out. They do all they can, but they can't save the baby. Wakefield calls it and knocks over a tub of ice on the way out in anger. The mother freaks out. (Larry is watching). Everyone in the ER is distraught. The police and a priest come to speak to the mother.

Larry comes over to finally thank Ray for saving his life and then calls the mother an idiot for leaving her baby in the car and that she should get a Darwin award. Candy goes off on him about the mother having to live with the pain for the rest of her life and he's turning it into a stand up act. She tells him to get out of her ER. Ray loves this. Bobbie, who hears about it later, likes it less. She tells Candy that technically Larry was a patient and it didn't matter what he said, what she did was unprofessional. Candy rebuts by telling Bobbie that she can't believe she didn't see the baby in the car. Bobbie says she was attending to the mother.

Christina and Wakefield talk about their crummy day and how much they don't like the hospital some days: cutbacks, dead babies, her own husband's death. She tries to talk him out of his funk saying they did all they could for the baby and her husband. Wakefield says that's his point.

Kelly weeps in a small room and thinks she might quit saying she can't do it anymore. Bobbie comforts her.

Christina forces a distraught Bobbie to give the day's inspirational speech to the other nurses since she was in charge today. Bobbie lets it all out about how she's mad about what the mother did, mad that God made the day so hot, that she didn't turn her head and see the baby in the car, that the doctors are sometimes rude and wrong. And that they all should be pissed but they also have to remember all the people they've saved and helped.

Christina goes to Morrissey. He's mostly glad the hospital won't be held liable for the baby's death. He says by not putting in any nursing cuts in her budget she's signing her own death warrant and that another company will come in and do it. She offers to resign. He says Kelly has to go. She says no, not today. He says he'll do it. she breaks down into tears and begs him not to. He softens and says that instead he will do a cost-of-living cut, does she think the nurses will go for that? She says yes and quickly leaves the room.

She checks back in and appraises the subdued ER. As she walks out Camille calls once more and tells her in no uncertain terms that she's going. Christina says no. Camille says she's her daughter and wonders why she doesn't care about her. Christina, overwhelmed, says she does care and that's why she's not going, she screams "you're not going!" and throws her phone. Camille shrieks the shriek of a frustrated teen. Christina starts to cry and writhe and then there's a knock at the window. It's Kelly, saying that she's thought it over and she will be in the next day, pointing out that they couldn't save the baby but they did save the mother. Christina says that makes her really happ

Cast
Guest Starring