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back in his life |
a little boy who might be abused |
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Story: David Amann
Teleplay:
Directed By: Lou Antonio
Mark Dolan, a sixteen-year-old train-wreck victim, is rushed to the emergency room. His parents, Jim and Myra Dolan, are told the boy succumbed to his injuries. Shutt attempts to calm the hysterical Myra, but his words of comfort have little effect. Evidence indicates Mark's death was the result of a suicide. While manning a counseling center at Mark's high school, Shutt encounters Ethan, an athletic Junior. Though curious about the center, Ethan dismisses the idea of actually speaking to a psychologist about his feelings. Sometime later, Ethan enters the counseling center, insisting he simply needs a place to "hang out." Shutt notices a name scratched on Ethan's notebook... and realizes the teenager is Mark's brother. Later, Shutt breaks confidentiality and tells Myra that Ethan is able to deal with Mark's passing. Dr. Frank chastises Shutt for the error, and believes it is directly responsible for Ethan's sudden disappearance. Shutt realizes Ethan is at great risk of doing himself harm, as studies indicate relatives of suicide victims are often emotionally vulnerable. The case becomes even more complicated when Myra, in a state of denial, refuses to believe Mark took his own life. Ethan contacts Shutt by phone and arranges to meet him at a junk yard. During their conversation, Ethan loses consciousness. Shutt realizes he overdosed on pills and rushes the boy to the emergency room. When Ethan regains consciousness in his hospital bed, he breaks down, sobbing. He tells Shutt he feels responsible for his brother's death and should have looked out for him. Later, Shutt consults a psychiatrist and begins his own, inner journey. Five-year-old Brandon Bergstrom is brought into the emergency room on a stretcher, his head taped to a backboard, a cervical collar around his neck. The boy's father, Paul, describes how Brandon slipped and fell on icy steps outside their apartment building. Hancock is somewhat suspicious of Paul's story; suspecting the boy may have been the victim of child abuse, he instructs a nurse to research hospital records looking for evidence on previous injury. But McNeil's "gut instinct" tells him Brandon did indeed slip on the ice. A nurse, however, discovers that the boy has been admitted to the County hospital on numerous occasions, and was treated for everything from a broken rib to a fractured arm. As a result, the hospital contacts a child services worker, Rebecca Rosen, for help. Paul is furious when he realizes he is suspected of committing child abuse, and even more so when Rosen halts all contact between father and son. Later, McNeil notices a lack of response when he asks the boy a question, and gives Brandon an examination. He suspects that Brandon suffers from a genetic bone disorder, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, and orders lab tests. Until the results are known, Paul is given supervised custody of his son. Watters confronts Wilkes when he refuses a patient treatment. Later, Watters realizes that the patient, Charles, is Wilkes' estranged father. Lab tests indicate Charles suffers from internal bleeding. Slowly, Wilkes opens a dialogue with his father. Charles claims he returned to Chicago hoping to renew his relationship to his family. Wilkes takes pity on his father, and tells Watters he is thinking of loaning him money to help make ends meet. Later, Watters tells Charles it's possible to fake bleeding in the bowel by swallowing one's own blood, or by eating raw meat. He suspects Charles did this to play on his son's sympathies and cheat him out of money. Eventually, Charles admits he is desperate for cash. Disgusted, Watters tells him he will have to find it elsewhere.
Phillip to Keith: "The admitting nurse said that he specifically requested you."
Keith to Phillip: "This is not a piano bar and I don't take requests."
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