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ER
"The British Are Coming"
Act Two
ADMISSIONS DESK
MARK [walks up and talks to Carol]: How are we doing?
Carol: Not bad. Pretty quiet. Dr Tennant took the last two.
MARK: She did? I'd better go see how she's doing.
CAROL: She didn't look like she needed help. She's already discharged one.
MARK: Discharged? Let me see the chart.
[Carol shakes her head, as she digs about and hands Mark the chart. He reads it, flipping
backwards and forwards through the papers. Eventually he nods and hands it back to Carol, a little
embarrassed.]
MARK: It looks okay. What else has she got?
CAROL: Nineteen year old girl, passed out during one of her classes at school.
MARK: Exam room...?
CAROL: One
[Mark heads off, then stops and spins on his heel.]
MARK: Carol? Is there a Mr Brooks waiting?
CAROL: With the German measles kids?
MARK: U-huh
CAROL [nods towards the waiting area]: Guy fighting the drinks machine.
[Mark looks over, to see Mr Brooks thumping angrily at the machine. His wife is sitting nearby,
fanning herself with a magazine. Mark resigns himself.]
MARK: Thanks.
[He weaves his way through the waiting room, until he is behind Mr Brooks. Brooks doesn't notice
him.]
BROOKS: Give me my damned quarter back! [he thumps the machine again]
MARK: Mr Brooks?
BROOKS [turns to face him]: Yes, what?...Oh, hi.
MARK: I'm Dr Greene. Could I have a word with you?
BROOKS: About the kids?
MARK [nods]: Yes. Why don't we go somewhere quieter?
BROOKS: Are they okay? The other doctor said he had to do some tests...
MARK [starting to usher Mr and Mrs Brooks away]: They're fine.
[Mark leads them into a quiet corner, and draws a curtain around.]
MARK: Now, this might seem a strange question, but are you sure the kids
weren't playing outside yesterday, or this morning?
BROOKS: Look, what is this? We already told the other doctor - what was his
name? Ross? [Mark nods] We told him they've been inside the whole time
they've been here.
MARK [nods again]: All right. The thing is, what your kids have seems to be a
rash from poison ivy.
BROOKS: Poison ivy? [He smiles] Then there's no risk to the baby?
MARK [looks over at Lynda, who is smiling at her husband]: No, none at all.
BROOKS: Oh, that's a relief. Thank you doctor...?
MARK: Greene.
BROOKS: Well, we wont waste any more of your time. We'll just grab the kids
and go.
MARK: The children are still with Dr Ross. We're trying to figure out how
come they're covered in poison ivy, when they've been inside for the last two
days. You got any ideas?
BROOKS [shakes his head]: Who knows what those kids do with themselves?
They're a mystery to me, and I'm their father.
MARK [smiles in shared sympathy. Rachel seems like a mystery to him
sometimes]: Has anything like this happened before?
BROOKS: I don't think so. [He looks awkward] They don't live with me, you
see. Their mother might know, but she probably wouldn't tell me.
MARK [nods in understanding]: I see. [He stands up] Well, Dr Ross is talking
to them, so perhaps he can get to the bottom of it.
LYNDA: Dr Greene? [Mark turns] Is this going to take long? I have to get to
work.
MARK: Probably not long.
BROOKS: If they're not sick, we can go anyway, right?
MARK: Sure. But we'll give them something for the rash. It's pretty unpleasant.
BROOKS: Oh, right. [He shakes his head, grumbling] This is a great start to my
vacation!
EXAM ROOM 1
Lucy is examining a girl, about 19 years old, who looks faint and worried. A boy, about the same
age, is sitting nervously beside her.
LUCY: Have you ever fainted before, Rebecca?
REBECCA: No. Never.
LUCY: Can you describe what happened?
REBECCA: Well I had an eight o'clock class, and I overslept, so I got up in a
hurry, and skipped breakfast. I was really hungry, but I didn't have time to eat.
And then in the class I started to feel really nauseous, so I went to the
bathroom, and on the way there I fainted.
LUCY: Are you taking any medication?
REBECCA [looks away when she answers]: No.
LUCY [her suspicions are aroused. She starts to take Rebecca's blood
pressure]: If you've taken anything illegal, you should tell me. It wont go any
further than me, but I need to know.
[Rebecca's friend gives her a significant look, but Rebecca shakes her head slightly.]
REBECCA: I've never taken anything like that. I promise.
LUCY: All right. [She watches the blood pressure gauge for a moment] A little
high. Right, I just want to run a couple of tests, so I'll need a urine sample.
REBECCA: I don't know if I can stand up, I still feel pretty light headed.
LUCY: Well, the other option's a catheter, I'm afraid.
REBECCA [her eyes go wide]: I'll make it to the bathroom.
LUCY: Good. A nurse will be along shortly to tell you what to do, and she'll
also take some blood.
[Rebecca nods, and her friend reaches out and holds her hand.]
LUCY [smiles at them]: Don't worry, there's nothing to it. I'll come back and
talk to you later. Okay?
REBECCA: Okay. Thank you Doctor.
[Lucy smiles again, and leaves the room. Just as she walks out of the door she bumps into Mark,
who's about to check up on her. He turns and walks with her along the corridor.]
MARK: So how's it going? I'm sorry I've left you on your own...
LUCY: I'm fine, thanks Mark. I prefer to just get stuck into it, you know?
MARK: Yeah, I'm the same. So, what you got here?
LUCY [frowns slightly]: I'm not sure exactly. Nineteen year old girl, passed out
in the middle of class, but no previous history. She says she missed breakfast.
MARK: Not unusual I guess.
LUCY: No, but her BP's high, and she got quite evasive when I asked her if she
was taking medication. She insists it's nothing illegal.
MARK: You going to run a tox screen?
LUCY: Yeah, I think so. And a urinalysis. She's probably just pregnant.
MARK [nods in agreement, and smiles]: Probably. You know what these
co-eds are like!
LUCY [doesn't understand him]: Co-eds?
MARK: You don't know that phrase?
LUCY [shaking her head]: No.
MARK: It just means kind of free and easy college girls.
LUCY [with a straight face, feigning a disapproving voice]: Oh, well we don't
have any of THOSE in England, you know.
[Mark is not quite sure what to make of her. He sort of half laughs, but isn't comfy. Lucy looks at
him sideways.]
LUCY: Only joking, Dr Greene.
MARK: Oh, right.
[Lucy smiles. She has a charming smile. Mark notices it for the first time, and smiles back at her.
They've stopped walking.]
CAROL [interrupts the conversation, shouting from the Admissions desk]:
Mark! GSW to the chest. EMTs are two minutes away.
MARK: Got it! [to Lucy] You free?
LUCY: Yep. Let's go.
[They get outside just as the ambulance pulls up and the EMTs jump out with the patient.]
TRAUMA SCENE
Lucy impresses Mark, and the nurses with her ability. In the trauma room she's confident and highly
competent. She saves the man's life despite the odds, and Mark steps back and lets her take over.
LUCY: Okay, he's relatively stable now; let's try adenosine, six milligrams IV
push. And is the OR ready for us?
CAROL: Benton's up there, ready to go.
MARK: Need a hand on the way up?
LUCY: No, I've got it. [She flashes him her smile again] Thanks though, Dr
Greene.
MARK: You're welcome. And watch out for Benton. His bite's worse than his
bark.
LUCY: I'll be careful. Okay, let's go!
[They rush the patient out to the lifts. Mark watches them go, more impressed with her than he'd
like to be. No one can replace Susan, of course, but Lucy is not only competent, but likeable too.
She's different from Susan, very different, slightly exotic, slightly confusing, but definitely likeable.
Lucy IS Susan's replacement. But can anyone ever really replace her?]
EXAM ROOM 2
[Doug is pretending to examine the children. He's looking down their throats, listening to their
breathing and so on. In fact he's just talking to them, but he's covering. He wants them to explain
what's going on.]
DOUG: So, Joanne, how long're you guys in Chicago?
JOANNE: Three weeks and two days, not counting today.
DOUG: Three weeks and two days! That's pretty accurate.
[Joanne doesn't reply. She looks down, and scratches at her arm.]
DOUG: So, you enjoy staying with your Dad?
Joanne: It's okay.
DOUG: I guess you must come up here quite a lot then.
[Mark enters, but when he sees Doug in conversation he stops just inside the door.]
JOANNE: We have to come until we're sixteen. It's in the divorce.
DOUG: Oh, I see. [He knows Mark is there, and casts half a glance towards
him. He's afraid of the direction the conversation is going: he knows where his
friend is sensitive. But he presses on nonetheless] And what happens when
you're sixteen?
JOANNE [with unexpected heat]: We're never coming again, are we Sam?
[Sam shakes his head in vehement agreement]
JOANNE [looks over at Sam]: I'll have to keep coming until he's sixteen too
though.
DOUG: Why's that?
JOANNE [shrugs - "isn't it obvious?"]: Otherwise he'd have to come on his
own.
DOUG [nods in understanding, and turns his attention to the boy]: So how
about you Sam? You don't like coming here either? [Sam shakes his head -
"no"] How come? Chicago's a pretty cool town, isn't it?
SAM: I miss my Mom, and Solo.
DOUG: Solo? Who's Solo?
SAM: My dog.
[Mark has been watching the whole thing. The children's words nestle into his gut like ice. Is this
how Rachel feels? He's staring at them, terrified.]
[Doug sits down in front of the children, chin resting on his hands. He looks at them for a while, but
neither of the children say anything.]
DOUG: So Sam, when did your neighbour have German measles?
SAM: At Christmas. He had to stay home when...
JOANNE [nudges him violently and hisses at him]: SAM!
[Sam slaps a guilty hand over his lips - he's let the secret out.]
DOUG: Christmas was a long time ago, Sam. [He sighs, and looks earnestly at
the children] You know, I don't think you guys have German measles at all.
[Sam immediately looks to his older sister, but Joanne is transfixed, staring at Doug in sudden
despair. Her plans are falling apart. Doug reaches out and touches her arm.]
DOUG: It's okay Joanne. You're not in trouble.
[Mark is watching the scene, bemused. He doesn't yet understand what's happening, but Doug
knows.]
DOUG: Will you tell me what's going on?
[Joanne continues looking at him for a moment, before her face crumples into tears, and she hangs
her head. She reminds Mark of his daughter, and he watches with concern.]
[Sam reaches out and puts his arm around his sister. He whispers something to her, trying to make
her laugh, but she can't.]
DOUG [watches them in real pity]: Can YOU tell me, Sam?
SAM [asks his sister in a whisper and she grants her permission with a nod]: If
we had German measles, Dad would've sent us home because it might hurt his
baby.
DOUG [nods. That's what he suspected]: How did you get the rash?
[Sam looks down, confused. It was meant to be a secret. Should he tell?]
DOUG: It's all right Sam. I'm not going to be cross. I just want to make sure
you and your sister are going to be okay.
[Sam looks over to Joanne, but she's still crying, and can't help him. He looks back at Doug, who
smiles encouragingly. After a long, uncertain pause, he speaks.]
SAM: It's made by poison ivy. We put in on last night.
DOUG: Last night?
SAM: When we were in bed. We brought it from home, in a bag with water in
to keep it alive.
JOANNE [lifts her head, and wipes her nose, trying to speak through her tears]:
We just wanted to go home. Please don't tell my Dad, he'll really hate us then.
[Mark grimaces in the background.]
DOUG: I'm sure your Dad won't hate you, Joanne.
[Joanne's face is lifeless, and she says nothing. She doesn't believe it. She looks down, hopeless,
miserable.]
SAM [is still hopeful]: Can you tell him we've got German measles?
DOUG: I'm sorry Sam, I can't do that.
[Sam's face falls and Doug shifts awkwardly in his chair]
DOUG: If your Dad is mean to you, if he hurts you, you can tell me, and then
you wont have to stay with him anymore.
JOANNE [looks up, shocked, almost embarrassed at the insinuation]: No! He
doesn't do that.
SAM [shaking his head]: No. He doesn't hurt us.
[Doug sighs. Not physically, perhaps, but the hurt in these children is palpable.]
DOUG: Okay. Then I'm going to give you something to help stop the itching,
and then you're going to have to go with your Dad.
[Joanne and Sam look resigned, dull, lifeless, withdrawing from a painful world.]
[Doug stands up, and walks to the door where Mark is standing. They exchange a look, and leave
the room.]
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