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ER
"The British Are Coming"
Act Three
OUTSIDE EXAM ROOM 2
[Doug runs a hand through his hair, and sighs.]
DOUG: It's tough.
MARK [is horror struck by what he's heard. He refuses to believe that Rachel
might feel like this. It's just these kids, that's all. His cold fear is evident in the
snap of his voice]: They're just playing up.
DOUG [looks up sharply]: It's more than that. Didn't you see their faces?
MARK [almost hopeful]: You think they're abused?
DOUG [shakes his head, and studies his toes]: No. No more than any other
kids who only see their father ...[he falters to a halt, suddenly aware of who he's
talking to. Sighing, he shakes his head] They just seem so hurt, you know? I
remember that feeling.
MARK [is feeling decidedly uncomfortable; defensive anger is bubbling below
the surface]: Not every father is like yours, Doug.
DOUG: I know. I know that. [He takes a deep breath] So what are we going to
tell Mr Brooks?
MARK: The truth. What else?
DOUG: Come on Mark, we don't have to. I'll just say it was an allergic
reaction...
MARK [interrupting, irritable now]: He has a right to know. They ARE still his
kids.
DOUG [beginning to catch Mark's anger, scowls]: He was more worried about
his pretty new wife than his kids.
MARK: We can't lie to him.
DOUG: I'm not going to lie. I'm just going to be economical with the truth.
MARK: Tell him the whole truth, Doug.
DOUG: What good's it going to do?
MARK: It's not our choice. HE's their father!
DOUG [Other, older, deeper anger is rising to the surface]: Is he? Father's raise
their kids Mark. They don't just see them when they feel like it!
MARK [is stunned, and guilt, justifiable or not, makes him angry]: What're you
saying Doug?
DOUG [holds his hands up to placate]: Not you...sorry, I wasn't thinking. I
didn't mean you.
[Mark glares at his friend, too angry and hurt to continue the conversation. What if Doug's right?
What if Rachel feels the same? Does she hate visiting him? Does she hate him?]
MARK: Just tell the father what happened, and get the kids out of here. We
need the room.
DOUG [still angry]: You're being totally unreasonable! It's just poison ivy for
Christ's sake - what does it matter if the father doesn't know? These kids are
just trying to deal with a tough situation. You know the wife's pregnant? Can
you imagine how that makes them feel? They just want to go home.
MARK [is furious, but trying to keep his voice down]: Doug you're a doctor,
not a social worker! [He pauses] Anyway, I already told Mr Brooks about the
poison ivy.
DOUG [stares]: Oh, I see. Well that's just great.
MARK [clips his words angrily]: You wanted me to talk to him, so I did. He
has a right to know.
DOUG: Yeah parent's have all the rights, don't they? No one gives a damn
about what the kids want.
MARK [snaps angrily back]: Kids don't know what they want!
DOUG [words are on the tip of his tongue, hurtful words about Rachel, but he
swallows them. Trying to repress his anger, he adopts a different tack]: Why
don't you talk to them Mark? YOU see if they know what they want.
MARK [dissembling]: I don't have time.
DOUG: Really? [He begins to walk away]. You're not afraid of what you might
hear, are you?
[Mark watches him go with a frown, and then turns and looks at the children through the Exam
room window again.]
ADMISSIONS DESK
Jerry is organising a 4th of July trip to the lake front, where there's going to be a large fireworks
display, barbecue, funfair - the works. Jeanie, Carol and Haleh are working at the desk with him.
JERRY [turning to Jeanie]: So, are you coming to the fireworks then?
JEANIE: I don't know yet Jerry. What time does it start?
JERRY: The big kaboom starts about ten.
JEANIE [nods, considering]: Maybe. I've got an early start tomorrow though...
JERRY: Come on, it's only once a year, and the hot dogs are great!
JEANIE: I'll think about it.[To the nurses] How about you guys?
CAROL: Yeah, sounds like fun. And I have two days off coming up!
[Mark walks up, still irritated from his conversation with Doug.]
CAROL: You coming tonight?
MARK: Coming where?
JERRY: Fireworks by the lake - it's gonna be good. Fairground and everything.
MARK [shakes his head]: I don't think so.
CAROL: Come on, it'll be fun.
MARK: No, thanks. I might go see Rachel.
CAROL: I thought you were on early tomorrow?
MARK: I am.
CAROL [raises her eyebrows]: That's a long trip for a short evening.
MARK [his irritation with Doug makes him snap at her]: She's my daughter. I
can see her when I like!
CAROL [backs off]: Sure, why not?
[Mark is embarrassed. He looks up, about to apologise, when Lucy approaches the desk.]
JERRY [hisses]: Don't mention the fireworks!
MARK & CAROL: What?
LUCY [She's slightly shy of all the people, but pleased to see Mark. She smiles
at him, and he cheers up without realising it]: Jerry, have the labs come back on
Rebecca Pourroy?
JERRY: Yeah, hang on. [He rummages around until he finds the documents. In
the process, getting the chart caught up in the bunting that is still draped across
the desk] I'm sorry about this, Dr Tennant. [Lucy shrugs] I hope it doesn't
offend you?
LUCY: You hope what doesn't offend me?
JERRY: The bunting.
LUCY [She looks down at the bunting, puzzled. She is genuinely confused.
Afraid she's being teased, she looks to Mark, but he's just as perplexed.
Cautiously she asks...]: Why should I be offended?
JERRY: Well, you know. Because of what day it is.
[Jeanie is listening in high amusement, and exchanges a laughing glance with Mark, who just shakes
his head in confusion.]
LUCY: What day is it, exactly?
JERRY [awkward now]: You know, urm, 4th of July?
LUCY [has caught on, and she's going to take him for a ride. But she keeps her
face blank]: And what's significant about that? The day after the 3rd?
JERRY: No! [he's shocked at her ignorance] It's Independence Day!
LUCY [shakes her head dismissively]: Oh, that's not today.
JERRY [looks around at the others with an astonished smile - it's not every day
he gets to out-wit a doctor]: I think you'll find that it is!
LUCY [shakes her head]: It's the sixth.
JERRY: What?
LUCY: Independence was declared on the sixth of July.
JERRY: You're kidding!
LUCY: Nope. All they did was sign it on the fourth. Sorry, Jerry [she shrugs]
There goes two hundred years of tradition, eh?
JERRY [is sceptical. He looks about him for support]: She's kidding, right?
MARK: Don't look at me! I'm just a doctor.
LUCY: Thanks for reminding me though Jerry. I'll have to dig out my regulation
black arm-band.
[Jerry doesn't know what to make of that. Is she joking? Mark understands, and smiles: something
about her entertains him. Lucy turns and walks away, shaking her head and smiling a little as she
reads the lab results.]
MARK [turning to Jerry]: What on earth made you say that?
JERRY: What?
MARK: Jerry, I doubt she really cares about a two hundred year old war.
JERRY: But Jeanie said...
[Mark turns to her, and she flashes him an innocent smile. He groans.]
MARK: I'll be in the canteen if anyone needs me. Anyone sane, that is!
[Just as Mark leaves, Doug sidles up to the desk. He's looking a little furtive.]
DOUG: Carol, where's Mark?
CAROL: The canteen. You want me to page him?
DOUG [quickly]: NO! [a little calmer] No. I'm just about to discharge the
Brooks kids in 2. Where's the father?
CAROL [nodding towards the waiting room]: Back row.
DOUG: Thanks. [He hurries off towards Mr and Mrs Brooks, and sits down
next to them in the waiting room. He's explaining something.]
OUTSIDE EXAM ROOM 2
Mark is on his way to the canteen. He passes Exam room 2, and sees the two Brooks children
sitting quietly by themselves. He keeps walking for a moment or two, before he stops and
reluctantly turns around. Standing still for a moment he considers, and decides. With some
trepidation, he returns to the room and enters.
EXAM ROOM 2
MARK [enters, closing the door behind him]: Hi. My name's Mark Greene. Can
I talk to you for a while?
SAM: Are you a doctor too?
MARK: Yes I am. [He sits down in front of them: he's nervous.] I hear that you
guys were pretending to be sick, because you don't want to stay here with your
Dad. Is that right? [The children are silent. Mark presses on]: I also hear that
you don't want us to tell your Dad that you were faking. [They maintain their
silence, and Mark awkwardly clears his throat. This is harder than he
anticipated] I think your Dad should know that you're unhappy when you come
here, don't you?
JOANNE [sullenly breaks the silence]: No. He'd just be mad.
MARK: Why would he be mad?
JOANNE [shrugs]: He always is.
MARK [is flummoxed]: Well, have you told him what it is that makes you
unhappy?
JOANNE: What's the point? [Her voice is tinged by a sudden anger] We still
have to come. It's in the divorce.
MARK [looks down, thinking]: It's only in the divorce because your Dad wants
to see you. If you tell him how you feel, I'm sure he'll try and make things better
for you.
JOANNE [bitterly]: He doesn't care.
MARK: Now, I'm sure that isn't true. He probably just doesn't know how you
feel. And he wont, unless you tell him.
JOANNE: He does know, but he doesn't care.
MARK: How can he know, if you don't tell him?
JOANNE [sudden angry tears are standing in her eyes]: I DID tell him. I told
him it was my best friend's birthday party tomorrow; I told him I didn't want to
come this week.
MARK [quietly, unsure of himself]: And what did he say?
JOANNE [it's as though a dam has been opened within her. Anger floods into
her small frame, making her voice tremble as she fights to repress it]: He was
mad at me. He said he couldn't get any other time off work. He said I should be
looking forward to seeing him.
MARK [watches Joanne with pity. But instinctively, he understands her father's
perspective]: Your Dad must really miss you guys. He probably couldn't wait to
see you.
JOANNE [her voice is too bitter for a child of eleven]: He doesn't even want us
here! We just get in his way. I HATE him. I wish he was dead.
SAM [speaks up for the first time]: Shhh! Jo! Mom said you mustn't say that in
case it comes true.
JOANNE [is crying angry tears]: I don't care! I hope it does come true!
[Mark is astonished at the venom in her voice, but he's overwhelmed by pity too. He tries to put a
comforting arm about her shoulders, but she pushes him angrily away]
JOANNE [tries to control herself. She stifles her tears and brutally represses the
sudden flood of anger. She looks up at Mark with serious, hurt-filled eyes]: We
just want to go home.
MARK [meets her gaze with his own]: I have a daughter, called Rachel. She
lives with her Mom, but I live here in Chicago. If I thought she was unhappy
when she came to see me, I'd do everything I could to change that. And I'm
sure your Dad would do the same, if he understood. You have to tell him.
JOANNE [her anger has disappeared, ruthlessly suppressed. In its place is
despondent resignation]: There's no point.
[The door to the exam room opens, and Chuni enters.]
CHUNI: Oh, hi Mark. I've just come to give these guys their antihistamine.
MARK [gets to his feet]: Okay, go ahead. [He turns back to Joanne] Will you
think about it?
JOANNE [shrugs]: There's no point. [She stares at him for a moment] Are you
going to tell him what we did?
MARK [can't meet her gaze, and looks away]: I think he has a right to know. He
IS your Dad.
[Joanne says nothing. Her face is expressionless as she retreats within herself. Mark looks at her
once, before he turns and walks to the door. Just as he opens it, Joanne speaks in a terribly cold,
controlled voice]
JOANNE: He's NOT my Dad, Doctor Greene. He's just my father.
[Mark is momentarily halted by her words. With a grim expression he leaves the room.]
EXAM ROOM 1
[Rebecca is still lying on the bed. As Lucy enters, Rebecca suddenly throws up in a bowl Joe is
holding. Lucy rushes over, and helps ease her back into the bed. She finds a damp cloth and hands
it to Rebecca, who wipes her mouth.]
LUCY: Still feeling rough, eh?
[Rebecca nods mutely. She's frightened and upset.]
LUCY [sits down next to the bed. She's serious]: I want to talk to you,
Rebecca. It's about your test results.
[Rebecca's eyes widen, and she looks over at Joe, really frightened now.]
LUCY: The level of oestrogen in your blood is very high, Rebecca. [She
pauses, hoping Rebecca will volunteer some information, but Rebecca doesn't
respond]: Are you taking the birth control pill?
REBECCA [quietly, looking away]: No.
[Joe looks over at Lucy, he's worried. Rebecca suddenly winces, and holds her thigh.]
LUCY: What's the matter?
REBECCA: Nothing, just a cramp. I woke up with it.
LUCY [frowns, and stands up]: Rebecca, I don't think you're telling me the
truth. And if you don't, I can't help you.
JOE [gives Rebecca a steady look]: You have to tell her, Becky.
REBECCA: Shut up! [She rubs at her thigh again.]
LUCY: Whatever it is, it's okay. You wont be in trouble, but I have to know.
[Rebecca glares at Joe, before glancing at Lucy. She's obviously apprehensive. Lucy gives her an
encouraging smile.]
REBECCA [looking down, ashamed]: I took the Morning After Pill.
LUCY [is stunned. Is that all? What's the big deal? She replies slowly,
carefully]: Okay. There's nothing wrong with that.
REBECCA [takes a deep, relieved breath]: Thank God.
LUCY [is confused]: Why didn't you tell me before, Rebecca? We could have
saved a lot of time here.
REBECCA [is chagrined, and looks up at Lucy confused and upset]: The
doctor told me not to tell anyone. He said that some doctor's say it's the same
as an abortion, and that they wouldn't treat me if they knew what I'd taken.
LUCY [stares, astonished]: What doctor told you that?!
REBECCA: Dr Rennie, at the campus medical centre.
LUCY [shaking her head]: Of all the irresponsible, ridiculous things to say. I
can't believe it!
[Rebecca is clearly relieved, but winces again and rubs at her leg. Lucy's amazement suddenly
dissolves as she takes in the meaning of Rebecca's leg pain.]
LUCY: Rebecca, how long has your leg been hurting?
REBECCA [is surprised by Lucy's suddenly urgent tone]: Since this morning. I
probably slept funny.
LUCY: Let me see. [She pulls the gown back, and feels Rebecca's leg. There's
a lump. Lucy's very concerned now, but tries not to alarm Rebecca] Rebecca, I
think you may have something called a thrombosis. Do you know what that is?
REBECCA [shakes her head, eyes wide. She's terrified]: No.
LUCY [clasps her hands together, trying not to frighten the girl more than is
inevitable]: It's a blood clot in your vein, Rebecca. It can be very dangerous, so
you're going to need an operation straight away.
REBECCA: Oh my God!
JOE: Was it caused by the pills?
LUCY: It can be a side effect, yes. In this case it probably was.
[Rebecca begins to cry, and Joe puts his arm around her.]
JOE: It's going to be okay. Don't worry. I'm going to stay right here.
REBECCA: I'm sorry. This isn't how I imagined it.
JOE [frowning, looking miserable]: Me neither. I'm the one who should be
sorry, Becky. It's all my fault.
[He holds her close, as she begins to cry some more.]
LUCY: I'm going to send you up to surgery straight away Rebecca, but Joe's
right. Try not to worry.
[Slightly awkward, Lucy leaves the room, rushing back to the admissions desk. It's empty. Damn
it! Where IS everyone? She flings open the door to the doctor's lounge, and startles Mark, who's
pouring himself a cup of coffee. He spills it.]
LUCY: Sorry, Mark. I've got a kid with a deep-vein thrombosis in One. I need
to get her up to the OR now, but I can't find anyone!
MARK: Thrombosis? Are you sure?
LUCY [frowns at him]: I'm sure. Why? D'you want to check for yourself?
MARK [forcing himself to trust her]: No, no. I'm sure you're right. [He walks
quickly towards her, and is on her heels through the door. There's still no one
about]: You go find an orderly, I'll call the OR. [He frowns, and mutters as he
dials] Where the hell's Jerry?
[Someone answers the phone.]
MARK: Yeah, hi. This is Mark Greene in the ER. We have a kid with a
deep-vein thrombosis, who needs to get up there right now. [He nods - u-huh,
yep] That's great. She's on her way. Thanks.
LUCY [returns - a couple of orderlies with a gurney are trailing behind her. She
calls to the orderlies]: Exam room one...[she runs back to the admissions desk]
Is it okay?
MARK: They haven't got a bed, but they said send her up anyway.
LUCY [smiles]: That sounds familiar! Okay, see you later. [She turns to dash
off, but looks back] Thanks for your help Mark.
MARK: Sure. I'll just go look for the rest of my staff now!
[She grins, and he smiles back. He just can't seem to help doing that for some reason.]
CAROL [hurries towards the desk, looking about. She sees Mark]: Mark! You
seen Doug?
MARK [shakes his head]: Not recently, why?
CAROL: There's a kid in four. Doug's got the chart, but hasn't been in to see
him yet.
MARK: They been waiting long?
CAROL [grimaces]: Couple of hours.
MARK [frowns]: I'll deal with it. What's the problem?
CAROL [a smile touches her lips]: Foreign body in the nasal passage.
MARK [sighs]: I knew there was a good reason I didn't go into paediatrics. [He
heads towards the exam rooms, but turns to Carol as he leaves] When you find
Doug, send him down with the chart, will you?
CAROL: Sure.
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