ER

Continuing where last season's finale left off, Carter returns from Africa, going straight to Abby's bedside. Her response to seeing him is to ask for her key back. She is very chilly towards him all day until new med student Neela Rasgotra answers a phone call for Carter. The message: Luka is dead. Carter decides to go back to the Congo to bring the body back. Abby pleads with him to stay, but he leaves anyway. Neela has a tough first day in the ER, earning Chen's ire after Pratt flirts with her. Gallant, now a full-fledged doctor, helps to show her the ropes though. Romano returns from his medical leave. Susan is still seeing Chuck. Weaver screams a lot. « read less

New residents arrive at County, including 2nd year Nick "Coop" Cooper. Coop talks back to Romano and is nearly killed when Neela gives him too much epi during an asthma attack. Pratt and Chen's dinner is invaded by her parents. Chen later dumps him when he states his feelings about their relationship. Romano's hospital insurance doesn't cover a good prosthetic arm. Instead, he gets a hook. He has been trying to cut the budget by giving the nurses fewer shifts and filling the rest with temps. Most of the nurses stage a walk out and receive 90-day suspensions as a result. Abby and Lewis treat a girl whose parents don't want to tell her that she's dying. Fast Eddie and Corday do it in a car. Luka arrives at County and Gillian gives Abby her letter from Carter...in which he dumps her. Frank picks it up off the ground from next to a trash can and soon everybody knows. « read less

Luka's first day back in the ER is a busy one. While working out the details of his return with Weaver, he mentions that he'll be returning to the Congo in two months. Lewis treats an alcoholic mom who sets herself on fire in front of her son, and an elderly architect who tried to commit suicide because he's going blind. Abby appears as a surgical consult; she's back in med school. Sam Taggart replaces her on the nursing staff. Dorset's wife calls while he's in surgery with Corday. « read less

Lewis has a rough day: Chuck proposes having kids with her, she misses an appointment with an auditor, and Ben Hollander commits suicide. Pratt receives an unfavorable review from Romano and also treats a con who was raped in prison. Abby, on her ER rotation, agrees to study with Neela. Gallant makes a decision that results in the death of a young girl with leukemia. Sam's son Alex spends the day in the ER, following Luka around for most of it. Chen gets a call from the Chinese embassy and heads for a plane: her vacationing parents were in an accident. « read less

Gallant's sister is in town and Pratt hits it off with her. Nobody attends Romano's memorial service except for Corday. Alex steals a severed finger and later goes missing, turning up at County to see Luka. Luka and Sam share a moment. Neela treats two Amish kids who were injured on a sojourn into the city. « read less

Carter is back in Chicago with Kem in tow. His return to the hospital is uneventful, although there is an awkward moment when Kem meets Abby. Sam gets called to Alex's school: it seems that he was suturing his own cut. She asks Abby whether the nurses' insurance covers family therapy. Gallant discovers that his sister has been getting it on with Pratt, although she later dumps him. Pratt accidentally breaks a patient's neck while doing an unsupervised intubation. Missing Valium is found in Weaver's labcoat, although it's implied that Morris took it. Luka informs Weaver that he's leaving for the Congo in two weeks. However, he later decides to stay in Chicago indefinitely. « read less

Kem accompanies Carter to work and manages to annoy about half the hospital over the course of the day. Weaver has used the money that Romano left to the hospital and unveils the Robert Romano Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgendered Health Care. Gallant is doing a ride-along with Morales and Bardelli. Weaver offers Lewis the acting ER chief job, but Susan refuses because she's pregnant. Pratt is questioning his abilities as a doctor. Chen calls the ER to tell Pratt that her mom has died in China. Sam finds out about Luka's reputation as the ER bed hopper, but finds herself making out with him by the end of the day. « read less

An entire family suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning is brought to the ER. Claustrophobic Neela must spend a couple of hours in a hyperbaric chamber with the newborn baby. Carter misses Kem, who's been gone for a month now, so Jerry arranges a webcam chat for them. Luka and Sam have been keeping their relationship a secret from Alex, although he finds out and isn't too thrilled about it. After Sam suggests they take their relationship slower, Luka isn't too thrilled either. Dr. Lawson asks Elizabeth out. Sandy's mom brings Weaver's son Henry in. Chen returns from China: her dad needs 24 hour nursing care and she's having trouble getting adjusted to that idea. Susan and Chuck visit her dad and tell him about the pregnancy. « read less

Carter sticks up for Neela when the other attendings doubt her future in the ER. Neela caves to the pressure and accidentally gives a patient the wrong medication. Gallant takes the blame for her though. Sam and Luka try to plan Alex's birthday party. Frank visits on his way to therapy. Chen's home nurse quits after her dad behaves poorly. « read less

A patient accuses Pratt of paying too much attention while giving her a breast exam. Luka seems okay with Alex's father hanging around. Abby's on her psych rotation, while Neela begins her research rotation. Chen's dad is admitted to the hospital. Weaver is granted custody of Henry for the weekend. Corday is uncomfortable when Dave and Dr. Lawson meet. Abby discovers that Carter paid her med school tuition. « read less

Kem goes into labor, but she and Carter are shocked to discover that the baby has no heartbeat, and will be stillborn. 19 members of Neela's family are coming into town for her graduation. Abby, Neela and Lester graduate from medical school. Steve continues his efforts to get Sam back, visiting Luka at work and sending Sam a box of ice cream sundaes. Pratt refuses to believe that a patient of his is in congestive heart failure. Weaver suggests to Abby that she will match at County, unless she fails her boards. Rachel Greene is in town "looking at colleges," although she has a favor to ask of Corday. « read less