Heading into Chicago Med season 11, episode 10, we knew that sparks were about to fly between two doctors. The promo for the episode teased two characters would throw caution to the wind and hook up in the hospital supply closet, but the identity of the two characters was left a mystery.
As we headed into the episode, there was an understandable curiosity surrounding the identities of the two characters. The tease seemed to be part of a bigger theme for the episode with love clearly in the air at Gaffney.
The episode begins with Ripley and Frost chatting as Ripley asks Frost to give him a heads up if he’s going to have people over to their place. We’re left to assume that perhaps he was referring to Novak, only to quickly find out Frost simply hosted the latest poker night with some of their Gaffney colleagues. Almost on cue, Violet and Novak arrive to drop off a college basketball player with a suspected ACL tear.
As Frost helps load the young woman out of the ambulance, he playfully flirts with Novak and reminds her he’s not like most doctors. After getting the patient settled, the pair chat and he ends up telling her about a friend’s donut cart he thinks she’d enjoy. She interjects to ask when he’ll be taking her and he invites her out for a date that night.
Their conversation is interrupted when the young girl with the suspected ACL tear loses consciousness. Archer steps in to help and they realize she seems to be OD’ing. Novak mentions that she had a lingering cough and was given an antibiotic to help, they order some scans and blood work as Novak is called away.
Once the young woman has come to, Frost and Archer ask about her history in hopes of getting information that could point them toward what is happening. She informs them that after her grandma passed away she was prescribed medication to help with her mental health, but she stopped taking the medication when she felt it wasn’t helping. Frost reminds her everything she tells them would be confidential and she assures them she’s never done drugs after seeing how they impacted her brother.
After the results came back positive for drugs, Archer questions whether Novak gave her too much fentanyl in the field. Archer suggests Frost reach out to Novak to give her a heads-up. Frost heads to 51 to meet with Novak and she notes that as a doctor he’s probably just blaming the paramedic. He assures her that it’s Archer questioning things and asks if there is anything she might have observed on the scene. Things get icy as she walks off leaving him not only to wonder what could be going on with the patient, but whether their date is off.
Lab tests reveal the young woman has a rare condition in which her metabolism processes certain medications differently leading to some standard dose cause an overdose or having no effect, which is why the fentanyl caused an overdose but her antidepressants didn’t help. They also found that the MRI shows she needs surgery to repair an ACL tear. Frost assures her it’s not an easy road, but a lot of players return to the court after an ACL surgery as he hands her a signed photo from Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot. Frost then brings her Courtney into the room as a surprise and she offers up words of support.
After they leave the room, Archer comments about Novak and Frost says there was a date on the line. Archer asks about Frost and Naomi being an item, and he says it didn’t work out, noting that if you carry a torch long enough you’re sure to get burned.
Luckily for Frost, Novak didn’t take things personally and he takes her out for the donuts. She asks him about getting out of there as he tries to call Ripley, but Ripley doesn’t take the call as he’s hooking up with Lenox in the supply closet. That's right, the hookup teased in the promo was indeed between Ripley and Lenox! So how did we get to that moment?
Elsewhere in the episode...
Ripley treats an elderly patient with a less than supportive daughter
When an 88-year-old woman is brought in after a fall, Ripley is called in to help treat her, and the woman can’t help but comment on how attractive Ripley is – she may be old, but gets it. Ripley blushes as her caretaker begins to update him on her concerns with Ruth’s vision. Her caretaker, Tamika who also took care of Bert, tells Ripley she thinks Ruth needs a vision check and lets him know she’s been trying to reach Ruth’s daughter, but with no luck.
Ruth’s daughter, Grace, arrives and Ripley informs her that her mother has a fractured hip and needs a CT scan to get more detailed imaging to tell whether the fracture will heal on its own or if she needs surgery. Grace gets short with her mom as she asks Ripley how long the scan will take and makes it clear she needs to leave for an event at her grandchild's school. He informs her it could take a few hours, and Grace gets annoyed as she exits to cancel her commitment.
After getting further tests, Orthopedics recommends Ruth get a hip replacement, as without one she would be bedridden. Grace asks about the surgery recovery and Ripley informs her Ruth will need to stay in a rehab facility. Grace isn’t a fan of the plan and tells Tamika that she’ll get a second opinion when she gets back from a cruise in a few weeks. She orders for her mother to be discharged back to the care facility. Tamika tells Ripley she wishes there was something they could do before leaving.
After speaking with Grace, Ripley speaks with Goodwin and they inform Grace the hospital is petitioning to assume rights to make medical decisions for Ruth. Grace reveals that while her mother might seem like a nice old lady now, this is not the mother she grew up with. Grace shows them old scars on her arm caused by cigarette burns as she tells them about the physical and mental abuse she endured growing up.
Goodwin is understanding of the situation and assures Grace that while she might not be able to take care of her, they can. Goodwin assures Grace they’ll see to taking care of her mom, and she follows up on that promise, getting approval from the board to take over as Ruth’s medical proxy and ensure Ruth will get the surgery.
Lenox returns after her attack (and ends her day back hooking up with Ripley)
Earlier in the day, Ripley was among the many members of the ED who welcomed Lenox back from her leave. As Lenox pulled away from the group, Ripley followed after her to check on how she’s doing after everything. He wants to make sure she’s healed and processed things, but she shuts him out as she steps away to treat a patient.
Lenox’s patient is a pregnant woman who is acting as a surrogate for her best friend. While performing an ultrasound, Lenox notices that there is a second fetus on the ultrasound: a female fetus that did not previously appear on earlier scans. Lenox orders some additional tests to check on the female fetus, but it becomes clear that something is up as she orders for a consult with Hannah.
As Hannah and Lenox look over the scans, Hannah realizes that second fetus is younger than the male fetus. These aren’t twins as they’re about four weeks apart. It seems to be a rare case in which the woman became pregnant after she was already pregnant.
They notice that the female fetus has a cyst on her lungs and if they don’t perform a risky surgery, the female fetus might not survive. The surgery also carries a risk to the male fetus, as there is a chance her water could break during the procedure and she could lose both babies. She ultimately agrees on the surgery, but it’s not a success with the female fetus passing away during the procedure.
As the episode ends, Ripley meets Lenox at the elevator and asks her how her first day back went. She again brushes him off as she goes to the stairs and he follows after asking what her deal is. He reminds her they both went through something traumatic and it’s okay not to be okay. Lenox says she moved on, but Ripley persists, noting that something is going on as she keeps throwing herself into situations as if she has a death wish. Instead of responding to his queries, Lenox pulls Ripley into a kiss. One thing leads to another, and the two end up making out in a supply closet as the episode draws to a close.
Dean tries to move on from Hannah
As for that third romantic relationship we teased? Early in the episode, Dr. Kingston asks Dean out on a date, but he declines at first.
Later, Hannah confronts him about passing on the date and reminds him that they’re just two friends having a baby. She reminds him that they’re not together and he’s free to date whoever he wants to date, as is she.
As the episode draws to a close, Dean changes his mind and accepts Dr. Kingston’s invitation. It seems he’s going to attempt to move on from Hannah, but we’re not sold on the idea that Dean’s feelings for Hannah are really just that of friendship. Like Hannah’s dad noted, we’re convinced he loves Hannah and wants to be with her. Only time will tell though if he ever admits those feelings to Hannah and if the pair can be anything more than friends.