S6 E13 (30 Dec 03) : Never Can Say Goodbye by Nick Saltrese
Episode Summary
The staff are not having a happy New Year – the surgical team is unable to stem Nic’s bleeding and they have to admit that nothing more can be done for him. Nic wakes up by himself despite the sedation to find Jess at his side. They do not tell him that much, but with his stomach open and bleeding he soon realises that it will take more than a miracle for him to make it. He blames himself for not protecting Kelly and feels guilty that she committed the crimes for him. Knowing that he’s not going to make it, his last request is to see his sister, who is soon going to be transferred to a secure hospital. Upset, they meet each other and Nic apologises for not understanding what was going on when they were younger. As he starts deteriorating he promises to come visit her in prison, but after they have wheeled Kelly away, the bleeding gets excessive and he is quickly taken back into theatre, where Ric soon has to come to terms with the fact that nothing can be done about him and Ric has to break the bad news to Kelly, leaving her heartbroken. She is not the only one; Jess is also upset and talks to Zubin, explaining how Kelly had been abused by her father and has been trying to protect Nic. He reassures her that Nic now has got rid of all his problems and they hug under the fireworks.
Ric is having a tough day. He is less than pleased when Kelly apologises, saying that she always liked him and takes it out on Chrissie, blaming her for not sorting out her stitches properly and for letting Tricia give it a try even though she was not able to, which ends up in Tricia and Chrissie arguing about work and about Owen – Tricia says that had she not been there, Owen would always have found someone else. Diane and Zubin offer to see in the New Year with Ric, who cannot afford partying, but when Diane asks Ric to buy some champagne with her credit card, he uses it to calm down his nerves by placing a bet instead. When the champagne arrives, Ric finally tells Diane what he has done and Diane recommends he gets professional help before he loses all his friends.
Ric had also found trouble controlling himself because of one of his patients: a 48-year-old Eddie Franks, who comes in drunk with a wound in his right side after falling off a wall. He needs surgery in order to avoid further complications, but Ric notices that he is suffering from cirrosis. Further tests show that he is suffering from acute renal failure and well as end stage cirrosis that cannot be treated. This is due to excessive drinking over a longer time and he explains to Ric how it makes him feel better and helps him through the day, something that Ric seems to recognise from his gambling. Eddie finds it hard to accept that he will make it six months, at the most, for health problems that he did not think was serious and therefore kept postponing getting help for. His girlfriend, who he proposes to before going into theatre, finds it hard to accept as well and after talking to Ric about what staying with him would mean, she decides to leave him on his own.
Sami has spent Christmas with Rosie and the kids and Mubbs is surprised to find out that he has stayed there ever since. Rosie tries to explain how she has to do anything to keep her girls happy and seems reluctant about their future, unsure what to do, but one of their patients seems to eventually show her the way forward. Ruth Carmichael is going into labour and insists that the child’s father, Clive, should not be there, because she wants a clean break after they broke up a couple of months earlier. Clive, however, refuses to listen and stays there all the time, even when they have to take Ruth into theatre for a caesarian. Clive suggests that Ruth and the baby girl, Chloe, could moe in with him, because Ruth will be all on her own without any help, but Ruth is not sure. She asks Rosie if she would go back to live with someone she no longer loves, but Rosie says she is the wrong person to answer that question. Later, Ruth turns Clive’s offer down, saying that he can meet Chloe but that he will not anymore be allowed to run her life and ruin her confidence.
Mubbs apologises to Rosie for pressuring her about Sami and the children and he tries to hide his annoyance by surprising Rosie with a romantic New Year’s Eve drink in his office. The gesture blows up in his face, Rosie says that she needs to be with her children and shakes her head when Mubbs asks what that means about him, leaving him convinced that he’s lost the battle. While Rosie, at the end of the evening, has a word with Sami and tells him that they have no future together – they simply have nothing in common anymore and have not had for a long time – Chrissie comes to Mubbs’ office to ask where Owen is, only to find out he is not there. Mubbs invites Chrissie to stay for a drink and having no other plans, she agrees. One drink turns into several and at midnight after Chrissie gives him a kiss they get carried away.
Patients
Nic, they are unable to stop him from bleeding after the injuries from the explosion
Eddie Franks, a 48-year-old with a penetrating abdominal injury, but proves to also have acute renal failure and end stage cirrosis
Ruth Carmichael, needs a caesarian to give birth to a little baby girl
First Scene/words
[Ric and Diane are in theatre, trying to repair some of Nic’s injuries]
Zubin: Stitches holding?
Ric: Yeah, but he’s still bleeding.
Diane: Where from?
Ric: I don’t know, blood’s coming out as fast as we’re putting it in. Come on, can’t let your sister be the only survivor.
Last Scene/words
Mubbs: It’s midnight.
Chrissie: Happy New Year, Mubbs!
Mubbs: Happy New Year, Chrissie!
[Chrissie gives Mubbs a kiss. They stand there looking at each other, smiling and Chrissie kisses him again, more passionately this once]
