Soul Care

**Soul Care** is the first episode of Season 2 of *Chicago Med*. It aired on September 22, 2016.

## Summary

Dr. Rhodes begins a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery, only to have problems with his new boss Dr. Latham. Dr. Choi becomes the new chief resident of the ED and finds the road a bit rocky. Reese receives an opportunity. April faces her recently discovered illness.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead
* Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton
* Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning
* Rachel DiPillo as Dr. Sarah Reese
* Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes
* Brian Tee as Dr. Ethan Choi
* Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood
* S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin
* Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles

### Recurring Cast

* Ato Essandoh as Dr. Isidore Latham
* Jeff Hephner as Jeff Clarke
* Peter Mark Kendall as Joey Thomas
* Roland Buck III as Dr. Noah Sexton
* Deron J. Powell as Tate Jenkins
* Karen Aldridge as Dr. Kendra Perrington
* Lorena Diaz as Nurse Doris
* Amanda Marcheschi as Nurse Dina
* Courtney Rioux as Paramedic Courtney
* Janelle Snow as Dr. Audrey Lee
* Jürgen Hooper as Dr. Jason Wheeler
* Scarlett Wand as Anna Charles

### Guest Cast

* Cordelia Dewdney as Cheryl Martin
* KiKi Layne as Emmie Miles
* Chuck Quinn as Ray
* Toya Turner as Jayna Miles
* Chris Brickhouse as Greg Allen (as Christopher Brickhouse)
* Erin Elizabeth as Orderly

## Plot

The episode begins with Dr. Natalie Manning in a helicopter, bringing in a patient, Cheryl Martin, who is thirty-four weeks pregnant and suffering from chest and belly pain after getting into a car accident, along with her father, Reed. At the hospital, Maggie Lockwood sends Dr. Will Halstead to receive the helicopter and patient. In her home, April Sexton starts taking medication to treat her tuberculosis: a diagnosis that was made in the previous episode. In his home, Dr. Ethan Choi puts on his white coat, showing his new designation as Chief Resident, a position he takes over from Dr. Will Halstead who has now been hired as an attending physician. In a coffee shop, Dr. Sarah Reese prepares a coffee order, having turned down an offer to join a residency in Pathology at Gaffney Med. Dr. Charles drops his daughter off for the school bus, and she takes a selfie of both of them. Sharon Goodwin packs up her husband's belongings, after he left her in the previous episode. Dr. Connor Rhodes returns to the hospital, and looks at a portrait of his mentor, Dr. Downey, who passed away.

Cheryl Martin, the pregnant patient who was in a car crash, is taken into the E.R., with Dr. Natalie Manning and Dr. Will Halstead attending to her. Maggie takes the father, Reed aside, and Cheryl cries out for her father. Manning and Halstead find that Cheryl's baby is fine, but her lung is full of blood, forcing them to drain out the blood. Manning takes Cheryl for a scan, allowing her father to accompany them. Dr. Connor Rhodes tells Dr. Natalie Manning and Dr. Will Halstead that they need to treat Cheryl for an aortic injury (pseudoaneurysm), and if the leak stops, she will be able to carry the baby to term, but if not, they will have to deliver the baby and operate on her. Manning is concerned about the welfare of the baby, and Rhodes asks her to consider the welfare of the patient as well. While updating Cheryl and her father, Cheryl's father Reed collapses with chest pain, causing Cheryl to panic, calling out for her father again. Reed is admitted, and Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Latham operate on his heart, but the prognosis is not good for recovery. Dr. Will Halstead comes in to check on Reed Martin, and Dr. Latham tells him that Reed is unlikely to survive. Reed's kidneys stop working and Dr. Latham consults with Nephrology. Later, Dr. Rhodes urges Manning to allow them to go forward with the surgery on Cheryl, telling her that they can perform an emergency C-section if anything goes wrong, to protect the baby.

During Cheryl's surgery, Rhodes is forced to go ahead with the emergency C-section, and the baby is delivered, premature but healthy. Rhodes is able to place a stent in Cheryl's heart. After the surgery, Manning brings the baby to Cheryl, and then Rhodes and Manning deliver the bad news about Cheryl's father. Cheryl is very distressed, and asks to be taken to him. Manning is reluctant, given her health, but ultimately agrees. While Cheryl is being brought in, Reed Martin starts to crash. Rhodes, Latham, and Halstead attempt to revive him but he flatlines, showing no heartbeat. Connor is reluctant to let him go, and Latham has to intervene, telling him the patient is dead and calling time of death. However, just as Cheryl is rolled into the room, they see the heartbeat return. Reed Martin is able to open his eyes and see his new grand-daughter and daughter, and reaches out one hand towards them before dying, to the visible surprise of all the medical staff, including Sharon Goodwin. Halstead says that he has never seen anything like it before, and Latham recites a few words in Hebrew before leaving the room.

Emmie Miles, a fifteen year old girl, is brought into the E.R. with a suspected opiates overdose, having smoked a fentanyl patch. Dr. Choi treats her and they are able to stabilize her, and brings in Dr. Charles after they suspect a suicide attempt. In the coffee shop where Dr. Sarah Reese is working, Dr. Charles asks her to make him a complicated coffee order, and tells her that there is an opening at Gaffney Medical for a psychiatry resident on his service. Reese had previously been offered a pathology residency there, but turned it down in favor of working with patients, leaving her unemployed. Reese tells Charles that she has never considered psychiatry and doesn't think she is equipped to do it, not knowing how to talk to people. Charles tells Reese that she has all the necessary skills and that the job requires listening to people more than talking. He suggests that Reese spend a day with him and then make up her mind, and Reese agrees. Reese returns to the hospital, pushing Dr. Charles in a wheelchair, as he injured his leg tripping over a suitcase, forcing him to miss a conference in Lyon.

At the hospital, Dr. Charles and Reese examine the case of Emmie Miles, taking over from Dr. Choi. Emmie Miles' mother tells them that Emmie doesn't take drugs, leading them to consider whether this might be a suicide attempt. Mrs. Miles doubts this, telling them that Emmie is happy and popular, with many friends, and that she might have sourced the patch from her grandmother, who has cancer. Emmie is uncommunicative with Dr. Charles and Dr. Reese, asking them to leave her alone. They decide to come back later, and Charles tells Emmie that teenage girls are the most unhappy people in the world. Reese decides to review Emmie's social media presence, to see if negative shaming from other teenagers might have caused this. Instead, she discovers that while she has over 600 friends on social media, rather than being shamed, Emmie is the one who frequently shames other girls, writing cruel things about them. Dr. Charles asks Reese for her opinion, and encourages her to go try and talk with Emmie, as she is closer to Emmie's age than him. Reese talks to Emmie, who finally confides in her, and they talk about social media and presenting images of being attractive. Emmie tells Reese that she noticed some white patches on her torso, and that she thinks she has vitiligo, an incurable skin condition, which may lead everyone to mock her. The self-diagnosis has caused Emmie to have a crisis, and lash out to say cruel things to other girls, and try to kill herself. Reese takes a skin scraping to check whether Emmie's self-diagnosis is correct. Reese discovers that instead of vitiligo, it is just a yeast infection which can easily be treated. She gets the test results from the lab, meeting Joey Thomas, who is pleased to see her back at Gaffney Med. Reese tells Charles of the diagnosis and that she has decided to take up the residency in psychiatry, and that she can help people by combining her clinical knowledge and psychiatry. Charles tells her that while she is pleased, the treatment of the skin infection is only the first step and they still have a long way to treat her psychological issues. He tells Reese that the etymology of psychology is that it involves the medical treatment of the soul, and that she shouldn't worry but that they all have a long way to go.

Dr. Rhodes begins his fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery. He meets Dr. Isidore Latham, who will be supervising his fellowship and has succeeded Dr. Downey. Dr. Latham greets Rhodes, and tells him that Downey spoke very highly of Rhodes. He then asks Rhodes directly if the rumors that Rhodes euthanised Downey are true. Rhodes sarcastically says yes, and Latham confirms with Rhodes whether he is, in fact, being sarcastic. Latham tells Rhodes that although Rhodes was highly recommended, he was not Latham's first choice for the fellowship but was outvoted. Nonetheless, Latham hopes they will work well together. Later, while operating on a patient, Reed Martin, Rhodes disagrees with Latham, telling him that Downey preferred a different approach from the one Latham is following. Latham yells at Rhodes, telling him that he does not want to be contradicted by a fellow while operating, and throwing a pan across the operating theater. After the surgery, Rhodes disagrees again about the prognosis for the patient's recovery, and Latham is very calm. Rhodes tells Latham that he assumes that if he has opinion, Latham will want to hear it, as part of the teaching process. Latham agrees, and Rhodes asks about Latham's outburst in the operating room. Latham appears confused by the question and does not seem to understand what Rhodes is talking about, telling Rhodes that he wasn't upset.

At the hospital, April struggles with her tuberculosis diagnosis. Dr. Will Halstead, checking in on her, tells her the treatment is going well and that it will continue for a few months, with the tuberculosis remaining latent. April tells him that she is concerned about her boyfriend, Tate, and his young son, even though they both have been tested negative, and she is not contagious. She tells Halstead that she feels unclean. Halstead and she treat Greg Allen, an HIV positive patient who was injured in a car accident. Jeff Clarke is initially treating Allen, but Dr. Halstead takes over from him again.Allen is very anxious, telling the doctors of his diagnosis, and warning them to be careful. Tate comes by to the hospital to see April, and she turns down his offer to come over that night, telling him she will see how she feels after work. When Tate reassures her that she is not contagious, she tells him it doesn't hurt to be careful. Later, Greg Allen experiences vision loss, and Jeff Clarke conducts an invasive procedure to remedy it, on his own, without supervision from an attending. Dr. Latham sees him do it and rebukes him, telling him that he should have called an attending, Dr. Wheeler, and that medical students are not allowed to do invasive procedures without supervision. Choi offers to write up Clarke for the mistake, but Halstead declines. Maggie overhears the entire exchange, and Latham tells her that it isn't personal, and that he knows from personal experience the consequences of not following procedures. He is referring to a conversation he had with Sharon Goodwin, who tells Dr. Will Halstead that he needs malpractice insurance in order to be able to work as an attending, and Dr. Halstead tells her that he has been struggling to find a carrier, because of the lawsuit that he previously faced after disregarding a patient's wishes to discontinue treatment after her cancer diagnosis. Goodwin tells Halstead that despite their previous ups and downs, she doesn't want to lose him as an attending and that she will make some calls on his behalf, although the insurance will not be cheap. Halstead thanks her. Later, Halstead tells Dr. Choi that he was able to get insurance but it will be extremely expensive, in addition to the costs of repaying his student loans. Halstead and April check in on their HIV positive patient, who is embracing his wife. Halstead tells April that with prophylactics, the risk of his wife contracting HIV is very low, and April admires their intimacy. As she leaves the hospital, she finds Tate waiting for her and he asks if she feels like joining him for dinner, again. She asks Tate again if he is sure, and he says he is. She kisses him and they joke about his cooking as they leave together.

Dr. Ethan Choi begins his first day as Chief Resident, and tells Maggie that he has some ideas about improving how they manage patients. Maggie tells Sharon Goodwin that each new Chief Resident thinks that and she hates to watch them kill their dreams. Dr. Will Halstead, the previous Chief Resident, offers Dr. Choi a folder of scheduling charts, which was given to him by the previous Chief Resident. Choi declines, and tells Halstead that he plans on implementing a scheduling system that he followed on a carrier sick bay during his time in the Navy. Dr. Noah Sexton stops by to tell Choi that he is switching his shifts, and that another doctor will also be late, and Choi decides to cover the gap himself. As patients come in, Dr. Choi has difficulty implementing his program, leaving patients waiting for rooms, while he is unsure of which rooms are occupied, requiring Maggie to intervene from time to time. Dr. Pennington later rebukes Dr. Choi, pointing out that her patient waited two hours even though a room was free. Later, Halstead asks Choi how his new system works, and Choi admits it didn't work well. At Choi's request, Halstead gives Choi the old scheduling charts, and tells him that he has learned that in the end, it is the nurses who will manage everything. Halstead also tells Choi that he saw a dead man come back to life earlier that day, and it put things into perspective for him.

While Dr. Manning and Dr. Halstead were attending to Cheryl Martin, Jeff Clarke, a medical student and an old friend of Natalie's, attempts to help, but is overruled by Dr. Will Halstead. Later, he is rebuked by Halstead for performing an invasive procedure without supervision, which is not permitted. Natalie Manning overhears one of the nurses referring to her as the "Ice Princess," and wondering if she will find someone to date amongst the new medical students, including Clarke. Natalie asks sarcastically why she is just a princess, and not the Ice Queen, and the nurse tells her it was just a joke. Clarke and Manning eat lunch together, and Clarke complains to her about Halstead, telling her that he hates standing around but Halstead appears to not let him work. Manning asks Clarke if he thinks that the 'ice princess' comment is accurate, and Clarke disagrees, reminding her of past occasions when his ex-wife, and Manning's dead husband and they both spent time together, calling Manning 'the life of the party.' At the end of the episode, Jeff Clarke and Manning go out drinking at Molly's, and do shots. Manning tells Clarke that her mother-in-law, Helen Manning is watching her son for the night. As she is about to leave, Clarke invites her to his house for a nightcap, and she says yes, and goes with him.

Dr. Charles picks up his daughter, Anna Charles, from school, and when she begins to talk about how many likes their last selfie got on social media, and how they can increase the number, jokes that they should live in a cave without internet until she is thirty-five.

## Notes and Trivia

* This is the only episode where Anna Charles is portrayed by Scarlett Wand. In later episodes she is portrayed by Hannah Riley.
* Cordelia Dewdney, who portrays Cheryl Martin in this episode, returns in Season 6 to portray the recurring character of Ramona Davis.