First Date

Season 1, Episode 13

Neal and Christa treat a patient

**First Date** is the thirteenth episode of the first season of **Code Black**.

## Short Summary

Angus' older brother, an "all-star" ER doctor (Tommy Dewey) returns to Angels Memorial in hopes of securing a position as an attending and Christa's romantic feelings towards Neal begins to grow. Also, Malaya has to deal with a patient, Gordon Heshman (Jesse Bradford) who becomes obsessed with her.

## Full Summary

Tia Benton and Elena Turner are brought to the hospital after being pushed off-stage during a concert and trampled. Tia's leg was broken. Elena had a cut on her elbow and one on her abdomen. As she is taken into the ER, Elena says they climbed on stage to get away from the fight. She also says Tia's father is going to kill her because she wasn't supposed to be at the concert.

Mike Leighton gets off an ambulance with his patient, a man with multiple stab wounds. Neal questions Mike's presence and Mike says he's finishing a ride-along and then he's spending the rest of the night at Angels.

Leanne asks the two girls about drug use and they say neither of them took anything. Their parents are on their way and Tia's dad is really upset.

The man with the stab wounds is brought in and Leanne notices Mike's presence. Mike's glad to see Jesse.

Leanne tells Tia the break in her leg won't heal on its own, so they need her father's number, but Tia says he's on his way.

Adam Benton asks Risa about his daughter, Tia. Risa says they're working on her and she'll take him back in a minute.

Christa is having trouble closing Elena's abdomen.

Mike asks Leanne if she's okay with him working on the stabbing victim and she says she is as long as he can save the man. He intubates and puts in a chest tube.

Heather arrives for Tia.

The stabbing victim codes. He has an air embolism. Mike starts to aspirate it, over Gina's objection that he doesn't have privileges. The man stabilizes. Mario asks who Mike is and Angus says it's his brother.

Adam sees Tia on her way to surgery. Leanne explains that to him, but he orders them to stop. He says it's against their religion and she can't have any surgery.

Gina is on the phone trying to get a judge. They have the right to refuse medical care as long as Tia's injury is not imminently life-threatening. More likely she'll just lose her leg. Leanne points out that she's sixteen, so legally, she can decide for herself. Gina says she already said no, plus her father is with her. Gina's handling it. They can hold her for eight hours while she gets a judge to intervene.

Mike apologizes for not giving Angus a heads up that he was coming. Angus says Mike could have stayed with him, but Mike says his place is a dump. Mike says they have an opening for an attending and he got a call about an observational shift. Mike says LA is like an ex-girlfriend. You want to stay away, but the sex is too good. Plus he gets to see Angus. Angus is happy and shocked. Jesse calls them for a patient who doesn't speak English. Angus invites Mike to come along.

Leanne tells someone on the phone she won't make it. She apologizes and says she'll reschedule.

Sang Han speaks rapidly in Chinese as Fannie Lee struggles. She's the translator, but she speaks Cantonese and he speaks Mandarin. She says she thinks he said something about intermittent blindness and leaves. Sang makes a buzzing sound and points to his ear. Angus guesses bad reception, but Mike says it's ringing in his ears and Angus sucks a charades. Angus looks in Sang's eyes. Mike calls him Orson and asks what he sees. Angus says no one calls him that at Angels. Mike's surprised no one noticed he looks like a young Orson Welles. Angus continues his examination and notices signs of a stroke. He wants to use TPA to bust up the clot. However, Mike wonders if the facial asymmetry isn't just normal for him. He's not convinced and tells Angus to order a CT. Mario comes up. Mike knows who he is and that he was part of the dry thoracotomy. Mike says it's good to meet him.

Adam prays with Tia. Leanne apologizes for interrupting. Adam's upset they're keeping her in the hospital. Tia says she's not scared and Adam says that's because they have faith. Leanne examines Tia's leg and says she's seen injuries like hers before and she could lose her leg. Tia says she's healing through prayer. Elena comes in and Adam tells her to leave. Elena says Tia's father is brainwashing her. Jesse guides Elena away. Once she's gone, Leanne tells Tia that she can make her own medical decisions legally. She asks if Tia wants their help. Adam says she doesn't and he doesn't want her or anyone else speaking to Tia anymore. He says he'll pray for her.

Paramedics bring in Trevor Randall, who was found at the bottom of a swimming pool. Neal takes over CPR. He moves Trevor to a ben in Center Stage. He has no pulse. Steven Randall thinks the gardeners left the gate open again and blames himself for not checking, but Danielle Randall tells him to stop. They're able to get a faint pulse on Trevor, but he doesn't wake up. Neal tells the parents that Trevor might have brain damage. They have to wait to see if he'll wake up. They don't know how long it could take.

Malaya says she loves Mike, but reminds Angus that it's his patient. Angus is still unsure because Mike has more experience. Malaya is surprised to see Angus so unsure of himself. Angus says it's always been so easy for Mike: medicine, girls, everything. When Angus saw Heather, he hid. Malaya's surprised to hear he likes Heather. She thinks they'll have adorable children.

Kelly Rockman is struggling to breathe. She's had asthma her whole life. She couldn't wait for her doctor's appointment the following day after wheezing all day. Her husband Corey, says a trip to the ER is also a good excuse to get away from their kids. They have three and Cory says they're like serial killers. Kelly's phone rings. It's one of her kids, who has a test tomorrow. Kelly says she'll call him back. As Christa prepares to start treatment, Kelly tells Cory he can go home and help their son. Christa says she'll take care of Kelly. He says to call when she's ready to get picked up.

Danielle spills coffee all over herself. Neal offers to take a look. He runs her hand under cool water. Danielle says her husband wants to call the police and have them arrested for leaving the gate open. She knows he's just worried about Trevor. Danielle starts to panic about the idea of Trevor not waking up. She explains that she worked late and they were already cleaning up dinner when she got home. She went for a swim to relax. The latch doesn't always close. She usually checks. Neal says this is a conversation she should be having with her husband. She didn't check because she was so tired. She feels guilty.

Tia's family continues to pray for her with a group from their church.

Mario tells Heather what's happening and she says Tia's leg is still broken, so it hasn't worked. Heather came to talk to Tia. She thinks she can convince Tia, but Mario says Tia's all-in. Heather points out that if she were all-in, she wouldn't have been at the club. Mario asks how she'll get past Tia's dad and Heather says Mario will find some forms for him to fill out in the break room.

Leanne examines JJ Coyle and tells him he might have a slight concussion. Kamilla says he defended her from the other guy, who was huge. They're on their first date. Leanne asks Kamilla to step out, but JJ says she can stay if she wants. She then asks him about his medical history. He takes klonopin for stress, but is otherwise healthy. Risa comes up and tells Leanne she has a patient and that Paul Weatherly is calling for her. Leanne tells her she'll get back to him when she can and tells JJ his CT is clear, but they want to do a more thorough workup before he leaves.

Angus tells a nurse to put a rush on the TPA. Mike asks him about it. Angus says the CT showed a stroke. Mike looks at the CT and says his most significant symptom is isolated Horner's syndrome, not a clear indication of a stroke. Angus still thinks he's right, but Mike says if he's wrong, it will kill the patient, so they should slow down and make sure they're right. Angus says he has to go with his guy and leaves. Leanne asks Mike if it's going to be an issue working with his brother. Mike says he can handle it.

Mario examines Tia, who says she feels stronger. Mario shows her the swelling in her leg and explains what will happen. Heather says she grew up reading the Bible every night with her family, but she was also taught there were no absolutes. Even Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John couldn't agree. Not even Tia's father agrees with the Bible. Heather asks why he wears glasses when he doesn't believe in medical care of any kind. Why is it okay for a doctor to help him see again when they can't help her walk again. Tia starts crying and asks if they can take her without her father seeing.

Steven is upset with Danielle and says he doesn't care how bad she feels because Trevor could die. Neal and Malaya come in. Trevor is stable, but they're still not sure if he'll have brain damage. After they leave, Malaya says Danielle will never forgive herself. Neal says she might, but he'll have to forgive her first.

Leanne watches Jesse come down the stairs and tells him to be careful or he'll give himself another heart attack. He says he's on a new diet. She points out the donut crumbs on his scrubs, which he says are because it's his cheat day. He asks her about Paul Weatherly. She says she'd get more privacy working in a strip club. He asks if she's ever actually been to one and she asks him how he thinks she paid for medical school.

Kelly has a nebulizer. Neal comes in and examines her. She's still wheezing after three rounds. She feels good and asks if she can leave soon. Christa asks to speak with Neal. Away from Kelly, she asks to keep Kelly for observation, because she doesn't sound better. Neal says her SATs look fine, but Christa doesn't feel right about discharging her. She has a hunch. Neal agrees to keep her for one more hour.

Gordon Heshman, while getting his nose bandaged, says he was out for a run when he saw a girl who was texting and didn't see a car coming. The driver was also texting. He pushed her out of the way and got injured as a result. Malaya examines his hand. She says she'll order him an x-ray. He might have a fracture, but he'll be okay. He jumps up and hugs her.

Malaya rushes to Trevor's bedside as he codes. She moves him to Center Stage and asks where Neal is.

Angus comes in to find Risa preparing to move Sang. She says she's taking him for the CTa Angus ordered. Angus didn't order it. Mike did. He couldn't let this one slide by. Angus calls Mike out on it. Mike believes it's a dissection, not a stroke, meaning the TPA would kill him. Sang starts to code. Angus works to treat him while Mike coaches. Angus successfully intubates and he improves. Leanne comes in and asks what happened. Mike tells her his theory and says Angus ordered a CTa. Leanne tells Angus he did good work. Once she's gone, Mike tells Angus to breathe. The patient is okay and so is he.

Steven and Danielle ask about Trevor. Neal says he lost pulse, but they were able to get it back. He's more unstable than he was before, so they have to monitor him very closely. All they can do is wait. Danielle apologizes again. She walks again and Neal tells Steven he can't pretend to know what he's going through, but Danielle does and they need each other. Steven's not sure he can, but Neal says she'd never do anything deliberately to hurt Trevor. Steven goes to sit with Danielle. She apologizes again and he says it's not her fault.

Kamilla comes to get Leanne for JJ, who is in serious pain. He says it's in his stomach, but when Leanne says his abdomen isn't tender, he admits that the pain is actually in his testicles. He got hit there during the fight. She says she'll get some medication and order tests.

Gina asks Christa and Neal about Kelly. She wants to know why Kelly's still there. Neal and Christa explain, but Gina tells Christa to discharge her. Christa leaves and Gina chastises Neal for being lenient with Christa.

Adam asks to see Tia. He doesn't believe Tia made the decision herself. Leanne asks if she made the informed decision herself. She did. Adam's mad because he told them not to speak to Tia. Adam sees Gina and knows she's in charge. He asks her to go stop Tia's surgery immediately. Gina says she was just coming to find him. She says she has a court order saying Angels has the right to stop him. He can wait in the family room or outside the hospital. Adam says disobedience can result in her father's death. Leanne questions that and he says disobeying God will kill her. He says none of them understand and a security guard leads him away. Leanne then berates Heather and Mario for what they did. Heather maintains that they did the right thing. Heather leaves, upset at being called disrespectful. Gina then dismissed Mario and Leanne confesses that she likes Heather. Gina agrees and admits that she doesn't actually have the court order. It's hard to get a judge out of bed at 2 AM.

Neal yells for someone to page cardiology. Kelly's back in the ER after being found unconscious in the parking lot in cardiac arrest. Christa does an ultrasound, which shows no cardiac activity. She had no cardiac risk signs. She's pronounced dead at 2:41 AM. Gina apologizes and Christa says she'll call Kelly's husband.

Tia is in recovery after surgery. Heather tells her it went well. She says she's tired, but the pain is gone. She asks where her dad is. Heather says her dad isn't there. Tia wants to explain it to him, but Mario tells her her dad left the hospital. She's not surprised because of what she did. Heather says they called Child Services to come help her figure out where she's going to go from here. Mario asks if she has any family. She only has an aunt in Minnesota. Heather apologizes, but Tia thanks them for saving her life. Mario says she saved her own life.

Leanne tells JJ his testicle is torsed. Leanne says they're hopefully in the window to save the testicle. She has two chances to fix it in the ER or he'll have to go to an OR. He apologizes for not being upfront about his injury. He confesses that he takes Rogaine for his hair and he's colorblind. He also once accidentally picked up a hooker and hasn't had an STI test since. Kamilla leaves. Leanne prepares to de-torse the testicle.

Danielle and Steven are told Trevor's pupils were reactive, which is a good sign that there's no brain damage.

Christa stares at her phone. Cory enters the ER with a stuffed animal. He apologizes for forgetting her name. He's been frazzled. Cory asks if Kelly's ready. Christa then has to tell him Kelly died. He is upset and starts calling for his wife. Christ tells him she had a heart attack. He starts to cry.

Kamilla comes in to see JJ. He's going to be okay. JJ says Kamilla already knows way too much about him. She tells him she dyes her hair, snorts when she laughs, and her right breast is bigger than her left. He asks if all girls don't have that and she pulls a sizable pad from her bra, indicating a significant size disparity. They laugh together. Leanne asks them to invite her to the wedding.

Mario pushes Heather up against the lockers. Malaya comes in and sees what they're doing. She quickly leaves.

Angus sees Malaya coming out of the locker room and asks if she's okay. She says she's fine, so he asks if Mario's in the locker room. He wants to talk to Mario. Malaya says she thinks she saw him leave. Gordon Heshman watches the two of them walk out together.

Neal goes into the supply closet for something and sees Christa in there. Christa says she should have fought harder for Kelly. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't fight. She screwed up and now Kelly doesn't get to go home and tuck her kids in. Neal comforts her and the two of them kiss.

Mike tells Angus he has the job if he wants it. He asks if it'll be a problem for them if he takes it. Angus asks if that'll stop him. He appreciates Mike covering for him, but he's just starting to get on his feet at the hospital and Mike coming back is like high school all over again, with Mike being star quarterback and Angus is water boy. He's invisible in Mike's shadow. Mike says he's heard the doctors talking about him and they say good things. He doesn't know how good he is. Mike says you can learn everything he needs to know to be a good doctor, except what he was born with. He's good. Mike then tells Angus beers are on him.

Leanne apologizes for cancelling. She needed to watch Mike after bringing him in. Paul asks if she needed to or wanted to. She asks what the difference is. He says that's the reason she's there. Leanne asks if therapy will make her feel any better. He says not if it's working. He asks her if she's ready to walk away form a job that's her whole life. She says that's the reason she's there.

## Cast

* Leanne Rorish
* Neal Hudson
* Christa Lorenson
* Malaya Pineda
* Angus Leighton
* Mario Savetti
* Jesse Sallander
* Mike Leighton
* Danielle Randall
* Gina Perello
* Heather Pinkney
* Cory Rockman
* Tia Benton
* Adam Benton
* Gordon Heshman
* Paul Weatherly
* Steven Randall
* JJ Coyle
* Kamilla
* Risa Park
* Isabel Mendez
* Kelly Rockman
* Elena Turner
* Sang Han
* Fannie Lee
* Medic #1
* Medic #2 (right)
* Medic #3
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### Main Cast

* Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leanne Rorish
* Raza Jaffrey as Dr. Neal Hudson
* Bonnie Somerville as Dr. Christa Lorenson
* Melanie Chandra as Dr. Malaya Pineda
* William Allen Young as Dr. Rollie Guthrie (credit only)
* Harry Ford as Dr. Angus Leighton
* Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dr. Mario Savetti
* Luis Guzmán as Jesse Sallander

### Guest Starring

* Tommy Dewey as Dr. Mike Leighton
* Courtney Ford as Danielle Randall
* Christina Vidal as Dr. Gina Perello
* Jillian Murray as Dr. Heather Pinkney
* Kenneth Mitchell as Cory Rockman
* Mary Mouser as Tia Benton
* Tim Guinee as Adam Benton
* Jesse Bradford as Gordon Heshman
* Michael B. Silver as Dr. Paul Weatherly
* Graham Hamilton as Steven Randall
* Nikhil Pai as JJ Coyle
* Zuleyka Silver as Kamilla

### Co-Starring

* Angela Relucio as Risa Park
* Ellia English as Isabel Mendez
* Sadie Stratton as Kelly Rockman
* Virginia Tucker as Elena Turner
* Jesse Wang as Sang Han
* Becky Wu as Fannie Lee
* Jim Titus as Medic #1
* Aris Mendoza as Medic #2
* Joshua Keller Katz as Medic #3

## Medical Notes

### Tia Benton

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Broken femur
	+ Head laceration

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*
	+ Heather Pinkney *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Bandaging
	+ Surgery

Tia, 16, was pushed off stage at a night club and trampled. Her right femur was broken and she had a laceration on her head. They prepared to take her into surgery, but her father refused to consent for any medical treatment for religious reasons. Her leg continued to swell from the bleeding. She eventually said she wanted the surgery. Her surgery went well and she said she was in less pain afterward.

### Elena Turner

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Elbow laceration
	+ Abdominal laceration

* **Doctors:**
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Staples

Elena, 16, was also trampled at a night club. She had lacerations on her elbow and above her pelvis. The one above her pelvis was bleeding heavily. They had difficulty closing her laceration, but were eventually able to use staples to close.

### Man

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Stab wound
	+ Air embolism

* **Doctors:**
	+ Mike Leighton *(ER physician)*
	+ Neal Hudson *(ER physician)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Chest tube
	+ Aspiration

A man, 24, came in with multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. They intubated and took chest x-rays and also placed a chest tube. He coded. They prepared to do a thoracotomy, but ultrasound showed an air embolism in his heart, so Mike treated it and he stabilized.

### Sang Han

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Horner's syndrome
	+ Dissection

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Mike Leighton *(ER physician)*
	+ Angus Leighton *(ER resident)*
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**

Sang was found unconscious in the supermarket. He only spoke mandarin, so they got a translator. The translator spoke Cantonese, so she was unable to translate exactly, but told them she though the said something about intermittent blindness. He also made a buzzing sound and pointed to his ear, telling them he had ringing in his ears. Angus also noticed facial droop, but Mike thought that might be normal for him. He wanted to wait for the CT results before using a clot-buster. The CT showed a stroke, so Angus ordered TPA. Mike looked at the scan and said his most significant symptom was isolated Horner's syndrome, not a clear indication of a stroke. Mike ordered a CTa using Angus's information. Before they could take him, Sang coded. Angus intubated and he improved.

### Trevor Randall

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Drowning

* **Doctors:**
	+ Neal Hudson *(ER physician)*
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**

Trevor, 5, was found at the bottom of a swimming pool. The parents didn't know how long he'd been in there. They did CPR and got a faint pulse. Neal told the parents they'd have to wait to see if there was lasting brain damage from being deprived of oxygen. His vitals remained stable for a while, but then he declined. His parents were later told his pupils were reactive and his reflexes intact, good signs.

### Kelly Rockman

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Asthma
	+ Myocardial infarction
	+ Cardiac arrest

* **Doctors:**
	+ Neal Hudson *(ER physician)*
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Albuterol

Kelly came into the hospital with trouble breathing. She'd had asthma her whole life. She couldn't wait for her doctors' appointment the next day. Christa gave her albuterol. After three rounds, she said she felt better, but Christa wanted to keep her for observation, with a hunch. They kept her, but then Gina said she had to be discharged, so Christa did so. She was soon after found in the hospital parking lot in cardiac arrest. They attempted resuscitation, but they were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 2:41 AM.

### JJ Coyle

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Forehead abrasion
	+ Testicle torsion

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Un-torsing

JJ came into the ER with a cut on his forehead. He said he took klonopin for stress, but was otherwise healthy. His CT was clear, but they wanted to do a more clear workup before releasing him. He later had serious pain in his scrotum. Tests showed a torsed testicle. Leanne was able to un-twist it in the ER.

### Gordon Heshman

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Laceration on nose
	+ Arm injury

* **Doctors:**
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Bandages

Gordon came into the ER with a cut on his nose. Malaya bandaged him. She suspected he might have a fracture in his arm, so she sent him for an x-ray.

### Leanne Rorish

* **Diagnosis:**

* **Doctors:**
	+ Paul Weatherly *(therapist)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Talk therapy

Leanne went to see a therapist because she was considering leaving her job. She wondered if therapy would help her feel better.

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode scored 7.29 million viewers.