Hero Complex

Season 2, Episode 6

The doctors treat a woman who was raped

**Hero Complex** is the sixth episode of the second season and the 24th overall episode of **Code Black**.

## Short Summary

Malaya must inform a college student who regains consciousness at Angels Memorial that she’s the victim of a rape, and Willis and Campbell butt heads over a terminally ill woman who wants to end her life on her own terms.

## Full Summary

Joy Samton wakes up and groans in pain. She calls out for help and Jesse comes to her. She asks what happened. He tells her where she is and she asks why everything hurts. Jesse says he'll go get her doctor.

Paramedics unload Justin Keller, who was found on campus after a fight. Justin asks where the guy who did it is. Vanessa comes along with him as they take him into the ER, saying that he's a hero.

The other ambulance has Seth Greer, who is unconscious after the fight. Ethan and Elliot take him into the ER.

Vanessa keeps trying to talk to Justin, but she is told to go to the waiting room.

Elliot puts a chest tube into Seth as Justin gets up and sees him. Vanessa says he doesn't deserve help after what he did to that girl. She is escorted out as Seth stabilizes.

Joy tells Malaya the last thing she remembers is being at a party. She asks if she fell. Malaya says she was found unconscious on campus, close to the frat party. She was being raped. Joy initially doesn't believe it, but then starts to cry at the realization. Malaya says she's sorry for what happened to Joy.

Angus gets off the elevator, asking a nurse if it's true that Mike's awake. He then goes into Mike's room, where Mike's eyes are open, but he doesn't speak. Ethan watches the brothers throughout the door.

Justin says it happened really fast. He saw Seth on top of Joy and just grabbed him and started punching him until he fell down and didn't get back up. He has specks in his eye, so Leanne says they'll call an ophthalmologist. He also asks how Seth is and they tell him they can't talk to him about other patients.

Ethan tells Leanne he just finished collecting evidence from Seth. Noa asks if Justin could be on the hook for assault. She doesn't think it's fair because he saved Joy.

Stewart Gough is explaining how the pain started during his comedy routine and the audience thought it was part of the act. He then makes a joke about Elliot being young and Elliot jokes back with him. Elliot says he loves comedy clubs and Stewart is funny. Mario orders a scan.

Ethan asks if Seth's labs are back. Jesse says not yet and his vitals are stable for now.

Paramedics bring in Whitney Lithwick, who is seizing. They were unable to stop her seizure in the ambulance. Ethan directs them to Center Stage. He suspects epilepsy, but Campbell comes in and says it's not epilepsy. She's one of his patients and she has cancer that has spread to her brain.

Heather and Malaya collect evidence from Joy's body, including all her clothes. When Heather does fingernail scrapings, she says her nail polish is called Hot Tamale. Heather says she has one called Bikini with a Martini. Joy starts to cry as Heather does her pelvic exam.

Desmond runs into Mike's room. He glad that Mike's all right. Angus says physical therapy is going to come in to assess him. Mike struggles to speak and says that he can't feel his legs.

Campbell asks Whitney if she called the oncologist like he told her to. She says she told him she doesn't need the oncologist anymore. He says the answer is no. She says she's waited the ten days. Now all she needs is for him to sign off. The law says that's what she needs and she's getting worse. Campbell says she's young and has her whole life. Whitney doesn't believe that. She has seizures almost daily. She can't drive or ride her bike. She can't always speak without an iPad. She's still her, but it won't last long and he knows that. It's only a matter of time before she can't take care of herself anymore. He still won't agree to help her die.

Leanne tells Malays she's exactly the right doctor to take care of Joy. No one understands like Malaya. Leanne tells her to use her memories to help Joy, but don't get lost in them. She sends Malaya in to talk to Joy.

Malaya asks if she reached her parents. She did and they want to take her back home for a while. Malaya tells her her pelvis is fractured and will take a few weeks to heal. Joy is worried that everyone will say it's her fault.

*Malaya remembers telling Angus that she thought something was off, but ignored that feeling and it was her own fault she was attacked.*

Malaya tells Joy she fought back. She has defensive wounds on her hands. Joy asks who saved her.

Leanne tells Justin there's no sign of retinal detachment. Jesse notices bleeding on his abdomen and Noa does stitches. Vanessa comes up and tells him his mom is going to call a lawyer. Malaya comes up and tells Justin Joy wants to thank him.

Mario tells Stewart he has diverticulitis. They're starting antibiotics, but he'll be in the hospital for a few days.

Campbell tells Mike he has two options. They can do nothing and just wait, meaning the paralysis could be permanent or they can operate to remove the bone fragments by his spinal cord. Desmond asks for a few days to think about it, but Angus and Leanne think they need to operate quickly. Mike interrupts them and says he wants the surgery. Desmond leaves and Leanne follows. They argue and Leanne tells Desmond Mike is not a child. He grew up and Desmond is lucky he got to see that.

Malaya introduces Joy to Justin. She asks him to tell her what happened. He doesn't think that's a good idea, but she can't remember and wants to know. She starts having palpitations, so Malaya sends Justin outside.

Stewart is getting worse instead of better. He'll need surgery instead. Morty and Dennis come in and the three of them joke around.

Ethan tells Whitney they're giving her an IV before she leaves. He hopes she'll be away for a while, but she doesn't think that'll happen. She's in the ER often. Ethan heard about what happened with Campbell. He says there are still things she can do. He was thinking an ice cream sundae and one is placed next to her. She takes it, but starts to cry. She says no one will talk to her about her death. Ethan says sometimes it's hard for people to accept. She says she's accepted it. She doesn't want to die, but she's going to die and she wants to do it while she's still her. He tells her to eat her ice cream.

Joy painfully walks around the hospital. She gets to Seth's bedside and asks if he's the one. She starts to yell at Seth. She remembers him being at the party and looking at him. Jesse grabs her and tells her she should be resting. Seth starts to code as Jesse holds Joy. Joy is hyperventilating and starts bleeding.

Ethan asks why Joy was walking on a pelvic fracture. Malaya says she stepped out for a minute. They need to stabilize her before taking her to surgery. Ethan suggests packing her abdomen to slow the bleeding. It works and she stabilizes, so they move her to surgery.

Elliot tells Stewart and his friends a joke. Stewart says he has promise. It's time for Stewart's surgery. His friends continue to joke as he's wheeled away.

Campbell and Ethan talk about Whitney. Ethan tries to convince Campbell to change his mind, but Campbell won't.

Angus and Desmond watch from above as Mike has surgery. Desmond starts to cry and wonders what if Mike's not okay. He says he can't go through it again, but Angus says he'll be okay. Angus explains the surgery to Desmond.

Whitney struggles to speak and then uses her iPad to ask Ethan if he changed Campbell's mind. He says he didn't. Her mother comes in, worried about her. She asks when Whitney can come home. She then realizes that Whitney wants to die. Gerri is against it, but Whitney says it's her life.

Ethan walks up to Gerri, who is sitting on the stairs. She doesn't want him to try to convince her to let Whitney do it. She was diagnosed as a kid. Her softball coach notice her stomach pains. She never complained. Even when she learned she has cancer, she never gave up. Gerri believes she can still fight. Ethan asks if she knows anything about ALS. She says she did the ice bucket challenge. He says his mother had it. He was eleven the last time she could hug him and died four years after that. If she'd had a chance to end it sooner, she would have. She was strong like Whitney. Gerri says she's strong enough to fight, but Ethan says maybe she's stronger than Gerri realizes.

Leanne asks Ethan if he's okay. He's trying to figure something out and she can't help. Jesse comes up with Joy's keys. They found them on a rig. There's blood on them, so she probably used them as a weapon. She stabbed Seth with the keys. Ethan says Seth had no puncture wounds. But they know who does. They have the wrong guy. Noa comes up and says Seth is crashing.

Seth's bleeding through his chest tube. They tell the cop to take his cuffs off and then they move him to Center Stage.

They have opened Seth's chest and Ethan looks for the bleeder. With difficulty, he is able to clamp it off and they get ready to move him to the OR. Noa says he saved Joy. And Leanne says yes, and they saved him.

Leanne, Jesse, Ethan, Noa, and the cops come up to Justin. They need to re-examine his wounds because they're defensive wounds. Justin tries to leave, but they stop him. Vanessa figures out he lied. She saw him with Joy at the party, flirting. She wanted to believe Justin, but says he's the animal. He lunges at her, but a cop grabs him and he's arrested.

Morty and Dennis play cards. Mario and Elliot come up to them and Mario says they did everything they could. Morty and Dennis are sad, but still joke. Mario then says he can't do it and Stewart says they should never trust an amateur with a bit. Morty and Dennis get up, overjoyed, and go see Stewart. They continue to joke with each other.

Joy regrets what she said to Seth, knowing that he's the one who saved her. Malaya and Heather tell her not to blame herself. Justin is the only villain here. She says maybe this is who she is now, the girl who got raped. She thinks someday, she'll have to tell her husband. Malaya says Justin took one night from her and she shouldn't let him have one more second. She's more than the bad things that happened to her. She's the grace that follows.

Joy is wheeled to Seth's bedside. He's going to be okay, but has a long way to go. She asks to be pushed closer. Once she's up by his head, she grabs his hand. She tells him he didn't leave her, so she's not going to leave him. He looks over at her.

Ethan tells Whitney he heard she used to play softball. She asks if this is the ninth inning. He pulls out a bottle of wine and says it's seventh-inning stretch. He pours two glasses and goes to leave. She thought he was having a drink with her, but it's not for him. Gerri comes in. She has the medicine for Whitney to take. Whitney thanks her and takes the pill with her wine. Ethan says he needs to monitor her heart, but he won't stop it. Gerri then climbs into bed with Whitney and holds her, telling her to rest.

Angus says Mike may still have numbness from anesthesia. They won't know anything for a few days, but Leanne says his job is waiting whenever he's ready. Mike says seven years ago, Angus's first year of medical school. Mike says Angus asked all the right questions and Mike knew he'd make a great doctor, which is why Mike made him his medical proxy. Angus is the most thoughtful person he knows.

Campbell confronts Ethan about Whitney. Ethan says he helped her, but Campbell doesn't see it that way. Campbell says it wasn't his call, but Ethan says it was Whitney's. Campbell hits a locker in anger and then says he would have liked to have said goodbye. Ethan apologizes and says she was an extraordinary young woman.

## Cast

* Leanne Rorish
* Will Campbell
* Malaya Pineda
* Angus Leighton
* Mario Savetti
* Heather Pinkney
* Jesse Sallander
* Ethan Willis
* Geraldine Lithwick
* Elliot Dixon
* Noa Kean
* Desmond Leighton
* Justin Keller
* Morty
* Whitney Lithwick
* Joy Samton
* Dennis
* Vanessa
* Mike Leighton
* Stewart Gough
* Seth Greer
* Paramedic #1
* Paramedic #2 (left)
* Paramedic #3
1/24
### Main Cast

* Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leanne Rorish
* Boris Kodjoe as Dr. Will Campbell
* 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
* Jillian Murray as Dr. Heather Pinkney
* Luis Guzmán as Jesse Sallander
* Rob Lowe as Col. Ethan Willis

### Guest Starring

* Annabeth Gish as Geraldine Lithwick
* Noah Gray-Cabey as Dr. Elliot Dixon
* Emily Tyra as Dr. Noa Kean
* Steven Culp as Dr. Desmond Leighton
* Mark L. Young as Justin Keller
* Kevin Jackson as Morty
* Jonna Walsh as Whitney Lithwick
* True O'Brien as Joy Samton
* Allan Havey as Dennis
* Jenna Boyd as Vanessa
* Tommy Dewey as Dr. Mike Leighton
* Richard Lewis as Stewart Gough

### Co-Starring

* Alex Peavey as Seth Greer
* Nefe Iredia as Paramedic #1
* Chase Gabrielson as Paramedic #2
* Raquel Bell as Paramedic #3

## Medical Notes

### Joy Samton

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Fractured pelvis
	+ Hyperventilation
	+ Abrasions and contusions

* **Doctors:**
	+ Ethan Willis *(ER physician)*
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*
	+ Heather Pinkney *(surgical resident)*
	+ Noa Kean *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Supplemental oxygen
	+ Surgery

Joy woke up in the hospital after being raped and beaten. Her pelvis was fractured and she had other cuts and bruises. She also had defensive wounds on her hands. She got up and walked on her broken pelvis and starts hyperventilating and bleeding, so they gave her oxygen and got her to Center Stage. They packed her abdomen and took her up to surgery. After her surgery, she was awake and stable.

### Justin Keller

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Blunt facial trauma
	+ Forehead laceration
	+ Hand contusion
	+ Eye trauma
	+ Abdominal laceration

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*
	+ Noa Kean *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Stitches

Justin, 21, came into the ER with blunt facial trauma, a forehead laceration, and a hand contusion after a fight. They took him into the ER, where he got stitches. He said he had specks in his vision, so they suspected retinal detachment and called ophthalmology. Ultrasound showed no sign of retinal detachment, but they noticed a cut on his stomach, which they stitched.

### Seth Greer

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Blunt trauma
	+ Collapsed lung

* **Doctors:**
	+ Ethan Willis *(ER physician)*
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Elliot Dixon *(ER resident)*
	+ Noa Kean *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Chest tube
	+ Surgery

Seth, 20, came into the ER unconscious with blunt trauma to his ribs, head, and elbow. They took him into Center Stage and got x-rays. He had a collapsed lung, which Elliot successfully treated with a chest tube. Seth later crashed, so they moved him to Center Stage and opened his chest to stop the bleeding. They stabilized him and then took him to the OR. After surgery, he was stable and awake.

### Mike Leighton

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Spinal trauma

* **Doctors:**
	+ Will Campbell *(surgeon)*
	+ Dr. Jacopian *(spinal surgeon)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Surgery

Mike finally regained consciousness after his accident. After awakening, he told his brother and father that he couldn't feel his legs. He had bone fragments compressing his spine. He was offered surgery to try to remove them, but he was warned it was risky. Mike decided he wanted the surgery. After surgery, he was told they wouldn't know anything definitively for a few more days.

### Stewart Gough

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Diverticulitis

* **Doctors:**
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*
	+ Elliot Dixon *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Bowel resection

Stewart came into the hospital with abdominal pain. His CT showed diverticulitis. They put him on antibiotics. He spiked a fever, so they needed to take him for surgery to remove the infected portion of his bowel. After surgery, he was stable and awake.

### Whitney Lithwick

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ GI Stromal Sarcoma
	+ Brain met
	+ Seizure

* **Doctors:**
	+ Ethan Willis *(ER physician)*
	+ Will Campbell *(surgeon)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Physician-assisted suicide

Whitney, 22, came into the ER seizing. Diazepam was ineffective in stopping the seizure. Willis thought she had epilepsy, but Campbell came in and recognized her as a patient of his who had a GI Stromal Sarcoma that was metastatic. He'd removed the primary tumor five years prior, but it had spread to her brain. She wanted to die by physician-assisted suicide, but Campbell refused to approve. She was having daily seizures, severely limiting her quality of life. Willis ultimately gave his approval and she took the medicine that ended her life.

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode scored 6.03 million viewers.