Cara

**Cara** is an ER nurse and Bode's ex-girlfriend who initially returned to Edgewater to help her mother move but ultimately decided to stay in town and continue her nursing from Edgewater Memorial Hospital, at which point, she begins to develop a romantic relationship with Jake.

## Biography

### Early life

Cara grew up in Edgewater, where she and her family lived next door to the Leone family. Cara and Bode became particularly close over the years and eventually began dating; they were high school sweethearts and would often sneak out during the late hours of the night. In fact, Sharon and Cara's mom used to joke that they were Romeo and Juliet. In addition to Bode, Cara was also quite close with Sharon. She'd even come over for family dinner on Sundays. However, after Bode's injury, Bode broke up with her, and Cara moved away.

At 19, Cara got pregnant, and her mother helped her hide the pregnancy by claiming the baby as her own, leading town folk of Edgewater to believe that Genevieve is Cara's younger sister, when in actually, she is her daughter.

### Returning to Edgewater

Years later, Cara returns to town to help her mom pack up her childhood home, which they are putting up for sale. However, a power outage in the area results in Cara suffering an electrical burn and cardiac event, which Sharon helps her treat until an ambulance can arrive, even performing CPR. As Sharon treats Cara, she reveals that she didn't break up with Bode after his injury, as he had claimed. In fact, he broke up with her. Additionally, she reveals that she's training to become an ER nurse, following in her mother's footsteps, which proves useful when Sharon passes out from the heat and the inability to take her dialysis due to the power outage. Fortunately, Vince arrives soon thereafter, followed by the ambulance.

After bumping into Jake at Smokey's Tavern during Sharon's kidney donor event, Cara finds herself coaching him through a needle thoracostomy on the side of the road following a brutal motorcycle incident, in which Sharon's brakes were cut and Dolly and Paulie were severely injured. Dolly specifically is suffering from a deviated trachea. With Cara at his side, having performed the procedure before in ER, she instructs Jake step-by-step on how to save Dolly's life. Afterward, they head to Smokey's for a drink, where she reveals her plan to remain in Edgewater and begin her rotations at the local hospital

After she begins dating Jake Crawford, she later reveals to him that her 'sister' Genevieve, is her biological daughter and that it is unknown if Bode is her father.

## Relationships

### Sharon Leone

Having grown up next to the Leones during her adolescence, Cara became very close with her neighbors, especially Sharon, with whom she used to make inappropriate jokes with during family dinner on Sundays. Sharon even took Cara to get her IUD when her mother was busy working. However, at some point, the nature of their relationship changed, with Sharon being polite towards Cara, treating her as if she was anybody else in town. As it turned out, this was due to the fact that Bode told Sharon that Cara dumped him after he suffered his baseball injury. However, in actuality, it was Bode who dumped Cara, much to Sharon's surprise. In spite of any misunderstanding, the two of them still care deeply for one another and took turns treating each other during the power outage.

### Bode Leone

Cara and Bode grew up together in Edgewater. They were next door neighbors, and even their parents were close. At some point, they began dating and were high school sweethearts. However, Bode broke up with Cara after his baseball injury; she was heartbroken. Baseball was his entire identity, and losing it killed his confidence, as baseball was the quickest way to Vince's heart, and Bode simply wanted his father to be proud of him. Going for Cal Fire was too loaded, whereas baseball came naturally to Bode. The two of them reunite for the first time after years apart at the site of Dolly and Paulie's crash.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Get Your Hopes Up
* Mama Bear
* A Fair to Remember
* Watch Your Step
* I Know It Feels Impossible

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Season 1, episode 10: ***Get Your Hopes Up***
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Season 1, episode 22: ***I Know It Feels Impossible***
3. ↑ Season 1, episode 11: ***Mama Bear***