Diagnosis of Exclusion

Season 1, Episode 15

The doctors try to save Gina

**Diagnosis of Exclusion** is the fifteenth episode of the first season of **Code Black**.

## Short Summary

The doctors are questioned following a violent incident inside the hospital that leaves two doctors gravely injured. Also, Neal and Christa make their relationship to the next level after officially disclosing their romantic relationship to HR.

## Full Summary

Mario says he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. He already gave a statement to the cops.

Neal says things happened fast and they did everything they could. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.

Christa says she was upset, as they all were. When a patient is more than a patient ...

Leanne tells Angus she knows it's difficult. He doesn't know why they're doing this. After a tragedy like this, they always investigate. Their investigation turned up a lot, including multiple surveillance clips of Gordon at the hospital over several weeks. He was there 17 times in two months.

*Malaya gets on an elevator. An orderly gets on behind her and says he's going to the same floor. Just as the doors are almost closed, Gordon enters the elevator. He says he's also going to the same floor. She quickly pushes another floor button and says she parked on another floor. She exits, saying goodbye.*

*As she enters the parking garage, Gordon follows her. He asks her to get a drink with him. She says they're not supposed to do that. When he continues his advances, she tells him she's gay. He thinks she's lying and starts to leave. He goes back to the elevator and she goes to hide in the parking garage. When she comes out, she sees that he's not by the elevator anymore, so she goes in and calls the elevator. However, he is behind her.*

Mike asks if he needs a lawyer. He feels like he's being accused of something. Leanne says he's not, but he's entitled to have a lawyer with him if he wants. Mike says he didn't know about Malaya at that point because he had his hands full with Gina. Christa had found her in the locker room. She'd been stabbed eight times in the abdomen. They took her to Center Stage.

*In Center Stage, they rush to treat Gina. Risa activates the trauma team. Mike asks for Neal and asks if Leanne is still there, but Risa tells him she's gone. He tells Mario to put in a chest tube. She's bleeding very heavily. An OR won't be ready for 15 more minutes, but they don't have that long. Amy comes in with blood to transfuse. They prepare to do a clamshell thoracotomy, a last-ditch effort.*

Mike says that's when they heard the screaming.

*Neal calls for security as he wheels Malaya, who is screaming and bleeding from her abdomen, into Center Stage. Neal then sees Gina on another gurney. Jesse asks if anyone called the police, because whoever did it could still be in the building.*

*They struggle to get Gina's bleeding under control. Heather arrives and is shocked to see that they've opened her up in the ER. She says Campbell's not coming because he's still operating on another patient. They don't have time to move Gina to an OR anymore. Heather wants to take her anyway, but Mike says they don't have time. Heather goes to call Campbell, but Mike's ready to start.*

Stan Oberlin asks Mike if that's when he decided to break protocol. Leanne asks if he even knows what the standard protocol is. Leanne says Mike did what he needed to do, but Ed says he did an ER thoracotomy without the indication for one. Leanne says Center Stage is where rules go to die and Mike defends his actions, saying Gina had lost too much blood to wait. Stan says they're just trying to understand his decision-making process, but Leanne says he'd have to be a doctor to do that. She says she's not okay with what's happening at all. Ed calls her outside.

Outside the room, Ed says she's on the wrong side, but Leanne says Ed is. They're interrogating her doctors. She says Mike did exactly what she would have done. Ed was his biggest cheerleader a week ago, but that was before he was involved in the death of Gina. Leanne says he wasn't involved in her death. He tried to save her life. Ed thinks it'll end up in a courtroom and his job is to protect the hospital. Just like hers will be. He needs her to take over the ER, do Gina's job. She refuses, but he says she has a contract with the hospital. She says she's not an administrator, just a doctor. He says it's just until Taylor returns, not forever, but she quips that that's what they said about Afghanistan.

Jesse says it was the middle of shift change. Some resources were't on the floor. Stan asks about when Malaya was brought in.

*Malaya stumbles in the hallway.*

Jesse asks what the question is. Stan asks where he was when Malaya was brought in. Jesse says no one brought her in. She made it on her own.

*Jesse and Neal are talking when they hear Malaya calling for help. She's holding her abdomen and dragging herself along the wall. Neal calls for a gurney as Jesse runs to her. He asks who did it and she tells him Gordon. She already called security from the stairwell.*

*In Center Stage, Malaya starts to tell them what happened as they work on her. They bring Gordon into Center Stage and Malaya starts to panic and say she can't be there next to him. Neal is stapling her abdomen, so he wants her to stay still. Gordon was stabbed in the neck. Neal finishes Malaya's staples and they take her to sides. Neal stays behind. He gets gowned to help with Gina, but Mike gently shakes his head.*

Stan asks if that's when he joined in with Gina. Neal says Mike needed an extra set of hands. Campbell couldn't get there on time. Ed says Campbell contested that. They ask Neal to continue.

*Mike is talking the others through what they're doing to Gina. They have to extend the decision down to her abdomen because of the bleeding. They believed her kidney was bleeding. Campbell arrives and they tell him to glove up. He tries to get the ER doctors to stop what they're doing. Neal tells him to keep it civil. They lose pulse on Gina.*

Neal says they made the right call and Leanne agrees. Waiting for surgery wasn't an option.

*They give Gina more epinephrine and Campbell tells Heather she should have known better. Mike defends her, saying it was his call. Campbell says if it were her call, she'd be out of a job and still might be. Gina's gone 21 minutes without a heartbeat, so Mike calls it after Neal asks for other suggestions. Nearby, Christa starts to cry as she continues compressions on Gordon. The doctors and nurses strip their gowns and console each other.*

*Christa and Angus continue working on Gordon as Mario and Neal prepare Gina's body to be taken to the morgue. They have to leave everything as is, just like any other patient. When Mario doesn't feel right about that, Mike says he should because they take care of them the same in death as in life and they always take care of their own. They seal Gina's body bag. Mike reminds them they did everything they could have, like Gina deserved.*

Campbell says Gina was assaulted twice: once by Gordon and once and once by the doctors. Leanne thinks he's being dramatic, but he doesn't agree. He thinks the ER doctors overstepped their boundaries, as they've done in the past. Leanne says surgeons can't do what they do, which is the work of a surgeon in a battlefield setting. Leanne says she knows her people and if they hadn't acted ... Campbell thinks Gina might still be alive. Campbell says he inherited the Titanic. The iceberg was the maniac with the knife, but they also weren't the rescue ship she needed.

Campbell enters the ER. Mike confronts him over Neal's objections about him blaming them for Gina's death. Campbell says she needed an OR and they violated protocol. Neal says protocol would have killed her, but Campbell thinks they did instead. He's been a surgeon for 12 years. Their experience is in the ER. Campbell says their patients come because they have to. His do because they choose to.

Mario tells Heather that Campbell's a joke, but she says he's a great surgeon. She talks about his accomplishments and Mario asks if he makes her say all that when they have sex. She's surprised that Mario's the jealous type. He's the one who called it off.

Mario says Mike and Neal did whatever they could to save Gina. Campbell's trying to cover his own ass. Stan then asks Mario about Gordon. They want to know how he got into the hospital 17 times without anyone noticing.

Christa's surprised to learn he'd been there 17 times. Sometimes a patient, but other times, he just wandered the halls. He also sought treatment under a variety of aliases.

Mario is told that he and Christa once treated Gordon. Mario doesn't remember it. He also says he didn't see Gordon being treated by Malaya the night she was attacked.

Christa did see Gordon that night, but didn't recognize him.

Mario is told that he was treating a patient in the next bed.

Christa remembers that she heard yelling in the locker room. She didn't go in to investigate at that point. She didn't know what was happening. Gina'd been in a bad mood that day.

*Christa walks by the break room and sees Gina yelling at Malaya as Gordon watches through the window.*

Ed says that Gina was tough and he liked her. He asks why Gina was yelling at Christa. Christa says it was just a heated conversation. Gina thought Christa had kept a patient in sides for too long.

*Gina tells Christa she knows about her and Neal. The hospital has rules against that. Gina says if they plan to continue, they have to tell HR. Christa says she has to talk to Neal. Gina says they either disclose it to HR discreetly, she can make an example out of them, or they break it off.*

The board interviews Malaya, who is still hospitalized. Leanne says she doesn't have to, but Malaya says she can do it. She tells them about the attack. She remembers her pants ripping.

*Malaya fights Gordon off as he attacks. He pulls out a knife and slices her across the abdomen. A voice tells Malaya to run.*

Angus says he found Malaya's phone in the break room. She forgets it often.

*Angus enters the parking garage with her phone and sees what's happening. He tackles Gordon and tells Malaya to run. He turns Gordon over and sees that he's stabbed himself in the neck.*

Ed asks about the knife in Gordon's neck. Angus says it was an accident. They wrestled. Leanne believe him and says no one is accusing him of anything. Ed asks him to tell them what happened. Angus says he tried to stop Gordon, but he pulled the knife out of his neck.

*Gordon pulls the knife out over Angus's objections. Angus presses his hands into the wound to stem the bleeding. Security guards approach and he calls for a gurney.*

Angus says Gordon lost pulse, but he couldn't start CPR because he had to hold pressure on the wound. He tried to do both. When help arrived, he started CPR and they took Gordon to Center Stage. Angus thinks maybe he could have done more, but he was out of his mind. Leanne says anyone would have been. He saved Malaya's life.

Mario says two months is a long time at the hospital. They give him the chart to refresh his memory. After looking at the chart, Mario thinks he remembers.

*Gordon is foaming at the mouth as Mario tries to treat him. He believes Gordon took some kind of rodenticide.*

Tres pasitos, Mario says. Three little steps.

Jesse explains that it's a Mexican rodent killer, so named because a mouse can only take three steps after ingesting it. You can't legally purchase it in the US, but Gordon got it somehow.

*Mario tells Gordon the lab can't do much without a sample of the poison. Gordon says he had tacos from a street vendor. They must see things like that all the time. Jesse says they don't and he'll notify the sheriff. Gordon says he's sure it was an accident and he doesn't want to get anyone in trouble. Mario says they'll keep him for observation. He asks for Malaya, but Jesse says that's not how it works in the ER. Gordon sees Malaya working at a desk and sighs.*

Jesse relays that Gordon asked for Malaya.

Jesse comes into Malaya's hospital room. He asks how she's doing and she says she's fine and asks about Angus. Jesse says he's fine and doesn't like being called a hero. He'll have to get used to it. Jesse blames himself for what happened with Malaya. Gordon had come around a few times asking about her, but Malaya says she's the only one to blame. He flirted with her. She thought something was off, but she didn't listen to her instincts. Jesse says she was just being the good person she is. Gordon is the one who made the ugly. He advises her not to let this change her. The real tragedy would be letting this destroy the goodness in her. He tells her he loves her.

Neal asks Christa to talk. She's not okay because someone died and she doesn't want to talk about them. He says he was asking just about her. She just wants to be left alone. Neal doesn't want her to blame herself. Christa says she wasn't mad at Gina. She was mad at Neal for what happened.

*Christa tells Neal about her conversation with Gina. He says he'll talk to Leanne. She gives him the paperwork from HR. He looks at it and sees that she's signed it already. He starts to read through it and says they should talk about it. She tells him to take her time because she wouldn't want him to do anything he's not ready for.*

Christa says that what upsets her most is that Gina is dead and Malaya is upstairs and she's still thinking about her and Neal. Christa walks away from Neal.

The board thanks Christa for coming back and says they have a few more questions about Gordon. She and Angus treated him in Center Stage. Mike and Neal were supervising, but they were also tending to other patients. Leanne says that's typical and Christa and Angus are more than capable of treating Gordon on their own. Stan confirms that Christa and Malaya are friends. Angus found Malaya being attacked by Gordon and Christa found Gina after being attacked. Then they had to try to save Gordon's life. Someone overheard Christa saying something that calls into question if she really tried her hardest to save him. Leanne says that's obscene.

*Angus struggles with sutures as Christa does compressions. Mike reminds him to check his own pulse first. He coaches Angus through doing the sutures. Gordon finally has a pulse. Christa then expresses disbelief that they have to save him.*

Stan quotes what Christa said and asks if Neal hear her say it. Leanne maintains that it's a ridiculous line of questioning. Neal says he didn't hear that, but he saw her and Angus do whatever they could to save Gordon despite what he'd done.

*Neal watches Christa as she sits by herself against a wall.*

Neal says that Christa did her best, despite what was said. And he and Mike did what they could. They kept her alive long enough that Campbell's expertise could give her the chance to live, but it still wasn't enough. He's debated what they did with Campbell already, but Campbell's an egomaniac. Neal says the questioning isn't about Gina. He asks if they're done. Ed says Neal's a good surgeon and he appreciates what Neal did, but he's not a surgeon at Angels. He tells Neal no more surgery unless he has express privileges. Neal says he understands and leaves, after telling them he and Christa are in a relationship and giving them the signed paperwork.

Mike tells Leanne she looks nice. She rocks scrubs, but her dressy outfit suits her. Mike admits that he's buttering her up. He heard about Leanne being ER director. He asks her not to fight it. Leanne says Angels means too much to her to leave it like this. She's staying for now. Mike says he needs her there. She says she's left the right person in charge of the residents. Mike doesn't believe Ed agrees, but Leanne says she can handle him.

Jesse tells Angus Gordon's not doing well in ICU. As healers, they fight death every day, but that doesn't mean he's not hoping Gordon doesn't die. Better for Malaya and probably Angus, too. He's been through a lot, but Angus says he's okay. Jesse says he knows better than to lie to his mama.

Heather asks Mario if he's leaving. He is, so she tells him she has nothing going on that night. He asks if Campbell bailed on her and then leaves quickly.

Campbell is in the scrub room when Heather comes in. He invites her to scrub in, but she has rounds. He wants to beat his previous open-to-close record. He says if she orders him a drink, he'll join her as soon as he can. She tells him she can't make it that night. She needs a night in because she's exhausted. Campbell goes into his surgery.

Leanne arrives at the cemetery. She goes to Gina's grave marking and sees Ed there with flowers. He says Gina loved daisies, uncomplicated, but wild. Leanne didn't know they were seeing each other and says she's sorry for his loss. She's there to say goodbye because she didn't get to before. He says he didn't either.

Angus comes into Malaya's room with a burger and a milkshake. He gets on the bed next to her. Malaya apologizes for leaving him alone with Gordon, but Angus says he's not, which is why he told Malaya to run. He then tells Malaya that Gordon is dead. ICU just told him. Angus says if Malaya doesn't eat her burger, he's going to. He grabs the box and opens it for her.

Mike asks how Angus is doing with the news that Gordon died. Mike says Gordon got what he deserved. Angus saved Malaya's life and not just hers, because Gordon would have done this again. Mike asks if Angus told Malaya and he says he didn't. Mike says he can't tell anyone. They take it to their graves.

*After Gordon pulls the knife out of his neck, Angus holds pressure, but then Gordon calls Malaya a bitch and says he's going to kill her. Instead of continuing to hold pressure. Angus holds Gordon's arms down as he bleeds until security arrives.*

Mike hugs Angus.

## Cast

* Leanne Rorish
* Neal Hudson
* Christa Lorenson
* Malaya Pineda
* Angus Leighton
* Mario Savetti
* Jesse Sallander
* Edward Harbert
* Will Campbell
* Gina Perello
* Heather Pinkney
* Gordon Heshman
* Stan Oberlin
* Mike Leighton
* Risa Park
* Amy Wolowitz
* Orderly
1/17
### 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

* Jeff Hephner as Dr. Edward Harbert
* Boris Kodjoe as Dr. Will Campbell
* Christina Vidal as Dr. Gina Perello
* Jillian Murray as Dr. Heather Pinkney
* Jesse Bradford as Gordon Heshman
* Lamont Thompson as Stan Oberlin
* Tommy Dewey as Dr. Mike Leighton

### Co-Starring

* Angela Relucio as Risa Park
* Gabrielle Carteris as Amy Wolowitz
* Tory N. Thompson as Orderly

## Medical Notes

### Gina Perello

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Stab wounds

* **Doctors:**
	+ Mike Leighton *(ER physician)*
	+ Neal Hudson *(ER physician)*
	+ Will Campbell *(general surgeon)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*
	+ Heather Pinkney *(surgical resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Clamshell thoracotomy
	+ Exploratory laparotomy

Gina was taken into the ER after being stabbed eight times in the abdomen. They transfused and they started working to stop the bleeding. They also put in a chest tube. Mike said they needed to do a clamshell thoracotomy down in the ER. They opened her up and found a hemothorax. They extended the incision down to her abdomen. Neal believed her kidney was the source of the bleeding. Campbell came down to get her and joined in to help. Despite their efforts, she was pronounced dead 5:43 AM.

### Malaya Pineda

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Abdominal laceration
	+ Eye injury

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

* **Treatment:**
	+ Staples

Malaya was brought to the ER after being sliced across her abdomen. She also had an eye that was bruised and swollen shut. Neal stapled her abdomen.

### Gordon Heshman

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Stab wound

* **Doctors:**
	+ Angus Leighton *(ER resident)*
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Stitches

Gordon stabbed himself in the neck while struggling with Angus. Angus tried to stop him, but Gordon pulled out the knife. Angus then held pressure, but after hearing Gordon taunt Malaya, Angus instead pinned down Gordon's arms. When helped arrived, Angus started CPR and they took him to the ER. In the ER, Angus stitched up his neck. He was taken to ICU, where he ultimately died.

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode scored 6.90 million viewers.