Blood Sport

Season 1, Episode 18

An explosion at a primary debate brings many patients to the hospital

**Blood Sport** is the eighteenth and final episode of the first season of **Code Black**.

## Short Summary

Mario confronts Angus about his Adderall abuse and Christa is surprised to learn how romantically involved Neal and Grace were before she left for Haiti. Also, Dr. Mark Taylor (Kevin Dunn) returns to help Leanne find the money in their budget to keep Jesse and the nurses from walking out.

## Full Summary

Outside a presidential primary debate, the Secret Service waits. Angus tells Heather over the phone that he's about to run out of adderall. She asks if he got to meet the candidates. He says no. They're just waiting on the loading dock. He asks Heather for more. She says she can't keep using Campbells prescription pad. She'll get him a few more, but he really needs to ease up on it. He hangs up and dodges Mario's questioning about his signs of drug use.

Ed tells Leanne that Jesse's blackmailing them, but she says he warned them this would happen and he always does what he says he will. She says Ed should treat Jesse with respect because he's earned it. Ed talks to Jesse and asks what he needs to do to stop the strike before it starts. Jesse says they need a raise, guaranteed overtime, and more nurses. Ed says he'll bring it up when the board meets in two months. Jesse says there are five nurses walking out tonight. Tomorrow, it will be six. Ed tries to lay down the law, but Jesse is firm in his position.

Mario and Angus are still arguing when they hear an explosion.

At the hospital, the staff watches the television, which shows a piece of the stage falling on the debaters. Jesse immediately calls his nurses to action.

The Secret Service starts to evacuate the candidates and their families. They get Anne Stringer, Darren's wife, in an ambulance and Caroline Stringer, Darren's daughter, into a car.

Neal and Leanne go out on the roof to greet a helicopter. They see men with guns and Leanne asks who they are. They're counter-snipers, in case there's another attack.

**8:55 PM**

**Senator Darren Stringer**

Darren is unloaded from the helicopter. He's more worried about his wife and daughter than himself.

They take Darren into Center Stage. The Secret Service tries to get other patients moved out of the way to make room for the candidates, but they're not ready to be moved.

They put a chest tube in Darren. The Secret Service wants him moved to a more secure location, but Leanne says she won't do it. The agent goes to Ed, but Ed says he's not in charge in the ER. Leanne is. Darren asks again about his family.

Mario and Angus are in the ambulance with Anne. Angus can't find a pulse so he starts CPR. Mario pushes him off, saying she has an HVAD. The Secret Service Agent riding with them talks to another agent who is in the car with Caroline. He tells them Caroline's coughing up blood and losing consciousness. Mario tells the driver to pull the rig over. Angus moves from the ambulance to the car.

In the car, Angus examines Caroline. He sees shrapnel in her chest.

**9:15 PM**

**Anne Stringer**

**Caroline Stringer**

Caroline and Anne arrive at the hospital. Mario gives report on Anne as an agent and Angus help Caroline into the hospital. He tells Malaya that she's the senator's daughter.

Darren has internal bleeding, caused by a liver laceration. They send him for a CT.

Anne comes into Center Stage, followed by Caroline.

They determine that Anne's pump is functioning correctly. They start stitching up Caroline's cuts. Rollie and Leanne notice the bruising on Anne's chest, which doesn't look like it came from a blast injury. Angus admits to doing compressions and Leanne calls him outside.

Outside, Leanne grills Angus about what happened. She has to dismiss an agent who tries to listen in. She stops her questioning when the agent comes back and tells her that Hank Wesley and his wife are coming in.

**12:29 AM**

**Margaret Wesley**

Margaret Wesley is brought into the ER and Grace examines her.

**12:30 AM**

**Governor Hank Wesley**

Hank comes in with massive crush injuries. Leanne calls for more doctors as she wheels him into Center Stage. Margaret tries to sit up when she sees him go by.

They put an airway into Hank. Campbell arrives and takes him to surgery. He tells Neal to meet him there.

Margaret mentions feeling like she'll vomit. Grace orders an anti-emenic. Margaret says she heard her husband under the rubble, fighting to breathe. She thinks her husband was dying, but Grace says they're doing everything they can. Margaret knows what it sounds like when Hank can't breathe because he had pneumonia when they were in college. Grace tries to calm her down.

Anne asks if someone can find her phone. Mario says the Secret Service isn't allowing phones in the hospital, but she's her dad's campaign manager. Mario asks someone to check on her phone for him.

Mike asks Mario about Angus. He knows something's going on.

Grace takes Margaret for a CT. She asks again what's happening with Hank. Grace talks to her about her work in Haiti with an organization Margaret herself founded.

Darren asks if someone's claimed responsibility. An agent tells him no. Christa comes in and says they're done with him. He notices Margaret outside and asks to see her. Christa says she needs to go check on her first.

Margaret asks Grace more about her work in Haiti. Grace tells her that she and her boyfriend signed up to go together, but he ended up not going. It was still one of the best experiences of her life. Unbeknownst to Grace, Christa overhears that. Darren comes in and asks about Hank. He tells Margaret they need to stay strong, but she says there aren't any news cameras up there. They've dragged Hank through the mud, but Darren says the two couples used to be friends. Margaret just tells him to get out.

Leanne and Ed host a press conference. They say Hank and his wife and daughter are stable. Leanne says Hank is stable, but critical in surgery and Margaret is under observation. They end the conference there.

Anne has rib and pelvic fractures, so they stop her blood thinners and give her painkillers. Angus asks if there's anything else he can do for her and Caroline asks him for the wifi password. Anne asks her to stop working, but Caroline says the campaign hasn't stopped. She wants to get her dad in front of a camera as soon as possible. Anne is shocked that that's what Caroline is worried about at the moment. Just then, Darren is wheeled into the room. Caroline wants to get him back in front of the camera, but Anne says people died. Caroline says her dad needs to look presidential. Anne says the Wesleys are their friends and neither of them has asked how they're doing. Caroline says they haven't been friends in a long time, but Anne blames her for that. Darren starts talking strategy with Caroline.

Paramedics bring in a man with crush injuries. He's been unconscious for a while, but the Secret Service held them up because the man didn't have proper ID. He wakes up and tells them he was cleaning the bathroom when there was a loud bang. Jesse goes to remove his necklace. Jose objects, saying it's from his kids, but Jesse says he'll keep it safe while he's in CT.

Grace updates Margaret on Hank. She also tells Margaret she has a bleed in her brain. For now, they're going to watch her to see if it resolves itself. Margaret talks about Hank's start in politics. Margaret asks Grace if she's ever felt so sure of someone, but Grace says she hasn't. Margaret asks about the one who almost went with her to Haiti. She knows Grace was thinking of him. Margaret and Hank were married in Haiti. They did their vows in Creole. "You are the breath of my life."

Mario asks Angus again about how he missed that Anne had an HVAD. Mario tries to talk to him about his drug use, but Malaya interrupts. She thinks he's upset about the HVAD thing. Angus says it wouldn't have mattered if he killed someone, if he killed Anne. Nothing would happen.

Christa tells Jose he has a brain bleed. Right now, they're going to wait to see if it resolves itself. Jose sees the cops and worries. He wanted to call his wife, but they took his phone. Christa says they took her phone too, but he wants to call his wife because she'll be worried they took him. Christa says they'll get him home as soon as they can.

Christa tells Neal about Jose, and Neal agrees to come by to check on him. Christa also confronts him about not telling her he was supposed to go to Haiti with Grace. He tells her not to be insecure. He admits that he asked Grace to marry him and she said no. That's why she went and he stayed.

Campbell is operating on Hank. Heather comes in. She was told to come see him. He wants want her to scrub in. He asks her about using his prescribing information. Without waiting for her response, he dismisses her.

Anne's pump alarm is going off. They ultrasound her heart and see no cardiac motion. Her pump is hot from overwork. The trauma caused a blood clot in her heart. There's nothing they can do.

Mario asks Heather if it's true that she used Campbell's information to get drugs. He figures out that she gave Angus the adderall. Heather says she's been taking it for years with no problem and it's not her fault Angus can't handle it. Mario asks what happens when Campbell goes to the board or the cops. She says she can handle him.

Leanne is glad to see that Taylor actually came to the hospital in the middle of the night. He says he hasn't been sleeping since he left anyway. She shows him the budget. He's upset that she called him back from his vacation to look at the budget. She tells him she has to find a few million dollars by sunrise for the nurses. Taylor says you can't have friends in this job. Leanne says the nurses are about to go on strike. Taylor says she's looking at the wrong budget. He pulls out the overall budget and says it's not enough to know what you have. You need to know what everyone else has. That's politics.

Mario goes to Mike about Angus. He tells Mike about the adderall. He says they need to help him before he hurts himself or someone else. They hear an alarm. They rush to Margaret's bed, where her ICP is elevated. They move her to Center Stage.

Jose's ICP also rises and he seizes. Christa asks them to page Neal as they go to Center Stage. When Angus comes into Center Stage, Mike tells him to take a break.

Neal arrives. Both Margaret, Grace's patient, and Jose, Christa's patient, need a surgeon, but he's the only one available. He examines Jose and Margaret, but the Secret Service says he needs to take Margaret first. Their conditions are almost identical and Neal decides to take Margaret, over Christa's objections.

Campbell is still operating on Hank. Neal is scrubbing in and Campbell tries to get him to come in with him, but Neal says he has another patient. Campbell asks if that patient is more important than Hank and Neal says it is to him because it's his wife. Campbell wishes him good luck.

Campbell is working on Hank. He's not doing well. His chances are very slim. Nearby, Neal is working on Margaret. Hank flatlines and Campbell starts compressions. He's losing blood faster than they can transfuse. Just as Neal evacuates the clot in Margaret's brain, Campbell pronounces Hank dead at 2:54 AM.

Margaret wakes up after surgery. She asks to see her husband. Campbell breaks the news to her that he's dead.

Heather says she needs to talk to Campbell. She thinks he should take her to the disciplinary committee. She says she didn't know what else to do because she was so traumatized. She's a resident and he's Chief of Surgery. She then shows him pictures on her phone of the two of them together.

Darren is getting dressed. Mike says he needs to sit. Darren tells him it wasn't a bomb. It was a gas leak. All those great people died. Caroline comes in and tells him the doctor can push him to he room with the cameras, but then he should walk on his own. Darren says she should come with him, but Caroline declines. She says it doesn't feel right that Anne just died. Darren reminds her that this is public life. He has to go say something. Caroline says they had a fight last week. Anne said he got into politics because he wanted to change the world and Caroline did it because she wanted to win. Caroline tells him not to go out there because Anne was right. There's something they need to do first.

Mike wheels Darren into Margaret's room. He says he's sorry for everything he did, every ugly word he said. He doesn't know how, but he'll make it right with her. Margaret reaches out and holds his hand.

Neal tells Grace that Christa's patient was a janitor. He had four kids and no insurance. Grace says it wasn't his fault. Neal wonders what if he picked Jose instead. Grace says it was a medical call and Margaret's alive because of it. He made the right choice. He asks how she knows and she says she knows him. He always makes the right decision. From afar, Christa says Grace's hand on Neal's lap. When Neal sees her watching, he jumps up to talk to her. She tells him she can't do it. She was married and had a child. She won't be anybody's second choice.

Leanne shows Ed the budget. She found money allocated for a clinic that never got built. The money's in escrow and there's more than enough to resolve the nursing crisis. He tries to tell her it's not that simple, but she tells him to re-allocate the money to the nurses or not only will they walk out, but she'll lead them. Ed scoffs and says she said she wouldn't be good at that job.

Mike finds Angus. He tells Angus that he didn't everything he could for her and he's not the reason she died. Neither is the adderall. Angus says since he first walked into Trauma one, all he wanted was to feel like he belonged. Mike tells him he does belong there. He was just starting to feel like that when Gordon Heshman attacked Malaya. He killed someone and now he can't walk into the hospital without thinking about it. The pills let him not think about it. Mike admits that he made a mistake telling Angus not to talk to anyone about it. He says they're going to get him through it and they'll find him someone he can talk to. Angus accepts Mike's help. Mike says Angus is still good.

Jesse is still holding Jose's necklace. Leanne walks up and he says it's the first time in 20 hours they've been out of code black. Leanne smiles and tells him she got him the money. He did it. He tells her she did it. They hug. They exchange friendly insults. Just then, several patients come in. Jesse announces that they're in code black.

## Cast

* Leanne Rorish
* Neal Hudson
* Christa Lorenson
* Malaya Pineda
* Rollie Guthrie
* Angus Leighton
* Mario Savetti
* Jesse Sallander
* Edward Harbert
* Will Campbell
* Heather Pinkney
* Darren Stringer
* Anne Stringer
* Secret Service Agent
* Margaret Wesley
* Caroline Stringer
* Mike Leighton
* Grace Adams
* Mark Taylor
* Risa Park
* Hannah Reynolds
* Isabel Mendez
* Jose Caron
* Agent Matt
* Agent Hugh
* Flight Medic
* Medic #1
* Medic #2
* Scrub Nurse and Anesthesiologist
1/29
### 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
* 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 Will Campbell
* Jillian Murray as Dr. Heather Pinkney
* Robert Curtis Brown as Senator Darren Stringer
* Kate McNeil as Anne Stringer
* Gonzalo Menendez as Secret Service Agent
* Paula Newsome as Margaret Wesley
* Alex McKenna as Caroline Stringer
* Tommy Dewey as Dr. Mike Leighton
* Meagan Good as Dr. Grace Adams

### Co-Starring

* Angela Relucio as Risa Park
* Emily Nelson as Hannah Reynolds
* Ellia English as Isabel Mendez
* Allel Aimiche as Jose Caron
* Nathan Anderson as Agent Matt
* TL Savage as Agent Hugh
* Lyn Alicia Henderson as Flight Medic
* Joshua Keller Katz as Medic #1
* Terrence Edwards as Medic #2
* Nikki Tuazon as Scrub Nurse
* Khaled Khalaf as Anesthesiologist

## Medical Notes

### Anne Stringer

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Blood clot

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Rollie Guthrie *(ER physician)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*
	+ Angus Leighton *(ER resident)*
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ HVAD

Anne was injured in an explosion. In the ambulance to the hospital, she had no pulse, so Angus started compressions. Mario stopped him, reminding him that Anne had an HVAD. She had blunt trauma to her head and chest from the explosion, but her pump continued to function normally. They found injury to her chest not from the blast and learned about the compressions Angus had done. She had rib and pelvic fractures, so they stopped her blood thinners and gave her pain medication. Her pump alarm later went off. They did an ultrasound, which showed no cardiac activity. The trauma from the blast caused a massive blood clot in her heart, killing her.

### Caroline Stringer

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Imbedded shrapnel

* **Doctors:**
	+ Grace Adams *(ER physician)*
	+ Angus Leighton *(ER resident)*
	+ Malaya Pineda *(ER resident)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Stitches

Caroline, 26, was injured in an explosion. On the way to the hospital, she appeared fine, but then started coughing up blood. Angus examined her and found shrapnel in her chest. In the ER, her cuts were treated and she was stabilized.

### Darren Stringer

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Liver laceration

* **Doctors:**
	+ Grace Adams *(ER physician)*
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Neal Hudson *(surgeon)*
	+ Mike Leighton *(ER physician)*
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Chest tube

Darren was air-lifted to the hospital after an explosion at a presidential primary debate. They put in a chest tube. An ultrasound showed internal bleeding, from a liver laceration. They took him for a CT and monitored him.

### Margaret Wesley

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Brain bleed

* **Doctors:**
	+ Grace Adams *(ER physician)*
	+ Neal Hudson *(surgeon)*
	+ Mike Leighton *(ER physician)*
	+ Mario Savetti *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Craniotomy

Margaret was injured in an explosion. They did a CT to check for bleeding. The CT showed a brain bleed, which they monitored. Her ICP later spiked, so she was sent for a craniotomy. Her surgery was successful and she was stable and awake afterward.

### Hank Wesley

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Respiratory failure
	+ Abdominal aortic aneurysm

* **Doctors:**
	+ Leanne Rorish *(ER physician)*
	+ Will Campbell *(surgeon)*
	+ Christa Lorenson *(ER resident)*

* **Treatment:**
	+ Surgery

Hank, 43, was injured in an explosion. He had massive crush injuries from his waist down, causing a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was intubated in the ER and Campbell came to take him to surgery. Unfortunately, despite Campbell's best efforts, he was pronounced dead in surgery at 2:54 AM.

### Jose Caron

* **Diagnosis:**
	+ Brain stem injury
	+ Seizure

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

* **Treatment:**

Jose, 37, came with crush injuries and a scalp wound. He'd been down for 20 minutes and the Secret Service held him up because he didn't have proper ID. They took him for a CT, which showed a brain stem injury, which they monitored. It worsened and he started seizing. When Margaret Wesley was taken into surgery ahead of him, he died.

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode scored 6.91 million viewers.
* **Goof:** It's said to be 9:15 PM when Anne and Caroline Stringer are brought into the ER, but mere minutes later, the on-screne text says it's 12:39 AM when Margaret Wesley is brought in.