CHICAGO HOPE: BRAIN SALAD SURGERY
Written by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin
FADE IN: EXT. GOLF COURSE - MORNING
JACK and AARON are getting ready to tee off. Each carry only the bare
minimum - a driver, an iron and a putter. Aaron groans.
AARON: Five thirty in the morning. This is fun for you?
JACK: Yeah, you bet! Nine holes, right in the middle of Chicago,
work up a sweat - we'll be at work ten minutes after we're done.
AARON: I hate golf.
JACK: Aaron, in golf we face our inner demons. My guess is you could
use a little of that.
AARON: Jack, just in case you're wondering, I happen to think that
golf philosophy is horse dooky.
JACK: Right, right, whatever. (He sets his stop watch.) Okay, you
ready?
AARON: Yeah...
JACK: Go!
They tee off and scramble. Jack hollers after Aaron as they go.
JACK: Come on, Aaron. Move your butt! Rip it, rip it, run like
hell!
AARON: Okay, all right...
EXT. COURSE - A FEW HOLES LATER
Aaron struggles up a hill and trips.
AARON: Ow - crap!
JACK: Stop thinking!
AARON: I'm not thinking!
Jack scrambles onto the green, Aaron is not far behind.
JACK: You're not getting the true Zen nature of this game, Aaron!
The whole purpose of speed golf is just being. (He sinks a putt)
YEAH!!
Jack moves over to the hole to retrieve his ball, Aaron's putt is
headed right for Jack's shoe.
JACK: You gotta get outta your own way.
AARON: You're in my way!
Aaron scrambles up to the flag to sink his putt.
JACK: And I'm whuppin' your sorry ass! (Jack runs off to the next
tee.) Stop thinking!
Aaron sinks his putt, retrieves the ball and follows after Jack.
AARON: I'm not thinking! I'm not thinking!!! God, I hate you...
EXT. GOLF COURSE, NINTH HOLE.
Jack has won. Aaron drags himself up to the green and tosses his
clubs down.
JACK: I won!
Aaron collapses on the green. Jack consults his stop watch.
JACK: I shot a 43 in thirty minutes, forty-six seconds. Not bad for
an old guy.
AARON: I can't not think. It's a problem of mine.
JACK: Well... first time's always the hardest.
AARON: I'm quitting, Jack.
JACK: So I gathered.
AARON: No, Chicago Hope. My job, I'm quitting. I'm taking a
teaching position at Harvard.
Jack puts his cap back on and shrugs.
JACK: Oh. Breakfast?
He walks away. Aaron remains lying on his back on the green.
OPENING CREDITS
INT. NURSE'S STATION - DAY
KATE is finishing up some paperwork. Aaron studies a chart.
KATE: Okay, that's it. I am outta here.
AARON: Well, where are you going this week?
KATE: Florida. Orlando Women's Clinic. They want me to be medical
director.
AARON: Oh.
KATE: Of course, when I mention it to Sarah, all she pictures is
moving to the Magic Kingdom. But, as far as the clinic is concerned,
I'd be calling all the shots, Aaron, I mean, I'd be making all the
decisions! That could be a good opportunity for me.
They head towards the elevator. DENNIS passes them.
DENNIS: Aaron.
AARON: Yeah?
DENNIS: Look, I got a trainer kicked in the head by a racehorse. I
may need you to take a look.
AARON: Sure.
Dennis continues on. Kate picks up where she left off. Jack is
sitting on a gurney in the hallway by the elevator.
KATE: But, on the other hand, I don't know. I mean, maybe Orlando's
not the best place for me, or Sarah. You know... I could get bored at
the clinic. Big fish, small pond... Aaron?
Aaron stopped listening a while ago.
KATE: Ummm... Aaron. I could use a little input here.
AARON: To be perfectly honest, Kate, I really don't care what you do.
KATE: Oh. Well -
Aaron back-pedals a little.
AARON: I don't mean that - I, I think I'm coming down with the flu, I
feel like crap, it's...
KATE: Oh, no no no no, it's fine, it's fine. Thanks anyway.
The elevator arrives with a ding.
KATE: Maybe I'll send you a postcard from the Happiest Place on
Earth.
She gets into the elevator. Aaron leans face first against the wall.
AARON: Huh. Well, that is a long way from here.
JACK: Hey, Aaron.
Aaron turns around. Jack is scribbling notes to himself on a napkin.
AARON: Hmm?
JACK: Ever taken an inventory? There's a lot to do in your life, you
know? People you screw over, the lies you tell. It builds up, like
scum. Kinda gets in the way. You gotta write it all down, otherwise
you get stuck. Sort of a... all-purpose cleanser kinda thing, you
know?
AARON: You're gonna need a bigger napkin. Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have a headache.
Aaron leaves. Jack crumples up his napkin and tosses it into the
trash.
INT. X-RAY ROOM - DAY
Aaron and Dennis are consulting over the X-rays of the trainer Dennis
was talking about earlier.
AARON: So what the hell am I doing here? Her Glasgow score's
fifteen, no sign of a bleed, no sign of a concussion, I'm... My head
is in worse shape.
DENNIS: I told you, she won't leave until she sees a neurosurgeon.
AARON: All right, well... let's get this over with.
INT. ER - DAY
MS. FAIRSTEIN is explaining to KEITH exactly what the problem is.
Keith looks up to see Aaron and Dennis approaching.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: See, it's right there, I got a -
KEITH: Ah! Look who's here. (under his breath) What took you so
long?
DENNIS: Ms. Fairstein, this is Dr. Shutt, our Chief of Neurosurgery.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: You are a surgeon, correct?
AARON: Yes. Most of the neurosurgeons here are. Why don't I take a
look?
He gets out his flashlight and examines her pupils.
KEITH: Ms. Fairstein's been telling me all about what happened.
Again.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: I'm a hunter-jumper trainer, and I was jumping my
thoroughbred, Lucky Lady, over a three-foot oxer, and unfortunately we
picked the wrong place.
KEITH: I hate when that happens.
Aaron shoots Keith a look. Keith and Dennis suppress smiles.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: Yes, well... I lost my balance and I came off.
DENNIS: The horse, of course.
Another look from Aaron. He's not amused.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: Right. And then, on the landing, she must have kicked
me.
AARON: Did you have any loss of consciousness?
MS. FAIRSTEIN: No, but I did feel a little dizzy.
KEITH: Yeah - she had the wind knocked out of her.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: Oh! That was the scariest part!
DENNIS: No seizures, no convulsions?
MS. FAIRSTEIN: No, not really.
AARON: Do you have a headache now?
MS. FAIRSTEIN: Well, it hurts a little here when I touch it.
She touches the bump on her head. Aaron looks over at Keith and
Dennis again. They hide their grins. Aaron takes an ice pack, breaks
it open and puts it on Ms. Fairstein's head less than gently.
AARON: (mock sympathetic) There you go, Ms. Fairstein. Happy
trails. (he starts to leave.) Send her home, she'll be fine.
MS. FAIRSTEIN: Well, w-w-wait... don't you think I should have one of
those scans or something?
Aaron stops and turns back to her.
AARON: Ms. Fairstein, you have what we neurosurgeons refer to as "a
bonk on the head." That's it. There's no reason to do a C-T scan.
Now, my advice to you is go home, take a couple aspirin, give your
hunter-jumper a lump of sugar, and consider yourself very lucky.
He leaves. Ms. Fairstein is a little put out, but Dennis and Keith
are delighted.
INT. STAIRWELL - DAY
Jack is coming down the stairs, Aaron is going up.
JACK: Hey! Aaron! I think Phillip's looking for you. Did you talk
to him yet about the job?
AARON: Don't you ever work?
JACK: Are you okay? You look like hell.
AARON: Thank you.
JACK: Maybe this morning was too much for you.
Jack bounds down the stairs. Aaron looks after him, pissed off.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
BILLY and DIANE are walking along, arguing about wedding plans.
BILLY: I'm not saying we have to have the Royal Wedding, all I'm
saying is I've got a lot of friends -
DIANE: Oh, and I don't?
BILLY: I don't know, do you?
DIANE: The point is, I don't want to get married in front of every
idiot you got plastered with in college.
They approach the stairs. The door opens behind them and Aaron walks
into the conversation.
DIANE: You know, I want a private ceremony, something just for us.
AARON: Listen to her, Billy. It's what Camille and I did. Simple,
quiet, discreet.
Billy and Diane continue into the stairwell.
BILLY: Yeah. Well, we all remember how that one turned out, right?
The door closes behind them. Aaron shakes his head.
DIANE: Billy!
BILLY: What? It's true...
INT. AARON'S OFFICE - DAY
Phillip enters. Aaron is stretched out on the couch.
PHILLIP: I just had an interesting chat with Bill Trento. He told me
they offered you the Melvoin Chair at Harvard. And you accepted. Of
course I told him, "No, there must be some mistake." We just spent the
last year buying back this hospital, and struggling to keep this place
afloat, in part at your instigation. Aaron Shutt wouldn't bail on
Chicago Hope; Aaron Shutt wouldn't bail on his colleagues. On me?
Aaron sits up and studies his hands a moment before answering.
AARON: Nothing scares me anymore, Phillip. I feel, uh... dulled.
Blunted. I've grown complacent and... I need something. A new
challenge.
He gets up and moves to the chair in front of the desk.
AARON: Now at Harvard, they'd give me my own lab, 1500 square feet.
I'd have three or four post-docs working under me. (Phillip walks
over to the window.) I'd be teaching the best and the brightest,
and - I can understand that as my employer, you might not be thrilled,
but I'd hoped that as a friend you'd realize what an opportunity this
could be for me.
Phillip walks back from the window and leans down to Aaron.
PHILLIP: I don't give a rat's ass about your opportunity, Aaron. I've
got larger concerns right now than one doctor's self-indulgent,
standard-issue mid-life crisis.
AARON: Standard issue?
PHILLIP: Five hundred Chicago Hope employees have just climbed out on
a limb with us on this IPO experiment, and now that we're out there,
you're just gonna turn your back?
AARON: Turn - turn my back? I wasn't gonna just - leave, I was gonna
see you through the transition -
PHILLIP (overlapping): Yeah, if this fails it's going to be on our
heads, so pardon me if I'm not enthusiastic about your opportunity!
Both fall silent.
PHILLIP: I always knew you were self-involved. But I forgave you
that because you're a brilliant surgeon. What I never realized is
just - what a putz you are. And if you think running away to Harvard,
or anywhere, is going to change that, you've got a big surprise
coming, my friend.
AARON: Phillip. I've given fifteen years of my career to you and
this hospital. I've supported you, I have been a friend, and I've
covered your ass on more than a few occasions. So I don't owe you
anything, all right? Not a thing.
PHILLIP: You're fired.
Phillip heads for the door. Aaron calls after him.
AARON: No, I'm not. I quit. I quit, Phillip. I quit!
Phillip slams the door. Aaron knocks over the pencil cup on his desk
in frustration, then rubs his head.
AARON: Ow.
INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE AARON'S OFFICE - DAY
Maricela has a HUGE key ring with about a thousand keys on it, and is
unlocking a door. Aaron brushes past her on his way out.
MARICELA: Hey, you. Where you going?
AARON: Greener pastures.
He doesn't stop.
MARICELA: Okaaay. Wanna grab a cup of coffee?
AARON: Now's not really a good time.
MARICELA: Well, I didn't mean right now -
AARON: Ever.
He continues out.
MARICELA: What's that supposed to mean?
EXT. GAS STATION - DAY
Big banners proclaiming "New Ownership! Pay at Pump!" Aaron pulls up
at the pump. "Walk Like a Man" is playing on his car stereo. He gets
out and goes to pump his gas. A sign is plastered over the pump:
"PLEASE PAY INSIDE." Frustrated, he slams his car door and goes
inside.
INT. GAS STATION - DAY
A player piano plays "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin'
Along" continuously throughout the scene. There's a long line at
checkout. Annoyed, Aaron gets at the end of the line. After a
moment, he decides to get a sandwich and goes to the lunch counter.
AARON: Uh... could you get me a chicken breast sandwich, please?
LUNCH COUNTER GUY: What kind? Low fat or honey-smoked?
AARON: Uhhh, whatever you recommend.
LUNCH COUNTER GUY: We've also got your low salt, your mustard, your
plain grilled.
AARON: As long as it's chicken, I really don't care.
LUNCH COUNTER GUY: And I do?
Aaron gives him a long look.
AARON: Just give me a chicken sandwich. Okay?
LUNCH COUNTER GUY: Okay. But if you knew what I knew, you'd take the
meat loaf.
He puts on plastic gloves and begins to prepare the sandwich.
AARON: Look - forget it.
He goes back to stand in line. Now there is only one customer ahead
of him. The piano continues. Aaron grows increasingly frustrated.
AARON: Excuse me... uh... is there any way that, uh, we could turn
this thing down?
The cashier ignores him. She's trying to run a customer's credit card
through the machine.
AARON: Excuse me, miss?
CASHIER: It doesn't have volume control.
AARON: How 'bout if we turn it off, then?
CASHIER: Umm, that's up to Rudy.
AARON: Who's Rudy?
CASHIER: The manager.
AARON: Okay, well, why don't we talk to Rudy then, okay?
CASHIER: He's not here right now. Umm...
She starts to cut up the credit card.
CUSTOMER: Hey!
CASHIER: (to the customer) This machine says your credit card is
stolen, do you have another one?
Unappeased, Aaron tries again.
AARON: Look, look - I am not trying to make your life any more
difficult than it clearly must already be, but - I have a very bad
headache, and the noise from this thing is making me just a tad
psychotic, okay? (he raises his voice) So why don't you just turn it
down, and then as soon as I'm out the door you can crank it up as loud
as you want, okay?
CASHIER: Look, mister, you don't have to raise your voice, okay? I -
I just work here. I don't know how to turn the thing off, okay?
It's the last straw. Aaron is fed up.
AARON: No. It is not okay. I am the customer, and the customer is
always right. And this customer WANTS THAT PIANO TURNED OFF NOW!!
Now, it shouldn't take a brain surgeon to realize that all you gotta
do is move the piano away from the wall and find the plug, and tear
the FRIGGIN' thing out of the wall!!
He does just that.
AARON: There. That's much better, I - oh - ow!!
He suddenly grabs his head and winces in pain. He collapses on the
floor, pulling a Lays potato chip display with him. The cashier leans
over the counter in alarm.
CASHIER: Oh, my God...
Aaron lies on the floor, grasping his head.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. ER - DAY
Paramedics wheel Aaron in on a gurney. Keith and Dennis run to
assist.
PARAMEDIC: Forty-two year old male suffered loss of consciousness, BP
's 190 over 110, heart rate's in the 90's... no obvious focal neural
deficit.
KEITH: Aaron? Hang on, hang on...
Music in: "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" by Dean Martin.
Aaron looks up at Keith, who begins to lip-synch along with the music.
Dennis joins in. Aaron groans.
AARON: Stop...
The ER is transformed into a piano bar. Keith and Dennis are in black
tuxes. Dennis plays the piano, Dennis orders a drink. They continue
to sing.
AARON: (in immense pain) Stop the music!
Music out. BACK TO ER: Dennis and Keith, attend to Aaron. Keith
checks Aaron's pupils, while Dennis snaps his fingers and tries to get
Aaron talking.
DENNIS: Aaron, talk to me. How you doing?
AARON: (grimacing) It was the piano.
KEITH: Who's on for neuro?
NURSE: Cacaci.
AARON: Oww...
KEITH: Well, get him down here stat, and get Watters while you're at
it.
INT. MRI ROOM - DAY
Aaron is stretched out on the MRI table, head taped down. Player
piano music in: "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along."
BILLY: I'll betcha it's either an aneurysm or an AVM.
PHILLIP: Where's Cacaci?
KEITH: He's on his way in.
Dennis is at the computer. Billy, Diane, Keith, Jack and Phillip are
gathered around.
DENNIS: (re: the MRI) Okay, here we go.
He punches up the MRI on the monitor. The doctors study it.
PHILLIP: Well, there's no evidence of an acute bleed. There's no
infarction or other structural abnormalities.
KEITH: Ventricles look normal.
PHILLIP: Mm hmm.
KEITH: There's no mid-line shift... No sign of increased
inter-cranial pressure.
PHILLIP: All right, was there any antecedent illness, any fever,
rash?
DENNIS: No. Nothing.
JACK: What about a tox screen?
DIANE: Aaron's not a drug user.
BILLY: Tap him.
The doctors exchange glances, looking to Phillip for the final word.
Phillip nods.
PHILLIP: Tap him.
INT. MRI ROOM - DAY
The doctors are gathered around Aaron while Keith gives him a spinal
tap. Diane strokes Aaron's head and tries to keep him quiet. Aaron
lets out a whimper.
KEITH: All right, I'm in.
BILLY: Bloody fluid.
KEITH: Yeah, and the opening pressure's right over the top. All
right, call angiography.
DENNIS: Aaron. It looks like you've got a subarachnoid bleed. We're
going to have to schedule an angiogram to find out where it is.
DIANE: We're all here for you. We're doing everything we can. You'
re gonna be okay.
Over Diane's shoulder, Aaron looks on in a lab coat with a doubtful
expression.
AARON: Mmmm, not good. Definitely not good.
INT. MRI ROOM - DAY
Same group of doctors, minus Shutt, plus Cacaci.
BILLY: I'm not sold on the angio. I'm no expert, but I don't think
he's stable enough to be moved.
CACACI: All due respect, Dr. Kronk -
KEITH: Billy, with a normal C-T scan, an angiogram's the only way to
locate this aneurysm.
CACACI: Right. As I was saying -
PHILLIP: Aaron made it to the hospital alive. The hemorrhage appears
to have stopped. Perhaps we should wait.
BILLY: That's what I'm saying. Let him stabilize, do it in the
morning.
DENNIS: It's still a risk.
DIANE: I agree with Dennis.
CACACI: (dripping with sarcasm) Hey, folks. I know I'm just the
neurosurgeon here, but my opinion is we get the angiogram now, and
then take a poll on how to treat him.
DIANE: Well, let's get Austin. She's the vascular specialist.
PHILLIP: She's on her way to Florida. Who's the radiologist on call?
KEITH: Umm, Throop.
BILLY: The warthog?
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY
Kate and Phillip walk briskly down the hall. Kate is still carrying
her flight bag.
KATE: I was just boarding the plane when I got the page. How's he
doing?
PHILLIP: Well, the good news is Aaron's alive, but he's in and out of
reality, a bit delusional, probably a grade three or four. Glad you
came back, Kate. I guess Florida is going to have to wait.
KATE: Some things are more important. Who's doing the angiogram?
PHILLIP: Arnie Throop.
KATE: The warthog?
She continues down the hall. Phillip stops and shakes his head with a
sigh.
INT. OR - DAY
Arnie Throop is preparing to do Aaron's angio. He does look amazingly
like a warthog. Kate breezes in and starts to gown up.
KATE: Arnie! Hey, how's it goin'?
ARNIE: Kate?
KATE: Good, you've got him all prepped and draped. Has he had
lidocaine?
ARNIE: Yes... I mean, no -
KATE: Okey doke! I'll take it from here, thanks.
ARNIE: Kate, Aaron is my patient.
KATE: Arnie, look, I know you're a perfectly capable radiologist, but
seeing's how Dr. Shutt's a close personal friend, I'd just feel better
doing the procedure myself. You understand, don't ya?
Aaron looks on warily.
ARNIE: You're not even credentialed to do this procedure! I could
report you to the BMQA.
KATE: Yeah, you could, but until I leave, I'm still Chief of Surgery,
so...
Arnie looks into the observation room for support; Phillip, Billy and
Diane avoid his gaze.
ARNIE: This sucks! This really sucks!!
He storms out.
KATE: (cheerily) Bye, Arnie! Drive safe!
BILLY: Nice.
DIANE: Yeah, don't mess with Austin.
Aaron stirs, looks up at Kate.
AARON: Kate?
AARON's POV of Kate - soft lighting, her hair blowing in the breeze,
angelic choir.
KATE: (all sweetness and light) Don't worry, Aaron. I forgive you
for this morning.
The walls separate and move back. Music in: "Walk Like a Man" by
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Phillip, Diane, Billy and Kate, dressed as Frankie Valli and at least
three of the Seasons, perform a dance routine to "Walk Like a Man."
It's pretty nasty. Aaron is shocked, especially when Kate grabs her
package. At the end of the number, Kate comes toward Aaron with the
biggest-ass hypodermic needle you've ever seen.
BACK TO OR
KATE: Okay, Aaron. There's gonna be a little prick.
Aaron groans.
INT. ADJOINING ROOM.
Phillip watches the angio procedure. Billy and Diane have left. Jack
comes in.
JACK: Any news?
Phillip shakes his head.
PHILLIP: I fired him today. Found out he took another job.
Jack nods.
JACK: Harvard.
PHILLIP: You knew? You knew and you didn't tell me?
JACK: Why would I?
PHILLIP: What time is it in Vancouver?
JACK: I don't know. Two hours earlier? I don't know.
Phillip leaves.
INT. PHILLIP'S OFFICE - DAY
Phillip is on the phone.
PHILLIP: I don't give a damn that Dr. Potter is heli-skiing, this is
an emergency! Use my name, Dr. Phillip Watters, Chicago Hope
hospital. Thank you.
INT. OR - DAY
Kate is getting ready to start Aaron's angiogram.
KATE: All right, inject 10 cc's at 1.4 seconds. Aaron, breathe in...
breathe out... breathe in... breathe out...
Aaron turns to watch the angio on the monitors. On the monitor, his
brain begins spinning. Music in: the player piano again. Cross-fade
to:
INT. OR - DREAM SEQUENCE
The surgical team wears yellow scrubs. A patient is stretched out on
the table, shaven, draped and ready for surgery. Behind the monitor
with the spinning brain, a bank of video monitors, at least ten, line
the wall, all with spinning brains.
SCRUB NURSE: We're ready for you, Dr. Shutt. Dr. Shutt? Dr. Shutt?
Aaron, in yellow scrubs, looks at his hands and around the room,
confused.
AARON: I'm sorry, what - wh-what is the procedure?
SCRUB NURSE: Posterior fossa-craniectomy to remove a benign tumor in
the cerebellum, Doctor.
AARON: Oh, oh oh... but I, I, I... I'm not ready.
Cross-fade to Young Aaron Shutt's bedroom. His mother is getting
ready for his bar mitzvah. Young Aaron fidgets in his ugly-ass red
velvet tuxedo and matching yarmulke.
AARON's MOM: What do you mean you're not ready? Of course you're
ready! You've been studying your Haftarah for over a year!
Present-day Aaron looks on, confused.
AARON's MOM: Look at you, Aaron Shutt! You look just like Bobby
Kennedy.
She straightens his bow tie.
YOUNG AARON: But Mom... why'd I have to get a red tuxedo?
AARON'S MOM: So you'd match the tablecloths, dear.
The boy and his mom share a smile. Young Aaron looks away,
off-camera, and points to something. When he speaks, it is with Kate'
s voice.
YOUNG AARON: There it is.
SMASH CUT back to the OR, Kate has found the aneurysm on the
angiogram. Jack, Keith and Dennis look on from the observation area.
KATE: Middle cerebral artery, looks like about a 7 mm aneurysm,
trifurcating the M2. Guys! Found the problem!
INT. ICU, AARON'S ROOM - NIGHT
Aaron is asleep in the bed. Dennis and Phillip are consulting over
his X-rays and angiogram results.
PHILLIP: Well, the aneurysm's operable, it's just a question of when.
Either someone goes in within forty-eight hours or we wait ten days.
Clipping the aneurysm now is risky.
DENNIS: Yeah, and putting it off, he could re-bleed.
PHILLIP: And he's still at risk for a vaso-spasm.
DENNIS: What's Cacaci recommending?
PHILLIP: Wait.
DENNIS: I always thought Cacaci was too conservative for anybody's
good.
PHILLIP: There was a resident here five or six years ago named
Potter, trained under Shutt. Now a cerebrovascular specialist, and
considered to be the number one cerebral aneurysm doc in the world.
DENNIS: Well, let's get him in here.
PHILLIP: She lives in Canada, and she'll be here by noon tomorrow.
Dennis nods. In the bed, Aaron stirs.
AARON: Somebody.
DENNIS: Aaron?
Phillip and Dennis join him at the bed. Aaron opens his eyes and
attempts a casual "hey."
DENNIS: Hey. We got you in the ICU. On a nipride drip, to keep your
blood pressure dehydrated to 120 till the surgery.
AARON: Who?
PHILLIP: Who's operating?
Aaron nods.
PHILLIP: Denise Potter.
AARON: Oh. I must rate.
Dennis smiles.
DENNIS: Yeah, you rate, Aaron. Now get some rest. No phone calls,
no visitors, no nothing.
Aaron tries to smile, and nods.
PHILLIP: How's your headache?
AARON: Give me a gun and I'll blow my brains out.
PHILLIP: Let's try morphine first.
DENNIS: I'll write the order. Hey.
He takes Aaron's hand and squeezes it.
DENNIS: Doin' great.
INT. ICU, AARON'S ROOM - NIGHT
That damn piano again ("When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin'
Along"). Aaron wakes up, in pain. Hearing the piano, he struggles to
sit up. He pulls loose his oxygen tube and gets out of bed.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Aaron wanders out into the hall in his gown and bare feet, pushing his
IV. He looks around. The corridor is empty. The music seems to be
coming from the OR. He shuffles down the corridor to investigate.
When he reaches the scrub room, the music grows louder. As the music
vamps around, a vocal joins in, sounding suspiciously like JEFFREY
GEIGER.
INT. OR - NIGHT
Aaron wanders in. A piano is set up in the corner; a PIANIST is
sitting at the bench, playing and singing, his back to Aaron. From
the back, it appears to be Jeffrey.
AARON: Jeffrey?
The pianist turns around. It is JACK, lip-synching to Jeffrey's
voice.
AARON: Jack.
Back to the pianist. It is now JEFFREY.
JEFFREY: Aaron! What took you so long?
Aaron falls to the floor in a faint. Jeffrey merely stares at him.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NEXT MORNING
Phillip and Dennis are wheeling Aaron back to ICU on a gurney.
PHILLIP: What the hell happened?
DENNIS: Nurse found him on the floor of the OR, he must've wandered
out in the middle of the night.
PHILLIP: Nobody saw him?
DENNIS: Sick patient in a hospital, I guess he didn't look too out of
place.
PHILLIP: But he's okay?
DENNIS: Considering he's got an aneurysm and he's not dead, I'd say
he's doing okay. He does keep asking for Geiger, though. Anybody
track him down?
Phillip shakes his head.
PHILLIP: Still trying.
DENNIS: What about Camille?
PHILLIP: Remarried, living in California, sends her best.
DENNIS: He doesn't have too many people in his life. Except us.
A HUGE key ring with about a thousand keys on it is suddenly dropped
on Aaron's chest, waking him.
Music in: "Brand New Key." Maricela is on roller blades, waving her
big-ass key collection at Aaron and wiggling her hips provocatively,
as she lip-synchs with the track. Aaron sits up, studies the keys,
stares at her. She rolls into the elevator, the doors close.
SMASH CUT to ICU, Aaron's room. Aaron is laughing. The drugs are
kicking in.
AARON: Maricela...
DENNIS: Aaron, listen to me -
AARON: (still laughing) She roller skates pretty good, though...
DENNIS: Aaron, you gotta stay in bed. Keep your blood pressure down.
AARON: (cheerfully) Okay.
Dennis gives Phillip a look, then leaves the two of them alone.
PHILLIP: Aaron... about yesterday. I'm not proud of the way I acted.
I guess I was feeling - you're right. You don't owe me anything.
AARON: No...
PHILLIP: Look, what I'm trying to say is, it's always been... you and
me.
Aaron gives Phillip a distinct "you're not going to sing, are you?"
look.
And Phillip does. Music in: "You and Me Against the World," by Helen
Reddy. He is interrupted by a resident.
RESIDENT: Dr. Watters? Dr. Potter's in your office.
INT. TECH/X-RAY LAB TYPE OF ROOM
Denise Potter is looking over the angio results. Also present are
Phillip, Kate and Dennis.
DENISE: What was Dr. Shutt's Hunt and Hess grade when he presented?
PHILLIP: Three.
DENISE: Oh, not bad. Where are the oblique views?
KATE: Oh, well, I didn't take any oblique views.
DENISE: Oh, that's right - you're not a radiologist, are you?
KATE: No, but I am a vascular surgeon, and I've done a few angiograms
in my time.
DENISE: Well, pat yourself on the back, you did a pretty nice job,
considering. Okay. I'm gonna wanna go in right away. Is there an OR
available?
PHILLIP: You don't want to consider waiting?
DENISE: No. I don't.
DENNIS: We've got an OR on standby and our best surgical team's on
call.
DENISE: Great. All right, I need a stop at the loo and a strong cup
of coffee and I'll be ready for action.
She breezes out. The doctors exchange glances.
INT. OR/OBSERVATION GALLERY - DAY
Billy, Diane, Jack, Kate, Keith and Dennis are gathered in the gallery
to watch. (Transcriptor's note: Who the hell is running the
hospital? Shapira and Cacaci?)
JACK: She's the top cerebrovascular specialist in the world?
KATE: Yup. Even has an aneurysm clip named after her.
BILLY: Cool.
DIANE: Let's hope she lives up to her reputation.
Below, in the OR, Aaron is being prepped and shaved for the operation.
Denise enters, checking her instruments. She turns to Aaron.
AARON: Hey... Denise.
DENISE: You're one of the few people I'd cut short a ski trip for,
Aaron. You owe me a lift ticket when this is all over.
AARON: Hell, maybe I'll even go with you.
Phillip enters, gowned and gloved.
DENISE: Dr. Watters, you'll be assisting?
PHILLIP: I'd like to.
DENISE: Fine with me. Let's get going. Dr. Baglin?
Dr. Baglin nods; he's ready to begin.
DENISE: You know the drill, Aaron.
Aaron nods. Baglin puts the anesthesia mask over Aaron's face. The OR
is transformed into a recording studio.
Music in: "Going Out of My Head" by the Lettermen. In the gallery,
Dennis, Keith, Kate, Diane, Jack and Billy, dressed in green Harvard
letter sweaters, gather around a microphone and lip-synch.
CROSS-FADE to Aaron's bar mitzvah.
RABBI: Please rise, Aaron, son of Warren.
AARON'S MOM: My precious son. Today you are a man.
Aaron reads from the Torah in Hebrew, I'm not even going to try to
translate it. Panning shot of Aaron's relatives and friends seated in
the synagogue. Pan over to Phillip, in scrubs.
PHILLIP: What I never realized, Aaron, is just - what a putz you are.
SMASH CUT back to OR. Baglin is alarmed by the stats.
BAGLIN: Blood pressure's rising.
DENISE: Keep it at 80 systolic, please. Okay, splitting the Sylvian
fissure. So, Phillip... is he still married?
PHILLIP: No. He's divorced.
Phillip glances up to the gallery. The other doctors look on,
concerned. Denise follows Phillip's glance to the onlookers.
DENISE: Guess he's got a lot of friends. That's okay. I do better
with an audience.
PHILLIP: Denise...
He gives her a look. She gets back to work.
DENISE: Got the optic nerve in view. Okay, there's the internal
carotid. We're gonna take that to the bifurcation. Now, ladies and
gentlemen, we're gonna follow that M1 highway right to the aneurysm.
INT. OR/DREAM SEQUENCE
AARON: (to scrub nurse) Yes, why don't you hand me that, um...
the... the twirly thing over there.
SCRUB NURSE: The drill?
AARON: Yes! Uh, the drill.
She hands him the drill. Aaron stands uncertainly over the patient.
AARON: Thank you. Uh, so... let's get ready to make a big... h-...
hole.
Music in: "I'll Be There."
AARON: I didn't ask for music. (The music continues. Aaron looks
around, calls up to the sky.) Hello? I didn't ask for music!
Jeffrey is revealed in white scrubs sitting on the player piano bench,
singing "I'll Be There." Aaron is not pleased to see him.
AARON: What are you doing? Jeffrey, don't start this crap, okay?
You are not there. You're never there, you're not even there now!
You're just a figment of my imagination, and I don't have to pay
attention to you! I don't.
Jeffrey continues to sing, unnoticing.
AARON: I'm not - I'm not hearing you. I don't hear this! Not
hearing! (he starts up the drill and plugs his ears to block out the
music.) Ah la la la la! La laaa! (he stops, looks at Jeffrey
curiously.) Hey - why is that your real voice?
Jeffrey pauses and looks up, the vocal continues under.
JEFFREY: Because this is my voice.
He resumes singing. In frustration, Aaron turns away to the bank of
video monitors, now projecting a huge image of Jeffrey singing.
AARON: Ohhh... shut up, shut the hell up! Stop with the singing!
You know something, I'm gonna tell you something. I have never liked
your singing. Never! It is inappropriate, it's awkward, it's
embarrassing, and I - I... (realizes) I'm - jealous.
Jeffrey joins him in front of the monitors; his image continues to
sing.
JEFFREY: Jealous? You're jealous of me? Phew. That's something I
never knew about you, Aaron. Don't be jealous of me. I'm crazy,
unbalanced... you'd never be jealous of me.
AARON: Hey, I am just as surprised as you are. You can sing your
pain, Jeffrey. I can't. I'm stuck having to feel mine.
JEFFREY: Don't be jealous of me. I'm singing because it's easier
than talking. It's like a mask, it's one step from reality. That's
how I feel free.
AARON: But that's what I want! I can't take it anymore, okay? I
have screwed everything up, my relationships, my career, my marriage.
My whole life is out of control.
JEFFREY: (shrugging) Then sing. There's nothing to stop you.
Cross-fade to Aaron's bar mitzvah. As Present-day Aaron and Jeffrey
look on, Young Aaron entertains the guests at his bar mitzvah by
strumming a guitar and singing "When I'm on My Journey." Jeffrey
smiles.
JEFFREY: Not bad for a kid with adenoids.
AARON: Look at that. I didn't even know enough to be afraid.
JEFFREY: What are you afraid of now?
INT. OR - DAY
The operation continues.
DENISE: I see it. I can see the dome of the aneurysm. I just can't
see the neck.
PHILLIP: Why not?
DENISE: The dome's too big. I'll have to go in blind.
In the gallery, the doctors react with trepidation.
KATE: Blind... oh, man...
KEITH: She's gonna do it by feel?
BACK to the OR.
PHILLIP: You're sure you can do this.
DENISE: Yes. Give me a temporary clip.
NURSE: Clip.
DENISE: All right. I'm clamping the artery to decrease the blood
flow. Crank his BP up to 150 systolic.
PHILLIP: You're raising his blood pressure?
DENISE: While this artery's clamped, I need to feed the rest of the
brain, otherwise he'll stroke out. Okay, I'm gonna need someone to
give me the time every three minutes, starting.... now. Too much
time, we've got brain damage.
PHILLIP: How much is too much?
DENISE: I'll let you know. Give me a right angle 10 mm Potter Clip.
NURSE: Potter Clip.
DENISE: Here goes.
INT. SCRUB ROOM - DAY
Aaron is watching the operation through the window.
Music in: "Luck Be a Lady." There follows a rousing song-and-dance
in the scrub room, OR, and nurse's station. It ends up in the OR,
with Aaron rolling the dice on the operating table, which is revealed
as a craps table once the sheet is removed.
For a second, it looks like they're going to come up seven. Then at
the last moment they roll to snake eyes.
DENISE: (voice-over) Damn!
SMASH CUT back to the OR.
Blood squirts out of Aaron's head. Denise is trying to stop the
bleeding.
PHILLIP: What happened?
DENISE: I put the blade through the aneurysm. Give me a number two
sucker, quickly. Quickly!
BAGLIN: He's bleeding out.
PHILLIP: Aaron... please, God...
COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. OR - DAY
The surgical team scrambles to save Aaron.
BAGLIN: Pressure's still dropping.
NURSE: Six minutes, Doctor.
Back to the GALLERY.
BILLY: Come on, come on, come on!
KATE: I can't believe we're just standing here watching him die.
Back to the OR.
DENISE: We need to start transfusing him. NOW.
BAGLIN: Two units, packed cells, already running.
PHILLIP: Denise.
DENISE: I'm doing my best, Phillip.
BAGLIN: Blood pressure's still dropping, 120 systolic. 110. 90
systolic.
PHILLIP: We're losing him!
INT. OR - DREAM SEQUENCE
With Jeffrey gone, Aaron picks up the drill and fires it up. He leans
over the patient's head. The lunch counter guy from the gas station
appears, holding a human brain with tongs.
LUNCH COUNTER GUY: If you knew what I knew, you'd get the meatloaf.
Distracted, Aaron plunges the drill deep into the patient's head. A
cracking sound is heard as he drills through the skull.
SCRUB NURSE: My God, Doctor, you've pithed him like a frog!
Aaron leans over and for the first time gets a good look at his
patient's face. It is himself. In horror, he looks up at the bank of
video monitors.
Music in: "All Along the Watchtower," by Jimi Hendrix. The monitors
flicker, showing flashbacks from Aaron's life, focusing heavily on
Jeffrey, Camille, Warren Shutt. Specific moments: Jeffrey leaving
the hospital, Kate Austin kissing Aaron, Maricela kissing Aaron, Aaron
pounding on his car and screaming "Stop saying I'm right!" at Camille,
Aaron punching the guy who vandalized his car in the garage, Warren
Shutt telling him to go to hell. Music fades.
SCRUB NURSE: Dr. Shutt? Dr. Shutt? Dr. Shutt? Dr. Shutt!
Aaron stares at his own face on the operating table. The drill is
still sticking out of his patient's head at an extreme angle. A
monitor beeps, flatlining.
SCRUB NURSE: The patient has arrested. Should we code him?
AARON: (quietly) There's no point.
He steps away from the table, then appears in the red velvet tuxedo.
Music in: "When I'm On My Journey." Aaron begins to float up to the
ceiling, lip-synching along with his 13-year-old self. The surgical
team watches him float away as the ceiling opens up.
AERIAL VIEW of the OR, over Aaron's shoulder.
JEFFREY: (voice-over) What? You didn't think it was real, did you?
Aaron looks up and over his shoulder, in the direction from which the
voice is coming.
AARON: Well, actually... I did. Yeah.
EXT. TERRACE - NIGHT
Aaron enters from his office, now in a white tuxedo, surrounded by
swirling fog. Jeffrey is in white lab coat, white T-shirt and white
pants, hovering in the sky and polishing stars.
JEFFREY: Aaron, when I left Chicago Hope, you asked me how I could
survive not working in the OR again. To tell you the truth, I
wondered the same thing myself. I mean, who was I if I wasn't Jeffrey
Geiger, number one cardio-thoracic surgeon in the country, perhaps the
world. Know what I learned?
Aaron doesn't answer; he's still trying to figure out what's going on.
JEFFREY: Know what I learned, Aaron?
AARON: No, Jeffrey, what did you learn?
JEFFREY: All that noise? All that grasping, pushing, fighting, all
that jazz... that's not life. That's what we do to pass the time.
What's real, Aaron - what's real is the smell of rain on hot pavement.
The taste of a good strong cup of coffee. Otis Redding singing,
anything. Chocolate donuts. Mohair. The first word your baby says.
Purple. That's what's real, Aaron.
AARON: Am I ... dead? Is that why we're having this conversation?
See, I'm a little confused, Jeffrey, I - I know that you're not dead,
but I'm starting to get the feeling that I ... might be.
JEFFREY: You've been dead for years, Aaron. So was I, until I left.
Alicia taught me how to live.
AARON: Oh, you're so full of crap. You know... All of this feel-good
stuff - you left because you were scared, Jeffrey!
JEFFREY: Wrong. I left because -
AARON: You realized that you weren't God, and you ran away. Because
you could. That is the kind of guy you are, a guy who runs away. And
I understand that. Believe me. Jeffrey - I love you. You are my
best friend. But you know what? I figured it out. You're right,
life is lived in the moment, but it does not have to be all or
nothing. I mean, maybe you couldn't be Jeffrey Geiger, number one
cardio-thoracic surgeon in the world and Jeffrey Geiger, human being
at the same time, but I'm not you. I'm not! I'm not, and I don't
want to be. I have spent years disconnected from... my life. From
people who may have actually cared about me. And maybe it's taken me
too long to figure this out, maybe it's too late, but... I don't want
to run away. Not anymore. I - Singing is swell. But I want... I
want...
Aaron clenches his fists, trying to figure out what the hell he wants.
Jeffrey leans down to him.
JEFFREY: Aaron.
Aaron looks up, fists still clenched. Jeffrey begins sailing
heavenward.
JEFFREY: (simply) It's your life.
And he's gone. Aaron remains on the terrace, staring at his hands.
Finally he swings his right fist down.
SMASH CUT to the OR, where a white tuxedoed arm lands on Aaron's chest
with a slam, and starts giving him CPR.
PHILLIP: Come on, Aaron, damn it, come on...
DENISE: I got it. I got it.
Phillip looks up to the gallery and nods. Everyone cheers and
applauds.
PHILLIP: Denise?
DENISE: Well, hey, it's easier to clip 'em once they've ruptured.
PHILLIP: How'd we do?
DENISE: Total clamp time.
NURSE: Twenty-two minutes.
The celebration in the gallery dies down.
DIANE: Is he gonna be okay, or what?
Back to the OR.
PHILLIP: What about brain damage? Did we take too long?
DENISE: It's borderline.
A hush falls over the spectators in the gallery. This is not the news
they've been waiting for.
Music in: "When I'm on My Journey." Close-up of the comatose Dr.
Aaron Shutt, as we
FADE TO BLACK.
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