One for the Road

After 10 years at Chicago's County General Hospital, Attending Physician Dr. John Carter (series star NOAH WYLE) has risen to a role of respect and moral leadership in the emergency room. His recently graduated colleague Abby Lockhart (series star MAURA TIERNEY) proudly dons a doctor's white lab coat for the first time. Newly promoted to chief of staff, Dr. Kerry Weaver (series star LAURA INNES) remains as tough as ever, but chinks have appeared in her armor, especially after the loss of her life partner and the resulting bitter custody battle over their son. Attending Physician Dr. Luka Kovac (series star GORAN VISNJIC) carries on a complicated romance with streetwise, seasoned nurse Samantha Taggart (series star LINDA CARDELLINI), whose 10-year-old son, Alex (recurring guest star OLIVER DAVIS), looks up to Kovac as a role model, friend and, sometimes, substitute father. Stalwart Dr. Susan Lewis (series star SHERRY STRINGFIELD) also has her hands full--both at work and at home--as she juggles the rigors of her attending physician job with new motherhood and her ongoing relationship with the child's father. Brash and ambitious Dr. Gregory Pratt (series star MEKHI PHIFER) continues to employ his characteristic swagger and has learned the valuable lesson that no one--not even he--is perfect. Attending Physician Dr. Jing-Mei Chen (series star MING-NA) finds herself caring not only for her patients but also for her ailing and recently widowed father, who has returned from China after a tragic accident. Dr. Neela Rasgotra (series star PARMINDER NAGRA), a British-Indian medical student, left County General to do a residency program in Michigan--only to drop out and realize that medicine may not really be her calling after all, upsetting her traditional parents. In the season premiere, Pratt erratically drives Chen and another passenger as he tries to elude gunfire from an angry motorist. Losing control of his sports car, Pratt crashes into the Chicago River, trapping them underwater as rescue crews troll overhead. Although they are recovered, all three are hospitalized with serious injuries that soon become much worse. Meanwhile, Sam tries to escape from her son's father and find a new life with her child. Neela makes a surprising entrance into the emergency room. A somber Carter and his girlfriend, Kem (recurring guest star THANDIE NEWTON - "Mission: Impossible"), deal with their unborn son's remains. Weaver intercedes when a cop orders a pelvic examination on a young woman who's hiding a stash of marijuana. And two new interns--including charming, flirtatious Ray Barnett (series star SHANE WEST)--make an immediate impact.