May Day

"May Day"
Season 6, Episode (22)
Air date	May 18, 2000
Written by	Jack Orman
Directed by	Jonathan Kaplan
Episode Guide
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"May Day" is the twenty-second and final episode of the sixth season episode of ER. It first aired on NBC on May 18th, 2000. It was written by Jack Orman and directed by Jonathan Kaplan.

Plot

Abby sees Carter injecting himself with a patient's painkillers in a trauma room and informs Greene and Weaver, which leads them to give Carter the ultimatum over his addiction and status at County General.

Luka and Benton rush to the scene of the school shooting, which leads to a bitter confrontation over the most critical patient. Luka also contends with a difficult case over a stabbing of a pregnant woman.

NBC Description

ER DOCTORS STRUGGLE WITH SCHOOL SHOOTING TRAUMAS IN SEASON FINALE: Dr. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) crosses swords with Benton (Eriq La Salle) over prioritizing care for a young victim (guest star Kyle Sullivan) of a deadly school shooting versus a more seriously wounded gunman (guest star Michael Johnson).

Benton and Dr. Corday (Alex Kingston) share a moment of mutual triumph when they successfully complete a risky, but life-saving surgical procedure on a wounded student from the schoolyard.

Kovac's draining day continues when he attempts to browbeat a teenaged stabbing victim (guest star Emily Bergl) into allowing him to birth her unwanted and unborn baby despite her adamant wishes to let the child die.

A combative Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) is confronted by Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) and the other ER doctors over his behavior since being attacked.

Greene tries to convince a hardy rugby player (guest star Stewart Finley-McLennan) that his injuries are more serious than he thinks. Laura Innes, Michael Michele, Paul McCrane, Erik Palladino, Ming-Na and Maura Tierney also star.

Synopsis

Peter Benton and Luka Kovač step out of a helicopter and into an elementary school play yard. They're told that there are 3 GSWs. Peter works on a little boy who got shot in the eye while Luka treats another little boy who got shot in the shoulder. They are told that two suspects had been captured but that one was still at large. Peter goes to help Luka but suddenly they hear gunshots. The missing shooter steps out of the building and opens fire. Luka and Peter both cover their patients. The shooter is taken out by the police and Peter is the one who examines his wounds. Luka tells him that he's heading back to the hospital in the chopper. Peter stops him and tells him to wait so that the helicopter can take the shooter as well. Luka says there isn't any room and that he should take him by ground. The shooter is starting to bleed out so Peter goes and again tries to get Luka to let them use the helicopter. Luka refuses because the shooter shot those people. He forces the pilot to take off leaving a pissed Peter behind. Luka and Elizabeth Corday take the boy down to the ER. They can't find where the bullet is. Weaver walks in and shows them the x-ray: the bullet has traveled to his heart. Elizabeth takes him upstairs to be operated on. Peter arrives just as Luka helps Elizabeth into the elevator with the boy. He starts yelling at Luka and tells him that the shooter died on the way here. Luka tries to tell him about the boy with the bullet but Peter accuses him of making a moral decision instead of a medical one. Kerry Weaver comes upon their shouting match and separates them. She sends Peter upstairs and tells Luka to help Cleo Finch.

Cleo's new patient was stabbed in the abdomen by a mugger. They ask her how far along she is and the girl says she isn't pregnant. They confirm that she is and that the placenta has been ripped by the knife wound. Luka tells her that they need to bring her upstairs to have a c-section because if they don't the baby will die. The girl is adamant that she doesn't want to have the surgery. Luka tries to convince the OBGYN to do a c-section but she tells him that she can't force her to do it. Luka says that she's delusional and that she stabbed herself. He asks if he can declare her incompetent, will she do the surgery. She says yes. The psychiatrist talks to the girl but he doesn't declare her incompetent and that Luka needs a court order if they want to save the baby. Weaver gets off the phone with legal. She tells Luka that the judge went home but they are trying to find another judge to sign the warrant. Luka gets frustrated and Weaver makes him promise not to do anything. He says no, that he's going to convince her. Luke tries again to convince the girl to save her baby but she just keeps screaming that she wants another doctor. Luka decides to do the c-section anyway but Cleo stops him. The girl gives birth to a stillborn baby and Luka pronounces him dead. Later, Weaver gets a call from legal telling them that they can go ahead and take the baby out but it's too late. Luka sits at the train station with his head in his hands.

Abby Lockhart and John Carter examine a car crash victim. Carter gives him a shot but instead of putting the needle in the disposal box he slips it into his pocket. Carter tries to show Abby how to reduce a hip but gets kicked off the gurney and lands on the floor in pain. He manages to do the procedure the second time around. Weaver takes the patient up to radiology but Carter stays behind. He takes the needle out and injects himself with the remaining medicine. Abby walks in on him while he's doing it. Mark Greene talks to Carter and asks if he called any of the psych referrals. He lies and says he did. While helping Luka, he gets distracted because he sees Abby talking to Mark. In reality, they're working on a patient with a broken collarbone. After the exam, Abby asks to talk to Mark privately. Mark, Abby, and Weaver corner Carter. Mark tells him that Abby saw what he was doing. Carter denies it but Weaver pulls out the chart and reads off how much he took. Mark asks if he's overmedicating himself but Carter can't believe that they think he's a drug addict. Carter denies everything and Mark apologizes for the inconvenience. Carter leaves and Weaver tells Mark that he's lying.

Later, after telling his rugby patient that he can't play in the game next week, Weaver calls Mark over. She tells him that ther hospital legal department said they need to have evidence to prove Carter is a drug addict. Mark suggests a drug test but Weaver says it'll test positive since he's taking prescribed medication. Mark says he'll talk to him again and Weaver asks how they could let this happen. Mark says it's because it's Carter. Mark talks to Carter out in the bay. He tells him that he can't work on patients anymore until Mark can figure this out. Abby apologizes to Carter for telling Mark about what she saw. She leaves to go work on the collarbone patient but he doesn't respond. Carter goes to help but Mark arrives and takes over. Weaver, Jing-Mei, Mark, and Peter talk about how they're going to confront Mark tonight about his drug problem. Weaver goes and brings Carter to the room where Mark, Peter, Jing-Mei, Weaver and Don Anspaugh are all waiting for him. Mark tells him that they can't allow him to continue working as a doctor, that he can either go to a treatment center that specializes in addicted doctors in Atlanta or be fired. When he protests, Weaver asks to see his wrists. Carter becomes immediately upset, quits and walks out. Anspaugh asks if they've done all they can but Peter rejects the sentiment and goes after him, following him out into the ambulance bay. He tells Carter that he's going to turn out like his addict cousin, prompting Carter to punch Peter. Carter breaks down and Peter gives him a hug. He tells him that everything is going to be alright. Later, Mark asks if they got on the plane. Weaver says that Peter hasn't called so he doesn't know. Elizabeth gets pulled into another surgery with Romano leaving Mark without a ride home. He asks Weaver if she'd like to get some food but she says she's waiting until she hears from Peter. Carter and Peter are last seen on the flight to Atlanta.

Characters

• John Carter
• Luka Kovač
• Peter Benton
• Mark Greene
• Kerry Weaver
• Abby Lockhart
• Elizabeth Corday
• Dave Malucci
• Cleo Finch
• Jing-Mei Chen
• Robert Romano

Trivia

• More likely this episode was titled May Day in recognition of the Haymarket Massacre of 1886 in Chicago and as a nod to a traditional spring celebration often featuring children.
• Paula Newsome plays the Rehab admitting nurse Margaret on ER And works with Eric LaSalle who plays Dr. Benton and years later will work for the Chicago Franchise on Chicago Med as De. Charles wife and Eric LaSalle produces Chicago PD which sometimes crosses over with Chicago Med.
• The title refers to the first day of the month of May, a holiday celebrated around the world for different reasons. The U.S.S.R. celebrated it as a Communist holiday known as Loyalty Day starting in 1958. The U.S.A. celebrated Law Day on the first, while many countries in the world celebrate International Workers' Day, or Labour Day.

Goofs

• When Mark and Kerry are talking about Carter in one of the exam rooms, the door doesn't seal. The door is left ajar about 1 inch because it doesn't meet with the door jamb, even after they close it. It looks like the door is too small.
• When Benton and Kovach are arguing, the sound of the helicopter's blades is heard with the sound indicating that the blades are moving fast, but the shadow on Benton's shoulder shows that the blades are barely moving.