No Options, No Choice (Denver Memorial)

No Options, No Choice is a two-part episode for the American drama, Denver Memorial. They were the seventeenth and eighteenth episode of the third season.

Summary

Part 1

Due to Mattison's recent actions in suspending payment plans and outsourcings for major operations and vital treatments, a desperate father and his brother takes the ER hostage to force the hospital to give the former's son a life-saving transplant.

Part 2

As the hostage situation in the ER continues, the police get the brothers' wives try to reach out to them to try to resolve the situation peacefully at the same time a faction of officers go rogue in an attempt to take them out. Meanwhile, the hospital higher-ups make a decision against Mattison for his decisions that lead to the current situation, and an unexpected tragedy outside of the city leads to a crucial development for Marcus and the rest of the McGovern family.

Plot

Part 1

A few weeks after the events of the last episode, Boyle helps stabilize an elderly man who has suffered a heart attack with help from Kim and Marshall, and Kira tends to a child who injured her arm in a car crash with Gilchrist and Cribbs' help. Montoya informs Gilchrist that George is in the lounge. Gilchrist goes there and asks George what's he doing in the hospital; he reveals that it's a teacher training day and students have the day off. Meanwhile, Kingston and Darko try to help a man who was electrocuted by a faulty extension cord connected to a hedge-trimmer, but he sadly succumbs to his injuries. Gene helps a friend of his who accidentally scalded his hand with boiling water while cooking at his restaurant job with Little's help. On another floor, Palmer asks Cunningham about how Lauren is doing; she replies that Lauren is back home with Megan and her husband. She admits that she's always been on Megan's good side for saving Henry and now that she saved Lauren, she's probably is friends with her now, even though she is dating her ex-husband. Palmer notes that's a good thing Cunningham is finding friends in life. In the hospital cafeteria, Ripley and Cole are eating lunch and chatting about work. Crowe speaks to the hospital board with Spooner, Barkawi, Walker, Franelli and others present over Mattison's latest incidents and learns he is enacting yet another cost cutting move. Grier and Lesniak treat an injured young baseball player who injured his leg while sliding into home base with help from Hubbard and Poole. After giving the patient to Nolan for surgery, Grier and Lesniak see Cody and Michelle arriving. As they arrive in the lounge, they see Gilchrist with George; she introduces the kids to each other. Lesniak wonders what's on Grier's mind, and Grier admits the baseball player they treated reminded him on Marcus McGovern. Both Lesniak and Gilchrist wonder what his status is; Grier reveals that he is still not on the donor's list. Elsewhere, at the McGovern house, James and Aaron still work to gather money to get him on the transplant list; it is revealed that the family failed to get their insurance restored to the original policy, exhausted all their options for alternate government aid to no avail, and have resorted to raising the money by other means, including selling their valuables, and starting a GoFundMe account. Aaron checks the GoFundMe account and find that it has reached $50,000 and it seems like they might reach their goal in the next couple of weeks. Then James gets a call from Miriam, who sadly tells her husband that the hospital is releasing Marcus, due to Mattison's latest move of trying to have all patients who can't pay for treatment be released as soon as possible. James tries to reassure her, but Miriam urges him to do something before hanging up. This moment sets James into thinking. He comes to Aaron and informs him of the bad news. After a while of thinking, they decide that drastic measures need to be taken to save Marcus's life.

Later, the McGovern brothers arrive at the hospital, carrying duffel bags, and entered the lobby. They find Mattison speaking to someone on the phone. They pull him aside into the hall confront Mattison about his actions for having the hospital refuse a payment plan for the cost of Marcus's transplant and now having them forcefully release all patients who can't pay for treatment. Mattison tries to justify that he's been trying to protect the hospital's budget, but the brothers refuse to hear it, citing that the hospital is still trying to redeem itself and move forwards from the Oncology scandal and he's the one holding it back with his profit-first policies. Then James tries to reason with Mattison to allow the hospital to just cover the remaining cost for his son's transplant and he and his brother will pay it back somehow, even if it means having to work overtime at his construction job and Aaron pulling what profit he can from his auto & body shop. Mattison, however, remains unmoved and declines to change his mind, citing it that it is for the good of the hospital. Then suddenly, James shoves Mattison into the hallway of the ER as he pulls out a semi-auto handgun while Aaron draws a short pump-action shotgun. James holds the gun on Mattison, informing that he is not asking anymore and that his son is going to get a new heart, one way or another, while Aaron uses chains to lock the door to that part of the ER. As the brothers move Mattison, Kaye and Jones tell them that they can't enter. But Aaron points his shotgun at them as James uses Mattison as a hostage. They order the guards to turn over their weapons and kill the power to the elevators. After getting their guns, they see Cunningham leave the elevator and James tells them to be quiet. Once Cunningham is out of sight, Aaron tossed the guards' guns in the elevator and closes it, then forces Kaye and Jones to kill power to the elevators. Once that's done, Aaron takes their radios and smashes one, but keeps the other, as well as both of their sets of handcuffs and keys; he then forces Kaye and Jones through the doors to an adjoining hall while James uses another set of chains to lock said doors and another set nearby, while Mattison pleading with them to stop this.

As the brothers take Mattison with them, Grier and Lesniak spot them and start about to talk to them, but James tells them to back up. Mattison nervously tells them to do as they say, and Aaron conveys them to do what James said. Grier wonders what is going on, and James replies he and Aaron are taking Crowe's advice and are not taking "no" for an answer as the brother show their weapons, which shock him and Lesniak as they got down. Boyle sees this and warns everyone about two men carrying guns. Mattison suddenly gets loose and runs to the exit, James rush to the door and Aaron guard the area where Grier, Lesniak, Hubbard and others are as people and staffers rush to the exit. Boyle, Kingston, Williams, Little, Sanchez, a few other staffers and many patients manage to evacuate. However, others, too scared to try and run in case any shooting starts, take cover under whatever they can. As James rush to the door, a man with a woman rushes over to try and evacuate, leaving the woman behind. By the time James gets to the door, Mattison has cowardly made it out of the exit. James turns and points his gun at the young man rushing towards the exit, ordering to get back over to where he was and sit down; Walker tells him to do as James said and the man complies. Kira, Gene and Cunningham come out of a trauma room and see what was going on; they tell Kim, the mother and her two children, one injured, to stay in the room. Aaron moves Grier, Lesniak and the others in the area into the waiting room, while James orders everyone to get down as he locks the last entrance/exit to the ER with chains. Aaron decides to sweep the other rooms for any other people. In Crowe's office, Crowe was speaking to Franelli, Barkawi and Spooner about their problems with Mattison, when she gets a call from Boyle that the ER has been taken hostage and locked down. Crowe is shocked and wonders how this has happen. Boyle says she saw two African-Americans carrying guns and they grabbed Mattison, and Grier and Lesniak were nearby when she saw them. Crowe says that she'll call the police, close the hospital trauma center, and divert all ambulances from the hospital. As she makes the call to the police, Spooner wonders what is going on. Crowe informs the 9-1-1 dispatch that the ER has been taken hostage, with Spooner, Franelli and Barkawi shocked by what they've just heard.

Back in the ER, James and Aaron continue to gather people, which includes Grier, Lesniak, Walker, Cunningham, Darko, Kira, Gene, Kim, Gilchrist, Cribbs, Montoya, Marshall, Hubbard and Poole into the waiting room. The patients that they have taken hostage include Jeremiah and Alicia Dupree, a couple having their first child, due any minute; Miranda Collins, a single mother with her two children Jared and Leah, in the ER to check on Jared's sports injury; Harrison Kale, a wealthy but abusive and entitled man and his fiancée Jill Prentiss who apparent got injured in the car accident; Bobby Argento, an construction worker in the ER for an on-the-job injury; and Calvin Massey, an unsympathetic drug user, who has been red flagged for posing as a patient to get his fix. James announces the hospital is under new management now and there will be free health care for everybody. Aaron hears whimpering inside the lounge; realizing this, Grier and Gilchrist reveal that their children are in the lounge, probably scared. Dismayed by it since they are fathers, James and Aaron tell Grier, Lesniak and Gilchrist to gently calm them down and coax them to come out so they can be with their parents. Once they come out, James and Aaron assures that they have children of their own and they won't harm them. George asks if they are fathers, why are they doing this; James tells them that their parents can explain that to them best as Aaron uses the sledgehammer to take out one of the security cameras. Everyone then hears an ambulance arriving; Grier says that they are bringing a gunshot victim. Knowing the man needs immediate treatment, Aaron unlocks the chains around the doors. As the paramedics bring in the victim, James and Aaron have Grier, Darko and Cunningham go help the victim and they take Montoya and Hubbard. After the paramedics leave upon seeing what is going on, Aaron chains the door again. Then the brothers allow Kira and Kim to tend Jared with his injury, Gene and Marshall help Alicia with her child, and Walker, Cribbs and Poole assist with Bobby with his injury. George assures Gilchrist he'll be fine and Lesniak says she will stay with him, Michelle and Cody. Gilchrist goes to help Gene and Marshall with Alicia. Harrison says that they were in before Bobby, but James sternly tells him to wait their turn. Calvin demands them to give him something so he can get high. Montoya, however, informs the McGoverns of Calvin's history. Aaron sternly warns Calvin that he is not to scare the children and he will not be getting high in the hospital. When Calvin gets belligerent, Aaron slugs him in the stomach and knocks him down as a warning; he then forces Calvin to sit back in his seat and apologizes to the kids for having to see that. Harrison then threatens to sue the hospital and their security company when he gets out of their. But James asks him what makes him think that he'll be getting out of there at all. Then everyone hears multiple sirens as the police converge the entire hospital. Seeing this, James and Aaron remark that they are prepared to go the distance to ensure Marcus gets his heart transplant.

As the police seal off the area, the press starts arriving too. Then hostage negotiator Lt. David Aspromonte (Al Sapienza) arrives on the scene. Captain Joseph Donnell informs Aspromonte, with Crowe, Kaye, Jones and another security guard Fred Weinrich present, that the two hostage-takers are in it for the long haul; they've locked down the ER, barricaded themselves in and killed the power in the elevators. Joseph worries if they bust down the doors, the gunmen might kill the hostages. Kaye and Jones reveal that the two men are brothers and they have a semi-auto handgun and short pump-action shotgun. They also took their guns initially, but they dropped them inside the elevator. Weinrich says that they have two hidden cameras inside the ER. Aspromonte asks if any of them are charge and Kaye says that the security chief is Gilbert Radley, who is at home on his day off; Aspromonte tells them to get him down here. Crowe says that she thinks the hostage-takers are James and Aaron McGovern, the former of whom has his son in the ICU, awaiting a heart transplant. Aspromonte says that he wants to talk to the family, while telling Joseph to give him a secured line. Weinrich reveals that they smashed Jones's radio and took Kaye's, and gives his radio to Aspromonte so they can contact the brothers. Aspromonte tells Joseph to tap the phone lines in the ER and if they pick up, patch it through to him. Crowe informs Aspromonte that the McGovern family's insurance wouldn't cover Marcus's heart transplant due to issues at James's job that affected his health benefits, and that Mattison was instrumental in instigating certain profit-first policies at the hospital that led to James and Aaron to do what they did. Aspromonte remarks that they'd better find a way to resolve the situation for everyone, including the McGoverns. Boyle arrives and reveals that Mattison is in the hospital's main lobby. Aspromonte tells him to get him over to the command center so they can talk. He also asks Crowe and Boyle to give his people the names of the hostages and any patient that is still in the ER. Everyone quickly sets about their business as Aspromonte prepares to contact the brothers.

At the ER, James and Aaron checks on the patients. Aaron asks Kira about Jared and she reveals he injured his left leg while playing basketball and are waiting for X-ray; Aaron says he'll let James know and to let them know about the results. Miranda asks about the McGovern brothers, and Kira and Kim inform her about Marcus and everything that's been happening with their family. James checks on Alicia, who is having contractions and Gene says that they need to do an internal examination, which James grants. Aaron then sees that Walker is treating Bobby in another room; he asks what happened, and Bobby reveals a colleague accidentally shot him in the hand with a nailgun. Aaron reveals that James has works in construction and seen the same injury happen to several colleagues. Then Harrison asks if anyone can check on Jill. James asks what happened, and they say it was a car accident caused by a drunk drive, but he suspects there's something else going on. Then Aspromonte's voice is heard on the radio, asking for the man in charge. James responds, and Aspromonte introduces himself and asks if he's James, which he confirms. Aspromonte then asks James if his accomplice is his brother Aaron. With Aaron's approval, James confirms this as well. Aspromonte informs them that he'll be their hostage negotiator, that he's been a cop for 40 years and he is not the type to fool around or play games, and so anything he says, they can take it to the bank. James and Aaron looked through the exit door from corners as the police continue sealing off the area. Aspromonte then asks if any one's hurt. James reminds him that it's an emergency room, so technically everybody in here is hurt; in regards to the current situation though, he confirms that everyone is fine. Aspromonte reminds the brothers as long as it stays that way, they can keep talking before asking what they want. James tells Aspromonte that he wants Crowe to get his son Marcus's name on the donor's list and reverse Mattison's profit-first policies even if she has to go over his head to do it. Aspromonte notes that he has seven kids himself (five boys and two girls) between three marriages. James bluntly tells him don't handle him as he doesn't like being handled. Aspromonte states he's just trying to form an understanding, father-to-father, and advises James not to get too excited, but James says he and Aaron will go far as they need to go, warning that if their demands aren't met, bodies will start piling up. Aspromonte says that they will speak to Crowe about it, which James acknowledges. He then asks James if he and his brother are sure they want to see this through. Aaron whispers to James to hand him his radio, which he does. Aaron introduces himself to Aspromonte and says he and James will do whatever they need to do save Marcus. Aspromonte tells the brothers to sit tight and he will contact them later, before reminding them they are in a tough spot and a lot of trouble, but if they all work with and have faith in each other, they can hopefully resolve the situation together.

Gene and Gilchrist take Jeremiah out of the room where Alicia is having contractions before assuring him that she'll be okay. James asks Jeremiah if he wants a boy and girl. Jeremiah nervously admits it doesn't matter as long as the baby is healthy. James notes that he felt the same when he and Miriam had Marcus and Aaron and Irene were too when they had their first child. Walker, Cribbs and Poole comes out with Bobby, who has a bandage on his hand. James asks Bobby about his hand and Bobby says it's okay, but he won't be working until it fully heals. Walker says that he's lucky that the nail didn't damage any nerves or tendons on his hand. James agrees, noting that he works in construction as well and has seen similar injuries happen. Bobby reveals that he was working in a site two blocks away and walked all the way down to the hospital, but never expected to get caught up in all this. Kira says that X-rays are in on Jared and she shows them to Walker and the McGoverns: Jared has an oblique fracture on his left fibula. Kira says that she will need Cunningham to check if he needs surgery or a splint. Miranda tells James that she is sorry about what's going on with Marcus, but she has her own son that is injured and needs treatment. James says that he will soon and Cunningham will look at him once she finishes with the gunshot victim she and the others are treating. Aaron questions Harrison and Jill about why they are in the hospital. Harrison responds that they were in a car accident thanks to a drunk driver, noting that he just told his brother the same. Aaron then questions why Jill is the only one all banged up and Harrison isn't; Harrison then reveals some scratches on his arm. Bobby chuckles at how minor Harrison's injuiries are compared to Jill's. Jill tries to claim that her airbag didn't deploy and Harrison's did. Aaron asks what car he was driving, and Harrison replies it was a Porsche 944, briefly impressing Aaron since it's a classic. He then asks what year the care was, and Harrison responded that is a 1985 model. Aaron notes that Porsche didn't start making passenger side airbags until 1987, which contradicting Harrison's story, and making him, James and Bobby to realize that he is likely abusing Jill; Bobby even calls him out for it and notes that just about everyone else can see it too. After seeing nearly everyone, patients and staff alike, giving him disapproving looks, Harrison finally comes clean, but claims he was drunk at the time. Cribbs dismisses this, snarking that there's always an excuse. Calvin suddenly defends Harrison, claiming that they can't 100% blame him for having a problem, at which Cribbs calls him out, snarking that an incorrigible pill addict defending an abusive, entitled drunk is like two peas in a pod. Lesniak tells him to calm down, citing that made his point. Walker agrees and warns both Calvin and Harrison not to cause any problems or do anything stupid. Aaron whispers to his brother that they should be wary of Harrison and Calvin, having a gut feeling that they will eventually cause problems for them and everybody else. Then he and James ask Lesniak about the kids. She says that they are scared, but are keeping calm and understand why all this is happening. Upon hearing this, George, Michelle and Cody note that they're not dumb and that they understand what's going on. Then Michelle asks if they can get something to eat, at which Lesniak says they have some snacks and drinks in the waiting vending machines, as well as a fresh food machine in the lounge that has sandwiches, salads, bowl, etc. James says that he and Aaron will get the food in a minute. Aaron checks in with Grier, Cunningham and Darko, asking how the gunshot victim is doing. Grier and Cunningham says that they were able to stabilize the man, Henry Chen, but he will need to go to the operating room for surgery. James says they can't use the direct elevators since they shut them down before taking over the ER, and asks for an alternate way to get him to the OR. Grier says one of the hallways they sealed off has operational elevators not far from there. Aaron calls Aspromonte on the radio, saying that they need to transport a patient to the OR and the only way is to use the elevators in the long hallway. Crowe hears this and informs the brothers that she'll sent surgeons and nurses down there and will discuss more later. Cunningham informs Crowe of Chen's gunshot injuries, and she sends Palmer and the others down to retrieve him and take him to the OR. Joseph orders some of his officers to go with them for protection.

As Grier, Darko, Hubbard and Kim roll Henry to the long hallway on the gurney with Aaron following them, Palmer and a few OR nurses waited, along with SWAT officers nearby. Aaron waves a white napkin out the door, telling the officers not to shoot. As they bring Chen out, Palmer and the others take him and they wheel him to the elevators, where they take him to the OR. Outside the hospital, Chief Smith arrives and went to the command center. Smith asks Aspromonte about the situation, and he explains everything, and notes that they have established contact with the brothers and so far, things are running smoothly. Smith notes that they still need to prepare for any situation. Joseph comes in and reveals that they brought Mattison in. Upon hearing that, Crowe is the first to show up and immediately berates Mattison for instigating the hostage situation in the ER due to his profit-first policies, as well as leaving the hostages behind. Mattison in turn accuses her of starting everything by advising the McGoverns not to take "no" for answer. Crowe notes the brothers wouldn't have had to take things this far if Mattison hadn't become so obsessed with profit, noting that he has been a pain in the ass to the hospital since he started as CFO, especially since he started going over the board's heads with his executive powers to get his policies passed. She also angrily call him a coward for leaving everyone behind to save himself. Aspromonte tells Crowe to calm down and let him and the others deal with Mattison; with this, Crowe acknowledges and walks away. When out of Mattison's earshot, she calls Irvin to set up a meeting for a vote of no confidence in Mattison. Back in the ER, while James and Aaron work to get some food and drinks for everyone, Harrison and Calvin are messing around with some medical supplies. Seeing this, Cribbs gets suspicious, and goes to them, asking what they're doing. Harrison express his believe that the cops don't really give a damn about James's son and once he and Aaron realize that, everyone is as good as dead. Calvin adds that that as such, they are preparing for the worst if it happens; he takes out and checks a pocket knife he has on his person and takes a roll of rubber tubing, while Harrison pockets a scalpel and a can of ethyl chloride. Cribbs snaps at them to put that stuff away and stop messing around before they get themselves or someone else hurt or worse, but Calvin snaps that he has a life and it means something to him; Cribbs retorts that it must not mean that much being a chronic addict. Harrison also adds that his life means something to him, so he's not going down without a fight.

Outside the ER, Boyle, Kingston, Ripley and the others await word for their colleagues held hostage. Ripley is particularly worried about Darko, and asks should if they should start notifying their colleagues' families of what's happening; Boyle replies that the police already have started that. Then Francis arrives on the scene after learning about Kira being taken hostage. Joseph informs Francis about the situation, and he asks if Holmes's wife Kim is among the hostages too. Joseph confirms Kim and Gene are inside too. In the ICU, with the rest of the McGoverns, Miriam, Irene, and the latter's children wonder where their respective husbands as Marcus's condition continues to decline. Then Crowe, Spooner and Aspromonte arrive, needing to talk to them. Upon learning that James and Aaron have taken the ER hostage and are demanding Marcus to be put on the donor's list, Miriam admits that it's her fault, that when she found out the hospital was intending to release Marcus, she called James and yelled at him to do something, but never expected he and Aaron would go so far. Aspromonte asks if both James and Aaron are violent, but both Miriam and Irene defend their husbands. Aspromonte tells both of them that James and Aaron are in a lot of trouble and that they need to try and talk them out of it. But both women vehemently refuse to do so or help build a case against the brothers, with the former saying they support their husbands all the way and the latter stating that if one of her children was in Marcus's position, she be supporting them too. Therefore, they are their side, not that of the police. Miriam places blame on Mattison for instigating the situation that result to what James and Aaron are doing now. She also wishes she could tell Mattison what she thinks of him, but won't because she is a Christian woman. Then Miriam and Irene tells them to leave as they have the former's sick child to look after. Crowe then reveals to them in private that she is issuing a vote of no confidence on Mattison to remove him from position. Then she will work on getting Marcus on the donor's list and assures them that the hospital will cover the entire cost of the transplant and all treatment before and after; she notes that after all the bad breaks the McGoverns have had, they deserve a good one for a change. Upon hearing this, Miriam tears up and hugs Crowe, thanking her for it.

Back in the ER, Gilchrist comes out of the trauma room, saying that Alicia is still having contractions and Gene is working on slowing it down. Kim also reveals that Cunningham is checking out Jared's leg injury. After a while of everyone eating and drinking, James notes that Marcus has been tested at every checkup he's had since he was born, the same as all of his cousins, and wonders why nobody found any problems with his heart. Walker theories that there's a chance he might not have been tested thoroughly. Darko asks James and Aaron if they had a HMO as their insurance at the time these tests were and James remembers that he did. Darko reveals that's the answer: HMOs tend to pay their doctors not to do certain tests, as their way of keeping down costs. He then theorizes that maybe something came up on Marcus's initial scans that indicated additional testing was needed, but when the insurance company refused to cover the cost, the doctor withheld this information and allowed Marcus's condition to slip through the cracks and was eventually paid a bonus by the HMO for helping maintain their profit. James asks Walker if that's possible and he admits that it is a possibility. Kim and Gilchrist agree with Darko on this, saying they've seen insurance companies and healthcare providers alike often put the people they are supposed to being helping in the middle of their conflict over profit and they end up being the ones who suffer the most. Aaron becomes astonished that Marcus's doctor and James's then-HMO could have known what what was wrong with Marcus and treated him all along, but chose not to just to make and save a few extra bucks respectively. James also notes that his job eventually upgraded his plan to a PPO, aka a Major Medical policy when Marcus was young and he'd been paying into the policy for many years. But then in light of the cutbacks, they cut him to part-time status and switched carriers back to an HMO without giving him timely notice, thus nullifying his policy and replacing it with a cheaper, but utterly useless one that didn't cover any of what Marcus needed. Aaron also notes that the hospital was willing to work with their family after learning of James's insurance troubles, but Mattison's penny-pinching ruined that. Grier and Lesniak say that they got into medicine to help people and to them, any profit, while nice, comes second to the people that they are supposed to help. Both Jeremiah and Miranda ask if medical professionals can really withhold information about patients' health due to poor insurance. Darko says that Ripley, his girlfriend, was the one who discovered the Oncology insurance fraud scandal, noting that those responsible were knowingly over-treating actual cancer patients and giving false diagnoses and unnecessary treatments to perfectly healthy people to get paid big premiums and kickbacks from the insurance companies, and the hospital has been trying to redeem themselves from it for most of the past year.

Michelle then questions about the oath the doctors take, the Hippocratic Oath, but Bobby notes that after all that's happened, it's more like the "Hypocritical Oath". Cribbs even notes that many hospitals to this day still enact the same "treat and street" policies on people who can't afford medical care no matter how urgently they may need it. Jill expresses that there has to be laws against said policies; Darko responds that there are, but there are also loopholes to get around them, citing that all the doctors are technically obligated to do is stabilize the patients and after that, once the imminent danger is over, they are off the hook for anything else that comes after. Walker notes that that's not how the process works, and Darko responds that maybe it doesn't work like that in any of the specialized units or private room on the upper floors, but in the ER, if a patient comes in clinging to life and they've got no money or good enough insurance, they basically get "a bunch of over-the-counter stuff and a Band-Aid, then a foot in the ass, and [they're] out the door". Miranda vows if she and her children make it out, she will make sure her insurance carrier is not a HMO and if it is, she will switch carriers. Grier tells her that right now they need to let their situation play out. Walker tells everyone to keep it down since they are still hostages and need to ensure cooperation to survive. With that, James starts to about to make a call when Aaron states that the police may have tapped the phones around the ER. With that, James picks up the phone.

Outside the hospital, the phone rings and Aspromonte answers. James says that the hostages are eating and drinking, discussing HMOs and waiting for word on them. Aspromonte reveals that Crowe is working on a plan to get Marcus on the donor's list. James says that she better hurry because he believes that Mattison will try to block that effort and wouldn't put it past him to do everything possible to cover his ass on this. Gene reveals to James and Aaron that Alicia is six centimeters dilated and the baby is breeched. He has managed to medicate, but she needs to move to maternity right now. Cunningham then rushes over and reveals that a splint won't be enough to fix Jared's broken leg and he'll need surgery to repair it. Hearing this, James and Aaron agree to release the more vulnerable hostages, as well as the children, which Aspromonte is glad to hear. But James says once that happens, that they until 5:45 PM to get Marcus on the list or one hostage will die, which is in an hour. Aspromonte tries to reason with him, but James yells at him to make himself clear before ending the call. Chief Smith says that it's doesn't look good if the hour deadline passes without result, leaving Aspromonte contemplating in thought.

James and Aaron agree to release George, Michelle and Cody, as well as Alicia, Miranda and her children. Grier and Gilchrist are glad to hear this, but their children don't want to leave without them. Alicia respectfully pleads with the McGoverns to release Jeremiah also, but Jeremiah assures her he will be okay and she needs to go. Harrison then snaps that he and Jill should be the ones to go, citing that they don't have any problems. Calvin also suggests he should go too, citing if the kids are gonna be crybabies about it, someone else should be freed. Jeremiah confronts the two of them, asking what kind of men are they to put themselves before women and children. Harrison responds by racially insulting Jeremiah, and Calvin curses Lesniak when she comes to Jeremiah's defense. Grier then snaps at Calvin for insulting his wife, and both him and Jeremiah get physical with Harrison and Calvin. As James and Aaron try to break it up, Harrison and Calvin make their moves; Harrison maces James with the ethyl chloride, while Calvin attacks Aaron and tries to strangle him from behind with the latex tubing he swiped. They also take out the scalpel and pocket knife they have while also going for the brothers weapons, but the McGoverns fight back, and both sides end up losing their weapons and falling to the floor, where both of the McGoverns end up gaining the upper hand and beating the two jerks. The staff consider interfering but opt not to after the brothers get the upper hand. Seeing the chance, Harrison tells Jill to help him by getting the brothers' guns. But surprisingly, Jill instead picks up the ethyl chloride and uses it to subdue Harrison, as well as Calvin when he tries to stop her much to everyone's shock. James asks Cunningham to get the handcuffs they took from Kaye and Jones from his duffel bag. Enraged at Jill for turning on them and ruining their attempt to end the situation, Calvin angrily calls her a "stupid, brainless bitch" and Harrison furiously threatens to kill her as he starts to get up. However, Jill kicks him square in the side with her stiletto boot, knocking him back down. She then grabs one of a pair of crutches Cunningham had brought for Jared to use, and uses it and her boots to simultaneously beat and kick both Harrison and Calvin, retaliating for the former's abuse and both of their self-serving attitudes; she finishes it off with a kick to the groin for Calvin for his insult to her. She then removes her blonde wig, revealing herself to be brunette, as well her engagement ring and throws them at Harrison, telling him she'll no longer be his "personal Barbie" and that their engagement and relationship are over. Some of the hostages laugh at the two jerks getting their comeuppance and the others applaud Jill for standing up and taking her power back. Cunningham then bring the handcuffs to the McGovern brothers and they, with help from Grier and Hubbard, secure Harrison and Calvin to the legs of separate benches to ensure no further trouble from them. After everything has calmed down, both brothers decided to go on with releasing the chosen hostages.

With that, Grier, Gene and Montoya help put Jared in a wheelchair with his leg upright, while Jeremiah wheels Alicia towards the door. Aaron apologizes to all the kids for having to see what just occurred with Harrison and Calvin as well as everything before that. The kids reply that they know, and that the two jerks had it coming as Grier, Lesniak and Gilchrist gently coax to the door. James unlocks the door and uses the white napkin, signaling the police there are hostages about to be released and telling them not to shoot. With that, James agrees to let Jeremiah go as well to be there for the birth of his first child and allows Miranda and Lesniak to go for the children's sake. Gilchrist assures George that she'll be fine as they embraced each other. Grier also reassures Michelle and Cody that he'll be fine too and tells them to go with Lesniak and the others, as they shouldn't be part of this. With that, James and Aaron release the Duprees, the Collinses, Lesniak, Michelle, Cody and George. As they are all quickly escorted away by Denver SWAT, reporters asks the now-former hostages for comments. One reporter asks about the rumors of a gunshot victim being brought in during the situation; Alicia confirms this and that the brothers let him inside, and Jeremiah further states if they hadn't let him in, he would've died. The Collins family also express support for the McGoverns citing that they're good men in a bad situation. Lesniak also voices her support for the McGoverns, saying that they allowed the medical staff inside to treat the injured that were present inside. Then she sees Boyle and Kingston, telling them that Alicia is about to have a baby and Jared has a broken leg that needs surgery. As Boyle, Kingston and the others take them back to the hospital through the main lobby for treatment, Lesniak and the children show up at the command center.

Crowe asks if she and the kids are okay and Lesniak confirms it. Aspromonte and Chief Smith asks what happened, and she reveals what first happened when they had Mattison, who cowardly escaped on his own, leaving everyone behind and what transpired inside the ER. Chief Smith states while he understands the brothers' intentions to save Marcus, he is concerned for the lives of the hostages. Lesniak states that the fact that they released multiple hostages, especially the children, should speak volumes as to who they are. Crowe then gets a call from Franelli, saying that everyone is ready in the conference room. She acknowledges and excuses herself, informing everyone she has to take care of something in order to get Marcus on the donor's list. As Crowe leaves, the Hospital's Chief of Security Gilbert Radley arrives; he shows them the schematics of the hospital, that there is an emergency phone that they use in an area clear enough for SWAT to get a clear shot if it comes to that. Back in the hospital, the hostages watch the live news coverage; Grier, Cunningham and Kim hope all this will be Mattison's downfall. Gilchrist figures that by now, Crowe is already making moves against him. Harrison states that nobody can go anywhere anymore without getting mugged, raped, stabbed or murdered and rants that violent crime has gotten so bad, he won't go into a place without bodyguards. Calvin adds that they can chalk that up to all the illegal weapons dealers he sees on the streets willing to sell to guys like them. Cribbs angrily tells them to shut up. Walker, however, tells all of them to stop, adding that as much as he hates Harrison and Calvin, they do have a point about how easily people can get weapons guns to commit crimes around the U.S., despite all the gun laws they have. Kira says she and Gene have family members who are or were with law enforcement; her brother is a cop and Gene's father was a police captain who retired the previous year after 45 years on the job. Harrison says that he understands Marcus is sick, but each and every one of the hostages, himself included, has a life too; James retorts that Harrison though at least has solid insurance or at least his family's money for the best care in case anything ever happens to him. Calvin asks if the brothers are really gonna go through with what they've told the cops: that if Marcus doesn't get the first heart available, everyone dies. He also asks James and Aaron what their next move is and how's it all going to end. James and Aaron admit that they don't know and they got no other moves; they're just waiting for a miracle, for maybe an act of God to hopefully come through for them.

In the hospital's main conference room, Crowe speaks to everyone present, including Barkawi, Spooner, Franelli, Irvin, Heller, Holgate, Moore, Nunez and other board members, about the vote of no confidence against Mattison. Crowe states that Mattison's obsession with profit and profit-based decisions have severely affected patient care of the hospital, and that because of this and how he made the hospital unable to help the McGoverns in their greatest time of need, his actions instigated the hostage situation going on in the ER. Heller agrees that some of the decisions he made have resulted in consequences that have affected the hospital's reputation even further. Holgate adds that Mattison caused the janitor's union strike and affected the pay rate to the staff of the hospital needlessly, not to mentioned what has happened in the ER. Spooner views Mattison as a huge liability to the hospital for his obsession of maintaining the hospital's bottom line and agrees that the entire hostage situation occurred because of his stonewalling the McGoverns from getting the help they needed. Franelli further states that he left the hostages behind to save his own hide, proving his cowardice and such. Barkawi deems Mattison as the wrong person to be the hospital's CFO, because how he has affected the morale of the hospital and the staff's way to treat patients. Irvin admits that he does agree that Mattison should be removed, but wonders how they can fix the damage he caused, including what has occurred today. Spooner suggest they start by digging out the root of the problem, aka Mattison. After hearing the arguments, Crowe informs everyone that it's time to take a vote.

As the situation draws many people's attention outside the hospital, the reporter, Cliff Dobbler, interviews James' close friend and co-worker Stuart Hume. As everyone inside the ER watches, Dobbler asks Stuart about James and Aaron, and he talks about the flaws of the healthcare system and notes that none of this had to happen, citing had their workplace not changed James's insurance right when he needed it or the hospital's CFO not decided make these profit-first policies which prevented the hospital from working a solution out for Marcus, the brothers wouldn't have felt backed into a corner to the point of having to take such drastic measures to save someone they love. After that speech, Dobbler asks him is there's anything he wants to say to the McGovern brothers. Stuart sadly gives them his support and tells them to take care. James and Aaron are moved by what Stuart said as they see the clock has reached 5:18 PM.

Meanwhile, Joseph informs Aspromonte and Chiefs Smith and Ingram about a plan they may have in case if the McGoverns decide to follow through on their prior threat of killing a hostage. In the parking garage, Joseph thinks that they can send a team in the vents in the ER above. One SWAT officer, Hugh Weiss, suggests of getting men in place for crisis entry with a one four-men unit as a pre-caution, that way they can control the situation in case the brothers start shooting hostages. Aspromonte objects the idea due to the risks of the hostages getting killed in the crossfire; Chief Smith admits he doesn't like the risks, but they need to ensure the hostages' safety. Aspromonte says that Miriam and Irene has agreed to talk to James and Aaron, and let them try to talk their husbands down. Ingram asks if the wives can succeed and Aspromonte replies that James and Aaron are determined to get Marcus on the donor's list, states that Crowe and the others are working to get it done fast. Smith asks if they can do it before the deadline and Aspromonte says that it's a long shot, but it's worth a try. With that in mind, Smith, Ingram and Joseph instruct Weiss to get three men and go to the vents for crisis entry, but no one takes any shots without their authorization, to which Weiss agrees. After Smith, Aspromonte and the others leave the garage, Weiss gathers fellow SWAT officers Frank Antonelli, Spiro Karas and Marvin Davis, instructing them if there's an opportunity, they will take the McGovern brothers out. Davis questions this, citing that they are only supposed to set up but not move unless ordered. Weiss says that in SWAT they should always take the open shot when they have the chance, but Davis reminds him that the brothers' wives could still talk them down. However, Weiss says that that's just what he's counting on, revealing his intent to use Miriam and Irene to set James and Aaron up to be killed. When Davis protests this, Antonelli backs Weiss, citing that giving in to the McGoverns' demands is just as bad as letting them kill hostage, as it makes the department look weak; the only option to avoid that in their opinion is to take them both out. Davis looks to Karas for support, but he opts to remain neutral on the subject. He then questions about the hostages, and Weiss says that they best keep their heads down, before instruct the officers to get set up, leaving Davis uncertain about this decision.

Part 2

Somewhere on the highway in the Rocky Mountains, a woman in a hurry drives fast down the road, passing cars recklessly. Then a semi-truck is slowing her down. Seeing what appears to be a clear opening, she drives on the opposite side of the car to pass it. But then another semi driving in the opposite direction starts closing in. As the woman serves to try and make it past the truck, the other semi hits the back end of the car, causing to serve on the side and stall out. The woman can only then look at the oncoming truck as it hits the driver's side of her car, sending it sliding into into a ditch on the right side of the road.

Meanwhile, back in Denver, the hostage situation in Denver Memorial continues. Cliff Dobbler arrives at his news van. His young co-worker Ken Farley says that he is close to hacking into the police command center's footage and once he gets it, he will let Dobbler know. Inside the ER, Grier speaks to Cunningham, Kira, Gene, Darko, Cribbs, Kim and Gilchrist about the ordeal. Noting that the deadline is closing in, Kira worries what will happen if the brothers decide to follow through on their threat. Kim and Gilchrist hope that Crowe and the others will take care of Mattison and get Marcus on the donor's list. Gene notes that best case scenario if they do follow through on their threat, Harrison or Calvin will be the one they kill. Grier, Darko, Cribbs and Cunningham agree and admit that they don't like either Harrison and Calvin, but wonder what will happen after the deadline. James and Aaron looked on, listening to their conversation, contemplating about what to do when the deadline arrives.

At the highway crash site, Colorado State Police arrive and find the woman in the car critically injured and unresponsive. On her left wrist, it is shown she has a medical bracelet that indicates she's a donor. The responding officer calls for a Medevac chopper, and it arrives as firefighters work to extract the woman from her wrecked car. Back at Denver Memorial, Mattison is called in the main conference room. Crowe tells Irene to watch from a distance. As Mattison heads to the conference room, Irene glares at him without him knowing. He enters the room, notices the entire hospital board glaring at him, and asks why they want to see him. Crowe tells Mattison that she and the board have reach an unanimous decision in a vote of no confidence; therefore, he is out as CFO of Denver Memorial, effective immediately. When Mattison starts to ask if this is about the hostage situation, Crowe cuts him off, citing that his actions against the McGoverns resulted in James and Aaron taking the ER hostage. Mattison tries to justify that he was protecting the hospital's budget, but Nunez says that while he realizes that profit is important at times, he is a father himself, and would rather give treatment to children in anyway he can rather than watch them die. He further states that maybe if he hadn't barged into the meeting with the McGoverns and decided to halt payment plans right when they needed them the most, the hostage situation would never have happened. Mattison tells the board that they can't dismiss him because they need someone to ensure the budget of the hospital, but Irvin says that they need someone they can trust in both balancing good patient care and the hospital's budget, and he has made it clear that is not him. Mattison protests that every decision he made, he made for the good of the hospital. Spooner, however, refutes that he made those decisions for his own gain and that he is a disgrace to Denver Memorial and all the hospital stands for. Barkawi adds that he won't be able sleaze his way out of this. Mattison accuses them of blaming him for the McGovern family's situation, citing that their problems with their insurance were what started all this, and that James and Aaron are responsible for their own choices alone. Crowe reminds him that Marcus is in dire need for a heart transplant and that because of him halting a vital policy that would have allowed the hospital to help his family, they had no way of paying for it and Marcus was about to be sent home to die. Franelli further says that because of him blocking their efforts to help Marcus and the McGoverns unable to get enough money to pay for it in spite of all their efforts, James and Aaron took the ER hostage in a desperate attempt to save Marcus. Mattison accuses them of scapegoating him just to save face and that he is not going anywhere. Crowe motions for hospital's security and two guards enter. She orders the guards to escort Mattison out of here, stating that personnel will help him pack up his personal belongings in his now-former office, give him his last paycheck and return the hospital any papers that belong to them; she also says that he has two hours to get this all done and leave the hospital. Mattison gazes at everyone spitefully as security escorts him out of the conference room. Irene looks on with great satisfaction before calling Miriam about it.

Meanwhile outside the hospital, Dobbler and Ken are closing in on getting the CCTV footage from. Ken is able to get the audio, but needs a few more minutes to get the video. At the command center, Aspromonte receive word that Mattison has been dismissed and Miriam will be calling the ER. Smith hopes that it will work. Joseph checks in with Weiss, who says that they are position in case they are needed to breach. He instructs him to wait until they give word and no one takes any shots without authorization, which Weiss acknowledges. But as it turns out, unknown to the COs, Weiss, Antonelli, Karas and Davis have all entered the vents with their own agenda, with the latter reluctantly doing so. Inside the ER, as the McGovern brothers and the hostages wait as the deadline nears, the phone that the officers rings. James answers, assuming it was Aspromonte. But it turns to be Miriam, who happily says that Crowe and the hospital board have fired Mattison, with Irene confirming it after having witnessed it under Crowe's direction. She reveals that they are now working on getting Marcus on the donor's list and they intend to cover the full cost of the transplant and everything else. James is happy and relieved to hear this and he conveys this to Aaron, who updates the hostages about Mattison and the donor list, which Walker, Grier and the other hospital personnel present in the ER cheer in satisfaction briefly. Aaron asks James to ask if his kids are there with him, and upon him doing so, Miriam confirms they are and they know too. He then asks about Marcus's condition and Miriam reveals he's been falling asleep a lot and the doctors have been doing everything they can for him. She asks both James and Aaron are they praying for Marcus and which the former confirms that they are and he swears that Marcus gonna make it. He then says that he and Aaron want to speak to him. Upon hearing that, Dobbler sees the opportunity as Ken then says he has the video now. Dobbler tells him to wait a minute before they record this for their network.

With that, Dobbler announces to the audience that they are about to hear and witness the conversation between the McGovern brothers and Marcus. With the signal, Ken starts recording. At the police command center, Aspromonte, Smith and the others keep an eye on things on their end. Miriam passes the phone to Marcus, and James and Aaron speak to him. Weakly, Marcus asks where they've been; James replies that they've been busy, trying to get him his new heart, one that will make him stronger. Marcus weakly asks if he was going to die. Both James and Aaron assure him that he won't and the former says that the world wouldn't be the same without him. Dobbler, incredibly moved, admits it's the greatest thing he ever seen. Elsewhere, Crowe and the others watch the footage and are moved by it. At another area in the hospital, Lesniak, Michelle and Cody, along with George, watch the news too and hear the conversation, putting Lesniak in tears. Meanwhile, Weiss and Antonelli get in position while Karas and Davis stand by. James and Aaron say that they love Marcus and the former says that he is proud of him for how strong he's been throughout this whole thing. Weiss and Antonelli ready their snipers at the brothers, but don't have a clear shot. Davis again suggests that they forget this whole thing, but Weiss again refuses. They start to line the shot up, but Antonelli decides to hold until the McGoverns finish the call. In tears, James tells his son he loves him with all of his heart and Marcus weakly responds he loves him and his uncle Aaron too. As the two finish the call, Gene and Bobby see the news feed of them on the security cameras, soon realize what's happened, and warn the brothers. As the brothers see the screen and realize that something's wrong, Kira spots Weiss and Antonelli in separate areas. She yells at them to get down, just as the officers open fire. Antonelli's shot misses Aaron, but Weiss' shot gets James in the shoulder, as everyone rushes for cover. Upon seeing what's going on, Joseph orders the team to stand down as Aspromonte and Smith ask what happen. Aaron spots Antonelli and tosses a metal tray in his face stunning. Before Weiss can fire at Aaron, he loses his balance and slips, getting trapped in the ceiling; James rushes over and pulls him down out of the ceiling. As Aaron tackles Antonelli and starts beating him up, James repeatedly punches Weiss out as well. Joseph realizes the SWAT team went inside without authorization. Aspromonte says it's very bad and Smith concurs. Then an officer gets a call and hands the phone to Smith; Smith asks who it and the officer reveals it's the mayor and informs that they need to kill the video feed, revealing that the press hacked their signal and the whole thing just aired live all over national television. Livid by this, Smith demands Joseph to get Karas and Davis back over to the command center immediately, while Aspromonte tells the officer to disable the feed.

Back in the conference room, Crowe tells the CEO of the hospital, Harvey Phillips that they should cover the entire cost of the transplant and all treatments before and after on Marcus. Seeing all the trouble Mattison has brought them with the what's going on in the ER, the CEO, Phillips agrees and tells her to get Marcus on the list. As James's shoulder wound is treated by Grier, Darko and Cunningham with help from Kim and Hubbard, Walker, Kira, Gene and Gilchrist tie up Weiss and Antonelli and confront them, demanding an explanation for their actions. Weiss claims they were doing it to protect them, citing James's earlier threat to start killing hostages. But Walker scolds them for endangering them and almost killing Marcus's father and uncle; Gene says that if Marcus found out that they'd were killed by cops right after he had talked to them, he would've been traumatized for life if his already failing heart didn't give out, not to mention that Crowe and the others are working on resolving their situation. Then he asks if they had authorization from their bosses to move in and take the shots. After a moment, Weiss admits that they acted on their own. Kira slaps Weiss, angrily berating him and Antonelli for their rogue actions, since she knows certain things about proper police procedures from her twin brother. She further states that their decision to play cowboy has caused more problems and solved none, not to mention what would have happened to the rest of the McGovern family if they learned what had happened. Gilchrist then adds that they are now all over national television since a news network hacked into the security system and caught the whole thing after James and Aaron spoke to Marcus. Bobby then interjects says that it's over for them, and that after all is said and done, they'll be lucky to even keep their jobs. Grier and Cunningham says that James's wound is through and through and is patched up. Both James and Aaron are upset by what has happened. But Cunningham, Kim and Jill calm them down, and Kira reveals what Weiss told them, further upsetting the McGovern brothers.

At the Rocky Mountains, medics put the woman from the car accident in the Medevac helicopter after a difficult extraction and fly her to the nearest hospital. Outside the ER, several officers interrupt Dobbler's broadcast and force him to shut down his connection to the security system, with Dobbler protesting that their officers just shot at innocent people on primetime television. While all this is going on, Crowe and Phillips are in the latter's office, officially putting Marcus's name on the donor's list. Meanwhile, back at the command center, other officers bring Karas and Davis over. Smith and Joseph demand an explanation for their actions. Davis confesses that Weiss and Antonelli were the ones who defied the orders and he and Karas went along with it, him reluctantly so, and that he warned them it was a bad idea and not to do it, to no avail. After a moment, Karas confirms that this is true. Smith says that they, along with Weiss and Antonelli will face disciplinary actions for their rogue operation and defying orders. Then James and Aaron take Weiss and Antonelli to the front door of the ER as people cheered for them; they open the door and demand to see Aspromonte. After a moment, Aspromonte, along with Joseph and Smith, arrive. Joseph asks the brothers what is going on. The brothers walk Weiss and Antonelli out the front door, with both officers having their pants down as a form of humiliation, causing many in the crowd to laugh. James confronts Aspromonte for not calling back, even though he and Aaron gave them hostages, and accusing the police of wanting to kill him and his brother. Aspromonte assures the brothers that nobody wants to kill them and those officers went behind their backs; Joseph and Smith confirm the officers acted on their own and disobeyed order. James and Aaron then take out the officers' rifles, with the latter bluntly asking what they are, and throw the rifles over to Aspromonte, Smith and Joseph, as the crowd cheered upon seeing that. Aspromonte asks them what they thought would happen; he affirms that while they didn't order the officers to go in, they had them standing by just in case the brothers made good on their threat. He adds that the situation is going to end bad for them if they keep it up, that in the end, even if the brothers get what they want, they can't just go back to their ordinary lives like nothing happened and there's only two ways out for them: in jail or in a grave. James reminds them that Marcus is very sick and needs them. Aspromonte sympathizes with them as it hard to be a man, a husband, and a father, and what the right thing is, but they need to put the guns down and end the situation. James reminds him that Marcus is sick, and Aaron says that they tried every right and legal way to get Marcus his transplant and were stonewalled at every turn, and further add that when people sick, they deserve some help, which the crowd agrees. James add that he is not going to bury his son, and if anything, Marcus is going to bury him and Aaron. Aspromonte says the crowd and people supporting the McGoverns are only here for the moment, and once this is over they'll go back to their lives and move on, and asks what else they could want. James then says he wants Marcus inside the ER with him. Smith says that they can't arrange that, not without giving them something in return. James and Aaron state they will give them Weiss and Antonelli in exchange for Marcus; James adds that once his son is safe, it will be all over, he and Aaron will give up, and everyone will go home safe. He tells them to bring Marcus to the ER before they return to there with Weiss and Antonelli. Aspromonte, Joseph, Smith then discuss what to do. Crowe and Ingram, upon hearing to the conversation, come over with the latter suggesting they should give them Marcus since he is James's son, and once they have Weiss & Antonelli, they will discipline them. With the agreement from Aspromonte and Joseph, Smith tells them to deliver Marcus to them. Crowe tells that she going's to have Nunez at the command center should any of the doctors in there need consultation for Marcus's condition, which they all agree.

As medics and nurses escort Marcus out in his hospital bed, Lesniak sees Selina arrive and Michelle and Cody reunite with their mother, while George reunites with Sally. She and Crowe join the others to get Marcus to the ER. Halfway there, the officers stop the nurses and medics at the barricade and take over with the escort, with Crowe and Lesniak going with them. Despite Miriam, Irene, and the latter's children's insistence in joining them in ER, the officers refuse to allow them. As the officers arrive in the doors of the ER, Grier, Kira, Kim and Poole came out with white napkins and shoo them off. Crowe informs Grier and the others that Nunez will be in the command center, waiting for a video call on Marcus's condition, while Lesniak tells her husband to come back safe. As Grier and the others get Marcus in, James and Aaron release Weiss and Antonelli, with the media looking on and the crowd laughing at the released officers as they limp humiliated back to the police.

At the ER, as Montoya and Hubbard tend to Marcus, Kira speaks to Nunez via video call at a table about his condition. Nunez says that Marcus is very critical right now and won't make it if a new heart doesn't come through. Kira somberly acknowledges him before ending the call. Upon hearing Marcus's condition, James suddenly tells every medical staff to take his heart and put it into Marcus, offering to sacrifice his life to save his son. Aaron and the hostages react in disbelief. When James says he is serious about it, Bobby says that he'll be dead, but James says that Marcus will live. Aaron is aghast at the thought of losing his brother to save his nephew. But James tells him that he would do the same thing for one of his kids if he was in the same position. Kira says that he can't do this physically. James confirms he will kill himself to do so and means it. Grier says that they can't ethically just remove his heart and put in Marcus's body. Walker and Cunningham interject in agreement, citing that there are too many unknowns and matching a donor and a recipient is very complicated; Cunningham further states that she has participated in a few transplant surgeries and there are critical tests that need to be taken, including blood type and chest cavity measurements. James says that he and Marcus have been tested in the past, they're both B-negative and have matching tissues, and Marcus's heart is larger than a normal-size and confirms his will fit. Walker again says it's out of question due to technicality issues; James continues to argue, asking that if he goes through with the suicide, will they refuse to do the transplant to save Marcus, and allow do two deaths instead of one, all because of technicality. Jill express that John is trying to do is right. Poole feels the same way, adding there should be more fathers who are willing to die to save their children. Darko admits that it is a brave idea, but asks what would Marcus and Miriam want. James replies that Marcus is too young to know what is good for him, and as his father, it's his job to protect him and Miriam would do the same thing also. Aaron says he and Irene would do the same thing for their children like he said, but he still can't fathom the thought of losing his only brother. James says this is what has to be done, and assures Marcus would be in good hands with Miriam, Irene and Aaron's kids. Bobby steps in and expresses his sympathies over what's going on Marcus, but tells James that killing himself to save him won't solve anything and says that he has to let go and let God take things from; James retorts that if it were his son dying would he be able to accept that. Walker replies that if a new heart doesn't come through soon, Marcus is going to die, but James refuses to accept that fate for his only son. He admits that while Marcus a patient to the hospital personnel right now, Marcus is a good kid and wants to be a boxer and loves to makes people laugh so that they would like him. Aaron confirms that Marcus can make people laugh with anything and that he and his cousin, Aaron's younger son Dwayne, are the same age and essentially best friends. James begs the staff to do what's right for Marcus. Walker admits that he and the others would, but it is unethical and crosses the line. James says that the whole health care system crossed the line multiple times in Marcus's case, adding that he doesn't care what happens to him since he is determined to ensure Marcus live and will do whatever he has to do to save him. Aaron admits they are both selfless when it comes to their own children, but he is not ready to lose him either. James admits he knows Aaron will have a hard time with that and being in jail for what they did, but he will do what it takes to save Marcus, just like he would with his own children. Grier asks James if he will shoot them if they don't operate. James replies that he won't, that he will just kill himself since someone has to die for Marcus to live, and since he is his father, it should be him. Cunningham notes there are also risks of complications that could happen as with any surgery, and if something happens and Marcus dies anyway, then all this will have been for nothing. James remarks that he knows, but he is willing to take that chance to save his son and asks Grier, Gilchrist, and Walker if they would do the same for their children if it were one of them in Marcus's situation. After some hesitation, they admit that they would, and Walker notes that if it truly comes down to it, they won't let a good heart go to waste.

Outside the ER, Francis speaks to Holmes, Peter, and Winder about their feelings with their family members being held hostage in the ER. Holmes notes that his wife is a strong woman and Gene and Kira are both two of the most level headed. Crowe speaks to Miriam and Irene, along with family friends Stuart and Wendy Hume, about Marcus's condition, citing that all they can do now is hope that a matching heart comes through in time. At the ICU, Ripley speaks to Spooner and Lesniak about their worries over Grier and Darko and what will happen after the situation is over. Spooner says that he saw how devoted James is to his son and he, along with Aaron, are just doing what it takes to save him. At another hospital, the Medevac helicopter arrives with the woman from the car accident. She is found to be brain-dead, but her organs are intact for donation. They find out that the donor's liver, kidneys and pancreas are usable, her lungs are fine, her heart is good, and her blood type is B-negative.

At Denver Memorial, Boyle, Palmer, Nolan, Kingston, Cole and others look at the news report of the hostage situation from the hospital lobby. At the command center, Smith expresses his major disappointment in Weiss and the other SWAT officers involved for disregarding orders not to move in without authorization. Weiss claims that they did what they did to end the situation before anyone could be hurt and stop the department from looking weak, but Smith notes that their going rogue and breaking the chain of command has only made the department look bad. He then suspends all four officers without pay for their insubordination and rogue breach pending a formal investigation and disciplinary hearing, noting that any of them will be lucky to even keep their jobs after this. Back in the ER, James writes out a paper that will be his final will which dictates his wish to have his heart transplanted into Marcus and he needs two witnesses to sign it. Aaron says that he can't sign it since he can't see his brother kill himself to save Marcus. Bobby also refuses to sign it, refusing to watch him die as well. James notes that the sooner two people sign it, the sooner everyone goes home. After some thought, Jill and Hubbard agree to sign it. Marshall then asks what, if anything, will stop him from killing himself, and James jokingly replies if either Harrison or Calvin are B-negative, which makes many of the hostages laugh, including Harrison and Calvin themselves; Harrison replies that he is O-positive and Calvin states he is A-negative, plus notes that James most likely wouldn't want to give his son an addict's heart. James thanks Jill and Hubbard for their signatures and tells everyone to see them in the funny papers. In the trauma room, Gene and Kim stay with Marcus. James and Aaron ask them to let them see Marcus alone. Once Gene and Kim leave the room, they go to Marcus and he weakly asks his father and uncle if they've found him a new heart. James and Aaron tells him they have, and to try to stay awake since they have to tell him some things: they tell him to always listen to and respect his mother; to support his family however they need it, especially his cousins; to always treat the women in his life with to respect they deserve; to always keep his word when he gives it; to make as much money as he can, even if it means having to sell out every now and then; to never start smoking, and if he ever starts drinking when old enough, to do so responsibly; to be kind to people; to be a man about it when he is chosen for something; and to stay awake from all the bad elements. James then ends the talk that he will always be with his son, in his heart, before the two then leave the room. Once outside, James thanks Aaron for standing alongside him all of their life and helping him out with Marcus. Aaron replies that it's what brothers are for. After a long embrace, Aaron tearfully wishes James luck, and James thanks him again before heading to complete his sacrifice.

At the ICU, Spooner is chatting with Lesniak and Ripley about Mattison's dismissal and Marcus now officially on the donor's list as Boyle comes over to check in on the latter two. Before she can chat with them, she spots a secured email attachment on the computer and clicks on it. It shows information on the heart from the woman killed the car accident and confirmation that it is coming to Marcus. She quickly prints it and informs Spooner. Upon him, Lesniak and Ripley seeing it, they realize what it means. At Spooner's urging, Boyle and Lesniak quickly rush out of the ICU and run fast as they could with former carrying the paper. Back in the ER, Walker, Grier, Darko, Cunningham, Gilchrist, and Hubbard wait together in a room as James arrives. As he sit on one of the hospital bed, he takes out the one bullet he has his pocket and lets out his clip, revealing that his gun was actually empty the whole time. When Darko inquires about this James confirms that he was saving the only bullet for himself to save his son if needed. At the waiting room, Aaron shows Kira, Gene, Kim and Cribbs that his shotgun was never loaded as well and it was all an elaborate ruse. Back in the trauma room, James loaded his only bullet in his gun and suggests that they should get some towels ready. Outside the ER, Boyle and Lesniak arrive and quickly inform Crowe that they got a match with a B-negative heart for Marcus, the only one with the status in the whole country. Crowe is shocked and amazed by the crucial news as the three head out. Back inside the ER, James prepares to shoot himself, while outside, Crowe, Boyle and Lesniak rush to Miriam, with Irene, her children, Aspromonte, Francis and the Hume couple present, informing them all that there is very good news for the McGovern family. With Walker, Grier, Cunningham, Darko, Gilchrist and Hubbard standing by somberly, James pulls the trigger, but the gun didn't go off because the safety is still on. Upon seeing the paper, the hopeful Miriam asks if it's all real. Boyle confirms that the Learjet just landed in DIA (Denver International Airport) and the helicopter carrying the heart will arrive in less than 15 minutes. Aspromonte tells Miriam to inform James and Aaron. The excited Miriam tries to tell James and Aaron about the new heart, but James can't understand what she's saying due to her trembling voice, and somberly shuts off the radio. Miriam realizes what James is going to do and rushes over to the ER doors, with Francis helping her pass the police barricade. As James prepares a second time to end his life to save Marcus (with the safety off this time), Miriam reaches the doors and warns Aaron about the new heart coming for Marcus, slipping the paper with the information through the crack between the doors. After taking and quickly looking it over, Aaron quickly rushes to the trauma room, stopping James just in time, and showing James the information that a new heart is coming for Marcus as they speak. After reading and confirming the information for himself, James and Aaron both hug and break down in happy tears, realizing they have finally accomplished saving the former's son, as the remaining hostages applaud.

As the helicopter arrives, Dobbler informs to the audience about it. Then they see Cribbs, Jill, Calvin, Poole, Harrison and Marshall all being released. Then Bobby comes out and surrenders both James and Aaron's guns to the police, informing them that James and Aaron want to see Marcus's operation before they turn themselves in. Smith sends Aspromonte and some uniformed officers to the OR where Marcus will be operated on. Francis opts to go with them, while Smith and Ingram decide to hold a press conference about everything that has happened. As that is happening, Grier, Cunningham, Darko, Kira, Gene, Gilchrist, Kim, Montoya and Hubbard wheel Marcus out of the ER and to the elevators while Walker takes James and Aaron to another elevator. Once they arrive at the OR, Nunez meets up with them informing them that the OR is ready, that Barkawi and a team of nurses are standing by, and tells Grier, Cunningham and Darko to scrub up to help them. James and Aaron reunite with Miriam and Irene in the observation area, and the latter says that Karim and Simone are with Dwayne and Jaya in a waiting room with Stuart and Wendy and they are all praying for Marcus's outcome. Cunningham, Barkawi and Nunez perform the operation with Grier and Darko inside the OR providing whatever assistance they can alongside the nurses; the doctors soon remove Marcus's old heart. Kira, Gene, Kim, Gilchrist, Montoya and Hubbard also watch from the observation room with the McGoverns. Crowe and Lesniak then enter and giving support for the family wells. Then Aspromonte, Francis, and the uniformed cops show up. As the brothers willingly allow Aspromonte and Francis to handcuff them in the front, the uniformed officers wait outside. While Kira reunites with her twin brother, the new heart is placed into Marcus's body. After the doctors connect all the blood vessels to the new heart and restore blood flow, Nunez taps the heart to jumpstart it and, it successfully starts beating on it's own, ensuring Marcus's survival. As the family happily cheers while Miriam and Irene embrace their respective husbands, the former hostages in the observation room applaud in relief, along with Crowe and Lesniak. With Aaron's approval, Irene rushes to the waiting room and informs her children and the Humes that the transplant was successful, at which they cheered upon hearing i. With all said and done, Aspromonte tells the McGovern brothers that it's time. Knowing what Miriam and Irene tell their husbands that they will update them about Marcus and be there when he wakes up. They also promise to get them lawyers to deal with the upcoming legal trouble. With that, Aspromonte, Francis and the others take James and Aaron into custody and read them their rights.

At the end, Grier and Lesniak reunite and Selina brings Michelle and Cody to their father as the whole family embraces. Gilchrist reunites with George, Kim reunites with Holmes, and Gene meets up with his family. Darko also reunites with Ripley, while Walker reunites with his family. After finishing Marcus's surgery, Cunningham reunites with Russell and his family. As the ER reopens, Crowe announces to the press the success of Marcus's transplant and his recovery expectations. She also states that nothing that has occurred on this day and none of the hell the McGovern family went through trying to help a family member they love had to happen in the first place. She also reveals that the board has fired Mattison as CFO, since that his profit-first policies and decisions caused the hospital to turn the McGoverns away when they needed help the most, and thus led to the hostage situation. As this happens, Mattison is shown carrying boxes of his personal belongings to his car as the press hounded him over his actions instigating the hostage situation. Once he makes it to his car, Mattison tosses his name tag out of the window in anger, before leaving the hospital for the last time. Crowe continues to inform the press about the outcome of the hospital situation as James and Aaron are taken into a police car with the crowd supporting them. The car then leaves the hospital driving the brothers away to be processed. Crowe notes that she got into medicine to help people, and it saddens and disgusts her that people like Mattison have continued to dominate the industry and prioritize profits over patients. She notes that the medical community as a whole needs to step up and do better, so that something like the McGovern hostage situation doesn't happen again.

Cast

Main

• Aaron Paul as Dr. Warren Grier
• Melissa George as Dr. Lucy Boyle
• Peyton List as Dr. Sadie Cunningham
• Lance Gross as Dr. Jacobi Palmer
• Molly Quinn as Dr. Kira Francis
• Ashton Sanders as Dr. Gene Winder
• Anna Diop as ER Nurse Kim Quincy-Holmes
• Vincent Rodriguez III as Dr. Nolan Wie
• Brandon Flynn as Dr. Derek Darko
• Asa Butterfield as Dr. Cyril Cole
• Charlotte Sullivan as Head ER Nurse Patty Gilchrist
• Paulo Costanzo as Dr. Lorenzo Franelli
• Cameron Mathison as Dr. Logan Walker
• Waleed Zuaiter as Dr. Ibrahim Barkawi
• Willa Holland as Physician Assistant Saylor Lesniak
• Bailee Madison as Dr. Quinn Ripley
• KaDee Strickland as Dr. Merrilee Kingston
• James Spader as Dr. Cal Spooner
• Julianna Margulies as Dr. Teresa Crowe

Special Guest Star

• Joe Adler as Detective Kyle Francis
• Dennis Haysbert as Chief George Smith
• Kevin Connolly as SWAT Captain Joseph Donnell
• Sharon Lawrence as Deputy Chief Paula Ingram
• Keith David as Retired Captain Eugene Winder
• Corey Hawkins as U.S. Marshal Jackson Holmes

Recurring Cast

• Reiko Aylesworth as Dr. Renee Heller
• Carlos Gómez as Dr. Luis Nuñez
• Jeffrey Nordling as Dr. Marty Holgate
• Lisa Vidal as Aleida Montoya
• Landry Albright as Eleanor Marshall
• Michael James Shaw as Terry Hubbard
• Amber Riley as Denise Williams
• Nathan Kress as Tristan Cribbs
• Corrine Foxx as Dina Little
• Olivia Holt as Renee Poole
• Sulem Calderon as Gabriela Sanchez
• Stan Shaw as Deacon Irvin
• Laura Innes as Faye Moore
• Wendy Makkena as Sally Gilchrist
• Kristoffer Polaha as Fulton Kaye
• Page Kennedy as Luther Jones
• ??? as Michelle Grier
• ??? as Cody Grier
• ??? as George Devlin
• Bruce Campbell as Chester Mattison

Guest Cast

• Jay Ellis as James McGovern
• Hosea Chanchez as Aaron McGovern
• Lauren London as Miriam McGovern
• Naturi Naughton as Irene McGovern
• Al Sapienza as Lieutenant David Aspromonte
• ??? as Bobby Argento
• ??? as Harrison Kale
• ??? as Calvin Massey
• ??? as Jill Prentiss
• ??? as Jeremiah Dupree (Part 1 only)
• ??? as Alicia Dupree (Part 1 only)
• ??? as Miranda Collins (Part 1 only)
• ??? as Jared Collins (Part 1 only)
• ??? as Leah Collins (Part 1 only)
• ??? as Stuart Hume
• ??? as Wendy Hume (Part 2 only)
• ??? as Cliff Dobbler
• ??? as Ken Farley
• ??? as Harvey Phillips (Part 2 only)
• ??? as Chief Security Officer Gilbert Radley
• ??? as Fred Weinrich (Part 1 only)
• ??? as SWAT Officer Hugh Weiss
• ??? as SWAT Officer Frank Antonelli
• ??? as SWAT Officer Spiro Karas
• ??? as SWAT Officer Marvin Davis
• ??? as Marcus McGovern
• ??? as Karim McGovern
• ??? as Dwayne McGovern
• ??? as Simone McGovern
• ??? as Jaya McGovern

Quotes

Part 1

• James McGovern: What I'm still trying to figure out is how the doctors could've missed it. Marcus has tested clean in every checkup he's had since he was born, same with all of his cousins. How come nobody found that he a problem with his heart sooner?
• Dr. Logan Walker: My best theory: he might have not been tested thoroughly enough.
• Dr. Derek Darko: Did you and your brother have a HMO as their insurance back then?
• James McGovern: We did.
• Dr. Derek Darko: That's your answer. HMOs tend to pay their doctors not to do certain tests. It's their way of keeping down costs. Now let's say something came up on Marcus's initial scans that indicated additional testing was needed, and the insurance refuses to cover the cost? The doctor keeps his mouth shut, no one else is ever the wiser, Marcus's condition slips right through the cracks, and come Christmas, the HMO pays the doctor a big fat bonus for helping them maintain their profit.
• James McGovern (shocked by what Darko said): Is that's possible?
• Dr. Logan Walker: It is a possibility. Not likely, but possible.
• Kim Quincy-Holmes: What Darko said is pretty true. In all my time working as a nurse, I've seen insurance companies and healthcare providers alike put the people that they supposed to help in the middle of the conflict over profit.
• Patty Gilchrist: Exactly. I've seen is too, and the people who need help end up being the ones who suffer the most due to that.
• George Devlin-Gilchrist: Well, how exactly does that happen?
• Dr. Derek Darko: Basically, George, on one side, you have your insurance companies, who want you either healthy or dead, because that's how they make money. And on the other hand, you have your healthcare providers, who want you alive, but sick or injured, because helping you get better is how they make money.
• Bobby Argento: In other words, it's all about getting paid.
• Dr. Derek Darko: Exactly. And right in the middle, like Kim said, are the patients, the ones who count on both sides who help them get better. But like Patty here said, they end up caught in the tug-of-war over profit from both side, and in the end, a lot of the time, they end up not getting the treatment they need.
• Calvin Massey: Because if they did, then nobody would get paid.
• Aaron McGovern (astonished by what Darko, Kim and Gilchrist just said): My God. You're saying that my nephew's doctor and James's then-HMO could have known what what was wrong with Marcus and treated him all along, but instead chose to look the other way and ignore it just to save and make a few extra bucks.
• James McGovern: Yeah well, in time, my job eventually upgraded their carrier and my plan to a PPO, a Major Medical policy when Marcus was a little older and I've been paying into the policy for many years. But then they started making cutbacks and such to save money, and in the process, they cut down me to part-time status and switched carriers back to an HMO without giving me timely notice which, as I found out only long after it had already happened, nullified my policy and replaced it with a cheaper, but utterly useless one that didn't cover any of what Marcus needed.
• Aaron McGovern (sighed): Dr. Crowe and the hospital were willing to work with us after learning of James's insurance troubles, but that cheap, penny-pinching bastard Mattison ruined that by halting all payment plans. Then we found out he was releasing all patients who couldn't pay up, including Marcus, as quickly as possible and... well here we are now. All thanks to all these greedy sons of bitches.
• Dr. Warren Grier: Alright, take it easy. My wife Saylor and I got into medicine to help people. The way we see it, that comes first before profit.
• Saylor Lesniak: True. That was why I got into medicine in the first place and profit, while is nice and all, comes second us to the people we are supposed to help.
• Jeremiah Dupree: Can medical professionals really withhold information about people's health due to poor insurance?
• Miranda Collins: That's what I want to know too. Can they really do that and get away with it?
• Dr. Derek Darko: I'll tell you this: my girlfriend, Dr. Quinn Ripley, is an oncologist. She was the one who discovered the Oncology insurance fraud scandal here a year before. Those responsible were knowingly over-treating actual cancer patients and giving false diagnoses and unnecessary treatments to perfectly healthy people to get paid big premiums and kickbacks from the insurance companies. She busted that scam wide open and the hospital has been trying to redeem themselves from it for most of the past year.
• Michelle Grier: Wait a minute. What about that oath that the doctors take?
• Dr. Warren Grier: It's called the Hippocratic Oath, Michelle.
• Patty Gilchrist: It's an oath of medical ethics historically taken by physicians since Ancient Greek.
• Bobby Argento: If you ask me, it's more like the "Hypocritical Oath" with everything that's been happening. From how I see it, it goes like, "I solemnly swear to take care of the sick and the damn near-dead, unless they're not Bill Gates-rich or don't have Major Medical insurance."
• Tristan Cribbs: And the sad part is, that even to this day, many hospitals to this day still enact the same "treat and street" policies on people who can't afford medical care no matter how urgently they may need it. For example, the paramedics bring in some accident or heart attack victim, and when the bigwigs in accounting find out that their insurance is crap and/or non-existent and they have no other way to pay, they send them packing.
• Jill Prentiss: Wait, hospitals just can't turn people away or toss them into the street like that!
• Jeremiah Dupree: Aren't there supposed to be laws against these policies?
• Dr. Derek Darko: Yeah, there are laws, but there are also loopholes to get around them. You see, all we're technically obligated to do is stabilize the patients, and after that, once the imminent danger is over, we're off the hook for anything and everything else that comes after.
• Dr. Logan Walker: That's not how the process works, Darko.
• Dr. Derek Darko: Actually, it's exactly how it works. Maybe it doesn't work like that in any of the specialized units or private rooms on the upper floors, but here in the ER, if you come in clinging to life and you've got no money or good enough insurance, you basically get "a bunch of over-the-counter stuff and a Band-Aid," then a foot in the ass, and you're out the door.
• Miranda Collins (stands up, feeling upset by what she just listened to): I'll tell you all something. If me and my kids get out, the first thing I'm doing is going over my insurance carrier and if it's an HMO, I'm switching carriers!
• Dr. Warren Grier (walks to Miranda): Well, that's admirable Mrs. Collins, but first we need to let this thing play out.
• Dr. Logan Walker: Alright, everyone. Keep it down. We are still hostages and we need to ensure cooperation if we are to survive this.

Part 2

• (Mattison is called into the conference room. As he arrives, he notices the entire hospital board is glaring at him as he sat down)
• Chester Mattison: You wanted to see me?
• Dr. Teresa Crowe: We've reached an unanimous decision, Chester. In a vote of no confidence against you, you're out, effective immediately.
• Chester Mattison: If this is about...
• Dr. Teresa Crowe: You know exactly what this is about. Your actions against the McGoverns resulted in them taking the ER hostage.
• Chester Mattison: I was protect protecting the hospital's budget.
• Dr. Luis Nuñez: Profit maybe important at times, but I'm a father myself, and would rather give treatment to children in anyway I can rather than watch them die.
• Chester Mattison: Look, Luis...
• Dr. Luis Nuñez: Stop. We heard it all before. If you hadn't barged into the meeting with the McGoverns and decided to halt all payment plans right when they needed that policy the most, the situation in the ER would never have happened in the first place.
• Chester Mattison: You can't dismiss me. Not now. You need someone to ensure the budget of the hospital
• Deacon Irvin: We need someone we can trust in both balancing good patient care and the hospital's budget and that is not you.
• Chester Mattison: Every decision I made was for the good of the hospital.
• Dr. Cal Spooner: No, they weren't. You made these decisions for your own personal gain. That makes you a disgrace to Denver Memorial and all what the hospital stands for.
• Dr. Ibrahim Barkawi: You're not gonna sleaze his way out of this, Chester. It's over for you.
• Chester Mattison: So you're all blaming me for the McGovern family's situation and what is happening in the ER! Their problems with their insurance were what started all this. Not to mention James and Aaron McGovern are responsible for their own choice to go Rambo in the ER.
• Dr. Teresa Crowe: Maybe so, but Marcus McGovern is in dire need for a heart transplant and because of you halting a vital policy that would have allowed us to help his family, they had no way of paying for it, and thanks to you deciding to cut out all patients who had trouble paying, Marcus was about to be sent home to die.
• Dr. Lorenzo Franelli: Correct. Because you blocked our efforts to help Marcus and his family, they were unable to get enough money to pay for it in spite of all their efforts. And now his father and uncle are holding the lives of many innocent people including our colleagues and friends in the ER, in a desperate attempt to save his life.
• Chester Mattison: Oh, I see what you're all trying to do. You're just scapegoating me to save face. Well, I'm not going anywhere.
• Dr. Teresa Crowe: (having had enough of him, Crowe stands up and motions for hospital's security to enter. Two guards enter the conference room and went to Mattison.) Get him out of here. (To Mattison) Personnel will help you pack up your office, give you your last paycheck and they will return any papers that are now property of this hospital. You have two hours to get this all done and leave the hospital immediately. (Mattison gazes at everyone spitefully as he stands up and the two security guards escort him out of the conference room.)

---

• Dr. Teresa Crowe: (As the ER reopens, Crowe speaks to the press outside the hospital) No questions, please. No questions. Not right now. What I can tell you is that the transplant surgery for Marcus McGovern was a success. It will take time for him to fully recover and he will have to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his, but he will get better soon. (As this happens, Grier and Lesniak reunite as Selina brings Michelle and Cody as they reunite with their father) His father and uncle, and the rest of his family got to witness the successful operation. (Gilchrist rushes to George and embraces him. Darko reunites with Ripley in the hallway. Kim and Holmes reunite in the hospital lobby. Walker reunites with Tricia and their children. The scene shifts back to Crowe speaking to reporters) There are so many things that shouldn't have happened that led to all of this. Nothing that occurred today and none of the hell the McGovern family went through trying to save a family member they love had to happen in the first place. (As she says this, the scene shows Gene meeting up with his parents and brother. Cunningham leaves the OR and saw Russell, Henry, Megan and her family and reunites with Russell and Henry first as Megan smiles at her ex-husband's girlfriend. The scene goes back to Crowe talking to reporters) Another thing I will say is that all of that started because of a combination of the McGovern family's insurance policy being changed to the point that it wouldn't cover the transplant, and our CFO of the hospital, Chester Mattison making executive decisions halting out payment plans policy right when they needed it the most, and then deciding to cut out all patients who had trouble paying and send them home to die. (The scene shows Mattison carrying two boxes of his belongings as he leaves the hospital and being hounded by reporters) Because of Mattison's actions, James and Aaron McGovern decided that they had no choice but to resort to drastic measures and take our ER hostage to save Marcus McGovern. (Mattison makes it to his car as the press continues to hound him) As the result of this, as well as other profit-first related decisions and actions over the course of this year, including causing the janitorial strike and torpedoing the negotiations, the board has issued a vote of no confidence against Mattison and fired him as CFO. (As Mattison looks at his name tag, he briefly cracks the window open and in frustration, tosses his name tag out the window as the press demands a comment. Then he drives out of the hospital one last time, while expressing anger and defeat at the same time. Then the scene shifts back to Crowe) All the hostages, patient and staff alike, are unharmed and safe. (The scene shows James and Aaron being escorted by Aspromonte, Francis and other officers to a nearby police car.) James and Aaron McGovern, after watching Marcus's successful surgery, peacefully and voluntarily surrendered to the police afterwards. (After putting the brothers in the police car, they take off to go to the police station. The scene changes back to Crowe speaking to reporters). I got into medicine to help people for personal reasons, and it deeply saddens and disgusts me that people like Mattison have continued to dominate the medical industry and prioritize profits over patients. The medical community as a whole needs to step up and do better than this, so that something like this situation here doesn't happen again because of greedy people who care more about money regardless of who suffers and dies because of it. That is all I have for now. You will get more tomorrow. I have to get back to work. Thank you. (Crowe leaves the reporters as she returns to the now reopened ER.)