Dr. Carter struggles with his drug dependency; a custodial strike leaves the ER cluttered with garbage; a riot at a high-school football game leaves several wounded.

A young couple cope with their baby being premature; Greene and Corday struggle with their relationship.

Dr. Carter is allowed a cautious restart with small steps. An extremely blond Dr. Malucci is very curious who's made Dr. Chen pregnant. Dr. Benton has been written out of all the hospital's systems and is stunned by Dr. Romano. An unfortunate incident at a Science Fiction convention makes it look like scenes from the movie 'Mars Attacks'.

Benton is unable to find a job after Romano negatively influences local hospitals. He reluctantly agrees to accept Romano's demeaning offer of a per diem job at County with no benefits. Kovac and Abby are attacked by a mugger with a steel pipe. Injured, Kovac protects Abby and smashes the robber's head on the ground repeatedly.

Greene flies in a helicopter to a remote area of Indiana to rescue a heart transplant patient. The helicopter develops problems, and Greene arranges for paramedics to transport the patient to County. Because Weaver is gone for the day, Romano appoints Benton in charge of the ER. Kovac is plagued by the death of the mugger.

Maggie's emotional instability worsens. She refuses her medication, becomes combative and flees the hospital. Abby finds solace with Kovac. The gang member girlfriend of Benton's deceased nephew knows who killed him and that he was hated for his antigang stance.

Chen gives birth, but insists on breastfeeding the infant before she gives it to the adoptive parents. Greene and Corday consult a brain specialist in New York City who believes the tumor can be safely removed. Stressed and tired, Carter impulsively swallows two painkiller pills but intentionally vomits them. He confesses to Abby.

Benton and Cleo clash over his deceased nephew's girlfriend. They finally agree to call a social worker. Benton confesses his love to Cleo. The spinal surgery malpractice suit is settled by employing a technicality: the equipment used was later recalled by the manufacturer. But Corday now doubts her abilities as a surgeon.

Greene returns to work but confuses words and displays uncharacteristic anger. Eager to get out of his per diem situation, Benton agrees to a full time position. Carter visits his cousin, who became paralyzed after a drug overdose. A workplace disaster results in numerous injuries and fatalities among illegal immigrants.

Weaver becomes concerned about Greene's cognitive skills and surreptitiously calls for an official evaluation of his competency. Corday plans her wedding to Greene. Bishop Stewart returns, and Kovacs realizes the man has a terrible disease. Dateless for a charity function, Carter invites Abby to attend with him.

In the series' 150th episode, a massive train wreck mobilizes the emergency room doctors. Corday, Carter and Kovac rush to the scene. Corday falls and injures her back, bringing on contractions in only her 25th week of pregnancy. While amputating the legs of a fallen firefighter, Corday stops because of her pain.

A demented patient causes a shootout in the emergency room. After terrorizing people in the ER with a gun, she gets shot by a policeman. She soon dies. Benton later discover her dementia was caused by an aftereffect of his surgery that he and Cleo should have detected. Carter pursues a cute intern.

Numerous mishaps threaten to mar Corday and Greene's wedding day. As the very pregnant Corday becomes increasingly agitated, the presence of her bickering divorced parents does little to improve her mood. With the intense rain, Greene has a difficult time making it to the church. But, evenutally, he arrives and they joyfully wed.

Abby and Carter travel to Oklahoma to rescue Abby's mentally ill mother and bring her back to Chicago. In Chicago, Maggie suffers from a sleeping pills overdose. At County General, Kovac frantically revives her. Benton treats a college student injured in a fraternity prank.

Maggie contests Abby's attempt to institutionalize her. Weaver treats a few bizarre patients. When Legaspi returns to work after being exonerated of sexual harassment, Weaver tries to reconcile with her. Benton injures his hand while transporting his former teacher to the hospital and must contend with the teacher's wisecracking elderly buddies.

The ER is flooded with foster care home residents, attacked by a shooter bent on tracking down his son, who , with the help of Dr. Green, was put into the foster care system amid allegations he was being abused by his father.

Weaver returns to the emergency room after a self-imposed sabbatical of three weeks, wondering how her newfound lesbian identity will affect her workplace relationships. Having purposely allowed a mass murderer to die, Greene must keep the secret amidst the scrutiny of his superiors.

Carter is overwhelmed by patients from a rock concert riot. Benton's former girlfriend is killed in a car accident. Newly promoted to chief resident, Chen panics and misdiagnoses a patient. Kovac angers Abby by flirting with a waitress.

Lewis faces a hectic first day back at County General. Benton and Roger become frantic when they can't locate Reese. Carter's grandmother is brought to the emergency room. Carter and Abby deal with inept medical students.

Corday's ordeal, caused by the recent infection-related deaths of several of her patients, worsens when she is closely observed by a stern taskmaster. Corday is outraged when a county investigator accuses her of deliberately euthanizing the patients, who all happened to be elderly.

When a torrential rainstorm pounds Chicago, patients deluge the emergency room while Weaver speeds to an accident site. There, she finds a pregnant woman, Vicki lying injured inside a wrecked ambulance while live power lines spark. Fourth-year student Michael Gallant makes a dangerous decision in order to help.

An accidental overdose brings Drs. Green and Corday's baby into the ER.

Greene confronts Corday when she orders Rachel out of their home; Abby tries to protect a battered neighbor who refuses to press charges against her husband.

As Dr. Greene's brain tumor begins affecting his coordination, he becomes concerned that his fate will be similar to the terminally ill patients he treats.

Dr. Carter reads a letter from terminally ill Dr. Green to the ER staff. Dr. Weaver lashes out at a mentally challenged patient. A terminal, homeless man continues asking for Dr. Green.

Just when the ER is understaffed and swamped, two children who were brought in turn out to have full blown smallpox. The entire ER must be locked down. The staff needs to improvise while they battle not only the disease but also frayed tempers.

After another hospital shuts down, the ER is flooded with patients. Dr. Pratt resuscitates a heart-attack victim who had been pronounced dead.

On a busy Halloween night, Carter and Abby are the only staffers in costume when victims of an apartment building fire pack the ER. Corday takes on a new med student for a surgical rotation - Paul Nathan, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and decided to pursue medicine after being diagnosed. Despite a difficult first day, both professionally and medically, Nathan makes a difficult diagnosis. Romano's rehab lags behind his expectations, and he begins to doubt his role in surgery is no longer an option.

Corday clashes with new surgical resident Paul Nathan regarding his intervention into the treatment of a sickly young woman, Alison, who has signed a "do not resuscitate" order. Abby wonders about the erratic behavior of her visiting brother Eric, and feels conflicted over a nurse's official complaint against Kovac, Abby's former lover. Meanwhile, Pratt comforts Chen after a patient threatens her, and Corday suspects that an unconscious, 14-year-old female patient has been sexually assaulted.

Abby fears the worst when her brother Eric suddenly disappears. Carter and Chen treat a frightened Chinese immigrant nanny, Tong-Yi, whom they suspect was impregnated by her employer. Meanwhile, new surgical resident Paul Nathan, who is struggling to overcome a physical disability, tries to help in the emergency room—but his fellow doctors do not appreciate his advice to patients. Unable to quench his sexual appetites, Kovac also gets into trouble in his professional life, despite his admirable resolve to find an eye specialist to treat a young gunshot victim. Gallant and fellow medical student Erin Harkins engage in an escalating competition of medical knowledge. And Weaver gets some much-needed good news.

Dr. Pratt brings a gun into the ER; Dr. Weaver tries to conceal her pregnancy; a woman plots against her dying husband; Dr. Chen treats math students who overdosed on an unknown stimulant.

Dr. Weaver is in a difficult situation when an alderman tests positive for syphilis. Dr. Carter is impressed when he meets a man who runs an inner city clinic.

Dr. Pratt's disabled roommate leads him to a wounded thief. Dr Carter decides to practice medicine in Africa. A doctor makes a pass at Dr. Corday.

Abby's troubled brother is missing. A car runs into a crowd of teen girls. The alderman with syphilis gives Dr. Weaver a promotion. Dr. Lewis looks forward to a blind date.

Dr. Weaver bends the rules and treats the Alderman's lover for syphilis. Dr. Kovac's patient claims she was sexually abused at a boot camp for troubled youth. Dr. Carter treats a women with a nasty personality.

A psychotic patient threatens Abby. Dr. Weaver suspects a woman poisoned her own baby. Dr. Romano continues to make rash judgments.

Dr. Carter tries to prevent a grieving gang member from going after vengeance. Dr. Kovac races against time to save a Croatian boy's life. A baseball player gets treatment for a heart problem.

Carter's day shift and Pratt's night shift (his final shift at County) are intercut. Both men have extremely busy days. Doc Magoo's burns down. Luka calls Carter from the Congo and asks for help. Carter decides to go. Pratt decides to stay at County. In other parts of the hospital, Romano has his now-useless left arm amputated.

Carter returns from Africa, going straight to Abby's bedside. Her response to seeing him is to ask for her key back. She is very chilly towards him all day until new med student Neela Rasgotra answers a phone call for Carter. The message: Luka is dead. Carter decides to go back to the Congo to bring the body back. Neela has a tough first day in the ER, earning Chen's ire after Pratt flirts with her. Gallant, now a full-fledged doctor, helps to show her the ropes.

Pratt and Kovac clash over a miscarriage-prone young woman, Denny, who arrives to deliver a premature baby. Pratt wants to make heroic efforts to save the unborn child, while Kovac is adamantly against spending vast amounts of money to keep the forever sickly baby alive.

To everyone's amazement, Lewis makes a date to share a home-cooked dinner with the elderly Ben Hollander, her depressed patient who is going blind.

On Thanksgiving Day, a helicopter crash outside the ER leaves several injured, and kills Dr. Romano. Alex tries to bring Sam and Luka together.

Neela helps treat two Amish teens who were in a car crash. Sam argues with Dr. Kovac when he pays too much attention to her son.

Carter returns to County General to hearty welcomes. Although Abby is shocked to learn that Carter's beautiful African girlfriend, Kem, is already pregnant with Carter's child, Abby has moved on with her life as well, going back to medical school.

Dr. Carter's girlfriend makes an impression as she observes ER operations. Dr. Gallant is almost shot during a domestic incident. Dr. Weaver dedicates a center to the memory of Dr. Romano.

Carter misses his pregnant girlfriend who has returned to Africa. A family of four is rushed to the emergency room after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from their faulty furnace--forcing the claustrophobic Neela to accompany a newborn baby into an extremely uncomfortable hyperbaric chamber.

Morris streets a patient without getting a psych consult, and the guy steals a tank and heads for County. Gillian is visiting Luka, and Sam's not happy about it. Luka and Sam make up by the end of the day though. A 13-year-old boy has chlamydia. Frank has a heart attack. Corday plays the dating game, going out with two men.

Kovacs stops to help a woman and her son whose car broke down. Steve is getting close to Alex, and Sam panics. Abby is looking for her letter whether to see she passed her boards. Pratt shows off his new Chrysler. Elgin tries to build a connection between him and Pratt. Jing-Mei might be battered by her senile father.

Neela is still struggling with her decision not to continue becoming a doctor. We discover that Ray is in a band. Kovac and Sam are amoureux, but where does that leave them?

Dr. Weaver meets her birth mother, but their relationship changes when Kerry reveals she is gay. Dr. Carter causes a commotion when he confronts a couple hoping to scam some painkillers.

Jules 'Ruby' Rubadoux is back in the ER. He's still angry with Carter about the death of his wife.

Morris is named the new chief resident, which makes nobody really happy, except Morris. Meanwhile Luka and Sam are having communication problems, Carter gets a promotion Susan really wanted and Ray finds out a 14-year old who always comes in for free drugs has been raped.

Casualties of a disaster flood the ER, which is short-handed because everyone is at Dr. Carter's going-away party because he's leaving the ER after 11 years. Dr. Pratt looks for the courage to confront his father, Charlie.

Much to Ray's dislike, a surrogate mother in labor doesn't want to have a C-section and endangers the life of the baby. Meanwhile, Sam tells Luka she and Alex are moving out. Pratt meets his half-brother and -sister, and Abby makes a difficult decision about a young boy.

Pratt's half-brother tries to get him to make ends meet with his estranged father. Clemente treats an infant chimpanzee and involves Abby and Neela on the secret case. Eve promotes Sam and her first tasks is to fire a beloved nurse.

A kidnaped girl is the victim of police shooting. Abby is stuck in the middle of a disagreement between Luka and Clemente. Neela receives a phone call from Iraq. Later, Luka and Abby share a kiss.

The ER prepares to take in victims from a plane collision, while Neela and Pratt head out to the crash site where Neela makes heroic efforts. At the end of the day, Neela gets a surprising visit.

Gallant impulsively asks Neela to marry her that exact day, she says I do but soon gets cold feet. Morris stands up to Weaver on a patients course of treatment. Luka, Sam and Clemente treat a boy who contracted HIV from his mother. Also, Abby and Luka redefine their relationship and Luka is named the new Chief of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Nate Lennox, a former professor with ALS, is brought in as the progression of his disease is chronicled through his own flashbacks as he is treated by each of the doctors at one point. As Lennox wants to give up, Abby fights to convince him to keep on fighting.