Gideon's Crossing

A classmate of Ben's asks him to treat her father, who is dying from cancer. But the man, a believer in old-school medicine, doesn't want Ben's help.

We start where we left off, with Gideon getting off the floor. He takes his own blood pressure, collects himself, and goes out as if nothing occurred. The Coopers come in. Wyatt whispers to Cherry that his wife hasn't felt the twins in over 12 hours. Cherry takes her off calmly for a ""checkup."" Gideon's heartburn and mood are getting worse by the second. He resists Boise's pleas for a check-up for a diagnosis. Boise leaves, but is soon called back by the sound of crashing. He and several others see Gideon passed out, and they work to resuscitate him. To Wyatt's dismay, the OBGYN discovers that one twin is getting too much blood, one not enough. They have three options: to do an amniocentesis, laser surgery to direct blood flow, or...terminate the pregnancy. They decide to go with surgery. Gideon, now very awake, resists all treatment, even a simple heparin drip (a blood thinner). Cabranes and Pirandello insist; Gideon confides he had a bleeding ulcer two years ago and a blood t

In the opening scene, Gideon is trying to get his son, Eli, off to school. Neither of them is in a good mood, and Eli is being extremely difficult. It's a battle every step of the way. Gideon asks Boise to perform his routine physical for insurance purposes. He eats his first of dozens of antacids eaten through the show. The questions on the lifestyle portion of the exam seem to accuse Gideon of being burnout, impatient and at risk for stress related illness. He dodges the question on alcohol consumption as ""the bear."" Frustrated with Boise's thoroughness and candidness, Gideon ends the session early with this statement ""Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes the bear eats you."" Gideon is treating a patient with Parkinson's disease. The patient's gradual deterioration has motivated his wife to opt for the highly risky, but sometimes miraculous fetal stem-cell implant therapy. Gideon is apprehensive; the surgery is irreversible and without protocol at this hospital. She insists.

Cherry treats a girl who, due to a terrible accident becomes brain dead. He confronts the parents about taking her off life support, and when they agree, he presents the choice to donate her organs. Although the mother is willing, the father is greatly opposed. Gideon and other doctors routinely work on the priority list for a liver transplant. Whom will be the number one candidate comes down to Gideon's patient (Black male in 40's, Asian wife, three kids, on list for several years, terminal) and another doctor's patient (Gay white 30-something male, HIV positive, with 2 adoptive kids and partner, terminal). The black man's tumor sizes disqualify him. The gay man is decided to be most elligible. After pressure from the gay man's doctor, Cherry secretly lets the mother know that only one parent is needed to sign the consent form. She agrees. He is immediately plagued by guilt, and when his girlfriend, Money (Hedy Burress), tries to pragmatize the situation to him, he remarks, ""Yo