Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
County General begins the year with Carter back from Africa and the ER under renovation. Neela Rasgotra arrives as a medical student, while nurse Samantha Taggart and resident Archie Morris join the department. Abby has returned to medical school, and her reunion with Carter is cold. When word comes from Africa that Kovač has been killed, Carter goes back to the Congo to find him. Flashbacks show Kovač’s clinic falling to rebel forces; he survives because they mistake him for a priest, but malaria leaves him gravely ill. Carter arranges Kovač’s return to Chicago and stays behind at an AIDS clinic. He ends his relationship with Abby by letter.
In the Congo, Carter falls in love with AIDS worker Makemba “Kem” Likasu. He returns to Chicago with her pregnant, and her questions about County’s methods unsettle the staff. Kem goes back to Africa but later rejoins Carter in Chicago. Near the season’s end, their unborn son dies; Kem must deliver him, and Carter shares her grief while trying to support her through saying goodbye. Their plans for a family collapse as the hospital continues working around them.
Romano returns with a prosthetic arm and clashes with the staff. At Thanksgiving, a helicopter crashes from the hospital roof into the ambulance bay and kills him. Weaver uses his bequest for a gay and lesbian health program, then loses her partner Sandy to injuries sustained fighting a fire and faces a custody dispute over their son. Gallant deploys to Iraq, Chen cares for her ailing father, and Neela leaves for an internship in Michigan. Sam flees Chicago with Alex when his father Steve threatens the new life she has built.