Did You Hear What Happened To Charlotte King? - Recap

The show opened with Charlotte suffering a violent attack and rape by an enraged male stranger, cause unknown. Once he left, she climbed to her feet and staggered to the hall, leaving bloody hand prints on the walls and hand railings as she aimed for a closet where medical supplies were stored. She was reaching for something on an upper shelf when she was discovered in the closet by Pete, a fellow doctor and Violet's husband. He helped her to a hospital room, putting her on the bed and treating her considerable wounds: broken wrist and hand, long gash on one arm, two black eyes, etc. He wanted to get staff to help, but she said no, that she only wanted her friend and fellow doctor, Addison, Sam's girlfriend. Addison was summoned and was truly shocked to see Charlotte in such a state. Charlotte would not tell Pete what happened other than she was attacked in a robbery, that her purse was stolen and that her assailant had fled the scene. She didn't want the police, but they were summoned anyway because doctors are required by law to do so. Charlotte would only tell the police that she had been robbed and beaten and when they insisted on more details, Addison told them that was enough for tonight and chased them from the room.

Charlotte asked to be alone with Addison, telling her that she had been raped, but did not want a rape kit used, that Addison was not to tell anyone at all about the rape. When Addison objected, Charlotte asked her as a friend, not to tell. Addison complied with doubts. Addison treated Charlotte's wounds as best she could, stitching up that bad long gash on her arm. When Addison asked Charlotte if she wanted pain medication for the stitching, she refused, saying she didn't want any, didn't feel comfortable even thinking about it.

Left alone momentarily, Charlotte paged Cooper who happened to be at a local bar with a male friend. Cooper had been drinking all evening and was feeling no pain, so missed Charlotte's page. Cooper was trying to play pool, not doing a very good job of it, laughing and carousing. It took Violet showing up with baby Luke on her shoulder in the bar, angrily asking Cooper if he had not gotten Charlotte's page. He reeled over to his pager on the bar nearby, read it and took off running as best he could toward Violet's car, who drove him to the hospital to see Charlotte. When he saw the state she was in, he fell to his knees beside her bed, crying boozily, confessing that he had been out drinking all night with his friends and could she ever forgive him? What had happened, he wanted to know? Charlotte only told him that she'd been beaten in a robbery. Later, Charlotte told Addison that she did not want Cooper or her friends to ever look at her with disgust if they should ever find out about the rape. Charlotte felt that she could never live down their imagined revulsion when Addison tried to reassure her that it was not her fault, that she should look into counseling, etc. Charlotte shoved away the notion that she needed any of that and that she could man up, as it were, getting over the violent incident.

Meanwhile, across town, Doctor Sheldon Wallace had received a phone call from the local police to come evaluate a man found yelling in the streets, covered in someone else's blood, not his own. Wallace gently interrogated the man who said his name was Lee McKinley and that he had just had a bad night. He had come home and found his girlfriend in bed with another man, that he would just have to wait his turn. When he objected, she yelled at him and he snapped, running out of the house, not touching his woman. He had come to the hospital seeking advice/help and had encountered Charlotte who, he claimed, had just told him he would have to wait. That had made him snap, assaulting and raping her, then running away into the street, covered in Charlotte's blood, clutching her purse.
He would not tell Wallace immediately, but later confessed to the rape. He then assaulted Doctor Wallace himself, grabbing him round the throat and trying his best to choke him to death. Police officers burst into the room, dragging McKinley off Wallace, putting him in another room in hand cuffs. When the police asked Wallace if he wanted to press charges, he said yes. Wallace told the police about McKinley's rape confession, asking if he could be held for that. When computer records were checked for any such complaints, none were found and the police said he could not be held for rape since no such complaints had been filed recently. Wallas protested that McKinley was dangerous and that a woman was still out there somewhere, needing help, but what to do? The police did hold McKinley for assault on Wallace and for kicking a police officer, but not rape.

Back at the hospital, Charlotte was angered by Cooper's statement that she was a victim, tossing a cupful of ice in his face. He said he deserved that and began to cry again. Charlotte told him to shut up and that she was still chief of staff, that she wondered if the staff knew, what they were thinking. Cooper said that she wasn't to worry about what others thought, to just rest and heal. He went to assess the damage in Charlotte's office and when he saw the mess, got very angry, going out into the hall, talking to his best friend Violet about hiring a twenty four hour body guard for Charlotte. Violet sympathized with him but said it wasn't a very practical idea, that Charlotte wouldn't even consider it.

In Charlotte's hospital room once more, Charlotte told Cooper that she wanted to leave the hospital now that her wounds were treated, that she wanted to go home. No, she did not want a wheel chair, she just wanted his support as they walked down the hall amidst staring, murmuring staff members. She told Cooper to hold her up, to not let her fall. He helped Charlotte to the elevator as she walked, leaning heavily on his arm.

A shaken Addison went outside, finding a tired Sam who just wanted to go home. That made her angry, she telling him she thought he was being selfish. Sam asked her to talk to him, what was on her mind? She said she could not tell him, but could she trust him? He said she could and they kissed and held hands as the scene faded.

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