TV Recap: Private Practice - Ex-Life

Archer seems to be insistent on dying but Derek verbally smacks some sense into him, Sam really is over Naomi (I think), Derek and Addison save a baby and her mom (again, or so it seems), and Cooper, Violet, and Peter deal with a crazed momma and Violet’s own fears of motherhood.

Addison has a theory that Sam’s asthma attacks are caused by the stress of seeing Naomi with Archer, but Sam insists that he’s over her and points out that he’s the one who divorced her. He keeps insisting that the attack is physiological, not psychological, but Bailey can’t find anything that would have caused the symptoms to go all severe like that. It finally comes out that an inhaler that Bailey had refilled for Sam used a corn starch propellant and he’s allergic to corn starch. Mystery solved, though Sam seems a little too relieved to have it proven that he wasn’t freaking out over Naomi.

Archer thinks that his slurred speech, fuzzy thinking, and whatnot means that Derek didn’t do something right and wants a CT scan. Derek thinks that all of these symptoms are a result of the sedatives they have Archer on and refuses.

The Chief, who wants to use this case for publicity, overrules Derek and orders the CT scans to make sure nothing is wrong before he calls in the press. When Archer looks at the scans, he points out what he thinks are cysts and – in a strangely triumphant tone – declares that Derek didn’t get them all and he’s going to die.

The Chief and Addison bring the scans to Derek who interrupts Archer’s tear-soaked apologies to everyone for being such an ass to rip into him and tell him that if he had any sense and consulted a neurosurgeon, he’d know that the cyst husks always refill with fluid before fading away and would be gone within 48 hours.

Archer’s relieved and asks “You mean I’m going to live?"

As he storms out of the room, Derek shoots back over his shoulder “Yup, you’ll stay an ass, just like you always have been.”

Back in San Francisco, Cooper is checking out a baby that his mom says slipped under the bathwater for a moment. The baby is fine and the woman is relieved but keeps babbling about how the baby never sleeps and she’s so tired that she forgets things and makes stupid mistakes. Cooper realizes that she is not only extremely tired, but may be suffering from postpartum depression, so he calls in Violet for a consult.

Violet begins to suspect something even deeper than PPD and pushes the woman off on Peter, ostensibly for acupuncture treatments to help her sleep, while she does some more research and calls the baby’s father to pick up the baby.

Peter comes into Violet’s office to tell her that the woman needs more than sleep, but Violet tells him that she knows, the woman has postpartum psychosis and is being admitted to the hospital. Peter’s pissed that she basically used him as a babysitter, but their argument is cut short by the woman looking for her baby.

The woman finally breaks down and sobbingly tells the doctors about breaking down and holding the baby under the water for a minute while she considered the sleep she could get until her husband got home and found the baby. This sparks concern in Violet that she could become like that woman when her baby is born. Once the woman calms down and is sedated, she wants to see the baby but Violet is hesitant.

Peter tries to make the situation about them and how Violet wants to make decisions for everyone without consulting with them and Violet calls him on it, but then Cooper points out that she’s making it about her, too, by not letting the woman see her baby because of her own concerns about her impending motherhood.

Derek’s page was concerning the pregnant woman. She is now having trouble breathing but nobody can figure out why. Derek is stumped on how the surgery could have caused this, but Addison suggests they do a Doppler, saying that sometimes a mother can develop issues that come from the baby. The Doppler proves her right and they begin to run tests that reveal that the baby has some kind of problem that is making her develop bad blood. The only treatment is a blood transfusion, but the baby is too early to survive outside of the womb. There’s a way to do in-utero transfusions, but the woman’s illness makes this very risky. The two Shepherds go in to tell the couple that they’ll have to give up the baby, but the woman’s tears cause Derek to crack and he tells them about the in-utero procedure, which they instantly latch onto. Addison is furious and spends most of the surgery ranting at Derek about how he cornered her, but they’re able to save the baby without killing the mother.

While they’re giving the good news to the couple, the mother wakes up and begins speaking nonsense, indicating that there’s still something wrong.

That poor, poor lady.

Next week, the crossover concludes in Grey’s Anatomy.