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Will Hannah Asher’s Disastrous Date Drive Her Into the Arms of New Doctor Mitch Ripley?
When Dr. Hannah Asher discovered alarming secrets about the man she just went out on a date with, another doctor was waiting in the wings.
The executive producers of Chicago Med hinted before Season 9 premiered that love may be on the horizon for Dr. Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) — and viewers got their first glimpse of that possibility in Episode 3.
"Hannah is dating," executive producer Andy Schneider previously told NBC Insider. "She’s out in the world of dating apps and not doing well with it ... But there is this really handsome, new guy coming into the ED — and charming."
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The "new guy" at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center is Dr. Mitch Ripley (Luke Mitchell). And fans finally saw him interacting with Hannah in a way they hadn't before.
The opening moments of Episode 3 showed Hannah sitting at a bar when Ripley spotted her and sat down next to her, despite her asking him not to because she had a "first date" arriving "any minute." Ripley promised to leave the second the date walked in, and then playfully grilled Hannah about what she knew about him.
“His name’s Kyle. And he’s an architect. And we met on a dating app,” Hannah told Ripley.
This didn't satisfy Ripley, so he asked for more details: "Commercial architecture? Residential? What’s the name of his firm?”
Hannah joked, “Do you wanna date him?” But Ripley persisted: “You didn’t Google the guy?” As things turned out, Hannah should have.
Hannah's first date with guy she met on an app is immediately disrupted
As he promised, Ripley left when Hannah's date arrived, moving to another side of the bar to play pool with his friends. He stole glances at Hannah through, who was seen laughing and talking with her date. Just when everyone was getting comfortable, a man and his girlfriend passed out in the bar after taking cocaine that was apparently laced with fentanyl.
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Hannah, who had Narcan in her purse, rushed to help the couple, along with Ripley. They eventually revived both victims, and as the doctors waited for an ambulance to take the couple away, Ripley reminded Hannah that her date, seen awkwardly standing behind Hannah, was waiting for her.
“Wow, you’re like a real-life superwoman,” Kyle told Hannah outside the bar, and Hannah suggested, “What do you say we pick up where we left off?”
Kyle seems hesitant and told Hannah he has to get going because he has an early start the next day, but Hannah leaned in for a kiss, which was reciprocated.
The next day, Ripley spotted Hannah at work and asked her: "Your night turn out alright?” She told him, “Yeah, actually, it ended up being a pretty good first date.”
How did Hannah find out her date was married?
Shortly after Hannah told Ripley that her date the night before turned out well, a pregnant woman stormed into the emergency department demanding to see "Hannah Asher." After making her way around the hospital, she found Hannah examining another pregnant woman. Hannah told Ripley she didn't know the uninvited guest and asked the woman, "Is there a problem?"
Infuriated, the pregnant woman asked, “The problem? Well, you went on a date with my husband last night, so yeah, we’ve got a problem.”
Ripley just smiled at Hannah at the bombshell news.
Once Hannah moved to a more private area with the pregnant woman who stormed into Gaffney, the doctor told the woman, named Tessa, that she did have a date the previous night, but it wasn’t with a married man.
“You seriously want me to believe you didn’t Google Nick before your date?,” Tessa asked. This confused Hannah, who asked, "Wait, Nick?," to which Tessa responded, "My husband!”
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Hannah seemed momentarily relieved, saying that the guy she went out with the night before was named Kyle.
But a look at a picture of Tessa’s husband on her phone revealed that the man Hannah knew as Kyle was actually a general contractor named Nick, and Hannah had been fooled.
"Oh, God," Hannah said, before swearing to Tessa that she didn't know her date was married.
“I’m going to kill him," Tessa cried to Hannah. "How could he do this to me? [I'm] carrying our child."
Hannah, trying to comfort Tessa, said, "It is absolutely terrible, I know.”
Tessa revealed that she suspected something was up, saying, "I thought it was just new dad jitters, you know? In a million years I never ... oh."
Hannah asked if Tessa was ok after seeing that the pregnant woman looked distressed, and Tessa told her that she thinks her water just broke.
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Tessa told Hannah that she was 38 weeks pregnant, and the doctor said she wanted to get her on a monitor.
"No, I’m going to see my own doctor," Tessa shot back, before screaming in pain.
Hannah delivers baby of married man she went on a date with
After Tessa began suffering pains, Hannah performed an ultrasound on the woman, who said her OB-GYN was on the way and should be there in about 40 minutes to deliver the baby.
But Tessa had a question for Hannah before she could think about that: “I have to know. How far did things go between you and Nick last night?” Hannah informed her, “We made out, but that’s as far as it went, I swear.”
Tessa then had a burst of what she called "intense pain" and "a lot of pressure." So, Hannah checked how things were progressing and found that Tessa was fully dilated and ready to deliver her baby.
“I can’t have you deliver my baby, I’m sorry,” Tessa said.
Understanding the awkward situation, Hannah reasoned: “I get that I’m not your first option. In fact, I’m probably your last, but I am a board-certified OB-GYN and I have delivered hundreds of babies. And I will get yours out safely if we work together."
There was a slight complication as Hannah and Ripley delivered the infant, but the baby girl was ultimately born healthy.
Hannah confronts her date outside the delivery room
A bewildered Nick eventually arrived at the hospital and was confused when Hannah confronted him, using his real name. Hannah revealed that not only did she deliver his baby, but his wife now knew everything.
“She hacked your phone, found our messages, and tracked me down,” Hannah explained. When a shocked Nick asked if that was why his wife went into labor, Hannah said, “It’s definitely possible for emotional stress to induce labor. But, regardless, Tessa gave birth to a healthy baby girl and both mom and baby are good.”
Nick responded, "Oh, thank God. Look, Hannah, I’m not a cheater."
But Hannah wasn't having it, and said: "Yeah, well, last night would suggest otherwise."
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Nick swore that Hannah was the only woman he messaged on the dating app, and added, "and I had no intention of ever seeing you again. No offense." He said he "made a horrible mistake" and was "freaking out about becoming a dad."
Nick continued, "I just thought one last night of freedom would... "
But Hannah cut him off with, "Save your rationalizations for your wife. Or better yet, spare her. ... I think that your time is best used begging Tessa for forgiveness.”
After the disastrous date and long work day, Hannah ran into Ripley in the doctors' locker room as he changed back into his street clothes.
“Well, today settles it,” Hannah declared. Not missing a beat, Ripley responded with, "Joining a nunnery?”
Hannah announced that she's leaving all dating apps.
“Probably for the best," Ripley responded. "All that swiping, head buried in your phone. ... Might miss out on meeting someone in, what do the kids say, 'IRL'? In real life."
Ripley then said good night and left, leaving Hannah to ponder the thought.
Find out if Hannah and Ripley take a shot at romance by watching new episodes of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
