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Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King? is the seventh episode of the fourth season and the 61st overall episode of Private Practice.

Short Summary

After Pete discovers Charlotte in the halls of the hospital bloodied and bruised, he and their fellow doctors come to her aid, but only Addison learns the truth from Charlotte that she was sexually assaulted.

Full Summary

Charlotte's office is a mess, and an overturned lamp is flickering. Charlotte crawls up from behind her desk and moans in pain. We don't see her face, but her hand bleeding and it's clear she's beaten up heavily. She puts her panties in the drawer of her desk, and locks it. After hiding the key in a flower pot, she hobbles out of her office and on her way to a supply closet, she passes the ER where Pete is working. She tries to get out of his sight as soon as possible, but he lifts his head just as she turns right. She's breathing heavily. She enters the supply closet, doesn't put on the light and begins looking for supplies to treat herself. Pete appears in the doorway, and calls her name as he puts on the light. He is shocked when he sees her face, and now we see it too. It's heavily beaten up. She instructs him to close the door as she doesn't want anyone to see her. Suddenly, her heel breaks and she starts falling, but Pete is in time to catch her before she hits the ground. He takes her into his arms. "It's okay, I got you," he says as he starts hushing her. She breaks down in tears.

Pete lies Charlotte down on a bed in the hospital, and outside the room, several nurses are looking through the windows. One of them comes into the room and asks if it's doctor King. Charlotte turns her face away from the nurse, who insists that she needs to be admitted, but Pete says he got it. He chases her away and closes the door and the blinds. Charlotte then tells him that she was robbed of her wallet. Pete asks her to lie back, but she keeps on talking about how he kept on hitting her. She doesn't want him to examine her as she thinks she just needs some bandages, but he does examine her anyway. Her hand is broken, and so is her wrist, and her nose and eye-socket might be too. This shocks her, and she lies back and allows him to start examining her. She reminds him that she can't take medication and asks him to get nurse Sheila to help her into a gown. He says he'll get Sheila and begs her to lie back. As he leaves the room, she reaches for the telephone on the night table and dials a number.

Outside the room, Pete orders one of the nurses to go get Sheila on the fourth floor, and tells someone to call the police. He then yells at them to get back to work. He takes his cellphone and calls Cooper.

In a bar, Cooper's phone vibrates as he and Sam take drinks to Amelia, who's pooling. They talk about Cooper visiting strippers as some sort of rite of passage. Amelia drinks her shot, and proposes to take off her top and dance for him. Cooper smiles and says he's drunk, which he knows he is because he just considered doing very bad things to her. They get closer, but Sam interrupts them, saying he hates being the designated driver. Meanwhile, Cooper's phone keeps on vibrating, but no one notices. At the police department, detective Price is informing Sheldon on someone they arrested on the street. The man has blood on his clothes, which wasn't his blood, and he also had scratches and a bruise on his face. The man didn't want to talk to any of the policeman, which is why Price brought in Sheldon. Sheldon is a little irritated, as he was sleeping. Before opening the door, Price says that the guy is messed up; he may have witnessed something or done something himself, and he asks Sheldon to do his job as member of the 5150 team and evaluate the guy. Price says the only thing they know is the man's name, Lee. Sheldon sighs, and before going into the interrogation room, he asks them to turn off the cameras.

While Pete and Sheila are working on her hand, Charlotte is giving a jumbled description of the culprit. Pete asks if they're sure that the guy isn't still in the building, and one of them answers that security did a sweep. Addison then enters the room, and Pete asks what she's doing here as she's not on call. Addison looks at Charlotte, who surreptitiously shakes her head. Addison comes up with a story about a false alarm. She says she heard what happened, while one officer asks some more questions. Pete gets upset and yells to leave Charlotte alone and go look for the guy, but one of the officers replies that the report needs to be completed and adds that the forensic nurse needs to collect samples. As the officers start arguing with Pete, Addison notices how restless Charlotte is getting and when Charlotte throws up, she throws everyone out. Pete wants to come back in, but Addison says he needs to go too. Addison closes the door and looks at Charlotte. "Life's a bitch, ain't it?" Charlotte says as Addison starts to get her cleaned up.

Violet enters the bar with Lucas, and she finds Cooper, Sam and Amelia. "Violet, you're in a bar with a baby! Are you loco?" Cooper yells, and an emotional Violet asks why they don't answer their phone. Cooper asks what's wrong, and Violet tells him. Cooper runs off, and the others follow him.

The forensic nurses take photos of Charlotte's injuries, and one says she only needs to bag her clothes. Addison says this was the worst of it, and that it means a lot to her that Charlotte called her even though they're not really close. She assures her that she's there for her, whatever she needs. The forensic nurse then asks where her underwear is, but Charlotte says she doesn't wear underwear and Addison affirms. When the nurses are gone, Addison tells her she'll need the HIV cocktail, the morning after pill, STD prophylaxis and a pelvic. Charlotte sighs, but agrees.

Charlotte is crying and shaking as Addison gets ready to do a pelvic exam. Addison takes off her gloves, and takes Charlotte's hand, who grabs it firmly. "I don't think I want you down there one handed," Charlotte says, and Addison explains she needs to examine for possible internal tears or injuries. She adds she's going to do a rape kit, but Charlotte doesn't want this, as she's planning to stick to her story of being robbed instead of raped. She tells Addison she can't tell anybody, but Addison says she has a legal obligation. Charlotte says she specifically called her, and Addison then agrees to do no rape kit. "He took my wallet, he didn't take anything else," Charlotte says. Addison puts on a new glove and starts the exam. 

Cooper meets Pete in the emergency room, and he tells Cooper that a guy beat her after having stolen her wallet. A drunk Cooper starts to panic, and Sam directs him to the waiting room. Violet explains to Pete that they were in a bar, and she asks him to look after Cooper while she goes to meet the nanny, who's coming to pick up Lucas. Pete asks Amelia if she's sober, and she says she's below the legal limit. Pete informs her of Charlotte's injuries and expresses his worries over a neuro injury, and Amelia leaves to go make a CT of her head and facial bones and do a neuro exam. Cooper takes off his jacket while mumbling that Charlotte is hurt while he's drunk. Suddenly, he enrages and walks away, saying he's going to kill somebody. Pete and Sam stop him and urge him to calm down, which he does. They let him go, and then Cooper punches into a wall, leaving a hole in it and injuring his hand.

In the interrogation room, Sheldon asks Lee what he was doing in the streets and why he was so confused. Sheldon tries to get through to him with some questions, but Lee doesn't respond. When he assures Lee that he hates cops and that he's on his side, Lee says he had a bad night and he breaks down. "That happens," Sheldon says, and gives him a handkerchief. 

Pete is taking care of Cooper's hand, and he's hung a bag of fluids to sober him up. Cooper wants to go to Charlotte, and Addison comes in. She tells him he needs to prepare himself, as she doesn't look great. Addison tells Cooper what room Charlotte is in, and he leaves to go see his fiancé. Addison and Pete agrees that it was a hellish night, and Pete says he's happy Addison was there, as women who've been attacked are usually more comfortable with other women. Sam comes over, and she hugs him.

Cooper enters Charlotte's room, and he's too shocked to look at her. He won't turn around till Charlotte orders him to come to her. He sits down next to her, and lays his head down on her lap. She strokes though his hair as he starts crying. She assures him she's okay. 

Charlotte is about to have a CT scan taken, and Amelia is informing her not to move, but Charlotte snaps she knows how a CT works. Amelia reminds her that she's going to need stitches, and proposes to page someone from plastics, but Charlotte that want plastics involved. "The less people that know your business, the better. I get it," Amelia says. She then suggests that she can do the stitches, saying that she's good at stitching and never leaves a scar. Charlotte thanks her, and Amelia jokes that Charlotte will get the good drugs that go along with stitches, but Charlotte objects. They then discover that they were both addicts. Amelia confesses she's been drinking a lot lately, and Charlotte asks her if she's been going to meetings, and when Amelia says she hasn't, Charlotte replies that she should. "I'll go with you, I know the best ones," Charlotte says. Amelia thanks her, and reminds her not to move as she activates the scanner.

Pete and Violet sit down in a lounge, and Pete says the babysitter will watch Lucas as long as they need her to. Violet thinks they should pay her more, as she keeps their son safe. "The world's a dangerous place," Violet says, and they hug.

Addison meets Sam in the hallway. He texted Naomi about the events, and she asked him to tell Addison that she knows that Addison's got everything covered. Addison asks if Naomi's coming home, but she's stuck in Zurich doing some money thing for William's foundation. Addison asks if they should call Sheldon, but Sam already tried, but because Sheldon is working at the precinct, he is unreachable. Addison sighs because Naomi and Sheldon are normally the ones who know what to do, and now they're not around. They sit down, and he notices something's up. Keeping her promise to Charlotte not to tell anyone, Addison says it's just been a hard night, and they kiss. He says he's grateful it wasn't her, but Addison tells him not to say things like that. Sam doesn't know if he could handle anymore bad news. Addison walks off, saying that Amelia needs her, but behind the corner, she leans against the wall and takes a breath.

Sheldon and Lee are eating a burger, and Sheldon asks what happened that night, but Lee doesn't want to say anything else but that it was bad. Sheldon asks him what his last name is, and Lee replies it's McHenry. Sheldon asks him if he's ever thought about hurting himself or somebody else, but Lee says he just wants to go home. Sheldon says he can't go home until he tells Sheldon what happened, and Lee says he doesn't like the room they're in. "I don't like it!" Lee repeats, and he lays his head down on the table.

Amelia is about to start stitching up the cut in Charlotte's arm. Cooper asks if they can't give her anything for the pain, but since she's allergic to local anesthetics and in N.A., there's nothing they can give her. Charlotte says she's fine and tells Amelia to just do it. When Amelia places the first stitch, Charlotte's scream hurts Cooper. He asks how many more, and Amelia guesses around 50. After the second stitch, Amelia advises Cooper to go get a coffee. Charlotte convinces him to listen to her by asking to come back with a latte for her. When he's gone, Amelia continues.

Violet informs Cooper that there's no neuro damage, and he tells her that there's no news from the cops. He's also planning on hiring someone to guard their apartment, as it might make her feel safer. He keeps on mumbling, until Violet makes him stop. He says that when he was a kid, his father taught him one thing: to take care of the woman he loves. "I'm her man, I'm supposed to protect her," he says, and Violet responds that she's been where Charlotte is now, and she knows he doesn't need to be tough, he just has to be there. She hugs and comforts him.

Sheldon comes back into the interrogation room with Lee's file. Lee asks what it says, and Sheldon replies that he has no criminal record and was discharged honorably from the navy. Lee says he has a job now, and a girlfriend, and that he's normal. Sheldon asks him to tell about his girlfriend, and Lee confesses they had a fight because he found her screwing this guy in their bed. He claims he wasn't angry, as he thinks of her as his everything, which is why he doesn't understand why she hit him. Sheldon says that he felt betrayed and that that betrayal is called a stressor, which a lot of stress to his life. Lee agrees, and then Sheldon asks where all the blood on his clothes came from. Lee stays silent.

Charlotte greets Addison, who apologizes for having waken her up, though Charlotte says she wasn't asleep, and she thinks she won't be sleeping much ever again. Addison tries to convince her to report the rape, as he could do this to someone else. "If you try to keep this a secret, it is going to eat you alive, I know it," Addison says. Charlotte asks if she's ever been violated, or if anybody raped her lately. Addison says she's just trying to help. Charlotte says it is nothing like the made-for-TV movies. "It's dirty and sweaty, and he licks your face, and he wipes himself off in your hair. And when you try to scream, he punches you so hard you see God. And then he goes at you again, ripping stuff you didn't even know you had, 'cause he enjoyed it so much the first time. I know you're trying to help, but if helping me means that everyone, that Cooper, is gonna be looking at me the way you're looking at me now... Please. Do not help me," Charlotte says. An emotional Addison apologizes and leaves the room.

Pete comes in with Sheila to do something about her pain. "You know how I feel about hoodoo," Charlotte says. Pete asks where it hurts most. "My soul," she replies at first, but then says her hand and her face. "Then I'll start there," he says, and gets ready.

Sheldon says he gets Lee doesn't want to discuss the blood, and Lee replies that he can't make him. Sheldon asks if he minds if he were going to call Lee's girlfriend, and Lee says he can't do that. "How come?" Sheldon asks. Lee starts mumbling that she's an emasculating bitch, and that he showed her. "How come, Lee? It wasn't just about the cheating, was it?" Sheldon asks, and then Lee yells that she's an emasculating bitch. Sheldon asks what he did to his girlfriend, but Lee insists that he didn't do anything. Not to her. "Then whose blood is it?" Sheldon asks. "Not hers," Lee replies. Sheldon leaves the room and tells Price to turn the cameras back on.

In the waiting room, Violet tells Addison that Pete helped Charlotte with the pain, and that Cooper is with her now. Addison wants Violet to make sure Charlotte will talk to a psychiatrist, but Violet says she doesn't want to go in there. "It's like Nam for me. Right now, Charlotte's Vietnam, and I'm a vet," Violet says. She asks Addison if she can believe this happened again to someone they know. She thinks they're cursed, and Addison says that when she became a doctor, she thought it'd be all fat babies and happy moms and that she'd help people. She didn't expect any of this. Violet says they do help people, but Addison asks what the point when they can't even help themselves. Sam and Amelia join them, carrying potato chips, but nor Addison nor Violet want some. Sam asks how late it is, and when Violet says it's 4 AM, he says he has surgery tomorrow morning. He asks if it would be rude if he went home. "You want to go home, Sam? Fine. Go, go rest your head on your pillow. Sleep the sleep of angels!" a frustrated Addison yells. Amelia says he's only saying he's tired, but Addison yells that she knows what he's saying. "He's saying it doesn't matter what happened to someone else because it didn't happen to him, he's good, he's out!" Addison snaps. Sam asks what's going on with her, and Violet tells her that she's tired and needs to sit down. Addison says she's right, and that there's nothing going on with her. She walks away though, and Sam follows her. Violet takes potato chips from Amelia.

Charlotte tells Cooper she needs to write a memo, as a doctor was attacked on hospital grounds and people will be worried about their safety. Cooper says someone else can do it, but as Chief of Staff, Charlotte thinks she has to worry about it. Cooper says everyone will understand. "I don't want them to understand, I'm the boss," Charlotte says, and when Cooper says she's the victim, she throws her cup at him. "You ever call me the victim again, this marriage is off," Charlotte warns him. As he retrieves her cup, she apologizes, but he says it's okay.

Cooper is walking down the hallway, with Violet asking him where he's going. She realizes he's going to Charlotte's office, and advises him not to, but he doesn't listen. He breaks the crime scene seal, and they're shocked when they see the miss. Cooper knows she fought him. "She's 90 pounds of soaking wet, but she's a fighter," he says. He breaks down in tears, and Violet closes the door.

"Whose blood is it, Lee? Was someone else an emasculating bitch? Someone that looked like your girlfriend?" Sheldon asks Lee. "Come on Lee, in the end, they're all bitches," Sheldon says. Believing that Sheldon does feel that way about women, Lee says that the woman he attacked told him to wait his turn. Sheldon asks who, but Lee only says that he wanted some help and she told him to wait his turn. "She wasn't nice. She had it coming," Lee says, and Sheldon asks what he did to her. Lee smiles. "I hit her. I hit her hard, and she fought. She was a bitch in heat, and she fought. But I gave it to her. I gave it to her so good," Lee says with a devilish smile. "Who'd you give it to, Lee?" Sheldon asks. Lee then suddenly throws Sheldon against the wall, starts choking him and says they're all the same. Price and another policeman come in and pull him off of Sheldon and take him away.

Sam sits down with Addison in the ambulance bay, and tells her he can wait it out. Addison says she can't tell him, and he asks if she's breaking up with him. She laughs, and she says that she loves him. "What is it you're not telling me?" he asks, but she insists that she cannot say it. She can't start talking to him, because otherwise she won't be able to stop and it's not something she can talk to him about. She asks him to trust her and not to ask anymore. She tells him to tell her that everything's going to be okay, which he does. "Just be here and don't leave me alone," Addison says. They hold hands and sit there for a while.

When Cooper comes back into her room, Charlotte is trying to get dressed. She asks him to help her get her pants on, but as he thinks she shouldn't go anywhere, he refuses. When he sees she's going to try to do it on her own, he does help her. She begs him to help her get dressed. She wants to go home, and crying, says that she does not want to be in this hospital. When he unties her gown, he sees her injured back. Charlotte thanks him for loving her. "Take me home," she says.

Price gives Sheldon a cup of coffee, and asks him if Lee was telling the truth or if he was just crazy. "Both," Sheldon says, and he asks if they're gonna hold him. Price says they could arraign him on assault, as he kicked a cop during his arrest and he attacked Sheldon, but if he makes bail, he'll be back on the street in 72 hours. "He raped someone. There's a woman out there that he raped," Sheldon says. Price says they can put Lee's D.N.A. in the system, but there's no victim to hold and charge him. "Someone's gotta file charges, we gotta get a case," Price says. Sheldon reminds him that the man is a rapist. "Life's a bitch, ain't it, Shelly?" Price says. 

Everyone is waiting in the hallway for Charlotte. Cooper says they should get her a wheelchair, but Charlotte says she'll be walking out of the hospital on her own steam, unless she's in a body bag or a coma. While everyone is watching her walk down the hallway, we see short flashbacks of the attack, including Charlotte screaming and Lee throwing away her panties. In the hospital, Charlotte has passed all her colleagues from the practice and asks the nurses and other hospital personnel if they don't have somewhere to be. They all disperse. "Don't let me fall," Charlotte tells Cooper, who promises he won't. We end the episode with one last flashback of Charlotte trying to scream, and Lee punching her face.

Cast

Main Cast

Guest Stars

Co-Starring

Medical Notes

Charlotte King

  • Diagnosis:
    • Broken hand
    • Broken wrist
    • Arm lacerations
    • Facial lacerations
  • Treatment:
    • Casting
    • HIV cocktail
    • Emergency contraception
    • STD prophylaxis
    • Pelvic exam
    • Stitches
    • Alternative therapies

Charlotte, after being attacked in her office, left her office and went into a supply closet, where Pete found her. She was severely beaten. Pete took her to a room and started to asses her injuries. Her hand and wrist were broken. Her nose and eye socket were also possibly broken. Pete convinced her to let him examine her. She refused pain medication. Pete casted her hand and wrist. Addison had everyone else leave the room so she could talk to Charlotte alone. The forensic nurse came and took photographs of all her injuries. Addison then concluded that Charlotte had been raped and needed a pelvic exam, along with an HIV cocktail, emergency contraception, and STD prophylaxis. Addison did the pelvic exam, but Charlotte told her not to do a rape kit, not to collect the evidence because she didn't want the police or anyone else to know she had been raped. Amelia came in and Pete told her about the eye socket injury, so she said she'd run a CT and do a neuro exam. She also told Charlotte she'd do the stitches herself because she's good at them. In all, she needed about 50 stitches. There was no neurological damage. Pete later came in to help deal with her pain. He asked her where it hurt most. She first said her soul, but then said her hand and her face, so he started alternative therapies to deal with the pain. She was later discharged from the hospital to go home.

Lee McHenry

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:
    • Psychiatric evaluation

Lee was arrested with someone else's blood on him. The detective on the case called Sheldon to evaluated him. Sheldon spent the bulk of the day talking to Lee, trying to figure out what had happened. His girlfriend had cheated on him, but he said he didn't hurt his girlfriend. He then confessed to raping a woman. When he tried to choke Sheldon, he was restrained.

Cooper Freedman

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hand injury
    • Alcohol toxicity
  • Treatment:
    • Bandaging
    • Fluids

Cooper punched a wall and hurt his hand after hearing that Charlotte had been attacked. Pete bandaged his hand and gave him fluids because he was drunk.

Music

Song Composer Scene
Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 J.S. Bach
  • Charlotte gets up off her office floor after being raped.
  • She leaves her office, covered in blood, and goes to a supply closet, where Pete finds her.
  • She says she doesn't want anyone to see her and then falls. Pete picks her up.
Prelude in C Minor J.S. Bach
  • The doctors watch Charlotte painfully walk out of the hospital with Cooper in between flashbacks of her attack.
  • She is upset that her staff is watching and dismisses them.

Notes and Trivia

  • This episode scored 10.18 million viewers, making it the last episode of the entire series to have more than 10 million viewers.
  • The episode is unique when it comes to the music, as only classical music is used.
  • Paul Adelstein and KaDee Strickland were kept apart on set until they were actually shooting the scene where Cooper sees Charlotte for the first time, in order to get an honest reaction from them.
  • KaDee filmed a PSA for RAINN and took on an active role in the organization.

Gallery

Episode Stills

Quotes

Charlotte: I need a gown.
Pete: Okay.
Charlotte: Have the nurse get me into it. Get Sheila. Not one of those nosy bitches out there. Sheila, she knows how to keep her mouth shut.

Amelia: Every man should have a woman dance on a table for him before he takes the plunge. Hell. You want me to take my top off and dance now? 'Cause I will.
Cooper: Oh, I'm drunk. I know I'm drunk because I just considered doing very bad things to you. Things that involve spankings. I like you.
Amelia: I like everybody.

Charlotte: Life's a bitch, ain't it?

Cooper: Violet! You're in a bar with a baby! Are you loco?! Have you gone a little coo coo?

Addison: You'll need the HIV cocktail, the morning-after pill, STD prophylaxis and a pelvic. Right?
Charlotte: Right.

Charlotte: He took my wallet. He didn't take anything else.

Cooper: I'm supposed to protect her. I know it's the 21st century, and you women have all surpassed us in lifespan, academic achievement, intelligence, and, you know, well, everything else. But look, when I was a kid, my dad taught me one thing. He said: "You find a woman, you marry her, you get her pregnant. You spend the rest of your life taking care of her." Maybe that's cro-magnon or something, but I mean, I am her man. I'm supposed to keep her safe.
Violet: Well, I have been where she is, and I can tell you that you don't have to be tough. You just have to be there. Okay? Okay. Now come here.
(She hugs him.)
Violet: You know, and for the record, Cro-magnon is a relief sometimes. Sometimes cro-magnon is really hot.
Cooper: Right?

Addison: He could do this to someone else. Charlotte, if you don't report this... There are other women to think about here.
Charlotte: I said don't.
Addison: There's no shame. It's not your fault. You need support, counseling. You need... If you try to keep this secret, it is going to eat you alive. I know it.
Charlotte: You ever been violated? Anybody rape you lately?
Addison: I'm trying to help.
Charlotte: All right. Let me tell you what it's like. You know those made-for-tv movies where some woman's always crouched down naked in a shower, holding her knees and sobbing, 'cause when she closes her eyes, she can still feel the guy's hands on her? How when they show the attack, the woman's eyes go all blank and still, and she goes to some other place in her mind, just to deal with the horror of what's happening to her while some Lilith Fair song plays? It is nothing like that. It's dirty and sweaty. And he licks your face, and he wipes himself off in your hair. And when you try to scream, he punches you so hard, you see God. And then he goes at you again, ripping stuff you didn't even know you had, 'cause he enjoyed it so much the first time.
(An emotional Addison turns away.)
Charlotte: I know you're trying to help, but if helping me means that everyone... That Cooper... He's gonna be looking at me the way you're looking at me now, please, do not help me.

Pete: Let's do something about your pain.
Charlotte: You know how I feel about hoodoo.
Pete: Where does it hurt most?
Charlotte: My soul.

Violet: Can you believe this happened to someone we know? Again? I think we're cursed.

Amelia: Do either of you guys want a bag of over-processed, partially dehydrogenated crap?

Charlotte: You ever call me victim again and this marriage is off.

Cooper: She fought. She fought him. She's 90 pounds soaking wet, but she's a fighter.

Cooper: We should get you a wheelchair.
Charlotte: I walk outta here on my own steam unless I'm in a body bag or a coma.

See Also

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

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