Neela Rasgotra - Season 15

Season 15

With Abby's departure, Neela is the lead character of the final season.

In the Season 15 episode, "The Book of Abby," Neela's long-time friend and colleague, Abby Lockhart, resigned and left the ER for a new job in Boston. Neela, while happy for her friend's new start, told Abby that she wished she had known about this sooner and that she couldn't imagine working in the hospital without Abby. Separated by a glass window while operating in the OR, Neela told a departing Abby to "be good," after which Abby smiled and walked away.

Abby's departure leaves Neela Rasgotra as the most senior regular character on ER, followed by Archie Morris and Sam Taggart, respectively.

Into Season 15, Ray Barnett re-entered Neela's life just at the right time. After the death of her friend Greg Pratt and the departure of her best friend Abby a few weeks later, Ray returns right "when she needs that friend and possibly that romance back." Ray surprises Neela by showing up to County in a Frankenstein outfit during Halloween and revealed on his one-day return to Chicago that he has endured months of rehab, during which he was fitted with new cutting edge prosthetics and is walking on his own. His presence clearly has a huge impact on Neela, and she invites him to spend the night with her, but he declines by saying he has finally reached a good place in his life and doesn't want to mess that up. It is later revealed that Neela had planned to visit Ray for Thanksgiving in Louisiana but canceled the trip after learning Ray had begun dating a woman from Georgia.

Neela has had a difficult time dealing with Andrew Wade, a young surgical intern who she feels is too passive to be a successful surgeon. When a surgical patient implies she is having rectal bleeding, Andrew is too intimidated to get the information to Neela, and the patient later bleeds to death. Andrew blames himself and Neela is critical of him for not telling her the earlier information. She later tells Dr. Dubenko she doesn't want to work with Andrew anymore, and Andrew gets transferred to a less-important surgical rotation. Neela then gets mad at Andrew because she's getting sued by the dead patient's family after Andrew confessed his mistake to them. But Neela later works with Andrew on a complicated procedure that saves a patient's eye, and when she is grudging about having to teach Andrew, Dr. Dubenko angrily tells her that if that's her attitude then she needs to pack her stuff up and leave County. Chastened, Neela later tells Andrew he did a great job and that she understands his motives in talking to the patient's family. The lawsuit is later dropped and Neela reconciles herself to having a work-only relationship with the close-knit group of interns.

Later in Season 15 in "Dream Runner" she has a chance to catch with her old colleague Dr. Elizabeth Corday during an attending interview and became involved romantically with Simon Brenner after he returned from Australia. However, in the episode 'Love is a Battlefield,' Brenner is again shown coming home from Australia, signaling to the audience that Neela's involvement with Brenner in the previous episode was just part of the re-occurring dream she was having throughout the show.

In “Love is a Battlefield,” Neela is seen skillfully avoiding Simon Brenner, brushing him off in obvious awkwardness, due to her dreams of him in the prior episode, as he tells her that he called her the second he got back in from Australia to go out to dinner and catch up, even telling her that he had a gift for her. At the end of the episode, she runs away from him, only to have him catch up to her on the busy sidewalk. She admits to him that she likes him and she wants to be with him, and then telling him that he can "gloat now" – throwing back to his speech in episode "Parental Guidance" where he says that "he predicted it." He smiles and kisses her, saying that he'd 'rather do something else,' obviously showing the beginning of their relationship.

In "The Family Man," Neela is in a pre-coital position with Simon in her apartment while her phone rings. He urges her not to take it, but she does. We find out that Duke is calling for her to meet with the Head of Surgery. She says that she only met with Duke to ‘Get Dubenko off her case.’ But is now trying to imagine herself there. Simon is obviously disappointed, but acts happy for her.

During the Valentine’s episode of the Season, "The Beginning of the End." Simon and Neela are revealing their most romantic Valentine’s celebrations: Her most romantic one was at fifteen and her boyfriend bought her a plastic tiara, and took her out, telling her that she deserved to be treated like a queen. Simon agrees fully. He suggests that they take a trip together. While at the hospital, she receives a CD in the mail from her old flame, Ray Barnett; it holds a poignant love song by Pete Yorn. She sees her old attending, John Carter who impressively notes that the "Grasshopper is now the teacher." Later in the episode she is left a map with a heart-stickered destination on it from Simon Brenner. She shows up at a balcony overlooking the Chicago River. She sees him down below and he runs up to her, calling out in Italian. He reaches her and hands her Italy pamphlets, telling her that they are at the closest thing to a canal right now, but it will change. Simon tells her that he wants them to take a week off in April and take her to Venice. She smiles and says that it definitely constitutes as a romantic gesture. He responds saying that that was nothing and it was just the beginning, surely foreshadowing things to come. They enjoy the moment with each other, leading to her new favorite Valentine’s celebration.

Neela learns from Morris about Simon's childhood and is upset he never mentioned it to her. In recent weeks Simon hasn't been around as much and always evades questions about his childhood. Eventually they get into a fight and she tells him that there are better people for both of them out there. This signifies that Neela has broken up with Simon.

Neela and Sam went to Seattle to deliver some donated organs to Chicago. They briefly met Carol Hathaway and Dr. Doug Ross when they learn that they we're at County General in the past.

Neela last appeared as a regular in the Season 15 episode 20 of ER entitled "Shifting Equilibrium," Neela leaves County General for good. She is shown arriving at Le Chatelier Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she goes to a physical rehab center where Ray Barnett is shown helping patients. There, she and Ray reunite, with Neela looking like she finally felt she made the right decision after struggling with her fear of making the wrong choices in life.

In the following episode "I Feel Good" she makes a cameo, appearing on webcam at County at Frank's admitting desk from her new work place with Ray and Ray mentions how he brought some of Neela's things from home into her office signifying that they are living together.

In the series finale "And In the End...," Neela makes a cameo, again appearing on webcam at County at Frank's admitting desk talking to Brenner, Morris, and Carter talking about her new life in Baton Rouge. This time Brenner seems more comfortable with Neela's physical absence.