Ray Barnett

Dr. Ray Barnett is a fictional doctor portrayed by actor Shane West on the television show ER. The character first appeared in fall 2004 at the start of the 11th season. He is a talented doctor but has struggled with conflicting commitments to the medical profession and his life as a rock musician.
Hospital and Personal Life
In his first year at County General Hospital, despite his skill at diagnosis, Ray's cowboy personality causes him to clash with his superiors, especially his Attending, Dr. John Carter. In season 11, he seems to be a laidback and manipulative personality. Most notably, he frequently takes shortcuts in order to leave the hospital as soon as possible or before his shift is over, which gets him into trouble with several patients and sharp criticism from Carter, Pratt, Kerry Weaver and even Neela. It is clear that he has a lot to learn. In season 12, his character becomes briefly romantically involved with roommate and colleague Neela Rasgotra. His feelings for her create tension between the two, because Neela at the time is married to Dr. Michael Gallant, who is serving in the Army Medical Corps in Iraq. In the episode "If Not Now," Ray's band- the most frequent reason for his poor consistency record- receive an offer to go on tour. Ray's request for time off is denied, and he is given an ultimatum by Doctor Weaver—the hospital or the band. Ray picks the band, but his band members reject him because they feel he is too committed to his job at the hospital. Ray returns to County General and when questioned by Dr. Weaver states that the entire conversation had occurred while she was on drugs after a heavy fall and didn't really happen. Ray and Neela remain friends and after Gallant's death, he attempts to become closer to her. Despite Ray's obvious deep feelings towards Neela, their relationship proves complicated and is affected by Neela's infatuation with a new character Tony Gates, played by John Stamos.
Ray does not keep his feelings for Neela a secret, trying repeatedly to win her affections only to become a victim of Neela's inability to decide on the course of her life. At and Abby Lockhart's wedding, Ray, drunk and torn up by jealousy, has a fight with Tony Gates after seeing him with Neela. He is thrown out of the party and heads out drinking on his own. But, as he leaves a bar late into the night he receives a call from Neela. Angry and drunk, he ignores it but then drops his phone in the middle of the road after he decides to check the message she leaves him, only to find himself in the path of an oncoming truck. Owing to the ER's temporary closure, he is taken to another hospital where, due to extensive crush injuries, both his legs are amputated below the knee.
Neela receives a call from Ray and she travels to see him, only to be shocked and distraught at what has happened to him. It is clear that Ray is psychologically scarred by the accident and his injuries and he reveals to Neela that he has fallen in love with her. His mother, Jacy, arrives to take Ray home to Baton Rouge to recover. However, after recovering and being fitted with prosthetics, he eventually resumes contact with Neela and reconciles with her. Barnett's final appearance as a series regular is in the season 13 finale . He appears in a few episodes in Seasons 14 and 15.
After County
After Ray's departure, we learn that he has been writing to Neela. His ex-girlfriend Katey and Neela have another altercation and Neela tells her that she will not take the blame for what happened to Ray. She also reveals that Ray himself doesn't blame her for the accident.
Ray Barnett returns to the ER in the Season 15 episode "Haunted", surprising Neela in a Frankenstein outfit during Halloween. He is in much better spirits and reveals to the staff that he has left emergency medicine and now works in the disability and physical rehabilitation field, helping amputees, stroke victims and injured veterans in a clinic in Baton Rouge. He shows off his cutting edge prosthetic legs to everyone, walking on his own and appearing in no way disabled. He briefly meets Dr. Simon Brenner and but the two find themselves at odds after Brenner comes on to Neela right in front of him. Barnett later races Neela when they go jogging on the shoreline of the Chicago River. The two spend the evening at Neela's apartment and appear to express the same strong feelings for each other as before.
Some time later, however, it is revealed that Ray has a girlfriend he met at the gym, which was announced in season 15's 8th episode "Age of Innocence", which made Neela extremely jealous. In season 15, episode 20, "Shifting Equilibrium", Neela leaves County and, though many thought she was headed immediately to a position at Duke University's Hospital, she flies to the hospital where Ray is working and surprises him. In the final moments of the episode, Neela and Ray are finally reunited.
He makes a cameo along with Neela in episode 21, where he is seen on Neela's webcam moving her things into her office, and he says hello to everyone at County. In the season 15 episode, The Book of Abby, long-serving nurse Haleh Adams shows the departing Abby Lockhart a closet wall where all the past doctors and employees have put their locker name tags. Amongst them, the tag "Barnett" can be seen.

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