Carlos Nieto (Third Watch character)

Infobox character
series=Third Watch


colour=#039
colour text=#fff
name=Carlos Nieto
portrayer=Anthony Ruivivar
occupation=Paramedic
significantother=Monte 'Doc' Parker
Tyrone Davis, Jr
Holly Levine
seasons=All
spouse=Holly Levine (wife)
family=Kylie Samstron/Kenney (daughter)
Christian (brother)

Carlos Nieto was a fictional FDNY paramedic on the American television show Third Watch (NBC Network). He was portrayed by Anthony Ruivivar and was the only paramedic to stay for the duration of the series.

Character's background

Carlos Nieto was born on May 11, 1975 (although in one episode he claims he was born in 1977) in Hawaii. Born of Filipino heritage, he was originally named Adam, and had an older brother named Christian. After their parents split up, Christian stayed with their mother, while their father took Adam to New York. Their father he was the victim of a hit-and-run vehicle accident, which killed him. Young Carlos was found holding his father's hand. In the aftermath of his father's death, Carlos was placed in an orphanage run by nuns, where he grew up not knowing about his past and believing he had been abandoned by his mother at the orphanage. He went through 6 or 7 foster homes, and one of his foster mothers was named Lucinda Harding.

After leaving school, Carlos joined the Marines, serving as a medic (although the Marines do not have medical personnel, Corpsmen are provided by the United States Navy). After his discharge, Carlos wished to go to medical school. To earn some money during his schooling, he joined the FDNY as a paramedic, where he was partnered up with Monte 'Doc' Parker. The two men did not get on at first, especially after Doc's partner Jerry left on disability pay, and they came to blows a few times. However, Carlos looked up to Doc as a father figure, and was annoyed when Doc reassigned him to be partnered him with another paramedic, Alex Taylor. Doc had done so in order that he himself could ride with paramedic Kim Zambrano following her return to work. Carlos' other friends include his roommate Ty Davis, and his pet cockatoo (named simply "Bird"), which he obtained from a dead homeless guy.

Not long after starting work, Carlos and Doc treated a girl named Vangie. She fell for Carlos and they started dating, but she turned to be mentally unstable and Carlos broke it off with her. This caused her to attempt suicide, after which she revealed she was pregnant. Carlos offered to pay for an abortion, but Vangie merely told him he "wouldn't have to worry about it anymore". Two years later, Carlos learned that he was a father to daughter Kylie, after the now deceased Vangie's sister dumped Kylie on him. Carlos fell for his daughter at once and wanted to keep her, but in the end, he realised he could not give her a family like he'd always wanted, so he put her up for adoption. She was adopted by the Kenney family in an open adoption, meaning Carlos is still able to see his daughter regularly.

In 2003, Carlos was suspended after allegations that he had abused a teenage girl, Nicole West, in the ambulance. It had been a simple, accidental touch for which he had apologised to her straight away, but no-one at the firehouse, apart from Doc believed him. Carlos offered to resign, as being dismissed could stop him from seeing his daughter and ruin his chances of going to medical school. During a severe snowstorm, Doc put Carlos back on active duty, an action which got Doc into trouble. As part of the settlement against the West family, Carlos was dismissed. It later turned out that Nicole was really being abused by her stepfather, and was trying to reach out for help by blaming Carlos. When the truth was revealed, Carlos was reinstated in his job. After that incident was resolved, Carlos decided that being a paramedic was what he really wanted to do, and decided not to go to medical school.

A year later, Carlos found out that his daughter Kylie had a medical condition known as diopathic aplastic anemia, and that she needed a bone marrow transplant. He offered his marrow, but he was not a match. This led him to try and find his biological family to save Kylie, and allowed his brother to finally find him. Christian was a match, and told Carlos of his true origins.

After Doc slowly started going insane, which ended up with him shooting Captain Steeper, Carlos was the first to defy his friend and treat Steeper, trusting Doc would not harm him (which he didn't). When Doc ended up in Bellevue Mental Hospital, Carlos kept in contact with his former mentor. In the final episode of the series, Carlos proposed to Holly, and after they married, they moved to Staten Island, where they had 3 children.

External links

* [http://www.thirdwatch.net/carlosnieto Carlos Nieto at ThirdWatch.net]
* [http://carlosnieto.free.fr/facts.html A Carlos fan site]
* [http://www.thirdwatch.net/forum//index.php?s=f11ece2dcb91de119192daaeff8d6461&showforum=15 The Carlos Forum at ThirdWatch.net]