The Middle Episode 1.21 Worry Duty

Frankie Heck believes there are two types of people in the world, non-worriers and worriers. She fits into the latter category. She's not alone. Sue worries that she's part of a secret experiment that's trying to determine how long a person can last with braces on her teeth. It's possible. And Brick is worried about a chick. That's not slang. We're talking a real chick! More on that later.

The past few months have been a roller coaster of pain for Axl. His first love, Morgan, broke up with him. Then she took him back. Then they broke up again. Frankie was thrilled when they finally parted ways for good. Or did they? A mysterious stick of lip gloss found in Axl's room leads Frankie to believe Morgan is back in the picture. Mike confirms her suspicions, as Axl gave him the scoop awhile ago. He kept mum because he knows Frankie isn't crazy about the girl who keeps breaking her firstborn boy's heart.

Brick's science class is hatching eggs for a school project and his is the only one that hasn't hatched. He vows to care for the egg until the chick inside comes out. Brick's hoping for a boy, so he names the little guy Scout. When the egg finally does hatch, Brick realizes parenthood can be very demanding. He says, "I'm wiped. He always wants to eat, play. I'm constantly cleaning up after him." Frankie replies, "Throw in a carpool and we'll talk."

To prove that she's willing to accept Morgan, Frankie invites her over for dinner. They'll be having chicken—regular, extra crispy and extra chirpy. Actually, the extra chirpy refers to Brick's chick Scout, who joins them at the table. Hopefully Scout doesn't have any relatives in any of those takeout boxes.

Morgan has quite the influence over Axl. She rattles off a laundry list of things she's ordered him to do. Frankie manages to make it through dinner without fulfilling her fantasy of jumping across the table to strangle Morgan. But she is concerned that the girl has way too much power over her son. It's keeping her up at night. As we know, she's a worrier.

Mr. Ehlert is throwing a big picnic for all his employees and their families. Actually, it's a birthday party for his granddaughter. But by inviting everyone at the dealership, the bash becomes a write-off. Frankie decides to take the high road and asks her son's girlfriend to join them at the picnic. She feels pretty good about it until she overhears Morgan complaining to Axl about the invite.

At the picnic, Frankie and Mike are teamed in a corn-hole beanbag toss game. Axl and Morgan are on the team across from them. When Frankie witnesses Morgan railing on her lovesick son once again, she can't take it anymore. She takes aim and flings a beanbag at Morgan's head. It's a direct hit! Bossy girlfriend is down!

Frankie claims her beanbag bean was unintentional, but Mike knows the truth. Frankie says, "I'm not proud, but I sure feel better." Hey, losing control of your kids is a tough thing to accept. Mike, a lifelong non-worrier, tells his wife there's nothing they can do about it. Of course, he sings a different tune when he finds out Morgan doesn't want Axl to play football next season. Now Mike's the one who can't sleep at night.

Believe it or not, Axl and Morgan break up again. It likely has something to do with the beautiful new foreign exchange student from Finland. See, Frankie? Everything always works out for the best. No worries.