Parenthood Episode 2.22 Hard Times Come Again No More

Sarah sits bolt upright in bed when phone rings. It's not long before the entire Braverman clan is gathered in the hospital waiting room to stand by Sarah as Amber goes through surgery after her car accident. Drew leaves a message for his dad, as Haddie and Alex arrive with Danishes and juice. Alex has comforting words for Sarah, and Julia remarks to Kristina how grown up Haddie looks... if only she knew! Even Jasmine's on hand to show her support. Suddenly, Max cracks, holding Adam to his promise of pancakes over an hour and a half ago. Adam patiently tries to explain that it's time to be patient, but Max refuses. Adam said Amber's not going to die, and sitting there isn't going to help. Max just doesn't care about Amber.

When Max starts yelling, Zeek can't help himself, and yells back, prompting Max to tell him to shut up. Kristina steps in the middle, and has to physically lead Max outside as he slaps at her. That's when the doctor shows up to give Sarah the news that Amber's a very lucky girl. She had a small injury to the spleen, a broken wrist, and a cracked rib. She's sedated, but Sarah and Drew go to her room anyway, shocked to find Amber's face a welter of bruises and cuts. Later that morning, Amber finally stirs, and is soon in a full-scale panic to find herself in the hospital. Back in the waiting room, Kristina embarrasses Haddie with news that she's made a gynecologist appointment for her. If Haddie's going to have sex, she's going to have to get checked out.

When Jasmine gets up to leave, Crosby can't help himself, and follows her into the parking lot to thank her for coming. Then he blurts out that he sold his motorcycle and houseboat to buy a house for her. For Jasmine, this news is like a body blow - is Crosby trying to buy her forgiveness? Crosby insists he's just trying to give Jasmine her dream, according to her exact specifications - won't she just come see it? Jasmine mumbles, "I dunno," and leaves. Meanwhile, Adam has taken Max home for pancakes and a little lecture about family, the most important thing in their lives. When someone's in trouble they should be there for them, no matter how hungry or tired they are. Adam explains the word empathy, and asks Max to apologize to Sarah. With his mouth packed with pancakes, Max is mostly non-responsive, other than to say he did nothing wrong, devastating Adam.

Still at the hospital, Julia runs into Sydney's teacher from last year, Grace Wu, who's in full-blown labor and screaming for help. Two weeks early, Grace is fully unglued, desperate to get the baby out of her and full of hate for her lawyer husband, who just so happens to be in trial, leaving her on her own. Grace begs, so Julia agrees to stay and help out. Late to work, Adam's head of steam gets thicker when he learns Corey has replaced the head of the design team with his stoner friend Spyder. Unable to understand why Corey wouldn't consult him when making this decision, Adam loses control, asking Corey if he wants him to run T&S or not. Maybe Adam's not hip enough or whatever, but it seems like Cory knocks down everything he's trying to do. So he's just going to sit in his office and see what happens next.

Once Amber's home and recuperating, Sarah approaches her for the talk - what was she thinking? - trying to gauge Amber's frame of mind. But Amber's up to her old "I don't want to talk about it" tricks - hasn't she been attacked enough? Overhearing the conversation, Drew tells Sarah that Amber's clearly not listening, and still has no idea what she put them all through. What if she died? Amber insists that she gets it, but neither Drew nor Sarah believe her.

Kristina tackles the subject of Max's lost retainer with Adam before moving onto more difficult topics. Instantly annoyed at the $500 replacement expense, and unable to understand why Max, with his gift for remembering meaningless facts, could lose it, Adam insists he'll find it. That's when Kristina decides to tell him that Haddie's been to the gynecologist and is now officially on the pill. Adam spits orders: Alex still needs to wear a condom, and Kristina needs to tell Haddie that, because Adam knows how guys think. Meanwhile, Julia tells Joel all about child birthing with Grace, while Sydney treats them both to a tea party. Julia forgot about the reality of giving birth; she's glad she doesn't have to go through that again, and is completely content with their happy family of three.

Sarah and Gilliam are on hand for the first read-through of Sarah's play, with a crew of actors including Zeek in the role of the patriarch, Jake. Sarah can't help interrupting to criticize actor Paul's line reading. Even though Gilliam tells her to save her comments until afterwards, she just can't help herself, and winds up antagonizing Paul, who threatens to quit. Sarah's play just isn't worth the trouble. Gilliam quashes the debate by yelling at everyone to shut up, and ordering them to take a break. Zeek runs after Sarah to explain that she's got to let the actors get through the script once or twice to get a feel for things before she starts giving notes. Distraught, Sarah admits to being completely numb inside; she doesn't know what she would have done had she lost Amber. And now it seems Amber hasn't learned anything whatsoever from the accident. Sarah's terrified.

Crosby visits Jasmine to give her one last speech. He's sorry about everything, and he takes responsibility for everything that happened between them. He loves her, and will always be there for Jabbar, and wishes there was something magical he could do to fix things. But there's not. So in hopes that Jasmine won't feel weird around him, he's not going to pursue her anymore, so she'll be free to move on with her life. Meanwhile, Adam tries to enlist Max's help to find the retainer. Max is reading a book about bugs and has no interest in helping his father, so Adam plucks the book out of his hands and stuffs it in a drawer. Max's internal temperature kicks up a notch - that's not where the book belongs! He insists he already talked about this with his mother, and if he could remember where it was, it wouldn't be lost. Adam persists, deciding they'll leverage Max's fantastic memory to make a list.

Adam grabs a pen, throwing Max even further out to sea. That pen's not for writing - it's for coloring! Adam ignores Max's concerns and beings making the list. Max can't understand why they can't just go to the ATM to get cash to buy another one. When Max makes a grab for his pen, Adam angrily yells at him to sit down, prompting Max to ask if Adam's mad because Max has Asperger's. Although Max may have nailed it, Adam tells him no, returns the pen, and gives up the search for the retainer.

Zeek takes Amber on a trip to the junkyard where he shows her what's left of Gary's mangled car. Then it's time for a little story from grandpa. During the two years he spent in Vietnam, he dreamt about coming home and having a family, having grandkids. That's right, he dreamt about Amber way back when. Amber's dam breaks, and she begins to sob as Zeek levels with her. He knows Amber's had some bad breaks - but boo friggin' hoo. She's gotta suck it up - she's a Braverman! And if she ever does something like this again... Suffice it to say, Amber does NOT have permission to mess with Zeek's dreams. Sobbing, Amber chokes out an apology. Pronouncing the situation "good," Zeek offers to buy her a burger.

Adam approaches Cory at work, hoping to clear the air by apologizing for his outburst. Of course, Cory can hire Spyder without a consult. But Cory's line has finally been crossed. He knows Adam's not happy working at T&S anymore; it feels like Adam's always judging him instead of joining him. This is hard for Cory and it hurts him, but he thinks Adam needs to find a better fit. Stunned, Adam asks if he's being fired, and Corey apologizes, but yes, he's letting Adam go. Adam stays mum because it's a big family night - the premiere of Sarah's play. In the lobby of the theater, Alex approaches Adam to say how much he loves and respects Haddie. Barely holding it together, Adam barks at him to wear a condom.

In the lobby, Amber apologizes to Drew, begging for his forgiveness, which he grants. Across the room, Max apologizes for his behavior to Sarah, adding that he's glad Amber didn't die, because then they probably wouldn't all be at the play together. Claiming she's nervous, Sarah asks Max if he'll sit next to her. Backstage, the cast approaches Sarah as a unit. Paul apologizes for his behavior during rehearsal, claiming he's honored to say her words. It's hugs all around, and Sarah's stunned, unable to understand the actors' change of heart. But Gilliam knows why... he told them Amber died! The play gets underway, and the Braverman family in the audience delight in seeing their lives portrayed on the stage... except for Amber.

Upset, Amber makes a break for the lobby, and Sarah leaves the theater to follow her. The minute Amber claims to be okay, she breaks down in tears, apologizing for all she put Sarah though. It's really hitting home - the realization that she could have died and never seen her family again, or never seen Sarah's play, which is so great! Even though Sarah always says she doesn't want Amber to be like her, Amber's so proud of her mother, who's so cool. She loves this and wants her life to be just like it. Relieved by Amber's promise to be safe and smart, mother and daughter head back to the theater to catch the final minutes of the play, a standing ovation, and an author call! Playwright Sarah Braverman has arrived!

Julia visits Grace at the hospital. When Grace asks her to hold the baby, Julia experiences an intense flush of emotion. Later at home, she tells Joel they can't give up. She wants another baby, and she's ready to adopt. Crosby's watching a lonely movie by himself at his house when Joel knocks on the door. Telling Crosby to try again, he opens the door a little wider to reveal Jasmine. Crosby's face lights up as he gives Jasmine the tour. When Adam returns home late, he's surprised to find Kristina waiting up for him. She says she has something to tell him, prompting Adam to blurt out that he got fired. Kristina hardly misses a beat. Adam's never let their family down, and they're going to be fine.

When Adam asks Kristina what she wanted to tell him, she fudges, claiming she found an orthodontist who'll replace Max's retainer for almost half the price. Immediately angry, Adam tells her it's not the time, then resolves to go search the trash. But there's something in the garbage to make him even more apoplectic - a home pregnancy test, and a positive one at that. Furious that Haddie's pregnant after he told everyone to wear a condom, Adam charges into the house to scream at Kristina. When she finally gets a word in edgewise, she confirms that she's actually the one who's pregnant, not Haddie. Adam dissolves in laughter, as Kristina apologizes, promising to get a job to raise their child. That's when Max yells from upstairs - he's a genius! He found his retainer in the turtle cage!