Awake Episode 1.10 Slack Water

Britten lets Hannah know Emma is pregnant with Rex's child. Hannah is confused and conflicted - why didn't Rex ever mention Emma to her? Rex told Hannah everything. Apparently not everything, observes Britten. Hannah gathers her senses and wants to know how they're going to be involved with Rex's child, so the couple sets up a meeting with Emma and her parents.

Bird and Britten investigate the murder of Dion Driggs, a dope dealer in a rundown area of town. Bird theorizes a client killed Dion for his stash and his stuff, since a laptop and electronic equipment are also missing. Britten notes the irony of Dion's corpse lying next to a video game box with the title "Crime Spree." Another apartment resident, elderly Maya King, was found dead in the stairwell, apparently shot as the suspect fled. The landlord, Curtis Wilson, laments Mrs. King should have moved out of the building earlier, but she'd lived there for 50 years and wouldn't leave even as the neighborhood deteriorated around her. Bird quips you have to know when it's time to move on.

Vega is disappointed Britten turned down his idea for a goodbye party. Still, Vega makes sure Britten realizes how grateful he is for everything Britten's taught him in the last six months. Captain Harper informs them that Sampson Trujillo, a known cocaine and arms dealer wanted in connection to three open murders, is back in town. Britten is a bit hurt once Harper assigns Vega as the lead on the case working with a federal task force. He's been working on the case for years - he could write a book! Harper needs someone to close cases, not someone gone in three days. Britten concurs and shares all he knows about Trujillo with Vega.

The mysterious man Carl waits for Harper in her apartment. His distributors are getting anxious. Apparently, they can't transport the final Westfield shipment until Britten is out of the picture. Harper urges Carl to be patient and assures him Britten will be out of their hair once he leaves for Portland in three days. Carl lectures Harper on the two worst things for heroin: oxidation and humidity. The heroin's been oxidizing since Britten's accident and patience is wearing thin. If Britten's not gone in three days, Carl's going to take care of him.

Britten and Hannah visit Emma and her parents, Angela and Joaquin Fuentes. Hannah is caught off-guard when she spies Emma wearing one of Rex's favorite concert T-shirts. Who is this girl Rex obviously cared so much about? Emma's parents mention they're planning on putting the baby up for adoption so Emma can continue with her plans for college. Hannah immediately volunteers to adopt the baby. The Fuentes aren't interested as they believe a closed adoption will be the best way for Emma to have closure. Hannah plainly wants the family to reconsider; however after Emma meekly says a closed adoption is what she wants, this settles the matter for Britten.

Finding Dion's stolen goods at a pawnshop, Bird and Britten are able to track down the person who sold them: Perry Jenkins. Discovering Perry is now living on the streets, the detectives locate him through the homeless community. Perry claims to know nothing about a murder. He merely found the items in a trash bin and sold them for some cash. Bird is not excited to dig through the same dumpster with Britten - until they find a video game controller matching the system from Dion's apartment. None of this makes sense to Bird. Who kills someone to steal their stuff and then throw it in a dumpster? Britten doesn't know who does this, but it's certainly not Perry.

Hannah decides The Fuentes are speaking for Emma and not letting Emma voice what she really wants to say, so Hannah drops by the bookstore where Emma works. Hannah apologizes for the awkwardness of the other night, even as she insinuates Emma's parents are pushing her toward something she doesn't want to do. Emma remarks that now it seems like Hannah is the one pushing Emma for selfish reasons. Embarrassed, Hannah leaves, feeling like an idiot. She calls Britten - how did she get it so wrong? Now Emma must think she's a stalker. Britten points out that sometimes a person wants something so badly that it blinds them to everything else. Hannah admits this is exactly what happened.

The officers at the station are celebrating the huge drug bust Vega orchestrated. Britten is happy for his partner's success. While watching the TV news story on the bust, Britten notices that the crime scene looks exactly like the photos of a house on the video game cover at Dion's apartment. What's the connection? When Britten boots up the video game in Rex's world a friend of Dion's tries to contact him online. Britten video chats with the player, who claims he was playing with Dion the other day, when Dion said he heard a shot. He went to check it out and never returned to the game. Could this mean Mrs. King was shot before Dion? The detectives realize Mrs. King was the target the entire time - Dion's murder was just a cover.

Britten and Bird visit Mrs. King's best friend, Pearl, at a local nursing home. Pearl can't identify anyone who'd want to harm Mrs. King. She got along with everyone in the neighborhood, including the rougher people. Pearl mentions how all of the other longtime building residents had died off or moved into this nursing facility, thanks to their landlord's offer to pay for their stay. Pearl confirms that landlord Curtis Wilson made the same offer to Mrs. King, but she refused. The detectives do some investigating to learn that Wilson now owns the entire block of that neighborhood, which is worth $10 million – however, he can't sell any of it if tenants prior to his ownership are still living in the building.

The landlord's alibi for the time of the murders is confirmed, so who could he have paid to commit the crime? Britten traces a call to Wilson from a throwaway phone to Milo Owen, a multiple felon and junkie. Despite the detectives finding everything they need for a conviction at Milo's place, they want to bring Wilson down too. After being convinced to wear a wire, Milo records Wilson confessing that hiring Milo to do his dirty work was a mistake. That's all Britten needs in order to connect the landlord to the crime and his team moves in for the arrest.

Emma arrives at the Britten's door early in the morning. Hannah was right; Emma doesn't want to give up the baby for adoption. When the Fuentes said she couldn't raise her child under their roof, she left. While sitting at the table, Emma asks how Britten knew she liked her tea with lemon and honey. He shrugs it off as a lucky guess, since Emma doesn't know Britten first met her with Rex at a coffee shop in the other world. Once Emma heads upstairs to rest, Britten compliments Hannah, saying she was the only one who knew what Emma really wanted. Right now, Emma's right where she's supposed to be; maybe they're where they're meant to be too. Hannah and Britten realize what this means... they're not moving to Portland.

Surprise! Vega planned a big goodbye party for Britten anyway. Britten behaves awkwardly, knowing he's not really leaving anymore, but let's the gala continue regardless. Seeking out Captain Harper, Britten explains why he won't be moving to Portland and the entire oddity of his circumstances. Harper's clearly torn as she genuinely cares for Britten and appreciates their shared time on the force. She's also well aware that if Britten stays in Los Angeles, Carl will carry out his threat to ensure Britten's demise. After the party, the Brittens find Emma resting on the sofa, watching old "X-Files" episodes Britten recorded. Feeling a little freaked out by Mulder and Scully, Emma invites the Brittens to watch one more episode with her. It looks like a new family is already forming...