Parenthood Episode 6.03 The Waiting Room

As his surgery date approaches, Zeek grows increasingly ornery, as his family grows increasingly worried. The night before, the kids come over for hugs, and Zeek inadvertently outs Amber's pregnancy to the rest of the family. In a quiet moment alone with Zeek, Amber confesses she has yet to tell Ryan. Putting on a brave face, Zeek promises Amber he'll stick around to see his first great-grandchild born, but he's clearly not certain.

Armed with coffee, Amber visits Drew to apologize for not telling him first... and to ask if she can borrow his car to drive to Wyoming to tell Ryan in person. Drew insists on driving. Amber fully intends to raise the baby on her own, but when she lays eyes on Ryan - who's looking worse for wear - her resolve crumbles. Upon hearing the news, Ryan falls to his knees, hugging Amber; he's over the moon. He promises he's going to be the most amazing dad ever, and promises to stand by Amber's side every step of the way. Amber tells Drew she's going to stay in Wyoming with Ryan, but he won't hear of it. Ryan's just like their father; he's not going to change and Amber can't fix him or help him. Drew gives Amber one hour to settle up, and then he's going to take her home to Berkeley. So Amber gets to the heart of the matter, asking Ryan about his drug use. When he admits that now might be the time to wean himself, they both know he's not ready to take on parenthood.

Hank gets so preoccupied with work that he forgets he promised to take Ruby to the mall. Sarah steps in, suggesting a trip to the local drugstore, which has a wicked selection of lip gloss. Sarah's mortified to spy Ruby slipping one into her purse. Hank can't believe it, doesn't want to believe it. He can't understand and has no idea what to do. He sucks at being a dad. When Sandy arrives to pick up Ruby, Hank screws up his courage to tell her the shoplifting story, which threatens to go off the rails when Sandy gets upset that Ruby was alone with Sarah. Furious, Sandy lays into Hank. Her entire reason for moving back to Berkeley was so that Hank would help with Ruby, who's at a dangerous crossroads. Maybe if Hank hadn't left Ruby alone with Sarah this wouldn't have happened. She needs a father!

Zeek checks into the hospital the evening before surgery. His room has a view of the graveyard, and when he's asked to surrender his wedding ring, he kicks the orderly out of his room. Adam has sent the family an alarmist email about surgical recovery which has scared the crap out of Crosby, who can't sleep. The next day, Julia is surprised to bump into Joel, who's just come from a visit with Zeek. He'll look after the kids during Zeek's surgery, and offers Julia all his support. The Braverman kids gather around Zeek's bedside until the doctor sends them to the waiting room; only Camille can walk with Zeek as he's wheeled to the operating room. Handing his wedding ring to Camille, Zeek says, "I'm scared," and then he's gone. Once alone, Camille's brave face melts into tears.

As the hours in the waiting room drag on, a paralegal delivers a case to Julia filled with treats - a waiting room survival kit from Chris, who's really starting to tug at her heartstrings. With Adam continuing his rampage as a harbinger of doom, it's not long before he's quibbling with Crosby. That's when he gets the news that Oliver Rome has walked out of sound check in Albuquerque. Crosby needs to call Oliver right now and fix it. When Adam calls Crosby incompetent, he stomps into the parking lot to make the call. It turns out Oliver has flaked out to Santa Fe. The screaming match ends when Oliver hangs up. Crosby smashes his phone and takes off on his motorcycle, pedal to the metal. Driving a curvy canyon road, he takes a corner too fast, and wipes out, banging himself up pretty badly in the process.

The waiting has gone on too long when Joel calls Julia to check in. He's available if Julia wants to talk. Angry, Julia tells him all his niceness is just too hard, too confusing. Moreover, she's seeing someone. That gets Joel off the phone pretty quick. Crosby limps back into the waiting room just as the doctor emerges from the operating theater. The surgery went well, no complications; now they'll just have to see if Zeek's heart can grow stronger. The happy smiles of relief fade as the family approaches the recovery room where a barely conscious Zeek lays frail and vulnerable, with none of his normal bluster. Zeek's eyes flutter open when Camille slips his wedding ring on. He's back, but he's changed forever.