Private Practice s03e20 Episode Script

Second Choices

I guess I should have called first.
Uh, no, no.
It's fine.
So, you and Addison? I'm I'm sorry.
I didn't even Addison, hello.
Hi.
Wow.
He's gotten so He's so big.
Violet.
- I'm crying, I know.
I know, I'm crying.
But look at him.
He's like 15.
He's not 15.
He's 15.
And I haven't been here.
I was in the crazy and then l I was in Costa Rica and then New York and - You were in New York? - I got out of the crazy and I came back here and he's 15.
And now I'm just a stranger to him and you and Addison are - It's okay, Violet.
No.
No, it's not.
I'm his mother.
I'm his mother.
And I haven't I'm so sorry I didn't I'm so sorry that I couldn't I'm I am so, so sorry.
Would you? Would you like to hold him? Can I? Hey.
Come here, pal.
Come on.
Yeah.
Look.
That's your mom.
That's your mommy.
Hi.
Stop hovering and come in here.
- I said we shouldn't be hovering, but - I said you needed space.
- We didn't wanna pressure you.
- I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Hey.
Oh, Violet.
Jeez, you're back.
Come on, Sheldon.
You knew I was back.
Somebody called you.
Oh, there may have been a text from Charlotte.
Ow.
Look, I'm fine, you guys.
But go ahead and ask.
I know you're dying to ask.
You're not messed up and freaky anymore? - Charlotte.
- She said we could ask.
I had this amazing breakthrough while I was away and, well, I know better than anybody that it doesn't happen overnight, but yeah, I'm ready.
To be Lucas' mom.
That's my girl.
- Morning.
- Morning.
- Morning.
Hey.
Well, I'm gonna go do some work.
Yeah, it's Yes, okay.
I got ten weeks of patient notes to catch up on.
Thank you.
You seem a little old for a pediatrician, but Oliver had to use the restroom.
Dr.
Freedman, I am Kelly.
This is my husband, Scott.
Okay.
Nice to meet you.
It says Oliver has a stomachache.
Is that just today or has it been going on? It's a little more than a stomachache.
It was kind of hard to see.
Wow, look at you.
- You're a hockey player, Oliver? - No.
Okay, well, I'm Dr.
Freedman.
We're gonna have to take this off so we Uh, I can't.
My parents don't let me.
Oliver, um He eats things.
He eats things like ice cream and too many cookies? - He ate part of his pillow last night.
Well, it started out small.
You know, pieces of the couch cushion, stuffed animals.
It started after Kelly and I got married last year.
I don't know if it's the change or I think of Oliver as my own.
And I hate to think my coming along has set him off somehow.
Will you help him? Please? - Hey.
- Hey.
Thought I'd stop by and see if you're okay.
- I'm fine, Pete.
- I know that this is weird.
It's great that Violet's back.
It's great that she wants to see Lucas.
It is great, right? She called me this morning.
She wants to see him again.
Told her I'd bring him to the office tomorrow.
That okay with you? You're his father.
You do what you think is best.
- Addison - I'm not his mother.
Violet is.
But you're always putting him to bed, you play with him, you feed him, you give him a bath, you hold him when he cries.
- You're not nobody to him.
- Yes, but he's her child.
I want you to be okay with this.
I mean, letting her try.
This is scary for me.
I don't even know if Violet is ready.
But if she is, I need you to help me be okay with it.
I'm okay.
Really, I am.
This is This is gonna be good for Lucas.
Thank you.
This is embarrassing.
If the guys in my unit knew I was being checked by a gynecologist, they'd never let me live it down.
You smacked your head passing out on the toilet.
This isn't the embarrassing part of the story.
The gyno gave you a referral.
I promise you, I only do brains.
I'm fine, okay? This is crazy.
I probably passed out because of too much R and R.
Talked my way into three weeks to come see the baby born.
I'm just not used to living like this.
Clean sheets, no gunfire.
It's not normal.
Has anything like this ever happened before? Sometimes I get dizzy.
Summers in Iraq are brutal.
Have you noticed any visual changes? - Numbness or weakness? - No.
I'm U.
S.
Army top-grade A specimen.
Well, there's no evidence of a concussion.
His head is fine.
See, honey? I told you.
Clean bill of health.
But your screening EKG is showing some subtle abnormality.
I don't understand.
You said his head was fine.
She's saying that there might be a problem with your heart.
Hey, Oliver.
Am I a freak? - Do you think you're a freak? I ate part of a book once.
In class.
No other kids do that.
- So I got in big trouble with the teacher.
- You see what I mean? Lt You know, when kids eat like you do You know, weird stuff.
It's usually something called pica.
Other kids do it too? Yeah.
I mean, it's rare.
But that makes you pretty special.
So it's a thing.
You can cure him.
I can prescribe fiber for the stomachache, but pica can have all sorts of causes.
Oliver, do you know why you do this? I don't know.
I just - I can't stop.
Okay.
Oh, hey.
What do you know about pica in 10-year-olds? Well, if the kid's got a mouth full of splinters and you're missing a box of tongue depressors, it's pica.
It's not really that simple.
I mean, that kind of behavior could be OCD or nutritional deficiency.
Neurological or trauma response.
I mean, sometimes we never figure it out.
I'll give you a head start.
The kid's got a new stepfather, problem started around the same time.
The stepfather's solution is to lock a hockey mask on his face.
I was going to talk to Violet about it, but it's her first day back, I don't wanna - Could you see him? - Well, sure.
Sure.
I'm happy to be second choice.
Thanks.
See you.
You know, I'm glad Sheldon is thorough.
But next time I go out of town, remind me to have someone cover my patients who takes less copious notes.
So So? - What's up with you and Charlotte? - I was asking about you.
- You said "so.
" - Means, "How are you?" I'm good.
Can I be good? Two months, no phone calls, no e-mails, no postcards.
Now you're good? I am.
I'm good.
You know, I would be better if I had known that Pete was sleeping with Addison before I came home.
Oh, I'm sorry about that.
I should have Oh, wait, no phone calls, no e-mails, no postcards.
Okay.
- Okay, I'm sorry.
- Thank you.
So, what is up with you and Charlotte? I'm maintaining a mature, professional distance.
She wants to be friends.
And what do you want? Life is sucky and hard.
Preaching to the choir, baby.
I'm glad you're back.
Lucia, I know that you're worried about Carl, but if there is a problem with his heart, Dr.
Bennett will find it.
- I hope so.
- He's the best.
No, I mean, I hope he will find something wrong.
This is his fourth tour of duty.
When I hear on the news that a roadside bomb went off, killing six, I wonder if one of them was Carl.
When officers come around, I pray that they don't stop by my house.
I just feel like I'm waiting for him to die.
I'm not sure what you're asking me to do.
If you could find something or say there's something.
Something that means he can't go back to Iraq at all.
I love him.
Help me keep him alive.
Hey.
Are those Carl's cardiac CTs? So, what? Are you not talking to me now either? Know what? I really can't handle that today, Sam.
- So be a grown-up.
Use your words.
- Vanessa and I broke up.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I am.
- I know we didn't always get along - You hated her, you hated that I was with her, so don't say you're sorry.
It's a lie.
You know it, I know it.
See, you wanna have your cake and eat it too.
But you know what? You can't.
Because I'm the cake.
From here on out, I'm taking the cake away.
No more cake for you.
I'm good cake too.
Double chocolate, cream-filled, with the little raspberries on top.
So no more cake for you, so just shut up.
- Okay.
- Carl has a block in his LAD.
It's called a widow-maker.
We're lucky we found it.
Could've killed him.
So, what are you gonna do? Well, he's a perfect candidate for a stent.
After the procedure, he should be good as new.
Maybe drug therapy would work.
Wait, the kid's serving in a war zone, Addison.
You wanna slow down his heart, his entire system? Do you think he can perform to the level he needs to - on beta-blockers? - Probably not.
He'd be discharged.
So you're saying you want me to do something less effective - so they'll pull him out of military service.
- This is not about me, Sam.
Lucia's gonna have his baby.
She wants to keep him around.
You can't always get what you want.
I don't know.
Surgery sounds risky.
If I take the medication, I can't go back? I can't make that determination.
But will it have an effect on your performance? It might.
- But, honey, if you're sick, then - Look, I'm not sick.
I'm not.
I have a thing and Dr.
Bennett can fix it.
I locate IEDs, bombs.
I have people in my squad who depend on me to stay alive.
I depend on you to stay alive.
Your baby depends on you to stay alive.
The Army can replace you.
I can't.
Can you fix this? Will surgery make me as good as new? I can.
I want the surgery.
I'm a soldier.
It's what I do.
And I wanna go back.
So how's it been with your step-dad, Scott? You know, since they got married.
He's pretty cool.
I've never had a dad before, so we get to do some stuff together.
Fun stuff.
But I think he's a little freaked out by this whole eating thing.
- What about your mom? - She got me the mask.
- Your mom got you the mask? - Yeah.
- What do you think of it? - Well, it's uncomfortable.
But it does kind of help me stop.
Without it, I just I see something and I eat it.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
I'm not even thinking and I do it.
Well, that's not uncommon, even for adults.
If there's an open bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips in the house when I'm watching House Hunters, forget about it.
Hey, no.
That's potpourri.
Spit it out.
Spit.
Thank you.
You know, there's a simple solution to you getting a job.
Just call your brother.
One recommendation from Derek, you'll be on the top of everyone's list.
Yeah, at a price.
Lectures and l-told-you-sos and you-screwed-up-agains.
Well, there's always a price.
- Fight for her, Sam.
- I don't follow.
Addison.
Fight for her.
I mean, you love her, right? Addison is with Pete.
And the mother of his baby just came back and it's all weird.
It's a perfect opportunity.
And you didn't answer my question.
Do you love her? Well, then fight for her.
Amelia, you're like family, so I'm gonna say this nicely.
Stop talking.
It's just interesting that in the O.
R.
, you are this kick-ass, take-charge, take-no-prisoners surgeon.
And you can't do that in your real life.
- She's not here.
- Mind if I wait? Come in.
I'm drinking.
Oh.
Uh - Can I have one? - From the woman you called a sex toy? I never should've said that.
What we had was more than that.
Yeah, right.
Charlotte, look at me.
It was more than that.
A lot more.
- I should go.
- You should.
Tell Violet I stopped by.
Okay.
Maybe I should post a sign: "Yes, I'm here.
Stop staring.
" I'm glad you're here.
And that you're better.
Or that you think you're better.
I am, Pete.
I'm better.
And taking off, going to Costa Rica, that helped? Oh, well, Costa Rica was a mess.
It was a lot of alcohol.
But one day, I went to the airport and I just I just couldn't get on a plane and come back to L.
A.
I just couldn't.
So I went to New York and I decided to live there.
I even interviewed for a job.
- You were gonna live in New York? - No, no.
I mean, yes, I thought I was, but no, not really.
It's what we therapists call a crisis point.
It was kind of the beginning of me coming back here.
To Lucas.
- Does that make sense? - No.
Nothing about your life has made sense for quite some time.
It's not your fault.
You earned your crazy.
But you gave Lucas to me and you asked me to take care of him.
And I have.
I am.
That's why I have to ask you, really ask you, are you back, Violet? Yeah.
I am.
Something's wrong with Cooper.
Like he's having a heart attack and we all have to rush to the hospital, or like you find his lack of attention aggravating and you wanna talk about it, but it makes you feel petty, so you wanna beat me up for a while before you actually get around to it? - Shut up, Sheldon.
- Okay, so the latter.
He came over last night.
Granted he was looking for Violet, but still, he came in, he had a drink - Tell me you didn't sleep with him.
- I didn't anything with him.
A kiss almost happened.
But then suddenly, he was running for the door.
Well, some people might call this a pattern.
Yes, that's it.
A pattern.
He comes close, he runs away.
He comes close, he runs away.
The man is bonkers.
Huh.
Hey.
Oh, hi.
Hi, good morning.
Wow, this looks nice.
So I packed his snacks in this orange thingy.
- He just likes the smiley-faced Elmos.
- Okay.
I got diapers, wipes, a few toys.
Oh, he loves the squeeze-froggy thing.
- What happened to the pull-monkey? - He likes that too, but the squishy frog is the real crowd-pleaser, huh? - Yeah.
Okay.
Yes.
- Squishy frog, pull-monkey, smiley snacks.
Think I got it.
You need anything at all, just call me or Addison.
- It's your frog.
Frog.
- Can I have him? Oh, yeah.
Okay, big man.
Here you go.
Hi.
Hi.
You guys can go.
It's okay.
Hi.
You give him vitamins, an hour's therapy, and then he goes home and eats dirt.
Literally, dirt.
As I tried to explain to you yesterday, we can work with him.
But there isn't always a simple answer.
Now, all we can do is work to redirect his urges to other things.
Straight out of the flower bed.
Dirt.
I'm sorry, Kelly, don't you think that he wants to change this? I think if he wanted to, he would.
And I'm afraid this whole thing is gonna be too much for Scott.
He has been patient.
He has been a saint with all this.
But what I need from you, you professionals, is to do something.
So, what you're saying is you care more about keeping your husband - than about helping your child.
- Cooper.
I just want him to be normal.
Putting a mask on his face does not make him feel normal.
- I am trying to help him.
Are you? - Why don't we dial this back? Look, I see a lot of kids with a lot of issues and all I'm trying to say is Oliver is hurting.
He is hurting in some way and you need to let me figure You need to let Dr.
Wallace figure out what that is.
And however hard it is on you, it is harder on him.
- That was unprofessional.
- She should be worried about her son, not her husband or herself.
You think telling her off is gonna make things better? Look, you are agitated, about this patient and about Charlotte.
- Charlotte has nothing to do with it.
- Maybe, maybe not.
But something about her still pushes your buttons.
Button-pushing, we call it.
Yeah, she told me about last night.
- Well, that is so none of your business.
- When it affects our patient, it is.
I'm not trying to fix something because my life is broken.
My life is fine.
It's the patient that is broken.
Fix him.
- Is everything okay? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He's just having a bottle.
Violet, if this is too much for you, then No.
No.
It's not too much.
It's not enough.
I mean, it would be one thing if I was a bad mother.
If I was mean to my kid or hit my kid.
But I'm not a mother at all.
You are.
- You're his mother.
- You're more of a mother than I am.
Violet.
I'm sorry.
You saved my life.
You saved Lucas' life.
And I am grateful for that, really.
It's just that this You and Lucas, you and Pete.
I mean, I expected a lot of things when I came home, but my son loving you was not one of them.
I can't have kids.
Did you know that? I've got like one egg left or something horrible like that.
But I'm okay with it.
I am.
I made my peace.
I wasn't one of those crazy women who cried, you know, every time she saw a baby.
I just shut it down.
But then Pete and I happened and that meant Lucas too.
And it was so scary for me, you know, to allow myself to enjoy him, to love him.
But when I did, it was like It was like I was broken and Lucas fixed me.
And now I can't imagine my life without him.
I can't.
I just So, you coming back And I'm thrilled that you're back, genuinely, because I like you, Violet.
And what happened to you was so But for me, it means l It just I'm saying it's hard for me too.
- I wanna hate you so badly.
- I wanna punch you in the face.
Well, I should go.
And you You're doing fine with him.
I know, right? I mean, I wasn't sure if I would.
I've never been good with kids, other people's kids, but I'm good at taking care of my son.
He'll pick you.
Because you're his mother, you know? In the end, he'll pick you.
What are you talking about? Babies get adopted all the time.
They love their adopted mothers.
They don't even think about their birth mothers.
I wasn't talking about Lucas.
- What happened? Scott and I got in an argument.
It was over Oliver.
He overheard, got upset, ran I found him in the garage, looking white.
He was scared.
- What's in the garage? - Everything.
Bug spray, gardening stuff.
Oliver, can you tell me what you ate? Hey, can you tell me what you ate? Get me a chem panel, a tox screen.
Give him 50 of charcoal.
- What is that? What are you doing? - We have to pump his stomach.
Oliver.
Hey, buddy.
You're gonna be okay.
It's a routine surgery.
I'm coming back.
Your wife really loves you.
Yeah, it's gotta be hard on her, worrying about you all the time.
You think I don't worry about her? Especially now? Hell, I know that I should be here, I do.
A man should be with his child.
But Lucia's gonna be here when I get back.
If I stay, I can't say the same thing about my guys.
There are other guys who can take your place over there.
If everyone said that, who'd be fighting for us? I'm guessing your wife would rather you were fighting for her.
- It's a girl thing.
- You pull me through this and I'll make sure to fight for both.
His vessels have calcified.
I don't know if this stent is gonna hold.
Gonna open up his chest, bypass the vessel.
The stent should compress and seal the tear.
You could wait, see if it holds.
You convert to bypass, he's not going back.
All right, notify O.
R.
I'm gonna bypass.
So lawn furniture, huh, Oliver? You ate some moldy lawn furniture? Just the cushions.
Oh, yeah, I know.
I saw it while it was coming up.
Your throat is gonna be sore for a while, but we'll run some tests.
We'll make sure you're okay.
And I wanna get you home, all right? I'm just gonna eat more stuff.
Why don't you just keep me here and sew my mouth shut? Hey, believe me, if I could sew a kid's mouth shut, I'd be a really wealthy pediatrician.
You just worry about getting better.
We'll figure this out.
Gonna get you some water.
Hey.
Hey.
Um, Lucas isn't here.
- The nanny - That's okay.
I wanted to talk to you.
About us.
Yeah? Oh, not I mean, not "us" us.
I meant what we're gonna do about Lucas.
What do you mean? Well, I ordered a crib online and it should be here on Thursday.
And my house is already child-proofed.
And I ordered diapers and car seats and toys and all that stuff - You don't have to buy him things, Violet.
- Well, you know, I'm gonna need it.
And I figured we could work out a schedule.
And I could pay half of the nanny bill.
And I'm willing to reimburse you for any back childcare, - any other expenditures you may have - Wait a minute, wait a minute.
What are you talking about? Look, I know this is not gonna happen right away.
I know it's a process.
So I figured we could transition Lucas very slowly.
Start out with daily visits, then maybe an overnight, maybe one week with you, - one week with me.
- No.
No? You've been back for two days.
Let's take this slow.
You were thinking about moving, for God's sake.
Right, I told you that was a crisis point.
Which to me means I'm not letting you have Lucas.
Okay, Pete.
Pete, let's just slow down, start again.
All I'm saying is I wanna share what No.
My son is not going to be part of your therapy.
- I'm his father.
- And I'm his mother.
Who gave him away.
You showed up at my doorstep and you gave him away.
That was low, Pete.
You know what I've been through.
You know what I've You know me.
Come on, Pete, you know me.
I do know you, but this isn't about you.
I have to do what's best for Lucas.
So Your son is struggling with pica and you have it too and you didn't say anything.
To him or to us.
You lied.
- How long do you think you've had it? - Since I was a kid.
But only when I was nervous.
When things were really bad.
But I got it under control.
I just made myself stop.
Until today.
With Oliver so sick, it was just so stressful, l Stressful for you? It's stressful for him.
He's 10 years old.
And he's feeling weird enough about this problem and he has impulses he doesn't know how to control.
And instead of telling him that you have it too, you put a mask on him.
Well, I thought that would stop it.
I wanted to spare him that.
But you lied to him, making it so he can never trust you about anything.
When we opened you up, your coronary arteries were too calcified to hold the stent.
Now, if I hadn't converted to a bypass, you would have had a heart attack.
But now you're okay.
So, what's the recovery time? I don't think you'll be able to return to active duty.
I know you're upset.
I told you that I didn't want this.
- This isn't what I wanted.
You're alive, Carl.
You've got a wife who loves you.
A child on the way.
This is not a bad outcome.
This is what most people want.
This is what most people fight for.
- It was hard for her.
- Lying to your kid should be hard.
You wanna be a parent, you should not do that.
You should not lie.
No.
No, you shouldn't.
No parent should.
If they do and if it leaves a mark, if that kid or any kid is troubled by some lie or something that wasn't said, then they're really gonna need to talk about it, eventually.
Why don't you come in and sit down? Why don't we just talk? Nothing to talk about.
Hey.
Hey.
So, Amelia told me what happened with Carl.
Why did you do it? I didn't have a choice.
Well, you could have done the stent.
Yeah, but instead I saved his life.
You were right, Sam.
You are cake.
Really good cake.
You're a good guy.
Now, I know it may not feel like it, but what you did for Carl and Lucia, it's the right thing.
The right thing.
I'm so sick of doing the right thing.
Maybe once, I should do the wrong thing.
Sam.
Sam.
No, Sam.
What the hell are you doing? I am sorry.
He kissed me and I didn't stop it and I just can't I don't wanna be in the way, all right? Lucas needs a mother and you should be with Violet.
No, no, no.
Don't do that.
I am sick of your excuses.
You get a little scared, so you act a little crazy.
Boohoo.
Get over it! Because, you know, I've had crazy.
I'm not doing that again.
So if you wanna be a mess, be a mess.
If you wanna be with Sam, be with Sam.
But don't jerk me around, Addison.
You're right.
I'm scared.
I love you and I love Sam and you love me and you love Violet.
And the thing that tips the scales all the way around is Lucas.
I love Lucas so much.
I'm a single dad.
I am not doing this for kicks.
So choose me or don't choose me, but I'm not gonna wait around.
I hate her.
She lied.
Well, lying is wrong.
And she made you feel bad.
But, you know, she was scared.
And when parents are scared, sometimes they make mistakes.
Yeah, well, I still don't forgive her.
She could've helped.
She's the grown-up.
She's the one who's supposed to do what's right.
Hm.
You know, when I was just about your age, I found out that my parents had lied to me.
And I would not forgive them.
And that's not a good way to go.
It really messed me up.
What did they lie about? Well, they had had a kid before me.
His name was Andy.
And for eight years, he was their son.
And then one day Well, he was very, very sick and he died.
And then a couple years later, they adopted me, but they never told me about Andy.
And, you know, so I grew up thinking I was the only one.
And when I found out, I felt like a replacement.
I felt they hadn't told me because they loved him more.
And I would not forgive them.
Yeah.
And then you did and everything turned out great.
Happy ending, blah, blah, blah.
No.
No, I didn't forgive them.
I still love them and I know the reason they lied to me was to protect me from their pain and I wasn't a replacement.
I know they loved me for who I was, for who I am.
Just like your mother and Scott love you.
But I have not forgiven them.
Which is surprising, because I thought I did.
The point is, don't be like me.
Find a way to forgive her.
You gotta work really hard on it, okay? Hey.
Can I hide out with you? It is tense over there.
- Addison and Pete are like - Yeah, yeah.
I know.
Are they breaking up? - This is a good thing.
I mean - Will you shut up? Please, shut up.
What are you even doing here? Running around, watching surgeries, watching other people's lives, trying to fix things and not doing anything about your own life.
You raise a girl from the dead, you don't have a job because you don't wanna talk to your brother, yet you're giving me advice on my life? Deal with your own mess before you get into mine.
Now, if you wanna sit there, fine, sit there.
But keep your mouth shut.
You are hot when you're mad.
- No wonder Addison like - Amelia.
At least you know what you want.
No, Sam.
I mean, you know who you are.
And what you want and what's important to you.
Me, I'm a mess.
I don't have anything or anyone or even any kind of an idea who I am or what I am doing or why.
And I have done stuff, Sam.
I have done bad stuff and l I don't know what I'm doing anymore.
I'm shutting up now.
My parents had a kid before me who died.
- Really? - Yeah.
- You never told me that.
- I probably never would've, except for the fact that Sheldon is annoying.
Do you think it's possible that I was so angry with Charlotte because I felt like a replacement for her first husband like I was with my parents? Yeah, being second choice.
Forgiveness issues.
It makes sense.
Wow, Cooper.
This is big.
This is good and big.
Yay.
You think I should try to get her back? I think you should try.
Do you think I should try to get Lucas back? What do you mean, get him back? I'm gonna sue Pete for custody.
Do you think I could win?
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