Wednesday December 29,2010

Since thursday and friday are repeats this is the last post of 2010 even if I'm posting it late
Jake and Amanda ate at Krystal's restaurant and made plans for the day. The hospital called Jake into work, where he discovered that he was on a skeleton shift with Cara. She acknowledged the awkwardness of their situation, but promised to leave town once her government red tape cleared up. Jake claimed that it wasn't awkward, and everything was fine.
While in surgery, Jake and Cara worked flawlessly together. She recalled that Jake had screamed to see a spider springing out of a patient's coat in Africa. He remembered that she'd once taken laxatives instead of aspirin because she couldn't understand the language on a bottle.

After the procedure had ended, Cara stared at a cell phone picture of Jake. She hid the phone when he approached to relieve her for the day. He commended her on her performance, but said that working the same shifts shouldn't become a habit for them.

After an uneventful all night stakeout, the exhausted Natalia and Tad had coffee at ConFusion. Brot joined them to say that their mark had been jailed on a DUI in Philadelphia. Tad agreed to do another stakeout, but he said nothing beat spending time with loved ones.

At Krystal's restaurant later, Tad entered to find a sad Cara at a table alone. He prodded her to talk to him, and she said she needed to get out of town for Jake's sake. Cara admitted that working with Jake had conjured up memories. She felt there was a reason that people maintained their distance after divorce. Tad revealed that he and his ex-wife happily cohabited. As Krystal served them, Cara called Tad and Krystal freaks of nature.

Tad discussed his drab dating life and asked if Cara had dated anyone since Jake. She claimed she'd been busy saving lives, but said it'd be cool to have lunch with Tad sometime.

Back at ConFusion, Brot had taken Tad's words to heart. Though Brot and Natalia had a lot of work to do that day, he believed there was enough time for them to squeeze in a breakfast date together. After the meal, Natalia tried to rush off, but he stopped her. Brot admitted that he'd been following the "dating rules," which outlined when to call and when to ask for another date. Doing that had prevented him from getting what he really wanted. Brot said he really just wanted to spend more time with her. "And to be able to do this," he whispered and kissed her.

The couple made out, and Brot said they should have been doing that on Christmas Eve. He felt that their priorities weren't straight, but he hoped that Natalia was seriously ready to give their relationship a shot. Revealing that men usually bailed on her, Natalia said she needed to weigh the risk versus the reward. Brot asked for her conclusion on it, and she decided the reward far outweighed the risk. "I'm ready," she uttered, and Brot kissed her again.

At the prison, Scott joked and flirted during a visit from Marissa. She informed him that Cortlandt Electronics was back in Caleb's hands, and Chandler had been hit with huge fines. Scott congratulated her and said that she could use the turn of events to get him out prison.

Marissa discussed her efforts to get Scott released on parole, and he was grateful that she'd help him after he'd ruined her marriage. She corrected that JR had ruined the marriage, not Scott. Scott claimed that stealing from Palmer had been the catalyst, but Marissa said Scott had owned up to it and had paid his debt. She asked him to leave the details of his release to her.

Scott asked about the custody case, and Marissa said she'd settled on joint custody because JR had been proving himself as a good father. Scott doubted JR's sincerity, and she guessed Scott thought she was naïve. He said he was glad she'd remained a hopeful person. Marissa figured it'd be tough for Scott to find a job due to his conviction, but he said he was up for the challenge. He couldn't wait to get out of there, and she vowed to get him home.

At the mansion, Annie gasped at some breath-taking roses she'd found in a gift box in the foyer. Annie read the card only to discover that JR had bought Marissa's favorite pink roses as a gift to Marissa. "We can make this work, [from] JR," Annie read from the card. JR decided to let Annie have the flowers, and he'd pick up more for Marissa later. Annie raged that he should have just bought her flowers while he'd been busily buying his ex-wife some.

JR assured Annie that he'd never buy her flowers as an afterthought, and he'd certainly buy more than a mere dozen. He claimed the flowers for Marissa were just to solidify the custody deal. Annie's mind flashed the kiss on the cheek that JR had given Marissa. Shoving the flowers at him, Annie demanded that he hurry up and seal the deal.

JR took the flowers to Krystal's restaurant and asked Krystal to give them to Marissa. Krystal worried that Marissa couldn't trust him in the custody deal, but he assured Krystal that AJ's happiness was a priority. JR spotted some pink roses behind the bar, and when Krystal went to put his flowers in water, he searched the other roses to find a card from Scott.

When Krystal returned, JR tried to pump her for information about Marissa and Scott, but Krystal wouldn't divulge anything. She hoped JR wouldn't let his grudge against Scott interfere in the custody arrangement. Krystal claimed to know how JR was when he had a grudge, but JR said she didn't know him at all. Facing death the prior year had changed him, and he had no grudge against Scott.

Later, Marissa arrived and delighted at the sight of her two bouquets. Krystal warned of the dangers of receiving flowers from two Chandler men at once. Marissa claimed that she wouldn't fall into any traps, but she would help Scott, because he deserved a second chance.

Back at the prison, Scott was surprised that he had another guest. JR entered, pretending to be innocently visiting his cousin, but Scott didn't buy it. JR suspected that Scott was happy that his misdeeds had cost the family Cortlandt Electronics; however, Scott expressed no interest in trading barbs about that. JR asked what was happening between Scott and Marissa. Ignoring the question, Scott claimed he hadn't thought about JR for months, but JR seemed to still feel threatened. JR replied that Scott wasn't a threat. "I said, ‘you feel threatened,' " Scott corrected.

JR stated that Scott was priming Marissa to be some legal savior just to get back at JR, but Scott asked where Annie fit in. "I still got her perfume on my clothes," JR replied, delightfully sniffing his jacket.

JR guessed that Scott would try to go after the family company, but Scott replied that he cared even less about Chandler than he did about JR. Scott claimed to be working on something more productive than JR, and that was himself. Scott felt good about what he saw when he looked into the mirror, but he wondered if JR would say the same. Before leaving, JR winked and asked if Scott had big New Year's Eve plans with his inmate pals.

At ConFusion, Annie complained to Amanda about the roses that JR had bought for Marissa. Annie was convinced that Marissa was working an angle to get JR back, but Amanda didn't think that made sense after the way that JR had hurt Marissa. Annie then revealed that JR and Marissa had shared a "lingering" kiss on the cheek, but Amanda wondered if Annie were just overreacting. Annie insisted that Marissa was a sneaky rat who had her sights set on JR.

Jake arrived to pick up Amanda, and she asked how his shift had gone. He explained that he and Cara had been the only doctors on staff. Amanda looked concerned, but he claimed that it wasn't a big deal. Amanda wished Annie luck, and the couple left.

Later, Annie returned to her hotel room to find a garden of flowers inside. JR entered, and she gratefully kissed him. She asked how things had gone with Marissa. He said he hadn't seen Marissa, but he had seen Scott, who might be released soon. Annie doubted they had to concern themselves with Scott. She was excited that the custody deal had wrapped up, and she and JR were free to resume their relationship in public.

JR warned her that they had to take it slow, so Marissa wouldn't change her mind. He said they had to pretend that their relationship was just starting — at least until the custody papers were signed. JR tried to kiss Annie, but she shoved him away and insisted that she couldn't continue sneaking around.

JR promised that it wouldn't be for much longer, and he tried to appease her by telling her that they'd spend a special New Year's Eve together. JR left to prep for a conference call, and Annie sniffed each of her bouquets. She spotted a dozen pink roses on a table. "Pink roses," she murmured and ripped the bouquet apart.

At home later, Jake sensed that Amanda was upset about him working with Cara. Amanda admitted that after talking with Annie, Amanda had begun to ponder old relationships popping up in people's lives. Jake assured his wife that no old relationships were "popping up," and Cara would be gone once her paperwork was fixed. He volunteered to have Angie schedule him and Cara on different shifts. At first, Amanda agreed, but then said to forget it because she was letting Annie's paranoia get to her.

Jake suggested they work on making a fourth family member after he got out of the shower. He went into the bedroom, and Amanda made a phone call. Pretending to be Cara, Amanda asked for the status of her travel paperwork