Drake and Beth are in their bedroom getting ready for the day. Drake is excited and nervous because he will be spending time with his daughter again, only this time she will know that he is her father. Beth notices that he is anxious and attempts to calm him down.
She approaches him from behind and gently puts her hands on his shoulders. "Everything okay Honey?"
"Huh? Oh… yeah, I'm just….. having trouble with this watch"
"Here, let me do it" Beth gently takes his wrist and buckles his watch for him.
Drake takes his wife's hand and kisses her cheek. "Thanks Dear"
"You're welcome. You know, you don't have to be nervous…."
"Me? Nervous? Hah" he interrupts her.
"No, no Honey, you're not nervous. You're just an extra tall order of heavily caffeinated coffee…. with a double shot of espresso." She puts her arms around his neck in another attempt to settle him down.
Drake gives in. "Okay fine, I'm nervous. So sue me"
Beth starts to fix his collar. "I watched you with her yesterday. You were pushing her on the swings….. chasing her around and laughing, really enjoying yourself. Nothing makes me happier than to watch you with your kids"
"Except she doesn't know that she's my kid. Today she will and…. I'm just afraid that she's not going to take it well"
"Everything's going to be okay. You'll see" she says as she finishes adjusting his collar. Drake sighs and allows himself to relax and smile, something that his nervous energy has prevented him from doing in the last forty eight hours.
/
Nora and Jessie are at their hotel in the city. Nora decides that she needs to tell Jessie about Drake before they see him again. Rachel is there too, but she sits in the background and listens.
"Sweetie, remember I told you that every person has a mother and a father?" she begins.
"Yes"
"I never talked to you about your father, and that was wrong. I should have let you meet him when you were a baby, and I should have let him meet you"
"Why didn't you?"
Nora looks away from her daughter as she thinks about her answer. "Because… I really didn't know better back then. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. But now I need to fix that mistake, and I want you to get to know him."
"I don't want to" Jessie says softly as she pouts.
Nora puts her hand under Jessie's beak and makes her look up at her. "I need you to do this okay? I need you to have a relationship with him. When I go to heaven, he's going to be the one to take care of you"
"When can we go home?" Jessie asks.
"We're not going home. We're going to stay here in Saint Canard for a while"
"Why?" Jessie wines and continues to pout.
Rachel notices that Nora is struggling. She sits on the bed with them and tries to talk to Jessie. "Hey Sweetie, you remember what we did yesterday right? We went to the park, and you were playing on the swings and the slide with your Mom and Drake"
"Yeah, he helped me climb the monkey bars" Jessie says
"You had a good time with him right?"
Jessie shrugs her shoulders. "I guess"
Nora takes both of Jessie's hands and she looks up at her. "Honey, I brought you here to meet Drake because he's your father"
Jessie looks wide eyed at her mother. She pulls away from her, runs to the bathroom and slams the door shut, locking herself in there.
Nora walks over the bathroom door. "Jessie, please open the door"
"No, go away!" Jessie yells from the other side of the door. Nora rests her forehead on the door. She starts to feel tired and dizzy. Rachel notices and brings her a glass of water.
"Maybe you should call Drake" she tells her
/
Gosalyn is at her locker at school. Since she is alone, her thoughts go back to the day she was with Javo in the dance studio. She has a flashback of dancing with him that day, something that she hasn't been able to remember until now. This scares her. She snaps herself back into the present and slams her locker shut. She looks over and is surprised to see Skyler standing there, waiting for her.
"Hi" she says to him.
"You okay? You seemed like you were somewhere else just now" he asks her.
Gosalyn covers her discomfort and grins. "I'm okay, just surprised to see you"
/
Drake arrives at the hotel to see Nora and Jessie. Nora lets him in and explains what happened when she told Jessie about him being her father. Drake was afraid that this would happen and his nervous energy returns. He does his best to calm down and contain it. He gently knocks on the bathroom door.
"Jessie… Honey its Drake. I was hoping we could have a talk"
"No, I don't wanna talk to you!" she shouts from the other side of the door.
"Jessie Joy!" Nora scolds, but Drake puts his hand up and motions her to let him handle this.
He tries again "I know you're upset. It's okay to be upset. Your Mom and I are not mad, we just wanna talk to you. Can you open the door please?"
"No! Go away!"
Drake looks back at Nora. They both feel defeated.
/
Gosalyn and Skyler sit on a bench outside of the school. They have a few minutes before they need to get ready for soccer practice. Gosalyn feels nervous and she's not making much eye contact with him. She hasn't talked to Skyler since she'd told him about Javo.
"Thanks for coming out here with me" he starts. "I wanted to give you your birthday present"
Gosalyn looks at Skyler wide eyed. "Skye, you really didn't have to get me anything, I mean we…"
"I know" he interrupts. "I know that we ended things, but I got this for you a few months ago, and I still want you to have it"
He holds out the well wrapped present for her and she looks at it for a few seconds. She slowly takes it from him and looks up at him.
"It's okay, open it"
Gosalyn opens the present. It is a DVD. She holds it up and smiles as she looks at it. "The complete first season of 'Life As We Know It'"
Gosalyn used to make Skyler watch old episodes of "Life As We Know It" with her when they lived together. It was her favorite TV show growing up. It is a lighthearted family comedy. The show was made ten years before she was born. Aside from the monster and vampire movies, she enjoyed it more than anything else that was on television. It was a great escape from the sad and painful experiences she's had to face.
"I found out a few months ago that the producers released the first season, so it was a no brainer"
Gosalyn looks at Skyler and smiles. She really doesn't know what to say to him.
Skyler decides that he should explain himself. "Look, um…. I know that things are awkward between us, and they probably will be for a while. But that shouldn't take away from our past. We have some great memories, and despite what you've done….. I'm not going to forget"
Gosalyn looks at him and has a tear in her eye. She smiles at him. "Neither will I"
/
Drake and Nora are in the hotel room. Rachel left the room to give them some time to deal with Jessie. She is still locked in the bathroom. Nora is sitting on the bed and Drake is pacing. They haven't said a word to each other for the past half hour.
Nora has had enough. She stands up too fast and immediately reaches for her head. Drake stops pacing and notices.
"Are you alright?"
"No" she answers him with frustration in her voice. "I have had enough of this. I am getting the hotel manager up here to open this door"
Drake grabs her arms to stop her. "No, wait, I can't let you do that"
"Why not?" Nora breaks free from Drake's grip.
"Because, I don't wanna scare her. Look it's been some time since we've tried talking to her. Maybe I should try again." Drake walks over to the bathroom door and stands next to it. "Jessie, it's almost time to eat dinner. Your Mom and I are trying to think of something we can eat. Is there anything that you want?" He waits for a few seconds for her to answer, but she doesn't. "Jessie?"
"I don't wanna eat" she says
Drake sighs and tries again. "Your Mom told me that you like mac 'n' cheese. I can go and pick some up for you, would you like that?"
"No, go away! I don't like you!" she shouts.
Drake puts his hand on the door as sadness starts to set in. He decides to do what she says. "Okay, I'm gonna leave. But please, come out and talk to your Mom." He looks over at Nora as he continues to talk to Jessie through the door. "She loves you very much and she wants to make everything alright for you"
/
Drake and Beth are in their bedroom. Drake is sitting on the bed staring forward. Beth sits next to him and starts to massage his shoulders.
"I'm sorry it didn't go well today" she says to him.
"I don't understand it" Drake says. "She was so happy yesterday. And today…. it's like we flipped a switch and now she hates me"
"Yesterday was different" she explains. "Yesterday you were this goofy guy that she had fun with at the playground. But now that she knows that you are her father, she knows there's a connection, she's probably very confused"
Drake stops Beth from massaging his shoulders and looks at her. "What should I do?"
Beth starts to play with the feathers on Drake's head. "I think we need to let her come around on her own time. Let her get to know us."
"There's not much time. Nora's sick, she needs to go back to Texas for treatment. What happens then?" Drake asks in a panic.
"We have to be patient with her. She's not going to be happy about living here and she's not going to be happy about her mother leaving her here. She's not going to know how to behave around you so she'll probably act out and scream and cry a lot."
"Great, Gosalyn part two. I feel like we were here this time last year. Except this kid doesn't know me, and she already hates me."
Beth puts her hands on his shoulders again and leans in toward his face. "She doesn't hate you. And I know it's going to seem like that for a while, but once she gets to know you she's going to love you. And all of the patience and understanding you give her will pay off"
Drake thinks about Beth's words and starts to feel encouraged. He places his hand on her knee and kisses her. "Thank you"
/
It is the next day, and the family is gathered in the Mallard family room waiting for the arrival of Nora and Jessie. Drake is nervous again, and uses his nervous energy to make sure that his wife and kids are prepared for their visit.
"Now remember, no personal questions okay? We don't want to make them feel uncomfortable" he says to the kids.
"Chill out Dad. You're going to pop a blood vessel" Gosalyn says.
Drake raises his finger and opens his beak to talk back, but the doorbell interrupts him. "That's them"
"Relax" Beth says as she walks over to the door to let them in.
Drake watches as Nora and Jessie walk into the family room with Beth. He smiles at them. "Hi, it's nice to see you both again"
"Likewise" Nora says. "Jessie, do you have something to say?"
Jessie is reluctant, but she obeys her mother. "Hi" she says in her low soft voice. Abby smiles at her, while Gosalyn and Jake just grin. Jessie notices Abby's friendly smile right away and takes a mental note of it.
Drake introduces them. "These are our kids, Gosalyn and Jake, and this is our foster daughter, Abby. We have a foster son too but he's sleeping."
Nora shakes hands with the kids while Jessie watches.
"Why don't you girls show Jessie your room" Drake says. Abby takes Jessie's hand and leads her up the stairs. Jake and Gosalyn follow.
The adults watch and wait for the kids to leave the room.
"I didn't know you had teenagers" Nora says. "I thought your kids would be younger than Jessie"
"I adopted Gosalyn when she was seven. She just turned fifteen and Jake is four" Drake explains.
"And Abby and Christian are staying with us until they can live with their mother again" Beth adds.
"Oh" Nora nervously crosses her arms and looks around at the numerous pictures in the room.
"So, uh, how is Jessie doing today?" Drake asks Nora.
"She's doing alright" Nora says. "Aside from a sore bottom"
Drake immediately shoots her a glare. "You hit her?"
"I don't hit my daughter. I gave her a spanking"
"Same difference" Drake argues.
Nora slaps Drake's arm hard to prove a point.
"Ouch" he shouts as he holds his arm.
"That's hitting"
Beth can't help but laugh at her husband, but stops when he starts glaring at her. "Drake doesn't spank his kids" she explains to Nora.
"Look, I don't do it very often, so when I do she gets the message that her behavior is unacceptable. Not only did she lock herself in the bathroom all day but she was completely disrespectful to you" Nora tries to explain.
Drake continues to rub his sore arm from where Nora slapped him. "She's going to need some time to deal with all of this. Now, Beth and I have been talking and we think that you should stay here with us for a while, at least until she gets to know us better.
Nora looks over at Beth. "You're okay with this?"
"Yes, of course. You're her mother. Who better to help her with this transition then you?" Beth says.
Nora thinks this over for a few seconds and then shakes her head. "No, I don't think we should do this. I mean, if I stay here she's going to want me to be here all the time and it will make it that much harder for me to leave."
Drake positions himself next to his wife and puts his arm around her. "It's going to be difficult for you to leave regardless. Don't you think it would be better for you to see that she is alright with us here before you go back to Texas permanently?"
"I already know that she's going to be alright with you" she says with tears in her eyes. "I already see it in your kids. I have to ask though, what happened to med school? I mean, the last time I saw you you were on your way." Nora begins to regain her composure and wipes her tears away.
Drake and Beth look at each other, and then Drake looks back at Nora. "A lot has happened since then"
Nora nods her head when she realizes that that's all that Drake is going to say about the subject. "Thank you for the offer to stay, but I do need to go back to Texas in three days. But before I go there's something I need your help with"
"Name it" Drake says.
Nora looks down and breaks eye contact. "We need to find a pediatric cardiologist for Jessie"
Drake and Beth are shocked. They don't know what to say right away, so Nora provides an explanation. "She was born with a congenital heart defect. She has to take medicine every day and she needs blood work once a month. She also has asthma and uses a rescue inhaler. Before I go, I want to make sure she has a doctor that has her medical records and is going to take care of our daughter"
Drake is still speechless. Beth looks up at him and then back at Nora. "Our friend Gwen is a pediatric ER doctor, I know she can recommend someone."
Drake shakes his head and snaps out of it. He speaks softly and slowly. "Yeah…uh, I'm sure she can. Um, at the police station, you had mentioned that she hatched late. Is that why she has a heart condition?"
"Yes and no. When I laid her egg the doctors told me that her organs weren't strong enough. They kept her in the hospital and kept her from hatching so she could get stronger. But four months later they told me that they needed to let her hatch or she would die. They let her hatch and her other organs were okay, but her heart wasn't."
"I need to know everything" Drake says. "I need to know what she's been through, what kind of medicine she's taking…"
The kids walk down the steps and join the adults. Abby is carrying Christian since he is awake from his nap.
"Hey Dad, Jake and Jessie are hungry" Gosalyn says. Drake is still speechless upon hearing that Jessie has a heart condition. He's having a hard time focusing.
"Dad!" Gosalyn tries to get his attention. He snaps out of it and looks down at her. "Can we eat now?"
Drake rubs the back of his head, which he often does when his stress level is high. Beth notices and covers for him. "Yeah, we can eat now"
/
After lunch Drake, Beth, Nora and Jessie arrive at the hospital to meet with a cardiologist. Drake is apprehensive about caring for a child with a heart condition, so he doesn't want to waste any time. His top priority is setting her up with a great doctor and learning everything he can about her condition. They are greeted by Gwen and a very young looking male duck. Gwen exchanges hugs with Beth and Drake and they introduce her to Nora and Jessie. Gwen introduces them to the handsome young doctor next to her.
"This is Doctor Matt Lawson" she says
Matt shakes hands with Drake and Beth. "How do you do?"
Drake watches as he shakes hands with Nora and Jessie. He is skeptical about trusting such a young doctor with his daughter's medical needs. Beth notices the look on his face and elbows him.
"Ow!"
"Be nice" she says to him.
"Be nice? What is he twelve?" he whispers, but Matt hears him. He has been on the ground at Jessie's level, but he turns to stand up and talk to them.
"Actually I'm twenty five" he says to them with confidence in his voice.
"You'll have to excuse my criticism here, but aren't you a little young to be a cardiologist?" Drake asks.
Matt smiles at them. "I get that a lot. Don't worry I'll do my best not to feel offended"
Drake doesn't appreciate his humor and continues to question him. "How long have you been practicing medicine?"
"Five years" he says as his tone turns more serious. "I graduated high school when I was fifteen and med school when I was twenty. My parents are both successful doctors so I guess you can say it's in my blood"
Drake looks at Beth and starts to feel more at ease about Matt. He puts his arm around his wife and she smiles at him.
Matt looks down at Jessie and smiles at her. "What's your favorite color Sweetheart?"
"Blue" she says.
"Blue it is" he says. "I'm going to have my nurse set you up with a blue hospital gown, and then we're going to do a quick checkup, okay?"
Jessie looks up at her mother and shakes her head. "I don't want to"
Nora takes her hand. "Do what the doctor says"
Drake and Beth watch as Matt, Nora and Jessie walk away. Gwen sits with them while they wait for them to return from the checkup. Drake is still struggling with everything that is happening. As if meeting his young daughter wasn't stressful enough, learning that she has a heart condition just adds to the stress. Beth holds his hand and smiles at him.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to you since you got the news. How are you doing with all of this?" Gwen asks Drake, referring to him finding out that he has a daughter.
Drake looks at Beth and then over at Gwen. "I'm still reeling from all of this. She's my kid, and I had no idea that she was even born. She's been in this world for six years, she has her own personality, her own thoughts and feelings, and her likes and dislikes. Me, being one of her dislikes"
"That won't last" Gwen says. "She just has to get to know you"
"You and Beth make it sound so easy"
"I didn't say it was going to be easy" Gwen corrects him. "When Skyler came to live with me he was a handful. He was a sweet kid, but when his parents died it changed him. He did everything he could to let me know that he was unhappy. It took some time, but eventually he got used to me and his new home, he started smiling more and he let me into his heart"
"Thanks Gwen, but that's a little different" Drake says. "Skye knew you already, you are his aunt"
"I didn't spend a lot of time with him. My sister lived so far away, I only got to see him once or twice a year"
"What did you do to get him to settle down?" Beth asks Gwen.
"I'm not gonna lie. It was rough. He cried a lot for his parents, he really didn't understand why they couldn't come for him. There were many nights when I had to sit at the dinner table with him for two hours because he refused to eat his dinner. He was sad and angry and it was hard to watch, but I stuck by him and made sure that he felt loved. And I didn't let him get away with anything."
Drake and Beth look at each other and think about Gwen's words.
/
Three days have passed, which means it is time for Nora to go back to Texas. She has already said goodbye to her daughter and she is now at the airport with Drake. They both hear the announcement that her plane is starting to board the first section of seats.
"That's you" Drake says to her.
"Yeah, I guess it is" Nora says slowly. There is so much that she wants to tell Drake, and she's afraid that she is going to forget something.
Drake notices her growing anxiety and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Before I go there are some things I should tell you"
The announcement calls for the second section of seats to board.
"Jessie has this blue blanket, she needs to take it with her when she goes for blood work"
"Okay" Drake says as he looks over at the people standing in line to board the plane. He notices the line growing shorter and shorter.
Nora continues. "She likes when I sing to her and play the guitar. You don't play the guitar, do you?"
Drake shakes his head. "No, but I suppose I could learn"
"Good, ah, she's in first grade, so when you enroll her in school, make sure they know that. She's still working on her letters and she doesn't know how to read yet. But she's really great with numbers. She doesn't like vegetables but she needs to eat them, they're good for her."
The announcement calls for the third section of seats to board.
"She needs to have her inhaler with her at all times. I also keep one at the house and one at school, so you might want to do that too. Uh, she just started acrobatics in Texas and she seemed to like it so you might want to see if they have acro classes here. She also likes farm animals and riding horses…."
Drake gently takes her hands and interrupts her. "Nora, I'm going to take really good care of our daughter, I promise"
Nora has tears in her eyes. "I know you are. And I should have known that eight years ago, I'm so sorry I kept her from you"
The announcement calls for the fourth section of seats to board, and Drake starts to get nervous about Nora missing her plane. "Look, Nora, you did the right thing by bringing her here. And now I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that she has everything she needs. Right now, you need to get on that plane and get back to Texas for treatment"
Nora nods and accepts a hug from Drake. When she lets go, she wipes her tears and proceeds to board the plane. Drake stays until the last person boards and the door is shut. He remains there for a few more minutes and reality stars to sink in. He is now solely responsible for Jessie, a child that has not yet accepted him. She is at his house, but she doesn't want to be there. He thinks about some of the things that Nora told him in the few minutes she had before boarding the plane. He needs to enroll her in school and activities. He needs to make sure she does her homework and eats her vegetables. He needs to make sure she takes her medicine and has her inhaler with her at all times.
Drake sits down and looks over at the window. He can see the airplane slowly leaving the terminal. Sadness starts to sink in, sadness for his daughter who won't have her mother with her anymore.