[Common Thread opens in the school library where Joan and Grace are moving through the stacks.]

Joan: [Sighs] So the fourth dimension...
Grace: Is time.
Joan: Right. I knew that. You explained that. A lot.
Grace: So do you get it now?
Joan: No. I mean, how is that a dimension? Space I get because, you know, it's space.
Grace: Dude, the test is tomorrow.
Joan: And tomorrow is a dimension.
Grace: What does that even mean?
Joan: I don't know. I don't know, but I have to ace this test, ok? Will you please, please just come over and help me study?
Grace [grabbing a book from a shelf]: This will help us.

[They head back to their table and see that Adam has entered the library.]

Grace: Is this going to be weird?
Joan: No. We're fine. People break up all the time and they stay friends. [Inhales deeply] Right?
Grace: You are so not fine.

[Adam comes over to their table.]

Adam: Hi. I just got a call from Michael at work, and I think I'm getting a promotion.
Grace: Mazel tov, dude.
Adam: Thank you.
Joan: Cool. We were, um... kind of studying.
Adam: Would it be weird if I joined you guys? This is the only time I have to... it would. Obviously it's too soon for that.
Grace [to Joan]: We could study tonight...
Joan: I have work. You know what? Forget it. I'm fine. [She gathers her books and leaves.]

Adam: What's her problem?
Grace: You're not seriously asking me that, are you, dude?
Adam: Whatever. [He leaves.]

[Luke spots Grace at the table.]

Luke: Hey. Sims 2. It's arriving this afternoon. You wanna help me install it?
Grace: You want a piece of me, too? Huh? I am one person, ok? Just one. Uno. Why don't you and everyone else just take care of yourselves? [She gathers her books and leaves.]
Luke: Virtual reality is looking good.

[By a park, in the rain, Joan passes by a bench. The punk girl sitting on the bench under an umbrella, knitting, calls to Joan.]

Punk Girl: Awesome pattern, don't you think, Joan?
Joan: God knits?
God: It's a great way to center yourself when you have to pass the time alone.
Joan: Oh! Subtle reminder that I don't have a boyfriend anymore. Cute. So you want me to be spinster Joan, knitting her way to the grave.
God: Knitting is the new yoga. Very meditative. I knitted this top.
Joan: No.
God: Yeah.
Joan: That is seriously nice. But you're God. I could never do that.
God: You used to love knitting, remember? When you were 8 and reading those "Little House on the Prairie" books.
Joan: Yeah. I tried to make a scarf by myself, but the yarn kept getting all knotted up and I couldn't hold the needles right, so the whole thing just unraveled.
God: You can't put too much tension on the arm. That was your problem. You have to relax, get into the groove. That's the meditative part.
Joan: I'd look like a total dork knitting, no offense.
God: You have important work ahead of you. It requires focus and understanding.
Joan: What work?

[The bus arrives, and God gets up and closes her umbrella.]

Joan: It was a simple question.
God: Finish the scarf, Joan. [She gets on the bus.]
Joan: But I don't even know where it is anymore!

[Left alone on the bench in the rain, Joan pulls up her jacket hood and groans to herself.]

[Theme music and intro credits.]

[Girardi front porch, apparently the next day. Joan is knitting with some apparent difficulty. Grace comes up the sidewalk.]

Joan: Ohh! What next? I have to make my own car?
Grace: Do you need to be medicated?
Joan: What?! No. I'm just knitting. It's very hip right now, very meditative. Damn!
Grace: Yeah. Looks fun. Gotta try it sometime...when I'm 100. Look, I came by to cut you in on something. I hate my life.
Joan: Why?
Grace: Well, let's see. Iraq, corporate corruption, and you and Rove.
Joan: It's just really awkward being around him, that's all. I mean, he walks up all excited about his big promotion, and I know he's just waiting for me to excited for him because I can feel it. What does he expect?
Grace: I came to talk about me.
Joan: He's very needy. I know he's artistic and sensitive and everything, but he can use that to, you know, manipulate people. Just like he used you when he--
Grace: You know, I won't do this. I won't talk trash about Rove. We've been friends since the second grade.
Joan: I can't believe you're taking his side. He slept with Bonnie while he was still with me!
Grace: I'm not taking anybody's side. Don't you get it? I don't want there to be sides! Maybe we should all break up. [She turns and walks away down the sidewalk.]
Joan: Grace!

[Joan takes her knitting off the needles and we can see it has several holes. She begins to unravel the thread.]

[Helen enters a small diner.]

Payne: Mrs. Girardi?
Helen: Father Payne. Ha ha ha. I'm sorry. I went to Catholic high school and that was our nickname for the principal.
Payne: Then why don't you call me Father Dave?
Helen: Ok. His real name was Angelini. He's probably still out there somewhere whacking kids with the "board of education." Sorry. I'm rambling.
Payne: It's ok.
Helen: You said that there was something we shouldn't discuss on the phone.
Payne: Sorry for being so cryptic. As I said, I work at Saint Vincent's hospice in Hamilton. There's no easy way to say this. I'm here on behalf of Edmond Dodd.
Helen: Should I know who that is?
Payne: He's the man who assaulted you in 1980.
Helen: You mean the man who raped me.
Payne: Yes. Edmond has advanced pancreatic cancer. His doctors say he could die at any time now. He wants to apologize to you for what he did. He wanted me to ask if you'd come see him.

[Luke's room. Luke and Friedman are in front of the computer. Friedman is stuffing his mouth rabidly.]

Friedman: Dude [mumbles]
Luke: So what do we do? We're out of money, we're down to our last happiness and we've got flies.
Friedman: Let's go in the hot tub. That always perks up the sims, you know.
Luke: We can't do that. We're gonna have another baby.
Friedman: Forget the baby, man. If you neglect it long enough, a social worker comes and takes it away. [Imitates a crying baby.] Oh, dude, these are, like, uber Doritos. The platonic ideal of Dorito-ness. [Crunching] Que pasa, mon ami?
Luke: You're stoned.
Friedman: Oh, yeah. Yeah. [Giggles] Yeah.
Luke: My mom is downstairs.
Friedman: Chill, dude. I didn't smoke here. I swiped it from my Uncle Herb. He has glaucoma. [Luke just stares at him.] Dude, focus. The social worker's coming. He's here.

[Girardi kitchen. Helen is chopping mushrooms vigorously. Sitting on the table, Joan is knitting and talking with Kevin who gathers some items from the fridge.]

Joan: When I see him, it just makes me remember how hurt I was. Am. I know it's time to move on but all that old stuff is still there, you know?
Kevin: You want some brotherly advice?
Joan: Uh, no thanks, sir dumped-a-lot.
Kevin: Exes can't be friends. You have to cut the cord.
Joan: Oh? What about Brad and Jen?
Kevin: What about Ben and Jen?
Joan: What about Ben and the other Jen?
Kevin: What about the other Jen--
Helen: What about shutting up for one minute?
Will [arriving] : All done protecting and serving. Arcadia is on its own.
Joan [to Will, in a whisper] : Watch it.
Will: Ooh, coleslaw and... cheese grits. To what do we owe this culinary delight?
Helen: I felt like comfort food. If you want to order Chinese, go right ahead.
Joan: Told ya.
Will: Me? I love down-home cookin'. Are you ok?
Helen: It's the onions, Will.
Joan: I have work. See ya.

[She takes her knitting and leaves the kitchen.]

Will: You're chopping that onion as if it ran the school board.
Helen: I said I'm fine. Stop playing detective. [Gasps as she cuts her finger.] Damn it!
Will: Hey, you ok?
Helen: Stop asking that. [She leaves the kitchen.]

Will [to Kevin] I got it.

[Will follows Helen to the bathroom where she's running water over her finger.]

Helen: So it wasn't the onions.
Will: I got that.
Helen: Uh.... the guy in art school... that man who raped me...
Will: They found him?
Helen: No. He found me. Through a priest. He wants to see me. He wants to apologize to me before he dies.
Will: Sick bastard. [He takes out his cell phone and punches up a number.]
Helen: What are you doing?
Will: I'm calling the D.A.
Helen: He has pancreatic cancer. He's in a hospice. He'll be dead before it'd even get to trial.
Will: Yeah, well, he's not dead yet.

[Helen takes the phone from his ear and closes it.]

Will: Are you actually thinking of going?
Helen: [Sighs] I don't know. I--I think maybe this was brought to me like some kind of test.
Will: No. Don't. This is not some mission from God. This is the man who raped you.

[Bookstore. Joan is knitting with yellow yarn; she has a knitting book propped up behind the counter. Old Lady God enters and leans on the counter, watching.]

Joan: Are you going to give me a sticker that says "inspected by God"?
God: Just admiring.
Joan: Yeah, well... I really messed up this part. I dropped a stitch and purled when I should've knitted.
God: It's hard starting over, isn't it?
Joan: Yeah. But the book said it's okay to drop a stitch every now and then.
God: Well, it's the imperfections that make it unique.
Joan: Then I'm definitely unique.
God: The Persians make the most beautiful rugs in the world-- not that I play favorites. But on each rug, no matter how intricate and exquisite, the artist makes sure there's some small defect. It's called a Persian Flaw. It's a recognition that perfection exists only in me, an acceptance that life can never really be lived exactly the way you expect. I love the colors. Nice.

[God moves off into the stacks while Joan turns a page in her knitting book. Then Joan gets up and moves to the Hobbies & Crafts section, apparently to look for a better book. Adam enters the store and comes over by her.]

Joan: If you're looking for Grace, she's at her house.
Adam: I'm not looking for Grace.
Joan: You ok?
Adam: Michael fired me.
Joan: What?
Adam: Yeah. He said my work's been sloppy for the last month and, um... you know, I've been coming in late. And then what's really sad is that he's right. I totally have been doing a lame-ass job. I mean, with everything that's been going on...
Joan: Oh. So now I'm involved in this?
Adam: I just-- I just meant.
Joan: I know what you meant, ok? But I can't stand here and listen to you talk about how you were so wrapped up cheating on me that you screwed up your job. It's not my problem, not anymore.
Adam: I thought we were gonna be friends.
Joan: I know how you'd like things to be, but life can never be exactly what you expect, ok?
Adam: Fine.

[He leaves the store. Joan and God watch him through the windows.]

[School hallway.]

Friedman: Dude, it's not heroin. It's not heroin. It's just a little recreational ganga. I've only done it a few times.
Luke: Dude, you had to call child protective services for a sims baby. I mean, if you can't handle virtual reality--
Friedman: I'm a scientist, not a father, ok? I'm expanding my neural frontier, exploring inner space. Where is your spirit of discovery, doctor?
Luke: Tetrahydrocannabinol affects the potassium and calcium channels to your cerebral cortex, which reduces the levels of the neurotransmitter anandamide.
Friedman: Yeah. Somebody's been doing some reading. Intrigued, are we?
Luke: It slows down your brain. Why would you want that?
Friedman: Because it also releases that sweet nectar dopamine, which heightens perception of music, food, sex... which, when I start having it, will be remarkable.
Luke: If you like getting stoned, that's fine, but experimenting with drugs is not a genuine scientific pursuit.
Friedman: Oh. So there's a limit on self-discovery? Deviating from the norm is precisely what generates our most extraordinary advances in science. Plus, you laugh your ass off, dude.

[Hospice hallway.]

Helen: I fantasized about bringing a gun today. My husband's a cop. He would have happily given me his. I didn't.
Payne: Mrs. Girardi, if it's too painful--
Helen: No, no, no. I want to. I do. Forgiveness is an important part of faith.

[They enter Dodd's room.]

Dodd: [Swallows] Thank you for coming. I don't know how to do this. I'm just so sorry. Every day, I think about what I did.
Helen: Did you work on campus? Did I know you from somewhere? I mean... why me?
Dodd: I don't know. I'd never done anything like that before-- I swear-- and I never did again. The next morning when I woke up... I hoped it was a dream... but I saw the scratch marks.
Helen [looking at a photograph]: Is that your family? Do they know?
Dodd: When I met Father Payne, he helped me find God. I want to repent. Please, I want to repent. [He holds his hand out to her.]
Helen: When? When did you find God? When you came in here? That's pretty convenient.
Dodd: I know that Christ is with me.
Helen: Well, then you don't need my forgiveness, do you?
Payne: Mrs. Girardi, perhaps--
Helen: No. You grabbed me. You held me down, your hand on my throat so that I couldn't breathe. And then you-- you left me there. Do you know how long it took before I could get through one day without being terrified, without thinking of you? To let myself be touched again by someone who loved me? 25 years I lived with that, and now you have a deathbed conversion and you want me to spare you the guilt for your last couple of weeks? No.
Dodd: Please.
Helen: You feel every bit of this agony every single moment until it ends you, and then maybe you'll begin to understand what you did to me. You're getting exactly what you deserve. I hope you rot in hell.

[Helen exchanges an intense look with Father Payne, then leaves the room.]

[Girardi den, night, thunderstorm outside]

Joan: Hey.
Helen: Hi, honey.
Joan: How's your finger?
Helen: It's fine. It was just a little cut. I've already forgotten about it.
Joan: It's kind of oozing. Look, I hate to sound like you, but if you need to talk...
Helen: Your knitting looks good.
Joan: Yeah. If Ray Charles did it. Heh heh heh! Mom, you just seem a little...
Helen: I'm fine, honey.
Joan: Okay.

[Doorbell rings]

Will: Oh. I'm up.
Grace: Hi, Mr. Girardi. Is Joan here?
Will: Yeah. Come on in, Grace. She is the den. Do you want a towel?

[Joan arrives from the other room.]

Grace: I'm cool. Rove isn't here, is he?
Joan: No. Why?
Grace: He went hiking this morning up Mount Nashman. He hasn't come back.

[Friedman's room]

Luke: Nothing. I don't feel a thing. Nothing, nada, niente, zippo, goose egg.
Friedman: Dude, dude, dude, dude. Chill out, man. Let the mellow enter your soul.
Luke: I'm telling you, it's a waste of time. My cb-1 receptors are obviously too strong to be overwhelmed by a little THC.
Friedman: [Chuckles quietly]

[They both stuff their mouths with chips.]

Luke: Dude, these are amazing.
Friedman: Sun Chips. Best kept secret in the chip aisle.
Luke: They're like the filet mignon of the genus chipium, dude. So, like, crisp and crunchy and yet with the optimal sweet-spice ratio. I could cry, dude. I--I am crying.
Friedman: [Laughs] Dude, cb-1 receptor shields weakening.
Luke: Taking a nap, maybe. You just don't know how hard your neurons have been working until you...you give 'em a little down time.
Friedman: Soak it up, man. Soak it up.
Luke: Are you sure your parents won't smell this?
Friedman: The HEPA filter, dude. For my allergies. There could be a biological attack and the HEPA would save the Friedmans.
Luke: You think there will be? A biological attack, I mean, someday?
Friedman: D-d-dude.

[Luke's cell phone rings]

Luke: Oh...
Friedman: Who, who, who, who?

[The phone shows a photo of Grace looking stern.]

Luke: It's Grace.
Friedman: Buzz kill. Let it ring.
Luke: Dude, I mean, it won't stop. I mean, I have to--
Friedman: It's Grace! You might as well give the feds a jingle.
Luke: She hung up, dude. She must know.
Friedman: What? Dude, chill out. Let's put some music on, man. All righty, then. A little Snoop Dogg, huh? Hmm? No. Too many words.
Luke: Dude, your computer's on.
Friedman: Power save. Pink Floyd. Too obvious.
Luke: Dude, your camera's pointed at us. Dude, we could be mass broadcasting all over the internet!
Friedman: It's not online, ok? Bjork. All right... no. Too nordic.
Luke: No, dude, it could be mass broadcasting all over the internet!
Friedman: Dude, stop saying it could be mass broadcasting all over the internet!

[Girardi car]

Joan: He was pretty upset, wasn't he?
Grace: Yeah.
Will: How upset?
Joan: I don't know. I didn't want to talk to him.
Grace: Me, neither.
Will: This is important. There's a family history of suicide.
Joan: Yeah. We know that, dad.
Grace: Have you tried calling him again?
Joan: No. I keep getting his voice mail.
Grace: There. That's the trail we used to take.
Joan: Oh, God.
Grace: Adam's truck.
Joan: Oh, my God.

[Will parks the car. They all get out and rush to Adam's truck. Joan pounds on the side of it, then looks toward the trail in the dark.]

Joan: Adam! Adam! Adam! Adam!

[By the mountain trail entrance, lots of rain and lightning]

Carl Rove: He said he'd be back by 6:00. He was gonna pick me up at work. He always calls.
Park Ranger: No suicide note.
Will: I'm sorry, Mr. Rove. It's important that we, uh...
Carl Rove: I...understand.
Park Ranger: We should head back to the station and organize a search team.
Grace: He's got to be on the trail. Why can't we just go--
Park Ranger: the trail is washed out around mile 3 and we've had some loose boulders coming down.
Joan: We can't just leave him out there!
Park Ranger: We've already lost 3 people on the mountain so far this year. [to his radio}: All right, guys. Come on down off the hill. Meet back at the station.
Joan: Why did he do this? [calling into the dark]: Adam! Damn it!
Grace: Come on, dude. Let's go wait back in the car.

[Friedman's room]
[Cell phone ringing]

Luke: Oh, it's Grace again, dude.
[Luke hallucinates Grace talking from the image on his cell phone]: Dude, answer your phone.
Luke: She definitely knows. She saw the broadcast.
Friedman: Dude, there was no broadcast.
Luke: Who else do you think knows? Oh, man, my heart is beating like it's trying to get out of my chest, dude. [Breathing heavily] Maybe there was something in that stuff, man! Maybe it was laced!
Friedman: There was nothing in it, ok. I'm fine. My Uncle Herb, he's fine. His sight even improved.
Luke: No, no, I'm telling you, dude, it's beating too hard. Listen: Du-dub, du-dub, du-du-- oh, my God, I think it skipped a dub.
Friedman: Dude, you're totally flippin' out, man. You need to chill, breathe.

[As Friedman talks to him, Luke watches the walls and ceiling of the room literally closing in on him.]

Friedman: People have been smoking weed forever, yo. Breathe.
Luke: Neurotransmitters shutting down! Brain in revolt!

[He gets up in a panic and rushes toward the window, hitting it and falling backward onto the floor. Friedman leans over him, concerned.]

Luke: What do you like about this, Friedman?
Friedman: Nothing anymore.

[Ranger station at the park, all the searchers are gathered around inside]

Two rangers decide to head outside.

Ranger2: Yeah, we're gonna go check on the vehicles.
Park Ranger: Hey, hold up. I'll walk you guys out.

[The three of them leave.]

Joan: So we just have to sit here until morning? I don't understand why we can't go look for him.
Will: It's too dangerous for them to send anyone out.
Grace: But isn't that what they do?
Will: It's dark. The rain is too heavy. The helicopters can't fly.
Joan: So what's gonna happen to Adam?
Will: As soon as it gets light or the rain lets up, they'll start looking.

[Will leaves Joan and Grace by the fireplace.]

[Girardi den]

Kevin: Hey, any news?
Helen: Um, no. Dad and Joan went up there.
Kevin: How could he be so stupid?
Helen: Maybe he doesn't care. That's what I'm worried about.
Kevin: So, uh, how'd it go today? Did you see him? Dad told me.
Helen: Well, he had no right.
Kevin: Well, I was worried about you.
Helen: Let's not do this, Kevin.
Kevin: Talk?
Helen: About this? Yes.
Kevin: So what happened to me is open season, but--
Helen: I said let's drop it, Kevin.
Kevin: Look, Mom... I--I know what it's like to have something happen to you that... no one else can really understand.
Helen: [yelling] You don't understand this! I have never claimed to know what it's like to be in that chair, so don't you patronize me! [Sobbing and getting quieter] I'm so sorry. But it's been 25 years, and seeing him, I... I am right back there, and I just cannot talk about this with my children. I--I just can't.

[Ranger station, by the fireplace]

Joan: The really sick thing is I wanted to hurt him. When I cut him off, he had this expression on his face like he was gonna crumble or something. And for a second... it felt good.
Grace: I've seen him like that. After his mom died... he totally shut down. He stopped talking. I don't think I heard more than 10 words out of him. Until you came along.
Joan: Why did he have to hook up with Bonnie? Grace: Dude, it's-- it's not just him.
Joan: So if I had slept with him, then he wouldn't be out there right now?
Grace: It's not about sex. It's... sometimes you're not the easiest person to connect with.
Joan: What do you mean?
Grace: All I'm saying is, what Rove did, it was low, yeah, but maybe he didn't know where he stood.
Joan: I loved him. I mean, I still love him. He knows that.
Grace: Yeah, but still... it's like you always have something that you're keeping to yourself, something you're hiding. [The lights go out.] Oh, great.
Joan: What do you think I'm hiding?
Grace: All the insane things you do, the clubs you have to join, you never really let anyone in on all that... not really. You just want us to go along with it.
Joan: I...like to try stuff.
Grace: Like knitting? What's that about?
Joan: Somebody suggested it.
Grace: Who?
Joan: What--what difference-- [The lights come back on.] What difference does it make?
Grace: People who keep secrets, Girardi... I've been there. It keeps people away.
Joan: I hate this. It's too stuffy in here.

[Joan takes her knitting, puts on her jacket and goes outside to sit in a chair on the porch of the station. The Park Ranger gets out of his vehicle and comes up on the porch to her.]

Park Ranger: How's the knitting going, Joan?
Joan: So God cares more about knitting than Adam? I don't think we don't have much to talk about.
God: You're angry. I understand.
Joan: You know, it's your fault all this happened. This secret life we've been having has totally messed up everything.
God: You could share me with whoever you want.
Joan: Oh, yeah, yeah, and wind up back in the funny farm. [She starts ripping apart her knitting.]
God: No, no, no. You shouldn't tear all that out. That looks good.
Joan: You know, it's just a stupid scarf!
God: Unraveling it isn't gonna make it disappear. It just changes form.
Joan: Am I ever gonna see him again? I don't mean in another form. I mean here, now.
God: You feel how painful it is to try and sever a connection, but they can never really be broken. All of creation shares a common thread, like your scarf. How you use that thread becomes the pattern of your life.
Joan: So what's happening now...is it because... I--I knitted my life wrong? I believe in you. I've seen the ripples. I've seen how it changes people's lives. Even when I didn't see, I trusted you.
God: And you've developed strength and understanding and faith. New challenges are gonna make you even stronger.
Joan: For what? Huh, for what? How much stronger do I have to be?

Adam: Hello?! Hello!
Man: Anybody!

Joan: Oh, God. [Joan runs off the porch and toward the trail.] Adam!
Adam: Jane!
Joan: Adam!
Adam: Jane!

[They reach each other and hug.]

Joan: What happened?
Adam: I'm ok.
Joan: Are you ok?
Adam: I'm ok. Yeah, really. Ryan helped me out.
Ryan: I was lost, too. Never should've been out here.
Carl Rove: Adam!
Adam: Dad!
Carl Rove: Adam!
Adam: Dad! I'm ok. I'm ok. [He and his father hug.]
Carl Rove: My son.
Adam: [Laughing] Grace!

Ryan: So you're Joan!
Joan: Oh, yeah.
Ryan: I was wondering why he wanted me to go hiking on a day like this.
Joan: What? Who?

[Ryan Hunter glares across the way at Park Ranger God. God stares back, then gets into his park vehicle. Ryan starts walking off.]

Joan: Who are you?
Ryan: Ryan Hunter. See you around, Joan.

[The drums of "Sympathy for the Devil" play us into the commercial break.]

[Girardi kitchen, morning. Luke is lethargic and has his head on the table.]

Luke: I can't believe I missed the whole thing.
Will: At least someone had an anxiety-free night.
Luke: Who?
Helen: You?
Luke: Oh, yeah.
Helen: Did you sleep ok last night? You seem a little... slow.
Luke: No, I'm--I'm fine. I was just, you know, just studying with Friedman.
Will: You should take a break every now and then, unwind.
Luke: No, I actually like the--the winding better. I--I gotta go meet Grace. See you guys later.

[As he's leaving the room, Joan is entering.]

Luke: I finished the Fruit Loops.
Joan: Perfect. There go my vitamins.
Will: How you doing?
Joan: Fine. Everything worked out, right?
Helen: Did you talk to Adam?
Joan: Last night at the ranger station. He seemed fine.
Helen: You can't hold yourself responsible, you know.
Joan: That's what they say.
Helen: Well, it's true, honey. You two are going through a difficult break-up, but if Adam makes a bad choice--
Joan: Yeah, but I had something to do with it, right? I mean, we're all connected like the scarf. One piece of yarn. If you cut it up into little pieces, it's useless. Can't make anything out of it. I am responsible, partly. We all are. For everything that we touch and everything that touches us.
Will: Where did this come from?
Joan: God. Isn't that what God says, Mom? [Helen and Will just stare at her.] Right, sorry. Probably just low blood sugar.

[Luke and Grace walking down the street together.]

Luke: It was like I couldn't breathe, you know, and my mind was like this separate being at war with my body.
Grace: Did you even notice that I tried to call you?
Luke: Yeah, but I was kind of in the middle of a neural nightmare.
Grace: And I was in the middle of a real one! I didn't know if I'd ever see Rove again. I really needed to talk to you! It's nice to know how dependable you are.
Luke: Look... I'm just a dumbass kid who did a dumbass thing, had a panic attack and I thought I was gonna die, ok? That's it.
Grace: And you thought you were gonna get some sympathy from me? Well, you bet the wrong hand, Cheech. I already have to live with a drunk at home.
Luke: Look, I'm sorry, ok? I wanted to answer the phone, but--
Grace: I'm not dealing with another brain-dead person in my life!
Luke: I threw out Friedman's pot. Ok? And the Pink Floyd box set, all right? It--it's over.
Grace: Moron.
Luke: Agreed.
Grace: You ok? Your eyes look like tomatoes.
Luke: My head feels like it got hit with a shovel, and my mouth feels like I ate dirt. Which conceivably I did, but yeah, I'm ok.
Grace: Not that I give a crap.

[At the hospice again, Will and Helen come up the hallway to Dodd's room. Will stays outside while Helen goes in. Dodd isn't there. The bed is covered with his bagged belongings.]

Anne Dodd: Oh, I'm sorry. They said that it was ok for us to use this room to fill these out.
Helen: I don't work here.
Anne: Oh. You came to see Edmond? [Helen nods.] He, um... he passed away this morning. He finally found some peace. I'm Anne, and this is our little girl Kimberly.
Kimberly: Hi.
Helen: Hi. Oh, I'm Helen.
Anne: How--how did you know Edmond?
Helen: In school. It was a long time ago. And a friend told me that he was sick.
Kimberly: Daddy's in heaven now. You can talk to him in your prayers.
Helen: Well, I'm sorry for your loss.
Anne: Oh, thank you. Thanks.

[Helen returns to the hallway.]

Will: You ok?
Helen: Yeah.

[Outside school, Joan leans against a railing looking over at Adam who is reclining in the low branches of a tree on the grounds.]

Punk Girl God: Finish the scarf?
Joan: Oh, it's never really finished, is it?
God: Tryin' to take my job?
Joan: No. But I do have a few suggestions-- like give Sean Penn a sense of humor.

[They start walking down the stairs while talking.]

God: I know how hard this was for you. But now you know how much more you're capable of.
Joan: Why does that scare me?
God: 'Cause you know that every day you'll face things that you can't foresee... and you know you can't avoid 'em. You just have to adapt...keep going.
Joan: Ok, who was that guy that brought Adam out of the woods?
God: Another connection.
Joan: To me? 'Cause I don't know him.
God: Connections exist long before we're aware of them. They've always existed. Always will.
Joan: So you talk to him, too. [Joan waits for God to answer, but she doesn't.] Come on, don't hang me out to dry on this. Does he know that I talk to you? Because this is starting to feel really weird.
God: Don't worry. Just take it one stitch at a time.

[God walks off toward Adam's tree and delivers a very subtle Godwave (or a way of pointing) by reaching up and brushing her hand against a branch as she passes by under the tree. After God passes the tree, Joan walks toward it and Adam.]

Joan: Hi.
Adam: Hi.
Joan: How are you doing?
Adam: I'm feelin' kinda stupid. I, uh...I was just tryin' to get some time to myself. You know? I never thought about the rain.
Joan: I was really scared. 'Cause I thought...
Adam: What?
Joan: You know...
Adam: No. No. No, I could-- I could never do that to you. I'm sorry, Jane. I didn't mean to drag you through a whole 'nother mess. You know?
Joan: I know.
Adam: I'll stay outta your way. Ok? I promise.
Joan: No. Adam, I-- [Sighs] It takes too much energy to pretend like we're not connected anymore. We still are, just in a different way.
Adam: That's the hard part.
Joan: And the good part. [She reaches up and wraps the scarf she's been knitting around his neck.] So you don't freeze... in case you ever get lost again. What are you drawing?

[Adam shows her his sketch of Ryan, and "Sympathy for the Devil" begins to play again.]

Joan: That's that guy.
Adam: Yeah. Ryan. I just got him... stuck in my head, you know? Do you like it?
Joan: Yeah. Sure.

[Joan looks across the grounds to Punk Girl God, who looks back, then walks away. Joan continues to watch God while Adam's drawing of Ryan is superimposed over Joan's face. The Stones keep playing while all fades to black on "Common Thread."]