Parenthood Episode 3.06 Tales From the Luncheonette

After finding Seth bloody and beaten outside his motel, Sarah drags him back to her guesthouse to clean him up. Seth claims it was just a stupid bar fight - can he take the kids to breakfast now? Sarah insists that this, all of it, has to stop. Does Seth know how many years she's been cleaning him up? If he doesn't get help right now, he will not be seeing his children again, even if Sarah has to get a restraining order. It's rehab right now, or no kids. Seth lights a cigarette and walks out the door. Later, Drew watches Amy lying on his bed listening to music. Clearly, Drew wants to act on his barely concealed inner passion, but he's caged like a deer in the proverbial headlights. Amy helps out, asking Drew to massage her shoulder, which he does for moment of pure heaven and pure hell. When it all gets to be too much, he heads for the bathroom to get some aspirin for Amy's shoulder.

Camille and Zeek are on hand with their video camera when Adam and Kristina arrive home from the hospital with baby Nora. Crosby stops by with good and bad news: Jerry Ragovoy is dead. When Adam admits he has no idea who Jerry Ragovoy is, Crosby scolds him. Adam's in the music business, so it's time for him to bone up on this kind of stuff. Jerry was an epic songwriter, and a bunch of artists are creating a tribute album... and one of them wants to record at The Luncheonette! Luckily, Adam does know who Cee Lo Green is. The only problem is they're totally not ready. Crosby's skeptical, but Adam's determined that they WILL be ready. It's an opportunity from the gods. They're doing it for the baby - they're doing it for the whole Braverman family. Crosby concedes to maybe; but Adam makes a big announcement, and Zeek takes a picture for posterity.

It's Kristina's first real day at home alone with Nora. Adam's on the phone, wheeling and dealing for French spring water and a baby grand piano, totally excited by the challenge of getting the studio ready in time for Cee Lo. Haddie swings into the kitchen to ask Kristina to read her college essay. Kristina's determined to do this - it's important. Pretty soon, everyone's off to work and school, and Kristina's left to deal with the baby on her own. Meanwhile, Joel and Julia have Zeek and Camille over to announce they're adopting a baby boy. Thrilled, Zeek and Camille pump Julia with questions. They're more than a little dismayed to learn the baby is coming from the coffee cart girl, not an agency, and there's no legal agreement. Joel comes to Julia's defense as the wind slowly blows out of her sails.

Sarah's in bed making out with Mark when he rolls over on a pack of cigarettes. Sarah admits they're Seth's, then launches into the story of what happened last night; Seth slept over. Concerned, Mark asks if there's anything going on with Seth. Sarah insists she's done helping Seth and that Mark is the one she adores. Meanwhile, Adam and Crosby show Cee Lo around The Luncheonette. Hoping to score points, Adam boasts that Janis Joplin recorded in the room they're standing in. When Crosby explains that the room isn't ready yet, and they'll be recoding upstairs, Cee Lo insists he wants to record where Janis did. The vibe is perfect, and the spirit of Janis is the fire. They want to record on Wednesday, and they want to record on tape. Crosby tries to back off on the tape idea, but Adam drives it home, promising the moon.

Afterwards, Adam admits he was a little starstruck by Cee Lo; he's super pumped up. Crosby however is a bundle of frayed nerves. They can't just will 60-year-old equipment to work overnight! They've bit off a lot more than they can chew. Adam insists they have to give the customer what he wants because Cee Lo will love the place and spread the word. All they need to do is start. Seth stops by the guesthouse to visit Sarah. She's right. It's time for him to go to rehab; whatever it takes. He cries, and Sarah takes him in her arms. Meanwhile, Joel finds Julia poring over well-worn adoption books. Zeek made some valid points, and Julia wants to make sure they're not doing anything stupid. Joel assures her that they're not stupid, and they're not going to do anything stupid. Joel boils silently, convinced Zeek crushed Julia's spirit.

Drew stops by Amber's to ask for kissing advice. Amber tries not to laugh too hard, and Drew's mortified. He feels like Amy's into him, but how does he gauge what's happening? Luckily, Amber's got the goods. Drew is to sit next to Amy and touch her leg. If she doesn't move away, he's got to make eye contact, hold it and then move in for the kiss. Amber promises it's going to be great. Later, Sarah sits down with Zeek and Camille to explain that Seth is going to rehab; this time is different than all the other times. In fact, Seth would be in a program right now, but there's a waiting list for the state program, and the private ones are expensive. Zeek loses it – clearly, Seth is working Sarah for money! Stating Seth hasn't asked her for one penny, Sarah ends the conversation. She doesn't care what Zeek thinks - because she believes Seth can change.

Haddie comes home to a quiet yet very messy house after school. She goes looking for Kristina, who's passed out on the bed with the baby - and sleeping on top of Haddie's college essay! Haddie grabs her essay and takes off. Adam and Crosby work late into the night to get the studio ready for Cee Lo, and they'll be working right up to the moment they begin recording. Feeling lonely, Kristina calls to ask Adam if he's going to make it home tonight. No, Adam's got to stay at The Luncheonette to help Crosby. Knowing he's missing the first days with his baby, Adam keeps a stiff upper lip, telling Kristina that he's doing it for Nora. Witnessing this, Crosby feels even more pressure to make the gig with Cee Lo a success.

Finally it's D-Day - Cee Lo Green is recording at The Luncheonette! Adam hovers over Crosby at the board, offering his unsolicited feedback. Cee Lo asks to change out the mic, and his crew doesn't seem particularly happy. Adam asks if this is all normal, and a tense Crosby can only say, "I-I-I-I don't know." Meanwhile, Kristina stops off at Haddie's bedroom to ask about the college essay - did Haddie take it back? Even though she's exhausted, Kristina really wants to read it. Haddie leaves to go to the library without handing over her essay, and Kristina immediately passes out on her bed.

The recording continues. Crosby tries to be positive; Adam's overly enthusiastic, and Cee Lo's crew is mostly silent. When they decide to take a break, Adam again questions Crosby - is this normal? Crosby explodes, telling Adam to get out of the booth and let him work. Meanwhile, a teary Sarah visits Julia. She's embarrassed, but she doesn't know who else to ask for money for Seth's rehab. Seth's so ready to change, and this time it's for real. What's she supposed to do, watch him go to jail or worse? He is after all the father of her children. Julia promises they'll work something out.

When Cee Lo and his people break from recording to confer, Crosby finds Adam. It's a disaster. Adam insists they can't lose it in front of the clients, and Crosby can't kick him out of the control booth. They're business partners! To Crosby this is the least of their worries - they're failing! Adam needs to see what's really going on. Cee Lo hasn't liked a single take, and Crosby's not sure why. When Cee Lo heads for the door, Crosby asks if they're taking another break. Cee Lo clarifies: they're done for the day. Meanwhile, Sarah's distracted on her date with Mark. Finally, she confesses that Seth's going to rehab, and she's got to try and help him. Is Mark going to be able to deal? While Mark understands why Sarah's involved (he doesn't expect anything less from her), he clearly doesn't like it.

Early the next morning Adam finds Crosby already at The Luncheonette, preparing to be fired. Cee Lo's people will probably send an assistant down to get their equipment. Crosby feels just terrible and apologizes for letting Adam and his entire family down. Adam stays positive. More musicians will come, and they gave it their all, which is all they could ever do. Adam pulls out a carton of lemonade that he bought to toast the job and pours two shots. Just as the brothers clink glasses, Cee Lo walks in with his crew to ask if they're ready to roll. Yesterday was suckass. Cee Lo was caught up trying to do the song like Janis, and it just wasn't working; but today's he's going to try another angle that's more up his alley. Before heading into the studio, Adam tells Crosby not to worry about his family - it's not his responsibility. All Crosby has to do is make great music. Feeling great, Crosby tells Adam he needs him in the booth.

That night, Joel and Julia join Zeek, Camille and Sarah for dinner, toasting The Luncheonette and baby Nora. Sotto voce, Joel tells Sarah that he's totally on board with helping out Seth. Zeek gets wind that something's going on and forces it out into the open. Sarah steps up with the truth, that Joel and Julia are lending her money to put Seth in rehab. Unable to believe it, Zeek asks why. What did Seth ever do for her? She can't give him money! Joel quietly but forcefully puts his foot down. He understands and respects that Zeek's trying to protect his family. But Zeek needs to respect Sarah's decision. Sarah has opened her heart, and anytime someone does that, it's the right choice. As for Joel and Julia, they're going to give money to whomever they want and adopt whomever and however they want - and Zeek's going to have to be okay with that.

Back at The Luncheonette, the recording session is finally going great, and Cee Lo's take on "Piece of My Heart" has everyone smiling. Later, Adam returns home to find an exhausted Kristina on the couch. She immediately hands off the baby and shambles off to bed. Did she even hear Adam tell her that the recording studio idea is going to work? It's only a few minutes before Adam's asleep on the couch himself. Kristina goes upstairs to find Haddie taking a nap and crawls into bed with her. By the way, Kristina read Haddie's essay. It's so awesome, she actually doesn't have any notes. And she's sorry it took her so long to read it. Haddie apologizes for getting pissy about it. She guesses she just misses her mom a little bit. After exchanging "I love yous," mother and daughter settle in for a nap.

Drew and Amy are in the kitchen making smoothies, when Drew just can't take it anymore. Catching Amy's eyes like Amber told him to, Drew finally lands his first real kiss. Later, he confesses all to Amber, and yes, he took her advice. They're walking through the garden on the way to Sarah's guest house, stunned to find a ravaged-looking Seth waiting for them. Inside, Seth tells the kids that Sarah has helped him make an important decision in his life: he's going to rehab. It's going to be a long hard road, and it's going to be tough; but he's going to do it. He'd like their support, and he'd like to think they can get through it as a family.