Parenthood Episode 2.21 Slipping Away

Haddie and Alex are amidst a hot and heavy session at his apartment, literally steaming up the windows. Unbeknownst to them both, Haddie's phone slips out of her pocket, and lies innocently on the bed... until she rolls onto to it and inadvertently calls her parents, who are on their way home from grocery shopping. Kristina picks up, and can't initially tell if Haddie's hurt or playing a joke on them, but Adam knows this is no joke. Yelling at Kristina to hang up, Adam's efforts to not hear his daughter having sex almost make him run a red light. Later, Adam and Kristina are staring into space at the shock of it all when Haddie bounds into the kitchen, riding a happy wave of afterglow. Her excuse is in order - she was at the bookstore, and even bought her mom a book! Meanwhile, Amber gets high with valet Gary and plays a stony round of golf in their boss' office.

Crosby and Joel are hard at work on Crosby's house. Though they've just finished four hours of door hanging, Crosby doesn't want to take a breather, insisting they get started on pulling down some wainscoting that Jasmine surely won't like. Joel puts on the brakes just as Julia arrives. What's the deal with time and money? Crosby doesn't really know, but he will sell his motorcycle so that money's no longer an issue; the only important thing is that Jasmine's impressed with the house. After he leaves, Julia asks Joel about life on the Titanic's maiden voyage...

Sarah and Gilliam are making progress on the script when he tells her it's time to put her breasts to work as well. There's a fundraising party tomorrow night, and Jack Kraft, the artistic director of the Berkeley Theater will be there. Gilliam gave Jack his first directing job, and gave him Sarah's script to read. Jack loves it, and there's only one slot left in his New Voices series. Since theater is half art and half relationships, it's time for Sarah to use her "relationships."

At work, Adam is just giving designers Karen and Kim feedback on a new ad when Corey steps in. Clearly, Corey's not happy with the ad, which to him seems just like an ad - a photo of a sneaker - which it is. Despite Adam's attempts to rein him in, Corey starts spitballing, and decides to text his artist buddy Spyder - maybe he can make a drawing of a shoe made out of words! Meanwhile, Julia pulls herself out of a meeting with clients when she spies Amber snoring in her cubicle. Furious, Julia drags Amber into her office, demanding to know what's going on. Amber explains that since she's not going to college, she doesn't need money, so she doesn't need the job. Rambling about no sunlight, and what's real and what's not, Amber quits and walks out of the office, leaving Julia's jaw on the floor.

Kristina screws up her courage and walks into Haddie's bedroom to ask if she's having sex with Alex. Stunned, Haddie says no, and of course, Kristina knows she's lying. Still, she's unprepared when Haddie asks when she first had sex. Claiming she waited until she was 22, Kristina leaves, assuring Haddie that if she's wanting to talk about anything, Kristina definitely wants to talk about it. Meanwhile, Sarah lays into Amber for quitting her job. Amber wants to hide in her room to think, but Sarah's not having it. Does Amber want to grow up to be the person who gets high and yells at her aunt? When Amber claims she was just trying to say what she felt in the moment, Sarah explains that's what a child does. If Amber wants to be treated like an adult, she has to act like one. At a loss, Sarah suggests they go to their favorite restaurant and try to come up with some semblance of a life plan for Amber over pasta.

Back at Crosby's home-in-progress, Joel's delighted to present the new kitchen tiles which have just arrived, but Crosby's not happy. The tiles were supposed to be light blue, but they're aqua. Since everything has to be perfect, the job will be put on hold for another couple of weeks while they wait for the right tiles to come in. Frustrated, Joel assures Crosby the tile color isn't going to be the deal breaker. Crosby needs to show the house to Jasmine; he needs to find out. Meanwhile, Haddie approaches Kristina to tell her yes, she's having sex with Alex. Blindsided, Kristina's not sure what to say, adding that she and Adam had a "feeling," call it parents' intuition. Haddie assures her mom that everything's fine, she's using birth control and Alex isn't pressuring her, but she's mortified to think her dad knows she's having sex.

Zeek, Gilliam and Sarah spy Jack Kraft across the room at the Berkeley Theater Company party, but he's clearly ignoring Gilliam. Despite Sarah's protests, Zeek introduces himself to Jack and practically drags him over to meet Gilliam, who it turns out, once told Sam Sheperd that Jack was incompetent. Furthermore, he never gave Jack Sarah's play to read. Not in the mood for forgiveness, Jack wishes them well, and moves off. But for once, Sarah won't be cowed. She tracks Jack down and gives him the hard sell, despite her admittance that not only has he never seen her work produced anywhere, but she's never written a play before. Luckily, Sarah's determination and belief in her work exacts Jack's promise that he'll personally read her play.

While getting ready for bed, Kristina tells Adam that yes, what they feared is indeed true, Haddie's having sex with Alex. Adam looks like he's been hit by a truck. Crushed, he reverts to practical mode. Once Kristina assures him that Haddie's using birth control and is in control, he says, "Well that's it, then," and goes to bed. The next day, Jasmine drops Jabbar off for a play date with Sydney. Fearing she's crossing a line, Julia asks Jasmine if she's spoken to Crosby lately. Julia promises he's changed; it's almost as if he's grown up overnight. Jasmine admits she still loves Crosby, but she's incredibly angry at him, and she's pretty sure this won't change. It's over.

It's dinnertime at Adam and Kristina's, and everyone's miserable save for Max. He prattles facts about chicken harvesting, while the other three try to swallow their chicken and keep their game faces. One thing's for sure, Adam can't look Haddie in the face, and she feels completely shut out and rejected. Meanwhile, Amber's high and making out with Gary in Julia's office after hours. Things are getting hot and heavy when she realizes she's late to pasta dinner with her mom. She races into the restaurant, wrapped in a scarf, and making excuses. Sarah laughs along until she realizes Amber's totally high, and on something more than just pot. Furious, Sarah stalks off, telling Amber she has two minutes to get her butt into the car.

It's morning when Haddie emerges from the shower and bumps into her father in the hallway, but Adam still won't give her the time of day. Heartbroken with this exchange, Kristina knocks on Haddie's door. Haddie cries, saying she wishes she wasn't honest about having sex - Adam's judging her! He won't even look at her! Kristina apologizes for Adam, promising he'll come around, and gives Haddie a hug. Then she admits she lied - she wasn't 22 when she had sex the first time, but 15! She had sex with a boy, and it wasn't very good, and then he went around school the next day telling everyone. It was horrible. Kristina's just glad that it was different for Haddie. Later, Kristina confronts Adam - he has to talk to Haddie! - but his heart is still closed. What's he supposed to? High five Haddie for losing her virginity?

Julia stops by to tell Crosby she talked to Jasmine. She assures him she didn't spill the beans about the house, but she wants Crosby to know that Jasmine has no intention of getting back together with him. Angry, Crosby explains his position. He knows what Jasmine thinks, but he's got to carry on regardless. He's sold his houseboat and his motorcycle, and is going whole hog for the Hail Mary pass. Sometimes Hail Mary passes work, and when they do, everyone cheers. He's got to believe his plan just might work, and Julia has to let him do just that.

Over at Zeek and Camille's, a desperate Sarah rifles through Amber's purse looking for drugs while grilling Drew. What does he know about this Gary? Just then, Gary calls, so Drew picks up the phone, saying no, Amber doesn't need a ride, just as Amber walks in. Spying the contents of her purse strewn across the kitchen counter, Amber freaks out, and pretty soon everyone's yelling at everyone else. Amber sweeps her stuff back into her purse and runs outside, just as Gary pulls up. Sarah physically tries to prevent Amber from getting in the car, but Amber shakes her to the ground, screaming obscenities, then urges Gary to get them out of there. Drew's left to pick up his mother and do his best to comfort her.

Sarah's frazzled, calling all over town trying to find Amber when there's a knock at the door. Gilliam's come to tell Sarah that he's got a new title for her play, but it sails right over her head. She tries to get rid of him, but he's not going to go, at least not until he tells her the real reason he's there: Jack Kraft liked her play, and has agreed to include it in the Berkeley Theater's reading series! And when Sarah's ready to give him a present, she should forgo flowers in favor of single malt scotch. Later, Adam stops by to talk about Haddie, but his complaints fall on somewhat deaf ears. Compared to Amber, Haddie's an angel. She's been honest with her parents, and at least she seems happy with Alex - they're in love. That's a far cry from how Amber went about it.

Adam's still not convinced, and still doesn't have any idea of what to say to Haddie. Every time they have a conflict, it seems like the best he can do is give her space. Sarah vehemently disagrees, telling Adam that it's only now she's realizing her mistake. She let Amber decide when she wanted to grow up, and Sarah should have fought it more. Just when they say they need space, or don't need you - that's when you have to fight, that's when you have to show up. Now Sarah's afraid it's too late... Afterwards, Adam surprises Haddie at soccer practice. When he sees her scraped elbow, he insists on taking care of it, and Haddie lets him. Putting on a band-aid, he looks his daughter in the face and explains himself: he just doesn't want her to get hurt. Haddie gets the message, and all's right with father and daughter once again.

Amber and Gary are on a joyride, drinking and smoking pot, while talking at high speeds about Amber's life plan. Who says she has to go to college? Why not go to Europe instead? They're just planning their itinerary when a car comes out of nowhere, and T-bones Gary's car... on the passenger side.