When tests indicate that Lulu’s baby will be born with Down's Syndrome, Alvin looks to help Nick become more knowledgeable by assigning him to set up a trust account for Mark Barlow, a resident at the Home for the Developmentally Disabled. Intrigued by Mark and his interest in theater, Nick offers to help him audition for Pittsburgh’s summer Shakespeare festival. Already living with the stress of having his wife in a coma for several years, Carl Tilden seeks Nick’s help when his daughter, Megan, accuses him of molesting her. And as Jake is arriving to be interviewed for a membership at the exclusive Riverbrook Country Club, after finding Lulu’s friend, Kate Shaw, preparing for a baby shower, he makes a date to join her for lunch.

Although Megan Barlow recants and admits that she was trying to get revenge for having to sacrifice her own life in order to care for her family, social worker Elizabeth Griffin concludes that Carl may not be fit to be a single parent for three girls and recommends that, for now, the children be sent to live with their grandparents. After father and daughter cannot resolve their differences outside the courtroom, Elizabeth insists that there is nothing to do but put the case before a judge, who orders Carl to take parenting classes before issuing her decision. Meanwhile, after their third date, Kate asks Jake to get an HIV test. But when Lulu calls Kate to cancel the shower, she’s concerned at the news that she’s dating Jake.

After telling Nick about a cousin with Down Syndrome, Jake heads to take the HIV test, only to bolt before it is complete. When Carl needs him, Nick leaves Lulu to look after Mark and heads for the hospital where he finds his distraught client struggling with the urge to kill his wife in order to end his family’s suffering. With everyone offering to pitch in and help in whatever way they can, their time with Mark has both Nick and Lulu leaning towards having the baby despite the Down Syndrome diagnosis. And though he’s terrified about having his sexuality exposed and possibly discovering that he has AIDS, Jake returns to the hospital to go ahead with the test.