This Is Us

Previously on This Is Us...

I just got six messages from the adoption agency.

We have a match.

Kate and Toby? -Hi.

Hi. -Hi. I'm-I'm Ellie.

Thank you for the Edible Arrangement.

I wasn't sure what the appropriate gift would be

for when the birth mother of your twin sister's baby

is being induced.

Hey, Kev. I was wondering if we could talk.

Randall, I'm sorry, I can't right now.

Madison's in labor,

and I'm stuck here in Vancouver.

I'll call you soon, okay? I'm sorry.

-Got you a flight. Yes!

-G-Great. What airport? -Seattle.

It boards in two hours. Can you make it?

Listen, I can't start off by not being there for them.

I don't know how else to explain it to you, okay?

It will break me.

I can't believe I'm maybe gonna do this alone.

-Hello? -Hi, Madison.

We just want you to know that we're here.

And we can stay on the phone with you for a while.

-You're family. -Okay.

Yeah, that'd be really nice.

All right, in there I've found a Swede,

a South African, two Thais,

a Scot and a Brit.

Does a Scot count as a Brit?

Eh, doesn't matter.

What are you and do you have a light?

I don't.

I'm sorry.

I'm Nasir. From India.

Esther. From Argentina.

And I need a light.

Aye. New Mexico isn't quite what I imagined.

It's dustier.

Very big food.

The first day I got here, I got a hamburger,

like, the size of my head.

You don't talk much, huh?

My advisor insisted I come.

Try and make friends, but...

I-I can't put this down.

Advanced Computer Programming.

Anything good?

It's about Turing's development of his a-machine

and how in proving the uncomputability

of the Entscheidungsproblem by such a machine,

he showed the fundamental limitations

of mechanical computation.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

But I know I love hearing you talk.

Hey, kids,

grab your bags.

I want to load the car now so we can

hit the road for the cabin at 8:00 a.m. sharp.

And I'm gonna go, uh, make some sandwiches for lunch,

so let me know what you guys want, okay?

Guys, we don't want to go.

-Wait, what? -Huh?

-Of course you do. Hey, sorry, Dad,

but the cabin is lame.

-Very lame. No, no, no, no, no.

The cabin is not lame.

The cabin is... relaxation.

Yeah. -The cabin is fresh air

-and s'mores and... -Look, we all set up sleepovers

for the weekend.

Parent-approved. You can call them.

Cancel your plans, all right?

We're going on a family vacation this weekend,

-and that's the end of... -Uh, babe?

Could I talk to you?

Would it be the worst thing in the world to go away

without the little grumps?

Think about it, come on.

You, me, romantic cabin getaway,

let the kids be someone else's problem for the night?

You and me, romantic cabin getaway?

Yeah.

Hey.

Sleepover drop-off train leaves at 8:00 a.m. sharp.

Yes.

This is Kevin. Leave a message.

-Kev's phone still going to voice mail? -Yeah.

So I have no idea if he made his flight or not.

Can you imagine if he misses this?

He won't.

At least Randall and Beth

got in touch with her from New Orleans

-so she's not alone. -True. True.

I should be with them.

I'm supposed to be with them.

Mm...

Looks like they forgot the special sauce.

-Oh, man! -I know.

We did not just find the only place open

in the middle of nowhere, Alabama,

-and they didn't give me the special sauce. -Mm-hmm.

Are you guys sure you don't want to go?

'Cause I can hang up.

I know it's late for you, and, um,

and, you know, I'm sure you need to find a motel

-for the night. Oh, uh-uh.

I have not done my own hair and nails

and waxing for the better part of a year

just to get COVID from some rank motel off I-81.

Hey, Madison,

for the 20th time, we're not hanging up.

We are with you until Kevin gets there.

If anything, you're doing us a favor, right?

You're giving us a little roadside entertainment

as we take turns driving and shotgunning Red Bulls

for the next 14 hours.

I know this isn't exactly how you imagined

the births of these babies,

but I do believe that Kevin is out there

trying his damnedest to get to you

and that he will be there

in time for your unfairly gorgeous babies

to be born.

And if, for some reason, he doesn't,

then you got a couple

of real live baby birthing experts right here

to see you through it every step of the way. We can handle it.

Beth had a natural birth with Tess

right in our living room.

-Kevin? -Um...

Ah, it's Kate. Uh, family text thread.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Hey, babe.

-How's it going? -Mm-hmm. Hi.

Hey, group texts?

No way, Kate. Absolutely not.

If I can't be in the delivery room because of

stupid COVID, then I demand personalized,

individualized updates.

Okay. Okay.

Listen, the only update is that I'm being

a really great birth partner to a birth

-that is... -So freaking slow.

How long have we been here, like, a hundred hours?

Eight.

A breezy eight. Oh, babe,

have you had any updates from the sitter?

Uh, yeah, Jack is fine. I'm the one out here

in the, uh, hospital parking lot losing my mind.

Everything is fine, I promise.

And I will update you

when there is an update worth sharing.

Okay? Hey, so, uh,

how's your list coming?

Uh, my list?

Uh, you'll just... You'll know when you know. How about that?

Fine, be mysterious. Oh, hey.

-The nurse is here. Got to go. Bye. -Okay.

Hi, there. -Hi.

-Hey. -My name is Joan.

I'm taking over for Rachel.

Oh, did you hear that, Kate?

We've been here for a whole nurse shift,

and my cervix is still refusing to budge.

Things speed up eventually. They always do.

Just hang in there, Mom.

Sorry, um,

I just want to make sure

that everyone on the delivery team remembers

that Kate is the adoptive mother.

She is Mom.

I am just a temporary landlord with an eviction notice.

I am so sorry. I should've checked your file

-before I came in. I meant no... -It's okay. It's okay.

But please do remind everyone that when the baby is here,

she should go directly to Kate.

Not to me.

Will do. Page me if you need anything.

-Okay. Thank you. -Thanks.

I mean, it's as if she's never had

a woman giving birth to her one-night-stand baby

with the adoptive mother as the birth partner

in the middle of a global pandemic.

I know. It's, like, old-fashioned.

Hey.

I'm really grateful that you're here with me for this.

Well, I'm really grateful that you asked me.

Really.

So, let's have this baby.

I cannot wait to start a fire

and just sit around in my cozy socks all weekend.

Is that all you're gonna be wearing?

-Because I can get on board with that. -Ha-ha.

You know what the best part is?

-What's that? -Not having to hear

Kate recite the plot of this week's 90210.

Oh, yeah. She's, uh, kind of obsessed, huh?

Honestly, I can't even tell if it's a terrible show

or if she's just terrible at recapping it.