Plot summary
Fiona (Emmy Rossum) adjusts to her house arrest. Bored with her new life, she decides to clean the house and remove all contraband from the house to make a good impression on her probation officer, Gail Johnson (Regina King). Gail is pleased with the results, although Fiona is disappointed to learn that she will not be able to leave the house to find a job for the next two weeks.
Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter) feels jealous of Ian (Cameron Monaghan), and kicks him out of the house. Ian then returns home, reuniting with Fiona. He reveals little of his time in the Army, but continually has ideas for future endeavors. Mickey (Noel Fisher) later visits Ian, and they have sex. Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) is suspended from school due to his constant bullying, and faces a possible expulsion if his legal guardian does not accompany him on Friday. With Fiona unable to leave the house, Carl is forced to ask Frank (William H. Macy) to come with him. Meanwhile, Sammi (Emily Bergl) comes up with the idea of pretending to sell Sheila's house to earn some money for Frank's transplant.
Svetlana goes into labor, but Mickey is not interested in visiting her. Mandy (Emma Greenwell) is also angered when Mickey suggests the baby might not be his. Fiona is visited by Robbie (Nick Gehlfuss), who wants to reconcile after learning she did not reveal he supplied her with the cocaine, but she shuts the door on his face. Bored, Fiona asks Veronica (Shanola Hampton) to accompany her among drinks. When Lip arrives later, he discovers that Fiona accidentally left food in the oven, causing smoke. Irate, Lip decides to take Liam and Carl with him to college, while Debbie (Emma Kenney) decides to spend time with Sammi, slowly bonding with her. After having an emotional breakdown over Liam, Fiona calls Lip, claiming that while she deserves to be punished, she wants her family back.
Carol (Vanessa Bell Calloway) goes into labor, successfully giving birth to her child. While Kevin (Steve Howey) wants to keep the baby, Veronica convinces him to let Carol take care of the baby after seeing Carol's euphoric response. The following morning, Frank and Sammi go to Carl's meeting with the principal. Instead of getting Carl to apologize to the students, Frank delivers a speech where he claims the kids will have better lives through bullying. The episode concludes with Lip reconciling with Fiona by letting her hold Liam.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Hope Springs Paternal. Paragraphs and formatting adjusted; illustrations, reference markers, block quotations and non-story material omitted.