It's another parking-garage goodnight for Claire and Lawyer Ted, as she says she doesn't know how to thank him for sticking around. "I'll think of a way," he shrugs. She's amazed that he spent the night in a hospital on a first date. "That's just fucking goodness," she gushes. He says she'd do the same thing for him. "I would now," she says, and gives him a big hug. "Your brother's fine," he says, and they kiss gently. I wonder if she's pro-war now.

David's sitting alone by Nate's bed, telling his brother about how much he wanted to smoke a joint during parent-teacher conferences (which must be nothing compared to the jones he must have been battling the last eighteen hours or so), when Maggie appears in the doorway. Nate follows David's gaze and happily says, "Maggie!" He was nowhere near this excited to see Brenda, of course. He reaches out his hand as David gets up to leave and invites her to stay. "I'm sure my boys are creating mayhem somewhere." Maggie takes Nate's hand and they smile happily at each other as David excuses himself. Once they're alone, she makes him swear he's all right. "If only I hadn't asked you for a ride," she says. So to speak. Nate says he has no regrets. "You're making love with somebody and your head explodes, that's a good sign." Wow, he could find justification in an actual, literal lightning bolt. With God's name on it. Addressed to Nate by name. That he had to sign for. "You're awful," she says. Wow, she's already into that stage of a relationship with Nate? Oh, wait, she's laughing. She says the night before was a hundred years long. What, like she couldn't have told him to hurry up? Oh, maybe she means the hospital part of last night. Nate says he has so much to say that he doesn't know where to start. Like that ever stopped him. She tells him to rest for now. Already telling him to shut up? I might actually like this girl. You know what would make me like her even more? If she totally rejected Nate and he dumped Brenda for nothing. That would be awesome.

Just then Rico pops in and raps on the door frame. He and Maggie greet each other by name (I think this is actually their first scene together, although of course they would have met before now, what with Rico having lived under the same roof as her dad for a while). Maggie tells Nate to take care, and clasps his hand lovingly before leaving. Nate watches her go, even as Rico comes in with a low five and sits down in the visitor's chair. "Man, oh man, oh man. What the hell, Nate?" he says. "Pretty fucking bizarre, huh?" Nate agrees. Out of all the post-coma conversations we've seen this episode, this is the one that rings most true to me, because it's the closest thing to most of the conversations I had with people after my own brain-fart last fall. Rico explains that he can't stay long, because he has an intake to deal with: "This guy got mauled by a cougar." Nate's amazed to hear it, but Rico gleefully confirms, "Right here in L.A. He was walking in the canyon." Nate sighs and says, "The ecotone." He explains, "It's an area where two ecological worlds overlap. You know, like wilderness and civilization." It's also rife with symbolism. Rico tries the word out for himself. "I'll be sure to say that in the intake," he tells Nate. Yeah, it's a gift.