Though Alex loves working at Mr. Adler's "Mom and Pop" grocery store, to the old man's dismay, he quits to "climb the corporate ladder" at an ultramodern supermarket.

When popular sorority girl Sherry Marshall befriends Mallory to get close to Alex, Mallory brings them together in hopes of joining Pi Nu but her plan backfires.

Steven and Elyse worry that Alex, who is the new coach of Jennifer's softball team, is pushing the girls too hard when Jennifer fails to jog all the way home he orders her to do 20 extra pushups.

Alex takes his coaching duties seriously and his players are leaving the team in droves. Two days before the championship game they don't even have enough players to qualify as a team unless Alex can convince Jennifer to persuade Skippy's klutzy sister Arlene to join the team. Arlene is happier making dresses for her turtles, but desperately wants Jennifer's friendship and agrees to play ball with some disastrous consequences.

Alex courts disaster when he invites two dates to the senior prom and devises an elaborate scheme for escorting each of the unknowing girls on a night to remember.

Prom chairman Alex is all set to attend the big evening with an ecstatic Rachel Miller, when he finds that his heartthrob, Jocelyn Clark, has just broken up with her boyfriend. While consoling her, Alex invites her to be his date and finds himself in a major jam. With Skippy's help he tries to juggle both dates, until the truth comes crashing down.

When Alex's pal Skippy discovers he's adopted, Alex helps him cope with the shocking news and accompanies the nervous teenager on a memorable meeting with his real mother.

The news that their mother is pregnant sends the three Keaton kids into an angry outburst resulting in a family battle. The children react with panic and outrage at the though of having a baby around, and the Keaton household is in turmoil while Elyse tries to make them see the brighter side of the situation.

Mallory's enthusiasm for her part-time job at a boutique causes her school grades to slip even lower than usual and Steven and Elyse agree that she must quit work, but Alex comes up with a proposal that could resolve the situation.

Alex has his own reasons for wanting Mallory to keep her job, it keeps her away from the house, so he initiates a plan that will allow her to work and improve her grades at the same time.

While Steven and Elyse are away on vacation, the Keaton house becomes a hotel for the weekend after Mallory accidentally crashes her parents' car into a telephone pole and the kids need to raise money for auto repairs.

A lot of people are in town for the Leland homecoming game, so Alex decides to take advantage of the situation and rent out rooms but suddenly he's swamped with renters and the house looks like a three-ring circus.

Steven and Elyse plan a nostalgic weekend with the kids before the baby arrives, and are crushed to discover that the children are not at all interested in reminiscing about old times, they'd rather be with their friends.

Elyse's camping trip with Mallory and Jennifer is cut short when she realizes that the girls are bored to death, while Steven's plans to spend time with Alex at home are crushed when his son leaves on a date.

Alex plays Cupid to help his shy pal Skippy get together with Jane, the girl of his dreams, but his good intentions goes awry when the girl falls for him instead.

When Skippy and Mallory find Alex locked in a passionate embrace with Jane, Skippy accuses him of stealing his girl.

Alex's chances or acceptance into a smug college fraternity are dependent upon his having a knockout date for the pledge dance and when the girl cancels he pleads with Karen, the housekeeper, to accompany him but his problems are far from resolved when they arrive at the dance.

Karen reluctantly agrees to be Alex's date, but does not tell him why she is so hesitant to go.

Mallory is crushed when her favorite aunt dies suddenly, but her feelings of sadness turns to anger when family and friends at the funeral seem to be taking Aunt Trudy's death too lightly.

Mallory feels that she has lost her best friend, and is shocked that no one else seems to share her grief.

The Keaton family is transported back in time when Alex dreams he is at the Constitutional Convention at 1776, but history is off track. Steven Keaton is Thomas Jefferson and has just turned down John Adams' request to write the Declaration of Independence, so it's up to Alex to convince him to do it.

Alex falls asleep while working on a college term paper on Thomas Jefferson and dreams that his family and friends are living 200 years ago.

Still trapped at the television station, Elyse realizes she cannot make it thru the snowstorm to the hospital and prepares to gibe birth in Steven's office. Meanwhile, stuck at home by the same storm, Steven enlists the help of Bud the plumber and his truck, and heads for the hospital, thinking Elyse will be there.

Elyse makes a plea on camera to Steven, wherever he is, to come to the station, so Steven, the doctor, the plumber and Skippy all frantically head for WKS, hoping they arrive in time for the birth.

With the rest of the family away for the weekend, Mallory is excited about having the house to herself until she is accidentally locked in the basement with the person she'd least like to be with her adoring neighbor, Skippy.

The mismatched pair do, however, come up with a unique way to keep warm and share some tender moments while waiting for their rescue.

Alex realizes he must make Ellen aware of his feelings, but she is on a train on her way to marry another man, so he takes drastic measures to stop the wedding. The usually cool Alex decides he must let down his defenses or lose the girl he loves.

Jennifer takes on the class bully to defend her boyfriend and unwittingly humiliates him by undermining his masculinity and Alex is devastated when Mallory scores higher than him on an IQ test. Jennifer tries to apologize to Adam, but discovers that all the boys are making fun of him and he won't speak to her.

When Mallory informs her parents that she has no intention of going to college after graduation, they are sure she is being influenced by her boyfriend, Nick, a high school dropout. Elyse is crushed by Mallory's decision to forego a college education, and Mallory turns to Nick for support.

Alex, who prides himself on being in control of his life, is embarrassed to admit that he is having a problem with insomnia, which is creating stress in his personal life as well as in school. Although Alex refuses to discuss his sleeping problems with anyone, his restlessness is disrupting the whole family.

Steven gets the promotion he has been waiting years for, but as the new regional manager of the station, he is required to put in long hours at the office, and soon realizes he has no time for his family. Although Elyse and the kids are happy about Steven's new position, they begin to miss the days where he would come home for dinner every nite and have time to take part in day-to-day activities.

Alex offers to help Jennifer with a speech project and winds up creating a monster, the speech is such a success that she is asked to repeat the performance for an awards panel. Jennifer does her class project perfectly, but doesn't understand what she said because Alex coached her on most of the material. So when asked to present it to the panel of judges, her nerves get the best of her.

Skippy's lifetime obsession with Mallory builds to a climax when he refuses to accept that she is in love with Nick, and creates an embarrassing scene at the Homecoming dance. Alex tries to convince Skippy he should forget about Mallory and find someone else, and even enlists the help of a psychiatrist, but Skippy can't let go of his fantasy.

Elyse enrolls in an auto mechanics class to prove Alex and Steven that women can be just as competent with cars as men, but to protect his own masculinity, Alex joins the class to prove her wrong.

The Keaton family fills in his girlfriend, Ellen, on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met in this special one-hour episode. Flashbacks to previous episodes include some highlights from the series' past shows. Alex and Ellen celebrate their six-month anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, and the family think it's time for Ellen to know the truth about Alex.

Mallory suspects there's more involved than ""art appreciation"" when a wealthy and beautiful older woman takes a special interest in Nick's creations. Promising to help launch his career, art patron Victoria Hurstenberg takes Nick under her wing, occupying nearly all of his time and interfering with his relationship with Mallory, who insists that the older woman has her eye on more than Nick's art.

Mallory discovers that her high school graduation is in jeopardy unless she can pass a very tough history exam. Never an avid student, Mallory faces the possibility of failing her senior year in high school because of her poor grades. As the school term rapidly draws to a close, her only hope is to score extremely well on a tough final exam.

Alex shocks his parents when he visits his 3-year-old brother Andrew's very special preschool class, decides the wrong values are being stressed and withdraws him from the school.

Steven and Elyse had pulled strings to get Andrew into the special preschool. They are shocked when Alex announces that the school teaches ""anti-competitive"" values, and argues that his brother should be taught in a more aggressive manner.

Distraught that his girlfriend Ellen has gone to Paris on a dance scholarship, Alex desperately tries to find someone to take her place, but finally realizes that falling in love again will take time.

Alex mopes around the Keaton house pining for Ellen until Sharon, a pretty waitress, attracts his attention. Once on a date with her however, Alex tries to transform her into another Ellen, with disastrous results.

Mallory is teamed with 66-year-old Margaret Hollings on a college sociology project and fins that she has a lot to learn about honesty, sensitivity and older people when she almost causes the woman to quit the class.

As Mallory facves the fact that te widowed senior citizen has her own special problems as a college freshman, Alex takes a special interest in the terms of the last wills and testaments of his parents.

Alex must choose between his friendship with Skippy and allegiance to his college fraternity when Theta Pi Sigma pledges Skippy with the idea of making him the object of a cruel prank.

Skippy is desperate to become a member of a fraternity, but in his zealousness he fails to recognize that he is the ""Big Stooge"" of the semester.

Mallory's relationship with Nick is put to the test when she joins a poetry reading group and becomes infatuated with its handsome and sophisticated leader, English grad student Colin Spenser.

Newly exposed to poetry and enormously flattered by Colin's persistent attentions, Mallory begins to question the wisdom of being ""tied down"" to Nick.

Despite a stern warning about Colin's sincerity from one of his former conquests, fellow group member Joyce, Mallory is swept off her feet by his gift of roses and poetry, and agrees to join him for a special tete-a-tete following an evening's reading.

Her perspective, however, is shaken up quite a bit when she realizes that she is, in fact, just the ""next girl in line"" for the all-too-smooth Colin.

Steven and Elyse are forced to take a new closer look at Nick and his considerable artistic talents when they invite him to compete with other local artists to create a sculpture for the lobby of Steven's television station.

While Steven tackles the job of re-wallpapering the Keaton kitchen singlehandedly, Alex is in Chicago with his boss, Rebecca Ryan, attending an important banking conference. Forced to share a tiny room due to a shortage of hotel space, the two spend an awkward and uncomfortable nite together, with Alex relegated to sleeping in the closet.

Getting ready for the conference, Rebecca becomes more and more nervous as she prepares to meet the Federated Bank President Charles Okun, Jr. to try and facilitate a merger between his bank and Leland Trust.

Unfortunately, the champagne flows at the banquet and Rebecca proceeds to get thoroughly drunk. To Alex's surprise, she ends up insulting Okun and his young wife, totally blowing any prospects of a merger. Most embarrassing of all, Rebecca ends up making a pass at Alex.

As chairman of the entertainment committee for the Leland College 10th reunion, Alex has big plans, which include hiring some great bands to impress attending alumni in the music business. Jennifer finally talks a very skeptical Alex into letting her new all-girl band, The Permanent Waves, audition for the affair.

At the audition, Alex is thrilled with the unexciting Polka Boys, but his fellow committee members are left cold until they hear The Permanent Waves. They are so good, in fact, that even Alex is impressed and not only books the group but convinces them to sign with him as manager.

Once in charge, Alex decides to completely revamp the look and style of the band. For the reunion performance, he has the girls dress in evening gowns and changes the group's name to The Swinging Corporate Raiders, persuading them to sing such golden oldies as ""Mr. Sandman"". After being completely ignored, the girls finally break into one of their own tunes and immediately win the crowd over. Unfort

When Alex's friend Greg dies in a car accident, Alex is thrown into a state of shock and begins to seriously question the meaning and purpose of his own life. Having been asked to accompany his friend on the fatal trip and refusing because it wasn't convenient, he is overcome by guilt. He tries to fathom why he was spared in the face of such selfishness, and begins to have encounters with Greg's ghost. His family urges him to get help.

When Alex's friend Greg dies in a car accident, Alex is thrown into a state of shock and begins to seriously question the meaning and purpose of his own life. Having been asked to accompany his friend on the fatal trip and refusing because it wasn't convenient, he is overcome by guilt. He tries to fathom why he was spared in the face of such selfishness, and begins to have encounters with Greg's ghost. His family urges him to get help.

When Skippy falls head-over-heels in love with Mallory's new college friend, Amy Sussman, he's both startled and overjoyed to find himself in his first real romantic relationship.

Just as Steven finishes an informal pep talk with the kids, unraveling his fool-proof plan to throw Elyse a surprise birthday party, Amy arrives to pick Mallory up for a study session. Skippy happens to drop by and is immediately taken with Mallory's shy and pretty friend. He's so smitten, in fact, he's rendered completely helpless, and Mallory ends up arranging their first date.

Amy is delighted and their relationship blossoms, though not without some embarrassing moments. When she finally invites Skippy back to her dorm room to watch TV, however, he panics because of his inexperience with women, and seeks Alex's advice. He tries to follow Alex's instructions but, unfortunately, his attempt to create a romantic atmosphere at Amy's results in a lamp catching fire and the arrival of the fire marshal.

Later at

When Mallory comes home from her sixth disastrous date in a row, Alex tries to comfort and then help. He will find her a new and perfect boyfriend using a computer that the Keaton's have gotten for Jennifer's ""educational"" use.

Yet, when Roger and Mallory don't hit it off, Alex refuses to give up on getting this ""perfect couple"" together.

In her quest to become one of the popular kids, Jennifer invites her trendy classmates to her thirteenth birthday party. When they become bored and begin grumbling at her ""lame"" party (which includes a traditional puppet show by her father), Jennifer takes drastic action. With Mallory's guidance, she becomes a ""valley girl"", who then deserts her own party.

Yet, it's only a matter of time before Jennifer realizes she isn't having any fun and she rebels against her new friends.

Mallory is thrilled to follow in ""Dear Abby's"" footsteps when she's tapped to write the personal advice column in the Columbus Shopper's Guide. She manages to involve the entire family, even Alex, in reading and answering the growing stack of mail, while searching for the perfect letter to launch her career in psycho-journalism. Mallory finally settles on a note from a lovesick teen who signs her correspondence ""First Love"".

When Mallory's first column is published, Steven and Elyse are dismayed to discover that she's printed the family's phone number and address in her article. Explaining that she has to be warm and accessible to her readers, she becomes personally involved in ""First Love's"" relationship, while answering hundreds of letters and phone calls. Despite her exhaustion, she remains exhilarated by the idea that she's helping so many people, and plans an open house for many of those to whom she has given advice.

When her ""fans"" begin arriving, Mallory learns that for every g

When Mallory decides to run for student body president of Grant College, her family is surprised at her uncharacteristic interest in politics. She explains that ""it just sounded like a good idea"", and introduces Skippy as the manager of this rather unfocused campaign. Still her most ardent admirer, Skippy encourages the whole family to work on Mallory's behalf.

Alex, who considers Mallory the ideal candidate (""attractive and generally non-offensive"") begins to take over the entire campaign. He makes up buttons and posters that include his picture with Mallory's and starts advising her about the kind of campaign promises she should make to get herself elected.

As voting time nears, Mallory becomes exhausted by the heavy schedule that Alex has set for her, and is also somewhat nervous about the promises she's made, which have escalated from new drapes and a diet soda machine to Alex's suggestion of free trips to Hawaii. Finally, despite the concerted efforts of the whole family, Mallory

When Lauren is required to write a paper on the typical American family, she chooses the Keatons. Focusing first on Steven and Elyse, she asks about their history together and the growth of the family, prompting Elyse to reminisce about her pregnancy with Andy. Steven recalls what a thrill Andy's arrival was to everyone, especially Alex, who was delighted to finally have a brother.

As the family discusses the ways in which little Andy changed their lives, they recall just how protective and involved Alex became in the upbringing of the baby. While on the subject, Jennifer remembers the time that Steven decided he wasn't spending enough time with her and tried to become her ""pal"".

Mallory illustrates the depth of the family's closeness when she recalls the day she had to tell her parents that she might not graduate from high school. Skippy chimes in about the time Alex helped him cope with when he first learned he was adopted, and Jennifer recalls turning to Alex for guidance when she

When Lauren is required to write a paper on the typical American family, she chooses the Keatons. Focusing first on Steven and Elyse, she asks about their history together and the growth of the family, prompting Elyse to reminisce about her pregnancy with Andy. Steven recalls what a thrill Andy's arrival was to everyone, especially Alex, who was delighted to finally have a brother.

As the family discusses the ways in which little Andy changed their lives, they recall just how protective and involved Alex became in the upbringing of the baby. While on the subject, Jennifer remembers the time that Steven decided he wasn't spending enough time with her and tried to become her ""pal"".

Mallory illustrates the depth of the family's closeness when she recalls the day she had to tell her parents that she might not graduate from high school. Skippy chimes in about the time Alex helped him cope with when he first learned he was adopted, and Jennifer recalls turning to Alex for guidance when she

The Christmas spirit has come to the Keaton house, where the family is busy baking Christmas cookies when Skippy stops by to ask a favor. He wants Alex to pinch-hit for him as Santa at the mall, and Alex agrees after hearing about the excellent hourly wage.

With Mallory and Jennifer along as his wall-paid elves, ""Santa"" Alex dispenses stock tips and financial advice to long lines of children. Besieged by kids with elaborate Christmas lists, Alex is surprised when he's approached by a sad-looking little girl who insists she doesn't want anything for Christmas and doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Her mother explains that seven-year-old Michelle is very depressed that her father, a traveling salesman who is struggling to make a living, won't be home for the holiday.

As Christmas draws near, Alex becomes more and more concerned with Michelle's situation. After inviting the girl and her mother to join the Keations for some Christmas Eve cheer, Alex gets an unexpected visit from a kindly whi

The Keaton kids are dismayed when the local playhouse agree to stage Steven's radical 60's college play, ""A Draft Card for the Burning"". Embarrassed by the script's laughably dated hippie lingo, they are not surprised when Elyse refuses to reprise her leading role as Sequola Free, the play's sexy activist/anthropology student.

Crushed by her decision, Steven goes off in a huff to cast another actress. But after numerous fruitless auditions, Elyse finally succumbs to Steven's wishes. Just as she predicts, Steven becomes insanely jealous of her leading man and finds it impossible to separate his dual roles as husband and director. Elyse and her co-star, local dentist Jeff Cooper, grow frustrated with Steven, who keeps changing the script to avoid any intimacy between them.

When opening night arrives, Elyse and Jeff are rather uneasy about Steven's changes, which include turning a passionate kiss into a high-five slap. After complying with the high-five sign, the artistically stifled El

As Elyse prepares for her high school reunion, she is contacted by her old buddy, Roger ""Eggy"" Erdman, a klutzy class nerd turned millionaire. Never a romantic couple, Elyse and ""Eggy"" made a bizarre team even as friends, since Elyse was the most popular girl in class. She explains to the family that Roger needed someone to keep the bullies away and to save him from his own clumsiness.

Like an older version of Skippy, the ungainly Roger comes over for a visit. While Alex is enamored of ""Eggy's"" wealth, Roger is still clearly in love with Elyse, who always helped him stand up for himself. Steven, who would do anything to avoid attending Elyse's reunion, urges Roger to take her. Roger wants to resurrect the ""Doo-Wop Twins"" number they used to do in school, but when Elyse refuses, saying that those days are over, a hurt Roger rushes out.

Reluctantly, Steven ends up accompanying Elyse and Roger to the reunion, where he is immediately mistaken for Danny Wasserman, the class clown. Roger's w

While Alex prepares little Andrew's resume for future kindergarten elections, Elyse proudly tells the family that Andy has been chosen as ""Buddy for the Day"" at school, which means he will be responsible for showing a new classmate around.

The new student, Josh Richards, turns out to be deaf. Accompanied by his mother, Josh is introduced to Andy by Andy's teacher, who explains that although Josh can't hear, he can speak by signing with his hands. Tentative at first, Andy leads Josh off to ""show him the ropes"", telling his curious classmates about Josh's deafness and his ability to sign.

When several of Josh's schoolmates begin to tease him, Andy becomes very upset and rushes to defend him. He becomes even more disturbed at the end of the day when Josh confesses that the other children's cruelty does indeed hurt him. Experiencing the beginnings of a solid friendship, Andy begins to brood about Josh's handicap and stops talking altogether in sympathy for his friend.

Troubled by the situ

Steven battles the physical and psychological aftershocks of his heart surgery.

As the hours drag on during Steven's quadruple bypass operation, the Keaton crew grows exhausted in the hospital waiting room. Awakened by Skippy's typically goofy entrance, they all snap to attention when Dr. Harrison appears. He assures them that the surgery has gone well, but Steven must still be observed closely for the next few hours.

When the family members are at last allowed to see Steven, he joyfully looks from one relieved face from the next. But when he is well enough to come home, the kids are nervous and overly solicitious, while Steven seems edgy and testily insists that they all go about their usual business.

Sensing that her husband needs to talk, Elyse gently questions him and Steven confesses that he is terrified. He tells her that his living room now reminds him of his collapse and admits that he can't stop thinking about a colleague, who, after a similar experience, became a depressed sh

Skippy's decision to join the Army soon becomes a losing battle.

As the Keaton clan continues to nag Steven about taking it easy in the wake of his heart attack, a very morose Skippy stops by. Depressed by the results of his career aptitude tests, he confides that he's become hopeless about his future job prospects.

But while flipping thru brochures he collected during career day at college, Skippy becomes taken with the idea of joining the Army. Excited by the promise of travel, new people and state-of-the-art technical training, Skippy persuades Alex to come with him to the recruiting office. There, he is met by Sergeant Davis, who informs Skippy that he will be his drill sergeant in basic training.

Bidding an emotional farewell to his family and friends, Skippy makes a dramatic exit to boot camp. But a week later, Skippy's mom arrives at the Keatons with a tape from Skippy claiming that he is fine and asking his parents not to visit. The truth is, Skippy's military career has prove

Lauren gets more than she bargained for when she begins counseling Skippy and he falls in love with her.

When Jennifer arrives home with her learner's permit in hand and announces that she'd like Elyse to teach her how to drive, a somewhat miffed Steven begins to needle them both about ""women drivers"". With continuous prodding, however, Steven finally gets his way and takes over as Jennifer's driving instructor.

Meanwhile, Skippy confesses to Alex and Lauren that he is having problems relating to women. When Lauren realizes how troubled he is about being rejected, she offers to help Skippy by inviting him to her lab to access his psychological profile. But during the resulting session, Skippy finds it so easy to talk to Lauren that he becomes completely smitten with her!

Oblivious to Skippy's crush on her, Lauren sets out to find a compatible mate for him and ends up arraging a blind date for Skippy with a sweet girl named Pippi. As she and Pippi joins Alex and Skippy for dinner, it be

The Keatons are shocked to realize that racism is alive and well when their black friends move into a house across the street.

During dinner with Steven's colleague Gus Thompson and his wife Maya, the Keatons learn that the couple is having trouble finding a house to buy. When Elyse informs them that the house across the street is up for sale, Gus and Maya (who are black) gently raise the subject of race. Although Steven admits that there are no black families in the neighborhood, he believes race to be a non-issue.

The Keatons face a rude awakening, however, when they accompany the Thompsons on a tour of the house. The realtor, Christine Chadway, is barely able to conceal her shock when she realizes that the Thompsons are black. Completely reversing the sales pitch she had earlier given the Keatons, Christine is sternly reminded by Gus that housing discrimination is illegal and she must present his full-price offer to her clients.

To Steven and Elyse's dismay, the Thompsons begin rece

As Andy's time capsule fills to overflowing with family mementos, the Keaton clan looks back and laughs at their funniest moments.

Although Andy protests that his time capsule has too many items in it, Alex continues to add things from his personal archives, including his collection of report cards from nursery school to first grade.

Munching on popcorn as they reflect on their lives, the Keatons continue to share memories of Andy's first day at school, Steven's terrible magic tricks, Nick's reunion with his long-lost father and Nick and Mallory's aborted elopement.

Even after Andy falls asleep and goes to bed, the family remembers the time Alex and Lauren met, and also when the girl of Skippy's dreams fell for Alex instead. Filled with warm memories of times past, Elyse persuades the entire gang to join her in a sing along.

When Alex lands his dream job in New York, everyone's delighted for him, except Elyse.

As Steven helps Andy rehearse for his school play on dental hygiene, Alex bursts into the Keaton kitchen with a rousing chorus of ""New York, New York"", and the news that he's been hired by one of Wall Street's biggest investment firms. The family is thrilled, but Elyse is somewhat taken aback when she learns that Alex is expected to move immediately.

While everyone pitches in to help Alex get ready, Elyse becomes miffed over a family photo that he packed without her permission and a palpable tension begins to develop between them. In the course of packing, Alex battles wits with Jennifer, accepts fashion tips from Mallory, receives fatherly advice from Steven and shares some final moments with Nick, Skippy and Lauren. All the while, Elyse continues to withdraw from him.

She becomes even more upset when the family plans to go out to dinner together and Alex begs off, claiming he is just too busy to sp

While Alex packs for New York, Elyse struggles to deal with her feelings of loss.

After Elyse's blow-up with Alex, Steven is finally able to get her to admit that much of what she's suffering is classic separation anxiety. But she is still unable to put her anger aside, telling Steven that Alex is too self-centered to appreciate all the things they've done for him.

That night at Andy's school play, Steven asks Alex to talk with his mother about what she's feeling. Later, when the family decides to go out for ice cream, Elyse excuses herself and goes home alone.

Standing in Alex's room, a melancholy Elyse is surprised when her son walks in and apologies for fighting. Elyse confesses that his leaving reminds her that a part of her life is ending, while Alex tells her that bravado aside, he's scared about leaving the security of the family. Their love for each other reaffirmed, Alex and Elyse embrace.

Early the next morning, the sleepy family gathers for breakfast before taking Alex to th