Connie the Counselor

Fifteen-year-old Jules Kendall turns up in Odyssey on her half-sister Connie's doorstep, having tricked both of her parents: she told her dad she was visiting her mom, told her mom she was visiting her dad, and hopped a bus while the two of them, not on speaking terms, never checked. Tired of California and with nowhere better to go, she asks to stay. Connie agrees - Penny's old room is empty now - but warns that this visit comes with rules: school every day and a nine o'clock curfew on school nights.

Meanwhile, Connie needs a volunteer for her Introduction to Counseling class, which requires her to practice therapy on a friend for five sessions. Eugene flatly refuses - until Connie points out that he is so distracted he has been stirring an empty coffee cup, worried about connecting with his foster son, Buck. Eugene reluctantly agrees, on the condition that the sessions focus only on helping him get Buck to open up. In their first session, Connie reads awkwardly from her instructions (even saying "insert client's name" out loud) and suggests Eugene ask Buck to describe his feelings using colors and animals. Eugene tries it, and a baffled Buck offers "gray" and a beluga whale before escaping the conversation as fast as he can. Connie is sure the whale means something deep; Eugene suspects it was simply the first answer to a very strange question.

Jules, reunited with her friend Buck, complains that Odyssey is boring and full of "happy do-gooders." Buck insists small towns can be fun and reminisces about wild things he once did, like setting off fireworks from a water tower - telling her, "You haven't lived until you've tried goat painting." Later the two discover how much they understand each other: Buck felt Eugene's questions had a hidden right answer he couldn't guess, and Jules knows exactly that feeling, since her friends and parents all expect her to be someone she isn't. At home, Jules seems to be blossoming - she thanks Connie for caring about her schoolwork, and Connie happily calls teachers to get her an extension on a history exam. Mysterious packages keep arriving from oddly named companies, which Jules claims are sweaters and socks. But after sweetly suggesting she and Connie spend more time together, Jules smiles to herself: "I am so good at this."

In their next session, Connie decides Eugene's real problem is his fear of showing feelings, and has him recall his most embarrassing moments - failing his driving exam twice, and two humiliating misunderstandings involving Katrina. Eugene triumphantly announces that all of them have one common factor: Connie herself, the builder of his emotional walls. Connie hastily declares that time is up. Yet something takes root. Finding Buck cleaning the garage shelves, Eugene drops the techniques and simply admits he is bad at this - new to being a father, and afraid he is only making things more awkward. He shares that he lost his own parents young, grew up in foster care too, and never really connected with anyone until he came to Odyssey. Buck says that is good to know.

Late that night, Detective Polehaus calls: Jules has been brought to the police station for shooting fireworks off the top of the water tower - along with Buck. At the station, Connie and Eugene start blaming each other's kids until Polehaus tells them to act more mature than the two teenagers in his office. Buck claims the whole scheme was his idea. Since no real harm was done, Polehaus releases both kids to their guardians with a stern warning, though Buck's parole officer must be notified.

The next morning Connie puts the pieces together: one of Jules's packages came from Poppin' Pizazz, a fireworks company. Confronted, Jules admits the fireworks were her idea all along - Buck didn't even want to do it, but she convinced him, and when he took the blame she let him. Connie realizes Jules has been using her the same way, charming her into extensions and easy treatment. Heartbroken, she apologizes to Eugene, feeling like a failure as a counselor and a guardian. But Eugene surprises her: their sessions genuinely helped. Opening up to Buck about his own past broke down the walls between them, and driving home from the police station they had their most honest talk yet. He even quotes her own advice back to her about relationships being a series of steps, and Connie sighs, "Now if I could just stop tripping over every one."

At two in the morning, Connie finds Jules in the kitchen eating nearly all of her chocolate chip cookies. Jules asks whether Connie will ever trust her again, and Connie answers honestly: she is disappointed in both of them, and trust will take a while. Then she notices Jules dipping her cookies in orange juice - the same strange habit Connie has, which each of them thought was hers alone. Laughing over their "genetic connection," the sisters decide that since tomorrow is Saturday, there is nothing to stop them from baking a big fresh batch together, right now.