Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Jake And The Women
By Niki | Season 3 | Episode 6 | Aired on 11.08.2001
A little later, Tiffany opens her gifts. She's a wonderful opener, gushing over everything she gets. She opens Brandi's present, which is a crystal that has "soothing powers" for labor. Tiffany is blown away. We cut to the foyer to see Jake peeking in the front door, as a few ladies tell Tiffany that she can use the crystal to figure out the baby's sex. Grace glances up and spots Jake creeping in. He waves her to the foyer and hands her a gift bag. She beams at him as he kisses her cheek and gives her a sly wink. In the living room, the crystal swings in a circle over Tiffany's belly, and she cries, "It's a boy!"
Soliloquy Jake listens intently, realizing something's not right. Things are too quiet. He glances around, and sees that he's all alone.
Grace hands Tiffany the bag, as Zoe shoots her a questioning look. Tiffany pulls out the silver comb-and-brush set, and almost cries, saying it's "the most precious thing" she's ever seen. She thanks them, and Zoe gives her a confused "You're welcome." She sneaks over to Grace and asks what happened. Grace nods toward the doorway, where Jake's tiptoeing out. Zoe runs past him and rushes up the stairs to her room, looking like she's going to cry. Jake forgets to be quiet and shuts the door, yelling, "Zoe!" He gets everyone's attention, and they applaud for "the daddy." He pauses in the living room doorway, smiling self-consciously. Brandi, draped across the back of Tiffany's chair, introduces herself. I bet she's in the adult entertainment industry. Jake says, "Oh, yeah, hi. How you doing?" "Hi," Brandi purrs, letting her eyes slink up and down his body. She's gross. Grace asks whether Jake wants some cake, but he declines. He's more interested in looking at the collage the girls made with their baby pictures. Lily watches him. When he looks up, he catches her looking, and she mouths, "Thank you." He smiles. He looks over the pictures again, most of which feature him holding Grace and Zoe as infants. He lowers the collage, finally realizing that all of that is about to begin again for him. He looks pretty okay with it.
Upstairs, Zoe's sitting on her bed crying. "Okay if I come in?" Jake asks. He asks whether she wants some cake. She sniffles that her stomach hurts a little. He offers to get her some ginger ale. She declines. He asks whether she wants him to leave her alone. After a second, she finally looks at him and asks, "Are you going to marry Tiffany?" Jake considers it for a moment and decides that honesty is the best approach. He tells her he probably isn't. "Why not?" Zoe asks. Jake says he doesn't think they're ready to live together. "What about the baby? Is it going to live with you sometimes like we do?" Zoe asks. Jake says they haven't figured it out yet. Zoe asks whether he wants the baby to live with him. Jake sighs and says he thinks it's best for the baby to live with Tiffany while he's still small. Zoe starts crying again, and Jake rubs his face. He tries to explain, "Zoe, being your dad and being Grace's dad has been the most important thing in my life. And frankly, it's the only thing that's given me any sense of accomplishment or meaning. Now, I could never know that there was a child out there who was mine, that I didn't take care of and love. Do you understand that?" "Maybe," Zoe sniffs. Zoe thanks him for getting the present. He pulls her close and kisses the top of her head, saying, "You were right about it. It really is special. I'm glad we got it."