Cut to a security check near the hospital entrance. A guy with a suit bag slung over his shoulder rushes through the metal detector, sets it off, and seems surprised when the guard pushes himself out of his chair and asks him to hold on a minute. The guard asks what's in the bag. Chip answers that it's just a change of clothes. As he unzips the bag, the guard asks if Chip minds him taking a look inside. He pulls out a huge set of foam bosoms and hands them to Chip, who stuffs them hurriedly in his pocket. Pangborn walks up just in time to see a handful of gold sequins and black marabou emerge from the bag. "That's fabulous," she notes. The guard pulls out a huge plastic sword and asks what it is. Chip explains that it's part of a Halloween costume and gripes impatiently, "Why don't you just call Frank Coones's office 'cause he's expecting me." Pangborn overhears this and tries very hard to remain expressionless. Chip snatches back the sword and snaps, "This is nothing! It's plastic. It's harmless!" He pokes the guard in the belly with it to demonstrate, which doesn't seem like the brightest idea in these times. Then he stomps indignantly in the direction of Coones's office.
Kellerman runs into Fishlips in the hallway, their earlier altercation seemingly nothing but a distant memory in both their minds. Kellerman absently notes, "Nice costume." His cell rings before Fishlips can finish informing him about her get-up's history, but that doesn't stop her from droning on nonetheless. Kellerman, meanwhile, is getting an earful of whine and petulance from his ex, because he's surely going to hit traffic and be late picking Mac up for trick-or-treating, and the kid had his heart on getting started as soon as it's dark, and he'll be irrevocably scarred if he starts a minute later. He asks where she is, and she answers that the kid just needed one more thing for his costume. The camera pans to the kid, and it's our first real look at Mac the Glass Boy. The kid has one of those bowl cuts sported by every "cute" kid on every TV show in the '80s, and he's dressed in a button-down oxford with a sweater vest. Someone needs to slip the stylist a calendar. The conversation ends with Pam's admonition to Kellerman not to be late. This show would be so much better if the writers would just give us a bit of foreshadowing now and then. I can't take the suspense.
Cut to Coones busting into his office and just about knocking over Chip, who's getting changed just inside the door. Chip's sporting a long black wig, and he holds up his Viking princess costume in front of himself while giving Coones the sassy three-pointed zig-zagging snap-down. People don't still do that. They don't. Or maybe they just know better than to do it within my sight line. Coones gives his princess a kiss. He tries to sound unruffled as he says that he thought they were going to get changed at Patrick's house. Chip explains that there's a glitch in the plan, so they have to get changed and just meet their friends "at the parade." Coones stammers that he'll get changed in the car. Chip shouts at him to "not start." Coones protests that he's not going to walk through his "place of work" in a dress. Chip grits that it's Halloween. Coones hems that he doesn't want to give his coworkers the wrong idea: "People here know that I'm gay, but they don't know me, and I don't want them thinking that I go home every night and wrap myself in a feather boa and flounce around to Streisand records." "You make that sound like it's a bad thing," Chip retorts, and I have to say, I really hope the writers didn't strain themselves too hard coming up with that. They need all the strength they have just to phone in the scripts. Coones convinces his boyfriend that they have to get ready on the way, or they'll be late.