Chapter Summaries

At Beatrice’s hospital bedside, Sheldon’s blunt wish that Emilia become Wonder Woman upset the family before Missy explained what he meant. Beatrice comforted Sheldon and Emilia about death, the children cried together, and Adam helped everyone prepare for Emilia’s birthday party, though Sheldon ended by restarting his superhero debate.

• Mary scolded Sheldon for hurting Beatrice and Emilia, while Missy explained that he meant Wonder Woman as a compliment.
• Beatrice accepted Sheldon’s blessing and told him she was going to die, then urged him and Emilia to be happy.
• Sheldon imagined Mary dying and cried; Emilia joined him, and their mothers comforted them.
• Sheldon’s Grandma arrived, and Georgie Jr. reminded everyone that it was Emilia’s birthday party.
• Adam calmed the children and suggested the family attend the party, but Sheldon stopped them to continue comparing Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel.

At the medical center, Adam coaxed Sheldon into attending the party by promising a Best Smile Award and a Thomas the Tank Engine prize. After Sheldon won the toy, he argued with Paige and demanded Adam take his side, leaving Sheldon to consider a third option when Adam threatened to revoke the prize.

• Adam stopped Sheldon from talking and encouraged him to email his analysis to everyone, while Sheldon insisted he still needed Emilia's and Aunt Beatrice's email addresses.
• Sheldon asked Mary if he could leave, but Adam persuaded him to stay by promising a Best Smile Award with a Thomas the Tank Engine as the prize.
• At the party, Adam danced with Paige, Missy, and Emilia while Sheldon held an unnerving smile until Adam gave him the toy Lisa had bought.
• Sheldon complained that Paige had insulted his intelligence by dismissing his plan to visit the Comic Book Store, then demanded Adam support him.
• Adam sided with Paige and threatened to take back Sheldon's award and toy, so Sheldon reluctantly suggested there might be a third option.

At the medical center, Adam and Paige challenged Sheldon to a chess game, and Adam defeated him after Paige encouraged him to play. The chapter ended with Sheldon crying out in disbelief while Adam and Paige celebrated.

• Sheldon happily accepted the Thomas the Tank Engine toy at the birthday party and later lost another chess game to Paige.
• Paige proposed that Sheldon and Adam play chess, with the winner earning another game against her.
• After Paige whispered a promise to Adam, he eagerly agreed to face Sheldon.
• Adam and Paige formed a starry chessboard with their souls, and Adam caught Sheldon off guard with his improved skills.
• Adam defeated Sheldon, who cried out in disbelief as Adam laughed and Paige giggled.

Adam defeated Sheldon at chess and, encouraged by Paige’s promise of more rewards, challenged him to keep playing through the night. While they began a series of intense matches, Missy noticed Paige’s skin had improved over the years, prompting Paige to realize it had been getting better since she turned eighteen and to wonder whether Adam was connected.

• Adam beat Sheldon at chess, and Paige praised him and confirmed her promised reward.
• Sheldon protested that Adam’s win did not count, but Paige encouraged Adam to play again with the promise that rewards would stack.
• Adam and Sheldon agreed to play a best-of-nine series and began a rapid, fiercely competitive match as Missy arrived.
• Missy tried to reconnect with Paige and remarked that her skin looked better than it had when she was a child.
• Paige realized her skin had been improving since she turned eighteen, glanced at Adam, and fell into thought.

Adam defeated Sheldon at chess again, causing Sheldon to lose his composure and brood over Adam as a rival for the future title of first man to immigrate to Mars. Sheldon remained convinced that he could have reached Mars already if technology had kept pace with his calculations.

• Adam held off Sheldon's attack, announced a forced checkmate, and won when Sheldon flipped the chessboard in frustration.
• Adam reset the board and challenged Sheldon to continue, but Paige said Sheldon had lost his fighting spirit, so Adam left with her.
• Missy found Sheldon sitting blankly in the ward, where he lamented that Adam had surpassed him at chess and might beat him to Mars.
• Sheldon said he had to compete with Adam for the title of first man to immigrate to Mars, while Mary insisted no one would go there.
• Missy told Emilia about Sheldon entering high school at nine and challenging a NASA scientist, leaving Emilia impressed by her cousin.

Sheldon struggled to accept that Adam and Paige were as intelligent as he was, while Paige noticed that her skin had grown younger since reconnecting with Adam. Adam realized his presence had similar effects on women close to him, then tried to keep Paige awake by telling her a myth, but she turned it into a discussion of gravity.

• Emilia proudly called Sheldon a rocket scientist, and Sheldon objected that he studied theoretical physics.
• Mary and Missy reassured and teased Sheldon about having friends as smart as or smarter than him, and he gradually recovered.
• Paige asked Adam why her skin had improved since she met him again, and Adam realized Heather and other close female friends had experienced similar changes.
• Adam reasoned that his influence kept the women youthful rather than reversing their aging completely, and he resolved to be more careful with bedroom banter.
• When Paige tried to sleep, Adam told her the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl story, but Paige focused on the myth's time difference and calculated that it would require a planet with the gravity of a neutron star or black hole.

Adam treated a critically ill premature newborn abandoned in a school dumpster and helped Dr. Montgomery question four students about the baby’s mother. He identified Shannon as the likely mother, but she denied it and her mother demanded proof.

• Adam learned that Meredith and George had attended the dance, where George danced with Callie Torres and Meredith went with Finn.
• Adam treated a premature newborn with internal bleeding and learned the baby’s mother needed to be found to test for platelet antibodies.
• Dr. Montgomery questioned four schoolgirls whose parents had brought them to the hospital, but none admitted knowing about the baby.
• Adam used the girls’ reactions to identify Shannon as the likely mother and warned that the baby could die without timely treatment.
• Shannon denied abandoning the baby, while her mother defended her and threatened to sue Adam unless he provided evidence.

Adam exposed evidence that Shannon had given birth, prompting her to admit what she had done and undergo testing to help save the baby. As Adam left, he overheard Shannon pressuring her adoptive mother to contact her biological parents and exploit them for money.

• Adam pointed out bloodstains inside Shannon's shoes, and the other girls' parents recognized them as evidence that she had given birth.
• Dr. Montgomery warned Shannon that an emergency examination could be ordered, and Shannon slapped herself twice before tearfully admitting what she had done.
• Adam realized the other three girls had stayed silent because they feared Shannon, whom he recognized as their hidden ringleader.
• Dr. Montgomery took Shannon for testing while the other three girls left with their parents, and Shannon's adoptive mother stayed behind.
• Adam overheard Shannon tell her adoptive mother to hire a lawyer and threaten to exploit or even kill her biological parents for their wealth.

Adam reflected on the abandoned baby’s uncertain future and arranged for his security team to monitor Shannon. At the hospital, Dr. Bailey confronted the staff over underwear pinned to the notice board, and Adam revealed that Dr. Montgomery had washed it for Meredith.

• Adam worried that the abandoned baby might be returned to Shannon or her adoptive mother and decided not to pursue custody himself.
• Adam passed Shannon’s information to his security department and ordered them to watch for threats.
• Dr. Bailey demanded to know whose underwear had been pinned to the surgical notice board and suspected her interns.
• Callie Torres took down the underwear, sparing Meredith and Cristina from having to explain it.
• Adam told Meredith that Dr. Montgomery had washed the underwear, making Meredith realize how embarrassing the situation was.

Adam and the surgical team treated fourteen-year-old Harry Hernandez after a sledding accident left him impaled by a tree branch. Harry survived the long operation but lost a kidney and much of his intestines, while his father blamed himself for failing to stop him from sledding.

• George awkwardly denied being jealous of Dr. Torres, and Adam joked that it was normal for George to like her.
• Paramedic Jill brought Harry Hernandez to the hospital after he was thrown into a tree and impaled by a thick branch.
• Adam, Dr. Burke, Richard, and the surgical team operated on Harry, controlling severe bleeding and carefully removing the branch.
• Harry survived after losing a kidney and a large section of his intestines.
• Harry's father confessed to Adam and Dr. Burke that he regretted buying Harry the sled and failing to set limits after their divorce.

Adam explained that Lily was upset because she had given up her dream of becoming an artist, and Marshall supported her while she explored new careers. After several short-lived attempts, Lily became covered in red bumps while working as a beekeeper, and Adam examined her at the Medical Center.

• Marshall told Adam that Lily had been unhappy since painting their wedding scene and asked whether she no longer wanted to marry him.
• Adam explained that Lily had feared marriage and children would end her chance to pursue art, but an assessment showed she lacked the talent to make painting a career.
• Adam urged Marshall to be patient, and Marshall reassured Lily that she could choose what to do with her life.
• Lily tried life coaching and working as an aquarium guide, then moved on to other possible careers.
• Lily developed red bumps while working as a beekeeper, so Marshall brought her to Adam at the Medical Center.
• Adam examined Lily and assured her and Marshall that her condition was not serious.

Adam treated Lily’s bee stings as she and Marshall celebrated her renewed commitment to their upcoming wedding. Robin arrived at the medical center, and Lily began telling her about what had happened while Adam and Robin exchanged an awkward greeting.

• Adam cleaned Lily’s bee stings while teasing her and Marshall about their affection.
• Marshall reflected on how Lily had let go of her unrealistic dreams and looked forward to their wedding a month away.
• Adam told Lily and Marshall about the romance in The Condor Heroes and concealed a plot detail he thought Marshall would dislike.
• Lily and Marshall asked Adam to tell them the whole story at the bar that night.
• Robin arrived, greeted Lily, and asked whether she had been pursuing her strange dreams again.
• Lily told Robin that this had been her last attempt and that she was happy despite getting stung, while Marshall teased Adam with his eyebrows.

Robin said goodbye to Adam before leaving New York to pursue her reporting career abroad. Adam and Lily discussed how he had helped her get the opportunity, and Ted learned she had left.

• Robin confronted Adam, bit his neck, and accused him of helping secure her promotion before leaving in a taxi.
• Robin wished that Adam would become a worried father to a daughter, then gave him the middle finger as she departed.
• Lily noticed Robin's bite mark on Adam and learned that Robin might not return to New York.
• Adam explained that he had helped Robin pursue her career and argued that her ambitions mattered more to her than romance.
• Ted arrived, and Lily told him that Robin had left.

Ted learned that Dating End Station had found his soulmate, and Adam discovered that his uncle Bell Duncan ran the service. Lily explained that her former fiancé Scooter had become friends with Bell after they met during a trip to arrange her wedding dress.

• Ted told Adam and Lily that he and Erica had mutually ended their relationship face-to-face, and Adam accepted the breakup.
• Bell Duncan called Ted to say Dating End Station had found his soulmate and asked him to come in.
• Adam recognized Bell's name and revealed that Bell was his uncle, while Lily admitted she knew him too.
• Lily explained that Scooter had planned to propose with a ring and a custom wedding dress, but she had turned him down because she loved Marshall.
• Lily said Scooter and his friends had become friends with Bell after meeting him on their trip to Chicago.

Adam, Ted, Marshall, and Lily visited Dating End Station, where Adam’s uncle Bell Duncan had become a matchmaker after his company acquired the business. Bell found Ted a promising match named Anna Taylor and arranged for them to meet at Friends Bar the next evening.

• Bell Duncan greeted Adam and recognized Lily, then explained that his company had acquired Dating End Station and sent him to run it.
• Bell offered Ted a profile of his perfect match for five hundred dollars, and Ted agreed to pay after Lily and Marshall saw how well she suited him.
• Adam arranged for Ted’s date with Anna Taylor to take place at Friends Bar the next evening.
• Ted saw Anna’s photograph and repeated her name, eager to meet her.

Ted met his perfect match, Anna Taylor, at Friends Bar while Adam, Marshall, and Lily watched from afar. Barney tried to interrupt their date, but the bar’s security guard turned him away because he had been blacklisted.

• Adam told Marshall and Lily the story of The Condor Heroes while they waited with Ted at Friends Bar.
• Anna Taylor arrived, and Ted and Anna began chatting and laughing over their shared interests.
• Adam read their lips and learned that Anna was an elementary school teacher in town.
• Barney approached Friends Bar, intending to disrupt Ted and Anna’s date.
• The security guard refused Barney’s bribes, grabbed him when he tried to force his way inside, and threw him out.
• Marshall realized Adam had blacklisted Barney, and Lily praised Adam for keeping him away.

Adam watched Dr. Montgomery begin a new life after divorcing Dr. Shepherd, then saw Meredith juggle romantic attention from both Dr. Shepherd and Finn. Meredith decided to date both men until she could choose, leaving Cristina and Adam stunned.

• Adam learned that Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Shepherd had divorced, and Dr. Montgomery hid a hickey from Mark Sloan.
• Adam saw Meredith flirt with Dr. Shepherd and arrange a dinner date with him.
• Finn arrived with coffee cake and invited Meredith to dinner, but she agreed to have lunch with him instead.
• Meredith told Adam and Cristina that Finn knew about Dr. Shepherd and that she planned to date both men while deciding between them.
• Adam called Meredith's plan the worst smear against surgeons ever.

Dr. Duncan treated Megan Clover, a young girl whose injuries revealed that she could not feel pain and had internal bleeding. Megan feared her adoptive parents would send her back, but they reassured her that she was their daughter and agreed to her emergency surgery.

• Dr. Duncan examined Megan Clover after her adoptive parents brought her to the emergency department for a deep leg wound.
• Megan revealed that she could not feel pain and had stapled a wound on her arm herself.
• Dr. Duncan discovered severe bruising on Megan’s abdomen and rushed her to the CT Room, where a scan confirmed internal bleeding.
• Dr. Duncan told Megan’s parents she might have Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and said she needed surgery immediately.
• Megan tried to flee because she feared surgery costs would make her adoptive parents send her back, but they embraced her and promised she would remain their daughter.

Adam successfully operated on Megan after she was badly beaten while protecting other girls from bullies. He advised her adoptive parents about protecting her from her Pain-Immunity Syndrome and arranged for Sheldon to become her friend so she could learn his cautious habits.

• Adam told Carter that Megan had asked the boys to hit her so she could protect another girl from bullying.
• Adam successfully treated Megan's injuries and carefully closed her wounds.
• Adam warned Megan's adoptive parents that her Pain-Immunity Syndrome required constant vigilance and self-protection.
• Adam persuaded Megan's parents to let him introduce Sheldon to Megan as a friend who could teach her caution.
• After Megan woke, Adam told her she and Sheldon could bond over comics and superheroes, and she asked whether Sheldon would want to be her friend.

Adam persuaded Sheldon Cooper to mentor six-year-old Megan Clover, whose Pain-Immunity Syndrome left her unable to feel pain and prone to injury. Sheldon accepted the role of Professor Cooper and agreed to create a schedule and supervision agreement, with Megan’s adoptive parents promising to help enforce it.

• Sheldon initially refused to befriend Megan, but Adam reminded him that Professor X would help a child who had awakened superpowers.
• Sheldon agreed to help Megan and introduced himself as Chewing Man, while Megan called herself Pain-Immunity Girl and accepted him as her professor.
• Adam asked Sheldon to review information about Megan’s condition and prepare a daily schedule and supervision agreement; Sheldon eagerly accepted the task.
• Adam reassured Megan’s adoptive parents that Sheldon’s rules would help her develop self-protective habits, and they agreed to enforce the schedule.
• Megan and Sheldon chatted happily as their families watched with relief.