The Planet.

Lara has arrived for work with a stone expression.  There is no emotion.  There is no anything.  There is only work.  While Kit is at home, dealing with morning sickness, Marina is there at The Planet, watching over everything.  Alice is there, though tired.  This would be the kind of day for Alice to spend much of her day in bed, updating her Chart database website.  Instead, she brings the laptop with her.  She waits.

East Los Angeles.

Mark has left his apartment for the morning and is on a mission as he drives his S.U.V. through the city. Having done so, he now finds himself pulling up to a house while looking at a sheet of paper with an address on it.  This has to be the place.

Inside her bedroom, Carmen is informed of having a visitor waiting outside.  Carmen looks outside and sees Mark, appearing to text.  Her cellphone vibrates and Carmen looks at it.  There is a text message from Mark, ”PLEASE COME OUTSIDE.”  Carmen sighs and throws on some pants to go with her shirt, exiting the room and then the house.

Mark ”There you are.”

She walks toward him, saying nothing at first until they are face to face.

Carmen ”Shane send you?”

Mark ”No.  I don’t even know where she is.  Seriously, I don’t know.  …What are you gonna do?”

Carmen ”What I’m doing now.  I’m staying home.”

Mark ”You’re not even gonna say goodbye to anybody?  And what about your stuff at the apartment?”

Carmen ”I don’t give a shit about that stuff.”

Mark ”Carmen, you’ve got your equipment there.”

Carmen ”I’ll get another set.”

Mark ”Everybody’s worried about you.”

Carmen ”Yeah.  I’m sure.  Everyone’s so busy in their lives, Mark.  They’ll all continue on like I never even existed.”

Mark ”Carmen, if that were true I wouldn’t be here.”

Carmen ”…”

Mark ”Look…if nothing else…just…come with me.  Ride around for a bit.  We can talk and…whatever ya want.”

Carmen ”…Fine.”

Mark opens the front passenger door for Carmen, who enters.  Mark walks around to the driver’s side door, entering the vehicle.  They are soon off for a drive.

Bette and Tina’s.

Bette has just finished a phone conversation as Tina feeds Angelica.

Tina ”What did she say?”

Recap.

For Bette and Tina, time has been hectic and disastrous for their relationship since bringing Angelica into the world.  Tina somehow managed to fall out of love, perhaps with some spite still being harbored with Bette focusing more on making sure she could be a legal adoptive parent to Angelica.  With both Bette and Tina dealing with their own feelings, goals, and wants, the relationship between them had fallen apart.  To make matters worse, Tina would wind up in a relationship with a man named Henry.  With Henry wanting to start a family with Tina, with Angelica getting to be his daughter, the tension would mount.  Joyce Wischnia would be brought in for the looming custody battle, but a short conversation between Joyce and Marina would change the tide of things between Bette and Tina, with Joyce agreeing with Bette to aim for shared custody of Angelica with Tina.  Instead of starting a war and kidnapping Angelica into the Canadian night, Bette would instead find herself with Tina, wanting to work things out as separated parents who love their child very much.  Bette would also find herself being there for an unlikely friend in need.

That friend would be Helena.  Leading up to Angelica’s birth, Helena and Bette were not exactly friends, but with the heartbreak of both Tina leaving her for Bette and also Leigh leaving her behind, Helena was left to deal with life alone.  She would befriend Alice, who was dealing with her own issues and through Alice would come to prove herself as a friend to the rest of the group, including Bette.  Things however would fall apart for Helena after purchasing Shaolin Studios and renaming it Peabody-Shaolin.  She would hire Tina, but would also find herself falling for a documentary filmmaker named Dylan, who as it turned out was scheming with her boyfriend, Danny.  This would result in a sexual harassment suit against Helena, breaking her heart and almost her spirit.  What was left of her spirit would become trampled in the wedding debacle in Canada, being cut off financially by her mother, Peggy afterwards.

The wedding debacle was supposed to be a wedding and celebration for Shane and Carmen, who had grown closer as a couple.  Then came Shane’s insecurities, part of which would involve Carmen’s close friendship with Lara.  Shane would eventually have a tryst with Cherie, a former love interest that was also doomed to fail.  Carmen would claim to have a revenge affair and given other events surrounding them would lead to more sadness.  Perhaps in an effort to save them from disaster, Shane would ask Carmen to marry her.  Eventually, Carmen would say yes and with Helena bankrolling the wedding in Canada, everything looked like Happily Ever After was finally going to start its way to being a thing for the couple.  Shane however would wind up meeting her birth father, Gabriel, or Gabe for short and would notice too many similarities, including the tendency to throw away good relationships, because that’s just who they are.  Shane would run away from the wedding, leaving Carmen to cry in the aisle.

Whistler.  Wedding Night.

Her name is Patty.  She is not Carla, but she is with Gabriel.  Shane is not happy with this as she is introduced.  Patty is then excused with Shane’s father explaining that this is how he is and that she knows what he is talking about.  It is the moment that changes Shane for the worst.  No one is there to talk her off the ledge her heart has suddenly found itself on.  The fear has set in for Shane.  It consumes her.  She does not want to hurt Carmen after she finally has her dream wedding.  Shane cannot help but consider that this is also who she is.  Perhaps it is her destiny.  No one is there to tell her otherwise.

The Wedding.

They all gather under this big tent with the Sun having set for the evening.  The Morales Family is there.  Kit and Angus are there.  Peggy and Helena are there, waiting.  Tonya, Mark, Marina, and Francesca are there, along with Claude whom Marina and Francesca have invited themselves.  Lara is there, seated quiet and alone.  There is a lot weighing on her mind at this moment.  She wants to scream.

Peggy sees Marilyn.  It is their first meeting since 1974.  They remember each other from long ago.  Back when Peggy, ”was a lesbian once in 1974.”  Tina and Henry are there with Bette soon arriving.

Bette ”Hi.”

Tina looks up at Bette and smiles.

Tina ”I got the fax.”

Bette ”Hi, Henry.”

Henry can only offer a meek grin.

Henry ”Bette.”

Tina ”Bette…I appreciate everything…and…yes, I agree.”

Bette’s smile widens.

Bette ”We will make this work out.  I’m going to take my seat now.”

Tina ”Okay.”

Bette sits across the aisle from Tina and Henry, choosing instead to sit beside Lara.

Bette ”Why are you over here alone?”

Lara ”I’m just…kind of lost in my thoughts right now.”

Bette ”I think we all are just a little bit.”

Lara looks at Bette.  She wants to scream.

Lara ”…You have no idea.”

Bette ”You’d be surprised.”

Lara ”I’m sorry, Bette…I just…I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

Bette ”I understand.  But it’s okay to talk to one of us…any of us, if you need to.  Okay?”

Whistler.  The day of the wedding.

The wedding itself will be later.  For now, there is skiing and snowboarding, or in the case of Gabriel and Carla McCutcheon, there is lounging.  Shane, Bette, Helena, and Tonya are gathered together, with Shane, Bette, and Helena preparing to go downhill on their weapons of choice as they see Gabriel and Carla seated, ready to watch everyone else.

Bette ”So aren’t you two gonna go skiing?”

Gabriel ”Never skied and I don’t think today is a good day to start.”

Helena ”Well, you could take a private lesson.”

Shane ”Yeah, that’s right, you should!”

Tonya ”I’m actually just going sight seeing with Mark.  You can come along if you’d like.”

Gabriel ”Nah, you go on.  We’re gonna hang out here.”

Shane, Bette, and Tonya leave for the slopes with Helena soon joining them after offering to help the McCutcheons anyway she can.

Inside the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Claude’s room is occupied by herself, along with Francesca and Marina.  Their day involves wine and book discussions.

For Alice and Lara, the zipline is where they go.

Alice ”So…whaddaya think?”

Lara ”Looks like fun.  I think we should do it.”

Alice ”Yeah?”

Lara ”I mean…unless you just wanna watch everyone else do it.  Including me.”

Alice ”Hanging on by a cable, flying through the air.  Eh…could be a nice rush.  Haven’t had one of those in a while.”

Soon, they are joined by another woman.

Marilyn ”Wow, it’s beautiful up here, isn’t it?”

Alice and Lara turn around to see her.

Marilyn ”Hi.  I’m Marilyn.”

Lara ”Hi, Marilyn.”

Alice ”Yeah, don’t mind us…we’re just tryin’ to figure out if Lara’s gonna go if we’re both gonna go.”

Marilyn ”I think you should both give it a go.  I’m gonna try it.”

Alice and Lara notice someone snowboarding on the hill.

Alice ”Hey look, there’s Shane!”

Lara ”I hope she doesn’t fall.  She could look kind of awkward walking down the aisle with a leg cast.”

Marilyn ”Wait…Shane?”

Alice ”Oh my God, don’t tell me you know her.”

Marilyn ”No…I’m marrying a Shane tonight.  I’m a Marriage Commissioner.  I perform wedding ceremonies, mostly same-sex couples.”

Lara ”You’re the one marrying Carmen and Shane tonight!”

Marilyn ”Nice to meet you.  I take it you’re friends with the happy couple?”

Whistler.

They arrive in a stretch sports utility vehicle limousine as only the Peabodys could.  Peggy and her daughter Helena are the first to exit.  Alice and Lara follow, along with Carmen, Shane, and Mark.

Mark ”This.  This is niiiice.”

Helena ”Isn’t it?”

Shane ”Look at this place.”

Carmen ”…Isn’t it amazing???”

Alice ”Here comes the bride.”

Everyone is all smiles as Shane and Carmen walk together, their arms wrapped around one another.

They arrive in the lobby of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler to see Carmen’s family waiting.  Carmen’s mother, Mercedes is there to greet her with a hug.

Mercedes ”My baby is getting married!”

With Helena being introduced as the one responsible for flying them out and paying for their rooms, the Morales family offer a group hug to Helena with Peggy looking over at Alice, Lara, and Mark.

Peggy ”I guess it grows on trees.”

Lara ”That’s the most Carmen has smiled in a long time.”

Mark ”You noticed that, too huh?”

Shane is congratulated by Mercedes and the Morales family begin to shuffle Carmen away under the rule of, ”no seeing the bride before the wedding.”  As they are about to exit, they are met by Lara.

Lara ”Wait, where are you going again?”

Carmen ”Sight seeing at one of the other villages.  ’Can’t see the bride.’”

Mercedes ”Which friend are you?”

Lara ”I’m Lara.”

Mercedes looks at Carmen.

Mercedes ”Ohhhhhhh…  Así que esta es ella. Usted tiene razón, ella es muy hermosa.”

Lara grins, almost blushing.  She then looks at Carmen.

Lara ”Usted ha dicho que hay de mi?”

Carmen ”Um…haha…  Mother…Lara can speak Spanish.”

Lara ”Si.  Gracias.”

Mercedes smiles.  The family walks off with Carmen with Lara overhearing Mercedes ask, ”Y ella puede cocinar, también?”

Alice ”I didn’t know you could speak Spanish.”

Also arriving at Whistler are Bette and Tina with baby Angelica, Henry, Marina, Francesca, Tonya, Kit, and Angus.  It is a day of skiing and snowboarding, as well as taking in the sights of the snow covered hills.

For Marina and Francesca, it is less about the skiing and more about the sights.

Marina ”It’s so nice here this time of year.”

Francesca ”It is.  It’s been a while since we’ve been here.  We should probably try the actual skiing sometime.”