9.5 1522

Lawrence Hall Matheson chooses the wrong moment to check his pulse while jogging in a California "ecotone" - a cougar mauls him. Hospitalized following his seizure, an unconscious Nate dreams he returns home after he simply woke his asleep arm up and requested a divorce, while in reality Maggie struggles to answer medical questions and contact the family. David arrives only to learn that Anthony is terrified to be in a hospital, and Claire is accompanied the whole time by Ted, so she respects him despite the fact that he's Republican. The doctor, unfamiliar with Nate or the family, at first only manages to report redundant information, then finally concludes he should be fine, save some left-side weakness that therapy should eventually cure. Ruth doesn't have a cell phone so while everyone else awaits news of Nate, she is unaware of the situation and rejects Hiram, fantasizes revenge on all her boyfriends (and what her reaction would be to her husband), and after a long walk manages to start home via Chinese tour bus. Brenda guesses what "physical activity" caused Nate's heart to race just before his incident, and confronts him when he awakens, only to find her offer of forgiveness rejected: Nate says he's tired of fighting and is ready to give up on their relationship. When he and David fall asleep together, they both dream they're in the back of their father's VW bus smoking. A casual, relaxed David (Nate says he dreamed he was a whole other person) is surprised to see "what they've been waiting for" turns out to be the ocean, where Nate eagerly jumps in and encourages him to follow, though he's not as surprised as Nate and their father are that he balks and makes excuses about sharks. But David has to face the shock of his life when he wakes up.