In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole is the sixth episode of the first season and the 6th overall episode of Private Practice.
Short Summary[]
Charlotte seeks Pete's help in treating her insomnia, Naomi goes on her first date since college, Cooper suspects that his patient's injuries aren't an accident, and a patient asks Addison and Naomi to conceal her fertility from her husband.
Full Summary[]
Naomi is preparing for a date. She wants sexy, but not slutty and smart, but not boring. Addison says the outfit she’s wearing is a little “PTA mom bake sale.” Addison asks about the guy. Naomi says he asked her out on a date and she hasn’t been on a date since college. He could be a homeless troll and she’d love him. The doorbell rings and Naomi sends Addison to tell him she’ll be down soon.
Instead of Naomi’s date, Addison finds Pete at the door with a bottle of beer. He was playing poker with Cooper and Sam next door and he’s there to invite Addison to join them. She points out that he’s a bit drunk. He says she, too, could be drunk. She says he’s drunk and flirty and tells him to go away. She tries to shut the door, but he pushes it open, saying he could come in and they could get to know each other outside of work. He wants her to admit that she’s attracted to him, but she says she isn’t anymore. She says good night and shuts the door. Through the door, he says, “You’re attracted to me right now.” She opens the door, takes the bottle from his hands, and closes it again. Naomi comes downstairs, asking Addison what she did to Naomi’s date. Addison tells Naomi that it wasn’t her date, it was Addison’s “unsuitable, flirty, drunk, oh-so-attractive date.”
Dell is moving around the practice, setting thermostats, opening blinds, delivering charts, and cleaning up trash. He gets back to the reception desk just as Naomi and Sam enter the practice. He hands Naomi a coffee with an extra shot, since he knows she has a packed day. He gives her her files for the day and the crossword, on which he points out the answer to one of the clues. She thanks him and leaves. Sam, who witnessed the exchange, looks bewildered.
In the conference room, Violet asks Naomi how her date went. It didn’t go well. She’s out of practice and all she could talk about was her work. She suspects the guy thought she was trying to get a baby out of him. Addison says it’s not easing getting back out there. Violet interjects that she went on a date last week. The guy spent the whole night asking for advice. Addison wasn’t aware that Violet was dating and says everyone is dating except her.
Pete and Cooper come in and Pete says good morning to Addison. Naomi has Angie Paget and her husband, Ray coming in. Angie is ovulating, so the problem may be with Ray. She notes that Marilyn Sullivan is coming in, but Cooper corrects that it’s her daughter, Tess, who fell down and hurt her arm. Dell asks, “Again?” Sam says he’ll stop by as he has samples of a new MS med. Pete offers his help to all the other doctors as he makes eye contact with Addison. Addison offers the same, saying her schedule has all routine things. Naomi asks if Addison wants to help her get Angie pregnant. Cooper says he wishes that were as dirty as it sounded. Naomi says being able to make a couple happy is the good stuff. Addison says she’s in.
Cooper counts to three before reducing Tess’s arm fracture. As he begins casting, he asks her how it happened. She says she missed the curb while walking home. Marilyn says Tess reads while she’s walking and almost wandered into traffic once. Tess shoots back that Marilyn reads at the movies, but Marilyn defends that she only reads at the ones Tess drags her to. Cooper notices another bruise just above Tess’s elbow. He says reading is good and walking is good, but doing both at the same time is bad.
Sam comes in for Marilyn. She calls him a brilliant writer, but he counters that her piece in The Times Magazine was great. She says sitting all day gives her a lot of time to think. They leave the room together. With her mother now gone, Cooper asks Tess about her home life as he continues casting her arm. He asks if it’s still just the two of them. Tess sarcastically replies, “No, Mom does a lot of dating, ‘cause guys dig MS.” He says the bruise on her arm looks like someone grabbed her hard. He says if something’s wrong, he might be able to help. She says she just sucks at walking.
Naomi gives Angie the news that she is fertile and has plenty of viable eggs left. Ray asks if that means he’s the reason why they can’t have a baby. Naomi says not to jump to any conclusions, but they’ll run some tests on him. She gives him a cup to provide a sperm sample.
Charlotte King steps off the elevator. She asks Dell if Sam is in. Dell says he’s busy with a patient. She asks Dell to call him, but can’t come up with the word intercom. Dell fills it in for her and asks if it’s urgent. She says, “Does it not look urgent?” She walked there and it’s urgent hospital business. Dell picks up the phone to call.
Sam says he doesn’t think Charlotte can count insomnia as hospital business as he exams her. She says she’s had three hours of sleep in the last three days. The hospital wouldn’t run without her, but she thinks he doesn’t care about that. She has aphasia, which Sam says comes from the sleep deprivation. She says she can’t do her job if she can’t make, but she struggles to complete her thought. Sam fills in “words” for her. He asks if she has shortness of breath when she lies down or chest pain. She says no to both. She’s run all the tests on herself and it’s all normal, but she’s getting worse. She parked her car somewhere yesterday and can’t find it. He says he can prescribe a sleep aid, but she says pills don’t work for her. He says there are new options, but she reiterates no pills. She says she had a little problem. He asks what kind and she says the kind she’s not talking about anymore. She asks if he can help or not. He suggests they go the alternative route, which means Pete. She agrees, but still calls Pete a “quack.”
Addison says she doesn’t want to date. Well, she does, but she wants someone real, someone who wants a future. Addison asks if that’s desperate, but Naomi says it’s focused. She says Naomi and Violet are out there looking for what they want, so maybe she should be, too.
Angie comes up behind them. Addison says Ray is still up at the lab, but his tests are viable. Naomi says there’s no reason why the two of them can’t get pregnant. Angie is disappointed and says that when Ray gets back, they need to tell him he’s infertile. Addison is confused. Angie says they have to tell him it’s his fault they can’t get pregnant.
Addison asks Angie is she’s been lying to her husband about trying to get pregnant. She says not exactly. She was on the pill for years and now has a cervical cap. Naomi says that is lying. Angie says she has her reasons. Naomi asks what the reasons are. Angie says she just doesn’t want to have kids. Ray comes from a big family and he loves kids. He’s a good man who loves her, so she can’t tell him she doesn’t want to have babies with him. Addison says they can’t lie to him about his test results. When Angie asks what she should do, Naomi suggests that she talk to Ray about it. Angie says it’s more complicated than it sounds, but Naomi says the lie is far worse than the truth. Angie says it isn’t. Ray comes in and asks what’s next. Angie says now they go home and keep trying. They leave. Addison and Naomi are astonished.
As he puts magnets on her face, Charlotte tells Pete that she always thought sleep was for the weak. He asks her to put her phone away, but she says she can’t just lie there. He says insomnia isn’t caused by how you sleep, but how you live and the phone isn’t helping, so he snatches it away from her. She says it’s hard to relax when he sticking quarters on her face. He says he’s using magnets to stimulate the sleep center of her brain. She asks him why he ditched the good stuff for magic and voodoo. He says what does IS the good stuff. He tucks her in and leaves her with a sleep noise machine and a dark room.
Violet enters her office and shoos Cooper out. He says he’s reviewing Tess’s medical records. She had a humerus fracture when she was younger and they said it was from a fall, but she had a spiral fracture as he suspected, meaning her arm was twisted. He has the records from before they transferred to the practice and there are multiple falls and accidents. Violet says if there’s abuse, it’s usually the adult in the house. He questions that because everyone loves Marilyn, including her daughter. Violet says that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Now he has to call CPS.
Pete checks on Charlotte, who is still not sleeping and asks him if he does alternative medicine because he’s afraid of killing people. The thought came to her while she was lying there. He tells her it’s almost 6, so he’s sending her home with a CD he wants her to try before reporting back to him. She walks out with the magnets still attached to her face.
Sam denies the possibility that Marilyn could be abusing Tess. He suggests it’s someone at school, but Cooper checked into that. Sam says Marilyn is a decent person who is handling her disease well despite being two years away from a wheelchair. He says Cooper can’t do it on a hunch. Cooper asks what happens next time, when Tess ends up in the hospital. Sam says you don’t just mess in people’s lives and Cooper needs to be sure. Cooper leaves.
Dell is opening up the practice again. He finds Cooper already in his office, poring over medical records. Cooper starts to make a call, but stops. Then he starts again and goes through with it.
Addison gets off the elevator and is greeted by Naomi, who tells her that Angie is back. Addison asks what she should do and Naomi says they’ll throw her ass out of their practice. Dell gives Naomi her files and coffee and takes her coat and purse before also taking Addison’s.
Naomi and Addison approach Angie, who looked Addison up and found out she’s a genetic specialist. Angie says she thought about what they said about it being better to know the truth. Naomi asks if that means she’s decided to tell her husband she doesn’t want kids. But she says no. Naomi says she doesn’t think they can help her there, but Angie says they have to and she has to know the truth. When Addison asks about what, Angie says she needs to know whether or not she’s dying.
Angie might be a carrier for Huntington’s Disease. She describes the degeneration that comes with it and tells them that her mom and her grandmother had it. Addison says that since her mom had it, Angie has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene. And Angie continues that if she inherited the gene, she has a 100% chance of dying from the disease. She hasn’t been tested because she just wanted to live her life, but then she met Ray. Naomi correctly assumes that Ray doesn’t know that Angie might have Huntington’s. She just through Ray would be a short thing, but then they were in love and she had waited too long to tell him. But now he wants to have children, but she can’t have a baby knowing she could pass the gene on or if she’s going to die. She tells them that she and Ray were watching TV in bed last night and he was thinking of baby names. It hurt her heart to listen to him because she wants to participate in that joy and grow old with him and their kids and grandkids and she thought that maybe she doesn’t have the gene, which is why she’s there to get tested because knowing the truth is better than hiding from it.
Charlotte is in the kitchenette at the practice, looking through the fridge, noting the expired food. As she goes to throw out a carton of noodles, Cooper tries to stop her, saying that noodles don’t go bad. Addison comes in and asks what Charlotte is doing there. He says she’s throwing away people’s noodles. Charlotte corrects that she’s there because she can’t fall asleep to the CD Pete gave her, which she calls a “medley of Druid mating rituals.” Naomi takes the food container out of Charlotte’s hands and asks her to keep her hands of Naomi’s food.
Violet comes in and asks Cooper if he made the call. He tells her that he did. Naomi tells Violet that they might need her to talk to Angie. Violet asks if she’s still lying to her husband, but Addison says it’s more complicated than that and says she might have a terminal illness. Addison’s about to draw her blood. She says Angie had a great husband and wants kids and she’s living the dream, but Violet says not everybody has that dream. Cooper informs Addison that Violet doesn’t believe in children. She acknowledges they exist because they scream in her restaurants, but that’s it. Naomi says she was like that before Maya. Addison asks if Violet really doesn’t want kids and she says not everyone is cut out for parenthood. She says it’s incredibly hard for women to admit that they don’t want kids and Charlotte says, “Because they’re basically admitting they’re men?” Violet says no, it’s not a disease. Women can be alone and fulfilled. Charlotte challenges her to say that like she means it. Violet asks why Charlotte’s not sleeping. Sam, who just entered, says Pete’s working on it. Dell knocks and says Angie’s set up in exam room two and that the Sullivans are back and they’re very angry. Sam tells Cooper that he asks Cooper to wait. Dell says Cooper did the right thing, but Sam says they don’t know that.
Marilyn is telling them that there’s a social worker in their home.
Cooper says once he suspects abuse, he is legally obligated to call the authorities. Tess interjects that Cooper is wrong.
Marilyn asks Sam if Cooper thinks that she, a handicapped woman, beats her daughter with her cane? Sam says Cooper was just worried.
Cooper tells Tess he knows she didn’t fall off a curb. Tess says she helps her mom when her disease flares up. She says her mom fell down, grabbed her arm, and it got tweaked.
Marilyn tells Sam the same story. Sam asks why they didn’t just say that that was what happened in the first place. She says people like Dr. Freedman just get the wrong idea.
Cooper asks Tess if that’s happened before, people getting the wrong idea about them. He points out that she’s had a lot of injuries. Tess says her mom has MS, so falls happen. She insists that her mom would never hurt her on purpose.
Marilyn tells Sam that Tess is her whole world and she’d never hurt Tess on purpose. She says Tess is her whole world and if they take her … Sam says he believes Marilyn.
Tess tells Cooper that if they take her away from her mom, she won’t forgive him.
As Addison is drawing her blood, Angie says she likes the name Margaret for a girl. They’d call her Maggie or Meg. She likes Henry for a boy. Addison says that if the tests come back positive, she’ll have to tell Ray. She asks Addison if she has any children. Addison says she doesn’t and Angie says Addison wants them. Addison confirms that she does. Angie asks if Addison has thought of baby names. Addison likes the name Carson because it works for either sex.
Naomi comes in to Sam’s office and tells him not to piss Dell off. Sam says Dell was weighing in on a case and that’s overstepping his bounds. Naomi says they need Dell there to keep the practice running. Sam asks if that’s all she needs Dell for. Naomi figures out that Sam heard that she’s dating and now he’s taking it out on Dell. He denies it, but says there’s a thing between her and Dell. She denies that, but admits that she likes that a cute boy thinks she’s pretty, but he’s a child, so she could never take it seriously. She tells him to leave it alone.
Pete is outside his office looking in. Addison asks if he shouldn’t be inside working. He shushes her, saying “it” might be asleep. She questions that and starts laughing. Pete asks if she’s enjoying seem him be tortured. She admits that it’s satisfying. She asks why Pete came over to her house. He says he thought they could have fun. She says she’s not looking for fun. Pete tells her that Sam told him that Addison’s the marrying kind of woman, which she says she is. He says he was married and he doesn’t plan on going down that road again, so he’s here if she wants fun, but that’s it. She moves to walk away. He says her name, but then they hear a muffled voice saying it’s not working and she’s not sleeping. Addison says that’s still satisfying and tells Pete to go make “It” sleep. He enters his office.
A social worker tells Cooper he’ll be expected to testify. The hearing is tomorrow. They move fast because they have to. She says if the judge decides that the home environment isn’t safe for Tess, she’ll be immediately taken into foster care.
To be continued…
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery
- Tim Daly as Dr. Pete Wilder
- Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett
- Paul Adelstein as Dr. Cooper Freedman
- KaDee Strickland as Dr. Charlotte King
- Chris Lowell as Dell Parker
- Taye Diggs as Dr. Sam Bennett
- Amy Brenneman as Dr. Violet Turner
Guest Stars[]
- Kimberly Elise as Angie Paget
- Valerie Mahaffey as Marilyn Sullivan
- Holliston Coleman as Tess Sullivan
- Corey Reynolds as Ray Paget
Co-Starring[]
Medical Notes[]
Angie Paget[]
- Diagnosis:
- Huntington's disease
- Doctors:
- Naomi Bennett (reproductive endocrinologist)
- Addison Forbes Montgomery (OB/GYN and medical geneticist)
- Violet Turner (psychiatrist)
- Treatment:
- Genetic testing
- Assisted reproduction
Angie had been tested for infertility and was found to be ovulating. She then confessed that she had been on birth control because her mother and grandmother had had Huntington's disease. She came to Addison to get tested to see if she had the condition herself. They asked Violet to speak to her. When her test came back positive, they talked to her about her options. Angie and her husband later came back to ask Naomi to help them get pregnant quickly, so they could have a baby together in the time Angie had left.
Tess Sullivan[]
- Diagnosis:
- Broken wrist
- Doctors:
- Cooper Freedman (pediatrician)
- Treatment:
- Casting
Tess came into the practice with a broken wrist. Cooper reduced it and casted it. While he was examining her, he noticed a bruise which looked like someone had grabbed her. She'd previously had a spiral fracture to her humerus as well as a history of falls. He suspected that her mother was abusing her, so he called child protective services. Tess and Marilyn came in the next day and denied the claims, but she later admitted that her mother did hit her.
Marilyn Sullivan[]
- Diagnosis:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Doctors:
- Sam Bennett (internist)
- Treatment:
- Medication
Marilyn had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. When she came in with her daughter, Sam gave her some new MS meds to try.
Charlotte King[]
- Diagnosis:
- Insomnia
- Doctors:
- Sam Bennett (internist)
- Pete Wilder (alternative medicine specialist)
- Violet Turner (psychiatrist)
- Treatment:
- Magnet therapy
- Acupuncture
- Pressure points
- Massage
- Melatonin supplements
- Aromatherapy
- Sound therapy
- Talk therapy
- Ayurvedic sleep remedy
Charlotte came into the practice after getting only three hours of sleep in the last three days. Sam examined her and then sent her to Pete when she refused to try a sleep aid. Pete took away her phone, applied magnets to her face and chest to stimulate her sleep center, tucked her in, and turned out he lights. When he came back, she was still awake, so he sent her home with music and meditation and told her to report back the next day. She came back in the next morning still without sleep. He tried several other options before asking Violet to talk to her. Violet said she had intimacy issues and told Pete to nurture her. He rubbed an ayurvedic sleep remedy into her scalp and she told Pete she doesn't have intimacy issues. They talked and she admitted that her family wasn't into displays of affection. He continued to rub her scalp and she fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, he offered her a tonic he mixed to help her fall asleep, but she refused it.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Turn My TV On" | Van Hunt |
|
| "Lord, How Long?" | Tom McRae |
|
| "All We Are" | Matt Nathanson |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode scored 11.21 million viewers.[1]
- Like all other episodes from the first season, this episode's title originated from the original Winnie the Pooh series.{{Source
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Quotes[]
- Pete: I have tried acupunucture, massage, pressure points, and I can tell it's not working because she's still bitching at me. Charlotte needs a shrink.
- Violet: Agreed. In more ways than one.
- Cooper: Violet doesn't believe in children. She acknowledges they exist, because they scream in her restaurants, but that's about it.
- Addison: I'm booked, but, you know, just all routine stuff.
- Naomi: Hey, you want to help me get Angie pregnant?
- Cooper: Man, I wish that was as dirty as it sounds.
See Also[]
|
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Private Practice Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else" | #04 | "In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get Together" | #07 | "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride" |
| #02 | "In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor" | #05 | "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead" | #08 | "In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm" |
| #03 | "In Which Addison Finds the Magic" | #06 | "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole" | #09 | "In Which Dell Finds His Fight" |
| << Grey's Anatomy, Season 3 | Season 2 >> | ||||