Desperate Housewives Episode 3.21 Into The Woods

Lynette and Rick are enjoying another intimate dinner after the pizzeria closes when two hold-up men come in and lock them in the freezer, where they huddle together to keep warm. Tom doesn't realize Lynette is missing until the next morning. He rushes to free Lynette and is dismayed to realize she's been locked up all night with Rick. The three of them review the surveillance tapes and the cop assigned to the case accidentally rewinds too far, so that Tom sees just how unbusinesslike these late-night dinners with Rick and his wife are.

Tom takes Rick out to lunch the next day and asks him pointblank if he's sleeping with Lynette. Rick says he's not and Tom assures him that even if he should catch Lynette in a weak moment, there's no point in pursuing a romance with her since she'd never leave her family.

That night, Rick tells Lynette of Tom's suspicions and she breaks down, saying that she loved having these evenings to look forward to where she could feel sexy again, even though she never meant for it to go any farther. She tells him that's all ruined now and that he simply has to go.

She lies to Tom that Rick gave notice because he got a better offer elsewhere. She goes into the bathroom to get ready and he tells her that he's ready to come back to the restaurant. He says how excited he is that they'll be a team again and how much he's missed her. "I missed you too," she says, as she lets the sound of running water cover her sobs.

Travers' two-week visit with Edie is up and his father, Charles, has come to take him home. Carlos lets it be known to Edie that he's not going to be around as much without Travers there, so she tells Charles she's filing for joint custody. Realizing that she's doing this because of him, Carlos points out that Travers' needs should come first and being split between two different schools and sets of friends will be rough. He promises to be there for Edie, even when Travers isn't around. Edie asks him if he's sure and he says he is and they both admit they miss Travers.

Gabrielle is annoyed to get a parking ticket from a meter man even though she told him she was about to leave. And to top it off, after hearing her tell Vern how Victor gave her $3,000 to buy a dress for his victory party, the meter man calls Gaby a "spoiled bitch" and tells her to let the sap who bought her the expensive dress pay the ticket for her.

Victor wins the election and a friend tells Gaby that the former mayor's wife never had to pay her parking tickets: She simply handed them over to her husband, who made them disappear.

The next day, Gabrielle is out with Vern again, celebrating her new status as "First Lady of Fairview," when she spies the same meter man from the day before. She deliberately parks in front of a fire hydrant and tells him there's nothing he can do about it. He writes her a ticket and she tears it up and things escalate from there, with her finally ending up in the back of a police car.

Victor's position as mayor-elect means that he is indeed able to spring her from jail and have all the charges dropped, but before she explain her side of the story, he icily informs her that he expects more from his wife. He tells her she needs to act like a grown-up and not do things such as jump on him like she did on election night when he won. Shaken, she promises it'll never happen again. But then he catches sight of her bruised wrist and she says that the meter man twisted her arm. Later, as Victor and Gaby dance happily at his victory party, two men accost the meter man and savagely beat him. "Do you know how much I love you?" Victor asks.

Susan gets Carlos to disclose where Mike's disappeared to: hiking the hot springs at the local state forest. She arrives at the ranger's station and is informed that it's a two-day hike to the hot springs and that she can't possibly make it without the proper equipment. Not alone, at any rate, which is why they assign her a guide, the no-nonsense Toni. Susan explains her whole complicated love life to Toni as they hike, even though she is clearly less than sympathetic. After listening to Susan's story, Toni concludes that the problem in her relationship with Mike was Susan herself, and her constant need to create drama. So even if Mike takes her back it won't last long, Toni asserts as they make camp for the evening.

Stung by her criticism, Susan decides to find Mike on her own. Of course she gets hopelessly lost. Before she beds down for the night, she leaves Mike a message on his voicemail saying she's always loved him and how sorry she is. And that she doesn't want any more drama. Mike, having overheard the park rangers hunting for a "missing, klutzy brunette" finds her the next morning. "I sprained my ankle," she tells him and he says, "Good. It gives me a chance to do this." And he takes her in his arms and kisses her.