Private Practice Episode 2.04 Past Tense

A weekend conference has Addison, Pete, Cooper and Violet conspiring to bring Naomi and Sam together in order to fix the practice.

As her romance with Kevin progresses, Addison seeks Violet's advice on setting rules; in the past, she's slept with men too early in the relationship, and doesn't want to make that mistake again.

The gang confronts Sam and Naomi, informing them that their morning appointments have been cancelled and they are to remain in the conference room together for as long as it takes to remember why they started the practice in the first place. After only a short time, they emerge to announce they've agreed an office-wide vote shall determine which of them will run the practice.

Cooper meets Braden, a young boy who stopped speaking at age four, and who has been unresponsive to autism therapies. The boy's mother remarks how familiar Cooper looks, and asks if they had met somewhere before. For a brief moment, Braden locks eyes and connects with Cooper.

Later, Braden's mother returns to the practice, and she is livid. She remembered where she'd seen Cooper before-- on an adult dating website. Naked. She removes Braden from his care and tells him he has no right to work as a doctor.

Addison meets with a timid Arab girl, Sharbat, who's brought in by her parents. Sharbat's mother explains the girl was attacked-- and now needs a hymenoplasty in order to be re-virginized. Though Addison opposes, the mother insists it is necessary: Sharbat has been promised to an Afghani man who could care for the entire family and make it possible for them to return to their homeland, but only if Sharbat is still a virgin.

As the Doctors debate the issues of the hymenoplasty, a mysterious visitor enters the room, saunters over to a stunned Pete and kisses him on the lips. Later, Violet and Addison corner her, learn her name is Meg, and that she and "Peter" worked together for Doctors Without Borders. In addition to sharing heroic tales about how "Peter" sacrificed his safety for Bosnian orphans, Meg also reveals Pete was once married.

When labs expose that Sharbat is currently sexually active--therefore still having sex-- Addison confronts her. Sharbat admits she has a boyfriend in the United States and thought the "attack" would cause her parents to break off the engagement. Addison convinces Sharbat to talk to her mother.

When Pete hesitates on an invitation to Ghana, Meg reminisces about a Pete she once knew--one who never hesitated and would have thrown her on the desk ten minutes after she walked in. Pete accepts the challenge.

Kevin invites Addison to Cabo San Lucas but she declines, sheepishly revealing her fast-paced sexual past and her new, updated rules about sex--rules that a shared hotel room could seriously threaten. Kevin kindly agrees to wait.

Cooper visits Braden's home, but the boy's mother refuses to see him-- until Cooper shouts through the door that her boy may not have Autism. Once given the chance, Cooper explains Braden might be afflicted with Landau-Kleffner syndrome, in which nighttime seizures impair a child's ability to communicate. He leaves Braden's mother with the research and a list of doctors. He is about to walk off but turns around and yells: "In order to know I was on the website, you had to be on the website too!" The next day, Braden and his mother return to Cooper, who begins treating Braden with Prednisone.

Sharbat's Mother reveals she knew her daughter wasn't raped. She tells Addison that the girl would've been marked by sin and it was easier to state that it was someone else's sin and come up with an excuse. Sharbat insists on the surgery; if she can't bury her past then her parents will have no future. Later, a tearful Sharbat prepares to give herself over to surgery, lamenting her American love as just a nice boy and a relationship that wouldn't have lasted.

Young Braden appears before Cooper with his first words: "Doctor? Thank you for the truck." His grateful mother says he started speaking after he woke up, and tells Cooper that-- whatever he is-- he is a wonderful doctor.

The voting commences and Addison refuses to take part. Once the votes are tallied, she is stunned with one vote for Naomi, one vote for Sam and four for Addison. Violet explains that if either Sam or Naomi won the practice would have been forever divided. Violet encourages Addison to figure out the future of the practice. When Addison asks if rules work, Violet tells her they do-- as long everyone remembers they are made to be broken.

During a heartfelt apology for how he treated her, Naomi takes Sam's hand. They kiss.

In Cooper's bedroom, Charlotte emerges in a shiny black dominatrix outfit, complete with leather whip. A thoughtful Cooper, still affected by his encounter with Braden's mother, asks to spend the evening talking and getting to know one another instead. Cooper, an only child from Akron, Ohio, goes first, and begins telling his story.

Addison calls Kevin, who complies and comes by for a visit. The clothes come off, and the rules are broken.