Don tries to persuade Rosie to exercise, but she refuses. He has a nightmare of flying a spaceship, and Rosie drifting away from him in a capsule. She tells him that she will plan their anniversary. Their friends Isaac and Judy take Don to a museum. He returns with a red rose to find Rosie has cooked them dinner. Gene prevents him from trying to intervene in the kitchen and tells him to simply enjoy dinner. Don and Rosie dine on their balcony, recalling their first date on Valentine’s Day; when he expresses concern about what they are eating, she cites studies to prove it won’t harm their baby. He finally reveals they lost their jobs at the bar and gives her the eternity ring.

Don makes a list of current problems, and shares it with Gene and Rosie. In turn, she shares an ultrasound picture. Don didn’t realize he was expected to attend the appointment. Rosie sends him out for his boys’ night, claiming she has to attend a study group. George asks Gene if genetics can explain why his son has a drug addiction; Gene says human behavior comprises patterns. Don returns home to find Rosie asleep, with no sign of a study group—only an empty box for a meat lover’s pizza.

Don reproduces Rosie’s ultrasound picture on his bathroom-office wall and then questions Rosie, who admits she lied about her study group to eat pizza. He thinks, “It seemed that Gene was right. Dishonesty was part of the price of being a social animal, and of marriage in particular” (165). Rosie asks him to stop trying to control her pregnancy. Later, Sonia again pretends to be Rosie for an interview with Lydia, and Lydia questions why “Rosie” doesn’t want Don’s help. Sonia is upset because she wishes Dave showed more interest in her pregnancy. Lydia assures Don that supporting “Rosie” does not mean telling her what to do. She refers him to the Good Fathers program, and he looks forward to it.

Don calls his father to discuss obtaining materials for a soundproof crib from South Korea. Later, he asks the dean if he could attend a childbirth at the university hospital. In turn, the dean asks him to oversee a research project investigating babies with two mothers. Don finds the Lesbian Mothers Project interesting, but when he tries to tell Rosie about it, she is upset that he, a geneticist, has been assigned to a psychology project.

Don attends a Good Fathers meeting and invites Dave to come along. The meeting is led by a tattooed man named Jack. Don attempts to ascertain whether or not he has violent tendencies, but senses he is being treated as a class clown. During a break, Jack tests martial arts moves on Don, and Don allows this. The group then practices calming breaths and finding a mantra: Don chooses to repeat the Hardy-Ramanujan number because mathematics represents the “unassailable world of rationality” (190). Jack asks him to look him in the eye and swear he will never hit a woman or child. Don does so, and Jack finds his gaze unnerving, but declares he has passed the program. He decides not to tell Rosie where he was, still concerned that “a full explanation would reveal Lydia’s assessment of [his] competence in the father role and increase Rosie’s own doubts” (191). He continues to mediate between Gene and his son Carl, with no success.

Don learns that two administrators for the Lesbian Mothers Project are being selective about results because they wish to avoid an outcome that suggests babies most benefit from having a female and male caregiver. To provide more data, he plays with a baby in the study. He enjoys the filmed experience, but the administrators do not wish to include his data in the study. Later, Rosie is not pleased with Don’s designed stroller and says, “Babies aren’t really your thing” (196-97). She decides to sleep in her study, and he gives her a bed mattress.

Gene warns Don that Rosie’s choice to sleep elsewhere is a rejection; she explicitly told Gene that she is uncertain that Don wants to be a father. Don also learns that Rosie has been getting help with statistics from PhD colleague Stefan, whom he fears she once loved. He resolves to attend her next ultrasound appointment. The dean informs him of a birth he can attend, and Don invites his male friends to come along. In the cab to Connecticut, George admits his money comes from his first ex-wife. The birth turns out to be that of a cow, and Don is exhilarated at being able to participate.