Train 48

Pete is delighted that one of his life settlement investments died sooner than expected. Johnny is disturbed by Pete's talk of death and commerce as he's spent the weekend with his ailing grandmother. Pete asks if Johnny expects to gain something by these visits. Johnny is offended. Lucas shares his television commericial ideas for children's vitamins. While on a business call, Lucas notices a beautiful woman checking him out. He flirts with her and they go off together to the washroom. Shannon invites Liz to a dinner party on Saturday. Later, Liz confides in Shannon: she's decided to get pregnant through artificial insemination. Shannon delicately asks Liz if she's gone through with it yet. Stung by Shannon's lack of support, Liz justifies her choice. Before they can discuss further, Lucas returns from the washroom. Zach wants to get the nerve up to ask Dana out. He offers suggestions for her CD design. Dana invites Zach to dinner on Saturday as payment. Zach walks away, trying to con

Brenda tries to sell chocolate bars on behalf of her daughter, Caitlin, with poor results. Pete shows Brenda how to close the deal. After he comes up $4 short, Pete finds a way to make it work for him. Unaware of his scam, Brenda thanks him for his helpfulness. Randy has asked his future brother-in-law to be his best man. When Zach reveals that he was a date with Dana, Randy is enthusiastic and tells Zach the story of how he met Agnes. Tension remains between Liz and Shannon. Johnny's doctor has diagnosed him with high blood pressure. Dana and Shannon encourage Johnny to quit smoking, but Johnny resists.

Pete has been having problems with stray cats in his neighbourhood. He's fed up with the mess they leave on his driveway. Lucas tells Nicole that he's sick of casual sex and wants a real relationship. Nicole is unconvinced, recalling Lucas' tryst in the washroom with the strange woman. Lucas tries to convince Nicole and Pete that he's ready for a serious relationship. No one believes him. Zach and Dana confirm their plans for Saturday night. Brenda recalls Dana as a child at their church. Brenda invites Zach to a Christian rap concert, but he declines as he is Jewish. Brenda doesn't know how to react. Liz is surprised when Randy enthusiastically supports her decision to be artificially inseminated. Randy can't believe the cost of the procedure, but Liz points out that she's already paid for two weddings and two divorces. All she wants now is a baby. Randy feels that wedding expenses are worth it; you only get married once.

Randy announces Agnes has vetoed his choice of her brother for best man even though Randy already asked him. Johnny and Pete can't believe that Randy won't stand up to his fiancé Johnny pushes Randy to put his foot down, but Pete thinks these disagreements are a sign the marriage is doomed. Randy finally resolves to go home and stand up for his decision. Lucas is trying to make up to Nicole after yesterday's argument by showing interest in her work troubles. She grows suspicious Lucas that wants to use her to get his feature film script to a famous actress staying at her hotel. When she refuses, Lucas suggests there's a role in the film she would fit perfectly. Nicole agrees to read over the script. Shannon tries to apologize to Liz for not supporting her artificial insemination plans on Monday, but Liz says she's fine. Shannon tells Liz and Brenda about her latest argument with her sister over looking after their mother. The other two criticize Shannon's family values. Shannon lashes

Shannon is angry with her sister, Simone for dropping off their mother at Shannon's house the previous night. She keeps trying to get in touch with Simone, but gets no answer. Shannon invites Nicole to her party on Saturday night and Shannon gets surprising news from her brother-in-law: Simone has left. Zach is nervous about his date with Dana on Saturday and tries to distract himself by practicing Scrabble words with Randy. Johnny follows up with Randy about his Best Man issue and is disappointed to find out that Randy gave in to Agnes again. Randy chooses a new Best Man: Zach Meanwhile, Brenda and Lucas engage in a free-for-all celebrity and train gossip session. Dana gets upset, as she is not a fan of gossip. Brenda and Lucas defend their right to discuss the lives of those in the lime light. After overhearing Shannon invite Nicole to her party, Lucas manipulates his way into receiving an invite, which he gladly accepts. Dana excuses herself to talk on the phone to her lover, Susan,

Shannon's weekend dinner party was a flop. Shannon was embarrassed by her mother. Nicole was embarrassed by Lucas. Liz didn't show up because she was embarrassed by Shannon's turkey-baster comment last week. Shannon brings Liz a piece of cake as a peace offering and the two patch things up. Liz, Shannon and Nicole debate potential sperm donors for Liz. Liz wonders how much of a child's personality traits are passed down from the parents. In the end, Liz picks a hunky minor league baseball player as her donor. She can make her child into whatever she wants him or her to be. For now, she just wants a cute baby. Brenda bores Pete with several rolls of pictures she took at work. Pete notices a shot of a very cute woman -- Brenda's new clerical assistant, Renee. Pete asks if Renee is single. Brenda eagerly promises to look into it. Meanwhile, Zach tells Randy and Johnny about his great weekend date with Dana. When Randy hears that they went to a vegetarian restaurant, he wonders if vegetari

Following up on their ""date"" on Saturday, Zach prepares himself to ask Dana out again. When Dana belatedly realizes that Zach is romantically interested in her, she brings him to a secluded part of the train in order to talk. Zach misinterprets the move as an opportunity, summons his courage and goes for a kiss. Dana rebuffs his advances and tries to break it to him gently: she has a girlfriend. Nicole's boyfriend Max is planning a surprise trip for her birthday, and Nicole has bought sexy lingerie for the event. Brenda tries to prove she's hip enough to hold her own in a risqué conversation with the younger women. Brenda hopes to follow up on her matchmaking success with Zach and Dana by giving Pete's phone number to her new office assistant, Renee. But Pete has other kittens on his mind: someone has been putting food out for the stray cats invading his yard. He needs to find a way to get rid of them, and fast. Fed up with the smell at his construction site, Johnny has decided to go b

Nicole is so excited about her weekend away with Max, until she gets a phone call from him telling her he probably has to cancel. Understandably upset, Nicole is comforted by Liz. Max had suggested that Nicole go alone, but she invites Liz along. Brenda, Johnny and Dana take a vested interest in the ab-tightener that Randy is now sporting. Apparently Randy is taking Agnes's advice to heart and trying to lose weight. The only problem is that ab-tighteners were recalled because they don't work. When Dana recommends a herbal supplement, Ma Huang, to help Randy lose weight he decides to look into it. Lucas tries to cheer up Zach, who is still smarting over his rejection by Dana, by drinking vodka on the train. Zach shows Lucas sketches of Big Man, the comic book he is developing, and Lucas outlines Bone Melter, his feature film script. The similarities between Big Man and Lucas are uncanny, in terms of sexual prowess. After a few drinks, Lucas points out the fundamental difference between

Johnny comes on the train with a band-aid on his forehead. He and Charity fought, and Charity threw a mug at him. Apparently Johnny hasn't been spending enough time with his family. Randy, Johnny and Pete discuss the women in their lives, and defend their stance on relationships. Pete and Randy have it out when Pete reveals his plans to bed Renee (Brenda's co-worker) on their upcoming weekend date. Pete is so confident, he bets Randy that he will score with Renee. The stakes: $200. Lucas' offer to join Nicole in Paris is usurped by Liz, who accepts Nicole's offer of a free ticket to French fun. Lucas asks Nicole for feedback on his script, Bone Melter, but Nicole has only read half of it. Her comments are not too pleasant. Nicole and Liz's weekend plans are derailed when Max calls. He informs Nicole that he will be joining her in Paris, after all. Nicole must deal with the disappointed Liz and the jealous Lucas. Shannon talks to Dana about Zach. When Shannon asks if Dana is a lesbian,

Zach has bought a bottle of scotch for Father's Day on Sunday. Lucas is not impressed with the brand, and before Zach can stop him, opens the bottle for a whiskey-tasting lesson. It's not long before everyone on the train is enjoying Zach's gift. Everyone except Liz, whose own dad drank enough for the whole family. Lucas's rich father only ever gave him cash presents, a symptom of his neglect. Now Lucas is paying him back each Father's Day, dollar for dollar. Zach tries to participate in this ""childhood scars"" competition, but Liz wins hands-down. Brenda is still trying to hook Dana up, this time with a nice boy from church. Shannon rescues Dana, changing the topic to her mother's persistent requests to talk to her ex-husband. Brenda urges her to call her father on Sunday, but Shannon wants nothing to do with him. Though Dana still lives with her parents, she feels she and her father don't really know each other anymore. Brenda's father died when she was a child, and she would give any

Brenda is going to pay off the person who found the funereal urn containing the ashes of her husband Doug. What she doesn't know is that Zach, Dana, Johnny and Shannon are planning to catch the person who is doing this. After Brenda tapes a package of money under the washroom sink, Johnny and Dana stake out the washroom. Lucas looks great and hides the flowers that he brought for Nicole. When she sits with him, he nervously makes small talk. Finally, he asks her if she will go to the Toronto International Film Festival Opening Night Gala with him. She can't, because she is leaving for a month-long European tour on Monday with Max. Lucas disses her choice of Max and finally admits that he cares for her. Nicole is torn; she admits that she does have some feelings for Lucas, but she has just made sense of her situation with Max and Enzo. Lucas tries to fight for her by criticizing Max and his European tour. He describes the year-long journey of spiritual awakening that he would take Nicol