A Perfect Episode
(Except for all the Noel/Sean and Javier/Rita stuff)
Episode 411: A Perfect Match

By Litigia

Once upon a time, there were four goddesses in the universe. And these goddesses bestowed their favor upon a struggling television show on a small television network. They loved this show because of its dashing young male star and because of the beautiful love story his character shared with the title character. And everything was good. And then, the producers and writers of the television show decided to have the title character cheat on her true love, by having cheap sex on a rooftop with the loser who has been secretly pining away for her for many years. And everything was bad. There were lies, and mistrusts, and arguments, and heartaches all around. And the goddesses were very displeased. Although the goddesses rarely intervene in human affairs, they decided they must take action. They gave the producers and writers of the television show an ultimatum. They must bring back this beautiful love story, and rekindle the truest romance on television, or else suffer the divine consequences. And this is how we got to this point. To the winter finale of this television show, entitled A Perfect Match . . .

It's late at night, and Ben knocks on Felicity's door. She answers and looks as if she was asleep. Ben asks her if he woke her up and she says no. Felicity asks Ben if he's okay and he says he is, but that he was at the hospital and he was walking home and wanted to stop by and say hi. Felicity smiles sweetly and says hi. Ben laughs and smiles broadly. Ben tells Felicity that his father still hasn't gotten a liver. Felicity is sorry to hear that and she walks outside into the hall and closes the door behind her. Ben tells her that he and his mom were tested and that his mother is a match for transplantation. Felicity asks if that isn't good news. Ben says it is good, but that his father won't let his mom donate. Ben stares at Felicity for a moment and then asks her what she is doing for break. Felicity says she is going home and that she leaves tomorrow. Ben just stares at her. He has nothing left to say, but he doesn't want to leave her. ["Oh, and he sighs too. I love that part. He sighs and kind of shakes his head as he looks at her. It's brilliant." - Dyslexia] He just wants to spend one more moment with her. Felicity asks Ben what he's doing. Ben doesn't understand. Felicity tells him that she knows that he said he just wanted to say hi. Ben asks her if she wants him to leave. Felicity tells him she doesn't, but that in the last few weeks, he has been stopping by and calling and it's great, because she loves seeing him. But that his calls and visits always end with him pulling away and it just hurts her all over again.["Oh this is so season-oneish. Like in that FAB classic episode Spooked when Ben kept coming by the dorm with the excuse of seeing if Felicity was okay after they were held-up. We all know how that episode ended, so this should be gooooooood." - Bitchavia]. Ben apologizes. Felicity takes a deep breath and tells him that she wants to be with him, and that if he were to tell her today that he wanted to start over, she would not hesitate for a second. You hear that, FANs? Not a second. ["I don't think they hear it, because they are annoyed by Felicity and Ben's whispering. But you know what? They are whispering because they are talking in a hallway in the middle of the night. Go fig!" - Dyslexia] Ben stares back at Felicity as if he wants to tell her that he wants to start over, but he just can't. Felicity presumes that he is not saying he wants to start over. Ben says he doesn't know. They just stare at each other for a moment in silence. Finally, Felicity says it's late and she should go to bed. She goes inside and closes the door. Ben stands there for a moment, wondering why he can't just say that he wants to start over, and then leaves. Wow, that scene rocked.

Roll opening credits.

Felicity is packing away her "Ben stuff." ["When this scene opens, and they zoom in on Felicity, look closely! You can see a couple of random pictures of Ben, wherein he looks like the Adonis he is." --Carmexa] She pauses to look at the necklace Ben gave her back in the first season, before putting it in a box. Javier comes in and engages her in too long of a conversation about the importance of locking the front door.["You tell ' em Javier! Have these kids learned nothing from that incident where drugged-out-gun-toting James came and shot up the Christmas party leading to bloodshed, Avery the Rich-bitch-claws-in-Ben-spawn-of-Satan and all the evil she spread in the Felicity world? That's what an unlocked door got ya. -- Bitchavia]. If you are looking closely, as I always am, you can see the sled that Ben bought Felicity for her birthday in the corner of her room. Javier asks Felicity what she is doing. She tells him she is packing up. Javier asks if she's packing up her Benjamin stuff. Felicity sighs that she is. Javier tells her he did the same with his Samuel stuff and tells her not to read the love letters. Felicity sighs and says, almost crying, "too late." Awwww, Ben wrote her love letters. I know he is perfect. But I just never imagined him writing her love letters. I suppose they must have been from when they spent their summers apart. Damn, what I wouldn't give to read those letters. ["Waah! Here! Have one of my limbs! Just give me the letters!" --Carmexa] Anyway, Javier thinks it would cheer Felicity up to go to the Snowball, some big winter formal being held at the college, I guess. Felicity tells him she can't go because she is going home for break. Javier says he will miss her.

Noel is typing on his computer. Sean comes in and asks him what he's doing. Noel says he's working on his non-existent graphics business. Sean tells him he has a potential customer for him and thinks they should go into business together. Noel hems and haws about the pitfalls of mixing friendship and business before finally agreeing. If you really care about this storyline, e-mail us and maybe I'll spend more time on recapping it. Otherwise, this is about all you're gonna get. ["If you e-mail her and ask for more detail, she's going to write you back, telling you that you're a fool who should be slaughtered for caring about such things." --Carmexa]["Only some poor misguided Noel fan would want more details. And really, if you're a poor misguided Noel fan, what the hell are you doing on this site. Masochist! -- Bitchavia]

Ben sits by his father's hospital bed, watching a basketball game on television. His dad asks him to turn it off. Ben wonders if something is wrong. Mr. C tells Ben he was just going to ask him the same thing. Ben smiles really big, as if he's nervous, and tells him he doesn't know what he's talking about. Mr. C says that Lauren had stopped by and told him that Ben and Felicity weren't together anymore. Ben gets upset. Mr. C says Lauren didn't want to talk about it and that he had to drag it out of her. Ben says that his dad has bigger things to worry about than him and Felicity. Mr. C says he doesn't have anything more important to worry about than his son's happiness. He asks Ben what happened. Ben sighs and tells him that Felicity cheated on him. Mr. C says he's sorry but then asks Ben if he still loves her. Ben says that he does. Mr. C asks if Ben is worried that Felicity will cheat again. Ben says that he is not. ["And if Ben's not worried about it, I don't think anyone should be." --Carmexa] Mr. C starts to say that pride is a stupid reason not to be with someone, but Ben says it's not about pride. Mr. C wonders what it is about then. Ben shakes his head and says he honestly doesn't know. My theory is that it just still hurts. Obviously he loves her and longs to be with her. But she slept with someone else and that hurts. And it can't be easy to just forget that, to get that image out of your mind. Poor Ben. Anyway, Dad says that he's had a lot of time to think about all his mistakes during the time he's been in the hospital. He tells Ben that when you love someone, that is the only thing that matters. ["I love how genuinely concerned Mr. C. is about his son's happiness, and that finally he's starting to be a real dad. Bravo!" - Dyslexia] Ben thinks about this for a while until his mom interrupts them excitedly. She tells them that they found a liver. It's in Philadelphia, but they're going to get it. Scott Speedman does the perfect reaction shot to the news. Damn, he's good. ["Absolutely perfect! My heart raced in excitement and joy for this fictional family. That's how good Speedman is." - Dyslexia] Ben's parents hug. Ben looks on with a smile.

Javier talks on the phone with Rita, while Felicity, Meghan, and Elena eat lunch and eavesdrop. Elena elicits that Javier and Rita are videodating. Who the hell cares? Not me. Apparently, Felicity doesn't either. She gets up to leave for the airport. Javier begs her to stay for the dance but she says she can't. Elena gives her a hug good-bye. This is pretty much all Elena does in this entire episode, which is fine by me. I used to like her, but ever since that goddamn ridiculous "make Ben squirm" advice she gave Felicity back in Moving On, I hate her and I don't care if I never see her again. ["It appears that the writers don't give a rat's ass about her, either, because they haven't given her jack shit to work with. Not that I mind! Go suck on a pacifier! I don't like you!" --Carmexa] Felicity goes to hug Meghan, but Meghan says she doesn't do good-byes and that she'll see her later. Heh. Nice little way of keeping Meghan in character there. Felicity leaves the apartment and closes the door.

["I'm playing Chantal Kreviazuk's "Far Away" while reading this. I like to make the experience complete. "Make me belieeeeve, iiiiin you; honestly for real, one thing true.." -- Bitchavia].Outside, Felicity hails a cab. Cut to Ben walking out of the hospital, thinking. Ben looks up at the sky as snow starts to fall. Back to Felicity, putting her bags into her cab. She stops and looks up at the sky, as the snow continues to fall. Cut to Ben, still looking up at the snow. Cut back to Felicity, looking up at the snow, and then finally getting into the cab. Cut back to Ben, who is still looking up at the snow, deep in thought. Finally, he starts to walk off, then his walk turns into a run, then his run turns into a sprint. Ben runs through the streets of New York, as the snow continues to fall. They must be short of extras on this show, because in two different running scenes, Ben runs past the same two people-this tall, brunette guy with his hair kind of parted in the middle and this long-haired brunette woman. Hey, if they need some more extras, I'm totally willing to work for scale. Or even for free. Especially if the scene involves Ben running by me. ["Oh no! You tripped! And fell on top of me! You might need medical attention! Don't move! Ahhhhh." --Carmexa] ["Me too! I'll be an extra! I promise not to stare at Speedy (not on camera anyway)! I promise not to mouth 'Hi, Mom.' Come on!" -Dyslexia]["I promise not to reach out and grab his ass as he runs by! Wait, I better not make promises I may not be able to keep. -- Bitchavia]. Mmmmmm. Anyway, Ben continues to run until he finally gets to Felicity's building, where he runs into Javier as he gets off the elevator. Ben asks Javier where Felicity is and Javier tells him that she left for the airport an hour ago. Ben anxiously asks what airport and what airline. Javier is most unhelpful but says he thinks it was LaGuardia. Ben quickly pushes the elevator call button again. Javier deduces that Ben is going after Felicity and thinks it is very romantic. He asks Ben if he can come along. Ben shuts down that idea pretty quickly and Javier says he understands. See, I miss scenes like this. I was pretty excited when I found out Javier was going to be a regular on the show this season, but I've been pretty disappointed with how they've used him. I've discovered that I don't really like him having his own independent storylines. I like him better when he has these cute little scenes with Ben and/or Felicity. Maybe that's just me, but that's how I feel. ["It's how I feel, too. And if people don't understand that we are all that matters, they're high." --Carmexa]

Felicity is at the airport gate, reading a book. Ben comes running into the gate area and stops when he sees her. Sensing his presence, Felicity looks up from her book and the sight of Ben standing there takes her breath away. Ben starts to walk toward Felicity as she stands up from her chair. She asks him what he's doing there. Ben, practically out of breath, tells her that when he saw it starting to snow, he thought she might still be there. Felicity tells him that her flight was delayed. Ben tells her that the reason he has been stopping by is because he misses her and that he wants to start over. ["The way he says it…it's like he can't wait, and the words just rush out in one breath." --Carmexa] They kiss and kiss and kiss. And then they hug. And then they kiss some more. Felicity puts her hand over her face, like she can't believe this is happening. Ben asks her if she is still going to leave to go home. And here, Keri Russell does this amazing thing where all at once she laughs and cries and exclaims that no, she is not going to leave. She hugs Ben and you can see the tears welling up in her eyes. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Finally. Is there still some moron out there who thinks these two are not meant to be together? People like you shouldn't be allowed to take up the oxygen on this planet. ["Screw saving the rain forest-here's the thing: it's not that we need more trees, so that we can have more oxygen! It's that we need less people breathing that oxygen! I think people who don't like Ben should be the first to die. That's my spin on ethnic cleansing, folks." --Carmexa]["Here, here, Slobodan Carmexavic. --Bitchavia]. Seriously. Anyway, I scream and yell and laugh and cry and do a little happy dance around my apartment because things are finally as they should be. ["I was on the phone with her. I didn't get the sense that she was dancing. Squealing, yes; dancing, no. This is the reason you should never trust anything Litigia says, unless I give you permission." --Carmexa] ["Carmie, you're bossy. Neener! I wasn't on the phone with either of you, so you can't question that I, like Felicity, had my hand over my mouth and the other hand on my racing heart. For that brief moment it was as if all was right with the world. Now THAT'S good TV!" - Dyslexia]

From outside, where it is still snowing, we look through Ben's window at he and Felicity lying in bed. Ben is awake and cannot wipe the beautiful smile off his face. He is watching Felicity sleep. ["This moment couldn't be any sweeter." - Dyslexia] Finally, he leans over and gives her a long kiss on her cheek, which wakes her. Felicity says, "Hey" and Ben says, "Hey" back and laughs. Oh, how I missed that. Felicity asks Ben how long he has been awake and he tells her that it's been a while. Awwww, he was just lying there, watching her sleep all that time. He really is perfect. Ben tells Felicity that it is still snowing outside and this pleases Felicity. At this point, I think Ben could tell Felicity a tornado was coming and she would still be happy. ["Wouldn't you be?!?!" --Carmexa]["If a naked Ben told me the apocalypse was coming, I'd be like, "Cool. Bring it on!" -- Bitchavia]. Ben asks Felicity what she wants to do today. Felicity thinks for a second, smiles and then says, in a voice of total ecstasy, "Everything." It's as though a part of her has been dead ever since that awful rooftop moment and now, finally, she is alive again. Ben says that he has to go by the hospital but that later, he wants to take her on a date. How sweet can he get? ["So sweet that I think he gave me a cavity." - Dyslexia] Felicity tells Ben that there is a dance that she'd like to go to. Ben kind of makes fun of her but then tells her that if that is what she wants to do, that is what they'll do. Felicity adds that she wants to go sledding in Central Park. Ben agrees. Someone knocks on their door. Ben angrily tells whoever it is to go away, but Meghan announces that Ben's mom is on the phone. ["And then Ben tells Felicity that they'll leave as soon as he gets off the phone, and Keri, er, Felicity, giggles and so does he and they're perfect and lovely and life is bliss." --Carmexa] Ben gets up to get the phone and puts on a t-shirt way too fast for my taste, but I'll forgive him for that. He takes the phone from Meghan and walks off. Meghan spies Felicity in Ben's bed and coyly inquires as to why she's not in California. Felicity tells her all aglow that Ben came to the airport. Meghan is obviously pleased with these developments and tells Felicity never to doubt her spells again. I love Meghan. Ben walks back into the room and Meghan whispers to Felicity that she will get all the details later. She then tells Ben, "nicely done" before leaving them alone again. Ben sits on the bed and sighs. Felicity asks what's wrong and Ben tells her that because of the snowstorm, they couldn't get his dad's liver transplant to New York. Felicity tries to comfort him.

Noel and Sean are pitching their graphics company to the owner of the sporting goods store. Noel shows him his stupid website. The store owner wants to see something. Who cares? Not me. ["Zzzzzzzzzzz....snort...wuh...uh, wake me when this part is over." -- Bitchavia]

Ben and Felicity walk into Mr. C's hospital room. Mrs. C is by her husband's side. She notices Ben and the two of them hug. ["Ben is such a mama's boy. You might know how I feel about mama's boys; I think they are the sweetest souls in the world. And you just KNOW Speedy is a mama's boy too. Uh-huh." - Dyslexia] Ben re-introduces Felicity and Mrs. C seems happy to see her again. They both wish it were under different circumstances. Mrs. C explains that Mr. C is unconscious and back on a respirator. She says she keeps whispering as if she's trying not to wake him up, but she really wants him to wake up. Hehe. Let me just take this opportunity to say that despite all the yahoos who always complain about all the whispering Ben and Felicity do on this show, I absolutely love it. It gives their scenes a unique sense of intimacy and makes you feel as though you are intruding on one of their private conversations. And besides, Ben's whisper is really sexy. ["Amendment to previous ethnic cleansing plan: the very first people to go are the ones who bitch about the whispering. If you don't find that sexy, you have no heart, no soul, and no ovaries. You may as well die. Bam!" --Carmexa] Okay, back to the story. Ben gives him mom another hug and Felicity tells Ben she's gonna wait outside. Ben tells her not to leave and let me just say right now that the way Scott Speedman does the little, "no, no, no" thing set my heart a-racing even faster than it normally is when he's on screen. Damn, he comes up with something new to turn me on in every episode. ["Riiiight. Like his very existence isn't enough to turn you on." --Carmexa] Ben takes Felicity's hand and leads her to his dad's bedside. Ben's mom announces that she is going ahead with the surgery to donate part of her liver. Ben says no way and when his mom says it's not his decision, Ben reminds her that since he has power of attorney, it is his decision and he's not going to let her do it. Mrs. C is visibly upset. She begs Ben to at least talk to the doctor before making up his mind and leaves the room. An exasperated Ben tells Felicity that he was there when his dad said he didn't want his mom to donate her liver. Felicity encourages him to listen to what the doctor has to say. Ben says he doesn't even know what to say, but Felicity says that she'll go with him. ["She says it twice, like she's trying to reassure him that she's there. It's so sweet." --Carmexa] This seems to comfort Ben as he hugs Felicity, but he does it in a way where it's like he falls into her and holds onto her for dear life. I love the way they hug.

Javier and Rita watch some of their videodates together. It seems that Rita is too picky and Javier is not picky enough, so they decide to choose each other's dates. I swear if they cut even a single Ben and Felicity scene to make room for this crappy storyline, I'll strangle somebody. ["Make sure it's someone who doesn't like Speedy's whispering!" --Carmexa]

Noel and Sean work on the website for the sporting goods store guy. It's stupid. ["Well, I think I actually laughed out loud at the snowboarder guy that was on the web site, but that's probably because it was Sean's idea. I love Sean. He's like a big teddy bear." - Dyslexia] Sean thinks the partnership is going to be great and says he's so ready to have a career. Noel says he is, too. I'm ready for all things involving Noel as long as he stays away from Felicity.

Ben and Felicity are sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Ben is stroking the rim of his coffee cup, thinking. I'm thinking I wish I were the rim of his coffee cup. Felicity asks Ben if he wants to talk about it. Ben just sighs and says it is all too much. Felicity agrees. The rest of the scene is shot in a way where they keep going back and forth between camera shots from behind Ben looking at Felicity's face to shots behind Felicity looking at Ben's face, but instead of just cutting between shots, they fade in and out of them, so the shots are always being superimposed over each other. When I first watched the scene, it was sort of distracting, but the more times I watched it, the more I liked it. ["Oh, and they played that great piano piece by Danny Pelfrey during the scene. I love that Felicity and Ben have such a beautiful theme song. Yay!" - Dyslexia] So, Ben says that he is worried that even if the surgery goes well, that there is no guarantee that his dad won't treat his mom the way he used to and that she could give him a part of herself and it would all be for nothing. Felicity tells him there is no way to be sure he won't treat her the way he used to, but that maybe you just have to take a leap of faith. She says that maybe that's what love is-risking a part of yourself. Ben looks at her as he ponders her words. Somewhere around twenty seconds of silence pass between them, which is amazing for a television show today, as they both think about Felicity's words and what they mean for Ben's parents and no doubt for their own relationship as well. Finally, Felicity asks Ben if they should go back up. Ben tells her he wants to stay and think about it for a while, so Felicity gets up to leave and tells him she'll meet him upstairs. I really love that Felicity didn't just tell Ben what to do, that she let him make up his own mind. As she walks off, she squeezes his arm. Ben sits there and sighs deeply, the burden of the decision weighing on him.

Felicity brings Mrs. C some chamomile tea. Mrs. C asks where Ben is and Felicity tells him he went for a walk. Mrs. C says that he is hiding. Felicity tells her that Ben is worried. Mrs. C says that Ben has always wanted to protect her. She then relays (that's for you, Dyslexia!) ["Aw, baby. You know I love you." - Dyslexia] a story about when Ben was ten years old and Mr. C was drunk and threw a plate at her. ["I don't care how good this scene is; there is NO excuse for the idiotic use of the word "relay" as a verb. I hate that!" --Carmexa] ["Sure, so when Pete Yorn uses 'relay' as a verb it's perfectly fine. I see how you operate." -Dyslexia] She says that Ben was by her side the whole time as she got stitches and that she told him that it was okay. She meant that he shouldn't be afraid, but she's worried that the message Ben got was "it's okay, this is what love is." She explains to Felicity that she knows that it's not and that what she wants to do in donating part of her liver is not the same thing. She only wishes Ben could see that, but realizes that she never taught him what real love is. ["How unbelievably sad. Felicity thinks a little here because she realizes how much she needs to teach "real" love to Ben. She really has no room for screw-ups anymore." - Dyslexia]["Hey, if you're adding to that cleansing list, can we put on anyone who's going to construe this exchange between Mrs. C and Felicity and a sign or suggestion that Ben will eventually abuse Felicity in any way because that's how he was brought up. Because he's not, and he's never, ever shown any sort of violence impulse toward Felicity. He does have a great capacity for love in spite of his shitty upbringing. So, don't go there! -- Bitchavia]

Noel and Sean show the sporting goods store guy their prototype for his website. He likes it but he doesn't like this one little part that Sean did. Noel is willing to change it, but Sean says "no way" and if the guy doesn't like what they do, he should find someone else to do his website. They leave. Noel is pissed at Sean. Sean says they have tons of other jobs lined up. Or at least they will. Noel is still pissed at Sean.

Javier and Rita each have crappy videodates.

Ben asks his mom if she's sure that she wants to donate part of her liver. She tells him that she is. Ben gives his approval for the surgery. Mrs. C smiles at him. Ben smiles back nervously, then looks at Felicity. She smiles slightly, I think because he's willing to take that leap of faith she talked about earlier.

Noel meets with the guy again and has changed the website to his liking. The guy thinks Noel should dump Sean, but Noel won't because Sean is his partner and now Noel is a saint. Did you get that memo? ["No. And I'm pretty sure there was I reason I didn't." --Carmexa] So, the guy agrees to go with Noel, even with Sean as his partner, as long as he doesn't ever have to talk to Sean.

The next scene starts with an extreme close-up on Ben and Felicity holding hands. Awwwww. They're sitting in a hospital waiting room, working on a crossword puzzle. Felicity reads off a clue that neither of them understand. She moves on to the next one which is, "12 letters, really bad TV show." Hee. If the writers weren't intending that to be "Dawson's Creek," they should call me, and I'll change the recap. ["Ethnic Cleansing Group #2: People who insist that "Dawson's Creek" is a quality show. I don't care if it was good the first season; it's total shit now. Get off your high horses and see the light. Here's a tip for network executives, which doesn't involve ethnic cleansing, but could if you wanted it to: cancel "Dawson's Creek." Replace that time slot with another hour of "Felicity." In that hour, make sure Ben is naked the entire time. Back to ethnic cleansing: out with people who have huge foreheads that are twice the size of small European countries. That's right, Van der Beek, I'm talking to you. And you, Chris Klein!" --Carmexa] But otherwise, I'm going with that. Of course, they should be calling me anyway, but I digress. A doctor interrupts them and asks to speak to Ben outside. Felicity watches as the doctor gives Ben some news. Ben returns and tells her that his mom is bleeding and they can't get it to stop. Presumably, though, his dad is okay. Ben looks like he knew this was going to happen and can't believe he let his mom sacrifice her life for his no-good gad. Felicity is speechless.

Sean walks into Noel's room and tells him he was picking up a plant for Ben and noticed the store he was in had no signs. Noel can't understand why he would be buying a plant for Ben. Oh, I don't know, asshole. Maybe because both his parents are having major, life-threatening surgery! So much for Saint Noel. He's still got that inner core of self-involvement that will never go away. Anyway, Sean tells Noel that they're going to pitch their graphics company to the plant store next week. Sean asks Noel what he's doing and it turns out Noel is working on the stuff for the sporting goods store. Of course, Sean is upset and they fight and Noel accuses Sean of intentionally sabotaging stuff because he can't really succeed blah blah blah. Noel makes some comment about how pathetic he is because he's a guidance counselor. As if guidance counselors weren't offended enough by this whole storyline about Noel becoming one without any qualifications at all and continuously describing it as the worst possible job anyone could ever have, they take it over the top by Noel saying that he is completely pathetic because of this job. Listen, Noel. You are completely pathetic for so many reasons. The guidance counselor job has nothing to do with it. Anyway, Sean storms out and Noel does the thing where he bugs his eyes out so big, you think they are literally going to jump out of his head and start doing the "jump, jump, jump around" dance. Does Scott Foley know that he does this? Has a director never told him to cut it out? God, it's annoying.

Ben paces nervously in the hallway of the hospital, until Felicity brings him some food. As they sit down, she tells him that Sean and Trevor are in the lobby and wanted to know whether or not they should come up. An exasperated Ben says he doesn't care. Ben says he knew this was going to happen and that none of this is fair. Felicity agrees. I love the Felicity we have in this episode. I'm so glad she didn't go on and on about how there was a reason for all of this and all that crap that some people try to tell you to comfort you in situations like this. Because let me tell you, it doesn't comfort you one bit. Oh, so there's a reason that my mother is dying? Thank you, that makes me feel so much better. Not! Anyway, I love that Felicity just agrees that it's not fair. Ben asks Felicity what she and his mom were talking about the day before. Felicity wisely decides not to go into detail about the plate story and about Ben not learning what real love is, and instead, just says that Mrs. C was telling her about what Ben was like when he was a little boy, how he always tried to protect her. Ben sarcastically says that he did a great job of protecting his mom this time. Felicity assures him that he did everything he could, because his mom loves his dad. Ben agrees. They sit there in silence for a moment before Felicity asks him if he wants her to tell Sean and Trevor to leave. Ben says that he does and as Felicity gets up to go, Ben grabs her hand and asks her if she is coming back. Felicity says "of course I am" before walking off. Ben just sits there, not believing everything that is happening.

Felicity sits in what I presume is Ben's dad's old hospital room, reading a book. Ben comes in and tells her that his mom is going to be fine. Felicity hugs Ben and tells him how happy she is. Can I say one more time how much I love the way they hug? First of all, Scott Speedman has very beautiful and strong arms and hands and you can see all the veins in them pop out when he hugs Keri. It's like he is using all his strength to hold her close to him. And instead of just wrapping his arms around her back, he always takes one of his hands and reaches it up to hold onto her neck. And on top of that, he buries his face in her shoulder. It really is perfect. Okay, so they break the hug and Ben lets out a big sigh and says that he is really hungry. They agree to go to China Fun, but then Ben remembers about the dance. ["Side note: being the geography wiz that I am, I have discovered that they must have been at Lenox Hill hospital-for any of you who are interested in taking the "Felicity Stalking Tour of New York"-because there's a China Fun mere blocks away from there, and that's the only location that would make sense. Don't ask me why I felt compelled to double check on this. I suppose it's because I'm sick in the head. So be it!" --Carmexa]["Well, I don't think anyone's going to argue with you on that. But we love you anyway, you little psycho." -- Bitchavia]. Felicity says it's okay that they not go, but Ben tells her that since she wanted to go, they should go. God, he really is perfect. Don't even try to argue with me. Because you'll lose. Ben tells Felicity he's going to stay until he can see his dad and then he'll meet her at the dance. He tells Felicity that he's glad she's there. She assures him that here is where she wanted to be. They hug again, but this time they both kind of rock each other back and forth. It's cute. I love them.

Sean and Meghan bicker because Meghan can't tie Sean's bow tie. Noel comes in. He and Sean discuss friendship and the business, they make up, Noel ties Sean's tie and Sean invites Noel to the dance. Noel thinks it's pathetic for him to go to the dance because he's not a student. Sean says neither am I and they all agree to go.

Ben is at his dad's bedside when his dad wakes up. He jokes with his dad that he and his mom pulled a fast one on him. Mr. C says that they do that a lot. Ben tells him that he did listen to one thing he said, though, and that he talked to Felicity. He adds that he just hopes that they don't keep hurting each other. Mr. C says that they will, that's what life does, it tests you. But you love each other, and so you'll pass the tests. Ben thinks about this a bit and then, kind of choked up, says, "Like you and Mom." Okay, some people had a problem with this advice. They were all, "Relationships shouldn't involve hurting people." ["Um, who has a problem with it? People who haven't hit puberty? Get real!" - Dyslexia] Well, theoretically, this is right. But the fact is, if you are going to be in a relationship with someone for the rest of your life, you are going to hurt that person, even if it is never intentional. And the key is that if you truly love each other, you apologize for the hurt you cause and you are willing to forgive the hurt caused you. I don't think there's anything wrong with that advice. I also think this was intended as major foreshadowing. Things ain't going to be a bed of roses for Ben and Felicity the rest of this season, but because they really love each other, they'll make it through. I'd still prefer the bed of roses route ["Me too, sans Jon Bon Jovi" - Dyslexia], but that's nice that the writers are at least giving me some reassurance up front.

At the dance, some funky music is playing. Ben walks in and I nearly pass out because the sight of Scott Speedman in a suit truly is enough to make me faint. Whoa, baby! Ben walks up to Noel, who appears very uncomfortable. They exchange greetings and Noel tells Ben he's glad that his parents are doing better. Then Noel apologizes for sleeping with Felicity. He says it was his fault and it shouldn't have happened. ["Notice he apologizes after he realizes he has a snowball's chance in hell if being in a romantic relationship with Felicity. How very virtuous!" - Dyslexia]["He has to apologize because if he can't make amends with Ben, then he won't have any friends at all except for maybe stupid Richard, because if Ben and Noel are on the outs, and the gang had to choose who to throw their allegiance behind, it ain't going to be Noel. -- Bitchavia]. Ben says that he should just try to forget about it, because that's what he is trying to do. Just then, Felicity walks up. Ben apologizes for being late, but that he was with his dad longer than he thought. All three of them look very uncomfortable. Scott Speedman, especially, does a great job of playing the uncomfortableness (I know it's not a real word!) of the moment. Noel excuses himself. Felicity asks Ben what they were talking about, but Ben tells her that it's nothing and everything is fine. She asks if he's sure. Ben looks at her with all the love in the world and tells her that he is sure. Felicity nervously asks Ben if he wants to come dance with her. Ben, looking like he knows that he can't dance, is kind of shy about it, but Felicity begs for him to come dance and so she drags him out there. Ben, Felicity, Noel, Sean, Meghan, Javier, and Elena groove on the dance floor. They're dancing to a fast song, but it's playing out in slo-mo. Scott Speedman is either a really bad dancer or just likes playing Ben as a bad dancer. ["I'm betting on the former. But he's so damned cute that I don't care! How endearing that his favorite dance move is clapping. Teehee, you're perfect." --Carmexa] Either way, I find it adorable.

The snow continues to fall as all the friends walk on the New York City street. Felicity doesn't want to go home. They discuss going somewhere else instead of going home. ["Then someone mentions they should go have French fries, and Felicity about pees her pants giggling over the thought of French fries. I'm assuming she's just really happy with Ben, but it sort of reminds me of how damn funny she thought Richard was as Darth." - Dyslexia] Ben and Felicity are holding onto each other very closely and both look absolutely blissful. Noel is kind of walking off to the side of the group. Elena is there, but never says a word. Felicity wonders what is going to happen. Ben asks what she means. Felicity explains that this time next year, they could be anywhere, and that this is like, "the end." Ben pulls her closer. The shot changes, so we now see them from behind, walking off into the snow-filled night. Ben reaches his head down and I swear it looks like he kisses Felicity on the neck or the chest. Felicity squeals with laughter. Then, she almost falls down. All the friends laugh as they walk off together, into the winter hiatus. ["After this scene ended I couldn't get the St. Elmo's Fire theme song out of my head. I drove everyone crazy with 'You broke the boy in me, but you won't break the man!' Just thought I'd share." - Dyslexia]["Gonna climb the highest mountain, gonna cross the wildest sea; I can feel St. Elmo's Fire burning in meeeeee....-- Bitchavia]

Just because the show is going on hiatus, doesn't mean the goddesses are! Keep checking back as we recap every single episode in the history of the show in our own, unique goddess way!