Title	Synopsis
0001 meri lin #1: he really meant it	First appearance of Meri Lin and Fred. Meri Lin goes to the doctor, finds out she is pregnant, and tells her partner, Fred. She worries about what her parents will think, but feels secure in Fred's arms.
0003 meri lin #2: opportunity	First appearance (via flashback) of Meri Lin's parents and her sister Lissa Lee. Meri Lin and Fred discuss names for the baby and what sex they think it will be. A flashback shows a phone conversation between Meri Lin and her parents in which they threaten to disown her if she marries Fred, though Meri Lin thinks it's odd that the family chose America to raise their children "for opportunity" if she isn't really free to do as she pleases.
0005 meri lin #3: we made ourselves who we were	A flashback details Meri Lin and her sister taking new names above and beyond their given names, and thinks about how she feels Fred is her husband even though they aren't married. The two tease each other about the sex of the baby again.
0007 meri lin #4: tying the knot	Meri Lin and Fred have their own home ceremony in which they pledge their lives to each other in a carefree but meaningful "wedding." They exchange vows and plastic rings, and Meri Lin philosophizes about their relationship.
0009 meri lin #5: the baby's room	The couple prepares a room for the baby and discusses names. Meri Lin has a weird feeling that the room itself is waiting for her baby.
0011 meri lin #6: for the first time	Meri Lin's week of firsts: Her first maternity clothes, her first mood swing, her first visit with her sister since she got the news. She worries about what kind of parent she will be.
0013 meri lin #7: what am i in for?	An update on the couple's preparations ensues. Fred begins working longer hours to pay for the extra costs of preparing for a child, so Meri Lin is left alone more often . . . so of course she fills the time by reading about what could go wrong and worrying herself sick about it.
0015 meri lin #8: halfway there	Fred and Meri Lin get excited over feeling the baby's first kicks, and discuss being in awe over making a new life. Fred sings (badly) to the baby, and in light of their continued arguments about the sex of the baby, they decide that when they go for the ultrasound, they want the medical staff to tell them what gender it is.
0017 meri lin #9: women's intuition	Meri Lin and Fred see their child on the ultrasound machine and get the news that it's a girl. Fred teases Meri Lin that she must be psychic for "knowing" it's a girl, though she plays it off as women's intuition. She doesn't know how she knew either, but feels as though she did, even though she doesn't believe in ESP.
0019 meri lin #10: high-strung that way	Meri Lin's propensity for easy fainting is revealed when she does so after a nearby car accident startles her. She wonders if she will be an unfit mother because she passes out sometimes.
0021 meri lin #11: a historic struggle	Meri Lin reaches the third trimester and begins to suffer some of the un-fun things about pregnancy. And in birthing class, the videos of mothers giving birth disturb and inspire her.
0023 meri lin #12: dreaming of my daughter	Meri Lin has a dream that she's already had her baby, who looks exactly like her and suddenly begins growing up at an alarming rate. She wakes up suddenly when she realizes she can't remember most of her child's life, and realizes it's still the night before the baby shower. She acknowledges that she wants her daughter to hurry up, but not that fast!
0025 meri lin #13: shower	Meri Lin's baby shower involves lots of guests, food, and goodies, but unfortunately when her parents arrive, they bring bad news: They're moving back to China, and they're leaving before the baby will be born.
0027 meri lin #14: you still have me	Meri Lin unloads her fears onto Fred, and he comforts her, saying he will be there for her even though her parents can't be. The episode ends with Meri Lin feeling a little better.
0029 meri lin #15: stay calm	The day has finally come when Meri Lin's parents have left the country, and now she feels alone. She is about to call her sister when she experiences her first Braxton-Hicks contraction and mistakes it for early labor, which causes her to panic and pass out.
0031 meri lin #16: due date	Meri Lin's due date has come, but she shows no signs of needing to go the hospital. She starts threatening the baby out loud that she's going to be grounded for being late.
0033 meri lin #17: ready	Meri Lin, now two weeks past due, is very tired of being pregnant and at her wit's end. She really wants to meet her daughter.
0035 meri lin #18: the rest of my life	Meri Lin goes into labor, and Fred escorts her to the hospital in a cab. At first the labor pains are much less intense than she expected, but they quickly get worse, and Meri Lin worries. Once they enter the hospital, Meri Lin realizes that she will never be the same.
0037 meri lin #19: labor of love	Meri Lin's hours of labor are chronicled, and she philosophizes on the ups and downs of the process. At the end, she's on the brink of actually having the baby, but she passes out.
0039 meri lin #20: she's perfect	First appearance of Amanda. Meri Lin awakes with a start to find she's a mother. Fred, holding baby Amanda, explains that the child has a minor birth defect: She's missing pinkie fingers and pinkie toes, and otherwise she's healthy. Meri Lin looks her over and concludes, in typical new mommy fashion, that her baby is perfect. Lots of cute extras such as a footprint and a birth certificate, as well as some trivia, are included in this installment.
0041 meri lin #21: on exhibit	The usual newborn details are taken care of, and all kinds of medical people want to see Meri Lin's baby. The baby has strange hands and oversized eyes, which are the source of many comments and questions. Fred has to change the wording of their birth announcement, and Meri Lin supposes everyone will just have to get used to being on exhibit.
0043 meri lin #22: bringing her home	The Fisher-Ling family is at home once again, and they have visitors. Meri Lin is glad for the help, but irritated by all the attention. She just wants to be alone with her baby. She doesn't like some of the comments people make about Amanda's "quirky bits," and she's still coming to terms with being responsible for another life.
0045 meri lin #23: something about being a mommy	Meri Lin realizes she loves being a mommy as Amanda enters her second week. She and Fred make mistakes and learn as they go. Meri Lin is concerned that her baby's ears, which she thought were just pinched from her newborn days, are going to stay that way--she looks like a baby elf. But she's healthy and happy, and Meri Lin knows they have a lot to be thankful for.
0047 meri lin #24: the most important thing	Lissa Lee comes to visit the new baby, and Meri Lin shows off her daughter's progress in learning to reach for toys. The sisters discuss their parents' move to China and the importance of the baby.
0049 meri lin #25: a rational explanation	Fred and Meri Lin admire their baby before Fred goes to work, and then while Meri Lin is having her usual quiet morning, she hears unexplained noises from the baby's mobile (which had run out hours ago). She comes in to find the toys inexplicably swaying like they're in a stiff breeze, and then she senses a strange presence in the room and runs out with the baby, thinking the room is haunted.
0051 meri lin #26: just because you felt a breeze. . . .	Meri Lin tries to tell Fred about her strange experience, but Fred laughs it off and says there aren't any ghosts just because she felt a breeze. Over the next few days she keeps noticing odd occurrences, which she ignores in the name of not being so jumpy, but when she hears even weirder noises--and finally a CRASH from the baby's room--she can't keep ignoring it. Finding the mobile pulled out of the ceiling and the toybox tipped over forces her to keep trying to find an explanation. . . .
0053 meri lin #27: catching it in the act	Fred didn't believe her again, so Meri Lin is left noticing odd occurrences and not knowing what to do about them. She keeps finding open windows and missing items, and wonders why she never catches this "ghost" in the act. And then she does. A book is floating over her baby's crib. She manages to not faint and save her baby, and then she determines that she has to find out what is in her house.
0055 meri lin #28: thank god	After some dead ends with New Age consultants, Meri Lin manages to find a couple of men from the church who agree to come and exorcise the demons from her home. They end up witnessing a ball moving by itself and attack it with holy water and Bible verses. Meri Lin is relieved that she is no longer alone.
0057 meri lin #29: in her eyes	The ball begins moving again despite the mini-exorcism, at which point one of the church men notice that Amanda's eyes are tracking it. They connect it with the baby and ask a lot of questions, trying to figure out if the baby is possessed. During an experiment during which Amanda is teased with her favorite toy being put out of her reach, the toy mysteriously floats into her arms, which makes the church men insist on a full proper exorcism. Meri Lin rejects this and kicks them out, having decided that the look in her baby's eyes was nothing but innocent. She isn't possessed; she just apparently has some kind of special powers. Meri Lin is full of questions without answers once again. . . .
0059 meri lin #30: this changes everything	Meri Lin goes to the library and researches unexplained phenomena, settling on ESP books that tell her about the mysterious power of telekinesis. It sounds like what she's witnessed her baby performing, but what scares her is that there don't seem to be any documented cases. Her baby is one of a kind. She doesn't know what to do, but knows she can't let anyone find out. . . .
0061 meri lin #31: we're in this together	Meri Lin has to break the news to Fred, who denies that anything odd is going on even when he sees it with his own eyes. Meri Lin encourages him to play with her until he believes it, at which point they will have to have a discussion about the future. She really wants him to figure out what they should do, but for the moment, she has to be the strong one.
0063 meri lin #32: the best for her	Fred admits to Meri Lin that Amanda is a superbaby, and he says he thinks she'll grow out of it. Meri Lin makes him promise that the two of them will not let anyone find out about their daughter's powers in case scary people want to take her away.
0065 meri lin #33: my kitty-cat baby	Meri Lin slowly gets used to her baby's growing tendency to levitate everything in sight, and the baby's independence saddens her. (She prefers a bottle to breastfeeding because she can hold it herself.) While trying to teach Amanda to hold the bottle with her hands, she ends up watching the baby open the bottle with her powers and dump milk all over herself. Meri Lin feels sad that the baby is only dependent on her when she wants to be.
0067 meri lin #34: necessary evils	Meri Lin has kept Amanda out of the public eye since discovering her talent, but now she has to take her to the doctor for immunizations, and doesn't know how to keep her from levitating things. She manages to distract her by playing with her constantly, but when the baby gets the shot, her startle reflex engages and crunches a lightbulb, showing Meri Lin that the child can be destructive when she's hurt or surprised.
0069 meri lin #35: two milestones	Amanda sits up without having ever rolled over. Meri Lin decides to try to feed her solid food, leading to the discovery that Amanda loves peaches. Meri Lin is happy to be able to put some "normal" milestones in the baby book.
0071 meri lin #36: just wow	Meri Lin continues to see her daughter doing new and amazing things with her telekinetic powers, such as playing with toys and books and making whirlpools in the bathtub. She's a bit awed and scared, and wonders about what the future will be like for a person with such a power.
0073 meri lin #37: learning the rules	After witnessing Amanda levitating a CAT from the other side of a window, Meri Lin wonders about the "rules" for her daughter's power and tries to figure out whether the ability depends on sight. She attempts to encourage the baby to play with toys using her hands only, but is unsuccessful.
0075 meri lin #38: discipline	With Fred's help, Meri Lin decides it's time for Amanda to stop grabbing the baby food with her powers. It makes Meri Lin sad when they have to yell and clap their hands to make their baby obey them, but it does seem to work; she lets Mommy feed her instead of doing it herself, which is a small victory.
0077 meri lin #39: even if they're family	Lissa Lee wants to visit the Fisher-Lings, but Meri Lin lies and says she can't because Fred and Amanda have mono. Of course, she's really hiding the truth about the baby's powers from her sister, even though she's family. Meri Lin gets upset that the baby's freedom depends on their success or failure in teaching her to behave, and she thinks it's terrible that Lissa Lee is going to miss Amanda's babyhood.
0079 meri lin #40: the idea of her	Meri Lin takes pictures of Amanda for her mother, and philosophizes about what would happen if the outside world found out about her daughter's telekinetic powers.
0081 meri lin #41: for real and for sure	After consulting with Fred, Meri Lin decides to call some people who know about parapsychology and see if she can discreetly get any ideas about how to raise her baby.
0083 meri lin #42: getting stuck	Meri Lin is disturbed by Amanda's new habit of making things move back and forth while she's trying to go to sleep. While trying to stop the baby from doing it one day, she finds that her daughter can stop her from stopping her, and wonders how to proceed in discipline from that point.
0085 meri lin #43: she said it and she meant it	Meri Lin takes a vacation to visit her sister, leaving Amanda with Fred. She shows off photos and alleviates missing her daughter with a phone call, during which she learns that Amanda has said her first word.
0087 meri lin #44: out	Coming back from her sister's on the bus, Meri Lin sees a mother and child getting attention, and wishes her child could be taken in public. After a joyful reunion with her family, Meri Lin stubbornly decides to take Amanda out to a park, and lets her play with another little girl. She remembers through experience that the kind of attention SHE gets is not quite the same as other mothers since she has a peculiar child, and the playdate ends when Meri Lin has them make a quick exit after making a lame excuse to cover up one of Amanda's "tricks."
0089 meri lin #45: good day	After experiencing some rather irrational anger in response to a bad day, Meri Lin resolves to try to have a good day, and attempts to revise her expectations and attitude toward her special child.
0091 meri lin #46: about time	Meri Lin and Fred come up with a way to tempt Amanda to learn to crawl. But in their exuberance in celebrating the baby's new skill, they end up having to clean up baby puke.
0093 meri lin #47: another year wiser	Amanda's first birthday celebration! The Fisher-Ling family celebrates Amanda's turning one, and Meri Lin reflects on what effects her baby's arrival has had in the year she's been alive. She also makes some predictions and has some reflections about the future.
0095 meri lin #48: in reach	Meri Lin is disturbed by her baby's unusually fussy behavior, but soon realizes Amanda is just irritable because she's begun to cut teeth.
0097 meri lin #49: even so	Amanda's teething doesn't cause constant tantrums, but the baby does seem more irritable than usual on occasion. She is becoming a bit more forceful with her will, and Fred responds by smacking her hand during mealtime, which subdues her. Meri Lin reflects on her love for her daughter and all her quirky bits.
0099 meri lin #50: no excuse, that's what	After too many rain checks and excuses, Meri Lin meets with a friend she's been ignoring and also makes a new acquaintance. The two women make it very clear that they want to meet her baby and won't take no for an answer, and Meri Lin simply runs out of excuses and can't bring herself to stand up to them to preserve the baby's secret. The visit is cut short when Amanda, who now takes off her diaper whenever she can, makes a mess on Fred's arm and requires a bath.
0101 meri lin #51: up	Amanda wants out of the playpen, so she learns to abide by her mother's wishes to keep her clothes on. She requests to be picked up by saying "up?" and her mother is very proud.
0103 meri lin #52: she's had enough	Amanda's temperament worsens suddenly and now her parents' attempts at discipline backfire. Amanda throws her parents across the room and holds them there until she has finished eating the applesauce she wanted, and then she figures out how to get out of her high chair . . . by flying.
0105 meri lin #53: i think i got her	Amanda's parents get ahold of their flying baby only to find out that she doesn't seem to want to trust her weight to them anymore. Shell-shocked, they watch her fly through the house and land on a bed for a nap.
0107 meri lin #54: someone stronger	Meri Lin has an emotional crisis over the idea that she is not fit to parent a child as special as Amanda. She needs Fred's help to put it in perspective.
0109 meri lin #55: the upper hand	Meri Lin makes some observations about her daughter's flying ability, and comes to some conclusions regarding how to get the upper hand in disciplining her. Amanda uses a spoon by herself for the first time.
0111 meri lin #56: too perfect	Meri Lin makes some observations about her baby's tendency to use her abilities to assist her in doing normal things, and thinks about both the near and the distant future with Amanda.
0113 meri lin #57: a handful	Meri Lin executes her plan to get Amanda in to see the doctor after she's fallen asleep from the sedative agent in a cold medicine. She is tempted to confide in the doctor, but knows it would get her nowhere.
0115 meri lin #58: cracking down	When Amanda refuses Meri Lin's discipline suggestions and immediately follows that by making it obvious she wants to fly out the window, Meri Lin wakes up and realizes she could lose her child if she doesn't manage to instill certain rules in her.
0117 meri lin #59: how we do "up"	Meri Lin gets help from Fred addressing her issues with the baby, and the parents realize Amanda can be bribed to sit on the floor and ask to be picked up with the promise of a hug.
0119 meri lin #60: the concept of losing her	Fred hatches his plan for teaching Amanda which window is theirs just in case she ever escapes, but he has a disturbing revelation about how easy it would be for his daughter to escape if she's taken outside. He and Meri Lin decide to Amanda-proof their apartment.
0121 meri lin #61: the best balance	Meri Lin continues her quest to improve her baby's dexterity, though it's pretty obvious Amanda is learning to depend on her powers for everything. But Meri Lin realizes she's proud of Amanda when she uses her ability well (like when she helps with little chores), so she's not really sure what attitude toward her daughter's powers she should aim to instill--or emulate herself.
0123 meri lin #62: in my arms	Meri Lin and Fred share some togetherness time, and then Meri Lin ruminates over some thoughts about her baby and holds her while she sleeps. She misses how heavy her baby used to be before she began flying all the time.
0125 meri lin #63: being intimate	Meri Lin and Fred spend more quality time together, and she ponders how amazing it is that Fred always seems to be able to anticipate her needs.
0127 meri lin #64: don't encourage her	Meri Lin has to lie to her sister about visiting again, and as she watches Fred teaching Amanda a little roughhousing, she becomes alarmed. Meri Lin concludes that a child with no limits should not be encouraged to test them.
0129 meri lin #65: before she flies away	Amanda rips the posterboard off the window and ends up outside in an adjacent window's flower box. Meri Lin holds herself together long enough to pull the baby back inside.
0131 meri lin #66: close to me	As an after-effect of her scare with the baby's escape, Meri Lin clings to Amanda, ultimately angering her. Amanda expresses her desire to be alone by pushing her mother around and hiding under the couch.
0133 meri lin #67: giving in	When Fred comes home he gets upset at the baby and demands she put the couch back, but she has her own ways of doing things, and Meri Lin realizes there's a point at which she and Fred will have to give in to what their baby wants if they don't want to get hurt.
0135 meri lin #68: christmas pictures	Due to lack of funds, Meri Lin and Fred can only afford to send a family photo to their friends for Christmas. After failing to get the baby to help them remotely push the button, Fred's ingenuity saves the day. Includes a color drawing of the family.
0137 meri lin #69: another wild-child day	Fred helps Meri Lin take care of Amanda during the holiday break, and she takes note of the relatively carefree way her partner handles weird issues, wondering if she ought to try to emulate him.
0139 meri lin #70: copying mommy	Meri Lin notices that Amanda is trying to copy her motions during household chores, so she attempts to use this situation as a dexterity lesson. She finds Amanda really doesn't have much control over her hands at all, and she's not surprised.
0141 meri lin #71: no way out	Lissa Lee puts in her request to stay with the Fisher-Ling family during summer vacation, and Meri Lin and Fred don't see any way they can refuse her. They decide that if they end up having to tell Lissa Lee about Amanda's secret, they'll just have to face it.
0143 meri lin #72: when she's older	Meri Lin has a dream about Amanda's future. The images she dreams repeatedly contradict themselves, ultimately suggesting that Amanda survives to be a teenager but ends up having her own telekinetic baby, whom Meri Lin has to baby-sit. She awakens confused and overwhelmed.
0145 meri lin #73: she understands	Meri Lin watches Amanda play pretend with her doll. She's surprised to see Amanda putting herself in the mother role and reprimanding the doll to use her hands when she eats, which tells Meri Lin that Amanda actually understands the difference.
0147 meri lin #74: her own way	Amanda demonstrates her skill at crayon scribbling, and then when the phone rings she surprises everyone--including the person on the other end--by answering it and babbling some cute phrases into the receiver before hanging up again. Meri Lin is pleased that her baby is learning to use household objects, but she acknowledges that Amanda will always do it her own way.
0149 meri lin #75: sentimental	A storm startles Amanda into breaking her window again, and while Meri Lin is comforting her, suddenly Amanda puts her whole weight in her mother's arms. Touched by the baby's apparent desire for protection, she calls Fred in to share, and he too is emotionally affected.
0151 meri lin #76: it worked	Meri Lin's continued attempts to stop Amanda from flying and levitating things finally starts to work when Amanda responds positively to a verbal request and seems concerned about whether she's pleasing her mother. Meri Lin considers this a breakthrough.
0153 meri lin #77: another quirk	Meri Lin screws up the courage to take Amanda in for immunizations and a checkup again, during which she finds out something unusual about Amanda's teeth.
0155 meri lin #78: still here	Fred finds a displaced window screen on his way into the building, and worries that Amanda might have flown out a window again until he finds the baby (and Meri Lin) safe and sound. However, upon further investigation, they find the baby has dirt on her legs, which shows she was outside in the flowerbed again. Meri Lin finds it comforting that the baby went out but came back.
0157 meri lin #79: good news	When Fred comes home with the good news that he's getting promoted (with a raise!), Meri Lin is happy to share her own good news as well: She hasn't seen Amanda levitating anything or flying for three days, so maybe there's hope that they won't have to reveal their secret to Lissa Lee. . . . (Unfortunately, Amanda immediately spoils her record by flying behind Meri Lin's back. They decide they're just going to have to bite the bullet and let Meri Lin's sister in on the classified info.)
0159 meri lin #80: open window	This comic with no words pictures Meri Lin discovering Amanda's crib empty and her window open. She scurries around looking for her daughter, panicked, and calls Fred. She keeps returning to the open window. The last frame pictures Fred standing there with her.
0162 meri lin #81: out there	Halfway through a breakdown that seems natural after your child goes missing, Meri Lin is surprised to realize she has a strength she didn't previously recognize. If Fred can't take care of her because he's also freaking out, she decides she has to be the strong one, and tries to separate herself from her emotions so she can focus logically on what to do next in order to find the baby. Thinking of her child miles away flying out amongst strangers is almost enough to return her to her breakdown, though. . . .
0165 meri lin #82: switching roles	Meri Lin reports her missing baby to the local authorities, who take a description and photo for her "alert." Meri Lin then has to go give some moral support to Fred, who's a wreck. For once, she's the strong one.
0168 meri lin #83: temporary	Unsure of what the next step is, Fred decides to go out to look for Amanda (taking a reference photo to show neighbors), while Meri Lin thinks about how no one can really prepare a person on how to deal with your child going missing. As long as she keeps telling herself that Amanda will be found, she feels that she will hold herself together.
0171 meri lin #84: just a window	Flies are getting in the apartment, so Meri Lin and Fred decide to close the window even though it makes them sad to do it. Amanda can get back in, after all. Meri Lin calls her sister to tell her the baby's missing, and decides to make her own missing child poster for her daughter.
0174 meri lin #85: should've	Meri Lin and Fred kick around ideas about what they could have and should have done to avoid their daughter's escape. They end up turning on each other in frustration, briefly blaming each other before reconciling.
0177 meri lin #86: don't worry	Meri Lin and Fred get the disturbing news that their daughter's clothes were found far away in the Bronx, and ponder how it's almost funny how that means something completely different to the cops than it does to them. Meri Lin is sickened by the thought that her baby might be somewhere far away needing her, and is offended that the police carelessly said the words "don't worry."
0180 meri lin #87: my tragedy	Meri Lin's sister Lissa Lee arrives. Though Lissa Lee wants to be strong for her sister, she seems to be a bit overwhelmed by the sadness when she arrives, and Meri Lin seeks to protect her sister from "her tragedy" because she automatically defaults to "Mommy Mode." Meri Lin congratulates herself on how well she's holding up even though the worst imaginable thing has happened to her.
0183 meri lin #88: back to work	Now that Lissa Lee is in town (and has taken over the apartment), Fred feels comfortable telling Meri Lin he thinks it'd be a good idea for him to go back to work. She agrees that he can if he wants, and chooses to use her time constructively by putting up missing child posters.
0186 meri lin #89: real life	While grocery shopping, Meri Lin finally lets the thought enter her mind that there's a chance they WON'T find their daughter, and the heavy thought of returning to life the way it used to be before Amanda was born is too much for her. She has a breakdown in the store and is assisted by other shoppers.
0190 meri lin #90: survival	Meri Lin gets delivered back to her apartment after her breakdown, where her sister receives her. Meri Lin realizes that she has hit rock bottom and that there is nowhere left to go but up . . . and though she considers whether this makes her a bad person, she concludes that there's nothing wrong with wanting to live despite feeling like she's dying. She resolves to make each day brighter than the last even as she grieves.
0193 meri lin #91: someday	Lissa Lee goes back to school, so Meri Lin sees her off. She wanders around pondering big stuff for a while, and when she comes home Fred is drunk and mourning over their lost baby.
0199 meri lin #92: breaking the cycle	Meri Lin gets sick of how she keeps cycling between momentary forgetting of her daughter's absence and painfully remembering it. She decides to break the cycle by going back to school, hoping to change her thinking patterns and survive as a person beyond being the mother of a missing child.
0208 meri lin #93: behind the mask	Meri Lin, back in school, discusses the weirdness of feeling like she has her old life back, and how she handles it when someone reminds her of her recent tragedy.
0220 meri lin #94: grieving differently	Meri Lin comes home to see that Fred's drinking. He's sad because he got his own office at work but knows he wouldn't be able to handle putting pictures of his daughter up like everyone else. Meri Lin, wanting to offer comfort (and craving physical attention herself), finds both her touch and her reassurance rebuffed, but suggests he trust her intuition that their baby is all right.
0238 meri lin #95: so close but so far away	Mourning Fred's distant behavior, Meri Lin longs for physical affection and ruminates on the situation. Finally, after they go to bed, Meri Lin snuggles up to Fred in desperation, and is relieved and satisfied by his automatic reciprocation. It gives her hope that he will one day be physically affectionate with her again while they're both awake.
0261 meri lin #96: old news	Meri Lin finds a headline on a tabloid that sounds like it could be about her daughter, so she reads the content and thinks either someone witnessed and photographed her daughter flying or this is a huge coincidence. She is reassured by the dates in the article that her baby was still fine more than a month after she went missing, and this gives hope to both her and Fred.
0265 meri lin #97: my heart	Meri Lin and Fred eat dinner out to celebrate their Amanda news, and when they're home looking at photos, Fred acknowledges that he can now think of his daughter without unbearable sadness. Their joy turns into an intimate moment and Meri Lin reflects on her happiness at having him back.
0275 meri lin #98: expectation	Meri Lin reflects on her last couple of months trying to track down information about Amanda based on the tabloid article. Though ultimately their efforts fail, she and Fred are still in a much better place than they were before the news. However, Meri Lin feels a very weird anticipatory itch, and though she at first misinterprets her unexplainable feeling to an expectation for Amanda's return, she realizes that actually she might be anticipating a different kind of arrival. A pregnancy test confirms: Meri Lin is pregnant with her second child.
0279 meri lin #99: his sister's shadow	Meri Lin and Fred bask in the news of their next child, and they also chew on the gritty realities they face. Meri Lin hopes to avoid making their baby live "in the shadow" of the missing Amanda, and expresses her desires to Fred, but in so doing she repeatedly refers to the baby as "he." When this is pointed out, Meri Lin panics, since she knows she's thinking of the baby as a boy but doesn't know why, and doesn't want this pregnancy to culminate in a child who follows in Amanda's footsteps. She wonders if denial of her perceptions and making different choices will lead to a different outcome in her son's case.
0289 meri lin #100: nothing to prove	Meri Lin and Fred discuss names for the new baby and also puzzle over why Meri Lin has such a strong feeling that it's going to be a boy. Fred seems to accept Meri Lin's explanation, which is a pleasant surprise for Meri Lin and makes her feel like she has an ally rather than a person who's demanding answers she doesn't have.
0311 meri lin #101: after a loss	Now that Meri Lin's pregnancy has passed the first trimester, the couple has begun to tell people they're going to have a baby. Fred's parents ask if they are having a baby shower "this time," which triggers Meri Lin to start floundering in dark emotions because she hates being reminded that her baby should have an older sister around. Fred comforts her and says all the right things, and Meri Lin is grateful for a partner who doesn't trivialize her emotions.
0349 meri lin #102: a new life	At their ultrasound appointment, Meri Lin and Fred find out that their child is a boy, and Fred announces that he's chosen the name Benjamin. Meri Lin approves, and thinks more about how finding out that he's a boy is helping her separate her second child's trajectory in her mind from that of her firstborn.
0369 meri lin #103: the real nightmares	Meri Lin is having weird dreams again, and this time she dreams that her new baby Benjamin is normal and perfect only to be visited by a much older Amanda who demands that she choose between her two children. After dream-Meri Lin assures dream-Amanda that there is room for two kids, dream-Amanda rejects this as proof that her mother loves Benjamin more because he's normal, and leaves forever. Meri Lin wakes up wishing she actually had to worry about how her children would relate to each other, and resolves to put up more posters to find Amanda.
0379 meri lin #104: indelible marks	Meri Lin is now farther along in her pregnancy, reflecting on how it's different from her pregnancy with Amanda. She thinks about how she and Fred are dealing with sadness and how each of them are going to support each other to help them carry their burdens.
0391 meri lin #105: have you forgotten	Meri Lin has to answer the phone and talk to Fred's older sister while he's out helping a neighbor change a lightbulb. Turns out his sister is pregnant, and since she refers to their shared situation with the description "we're both about to be mothers," Meri Lin feels this is insensitive because it ignores Amanda's existence; Meri Lin already WAS a mother. She gives the phone to Fred upon his return and reflects on how Fred's sister should be allowed to have her joy without having to think about the bittersweet nature of Meri Lin's situation.
0403 meri lin #106: unlike his sister	When Meri Lin goes into labor, she thinks about how much and in what ways she wants Benjamin to be different from Amanda, and feels guilty about wanting her son to turn out differently since she also loved her daughter. She arrives at the hospital and Fred is with her.
0413 meri lin #107: the big push	Meri Lin nears the end of her labor and is told it's time for the final push. Unlike the last time she gave birth, Meri Lin has confidence and doesn't pass out. She hears her son cry and before she knows it, she and Fred are staring at their new son, Benjamin. Meri Lin mentally comments on her immediate rush of love for her child, and then she and Fred conclude that Benjamin is more or less the opposite of his sister: He has no unusual features, and looks like his mother almost completely except for having Fred's rounder eyes. Meri Lin is relieved that he looks so normal and believes she will not have to worry about her son developing superpowers.
0419 meri lin #108: tiptoe through the glass	Meri Lin finds out her son is "exceptional" because he got perfect scores on the APGAR test--an early gauge of signs of a baby's health--and she thinks about how she does not want him to be exceptional as she begins her first breastfeeding. A nurse compliments her technique and comments that she's obviously done it before, which unexpectedly throws Meri Lin into deep sorrow. She lets Fred instruct the nurses on how to tiptoe around their special circumstances, and she refuses to be ashamed of her sorrow.
0427 meri lin #109: i'm there for you	The Fisher-Ling family gets to take Benjamin home, and there they enjoy the new baby with family and friends. Meri Lin reflects on her love during some quiet time, and then her friend Kate visits. She volunteers to watch the baby anytime they need more sleep, and asks if they understand she's there for them. Meri Lin wonders if her friend felt she saw so little of their last baby because they didn't trust her, and vows to make sure she never feels isolated the way she did when Amanda needed to be hidden from the world.
0431 meri lin #110: by the book	Meri Lin calls her sister to figure out when Lissa Lee will be visiting and meeting her new nephew. When Meri Lin seems anxious for Lissa Lee to visit sooner than Thanksgiving, her sister seems concerned, but Meri Lin denies her need for concern and gets off the phone. Really, she's worried about her sister EVER getting to meet her son if he ends up developing the same powers Amanda did. She tests his eyesight and finds that he can now track moving objects with his eyes, which means that if he's anything like his sister, he'll be following in her footsteps soon. Meri Lin wishes fervently that her son will develop only as per the book's projections.
0439 meri lin #111: all three syllables	Meri Lin notices Fred always calls their son some weird nickname, and they have a discussion about what nicknames mean and their differences of opinion on the use of full names.
0447 meri lin #112: worry didn't save her	Meri Lin and Fred leave baby Benjamin with Kate and go on a date. They have a good time and Meri Lin revels a bit in the temporary worry-free feeling. She realizes that all the worrying she did when she was trying to parent Amanda did not save her from being lost, and she wonders if she really ought to concentrate on worrying less for practical purposes.
0463 meri lin #113: sweet face	Meri Lin has begun to notice that her baby Benjamin has a lot of opinions and persnickety tastes. She runs through his pickiness over what music plays on the mobile, what pacifier he sucks, what scent the lotion has, and who burps him. Meri Lin jokingly reminds him his sweet face won't get him everything he wants for the rest of his life.
0506 meri lin #114: watching for signs	Meri Lin's son has learned to sit up on his own. She reflects on experiencing "normal" milestones with Benjamin, interacting with family over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and wondering about how she'd handle a recurrence of dealing with superpowered babies if it happened to her or her family again.
0513 meri lin #115: in a heartbeat	Meri Lin reflects on how Benjamin's milestones are normal but he doesn't seem like much of a smiler. She receives photos of Fred's sister's baby--Dorothy and Dennis's new son Sam--and she's startled to see that the baby's ears are a little bit pointy. Even though Dorothy annoyed her with needy phone calls and petty comparisons, Meri Lin is sure that if this child turns out anything like Amanda, she would be willing to support her.
0524 meri lin #116: all my what-ifs	Meri Lin notices a slight change in Benjamin's napping behavior, and after he wakes up, she sees evidence that he might have crawled when she wasn't looking. She's amazed that normal baby developments could inspire such strange questions about the future now that her experiences with Amanda have made babies' learning new skills potentially terrifying.
0554 meri lin #117: this simple	Meri Lin can now confirm that Benjamin is crawling. As she revisits baby-proofing her home and reflects on how much more difficult it was to keep Amanda out of dangerous things, she can't help but feel Benjamin's predictable, by-the-book growth is lulling her into a false sense of security. She's sure he has a shocking surprise up his sleeve still to come.
0563 meri lin #118: this easy	Meri Lin gets restless and takes Benjamin out to the park, reminiscing about when she last did this with Amanda and had a tiny disaster. Instead, she finds that another parent with a child is friendly to her, and she has to keep reminding herself that she has nothing to hide. She makes friends with the other parent and they realize their sons were born within two days of each other.
0573 meri lin #119: this honest	Much to Meri Lin's surprise, the friend she made in the park wants to get together in the future, so she schedules a playdate for their sons and has MJ over for coffee. They realize they have lots in common beyond being parents, and MJ invites Meri Lin to meet with another woman who has a mixed-race child. Then they discuss MJ's gender--she prefers not to be seen as a woman--and while discussing the gendering of children's toys, Meri Lin considers whether she'll ever be able to discuss the less typical experiences she had with losing a child. Since MJ seems open to honesty and unusual subjects, Meri Lin thinks she will be someone she can trust, but she's not ready to talk about it yet.
0588 meri lin #120: time away	Meri Lin has now met MJ's friend Priya and they've formed a little parent group. This montage issue shows them supervising playdates with their sons and going out together. Meri Lin likes having a group and wonders if Fred minds watching Benjamin when they go out. Does Fred want to meet dads? She doesn't know.
0604 meri lin #121: this explains her	Meri Lin and her friends MJ and Priya have their usual parent group, with their sons playing. Priya's son Rafael pushes Benjamin's hands off a chair so he falls, but he seems fine, and Priya complains that he's learning bad behavior from other boys and needs girls around to teach him gentler play. MJ disagrees, and Meri Lin blithely comments that her daughter was more aggressive than her son is. She realizes what she says and explains what happened to her daughter, and wonders if her friends always knew there was something sorrowful at the root of who she was.
0615 meri lin #122: imitating it	Benjamin imitates Meri Lin and Fred's greeting kiss and they're both delighted. Meri Lin had been worrying that Benjamin isn't a very affectionate child, and she still worries that he's just imitating them, but she considers it a good sign.
0635 meri lin #123: yes sir	It's Benjamin's first birthday. Meri Lin and Fred wait for him to knock his hat off, but he seems to like it fine and just wants cake. They sing to him, find him uninterested in the song, and finally give him his birthday cake. Meri Lin comments that he can have another one next year if he stays.
0646 meri lin #124: our own worth	Fred calls Meri Lin and asks her to get a short-notice sitter so they can go to dinner. It turns out they're celebrating another promotion for Fred, but he's frustrated over it because he feels another employee deserved it more for doing most of the work. Meri Lin reassures him, and encourages him to make sure that employee gets good opportunities under him once he's promoted. She wonders how she came to deserve such a great guy.
0664 meri lin #125: dialed down	Meri Lin observes her son coming up with a sentence and again appreciates being able to record his milestones in a book. She still wonders sometimes if Benjamin is going to turn out reasonably normal, and hopes that his subdued emotions and unusual calmness isn't a sign that she has somehow failed to contribute full human emotional range to him.
0678 meri lin #126: what makes sense for us	Meri Lin overhears some Chinese women having issues ordering sandwiches in a deli due to a language barrier, so she offers to translate and succeeds in helping one of the women avoid an allergen. They offer to pay for Meri Lin's lunch, seeming very friendly, but then they drop judgmental commentary on her for admitting that they do not speak Mandarin in the home and Benjamin is only learning English. She excuses herself, but wonders if she ought to be trying to give that part of herself to her son.
0701 meri lin #127: harder to read	Meri Lin plays a tape for baby Benjamin and he spontaneously dances, which looks like a weird expression of joy since he does it without smiling. Meri Lin wishes he were more demonstrative with his emotions and tries to encourage him to laugh.
0712 meri lin #128: less expensive	Fred asks Meri Lin if he can throw out some of her tabloids, but she hasn't read them yet and says no. But when Fred presses the issue of what they're spending on buying the tabloids, Meri Lin feels that he's calling her irrational. Fred assures her that he does NOT think her looking at tabloids is irrational and just wants her to find a less expensive way to see the content. Meri Lin decides Benjamin should understand from the beginning that his sister is missing and understand what it has done to his family so it's never a mystery.
0755 meri lin: #129: vigilant	Meri Lin takes Benjamin to the doctor for his DTaP shot. He doesn't have much of a reaction and Meri Lin finally asks the doctor if there might be something wrong with him because his emotions seem muted. The doctor thinks there's no reason to worry but reassures her that worrying about such things is just about vigilance; she isn't silly to be concerned. It's just that her professional opinion as a doctor is that there's nothing wrong with him.
0793 meri lin #130: thank god for the kids	Fred's relatives show up at Meri Lin's apartment and baby Benjamin finally gets to meet his cousin Sam. Meri Lin notes that Sam's ears don't look as pointed as they did in his newborn pictures, but they still have a weird shape. She thinks Fred's sister and brother-in-law wouldn't have visited if Sam had any powers. They proceed to observe their children's more typical abilities as the babies meet after a diaper change.
0800 meri lin #131: do you remember	Meri Lin feels judged by Fred's sister Dorothy as she keeps using her own experience and her son's as the standard, questioning Meri Lin's experience and then even suggesting she doesn't understand why she has so many girl toys. Meri Lin asks if Dorothy remembers that she had a girl first, and wonders why this woman who is essentially her family is acting like she has a stranger's knowledge of her life.
0824 meri lin #132: tiptoed around	Fred's sister Dorothy confirms to Meri Lin that of course she remembers Amanda, but she thought she had to talk around the missing child to avoid unpleasantness. Meri Lin speaks on how she feels about that, and when Dorothy offers to have a children's book made for Benjamin about Amanda, she thinks it might be nice and agrees.
0837 meri lin #133: sweet of her	Meri Lin and Fred's guests stay overnight and say some uncomfortable things in the morning. After they leave Meri Lin tells Fred about his sister's comments on making a book about their daughter, and he warns her that sometimes his sister drops out of projects or takes them over completely.
0853 meri lin #134: now that you're big	On Benjamin's second birthday, Meri Lin gives herself a pep talk (pretending it's a talk for her son), discussing the uncharted territory she now enters as a parent of a two-year-old. Amanda disappeared before she turned two, so everything Meri Lin now does as a parent is going to be beyond what she's explored before. She looks at photo albums with Benjamin and looks forward to adding his two-year-old birthday pictures to his album.
0867 meri lin #135: if he meets her	Meri Lin and Fred, while perusing a tabloid paper, discuss how much they're going to tell their son about their daughter's powers. They decide it doesn't make sense to tell him about her if they don't have proof, but they agree that it feels wrong to hide it from him.
0886 meri lin #136: only in out hearts	Meri Lin receives draft pages for the children's book she'd talked to Fred's sister about developing for Amanda. She's dismayed to find it's clearly a book for families with a passed away child, and when she calls Dorothy to say it's not appropriate for Amanda, she defends the book as more relatable for more families. Meri Lin feels she shouldn't have expected anything actually appropriate, but acknowledges that her story is a hard one to tell.
0898 meri lin #137: mean little leader	Meri Lin goes to the park with her friends and watches their sons play, but Priya's son starts bullying Benjamin. Meri Lin isn't sure whether she should intervene, but Priya takes care of it and leaves Meri Lin questioning whether she protects her child enough.
0920 meri lin #138: at the table	Meri Lin is feeding Benjamin a snack in his high chair and he expresses desire to eat both of the available choices once he gets a good hold on the word "too." But then he asks to do something else "too," and Meri Lin has trouble figuring it out until finally she realizes he wants to sit at the table. A booster seat is in the future, which is bittersweet for her.
0932 meri lin #139: the lucky one	Meri Lin gets a bunch of chocolates for Mother's Day, which were largely wrapped by her son. Benjamin enjoys watching his mother open things and she then enjoys meals prepared for her and a day of relaxation. At night, Fred presents her with a very touching Mother's Day card with a bonus kiss. His card says he's so lucky to have her but she feels she's the lucky one.
0947 meri lin #140: project manager	Meri Lin has noticed that Benjamin loves to build but seeks her approval for his actions, like he's the architect but she's his project manager. She experiences a kind of awe seeing him learn, execute his plans, and simply exist, and wonders if her awe about Amanda's talents were really so different. She's glad he's autonomous but still dependent on her for approval.
0970 meri lin #141: a person as well	Meri Lin has decided to look for a part-time job and send her son to daycare for some days, and makes the mistake of telling her mother about it as if it's good news. Her mother dislikes the idea of her grandson in daycare and shames Meri Lin. Meri Lin feels it's good for her son AND good for her, and her mother finds that to be even more selfish. Meri Lin refuses to agree that wanting something for herself beyond motherhood is selfish.
1001 meri lin #142: conversation	Meri Lin isn't so much liking her new job because she's bored and not feeling fulfilled, and being away from her son while he's in daycare hurts--especially when he learns things that aren't from her world and expresses a preference for some things he's encountered there. She's worried her mother was right about how she shouldn't go back to work, but she does not want to admit it.
1021 meri lin #143: best friends	Meri Lin wants to take some miscellaneous photos of Benjamin with his friends Kenneth and Rafael, but when she wants them to "pose like best friends" with their arms around each other, Ben objects and says neither of these boys is his best friend and it's some kid Meri Lin has never heard of at his daycare. This upsets Kenneth as he thought he and Ben were best friends, and Ben changes his mind and says they're best friends after all when he doesn't want Kenneth to be upset. Meri Lin is glad she has a compassionate son, but she doesn't want him to feel like he owes anyone a specific relationship.

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