'Chasing Life' Recap: 'Unplanned Parenthood'

On this week’s episode of Chasing Life, April visits a fertility clinic, Dominic receives an exciting new job offer, and Brenna makes a shocking decision about her love life.

April and Beth are sitting in the waiting room of the fertility clinic, filling out a sexual health/relationship questionnaire. A gay couple asks which one of them is going to be pregnant, so they jokingly play along. A few moments later, they visit with the doctor. She tells April her best option is Natural Cycle In Vitro and that it’ll take about 10 days. April expresses her interest in doing the Natural Cycle In Vitro, but there’s one catch. It costs $5,000 and her insurance won’t cover it, since it’s an “elective procedure.” Cue opening credits.

Following this, April arrives home. Brenna informs her that their grandma cooked dinner. Sara asks her to join, but April tries to bail. Sara asks April about her day, and while she is initially reluctant to share, she does tell everyone about her visit with the doctor. April explains how she’s elected to go with Natural Cycle In Vitro and that it will take about 10 days to have her eggs harvested. When she mentions the cost, everyone seems alarmed. In addition, Sara reminds April about chemo, to which she responds that she needs to get ready for her weekly cancer support group.

At cancer support group, April tells her peers that she was supposed to start chemo today, but saw a fertility doctor instead. She expresses her concerns about having kids. April feels that doing the In Vitro will give her some hope. She thinks that by making this step, she’s opening up “a lifeline to her future.” April then remarks that having cancer has changed her outlook on life, causing her to say things she normally wouldn’t. Everyone laughs as a female peer shares similar sentiments. The conversation takes another serious turn as April seeks help in telling Dominic about her cancer. A few more people share their stories before Leo interjects, saying no matter how April decides to tell him, it will be hard. He does offer her some optimism, though, reminding her she’ll feel better when everything’s out in open and people show their true colors.

After the weekly cancer support group meeting, April catches up with Leo and tells him she’s considering writing a piece on the St. Christopher Society and the bad press it has recently attracted due to an issue with cyberbullying. Leo’s dad, gubernatorial candidate, Bruce Hendrie is on the board of the society, so April asks for Leo’s blessing. He gives it, though not without chiding her for continuing to work.

At the Boston Post, the writing staff is pitching their stories to Lawrence. Paul’s idea gets shot down, to which Raquel makes snarky comments, and Mallory’s idea about “sperm napping” surprisingly gets picked up. Last is April with her idea about the St. Christopher Society and its ties to Bruce Hendrie. Lawrence vetoes the idea, but then quickly changes his mind, volunteering Raquel to help supervise the piece. He says it could be April’s first solo byline.

Brenna meets up with Greer at school, though Greer isn’t very friendly. Brenna apologizes for what happened at Greer’s party and Greer brushes off her apology.

Back at work, April talks with Dominic about possibly getting her first story. Lawrence suddenly interrupts and tells Dominic he just spoke with someone at Random House about a potential new job offer. He asks Dominic if he’d like to go on tour with the band, Daft Punk as a rock journalist. The gig is for four months and starts in Berlin. It starts in two days.

April and Dominic talk about the potential job offer. Dominic is interested in the job but worries about the timing. He asks April if their dinner date later is still happening. April says it is.

April talks to George about her mother micromanaging her treatment and their differing opinions on her future. George assures her everything will be okay and they’ll get through her treatment. Then the subject of her dad comes up. George says he “wanted to do the right thing, but didn’t know what that was.”

Back at work, April talks to Raquel about her article on the St. Christopher Society. Raquel criticizes the piece and says it won’t make it to print unless she re-writes it by 5:00 p.m. and it’s now 4:00 p.m. Danny suddenly returns to his cubicle and comments about how he enjoys April and Raquel’s catfights. April tells him she has an hour to fix her piece. Danny gives her a playlist he always used to help him study in college. She hesitantly accepts, but winds up using both the playlist and an energy drink to help her focus during the re-write. April finishes the piece, prints it out, and brings it to Raquel’s office. When April returns to her cubicle, she and Danny watch Raquel and Lawrence discuss the piece. A few moments later, Lawrence walks over to April’s cubicle and congratulates her on her first solo byline.

April and Beth toast her first solo byline with champagne and Beth sells a bag to a female customer (she’s having a flea market simultaneously). April discusses telling Dominic about her cancer and the complication his potential new job could pose. They also talk about April’s recent visit to the fertility clinic.

At home, April gets ready for her date with Dominic and Brenna watches. Brenna says she isn’t used to April and their mom fighting, as Brenna and Sara are usually the ones that clash. April informs Brenna that she got her first solo byline at work and Brenna seems happy, calling April “a real reporter” now. Meanwhile, their mother, Sara eavesdrops from the hall. April and Brenna continue to talk and April mentions her plans with Dominic. A text from Danny interrupts, causing April to rush out. She needs to get to work immediately, because according to Danny, her story has been “scrapped.”

Sara’s sitting in the living room reading books on cancer when her mom interrupts. She suggests going to a movie, but Sara doesn’t fancy the idea. The doorbell suddenly rings and when Sara’s mom goes to answer it, it’s George. He mentions his earlier talk with April. She and George butt heads about some of April’s recent choices, including her decision to visit a fertility specialist. George tells Sara he’s going to help her deal with April’s condition.

April calls Dominic and tells him she’s going to be late to their date because her story got scrapped and she needs to stop by the office. When she arrives at the office, everyone pops out of hiding to help celebrate her getting her first solo byline.

April is extremely flattered that her co-workers decided to throw her a surprise party. Beth remarks that the party was all Dominic’s idea. April is also happy to see her younger sister, Brenna there. Additionally, Dominic’s roommate, Graham makes a special appearance.

George sticks to his word and tries to help Sara come to terms with April’s illness. He takes her to the hospital and shows her a poster for a “Cancer Caregivers Mixer.” Sara doesn’t love the idea. George says going to the mixer is “worth a try” and that Sara can leave if she wants to.

Back at work, April and Dominic toast her first solo byline and share a kiss. When they pull apart, April is shocked to see Leo walking in. Dominic explains that he invited Leo because of April’s recent encounters with the Hendrie family. Leo and Dominic briefly chat, before Dominic takes a box Leo carried in and walks away. When Dominic is gone, Leo congratulates April. April says his presence at the party is awkward. Leo says he isn’t there to make trouble and promises not to say anything about their recent kiss or her cancer.

Meanwhile, Brenna goes into the kitchen at the Boston Post looking for ice and runs into Graham, who tries flirting with her. Beth steps in and saves the day, informing Graham that he’s “hitting on a minor.”

Leo comes out of the men’s room and hears Dominic on the phone. He admits he was eavesdropping, so Dominic tells him about the possibility of going on tour with Daft Punk. Dominic says he’s not sure about taking it because of April and asks Leo not to say anything to her.

Back at the hospital, George and Sara are at the Cancer Caregivers mixer. George gets them drinks while Sara has an awkward conversation with a stranger.

At the Boston Post, all the partygoers are playing “Never Have I Ever” and trading personal stories. When Danny says “Never have I ever been attracted to someone of the same sex,” Beth outs Brenna's crush on Greer. April is confused and reminds Brenna about Kieran, to which she responds that it’s “possible to like two people at the same time.”

April suddenly goes to get more champagne and Leo grabs her attention and says he’s leaving. Leo spills about Dominic’s phone call, saying he got the touring job, but might not take it because of her. He says that although he and Dominic have formed a sort of “bromance,” he believes in “freedom of information.” Leo offers April one final “Congratulations” and then leaves.

While everyone else continues playing “Never Have I Ever,” April asks Dominic if they can talk. Mallory drunkenly spots Lawrence and the group tries to hide. Lawrence walks in and says they’re all fired, but he’s joking. He says the party can continue, they just need to clean everything up before work starts the next morning. He also asks that nobody go near his desk. Lawrence pulls April aside to talk. Once they are alone, he tells April she’s finally “proved herself,” so they can eliminate Raquel as the “middleman.” April informs Lawrence she’s going to need some time off from work soon and he’s not very pleased. When April clarifies herself, saying she needs time off for a “medical thing,” he’s a bit more receptive. He leaves shortly after.

Back at the mixer, the caregivers aren’t very caring or open to talking and Sara seems to notice. When she makes George aware of this, he introduces her to a man named Brian Connors and Sara mentions how April was just diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). Brian says his son has been battling cancer for almost 10 years and suggests Sara go to a therapist, since the Cancer Caregivers mixers are more of a place to drink and take your mind off of cancer stuff. Sara explains that she is a therapist. A few moments later, she walks out of the mixer, frustrated, and she and George fight. Sara is mad because she wants to be able to make sense of things the same way she helps her own patients. She’s mad at the world that her daughter has cancer and wonders what she did wrong for it to happen. Sara feels better after her mild freak-out, so she and George leave the hospital.

Back at the Boston Post, Brenna tapes pictures of herself all over April’s desk. When she goes to leave a picture of herself in April’s drawer, she finds the picture of their dad, George, and Natalie in it.

Meanwhile, April catches up with Dominic and tells him he should take the job if he gets it. Dominic says that there are other things he wants besides this job, some of which are in Boston. April understands, but doesn’t want there to be any “relationship pressure;” she’s trying to be realistic. The conversation is halted when Brenna walks in and shows April the picture she found.

Forced to reveal the truth, April tells Brenna that Natalie is their half sister and that their dad had an affair. April assures Brenna she was going to eventually talk to her about Natalie, but she had a lot of reservations. She also asks Brenna not to hate their deceased father when there’s still a lot that they don’t know about Natalie and the affair. April says being honest is “much harder than it seems, especially if you’re afraid you’ll hurt someone you really care about.”

April and Dominic clean up after the party. Dominic tells her that he took the job. They congratulate each other again. April says she has one more “I never” for him.

Brenna goes to see Greer. She wants to talk since Greer hasn’t answered any of her texts. Brenna says she still feels really bad about what happened with Kieran at Greer’s party. Greer brushes her off again, saying she’s already apologized about it. Brenna realizes this, but says she can’t deal with Greer “hating” her. Greer tells Brenna that she doesn’t hate her, she just has trouble dealing with “being into girls,” since she didn’t know if Brenna felt the same way. Greer thought she and Brenna had a “thing.” Brenna responds that they did. Greer seems upset because she thinks this means Brenna has moved on, but then Brenna kisses her and reassures her that they’re still into each other.

April and Dominic are sitting on a dock watching the sunrise. Dominic responds that he didn’t think this was the last “I Never.” He asks April about their plan since he’s going away for four months. April says not to worry about her, because she doesn’t know what she wants and needs to figure it out on her own. Dominic questions if they’re breaking up. April confirms that they’re over, saying she doesn’t want them to start “resenting” each other. Dominic asks if the breakup can start in one more hour.

When Dominic and April return to his apartment, they find Beth there. She slept with Graham, feeling an attraction to him after they kept playing “Never Have I Ever.”

The episode ends with April on the phone, talking with Dr. Fong from the fertility clinic. April explains that she’s ready to set up a payment plan. Dr. Fong explains that her payment for the procedure has already been processed and the donor wished to remain anonymous. Dr. Fong says it’s her “lucky day.”

Chasing Life airs every Tuesday at 9 p.m. on ABC Family.