'Chasing Life' Recap: 'Guess Who's Coming to Donate?'

On this week’s episode of Chasing Life, April struggles to pick up a new writing assignment at work, George has a change of heart about his relationship with Sara, and Natalie and Olivia’s visit causes further complications for the Carver family.

April visits Leo. He’s having breakfast with his mom at the hospital and feels a little down on his luck since he’d been in a coma for four months. Leo’s also having problems with remembering things and controlling his mindset; he worries that his brain tumor will come back.

At Beth’s apartment, she and April discuss Leo and April’s doctor appointment to determine whether or not Natalie will be a bone marrow match for her. Their conversation is interrupted by Beth’s roommate and her new boyfriend. The couple is very loud and touchy-feely, much to Beth’s dismay.

At work, April worries about messing up her new assignment. Danny offers to take her place on the piece, instead, then confesses that the assignment has been given to him instead of April and April is now on research duty. Determined to find out why she’s suddenly being demoted, April finds her new manager, Aaron. She makes up an excuse to get rid of his secretary, then learns why he re-assigned the article to Danny—he wants to ensure that April will not suffer any more mental lapses on the job.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Brenna and Natalie share an awkward conversation while waiting for their mothers—and April—to arrive. When they meet with Dr. Hamburg, they learn that Natalie is a half-match. More testing needs to be done, before the bone marrow extraction procedure can be carried out and the thought of surgery visibly frightens Natalie. In an effort to persuade Natalie to do the right thing, April and Brenna try to convince Natalie that the procedure won’t be so bad and that she’ll save April’s life.

Back at the Carver house, Sara and George celebrate the news that Natalie is a half-match. However, their tender moment is interrupted by Sara’s mom, Emma, who chides them for not being more clandestine with their affair. She also questions George about when he’s going to tell April and Brenna, to which he responds, that he’d like to wait until April’s health is better. Emma reminds him that it could be a while. A few moments later, the phone rings and Sara leaves the room to take the call. When she returns, April and Brenna have come down for dinner and are seemingly concerned. Sara says that Olivia called to set up a meeting with her; Sara thinks Natalie is going to back out of the procedure.

At the hospital, Leo is undergoing physical therapy and is in a lot of pain. April checks in on him and advises him not to lose hope when he feels overwhelmed. She also tells him about Natalie backing out on being her bone marrow donor to help him feel better about himself.

At the Charles Coffee House, Sara and Olivia clash over Natalie’s recent decision to back out on being the bone marrow donor. George tries to be the peacemaker by arranging a family dinner for everyone at the Carver house, the only catch being that Natalie has to show up. Olivia promises to do what she can.

Meanwhile, at work, April sees Aaron congratulate Danny on his finished article, and feeling a little low, she asks him for a second chance, admitting her cancer is still affecting her memory. When April offers to do another political piece—like the previous story she did on Bruce Hendrie’s campaign—Aaron asks her to write an article on cancer instead; he wants a “tearjerker” story that will resonate with readers. April is visibly stunned, but agrees to the request.

At the tattoo shop, Natalie walks in during Kieran and Brenna’s shift and makes a joke about getting a tattoo, which flares Brenna’s anger. Brenna’s upset that Natalie won’t be April’s bone marrow donor and still thinks she’s selfish. Natalie invites Brenna to a party the next evening to try and smooth things over a bit. Brenna agrees to go, but only because she wants to change Natalie’s mind about being April’s donor.

Back at the hospital, April checks in at the Nurse’s Station to visit Leo, but is denied entry. The nurse on duty says that Leo has updated his visitor’s log and April isn’t on it.

At Beth’s, April shares updates on Leo and Beth finds his behavior strange. In addition, April wonders what they’d have to talk about if she didn’t have cancer. At the same time, Beth’s roommate and her boyfriend drop in and Beth laments how sharing a living space can be stressful. April suggests that Beth stay with Graham for a few days, but Beth doesn’t want to make things weird for April now that she and Dominic are no longer an item. April calms Beth’s worries and tells her it’s okay if she wants to stay with Graham.

Meanwhile, at the Carver House, George looks for Sara, but Emma tells him she’s not home. Alone with Emma, George questions her on whether or not she disapproves of he and Sara’s relationship. She says the problem is Sara’s dead husband—and George’s brother—Tom. George disagrees.

At work, Aaron is displeased with April’s cancer article. April didn’t follow his directions and write a “tearjerker piece on cancer” and when she objects to his orders, he threatens to take away her writing privileges and put her back on “research duty.”

Meanwhile, Brenna shows up to the party Natalie invited her to. Initially, Brenna is hesitant to accept a drink from Natalie after the incident in Florida with Greer, but Natalie assures Brenna of her innocence.

April visits Leo at physical therapy since she can’t get into his room. When April brings up her part in Leo’s decision to have surgery, Leo says everything’s changed and the “new him” isn’t interested in being friends with anyone.

Later, at the Carver house, April is stressed and tells her uncle George about Leo pushing her away. George tells her that relationships don’t always work out because of all the obstacles couples face.

Beth and Graham canoodle on the couch at Graham and Dominic’s apartment. Dominic walks in with a date and things are pretty heated until the date discovers a leopard-print bra on the floor of his room and demands an explanation. Dominic forces Beth to lie and say the bra is hers so his date won’t leave.

At the party, Natalie saves Brenna from a pushy frat guy by pouring beer on his head. Brenna confides in Natalie and says that she misses Greer, leading Natalie to share a story about a past relationship, which also didn’t end well. A few beats later, Natalie gets a text saying the girls need to be at the Carver house for dinner.

At the Carver house, Sara and Olivia fret over Natalie and Brenna’s absence. Sara freaks out when the girls walk in and Brenna smells of alcohol. Brenna claims she’s at fault and only hung out with Natalie in an effort to change her mind about being April’s donor. Another fight erupts between Sara and Olivia, leading to Olivia and Natalie’s departure.

Meanwhile, Beth and Dominic share a tense conversation at Graham and Dominic’s apartment.

Back at the Carver house, George comforts Sara, who confesses she’s angrier at Olivia and Natalie that she’s willing to admit. Sara says she wishes she could talk to George about this more fully, but she can’t. The pair eventually gets into a fight when George suggests they end their secret relationship after Sara refuses to tell her daughters.

Inside, April re-assures Brenna that she’s done all she could to help convince Natalie to be her bone marrow donor. Brenna confesses Natalie isn’t as bad as they think and she feels that Natalie’s only looking to truly become part of their family.

Later, April visits Natalie at her hotel and asks to talk. April says she doesn’t blame Natalie and her mom for their outburst and that she wishes they could treat each other like sisters. Natalie still refuses to donate her bone marrow.

At work the next day, April hands her revised cancer article to Aaron. He seems a bit more receptive to her this time around.

Meanwhile, George meets up with a friend for drinks and April makes one final attempt to get through to Leo. April says she doesn’t want to lose him and the tension between them appears to soften.

In another part of the hospital, Natalie and Olivia meet with Dr. Hamburg. Natalie has changed her mind and has finally agreed to be April’s bone marrow donor. She’ll be staying in Boston for a little while longer, but Olivia will be returning to Florida.

Chasing Life airs Mondays at 9:00p.m. on ABCFamily.

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