Sharon and Rob have had quite a few things to suss out in a very short time period. They seem to have found their groove where their home life is concerned; whenever they have their moments on the couch of their dim-lit living room, you could almost be fooled into believing these guys have been together forever. But they haven’t, and unfortunately they are now having to rush into settling on parenting ideas, and the pros and cons of a religious upbringing. Rob thinks christening a baby is a load of rubbish; however, he’s down with a naming ceremony. Sharon’s response is clear:
“That is a bullshit California yoga retreat load of bullshit and my parents would kill me.”
So much for that, then. Hearing Rob and Sharon fight it out over who would make the better godparent—some random Irish writer or Fergal, who is “not technically an adult in the eyes of the church”—is pretty entertaining, unlike the decisions they are confronted with for the remaining episode. After a tense and awkward Meet-Sharon’s-Parents, Rob and his wife-to-be find themselves back with the doctor who makes House look like a cuddly teddy bear. He has called them in to inform them that a combined test has shown that their child has a one in fifty risk of being born with Down’s Syndrome.
“Well, Christ! One in….What are you? A sadist? […] Why did I need to know that?”
Sharon storms off in such a rage she almost forgets her knickers. She feels completely and utterly defeated, when all she really wanted was to embrace and enjoy her pregnancy. Now, every time she sees a happy pregnant woman, she feels like punching her in the face. Fair enough. Rob is worried sick about her when she storms out of the doctor’s office and commences on a thirteen mile hike to Camden. When she finally gets back to the apartment, she voices all the concerns she has about raising a disabled child and, suddenly, no matter how funny the dialogue remains throughout the show, nothing about it seems comedic anymore. We’re talking real-life, big-deal decisions here and we’re trusting a couple that has been together for like, ten minutes, to make them. Listening to Sharon contemplate what life would be like as the parent of a disabled child, their relationship impetuously becomes very real.
During a romantic-looking brunch consisting of carrot cake and a view of the Thames, Rob shares the news with Chris. Chris, whose delicious slur of a Scottish accent excites me time and again, becomes even more appealing when he shows his scruffily soft side. As it turns out, he’s rather a good mate to Rob; however, he is expecting the unspeakable of him in return. Chris’ overbearing and stuck-up wife Fran has found receipts of their regular “din-dins” and has accused him of having an affair. He finally had to fess up to his man-dates with Rob, despite her feelings towards him after an infamous walnuts-being-shoved-up-assholes argument. The only way she can possibly agree to their new friendship is by talking things over with Rob himself. Suffice to say, Rob himself is not in the least bit excited by this idea and makes a meek attempt at talking himself out of it, even using bad timing as an argument, when Chris cuts in: