Relationship Timeline

A brief timeline of Luke and Grace's interaction
throughout the series.

• Season 1
  

• The Fire and the Wood
  Grace and Luke are in the same AP Chemistry class.
  
  At a study session at the Girardi’s, Luke observes Grace pointing out that wood doesn’t actually burn and is apparently attracted to her intelligence.
  
  Grace, in her own special way, offers to open a jar Luke was struggling with.
  

• Touch Move
  In chemistry class, Grace, in typical little-boy-likes-little-girl fashion, throws spit wads at Luke and makes fun of his aftershave.
  

• Bringth it On
  In chemistry class, Luke defends Grace’s intelligence in front of the whole class when Friedman makes a joke about it. Grace seems surprised.
  
  Friedman also gives Luke a hard time for liking Grace, since he thinks she’s gay.
  
  Grace turns to Luke when she fears Joan is falling into the “popular” crowd.
  
  Luke goes to Kevin for advice about his feelings with the infamous “moose-elk” talk.
  
  After Joan’s cheerleading tryouts, where Grace fiercely denied to Luke that she “likes” anyone, Luke asks her to be his partner for the school Science Fair. She tells him she doesn’t plan ahead, and to check back. Excited with her “maybe” answer, Luke scurries off with a big grin. Grace sits on the steps with a small smile and watches him leave.
  

• Death Be Not Whatever
  In chemistry class, Grace makes a remark about being obsessed with science, calling Luke “Atom Boy.”
  

• The Uncertainty Principle
  Luke reproaches Grace about the science fair. She tells him she already agreed to do it.
  
  While in the cafeteria discussing the project, Friedman makes fun of them with some crack about Grace not wearing a dress. Grace gets annoyed tells Friedman that they’ll see him at the dance, therefore inadvertently asking Luke to the dance.
  
  At the dance, Friedman once again gives Luke a hard time for being there with Grace. Grace overhears this and grabs Luke and kisses him.
  

• Jump
  Luke and Grace continue to work on their science fair project.
  When the FBI seizes Luke’s computer, Grace tells him that they should build a rail gun instead.
  
  After receiving an offer to join Friedman’s team, Luke once again asks Kevin’s advice. Kevin basically tells Luke to get over his fear of women and work on the rail gun.
  
  Luke and Grace stay up all night working on the rail gun which, to their surprise, works…sort of.
  
  Said rail gun ends up flying off the tracks and slaughtering the science fair, causing an eruption of feathers to shower down upon them all. Luke and Grace emerge from their cover and Grace laughs genuinely while Luke brushes feathers out of his hair.
  

• Recreation
  Luke steals a glance at Grace at the anti-drug lecture gone awry.
  
  At the party, Grace seems really interested in looking at Luke’s baby pictures.
  
  After everyone’s left the party, Luke is sprawled out on the couch and it’s Grace’s turn to steal a glance at him.
  

• State of Grace
  Friedman convinces Luke to give up on Grace and go after Glynis.
  
  Before the debate, Luke confronts Glynis and they share a really awkward kiss. Luke turns to watch Glynis as she scurries off down the hall, only to see that Grace witnessed the whole thing. Grace manages to maintain a nearly unreadable reaction, though she does look at least slightly hurt.
  

• Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray
  Grace tells Joan that Luke lent her his lab notebook, saying she “still has pull.”
  

• Anonymous
  While passing by Luke and Glynis, Grace makes a remark about how she didn’t think they would last as long as they have and refers to Glynis as “ostrich.”
  

• Vanity, Thy Name is Human
  Luke finally breaks it off with Glynis.
  

• The Gift
  Luke joins Joan, Adam, and Grace’s study group because of the tension with Glynis.
  
  Luke let’s Grace know that he’s still interested in her by giving her a geode. Grace seems sincerely touched by the gesture, but tells him that it’s weird. He knows, but doesn’t care.
  

• Silence
  While walking home from the hospital, Grace confronts Luke about why he gave her the geode. He tells her it was a gesture of friendship. Possibly courtship. Grace argues reasons why the idea is ridiculous, but Luke doesn’t buy any of them. After a final, failed attempt to push him away, Grace finally gives in and they make out as some random pedestrian walks by and stares at them.
  

• Season 2
  

• Only Connect
  Luke and Grace make out behind a brick wall of a little sidewalk café type of place. When she tells him that time’s up, it spawns a little argument about a confidentiality contract she made him sign.
  
  They are now in the same AP Physics class. During Lischak’s opening lecture, Luke steals glances at Grace, who glares at him (albeit with a hint of a smile).
  
  When Grace accidentally snaps a rubber band at Glynis, she makes a snappy comment to Luke about his ‘soul mate’ attacking her. Luke protests, as per the agreement.
  
  Friedman, being totally committed to the “Grace is a lesbian” thing, makes a joke about her “liking the other equipment. She hits him with a rubber band.
  
  They make out at their little hiding place again. At one point, both of them share the same kiss-buzzed-mushy-brain smile. Then Grace brings up finding a new place because of the security guard that drives around.
  
  As the whole AP Physics gang is walking down the hallway, Glynis makes faces at Grace behind her back and Friedman makes yet another lesbian joke. Luke seems to have had enough of that and yells at Friedman to back off. Everyone stares at him and he rushes off.
  
  That night, Grace comes in through Joan’s window and asks if she’s in love with Rove, wanting to know how she knows for sure, and says that it feels kind of like a breakdown. Joan figures out that Grace is talking about herself and asks if she’s in love. Grace responds by putting a lampshade on her head. Joan says if there is someone, she thinks she should know. Grace responds by leaving through the window, saying she was never there.
  
  Kevin lets Luke know that he’s figured out about his secret relationship with Grace and that he needs to stand up to her, and “be a man.”
  
  Luke goes over to Grace’s house with the intention to take Kevin’s advice, but ends up with Grace telling him he’s dead and slamming the door in his face.
  

• Out of Sight
  Grace tells Luke that if they can't find some common ground through music, they're toast.
  
  That night they meet and exchange mix CDs. Grace isn't satisfied with Luke's hip hop, classical, or Metallica, and Luke is definitely less than thrilled with Grace's 33 West and Olatunji. When it looks like they're out of luck, some kids come by with a stereo playing Kool and the Gang's "Celebration." Both of them hate it, and find common ground in their mutual hatred. Luke tells Grace that that's their song. They kiss.
  
  At Judith's party, Luke tries conversing with Grace, who points out that contact at parties is a violation of their contractual agreement.
  
  Luke goes into the house and puts "Celebration" on the stereo, and sets it to repeat, before walking off to some unknown corner of the house. Grace hears the song, looks up, and sees Luke standing at a window, nodding for her to follow him. She does, and they make out some more.
  

• Back to the Garden
  In gym class, the kids are all discussing their Physics assignment to determine indeterminacy. Luke tries to get Grace to work with him, but she won't. Luke doesn't see the problem, since they worked together on the science fair last year. Grace tells him that if he can't handle the terms of their agreement, then maybe he can't handle her.
  
  Later on, Luke waits for Grace outside the girls restroom. She's miffed that he's waiting around, and tells him it's a little stalker like. She tells him to back off unless he wants make-out time cut. Luke, finally fed up, tells her that it's about more than making out. They have a relationship, which she doesn't deny. He tells her that she may have said he couldn't handle her, but he thinks she's the one who can't handle him. Grace responds by telling Luke that it's about her privacy and that's it. Luke tells her to be private, and alone then, because that seems to be what she wants. Grace stands there for a moment, obviously hurt, before walking off.
  
  The next day, Luke is waiting on the stairs when Grace walks by. He apologizes and says that he's decided he can deal with her terms. She finally admits to her mistake and tells him that he shouldn't have to deal with them because they're not fair. He tells her that no revolution has occurred overnight, they have to build up and he's willing to wait for it. He gives her a sunflower that he stole from Joan's garden project. They proceed to walk down the hall, in conversation. In public.
  

• The Cat
  As Luke and Grace are walking down the hall at school, Luke is telling her about his aunt who just had a stroke. He tells her that she almost died and all he could do was just stand there, like it wasn't real. Her only response is "Dude...weird." Luke gets a little annoyed, and tells her that they should be able to talk to each other about this sort of thing. Joan walks up behind them, interrupting them and noting that is "looks like [they are] into something deep there." Grace tells her that Luke was trying to get her to work on the science fair with him again. Luke plays along, rambling about how the competition is fierce. Joan ignores him and continues on, still oblivious to their relationship.
  
  The following night, after a conversation with their aunt, Joan comes up to Luke's room to ask him if he thinks they'll ever find love. At that exact moment, Grace sends Luke an instant message. She tells him that she knows she's a jerk, but there are things that she doesn't tell people, she can't. When it looks like she's about to confess something to him, Joan accuses him of looking at porn and rushes over to check the monitor. To avoid getting caught talking to Grace, Luke quickly closes out of the conversation and logs off.
  
  The next day, Grace comes out of the office with a late slip and sees Luke walk by. She hurries to catch up with him and confronts him about logging off the night before. He says that Joan was trying to bust him for looking at porn. Grace, rather surprised, asks if he was looking at porn while they were online. He says no, pauses for a moment, then asks if she wants him too. She chuckles a little, shakes her head, and smirks. He tells her it was a one time occurrence, but if she has something to say to him she should just say it. For a second she looks as if she wants to tell him something, but sees Joan hanging on Adam and takes the opportunity to make a snarky comment and take off.
  
  Early the next morning, Luke is getting ready for school when he hears an instant message alert. He rolls over his bed and looks at the screen to see a message from Grace that simply says: "My Mother drinks." Luke is stunned. He gets ready to reply, but Grace logs off before he can do so.
  
  At the school, Grace is standing at her locker when she sees Luke heading down the hall. She tosses her bag inside and closes the locker, turns, and takes off, trying to get away. Luke catches up with her and touches her arm. She turns around and looks up at him, with tears in her eyes, then takes off again. He follows.
  
  Grace leads Luke into an empty classroom. She stands there for a moment before looking up at him, with a look that shows fear, pain, vulnerability, and even a hint of shame. He looks at her sympathetically and slowly pulls her into a hug. With her defenses completely down, Grace puts her head on Luke's shoulder and quietly breaks down.
  

• The Election
  Luke and Grace are sitting and standing, respectively, on a staircase. Grace is rambling about Joan getting involved in the school election. Luke gently interrupts and asks if they’re going to talk about her mom. Grace looks around for a second before replying with a soft, slightly broken “No.” He tells her that he knows she wants to talk about it, because she sent him that message. For several seconds Grace looks as though she wants to say something, but just can’t find the words, as being this open is a relatively new experience. She finally tells Luke that she just wanted him to know before taking off.
  
  The next day at school, Grace catches up with Luke and Friedman, who are walking down the hall with a copy of Brian Beaumont’s mission statement. One of Lars’ goons, accompanied by his buddy, walks up and takes the mission statement from Luke, telling him that carrying it around could be hazardous to his health. Grace quickly interjects, calling the bully a nimrod. Luke tells Grace to leave it alone, but she won’t. She tells Luke that they won’t do anything, “These losers have some archaic rule where they never hit a girl.” Sure enough, Bully A’s friend steps in, “As if you’re a girl!” and shoves Grace into the wall, quite hard, and knocks her to the ground. Luke freaks and shoves Bully B into the opposite wall. He looks like he’s getting ready to pummel him when Bully A grabs him by the shoulders and heaves him across the room. Luke falls to the floor next to Grace as the two goons walk away. Grace can’t contain herself: “That was beautiful, dude.” They sit there on the floor and laugh about it.
  
  The following day, Grace, Luke, and Joan are sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Luke tells them that the latest polls aren’t looking too good for Brian. Joan says they’ll look better once they can dig up something on Lars. She’s willing to do whatever it takes. Grace (in the most well placed of three Godfather references) tells her a horse’s head is always effective. “Thought you were the poster girl for apathy?” Joan asks. Luke nonchalantly makes a comment about Grace being hit by a wave of school spirit. This warrants Joan’s attention as she eyes Luke suspiciously, “She told you?” Luke says he gleaned it. Grace is failing miserably at looking cool about the whole thing. Joan looks over at her with an equally suspicious expression just as Judith shows up with news about Lars.
  
  The next afternoon, Grace and Luke are in a hallway hanging some more posters for Brian. Luke tells Grace that statistically, their latest move will have less than a thirteen percent chance of succeeding. Grace jokes that she never understands half of what he says. She stands there for a second, hesitating, before finally speaking up about her mother. She tells Luke about a time when she was eleven and her friend Becky slept over. They went downstairs for breakfast in the morning, only to find her mother passed out on the kitchen floor from the night before; Becky never spoke to her after that. Luke listens to her tell her story. He doesn’t say anything, but he does look a little happy that she is finally trusting him enough to open up.
  

• Wealth of Nations
  Luke walks into the science lab at school. After checking to make sure no one is in the room, he walks over to a storage area and unlocks the door before slipping inside. Grace is just outside the lab and, once again, fails miserably at looking casual when she sneaks into the room behind him. Once inside the storage area, which is housing jars filled with dead animals, Grace remarks that it's like a pet cemetery. Luke says that Lischak gave him the keys. Grace looks absolutely thrilled by the sight of dead animals in jars. Luke suddenly asks her where she was the night before. He had tried IMing her "a thousand times" but she never responded. Grace tells him her mother was in rare form: "Doing her Judy Garland act. Lots of singing, lots of falling down, me putting her in the shower." Luke asks where her dad was. She tells him that he works late so he doesn't have to deal with her mother. "It's their little unspoken bargain. As long as she's sober at Temple, runs her meetings, and has everybody snowed she..." Before Grace can finish, she notices the sympathetic look on Luke's face. She tells him not to look all simpy, she's used to it. Luke tells her she should talk to somebody. She protests by saying she's almost out of the house, to which Luke replies that it's still two more years. Grace's defenses shoot back up as she tells him there's a test Thursday and they need to cram. They sit on the floor and Grace asks Luke about dark matter and black holes. Luke starts talking about the gravitational pull of black holes, but can't let the subject of her mother go: "You know, you don't have to be embarrassed to talk to me about this." Grace clearly doesn't want to talk about that at the moment, so she leans in and kisses him. Really kisses him. "How's that for gravitational pull?" Luke enjoyed it, but the look on his face also shows a combination of hurt and frustration.
  
  The next day, Grace is alone in the deal animal room when Luke walks in. She tells him the midterm is in two days and there will be no making out until they study. He tells her that isn't why he's there as he hands her a pamphlet. She looks at Luke and then takes the pamphlet, which is Facts about Alateen. Luke tells her he picked it up at the public library. Grace, very miffed, tells him there is no way she's doing that. He tells her to just go to one meeting. She says she's been through it all and there's nothing new they could possibly tell her. Luke reminds her that she's been through it by herself: "It doesn't have to be that way anymore." Without saying a word, Grace hands the pamphlet back to him.
  
  Somehow, by the following evening, Luke manages to get Grace to go to an Alateen meeting at a local church. Grace looks mighty uncomfortable as she and Luke listen to one of the kids talk about his father. "This is just too weird, Girardi." The counselor asks if there's anyone else, and a room full of expectant faces look in Grace's direction. Grace, looking nervous and vulnerable, looks around the room and then to Luke. She stands up very, very slowly and introduces herself to the room. She makes sure nothing will leave that room, because she will hunt them all down if it does. A woman, who appears to be one of the counselors, just smiles and shakes her head. Grace stands there, struggling to speak, for exactly 13 seconds, before finally saying out loud for what is likely the first time in her life: "My mother is an alcoholic." Luke then reaches out and takes a hold of Grace's hand; she lets him. She turns her head around and looks at him. A small smile creeps onto her face as she introduces him to the room: "And this is...my boyfriend. Luke." Luke looks completely stunned as he stands to join her.
  

• P.O.V.
  Joan, who’s working on a video project, is trying to get Adam to “act natural.” Grace points out that that’s an oxymoron because you’re still distorting reality. “It’s Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.” Joan tells Grace she sounds like her brother. Grace stands there for a moment before telling Joan she’ll just shut up and walk away, then proceeds to do so. She is really lacking in the subtly category.
  
  Later that day Grace is walking down the hall when she spots Luke. She turns and starts to walk practically sideways as she passes him, but he sees her and abandons his conversation to follow her. He points out that she’s been avoiding him, though not successfully she adds. He asks how things are going and if she’s keeping her journal. She is, but it’s mostly freeform swearing. He starts in on a lecture about the seven C’s of dealing with an alcoholic parent. Grace has had enough. She stops and faces him: “Don’t pretend you know me!” She tells him just because he did his good deed it doesn’t give him the right to get in her face. She heads off.
  
  Two days later, Grace is waiting for Luke in the dead animal room. When he comes in, he tells her it’s really admirable that she wants to talk. Only Grace doesn’t want to talk. She rushes over to him and kisses him, only to have him push her away. She’s surprised that he’d rather talk than make out, but she tries again. Luke pushes her away again, saying he‘s not going to let her use their make out time to avoid the issue. Grace gets angry, saying this is why she doesn’t talk about this because now they’re all about her mother. She tells him she’s not going to let her mother control her. Luke says she already is: “Look at us!” Grace tells him that’s because he won’t drop it. Luke says then she should let him come over to her house and they’ll hang out. Grace says the conversation is over. Luke, still persisting, says “Can’t you see what you’re letting her do to you?” Grace is now thoroughly mad. She says it’s her space and she made the choice, not her mother. As he leaves, Luke tells her she may think she’s strong, but she’s more terrified than anyone he knows. She slams the door after him and sits beside a case of butterflies looking hurt, confused, and scared.
  
  That same day, Luke is studying in the library when he’s hit with a wad of paper. He turns to see Grace, the epitome of maturity, standing in an aisle behind him, motioning for him to pick up the paper. Luke attempts to be subtle as he picks up the note, but really fails miserably. He opens it up and reads it: “My house, no parents, after school.” He turns to look at Grace, but she’s gone. He smiles to himself as he goes back to work.
  
  After school, Grace opens the door to her room and she and Luke walk in. He looks around for a few seconds, taking it all in. There are various things up all over the walls, which are yellow, and a Che Guevara poster on the back of the door. It’s very awesome. When he doesn’t say anything, Grace tells him to speak. He says he likes it, but it’s a little tidier than he’d expected. She says she just thought he should be able to walk. Luke continues to look around until he spots something on a shelf. “Aw, dude!” He walks over a shelf nailed on the wall and picks up a beanie baby whale, which is sitting right next to the geode that he gave her, though he wisely doesn‘t mention that. He is quite excited about the beanie baby. Grace says her mother stood in line at five in the morning to get it: “It opened my eyes to the dangers of capitalism.” Luke says he has Pinchers. Grace, looking and sounding like a little kid, asks “The lobster?” As they sit on her bed, he tells her about how the price was briefly inflated to $5,000 when it was discontinued: “The cool calculation of science meets the heat and imprecision of economic theory.” They look at each other briefly and lean in for a kiss, but the sound of a door opening distracts them. Grace’s mother calls out that she’s home. Luke gets up and says he’ll sneak out the window. Grace stays on her bed for a second before getting up and grabbing Luke’s arm: “No…stay.” They look at each other again and kiss, what is probably their most heartfelt kiss to date. When Grace pulls away, her eyebrow arches slightly with what can only be interpreted as a silent “wow.”
  

• Friday Night
  Grace and Luke are making out in the dead animal room. At the same time, Grace is talking about how absurd she finds Adam and Joan’s date. Luke doesn’t understand why she brought it up. She says it’s because they’re just mindlessly going along with society. Luke tells her he was going to ask her out to a Schlock film festival that night. Grace tells him she has a meeting and hands him a pamphlet. Luke: “Anarchists Unite? Isn’t that contradictory?” She says anarchy is about shedding false conceptions, so it isn’t. She hints that she wants him to come, but he keeps trying to get her to the film fest. He tells her that schlock cinema is the definition of anarchy. Grace tells him not to twist political philosophies to get her on a date. Luke calls her on it, asking if that wasn’t what she was doing. Grace tells Luke to “find new lips” and gets up and leaves, but not without smiling and waving flirtatiously. Luke calls out one last attempt to get her to the movies, but fails.
  
  Luke shows up at the Anarchists Unite meeting in search of Grace. He mistakes two of the attendants for Grace. When he’s asking one of them if she’s seen Grace there, a guy who’s giving some kind of ‘speech’ grills him about his shoes, telling him they were made by children in sweatshops. Luke says he’s just there to look for his friend. Everyone’s looking at him like they’re going to pounce. Luke: “So I can give her these shoes…for you to burn.”
  
  Grace, of course, goes to the theater looking for Luke. She mistakes several geeks there as being Luke. She pulls up one guy’s hideously cheesy and ugly monster mask, only to see that it isn’t him. “Thank G-d.” As she calls for ‘Girardi,’ a guy wearing a silver space helmet stands up next to her. She turns to see that it’s Friedman: “Missing someone, Marge?” Grace just looks at him with a look that says “oh, crap.”
  
  Grace joins Friedman in watching the movies, and is clearly enjoying how bad they are, when Friedman lets her know that he’s figured out what going on between her and Luke. She tells him if he gives them up, he’ll never have kids. Just then, Luke walks down the aisle and spots them. He tells Grace he went to the anarchy meeting looking for her; she tells him she came there looking for him. She notices his shoes are gone and asks what happened. “They were made by kids in Central America. I burned them.” Grace smiles and Luke edges past Friedman. They kiss in front of the crowded theater. Someone yells at the “lovebirds” to sit down. Grace throws popcorn at them.
  
  After Joan arrives home from the hospital after Judith’s death, and is being comforted by Adam, Friedman recites Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia. When he finishes, he walks over to Luke and Grace and tells them to just give up the act. “Hold hands, or something.” He takes their hands and puts them together.
  

• No Future
  Luke and Grace are walking through the hall at school. Luke’s trying to convince Grace to come to his house for his birthday dinner, where his dad makes lasagna. She’s not having it and tells him she’ll just get him a present. Luke persists, saying he’ll just tell everyone they have to study later. Grace thinks Joan will figure it out but Luke insists she’s too self absorbed to notice anything. He says it’s his 16th birthday and that’s all he wants. Grace still refuses and takes off. Luke calls after her: “This is the deal breaker, Grace!”
  
  In the gym, Luke, Grace, Glynis, Joan, and Adam are sitting in the bleachers watching Friedman attempt gymnastics. He hurts himself…badly and Glynis rushes over to help. After a few minutes of complaining about college, Joan takes off. Adam follows her. Grace, who’s sitting behind Luke, says that she won’t sing or wear a dress. Luke is slightly confused: “What?” Grace tells him those are the terms. He asks if that means she’s saying yes to dinner. She tells him it doesn’t have anything to do with his threat. “I will do all the breaking up around here, got it?” She takes off, playfully pushing him forward a bit. He watches her leave with a big smile.
  
  At the Girardi house Friday night, Will and Helen are already sitting down to dinner with Will’s boss when Luke and Grace walk in the door. Luke looks really happy to have finally brought Grace home, but becomes disappointed and hurt when he sees that dinner is lamb. Will tells him to have a seat, but he quickly leaves, saying he isn’t hungry. Grace stands there, caught in a really awkward moment, before saying they have a lot of work to do and follows him out to the garage.
  
  Luke and Grace are sitting in the garage when Joan comes in asking what they’re doing. Grace says they’re studying, but Joan doesn’t buy it. She knows Luke’s upset because their parents forgot his birthday. She tells him they’re really stressed because of the lawsuit and the depositions. Luke’s angry because it’s all about Kevin again. Joan stands there a moment before holding up a kite saying she didn’t have time to wrap it. It’s the kite Luke wanted for his birthday the year Kevin had his accident that he never got. He’s really touched by the gesture. Grace gets off of her stool and walks over to them, saying she got him something too. She pulls their secrecy contract out of her jacket and tears it in half before putting her hand on his face and pulling him in for a kiss. As they part, they turn to see Joan standing there with a look of complete shock, horror, and “when did this happen?!”
  
  Luke, Grace, and Joan are outside trying to get the kite in the air when Helen and Will, finally remembering what day it is, walk outside. Luke walks up to them as Joan and Grace continue to struggle with the kite. He tells them that it’s okay, but they insist it isn’t. He tells them that, yeah it does matter, but things came out of it he didn’t see coming and now he’s really happy: “Because, you know…we’re all here…and Grace is here. And Joan remembered and Kevin is okay.” He says he’ll have a lot of birthdays and besides, now they have to buy him a car. Helen laughs and the three of them hug before Joan and Grace call him back to the kite. They finally get in in the air.
  

• The Book of Questions
  Grace has finally given in and scheduled her bat mitzvah. Luke approaches her and asks if there's anything he can to do help. She tells him to just show up and make fun of her relatives. He persists, she tells him to just leave her alone. After Grace goes to class, Friedman asks Luke what he got her. Luke said she told him not to get her anything. Friedman shakes his head.
  
  When shopping with Friedman for a gift for Grace, Luke turns down several meaningless things, saying he wants to give her something that makes her think of him every time she sees it, even when she's 90. While at the bookstore, Luke sees an astronomy text that gives him the perfect idea for Grace's gift.
  
  Grace calls off the bat mitzvah, yet again. So Joan tries to call her and talk to her about it. Joan can't find her, so she goes to Grace's house, only to see her mother, who has been drinking. After Joan sees Grace's mother drunk, she talks to Luke about it, saying that if it happens all time he should have told her. Luke says Grace made him promise not to say anything. Joan says she's Grace's best friend and she should have known. Luke tells her that he got Grace to start dealing with it, but she just needs time. Joan says Grace has to go through with her bat mitzvah. Just then, Grace storms into Joan's room, very, very angry. She tells Joan that it's none of her business, she tells Luke the same, adding "We're done." She takes off, but Joan follows after her, telling her that it seems she only has a problem getting in people's faces when it matters. She tells her that, even though she isn't Jewish, the bat mitzvah seems to be about her declaring herself, getting in people's faces for real. Luke, who's now standing on the stairs, tells Grace that he already got her a present.
  
  Grace finally goes through with her bat mitzvah, and the ceremony is beautiful, touching, and perfect. At the party (where her mother remarkably manages to stay sober), Luke takes her outside to give her her gift. They both peer into the sky to see the Leonid Meteor shower. Luke tells her that there's a theory that all life may have come from those meteors. They look at each other. He brings his hand to her face and kisses her. They then return to standing there together watching shooting stars light up the night sky.
  

• Dive
  Joan, Adam, Luke, and Grace are walking through the halls at school. As they all go their separate ways to head to class, Luke tries to kiss Grace, but she quickly avoids it.
  
  In the biology storage closet, Grace tells Luke what happened when her family got home after her Bat Mitzvah - her mother got drunk and recited the family history over the photo album. Luke says he doesn't know how Grace puts up with it, and that she should have the courage to make her mother get help. Grace tells Luke he doesn't know anything about courage because he lives in his head. She says he's too afraid to take any risks and will end up living his life in misery because he was too afraid to go after what he really wanted.
  
  Because of Grace's rant, Luke joins the diving team. However, every time it's his turn to dive, he turns and runs away. He later tells Joan what Grace said about him being a coward. Joan responds by saying Grace rags on everybody, but Luke tells her she was right. He's too afraid of doing something that he'll fail at that he's missed worlds of experiences that he wants to be a part of.
  
  Later, Luke is in his room doing homework when Grace knocks on the door, telling him she was in the neighborhood. He asks if that's true; it isn't. "But it makes this easier, so go with it." Grace tells him to just quit the diving team because her whole rant was...well...she doesn't really say, but she hems and haws over trying to tell him that she was wrong. He lets her know she doesn't have to continue. She turns to leave, but stops at the stairs telling him that she talked to her mother, before continuing down the stairs.
  
  At school the next day, Luke is at the pool, up on the high board. Joan and Grace run in, unsure of what's going on. Luke looks over and sees them, then musters his courage and dives. It's a terrible dive, but he doesn't care. He's overjoyed at having actually dived. Grace smiles and rushes over to him.
  

• Game Theory
  While talking with Friedman, Glynis, and Joan about rock, paper, scissors Grace tells Luke to give it up because it's just a stupid kids game that's all about luck. Luke tells her it's not about luck, that nothing is about luck. He brings up the time he gave her a gift, a calculated gambit in an attempt to throw her into a state of imbalance. Grace gets angry that he used a gambit on her and takes off, annoyed.
  
  During the final showdown of RPS between Luke and Joan, Grace sides with Joan. Luke tells Grace he thought she'd be rooting for him, to which she replies "make out you, root for her."
  

• Queen of the Zombies
  While working on a lab assignment, Glynis and Luke babble on about science as Grace just sits there. After a moment, Grace has had enough and tells them to just speak English for a minute, and says she doesn't see why she agreed to do a lab with the two of them in the first place. Luke says that Friedman ditched them to work on the school musical. After Glynis makes a remark about ditching having happened to her a lot lately, Grace decides to take off. Glynis offers to let her do the last few formulas on her own, she says she'd love to: "But I have to go drive a railroad spike into my head." Luke tells her they still have to go over civics. "Power, corruption, revolution. Lather, rinse, repeat." She bitterly tells them she thinks the two of them can handle it.
  
  Grace walks into Joan's musical rehearsal and sits down behind her and asks what her "freakshow brother" and Glynis were like together. Joan tells her she's in the middle of something important. Grace continues telling her about how they're making her miserable. Joan gets the feeling she's not stopping. Grace goes on to tell Joan about how they babble on about science and how nothing makes sense anymore: "The inside of my head is like this gross stew the cafeteria wouldn't serve." Joan tells her she's jealous and says it happens to everyone. Grace says she hates it.
  
  After inspiring a revision of the school musical, Grace heads to her locker where Glynis confronts her. She tells Grace to get over herself because everyone knows Luke adores her. She says that she's willing to work with her and gives her the formulas to work on if she can successfully remove the stick from her butt. Grace asks Glynis if Luke made her do that. Glynis says she wouldn't involve him in their business: "Have some respect for me as a woman." Grace is impressed.
  
  The night of the musical, Grace meets up with Luke and Glynis outside the auditorium. When Luke sees her, he takes a step away from Glynis. Grace hands Glynis the formulas she finished. Luke, surprised, starts to say something but Grace tells him not to push it: "It's an organic process, dude." Grace walks off, Glynis follows: "Yeah, dude." Luke smiles and follows them both into the auditorium.
  

• The Rise and Fall of Joan Girardi
  Joan, Luke, and Grace are walking down the hall after school. Luke and Grace are arguing over him getting his driver's license. Grace tells him that he's contributing to Global Warming and handing over vital information to the CIA. Luke says he just wants to drive a big machine.
  
  Luke approaches Grace in the hall and tells her that he's getting his license and there's nothing she can do about it. She responds by saying "fine." He tells her that he loves the planet but he also loves the sense of discovery that's allowed for progress in the automotive industry. She responds again by saying "fine" before walking off. Luke tells Friedman that if she wants to break up over this, it's fine.
  
  Grace spots Luke and Friedman celebrating Luke's new driver's license and comes up to them: "Who cares about the polar ice caps melting? You can just pack the penguins in your car. You can all do a drive through for a burrito grande." Luke tells her to knock of the pre-empt and if she's going to break up with him, just do it. Grace, fairly surprised he thinks she'd dump him over this, tells him he's endowed her with way too much power. She says she's just trying to get through her day, that they each do their own things and that's fine. Luke asks if that means she'll ride with him. She laughs: "Heh! Yeah right. Let me go get my fur coat." As she leaves, she leans into him and says quite flirtatiously that she'll see him in the biology closet.
  
  It should be noted for the record that at Joan's award ceremony, Luke and Grace are sitting quite close to each other.
  
  Grace is sitting in the biology closet working on something when Luke walks in. He sits down beside her and hands her a box, telling her to open it. She does, and finds two passes for the natural gas bus line. Luke says he figured they could celebrate his license by walking 30 blocks out of their way and taking them to a Save the Earth rally. Grace smiles and kisses him. Luke breaks their kiss and tells her he drove 10 miles to get them. Grace just laughs and they kiss again.
  

• Romancing the Joan
  While walking down the hall with Luke and Grace, Joan complains about her English assignment. She doesn't understand why it's considering romantic poetry when they're all about death. Luke tells her that death is romantic. Grace: "Especially if there's blood." Luke: "Or a plague." Grace agrees and smiles at Luke over her shoulder. He returns it. As they continue down the hall, Grace and Joan spot Adam talking to his new assistant, a "perky blonde." Luke says it looks private, but Grace goes up with Joan anyway, saying she needs backup. After Adam introduces everyone, his assistant, Stevie, leaves. Joan wants to know what this is all about. Adam says he placed an ad and she answered it. Grace asks if all the ugly assistants were taken. Adam counters by asking Grace if she has an appointment in the biology closet, before pointing her off as if banishing her. Grace just gives him a "touché" look and takes off.
  
  Later, at lunch, while walking into the cafeteria with Luke and Friedman, Grace is complaining about how this time of year sucks. She says there's nothing to look forward to. Friedman: "Valentine's Day." Grace looks at Luke and tells him to not even think about it. Luke tells her it's okay, because he's a guy and will forget anyway. At first it seems like Grace is slightly disappointed by this, but shortly after it seems as though she's fine. Stevie then comes up, and Adam asks if she knows everyone. She remembers Joan and Grace, and can identify Luke easily, as he and Grace have "made the biology closet famous." Grace throws a disturbed look in Luke's direction. Luke starts to say he didn't tell anyone, but Stevie makes it known that it's all over school. Grace looks shocked, and completely terrified for a moment, then proceeds to make fun of Adam's need for an assistant as soon as Stevie takes off.
  

• Secret Service
  After suffering a disappointing loss at a science award, Luke has an encounter with a physicist who was one of the originals to work on String Theory. Luke tells Grace about what he said about not needing to get recognized, that it's all in the work that counts. Grace says that's the same thing she said, but Luke doesn't really remember. To help cheer Luke up, Grace surprises him by taking him to dinner at Don Thornberry's Steakhouse, where the winners of the science competition (Friedman and Glynis) were treated.
  

• Spring Cleaning
  While walking down the street, Luke is telling Grace how Adam and Joan had so much going for their relationship, but now they're over. (There's a blink and you miss it moment here where Grace puts her arm out in front of Luke to keep him from crossing the street as a car comes by) Grace pretends to be distracted by the clothes in various store windows as they walk along. Luke continues to list off the things that Adam and Joan's relationship had going for them. Grace tells Luke that they're not dating, they're "making out." Luke tells her they have a relationship, to which Grace quickly counters, "An arrangement." Grace then actually does get distracted by an item in a store window - a really awesome leather jacket. Luke keeps wanting to talk about their relationship as compared to Joan and Adam's, but Grace is really into the jacket, telling him how cool it is. Luke: "It's nice." Grace walks over to him, puts her hands on his face, and says reassuringly, "They're not us."
  
  The next day at school, Grace rushes up to Luke in the hallway, and tosses him the jacket they saw in the store window, telling him to wear it before taking off again. Luke seems unsure as he puts the jacket on, noting that this is the first time Grace has given him a gift. (Shadow's commentary - Apparently, Luke thinks of gifts as a material possession only, as just two episodes ago she bought him dinner at a nice steak house, and way back 11 episodes ago, she ripped up that contract and kissed him in front of sister, both of which count as gifts in my book, but whatever)
  
  As the days go on, Luke gets more into his new jacket and begins to act the part, like walking ahead of the group with a...an attempt at a swagger. There's even a moment where he takes his glasses off and messes with her hair. Grace is thoroughly disturbed and annoyed by this.
  
  One night as Luke studies (in the jacket...), Grace marches through his door wearing the most preppy and pastel outfit in the world. The camera starts at her shoes (which are these big, toeless, healed things that I have no idea how she managed to walk in) and pans up to her face where she has plastered on the most Stepfordesque smile ever seen. Luke is, with good reason, scared to death. Grace tells him it's her new look, to which he replies "Grace, you can't look like that." She asks him how it feels to see someone he thinks he knows get a complete personality change. He tells her he was wearing the jacket because he wanted to make her happy. She tells him to drop it, because if he doesn't, she'll kill him. She explains that she just got freaked out by the whole Adam and Joan thing. Luke understands completely, and points out that she was worried about losing him. She tells him to drop it. He says he'll take the jacket off, but won't give it back. He'll keep it around, like art. Grace agrees that's fair enough.
  

• Common Thread
  After putting up with being the Middle Man for Adam and Joan, Grace snaps at Luke when he asks if she wants to come help him install Sims 2. A day or two later, while Grace is worried over Adam's having suddenly gone missing in the woods, Luke is tokin' it up with Friedman. When Grace starts calling his cell phone, Luke has a complete freak out, including a panic attack, and ends up running into a wall. It's safe to say Luke will never touch pot again.
  
  On their walk to school the next day, Luke is telling Grace about his experience. Grace is pretty upset with him, telling him that he wasn't there when she really needed to talk to him. She tells him that she already lived with a drunk at home and won't put up with anymore brain dead people in her life. Luke tells her that it's all over. He threw out Friedman's pot and Pink Floyd box set. (Shadow's commentary - There is nothing wrong with Pink Floyd, Metallica Boy.) Grace calls him a moron, to which he agrees, and then asks if he's okay. He's not, but at least he learned pot's not for him.