Say Hello to My Little Friend

Say Hello to My Little Friend is the eleventh episode of Awake. It was written by Kyle Killen & Leonard Chang and directed by Laura Innes. It first aired on May 10, 2012.
==Plot==
"This isn't how it works," worries Britten in session. Dr. Lee asks him to review recent events. 
In the Green Reality, Britten narrates, he had finished his turn in costume at a "carnival thing" and was on to spending time with Emma and Rex. Some uniformed officers were there along with some in carnival costumes, apparently doing volunteer work. 
Emma steered the three of them toward bungee jumping. Michael had a forgettable collision with someone (a short, blue-eyed, brown-haired, caucasian man with a big chin) as they walked. 
Denying a fear of heights, Michael strapped in first, possibly to give the couple a moment to themselves. Michael had an attack of dizziness and fell prematurely, then lost consciousness while rebounding. 
Awakening in Red Reality, Michael went about his day. First he and Hannah accompanied Emma to her ultrasound appointment. Emma came to hope the photos would change her parents' minds. Then Michael got paged to work. 
He and Vega stood over the workplace victim of Roland Petrowski, a mad murderer who was now "officially" on a spree. They despaired of leads, at first. 
At home, Britten went about his nighttime routine as normally but wondered what to expect in the Green Reality. He was surprised upon waking up the following morning, still in red. 
With the recap finished, Lee asks Britten what he thinks all this means. Britten asks for some way of returning to Green Reality. Lee discourages the idea, enthusing that this marks progress. Falling, Lee says, is a classic dream ending. Britten is reservedly defensive, saying things feel very wrong. Lee counters that Rex has been dead six months and Britten has not accepted this. 
Britten gets in his car and discovers the short man in his backseat. The man raises his hands compliantly when Britten draws his sidearm but claims no knowledge of his own identity or business there. 
Lee smilingly approaches the car to return the smartphone Britten forgot. Britten hastily puts down his weapon upon noticing the mystery man's disappearance. Britten tries to hide his nervousness from Lee. 
Once Lee is gone, the mystery man reappears, now in the passenger seat, and sarcastically reasons that he must be Britten's hallucination. Britten interrogates the figment further but it counters that it cannot possibly know anything Britten doesn't. 
On an elevator back at the crime scene, Vega questions why Britten would want to return. Britten points out that their day on the street has been fruitless. Reaching the floor of the victim's coworkers, he hallucinates the mystery man again and describes him to them. All draw a blank on who he might be, including Vega. 
At the apartment complex Patrowski abandoned, a staffer has the same response to the description Britten supplies. In fact, she can think of no associates as she describes Patrowski as a loner who complained of headaches. 
Concerned and frustrated, Vega starts arguing with Britten over this unhelpful, mystery description. He says "it's The Little Guy, all over again," i.e. Britten has resumed his groundless obsession with seeking such a suspect. Britten suddenly flashes back to the moment his vehicle rolled over and tumbles to the sidewalk. 
Scarcely the worse, Britten returns home later. Over dinner, Emma says her mother cried upon seeing the ultrasound images but her father, Joaquin, remains distant. Michael is obsessing over case photos at the table but agrees to Hannah's suggestion that he meet Joaquin. He reacts to the sight of his hallucination, there, which worries Hannah. 
Hannah and Michael go to bed. Michael awakens, still in Red Reality, and still hallucinating the mystery man in his bedroom as if standing up all night watching them sleep. He answers a call from Vega who relays a tip from they received. It was from someone reporting that he was an internet contact of Petrowski's, and that Petrowski spent the night as his house guest. 
They meet at the tipster's home where they find cats live as pets. Allergic, Vega sneezes throughout their discussion. The homeowner explains that he's in the real estate business and was in talks with Petrowski about becoming the business's webmaster. Petrowski pitched up claiming a problem with his own apartment but left suddenly in the morning. The man guessed he was overwhelmed by the cats until noticing news coverage of the murders. That's when he called police. 
Britten says "bless you" to the hallucination, then tries to pass it off as meant for Vega. The hallucination stands next to a table where Britten notices a document-sized gap in dust. Asked what had been there, the resident supposes it was his foreclosure listings. Suspecting that Petrowski stole a list of empty houses for the purpose of finding a hiding place, Britten requests a copy. 
At one of the foreclosed homes, Britten and Vega lead the team that surrounds and apprehends Roland Petrowski despite a last, desperate gambit for escape. Britten compliments a martial arts move Vega executes in the process. 
In an interrogation room, Petrowski says "I'm sick" and explains his compulsion to kill. Says he picked up one murder weapon, a letter opener, as if dreaming. 
Britten begins to ask if his mystery man was related to the case but Vega takes him out of the room. He chastises Britten for the question, reminding him that a defense attorney could exploit such a suspicious line of interrogation and that their case against Petrowski is already complete. 
Michael goes home to sleep, the hallucination gone. He awakens and, finding no family members present, calls for Rex. 
The hallucinated man pops up in the study. Michael is annoyed at his continued presence. The hallucination reasons that he's not related to the case after all. 
Hannah overhears Michael talking, as if to himself, and enters in concern. She reminds him of the scheduled meeting with Joaquin and persuades him to go despite not feeling well. 
Britten and his hallucination walk side by side to a coffee shop. Britten implores him to go away. From inside, Joaquin sees Britten seemingly talking to empty space. 
Once they are seated together, Joaquin confronts Britten about Emma's situation. The hallucination looks out the window and tries to draw Britten's attention to something there. Britten shushes him, offending Joaquin. 
At last, the subject of the hallucination's interest walks into window view; it is a pedestrian identical to him. Britten hastily exits, offending Joaquin further. The hallucination gloats that Britten should have looked sooner, as his real-life counterpart is already driving away. 
Britten rushes through traffic, causing one driver to swerve and uproot a fireplug. Caught up in the mishap, Britten falls. The hallucination playfully drenches himself in the plume of water. Joaquin pursues, concerned for Britten's safety and sanity. Britten gets up and pursues the driver on foot while most present protest him leaving an accident scene. 
Britten returns to the station and directs a sketch artist on a computerized image of his mystery man. His hallucination obligingly poses for his description. Vega enters to argue and tell him to report to the Captain but Britten only yells. The artist comes to recognize the man he's illustrating as Detective Ed Hawkins from the West Bureau, now partner to Bird, and keys up a Department ID photo. 
The mustached Bird meets Britten on request at an eating place and asks why the sudden urgency after so long. Bird vouches for Hawkins based on their work together so far. Hawkins himself comes in and confirms that he was onsite where Britten saw him earlier. Asking if Britten doesn't remember their first meeting, he reiterates that he was one of the first of the emergency personnel to respond at the Britten family car accident. Hawkins offers condolences for Rex before taking Bird away on call. 
This unlocks Britten's memory of the rescue team including Hawkins shaking his head apologetically when checking for survivors. Cycling through the flashback, Michael also remembers being distracted by his family's singing and being cautioned brightly by Hannah about minding curves in the road. 
At home, Hannah finds Michael sitting in grief and blaming himself for his driving speed at the time of the accident. Hannah consoles him. Michael wakes up under her loving watch. 
In Harper's office, Harper expresses regret at allowing Britten to continue working without a proper break for bereavement. She says his impending suspension is out of her hands and urges him to use the downtime "to process." Handing over his badge & gun, Britten says he's done for good. 
Britten goes to the cemetery and stands over his son's grave, mourning. His hallucination of Hawkins pops up again. Britten pleads, once more, to be left alone. As if in response, the hallucination finally vanishes for good. 
Next, Britten arrives at Joaquin's business office to apologize for his behavior. Britten contrasts the experience of losing a son to Joaquin's decision to close off an expected grandchild. Joaquin appears moved. 
Michael goes home and watches Cheaper By the Dozen alongside Hannah and Emma. All laugh at the film's comedy and are encouraged when Emma finally gets a call from Joaquin. 
Michael reposes and imagines the accident once more. This time, a new memory comes to light; that of a car behind them turning off headlights, rear-ending them, and finally pulling up to sideswipe them. Michael catches a glimpse of Hawkins at the wheel. 
Michael suddenly regains consciousness with the frightened Rex crouched over him, a sight that confirms he's back in the Green Reality. He's been disentangled from the bungee cord and laid on the platform below. Civilians and police alike gather around, concerned. Among them are Bird and Harper, still dressed as a clown and a fairy, respectively. Hawkins is nowhere to be seen. 
Once reestablished, Britten urgently calls Evans, saying he can prove the accident was plotted and that he can trust only her with the facts. She agrees to an impromptu session.
==Production==