Dexter - "Finding Freebo" (Episode 302)

Dexter

Dexter is surrounded by children, who he calls "little bundles of uncertainty...and germs, but that's another matter." He's in a doctor's office, waiting to see if Rita is carrying a bundle of her own. Dexter says he loves kids; he can play with them "and them leave." He doesn't have to worry about what they'll become - like a "nobel prize laureate" (like the little girl reading an upside-down magazine), a "drunk" (like the little girl clutching her sippy cup) or the "president of the United States of America" (not surprisingly, he's looking at the little boy picking his nose.) Dexter says he's never "felt compelled" to bring a child into the world, especially since he's not in "the business of giving life." Rita emerges from the doctor's office and confirms Dexter's fears, she's definitely preggers. Loads of awkward silence ensues. Dexter isn't sure what they should do. Rita says they need to talk about "options" together. Dexter conveniently has to go to work.

Dexter tells Deb he's feeling "off." She tells him to see a doctor. He says he has and "it didn't help." Dexter asks Deb about the Oscar Prado case and knows that since Freebo's seen his face, he has to find him before the police do. Deb gets a coffee from Quinn and admires his expensive watch. He said he had to "sell a kidney" to get it and that ne day, he'd show Deb the scar. She said she'd give him a kidney not to show it to her. Angel asks Dexter to review the blood evidence in the Prado case and Deb asks him to check out her "Jane Doe" (who he knows is Freebo's old girlfriend Teegan) once more, because she's got nothing. She entices Dexter to take another look because the patch of skin the killer removed from her didn't have a tattoo on it.

Dexter was glad he wasn't the "only one at sea." He said he could tell Angel and Deb that their cases were linked, but he needed the time to get Freebo out of the picture. Dexter went into the office he and Vince shared and found a Buddha, insence and even a crucifix. Vince was covering all of the bases to ensure that his article would be published in Forensics Quarterly. Dexter asks the Buddha statue where he was when he was at the doctor's office - and then gives his little Buddha belly a rub. He needs all the luck he can get as well. Miguel is pressuring LaGuerta to find his brother's killer. Miguel reminded LaGuerta that her team shared the same roof as the Bay Harbor Butcher - and then apologized. LaGuerta said she was "too personally involved" in the BHB case to see things clearly and has learned to distance herself - and advises Miguel to do the same. Miguel says they're not as close as they once were, but was glad she was on the case. LaGuerta asks Angel "You got this?" and he says he does - but his face indicates otherwise. Deb's on the street, trying to get info on her Jane Doe from some -ahem - "ladies" of the evening - and isn't really getting anywhere. (One of the fellas liked the deceased's streaks and asked where she got them done. Deb said "Cristof of Beverly f-in' Hills" to which the hooker asked, "Do you have his number?" and his/her partner said to him/her, "Petunia, you are the dumbest whore on this stroll." Ha!) The I.A. officer is still stalking Deb, trying to getdirt on Quinn, but Deb isn't interested in being a snitch for a shield. Deb calls her a "see you next Thursday" and Ms. I.A. tells Deb she should get a hobby like gardening or scrapbooking.

Dexter is trying to find some contact info for Teegan and quickly finds her - and she's got a sorority row address. He wonders how parents could pick a name like Teegan and thinks he'd choose Megan or Mary and for a boy, maybe Charles or Phillip or even Dexter Jr. He's starting to think Daddy, until he sees Harry holding his unborn child in a daydream vision. Miguel catches Dexter on the way out and invites him to dinner withhe and his wife. He rarely takes "no" for an answer and wants to pick Dexter's brain about something. He tells him to bring Rita along as well. Deb shows up at a salsa club where Anton the informer is playing with the band. She asks him if he knows anything about her Jane Doe and he said he wasn't an "information ATM." Deb said she's at the end of her rope and he was her last chance. He said she was a "strawberry" - a girl who would exchange sex for drugs. He said he'd ask around for her and suggesteed she have a drink and dance to releive a little of her stress. Dexter drives Rita to Miguel's and tries valiantly to avoid conversation about the kid situation. She doesn't want to pressure him, but says they need to make a decision before one is made for them. Miguel tells Dexter that his father was a "drunk and a bastard" (I wonder if that's going to come into play down the road) and says that some people shouldn't have kids. Miguel's wife Sil makes a mojito for Rita and when she doesn't drink, asks if she's pregnant. Rita admits she is, but doesn't look too happy about it. Sil says she and Miguel have ben trying to start a family, but she's happy with the way things were. Miguel tells Dexter he invited him over to try to get some inside info on the case. He asks how certain he is that Freebo's going to be caught and Dexter says "very." Miguel hints that he's got a lead on the case and Dexter pumps him for the info. Miguel tells him that Ramon "borrowed" a phone that belonged to Freebo's mother. Dexter knew he had to check out Teegan's place as soon as he could get out of there. He went to the sorority house, where a massive kegger was in progress. Dex ran into some drunk sorority girls (like there are any other kind) who knew Teegan. They told him she was a "ho" who has moved into a "ho pad" off-campus. He tricks the girls into getting the address of Teegan's "ho pad" in exchange for some drugs they're never going to see. Sadly, Teegan's "ho pad" will have to wait, as Dexter promised Rita he'd be back in an hour. The next day, Rita's kids were driving her crazy as Dexter tried to work on a list of pros and cons for having another child. It seemed the cons were outweighing the pros and the kids' breaking of a vase made Rita think having a kid was a pretty bad idea.

Angel and Quinn showed up at the house of Zack, an old friend of Freebo's. Zack was a little reluctant to let the officers in, but he was a parolee and really had no choice. Dexter aplogized to Deb that he couldn't dig anything up on her Jane Doe and was delighted to hear that Deb thought she was dealing with a hooker. She also wanted to know what scrapbooking is - and Dexter gave her a very detailed definition. (How did he ever know that?) Deb got a call with a lead on Jane's ID. Dexter knew he had to get going to stay ahead of his sister. Back at Zach's the officers find his girlfriend trying to flush some pills down the toliet. Zach offers some information on one Chickie Hynes, who was just involved in a carjacking and homicide. Zach has an alibi for the guy - and it's one of Miguel's cases. LaGuerta doesn't have to tell Miguel that not only does she have nothing on Oscar's murder case, but that another of his cases is about to fall apart. She tells Angel to be 100% sure before she goes to Miguel with the news. Dexter runs into Angel and tells him he and Rita are expecting a baby. Angel congratulated him and told him having a child is the best thing that could happen in his life. Dexter had a vision of playing with his family - Rita's kids and their son. Harry appeared and said he always wanted to be a grandfather. Dexter said he could have surprised him and been a normal guy and dad. Just then Astor, Rita's daughter went missing - and little Dexter junior was holding a wire taut. Vision over. Deb meets up with Anton, who tells her about a junior pimp named Javier, who had a knack of introducing girls to the world's oldest profession. Deb went to talk to Javier, who really was just a kid. She asks him about Teegan and he denies knowing her. The girl reclined on Javier's couch believes otherwise. He had relations with her. He said he picked her up at a party, but didn't know her name - and he passed her off to a dude named Freebo.

Dexter was watching the hours tick away until he could head to Teegan's apartment. Angel asked Dexter what he knew about Deb's lead. Dexter knew nothing, but was getting increasingly worried. Vince came in and informed everyone that his article was being published and then promptly tossed the Buddha statue in the trash. Miguel was trying to keep his hot-headed sheriff brother in check, he definitely wanted to settle the score with Freebo without the aid of the legal syatem. LaGuerta met up with him and told the boys that they were looking at some new angles on the case. Miguel sent his brother away and he stormed off. LaGuerta told Miguel about Chickie Hynes. She told him that Zack's information checked out. He sent the wrong man to jail. Miguel was upset, but told her to not be afraid to tell him anything.

It's finally time for Dexter to get to Teegan's. He walks by Deb's desk and hears her tell Angel and LaGuerta that their cases are linked. Quinn was upset that Deb was still talking to Anton. Angel said they were going to be working late - and so was Dexter. he arrived at Teegan's "ho pad" and was surprised to find a nude Freebo hiding out there. Dexter went off to gather supplies and set up his kill room in a detached garage. He went back to his place and decided to use the knife that he used to kill Oscar to do the deed. There was a knock at the door and Rita appeared in the doorway. It was decision time about the baby. Rita said she was going to keep the baby, despite only being able to come up with cons. She was keeping the child with or without him. She gave him an out, but he didn't know whether or not he should take it. He went back to Teegan's and set Freebo up in the kill room. As always, he got some blood for his slide collection before he did the deed. What he didn't know was that Miguel was parked outside - and was about to head into the house. Freebo denied killing Teegan and didn't get to say much more before Dexter dispatched him. Miguel made his way towards the gargae and Dexter heard him approach. There was really nothing he could do - he went outside and showed Miguel the bloody knife in his hand. He said he killed Freebo in self defense. Miguel hugged Dexter and volunteered to help get rid of the body, but Dexter told him to leave ("plausible deniability"). Miguel grabbed Dexter's face and simply said "thank you" before leaving - with blood on his shirt. This is getting really interesting.