S04E05 - Liaison

"Liaison" is the fifth episode of Season 4 of We Can Fix Pawbert. It follows Luther's first day at ZPD Precinct 1 as ZSI-ZPD Liaison and Pawbert's first day alone in the mansion.

Synopsis

Luther begins his first day as a visible officer at ZPD Precinct 1 after fifteen years undercover. Pawbert struggles with unstructured time alone at the mansion and channels his anxiety into cooking an elaborate feast for the pack's return.

Plot

The episode opens on Day 8 of Pawbert's freedom with Luther's alarm cutting through the early morning darkness. Luther is already running mental checklists for his first day as ZSI-ZPD Liaison—his first time working visibly under his real name after fifteen years in shadow. Pawbert recognizes his partner's nerves despite Luther's claim that he's merely prepared. The pack gathers in the kitchen where Nick has saved donuts from the previous day and Pawbert has made coffee, and they carpool to Precinct 1 together, leaving Pawbert alone in the driveway watching until the car disappears.

During the commute, Luther admits his real anxiety to Nick and Judy—not the job itself, but the permanence of visibility. He's spent fifteen years being whoever operations required. Now he will be Luther Pawthorne, ZSI-ZPD Liaison, desk in the corner, same coffee every morning, the same mammals seeing him day after day. Nick recognizes what Luther is actually afraid of and offers unexpected wisdom: Luther's angle now is simply showing up and being present, and that is allowed to be enough.

At Precinct 1, Clawhauser greets Luther with maximum enthusiasm and a glittery hand-lettered banner proclaiming his arrival. He has picked out a lamp for Luther's windowless office because fluorescent lighting is unacceptable. Chief Bogo summons Luther for a blunt conversation in which he frames Luther's new role with characteristic directness—Luther has become a symbol, the ZSI agent who was exposed protecting a convicted felon, the wolf who chose love over cover. Some will see him as a hero; others will see him as compromised. Either way, they will be watching. When Bogo questions whether Pawbert's history might become an issue, Luther defends his partner's progress firmly. Bogo accepts this, and before Luther leaves, reveals that he testified at Pawbert's clemency hearing because he believed Pawbert earned it—and that belief hasn't changed.

Meanwhile, Pawbert confronts unstructured time for the first time since his arrest. The mansion is enormous and silent. He wanders from room to room—kitchen, library, living room, hallways—counting doors and cataloguing space like he's memorizing an escape route. For two years, every hour was accounted for: wake at six, breakfast at seven, work assignment at eight, lights out at nine. Here, there are no bells. No guards. No structure. He could do anything. He doesn't know what to do. The spiral begins—that familiar tightening, the thought that maybe he doesn't know how to be free—and he catches it with Dr. Venn's words, speaking them aloud in the empty kitchen. Fear is information. It is not instruction. He asks himself what the fear is telling him: that he's forgotten how to just exist. He asks himself what he wants to do, and his gaze finds the massive stove, the well-stocked pantry, the copper pots. He could cook.

Pawbert spends nearly five hours producing an elaborate feast. Lillian's stew—root vegetables and herbs, the recipe he carries in his head from before everything fell apart. Fresh bread, simple and crusty. Roasted vegetables tossed in oil and rosemary. Pasta salad because he found penne in the pantry. Cookies because he wanted to. He realizes he has made enough food for ten mammals and laughs at himself, genuinely surprised. The silence no longer feels oppressive; it feels earned.

The pack returns to find the table set with cloth napkins and the feast waiting. Pawbert stands by the stove in a faded "KISS THE COOK" apron, slightly sheepish. Nick calls it a banquet; Pawbert admits he didn't know what else to do with himself. Luther embraces him and reframes it—Pawbert did something, and that is enough. That is more than enough. Over dinner, Pawbert shares that this is the first time he's made Lillian's stew in his own kitchen, for his own pack, as a free mammal. The stew tastes different. Better. Like she's closer somehow.

In the tag the following morning, Nick and Judy arrive at breakfast practically glowing after their first night with mansion-level privacy. Pawbert notices immediately. When Nick claims he slept very well, Pawbert delivers his verdict with deliberate timing: the walls are thick, but not that thick. Luther begins to laugh—the east wing shares a ventilation system with the main house. Sound carries through the ducts. The mortification is brief and quickly overtaken by laughter, banter, and the comfortable chaos of four mammals who've chosen each other. For the first time in eight days, Pawbert doesn't feel like he's waiting for something. He believes he is home.

Key Moments

• Luther's first day as visible liaison at ZPD Precinct 1
• Clawhauser greets Luther with a glittery welcome banner
• Bogo reveals he testified at Pawbert's clemency hearing
• Pawbert's solitude test—spiral caught using Dr. Venn's technique
• Cooking established as contribution and coping mechanism
• Lillian's stew prepared as first free-mammal meal for the pack
• The "KISS THE COOK" apron introduced (callback in The Apron Incident)
• Nick and Judy's first explicit scene at the mansion
• The ventilation system revelation—the east wing shares ducts with the main house

Key Lines

Locations

• Pawthorne Mansion — Kitchen, master bedroom, library, living room, hallways, Nick/Judy's room (east wing)
• Luther's car — Carpool to Precinct 1
• ZPD Precinct 1 — Lobby, third floor, Luther's windowless corner office, Bogo's office

Items

• "KISS THE COOK" apron — First appearance; becomes centerpiece of The Apron Incident
• Luther's badge and lanyard — ZSI-ZPD LIAISON designation
• Clawhauser's welcome banner — Glittery, hand-lettered, with paw prints and tiny handcuff drawings
• Clawhauser's lamp — Selected because fluorescent lighting is unacceptable
• The feast — Lillian's stew, fresh bread, roasted vegetables, pasta salad, chocolate chip cookies (no nuts)

Notes

• The dual POV structure parallels both characters' adjustments—Luther to visibility at work, Pawbert to solitude at home.
• Day 8 of Pawbert's freedom.