Twins
Teaser
In the beginning of this episode Declan calls two of his students into his office and confronts them regarding their identical exam papers. Both students deny cheating, so Declan offers to let them re-take the test right there and then, verbally. As the two boys answer Declan's anthropology questions, Declan is struck by the fact that the two students not only answer the questions with identical responses, but that they use the same tone of voice and the same gesticulations.
Act I
Declan goes to Peggy's office and talks to her about the two students, Robert and Brent. She assures him that there is nothing unusual about the situation and that the boys probably just studied together for the test. She also reminds him that he "thinks everything is weird". Declan is unsatisfied with Peggy's nonchalance, but she leaves to go to a meeting. The next day in class Brent and Robert exhibit more similarities, choosing the same topic for their thesis and speaking identical words at the same time. Declan is a little spooked, but in the end simply tells the boys they should work on the thesis together. As the boys get to know each other, they realize they have even more things in common. They share the same birthdate, were born in the same city and like the same foods. The also both have girlfriends named Kathy and both applied to the same colleges before settling at Northern Oregon. This is all too much for Declan to count as coincidence, so he again goes to Peggy.
Act II
She and Declan have one of their chats in the cafeteria. He believes that coincidences happen for a reason and bring people together, while she feels that they are only random occurances and points out the fact that there were no signs bringing them together. Declan isn't so sure, and also theorizes that Brent and Robert may be franternal twins, separated at birth and raised apart, which would explain the fact that they share so many similarities and the same birthdate
After all, both boys are being raised by adoptive parents. He arranges for Miranda to do a blood test on Brent and Robert to verify whether they are siblings. Then Declan, Brent and Robert go to visit Brent's aunt to question her about Brent's birth. However, his aunt insists that Brent's parents had no other children.
Robert also does some digging into his past and orders copies of his adoption records. When he is told by his adoptive mother that his natural parents died when he was small, Brent and Robert both jump to the conlusion that this means they are brothers, since Brent's parents died when he was young as well. That night at a frat party, which Declan and Peggy attend, the boys make a toast to brotherhood.
Act III
At Declan's request, Peggy submits both boys to psychological testing. While the tests show similarities in IQ and mannerisms, they do show some differences as well, including the fact that Robert is an introvert and Brent is an extrovert. During the testing, Robert seems particularly tired, even dozing off at one point. He explains to Peggy that he's been having trouble sleeping and he is having recurring nightmares. Under hypnosis, Robert recounts his nightmare. In the dream, he is running and he can hear gunshots in the background.
A few days later, the boys get the blood test results from Miranda and Robert receives his adoption records in the mail as well. They are not brothers. Both boys seem saddened by the news, and Declan feels guilty for having gotten their hopes up of finding a family member. He tells Peggy that she was right, he does think everything is weird and that he believes his college psychology professor's explanation of Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity...that all coincidences happen for a reason.
ACT IV
That night in bed, Brent has a nightmare. When he wakes, he realizes that it is the same nightmare that Robert has been having. Concerned, he goes to Robert's dorm to check on him, but is told by another student that Robert collasped and had to be rushed to the hospital. When Brent arrives, Declan explains that
Robert has a rare blood disorder resulting in aplaystic anemia. It's the reason why Robert has felt so tired lately. If Robert does not receive a bone marrow transplant he will die. Brent offers to be a donor, but Declan tells him that it's not that simple, only a perfect match can donate. However, when Declan hears that Brent experienced Robert's nightmare and thinks about all of the other coincidences between the two boys, he calls Miranda and has her re-test their blood...they are not a genetic match but they are a donor match.
Brent is wheeled in next to Robert for the Bone Marrow transplant. During the procedure both boys have the same dream in which they are soldiers in the Civil War...and brothers. In the dream, Robert dies saving Brent's life. When they wake, they tell Peggy and Declan of the dream they shared, which the boys believe is actually a memory of a past life. However, in the end of the episode, she finds out that she and Declan indeed do share a coincidence that has brought them together before in life. They both took a class in college together several years ago. While Peggy was only there for a few weeks, she remembers Declan and he remembers her. The episode fades out with Peggy and Declan both wondering about their "coincidence".