Helen is planning on going to "art camp", but Martha is worried about Helen's safety and anticipates missing her. When the Lorraines drive off in their car, Helen tries to assure Martha that she'll only be gone until the next day, but Martha is still mopey. In the car, Helen worries about Martha's unhappiness and imagines (and draws) her crying so much she floods the house, which makes Helen cry herself. Danny cheers her up by having her call T.D. and tell him to keep the dogs company. He promises to come over as soon as he's finished picking up his Halloween costume (even though it's only April).
Helen is dropped off at art camp, where Mr. Vadinchi tells the students not to talk on their cell phones so that they won't be distracted. Helen decides to text T.D. instead, so she asks him how Martha is. T.D., who by now is standing outside the Lorraine house in a pirate suit, sees Martha through the window eating crumbs in the sofa. However, he accidentally texts Helen that she's eating the actual sofa. Before T.D. can explain, Mr. Vadinchi confiscates Helen's cell phone.
The other kids worry Helen by claiming their dogs eat furniture when angry, while T.D. arrives at the Lorraine house. He decides to play with the dogs to keep them busy, then starts to take off his pirate boots but has a bit of trouble. Mr. Vadinchi tells the kids to draw the first thing that comes into their minds, so Helen draws (and imagines) Martha eating the sofa out of anger, followed by all the other furniture and the entire house.
She then pretends she needs to use the bathroom and uses the payphone to phone T.D., who is still having trouble getting his boots off. However, because it's an unknown number, he hangs up, thinking it was a mistake. While Martha tries to take T.D.'s boots off, Helen phones Truman so he can check on Martha. Milo, who is visiting the Oatleys, answers instead because Truman is afraid of a spider near the phone. Helen has him check if the house is still there, and Milo says it is, but he thinks it's being attacked by pirates whom Martha's fighting off.
Mr. Vadinchi catches Helen using the phone, then tells her and the other kids to draw something crazy and fun. Helen draws (and imagines) Martha (and Skits) fighting off invading pirates. However, Mr. Vadinchi chastises her for only drawing Martha. Meanwhile, Martha is still lonely, so T.D. suggests she go visit her since she's only at Dog Head Lake. So, both dogs run off.
Mr. Vadinchi tells Helen to paint something more "relaxing", then Martha and Skits arrive and lick Helen. She explains that "contact with the outside world" is forbidden, but then gets an idea: have the dogs pose so the kids can paint them.
This episode provides examples of:
- Ahem: Mr. Vadinchi clears his throat to get Helen's attention when her dogs lick her.
- And Your Reward Is Edible: Mr. Vadinchi rewards the Lorraine dogs for being models by giving them biscuits.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: When T.D. texts Helen, he says to himself, "She's fine; she's..." and then it cuts to Helen reading the rest of the text: "...eating the sofa?!".
- Balloon Belly: The illustration of Martha having eaten the house looks bloated.
- Bathroom Search Excuse: Helen pretends she has to use the bathroom so that she can use the payphone.
- Canine Confusion: Justified since it's in Helen's imagination, but in one fantasy sequence, Martha cries, even though dogs cannot do so in real life.
- Circling Birdies: One of the pirates in Helen's imagination sees stars after falling off the roof.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: In the pirate fantasy, Skits scares away one pirate by ripping his pants.
- Crying a River: In Helen's imagination, Martha floods the house with tears.
- Crying Critters: Discussed when Helen imagines Martha crying excessively due to missing her.
- Dramatic Irony:
- T.D. hangs up his cell phone thinking someone called him by mistake, when we know it was Helen.
- Milo thinks that there's a pirate attacking the Lorraine house, when we know it's just T.D. He also thinks Martha is fighting him, when we know she's just trying to take his boots off.
- Dressed to Plunder:
- T.D. wears a pirate costume (a red bandanna, belt, vest, baggy white shirt, striped pants, and black dress boots) that he bought early for Halloween and put on over his clothes so he wouldn't have to carry it.
- Helen draws one pirate in baggy pants and a tank top, another in a bandanna and a black boot, and a third in a baggy jacket, large belt, black hat with a skull, and black boots.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: The episode ends on everyone laughing.
- Fantasy Sequence: Whenever Helen draws something, we see what she's imagining.
- Goofy Print Underwear: When Skits in Helen's imagination rips the pants of one of the pirates, it's shown that he wears pink underpants with red hearts on them.
- Grossout Fakeout: Discussed when Martha in Helen's imagination sees a puddle of her tears and worries that when Helen sees it, she'll mistake it for pee and get angry.
- Heroic Dog: Discussed when Milo thinks Martha is fighting off pirates, then Helen draws her doing just that, alongside Skits.
- Howl of Sorrow: Downplayed when Martha, due to missing Helen, talks in a wavery voice reminiscent of a dog howling.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Martha in Helen's imagination cries loudly and excessively.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Martha says that she will never be happy again... only to instantly become happy when she smells some crumbs.
- Loophole Abuse: Mr. Vadinchi tells the kids not to talk on their phones, so Helen texts T.D.
- Mirthless Laughter: Helen chuckles shyly when Mr. Vadinchi catches her using the phone, then again when he thinks she draws Martha too much.
- Mood Whiplash: Helen's imagining starts sadly with Martha crying out of loneliness... but then it takes a left turn into humour when she worries she'll be mistaken for having wet the rug, and then floods the house with tears... then, it switches back to sad when Helen cries in reality.
- Nearly Normal Animal:
- The fish in Helen's imagination can stick its tongue out.
- When Mr. Vadinchi suggests Helen paint a bird, the bird appears to roll its eyes.
- Ocular Gushers: When Martha cries in Helen's imagination, the tears come out like a sprinkler.
- The Pratfall: T.D. falls on his rump when trying to take off his boot.
- Seadog Peg Leg: One pirate Helen draws wears a peg leg.
- Self-Deprecation: When Martha can't pull T.D.'s boots off, she blames herself for being too distracted by loneliness.
- Single Tear: Helen cries one tear after imagining Martha crying.
- Split-Screen Phone Call: Helen and Milo's phone conversation is shown on a split screen.
- Talk Like a Pirate: Martha in Helen's imagination addresses one pirate with "time to walk the plank, me hearty!".
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: In Helen's imagining about Martha eating the furniture, she says, "Oh, I am so angry!", then "I'm still angry!".
- Tongue-Out Insult: The "crying Martha" imagination sequence ends on a fish appearing in the Lorraines' window and sticking its tongue out at Helen.
- Urine Trouble: Discussed by Martha in Helen's imagination, when she says, "All this crying makes it look like I've had an accident on the rug!".
- Wingding Eyes: One of the imaginary pirates is shown with X's for eyes while falling off the roof.
