S2E13 · Meditations in an Emergency

Complete story — includes the ending

Don finally returns from his trip to California in the middle of the hysteria generated by the Cuban Missile Crisis, and learns from Roger that the company has been sold. Betty receives the news that she is pregnant, but before telling Don the news, she engages in a brief sexual encounter with a stranger. The office thinks Sterling Cooper is planning to open an office in Los Angeles due to the rise in television and Don's long trip there, but instead learns of the merger with Putnam, Powell & Lowe. Duck tells Pete that he's becoming head of Sterling Cooper after the merger and that he plans to undermine Don. Pete informs Don, who confronts Duck and threatens to leave the newly-merged agency; Duck, in a drunken rage, tells him to get in line or he will enforce Don's non-compete clause, which Don does not have, as he never signed a contract with Sterling Cooper; Duck is ultimately fired, with PPL admitting he has a drinking problem. Pete invites Peggy for a drink and tells her he loves her; in response, Peggy informs him that he fathered a child with her, and that she gave it away for adoption. Betty asks Don to return home, and reveals that she is pregnant.