Running to Stand Still

Running to Stand Still is the sixth episode of the first season of Desperate Housewives and the sixth episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
Lynette locks horns at the twins' school with officious mom Maisy Gibbons; Susan continues to investigate the mystery of Zach's sudden disappearance; Juanita comes closer to discovering Gabrielle's dirty little secret affair.

Plot
Lynette meets a new rival, Maisy Gibbons, while pitching in to help with a theater rendition of Little Red Riding Hood at the twins' new school. Lynette soon discovers that Maisy Gibbons runs the play committee to her own liking, including neutralizing the ending of the play and shooting down Lynette's suggestion to keep the true ending, as Lynette is not assuming any "heavy lifting". Lynette decides to take on the task of making costumes for the play in order to have the right to comment on the play's new politically correct ending. The other mothers timidly agree; however, now Lynette is swamped by Maisy Gibbons demanding expectations for the costumes. If she does not want her boys to be taken out of the play, the costumes have to be perfect. Lynette soon converses with another hard-working mom about taking her child's ADD medicine, which gives her all the energy she needs, and succeeds in finishing in time, as well as putting Maisy Gibbons in her place on opening night.

During group therapy with Dr. Goldfine, Rex recommends that he and Bree seek the advice of a sex surrogate in order to keep their relationship alive. Bree is horrified at this request and talks privately about it with Dr. Goldfine unexpectedly at a restaurant, embarrassing him with her sensual description of what she likes about sex. Shortly after, Bree surprises Rex at his hotel room where she arrives in a fur coat with only a bra and lingerie underneath. As Bree and Rex kiss, Bree stumbles upon a burrito on the edge of the night stand. Bree asks Rex to stop for a moment but he tells her to leave it alone. Bree then abruptly stops and pushes the burrito aside which annoys Rex who asks her to leave.

Gabrielle begins to tire of Mama Solis as she continues to follow her around. After Juanita cleans the girls out while playing poker, Carlos reveals that his mother has a gambling addiction, and Gabrielle slyly uses it so she can secretly see John at a motel who is losing interest in her. Meanwhile, Juanita has maxed out the $15,000 limit by gambling with Carlos' credit card. Gabrielle turns this to her advantage, offering to cover the loss. Juanita changes her suspicions of Gabrielle's infidelity after her sudden friendship and kindness to her mother-in-law. Carlos then tells her that he revealed to Gabrielle that Juanita had a gambling addiction. As Gabrielle leaves the house, she does not associate with John Rowland signaling to Juanita that he may be the person sleeping with Gabrielle.

Susan learns more about the mystery surrounding the Young family, when she and Julie discover Zach at a mental institution. Julie and Zach then begin to discuss his purpose for being there and about what happened to "Dana". Julie later tells her mother about their conversation and begins to search around for clues about Dana. Susan finds no trace of Dana in any school yearbook or documents and is curious to learn what really happened since Mary Alice was such a warm and kind friend to her. Little does Susan know that an item she had purchased at Paul Young's garage sale was wrapped in a baby blanket with the name "DANA" embroidered on the sides.

Starring

 * Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer
 * Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo
 * Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp
 * Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis
 * Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt (Credit Only)
 * Steven Culp as Rex Van de Kamp
 * Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Carlos Solis
 * Mark Moses as Paul Young
 * Andrea Bowen as Julie Mayer
 * Jesse Metcalfe as John Rowland
 * Cody Kasch as Zach Young
 * Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young
 * and James Denton as Mike Delfino (Credit Only)

Guest Starring

 * Sharon Lawrence as Maisy Gibbons
 * Sam Lloyd as Albert Goldfine
 * Lupe Ontiveros as Juanita Solis
 * Stacey Travis as Jordana Geist
 * Gregg Daniel as Dr. Schier
 * Joy Lauren as Danielle Van de Kamp
 * Sharon O'Hurley as Mrs. Truesdale
 * Lucille Soong as Yao Lin

Co-Starring

 * Brent Kinsman as Preston Scavo
 * Shane Kinsman as Porter Scavo
 * Pat Crawford Brown as Ida Greenberg
 * Paul Denniston as Waiter
 * Cindy Lu as Nurse
 * Kathy McGraw as Receptionist

Production Notes

 * Nicollette Sheridan (Edie Britt) and James Denton (Mike Delfino) are absent in this episode.