- Ben: I'm not afraid of cops. I have no reason to be. I never break any laws, ever, because I'm deathly afraid of cops.
Based on their having had one date, Tom has come up with several nicknames for Ann, much to her annoyance. Ann wants to keep their date a secret from everyone (except Leslie, whom she already told).
Meanwhile, Pawnee Police Chief Hugh Trumple is retiring and Leslie hopes to win his endorsement for her City Council campaign before Bobby Newport does. Ben is, as usual, nervous in the presence of a police officer. Chief Trumple explains that the Newport family has spent a lot of money on the police department, so it's a tough decision for him. He tells her he'll let her know his decision at his retirement party.
Andy has written Leslie's campaign theme song "Catch Your Dream" and invites the Parks Department, Chris, and his band Mouse Rat to Doubletime Sound Studio to help sing for it and record it.
As Ben and Leslie leave the police station, they run into Dave Sanderson, Leslie's ex-boyfriend, who is back from San Diego. He's in town for Trumple's retirement party. Leslie invites him to dinner with her and Ben, much to Ben's dismay.
At the studio, Ron sees several posters for his Duke Silver persona. He doesn't want his co-workers to know about this aspect of his life, so he recruits April, who already knows, to get rid of anything she sees with Duke Silver on it. Tom admits that he told his co-workers about his date with Ann.
At the dinner, Leslie talks up Ben to Dave. Dave says he could get Chief Trumple to endorse Leslie. When Ben leaves to take a bathroom break, Dave confesses to Leslie he's still in love with her and wants her back.
Andy isn't happy with his backup singers and tells them to take a break. Chris is upset that Tom and Ann are dating.
Despite Leslie insisting that she is in love with Ben, Dave refuses to listen and says he is considering remaining in Pawnee to become the new Police Chief. He tries to get a chance to talk privately with Leslie but she refuses. When he steps outside for a bit, Leslie tells Ben what Dave said about still being in love with her. Ben freaks out due in part to his phobia of police officers.
Ann is angry at Tom, but he's convinced he can turn her opinion around. Andy has each person sing on their own so he can determine who the problem is. Chris is first, and his singing is enthusiastic but awful. During the recording of the song, Tom tries to make a grand gesture but Ann leaves in anger.
Leslie ends the dinner without dessert. Dave and Ben talk in the men's room. Dave is convinced Leslie still cares for him, but Ben tries to stand his ground on his and Leslie's relationship. Ben refuses to let Dave talk to Leslie in private, so Dave handcuffs Ben to a urinal. Dave then goes to talk to Leslie, telling her that Ben ran away, but when Ben calls her phone, the ruse is up. Leslie drags Dave to the men's room to get him to uncuff Ben.
It starts to rain, and Tom believes that if he waits for Ann in the rain, she'll find it really romantic. Andy is struggling to get the song right, so Ron suggests he take a walk to clear his head. A drenched Tom shows Ann what he did, but she's not impressed.
Leslie apologizes to Ben as they head to the retirement party. At the party, Leslie has a talk with Dave, who apologizes for his actions but admits he doesn't understand why she likes Ben. She tells him about the time Ben punched a man who called her a "bitch", and Dave is impressed. He accepts that Leslie has moved on with her life, and they remain friends.
Andy returns to the studio, saying they have to completely start over. Ron tells him to listen to the song one more time before making his decision. Ron has added a saxophone melody to the mix, and Andy loves it.
Ben, despite his extreme anxiety, talks with the chief, telling him that Leslie's plans for the police department do long-term good, while Bobby Newport's ideas are just for the short term. Trumple agrees to give Leslie his endorsement.
As the group leaves the recording studio, Tom apologizes to Ann in song. He wears her down and she says she'll go out with him again.
Tropes
- Brick Joke: Andy brings the gang to a music studio to record Leslie's campaign jingle. Ron is horrified to realize that it's the same studio where he records as Duke Silver, and spends his time there frantically hiding all the Duke Silver posters and coffee mugs scattered around.
- The Bus Came Back: As the episode's title states, Dave Sanderson comes back from his stint in San Diego.
- Continuity Nod: When Dave brings up that Ben's "shrimpy", Leslie argues that he still can pack a mean punch as evidenced by how he punched Derek in retaliation for calling her a bitch back in "Bowling For Votes".
- Cringe Comedy: Ben has a crippling fear of cops and is incredibly awkward whenever he's around them. Not helping is that the cops themselves seem to be aware of this and like to deliberately mess with him.
- Desk Sweep of Passion: Ann, utterly frustrated with Tom after he starts using cutesy nicknames after their one date, pushes him aside in an empty office, which he perceives as an advance and sweeps all the paper and other stuff off the desk and jumps on top of it. Ann is not impressed and gets even more frustrated.
- Didn't Think This Through: Dave didn't think that Leslie wouldn't believe him when he claimed Ben ran away, nor that Ben could call her for help.
- Facial Dialogue: When Andy is extolling the virtues of tea with honey (or in his case, just honey), April notices he's holding a Duke Silver mug. She and Ron exchange looks, and she immediately smashes the mug on the floor to keep his secret.
- Flanderization: Dave's reappearance takes his unusual speech patterns up a notch. Louis C.K. makes it work.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Chris is bad at one thing it turns out - he absolutely cannot sing to save his life.
- Hidden Depths: Andy is usually portrayed as cheerfully oblivious to his own screwups but here, he's tortured by the fact that he can't offer anything useful to Leslie's campaign.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Tom asks Chris if the latter is about to give him this speech regarding Ann.
- Indirect Kiss: Occurs between Ann and Tom. Jerry points it out, revealing to Ann that Tom blabbed about their date.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Leslie says she will "endorse ten beers into [her] mouth" because of how stressful the day has been.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Dave initially tries to get back together with Leslie, but ultimately accepts the fact that she's moved on with her life.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Andy is put in charge of writing Leslie's city council campaign "anthem". It's intended to sound upbeat and inspirational, but Andy has never been eloquent."Catch your dream
And shackle it to your heart
Catch your dream
Don't let it spread its wings and fly away" - The Missus and the Ex: The case with Ben, Dave, and Leslie. Dave is still in love with Leslie and tries to get Ben out of the way, but eventually accepts that she's moved on with her life and lets her go.
- Product Placement: When Leslie is "endors[ing] ten beers" after meeting with the police department, the bottle she's holding is clearly Helios Pale Ale (from Indiana's real-life Upland brewery).
- Romantic Rain: Tom tries to invoke this by standing outside in the rain for Ann, but it doesn't work.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Ben and Dave have this dynamic when they're compared as love interests for Leslie, with bookish Ben spending much of the episode nervous around tough, plain-speaking, cop Dave.Dave: I guess I'm just surprised that's the guy you fell in love with. He's very... well, he's shrimpy and he's small.Leslie: Shrimpy or not, he's smart and he's cute and he's kind and he's funny and he's got a great face with nice hair and...
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex-boyfriend does? Exaggerated when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and handcuffs him to the urinal to get Leslie back. Not the best day for Ben.
