"You're not gonna feel guilty about taking a few days off for some rest and recreation?" "No, if he had an assignment for us, he would have sent us someplace else." "You're right, Jonathan." "You're absolutely right." "Even an angel deserves a vacation." "Wait'll you see this place." "You're gonna think you died and went to heaven." "I've already done that." "Oh, yeah, right." "Well, the fishing there is out of this world." "So is my old pal Wes." "When we were cops, he saved my life one time." " Did I ever tell you that?" " Several times." "You better slow down, there's the turnoff to Windward Beach." " Jonathan, you missed the road." " It's the wrong road." "You're gonna tell me how to get to Windward Beach?" "Wes and I have been there a hundred times." "You missed the road, Jonathan." "That's not the road." "The road you want is four miles up ahead." "Jonathan, this time I know I'm right." "Sorry." "All right, how about we stop at the next place we come to for directions." " You'll see." " Suit yourself." "Give my friend a road, thinks he knows everything." "You're gonna see." "It's gonna be music to my ears to hear you say you were wrong just once." "I'll be right back." "Hey, look at all that food." "What you got in there, pal?" "Excuse me, okay?" "Excuse me." "Now, isn't that polite." "Isn't that polite guys?" "Politest thing I ever heard." " Let me see." " Hey, come on." "I'm just looking." "What do we got here?" "Fried chicken, slaw, fries." "We hit the jackpot." "Hey, come on, give me that back." " What did you say?" " Barry, come on." "Let him have it." "Yeah, Barry, you better get going before you get an ow-ow." "Please, Barry, get in the car." "Thanks for the treat, Barry." "Hey, open that trunk." "We'll take these down to the lake and have us a picnic." "Hey, why don't you give the kid back his food?" "You talking to me?" "Yeah, come on." "Enough's enough." "Hey, why don't you take a hike before you get hurt?" "Hey, Big John, he's too scared to move." "Let's get out of here." "Well, are you just gonna let him get away with that?" "Well, this time I think you're wrong." "What the hell is this?" "I told you, enough's enough." "There you go now." "Thanks." "I saw it, but I don't believe it." "All right, before you say, "I told you so," you were right." "Jon, did you hear me?" "You were right." "Gotta go." "I thought we didn't have an assignment." "We don't." "I have to go back." "Back?" "What do you mean, up there?" "Yeah." "Why?" "What happened?" " I broke a rule." " What are you talking about?" "It doesn't matter." "I gotta go now." "For how long?" "That's gonna be up to him." "I'll see you, friend." "I'll see you again, won't I?" "I hope so." "Good luck." "Mark." "Mark." "You still know me after all this time?" "I never forget a beard." "But I am furious with you." "What do you mean staying away so long?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "Never happen again." "I thought you were gonna bring a friend with you." "Yeah, I was, but he got called away on some business." "Hey, flatfoot." "Hey, Mark, how are you?" "How's life treating you?" "Well, better than when I was wearing a badge." "Look at you, you're still skinny." "Oh, because I'm chasing bad guys." "Life's great." "Wait a minute, who are these women?" "Grown some, haven't they?" "Hi, Uncle Mark." "Last time I saw them, they were that tall." "I could bounce them on my knee." "They're not my little girls anymore." "Well, they're not too big to give an old man a hug, are they?" "So I dive down behind this dumpster, this guy unloads his gun at me." "And by the time I come up, your dad has got this loser spread eagled against the wall." "Oh, Uncle Mark, that was a good one." "Tell us another story." "Oh, yeah, this time we played a trick on your dad" "I think that's enough stories for tonight." "Oh, but we never get to hear these." "Dad won't tell us." "And for good reason." "He knows that we'd worry." "Besides, he can't lie as well as I do." "Do you two remember the last time you were fishing here?" "How could I forget?" "It was the day we were married." "You're kidding me." "You guys went fishing on your wedding day?" "To calm my nerves." "We almost didn't get back in town in time for the wedding." "And I will never forgive you for that, Mark Gordon." "And you, the best man." "It's unbelievable, isn't it." "I mean, it seems like only yesterday." "What was it, 15 years ago?" "No, think again, pal." "Sixteen years." "Sixteen--It couldn't be 16 years ago." "We started working as partners when you graduated form the academy, right?" " That was" " Mark." "It was 16 years." "Heather's 15." "Yeah, you're right." "It was 16 years ago." "I don't know what's going on here." "Time is passing me by." "Okay, come on, girls." "It's been a long day." "Let's get ready for bed." "I think I'll get some more coffee." "I'm sorry, man." "I wasn't thinking." "It's okay." " I don't want her to know." " But she's going to find out anyway." "Why?" "Why does she ever have to know?" "Because too many people know the truth." "You can't keep a secret like this forever." "But we can try." "Carol, I can't go on like this." "Having to pick and choose my words." "Afraid I might accidentally give away the truth." " Mark almost let it out last night." " But he didn't." "That doesn't mean it won't happen someday." "Heather's got a right to know." "And wouldn't it be better for her to hear it from us than from somebody else?" "Sweetheart, we raised her right." "She's a bright, well-adjusted girl." "She can accept the truth." "Well, I just can't tell her." "Then let me." "Okay." "Honey, there's something I want to talk to you about." "Nothing bad." "It's just something that I knew we'd have to talk about, and, well, now I think it's time." "I think I know." "Oh, yeah?" "What do you know?" "You and Mom were married after I was born, weren't you?" "How did you know that?" "Well, last night," "Mom said that Mark was best man at your wedding, right?" "Right." "Well, Mark always told me that he met you after you left the police academy." "I've seen the diploma on your wall, Dad." "The day you graduated, I was 6 months old and you always told me you were married the year before you went to the academy." "Yeah, we..." "We lied about that." "And you're right." "We were married after you were born." "Dad, it's okay." "You and Mom were in love." "I understand how things like that can happen when two people are in love." "Babe." "You don't understand." "That's not what happened." "See, your mom and I..." "Your mom and I adopted you when you were a baby." "Adopted?" "I know you had no idea." "We should've told you before this." "But you see, your mom-- Your mom just couldn't." "Now, you've heard your mom and I talk about how we met." "Well, that's all true." "I loved her the moment I laid eyes on her." "And we were married a month later." "Well, we both loved kids and we knew we wanted to have some." "But your mom had an examination and the doctor said she probably would never be able to give birth." "And that really hurt." "So your mom went to an adoption agency." "And they showed her the most beautiful little girl." "And your mom came and got me, and the minute I saw you," "I knew you were gonna be ours." "Adopted?" "Shelley too?" "No, no, no." "About a year after we adopted you, your mom got pregnant with Shelley." "It was like a miracle." "We never expected it, so we were thrilled." "Well, that's it." "No more secrets, huh?" "Do you love me as much as you love Shelley?" "Oh, darling, I could never love anyone more." "Then it's okay." "Come on." "Let's go tell your mom and sister." "Come on." "I told my friend Jonathan this place was like heaven." "I guess so." "Looks like you found a good place to do your thinking." "Did they tell you I know?" "Yeah, they told me." "I know they love me." "And I love them." "It's just that" "It's just weird, I don't know." "Just to think that I'm not even related to my own parents." "If they lived in another town, I would have grown up" " not even knowing them." " Does it matter?" "Now that you know, do you feel any different from who you were yesterday or the day before?" "No." "But now that I know, I just can't help wondering." "Wondering where I came from." "I love my family more than anything and I would never hurt them, but I just have to find out who my real mother is now." "I mean, there's so many questions." "You know what I mean?" "Yeah, I do." "I really do." "What are you so frightened of?" "Of course she wants to know." "Wes, we don't even know who the mother is." "Maybe we can find her." "Mark's agreed to come back with us and help." "And then what?" "Share our daughter with this woman?" "What if she wants her back?" "That can't happen." "Heather's ours." "Wes, I don't want you to do this." "I just want things to stay the way they are." "Sweetheart, Heather's never going to turn away from us." "We're a family." "But she's curious." "Just like anyone else would be." "Look," "Heather's always going to have this need to know about herself." "We just have to help her fill that need." "Come on." "You're kidding." "And your parents never told you?" "They meant to, but it was hard for them." "Where'd she come from?" "Who are her real parents?" "No one knows." "But my Dad's trying to find out." "Shelley." "Sue and Janet have to leave now." "But, Mom, it's early." "I want them to leave right now." "Bye, Shelley." "I'll see you tomorrow." " Bye." " Bye, Shelley." "What do you mean telling those girls your sister's adopted?" "It's not a secret, is it?" "I thought you were going to tell everybody." "Well, we are not telling everybody." "It is a very personal matter." "And I'm furious that you told them anything at all." "I wish we never knew about Heather." "I wish we never knew she was adopted." "Shelley." "Shelley, I'm sorry." "Mom, I didn't mean to do anything wrong." "Baby, I know." "I'm just very much on edge." "It's because of Heather's real mom, isn't it?" "I don't know." "You don't want her to find her, do you?" "No." "No, I don't." "Then I hope they never find her, Mom." "Not ever." "It was like being back in harness." "It felt great." "You do nice work." "I'm glad I picked the right man." " Hi, honey." " Hi." "I'm sorry we're so late." "We couldn't hold dinner any longer." "Yeah, I would've called, but we were working pretty fast on this." "Did you find anything out?" "Well, I think so." "Mark's got a friend who works for the county." "Yeah, we were lucky." "Ed retires next week." "We caught him just in time." "Look, we know that Heather was abandoned a few days after she was born." "Which gives us an approximate birth date." "Ed gave us a list of the names of all the women who gave birth to girls in Woodward around that date." "There were five maybes." "We spent the day checking them out." "Got it narrowed down to one." "You found my mother?" "There was one we couldn't trace, honey." "A woman named Joan Matthews." "There seem to be no record of her anywhere." "But we have an address on the birth certificate in Woodward." "1312 Stockton Avenue." "Mark and I are gonna check that out tomorrow as soon as I'm off duty." "We're hoping somebody at that address can lead us to Joan Matthews." "If our luck really holds, maybe Joan Matthews still lives there." "What if she still does live there?" "Then I'll tell her who I am and I'll tell her all about you." "What if she doesn't want to see me?" "Well," "I think we have to leave that up to her." "I mean, we don't know why she gave you up." "Now, she has rights and if she doesn't want to see you, we have to leave it at that." "It's me again." "You know, I ain't much for praying, but this is different, see?" "Because I ain't just asking for me," "I'm asking for all the people down here Jonathan helped." "He did a good job." "I know he made a mistake or something like that." "Nobody's perfect." "You know that better than anybody." "I guess what I'm asking is that you give Jonathan another chance." "This world really needs him." "They really do." "I'll talk to you later." "All right, I lied, all right?" "I'm asking for me too." "I miss the guy." "Amen." "Heather, come on, we'll be late." "Heather, come on, we'll be late." "I'm not going to school today." "What's the matter?" "Are you sick?" "A touch of the flu, I guess." "Tell Mom, will you?" "Mom's gone shopping or someplace." " You want me to stay with you?" " No." "It's okay." "I'll be fine till she gets back." " Now go on." " All right." "Bye." "Bye." "Hey, I thought you were sick in bed." "I thought you were in the RV." "I was thinking about maybe taking a walk." "Where you going?" "School." "I'm feeling better." "You're going the wrong way." "All right." "I'm going to Woodward." "I'm gonna find Joan Matthews." "Yeah." "Your Dad and I are going there this afternoon." "I know, but I want to go now." "It's all I can think about." "Please try to understand." "All right." "You know, a bus will take all day." "Car's a lot faster." "You coming or not?" "Are you okay?" "I thought you said this was gonna be easy." "You'll be all right." "Will you come with me?" "Come on." "Yes?" "I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am." "Would you happen to know anyone named Joan Matthews?" "Mom, what are you doing here?" "Sweetheart," "Joan Matthews is a name that I made up." "I'm your real mother." "I was 17 years old." "And I thought I was in love." "I thought he was the most wonderful boy in the world." "And I got pregnant." "God, I was scared." "And I told the boy." "And he denied that he was the father." "And I never saw him again." "I was living with my aunt then." "You girls never knew her, but she was a very cold, stern woman." "But she was the only family that I had." "And when I told her that I was pregnant," "she..." "She called me the most awful names." "I felt so worthless and ashamed." "She tried to make me have an abortion and I said no." "So she sent me away to have my baby." "A friend of hers, Myra, the woman you met today, Heather, she took me in." "She was really very beautiful to me." "When the baby was born, I used the name Joan Matthews so that I wouldn't embarrass my aunt." "You were so beautiful, baby." "And I wanted you so much." "My aunt said, "no."" "That I should give you up, that you'd be better off." "I didn't have a job or any money." "And I knew that my aunt would not help me." "So I agreed." "It was my aunt who brought you to the adoption agency." "She didn't want my name on any of the files or the records." "And I hated her for that." "Really, I hated myself for letting it happen." "Keep going." "I think this is where I come in." "A few months later, I met your father." "And we fell in love." "After your father and I were married, I went back to the adoption agency, and I told the woman there that we wanted to adopt." "Sweetheart, you don't know how thrilled I was to find you still in the nursery." "And I brought your father to see you right away." "I think he loved you, Heather, as much as I did, from the very start." "You liar." "You've lied to me from the very beginning." "You lost your baby and you used me to get her back." "Wes, I never used you." "Then why didn't you tell me you had a child?" "I was afraid." "Really, were you too afraid to lie and scheme?" "What about the test, Carol, the examination that discovered that you couldn't have children?" "That was a lie too, wasn't it?" " Wasn't it?" " Yes." "You just said that to me so that I would agree to adopt." "Wes, I wanted my baby back." "So you used me." "Wes, I loved you." "I never lied about that." "Who's the father?" "Who's the father, Carol?" " Who's the father?" " What difference does it make?" "He was just a boy." "Yeah." "What difference does it make?" "Wes, where are you going?" "Wes." "Dad will be back, Mom, I know it." " No, he won't." " Shelley." "Why should he?" "Why should he come back?" "I don't believe you, Mom." "I always thought you were so strict and such a prude." "We're too young to date." "We're not allowed to be out past 9." "You pick and choose our friends because you're afraid someone may have a bad influence on us." "I thought you were so perfect." "Well, I'm not." "Can I get you anything else?" "No, he's had enough, thanks." "We're not partners anymore, Mark." "I'm not your responsibility." "You're my friend, Wes." "That makes me responsible." "Come on, you're drunk, let's go home." "What's this, a sermon from you?" "Aren't you the fellow I watched drink himself off the force?" "Right, that's me." "And I'm also the guy whose life you saved." "I owe you one." "She played me for a fool, Mark." "Our whole life together has been one big lie." "Oh, come on, Wes, you know that's not true." "Oh, it isn't true, is it?" "Some jerk gets Carol pregnant, then runs like a scared rat." "So she cons the first chump who comes along into marrying her so she can get her kid back." "So, what are you gonna do about it, Wes?" "You're gonna throw it all away?" "You're gonna turn your back on your family because you found out that some 17-year-old girl made a mistake 16 years ago?" "Get out of here, Mark." "Leave me alone." "Hey, sweetheart, over here." "You've got a big ego eating on you, Wes." "You found out that Carol was with another man." "That means you weren't first and you can't stand it." "Another one of these." "And you, sir?" "Bring me a cup of coffee." "Honey, why don't you go to bed now?" "Come on, honey, it's awful late." "Not till Daddy gets home." "Where is he?" "I checked him into a motel." "He wouldn't come home." "He said he'd be by tomorrow to pick up some of his stuff." "He's moving out." "I don't believe this is happening." "It isn't possible." "Why don't you help your mother to bed?" "We could all use some sleep." "Jonathan, where are you, man?" "I need help, man." "I need it bad." "Oh, thank you." "Well, nice, cosy little scene." "A little tea and sympathy, Carol?" "What?" "I'm not gone 24 hours and you're entertaining men in the middle of the afternoon." "You're out of line, Wes." " You stay out of this." " I can't." "Not when my friend's destroying his marriage for no good reason." "No good reason?" "It's been one big lie." "You tell me you can't have children." "Then you talk me into adopting a baby." "Your baby." "And then all of a sudden, you're pregnant with Shelley and we call it a miracle." "Oh, a miracle, Carol?" "You must've had a real big laugh about that one." "Wes, please, don't." "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" "Because I was afraid of losing you." "Was she wrong?" "Now that you know, you're walking out on her." "Because it's been a lie." "What if you had known the truth, what then?" "If all those years ago, Carol would have told you she had a baby, would you have married her?" "Daddy, I knew you'd come back." "Yeah, well, I'm not staying." "You said things wouldn't change." "Well, I was wrong." "You said you loved me no matter what." "Has that changed too?" "I came to get my things." " Daddy, wait." "I'm coming with you." " Wes." "Wes, where are you taking her?" "Shelley's my daughter." "She's coming with me." "Shelley." "Hello?" "I just want you to know that Shelley's fine." "She wants to stay with me." "We've got to talk, Wes." "There's nothing to talk about." "What's done is done." "We have children to talk about, no matter what you feel about us." "I only have Shelley to think about." "I'm filing for temporary custody." "Wes, I will fight you for Shelley." "Shelley." "Wait." "You're hurting Mom when you don't call or come to see her." "I'm sorry." "I don't know what to say to her." "Say anything." "Tell her you love her." "That would help, you know." "I'll call her." "Shelley, why are you doing this?" "Dad needs me." "He doesn't have anybody." "At least Mom has you." "Oh, what are you doing, choosing sides?" " You're really hurting Mom." " Well, whose fault is that?" "You're the one who had to know all about her real mother." "If it wasn't for you, I'd still have a mother and a father." "I'll get it." "Hello." "Dad, dinner's ready." "Dad, dinner's" "I'm sorry, honey." "That was the captain." "I've gotta go to work." "Don't you have time to eat anything?" "You went to a lot of trouble, I know." "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "I understand." "Hey, I'll tell you what." "Tomorrow night, I'll make it up to you." "I'll take you to some place really special." "But I'm trying to make this place really special." "You do, sweetheart." "I gotta run." "Listen, make sure you lock the door behind me, okay?" "Where are you going?" "Jonathan." "Thank God you're back." "How come I can see through you?" "I'm not really back." "I'm out on bail." "The ruling comes down tomorrow." " What do you think?" " I don't know." "Boy, it's gonna be some day tomorrow." "I know." "You know what's been happening?" "Yeah, I do." "You know how I loused everything up?" "My best friends are splitting up because of my big mouth." "Come on, it's not your fault." "You can't hide the truth." "What good's the truth do?" "I mean, their marriage is over." "It's not over." "You gotta keep trying." "Jonathan, I tried, I tried." "I'm not an angel." "I guess that makes two of us, huh?" "Be at the corner of 8th and Martin tonight at 11:00." " What are you talking about?" " Just be there." "I gotta go." "Good luck, buddy." "Good luck to you, pal." "Hey, what you got?" "Oh, a bunch of right-to-lifers broke in." " Is anybody hurt?" " No, they were peaceful enough." "But they sure tore that place apart inside." "Well, get some names and take them downtown." " I'll check inside." " Hey, flatfoot." "What are you doing here?" "Just out for a walk." "A walk?" "All the way over this side of town?" "Hey, I walk all over." "What do you got here?" "Break-in." "Anti-abortion group." "Yeah, a lot of that going on, isn't there?" "Yeah." "I can't say I blame them." "I just don't agree with their methods." "Really?" "I'm surprised you're against abortion." "Now, why would that surprise you?" "Well, if Carol would have had one, you wouldn't be splitting up right now." "Your little girl just wouldn't exist." "I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow." "Hi, Daddy." "Hi." " Mr. Fowler." " Yes." "Is everyone in your party here?" "Yes, we're all here." "The judge is ready for you." "Wait." "Could we just have one more minute, please?" "All right." "Carol, I've been doing a lot of thinking." "As a matter of fact, since last night, I've done nothing but think." "And what it comes down to is this." "If what happened years ago hadn't happened, we wouldn't have Heather." "And maybe I wouldn't have you." "And I love you both so very, very much." "Please." "I love you so." "Let's go home." "I know you're gonna think I'm out of line, but I'm gonna tell you something." "I think you're making a mistake." "You got angels working all over the place, but none of them ever tried any harder than Jonathan." "I'm gonna tell you something else too." "I wouldn't want to work for a boss who couldn't understand when a guy makes a mistake." "All right, so you're mad." "I was just being honest." "Jonathan." " What happened?" " I got another chance, thanks to you." "You're kidding." "You mean you're back for good?" " That's right." " Hot damn." "Mark." "Sorry."