"Previously on Army Wives..." ""Colonel Joan wants to know"?" "Well, I think it projects a new persona for my office-- Friendly, approachable." "There's something you should know about David." "That he's HIV positive?" "Adopting a kid with HIV, that's a wonderful thing." "They need a new FRG leader, somebody to kick butt and take names." "Any ideas?" "Actually, I do." "My name is Roxy Leblanc, and I am your new FRG leader." "You had no idea our husbands are competing for permanent command of the corps?" "From what Denise told me, I thought Michael took this assignment out of loyalty, not ambition." "You know what affect a rumor like that can have on Michael's shot at a third star." "She has been out to undermine me and Michael since the minute she set foot here." "That is so untrue." "I can't believe you'd say that." "And I can't believe you don't see how you're being played." "What's happened to you?" "I don't even know you anymore." "(Whispers) One, two, three." "Bull's-eye." "You are a go at this station, buddy." "(Normal voice) Did I pass?" "Private Leblanc, you are now an expert infantryman." "Yes!" "Nice job, buddy." "Oh." "Okay, what happened to my living room?" "Oh, it's EIB training." "EI what now?" "Expert infantryman badge." "The soldier must be proficient in 37 areas of training." "Oh, like cleaning up the living room, starting now." "Aw, man." "Come on, bud." "That was the deal." "Testing's this week." "I have been working my guys like crazy." "The platoon with the highest number of qualifiers gets the day off." "Oh, that would be nice." "That's what I was thinking." "Get a sitter for the boys, spend the night at the beach." "You do that, and I'll give you the chance to earn another badge." "(Inhales deeply)" "I thought I was an expert in that already." "Always room for improvement." "Mm-hmm." "(Laughs)" "(Indistinct conversations)" "Nate, pull your pants up, man." "Don't nobody want to look at your underwear." "We are young men of character, remember?" "Thank you." "Well, you might not be winning the waistband battle, but his mom said he brought in the trash cans last night." "Ah, walking the road to manhood one trash barrel at a time." "Don't knock it, Dr. B. (Laughs)" " These boys really look up to you." " Dad!" "(Indistinct conversations continue)" " Hey." " What happened?" "It was an accident." "It's okay." "Tilt your head and pinch your nose." "We both went for the rebound." "It happens." "Don't worry about it." "You okay?" "Keep that head back." "We'll clean you up." "You'll be just fine." "But l-l-let's-- Let's go inside." "Yeah." "Come on." "I-I need a band-aid, too." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "What happened?" "My scab fell off." "It's nothing." "Is that your blood or David's?" "Mostly David's I think." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "Okay." "Come on." "Come on." "Hey, Sir." "You got a sec?" "What's going on, Cruz?" "About the EIB, Sir." "I was wondering" "I was thinking I could skip it and maybe do it next year instead." "What's wrong?" "You got an injury?" "No, Sir." "Honestly, it's my wife." "We've been married three weeks." "She's from New York City, and I don't want to leave her alone for two days right now if I can help it." "And since the EIB's voluntary" "Who told you EIB is voluntary?" "Well, the guys were saying that" "They're wrong." "You're going for that badge, Cruz." "You're one of the top guys in the platoon." "You talk to Sergeant Wisniewski about this?" "Yes, Sir." "And?" "He told me to man up and go for the badge." "That's good advice." "You should take it next time." "(Jet engines roaring)" "Look..." "I know what it's like when things are tough at home." "But right now, you need to put all your energy into EIB, mentally and physically." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have said anything." "If she's having troubles adjusting, you should consider counseling." "Army's got good programs." "I don't think Gloria would go for that." "(Indistinct conversations)" "I'll work it out, Sir." "It's only two days." "Keep your head in the game." "Roger that." "Thank you, Sir." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "You feeling all right?" "Yeah." "Cool." "(Speaks indistinctly)" "(People speaking indistinctly)" "(Roland) Hey, Dustin." "Let me take a look at that hand, man." "I cut it climbing a fence the other day." "It's nothing." "(Children continue speaking indistinctly)" "It doesn't hurt or anything." "Mm." "(People continue speaking indistinctly)" "(Packaging crinkles)" "There you go." "Thanks." "Yep." "Can we finish our game?" "Uh, I'd take it easy for now." "Why don't you two use the computers?" "Okay." "Now what?" "Call Dustin's parents and tell 'em to meet us at Mercer." "(Indistinct conversations)" "Dustin." "Oh, my God." "Are you all right?" "It's nothing." "My scab fell off." "What?" " Colonel." " Sergeant." "I'm roland Burton." "We're David's parents." "Blaine Ridgeway, my wife Aimee." "W-what happened?" "Why did you bring him to the emergency room?" "Well, it's complicated, Mrs. Ridgeway." "Are these Dustin's parents?" "Yes." "I'm Dr. Pate." "I'd like to speak with you a moment." "Why?" "What's going on?" "Let's step over here." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "First, let me assure you, that your son is perfectly fine." "His scab came off playing basketball." "David had a nosebleed, and some of David's blood got on Dustin's hand." "So what's the big deal?" "You were called here because David is HIV positive, which means there is a remote possibility that" "Our son has AIDS?" "No, Mrs. Ridgeway." "HIV is not AIDS." "It's a virus that can lead to AIDS." "But he could have HIV" "It's extremely unlikely." "David's viral load is so low right now, we classify it as undetectable." "I examined Dustin's scrape, which doesn't appear to have bled much at all, further minimizing the risk of infection." "But there's still a risk." "A very slight risk." "I know it's upsetting to hear there's any risk at all, but let me assure you, I consulted with the experts" "And what did they say?" "Given the circumstances, they're recommendation is, we do nothing right now." "What?" "We'll test again in three months to be certain Dustin's negative." "Wait." "Our son could have HIV, and you don't want to do anything about it?" "The odds against it are so overwhelming," "I can't recommend the course of treatment." "Why, what's the treatment?" "It's two doses of highly potent medicine every day for 30 days." "Side effects can include nausea, diarrhea, and risk to the liver and kidneys." "It would be extremely unpleasant for your son." "Okay, so we just roll the dice and just hope that Dustin doesn't get sick?" " It's the medically responsible course of action to" " No!" "Aimee, Aimee." "How dare you." "Excuse me?" "How dare you do this to our son." "Nobody did anything to anybody." "What happened was an accident." "And can we not talk about this in front of the boys?" "No, you had no right to expose him to AIDS." " Mom?" " Settle down, Aimee." "Apologies, ma'am." "Don't apologize." "She's the one that should be apologizing." "Did you know about this?" "Yes, the Burtons told me about David a" "How could you have kept this a secret?" "We had a right to know." "Actually, ma'am, you didn't." "Medical records are confidential." "And could you please keep your voice down?" "I will not keep my voice down." "He has AIDS, and we didn't even know it!" "All right." "Let's go, Aimee." "You should be ashamed, all of you!" "(Joan) Night, David." "Good night." "We'll see you in the morning, man." "I'm sorry." "What?" "I'm sorry about what happened." "Hey, it's not your fault." "Yes, it is." "That's not true." "If I wasn't playing basketball, Dustin would've been fine." "Dustin is fine." "You don't know that." "We're pretty sure." "We just didn't want to take any chances." "That's right, and there's nothing wrong with you playing basketball or doing anything you want to do in this world." "His mom was so mad at me." "I know, honey." "She was so concerned about Dustin, she didn't know what she was saying." "But you didn't do anything wrong." "David." "David, you have to believe that." "Look, you trust Charlie, right?" "Yeah." "She's responsible for all the kids at the youth center." "Now you think she'd let you play with them if it wasn't safe?" "I guess not." "No, she wouldn't, just like we wouldn't." "It was a bad day." "Tomorrow will be better, and the next even better." "Promise?" "I promise." "All right." "Yeah?" "'Cause we'll stay here as long as it takes to talk it out." "No, I'm okay." "All right." "We love you." "Love you, too." "Night, dude." "(Door closes)" "You really think" "Aimee Ridgeway will get over it?" "In time, yeah." "(Blows air)" "How can people be so cruel?" "Hey, don't forget." "We were scared when we found out, too." "She'll come around, just like we did." "I hope so." "Lemon." "What?" "I'm thinking pale lemon would look nice in here." "What do you think?" "Yeah, I like lemon." "Or maybe avocado." "I like avocados." "You're a big help." "(Laughs) What?" "You asked my opinion." "Well, I just want the house to look nice." "(Sighs) It is nice." "You know what I mean." ""Befitting an officer."" "Oh, right." "Right." "(Clears throat)" "Oh, speaking of which, Ms. FRG leader," "I could use your help." "Mm-hmm." "One of my guys is having trouble at home." "What kind of trouble?" "(Sighs)" "PFC Hector Cruz." "He's been married less than a month, his wife's still adjusting to army life." "Hell, I'm still adjusting to it." "Babe, Cruz is a stud, and I need him focused for EIB." "Now is there a way you can talk to her for me?" "Please." "Yes?" "Honey, if you could see my schedule tomorrow" "I will take Finn to school." "Deal." "Coming up?" "Yeah, in a minute." "Just planning my day tomorrow." "Everything okay?" "Yeah." "You sure?" "Michael." "Okay." "(Joan) Roland." "Yeah." "Aimee Ridgeway posted on my web page." ""Just thought y'all should know," "David Burton is HIV positive." "Protect your kids."" "Wow." "On my site, roland." "On my web site." "And look at the comments." ""He should be thrown out of school."" ""I'm disgusted."" ""How could the army let this happen?"" "Can you delete 'em?" "Absolutely." "(Clicking keyboard keys)" "(Cell phone rings)" "(Beeps)" "Hey, Charlie." "You seen what's going on?" "I'm looking at it now." "I got my first phone call at 6:00 A.M." "I have a dozen messages here at work." "Yeah, it's going viral." "Right." "Parents want to know if David's gonna be allowed back." "I told them, of course he is." "He is coming, right?" "Hold on." "Charlie wants to know if we're sending David today." "I don't know." "I hadn't thought about it." "(Sighs) I think we have to, Joan." "Otherwise, what kind of message do we send?" "(Sighs)" "Okay." "Yeah." "He'll be there." "(Sighs) Good." "We'll get through this." "Let me know if I can help." "Thanks, Charlie." "(Cell phone beeps)" "How does this sound?" ""I have deleted your comments because they were offensive and inappropriate." "The purpose of this site is to encourage responsible dialogue, not to spread rumors or prejudice."" "It's strong." "It won't stop the talk, though." "Well, I'm not gonna just sit here and let them attack our kid." "The division banquet will be different this year with all the new troops coming from Fort Hope." "We want to make it something special." "Understood, ma'am." "Oh, cream or sugar?" "Cream, please." "Okay." "(Claudia Joy) Hi." "Hey, uh, come on in." "Mm." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Uh, Claudia Joy, you know Captain Hudgins from protocol." "Yeah, of course." "Nice to see you again, kendra." "Same here, ma'am." "I wasn't sure if you were gonna make it or not." "Why wouldn't I?" "I said I'd be here." "So here I am." "Right." "Um, coffee?" "I've had my fill." "I understand Mrs. Clarke will not be joining us this morning." "Right." "Uh, Jackie's at a leadership symposium in DC, which is why Claudia Joy graciously agreed to help." "Excellent." "Well..." "Shall we get started?" "(Woman) Yeah?" "Hi, it's Roxy Leblanc from the FRG." "Who?" "Roxy Leblanc." "I'm married to Hector's Platoon Leader." "(Door opens)" "Hi." "You're Gloria?" "Yeah." "What can I do for you?" "Uh..." "I just, um, came to say howdy." "I brought a cinnamon coffee cake." "Trevor loves it." "Trevor's my husband-- Lieutenant Leblanc." "Here." "Look, lady," "I'm not really into this whole FRG thing, okay?" "As far as I'm concerned, the army sucks, this place sucks, and the FRG sucks." "Maybe we could talk about it?" "I just did." "Thanks, but I'm not interested." "(Door slams)" "Uh, Jackie says rectangular tables will allow for more people to attend." "But round tables are better for conversation." "We've always used them before." "Right, but Jackie's expanded the guest list this year." "Oh." "May I see it?" "Sure." "(Chuckles)" "My God." "Who isn't she inviting?" "Jackie's very focused on community." "That's one way of putting it." "Have you considered the expense, Denise?" "Uh, look, you have $70 centerpieces." "How are you gonna pay for this?" "Or is Jackie gonna host another one of her exclusive fund-raisers?" "Uh, excuse me." "Where's the restroom?" "Down the hall on the left." "Pardon me." "(Door closes)" "What the hell, Claudia Joy?" "What?" "Do you have to contradict everything I say?" "I'm sorry." "I thought you wanted my opinion." "Yes, but Jackie was very specific about a few things." "Oh." "So why do you need me?" "Well, I'm beginning to wonder." "Great." "(Sighs) Why are you so threatened by Jackie Clarke?" "You know what?" "Forget it." "Clearly, this was a bad idea." "Do what you want." "It's not my division." "(Paper rustling)" "(Door opens)" "(Sighs deeply)" "(Door closes)" "(Indistinct conversations)" "What are you doing?" " What?" "I just thought" " You can't sit here." "Why not?" "Go away, freak." "Hey." "Look, you're not my friend anymore, okay?" "Get lost." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "(Phone rings)" "(Beeps)" "Hey, Charlie." "Hey." "I thought you said David was coming in today." "Yeah." "He's taking the shuttle from school." "Why?" "Uh, the shuttle just got here, and he wasn't on it." " You sure?" " I'm sure." "And none of the kids saw him either." "Okay." "I'll figure out what's going on." "Let me know, will you?" "Yeah." "(Beeps)" "(Beep)" "(Taps desk)" "Joan, David didn't show up at the youth center after school." "David?" "David?" "(Video game beeping and chirping)" "David?" "(Exhales) David..." "Why didn't you answer me?" "Your father and I have been worried sick about you." "How long have you been here?" "Since school." "(Sighs) Well, why didn't you call to let us know?" "(Door opens) (Roland) Joan?" "We're up here." "(Door closes)" "He's okay." "He came here after school." "Hey, dude." "Why didn't you go to the youth center?" "I'm never going back there." "Why not?" "I'm never going anywhere." "Why?" "'Cause everyone hates me, that's why." "I thought we weren't supposed to tell people." "You ruined everything." "We had to tell, David." "Dustin hates me now." "The whole school hates me." "No one sits with me, no one talks to me." "We had no idea this would happen." "We'll talk to the principal." "No." "I'm not going back there." "You can't make me." " Hate you!" " David." "I wish you'd never adopted me." "Get out!" "Hey, look, man" "Just get out." "Leave me alone." "(Voice breaks) What are we gonna do?" "(Sighs)" "(Sighs)" "(Telephone rings)" "Hello." "Oh, um, no, that's okay, honey." "You said you might be late." "We'll just have dinner when you get here." "Okay." "Bye." "(Beeps)" "(Sighs deeply)" "Where are the boys?" "Doing homework." "(Exhales)" "So, how'd it go with Cruz's wife?" "It didn't." "What?" "She wouldn't let me in the door." "You're kidding." "Mnh-mnh. (Slurps)" "That woman is a bitch on wheels." "You should tell your soldier he'd be better off without her." "Uh, okay." "So is there anything else you can do, like invite her out with your friends or something?" "Honey, I did the best I could." "I gotta go to work." "Feed the dog, feed the boys, and I'll see you later." "(Door opens, man sighs)" "Honey, I'm home." "You're hilarious." "(Chuckles)" "What's for dinner?" "(Grunts)" "I don't know." "What are you making?" "Come on." "You got two hands." "What'd you do before you married me?" "Drive-thru." "We're having chicken." "(Chuckles) Get over here." "Oh, Hector, you stink!" "I been working." "That is so nasty." "Go take a shower and take this crap with you." "(Laughs) All right." "All right." "Tranquila." "Don't tranquila me." "Did you tell your boss we were having problems?" "No." "Why?" "He sent his wife here to check in on me." "Mrs. Leblanc was here?" "What did she say?" "Nothing." "I didn't let her in." "You're joking, right?" "Lieutenant Leblanc is my Platoon Leader." "Well, I don't need his wife sticking her nose in our business." "Don't screw this up for me, Gloria." "Oh, like things are so perfect the way they are?" "I'm talking about the army." "And I'm talking about our marriage!" "I know." "I..." "Baby, I know." "A-and I know you're thinking about going back to New York, too." "What?" "Your sister called." "(Sighs)" "And that's why I told the lieutenant," "I don't want to do EIB." "Baby, I don't want to go away for a couple of days and come back to an empty apartment." "Is that what you think?" "Hector, we might not know each other that well, but come on." "If I'm gonna leave, I'm not gonna do it when you're gone." "I'll do it when you can watch my ass walk out that door." "Okay?" "Okay." "So go do your stupid whatever it is..." "And we'll deal with things when you get back." "(Fabric rustles)" "W-where you going?" "Out." "What about dinner?" "When the bell rings, take it out of the oven." "(Door closes)" "(Sighs)" "(Knock on door)" "(Joan) David?" "I'm not going back to school, and you can't make me." "That's cool." "You don't have to." "Really?" "Your mother and I talked about it." "We don't want you to have another day like today, ever." "So..." "I don't have to go back to school?" "For now." "We'll take it one day at a time, see how it goes." "(Sighs) Okay." "But this is not a day off." "I'm gonna pick up your schoolwork, and you can do it at your father's office." "(Exhales deeply)" "I'm sorry about what I said." "We know." "We feel terrible about what happened at school." "I hate HIV." "I get it." "Your father and I hate it, too." "It's something you're gonna have to wrestle with all of your life, but you will always have your family." "And you still have lots of friends." "No, I don't." "Yes, you do." "The people who are really your friends, they're not gonna care about your HIV." "They're gonna love you for who you are, just like we do." "(Man) ♪ ooh, ooh" "(indistinct conversations)" "♪ Come on" "(indistinct conversations continue)" "♪ I'm no Abe Lincoln" "♪ or Dr. king" "♪ I'm a 21st century American dream ♪" "What can I get for you?" "♪ But I sure got a lot you?" "What are you doing here?" "I own the place." "♪ .." "From nothing, baby what are you doing here?" "I had to get outta the apartment." "♪" "Beer?" "First one's on the house." "It's my, um, door-in-the-face special." "Thanks." "♪" "So you've been married less than a month?" "♪ Ain't nobody buying this time ♪" "Yeah." "♪ I'm the American dream how'd you meet?" "Online." "You're kidding." "(Exhales)" "I was tired of living at home with my brothers and sisters." "I saw this old movie," ""Officer And A Gentleman," you know?" "Yeah, I know." "Very romantic." " Right?" " Mm-hmm." "So I start looking on these military dating sites." "And there he was, in uniform, looking hot." "I get that." "We chatted online, went dancing when he came to the city." "He opened the taxi door for me." "I'll never forget that." "♪" "On our second date he proposed." "Stupid, right?" "Well..." "I met Trevor when I was bartending." "Four days later, he proposed." "Yeah?" "Mm-hmm." "It's worked out so far." "♪" "Listen, about today at the apartment," "I'm not usually like that." "I just" " I've been" "Apology accepted." "I've never been outside the city before, except to go to the mall, maybe." "♪ American dream ♪" "♪ hear you talking, now show me ♪" "I hate it here." "What did you expect?" "(Sighs) I don't know." "Not this." "I've got no friends, no job." "I've been working since I was 14, Mrs. Leblanc." "Roxy." "You can call me Roxy." "Nobody will hire you around here if they find out you're an army wife." "Nobody with a good job, that is." "They know you're not gonna be around very long." "Hector doesn't want me to work anyway." "♪" "My opinion?" "♪" "If you spend all day in your apartment, you're gonna be miserable, guaranteed." "You've gotta get out." "Join the FRG, make an effort." "(Sighs) Hector says the FRG's a bunch of bored housewives sitting around bitching." "Um, maybe some of them, but not my FRG." "Just come check it out." "No obligation to buy." "♪ American dream ♪ look, I know that the army can be a pain." "Believe me, I know." "But don't forget why you're here." "And why is that?" "Because you love your husband." "That's the problem." "♪" "I'm not sure I do." "(Claudia Joy) Why didn't you call us yesterday?" "Yeah, TJ was on a field trip, and I didn't hear about it until this morning." "Honestly, Joan and I thought it would blow over." "Not with the Internet." "She was up most of the night, crying." "There was nothing I could say." "It's awful." "We've all gotten so used to David having HIV, we forget, there's still a lot of fear out there." "Right." "What are you gonna do?" "Homeschool for a while, at least." "You can't do that." "Then the bad guys win." "Look, I hear you, Rox, but you haven't been living with my family for the last 24 hours." "I'm not gonna sacrifice my son's well-being for an ideal." "It's an impossible situation." "Yeah." "Roland, we support whatever you do." "Absolutely." "I appreciate that." "I gotta get to work." "Call if you need anything." "I will." "(Denise) You promise?" "Promise." "I'll walk you out." "(Makes kissing sound)" "(Door opens)" "That's okay." "I've got it." "No, it's not a problem." "(Door closes)" "Um, by the way, I'm, uh, gonna go with round tables for the banquet." " Mm." " Executive decision." "I'm sure whatever you decide will be lovely." "Claudia Joy, can we call a truce?" "Please." "I miss my best friend." "Me, too." "(Sighs) I don't know how things got this bad." "Well, yeah, I do." "It's all my fault." "I never should've talked to Jackie about Michael's retirement." "That was an accident." "(Sighs) Still..." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, too." "Jackie's an important friend to you, and I was letting it get to me." "I promise, when she gets back from DC," "I'll make a fresh start." "That would mean so much to me." "(Both laugh)" "Let's never let this happen again." "Deal." "(Roxy) I don't know how you do it." "What?" "Stay so calm." "If people were treating my kid this way," "I'd be after them with a shotgun." "No, you wouldn't." "Um, trust me." "Look, the Ridgeways aren't bad people." "Yes, they are." "They love their son just as much as you love yours." "They're just scared." "That's all." "They're scared and angry." "Angry is one thing." "What that woman did was..." "Terrorism." "(Chuckles)" "It was." "I can see both sides of it, Rox." "It's the curse of being a shrink, I guess." "Can I give the shrink a piece of advice?" "Shoot." "It's okay to be pissed." "It doesn't make you a bad person or a bad doctor." "It makes you a good father." "I guess I'm a good father then." "Thanks, Rox." "Okay." "Bye." "Bye." "(Cell phone rings)" "(Ring)" "(Beeps)" "Trevor, I thought you were on the EIB course." "I am." "There's been an accident." "(Indistinct conversations)" "(Gloria panting)" "Where is he?" " Gloria Cruz?" " That's me." " This way, please." " I'll be right here." "(Roxy) What happened?" "(Sighs) The land nav course." "Uh, land navigation." "It's kind of like a map reading race." " Uh-huh." " Cruz was pushing hard, ahead of everyone, skipping his water points." "They found him on the side of a road." "My God." "Medic says it's heat exhaustion, but he thinks we got to him in time." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "(Monitor beeping rhythmically)" "(Footsteps approach)" "(Voice breaking) Thank you." "(Beeping continues)" "Hector?" "(Beeping continues)" "Hey, baby." "Oh, my God, Hector." "I thought you were dead." "Nah, I just forgot to drink my water, that's all." "You scared the hell outta me." "How could you do that?" "I wanted to finish first so I'd get home to you." "(Beeping continues)" "You did this for me?" "Hector, I'm sorry." "No, baby, don't cry." "(Crying) I love you." "I don't know what I was thinking." "I could never leave you." "I'm gonna do better." "I promise." "Okay?" "We're both gonna do better." "(Sniffles)" "For math, she said to do the problem set in chapter seven..." "(Door opens)" "And you've got a quiz coming up on plant and animal cells. (Door closes)" "You ready for that?" "Not really." "Hi, Charlie." "Hi, David." "Colonel Joan." "How you doing this morning?" "Okay." "We're going over his schoolwork." " Mm." " What's going on in here?" "Oh, sorry to disturb, Dr. B." "Um, I have something I want to talk to you about." "Both of you, actually." "Uh, next appointment's in ten minutes." "Come on in." "See you later, champ." "Okay, here's what I'm thinking" "An open meeting tonight at the YAC." "Get everyone in the gym under one roof, parents and kids." "Let's confront this thing head-on." "I don't know." "After what David's just been through" "I-I understand, but you can't keep him out of school forever." "No, but we don't have to feed him to an angry mob, either, Charlie." "Look, I can't promise it won't get ugly." "But now that word's out, it's going to follow David wherever he goes." "(Sighs)" "She's right, roland." "What's the alternative?" "This isn't the type of thing that's just gonna get better on its own." "(Door clatters and slides open)" "(Roland) Hey, David." "(Exhales)" "We got something we want to talk to you about." "(Indistinct conversations)" "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "You all right?" "You know you don't have to do this." "I'm okay." "Okay." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "Thanks for coming." "Of course." "Hey, we are all behind you, David." "Thank you." "That goes for us, too." "(Charlie) If everyone could take their seats, we'd like to get started." "Here we go." "(Indistinct conversations continue)" "(Man) So those are the facts." "There have been no recorded cases of HIV transmission through casual contact in the last 16 years." "Zero." "Statistically, it's more likely one of us will be struck by lightning." "Thank you, Dr. Helm." "Sure." "And what about the kid from Oregon?" "(Crowd murmuring)" "I don't know the case you're referring to." "My sister says that there's a kid in Oregon who got HIV playing football." "She found it on the Internet." "Respectfully, we ought to be careful about rumors on the Internet." "My information comes from the latest government sources." "And we appreciate that, doctor, and you can quote us all the statistics you want, but the question is, is whether or not we should send our children to a school with a kid who has HIV." "(Crowd murmurs)" "I can't make that decision for you." "Would you send your kid here?" "Yes, I would, without hesitation." "Well, we won't." "And you know what?" "You shouldn't either." "Uh, Mrs. Ridgeway," "I'm sure we all appreciate your opinion, but let's hear from some others." "TJ, why don't you stand up so we can all hear?" "Uh, I mean," "I've known David since he came here, and he's a really good kid." "Just because he has HIV doesn't mean that he should be treated any differently." "He should be treated the same as everyone else." "(Woman) It's not the kids' decision." "We all know, they'd stay up until midnight and eat candy bars for dinner if we let 'em." "Then maybe we should teach our kids to make the right decisions." "Are you saying, I don't know how to raise my kids?" "I'm saying, I stand behind my son." "That's not what it sounded like to me." "(Man) This isn't gonna solve anything." " Did you not listen" " Why don't you stop attacking the kids?" " It's not about that." " Maybe we should all just look after our own kids." "(Woman) Are you even listening to what's being said?" "(Woman)" " Are you listening?" "(Man)" " Are you listening?" "Excuse me." "(People all talking at once)" "Will everyone" " I'm sorry..." " Sit down." " Stop." "Hey." "Please." "Please." "(Talking stops)" "Look..." "I'm Dr. roland Burton." "I'm David's father." "I also happen to have a 3-year-old daughter, and she's sitting right there." "When my wife and I adopted David, we went over all the research." "You think we would do anything to risk our little girl?" "Of course not." "And we wouldn't do that to your children either." "But you did." "What happened the other day was an accident." "And we took Dustin to the hospital just as a precaution, but as Dr. Helm just told us, there hasn't been a single documented case of transmission through accidental contact." "I mean, the truth is, it's riskier for David to play with your kids than it is for them to play with him." "What are you talking about?" "If David catches the flu or even a bad cold, he could wind up in the hospital because his immune system is compromised." "Now think about that." "(Crowd murmuring)" "My son has tremendous courage." "You don't see all the medicine he has to take to keep his viral load down." "And you don't see him getting sick and nauseated." "And he doesn't feel sorry for himself." "He just lives with it." "We could all learn from courage like that." "Look... (Sighs)" "Everyone lives with an element of risk in their lives." "But we don't have to live with ignorance and fear." "And we don't have to punish an 11-year-old boy because we're too narrow-minded to know better." "(Crowd murmuring)" "(Murmuring continues)" "(Murmuring continues)" "Um... (Clears throat)" "Does anyone else have a question?" "All right." "Uh, I" " I'd like to thank Dr. Helm again for being with us." "And thank you all for participating." "I-it's not an easy subject, but I think you can all understand now why David Burton will be welcome at the YAC for as long as he wants." "And I hope your children will join him." "Good night." "(Indistinct conversations)" "♪" "(Speaking inaudibly)" "(Speaks inaudibly)" "(Speaks inaudibly)" "Ma'am, visiting hours are over." "I'm not visiting." "He's my husband." "I know, but you're gonna have to say good night now." "I'm not going anywhere." "(Sighs) If you refuse to leave, ma'am," "I'm gonna have to get my supervisor." "Good." "Get her." "(Sighs)" "(Door closes)" "(Laughs)" "My wife, the troublemaker." "(Laughs) You know it, baby." "(Joan) Think you can sleep, buddy?" "We're really proud of you, man." "Thanks, dad." "The world can be a cruel place, David." "I'm sorry you had to find that out early." "But you know it's not your fault." "Some people will always find a reason to dislike you if they're looking for one." "Right." "Could be because you're smart or black or" "Have HIV?" "Exactly." "(Sighs) It's not fair." "No... it's not." "I wish I could've been there." "You weren't feeling well." "Still." "Denise says, uh, roland spoke beautifully, won the crowd over." "Good." "So everything get worked out with Denise?" "Come on." "Give me some credit." "I know when you're upset." "(Sighs)" "Yeah." "I think we're good." "And Jackie Clarke?" "I'll get there." "(Objects clatter)" "Claudia Joy." "I don't know what's happening." "All right." "Let's sit down, right here." "There you go." "Is it your diabetes?" "Do you need juice?" "No, I-I just checked my levels." "Then what is it?" "Something different." "I was..." "Something's wrong." "I" "I'm gonna call the ambulance." "Wait." "Michael, Michael." "Let's, um..." "Let's, uh..." " What?" " Let's just" " Let's just go to the hospital." "All right." "Can you stand?" "I got you." "Come on." "Okay." "Okay." "Take it easy." "Okay."