"Previously on Army Wives..." "The short list for West Point superintendent has gone from three names to two." "You're not one of them." "I know you were excited about West Point, you'll have other opportunities." "There won't be a third star, Claudia Joy." "Not after this." "I've gone as far as I'm going to go." "Stay here in Charleston, with me." "Who am I kidding?" "I'm still in love with Chase." "David, I'd like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Burton." "I have one more thing I need to share with you." "David is HIV-positive." "I'm sorry, and you're telling us this now?" "You said you were open to children with special needs." "We'd like our daughter to meet him, see how they get along." "I'll be happy to arrange a meeting, but only if you can assure me that this is purely about compatibility." "His HIV will not factor into your decision." "Yes." " Hello." " I passed the bar!" "Fantastic!" "When did you find out?" "Just now." "Just now." "It was posted online." "Oh, Claudia Joy, I am so happy for you." "Have you told Michael?" "He's not home yet." "Oh, well, you should celebrate." "Go out for a really expensive dinner." "We'll see." "Michael's been working hard these days." "He's tired." "So when are you going to hang your shingle," ""Claudia Joy Holden, attorney at law"?" " I don't know about that." " Why not?" "Oh, I need some more experience before I start out on my own." "Claudia Joy, you can do whatever you put your mind to." " There's Michael." " All right." "Go." "I'll talk to you later." "Okay." "Bye." "Michael?" "What's wrong?" "They named the new Superintendent of West Point." "Ethan Brady." "Brady?" " He wasn't on the list, was he?" " Nope." "They reached out at the last minute." "He was your plebe at West Point, right?" "He was." " Used to deliver my laundry." " Oh, Michael." "No, Brady's a good man." "I'm sure he'll do a fine job." "You want some dinner?" "Not hungry, thanks." "I've got a lot of work to do." "The way they've taken to each other, it's like they're already brother and sister." "No, it's better." "No bickering yet." "So it's official?" "Almost." "You know, we've gone through the interviews, we filed the paperwork," " we've had the home inspection." " So what's left?" "Well, there's a trial period to make sure everything is working out, so official doesn't happen for several months." "But he comes home to live with us tomorrow." " Wow!" " That's fantastic!" "Yeah, we're happy." "We can't wait to meet him." "You'll get your chance on Saturday, for the Burtons are hosting a barbecue." "Nice." "What can we bring?" "Please, just your lovely selves." "And your families, of course." "Oh, come on." "I'll make potato salad." " My famous baked beans." " Corn bread." "And I got the paper plates." "And Emmalin's coming home, so she'll be there, too." " The semester's over?" " Almost." "Study week before finals." " That went so fast." " I know." "Hey, there's something else you need to know about David." "He's HIV-positive." "His mother was a drug addict and she passed it along to him in utero." "Whoa." "Yeah." "So he has AIDS?" "No." "He has the virus, but it hasn't gotten that far yet." "With the proper medication, we hope that it never does." "It's a scary topic, but you know Joan and I would never do anything to endanger Sara Elizabeth, or any of your children." "HIV isn't contagious from saliva or toilet seats or anything like that." "There's a slight risk from blood to blood contact, but it's highly unlikely." "There are drugs you can take if someone's exposed." "At the hospital, nurses get needle sticks occasionally, and I haven't heard of a single case of transmission." "What about school?" "David will be going to school on post, just like any other kid." "We talked to the principal, the school nurse." "Everything's fine." "They've dealt with this before." "But we're keeping it confidential." "So none of his other classmates will know, but we wanted to share it with you." "We appreciate that." "Joan and I fell in love with this little boy." "We weighed the risks, the pros and the cons, and this is where we came out." "But I know that you need to think about it for yourselves." "What's to think about?" "He's your son." "Yeah." "Thanks." "Okay, so you're in line, door opens, wind's howling." " Jump Master shouts..." " Green light, go!" "Affirmative." "Each trooper jumps in order." "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "It's your turn, you jump, your static line deploys the chute, and then, T.J., order of performance?" "Proper exit, check body position." "Check canopy, gain canopy control." "Keep a sharp lookout, prepare to land, land." "Outstanding." "Now, Finn, in order to stick your landing, what are your five points of contact?" "Balls of the feet, calf, thigh, butt, pull-up muscle." "Beautiful." "We've got two ace paratroopers in the making." "I can see that." " Dad's got a night jump tonight." " I know." "And you said we could put on camo paint." "Can we?" "Please?" "Fine." "Bathroom." "I don't want you getting any on the furniture." " Yes!" " Okay." " Hey." " Hi." "What's up?" "I was just thinking about how lucky we are." "And down comes Daddy in his parachute." "And the wind blows him to the right." "And the wind blows him to the left." "And down, down, down, down." "Down." "Want to do it again?" "I think Daddy wants to do it again." "Frank, you're a little kid yourself." "Well, there's nothing more fun than jumping out of a plane in the dark." "I'll take your word for it." "Okay, who's hungry?" "So what you got on tap for tonight?" "Oh, it's thrill-packed." "Got to feed Molly." "Do laundry." "And if I'm feeling particularly daring, brew a cup of chamomile tea." "Wow." "Living on the edge, huh?" "Exactly." "Baby, you ever thought about going back to work?" "I've thought about it." "I go back and forth." "Okay, Mommy hears you." "Come here." "You're home early." "When were you going to tell me?" "Tell you what?" "That you passed the bar." "Frank asked me to send along his congratulations." "Michael, I was going to tell you last night, but..." "You didn't think I could handle it." "I thought it was bad timing, that's all." "I was going to surprise you tonight." "Claudia Joy, I've had my share of disappointments." "Doesn't mean I can't be happy for my wife." "I know." "I was just disappointed for you about this whole West Point situation." "The Army made a mistake." "Blood under the bridge." "Look, the point is, I'm really proud of you." "Thank you." "Tell you what." "How about we go out tonight and celebrate?" "First Brigade has a night jump exercise." "So we'll make it an early dinner." "Plenty of time to get to the landing zone." "I'm jumping." " You jumped last week." " And I'm jumping tonight." "Michael, don't you think you're overdoing it?" "Claudia Joy, I am Commander of the 23rd Airborne." "A leader stays in front of his troops." "You know that." "We can celebrate tomorrow." "Okay." "I know." "I should have called first, but I've been driving around with that in the van and I was on my way to the Hump Bar, so..." "What is it?" "Some clothes for David, if you want." "Stuff the boys don't need." "That is so thoughtful of you." "Thank you." "Sure." "I think it's really great, what you guys are doing." "Well, we just hope you all love him as much as we do." "I know we will." "Well..." " Roxy, may I ask you a question?" " Sure." "You already had the boys before you married Trevor." "How long was it before they started calling him "Dad"?" "Gosh." "I think Finn started almost right away." "Of course, you know Finn." "He's just that way." "It took T.J. a while longer." "Kids are different." "I don't really think it's something you can force." "Right." "I was just wondering." "For what it's worth," "I think David's a really lucky kid to have you and Roland as parents." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Colonel Burton." "How many casualties?" "I'll be right there." "There's been an accident on the drop zone." "We'll need an x-ray to determine the severity of the break." "Get him over to radiology." "Denise." "Frank." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "What happened?" "Hell, all I know is one of our planes came in too low, too fast." "We were supposed to be jumping at 1,000 feet." "We couldn't have been more than 500." "I wasn't prepared for impact." " You're sure it's just a sprain?" " Yeah." "I'm lucky." "We've got guys with concussions, broken bones." "One guy broke his neck." "Oh, my God." "And they're still bringing guys in." "Sir, so far no fatalities." "We have three soldiers in the OR right now, including a serious spinal injury, possible paralysis." " All right." "Keep me posted." " Yes, sir." "Sir, you should get that looked at." "I'll be okay." "Thank you, Colonel." " Michael." " Hey." "You're hurt." "I just landed a bit hard." "Did you get it x-rayed?" " I'm okay." " No, you're not." "If it gets worse, I'll have it looked at." "There are plenty of soldiers who need help more than I do." "How did it happen?" "I intend to find out, believe me." "I got to go." "Of course." " Frank's okay?" " Yeah." "Michael?" " Tweaked his back." " Could've been worse." "Yeah." "I should get back to Molly." "I left her with Jane Sutton." "All right, let's go." "Nothing more we can do here." "I..." "I..." "Can I help you with anything, Corporal?" "Your head hurts?" "Okay." "Here, have a seat." "Okay." "Okay." "Listen to me." "I want you to raise both arms over your head." "Dr. Lewis, I think this soldier's having a stroke." "Headache, slurred speech, his left arm is weak." "All right." "What day is it, Corporal?" "Friday?" "Okay." "Squeeze my arm with your right hand." "Okay, good." "Now your left." "Okay, Judy, start an IV of TPA, 0.9 milliliters per kilogram." "Give 10% over the first minute, and then the rest of the infusion over an hour." "Okay?" " Good catch." " Thanks." "Pamela, hold up." "Hey, Boone." "You hear?" "We're going to be riding together again." " What?" " I'm doing your six-month eval." "You're doing my evaluation?" "Well, don't act so surprised." "I was your TO, wasn't I?" "No, I'm just..." "Well, that's great." "Yeah." "So I got to be in court this morning, why don't you come by the station after lunch and then we'll get started?" " Okay." "Sure." " Okay." "It's going to be fun, Moran." "Just like old times." "Right." "Are you ready to go, David?" " Who's going to get my toys?" "That's a good question." "Why don't you decide?" "Okay." "Can't he take his toys with him?" "They're not really his." "They belong to the facility." "But children get attached to certain things." "Sasha, I'm going to give you Fuzzy." "Aaron, I'm going to give you the blocks." "And, Jayden, I'm going to give you Charlotte's Web." "Now the little kids really like it, so you have to promise me to read it to them." " David, would you like to keep that?" " Really?" "You love that game." "Take it." "To remember us by." "Thank you." "Bye." "Take care of Fuzzy." "I'm ready." "Here we are." "Home at last." "Want to see your room?" "Come on." "Daddy." "We thought we'd let you decorate it the way you want." "I don't have to share?" "No, sir." "This is all yours." "Would you like me to help you unpack?" "No, thank you." "I can do it myself." "I'll tell you what." "We'll go downstairs and put together some lunch, let you settle in." "How's Trevor?" "Ankle's better, thank goodness." "The Army." "Just when you get him home, you think you can relax, but..." "Tell me about it." "So, what's new with you?" "Well, I'm up for my six-month review." " And?" " Boone is my evaluator." " Okay." "Awkward." " Right?" "He hasn't said five words to me in two months, and all of a sudden he's acting like nothing's happened between us." "But nothing happened, right?" "Other than he proposed to me, essentially, and I turned him down." "Guys tend to take stuff like that personally." "So what's going on?" "I don't know, but I don't buy this "just like old times" routine." "Why not?" "It sounds like he's looking for a new start." "Yeah, maybe." "Or maybe he's just trying to set me up, so he can trash me on my review." "How you feeling?" " Good." "Doc said I might've gotten brain damage if you hadn't stepped in." "Right place, right time." "I owe you." "Make a complete recovery, and we'll call it square." "You miss it, don't you?" "Nursing." "I do." "Why don't you go back?" " Frank asked me that, too." " And?" "Well, paramedic hours don't work with the baby and all." "I liked working here." "I loved working here, but that door's closed." "So you find another door." "Maybe." "Like one?" "How about some milk to wash that down?" "Sure." " What's the matter?" " It has nuts in it." "You don't like nuts?" "Not in brownies." "Sorry." " How about a cookie?" " What kind?" " Chocolate chip." " I don't know that type." "They're really good." "My grandma made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world." " What was in them?" " I don't know, but they were the best." "Try one of these." "It's okay." "May I go read now?" "Sure." "Okay." "That's it." "We're good to go." "You're sure?" "I'm yanking your chain, Moran." "Relax." "The vehicle looks fine." "It was okay this morning." "It could be a belt or maybe a bad plug or something." "Yeah." "Or maybe the fact that the parking brake's on." "Oh." "Okay." "What's with you, Moran?" "You haven't been this rattled since the first time we rode together." "I know." "I think I'm..." "I think I'm a little nervous because of our..." " Margaritas together?" " Yeah." "Exactly." "You think I hold a grudge." "I don't know." "Do you?" "Well, I never did get invited to the wedding." "Look, Boone, you..." "Wow, you really are nervous, aren't you?" "You used to know when I was kidding." "Yeah, well, you haven't exactly been warm and fuzzy lately, you know?" "True enough, but you haven't checked my Facebook page recently, have you?" "I'm in a relationship." "Really?" "Don't act so surprised." "No, that's great." "Who is she?" "Her name's Lisa." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I just did." "Now, assuming we can get this vehicle moving, how about we get going, Officer?" "Yes, sir." " There you go." "Comfy?" " Yes." "There's another blanket if you need it." "Would you like me to read you a story?" " Could he do it?" " Sure." "All right." "Good night, David." "See you in the morning." "How about Treasure Island?" "What's it about?" "It's about pirates and buried gold." " Okay." " Okay." "Chapter One. "The Old Sea-dog at the Admiral Benbow."" "You sure you don't want any help with that?" "Mom." "Just asking." "Honey, it's so good to have you home." " Where's Dad?" " Right here." "Hi." " Hi, Dad." " Let me look at you." " There's not much to look at." " I beg to differ." "I thought you were working late." "I am." "Yeah, I got to get back right away, but I had to see my college girl." " All grown up." " Dad." "All right, give me a quick debrief." "Everything good?" "Everything's great." "Good." "I'm so proud of you." "We had a jump accident." "I'm leading the investigation." "I got to go." "It's fine." "It's not fine." "I'll see you in the morning." "Okay?" "God, I've missed you." " I missed you, too." " Don't wait up." "Dad looks tired." "Well, he's going through a lot lately." "Seeing you is probably the best therapy he could have right now." "Hungry?" "I made vegetarian lasagna." "Maybe later." "I've got homework to do." "Tonight?" "Aw." "I thought we could watch a movie or something." "It's college, Mom." "I've got a lot to do." "Okay." "Maybe come down for a snack, at least?" "Sure." "He's asleep." "Took a while." "I wouldn't take it personally, Joan." "I know." "Well, he's a boy." "It's his first night in the house." "He just felt more comfortable with a guy reading to him." "I'm fine." "How can she still be sleeping?" "She's a teenager, Michael." "And she looked exhausted." "I've got to go." "It's the weekend." "I don't need to be reminded what day it is, Claudia Joy." "I've got a pile of reports on my desk that I need to get through if I want to make it to Roland and Joan's barbecue." "All right." "General Whitaker is in town for some retired officers conference." "I have to meet him for drinks after." "Okay." "You don't have to bite my head off." "I'm not." "But you have to realize, I have got a..." "Morning." "Hey, she wakes." "Bit early, isn't it?" "Ha." "No, Dad, I'm..." "Gross." "Tell me about school." "Uh." "Can I get some coffee first?" "Coffee?" "Since when do you drink coffee?" " Is this fair trade?" " Yes." "It is." "Hey, kiddo, I saw that you have a game against Cornell in two weeks." "Your mother and I were thinking of coming up." "You know, I'm not getting much playing time, Dad." "Still, it would be fun to see you." "Meet your friends." "Got a pretty full plate right now, huh?" "Yeah." "You know, this morning I'm working on this English paper about imagery in Hawthorne's story Young Goodman Brown." "Yeah, that's going to be my cue to get to work." " We'll catch up later." " Bye, Dad." "See you at the barbeque." "Don't you want a real breakfast?" "Later." "Emmalin, is everything okay?" "Yeah." "It's finals, you know?" "I've got to write this paper," "I've got tons of reading to do." "Okay." "I'll be down later." "Hey, guys, welcome." "Potato salad." "And cupcakes, untouched by human hands." "Chase sends regrets." "Training exercises." "Understood." "Anywhere on the table's fine." "Can we have a cupcake?" "No, you cannot." "Don't worry about it, Lucas." "We've got plenty of food." "There's pulled pork, chicken, corn on the cob." "Grab a plate, dude." "Not so fast." "Let's meet David first." "Yeah." "That's why we're here." "Where is he?" "Well, he's feeling a little shy right now." "Okay, guys, you all know what it feels like to be the new kid." " Go make him feel welcome." "Go." " Come on." "Hey, David." "We'd like you to meet some friends of ours." "This is T.J., his little brother Finn." "This lovely young lady is Katie and her brother Lucas." "Hey." "Can you say hello, David?" "Hello." "Is that Dragon's Doom?" "That game's awesome." "I got to the fifth level." " No, you didn't." " I almost did." " I'm on level six." " Wow." "Maybe you could put the game down for a minute, David?" "Yeah, I thought we'd play football." "You like football?" "I stink, but I brought my bug collection." "You like bugs?" "I love bugs." "Oh, cool." "Hey, look, why don't we all go play some football, and then David, you and Finn can look at his bug collection?" "Okay." "Yeah, come on." "He's got a visor on." "Medium rare." "Looks like David's found a friend." "Yeah." "He's adorable, Joan." "We all admire so much what you and Roland are doing." "Thank you." "We feel very blessed he's come into our lives." "Yeah." "May I talk business for a minute?" "It's about Denise." "She doesn't know I'm talking to you about this, but she was thinking about going back into nursing." "Well, that's understandable, with Molly getting bigger." "Yeah." "And she'd like to work at Mercer again, but she's been banned." "I remember." "We all know Denise made a mistake, which had nothing to do with her nursing abilities." "And she's turned her life around since then." "I think she deserves a second chance." "We've just had a change in hospital administration." "I suspect you know that already, or we wouldn't be talking about this." "Correct." "I understand the value of second chances." "I'll look into it." "Thank you." "Good." "All right, I'll fill this one." "I got to go." "So soon?" "Bryce Whitaker was my commanding officer." "I know." "You don't want to be late." "Don't let him keep you out all night." "You know Whitaker." "Get a couple drinks in him..." "Yes, I do know." "But you've barely spent a minute with Emmalin." "I know." "I'll make it up to her." " See you later." " Okay." "Catch it!" "Come on!" "Finn, almost." " Hey, good afternoon, Roxy." " Hey." " Sergeant." " Colonel." "That's a fine bit of soldiering the other night, Sergeant." "Thank you, sir." "You should be very proud of your husband." "I am." "I always am." "What exactly did he do?" "What, he didn't tell you?" "No." "All I know is that the plane came in too low." "Yeah, it did, indeed." "Your husband here recognized that as soon as he hit the ground, started shouting warnings to the incoming troops to slip early." "And he broke out the red chem lights for the soldiers who were too wounded to do it for themselves, so the medics could find them." "And he supervised triage efforts to identify the seriously injured." " Why didn't you tell me any of that?" " Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal." "Nah, he's being modest, Roxy." "That kind of leadership can't be taught." "Now I think you should consider applying to the OCS." "The OC-what now?" "Officer Candidate School." "You come out as a second lieutenant." "Yeah, that was my ticket." "I started as an enlisted man myself." "Well, think about it, Sergeant." "I'd be happy to help you with the process, should you decide to follow through." " Thank you, sir." " Hooah." " No, Rox." "No." " Wow." " Lieutenant LeBlanc." " Yeah, you like that, don't you?" "It kind of has a nice ring to it." "Honestly, I haven't even thought about it." "I know." "Well, maybe you should start thinking about it, babe." "Okay, maybe." " Emmalin!" "Hey, it's so good to see you." " Hey." "Same here." "Molly is so beautiful." "Thank you." "So, tell me, how's college?" "It's great." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Would you excuse me?" "Sure." "Claudia Joy." "I think there's something going on with Emmalin." "Thanks." "Emmalin!" "Emmalin, wait!" "What's the matter, honey?" "I hate school." "I'm dropping out." "Start at the beginning." "I don't know." "I mean, the first few weeks were fine, and then between practice and classes and rush week..." "I've never felt like this, Mom." "It's like I can't do anything right." "Honey, you sound overwhelmed." "I am." "Classes are harder than I thought." "I'm getting a D in Economics." "A D!" "And Chemistry..." "If I don't get an 85 on the final, I'm going to flunk." "Emmalin, why didn't you tell us you were having trouble?" "Because I thought that I could handle it." "I guess I was wrong about that, too." "Have you talked to your coach?" "Maybe he can reduce your hockey time." "I'm off the team." "What?" "Academic probation." " How am I going to tell Dad?" " Sweetheart." " Michael." " General." " Damn good to see you." " You, too, sir." " So what are you having?" " I'm having what you're having." " Laphroaig." " The good stuff." "Well, we only live once, right?" "One for my friend here, hon, please." "So I heard about this night jump cluster." "It's pretty awful." "Yeah, it could've been worse." "No fatalities." "What happened?" "It turns out the plane's radar altimeter wasn't calibrated." "Couple that with low cloud layers..." "Outstanding." "That's going to make for some fun reading down at Forces Command." "Yeah." "You're on a roll, Michael, and not a good one." "Sir?" "Well, they jerk you out of theater early, and they give West Point to that suck-up Brady." " Brady's a good man." " Horse piss." "He's not fit to shine your brass, and you know that." "Here we go." "I'll have another one, honey." "So, how's the conference going?" "Oh, bloody awful." "Bunch of has-beens sitting around lying about their glory days." "Like me." "Sir, you had a great career." "Michael..." "Michael, may the fates spare you the day that you sit opposite of a former protégé and have him tell you that you had a great career." " Now drink up." " Cheers." "Moran." "Meet Lisa." "Lisa, this is Pamela." " Hey." "Nice to meet you." " Same." "Hon, I need some gas money." "I left my wallet at home." "And I also need to get my nails done if I want to look my best for that job interview." "Is that going to cover it?" "Perfect." " Wish me luck." " Good luck." "Keys." "Thanks, baby." " It was really nice to meet you." " You, too." "She's driving your car?" "Hers is in the shop." "What's she interviewing for?" "Cashier at the Pancake Palace." "She hasn't really settled on a career yet." "Right." " Let's get going, shall we?" " You're the boss." " Enjoy it while you can, Michael." " What's that, sir?" "Your career." "You stay in the saddle as long as you can now, you hear?" "I'll try." "But without a third star, what's there to look forward to, really?" "Pushing paper at the Pentagon?" "And what's wrong with that?" "After you've commanded a division in combat?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "What do you think you're going to do on the outside?" "Go to work for some fat-cat defense contractor?" "I tried it, Michael." "Chapped my lips from all the ass-kissing I had to do." "I was hoping maybe you could suggest some other options." "Other options?" "Sure." "Start practicing your golf swing." " Have fun today?" " Yes." "I like Finn." "I think he likes you, too." "More Treasure Island?" "Sure." "Good night, David." "I'll see you in the morning." "Chapter Two." ""Black Dog Appears and Disappears." ""It was not very long after this that there occurred" ""the first of the mysterious events that rid us at last of the captain," ""though not, as you will see, of his affairs."" "Joan, his mother gave him up when he was two," "his grandmother died, his last foster mother sent him back into the system." "It stands to reason that he would have issues." "I understand." "It still hurts." "I prepared myself for all sorts of problems we might have with David." "Medical, emotional, bedwetting, nightmares, whatever." "I just didn't think he wouldn't like me." "Sure, I like yellow, but don't you think it's going to clash with the drapes?" "I wasn't thinking we were going to need new drapes." "No, no, no." "I see your point." "Let's talk about it later, okay?" "Hon," "I got to go." "Bye." "Getting a new TV chair." "You know, one with magic fingers and everything." "Nice." "Yeah, Lisa picked it out." "Spending a lot of time together, huh?" "Yeah, she's kind of moving in." "Really?" " Great." " Yeah." "Just kind of made sense." "You know, why spend money on two rents, right?" "Right." "What?" "I didn't say anything." "Well, you're thinking kind of loudly, Moran." "No, I wasn't." "Because she happens to be down on her luck?" "Hey, Boone, I'm not the one waking up next to her." " You're happy, I'm happy." " You don't approve." "I didn't say anything." "Taillight." " What?" " Broken taillight." "Evening, Officer." "General Holden." "License and registration, please." "May I ask what the problem is?" "Your right taillight's out." "Thank you." "I'll have that fixed in the morning." "Officer Moran?" "Excuse me, General." "There's an empty beer bottle on the floor," " and it smells like a brewery in there." " Yeah, I got a whiff of that, too." "You know, that's General Michael Holden." "I don't care if it's Robert E. Lee, you know what you have to do." "Yup." "Sir, have you been drinking?" "Yes, I have." "I've had two drinks in the last few hours." "General, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car." "Really?" "I..." "Sir, please, step out of the car."