"They're often criticized for the reckless way they live their lives, ruling over Manattan from their ivory tower, untouchable, immortal." "It's only when disaster strikes that the world is reminded even the Darlings are human." "Tonight, nearly a month after Patrick Darling's tragic senatorial inauguration, the family, in an effort to set the record straight, has agreed to talk about that day's events and the grievous aftermath." "Do you know why Chase Alexander came looking for you that day?" "He was angry, I guess." "I dealt with him briefly, in legal matters for the family." "He was." "Is a very confused man." "Upon reaching New York's historic Federal Hall," "Chase Alexander, Patrick Darling's brother-in-law, fired four bullets." "In the confusion, Jeremy Darling hit his head, and was later diagnosed with amnesia." "When the doctor told me that we'd have to work with him to recover his memory, I was terrified." "You know, Jeremy wasrt the fastest learner the first time around." "The first bullet grazed your shoulder." "What was that like?" "It hurt." "A lot." "The next two bullets sailed harmlessly away, before Alexander was himself gunned down by an actual N YPD officer, Ty Lopez." "If Chase Alexander wasrt in a coma right now at St. Benjamirs and he were watching this broadcast, what would you say to him?" "I would say it has been a long journey back from that difficult day, and, on behalf of all the Darlings, our thoughts are with him and his family." "A difficult day, indeed." "Because Alexander's fourth bullet found a target, albeit an unintentional one, and took an innocent life." "So, who was she, Senator?" "Who was Carmelita Rainer?" "She was a dear family friend." "She was a lovely person." "Truly lovely." "It was me who invited her to attend the inauguration." "I'm thinking of Jackie O." "What she said after JFK's assassination." ""Now he is a legend" ""when he would have preferred to be a man."" "That's right." "Now Carmelita is a legend when she would have preferred to be a woman." "We all miss her greatly." "I swear they rerun that thing more than The Beverly Hillbillies." "I want to disappear." "Well, that's why I chose this place, 'cause it's always empty." "Yeah." "I can taste why." " Nick?" " Yeah?" "What happens when Chase wakes up?" "He's been in a coma for five weeks." "I know, but if he does wake up, he could go after you, right?" " Or me, or Patrick, or Daddy, or any." " Karen." "Karen." "He's not coming after you, because he's not waking up." " Okay?" " Okay." "I told you, it's over." "Okay." "Well, you know, there is." "There is something else you're not gonna wanna talk about." "Try me." "Now that I'm single, again, and you're about to be, there's this little issue of us." "Karen, I am just coming out of a 10-year marriage," "I have a custody mediation with Lisa today, and Kiki is convinced" " that she's never gonna see me again." " Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Throttle down, Nick." "I was just going to suggest that we be friends." " Friends?" "We are friends." " No, just friends." "Oh, just friends." "When have we ever been just friends?" "We were just friends for three minutes once." "The day we met." "And then I fell in love with you." "But I, for one, this time, would commit not to fall in love with you." " Just friends." " Just friends." "Tripp, what can I do for you?" "What about Chase?" "What's his status?" "Well, the doctors plan to take him off life support on Friday, in accordance with his living will." "Why?" "I got a call from the chief administrator at St. Benjamirs, saying that Chase's wife, Janine," " well, is making some noise." " About fighting his living will." "She's obviously distraught, I suspect she's overwhelmed with guilt." "She left him at the height of his mental breakdown, walked out." " She doesn't want to let him go." " No." "Well, Carmelita's parents did not want to let her go." "Dad, please, keep Carmelita out of this." "There's nothing we can do to bring her back." "No." "Janine doesn't have a leg to stand on, legally, so she's just not doing herself or the children a favor by prolonging this misery." "I'll stop by the hospital later today, after my mediation with Lisa." "That'd be good." "Thanks, Nick." " Doggy." " Yes." "Which doggy?" "Midas." " Hey!" "Guy!" "Nick, right?" "Nick!" " That's right." "Welcome home." "Nick George." ""He helps me do stuff." "Call him anytime, day or night."" "Very good!" "Well, you've definitely improved since I saw you at the hospital." "The neurologist said he has a very unusual case, but we're still hoping for a full recovery." "Well, I'm sure it'll all work out." " Hang in there, Jeremy." " Bye, Dick." " Nick." " Nick!" "Right." " Nick." " Nick." " Right." " Yes, Nick." "You've got to be kidding." "You want 50% custody?" "In our case, I think that a 50-50 custody arrangement is appropriate." "You work for a guy who you used to be pretty convinced killed your father." "Your definition of what's appropriate doesn't count much." "Look." "No one said divorce was easy." "Let's just try and stay focused on the custody of your daughter." "Lisa, I know you think I'm a good father." "It wasrt that long ago you suggested we have another baby." "That was before I really knew you." "After over 10 years of marriage, you didn't really know me?" "The important question is what's going to be best for Kiki." "All right." "You want Kiki 50% of the time?" "Prove you can handle it." "Happy to." "I'm going to Miami tomorrow to meet with Christo, and Kiki was going to stay with my mom, but you can take her for the weekend." " Things go smoothly, we'll talk." " Fair enough?" "Fair enough." "It's so nice to be back in a regular bed and out of that hospital." "The shrimp's happy to have you home." " What do you think about Maine?" " As a state?" "I mean for the future." "For us." "I'm not saying tomorrow, but we can think about these things now." "I'm healthy, and we have a long life ahead of us." "A very, very long life." "I know." " Hello." " What do you want?" " My name is Nick George." " I know who you are." "I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you." "But your husband didn't want to live like this." "My husband didn't really know what he wanted once he got involved with the Darlings." "The longer you let him linger in this twilight, the longer it stays in the papers, and the longer your children are gonna have to deal with it every day." "Well, what if he's still in there?" "And what if there's a chance he could come back?" "He would spend the rest of his life in jail." "Is that what you want?" "Life is still life!" "Even in jail." "He." "He could watch our girls grow up, he." "The Darlings killed your father, Mr. George." "Everyone knows it." "So how could you come here and help them do the same thing to my husband?" "Ms. Alexander." "Janine." "I am sorry, but he's gone." "Let him go." "I know." "I know, you're right." "I'm." "I just have to talk to my girls before." "Chase?" "Oh, my God." "Honey?" "Chase!" "He's awake!" "He's awake!" " He opened his eyes." " Oh, God." "They remained open for a minute and a half and then he went back into the coma." "Doctors aren't sure if he was actually conscious." "No, it was a reflex, a nerve." "Well, probably, but it doesn't matter now." "She's gotten a lawyer and she's filing suit." " To what end?" " To nullify the living will." "Oh." "What can we do about that?" "Well, I could offer to represent the hospital." " Their right to pull the plug." " Yeah." " Nick." " What?" "Are you okay with that?" "You know, Chase killed Carmelita." "He could have killed me." "Broke into my house, attacked your daughter." "It could have been my daughter in there." "I don't have a problem with it." "I'll call the hospital and set it up for you." "Thank you." "We're expecting over 200 parishioners tomorrow night." "Two hundred parishioners for Meet the Pastor night?" "Don't these people have frigging televisions?" "Well, it's not often a minister of your renown returns to the pulpit, Brian." " Everyone wants to meet you." " They don't want to meet me." "They want a chance to gawk at my relatives." " So they are coming?" "Your family?" " Why?" "You wanna alert Page Six?" "No." "I'd like to thank them." "We needed $ 1.6 million to finish paying for our pipe organ." "Yesterday, that exact amount was donated, in your honor." " By whom?" " The donor was anonymous, but I'm sure we can both guess who it is." "Yeah." "I'm sure we both can." "Tell me why!" "Why can't you and Mom be together?" "I asked Mommy, and she said she loves you, that she'll always love you." "Right, and I will always love your mom." "But it's just sometimes, for some reason, we do things that hurt each other, and it's not good for us." "But most importantly, we know it's not good for you." "But now I only see you every couple days." "And that's not good for me." "I know." "I know it's hard." "And I only stay with you, like, every other weekend." "Yeah, but that's just for now." "That will change." "What if you fall in love with someone else and move to, like, Germany or something?" " Dad, I'd never see you again." " Kiki, I'm not moving to Germany." "All right?" "Now, just listen to me." "Your mom and I, we're going through some challenging times, but I love you more than anything, I will always be your dad, and that's a promise." "All right?" "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." "Not going to Germany, not going to France, not going to New Jersey." "All right?" "All right, come on." "Are you sure Nick can handle it?" "Yes." "He'll make sure the living will is respected." " You don't have to worry." " Oh, I'm not worried." "You should be." "If this guy Chase comes out of this coma, then some very nasty truths also come out about your boss, Patrick." "I'm well aware." "Our favorite U.S. Senator would suddenly become a won'thless asset." "Trust me." "He'll make sure the plug is pulled." "See that he does." "Or you're won'thless to me, too." "Your Honor, there is wishful thinking and then there are facts." "No qualified physician has been willing to testify in support of Mrs. Alexander's case." "She simply cannot be allowed to override the clearly documented wish of her husband, which was for a peaceful death." " Your Honor?" " Yes, Mr. Brackman?" "Before Mr. Alexander is yanked offstage into eternity by the Darlings, his eldest daughter, Jillian, would like to take the stand." "All right." "Proceed." "Jillian, would you please tell the court what your daddy said to you before he left for New York the first time?" "After your Aunt Ellen died." " Your Honor?" "Relevance?" " I'd like to see where this is going." "You may answer the question." "He said he was sorry he had to go, but that he had to, to do the right thing for Aunt Ellen." "Objection, Your Honor." "This is hearsay." "Overruled." "Finish your thought, Miss." " What else did he say, Jillian?" " He said that he loved me very much, and that, whatever happened, that would never, ever change." "Is there anything else that you want to say?" "I know my daddy hurt a lot of people." "But I don't want him to go away." "Please don't make him go away." "Your Honor, a short recess?" "A recess?" "This isn't grade school." "Well, I'd suggest that you handle the cross, but, that's right, you've been suspended." "It doesn't take an active legal license to know you're about to lose in there." "A living will is nothing compared to the tears of a widdle girl who wuvs her daddy." "You're this committed to Patrick's career?" "Is that what this is?" "I'm just doing my job." "Maybe you should try it sometime." "Ms. Lyons, would you excuse us, please?" "What, Tripp?" "I'm not gonna attack the testimony of a nine-year-old girl." "I would not want you to." "We've already risked tarnishing our public profile by pursuing this." "The law is the law." "Well, then you're gonna have to go in there and say so, because." "Nick." "What's the matter?" "You can't just push and push and push for whatever you want in this world without taking other people into account." "Especially children." "This man killed Carmelita." "You and Karen were both seriously injured." "Well, I can't take away a little girl's last chance at seeing her father again," "whatever he did." "You can't just eliminate people whenever you feel like it." "What in heavers name are you talking about?" " Nothing." " Nick." "Look, they put Letitia on trial, but we both know who really did it." "Really?" "My dad was a first-class bastard, but that didn't mean he deserved to die, either." "Now, I am gonna go back in there and I'm gonna tell them we rest our case." "The judge can rule as he sees fit, but I'm not gonna take that little girl's father away." "I'm sorry, I can't." "Nick!" "Hey, Nick!" " Hey!" "Karen." "How you doing?" " Hey." "Listen, I'm in a rush." "I gotta go." " Oh, where are you going?" " I gotta go to Kiki's school." "If I'm not there in 10 minutes, I'm gonna be late." "It wouldn't look good." " Oh, you're playing daddy!" " No, actually, I am a daddy, Karen." "And I've got Kiki for the weekend." "A very, very important weekend." "Okay." "Well, how can I help?" " How can you help?" "I don't know." " Well, I don't know either, but you seem a little busy with your job, and now your daddy duties, and I can't do the lawyer thing, but maybe I could look after." " Kiki." " Kiki for you, if you want." "Well, actually, the point is for me to spend time with my daughter, Karen, not toss her into your capable manicured hands." "Uh." " You don't think I can handle this." " No, no, no, no, Karen." "The issue is not whether or not you can handle it." "The mediator seems more interested in whether or not I can." "Okay, just for the record," "I know I'm not Mama Lisa, but I can baby-sit." "Yeah, and I know that, Karen, and the next time that I need Kiki to spend the day getting massages and going shoe shopping," " I will call you." "Okay?" " Oh, okay, yeah." "You know what, Nick?" " You really kind of suck." " Karen!" ". at this whole "just friends" thing." "You really do." "Thank you." "Taxi!" " I thought you were coming to bed." " No, it's not looking too good." "I'm sorry." "I'm just trying to come up with a prayer for this thing tomorrow." " What thing?" " It's for this Meet the Pastor thing." "Oh." " Were you gonna invite me?" " Yeah, sure, you're invited." "I just hadrt gotten around to telling you about it yet." "It's tomorrow." "Honestly, I figured you wouldn't want to come." "I mean, it's just gonna be a lot of bad coffee and Jesus." "Brian, I'm your wife and you're a minister." "I know the drill." "Then come." "Fine." "I mean, what do I care?" "I got to go make some coffee." "I think it's gonna be an all-nighter." " What the hell happened?" " No idea." "Nick short-circuited like a space heater in a railroad flat." "Tripp's looking for a new lawyer." "Until then, the living will's suspended." "And that guy lies there like a time bomb, waiting to wake up and destroy everything I've worked for." "I could appeal my suspension and reopen the case," " if that's something that you want." " No, no." "Stop." "Stop." "No." "No." "The time for legal remedies is over." "You're gonna take care of this." "With finality." " What does that mean?" " It means Chase can't wake up." "It means that Patrick can't go to Washington with this looming." "He's too important to my plans." "All right." "I will make sure that you have access to Chase's room." "The guard will conveniently step away." "And you, my little angel, will pull the plug." " No, I will not." "I cannot." " Yes, you will." " No, I am not going to have blood." " You can." " On my hands because of you." " And you will do it." "Or, I promise you, you'll never see your brother again." "Mr. Jeremy?" "A lady to see you." " Well, hello." "Hope I knew you." " You did." " Who are you?" " Nola." "Lyons?" "I work with your brother, Patrick, as his chief of staff." "And once, a while ago, you and I were." " I had sex with you?" " Yes, we had sex." "More than once?" "Maximum." "Okay, get over yourself now." "So what can I do you for?" " You come back for a rebate?" " No." "I guess I just wanted to see you, just in case something bad happened." "To say goodbye." "What's the matter?" "Jeremy, I know you don't remember." "But I'm in a really bad situation." "Chase Alexander is." " The dude that shot the lady?" " Carmelita." "Yes." "He's lying in a hospital on life support, and I." " I have to." " You have to what?" " Nola." " Nola!" "What's wrong?" "Am I interrupting?" "No." "No, I was just leaving." "Dear, before you go, would you mind?" " For Jeremy's flashcards." " Letitia, trust me, this is not the kind of moment that memories are made of." " Oh, God." " Oh, lovely." "Lovely." "Honey?" "Let's go." "We're gonna be late." "That's what you're gonna wear to the Meet the Pastor night?" "Yeah." "You look like a pinata." "You know what?" " I can't do this." " Do what?" "Fight with you about your snotty, childish crap." "If you don't want me to come along, Brian, just say it." "Come." "Don't come." "I don't care." " Just say it." " What?" "That you don't want to be married to me." "Brian, what you did by marrying me was a beautiful gesture." "I was dying, and it might have saved my life." "But the way that we're living, not so beautiful." "Let's not torture each other." "We both love Brian Jr., and I love you." "But it's all right to say you want out." "No." " No, it isn't." " Yes, it is." "Okay, fine, I want out." "Thank you." "God bless Brian Darling." "Saint Melar's is so fortunate to have him back in its cradle." "Brian is a man of enormous faith whose many gifts, especially the generosity he inspires, are going to be of great benefit to us all." "And so let us thank him for his return to the church" " as our counselor, our guide." " Our bank." ". our reverend." "To Brian Darling." "Welcome." "What are you doing here?" "Paying my respects." "You're not the only one who misses her, you know." "I do too." "That memorial service haunts me." "The senseless loss." "I was just trying to understand, I guess, what she meant to you." "She was the love of my life." "Yet you refused to lift a finger to see justice done to her murderer." "You're either a saint or there is something so stoppered up inside you that it prevented you from responding with the full force of your heart." "What are you getting at?" "You didn't express your righteous anger, and it worries me that you missed a chance to grow as a person." "Anger doesn't make you a person, Dad." "There is a place in this world, there is a place in the human heart, for vengeance." "Things needed to be set right." "If not for you, then for her." "So this is the $ 1.6 million organ, huh?" "Yeah." "It doesn't look like it's won'th more than $ 1.1, tops." "Well, I hope Tripp's proud." "Brian, I told you, if Tripp had given this amount of money to the church, even anonymously, I would know about it." "He didn't." "Yeah?" "Well, then explain this, Counselor." "Mark, chapter 1, verse 11." "What's that?" ""And there came a voice from heaven" ""saying, 'Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.'"" " "My beloved son."" " Yeah." "So if Tripp didn't do it, who did?" " You thinking what I'm thinking?" " He's dead, Brian." "Our father's dead." "Hey, Nick, this whole frigging building is dedicated to the idea that everyone thought some guy was dead and then he wasrt." "I'm just saying, it wouldn't be the first time." "Our father can't be alive, Brian." "Look, how can you be so sure?" "They never recovered his body." " Well, they found his plane." " Yeah, without him in it." "Hey!" "Lawyer guy!" " Nick." "It's Nick, Jeremy." " Right." "Nick." "I was looking for you." "What's her name?" "The Chinese lady, with the freckles?" " Nola Lyons?" " Right." "Nola." "She has a problem." "Um." "She seemed radically torqued about this guy in the hospital." " Chase Alexander?" " Chase!" "Right." " Well?" "What did she say about him?" " She told me goodbye, like." "Like, she wasrt gonna be coming back, like she was gonna do something." "Tonight, maybe?" "I'm." "The hard drive's all corrupted." "Thank you, Jeremy." "See you." "Hey." "Brian, right?" " Old church people not your thing?" " Not really." " They smell funny." " Don't they?" "What is that?" "You know, I used to come out here and play when I was your age." " Eight or so years ago." " That would make you 20." "Someone needs a math tutor." "Where's your dad?" "He had some work emergency, so he left me with Letitia." "This was supposed to be our weekend, and he left." "Look, you're probably not thrilled with him right now, but your dad's a really good guy." " Your mom, on the other hand." " Yeah?" ". loves you very much." "She hates your guts." "Do you think my mom and dad will ever get back together?" "I don't know." "My parents stayed together and, baby, it was nothing but trouble." "Life is weird." "I know." "I guess." "You know, every Saturday night at our house used to be movie night." "Dad would cook, and then he, Mom and I would watch a movie." "I miss movie night." "Well, even if your mom and dad are living apart, you can still have movie night." " But not with both of them." " No." "No, you're right, but you can have one with your mom and one with your dad." "Sometimes things can change and not be, you know, awful." " You're nicer than Mom says." " Not really." "Nola." "What are you doing here?" "You don't understand." " Did Tripp put you up to this?" " No." " Patrick?" " No." "Just get out and let me do this!" " You know that's not gonna happen." " Lf I don't, you don't know." " You don't know anything." " All right." "Enlighten me." "What's going on?" "If I could tell you, I would." "All right." "I believe you, okay?" "But whatever you're doing, for whatever reason, it can't happen." " I won't let it." " Nick." "Now, the police are already on their way, wherever the hell they got to." "I'm not gonna have you arrested, but I am gonna have somebody posted here 24l7 with specific orders not to allow you anywhere near him." "Come on, let's go." "You took a life." "The one person I ever really loved." "And I want you to hear her name." "Carmelita." "She was everything to me." "I wasrt even alive until I met her." "And now I'm like you." "Alive but dead." "I've got no reason to keep breathing." "Do you get it now, Chase?" "Why I have to kill you?" "Except I know what she would say." ""Paddy, there's." ""There's already been too much dying."" "So you go on living, Chase." "It's punishment enough." "What's going on?" "Andrea, what are you doing?" "I'm going to stay with a friend for a few days until I figure things out." " You're leaving me just 'cause I." " Because you've made it clear that you don't want me to stay here?" "Yes." "But I do." "This is why we aren't having this conversation." "You'll say anything to get what you want, because you are afraid of being left alone." "Which is how we got into this mess." "You have your family, and now the church." "Hey, you know what?" "Screw the church." "You know why they had this little shindig for me?" "So they could dig deeper into my pockets for the next contribution." "'Cause guess what?" "I'm a billionaire." "But you never cared about that." "When Brian Jr." "Was born, you refused child support." "When I sent you checks to Brazil, you ripped them up." " Are you blaming me for that?" " No, I'm just saying that everybody else in the world just wants me for my money." "You're the only one who wants me for who I am." "And I'm sorry that that just makes me a little bit uncomfortable sometimes." "Look, I can't lie." "I jumped into this marriage for some wrong reasons." "But I'm staying in it for some good ones." "I mean, if you'll have me." " Hi!" " Hey." "What happened?" "When you called, you said one hour." "We stopped to feed the poor." " We went to Cafe Lalo for ice cream." " Cool." "Thanks for hanging out tonight, Aunt Karen." "I had fun." "You're welcome." " I love you, Dad." " I love you, too." " "Aunt Karen." Look at you." " Yeah." "Look at me." "Karen, I'm sorry." "That's nowhere near enough." "I'm sorry I didn't trust you to help out with Kiki from the moment you offered." "I should have." "And I accept your apology." "You know why?" "Because that's what friends do." "Don't they?" " They do." " Dad, I want to watch a movie!" "I will be right there." " Well?" " Well," " good night." " Good night, friend." "Yes." "That's what we are now." "Oh." "Keep playing." "I just." "I know it's late, I just wanted to stop by and say thank you." "I don't know if you had anything to do with it, though I have a feeling you did." "You saved my ass." "And everything else, too, I hope." "You were more of a friend to me today than I ever was to you." "I owe you." "And I won't forget that." "That's all." "How do you plan on repaying me?" "'Cause, as I recall," " you know some pretty neat tricks." " As you recall?" "So, what, you remember me now?" "I remember everything, Nola." "I don't have amnesia." "I never did." " What the hell, Jeremy?" " Yeah, what the hell?" "Ow!" "I've been making myself sick worrying about you." "I wanted to tell you before, but there were always people around." "Do you know how hard it is, trying to pretend not to remember you?" "How could I forget you?" "Wait." "So you've been pretending to be mentally challenged for fun?" "No." "I'm staying under the Elder radar." "Dude, you told me about your brother, you said you wanted me to help you." "I tried going to see Nick, but Simon caught me." "I thought he was gonna have me freaking killed." " You're probably not wrong about that." " Right." "So after I hit my head and I woke up in the hospital, and they were asking me all these questions, like," ""What year is it?" "What's your name?"" " I saw my opportunity." " So you've been faking it for a month." "I figured there must be some way to use this to our advantage, right?" "I want to help you find your brother, Nola." "I really do." "Karen Darling?" "You left our daughter in the care of that spoiled, selfish, emotionally stunted brat?" "For one hour, Lisa." " Why don't we all have a seat?" " No, I won't be staying." "Thank you." "You want 50% custody of Kiki?" "You couldn't even handle two days with her." " Hey, calm down." " Clearly, you can't be trusted." "Do you even know what they did together?" "Well, they werert out scoring coke, if that's your concern." " Karen took her out for an ice cream." " Because you took off and left her!" " Well, something came up." " Something always comes up, Nick." "And you always put your family last." "That is not what this is about, and you know it." "When it comes to Karen, you're irrational." "Yeah?" "You want rational, Nick?" "Let's both be rational." "In front of a judge, in court, where I sue your ass for full primary custody of my daughter." "Mediate that." "You need to fix this place up." "Tripp." "This is a surprise." "What can I do for you?" "Chase passed away in his sleep last night." " I got the call this morning." " How did that happen?" "Who knows how these things happen?" "The animal finally gives up." "But it was a blessing." "Chase was an organ donor." "He gave his kidney to a little girl in Pittsburgh about Kiki's age, saved her life." "Hmm." " And that's why you came by?" " No, of course not." "You accused me, once again, in so many words, of having killed your father." "And I have not been able to get that moment out of my head." " Tripp." " Nick, your father was my best friend." "I never, ever wished ill upon him." "But since his death, since I discovered his betrayal of me, of the Darling family, of everything I hold dear," "I admit that there has been more than one night when I have lain awake, wishing that it had been me who had taken his life, that I'd had the chance." "But I didn't." "I didn't do it." "It may seem as if I did, but not everything is as it seems." "I believe you, Tripp." "Have a good night."