Original subtitles

Previously on Touched by an Angel.

I'm gonna nail you!

There was a car accident. Oh, no.

Where are you headed? Just looking for a ride. Hey, big brother.

Roscoe. How are you, brother?

There's something more to that accident story.

But you don't know what it's like in here.

Those people are dead. They are dead.

I'm gonna go get my things.

Down the road Heavy burden Heavy

load I will rise And I

will walk with you I'll walk with you Till the sun don't

even shine Walk with you Every time I

tell you I'll walk with you

Believe me, I'll walk with you

You little sneak.

Okay. Forget the bacon.

Looks like you can use coffee.

Two sugars, right?

You're going home.

Thought I was home.

And it's a beautiful day today.

It's a perfect camping day.

If you'd just open your eyes for me, I'd take you anywhere in the world you

wanted to go, baby.

To the mountains, fishing.

I need you with me, Matthew.

I can't go on without you, honey.

Please talk to me.

Mommy?

Mommy?

Sweetheart?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Oh, I know, sweetie. You bumped it really hard.

Lord, you were asleep for a long time.

Where's Daddy and Ryan?

to finish off that table is not going to do any good.

He's pacing up and down the room. A lot more productive.

Why can't we do something?

Why can't we go search for him?

Where would you start?

How about the state line?

What state line? Tennessee, Virginia?

Or did they go north to Ohio?

The kids are right.

We've got to do something.

I agree.

We've given him enough time.

What are you going to do? I'm going to call the police.

And what are you going to say, Russell?

That you want your nephew back?

That your brother took his son? This is a family dispute. They don't want to get

involved. They will when I tell them about the accident.

Russell, they'll put him in jail. Maybe that's where he belongs.

Don't say that.

He's your brother.

He knows what he did.

He said so.

Mama knowing it and taking responsibility for it are not the same

burn that into my head. Patty, maybe this is the...

Only way to save Joe.

Save him from himself, from his demons.

It's time he took a long, hard look at himself.

If he doesn't do it now, he may never.

All right, then, call.

And after that, take me to the hospital.

Hospital? What for?

I've got to speak to Sandra Mills.

Mama, that is not necessary.

She has to know and not from the police for me mother -to -mother

That woman already has enough grief to last her two lifetimes. I'll walk if I

have to

This isn't the way to trick -or -treat.

I got a surprise for you. You like surprises?

Sure.

Mom likes surprises, too.

Your mama was full of surprises.

Is that why you left her?

How she had her troubles and I had mine. It wasn't a good mix.

What about me and you?

We a good mix?

We'll find out soon enough.

Russell?

Hattie?

Did you see Matthew? Did you talk to him?

No, ma 'am, we didn't. But we're real glad to hear that your boy's doing fine.

Oh, thank you. The doctor has so much hope.

Of course, he'll need a lot of physical therapy, but... Well, he'll have his

mother there to help him. Yes, he will.

Come on, let's go upstairs. I know Matthew's going to want to meet both of

Is Joe here?

Because I've told Matthew everything about Joe.

No, no, ma 'am.

Oh, he wants to make him something, you know, a medal to show off what a hero he

is.

Joe's no hero.

Well, of course he is. Matthew wouldn't even be alive unless he pulled him out

of that car crash.

Without Joe, your husband and your other son would be alive.

I don't what?

Joe caused the accident.

He forced your husband off the road.

As far as I know, that is not the definition of a hero. Not now, not ever.

But there is one truth.

My son...

Pulled your son out of that car.

And he came back when he could have kept going.

Wait, you're saying this didn't have to happen? That they didn't have to die?

No, ma 'am, it did not have to happen.

Your son killed my family?

Why are you here?

Because you deserve the truth.

And I wanted you to hear it from me.

There is no way that I can tell you how sorry I am.

Just get away from me.

I don't care how sorry you are.

Sorry won't be my husband and my son.

Last thing we wanted to do is cause you any more pain.

I'm going to call the police and I'm going to tell them everything.

It's already been done.

I called them myself.

What are we doing here?

We'll find out.

Come on.

You're not feeling strong.

Her name's Karen.

You know her?

I sure do.

Thank

you.

Thank you very much.

You've been great.

Be like an animal.

Thanks.

New song?

I'm curious.

What part of not coming here don't you understand?

I like it.

Shows off your voice.

Thanks for noticing.

This is Nathaniel.

He's my son.

So I guess now I can add him to the long list of things that you never bothered

to mention.

Where's his mother?

She's dead.

What are you doing here?

I've just been missing you. A lot.

What do you want?

Well, I was hoping maybe you could put us up.

The usual?

Free room and board?

What are you running from this time?

No, no, it's not like that. I just... You're all I've been thinking about.

Come on, you're not going to make the kids sleep out in the car, are you?

Well, if it weren't for him, I'd have you thrown out.

You can sleep on the sofa in the living room.

Just meet me after the show.

Thanks.

Or your girlfriend. She didn't seem too happy to see you.

She's not my girlfriend.

She's my wife.

It's bad enough you got mad and walked out.

Are you dead?

Are you alive?

And you turn up and you expect me to care about your hard times.

I came back, didn't I?

I love you, Karen.

You don't know what that word means, Joe.

You came back because you need something.

Do you believe in angels?

Do I believe in angels?

Don't laugh, because I do.

They're out there watching over us. I know it.

Everything that's happened in the last few days makes so much sense now.

I think God wants us to be together. You and me and Nathaniel. I can see it.

I think you've lost your mind.

Finally. No, really, I'm saying this from my heart. We could settle down

somewhere. Nashville, we could write songs together. You could sing them. We

could make this happen.

Joe, you know, you're really a sweet guy. You're a wonderful man.

But you just need to grow up.

But I've changed. I'm different, I swear it.

I'm sorry.

No, Phil.

Can I have a glass of water?

Oh, I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry.

That's okay.

I'm having a bad dream anyway.

I was in a tunnel, and it was dark, and I couldn't get out.

Come on.

Give it another chance.

It'll work out.

I'm sorry about your mama.

Yeah, but you're even sorrier about my dad.

Why would you say that?

My mom turned her life around.

She was happy when she died.

She's in heaven.

My dad is pretty much in hell.

Well, you know, if I didn't have to take your daddy as part of this bargain, I'd

take you in a heartbeat.

He's not such a bad guy. He's just...

Real confused.

Yeah.

I'm not ready for a stepmom.

But you're a real good singer.

Is that a hint?

Take it any way you like.

This old house creaks so much.

I keep thinking one of them might be Nathaniel sneaking back in.

Joe and I shared a room.

Kind of like this when we were kids.

Played with each other's toys.

Had chicken pox at the same time.

We even ran away together once.

Got all the way to the river. Before we changed our minds.

It was so close back then.

Now we're so far apart.

How did it end up like this?

I'll tell you, I'm tired of blaming the war for what happened to Joe.

He's gonna start taking responsibility for that accident.

For the way he's hurt Mama.

For his own life.

For Nathaniel?

Especially for Nathaniel.

Well, it isn't flat anyway.

It will be.

Why do these things happen to me?

We can fix it.

It's been fixed too many times. We're going to need a new one.

Well, how are we going to manage that?

Well, we'll think of something.

Come on.

And the bad guy, see? He tells him to get in the vault, but instead he dives

under the desk and pushes the desk over at him. And then, pow, the gun goes off,

and he shoots a hat off a statue of John Wayne.

Man, it was a great movie.

Maybe we can get it on video sometime.

Dad?

Huh?

Can we?

Yeah, sure.

Hey, Nathaniel, remember that game we used to play?

When you'd talk to somebody, make friends with them, and... And you'd

something we needed when they weren't looking?

Yeah, right.

Why don't you go on over and talk to that guy over there?

And while you're doing that, I'll borrow his attire. And then as soon as I got

some money, I'll borrow it back to him.

Is that really borrowing, or is it kind of stealing?

I'm not a thief. Get it straight.

how these guys rip you off.

Half of those tires are probably hot anyway.

Come on, if we don't pull this off, we're sunk.

You gonna help me or what?

Yeah. Sure.

Of course.

Cool.

Come on.

Pour it on.

Hi.

Hi.

Something I can do for you?

No.

Well, sort of.

Have you ever seen the movie where the guy shoots the hat off the John Wayne

statue?

Kid, I'm dizzy.

Well, actually, I'm here to talk to you about my dad.

He's got a whole bunch of problems.

And sometimes, I don't think he even knows the difference between right and

wrong. I'm not a cop or a welfare worker, but if he's hitting you... No,

like that.

It's just, he wants me to distract you.

I used to do it all the time.

But I can't.

Because it's not right.

So... I'm just going to ask you straight out.

We need a tire, but we can't pay you for it for a while.

Hey!

Hey! Hey!

Hey!

It's all right.

Hey, take it easy.

Take it easy, huh?

Take it easy.

Get off of me.

Come on, man.

I'll call the police. Let go of me.

Let go of me, man.

Get off of me.

Just a minute, Nathaniel.

Nathaniel?

Uncle Rachel!

How you doing, pal?

I'm sorry.

What? I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Ah.

You just wanted to be with your dad.

I can't fault you for that.

It looks okay to me.

Oh, better than okay.

I'll go check on Joe.

It's my fault he's here.

I mean, I didn't listen to him when the cops came.

Nathaniel, what you did was right.

If you hadn't done it, you'd still be out there.

And we wouldn't know where to find you.

See, the important thing is we're all together again.

Together?

My dad's in jail.

Hey.

Too bad I'm not in the air freshener business. I can make a lot of bucks in

here.

Anything you need? Anything I can get you?

Yeah.

Get me out of here.

Joe, they've got you in for vehicular manslaughter. I can't afford that bail.

But you could afford the phone call to the police.

I'll get you a lawyer.

Thanks.

Somebody. See you sometime tomorrow.

Don't worry about it. I know you've got a lot of things to do.

Joe, I don't like seeing you in here. Believe that.

Russell, in here is exactly where you think I ought to be.

Listen,

you've got to do it.

Mama, I can't do it. That old Airstream is our home.

And don't give me the evil eye. I'm not going to put my family at risk. He's

your brother.

Joe's not a kid anymore, Mama.

And he's run off before, more than once. I'm sorry, I just can't take that

chance. Where's my dad?

Well, he's going to have to stay here for a little while, pal, so we're going

go home and wait there.

No, I want to wait here.

Nathaniel. I'm not leaving.

You said Uncle Russell would take care of everything.

It's best we go now.

All of us.

Don't set a place for Grandma. She's meeting in her room.

I wonder how long she's going to be keeping this up.

Until Daddy gets nice again?

There's probably a lot of stuff we don't know about.

What Uncle Joe did wasn't Daddy's fault.

Uncle Joe didn't do anything on purpose.

I guess that's something he's still going to have to prove.

To who? The judge or Daddy?

Why don't we just drop it?

I'm just sick of the whole thing.

We'd be a lot better off if we never come here.

When we're older, what's it going to be like for us?

It depends.

On what?

If you ever outgrow your really irritating habits.

No, Josh, I'm serious.

It scares me to think if I did something you didn't like, you'd turn your back

on me.

This is getting way too deep for me.

Will you be there for me, no matter what?

I never let anything bad happen to you.

Don't you go getting all weepy on me now.

The ribs are mighty tasty, Josh.

I used Rasmus' secret sauce.

A little sweet mustard, pickle relish, molasses.

What else?

Secret sauce, Daddy.

Erasmus made me swear an oath.

Change your mind about dinner?

No, just thirsty.

Well, we got plenty if you do change your mind.

Oh, thank you.

Anybody hear anything from Erasmus?

No.

He tore out of here around three. Said he had errands.

I like a Rasmus Smith meal.

Hey, can I get another napkin?

What? You don't need a napkin. You need a bath.

Well, we hope you left enough scraps for us.

You're home! Yes, I am, and I'm glad to be here.

Joe.

Thank you. I prayed for this.

Hey, brother.

Of course you are.

I'll make you some plates.

Don't tell me about your pull with the police.

Erasmus colored green's the only thing that works for bail.

Yep, and my green is as good as the next man's. You had that much cash?

We're sitting on it.

Erasmus. Thank you, Claire.

Thanks, honey.

I trust him.

Well, I guess that proves you're a better man than I am. I wouldn't take

chance.

Russell, I didn't do this to show you up, and I didn't go into it lightly.

I did what I always do whenever there's a problem and no answer.

I went into my room, closed the door, turned off the light, and asked the

Almighty for guidance.

You asked God whether you ought to bail Joe out?

Yes, I did.

Well, then you heard wrong, Rasmus.

God may have said you ought to love him, but...

You must have heard wrong when it came to bailing him out.

You don't know what God said to Erasmus.

And neither do I.

I know, Beth.

I'm sorry.

No need to be sorry.

Russell, you've got a whole lifetime of emotions tied up in your brother.

Some of it's good, some of it's bad.

Well, son...

Time is running out for him.

He needs to be trusted.

And he needs to be trusted by you more than anyone.

Thanks. Anybody seen Joe's lawyers here?

Upstairs in his room.

No, Mama, he is not in his room. He's not in the bathroom, he's not in the

and he's not in the trailer.

Russell, I know what you're thinking.

He wouldn't do that.

I'm not waiting around to find out.

Don't you love it?

The breeze is just right.

The smell of gardenias.

Nothing like it.

We can't find Joe.

Is Nathaniel here?

He's upstairs with Dinah. Then Joe's here.

Russell, smell the gardenias.

It's going to be a wonderful day.

Morning, everybody.

After what Erasmus did, I figured the least I could do would be to buy milk

the cornflakes.

Going someplace?

No.

Your lawyer's in the front row. He's waiting for us.

Just be straight with me.

What's a DA going to do?

Throw the book at me?

He wanted to.

Wanted to? Does that mean he's had a change of heart?

Well, the tow truck company was supposed to take the car to a secure impound

lot, but apparently they made a mistake.

Instead, they took it to a repair shop, and some paint jockeys started to prep

it for repairs.

What are you telling us?

The only hard evidence that the DA had was the paint chips from Randy Mills'

on Joe's fender.

Now the only evidence he's got is two coats of fresh paint.

But Joe confessed.

I know, but only to you.

And that's called hearsay.

Believe me, the judges throw it out.

So, I think we're looking at a dismissal.

Don't everybody cheer at once.

But we all know.

I know that you know the truth.

But Mrs. Green, my job is to advocate for my client. And guilty or innocent.

I sincerely believe that in this case, jail time is inappropriate.

Your son needs treatment, not punishment.

Nothing would make me happier than to see my son stay out of jail.

I'm sorry if that offends anyone's ethical sensibilities, but that's the

feel.

What's the next step?

When we go to court tomorrow and the judge asks you how you plead, you just

not guilty. I'll do the rest.

At the end of the day, you should be a free man.

Congratulations.

Well, I've got to get back to the office.

If anybody has any questions, call me.

Thank you.

Hey, what book?

Oh, go ask Alice.

Don't tell Mom, though.

I was supposed to be doing my algebra.

Well, I guess I can't complain too much, as long as you've got a book in your

hand.

Wish I'd read more when I was your age.

It's really good.

It's depressing, though.

It's about this girl, and she takes a lot of drugs.

Messes up her life.

Out of all the books in the library, how come you picked that one?

I don't know.

I guess... I'm trying to understand Uncle Joe.

But I don't think I ever will.

I'm a charter member of that club.

I sure do wish there was more I could do to help him.

I heard about what the lawyer said.

If he pleads innocent tomorrow and gets off, well, that means

he gets away with murder, doesn't it?

Well, I guess his lawyer will think so.

And I'm sure the family of the people who got killed.

I don't think so, but I'm not so sure about Jill.

See, deep down inside, I think this is just tearing him apart.

No matter which way this turns out, he loses.

Daddy, I'm so sorry.

I guess I'll go do my algebra.

Problems are tough, but at least they all make sense.

She's right.

Life would be much easier if it worked like mathematics.

If all you had to do was solve for X.

Glad to see you.

Been a rough week, huh?

The worst.

Have you ever been hugged by an angel?

Just once.

Last year by you.

Did you like it? Would you like to have another one? Have I told you how much

God loves you?

Yes, you have, but I never get tired of hearing it.

Tess, I just don't know what to do. I've never been so confused in my life.

I know the feeling.

Well, there's only one being in the universe that has all the right answers.

And he's the one that sent me to you this morning.

He wants me to remind you of the last basketball game you played for your high

school team. Do you remember it? Like it was yesterday.

About half the team down with the flu.

Joe was just a sophomore, but they called him up from the JV.

It's the only time you took the court together, huh?

We played a heck of a game, too.

Everybody figured Monroe would beat us by 20 points, but we kept it close the

whole game.

Do you remember the last play?

The one the coach designed for you?

Oh, yeah.

We were down by one, four seconds left.

I was supposed to get the ball at the top of the key and find Joe coming off a

pick.

But I thought I had an open lane. I tried to take the ball to the hoop

I got cut off.

Joe was wide open.

But I was still holding the ball when the buzzer went off.

Trust him, Russell.

I can handle a few weeds, Russell.

Remember all those weekends we lost helping Daddy with the farm?

Weekends? Years.

I'm sure glad he's not here now to see the way things turned out.

Well, to tell you the truth, so am I.

But he'd back you up. He always did.

Not if you'd seen what I did to my boy.

Shoot, Joe, that might be the only thing you've done right.

Sure, I'm glad that little boy's part of the family.

Russell, I abandoned him.

Well, I never figured it that way.

You left him with Erasmus, knowing that we were on our way to check recruit and

that we'd take care of him.

And that, for whatever reason, you couldn't.

I also knew you were out of a job.

And you couldn't afford another mouth to feed. I did what was best for me, as

usual.

Trusted me with your son.

Russell, what am I going to do in that courtroom tomorrow? I'm not going to

jail.

That's your call.

I thought you were the one with all the answers.

I don't even have all the questions.

You just do. Do what you think's right.

I'll back you up.

No matter what?

You remember that last basketball game we had in high school against Monroe?

What about it?

I should have gotten the ball to you, Joe.

Take your shot.

Commonwealth of Kentucky versus Joseph H. Green, Your Honor.

Mr. Green has been charged with two counts of felony vehicular manslaughter

one count reckless driving.

Mr. Green, would you stand, please?

You heard the charges?

Yes, ma 'am.

Would you like to enter a plea?

Yes.

Your plea, Mr. Green.

Guilty. Your Honor, I don't believe my client intended to say that.

Yes, I did.

I'm guilty.

Did you do this?

No, Mom, I'm sitting back here with you.

Your Honor, if it pleases the court, I have affidavits here, several, from

various institutions.

Halfway houses, VA hospitals.

Mr. Green has been under treatment for mental and emotional disorders for two

decades. I really don't believe he's of sound mind. I am of sound mind.

Counsel, approach the bench, please, and bring those affidavits with you.

Uh, what are they doing?

What are they... Mr. Green, sit down. I'm the one on trial here. I killed two

people. There's two people dead because of what I did. It's not because of

what's in those papers.

Mr. Green, sit down.

Now, because some truck driver makes a mistake, they tell me all I have to do

plead not guilty, and then I'll get off scot -free, but it's not gonna... Your

Honor, maybe you ought to have him restrained.

Counselor, I thought that's what you were trying to avoid.

Mr. Green, there are minimum sentencing guidelines in this state.

And I want you to understand that if you plead guilty, you will go to jail.

Yes, I understand.

But I...

to tell Ms. Mills and her son how sorry I am about what I did, and I don't know

any other way to tell my own son how sorry I am about what I did. All I know

that if I were standing here lying to you, that's not the way to go about it,

and that's what I would be doing if I pleaded not guilty.

All right, Mr. Green.

Thank you.

I'll let you please stand.

Punishment isn't always in the best interest of society or this court, but

are times when confinement is.

Therefore, Mr. Green, I am sentencing you to four years in a minimum security

correctional facility where you will get job training and counseling, and I'm

ordering you to appear in this court in six months, at which time we will

evaluate your progress, and if I'm pleased with what I see...

I'll reduce your sentence to 18 months.

Mr. Green, you have a chance to make something of your life.

I trust that you will.

Yes, ma 'am.

Yes, you have my word.

This court is adjourned.

All rise.

I wish his going to jail made me feel better, but it doesn't.

I know how you feel.

A lot of guts, Joe.

I don't know if I could have done it.

Take care.

Would you like a moment alone with your daddy?

Sure.

Wait for your...

I'm proud of you, Dad.

I love you, man.

I love you, too.