Original subtitles

Hello. You're looking lovely today.

It is nice to see someone else who's wondering what they're doing here.

It's a very tony crowd, don't you think?

Actually, to be honest with you, I'm feeling a wee bit underdressed.

No, you look magnificent in those feathers. You put everybody to shame.

Look how gorgeous you are.

Do you mind if I ask you, how long have you been waiting?

Fine ears.

Very funny.

You should see your face.

You know, you'd be talking to birds, too, if you'd been waiting for over an

hour. An hour? Where's Andrew?

Well, I thought he was with you. I do not like these last -minute things. I do

not. There's no time to do your homework.

You're shooting from the hip, and something is bound to fall through the

Oh, here he is now.

Hi. Well, whatever it is, you sure are dressed for it. Oh, hell, thanks. What

it? Oh, it's what?

The assignment.

Oh, for heaven's sakes.

What's going on here, Andrew?

I don't know. There's something going on. I was told you needed help.

So was I.

I don't need any help, as far as I know. I was just told to come here and wait.

Now, wait, that's funny. I usually know something about a case before... You!

Yes, ma 'am. I've seen you before, haven't I?

I'm not sure. Oh, I know I know you from somewhere. Did you ever work with my

husband, maybe? Harvey Seiss? Seiss Petroleum?

Harvey... Seiss. Yes.

Harvey, yes. Ah, you did work with him. You know what? I didn't work with him. I

knew him very, um, very late in life.

Oh, of course, the hospital. You were at the hospital.

Very near the end.

A doctor.

No. A doctor. Oh, that is so perfect. Oh, no. I'll never forget a face. But

is absolutely perfect. Doctor, what is your name again?

Andrew, but I'm a friend. I'm not... Doctor Andrew Friend. And, Andrew,

not married, are you?

Nope. Oh, good, good, good. And you don't have any...

Strange inclinations, no criminal record. I bet you don't do you. No, of

you don't. Listen, doctor, can I call you Andy? Well... Come with me, honey.

You're about to save my life. Excuse me, lady.

Angel Boy needs some help, baby.

When you walk down the road,

heavy burden...

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.

The books and bachelors luncheon again already.

I tell you, I can't, I just absolutely cannot be the chairman of this thing

every year. This is the last, and I mean it this time. I say that every year.

Oh,

Elaine, gorgeous Chanel.

Anyway, I had my bachelor all set up. And what happens? He gets paged. He gets

paged and he takes off to save somebody's life. And what am I supposed

Well, thank God you showed up.

Just excuse me a second.

Books and bachelors.

Oh, yes. Well, I mean, this is the league's biggest fundraiser of the year.

Oh, surely you're not a doctor and you don't know about the books and bachelors

luncheon for the Nichols Biotech Institute?

Rachel, Rachel, I got one.

Don't go away.

Excuse me, what's a books and bachelors luncheon?

They eat lunch, they buy books, they auction off men.

They raise a lot of money.

They auction off men? Just for the night.

Is that legal? I'm afraid so.

Do you know what this is?

I know who you are, bachelor boy.

No. No way. I'm not going to do this.

Why not? It's humiliating.

It's for a good cause, Andrew, isn't it? This institute does fine work.

Tess, this can't be the reason that I'm here.

How did I get into this?

I don't know.

But we were all sent here, and this is what happened.

So I would say you go with the flow till you know, baby.

Oh, Andy.

There you are. Come along. It's time we're getting started.

Oh!

I'm so... I'm sorry.

That's okay.

Okay.

I never figured you for the charity auction type, Beth.

Everybody has to eat lunch.

Well, if you think you can afford the time.

I don't see you at the lab today.

Well, I figured if anybody has any serious questions about the Institute,

ought to be somebody here who could answer them.

Ladies and gentlemen, of course, good news, our book sale has just sold out.

Now, we are pleased to have with us this afternoon some of those dedicated

physicians whose research will be directly benefited by the tax -free

you're making today.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce them to you.

Let's see.

Dr. Catherine Calder.

Dr. Beth Poppins.

And of course, Dr.

Hugh Brooks.

Now, Dr.

Hugh has volunteered to be our very first bachelor this afternoon. I know

is what you've all been waiting for, so...

Come on up here.

I have $300 for Assistant District Attorney Peter Carpenter. Do I hear

$350.

Ladies, $350 for a night with one of the city's most eligible bachelors. Come

on. $350.

Ah, in the back. I have $350. Thank you very much. Going once.

Going twice?

Sold for $350.

Thank you.

Have a wonderful time.

And now I'm delighted to introduce our last bachelor, Dr. Andrew Friend.

Now, Andy has been a friend of our family for many years.

He's, um, well, I have to say, I love him like my own younger brother.

Andy is a dedicated physician who, by the way, just happens to dance a pretty

mean rumba.

Ladies, believe me, after a date with Andy, your life will never be the same.

Well, that's one thing that's true.

Do I have an opening bid of $200?

$200.

$250. I have $250, ladies. Do I hear $300?

What are you doing?

I don't want him to face cheap.

$300.

350. Well, I have 350.

Now do I have four?

400.

450.

Five. Well, I have $500 for the terribly desirable Dr. Andrew Friend.

Do I have 550?

$600.

$600 for Dr.

Andrew Friend going once, going twice.

Sold. $600.

Thank you very much.

Ladies, that's the end of this year's Books and Backrooms luncheon. Thank you

all for coming. We'll see you again next year.

Thank you.

Hi.

I'm Andrew.

I know practically every doc in this town, and I never heard of you.

Yeah, I guess that's something that I'm going to have to explain when we go to

dinner. Look, it's nothing personal, but I'm not interested in a date.

The money's going toward a good cause. Let's just forget it.

I... I don't understand. If you don't want to go out with me, then why not

make a donation?

Why did you bid for me?

I wasn't bidding for you.

I was bidding against her.

So that's it? You went through all that for nothing?

Well, I did get the highest price of any guy up there.

And it's for a good cause.

I feel it was for more than we know.

I am so sorry.

Adam! Ah, God, you're looking lovely.

Am I too late?

Well, that depends.

What are you talking about?

I had a passing in Duluth. Lovely lady. Had all her affairs in order. 92 years

old and could not wait to go home.

I was all set to take her, too. And then, poof, Wheel of Fortune comes on,

she will not go until after the bonus round.

Then I was sent here to cover for you, right? Yeah, thanks.

So did you stand here and get randomly selected as a bachelor?

Yeah. And did the doctor bid on you?

Yeah.

600 bucks.

Wow, impressive.

So the date is on? No, no, she blew me off. No, no, no, no, no, you have to

her on that date tonight.

I don't think that she likes me. Maybe you should go. No, no, you're the angel

assigned to the case now, so you should follow through.

Here, this is the restaurant you should take her to, and I get the feeling

you're going to need some backup.

Are you referring to us?

Yeah, we don't know what it is we're supposed to do, Adam.

When you see the restaurant, you will.

Oh,

I've got a scuba diving crisis in about three minutes.

It may be a while, because it could go either way.

I'll meet you at the restaurant later and fill you in.

Just make sure you get her there.

Okay, you're all set. Just type in your password, I won't look, and that'll lock

this baby up tighter than Fort Knox.

That's pretty tight security. It's a shame that you think you need it. Well,

least I have something to protect.

What if somebody tries to break in? Somebody starts guessing the code,

in the wrong numbers, the whole system freezes up for 12 hours. Even you can't

get in until then.

So what do you got in there? Some kind of a deadly virus that kills people in

three minutes or something?

Thank you for your help.

Wait, wait, wait.

Now, I know that you said to forget about dinner, but it just doesn't seem

Think about what you're missing.

You've got to be kidding.

No, not... No, not me. No, no, no.

I meant, wouldn't you like the satisfaction of coming to work after

date and having everyone around here go just a little bit crazy wondering if it

was worth it or not? And it will be.

But you don't have to tell them that. Just keep them guessing.

Which is something I suspect you'd like to do anyway.

Nice vault, by the way.

It's got to be a nice place.

Very nice.

I get there myself. I go home alone.

Of course.

Okay, it's 508 Madison.

Top floor.

Seven? Seven.

Wait.

Can you really rumba?

I will by seven.

What is this?

This is not a restaurant. That's what this is.

Tess?

She's coming here in three hours.

Yes, and we have a problem. We have a problem, Monica? We don't have chairs.

First things first.

Tess was thinking Italian, but my feeling is for Pacific Rim. What do you

Andrew?

I think... I think it's going to be a long night.

What are you so nervous about?

This is his first date.

This is not a date. It's an assignment. And my assignment is a date. Tess, look

at this place. I can't bring her here.

This is where you were told to bring her.

It's what is called controlled environment.

Scientists love this kind of thing.

Monica, I promised her it's going to be a nice place.

God does not do cheap. And as I recall, we were assigned to back you up. So if

you will just relax and hush up, you will be backed up.

You got the picture?

In the meantime, work, for the night is coming, baby.

Good evening. Hello, Dr. Calder. Yes. Your table is waiting right this way,

please.

Hi. Oh, hi.

Oh.

Please.

Would you like me to pour the champagne?

No, thank you.

I got it.

Strange place.

I never heard of it before.

It's pretty new.

So now, is this okay, or... No, that's fine.

As a matter of fact, it's one of my favorites.

I have a bottle of it sitting in my refrigerator.

Really? What are you saving it for?

Oh.

Are you or are you not a doctor?

I'm not. And you didn't treat Jackie Seitz's husband, Harvey?

No, but I do know him. I did know him before he died.

What do you do?

I'm sort of a counselor.

I help people die.

Ah.

So when science fails them, you come in to clean up, right?

Yes.

Yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it.

What do you tell these people without hope?

Oh, I tell them that there is hope.

Tell them about God.

Ah.

There's something you need to know before we go on with this.

I don't believe in God.

I believe in science.

Okay. Well, uh... Do you believe in dinner?

I do.

Then I think we should make the first toast to... to Common Ground.

Welcome to Chez Tess.

We have a fixed menu tonight.

This is what our chef will be serving.

However, should you have any substitution requests, please don't

ask. I'd like veal instead of the pheasants, no sage in the lemon

and tea instead of coffee.

Certainly, I'll share that with the chef.

Make it two.

Good evening, sir. May I help you? Is this the restaurant?

Well... Do people sit at table and order food and eat and then get up and leave?

Oh, yes, that's the plan, but... Well, then it is a restaurant and I demand to

be served.

Do you have a reservation?

Do you have a reservation list?

No.

I'll take one of the tables over there.

Right this way.

We have a fixed menu.

This is what our chef will be serving this evening.

May I interest you in something to drink? I'd like to see the wine list.

The wine list?

Yes, of course.

I am cooking.

What a blessing, what a blessing for everyone.

How's it going out there? Good, going good.

There have been a couple of substitution requests.

Well, who said that substitutions were allowed?

In the spirit of hospitality, I did. Well, just how hospitable are we going

be?

Veal instead of pheasant. No sage in the lemon reduction.

Tea instead of coffee. Twice.

No pheasant?

No pheasant.

At least, not on table one.

Table one?

It's the hot topic in medicine now.

Every doctor wants to discover one.

A susceptibility gene?

Sure.

Imagine being able to take a test and find out you've got a gene in your

chromosomes that says you've got a really good chance of getting breast

or Alzheimer's or Lou Gehrig's disease.

What if science could tell you how you're going to die?

So tell me, what kind of disease are you looking for?

That's not how it works.

All the major medical centers have divided up the chromosomes.

We're studying chromosome 12.

We examine everything we can about that one chromosome, trying to find a

pattern. We call it a gene sequence.

It could indicate a tendency toward a disease.

But we don't know what disease we're looking for, and we don't know where to

look.

Where in the world did you get this one?

This is an 1870 Liffey's Rothschild.

I know, I'm sorry. It's terribly old, but I'm afraid it's all we could come up

with. We're still working on the wine, Liff. This isn't old.

This is extinct.

This is impossible.

Well, the owner of this restaurant specializes in the impossible.

Bon appétit.

I don't understand. It seems to me that... The more information that

share with one another, the sooner they discover cures for things.

Medicine is competitive because medicine is a business just like everything

else. If you don't get there first, then you don't get the jobs or the grants or

the fame or whatever else you want.

So what do you want?

Immortality.

So why is that so important to you?

Because I'm dying.

I've got cancer.

It's, um...

It's a form of leukemia.

It's going to kill me someday, but I'm still here.

Thanks to science, by the way.

So I understand the value of knowing what you're going to die of.

How long?

Five or six years, maybe.

I know you think I'm some pushy broad who just has to be first in line and win

the auction and beat the other kids and keep all my secrets to myself.

But discovering a new gene...

Andrew, that could change the world.

Doing that on my own.

Making a name for myself.

That's all I have to live for.

And it's the only thing that'll be left when I'm gone.

The difference that I made in this world.

Excuse me.

There's a call for you at the front.

Really?

How's it going? Well, I'm finally getting a clue as to what we're doing

She's dying.

What?

She doesn't need me. I mean, not yet, anyway. She needs a caseworker, someone

like you, Monica.

This woman really has to get her priorities straight in the next five

Five years?

Yeah. No, she's not going to die in five years, Andrew.

She's going to die tonight.

She's going to die tonight, Adam. She looks so normal.

Well, she has a disease, and it's fatal, but it's slow. She said that she had

five years.

Well, then she's not going to die of that tonight. It'll be something else.

Car accident, stroke, chandelier could fall on her head.

How? I don't know how. I was just supposed to be there when it happens.

your procedure.

So now I'm the one who has to be there. Out of all the men at that auction, why

did she bet on an angel?

Well, sometimes when death is near, people sense it.

And I suppose God knew that given the chance, she'd like to have an angel with

her today, whether she knew why or not.

I don't know, Tess.

This lady just doesn't seem like the angel type.

Well, maybe she knows that.

And maybe deep down inside, she'd like to change it before it's too late.

Well, it's later than she thinks.

A lot later.

You may want to serve dessert with the entree.

You never changed. Do you know that?

I'm really sorry, Andrew. It ought to be me out there instead of you.

If there's anything I can do... Put this on and stir.

You know, if I believed in God, which I don't, I'd say this place is the closest

thing to heaven that I'm going to get.

How long must we hear from this? Oh, Morty, I feel a sermon coming on. No,

no, no, no. I promise.

Hold on.

But think about what you just said, okay? You said people live.

People die.

So what happens after that?

Nothing.

Decomposition.

Probate.

Hopefully a plaque somewhere with my name on it. That's it, Andrew.

The rest is wishful thinking.

What? Die and what, go to heaven?

It's been done.

Okay.

All right, let's assume that I die and I go to heaven.

Then what?

I float around like some blissful amoeba with no food, no champagne,

no cable.

Let's face it. Who wants to live forever like that?

Nobody. Nobody. And God wouldn't want you to.

So how many cable channels has he got?

You... You are... I don't know. You're really something.

Okay.

Imagine... Imagine that you are locked in a closet

for years.

That's my laboratory.

Okay, okay.

Now, during this incarceration, you have a baby.

This is getting very weird. No, stick with me here. Stick with me, okay? Now,

you hope to get out, right? But you don't know.

So you start drawing pictures of...

birds and trees and dogs, you know, to show this baby of yours who has never

seen what life is like out in the real world.

Okay. Okay?

So imagine that one day this baby comes and says, you know, gee, houses

and birds and trees and dogs are all pretty small and flat,

aren't they?

And you realize that no matter how Hard you try to draw these pictures.

You can never get this baby of yours to even imagine what reality

looks like.

Never. Not until he sees it for himself.

So in the meantime, you tell this child that you love him.

And you ask him to try to do.

So heaven is the ultimate reality, huh?

Is that what you tell your dying patients?

No.

That's what I share with them.

I've never met anybody like you.

You really believe this, but you're not one of those angry, pushy types.

You remind me of... I don't know.

This isn't going to come out right.

You look like...

Love.

Now I'm embarrassed.

Kate.

That is the most wonderful thing that anybody has ever said to me.

What is it with that boy?

Keep stirring.

Excuse me, sir.

If you don't mind my saying so, sir, you really shouldn't eat so quickly.

You know, there's plenty more where that came from, really.

I can't help it.

This isn't food.

This is life itself.

I mean, the texture, the aroma, the indescribable fluidity of flavors.

What else have you got back there?

What are you doing the rest of your life?

North and south and east and west of your life

I have only one request of

your life That you spend it all with me

Can you keep a secret?

I've done it.

I found a gene sequence.

I finally found one.

You mean you've discovered a gene for a disease?

Almost. It's like finding a map.

All I have left to do now is let it lead me to the treasure.

It's just a matter of time.

But I'm there.

So how much time do you need?

Oh, a few weeks, months maybe.

That's why I'm so big on security these days.

If anybody got hold of those notes now, it wouldn't take somebody like Beth much

time at all to use my work to identify the gene and take all the credit for

herself.

So how much time would you need if you two were together?

You still don't get it, do you?

If we worked together, we'd share the credit.

And I'm sorry, Andrew. I know it doesn't sound very religious or heavenly, but I

want the credit.

I've worked for it. I deserve it. It's mine.

I wish I'd never told you.

You know, Kate, I have a secret, too.

You're married.

Oh, no.

You'd be surprised.

That's usually the secret I hear.

Kate, I know this is going to sound crazy, but there's a reason.

That you bid as hard as you did at that auction today.

Yeah, I know. It was silly and petty.

But it was some way of proving to Beth and to myself that I was always going to

win. And I am.

Kate, I know that you don't believe in God.

But he believes in you.

Oh, come on.

And he sent me to be with you when you die.

And if heaven is where you want to go, I will be there to help you get there.

I'm an angel, Kate.

And you are facing death.

But it's not in five years.

It's tonight.

You're crazy.

And I'm getting out of here.

Kate.

Mr. Delmonico?

Mr. Delmonico?

Breathe.

I thought this coming a mile off.

You know anything about this? No, not really.

Come on, come on.

Thank God. Okay.

Just take slow, deep breaths.

We have some water here.

I'm so sorry.

Man, that was close. That was very, very close.

I know.

I could feel myself dying.

Don't laugh. I can't explain it.

But I thought I saw the angel of death standing right... You.

It's you.

Yes, sir, but you're fine now. You don't need me.

You really ought to take smaller bites, Mr. Delmonico.

Choo -choo -choo.

That's why God invented incisors.

I don't know what's going on here, but I'd like to leave now.

I think that's a good idea, baby. And the dinner is on the house.

My goodness.

Restaurant business can be very exciting. Kate, we still have to talk.

No, no, we don't.

Kate? Let her go, baby.

She's not ready to hear you.

Taxi!

Taxi! Mr. Delmonico!

Wait!

Are you one of them? No, no, I'm... No, no, please. Tell me, what did you see?

What happened?

You were there.

I almost died.

You saved my life.

But he... He was waiting for me.

Andrew? Yes.

The man in the tuxedo? Yes, but he wasn't wearing that anymore. He was

wearing... I don't know how to explain it.

Clothes, but more real.

I mean, he had hands and hair and a face, but they were... more.

If I'd been looking at reflections of the world my whole life, and then

I saw... The ultimate reality.

Yes.

Tell me, please, what were you two talking about?

What did the angel tell you?

Then he is an angel, isn't he? Yes.

It's incredible.

It's... Well, it's terrifying.

It's... It's wonderful.

But what did he tell you?

He told me that I'm going to die tonight.

You are the angel of death, aren't you?

Yes, ma 'am.

It's funny.

I studied all the textbooks.

And I always had this strange peace in knowing what disease I was going to die

from and when.

I never counted on an accident.

Is that how it's going to happen?

I don't know how.

And I don't know when.

But I do know this.

When it happens, I'll be there.

Kate, I don't want to scare you.

But I know that if I've been sent here to show you the way home, there's a

reason.

And usually, that reason is death.

So we wait.

We wait.

Now you know what I was saving it for.

You know something?

Not a lot of people get the chance to say goodbye.

I was an orphan.

I didn't have anybody to say goodbye to.

I grew up with 32 other kids.

No wonder you don't like to share.

I never had anything that was new.

Or that was really mine.

Until now.

Your secret discovery?

Oh, Kate.

That's not even yours.

Any more than the North Pole belongs to Admiral Perry.

Or the sea belongs to Jacques Cousteau.

The wonders of the universe. The physics, the...

Thermodynamics the medicines that are found in the rainforest the gene

in your chromosome It's belong to God not you

We're

starting to believe these last few years in God

The more I worked in science, the more I became awed by the staggering

complexity of this world.

And I began to think the odds of it all coming together so perfectly were

harder to accept than the possibility that it had all been designed that

way by a great designer.

He started to believe.

Too late.

No.

It's never, never too late.

Kate, God loves you.

And he has trusted you with something.

Now will you trust him?

That's it, isn't it?

He wants me to do the one thing I can't do.

Can't do it, Andrew.

You have to be willing to share the glory.

Even if Beth...

And all the others take it all.

What is locked up in that safe is so much more important than who found it

first. If I give the combination of that safe to Beth, and she gets

hold of my research, I may as well die anyway.

Because I'd have nothing left to live for.

Just think of all the people who will live instead.

In 12 hours from now, You won't be here.

Okay.

Where does this thing go? Set it down right there.

Almost done it.

Give me that one there.

Just like we found it.

What are you doing? What is that?

Leftover pheasant.

It's great stuff, Tess. Well, there's plenty left.

Kate had veal, if you recall.

You mean Beth?

Who's Beth?

The doctor at the auction, the one you did this all for.

Adam, Andrew had dinner with a woman called Kate, not Beth.

Who's Kate?

The doctor from the auction.

The doctor that won the auction.

Well, so far so good.

You okay?

As long as I don't trip on my way to the door.

What about Bruno?

He'll be okay.

It's so scary.

All I remember is getting really, really sleepy.

That's carbon monoxide.

You don't see it or smell it.

You just go to sleep and you never wake up.

If you hadn't been there, I... What were you doing at my house at one o 'clock

in the morning?

I, um...

Look, you get some sleep.

I discovered a gene sequence, Beth.

I came to your house to tell you.

I'm almost there.

I see.

Well, congratulations.

I was thinking that maybe if we work together...

We might get there sooner if you want to work with me.

What happened to you, Kate?

I discovered something else.

You can do wonderful things if you don't care who gets the credit.

It was Beth who would have died last night, not me.

Beth was supposed to win the auction, not you. And I was supposed to take her

dinner, but I never knew her name.

So when you won, I thought... You thought it was me. I thought it was you.

That's why she wanted to win so badly, I guess.

She must have seen you coming.

And I, of course, as usual, had to get there first.

I'm sorry.

Hey, God made a mistake.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

People make mistakes.

And angels sometimes make mistakes.

But God doesn't make mistakes.

He saved two lives last night instead of one.

Yeah.

I think maybe he did.

So I still have a few more years left, huh?

Yes, you do.

And now you know what to do with them.

When they're over?

When they're over... I'll see you for dinner.