Original subtitles

Mom, Dad, Megan's crying.

I think she's hungry.

Mom?

Fine.

I'll just feed her.

Mom, Dad, the house is on fire!

Megan, I'm coming.

- I got you, Megan. - I'm gonna wrap you up, okay?

Mom, Dad, we're here!

We got one back here!

We got you, kid.

I can sit with him. I'm the neighbor.

You don't recognize me do you?

I just moved in next door to y'all with my granddaughter.

She's the one that called 911.

How you holding up?

The doctors told me they all died.

Even my baby sister.

I'm so sorry.

Where do I go now?

I got nobody.

Well, a social worker's on their way.

Oh we'll stay with you till they get here.

Here.

It's hot chocolate.

-Thank you. -You're welcome.

Ain't you gonna introduce yourself?

I'm Dixie.

I'm Don.

Hey.

Did you sleep at all?

He sent another letter.

You finally gonna read this one?

No.

- The parole hearing's next week. - I know, honey.

I'm sure he's just begging for leniency,

hoping to breathe a little free air before he croaks.

How does that make you feel?

Angry and

ashamed.

Ashamed? Why?

'Cause if I hadn't choked at his original sentencing hearing

he would've never been up for parole in the first place.

You didn't choke.

You had a panic attack. That's not your fault.

I let my family down, and no one ever got to hear their story.

No one ever got to hear how much they meant to me.

So is that what you're planning on doing now?

Yeah, if I can keep myself from passing out.

I had another one at the the firehouse.

-A panic attack? When? -It was last night.

It was fine. Rox was there for me,

and, thank God, no one else saw it.

Oh, Donnie, I-I wish that you would not think of it like it's this dark secret.

It is.

I ask these people every day to follow me into fire.

What are they supposed to think if they hear that I couldn't even

They would think that you were human.

I mean, it might even be good for them to see it, for you to be seen.

No one needs to see this.

It just bothers me this whole thing's coming up again, you know, I

The pain and the rage, I'm

I just wanna make sure that this time the world hears the story.

I understand. But I don't think that the rage and pain is coming back.

I-I think it's just coming back to the surface.

So what are you saying?

I'm saying that I think it's always been there.

And maybe this could be a good opportunity to

to free yourself.

By freeing him?

He started a fire under my parents' bedroom over an unpaid debt.

He-He killed my family over two grand.

You wouldn't be doing it for him.

It would be for you.

Whatever you decide to do, you know that you have my full support.

I know.

Thank you.

That said, you know what Pastor Rick says about grudges.

It's like drinking poison and hoping to kill someone else.

Yeah, well, if it means he dies behind bars, I'm actually okay with that.

Get your hands off me, pig.

-Watch your mouth, punk. -You know what?

Why don't y'all spend your time catching real criminals?

That's 'cause drunk knuckleheads are easier to catch.

Oh, so he's a funny pig too.

Call me that again, see what happens to you.

Don't.

What?

Call him pig again.

Or you'll be fishing your teeth out of that commode over there.

What you in for, handsome?

Bar fight.

Yeah, some idiot put "Who Let the Dogs Out" on the jukebox.

Sounds like you did the public a service.

So I take it you're a frequent flyer around here.

I don't mean to brag, but, uh

they wanna give me a punch card.

-I'm Don. -Dixie.

Dixie?

Hey, you didn't used to live out on Oak Road, did you?

-Next to a house that burned down? -I sure did.

Oh, my God.

You're Don Hart.

And you're Dixie Bennings.

-How about that? -Wow.

What are you doing tomorrow, Dixie?

-Depends. -On what?

What time they let us out.

Is there a sadder place than a honky-tonk at 8:00 a.m.?

I like it.

You don't end up here unless you got a story to go with it.

I mean, look at her.

- I bet she's got a good one, right?

What are you scribbling?

Inspiration for later.

What, are you a writer or something?

-Songwriter. -So you sing too?

Yeah, just never in public.

I get anxiety.

Well, you know, stage fright never killed nobody.

No. I could think of something that has.

You a smoker, Don?

No.

Then why would you monogram your initials on a lighter?

They're my dad's.

Donald Hart Sr. This was the only thing that survived the fire.

Kind of ironic, ain't it?

They ever catch the son of a bitch who done it?

Nope.

-You wanna know the worst part? -Mmm.

They got a box full of evidence gathering dust in some warehouse.

That's usually what happens when you come from where we do.

Yeah.

Hey!

Watch where you're going.

-You bumped into the lady here. -Got a problem?

Yeah, I guess that depends if you apologize.

The lady can speak for herself,

so mosey on along, tough guy.

Got a temper on you, huh, Don?

Ever think about taking a swing at what you're really mad at?

And what's that?

Fire.

Be a fireman.

Put all that rage into something that won't get you locked up

or your brains bashed in.

You know, I've actually thought about that ever since that night.

But what's the point when we both know it always falls apart in the end?

True. But

I bet it'd be one hell of a ride.

Besides, I bet you would look damn sexy in that uniform.

-Okay, Dix. -Hmm.

-I'll do it. -Mmm.

-On one condition. -What's that?

You take a ride with me.

If I make it through the academy, you start singing.

Stage fright be damned.

Deal?

Done, Don.

Us against the world.

What did you just call me?

I said "Done, Don." Why?

I thought you said, "DonDon."

And my mom used to call me DonDon.

Then it's meant to be.

Well, DonDon,

you just made yourself a deal with the devil.

To the ride.

Probie, come here.

What's up, LT? There a problem?

Yeah, I want you to look at this,

and I want you to tell me what you don't see.

-Tell you what I don't see? -Mm-hmm.

-I got nothing. -Taylor.

Hmm?

What do you think?

-No, I don't see it. -Yeah.

You two are evil.

-Y'all are messing with me. -No, no, no, no, no.

Take a nice close look.

-I promise you won't see it. -Can I have a hint?

-Mmm, what color don't you see? -That's good.

White, green, blue.

Ooh.

-Blue. -Blue.

-Oh, blue. -Blue!

I don't see myself in the reflection.

No, you do not. Wash it again.

Uh, Ry, Taylor, since you're all so generous with your feedback,

you can help him finish.

-Okay. -Yes, Cap.

Rox, can I, uh have a word with you?

Sure, Cap.

Step into my office.

So it's about that thing the other night.

Cap!

- Yeah feeling okay? - Yeah, so far, so good.

I just I don't want it to happen again.

The department has some great therapists on staff.

I don't have time for that.

I have to make a victim impact statement at a parole board hearing.

I'm sorry, but there's no magic pill.

- Panic attacks are a trauma response.

Every time I picture myself going in that room,

my jaw clenches, I feel the rage boiling, and I just

I try and fight it, but--

Your body shuts down.

Behavioral therapy can work wonders, even in a short amount of time.

Helped me a lot after a thing I went through when I was younger.

One thing I learned,

the first and most important step

to controlling trauma is naming it.

- What? - The good news is

you don't have to say anything to anybody.

You can write it down.

You talking about journaling?

Yeah, I thought it sounded silly too, but

it was a lifesaver.

Where would I even start?

At the beginning.

Okay, there's no AC,

the elevator's busted, and whatever you do,

do not flush the toilet and run the shower at the same time.

Any questions?

Uh, you said it's 300 a month?

Cash only.

I'll leave you lovebirds to discuss.

I hate it.

Come on, it's right off Broadway, the Honky Tonk Highway.

It's a dump, Don.

Hey, this is better than any place

I've laid my head in the last ten years.

That ain't a high bar.

Hey. This is all part of the ride, right?

Wherever we can be together, that's where we're gonna be happy.

What about all the times we ain't together?

You're gonna be working 24-hour shifts at the firehouse.

I'm gonna be singing nights.

Then let's make a promise to each other right now

to always show up for each other.

I'll be there for your shows in the evenings,

and you see me off in the mornings,

no matter how busy or tired we get.

That's the deal.

You and me against the world.

You and me against the world.

We'll take it!

All right, everyone, I want you to welcome our new probie,

Donald Hart.

Now there's one unbreakable rule here.

Until you can fold the hose into a hotel pack,

load it on my truck in under a minute, you cannot use the hose.

Understood, sir.

So

-are you ready? -I'm not ready.

Feel like I'm gonna die.

If you get nervous, just look at me. I'll be right here.

Here goes nothing.

Go.

Not bad, probie.

- Thank you, sir. - Not good either.

Two minutes, 14 seconds.

That's us, 113.

-Let's move! -Damn.

Come on, probie.

Showtime.

Okay.

Hey. Come on, lady's singing.

Baker, Franks, I need you to get out that inch-and-three-quarter line,

start hosing this thing down.

-Hey, Cap, where do you want me? -Crowd control.

Welcome to the big leagues.

Minute, seven seconds. Best one yet, probie.

I'm Margo.

- I got a manager! - I told you.

You are gonna be famous.

Rise and shine.

-Dix, what is this? -Steak and eggs.

You need to fuel up, fireman.

Come on!

2:52?

- Going in the wrong direction, probie.

Ricardo, run attack lines, knock down these flames.

Cap. What about me?

Crowd control.

All right, folks, back up, all right?

Give us a little bit of room, okay?

It's a public street. I'm just taking some pictures for my blog.

We're fighting a fire here.

They're fighting a fire. You're just being a goon.

- I said back up! - Hart! Hart!

You've been showing up tired, hungover, temper on a hair trigger.

Listen, I know you've had a hard shake in life.

Now, you wanna keep being angry at the world and making things worse,

or do something about it and make it better?

Better, sir.

Hey, Dix.

If it's all right with you, I might skip tonight.

Of course. Get some rest, DonDon.

-Forty-eight seconds. -Yeah!

Yes!

-Hey, Dix. It finally happened. -What happened?

- Captain Foster let me use the hose.

It was just a little brush fire, but

Why is your suitcase out?

'Cause I'm packing.

Packing for what?

Rome, Paris.

I forget after that, but, um

I'm going on tour.

- You're kidding. Dix, that's amazing.

But how? You haven't even cut your first record yet.

Oh, the label has me backing Faith Hill.

You're gonna be a backup singer?

Don't say it like it's some dirty word.

Is this what you really want?

Travel the world? Getting paid to do what I love? Hell yeah.

Okay. How long you gonna be gone?

Nine months.

Could be a year.

I'm sorry, when were you gonna tell me?

Telling you now.

Okay. So what does that mean for us?

We always knew this ride wasn't gonna last forever.

So that's it?

What happened to us against the world?

We made a We made a promise to each other, Dixie.

We've been breaking promises for a while now.

"To always be there for each other, no matter how busy or tired we got."

You made that promise, right?

Yeah, you're right.

It was fun while it lasted.

Yeah.

Who knows?

Maybe one day, the universe, it's gonna bring us back together.

Whatever you say, Dix.

DonDon.

Dix, what

what are you doing here?

My, uh, vocal surgeon's across the street. I just had my last pre-op.

Well, of all the cafés

I mean, you know the universe. Always brings us back together.

So what are you grinding so hard on?

Oh, it's, uh It's stupid.

Wait, don't tell me you're songwriting now.

No, it is a, uh

a trauma journal.

Oh. All right.

Definitely sitting down for this one.

Andrew Clarke has his first parole hearing coming up this week.

You're kidding.

I can't believe that murdering son of a bitch could actually go walking free.

I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen,

but in order to do that,

I have to make a victim's impact statement.

Without keeling over again.

A friend of mine told me the best way to deal with trauma

is just to write it down so it doesn't overwhelm you in the moment.

-How's that going for you? -Uh, it's not.

No, every time I start to

put down a memory, I

I feel the rage come back, and

and it all just goes

And it's just all it's all fuzzy. I don't know.

And you always did have a temper on you, DonDon.

But I think the problem now is that

it's just too painful.

Maybe.

You need to face this before you get into that courtroom

and it comes out and knocks you flat on your ass.

Well, how am I supposed to face something I can't even remember?

You want this piece of crap to pay for what he's done to you.

I mean, you want him to suffer like you've suffered to his dying breath.

More than anything.

Then let me remember for you.

I remember waking up to get a glass of water when I heard a scream.

Mom, Dad, the house is on fire!

Like no other scream I've heard before or since--

All right, Dix, please. I--

It's the only way, DonDon.

I remember hearing the baby's cry.

Okay, can you please stop?

Most of all, I remember that look on that little boy's face

in the hospital when he just realized he had no family to go home to.

Now write.

Hey, Baker. I wanted two inch-and-three-quarter lines up

five minutes ago.

All right, let's go! Let's knock these flames down.

-With me, probie. -You got it.

Come on, Aurora, come on. Y'all gotta get out of here.

-Come on, come on. -I got all the horses out of the barn,

but the fire just got so big.

Okay, we'll take care of it. Anybody else on the ground?

No, Daddy's away on business, and I think everybody else left for the night.

-Any idea how it started? -No, it's probably a faulty wire.

We were supposed to get the whole place rewired next week.

Stand back here. We'll handle it from here, okay?

- Okay. - All right?

Cap, we got ember cast!

It's going right to the horses. We have to move them back.

They're in danger. My horses.

-Hey! Stand here! -They will burn to death.

It's too dangerous.

-Should we move the lines? -We can't. It's too far.

So we move the truck.

Ma'am, do you have the keys to the truck?

Yeah, they're under the visor.

No, no, no, no. Don't. He's got it.

Don, come in. Do you copy?

Respond if you can hear me.

I'm good. I'm coming around the barn now, Cap.

- Sorry about your truck, ma'am. - Oh.

I don't care about the truck.

Hey, what's your name, hero?

-I'm Don. -Don.

I'm Blythe.

Hey, probie, you got a visitor.

-Me? Who? -You'll see.

What you got for me today?

That is lovely.

Don, you remember Blythe?

Well, hi again.

Her family's been very good to the department.

Hi.

I'll give you two a minute.

-Well, um, this is for you. -Oh.

Wow.

Nobody's ever, uh, made me a pie before.

That's the least I can do for you helping to save the horses.

I just moved a truck. You saved them.

Well, I'll never forget it.

Hey, would you like to go out sometime?

I don't know.

I've seen your house, Blythe.

Folks like you ain't meant to mix with folks like me.

Says who?

The whole damn world.

Hey, I'm not asking for your hand in marriage, okay?

I'm just asking if you're up for a little bit of fun.

Come on, Don. When is the last time that you had some fun?

All right. To get up, you're gonna put your foot in the stirrup,

-then swing your other leg over the side. -All right.

Go easy on me, boy. I've never done this before.

Come on. Quit moving, damn it.

How about we use a mounting block?

No, thanks.

Oh!

All right, look at you. On your way to the rodeo, cowboy.

Oh, yeah, that'll be the day.

Now you're just gonna give him a little kick, okay?

- Oof. Oh. Ow. - Oh.

And this is supposed to be fun?

Yeah, most fun there is.

I know something better.

Let the line down a little, and then reach back to your 2:00,

and then let it go.

-Okay. -Easy as that.

Whoa, boy. Easy, easy.

Okay.

Oh. Turns out I suck at this.

Whoa!

Are you okay?

Turns out I suck at this.

You're giving riding lessons now, Blythe?

Uh, Don, this is my brother Mark's friend, Patrick.

Are we not friends anymore?

Not anymore.

Okay then.

-Well, you two have fun. -Oh. We will. Don't you worry.

-It's your ex, huh? -Yeah.

You know you can take a deep breath and unclench your fists now.

Feel better?

A little, actually.

Hey, I could use a drink.

How about you?

I could always use a drink.

Okay. Well, it's official. You are never seeing my apartment.

-Oh. Oh! I got one. I got one. -There you go. Okay.

Oh, my God. Oh.

Best feeling in the world, right?

I know a better one.

My mom, my dad and my little sister.

And the worst part is they never even tried looking for the guy who did it.

The cops didn't even run DNA tests on any of the evidence.

Well, that's outrageous.

People like me are used to not mattering.

Hey.

Hey, that is not true.

You've got a beautiful spirit, Donald Hart.

So do you.

What? What are you laughing about?

Thought this was just about fun.

Yeah, I'm starting to think that it's more than that.

Well, then why do you look tense?

Because that means that it's time for you to meet my father.

You clean up nice.

Patrick.

-What are you doing here? -Ah, just hanging with Mark.

Had to get out of their hair before family lunch.

Yeah.

-That's why I'm here. -Oh, I know.

Meeting the king of the castle.

Oh, smooth move. Flowers for her, whiskey for him.

-You did make one critical error though. -Is that right?

The old man's gonna expect a full Windsor.

-Yeah, well, I don't know how to tie one. -Relax, all right? I got you.

Look, I can tell that you're nervous,

but you couldn't possibly blow it.

He already hates you.

What are you talking about?

Well, he was just telling Mark and me all about it.

Another one of Blythe's charity projects.

You're out of line, dude.

Just save yourself the humiliation, all right?

Get back in that piece of crap car and drive away.

You don't belong here.

You know what?

I'll let Blythe decide that.

You can play dress-up all you want.

You give a stray a bath, he's still a stray.

Donnie, what are you doing?

Stop it! What are you doing?

You should've heard what he said.

Well, I don't care what he said.

This is not how we deal with things.

You bring home trash, you get dirty.

Hey, watch your mouth.

Hey. You need to go.

You're a mess. You cannot meet my father like this.

Well, from what I hear, it's probably best

that I just don't meet him at all.

-What are we looking at? -A car plowed through a stop sign,

hit a cyclist at full speed.

The driver admitted he was filming a TikTok challenge, didn't even see her.

Unbelievable.

I'm so sorry. I can't I can't believe this is real.

-Does he have any injuries? -Not a scratch.

-Of course. What about the cyclist? -It's bad.

All right, Rox, Taylor, let's start giving treatment.

Ry, let's see if we can figure out a way to free her out of here.

Hi, ma'am, I'm Roxie. This is Taylor. We're gonna help you.

I'm Stacy.

I don't know how he didn't see me. I thought I thought he saw me.

Tay, you got the LIFEPAK?

Let's get her started on fluids. Run it wide open.

How's your pain, Stacy?

I I can't feel my legs.

Just keep your eyes open for me, okay?

Uh, Doc, you need to get, uh, eyes down here.

It looks like it's severing her abdominal aorta.

If we move this truck

Let's push ten milligrams of morphine.

Yeah.

Ma'am I see you got a wedding ring there.

There someone you'd like me to call?

So it's that bad?

Yeah.

I have a husband and two little girls.

I left them at home watching Bluey .

I should've stayed home with them.

Why don't you, uh Why don't you give me

your husband's number, all right?

Oh, no.

No, no, I can't have this be their last memory of me, no.

There is someone I'd like to speak to.

Who-Who Who's that?

Him.

Officer, bring him over. She wants to speak with him.

Me? I can't do that. I can't do that.

I'm not sure that's a good idea, Captain.

I don't care. This is my scene.

She gets to speak her piece.

Come on, let's go.

What's your name?

You look at her.

You owe her that much.

Freddie.

- I'm so-- - No, no, no, no,

we don't have time for your apologies.

Because of you, both our lives are over.

I'll never tuck in my little girls again.

But I want you to know,

I-I forgive you.

What? Why?

Because I can see you're suffering.

And your road will be long enough.

Because I want you to tell my family

that their mom died in peace,

just not full of anger,

just thinking about how much she loved them.

Okay.

I will.

-And, Freddie? -Yeah?

Hey. Hey, wait. Oh.

Blythe. What's going on?

I had something to tell you, but you haven't returned my calls all week.

Why did you go AWOL on me?

Look, I'm sorry, but we always knew

that this was never gonna work out.

Hey, I never thought that.

Do you love me, Don?

- That doesn't matter. - What? How can you say that?

Because good things always fall apart for people like me.

What do you mean people like you?

Foster kids.

Screwups. Rejects.

Hey. Hey, come here. Come here.

Don.

Those things may be a part of your story, but they do not define you.

Don, you deserve to be happy.

Yeah, that's not what your father's gonna say.

Okay, well, I don't give a damn

what he has to say, not if you love me.

Well, the question is, do you?

Yeah, more than anything.

Good.

'Cause I love you too.

Dixie, what the hell are you doing here?

I live here, don't I?

I thought you were on tour for another six months.

Turns out Faith can't handle having a backup singer more talented than she is.

-Who's this slut? -Excuse me?

Blythe, this is my ex, Dixie.

Blythe?

You're cheating on me with a bitch named Blythe?

Watch it. And I did not cheat on you, Dix.

You left me, remember?

How could you do this to me?

You wouldn't be a fireman if it weren't for me.

Tell me, what's she ever done for you?

She told me I was worth a damn.

Baby, she is just telling you what you want to hear.

Uh, no, actually I did not get to tell him what he wanted to hear. Thank you.

Now, I didn't say anything, but we made some calls

to lean on Nashville PD to test all that evidence, and

Well, they got a hit.

Wait, they know who killed them?

Yeah. Yeah, they just issued a warrant.

I wanted to take you down to the station.

The chief can tell you all about it.

-Oh, my God. Thank you. -Yeah. Yeah.

-Okay. What are we waiting for? Let's go. -Yeah, I'll drive you.

-Okay. -Okay.

-Bye, Dix. -Goodbye, DonDon.

I'm glad for you.

Okay. Come on.

Before we conclude the hearing,

we will open the floor to any impacted parties

who wish to share their testimony

as to whether or not inmate Andrew Clarke should be granted parole.

Anyone?

Mom, Dad!

Cap!

Anyone?

Donnie, you got this.

Please state your name for the record.

My name is, uh, Donald Hart.

Just breathe.

Andrew Clarke

murdered my family.

Twenty years ago,

I failed to tell this court how much pain and sorrow you caused me.

If I had,

I'm certain we wouldn't be here today 'cause you wouldn't be up for parole.

All these years, I've been ashamed of myself,

and, uh, the rage that I felt losing my family

only doubled when I couldn't face you.

I have spent my life stuffing it down

keeping it inside like it's some dirty secret.

Well, that that day is over.

I'm done hiding, keeping it in the shadows.

It's important that I I say this in front of those I love

because what you did affects so many of them too.

But I've realized that it wasn't you that I was afraid to face.

It was the family that I lost.

I have not been able to say my

my baby sister's name since the night she died.

Megan.

Her name was Megan.

The idea that you could walk out of here free.

That your suffering would be over. That is just

That is unacceptable to me, period.

-Thank you, Mr. Hart. -I'm not I'm not finished.

We had a call recently, uh

A cyclist was hit and killed by a man

who was driving his car and using his phone,

and you wouldn't believe it, but he was suffering more than she was.

Now, Mr. Clarke has sent me letters for 20 years.

I never opened one till I got home from work last night.

In his letters, he says that, uh,

he was just trying to scare my dad,

get him to pay back some money he owed, that he

he didn't know anyone was in the house when he set the fire.

He said it was the worst decision he ever made.

He's still tortured by it.

And reading his words, I-I I think that he is remorseful.

Mr. Clarke, you

you and I share a horrible bond.

We're gonna take that to our graves.

A wise woman told me recently that holding a grudge is like, uh

it's like drinking poison and hoping that it kills someone else.

Well, uh

Well, I'm putting that poison down today.

I forgive you, Mr. Clarke.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you all for coming.

There is nowhere else we'd rather be than supporting our cap.

Yeah, you did great out there. Steady as a rock.

Uh I could not have done that without you.

- Hey, proud of you. - Thanks, bud.

-You think he'll get out? -I don't know.

Parole board still has to deliberate, but I didn't do it for him.

Well, I, for one, would like to get to know my grandparents a little better.

-And my aunt Megan. -Yeah, me too.

Well, if you two buy me a cold beer,

I'll tell you everything I remember.

-Well, there we go. -I can do that.

Okay.

Hey, I heard that you ran into Don at that café.

Don told me what you did.

So

- thank you. - I didn't do it for you.

Well, all the same.

If it weren't for you, I don't think that he could have gotten up there.

Well, wouldn't be the first time I build him up

and you take him home, would it?

Take care, Dixie.

Enjoy him while you can.

Universe always brings us back together.

Hey. Another one of these, please.

Buddy, you already had half the bottle.

Well, then we're only halfway there.

My wife and I separated.

I hoped we'd get back together,

but big daddy made sure that didn't happen.

I'm sorry, pal.

Well, well, well, looky here.

Dixie?

Hi, DonDon.