Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law.

I'm going to kill you!

Play games!

You don't say no to me!

He kept coming, and so I shot him.

I shot a guy once. I had the whole thing.

Flashbacks, night sweats, the denial.

When it gets hard to handle, give me a call, okay?

Okay. I want to have a baby, Ann. What about you? I'll be damned if I'm going

let you railroad me into caving in on something so important, Stuart.

It takes two.

You keep forgetting that, Stuart. You could have world -class Olympic sperm.

still takes two.

Aren't you Douglas Brackman?

I'm sorry. Do I know you?

We have a lot of friends in common.

Like who?

Your wife.

Oh. Summons and complaints.

All right, we have a lot of ground to cover, so why don't we get started?

Fire away, Ernie.

We're already in agreement on the children.

The house goes to Sheila. Douglas provides $2 ,500 a month in maintenance

continues to pay the utilities.

Place in Santa Barbara gets sold and proceeds split.

Unless you want to hold on to it. No, no.

Douglas establishes a trust fund for the kids' education to be administered by

Sheila.

Sheila's interest in Mackenzie Brackman to be bought out for $200 ,000, payable

upon execution.

Sounds good so far.

Sheila? It's fine.

Sheila takes the Jaguar, Douglas takes the Mercedes, and maintains the

on both.

The stamp collection inherited from Douglas's father and augmented with

community assets will be retained by Douglas.

Only because it's a link to my father.

It's fine, really.

Well, that's substantially it.

I've prepared a schedule of everything so you can verify the figures.

Great.

Well, I must say I never expected such an amicable get -together.

Arnie, Stan... Here's one more thing. Your place in the Brockman family plot.

What about it?

I'm keeping it for you.

I want the ages to find us together.

That's a beautiful gesture.

Actually, Douglas, I'd just as soon make my own arrangements.

Anyway, it's there if you want it. Just a second, Arnie.

Sheila, we have a prime location at Encino Knolls overlooking the golf

Our sons will join us when their time comes.

If you remarry, your future husband can even be interred there. I have an option

on the entire hillside.

Sublet it. You'll make out great.

In any event, it's only a minor detail. We can always work it out in the papers.

Just a minute.

I want us laid to rest as a family. But we're not a family. We have kids.

Married or not, you're their mother, I'm their father.

Can our only real permanent address finally acknowledge that?

If I thought I was going to be buried with you, that alone would give me the

will to go on living forever.

Victor. Keith Offering. Lakers game, Thursday night. What do you say? Great

news. All right.

What's the word on Abby, Michael? She's cleared. Good.

The DA is satisfied that she shot him in self -defense and that the gun was

legal. Any other referrals to send her away, Douglas?

Should we get started?

First of all, since there seems to be some perverse pleasure in ignoring my

repeated request to cut back on the flagrant waste of paper goods around

I've taken some unilateral action.

Beginning tomorrow, reusable cloth towel dispensers will be installed in both

laboratories. Duly noted.

And how goes the Amanda Shaw libel case?

Trial starts a week from today. I have better than six full cartons of

depositions to go through by then.

Are you at all available, Victor?

I have a court appearance tomorrow, but I can give you some time after that.

Israel et al.

versus Lawler Millicron? Yeah, it's me. It's a shareholder derivative suit, and

Lawler's house counsel brought us in to help beat it back. And I'm going to need

some help.

chasing down the bona fides of the plaintiffs. I'm preparing the Castellano

for trial, but sure, I'll squeeze it in.

I'd really appreciate it.

We need to get some new associates in here. No kidding.

Who do you think placed ads in the paper and spent the last week and a half

interviewing people?

Anyone even close? No, a singularly unimpressive lot so far.

Well, we keep looking. That's all we can do.

You know, for what it's worth, the guy I'm up against in the Takowski case

be great. Who is it? Richard Mathers, a sole practitioner. He's really great on

his feet.

I went up against him in the salamander case. He is good.

What's his background?

University of Pennsylvania, 83.

Does a lot of commercial litigation.

I dated a girl who was in that class.

Why don't you check him out? How goes the case, Michael?

Well, I offered to throw in the policy one last time, and they turned it down.

We should have upped the offer.

No, I disagree.

Gil Takowski sold this guy a car.

This guy gets in an accident.

Where's the liability?

It was a souped -up car.

The plaintiff was incompetent to drive it. That doesn't mean our guy's on the

hook. He's the one that swooped it up? Well, there's nothing negligent about

selling a guy a GTO TriPower if that's what he wants to buy.

Personally, I fail to see the appeal.

Really?

Not me.

I had a 64 Impala, lifted front and back, candy paint, and a set of gold

Dayton's with 520 Sportaways all around.

It's my carruccia firma, I say.

I think I fitted that all in for a briefcase in a Japanese sedan.

Well... When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child. I

thought as a child.

But when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now, we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.

Ain't that the truth?

Lieutenant Ringstrom's here to see you. Thank you.

Miss Perkins?

Hi. Hi.

How are you holding up?

Fine.

Glad to hear it.

Oh, uh... I'm returning your gun.

Um... Could you put it back?

Please.

Sure. I thought you might have wanted it back.

Not yet.

Um... I can't. I'm sorry. I should have contacted you before I brought it over.

Couldn't even look at it. Abby, someone tried to kill you. You didn't let them.

So how come I keep crying for no reason?

How come all I can think about is what those little bullets did? His whole body

jerked every time he was hit.

I must play it back in my head in slow motion a hundred times a day.

Why don't you think about taking some time off?

Because I only have a handful of cases as it is.

And I can't afford to let any of them go.

Can't you put them on hold for a little while?

How can I put them on hold?

I have two trials starting this month. I have a client who's fighting an

eviction. I said I'd write a habeas corpus writ for some guy who's in

And I don't even have any idea where my next month's rent is coming from.

Plus, I have to interview some biker in Fontana, who I need as a witness. But

I've been putting that off, mostly because I am scared to death.

Would it help if I went along?

I can't ask you to do that. Why not?

I moonlight for attorneys all the time. My fees are reasonable.

And if you need to, you can always run a tab.

The thing is, I have to do it tomorrow.

I'll pick you up.

Here we are. Oh, boy, a door prize.

See that?

Whoever said that going to the gynecologist wasn't fun?

Okay. What do I do?

Your basal temperature chart shows your regular monthly ovulation.

The kit uses a urine sample to pinpoint exactly when.

Given Stewart's firm count, the odds are against you.

But at least you'll be able to maximize your chances.

Doesn't sound very romantic, does it? Wanting babies is what is romantic.

Steps you take don't have to be.

I'll try to remember that.

How are you two managing?

Oh, we've been better.

It's not an easy thing.

Stuart always thought it would just be a matter of making up his mind.

He has a hard time accepting the fact that it's not.

What about you?

Oh, I don't know, Karen.

The thought of never really being pregnant, feeling the baby kicking, you

the whole thing, that makes me pretty sad.

Ann, listen.

I know how much this means to you, and you're doing everything you can.

Don't give up.

I won't.

Thanks.

You're saying, then, that your husband was a terrible driver.

It was a standing joke among everyone who knew him.

We were just glad that he drove slowly. After he bought the hot rod in question,

did you ever ride with him in it? Object to the term hot rod.

Abstained.

After he bought the modified 1964 Pontiac GTO in question, did

you ever ride with him in it? Only once.

I refused to after that. I was terrified.

It skidded all over the place. It lurched when he started it up.

It was obvious that he didn't know how to control it. Ask that the witness's

response be stricken in its entirety, Your Honor, to the extent that she is

testifying as to the specific driving capabilities of her husband or the

behavior of an automobile. She is wholly unqualified.

She's testifying to what she saw.

Well, she was, in her own words.

I'll allow the answer, but I'd like you to move on, Mr. Mathers.

Could you tell us what special care your husband requires, Miss Tolan?

Objection. She's not qualified as a doctor, either. She doesn't have to be a

doctor. She lives with him.

Overruled. Gentlemen, please.

Barry has to have someone with him at all times. I work during the day now, so

we have a nurse five days a week.

He...

He needs physical therapy, anti -seizure medication, and monthly examinations.

Look at him.

This bright, bright man.

College professor before he was 30.

This terrific talker who doesn't talk anymore.

Knowing the way he used to be and seeing him now.

I'm only sorry that he knows the difference.

I have no further questions.

Would you like to take a few minutes?

No. I'm... I'm fine.

Miss Toland, did your husband characterize himself as a terrible

No.

What man does.

None that I know of.

In fact, didn't your husband, like most men, think of himself as a simply

sensational driver?

Objection. The witness is in no position to know what her husband thought.

Sustained. Miss Toland, did you ever tell your husband that you were against

buying this GTO?

Yes, I did. Of course.

He said that it was the quintessential muscle car and that he could handle it.

But he was just bragging, though. No.

It was more like he was trying to convince himself.

Do you suppose that he was just bragging to Gil Takowski when he went to buy the

car? My husband had a natural curiosity about a great many things.

He was a scholarly man, not this braggart that you're making him out to

I've offended you, I apologize.

Let me suggest that it was his very scholarliness which permitted him to

assimilate massive amounts of arcane detail, which he would then spew forth

an attempt to impress whomever he was talking to. Objection.

Counsel's making a speech.

Let me suggest...

that he set out to convince the defendant not only that he was capable

driving that car, but that he was also an old hand at it. Your Honor, I've

lodged an objection.

I want a ruling.

What's the question, Mr. Cusack? Doesn't that sound like your husband, Miss

Toland?

Doesn't that sound like what this terrific talker would do?

I have no further questions at this time, Your Honor.

Hang on.

I checked on Richard Maddox. Oh, yeah? What's the book on him? There is none.

My friend who went to the University of Pennsylvania never heard of him.

Martindale Hubble doesn't list him. The California State Bar Association, the

American Bar Association have absolutely no record of him.

How can that be? They've got a record of every lawyer.

That's right.

What are you trying to tell me? That he's not a lawyer? Never went to law

school, never passed a bar, never got admitted in this state or any other.

Now, you have my resume, Mr. Bracken. I do indeed.

I'll be expecting your call.

Excellent.

Thanks for coming in.

By the way, I like the organizational dynamics I see around here.

I think I could play a role.

You at all close to a decision, Douglas?

Nussbaum's been calling me like every half hour.

I never thought a grave would matter that much to me, Arnie. Well, I've got

tell you, it's about the stupidest argument I've ever heard. Everything

asking for is totally unenforceable from your end. It costs her nothing. The

fact that you two feel fit to make it a deal -breaker tells me you're still

looking to stay attached.

Did it ever occur to you that I might just be a little terrified of the great

beyond? That I might just want to surround myself with the people I've

closest to?

That there just might be some strength in numbers? What numbers?

No matter who you're lying next to.

You go out of this life alone.

I don't want to go out alone. No?

Much part of being human is what you're doing right now.

So is wanting a family.

Douglas, a cluster of tombstones is not a family. You need to let her go. You

need to get on with your own life.

Am I right, Benno?

Right, Arnie.

You long for peace.

You long for stability.

but your emotions keep you on a rollercoaster ride through hell.

Ann?

Oh, Madame Curie.

So tell me, are we close to a breakthrough yet?

You just made me spill urine all over the Shaw complaint.

Damn it.

Maybe you should put a little red light or something outside your door.

Maybe I should just check into a sanitarium.

I have the Shaw trial starting this week.

I have the Voorhees appeal due the first of next month.

I'm about to get hit with sanctions if I don't provide Jeff Little's firm with

the discovery they're after in Kaplowitz. And what am I doing?

This.

So tell me, has the magic dot appeared yet?

As a matter of fact, it has.

Great.

Good. Okay.

Good. So, figure on sex twice within the next three days. Good.

Go.

You want to be a little more precise about that? I mean, I've got a pretty

week myself.

I mean, what is exactly our window of opportunity?

All right, do it.

Starting within the next 40 hours and lasting for 30 hours.

All right, so that means any time between now and 3 a .m. Thursday until 7

Friday. Right.

Right.

Now I can plan my week.

Would you excuse me, please?

Yeah.

Tell me this.

Am I the first to find out about you?

Find out what?

You must be knowing that someday someone will check you out.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, Counselor.

Come on.

Like I have a problem.

We both got a problem.

If I go to the court right now with what I know about you, there'll be an

automatic mistrial. Since my client has spent more than $50 ,000 in legal fees

and waited more than three and a half years to get this little matter

he doesn't want a mistrial.

Get to the punchline.

Recommend that your client accept the settlement order.

Would you sell out your client to protect yourself?

I don't consider it a sellout. It was a reasonable offer before we went to

trial. It's an even more reasonable offer now.

You think I got you beat, Mike.

If I thought you had me beat, I'd go in there and have a mistrial declared right

now. You want to turn me in, turn me in.

But don't threaten to expose me as a way to jack up my client.

No settlement?

On the terms you're offering, no chance.

Okay.

What are you going to do?

Excuse me.

I'm looking for Randy Huggins.

So?

Someone told me I could find him here.

Who told you that?

I'm a lawyer. I represent Val Mecco.

I don't talk to lawyers. It's against my religion.

Excuse me.

Are you a lawyer, too? No, actually, I'm a lieutenant with the Los Angeles

Police Department.

And just looking around, I notice you've got a need -rated patron asleep on your

premises. You're smoking a cigarette behind the bar, both violations of the

Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Plus, I just bet the water you're washing those

glasses in isn't quite hot enough.

The guy with the long hair playing pool.

I appreciate it.

Randy Huggin?

Who's asking?

My name's Abigail Perkins.

And?

I'd like to talk to you about Val Necco.

Your testimony might be the only thing that keeps him out of prison.

Val Necco.

I've never heard of no Val Necco before.

You his old lady or something?

No, I'm his attorney.

She's an itty -bitty thing, ain't she?

Just your type.

I bet if you take off your shirt, Randy will tell you whatever you want about

him. Hey.

She just wants to ask a few questions.

So why don't you give her a break, huh?

What are you, a cop?

Why? You doing something illegal?

I'm playing pool.

Eight ball in the corner.

Oh, come on now, fellas.

Are you going to make her get a subpoena?

Hey, you're in my way.

Come on, Bill.

Forget about it. Let's just go, okay? Yeah, take your girlfriend and get out

here. Better yet, you split and leave the chick with us.

Think you like that, baby?

Hey, you're being rude.

Get your fingers out of my chest.

Why? Am I hurting you?

Not nearly as much as I'm going to hurt you.

Mr. Takowski, would you please describe your business for us? I have a shop in

Redondo Beach where I restore and modify American performance cars.

GTOs, Chevelles, Kudas.

And when Barry Toland came into your shop, what exactly did he say?

He said he wanted to buy a goat.

Which you took to mean?

A Pontiac GTO.

And did you ask him if he'd ever driven a car like that before?

No, sir, I did not.

Why's that?

because he talked like an expert, like he had driven one all of his life.

Thank you.

I have no further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Takowski, how is the GTO that Mr. Toland purchased from you different from

one he could have bought at a Pontiac dealer?

You want me to be specific?

I want you to be very specific.

I bored out the engine, put in oversized pistons, Edelbrock manifold,

Hedman headers, Olicarbs.

Isky Cam. Even more of a muscle car than the stock model.

You could say that, yeah. Quicker off the line, more power, shorter response

time. Object to counsel's commentary.

Sustained. Strike it. That Isky Cam was modified to what's known as three

-quarter race, right?

That's right. That made the car rev a lot faster than a stock GTO, didn't it?

Yeah. It also made it far more apt to lurch forward, didn't it? Calls for a

conclusion. He's qualified to make a conclusion.

Yeah, the witness can answer.

It would only lurch forward if he didn't know how to drive it.

Exactly.

Thank you.

Now, that being the case, didn't you think it prudent to take Mr. Toland for

little ride around the block to see if he did know how to drive it? There was

reason to think that he didn't.

He came in knowing exactly what he wanted. I don't think he wanted to be

damaged for the rest of his life.

Objection. Sustained and stricken. I didn't send for this guy. I ain't no

hustler. I do what I do for people who like to drive fast cars.

That's enough, Mr.

Takowski. I'm sorry, Judge. I don't get it. Why is this my fault?

The man's a big shot professor.

I didn't even finish the eighth grade.

Why should I look out after him? Because you knew what you were doing.

And he didn't.

That's why.

Great.

Hi. Hi. I heard you were signed an echo case. Yeah.

Think we can plead it out, go have lunch?

Well, my guy will still be facing a parole violation.

He's not expecting accommodation from the mayor, is he?

What I really need is a continuance.

Well, it would put me in a bad spot.

I have two witnesses down here ready to testify. All I'm looking for is a week.

You've had two continuances already. You asked for another one. The judge is

going to pin your ears down. Not if you don't oppose it.

You're not going to care if I oppose it or not.

This is McGrath we're talking about, Abby.

Look, Grace, I'm a little shaky right now.

Can't you, of all people, understand that?

Yes.

That's why I think that you should let them reassign a few of your cases and

give yourself the time you need.

Thank you very much.

I'll take my chances with McGrath.

People versus Valentin Neko.

Your Honor, may I approach the bench?

Your Honor, the people aren't ready to proceed at this time. What?

My apologies to the court, but I respectfully request a two -week

Your predecessor assured me that this one was ready to go.

I know, Your Honor. He told me there'd be no more delays.

My present calendar just got hopeless. And he especially promised me that I

wouldn't have to hear...

Any excuses about how busy anybody was.

Two -week continuance.

Marked final against both sides.

Next case.

People versus Lawrence Edward Cohn.

This one yours too, uh, Ms. Van Owen?

Yes, it is, Your Honor.

You gonna ask me for another continuance?

No, Your Honor. The people are ready to proceed.

Well, how nice.

Thank you.

Who's next?

Dorothy Wyler.

Ms. Wyler.

Hello.

You've worked for Judge Gladwin.

Yes.

You were an associate at Harborne Bullock.

Have a seat.

You did a lot of appellate work, I see.

I was never really a courtroom person, but I know my way around a law library.

Where have you been since 1969?

Well, I stopped work when my youngest was born.

He just turned 19.

I found myself recently divorced, so here I am.

You've been gone quite a while.

My skills will be a little rusty, but I'll get them back.

I've taken a few courses with PLI, and one thing I've never been accused of is

being lazy.

Ms. Weiler, I admire your determination.

But I'm wondering if you've forgotten what it's like to be a junior associate

a busy firm.

In other words, is a 52 -year -old woman prepared to take orders from an

associate half her age?

Well, yes.

Why on earth would you want to put yourself through all that?

Compared to my divorce?

Let me tell you, it's nothing.

The papers on mine were supposed to be filed this week.

I'm sorry.

I must say, as miserable as we were together, the emotional reality of

the sense of personal failure, has devastated me.

I was devastated, too.

There are still mornings when I lie there thinking that there isn't a

person in the world who'd notice whether or not I got out of bed.

The mornings are the worst time for me, too.

You're drifting in and out of sleep, reliving other mornings from years ago.

The kids were little and they'd climb into bed.

The whole family borrowing underneath the blanket, all sleepy and warm.

Only now, when you open your eyes, the kids are gone.

Your wife is gone.

And there's no one there but you.

It isn't always easy to let go and get on with things.

You've done it.

Only because I looked at my life for what it was instead of what I'd hoped it

would be.

Sometimes we want things to be a certain way so badly we lose sight of the way

they really are.

Ultimately, I didn't let go of the marriage.

I let go of an illusion.

Anyway, I'm sure you're not that interested in my personal life.

I have a feeling I'm not what you're looking for.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Breckman.

Ms. Weiler.

I have to talk to my partners, but... Would you be able to start Monday?

The defendant profits.

by providing driving enthusiasts with cars designed for maximum thrills and

minimum safety.

Now, I don't think I'm being unreasonable in asking that he take a

precautions so that these lethal instruments not be lurching out of

our streets.

When he sold that car to Barry Toland, he set in motion an accident waiting to

happen. And for that, he was horrendously negligent.

To the plaintiffs, and to each and every one of us who drive...

who walk or who guide our children across the street.

My client had a professorial love of popular culture.

He liked the sound of saying he had a 64 goat, but he didn't have a clue what it

would be like to drive one.

He never considered that if he shifted wrong, the rear end would seize up, the

wheels would lock, and he would be sent into a concrete wall. Now, I think

Giltikowski had an obligation.

to ascertain the degree of Barry Tolan's expertise.

All it would have taken was a ride around the block. But if he had warned

it might have cost him the fail.

Justice demands that his negligence cost him more.

Much more.

Wouldn't it be great...

If we could all be protected from ourselves.

Steep ski slopes could be made gentle so that the clumsy wouldn't fall.

Raging rivers could be dammed so that the inexperienced wouldn't drown.

Spirited horses could be broken so the neophyte wouldn't be thrown.

Our lives would all be made a little safer and a little duller until one day

we'd look up and wonder what had become of us.

If you fine for the plaintiff in any degree, if you impose on an honest

tradesman like Gil Takowski the obligation to be a surrogate parent for

person who walks into his shop, then you will wipe him out.

Richard Mathers might say that's a small price to pay. After all, who wants

these gas -guzzling speedsters racing down our streets anyway?

Well, I'm here to tell you that if we lose the Gil Takowskis of this world, we

lose something of ourselves as well.

If we straightjacket the genius, if we punish the audacity found in the back

alleys and industrial flats of this country, if we judge a product solely on

safety in the hands of the incompetent, then we will find ourselves living under

the tyranny of the mediocre in a land where the lowest common denominator

Now, we can feel bad for what happened to Barry Toland without relieving him of

the responsibility for bringing it about.

But if we blame Gil Takowski,

we punish the dreamer for his dreams,

and we reduce every last one of us in the process.

On the charges of negligence, fraud, and breach of warranty, we find for the

defendant.

At this time, I'd like to thank the jury for its time and patience.

Your Honor, I move that the court set aside the verdict and declare a misdraw.

On what grounds? The plaintiffs were not represented by an attorney at law.

They were represented by you. I'm not an attorney, Your Honor.

And even though these people didn't know anything about it, counsel for the

defense did.

thereby placing me at a severe disadvantage in terms of a negotiating

Gentlemen, in my chambers.

Juries to be held.

Your Honor, the paramount issue here must be the interest of the parties, not

the misconduct of an attorney or an individual serving in that capacity.

Excuse me, I'll get to you later.

Mr. Cusack, are you at all familiar with the canon of ethics as it pertains to

an attorney's obligation when he discovers the unauthorized practice of

Your Honor. When he's made aware of the ongoing commission of a crime?

Forgive me, Your Honor, but I didn't think that my client should be

by this man's fraud.

He didn't hesitate to try to victimize my clients with his own opportunism,

though. Thank you, Mr. Mathers.

You weren't going to say anything unless you lost.

Is that right, Mr. Cusack?

All I was doing was trying to mitigate the damage. That isn't your role. When

you found out, you had an obligation to reveal what you knew.

Period. With all due respect, Your Honor, Mr. Mathers may be lacking in

character, but his clients receive legal representation at least as good as that

provided by most of the licensed practitioners to be found in these

in no way vitiates the need for a mistrial.

There is a presumptive conclusion that a party can receive adequate

representation only from an attorney licensed to practice.

The Tolan's got a fair trial. Justice isn't served by declaring it void. Thank

you for your commentary, gentlemen.

Mr. Cusack, despite your rhetoric, you were party to defrauding this court.

I'm declaring this a myth trial, and I'm referring you to the disciplinary

committee of the Bar Association. You can tell them how you were trying to

the interests of justice.

Mr. Mathers.

Is this the first case you've lost?

No. Then why the confession now?

Because these people were more innocent and more ruined than any clients I ever

had before. That's why. They had terrific lives and...

Wham, the bottom fell out. Placed their trust in me to try to obtain for them a

little financial security.

Seems like honoring that trust is a little more important than covering my

Gene, will you come in here?

You're smooth, mister.

But I suspect that whatever you'll call yourself, whatever...

Afraid you'll appear to ply, first, last, and forever.

You'll always be a con man.

Lock Mr. Mathers up.

Hi.

Hi. Sit down.

You want a beer?

Sure.

Here you go. Thank you.

Here.

What's this?

A sworn statement from Randy Huggins. I believe it gives your client just what

he's looking for.

How'd you get it?

I can be very persuasive.

You're not going to die of internal injuries before the trial date?

Never laid a hand on him.

You must have ice water in your veins.

Don't you believe it. I've just learned a few tricks to make it look that way.

Hey.

Come on now, take it easy. Here, here.

I'm sorry.

It's just that a lot of people have been doing me a lot of favors lately.

And it makes me feel so helpless, like I can't take care of myself.

Which I guess I can't very well right now.

Listen to me.

I killed a guy who was holding a hostage. Put six shots in his head while

holding a knife to a woman's throat.

So I'm a big hero, right? My picture's in the paper, the whole thing.

A month later, I'm on medical disability.

Sitting home all day with the shades drawn, drinking vodka and watching

television.

Now I'm not a hero.

I'm just a basket case.

Well, you managed to pull yourself together pretty well.

Little by little, you put it behind you. How?

Don't try to pretend it didn't happen.

I mean, don't try to tough it out.

When it gets rough, call me.

You're not alone.

And you take this good care of everyone?

No, the truth is I don't.

Well, I've got a wicked crush on you, Abigail.

You might as well know it.

Oh, boy.

Hey, it's not going to be a problem. If you want to keep it strictly business,

that's fine.

No, I'm not okay.

Because I'm attracted to you, too.

That said, you'll excuse me. I have to get home. Wait a minute.

Shouldn't we talk about this?

There's nothing to talk about.

Bill, this is a mistake that is not going to happen. Excuse me.

As attracted to you as I might be, I'm not looking for a hot weekend. Neither

I. Well, I don't have time in my life for anything more.

I have a seven -year -old son to raise. I have a struggling law practice to

contend with, and I can't... Let me help.

No.

It won't work. I'm in the basket case right now. I don't trust any of my

impulses, and I don't want to have to pick up the pieces when they turn out to

be wrong.

Would you consider allowing for the possibility that your impulses just

right?

No.

Good night.

Still not ready to go home? I'm not even close.

So what are we supposed to do?

Tonight's the night.

I can't help it. I have to prepare for trial.

It's like I've been hearing about that trial for a month now.

What do you want to do?

You want to forget about it or what?

Now's the time.

Let's do it now.

What, here? Why not?

Because this is a law office. That's why not. You know what, Stuart?

I don't really care.

Do you think I've been hunched over my test pads and medicine droppers trying

calculate the right time, only to have you tell me you don't like the

atmosphere? Yeah, well, pardon me for being approved, but I generally like to

confine this activity to the privacy of a bedroom.

Well, we don't have that luxury.

Let's go. Take off your pants.

Fine.

What do you want?

Just to talk to you for a minute.

Look, I've got some things to be sorry about.

Not the least of which was that whole business about the grave.

I know it's important to you.

Forget I ever mentioned it.

Arnie will draw up the papers and send them over to Nussbaum, just like we

You mean it?

It'll be good to get it done with Douglas.

Are the kids home?

They're having dinner at the Nathanson's.

Ah.

You want to come in?

I don't think so.

Boy, if this is what we wanted, how come we're both so glum?

We slept in the same bed together for nearly our entire adult lives.

I know.

It's hard to imagine that it's all come to an end.

It hasn't really.

No.

We have kids.

That'll give us something to fight about for years.

You're right.

It's not being dead together, but it's something.

I guess so.

Are you sure you don't want to come in and have a cup of coffee?

Thanks.

I should probably be going.

Another time.

Good night.

You can't be telling me you're actually going to do more work between now and

tomorrow morning. Hey, if I pick up the file now, I go directly to court in the

morning, which means I have an extra half an hour of sleep, which means I'm

rested, which means I do a better job. Aha!

The sleep litigation efficiency theory. Better it is. Right.

Whoa. I didn't know anyone was in here.

Yeah, well, there are two people in here.

So why don't you close the door, John?

Absolutely.

You happy now?

What's that supposed to mean?

Well, don't forget, this was all your idea.

Oh, right.

You had nothing to do with it.

What?

Ann? Stuart?

Yes, Victor. It's Ann and Stuart.

And right now we're not receiving visitors.

No problem.

At least we could get dressed.

I can't get dressed. I have to leave my legs up.

How many times do I have to tell you that?

By the way, Stuart, you're in great shape on the stock purchase. The

inherited their shares, and the base that they took shows the valuation date

after the alleged Altravera's act.

Get out of here, Jonathan.

What's the matter with that guy?

You know, you guys never even asked us if we enjoyed the game.

Look, I think maybe there's another way to go about this.

Tell me how.

Once we have the baby, does it really matter where we got it?

Adoption.

We ought to give it a shot.

It's not just because it's too much trouble for our busy, busy lives, is it?

Ann.

It's because I love you too much to feel this desperate.

And it's because I don't ever think you're going to get pregnant with me.

I love you Stuart.

I love you so much.