Army Wives (2007–2013): Season 1, Episode 4 - One of Our Own - full transcript

Instead of comforting each-other now his father Frank is MIA, probably dead, Jeremy's ma meanly tries to make the boy feel guilty. Sergeant Peter Belgrad takes his doctor and the major's wife hostage to demand a meeting with his CO, who stupidly failed to report truly his previous armed break-down. The doc gets to the bottom of his unit's bloody Afghanistan mission trauma, but just before Belgrad can hand over his pistol a sharpshooter kills him. Trevor LeBlanc's adoption papers for Finn and T.J. get filed to his delight.

Previously on Army Wives...

Wow, Amanda. You look great.

You're the one going to West Point,
mister officer, sir.

I don't know about that.
Is your father home?

I hit my mother again, sir.

I should wipe this floor with your ass.

You tell your father what you did.

Why is it okay for me to marry Trevor
and yet I can't let him adopt my kids?

Because they're your kids.

What I did over there...

If you knew, you wouldn't love me.



Do you hear that? She's crying.

- We have to help them.
- We did help them.

You did this.

I had a soldier admitted
for a psych evaluation. Sort of lost it.

- Were you in any danger?
- Nope.

- Is there anything I can do?
- No.

Here's the file
you requested, Dr. Burton.

Look, I got to go, okay? My time is up.

I love you, Frank. Always.

Always, always, baby.

Claudia Joy. May I
speak to you for a moment, please?

There's been an accident.
It was a Black Hawk.

I'm sorry to tell you, Frank was aboard
the chopper that went down.

They don't know yet if Frank is
one of the missing or one of the dead.



When will we know something?

We should have IDs on the deceased
within 24 to 48 hours.

I need to go home.

You can't be alone.
You stay here. We have plenty of room.

No, I need to be in my home.
Frank might try to call.

Then I'm coming with you.

- Sweetheart, wait.
- You know what?

- I really don't need you to come.
- I want to come.

Maybe we should call Jeremy first.

You know what?
After all he's put me through,

I couldn't care less
about Jeremy right now.

Thanks for inviting me
to the movie, Amanda.

I had to. You had the face on.

- What?
- The face.

The one that says, "I'm buying a ticket
to the Australian outback

"and going to live
with the bush people. "

A lot of people have it
after talking to my dad.

Well, we just had some serious things
to talk about. That's all.

Look, anyways, I should go.

It's good seeing you again, Amanda.
You, too, Emmalin.

Jeremy.

Is everything okay?

We can go get a coffee or something.

It's all right.

I'll see you around.

Jeremy, man,
what are you doing here?

- Haven't you heard?
- Heard what?

A Black Hawk went down in Iraq.
They're saying your dad was onboard.

Jeremy!

If Frank's one of the missing,
then what?

Each situation is different.

- It could take days, weeks...
- Weeks?

...sometimes even months
before we find him.

I'll tell you this, though, ladies.

I'm going to do everything in my power
to bring those soldiers home.

Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

Are you all right, honey?

Yeah, I think so.

Mom!

What's... What's going on?

She's in shock, sweetheart.

Do you know anything?

I'm sorry. We don't.

Come on. Let's go inside.

- Mom.
- Denise?

Denise.

- What are you doing?
- There was no word from Frank.

I have to go there.

You need to stay here.

Frank would come for me if I was hurt,

so I have to go there for him,
to be where he is.

Mom? Are you crazy?
You can't go to Iraq.

You, of all people, should not be
telling me what to do right now.

Mom, what is the matter with you?

Your father might be dead, Jeremy.

That's what's the matter with me.

And you know what? The last time
I spoke to him, I lied to him about you,

telling him what a good son you are,
going to West Point.

I lied to my husband and I get
to live with that for the rest of my life.

And you?

You hit me, Jeremy.

You hit me and you betrayed him

and you get to live with that
for the rest of your life.

Now get out of my way. Both of you.

- Denise.
- Claudia Joy,

- I have to get to the airport.
- No, you're not.

You're not leaving this house,
you're not getting on an airplane,

and you're not flying to Iraq.

You're staying right here, with me.

Twenty-eight seconds. Not bad.

One out of the black. Damn it.

I spent eight hours a day
for the last six weeks just shooting,

and I always pull the last one.

It's like I have a mental block
or something.

Okay, Chase. You dragged me out here
at the crack of dawn.

I know it's an emergency,
but what aren't you telling me?

- You know I can't answer that, Pamela.
- I'm not stupid, Chase.

I know Delta
has to send ground support to Iraq

to recover Major Sherwood
and those men.

Pamela. Don't ask me
to talk about this.

But that's what we're doing here.
You're going to Iraq, right?

All I can tell you is that
if they need me, I'm gone.

So that's it?

- There's no warning? No goodbye?
- None.

Absolutely no contact when I'm away.
Not even e-mails.

Yeah, well, that sucks.

You're an excellent shooter, Chase,

with perfect trajectory
until you take that final shot,

and then you blinked,
pulling your eye off the line,

so you're right. It is a mental block.

Relax.

Shoot between the heartbeats.

Your turn.

And here are the weekend events.

This year's
South Carolina Poultry Festival...

You've been awake all night,
haven't you?

Anything?

No.

Several of the favorite local bands.

The main stage is located in front
of the Batesburg-Leesville

Volunteer Fire Department Station 25
on Church Street.

What do we got?

I added the "Dear God" part.
I think it would work.

Yes. It's perfect.

What about you?

I did the clouds.

Well, Finn, I have to say,
they are the most absolutely,

bestest orange clouds
that I have ever seen.

Now let's get these written up, okay?

'Cause we want
to surprise Mrs. Sherwood first thing.

Your pens have stopped writing.
Why is that?

Look.

Oh, lookie here.
It must be chit time again.

Let me ask you a question, Todd.

Do you ever eat? Sleep? Shower?
Anything other than...

Yeah. I guess that red and blue lawns
are against code.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Hey. Are you trying
to wallpaper the house with these?

You know, if we get enough of them
they're going to kick us off the post.

We'll just move into the Hump Bar.
It'll be fine.

- Okay.
We're done with the other sign.

Yay!

It says, "I Love You Denise. "

Here. Hand me that pen.

What's wrong with it?

It's a French word, buddy.
They're hard to spell.

Ready. Just a little "e. "

Perfect.
- Okay.

Good. Take them to the car.

- Car, car, car, car.
- Hey.

Run to the car. Car, car,
car, car, car. I'll be right there.

Sometimes I love those boys so much
it hurts. You know?

Yeah, I know.

That's why I'm going to mail
the adoption papers today.

Because you do know.

Thank you.
Thank you so much for doing this.

Get any sleep?

I know this is hard, Jeremy.

You're scared about your dad,
but your mother needs you right now.

She may not show it,
she may not ever say it,

but you just keep showing up.

You keep taking it
no matter what she says.

It's your turn to be there for her now.

Yes, ma'am. I will be.

Intel confirms it was a modified RPG
near Fallujah

that brought the chopper down.

The insurgents were displaying

charred pieces of the wreckage
to the press,

having a real celebration.

- What about the casualties?
- Still no ID.

Thank you for calling.

Roland.

I know that you and Denise Sherwood
are good friends,

but if she's lucky,
her husband's already dead.

How can you say that, Joan?

You don't know
what they do to prisoners. I do.

All nine of those soldiers
come from this post.

The hospital is going to be inundated
with people today just looking for hope,

and I'm going to give it to them

because there's always hope, Joan.

Even in the bleakest of worlds
there's hope.

I know Sergeant Belgrad
tried to kill himself in front of you.

And no, his file didn't tell me

what happened to the two of you
in Afghanistan.

But I do know this, Joan.

Regardless of what happened,
even if it means our marriage is over,

I'm damn lucky
that my wife came home alive.

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

You're welcome.

So, how will we know if Frank's alive?

Thank you.

The news.

You mean, we watch TV to find out
what happened to her husband?

Yeah, it's been like that for a while.

Ever since the news went 24l7.

The media breaks the story
before the C.A.O. Can even get here.

What's the C.A. O?

Casualty Assistance Officers.

You know, the men in green suits
that walk up to your door, knock,

tell you your husband's dead.

Sure.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- So sorry.
- Thank you.

- Ma'am.
- We're here for you.

Thank you.

Denise.

I keep thinking I got the X

from that Shirley Jackson story,
The Lottery,

where they stoned the woman to death.

You just never think
it's gonna happen to you and then

you draw the X and you're the one.

It's cold.

- Roland.
- Hey.

I forgot food. Is that bad?

No worries.

- It's good to see you.
- Likewise.

Is she all right?

You mean
now that she's not going to the airport?

She didn't sleep all night.

It's understandable.

Look, if you get a chance,
stop by my office today.

I'll write her a prescription
for a sedative. It'll help keep her calm.

- Good. Thanks.
- Sure.

Roland.

I'm so sorry, Denise.

Is there anything I can do?

Tell all these people to leave.

You serious?

Because I will if you want me to.

You know, I am serious.

In fact, I will do it myself.

I'm sleep deprived,
I'm stressed, I'm... I'm pissed off

and I don't really care
what people think anymore.

It's very liberating.

Thank you all for coming.

I know what it's like,

stopping your life

to make a cake from scratch
for someone you barely know,

thinking, "That poor woman.
Her husband is dead.

"She's just gone from major's wife
to just another widow

"and in six months,
she'll have to move off post,

"no longer welcome here,

"and someone else
will move into this house,

"because, well, that's the way it goes. "

Dad isn't dead.

Bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?

It would solve all your problems.

Please, everyone, just go.

I need to be alone for a while.

I know.
I know what the rules are, Michael,

but please, if you learn anything,
call me immediately.

I do not want a stranger
walking up to this house telling Denise

her husband died.

I love you, too.

- So we leave her alone?
- For now.

Sometimes you have to take people
at their word,

even if it means leaving
when they ask you to.

So I guess we all
just stay in touch throughout the day

and when she's up to it,
we'll come back.

I'll be at the hospital
if anybody needs me.

- I'll see you there.
- All right.

Bye.

So, what are you gonna do now?

Are you asking me on a date?

Yeah, if you think I'm hot.

Well, my kids are at school and
I don't have to be at work until later,

so, I'm all yours.

What's wrong?

Chase, he's in Delta Force

and they're sending a team to Iraq,

so he could be on a plane right now
and I wouldn't even know it.

I better step it up then,
maybe show you a little skin.

I'm recusing myself
from the Belgrad case.

If you run into any problems,
please see Dr. Morgan.

Everything's fine.
It's just a conflict of interest.

I'll leave the file on your desk.

Thank you, Dr. Burton.

Yahtzee.

Thank you.

- Hello.
- Hi.

Perfect timing.

So, these sedatives,
do they come in economy size?

Absolutely. Banana-flavored, also.

- Banana?
- Absolutely.

You know, Roland,
I am worried about her.

Family is everything to Denise.

She's had some problems with her son
and now this with Frank.

I don't know
how much more she can handle.

Joan's suffering, too.

I was afraid so.
Is there anything you can do?

Not until she asks for help.

And even then, I can't treat her,
for obvious reasons.

I would like to think
that no matter what we do,

regardless of the medication
and the therapy,

that who we are fundamentally
is what gets us through a crisis.

It's why some people crumble
and why some people thrive and excel.

It's our core.

And I would like to think
that never changes.

I can't imagine
how I'd cope in those situations.

But then you think
what we all go through on a daily basis

and it's a miracle
any of us are still standing.

Can I buy you a quick lunch?

- I would like that.
- Want to go now?

Hey, what are you doing?

Who are you?
Sit down. Right there. On the floor.

- Easy.
- Right now!

Get your wife on the phone!

- You're Sergeant Belgrad.
- Dr. Burton,

get your wife on the phone
or I shoot your friend.

- Colonel Burton.
I'm here with your husband.

And I have a gun pointed at his head
and it's loaded.

- Belgrad?
- Tell her.

He's telling the truth, Joan.

- I'm with Claudia Joy at the hospital.
- Do you believe me now?

Whatever you want, this isn't the way.

You have 30 minutes to get here
or they both die.

Girl, you've got a lot of hair.

Yeah, and I'd like to keep it all,
if you don't mind.

Stay still.
I will turn you blonde, I promise.

You know, when I was talking date,
I was thinking drinks with umbrellas.

- You know, just, you know...
- I'm sure you were, boozy.

Where did you get the skills, anyway?

Marda's Bar and Hair Salon.

- Great.
- That's right.

It's my mom, Marda.
She's an alcoholic hairstylist.

- Well, that explains a lot.
- Shut up.

Good. Maybe I'll leave you there.
Take that. Turn that down.

Roxy's Beauty Supply. Can...

What?

This is Major Sherwood's wife.

Oh, my God.

Mom, what is it?

That was Amanda.

I have to go to the hospital.
Claudia Joy was taken hostage.

I'll go with you.

I need to tie...
I need him moved.

Move! Let's go!

Little boy on that truck, sir.

- Colonel Holden.
- What've we got, Major?

Psych patient. Sergeant Peter Belgrad.
Assaulted an MP, took his weapon.

He's currently holding a civilian doctor

and an unidentified female hostage
in his office.

Belgrad? I just
called his CO the other day about him.

She said she handled it.

I summoned Delta.
They're sending shooters.

There's Belgrad's CO.
Soldiers, stand down. Let her through!

- Belgrad's got Roland in there.
- Roland?

And Claudia Joy. I'm sorry, sir.

Is... Is someone going to tell us
what the hell is going on?

He gave you a deadline?

Yes, sir. Half hour.

When was that?
- Ten minutes ago.

All units of Bravo One, be advised.

Intel update, suspect has given
a 20-minute deadline

before he starts killing hostages.

Alpha One, prepare for rescue assault.

Bravo Control. This is Alpha One.
We are in position and ready.

Roger that, Alpha One. Sierra One.
Status? Over.

Control from Sierra One.
We have movement in the window.

Three tangos. Male in lab coat,

male in T-shirt holding a pistol,
female in a light blouse.

We have a clean shot.

Roger that, Sierra One. Stand by.

Sierra One standing by.

- You want me to answer it?
- Did I tell you to answer it?

You should answer it.

Why are you talking?

Don't know. I figured
if I'm going to die before lunch,

I might as well get my two cents in.

It stopped.

It might have been
Lieutenant Colonel Burton.

- I do want to talk to her.
Why?

Why do you want to talk to my wife?

That's between me and her.

And us, being that we're here.

I don't like it when you talk.

Claudia Joy Holden.

You're Colonel Holden's wife?

All right. You met with Belgrad.
Your report said he was suicidal.

Was there anything else going on?

He pulled his sidearm on me, sir.

Why the hell didn't you report that?

I know this guy. He is a good soldier.

I... I thought he could
pull himself together. I was wrong.

Burton, what the hell
is the matter with you?

You completely violated protocol

and now that decision
could get my wife killed.

Sir.

Dad, you're going to save her, right?

- Girls, listen.
- Please.

Everything's going to be okay.
All right? I promise you.

Mrs. Sherwood's over there.
I need you to stay with her.

Please.

What do you want?

Major George Steuer.
Is this Sergeant Belgrad?

Where's Burton?
She's there with you, right?

She's on her way.

Glad you picked up, Sergeant.
How are things?

- You have 15 minutes.
- Look, we've got roadblocks up.

We're gonna need an additional
half hour to get her here.

I said 15 minutes!

He hung up.

They're stalling!

After everything I did for them!

This country! This war!

And for what?

They don't know
what's going on out there!

No one has any idea
what we go through!

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Holden.

It was Colonel Holden's daughter
on the TV,

protesting the war, right?

That's right. It was.

See, she has my sympathies.

I was proud of her.

She made people think.
Because you're right.

No one does know
what's going on over there

and we're all affected by it.
Everyone feels the same.

Doesn't matter what you believe.

The pain is the same.

Control from Sierra One,
target has stepped out of range.

We no longer have a clean shot.

We have one narrow vector
in the room.

We have one narrow vector
in the room.

I've lost visual contact.

Roger that, Sierra One.
Report when you reacquire the target.

Looks like we've got to go in
through the door.

Let me go in there, sir.

- It's me he wants.
- Not an option.

He holds me responsible
for something that happened there.

What are you talking about?

Just let me go in.
I can reason with him.

Burton, if you know something about
what's going on in that man's head

you'd better start talking
and I mean now.

You want
to talk to my wife, right?

Before I left the house this morning,

she told me she has no more hope.

Is that how you feel, Peter?

That's no way to be.

I mean, there's always hope.

Without it,
I wouldn't have made it back.

Then we think alike.

Because hope is the only thing

that's been keeping me
going home every night.

My wife wants to end our marriage.

She's having a hard time,
just like you are.

You married, Peter?

Yeah.

She left me a week ago.

She took my kids.

Said she couldn't
live with me anymore.

What's your wife's name?

Sarah.

I named a mountain after her.

A mountain?

Our platoon was occupying a fire base

on the border
of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

We were already 3000 feet up,

then they sent us another 3000 feet

to look for caves
for counter-reconnaissance,

and I told them that I was gonna
run straight up without stopping.

No one believed me.

Halfway up the mountain,
it started to rain

and they're yelling at me to stop,

but I kept going

and I reached the top.

I could barely breathe.

And I looked straight
into the heart of Pakistan.

Lieutenant Colonel Burton
came up to me

and told me
since I was the first one up,

that I got to name the mountain.

So I took out my knife

and I carved
"Mount Sarah" into the rock.

When was that?

One year ago.

What else happened, Peter?
Tell me about the little girl.

Who told you about that?

You told Dr. Carter and he told me.
I'm his supervisor.

It's not right.

What's not right?

We should have saved her.

Belgrad's patrol
was ambushed in Kandahar.

He took shrapnel to the chest,
lost a lot of blood.

His unit was outnumbered,
so they did what they could.

They left him with an Afghan family,
promised to return,

and headed back for reinforcements.

The area was so hot
it took days to mount a rescue.

This family, they took good care of him,

particularly this one little girl.

I guess she was about... Ten.

She cleaned my wounds.

She even cut up her own blanket
to make bandages.

I mean,
her family shared everything they had.

And when I say poor,
I mean no electricity, dirt floor,

the same meal for days.

So when I got better and I left,

I promised them
that I would be back to help them.

I processed Belgrad's request
to aid the family.

We thought returning to the village

would be a good opportunity
to develop local intel.

So we packed up household items,

some medical supplies,
and we headed out.

We thought the area was pacified,

but when we pulled up to the village,
there was smoke.

We take cover behind this rise

and no one sees us,
but we can see them perfectly.

- Who?
- The insurgents. They're total savages.

And they're taking revenge on them
because they had helped an American.

Because they had helped me.

And we're just watching it happen.

There were at least a dozen hostiles,
heavily armed.

I had four men.

The rules of engagement are clear.
Do not interfere with civilian affairs.

So, I gave the order.

"Maintain cover. "

Can you believe she said that?

They're beating people
and burning huts

and she orders us to stay put,
to do nothing.

And then they take her.
They take the little girl and in...

In front of the whole village,
they rape her.

And she's screaming.

I... I can still hear it.

Then Belgrad stands up.

I can tell
that he's going to betray our position.

So I tackle him.

It took three of us to hold him down.

She's screaming.

She's just screaming,
but Burton won't let me go.

Then I hear shots

And I know she's gone.

And I didn't stop it.

See, I... I didn't save her.

After the girl was...

After the girl was killed
and Belgrad was contained,

we withdrew.

You acted correctly, Burton.

Did I?

You protected your men.

She's a little girl.

And I didn't save her
and I should have saved her.

- You couldn't.
- Yes, I could have!

Except for Burton. It was her fault.

You hear me?
It was wrong to stay there like cowards.

No, Peter. Just listen to me.

It was wrong.

You know,
war does horrible things to people,

but it shouldn't keep us
from being human.

Burton. She wouldn't let me...
She wouldn't let me go.

- I know.
- But I'm a soldier.

And she wouldn't let me go!

Look, I understand now.

She was following orders.

- That was wrong.
- Maybe it was.

Maybe there are higher orders
that we all need to be following.

We're down to five minutes.
Belgrad disconnected the phone.

The snipers don't have a shot.
I'm sending in the assault team.

What are the chances
the hostages survive the assault team?

- Ninety percent, sir.
- That's not good enough.

We've got a few more minutes.

Let's see
what the snipers come up with.

Yes, sir. Sierra One,
report immediately...

Hey, Peter.

Why don't you put down the gun
and we'll keep talking?

Control from Sierra One,
we have reacquired target.

We have a clean shot.

- Sierra One Bravo, stand by.
- Standing by.

- Colonel?
- Yeah.

Deadline's up in one minute.
Subject is non-communicative.

I'm ordering a sniper-initiated assault.

Do it.

Sierra One, this is Bravo.
You are clear.

Repeat. You are clear.
Operation Pink Mist.

Listen to me.

You're alive
because that little girl saved you.

A hundred and ten meters.

Confirming one hundred
and ten meters.

Is this what she would have wanted?

Two clicks up.

To have you hurt someone else
because of her?

What do you want from Joan?

I don't know.

Damn it.

I need her to say she's sorry.

She is sorry, Peter.

I know she is.

Control from
Alpha One. We have one subject down.

Hostages are recovered.

Repeat, hostages are recovered.
All operators are accounted for.

We are clear.

Sierra One, go ahead and break down.

Report to rally point for debrief.

Let's go.

Are you hurt?

It's okay. You're okay.

- It's okay.
- It's okay.

It's all right.

- All right. Claudia Joy, you have to go.
- Where?

You have to be debriefed.
It won't take long.

Okay. It's okay.

Girls. She's okay. Your mom is okay.

Claudia Joy!

Come here.