In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 1, Episode 26 - Laura: Week Six - full transcript
Paul makes a point to Laura about fantasy and reality through the example of his own childhood infatuation.
Previously on "In Treatment"...
David was my first.
Don't look at me like that.
I wasn't the victim.
- I got him to his bed.
- He was a 40-year-old man, for Christ's sake.
Your father had no idea what was going on?
- He was asleep in the next room.
- I think it's important
that you talk to your father, about this...
while it's still possible.
You know that this thing
with me and Alex is over.
I ended it.
I can't continue, Paul.
Every minute here is tearing me apart.
Daddy?
S01E26: Laura, Week Six
Yes, hello?
No, I'm, uh, I'm -- on my way somewhere.
No, not to the ward.
No, absolutely not.
Because his temperature is slightly up,
and I don't want it to get out of hand.
Just... just tell them to take care
of him until I get there.
Just keep an eye on his fever.
In about 90 minutes.
Look, it's, it's... it's important.
Can I count on you?
Okay.
Okay, bye.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Here, for you.
- What is it?
- There's a...
a farmer's market across
the street from the hospital.
Maple syrup.
It's Vermont's finest.
- Thanks.
- Sure.
Your kids eat pancakes, right?
Yeah.
Come on in.
Thanks.
Thanks for seeing me.
When I was dialing your number
this morning, I thought,
"Shit, it's not even eight o'clock.
I probably woke everybody up."
Please, this place is a circus
by eight o'clock.
I had no one else to talk to.
I even called Andrew, but you know,
he never called me back.
Anyway, thanks.
I thought my hour would be filled already.
Your hour isn't filled.
How is your dad?
- Is he still in ICU?
- Yes.
His, uh... temperature went up.
They wanted to move him to the ward, but...
I want him kept there as long as possible,
you know, where he's got
one-on-one nursing care.
He looks so small, you know...
so tiny.
He looks lost in that huge bed.
Could barely see his body under the sheets.
Looks like E.T.
You think I'd be more resistant, huh?
I've already seen people shrink
to little... gremlins.
But not my father.
I took your advice.
I told him about David.
When I left here last week,
I called him on the way home.
He was so happy to hear from me.
It's been a month since we'd seen each other.
So I went around to his house,
and he ordered takeout.
My dad never orders takeout.
He doesn't know how. I swear, he ordered
half the menu. I'm not exaggerating.
Well, he means well,
but I don't think he knows what I like.
Do you know what your kids like?
You mean, apart from pancakes?
When I told him about David, he said...
"I thought so."
We were sitting in the kitchen,
surrounded by takeout containers,
about 20 of them, and...
he was just pushing his egg roll
from one side of the plate to the other,
dipping it in the hot mustard
without looking up at me,
and says, "I thought so."
Did you tell him the full story?
Yeah, well...
More or less. I mean, I told him that
I slept with David at our house, and...
he asked me if it continued later,
and I said, "No, it was just...
a passing thing"...
that nothing happened to me,
and he didn't need to worry,
that it came up in therapy
and I should... talk to him about it.
It, it doesn't sound to me
that your father was...
Doesn't sound like he was surprised.
How do you feel about that?
That he might have known all along and that...
that he didn't do anything about it?
I didn't take it that way.
Look, Paul, the pain, you know,
the shock of it was so bad
he immediately had to act
as if he'd known all along,
as if to deflect the shock of it to...
Old habits die hard, huh?
You can take the girl out of therapy,
but you can't take the therapy
out of the conversation.
It's funny.
Things look different.
It feels like I haven't been here for a year.
Are those new shoes?
Um, these? No. I found them in the closet,
forgot about them. I used to
wear them before...
before I was married.
- They're nice.
- You think so?
I'm really glad that you called.
Really?
What, did you miss me?
Yes, I did.
Even after that -- dramatic exit last week?
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
I guess, the prospect of...
of not seeing you again kind of...
kind of scared me.
Losing a patient is such a big deal?
Losing you is a big deal.
Does it bother you that I said that?
No, I just don't understand
why you're saying it.
I mean, why, why now?
- Is this a trick?
- Why...
Why would I be tricking you?
I just don't understand why
you're saying it. To be honest...
I, I don't really believe you.
It's the truth, Laura.
I'm trying to say how I feel about you.
I think you deserve to know. I think it's...
I think it's time for you to know.
Know what?
That I have very deep feelings for you.
I, I keep thinking about you all the time.
I really miss you sometimes, it's...
No.
Not sometimes...
Often.
I miss you... often.
Okay, so, what now?
I mean, if I say yes, then what?
It will happen?
What, this isn't therapy,
so it's okay, all of the sudden?
You know what? This whole thing
doesn't, doesn't seem right,
- it, it... feels weird.
- What? That I...
that I said that I had feelings for you?
You're testing me. Are you testing me, Paul?
No.
Okay.
Okay, good.
You know, we never...
sat on the same couch before.
So, what now?
I -- I don't know, Paul.
Can I, um...
I mean, listen to us. It's not supposed
to be like this. Everything is so polite.
With Andrew, two hours after I met him,
I was, I was in his bed.
Lucky it was dark. If I'd seen
the condition of his apartment,
I probably wouldn't have slept with him.
No, actually, I would have.
'Cause that's how it is with me, I...
- act on impulse.
- You think, this is acting on impulse?
This isn't impulsive.
This is the longest foreplay
I've ever experienced.
A year of just -- getting to know you.
What do you know about me, Laura?
Specifics, you mean?
I know some things.
I know you have children.
Yes, I do. Max, Rosie, Ian.
Yeah, what else?
Once or twice you haven't worn
your wedding ring.
I noticed that.
It's because...
sometimes when I'm washing the dishes, the...
the dish soap gets under the band and...
irritates the skin.
What are you thinking about now?
Just you.
I remember once when I was...
when I was 14...
I, uh... had a crush.
No, actually...
I didn't have a crush, I...
I fell in love with...
my... my biology teacher.
- Oh yeah? Well.
- She must have been about 33, 34.
And...
I used to write these big, long poems,
and I would put them in with my homework.
And I remember...
saying to her one day,
"I'm not interested in girls my age.
They don't get me, they don't understand me,
they don't know who the real me is."
What I really wanted was...
was her.
So, one day...
I found myself alone in the lab,
in the science lab, with her.
And I heard myself say... that...
that I just had to kiss her.
And what happened?
She turned off the lights...
and she came right up to me...
and she was facing me
in complete darkness.
And... I remember the sound of her breathing
and the smell of her perfume.
It was like I, I, I was drunk or something.
She looked me straight in the eye,
and she said really quietly:
"Go on.
Do it.
Just do it."
You know what happened?
What?
I got the hell out of there. Ran away.
Did you ever think what would have
happened if you hadn't run,
if you had kissed her?
I used to think about that all the time.
But now, when I think of it, I, I...
I thank her for it. I do.
- For what, for scaring you?
- No.
I guess she showed me that what I --
felt or what I thought I felt,
even though it was real
and genuine to me, was...
was really just a fantasy.
It wasn't real.
And... that she had
the compassion to let me go,
back to my... to my future.
David didn't turn out the lights.
He said, he wanted to look at me.
That my body was amazing,
that I was beautiful.
He went on and on about that.
I can't believe how naive I was.
What I thought was gonna happen
when I walked into his room, I...
God, isn't it crazy, all the things you
imagined sex would be when you're young?
Well, I had very romantic thoughts.
I imagined, an angel would come,
and when we're in bed she'd touch me...
and erase my former life.
He told me how proud he was of me.
When I was in California,
he told me I was ripe for this,
that I was a woman.
He said that I was ready.
And he started whispering to me, he said...
he never had such a hard-on in his life,
and he said, "See what you did to me?"
And he undressed...
and stood in the middle of the room,
showing me what I did to him.
Then he undressed me.
He was very professional.
I remember he... spit...
into his hands...
in order to wet his...
It was disgusting.
I think, that was the minute that I...
I wanted to run away, but it was too late
because he said that I was ready.
Listen to me, Laura...
It's really important that you understand
that none of this was your fault.
You were 16 years of age.
You didn't... you -- how could you
have known what was gonna happen?
How could you know what to expect?
I wanted him to hold me, Paul...
to take me away from the house,
to take me away from the death of that house,
I just wanted him to help me get away.
I never wanted him to fuck me.
Oh, Laura.
Fuck, I ruined it.
- No.
- You don't want me anymore.
No, it's, it's not true, Laura.
Please, listen to me.
I really care about you.
I really care about what happens to you.
And...
I will not do anything in the world
to hurt you, I promise.
Look...
I think, the real damage that David did,
was that he destroyed your ability
to communicate with men
- from a non-sexual place --
- No, it's not true.
- Yes, I think it is true.
- You make me sound like I'm so terrible, Paul.
There is nothing terrible
about you to me, Laura.
You know, if you don't wanna fuck me,
don't fuck me! I'm a big girl.
I can take it. Go on,
say it to my face. Go on!
Laura, listen to me.
I think you feel that
if I don't sleep with you,
I'm not gonna be interested in you...
in who you are.
But I am not willing to betray you.
I am not going to disappoint you.
I will not be another David.
There's something going on between us, Paul,
something more, and you know it.
You're just too fucking afraid.
It's my brother.
Hi, Olie.
Great.
You know what, tell them not to move him
till I get there. I'll be right there, okay?
Okay. Bye.
Well, his temperature's normal.
Good.
That's good news.
It'll be okay.
I promise you.
It will be okay.
Okay.
Hi.
David was my first.
Don't look at me like that.
I wasn't the victim.
- I got him to his bed.
- He was a 40-year-old man, for Christ's sake.
Your father had no idea what was going on?
- He was asleep in the next room.
- I think it's important
that you talk to your father, about this...
while it's still possible.
You know that this thing
with me and Alex is over.
I ended it.
I can't continue, Paul.
Every minute here is tearing me apart.
Daddy?
S01E26: Laura, Week Six
Yes, hello?
No, I'm, uh, I'm -- on my way somewhere.
No, not to the ward.
No, absolutely not.
Because his temperature is slightly up,
and I don't want it to get out of hand.
Just... just tell them to take care
of him until I get there.
Just keep an eye on his fever.
In about 90 minutes.
Look, it's, it's... it's important.
Can I count on you?
Okay.
Okay, bye.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Here, for you.
- What is it?
- There's a...
a farmer's market across
the street from the hospital.
Maple syrup.
It's Vermont's finest.
- Thanks.
- Sure.
Your kids eat pancakes, right?
Yeah.
Come on in.
Thanks.
Thanks for seeing me.
When I was dialing your number
this morning, I thought,
"Shit, it's not even eight o'clock.
I probably woke everybody up."
Please, this place is a circus
by eight o'clock.
I had no one else to talk to.
I even called Andrew, but you know,
he never called me back.
Anyway, thanks.
I thought my hour would be filled already.
Your hour isn't filled.
How is your dad?
- Is he still in ICU?
- Yes.
His, uh... temperature went up.
They wanted to move him to the ward, but...
I want him kept there as long as possible,
you know, where he's got
one-on-one nursing care.
He looks so small, you know...
so tiny.
He looks lost in that huge bed.
Could barely see his body under the sheets.
Looks like E.T.
You think I'd be more resistant, huh?
I've already seen people shrink
to little... gremlins.
But not my father.
I took your advice.
I told him about David.
When I left here last week,
I called him on the way home.
He was so happy to hear from me.
It's been a month since we'd seen each other.
So I went around to his house,
and he ordered takeout.
My dad never orders takeout.
He doesn't know how. I swear, he ordered
half the menu. I'm not exaggerating.
Well, he means well,
but I don't think he knows what I like.
Do you know what your kids like?
You mean, apart from pancakes?
When I told him about David, he said...
"I thought so."
We were sitting in the kitchen,
surrounded by takeout containers,
about 20 of them, and...
he was just pushing his egg roll
from one side of the plate to the other,
dipping it in the hot mustard
without looking up at me,
and says, "I thought so."
Did you tell him the full story?
Yeah, well...
More or less. I mean, I told him that
I slept with David at our house, and...
he asked me if it continued later,
and I said, "No, it was just...
a passing thing"...
that nothing happened to me,
and he didn't need to worry,
that it came up in therapy
and I should... talk to him about it.
It, it doesn't sound to me
that your father was...
Doesn't sound like he was surprised.
How do you feel about that?
That he might have known all along and that...
that he didn't do anything about it?
I didn't take it that way.
Look, Paul, the pain, you know,
the shock of it was so bad
he immediately had to act
as if he'd known all along,
as if to deflect the shock of it to...
Old habits die hard, huh?
You can take the girl out of therapy,
but you can't take the therapy
out of the conversation.
It's funny.
Things look different.
It feels like I haven't been here for a year.
Are those new shoes?
Um, these? No. I found them in the closet,
forgot about them. I used to
wear them before...
before I was married.
- They're nice.
- You think so?
I'm really glad that you called.
Really?
What, did you miss me?
Yes, I did.
Even after that -- dramatic exit last week?
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
I guess, the prospect of...
of not seeing you again kind of...
kind of scared me.
Losing a patient is such a big deal?
Losing you is a big deal.
Does it bother you that I said that?
No, I just don't understand
why you're saying it.
I mean, why, why now?
- Is this a trick?
- Why...
Why would I be tricking you?
I just don't understand why
you're saying it. To be honest...
I, I don't really believe you.
It's the truth, Laura.
I'm trying to say how I feel about you.
I think you deserve to know. I think it's...
I think it's time for you to know.
Know what?
That I have very deep feelings for you.
I, I keep thinking about you all the time.
I really miss you sometimes, it's...
No.
Not sometimes...
Often.
I miss you... often.
Okay, so, what now?
I mean, if I say yes, then what?
It will happen?
What, this isn't therapy,
so it's okay, all of the sudden?
You know what? This whole thing
doesn't, doesn't seem right,
- it, it... feels weird.
- What? That I...
that I said that I had feelings for you?
You're testing me. Are you testing me, Paul?
No.
Okay.
Okay, good.
You know, we never...
sat on the same couch before.
So, what now?
I -- I don't know, Paul.
Can I, um...
I mean, listen to us. It's not supposed
to be like this. Everything is so polite.
With Andrew, two hours after I met him,
I was, I was in his bed.
Lucky it was dark. If I'd seen
the condition of his apartment,
I probably wouldn't have slept with him.
No, actually, I would have.
'Cause that's how it is with me, I...
- act on impulse.
- You think, this is acting on impulse?
This isn't impulsive.
This is the longest foreplay
I've ever experienced.
A year of just -- getting to know you.
What do you know about me, Laura?
Specifics, you mean?
I know some things.
I know you have children.
Yes, I do. Max, Rosie, Ian.
Yeah, what else?
Once or twice you haven't worn
your wedding ring.
I noticed that.
It's because...
sometimes when I'm washing the dishes, the...
the dish soap gets under the band and...
irritates the skin.
What are you thinking about now?
Just you.
I remember once when I was...
when I was 14...
I, uh... had a crush.
No, actually...
I didn't have a crush, I...
I fell in love with...
my... my biology teacher.
- Oh yeah? Well.
- She must have been about 33, 34.
And...
I used to write these big, long poems,
and I would put them in with my homework.
And I remember...
saying to her one day,
"I'm not interested in girls my age.
They don't get me, they don't understand me,
they don't know who the real me is."
What I really wanted was...
was her.
So, one day...
I found myself alone in the lab,
in the science lab, with her.
And I heard myself say... that...
that I just had to kiss her.
And what happened?
She turned off the lights...
and she came right up to me...
and she was facing me
in complete darkness.
And... I remember the sound of her breathing
and the smell of her perfume.
It was like I, I, I was drunk or something.
She looked me straight in the eye,
and she said really quietly:
"Go on.
Do it.
Just do it."
You know what happened?
What?
I got the hell out of there. Ran away.
Did you ever think what would have
happened if you hadn't run,
if you had kissed her?
I used to think about that all the time.
But now, when I think of it, I, I...
I thank her for it. I do.
- For what, for scaring you?
- No.
I guess she showed me that what I --
felt or what I thought I felt,
even though it was real
and genuine to me, was...
was really just a fantasy.
It wasn't real.
And... that she had
the compassion to let me go,
back to my... to my future.
David didn't turn out the lights.
He said, he wanted to look at me.
That my body was amazing,
that I was beautiful.
He went on and on about that.
I can't believe how naive I was.
What I thought was gonna happen
when I walked into his room, I...
God, isn't it crazy, all the things you
imagined sex would be when you're young?
Well, I had very romantic thoughts.
I imagined, an angel would come,
and when we're in bed she'd touch me...
and erase my former life.
He told me how proud he was of me.
When I was in California,
he told me I was ripe for this,
that I was a woman.
He said that I was ready.
And he started whispering to me, he said...
he never had such a hard-on in his life,
and he said, "See what you did to me?"
And he undressed...
and stood in the middle of the room,
showing me what I did to him.
Then he undressed me.
He was very professional.
I remember he... spit...
into his hands...
in order to wet his...
It was disgusting.
I think, that was the minute that I...
I wanted to run away, but it was too late
because he said that I was ready.
Listen to me, Laura...
It's really important that you understand
that none of this was your fault.
You were 16 years of age.
You didn't... you -- how could you
have known what was gonna happen?
How could you know what to expect?
I wanted him to hold me, Paul...
to take me away from the house,
to take me away from the death of that house,
I just wanted him to help me get away.
I never wanted him to fuck me.
Oh, Laura.
Fuck, I ruined it.
- No.
- You don't want me anymore.
No, it's, it's not true, Laura.
Please, listen to me.
I really care about you.
I really care about what happens to you.
And...
I will not do anything in the world
to hurt you, I promise.
Look...
I think, the real damage that David did,
was that he destroyed your ability
to communicate with men
- from a non-sexual place --
- No, it's not true.
- Yes, I think it is true.
- You make me sound like I'm so terrible, Paul.
There is nothing terrible
about you to me, Laura.
You know, if you don't wanna fuck me,
don't fuck me! I'm a big girl.
I can take it. Go on,
say it to my face. Go on!
Laura, listen to me.
I think you feel that
if I don't sleep with you,
I'm not gonna be interested in you...
in who you are.
But I am not willing to betray you.
I am not going to disappoint you.
I will not be another David.
There's something going on between us, Paul,
something more, and you know it.
You're just too fucking afraid.
It's my brother.
Hi, Olie.
Great.
You know what, tell them not to move him
till I get there. I'll be right there, okay?
Okay. Bye.
Well, his temperature's normal.
Good.
That's good news.
It'll be okay.
I promise you.
It will be okay.
Okay.
Hi.