Northern Exposure (1990–1995): Season 4, Episode 20 - Homesick - full transcript

Ready or not, here I come.

Your big old honey bear is
all clean and cuddly, Shelly.

Hey, you know, Holling...

it's like all this time I've been
walking around with my eyes closed.

How so, honey?

Those ugly drapes.

Look at them.

And the deer's head, and these
paint-by-number pictures.

Hmm.
I hate them.

You do?

And that clunky old chest.



The cactus lamp...

and that ratty old
dusty halibut.

You never seemed to mind
these things before.

I wasn't married before.

Holling, I'm not some little
shack job from Saskatoon anymore.

I'm Mrs. Shelly
Tambo-Vincoeur.

A wife.

I may look like the same hot
dudette chick I always was...

but inside,
I'm changed.

I'm way changed.
Different.

You are?
Oh, yeah.

Like totally.

Changed how?

Well, I don't know exactly...



but some things matter to me
that didn't used to.

Like?

Like separating the white
clothes from the dark...

when we do the wash.

Like making the bed
before we go down to work.

Like having my house
reflect my inner me.

Look at this, H.

The Roger E. Bennetts of Rye, New
York took a cheesy suburban home...

and turned it into the country
farmhouse they always dreamed of.

They added this wainscoting
stuff or whatever...

and a covered porch, and this
lattice hut thing in the back yard.

Now they're
so into their place...

they don't even
go away on vacations.

Are you saying you'd like
to redecorate my place?

10-4, Holling.
What do you say?

Well, sure.

Why don't you go out and buy
some new things, have a good time?

Oh, babe,
you are the coolest.

Oh, can't swap
skin now, Big H.

Got to hit
the catalogs.

Well, hello, Maurice.

Shh, listen.

It's here.

It is?

Yeah, you bet.
Oh, great.

What is?

That is, Ed.

Whoa, it's a house.
A moving house.

That house is on wheels.

Yeah. But it's not
just any house on wheels.

That is
a historical landmark.

That domicile was home for
a future Mercury astronaut.

I grew up there.

Really?

You betcha.

The Oklahoma Department of
Transportation was gonna tear that down...

to make room
for an exit on a highway.

Soon as I got
wind of that...

I got on the horn to the
Tulsa Historical Society...

and offered it
to them free.

Hell, I even offered
to pay the moving costs.

You Mr. Minnifield?

Yeah, that's me.

You know what they said? Nope.

They said
they didn't have room.

Well, Oklahoma's loss is Cicely's
gain, as far as I'm concerned.

So, where do you want it?
Huh?

Oh, yeah. Just go on out of town.

I'll get my car and get in
front of you and lead you to it.

All righty.

Excuse me.

Shelly, did you get my order?

Hi, let me have a turkey
club on whole wheat...

cottage cheese, no chips, and
a cup of coffee as well, please.

Shelly?

How do you feel about Gothic
revival, Dr. Fleischman?

What's that?

Check out this
bodacious sitting room.

Folio table, chapel screen,
needlepoint rug.

Metropolitan Home, huh?

I didn't know
you were into design.

Me neither, until somebody left a
copy of House Beautiful in the john.

I started reading it,
just zoned.

Yeah?

Pretty gnarly, huh?

I don't know.
To tell you the truth...

I kind of find this Gothic
clutter kind of stifling.

Yeah?
Yeah.

I think at this point in my life,
I'm more of a minimalist, you know?

Clean, sharp lines,
very spare...

a lot of angles,
light, open spaces.

Shelly?

Ooh, this rococo stuff
is pretty cool, too.

All the little baby angels
and stuff.

Ooh.

Nice shot.

Hey.
Hi.

Hi.

Well, don't you look like
the cat that ate the canary.

What's this?

Open it up.

Lab results.

Joel just gave them to me.

Guess what my eosinophil
count is?

Fifty percent?

White count, T cells,
they're all in the green zone.

That's incredible.
Mmm-hmm.

Wow.

Your hematocrit's
at the top of the range.

Your serum electrolytes, too.

Your sodium, potassium
chloride?

Mmm-hmm.

You know what this means?
Uh-huh.

Mike, this means you're-
Normal.

Healthy.

May, 1918.

Thomas Jefferson Minnifield
returns from the fields of France.

While recovering
from a mustard gas attack...

he wins the hands
of his nurse.

One Nancy Perkins,
a former Miss Tulsa.

Together, the two of them
sink the family flag...

in 400 acres
of Oklahoma hardscrabble.

You see that window up there? Uh-huh.

Arthur, my father, was born
in that bedroom.

Then 20 years later,
young Maurice Minnifield...

drew his first
sweet breaths of life.

Cool.

Mmm-hmm.

Right back here was my
mother's flower garden.

White daffodils,
tulips...

and the most beautiful
yellow marigolds...

between Tulsa
and Oologah.

I don't see
any flowers, Maurice.

Well, of course not. They
ceased to exist years ago.

They only exist
in my mind's eye.

Oh.

Very pretty.

Yeah.

Now, you see that windowpane up there?

Yep.

My brother, Malcolm, once fired
a crab apple through there...

when we were having a pitched
battle with the Wilson boys.

The folks were away
on errands at the time.

Ah, Adventures in Babysitting.

Huh?
Oh, yeah, you know...

the house is a mess, parents
are due to arrive any second...

and Elisabeth Shue doesn't
have a moment to spare.

Anyway, Malcolm and I
puttied in a spare pane...

and got it in
just as the folks drove up.

Way to go, Maurice.

That's as far
as you go, Ed.

I need a little privacy,
if you don't mind.

Sure, Maurice.

Thanks for showing me
the outside of your house.

You know, I especially enjoyed
the imaginary flowerbed.

Don't mention it.

Yeah, Mike and I
are celebrating...

his recovery with pizza.
Pizza?

He hasn't had a pizza for six
years, if you can believe that.

Those nitrates
in the pepperoni...

and the enzymes
in the mozzarella...

his system couldn't
handle it.

Uh-huh, right.

What?

Look, take my word
for it, O'Connell...

Mike could handle pizza, he
could've inhaled mozzarella...

he could've
mainlined pepperoni.

Oh, Fleischman, I thought
you were beyond that.

Hey, O'Connell,
as much as I like Mike...

my medical opinion of him
has never wavered.

I mean, his condition, be it
in remission or full-blown...

is purely psychogenic.

You just can't get over it, can you?

Over what?

The fact that Mike and I
are happy together.

Don't make me gag, O'Connell.

Fleischman, look. You just
have this very fragile ego...

so that if you're unhappy,
everybody has to be unhappy.

That's not true.

I think it's touching. I
mean, I think it's endearing...

that two emotional cripples can find
each other to lean on for support.

That'll be $9.45, dear.

I mean, it's a textbook
case of codependency.

You got Mike over here who has a sad,
chronic need to be taken care of...

and then there's you over here who
has a sad, chronic need to be needed.

It's perfect, I mean...
You know, Fleischman...

any other day, I might haul off and
belt you one for a statement like that...

but I'm not going to. I'm
not gonna rise to the bait.

I'm not gonna even nibble.
You know why?

Because actually,
I feel some pity for you.

I mean, here I have
this romantic date...

with somebody
I really care about...

and you, well, you don't.

See you, Ruth-Anne.
Bye.

Hello? Anybody home?

Mike?

Unbelievable.

Six million barrels.

Sorry?

"A single-hulled tanker foundered
off the coast of Newfoundland.

"Six million barrels of crude
oil washed up on shore...

"fouling 20 miles of an extremely
delicate marine ecosystem. "

Mike, that's horrible.

Yeah, and get
a load of this.

The air in Mexico City is
so toxic and so dangerous...

that US diplomats
who serve there...

are actually given
combat pay.

Really?

What in the hell
was I thinking, Ed?

I'm not sure, Mike.

How can I,
of all people...

continue leading
a normal life...

a life of simple,
everyday pleasures...

of creature comforts,
romantic involvement...

when we are all
on the verge of Armageddon?

The final battle
between good and evil.

It was easy to sit things
out when I was sick.

But I'm well again, Ed.

I've been given
a second chance.

How am I gonna spend it?

Mowing the lawn?

Locking into a 30-year fixed
at eight and a half?

Indulging in candlelit
pizza dinners...

and cuddling
in front of a fire?

Or making a difference
out there?

You know, there is something
just so great about pizza.

I don't know what it is. I think it's
the toasty crust and the squishy sauce...

and the cheese and the way
it all comes together...

to make a perfect three-point
landing in your mouth.

Are you ready?
Yeah.

Are you ready?
Are you ready?

There you go.

I can't believe you've been
deprived of this for all these years.

It must be like
getting out of jail...

out of solitary
confinement.

Yeah.

You know, it really makes me
appreciate all those things...

I took for granted.

You know, like a fire
on a cold night...

or the smell of freshly washed
curtains in your window...

or the smell of cut grass
after you just mow the lawn.

Now we're gonna be able
to share all these things.

The pizza,
the trip to Cordova.

It's just the beginning.

Is something wrong?

I have to go.
What?

I have to leave.

Mike, it's just...
It's like 8:30.

I have to leave Cicely.

You have to leave Cicely?

Yes.
Alaska?

Yes.

Why?

Maggie, I was a victim
of environmental abuse.

I was almost roadkill.

Flattened by the speeding big
rig of environmental degradation.

Of all people...

how can I stand by and watch
while others are sacrificing?

Fighting to save the rain
forests, wetlands, arable savannas.

Mike, you just got
your health back.

Right. I got it back.

I've been given
a second chance.

I have to believe
there's a reason for that.

But, Mike, that doesn't mean
you have to leave Alaska.

You know, there's a pipeline
demonstration in Valdez next week.

Why don't we go up there?

You know, we can handcuff
ourselves to the processing station.

What do you
think about that?

What? What's this?

"Michael Monroe, report to Captain
Peterson aboard the Sirius in Murmansk...

"12th of April,
0800 hours. "

Murmansk?

Russia?

That's 200 kilometers
north of the Arctic Circle.

We'll be investigating
alleged dumping...

of used nuclear reactors
in the Barents Sea.

"We"?

Greenpeace and me.

They need a lawyer, Maggie.

And with my unique sensitivity
to toxic effluents...

I'll be able to monitor
all kinds of pollutants...

from radioactive isotopes
to petrochemical sludge.

I think
you should leave now.

Maggie, look-
Look, Mike-

I'm sorry, I just...

Mike, I just think
you should go.

For those of you
who haven't heard...

Mike Monroe is packing
a footlocker and rucksack...

and heading up
to frosty Murmansk, Russia.

That's right, Cicely, our own
environmental crusader is leaving us...

to take on
the hydra-headed monster...

of chemical devastation now
threatening the biosphere...

and I think we can all do our part by
buying Ruth-Anne's victory ribbons...

specially made from
recycled Christmas wrap...

available at Ruth-Anne's store
or The Brick.

Help send Mike to the front.
Wear the green, people.

Elsewhere on the KBHR
bulletin board...

"Mort Carlson leads his annual
caribou hunt next month...

"improving on
last year's expedition.

"This year's package includes
all meals and portable heaters. "

Go ahead and give
Mort a call for details.

Mike, this one's
for you, buddy.

Thank you
for your contribution, Dave.

You're welcome.

How about a ribbon, Joel?

It'll help Mike
buy his dry suit.

Oh, God, you know, I heard
about this, Ruth-Anne...

and I was really hoping
it was a joke.

Every contribution above
$15 gets you a premium.

A premium on what?

$20 entitles you
to a T-shirt.

$25 fetches
a tote bag...

and $50 gets you
the special CD package.

I don't believe this.

I mean, please tell me.
What is wrong with you people?

This is just...

It's like some collective
cabin fever or something.

How much can we
put you down for?

Ruth-Anne, look, I like Mike
as much as the next guy...

but we're dealing with a
very unstable individual here.

Mike is going to be in
some very cold water, Joel.

He's gonna need
that dry suit.

I tell you, Ruth-Anne,
you drive a hard bargain.

Mmm-hmm.

You missed your calling. You
should have been in fund raising.

$3?

Lowell Grippo put in $20...

and you know what an
awful year this has been...

for kayak rentals.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Don't you want
your ribbon?

That's the paper
for the bedroom.

All the way back
on the right.

Slip covers?
Cool, follow him.

Mrs. Vincoeur.

The bathroom trim, was that
the Mandalay or the Camellia?

Camellia. Remember,
we can't use the Mandalay.

It's got that tick
of lemon in it.

Oh, right. Right.

Shelly?

We lost our water
down here.

You know anything
about it, hon?

Sorry, babe. Plumber's
putting in the new commode.

It will only be
about an hour.

Cover for me,
will you, H.?

I don't trust
those carpet guys.

Hey, hey,
watch those walls.

Don't scratch them.

Okay, no problem.

Sweet gherkins,
peanut butter...

eggs, artichoke hearts.

We got your oatmeal,
instant breakfast drink...

water-packed tuna.

Ed?
Yeah?

Why don't we ever learn?

I mean, it's always the
same old story, isn't it?

I mean, just when you think
you're getting close...

when there's a glimmer of hope that you
might finally have something lasting...

they're out the door.

Well
- No, I know. I should've known.

But, you know,
it's just...

I don't know, he sucked me in.
He just seemed different. Hmm.

He seemed so caring
and so open...

and not in that wimpy,
manipulative sort of way...

but in that honest,
man's-man kind of way. Huh.

You know what really got me,
what really hooked me?

Was that after we slept
together, he didn't change.

You know how so many men, after you sleep
with them, they kind of just withdraw?

You know, they think they owe you
something, or the intimacy scares them?

But not Mike. I mean,
Mike didn't get spooked.

Uh-uh. I mean, if
anything, we were closer.

Well, not that
the sex was that great.

I mean, Mike was definitely
a by-the-books kind of guy.

I mean, no whipped cream, no
kitchen tables, anything like that...

but, I mean,
that was okay.

I mean, that gave us
a place to go, you know?

Well, Maggie.

Yeah?

That's gonna be $14.30.

Oh. Yeah, well, anyway...

I guess the thing
that hurt the most, Ed, is...

that I didn't see
it coming.

I mean,
who would've known?

I guess underneath
all that ecology...

and classical music
and house plants...

he's just like
all the rest of them.

Ah, men.

Exactly.

See you.
See you.

It's a fine thing
you're doing, my boy.

Thank you, sir.

Believe you me, if I
were 20 years younger...

I'd pack my kit and
fall in right behind you.

Yes, sir.
You know, back in '55...

a few buddies and I sugared the
gasoline tanks of some bulldozers-

Excuse me, sir.

Maggie, look,
about last night-

I can't talk
right now, Mike.

Maybe I didn't explain myself very well.

I've got a charter to Skagway.
I've got oil to change.

Look, I know I should have
discussed this with you first.

Hey, not at all.

I mean, we didn't have any kind
of commitment, you're a free agent.

You know, you can do
what you like. No, no.

Maggie, Maggie, come on.
That's not true.

This was
the hardest decision...

I've ever had to make
in my life.

Can't we just sit down
somewhere and talk?

I said
I've got to go.

My dad papered
this whole house himself.

Wow.

Look at this
flooring here, Chris.

This is heart pine.
You can't get that anymore.

They leveled all those trees in
the name of Western expansion.

Yeah, it's really nice.
Yeah.

Where did you get
all this stuff, Maurice?

Oh, I put all this in storage
after Mother died.

I was gonna go through it...

and donate it to Goodwill,
but I never got around to it.

Oh, look at this.

Mother made this right after
Malcolm was born.

We called it
our flying carpet.

With a running start...

you could slide all the way
across this room on it.

Oh, I cracked my brainpan
on this hearth one time.

Twelve stitches
and more blood...

than you'd think
a 10-year-old had in him.

Wore that scar
as a badge of honor.

This your old mitt?
No.

That's Malcolm's.

Oh, what do you want me
to do with this?

Oh, just hang it over
there by the staircase.

I can see him now.

Working that
neat's-foot oil in...

hour after hour
after hour.

It's almost
like he's here.

Like he could almost come sliding
down that banister sidesaddle...

like he used to do.

Petite madeleine.

Hmm?

It's a French pastry.

It was Marcel Proust's favorite
when he was a little kid...

and when he was in his
30s, he bites into one...

his whole childhood
come rushing back to him.

Out pops 16 volumes of
Remembrance of Things Past.

And then, of course...

he spent the last 15 years of
his life in a cork-lined bedroom.

Don't peek.

I can't see anything
anyway, Shelly.

Ow!

Careful, H.

Okay, ready?

It's not quite done yet.

I'm still waiting on
a pink shag throw rug.

So, what do you think?
Do you love it?

Say something, Holling!

Well...

You hate it.

No. No, no, Shelly.

It just takes a little
while to absorb it all.

Is that my Athabaskan
footstool?

I gave that
to the painters.

It was just so Pacific Northwest grunge.

Didn't go with the total, you know...

Hey, did you see this
lampshade with the tassels?

And how about these
matching art pieces...

made with real seashells?

That is very interesting.

So, now that you've had
time to absorb everything...

what do you think?

I...

Well...

I like it.

You like it?

You mean,
really like it?

Oh...

I love it.

Really?

Cross your heart
and hope to die?

Stick a needle
in my eye.

Wings over England...

but these are wings
of the RAF.

American-built bombers outward
bound for daylight raids...

upon the continent.

Raids to repay
the Nazis tenfold...

for their wanton attacks
upon defenseless cities.

Attention!

Seats, please.

Okay, people.

The Germans are resupplying their
entire front in the Ardennes...

through this bridge
at Oberlahnstein.

It is heavily defended on both banks of
the Rhine with anti-aircraft batteries.

However, we believe
a single light bomber...

flying at night
low enough to avoid radar...

might just have a chance
of taking out this bridge.

Now, I need a volunteer.

A single volunteer
for that light bomber.

Who's it gonna be?

Men, I would like
to point out...

this is not just a single-span
suspension bridge. No, sir.

This is the Minotaur!

Medusa! The Cyclops!

Have we not read
our Joseph Campbell?

I am talking about
The Hero's Journey.

Separation, initiation,
and return.

"A hero ventures forth from
the world of common day...

"into a region
of supernatural wonder.

"Fabulous forces are
there encountered...

"and a decisive
victory is won.

"The hero comes back with the power
to bestow boons on his fellow man. "

Boons, sir?

Gifts. Both literal
and metaphorical.

Psychologically, the hero's
exploits form a context...

so that we can all better understand
our own individual natures.

I'll do it.

Mike?

I'll take out that bridge.

Mike, it's suicide.
You'll get killed.

Maggie, you heard
what the major said.

Remember your
comparative mythology?

Perseus, Rama, King Arthur.
A culture needs its heroes.

Exactly.

Yeah, but why you?

Why not me?

Good luck, Monroe.

Thank you, sir.

I'll go check
on my ordinance.

Mike.
See you, Maggie.

Mike.

Well, hello, Marilyn.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that
Donald Summer's coming in at 3:00.

He's got a carbuncle on his
left leg. I'm going to incise it.

So you need to sterilize a
scalpel with a number 11 blade.

Also I'm gonna need some
mosquito clamps, dressings...

saline solution and a
bulb syringe, if you would.

Oh, my birthday
was over a month ago...

and there wasn't a word,
not a card.

So I think
it's a little late...

to try to appease me
with a sweater.

Besides, when was
the last time...

you saw me wearing
pea green?

It's not for you.

No? Who's it for?

It's for Mike.

Mike Monroe?

You're knitting a sweater for Mike
Monroe? You hardly know the guy.

I don't understand. What about
me? I mean, I'm your friend.

I'm your confidant,
your employer.

You've never knitted me a pair
of socks, let alone a sweater.

Mike's an eagle.

He's a what?

He's a hero.

Mike Monroe is a hero?
No, Marilyn.

No, I'll tell you, a hero
is Jonas Salk. That's a hero.

Norman Schwarzkopf,
Reggie Jackson.

Not a hypochondriac
who cruises the Barents Sea...

with a bunch of tree huggers.

That is not an eagle,
I'm sorry.

You're jealous.

What's that?

I'm jealous?
Uh-huh.

You know,
it's very interesting.

If I say the least
little thing about Mike...

that might be construed
as negative or critical...

suddenly, I have
a problem, right?

Suddenly, I have a fragile
little ego, and I'm jealous.

Uh-huh.

You have a minute, Joel?

No, I don't, unless
Marilyn has finished...

with her probing
psychological evaluation of me.

I am. Well, thank you
very much. After you.

Why don't you take your coat
off and have a seat there.

So what seems
to be the trouble?

I'm blocked, Joel.

Blocked?
My entrails.

Nothing seems to be
moving down there.

What do you mean? You mean
you're constipated? Yeah.

Well, how long has it been
since you had an evacuation?

I count two days now.

Two days?
Uh-huh.

That's not very long.
How often do you usually go?

Once a day, directly
after my morning coffee.

Well, I mean, surely you must
skip a day every now and then?

No.

You never skip a day?
Never.

Not one, ever?

Not in 63 years.

That's incredible. Wait a
minute, you're telling me...

you've moved your bowels
once a day, every day...

I mean, come rain or shine,
for your entire life?

Yes.

That's...
Wow, every day.

Well, how's your diet?
You getting enough roughage?

Fruits, vegetables?

Shelly made up a big Waldorf
salad just last night.

Polished off
most of it myself.

Any change
in your lifestyle?

My lifestyle?

Yeah, you know, anything
different? Changed?

Well, there's the pink
gingham canopy over the bed.

Pink canopy?

And the scalloped curtains,
and the shag wall to wall...

and the chaise percée
over the john.

What are you talking about?
I don't understand.

Shelly has been
redecorating my...

Our place.
Uh-huh.

I can understand why she wants to
put a brand on the place, Joel...

but giving away
my Athabaskan footstool...

I have a hard time with that.

Yeah, of course, Holling. That's
probably why you're backed up.

I mean, it's not
uncommon, actually.

You have
an unfamiliar surrounding.

It's like a person in an airplane
or a hotel room, you know?

Or even a strange toilet seat
can make someone irregular.

I mean, when I was
first exiled here...

I was plugged up
for a week.

The surroundings are not
just unfamiliar, Joel...

they're...
Well, they're...

Feminine?

I tell you...

Ed brought over
some groceries.

He said it looked like
something out of Bye Bye Birdie.

Well, look, I'd really
rather not prescribe...

any unnecessary medications
at this point.

My advice to you is
to just put your foot down.

You know, let her know
who wears the pants.

You mean...

Yeah, tell her
you want your stool back.

Eight, nine and one makes 10.
Thank you very much.

Mike?

Yes, Dave?
What is this?

It's an NSA water purification system.

It hooks up
right under the sink.

Has a activated carbon filter which
takes out chlorine, fluoride, lead, etc.

How about giardia?

A colony of beavers spent most of the
summer camping out in my finger of the lake.

Giardia, E. coli,
it'll get out most bacteria.

And it comes
with replacement filters.

I mean, there's enough to get you
through the rest of the century.

I'll take it.
Great.

Mike.

Hey, Ed. I'm glad
you stopped by.

I have something
for you.

Oh, your leftover
surgical scrubs.

Yeah, I thought maybe you
could use them in your movies.

Well, thanks, Mike, but I'm
not gonna be needing them.

No?
No, you see, Mike...

I wanna go with you.

With me? On the ship?

Yep, you see,
I've been thinking, Mike.

It's like Casablanca.

You remember how Rick
doesn't wanna get involved.

He just wants to run
his Cafe American.

But when the Germans are
gonna arrest Paul Henreid...

well, he just realizes
that all his troubles...

they don't amount
to a hill of beans.

So, what's he do?

He shoots Conrad Veidt...

and goes off with Claude Rains to
join the Free French at Brazzaville.

Ed, I appreciate
what you're trying to do.

I do, but you can't
come with me.

But, Mike, I'm very well
suited to this kind of life.

See, I have
no family obligations...

plus I can fall asleep
almost anywhere.

Ed, you can't come with me.
You're needed here.

I am?

Yeah, yeah.
Don't you see?

Someone has to stay behind and
remind people what this is all about.

To organize the recycling,
and carpools...

and go to the market
with his own sack.

To use cloth napkins
and unbleached toilet paper...

to mulch, to insulate,
to use flow restrictors.

I hadn't thought
about that, Mike.

Oh, yeah.

And with your talents, you have
an additional responsibility.

To keep making your movies.

To show people
what's happening.

To open up their eyes
and their minds.

Each of us has to serve
where he can do the most good.

And for you,
that's Cicely, Alaska.

You're right, Mike.

Thanks.

Hey, Maurice.
Found it.

Well, it's about time,
Stevens. Come on, give it to me.

Hey, what are you
doing in there?

I just remembered
what's been eating at me.

It's right in here,
my secret hiding place.

I was watching Ruth-Anne's
cash drawer slide out...

and the memory of it just came just
clear to me as the mile-high sky.

"If you want the treasury,
use this guide.

"Fourth tread,
stringer side. "

Ah, mnemonic device.
Yeah.

Oh, good.

Hey. Look at this. Still here.

Yeah, there we go.

Just the way I left it.

"I'm one of Hoppy's rangers. "

Is this yours?

It's my box, Stevens.
Everything in here is mine.

With the exception of these.

Fish?

These were Malcolm's.

Malcolm loved these fish.

He named each one of them.

Skippy, Frank,
Spalding, and Lucky.

Aw.

Every night
before he'd go to bed...

he'd line them up
on his bedside table.

And I stole them.

The mind reels
at the vindictiveness...

and cruelty young people
are capable of.

Mike?

Maggie.

Hey, is this
a bad time?

No, I was just packing.

Well, you know,
because if you're busy, I-

No, no, no.
Please come on in.

Can I get you something to drink? No.

I mean, I just came to...

you know, say goodbye.

Oh.
Yeah, and...

I just wanted to let
you know that I think...

what you're doing
is great...

and important,
and courageous.

You do?
You really do?

Yes, I do.

And someday,
when kids ask me...

who lived in that bubble
outside of town...

covered with lichen
and wild clematis...

I'll tell them that
Mike Monroe lived there.

Just about the bravest man
I ever knew.

Not me.

You.

Me?

You're the brave one, Maggie.

Brave enough to see past
the surgical gloves...

and the strained vegetables
and the inhalers...

and see that deep down, I could
be healthy, I could be whole.

You inspired me to stick
with my antigen injections...

to take that first step
out of my bubble...

breathe unfiltered air.

You made me keep pushing
the edge of the envelope...

to try dressing on my salad...

Scrabble without my gloves.

If it hadn't been for you,
I never would have dared...

to wear
cotton-poly-blend shirts...

or brush my teeth
with a fluoride paste.

Yes, you would have.

You would have done
all those things without me.

No, Maggie.

If it hadn't been for you...

I'd still be a prisoner
in this dome.

I'll help you pack.

Here you go.

You can start
right here.

Oh, this is rich.

The Cicely Choral Society is giving a
benefit performance for Mike tonight.

I need to check
my psych book...

see if they've documented any
similar cases of mass hysteria.

He's here.

Who's here?
Mike.

Mike Monroe?
Mike's here?

Hello, Joel.
Mike. Hi.

Is anything wrong?

No, no, not at all.

Then what...

I came here
to thank you.

Yeah, well, look-

Listen, I know that
you've always harbored...

some serious doubts
about my condition.

It's okay, it's okay.

You thought I was wacko,
you probably still do.

The thing is, no matter
what your feelings were...

you always provided me
with excellent medical care.

And I really want you
to know, Joel...

I think that you're
a first-rate physician.

Well that's...
I appreciate that, thank you.

And as a token
of my appreciation...

I'd like you to have this.

Your IPPB respirator?

I thought maybe
you could use it.

Are you kidding?

Bird 6400 ST
with compressor and blender?

Ever since
my pulmonary rotation...

I've dreamed of ventilating
a patient with one of these.

Man, I don't even know
what to say.

That's...
Thank you.

Well, listen, there is something
I'd like you to do for me.

Hey, name it.

Be there for Maggie.

Look, I don't know
when I'm coming back, Joel.

The truth is, I don't
know if I'm coming back.

Oh, you'll be back.

Of course you'll be back.
And look...

I'm the last person that O'Connell
would want to be there or here...

or anywhere for.

Joel.

You and I both know that there's
something between you two.

No. No, no, really.

I mean,
she's crazy about you.

And me and O'Connell...

we can't be in the same room
together without drawing blood.

The only thing between us
is a mutual acrimony.

Be there for her.

Okay?

Okay.

See you.

Hi, Maurice.

Mal.

Better not spill that
on Mom's good sofa.

No, no, I'll...

No, I'll be careful.

You got big, Maurice.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

Look at that, Mal.

I'd forgotten that water
stain on the ceiling...

from when the tub ran over.

You used to say it
looked like a pony's head.

Yeah.

Those are the ears,
and there's the mane.

Mal?

Yeah?

Do you remember that fishing
pond game you used to have?

The one with
the little poles...

metal fish, magnets
at the end of the line?

I lost the fish.

No, I took them.

It was probably the last time you
had a chance to play with them.

I just want you to know
that I'm sorry, Malcolm.

I'm truly sorry.

It's okay.

Hey, Holling?

It's open.

Holy cow.

It's a change,
isn't it?

Change?

Holling, it doesn't even begin
to describe this.

I mean, this is...

Pink.
Yeah.

Careful you don't bump into
those little glass unicorns.

Wow, Holling, Holling.

I gotta tell you, I mean,
this would bind me up.

I mean, it would
totally tie me up.

My colon would be
tied in knots.

I mean...

No man could move
his bowels in here.

Have you said anything yet?

No.

Well, are you regular yet?

No.

Still bound up
like a rusty vice.

You know...

I planned on laying it on the line
with Shelly, Joel, I truly did...

but when I looked
into her big blue eyes...

I saw just how happy
and content she is now.

Nesting like
a November spruce hen...

making a home
for the two of us.

So I held my tongue.

Yeah, well, I mean,
that's big of you...

but you gotta be
in a lot of discomfort by now.

I intend
to acclimate, Joel.

Acclimate?

Like those fellows
that climb Mount McKinley.

They don't scale the mountain all at
once. They go up a little at a time.

Come back down, go
up further, come back.

It's a slow process, but eventually
they get up to 20,000 feet.

Breathing without the aid
of an oxygen mask.

Well...

I'll tell you what,
in case the process is...

a little slower
than you think...

I'll send over
some Dulcolax, okay?

It's pretty mild,
so you don't have to worry.

I appreciate it.

Don't mention it.

Hi.

Mike, whoa.

In my experience, you shouldn't
travel without these two things.

Eye shades
and an elastic clothesline.

Thanks, Ruth-Anne.
You're welcome.

Bye, dear.
Bye-bye.

I'll carry that.
Oh, thanks, Dave.

The latest Judith Krantz.

Not just a woman's book,
a real page-turner.

Oh, great.
Thanks, Dave.

Hi, Mike. I figured you'd get
the munchies sooner or later...

so I whipped up a whole
mess of oatmeal scotchies.

Only cooked halfway,
so they're nice and chewy.

Thanks, Shelly.

So long, Mike.
So long, Holling.

Mike?

Hey, Joel.
These are for you.

It's various blood chemistry
tests and your IgE work.

Every sputum and nasal micro
exam we did, it's all right there.

My file.

I had almost forgotten about that
urticarial rash back in November.

You wanted
to hospitalize me.

Seems like
a million years ago.

Yeah.
Thanks, this means a lot.

Why don't you
do me a favor...

and carry a spare Decadron
Respihaler, with you, okay?

Maybe some synophylate
as well.

Just as a precaution.

You have my word.

Be well, Mike.

Bye.

Well, this is it.

At least I know
I'll be warm and dry.

Thank you,
thank you all.

By 1100 hours
tomorrow morning...

I'll be steaming toward
the Arctic Circle.

But Murmansk, well, everybody,
that's just the beginning.

I'm starting a journey that will take
me from the rain forests of Brazil...

to the poisoned water
of the Vistula.

To you, who have made this moment
possible, I give my solemn oath...

that wherever there's a
toxic landfill, I'll be there.

Wherever there's a fast-breeder
plutonium reactor...

I'll be there.

I'll be where particulates
and sulfur dioxide...

fall to the ground
as acid rain.

I'll be where petroleum derivatives
are seeping into the aquifers.

Where the smallest refrigeration
unit is leaking hydrofluorocarbons...

I'll be there.

So, my dear friends,
"Fare thee well.

"And if for ever,
still for ever...

"fare thee well. "

You better write.

I will.

I'll never forget you, Mike.

I love you, Maggie.

Go get 'em, Mike!