Switched at Birth (2011–2017): Season 3, Episode 16 - The Image Disappears - full transcript

After an accident, the Kennish-Vasquez family is crippled by grief and must make an impossible choice.

Previously on "Switched at Birth"...

I knew that you were switched.

I found out 12 and a half
year ago when Daphne was 3.

Angelo secretly had her D.N.A. tested.

He came back with the results saying

I had to have had an affair.

- I hadn't.
- We find in favor of the plaintiff,

Angelo Sorrento, in the
amount of $5,000,000.

- Completely restored.
- At this rate,

he'll blow through it in six months.

I'm up to my ears with
bills for the restaurant.



And now you owe 50 grand?!

What's this mean?

This means we foreclosed.

Isn't there something you can do?

I thought this

was supposed to be when
everything came together,

but it fell apart.

I'll see you tomorrow.

- What is it?
- There's been an accident.

- Pull.
- All right, let's see what we got.

Contusions on the face and neck.

- No clear indications...
- Any signs of spinal injury?

Surgical resident, op-1.

- _
- Surgical resident, op-1.



- You lied to me.
- What are you talking about?

- What is this?
- That's a D.N.A. test.

It's proof that Daphne is not my daughter.

Green eyes and freckles,

you really think I'm stupid, huh?

We have been over this a million times.

I didn't have an affair.

Daphne is your daughter!

Where is this coming from?

My word has always been
good enough for you.

Wait, is this because the
doctors are saying she's deaf?

That's ridiculous!

Look, I know that you are scared.

I am too.

It's not because she's deaf.

I don't want to raise another man's child.

Is this test even real?

I mean, maybe you're making it up

so you will have an excuse to walk away.

- Gina...
- You know what?!

- You are off the hook.
- I just want the truth!

I'm serious. Go home, pack your stuff

and get out.

We'll be better off without you.

Fine!

He's still in surgery.

They'll tell us as soon
as they know anything.

Okay.

Thanks.

- Hey.
- Hey!

We got here as soon as we could.

When did you find out?

About an hour ago.

The police called me.

- Any news?
- What happened?

Apparently, he ran off
the road and hit a tree.

They think he has a brain injury.

Do they know what caused it?

They said maybe a deer ran across the road

- and he swerved.
- Anyone else hurt?

- No.
- Regina Vasquez?

How is he?

Your husband's out of surgery. He's stable

and being transferred to the I.C.U.

Oh, thank God.

He suffered a cerebral
hemorrhage from the crash.

We performed an endovascular coiling

to reduce the swelling and
prevent further bleeding.

But he's gonna be okay, right?

He's in serious condition.

We won't know anything
for a couple of days.

That said, he's young
and otherwise healthy...

both factors in his favor.

Can we see him?

Two at a time.

Maybe I should go first.

We're fine. We can handle it.

We're all going in.

It's okay, sweetheart.

You're gonna be okay.

Morning, ladies.

Has he been awake?

Not since we first saw him.

- Is that bad?
- Oh no.

Not necessarily. He's been
through a major trauma.

Sleep allows the body to heal.

How do you know how is brain is doing?

See here?

Cerebral perfusion pressure

tells us the pressure
driving blood from his heart

to his head.

20 or below is normal.

Your father is at 19.

So a higher number

means more bleeding?

Correct.

You pre-med?

I'm hoping to be.

I'll check back in a couple hours.

I don't care what his maximum is, okay?

I will cover whatever you wont!

I don't know, but I would imagine

a few more weeks in the hospital

and some kind of physical therapy at home.

Honey, the S.A.T. is today.

That doesn't matter.

Of course it does.

You said you need a higher score

in order to get into
a good pre-med program.

This is your last chance to take it.

Mom, I'm not gonna leave you.

I'm fine.

And...

Angelo could be here for days,

maybe weeks.

Life has to go on.

He would want you to go.

Okay.

Uh, Regina,

the police are here to see you.

- Police?
- They want to ask

a couple questions about the accident.

Okay.

Can you do me a favor?

Sure, anything.

Do you see this number?

If it goes above 20, I need you to text me.

I can do that.

Do you know if he had anything to drink?

No. No, no.

Angelo would never drink and drive.

How did he seem when he left?

What are you saying?!

That I'm cheating?!

- Are you?!
- Are you kidding me?!

Can I remind you that you
are the one that left us

and then had a baby with another woman!

You couldn't raise that
one either, could you?!

Did he give you any reason to think

that something might be wrong?

No.

If we're done here,

I'd like to get back to my husband.

Of course. I appreciate your help.

See you in a bit.

So we hear he might have
been trying to avoid a deer.

Tire marks indicate he swerved.

Any other theories?

Isolated crash, no eye-witnesses...

could have been a hit-and-run,

suicide attempt.

Suicide? No.

Not Angelo.

In my experience, it's usually
the ones you least expect.

Anyway, thank you for your time.

No, thank you.

_

No phones allowed during the exam.

I have a family member in the hospital

and they need to be able to reach me

in case of emergency.

I'm sorry. Rules are rules.

It's a really serious condition.

Can't you make an exception?

You can have it back after the test.

So once you're back across the driveway,

we should probably start
working on my French.

I've gotten quite rusty.

Quelle surprise.

I'm gonna be right back.

Oh.

And after graduation, we
should take a trip to Europe...

in the summer.

Put that phone down immediately

or you're excused.

Okay, you're done.

You always said you were gonna
be my tour guide in Paris.

And I'm gonna hold you to that, okay?

It's a date then.

Whoa, what's happening?

Whoa, okay, somebody help!

Somebody help! Help! Help!

Okay, give us some room.

Cerebral pressure is spiking.

It might be another bleed.

What does that mean?

Pupils are sluggish.

Page Dr. Larkin and clear room in the O.R.

O.R.? I don't understand.
Is he gonna be okay?

We're gonna do everything we can.

We're checking his vitals.
The doctor's on his way.



Regina.

He's still in surgery.

Okay.

Here.

I need to pray.

Oh, um...

You mean right here?

I can go in the chapel

if it makes you uncomfortable.

No, um, please.

You stay.

I'll take all the help I can get.

Do you want to pray with me?

Thanks, but, um...

I can't be one of those people

that only believes in God
when they need something.

When my kids are in trouble...

I want them to come to me...

whether or not they believed in me.

So, um, how do you do it, exactly?

There're no rules.

Just say what's in your heart.

Okay.

What's going on here?

You okay?

How do they expect us

to just sit here and wait?

It's like torture.

Sweetie, I know this is hard,

but we just have to let
the doctors do their job.

I just wish there was something I could do.

I know.

You know what? I'm gonna do something.

I've never done this before.

Could this go to my dad?

My biological dad, Angelo Sorrento,

he's in surgery right now.

I'll make it as a directed donation, yes.

Okay, make a fist.

Good girl. Okay.

Huh, well, this isn't so bad.

Not bad at all.

Honey, you okay?

No, I am not okay!

I feel like the guy in Alien

right before his stomach explodes!

You're doing fine.

Oh, I don't think these babies

are gonna wait much longer!

- Where the hell is he?!
- Okay, he'll be here.

- Okay, he'll be here.
- He didn't have a problem

showing up nine months ago!

- Ah!
- How about John and Kathryn?

Their flight lands in an hour! Ah! Ah!

Okay, okay, you have to breathe.

Okay, short quick breaths.

Like this, watch. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

- Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.
- You look ridiculous!

Well, seriously, try it.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

- Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.
- Good.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.
How'd you know about that?

How do you think? I was with Regina

when you were born.

This is the most natural
thing in the world.

Maybe for her. She's got two daughters.

She only had to push one out.

Hoo, hoo. I can't believe I'm having twins.

- Haa, hoo, hoo, haa, haa.
- Breathe.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

I still remember when
they put you in my arms

for the first time.

_

_

_

_

_

_

What is it?

Were you scared?

Of course.

And when I look into your eyes,

I knew.

As long as I lived all my success,

all my failures...

I would never do anything

more important than this.

Here comes another one!

Okay, you're gonna be fine!

- Just breathe! Breathe.
- Hoo, hoo...

Haa, haa. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Thanks for being here, dad.

Hoo, hoo, haa, haa. Hoo, hoo, haa, haa.

Here's the proud papa.

You're here.

When's the last time you took vitals?

It was 1:00 P.M.

Bay.

How is he?

They won't tell us anything.

What happened? He was stable when I left.

I was just sitting there talking to him.

He even squeezed my hand.

And then the next thing I know,

alarms are going off and
nurses start running in.

I'm so sorry.

I should have never left.

_

I was taking the S.A.T.

- Whoa.
- Angelo's in the hospital

and you were off taking some stupid test?

I don't understand

how you could just leave

in the middle of everything!

He needs us right now! Both of us...

Daphne, what's wrong?

Could you read his lips?

Did he say something about Angelo?

Wh...

what did he say?

Daphne, tell me!

Angelo...

"Angelo" what?

He's brain dead.

The second hemorrhage was very severe.

Based on changes in his
clinical presentation,

I'm afraid this is not
a recoverable injury.

But he's in the hospital.

You were watching him. He was stable.

There was no way to predict this.

Wait, I... I don't understand.

Your husband's brain has lost all function.

It can no longer communicate

- with the rest of his body.
- He's saying he's gone.

Brain death...

is death.

I'm very sorry.

No, this doesn't make any sense.

If he's breathing, then he is still alive.

The ventilator is breathing for him.

It's keeping his heart beating

and his blood oxygenated,

but without brain function,

his heart will eventually stop on it's own.

Okay, Doctor, wait a second.

There's got to be something
else that we can do.

The most humane thing you can do

is to remove him from the ventilator.

So you want us to kill him?

Do the dirty work for you?

Again...

I am sorry for your loss.

Dr. Larkin, please wait.

- How could this happen?
- Unfortunately,

there's a lot about the
brain we don't understand.

But he was hooked up to all those machines.

Couldn't you see this coming?

Medicine is an imperfect science.

But his life can't just be over.

In cases like your fathers,

there's the option of organ donation.

Organ donation?

It won't bring him back,

but it may offer some kind
of consolation to your family

in knowing that a part of him lives on.

Think about it.

I got some things for Regina.

Any luck?

I talked to four neurosurgeons.

They're all giving me the same line...

"brain dead is dead."

So what do we do now?

Well, I'm waiting on a
call from Walt Wrobel.

Remember him? He's the
old Royals' team doctor.

He's up at the Mayo now.

And I thought maybe, you
know, I'd call in an old favor,

have Angelo transferred up there.

Honey, that's just not realistic.

What are you talk... Kathryn, I'm trying

everything that I can think of.

What else do you want me to do?

I think we're just gonna
have to start accepting

that all these doctors are right.

What are you talking about? That is crazy.

I'm not gonna quit on him.

- John...
- What if that was me

- lying in that bed?!
- I don't know.

But if every single doctor
told me you were gone,

I'd have to let you go.

I mean, why are you acting like this?

Sorry, it's just...

Angelo came to me the other day...

Said the restaurant was going under.

He wanted a loan.

A loan?

What happened to all the
money from the lawsuit?

That's what I said. It's gone.

$5,000,000? What happened?

You don't think that that car accident...

that... that he would...

Angelo? What? No, way.

Well, money makes people
do very strange things.

Honey, I am telling you,
Angelo is not that guy.

Yeah, well...

when he came to me for the loan,

I said no.

Can't do it. Money's tied up,

can't liquidate.

But the truth is...

when he told me he was broke...

I thought to myself,

"yeah.

You deserve it."

What the hell is the matter with me?

You're human.

I don't care what the doctor says.

His heart's still beating.

He looks exactly like he did before.

The machines are keeping him alive.

At some point,

we're gonna have to let him go.

What?

What are you talking about?

Dr. Larkin said that he
can't come back from this.

So you're ready to just pull the plug?

We're not Angelo's only family, you know.

We haven't even talked to his mother yet.

You're right.

Of course, we should call her.

And, um...

Dr. Larkin suggested

that we should consider organ donation.

You want to strip Angelo for parts

like he's some kind of used car?

- No, it's not like that.
- Right, sure.

Then you can go back to taking the S.A.T.

and all will be right with the world.

The world will never be right.

But if Angelo could
save some other lives...

I think that's what he would want.

What the hell do you know
about what he would want?!

You don't know anything about him!

He's not even your dad!

_

Uh, I don't know.

His phone was broken in the accident,

but he has to have his mother's number

written down somewhere.

Maybe an address book or a laptop.

_

_

_

She's his mother.

She's gonna want to keep
him alive as much as I do.

_

You sound just like Daphne.

Whose side are you on?

_

As long as Angelo is breathing

there's still hope.

So are you gonna help me or not?

Be still my heart.

Is this really happening?

You're gonna be the most beautiful bride

to ever walk down the aisle.

How will I know I'm
making the right decision?

You can't know anything for sure.

Being a doctor must
have taught you that, no?

It's like how you call medicine?

An imperfect science.

Exactement.

Love is the same.

You cannot see it,

touch it, measure it.

Only you can know how he makes you feel.

Does he make you smile, laugh?

Makes you feel like the most
amazing woman in the world?

Then you made the right decision.

Thanks.

I needed that.

Anytime, mon trésor.

I feel like the luckiest girl

to have two dads walk her down the aisle.

I wouldn't have missed it...

For the world.

Q, R, S...

Sorrento!

Anna Maria. Jackpot!

_

_

- Hey.
- One of the staff

just tried to give me a recommendation

for a funeral home.

I want to move Angelo to another hospital.

Have you talked to anyone?

Yes, we've called all over.

Everyone says Dr. Larkin is one of the best

neurosurgeons in the country,

and they all agree with his opinion.

Exactly, his "opinion."

Regina, we could not have
done better for Angelo.

That's it?

You're giving up?!

Why am I surprised?

You never liked Angelo,

never gave him a chance.

Please, Regina.

Ever since he came into our lives,

you have treated him like a joke!

You resented having to
share the girls with him.

And now you get to be their only father!

Well, congratulations!

This is working out great for you!

We shouldn't be looking at this.

_

_

"If there's no reasonable
expectation of my recovery

and the application of mechanical support

will only serve to postpone
the moment of my death,

I direct that support to...

be removed."

_

No, we don't.

We will put this back where we found it.

And no one ever needs to know.

_

Yes, we can.

We pretend we were never here.

_

I don't give a damn what it says!

Okay?!

Do you know what the last

real conversation I had with Angelo was?

Neither do I.

Those were his last words to me.

I can't even remember them.

He was living across the driveway.

He was right there...

and I ignored him.

_

_

_

_

Hey.

Hey.

I'm sorry.

No, you don't have to apologize.

I shouldn't have yelled at John.

Look...

We're family.

If you can't yell at
us, who can you yell at?

Last night, Angelo and I had a huge fight.

Tsk.

He was so mad at me.

And then he got in that car.

This is not your fault.

I said all these horrible things.

Listen to me, Regina.

We don't know why his
car went off the road.

You can't blame yourself.

We broke up because of the switch.

He thought I cheated on him.

And then...

when I found out the truth,

I was too stubborn to tell him,

too angry.

All those years that we
could have had together.

Yeah.

You know, earlier when I was praying...

I wasn't just praying for Angelo to live.

I was praying for strength...

for you.

For all of us.

Honey, we're gonna get
through this as a family.

I promise you.

Have you heard about this man in Texas?

He was in a motorcycle accident,

they said he was braid dead,

but he woke up.

I am aware.

And in that case, it was doctor error.

Well, with all due respect, Doctor,

couldn't you have made the same mistake?

Let me show you something.

This is the angiogram we did

after your father's first hemorrhage.

You see these?

They're blood vessels.

And you can see the blood

flowing through them.

Now...

This was taken

after the second hemorrhage.

There's no blood.

I also performed a
25-point neurological exam.

He failed across the board...

no corneal reflex, no gag response,

nothing.

That's not fair.

I know.

Death never is.

I know what Angelo would want.

He never told me he had a will.

He already made

the hard decision for us.

But I can't just give up on him.

Mom...

There's something else.

We would like

to donate his organs.

I guess now...

we have to say goodbye.

What you're doing, is a gift.

Mr. Sorrento's donated organs and tissues

could save as many as 50 lives.

Do you know which organs

he'll be able to take?

We've cleared the heart,

liver,

pancreas, lungs,

corneas, small intestines,

bone, bone marrow and skin tissue.

Wow, that's amazing.

Only the kidneys are questionable

because of a condition

related to the brain aneurysm.

Wha... ?

I'm sorry, um, no one said anything

about a brain aneurysm.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I thought you knew.

His latest C.T. scan

showed evidence of a
ruptured cerebral aneurysm.

So the accident caused it?

No, the aneurysm was a
pre-existing condition.

When it ruptured, it likely
caused him to run off the road.

But... why didn't Dr. Larkin say anything?

Um...

I see.

The results of the earlier C.T. scans

were obscured by profuse bleeding.

Do you know what caused the rupture?

Typical causes

are high blood pressure,

stress, anxiety,

anger.

Did you say "anger"?

So if he was really angry

right before the accident... ?

Yes, that could have caused it.

Now, once the organs are harvested,

U. N.O.S. matches them

with recipients on waiting lists

around the country.

That means time is of the essence.

If there are other relatives

who would like to pay their respects...

There's Angelo's mother in France.

Time is of the essence.

Okay.

Let's go ahead.

Are you sure?

Honey, I could make the call.

No. It should be me.

Allo.

Bonjour. Uh, Anna Maria Sorrento?

_

_

_

Do you speak English?

Yes, hello, Bay.

Angelo has told me all about you,

ma petite chérie.

Uh...

I'm calling about Angelo.

I have his mom on the phone.

She wants to say goodbye.

_

It's not because she's deaf.

I don't want to raise another man's child!

Is this test even real?!

I mean, maybe you're making it up

so you will have an excuse to walk away.

- Gina...
- You know what?!

- You are off the hook.
- I just want the truth!

I'm serious. Go home,

pack your stuff, and get out!

We'll be better off without you.

Fine!

I'm sorry. I'm... I'm so sorry.

Me too, there has to be
some mistake with this test.

- I believe you.
- You do?

We'll figure it out together.

Promise you will never leave.

I promise you.

Sweetie, are you okay?

This is all your fault!