Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 1, Episode 11 - The Hero - full transcript
Monica and Tess help a sheriff come to terms with his own past while trying to help his son not commit suicide.
Oh, Tess.
I'll never get tired
of seeing the sunrise.
Neither do I, baby.
It's always good to
get up with the sun.
It's a wonder more people
don't get up to see the dawn.
It's not the
sunrise he's up for.
Some people can't stand
the silence of the night.
The nighttime has
its own special beauty.
Not for him.
James Mackey.
He just gets up with the
sun to start running again.
He looks like quite an athlete.
Well, he is a good runner.
But that's not the kind of
running I'm talking about.
Did you ever hear the story
about the man who
was afraid of the lions?
Well, he was so scared,
he ran, and he ran, and he ran,
and he kept looking
behind him to see
if a lion was
catching up to him.
And he looked over
his shoulder so much
he didn't see
where he was going,
and one day, guess what
he ran smack dab into?
A lion.
♪ When you walk down the road ♪
♪ Heavy burden, heavy load ♪
♪ I will rise ♪
♪ And I will walk with you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Every time, I tell
you I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪
Oh, yes, sir.
He's a terrific kid.
A letter from you sure would
shake the walls down.
Oh, yes, sir.
Your name is still real
good around these parts.
I'll call you from
the car later then.
Hello.
I'm here to see Sheriff Mackey.
Jim!
The college boards are coming up
so we have to
know pretty soon, sir.
Right.
Well, thank you. I
appreciate that, sir.
Thank you.
All right. All right!
What did he say?
I want you to call Matt's school
and have them fax a
copy of his grades over
to Congressman Atwater
right away. He's going to do it?
He likes what he sees,
he's going to write the letter of
recommendation to Annapolis.
I'm on it.
I'm so proud of that boy,
I don't know what to do.
Oh, Jim, this is...
Hello. I'm Monica.
Hello, Monica.
What brings you to Tapford?
I'm doing a story for the Globe.
Reporter down
from the capital, huh?
We have them for
breakfast, don't we, Vicky?
Well, don't hold it against me.
I'm just a freelancer.
What can I do for you?
I'm doing a profile
on local heroes.
Oh?
Well, you were given the
Governor's Medal of Valor.
Well, that was three years ago.
Why do you want to do
an article on that now?
Well, this is just
a follow-up story,
a "where are they
now" sort of thing.
I'll tell you where he is.
He's on cloud nine.
His kid's going to
get into Annapolis.
That would make a great angle.
Father and son, yesterday's
hero, tomorrow's hero?
Yeah, but that just
seems like old news to me.
Not the way I'm
going to write it.
You go on, let
Monica ride with you.
Please. I won't be any trouble.
All right.
I can't fight off both of you.
I'll get my hat.
So when my wife died,
something about big city
life didn't work anymore.
I took Matthew,
packed a few things
and moved to Tapford.
It certainly is a
wonderful place
to bring up a boy.
Hi, Sheriff.
Sure is.
We got fishing down at the lake,
meadows for track
runs, great local schools.
Pretty much everything
we need is right
here on Main Street.
It's lovely.
Mm-hmm.
Is that the bank that earned you
your medal?
Yeah, that's it.
Tell me, Sheriff Mackey,
what's it like to be a hero?
My partner, Nick Hansen,
died in that holdup.
I know.
This kid was
cleaning the bank out.
He had everybody on the floor
ready to execute half the town.
He had one woman by the
throat with a pistol to her head.
Nick and I went in together.
The kid shot Nick.
And you shot the boy?
He couldn't have
been more than 19.
Next thing I know, they're
pinning a medal on me.
Calling me a hero.
It's not your fault
that your partner died.
You risked your life to save him
and think of all the
others that you saved.
Yeah... Yeah.
What the...?
Be right back, Monica.
Come on, man.
Pass it back out.
Dad.
I'm driving down the
street thinking my son's
in the library, and
what do I see?
He's spending the last
few hours of his study time
out here in a damn
basketball game.
Listen, dad, I was just...
I was taking a break.
No, there are no
breaks, Matthew.
The boards are tomorrow.
You got that? Tomorrow.
You're fresh out of time.
There are no breaks.
Jim, Jim. He has studied enough.
If anybody is ready for
the boards, it's Matthew.
Mike, I know you're a good
man and you mean well,
but you stay out of my business.
Jim, I'm sorry, but
I've got to say it,
you are too hard on your son.
Are you telling me how
to raise my boy? No...
You telling me what's
best for my son?
No, I just think
you... Don't think.
They don't pay you to do that.
They pay you to
coach, so you stick
to what you do best
and leave my son to me, huh?
Excuse me for interrupting,
but I think there's been
a wee bit of a misunderstanding.
You see, the sheriff here was
given some very exciting news
about his son today.
Hello, Matthew.
And in his
eagerness to share it,
I think he got a
little worked up.
I was out of line,
Mike. I apologize.
It's all right, Jim.
Good. So now are you going
to tell Matthew the news?
Congressman Atwater
came through for us.
You got the
recommendation, Matthew.
That's great, Dad.
What, no jumping up and down?
No whooping and hollering?
Matthew, we're talking Annapolis
here, the Naval Academy.
That's top of the line, son.
Boy, I'm so proud
of you I could bust.
Now, look, you
gather up your stuff
and get on back to the library.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
You boys get on
back to your game.
Man, your dad's hard-core.
I guess if they tell
you you're a hero,
you can get away with anything.
Shut up, man.
He knows what he's doing.
You know, I try to
keep a lid on my temper,
but hell, when it
comes to Matthew,
there's nothing that
makes my blood boil more
than some joker
trying to tell me
what's right for my son.
He seems like a
very special boy.
Yeah.
A shrine to the son,
so little about the father.
Well, the son's a
lot more interesting
than the old man ever was.
Excellence in track,
football, math, English.
You're right, he is quite a boy.
You know, people like
Mike on the basketball court,
they say I'm too hard on him.
But I know what hard is,
and I know what discipline is.
The two of them
are interchangeable.
If you want your
son to be successful,
you've got to
give him discipline.
The only way to
do that is to be hard.
So discipline is Sheriff
Mackey's secret weapon
for success, huh?
Well, look at me.
I'm up every morning by 4:00,
jogging on the road by 5:00,
in at work by 6:00.
Efficient but exhausting.
When do you sleep?
Sleep? I don't believe in sleep.
Sleep is eight wasted
hours of hot-air ballooning.
Nothing gets done.
Where I come from, people
don't always have to be busy.
Sometimes they just sit
back and enjoy the peace.
We come from two
different places, Monica.
All of the places I've been
don't know the first
thing about peace.
In fact, you show me someone
who claims they live in peace,
I'll show you a liar.
Yeah, I miss him every day.
Matt?
Is that you?
Hey, Dad.
How you doing?
Oh, you remember Monica.
Hello. I heard wonderful
things about you.
Well, I hope you
didn't believe them.
Monica here is a reporter.
They sent her down here to
do a story on your old man.
Oh. That's great.
Well, I got dinner burning.
Dad?
Is it all right if I eat
in my room tonight?
Matt, we got company.
Oh, don't mind me.
I'm kind of nervous
about tomorrow.
I was hoping maybe I
could cram a few more hours.
Well, get cracking.
Good luck tomorrow.
I look at that boy
and everything else
I've done in my life
hardly seems to matter.
Can I quote you?
You're damn straight.
Any boy that studies that much
is looking for answers that
he cannot find in a book.
He's so quiet and well-behaved.
But there's something
else too... a sadness.
He's so caught up in what
his father wants him to be,
that he hasn't had time
to find out who he really is.
His father is so proud of him.
Honey, there is
nothing more dangerous
than a man taking
pride in the wrong thing.
Hey, Mackey.
You got them, man?
It's a done deal.
Mackey?
One thing I don't get.
You could take
this test in Chinese
and still come out making A's.
Why buy the answers?
This one's too important.
There's no room for mistakes.
Matthew?
Will you please
put your pencil down
and join me outside in the hall?
Matthew, you are a good student.
I don't know why you
felt you had to cheat.
I'm sorry.
It's too late for that. I
have to disqualify you.
The honors board
meets Friday morning.
I want you to be there.
And bring your father.
May I have your attention?
Would everyone
please take their seats?
This is a time when all
of you face big decisions.
Now, you took the
boards this morning.
And while you
wait for your scores,
trying to figure out
what college to attend,
what career path to follow,
and what an uncertain
future holds for you.
Now, you may be asking
yourself "Do I have what it takes?
Do I have what it takes to
make it in the real world?"
Well, today I've provided
a very special speaker
to talk to you about
those hard choices.
He's a man who has understanding
because he has been there.
He's made his choices
and he has made them well.
Please help me welcome someone
that we all know and respect,
Sheriff James Mackey.
Thank you and good afternoon.
Principal Richards
asked me here today
to give you a
motivational speech.
I can't do that.
I can't give any
of you anything.
Motivation,
direction, inspiration,
those are all things that
only you can give yourselves.
You've got to have
a vision for yourself
and then you've got
to put in the hard time.
Because when you do,
when you use self-discipline,
you don't just
achieve excellence,
you get the rewards
that come with it.
Now take as an example
one of your own classmates,
Matthew Mackey.
I grant you, he's my son,
and I won't stand here
for one minute and say
I'm not proud of him.
But he put in the hard time.
And now it's paying off.
His grades have earned
him a recommendation
from a congressman,
and now we're talking Annapolis.
The bottom line
is, do the hard work
and the doors will swing open.
Want to bet?
Now this isn't just happening
because Matthew sat around
for four years on his hands.
It's happening because
he's a young man
who knew what he
wanted and he went for it.
He's the one who
finally got the dream.
And I'm here to tell you,
when you get the dream,
the dream gives back to you.
Hey, Mackey. Wait up.
Hey!
Hey, what did you tell Randall?
I didn't tell her anything.
How did you say
you got the answers?
I didn't say anything, man.
Yeah, well, as far as
anybody's concerned,
you stole those
answers all by yourself.
Got it?
Hey, just remember.
Whatever your
father can do to you,
I can do worse.
I read that you're speaking
at the Chamber of Commerce
tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you.
No, you can't come.
Oh, come on.
I'm telling you, it's
gonna be pretty boring.
Thank you. I'd love to.
I'll have the chairman
put you at my table.
You can sit with Matthew.
You know, you certainly do
make an awful lot of speeches.
Well, I'm the local hero.
I guess that dubious honor
comes with a price, huh?
It seems like an
awfully high price.
And it puts you under
an awful lot of pressure
to always do the right thing
and be the right thing.
Well, after Nick died,
I wanted to find a way to
give his death some meaning.
What about Matthew?
What about him?
It must be so hard for
him to live in your shadow.
Nah, he's got a whole
future of his own to live.
Yeah, but it seems to be
putting him under a
lot of pressure, too.
You know, I'm worried about him.
Look, he's waiting
for the results
on the college boards,
he's thinking about Annapolis.
His whole life is changing
right under his feet.
College is a wonderful goal,
but he's still a boy, you know.
He needs to be able to play
basketball and see a movie.
He needs to relax.
Monica, trust me
on this, all right?
That kid is at the
top of his game...
Class valedictorian,
captain of the football team
and the basketball team.
I know, but he's exhausted.
You know, he spends so
much time trying to please you,
that he never takes the time
to think what it means
to please himself.
Don't tell me about
my son, all right?
I know him like the
back of my hand.
If he's feeling any
pressure at all right now,
he can handle it.
Okay?
Sure.
Let me grab my stuff
for the dry cleaners
and we'll head right
back to the office, huh?
Okay.
It's here.
Hot dog, it's here!
Yeah, this is it.
Congressman Atwater
not only wrote the
letter of recommendation,
he wrote it with honors.
That's Matt.
Come on.
Hey, son.
How could you do
that to me today, Dad?
What?
Come on, Dad,
I haven't even been
accepted into Annapolis
and you're telling
everybody that I'm in.
I mean, what am I supposed
to do if I don't make it?
Did you ever think of that?
Matt, I apologize if
I embarrassed you.
Son, it's just that
I'm so proud of you
that it's hard to keep it in.
Here, maybe this
will cheer you up.
You're in, Matthew. You made it.
I told you, you could
do it, son, and you did.
You did it, Matthew.
I don't believe you.
You opened my mail.
But, Matt, I...
Dad, you don't
give me any privacy.
You don't let me have
anything that's mine.
Don't you use that tone with me,
not after all I've
done for you, boy.
You don't get it, do you?
No, what I get, Matthew,
is that this, this
recommendation
is going to change your life,
give you opportunities
that most kids
would sell their souls for.
I can't talk to you.
What's gotten into that boy?
Maybe you should
go up and talk to him.
No, he's just tired.
Let him sleep it off.
Okay, let's go.
Move it!
Okay, watch out! Watch out!
Watch out.
Okay, heads up, folks.
We need labs, stat. Yes, sir.
James?
Monica.
I was, uh...
I was trying to sleep
and I heard this gunshot.
I went down in the basement
and I found him...
Well, what happened?
I don't know. He had my gun.
What the hell was
he doing down there
in the middle of the
night with my gun?
Tom?
Jim, I'll let you
know as soon as I do.
What have we got?
17-year-old male, gunshot wound
to the left temporal area,
probably self-inflicted.
Unresponsive at scene,
stable vitals on route.
Okay, send off a crit,
electrolytes, ABG,
type and cross for two.
Ready? One, two, three.
He's got one at a cubical line.
Okay, we need
two 16-gauge lines.
Let's hook him up and
hyperventilate him. I'm on it.
Can I have someone help
me with his head, please?
Patrick, that's you.
Cut that. Cut that.
Okay.
Let's hit him up
with 75 of Mannitol.
I also need a new
set of vitals and a SAT.
BP 100/60, heart
rate 54, SAT 92.
I feel a skull fracture.
It looks non-penetrating.
Come on, here we go.
There are medals out
there waiting for you,
and bright skies
and loving friends
and a life so full, you
can't even begin to imagine.
Oh, Matthew, God
loves you so much.
Now fight.
Fight for yourself.
Pupils are reacting bilaterally.
Call radiology.
We need a stat head CT.
- Dr. Parrish to CICU.
Tom.
How's my boy doing?
He'll make it. Oh, thank God.
Thank you, Tom, thank you.
Jim, he'll make it, but
I'm not gonna lie to you,
it's gonna be a hard road back.
All right.
Please.
The force of the bullet
caused an injury to the brain.
There's a contusion.
It's like a small blood clot
that's centered right
at the speech area.
Matthew's speech
is severely impaired.
Now, whether that
impairment is permanent
or temporary can only
be determined over time,
but we're gonna get him right
into therapy and rehab, okay?
We'll get him back.
He'll make it back...
He's-he's gonna be fine, Tom.
That's the attitude
we need. Yeah.
Tom, when can I bring him home?
Well, Jim... the boy's
been shot in the head,
and... even if he's out
of the woods with that,
he's still gonna have to spend
some time up in psychiatric.
What?
It's hospital policy whenever
there's a suicide attempt.
Suicide?
Yeah. I'm sorry, I
thought you knew.
Oh, no, no, that's not possible.
Jim, I know it's
hard to hear that.
No. No son of mine
would try to commit suicide.
But, Jim, the only
thing that matters
is Matthew needs help.
Now, we can give him
the psychiatric attention
he needs right now, but you,
you are gonna have to
follow up on your own.
Now, I'm gonna give you the name
of a very good family therapist,
and I want the both
of you to go together.
Listen to me.
The more involved you are in
Matthew's recovery, the better.
Where's the note?
What note? Well, if
you're gonna stand there
and tell me my son
tried to commit suicide,
then you damn well better
produce a suicide note.
Don't do this. Come
on, you're a cop.
You know there
isn't always a note.
Look...
you either produce
the suicide note
or you stop slandering my
son's name, you got that?
Dr. Levy, please
call extension 434.
Dr. Levy, please
call extension 434.
Hello, Matthew.
Oh, no.
Matthew, you can't think that.
We couldn't let you die.
No, you don't.
You have so much to live for.
It's okay. I'm an angel.
I can hear you.
Nothing I do is good enough.
Good enough for your father?
He's not happy
unless I'm the best.
And I can't be all the time.
I mean, if I'm on the team,
he won't just let me play,
he wants me to be team captain.
And if I win an award,
he wants it to be first place.
And the boards, if I get a
1,500, it's not good enough.
He wants a 1,600.
Is that why you
cheated on your test?
Does he know?
Not yet.
But you should
tell him yourself.
I can't. He'll kill me.
Is that why you tried
to get there first?
Maybe.
Oh, Matthew, it's not
as bad as it seems.
You and your father,
you can work this through.
Yes, I do know your
father, and I know you,
and I believe in you both.
What do you think?
Well, his head is
going to be all right...
It's his heart I'm
worried about.
Well, the sins of the father
have definitely been
visited upon the son.
And the father has to
heal before the son can.
And it had better be fast,
because that boy will try again.
It seems so unfair.
How can he expect
Matthew to live up to him?
Oh, it's deeper than that.
He expects that
boy to redeem him.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Monica.
He needs to see you.
What good would that do?
When are you going to
look past your own pain
to see that your son is
suffering so much it's killing him?
Matthew had an accident;
we all have accidents.
Matthew tried to kill himself.
No, he didn't!
You claim to be a hero,
and yet you can't
find the courage
to save your own son?
I know my son.
My son would never
try to kill himself.
I found this in the basement.
It's addressed to you.
James, Matthew is
in that hospital bed
because he was caught
cheating on the college boards.
His teacher disqualified him.
He was about to lose everything.
He couldn't talk to you, and...
he thought there
was no other way out.
But I don't understand this.
He-he doesn't have to cheat.
No, of course he doesn't.
But you made him feel that
being good wasn't good
enough, and he was afraid
that he wouldn't live
up to your expectations.
He wanted to die because
he was too ashamed
to come to you with the truth.
Oh, God.
Matthew needs
you to forgive him,
and he needs to know
that you love him...
Not because he's the best,
but because he's your son.
I can't. I... I can't.
I love my son more
than I love my own life,
but I'm the last person in
the world that can help him.
Monica?
So you don't get up at night
out of discipline, do you?
No.
Come with me.
What the...?
I know what's been
haunting you, James.
If you hide the lie
for long enough,
you start to think
that it's the truth.
Who are you?
I'm an angel.
A what?
An angel.
An angel.
Boy, that's great.
That, that's just great.
I don't know whether
to fall on my knees
or take you in and book you.
I'm not kidding and you know it.
You've been running and running,
looking over your shoulder,
waiting for this
moment for a long time.
Secrets are such
dangerous things.
The closer you hold on
to them, the farther away
you push everyone
else to keep them safe.
But do you know what, James?
There are no such
things as secrets.
Back off!
Get down!
You, over there!
Shut up!
Back off!
Stay down!
Don't move!
Most people will never know
what really happened that night.
But no matter how
hard you try to hide it,
the truth is still the truth.
And God knows what the truth is.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
God knows that.
But now it's time
to tell your son.
Resident on call to ER.
Resident on call to ER.
Matthew, when your mother died,
I promised her I
would give you the best.
I knew it was going to be hard
raising you on my own,
but I never
doubted I could do it
because I knew how
much I loved you, son.
And I do.
I love you more than
anything in my life.
Is that it, Matt? You...
You didn't think you
were good enough?
Son, the reason I
push you so hard
is because I don't want you
to be anything,
anything like me.
I know you... you
think you let me down.
I'm the one who let you down.
Matthew, uh...
Nick died in that
holdup because of me,
not in spite of me.
I froze.
Yes, son. I-I was scared.
I let Nick take
that bullet for me
and I lied about
what really happened.
People saw me holding Nick's gun
and assumed
that I shot that kid.
I didn't.
Nick shot him.
Nick's the hero.
Yeah, I know, Matt,
I should have come forward
and told the truth,
but after all the
commotion died down,
they were already
calling me a hero.
I couldn't bear
to... to tell them...
the truth...
How much of a
coward I really was.
Son...
I should have
died in that holdup.
And knowing that the
only way I could live
was to think about you.
I thought the reason
God kept me alive...
was because you needed me.
Oh, Matt.
It's funny, isn't it,
how sometimes
you have to be silent
before you can communicate.
I am not crying.
Okay.
This is the name of a
good family counselor.
Just tell him I sent you.
Tom?
Thanks for everything.
Hey, I'm here if you need me.
Monica.
How's Matthew?
I told him the truth.
I think he heard me.
And you?
I still have another
speech to give.
So many speeches.
This is the last one.
I know it will be a good one.
When Hank told me
the Chamber of
Commerce wanted me
to speak at this, the annual
luncheon, I was honored.
At events like this,
I'm usually asked to speak
about courage and heroism.
Today I need to
speak about the truth.
Yesterday, I almost lost my son.
He was in trouble, and I was
so busy taking care of myself,
that I couldn't see how
much he needed me.
But his pain is...
It made me see that it
is time to come forward.
It's time for me
to be courageous
and to tell the truth.
I'd like to set the
record straight.
I am not the hero
you think I am.
The real hero died in a
bank robbery three years ago.
He was a good cop.
A respected member
of this community
and the best friend I ever had.
He's a man who truly
deserves this medal of valor.
My partner... Nick Hansen.
Are you all right?
I will be.
Now don't you go
getting emotional on me.
You can't go around
crying over every job.
Oh!
You're a fine one to talk.
Save one for me.
I'll never get tired
of seeing the sunrise.
Neither do I, baby.
It's always good to
get up with the sun.
It's a wonder more people
don't get up to see the dawn.
It's not the
sunrise he's up for.
Some people can't stand
the silence of the night.
The nighttime has
its own special beauty.
Not for him.
James Mackey.
He just gets up with the
sun to start running again.
He looks like quite an athlete.
Well, he is a good runner.
But that's not the kind of
running I'm talking about.
Did you ever hear the story
about the man who
was afraid of the lions?
Well, he was so scared,
he ran, and he ran, and he ran,
and he kept looking
behind him to see
if a lion was
catching up to him.
And he looked over
his shoulder so much
he didn't see
where he was going,
and one day, guess what
he ran smack dab into?
A lion.
♪ When you walk down the road ♪
♪ Heavy burden, heavy load ♪
♪ I will rise ♪
♪ And I will walk with you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Every time, I tell
you I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪
Oh, yes, sir.
He's a terrific kid.
A letter from you sure would
shake the walls down.
Oh, yes, sir.
Your name is still real
good around these parts.
I'll call you from
the car later then.
Hello.
I'm here to see Sheriff Mackey.
Jim!
The college boards are coming up
so we have to
know pretty soon, sir.
Right.
Well, thank you. I
appreciate that, sir.
Thank you.
All right. All right!
What did he say?
I want you to call Matt's school
and have them fax a
copy of his grades over
to Congressman Atwater
right away. He's going to do it?
He likes what he sees,
he's going to write the letter of
recommendation to Annapolis.
I'm on it.
I'm so proud of that boy,
I don't know what to do.
Oh, Jim, this is...
Hello. I'm Monica.
Hello, Monica.
What brings you to Tapford?
I'm doing a story for the Globe.
Reporter down
from the capital, huh?
We have them for
breakfast, don't we, Vicky?
Well, don't hold it against me.
I'm just a freelancer.
What can I do for you?
I'm doing a profile
on local heroes.
Oh?
Well, you were given the
Governor's Medal of Valor.
Well, that was three years ago.
Why do you want to do
an article on that now?
Well, this is just
a follow-up story,
a "where are they
now" sort of thing.
I'll tell you where he is.
He's on cloud nine.
His kid's going to
get into Annapolis.
That would make a great angle.
Father and son, yesterday's
hero, tomorrow's hero?
Yeah, but that just
seems like old news to me.
Not the way I'm
going to write it.
You go on, let
Monica ride with you.
Please. I won't be any trouble.
All right.
I can't fight off both of you.
I'll get my hat.
So when my wife died,
something about big city
life didn't work anymore.
I took Matthew,
packed a few things
and moved to Tapford.
It certainly is a
wonderful place
to bring up a boy.
Hi, Sheriff.
Sure is.
We got fishing down at the lake,
meadows for track
runs, great local schools.
Pretty much everything
we need is right
here on Main Street.
It's lovely.
Mm-hmm.
Is that the bank that earned you
your medal?
Yeah, that's it.
Tell me, Sheriff Mackey,
what's it like to be a hero?
My partner, Nick Hansen,
died in that holdup.
I know.
This kid was
cleaning the bank out.
He had everybody on the floor
ready to execute half the town.
He had one woman by the
throat with a pistol to her head.
Nick and I went in together.
The kid shot Nick.
And you shot the boy?
He couldn't have
been more than 19.
Next thing I know, they're
pinning a medal on me.
Calling me a hero.
It's not your fault
that your partner died.
You risked your life to save him
and think of all the
others that you saved.
Yeah... Yeah.
What the...?
Be right back, Monica.
Come on, man.
Pass it back out.
Dad.
I'm driving down the
street thinking my son's
in the library, and
what do I see?
He's spending the last
few hours of his study time
out here in a damn
basketball game.
Listen, dad, I was just...
I was taking a break.
No, there are no
breaks, Matthew.
The boards are tomorrow.
You got that? Tomorrow.
You're fresh out of time.
There are no breaks.
Jim, Jim. He has studied enough.
If anybody is ready for
the boards, it's Matthew.
Mike, I know you're a good
man and you mean well,
but you stay out of my business.
Jim, I'm sorry, but
I've got to say it,
you are too hard on your son.
Are you telling me how
to raise my boy? No...
You telling me what's
best for my son?
No, I just think
you... Don't think.
They don't pay you to do that.
They pay you to
coach, so you stick
to what you do best
and leave my son to me, huh?
Excuse me for interrupting,
but I think there's been
a wee bit of a misunderstanding.
You see, the sheriff here was
given some very exciting news
about his son today.
Hello, Matthew.
And in his
eagerness to share it,
I think he got a
little worked up.
I was out of line,
Mike. I apologize.
It's all right, Jim.
Good. So now are you going
to tell Matthew the news?
Congressman Atwater
came through for us.
You got the
recommendation, Matthew.
That's great, Dad.
What, no jumping up and down?
No whooping and hollering?
Matthew, we're talking Annapolis
here, the Naval Academy.
That's top of the line, son.
Boy, I'm so proud
of you I could bust.
Now, look, you
gather up your stuff
and get on back to the library.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
You boys get on
back to your game.
Man, your dad's hard-core.
I guess if they tell
you you're a hero,
you can get away with anything.
Shut up, man.
He knows what he's doing.
You know, I try to
keep a lid on my temper,
but hell, when it
comes to Matthew,
there's nothing that
makes my blood boil more
than some joker
trying to tell me
what's right for my son.
He seems like a
very special boy.
Yeah.
A shrine to the son,
so little about the father.
Well, the son's a
lot more interesting
than the old man ever was.
Excellence in track,
football, math, English.
You're right, he is quite a boy.
You know, people like
Mike on the basketball court,
they say I'm too hard on him.
But I know what hard is,
and I know what discipline is.
The two of them
are interchangeable.
If you want your
son to be successful,
you've got to
give him discipline.
The only way to
do that is to be hard.
So discipline is Sheriff
Mackey's secret weapon
for success, huh?
Well, look at me.
I'm up every morning by 4:00,
jogging on the road by 5:00,
in at work by 6:00.
Efficient but exhausting.
When do you sleep?
Sleep? I don't believe in sleep.
Sleep is eight wasted
hours of hot-air ballooning.
Nothing gets done.
Where I come from, people
don't always have to be busy.
Sometimes they just sit
back and enjoy the peace.
We come from two
different places, Monica.
All of the places I've been
don't know the first
thing about peace.
In fact, you show me someone
who claims they live in peace,
I'll show you a liar.
Yeah, I miss him every day.
Matt?
Is that you?
Hey, Dad.
How you doing?
Oh, you remember Monica.
Hello. I heard wonderful
things about you.
Well, I hope you
didn't believe them.
Monica here is a reporter.
They sent her down here to
do a story on your old man.
Oh. That's great.
Well, I got dinner burning.
Dad?
Is it all right if I eat
in my room tonight?
Matt, we got company.
Oh, don't mind me.
I'm kind of nervous
about tomorrow.
I was hoping maybe I
could cram a few more hours.
Well, get cracking.
Good luck tomorrow.
I look at that boy
and everything else
I've done in my life
hardly seems to matter.
Can I quote you?
You're damn straight.
Any boy that studies that much
is looking for answers that
he cannot find in a book.
He's so quiet and well-behaved.
But there's something
else too... a sadness.
He's so caught up in what
his father wants him to be,
that he hasn't had time
to find out who he really is.
His father is so proud of him.
Honey, there is
nothing more dangerous
than a man taking
pride in the wrong thing.
Hey, Mackey.
You got them, man?
It's a done deal.
Mackey?
One thing I don't get.
You could take
this test in Chinese
and still come out making A's.
Why buy the answers?
This one's too important.
There's no room for mistakes.
Matthew?
Will you please
put your pencil down
and join me outside in the hall?
Matthew, you are a good student.
I don't know why you
felt you had to cheat.
I'm sorry.
It's too late for that. I
have to disqualify you.
The honors board
meets Friday morning.
I want you to be there.
And bring your father.
May I have your attention?
Would everyone
please take their seats?
This is a time when all
of you face big decisions.
Now, you took the
boards this morning.
And while you
wait for your scores,
trying to figure out
what college to attend,
what career path to follow,
and what an uncertain
future holds for you.
Now, you may be asking
yourself "Do I have what it takes?
Do I have what it takes to
make it in the real world?"
Well, today I've provided
a very special speaker
to talk to you about
those hard choices.
He's a man who has understanding
because he has been there.
He's made his choices
and he has made them well.
Please help me welcome someone
that we all know and respect,
Sheriff James Mackey.
Thank you and good afternoon.
Principal Richards
asked me here today
to give you a
motivational speech.
I can't do that.
I can't give any
of you anything.
Motivation,
direction, inspiration,
those are all things that
only you can give yourselves.
You've got to have
a vision for yourself
and then you've got
to put in the hard time.
Because when you do,
when you use self-discipline,
you don't just
achieve excellence,
you get the rewards
that come with it.
Now take as an example
one of your own classmates,
Matthew Mackey.
I grant you, he's my son,
and I won't stand here
for one minute and say
I'm not proud of him.
But he put in the hard time.
And now it's paying off.
His grades have earned
him a recommendation
from a congressman,
and now we're talking Annapolis.
The bottom line
is, do the hard work
and the doors will swing open.
Want to bet?
Now this isn't just happening
because Matthew sat around
for four years on his hands.
It's happening because
he's a young man
who knew what he
wanted and he went for it.
He's the one who
finally got the dream.
And I'm here to tell you,
when you get the dream,
the dream gives back to you.
Hey, Mackey. Wait up.
Hey!
Hey, what did you tell Randall?
I didn't tell her anything.
How did you say
you got the answers?
I didn't say anything, man.
Yeah, well, as far as
anybody's concerned,
you stole those
answers all by yourself.
Got it?
Hey, just remember.
Whatever your
father can do to you,
I can do worse.
I read that you're speaking
at the Chamber of Commerce
tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you.
No, you can't come.
Oh, come on.
I'm telling you, it's
gonna be pretty boring.
Thank you. I'd love to.
I'll have the chairman
put you at my table.
You can sit with Matthew.
You know, you certainly do
make an awful lot of speeches.
Well, I'm the local hero.
I guess that dubious honor
comes with a price, huh?
It seems like an
awfully high price.
And it puts you under
an awful lot of pressure
to always do the right thing
and be the right thing.
Well, after Nick died,
I wanted to find a way to
give his death some meaning.
What about Matthew?
What about him?
It must be so hard for
him to live in your shadow.
Nah, he's got a whole
future of his own to live.
Yeah, but it seems to be
putting him under a
lot of pressure, too.
You know, I'm worried about him.
Look, he's waiting
for the results
on the college boards,
he's thinking about Annapolis.
His whole life is changing
right under his feet.
College is a wonderful goal,
but he's still a boy, you know.
He needs to be able to play
basketball and see a movie.
He needs to relax.
Monica, trust me
on this, all right?
That kid is at the
top of his game...
Class valedictorian,
captain of the football team
and the basketball team.
I know, but he's exhausted.
You know, he spends so
much time trying to please you,
that he never takes the time
to think what it means
to please himself.
Don't tell me about
my son, all right?
I know him like the
back of my hand.
If he's feeling any
pressure at all right now,
he can handle it.
Okay?
Sure.
Let me grab my stuff
for the dry cleaners
and we'll head right
back to the office, huh?
Okay.
It's here.
Hot dog, it's here!
Yeah, this is it.
Congressman Atwater
not only wrote the
letter of recommendation,
he wrote it with honors.
That's Matt.
Come on.
Hey, son.
How could you do
that to me today, Dad?
What?
Come on, Dad,
I haven't even been
accepted into Annapolis
and you're telling
everybody that I'm in.
I mean, what am I supposed
to do if I don't make it?
Did you ever think of that?
Matt, I apologize if
I embarrassed you.
Son, it's just that
I'm so proud of you
that it's hard to keep it in.
Here, maybe this
will cheer you up.
You're in, Matthew. You made it.
I told you, you could
do it, son, and you did.
You did it, Matthew.
I don't believe you.
You opened my mail.
But, Matt, I...
Dad, you don't
give me any privacy.
You don't let me have
anything that's mine.
Don't you use that tone with me,
not after all I've
done for you, boy.
You don't get it, do you?
No, what I get, Matthew,
is that this, this
recommendation
is going to change your life,
give you opportunities
that most kids
would sell their souls for.
I can't talk to you.
What's gotten into that boy?
Maybe you should
go up and talk to him.
No, he's just tired.
Let him sleep it off.
Okay, let's go.
Move it!
Okay, watch out! Watch out!
Watch out.
Okay, heads up, folks.
We need labs, stat. Yes, sir.
James?
Monica.
I was, uh...
I was trying to sleep
and I heard this gunshot.
I went down in the basement
and I found him...
Well, what happened?
I don't know. He had my gun.
What the hell was
he doing down there
in the middle of the
night with my gun?
Tom?
Jim, I'll let you
know as soon as I do.
What have we got?
17-year-old male, gunshot wound
to the left temporal area,
probably self-inflicted.
Unresponsive at scene,
stable vitals on route.
Okay, send off a crit,
electrolytes, ABG,
type and cross for two.
Ready? One, two, three.
He's got one at a cubical line.
Okay, we need
two 16-gauge lines.
Let's hook him up and
hyperventilate him. I'm on it.
Can I have someone help
me with his head, please?
Patrick, that's you.
Cut that. Cut that.
Okay.
Let's hit him up
with 75 of Mannitol.
I also need a new
set of vitals and a SAT.
BP 100/60, heart
rate 54, SAT 92.
I feel a skull fracture.
It looks non-penetrating.
Come on, here we go.
There are medals out
there waiting for you,
and bright skies
and loving friends
and a life so full, you
can't even begin to imagine.
Oh, Matthew, God
loves you so much.
Now fight.
Fight for yourself.
Pupils are reacting bilaterally.
Call radiology.
We need a stat head CT.
- Dr. Parrish to CICU.
Tom.
How's my boy doing?
He'll make it. Oh, thank God.
Thank you, Tom, thank you.
Jim, he'll make it, but
I'm not gonna lie to you,
it's gonna be a hard road back.
All right.
Please.
The force of the bullet
caused an injury to the brain.
There's a contusion.
It's like a small blood clot
that's centered right
at the speech area.
Matthew's speech
is severely impaired.
Now, whether that
impairment is permanent
or temporary can only
be determined over time,
but we're gonna get him right
into therapy and rehab, okay?
We'll get him back.
He'll make it back...
He's-he's gonna be fine, Tom.
That's the attitude
we need. Yeah.
Tom, when can I bring him home?
Well, Jim... the boy's
been shot in the head,
and... even if he's out
of the woods with that,
he's still gonna have to spend
some time up in psychiatric.
What?
It's hospital policy whenever
there's a suicide attempt.
Suicide?
Yeah. I'm sorry, I
thought you knew.
Oh, no, no, that's not possible.
Jim, I know it's
hard to hear that.
No. No son of mine
would try to commit suicide.
But, Jim, the only
thing that matters
is Matthew needs help.
Now, we can give him
the psychiatric attention
he needs right now, but you,
you are gonna have to
follow up on your own.
Now, I'm gonna give you the name
of a very good family therapist,
and I want the both
of you to go together.
Listen to me.
The more involved you are in
Matthew's recovery, the better.
Where's the note?
What note? Well, if
you're gonna stand there
and tell me my son
tried to commit suicide,
then you damn well better
produce a suicide note.
Don't do this. Come
on, you're a cop.
You know there
isn't always a note.
Look...
you either produce
the suicide note
or you stop slandering my
son's name, you got that?
Dr. Levy, please
call extension 434.
Dr. Levy, please
call extension 434.
Hello, Matthew.
Oh, no.
Matthew, you can't think that.
We couldn't let you die.
No, you don't.
You have so much to live for.
It's okay. I'm an angel.
I can hear you.
Nothing I do is good enough.
Good enough for your father?
He's not happy
unless I'm the best.
And I can't be all the time.
I mean, if I'm on the team,
he won't just let me play,
he wants me to be team captain.
And if I win an award,
he wants it to be first place.
And the boards, if I get a
1,500, it's not good enough.
He wants a 1,600.
Is that why you
cheated on your test?
Does he know?
Not yet.
But you should
tell him yourself.
I can't. He'll kill me.
Is that why you tried
to get there first?
Maybe.
Oh, Matthew, it's not
as bad as it seems.
You and your father,
you can work this through.
Yes, I do know your
father, and I know you,
and I believe in you both.
What do you think?
Well, his head is
going to be all right...
It's his heart I'm
worried about.
Well, the sins of the father
have definitely been
visited upon the son.
And the father has to
heal before the son can.
And it had better be fast,
because that boy will try again.
It seems so unfair.
How can he expect
Matthew to live up to him?
Oh, it's deeper than that.
He expects that
boy to redeem him.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Monica.
He needs to see you.
What good would that do?
When are you going to
look past your own pain
to see that your son is
suffering so much it's killing him?
Matthew had an accident;
we all have accidents.
Matthew tried to kill himself.
No, he didn't!
You claim to be a hero,
and yet you can't
find the courage
to save your own son?
I know my son.
My son would never
try to kill himself.
I found this in the basement.
It's addressed to you.
James, Matthew is
in that hospital bed
because he was caught
cheating on the college boards.
His teacher disqualified him.
He was about to lose everything.
He couldn't talk to you, and...
he thought there
was no other way out.
But I don't understand this.
He-he doesn't have to cheat.
No, of course he doesn't.
But you made him feel that
being good wasn't good
enough, and he was afraid
that he wouldn't live
up to your expectations.
He wanted to die because
he was too ashamed
to come to you with the truth.
Oh, God.
Matthew needs
you to forgive him,
and he needs to know
that you love him...
Not because he's the best,
but because he's your son.
I can't. I... I can't.
I love my son more
than I love my own life,
but I'm the last person in
the world that can help him.
Monica?
So you don't get up at night
out of discipline, do you?
No.
Come with me.
What the...?
I know what's been
haunting you, James.
If you hide the lie
for long enough,
you start to think
that it's the truth.
Who are you?
I'm an angel.
A what?
An angel.
An angel.
Boy, that's great.
That, that's just great.
I don't know whether
to fall on my knees
or take you in and book you.
I'm not kidding and you know it.
You've been running and running,
looking over your shoulder,
waiting for this
moment for a long time.
Secrets are such
dangerous things.
The closer you hold on
to them, the farther away
you push everyone
else to keep them safe.
But do you know what, James?
There are no such
things as secrets.
Back off!
Get down!
You, over there!
Shut up!
Back off!
Stay down!
Don't move!
Most people will never know
what really happened that night.
But no matter how
hard you try to hide it,
the truth is still the truth.
And God knows what the truth is.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
God knows that.
But now it's time
to tell your son.
Resident on call to ER.
Resident on call to ER.
Matthew, when your mother died,
I promised her I
would give you the best.
I knew it was going to be hard
raising you on my own,
but I never
doubted I could do it
because I knew how
much I loved you, son.
And I do.
I love you more than
anything in my life.
Is that it, Matt? You...
You didn't think you
were good enough?
Son, the reason I
push you so hard
is because I don't want you
to be anything,
anything like me.
I know you... you
think you let me down.
I'm the one who let you down.
Matthew, uh...
Nick died in that
holdup because of me,
not in spite of me.
I froze.
Yes, son. I-I was scared.
I let Nick take
that bullet for me
and I lied about
what really happened.
People saw me holding Nick's gun
and assumed
that I shot that kid.
I didn't.
Nick shot him.
Nick's the hero.
Yeah, I know, Matt,
I should have come forward
and told the truth,
but after all the
commotion died down,
they were already
calling me a hero.
I couldn't bear
to... to tell them...
the truth...
How much of a
coward I really was.
Son...
I should have
died in that holdup.
And knowing that the
only way I could live
was to think about you.
I thought the reason
God kept me alive...
was because you needed me.
Oh, Matt.
It's funny, isn't it,
how sometimes
you have to be silent
before you can communicate.
I am not crying.
Okay.
This is the name of a
good family counselor.
Just tell him I sent you.
Tom?
Thanks for everything.
Hey, I'm here if you need me.
Monica.
How's Matthew?
I told him the truth.
I think he heard me.
And you?
I still have another
speech to give.
So many speeches.
This is the last one.
I know it will be a good one.
When Hank told me
the Chamber of
Commerce wanted me
to speak at this, the annual
luncheon, I was honored.
At events like this,
I'm usually asked to speak
about courage and heroism.
Today I need to
speak about the truth.
Yesterday, I almost lost my son.
He was in trouble, and I was
so busy taking care of myself,
that I couldn't see how
much he needed me.
But his pain is...
It made me see that it
is time to come forward.
It's time for me
to be courageous
and to tell the truth.
I'd like to set the
record straight.
I am not the hero
you think I am.
The real hero died in a
bank robbery three years ago.
He was a good cop.
A respected member
of this community
and the best friend I ever had.
He's a man who truly
deserves this medal of valor.
My partner... Nick Hansen.
Are you all right?
I will be.
Now don't you go
getting emotional on me.
You can't go around
crying over every job.
Oh!
You're a fine one to talk.
Save one for me.