Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 4, Episode 1 - The Road Home: Part 1 - full transcript

Touched By An Angel 403B "Joe's
Return, Part 2" Closed Captioned

Previously on
Touched By An Angel:

I'm gonna nail you!

There was a car
accident. Oh, no!

Where you heading?
Just looking for a ride.

Hey, big brother.

Russell, hug your brother.

There's something more
to that accident story.

You don't know
what it's like in here.

Those people are
dead, they are dead!

I'm gonna go get my things.



Captioning sponsored by CBS
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♪ 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. ♪

Swell.

I'm thinkin' short
stack, extra bacon.

You little sneak.

Okay, forget the bacon.



Looks like you can use coffee.

Two sugars, right?

You're going home.

Thought I was home.

What?

Nothing.

And it's a beautiful day today.

It's a perfect camping day.

If you'd just open
your eyes for me,

I'd take you anywhere in the
world you wanted to go, baby.

To the mountains, fishing.

I need you with me, Matthew.

I can't go on without ya, honey.

Please open your eyes.

Please talk to me.

Mommy?

Mommy?

Sweetheart?

Oh, don't squeeze so
hard. Oh, I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Mommy, my head hurts.

Oh, I know, sweetie.
You bumped it really hard.

So hard you were
asleep for a long time.

Where's Daddy and Ryan?

Oh, honey, I'm sorry.

Mama, rubbing the
finish off that table's

not gonna do any good.

Beats pacin' up
and down the room.

A lot more productive.

Why can't we do something?

Why can't we go search for him?

Where would you start?

How about the state line?

What state line?

Tennessee? Virginia?

Or did they go north to Ohio?

The kids are right.

We gotta do something.

I agree.

We've given him enough time.

What are you going to do?

I'm gonna call the police.

And what are you
gonna say, Russell?

That you want your nephew back?

That your brother took his son?

This is a family dispute.

They don't wanna get involved.

They will when I tell
them about the accident.

Russell, they'll
put him in jail.

Maybe that's where he belongs.

Don't say that.

He's your brother.

He knows what he did.

He said so.

Mama, knowing it and
taking responsibility for it

are not the same thing.

Now you burned
that into my head.

Hattie, maybe this is
the only way to save Joe.

Save him from himself,
from his demons.

It's time he took
a long, hard look

at himself.

If he doesn't do it
now, he may never.

All right, then call.

And after that take
me to the hospital.

Hospital? What for?

I've gotta speak
to Sandra Mills.

Mama, that is not necessary.

She has to know,
and not from the police.

From me.

Mother to mother.

That woman already has enough
grief to last her two lifetimes.

I'll walk if I have to.

This isn't the way
to Chicory Creek.

I got a surprise for you.

You like surprises?

Sure.

Mom liked surprises, too.

Your mama was full of surprises.

Is that why you left her?

She had her troubles
and I had mine.

It wasn't a good mix.

What about me and you?

Are we a good mix?

We'll find out soon enough.

Russell? Hattie?

Oh, did you see Matthew?

Did you talk to him?

No, ma'am, we didn't,

but we're real glad to hear
to your boy's doing fine.

Oh, thank you.

The doctor has so much hope.

Of course, he'll need a lot
of physical therapy, but...

Well, he'll have his
mother there to help him.

Yes, he will.

Come on. Let's go upstairs.

I know Matthew's gonna
want to meet both of you.

Is Joe here?

'Cause I've told Matthew
everything about Joe.

No. No, ma'am.

Oh, he wants to
make him something.

You know, a medal to
show off what a hero he is.

Joe's no hero.

Oh, of course he is.

Matthew wouldn't even be alive

unless he'd pulled him
out of that car crash.

Without Joe, your husband and
your other son would be alive.

I don't... What?

Joe caused the accident.

He forced your
husband off the road.

As far as I know,

that is not the
definition of a hero.

Not now, not ever.

But there is one truth.

My son pulled your
son out of that car...

and he came back when
he could've kept going.

Wait, wait...

You're sayin' this
didn't have to happen?

That they didn't have to die?

No, ma'am, it did
not have to happen.

Your son killed my family?

Why are you here?

Because you deserve the truth,

and I wanted you
to hear it from me.

There is no way

that I can tell you
how sorry I, I am.

Oh, you just get away from me.

I don't care how sorry you are.

Sorry won't bring back
my husband and my son.

Last thing we wanted to do
is cause you any more pain.

I'm gonna call the police and
I'm gonna tell them everything.

It's already been done.

I called 'em myself.

Um, what are we doing here?

You'll find out.

Come on.

♪ You're not feelin' strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Baby, hold on ♪

♪ When you cry ♪

♪ I will dry your eyes ♪

♪ When you fall, I'll
lift you up high... ♪

Whoa, she's pretty.

Her name's Karen.

You know her?

♪ These arms of mine, baby ♪

♪ I promise they
won't let you go ♪

I sure do.

♪ When you cry. ♪

Thank you.

Thank you very much.
You've been great.

Be back in a minute. Thanks.

New song?

I'm curious.

What part of not coming
here don't you understand?

I like it.

Shows off your voice.

Thanks for noticing.

Who's this?

This? This is Nathaniel.

He's my son.

So I guess now I can add
him to the long list of things

that you never
bothered to mention.

Where's his mother?

She's dead.

What are you doing here?

I, uh, I just been
missing you, a lot.

What do you want?

Well, I was, uh, I was hoping

maybe you could put us up.

The usual?

Free room and board?

What are you
running from this time?

No, no, it's not like that.

I just... You're all I've
been thinking about.

Oh, come on, you're
not gonna make the kid

sleep out in the car, are you?

Well, if it weren't for him,
I'd have you thrown out.

You can sleep on the
sofa in the living room.

Just meet me after the show.

Thanks.

For your girlfriend, she didn't
seem too happy to see you.

Oh, she's not my girlfriend.

She's my wife.

It's bad enough you
got mad and walked out.

Are you dead? Are you alive?

And you turn up,
and you expect me

to care about your hard times.

I came back, didn't I?

I love you, Karen.

You don't know what
that word means, Joe.

You came back because
you need something.

Do you believe in angels?

Do I believe in angels?

Now, don't laugh,
because, uh, I do.

They're out there
watching over us, I know it.

Everything that's happened
in the last few days,

it makes so much sense now.

I think God wants
us to be together,

you and me and
Nathaniel... I can see it.

I think you've lost your mind.

Finally. No, no, really, I'm
saying this from my heart.

We could settle down somewhere.

Nashville. We could
write songs together.

You could sing 'em. We
could make this happen.

Joe, you know, you're
really a sweet guy...

You're... you're a
wonderful man...

But you just need to grow up.

But I've changed, I'm...
I'm different, I swear it.

I'm sorry. It's no sale.

Can I have a glass of water?

Oh... we didn't
mean to wake you.

We're sorry. That's okay.

I was having a
bad dream, anyway.

I was in a tunnel,
and it was dark,

and... and I couldn't get out.

Come here.

Give it another chance.

It'll work out.

I know it.

Let's go. Let's go, Nathaniel.

I'll tuck you in, all right?

I'm sorry about your mama.

Yeah. But you're even
sorrier about my dad.

Why would you say that?

My mom... turned
her life around.

She was happy when she died.

She's in heaven.

My dad, he's
pretty much in hell.

Well, you know, if I didn't
have to take your daddy

as part of this bargain,
I'd take you in a heartbeat.

He's not such a bad guy.

He's just... real
confused. Yeah?

I'm not ready for a stepmom.

But you're a real good singer.

Is that a hint?

Take it any way you like.

This old house creaks so much,

I keep thinking one of them

might be Nathaniel
sneaking back in.

Joe and I shared a
room kind of like this

when we were kids.

Played with each other's toys,

had chicken pox
at the same time.

We even ran away together once.

Got all the way to the river
before we changed our minds.

We were so close back then.

Now we're so far apart.

How did it end up like this?

I'll tell ya, I'm tired

of blaming the war for
what happened to Joe.

He's gotta start
taking responsibility

for that accident,

for the way he's hurt Mama...

For his own life.

For Nathaniel?

Especially for Nathaniel.

Well, it isn't flat, anyway.

It will be.

Oh, why do these
things happen to me?

We can fix it.

It's been fixed too many times.

We're gonna need a new one.

Well, how are we
gonna manage that?

Well, we'll think of somethin'.

Come on.

And the bad guy,
see, he tells him

to get in the vault,
but instead he dives

under the desk and
pushes the desk over at him.

And then pow, the guns goes off.

And he shoots a hat off
a statue of John Wayne.

Man, it was a great movie.

Maybe we can get
it on video sometime.

Dad?

Huh?

Can we?

Yeah, sure.

Hey, Nathaniel, uh...

remember that game
we used to play?

When you'd talk to somebody,
make friends with 'em, and...

And you'd borrow
something we needed

when they weren't looking?

Yeah, right.

Um, why don't you go on over
and talk to that guy over there,

and while you're doing that,

I'll borrow us a tire,

and then as soon
as I got some money

I'll borrow it back to him.

Is that really borrowing,

or is it kind of stealing?

I'm not a thief,
get it straight.

You wouldn't believe
how these guys rip you off.

Half of those tires

are probably hot anyway.

Come on, if we don't
pull this off, we're sunk.

Are you gonna help me, or what?

Yeah. Sure.

Of course.

Cool. Come on.

Okay, buddy. Pour it on.

Hi. Hi.

Something I can do for you?

No.

Well, sort of.

Have you ever seen the movie

where the guy shoots the
hat off the John Wayne statue?

Kid, I'm busy.

Well, actually... I'm here

to talk to you about my Dad.

He's got a whole bunch

of problems... and sometimes,

I don't think he even
knows the difference

between right and wrong.

I'm not a cop or
a welfare worker,

but if he's hittin' you...

No. Nothing like that.

It's just, he wants
me to distract you.

I used to do it all the time.

But I can't... because it's

not right, so...

I'm just gonna ask
you straight out.

We need a tire, but we
can't pay you for it for a while.

Hey!

Steve! Hey, hey!

Hey!

It's all right.

Hey, take it easy.

Take it easy, huh? Take it easy.

Get off of me.

Come on, man.

I'll call the police.

Let go of me.

Let go of me,
man. Get off of me.

Just a minute, Nathaniel.

Nathaniel?

Uncle Russell!

How you doing, pal?

I'm sorry.

For what?

I didn't mean for
any of this to happen.

Aw, you just wanted
to be with your dad.

I can't fault you for that.

He looks okay to me.

Oh, better than okay.

Well, I'll go check on Joe.

It's my fault he's here.

I mean, I didn't listen to
him, and the cops came.

Nathaniel, what
you did was right.

If you hadn't done it,
you'd still be out there,

and we wouldn't
know where to find you.

The important thing is
we're all together again.

Together?

My dad's in jail.

Hey.

Too bad I'm not in the
air freshener business.

I could make a lot
of bucks in here.

Anything you need?
Anything I can get you?

Yeah. Get me out of here.

Joe, they've got you in
for vehicular manslaughter.

I can't afford that bail.

But you could afford the
phone call to the police.

I'll get you a lawyer.

Thanks.

I'll come by, see you
sometime tomorrow.

Oh, don't worry about it.

I know you got a
lot of things to do.

Joe, I don't like
seeing you in here.

Believe that.

Russell, in here is exactly
where you think I ought to be.

Sometime in the afternoon.

Russell, you've got to do it.

Mama, I can't do it. That
old Airstream is our home.

And don't give me the evil eye.

I'm not going to
put my family at risk.

He's your brother.

Joe's not a kid anymore, Mama.

And he's run off before.

More than once. I'm sorry.
I just can't take that chance.

Where's my dad?

Well, he's going to have

to stay here for
a little while, pal,

so we're going to... we're going
to go on home and wait there.

No! I want to wait here.

Nathaniel.

I'm not leaving.

You said Uncle Russell

would take care of everything.

It's best we go now. All of us.

Come on, pal.

Don't set a place for Grandma.
She's eating in her room.

I wonder how long

she's going to
be keepin' this up.

Till Daddy gets nice again.

There's probably a lot of
stuff we don't know about.

And what Uncle Joe
did wasn't Daddy's fault.

Uncle Joe didn't do
anything on purpose.

I guess that's something
he's still gonna have to prove.

To who?

The judge or Daddy?

Look, why don't we
just drop it, okay?

I mean, I'm just sick
of the whole thing.

We'd be a lot better off if
we had never come here.

When we're older, what's
it gonna be like for us?

It depends.

On what?

If you ever outgrow
your really irritating habits.

No, Josh, I'm serious.

It scares me to think

if I did something
you didn't like,

you'd turn your back on me.

Oh, this is gettin'
way too deep for me.

Will you be there for
me, no matter what?

I'd never let anything
bad happen to you.

Hey, hey, don't you go
gettin' all weepy on me now.

The ribs are mighty tasty, Josh.

Well, I used
Erasmus' secret sauce.

Umm, a little sweet mustard...

pepper relish,
molasses, what else?

Secret sauce, Daddy.

Erasmus made me swear an oath.

Umm, change your
mind about dinner?

No, just thirsty.

Well, we got plenty if
you do change your mind.

Oh, thank you.

Anybody hear
anything from Erasmus?

No. He tore out of
here around 3:00.

Said he had errands.

It's not like Erasmus
to miss a meal.

Honey, can I get another napkin?

What? You don't need a napkin.

You need a bath.

Well, we hope you left
enough scraps for us.

You're home!

Yes, I am, and
I'm glad to be here.

Joe.

Thank you.

I prayed for this.

Hey, brother.

Well, you hungry?

Of course you are.

I'll fix you some plates.

Don't tell me about your
pull with the police, Erasmus.

Color green's the only
thing that works for bail.

Yep, and my green is as
good as the next man's.

You had that much cash?

We're sittin' on it.

Erasmus.

Thank you, Claire.

Thanks, honey.

I trust him.

Well, I guess that proves
you're a better man than I am.

I wouldn't take that chance.

Russell, I didn't do
this to show you up,

and I didn't go into it lightly.

I did what I always do

whenever there's a
problem and no answer.

I went into my room,
closed the door,

turned off the light,

and asked the
Almighty for guidance.

You asked God whether
you oughta bail Joe out?

Yes, I did.

Well, then you heard
wrong, Erasmus.

God may have said
you oughta love him,

but you must've heard wrong
when it came to bailin' him out.

You don't know what
God said to Erasmus.

And neither do I.

I know that.

I'm sorry.

No need to be sorry.

Russell, you've got a
whole lifetime of emotions

tied up in your brother.

Some of it's good,
some of it's bad.

Well, son, time is
running out for him.

He needs to be trusted,

and he needs to
be trusted by you

more than anyone.

Thanks.

Anybody seen Joe?
His lawyer's here.

Upstairs in his room.

No, Mama, he is not in his room.

He's not in the bathroom,
he's not in the yard,

and he's not in the trailer.

Russell, I know
what you're thinking.

He wouldn't do that.

Well, I'm not waitin'
around to find out.

Don't you love it?

The breeze is just right.

The smell of gardenias.

Nothin' like it.

We can't find Joe.

Is Nathaniel here?

He's upstairs with Dinah.

Then Joe's here.

Russell, smell the gardenias.

It's gonna be a wonderful day.

I'll be back.

Mornin', everybody. Joe.

After what Erasmus did, I
figured the least I could do

would be buy milk
for the Corn Flakes.

Goin' someplace?

Ah, no, no.

Your lawyer's in the front
room, he's waitin' for us.

Just be straight with me.

What's the DA gonna do,

throw the book at me?

He wanted to.

Wanted to?

Does that mean he's
had a change of heart?

Well, the tow truck company

was supposed to take the car

to a secure impound lot,

but apparently they
made a mistake.

Instead, they took
it to a repair shop

and some paint jockey

started to prep it for repairs.

What are you tellin' us?

The only hard evidence that
the DA had was the paint chips

from Randy Mills'
car on Joe's fender.

Now the only evidence he's
got is two coats of fresh paint.

But Joe confessed.

I know, but only to you,

and that's called hearsay.

Believe me, the
judge'd throw it out.

So, I think we're
lookin' at a dismissal.

Well, don't everybody
cheer at once.

But... we all know.

I know that you know the truth.

But, Mrs. Greene,

my job is to
advocate for my client,

and guilty or innocent,
I sincerely believe

that in this case jail
time is inappropriate.

Your son needs
treatment, not punishment.

Nothing would make me happier

than to see my
son stay out of jail.

I'm sorry if that offends
anyone's ethical sensibilities,

but that's the way I feel.

Uh, what do I,
what's the next step?

When we go to court
tomorrow and the judge asks you

how you plead, you
just say, "Not guilty."

I'll do the rest.

By the end of the day,
you should be a free man.

Congratulations.

Well, I've got to get
back to the office.

If anybody has any
questions, call me.

Thank you.

Hey.

What's the book?

Oh, Go Ask Alice.

Don't tell Mom, though.

I was supposed to
be doing my algebra.

Oh. Well, I guess I
can't complain too much

as long as you got
a book in your hand.

Wish I'd read more
when I was your age.

It's really good.

It's depressing, though.

It's about this girl and
she takes a lot of drugs,

messes up her life.

Out of all the
books in the library,

how come you picked that one?

I don't know.

I guess...

I'm trying to
understand Uncle Joe...

but I don't think I ever will.

Well, I think I'm a charter
member of that club.

I sure do wish there was more

I could do to help him.

I heard about what
the lawyer said.

If he pleads innocent
tomorrow and gets off,

well...

that means he gets away
with murder, doesn't it?

Well, I guess his
lawyer will think so,

and I'm sure the family

of the people who
got killed will think so,

but I'm not so sure about Joe.

See, deep down inside I think
this is just tearing him apart.

No matter which

way this turns out, he loses.

Dad, I'm so sorry.

I know, baby.

Me, too. Me, too.

I guess I'll go do my algebra.

The problems are tough,
but at least they have answers.

Yeah.

She's right.

Life would be much easier
if it worked like mathematics.

If all you had to do
was solve for "X."

Hey, Tess.

Boy, am I glad to see you.

Been a rough week, huh?

The worst.

Have you ever been
hugged by an angel?

Just once, last year by you.

Did you like it?

Would you like to
have another one?

Ah... Mm!

Have I told you how
much God loves you?

Yes, you have, but I
never get tired of hearing it.

Tess, I just don't
know what to do.

I've never been so
confused in my life.

I know the feeling.

Well, there's only
being in the universe

that has all the right answers.

And He's the one that
sent me to you this morning.

He wants me to remind you
of the last basketball game

you played for your
high school team.

Do you remember it?

Like it was yesterday.

About half the team
down with the flu.

Joe was just a sophomore,

but they called
him up from the JV.

It's the only time you took
the court together, huh?

Yeah. We played a
heck of a game, too.

Everybody figured Monroe
would beat us by 20 points,

but we kept it close
the whole game.

Do you remember the last play?

The one the coach
designed for you?

Oh, yeah, we were down
by one, four seconds left,

I was supposed to get
the ball to the top of the key

and find Joe
coming off the pick.

But I thought I had an open lane

and I tried to take the
ball to the hoop myself.

I got cut off.

Joe was wide open, but
I was still holding the ball

when the buzzer went off.

Trust him, Russell.

Get the ball to him.

I can handle a
few weeds, Russell.

Remember all those
weekends we lost

helping Daddy with the farm?

Weekends? Years.

I'm sure glad he's not here

now to see the way
things turned out.

Well, to tell you
the truth, so am I.

But he'd have backed
you up. He always did.

Not if he'd seen
what I did to my boy.

Shoot, Joe, that
might be the only thing

you've done right.

Sure am glad that little
boy's part of the family.

Russell, I abandoned them.

Well, I never
figured it that way.

You left him with Erasmus
knowing that we were on our way

to Chicory Creek and
that we'd take care of him.

And that, for whatever
reason, you couldn't.

I also knew you
were out of a job.

And you couldn't afford
another mouth to feed.

I did what was best for me.

As usual.

You trusted me with your son.

Russell, what am I gonna do
in that courtroom tomorrow?

I'm not going to jail.

That's your call.

I thought you were the
one with all the answers.

I don't even have
all the questions.

You just do what
you think's right.

I'll back you up.

No matter what?

You remember that
last basketball game

we had in high school
against Monroe?

What about it?

I should have gotten
the ball to you, Joe.

Take your shot.

Commonwealth of Kentucky v.
Joseph H. Greene, Your Honor.

Mr. Greene has been
charged with two counts

of felony vehicular manslaughter

and one count reckless driving.

Mr. Greene, would
you stand, please?

You heard the charges?

Yes, ma'am.

Would you like to enter a plea?

Yes.

Your plea, Mr. Greene?

Guilty.

Your Honor, my, I don't believe
my client intended to say that.

Yes, I did. I'm guilty.

Did you do this?

No, Mama, I'm sittin'
back here with you.

Your Honor, if it
please the court,

I have affidavits here, several,

from various institutions,

uh, halfway houses,
VA hospitals.

Mr. Greene has been
under treatment for mental

and emotional disorders
for two decades.

I really don't believe
he's of sound mind.

I am of sound mind.

Counsel, approach
the bench, please,

and bring those
affidavits with you.

Uh, what, what are they doing?

What are, what are they...?

Mr. Greene, sit down.

I'm the one on trial here.

I killed two people,
there's two people dead

because of what I did.

It's not because of
what's in those papers.

Mr. Greene, sit down.

And now because some
truck driver makes a mistake,

they tell me all I have
to do is plead not guilty

and then I'll get off
scot-free, but it's not gonna..

Your Honor, maybe you
ought to have him restrained.

Counselor, I thought that's
what you were trying to avoid.

Mr. Greene, there are
minimum sentencing

guidelines in this state,

and I want you to understand

that if you plead
guilty, you will go to jail.

Yes, I understand, but I...

but I, I don't know
any other way to,

to tell Miss Mills and
her son how sorry I am

about what I did, and I
don't... know any other way

to tell my own son

how sorry I am about what I did.

All I know is that if I were
standin' here lyin' to you,

that's not the way to go
about it, and that's what

I would be doing if
I pleaded not guilty.

All right, Mr. Greene.

Thank you.

I'll let your plea stand.

Punishment isn't always

in the best interest
of society or this court,

but there are times
when confinement is.

Therefore, Mr. Greene,

I am sentencing
you to four years

in a minimum security
correctional facility

where you will get job
training and counseling,

and I'm ordering you to appear
in this court in six months,

at which time we will
evaluate your progress,

and if I'm pleased
with what I see,

I'll reduce your
sentence to 18 months.

Mr. Greene,

you have a chance to
make something of your life.

I trust that you will.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, you have my word.

This court is adjourned.

All rise.

I'm sorry.

I wish his going to jail

made me feel
better, but it doesn't.

I know how you feel.

I'm sorry.

I love you.

Take care.

That took a lotta guts, Joe.

I don't know if I
could've done it.

You take care now.

Would you like a moment
alone with your daddy?

Sure.

We'll wait for you outside.

I'm real proud of you, Dad.

I love you, man.

I love you, too.

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