Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 4, Episode 23 - Perfect Little Angel - full transcript

You know, Tess,
there's one thing

that I don't like
about being an angel.

Well, I've got bad
news for you, Miss Wing:

There've been no plans
to put up a suggestion box.

But go ahead, what
is your complaint?

It's not really a complaint,

it's just, you know,
well, have you noticed

that angels never get any mail?

Yes, and there's a
good reason for that.

All the mail goes
straight to the Father,

special delivery;



It's called prayer.

And people aren't
suppose to pray to angels.

I know, but sometimes
it would be nice

to get a real letter, you know?

An envelope with a
pretty stamp on it...

A swan or an
astronaut or something...

And an exotic postmark
and a letter folded inside

catching you up with
all the latest news.

The latest news from where?

I haven't worked that out yet.

Well, the thing about
the latest new, baby,

is sometimes it's not good.

Morning. Hi.

Her name is Tracy Beringer.



She's always trying
to fix things by herself.

Miss Beringer?

Mrs. Lipton.

I heard that banging again
in your place yesterday.

Old pipes in an old building,
not much I can do about it.

You know, it didn't
sound like old pipes to me.

Maybe I should have my
plumber take a look at it.

Why don't you give me
a chance to look at it first.

Maybe I could save you...

a lot of money on
a big plumbing bill.

Well, fine.

Just don't expect me
to take it off the rent.

Of course not.

Oh, my God...

What does the letter say, Tess?

Well, you don't have to read it

to tell that it's not good news.

People get letters
like this every day.

One piece of paper,
and everything changes.

Her life didn't change today,

it changed a long time ago.

This is a girl that
never expected

anybody to care enough

to help her with her troubles.

So her troubles just get worse,

and now she's a desperate woman,

and desperate women
make desperate choices.

Captioning sponsored by CBS
PARAMOUNT TELEVISION

♪ 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. ♪

Look, I'll take any kind
of interest rate, anything.

Well, right now I'm working
part-time as a mechanic,

but, um, look, I could
get a second job.

Yeah... right, yeah.

Hey, Trace, what's the big deal

with all the money
all of a sudden?

I... I just found out
some good news.

Yeah, I... I can tell;
you look really happy.

Don, do you know where I
could get $20,000 really quick?

20,000 bucks... for what?

I just found out I got
accepted into college,

the Rhode Island
School of Design.

Is that all?

I thought it was an
emergency or something.

It is an emergency.

If I don't get them their money

in the next few weeks,
I mean, that's it...

That could be the
last chance I get.

I just never heard of a college

needing that much
money up front before.

Yeah, well, you've never
heard of a college, period.

I'll figure something else out.

Do you have any loaded
relatives or anything?

I don't have any
relatives at all.

Hey, hey, Trace, here you go.

They say strippers
make a lot of money.

Yeah.

I don't think so.

What the...

Man, am I glad I found you.

I couldn't have
made it another block.

What seems to be the problem?

Well, that's what I
thought you'd tell me, Don.

It goes chug, chug, chug
and clang, clang, clang,

and every so often
there's a grr, grr.

Maybe I should
take a look at it.

That's exactly what I thought.

Ooh, lookee there,
Women's Support Center.

I know Monica
personally, she's wonderful.

Oh no, no, right here:

"Miss Colorado State
will be crowned next week

"as women from all
over the state compete

for $25,000 and a new car."

Did I mention that I
know Monica personally?

You should enter...
You got the looks for it.

Don't you have work to do?

Well, she needs
some money fast...

She's going to college.

College?

Don, can I take
an hour for lunch?

Yeah, sure.

Fix my car.

Now!

Dressing room assignments
are posted in the lobby.

I repeat, the dressing
room assignments

have been posted in
the lobby, thank you.

Ladies, rehearsal
schedules are available

at the sign-in desk.

Rehearsal schedules are
available at the sign-in desk.

Thank you.

Deliveries are in the back.

Actually, I want to sign up.

Sorry, women only.

Is there any kind of law
that says I can't sign up?

Are you single, never
married, no children?

Yes.

18 to 24?

I'm 22.

High school graduate?

I have a GED, a high
school equivalent.

Of course you do.

Name of your sponsor?

Name of the city,
corporation, business

that sponsors your competition?

Uh... I don't... I don't.

Every contestant
must be sponsored

by a corporation
or a local business.

They pay the entrance
fees and expenses...

Hair, makeup, dresses.

Take Chloe, for example,
she's Miss Aspen Snowflake...

Formerly Miss Pioneer Colorado
and Miss Aspen Downhill...

And her sponsor is
the First National Bank.

So... how do I get a sponsor?

Sponsors sponsor winners.

Do you have a title?

Have you ever won anything?

Besides "Miss Grease Monkey"?

I'm sorry I've wasted your time.

It's steaming, but...

can't find anything
wrong with it

Hey, how'd it go?

It didn't.

It's this whole
complicated thing:

You can't just sign up...

You need a sponsor
and everything.

Well, beauty contests
are not for everyone.

Uh, did you notice the ad
from the Women's Center?

What was I even thinking?

I could never win
a beauty pageant.

Why would you say that?

It's the story of my life...

I'll never win anything.

Oh, baby, you'd be amazed

what you could
do with a little faith.

You just have to put your
faith on the right thing.

You're right... stripping
was a much better idea.

All right, I got your
first dollar right here.

You know... a beauty pageant

can be an educational
experience.

And I can probably
get you a sponsor,

if that's what you
really want to do.

Really?

Why would you do that?

Well, you seem like
a hardworking person,

and I like to help
people with potential.

You think I have potential?

Oh, sure, baby.

There's a lot ahead of you.

Trust me.

Now, this is my address.

Meet me there in
about an hour, okay?

Thank you.

Shut that down.

But it's not... Put it down!

Okay...

Hello, Tess.

Well... there's been
a change in plans.

What do you mean?

Well, the bad news is

she wouldn't even consider
the support group idea.

And what's the good news?

Well, she's not going
to become a stripper.

Uh... well, that's
encouraging at least.

So, what's the new plan?

Tracy just keeps making
things worse for herself.

She needs the money;

and she's lying about
why she needs the money.

And now she's going to enter
a beauty pageant, try to win.

That's not exactly the
road we wanted her to take,

but... we're going to have
to go down that road with her

until she's ready to
make the right choice.

We're going to need some help.

Mmm!

It's looking good, Rafael.

Huh?

So, uh...

what's the scoop
with this girl, huh?

I don't know, exactly.

She has a lot of problems

and she's looking
in the wrong place

for the solutions.

Well, I got to warn you:

I don't know much
about beauty contests.

And Tracy doesn't know
much about angels, so...

just go with the flow.

Okay.

Right on time...

And that's a very good sign.

So this is it?

Welcome, baby.

To where?

Well, over that hill is Golden,

and that way is Boulder,

but this little corner of
heaven I like to refer to as...

"Unincorporated Area #579,"

and you are its queen.

Your sash!

Ta-dah!

Your crown.

Bling!

This is Monica and Rafael.

Congratulations.

It's very becoming.

Uh, I don't understand...
What's happening?

Well... this might look like a
few acres of nothing to you,

but it's what we
call "unimproved."

And we think it
deserves a little attention.

Maybe if it had somebody
to speak up for it,

it could find out what
it's supposed to be.

It's got a lot of promise, baby.

Just like you.

You know, if there is
something about this place...

maybe I've got
a chance after all.

Well, you got

three sponsors
who believe in you.

What about him?

Hi, Tracy.

I'm Andrew.

Andrew?

We weren't expecting you.

Yes... we were.

Excuse me.

Any luck finding a sponsor?

Luck had nothing to do with it.

This is our paperwork.

She has a sponsor.

We have our registration
forms filled out, and...

she has a title.

Fine.

You'll have to
sign a release form.

We'd be happy to.

Would you mind moving
your Aspen Snowflake?

So, um, what is she
using this money for?

I don't know.

Tess knows, but
she's not telling.

We thought you knew.

Me? No.

I just got a call that
Tess requested me,

and, uh... here I am.

Hello, babies!

Ladies and gentlemen,
may I present to you

Miss Unincorporated Area #579,

and the next Miss
Colorado State!

Don't worry about
it, we'll work on it.

Let's sit down and
get started, shall we?

Now, there are four categories
and four ang... um... sponsors.

Uh, Monica?

Yes, ma'am?

You find the dress
for evening wear.

And get something
with an attitude.

Attitude? Yes.

Rafael?

Present.

They're going to ask Tracy

a question at random
about the world,

so we need you to prepare
her for current events...

But be careful,

because they might ask
a philosophical question

about the meaning of life.

Well, that sounds
like my department.

No, baby, we need
you to prepare her talent.

You do have a talent,
don't you, honey?

Um... I can rotate tires.

You're going to have
to dig real deep, baby.

Tess?

Who's going to teach
her how to walk?

Well, that's my job, baby.

Tess doesn't only talk the
talk, she walks the walk.

Thanks, all, I...

I hope I don't disappoint you.

Oh, no, I... It's
late, I got to go.

Laundry.

Okay, 3:00 tomorrow
afternoon, and read these.

Okay.

Thanks.

Bye.

Bye.

Hey, Tess?

You really think she can win?

Who said this was about winning?

Now I really have
to win that new car.

I'll drive you home, Tracy.

Thank you.

Ah, mail.

You must love it.

That's right... I
already got it today.

Tracy?

I, uh... I heard that noise
in your apartment again.

Oh, uh, the old pipes.

You know, I turned the water
off and I still heard that noise.

Uh... Well, I'll check on it.

See you tomorrow, Monica?

I'll help you up with these.

Oh, no, it's okay.

Oh, really, it's no bother.

No!

Thanks.

You know...

she never lets anyone
in that apartment.

Never.

♪ There ain't a dream ♪

♪ That don't hide the
chance to come true now ♪

♪ It just takes a
little faith, baby ♪

♪ Anything that we want
to do, we can do, now ♪

♪ There ain't nothing
in our way, baby ♪

♪ Nothing our love
couldn't rise above ♪

♪ We can get through the night ♪

♪ We can get through the light ♪

♪ As long as we got
our love to light our way ♪

♪ Ee-yeah, ee-yeah,
ee-yeah, ee-yeah-yeah ♪

♪ With a little faith ♪

♪ Just a little trust ♪

♪ You'll believe in love ♪

♪ Love can move
mountains, believe ♪

♪ In your heart,
there's a feelin' ♪

♪ In your soul, there's a love ♪

♪ Love can, love can
move mountains. ♪

Don't worry about it, angel boy.

We'll... we'll find something...

if she doesn't
kill herself first.

Accordion?

No.

Ballet?

No.

Tracy, come on,
you got to think.

Everybody,
everybody, has a gift.

Everybody's good at something.

I'm not.

Nothing's ever come easy to me.

It's just life.

It's... it's just... It's what?

Just what?

It's just this
time, I-I can't...

I can't afford to
lose... I just can't.

Tracy... this, uh, money...

it isn't for college, is it?

No.

But it really matters.

I'll do anything.

Okay, then, uh... think.

Well, um...

I-I took a few piano
lessons when I was a kid.

Piano!

But I don't play anymore.

Why not?

Well, because it reminds me

of my parents, and...

they died in a boating accident.

Well, looks like
we found our talent.

Yeah, but she said she
couldn't play the piano.

Well, she's hitting
all the right notes,

but she's not striking
any emotional chords.

You're right, Tess.

There's something missing.

The passion!

You can't play
with all your heart

if your heart is
hiding something.

Hey, uh, do you know
when Tracy's parents died?

A boating accident
just doesn't...

just doesn't ring a bell.

Hmm.

I'm going to go see
what I can find out.

Thank you, Tracy.

Honey, you got a real talent.

Really? You think so?

Nobody ever told
you that before?

Oh, well, my parents,

but you know parents always
say things they don't mean.

This pageant has
filled me with a spirit

that will always be with me

through whatever
the future brings.

Thank you very much, Ashley.

Thank you.

That was Ashley
Fitzgerald, Miss Telluride.

Our next contestant
is Tracy Beringer,

Miss Unincorporated Area #579.

Hi.

Hi. Hi.

Miss Beringer, tell us
what it means to you

to represent
Unincorporated Area #579.

Unincorporated Area #579
may seem a little silly to people.

I know it did to me at first.

But now I believe it's one
of the most beautiful places

in all of Colorado.

Have you ever heard that
expression "God's little acre"?

This is the place
they're talking about.

And I've found some very good
friends there who really care,

and I'm proud to represent them

and this small, but very
worthy place in our home state.

Very nice.

Do you have family

that will be coming
to the pageant?

Uh, no, I don't have any family.

My parents passed
away when I was a child...

in a plane crash.

She's pretty good, huh?

She could be better
if she'd let herself.

She's getting high scores.

Good chance of making
it into the semifinals.

You've got your eye on
the wrong prize, angel.

Thank you, Tracy.

Ladies and gentlemen...

Your contestant just got
a call from her landlady.

There's an emergency...

Something about a
plumbing problem.

How long before
we have to continue?

Oh, less than an hour.

You better take care
of this yourself, baby.

Now, I don't normally pry

into the lives of my renters,

but that noise I was hearing
just kept getting worse,

so I let myself in
and I found this.

Hmm?

She's been keeping
a kid in here.

All alone.

Who's been watching him?

I'm going to call the police.

Oh, no, please... don't do that.

I'll take care of him.

Hello.

Shh.

We have to be real quiet.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this afternoon in the
preliminary competition

the judges chose
ten semifinalists

from this array of talented
beauties you see here tonight.

Let's hear it for them.

May I have the judge"
choices, please?

Our first semifinalist
is... Karen Gutierrez,

Miss Grand Junction!

Our second finalist:

Robin Burkholtz,
Miss Twin Lakes.

Jody Matheson, Miss Keystone.

Shawn Lineker, Miss Powderhorn!

Ona Ann Druthers,
Miss Fort Collins.

Missy Valentine, Miss
Steamboat Springs.

Stephanie Carlton,
Miss Silver Creek.

Ashley Fitzgerald,
Miss Telluride.

Chloe Summer, Miss
Aspen Snowflake.

And our tenth
and last finalist is...

Tracy Beringer, Miss
Unincorporated Area #579.

Let's hear it for
our semifinalists.

Nick, you can't be here.

What's going on?

Your landlady called.

A "plumbing" problem.

Monica took care of it.

Why'd you bring him here?

He's too young to be left alone,

and Mrs. Lipton was
going to call the police.

Unincorporated Area!

You follow Aspen Snowflake.

I have to go.

Please take care of him.

I'll explain later.

Did you ever do
any baby-sitting?

Well, yeah, sure...
It's my favorite job.

Let's go out to
the audience, kid.

Cool!

Come on.

Cute kid, huh?

He's my nephew.

He likes to hang out with me.

I know exactly
who that little boy is,

and he is not your nephew.

He told me he was
your son, Tracy.

And you've been leaving him home

alone, haven't you?

Don't you lecture me.

I'm a single mother
doing the best that I can.

I can't afford a baby-sitter.

Look, I can hardly afford to
keep a roof over our heads.

What am I supposed to do?

If I stay home with him,
I can't afford to feed him,

and if I go to work,

I leave him home alone
with lunch by the phone.

And if anyone finds
out that he's there,

they'll take him away from me.

Tracy Beringer, onstage!

Places for your talent.

But there's help
available, Tracy.

What about a government agency?

Oh, yeah, right.

I've gone to some of
those government agencies,

and they've sent
me to another one

and another one and another one,

until finally they
sent me to one

that wanted to take
Nick away from me.

Look, please, don't
tell them the truth.

Otherwise, they'll kick
me out of the pageant.

Onstage now.

You're up next.

Please.

And now our next contestant

in the talent portion,

Tracy Beringer playing a
Tchaikovsky piano concerto.

Whoo!

Well, one thing I can say,

she's finally putting
something into it.

You must be pretty
proud of your mom, huh?

Yeah.

Do you ever get
lonely living by yourself.

No, because I get tired

and I have to
sleep a lot anyway.

I didn't think kids
your age got tired.

Didn't she tell you?

Tell me what?

Hey.

You know Andrew?

Yeah, because I'm dying.

♪ I... need... ♪

♪ Your love... ♪

♪ God speed your love ♪

♪ To... me... ♪

♪ Yeah... ♪

♪ Oh... oh... oh... oh... ♪

♪ Oh...! ♪

Thank you, Ashley.

And now Karen
Gutierrez will play...

Dying?

Yeah, I first met Nick
in the ER last year

and I've been keeping
an eye on him ever since.

Why didn't you tell me, Tess?

Because that little boy

has all kinds of angels
looking in on him,

and somebody's been
praying for a long time

for an angel to watch
over their little girl.

That's our job.

Who?

Her parents.

They're alive.

Ladies, if you've
already done your talent,

you should be getting
into your evening gowns.

Is Nick the reason
you need this money?

He needs surgery...

Really expensive surgery.

He has what you call...

a large ventricular
septal defect,

which is a fancy way of saying

he's got a hole in his heart.

I'm so sorry.

I understand that you need
to take care of your little boy,

but you can't take
care of him with lies.

Don't throw this morality
stuff at me, okay?

I've got to take care of
my kid any way that I can.

If you walk out of here tonight

with that $25,000,

you're going to spend
the rest of your life

looking over your shoulder,

wondering when the
truth will catch up to you.

Aren't you tired of running?

I don't know what
you're talking about.

I know that your
name isn't Tracy.

I know that you
ran away from home

seven years ago...

and I know that $25,000
is not what you need.

That money may repair
the hole in one heart,

but there is a way to
repair many hearts...

Yours, Nick's,
your whole families.

How?

Don't trust the money.

Trust God.

God is a luxury
that I can't afford.

No, God is a necessity that
you truly cannot live without.

Beringer... move it!

Please, Tracy, stop running.

I don't know how.

Miss Aspen Snowflake,
Chloe Summer.

Our final contestant in the
evening gown competition

is Tracy Beringer,

Miss Unincorporated Area #579.

Yeah!

Tracy Beringer, Miss
Unincorporated Area #579.

Ladies and gentlemen,
let's have a round of applause

for our semifinalists.

Well, ladies and gentlemen,
it looks like the judges

have made their decisions.

Our five finalists will
compete in one final category

to determine who will be this
year's Miss Colorado State.

Our first finalist:

Ashley Fitzgerald,
Miss Telluride.

Our second finalist,
Chloe Summer,

Miss Aspen Snowflake.

Our third finalist
is Karen Gutierrez,

Miss Grand Junction.

Our fourth finalist
is Jody Matheson,

Miss Silver Creek.

And our fifth and
last finalist is...

Tracy Beringer,

Miss Unincorporated Area #579.

Ladies and gentlemen,

our five beautiful finalists.

Congratulations, ladies.

Our final competition
to determine

the new Miss Colorado State

will begin in just
a few minutes.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Congratulations, ladies.

All right, ladies,
you've got five minutes

to touch up your makeup

or to gather your
thoughts for the interviews.

Good luck.

Tess, Monica!

Monica, Tess!

Where are you?

Fine.

I'll do it alone.

You're not alone, Tracy.

You're never alone.

Wh... wh... what's going on?

We're here to bring you a
message from your sponsor.

What?

We're not actually
your sponsors.

We represent your sponsor.

We're angels, sent by God.

Angels from God?

I don't know what to say.

I'm scared.

What... what's He
going to do to me?

He's going to keep on loving you

like He's always done.

God doesn't love me.

Oh, yes, he does.

He loves you very much.

Why would you
think that He doesn't?

Well, let's see... I
got pregnant at 16,

I ran away from home,

I had to beg, borrow
and steal to keep us alive.

I've been a terrible mother

and a lousy daughter

and not even a
very good mechanic.

So I think that's reason enough

for God to put me
on the "unlovable" list,

don't you think?

Exactly what do you
think it would take

to make you lovable, honey?

It's too late.

I made a mistake...

Just one, but it was a big one.

And that's all it takes.

For what?

For God to give up on you?

One mistake didn't
bring you here, Tracy.

It's all the lies that
happened afterward,

and you got lost
in all those lies.

When you played
the piano tonight,

for the first time since
we've known you,

you did something
truthful, honest.

Didn't you feel that?

It was almost perfect.

Almost, but it wasn't.

Perfect is perfect always,
every moment, every day.

Human beings can never be that.

Everyone makes mistakes, Tracy,

and God understands that.

You remember that
unimproved piece of land, Tracy?

Well, that's what
you are, honey...

A whole garden of potential,

and God wants to move in
and make some improvements.

What does He want me to do...
Walk away from the pageant?

What God wants is to work
wonderful things in your life.

But there's a lie in
His way, a big lie.

Now, you've done
some things wrong,

maybe for the right reasons,

but wrong, nevertheless.

God is truth, baby,

and anything that is
not truth is not of Him.

He wants to help you a lot more

than $25,000 and a new car,

but you've got to get the
lies out of the way first, baby.

I never told my
parents about Nick,

because I was afraid
that if I told them...

then they wouldn't love
me in the same way.

God has always known about Nick,

and it has not changed
how much He loves you.

And whatever you
decide to do tonight,

He will still love
you just as much,

just the same.

The only thing that
will be different, Tracy,

is that you will never know
how much He loves you

until you let Him show you,

and that is going to take faith.

And people need to realize

that it's our Earth and
we need to take care of it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ashley Fitzgerald,
Miss Telluride.

Next is Tracy Beringer, Miss
Unincorporated Area #579.

Tracy, what would you do

to improve the education
system in this country?

Well, the education
system in this country...

To improve the education
system in this country...

The education system in
this country is not perfect,

and what I realized
tonight is... is that nothing is,

nothing except for God's love.

I've always strived
to be perfect,

and not because I needed to be,

but because... I
was scared not to be.

I thought that perfection
was the only way

that I could get love...

and I thought that it didn't
matter what the truth was

as long as it looked
and it sounded right.

I was wrong.

The truth does matter...

and a lie is a lie, even if
it's told for the right reasons.

And the truth is...

that I'm an unwed mother.

And that's my son,
Nick, right there.

Nick was born with
a hole in his heart...

and he needs an operation

and I thought that the
prize money from this crown

could pay for it.

But nothing good
comes from a lie,

and this boy deserves
nothing but goodness.

Tomorrow, I won't be
Miss Colorado State...

but I will be Nick's mom,

and there's no better
title that I could imagine.

Come here.

This is a letter from
a doctor who says

they're going to do
Nick's operation for free.

"Dear Nick, tell your
mom to hang in there.

We're praying for you."

God speaks to every heart.

Looks like a few of
them were listening.

Here's 25 more dollars.

I... I can't believe this.

Well, now, this one...

doesn't have any
money in it at all,

but it's the most valuable.

It's addressed to Sara Cummings.

That's me... that's
my real name.

It's from my parents.

They said they've been

searching for me everywhere,

and that they...

they read about me
and Nick in the paper.

They want us to come home.

I'm sure they'd love to hear
you play the piano again.

Go on.

Hello.

Mom?

Who is this?

Mom, it's Sara.

That's our cue, baby.

What a wonderful
story... a healthy child,

a family reunited,
and lots of mail.

Oh, did I mention there's
another piece of mail?

A letter for me?

Yeah.

Oh!

Now, that is what I
call a special delivery.

What does He say, huh?

He says He loves me.

Oh.

And He says the rest
of you are okay, too.

Oh, He never said that.

Right.

Captioning sponsored by CBS
PARAMOUNT TELEVISION