Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 8, Episode 3 - The Birthday Present - full transcript

So what's new in the
education of Gloria?

Oh, well, yesterday I learned
the Dewey decimal system,

calculus and pig Latin,

which, by the way, has
nothing to do with pigs or Latin.

And today I thought I'd
solve a few mysteries of life

and ice hockey.

Ah, what mysteries of
life did you have in mind?

Well, the chicken or
the egg, for example.

Which came first, the
chicken or the egg?

That's a total
defiance of logic.

There can't be a
chicken without an egg



or an egg without a chicken.

I know.

God made them both.

There you go.

Mystery solved.

Yes, but life holds many
more mysteries, Gloria.

That's why we're here.

Hospitals are where most
humans enter the world

and where most of
them leave it as well.

Is that what this assignment
is about, life and death?

When it comes right
down to it, Gloria,

every assignment is
about life and death.

His name is Chuck Parker.

Hello, Maureen.



So... what do you
have for me today?

Okay.

Let's see.

An excellent choice.

"To everything
there is a season,

"and a time to every
purpose under Heaven..."

"a time to be born..."

Hey. How you doing, kid?

Mom said she
would call you later,

and I spoke to Steve, and
he's gonna bring the boys by

after school today.

You look better today.

Need some coffee.

If I can find you one
of those brownies,

I'm sneaking you one, okay?

Be right back.

"and there's a time to die."

No purse, no coffee.

Help!

Help me!

She's DNR.

Do Not Resuscitate.

We talked about this.

I know it's what she wanted...

but there's nothing I can do?

You are. You're here.

It sounds awful...

but a part of me is relieved.

Happy, almost.

Maureen.

You ready to go?

Yes.

When that lady died,

those people seemed
both happy and sad.

Why is that?

Well, they were happy that
Maureen has gone to be with God,

but they're sad that she'll
no longer be with them.

I don't think I understand.

Perhaps you need to spend a
day with Andrew in a ride-along.

A ride-along?

I like to think of it

as Take Your Angel to Work Day.

How was your trip?

It's amazing.

Oh, question. Where is Tess?

Tess has an assignment.

Come on.

Hurry up.

Get the light.

Robby, I didn't
mean to spill the milk.

- It was an accident.
- It wasn't your fault, Sarah.

Okay? Just be quiet.

I'll be back as soon
as he chills out.

♪ 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. ♪

You know, no two
people are exactly alike.

Well, take yesterday,
for instance.

Max Underwood: he
wanted to rehash every single

little mistake he had ever
made in-in his entire life,

and he was a 100 years old.

And then Eileen Driscoll,
she just wanted someone

to hold her hand while
she watched her last sunset.

And then... Mr. Ponteer.

Mr. Ponteer wanted
to play Parcheesi,

so that's what we did.

It's wonderful that you
care about them so much.

I wish they were all that easy.

But people really face death
the same way that they faced life,

and for some, that means
a lot of fear, a lot of anger,

and they'll curse God
with their last dying breath

rather than just
accept His mercy.

And for them their... their
final journey is not so good.

But for the ones who
make peace, you know,

to watch their bravery and
their strength, their faith,

it humbles me, and it
in-inspires me, I think,

to be a better angel.

Do you mind if I
write that down?

No. No, I don't mind.

- Morning, Chuck.
- Hey, Dave.

How's the knee?

Better than the other knee.

The Farleys still out of town?

Yeah. Uh, their mail's
on hold till Friday.

Okay, thanks. I'll keep
an eye on their house.

See you later.

Have a good one.

Hi, Mr. Parker!

Hey, Robby.

All right, you're not
gonna get this one. Ready?

I hold the all-time record
for pitching wins. Who am I?

Cy Young, 511.

Okay, so did my
package come yet?

I didn't see it, but
as soon as it does,

it's coming straight from
my truck to your mailbox.

Um, no, it's-it's the
kind you got to sign for.

Wow. No kidding?
Must be important.

Real important.

Robby!

Get in here.

Hey, Robby!

- Where is she?
- I don't know!

Where's Sarah?

You stay right there.

Uh, registered mail.

I need a signature.

Okay.

Uh, it's for Robby.
He has to sign.

Robby's, uh... He's busy.

What kind of package
would you need to sign for?

- Huh?
- Was that for me?

I asked you a question.

- What is it?
- It's...

it-it's, um,
something I ordered.

Yeah, and now you're
gonna tell me what.

- Right now, Robby.
- I-I can't.

- Why not?
- Because it-it's...

it-it's your birthday present.

Geez.

Why didn't you say so, huh?

Man.

All right, I'm gonna...

I'm gonna go find
Sarah. She's...

Hey, why don't we have
some of that Chinese takeout

you like for dinner,
huh? How's that sound?

Sounds good.

All right, all right, yeah.

Um, geez, where's my, uh...

where's my wallet?

Here it is.

Thanks. I'll see you in a bit.

Yeah.

Hello, there.

Who are you?

My name is Tess, and
you're Sarah McGregor.

I'm an angel.

Okay.

What are you doing down here?

My brother Robby
says, once upon a time,

they were gonna
have a war with bombs,

so everybody was
gonna live down here,

but they didn't, so now
it's our secret playhouse.

Secret, yes, but I don't see
too much playing going on.

I'm here because I was bad.

You have never been
bad a day in your life.

That's not what my daddy says.

See what I made?

It's beautiful, baby.

It's-it's... it's
really beautiful.

It's okay. He went out.

Want to come meet
Robby? He's nice.

I'm sure he is, but I-I think

I'll just stay down
here a little while.

Okay.

There's an angel down there.

Right.

Come on.

Hello? Grams?

Grams?

Where are you?

Grams.

You know, there's
a new thing out.

It's called knocking.

I'm sorry. I just... Hi.

Uh, who are you?

Oh, this is Monica.

She's filling in
for Mrs. Miller,

who says she's in.

I think she's gone to the track.

Hello.

Hi.

Thanks for being here.

You see? Polite, handsome.

He's a good catch.

Are you, uh, married, Monica?

No, I'm not.

She said no.

I heard her.

Cut it out.

You know, if gentlemen were
supposed to come barging in

to ladies' bedrooms
without knocking,

God would not
have invented doors.

Grams, I'm sorry.

I called out, and
nobody answered.

I th... I thought that... I
was afraid you were...

Oh, please. I'm
not going to die.

I have a date tonight.

With Alex.

Listen, uh...

I got to get back to work, okay?

I just came to check on you.

And I'm gonna bring
home dinner tonight.

Uh, Monica, would
you like to stay?

Yes, I would like
that. Thank you.

Okay, I'll see you later then.

- Grams...
- I'll see you later.

Don't forget the
free soap samples.

He's, uh, very handsome

in that uniform, don't
you think, Monica?

Hmm?

Well, throughout history,
people have feared death,

because it's the
ultimate unknown.

The Germans had a word for it.

They called it tot.

It meant, the total end of life.

"Learn German."

And the ancient Greeks...
They used to believe

that souls traveled
down the river Styx

to a place called
the underworld.

And then the Egyptians...
they buried their dead with food,

in case they got
hungry on their journey.

But that's all wrong.

Yeah, but see, people
can't control death,

so they create these fantasies
about it which they can control.

Hmm.

Wait till they see what
Heaven's really like.

Not everybody will, Gloria.

Thanks.

Uh, so how's Grams doing?

Oh, she's on her date with Alex.

The vice president
who does that. Daniel?

I'll take Steinbeck for $400.

"It's not about Ms.
Bailey or Ms. Buck.

It's a tale of Kino,
the fisherman."

Andrew?

- Um, who are The Pearl Fishers?
- No.

- The Pearl, you idiot!
- Stephanie?

What is The Black Pearl?

No... Oh, numbskulls,
numbskulls, dummies.

My dad, uh, had her living

in one of those
assisted-living places,

and, uh, he died five years ago,

and so, I brought Grams
to live here with me.

Not everybody
would have done that.

Well, all we have
left is each other.

I hope you like frozen dinners.

What? Nobody likes
frozen dinners. Yuck.

It's not food,
it's flavored ice.

I was gonna learn
how to cook once.

I almost even took
lessons, but I chickened out.

That's right, Mr. Turtle.

Mr. Turtle?

Yeah. Grams says
I'm like a turtle.

I curl up in my
shell, and I'm safe,

but I never get anywhere.

Do you know what a turtle

has to do to get
somewhere, Monica?

Stick his neck out.

Smart girl.

You have to take
chances in this life.

I know.

I know.

Uh... I think I will
go and lie down

before dinner, okay?

Oh, don't forget

to tell me who
won Final Jeopardy.

Have you finished
your ride-along so soon?

No. I'm still on it.

I think she's... she's... Dead.

That's the word he's
looking for, isn't it, Andrew?

Grams, you always
did get right to the point.

Look.

Nothing hurts.

No more... arthritis! Oh!

This is just the
beginning, Mrs. Grams.

You're gonna love Heaven.

I mean, it is,
after all... Heaven.

Oh, the poor boy,
he looks so sad.

I know. He needs the birthday
present I bought for him.

Uh... but it's too late.

Grams, you know

that with God, all
things are possible.

Now it all makes sense.

I knew she was too
nice to be a human being.

Monica?

It's in the desk.

Good-bye, Grams.

I love you.

She knows, Chuck.

She knows.

Gloria, would you like
to make the trip with us?

We're kind of breaking her in.

Oh, well, I must say,
you're doing a great job.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you so very much.

Thank you for getting
Chinese food, Daddy.

You bet, kid.

It's great when
everybody's happy, huh?

Yeah... I know, you kids,

you just make me
so... crazy sometimes.

I made this for you, Daddy.

Thank you, Sarah.

It's... It's beautiful.

Okay, who's gonna
help me do the dishes?

No big deal. Nobody got hurt.

I'm gonna go sweep it up.

Monica.

Uh, what are you doing here?

If you're not too busy, may
I come in for a moment?

There's, um... there's something

that your grandmother
wanted you to have.

There.

She bought it as
an early birthday gift.

Mr. Turtle.

I'm gonna miss her so much.

I know.

I got to go.

I'm gonna be late for work.

Work?

Not yet.
They'll-they'll give you

a leave of absence, Chuck.

You need to take
some time for yourself.

I don't want to be by myself.

I just sit here
thinking about her.

I think about her
drinking her tea and...

watching the same
TV shows every night,

listening to her nag me
about getting up off my rear

and getting some
gumption... It drove me crazy.

What I wouldn't give for one
more minute of it right now.

No.

- I got you last.
- No, I...

Shh, Shh, Shh, Shh, Shh.

Okay, come on,
let's get you outside.

But he's asleep.

I know, but he's gonna wake up,

and once he does,
he's gonna be drunk,

and he's gonna be
mean, and he's gonna be...

Go. Go! I'll be right out.

Hey, Mr. Parker.

I need a signature right there.

Uh... so what's my
trivia question today?

Uh, no trivia today.

Uh, I've been... kind of busy.

Okay.

Thanks.

Angel?

Angel?

Where is she?

Trust me, if there
were angels around,

I wouldn't be needing this.

Robby, where'd you get that?

It doesn't matter.

What's important
is that I've got it.

What's it for?

To protect us.

But how do you
get these bullets in?

Ah! Dad.

- What are you doing?
- Nothing.

Where's Sarah?

I-I don't know;
look in her room.

She's not in there.

She's not anywhere!

You're hiding her, Robby.

I want you to tell
me where she is now!

Some place you're
never gonna find her.

I'm gonna teach
you a lesson, boy.

You hear me?

Robby, ask yourself
one question:

Is this what you really want?

Because once this
is done, it's done.

What's in that box?

I told you.

Your birthday present.

Let me see it.

Sure.

Happy birthday.

Hey! Hey!

Get back here, Robby!

You're only gonna make it worse!

Aah!

Robby!

Somebody call 911.

I didn't see him.
I didn't see him.

I didn't see him.

♪ London bridge
is falling down ♪

♪ Falling down, falling down ♪

♪ London bridge
is falling down ♪

♪ My fair lady. ♪

You want to play a game?

Sure, baby. What kind of game?

Let's play the little
girl and the angel.

I think I can handle that.

Okay. I'll be the angel.

Oh.

Little girl, don't be scared.

Now you say something
a little girl would say.

I'm afraid of my daddy.

That's good.

Thank you.

Your daddy started getting
sad when your mommy got sick,

then after she went to Heaven,

he started drinking
that yucky whiskey,

and that makes him mad.

And... and I'm afraid

to be down here in the dark.

Well, don't be scared.

Robby'“ come and get you.

He always does.

Just be patient.

Okay, then.

We have witnesses.

They all say you
weren't speeding

and Robby ran right
out in front of your truck.

There was nothing
you could've done.

I should've seen him.

No.

No, this wasn't your fault.

It was an accident.

Oh, my God...

Is there somebody
who can take you home?

No.

I can take him home.

Let's go, Chuck.

Mr. McGregor, I'm
sorry for your loss.

I know this is a bad time,

but I have some
questions I need to ask.

Could we talk inside?

There's no Mrs. McGregor?

She died.

Four years ago.

Cancer.

Sorry.

You have a daughter.

Huh? What's that?

A daughter named Sarah?

Yeah.

What about her?

Well, where is she?

Oh, she, uh...

she had a sleepover
at a friend's.

That's a lie.

Yeah.

What kind of questions
are these, anyway?

Routine follow-up, sir.

Have you, uh...

have you gotten a hold of Sarah

to let her know what happened?

Yeah, um...

in fact, I'm on my way
right now to pick her up.

Um, I think family
should be together

at times like this, don't you?

Yes, I do.

Well, I've taken up
enough of your time.

My condolences.

Well, what's that?

Oh, that.

Um, I don't know.

Well, how did it happen?

Oh, you know.

Kids playing ball,
tell them not to.

It goes in one
ear, out the other.

You got kids?

Yeah.

What kind of ball?

Football.

Well, again, my condolences.

I'll see myself out.

911.

What is the nature
of your emergency?

Yeah, uh, I want to
report a missing, um...

Uh, never mind.

Um, it's-it's my mistake.

Sarah, where the hell are you?

Mr. McGregor.

I don't really know what to say,

but I had to come over.

My grandmother always told me

that in times like these,
you make a casserole.

I am just so sorry.

You killed my son...

and now you think you can
come over here with a casserole,

and that's gonna
make it all right?

No.

I know nothing can
make it all right...

but I wanted to
tell you how I feel.

How you feel?

Who cares how you feel?

I'm gonna tell you something.

If I didn't have a
little girl to raise,

I would kill you, right now,
with my own bare hands,

and spend the rest of my
life in prison, happy I'd done it!

So why don't you
just get out of here

and take your
crappy food with you!

I found some of your
grandmother's old recipes,

and I made you some lunch.

Oh, okay.

Are you all right?

Yeah, yeah, fine.

I'm just gonna put
the car in the garage,

and then I'll be in.

Okay.

I'll see you inside.

This is totally illogical.

God gives people the
instinct to live, not to die.

Chuck doesn't want to die.

Just, for right now,
living hurts too much.

No.

He can't do this.

Gloria?

Monica, look, we
got here just in time.

This is not our
decision to make.

But he was going
to kill himself.

Gloria, you don't understand.

You didn't just take
away a gun from him.

You took away his free will,

and that didn't come from you
and that didn't come from me.

That comes from God.

Well, of course it does, but...

As much as it pains all of
us, you must give it back.

- But...
- Now, Gloria.

- Mon... how can you...?
- Now.

There is another
way to handle this.

All right.

You don't want
to do this, Chuck.

M-Monica.

Where'd you...?

How did you do that?

I'm an angel sent by God to
help you through this difficult time.

What, what do you want?

We don't have much time, Chuck.

Ti... time doesn't matter.

Nothing matters right now.

I've lost my grandmother,

I killed a little boy.

Now I hurt so bad,
I just want to die.

I know that and God knows that.

God loves you so
much, Chuck Parker,

and He will welcome you
into His kingdom one day,

but not today and
not in this way.

Then why did I find this gun?

I mean, it was just
sitting there in the bushes,

waiting for me.

You know where this
gun came from, Chuck.

You delivered it yourself.

Look at it.

No, no, this was...

Wait a minute.

This is what Robby
was waiting for?

Why would a kid like
Robby need a gun?

To protect himself and
his little sister Sarah.

From what?

Not from what, from whom.

Their father.

Yes.

At first he hit only Robby,

but then he starting
hitting Sarah, too,

so Robby began hiding Sarah

and taking the beatings
for both of them,

but they grew more
vicious and more frequent

until one day Robby decided

the next beating
would be the last one.

He bought the gun illegally

on the Internet.

And he held it in
his hand yesterday,

just like you are
holding it now.

And he had a chance to use it.

Just like you do.

But he didn't because he knew

that no matter how
much pain he suffered,

no matter how hopeless he felt,

that things would
never ever change.

He knew, deep inside
his soul, that it was wrong.

Just like you do.

I... I knew something
was going on, but I didn't...

I didn't want to get involved.

You didn't want to
stick your neck out.

It's what Grams would've done.

Your grandmother wanted
you to get as much out of life

as she had.

And she did it by
living without fear,

and being willing
to make a difference.

That's what she wanted for you,

so that when it came
your time to leave,

you could do so without regret,

and with great
joy, just as she did.

Little Sarah really needs
your help now, Chuck.

What are you going to do?

Mr. McGregor...

I don't have anything
else to say to you, sir.

I was just bringing by
Robby's personal effects.

I thought you might
want to have them.

Sarah! Sarah!

Sarah?

Sarah.

Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

- Ah-ha.
- Oh, no.

Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

I told you Robby would come.

I told you.

MR. McGREGOR: Sarah!

Daddy?

Get up here.

Or I'm gonna beat you
within an inch of your life.

You just try it.

Who the hell are you?

I'm someone who
doesn't appreciate

being spoken to in
that tone of voice.

That's Tess.

She's my angel.

Whoever you are,
get out of here!

Me and Sarah, we
got some talking to do.

Talking or beating?

She's my daughter.

I'm gonna do what
I damn well please.

- I don't think so.
- Yeah?

Who's gonna stop me, huh?

I am.

You know what this is?

Yeah, give it to me.

It's my birthday present;
Robby got it for me.

Oh, he got it for you.

You want to see what it is?

Come on.

What is this?

Robby and Sarah
were getting beat up

by a drunken bully who
was bigger than them.

And stronger than them.

Who should've been loving
them, not hurting them.

So Robby finally
decided to make it stop.

Are you telling me my
kid wanted to kill me?

Sarah?

You hurt us, Daddy.

Y-You hurt us a lot.

That's crazy.

I mean, that's not true.

I mean, you have to
be some kind of monster

to have your own
kid want to kill you.

You need help, Mr. McGregor.

And you're about to get it.

Mr. McGregor, I'm gonna
need you to come with me.

Can somebody stay with the
girl until Child Services gets here?

|WI||.

I won't cuff you in front of
your daughter if you come along.

Bye, Sarah, okay?

Bye, Daddy.

Where's Robby?

He's gone to be with
your mother, honey.

In Heaven?

But who's gonna stay with me?

I will stay with you

as long as it takes
to find you a place

to live where you will
never get hurt anymore.

Will Robby ever get hurt?

Oh, no, baby.

Never again.

Hey, Sarah.

Hey, look what I have here.

You like turtles?

Ooh, lookie there.

Would you like to have it?

I don't need it anymore.

So?

So, every human being
touches the life of someone else.

Sometimes without
even knowing it.

And before they
leave this world,

they each have a chance to
leave something behind to say,

"I was here, I mattered."

They leave children
or wisdom or love.

Or sometimes a little turtle.

And in a way, it's like
they never really left.

That's good, Gloria.

That's very, very good.

Well... she learned
from the best.

But the lesson's not over yet.

We have one final stop to make.

Isn't she beautiful?

Ooh, pardon me, sir.

He.

So, now that you've
learned about death,

it's time to learn about life.

You have a beautiful baby boy.

It's amazing.

Somebody leaves and
somebody else arrives.

That's the wonderful thing
about being an angel...

We get to stand at the door.