Original subtitles

How long has it been? Two hours.

And no contractions at all, right?

Not even any little ones that you didn't tell us about?

No, but I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest

and fly around the room.

Well, if it does, your Dad'll catch it.

Or at least bat it back down.

Where the hell is David? What's taking him so long?

Darlene, it's really, really bad traffic out there.

I know he's doing everything he can to get here as soon as he can.

I'm sure he'll be here any minute.

You said that an hour ago.

Honey, come on. Just try and relax.

Oh, sure, I'm lying here with God knows what coursing through my veins,

I don't know whether my baby's gonna live or die,

no one has a clue where my husband is,

and you're telling me to relax?

Yeah, I want you to stop talking like that, okay, Darlene?

Because I know that negative talk like that

is attracting negative energy.

[door opens]

I am so sorry.

I got here as fast as I could.

How do you feel? I'm fine, David.

Yeah? What about the baby?

We don't know yet.

All right, um-- Where do we stand?

Well, we tried several drugs to stop the contractions,

and now we're on the big one, Ritodrine,

and, uh, I don't know, it has some side effects,

like, you know, rapid heartbeat.

Got it.

Yeah, but so far, it is working.

So then, the contractions have stopped.

Well, yeah, I mean, as of right now.

Okay, what do we do now?

Just cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Uh, okay. All right.

You guys must be tired, and I'm here now;

why don't you just go home and lie down?

I'll call you if anything happens.

Wow. When did you get this new "take charge" attitude?

I don't know. It just kind of came over me.

We'll go on down to the cafeteria-- Oh, boy!

My water just broke.

♪ If what doesn't kill us is makin' us stronger ♪

♪ We're gonna last longer ♪

♪ Than the greatest wall in China ♪

♪ Or that rabbit with a drum ♪

♪ If there's one thing that I've learned ♪

♪ While waiting for my turn ♪

♪ It's that in each life some rain falls ♪

♪ But you also get some sun ♪

♪ And we'll make out better than okay ♪

♪ Hear what I say ♪

♪ Yeah, any day ♪

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Honey, you gotta stay calm,

and know that we're here for you

and everything's going to be okay.

I'm scared.

It's okay to be a little scared.

You should have seen your mom when she had Becky.

Hmph.

I might have been scared,

but your dad passed out in the waiting room.

Don't leave me. No, I won't.

Wish I could go through this for you.

Yeah, me too.

Well, we're ready to go.

Oh, you want to start without me?

You'll be in the delivery room very soon,

and we're going to take real good care of you.

You hear that, honey? Everything's under control.

Okay, well, we're going to go into the waiting room now.

I got D.J. saving all the chairs for us,

and that one-legged guy's probably getting

a little cranky by now.

Dr. Rudmen, Darlene's only 28 weeks along.

Everything's going to be fine, right?

Well, I'm going to be honest with you,

there's always an element of risk.

Why is this happening now?

Darlene, no one knows what exactly triggers

normal labor, let alone premature labor.

But babies this age have survived.

You are young and healthy, and you've had very good prenatal care.

And that's really good, isn't it?

I mean, it means a lot, right?

You bet it does.

So you stay optimistic, okay?

Yeah.

The world population is, like, five billion,

and they all had to be born.

How can this be so hard?

Okay, listen to me.

You are very, very strong.

More important than that, you're very stubborn, and I think God likes that.

So everything's going to be just fine, okay?

I hope you're right.

Here we go.

A few more minutes before we're parents.

Is there anything left that we wanted to do before we had kids?

[laughs]

Oh, we were going to go to Paris.

Might be a little late to book a flight, huh?

Well, I'll settle for a cheese omelet, then.

Okay.

I love you.

I love you so much.

Mark, you're wearing a track in the floor.

Sorry.

I really have a bad feeling about this.

Don't think that way, Becky.

As Louise Hay says, you must learn to turn

the negative into a positive.

Yeah, you should listen to your grandma, Becky.

Apparently, being gay means more than just wanting to wear

flannel shirts and Birkenstocks;

it also makes you smarter.

Thank you, Roseanne, I have been trying

to positively explore different avenues.

Hey, check out that nurse with the crew cut.

Made you look!

We just called Leon to check on the kids. How's Darlene doing?

She's been in there for over an hour.

Jeez. You look terrible.

Well, thank you for the compliment, Jackie.

Would you like to check my breath while you're at it?

Honey, want to take another walk down the hall?

Mr. and Mrs. Conner?

Your daughter has just given birth to a baby girl.

Uh, is everything okay?

Uh, well, Darlene is fine. David's with her right now.

And the baby?

Well, being so premature,

her lungs are not sufficiently developed

for her to breathe on her own.

At this point, she can't even cry.

We have her down in N.I.C.U.

She's in an incubator, on a respirator and I.V.

The next 24 to 48 hours are going to be very critical.

What exactly does that mean?

It means they don't know anything, Becky.

Well, yeah, so what now?

I mean, isn't there anything that you can do?

Actually, the best thing we can do right now is to wait.

So that's what you're de--

That's all you can tell us, is that we should wait?

Look, Mrs. Conner, I know this is hard.

I know that. But please, it really is the best we can do right now.

Well, no, I can't accept that. I want to get a second opinion.

All right, I'd be happy to give you the names of some neonatologists.

There's a couple of good doctors in Chicago.

No, I'm not interested in good.

Okay? I want the best.

If we have to go to New York, or Australia,

or Japan, or Timbuktu, I really don't care.

I have all the money in the world,

and I want the very best doctor on this whole damn planet.

Well, they're trying to get a hold of that doctor in Australia.

Go in there and find out what's going on

with that Dr. Igarashi there in Tokyo.

You know, we're running out of specialists, Roseanne.

There's 12 on the lists, we've already called 10.

I know. Maybe it's time we started thinking of some alternatives.

What? Acupuncture?

Well, yeah! Or herbalists, or some kind of healer.

I mean, Western medicine can't have all the answers.

And other cultures, they take a whole different approach.

Like in India, when people are sick, you know what they do?

They take them down and they give them a bath in the holy river.

You're making it up. That doesn't work.

Oh, yes it does, Jackie. And you know why?

Because they believe it's gonna work.

I read that in all those books that Nancy gave me.

And you know what? They all say the very same thing.

You know what they say?

That the spiritual is the cause for the physical.

Okay, they talked to that Dr. Phillips in London?

He's afraid he can't get here in time.

But he says there's this great South African doctor

who's giving a lecture in Boston.

That's a couple of hours away. We could get him.

No, I want them both.

You tell that London guy to take the Concorde into New York,

and then we'll charter a plane and get him down here.

And go get that South African doctor on the phone, too.

Got it.

For once, we can afford the best,

and we're gonna get it.

Hey. Brought you some more apple sauce.

I'm not hungry right now. Thanks anyway.

How are you doing? Better.

I mean, I'm still pretty wrung out, though.

Any new word about the baby?

No. I can go check now again, if you want.

No, it's okay.

This is really happening to us, isn't it?

I'm afraid so. What made this happen?

I mean, what did I do?

It wasn't anything that you did.

I'm not a drinker, I don't smoke,

I only did drugs once-- That was a long time ago.

Could I have been eating the wrong thing the whole time?

You're a vegetarian, one of the healthiest eaters--

Maybe it's physical, like some kind of genetic defect or something.

I don't think it was anything like that, either.

Well, then what's the answer, David?

We know the question.

Why was my baby born prematurely?

And why is it probably going to die?

No one can answer that.

Well, if it's not something physical,

maybe I'm being punished for something.

Sweetheart, don't do that to yourself.

That's ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? We don't know everything.

Maybe there's some unknowable power at work,

like some kind of universal force

that's punishing me for something that I did.

You didn't do anything wrong. Well, I must have, David.

Because if there's nothing physically wrong with me,

and I didn't do anything morally wrong, then nothing makes any sense!

Why do I deserve this?

No. No. Look at me.

You don't deserve this, okay?

You do not deserve this, I do not deserve this,

our baby does not deserve this.

These things happen. Okay?

No one deserves them.

Okay?

Come here.

I'm here for you.

I'm always here for you.

I must have walked across this room a thousand times.

How long have they been in there? An hour.

Well, how long does it take to examine a baby?

She's only the si--

I'm sorry.

It's okay, Mark.

Well, Roseanne, your high-priced specialists

are sure taking their time.

That's because they're high-priced specialists, Mother.

Yeah, and for the money I pay them, they'd better be taking a lot of time.

Dr. Phillips, what's happening?

Dr. Nicosi and I have examined the baby.

I'm afraid that we both concur with Dr. Rudmen.

Does Darlene know?

Yes. We've gone over everything with them.

I want you to know, everything that can be done is being done.

We shouldn't give up hope.

Oh, man.

Oh, man. [sighs]

I don't understand. You men are supposed to be the best in your field.

You've tried everything? Yes, we have, Mr. Conner.

Isn't there some kind of experimental drug,

or some machine, or something--

You do understand, don't you, that money is no object.

It's not a question of money, Mrs. Conner.

Unfortunately, we cannot duplicate the conditions in the womb.

But this is crazy.

There's got to be something you can do.

Well, I wish there was, Mrs. Conner. I'm so sorry.

Well, can we see the baby?

Of course you can.

But don't be shocked when you see her.

She doesn't look like a full-term baby looks.

Her skin is a little translucent, and she's very tiny.

She's so beautiful.

She's my daughter.

She's my beautiful little daughter.

[sighs] I can't stand to look at her,

hooked up with all this stuff.

Is there any point to this?

Well, in some instances like these,

parents decide to unplug the machine.

Let nature take its course.

Well, David, I think we have a decision to make.

Wait. Are you saying that this is it for her?

Well, if you're asking my medical opinion,

I would say that she has very little chance

to survive on her own.

Well, uh, I mean--

I think that she deserves a chance to experience life

not hooked up to all these machines and tubes and stuff.

Yeah, I think she's right.

All right, I'll send in a nurse

with some forms for you to sign.

David, let's take a walk. I don't want to leave.

No, come on, just a minute. Come on.

I'm coming with you. [D.J.] Yeah, me too.

[sniffling]

You hang in there, David. I don't know if I can take it.

Hey, it's hard. I know it's hard.

But sometimes you've just got to put one foot in front of the other

even though you don't know where you're going.

I feel like I'm gonna lose it.

No, you're not. No, you're not.

I have never seen you as together as you were today, Dave.

All right? You're-- You're gonna make it through this.

Yeah, you're doing great.

Look, Darlene needs you, David. You gotta stay focused.

Just when you think you don't have anything more to give,

you got to find more to give.

I don't know if I can, Mr. Conner.

[sobs] David, look.

I know it's not politically correct to say this,

but you are the man-- Darlene needs you to be strong right now.

I know, I know.

Hey, guys. Hey, Deej.

Let me show you how to steal candy out of this machine over here.

How do you do that? It's easy. You just need a hairpin and a soldering iron.

[clears throat] David, I know I'm not your Dad.

But you're like a son to me.

And I'm going to get you through this.

It just happened so fast, you know?

See, a year ago, things were simple.

And then Darlene got pregnant, and we got married,

and-- I'm sorry, Mr. Conner,

but I'll admit that it took me a long time

to even get used to the idea of being a father.

But now I am.

And I want it more than anything in the world.

It's just too much. How do I deal with it all?

Look, David, I ain't no philosopher.

But everyone knows that there's good and there's bad, okay?

But nobody thinks that the bad stuff's ever going to happen to them.

And then, one day, wham! All of a sudden, it does.

And you think there's no way that you can go on.

But the day goes by.

Then another day goes by, then a week.

A month. A year.

And you look back.

Hey...I got through that.

I don't know how, but I made it.

I am not going to let her down, Mr. Conner.

I know you're not.

Can we walk for a while?

Yeah. Sure.

God. She just looks so fragile.

We'll let you all have some privacy.

What am I gonna do, Mom?

I just-- I just think we should all hold her.

Are you sure we should do this, Roseanne?

I'm not sure of anything, Mom.

Except I know...

that she comes from-- [gasps]

a long line of women who fight...

and survive.

Looks like some kind of coven.

Oh, you. Hi. You are so beautiful.

You know, when I was about five years old,

we were riding in the car.

And-- [laughs]

I was leaning up against the door,

and all of a sudden, the door just popped open,

and I started to fall out of the car.

And-- Because I remember I looked down

and I could see the road rushing underneath me,

and I was literally, like, outside of the car.

And all of a sudden, out of nowhere,

my mom reached over and she grabbed me by the hair

and she pulled me back inside.

And so, if you-- if you feel like you're--

like you're starting to fall away, then you're not,

because we're gonna pull you back inside.

Oh, my. You've got quite a grip.

I think you're stronger than you're letting on.

Hey, there.

You know, your mom and I had a pretty cool aunt when we were growing up.

And I hope I can be the same for you.

I want to apologize to you that the only thing I have even thought about

were ways to heal your body.

Because I know better.

We're not bodies with souls,

we are souls with bodies.

Hey, you.

We really want you to stay with us, okay?

I mean, we got all the generations

of women in the family here.

I just thought of what your name should be.

Harris Conner Healy.

♪♪ [music playing]

♪ Blackbird singing in the dead of night ♪

♪ Take these broken wings and learn to fly ♪

♪ All your life ♪

♪ You were only waiting for this moment to arrive ♪

[Nurse on P.A.] Dr. Phillips to Neonatal I.C.U.

Dr. Phillips to N.I.C.U., please.

♪ Blackbird singing in the dead of night ♪

♪ Take these sunken eyes and learn to see ♪

[Dr. Phillips] This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen.

♪ All your life ♪

♪ You were only waiting for this moment to be free ♪

[baby crying]

Closed-Captioned By J.R. Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA