Original subtitles

The old place is looking a little ratty, don't you think?

It's winter. Who can tell?

Dad could.

He took care of this place like a baby.

Dad's not here to look after it anymore.

So that's what it looks like. A yardmill man to take care of it and an older

lady who's too busy to bother.

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Good news.

Well, the good news is you have all the answers about everything.

True. And the bad news?

Well, the bad news is I hate know -it -alls.

But you love me.

Rachel!

I'm telling Mom!

You're my sister.

I am required by law to love you.

What law?

The higher one.

You know, you should be studying to be in the seminary instead of medicine.

Have you decided to be a heart surgeon?

Yeah.

No.

I don't know.

It's too late to save Dad, Ryan.

He's gone.

I know.

I just wish that I could... You wish you could talk to him.

I miss him, Rachel.

I know.

She's killing me!

Well, there he is.

Mother? Mom? Witch!

Oh!

Your father has splashed me from head to toe.

That woman tried to drown me!

I was washing your hair, David.

Get her out of here! I can wash myself!

Laugh, winky fella. Sleep in the tub. Clam up!

I can swim!

I can swim!

Oh, yes, David. You could fly if you wanted to.

Hey, Pop.

Hey. What you doing, Pop?

Very little, son.

How do you keep it up, Mom?

Most days aren't so bad.

Bath days are bad.

Kind of like the final insult to him.

I worry about you.

But if you get sick, you're exhausted.

He took care of me for 30 years, Rachel.

I can take care of him now.

He's dressed.

He's watching TV.

Thank you, son.

Tell her, Ryan.

Okay, I'll say it.

Maybe it's time we put Dad into a home.

This is his home.

Mom, I don't want to lose you, too.

If he leaves here, he will die.

My father died on the operating table 11 years ago.

Get that man out of my house! Don't worry, it's just a commercial for an old

movie. Marilyn Monroe.

You think she's a man.

You, too, can have younger -looking skin in just 30 days.

But I have acne scars.

Will Celestial Cream help me, Kim?

Absolutely, Jean.

You don't have to suffer crater face anymore.

What about you, Carol? What are your skin care concerns?

Fine lines or wrinkles?

Is there hope for me?

Hope? Hope?

There's more than hope.

There's a cure.

Is there some?

Is there hope?

He's there, Ryan. Talk to him.

What are you scared of, Pop?

You worry about dying?

You're a good man, Bob.

And you've lived a good life.

You don't have to be afraid of anything.

Not now.

I'm just so... What, Pop?

Unnecessary.

Let me show you something else.

Show of hands.

Prettiest girl in the whole school.

Don't forget to say your prayers, Pop.

Dad! Daddy!

What are you doing, Ryan?

Why did you pull my covers off?

I'm so sorry.

Are you cold?

Don't forget to say your prayers.

He will chop every heart in its crown.

He will sway them, them,

them.

Why?

Change. You could change a world.

Change. Real.

Take one, divide by two.

Change. If it was only up to you to change.

Doesn't hurt anymore.

I know.

What's happening?

I think you know.

He's your father again.

Singing his little boy to sleep.

Thank you for that.

He's perfect.

Why is he even here? Who are you talking to?

Me.

I want to know, once and for all, why the... Why do the good die young?

Yes, I know.

The question has been asked countless times.

Then tell me.

Excuse me. I can't.

You can't?

Or won't?

This is amazing.

Is this real?

What does Ryan's story got to regret?

He's a good son, a kind man, a doctor, a humanitarian.

He's never hurt anyone his entire life.

That's not true.

Yes, it is.

Mr. Smith, let the man talk.

All right.

But be careful.

Your fate's being judged as we speak.

It's about choices in life and after.

This is your judge.

Judge Othniel, from the Old Testament.

It is really nice to meet you, sir.

Your Honor,

you were quite a warrior.

I had my day.

And you were the brightest boy in Bible class.

We had high hopes for you.

Being a doctor, saving people's lives, that wasn't good enough?

Not when the one you need to save is yourself.

All I ever wanted to do was save my father.

And I ended up taking his life away.

How so?

By forcing him to have an operation he didn't want.

But he needed it.

Your father had to have a valve replaced in his heart or you would have died in

two or three years. You know that.

Oh, I know.

It was going to be a simple procedure.

Dad would have been home in 48 hours.

Five open -heart surgeries later.

And a stroke that left my dad with the mind of a child.

What did I accomplish?

My father, the brilliant doctor who had delivered

Every baby in this town was gone.

He should have died.

You didn't mean that, Judge?

Yes.

He does.

Marcy, we experienced some problems during the operation.

We did everything we could. I'm sorry.

There may have been some brain damage.

I'm afraid he may not make it through the night.

Ryan.

Rachel.

We have to take her.

No,

we don't.

Don't believe them, Rachel.

You will live.

Won't you, Pop?

Look at me. Look at me.

There is a power higher than us.

Higher than any doctor.

And more powerful than any disease. But you gotta believe.

Do you believe?

I believe in Pop.

Tell him.

We believe in you, Pop.

Please don't go.

You hear that, Pop?

It's me, Ryan.

And Rachel. And Mom.

I can't let you go, Pop. We won't.

You've got a choice.

Live, Pop.

Live.

Your prayer was answered.

And you have felt guilty ever since?

I called on God, and he backed me up.

I believe that I took my father's choice away.

Look at the life my father's lived.

Not lived, endured.

So you believe if you could go back and change this regret that you

have.

Life would be better for everyone.

Yes, sir.

If I could convince my father not to have that operation, I would do anything

make that happen.

Careful.

You will have three days.

in three days only to go back and make the right choice in your life

at the time your father's fate was hanging in the balance.

You will go back with all your memories intact, but no one will recognize you.

You are a free agent in the universe with the blessing of God Almighty and

court.

Ain't that a sight?

Don't look so glum, Cliff. You didn't cause it. You only diagnosed it.

What do we do to make the old ticker talk the way it should?

Beta blockers?

No.

Something more aggressive, maybe?

Much more aggressive, David.

Surgery.

That your final opinion?

Yes.

So, Dr. Thomas, what's it gonna be?

Surgery or no surgery?

My life is in your hands.

Dr. Thomas, Dr.

Story is waiting for you to tell him whether to have surgery or not.

What do you think?

Speak up.

Is something in your throat?

Bullseye.

I see.

What? What do you see?

I see.

What do you see?

I see you two are too young to be calling the shots on an old hat like me.

Do you think wisdom is directly related to age, sir?

What is that?

I thought you were a doctor.

A highly respected one, by all accounts.

Oh, yes. Dr. Thomas comes highly recommended.

Bend it.

The two of you were touted as a crackerjack team of heart specialists.

What are you doing?

What are those for?

What are you planning on doing with those gloves?

I'll show you.

How you feeling, Tony?

I'm sick, but I don't want a shot.

Then why do you miss school?

You know, if you miss school, your mother's going to send you here, and you

she's going to expect me to give you an allergy shot.

All right, come on.

Tony, this is Dr. Thomas, Dr.

Smith. Hi, Tony.

You give shots?

No. No, we don't give shots.

You still having trouble with those bullies at school, Tony?

I can lick them, but I don't.

That's good, Tony, because you have something they don't.

Forever.

But Mom won't let me keep it on account of my allergy.

Oh, didn't I tell you?

This is a hypoallergenic cat.

That actually helps you with your sniffing.

If there's ever any problem, you just put these on for five minutes.

It'll be all okay.

You tell your mother to give me a call if she doesn't understand my

prescription, okay?

Don't forget those.

Okay,

Tony, we gotta go now.

What?

They didn't teach you that remedy in medical school?

What happens if he has an allergic reaction?

He won't.

He doesn't have allergies.

Bless you.

Yeah, I didn't... I didn't hear him sniff once after you gave him the cat.

you.

Yeah.

It was a placebo.

Love is always a placebo for terror.

And the cure.

You guys like Chet Atkins?

Say no.

You know, people always say that. Wake the dead.

How can you wake the dead?

By playing Wildwood Flower at Full Blast in New England.

Well, let's invite them in for supper. I've got a few questions I want to ask

them.

Stop your foolishness. These boys didn't come all the way here to see you.

Step on my toes.

Never spent one night apart.

Can't sleep without her cold feet planted in my mouth. Okay, David.

All right, I'm going to go get the kids before this stew gets colder than my

feet. And you boys stay for dinner.

Yes, ma 'am. Yes, ma 'am. Oh, you know what? I'll go.

I'll go. You stay.

You people have a lot to talk about anyway.

We're only here for two more days.

Well, all right. They're down at the rink. Here, keep warm.

Today, you guys act fast.

Yeah.

So?

What did the test results show?

Why don't you have a seat?

I'm going to miss this story.

He needs a bypass, right?

Never underestimate the clairvoyance of a Connecticut Yankee woman.

Dr. Story, you don't have to have this surgery.

Don't be ridiculous.

These surgeries are performed every day.

I want you around forever.

Wouldn't be any fun without you.

Don't you worry.

I'm not going to leave my Wildwood flower.

Or maybe... Is it a past life?

I'll remember.

She will, too. She's got a mind like a steel trap.

I'm Ryan Story.

And this is... Rachel.

You do know me.

Hey, Ryan, I'm... Smith.

You are Smith, right?

It's Dr.

Smith.

Do you really know me?

You're my dad's doctor.

Is he going to be okay?

We're working on it.

Sorry.

This is Dr. Thomas, your father's heart specialist.

We were told if anyone could fix Dad, it'd be you.

What's wrong?

Something wrong?

Don't worry.

We're going to take real good care of your dad.

Yeah, it's going to be fine.

Everything's going to be fine.

Right? I mean, what could go wrong?

This

is

crazy. Wasn't this what you wanted?

A chance to change your father's life?

I want to save my father. Then do it.

Make a choice.

My dad wants me to operate on him.

That's right.

How can I do surgery on my own dad?

For the last 11 years, I have wished and I've prayed that my father didn't have

this operation. And now, it's hard to admit, no matter how you cut it, you

feel responsible.

If he doesn't have the operation, he won't live long, but at least his life

be his own.

And if he does have the operation, he'll live longer, but as a shadow of

himself. What kind of choice is that?

Your father's.

You're right.

You know what has always bothered me the most?

Is I knew my father didn't want to go through with the operation.

And you feel like you made him. I know I did.

She's alright.

Wait.

Wait, what time is it?

Hi, thank you.

Sorry.

I gotta go, Smith.

Hey.

Family is always on the run.

Go, Ryan. Pick it up. Pick it up. Your old man's going to beat you.

Come on. Pick it up.

Go, Ryan. Go.

You can do it, son.

Come on. You can do it.

Whoa.

You're too fast to be a preacher.

Well, I'll have to beat out around my parishioners.

Are you disappointed in me, Pop,

that I'm not headed in a medicine like you?

Guys like me need guys like you.

How do you think we really save people?

Pop, I really want you to get that operation.

It's a simple bypass. We'll be in and out within 48 hours. You'll be fine.

Look.

If you won't do it for yourself, do it for your family.

Do it for me.

That's a lot of pressure you're putting on your dad, Ryan.

Oh, uh, hi, Dr. Thomas.

I thought you'd be the last person to discourage my dad. I mean, aren't you a

heart surgeon?

Yes.

But sometimes, medicine isn't the best solution to a problem.

How would you feel, Ryan?

If something went wrong during the operation.

Why are you doing this?

Why are you trying to scare us?

Oh, I'm not. I'm not, Ryan.

I'm just being realistic.

You're being weird.

You shouldn't put all your faith in medicine, Ryan.

You could lose it. Look, you don't know me or anything about my faith.

In fact, I think it's you that has lack of faith in yourself, and that's why you

don't want to operate on my father.

Time out.

All right, time out.

That's enough, both of you.

No, tell him, Dad. Tell him you're going to get this operation, whether he does

it or not.

I can't live forever, son.

No life lasts forever, right?

No.

What happened to good people?

Oh, I read that.

Could you? It just came out today.

Oh, you know, I guess I'm confused.

Happens a lot.

That's kind of bad for someone who specializes in heart, don't you think?

Sometimes.

And sometimes it's better not to remember things so clearly.

Yeah.

You deal in life and death a lot.

Yeah. I do.

How do you stand it?

I concentrate on the living part.

I wouldn't want to live if anything happened to my family.

You mean your father?

It's our condition.

Yeah.

Why does God have to be so mean?

I mean, after my father's healed so many people, why would he make my dad sick?

God didn't do this, Rachel.

I'm just like Ryan.

He believes everything's going to work out perfectly for our family. It's all

based on faith.

Don't you have faith, Rachel?

You've seen people die in horrible ways.

Do you?

Yeah.

You think you can't live without your father.

You can.

And you will.

I wouldn't want to.

Never wish for death, Rachel.

You can.

You're the most alive person I've met.

Like my father.

Please tell me that everything's going to work out perfectly for my family.

Love is the measure.

And this family is perfect.

You want to stay for dinner?

Yes.

Prognosis is not good.

One, maybe two years tops.

Two years?

What's going on? What's happening?

His blood pressure's dropping. His heart rate's erratic.

I'm sorry.

He's in cardiac arrest.

Well, who's his doctor?

You are.

This can't be happening. My dad never had a heart attack. He's always going to

come to this. You knew that. But not this soon. Dr. Thomas, patient is beefed

up. We're losing him.

Clear.

Clear.

Clear.

Start CPR.

Charge 360.

Give him a milliliter of etcher.

Even after everything I know, I couldn't let him go.

That's love.

I can't go through this again.

I won't.

Let someone else play God.

This is your father's life.

These are your father's people.

That lady, Thelma Alvarez, she went to 20 fertility specialists because she

couldn't have babies.

My dad got her involved with foster kids, and now she had two kids of her

and she's adopted two more.

That little boy is Nick Longhammer.

When he was born, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

And my dad saved him.

And Nelson, back there?

Nelson thought his wife was cheating on him.

Pop talked him off the roof of a building with a sonogram of his unborn

Pardon me.

Excuse me. Pardon me.

Excuse me.

Are you Dr. Story's doctor?

It's your choice, Doctor.

Yes.

Yes, I am.

Tell the Doctor to keep this for good luck.

Put it under his pillow.

A tooth?

Is this yours?

Heck no!

Knife to me, you dog!

What if I'm just being selfish?

What if this isn't what my dad really wants?

Is it alright to hold on at all costs?

Your father was always going to have this operation, Ryan.

Do you mean he was always willing to let go?

No.

But he knew that you were.

Doctor?

You weren't prepared for this operation earlier.

Are you now?

I know who you are.

You're my guardian angel.

That's exactly who I am.

Don't forget.

You're not alone.

I had forgotten that for a long time.

I didn't know angels could cry.

I wasn't so sure myself.

You're planning on being a preacher, aren't you?

I hope so.

I hope so, too.

Where's Mr. Big Shot?

She's fine.

She wants to see you. So do the twins.

That's right. You better get in there.

Ryan, what are you doing here?

You afraid the old man wasn't going to make it?

You're back.

So is your father.

Father.

The family never walks anywhere.

I love you, Dad.

I love you, too, son.

Come on, now. We better get going. We don't want to keep those ladies waiting.

I told you how much I love delivering babies.

How did this happen?

Don't worry.

It'll all come back to you. Your entire wonderful life.

And you won't remember anything from the last three days.

You're wrong.

I will always remember you here.

I'll remember you here.

ever feel like someone's watching over you? All the time.

It's our guardian angel.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where

storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land we shall find the

stars.

Why do the good die young?

Question has been asked countless times.

You were quite a warrior. I had my day.

Rearrange your world.

Change.

Take one, divide by two.

Change. If it was only up to you to change.

To a world of wonder from a world of pain.

I will listen for your number.

As they call it out again.

Change.