Original subtitles

(Irv) They say that from the instant

he lays eyes on her...

...a father adores his daughter.

Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him...

...that little girl in pigtails.

She makes him feel like Christmas.

In exchange...

...he makes a secret promise not to see

the awkwardness of her teenage years...

...the mistakes she makes...

...or the secrets she keeps.

This is your fourth-grade homework assignment...

...not your honors thesis.

Pick me up.

[groaning]

Do you even know who Golda Meir is?

(Delia) She used to be in charge of Israel.

- Peggy Fleming? - Ice skater.

- And these are your heroes? - I haven´t decided yet.

I like to ice skate and I´d like to run my own country someday.

But not Israel. That one´s too hard.

Tell you what, I´m gonna go find some anthologies.

One book. Lots of stories.

(male #1) ´Seventy-five.´

[gasping]

- So sorry. - It´s my fault.

Sorry.

Interesting reading material. For a 13-year-old girl.

Oh, I can explain.

Really? By all means, explain the, uh, connection...

...between Mother Teresa and "Buffy the vampire slayer."

- Daughter. Homework. Hero. - Gotcha.

- And you? - "The web that has no weaver."

My favorite. I lost my copy between Rwanda and Everwood.

Yeah. Well, that could happen to anyone.

"The web that has no weaver, understanding Chinese medicine."

- Oh, so it´s fiction. - Did I judge Buffy?

- I might buy that. - Why would you read a book

that might validate something you so clearly enjoy mocking?

I can always learn something new. What are your favorites?

Well, that one´s certainly the most comprehensive.

Uh, "Life in the balance" is a good, uh, resource.

"The promise of eastern medicine." But they´re all good.

- Great. - Why don´t you pick one?

You don´t wanna OD on all that.

(Andy) If I don´t read material, can´t make the jokes.

You aren´t related to a person wearing a baseball cap

and carrying her weight in hardback.

Delia, come meet the other Dr. Abbott.

Hi, I´m Linda.

Hi. I thought you were getting me more books.

Right. I´m on it. As you can see, I have to go.

- Thanks for recommendations. - Sure. Enjoy.

Nice meeting you, Delia.

In exchange for her unconditional love..

...her willingness to ignore whatever faults he may bear as

a man, every father is willfully blind

to the change in his daughter..

...as she drifts further away from her childhood self..

...until she´s too far out to pull back.

[theme music]

[music continues]

Okay, swimmers. On your marks.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Set.

[blows whistle]

[cheering continues]

Yes.

[no audio]

[coughing]

[no audio]

Help!

And you´ve had this dream before.

´A few times.´

This is so stupid. It´s not like dreams mean anything anyways.

Except that you shouldn´t eat pizza after, like, 10.

What about the other part? Everyone´s passing you.

- You can´t keep up. - Not a matter of how I feel.

It´s fact. Everyone is doing better than I am.

And there´s nothing I can do about it. So why dwell?

If I were physically capable of making myself feel better

wouldn´t I do that?

It isn´t like I enjoy being miserable.

Are you sure about that?

Mind if we finish five minutes early today? I´m late to sixth.

´I wanted to talk to you about something for a minute.´

I want you to consider coming here twice a week.

I´m concerned we´re not making as much progress as we could.

If you do really do wanna feel better, like you say

this might be a way to get there.

- I´ll think about it. Okay? - Sure.

Maybe you talk to your parents about it. See what they think.

I will do that. Thank you, Dr. Lence.

Doesn´t it disturb you that Eastern medicine

avoids the concept of scientific method?

It doesn´t disturb me ´cause I don´t place eastern medicine

within a Western rubric, It´s not meant to be tested.

Much like the sanity of your clientele.

You got mayo on your lip.

(Andy) ´Without scientific method without hypotheses´

and control groups how can you be sure your successes

are nothing more than a placebo effect?

- The short answer is I can´t. - See?

Longer answer has to do with accepting a way of thinking

about mind, body and acknowledging the spirits.

There are theories which conflict with each other.

The eight principles, the five elements--

Four calling birds, three French hens--

I´m not ready to rely on a form of medicine

that doesn´t ask the question, "Why?"

Every time a patient walks through your door with a symptom

there´s an underlying emotional component which contributes

to that symptom, that´s what I´m looking for, That´s my "why."

I mean, if a patient comes to me with stage-two lung cancer

I´m not gonna suggest he give up chemotherapy for acupuncture.

What I will do is find a more healthful balance which

might allow the patient to be comfortable throughout chemo.

Or allow him to be comfortable with getting his nose pierced.

Think we should tell his napkin is still tucked into his collar?

(Brittany) ´What do you think? Aren´t they fabulous?´

It´s the newest color in nail polish.

My dad got them for me in Japan.

- My pencil box is from Japan. - No one´s talking to you.

So which one do you like better?

Afternoon Aqua or Sky Blue Sizzle?

- They look the same to me. - No, they don´t.

- What´s wrong with you? - Has everyone picked a hero?

Delia?

I haven´t finished all my books. But I have six favorites so far.

That´s nice. But the goal for today is to narrow it to one.

- Mary-Kate and Ashley. - I´m doing Jackie Chan.

He broke every single bone in his body. Wanna see me kick?

Are you okay, Brittany?

(Perkins) Brittany.

- What happened? - Oh, my goodness.

- Delia, go get the nurse. - Oh, disgusting.

(Bright) Just embrace the idea hovercrafts already exist.

We´d already be flying around in them.

- And-- - Hey, who´s that guy?

No clue. But someone should say something about his hair.

That´s Colin´s locker. Nobody´s supposed to have that.

Didn´t the vice principal promise that?

I think so. I don´t know. Amy, maybe you should just let it go.

Hi.

-Are you new here? -Yeah, hi. I´m Alan.

Amy Abbott. Nice to meet you.

Uh, I think you have the wrong locker.

I don´t think so. This is the one they gave me.

You do. Because I know the person who has this locker.

You´re sure? Because--

I´m positive, so maybe you should go back

to the main office before your class, get it fixed.

Are you playing a trick on me? Is this, mess with the new guy?

- Is this a flirting thing? - Do I look like I´m flirting?

- Amy, let´s go. - No.

Sorry, I´m trying to be nice, but he´s completely clueless.

- This isn´t your locker. - What is she, mental or--?

Go. Get out of here.

You okay, Amy?

Hey. Look at me.

Yeah. Yeah, I´m fine. I just--

They promised, you know?

I´m sure it was just a mix-up. They´ll get it figured out.

-Okay. -Let´s get to class, okay?

[SCHOOL BELL RINGING]

First the headaches, now she´s throwing up.

I´m no doctor but isn´t that a serious combination?

- You´re scaring her, Dan. - Don´t bite, sweetie.

I wish I could say that you were overreacting, Mr. Clark

but, um, at this point I don´t have enough information.

We´ll get blood work done, I´ll schedule an MRI for next week.

And then we´ll know more. How you feeling now?

I really need ice cream. Like, bad.

I´d be happy to prescribe Ben & Jerry´s for the pain.

The headaches? Isn´t there anything stronger than

children´s Tylenol she can take?

Anything stronger and she won´t function properly at school

I can´t miss school. We´re working on my project.

I have the best hero out of anyone.

Picked your hero already? You´re way ahead of the game.

I know. It´s normal for me.

I wonder if you might consider an alternate form of medicine

to ease headaches while we´re waiting for the blood work.

We´d be happy to try anything if it helps Brittany.

Dr. Linda Abbott just opened a new practice across

the street that specializes in Eastern medicine.

I think she could explain the basic theoretical landmarks...

...the yin-yang, the five phases, the seven emotions.

You know what? I think I´ll let her tell you.

[DOORBELL RINGING]

- I should have my own key. - How about your own room too?

Let´s not get ahead of ourselves, Skippy.

- What´s up, girlfriend? - Nothing.

Uh-oh. Somebody´s got her grump on.

What´s the matter? Something happen at school today?

Nothing´s wrong. Why is everyone asking me that?

You got an idea what´s going on there?

She´s a girl. She´s moody.

Okay. Before we chalk it up to a case of PPMS

have you bothered to ask her what´s wrong?

You asked her. She said, "Nothing." Works for me.

Did you guys take, like, a family communication course?

Or does this touchy-feely stuff come naturally?

If there´s something wrong, she can talk to me about it.

What a convenient answer.

You know that job we´re paying you to do?

Do that and leave me alone. Go cook something healthy.

Ephram? Has anyone ever told you that you have an old soul?

- No. - Well, you do.

It´s an attractive quality too.

Sometimes makes me forget that you´re only 16.

- Really? - Definitely.

But then you act like a spoiled, immature, annoying adult

And what do you know? You´re 16 all over again.

[playing piano]

(Linda) ´Half a dose of Eastern philosophy´

´and suddenly you´re a believer?´

Brittany´s parents called me.

I haven´t figured out what´s wrong with her yet

so anything that can help with the symptoms--

Until you discover the etiology and do real healing.

Yes, but in a much more flattering

and respectful-of-your-craft kind of way.

Would like to know what you think. We can compare notes.

I have a pretty full book today, actually. Um, maybe tomorrow.

How about over dinner? You can come by the house.

I have another kid you´ve to meet. He´s fun.

Oh, no. I couldn´t.

You´re taking up my slack with Brittany. The Least I can do.

I don´t know. I have kind of a strict diet I like to maintain.

Oh. You fear my cooking. I understand.

Well, bring whatever you want. We´re easy.

Okay. I´ll bring stuff for everybody. Seven o´clock?

Great. See you then.

I still don´t understand why you wouldn´t tell us about--

She´s making more out of it than it is.

- You accosted another student. - Let´s not be melodramatic.

There was a misunderstanding. Amy lost her temper. That´s all.

Yes. I´m sorry I lost my temper.

The reason I wanted you all here today

was not to dissect one isolated incident.

I´m interested in how we can help Amy with her depression.

´Based on some of the conversations´

we´ve had, and this particular outburst

I thought it might be an appropriate time

to consider antidepressants.

You think Amy needs medication.

Her mood swings indicate there may be chemical imbalances.

Amy, you can go back to class now.

- Really? - Yes.

I´d like to talk to your therapist alone for a minute.

Go on.

You must be out of your mind if you think I´ll drug my daughter

based on the recommendation of a high-school counselor.

I´m a licensed therapist, Dr. Abbott.

- Licensed for what? I´m sorry. - Harry.

If you can´t get through to our daughter.

That´s your problem. Do your job better.

I´m not to indulge in the quick-fix solution

that the rest of America seems so keen on.

For your information, medication should only be given when

necessary, not when it might be helpful.

That´s why only real doctors are allowed to prescribe it.

If I could clarify, I am not suggesting that Amy

be on medication indefinitely.

But the mourning process can be especially difficult

and a short course of an SSRI might help get her through this

rough patch, there are certain benefits.

No, I´m aware of the benefits as well as the drawbacks.

If my daughter needed antidepressants, I would know.

´It´s difficult for a parent to see their child clearly.´

Ask yourself, when did Amy sleep through the night?

Finished an entire meal? Showed an interest in anything at all?

I´m trying to help, but there´s only so much I can do.

If you truly wanna help you´ll keep your ill-informed

medical opinions to yourself, or you´ll leave me no choice

but to remove my daughter from your care completely.

Let´s go, Rose.

Thank you.

(Harry) Unbelievable.

I feel like we have explored every positive

attribute about Eleanor Roosevelt.

- Frankly, I think she´s out. - Yeah, I guess so.

Well, that´s a bold move if you ask me.

- We didn´t ask you. - Why? You like her?

She was one of the most impressive first ladies.

Took care of her husband, kids, still had time for human rights.

We´re not pumping up some housewife.

If we´re going political, I´m more into Margaret Sanger.

- You gotta be kidding. - You don´t know who she is.

I don´t know who she is.

She´s not gonna talk in front of her class about birth control.

Have you considered your sister isn´t as shallow as you are?

I like Mandy Moore the best.

- No. - No.

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

Okay, let´s keep all superheroes out of the running.

Your character should be at least three-dimensional.

(Ephram) Yeah. Yeah, I´ll tell Madison. Bye.

Tell Madison what?

Set an extra place for dinner. Linda Abbott´s coming over.

You´re setting an extra place for dinner.

- No, I mean-- - Why is she coming?

I don´t know. I think she´s hungry.

- Who´s Linda? - No one. I´m going upstairs.

I hate this stupid project.

(Ephram) ´Wait till she gets to high school.´

Then she´ll know what homework is.

- Do you know this Linda? - She´s Dr. Abbott´s sister.

Just moved to Everwood, I think.

What? What´s with this little head-nod thing?

Man, are you dense? Delia is not upset about her homework.

She´s not? Then what?

- Linda? - Keep going.

Linda and my dad?

Yeah, I mean, she´s just another doctor. It´s not anything.

Well, Delia doesn´t know that, to Delia, she´s a woman who´s

probably the same age as your mom.

She met the lady once. Why would she think that?

Kids pick up on things. Maybe it was a look.

- Maybe they hugged goodbye. - Nina´s around all the time.

I´m sure she´s hugged my dad. Delia never flipped out.

Nina´s married with a kid. No threat.

Yeah, but, I mean...wow.

Welcome to the world of complex emotions, Ephram Brown.

- How does it feel? - I´m tired.

[DOORBELL RINGING]

- Hey. - I´m Linda. You must be Ephram.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, come on in.

I got that. So I hear you stick people with needles.

- Sounds like fun. - Uh, it can be.

Especially when the people are annoying.

You´d like working on my dad.

I told you he was the fun one. Come on in.

Look at this. You shouldn´t have gone to so much trouble.

Oh, well, I just, uh, whipped up a few things.

I hope you like, uh, vegetarian.

Oh, we love vegetables. Don´t we?

- I like carrots. - Okay. Let´s see here.

Um, this is a potato tempeh loaf.

And here we have, um, ah, the millet pilaf

which we can just pop in the microwave.

And these are baked-potato spinach wraps

in case people are feeling a little less adventurous.

Mm. Who doesn´t love a good millet? Delia, dinner´s ready.

(Harry) Mm.

- May I be excused, please? - Already? You haven´t even--

Okay. I´ll put it in the fridge in case you´re hungry later.

Thanks.

Do we have any more of these yams? They are delicious.

Why don´t you take Amy´s? She didn´t eat any of hers.

- I´ll take Amy´s. - Oh, stop it.

The point being, Amy did not eat again.

Something Dr. Lence asked us to take note of.

Are you taking note?

Needn´t speak to me like a child.

I´m perfectly aware of how much Amy is eating.

For your information, loss of appetite is normal--

No. None of this is normal. Not anymore.

It´s been over five months. I think Dr. Lence is right.

I think maybe Amy should try the antidepressants.

- Lence says Amy needs drugs? - That is enough.

Bright, you may be excused.

Why? Afraid he might tell us something

that will confirm the doctor´s opinion?

Doctor? She´s a public employee with a mail-order degree.

If you think I´m gonna listen to her--

I was hoping you´d listen to me.

Where did you get your medical expertise?

"Ladies home journal?"

Do you have any idea what these kind of drugs do?

The side effects involved? You wanna see Amy lose her appetite.

Stick her on a 20 milligram dose a day of some generic SSRI.

Just because you understand the intricacies of how these

pills work does not mean I´m gonna let you bully me

into changing my opinion, I´ll find out on my own if I have to.

Dr. Brown would be happy to educate me on the matter.

You´re trying to upset me.

If pills will her better, she should try them.

When did our home become the "Valley of the dolls?"

Go to your room. This is outrageous.

You are outrageous.

You think you´re the only person concerned about Amy?

I never suggested anything of the sort.

When people talk about my daughter and pharmaceuticals...

- I know what´s best. - What if Dr. Lence is right?

What if you have lost perspective, Harold?

You wanna put Amy on drugs, I´m the one without perspective?

Honestly, sometimes I fail to understand your thought process.

- When it comes to our daughter. - Don´t you mean your daughter?

You´ve always thought that you knew what was best

when it came to Amy.

Ever since she was old enough to talk, you have been huddling

together planning her future, making decisions without me.

I told myself it was a good thing. A sweet thing.

But I don´t think so anymore.

So how´s your project coming, Delia?

Have you found your hero yet?

No. And thanks for reminding me.

When I was your age, I wanted to be Nadia Comaneci.

I thought she was so graceful.

My parents couldn´t pry me away from the TV during Olympics.

The Olympics are stupid.

If you ask me, the whole hero thing´s overrated.

Pick one, admire them for a week, the next thing

you know, they´ve been arrested.

So, um, Linda, how´d it go with Brittany? Any new ideas brewing?

- My Brittany? - Yeah.

I asked Linda to help me to make Brittany better even faster

so you could go back to your parties.

They´re not famous.

The session went well although I´m still not sure what´s

causing her discomfort, I can tell you her pulse, tongue

color all point to a disturbance in the kidney channel.

Oh, really? Isn´t that interesting?

Also, my Ouija board spelled kidney.

I got the panels back today, so far everything seems normal.

Electrolytes look good, blood sugars.

Sometimes, when I´m treating the kidney meridian

I find an emotional componental problem.

You´re saying it might be psychosomatic?

Brittany is not a psycho.

Of course she´s not. I´m sorry, Delia.

It´s rude of us to be talking about your friend like this.

- Would you like some potato? - Gross. No.

That´s enough. Eat or you´re not gonna have any dessert.

I don´t care.

You haven´t even touched your millet pilaf. At least try it.

- I don´t want to. - Delia, this is not a request.

It tastes like shit.

[EPHRAM COUGHING]

- What did you just say? - I said, it tastes like shit.

- That´s it. - Ha-ha-ha.

You go to your room right now.

-Stop laughing. -I´m trying.

You go to your room. Everyone, go to their room.

- I don´t care. - I don´t have a room.

-It´s nice meeting you. -You too.

[EPHRAM LAUGHING]

We need to talk about what happened tonight.

- I don´t if you don´t. - Nice try.

Why does it smell like paint thinner?

It´s nail polish. Brittany let me borrow it.

- Hey, I was using that. - Now you´re not.

You´re talking to me. I would appreciate a little eye contact.

Where did you even learn that word?

- It´s not as bad as the F one. - This is not a debate, Delia.

I don´t know what´s gotten into you lately.

Maybe you´re spending too much time with your friends

but whatever it is, this behavior is going to stop.

-Do you understand me? -Yes.

Is that all you have to say?

You know, if you had even attempted

an apology, you might not be grounded.

Since that clearly isn´t gonna happen, here´s the deal.

- No TV. No telephone. One week. - A week? That´s forever.

Wait till you´re a teenager. It´ll feel even longer.

You can´t keep that nail polish. It´s not mine.

Don´t worry. I´ll make sure that Brittany gets it back.

[SIGHS]

[MUSIC PLAYING ON CD PLAYER]

Don´t you love how depressing this song is?

You can have my CD. I´m over my Matthew Fisher phase.

Really? Thanks. I love it.

Hey.

How did it go the other day with your parents and the whole

therapy thing? Was it weird?

No, actually. My dad said I didn´t have to go anymore.

- Which is like, hallelujah. - What happened?

Oh, Lence told him that I should be on drugs

and my dad pretty much flipped out.

But it is kind of intense, isn´t it? Putting me on drugs?

I mean, drugs are for people who are genuinely crazy.

- Um.. - What?

Yeah, I didn´t mention it before because I just didn´t know how

to tell you but I´ve been on antidepressants for a while.

- You have? Since when? - A few months.

Like, Prozac or something?

No. Um, actually, I´m trying this other one, Zoloft.

I tried another one before, but it made me feel all shaky.

It´s taking a while to kick in, but I think it´s helping.

Like how? How does it work?

Well, um...I sleep better.

And I don´t cry as much. And I feel...like, even?

I think that´s the word for it. You know, I can focus again.

Wow, I had no idea. I mean..

...I knew you were doing better, but I just thought..

I had miraculously gotten over my brother´s death by myself?

Hardly.

I wouldn´t be doing nearly as well if it weren´t for my pills.

You wanna see them?

It´s a pretty low dosage.

Nothing like my mom´s big elephant pills.

But they work for me.

My father prescribed these for you?

Maybe you should talk to your dad.

I mean, if he knew what was really going on with you..

...They might help you.

I know it looks like I´m wasting food here but I have no

- idea how long tofu keeps. - Don´t have to sell me. Dump.

- So you grounded Delia. - That´s right.

Feeling good about that decision?

I was until about five seconds ago.

Why? Think I was too rough on her?

Oh, no. If you´re comfortable with it. I´m comfortable.

-Although.. -Although?

It´d be better if you knew why you grounded her.

I know why I grounded her, she said a bad word, grounded.

If only life were that simple.

Is this gonna take long? Because I could make some coffee.

Think about it. Delia´s been in a bad mood ever since

she met Linda in the bookstore the other day, right?

Well, I suppose that that´s--

Now you invite Linda over for dinner

without asking Delia how she´ll feel about that.

Linda, a total stranger, who´s about the

same age as Mom, sitting in Mom´s chair.

Are you starting to sense a theme here?

Oh, that´s ridiculous. Linda´s just a colleague.

Delia doesn´t know what colleague means.

Second of all, Nina comes over all the time.

Delia´s never minded that.

Well, Nina´s been married. Not a threat. What else you got?

But that..

-Wow. -I know. Exhausting, isn´t it?

I had no idea Delia was even thinking about stuff like this.

It does make sense.

Did you figure this out all by yourself?

I..you know, I had a little help.

Babysitter.

- Should give that girl a raise. - Just don´t give her a key.

(Andy) I´m sorry to take you away from a patient...because

- What do you see? - Brittany´s blood work.

Read the second paragraph.

Interesting. What possessed you to test for toluene toxicity?

- Genius. - More specifically.

You may remember I had a bit of a run-in with my daughter.

- The lover of all things tofu. - Exactly.

When I went upstairs to work my parenting magic

I found her painting her nails with

this glitter stuff that smelled so toxic..

...there could´ve been a skull and crossbones on it.

When asked where she procured said polish...

...she explained to me that it had been given to her by--

-Brittany Clark. -Exactly.

Who, as I remembered from my last consultation

has an obsessive nail-biting problem.

So I put two and two together and..

Toluene toxicity.

- Nice work, doc. - Thank you.

Thank you very much.

We still haven´t, cracked the underlying emotional component.

Sorry. Was I not clear? Blood work confirms the diagnosis.

It confirms that her headaches and nausea

are the result of toluene ingestion, yes, but--

Which makes your theory null and void.

Not that I wanted you to be wrong..

You really have no concept of what I do.

I know you read those books and used your super hero power

or photgraphic memory to regurgitate all that information

back to me but you didn´t absorb anything, did you?

Are you always this defensive when you´re wrong?

I actually thought that your interest in alternative medicine

was genuine, but it´s not.

Only thing you´re interested in is proving that your way

is better than mine.

You´re like the perfect cliché of the perennial Western doctor.

- Arrogant, single-minded-- - Hold on. Hold on.

I don´t think there´s anything wrong with holistic medicine.

But it just so happens that in this case,

traditional medicine has a solution.

There´s something´s wrong with that girl and it has nothing

to do with nail polish in her system.

If you´re too blind to recognize that, then I can´t help you.

Nor do I want to. You´ve wasted enough of my time as it is.

Why are you taking this so personally?

I thought we were having a healthy debate.

There´s the fundamental problem with us collaborating.

You thrive on winning debates. I thrive on helping patients.

One of which is waiting for me in my office now.

- Oh, come on-- - I won´t need any referrals.

Congratulations on curing Brittany.

I´m sure her parents will be thrilled.

[knocking on door]

Is it so hard to use an intercom?

Amy, what happened? Is everything--?

- I want the medication. - What?

- What are you talking about? - Zoloft, Prozac, whatever.

I want you to prescribe them for me today.

Now just get out your pad and write it.

Amy, relax. I´m not gonna prescribe antidepressants.

They work. I´d be able to sleep better.

I´d eat more. I´d be able to focus in school

so I don´t fail this entire year.

- Since when are you failing? - Wanna see my progress report?

Just-- I want the pills.

Forget it. It´s not gonna happen.

We´re not a family that believes in medicating teenagers.

Oh, really? Well, then, how would you explain this?

Did you think I wouldn´t find out about that?

- Lies of omission don´t count? - If you´d allow me to explain--

Explain why you´d help my friend and not your own daughter?

Do you know how stupid I´ve felt these past few months?

Watching everyone move on? Here I am wondering what´s wrong.

Why can´t I? When all along, there has been a real reason.

You never told me. You let me think that I was crazy.

- You are not crazy. - How would you know?

You don´t know anything about me.

You´re holding onto something that I used to be.

I am not that person anymore, Dad.

I haven´t been for a very long time.

I hate feeling this way, Dad.

I hate worrying you and Mom all the time.

And I know that I do.

[sighs]

I just wanna feel better again.

I just wanna feel normal like Laynie does.

Your situation´s completely different--

How is it different?

For one thing, her family´s practically nonfunctional.

Because we´re the model of perfection.

Do you know what it´s like to have an alcoholic father?

Thank God you don´t.

Honey, you have an entire support system

to help you get through this ordeal. You just--

You can´t compare us to the Harts.

I´m not comparing us. This isn´t about us anymore.

- This is about me. - Yes. And you are not Laynie.

You are a much stronger girl than her. You always have been.

You may not feel that way right now

but trust me, you have to trust me.

I am here for you.

- I can help you. - You´re not enough, Dad.

Well, you´re not going on medication. End of discussion.

I never thought you were the type of father who´d let his ego

come before his family but I guess I was wrong.

So I guess we´re even.

You don´t know me anymore, and I don´t know you.

[sighs]

(Andy) That´s it.

I can´t believe I was poisoning my own daughter.

Amazing, but it happens.

From now on, I´ll leave the cosmetics to Deena.

I don´t want Deena´s. They´re not as good.

Brit, don´t start that again.

I´ve, um, actually made up a list of companies

that manufacture nontoxic polishes.

Oh. Thanks for your help, doc.

My pleasure.

Mr. Clark? If I could just, uh, bother you for one more minute.

Uh, I was just wondering, uh..

Deena isn´t Brittany´s birth mother, is she?

Oh, no. No. We´ve only been married for about a year.

Brittany´s mom moved away, uh, just a little while ago.

Why do you ask?

I was wondering if you could remember

when Brittany first starting biting her nails.

That´s funny. I don´t remember my ex-wife

and I ever discussing nail-biting.

But Deena noticed it right away.

It may have started about the same time Deena moved in.

Am I missing something?

Only the same thing that I missed.

The real cause of Brittany´s stomach aches.

I thought you said it was the polish.

That was a contributing factor.

But I suspect the reason your daughter´s been biting her nails

is because of the anxiety she´s felt since your divorce.

As you know, anxiety can cause a whole slew of problems.

Great.

So, what should I do now?

Well, I would continue the sessions

with Dr. Abbott if I were you.

And talk to Brittany.

Sometimes that helps.

I liked it better when all I had to do was get rid of the polish.

Believe me, Mr. Clark, so did I.

(man on tv) We´re seeing a huge turnaround.

It is a positive side, I would say.

Job loss is initially reported--

I´m going up to bed.

I told Bright he could stay at the library till 10.

I take it Amy´s still locked in her room.

No doubt sticking pins in the voodoo doll

she´s made in my likeness.

She didn´t have to make one, she borrowed mine.

I suppose you think I should go talk to her.

Since when do you care what I think?

You dug yourself into this hole.

I´m sure you can find your way out.

I did what I did for a reason, Rose.

Didn´t expect her to understand. But I thought that you would.

You must know that I at least considered the possibility.

No. I do not know that.

Because you didn´t talk to me about it.

Do you think that I enjoy seeing our daughter in this much agony?

Honey, it devastates me.

The fact that I haven´t been able to help her

that I´ve been rendered so useless to her life..

It´s the worst pain a parent can feel.

It´s the depth of her feeling that concerns me, Harold.

I mean, Bright is hurting, but he still functions.

It´s taking Amy longer. I can accept that.

What I cannot accept is the idea of numbing her grief with pills.

It´s just not a solution I´m willing to teach my daughter.

What happens next time?

What if something awful, something horrible

were to happen to one of us?

We just continue drugging her into unconsciousness?

Then why Laynie?

Laynie. I was opposed to the idea initially.

But after a long conversation with Laynie and with her mother

I agreed to prescribe, as her physician.

If I had been her father, I never would have accepted it.

So when it came to Amy, I thought about it.

I did.

Ultimately, I made the choice as her father, not as her doctor

which is traditionally where my better instincts lie.

At least, they used to.

She hates me.

You should see the way she talked to me today.

It was like I was a stranger.

- She´s blown up at you before. - No. No, not like this.

No.

I think I´m losing her, Rose.

No, Harold.

We´re losing her.

- What´s this for? - I bought it for you.

So you wouldn´t have to borrow anyone else´s.

It´s not the same as Brittany´s.

I know.

It´s actually the, uh, less-toxic kind.

I´d like to keep you around for a while.

You know, I finally figured out what´s

been bothering you these past few days.

Well, actually, Ephram figured it out.

- Well, really Madison. - Dad?

You´re gonna have to talk faster. I´m on a schedule here.

You´re upset that I made a new friend.

- Linda. - Yes. Linda.

But that´s all she is, honey.

A friend.

And because she´s another doctor in this community

we´re gonna work on some of the same cases from time to time.

- Does that make sense? - I guess.

And I understand why it bothered you.

But I want you to know that

if I decide to make a friend in a romantic kind of a way

I´ll talk to you and Ephram about it first.

Are you going to?

Make those kind of friends, I mean?

Eventually.

Someday, yes.

Are you gonna get married again someday?

I don´t know.

I think I have to go on a date first.

But let´s cross that bridge when we come to it.

The important thing is you and I have to keep talking about this.

And if you´re angry, I want you to tell me about it, okay?

Because let´s face it, Madison´s not always gonna

bail me out of these things.

And at the end of the day, it´s just you and me, kiddo.

Can you do me one favor?

Anything you want.

When you do date again

it can´t be with Linda.

Sweetie, I told you. We´re just friends.

I know.

But just promise me.

You won´t ever date her. Ever.

[crowd cheering]

Help!

[piano music]

[violin music]

You were right. I was wrong.

It must have caused you physical pain to utter that sentence.

No. Just some internal bleeding, that´s all.

[chuckles]

I suppose you knew that Deena´s Brittany´s stepmother.

She is?

Turns out that Brittany´s real mom left town a while ago

which caused a bit of trauma, which would explain...

...well, everything.

Hence, you were right and I was wrong.

Not that you care about such petty things.

Oh, I like to be right, I just don´t feel the need to prove it

as loudly as you do.

Well, it seems I´ve been missing a lot lately.

I thought Delia´s outburst the other night

was some preadolescent rite of passage.

And it turns out that, actually, it was all about you.

What about me?

Well, I mean, it´s just so silly.

She thought that you and I--

That, uh, we were--

Anyway, you get the idea.

But, uh, ha ha, she made me promise

that we´d never go out on a date, you believe that?

I´m sure that´s a promise you won´t have any trouble keeping.

Right.

Well, uh, I have this thing to get to, so..

- Enjoy your reading. - I will.

Bye, Andy.

Just like Jennifer Lopez and Hillary Rodham Clinton

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

have been very successful in many different areas.

(Brittany) Aside from all the contributions they´ve made

to the world of preteen fashion and sitcoms..

- Where´s she? I don´t see her. - She must be next.

Who´d she wind up picking?

I forgot to ask. Do you know, Ephram?

Which is why I´ve chosen them as my hero.

Thank you.

[all applauding]

Thank you, Brittany. That was truly inspiring.

Now for our final presentation of the day

I give you Delia Brown.

- Come on. Just give me a hint. - Shh, here she comes.

My hero was born on April 29th, 1958, in Wilton, Connecticut.

´She wore pearl earrings almost every day´

´and wouldn´t take them off, even in the shower.´

She was tall and beautiful and funny.

And her name was Julia Brown.

A year and a half ago, she died.

But before that happened, she did a lot of amazing things.

I´d like to tell you about some of them.

Some fathers may enjoy the pedestal their daughters

place them on.

The best ones step down and allow their flaws to be seen.

It is from these unsung fathers

that daughters learn what´s most important in this life.

How to embrace joy.

How to endure sorrow.

And how to live each day to the fullest

not knowing which of those two is on the horizon.