( Dove cooing )
MONICA: It finds shape so easily.
TESS: It doesn't take long in the right hands.
MAN: Good clay.
Dug it myself.
You and me,
we're the only ones that, uh, dig around here, hm?
Are you talking to the dog?
He's the only one that listens.
Hey, looks like a beaut.
Mm-hmm.
Maybe this will be the one, Whit.
Maybe, just might be.
Work with the thumb
just like they did a thousand years ago.
That's amazing that making a pot
hasn't changed in all that time.
Mm-hmm.
Clay, a wheel, a pair of hands.
That's how it was meant to be.
( Phone rings )
Oh... oh, I'm sorry.
I'm expecting a call.
Who sat down and invented that noise?
I'll take it in the house.
Hello?
Yeah, this is Penny.
Uh, yeah, um, I'll get Michael.
It's beautiful,
but that's not the only way to make pots.
Why does he think it is?
Well, Whit is a plain,
no-nonsense kind of man,
and for him, the simplest way is the best way.
But now Whit is about to find out
how complicated simple can be.
MAN: I see.
Well...
I-I'll call you tomorrow.
Michael.
The cancer, it's spread into the bones.
How long?
Two, maybe three months.
The baby's not due for four.
Then that's how long I'm going to live.
♫ 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. ♫
( hammer pounding )
( dog barking )
( barking )
Leonard, how did you get out?
You went over the fence, did you, Leonard?
( Barks )
Well, I know there are rabbits
in the next field,
but you'll just have to invite them over here next time, okay?
( Barking )
Thanks for bringing him back.
Actually, I came to apply for the dog training job.
Oh, I just put up the sign.
Oh, great, so the job's still open, is it?
Y-Yeah.
Have you ever done any dog training?
Well, uh, uh...
Leonard, lay down on your stomach,
roll over and bark.
( Barking )
( laughs )
Leonard doesn't do tricks.
Maybe he's just a bit shy.
Uh, Well, it's, uh,
it's 9 to 5, six days a week.
I'm afraid it's only minimum wage right now,
but all the meals are free
and the vegetables are fresh out of the garden.
Do you have cappuccino?
We got an espresso machine for Christmas
a few years ago.
If you can find it,
you're welcome to all the cappuccinos you can drink.
Wonderful.
Um. ( Laughs )
( Leonard barks )
Yes, I'm looking forward to working with you, too.
It's a lovely farm you have here.
Very simple.
It's my father-in-law's.
It's been in his family for generations.
It hasn't changed much over the years.
Neither has Whit.
Must be difficult for a man, I think.
Things change all the time.
Yeah, it is.
So anyway, I wouldn't bother
making any cappuccinos for Whit.
He gave up city life
years ago to get back to the land.
Anybody else around here drink coffee?
I brew a mean mocha latte.
My husband used to drink coffee all the time
when he was on the fast track down in the city.
But, uh...
But things change.
Yeah.
My husband is dying.
You'll ruin your eyes staring at that thing.
It's a computer.
And it's how I do my business.
Yes, well, if you ask me,
computers are bad business.
Give me a face, a handshake.
How can you tell an honest man through a computer?
You can't.
But the good thing is, they can't tell a dying one.
Now that's not true.
I spoke to Dr. Ellery today, Dad.
The cancer has metastasized.
It spread into the bones.
It's over, Dad.
We fought and we lost.
Now listen to me, Michael.
You said that you could lick this thing, and you can.
Now we got you out of the city,
into good air, and good food.
All it takes is a little time.
There isn't any more.
I'm going to have to go to the hospital soon.
No, no. You belong here at home with your family.
Not in some hospital.
Look, I know how you feel about hospitals, Dad.
Then let's not talk about it.
TESS: Very interesting.
What?
Oh, sorry. Didn't see you.
This shelf of vases.
Yes, they're reduced.
Irregulars.
They all look very regular to me.
Well, they're not perfect.
Nothing made by man is.
Well, I've got to come up with a perfect one.
You know, a lot of people think
that it's the imperfections that make things beautiful.
That's the human part.
Well, I'm not like a lot of people.
Oh, I can see that.
You've got a lot of nice things here.
You mind if I drop in again later?
Anytime.
Name's Whit.
I'm always around.
( Chuckles ) Funny, so am I.
Nope.
Mm-mm.
It's got a little tilt to it, Grace.
That won't do.
Uh-uh.
Oh, well.
It rained yesterday.
I thought it might frost up overnight,
ruin the tomatoes I planted, but, uh,
they're all right.
Slept good.
Well, as good as I ever do.
I talked to Michael today.
He's finishing up a job, big job.
One of those computer things.
He wants to go to the hospital.
Just like you did.
But I think what killed you
was that hospital.
Without fresh air and sunshine,
a soul just shrivels up.
Oh, God, help me, Grace Marie.
Our boy is...
( sniffles )
I'm not going to let him die.
( Sniffles )
A little wider base, huh?
I think that maybe that's what it needs, hmm?
Yeah. That ought to do it.
Yeah.
( Doorbell rings )
Whit? I'll bet you're Whit.
That's what I'm told.
Well, I'm Jolene.
I'm so happy to finally meet you.
Your farm is just beautiful.
And your well out front, I bet the water's delicious.
Sweet as rain.
Oh, you know, my grandpa dug a well
right next to his cabin.
I go up there every chance I can.
You know, it's sort of my secret hideaway.
Do you know where Steamboat Mountain is?
Oh, sure I do.
That's God's country up there.
Isn't it?
Oh, I go up there to think and drink that water.
Could I have a glass of water, please?
Thank you.
Yeah, I love being pregnant, I just adore it,
I just find that if I don't keep up the water thing,
I get dehydrated, I get so tired.
After a few of these, you sort of recognize the signs.
Ooh, yeah, sure.
I got a sonogram today.
It's a boy.
They wanted to know.
I'm sorry, know what?
Well, that you're having a grandson.
Who is?
Well, didn't they tell you?
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
Congratulations.
( Penny speaking softly )
Jolene.
Cat's out of the bag, kids.
We're having a boy.
"We"?
Who's pregnant here?
Oh, dear.
PENNY: Whit, um, Jolene is pregnant.
She's a surrogate mother.
And she's carrying our child.
How?
It's called gamete intra-fertilization.
It's called a miracle, Dad.
Oh, my God.
WHIT: A surrogate?
A surrogate
is having your baby?
Penny could conceive but not carry to term.
This was our only way.
We really want this baby, Whit.
Well, if you want a baby, you adopt one.
We would have if I hadn't gotten sick.
They won't approve me now.
So, you'll adopt it when you get better.
MICHAEL: Dad.
How many times do I have to say it?
I'm not getting better.
And if I'm going to die, I want to leave a part
of myself behind.
Maybe it's selfishness
or ego, or some sort
of old-fashioned instinct.
"Old-fashioned"?
There is nothing old-fashioned about this.
This is a-a mockery of everything I believe in...
Everything I taught you to believe in.
This is why we didn't tell you before.
Oh, so it's my fault?
You're all out of your minds.
Whit.
Mr. Russell.
I'm sure it's incredible for you to imagine
that I'm carrying somebody else's baby.
It was incredible for me too, the first time.
"The first time"?
My husband and my daughter were killed in a car accident
about ten years ago.
We didn't have a whole lot
of years together, Mr. Russell.
But the years that...
Well, there's nothing like a happy family, you know?
And nothing can replace it.
So, I figured that, um,
if I couldn't have my own family anymore,
I could help somebody else know what it's like.
The first couple that I, uh,
carried a baby for was my sister and her husband.
They say that, uh,
actually giving birth
is the most beautiful experience on Earth.
But I have to tell you something, Mr. Russell.
I-I know that my life has never meant more than it did
in that moment when I
put a child... right in my sister's arms.
When I saw a family appear before my eyes.
It was a miracle.
It was.
It was a privilege for me.
And I can't tell you how grateful to God I am
that I can do it again.
I can.
I can do it for Michael and I can do it for Penny,
and I can do it for you.
Don't do me any favors, young lady.
And you leave God out of this.
( Door opens and shuts )
You break it, you bought it.
I can read.
You can also spot a good piece of pottery.
What will you take for it?
The price is firm, as marked.
Not much firm in this life.
Something told me you were a bargaining type.
No, where I come from, we don't make deals,
but, uh, personally,
I've never been opposed to a fair trade.
You take this.
And have a nice day.
Dad? We've got to talk.
I'm with a customer.
Look, I spoke to the doctor.
He said my best chance for holding on...
Your place is at home.
Not in some hospital.
He says I need a stress-free environment.
He's a doctor.
What do doctors know?
Look at what they put your mother through at that hospital.
Look at the God-forsaken thing
they've done with that child.
It's our child, Dad.
We're naming him after you.
Please.
Don't name something like that after me.
That "something" is going
to be a normal little baby boy.
It's your grandson.
It's the only grandson you're going to get.
And if you won't accept the birth of my son, Dad,
I can't make you.
But please, I'm asking you,
accept the death of your son...
because I'm going to need you.
WHIT: Remember Michael's colic?
I walked him up and down every foot of that house
night after night. And I kept saying,
"There must be something we can do."
And you said, "Just time."
"Time is the only cure.
"Everything passes," you said.
"This too shall pass."
Our boy isn't going to make it, Grace.
I can't bear the thought of him being in a hospital.
He should be at home.
It'd be more fitting.
That's the way it's supposed to be.
( Knock at door )
Hello. My name is Tess.
I'm going to be your nurse.
My nurse?
No, I'm going to the hospital.
You need peace and quiet, and that's my specialty.
My name is Tess, and I'm going to reduce your stress,
courtesy of your pop.
Fellas, bring that bed in here,
and do it quietly.
Now, where is your dad?
Out back in the pottery shed.
Good, 'cause I got a nice piece of pottery coming to me.
I thought you hated computers.
Go on, click that thing.
( Computer beeps )
WHIT: Will you look at that?
There's your stress point, right there.
So, if I make it
a little thicker here?
MICHAEL: Then it shouldn't crack.
Hmm. Son of a gun.
Now, click right on there and see what happens.
N-No, not there.
No, no, stop.
WHIT: 122 days.
To what?
Till the baby comes,
or I go,
whichever comes first.
TESS: That Jolene is real nice,
don't you think?
What do you want on your hamburger?
Don't be shy.
Toasted bun, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, ketchup.
Hamburger with the works,
just the way God intended.
So, you're going to be a grandfather, huh?
But not the way God intended.
Let's go, let's go.
Sit. Sit, sit.
Leonard, could you help me out here?
( Barks )
Ah, good girl.
Thank you very much, Leonard.
JOLENE: Hey, there, mum-to-be.
Hey, Jolene; Come on in.
Hi, Monica. Hello.
I've got a little present for Penny.
Ah.
Okay, put your hand right here.
A little higher.
( Both laughing )
Monica, feel this.
Right there.
Oh, I feel him kicking.
Oh, you have a right wee feisty one here.
Oh, yeah? I'll calm him down.
( Chuckling ): Yeah? Famous last words.
Oh.
I can't wait to hold him and sing to him.
Um, Michael's dad always sang him some '40s song
at bedtime. Um...
♫ Kiss me once and kiss... ♫
♫ Kiss me one... ♫ Oh, I don't know.
MONICA ( off-key ): ♫ Kiss me once, and kiss me twice ♫
♫ And kiss me once again... ♫
( Leonard whimpers and barks )
Thank you, Leonard.
Yes, I get the point.
JOLENE: ♫ Kiss me once, and kiss me twice ♫
♫ And kiss me once again ♫
♫ It's been a long, long time ♫
♫ Haven't felt like this, my dear ♫
♫ Since can't remember when ♫
♫ It's been a long, long time ♫
♫ You'll never know how many dreams ♫
♫ I've dreamed about you ♫
♫ Or just how empty they all seemed without you ♫
♫ So, kiss me once and kiss me twice ♫
♫ And kiss me once again ♫
♫ It's been a long, long time. ♫
WHIT: It was his mother.
Michael's mother sang that to him.
Uh, then I'm going to learn it.
I'll sing it to her grandson.
Yeah, well, please don't.
Um, you know, Whit,
someday, it's just going to be you and me
raising this child.
I want you to be a part of his life.
Oh, no.
I'm not going to be a part of any of this.
What?
I'm ashamed.
And you should be, too.
Bringing a child into this world
should be the most sacred act we have.
And you have taken something precious
and... shoved it into a test tube.
I don't know what this is... This thing you're cooking up...
But it's against the laws of man,
and it is monstrous.
That's what it is.
A monster.
PENNY: Go on.
Go!
I'd rather live in an alley than raise my baby with you!
That's fine with me.
( Tearfully ): I'm sorry.
Magenta?
This is going to be one beautiful pot.
There's still no answer at Jolene's.
Where could should be for the last three weeks?
Didn't she say
her grandpa had a cabin someplace?
MICHAEL: Yeah, but I don't know where.
I-I just hope she gets my apology note.
( Sighs ): Wherever she is.
I apologize for both of us.
Mail's in.
Bills. More bills.
Couple of get well cards.
You can file those.
Here's one.
"Return to sender."
Oh, no.
Penny?
It's the apology
I wrote to Jolene.
It's been returned.
"Moved.
Address unknown."
Well, what does that mean?
I think it means,
we lost our baby.
She's not going to let us have him now.
( Birds singing )
( dog barking )
( clears throat )
Did you say something?
No.
Ah.
Uh, Penny, dinner is really quite good.
TESS: Mm.
Whit, it's been a while
since you told us one of your funny stories
about the old days.
TESS: That's right, Whit.
We've probably got some good old days in common.
Let me hear from you.
From anybody.
Pass the beans.
Excuse me.
PENNY: Why-Why should I talk to him?
He-He's a stubborn
old man.
As far as he's concerned,
there's only one way, and that's his way.
And if we did things his way,
we wouldn't be having a baby at all.
Well, you may not be having one anyway,
so, what do you have to lose?
I'm going to be a mother next week.
And a widow.
And-And I can't do anything
about either one.
So, you're right.
I've got nothing left to lose.
( Sighs )
You may have something in common with Whit after all.
Not for long.
( Dog barking )
TESS: This is a very
unusual time.
Everyone's grieving for some things
that haven't happened yet.
But it is going to happen.
Michael will die, and somewhere out there,
Jolene will give birth,
and unless we can think of something,
Michael will never get to see his son.
Never say never, baby.
And getting those two together is not why we're here.
Michael has no choice but to die.
And that baby has no choice
to do anything but be born.
But Jolene and Whit have choices
that will make all the difference.
And they still need our help.
Maybe.
If we just had more time.
I'm afraid we have less
time than we thought.
TESS: I have some urgent
business to take care of,
so I'll have to go away for a few days.
You're not coming back, are you?
You see?
You drive everyone away.
MICHAEL: Penny, please.
Dad?
I don't have anything to say to her, or you,
but I'm sorry you're leaving.
Now look, all of you,
I will be back, but in the meantime,
Andrew is going to hold down the fort.
ANDREW: I'm, uh,
looking forward to getting
to know you.
Better hurry.
Oh, I bet that
we have more time together than you think.
Whoo! Look at this.
This is great computer.
How much memory you got?
Eight Rome.
Ram.
WHIT: Ram.
MONICA: So,
where you going?
I don't know.
Well, you said you had urgent business.
I thought you were going to go and find Jolene.
That's right, but I can't do it
till somebody tells me where to go.
Or gives me some directions,
or hands me a road map,
or drops me some bread crumbs.
Tess, I don't understand.
Why don't we know where Jolene is?
Because we're not supposed to,
and because somebody else does.
We're not here to make it easier.
We're here to make it better.
Now, why don't you follow
him and get me some bread crumbs?
Are you ready to fire this pot?
Well, I thought I was,
but I can't get this darn thing to hold its heat.
That's too bad.
It's a beautiful pot.
It deserves to be.
Be what?
Just be. Yeah?
Yes, well, going to be junk
unless I get this thing fixed.
Isn't there something else you can use?
This is the only kiln I've ever used.
I'd hate to see that stand in the way of a beautiful pot.
Think it should be ready by now.
Oh, no, Monica.
My kiln takes hours to heat up.
Huh. Well, mine doesn't.
( laughs )
Well, who knows?
Anything in a pinch, hmm?
Sometimes that's just what it takes.
All right, here goes.
Well, I'll be.
( laughs )
It's done.
( laughs )
It's good, huh?
Whit, I-I have a question.
You fashioned this pot
with your own hands, right?
Right.
So, you're the maker of this pot?
Yeah, what's your point?
Well, you made this
like you made all the others,
except that you finished it in this furnace
instead of the one inside.
So, is it still your pot?
Of course it is.
Born in a different place
but made by the same potter, hmm?
Whit, do you know where Jolene is?
I'm not asking you
to change your mind,
just to bend your heart a little.
( Sighs )
She's in a cabin
on Steamboat Mountain.
JOLENE: ♫ Hush little baby ♫
♫ Don't say a word ♫
♫ Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird ♫
♫ And if that mockingbird don't sing ♫
♫ Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring ♫
TESS & JOLENE: ♫ And if that diamond ring ♫
TESS: ♫ Turns to brass ♫
♫ Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass. ♫
Tess, what are you doing here?
I came in the back door.
Actually,
I'm wondering what you're doing here.
I'm singing to my baby.
Well, it's a beautiful
song, and it's gonna be a beautiful baby.
But is it gonna be your baby?
Somebody has to love him.
That should be the mother and the father, don't you think?
Michael's dying.
You knew that when you agreed to carry this child.
I didn't know there'd be so much anger.
Frightened people often hide behind anger.
They needed your understanding.
But instead, you came up here to hide.
I'm not
hiding.
This is where I come to think.
This is my grandfather's cabin.
He built it with his own two hands.
Sounds a lot like Whit.
( laughs ): No.
My grandfather loved children.
And so do I.
I want this baby to be happy.
I want this baby to be loved.
Don't you understand, Tess?
I... I just want what's best for this child.
And who decides what's best, you, or God?
Let me give you a hint.
God thought it best
to send an angel to you right about now
to get you thinking about the whole thing,
because that's not their baby,
and that's not your baby.
It's God's baby.
And it's time we asked Him what He wants for the child.
WHIT: Michael? Penny?
( laughs )
Would you look at this?
I still don't understand
how you got it to fire up so fast.
Hello.
Why are you always so cheerful?
I guess it's the line of work I'm in.
Who is this fellow?
He's an angel.
A what?
And so am I.
You're... angels?
MONICA: Tess is
one, too.
We've been with you all this time.
It doesn't usually take
this many on a case, but since these were very...
Extraordinary circumstances.
MICHAEL: Oh, man.
Did I just die?
ANDREW: No, no.
Not yet.
We still have some business to do first.
WHIT: Hold on.
What kind of angels are you?
The old-fashioned kind.
You're not going to tell me
that angels have come
to bless this way of carrying a child?
No.
We've come to bless the child.
Angels don't tell you what you should have done.
We're here to tell you that God loves you,
and that He wants you
to deal with what you can right now.
Because now...
is all you can change.
MONICA: Michael,
Penny, before you entered
into this agreement with Jolene,
did you pray about it?
Well, we thought about it very hard, but...
MICHAEL: No.
We didn't pray.
Isn't it odd how people pray every day
over the tiniest things...
The weather, a green light, a baseball game...
Things you can't even change?
But how come no one remembers to pray
when faced with a decision?
When you have to make a difficult choice,
don't you think God would like to help you make it?
If you had prayed
a few months ago about how and when to have this baby,
I know that God would have
given you an answer.
I-I truly don't know
what He would have told you then, but
I do know what He wants to tell you now.
And I know what that is.
It doesn't matter right now
what I think, or you think,
whatever we think,
there's only one thing we know.
There's a baby waiting to be born here.
I was wrong.
I do want that baby here.
I do want
to be a... grandfather.
If I have to sell my farm,
my business, everything I own,
I'll do anything in my power to make sure
that my grandson grows up
in the love of his own family.
That's very nice, Whit, but don't tell me.
Tell her.
That's all I needed to hear.
( laughs )
So,
Michael gets to hold his son after all, hmm?
I don't know.
( Quietly ): It's gonna be close.
Michael, you should be in bed resting.
I had to get out.
Wanted to see the Milky Way,
maybe spot a shooting star.
There's Orion.
You have good eyes.
The only constellation
I can ever make out is the Big Dipper.
Michael?
In your life...
have you been happy?
Oh, Dad,
I don't think about the unhappy things.
Right now, all I think about is
listening to a baseball game on a summer night.
The homecoming dance when Patty Ross kissed me.
Shooting stars.
Right now,
the air was never so fresh.
The night never so starry.
Yeah, Dad, I've been happy.
I'm glad.
You're such a good boy.
Do you, uh...
do you remember when I taught you
how to find the North Star?
Dad?
Yes.
When he's born,
my boy,
promise me you two will listen
to baseball games in the summer.
And when Patty Ross's daughter
shows up at the door,
go ahead and loan him the car.
You have my word.
So where's the North Star?
Well, now...
north, don't you know,
you start, uh, with the Big Dipper.
Oh, yeah, there it is.
I remember Patty Ross.
She was a wild one, hmm?
Tess!
WHIT: That's right, son. Hang in there.
God's not gonna let you down.
Jolene's water just broke.
She's on her way to the hospital.
I don't know what to do.
Go.
It's okay.
I'll be right here when you guys get back.
Then I'll be back with our baby.
I love you.
Hang in there.
He will.
I think I know which angel you are.
What's it like?
You know, there?
It is more beautiful than you could ever imagine.
Maybe that's why it's been so hard...
to believe in.
I'm right here, son.
Breathe easy.
( Groans ) Nice and easy.
MONICA: Nice, cleansing breath.
Keep breathing, Michael.
Just think, this time tomorrow, you'll be holding your son.
( Subtle gasping )
You're doing great.
WHIT: You're doing great.
Hold on, now.
MONICA: Now push.
Push.
Hold on, Michael.
Hold on.
I can't!
I can't do it!
( Weakly ): I can't do this.
You can do it.
Michael, you can do it.
( Groans )
MONICA: Here he comes.
PENNY: You can do it.
( Strained ): Dad.
Penny.
You'll be holding your son, Michael.
( Strained grunting )
PENNY: Jolene, you can do it.
God is with you, Michael.
Yes.
( Phone rings )
Yes?
Yes.
Oh.
Wonderful.
Michael, you're a...
( heart monitor flatlines )
You were right, Whit, God is with him,
and he is with God.
They're here.
( Cow mooing )
The morning he was born,
he was laying next to me,
and I was just staring at him,
but he was looking everywhere else but at me.
Right?
I think he was looking for someone.
I think he was looking for his mum.
There she is, sweet one.
You found your mother.
Thank you.
( Sniffles ) Thank you.
PENNY: Thank you.
Well, look at you.
Hello, little man.
Not so little.
That's right. Big fella.
He is a Russell, after all.
Yes, he is, Whit.
Thank you for giving me such a beautiful grandson.
I just wish Michael had seen him.
Just once.
Maybe you want
to look at this.
WHIT: What's that?
It's a birthmark.
Oh, it-it almost looks
like a kiss.
MONICA: It is.
It's a kiss from Michael.
If Michael had lived
one more day,
he would have held his baby in his arms
for just one day on this Earth.
But instead, he died
just as the wee one was being born.
You see, in heaven,
eternity can be found in but a single moment.
And in that moment,
Michael and his son have already spent
an eternity together.
WHIT: ♫ Haven't felt like this, my dear ♫
( Tess joins ): ♫ Since can't remember when ♫
( Jolene joins ): ♫ It's been a long, long time ♫
♫ You'll never know how many dreams ♫
♫ I've dreamed about you ♫
♫ Or just how empty they all seem without you ♫
♫ So kiss me once and kiss me twice ♫
♫ And kiss me once again ♫
♫ It's been a long, long time. ♫
( dove cooing )