"Since 1970, the Federal Witness Protection Program has relocated thousands of witnesses, some criminal, some not, to neighborhoods all across the country." "Every one of those individuals shares a unique attribute, distinguishing them from the rest of the general population." "And that is somebody wants them dead." "LAS VEGAS TWO MONTHS AGO" "Wow, uh, you look..." " Delicious?" "Mmm, I'll say." " Don't fill up now." "You'll spoil your dinner." "I just have to wrap up a little business before we..." "Guys, don't keep Albert too long, okay?" "Because..." "We're both starving." "This is great." " Make yourself comfortable." "I will." "Mmm, I will." "I will just be a minute." "Okay." "I'll be here." "Wow, that was fast." "What's wrong?" "Mommy." "Uh, kids, what are you doing here?" "Tripp?" "Just let me know if you wanna cancel dinner and order up some burgers and fries." "No." "Albert." "Albert, I..." "You better have a damn good explanation." "Gretel has diarrhea." "I pooped my jammies." "Oh, uh, get off the bed." "Relax, I cleaned and changed her, and now I'm done." "I'll see you." "Tripp." "No, Tripp." "Don't you dare leave without your brother and sister." "Mom, this isn't fair, all right?" "What happened to 'Albert's taking us all to Las Vegas for the weekend?" "'" "'We're gonna have so much fun.' So far, you're the only one having fun." "I've been stuck babysitting." "I know, I know, and I am so sorry." "I swear that tomorrow will be dedicated just to you." "Whatever you wanna do." " Really?" "Absolutely, honey." "Absolutely." "Please, don't ruin this for me, Tripp." "Willie, please." "Will you turn it down?" "Oh, my god." "Oh, my god." "Come here." "No." "Under the bed." "No... yeah Behind the couch." "It's okay." "Wait... here." " Mom..." "Identity of witness:" "Maureen Stewart" "Status:" "Active" "Location:" "Albuquerque." "Children:" "Tripp, William, Gretel." "Poor Albert." "Yeah, the geek got got." "Oh, man." "What is it?" "Naked hooker?" "I wanna see." " No, way better." "I don't get it." " That's weird, even for you." "It's an 80 core microprocessor, military grade." "Poor Albert jacked 'em from Suntech and was selling them to the 19 west gang." "What's street gang want with computer chips?" "Please, compared to these, regular computer chips might as well be potato chips." "In the right hands or wrong hands, these processors could be used to decrypt all manner of encrypted information." "Financial accounts, medical records." "Even Witsec could be vulnerable." "So don't go calling them computer chips." "You need to cancel that popular science subscription." "Well, at least our witness I.D.'d the guy who got away with the hotel security tape." "Hopefully we'll catch him, get the chips back." "Preferably before he and his friends figure out how to use them, or sell 'em to someone who already knows." "I want you both to promise to shoot me in the head if I ever have three kids." "Yeah, all right." " Okay." "Thanks." "Today." "I've gazed into the eyes of contract killers listening to them explain they were only trying to feed their kids." "Con artists who insist that it's the mark's fault for being so stupid." "And Dylan fans, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, defend their love of 'Down in the Groove'." "Yes, it's a rare person who admits they're a heartless, greedy bastard possessing absolutely no musical taste." "Hey, I have to study or I'm gonna flunk this quiz." "Yeah, and I have to eat, or I'll pass out in the middle of work, lose my job, and who will pay for the roof over your head?" "Good morning, Darling girls." "How are you?" "Oh, I love that top." "That color is great on you." "Judging by her saccharine tone," "I'd say her DWI hearing is coming up, and she wants something." "Oh, you are so cynical." "Let's see." "You have a public defender, so it can't be money." "Unless she wants a new outfit for court." "She's got more clothes than Saks." "Oh, I know." "She wants to buy a plane ticket." "That's it, isn't it, mom?" "You're skipping the country." "Don't be ridiculous." "You know how I feel about foreign-speaking people." "Listen..." "I need each of you to write a brief, complimentary character witness statement for the judge." "My lawyer thinks it'll be really, really helpful." "Ugh, I'm bumping on the complimentary part." "Yeah, mom, there are perjury laws, you know." "Oh, shush." "My lawyer's sending over a template." "It'll take no time at all." "All right, I'll do it." "Oh, thank you, sweet girl." "What about you?" "Leave the thing from the lawyer." "I'll look at it." "Okay." "Your face is turning a really interesting shade of purple." "I know, no amount of foundation's gonna cover this." "I just guess that's what you get for standing up for your rights." "And which rights would those be?" "The right to refuse a breathalyzer." "I see." "Yay, Mom." "Way to champion a cause." "Hello." " Good morning, Mary." "Eleanor, so great to hear from you." "And so early in the morning." "Are you calling to tell me my desk has been pushed into the parking lot." "Ha ha, it is to laugh." "Actually, a principal Timmons called." "She said she knows you." "Yeah, we work with her." "She's been very helpful to us." "Well, she wanted me to tell you that" "Tripp Sullivan has been cutting a lot of classes lately." "And he hasn't shown up to school at all in the last three days." "All right, I'll call his mother, see what's going on." "Well, that's the thing." "She hasn't been able to get his mother on the phone." "And she checked with the elementary school, and the little ones haven't been there either." "Okay, tell Marshall I'm heading over to their house." "You keep trying all their numbers, and tell Stan to have ESU try to locate her cell." "Call me the second you know anything." "Copy that." "Don't forget about my letter." "She's not gonna write my letter." " Yeah." "Hey, it's me." "ESU tracked Maureen's cell." "Where?" "The shoreline of Lake Mead." "Vegas Witsec is already on its way." "Crap." "All right, I'm at the house now." "I'll break in and see what I can find." "Okay." "Call off the search." "Maureen's just pulling up." "She okay?" "Appears to be." "But that might be temporary." "Hey, Mary." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, you know, nothing special." "Just... in the neighborhood." "So... where you been?" "Sandy took us to Lake Mean." "Mead." "Mead, that's right near Las Vegas, isn't it?" "Hi, Mary Shepherd, friend of the family." "You are?" "I am Sandy King." "Also a friend of the family." "It's nice to meet you." " Yeah." "Well, I gotta get to work." "See you, kids." "Bye, Sandy." " Bye, Sandy." "I will see you later." " Okay." "Nice to meet you, Mary." "Pleasure." "Yeah, you too." "So I take it you weren't just in the neighborhood." "Are you serious, Maureen?" "You don't just take off for three days without checking with me first." "I just wasted a whole bunch of federal resources searching for you and your kids because you don't have the common courtesy to make a phone call." "I'm sorry, it was a..." "it was a last-minute thing." "I thought, after everything the kids had gone through, it would be fun." "I don't care what you think." "Jesus." "I thought you got this." "I do." "I just..." "What?" "Obviously, you don't." "Witsec rules are there for a reason." "You don't get to cherry pick which ones you follow." "This isn't some drill you can ignore." "This is real." "There are real people out there right now, actively looking for any sign of you, trying to track you down so that they can kill you." "And your children." "Is any of this sinking in?" "Yes." "Yes." "You're right, of course." "You're right." "I'm sorry." "Uh, Mary, really." "Nothing like this will ever happen again." "Okay." "All right." "It better not." " No." "And why is Tripp cutting half his classes?" "Again?" "I swear, that kid." "You gotta stay on top of him, Maureen." "Him getting into trouble or hanging out with the wrong crowd seriously increases your risk of exposure." "What am I supposed to do, Mary, huh?" "He won't listen to me." "I can't stay with him all day, make him go to class." "I have to work." "All right, Do you want me to talk to him?" " Would you?" "Really?" "Maybe he'll listen to you." "I'll give it a shot." "How 'bout I drive the kids to school?" "That would be great." "Thank you." "You are a godsend." "That's what I keep telling everyone." "Okay." "I gotta get ready for work." "Sure." "Oh, and, uh, one more thing." "I'm sure Sandy's a great guy, but for the time being," "I need to know who you're keeping company with." "You can scratch sandy off the list." "He doesn't know it yet, but we're not gonna take any more trips together." "He's just, um... not the one." "You know how it is." "Yes, I do." "It's not like you have anything else to do." "You, you mean other than study?" "Yes, of course." "I mean other than that." "Look, I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't really important to me." "That cop cracked my molar, and it's killing me." "And I have to go to the dentist today." "And I cannot do both." "What if they catch me?" "They're not gonna catch you." "It's an AA meeting, not the Pentagon." "Oh, my God." "Look, just go there, tell them you're me, have them sign the card, and leave." "I think maybe you should go." "You know, it must work, or they wouldn't make all these TV movies about it." "Now, a lot of alcoholics..." " What?" "I am not an alcoholic." "The only reason that we're doing this is because the judge needs to see that I've been going to these meetings." "Brandi, please." "I need your help with this." "Or do you want me to go to jail?" "Look, I, um..." " How 'bout we skip all the B.S. Excuses?" "The only thing that matters here is that you're pissing away your education." "What education?" "I go to public school." "It's like Juvie, but the tests are easier and the drugs aren't as good." "You better be joking, and you better not joke about it anymore." "Unless you like peeing in a cup three times a week." "I don't take drugs, okay?" "No, it's not okay." "It's not even close to okay." "Your mother is killing herself trying to raise the three of you all by herself." "The last thing she needs is her oldest son turning into a major screw-up." "Fine... whatever you say." "I'll go to all my classes and I'll eat my broccoli and I'll make my bed in the morning." "Am I forgetting anything?" " Just one thing." "You might be able to get over on your mom and your principal, and maybe even one day your parole officer, but I'm not them." "So get it through your head:" "Your family's well being is my job." "Your Mom, Billy, Gretel, even you, you're all my responsibility." "And there's no way in hell I'm gonna let a snotty, self-centered teenager adversely affect how well I do my job." "Go." "You don't know a goddamn thing." "So..." "I trust you read her the riot act." "Yeah, she knows she screwed up." "It's the oldest son I'm worried about." "Smart kid." "Started out the first few weeks with a near-perfect attendance record." "Then went back to classes for a while and then last week started ditching again." "Went out for varsity baseball, made the team." "He was a sophomore, and he was being scouted by colleges." "So he could get a scholarship?" " Yeah if he hadn't been kicked off the team for missing practices." "Sounds like he can't decide whether to tune in or drop out." "Maybe he's turning on." "That could explain the erratic behavior." "I don't think so." "He told me he wasn't doing drugs." "Well, long as he told you." "'Cause, you know, a teenager would never lie about that sort of thing." "Funny thing is, I don't think he respects me enough to bother lying, if that makes any sense." "Makes perfect sense to me." "Here's the info you wanted." "You're just mad because I made you move the desks back." "If it makes you feel better to tell people you made me move them, go ahead." "The truth always makes me feel better." "Really?" "Okay, okay... would you just stop this?" "Enough." "Would you..." "I thought we were done with this nonsense." "She started it." " And I'll finish it too." "Ah, unless you two are gonna break out the baby oil and throw down like real women," "I suggest you look at this." " What?" "That guy you mentioned, Sandy..." "His real name is Sandor King, and he has a couple of domestic abuse charges filed against him." "His ex-wife has a restraining order on him and he's only allowed supervised visits with his two kids." "Oh, if that son of a bitch did anything to those kids..." "It could explain Tripp's erratic behavior." "Oh, Maureen." "What'd you get yourself into?" "Here for the meeting?" "No, just need to get this signed." "I thought there was talking." "After meditation." "Report cards get signed at the end after you've actually attended the meeting." "You're not meditating." "Oh, boy, are you in the right place." "Have a seat." "Good afternoon, everyone." "My name's Peter, and I'm an alcoholic." "Hi, Peter." "One of the fundamental tenets of this program is that we are powerless over this disease of alcoholism." "And whether or not you believe in god, there exists in each of us a higher power that we give ourselves over to and ask every day to help us manage our addiction." "Nine years ago, I walked into a room very much like this one." "Not intentionally, mind you." "You see, I woke up that morning in the front seat of my car, which back then was a fairly regular occurrence given the fact that I was living in my car." "Uh, in any case, call it divine intervention, dumb luck, whatever." "As it turned out, I had unwittingly parked in front of a church the night before and woke up just as a bunch of people were going in for a morning meeting." "Hello." "Yes, it's is." "Maureen Sullivan, please." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, no, I, uh, I guess she would." "Did she leave a forwarding number?" "All right, thanks." "I'll give her the message." "Maureen quit her job three weeks ago." "Guess that's something else she forgot to tell me." "Give me what message?" "That was principal Timmons." "Tripp ditched again." "That little..." "I took him there." "Who you calling?" " Who do you think?" "Maureen." "I see." "What?" "Why the smug?" "God damn it." "She left her phone at the lake." "Maybe she's at home." "Nope." "Maureen, this is Mary." "Call me when you get this." "All right, if you were a 16-year-old boy ditching school in Albuquerque, where would you go for fun?" "What's more fun than school?" "For the life of me," "I don't know why I don't hate you." "And even though I haven't had a drink since that night," "I'm still the same guy." "And I know with absolute certainty that I'm one slip away from moving back into my car." "And that's why I keep coming back to these meetings." "Because I know it's it's the only thing that keeps me sober." "Uh, enough about me." "Uh, I think I'm gonna break with tradition just a bit today and check in with our newcomers." "See where they are on their journey." "What do you say?" "How 'bout you?" "Me?" "Oh, no." "One thing I've learned:" "When you don't want to the most, that's when you open your mouth." "For me, always cathartic." "Oh, clapping, good." "Okay, um..." "My name's Jinx, and I'm an alcoholic." "Hi, Jinx." "Um, okay." "I'd probably feel a lot less nervous up here if I had a drink." "Or if I knew what the word 'cathartic' meant." "Okay, so my journey." "Let's see, um..." "I have two beautiful daughters." "Seven and one." "Um, the oldest, Mary, well, she's difficult." "Bossy, heh." "And just always thinks that she's right about everything." "Um, but the other one, oh, my baby, Brandi, she's she is just the sweetest, most beautiful thing that you ever saw." "And smart, what?" "Oh, my god." "But not in like a show-offy way, like her sister, you know." "Um, I wouldn't be surprised if she grew up to be..." "I don't know." "Something very important." "He's a tidy little juvenile delinquent, I'll say that for him." "I didn't feel well." "I have a fever." "Really?" "Think carefully before continuing." "Okay, I ditched my afternoon classes again, but at this point, it's not like I can pass them anyway." "You know, I'm just cutting my losses." "Tidy and practical." "Let's see how your mom feels about that." "What's her new work number?" "55501..." "No, she quit the job three weeks ago." "The new number?" "Right, she's at some new place." "I don't have the number." "All right." "Well, I guess since she lost her cell, we'll just have to wait here till she gets home." "She lost that three days ago." "She picked up a new one in Vegas yesterday." "Really?" "Las Vegas, you say?" "Okay, since she's not answering my calls, maybe she'll pick up if she thinks it's from you." "Hello?" " Hello?" "Who is this, Sandy?" "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number." "No, wait, wait." "I'm a friend of Maureen's." "I need to talk to her about her son." "Is she there?" "Hang on." "Why are you answering my phone?" " You were in the shower." "Hello." "Who is this?" "It's Mary." "I don't know what kind of job involves showers in the middle of the day, but you just retired." "So how long have you been cutting classes to come home and do housework take care of the kids?" "And I know that what I do hurts my children." "My poor Mary." "I know I said that she was a pain in the ass earlier, but she has to be, because she's just so strong and so fierce." "And she protects us." "This little girl and my baby, I god only knows what I must be doing to her." "I wish I could be better." "I wish that just every now and then I could make the right choice." "I wish, um..." "I wish I wasn't me." "This is wrong." "He shouldn't be doing chores." "He should be out playing baseball." "Well, I think, ideally, he should be in school." "No, he needs a break." "He needs another something beyond taking care of his siblings." "You busy?" "Ready?" " Yeah." "Okay, remember, just like chopping a tree." "There, down." "Keep your eye on the ball and swing with this leg." "Let's see it." "You'll see, huh?" " Okay." "Keep your eyes on the ball." "Okay, go." "Okay, another one." "Good." "Can't believe I'm such an idiot." "She played me." "He's been handling everything all this time." "I've been living this for the last 30 years." "How did I not see it?" "I think you just answered your own question." "Anybody home?" "Keep them occupied." "Hey, I know you mean well, but that call was ill-timed." "I had a lot of explaining..." " Oh, I'm sorry." "Were you still setting the hook for that one?" "Did he even know you have kids?" "Of course he did." "Where are the kids?" "They're in the backyard." "Tripp's taking care of them, like he always does, taking your hits, letting the world think he's a criminal in the making, while you run around in search of the next best sugar daddy." "How dare you pass judgment on me." "You drop in two months ago." "I've been taking care of this family for 16 years." "And that kid out there knows everything that I do is for the benefit of this family." "So you take yourself and you get the hell out of my house." "Billy." "Tripp." "Gretel." "Get in here now." "If it weren't for the clumsy lies, you'd almost be convincing." "What lies?" "I know you bought a cell phone in Vegas." "So cut the crap." "If you're not capable of being a mother to these kids," "I'll find someone who is." "And I don't give a rat's ass about your testimony for the department of justice." "I'm not gonna let you ruin their lives." "One way or another, this all ends now." "So how do you feel?" "Um, I feel pretty good." "Except I have a slight headache." "I meant how do you feel after the meeting?" "Oh, that?" "Um, like a total dork." "I can't believe I just spazzed out like that in front of all those people." "Me either... that was completely unexpected." "You're not supposed to say that." "You're supposed to say that it was beautiful and touching and brave." "It was, it was." "It was well, all those things you just said." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, I can tell." "You're so moved." "Nope, stop." "I mean, this public display of emotion, it's too much." "No, I meant it." "It was very moving." "It's just, when I asked you to share," "I thought you would stand up at your seat and say," "'Hi, I'm Jinx, and I'm really scared,' or," "'I'm really nervous,' and then sit back down." "That's what usually happens." " Are you serious?" "And you let me get up there and make an idiot out of myself?" "Why didn't you stop me?" "You seemed like you knew what you were doing." "I never know what I'm doing." "Ugh, unbelievable." "I knew coming to this meeting was a bad idea." "No, it's wasn't." "It was a good idea." "But just standing up and saying," "'Hi, I'm Jinx, I'm an alcoholic' was beautiful." "And touching and brave." "The rest of it was, you know." "Yeah, inappropriate, humiliating, and stupid." "No, none of those things." "Look, every person who comes into this program has a story very similar to yours to tell." "And, yes, getting it out is a painful, important first step." "If you stick with it long enough, you'll come to realize, that's all it is:" "A first step." "Because, no matter what you've done, what kind of terrible person you've been, it doesn't matter." "There's only one thing that matters." "What's that?" "That you don't drink anymore." "So are you saying that that story that I told earlier isn't important?" "Not really." "I'm sorry." "Don't be." "I'm glad." "because it's not really my story." "What do you mean?" "It's my mother's." "She had this appointment, and she asked me to get her card signed." "So..." "She's Jinx." "My name's Brandi." "Oh, I see." "What.. where..." "are you leaving?" "Listen, Brandi, I assume that's your real name." "Ironic, I suppose." "I don't know, well, anything about you, apparently." "But this program literally saved my life." "And I don't like people who treat it like a joke." "But you said the story didn't matter." "What are you still doing here?" "I'm working through this mess with the Sullivan family." "I really dropped the ball, Stan." "No, the kid's suffering." "I mean, he should be playing baseball." "Instead, he's ironing his mother's dainties, and I completely missed it." "You getting Child Protective Services involved?" "Maybe... if that's what it takes." "I'm looking at the options." "He deserves a life." "What about the other kids?" " Them too." "I mean, ideally, I could find a way to get Maureen to start acting like a mother." "But, honestly, I think that's the least likely of all possible outcomes." "Crap." "I'm late for dinner with Raph." "Thanks for everything today." "No problem." "Here's your signature." "Don't ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." "Oh, honey." "I'm so sorry." "Was it awful?" "Oh, those people are insufferable." "Have you been drinking?" "Just a little wine." "Want some?" "Mom, you're about to stand trial for drunk driving." "Do you see a car?" "Oh, honey, honestly." "I had that dentist's hands crammed in my mouth for two hours." "Give me a break." "You get a part in a play, you drink." "You go to the dentist, you drink." "There's a day that ends in 'y', you drink." "And you don't see that maybe that's not okay?" "God, they got to you." "They have some good ideas." "They're alcoholics." "I'm not an alcoholic." "Okay?" "And I don't need your platitudes." "I need not to go to jail." "That's all." "You seem a little bit someplace else." "Oh, yeah." "Sorry, I was thinking about Tripp." "Thanks, by the way." "You were great with him." "No problem." "It was fun." "The kid's pretty talented." "Remind you of yourself at that age?" "Let's not get carried away." "But with his ability, he could definitely go somewhere, play at a college level." "Assuming he's willing to really focus and put in the practice time." "Yeah, well, I doubt that'll happen." "Too busy chasing girls?" "Folding laundry." "Ah, speak of the devil." "Hello." "He's here." "He's trying to break the door down." "Billy, what is that?" "Where's Tripp?" "Tripp told him mom's not home, but he won't go away." "Okay, okay, Billy, I'm on my way." "Tell Tripp I'll be there in a minute." "Lock the door." "Hang on." "Marshall, that guy Sandy's trying to break into Maureen's." "The kids are there alone." "Call 911 and meet me there." "Stay in the car." "Where is she?" "Maureen." "Sandy." "Raph." "Tripp, come here." "You okay?" "Come on, guys." "Let's get outside, come on." "Come on, come on." "Get outside." "Okay, thanks." "I'm sorry." "I never meant to hurt anyone." "I just wanted to talk to her." "You okay?" "Looks like Tripp's gonna need a couple of stitches." "And Raph should get his hand x-rayed." "How about I take 'em to emergency." "You can stay here with Yogi and Boo Boo." "No, I wanna go." "I feel like we should keep 'em all together." "All right." "Ohh, is your hand gonna be okay?" "Oh, yeah, it's, um, fourth metacarpal." "They call it a Boxer's Break." "Oh, Raph, I'm so sorry." "Oh, don't be." "It's just a small bone." "I have lots more." "We need to get you in a cab before those drugs knock you on your ass." "You sure you'll be okay?" "'Cause I could stay with you." "No, I'm okay." "I think you've exceeded your badass quotient for the day." "Or everyone could stay at my place." "No, that's probably not the best idea." "I think I'll just stay with them at their house till their mom gets home." "Okay, but you call me if you need me." "I will." "Thanks." "Okay, guys, teeth brushed, straight to bed." "I'll put her down." " Thanks." "Hey, Tripp." "Hank's taking me up to Santa Fe for the night." "Luckily, the phone call didn't completely scare him away." "Anyway, there's a 50 on my night stand, if you need it." "Make sure everyone gets to school on time." "I'll be back tomorrow." "Love you." "You can't keep doing this, Tripp." "You gotta start thinking about what's best for you." "Look..." "I know you think I'm a meddlesome pain in the ass." "And you're right" " I admit it." "But everyone who comes into this program has problems." "And I get my jollies trying to figure out what those problems are, and then solve them." "It's fun." "It's like doing a puzzle." "Except..." "I hate puzzles." "But you get the idea." "Anyway just between you and me, most of the time, I'm completely winging it." "I'm just trying to figure it out as I go." "But this is different." "This is one case where I know what I'm talking about." "I can see 20 years down the road you're on, and trust me it's not heading anywhere fun." " Oh, yeah?" "How do you know?" "What makes you such an expert?" "I just know." "I've... seen it before." "Well, that's a good answer." "It's right up there with 'because I said so.'" "Thanks for helping us out tonight." "I'll see you in the morning." "I know because my father ran out when I was six." "He left me at home with an infant sister and an alcoholic mother." "And I did what you're doing." "And I--I protected my sister." "I took care of my mother." "I made excuses for both of them." "Pretended to the whole world that everything was fine." "I never had a single friend because I didn't want anyone to see how we lived." "It's a bad way to live." "Tripp, it's a really bad way to live." "Yeah... but it is what it is." "You had to take care of your sister." "I have to take care of Billy and Gretel." "And I don't see that changing any time soon." "Well, it could." " Yeah?" "How?" "Okay, this isn't gonna seem like a great idea at first, but you need to keep an open mind and just hear me out." "If the U.S. Attorney's office believes the three of you are living in an unsafe or neglectful environment, they can initiate action to have you removed from the home." "Now, I know foster care's not ideal, but it's better than this." "It's better for you and it's better for Billy and Gretel." "And I can see to it that you're all placed in really good homes." "Split us up?" "Not a chance." "Maybe not--I can try to keep you all together, or at least close enough to see each other." "And then think about this:" "In 5 years, you're 21." "You can get custody of Billy and Gretel, if that's what you want." "No, we're staying together." "I'm not putting them with strangers." "I can take care of them, and as long as they're with me, they'll be okay." "Yeah, but you won't." "Then I won't." "I'm their brother." "Oh, Mom, this is so typical." "I can't believe you called me at 6:00 AM for this." "No, the whole universe is not conspiring against you." "In fact, the universe couldn't care less about you." "Of course I don't want you to go to jail." "Why can't you wrap your head around the idea that you're not the only person on the planet?" "You can't be everybody's priority all the time." "I'm irresponsible?" "My god, you get arrested for drunk driving, and I'm the irresponsible one?" "Unbelievable." "You know what?" "Write your own god damn character reference." "Oh, god." "What would I have to do to start the foster care process?" "Nothing." "I'll start the paperwork." "Okay." "Okay." "Um, were you able to pull together any of the things I suggested?" "Yes." "Yeah, here are the character witness statements that Brandi and I wrote." "Oh, and, um, I have my AA attendance card." "I was only able to get to one meeting." "That's all right." "Every little bit helps." "Okay, there's just one last thing." "The police cruiser arrest video the D.A.'s already entered it into evidence." "So I thought we should watch the tape together." "We don't want to be surprised in court." "Good." "I want the judge to see this." "Right." "Okay." "This is the Albuquerque police." "Pull your car over to the curb." "What is this all about?" "Why are you harassing me?" "Stay in the car, ma'am." "I will do no such thing." "Ma'am, please get back" " I'm walkin' home." "No." "No." "Ma'am, please get out of the road." "I'm not in the road, you ignoramus." "This is a causeway." "Now, I realize some of this might be a little disturbing." "Which is why I want to challenge no less than 20 separate sections of the tape." "You storm trooper." "God damn you." "You mindless imbecile." "Let me go." "Where's your partner?" "The nice one." "I don't know." "I think he's avoiding you." "Hey, Mary, how you doing?" "I'm confused." "Hey, I wanna thank you, you know, for dealing with sandy." "I am so sorry that you got pulled into that whole mess." "Yeah, about that" "But the good news is that I finally found a decent guy." "That's terrific." " You'll see." "This whole thing is gonna get a lot better around here." "Hey, guys... mommy has got to put on her face." "So you got ten minutes, in the Sullivan bus is gonna leave the station, all right?" "All right." "So..." "I have the paperwork, if you" "I can't." "Tripp, you know this act won't last." "Okay, the other night, that was your future." "As soon as this new guy balls" " It doesn't matter." "I'm not gonna walk out on 'em." "I know she's a wreck, but she's gotta have somebody to come home to when it all falls apart." "Wait, okay, so you're gonna destroy your life so your mother has a shoulder to cry on?" "Please please, please don't do this." "It's not worth it." "In the end, she'll resent you for it." "Trust me, I've been there." "I'm still there." "I'm not you." "This is different." "I'm different." "Really?" "How so?" "Name one way that this is different, that your situation is different from mine." "It's different because I have you." "Before we call witnesses, does the defense have anything to enter into evidence?" "Yes, your honor." "The written character statements by the defendant's daughters." "Also, at this time, I'd like to challenge the admission of the arrest tape on the grounds that it's prejudicial" "Excuse me, your honor." "I'd like to say something." " Not now." "You'll have your chance." "May I speak?" "Yes, Ms. Shannon, but keep it brief." "Yes, sir." " Mom..." "I..." "I want to change my plea to guilty." "I'd like to apologize to the arresting officer." "I'm a blackout drunk." "And I need to go to a rehab facility." "I'll... accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate." "Very well." "You are sentenced to 28 days in a state-run rehab facility." "One of the most difficult moments of anyone's life is when the fog of childhood lifts and we see, for the first time our parents as people."