"These are all getting shipped out tomorrow, right?" "8:00 A.M. sharp, pickup in Chicago." "Good, gotta make room for Anderson." "Got a row of 20-foot high cubes." " You okay, Ben?" " Yeah." "Leg cramp." "Just gotta warm it up." "Aah." " Hey." " Nah." "Come on, we're done for the night." " Don't mind if I do." " That a boy." "Who the hell's that?" " Don't worry, I got this." " No, I got it." "No, it's okay." "Go home." "You did good work today, kid." "Yeah." "Go on." "Come inside, over here." "I'm surprised to see you." "I was just gonna make the delivery as usual." "We have other business to discuss." "After." " So... show me." " Oh, here." "100% copper." "The insurance will cite it as cargo lost in transit." "The whole lot is untraceable." "You can move this stuff for 200 times what you're paying." "Good." "Good." "We have another job for you, Ben." "Feel like stepping up in the world?" " Uh, what do you mean?" " A site in Louisiana." "International cargo." "Cars, boats." "You'll be our man on the ground." "Well, uh, thank you." "Uh, you thinking of me that way, Mr. Saken," "I appreciate it." "But my family, I don't think I could ask them" "Hey, you!" "Get your goddamn hands off me!" "What the hell?" "Jesus Christ, Paulie." "Who is this?" "This is just a kid." " He works here." " Go home, Ben." "Think over our offer." "Talk to your family." "The bayou is lovely this time of year." "You laundered money." "For the Lithuanian mob." "I made some mistakes, Cecile, I know." "I needed the money." "But if I'd known it was gonna go like this, that they'd go and kill Paulie..." " Oh, well, Paulie" " Tom, not now." "No, I mean, look, I get it." "Paulie's like a son to you." "No, they do a thing like that-to a kid like that," "You bet your ass I testify against them." "You bet your ass I do." "I'm not sure you appreciate what a big deal this is." "Your father's gonna put Mykolos Saken away for a very long time." "But the thing is, Saken's not the type to go quietly." "He's a heavy hitter for the Lithuanian mob." "He'll do whatever it takes to keep your father off the stand." " Meaning?" " Meaning you're in danger." "All of you." "Look, just come with me." "These people, they can help us." "They can keep us safe." "We were safe." "We were, dad." "Now we're supposed to leave our lives in the wind?" "Start over like, what, we're one big happy family?" "You barely even know your own grandson." "He's five." "And forget about Steve," "God forbid you even acknowledge him." "I don't wanna talk about that." "Great, our witness is Archie Bunker." " Except, you know, not funny." " Oh, look, we're stuck in 1985." "Daddy can't deal with his gay son." "All I need now are my acid-wash jeans and a scrunchie." "Hey." "Nobody cares whom you dated when you're dead." "And Saken will not hesitate to put you in the ground." "Come into the program and we can protect you." "And your partner." "And your son." "Look, dad, I'm sorry about Paulie." "I know how tough this must be on you." "But Steve and I, we don't need your help." "We, uh-we'll leave town." "We have friends in Miami." "It'll be hard, but-I don't know." "Dylan loves the ocean." "We'll change our names." "Vanish." "Hmm, your own little makeshift WITSEC, sounds almost romantic." "How about you?" "Stubborn in the gene pool?" "I don't want to lose either of you." "Don't make me choose." "C.C." "Go with Tommy." "You need each other way more than you need me." "Well, somebody do a head count, we're wheels-up in 40." "A week before my father left, we were in the kitchen as the sun came up." "Just the two of us." "I was six." "Mom was passed out in the bedroom in a tangle of sweaty sheets while I scavenged cupboards in a nearly-empty fridge for anything to eat." "Dad called me over to the table, told me to bring the milk." "We sat there, the last meal we ever shared, eating oreos that he'd left out overnight." "Oh, God." "Okay." "Hey." "Do you have any pictures of dad?" "I don't know, I could dig up a copy of his wanted poster." " Why?" " Oh, very funny." "Uh, it's for a video montage." "Peter's idea." "It's to greet the guests as they walk into the reception." "Yeah, look, I hate to break this to you, but we didn't exactly live a video montage kind of life." "I'm serious, Mary." "I think that dad should be represented." " In one at least." " Why?" "Well, Peter and I were in bed the other night and" "Okay." "No, thank you." "Going through shoe box after shoe box of all these amazing family photos." "Mom and dad at a drive-in, his sister playing soccer." "They were all so perfect." "Yeah, perfect is overrated." "Put that in Latin, it's a Shannon family motto." "I just thought it would be nice, you know?" "I mean, no matter what, dad's part of our story." "Mm." "Oh, boy." "Listen, um, I'm late for work." "Let's talk later, okay?" "Okay." "Over soft, stale oreos, my father told me we were special because we knew a secret that other people don't." "Like many things, an oreo, over time, becomes the very best version of itself." "That was his last bit of wisdom." "The final gospel of James Wiley Shannon." "Five days later, he was gone." "I peed on a stick, that's it." "For all I know, I'm not pregnant." "Those tests are really accurate." "You never heard of a false positive?" "There's a million ways those tests can go wrong." " A million." " There are ways, Marshall." "You led the sharpshooting seminar in WITSEC training," "I'm pretty sure you didn't miss the stick." "Okay, it might be a false pregnancy." "They exist, I read about them online." "How many more symptoms do you want?" "I could hold a rabbit a block away from you, it would still die." "The rabbit test?" "Really, grandpa?" "I know you're pregnant, I know you know you're pregnant, and I know you don't wanna be pregnant, so you're gonna put off dealing with it for as long as you can." "My God, please don't be that guy." " What guy?" " That guy." "The guy who thinks he knows what's best for the girl." "I hate that guy." "That guy's a dick." "Erratic hormonal surges duly noted." "All right, look, if I am pregnant, and that's a huge if, then I am pregnant." "I'm not some grotesque stereotype of hormonal mood swings, copy?" "Mary, Marshall, Stan wants to see you in his office." "Thanks, Delia." "You look really nice today." "You bought that?" "Hormonal mood swings my ass." "Sucker." " Okay." " What's up?" "Just got a call from Fred Zeitlin." "Zeitlin?" "Oh, man, can't get rid of that guy, he's like herpes or a cell phone contract." "Looks like Saken's been keeping tabs on Ben Kulpak's family." " What?" " FBI got a hit." "Nothing actionable, but the Miami field office has got an eye out for Saken's men." "I'll call Ben, ought to be fun." "Eight weeks until trial and he tracks them down." "Talk about lucky." "More like determined, guy's got a lot to lose." "Zeitlin's pretty sure if he can get Saken on the murder charge, he'll flip." "The guy's not gonna walk, though." "Nah, Zeitlin figures he'll cop to life without parole." "Guess it beats the alternative." "Got his voice mail." "Better as a face-to-face anyway." "Take a ride, if he still wants his family to come in, then we're gonna need to get them here before, well..." "The Lithuanians murder them." "Yes, Delia... that." " A doctor." " No." " An OB/GYN." " Still a doctor, still a no." "It's a simple blood test." "It takes five minutes." "Five minutes." ""Five minutes to blood test, five minutes to blood test."" "Ease up, Rain Man." "Maybe count some cards or toothpicks or something." " We're having a baby, Mary." " Oh, we are?" "I'm with you every day- if you're having a baby, trust me, we're having a baby." "Fine, whatever." "Just get back to me when you need three jog-bras to run to the phone." "Ray's plumbing and hardware." "Hi, this is Ben Karney's cousin, Mary." "Is he around?" "He didn't show today." "Huh, that's not like him." "Is he okay?" "I have no idea." "The prick didn't even call." "Okay, then." "I'll try his home." "Already on it." " I'll go around the side." " All right." "Marshall!" "He's down!" "Blood around the head!" "Kick it!" "U.S. Marshals!" "Hey." "Clear!" "I got a man unconscious, trauma to the head." "I need an ambulance at San Patricio and Reynolds." "Ben..." "Ben!" "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." "So no way this was a hit." "No break-in, no signs of struggle." "And Saken's not exactly known for finesse." "Or survivors." "So we've got security posted at every entrance and Wolk is still examining Ben." "In other words, you've got time." "For what?" "A blood test." "I'm pretty sure they do them here." "Oh, my God." "Honestly, Marshall." "Look, this is what it's come to." "I'm actually happy to hear from my sister." "Hey, Brandi." "What's the latest?" " Oh, you're working, I know." " Work-schmork." "You're my sister." "You're getting married." "I wouldn't call if it wasn't really important." "Like "Mom's-in-jail-on-a-DUI" really important?" "Or "Bon-Jovi-just-stopped-touring" really important." "It's about the wedding." "Uh, who are you inviting?" "Oh, um, I don't know." "Marshall, Stan." "Two people?" "You're inviting two people?" "That's not a guest list." "That's not even a game night." "Can I count mom?" "Peter's guest list is at 200 and counting." "Even if I include every last Jersey friend," "I'm at 13, and that's if we ask Lauren and Scott." "Which we should, by the way." "They're family." "Half-family." "Mary, I'm a bride with no guests on my side of the aisle." "We have no friends." "We push everybody away." "Some might call that selective welcoming." "This is, like, a total disaster." "Let me pitch eloping to Mexico one last time." "Hello?" "Tell me you're googling hotels in Cabo." "Hey, sorry, I've got an actual emergency on my end." "We'll fix this later, Squish, okay?" "Quality over quantity." "Okay." "That look on your face." " I haven't won anything, have I?" " We've got a problem." "Liver failure?" "Which is why you passed out." "Pulled that Greg Louganis into the coffee table." "What you're experiencing, Ben, is acute cirrhosis." "Have you been feeling ill for a while?" "Not really." "Legs ache more often than I'd like, but nothing I needed to see a doctor about." "Any nausea?" " Some." " How about dizziness?" "A bit." "I thought I had the flu." "This morning though, I just blacked out." "You been drinking?" "No." "I quit a year ago." "Cold turkey." "Turned my life around." "So..." "What kind of time we looking at?" "In my experience, without a transplant, six weeks, maybe seven." "Six weeks?" "God." "Hearing that, you'd think it would hurt more." "Your medical situation may be dire, Ben, but it's not without options." "Tsk, I don't deserve options." "You do bad things, you hurt your family" "Hey doc, you got a sec?" "Getting caught- that I deserve." "Giving up my life, my kids." "Six weeks, that's pretty grim." "Talk to me about transplants." "Well, I'll look at the UNOS list." "Mm-hm." "Meantime, it wouldn't hurt to steer him towards a more positive frame of mind." "Positive, right." "Marshall's got that covered." "Congratulations, by the way." "How far along are you?" "What- how did you..." "Am I seriously that fat?" "Mary, I see you regularly." "And also..." " Kinda hard to miss." " Oh, all right." "Look, I took a pregnancy test." "Kind of banking on a false positive." " Doubtful." " Mm." "'Cause then you'd be missing an enzyme and that would make you seriously ill." "So you're saying there's hope." "Stop by my office before you leave." "We'll do a blood test to make sure, okay?" "Yeah." " Mary." " Yeah." "Marshal, Marshall Mann, Zeitlin's here." "This latest development, had to call him." "Zeitlin." "Explains the nausea." "The Lithuanian operation is more than just money laundering." "They're terrorists." "We're talking murder, drug smuggling, prostitution." "And that's just what they do to unwind." "Now I've been tracking this group for 17 months and I'm telling you, they are a scourge." "The group, not Lithuanians as a whole." "Uh..." "My mother's side is half-Lithuanian," "I'm not being a racist." "Huh." "Next mother's day maybe embroider that on a pillow." "Bottom line, Zeitlin, unless he gets a transplant," "Ben's not making it to trial." "Great." "Wouldn't want anything to be easy, ever." "That's right." "He gave himself liver failure." "You know, to spite you." "You can't just videotape his testimony, get it on the record?" "Nah, it's iffy territory." "The court will likely bounce that as hearsay." "Meanwhile, any defense counsel worth his salt's gonna run the clock, wait for Ben to check out." "And my RICO case along with him." "Tsk." "These situations, family members are the best bet for a match." "You ask Ben about his kids?" "Not yet." "Maybe captain people skills wants to take a shot." "No?" "Come on, I bet you got a hell of a bedside manner." "How you doing, Ben?" "Eh, been better, Mr. Zeitlin." "That was funny." "All the programs I tried over the years, the one that got me to quit drinking was WITSEC." "I guess the damage was already done." "Uh-oh." "He's giving you the nod." "That can't be good." "Listen, Ben, there's no easy way to say this." "Well, no easy way to say I got liver failure, either." "But they managed." "The FBI believes that Saken's men have located your children." "What?" "Are they okay?" "They're fine right now, Ben." " For now." " Well, can you- oh, God." "Well, can you help them?" "We can go back to the well, again." "Try to get them to come into the Program." "Per the M.O.U., you need to reconfirm that's what you want." "Yeah, of course." "Yes, of course I want that." "I don't know if they do." "Well, they've had time to cool down." "Yeah." "Yeah, yeah." "It would mean a lot, you know?" "To have them- to have my family here." "You know, even just for..." "Well, I got a lot of stuff to say." "We're on the first plane to Miami." "Look, the last thing we'd want is your family in jeopardy." "But the upside is the sooner they're in Albuquerque, the sooner they can come in to see if they're a match." "A match?" "What?" "No." "Testing Tommy and Cecile is out of the question." "I forbid it!" "Ben, you're a witness." "You're not in the forbidding business." "Forbidding's all mine." "Yeah, well, this body's all mine." "Look, I'm grateful to you." "I am." "This last year of my life in the program, it's changed me." "But asking my children to undergo a surgery like this, and for what?" "A little more time with a guy they can't stand?" "No." "So you'd rather die than ask your children for help." "I will honor my agreement." "I will testify early." "Do whatever you need me to do." "But yes, I would rather die than have you test my children." "Oh, my God, Miami." "Even the humidity's humid." "I don't mind." "It's good for the pores." "What?" "A man can't care about his complexion?" "Just step on it, lady." "I gotta pee like a Russian racehorse." " Teamster." " Tinker bell." "You sure it was a good idea flying down here, considering" "Marshall, fine." "I took a blood test." "It was positive." "You happy?" " Are you?" " That's not the point." "The point is, Dr. Wolk said it's fine for me to fly in my first trimester." "So how about you take care of your uterus," "I'll take care of mine." "All right, buddy, here we go." "Let's put you down for a little nap action." "We should be good for half an hour at least." "Kid can sleep through a jackhammer." "Hmm." "How is he with small arms fire?" "Diving right in." "The men who want your father dead are in Miami, and it's not for the stone crabs." " Oh, my God." " They're here for us?" "Yes." "Look, guys, the safest thing for all of you now is Witness Protection." "The good news is everything we talked about in Detroit is still on the table." "You could join your father." "That's not exactly a selling point." "Tom." "For what it's worth, I think you'll find him a changed guy." "Heh, a year in WITSEC and a homophobic construction worker learns to love his openly gay son?" "Next on a very special episode of Glee." "Fine, screw your dad, what about your son?" "I'm sorry, but it's hardly groundbreaking." "Who doesn't have a messed-up dad?" "Doesn't mean you have to have a Kumbaya moment with him when you get there, but if you want your family safe, coming into WITSEC is the only way." "Tom, come on." "How is this even a decision?" "C.C., it's- Steve's at work." "I gotta talk to him now." "I'm not gonna have him give up his life, you know, over the phone." " I'll get Dylan." " Fine, let's move." "Whatever they decide, we're coming with you." "I'll see to it." "Good." " Your dad will be relieved." " Yeah." "This whole thing is just- they used to be really close, you know, Tom and my father." "Then Tom dropped the gay-bomb?" "It was the hardest thing he ever had to do." "Everybody thinks it's so easy these days, coming out." "Except when it's you and you think you're gonna lose your family and everyone you love." "Just because it's easier doesn't make it easy, right?" "Right." "I watched him struggling, not dealing with it for as long as he could." "Till he couldn't?" "At first, dad didn't even believe Tom." "They're experts at denial." "Both of them, they should teach a class." "Mm-hmm." "And then when Tom met Steve and adopted Dylan, my dad just..." "I mean, for some people" "Change happens too fast." "And he's not a bad man, you know?" "He loved us, did the best he could, all of that." "And I tried to bridge the gap, you know." "But, uh, do you know how exhausting it is, trying to take care of your entire family like that?" "I can only imagine." "Hey, pickle!" " Cecile!" " Aunt C.C.!" "Cecile, get back!" "Get out of the street!" "Dylan!" "Dylan, no!" "Oh, my God." "You're okay, you're okay." "Are you okay?" " Is he okay?" "Are you okay?" " Dylan?" "Come with us now or go home and pack." "Either way, say good-bye to the palm trees." "You all right?" "Fine." "Just caught the kid's elbow in my eye." "What, Marshall, I'm fine." "I'm so sorry." "Okay, I'm just gonna say it." "You took a fall, a bad one." " Gee, you think?" " You should see a doctor." "And not tomorrow." "Seriously, Mary, a person in your condition" "Marshall, I'm pregnant." "I'm not disabled, okay?" "Okay." "So, um, what's the plan?" "I don't know." "The plan is I'd rather not be pregnant." "But I'll do what I do, protect and relocate." "There must be hundreds of couples in a ten-mile radius who'd kill for the shot at 3:00 A.M. feedings, and I'm just the girl to give it to them." "Just like that?" "You sure?" "No, I'm not sure of anything, except I wanna keep doing my job and I don't want anyone else to know." "And if you keep treating me like some sort of wounded koala, someone's gonna figure it out." " Here, I'll get that." " No, no, no." "I must." "Am I... is it..." "Can I..." "Oh, thank God I'm still able to open a door." "I think I should go lie down." " Okay." " Jeez." "Hope you got the number of the truck that hit you." "You ought to put some concealer on that." " What's the point?" " To conceal it-it's concealer." "Damn it, I gotta pee... again!" "So, like that, everything is gone?" "Our friends, our jobs?" "Where's Dylan gonna go to school?" "Trust me, there will be plenty of time to iron out the details." "For now, let's just get you settled." "And he's here, my dad?" "Yes, but to be clear, a placement in Albuquerque does not mandate having to see your father." "Same city, no contact." "Seems like old times." "Hey, you're pissed at him." "I get it." "But if dad hadn't asked them to get us in Miami," "I mean, he saved our lives." "We're here because of him." "C.C., that's ridiculous." "We're here, yes." "We're here, my son is in danger, because of him." "Forgive me for wanting to forgive him." "I mean, I just wanna see him." "Your father's in the hospital." " What?" " Why?" "Is he all right?" "Doctors are running tests." "He's stable for now, though." " Enough for visitors." " That's it?" "They don't know what's wrong with him?" "I mean, what kind of tests are they running?" "You should probably talk to your dad about that." "Okay." "Tom?" " We should go." " Um, you go." "We need to get Dylan settled and, um" " Tom." " No." "No, we need to get Dylan squared away." "When dad went into WITSEC, we told Dylan pop-pop went away on a long trip." "Now we're here, it's" "All right, stay with Tom, okay?" "Mary can take Cecile over now." "Just..." "Tell him we're here, we're safe." "You got it." "I know." "I know, baby." "Too long." "How are you feeling, daddy?" "Are you okay?" "Better now." "Is Tommy..." "He, um..." "He's here." "He's safe." "And he'll be by to visit." "When they get Dylan settled." " It's just" " Yeah." "Relocating, you know." "There's just a lot of stuff to do." "Well, you're all safe." "That's what matters." "Your mother would rest easy." "Do they know what's wrong?" "Uh..." "You get to be my age, you know, it's more about what's right than what's wrong." "Doctors, they stick you here, they stick you there." "Every test under the sun, you know?" "Okay." "You gonna do this or am I?" "Mary." "Ben, she might be able to help." " Mary, please." " What are you talking about?" "Your father needs a liver transplant." "He'll die if he doesn't get it." "Damn it, Mary" "You and your brother are his best shot at a match." "I told you I don't want them involved." "Why wouldn't you want us to know?" "If I'd wanted you to know, I would have told you." "If I wanted you tested, I would have asked." "You just lost a witness." "Great." "You want out, you're out." "Your family too, by the way, how long do you think it'll take Saken to find them this time?" "Look, Manning up is more than just working late and coming home every night." "It's about letting people help you, letting your family choose if they want to save your life or not." "I told you I didn't want this." "Your legal case." "That's for Zeitlin to worry about." "I only care about protecting my witness-you." "So forgive me if I can't keep a secret." "It was a stupid secret." "Didn't deserve to be kept." "Get out!" "Both of you!" "Please." "Stupid." "I wanna get tested." "Whether he likes it or not." "I'll set it up." "Ow." "Mm." "Hmm." "Hey." "Hey, got your present." "Would have preferred cash." "They're for the video montage." "Um, I know you've been busy lately, so I just dropped it off." "Jesus." "Your perm was violent." "Look, you worked your parachute pants with your jellies." "It's classic." "Just tell me which ones you like and I'll take care of the rest." "Oh, and, uh, don't worry about the ones of dad, because mom said that she would look for something." "Hmm." "Holy..." "Who goes as Gandhi for Halloween?" " It was Sinead o'Connor." " Oh." "Mary, um, you're never tempted to, you know, look for him?" "I mean, with your job and everything?" "Brandi, the man's an FBI fugitive." "The day I find him, I'd cuff him at hello." "I know, but it's been so long." "Peter was saying something about a statute of limitations, or..." "Look, guys like dad don't change, okay?" "The picture you're gonna find is of a guy who held up banks, ditched me and mom and a baby in a crib, and then got a new family and bailed on them too." "Imean..." "you're sensing a pattern here?" "You never know." "Peter says that it takes people a long time to grow into their authentic selves." "Okay, first of all, don't say "authentic selves."" "Second-ow." "You're getting married, so you're all overflowing with perspective and forgiveness, but forgiveness is for people who deserve it." "And dad is still out there doing God knows what, so he's not one of those people, you know?" "He's just..." "He's just the guy in the picture." "Ow." "He's gonna die?" "Actually die, if he doesn't get a transplant?" "There's lists, right?" "People get transplants all the time." "Unfortunately, Tom, the UNOS list is way too long." "And considering your father's condition, the wait would be" "I get it." "Tommy, just find out if you're a match." "He needs you." "And you and Dylan don't?" "If I were single, I'd do it." "I don't want him to die, but" "This surgery could" "Hey, doc." "We'll be right there." " What's wrong?" " What's going on?" " Hey." " Hey." "Meet me at the hospital." "Ben tried to leave." "He ripped out his IVs." " He's crashing." " Oh my God." "We need to go." "Okay, okay." " Go, go." "Hey." "Dr. Wolk, these are Ben's children, Tom and Cecile." " Very nice to meet you." " Hey, thanks." " My father, he's" " He's stable." " Oh, thank God." " But if we're testing family, we should really start that soon." "Cecile was tested this morning." "Unfortunately, she's not a match." "At this point, we need to focus testing on blood relatives." "Wait, what?" "I'm his daughter." "Of course you are." "Of course she is." "Why don't we step outside?" "What are you even saying?" "I was-when my mom brought her home from the hospital," "I was there." "Our test results show your blood type is O." "Your father's is AB." "And..." "If your blood type is O, it's a genetic impossibility that you're your father's biological daughter." "Which explains why he was so adamant about you not being tested." "Oh, my God." "Uh..." "C.C." "I just-um, can we see him?" "I don't care about blood types." "It just- it doesn't matter." "It doesn't mean he's not my father." "But Tom has to get tested, he just has to." "Mary, I have a consult." "Do you have a second?" "Sure, what's up?" "I don't know if you already have an OB, but my friend Dr. Reese is excellent." "Yeah, I'm kind of in the middle of something here." "Mary, you're over 35." "This is your first pregnancy." " You're what we call high-risk." " Take it easy." "Or advanced maternal age." "Okay, now you're just piling on." "Excuse me, Doctor, they need you in pre-op." "Okay, I'll be right there." " I'm serious." " Got it." "Thanks." "All right, keep me posted." "Mary's with Ben, he's coming out of sedation." "So let me get this straight." "Ben's wife gets pregnant by another guy." "That kind of news, most men are out the door so fast," "I'm talking whiplash." "But he sticks around, embraces the kid as his own." "That's our theory anyway." "Well, if it's true, sounds like Ben is a pretty stand-up guy." "When he wasn't a fall-down drunk." "Okay, okay, I get it." "Well, court denied our motion to present videotaped testimony." "So there it is." "We're screwed." "That's the spirit." "So we'll just let Saken walk." "Unless Tom gets tested, we might as well." "No liver, no witness." "No trial." "I swear to God, daddy issues- they'll kill you every time." "You should see my family." "Oh, I'm seeing them." "My dad used to make us do laps around the track every day before the sun came up." "When you were 13, he'd strap five pounds to each leg." "Years later I asked him why." "He said-well, he'd done a tour in Korea, he said, uh, "in case the enemy ever come over that hill," "I wanted to make sure you could run."" "Very interesting guy my father was." "Hey." "Okay, I'll meet you there." "Two of us, some serious dad-talk later, I'll bring the beer." "Mm." "All right, buddy." " Oh-ho-ho, close one." " I'll get it." "All right, here you go." "Good kick." "Oh, yeah, yeah!" "If you've come for my liver, I still haven't made up my mind." "We're not here to lecture or cajole." "You're gonna do what you're gonna do." "Come on, dad!" "Go get it, Dylan!" "You know they take 70% of your liver when you donate?" "70." "Looked it up." "Most of which regenerates over time." "Still, it's a high-risk surgery." "It is, it's a big decision." "But before you make it, you need to talk to a doctor." "You need to talk to your dad." "Yeah, so we can fight about this too?" "Oh, sprinty little fella, aren't you?" "Hey, gimme that." "Fetch!" "Ugh!" "That'll take care of it." "What?" "Look, your dad was a neanderthal about the gay thing, okay." "He wasn't the first, he won't be the last." "Same with the drinking." "But the roof over your head, the TV dinners or whatever, even after your mom died." " He was there physically." " Physically counts." "Maybe he hasn't changed." "What do I know?" "But you won't know ever." "Unless you talk to him." "He's dying, Tom." "You have a chance to know your dad again." "Or see if he's the same old son-of-a-bitch." "Got it, got it!" "That's what this is all about." "Kids need a father." "There's a chance this surgery could kill me." "Look, I'm not looking to convince you either way." "It's not my job." "But if your father dies without you getting tested..." "Look, you wanna protect your child." "I'm not gonna argue with that." "Come on, dad." "Quit talking." "Dad, kick it back." "Let's go, buddy." "Let's go play some soccer." "Sorry about that, sir." "Oh, C.C." "Sweetheart, you gotta know." "I need you to." "Your mother and I, we loved you and Tommy just the same." "Daddy, come on." "That you didn't love us the same wasn't even a question." "It's just-you couldn't have told me?" "I didn't want you to think badly of your mother." "She was a good woman." "I wasn't always there for her." "I was half in the bottle most of the time." "I know." "It's okay." "I know." "You're gonna get better." "And we'll have plenty of time to talk about this." "Have you heard from Tom?" "No, not today." "Tommy, when he told me about, you know, being gay..." "I was scared..." "For him." "Why choose a life where so many people are just-they're gonna hate you?" "And for no good reason." "It's not really a choice." "I wanted to protect him, you know?" "Save him from all the-whatever came." "So I was tough on him." "I never told him how proud..." "The-the kind of man he is." "The kind of father." "Dad?" "Tommy." "Hey." "Uh, sorry it took me so long to" "You got nothing to apologize for." "Nothing." "It's me who should be sorry." "You're just saying that 'cause you want my liver." "Aw, okay." "I deserved that." "You really do, you know." "Tommy, I just wanted you happy." "That's all." "You were a lousy father." "Yeah." "Whether you make a lousy grandfather," "I guess I wouldn't mind finding out." "So you'll get tested?" "Already did." "Daddy!" "Hey!" "Ahh, yeah." "How you doing, buddy?" "Look who's here, huh?" "Are you back from your trip, pop-pop?" "Yeah, pickle, pop-pop's back." "Procreation is remarkable in its complexity." " Here we go." " And its relative simplicity." " Kill me now." " But what comes after." "The family dynamics, the hopes and dreams, the triumphs and tragedies." "Sweet Jesus, shut your hole." "That's the tricky stuff." "I can't believe I'm pregnant." "No, you can't and yes, you are." "I'm not sure I know how to do this." "Just like you said, treat it like a witness." "Protect, relocate." "Yeah." "We'll make a list." " You like lists." " I do like lists." "I'll draw up a template tomorrow with "locate nearest restroom" on every other line." "Can I walk you out?" "I'll let you get the door." "No, I've got some stuff to finish up." "Okay." "We'll talk more tomorrow." "Don't threaten me." "♪ ♪" "Growing up sucks." "The days of cookies, dreams, and the ice cream man do their flickering fade to black, like some wounded firefly, or a nightlight on the Fritz." "Children become parents, parents become helpless, and dreams you thought you'd always dream slip silent out the door." "But ultimately, in sickness and in health, for better or worse," "when you look at your life with a hard, unflinching eye, there's only one real certainty:" "That growing never stops." "♪ ♪" "That and the "death and taxes" thing."