06x01 - When the Rooster Dies

[bunniefuu]

Well, I guess
this is the last of it.

All right,
have I forgotten anything?

- I don't think so...
I packed your diplomas,

your personal papers,
your coffee cup,

and your framed photograph
of me.

I don't... I don't... I don't have
a framed photograph of you.

You do now.

Laverne, we've worked together
for a very long time.

It's not like I'm gonna forget
what you look like...

No matter how hard I try.

Well, thank you for that.

Laverne, I understand
if you're a little upset.

This is a big change for you.

Hey, if you want to up
and sell your practice

to the first joker
that comes along,

that's your business.

Laverne, do you know
why I sold the practice?

Got tired of my hickory stories?

No...

Well, not entirely.

It's just, I've been
a pediatrician

for such a long time,

and there are so many other
things I want to do.

Besides, once you get to know
Dr. Tyler,

I think you're really
gonna like him.

Don't you worry about me.

I'll treat that man
with the same respect

I always gave you.

Laverne...

Give the guy a break!

Doctor, I am a professional.

Conditions change.
Life goes on.

Like we say back in hickory,

"when the rooster dies,

get an alarm clock."

Words to live by.

Well...

I guess this is it.

Come here, Laverne.

Cock-a-doodle-doo,
Dr. Weston.

♪ Life goes on

♪ and so do we

♪ I'm always here

♪ for anything you need...

♪ ...we share it all

♪ as life goes on

Good morning, dreyfuss.

We have to be very quiet.

It's daddy's first day
of retirement,

and I want him to sleep
as late as he wants...

Although I have read
that some people

just sort of vegetate
when they retire.

They lose interest in living.

They just lie there
until they...

Waste away and die.

My god, it's 8:15.

He's lost the will to live.

Daddy!

Daddy, get up!
Get up!

- Good morning, honey.
- Daddy!

Thank god you're alive!

Wait... sweetheart, what...
What's the matter?

Nothing.

So have you made any plans
for an active, productive day?

Yeah, well, I have a meeting
at the hospital later,

and after that, I thought
I'd come home and just vegetate.

- No, no.
That's a bad idea.

You have a lot to do...
Shopping, packing,

purposeful activity.

It's important
to keep busy, daddy.

Yeah, I suppose.

Listen, I-I was in the garage
looking for my luggage.

- Good!
- Climbing that ladder... excellent.

- Yeah, but...
But where is my luggage?

Emily took it
when she went back to school.

You mean all I have
for my trip is my garment bag?

Not quite.

Patrick borrowed it
when he went to New York.

Gee, I bought that luggage
to travel around the world,

but I was...

Kind of hoping to be with it
when it went.

Well, we have a million things
to take care of.

Where should we start?

- Well, I thought I would just...
Whoa, whoa, whoa,

where... where...
Where do we start?

Well, you didn't think
I'd let you do everything

on your own, did you, daddy?

Well, for one wild,
glorious moment, I...

No, I guess not.

Hey, westons.

Good, Charley.

You're just in time
for breakfast.

You switched brands.

Thanks for thinking
of me, Carol,

but food is the farthest thing
from my mind.

A mind is the farthest thing
from your mind.

Harry, I've been thinking
about your trip to Europe.

- Yeah, what about it?
- Nothing special, except...

Please don't go.

Please, Harry.
Please, please, please.

Charley, what's the matter?

What if I need you?

I mean, you're gonna be gone
a whole month.

Six weeks.

All right,
little less than a month.

But even so,
what if I need your advice?

I have full confidence
that you can handle any decision

with wisdom and good sense.

- Gee, you really...
You really mean that, Harry?

Ha ha, absolutely.

Just don't make any decisions
that affect me.

That's for me.

I hope you don't mind.
I kind of have an appointment.

I asked her to meet me here.

Charley, I find it repulsive...

Nay, repugnant
that you use our home

for your tawdry liaisons.

Charley, no more
of your babes in this house.

♪ I'm back

Sophia, what are you doing here?

I missed the old neighborhood.

Now that I see all of you, I...

Can't imagine why.

So what's up, doc?

Still scaring little kids?

No, dear, as a matter of fact,
I'm retired.

Well, welcome
to the death watch.

I moved back into shady pines.

Why don't you come down
sometime and...

Play doctor?

Well, dear, it's nice to see
you haven't lost

your sense of humor.

But I lost my sense of taste.

Nothing.

Sophia, are you gonna be
at shady pines permanently?

At my age, I'm not gonna be
anywhere permanently.

You ready?

I told Sophia
I'd take her shopping

and help her get settled in.

Charley,
that's very generous of you.

- Very generous of me...
I said I'd pay him 50 bucks.

You said 60.

- Fine. 60 is fine.
You want 60, you got 60.

He's not gettin' a penny.

So I land in London,
then I go to Scotland,

then back to London.

Then to Italy, back to London,

to Greece, back to London,

czechoslovakia
and back to London.

Good lord, Harry,
who laid this trip out for you?

Royal London airways.

Anyway, the board's got
a little favor to ask you.

You know that clinic
we run on canal street.

- Yeah.
- It's a tough neighborhood.

Thing is they're asking
for a big budget increase.

We'd like you to go down there
and evaluate the situation.

If you remember,
Dr. Saxon went last year.

I remember.

Did they ever find his car?

Come on, Harry, it's not
that bad a neighborhood.

Did they ever find his car?

Most of it.

- Why don't you go, Marty?
Come on, why send me?

Because, Harry,
you're the logical choice,

you have the experience.
You have the free time.

And...
You got the oldest car.

Yeah, excuse me.

Hi, I'm Harry Weston.
Dr. Douglas is expecting me.

Hey, buddy,
there's people ahead of you.

No, no, no, dear.

I'm... i'm... I'm not a patient.
I'm a doctor.

Yeah?

I-I bet you never saw
anything like this before.

Now, now, leave this man alone.

Dr. Douglas will get to you.
I promise.

Come this way, please, doctor.
- Fine.

Thank you, dear.

Dr. Douglas, the pinch-butt
from the hospital is here.

Dr. Weston,
I'm Maxine Douglas.

Hi.

Excuse me.

Did your nurse just call me
"pinch-butt"?

I have to apologize for Irene.

She thinks all you doctors
on the board

are a bunch of prima Donnas

who only come down here
to check up on us peasants.

Where did she get
an idea like that?

From me.

Doctor, I think
you have the wrong idea.

I'm not here to check up on you.

- Okay, so...
Why are you here?

Well, to go over
your budget request

and maybe look
at some of your records,

patient files,
receipts for expenditures,

payroll...

Okay. I'm here
to check up on you.

You know, something tells me

you're not like
the other doctors on the board.

You strike me as sensitive...

Perceptive, intelligent...

Nice height.

Are you trying to butter me up?

Hell, yeah.

Well, in that case,
you forgot ruggedly handsome.

No, I didn't.

Well, your expenditures
don't seem to be out of line,

and, boy, you haven't bought
any new equipment

in quite some time.

Tell me about it.

I'm tired of guessing
people's weight.

Well, it's hard to see where
else you could reduce expenses.

Starting next week,
our payroll will be cut in half.

- That's great.
- How are you managing that?

My nurse is quitting.

She says she can't afford
to raise her family

on the salary we pay.

- Is it really that bad?
- Well, let me put it this way...

She's going back to Haiti.

Well, Dr. Douglas,
it looks to me

like your budget increase
is entirely justified.

I hope the rest of the board
feels that way.

Well, I'm sure they'll take
my recommendation.

That's why the sent me here.

Either that,
or you got the oldest car.

- This is interesting.
- What's interesting?

In the last 100 years,


have committed su1c1de

by jumping off the Eiffel Tower.

Carol, why are you
telling me this?

Heads up when you come
out of the gift shop.

I think I got to take a walk.

Hey! Jeez.

Laverne, what are you doing
just standing there?

Well, I's fixin'
to ring the bell,

if you'd give a person
half a chance.

- Well, I'm sorry.
I didn't know you were there.

Why'd you open the door?

Please, come on in.

Well, I can't stay long.

I just dropped by to give you
a little bon voyage present.

Laverne,
that's very sweet of you.

Would you like a cup of coffee?

- Thank you. I will.
- How do you take it?

Usually with toast
and scrambled eggs.

So are you getting along okay
with Dr. Tyler?

Well, as tater Norton
says back in hickory...

Here we go.

"No."

And then he usually spits.

- Laverne, come here.
What's the problem?

Doctor, do you know
some people are just so bright,

so capable,
so good at everything they do

that just bein' around 'em
makes you feel incompetent?

Laverne, you should never
feel that way.

- I don't.
Dr. Tyler does.

- Wait... wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

You made Dr. Tyler
feel incompetent?

- I must've.
That sucker fired me.

Well, what happened?

I mean, why did he fire you?

That man
was completely unreasonable,

come in there,
makin' changes left and right,

actin' like he owned the place.

Laverne, he does own the place.

Well, he don't own me.

Just find me another job.

Well, I'm sure
you won't have any trouble.

I'll be... I'll be very happy
to write you

a letter of recommendation.

You already did.

Now, if you would just sign
right here.

I pretty much knew
what you gonna say.

"A modern-day
Florence nightingale

with just a touch
of Eleanor Roosevelt"?

You got a problem with that?

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Weston,
very much.

Okay, I'll be gettin' along.

I've got me a ton of doctors
to interview.

Laverne...

Laverne, it's the doctor
who does the interviewing,

remember?

I interviewed you.

You think so?

Mochaccinos.

Hello?

Hey, Marty, what's up?

Marty, you can't do that.

Marty, listen to me!

I gave her my promise.

Well, I think that's lousy.

No, no, no, no, no, I...

No, I'll tell her myself.

Daddy, what is it?

The hospital board
of directors...

They're closing down the clinic.

Carol, what are you doing
with my luggage?

Daddy, this will save you
precious time in the morning.

Remember, a tardy traveler
is a troubled traveler.

I'll try to remember that, dear.

- My god.
- What? What is it?

You have no luggage tags.

I'll muddle through somehow.

Daddy, remember,
many bags look alike.

Also remember the white zone
is for immediate loading and...

- Carol!
I'm gonna go get luggage tags.

- Go, go, go, go.
Chh, chh, chh.

Aye!

Laverne, what did you do...

Get a job
as a jehovah's witness?

Hello, doctor.

I just came over
to say good-bye.

- Well, thank you, dear.
But didn't you already do that?

Well, that was good-bye
for you leavin'.

This good-bye's for me leavin'.

- You?
- Yeah.

I'm givin' up Florida.

I'm givin' up my apartment,
and I'm givin' up nursin'.

I'm goin' back to hickory

and live out my days
rockin' on the front porch...

Not necessarily in a chair.

- Laverne, come on.
Get in here. Let's go.

Come on, come on,
come on, come on.

Laverne, what's the matter?

I mean, couldn't you find a job?

Found a great job

workin' for a prominent
plastic surgeon.

- Come here. So...
What's the problem?

Doctor, I did not become a nurse

to help a bunch
of overage beauty queens

have their wrinkles filled in,

their skin sanded down,
and their jowls jacked up.

Hell, I felt like I's workin'
for Earl scheib.

So what are you gonna do
back in hickory?

I'm gonna work for Earl scheib.

- Laverne, come on.
Come on.

What's really going on with you?

It's that darn practice
of yourn.

I didn't realize
how attached to it I was.

I'm like some convict
what just got out of prison.

I can't make it
on the outside, doctor.

Laverne, you are a talented
and dedicated nurse.

Well, they's no question
about that.

I mean, you have too much
to offer to let it go to waste.

There's a whole world in need
out there.

Think I'm bein' a tad selfish?

I think
what you really have to do

is find someplace
where you're needed

and then
just meet that challenge.

- You're right.
I have value.

I am Laverne higby Todd.

I am nurse.

That's the spirit.

Once again, I find myself
in your debt, doctor.

- That's okay, Laverne.
- No, it ain't.

I hate bein' in your debt.

Well...

Good-bye again.

Okay.

Laverne...

All right.

May I come in?

Do you have accident insurance?

I have a feeling
if anything happens to me,

it... it won't be
an accident.

You got "on purpose" insurance?

Look,
if it makes any difference,

I mean, I understand
how necessary this place is.

I was up all night
thinking about it.

Aw...

You lost a night's sleep.

People in this neighborhood
lost a whole lot more.

You know, if... if you get down
of you high horse for a minute,

maybe there's a way
they won't have to.

- Okay, I'm dismounting.
Now, what are you talking about?

I'm talking about keeping
this place open.

You don't need the hospital.

Run it as a private clinic.

My own clinic?

What a great idea!

I'll just call my broker,

cash in my securities,
and sell the racehorse.

No.

I don't have a quarter
for the phone.

Look, I-I called in
a few favors last night,

and I have commitments
that'll keep this place going

for another two months.

That'd just be postponing
the inevitable.

Isn't that
what practicing medicine is...

Postponing the inevitable?

You really think
I can do this on my own?

Not a chance.

Did I miss something here?

No, you can't do it
on your own, but...

We could do it together.

What... you and me?

What, you have some trouble
working with a pinch-butt?

What about your trip to Europe?

I canceled it.

Here's the money
I was gonna spend on it.

Consider it
our first official donation.

This is all
you were gonna spend in Europe?

How were you going...
As an au pair?

- Come on, come on.
What do you say?

All right.
We'll do it.

Well, you sure you know
what you're getting into?

I can be a pretty bossy partner.

You can't tell me about bossy.

I spent eight years working
with the best in the business.

Well, don't just stand there.

Put this stuff back
in the storeroom.

- Here we go. That's it.
There you go.

Excuse me.

I came about this ad
for a nurse,

and, here's my resume.

- Job doesn't pay much.
- I'm used to that.

We work long hours.

You should know
I'm a perfectionist

when it comes to patient care.

So am I.

Well, then I think
you just might do.

If this checks out,
you got a job.

Not so fast.

I like the doctor I work for
to be punctual.

I'm extremely punctual.

And I speak my mind

if they's somethin'
botherin' me...

Hell, even if they's nothin'
botherin' me.

I wouldn't have it
any other way.

Well, then I think
you just might do.

- Great.
When do I start?

How 'bout now?

Okay. Here.

Hey, partner, I think
we got ourselves a new nurse.

That's great,

because one of the first things
I want to do is...

- And this will be your desk.
- I like it.

And the air conditioner
and electricals are over here.

The bathroom's over there.

Okey-dokey.

There's your parking space.

And there goes my car
going down the street.

Excuse me.
Hey!

Ain't you got the club?