Like Dandelion Dust (2009)

[bunniefuu]

Police.
Is anybody home?

Sir, could you step to the door?

- Yeah.
- Sir, we received a 911 call.

Is everything okay?

My wife was upset. She might have called.

- Everything's fine now.
- Sir, could you open the door?

What's your name, sir?

It's Porter. Rip Porter.

Mr. Porter, could you step inside?

Go ahead and have a seat, sir.

Mr. Porter, is your wife here?

I don't know. She might be upstairs.

Wen.
Wendy!

Mrs. Porter? Police.

Wendy?

Mrs. Porter?
Police officer.

Mrs. Porter.

Ma'am, are you all right?

- Wen!
- Stop resisting, sir.

Get off! Get off!

Wendy.

Just to the right over there.

There you go. Perfect.

See, you want to go
right down the middle of this channel.

Can I drive by myself, Daddy?

You can drive when we
get outside of the marina. Okay, bud?

Okay.

- Hey, Daddy?
- Yep.

Am I just a rookie at this?

What'd you say? A rookie?

- That's a big boat?
- Yeah.

It's, like, 200 feet.

Think we're gonna see any fish?

I could give you a mask, throw you
in the water. You'd see plenty of fish.

- You having fun?
- Yeah.

I love you, boy.

Hey, Joey. Should I sing Mommy a tune?
Yeah?

Yes, please sing a tune, sweetheart.

♪ Molly ♪

How's that for an intro?

It'd be good if you knew
a few more chords.

Look, Mommy.

What is this? Is this your story?

Yep.

Sweetie, this is beautiful.

Will you help me with the words?

Of course, but not right now
because it's time for bed.

But I have to finish my story.

Nice try, kiddo. Go to bed.
Listen to your mama.

Tomorrow, you can finish your story.

Right now it is 7:00,
and you haven't even had a bath yet.

Get Mr. Growls.

- Will you sing a song first?
- A song?

- Daddy, don't do it.
- Joey.

Don't do it, Daddy.

This is a little song I wrote
for you about bedtime.

Oh, no!
He did it!

♪ Joey, Joey, Joey
better get his butt to bed ♪

♪ Or Daddy, Daddy, Daddy's
gonna drop him on his head ♪

- ♪ Come on ♪
- Daddy.

Kiss your son good night.

- Good night, Daddy.
- Good night. Night, Mama.

- See you in a second.
- Okay. You win.

That's right, Son. Daddy always wins.

I just want you to know...

You did the right thing.

Okay?

♪ I was making a living ♪

Okay.

♪ And I forgot to live ♪

♪ I've lost you forever ♪

Father Logan, when I was leaving today...

He wrote down his number, and...

He said we can call him
anytime we need him if we need anything.

So, I just want-
I want you to- I want you to take that.

I want you to-
I want you to hold on to it.

And if, you know, we need to call him...

You just give it to me...

and I'll call him.

That okay?

Okay.

Last night was so terrifying.

I was afraid that I would come out...

And... you wouldn't be there...

That I'd be alone, you know.

Oh, baby.

I told you I'd be there.

Thank you.

- I love this.
- Yeah?

- Little greasy.
- No.

Is that it?

Is there anything you-
anyplace you want to go? Anything...

You know what I'd really like to do,
actually, is go to a craft store.

You're sweet.

Get some yarn and some beads?

I love your hair like that.

Thanks. It's a little darker.

Little bit.

That's neat.

- Come on.
- All right, Joey.

Come on, Joey. Put it right in the glove.

- Strike.
- Stee-rike!

- Yeah.
- Daddy!

- Very nice.
- Dad. Dad, throw it here.

- All right. Pop-up.
- I got it.

Can you see? Look there, little guy.

Oops! Hey.

Ready? Here I go.

- Want some chicken?
- I'm full, honey.

- Are you sure?
- Enough with the meat.

- No, no. Bring it on.
- So how's business, Bill?

Well, you know, it'll pick up.

Well, my offer still stands.
You know that.

I know. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Why don't you let Jack help you out, Bill?
It'd be an investment for us.

Look, we're so good. Thank you.

- Have you thought about my offer?
- What's that?

Beth wants to start taking Joey
to church with them.

Really?

Don't you think it's important
that he's raised with good values?

- Sweetheart?
- Excuse me. Need anything?

I got some rib eye coming next.
I'll be right back.

Okay, thanks. Sounds good.

I know. I know.

Hey, buddy.

Hey, buddy, come here. Come on.

Come here.
Hey, look at you! Hey, Camper.

- How you doing?
- Your daddy's home!

Your daddy's home, Camper.

- Honey!
- Phew.

- Are you okay?
- Yep.

- He bit you in the face.
- No, it's...

- Camper, you bad dog!
- He's just doin' his job.

I'm so sorry.
Let's get you cleaned up.

I can't believe that.

What a way to come home?

You know, we're gonna have
two salaries coming in.

We could fix things up a bit here.

- That would be great.
- Yeah.

You know, baby, I was thinking
that once I get settled in...

We save a bit of money...

We could start trying again.

You know?

What do you think?

Do you want to start a family?

Let's start a family.

- Really?
- Yeah.

It'd be that new life we talked about.

He could be the new me.

You want a boy?

Yeah.

I think every man wants a son, right?

Come on. Run, Joey. Run!

It's cold.

I tell you, I should get your sister
to come over more often.

Get some dishes done around here.

That's funny.

- I'm just sick of it.
- What's the big deal? Just let him go to church.

Him going or not going is not the issue.
He's our son.

- She has no right.
- Sweetie. Hey.

She's just jealous.

You got all the looks, the talent.

You got me.

- It's perfectly understandable.
- Really?

I'm glad you think this is amusing,
because I don't.

Rip. What's up, man?
How are you?

Yo, Rip.

Who's that?

- This was a great night.
- Yeah.

You look like an angel.

Rip, I need to talk to you
about something.

Yeah?

What?

What is it, baby?

Whatever it is, it's okay.
You can tell me, you know.

After you went away...

It was so hard for me, Rip.

It was just so hard.

- I know. Honey, I'm sorry.
- No.

I couldn't even find a
job at first, and then...

then I...

I found out I was pregnant.

You what?

And I didn't want to have an abortion,
because it was...

It was a part of you and me, Rip.

But I just...

I just kept thinking...

About how hard my childhood was...

With my father...

And how hard yours was...

And with how things were
between you and me at that time.

I just thought it was better for...

So, my mother, she signed for you.

I gave the baby up for adoption.

I gave him away.

Please say something, Rip.

You said "him".

You said "him". It was a boy?

I gave him away.

I gave away our boy.

I'm so sorry.

This is okay.

I couldn't have been a father, honey-
not then, not the man I was then.

You don't have to say that, sweetheart.

Honey, don't cry.

Baby, we gotta get him back.

We can't.

- We gave him away.
- No.

Baby, I didn't sign anything.
I didn't sign anything.

We need to get our son back.

Okay? I'm gonna make this right for you.

Okay? Come here.
Come here.

It's okay.

It's okay. All right?

We'll get him back.

Gotta go!
I gotta go! I gotta go!

Careful, sweetie.
You have the eggs.

- Why'd you give me the eggs?
- 'Cause it was the lightest one.

- I gotta pee!
- Okay. Remember to put the toilet seat down.

Put it up first, and then put it down.

I know how to use the toilet, Mommy.

This is Alyson Bower of the
Ohio Department of Child Services.

I'm calling for Mr. and Mrs....

Your Honor I'd just like to point out..

That this child is in private school...

And he's very well-adjusted.

Whereas, these people, the birth parents,
have no parental experience.

I appreciate it, Mrs. Bower,
but that doesn't change the forgery.

Have a seat.

- Thank you.
- Mrs. Porter?

Who signed these papers?

Well, I assumed my husband did.

- I can explain, Your Honor-
- I wasn't talking to you.

Mrs. Porter.

After Rip was put away...

I decided to adopt out the baby.

And so I took the papers to the prison...

But because Rip and I
weren't on speaking terms...

I gave them to a guard to give to him...

And someone on the inside
must have signed his name.

Let's find out who did sign those papers,
he's going to the same prison you did.

Yes, sir.

You're going to tell me...

That you didn't know about the
pregnancy or the adoption?

No, sir, not until a couple weeks ago.

And now you want to be a father?

Yes, sir.

Before I was incarcerated,
I was a very different man...

certainly not fit to be
a husband or a father.

And, my alcoholism...

Is a progressive illness...

And healing is lifelong.

And I've spent the last seven years
rehabilitating.

And the one thing
that I've held on to, sir...

Is- is my hope.

My hope for a family...

To repair the damage that I've done...

And my desire to be a father.

She's been in court all day?
What's going on?

Just let me try to talk to her.

Allyson Bower.
Jack Campbell returning your call.

What kind of situation?

Living room, kitchen table.

Got a few fish.

And he's got his own room.

I'm doing a bit of work on it.

We just got some toys today.

Yeah, we got him a train set.

Have you given any thought to schools?

Yes. The public school's
just down the street here...

And it's got a very good
student-teacher ratio.

I actually went there.
It's a good school.

- So you're a local girl.
- Yeah.

All right. What about his diet?

Yeah. Mom?

I've actually planned out
all of his meals already.

Lots of protein and veggies.

No fried.
No fried food.

We're cutting that out.
No more fast food.

- Right.
- I've even made a schedule.

These are all child safety locks,
by the way.

Yep. Installed them myself.

Well, there's a lot more
to raising a child than toys and locks.

We know.

Look, I can see that
you've worked really hard...

But that doesn't change the fact
that you are ripping this boy away...

From the only life he's ever known.

He's coming from another world.

Do you have any idea
what that's going to do to him?

Have you thought about it?

I don't understand why this is our problem.
They made the mistake.

They should have notarized the signature.

You're right. You wanna sue Ohio D.C.S.?
We'll probably win.

I don't wanna sue, Tom.
This isn't about money.

But we got a problem.
It's Ohio case law.

It's firm.

There were eight forged adoptions,
all invalidated.

And in every case, the child was returned
to the biological parents.

- This judge has no choice.
- You gotta help me, Tom.

Please. There's gotta be somethin'.

Look, Jack. Listen to me.

We won a lot of battles together,
you and me...

But we're not gonna win this one.

So let me tell you
what I would do if it were me.

I would stop wasting my time
talking to lawyers.

Do you follow me?

The interior's good. Yeah.

All right. We got her.

What do you think?

I've been thinking a lot about him.

I just...

I'm scared. I want this
to work out so bad, and...

Honey.

You're gonna be a great father.

- Jack, how are you?
- Thanks for coming. Please, sit down.

You're talking about reversing
the ruling of an Ohio judge.

I have no legal authority.

Curtis, you're a congressman.

Call in some favors for me.
Twist some arms. I know how it works.

It's the state judiciary,
and I can't interfere with that.

What if it was your son?

What if it was Max?
Think about that.

Come on, Jack. That's not fair.

There's a woman coming down here
in three days to take Joey.

- Do you understand that?
- Hey, hey, hey. Calm down.

Look, I realize
it's an election year, okay?

And these aren't popular
cases to be associated with.

What are you talking about?

This has nothing to do with my political career.
Are you kidding me?

I'm asking you to put yourself
on the line for once...

To save my son.

Look.

I know you're under a lot of pressure.
I know that.

But I'm sorry. I can't.

I'd like to help you, Jack, but...

It's a state matter.

My hands are tied.

I'm sorry.

Send him to your parents.

That's the first place
they'll look, honey.

Well, if he's not here
when they get here, what...

Then they'll send us to jail.

What good are we then?

We have to send him on the first visit.

Just until I can figure something out.

Let me see these feet.

Hey, you count one, two, three,
all right?

- One-
- Two.

Three.

Mama.

That was a good one.

It was all...

cr*ck, cr*ck, cr*ck.

Hey, Joey. Hey, Joe.

I want to tell you something.

You're gonna go on a little trip...

To a place called Ohio.

All right?

Where's Ohio?

It's pretty far,
so you're gonna have to take a plane.

But remember, you love planes, right?

Why do I have to go?

Well...

There's this woman,
and she's really nice.

You don't remember her, but she knew you
when you were a little baby.

And she asked
if you could come for a visit...

And Daddy and I said yes.

Hey, Joey.

Everything's gonna be fine, all right?

You got nothing to be afraid of.

Look at me, buddy. Hey.

You got nothing to be afraid of.

I want you to come with me.

I can't.

I wanna stay here with you.

You listen to me.

Your mother and I
will always be with you...

No matter where you go.

You understand that?

Okay.

I love you.

Ms. Bower.

Good morning.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, I'm very sorry.

I know this must be difficult.

"Difficult"?

Do they teach you to say that,
Ms. Bower?

There are a couple of things
I need to go over with you.

This has the itinerary
and all of my information in it.

Now, on the first visit...

We're gonna tell Joey
that the Porters are just friends.

The next time, we'll refer to them
as "the other Mommy and Daddy".

And on the final visit,
he'll be told the truth.

Do you have children, Mrs. Bower?

Yes. Yes, I do.

And I am very sorry.

All right, all right.
What if something happens?

- I'm sorry?
- Ms. Bower.

I know why Rip Porter went to prison.

Mr. Porter's had years of rehabilitation...

and anger management.

Come on.

And the court
has deemed him a fit parent.

Now, I've personally been to their home.

- It's a suitable environment.
- A suitable environment?

Joey's not going anywhere.
You can leave now, Ms. Bower.

Good-bye.

Mr. Campbell,
I understand your frustration...

But it's either me...

Or two uniformed police officers.

I've done it both ways.

Believe me, this way is best for Joey.

Ms. Bower...

If anything happens to my son
while I'm clearing this mess up...

I'm gonna hold you personally responsible.

Jack. Jack.

Come here, baby.

Good morning.
You must be Joey. I'm Allyson.

Hey, sweetie?

- Listen to Mom, okay?
- No.

This is the woman that's
gonna take you to Ohio.

No!

- It's okay, sweetie.
- No!

Baby, it's gonna be okay.
Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

- I don't wanna go! - It's gonna be okay.
We'll be right here when you get back.

- Will you give me a moment with my family?
- Of course.

Come here, sweetie.

We have to put your jacket on.

Listen.

I want you to be a big boy, okay?

Okay, you be brave.
I know you can.

I wanna stay with you.

Will you come with me to the airplane?

We can't go with you to the airplane.

- I'm gonna take you to the car, okay?
- No.

- I'm sorry.
- Please, I don't want to go.

Please don't take me.
I don't wanna go!

No, I don't wanna go!

Rip, they're here.

They're here.

- He's got your eyes.
- Yeah?

- Ain't that somethin'?
- Hello.

Let me get the gate for ya.

Ready?

Mr. and Mrs. Porter, this is Joey.

Hi there.

What a big, handsome boy you are.

Welcome to our home.

Can I give you a hug?

This is my wife, Wendy...

And...

My name's Richard.

Some people call me Rip.
You can call me whatever you want.

- Nice to meet you.
- Joey?

Rip and Wendy are your new friends.

Now, you need to listen to them
and obey them...

Just as you would your parents.

You understand?

Is that your suitcase?
Can I get it for you?

You got an elephant in there?

You wanna see your room?
I fixed it up myself for you.

Hey, we got a dog in
the back named Camper.

- I got a dog named Gus.
- In the backyard there.

Yeah? Well, come on in.

I need you to sign right there.

Thank you for everything.

Just remember that he's six
and in a new world.

I'll check in tomorrow.

I want their address, Tom.
I want to know where he works.

Give me his rap sheet,
anything else you can get your hands on.

I need this done, and I need it now.

- You understand?
- You need to be careful Court orders...

I've been careful, Tom, and Joey's gone.

- Now, please.
- Okay I'll take care of it

I'm gonna go to Ohio
and see what this guy wants.

- This is so cool!
- Yeah?

Wait. Check this out.

For bringing up lunch.

Oh, yeah.

Get up on top.

- Ready?
- Yep.

All right.
Okay, you're gonna put it in up here.

Watch my fingers.

Give her a good smack.
There you go.

Yeah!

- One, two, three.
- Camper. Go get it!

- Cookies!
- Hey!

Actually, sorry.

No girls allowed.

Aw. I guess I'm gonna
have to take them back then.

You have some cookies, so you can come up.

- I guess you can come up if
you have cookies. - Okay.

So, little Joe, what do you like to do?

I mostly like to sail.

I know how to steer a boat myself.

Do your mom and dad have a boat?

Yeah, a big sailboat.
But it also has a motor.

You know what we could do?

We could go up to Dillon Lake tomorrow.

They got these little boats
that you can rent. You can steer it.

- How 'bout that?
- Yeah, that could be fun.

I'm done with my cookies now.

So, ready to take a shower, little man?

I don't like showers.

Listen, you gotta get cleaned up
before bed, right?

Can't go to bed dirty.

I don't wanna shower.

I just wanna go home.

Can I please go home?

Babe, you know what?

What you could do
is go to the bathroom with Wendy...

And just wash up your face and hands...

And, you know, maybe that'll
make you feel better.

- Yeah.
- Okay? All right?

That's a great idea.

But, next time...

You gotta take a shower, okay?

Okay.

- Hey, let's test the rope swing.
- Yeah!

- All right.
- Oh, boy.

- Ready?
- Have fun.

All right.

That's pretty cool.

Help!

- All right. Your turn.
- Okay.

What a cute nose you have.

Is it kind of upturned?

Kind of like mine.

It's grape juice.

Non-fermented.

A toast...

To my perfect wife...

And my perfect son.

You know...

I've been thinkin' a lot
about the day that he was born...

And how I felt when they
took him away from me...

Out of my arms...

And how I was never gonna...

See his little head again...

Or smell his skin.

Hey.

It's okay.

Nobody...

Nobody's gonna take him
away from us again, okay?

I know.

It's okay.

It's just...

His mother must be feeling
the same way I did, maybe worse.

Yeah.

But, babe, somebody's gonna lose.

It's not gonna be us this time.

You are his mother...

And we are his parents...

And it's right for him to be with us.

Okay?

- Okay.
- Just remember.

Appreciate dinner thank you.

Yeah, of course.

So, did Beth mention that we're going away
in a few weeks to Haiti?

Yeah.

What's in Haiti?

We're gonna take the kids
on their first mission trip.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, we got our new church
to sponsor an orphanage...

That we've been working with
in Port-au-Prince...

And this year we're gonna help 'em
renovate the compound.

We were thinking that
if you guys wanna come...

It might be a good time to get away.

Or Bill can take the kids,
and I can stay here with you.

- You know, it's really whatever you want.
- Stop!

- What, guys?
- Mom, he's writing on my homework.

- I did not.
- Yeah, you did.

- Not tonight.
- Yeah, you know what? I think it's time for bed.

Right now, please.

- Good night, Uncle Jack.
- Good night.

Good night, Mom.
Good night, Dad.

It's really good for them to see
what other parts of the world can be like.

Maybe you should take them to Ohio.

When does he come back?

He comes back tomorrow afternoon.

And then he goes again in two weeks...

And the next time
he doesn't come back at all.

Hey!

- Hi, buddy!
- What's goin' on, J.?

- I missed you.
- Hi, Dad.

Look what Wendy gave me.

He says it went all right.

And we went to a lake,
and I steered a paddle boat all by myself.

And I didn't want to take a shower...

But Wendy said if I did next time...

She'd get me my own DVD for my room.

- Was Wendy nice to you?
- Yeah.

Wendy was really nice.
She cooks good too.

- How was Rip?
- Good. He's really funny.

We're building a tree house...

And we cut part
of Wendy's pillowcase out...

And then we spray-painted
a skull and crossbones.

And we have a bucket
that, like, she can put something in...

And then we pull it up with the rope.

It's so cool.

They're bribing him.

I never thought
he'd actually want to go back.

- What if he wants to be with them?
- He's six years old.

What if he has some deep connection
to these people?

- Like, he feels that-
- He doesn't even know them.

He came from them, Jack.

Mom, I'm done with my bath.

All right. I'm gonna go to Ohio
first thing in the morning.

- Yo, Rip.
- Yo!

- See you Sunday.
- See you Sunday.

Peace out, man.

- Take it easy.
- See you later.

See you later.

Mr. Porter.

Yeah.

I'm Jack Campbell, Joey's father.

It's good to meet you, Jack.

How much do you want, Rip?

Come again?

This is an amendment
to the original adoption.

You sign this,
I give you half a million dollars in cash.

Here.

- That's a whole lot of money, Jack.
- Yes, sir.

You sign it, I pay you,
and we walk away.

What do you say?

You come up with
$500,000 in cash, Jack...

I'm betting you could
come up with a million.

Okay. Make it a million.

That was fast.
That was fast, Jack.

- Let's make it a million.
- Yeah?

Boy, you said that so fast...

I figure you can come up with two.

Fine. Just sign it.

Two million dollars.

Then I'd be just like you, Jack.

Big house...

Big boat and big sh*t?

Yeah, that's right.
You can be anything you want, Rip.

Anything at all.

What do you want, Rip?
What do you want?

I want my son, okay?

And you can't have him,
not for no money.

Not two million, not 10 million,
'cause my son ain't for sale.

Hold on.
Rip, listen to me one second.

Just listen to me. Please. Please.

With that kind of money,
you could start over.

You could have as many kids as you want.
You understand?

What am I, a dog?
You don't know me.

You don't know me.
What, you can't have any kids?

You got no b*ll*ts
in your g*n, big sh*t?

You don't know me!
You don't know me!

I'll send you back to
prison, you hear me?

You're going to prison!
You're the one violating the court order!

Either way, you can't have my son.

What happened?

He doesn't want the money.

He wants Joey.

Jack, he can't do this.
He assaulted you.

We call the police.
We file a report.

Molly.

It won't work.

Why not?

Because if I report him...

I go to jail too.

Okay.

What do we do?

I don't know.

I don't know.

You don't know?

That's it?

You try to buy him off,
it doesn't work, and now you're done?

What else do you want me to do?

You tell me.
What else should I do, Molly?

I don't know- something, anything.

You're his father.
You don't just give up.

I'm not giving up!
I've done everything!

I don't care what it takes.

I'm not giving up my son.

You know what?
You're something, you know?

- I'm not giving up my son!
- Look at my face!

Look at me!

What a horrible father I am.

I've done everything, Molly.

Why don't you do something?

Do something.

I'm going to bed.

Please! Don't take my baby.

- Oh, baby.
- I know.

- I'm sorry.
- You don't need this, darling.

Baby, don't. I do. I just need it.

- I know. This is not gonna fix things.
- No, no, no, no!

Don't, don't, don't! No, no, no!

Hey! Don't!

Honey, you don't need that.
You don't need that anymore.

Please, baby? You don't need to.

Please, no.

- Get out.
- No, no. Baby, no. No, please.

I love you so much.

Please tell me you've changed, baby.
Please.

Please.

I lost seven years.

You gonna be okay, buddy?

Yeah. We're gonna paint my tree house.

- Joey, you ready to go?
- Yeah.

Bye, Dad.

I love you.

I love you too.

- Put your seat belt on, bud.
- Okay.

Bye, sweetie.

- Paw.
- Nice.

One, two, three!

You stacked his deck.

Hey, just one thing, so I can remember.

Let's you had a birthday coming up...

What would you want to eat
on your birthday?

A chicken cake.

Chicken cake?
Chicken-flavored cake?

- Chicken with cake.
- Chicken with cake?

- A chicken cake. - You want a cake
made in the shape of a chicken?

- No.
- You want chicken inside the cake?

- Chicken inside the cake.
- All right, I'm gonna file that away.

All right, let's go.

One, two, three.

- Joker! I win.
- I win!

You won? I thought joker
was better than everything.

No. That was before.

- Before what?
- When I had joker.

Reminds me of someone.

All right, card shark,
ready to hop in the shower?

I don't want to take a shower.

We gotta get you clean somehow.

Look at you. P. U.

P. U. to you.

Now, listen, we gotta get you in there
and get you cleaned up.

Remember we talked?
We got different rules here.

I need you to go and
jump in the shower. Okay?

You can do it.

You know what?
Why don't I take care of it?

Honey, don't spoil him.

- I'm not spoiling him. It's just that-
- It's fine.

- It's just that I think that-
- He's a big boy.

You're a big boy. Come on.
Get your gear. Let's go.

Come on, bud.

Hop in the shower.

I don't wanna take a shower.

Doesn't work like that
here, buddy. Come on.

I need you to obey me...

And I need you to get in the bathroom.

You know, I think that you're
really upsetting him now.

No, you know what? I'm-I'm-
I'm actually the one who's getting upset.

- So would you just-
- Okay.

Come here.
Come here, sweetie.

Here, we'll go together, okay?

It'll be fun, all right? Come on.

Let's go, Joey.

Please, sweetheart.
It's only water.

It's nothin'.

Come on. What are you doing?

Come on, buddy, in the shower.

- Come on.
- I don't wanna take a shower.

- He's really scared of it.
He's really scared. - It'll be fun.

- I don't think we should push him.
- He's a big boy, baby.

He's not made of sugar.
He's not gonna melt.

- I don't wanna take a shower.
- Just take your shirt off, and let's get going.

- No.
- You wanna do it together?

We'll do it with our clothes on.
Come on. It'll be fun.

Come on.
You ready?

Rip, what are you doing?
Rip, stop it!

Stop that!

- Rip, this is not fun! You're scaring him!
- Right?

- It's okay. We're having fun.
- It's not okay!

It's not fun. You're scaring him.

- He's okay, baby. He's okay. He's fine.
- He's not!

Rip, you're hurting him!
Rip, you're hurting him!

- Stop! You're hurting him!
- Okay.

- This is hurting him. Stop it.
- You okay?

- You're okay.
- No!

You hurt him.

Listen, listen.

I need to tell you something, okay?

Wendy is your real mommy.

- Rip, not now.
- Baby.

This is not the right time.

- And I'm your real daddy, okay?
- No, you're not.

And you came here to live with us.

- No, you're not!
- Yes, I am.

- I'm your real daddy, and this
is your real mommy. - Rip.

- I wanna see my daddy!
- I am your daddy.

- I wanna go home!
- You are home. You are home.

I wanna go home!

- It's okay. It's okay.
- Rip.

It's okay.

- That's enough. That's enough.
- It's okay.

Come here, sweetie.

That's enough for one night.
That's enough.

The first night we moved,
I sat right here.

Right here with Joey.

I remember I asked him, I said, "Son...

How deep do you think the ocean is?"

He said, "Daddy, I bet you
it's 50feet deep."

We used to be on the same team.

I don't feel like we are anymore.

You know, honey, you were right.

I was disappointed when we-
when we adopted Joey.

I wanted my own son.
I wanted my own blood.

But from the moment that he came home...

I loved him like he was mine.

But he's not mine.

They can just take him...

They could just take him away.

Hey, little man.

Hey, Joey.

Do you know about dandelions...

how you can make wishes on 'em?

You just close your eyes, make a wish...

And then... you blow.

Why blow on it?

Because there's a wish inside here.

And when you blow on it...

That wish gets set free.

And then it can come true.

You wanna try it?

Wishes are important, Joey.

You always have to believe that things
can get better than they are now.

Hey.

- What's wrong?
- Hey. What happened?

Well, I think things were
a little more difficult this time.

- Difficult how, Ms. Bower?
- I don't know.

He wouldn't tell me.
Maybe he'll tell you.

Mrs. Porter offered to give you an
extra week to say your good-byes.

- And the judge agreed.
- Okay. Thank you.

Bye, Joey.

- Hey.
- What happened?

Hey, hey. What's the matter?

What happened? Joey?

- Hey, hey. Hey.
- Sweetie?

Joey?

Joey?

Joey, what happened?

Joey, come on.
Sit up and talk to me.

- Come here, sweetie.
- What's going on?

- Talk to me. What happened?
- He hurt me.

He made me take a shower
in my clothes.

- He what?
- Where, sweetie? Where did he hurt you?

Rip did this to you?

He said you're not my
real mommy and daddy.

- Is that true?
- No.

No, sweetheart, that's not true.

That's not true.

An extra week?
Why would you agree to this?

- I didn't agree to it.
- What?

- It was my idea.
- It was your... What?

Why?

'Cause you're not ready.
You need more time.

So you just...
That's your decision, is it?

You just go behind my back
and keep me from my son?

You hurt him, Rip.

I didn't mean to hurt him. I was trying...

But you did hurt him,
and you terrified him.

I'm just trying to protect him-
and you.

Right. How can you say that?

How can you say that when you lie
and you hide these things from me?

I'm not lying. I told you.

I'm telling you.
I'm not hiding anything.

Where you goin'?

I'm gonna go wash my face,
and I'm gonna go to bed.

No! I need to talk to you about this.
You should've told me.

I think you'd better sleep on the couch.

No.

No! Listen.

- Call her back and tell her
you made a mistake. - No.

- Baby, listen to me. Just call her.
- No.

No! I said no! It wasn't a mistake!

Call her!

Get the camera.
I want a sh*t of that bruise right now.

- Who are you calling?
- Allyson Bower.

Call Dr. Riley and tell him that I'll be
in there in 15 minutes with Joey.

All of this is gonna accomplish what?

What, you're gonna file a
lawsuit, send Porter to jail?

I'm gonna send him to prison.

You said it yourself.
That's not gonna do us any good.

We could put Porter away for the rest
of his life. Joey still won't be ours.

- This is Jack Campbell for Allyson Bower.
- Jack.

What then? What?

We have to leave.

We have to pack our things and go.

Look.

We've both been thinking it.
We just haven't wanted to say it.

We can't win, Jack.

You want to run away?

Listen to me.

No one is coming to save us.

Go where?

Out of the country.
Anywhere.

You realize what you're saying,
don't you?

I do.

All of this would be gone.

We'd never be able to come back.

All our friends...

Your sister...

We'd never be able to contact them again.

We'd have Joey.

Yeah.

- Hey. Everything okay?
- Yeah, yeah. Of course.

- How are you?
- Good. You want some tea?

Sure.

So what's going on?

How come you couldn't
tell me on the phone?

Curt Golding talked to the
congressman from Ohio...

And he's asked D.C.S. for an
investigation by the state commission.

What does that mean?

It means the transfer's suspended...

And the commission can reverse
the judge's decision, permanently.

That's great!
Oh, sweetheart!

See? I knew something would give.

I knew something would give.

Listen, Jack and I were talking...

And we think we want
to go to Haiti with you.

Really?

Yeah. I mean, with everything
that's gone on...

I think it would be great for all of us to
get away, be together as a family.

So, what do you think?

And it's okay to take him
out of the country?

- You're allowed?
- Of course it is.

The order's suspended.
We can do what we want.

Besides, I think it'd be fun,
you know, for the kids, for us.

Do you think you can
arrange it with the church?

It's a little last-minute,
but-but absolutely.

- We'll work it out.
- Okay.

- Good to see you.
- Hi. Good.

We'll see you inside.

Hey. Hi there, Molly.

It's Joey. You see him?

Joey!

Hey, Jack.

Hey.

- It's good to see you, sir.
- Nice to be back.

- It's good to see you.
- You too.

♪ The Lord bless you ♪

♪ And keep you ♪

♪ The Lord lift his countenance
upon you ♪

♪ And give you peace ♪

♪ The Lord make his face ♪

♪To shine upon you ♪

♪ The Lord be gracious ♪

♪ Gracious unto you ♪

♪ Amen ♪

♪ Amen ♪

♪ Amen ♪

♪ Amen ♪♪

Who is it?

It's Allyson Bower, Mrs. Porter.

I know it's late,
but I need to speak with you.

I'm sorry.
I can't come to the door right now.

Mrs. Porter,
you haven't returned my calls.

I need to speak with you
just for a moment.

Please, open the door.

Mrs. Porter?

Something's going on
with Jack and Molly.

What do you mean?

She says the congressman
is helping her.

But I know her.

And the way she's acting,
there's just something that's not right.

- How should she be acting?
- Think about it.

Suddenly she's going to church with us...

And now they want
to leave the country and go to Haiti.

Don't you think it's strange?

No, I don't think it's strange.
We invited them, remember?

You know what I mean.

Honey, you need to be careful.

I appreciate you taking my call.

I just wanted to thank you personally.

Excuse me?

I just wanted to thank you
for what you're doing...

for Joey, for their son.

Ms. Norton, I told Jack weeks ago
there was nothing I could do...

And there is still nothing I can do.

I'm very sorry for his situation...

But I really don't appreciate
this phone call.

I'm sorry, Congressman,
I must have misunderstood.

It's alright.

- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-
- That's fine.

- Have a good day
- Thank you.

Are you my real dad?

Well.

Let me ask you.

What do you think?

I think you are.

Why?

You take care of me...

And you taught me
how to play baseball.

And I changed your diapers too.
That was gross.

What else?
What else do I do, Son?

You love me.

Yeah.

And that's the most important thing
a father can do.

So why did Rip say he was my dad?

Listen to me for a second, Joe, okay?
This might be a little confusing.

But I'm gonna try to explain
something to you, all right?

Wendy is the woman
that gave birth to you, okay?

And then your mother and I met you...

And we loved you so much
that we became your real parents-forever.

Just like Robbie Elwood?

That's right. That's right.
We adopted you, Son.

So I'm gonna stay here
with you and Mom?

Is that what you want?

It is?

Okay.

Then we'll be together,
no matter what. All right?

No matter what.

- That's it.
- Thanks, babe.

Ladies and gentlemen...

Flight 56 is now ready for boarding.

We'd like to be in first-class
and gold card members...

To board Flight 56 thank you.

Okay.

- Put your seat belt on? That's good.
- Yeah.

Turn around and buckle up.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the boarding door has been closed

Once again, this is Flight 257
with nonstop service to Port-au-Prince.

Before the aircraft moves,
all passengers must be seated..

With your seat belts securely fastened
tray stations stowed and baggage secured

Enjoy your fight

Hey, friend, come with me.
Let me show you your quarters.

You get any of that on the fence?

Hey, easy now.

We were working hard manual labor
while you boys were in town shopping.

- Believe me, you were better off here.
- Bill, you mind taking over?

- Yeah, with pleasure. Can I do that?
- Gladly.

I'll go get cleaned up.

Hey.

So, I found a taxi driver
to pick us up tomorrow at 2:00 p. m.

And our flight's at 4:30.

Okay. Do you think he'll show?

Yeah. I gave him
a hundred dollars today...

And I said I'd give him $200 tomorrow
when he gets us to the airport.

Trust me. That's a lot of money
for a guy like that. He'll show.

You're home early.

Yeah.

They sent me home.

I can't concentrate, and I...

I can't eat and I can't sleep.

And I don't understand why you-
you haven't called the police.

No police.

So you're leaving me then.

No.

I don't think so.

Rip.

We've both made
big mistakes in our lives.

But I know your heart.

I know, inside, you're good...

Even if you don't.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Sorry.

I know.

Now, if we're going to try...

There's one thing I need.

You remember?

Father Logan.

We'll do it together, babe.

Me and you.

Tackle him.

Okay.

Oh, my gosh!

I'm exhausted.

Nice job, man.

Nice, man.
That's what I like to see.

I'll meet you guys at the bus at noon, and
then we'll head into town with everybody else?

Actually, we were thinking about hanging as a
family and letting you guys do your thing.

We'll come back and have dinner
with you later, if you don't mind.

- It's good by me. Yeah.
- Yeah?

- It's good.
- Okay. You sure?

Yeah. Is that okay?

Yeah, of course.
Whatever you want.

Okay.

See you at dinner. I love you.

Okay.

- I love you.
- I love you too.

Okay.

- See you later?
- Yeah, man. Have fun. Joey.

You guys have a good day.

- Bye.
- Bye, Joey.

- He's a ballplayer?
- Yeah, he is.

- See you tonight.
- All right, Jack.

Are you hot? Your cheeks are all pink.

- Come on, buddy.
- See you guys.

Poor thing.

Are you okay?

Come here.

Molly lied.

Curt Golding isn't helping them.

They used us, Bill.

They used the church, this trip.

They're taking Joey,
and they're running away.

I know.

What? What do you mean you know?

It's what I would have done.

No, Bill. No, it's wrong,
and you know it's wrong.

- If God wanted them to have Joey-
- Beth, stop it! Stop it!

You don't get to decide
what God's will is.

Do you want Joey to be beaten,
maybe k*lled by this man?

No.

The courts are wrong, Beth.

What other option
do they have at this point?

Honey, what else is this trip for
if not to save children?

Right?

I know you're gonna miss your sister.

But this isn't your choice.
We have to let them go.

Everything's gonna be okay.

No, it's not.

Why?

I called Allyson Bower.

Oh, Beth.

All right, here we go.
Line up. Line up.

Defense, you're getting b*rned.

- Jack.
- What?

You need to get your family
out of here right now.

- What? What are you talking about?
- Now.

- Bill, what's going on?
- I'm so sorry, sweetheart.

- What?
- Dad, is everything okay?

Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go.
Walk, walk, walk.

Give me the keys.
Give me the keys to the jeep.

Jack. Jack. Here you go.
Take the jeep.

Where to? Where to?

I got you covered. Go, go, go.

- What did you do?
- I don't know.

What did you do?

Sit on your mom's lap.

Come here, baby. Come here.

Just relax, sweetheart. Just relax.

Mommy, where are we going?

It's okay, baby. Just breathe.

At the gate,
we'll just go nice and easy, all right?

- How are you, sir?
- How you doing, man?

- Where you going?
- We're just going shopping.

That's okay. That's okay.

- Everything's okay?
- Perfect.

Good.

Thanks a lot.

Okay! Stop! Get out of your car!

- Easy, man.
- Mommy?

Right now.

Jack.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell.

Where is our son?

I'm sorry that you had
to be brought back this way...

But I had to stop you
from making a very big mistake.

- Is Joey all right?
- He's fine.

- He's just down the hall.
- Ms. Bower, we've done nothing wrong.

Mr. Campbell, please, have a seat.

Now, you did do something wrong.
We both know that.

And I've spent a lot of hours
trying to keep you out of jail.

I'd like to talk to my lawyer.

Mr. Campbell, I am on your side.

I am.

Now, it's been a really
long night for all of us.

I have Mrs. Porter with me.
She's right outside.

She wants to talk to you...

So I'm gonna bring her in.

Hello.

I'm Wendy Porter.

I know you tried to run away with Joey.

Ms. Porter...

He had bruises on his body.

I was just trying to protect my son.

I have to tell you, when you...

Offered my husband money for Joey...

You nearly crushed the man.

Would that be what you
would teach our son? That...

That poor people can just be bought off?

No.

I thought he wanted money.

And I was wrong.

And I know that now.

You have no idea how much
that boy means to him.

I made a terrible mistake seven years ago.

I never should have given up my baby.

But with everything that's happened...

I need to be sure now that
I'm doing the right thing for him.

Mrs. Porter.

Wendy.

Joey is our whole world.

He's our boy.

I love him as if
I gave birth to him myself.

And I can't imagine
spending a day without him.

But from the moment
we brought him home...

My biggest fear was that
he would wake up one morning...

And realize that
I'm not really his mother...

That I'm...

Just some woman who's raising him.

But he never did.

And he never will.

Ms. Bower.

I have the revised adoption papers here.

Mr. Porter has already signed...

And I personally
witnessed his signature.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I want you both to know that...

Rip really does love Joey.

He just wasn't ready to be a father,
and he knows that.

Ms. Porter...

Will you tell your husband
that I apologize?

Is there anything that we can do for you?

And it doesn't have to be money.

I mean, I...

We'll be all right.
We're getting help. Thanks.

There is one thing that-
that you could do for me.

I would like Joey to know
that he- he has two mothers...

one that loved him so much
that she couldn't let him go...

And one that loved him so much
that she had to.

You have my word.

Thank you.

May I say good-bye to him?

Of course.

Joey, it was real nice...

Having you come
and spend time with us at our house.

Getting to know you...

And see what a bright
and beautiful boy you've become...

Laughing with you and...

have honestly been some
of the happiest moments of my life.

What happened to your face?

I got hurt, but I'm gonna be okay.

Am I gonna come see you again?

No. No, sweetheart.
That was our last visit.

You're not coming back anymore.

Why not?

Remember I told you
about the dandelion...

And how we had to set the wish free?

Sometimes people are like that too, baby.

Now...

I want you to remember me...

And try and remember...

Only the happy times, okay?

This here... is very special.

Rip gave it to me
when I was a girl, and...

I want you to have it.

Inside is a picture of me and Rip...

And our address in case you
should ever need anything...

Anything at all.

Maybe one day when
you're a big, strong man...

We'll meet again.

I love you.

This is the final boarding call...

Mommy!
Daddy!

- Hey.
- Hey!

We missed you.

- Me too.
- Yeah, you okay?

- You sure?
- Yeah.

Okay, good.

So what have you been doing?

- Yep.
- Amazing.

Ha, ha!

Come here, Son. You ready?

Now, hold on tight, okay? All right.

- Can you steer it?
- Yeah.

Feels great.

You stay right there.

- Is it fun?
- Yeah!

Good job.

You're all right.
Just hold it right there.

We're gonna crash.

There's no boats in front of you.
I'm watching out for you.