did fred kimble call? i'm already twenty minutes late. what'd michelle kresge say? she wasn't defensive, was she? that's ridiculous. what happened with my car? because it wasn't my fault. thank you, patricia. mr. dawson, it's a pleasure. since somebody made a mistake, unfortunately we only have a little time. hold all my calls unless it's my kid - i'll have a double cap. can we get you anything to drink? uh huh uh huh -- uh huh uh if that's jake hiller, put him through. jake. no no no no no no. jake, did you get that?! tell him to hold for just one second. jake i have to go. he what? hold on jake. no no no no no no no. have a nice weekend. jake?! really? jake, what'd you say you tell him yes i am. this tastes like low, are you sure it's non? okay okay okay. i think there's been a little mistake here -- oh my god. danny? patricia? get danny back. well keep trying. mr. dawson, what i'm trying to say is i'm a divorce lawyer and as much as i'd like to, i don't handle cases like yours then keep dialing -- what i mean is that at this point in my career, i can't afford to. mr. dawson, i'm sorry, i have to be in court in eight minutes with the kresges. you understand, good luck to you and don't give up. patricia?! where are my keys? where the hell are my keys?! alright alright. i walked into the room - i went over here - i looked at my desk - i put my coat down - patricia?! where's my coat? no. danny? hi. could we possibly talk about this when i get home. danny? danny? c'mon. you're not gonna talk to me? i bought you a bag of your favorite lemonade jelly beans. danny? "one little bird in one little tree, we're all alone and we don't want to be. so they flew far away over the trees" i said "over the sea" i know the words, i said "over the sea" since when don't you like that song? danny? danny? danny? i hate this stupid coffee table - how many times have i asked you to get rid of this crappy coffee table? yes, i would. i went to college with a friend who does these kinds of cases. leave your number. i'll see if she can help you. tell him you can't find me. i am celebrating congratulations to us these are the moments good night. i don't have her number anymore, sam. we lost touch. yes, i'm just in the middle. it's a special. i'll call you. no, it's a case. sort of a pro-bono thing. what's that supposed to mean? you think i don't pro-bono?. i can do pro-bono. i can do goddamn pro-bono. where the hell are my keys. hold the door! alright, alright i'll take you. alright, goddammitt, i'll take you. no, no no. pro-bono. alright? pro bono. are you telling me that neither of you want custody of your child? i am right here with you, excuse me. sam? didn't i tell you that you have to call? you know how to make an appointment. that's ridiculous you can always get patricia. good. i'll see you next week. they want to have you and lucy evaluated by a shrink. the appointment is today at three. today. now. today! sam i can't object. it's court ordered. patricia, i'm in the middle - get him out of there - sam. sam come with me. we're gonna get through this excuse us. sam this is their turn now. not yours. theirs. if you leave now you'll never make it and you have to make it. go! go! go! for chrissakes! green means go! yeah. you and me both. right or left which will it be you idiot!? no. well, sort of. i talk about her the whole time i'm there. go for chrissakes! how about your mother? maybe she can help you - oh. i'm sorry. the light is green! would you move move move!? look, we've got a lot to go over and i've got five minutes. one-twenty. gotta get to one-twenty five to make it count. okay okay okay. i'm gonna need that list of people who can testify that you're a good father despite your handicap. i didn't mean your handicap i meant your disability - i mean the fact that you're retarded. that's not the right word. i mean. what do i call you? yes you are. (he hands her a list - her cell we're making progress. three character witnesses. that's a good start. what does ifty bhutto do? excellent. how long have you and sam - it's often necessary - i'm - let's - patricia, get mr. dawson on the line. i need this like a - call him at starbucks - no i don't know which starbucks. there's forty two between here and the end of the block. look i don't think you understand what you're up against we have to be in court in three days and we don't have a decent witness. now you've gotta know someone who can testify who's been to college - or has a degree of some kind - or some sort of way of expressing themselves that's gonna make the court believe that you deserve to get your daughter back i need a coffee. big. tall. of course. of course, whatever. okay okay okay. damn! i forgot to call back no i did and once you think of this person and there has to be one person - i want you to call me at work - because i'm going back there now to my seven other cases -- what? mrs. robeck? i'm on my way, the traffic's horrible on the 405. dorothy, we put in five months lets not let a three car pile up. i know it's been enormously stressful. your esczema? oh, honey, nobody notices. ah! they opened a lane! dorothy? dorothy? no no no i didn't stare at the eczema for five months for - sonuvabitch! objection. "true feelings revealed"?! then every child who rages because they didn't get to stay up for that extra hour of tv - in fact any child who said they hated their parents because they didn't want to take a bath would be a prime candidate for foster care. really?! thank you, sam. you're a mother, aren't you ms. geller? would it be fair to say that as a parent, you've felt confused from time to time, possibly overwhelmed on occasion, even though you're a wonderful mother? but if ms. geller has never had a moment where she felt confused as a mother it would bias her opinion. and it is her expert opinion we're all after, isn't it, mr. turner? thank you, your honor. ms. geller, i know there have been many moments as a parent where i've felt i've made huge mistakes - mistakes that are huge. and i've had to admit them to myself. my husband. but most importantly, to my therapist. which is the guise mr. dawson thought he was seeing you under, isn't that right, ms. geller? the point is you've never had those moments, have you ms. geller? moments that every parent i've ever spoken to has - moments when you've felt the task is so unbelievably challenging that you feel retarded, disabled in some way. moments when you feel everyone has the key but you. but you've never had those moments, have you ms. geller? yes or no? let me rephrase the question. when your son od'ed - but if ms. geller didn't feel she had made mistakes - mistakes that were huge it might bias her opinion toward mr. dawson. thank you. so ms. geller - yes or no - when your son od'ed, did you feel you might have made mistakes, mistakes that were huge? you got lucky. only in there. sam, don't be impossible. can i have the spinach omelet - only egg whites no fat no oil no butter and extra mushrooms. don't be ridiculous. i'll get it. sam, do you really want to get it or are you just trying to -- you know, trying to act like a - like a. a. i didn't say that. i think. you deserve. a fair trial. okay okay okay. what was the question again? it doesn't matter what i think - it matters that we win. hey, it doesn't matter to them what i think. dr. donovan, the american medical journal named you one of the country's leading oncologists. isn't that correct? what kept you going the twelve years you were in medical school? i wish i had a mother like that. she must have been smart. do you have any idea what her iq was? so your mother, this woman with the iq of a nine-year old had the wisdom to recognize that you would be a great doctor. i guess her disability didn't seem to hold you back in life. traits most doctors have in spades. thank you, no further questions. objection! i hear mr. turner's mother in-law lives with him! she must help out. does that mean he doesn't have the real - irrelevant?! any parent has a right to a support system. objection! motion to strike that from the record. it's clear that one's intellectual capacity has no bearing on their ability to love. you honor, would you please instruct council to proceed with a modicum of sensitivity? and i suppose tearing apart a family is truly noble work, mr. turner. oh, that's what this is about. what were you thinking what were you possibly thinking?! that's ridiculous! danny stay with me - what could you possibly gain by kidnapping your kid in the middle of a custody hearing?! i don't wanna hear it! can you possibly explain this to me?! who's the parent here? who's the goddamned parent here? danny! stay in the hallway - miss brown, i can imagine what you're thinking. but i ask you what parent in their right mind seeing their child in pain -- their yearning for contact - wouldn't take them in an attempt to comfort them? where the hell is danny? he - oh yes there is! and if i were you i'd look at my conscience you do have one don't you long and hard before i tried to use this in court. no. it's a plea. give'm a break. give'm one goddman break. c'mon, danny. we're going home. danny!? danny!?!? goddamn it, danny! objection. leading the witness. objection - and when i ask another question? yes. short and sweet. give me one minute with the judge. besides being lucy's godmother, aren't you also lucy's piano teacher? lucy's very lucky. didn't you graduate magna cum laud from the julliard school of music? excuse me. now ms. cassell, in all the time you've known them, have you ever questioned sam's ability as a father? never? objection! thank you again, annie. you were truly extraordinary. okay okay okay okay. well, sam has his big day on the stand tomorrow and we need to work a little bit so that he's as effective as you were. on a porsche, the, uh, the door handle is a little hidden by that thingamajig, so if you're having a hard time finding it i'll just -- okay, we'll just take our time. home! home! home goddamnit! juanita, help danny with his english assignment. ayude danny un story. story. storio! good, fine, sam? annie's ready. okay okay okay okay. we'll work in the library. it's down the hall and to the left. hey, danny. where's your father? i don't want to guess. where is he? i told you i don't want to guess. working late. he said he was working late? well who did he say was taking care of you? i am working late. how was your day? no. how was your - it's getting late. we have to get to work. this is my husband's. he won't notice. he's got ten more just like it. try it on. no. very, very good. but your tie's crooked. cross over once. loop it around on the inside of your neck. slide the other side through the loop, then tighten. okay okay okay okay. our strategy is that we're aggressively pursuing a support system. i'm going to ask you h ow are you prepared to help lucy in school? sam! i told you you have to stop that! it makes you look stupid! okay okay okay. try again. you say you will find her a tutor. then i say, "how will you pay for it?" we've gone over this a million times. you've found a free tutoring service for her at the ymca. can't you grasp the concept of manipulating the truth? not lying. just a little tweak here and there. he doesn't want to play with me. oh that's ridiculous of course i want to. i drove around after work yesterday 'til 9:30 looking for a goddman razor scooter! okay, why did you harass that young boy at your home? sam, i'm pretending to be mr. turner, remember? okay? that's a blessing. thank you. now. what makes you think you can take care of a woman - i mean a young child - when you have a hard time taking care of yourself? but who are you kidding? isn't lucy already smarter than you? you think? sam. you've got to be firm on this. whoa! bring it down. yeah yeah yeah, but it's one thing for a little girl to love her daddy when she's a baby, but once she loses respect for you, what will you do? how can you say that? but what about lucy? aren't you being selfish? doesn't she deserve a better life? don't you think she's just pretending she's happy to not hurt your feelings? i know you do, sam. i know you do. your honor, i'm sure he'll be here any moment. this is an extremely important day to mr. dawson. your honor, may i have a moment with my client? what the hell happened? what is that smell? mint? sam, look at me. look at me! i will guide you like last night. not that part of last night, the other part. now you can do it. i know you can. lucy needs you. yes, slow down because lucy needs you. how will you be able to pay for private tutoring? but don't you ever think it would be better for lucy if she lived with a permanent foster family and you could visit whenever you wanted? why? objection! nobody hit anybody! objection - objection - objection. these aren't questions, these are attacks. objection your honor. i motion a recess. objection. sam it's me! open up! i don't have time for this! you were supposed to show up for your first evaluation. and i leave work early to get there and where the hell are you?! open the door! sam! open the goddamn door! alright. if you don't care enough to open the goddamn door i'm outta here! i've ruined my practice, i've alienated my colleagues - i sent my kid off on a fishing trip with his father so i could work with you and you won't open your goddman door for me?! fine! that's it! i've had enough! sam, it's rita. can i come in? hey. i lived in the east village. i don't need a lot of room. sam, i can go at least nine more rounds. but you gotta let me in. please sam. please. thank you. now i can see your kind eyes. george told me you needed a break from work. maybe we could find you a quieter job. because remember one of the judges conditions is you have to earn more money; you've got to keep earning more money for when we get you lucy back. is that what she said? well that's the first stupid thing i've ever heard you say. sam, sam you can get her back. the court favors reunification. the only thing that can block you is if the foster family petitions to adopt. and from what i've heard, lucy's making their life miserable - that's our girl. sam, fight for her. try harder. i don't know? is that right? everyone else is perfect but only sam feels loss and pain? people like me? you think you got the market cornered on human suffering? well let me tell you something about "people like me." people like me feel little and lost and ugly and dispensable. people like me have perfect husbands screwing someone far more perfect than me and my son, my son hates me, i try too hard and i push and he knows it and i talk in that voice, that voice i promised i'd never use, and i've screamed, i've screamed horrible things to him, a five year-old because he doesn't want to get in the car at the end of a day and he stares at me with such anger and i hate him then. i know i'm failing you, i know i'm disappointing you, i know you deserve better but get in the fucking car! it's like every morning i wake up and fail, and i look around and anybody, anybody can pull it off, but somehow i can't. and i know, i know i have everything, and i'm still miserable and it's pathetic. i know it's pathetic. no matter how hard i try, something about me will never be enough. hello, sam. mr. dawson. sam. dawson. shall we? furthermore, my client has found a new job, and is making every effort to find a bigger apartment so that - oh, thank you. what a. a lovely barrette, mr. dawson. it will look great on lucy. who i'm sure you bought it for. furthermore, so that. there will be more room for lucy as she grows up. the fact that my client went through profound depression is the most natural reaction any parent could have. in these next months, mr. dawson will be expanding his support system to include social service programs, tutors -- it's not illegal. it's very complicated. when a strong foster parent lobbies for a child it changes the equation. there's one option we've never talked about, sam. i know what you went through the last time you took the stand. we could settle out of court, ask for the most incredible visitation rights - it would almost seem like joint custody. i'm not saying you don't have a chance. sam - if you want to go. i know, but if you - i didn't say that. but do you want to go? nevermind. fine. i've got it. yes we do. do you know what that means? thank you, sam. oh, my marriage isn't so bad. it's just. it's just that. i've never lost anything. my husband left this when he moved out. nice place. i worry. i worry sometimes. i worry that i've gotten more out of this relationship than you. that's me. okay, let me see, let me see, let me see. they're going to put bill and randy on the stand first and then you. absolutely. george was always my favorite beatle. penalty?! sue him! kick his ass outta the game!