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Scene 1
Anna: Ok, here you go, calcium.
Robin: Thank you. Mom, you really didn't have to go
to all this trouble.
Anna: Yes. It's important we all have a very good
breakfast today.
Robin: We all?
[Knock on door]
Anna: I'll get it. Oh.
Patrick: Hi.
Anna: Yes, glad you could come.
Patrick: I brought this from Davio's.
Robin: [Gasps] Peach trifle. I have been craving
that.
Patrick: I know. You said that.
Robin: Thank you. Wait a minute. Why are you being so nice
to me? We're out to rip each other apart in court.
Patrick: I can only speak for myself, but I hope
there's no ripping of any kind happening. And thank you.
Anna: Oh, yeah, it's just juice and tea, and I'm
getting good at all this domestic stuff.
Patrick: Well, thank you for making this as
non-adversarial as possible.
[Knock on door]
Anna: Hi.
Noah: Hey, how are you?
Patrick: What the hell is he doing here?
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Scene 2
Noah: You know, robin does not need this.
Robin: I appreciate your support, Noah, but it's not --
Noah: Yes, but the stress can't be good for the baby. Why don't you take
off, and we'll meet you in court.
Robin: I think you've misunderstood. It's not like I
suddenly can't stand the sight of Patrick.
Anna: No, you love him, right?
Robin: Yes.
Anna: And all your misgivings are about the fact that you
don't believe he really wants to be a father to your child?
Robin: Correct.
Patrick: That's not exactly true.
Noah: Well, if Patrick's saying he wants to be a father, he's either
lying, or he's in denial.
Patrick: Now where's all this insight coming from? Because
it sure wasn't around when I was growing up and you crawled into a bottle and
disappeared altogether.
Noah: That's exactly my point.
Anna: Yeah, and it's my point, too. Clearly, Patrick has a
lot of unresolved issues with you, and I think robin would feel a lot more
comfortable about having Patrick as a father to her child if you guys could work
through some of this anger and resentment. Starting now.
Patrick: My issues with my father have nothing to
do with our situation.
Anna: Yeah, they do. It's about breaking the cycle
and learning from the past.
Patrick: Learning from him? About being a father?
Anna: You know, all children blame their parents for some
wrongdoing, whether it's real or imagined.
Patrick: I didn't imagine anything.
Anna: Ok, so your father screwed up. We all screw up.
Patrick: Ok, let me ask you this. How is this whole healing
process going to start if he won't even acknowledge what he's done?
Noah: What? I carry that with me every day of my life.
Patrick: You know what? We've reached an equilibrium
that's unstable at best, and I can deal with you as a co-worker. I can deal with
you taking off to doctors without borders without saying goodbye, but if you
start trying to be a father and telling me how much you've suffered over this
all of a sudden --
Noah: Oh, you have no idea.
Patrick: You can't rewrite history.
Anna: Can you give him a chance, Patrick?
Patrick: You know, my father was a brilliant
surgeon, and everybody knew it, especially his family. Unfortunately, we were
only window dressing on your all-important career.
Robin: Ok, maybe this is something that can't be solved in
one conversation.
Noah: No, no, no, no, Patrick's right. It was all about my career.
Patrick: That's right.
Noah: And whether you or I like it or not, I am your role model. We are exactly
the same, and you'll treat that baby exactly the same as I did.
Patrick: Well, by that logic, I'm destined to become a
hack in the O.R. And a hopeless drunk, and I'm telling you right now, that is
not going to happen.
Noah: I'm talking about being a bad father. I'm not talking about being a
drunk. How long do I have to pay for that?
Patrick: You pay? Are you kidding me? You're talking about
you paying?
Noah: Look, I can't change the past.
Robin: Just stop!
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Scene 3 Robin:
It breaks my heart to see you going after each other like that, especially when
I'm pregnant with your child. And your grandchild.
Noah: Patrick's right. I mean, we have found a place where we can
co-exist but he throws something volatile like this into the mix --
Anna: And you will resolve it the same way every father
and son does around the world. Patrick, your father hurt you and you have
punished him in a thousand different ways. Can we concentrate on what happens
now? And pass on some hard earned wisdom to this child.
Patrick: So just move on like nothing happened.
Anna: Yes. Oh, my god, I have made horrible
mistakes. And robin and I, we talk about it.
Robin: Yeah, because we love each other. And so do
you. You two love each other. Everyone can see it but you. Maybe because you're
so alike. You're both brilliant and gifted men.
Anna: And flawed. Don't forget that.
Robin: And flawed. And wonderful and compassionate.
Noah: You're forgetting the big one, though. We're both incredibly
selfish. You know, I started a family and married Mattie when my career was much
more important to me. I led her to believe that we'd be partners, but she was on
her own and she was mother and father because I couldn't be there. I just
couldn't commit. I know you say you want to be part of this baby's life but
being there day to day, you no more have that in you than I did. Get out before
you make the same mistakes and you end up with the same self-loathing that I
have.
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Scene
4
Anna: Oh, god. I wanted to help you two move
forward. I didn't want to open up old wounds.
Patrick: Yeah, well, my father finds ways to
inflict new ones. For him to come in here and tell the mother of my baby that
I'm preordained to make the same mistakes, the same failures, the same --
Anna: It was a terrible idea to spring this on the
two of you. I'm -- you know, I'm kind of even sorry that I ever got on board
with you in taking this whole thing to court.
Patrick: So you're going to take robin's side now?
Anna: No, I just want to stop you two from doing
irreparable damage. I mean, I do believe that you want to be a better father
than noah is. And I think you deserve the chance to try. And I support you in
your desire to be part of your child's life. But that is for you and robin to
decide. Not for a judge.
Patrick: We tried.
Anna: Well, then, try harder. Because if you take
this into a courtroom, it's just going to blow out of --
Robin: Mom. Mom! Can I talk to Patrick alone,
please?
Patrick: I'm sorry. I know how much you hate it when I
fight with my dad.
Robin: You know, there's stuff between kids and
their parents even if you learn to live with it that never really goes away. But
just for the record, I think you're a far better man than Noah gives you credit
for.
Patrick: Just not good enough to be the father of
my own kid.
Robin: We don't have to decide anything right now.
Patrick: I think we do. I love you. And I love our
kid. It's why I have to go through with this.
[approximately 5:14 of Noah content]
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