| A NEWBORN BEING LIFTED INTO A DOCTOR'S HANDS (INT./DAY) ...
DOCTOR
There she is, okay. You can relax now, Lisa.
LISA MILLER has just given birth to a baby girl. She
collapses on her pillow, gasping for breath, moaning in pain, quietly
crying a little.
TITLE: "One month later."
The NURSES and the (FEMALE) DOCTOR move professionally around the
bed, doing their jobs.
At Lisa's side, Joe fumbles with a camera while darting amazed
looks back and forth between Lisa and the baby.
JOE
Oh my god... a girl... oh my god... Lisa... oh my god...
He's frantic.
JOE (CONT.)
You load the film... ? No, on this side... or this side? Don't move
the baby!
LISA
Give me the camera, Joe.
Lisa pops the film into the camera, hands it back.
JOE
Thanks, hon. Oh my god...
With wildly trembling hands, Joe begins SNAPPING PHOTOS.
JOE (CONT.)
Oh my god... oh my god, look at her... oh my god...
CUT TO:
JOE, WALKING THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR, STILL WEARING SURGEON'S greens,
SPEAKING INTO HIS PORTABLE PHONE (INT./DAY) ...
JOE
Go to Famous Fourth Street and buy a pound of Nova. No! She likes
Scotch salmon better. Ah heck, get a pound of both! Get a dozen
onion rolls. Get some
bagels. Get a dozen. Get a bottle of champagne. Dom
Peringon... A hundred bucks a bottle?! Better get a good California...
Passing a PATIENT IN TRACTION, ROLLING BY ON A GURNEY, Joe drops
a business card into the PATIENT'S broken hand.
JOE (CONT.)
(to the PATIENT)
Give me a call.
(into the phone)
Get everything over here as soon as you can, she's starved. No,
not the baby! Lisa! ... Iris,
listen: any calls I should know about? ... Uh huh... Uh huh... Beckett?
Who's Andrew Beckett?
Turning a corner, Joe comes face to face with HIS RELATIVES, who
charge at him joyfully:
JOE'S MOTHER/AUNTS/UNCLES, ETC.
Congratulations! How is Lisa?! When can we see the baby?!
CUT TO:
QUIET... JOE, LISA AND THEIR BABY CUDDLED TOGETHER IN Lisa's hospital
bed, surrounded by debris from a party, paper plates, empty champagne
bottle (INT./NIGHT) ...
The relatives have gone. It's late at night.
Lisa holds the baby. Joe holds them both.
CUT TO:
AN INTERSECTION IN THE HEART OF OLD, DOWNTOWN PHILLY: A movie palace
(now a six-plex) across the street from the Peter Pan Coffee Shop,
PHILADELPHIA WORKERS going about the business of the day (EXT./DAY)
...
TITLE: "One week later."
Above the Peter Pan Coffee Shop is a string of large
windows, each of which is painted with a question:
HEART ATTACK? ACCIDENT? MEDICAL MALPRACTICE? DOG BITE?
In bigger letters, across several windows:
D I A L 1 8 0 0 A - L A W Y E R
We hear JOE MILLER'S VOICE-OVER:
JOE (OS)
How big was this hole you fell into?
CONTINUOUS CUT TO:
A HALLWAY BULLETIN BOARD ANNOUNCING THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS of
"Macready and Shilts Legal Services" (INT./DAY), including
"Auto/DUI/Collisions with Deer... Product liability... Medical
malpractice... Pet bites..."
The bulletin board stands at the entrance to a warehouse of lawyers'
cubicles formed by office dividers and plastic ferns...
PHONES JANGLING... INJURED CLIENTS LIMPING ABOUT...
JOE (OS) (CONT.)
And this hole was right in the middle of the street?
CONTINUOUS CUT TO:
JOE IS IN HIS OFFICE, A BOX OF CIGARS ON THE DESK WITH PINK bands
announcing "It's a girl!" (INT./DAY). On the walls are
photos of INJURED CLIENTS (the same photos we saw in the
background of Joe's TV commercial)...
A FEMALE CLIENT (MRS. FINLEY) faces Joe, her arm in a sling.
MRS. FINLEY
Right.
JOE
Why didn't you cross at the crosswalk?
MRS. FINLEY
Why should I?
CONTINUOUS CUT TO:
ANDREW IS SEEN FROM BEHIND, SITTING ON A SOFA IN THE WAITING area.
Very little hair shows beneath a Phillies ballcap...
A MAN WEARING A NECKBRACE, sitting next to Andrew, RISES, MOVING
to a seat opposite Andrew. From this new position the MAN WITH THE
NECKBRACE STARES at Andrew.
MAN WITH NECKBRACE'S POV:
The PURPLE BLOTCHES on Andrew's face are beginning,to recede, not
as angry looking as before, thanks to chemo therapy. Andrew is dressed
casually, in jeans and a softball jacket
(from the Wyant Wheeler team) with "Andy" embroidered
over the heart.
Joe's assistant, IRIS, approaches.
IRIS
Mr. Beckett?
Andrew rises, following Iris past office dividers, HARRIED SECRETARIES
and overflowing file cabinets.
Iris cannot look at Andrew as she walks beside him.
(Outside Joe's door is a sign: "Beware Mad Dog" with
"Mad" written by hand.)
IRIS (CONT.)
In here.
ANDREW
Thank you.
CONTINUOUS CUT TO:
ANDREW STEPS INTO JOE'S OFFICE (INT./DAY). ANDREW GLANCES at the
photos while Joe wraps up...
JOE
(to the FEMALE CLIENT)
Explain this to me like I'm a six year old, okay? The entire street
is clear except for one small area under construction, with a huge
hole that is clearly
marked and blocked off, and you decide you must cross the street
at this spot. You fall into the
hole and you want to sue the city for negligence? ...
MRS. FINLEY
Yeah. Do I have a case?
JOE
Of course you have a case! Now, I want you to go with my assistant,
Iris, and fill out some forms. She'll tell you about our fee arrangement.
(as they're leaving)
Mrs. Finley? Any back pain since the accident? Dizziness? Nightmares?
MRS. FINLEY
Now that you mention it...
JOE
Tell Iris all about it.
(leading her out)
Take good care of Mrs. Finley,
Iris.
(to Andrew)
Beckett, come in.
Joe offers his hand, getting a look at Andrew's face.
JOE (CONT.)
Jesus Christ, what happened to you?
ANDREW
I have AIDS.
Joe WITHDRAWS his hand, before it touches Andrew's.
JOE
Whoa-oh!
(beat)
Sorry, I...
ANDREW
It's okay. Can I sit down?
JOE
Uh, yeah.
Andrew hesitates. Joe doesn't sound sure.
JOE (CONT.)
Go ahead.
Andrew sits, Joe returns to his desk. (Joe finds himself acutely
aware of where Andrew places his hands.)
ANDREW
(the cigars)
New baby?
JOE
One week old.
ANDREW
Congratulations.
JOE
Little baby girl.
ANDREW
Kids are great.
JOE
Thanks, Beckett. I'm real
excited about it.
(glances at his watch)
What can I do for you?
ANDREW
I was fired by Wyant Wheeler. I plan to bring a wrongful termination
suit against Charles
Wheeler and his partners.
JOE
You want to sue Wyant Wheeler Hellerman Tetlow and Brown?
ANDREW
Correct. I'm seeking representation.
JOE
Continue.
ANDREW
I misplaced an important complaint. That's their story. Want to
hear mine?
JOE
How many lawyers did you go to,
before you called me?
ANDREW
Nine.
JOE
Continue.
ANDREW
I was diagnosed with AIDS eight months ago. During a bout of pneumonia.
I recovered quickly and was back at work in ten days. Since I was
doing so well
on the AZT, we decided against telling anyone about it.
JOE
We?
ANDREW
My lover and I.
JOE
Your... lover?
ANDREW
Miguel Alvarez. We've lived together for nine years.
JOE
Continue.
ANDREW
I dove back into work, everything was fine. Until the lesions started...
SUDDENLY PICTURE CUTS TO:
TIGHT ON ANDREW WAUKING THROUGH THE LOBBY OF THE WHEELER Building
(INT./DAY). He's wearing MAKEUP, which sort of covers the blotches.
(NOTE: PICTURE and ANDREW'S VOICE OVER do NOT match up. This is
no ordinary flashback) ...
ANDREW (VO) (CONT.)
First on my leg. Then my forearm, my back. Then... my face. For
a short period, I avoided the office during the day, waiting for
the chemo therapy to clear up the lesions...
IMAGE: ANDREW RIDING THE CROWDED ELEVATOR ON A WORKDAY.
ANDREW (VO) (CONT.)
But I never let anything slide. I made all my calls from home. I
worked sixteen hour days on a
complaint for a 350 million dollar copyright infringement suit.
IMAGE: JOE IN HIS OFFICE, ABSORBED IN ANDREW'S STORY.
ANDREW (OS) (CONT.)
But the day the complaint was due, it disappeared. Erased from my
computer. I thought I was losing it, mentally...
IMAGE: ELEVATOR DOORS OPENING, ANDREW STEPPING INTO WYANT WHEELER
OFFICES. NOW HE SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO CAMERA:
ANDREW (CONT.)
That can happen, it's called AIDS dementia when it gets into your
brain. But miraculously, a
copy of the complaint was located at the last minute, and we got
it to court on time...
IMAGE: ANDREW'S POV OF COLLEAGUES, STAFF IN THE OFFICES, GIVING
HIM LOOKS, WHISPERING. ANTHEA BURTON NODS HELLO.
ANDREW (OS) (CONT.)
The next morning, I was called to the office for a meeting with
the managing partners. Walking
down that corridor was strange. Felt like everyone was staring.
REVERSE ANGLE ON ANDREW AND JOE WALKING AT ANDREW'S SIDE.
JOE
Hell, they are staring. What's that shit on your face?
ANDREW
Makeup.
ANDREW'S POV: RACHEL OUTSIDE HER OFFICE, SAYS "GOOD LUCK."
ANDREW (CONT.)
The partners were waiting for me in the main conference room.
CONTINUOUS CUT TO:
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