Please Come Now - A Screenplay: Part 5
Please Come Now - Part 1
Please Come Now - Part 2
Please Come Now - Part 3
Please Come Now - Part 4
INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS DESK - DAY
GENE and LINDA, late 50s, walk up to the ADMISSION NURSE sitting behind the desk.
GENE
We're here to see our son. He was injured in Iraq and just flew in last night.
ADMISSION NURSE
Name?
LINDA
Jack Dollard.
The Nurse types the name into a computer and hits enter.
ADMISSION NURSE
Third floor, room 318. Elevators are to your right.
GENE
Thank you.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Gene and Linda walk into Jack's room slowly, not knowing what to expect.
What they see is Jack looking like shit. Three days growth of beard, black eyes, stitches, dried blood, neck brace, IVs in both arms, Foley catheter.
Linda gasps and Gene grabs her reflexively.
Jack stirs and opens his eyes.
JACK
Hey Mom, Dad. How'd you get here so quick?
GENE
We would have been here sooner but the Pentagon didn't tell us you were flying here until yesterday.
LINDA
How are you feeling?
JACK
Fine. Numb. I’m on a lot of drugs.
LINDA
We were so worried. When you called you sounded so weak. I didn't know if I'd see you again.
JACK
I called?
GENE
From Iraq. You don't remember?
JACK
I remember a nurse handing me a phone. I don't remember what I did with it. What did I say?
LINDA
You said you were hurt and you'd be coming home. Your father had to call the Army to find out the details.
GENE
And get handed off to eighteen different people while they figured it out.
LINDA
And then you told me to tell Rebecca that you're ok and that you love her.
JACK
I did?
LINDA
But you hung up before...Jack, who is Rebecca?
JACK
She's just a girl I was seeing.
GENE
Was?
JACK
It didn't work out.
GENE
She must still mean something to you.
JACK
She does.
EXT. FIRING RANGE - DAY (FLASHBACK)
Bright sun and semi-automatic weapons fire. Jack is in his flak vest, kevlar helmet and gloves. About twenty OTHER SOLDIERS are on the firing line in the exact same uniform.
Jack slaps a magazine into his M4 and takes up a shooting stance. A SERGEANT to his left raises a stopwatch.
SERGEANT
Ready?
JACK
Let's roll.
SERGEANT
Go!
He clicks the watch. Jack raises the M4 and fires twice into the silhouette twenty feet in front of him. With lightning speed he puts the weapon on safe, ejects the magazine, replaces it with a fresh one, takes up a new sight picture, places the weapon on fire again and puts two more rounds into the silhouette.
The Sergeant clicks the stopwatch off.
SERGEANT
Six point eight seconds. But you forgot to put it on safe again after the final two rounds.
JACK
Shit.
He puts the M4 back on safe.
JACK
Why do I always forget that?
SERGEANT
Load up the magazines and we'll try again.
FIRST SERGEANT BELK, who had been hovering behind the firing line observing, walks up to them.
FIRST SERGEANT
Dollard.
JACK
Yes, First Sergeant.
FIRST SERGEANT
Lets talk for a second. Leave your weapon here.
JACK
Roger, First Sergeant.
EXT. FIRING RANGE - CONTINUOUS (FLASHBACK)
First Sergeant leads Jack towards a set of bleachers about 50 meters away from the firing line. The soldiers still on the line keep firing at irregular intervals.
FIRST SERGEANT
Jack, I'm gonna talk for a while and you're just going to listen, ok?
JACK
Yes, First Sergeant.
Jack snaps to the position of At Ease, but First Sergeant waves him off and points to the bleachers.
FIRST SERGEANT
Have a seat.
First Sergeant removes his kevlar helmet and takes a knee facing Jack.
FIRST SERGEANT
I heard a rumor that you've been seeing a girl whose husband is in Second Brigade.
JACK
First Sergeant, I...
FIRST SERGEANT
Shut up and listen. I said I heard a rumor. You know how people talk and when it's someone whose husband is deployed people talk louder. So here's what you're going to do. If you’re fucking her, it stops now. If you're not fucking her, you're not gonna start. We'll never talk about this again. Because if we do, it will be the Commander and he'll be reading you your rights first. Tracking?
JACK
Tracking, First Sergeant.
FIRST SERGEANT
We're deploying in a month. I've got more important shit to worry about and so do you. There's nothing but trouble here. You know how many lonely wives decide they can't go twelve months without a man? Then, pick right back up where they left off when he gets home?
JACK
First Sergeant, it's not like that at all.
FIRST SERGEANT
She's different right? Son, I've been doing this for 25 years. Ain't nobody different.
First Sergeant stands back up and puts his helmet on.
FIRST SERGEANT
Whatever this is ends now.
First Sergeant walks off back toward the firing line, leaving Jack alone on the bleachers.
INT. FISHER HOUSE - DAY
Linda pushes Jack's wheelchair through the front door. Jack's face is clean, back to normal, save for a light pink scar on his forehead. The neck brace is gone.
His right leg is elevated and immobilized by an external fixator attached above and below his knee.
JEANNE, early 50s with big hair and southern charm, greets them in the entryway.
JEANNE
Welcome. How y'all doing today?
LINDA
Just fine. This is my son Jack.
JEANNE
Very nice to meet you. And thank you for your service. Your mom and I talked the other day about the living arrangements here at the Fisher House, let me show you around.
INT. FISHER HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Jeanne leads the pair through the house. Jack wheeling himself and Linda following behind.
JEANNE
The entire house is wheelchair accessible. Most of our residents have lost a limb, so it's nice to see someone check in here with two legs.
Jeanne chuckles at herself.
The reach the end of a hallway with doors on either side and Jeanne begins to unlock the door on the left.
The door on the right opens and RACHEL, gorgeous, mid-twenties, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing workout clothes, hops into the hallway on her right foot and grabs a pair of crutches from inside the room. Her left leg has been amputated below the knee.
JEANNE
Rachel! So nice to see you, I'd like to introduce Jack Dollard and his mother Linda. Jack, this is Rachel.
Their eyes meet. Mutual attraction.
JACK
Hi.
RACHEL
Hi.
JEANNE
They are your new neighbors.
LINDA
Nice to meet you Rachel. How long have you been here?
RACHEL
Couple months. I'm getting around pretty well on my own now so I'm due to move out soon.
JACK
That's great. Not that you're moving I mean...that you're getting better...healing.
RACHEL
I don't know about that, this isn't going to grow back.
JACK
Wow. I'm so sorry, that's not...
RACHEL
Relax. I'm screwing with you. I've got to go to physical therapy, but if you need anything, you know where I live.
JACK
Cool.
Rachel moves down the hall past Jack and Linda.
JEANNE
The Center for the Intrepid, our physical therapy facility, is right out the back door. I'll show you how to get there but first let’s take a look at your room.