A missing moment before the last scene of the episode "Do Not Go Gentle..." Hardcastle contemplates the fact that McCormick turned down the opportunity to be the heir of his 1.5 million dollar fortune.
Milton Hardcastle stood in the middle of the yard watching McCormick toss stones out over the surf. He wondered what the young man was thinking after their latest adventure, when Milt had first been diagnosed with a blood disease that sentenced him to death, and then had gotten a reprieve. And, along the way they had apprehended the criminals.
Though he was unsure of what McCormick was thinking, he knew very clearly what he was thinking. He had offered the young man over a million dollars and it had been turned down...vehemently.
And Mark McCormick, his practically penniless handyman and crime-fighting sidekick, hadn't even given it much thought.
"He didn't want the money," Milt thought to himself, "he just wanted you to have as much happiness as possible before the end."
The reality of that was mind boggling and had been consuming Hardcastle's thoughts now that the money had been returned and the crooks had been arrested.
There were people who would kill for a lot less than that. He could think of any number of his friends who would accept an offer like that in a second. The fact that McCormick hadn't was … what was it he was feeling… "humbling? Could that be it? Was that the feeling?" he asked himself.
It was definitely an act of love, but he could never admit that he'd realized that. Maybe humbling was the right word after all. To know that such a good person cared about you so much was humbling. It took away all the layers of crap that society wrapped around just about everything and stripped things down to the barest facts.
And when all was said and done, all his accomplishments, successes and awards stood in equal measure to McCormick's unselfish concern for him. As hard as it was to believe, in that moment, he felt like he was the one who had to try to measure up, but he could never convey anything like that sentiment to McCormick.
Instead, he would go down there and ride him about the mulch he hadn't spread and the chores he hadn't done.
And then he would go back into the house and spend a moment in prayer, thanking the God he'd felt had abandoned him 13 years ago.
And then, somewhere along the line, he would find a way to show McCormick just how much he treasured his friendship. He wasn't sure of how that could possibly be done, but he was very sure that he would try.
The End
