ACT FOUR
FADE IN:
EXT. THE CEMETARY - CONTINUOUS
Sam, still down on the ground, looks up at Clarence, who is
now standing a respectful distance away. With tears streaming
down her face, she finally manages to choke out:
SAM
Why?
Clarence bows his head, his hands clasped; he looks as if he's
in mourning himself.
CLARENCE
(gently)
Leukemia. Remember? Just like
me.
Sam keeps shaking her head in denial, seemingly having to
force her brain to work.
SAM
But...but...but he DIDN'T die...he
got better...he went...into
remission...
Clarence closes his eyes for a moment before going on, picking
his words carefully.
CLARENCE
(sadly)
The only reason he recovered was
the bone-marrow transplant.
Sam is still just barely hanging on to the ability to think.
SAM
...from Nicole...
CLARENCE
Without the relationship between
you and Brooke...the interaction
between your circles...there was
no reason for Nicole to even think
of being tested.
After several long moments, Sam pulls herself to her feet and
squares off against Clarence, standing defiantly. She's still
crying, but now she's angry as well.
SAM
Okay. I get it.
That gets no reaction from Clarence at all.
SAM (CONT'D)
I said, I get it! The moral, or
lesson, or whatever the hell I'm
supposed to learn! You can't
change the past, it'd just be
worse, you shouldn't wish for
things to be different, you should
just be happy with what you have—
I get it, okay? You can change
everything back now!
Meanwhile, Clarence is shaking his head mournfully.
CLARENCE
You don't understand.
SAM
(yelling)
I just said, I understood! So
snap your fingers and undo
everything!
He looks at her with infinite sadness in his eyes.
CLARENCE
No, Sam, you don't understand.
It's DONE. I can't undo it. This
is the way things are, now.
With that pronouncement, Sam begins to slide rapidly back
towards hysteria, pacing aimlessly.
SAM
No...no...there has to be...
She remembers something and pounces on it, rounding on him.
SAM (CONT'D)
You said—you said it wasn't
permanent until morning. T-that's
what you said.
Thunder suddenly rolls across the clear night sky, and
Clarence casts a brief, worried glance upward.
CLARENCE
(murmuring)
I think maybe I shouldn't have
said that.
Sam desperately grasps at the straw she sees.
SAM
There—there has to be some way to
fix it before then, right?
Right?
CLARENCE
Sam, I wasn't lying. I can't
change it back.
But something in the way he says that makes her stop and
think.
SAM
YOU can't change it—can I change
it? Clarence? Can I change it
back?
He doesn't answer, but the look he gives her makes her think
that she's on the right track.
SAM (CONT'D)
(pleading)
How? Tell me how...
The thunder rumbles again, louder and longer this time, and
Clarence suddenly becomes very nervous.
CLARENCE
Uh-oh...I'm definitely in trouble.
He holds his hands out in front of him, and seems surprised to
see himself fading away.
CLARENCE (CONT'D)
(looking up at Sam)
I think I have to go now.
SAM
(shrieking)
NO!
She lunges at him, arms outstretched to grab him, but he has
faded completely away before she gets there, and she goes
tumbling to the ground. Sprawled out on the grass, she looks
skyward, sobbing again.
SAM (CONT'D)
NO! CLARENCE! COME BACK!
COME BACK!
Finally she collapses completely, pounding her fists weakly on
the ground in abject frustration and anguish.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE CEMETARY - EARLY MORNING
The cemetary is bathed in the dimness of the pre-dawn light;
to the east is a gathering orange glow where the sun will soon
rise. Sam is curled up against Harrison's headstone, her arms
draped over the granite, utterly defeated. Tears are still
flowing freely down her cheeks, and her body is wracked by
great, heaving sobs.
SAM
(choking)
...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I
never meant to hurt you, not
ever...I don't care...I don't care
if you're with Brooke...I just
can't...I can't...live...not
without you...
She lifts her eyes to the sky, where the sun is about to crack
the horizon, and fresh desperation overtakes her.
SAM (CONT'D)
(plaintively)
...Nooooo...no no no no no...
please...someone...help me...
As the glow on the horizon grows ever brighter, she wraps her
arms around the headstone tightly, rocking desperately and
squeezing her eyes shut against the approaching dawn.
SAM (CONT'D)
...oh, God, please...make it go
away...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I
wished...I take it back...I take
it back, I take it back, I TAKE IT
BACK—
CUT TO:
INT. SAM'S APARTMENT - MORNING
—and Sam jerks upright in her own bed, screaming.
For several moments she can only sit there in bed, heaving
uncontrollably. At last, she slowly swings her legs out and
onto the floor.
SAM
(wearily)
Ohh...whoa...
Her cell phone rings, making her jump. Shakily, she reaches
out to the bedside table and picks up the phone, opening it
and putting it to her ear.
SAM (CONT'D)
Hello?
CLARENCE (V.O.)
(on the phone)
I'm glad you were able to fix
things, Sam. I really was rooting
for you.
The phone falls to the floor as Sam is overcome by a serious
case of the shakes.
CUT TO:
INT. MCQUEEN LIVING ROOM - MORNING
The coffee table in the living room is piled high with wads of
discarded wrapping paper. Harrison and his mother are there,
sitting with Brooke on the sofa. While Jane tears the
wrapping off of one of her presents, Brooke stretches and
stands up.
BROOKE
Can I get you more coffee, Mrs.
John?
Harrison's mother smiles and covers the mug she's holding.
MRS. JOHN
I'm fine, Brooke.
As Brooke steps over people's legs and clutter and heads for
the kitchen, Jane opens her present—and pulls out an
envelope. Giving Mike a curious glance, she opens it and
takes out the paper inside.
JANE
(reading)
It's a gift certificate for two
for a week-long retreat at the
Palm Springs Desert Resort and
Spa.
MRS. JOHN
Oh, how thoughtful.
(to Mike)
That's for the two of you?
Mike holds out his hands in protest.
MIKE
I'm not really into mud baths.
(to Jane)
I thought you could take Brooke.
JANE
(calling)
Brooke?
BROOKE (O.S.)
(from the kitchen)
It's a date!
The doorbell rings, and everyone's eyes turn to the front
door. Jane gets up.
JANE
I'll get it.
Jane walks to the door, takes a look through the peephole, and
then gives everyone a quizzical glance before opening the
door.
CUT TO:
EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
The door opens, and Jane looks out, but there is no one
outside. Mike appears at her shoulder a moment later.
MIKE
Honey?
Jane looks down, and spots a tiny, plain cardboard box sitting
on the stoop. She bends down, picks it up, and opens it—and,
with a gasp, lifts out a blue-tinted ornamental ball with an
angel inside.
JANE
Sam...
She looks up and outward urgently.
JANE (CONT'D)
Sam? SAM!
Jane runs out onto the walk, looking left and right
frantically.
But the street is empty.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. A CEMETARY - DAY
Sam is walking pensively through the cemetary, carrying a
small bouquet of flowers with her. Finally she stops at a
particular grave.
INSERT: CLARENCE'S HEADSTONE
as Sam lays the flowers at its base.
She rests her hand on the stone for a moment, perhaps saying a
prayer, before walking softly away.
FADE TO BLACK.
END OF ACT FOUR
THE END