" What you do need," replied Jack, "is whatever form of nourishment your deteriorating metabolism has the best chance to absorb some of. The Scandi-Shake is good, but what I'll mix for you tonight will represent variety."


Clay tossed the ball exactly into Nate's hand. "Of course you can have the ball; and you can refuse the friendly visit. But if I were you, I would sooner do it the other way around."


When Josiah returned home from work, to a house currently without Ranjit's crowd in it, he asked Melody just what she had told Officer Nederlander. /// If Hannah sees this: Here is your chance to fill in what Melody wanted to say about Kat, and assume that this is what Sarah heard over the phone in the earlier scene.

well that was really twisted around, " I want to marry her because I love her sir and I want to be able to love her to the very extent that I can in every way including providing for her."

Sarah nodded one hand over her stomach, " I went to the doctors the other day."


Nate looked at his ball and bounced it, " send him in."

"And how do you plan on providing for her?" he asked

"I'm a good worker sir. I can work whatever Jobs are open and when I get my degree I'll have even more opportunity for jobs."

Jack took a deep breath. "What were you told?"


Danny thanked Clay, who was overdue to clock out, and entered Nate's room. " Hi, Nate. Have you tried their baked cod with rice and spinach yet?"

she looked down, " uhm...that I'm deteriorating faster than any other patient he has ever seen."


Nate didn't look away from the bouncing ball, " no...I actually try to avoid the food here if I can manage it."

DANNY: " If you mean that you don't feel like eating at all, I remind you that a lack of nourishment will slow your recovery of health, and thus _lengthen_ your stay in here. If you only mean that you don't like the specific menu _here,_ I'm sure the staff would allow me to bring you something from outside. The Pre-Turkey Supper, where I'll be in an hour or less, is offering a really incredible variety of ethnic cooking styles; if I explain about you, they'll doubtless let me pack something to bring to you later tonight. What sort of thing might you find appetizing?"


JACK: "How fast? If this is a bid for more attention from me, it worked."

"Why? why are you trying? why are you offering to bring me dinner?" with every question he slammed hte ball a little harder against the ground


She looked over at him, " it wasn't a bid to get more attention Jack...I just thought I should be honest with you."

" I was joking about the bid for attention," Jack told Sarah. " I'm not joking about my question. How much time does he give you to live, and for how much of that time will you be able to be at all active?"


"It's my hope for you," Danny explained, "that if your body becomes healthier, your mind will become sounder along with it, so that you'll be less likely to harm yourself again."

she looked at her hands again, " out of the hospital...about two months."



"Why do you care?!" the ball slammed against the floor and nate wasn't able to stop it so it bounced to the ceiling and started going a little nuts

"At least that's no worse than I was expecting to hear," said Jack. "I will still try to preserve your strength and gain you another day, another week; but even two months is enough time for you to leave an honorable mark with the teaching you'll do for young people. And it's enough time for me to make you feel loved. Marry me, Sarah."


Danny caught the caroming ball almost without seeming to look at it; then he did some bounces of his own, with exact and flawless control. "A man my age _shouldn't_ be more coordinated than a man your age, Nate. You've already damaged yourself. And for what? If you can ask me why I try to help, I can ask you why you try to destroy yourself. And I deserve more of an answer than 'Poor poor me, the world is mean to me.' "

Sarah sighed, " Don't start that Again jack. if making me feel loved is your mission well done because I do feel loved, more loved than I ever dreamed of. I can't Marry you."



Nate glared at the ball in Danny's hands, " the only person I cared about left me."

Danny stopped the motion of the ball as abruptly as if slamming on the brakes of a car, though of course more silently. Placing the ball into Nate's hand, he drew up the single chair and looked the youth in the eye. "You see, communication is possible....and so is common ground. When I was your age or only a little bit older, the girl who had promised to marry me left me, because she couldn't bully me out of my plan to become a cop. So who was it that abandoned you?"


" If I wanted to fight dirty," Jack informed Sarah, " I would _withhold_ my affection until you agreed to marry me. But I love you too much to do that to you. I understand you're off duty tomorrow, but I'm on duty; nonetheless, I intend to stay with you again tonight."

nate looked Danny in the eyes for about two second then looked back at the ball in his hand, " you don't know her."

"Jack if you didn't talk to me again at all during the next few months I would totally understand." she said looking over at him and placing a hand on his shoulder, " I'm going to be gone very doon so why not start the life you are going to have after I am now?"