Party of Five (2020) s01e05 Episode Script
Rafa
1 Previously on Party Of Five Congratulations, you're hired.
I need a photocopy of your driver's license and we'll get the paperwork started.
I don't have I.
D.
My list of problems goes where's my next meal coming from.
Are my parents gonna come after me.
And then all the way down at the bottom, what does the government say about my citizenship status.
Maybe that's something we can fix.
Excuse me.
I have something for him.
MATTHEW: It'll be years before that little baby needs a social security number.
I need one now.
A shot of your cheapest tequila, please, Beto.
- How do you know my name? - I'm Ella.
- Who are you? - Who are you? - I'm trying to call my mom.
- You mean Glo? Ella? I wanna see you fire him.
He's just a kid.
He made a mistake.
You're gonna make sure he learns his lesson before you drop him back on whatever street corner you found him.
That's my brother.
And as long as I'm around, no one is gonna ever talk to him like that.
[CAR HORN HONKS.]
Where we goin'? Wherever you like.
- BETO: Do you need to go? - ELLA: Not yet.
Your dad doesn't know you're staying here, right? No.
I just told him I'm staying at Phoebe's place.
Her mom, Lina, is a great cook.
Who's always trying to get me to eat because she thinks I'm too skinny.
And Glenn, her dad.
He's the one who turned me on to Led Zeppelin.
- Phoebe.
- Mm-hmm.
Why haven't I met her? Because she moved to Michigan when I was 13.
And your dad has no idea? As long as he thinks some adult is vaguely aware of my comings and goings, he's fine.
He gets to, you know, check the boxes of being a responsible parent.
Which I guess is nothing compared to your situation.
No.
Just Different.
Like, is it worse to have good parents far away? Or bad parents who were never really there? Yeah.
At least it means I get to spend more time with you.
I reminisce with things that I miss But I know that they're not real Nostalgia lied to me once again Making me wanna go back But I'm out on them Hollywood mills House in the Hollywood Hills How many gotta get killed Off of them Hollywood pills Yeah.
Um [CLEARS THROAT.]
And I wasn't scared of sh Wishin' I could go back now Can I? Beto.
You don't have to keep asking me every step of the way.
Let me make it clear.
Anything you wanna do I'm down for.
Absolutely Anything.
I'm worried I should be more ambitious.
Hey Bey, did you steal my ch Val, get out! Nostalgia lied to me Learn to knock! Hey! Hey, I got dinner.
I was thinking maybe we could sit down and have a meal together for once.
Hmm? Do you have a charger I can borrow? I can't find mine and this thing's about to die.
Then let it die.
Okay? Set yourself free.
- You're hilarious.
- Seriously.
Hey, you know what I was thinking? Why don't you ask a friend over, huh? Have a sleepover? Oh! What about that girl? Uh, what's the name of the one who used to be big into hopscotch with you? Cassie.
She got boobs.
It went to her head.
Right.
Um Okay.
Well then, uh What about, uh Ooh.
What about, um Don't we have enough people sleeping in this house? I went to the Y.
I mean, trust me.
They have some great after-school activities.
I mean, soccer.
Painting.
Swimming? Come on, Val.
We gotta get you out into the world, okay? Spending time with kids your own age.
Away from that stupid phone.
Okay.
Fine.
We can talk about it at dinner.
I'm gonna check on Rafa.
Oh, uh, he went down early.
No kidding.
Sleeping like a champ, huh? I'm telling you, Ferberizing is the way to go.
Let 'em cry it out.
Yeah, gotta show a baby who's boss, you know.
I mean it, Val.
Look 'em over and let me know.
Okay? [KNOCKING.]
Dinner in five.
You good? Just gimme one second and done.
Will you give that to Rodrigo in the morning? [PRINTER WHIRRING.]
- What is it? - A letter to his landlord.
They're not gonna evict him now.
Not unless they wanna get sued.
You sure you're okay with me passing these help requests to you? Are you kidding me? I would blow off school entirely for this if I could get away with it.
So many people need advocates.
You knew I'd be good at this.
Thanks.
Yeah, yeah.
All right, go wash up.
[EMILIO WHISTLES.]
It's a value pack.
In case you run out.
Thanks but, uh, I think I'm good.
First girlfriend, Bey.
You go through a lot.
Believe me.
A lot.
Okay, well, Ella and I haven't exactly gotten started yet.
But I'm sure when we do Seriously? You haven't done it yet? Oh.
Uh Okay.
Um [CLEARS THROAT.]
Well, there comes a time in every man's life Oh God, no, please, Emilio.
Oh.
Papi gave me a speech.
I just thought Sit.
[EXHALES.]
To be honest, those weren't Papi's best speeches.
I'd already been having sex for about two years before he sat me down.
- Wait, what? - Mm-hmm.
How old were you when you Never mind.
I don't wanna know.
"Treat women with respect!" [LAUGHS.]
That was the headline.
Don't get yourself in trouble.
That's what he said.
But here's what you really need to know.
Forget everything you learned from porn.
Okay? Don't rush.
Take it slow.
You know.
Show her you know what you're doin'.
Well, that's gonna be a problem.
It's not her first time.
She's gonna know if I suck at it.
Don't worry.
You will.
Just make sure she's good.
You know what I mean? Good.
[EXHALES.]
Oh, and, uh Keep it here at home.
Okay? Don't want you staring down the barrel of Ella's dad's shotgun.
What's worse? That or getting walked in on by your little sister.
[LAUGHS.]
We'll get you a lock.
Comin', Luce? It's gonna get cold.
If you're still on your phone, Val, and the table isn't set And come on, please.
Can we turn off some of these lights, guys? I'm not made of money.
BETO: You sound like dad! Vanessa.
Really? Emilio didn't say a word.
Yeah, well, he's bummed.
We all are.
It's been a while since we liked one of his girlfriends.
Beto especially, huh? I kinda noticed.
He seems distracted.
Oh no, that's not about Vanessa.
Beto's got himself a girlfriend.
Mm-hmm.
He's thinking about sex 24/7.
[LAUGHS.]
So Lots of people coming and going, huh? It's important that Rafa have some consistency.
You know, I never know which one of you is picking him up or dropping him off.
Is that a problem? I mean, it's always one of us.
It's only a problem if the messages I send home with one of you don't get to the others.
Oh right.
Uh, no stuffed animals with button eyes.
- Mm-hmm.
- I heard that one.
And I told your brother this little guy suddenly became a very picky eater.
It may just be a phase, but I wanna make sure you don't give up introducing new foods.
- Did he mention? - He definitely did.
Uh.
Which brother? [LAUGH.]
See now I've forgotten myself.
[LAUGHS.]
[SPEAKS IN SPANISH.]
Beto? Perdon, Señora.
No no.
That wasn't optional.
Señora, I don't really think we have to waste precious class time with Uh - Don't be nervous.
- [SPEAKS IN SPANISH.]
- Um - Nervioso.
Nervioso.
Señora, please.
"You've got all the right equipment.
" [LAUGHTER.]
- ALL: Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
- [BELL RINGING.]
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- Sorry.
- Took you long enough.
- I came as fast as I could.
Give him.
Has he thrown up again since you called? A second time.
About a half an hour ago.
- Did you give him water? - He won't take any.
- Yeah.
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- He's a little pale.
- I'm telling you, there's something wrong.
Okay, maybe it's a, you know, a stomach thing.
Or he has some type of virus.
Look.
Babies throw up all the time, Val.
We'll take him to the doctor first thing in the morning.
Why are we waiting 'til tomorrow? It's 7:00.
The doctor's gone home.
Then we should take him to the hospital.
Hospital? Come on! Inez said that he didn't eat all day today.
Not once.
In fact, he hasn't even eaten in a couple of days.
Did you know that? No, no.
I didn't know that.
Okay? Who picked him up yesterday? And he slept for 14 hours last night.
- [CRYING CONTINUES.]
- Hey, hey, it's okay.
We're taking him to the emergency room No, we're not, Val.
Okay? I don't need Rafa to be sitting in an E.
R.
to talk to a doctor for five minutes and then send us home.
- What are you doing? - I'm getting a second opinion.
No Take him to the hospital now or I'm calling Mami and Papi.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
- It's gonna be a while.
- Great.
Come on, Val.
You gotta be feeling a little better.
Did the nurse who looked at him even seem a tiny bit worried? I'll be okay when the doctor sees him and tells me it's nothing.
Fine.
[COUGHING.]
Yeah, I just don't want him to catch whatever these people have.
Way to make me worry less.
We gotta deal with it at some point.
You know? It's not healthy.
The way you just catastrophize everything.
Yeah? Well, maybe you should worry more.
Because if you haven't noticed, things generally don't go our way.
Hello? Hmm.
Just relax.
Yeah, no.
Definitely.
I'm, uh chillin' Um, are you good? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Oh.
Imma take my shirt off now.
That's seems like the logical next step.
Okay, cool.
Um, what are you gonna do now? I-I was gonna, you know, just go with the flow.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You see, because I-I kinda need instructions.
Like, even with instructions I can mess up.
But, like, learning how to drive it's very helpful - to know where to put my hands.
- Okay.
Ten o'clock.
Two o'clock.
That's really good, 'cause like I did really well on my driver's test.
I actually passed Shut up Doesn't help to check every five minutes.
Doesn't his color look off to you? You gotta be kidding me.
Uh, excuse me.
We've been waiting for three hours.
I understand, ma'am.
We're very busy tonight.
Not so busy you couldn't see those people right away.
What's going on? What are you doing? I'm trying to get them to pay attention to us.
If you'll take your seat, we have an order in which we take our patients.
Mm.
Yes.
I can see that.
White people first.
People with symptoms of heart attacks first.
Go sit down.
I'm sorry.
It's late and we're all very tired.
You probably get yelled at a lot, huh? All of us here.
We have one person to worry about.
You have hundreds.
It's the job.
Well, thank you Daniella.
For doing such a good job.
But you think you can spare a minute and check my brother's vitals again? - It's been a while.
- Yeah.
Sure.
Thank you.
I don't know how late I'm gonna be here.
I might need you to open up in the morning.
- BETO: Any news? - We don't know.
We don't know but no one seems to be that worried.
On the other hand, we still haven't seen a doctor yet.
So, there's that.
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- Emilio, LucÃa! - Something's happening! - What, what, what?! I don't know! His eyes rolled back in his head and then he started shaking! - I think he's having a seizure.
- Shaking?! Emilio, help him! Please! My brother's having a seizure! We need help! - Please! - Call Beto right now! [RAFA CRYING.]
[PHONE RINGING.]
No, don't, don't.
If you do, then technology wins the battle against humanity.
I have to get it.
It rang like 20 times.
Yo, Luce.
Wait, what? Wait, is he Okay, which one? I'm on my way.
Rafa's in the hospital.
He had a seizure.
Oh my God.
- Come on.
- I'm trying.
It won't open.
- What do you mean it won't open? - It won't open.
Shit.
Emilio must have installed the lock wrong.
- Stand back.
- Oh my God.
Let's get an EEG and blood tests stat.
And prep for an MRI.
You can't come back here.
We won't have any answers until the morning.
What are we supposed to do? I'm afraid there's nothing to do except wait for the test results.
I'm sorry.
I know it's hard.
I'll be back in a few minutes to check on him.
[SCOFFS.]
Guess you have to have a seizure for anyone to pay attention to you around here.
Val.
- I know you're upset.
- I'm not talking to you.
- Oh.
Nice of you to show up.
- Is he okay? - He looks okay.
- Where were you? They have any idea what caused the seizure? I called 40 minutes ago.
Yeah, well.
I had to break my freakin' door down to get out of my room.
Next time you install a lock, why don't you read the instructions first.
I did you a favor, okay? So, it just came out of nowhere? The seizure? No, actually.
You wanna tell him, Emilio? It looked like a virus.
- Initially - But he didn't think it was anything.
Well, neither did any of the staff because they were too focused on other patients.
Maybe if you all just calm down - Who asked you?! - Nobody asked you! Whoa.
Whoa.
She's just trying to help.
What is she doing here anyway? Hmm? Ella gave me a ride.
Okay? Back the hell off.
Did Inez tell you that he wasn't eating? The other day when you picked him up? I don't know.
Maybe she did.
- Why didn't you say something?! - Oh, maybe if I'd know that.
VALENTINA: Well, I told you.
Today! About him not eating and sleeping 24/7.
Hey, look! We all look after him.
If we miss something, it's on all of us.
Okay? Just stop pointing the finger and What she said.
Calm down.
Ella.
Her name is Ella.
[COOING.]
The most common causes of seizure in babies is hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
A lack of oxygen in the baby's brain.
This can cause Permanent brain damage.
Yeah.
We're reading the same article.
When this is all over, and it's all fine, we're gonna appreciate him more.
Okay? Look at him, not like he's a burden.
But like, how Mami used to look.
Like, he's the most amazing thing.
You and I were pissed.
Remember? When she told us.
You're having another baby now? At 41? He was the best mistake of her life.
He wasn't a mistake.
- Yes.
He was.
- No.
I remember the day she came to my apartment.
Thought I was gonna get a lecture because I'd skipped too many family dinners.
[CHUCKLES.]
She came to tell me about Rafa.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY.]
[SCOFFS.]
God She looked so beautiful that day.
She said, they'd been trying for years.
They just didn't want to stop.
Having children.
When do you think we should tell them? There's nothing they can do except worry.
She would cross the border for him.
Even if she died trying.
That's her baby.
What'd I miss? Got this little bear for Rafa.
And I thought maybe somebody cared about the state of Brad and Angie's custody battle.
Mm, appreciate it.
Ella.
Don't worry.
I didn't forget about you.
- [BOTH LAUGH.]
- Thanks.
But, uh, I think we've got this.
It's gonna be a long night.
You should go home.
But I wanna help.
I I can do a cafeteria run if you get hungry later.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
Is it okay if I wait for you at your place? BETO: Yeah.
Look, keep me posted.
Okay.
LUCÃA: Oooh I'm gonna try to find where they keep the heated blankets.
Uh, hey.
I know you.
I'm sorry.
You know me? You helped my friend Matthew with his documentation issue.
Oh, uh.
Sorry.
You must have me confused with someone else.
No.
I'm sure it was you.
Outside that CARECEN offices.
About a month ago.
How's your baby? - What is she talking about? - Ignore her, Mom.
My daughter doesn't have a baby.
Uh, yes.
She sold my friend her son's social.
Ma Oh my God.
Oh my God! EMILIO: It's an oral treatment called Chelation therapy that basically removes the poison from his system.
Poison? Oh, hey you.
We were trying to be quiet.
What are you talking about? Rafa has lead poisoning.
We talked to the doctors.
That's what caused his seizure.
- Someone poisoned him? - No.
No, no.
It's not like that.
There can be lead in things like, uh, old paint.
It could have come from something he chewed on in the house.
Could it have been something I gave him? No.
No Is he gonna be okay? Well they need to remove the lead from his system and there's a treatment for that.
And if it works, he should start to get better.
"If it works"? Wh The doctors are optimistic, Val.
He has to stay in the hospital overnight.
Right.
And they won't release him until we know that there's no lead in the house.
I've got testers coming first thing in the morning.
And if they find anything, they'll remove it.
- I thought he was gonna - BETO: Hey.
We got lucky.
Huh? Someone was looking out for us.
You guys go home, all right, sleep in your own beds.
I'll call the school first thing and let them know you'll be absent.
LUCÃA: What about you? Go.
Sleep for a few hours.
Check in at the restaurant in the morning, if you need to.
I'll stay.
One more minute.
'Kay? [DEVICE BEEPING.]
What's it like? Being in poison control? Does it take a toll on your personal health? We take the necessary precautions.
Can I ask? How much do you pull in a year? [DOORBELL RINGS.]
Can I help you? Andrew Nichols.
Department of Social Services.
You must be, uh - Valentina? - I must be.
Is anyone home besides you? Besides me and five lead abatement guys.
You mean, hold on, one sec.
Do you mind if I just Beto! Get down here! Now! If you'd given us a little notice Beto! Social Services is here! It's not usually this messy.
Drop-in visits are routine when a child is admitted to the hospital and there's potential that his condition is the result of neglect or trauma.
There-there hasn't been any trauma or neglect.
He got lead poisoned.
Does someone think we did that on purpose? No.
Of course not.
Still, we're obligated to make sure the child is returning to a safe home environment.
So with your permission I'm going to have to do a quick assess I'm gonna go.
Eh later.
That was one sec.
- LucÃa? - Oh God, no.
Gross.
Ella's just a friend.
Uh, she's staying over.
So we could Uh, keep her updated on Rafa's condition.
She was, uh, very concerned.
Shall we start upstairs? This is Mami and Papi's room.
BETO: It's not usually this messy.
And they are where exactly? Mexico.
San Miguel de Allende.
It's about a few hours outside of Mexico City.
Coming back when? They're not coming back.
Not for a long time.
I'm sorry.
That's in here.
I just didn't get a chance to fully review.
- And your legal guardian - Oh, that's Emilio.
He's 24, and very responsible.
He runs a very successful restaurant.
Los Cantaritos.
Ever heard of it? You ever want to take a loved one there, we Okay.
Umm Oh yeah.
I was locked in.
They lock you in? No, no, that's There was this situation - Call Emilio.
- Mm-hmm.
[BLOWING WIND.]
Can I get some snaps? Everyone at the restaurant has been asking.
Are you just going to pretend you didn't hear me? Are you really surprised that someone who claimed to be selling me her child's social security number turns out not to be a model citizen? So the scam was a scam.
Who knows how many people she sold that number to.
Regardless.
It doesn't make me using it more illegal than it was before.
No, but it makes it riskier.
Say ICE nabs some guy, runs a check and sees dozens of other people using the same number.
Including some dishwasher at Los Cantaritos.
Well, what are my options? - And don't say - DACA! No, LucÃa! That's dangerous for me in a totally different way.
Yeah, but it'd make it safer for Emilio to employ you.
I'm sorry, but I gotta think about what it means for him.
And for us.
Look, there's another way to keep everyone out of this.
I can quit.
I'll quit.
I'll I'll go back to doing odd jobs for whatever someone'll pay me.
- It's okay.
I've done it before.
- I don't want you to quit.
Neither does Emilio.
He says you're doing a great job - What do you want, LucÃa? - I just want everyone to be safe! You.
Emilio.
Rafa.
Maybe you can find another number.
Luce, come on.
Unless we know exactly where it comes from and who it comes from.
It wouldn't change a thing.
All his vaccines, completely up to date.
Uh, let me see.
Strawberries, scrambled eggs, bananas.
We make sure to cut everything into bite-sized pieces.
We're introducing new foods slowly.
Growth milestones.
What do you mean? He's right on schedule according to his pediatrician.
Very nearly walking.
Next couple of weeks we figure.
Me? You're asking about me? I'm fine.
I'm great.
Doing well at school.
All the kids are.
I pulled it up to C-plus.
My sister's been helping me.
- Other sister.
- Not that I couldn't.
Inez Buendia's Daycare on Douglas.
Inez is super nice.
Rafa's crazy about her.
Sometimes he cries when it's time to go.
Not that he doesn't wanna be with us.
Oh no.
He does.
He totally does.
He loves us.
Like family.
Which we are.
Obviously.
We love him.
We'd never let anything bad happen to him.
We swear.
What else have you got, Mr.
Nichols? Look, there's laundry in the hamper and dishes in the sink.
And that broken lock thing looks weird.
And maybe we're a day late on the phone bill.
But that little boy is loved and cared for.
He's happy.
Which, under the circumstances, is kind of a miracle.
Look, I hope, I really hope that you can see that however much better we could be at taking care of him, right now we're good enough for him to come back home to.
Are your parents aware of what's going on with Rafa? Please don't call 'em, sir.
It's hard enough for them being so far away.
They don't need to worry.
I've got this.
You realize that's what a parent would say.
You're taking care of them, too? Yeah, I guess so.
Guess I am.
It came from the daycare.
- The lead poisoning? - Mm-hmm.
How is that possible? Remember those cribs that Inez bought a few months ago at the yard sale? Uh, from the family of grown triplets, - she said.
- Yeah.
Well, no one ever thought to check to see if the paint was safe.
And you know how Rafa's been teething.
So he's been chewing on God.
Poison? What about the other kids? Uh, well they're getting checked out, but so far, only Rafa showed symptoms.
But that means our house is clear.
Are they gonna shut the daycare down? - I dunno.
- Well, they should.
Inez should have been more careful.
He can't ever go back there.
You don't think it was an honest mistake? What difference does it make? I mean, honest or not.
Rafa could have died.
What did she do that I wouldn't have done? I mean, I've found stuff on the curb, brought it home without it ever occurring to me that it needed anything more than a good cleaning.
Well, how could you be expected to know that's dangerous? I mean, Emilio.
She takes care of children.
Don't I? [ELLA AND BETO LAUGHING.]
I'm gonna make a cafeteria run.
Anybody want anything? - I'm good.
- Mm-mmm.
Milo? Are you [SNIFFLES.]
Hey You winning at Candy Crush? It's okay.
I cried plenty.
Thing is, I just I didn't see it.
But you knew something was wrong.
Way, way before it was obvious.
Okay, well, it turned out okay.
I know.
I know, but I don't have that thing, Val.
That instinct.
You know how you could just walk in the door, and Papi would know in an instant.
Just from the way you sat on the couch, that you'd been fired from your job.
Well, actually, I've never really had a job.
Or you'd call home and Mami would say, "Did you have shrimp for lunch? Because you sound all stuffed up.
" She knew.
Over the phone.
It probably took them a while.
To develop, like, a second sense.
They had kids gradually.
You had them overnight.
I don't have time to get good at parenting, Val.
I need to be good at it now.
'Cause what if I miss something else? I think you're better at it than you think.
Sure.
[SNIFFLES.]
Throw a dog a bone.
I mean, yes.
You did miss the signs here.
And I've decided to accept your apology.
Even though you didn't really apologize.
You do see stuff, Milo.
You saw that I needed to get out of the house more.
And get involved in more stuff.
Yeah? And I was thinking.
I'd like to maybe try dancing.
Do you think I'll be any good at it? I mean, what does your gut tell you? I think you'd be great.
[SHUTTER CLICKS.]
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
Excuse me.
I'm looking for my daughter.
They didn't have a record of her being admitted downstairs.
But I saw a picture of her in front of signage Dad?! - What are you doing? - What are you doing here?! Oh Jesus, Ella.
I got a call from the school saying you were truant.
I texted you.
I called you.
And then I see on Instagram that you're in a hospital in a wheelchair.
No, no.
We were just fooling around.
It's Beto's baby brother, Rafa, who's the patient.
- Who is Beto? - Beto.
You know, from the party? Nice to see you again, Mr.
Barnett.
What are you doing with that kid? Beto and I are together now.
Right.
Get your stuff.
Ella's been very helpful to me and my family the past couple days, sir.
Ever since my little brother had his seizure.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Well, she's going home with me right now.
Like hell I am! Don't you at least want to ask how his little brother is? How's he doing? Is he okay? - They're releasing him in the morning.
- That's good.
Now let's go.
No.
You don't get to tell me JIM: Do you wanna make a scene, Eloise? Then make a scene.
I'm not leaving here without you.
Um, maybe you should just go.
'Cause this is a hospital.
Maybe if there's gonna be yelling this isn't, like, the best place.
I'm gonna go home for their sake.
But just so you know, Beto and I are in love.
And there's nothing you can do about that.
I had no idea.
Me neither.
Thank you.
Hey.
Mornin'! I assume you heard the good news? Rafa's being discharged.
- We're being discharged.
- I did hear.
That's great.
And I assume you had something to do with it.
Right? We needed a stamp of approval from you in order to bring him home.
[LAUGHS.]
Yeah, well I'm just glad it all worked out.
I'll be in touch.
I I don't think there's gonna be any more news.
I mean, the house cleared inspection.
Rafa won't be returning to that daycare.
And his doctor said he'll just keep on getting better and better.
So, I think that's everything.
Yeah.
Right.
Well, uh A file has been opened.
I'm your case manager now.
That's going to be ongoing.
Uh, I don't understand.
Well, a single visit doesn't give me a clear enough picture of how you and your family are managing a very tough situation.
That's something that can really only be assessed over time and with continued observation.
The welfare of these children is your responsibility.
But now it's mine, too.
So, I'll be in touch then.
I need a photocopy of your driver's license and we'll get the paperwork started.
I don't have I.
D.
My list of problems goes where's my next meal coming from.
Are my parents gonna come after me.
And then all the way down at the bottom, what does the government say about my citizenship status.
Maybe that's something we can fix.
Excuse me.
I have something for him.
MATTHEW: It'll be years before that little baby needs a social security number.
I need one now.
A shot of your cheapest tequila, please, Beto.
- How do you know my name? - I'm Ella.
- Who are you? - Who are you? - I'm trying to call my mom.
- You mean Glo? Ella? I wanna see you fire him.
He's just a kid.
He made a mistake.
You're gonna make sure he learns his lesson before you drop him back on whatever street corner you found him.
That's my brother.
And as long as I'm around, no one is gonna ever talk to him like that.
[CAR HORN HONKS.]
Where we goin'? Wherever you like.
- BETO: Do you need to go? - ELLA: Not yet.
Your dad doesn't know you're staying here, right? No.
I just told him I'm staying at Phoebe's place.
Her mom, Lina, is a great cook.
Who's always trying to get me to eat because she thinks I'm too skinny.
And Glenn, her dad.
He's the one who turned me on to Led Zeppelin.
- Phoebe.
- Mm-hmm.
Why haven't I met her? Because she moved to Michigan when I was 13.
And your dad has no idea? As long as he thinks some adult is vaguely aware of my comings and goings, he's fine.
He gets to, you know, check the boxes of being a responsible parent.
Which I guess is nothing compared to your situation.
No.
Just Different.
Like, is it worse to have good parents far away? Or bad parents who were never really there? Yeah.
At least it means I get to spend more time with you.
I reminisce with things that I miss But I know that they're not real Nostalgia lied to me once again Making me wanna go back But I'm out on them Hollywood mills House in the Hollywood Hills How many gotta get killed Off of them Hollywood pills Yeah.
Um [CLEARS THROAT.]
And I wasn't scared of sh Wishin' I could go back now Can I? Beto.
You don't have to keep asking me every step of the way.
Let me make it clear.
Anything you wanna do I'm down for.
Absolutely Anything.
I'm worried I should be more ambitious.
Hey Bey, did you steal my ch Val, get out! Nostalgia lied to me Learn to knock! Hey! Hey, I got dinner.
I was thinking maybe we could sit down and have a meal together for once.
Hmm? Do you have a charger I can borrow? I can't find mine and this thing's about to die.
Then let it die.
Okay? Set yourself free.
- You're hilarious.
- Seriously.
Hey, you know what I was thinking? Why don't you ask a friend over, huh? Have a sleepover? Oh! What about that girl? Uh, what's the name of the one who used to be big into hopscotch with you? Cassie.
She got boobs.
It went to her head.
Right.
Um Okay.
Well then, uh What about, uh Ooh.
What about, um Don't we have enough people sleeping in this house? I went to the Y.
I mean, trust me.
They have some great after-school activities.
I mean, soccer.
Painting.
Swimming? Come on, Val.
We gotta get you out into the world, okay? Spending time with kids your own age.
Away from that stupid phone.
Okay.
Fine.
We can talk about it at dinner.
I'm gonna check on Rafa.
Oh, uh, he went down early.
No kidding.
Sleeping like a champ, huh? I'm telling you, Ferberizing is the way to go.
Let 'em cry it out.
Yeah, gotta show a baby who's boss, you know.
I mean it, Val.
Look 'em over and let me know.
Okay? [KNOCKING.]
Dinner in five.
You good? Just gimme one second and done.
Will you give that to Rodrigo in the morning? [PRINTER WHIRRING.]
- What is it? - A letter to his landlord.
They're not gonna evict him now.
Not unless they wanna get sued.
You sure you're okay with me passing these help requests to you? Are you kidding me? I would blow off school entirely for this if I could get away with it.
So many people need advocates.
You knew I'd be good at this.
Thanks.
Yeah, yeah.
All right, go wash up.
[EMILIO WHISTLES.]
It's a value pack.
In case you run out.
Thanks but, uh, I think I'm good.
First girlfriend, Bey.
You go through a lot.
Believe me.
A lot.
Okay, well, Ella and I haven't exactly gotten started yet.
But I'm sure when we do Seriously? You haven't done it yet? Oh.
Uh Okay.
Um [CLEARS THROAT.]
Well, there comes a time in every man's life Oh God, no, please, Emilio.
Oh.
Papi gave me a speech.
I just thought Sit.
[EXHALES.]
To be honest, those weren't Papi's best speeches.
I'd already been having sex for about two years before he sat me down.
- Wait, what? - Mm-hmm.
How old were you when you Never mind.
I don't wanna know.
"Treat women with respect!" [LAUGHS.]
That was the headline.
Don't get yourself in trouble.
That's what he said.
But here's what you really need to know.
Forget everything you learned from porn.
Okay? Don't rush.
Take it slow.
You know.
Show her you know what you're doin'.
Well, that's gonna be a problem.
It's not her first time.
She's gonna know if I suck at it.
Don't worry.
You will.
Just make sure she's good.
You know what I mean? Good.
[EXHALES.]
Oh, and, uh Keep it here at home.
Okay? Don't want you staring down the barrel of Ella's dad's shotgun.
What's worse? That or getting walked in on by your little sister.
[LAUGHS.]
We'll get you a lock.
Comin', Luce? It's gonna get cold.
If you're still on your phone, Val, and the table isn't set And come on, please.
Can we turn off some of these lights, guys? I'm not made of money.
BETO: You sound like dad! Vanessa.
Really? Emilio didn't say a word.
Yeah, well, he's bummed.
We all are.
It's been a while since we liked one of his girlfriends.
Beto especially, huh? I kinda noticed.
He seems distracted.
Oh no, that's not about Vanessa.
Beto's got himself a girlfriend.
Mm-hmm.
He's thinking about sex 24/7.
[LAUGHS.]
So Lots of people coming and going, huh? It's important that Rafa have some consistency.
You know, I never know which one of you is picking him up or dropping him off.
Is that a problem? I mean, it's always one of us.
It's only a problem if the messages I send home with one of you don't get to the others.
Oh right.
Uh, no stuffed animals with button eyes.
- Mm-hmm.
- I heard that one.
And I told your brother this little guy suddenly became a very picky eater.
It may just be a phase, but I wanna make sure you don't give up introducing new foods.
- Did he mention? - He definitely did.
Uh.
Which brother? [LAUGH.]
See now I've forgotten myself.
[LAUGHS.]
[SPEAKS IN SPANISH.]
Beto? Perdon, Señora.
No no.
That wasn't optional.
Señora, I don't really think we have to waste precious class time with Uh - Don't be nervous.
- [SPEAKS IN SPANISH.]
- Um - Nervioso.
Nervioso.
Señora, please.
"You've got all the right equipment.
" [LAUGHTER.]
- ALL: Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
Beto.
- [BELL RINGING.]
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- Sorry.
- Took you long enough.
- I came as fast as I could.
Give him.
Has he thrown up again since you called? A second time.
About a half an hour ago.
- Did you give him water? - He won't take any.
- Yeah.
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- He's a little pale.
- I'm telling you, there's something wrong.
Okay, maybe it's a, you know, a stomach thing.
Or he has some type of virus.
Look.
Babies throw up all the time, Val.
We'll take him to the doctor first thing in the morning.
Why are we waiting 'til tomorrow? It's 7:00.
The doctor's gone home.
Then we should take him to the hospital.
Hospital? Come on! Inez said that he didn't eat all day today.
Not once.
In fact, he hasn't even eaten in a couple of days.
Did you know that? No, no.
I didn't know that.
Okay? Who picked him up yesterday? And he slept for 14 hours last night.
- [CRYING CONTINUES.]
- Hey, hey, it's okay.
We're taking him to the emergency room No, we're not, Val.
Okay? I don't need Rafa to be sitting in an E.
R.
to talk to a doctor for five minutes and then send us home.
- What are you doing? - I'm getting a second opinion.
No Take him to the hospital now or I'm calling Mami and Papi.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
- It's gonna be a while.
- Great.
Come on, Val.
You gotta be feeling a little better.
Did the nurse who looked at him even seem a tiny bit worried? I'll be okay when the doctor sees him and tells me it's nothing.
Fine.
[COUGHING.]
Yeah, I just don't want him to catch whatever these people have.
Way to make me worry less.
We gotta deal with it at some point.
You know? It's not healthy.
The way you just catastrophize everything.
Yeah? Well, maybe you should worry more.
Because if you haven't noticed, things generally don't go our way.
Hello? Hmm.
Just relax.
Yeah, no.
Definitely.
I'm, uh chillin' Um, are you good? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Oh.
Imma take my shirt off now.
That's seems like the logical next step.
Okay, cool.
Um, what are you gonna do now? I-I was gonna, you know, just go with the flow.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You see, because I-I kinda need instructions.
Like, even with instructions I can mess up.
But, like, learning how to drive it's very helpful - to know where to put my hands.
- Okay.
Ten o'clock.
Two o'clock.
That's really good, 'cause like I did really well on my driver's test.
I actually passed Shut up Doesn't help to check every five minutes.
Doesn't his color look off to you? You gotta be kidding me.
Uh, excuse me.
We've been waiting for three hours.
I understand, ma'am.
We're very busy tonight.
Not so busy you couldn't see those people right away.
What's going on? What are you doing? I'm trying to get them to pay attention to us.
If you'll take your seat, we have an order in which we take our patients.
Mm.
Yes.
I can see that.
White people first.
People with symptoms of heart attacks first.
Go sit down.
I'm sorry.
It's late and we're all very tired.
You probably get yelled at a lot, huh? All of us here.
We have one person to worry about.
You have hundreds.
It's the job.
Well, thank you Daniella.
For doing such a good job.
But you think you can spare a minute and check my brother's vitals again? - It's been a while.
- Yeah.
Sure.
Thank you.
I don't know how late I'm gonna be here.
I might need you to open up in the morning.
- BETO: Any news? - We don't know.
We don't know but no one seems to be that worried.
On the other hand, we still haven't seen a doctor yet.
So, there's that.
- [RAFA CRYING.]
- Emilio, LucÃa! - Something's happening! - What, what, what?! I don't know! His eyes rolled back in his head and then he started shaking! - I think he's having a seizure.
- Shaking?! Emilio, help him! Please! My brother's having a seizure! We need help! - Please! - Call Beto right now! [RAFA CRYING.]
[PHONE RINGING.]
No, don't, don't.
If you do, then technology wins the battle against humanity.
I have to get it.
It rang like 20 times.
Yo, Luce.
Wait, what? Wait, is he Okay, which one? I'm on my way.
Rafa's in the hospital.
He had a seizure.
Oh my God.
- Come on.
- I'm trying.
It won't open.
- What do you mean it won't open? - It won't open.
Shit.
Emilio must have installed the lock wrong.
- Stand back.
- Oh my God.
Let's get an EEG and blood tests stat.
And prep for an MRI.
You can't come back here.
We won't have any answers until the morning.
What are we supposed to do? I'm afraid there's nothing to do except wait for the test results.
I'm sorry.
I know it's hard.
I'll be back in a few minutes to check on him.
[SCOFFS.]
Guess you have to have a seizure for anyone to pay attention to you around here.
Val.
- I know you're upset.
- I'm not talking to you.
- Oh.
Nice of you to show up.
- Is he okay? - He looks okay.
- Where were you? They have any idea what caused the seizure? I called 40 minutes ago.
Yeah, well.
I had to break my freakin' door down to get out of my room.
Next time you install a lock, why don't you read the instructions first.
I did you a favor, okay? So, it just came out of nowhere? The seizure? No, actually.
You wanna tell him, Emilio? It looked like a virus.
- Initially - But he didn't think it was anything.
Well, neither did any of the staff because they were too focused on other patients.
Maybe if you all just calm down - Who asked you?! - Nobody asked you! Whoa.
Whoa.
She's just trying to help.
What is she doing here anyway? Hmm? Ella gave me a ride.
Okay? Back the hell off.
Did Inez tell you that he wasn't eating? The other day when you picked him up? I don't know.
Maybe she did.
- Why didn't you say something?! - Oh, maybe if I'd know that.
VALENTINA: Well, I told you.
Today! About him not eating and sleeping 24/7.
Hey, look! We all look after him.
If we miss something, it's on all of us.
Okay? Just stop pointing the finger and What she said.
Calm down.
Ella.
Her name is Ella.
[COOING.]
The most common causes of seizure in babies is hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
A lack of oxygen in the baby's brain.
This can cause Permanent brain damage.
Yeah.
We're reading the same article.
When this is all over, and it's all fine, we're gonna appreciate him more.
Okay? Look at him, not like he's a burden.
But like, how Mami used to look.
Like, he's the most amazing thing.
You and I were pissed.
Remember? When she told us.
You're having another baby now? At 41? He was the best mistake of her life.
He wasn't a mistake.
- Yes.
He was.
- No.
I remember the day she came to my apartment.
Thought I was gonna get a lecture because I'd skipped too many family dinners.
[CHUCKLES.]
She came to tell me about Rafa.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY.]
[SCOFFS.]
God She looked so beautiful that day.
She said, they'd been trying for years.
They just didn't want to stop.
Having children.
When do you think we should tell them? There's nothing they can do except worry.
She would cross the border for him.
Even if she died trying.
That's her baby.
What'd I miss? Got this little bear for Rafa.
And I thought maybe somebody cared about the state of Brad and Angie's custody battle.
Mm, appreciate it.
Ella.
Don't worry.
I didn't forget about you.
- [BOTH LAUGH.]
- Thanks.
But, uh, I think we've got this.
It's gonna be a long night.
You should go home.
But I wanna help.
I I can do a cafeteria run if you get hungry later.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
Is it okay if I wait for you at your place? BETO: Yeah.
Look, keep me posted.
Okay.
LUCÃA: Oooh I'm gonna try to find where they keep the heated blankets.
Uh, hey.
I know you.
I'm sorry.
You know me? You helped my friend Matthew with his documentation issue.
Oh, uh.
Sorry.
You must have me confused with someone else.
No.
I'm sure it was you.
Outside that CARECEN offices.
About a month ago.
How's your baby? - What is she talking about? - Ignore her, Mom.
My daughter doesn't have a baby.
Uh, yes.
She sold my friend her son's social.
Ma Oh my God.
Oh my God! EMILIO: It's an oral treatment called Chelation therapy that basically removes the poison from his system.
Poison? Oh, hey you.
We were trying to be quiet.
What are you talking about? Rafa has lead poisoning.
We talked to the doctors.
That's what caused his seizure.
- Someone poisoned him? - No.
No, no.
It's not like that.
There can be lead in things like, uh, old paint.
It could have come from something he chewed on in the house.
Could it have been something I gave him? No.
No Is he gonna be okay? Well they need to remove the lead from his system and there's a treatment for that.
And if it works, he should start to get better.
"If it works"? Wh The doctors are optimistic, Val.
He has to stay in the hospital overnight.
Right.
And they won't release him until we know that there's no lead in the house.
I've got testers coming first thing in the morning.
And if they find anything, they'll remove it.
- I thought he was gonna - BETO: Hey.
We got lucky.
Huh? Someone was looking out for us.
You guys go home, all right, sleep in your own beds.
I'll call the school first thing and let them know you'll be absent.
LUCÃA: What about you? Go.
Sleep for a few hours.
Check in at the restaurant in the morning, if you need to.
I'll stay.
One more minute.
'Kay? [DEVICE BEEPING.]
What's it like? Being in poison control? Does it take a toll on your personal health? We take the necessary precautions.
Can I ask? How much do you pull in a year? [DOORBELL RINGS.]
Can I help you? Andrew Nichols.
Department of Social Services.
You must be, uh - Valentina? - I must be.
Is anyone home besides you? Besides me and five lead abatement guys.
You mean, hold on, one sec.
Do you mind if I just Beto! Get down here! Now! If you'd given us a little notice Beto! Social Services is here! It's not usually this messy.
Drop-in visits are routine when a child is admitted to the hospital and there's potential that his condition is the result of neglect or trauma.
There-there hasn't been any trauma or neglect.
He got lead poisoned.
Does someone think we did that on purpose? No.
Of course not.
Still, we're obligated to make sure the child is returning to a safe home environment.
So with your permission I'm going to have to do a quick assess I'm gonna go.
Eh later.
That was one sec.
- LucÃa? - Oh God, no.
Gross.
Ella's just a friend.
Uh, she's staying over.
So we could Uh, keep her updated on Rafa's condition.
She was, uh, very concerned.
Shall we start upstairs? This is Mami and Papi's room.
BETO: It's not usually this messy.
And they are where exactly? Mexico.
San Miguel de Allende.
It's about a few hours outside of Mexico City.
Coming back when? They're not coming back.
Not for a long time.
I'm sorry.
That's in here.
I just didn't get a chance to fully review.
- And your legal guardian - Oh, that's Emilio.
He's 24, and very responsible.
He runs a very successful restaurant.
Los Cantaritos.
Ever heard of it? You ever want to take a loved one there, we Okay.
Umm Oh yeah.
I was locked in.
They lock you in? No, no, that's There was this situation - Call Emilio.
- Mm-hmm.
[BLOWING WIND.]
Can I get some snaps? Everyone at the restaurant has been asking.
Are you just going to pretend you didn't hear me? Are you really surprised that someone who claimed to be selling me her child's social security number turns out not to be a model citizen? So the scam was a scam.
Who knows how many people she sold that number to.
Regardless.
It doesn't make me using it more illegal than it was before.
No, but it makes it riskier.
Say ICE nabs some guy, runs a check and sees dozens of other people using the same number.
Including some dishwasher at Los Cantaritos.
Well, what are my options? - And don't say - DACA! No, LucÃa! That's dangerous for me in a totally different way.
Yeah, but it'd make it safer for Emilio to employ you.
I'm sorry, but I gotta think about what it means for him.
And for us.
Look, there's another way to keep everyone out of this.
I can quit.
I'll quit.
I'll I'll go back to doing odd jobs for whatever someone'll pay me.
- It's okay.
I've done it before.
- I don't want you to quit.
Neither does Emilio.
He says you're doing a great job - What do you want, LucÃa? - I just want everyone to be safe! You.
Emilio.
Rafa.
Maybe you can find another number.
Luce, come on.
Unless we know exactly where it comes from and who it comes from.
It wouldn't change a thing.
All his vaccines, completely up to date.
Uh, let me see.
Strawberries, scrambled eggs, bananas.
We make sure to cut everything into bite-sized pieces.
We're introducing new foods slowly.
Growth milestones.
What do you mean? He's right on schedule according to his pediatrician.
Very nearly walking.
Next couple of weeks we figure.
Me? You're asking about me? I'm fine.
I'm great.
Doing well at school.
All the kids are.
I pulled it up to C-plus.
My sister's been helping me.
- Other sister.
- Not that I couldn't.
Inez Buendia's Daycare on Douglas.
Inez is super nice.
Rafa's crazy about her.
Sometimes he cries when it's time to go.
Not that he doesn't wanna be with us.
Oh no.
He does.
He totally does.
He loves us.
Like family.
Which we are.
Obviously.
We love him.
We'd never let anything bad happen to him.
We swear.
What else have you got, Mr.
Nichols? Look, there's laundry in the hamper and dishes in the sink.
And that broken lock thing looks weird.
And maybe we're a day late on the phone bill.
But that little boy is loved and cared for.
He's happy.
Which, under the circumstances, is kind of a miracle.
Look, I hope, I really hope that you can see that however much better we could be at taking care of him, right now we're good enough for him to come back home to.
Are your parents aware of what's going on with Rafa? Please don't call 'em, sir.
It's hard enough for them being so far away.
They don't need to worry.
I've got this.
You realize that's what a parent would say.
You're taking care of them, too? Yeah, I guess so.
Guess I am.
It came from the daycare.
- The lead poisoning? - Mm-hmm.
How is that possible? Remember those cribs that Inez bought a few months ago at the yard sale? Uh, from the family of grown triplets, - she said.
- Yeah.
Well, no one ever thought to check to see if the paint was safe.
And you know how Rafa's been teething.
So he's been chewing on God.
Poison? What about the other kids? Uh, well they're getting checked out, but so far, only Rafa showed symptoms.
But that means our house is clear.
Are they gonna shut the daycare down? - I dunno.
- Well, they should.
Inez should have been more careful.
He can't ever go back there.
You don't think it was an honest mistake? What difference does it make? I mean, honest or not.
Rafa could have died.
What did she do that I wouldn't have done? I mean, I've found stuff on the curb, brought it home without it ever occurring to me that it needed anything more than a good cleaning.
Well, how could you be expected to know that's dangerous? I mean, Emilio.
She takes care of children.
Don't I? [ELLA AND BETO LAUGHING.]
I'm gonna make a cafeteria run.
Anybody want anything? - I'm good.
- Mm-mmm.
Milo? Are you [SNIFFLES.]
Hey You winning at Candy Crush? It's okay.
I cried plenty.
Thing is, I just I didn't see it.
But you knew something was wrong.
Way, way before it was obvious.
Okay, well, it turned out okay.
I know.
I know, but I don't have that thing, Val.
That instinct.
You know how you could just walk in the door, and Papi would know in an instant.
Just from the way you sat on the couch, that you'd been fired from your job.
Well, actually, I've never really had a job.
Or you'd call home and Mami would say, "Did you have shrimp for lunch? Because you sound all stuffed up.
" She knew.
Over the phone.
It probably took them a while.
To develop, like, a second sense.
They had kids gradually.
You had them overnight.
I don't have time to get good at parenting, Val.
I need to be good at it now.
'Cause what if I miss something else? I think you're better at it than you think.
Sure.
[SNIFFLES.]
Throw a dog a bone.
I mean, yes.
You did miss the signs here.
And I've decided to accept your apology.
Even though you didn't really apologize.
You do see stuff, Milo.
You saw that I needed to get out of the house more.
And get involved in more stuff.
Yeah? And I was thinking.
I'd like to maybe try dancing.
Do you think I'll be any good at it? I mean, what does your gut tell you? I think you'd be great.
[SHUTTER CLICKS.]
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
Excuse me.
I'm looking for my daughter.
They didn't have a record of her being admitted downstairs.
But I saw a picture of her in front of signage Dad?! - What are you doing? - What are you doing here?! Oh Jesus, Ella.
I got a call from the school saying you were truant.
I texted you.
I called you.
And then I see on Instagram that you're in a hospital in a wheelchair.
No, no.
We were just fooling around.
It's Beto's baby brother, Rafa, who's the patient.
- Who is Beto? - Beto.
You know, from the party? Nice to see you again, Mr.
Barnett.
What are you doing with that kid? Beto and I are together now.
Right.
Get your stuff.
Ella's been very helpful to me and my family the past couple days, sir.
Ever since my little brother had his seizure.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Well, she's going home with me right now.
Like hell I am! Don't you at least want to ask how his little brother is? How's he doing? Is he okay? - They're releasing him in the morning.
- That's good.
Now let's go.
No.
You don't get to tell me JIM: Do you wanna make a scene, Eloise? Then make a scene.
I'm not leaving here without you.
Um, maybe you should just go.
'Cause this is a hospital.
Maybe if there's gonna be yelling this isn't, like, the best place.
I'm gonna go home for their sake.
But just so you know, Beto and I are in love.
And there's nothing you can do about that.
I had no idea.
Me neither.
Thank you.
Hey.
Mornin'! I assume you heard the good news? Rafa's being discharged.
- We're being discharged.
- I did hear.
That's great.
And I assume you had something to do with it.
Right? We needed a stamp of approval from you in order to bring him home.
[LAUGHS.]
Yeah, well I'm just glad it all worked out.
I'll be in touch.
I I don't think there's gonna be any more news.
I mean, the house cleared inspection.
Rafa won't be returning to that daycare.
And his doctor said he'll just keep on getting better and better.
So, I think that's everything.
Yeah.
Right.
Well, uh A file has been opened.
I'm your case manager now.
That's going to be ongoing.
Uh, I don't understand.
Well, a single visit doesn't give me a clear enough picture of how you and your family are managing a very tough situation.
That's something that can really only be assessed over time and with continued observation.
The welfare of these children is your responsibility.
But now it's mine, too.
So, I'll be in touch then.