Army Wives s04e11 Episode Script

Previously on Army Wives We have a new officer joining us today.
Meet Pamela Moran.
Clay Boone will be her field training officer.
I know you'll all make Officer Moran feel welcome.
Item two I got new orders today.
I'm not a recruiter anymore.
What? I deploy to Afghanistan next month.
I don't know what you're talking about.
- Really? - Really.
- I'm talking about PTSD.
- What? - We've been here before - Shut up, Roland! Just shut up! Baby, what happened? - Okay, baby.
Hey.
- I fell.
It's okay.
Sara Elizabeth's fine.
Everything's okay.
No, it isn't, Roland.
Something is not right.
Morning.
I was thinking about making pancakes this morning.
Scrambled eggs.
And I'll make them.
You had scrambled eggs yesterday.
That is correct.
And the day before.
You want some? No, thanks.
This wouldn't have anything to do with it being day 99, would it? Shh.
Did you just shush me? We're not talking about what day it is or anything else related to that.
- We're not? - No.
When a pitcher's got a no-hitter going, no one mentions it.
It's bad luck.
Team doesn't even talk to the guy until the game's over.
I see.
So Fort Marshall is pitching a no-hitter right now, and I can't talk to you about it.
I don't remember you being this superstitious last time.
I wasn't in charge of the post last time.
I got two brigades getting ready to deploy.
We've got live-fire exercises today.
I'm not leaving anything to chance.
Okay.
I still can't decide.
Decide what? Whether to double my shrimp order or not.
Move.
What are you talking about? It's day 99, and if the post makes it to 100, - then y'all get a day off, right? - Right.
That means a crazy three-day weekend at the Hump.
Lots of celebrating, so I gotta be ready, but the post hasn't reached day 100 since we got here.
There's always been some crazy training accident or a drunk driver or whatever.
I mean, God forbid something bad should happen.
I can't afford a dumpster full of shellfish.
Babe, I'm a little busy right now.
Sorry.
Are you nervous? A little.
We're doing live-fire exercises.
Gotta shake off the rust.
Wait.
Y'all are doing live-fire exercises today? Yeah.
We gotta train under combat conditions.
Don't you think that's kind of bad luck to do that on day 99? I don't think the Army worries about it when they schedule these exercises.
Well, they should.
Babe, you need to relax.
I promise you, no one's gonna get hurt.
That includes you, Trevor.
I mean it! Yeah, the safety record's on everyone's mind.
Frank won't let me talk about it, either.
He's nervous about passing 99 days, too.
I know.
I've never seen Michael like this.
It would be funny, if he wasn't so serious.
These are really cute, by the way.
Yeah.
The committee did a nice job with them.
I think the new moms will really like them.
Speaking as one, I can guarantee you, they will.
I should get going.
My supervisor's on vacation, and the sub they brought in is a real jerk.
So I don't need him breathing down my neck for being late.
How's that job going? - It's okay.
Yeah.
- Yeah? Being a dispatcher is just not the same as being out in the field.
You'll be back in your paramedic uniform soon.
I don't know, Claudia Joy.
I'm not sure what I'm gonna do about work once the baby's born.
You still have time to think about it, right? Yeah.
Yeah.
I'll see you later.
Bye.
The loading mechanisms on the M-249s have all been checked? - Yes, sir.
- All right.
Thank you.
Problem? Staff duty officer called in sick.
I need a replacement.
Keep me posted.
Yes, sir.
- Watch me, Mom! - Yeah, I see you.
- I did it, Mom! - Yeah, you're doing a good job, honey.
Captain Houston.
Good morning, Captain.
This is Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood.
Listen, I need a staff duty officer for the morning.
I know you're scheduled for the night exercise, but I'd like to make a switch.
Can you report at 1100? Yes, sir.
No problem, sir.
Outstanding.
Thank you, Captain.
We'll see you at 1100.
Roger that, sir.
Change of plans, buddy.
Mama's gotta go to work, so I'm gonna take you to Aunt Lottie's, okay? But I wanna ride my bike.
I know.
Well, you can ride all day tomorrow.
Come on.
Let's go get you cleaned up.
Come on.
I know it's strange, getting a new team leader so close to deployment, but Sergeant Sullivan's promotion means you're stuck with me.
Of course, it also means I'm stuck with you.
Now we're gonna get to know each other very well in a very short period of time, beginning now.
Our goal is to train together, to fight together and to come home together.
We clear? Yes, Sergeant! Good.
Now what we got on tap today Perimeter defense exercises with Claymores, followed by a ruck march through area J in full battle rattle, ending with an obstacle course run and a live-fire exercise.
Grab your gear.
Be back in 10.
Dismissed.
So what do you think of Sergeant Silver Star? I guess we'll find out.
Specialist Sherwood.
Uh-oh.
Yes, Sergeant! I just want to say, I'm looking forward to serving together with a member of the Sherwood family.
Thank you, Sergeant.
Of course, that means I'll have to be extra vigilant, keep you in line.
Understood, Sergeant, but my father's bark's worse than his bite.
It's not your father I'm worried about.
Roger that, Sergeant.
Yeah, just keep his head elevated until the paramedics arrive.
They're at the door now? Good.
You're welcome, ma'am.
Good luck.
My mom.
My mommy's not moving.
You gotta help me.
Hurry.
Slow down.
What's your name, please? Taylor.
Taylor? Taylor, what's your last name? You gotta help my mom.
She's hurt.
All right, Taylor, just tell me where you are.
I'm in the car.
It crashed, and she won't wake up.
Taylor, I need you to turn down the radio.
Taylor, are you there? Taylor? The person you are trying to reach is not available.
Please leave a message.
Mr.
Edmunds.
I don't know what to do with this call I just received.
Let's hear it.
911.
What's your emergency? My mommy's not moving.
You gotta help me.
Hurry.
Slow down.
What's your name, please? Taylor.
Taylor? Taylor, what's your last name? You gotta help my mom.
She's hurt.
All right, Taylor, just tell me where you are.
I'm in the car.
It crashed, and she won't wake up.
Taylor, I need you to turn down the radio.
- Auto-recall? - Straight to voice mail.
- It's a prank.
- You think so? Boy hangs up, won't answer when you call back, he's got a radio or TV going, he didn't give you a last name.
Probably some kid goofing around with friends.
Happens every day.
So if he calls back, I should He probably won't.
But if he does.
If he does, he'll give you a little more information and then hang up again.
These kids just like to string us along.
Don't let them.
I thought you had experience, Sherwood.
Hello? Where did you go? Hello? Mom, please wake up.
Mom? Please! Please! The functional MRI confirms what we suspected, Colonel Burton.
You're suffering from traumatic brain injury, most likely sustained during your RPG incident in Iraq.
Dr.
Patterson, I dove behind the Humvee when that RPG went off.
I caught some shrapnel, but I was mostly protected from the blast.
Not exactly.
The energy from that explosion went through the Humvee and through you.
It literally rattled your brain.
Still, that was over six months ago.
How could I get TBI now? You didn't.
I suspect the symptoms have always been there.
You simply didn't notice them or chose to ignore them.
We've found that some soldiers with TBI can function well in the field in highly routine tasks.
It's when they come home and face the challenges of everyday living that the problems more fully emerge.
Headaches, sleep disorders, mood swings, physical balance issues.
A lot of that overlaps with PTSD.
That's why I thought she could be having a recurrence.
- I told you I wasn't.
- It's a common misdiagnosis.
The fact is, every TBI has unique qualities.
We're talking about the human brain.
There's still so much we don't know.
So what's your prognosis, Doctor? The good news is that the injury is diffuse.
And given your mental and physical health, Colonel, I'd say there's a good chance for recovery.
Great.
How do we do that? Surgery? There's nothing to go in and fix.
The treatment for TBI is rehabilitation.
Retraining your brain, essentially.
Teaching the damaged nerves to communicate again properly.
But I can still work, right? Minimally, I'd say we're looking at restricted duty.
These therapies take time.
And you need to avoid stress, which can complicate your recovery and even make your symptoms worse.
Stress comes with the territory, Doc.
Yeah, I understand.
Your neuro team will meet again this afternoon and send our recommendations to your CO.
In the meantime, given your physical balance issues, I'm afraid you're not medically cleared to drive.
And there are some other short-term guidelines we should discuss.
Well? - This is good.
We have a diagnosis.
I'll get a treatment schedule.
Before you know it, I'll be good as new.
She said the therapy may take a while, Joan.
She also said I'm in great shape.
And the not driving? What's the big deal? I'm used to having a driver anyway.
Well, a good attitude's half the battle.
Then the battle's half won.
Mister driver, headquarters, please.
Maybe we should head home, get some rest.
I have work, Roland.
See your Braves win last night? Yep.
Three straight.
Is this some sort of hazing or something? What? You've hardly said two words to me all day.
You've hardly said two words to me in the last couple weeks.
I like to stay focused.
Hit it.
Call it a mother's intuition, but I can't get that call out of my head.
- You try the number again? - A few times.
It keeps going to voice mail.
Check with the phone company, find out who the number belongs to? Yeah.
The name on the account is Scott Hoffman.
Address in Springdale.
If the kid is with his mother, why is he using a man's cell phone? Maybe the phone's in her husband's name.
I hate to agree with Edmunds, Denise, but it seems like a prank to me.
But it sounded like a child's voice.
It always does, honey.
Trust me.
I have wasted so much time on prank calls.
But what if it's real? The kid could be in trouble, his mother could be bleeding out, and we're just sitting on our hands.
Yes, ma'am.
And what's that address? Cease fire, cease fire, cease fire! Range is clear! Next team, reset Claymores! Now you've conducted the initial circuit test, verified the clacker's in working order? - Yes, Sergeant.
- Good.
Plant the mine, secure the detonator.
And when you line it up, make sure you line it up center mass.
Riggs, keep that blasting cap away from the mine until it's set.
Put it back in the spool.
Riggs, Giron, start unraveling the detonator wire.
Come on.
Let's go.
Come on.
Hey! Cease fire! Cease fire! What are you doing, Private? Don't you know cell phone frequencies can set off explosives? Huh? Are you trying to get us all killed, Private? Give me that! We are taking this up ladder! Get off my range! Off the range! - Dude's a hard Yep.
Colonel Burton.
You have that deployment readiness report? Affirmative.
I just finished my section a few minutes ago.
Sorry, Frank.
It was just right here.
Is this it? If it was a snake, it would've bit me.
Yeah.
It happens to me all the time, usually with the car keys.
Thank you.
Denise, I got your kid, line four.
Taylor? Why aren't you here? My mom needs help! Taylor, turn off that radio.
I can barely hear you.
You need to come now.
Taylor, I can't send help if I don't know where you are.
We're in a field.
There was a deer.
We hit a tree.
Okay, do you know the name of the road you're on? No! We're in a field! Can you cover me a minute? I'll be right back.
Okay.
Denise? Hey.
Sorry to bother you.
I know you're busy.
Not really.
What's up? Well, I got a 911 call from a boy who says he was in a car accident with his mother, but I can't keep him on the line long enough to get a location, and my supervisor thinks it's a prank.
- But you don't.
- No.
I got an address for the cell phone account.
I was hoping maybe you could check it out for me.
If the caller's at home, we'll know it's a prank.
- But it sounds real to you? - Yeah, that's my gut.
The boy says his mother's unconscious.
And if she's been out this long, then, she could be in serious trouble.
- Every minute counts.
- Okay.
What's the address? Got it.
I'll see what I can do.
Thanks, Pamela.
All right.
Let you know.
Bye.
That was a friend of mine from county dispatch.
And she thinks she has an emergency on her hands, but she's having trouble confirming, so she wanted us to check out an address in Springdale.
Unofficially? Yeah.
Well, her supervisor won't let her roll units without more information.
Yeah, he probably doesn't want to waste our time or taxpayers' money.
Listen, I don't Not to be out of line, but my friend wouldn't have asked without good reason.
And we're about to go code 7, and I know this great burger place in Springdale, so lunch is on me.
- They have good fries? - Yeah.
Sweet potato, paprika and cinnamon.
- What's the address again? - 2045 Sunnymeade.
Thank you for dropping these off at Mercer, Roxy.
Sure.
Happy to help new moms.
You okay? Um Yeah.
Just going to the hospital today kind of freaks me out.
Why? It's nothing.
Roxy? I'm just worried about Trevor, you know, with this whole - What about it? - No.
It's silly.
No.
If it bothers you, it's not silly.
Okay.
So if we make it to 100 days, it's gonna be like one big party around here, right? So I went ahead and I ordered a boatload of shrimp for the Hump, and now I kind of have this bad feeling like maybe I jinxed everything.
You're showing confidence in the 23rd.
You're betting on success.
That's true.
And I don't think a food order could affect field exercises.
Okay, well, now I feel silly.
No.
No, no, no.
Soldiers are superstitious.
Michael wore the same T-shirt every day when he was in the gulf.
- That's gross.
- Yep.
And unhealthy.
And in the last week, he's eaten nothing but eggs for breakfast.
And Trevor always gets dressed in exactly the same order.
Soldiers need to feel lucky.
So do we.
So if eggs can work for Michael, then I guess shrimp can work for you.
- Thank you.
- Thanks for doing this.
Sure.
- Talk to you later.
- See you.
- Head in the game, Riggs! - Stay alert for enemy contact! - Yes, Sergeant.
Giron, weapon points out! Yes, Sergeant! You just earned the team an extra mile.
- Way to go, Giron.
- Make it two miles! Come on, gentlemen! Let's move! Nobody home.
While we're here, it wouldn't hurt to do a little canvassing, right? Thought you were gonna buy me lunch.
Come on, 10 minutes.
Somebody's life could be at stake.
Okay.
Okay.
- Pamela? - There was nobody at your address, but we found a neighbor that says that there's a couple that lives there with a boy, around seven.
Is the boy's name Taylor? She didn't know any names, but she did say that the husband and wife were both soldiers, and that she hasn't seen the husband in a while.
- Deployed? - Or divorced maybe.
Okay.
Thanks.
I'll have Frank look up the Army records.
Okay, good idea.
Hey, tell her if the kid calls back, get him to describe what kind of road he's on, any landmarks.
My partner says if he calls back Yeah.
No, I heard.
I'm way ahead of him.
Okay.
And have him step out of the car and read you the license plate number, too, - 'cause we can use that to confirm.
- Right.
Thanks, Pamela.
All right.
Sure.
Sir, your wife is on line two.
Hey, D.
Hey, Frank.
I need your help with something at work.
All right.
What's going on? Well, I need you to look up some information on a soldier.
Okay.
Who is it? Name's Scott Hoffman.
All right.
Major Hoffman is currently deployed to Iraq.
And his wife? - That's funny.
- What? Well, his wife is Captain Lydia Houston.
And I spoke to her just this morning.
She was supposed to report a few hours ago, never showed up.
Lydia Houston.
Any children? Yeah, a son, Taylor, seven years old.
Frank, I think Captain Houston was involved in a car accident, and her son is calling, asking for help.
Is she all right? I don't know.
We can't locate them.
Can you tell me if they have any relatives in the area? Yeah.
She's got a sister up in Raleigh.
But other than that Frank, I gotta go.
All right.
Call me as soon as you know anything, - all right? - I will.
Taylor? Why aren't you here? My mommy needs help.
Taylor, honey, I need to know how your mommy's doing.
Did she wake up? Yeah, but she fell asleep again.
She's hurt! Okay.
Look, I need you to do me a favor.
Can you put your hand on your mommy's tummy? Why? Because I want to make sure that she's breathing comfortably so I can tell the people that are coming to help you.
Is it moving up and down? Yeah.
A little.
You need to come now! I just need a little more information.
What kind of road are you on, smooth or bumpy? Bumpy.
- Is it a dirt road? - Yes.
Can you see any houses or buildings nearby? No.
Just grass.
I hear a train.
Do you see any train tracks? No! Okay, all right, listen, honey.
I need you to do one more thing.
I need you to get out of the car and read me the numbers on the license plate.
Can you do that? But I don't wanna leave my mom.
Okay, Taylor, I just need you to be brave for me and your mother, okay? It'll only take a minute.
Okay.
All right.
Let's do this together.
Let's get out of the car and go to the license plate.
Okay.
I'm at the back now.
Okay, good.
Can you read me the license plate? PX91 T7, right? Yeah.
Okay.
You did a great job, Taylor.
Now can you tell me where you and your mommy were going when you crashed? We were going to Aunt Lottie's.
Where does Aunt Lottie live? Taylor? Hello? Hello? So we ran the plate.
It belongs to a 1998 tan Mercury Tracer registered to a Lydia Houston.
That's Hoffman's wife.
- So it all fits.
- That's it.
Thanks, Pamela.
Yeah? That call I got earlier, it's no prank.
The cell phone involved belongs to Army Major Scott Hoffman, currently in Iraq.
He's married to Captain Lydia Houston, who failed to report for duty at Fort Marshall this morning.
And she has a son named Taylor who read me the plates on the crashed car.
It's licensed to Captain Houston.
You contacted the phone company to have them triangulate the call? They haven't gotten back to me.
Let me pull a few strings, get that pushed through.
Meantime, put out an APB.
Right.
You wanted to see me, sir? Yeah, Joan.
Come on in.
Please sit down.
I received your medical report from the neurological team at Mercer.
Yes.
I know I have some work ahead of me, sir.
Based on their strong recommendations, I'm ordering you on convalescent leave for 30 days, pending your next evaluation.
But, sir, we deploy before then.
Joan, you won't be deploying with the brigade.
Sir, I've been training my troops for months.
They're counting on me.
You're not fit.
I don't know what they put in that report, but, sir, I can function fine.
Yes, I have experienced a few difficulties, but they're minor.
Nothing that will stop me from doing my job.
Your doctors disagree, and so do I.
Sending you to Afghanistan would endanger not just you, but your soldiers.
I know how disappointing this is, but you are a valuable asset.
We need you at full health so you can return to duty as soon as possible.
This is a serious diagnosis, Joan.
You need to give yourself time to heal.
I know sitting on the sidelines isn't easy, but that's what's happening right now, understood? Yes, sir.
That's all.
The phone company says the calls were picked up by only one cell tower, here.
Which puts our accident anywhere in a six-mile radius.
- That's a big area to cover.
- Yeah, but not a whole lot of roads.
The boy said that they were on their way to Aunt Lottie's, but Army records don't show any relatives by that name.
Dirt road, deer habitat, train tracks nearby.
It's gotta be back there somewhere.
Hang on.
Wait.
Slow down.
Aunt Lottie? Afternoon, ma'am.
What can I do for you, Officers? Sorry to disturb.
We were wondering if you know a boy named Taylor.
Taylor Hoffman.
His mom called earlier asking if she could bring him by, but I haven't seen him yet.
Why, has something happened? If they were heading to Lottie's from Springdale, I bet Captain Houston took Wood Road number two.
- Shortcut? - Old logging road, good hunting along there.
It's impassable if it rains, but she could shave 10 minutes off her trip on a day like this.
You gotta help us! Located an accident.
Stand by.
- You gotta help my mom.
- It's okay.
We're here to help now.
Okay, okay.
We will, I promise.
I need EMS and Fire at Wood Road number two, one mile west of Sycamore.
I have a 10-50, single MVA with injuries.
Roger.
EMS has been notified.
E TA three and a half.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Call just came in.
They found your kid.
- What about the mother? - She's breathing.
That's all I know.
Hey, you did great today, Taylor.
Your mommy's gonna be so proud of you.
You ready? Okay.
Bye.
Great kid.
Yeah.
I hope his mom makes it.
It's out of our hands.
Yeah.
Well, what about that lunch? I'm starved.
Take a rain check? I gotta pick up my kids at school, drop them off at a friend's.
- The ex is out of town.
- Excuses, excuses.
Yeah.
Divorce is so convenient.
It was a good day.
Yeah, it was.
Go, go, go! Let's go! Move it! End X! End X! Weapons safety on! Nice shot, boys.
Let's go home.
Nice toss, hotshot.
You should see me with a launcher, bro.
Boys and their toys.
You watch yourself, man.
No! Medic! Medic! Sherwood! Sherwood! What is your major malfunction, Taylor? Sorry, sir.
I tripped.
It was an accident.
The rifle just went off.
Medic! - I got it, Sergeant.
- I think he's hit.
- Specialist! Specialist! Specialist! Is he okay? What the happened? Idiot from team four misfired! Come on! Can you hear me? - What happened? - You were hit.
- Where? - I don't know.
Where does it hurt? I don't know.
My head.
Holy.
Looks like it clipped your helmet.
Follow my finger.
Think you could get up? - Yeah.
- Easy.
Is he gonna be okay? Still need to check him out, but I'd say yeah.
Looks like this is your lucky day, Sherwood.
Guess so.
All right.
I'm gonna make sure this is handled properly.
- Giron, you're in charge.
- Roger that, Sergeant.
I'll see you back at the barracks.
Sergeant LeBlanc, he's okay.
- Yeah.
- Come on.
You know, dude, an inch to the left, you'd have cost us a day off.
I'm just kidding.
Give me my helmet.
Okay, baby girl.
We are home.
Joan, what are you doing here? General Holden placed me on convalescent leave today.
For how long? At least 30 days.
They're not letting me deploy.
I'm sorry.
They're overreacting.
But, Joan, you heard what the doctor said.
Yes, I did.
Diffused injury.
Excellent chance for recovery.
That's true.
But I'm not sure you're grasping just how serious this injury is.
- I'm fine, Roland.
- You're not fine.
Once you've suffered a brain injury, you're that much more susceptible to getting another.
- I heard the doctor.
- Then you heard her say with each successive injury, the damage gets worse.
- It could become permanent, Joan.
- You trying to scare me? No, sweetheart, I'm trying to help you.
Look, this is my field, and I'm telling you that the best thing for you to do right now, the only thing to do, is to rest and concentrate on your rehabilitation.
I'm not your patient, Roland.
I don't need your opinion.
I need your support.
Stop.
Specialist Sherwood.
At ease, soldier.
How'd it go today? Great, sir.
No problems.
We had a good day.
Glad to hear it.
Glad to hear it.
And your new sergeant? - Solid leader.
I like him.
- Good.
Good.
Very thorough with his paperwork, too, it turns out.
You know, an interesting report landed on my desk a little while ago.
Live-fire exercise, negligent discharge.
Now, Son, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? It was no big deal.
It could've been a big deal.
- You okay? - Dad, I'm fine.
- You sure? - Yes, sir.
The doctors checked me out and everything.
Something like that could really rattle you.
Yeah, but It was just a stupid mistake.
It happens.
- I've moved on.
- Well, good.
You know Live-fire exercise before my second tour, some numbskull pulls a pin out of a grenade and then manages to throw the thing behind us.
- You're kidding.
- Don't know how he did it.
It's a miracle nobody was hurt.
Turns out, the thing rolled into a hole before it exploded.
Hadn't have done that, who knows what would've happened? Point is, some days you get lucky.
You thank God, and you move on.
All right? I never told your mother about that one.
Thought it best not to upset her.
- That's what I was thinking.
- All right.
As you were.
Thanks, Dad.
So I checked with the hospital, and Captain Houston's gonna be all right.
But she got banged up pretty good.
She had internal bleeding and a collapsed lung.
Wow.
Sounds like you got there just in time, Pamela.
- Well, thanks to Denise.
- You deserve the credit.
The nurse said that any longer, and she might have died.
And what about the little boy? His aunt's driving down from Raleigh to take care of him.
You guys were heroes today.
And, more importantly, you saved my shrimp.
- What? - I'll explain that to you later.
Thank you for trusting me.
Are you kidding? It worked out for me, too.
Boone is finally talking to me now.
Congratulations.
Nice.
Yeah.
Today was something else.
- Well, cheers.
- Cheers.
Babe, I am so glad this day is over.
Yeah, so am I.
You know, when I made Sergeant, it was to become a recruiter.
I never thought about leading a team until I was told I had to deploy.
But these guys They're counting on me to bring them home.
It's a huge responsibility.
Yeah, I get that.
I thought today was about testing my men.
But you know what? It was about testing myself.
And what about you? What did you decide with the whole shrimp thing? I doubled my order.
I figured that I couldn't lose betting on the 23rd.
Straight.
So maybe we should celebrate our good luck.
Yeah, okay.
Mmm! Pancakes! Absolutely.
Game's over.
Can we talk about it now? We can.
Well, then congratulations on reaching 100 days.
Thank you.
You don't seem very excited.
No, I am.
I am.
It's great for the troops.
Reinforces vigilance, pride and unit safety.
Just thinking about Joan, that's all.
I'm sure she understands, you're only doing what's best.
Yeah.
Doesn't make it any easier.
You should've seen the look on her face when I told her she couldn't deploy.
We may have reached but yesterday I lost one of my best soldiers.