Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman (1993) s01e03 Episode Script

The Visitor

Stage coach! Stage coach is coming! Stage coach is coming! Well, you're anemic, Emily.
Is it fatal? Heaven's no.
You'll be fine.
Now I want you to get a bunch of rusty nails.
I want you to boil them in water.
Add a splash of vinegar and then when the water's boiled down a bit, take the nails out and drink it.
You want me to drink rusty water?! Well, we need to build your blood up with iron and rust has iron in it.
So I want you to take a tablespoon in the morning and one before you go to bed.
You're the doctor.
Ma! The stage coach is here! Thank God! About time you showed up! A water wagon came through 3 days ago! - Get that mail bag down! - I about gave up on you fellas.
Loren! Excuse me.
- Is there anything for me? - Not yet.
Hey, Horace, here's that book you ordered.
"The Mystery of Love"?! That must be some mistake.
I-I ordered Moby Dick.
Here you go, Dr.
Mike.
There's one for you.
May I help you down? Oh.
Thank you.
Mother! Michaela! What are you doing here?! Well, the telegram said there was an epidemic.
And you were lying on your death bed.
Telegram? We didn't know whether you were gonna live or die.
Matthew, Colleen, Brian this is my mother.
If you're her Ma, then you must be my Grandma.
What are they talking about? You may call her Mrs.
Quinn, Brian.
There are my children now.
Well I had no idea! I wrote to you.
Well, you just asked me for information about child rearing.
And I'm still waiting for it.
Michaela, I am very tired.
And I need a bath and some food.
Now would you please tell me where the hotel is? There is no hotel.
I beg your pardon? You can stay with us.
Very well.
My luggage is up there.
Are all those yours? Correct.
I'll get them.
I still have a patient to see.
I hope you don't mind waiting.
And if I did? They said a woman doctor could not survive alone on the new frontier.
But I won't give up.
And I'm not alone anymore.
I've inherited a famiy.
And that may be the biggest challenge of all.
I think a breath of fresh air is in order.
I'll show you Robert E.
's flying horse.
No, just a stroll will do.
Myra! Myra! All I wanna do is talk with her! I don't care if all you wanna do is gawk at her.
Either way, Myra costs money.
Well, fine.
How much? I already told you, Horace -- 5 bucks.
Could I talk with her on credit? Don't waste my time.
Did it ever occur to you that you could sit down and discuss your problems like two civilized people? What's "civilized"? Nevermind.
How was your trip from Boston, Mother? 7 days by rail, 6 day wait in St.
Louis.
Then 5 days in a stage coach.
Let me simply say the entire affair was lacking in the ammenities.
How are things at home? Oh, they're fine.
We're putting a fourth story on for the ladies city club.
We're hoping that Alexander Paris will be our architect.
How nice.
Hey, can I come visit you someday? I've never been to Boston.
Brian, Boston's a long way from here.
Here we are.
How quaint.
You actually live here? Yes, Mother, I actually do.
We do.
You must be hot and tired, Mother.
Brian and me were -- Brian and I.
Brian and I are going down to the river for a swim.
You can come along.
Get his bath.
We'll watch out for snakes for ya! Perhaps some other time.
Okay.
You don't know what you're missing.
Come on! We're going swimming! No.
Why not? You love swimming.
Will you just get out of here and leave me alone?! You really intend to keep these children? Yes.
Yes, I do.
When their mother died, she asked me to take care of them.
I promised I would.
You made a promise like that to a woman you hardly knew? There's some women you meet and it's though you've known them forever.
Other women you could know for a lifetime And it's as though you're complete strangers.
We caught 'em just for you, Mrs.
Quinn! Yup.
As soon as I gut 'em, we'll fry 'em up for dinner! Catfish are real tasty! I thought you might need this.
Thank you.
Oh! Be very careful with those! Those were a gift from my grandmother a long time ago.
They sure are pretty.
Thank you.
You're welcome to come inside while I tend to a few things.
No, thank you.
I think I'd rather see the sights.
Remember me? I'm the one that helped you down out of the stage yesterday.
Oh, yes.
Loren Bray.
Mrs.
Quinn.
I guess you're here to take that headstrong daughter of yours back to Boston so she can find a husband and do what a woman should.
Well, I really don't feel that that's any of your business, Mr.
Bray.
Call me Loren.
And what do your friends call you? Betty? Betsy? Lizzie? My friends call me Elizabeth.
Now if you find yourself in need of life's little necessities, you just don't hesitate to come over and see me at the general store.
Well, it was nice talking with you.
Miss Quinn? Dr.
Quinn.
I'm Jedediah Bancroft, First National Bank of Denver.
What can I do for you? Well, as you're aware, you're illegally occupying these premises.
You'll have to vacate immediately.
Failure to do so will result in forcible removal.
Do you realize what you're doing? My job.
That may be so, but you're also closing the only medical facility in this town! With all due respect, that wasn't much of a facility.
Wait! Perhaps I could rent it from you.
You can't rent a foreclosed building.
It's already set for auction.
Then I'll buy it.
Fine.
I'll see you in Denver.
Denver? That's where the auction is.
How much is it? Well, bidding starts at $1,500.
I'll need a mortgage.
What's your collateral? My medical degree.
Well, if you were a man, yes, but most people have no confidence in lady doctors.
Now, if you were married, maybe I could work out something with your husband.
Any plans to get married? I really don't think that's any of your business! No plans, huh? How much I owe you, Robert E? Next time you go hunting for elk bring me back the hide.
We'll call it even.
You got yourself a deal.
Well, aren't you gonna try it out? I know your work, Robert E.
Go on.
Hold that for me.
It's cornbread.
I hope you like it.
I love cornbread.
Well Well Well Well Well, good day, Robert E! Sully.
Ma'am.
Looks like you got it bad, Robert E.
That's the kind of woman a man can dream about his whole life.
Better live your dreams, Robert E.
Sully! It's Robert E! Oh my God! Jake! Help me take him over to your place.
Maybe that's not such a good idea.
What are you saying?! Are you saying that Robert E is good enough to shoe your horse but not good enough to be in your shop?! It's not me, you understand.
It's my customers.
Am I gonna die? Am I gonna die? Get the Reverend! Reverend! I'm right here, Robert E.
Am I going to Heaven? Tell me! Am I going to Heaven?! You're not going to Heaven! Not yet anyway! Matthew, get the wagon.
Get him over here.
Whipping scars.
Let me go! Let me go! You've been hurt, Robert E.
No, there's nothing wrong with me.
Let me out of here! You've been burned! The forge exploded.
Get me some water.
Lots of it.
I have to clean the wounds, Robert E.
I'm afraid I can't anesthetize you in your condition.
I'm afraid this is gonna hurt.
It's just pain.
Michaela! Does that man live here? What man? The savage.
Oh.
That man.
You mean Sully.
Sully.
No, he doesn't live here.
He's a friend of mine and Robert E and like a good friend, he's concerned.
Savages don't knock, Mother.
Good morning.
Come on in.
I'm sorry if I startled you, ma'am.
How's he doing? So far no fever.
No sign of infection.
You need anything, you just ask.
Thank you.
Grace! You're not feeling poorly, I hope.
No, no.
I'm feeling fine.
I came to see Robert E.
Oh! Oh, well, let me tell him you're here.
Are they bad? His burns? Yes.
Grace is here to see you.
Tell her to go away.
Robert E, I rode all the way out here to see you.
I don't care! Go away! What kind of nonsense is this?! Are you deaf woman? I said -- I don't wanna see you-- It may be better if you came back later.
Grace! He's not himself right now.
Please don't take it personally.
- He's a stubborn man! - Yes, he is! But it's just that stubbornness that might pull him through.
You know, in Boston, they deliver the milk in glass bottles right at the front door.
What's the matter, dear? I'm going to die! Why do you think you're going to die? I'm bleeding! I've been bleeding for two whole days! Child, you're not gonna die.
You're just growing up.
You've become a woman.
Now, we're gonna have a little chat.
Have you noticed Colleen acting oddly lately? A little.
Why? Well, two days ago, she became a woman.
She thought she was gonna die.
She's too young! She's 13.
It's how old you were.
Oh, I should have realized.
Like father like daughter! He never noticed anything that went on in his home.
He was so preoccupied with his profession.
I'm sorry I didn't prepare you.
It's okay.
Mrs.
Quinn explained everything.
Is there anything you want to ask me? No.
You sure? I'm fine.
Good.
I'm glad.
What happened to you? Some guy cut me.
How much to sew me up? I thought you preferred the expertise of Mr.
Slicker in these matters.
Jake's drunk.
Can we talk later when I'm not bleeding to death? A dollar a stitch.
Well, that's robbery! Then I invite you to take your business elsewhere! Could you do it already? Go on in.
I've gotta get some water.
Who's that? A patient.
Well, at least your father didn't bring his patients into the parlor.
You think I enjoy working under these conditions? I tried buying a boarding house for a clinic, but they wouldn't give me a mortgage! I could have told you it was a waste of time to even discuss the matter.
Just like you told me that they'd never accept me into medical school?! Well, they didn't, did they? You went to a ladies medical college! They taught me medicine! But they didn't teach the people how to accept a woman doctor! The people of Colorado Springs accept me! A few desperate souls! What you should be doing is dancing in Boston and meeting young, eligible men! I had a young man! Oh, David would never permit you to come to a place like this.
David is dead, Mother! Then why don't you stop mourning him? You brought his name up, not I! I've made a new life for myself, out here! And what a life! Why can't you accept me for what I am?! And what are you? You're an unmarried woman trying to raise 3 children in a shack in the middle of nowhere! And offering your medical services to a bunch of back woodsmen who pay you in potatoes and in chickens! That's right, Mother.
And one of them is in need of my medical services.
Excuse me! Can I help you? Yeah.
I would like to send a telegram.
That's what I'm here for.
We send them anywhere in the world! Just so long as there's a telegraph office.
The wire should read: "Building set for auction" That goes to the First National Bank of Denver.
Would that be in Denver? Yes.
That's in Denver.
Oh, I get it.
You're the banker! What do you do all day? Count money? Dr.
Mike! This just came for you.
Thank you, Horace.
Would you get that telegram off right away? Telegram? What telegram? The telegram announcing the auction of the boarding house.
I told you all about that in real plain English.
Or do you just understand Latin?! Good day, Miss Quinn! Hey, that's Dr.
Quinn! He's developed a fever.
This is no place to treat a patient.
He should be in a hospital.
I have no place to isolate him.
No place to bathe him properly.
Colleen, you'll have to stay here and take care of Robert E.
But I need to go to town, too.
Sorry.
Well, can't the boys look after him? They promised Olive that they'd help out at the ranch.
They get to do everything! I said I'm sorry.
"I'm sorry", "I'm sorry" -- that's all I ever hear! Well, perhaps I could look after him.
Thank you, Mrs.
Quinn.
Good morning, Mrs.
Quinn! How's Robert E? He's sleeping.
My wife had a garden.
Exact spot.
You lived here? This is my homestead.
I built it.
Well, why did you move? My wife died giving birth.
Oh.
And the child? She went with her.
I can't imagine the pain of losing a child.
I don't know how one would ever recover.
You don't.
I want to thank you for letting my daughter live here.
You know, maybe if we would've had a doctor like your daughter before my wife and baby would still be alive.
Come on, boy.
Does Jebediah Bancroft stay here? Maybe.
Maybe not.
Hank, I suggest you tell me where he is or I might not be so accomodating next time you need to be stitched up.
I have to buy that clinic.
It seems to me that there is a big difference between the desire to buy and the ability to buy.
Now, you've got plenty of one but none of the other.
Don't you understand? People's lives are at stake! You're breaking my heart.
You don't have a heart, Mr.
Bancroft.
Maybe not, but I've got a brain and it's telling me that you don't have enough money to buy that property.
1,000 dollars down payment.
The price is still $1,500.
But this is two-thirds of the cost and you could give me a loan to cover the balance.
I can't give a loan to a single woman.
Can't? Or won't?! Both! I'm good for the money.
Not according to the First National Bank of Denver.
To us, you're just another bad risk best to shy away from.
I'm not through with you, Mr.
Bancroft! I didn't think you were, Miss Quinn! DOCTOR Quinn! That's a 5 dollar gold piece! Go ahead.
Count it if you want! Horace! Hello, Myra.
Don't worry.
I paid Hank so I could come up.
Oh! Myra! What? What kind of man do you think I am?! Well, you paid Hank for me, didn't you? I paid so I could talk to you! You wanna talk to me? I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me when I was sick.
Oh! Maybe it didn't mean much.
Maybe you was just pitching in.
I wouldn't say that! I think I took especially good care of you.
Why would you do that, Myra? Maybe I was hoping one day you'd come talk to me, just like you're doing right now.
We could get to know each other.
Proper-like.
Have a seat.
Did I ever tell you about the time I sent a telegram to the wrong person? No, but I'd sure like to hear about it.
I wish I was a boy.
Did you ever wish you were a boy? Yes.
Yes, I did.
Especially when I was your age.
I was expected to learn needle point and look pretty.
All I ever wanted to do was see the world.
The only ones that ever got to do that were the boys.
Boys get to do everything.
No.
No, not everything.
I was a little older than you when I first assisted my father during a birth.
A little girl.
Her mother named her Julia.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
To create a life.
I wanna do more than get married and have babies.
There are no rules, Colleen.
Look at me.
Never hide behind the fact that you're a girla woman.
And don't give up on your dreams just because you're afraid you won't achieve them in a man's world.
You just have to fight even harder to make them come true.
You really think so? If you're mother were sitting here right now, she'd say exactly the same thing.
You're lucky you still have your mother.
There's something I have to ask.
I'm listening.
I need that boarding house to use as a clinic if I'm to take proper care of the people here.
Since the bank won't give me a mortgage I have to pay cash.
How much is it? $1,500.
I still have a thousand left from my request.
Michaela, a mother always wants to give her child everything she can.
But I would be failing you if I encouraged you in this ridiculous scheme.
I've never asked you for anything, Mother.
Perhaps you should have.
You always went to your father and he gave you everything you ever wanted.
What he gave me was the courage to follow my dreams.
I never wanted a life of convention.
You mean a life like mine? That's right.
I never did and I never will.
It isn't any wonder.
I was a wife without a husband and a mother without a daughter.
I'm begging you, Mother, please help me! I'll pay you back! That's not the point.
I just don't want to help you ruin your life.
Sometimes I think you must really hate me, Mother.
How is he? I'm afraid he's taken a turn for the worse, Grace.
Good afternoon, Mr.
Bray.
Good afternoon, Mrs.
Quinn.
This came for Dr.
Mike.
Oh.
Thank you very much.
Would you mind if I rode back into town with you? Alright, but hurry it up.
I'm leaving.
Robert E? It's Grace.
We gotta hide the children.
They'll be coming for them next Robert E, you listen to me! You are not a slave anymore! Those days are gone forever.
Dear God, please don't take my children Robert E, your children are safe.
Everything's gonna be alright.
I'm here and I'm not leaving.
I want to thank you for bringing me all the way back to town.
Oh, no problem.
It's just that old homestead brings back a lot of memories.
None of them good.
My daughter died up there giving birth to my first grandchild.
Your daughter was Sully's wife? First my daughter and then my wife.
Well, they say time heals.
Ever since Michaela's father passed away, the days seemed to get longer and logner.
And the nights.
Sometimes I wake up and just for a second, I think things are back the way they used to be.
Then I remember.
My Abigail was headstrong, just like your girl.
Michaela's very much like her father in that respect.
Well, maybe so, but if I could just have my daughter back I'd rejoice in her being just as stubborn as she was.
You've gotta save him.
I'm trying, Grace.
I'm trying.
Sorry.
I know you are.
I lost my mother before I ever had a chance to tell her how much she meant to me.
And I promised that it would never happen again.
Sometimes people disappoint you and you just have to let it go and love them anyway.
Why don't you go lie down? Michaela, you should get some sleep.
Wake me if there's any change.
Tell me a story.
I don't remember any stories.
Could you make one up? Inside your head? You mean, like, "Once upon a time" Well, once upon a time there was a woman who had 5 daughters and they all married very nice gentlemenand they made their homes close to their mother All but one.
And she was the youngest.
She left home and went to a very, very dangerous place And her name was Dr.
Mike.
Thought she was gonna be a boy when she was born, only she wasn't.
She was a girl.
She was real pretty and real nice.
After she grew up real good, she came to Colorado.
That's when she saved my life.
After my real mama died, Dr.
Mike got to be my ma here on earth.
She loves me just the same.
She told me so.
Do you know who I am? Haven't lost my mind, woman.
Robert E, I didn't know you had any children.
I don't you ever speak of them again.
I won't speak of them againif you promise never to send me away again.
I didn't want you to see me like this.
No reason for that.
Only one I can think of.
His fever broke.
Welcome back, Robert E.
Matthew, hurry up! What's the big surprise? She still has to pack.
Are you ready? It's for you.
I borrowed it from Jake's Barber shop so you can take a bath.
Well, that would be lovely.
You forgot these.
No I didn't.
I want you to have them.
Really? You sure you have everything, Mother? Yes, I have everything.
Good.
Came to say goodbye, ma'am.
Goodbye, Sully.
I think I'll pick up a tin of travel treats if you don't mind.
Excuse me.
How's Robert E? Your private expression of concern is appreciated, Mr.
Slicker.
A public stand would have done him more good.
How is he? His fever's broke.
I'm glad to hear it.
You'll be taking that daughter of yours back to Boston, huh? No.
She's too independent and stubborn.
She takes after me in that respect.
So you'll be going home alone? Yes.
I'll miss her.
Ah, wellseems like parents and children spend half their lives not seeing eye-to-eye, By the time they do fine some common ground, there's barely any time left to enjoy it.
That's my greatest fear.
Tell you what.
Next time you come up for visit,I'll show you around a little bit.
Maybe see some more of the countryside.
I'd enjoy spending some more time with a gal like you.
Wellthank you.
Loren.
Goodbye.
Your father would be very proud of you.
What about you, Mother? What's this? Open it.
A doctor needs a clinic.
Bye, Mrs.
Quinn! You can call me "Grandma"! Bye, Grandma!
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