EPISODE 8/18/00
Simon Helps Lily Celebrate Her Birthday


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August, 2000



FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2000


Scene 1:
Place: Deserted island off of the North Carolina coast - Atlantic Ocean.

Location: The cave.

LILY WALSH SNYDER AND SIMON FRAISER

>> Simon: Celia's all holed up in Cooley's hut.
>> Lily: It's too good for her.
>> Simon: Did you check the lines?
>> Lily: Not a nibble.
>> Simon: Did they take the bait?
>> Lily: Hmm?
>> Simon: Never mind. I'll check.
>> Simon: This is so much easier than spearing them. Don't you think? You okay?
>> Lily: A little tired.
>> Simon: Yeah. Well, it's pretty hard to sleep with one eye open.
>> Lily: No, no. It wasn't Celia. It was my dreams.
>> Simon: Bad ones?
>> Lily: It started out really sweetly. I was watching Faith ride her tricycle. And there's this Honeysuckle bush right on the walkway by our house and it smells so great. And I could actually smell it. It was so strong. And I was watching faith on her tricycle, and she was peddling the peddles so strongly. And I was smiling at her. And then she looked up and she saw my face. I reached out to her. I had my arms open to her, and I thought she'd run to me and give me a hug, and she just froze. I tried to speak to her gently, to reassure her, but she just started screaming. I'm a stranger to my own child. She was screaming for her Daddy to help her.
>> Simon: I'm so sorry.
>> Lily: Even if I'm transported back to my home right at this very second, my daughter is not gonna know me. She's going to run from me. I'm a complete stranger to my child.
>> Simon: Of course, not. Of course she knows you. Lily, you're her mother.
>> Lily: No. No, you see, a mother is the person that tucks them in at night, and reads them bedtime stories over and over again, so often that they can memorize them. Their mother's the "tickle bug" that makes them laugh and scares away the scary monsters from underneath Luke's bed. And if Celia's right, Rose is that woman now, not me.
>> Simon: No. Celia's a pathological liar. Do not believe a word she says.
>> Lily: If Rose was able to convince Holden and my children that she's me, and I have nothing to go home to. And it's breaking my heart.

Scene 2:
Location: The cave.

LILY SNYDER AND SIMON FRASIER

>> Lily: Before I had kids, I thought the second that they're born -- the second that they come into the world you're gonna have this incredible bond to them. And you do, it's true. But it's nothing compared to what happens after that. You just grow with them every single day from that point on. It's like falling in love. Remember all those things that you do with them, going to the library, picking out new books, all the broken toys you get to fix, all the scraped knees you get to bandage, kissing every tear away. If you're lucky enough, it makes them a part of you. I feel so lost to them right now Simon.
>> Simon: You're still their mother.
>> Lily: No. All I have is the memory of what it was like to be their mother. I'm just tired of this. I want to get out of here. I don't want to have to wonder what it was like to hold them in my arms. To have their little breath on my -- I'm sorry, you don't need to hear this from me for the hundredth time.
>> Simon: Yes. Yes, I do. Because you need to remember what is waiting for you. Because that is going to keep you strong.
>> Lily: No, it's not enough, Simon.
>> Simon: It is. It is. You have to believe that you are going to hear their voices again. You have to believe that you will be the one to pick them up when they fall down, because that belief will take you home.
>> Lily: That and a small miracle.
>> Simon: Yeah. Yeah, but I still believe in miracles.
>> Lily: Well, then get us off this island.
>> Simon: I will. I will do everything in my power to get us home.
>> Lily: Okay. Then we'll start with Celia first, okay? We'll deal with her, then we'll build another raft. One that is as strong as a battleship. Look, you promised me a miracle, right? Then give me a miracle! Make me believe that you're gonna get me home. Please?

Scene 3:
Location: The cave.

SIMON FRASIER AND LILY WALSH SNYDER

>> Simon: A raft is not going to make it.
>> Lily: Maybe we'll pass a fishing boat. Maybe we won't have to be out there for very long.
>> Simon: No.
>> Lily: Hey! You were ready before.
>> Simon: Yeah, that was before I saw the water from the high bluffs. I've checked out the ocean currents. Look, there is a -- there is a reef or a sandbar circling this entire island. The riptides are fierce. A raft would get torn apart before we even got a mile offshore.
>> Lily: This is your way of persuading me not to give up hope?
>> Simon: Look, I'm not giving up. From my calculations -- look, it's probably August. Now, August is the peak Hurricane season in the Atlantic. We wouldn't survive a squall, let alone a hurricane.
>> Lily: At least I'd die trying to get back to my children.
>> Simon: Come on. Your children need you home safely, in one piece.
>> Lily: Did you say it was August? My birthday's in August. You think it could be my birthday? Holden and I, we usually have a picnic by the pond on my birthday.
>> Simon: You will. I promise, next year. Let's get back before nightfall. Lily, I swear to you, I am not giving up. I'm just trying to be realistic. Now, our best chance out of here is to stay sharp. We've got to be ready and hope for a ship or a plane that passes that we can signal. And in the meantime, we have to survive. We have to do what it takes to survive. And someday, somehow, we are going to be found. All right? I believe that.

Scene 4:
Location: The cave.

SIMON FRASIER AND LILY SNYDER

>> Simon: Look, that plane is still the key. No matter how Celia got her hands on it, someone is out a small fortune. Now, if Cooley makes it back to the mainland, he'll talk. There's no way that guy would trade in his freedom for a jail cell.
>> Lily: What if he's still hiding out somewhere?
>> Simon: Then they'll sniff him out like week-old garbage.
>> Lily: He should smell that good. It's not fair, making me laugh.
>> Simon: Lily, just keep thinking of Luke and Faith. Picture the little smile on their faces. Think of them all curled up in bed with their Mom home, right where she belongs.
>> Lily: I'll try.

[Simon has a lit candle.]

>> Lily: Where did you get that?
>> Simon: From Cooley's hut. I was saving it for an emergency or a surprise birthday, whichever came first. Take it. Happy Birthday. I know it's not the same as your family and your friends around, but it's still a special day.
>> Lily: Thank you.
>> Simon: And next year, you'll celebrate your birthday back in Oakdale surrounded by all those friends and family. I promise. Make a wish.
>> Lily: Oh. We both know what it is.
>> Simon: Yeah, I know. But go ahead, do it anyway. Wish it true.
[Lily goes to blow out the candle.]

Scene 5:
Location: Cooley's Hut.

CELIA FRAISER

>> Celia: Don't you underestimate me, my beautiful brother, or I'll destroy you. I will. You and your precious Lily.

Location: The Cave.

LILY WALSH SNYDER AND SIMON FRAISER

>> Simon: Hey, I'm sorry it wasn't much of a celebration.
>> Lily: No, it was lovely. But I think we better save the candle, we might need it.
>> Simon: Yeah, nice, that's the survivor in you talking.
>> Lily: I got a great coach. It's amazing, something like this was so insignificant in my old life, and now it's so important.
>> Simon: Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't think I'm ever going to look at a candle, matches or even a napkin the same way again.
>> Lily: We've been spoiled.
>> Simon: Rotten.
>> Lily: And I miss it.
>> Simon: Oh, me too.
>> Lily: What if this is it, Simon? What if we're staring down our future right now?
>> Simon: Naw, this is not the future. Birthday wishes always come true and so will yours.
>> Lily: Right, and if we're still here in December, maybe Santa Clause will let us hitch a ride on his sleigh back home.
>> Simon: Yeah, that's the spirit. All right, I'm going to check on Celia, make sure she not building any nuclear devices from all the junk in Cooley's Hut.
>> Lily: Do you want me to come?
>> Simon: No, I won't be long. (Simon kisses Lily on the cheek) Happy Birthday, Lily.

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August, 2000