Paradise

Don't go.

I love you, baby... but you're late.

See you in 10 days.

People need to know that there are survivors.

Their people could be alive up there.

And then what? They go searching?

Whatever the fuck that looks like.

My name is Teri Rogers-Collins.

I'm here with other survivors.

People are rebuilding.

Your wife is alive out there, Xavier.

I can help you find her.

Collins, he's showing you the way.

He gave his life for it.

It is not just about your wife.

We need to know what's out there.

We need to know who's left.

I'm coming, baby.

Why are you going up to St. Louis if you're heading west?

Because you don't wanna be crossing the river into Arkansas.

You see right over there?

There's still some bad pockets.

Come here.

This is Cessna November 559108

flying 10,000 feet, mechanical instruments only.

Heading is half.

Well, my compass is acting sort of strange.

Relying partially on dead reckoning, but I'm a little rusty.

Best I can tell, heading is east southeast.

This is Cessna November 559108.

Once again, if anyone's out there, come in, please.

Um, I'm flying through some kind of hailstorm.

If anyone is receiving this, my name is Xavier Collins.

I'm flying to Atlanta to find my wife, Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins,

who sent a radio transmission from somewhere near the city's center.

Teri, if you're getting this, the kids are safe.

They're in a Colorado bunker community

near 39 degrees north, 105 degrees west.

Teri, Presley, James, I love you.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Terrain. Terrain. Terrain.

Terrain. Terrain.

Ah!

A man down! Man down!

Medic, over here!

Don't move.

Your training officer said you were on pace to break

the Academy's course record.

-Hm. -Sorry. It sucks.

It was his record.

It sucks for him 'cause I'm still gonna beat it.

Possible ligament damage. We'll confirm that with an MRI.

But that's gonna require surgery.

-Ah. -Then, there's your kneecap.

You've suffered a patellar dislocation.

-Can I see it? -Uh, you don't need

-that picture in your head. -Yeah.

Well, to perform the reduction, I'm gonna need to cradle your lower leg...

- Hm. -Flex your hip, then extend your leg.

I'm gonna apply force to the lateral edge, push the kneecap back into place.

How will I know when it's back in?

You'll hear a clunk.

So, I'm listening for the clunk?

You won't be listening to anything.

We're gonna sedate you for this, Xavier.

This is not something you wanna feel. Trust me.

Okay.

Relax your quad. Listen for the clunk.

That's my bag.

Did you hear what I said, son? These are my things.

My books, my maps.

Half my life is in there. Hey.

Give it back. Hey, give it...

Who are they?

Hey. Hey, hey!

Hey!

Fuck.

Shit.

Ah, fuck!

Go, go! Damnit, move it!

It's inside the boat?

I need to deal with my knee.

Oh, geez.

Is there anything else I can get you, Mr. Collins?

Any chance you got an extra blanket lying around?

-A warm one, for the foot of the bed? -Yeah, no problem.

Oh, one more thing. Is there any chance I could swap out

this cherry-flavored Jell-O for a different flavor?

For a man who begged to be awake during knee surgery,

I didn't expect you to be so damn needy.

My mother always said I wasn't a good patient

because I have no patience.

I know, I know.

As for my cherry Jell-O hatred, it comes from when I was a kid.

I had the flu and my mother gave me cherry flavor,

and my stomach was like...

-I'll get you a different flavor. -Thank you very much.

On a scale of one to 10, what's your pain level right now?

Maybe a five?

Stays that way 'til tonight, maybe you'll be discharged.

-Thank God for us all. -Ha-ha.

Uh, I don't know what other flavors you have,

but if you happen to have green or yellow,

I'd probably rank 'em green, yellow, orange...

Shit.

It's lime.

You don't want it?

What I want is to have my surgery and get the hell outta here.

Yeah. Yeah, I already had mine.

Some meniscal reconstruction.

Yes, I've heard. We've all heard.

I'm Xavier. It's nice to meet you.

Teri.

What an absolute pleasure.

I'm all set, nurse.

My roomie gave me hers. But I'll take it.

You know, now that I think about it, I think, um, the pain in my knee

is closer to an eight.

So, maybe I should stay a little bit longer.

You don't have a chance.

-We'll see. -Mm.

That's my bag.

We can share the food, but I need my stuff.

Please, I need my things.

Hey, kids, I...

I need water...

and I need to deal with my knee.

Thank you.

Who were those men with the torches?

I need to get back to my plane.

I need to pop my knee back into place.

And I don't wanna scare you guys, but it's gonna hurt.

I'm probably gonna scream and pass out from the pain.

Can you grab me that cord from the bag?

Cord, please.

Thank you.

Hey, roomie.

What you doing?

You back there? Hope you're decent.

You do realize that curtain is there for a reason.

I, uh, just got back from a walk.

The doctor wants me to start moving and putting weight on my knee.

Ambulation. It's his word.

Good for you.

They're having a birthday party at the nurse's station...

and they have cake.

Fun!

I could get you a piece. Some more ambulation.

Nah, I think I'm good. Now, if you'll excuse me...

What are the cards for?

-I'm studying. -What are you studying?

I am pursuing a doctorate in Cell, Molecular and Organismal Biology.

And I don't need a study partner.

That's probably for the best.

-Okay, I think I better close the curt... -Ooh.

-Oh, God. -I got it.

-Mm. -You, you are probably not supposed

-to bend down. -No, it's ambulation.

-Remember? -Just call the nurse.

What this?

Amanita Phalloides?

Amanita Phall-o-ides.

"Ama-nit-ya" number in a second, you know what I'm saying?

You'd like it, it's a, it's a type of mushroom.

An invasive species of mushroom.

Hey.

Oh, you don't have to do... I'm fine.

I'm... Okay.

What are you in here for?

Congenital scoliosis.

Back pain has been my constant companion my entire life,

but doctor says it's gonna be a thing of the past as of tomorrow, so...

You nervous?

Uh, yeah. Little.

Well, I'm sure you're in good hands.

Thanks.

Hey, maybe when we're both back on our feet, so to speak,

we can, um... grab a coffee or something.

-Like a date? -Yeah.

And then, we go on another date?

And another? And then what?

Marriage, kids?

We spend the next 50 years telling everybody our meet-cute story,

how we shared a surgical room in a hospital?

It would be a cute story.

Okay, but here is the problem with that.

After I finish my PhD, I'm headed to Brazil

for a WHO-sponsored research position.

From there, it's back to the States and the UN

before I make my run at my dream job,

which I have had my eye on for years, at NIH.

That's a lot of acronyms.

Marriage is not in the foreseeable future for me.

And as unpopular as it is for some women to admit...

I'm not even sure I wanna have kids.

So, what you're saying is...

That I'm not gonna let my life plan get derailed

by the hot guy in the hospital bed who put a blanket on my feet.

So, thank you,

but if you could just maybe go away now, please.