Touched by an Angel, Season 6

Tess:
Now this is a case, in my opinion, that never should have come to court in the first place.

Monica:
The young man felt he had no other choice, Your Honor.

Martin Ashburn:
Your Honor? Excuse me, Your Honor. Uh, we can solve this whole thing really easy. All you got to do is give me custody. I mean, that's what should have happened in the first place.

Tess:
Did I ask for your opinion, sir?

Martin Ashburn:
Um, I'm sorry, but she just doesn't pay him enough attention ever since she got married.

Phil Grabowski:
You can't blame this on me.

Janet Grabowski:
Your Honor, this man has not kept a single custody condition since our...

Tess:
[bangs gavel] I want quiet and I want it now! Now, it doesn't take a lot of legal mumbo jumbo to show me that this is a situation that needs a time-out. I know a time-out is usually for children, but in this case, I cannot tell the difference between the adults and the children.

Martin Ashburn:
[to his lawyer] She can't say that. Can she say that?

Tess:
Mr. Ashburn, this is my court. I can say what I want to when I want to. And you get a chance to listen. Unless you want me to give you my decision now.

Martin Ashburn:
No.

Tess:
I didn't think so. Now if there ever was a situation that needed everybody to take a step back and let it settle, this is it. And so that's what we're going to do. In the meantime, Monica, who is the advocate for this minor child, is going to take some depositions. The rest of you are gonna take a deep breath and cool yourselves off.

Tess:
I'm going to tell you a story. Two women were fighting over one child. It seems they both claimed to be the mother. And they couldn't settle the argument, so they went to wise King Solomon for a judgment. [notices Martin fidgeting in his seat] I know it's an old story, but it's a good one. So listen up. Solomon couldn't tell just by looking at them who was the true parent. And so he called for a sword to cut the baby in two, so that each woman could have a half. And one of the ladies said, "Well, good. That way we'll both lose." And the other lady said, "Oh, please, no, don't. Don't do that. I would rather that the child live with her than be harmed." And that's how Solomon knew the real mother from the pretender. Because the real mother did not care about winning. She just cared about her baby.

Martin Ashburn:
Well, with all due respect, Your Honor, but that was a case between one real parent and one person pretending to be a parent. I mean, we're both real parents.

Tess:
But both of you are willing to let your son get torn apart. A real parent wouldn't do that. Your son sees the sword coming. And he's been crying out for help. But you haven't heard him, because you've been so busy arguing all the time. And then he came to us. And we listened. And that's frightening you.

Janet Grabowski:
Of course it is. No one is going to take my child from me.

Tess:
Are you going to hold onto him so tightly that he tears in half, and you lose him anyway?

Phil Grabowski:
Look, he's just confused. We're not losing him.

Tess:
Not yet. But every time you fight in front of him, you pull further away, and he's more alone and angrier. And one day, that anger is going to express itself in a terribly ugly way. And the two of you are going to look at each other. "What happened? How could such a sweet child turn into such a bitter, hateful creature?" And the answer is, he grew up with two of them.