Born Again Written by David J Ellis

INT. LAWRENCE'S OFFICE - NIGHT The view from the corner office is magnificent. LAWRENCE COLE, early 30's, his furrowed brown not yet producing wrinkles, does not notice the view. Instead he focuses on a memo on his desk. The words URGENT and CONFIDENTIAL are visible. He scowls. Lawrence presses the call button on his phone. LAWRENCE Katie? Katie, I need the acquisition forms for the Connors' account. And a cup of coffee. KATIE (O.S.) Right away, Mr. Cole. Lawrence leans back in his chair. KATIE, her dress accentuating all her best features, walks into the office. She smiles. KATIE Here's your coffee, and the acquisition forms. Anything else I can do for you, Mr. Cole? Lawrence takes a deep breath. LAWRENCE No, thank you, Katie. She smiles again, and walks away, hips swinging seductively. Lawrence lets his breath out slowly. He dials a speed dial number. INT. COLES' HOUSE - NIGHT SHANNON COLE, young, attractive, wearing shorts and a tired smile, chops vegetables for a salad. A little hand reaches into the pile of vegetables and grabs a carrot. Shannon looks at her son TYLER COLE, a cute, blond-haired, 5 year old with mock disapproval. SHANNON Not till dinner.

2. YOUNG TYLER Is Daddy coming home? Shannon looks at the kitchen table, and the three place settings. She sighs. SHANNON (brightly) I'm sure he'll be here tonight. Tyler nods, unconvinced. He sits down directly under Shannon and plays with a car. SHANNON Tyler-The phone RINGS. TYLER I got it! Tyler jumps up and darts to the phone on the table. He picks it up and takes a deep breath. TYLER Hello, you have reached the Cole residence, this is Tyler speaking, how may I can help you? Tyler's eyes light up. Shannon smiles at him. TYLER Daddy! (beat) Are you coming home, daddy? Tyler makes a face. TYLER Mommy's making eggplant. INTERCUT LAWRENCE Eggplant? That vegetable always confused me. Is it an egg? is it a plant? No one knows. Tyler laughs. LAWRENCE Hey tiger, can I talk to mommy?

3. Tyler nods, and hands the phone to Shannon. Shannon listens to Lawrence in silence, getting more upset by the second. LAWRENCE Honey? You there? SHANNON So bottom line, you won't be home for dinner again? LAWRENCE Honey, I'm sorry I-The line disconnects. Lawrence slowly puts the phone down. END INTERCUT INT. COLES' HOUSE - NIGHT Shannon sits in the living room recliner, asleep with a book on her chest. Headlights flash through the curtains. Shannon wakes up, and rubs her eyes. She sits up and sets the book aside. Keys JINGLE against the locked door. Shannon watches the deadbolt unlatch. The door opens and Lawrence walks in, shaking the snow off his shoes. Shannon glares at him. LAWRENCE I'm sorry, hon-Shannon gets out of the chair and steps up to him. SHANNON Your dinner is cold. Lawrence shakes his head, exasperated. LAWRENCE Hon, this project is very important-SHANNON And Tyler isn't? I'm not? Jesus, Lawrence, we haven't had a single night together in I don't know how long! And your son. You are becoming a stranger to him!

4. Shannon turns to walk up the stairs. Lawrence grabs her arm. LAWRENCE I am providing for this family! I am providing for Tyler, for his future! Shannon smiles sadly. SHANNON His future? What about his present? She walks up the stairs. INT. COLES' HOUSE - TYLER'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Tyler stares at his bedroom door, listening to the footsteps approaching it. The handle turns and Tyler closes his eyes. Lawrence enters the room, and goes over to Tyler's bed and sits on the edge of it. LAWRENCE Hey, Ty. You still awake? Tyler does not move. Lawrence leans down and kisses his forehead. LAWRENCE Goodnight buddy. Lawrence walks out of the room. Tyler opens his eyes. He stares at the door, a hurt expression on his face. PROFESSOR (V.O.) Tyler? Are we boring you? INT. COLLEGE - CLASSROOM - DAY Tyler sits bolt upright. The young man in his mid-twenties looks a lot like the little boy who laughed about eggplant. JACK, an absolute giant of a man, with bright red hair and a glorious beard, punches Tyler's arm. JACK So, was she hot?

5. TYLER Who? JACK The girl you were dreaming about. TYLER Not sure. JACK Not sure? How the hell? TYLER Depends on if you think your mom is hot. Jack laughs. Its exactly the sound you would expect to hear from the jolly green giant's redheaded brother. EXT. COLLEGE - CAMPUS - DAY The campus is teeming with students. Against a tree, a young man whispers something in a young lady's ear and she giggles and blushes. A group of students sit on the grass studying. Jack and Tyler walk down the sidewalk. Jack practically tackles Tyler, putting a bear-sized arm around him. JACK Party. Tonight. Gotta celebrate. TYLER Celebrate? JACK I've been sober for 11 hours. Tyler frowns at him in disbelief. JACK Well, OK. 6 hours. Tyler smirks and shakes his head. JACK Seriously though, man. You and Sarah. About damn time. Tyler's eyes open wide in horror.

6. TYLER Wha--you-JACK It's OK, Ty. Secret's safe with me. (beat) Come to the party tonight. Just be a few friends. Tyler looks unconvinced. INT. FRAT HOUSE - NIGHT A large group of students dance to the loud music being played by the band. Tyler lounges in a corner, sipping a beer. CONNIE and MARY, both young and attractive, approach him. CONNIE Tyler. Tyler nods in response. CONNIE We heard about you and Sarah. MARY It's so awesome. Tyler swallows his beer hard. TYLER How? Connie and Mary look at each other. CONNIE Jack. Tyler sets his beer down. TYLER Sarah here? Connie shakes her head. MARY I haven't seen her. Tyler sighs with relief. Jack. MARY Tyler. MARY

7. Jack grabs the microphone from the singer, obviously drunk. JACK Hello, you fuckers. CROWD Hello Jack! JACK I'm here tonight, because there is no beer left in my fridge. Tyler presses his way through the sea of bodies. JACK I'm also here to salute my friend, Tyler. TYLER Oh, god, no. Jack points at Tyler, and all eyes turn to him. JACK This man had the balls to pr-propropel to his girlfriend, Sarah! And there she is! The crowd looks at SARAH, a beautiful blond in her early twenties who just walked in. She shakes the water off her umbrella, and sets it on the floor. JACK I salute your balls, Ty! Sarah! Make sure you take care of his balls! Tyler turns pale, and looks at Sarah, who is trying to hide a smile. Tyler slips over to her side. TYLER Well, I guess you know now. SARAH What do I know? Something about you propelling me? Sounds kinky. She kisses him. Her lips move to his ear. SARAH And I already knew how to take care of your balls. Sarah giggles. They dash out the door into the rain.

8. Sarah's umbrella is still on the floor. EXT. COLLEGE - CAMPUS - NIGHT The rain is coming down in sheets. Tyler and Sarah splash down the street towards her dorm. INT. GIRLS' DORM - SARAH'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT Tyler and Sarah drip and laugh as they slip into Sarah's room. Tyler looks at Sarah. Her wet clothes leave almost nothing to the imagination. Sarah shivers. Tyler holds her close. TYLER Hot shower? Sarah nods, teeth chattering. INT. GIRLS' DORM - SARAH'S DORM ROOM - DAY Sunlight filters through the window, shining on the sleeping forms of Tyler and Sarah. Sarah yawns and stretches, knocking her phone onto the floor. She leans out of bed to pick it up. It is vibrating, the pulsing light reads 7:42 AM. SARAH Oh, shi-Sarah shakes Tyler awake. He groans, and rolls over. SARAH Oh no you don't. We are late. Get up! Tyler opens his eyes. TYLER Wha...? SARAH We. Are. Late. Tyler jumps out of bed.

9. Sarah bolts for the bathroom. She closes the door. Tyler slips into his jeans, then crosses the room to his still-damp jacket. He digs in the pockets and pulls out a velvet box. Sarah pokes her head out of the bathroom door. Tyler quickly stuffs the velvet box into his jeans pocket. TYLER Everything alright? SARAH Just wondered if you needed a shower. Tyler shakes his head. TYLER I'm good. I'm still clean form last night. Sarah laughs, and closes the door. Tyler digs the velvet box back out of his pocket, and grabs a shirt off the dresser. INT. SARAH'S CAR - DAY Tyler opens the center console, and puts the velvet box inside. SARAH (O.S.) Whatcha doing? Sarah pokes her head over his shoulder, just as Tyler closes the console. TYLER Looking for my...charger. And here it is. Right here. SARAH OK... INT./EXT. SARAH'S CAR - DAY Sarah's bare feet are laying on the dashboard. An upbeat song plays softly on the radio. Tyler leans over and tickles Sarah's bare feet. She giggles and swats his hand away.

10. TYLER Wake up. SARAH I'm awake. Watch the road. Sarah sees the piece of twisted metal in the road. SARAH Look out! Tyler look at the road, and swerves out of the way of the jagged piece of metal. TYLER Whoa, that was-SARAH Tyler! Tyler looks at the road. It is covered in pieces of shredded metal. He swerves around, a piece slashes his tire. There is a loud POP. Tyler loses control. The car flips end over end. The console opens, and the velvet box is thrown out of it. The car stops flipping and ends up right-side-up in the ditch. INT. SARAH'S CAR - DAY Broken glass covers Tyler and Sarah. Tyler is slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling from his forehead. Sarah opens her eyes. She carefully brushes a piece of broken glass from her face. She moves her hand slowly to the seat belt buckle, brushing the velvet box in her lap. Sarah opens the box. She gasps. Inside, is a beautiful diamond ring. She looks over at Tyler. SARAH Oh, Tyler-- Tyler? Tyler?! Sarah digs in her pocket for her phone. She dials 9-1-1. SARAH Hello? Yes, it's my boyfriend! He's not moving. (MORE)

11. SARAH (cont'd) (to Tyler) Baby? Baby, can you hear me? EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY Flashing lights. Sirens. Two paramedics lift a stretcher with Tyler on it, into a waiting ambulance. PARAMEDIC Ma'am? We need to move your boyfriend. SARAH (quietly) Fiancee. PARAMEDIC I'm sorry? Sarah holds the velvet box tightly. SARAH Fiancee. We're getting married.