Synopsis of You Bet Your Life
Written by TK
Sydney has a dream in which she's watching an old black and white movie about a woman dying, and the man who loves her. She's bawling into many tissues, and her mother shows up with more tissue. Her mother says the movie is completely unrealistic. Sydney says if she were dying she thinks David would come through for her. Her mother doubts that, and changes the channel on the TV. Sydney is in black and white telling David that she only has a few days to live. He tells her that he might be able to squeeze her into his schedule for lunch. Sydney wakes up.
Jim comes downstairs in the morning, and Joanie is experimenting with eggs. She has created the scromelet, for people who can't decide whether to have scrambled eggs or an omelet. She's excited about starting cooking school. Jim says he's excited for her as well, but will miss her at clinic. Joanie says she found him a temp. Her name is Heather, and she used to work at a nail salon, but her father was a vet, and she loves animals. And she got a good recommendation from her old boss. Jim says she sounds good.
Sydney comes downstairs and declines some scromelet. She tells Joanie and Jim that she has a date with David to go to a hospital fund-raiser lunch. Joanie says that's not a real date, it's a business lunch. Jim says that doesn't mean that David isn't interested. This could be an audition for a real date. Joanie agrees, and says that if Sydney does well maybe she'll get called back for a real date. Jim throws in, like dinner and a movie. Joanie says that doesn't cut it as a date anymore because it's not private enough. Nowadays the more acceptable date is take-out at his place and a video rental. Joanie starts to go into detail about the intimacy, and the bedroom being nearby, and Sydney cuts her off as she watches Jim get more and more uncomfortable.
Helen sees Syd walk into the clinic dressed up, and asks why. Syd tells her about the fund-raiser lunch. Helen, while fighting with a fritzing EKG machine, says they could use a little funds around the clinic too. Syd points out that the wall opthamascope is also broken.
Heather shows up at the clinic, and no one is there. She starts to wait for someone to show up in the waiting room, but can't resist the sounds of dogs coming from the other room, so she wanders in. She's as excited to see the dogs as they are to see her, but when she pulls the handle on the wall-mounted milkbone dispenser, a huge pile of milkbones fall out onto the floor. Jim walks in to find Heather scrambling on her hands and knees to clean them up. He says not to worry about it, and he'll show her around. As she starts to follow him out, she slips on the milkbones and falls to the ground.
Robbie sees Vince at the bar, and asks him if Vince is just there to remind him how much money he owes him. Vince says Robbie doesn't owe it to him, otherwise he'd let it slide. He owes it to the Rostellis, the Rostellis aren't such nice guys. Vince says they want a down payment of $2,000 by tomorrow. Robbie says the most he could come up with is $1,000. Vince suggests he bets on the Purdue game tomorrow. Dani is playing and she's the star player. If she throws the game, Robbie could win a bundle. Robbie says he could never do something like that.
At the luncheon (which is in a mansion), David introduces Sydney to Margaret, the hospital's chief fund-raiser. Margaret says she needs to drag David away to meet their host, but then their host, and elderly man by the name of Mr. Berry. Mr. Berry is entranced by Syd, and starts asking about her and learns about the clinic. He asks if Syd would tell him more about the clinic over lunch.
In cooking school, the master chef is rambling on about chef hats. Joanie is bored and doodling. A cute guy wanders in, obviously late for class, takes his place next to her, and asks if he can borrow Joanie's notes after class.
Back at the luncheon, Mr. Berry is only talking to Sydney... about her specialty, her trying to get her hospital privileges, and the clinic. Margaret is extremely frustrated, and David is trying to be tolerant. Margaret tries to get them onto the subject of hospital business, and Mr. Berry makes a joke about his heart, and Syd says she's sure his heart will outlast them all since David is his doctor, and then Mr. Berry seizes up and collapses to the floor. David immediately goes for his bag, and Syd checks out Mr. Berry and starts giving him mouth to mouth when she realizes he's not breathing.
David and Syd are taking Mr. Berry's flowers to the clinic because Mr. Berry said he'd like to donate them. Syd says he seems to be recovering just fine, but she wonders why David went straight for his bag when Mr. Berry collapsed instead of giving Mr. Berry a cursory. David says he's seen this happen before. Mr. Berry was faking it to get mouth-to-mouth from Syd... he does this all the time around attractive young nurses. Syd is more amused than upset when she realizes she's bee duped. David asks her out on a date for that night. Dinner and a movie... at his place. She gets the movie, he'll take care of the dinner. She happily accepts.
Robbie is at the bar when he sees Dani hobble in the door. She tells him how she collided with another player on her team and hurt her back. The team doctor gave her some pain killers, but really wasn't very helpful. Robbie says she should go see Syd at the clinic. Dani is only worried about missing tomorrow's game, the first round of the playoffs.
Jim is showing Heather the ropes of the computer. She keeps comparing commands to what she learned on the computer at the nail salon and taking deatailed notes. When he gives her all the commands on a piece of paper, she diligently says she'll take it home and memorize it. A man named Mr. Hilsig comes in with his shaggy dog, complaining that Scooter ran away again, and when Mr. Hilsig finally found him, he had picked up some buggies. Jim says he'll take care of it, and Scooter will be ready for pick-up later that day. Mr. Hilsig rudely says he can't make it 'till tomorrow and walks out. Heather says she'll take care of Scooter's bath, and only knocks over a inbox full of papers on her way out from behind the desk.
Syd is examining Dani, and Robbie is hovering around anxiously. Syd says that there's so much swelling that it's hard to tell exactly what's going on, but that by playing tomorrow game on a bunch of pain-killers to mask what's going on, Dani could be risking life-long injury. Syd prescribes some muscle relaxants, and tells her to go to bed and stay there. Dani is really concerned about tomorrows game, but is in enough pain to listen to Syd.
Syd is getting ready for her date with David. Joanie, giving her advice on clothes, puts her in jeans and a white T-shirt instead of the more formal dress that she was going to wear. Joanie says it's not only more casual, but more provacative and accessible. Syd is really excited and nervous about tonight's date.
When Syd arrives at David's house, he is also wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. They share a laugh and he comments that the outfit looks better on her. He has take-out Thai food and she has an old movie.
Dani is lying in Robbie's bed, worrying about tomorrow's game. Robbie tells her that she shouldn't worry about letting down the team since she's legitimately hurt. He suggests she take a warm bath since Syd said it would be good for her, and offers to run one for her. She says she can do it herself if he'll just help her get there. She's seriously hobbling, and as Robbie takes her to the bathroom, he says he's just going to run a quick errand while she's in the bath but he'll be right back. She thanks him for being so sweet to her.
Robbie pops into the bar with his $1,000, finds Vince, and bets against Dani's team.
David and Syd are watching a romantic scene in the movie, and start discussing the various types of popular kisses over the ages. They end up kissing themselves until the phone rings. David goes to get it, while Syd remains on the couch with a huge smile on her face. David comes back glowering, and Syd asks what's wrong. David says Margaret just told him that Mr. Berry has decided not to give $10 million to the hospital after all... instead, he's giving it all to the clinic.
Jim and Joanie are having breakfast in the kitchen. Jim asks again if Heather got a good recommendation from her old boss. Joanie says Heather's old boss said Heather had nothing to do with the explosion. What explosion? Oh, the one where someone left nail polish remover in the microwave. Syd comes downstairs and Joanie asks her how her date went. Sydney tells her about the money disaster, and says she's going to talk to Mr. Berry and try to convince him to give the money to the hospital.
Robbie comes running into the attic with two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag. Dani, who's still in bed, asks him where he was, and he says he went to get them breakfast. Dani, surprising him, jumps out of bed in uniform, saying she feels totally better and is going to play in the game. Robbie is slightly horrified, and when she realizes something is wrong, he tells he's been gambling, and he bet against her team. She asks him if he wants her to throw the game, and he says it would really help if she did. She gets righteously pissed off and stomps out of the attic to go to the game.
Jim is getting ready to walk four dogs, when Heather calls him over. It turns out she has erased the computer database. Jim says he probably has a backup somewhere. Heather says she'd be happy to load the backup into the computer. Jim suggests that he do that, and Heather take the dogs for a walk. Heather is happy to do so, and bounces out the door with the dogs. Jim sighs in frustration.
Joanie and her classmate are attacking a fish in class, and they start talking about themselves a little. He says he was born in Providence, but then moved to the midwest as a kid, and came back because he missed New England. Joanie says then he must like clam chowder. He says he does. She says she made some this morning, and brought it in for show and taste. Would he like to try it? He says sure, he skipped breakfast this morning. She pours him a cup, and he is astounded at how good it is. He takes a few more sips, and asks her if she'd like to meet after class. She sees the aphrodisiac at work, and says that she'll have to think about it.
Jim is dealing with a older woman and her dog at the clinic. The woman is concerned that Joanie is no longer there, and says that her dog always felt very comfortable with Joanie. Jim assures the woman that Heather is wonderful too. Just then, Heather comes running in the door sans dogs and says that all the dogs ran away.
Syd is over at Mr. Berry's house for dinner. He is very gracious, but insists no business talk until after dinner. She agrees.
Robbie is listening to the game on the radio in his room. It's a tight race. The commentators say Dani has not been playing as well as she usually does, but she seems to be picking up speed. Suddenly, Robbie races to his car, and listens to the game on the radio as he drive through town. He makes it to the bar just in time to cheer Dani on to victory with the rest of the crowd. Vince is there and can't figure out why Robbie is so happy that Dani won, but he just lost $1,000.
Syd and Mr. Berry are finishing up dinner in his very formal dining room. He says he has appreciated her company. She says thank you, but now dinner is over and they should talk business. She says he can't just yank the funding from the hospital. He says if she wants to give the money to the hospital, that's just fine, he just thought she'd give it to the clinic knowing her as he does. She is confused. He says that actually, the $10 million will be a gift to her personally, not to the clinic or the hospital, and she just has to decide what she wants to do with it. She is stunned. He says there is one condition. She must spend 48 hours with him in the romantic destination of her choice. She is even more stunned.
At breakfast in the kitchen the next day, Syd tells Joanie what happened. Sydney can't figure out what to do. She doesn't want to fulfill Mr. Berry's request, but she doesn't want to lose the money completely either.
Heather gives Jim her resignation. She apologizes for the mess she caused. Jim says she shouldn't give up so easily, and the fact that she loves animals so much is a plus. She's upset because she still can't find Scooter. Jim says he thinks he knows where Scooter is, and would Heather like to go with him to find the dog? Heather would love to.
Syd goes to the hospital to tell David what happened. David can't believe it, and says he's going to let Mr. Berry have it. Syd says if he does that, they won't see any of the money. David asks what they can do. Syd says she has an idea.
Joanie goes into the bar to meet her date. Robbie tells her she looks beautiful. She spots the guy sitting at a table and goes to join him. He says he's really serious about this. She says if they're going to start a real relationship, then she should tell him that she has a daughter. He doesn't see why that matters, and then realizes that Joanie thinks he wants to date her. He says he doesn't want to date her, he wants to market her soup. He says he'd love to date her, but he's already seeing someone, and he's kind of a one-woman guy. Joanie says she admires that, but is still incredibly embarrassed by misunderstanding the situation. They iron things out, and he says he was really serious about wanting to market her soup. She says it might not be a bad idea.
Louis Roselli and his large silent brother Dominic come into the bar looking for Robbie. They suggest he come with them so that they don't have to conduct their business here. Robbie is busy cashing out the register and says that he'll need a moment. Louis says he's in no particular hurry, but Dominic has a schedule to keep. Robbie finds someone to finish his job for him, and leaves the bar with the Roselli brothers.
Sydney and David show up at Mr. Berry's office. Syd tells Mr. Berry that she'll accept his offer on one condition. Mr. Berry, in front of David, tells her that he has no idea what she's talking about. Syd blows on, saying she'll accept Mr. Berry's offer if he doubles the money. Mr. Berry says that's ridiculous. She tells him that if he doesn't accept HER offer she and David will go to the press and tell everyone about what a dirty old man Mr. Berry is. Mr. Berry says no one would believe them, and he's calling his lawyers. As he's dialing, he collapses again. Sydney says he's not going to get away with it this time. Then David and Sydney realize that Mr. Berry isn't faking it this time.
Heather and Jim walk up to the front door of a house and find Scooter on the stoop. It turns out that this is Mr. Hilsig's house... Scooter has run home. Jim knocks on the door and tells Mr. Hilsig that his dog is home. He also tells Mr. Hilsig that Scooter is just looking for love. Mr. Hilsig says he just got Scooter to be a watchdog since he works nights. Heather says even a watchdog needs love. Mr. Hilsig brings Scooter inside for breakfast. As Jim and Heather are walking away, Heather feels much better, and Jim says they'll keep trying to work things out at the clinic.
Syd and David are at the hospital, and Syd is feeling guilty. David says Mr. Berry needed an operation a long time ago, but kept putting it off... probably in anticipation of a romantic weekend getaway. David says he's going to call Margaret and tell her not to expect the money.
Back at the house, Dani comes up to the attic to see Robbie. She looking for him at the bar, and ran into Vince there who said Robbie had been cheering her on. Robbie show her his incredibly awful looking black eye... a present from the Roselli brothers. She feels terrible. He says that she shouldn't, he got himself into his own mess. He apologizes, and says he know she could lose her scholarship if anyone found out someone even asked her to throw a game. She says it's not about her scholarship, it's about trust. He lied to her about not gambling anymore, and with that lack of trust, she doesn't think they can see each other any more. Robbie tries everything to hang onto her, but she's made up her mind.
Syd is in her robe, watching an old movie, when the doorbell rings. David is there, with the happy news that Mr. Berry has decided to give the $10 million to the hospital after all, and that Syd can use a portion of it for the clinic. Syd says they could use some new equipment, and David says she's got it. He also has a present for her. In a jewelry box is a piece of paper. Her hospital privileges! He says she's earned them. She says she doesn't know how to thank him. He says he could think of away. Just then the woman in the movie says, "I'd be very glad to have you kiss me now if you don't mind." Both Sydney and David notice this line because of its incredible timing, and lean in for a kiss as the character in the movie do. As they kiss, they go into black and white, and an old movie "The End" flashes onto the screen.
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