Faith Gives Back Pat's Ring and Collides With Delia
(March 1977)

(Faith has spent the evening on Bucky's boat, drinking quite a bit. She decides to return her engagement ring to Pat. He is asleep in his room at the resident's quarters when Faith knocks on the door. He does not answer, so she comes in and goes over to his bed.)

FAITH: (gently) Pat?

(He does not wake up, so she closes the door. She kneels beside the bed.)

FAITH: (whispers) Pat?

(He still does not answer, so she gets up.)

FAITH: Pat!

PAT: (waking up) Who is it?

(He sits up and sees her.)

FAITH: It's okay, it's only me.

PAT: (shocked) Faith. Hi.

FAITH: Hi. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.

PAT: (turning on the light) No, it's okay.

(He gets up and puts on his robe.)

FAITH: Ah, I didn't want to wake you by touching you. I did that last time and it didn't work out too well.

PAT: That was my fault. I said a lot of stupid things.

FAITH: Oh, Pat, no more or blame or punishment.

PAT: I only mean that I got us off on the wrong track and it ended up sounding like I was making a choice between you and Delia.

FAITH: Please, I don't want to fight about Delia anymore. It puts me in competition with her and it gets me really mad because I know that... Look, when I stormed out of here the last time I had a whole lot more to say about Delia, but I found a way of getting it out of my system, so let's just leave Delia out of this for a minute, okay?

PAT: Okay.

FAITH: I've put a lot of time into thinking things through and, uh, here. (takes the ring out) It's your ring. I forgot to give it to you.

(She holds it out to him.)

PAT: (taking it) You don't have to.

FAITH: Oh, I do, Pat. Not for you - I'm doing it for myself. You know, an engagement ring signifies a tie and I know giving it back is just a gesture but, right now, it's very important that I make that gesture and that I make it honestly, with no hidden hopes or meaning. So, you have your ring back and we're separate now and no more ties.

PAT: I'm sorry.

FAITH: Oh, not for me, I hope.

PAT: For us.

FAITH: Pat, there is no us! Not anymore! And for my own good I will not hang onto you or anything that we had together - not the ring, not the feelings, not the promises. I have to let them all go. Now, I know this may sound a little premeditated, but I have to set myself free so that I can find a way of getting on with it. And I am going to get on with it, without you, Pat, and this is the first step.

PAT: I guess this should make things easier for me, but somehow it doesn't.

FAITH: Well, I'm not thinking about you. It's making things easier for me and that's what counts. You know, I've got a lot of work to do and I've got a life to lead and I cannot invest anymore pain and energy into a situation that I have no control in. I can do nothing to change this mess, but I do have the freedom to get out of it.

PAT: Well, it sounds like you really have worked this out.

FAITH: Yeah, well, I'm getting there. Uh, all I can do is to tell you, truthfully, that you don't have to feel guilty about me anymore.

PAT: I do, though.

FAITH: Oh, Pat, you can find plenty of other things to feel guilty about. I know someone who would be overjoyed at keeping you guilty forever, but your guilt does not give me one moment of joy. It makes me sick! So, I can't prevent you from feeling guilty, but I can assure you that I will recover. You broke my engagement and you hurt me badly but I'll get over it and I'll be fine. I am not gonna play "Poor Faith" anymore and I don't want anyone relating to me that way, least of all you.

PAT: You know, I never wanted to break our engagement.

FAITH: Sure you did.

PAT: What do you mean?

FAITH: I must believe that you did.

PAT: Why?

FAITH: Because you did it! And I don't believe that anyone does anything unless they really, really want to. For my own health and well-being I must believe that you wanted to break our engagement and that you want to marry Delia.

PAT: I'm trying to be responsible.

FAITH: Yes, to an unborn child, to your parents, to your brother, to Delia. You may want to marry her because it's Monday or because it's raining but the point is you made the decision. In order for it to be done you had to want it, so, therefore, you wanted to break our engagement. Now, look, I told you, I'm not going to hang onto any of this. That's Delia's department.

PAT: I think you're right, I think I do feel like I'm in competition with Frank. I guess I always have, in one way or another. And as far as Dee is concerned, well, Frank has failed her.

FAITH: Has anyone ever succeeded?

PAT: Faith, I have. I may be the only one who can give her what she needs.

FAITH: A rare distinction.

PAT: And I guess you're right too that maybe I do need to give to Dee as much as she needs to take. And that baby has got to have someone responsible for it. I'd never hurt you that way, if I didn't believe that were true.

FAITH: Well, I think you're right about the baby but, aww, Pat, I think Dee would have given it to us in the end. I wish that you didn't believe that the rest of it were true, but you do. So, there's no point in my flattering myself by thinking that that can change.

(Delia suddenly opens the door and walks in.)

DELIA: You never give up, do you? Faith, what are you doing here? (closes the door, screams) Paddy, what is she doing here!

PAT: Dee, Faith just came to...

FAITH: No, what do you think I'm doing here, Delia?

DELIA: Pat...

FAITH: (putting her hands on her hips) Why do you think I'm here?

DELIA: I don't know, how am I supposed to...

FAITH: To make love to Pat?

DELIA: I don't know!

FAITH: To seduce him back into our engagement?

DELIA: Maybe to steal him away from me.

FAITH: Sure, sure. I came back and Pat and I made love and, sure enough, he discovered that he can't live without me. And you want to know what else? I just may be pregnant.

DELIA: (terrified) That's not true, you wouldn't do anything like that.

PAT: Faith, don't...

FAITH: Why not? You got to do it in Boston, why can't I do it here in his resident's quarters? Of course, it's not quite as romantic, but then, I didn't have to go to all that elaborate planning, did I?

DELIA: Pat and I were together because we wanted to be! I didn't seduce him and I didn't have that baby on purpose. (goes over to Pat) Pat, what is she doing here? Will you make her leave, please?

PAT: Faith came to return the engagement ring.

DELIA: Oh.

FAITH: You want to see if it fits?

DELIA: You think that you know me so well. Everybody thinks that they know me so well, that I trick people, and I seduce people! Do you really think that I could take the ring that he gave you?

FAITH: Yeah. Come to think of it, didn't Roger give you my mother's necklace that you wore?

DELIA: (shaking her head) You hate me, don't you? You know, I've never done anything to harm you (Faith starts laughing hysterically) or to hurt you intentionally - now, I didn't! Don't laugh at me! I didn't. I love Pat and I've always loved him. Is that such an awful crime, to love somebody? Now I know you want him also, but I can't do anything about that! I just want to make Pat happy! Now, is that such an awful crime, to love the same man that you do? In the mean time, I just want to be with Pat. I mean, we're not doing any harm to you. Couldn't you just leave us alone, let us be happy together, please?

FAITH: (nods) Yes, Delia, I can. As a matter of fact, I think you two are kind of good together. (laughs) Made in heaven. Palius and, uh, Millisant.

DELIA: What?

FAITH: Oh, look it up. Sure, I can see Paddy slaving away every day at the hospital and Delia whipping up some special meal. All thumbs, of course, but then, that's what Paddy likes is Delia's little thumbs. And as soon as Pat comes home, Delia gives him a fresh array of new problems to solve. Maybe it was a bulb burned out on your makeup mirror, or you couldn't quite fix your nails. "Paddy, fix it, please?" Oh, and Paddy fixes it, it does, day in and day out: Dee break, Paddy fix. One constant dilemma of "Oh, Paddy, I don't know what to do! Won't you help me solve it?" (laughs) George and Gracie. Uh, Lucy and Desi. Dagwood and Blondie. (in a Southern accent) Scarlet and Rhett.

(She opens the door, grins, and leaves.)

DELIA: She's, uh, she's a lot smarter than I am. And she wants you so much. (takes his hand) I mean, do I have a chance? I mean, do my baby and me have a chance?

PAT: I told you, Dee, we're gonna be married.

DELIA: You promise me that you're not gonna change your mind? Because there are an awful lot of people who don't want you to marry me. And, you see, I'm all alone and there's nobody on my side. Please, you're not gonna leave me, are you?

PAT: (takes her face in his hands) No, I'm not gonna leave you. (hugs her) We're gonna be married.

DELIA: Right away?

(Pat looks off into space with a look of dread.)

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