Touched by an Angel

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Episode 814: “Ship-In-A-Bottle”

Episode 814: “Ship-In-A-Bottle”
Original Air Date: January 26, 2002
Written by: Rita Russell
Directed by: Armand Mastroianni
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:

 

Tevis Lockwood Mikelti Williamson
Ashley Lockwood Arreale Davis
Jasmine Lockwood Aysia Polk
Joaquin Rene Moreno
Dr. Josephson Lee Garlington
Lance Nichols Minister Russell

 

 

Tevis Lockwood is starting a new life with his daughters, Ashley and Jasmine. Leaving behind the sun and heat of Los Angeles, they move to the cold and rainy Seattle suburbs so Tevis can take control of a large shipping company. His daughters are not overly enthused about the move, particularly Jasmine who fears that the cold and rain will bring illness with it. As they set about unpacking and arranging the new house, Jasmine is increasingly worried about the weather and the effects it might have on she and Ashley. Monica arrives as part of the transition team for the shipping company and with Gloria’s help, looks after the girls while Tevis gets situated at work. Tevis arrives at the office pleased with his new station in life and eager to make an impression on the world. When he finds the reception desk empty, Tess shows up with a resume and answers the phone for him. Impressed by her initiative, Tevis hires her on the spot, not a moment before Joaquin, the real receptionist arrives. Joaquin explains that his doctor’s appointment ran late and that it won’t happen again. Tevis agrees and fires him.

Later on, at home, Ashley begins coughing. Tevis, panicked, and fearful for her health rushes her to the emergency room, where she is diagnosed with the same stomach flu as all of the other patients. She is released despite Tevis’s protestations that her sickle cell anemia makes this particular flu a more serious illness. Once home though, her flu goes from bad to worse, and she is in the midst of a sickle-cell crisis. Tevis, no longer trusting the local doctors, insists on taking her all the way into Seattle to the Sickle Cell Clinic. He refuses to wait for an ambulance. Halfway to the clinic, Ashley dies.

After the funeral, Jasmine is still having a hard time accepting her loss. Tevis on the other hand doesn’t have time to feel the pain, he’s too busy trying to inflict it on others. He hires Andrew to sue the hospital and the doctor who treated Ashley for malpractice and wrongful death. As a result of his drive to go on, Tevis pushes his other daughter away when she needs comfort the most. Finally Jasmine runs away, without a coat unmindful of the weather and her own sickle-cell. Monica and Gloria are pretty sure they know where she’s gone.

Jasmine sits on her sister’s grave trying to make sense of the changes in her life, when Andrew appears and assures her that both her sister and her late mother are in a place of peace and happiness. He tells her that she needs to live without fear, to be more than just Tevis’s daughter or Ashley’s sister. She needs to live as Jasmine. When Tevis arrives, it’s his turn for a revelation, and Monica offers one. He needs to stop trying to control every aspect of his life, because its just not possible, he needs to trust in others to do their part, and mostly he needs to trust in God to look after everyone. Tevis’s drive to succeed is a virtue, but not at the cost of his faith, and not at the cost of his family. If he doesn’t take the time to live, he’s not really accomplishing anything.

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