7th Heaven: Season 1 - Episode 18: Faith, Hope & The Bottom Line

 

Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) and Simon (David Gallagher). 

Simon is talking about being a catcher for baseball. 

Simon tells Ruthie how he can crouch down all day as a catcher and then gets a cramp.  uthie is looking at her class directory.  imon asks Ruthie their phone number, and when she gets it wrong, he tells her the others in her class probably got theirs wrong too. 

Ruthie: You don't know everything.

Simon: Well, I know my phone number when someone asks for it.

Ruthie: And still no one calls.  Oooh, dissed by the little sister)!

Eric is at a job fair interviewing a man who is an ex-con.  ric tells him to come to the address he gave him tomorrow at 4:30 to meet some people.

Annie is meeting with some people from the church, including Lou (Alan Fudge), at Chez Camden. Annie apologizes that Eric isn't there. She says they can pick a church treasurer without  Eric. They decide to temporarily make Annie the new treasurer. She accepts.

Annie is in the kitchen making sandwiches. She asks Simon if he's playing baseball and then tells him he needs a tetanus shot. Simon doesn't want Eric to go because Eric's afraid of needles, so Matt will take him.

In the teenage girls' room, Lucy is thanking Mary for tutoring Jimmy. Mary tel s her sister she is tutoring because she got an A in Science, plus if Jimmy was in summer school, Lucy would be around her all summer. (Nothing like self-serving compassion). 

Outside, Simon tries to convince Matt to check yes on the card, saying he already had his tetanus shot. Simon re inds Matt that, like their dad, Matt is also afraid of needles. (I think it runs in the family). 

Eric and Annie are in the kitchen. Eric ask  her if she can handle working in the church and taking care of the home. She says she ca  now that Ruthie is in school. Ruthie comes do nstairs and sees Ding Dongs in her bag. 

Ruthie: That's not my usual.

Eric: You have a usual. You've only bee  in school a few weeks.

Annie: Trade Simon for his Ho Hos, and then use the Ho Hos to trade for Lucy's Nutter Butters.

Ruthie: I could, but variety is the spice of life.

Annie: Yes, it is.

Ruthie: I'll give the Ding Dongs a whirl. 

She offers to let her father use her phone list while she's at school, but he tells her to hang on to it  (Eric, I think you should take it from her). 

Ruthie leaves, and Mary and Lucy come down. Lucy asks Eric  o pray for Jimmy because Mary is tutoring Jimmy later. 

Eric tells Annie that a guy is coming to meet everyone who "can type, file and play the organ." Annie questions Eric about her being treasurer, saying he's thrilled. Annie is delighted t o. (Everyone is deligh ed, but I don't think Annie and Eric are delighted with each other). 

Lucy is talking to Jimmy at school. Jimmy tells her t at Mary makes him nervous, and Lucy tells him to smile and show some teeth.

Ron, the man whom Eric interviewed (Greg Evigan), plays the organ at the church for the others. Lou tells Roy they'll be in touch. The choir dir ctor (Nick McGuire) says they can use him; however, Lou sees the man was in jail and has no interest in hiring him. 

Simon and Matt are at the Reston Medical Center. Simon talks t  a girl (Jennifer Wallenstein) who needs a physical to play field hockey. He is startin  to get anxious about getting a shot, and Matt is also incredibly nervous. He tries to c nvince Matt to sign off on his card again. Matt refuses, and Simon suggests they come back tomorrow, and Matt agrees. Simon tells t e girl, "I'm the puppet master," and he and Matt leave.

Eric is in his office at church talking to Annie about Ron. Like Lou, Ann e doesn't think Ron should be hired. Annie asks hi  to reconsider his position (apparently about getting a security system) since the rest of them will do the same (regarding Ron). Eric then tells his w fe they only hired her to be treasurer so she could convince him to get a security system for the church since they knew Eric wasn't for it   (That was a low blow, Eric). 

Annie: I thought maybe they elected me because they knew the budget had to be done in a hurry, and they knew I could do it. I also think they kne  could trust me to be fair, which, oddly enough, is more than you knew.

Ruthie is in her room talking to a fireman, which she called from her list of emergency numbers. Lucy catches her, tak s the phone, and apologizes to the man Ruthie was talking to. Ruthie tells her that Simon told her the numbers are probably wrong. 

Lucy: I don't think he meant the numbers on the front page.

Ruthie: He wasn't specific.

Lucy: You. Stay off the phone. Got it?

Lucy goes do nstairs and watches Mary tutor Jimmy. Both are doing as she said earlier: Mary looked into his eyes, and Jimmy smiled. Lucy starts daydreami g that the two like each other. (This scene was great !

Lou is finding out about a security system. Eric and Annie see hi , and Eric is upset. He says t  ey never p anned to reconsider their position on Ron   Lou said they did. Still, their position is the same   Eric says he is against the security system because people should always be allowed to come into the church   (I agree, Eric, but not everyone has honorable intentions, unfortunately). Eric and Lou walk off in different directions, and Annie looks troubled. 

That night, Lucy asks Mary about the tutoring. Lucy accuses her sist r of being in love with Jimmy   Mary reminds Lucy that she was the one who wanted her to tutor Jimmy. 

Ron tries to get the church doors open, and Lou sees him. He tells Lou he wants a hymnal in case they need him to play on Sunday   Lou says to him that the church won't be h  ring him. (Lou can be a jerk so etimes). Lou asks Ron what Ron did time for   (Ron, you don't have to answer, especially since Lou just said they weren't going to hire you). At first, Ron says he sto e bread to feed his family. Then he says he paid to s pport a life for which he didn't have the money for. 

Eric tells Matt that the hospital called, apologizing for being so busy. Eric tells Matt that Sim n is very good at getting to people, so Matt should take his walkman so he can't hear Simon. 

Lucy is on the phone with Jimmy. She accuses him of being interested in Mary   Ruthie picks up the phone and says she's waiting to use it. Jimmy hangs up, angry wi h Lucy. Lucy goes into Ruthie's  oom to find out why she is waiting for the phone. 

Ruthie: I need to call the poison people. Hoowie drank the water o t of Happy's dish.

Lucy: Ruthie, you cannot use emergency numbers because your imaginary friend drank out of your dog's dish. You can only use them if real people have real emergencies.

Happy comes downstairs, and Simon has filled her water dish. Matt comes down and info ms Simon that they will get Simon's shot.

Eric is at the church late at night to get Annie's laptop. Lou sees him, and they d scuss Ron's criminal past. 

Lou: See, I thought you were supposed to present your parishioners and their values.

Eric: Oh   No, My job is to represent the church and its values to the best of my ability. Now, most of the time, I do that with the support of the parishioners. Sometimes, I do it in sp te of the parishioners, but that's my job as minister of the church   (Well said). 

Lou threatens to get rid of Eric as the minister. 

Eric: Well, follow your heart Lou. It's the only practical thing to do. 

Eric is talking to Annie the next day about Lou, and is upset and gets even more upset when he feels that Annie is not on his side.

Eric: Faith without risk is...easy

Annie: And faith with risk - your kind of faith - is scary. 

Eric apologizes to Annie for not recognizing she's a good treasurer. She accepts it. Annie says one of the reasons she married him is his passion. She tells him she also loves his smile and making up with him. 

Simon refuses to get the shot because he is also scared, like his father and brother. He has the bedroom barrica ed to keep anyone from coming in to get him.  

Ruthie calls 9-1-1 and asks if "being barricaded in your room is an emergency." (That probably wasn't a good idea, Ruthie).   

The Glenoak Police show up at the house.

Ruthie: I can't believe you really came. 

Seargent Michaels (Christopher Michael): Ruthie. You know what happens when you call 9-1-1, and it's not an emergency? It  eans someone else may re lly be hurt or in danger, and we're not there for them because we're here.

Ruthie: I'm sorry, I'll never call again. 

Officer McGuire (Michael Cutt): I hope you never have to. (They handle Ruthie very well). 

The police leave the house, and Lucy tells Ruthie to give her the phone list. Ruthie reluctantly gives it to her sister. 

Simon and Matt are back at the Reston Medical Center.  Simon sees two needles and tells the nurses he only needs one shot. Matt needs a shot as well because he's overdue. The nurse gives Matt a shot, and he doesn't notice. Simon gets a loll  pop for himself and gives one to Matt, calling him "a big baby."   

Jimmy left Mary a note on Mary and Lucy's door saying he was canceling the tutoring. Mary tells  ucy she should have trust d her, and even more, she should have trusted her own judgment. After Mary  ells at Lucy, Lucy cries. They make u .

Annie comes in to let  er know, "Mr. Moon is here, and he'd like a word with you." (The first time I thought this, I thought she meant Jimmy's father because he was angry that Lucy was making it hard for Jimmy to be tutored.  I wonder i Lucy thought the same thi )?

Lucy goes downstairs and sees Jimmy. 

Jimmy: While I appreciate you're a passionate, whimsical creature by nature, you also need to appreciate my need for a passing science grade and just accept the fact there's nothing going on between me and your sister. (As much as I can't stand Jimmy Moon I have to say the writer's do give him some funny lines). 

Lucy goes to get Mary, and Jimmy sits in a chair in the living room.

Annie is in  Ruthie's room with Rut ie. Ruthie tells Annie what Seargent Michaels told her. Annie tells her she's right and that she has to have permission to use the phone.

Ruthie: Who ratted on me?

Annie: Um, your brothers and sisters, the police, three neighbors, and the mailman.

Ruthie: That's what I figured. 

Simon is in the kitchen eating leftover pizza and tells Eric that his mother should get a real job so they can order out all the time. Eric informs his son that Annie has a real job - taking care of all of them and the house.  

Matt comes down and asks Eric if he will hire the ex-con. Then he realizes Eric already hired him. Eric brings up the tetanus shots, and Matt tells him he's got proof and hands his dad the lollipop  

 Annie talks to the oth r people at the church about the budget before church. She tells them the budget is a moral document, but it's usually not seen that way. 

Annie: The budget is where we decide what kind of people we want to be.

The congregation and choir come in, and Eric puts on his robe  

Lou: Where is this guy  ou want us all to invest in.

E ic: He'll be here, Lou. Ju t show a little faith.

Ron apologizes for being late. He had to take three buses.

Annie is smiling at Ron, who is now playing the organ.

Lou: We'll give this time and see how it plays out.

Eric: That sounds fair.

Lou: But it's not over.

Eric: But it's not over 

The choir continues sing ng Holy, Holy, Holy as Eric stands behind the pulpit. Annie waves to him as the closing credits come up. 

(I didn't care for this episode; I thought it rather stupid at times and incredibly dull).