🎬 TALON, RN

Episode 8: “Discharge” (Season One Finale)

Written by Tavis J. Ferguson

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COLD OPEN

INT. PATIENT ROOM – EARLY MORNING

Soft light through the blinds.

A hospital bed—

Empty.

Sheets pulled tight.

No monitors. No noise.

Just absence.

Talon stands in the doorway.

Still.

Chip walks in.

Jumps onto the bed.

Circles once.

Lies down.

Waiting.

No one returns.

TALON

…they made it.

(beat)

That’s the goal.

Chip rests his head on the blanket.

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TITLE CARD: TALON, RN

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ACT ONE

INT. NURSE’S STATION – MORNING

Phones ringing. Movement building.

Jennifer stands with a tablet—overloaded.

JENNIFER

I have three hospitals in Oregon asking for protocols, two in Washington requesting site visits—

(beat)

—and California used the phrase “scalable empathy model.”

Talon winces.

TALON

That should be illegal.

Jennifer looks up.

JENNIFER

It gets worse.

(beat)

Good Morning America.

Talon freezes.

Chip sneezes.

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ACT TWO

INT. ADMIN OFFICE – LATE MORNING

Gellar stands at the window.

Hands behind his back.

Jennifer enters.

GELLAR

We’re past pilot stage.

(beat)

This is a model now.

Jennifer says nothing.

He turns.

GELLAR (CONT’D)

West Coast expansion.

I want you leading it.

A beat.

That lands.

Heavy.

JENNIFER

That takes me off the floor.

GELLAR

It puts you in control of what this becomes.

Jennifer processes.

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ACT THREE

INT. HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

Jennifer walks with Talon.

Slower than usual.

TALON

You’re going to take it.

Not a question.

Jennifer exhales.

JENNIFER

I don’t want to leave this.

Talon nods.

TALON

Then don’t.

(beat)

Protect it.

Jennifer looks at him.

That reframes everything.

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ACT FOUR

INT. PATIENT ROOM – AFTERNOON

The patient from Episode 7.

Standing now.

Discharge ready.

Chip sits nearby—but not attached.

The patient looks at Talon.

PATIENT

I didn’t think I could do this without him.

Talon smiles.

TALON

You didn’t.

(beat)

You just learned how to do it with yourself too.

The patient nods.

Looks at Chip.

PATIENT

Thank you.

Chip blinks.

Lets it go.

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ACT FIVE

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – LATE AFTERNOON

Jennifer stands across from Gellar.

Decision time.

JENNIFER

I’ll do it.

(beat)

But we don’t standardize the part that makes it work.

Gellar studies her.

Then—

nods.

GELLAR

That’s why it’s you.

They shake.

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INT. HALLWAY – MOMENTS LATER

Talon leans against the wall.

Jennifer approaches.

JENNIFER

He offered you something.

Talon nods.

Already knows.

TALON

Charge Nurse.

Jennifer watches him.

JENNIFER

And?

Talon looks out at the unit.

Everything moving.

Everything human.

TALON

…I haven’t decided.

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ACT SIX

INT. NURSE’S STATION – NIGHT (FINAL FLOOR SHIFT)

Quieter.

A sense of transition.

Jennifer stands behind the station.

One last time.

Talon beside her.

Chip between them.

JENNIFER

Don’t let them turn this into a checklist.

TALON

Don’t let them turn it into a brand.

They share a look.

Mutual.

Respect.

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ACT SEVEN

INT. ADMIN OFFICE – NEXT MORNING

Jennifer’s new office.

Glass walls.

Different world.

She sets her bag down.

Sits.

A knock.

ADMIN ASSISTANT

This was delivered for you.

A certified manila envelope.

No return address.

Jennifer frowns.

Opens it.

Inside—

A letter.

And a check.

She stops.

Still.

The check reads:

$2,000,000

Payable to:

CAERI

Jennifer slowly sits.

Reads.

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INSERT – LETTER (V.O.)

A quiet male voice.

Grounded. Unperformative.

My wife Kari was a nurse.

She believed the smallest things reached people first.

After we lost her, our four French Bulldogs didn’t fix anything.

But they stayed.

And sometimes… that was enough to get through the next hour.

What you’ve built matters.

Use this to help it grow.

— Jonah Lindeman

La Grande, Oregon

Kari Ann Foundation for Nursing Excellence

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Jennifer lowers the letter.

Eyes glassy.

Not breaking.

But close.

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ACT EIGHT

INT. NURSE’S STATION – SAME TIME

Talon starts his shift.

Chip beside him.

Jennifer walks in.

Different now.

But still her.

She hands Talon the letter.

He reads.

Still.

TALON

Four French Bulldogs.

Jennifer nods.

JENNIFER

No one’s heard from him.

(beat)

But he heard this.

Silence.

That lands.

Deep.

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FINAL SCENE

INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY – SUNSET

Talon walks the floor.

Slower.

More intentional.

Not reacting.

Leading.

Chip beside him.

Same pace.

Different weight.

TALON

Okay.

(beat)

Let’s do this right.

Chip looks up.

Steady.

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FINAL INSERT

A new badge printed.

Placed beside Chip’s original one.

CAERI — WEST COAST INITIATIVE

In honor of Kari Lindeman

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FADE OUT.