NCIS (TV Series)

Handle with Care (2018)

Drew Carey: John Ross

Quotes 

• John Ross : Hey, Tom, where's your box going to?

  Tom Moore : It's going to my wife's sister's youngest son.

  John Ross : Uh, what's your special touch today?

  Tom Moore : My wife made banana bread.

  John Ross : Nice. Did you get your new pictures yet?

  Tom Moore : [holding up said pictures]  Yeah, sure did. Check it out.

  John Ross : It's too bad they couldn't edit all the ugly out of these, huh?

  Tom Moore : Hey, man, what you talking about? I look like Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes rolled up in one.

• John Ross : You know, I had a, uh, great-great-grandfather, I-I don't know how many "greats", but he was named after George Washington at the request of George Washington himself.

  Jack Sloane : That is impressive.

  John Ross : My family's been fighting for this country since it was founded. Where'd you serve?

  Jack Sloane : Who said I served?

  John Ross : You called your coffee "battery acid", so...

  Jack Sloane : Ah. Dead giveaway, huh? Afghanistan.

  John Ross : Oh. That's a... that's a tough part of the world for a woman.

  Jack Sloane : Tough part for anybody.

• Jack Sloane : I see a lot of anger hiding behind that happy face of yours. Bottling up what happened to you is dangerous. You get that?

  John Ross : And how would you know?

  Jack Sloane : 'Cause it happened to me, too, okay? Nine months. They wanted Army intel. I never said a word. Screamed a bit.

  John Ross : I'm... I'm so sorry.

  Jack Sloane : I don't know if you had this, but it was like... they kept moving me around. So I-I didn't know how long I'd been there or where I was.

• John Ross : My problem isn't what happened to me over there. I've... come to terms with that. It's the life they took away from me over here.

  Jack Sloane : What... what do you mean by that?

  John Ross : I had a girlfriend when I got sent to Iran. She was more than a girlfriend. She was... she was really special.

  Jack Sloane : What was her name?

  John Ross : Clara. A few weeks into the mission, before we left base, I got a letter from her saying she was pregnant with our child. And, uh... I was thrilled. My life was all lined up. And I was gonna ask her to marry me the second I set foot back on American soil. But then... everything changed.

• John Ross : You know, they held me for five years. And after two rescue attempts went south and my captors cut off all communications... uh, everybody thought I was dead.

  Jack Sloane : So she moved on.

  John Ross : When I got back, she had a new husband, and my daughter had a father that she believed to be her own. I made her mother promise to never tell her. I mean, I-I just... I was in no shape to be a dad. They... they had to move on. I was a... I was a broken man for quite a while. You know, in a lot of ways, I still am. I th... thought I was better at hiding it.

• John Ross : Have a seat anywhere you want. The boxes are right over there.

  Nick Torres : Oh, we're with NCIS. Uh, we have a few questions for you.

  John Ross : Oh, wow. Uh, yeah, ask away.

  [McGee glances around the room] 

  John Ross : Hey, anything you got to ask me, you can ask me in front of them.

  Timothy McGee : Well, I'm afraid we can't. We're gonna need you to come in.

  John Ross : What's this all about?

  Nick Torres : One of your care packages killed a sailor.

• Leroy Jethro Gibbs : Petty Officer Second Class James Sweeney.

  John Ross : I-I never saw him before.

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : Well, you sent him a box.

  John Ross : I get a list from the Navy every week. I mean, you know, I try, but my memory's not what it used to be.

• Leroy Jethro Gibbs : You make these?

  John Ross : Listen, can you just tell me what's going on?

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : Yes or no?

  John Ross : Yeah, they're my mother's recipe.

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : The ones sent to Petty Officer Sweeney were laced with cyanide. It's got your name on the return address on the label. It's got your cookies inside, and two photographs of you.

• John Ross : Nah, this is crazy. I don't know how poison could have gotten into one of my... how could poison get in one of my boxes?

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : You tell me.

  John Ross : I have no idea!

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : How well do you know your friends at the Legion Hall?

  John Ross : They're patriots, every single one of them. They're no way any of 'em could have done something like this.

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : Anyone who could have put their cookies inside your box?

  John Ross : We all pack our own boxes. They're all personalized.

• Leroy Jethro Gibbs : I know about you, Sergeant. I know what you've been through. But you got to give me something.

  John Ross : This isn't right! I have to get out of this room! You can't keep me in this room! I have to get out of this room! You hear me? I have to get out of this room!

• John Ross : How do you take your coffee?

  Jack Sloane : Oh, I like my battery acid black. I'll handle my own sugar, though.

• John Ross : So, uh... why'd you ask about Whit Dexter? He killed that sailor, didn't he?

  Jack Sloane : I never said that.

  John Ross : Well, you wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't a possibility.

  Jack Sloane : You think he'd do it?

  John Ross : He definitely hates our military. Came after me personally, too.

  Jack Sloane : Listen, there is nothing that man could say to you that would be worse than living in a cage for five years.

• John Ross : I know I shouldn't have gone after that idiot.

  Jack Sloane : Hey, I don't... I don't blame you. I just want to talk about why. Why you did it.

  John Ross : 'Cause some nutbag's out there telling everybody that I killed a sailor.

  Jack Sloane : John, you have a history of aggression.

  John Ross : I am not interested in talking about my feelings.

• Jack Sloane : Where's Clara now?

  John Ross : She and her husband both passed on. She had a heart attack.

  Jack Sloane : I'm sorry. And your daughter?

  John Ross : Oh, she still doesn't know anything about me.

  Jack Sloane : Well, maybe she should.

  John Ross : No. Just too much time has passed.

  Jack Sloane : You have this mountain of family history to share. Don't you think she'd want that?

  John Ross : Family is who's there when you need 'em the most. And I was never there for her. She's got her own family history now. She'd reject me if I brought all this stuff to her and dumped in her lap. She'd probably hate me, even, so... it's too late.

• John Ross : I am so nervous. This could change her whole life. What if I screw everything up?

  Jack Sloane : Hey, I think she'll be glad to know the truth.

  John Ross : I just want her to know how much I loved her mother. And I'm ready to tell her it's okay if she doesn't want anything to do with me.

  Jack Sloane : Stop it! You're a good man. She'll see that. It's gonna be a big step for both of you.

• John Ross : You know, Jack, you're the first person I could ever talk to about what happened to me.

  Jack Sloane : I don't, uh... I don't talk about my experience much, either, John.

  John Ross : It was hard, but... it definitely helped knowing that you understand.

  Jack Sloane : Good. I'm glad to hear it.

  John Ross : Maybe I was able to help you, too.