Fireproof Plot
Captain Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron) is a firefighter in Albany, Georgia and firmly keeps the cardinal rule of all firemen, "Never leave your partner behind". But Caleb's home life is an altogether different story; his seven-year marriage to his wife Catherine (Erin Bethea) is on the verge of implosion. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces, and after a particularly heated argument in which Caleb literally screams in Catherine's face, she declares she wants out of the marriage, then takes off her wedding ring and stuffs it in her clothing bureau.
While Caleb claims to his friends and co-workers that Catherine is over-sensitive and disrespectful, Catherine simultaneously claims to her peers that Caleb is insensitive to her needs and doesn't listen to her. Further catalyzing Catherine's motivation for divorce is Caleb's addiction to Internet pornography and a large sum of money he has saved up for a fishing boat he intends to buy, ignoring the fact that Catherine's disabled mother is in need of hospital equipment that she cannot afford, and which insurance refuses to cover. [6]
When Caleb tells his father John about the impending divorce, John challenges Caleb to commit to a 40-day test called, "The Love Dare." Caleb reluctantly agrees to do the test, but more for the sake of his father than his marriage; at first Caleb is in it more for what he can get out of it. Understandably, Catherine initially sees through Caleb's half-hearted attempts to win back her heart, which deepens Caleb's frustration. But with John's intervention, Caleb continues with the Love Dare, and eventually makes a life-changing commitment to God, unbeknownst to Catherine.
Meanwhile, Catherine, with prodding from peers (the same peers who gossip incessantly behind her back), begins flirting with Dr. Gavin Keller (Perry Revell) at the hospita..More
Captain Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron) is a firefighter in Albany, Georgia and firmly keeps the cardinal rule of all firemen, "Never leave your partner behind". But Caleb's home life is an altogether different story; his seven-year marriage to his wife Catherine (Erin Bethea) is on the verge of implosion. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces, and after a particularly heated argument in which Caleb literally screams in Catherine's face, she declares she wants out of the marriage, then takes off her wedding ring and stuffs it in her clothing bureau.
While Caleb claims to his friends and co-workers that Catherine is over-sensitive and disrespectful, Catherine simultaneously claims to her peers that Caleb is insensitive to her needs and doesn't listen to her. Further catalyzing Catherine's motivation for divorce is Caleb's addiction to Internet pornography and a large sum of money he has saved up for a fishing boat he intends to buy, ignoring the fact that Catherine's disabled mother is in need of hospital equipment that she cannot afford, and which insurance refuses to cover. [6]
When Caleb tells his father John about the impending divorce, John challenges Caleb to commit to a 40-day test called, "The Love Dare." Caleb reluctantly agrees to do the test, but more for the sake of his father than his marriage; at first Caleb is in it more for what he can get out of it. Understandably, Catherine initially sees through Caleb's half-hearted attempts to win back her heart, which deepens Caleb's frustration. But with John's intervention, Caleb continues with the Love Dare, and eventually makes a life-changing commitment to God, unbeknownst to Catherine.
Meanwhile, Catherine, with prodding from peers (the same peers who gossip incessantly behind her back), begins flirting with Dr. Gavin Keller (Perry Revell) at the hospital where she works. She begins to open up to him about some of her problems, chiefly her mother's need for the hospital equipment which she can't afford, but as she's no longer wearing her wedding ring, Keller doesn't know Catherine is married, at least not until Caleb is brought to the hospital after being injured rescuing a young girl from a fire. Catherine comes up to Caleb in the ER as Keller is treating him, and a nurse unwittingly reveals before all of them that Caleb is Catherine's husband, though neither Catherine nor Keller let on about their budding relationship in front of Caleb.
Through the guidance of the Love Dare book, and as a result of his commitment to Christ, Caleb begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife. With his godly resolve strengthened beyond the point of halfheartedness, Caleb begins pulling more of his own weight at home doing household chores and running errands, and even leaving real roses for Catherine- this after buying a cheap, half-wilted bouquet near the beginning of the Dare. Caleb even finds the motivation to destroy his computer and everything on it, smashing it to pieces with an aluminum baseball bat. But despite all of these things, Catherine is still intent on filing for divorce, much to Caleb's anguish.
When Catherine goes to the home care store to talk with a clerk about the unpaid equipment her mother needs, the clerk tells her that the equipment, all of it, has been paid for in full and is already at her mother's house being installed. Believing it was Dr. Keller that picked up the huge $24,300 tab, Catherine tracks down Keller at the hospital to thank him and sets up a lunch date with him. Meanwhile, Caleb finds out about Dr. Keller through a card for Catherine that she left at home, so he goes to the hospital on his own and warns Dr. Keller that despite his mistakes he's not about to step aside and let Keller have her, not without a fight. The doctor gets the message and quickly cools the relationship with Catherine. (It's at this point we learn that Dr. Keller is also married, but like Catherine, Keller keeps his wedding band hidden in a drawer.)
When Caleb finds Catherine at home sick in bed, he takes it on himself to care for her, providing her food and medicine. Bewildered at his new bedside manner, Catherine asks Caleb what's happening to him. When Caleb starts to tell Catherine about the Love Dare, she pulls Caleb's book out from underneath the blanket next to her. Caleb kneels before Catherine and tearfully apologizes for his selfish behavior and asks her forgiveness. While Catherine admits she sees some change in Caleb, she still cannot bring herself to believe it's all true and is not yet ready to trust him again. Caleb understands and gives her as much time as she needs to think things over.
Days later, Catherine returns to the home care store to purchase linens for her mother's new hospital bed, mentioning to the clerk that linens were the only thing Dr. Keller didn't pay for. But when the clerk reveals to Catherine that Caleb, two weeks prior, paid most of the $24,300 balance on the equipment (Keller contributed only $300), Catherine bursts into tears and leaves the store. Now fully convinced not only of Caleb's genuine change of heart, but also her own foolishness at her misplaced gratitude, Catherine runs home to put her wedding ring back on her finger, then goes straight to the fire house and tells Caleb that she now forgives him, and the two lovingly embrace.
Caleb's dad John later reveals to him the truth about how the Love Dare saved his marriage: that it was actually Caleb's mother who did the Love Dare on John. Contrary to what Caleb believed, it was his dad who was ready to end their marriage, but the Love Dare turned things around. As Caleb always quietly blamed his mother for the near-collapse of their marriage, this revelation goads Caleb into apologizing to his mother. In the end, Caleb and Catherine reaffirm their vows, this time as a covenant to God and to Jesus Christ rather than just a contract in a court of law.
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