Daily Updates

From: rika@netcom.com (Melissa Martin)
Subject: GH: Update, Wednesday, January 31, 1996
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 17:14:31 GMT

                     GENERAL HOSPITAL UPDATE
                   Wednesday, January 31, 1996

First, I need to acknowledge that I dodged a bullet today.  When
Tuesday's episode ended with Brenda calling Miguel, I feared that
the conversation would continue on today's show, and I was preparing
to call this the "Why Me, Lord?" update.  But sometimes things turn
out better than you expect.

And now, we rejoin our regularly scheduled update, already in progress.
Today's stories:

* What Kind of Name is Jasper Jacks/Jax and How Do You Spell It?
* Spare Ribs and Subpoenas
* The Ties that Bind

WHAT KIND OF NAME IS JASPER JACKS/JAX AND HOW DO YOU SPELL IT?
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Updater's note - I don't know the answer to the above question.
I'm going to go with Jax for the moment, and we'll see what the
cast list says).

It's early morning at the gatehouse.  Ned wanders downstairs to
find Lois about to leave.  She gives him a note she had written
(so as not to have to wake him) - she is on her way to New York.
Ned worries that she has a family emergency.  No, just business,
Lois explains, but she has to hurry to catch her flight; besides,
she wants to surprise him.  She attempts a hasty exit, but Ned
demands to know "what, where, who, and how."

Lois doesn't want to spoil the surprise, but Ned begs for a hint.
He eventually drags out of her that it is L&B business, and that
it is a scheme to get Eddie Main back in his leather pants.  Lois
rushes off, leaving a concerned Ned calling after her.

We next see Lois at Jasper Jax's office, sparring with his
secretary, who suggests an appointment in June.  Suddenly, the
inner office doors swing open (electronically, apparently) and
we hear arcade game noises.  Lois looks into the office and
offers an opinion:  "Holy mackerel!"

Indeed.  Jasper Jax (for those who missed him - tall, blonde,
NICE blue eyes, cleft chin, Aussie accent, male-model good looks)
has a most unusual office.  Among the items - model airplanes, a
large ceramic tiger, a pinball machine, and an arcade shooting
gallery, complete with stuffed-animal prizes.  Jasper is shooting
at the targets while talking on the phone.  He finishes his call,
calculates that he won a medium-sized bear, and awards it to Lois.
She asks for a turn at the shooting gallery, and proceeds to display
her skill, honed at Coney Island, while Jax looks on, impressed.

Lois accumulates quite a collection of bears, but she wants the
stuffed alligator.  She has to hit ten out of ten to win it; she
tries, narrowly missing.  He offers her the alligator anyway, but
she won't take it since she didn't win it "fair and square".

They move on to business.  Jax doesn't deal with many people who
worry about "fair and square".  Lois fills Jax in on Edward's
takeover of L&B.  Jax is already familiar with Edward, having
considered doing business with him a few years back ("for about
two seconds.")  Jax also knows about L&B, and that Lois is
married to Eddie Main, who is also Ned Ashton.  He even has
the Idle Rich CD queued up on his office stereo.  He guessed
Lois might come to see him after her phone call yesterday.

Lois explains her plan.  She wants Jax to buy the Japanese
pharmaceutical firm that Edward wants for ELQ.  Jax knows about
the firm, and has heard that ELQ wants to buy it.  (I wish Lois
had asked Jax where Damian Smith is; I bet he knows!)  Lois tells
Jax about Ned's offer for the company ($610 million); Edward
thinks they should offer 10% more.  If Jax offers a price in the
middle, he can turn around and sell it to ELQ for the $610M + 10%
and make a quick profit.  Jax points out that Ned will be in trouble
with Edward if this happens, but Lois's only interest is saving
Eddie Main - "Ned is going to have to take care of himself."  (Do
I hear the Knell of Doom in the background?)  Lois has one
condition - Jax must insist that Edward give L&B back to Lois first.
That is her "commission" for bringing the information to Jax.  Jax
asks what is to prevent him from cutting Lois out, given that he now
has all the information he needs.  She says he won't - she sized him
up based on the fact that he didn't cheat with the arcade game,
just as he sized her up by her refusal to take the alligator.
(Oh oh - there's that Knell of Doom again.....)  Jax suggests
they put the deal in writing - his secretary will handle it
while they are gone.  Gone where? asks Lois, but Jax doesn't
answer as the electronic doors open again, to Lois's amazement.

SPARE RIBS AND SUBPOENAS
------------------------
The doorbell rings repeatedly at the Scorpio house, and Kathy and
Mac appear, throwing on robes.  It's Kevin and Lucy.  Lucy has
news that can't wait - Damian Smith is definitely alive. Kathy and
Mac are excited, but Kevin wears a long-suffering look.  Mac asks
if Lucy saw Damian, and when she says she did, Mac and Kathy bombard
her with questions.  Lucy suggests that they call Garcia, but Kevin
wants her to explain first.  He starts to tell the story himself:
Lucy is seeing Damian in her mind, and, furthermore, she went to
see Maia.  Kathy is disgusted, and Kevin barely less so.  Lucy
tries to explain, but Kevin interjects that Damian was the one who
hired Maia in the first place.  Katherine misses a chance at partial
redemption by failing to admit that she knew it all along, and
Lucy recaps Maia's account of her involvement with Damian.

Lucy, alone in a room full of hostility, tries to explain her
visions of Damian.  "So where is he?" asks Katherine.  Lucy knows
where he is, but she's "just not sure what she knows yet".  Mac
looks at Kevin, who throws up his hands and walks away while Mac
glares at Lucy.

Lucy explains the details she has been able to glean.  "From your
visions", snarks Katybell, and Lucy suggests that "Kathy" should
try not to be so skeptical.  "Tell her not to call me that,"
Kathy mutters to Mac.  Lucy, running out of patience (and how she
lasted THIS long I don't know), says there is more IF they want
to hear it.  Mac encourages her to go ahead - what is there to
lose?  "Well, there's always your sanity," snipes Kevin.  Lucy is
visibly hurt by this remark, but plows ahead anyway while Kathy
continues to utter discouraging words.  Mac is the only one who
is able to maintain an open mind (or display any common courtesy),
but he points out that the details are too vague.  Lucy knows
that - if only she had seen Damian by a street sign or with a map.
"Yes, that certainly would have been helpful," Kevin retorts, and
Lucy is clearly hurt yet again.

Katherine suddenly says that she knows the place Lucy is seeing.
Lucy is greatly relieved until Katherine snickers that it is
"Cloud Cuckooland".  She has a good laugh - "I got you!!!" -
as Lucy's face falls.  Lucy, inexplicably, hangs in there in
spite of all the derision - I would have been outta there a long
time before - and points out that Kathy has precious little to
be yukking it up about.  Lucy admits that maybe she shouldn't
have said anything until she had more concrete details.  Kevin
tries to use this opening to speed their departure, but Lucy
asks him to wait.  She explains that Maia told her she needs a
supportive atmosphere to figure things out, and no one is helping
her (Kevin gets a well-deserved extra-special glare from Lucy at
this point).  Kathy reminds Lucy that Maia is a con artist, and
Lucy makes an excellent point about pots calling kettles names.
Katherine responds by telling Lucy to get out.  Mac, bless him,
thanks Lucy for bringing the information - and the doorbell rings.

Kevin has apparently bought a clue that Lucy deserves better
treatment, because while Mac answers the door, he takes Lucy's
hand and reminds Kathy that Lucy honestly wants to help - he
thinks that is what has made her retrieve these impressions from
her subconscious, and, hey, who knows, maybe there's a clue
buried in there in some convoluted way.  (It's too half-hearted
to make Lucy feel any better, but it beats sarcastic put-downs.)

The visitor enters, looking for Katherine, who identifies herself.
"Then this is for you," he says, reaching into his coat.  "Oh,
my God, he's got a gun!" Lucy cries, rushing over to throw herself
between the man and Katherine.  Mac and Kevin prompty grab the man
as he struggles with them.  Mac restrains him while Kevin frisks
him, finding nothing.  Kathy uses this as another opportunity to
make fun of Lucy's "supposed psychic powers."  Lucy reminds her,
"I was just willing to take a bullet for you."  Kathy, hitting an
almost unbelievable all-time low, retorts, "I wish you had."

Meanwhile, Kevin has figured out that the visitor is a process
server.  Sure enough, he serves Kathy with a subpoena to appear
before the grand jury.  And - surprise - he has TWO for Lucy:
one for herself, and one for Sigmund.  While Lucy looks at the
papers in distress, Kevin comforts her and suggests that they
call Justus at once.  Katherine takes the opportunity to whine,
"Who CARES about your stupid duck; they subpoenaed ME!"

Justus arrives, and comments that it is most unusual for a grand
jury to subpoena a duck.  (Big newsflash there!)  Lucy asks what
they can do, and Justus advises her to go get Siggy and take him
to the courthouse.  Lucy refuses - she isn't going to subject
Sigmund to this.  Justus responds, "Well, you wouldn't want to
see him jailed for contempt, would you?"  He then turns to leave,
and we hear his raucous, hysterical laughter as he departs.

We rejoin Mac, Kathy, and Justus outside the grand jury room.
Justus remarks that it is just as unusual for a grand jury to
call the accused as it is for them to call a duck.  Katherine
objects to being put in the same category as the duck.  (If
Sigmund had been there, I have no doubt that he would have
objected to it too.)  Justus thinks they are going to test to
see if Sigmund quacks when he sees Kathy.  Right on cue, Lucy
and Kevin enter with a madly quacking Sigmund.  Kevin offers
to take Sigmund for a walk while Justus briefs Lucy.  Walk
him on a leash, advises Justus.  Lucy asks if he would put
his child on a leash, and then gives Sigmund to Kevin, who
flaps his wings and seems none too thrilled to leave with Kevin.
(Who can blame him - he probably doesn't want to join his Dad
on the back burner!)  Justus reminds Kevin of the "pooper
scooper" law in Port Charles; Lucy looks daggers at Justus and
informs him that Sigmund can use the men's room.  (That's my duck!!!)

Katherine and Lucy exchange hostilities while Justus tries to
keep the peace.  Lucy is very hungry - she feels ready to faint.
She suddenly sees a vision of Damian wearing a cowboy hat and
eating spare ribs (was it just me, or is the sight of Damian in
a cowboy hat somehow just not right?).  She sees him again (no hat
this time) laughing.  She tells the others of her vision.  She
wishes she were making it up - it is unnerving to have him popping
in and out of her subconscious.

Lucy reflects on the frightening impulse that led her to throw
herself in front of Katherine when she thought the process server
had a gun.  Maybe it's basic instinct, she suggests, like jumping
into icy water to save a dog.  Katherine objects to the analogy (the
way she has been acting, I think it's an insult to dogs).  Lucy
points out that the man *could* have had a gun, and in that case
Lucy would have been a heroine (Mac interjects, "A dead heroine").
And, adds Lucy, Kathy probably wouldn't have come to the funeral.

The conversation turns to Sigmund, and Lucy points out that he
is Kathy's only alibi.  Katherine is upset that her fate is in
the hands of a "crazy duck".  Lucy accuses her of libel (Justus
corrects her - it's slander) and defends Siggy's honor.  Mac
points out that Siggy has been awfully quiet lately - did Kevin
hypnotize him?  Justus urges him not to even suggest such a
thing, as it might be seen as tampering with a witness.  Kathy
petulantly envisions them making Sigmund "raise his right hand
and swear on a Bible".  Lucy accurately but irrelevantly points
out that ducks don't have hands, and just then the D.A. appears.

Lucy goes into the hall to fetch Sigmund from Kevin, who is
relieved - he is late for a session.  Kevin tells Lucy that
Sigmund is acting "really weird", and, having exceeded his
allowable quota of dialogue and screen time for the day,
he races off before Lucy can get more information.  The D.A.
leads Lucy and Sigmund into the courtroom, promising to return
for Katherine soon.

THE TIES THAT BIND
------------------
At Casa de Spencer, we find Lucky and Luke starting their day.
Luke discovers that Lucky packed the leftover meatballs for his
lunch, thus depriving Luke of breakfast - oh, but there's always
that apple pie!  (Kind of like Bill Cosby's "chocolate cake for
breakfast" routine).  This leads Lucky to ask about Laura.  He is
worried about his parents because "I don't see the two of you
together anymore."  Luke responds to this understatement of the
year by reminding Lucky that they agreed to help Laura to manage
things.  While Lucky doesn't feel neglected - he likes not having
her "hovering" and worrying so much - he's worried that the setup
isn't fair to Luke, and he's afraid his parents will break up again.

Luke assures Lucky that he's okay with the status quo.  Lucky
misses the sense of a family team that they used to have, and
they both agree that they liked things better before, but Luke
suggests that maybe things will be better in six months.  But,
Lucky asks, isn't Luke restless?  Of course he is - he's Luke,
isn't he - but more to the point, Lucky is getting restless.
Luke makes a poker analogy, and uses it as an opportunity to warn
Lucky against getting addicted to adrenalin rushes.  Life can't
always be like that and, besides, you gotta know when to hold
'em and when to fold 'em.

Just then the doorbell rings, and it's Sonny.  He wants to know
if Laura is around.  What a comedian Sonny is!  She's at school,
working on a psych paper.  He invites the Spencers to his wedding.
They congratulate him and agree to attend.  They're not sure about
Laura - "she'll be there if she can."  Sonny asks Luke to be his
best man, and Luke promises a big-time bachelor bash.

Luke mentions rumors around town that Sonny isn't so much marrying
Lily as he is marrying her father.  Luke, though, knows that nobody
could push Sonny into doing anything he didn't want to do.  Still,
says Sonny, if doing what he wants to do can help him get out of
a legal mess, so much the better.

Sonny leaves, and Lucky asks Luke if Mike will be there, and he
makes a perceptive remark about Sonny going into a self-protecting
mode whenever Mike is around.  Lucky wonders what Sonny meant about
compromises - is Lily calling the shots?  Luke says, no, Sonny
is living his own life - no one else can do it for him.  Lucky
leaves for school (a school bus that honks for him if he's not
there?  Not in my neighborhood.....), and Luke looks pensive.

We leave the Spencer home and join Sonny at the club as Lily
arrives.  He tells her visiting Luke and about the bachelor
party.  Sonny mentions his wish that Stone could be there.  They
review the wedding guest list.  Lily remarks that a year ago she
would not have wanted her father at the wedding.  Her feelings
started to change when he was in the hospital.  When she thought
he might die, she realized she was ready to forgive him.  A
wedding, she remarks, is a good time to rethink family relation-
ships.  Sonny remarks that some relationships need more time to
rethink, but Lily says she really wants Mike at the wedding.

Just then, Mike appears.  Lily leaves, and Sonny and Mike warily
discuss the wedding.  Sonny finally works his way up to mentioning
that Lily thinks he ought to have immediate family there.  Mike
offers to come if Sonny wants him to, and Sonny tells him the
time and the place.  They look at each other, awkward and at a
loss for words, until Sonny finally shrugs and leaves.

---------------------------
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