Daily Updates

Subject:     GH: 9/30/96 update
Sent:        10/18/96 10:31 PM
From:        lraneri@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu

                                September 30, 1996

        Luke and Laura announce to Lucky that "normalcy" has returned.
Laura says she won't see Nikolas anymore.  Laura says none of this is
Lucky's fault and that there's too much bad blood between the Cassadines
and the Spencers.  Lucky asks how she can cut off her son.  Laura says she
doesn't feel she has another choice.  Lucky shows a moment of empathy in
appreciating that this must be difficult for her, but then says he'll feel
happy if she doesn't change her mind or feel guilty.
        Nikolas gets discharged from the hospital.  Stephan thanks Bobbie
for her help and asks her and Tony to dinner at Windermere.  Bobbie comes
over to Luke and Laura's right after the discussion with Lucky to tell
Laura Nikolas was released from the hospital.  Laura is visibly happy.
Bobbie says she'll keep an eye on him for her and asks if there might be
another way to handle the situation and if Laura is cutting off Nikolas
just to please Luke.
        At Luke's, Luke shows Mike the monitor he was using to bug the
Cassadines and says Stephan "must have had the exterminator out."  Mike
offers to assist with planting another bug, which Luke doesn't think is
necessary because Laura said she won't see them again.  Mike asks if Luke
found out anything about the Greek word he looked up "Timoria."
        Sonny discusses ELQ business with Mike.  Before the board meeting,
Edward, Ned, and Justus discuss Ned's conversation with Sonny about trying
to get him off the board.  Jax arrives early to tell them that he won't be
trying to seize ELQ.  Sonny questions their acceptance of Jax's statement.
Keisha and AJ are ebullient about how he's doing on the city council.
Sonny says he's not interested in leaving the ELQ board and that asks how
the Quartermaines can associate with Jax, who he says has no honor, but
treat Sonny with disrespect.
        Nikolas comes home and asks why they are still in Port Charles.
Stephan says there is still "so much to be done."  Stephan answers the
door, and Alexis, Kevin's attorney, comes in and says "Greetings, cousin.
Great place you've got here."
        ELQ business meetings are always hot.  Jax announces that there
will be no takeover and that being involved with Tracy was a lapse in
judgment.  Edward acknowledges that ELQ had been lax and was now
reinvigorated and says that Jax and Jax can provide worldwide resources to
ELQ.  Edward proposes that Ned be reinstated as CEO.  Tracy's not at the
meeting.  Lila says "Tracy's not done anything, Edward that you haven't
already done yourself."  The role call is taken and everyone votes for Ned
to be reinstated.  Of course, at the critical moment, Tracy walks in with
Dillon in her arms.  "Wait just a moment."
        Tracy is apologetic to everyone about her actions and tries to
defend herself by saying she never meant to hurt anyone in the family.  She
says being away from the family for the last 3 years had been a "living
hell."  She said she just wanted to come home and expressed hurt feelings
about having been told that she and her child had to leave and not come
back.  No one responds sympathetically.  Tracy says in spite of their
hardness of heart, she loves them deeply and says her life is "empty and
pathetic" without them.
        Laura tells Bobbie that Nikolas was in the house to say good-bye to
Lulu before he left and that Luke had met Nikolas in private and told him
to leave town.  Bobbie is incredulous about Luke's attitude and says that
Stephan truly loves Nikolas and that Nikolas is a good kid.  Bobbie asks if
Laura really believes that Nikolas is a good kid and loves Lulu, why is she
divorcing herself from him..  Laura says it's just what has to be done.
She pulls out the book with the picture of her holding Nikolas as a baby
and looks at it tearfully.
        Mike asks Luke about the Cassadines.  Luke says the Cassadines are
basically evil incarnate.  Luke explains the "freeze the world" scheme of
the Cassadines and says that Laura was kidnapped and "used as a breeding
ground until she woke up and found out I was alive and escaped."   Fourteen
years later, when Lulu needed a bone marrow donor, Stavros' brother came
back with Nikolas, like a "Trojan horse."  Luke says he doesn't know what
asking Laura to not see Nikolas will do to their marriage, but he has to
make Stephan pay for what he's done.
        Alexis asks how Nikolas is.  Stephan says he's fine.  It's been a
long time since Alexis has seen him and she says Nikolas will be growing up
and taking his place in the Cassadine family.  Stephan says he is very
clever but will need to curb his impulsivity so he doesn't make the same
mistakes his father made.  Alexis says the court case is going fine and she
thinks that she can keep Kevin from going to jail, which is what Stephan
wants.  Stephan says he got the list of patients this morning which he says
will be very helpful in making his next move.  Alexis asks what that is,
and he leans over and says in her ear, "To bring General Hospital to its
knees."
Bobbie goes to Luke's and confronts Luke, saying that he told her it was
Laura's decision not to see Nikolas.  Luke says the Cassadines can't be
trusted and it was okay for him to tell Nikolas to leave town.  He says he
told him the truth and that their interests converge.  Bobbie says this
isn't what's best for Laura or Nikolas.  Luke says this is about Bobbie's
guilt about giving her baby up for adoption and she shouldn't project her
own conflicts onto their problems with the Cassadines.
        Ned says Tracy's apologetic speech is moving, especially what she
said about the importance of family. Ned pulls our the tape in which Tracy
and Lois argued before Lois almost went into labor.  Ned plays the tape for
the family.  Everyone circles around Tracy as Tracy's hostile words to Lois
resound.  Ned offers a sarcastic toast to Tracy's shining example of family
loyalty.
Laura talks to Lulu and says she's going to keep the letter Nikolas wrote
inside the egg he got her and that when she's older she can read it and see
how much he loved her.  Bobbie says Luke is obsessed with the Cassadines
and Laura isn't gong to forget the son she gave birth to.  Luke says he
feels like a lone voice of sanity and that everyone thinks he is crazy but
he knows Stephan is up to something big.  Alexis asks Stephan what he's
doing in PC.  Stephan says they'll discuss it some other time.  She leaves
and Stephan looks up at Laura's picture.  He pulls out his computer and
looks in his address book.  Lucky, playing on the computer, receives a
message asking if he wants to play a game.  He types back, "Sure, what do
you call it?"  Stephan, on the other end, types in "Timoria."