FOR: COMMERCIALS # 3 AND # 4 (2 minutes, 3
seconds)
ACT TWO
FADE IN: NURSES' STATION
(ALEX, NEIL AND MARIE CONTINUED)
MARIE: All the paper work has been taken care of,
Neil.
ALEX: It helps having the chief of nursing on your
side.
NEIL: I can imagine it does.
ALEX: I've got to get this surgery over with as much for
her as for me. Marie's spent too many valuable hours playing nursemaid to
me.
MARIE: Alex...
ALEX: I want to marry this woman, Neil. But I won't until
we see if I come through this surgery.
MARIE: Don't talk that way.
ALEX: If there's one thing I am, it's a
realist.
NEIL: Well, the reality we're facing today is that if we
don't get you to your room, the lab is going to be off schedule. And they can be
pretty ornery.
ALEX: All right, doc. There's just one thing I want you to
promise me, though.
NEIL: Name it.
ALEX: I want a visit from Jessica before I'm prepped for
surgery.
NEIL: You've got a few days to think about that. We're
putting you on a special diet, and making sure you're in tip-top shape before
it's a go.
ALEX: Jessica...needs me, Neil.
NEIL: You'll see her in time. Right now, she's with Tom and
Alice, where she can be well taken care of.
ALEX: Where she can be watched, you mean.
MARIE: Let's not get into that today, Alex.
ALEX: I can't stop thinking about it. Our daughter's being
watched over like she's in some prison. We both know she doesn't like
it.
NEIL: Let's get you to your room...
(AS MARIE WHEELS ALEX TOWARDS HIS ROOM)
CUT TO: JESSICA'S ROOM IN HORTON
HOUSE
(JESSICA STARES OUT THE WINDOW, HER MIND FAR AWAY.
ESTABLISH, THEN THERE IS A SOUND EFFECT: KNOCK AT THE
DOOR)
JESSICA: Come in.
(THE DOOR OPENS, AND IT'S HOPE, READY FOR SCHOOL. JESSICA
KEEPS STARING OUT THE WINDOW)
HOPE: I thought I'd say goodbye. I'm on my way to
school.
JESSICA: It looks cold out.
HOPE: Grandma insists I take my heavy coat. I told her
that's crazy, but she's the final word.
JESSICA: I know.
(AN AWKWARD SILENCE)
HOPE: Well, I just wondered how you were
feeling.
JESSICA: I'm feeling...
(JESSICA TURNS, SEES HOPE AND SNAPS INTO HER ANGEL
PERSONALITY)
ANGEL: Just the way you'd expect someone locked up like
some criminal to feel. Lousy!
HOPE (thrown): You aren't locked up.
ANGEL: Oh, no? If I headed for the front door, the sirens
would blast and the warden would come running!
HOPE: The warden?
ANGEL: Grandma.
HOPE: Grandpa and grandma only want to help
you.
ANGEL: The only help I need is in getting out of
here.
HOPE: You wouldn't want to leave.
ANGEL: Oh, no? Then why do I spend so much time thinking
about running away?
HOPE: Where would you go?
ANGEL: That, my dear, is the sixty-four thousand dollar
question. I'm not about to be stopped at the alter again...everyone dragging
me away from Jake! That was a real joke.
HOPE: At least Jake wanted to elope with you.
ANGEL: I doubt he'd risk it again.
HOPE: He wouldn't elope now because he loves you. But I
know he still wants to marry you someday.
ANGEL: You think so?
HOPE (hurting): He's that kind of a guy. Once he's hooked
on a girl, he's the faithful type.
(HOPE IS NEAR TEARS)
HOPE: I gotta go, or I'll miss the bus...
ANGEL: Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
(HOPE BOLTS OUT OF THE DOOR. IN A MOMENT, ALICE ENTERS,
LOOKING AFTER HOPE, BEWILDERED)
ALICE: Was something wrong with Hope?
ANGEL: She seemed fine to me. What's up?
ALICE: You have a visitor downstairs. It's
Jake.
CUT TO: HORTON LIVING ROOM
(HOPE BOUNDING DOWN THE STAIRS AND STOPPING DEAD IN HER
TRACKS WHEN SHE SEES JAKE TALKING WITH DOUG, JULIE AND TOM)
JAKE: Do the police have any clues?
DOUG: We haven't heard anything yet.
JAKE: I know it must be awful for all of you.
TOM: We appreciate your concern, Jake.
DOUG: Tom and Alice have been telling us how great you've
been with Jessica. We want you to know that Julie and I appreciate that,
too. Even though we had a few problems with you in the beginning because
of...
(HE STOPS SHORT AT THE SIGHT OF HOPE)
DOUG: Hello, Princes...
HOPE: Hi, Dad...
(THEY ALL TURN)
JULIE: Good morning, darling.
(AN AWKWARD MOMENT AS HOPE AND JAKE FACE ONE
ANOTHER)
JAKE: How are you, Hope?
HOPE (trying): I'm...late, that's how I am. If I don't get
going I'll miss my bus...
JAKE: It's nice seeing you...
HOPE: Yeah. Same here. Oh, Angel's awake. I'm sure she's
waiting to see you.
JAKE: Thanks.
(AD LIB GOODBYES AS HE EXITS UP THE STAIRS. WHEN HE IS
GONE, HOPE'S SHOULDERS SAG AND DOUG TAKES HER IN HIS
ARMS FOR A QUIET HUG)
DOUG: I'm very proud of you, sweetheart.
HOPE: I acted like a baby about it all at
first...
DOUG: Now you're handling it beautifully.
HOPE: Do you think so?
DOUG: Definitely.
(HE GIVES HER A LIGHT KISS)
JULIE: It's never easy seeing someone you're crazy about
with another girl.
HOPE: My problems seem pretty small right now compared with
everything else that's going on with this family. Is there any word on
David?
JULIE: We hope to hear something soon.
(TAKE HOPE'S PUZZLED LOOK AS TOM MOVES TO ANSWER THE
PHONE)
HOPE: What's going on?
TOM (into phone): Hello?
(INTERCUT: TWO-WAY PHONE CALL WITH MICKEY AT HOMICIDE
BUREAU)
MICKEY: Dad, it's Mickey.
TOM: We've been waiting to hear from you.
MICKEY: Are Doug and Julie still there?
TOM: Right here.
(HE HANDS THE PHONE TO JULIE)
TOM: It's Mickey.
JULIE (taking the phone): Uncle Mickey, is there any
news?
MICKEY: None so far. But I tried to lay some groundwork
down here for you at police headquarters. Abe Carver's a good man. He'll do
whatever he can to help.
JULIE: Tell him we'll be there soon.
MICKEY: Will do.
JULIE: Thanks.
(STAY WITH JULIE AS SHE HANGS UP)
DOUG: Did they find David?
JULIE: No. He's still out there somewhere with a bullet in
him...
HOPE (stunned): What are you talking about?! Dad??
Grandpa??
TOM: It happened last night in a place by the river called
the Twilight Bar.
HOPE: I know where that is.
DOUG: Apparently, David had a room upstairs
there.
HOPE: Are you serious?
JULIE: Completely.
TOM: Someone found out where David was hiding, and tried to
kill him.
HOPE: Oh, no...
DOUG: David did get away...
TOM: But we're pretty sure he was hit. He may have lost a
lot of blood by now...
HOPE: I can't believe any of this!
JULIE: It's all true.
HOPE: Has he been in Salem all along? Ever since he escaped
from prison?
JULIE: It looks that way.
HOPE: May I stay home from school today? In case we hear
anything?
DOUG: It'll be better if you keep your mind occupied. We'll
call you if there's any news.
HOPE: Promise?
DOUG: Promise.
(HOPE GOES INTO JULIE'S ARMS FOR A WARM EMBRACE. THEN SHE
HEADS FOR THE DOOR, TOM WALKING HER OUT. JULIE
IS NEAR TEARS, AND DOUG PUTS HIS ARMS AROUND HER)
JULIE: Maybe it's time we talked to Valerie.
DOUG: You may be right.
FADE TO: BLACK
FOR: COMMERCIALS # 5 AND # 6 (2 minutes, 3
seconds)
ACT THREE
FADE IN: BODY CONNECTION
(JOSHUA GIVING ONE OF THE MEMBERS INSTRUCTIONS ON ONE OF
THE MACHINES IN THE BACKGROUND AS FOUR YOUNG
NURSES FROM THE MEDICAL CENTER, INCLUDING LORI MASTERS, ENTER IN THEIR UNIFORMS,
CHATTERING. ALL APPEAR TIRED BUT LORI)
LORI: I'm glad I ran into you guys. How was the night shift
last night?
NURSE # 1: I'm just glad we're not stuck with them every
night.
NURSE # 2: Amen to that. Tonight was tough. No cute interns
on duty.
NURSE # 3: I don't know about the rest of you, but I need
to go sit in the hot tub and soak!
LORI: What do we have here?
(THEY ARE DRAWN TO THE BULLETIN BOARD, WHERE SEVERAL GIRLS
HAVE GATHERED)
NURSE # 1: Only one way to find out.
(THEY HEAD OVER TO THE BULLETIN BOARD AS THE OTHER GIRLS
WALK AWAY)
LORI: Hmmm. Self-defense classes.
NURSE # 2: I've been hearing a lot about them
lately.
NURSE # 3: You have?
NURSE # 2: Sure. They're getting national
publicity.
LORI: You're right. Every time I turn on the tube, there's
some women's group talking about it.
NURSE # 1: I've noticed it too.
LORI: Talk shows, newspaper articles, magazine
features...
NURSE # 3: It's been on my mind lately, that's for
sure.
LORI: Yeah. Especially with what's been happening around
Salem the last few months.
NURSE # 2: I've tried to get it out of my
mind.
LORI: How can you? Especially when one of the girls who was
murdered worked in the hospital...and both girls were members of
this club.
NURSE # 1: It gives me the creeps.
LORI: Me, too. I wake up nights with the most horrible
dreams about the strangler/
(AT THIS MOMENT, BRING JOSHUA UP TO THE GIRLS)
JOSHUA: How's it going, ladies?
LORI (dryly): Terrific.
JOSHUA: Are any of you interested in the
class?
LORI: I know I am.
NURSE # 3: I have the feeling we all are.
JOSHUA: Great.
(HE GETS THE CLIPBOARD)
JOSHUA: All you have to do is sign your names right
here.
(THEY TAKE THE CLIPBOARD, PASS IT AROUND)
LORI: How many girls have signed up so far?
JOSHUA: The notice only went up this morning, and we've had
a big response already.
LORI: Who's going to be teaching the art of self-defense,
Joshua?
JOSHUA: I'll be one of the instructors, along with Jake
Kositchek.
LORI: Jake's going to be teaching?
JOSHUA: That's right.
LORI: Now I'm sure I want to take the class.
(TO THE OTHERS)
LORI: Jake's definitely a hunk. In case you haven't already
seen him around the gym. And don't you tell him I said so.
JOSHUA: I wouldn't think of it.
LORI: C'mon. Let's go.
(AS THE GIRLS HEAD OFF FOR THE HOT TUB)
CUT TO: JESSICA'S BEDROOM
(AS JAKE HOLDS JESSICA GENTLY IN HIS ARMS. NEITHER SAYING
ANYTHING FOR A LONG MOMENT. SHE IS IN THE ANGEL
PERSONALITY, BUT IS STRANGELY SUBDUED)
ANGEL: Are we ever really going to be free together,
Jake?
JAKE: I'm couting on it, babe.
ANGEL (moving out of his arms): Sometimes I don't think
it's ever going to happen.
JAKE: What if I give you my word?
ANGEL: Nice try. But promises like that are made to be
broken.
JAKE: Not by me.
ANGEL: The only promises anyone can keep, are the ones they
make to themselves.
JAKE: Well, I've promised myself that I'd have you as my
wife some day.
ANGEL: That's not what I meant.
JAKE: I was hoping it would make you smile. You have a
beautiful smile.
ANGEL: You haven't seen much of it lately, have
you?
JAKE: Can we change that?
ANGEL: Not today.
JAKE: Want to talk about it?
ANGEL: Are you trying to take Dr. Evans' job?
JAKE: Whatever will help you get well, is what I'm willing
to do.
ANGEL: You really love me, don't you?
JAKE: Are you just figuring that out?
ANGEL: It amazes me sometimes.
JAKE: You're a terrific woman.
ANGEL: But Jessica is dull, dull, dull.
JAKE: I love you Angel, or Jessica, no matter who you
are.
ANGEL: You don't mean that.
JAKE: I do. Jessica may not have your fire, but she's a
pretty terrific person, too.
ANGEL: But what if I'm neither one?
JAKE: What are you talking about?
ANGEL: Nothing.
JAKE: Angel...
ANGEL: I don't want to think about it...
JAKE: You have to let me know what's going on in your
head.
ANGEL: Please, Jake.
JAKE (firm): What did you mean, what if you're neither
Jessica or Angel?
ANGEL (shaken): I've been having these terrible nightmares,
Jake! I don't know what I'll do if they come true!
JAKE: Hey, now...they are only nightmares.
ANGEL: I'm frightened.
JAKE: Tell me about them.
ANGEL: I dream that I wake up one morning, and I'm neither
Angel or Jessica. I'm caught between two worlds, and I don't know who
I am. It scares me to death!
JAKE: That isn't going to happen.
ANGEL: It could!
JAKE: But it won't. You can't think that way!
ANGEL: I don't know what I'd do without you,
Jake!
JAKE: Maybe that's one reason we clicked right from the
start. In so many ways, we're alike. So very much alike.
ANGEL: I need you.
JAKE: We need each other.
(HE GIVES HER A KISS. SHE RESPONDS, THEN PULLS AWAY. WIPING
THE TEARS FROM HER EYES, GIVING HIM A SMILE)
JAKE: It's about time I saw that smile,
lady...
(AT THIS MOMENT THERE IS, SOUND EFFECT: A LIGHT KNOCK ON
THE DOOR)
ANGEL: Come in.
(THE DOOR OPENS, AND TOM ENTERS)
TOM: I'm on my way to work. But I wanted to say goodbye to
you both.
JAKE: I'll see you soon, Dr. Horton.
ANGEL: Have a good day.
TOM: It looks as though yours is starting pretty well...I
like that smile.
JAKE: What did I tell you?
ANGEL: I do feel like smiling.
TOM (a twinkle in his eye): So, I see. And one thing's
perfectly clear. The best medicine you can have is standing right in this room.
A visit from a very special friend.
CUT TO: MEDICINE ROOM AT
HOSPITAL
(IT IS DARK IN THE ROOM AS VALERIE ENTERS, SNAPPING ON THE
LIGHT. SHE REACHES INTO HER POCKET FOR A KEY TO THE
MEDICINE CABINET. SHE TURNS TO OPEN IT AND STARES AT A BRIGHT RED, BLOODY
HANDPRINT ON THE GLASS
CASE)
VALERIE: Dear God!
(IN SHOCK, VALERIE'S GAZE SLOWLY FOLLOWS THE TRAIL OF BLOOD
DOWN TO THE FLOOR. THE FRESH BLOOD LEAVING
A BRIGHT STAIN ON THE WHITE LINOLEUM)
FADE TO: BLACK
FOR: BUMPER- HOUR GLASS INSERT (12
seconds)
AND: STATION BREAK (1 minute, 35 seconds)
ACT FOUR
FADE IN: HOMICIDE BUREAU
(AS DOUG AND JULIE ENTER THE OFFICE OF ABE
CARVER)
ABE: Come in, come in.
DOUG: Mr. Carver, we're Doug and Julie
Williams.
ABE: Of course, Mr. Williams. I remember you both from the
Banning case. Please, have a seat.
JULIE: Thank you.
(JULIE TAKES A SEAT)
JULIE: We understand you met with my uncle this
morning.
ABE: Met with him is a mild way to put it. We drew a few
sparks from each other.
DOUG: Only a few?
ABE: You know him very well.
DOUG: When he's dedicated to getting at the truth, you
bet.
ABE: I realize that you want answers about what happened to
your son last night, Mrs. Williams.
JULIE: But you don't have any.
ABE: Once he disappeared out that window, he was
gone.
DOUG: He couldn't have vanished into thin air.
JULIE: From the amount of blood Uncle Mickey saw in David's
room, he has to be seriously injured.
ABE: I know that from the report...
JULIE: He couldn't have gotten far.
ABE: Unless a car got him out of there.
JULIE: Someone would have noticed that.
ABE: The Twilight Bar is a busy place. Has a lot going on.
And people in that neighborhood don't pay too much attention to some kid
on the run. They see it all the time.
DOUG: Well, someone had to see something! Did you question
everyone down there?
ABE: As many as we could find.
DOUG: And?
ABE: We drew a blank. A big fat zero. I'm
sorry.
DOUG: What happens now?
ABE: We've got men out on the street. And there's been an
APB out on him since he broke out of jail.
JULIE: A place he never should have been in the first
place.
ABE: You still think he's innocent.
JULIE: Not just because I'm his mother. David's not capable
of pulling that trigger, no matter what his past has been. That's why
we've spent all this time trying to find out something that
would prove he's innocent.
ABE: Hold it a minute. Back up here. What was that about
his past?
JULIE: His past isn't the point here. What really matters
now, today, is that someone's trying to kill him.
ABE: Which brings me right back to the past.
DOUG: Are you saying there might be a clue we don't know
about?
ABE: Don't be surprised. It happens all the
time.
DOUG: So we found out when we tried to play Nick and Nora
Charles.
ABE: Meaning?
JULIE: We discovered some facts about the night of Alex
Marshall's shooting, that didn't come out in the investigation.
ABE: This I want to hear. But first, let's get back to who
might have tried to wipe out your son last night. David did make these
delivies out in Los Angeles.
JULIE: Not knowing that it was dope.
ABE: A mule who didn't know it. Still isn't a very likely
story.
JULIE: But I believe it's true. I believe in my
son.
CUT TO: NURSES' STATION
(TOM GETS OFF THE ELEVATOR TO CHECK IN AT THE DESK, NEIL
COMES FROM ALEX'S ROOM)
TOM: Good morning, Neil.
NEIL: Tom. If you don't mind my saying so, you look a
little bushed.
TOM: We had some bad news about David this
morning.
NEIL: Have you heard from him again?
TOM (not wanting to get into it): It's a long story, and
not a very pleasant one. Apparently he was injured last night, now he's on the
run again. It'll all be in the news, I'm sure.
NEIL: I am sorry to hear that. Does Marie know? I just left
her with Alex.
TOM: I'll have to go in and tell her. Are they in Alex's
room?
NEIL: Yeah. He's all checked in.
TOM: I think I'd better speak to her privately. I don't
want to bring up David's name in front of Alex.
(BRING VALERIE INTO THE AREA, DEEPLY SHAKEN BY HER
EXPERIENCE IN THE MEDICINE ROOM)
NEIL: That's probably a wise idea. We want him calm for
these pre-op tests.
VALERIE (quietly): Excuse me, doctors. Could we go to the
lounge to talk?
NEIL: Now?
VALERIE: It's extremely important.
TOM: Of course...
(TOM AND NEIL FOLLOW VALERIE INTO THE LOUNGE)
TOM: What's going on, Val?
NEIL: This may have to do with a difference of opinion Val
and I are...
VALERIE (overriding): No, it isn't, Dr.
Curtis.
NEIL: Oh?
VALERIE: We may have an emergency in the medical
center.
TOM (seeing how shaken she is): What happened?
VALERIE: I went into the medical room to get some
antibiotic samples, and there were handprints on the cabinet. Bloody
handprints.
TOM: Bloody?
VALERIE: Also, a river of blood running down to the
floor.
(TOM AND NEIL ARE VERY SMOOTH, PROFESSIONAL)
NEIL: Did you touch anything?
VALERIE: No. I came straight to you.
TOM: Thank you, Valerie. We'll take care of
it.
(GO WITH NEIL AND TOM TO THE NURSE AT THE
DESK)
TOM: Get me security. It's an emergency.
DESK NURSE: Yes, Dr. Horton.
(THE NURSE GOES TO THE PHONE)
NEIL (quietly): Then start a search of the hospital.
Someone's in big trouble.
(AS VALERIE MOVES TO JOIN THEM)
FADE TO: BLACK
FOR: COMMERCIALS # 7 AND # 8 (2 minutes, 3
seconds)
ACT FIVE
FADE IN: HOMICIDE BUREAU
(DOUG, JULIE AND ABE, AS ABE POURS HIMSELF A CUP OF
COFFEE)
ABE: I've got to tell you, your son's sure got a colorful
past.
JULIE: David has a talent for always being in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
ABE: With drug drops in L.A. and being found in Alex
Marshall's room a few minutes after the shooting...I'm not going to disagree
with you. If David Banning is innocent. Would you like
coffee?
DOUG: No! Forget it.
JULIE (startled): Doug!
DOUG: I'm sorry, Julie...but no one's going to sit here and
toss out casual lines like "if" he's innocent. David's not a
killer.
ABE: You sound as though you know the type who
is.
DOUG: I did in another life. And I already know what you're
going to say. The boy-next-door type, the one you least expect, is usually
the deadliest.
ABE: You just have to read the headlines to know that's
true.
DOUG: Maybe that's why the Average Joe doesn't have a
chance anymore. It used to be that you saw some sleazy character near
the scene of a crime and you nailed him. Now, some
clean-cut, baby-face-type happens to be on a crime, picks up a gun out of shock,
and he's guilty of pulling the trigger!
ABE: There was a lot more evidence than that.
DOUG: But not all the facts were uncovered in the
investigation.
ABE: So you said earlier.
JULIE: It's true.
ABE: Our investigators are very thorough.
JULIE: It's the kind of information that no one would even
think to ask. And Mr. Purcell didn't volunteer it because he didn't think it was
important.
ABE: Purcell?
DOUG: The night of the shooting, according to your records,
he was in the room under Alex Marshall's. He told he was next to the
one under Marshall's.
ABE: Sure. I remember him now. He said he saw nothing...and
heard nothing.
DOUG: Why he didn't hear anything is the
question.
JULIE: And, the answer.
ABE: Okay, you've got my attention.
JULIE: Mr. Purcell told us that the reason he didn't hear
anything was because the couple in the room next door was...uh...
DOUG: Getting it on.
ABE (amused): I see. He was attentive enough to pick up on
that.
DOUG: He said it sounded like a real party. He didn't sleep
much that night because they were so loud. But he didn't report it to the
management because he was young once himself. Didn't want to spoil
anyone's fun.
ABE: What's this got to do with the shooting?
JULIE: Whoever was in that room could have seen who shot
Alex.
ABE: We questioned everyone registered at the Salem
Inn.
JULIE: No one was registered in the room next to
Purcell's.
DOUG: Yet somebody made all that racket.
ABE: That is interesting. We'll definitely check it out.
But you know it's a real longshot. Even if we do find the couple, they might not
know anything about the shooting. Especially if they were as busy that
night as it sounds.
JULIE: We know that, Detective Carver. We're just
determined to get evidence to clear my son.
ABE: You're not pros. Let us take it from
here.
DOUG (lying): You're right of course.
(HE SHOOTS A LOOK AT JULIE)
DOUG: We'll leave it all up to you now. Won't we,
sweetheart?
JULIE (pasting on sincerity): We'd never get in your
way.
ABE: I wish I could believe that.
JULIE: Please do.
ABE: Right. Anyway, there is one thing I'll have to admit.
Things seem to be adding up differently now. What with last night's shooting
and that attempted kidnap of Banning's ex-wife and kid a while
ago.
DOUG: What are you saying?
ABE: Whoever's after your son doesn't seem to have anything
to do with Alex Marshall's shooting. It looks like mob action to
me.
JULIE: Could that be?
ABE: That's what we've got to figure out. So we're going to
have to back way up. Take another look at David's rather colorful, short life.
And see where that might fit in.
(AT THIS MOMENT, SOUND EFFECT: THE PHONE RINGS. ABE ANSWERS
AS JULIE GIVES DOUG A STUNNED LOOK)
ABE: Detective Carver...
(INTERCUT: TWO-WAY CALL WITH TOM AT NURSES'
STATION)
TOM: This is Tom Horton. Dr. Tom Horton at University
Medical Center.
ABE: What can I do for you, sir?
TOM: We may have an emergency on our hands. Someone broke
into our medicine room and left a trail of blood. We've already
begun a quiet security check of the hospital.
ABE: I'll be right over.
CUT TO: HORTON LIVING ROOM
(ALICE SETTING A TRAY OF COFFEE AND CORN MUFFINS ON THE
COFFEE TABLE, AS JAKE COMES DOWNSTAIRS FROM SEEING
JESSICA)
ALICE: Is Jessica coming down?
JAKE: She wanted to lie down for awhile.
ALICE: She doesn't like to admit it, but I think having
visitors does tire her out.
JAKE: She wants everyone to think she's so strong.
Especially when she's Angel.
ALICE: She seems to be Angel most of the time these
days.
JAKE: I noticed that, too. Does it frighten
you?
ALICE: She's a little fiestier than we're used to. But we
love her, no matter who she is, Jake.
JAKE: So do I.
ALICE: She's very lucky to have you.
JAKE: Your approval means a lot to me.
ALICE: Well, you've got it. I don't make corn muffins for
people I don't care for.
JAKE: Is that what smells so good?
ALICE: It most certainly is.
(SHE OPENS THE BASKET OF MUFFINS)
ALICE: I hope you like them.
JAKE: I sure do.
ALICE: Help yourself.
JAKE: Thanks.
ALICE: Coffee?
JAKE: Yes. Black, please.
ALICE (pouring): That's easy enough.
JAKE: You know, these muffins remind me of when I was a
kid.
ALICE: Did your mother or grandmother bake them for
you?
JAKE: Not exactly. But they used to have big racks of them
in a hime I stayed in for awhile.
ALICE: A home?
JAKE: My folks and I didn't always see eye-to-eye. Anyway,
at this one home, I'll bet they baked enough muffins for eighty or ninety
kids a day. I think I ate half of them. Of course, we didn't have
butter.
(ALICE IS CONCERNED, TRIES NOT TO REACT)
ALICE: Well, corn muffins without butter is a
sin.
JAKE: You better believe it. When I was a kid, I knew all
there was to know about sin. The people who ran that one home were heavy
into it.
ALICE: Everything I cook here is made with butter...and
love.
JAKE: I knew that the minute I set foot in this house. I
want to thank you for being who you are, Mrs. Horton. And for taking such
good care of Jessica.
ALICE: She's family.
JAKE: You can't imagine how much it means to someone like
me to see a family this close. People who really care what happens to
each other.
ALICE: You have that kind of family now, Jake. You have
us.
FADE TO: BLACK
FOR: COMMERCIALS # 9 AND # 10 (2 minutes, 3
seconds)
ACT SIX
FADE IN: JESSICA'S ROOM
(AS ALICE ENTERS WITH CORN MUFFINS AND COFFEE. JESSICA LIES
ON HER BED)
ALICE: Can I interest you in a little snack?
JESSICA: It smells good. What is it?
ALICE: Corn muffins.
JESSICA: Thanks, grandma. How did you know they're my
favorite?
ALICE: Because they're everyone's. Even
Jake's.
JESSICA (reserved): Really.
ALICE: He likes them with lots of butter, of course.
Dripping with it.
JESSICA: Grandma, do we have to talk about
Jake?
ALICE (startled): We don't have to. But I though you liked
talking about him. He's a very special young man.
JESSICA: Oh, Grandma, he is not! I know Hope was crazy
about him...and Angel says she was. But he's no one special at all. He's
just a guy.
ALICE: You almost became his wife.
JESSICA: Angel almost married him. But not because she
loves him! She's never loved anyone in her life!
ALICE: I thought you cared for him.
JESSICA: Well, I don't.
(TORN BETWEEN HER TWO PERSONALITIES)
JESSICA: And I never would have married him. I only went
with him because he had a car and I wanted to escape.
ALICE (thinking she's slipped into Angel): We don't have to
talk about it, Angel.
JESSICA: I'm not Angel, Grandma. I'm...I'm...I don't know
who I am any more. But I don't love Jake. I never did love him.
ALICE: Please calm down, darling.
JESSICA: I only wish Angel had married him, Grandma. At
least he was an escape from the person I hate more than anyone else in
the world. My lousy, stinking mother.
(SHE RUNS FROM THE ROOM, LEAVING ALICE IN
SHOCK)
CUT TO: ALEX'S ROOM AT THE MEDICAL
CENTER
(AS MARIE HELPS ALEX INTO BED. HE IS WEARING ONE OF THE
WHITE HOSPITAL GOWNS)
ALEX: I hate it when you see me like this.
MARIE: You look very good in white.
ALEX: I look like a damn fool.
MARIE: We make you wear those gowns to humble
you.
ALEX: Well, a man as tall as I am is humbled quick. Have
you ever noticed where these shirts hit a man my size?
(QUICKLY)
ALEX: On second thought, don't answer that.
MARIE: You'll feel pleased to know they're equally
inconvenient on women.
ALEX: I'd think with you the head of nursing around here,
I'd get some special consideration.
MARIE: Having me in the room is the special consideration.
ALEX: You are too good to me.
MARIE: Only because you've been an invalid. Once you're up
and walking, watch out!
ALEX: I'll remember the warning.
(THEY SHARE A WARM SMILE)
ALEX: How do you feel about this surgery?
MARIE: I wish you'd let me marry you before you had
it.
ALEX: We already discussed that.
MARIE: You never knew my ulterior motive. Once you're up
and walking, I'll have to tie
you down to keep you from chasing other women.
ALEX: A wedding ring wouldn't make me any more faithful
than I plan to be. I love you, you know.
MARIE: After all these years?
ALEX: Because of all these years.
(HE LEANS OVER TO KISS HER, AS LORI MASTERS ENTERS TO TAKE
BLOOD)
LORI: Ooops! Sorry about that!
MARIE: It's all right.
ALEX: Speak for yourself, Marie. What are you here for
anyway?
LORI: To get a blood sample.
ALEX: I hope your timing with that needle is better than
your timing on entrances.
LORI: I guess we'll see, won't we?
(MARIE MOVES TO THE FOOT OF THE BED AS LORI TAKES THE
SAMPLE EFFICIENTLY, OFF-CAMERA)
ALEX (off-camera): Ouch. I think nurses delight in using
patients for pincushions, Marie.
MARIE: Stop complaining and cooperate if you ever expect to
have surgery and get out of this place.
LORI: There. All done. That wasn't so bad, was
it?
ALEX: Don't ask.
LORI (to Marie as she exits): I don't know how you stand
it.
(MARIE IS AMUSED, ALEX IS NOT)
ALEX: What are you smiling at?
MARIE: One of the worst patients I've seen in a long
time.
ALEX: Did you see how much blood she took out of
me?
MARIE: Didn't look too disastrous to me.
ALEX: I don't know why they always take your blood the
minute you check into a hospital anyway. What do they do with it all? Use it
to paint the place?
MARIE (joking): That's right. They paint the ceilings and
walls with it. Haven't you noticed the blood red decor around the
place?
CUT TO: MEDICINE ROOM
(ON THE BLOOD STAINED CABINET. THERE IS THE SOUND OF
AKEY IN THE LOCK AND THE DOOR OPENS. ABE CARVER ENTERS
FOLLOWED BY TOM AND NEIL. ABE SURVEYS THE ROOM)
ABE: Make sure you don't touch anything.
(HE LEANS DOWN TO THE BLOOD SPOTS ON THE
FLOOR)
ABE: Has anyone else been in this room?
TOM: Only Valerie Grant. And me.
FADE TO: BLACK
FOR: COMMERCIALS # 11 AND # 12 (2 minutes, 3
seconds)
ACT SEVEN
FADE IN: MEDICINE ROOM
(CONTINUED)
ABE: The print man should be here soon to dust the place
for prints.
NEIL: Whoever was in here couldn't have gotten
far.
ABE: I wouldn't think so. Kind of a weird feeling, knowing
someone in this bad shape is hiding out in the hospital. Could be some nut
from the docks who's on a high and been in a knife fight. Did you check
the drug supply?
TOM: Nothing's missing. The cabinet was
locked.
ABE: And there was no forced entry.
TOM: I keep wondering how someone got in here.
NEIL: Valerie said the door was unlocked when she came in.
One of the nurses must have been careless. Forgot to lock the door. It
happens.
TOM: Not around here, it shouldn't. I'm going to start
asking a few questions...and I'd better get some answers. Do you need me any
more, Detective Carver?
ABE: I'll catch up with you.
TOM: You can have me paged.
ABE: I'll do that.
(TOM EXITS AS THE PRINT MAN ENTERS TO DUST THE
PLACE)
ABE: Dr. Curtis, this is Ray Colley. Our print
man.
NEIL: Mr. Colley.
PRINT MAN: What have we got?
ABE: You can forget the door. But take a look over
here.
(HE LEADS THE PRINT MAN TO THE MEDICINE CABINET. THE PRINT
MAN STUDIES IT)
PRINT MAN: We'll get a good set of prints off the glass.
You can count on it.
(HE TAKES OUT HIS TOOLS, STARTS TO WORK. ABE TURNS TO
NEIL)
ABE: If the prints off the cabinet are on record, we'll
have a quick make on your intruder.
NEIL: How long should it take?
ABE: A matter of hours.
FADE TO: BLACK
CLOSING: UP ON HOUR GLASS
THEME
MATTE:
CRAWL