Love's Labours Lost & Found
Written by Pam Purdy (GPurdy3507@aol.com)

FADE IN:

1. INT. HOLLYBEND - TWILIGHT

CAMERA OPENS on HOLLY, huddled on the sofa in the growing darkness and
hugging a pillow. She looks devastated. BARBARA enters, carrying bags of
groceries.

BARBARA: Holly! What are you doing sitting here alone in the dark? (She puts
down the groceries and flicks on a table lamp.) This can't be good for you.
HOLLY: Oh, Mom, I can't help thinking - what if Fletcher is right?

FLASHBACK TO:

2. INT. COURTHOUSE - DAY

HOLLY is on the witness stand being examined by KATHLEEN REARDON [played by
Ellen Parker].

KATHLEEN: I remind you, Mrs. Reade, you're under oath. Now, once and for
all, will you admit that you failed to turn on the baby monitor?
LEO (jumping to his feet at the defense table): Asked and answered. Counsel
is badgering the witness, Your Honor.
HOLLY (sobbing): I did! I did turn it on. I swear I did. Meg never made a=
 sound.
FLETCHER (sitting at the plaintiff's table, spits out): You're a liar! You
let our baby die!

3. INT. HOLLYBEND - TWILIGHT

HOLLY: Maybe I am responsible for Meg's death. (A single tear rolls down her
cheek.)
BARBARA (sitting beside her and patting her hand): You mustn't dwell on it,
dear. Remember what Ed told you. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is still a
medical mystery. Meg's death was nobody's fault. Fletcher was half-crazy
with grief when he brought charges of child neglect against you. He just
needed somebody to blame. And the judge dismissed the charges. Doesn't that
prove my point?
HOLLY: Doesn't matter what the judge said. I still feel guilty. I'm afraid I
always will.

4. INT. BAUER KITCHEN - TWILIGHT

KATHLEEN is standing at the counter, putting the finishing touches on a
cold-cut sandwich. FLETCHER is seated at the table with his head propped up
on his hands.

KATHLEEN: So, tell me, do you still think I'm such a hotshot lawyer, now
that I couldn't get a guilty verdict for you?
FLETCHER: You did the best you could. You pulled out all the stops. Face it
- courts always side with the mother.
KATHLEEN (offering him the sandwich): Here. Bet you haven't eaten all day.
FLETCHER: (stares at her).

FLASHBACK TO:

5. INT. BAUER KITCHEN - DAY

MAUREEN hands FLETCHER a sandwich.

6. INT. BAUER KITCHEN - TWILIGHT

KATHLEEN (jerking the sandwich away): Damn you! You're thinking about her
again, aren't you? Marvelous Maureen. Such a sweetie pie! Such a fabulous
cook! Mo would probably have made you a five-course dinner. (She plops down
in a chair and chomps on the sandwich.)
FLETCHER: I can't help it sometimes, Kathy. You look so much alike.
KATHLEEN: We talked alike, we walked alike, sometimes we even dressed alike,
but Ma never had a problem telling us apart. Mo was the good twin, Miss
Goody Two-Shoes. I was the troublemaker. Mo made the honor roll. I ran off
with a bass player in an acid rock band. Even now that I've gotten my stuff
together and traded my tie-dyes for power suits, Ma still treats me like a
drugged-out hippie. I can tell what she's thinking every time she claps eyes
on me - why is Mo dead when I'm alive? Well I am alive, damn it, and I won't
be anybody's stand-in, especially not Maureen's.
FLETCHER: I know who you are, Kathy. You're a good friend and a great lawyer
and a beautiful woman. (He reaches across the table and takes her hand.) I
couldn't have survived without you.
ED (entering and dropping his medical bag onto the counter): What's he doing
here?
KATHLEEN: Ease up, Ed. We had a rough day in court.
ED: A rough day? I'll say. You failed to railroad a grieving mother on a
charge of negligent homicide. I don't want him in my house.
FLETCHER: I'm grieving too, Ed.
ED: Do it someplace else.
FLETCHER (getting up even though KATHLEEN tries to stop him): It's okay.
I'll call you in the morning. Verdict or no verdict, I'm going ahead with
the divorce. (He exits.)
ED: You don't buy into that grieving father act, do you?
KATHLEEN: It's not an act.
ED: It's a ploy, then. He's playing on your sympathies. You do realize he
had a big thing for Maureen? Almost busted up our marriage. He may be
looking at you, but he's seeing Maureen.
KATHLEEN: Well, he's not the only one, is he? (She slams out of the room.)

7. INT. HOLLYBEND - NIGHT

HOLLY enters the darkened kitchen in her nightgown, turns on a single light,
takes a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet, pours a straight shot, and
drains the glass. SOUND of a knock on the front door. HOLLY ignores it,
stares into her empty glass.

ROGER (off): Holly, it's me.
HOLLY: Roger!=20

She puts down the glass and hurries to open the door. ROGER stands there
disheveled, unshaven. She throws her arms around him, and he strokes her=
 back.

ROGER: I knew you probably wouldn't be able to sleep.
HOLLY: I'm sick of talking about it. I'm sick of thinking about it. (She
pulls him to the couch.) How are you?
ROGER: I went down to the TV station. Glutton for punishment. Dinah had the
security guards throw me out on my ear.
HOLLY: Can she get away with that?
ROGER: She has my power of attorney. I may be out and about now, but I'm
still legally insane. Do you know she sent her goons to evict us from the
Jessup farmhouse? Would have, too, if Leo hadn't been able to prove that
Laura is the legal owner.
HOLLY: Laura=85
ROGER: She's been terrific. Even though I still feel I let her down all
those years ago, when we were in the Agency together, she moved heaven and
earth to get me out of the loony bin. She even got a friend of mine out,=
 too.
HOLLY: Did you ever discover what she's been doing since you saw her last?
ROGER: Since I thought she'd died in the line of duty? She won't talk about
it. I'm sure she was held prisoner for a long time, and I'm sure it wasn't
pretty.
HOLLY: It would be interesting to know for certain, though. (SOUND of
knocking.) Oh my God, why can't people just leave me alone?

ROGER squeezes her hand and goes to open the door. LAURA [played by Nancy
Grahn] is standing there, with the REV. SMITH [played by a bleached-blond
Frank Beaty] standing beside her.

LAURA: See, I told you he'd be here. (Embraces ROGER.) I just missed you at
the station, darling. Guess you've been having another real bad day.
REV. SMITH (crossing to Holly and taking both her hands in his): What are
you doing still up, Mrs. Reade? You'll wear yourself out.
HOLLY: Don't call me that. Call me Holly. Oh, Reverend Smith, I can't sleep,
I can't eat, I'm no good for nothing.
REV. SMITH: Now, Holly, you're going to give me an inferiority complex. I
thought you were doing a bit better these days, thanks to our counseling
sessions.
HOLLY (smiles wryly): If I'm this bad off with our sessions, just think how
bad I'd be without them.
ROGER: (watches them curiously and doesn't see the evil eye that LAURA is
giving HOLLY).
LAURA (linking her arm with his): Come on, darling, let's get you home.
You're still not up to snuff, you know. Escaping from a bobby hatch is
almost as strenuous as living in one. (Sees HOLLY watching them with a touch
of envy and gives her a sweet smile. LAURA and ROGER leave together, he
exhausted and leaning on her arm.)
REV. SMITH: Would it help if we had one of our talks now?
HOLLY (clutching her nightgown at the neck): I think it would, but first let
me put a robe on. (Exits toward her bedroom.)
REV. SMITH (to himself): Oh, Holly, you're so frail, so lovely! I saw you
looking at him. He's not good enough for you. Well, I'm going to see to it
that you don't throw yourself away on him again.

8. INT. BOARDINGHOUSE KITCHEN - MORNING

BEA REARDON dishes up a plate of pancakes at the stove and sets them in
front of QUINT, at the kitchen table. He pushes the plate away.

QUINT: What time is it?
BEA: Two minutes later than the last time you asked me. Eat something. Those
kids are going to run you ragged out at the dig tomorrow.
QUINT: Do you think we should call the hospitals?
BEA: Why not call the FBI? Why not send their pictures to _America's Most
Wanted_?
QUINT: For pity's sake, Bea, they've been out all night. Don't you care
she's been up to?
BEA: I have a pretty good idea already. Least said the better.
AMANDA (entering the back door without knocking, with eyes only for Quint):
Oh, good, I caught you. (Lays her briefcase on the table. Her hair is pulled
back, and she is wearing a flattering suit.) The final permits came in.
BEA: Morning, Ms. Spaulding.
AMANDA: What? Oh, good morning, uh, Bea. I rushed them through for you,
Quint. I was able to get you everything you wanted.
QUINT (distracted): That's nice. Do you know what time it is?
AMANDA: Eight-thirty.
QUINT: Eight-thirty! (Jumps up and paces the kitchen.) They've been gone for
the better part of a day. How soon can you report a missing person?
AMANDA: Why, I'm not sure. Forty-eight hours? I don't understand. Who's=
 missing?

The door bangs open, and NOLA and KELLY enter laughing.

QUINT: Where the hell have you been?
NOLA: What's it to you, Mr. Almost Ex-Husband? If you must know, we drove to
Chicago to see a show. Then we went to a little after-hours club on Rush
Street. And then we=85Never mind. (Yawns ostentatiously.) I'm so sleepy. Can
you handle the breakfast crowd, Ma? I just have to get some shuteye.
QUINT: (fumes and doesn't notice AMANDA sizing up the situation and
calculating how she can make it work to her advantage).
NOLA (stroking KELLY'S arm): How about you, Kel? You sleepy too?
KELLY (not responding to her caress): I don't know. It's my day off from
Cedars, and it's great out. Hate to waste a day off sleeping. I think I'll
take a swim.

9. EXT. COUNTRY CLUB SWIMMING POOL - MORNING

BEN, in swimming trunks, is sitting on the side of the pool and swinging one
foot pensively in the water. MICHELLE [played by Rachel Miner] enters,
wearing a short terry-cloth cover-up over a modest suit. BEN's eyes light up
when he sees her.

BEN: Hey, Chelle, I thought you'd never get here. Where's Bill?
MICHELLE: (shrugs, sits down a couple feet away from him, with her knees
tucked under her chin).
BEN: Feel like a swim?

MICHELLE shrugs again, and they sit in silence, BEN gazing raptly at her,
MICHELLE wrapped up in her own thoughts. Then BILL comes running in,
followed, more slowly, by DAHLIA, in a sexy suit that shows off her
curvaceous figure. MICHELLE hugs her knees to her flat chest. BEN watches
her anxiously.

BILL (shouting): Last one in's a rotten egg! (He races up the ladder to the
diving board, checks to see if DAHLIA is looking, and does a show-offy dive
into the pool.)
DAHLIA: (stretches out on a lounge chair and rubs sun block on her arms).
BEN: Wanna play Marco Polo?

Nobody responds. BILL swims laps. MICHELLE broods. DAHLIA suns herself. Then
KELLY ambles in, looking spectacular in his Speedos, with a towel around his
neck. DAHLIA sits a little straighter in her chair, the better to display
her bosom, although we're not sure if she knows that's why she does it.

DAHLIA: Hi, Dr. Nelson. My application came through. I'm going to be a
candy-striper this summer.
KELLY (patting her shoulder): I think it's great that you should volunteer,
Dahlia, with everything else you have to do. And call me Kelly. "Dr. Nelson"
makes me feel ancient.
DAHLIA (preening): Thank you=85Kelly.
BILL: (resting his arms on the side of the pool, looks daggers at KELLY).
DAHLIA (standing): Would you like to swim?
KELLY: In a minute. Have to make a phone call first.

CAMERA FOLLOWS KELLY as he slips into the country club and climbs the back
stairs to a private room. He knocks on the door. CLOSE-UP of KELLY as the
door opens and he breaks into a dazzling smile. CAMERA PULLS BACK to show=
 WYATT.

WYATT: God, I thought you'd never get here! (They embrace.)

10. INT. TOWERS CLUB - NIGHT

DAHLIA, accompanied by MARCUS, is singing "My Man." During the number, we
see REACTION SHOTS of  ABIGAIL, in a simple dress, and J [played by Scott
DeFreitas], who are holding hands, and STACEY [played by Lily Melgar],
sitting a little apart from them at the same table, with her eyes fixed on
MARCUS. We also see LILLIAN, in a gorgeous evening gown, standing on the
sidelines with HAMP, who has his arm around her waist. The song finishes to
enthusiastic applause. DAHLIA disappears backstage, but MARCUS goes over to
STACEY, who gives him a hot kiss.

STACEY: That was great, Marcus, even better than when I caught you in Paris
two years ago.
MARCUS: The night Miss Dinah tried to scratch your eyes out.
STACEY: Like I'd really come on to that piece of Euro-trash she had her
hooks into. Count, what was it, Romanoff? No count, more likely.
MARCUS (laughing): No count trash!
STACEY: If he was Russian royalty, I'm the Queen of Romania. Dinah's taste
is all in her mouth.
MARCUS: Now don't you be dissing my girlfriend. Dinah's spunky.
STACEY (rolls her eyes): I hate spunky.
ABIGAIL: (signs rapidly to J, who signs back).
STACEY: Lovebirds sharing secrets. I hate that too. If Abby hadn't spent her
life in the boonies, she'd realize my baby brother is no Brad Pitt.
J: Abby says it's getting late, and we've all got a big day tomorrow. Hey,
Stace, do you think Dad's right? You think we're gonna dig up something at
that lighthouse that will "change Chamberlain family history"?
STACEY: So what if we do? Quint is your father, remember? My father spent
the night in Chicago with our mother. (He winces, and her eyes sparkle
wickedly.) Tell Abby we don't have to get up to milk the cows tomorrow.
Tomorrow the four of us are off on a great adventure.
J: Off to get our knees scraped and our fingernails dirty. You know as well
as I do, Stacey, there's nothing glamorous about a dig.
STACEY: Tomorrow we change history. But tonight=85The night is young, Abby,
and we're so beautiful. I know. Let's go buy a monkey. Just kidding. Tonight=
 -

The houselights dim, and a spotlight comes up on HAMP on the bandstand.

HAMP: Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please. We have a special treat
for you tonight.

He smiles at LILLIAN, standing to the side of the bandstand. She smiles
back, a little nervously, crosses the fingers of both hands, and shakes them
at him. Just then LEO comes up behind her and taps her on the shoulder.
During their dialogue, we can just hear HAMP continuing his introduction in
the b.g.

LEO: Lillian, hi, I'm sorry to bother you right now, but I wanted to be sure
you're still prepared to testify for Holly. Fletcher served her with divorce
papers this afternoon.
LILLIAN: Of course I will. I could just kill Fletcher. After all Holly's
been through!
LEO: I was wondering if we could get together, maybe tomorrow, and go over
your deposition.
LILLIAN (hesitant): I -
LEO: We could meet for lunch at the Springfield Inn.
LILLIAN: I'm not sure if -
HAMP: =85and so it's my great pleasure to present to you Miss Lillian=
 Raines!

LILLIAN mounts the stage and, accompanied by HAMP, sings a dynamite version
of "Crazy" while LEO watches as if every word spoke to his heart.

11. INT. THE DINER - MORNING

A T-shirted BUZZ is behind the counter chewing the fat with a BUDDHIST MONK
who just got off the boat from Korea. REVA, wearing an apron over a red
sundress, is sitting in a booth confabulating with a male PERFORMANCE ARTIST
dressed in a red-white-and-blue spangled crop top, pink hot pants, and
platform shoes. In the next booth, THREE CZECH SAILORS are talking in their
native tongue. In the opposite booth, FOUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS are sharing
a large platter of cheese fries.

BUZZ: So I can't tempt you with a Buzz Burger, huh?
MONK: No meat. Just salad. You have rice?
BUZZ: Rice? Yeah, we got rice. Hey, listen, man, how many more of you are=
 there?
MONK: Just me. I speak at 5th Street Community Center tonight. I teach
meditation.
BUZZ: Well, thank Buddha for small favors. Got a hard enough time keeping
this joint going without us being invaded by a bunch of rabbit-food munching
monks.
REVA: Hey, Buzz, pipe down a minute, will you? I can't hear myself think.
(To the PERFORMANCE ARTIST): So you wanna do a poetry reading in the diner?
ARTIST: Poetry? Heavens, no! I'm an artist, dear. An action artist. My
friends and I want to stage a performance here. You don't have a problem
with snakes, do you?

He reaches into a satchel on the seat, pulls out a boa constrictor, and
drapes it around his neck. REVA shrieks. BUZZ rushes over. The three of them
gabble on top of one another, to the amazement of the other customers. Just
then the kitchen door swings open and MRS. POPOV comes out in a huff. UNCLE
STAVROS is right behind her.

MRS. POPOV (shaking a spoon at him): Two cups of honey, you crazy old coot.=
 Two!
UNCLE STAVROS (wagging a knife at her): Three, you stubborn old woman! Three
cups of honey.
MRS. POPOV: You put in three cups of honey, you ruin the baklava.
UNCLE STAVROS: You put in two cups, it tastes like straw.

The door flaps noisily as they chase one another back to the kitchen, from
which a muffled argument continues to be heard. REACTION SHOTS of BUZZ,
REVA, and the customers, all agog. ANGLE ON the vibrating door as we hear:

BLAKE (off): Business as usual, I see.

CLOSE-UP of the MONK, looking lecherous. REVERSE ANGLE on BLAKE, looking
luscious in casual slacks and a turquoise blouse with short sleeves.

BLAKE: Hey, Reva. Hey, Buzz. You guys know where Frank is?
BUZZ: Haven't seen him yet today. (He slides into the booth next to the
ARTIST, lifts the snake's head, and makes fish faces at it.)
REVA (crossing rapidly to BLAKE near the door): How you doing, Blake?
BLAKE: I have a new rule, Reva. If something bothers me, I pull down the
blinds. (She makes a gesture as if tugging the cord on a window shade.) Then
I go on about my business.
REVA: But losing two little babies that way -=20
BLAKE: I'll think about that tomorrow. Today I'm trying to pick up the slack
for my mother. She prefers to handle her problems by sitting home alone and
brooding about them. And of course she can't very well work with Fletcher=
 now.
REVA: I reckon not. What the hell is he thinking?
BLAKE: We don't get into that. Anyway (pulling a reporter's notebook out of
her purse), he's assigned me to cover Lucy's disappearance for the Journal.
Any news?
REVA: Not a peep. (Lowers her voice.) Buzz blames the whole mess on the
Spauldings, naturally. He's convinced Lucy ran away because Alan-Michael
sided with his father in the 5th Street takeover scheme.
BLAKE: Fat lot of good that did him. You ever find out where the money came
from?
REVA (shaking her head): Mrs. Popov still insists an angel appeared to her
on the 5th Street Pier and handed her a briefcase stuffed full of enough
cash to pay off the mortgage _and_ take over Advantage Systems. Of course,
Mrs. Popov also claims that Lucy got into a boat with the angel, and the two
of them sailed off into the fog.
BLAKE (poising a pen over her notebook): What did this "angel" look like?
REVA: Well, Frank had Mrs. P. work with a sketch artist down at
headquarters. Picture looked a lot like that man, what was his name, that
architect who was living in the lighthouse for a while? He's vanished too.
Police went over that lighthouse with a fine tooth comb and didn't find a
single fingerprint they couldn't identify.
BLAKE: Curiouser and curiouser. I just have to talk to=85I'll see you later,
Reva. (She exits.)
BUZZ (coming up behind REVA and wrapping his arms her in a bear hug): What
was that about?
REVA: Blake's playing reporter now.
BUZZ: Poor kid!
REVA: Yeah. Makes me realize how lucky we are. (Turns in his arms.) Kiss=
 kiss.
BUZZ (bending her backward over the counter so that her hair just brushes
the MONK's salad bowl): Bang bang.
MARAH (off): Mama.

ANGLE ON BUZZ and REVA, who spring apart. ANGLE on Marah in doorway
clutching her doll. REVA rushes over and kneels beside her.

REVA: Marah, sweet pea, what in the world are you doing here?
MARAH: Mama, please, Mama, I need your help.

They hug. BUZZ looks worried

12. EXT. 5TH STREET PIER - MORNING

CAMERA FOLLOWS BLAKE as she hurries along the waterfront. She stops short
when she spots FRANK and TINA, sitting side by side on a pair of pilings
with their heads together.

BLAKE: Frank! I've been looking for you everywhere. What are you doing here?
FRANK: Not now, Blake! (His eyes are wet.)
BLAKE: (looks hurt).
FRANK: I'm sorry, Blake. (Comes over and puts his arm around her shoulder.)
I shouldn't have snapped at you, of all people.
BLAKE: That's okay, Frank.
FRANK: It's just that, between Lucy and Eleni, I'm half out of my mind.
BLAKE: No problem. Forget about it. I'll give you a call this evening, 'kay?
(She hurries off.)
FRANK (sitting down again): Tell me again what Eleni said.
TINA: That I was making it up, that you knew all along Dahlia was your
daughter and that's why you worked so hard to get me out of prison in
exchange for my testimony against the prostitution ring. I did the best I
could, Frank, but she's still convinced that you and I are -
FRANK: Having an affair. Damn Uncle Stavros! I told him why I was hugging
you, because Dahlia doesn't want to have anything to do with you or me. But
he had to go tell Eleni about it. Now she wants me to choose between Dahlia
and Marina. Tina, I saw how it tore up Harley when she had to turn her back
on her baby. Now matter what happens, I'm not gonna give up on either one of
my daughters.
TINA: And you mustn't give up on Eleni either. You'll get her back.
FRANK (anguished): How, Tina, how?
TINA: I don't know, baby, but you will. (They embrace, and we see that it's
costing her a great deal to conceal her true feelings from Frank.)
FRANK: You know, I wasn't exactly a straight arrow when I was a kid.
TINA: Me neither.
FRANK: But if I knew then what I know now, how your children can tear your
heart out, if I could, I'd go back and do everything different.

13. INT. TV STATION - MID-MORNING

ANGLE ON the elevator as the doors slide open and PETEY emerges, holding a
videotape. CAMERA FOLLOWS him as he walks through the bustling front office
and looks high and low for someone. He stops in front of a door marked
"Videotape Library." A YOUNG MAN passes, and PETEY tugs on his trousers.

PETEY: Hey, Mister, what's 'at say? (Points at door.)
YOUNG MAN: Videotape Library.=20
PETEY: Thanks! (He opens the door.) Hey, Matt, you in here? It's me.

The room is half dark. SOUND of a stack of tapes tumbling over and
clattering to the floor. There's an editing table in the center of the room.
A shirtless Matt, wearing tight jeans, his hair tousled, rises up from
behind the table. He looks flustered.

PETEY: I brought it. _Jurassic Park_. Marah gave me it.
DINAH: (also rises up, her blouse askew).
PETEY: Hey, Dinah! Is this where you make the copies?
MATT (snatching his shirt from the floor and bottoning it rapidly): How'd
you get here by yourself, squirt?
PETEY: I didn't. I rode up in the front elevator, is all. I can name all the
dinosaurs in it. Wanna hear?
DINAH (impatiently, straightening her blouse): Who's with you?
PETEY: Mommy and Daddy. There's raptors and T. Rex and brontosaurus -=20
DINAH: Copying commercial tapes is illegal, in case you didn't know.

She pushes past him into the front office, arriving just as the doors to the
service elevator open to reveal BRIDGET pushing HART [played by Leonard
Stabb] in a wheelchair. They come out of the elevator.

DINAH (spitefully): Well, well, if it isn't Florence Nightingale.
BRIDGET (giving as good as she gets): Well, well, if it isn't the Black
Widow Spider. She mates and she kills. Only you're not exactly a widow yet,
are you, Dinah?
DINAH (ignoring her, kissing HART): How are you feeling today?
HART: (can't respond, but gives her a black look).
BRIDGET: How would you feel if you fell off a cliff helping some stupid ditz
with her stupid plan?
MATT: Put a sock in it, Bridgie. It's not her fault that somebody sold Hart
a defective bungee cord.
PETEY: And allosaurus and stegosaurus and -
BRIDGET: No, but it is her fault that he jumped off the cliff in the first
place.
DINAH (pushing her in the chest): Shut up, you little frump!
BRIDGET (pushing back, harder): You shut up, you stupid bitch!
LAURA (off): It's true what they say.

CAMERA ON LAURA, looking shapely in a green dress with a colorful scarf
around her neck.

LAURA: Happy families are all alike. (She goes over to HART and hugs him,
gently. He gives her a pleading look.)
DINAH: What are you doing up here? I told the guards -
LAURA: And I told them I had a paper to serve on you, revoking that power of
attorney. (Hands it to her.) Leo drew it up for us. It's perfectly legal.
DINAH: Is it? Is it? I don't believe lunatics have legal rights. Here's what
I think of your paper. (Rips it to shreds.)
LAURA: If you don't show up for the hearing, I'll have the bailiffs come and
haul your skinny little ass down to the courtroom.
DINAH (snorts): And I'm going to have a security guard toss your fat ass out
in the street right now.
MATT: Dinah, calm down. You're upsetting Peter.
PETEY: (doesn't look upset, is studying the picture on the sleeve of his
videotape).
MATT (taking Laura's arm): Come on, Laura. This won't solve anything.
(Steers her toward the front elevator.)
LAURA (calling back to HART over her shoulder): I'll come visit you tonight
at the boardinghouse, darling. (To DINAH): And I'll see you in court.
DINAH: I'll see you in hell first.

CAMERA FOLLOWS MATT and LAURA into the elevator. It descends half a floor
before he pushes the stop button.

LAURA (reaching for the button): Oh no you don't.
MATT (grabbing her by both arms and pinning her against the wall of the
elevator): We have to settle things.
LAURA: Like hell we do.
MATT: Like hell we don't, unless you want your precious Roger to find out
exactly what you've been mixed up in all these years. (He kisses her
passionately. She struggles for a moment, then surrenders to him.)

14. INT. SEEDY MOTEL ROOM - NOON

The blinds are drawn, but we can make out the shape of two bodies under the
tumbled covers. CLOSE SHOT of a graceful white arm as it emerges from the
bedclothes and reaches for a bottle of whiskey on the floor. Hand shakes
bottle and finds it empty. A darker hand reaches out to grasp the first and
lift it to his lips. We see ROSS kiss the hand and kiss his way up the arm
until his lips nuzzle a neck. CAMERA PULLS BACK, and we see VANESSA sigh.

VAN: Deja vu all over again. What time is it?
ROSS: Who the hell cares? (Kisses her deeply.)
VAN (gently detaching herself and sitting up with the sheets pulled up to
her chin): Must be nearly noon.
ROSS (propping himself up on the pillows beside her): It's not like either
one of us has a life any more. You come home from a sanitarium to find your
husband in bed with our daughter -
VAN: And your wife delivers two babies prematurely, just in time for you to
find out that only one of them belonged to you.
ROSS (closing his eyes briefly against a sad memory): Oh God, the babies! I
would have loved them both equally, Vanessa, I swear I would. If only they
had lived!
VAN: You don't care that Blake was boinking your best friend's son?
ROSS: I don't care that she did it. I care that she lied about it. She lied
to me over and over again. And when I gave the blood for the transfusion,
and the first baby died, she still lied about it. I'd still be in the dark
if my nephew Phillip hadn't told me the truth so I wouldn't beat myself up
over the baby's death. And when the second baby died too, in spite of
everything=85Hand me that bottle.
VAN: It's empty. It's all gone. All gone. Everything.
ROSS: We still have one another.
VAN: Whoop-de-doo.
ROSS: (looks crushed).
VAN: I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I couldn't get through this without you.
Oh, Ross, what are we going to do?
ROSS: Go buy another bottle, and to hell with them all.
VAN (fiercely): No. I'm tired of being a doormat. I'm going to think of a
way to make them pay.
ROSS: You and me together, huh? Like old times. (Slings an arm around her.)
Don't get mad, get even.
VAN: Damn right! If they think we're just going to sit here feeling sorry
for ourselves, they've got another think coming.

15. EXT. LEWIS CAROUSEL - NOON

The carousel building has burned to the ground. All that remains are sodden
ashes and a ring of badly scorched horses, covered in soot. Dressed in a
raggedy old bathrobe, ANNIE wanders from horse to horse, patting a back
here, stroking a neck there, kissing another on top of its head. Her lips
and hands are black with soot, and she is zonked out of her mind on=
 painkillers.

ANNIE: Hi, Peanuts. Hi, Patches. I didn't mean it, Flicka. I'm sorry,=
 Trigger.

ANGLE ON MARAH and REVA, watching her from the bushes.

MARAH: See, Mama, I told you. Something's wrong with Annie.
REVA (hunkering down and whispering to her): You know about Blake's babies,
don't you, Marah?
MARAH: Annie says she killed Blake's babies.
REVA: She did no such thing. Blake and Annie were in a cabin in the
mountains. Blake was upset about=85Well, we won't get into that now. Too
complicated. Anyway, Blake was upset, and Annie was trying to make her feel
better. Then the babies started to come out of Blake's tummy, and Annie
tried to help, but=85but the babies were just too little to live.
MARAH: That's so sad, Mama.
REVA: Yes it is, it sure is. But you see, Annie didn't kill them. Even after
Rick and Ross came and found them in the mountains and brought them back to
Cedars, there just wasn't a darn thing all the doctors in the whole hospital
could do to save those poor sweet babies.
MARAH (mulls it over while watching ANNIE talk to the carousel horses.
Then): In school=85
REVA: Yes, Marah? In school?
MARAH: In school they tell us, "Say no to drugs." Did Annie say yes to
drugs, Mama? Is that why she burned down our Land of Wishes, Hopes, and=
 Dreams?
REVA: I don't think so, sweet pea. What I think is, Annie was real upset
about Blake's babies, and she came down here in the middle of the night with
a kerosene lamp, and it fell over. Wasn't anybody's fault.
MARAH: But=85would Blake's babies have lived if Annie didn't take her=
 headache
medicine?

REVA is groping for words when suddenly JOSH looms up behind them.

JOSH: Is this how you get your kicks now, Reva, hiding in the bushes and
spying on a sick woman?
ANNIE: (hears JOSH and runs off into the woods like a frightened deer).
JOSH: Damn! Now look what you've done.
MARAH: Don't be mad at Mama, Daddy. I asked her to come.
JOSH: (is torn between dealing with MARAH and pursuing ANNIE).
REVA: Go on, Bud. I'll make sure Marah gets back to the house okay.

JOSH runs off after ANNIE. REVA takes MARAH's hand, and they walk out into
the clearing to gaze at the charred remains of the carousel building.

REVA: Come on, sweet pea. We're not doing anybody any good here. I bet Mary
is turning the house upside-down looking for you.
MARAH (shaking her head): Mary just watches her shows and reads those dumb
soap opera magazines all day. (Clutches REVA'S hand.) Shayne and me, we
really need you, Mama.

Swinging their clasped hands, REVA and MARAH turn their backs on the
carousel and stroll off in the direction of the house. As soon as they're
out of sight, BUZZ emerges from the shrubbery on the other side of the
clearing. He crosses to the carousel and gives a blackened horse a soft
punch on the cheek.

BUZZ: Giddyup, Old Paint. You look like I feel.

16. INT. SPAULDING PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON

PHILLIP sits behind the president's desk and surveys his kingdom with a
satisfied, if somewhat rueful, smile. RICK flings the door open. He is=
 ticked.

RICK: Well, pal, how do it feel?
PHILLIP: Feels pretty good, pal.
RICK: Yeah, right. You got everything you wanted, and you don't give a hoot
in hell what it cost the rest of us.
PHILLIP: Please, Rick, buddy, not that old song again. Let's not go there.
RICK: Go where? Go to you threatening Blake to tell Ross about her and me?
Go to her running off to the Bauer cabin? Go to her losing her babies? My
baby? How much are you gonna take from me, old pal? Haven't I given you
enough for one lifetime?
PHILLIP (looking stricken, but fighting back): Well, Rick, if we have to
leaf through our back pages, don't skip the chapter where Blake forged
Alan-Michael's name on their joint checking account to pay Neil and Gary for
setting me up. That only cost the two of us five years of our lives, if you
remember.
RICK: Blake's a different person now.
PHILLIP: Like hell she is. If you believe that, I have some marshland down
by the lighthouse I'd like to sell you.
RICK: Oh, the lighthouse. Funny you should bring that up. You find out
anything more about that guy, that architect, who rented the lighthouse?
PHILLIP: He rented it from you, pal, that's all I know. Otherwise the guy
seems to have vanished into thin air.
RICK: It couldn't be you paid him to get Lucy out of the way?
PHILLIP: You're nuts. I hardly knew him. What'd I pay him with, anyway? The
millions of dollars I made running soup kitchens on Navaho reservations?
RICK: He gave the Spaulding family as a reference.
PHILLIP (sarcastically): That narrows it down.
RICK: Looks to me like the Spaulding family gets narrower and narrower every
day. First Lucy runs off, supposedly with this architect. Then Alan-Michael
steps down to spend all his time searching for her. Then you and Alex pool
your resources to squeeze out Alan and Amanda. Which leaves you sitting
pretty in Alan-Michael's executive chair.
PHILLIP: It was my chair, first. Don't forget that. (Gets up and goes over
to RICK.) Listen, buddy, about Blake -=20
BLAKE (appearing in the doorway): What about Blake, Phillip? If you have
anything to say about me, you can say it to my face. Of course that wouldn't
be your style, would it?
PHILLIP: I was just about to tell him not to trust you as far as he can
throw you.
RICK (putting a protective arm around BLAKE): And I was just about to tell
you to get a life. Get a wife, for that matter. What do you hear from Beth
lately, Phil?
PHILLIP: I'm warning you, Rick. If you get involved with this treacherous
little tramp, you'll be sorry. I'm telling you that as a friend.
BLAKE: Tell me, Phillip, why do you always take such an unhealthy interest
in Rick's love life? Whenever he has a woman, why do you always want to have
her too?
PHILLIP: I wouldn't have the woman he has now if she came gift-wrapped in
oil leases.
BLAKE: Oh, I don't know, Phillip. I seem to recall you enjoyed it pretty
much the last time around.

She deliberately puts her arm through RICK's and starts to hustle him off,
but they run smack into GILLY, entering the office with a stack of file
folders, which scatter all over the floor.

GILLY: Hey, watch where you're - (Sees it's BLAKE and bites her tongue.)
BLAKE: Enjoying your new job, Gilly? It was my old job once. Just remember
what they say - lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. (She sweeps off with
RICK in tow.)
GILLY: What did they want?
PHILLIP (kneeling to help her pick up the papers): Same old, same old.
(Looks after BLAKE and RICK with a furious glint in his eyes, then turns to
give GILLY a burning glance.) Shut the door, why don't you?
GILLY: (reaches out and gives the door a push).
PHILLIP: So, Gilly, are you enjoying your new job?
GILLY (with a seductive smile): It's okay so far. (They fall into one
another's arms.)

17. INT. SPAULDING YACHT - AFTERNOON

Despite the sunshine pouring through the porthole, ALAN-MICHAEL [played by
Rick Hearst] is sacked out on the bed in the main cabin, lying crosswise on
it. He's fully dressed in slacks and a polo shirt. HARLEY, wearing shorts
and a halter top, enters with a bundle of mail in her hand. She selects an
envelope and biffs him on the head with it.

HARLEY: Mail call, sleepyhead. Rise and shine.
A-M: (yawns, stretches, rubs the sleep out of his eyes, squints at the
envelope HARLEY is waving in his face, snatches it, rips it open, and reads
the enclosed letter avidly before balling it up and tossing it across the
cabin.) Lucy hasn't used a single one of our credit cards in all this time.
Not one.
HARLEY (sitting cross-legged on the bed and riffling through the rest of the
mail): Angels don't need money.
A-M: God, if I hear that one more time=85(Jumps up and paces the cabin.)=
 Just
because your husband ran off with the devil incarnate -
HARLEY: A bimbo incarnate.
A-M: Doesn't mean my wife ran off with the Archangel Zachary, or whatever
he's calling himself these days.
HARLEY: Well, you believed Mrs. Popov enough to follow that sailboat to
Florida -
A-M: Where it turned out to have nothing to do with anything -
HARLEY: And where you didn't find your wife, exactly, but you did find one
of your wives and brought her back to Springfield with you -
A-M: Where all she does is plague me with nonsense about angels and fog.
HARLEY: You know, the more I think about you marrying my sister, the more it
weirds me out. No wonder you all didn't ask me to the wedding. Maybe=85maybe=
 I
could square the circle if I eloped with Phillip.
A-M: Aside from the fact that both of you are still married to other people,
I doubt that Golden Boy has time these days to squeeze you into his busy
schedule.
HARLEY: It really bugs you that he took over from you at Spaulding.
A-M: No. What bugs me is, he and dear Aunt Alex waited about thirty seconds
before they had me voted out, along with Dad and Amanda.
HARLEY: Amanda was over here last night, did I tell you? While you were out
quizzing sea captains. Crying on my shoulder about some guy she has the hots
for.
A-M: Really? That's strange. Well, Amanda may have other fish to fry, but
you can bet Dad doesn't, not since he lost Advantage Systems. If I were Alex
and Phillip, I'd watch my back.
HARLEY: Where the heck is Alex, anyway? I went over to the mansion this
morning to see if I could find out if she was the Spaulding who gave Zachary
his reference, and one of the maids told me she took the jet and flew off to
the Caribbean on vacation.
A-M: The Caribbean? You're kidding. In the summer?
HARLEY: I just report the facts, kiddo. I don't make 'em up. Then I tried to
talk to your father, but the maid said he wasn't receiving visitors.
A-M: He'll receive this visitor. (Grabs his wallet from the dresser and
stuffs it into his hip pocket.) I'm going to get to the bottom of this
Zachary business once and for all.

ALAN-MICHAEL throws the door open to find ELENI standing on the threshold
looking distraught.

ELENI: Oh, thank God you're here. (Hugs him tight.) Please, Alan-Michael, I
know how worried you are about Lucy, but I just have to talk to somebody.
It's about Frank. And Tina.
HARLEY: Well, well, well. Looks like it's old home week for old wives. You
two party kids behave yourselves now. I'm gonna go check on that lighthouse
rental agreement one more time.

CAMERA FOLLOWS HARLEY as she exits the cabin and walks along the deck. When
she reaches the gangplank, she's astonished to see JOSH standing at the foot
of it.

HARLEY: Josh. Long time no see.
JOSH: Harley. I heard you were back.

They stare at one another.

18. INT. SPAULDING MANSION KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON

GINGER is on the house phone. A chaotic mess of pots, pans, and foodstuffs
indicate that she is in the midst of slapdash dinner preparations.

GINGER: Yes, Master=85I mean, yes, Mr. Spaulding. Champagne and caviar. In=
 the
study. Right away. No, I haven't heard from the Mistress. If I do, I'll tell
you first thing.

She hangs up and looks hopelessly around the kitchen as if wondering how to
conjure up champagne and caviar from this confusion. Suddenly HAWK comes up
behind her, spins her around, seizes her in his arms, and swings her around
in circles.

HAWK: Howdy, darlin'. You miss the old man?
GINGER: You put me down this minute, Hawk Shayne!
HAWK: I'll put you down all right, darlin'. (He lifts her up and lays her
down on the kitchen table, where he paws at the front of her uniform and
showers her with kisses.)
GINGER (trying to wriggle out of his grasp): Stop it, stop it! I'm mad at
you. You went off without a word, just took off with the Mistress. And now
here you are slobbering all over me, when she could come in and catch us any
time.
HAWK: Now how's she gonna do that, darlin', when she's still down in the
Caribbean her own self? Sent me back alone, made me fly commercial. (He lets
her go and retrieves a paper bag he dropped on the floor.) But I did pick
out something mighty pretty for you in the duty-free shop. (Rummages around
in the bag, finds what he's looking for, and offers her a seashell=
 necklace.)
GINGER (struggling to her feet): Ooo, this is pretty. (Takes it.) But I'm
still mad at you, 'cause you're still engaged to the Mistress, and I'm not
having anything to do with you until you're unengaged. And I'm not wearing
your necklace 'til then, either. (Shoves it into a drawer.) Now you look in
the refrigerator for some of those awful salty fish eggs. I'm going down to
the wine cellar for a bottle of champagne. (Exits through cellar door.)

HAWK stands in front of the open refrigerator and nibbles on this and that
from various bowls of leftovers. We see DONNA sneak up behind him and wrap
her arms around his waist.

HAWK (not turning around): Is that you, darlin'?
DONNA: You bet your boots it is. (Her hands slide down out of camera range.)
Honk, honk.
HAWK: (gives a start, turns around, sees DONNA, glances toward the cellar
door, shrugs, and sweeps her into his arms.) Donna, my Donna, my little
blonde bundle of joy, I missed you something fierce.
DONNA: Me too, Hawk, honey. Why I - (SOUND of phone ringing. Reluctantly,
DONNA disengages from HAWK and picks it up.) Yes, Master=85I mean, sure=
 thing,
Mr. Spaulding. Champagne and caviar. Coming right up.

19. INT. SPAULDING MANSION STUDY - LATE AFTERNOON

ALAN is alone, hanging up the phone. He walks to gilded wall mirror. He
stares at his face. He smoothes his hair with his fingers. He straightens
his tie. He walks to the window and looks out, but apparently doesn't see
what he's looking for. He walks to the desk and starts to scribble a note on
his desk calendar, only to give up and fling down the pen. He walks to the
bookshelves and runs his finger along a row of books, but nothing seems to
catch his fancy.

SOUND of a knock on the door. ALAN presses both hands to his heart as if
it's beating faster. He forces himself not to run to the door.

ALAN (calling out): Yes? Who is it? Come in.

The door opens to show SONNI CARRERA, looking tan and terrific in a skimpy
white dress.

SONNI: Who do you think it is, lover? The Big Bad Wolf?
ALAN: I see you made good use of that week in a health spa. You=
 look=85stunning.
SONNI (while walking around the room examining various knickknacks): A week
in a health spa is just the thing to cancel out years in a funny farm. I
told Roger he should try it. He looks awful
ALAN: You went to see Roger first?
SONNI: Had to, lover. If it wasn't for him and Laura, I'd still be cooling
my heels in that clinic my family had me locked up in because I didn't
conform to their idea of a good little girl. (Picks up a vase and studies
the underside.) Is this Ming?
ALAN: Yes. No. I don't know. For God's sake, Sonni -
SONNI: For God's sake, Alan, take it easy. Which do you want to hear first -
my plans for dealing with Phillip and Alex or how much I missed you?
ALAN: You know the answer to that. (He strides over to her, locks her in his
arms, and kisses her feverishly.)

20. INT. SPAULDING MANSION SECRET PASSAGE - LATE AFTERNOON

CAMERA SHOOTING PAST ALEX as she watches SONNI and ALAN embrace.
Disgusted, ALEX whirls around to face the CAMERA.

ALEX: You see? Didn't I tell you? That vixen has her claws in him, and she
not going to let go. My family, my company, they're all in jeopardy. And I
thought Reva Shayne was a menace! Sonni Carrera will ruin us all.

CLOSE SHOT of a woman's hand, with long red-painted fingernails, as she
flicks an ash from a cigarette in an ivory holder and we HEAR a throaty
voice speak.

VOICE: Get a grip, Alexandra.

CAMERA FOLLOWS the lit cigarette as the woman raises it to her lips,
revealing the face of SUSAN PIPER. She draws deeply and blows smoke at the
CAMERA.

SUSAN: I think I know just how to clip that little kitty-cat's claws.

FADE OUT
"Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out."

Linda Bowles