Port Charles Update Monday 7/8/02

By Beth

At the hospital, two young nurses gossip about the shadow man, and one thinks what he's doing is sexy and would like to meet him. The man who startled Kate in the stairwell is eavesdropping on them. Kate tries to round up some cash to pay off her debt, then stops by to visit Alison, who is out of bed and ready to go home. She's happy to report that Rafe wants to know all about their relationship. He doesn't remember anything yet, but she believes that she got through to him and that things are going to be all right after all. Unfortunately, Rafe is legally married to Livvie, and she'll never give up without a fight. Even so, Alison believes she and Rafe will be together, given a little more time. She almost--but not quite--feels sorry for Livvie. Kate advises her not to waste her sympathy. She calls Livvie a lying, conniving little bitch and likens her to a virus that will infect everything she touches. Alison agrees but says Livvie will never have Rafe. She realizes she never properly thanked Kate, and takes the opportunity to do so, but Kate is uncomfortable with any kind of praise. The reason she stopped by was to say goodbye. She's going back home to Manhattan. Just arriving, Amanda contradicts this by announcing that since Kate did such a brilliant job with Alison's case, she's been assigned to head up the office in Port Charles. Kate appreciates the offer but her life is in Manhattan. Amanda advises her to reconsider. She's going to double Kate's salary. Besides, she's already given Kate's position in New York to someone else. Once Amanda is gone, Alison promises to speak to her, but Kate tells her she'll work something out. She's going to consider Amanda's offer after all, for both professional and financial reasons. As a friend, she advises Alison to stop waiting for Rafe to remember, and instead make it happen. They have something very special and shouldn't waste another minute of it.

Rafe stops Livvie and asks why she thinks she may be pregnant. She claims she's late, which never happens, and she was even sick this morning. When Rafe questions whether it could be a mistake, she acts defensive and tells him to forget about her and their family. She leaves the hospital and storms into the motel room, justifying her lie by telling herself she had to do it. She hears Rafe coming and lies down on the bed, pretending to feel great sorrow at being alone and pregnant. Rafe apologizes and says he really doesn't know what to believe anymore; she tells him one thing, and everyone else tells him something else. Livvie claims that no one talks about their love because they kept it a secret. She thought he wanted a family, and now here she is with such a wonderful gift for him and he doesn't seem to care. She holds his hand to her stomach. All she can do is love him and pray that he'll remember how much he loves her. Rafe promises that if she really is pregnant, he will be there for her and the baby. Placated, Livvie asks whether he wants a boy or girl, but Rafe stops her. He wants her to see a doctor, and she promises to do that first thing in the morning. Right now, he needs to get some air, so he's going to take a walk. Livvie tries to think of a way to get pregnant for real. Rafe sits on a park bench and thinks about his meeting with Alison as well as Livvie's latest bombshell. A baseball lands at his feet, and when a little boy comes to retrieve it, Rafe talks to him about baseball and fathers. Back at the motel, Livvie holds a hand towel under her shirt and pretends it's a baby. Rafe returns from his walk, carrying a paper bag. He bought a home pregnancy test and wants Livvie to take it now.

The guys gather around the two punks who are hanging upside down from the tree. The two punks, Ernie and Elmo, want to be released, but Jack calls the police and Jamal tells them they got what they deserved. Ian and Frank try to figure out how they got up there and decide to go ahead and let them down. The punks try to escape but the good guys grab them and hold onto them until the police arrive. They're obviously scared, and Ian wants to know why. They claim they were just messing around when this shadow came out of nowhere and strung them up. It looked like death. Andy and Doree come to arrest the punks, who would rather be arrested than have to stick around the park. Naturally skeptical, Andy has a hard time believing the story about the shadow man. Meanwhile, Jack and Jamal check out the scene with flashlights. Jamal is impressed at how the shadow man managed to string them from the tree. Jack points out that he didn't stick around to take any credit, kind of like the Lone Ranger. Ian then fills them in on what happened at the hospital, meaning that at least two attacks have taken place. The descriptions given by the "victims" are always the same: "it" has no face and looks like death. Jack thinks this is a bad sign that more evil has entered their lives. The three of them go to grab something to eat, and Jack tries to reason with the others about the possible origins of this new entity around town. They've already seen plenty, including vampires. Jamal is skeptical, but Ian is willing to consider any possibility. Jamal says this guy is doing a good thing, but Jack isn't so sure. They need to stop assuming there's nothing strange going on and try to find out the truth. Jamal continues being a jerk, but Ian is willing to reason it out. He does think it's human, but that's just a guess. He decides to leave, while Jack and Jamal stay for some pizza. They get into an argument about vampires and Jack's so-called paranoia. Jamal goes to order a pizza, and the two young nurses from before are nearby. One of them sees sees a shadow and points it out, assuming it's the one they were talking about before.

Who do you think is the new "Shadow" that is beating up the bad guys on Port Charles?