General Hospital Update Tuesday 3/25/03
By Danielle
Pictures by Juanita
Monica walked in on Alan cooing to baby Kristina and wondered how AJ got the baby out of a burning house without either needed to be treated for smoke inhalation. She had a feeling something was up, but went down to the Gatehouse when she found out AJ and Edward were down there.
Ned arrived at the gatehouse and ran into the flames to find his baby, but a board came crumbling down on him and he was knocked unconscious. Zander went in after him, moved the board and dragged him out. Once outside Edward yelled at Ned, who was strapped to a backboard, coughing.
Alexis and Elizabeth watched the news as the Quartermaine Gatehouse went up in flames. Alexis, worried about her baby’s safety and rushed over to help. When she got there and found out her baby was at the main house, she went after it. Zander, getting the feeling that something was up, tried to get Gia to stop her attempts, worrying about the restraining order, but Gia was more concerned with his health. He pointed out the lengths at which the Quartermaine clan would go to to get what they wanted, but she didn’t listen.
Alexis arrived at the main house and Alan passed her baby to her with little probing. Before she even gets the baby suited comfortably in her arms, Alan asks for her back. Of course Alexis begs for more time, pointing out the recent extenuating circumstances. Scotty shows up and orders her to give the baby back or he’ll call the cops. She tells him to go ahead, wanting a moment with her child. Finding out that while the Gatehouse was burning Ned was getting extremely friendly with Faith on the Pier, she passed the baby to Alan and left before Scotty could arrest her. Scotty chatted it up with dear old Edward. “You Quartermaines are something,” he told them. “Catching Ned with his pants down, I like that, but burning down your own Gatehouse…” He took Edward’s check though, accepting it as a donation to his “Reelection Campaign,” and left. Alan and AJ agreed that involving Scotty in the ploy was a huge mistake, but Edward didn’t believe so.
Zander and Ned got taken to GH, where Zander ordered Gia to call his father. When the good doctor arrived, Zander tried to explain that Alexis needed him, but he wanted to remain with his son. Zander pointed out his father was letting her down, that he could take care of himself. Cameron and Gia disagreed, which sent Gia after Alexis while Cameron remained with Zander. A TV crew showed up in Zander’s spot on the Emergency room floor, wondering what it was like to be a hero. Unhooking himself from the machines, he told them if they wanted to know, to ask Ned Ashton, because he was the hero in the incident. Then Zander left the hospital. The camera crew headed to Ned’s private room, Cameron only steps behind.
Monica explained to Ned that Kristina had been in the Gatehouse alone, but Ned didn’t understand where the nanny had been. They couldn’t figure it out under the duress. Alexis showed up at the same time as the news crew, wondering how the hell Ned could leave her baby alone. He told her they would discuss it in private, assuring her that he left Kristina with a nanny. But of course Alexis couldn’t leave what was best alone and called Ned and unfit father with no right to her child, pointing out his promiscuity on the docks on a live television broadcast.
Edward watched the event on television with a smile on his lips, making sure to call the right people and have them change channels on their TV to see the escapade.
Carly chatted with Rick at Kelly’s, where he told her he didn’t doubt the baby’s paternity. He agreed to lie off if she would let him remain in town. She told him she didn’t trust him and if he stayed all he had to do was look at her wrong and she’d tell sonny the truth.
Sonny laid the guilt trip on thick, telling Courtney that she was putting his families’ lives at risk staying with Jason. She pointed out she wasn’t keeping Jason from working, he was, but Jason interrupted before he could go on. He told his friend he was trying to get his sister to save them all, telling him, “She’s just a little girl with a crush and she’s ruining everything I built.” Carly interrupted at that point, and seeing the depths of where the issue had lead, she asked Sonny to take her home.
Sonny took Carly home and told her that Jason, friend or not, was off limits. She changed the subject, pointing out he hadn’t eaten or slept properly in days. She explained that his business was nothing compared to having a baby, and he would need rest and nutrition to get through it. He offered to make her dinner and she agreed – if he’d match her bite for bite and promised to rest. She explained that neither of them had cared for an infant before (seeing as how her postpartum depression kept her from spending the first three months of Michael’s life with him), and she tried to prepare him for what was ahead.
Courtney confronted Jason about not standing up to her brother, but he tried to explain that when Sonny “gets like this,” that arguing doesn’t work, that he’s fighting himself and he was the only one who could bring himself down. She didn’t really understand it, but before Jason could properly explain her brother’s methods to her he got a call and had to go.
Jason went to meet with Sonny’s financial advisor and found out that people both inside and outside of Sonny’s circle were losing confidence in him. Jason informed him that Sonny was in complete control and he was to advise anyone inquiring differently that they were wrong. He told him to call him immediately if anyone threatened Sonny.
Rick and Elizabeth discussed his moving into Jason’s penthouse since he was now on retainer. He made a comment that at least he would have the wall space to hand her paintings. Just as things started to get lovey-dovey between them, Rick’s phone ran and he ran off.
Liz caught Lucky in the act of spending money when he didn’t have much to spend. He admitted he had to feed his nasty little music habit. He asked where her boyfriend had went, a little shocked when she didn’t flinch at the term. They reminisced about her first days at Kelly’s and about their relationship. She pointed out that she knew better than to look back at what had happened because things had been so great. They agreed that those times together had been the best of who they were. Lucky explained he felt like he was on the back highway of his life where things were about to take a turn for the better. She admitted that there was something scarier than the possibility that whatever was around the next corner was better – that it might be worse. He asked about her reservations with Rick, and she agreed that there were quite a few, feeling that things with the businessman might just be “too good to be true.” Lucky made her promise that if they were he could kick Rick’s butt.
Rick headed to meet Faith, finding a sniper in the room with her. “You do realize if you go through with this, not even an archeologist will be able to find your remains,” he pointed out. He didn’t fight her though, simply wanting for Sonny’s life to end in shreds.
When Jason arrived home, he found Courtney reading through college brochures. Though she promised him she didn’t want to go away to college, she admitted that she might want to attend. Then, kicking back into self-rely mode, she wondered how she was going to pay for it. He told her he would pay, that he had plenty of money. She told him she was independent and wanted to pay for her own schooling, but he encouraged her to let him give her a loan, and he promised that once she paid him back (and when Brenda paid him back), that she could help him pick a good charity to give the money to. Before their conversation progressed further, Jason received a phone call from Faith – a warning of sorts. When she told him that his girlfriend was in the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle, he dropped the phone and lunged at Courtney, guarding her with his body.