From: Riley <LMT94002@uconnvm.uconn.edu>

The City--Update  Friday, January 4?th, 1997

Sorry I haven't been around in a while, but I'm back today.  Now that we
are doing more returns than actual business, they can't afford me.  I
should actually get more days off now.  :)  Thank you to everyone who
e-mailed me and lots of thanks to the people that covered my butt while
I was otherwise disposed.  :)  Now...on The City:

Storyline:  Baby Blues

Ally is lying on the couch, but jumps to sitting when Joc opens the
door.  She wipes tears from her eyes.  She brought bagels.  She'll start
her diet tomorrow.  Ally doesn't want any right now.  Joc asks how Ally
is feeling.  She still doesn't want to talk about it.  Joc already knows
that Carla is pregnant.

Tony comes out of his room and sees Carla sleeping on the couch in his
shirt.  He wakes her up.  Good morning!  He'll tell her if it's a good
morning after she tells him what the hell she's doing there.

Carla tells him about Gino and Tracey.  Tony says that's a strange match.
Carla says Tracey is setting Gino up under their noses.  Tony reminds
her that they have other things to worry about.  He says Gino is a grown
man and can handle himself.  Carls says Tracey is not going to marry her
father.  Tony tells her to take it easy.  The stress isn't good for the
baby.  Carla doesn't know what she's going to do.  Tony says she should
start by taking care of herself.  Carla admits she doesn't even know
when the last time she ate was.  Tony asks if she wants cereal or eggs.

Alex told Joc.  Ally is sure that the Green St grapevine is buzzing--
Poor Ally.  Joc loves her and so does Tony.  Tony loves her so much that
he spent her birthday getting Carla pregnant and lied to her for weeks.
Ally asks Joc to leave.  Joc weakly says she wants to help.

Joc makes some tea.  She talked to Tony last night.  And he's sorry,
right?  yes.  Joc reminds Ally that she knows about betrayal.  She
betrayed Alex, but he forgave her.  Ally doesn't just feel betrayed,
Tony broke her heart.  She didn't just love him, he was her best friend.
She would go to him when her heart was broken.  Now who should she go
to?  Tony, Joc says.  She can't.  Joc tells her to think about it.  She
asks Ally not to close the door until she's sure that it's over.  Joc
asks her to promise to think about what tony means to her.

Tony shoves cereal at Carla and tells her to eat.  Carla asks how Tracey
did it.  Did it ever occur to her that Gino might actually love Tracey?
Carla says it doesn't matter because they'll never make it to the altar.
What is she going to do, have her killed?  Carla is silent and Tony
tells her not to even think about it.  tony would never let that happen.
Does that mean that he'll help her?  Leave him out of it.  Carla wants
him to talk to Gino.  Tell him he's making a mistake.  Tracey's hiding
something.  After Tony finds out information on Tracey and brings it to
Gino, what's he going to do, thank him for saving him from a fate
worse than death?  Probably not at first.  Would it be before or after
his goons rearranges his face?  Tony starts yelling at Carla that they
have enough to worry about.  Everyone is miserable, but love doesn't
mean anything to her anyway, right?  Carla tells him to forget it.  Tony
says he's sorry about the comment.  He didn't mean it.  He still has to
talk to Gino.  He has to tell him about the baby.  Carla already took
care of that.

Gino had a right to konw and she had to tell him.  He's very excited.
Carla can't concentrate though until she finds out what is going on
with Tracey.  Tony says he'll talk with Gino on one condition--that Carla
take care of her condition.  She hugs him.  He says he'll take care of
everything.  He leaves.

Ally sets her tea in front of a picture of her and Tony.  She picks it
up and remembers their conversation.  She goes to the door to go see him,
but he is in the hallway with Carla, helping her with her jacket.  She
is asking her if her hair is messed up and he tells her she looks fine.


Storyline:  A Reassuring Word From a Friend

As Tess walks in, Angie says that someone didn't come home last night.
How can Angie ever repay her.  Tess says she doesn't have to.  That's the
beauty of friendship.  Buck and Tess thought Angie and Jacob could use
a little time together.  The more Angie talked to Jacob on the phone, the
more she missed him.  She's glad she made it home for the holidays.
Angie asks what's new in Tess's life.  Everytime she spoke to her from
the clinic, she sounded...desperate.  What is it, Angie asks.  Where does
Tess start?  At the beginning.  Tess went to the doctor and they found a
lump on her breast.  She has cancer.

Tess looks away as Angie sits beside her.  Why didn't she tell her?
Angie was 3,000 miles away and she came hom with great news about being
able to have a baby.  Tess didn't want to rain on her parade.  Angie
pulls her over the couch and says she wants Tess to tell her everything:
what stage the cancer is in, who did the diagnosis, did she find the
lump herself?  Tess said she had a mammogram.  Angie asks what kind of
biopsy she had.  Tess hasn't had one yet.  The doctor said she has a
lump and she went deaf after that.  Angie tells her to listen to her,
Just because they found a lump doesn't mean that it's a tumor or that
it's cancerous.  It could be any number of things, most quite harmless.
Tess knows that in her head, but her heart tells her different.  Angie
says they won't know until they schedule a follow-up exam.  She hugs Tess
and says she can't let fear stop her.  Angie asks how Buck is handling it
He's fine.  She hasn't told him yet.

Buck and Jacob are doing the books.  From the looks of it, they did
pretty well for they year.  Is Buck sure he is using that machine
right?  Buck could have done it in his head, he just didn't want to get
too proud.  A little pride never heart anybody in small doses.  "We
came, we poured, and we made a pretty penny, too,"  Jacob says.  Buck
says they are numbers a man can plan a future with.  He just wishes every
night is New Years Eve.  Angie and Jacob found a good way to ring in the
New Year.  Jacob says they made up for some serious lost time.  Buck
knows what it's like for a woman you love to go away.  Is Tess going
somewhere?  Not if Buck can help it.

Tess is either avoiding him or being overly cheerful, but he thinks he
knows what's wrong--him.  So he's giving her space.  She keeps talking
about life having no guarantees.  He thinks she wants a sure thing, a
commitment.  This weekend, he's going to ask Tess to be his bride.

Tess hasn't told anyone because she is afraid if she says it out loud,
it will make it real and she doesn't want it to be real.  Angie says
this is when she needs the people that she loves.  She should not be
hiding this from Buck.  Tess is worried that she'll end up like her
mother, who had a heart attack at about the age Tess is now.  Tess says
her mother's creedo was, "live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful
corpse" and that's what she did.  She died on her.  Tess learned that
if she wants something in life, she had better grab it because supplies
are limited.  Tess abandoned all hope--until Angie came back.

Watching Angie overcome chemotherapy damage to have a baby with Jacob
started her thinking.  Then last night, when Buck looked into her eyes,
she could see how much he loves her, then she thinks, maybe she'll get
a miracle.  Only if she goes to the doctor, Angie says.  Nine times out
of ten, lumps are harmless.  Angie asks which of them should make the
appointment.  Tess will.  She calls.  They have a cancellation for this
morning.  She takes it.  Angie reassures her and offers to go with her,
but she declines.  Angie makes her promise to tell Buck.  They hug and
Tess leaves.

Hopefully next week's will be on time, or at least by Saturday.  I hope.
Hope everyone had a good new year.  Lisa Marie


