From: "Czajka, Marguerite" <czajkm@uf9412p01.ChicagoIL.ATTGIS.COM>

Today+s theme is support.

Ally tries to support Danny:
Danny is feeling seriously down after his father+s visit.  Ally tries to 
con-
vince him that he shouldn+t let his father undermine his confidence.
Danny can+t help it.  Ally tells him that the coffee house is a good idea
and gives him a bunch of coffee house menus that she had gathered so
he can get an idea of what to serve.  She+s unhappy that he won+t let her
help him.  Danny calls Bernardo to tell him about the info Ally has
gathered (he leaves a message).  Ally asks him to stay for pasta, but he
has to go.

Frank is upset at Jacob+s lack of support:
Frank talks to Jacob at the bar.  He+s still upset that he tried to talk to 
Jacob
about changing his name, and Jacob didn+t support him in this.  Jacob
thinks that Frank+s being swayed by James, Frank resents the implication
that he doesn+t think for himself.  Frank walks away and a little later
James walks in and talks to a noticeably cold Jacob.  James calls him on his
attitude and they discuss his influence on Frank, that Frank is still a kid.
James points out that if this was Africa, Frank would have probably already
killed his first lion and maybe fathered many children (now there+s a 
worthwhile
goal for an 18 year old!)  Jacob tries to clear up James confusion by 
pointing
out that he+s pretty sure that they+re living in New York City.  Jacob 
thinks
that James is using Frank for his own political ends.

Frank walks up to Leonard who is sitting a chess table with a young white
woman.  He introduces himself  to Mel, who is really Leonard.  It turns
out the woman is Mel(anie).  Leonard goes to take a phone call from Sydney.
Frank and Mel discuss his script.  He tries to get her to tell him who 
*really*
wrote it, since he doesn+t think a white woman could understand black urban
experience so well.  She+s offended.  Leonard comes back, asks her to watch
his stuff, he has to see a woman about a job.  Frank wants to direct her 
script
(and is acting like an arrogant jerk), but wants complete creative control, 
since
there+s parts that could be improved.  She tells him: 1) she+s not sure she 
wants
him to direct her script 2) she wants to see some of his work before she 
lets him,
and 3) she wants to know how a straight arrow from the suburbs of 
Pennsylvania
who+s probably never even been in a ghetto, suddenly knows so much about
African-American life in New York City.  He wants to know how she knows
where he+s from.  She explains that she knows his mother runs the clinic and
what happened there was the inspiration for the story.  He tells her he had 
a live
Before Corinth, and that she needs to dig deeper to be a good writer.  She 
tells
him to call her and she+ll let him know if she+s decided to let him direct.

Nick wants to support Sydney:
Sydney is very shaken at the call about Samuel+s death.  She doesn+t tell
Nick who it is - just that it+s a business acquaintance that he didn+t know.
She has to go to Connecticut to take care of it.  Nick tries to be 
supportive
and is unhappy that Sydney won+t let him.  He wants to go with her, but
she needs to be alone.  He feels shut out.  Leonard arrives, and Nick looks
unhappy that she+ll have Leonard drive her but not Nick.  He leaves.
Leonard asks what wrong, she basically tells him it+s not business,  She
gives him the Limo+s key, tells him to take her bag down, and bring the
car around front.  He asks if he should salute, she tells him something
small and discreet would be nice.  He grabs her bag and goes.  She walks
over to her desk, he laptop beeps and has a message:  Now that business
is taken care of, how about a game of chess?  She tells it (verbally): you
want a game, you+re going to get one.

Azure lacks her family+s support / Bernardo wants to support:
Bernardo is at a table telling her how she+s the most beautiful woman he+s
ever known.  Her brother arrives, making snide comments about Azure
(he stresses the name, making it apparent it+s not the one her family gave
her): So you found yourself a guy, ain+t that cute.  Bernardo, for the 15th
time in the last 10 minutes refers to Azure as a female, then fades into the
background to let them talk.  Brother is upset that Azure is sending money
to the family and accuses her of trying to buy her way back into the family.
He makes it clear that her modeling career discusses the family and rips her
cover shot off of Trend magazine, and knocks her purse off the table.  All
her stuff and a bottle of pills fall out.  Brother picks up the bottle and 
reads
it, and tells her she makes him sick.  She tries to get the bottle back and 
he
dumps them on the floor.  He threatens to tell Bernardo about her, she asks
if that+s what the family wants, to ruin everything for her.  She begs him 
not
to tell.  He tells her to stay the hell away from them, she+s not a member 
of
the family any more and leaves.  Bernardo comes to see if she+s okay, she
asks him to leave her alone.  She tells him the pills are just some 
medication
she has to take.  He wants to know why the people who are supposed to
love her treat her this way - she tells him it+s complex.  He wants her to
explain - they should be proud of her, she says they don+t see it that way. 

She says maybe she should have been more sensitive of her family+s
feeling.  She tells him that there are things about her that she doesn+t 
know,
he says he knows how he feels about her and they start kissing.

Frank goes over to where Jacob and James are talking.  James says that Jacob
was telling him how proud he is of Frankie.  Jacob, apparently realizing 
that
there has been a bartender behind the bar for the whole episode, goes off to
check on something.  After he leaves, James tells Frank that his 
stepfather-to-be
has some problems with his (Frank+s) independence.

Angie is giving a guy a prescription and walking him to the door, when Molly
runs in seeking help for Jeff.  Angie and the guy run out to him - he+s hurt
bad, so Angie tells the guy to go call 911 for an ambulance and the police.
Then she recognizes him as the apologetic vandal.  The cops arrive and Angie
tells them who Jeff is.  They think it may be a racial thing, that another 
kid
involved in the vandalism was harassed by a black power group.  They ask
Angie if she has any idea who might have done the beating.  After an ad 
break,
the cops are asking Molly if she got a good look at the perps.  She says 
that
she only heard their voices - they ask if they (the perps) sounded black. 
 Angie
wants to know what that sounds like.  The cops ignore the question, and go
back to talking to Molly about their clothes.  Jacob walks in and the cops 
ask
if they looked like him.  Angie brings him up to date, and Jacob tells her 
about
Jeff+s argument with Frank and James.


