From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

          GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1998

                               TO DIE FOR?

Directed by Brian Mertes

HIGHLIGHTS:
* Harley & Phillip argue about the motivation behind Beth's suicide attempt
* The race is on between Ross & Ben for the video of Roy's shooting
* Josh says goodbye to Annie; she takes it out on the unwitting Stanley
* Baby Maureen looks fine, but apparently isn't
* Vanessa takes a turn for the worse

CEDARS: Matt wheels Vanessa into the neonatal ICU so they can visit with 
baby Maureen, the biggest, healthiest-looking premature infant with kidney 
dysfunction you've ever seen. Amazingly, despite all her problems, Maureen 
is laying in an open crib-bed with no special tubes or equipment in sight. 
Rick comes in & smiles at Vanessa, who is not supposed to be out of her 
room. She says she's worried about the baby. She asks about all the wires 
hooked up to the baby [I guess we're just supposed to imagine them]. Rick 
says Maureen is fine, but they just have to be caution. Vanessa coos to the 
baby, but looks suspicious.

In the hallway, Buzz & Jenna arrive with a gift for the baby. Buzz mentions 
that he also bought a gift for the baby he found in the church on Xmas. The 
baby was adopted, he adds. Jenna is happy that the baby helped bring Buzz 
back to her. Buzz says he would have gotten around to it sooner or later.

Harley is waiting in the hall outside Beth's room, looking miserable. Buzz 
asks her what's wrong. Harley gives him a snotty answer, & Jenna sends Buzz 
off to find Vanessa's room. Once he's gone, Jenna guesses that Harley's 
upset about the situation with Beth. Harley feels like road-kill, even 
though Beth was the one who got hit by a car. Jenna wonders how Beth is 
feeling. Harley says she hasn't heard anything today. Phillip hasn't been 
around & he didn't answer when she tried to call. Speaking of the devil, he 
arrives & gives Harley a hug. He asks what happened to her last night. 
Funny, she was going to ask him the same thing.

MARLER HOUSE: Reva shows up to pick up the kids. Blake asks about the 
extradition hearing. Reva recaps how Annie tried to fake being crazy in an 
attempt to be committed to County General in Springfield rather than being 
sent to Ohio. But Reva prevented it & is happy that her family will finally 
have some peace.

JAIL: Annie is happy to see Guard Stanley. She tells him they don't have 
much time together & starts coming on to him through the bars. He is not 
exactly resisting her charms. Annie asks if he's thought any more about her 
proposition that he help her escape. She promises to make it worth his 
while financially & romantically. Stanley backs off & says Annie has a 
visitor. Annie hopes it's not her idiot lawyer & her prayer is answered. 
It's Josh. Annie says if he came to gloat, he can just leave. Josh says he 
came to see her & Reva doesn't know he's there.

Annie thinks it's a trick, but Josh says he thought long & hard, but 
couldn't stay away.. Annie asks Stanley to give them some privacy. She can't 
really believe Josh is there. Neither can Josh. He got mad at Reva for 
coming to see Annie, & now he's doing it too. He gives Annie a letter that 
he's had for awhile. It's from Marah. She wanted to come to the jail, but 
Josh wouldn't let her. He didn't want to scare her. But he did want to give 
Marah the chance to say goodbye to the woman she once called Mommy. She & 
Shayne once cared about Annie very much & Josh thinks that's what Marah 
wants to tell Annie. Annie gets teary-eyed & thanks Josh. It means more to 
her than he knows.

CEDARS HALL: Buzz returns & informs Jenna that Vanessa & Matt are visiting 
with the baby in the NICU. Jenna leads him off to go visit them. Phillip 
asks Harley why she didn't come back last night. Harley says she thought he 
never went home. When she called, he didn't answer. Phillip says he stayed 
until he was sure Beth would be OK. He got the messages, but he thought it 
was too late to call Harley when he got home & he didn't want to wake her 
up this morning. He asks if she thought he was avoiding her. No, she lies. 
She just wondered how Beth was doing. Phillip says her injuries are 
healing, but her emotional state is another story. 

Harley wonders when Beth can go home. Phillip hasn't had a chance to talk 
to her doctor yet, and Rick has been tied up with Matt & Vanessa. Phillip 
thinks Harley is a little too interested in Beth, but they both agree they 
don't want to fight about it, but Harley can't let it go. She snidely asks 
if Phillip is going to hold Beth's hand until she's released. Phillip gets 
annoyed. Harley wants to know where things stand. Phillip feels responsible 
for Beth's situation because he made her feel like dirt. Harley says he 
just put her in her place. Phillip argues that he didn't have a right to 
strip Beth of her dignity. Harley retorts that Beth had no right to strip 
off her clothes for Phillip. Phillip defends Beth, saying she was just 
upset. He catches his breath & says he doesn't want to fight. He & Beth 
will always be connected because of Lizzie, & Harley already knows this. 
Harley isn't glad that Beth was hurt, but she doesn't want Phillip holding 
her hand forever because of his guilt.

NICU: Abby shows up & congratulates the new parents. Vanessa says Rick 
deserves the thanks. Jenna & Buzz knock on the window & Matt & Van go out 
into the hall to see them. Vanessa walks with Matt's help, but then he goes 
back for her wheelchair. Jenna & Buzz offer their congratulations & ask 
after Vanessa. Van says she's fine. She can't wait for the spring when she 
& Jenna can wheel their babies together in the park. Matt tells Van that 
she needs to get some rest now, but Van wants to go back in to the baby. 
Jenna urges Van to listen to Matt. She promises to come spend some time 
with Van after they visit Maureen. Van wants to walk to her room, but Matt 
insists that she use the wheelchair. Before she gets to it, though, she 
collapses. Jenna & Buzz run to get a doctor.

MARLER HOUSE: Reva notices the roses in the trash & asks about them. Blake 
says she's allergic to them. [Remarkably, we get a full frontal shot of Liz 
Keifer, whose pregnancy is skillfully camouflaged by her outfit of a 
brightly covered jacket over a black shirt & pants.] Reva is confused as to 
why Blake pulled the heads off the roses. Blake says it stops the pollen 
from getting in the air. Reva keeps asking confused questions & Blake gives 
her equally confused answers. This nonsense finally stops when Ross 
arrives. He's glad to see Reva & says he has to talk to Shayne. He explains 
that Shayne might have the WSPR tape. Reva calls Shayne over. 

Ross asks Shayne about the video he might have taken from the lighthouse. 
Shayne says he didn't take anything. That would be stealing, which is 
wrong. Ross agrees, but says if Shayne took something from the dumpster, it 
wasn't stealing, and Shayne won't get in any trouble. Shayne denies taking 
the tape. Ross says Abby saw him with a tape. Shayne feigns ignorance. Ross 
says Abby is counting on Shayne. Tammy thinks Shayne should tell Ross. 
Shayne tells her to be quiet. Tammy says Shayne took the tape. Shayne calls 
her a blabbermouth & Reva chastises him. Shayne says he can't talk about 
the tape because he might "incinerate" himself. Ross guesses that Shayne 
means "incriminate" & asks who told Shayne that. "My lawyer," responds 
Shayne. Ross looks thoughtful.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: A shady-looking guy in black leather brings Ben 
a brown paper bag with the WSPR video. Ben hands him an envelope full of 
cash & suggests he take a vacation somewhere warm. The guy thanks Ben & 
leaves. Ben pops the tape in his VCR to see if it really has evidence that 
will help exonerate Abby. If it does, he might lose his bet with Blake.

JAIL: Annie is glad that at least Marah & Shayne don't hate her. Josh says 
she was a very good mother to them once. She says she loved them almost as 
much as she loved... (probably Josh, but she trails off). She thanks Josh 
for bringing the letter. He could have mailed it or left it with the guard. 
Why did he want to see her in person? Josh isn't sure. He just wants her to 
know that at one time he cared about her very much. Annie knows that he 
loved her when they were married. She could tell by the way he looked at 
her & the things he said. Josh remembers looking at her on their wedding 
day & thinking that she was so beautiful inside & out. He thanked god for 
bringing someone so loving, caring & giving into his life & his children's. 
He would like to believe that woman is still in Annie somewhere. He hopes 
there's more to her than the bitter, vengeful woman she's become. 

Annie's hackles go up. Josh promises to pray for Annie, to pray that she's 
finally hit rock bottom & will now take a look at herself. He hopes the 
woman he knew is still in there & urges Annie to find & save her, before 
it's too late. "How dare you preach to me?!" retorts Annie. She says she's 
where she is & who she is because of him & Reva. She promises to pray for 
them too. She's going to pray that they rot in hell forever.

CEDARS: Rick comes out of the NICU with Abby as Matt eases Van into the 
wheelchair. She claims to feel better. Jenna comes rushing down the hall 
with Dr. Sedwick in tow & Michael behind her. Dr. Sedwick's very concerned. 
Rick says Van's pulse is racing. Van says she's just excited about the baby 
& she didn't stay in the wheelchair. Dr. Sedwick wants to examine Van. Van 
urges Matt to stay with the baby. Dr. Sedwick wheels Van away.

Rick tells Matt that Maureen can't go home until her kidney function 
improves. Matt says he has every confidence that she'll get better. He goes 
back into the NICU. Jenna asks Rick what's wrong with the baby. Rick 
explains that she has kidney problems & Matt doesn't want Vanessa to know 
because of her own condition. Now Jenna's really upset & Rick realizes he 
should have kept his trap shut. Rick & Michael explain how Van almost died 
after the C-section & they gave her an enormous dose of an experimental 
drug, & while it saved her life at the time, they don't know all the 
potential consequences. Jenna thinks this is too much after all Van has 
been through. Abby says Van had faith that her baby would be OK, so they 
should have faith that Van will be OK too. Jenna hugs Buzz for comfort.

Outside Beth's room, Phillip & Harley continue their discussion. Phillip 
can't turn his back on Beth. Harley wants him to get some perspective. 
Phillip wants Harley to show some compassion for what he's going through. 
She's trying, but it's not easy. Phillip doesn't know what to tell Harley. 
Beth is a mess right now & he doesn't know what to tell Lizzie. Harley 
wants Phillip to understand that the situation was not an accident. Beth 
threw herself in front of a car. Does Phillip think that because Beth tried 
to kill herself once over him, she might try it again? Phillip is getting 
more & more annoyed. He doesn't want to talk about it now. Harley thinks 
it's because she's hitting too close to home. She spits that she was crazy 
to think they stood a chance with Beth still in the picture. She tells him 
to go sit with Beth for the rest of his life. "I will," says Phillip, 
heading for Beth's room. "That was a mistake," Harley tells herself.

MARLER HOUSE: Ross asks who Shayne's lawyer is. Shayne says he's forgotten. 
Reva urges Shayne to be truthful with Ross. Shayne says he took the tape 
from the dumpster & took it home & put it with the rest of his tapes. Ross 
thanks him & leaves with Reva & the kids to go back to their house. Blake 
shakes her head, not believing Ben's latest move.

BEN'S OFFICE: Ben watches the tape & sees Roy's threat to Abby before she 
shoots him. He says the tape was worth every nickel he paid.

JAIL: Annie shouts at Josh that they were fine until Reva showed up, but 
then she had to fight every day for his love. She did what she did because 
of Reva. He was drowning in grief over Reva & she saved him with her love, 
and they were happy & they'd still be happy if Reva hadn't come back. 
People think Annie's an addict, but she thinks Josh should look in the 
mirror, because he's addicted to Tulsa-trash, two-bit Reva Shayne. Josh 
says he has always loved Reva. Annie cries that he loved her, too. "How 
could I love a woman who wasn't honest with me a single day of our 
relationship?" he asks. "Because you married me," cries Annie. Josh reminds 
her that they were never really married. Annie says it's so easy for an 
addict to justify everything. Josh can't believe *she's* saying that to 
him. He didn't come there to fight with her; he came to urge her to learn 
from her mistakes in the hope that someday something will come along to 
make her happy. Annie says it already did. Josh says if she really works at 
it, it could happen for her, but not here in Springfield. "I never want to 
see you again. I never want to hear from you again. When you get out of 
prison, don't come back to Springfield. Stay away from me & my family. If 
you don't, you'll live to regret it." Josh leaves. 

Still sobbing, Annie tells herself that this is only the beginning of the 
end. She calls for Stanley, saying that she needs him.

CEDARS: Harley chases Phillip to Beth's door & apologizes. She didn't mean 
to push him. She's just so upset about their relationship. She's been 
trying to be an adult, and has put up with everything Beth has dished out, 
but she doesn't know how to handle this. She asks Phillip what she should 
do & say. Phillip doesn't know. And he agrees that Harley has been great. 
She's gone above & beyond when it comes to Beth. But he needs her to be 
patient a little longer. Harley says she can do that. Phillip thanks her & 
hugs her. Harley says she needs Phillip to be honest with her about Beth. 
Phillip has told her that Beth was always the victim in their relationship 
& Phillip was always her knight in shining armor, rushing to her rescue. 
All three of them know this. Phillip asks if Harley thinks Beth did this 
deliberately for sympathy. Harley thinks it makes sense. Phillip wishes 
Harley hadn't said that.

VANESSA'S ROOM: A nurse brings Dr. Sedwick a lab report. Van asks if 
everything's all right. Dr. Sedwick says no. Van's pulse is racing & she 
wants to order an echocardiogram & call in a cardiologist. Van thinks this 
is an overreaction. She's just excited about her baby. She can't wait to 
hold & nurse her. Dr. Sedwick thinks she shouldn't take any chances until 
they check everything out. She thinks it's important to take the fainting 
spell seriously. Van starts to promise something, but she suddenly goes 
blank & falls back on the pillows. Margaret feels for her carotid pulse.

NICU HALLWAY: A crash team comes rushing past the NICU with an equipment 
cart. The nurse shouts at Rick that it's Room 411, and Rick runs after her. 
Matt, Jenna & everyone else follow. 

OTHER HALLWAY: Phillip & Harley sit on a bench as Phillip explains what it 
was like in Beth's room the other night. The look in her eyes, the things 
that he said to her... He went too far to make his point & almost ended up 
killing her. Harley is crazy if she thinks Beth would try to kill herself 
for sympathy. Harley starts to mention her instincts, but Phillip says 
they're all wrong in this case. He knows Beth would never do that to 
Lizzie. Harley apologizes for bringing it up. She knows how hard this has 
been for him & she knows she hasn't made it easier. She knows that he needs 
to handle this his own way. And she needs to let him. She tells him to take 
his time & be with Beth & she'll be waiting for him when he's ready. He 
should just let her know when that is. She leaves. Phillip sighs.

TEMPORARY LEWIS ABODE: Shayne, Tammy, Ross & Reva search unsuccessfully for 
the videotape. Shayne is sure that he had it in his room. Ross says if they 
don't find the tape, Abby's in trouble. He thinks that Ben got there first 
& took the tape. Reva can't believe he would do something like that. Ross 
knows he would, but says Ben won't get away with it.

BEN'S OFFICE: Ben watches the crucial scene again, in slow motion, right up 
in front of the TV.

JAIL: Annie hugs Stanley through the bars & urges him to come into her cell 
so they can be together before she has to go to Ohio tomorrow. He unlocks 
her cell door & comes inside. She pulls off his clip-on tie & tells him to 
relax. She kisses him, holding his head as he leans against the bars. She 
pulls his head forward & then whacks it back against the bars twice, 
sending him crashing to the floor, unconscious. She checks his pulse & his 
breathing, reassuring herself that she won't be charged with murder. She 
says there's one more think he has to do for her, & she starts pulling off 
her prison jumpsuit.

CEDARS/VANESSA'S ROOM: The crash team arrives to assist Margaret, who's 
performing CPR. The heart monitor shows what looks like fibrillation, and 
then one of the two lines goes flat. Matt rushes to Vanessa, no doubt 
impeding the resuscitation efforts. The second monitor line goes flat as 
the screen fades to black.

--arni (marni@panix.com)



