From: sknelson@lanminds.com (SKN)

Guiding Light Update - Tuesday 3/25/97

HIGHTLIGHTS:
-Holly tries to set Ross straight
-Mandy and Rog decide to continue their engagement
-Alex leaves town
-Phillip fires Alan from Spaulding

SPAULDING BOARD ROOM: Rog offers to work with Phillip.  Amanda tells Phillip
to leave Roger out of it.  Phillip tells Amanda to heed Alex' warning; Alex
knows how he operates.  Phillip warns Mandy that Rog will be her ally until
he gets what he wants, then he will chew her up and spit her out without
even a backward glance.  Phillip leaves, and Rog congratualates Mandy again;
she looks worried.

SPAULDING STUDY:  Alan holds the bust; Alex comes into the room and tries to
explain. Alex asks Alan to please listen; he says nothing and continues to
stare at the bust.

ROSS' OFFICE:  Ross is looking over some papers; his eye catches on the
picture of the twins, then he silently turns the photo down toward the desk.
Holly enters, and Ross tells her he doesn't have time - he has a two
o'clock.  Holly says she is the two o'clock; she tells Ross she wants to
talk about the most important case of his life.

LIGHTHOUSE ROLL

Ross says there's no point talking if this is about Blake and Holly
disagrees.  Ross tries to blow Holly off; she disagrees and says she bought
and paid for an hour of his time. Ross tries to tell her this isn't a family
matter; Holly disagrees and reminds Ross that he walked out on his wife and
children and that she is the grandmother which makes it her business. Ross
tells Holly he is not being cavalier; he loves the boys very much and it
took a lot to get him out - but what Blake did forced him.  Ross recounts
Blake's sins and asks Holly if she has any idea what that felt like.  Holly
says she does, and reminds Ross that it wasn't so many years ago she found
*him* in *their* bed with her daughter.  Ross doesn't even flinch and says
that Holly of all people should understand him better.  Holly tells him what
she learned; afterward she was angry and lonely, she wonders if that is what
Ross wants for himself. Ross says he had all that he wanted, and now all he
wants is to get through the day without breaking down in public.  Holly sits
down on the couch with determination; Ross ignores her and makes a phone
call, turning his back to her.

THANK YOU PRINGLES FOR THIS PORTION OF GUIDING LIGHT

SPAULDING STUDY:  Alex tries to talk to Alan saying he has to believe her;
Alan says he never has to believe anything she says again.  Alex tries to
explain how she wanted to burn the birth certificate; Alan sarcastically
starts to recount her failures: arsonist, sister, daughter.  Alex tries to
explain again how she wanted to get rid of the b/c; Alan says she couldn't
bear to torch the most valuable weapon she had against her brother.  Alex
tells him how much she loves him and that's why she hid the b/c.  Alex tries
to explain how young Alan was at the time, and how he would have felt if he
had know that Jennifer was having an affair with their father.  Alan says
he's heard all he intends to; he never wants to hear or see Alex again.

THE PARK:  Blake wheels the twins in cooing about what a beautiful day it
is.  Griffin comes into the park and asks if he can sit down.  Blake warns
him about guilt by association, but he thinks he can handle it, but this
isn't casual.  Griff came by to offer her his professional services, Blake
wonders as what.  Griff reminds Blake about his law degree and offers
condolences for her break up.  Blake says she doesn't want to talk to him,
she wants to talk to Ross.  Griff doesn't work for Ross anymore, and wants
to know if Blake will let him represent her in the divorce.  Blake is
incredulous, and Griff says it was Ross' idea - Ross wanted to make sure she
was protected. Blake lets up a little and thinks maybe that's a sign that
Ross cares.  Griff says Ross doesn't want reconciliation, just a quick clean
divorce. Griff tells her that in fact she is due at Ross (with her
representation) in an hour.  Blake doesn't want to talk to Ross about
anything other than getting back together.

CEDARS:  Rick shows up (dressed in jeans) to follow up on some patients.
The nurse tells him she isn't authorized to give him any charts.  Rick wants
to know under whose authority; Charles shows up and says "mine", then
dismisses the nurse.  Rick wants to know what the hell is going on and
Charles points out that that's the attitude that got him where he is right
now. Rick wants to know where that is, and Charles tells him he is
suspended.  Rick starts to argue and Charles says he is out of control or he
wouldn't have gotten into a fight with the administrator.  Rick tries to
argue about being provoked.  Charles tells him his entire case load has been
re-assigned to residents.  Abby comes off the elevator and watches the
conversation.  Rick is mad and Charles gets formal; Rick is on suspension
and he needs an attitude adjustment.  Rick keeps arguing; Charles tells him
that he should have come to him before things went to far; Rick let his
personal life get in the way of his performance and that is unacceptable.
Rick tells Charles that things have sure changed since his father was chief
of staff, and Charles looks close to losing it. Charles tells Rick he went
too far; Rick says he doesn't want to be there if someone tells him he can't
treat a dying patient just because they don't have insurance.  Rick stomps
off to the elevator; he and Abby stare at each other during the fade out.

SPAULDING STUDY:  Alex continues to beg Alan to understand to her.  Alan
expected this from Brandon, but not from Alex.  Alan says she hung onto that
b/c like a gun to his head.  Alan says she never trusted him in all those
years.  Alan grabs her head (a la Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind) and
says that's why he can never forgive her.  She gave their father power over
him even when he was dead.  Alan says that she is now dead to him; he starts
to leave the room and she grabs him - he pushes her away and she falls to
the floor crying.  Phillip comes in and kneels down to hold her.

SPAULDING BOARD ROOM: Amanda looks more confident about how she showed the
Spauldings.  She eyes her ring, and says they don't need to pretend to be
engaged anymore.  Rog says he still wants to marry her; Mandy wonders what
that means. 

ROSS OFFICE: Holly gets frustrated; Ross tries to dismiss her.  Holly tells
him to think about whether this is all about ego - she wonders if he's
willing to ruin four lives because he feels humiliated.  Ross wants to know
who she is to question his motives.  Holly tells him she was there the night
Blake decided to tell Ross everything.  Holly tells a stony faced Ross how
terrified Blake was of losing him.  Holly tells him he confirmed Blake's
worst fear when he walked out.  Ross doesn't want to talk about it anymore;
he can't understand why Blake doesn't understand that her actions have
consequences.  Ross wants to know how he got to be the bad guy, and Holly
says there are no good or bad guys.  Holly tells Ross that Blake blames
herself.  Ross says it's not a simple matter of forgive and forget.  Holly
tries to point out what he is losing; Ross says he isn't losing anything;
Blake destroyed it.  Ross tells her that this isn't a simple matter of
theory, it's about feelings - he storms out telling Holly he won't charge
her and that she can stay if she wants. Holly looks sad, and sets the
picture up on Ross desk.

THE PARK:  Blake repeats to Griff that she's not going to get a lawyer.
Griff: you sure are stubborn. Blake: (laughs) it's one of my better
qualities actually.  Griff tries to get her to understand; Blake  wants to
know why he cares.  Griff reminds her that after the shooting incident Bloss
was one of the few people in SF who have him the time of day and he wants to
return the favor.  Blake says that unless he can guarantee that he can save
her marriage, she has no intentions of getting an attorney and playing
games.  Griff says he knows how it feels to lose everyone you love.  Blake
says she has no life without Ross and she needs time and freedom to prove to
Ross that he's wrong.  Blake leaves.  As she walks away, Griff wishes her
good luck because she will need it.

CEDARS:  Rick and Abby are still in an eye-lock at the elevator.  Charles
comes up to Abby and asks her to talk to Rick; Abby tells him that she and
Rick aren't together anymore. (The elevator arrives and Rick exits.) Charles
apologizes to Abby and let's her know she can come and talk to him anytime.
Abby thanks him, and assures him she is fine, then rushes off.

SPAULDING BOARD ROOM:  Mandy wants to know if Rog is after her, or her
considerable assets. Rog admits that although the assets are attractive,
what's more attractive is that fact that she is strong, passionate, and
comitted to getting what she wants.  Rog says that watching her today made
him realize what she meant to him, but realizes his sentiments weren't
returned. Mandy backpedals just a bit.  Rog tells her that if they dissolve
their marriage plans now, they would seem divided and weaker.  Mandy doesn't
think it matters since she has everything she wants.  Rog reminds her that
Phillip will not take them seriously if he thinks they've been playing
games.  Rog takes her by the sides and says no one can know how they really
feel except them.  

SPAULDING STUDY:  Phillip and Alex sit on the sofa and he tells her it will
be o.k.  He laments about how the whole family is wired for guilt.  Alex
blames Mandy for not caring if she humiliated everyone.  Phillip says it's
too late for the blame game.  Alex asks if he understands what she did: she
hurt Alan, and handed over the keys to the kingdom to Rog and Mandy.
Phillip says it doesn't matter; he can't remember a time when the family
wasn't in the middle of a crisis. Phillip thinks they'll weather the storm
if they stick together.  Alex berates herself.  Phillip tells her she is
just as much a victim of Brandon as Alan and Mandy are.  Alan just wants to
get his hands on Brandon, but he can't and that's why he is lashing out at
Alex.  Phillip thinks they can finally shake Brandon's legacy, soon.  Alex
doesn't think she can hang around and wait. Alex jumps up and tells him she
can't stay and watch her family.  She goes to pack and leave.  Phillip looks
stricken.

CARRIAGE HOUSE:  Blake puts the boys down for a nap.  She starts pacing and
thinking - there's a knock at the door - Rick.  Rick says he knows he should
have called - Blake lets him in telling him to keep it down.  Blake tells
him he has to stop coming by without calling.  Blake asks him what is wrong
- Rick tells her he got suspended because he punched out the hospital
administrator.  Blake tells him he's not going to win Abby back that way.
Rick tells her that Abby stood by and watched him get chewed out and she
said nothing. He really thinks it's over.  

SPAULDING BOARD ROOM:  Mandy agrees that it would look bad for them to be
divided now.  Rog says they have to stay focused on what they're doing and
why they're doing it.  Mandy looks at him, then asks him if he's going to
kiss her.  They kiss; while they are kissing, Holly is entering the board
room lobby.

As they finish kissing, Holly enters the board room, wondering about her
exclusive. Mandy never said she would grant an exclusive.  Rog reminds Mandy
that Holly did them a favor; Mandy says she never asked Holly for a favor,
Roger did.  Holly gives Rog a what's-going-on look.

SPAULDING STUDY:  Phillip is telling Alan that he is lashing out at the
wrong person.  Alex enters in her wrap, ready to leave.  She listens as
Phillip begs Alan to talk to her.  Alex doesn't wait to hear the answer and
announces that she will call when she's settled.  She's going to stay with
Nick and Susan; she thinks she probably should have left when they asked her
to at Christmas time.  Alan listens to this conversation in the foreground -
stony faced. Phillip goes back to Alan and asks Alan to tell Alex that he
forgives her.  Alex tells Alan that she loves him, and that will never
change.  Phillip begs him.  Alex turns and leaves.  Phillip realizes that
Alan isn't going to do anything.  Alan tells Phillip he doesn't understand.
Phillip understands that no one can disappoint Alan, or waver in their
devotion.  If they do Alan will turn his back on them.  Alan starts to say
that he will never hurt Phillip and Phillip yells at him to shut up, and not
make promises he can't keep.  Phillip says Alan is right that he'll never do
this to Phillip again.  Phillip says that Alan is history.

CARRIAGE HOUSE:  Blake and Rick talk about Abby.  Rick wonders if you get
over a relationship that fast.  Blake thinks Abby is still reeling, because
Rick fathered a child and didn't mention it.  Rick says it didn't happen
that way, and Blake tries to calm him down - she knows that Rick didn't say
anything because she wouldn't let him.  Rick knows Abby is upset, but
wonders if she has no love for him anymore.  Blake tells Rick they can't
make decisions based on what they see; if she did she would be meeting with
Ross and his attorney right now.  Outside the carriage house, Ross knocks
during the fade out.

SPAULDING STUDY:  Phillip tells Alan that as president he is firing Alan
effective immediately.  Phillip thinks he is in for the fight of his life at
Spaulding and he can't afford to have someone around who could turn their
back on him.  Alan says Phillip can't do this; Phillip says just watch him
do it to Alan before Alan does it to him.  Phillip advises Alan to settle up
with the business manager because he is having his office cleaned out ASAP.
Alan yells that "we have to stop Amanda and Roger".  Phillip:  "you say WE,
there is no more WE!" 

SPAULDING BOARD ROOM:  Holly reminds Roger that they had a deal.  Rog tells
Mandy that he gave Holly his word.  Mandy agrees and tell Holly to run the
damn story as a exclusive - she has twelve hours, then she storms out.  Rog
looks at Holly.

CARRIAGE HOUSE:  Blake answers the door.  Ross comes in - he's mad because
everytime he comes by Rick is there.  He says he doesn't want Rick in his
house and tells him to get out.

directed by:  Susan Strickler



