From: James Lynch <lynch@calvin.math.vt.edu>



			Guiding Light Update

				for 

			Tuesday, April 11th


The Journal:

	Tangie and Fletcher discuss the 5th Street Ball. Tangie can't figure
out whether Buzz is "talented or crazy". Fletcher thinks that it is up to
her to figure out the answer, because she has "an in with this guy". While
they discuss it, Holly comes in and greets the employees.

Alex and Roger in Roger's office:

	Alex has come to offer Roger help in breaking up Holly and Fletcher.
Roger doesn't seem too thrilled, and Alex tells him that it is time to
accept that he can't do it alone.

Diner:

	Mrs. Pappas has loads of money for the Ball jar. The crew all cheer
her on. Brent walks in, unnoticed. Meanwhile, Buzz mentions that he would
like to talk to Lucy to find out about that "big date that kept her up half
the night". The camera focuses in on Brent's face in the diner, and then
we cut to Brent's face the night before. The soundtrack turns to techno
rattle, and we cut to Lucy lying in her bed, hugging her teddy bear. Her
face is completely expressionless as she remembers the night before.

Alex and Roger:

	"Roger, just say you need me." Roger isn't ready to admit it yet.
He thinks his plan would be working fine, if Fletcher weren't such a wimp.
Why? Because he should have come after him by now. Alex says she won't be
part of a scheme that hurts Fletcher. Roger says that's fine because the
plan is that he will be the one to get hurt. At least at first.

Eve and Ed at Cedar's:

	Eve lies on a bed, all drugged up and nowhere to go. Ed talks to her
gently, but she is starting to pass out. He kisses her, and gets the nurse to
tape up her ring, rather than have it removed. He promises her that when this
is over, she will be getting another one. Dr. Rick comes in and says "it's
time".

Bridget and Lucy at Company:

	Bridget knocks on Lucy's door. Insistently. Lucy lets her in and
Bridget comes in with a tray full of breakfast. Bridget is clearly worried
about Lucy. "If you want to talk..." Lucy says everything is fine, and
Bridget leaves. Lucy locks the door.

The diner:

	Brent makes his prescence known. He wonders if Lucy is around. 
Buzz has no idea, no one has seen her. The rest of the family gathers around,
and they treat him kindly. But he doesn't tell them anything about the date
other than it was "fine". Brent drops some money in the jar, and goes to work
to find Lucy. After he leaves, Nadine comments that his "aura has darkened".
Buzz laughs at her, and Frank says that it hasn't darkened. He was always a
"yuppie jerk".

Eve, Rick, and Ed:

	OR is ready and they start to wheel Eve away. Eve stops them and tells
Rick she has a secret for him. There is nothing wrong with her, actually, his
dad is just testing him. They all share a hearty laugh [not really], and Eve
tells Ed that when this is over she gets him. She is rolled away. Rick advises
Ed to go see Ross. But Ed simply says "I'll be here". Ed turns to a clock and
sees that it is 9:30 am. [Throughout the show, borrowing from High Noon, TPTB
have Ed look at clocks to heighten the suspense and fill his expression
with tension and worry. It's pretty effective, IMO.]

Holly at the Journal:

	The crew wonders what she is doing. She walks into what used to be
her office, and Fletcher follows her. She has just dropped by to look for a
job. She thinks that the only way to find a job is to already have one. Right,
says Fletcher, everybody wants what someone else has. She offers to move to
another office, since he has clearly taken over this one. He turns her down,
saying that he will be fine out in the newsroom. She can be comfortable there.

Roger and Alex:

	Roger wonders if she is with him. She reminds him that she has been
trying to get him to work with her for weeks. She is ready. They synchronize
their watches.

10:02 am--Ed waits:

	Ed calls OR. He just wants to know if they have started. He paces about
Eve's room, looking at cards and pictures, and out the window. Annie looks in
at him, with sympathy, and passes on. Michelle walks in. Her teacher said that
she could skip study hall given the circumstances. She just wants to keep him
company. Ed thinks she should go back to school and ace her biology test.
Michelle advises her father not to hold it in. "I know you're not telling me
everything." She questions why this had to happen to Eve. Ed says he can't
answer that one. She says that "all she knows is that it stinks". The two of
them should have been married by now. Ed assures her that they will be soon.
Michelle asks if that means Eve will be okay. Oh yes, her disease is just
a skirmish on the battlefield. Too bad he feels like such a deserter. He wants
to be in that operating room.

Gilly and Sid at WSPR:

	Today's the day. Gilly packs her things in boxes. The movers have
already moved her stuff from her apartment. Sid is rattled. It's just so
real now. "You're still okay with this, aren't you?" Gilly wonders. Yes,
Sid claims. He asks her to the 5th Street Ball, but Gilly can't go. The man
in LA called, and he wants her to fly back tonight. But Gilly thinks Sid
should come with her. He could stay for a few weeks, and decide if he wanted
take the California bar or whatever. Sid says he can't. He tells her about
Alan Spaulding's offer, and about the money Alan is willing to put into
"Sid's neighborhood". 
"You weren't planning to come to LA, were you?" 


Tangie and Holly:

	Tangie is worried about Roger, but Holly says she hasn't seen him.
And besides, Roger will be fine. He always is. "Some things just aren't
meant to be." Tangie agrees with this sentiment, and wishes Holly luck.
Holly says "I believe you". 

	Tangie walks out of the office, and runs smack into Roger. 
He greets her with a friendly "hi". He says that he really enjoyed her
5th St. Ball article and suggests she consider reporting for TV news.
She demures, and he asks her if Holly is in. Strangely enough, Tangie says,
she is. Why strange? Roger hadn't heard about Holly's quitting, so Tangie
tells him. Fletcher comes in and scowls. Roger throws a warm smile his way.
"Welcome back!" 

	Nick points out that Roger is rubbing Fletcher's face in "it".
Fletcher says he won't be getting involved. "Roger should be glad you're
not me," says the frightening Nick.

	Roger goes into to talk to Holly. She is less than thrilled to see
him. But he is there to talk about Chrissy. Holly had no idea that she and
Ross were having troubles. In fact, neither of them really know what is going
on. They don't even know where she is. Roger speculates that she is somewhere
alone and hurt. He insists that they have to do something.

	Alex comes into the Journal. Fletcher is less than civil with her.
She just came by to drop off a press release for the ball. She mentions to
Fletcher that there is some silly rumor going around about Roger sending
him on a goose chase to Portugal or Peru or something. Fletcher doesn't deny
it. He simply says "it doesn't bother me". Then it's true, she asks with
tremendous surprise. He snaps at her, then apologizes. Alex says the worst
part is that "Roger thinks he can do anything to anybody". That's it. Fletcher
tells her to get out.

	Alex and Roger meet outside. She says that Fletcher isn't buying into
it. Then, they will just have to move on to Plan B. 

	Fletcher asks Tangie if she had heard any rumors regarding him and
Portugal. Tangie looks at him blankly. Alex returns, yells about Roger
making her forget what she came for, gives Fletcher the press release and
tells him that everyone (he and Holly in particular) should be sure to
come to some meeting out on 5th Street.

Sid and Gilly:

	Gilly does her best to be happy for Sid. They hug, and pretend as if
everything will work out fine between them.

Buzz at the diner:

	Lucy is on the phone. "Hi Daddy." Buzz mentions that Brent stopped
by, and he asks her a few questions. She tells him that she isn't at work,
and he asks her to stop by the diner then. She evades the question and says
goodbye. Just then, there is a knock at the door. It's Brent. [Weird techno
music returns.] He knocks a few times and calls her name. Bridget comes by
and suggests that Lucy has probably left for work, since she isn't responding.

Ed and Michelle:

	They come back from the cafeteria (or somewhere). Michelle thinks
that Ed should be in OR. No, Ed knows that he would be of no use to them.
He says it's time for her to get back to school, but she doesn't want to leave
him. He insists. "If you need me, just call the principal's office," Michelle
kindly offers.

	Ed glances at his watch and returns to Eve's room. He calls OR
again and wants to know the "time-sequence" and if they have sent anything
to Pathology. Annie comes in and says that some folks have stopped by Ed's
office. That's why he's in Eve's room, Ed explains. Annie thinks that Ed 
needs some distractions. She pulls out a deck of cards and challenges him
to a game of gin. "You're putting me on." Nope. She's going to fleece him.
He warns her that he's pretty good. She says that all Chiefs of Staff say that
and it's "all lies". They draw cards to see who goes first. She draws a
Queen. Ed picks a two. She lets him deal anyway. They talk a little and
Ed asks if she worked with Rick much. Annie's smile disappears and she
quietly answers that they didn't really see much of each other. The battle
begins and Annie wins the first game. Then Ed wins. Then Annie and so on.
Finally, the clock reads 12:03 pm and Ed calls it quits. He is sure that
pathology is ready. He calls. "Any word yet?"

The diner:

	Buzz is worried about Lucy. [Of course, he got off the phone with
her 2 hours ago! Annie and Ed played a lot of gin.] Nadine promises she will
check Lucy's aura next time she sees her. Alex comes in, elated. She has
a lot of plans, and Buzz tells her about Mrs. Pappas victory, and about a
sign he drew. Alex says that's nice, but he really should hear the plans
of the media consultant. Buzz gets all huffy. He don't need no stinkin'
media consultant. "Does he always pout like this?" Alex asks Frank and Eleni.
In unison, they say "yes". Alex says that they need to go to this meeting
the consultant has cooked up, and that Buzz is the mouthpiece and he needs
to go to give a little speech. Frank pushes him into doing it ("You're
the man") and they close up the diner and head out.

On the Corner of 5th Street:

	Fletcher and Holly and Tangie and Nick all wait on the corner. Roger
strides in, and they all get suspicious. He says he is covering this for
WSPR, but Tangie points out he has no camera. He says WSPR doesn't have a lot
of time to cover it because they are doing a big travel story on Portugal. He
smiles at Fletcher. 

	Buzz and Alex and a huge crowd arrive. She starts to talk a little,
saying that Buzz, the usual big mouth, won't be speaking for he is a little
shy today. But Buzz interrupts her. He has moved to the top of an apartment
staircase, and talks to the crowd as if he is on a podium. He says he has
changed his mind about speaking. He opines [the following is a highly 
shortened version of what Buzz said, but hopefully it gets across his
message]: "Life is full of surprises...we're talking about 5th Street...
there has been some kind of strange alchemy going on...the people have
been more generous, more cooperative...everyone has worked together,
the rich and the poor, the young and the old....it enhances our
freedom..the fire was a blessing in disguise, perhaps [During this,
the crowd reacts. Alex laughs, Roger smiles a pleasant smile, Nadine beams,
etc.]..Listen to the street...there are kids playing and dogs barking,
birds chirping [Mrs. Pappas cries]...but there are no houses, no lights
burning at night...maybe we needed to lose everything to know what we had...
It's home and I'm not going to see it buried...Let's raise it...Then next
year, children will go to school, there'll be new houses...Thomas Wolfe
didn't know a damn thing! We can and we will come home."

Ed and Annie:

	Annie presents Ed with some cafeteria food. He doesn't want it, he
wants to go to OR. He turns to leave, and Rick is at the door, looking 
exhausted. "It's over."

Lucy and Bridget:

	Bridget is shocked to see Lucy. She tells her that Brent came by,
and Lucy says she must have been in the shower. Now she has to run off to
work. Bridget thinks that maybe she shouldn't go. But she does. Bridget stares
after her.

Buzz:

	"I think we're going to save 5th Street. And I know it's going to
save us." Buzz finishes and gets a round of applause.

	Roger strides up to Fletcher. He says he would like to interview
him. "You were just in Portugal, weren't you?"  Pow. Down goes Roger.


That be it, folks. And if all goes well, this is my last update. Whew.


