Daily Updates

From: rika@netcom.com (Melissa Martin)
Subject: PC: Update, Tuesday, 6/24/97
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 21:38:52 GMT

Diamonds abound today.  I guess one might call it a gem of an
episode...........

TODAY'S STORYLINES:
------------------
* Diamonds are a Villain's Best Friend
* But are Diamonds an Intern's Best Friend?
* "Like a Diamond in the Sky"
* Okay, So This Part isn't about Diamonds

DIAMONDS ARE A VILLAIN'S BEST FRIEND
------------------------------------
Rex is picking diamonds off Lucy's discarded dress while Danielle
obsesses about her guilt.  Rex tells Danielle she ought to think
about how she got "shut out without a dime."  Rex wants to get
her what is rightfully hers.  She thinks $5 million is plenty -
they ought to stop and not carry out the rest of the plan.  She
wants Jake more than the rest of the money.  Rex reminds her about
divorce statistics for women who put men through med school.  He
is doing his best to protect her.  He tells her she can go to Jake;
they'll talk more later.  Danielle rushes out.

Rex, still playing with the diamonds, says to himself, "Consider
this just a small down payment, Mr. Baldwin."

BUT ARE DIAMONDS AN INTERN'S BEST FRIEND?
-----------------------------------------
Jake comes into the interns' room; Matt, asleep on the sofa, wakes
up from a dream about bleeding arteries (yikes).  Matt notices the
brochure of diamond jewelry Jake brought in with him and surmises
that Jake is thinking about proposing to Danielle (hey, Jake, why
not let Danielle buy her *own* ring?  I think I know where she
could find a diamond or two..... or a few hundred.....).

Jake sits in Matt's wheelchair and asks advice - should he buy
the ring before he asks her, or wait?  Matt says, hey, go for
it!  After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Later, Matt is reading the paper and reflecting on another kind
of diamond - the baseball variety.  He can't get excited about
either of New York's teams - "the bums and the millionaires."
Danielle arrives to see Jake; Matt (no doubt wishing to avoid death
through boredom) wheels on out of the room.  She tells Jake she
loves him, and she's thinking about quitting her "night job."
Jake tells her he's been doing some thinking too.  He locks the
door and some lip-mashing ensues.

"LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE SKY"
---------------------------
Conklin has checked in at the house to see why the wire-tap isn't
working (um, that might be because Scott disconnected it....)  Scott
lures Conklin into the kitchen, asking him to make some coffee (but,
Conklin, a bit of advice - DON'T touch the cappucino machine), and
bribing him with the promise of strudel (apparently it's only local
cops who can be distracted by donuts; Feds have more sophisticated
tastes in pastry).  Scott escapes the house.

Meanwhile, Lucy is hanging out in the near-empty ballroom where the
Nurses' Ball took place.  She is waiting for Serena, expecting that
the kidnapper will make the delivery there.  Kevin brings her a glass
of milk and asks if he can't take her home and "tuck her in."  Not
yet, she says.  Lucy apologizes for being "so hormonal."  "I know,"
Kevin answers.  Lucy:  "Oh, if only you did."  Kevin:  "I think I
do.  You're waiting for the kidnappers to deliver Serena, aren't
you?"

(Your fearless updater spends the opening credits doing the Dance
of Joy, because her belief that Kevin had this all figured out has
been proven true.  Your updater also finds the time to mentally
thumb her nose at the Friday GH updater, who called Kevin "Clueless
Boy."  Clueless, eh?  HA!!!!!  But I digress.)

Lucy warns Kevin not to ask about it, because if he does she'll have
to lie.  She is upset - she was supposed to have evolved past this.
Kevin assures her that she *has*, such that if she were to keep
something like this from him, he would understand.  Lucy is stunned
by his understanding.  Kevin nails her reason for lying - the
kidnapper's threats against Serena if she told anyone what was going
on.  He knew something was going on from watching her with Scott.

Lucy explains what happened.  Kevin is upset at first when he thinks
the kidnapper hurt Lucy.  She goes on to explain about the drop -
the dress she threw in the trash was covered with diamonds - but that
now, even though she did what she promised, she doesn't know where
Serena is.  Kevin comforts her as she cries, and in walks Scott,
angry to find that apparently Lucy has told Kevin what is going on.
She explains that Kevin guessed on his own, and Scott then threatens
Kevin if he "screws this up."  (Considering what happened later,
THAT'S really rich.....)  Conklin and Boynton, the FBI agents, stride
into the ballroom, having followed Scott there after finishing the
strudel and breaking the cappucino machine (no, not really).

When we rejoin them, Lucy is serving as Mistress of Exposition,
telling the FBI guys the story.  Kevin is the only one of the group
who seems to be actually *thinking* about the story as Lucy tells it
(Why am I not surprised?).  Scott wishes he had gone with Lucy to
the church, to force the kidnapper to tell Lucy where Serena was.
Kevin responds, "Maybe he did."  He proceeds to point out to Scott,
the true "Clueless Boy" in this tale, that the kidnapper has revealed
himself to be arrogant and a lover of game-playing.  Further, the
kidnapper knows all sorts of private details about Scott's and Lucy's
lives.  AND he continually referred to Serena's return as "the
delivery."  Kevin concludes by suggesting that maybe the kidnapper
knows where Serena was *delivered*...  (Ladies and gentlemen, Rex
Stanton has just met his match, and it ain't Scott Baldwin.)

The rest of the group may not have had the intelligence and objec-
tivity to make these connections, but at least they have the brains
to recognize the truth when they hear it.  They wordlessly leave
the ballroom and head for the cabin where Lucy gave birth to (i.e.,
delivered) Serena.  Sure enough, Serena is there, singing, "Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star......... like a diamond in the sky."  (Scott
said last week that Serena sings better than he does - all I can
say is, I hope we never hear him sing.)  Scott bursts in, and Serena
runs to him as Kevin and Lucy look on.  As Scott hugs Serena, Lucy
tells Kevin, "I will love you for the rest of my life."  Serena,
though, gets the last word:  "Daddy, what took you so long?"

OKAY, SO THIS PART ISN'T ABOUT DIAMONDS
---------------------------------------
Frank and Julie arrive home from the Nurses' Ball.  She thanks him
for a nice evening.  She's already overwhelmed by her internship.
Frank advises her to get some sleep.  Julie asks if she can be frank.
He answers, "No, I'm Frank."  Julie isn't ready for the evening to
end yet.  Frank picks up a basketball and shoots; Julie takes the
ball and decides to show him up.  She kicks off her shoes and
challenges him to a game of one-on-one (in that long gown?  More
power to her!).  The stakes:  a month's rent.  He tells her she's
joking, but she replies, "No, I'm being Frank."  He replies,
"You wish," and accepts the challenge.  The game progresses, with
Julie whupping his butt in slo-mo until he twists his knee and drops
to the pavement in pain.

It might have been an effective gambit if he'd faked it to avoid
losing, but it's genuine.  He explains that it's an old football
injury:  "I fell off a barstool during the Army/Navy game."  Julie
doesn't fall for THAT old line.  She tries to help him to his feet
(supporting him on the side of his *good* leg.  HELLO????), but he
has fallen and, even with her help, he can't get up.  He explains
that he actually hurt the knee during a college football game (he
had a football scholarship to Notre Dame).  After the injury, he
lost his scholarship and was sent home.

Frank forfeits the game.  He figures she probably has a gaggle of
older brothers who taught her to play.  She sidesteps his remark by
going inside to get some ice (or a box of frozen veggies) to put on
the knee.  Later, we see Frank icing down his knee with a bag of
frozen peas.  He figures that the month of free rent Julie just won
can be a down payment on past and future medical services; then he
reminds her of his "first-degree finger laceration" the first time
they met (for those who have forgotten, he was distracted by the
sight of Julie in a towel, and drove a tack through his finger).
She asks to see the "boo-boo", and he holds up his hand.  She takes
it in hers.  They are about to kiss when Frank's beeper goes off -
he has an EMT call.  He leaves, making a reference to "next time";
Julie beams as she repeats to herself, "Next time...."

----------------------------
by Rika, 1/2 of the Tuesday Update Team
A