PC: Update, Friday, 2/18
Rika
PORT CHARLES UPDATE - Friday, February 18, 2000
Karen is at the nurses' station, angrily wadding up a piece of paper
and preparing to toss it in the trash, when Scott and Lucy walk up
with Christina. They just came from Christina's check-up after her
marrow extraction, and Lucy says she's just fine. Scott asks how Neil
is; Karen fills Scott and Lucy in about Joe doing the marrow
transplant without permission. Lucy is terribly upset and asks Karen
if Neil will get through it; Karen is obviously doubtful.
At the Recovery Room, Joe is sitting with a half-full (or half-empty,
depending on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist) mug of beer in
front of him. Kevin walks in. Joe asks how Neil is; Kevin answers,
"How do you think?" Joe insists he did was was best for his patient;
Kevin retorts, "Ex-patient." Kevin updates him on Neil's temperature,
etc., and assures Joe that everything possible is being done.
In Neil's room, Frank and Courtney, in surgical gowns and gloves, sit
by an unconscious Neil's bed. They are separated from him by an
isolation tent. Courtney reads from "Tom Sawyer;" she assures Frank
that Neil can hear her. Frank notices Karen out in the hall; they go
out to speak with her. Karen has more test results - the pneumonia is
back. Courtney and Frank are very upset - Neil barely survived last
time, and he was stronger then. Frank stomps from the room, knocking
over a chair as he goes.
Scott asks the $64,00 question: "What the hell was Joe thinking?"
Lucy figures maybe Joe wasn't thinking. They're late to meet Kevin;
Lucy suggests that they call Kevin on his cell phone and reschedule
their meeting. Scott remarks that Lucy is "like a nervous Nellie."
That's because Lucy isn't sure what Kevin's answer will be (about
being Christina's godfather).
Scott returns to the subject of Joe; he is upset that they went to so
much trouble to find a bone marrow donor, and then wasted it. Lucy
hushes him, covering Christina's ears. Lucy suggests that she and
Christina will go to meet Kevin; Scott can stay at the hospital to see
what he can do for Karen. Scott agrees - he doesn't think Kevin will
need much convincing anyway. He leaves; a smiling Christina waves
(with Lucy's help) and seems to say "Bye."
Chris arrives at the Recovery Room and sees Joe and Kevin there.
Sneering, he stands in the middle of the room and suggests that he has
walked into a meeting of "Suspended Doctors Anonymous." He recites
the supposed oath of this organization. Kevin looks up from the
newspaper crossword puzzle to give Chris a disdainful stare; he
reminds him of his own checkered career (i.e., Frank and DL56;
however, Kevin neglects to remind Chris of how that incident led to
the Great Port Charles Virus Outbreak). Chris, to his credit, admits
Kevin is right ("I knew the oath, didn't I?"); plus, he agrees with
"Cowboy Joe": do whatever you think best. Chris seems to be sincere
when he says this, but Joe is still mad about Chris's sarcastic
entrance. Chris apologizes to Joe; he knows how much Joe cares about
Neil, and he hopes Joe's gamble works out.
Julie comes in and joins Chris. She asks Joe how Neil is doing; Chris
tells her it's a long story, and Joe adds, "It's also none of your
business." Chris and Julie sit down; she doesn't think she deserved
that (I have to agree), and Chris tells her not to take it personally
(again, I have to agree - Joe is pretty much of an equal-opportunity
jerk these days). She explains that Joe was suspended, and why.
Julie makes the same point Scott did - it was a waste of Christina's
bone marrow. Chris suggests that the procedure could be done again,
but Julie insists that nobody is going near Christina with a needle
again. Chris points out that Neil may not even live long enough for a
second transplant.
Back in the Pediatric ICU, Courtney, Frank, and Karen watch Neil
through the window. She reviews the various drugs he's on -
antibiotics, immunosuppressants, ibuprofen. Frank worries about drug
interactions; Karen doesn't have an answer. Courtney thanks Karen for
her efforts; Karen leaves to check on later test results.
Courtney sets the chair Frank knocked over upright, asking him if it
helped him to feel better. Not really. Frank blames himself for not
staying with Neil around the clock to protect him. It's like Joe was
saying, "Neil is mine - I decide if he lives or he dies." Courtney
asks Frank why Joe did it; Frank suggests that something inside Joe
can't accept that Neil isn't his son. So, Courtney says, he's trying
to prove he's still calling all the shots? Frank agrees. Frank picks
up a chair, and suggests that maybe she should fling it - it doesn't
help much, but still.... Courtney wishes that she could just go ahead
and completely lose it. But she can't, and neither can Frank. They
watch Neil through the window. Frank comments on how weak he looks.
Courtney thinks he looks even smaller - like he almost isn't there.
Scott finds Karen in the on-call room. He tries the coffee - it's
even worse than Lucy's coffee. He asks Karen how she is. She wishes
she had a magic potion for Neil. Wasn't that supposed to be the
transplant, Scott asks? Karen tries to defend Joe - it's easy to
panic when a patient is in trouble, especially one that you feel close
to. She hopes, in Joe's position, she would have done what Joe should
have done and let the team handle it, but....
She wonders if Joe is in legal trouble. Scott explains that Frank and
Courtney could sue for malpractice. They agree that Joe is stubborn
and hard-headed. When Joe was emptying out his locker, part of Karen
was sorry, but another part thought he deserved what had happened to
him. Now she feels that she wants Joe's opinion, and that Neil needs
Joe's support. She is angry that Joe has put everyone in a no-win
situation.
Courtney is back in Neil's room. She stands up and stretches. Frank
comes in and asks if she needs a break. She says no, but he points
out that it won't help Neil to wake up and see Courtney looking even
worse than Neil does. She agrees to take a break as long as Frank
promises to keep reading. Frank just hopes he can do the voices as
well as Courtney does. She sends Neil a kiss through the isolation
tent and then leaves.
Joe sits down by Neil's bed and opens the book. He begins to read.
He makes a resaonable stab at doing the voices. Neil wakes up, and
lets out a little moan. Frank says hello to him - but Neil says,
"Joe?"
Back at the Recovery Room, Chris has been paged. There was a big
accident on the highway, and he has to go. He offers to walk Julie
out, but she says she's going to leave when SHE wants to ("I promised
Rachel.") Chris doesn't think that getting her life back means that
Julie has to leave herself wide open to "every yahoo in town." He
leaves.
Lucy and Christina arrive; Julie greets them enthusiastically. Joe
comes over to see Christina; Lucy remarks that she heard about Neil's
trouble. Joe asks if Lucy is upset with him too; she kindly tells him
she's not. He remarks that Karen is a good doctor, and asks how Karen
is holding up. "About the same as you," Lucy answers. Then she
excuses herself to join Kevin at his table.
Kevin asks where "her partner in this mysterious matter" is (i.e.,
Scott). He's on his way, she explains, but in the meantime, the
mysterious matter involves taking on a new identity. Kevin guesses
undercover work or a "harebrained scheme." (In the background, Julie
is preparing to leave, but actively eavesdropping.) Lucy says, no,
it's more of an opportunity to play a bigger role in Christina's life.
Kevin thought he already did play a big role in her life. Lucy says,
great, let's make it official - will you be her godfather? Kevin is
floored - and so is Julie, who leaves in an agitated state.
Kevin is surprised Scott has agreed to this, but Lucy explains that it
was Scott who picked Kevin. Kevin laughs skeptically; Lucy flatters
Kevin some more, talking about the qualities they were looking for,
until Kevin proposes, "Brave, clean, and reverent." No, Lucy retorts,
we weren't looking for a Boy Scout. In fact, she wants someone
IRreverent. But mostly they wanted someone who knows how to show the
people he loves what they mean to him. He asks Lucy if she is okay
with this, considering how "tangled up" their lives have been. She
suggests that maybe that's why she thinks it is such a good idea.
Kevin thinks it's a big commitment - but he'll give it everything he's
got. Lucy is pleased.
Frank is still reading to Neil when Courtney returns. He turns the
reading over to her - he's going to go for some coffee. Courtney asks
if Neil has been awake at all; Frank says, no, but he wants to be
there when Neil wakes up. He leaves. Courtney recaps their place in
Tom Sawyer - Tom and Becky are lost in the cave - and tells Neil that
he has to hang on if he wants to find out how it ends.
Julie catches Chris at the nurses' station and shares the news that
Kevin will be Christina's godfather. She figures this will make it
even worse when Julie tries to get Christina back - he will have an
"official title" to protect. Kevin can't keep getting away with this,
she insists.
Frank really did go "out" for coffee - he shows up at the Recovery
Room. Joe approaches him, asking for permission to see Neil. Frank
asks, is it tearing you up to feel so helpless? Well, Frank explains,
now Joe knows how everybody else felt after what Joe did. Frank
leaves.
Scott arrives, and can tell from Kevin's smile that he agreed to be
Christina's godfather. Kevin is indeed beaming. Kevin gets up to
leave. He asks what one wears to a christening. "Something lacy,"
Scott contributes. Lucy indignantly explains that one wears a suit,
and she'll be in touch when she nails down the details. Kevin thanks
her and then huffs at Scott, "Lace!" As he leaves, Scott thumps him
on the back. Scott then sits with Lucy and Christina. He wants to
know if Christina will wear spandex.
Outside the Recovery Room, a boy hands Kevin an envelope. He opens it
and finds the obituary page. On one of the obituaries, the deceased's
name has been marked out, and "Kevin Collins R.I.P." written in.
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by Rika, Friday updater