Jack enters the house, and sees Tyler on the floor, going through Karen's purse. "Hey -- what are you doing there, you little monster?" Jack says, picking the boy up off the floor. Tyler has the pill bottle in his hand. "What you got here, huh?" Jack asks, and he takes the unopened bottle away from Tyler and looks at it. "What the hell -- Karen, where are you?" Jack calls out. He goes further into the living room, and spots Karen lying on the couch, passed out cold. "Karen!" Jack shouts, setting Tyler down on a chair. "Hey -- Karen, wake up!" Jack says, slapping her face softly. Karen moans a bit, but Jack is unable to awaken her. "Okay -- okay, we're gonna get you to the hospital." Jack says. He fishes through Karen's purse for her car keys, and gets Tyler settled in child seat, then comes back into the house, picks Karen up and takes her to the car.
"Chris!" Jack calls out, spotting Chris in the ER and carrying Karen in his arms. "Oh my god, what happened!" Chris says. "Where's Tyler?" "Eve took him to daycare, he's fine. She was like this when I got home." Jack says, as they take Karen into a cubicle and lay her down on a gurney. "I -- I found these, Tyler had the bottle in his hands. It wasn't open, but -- it came out of her purse." Chris looks at the bottle. "Karen -- come on, talk to me." Chris says, trying to get her to wake up. "Do you think she took any of these?" Jack asks. "Karen doesn't use anymore -- she wouldn't do that." Chris says. "Then how do you explain --" "I don't KNOW, Jack -- this just doesn't make sense." Chris says, closing the curtains around them and making sure nobody sees them. "Did anyone see you bring her in?" "Just Eve -- I don't think anyone else really noticed, I spotted you right away." "Okay, stay with her for a minute -- I'm gonna get an IV and run a full blood panel on her." "Chris, maybe you should call someone else in here to --" "NO! I don't want anyone else to know about this, is that clear?" Chris says to Jack. "I'll be right back." Chris leaves.
"Look, I already told you Joe, I don't want to discuss this anymore, alright?" Frank says in the telephone, just as Katie enters the house. "Alright, fine -- I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye." Frank hangs up the phone. "Who's Joe?" Katie asks, sitting down on the couch. Frank sits down next to her. "My brother." Frank says. "He lives back out east -- he has a practice in a clinic in Appalachia. You know, it's really annoying when your little brother thinks he can tell you what to do with your life." "Are you close with him?" Katie asks. Frank sighs. "We used to be. There's some bad blood between us now. We've done our best to get past it, but -- I just don't think it's ever gonna be the same between us. But we still love each other." Katie gets a sad look on her face. "Do you have any brothers and sisters?" "I -- I have two brothers. But I haven't seen them in a long time." "Why not?" "We were put in foster care. Well, my little brother and I were. By my older brother -- he just dumped us there. And then my little brother and I got separated -- they promised we wouldn't be, but we were and -- I haven't seen him since I was a teenager." "I'm sorry -- have you tried finding either of them?" "I don't want to talk about this." Katie says, getting up and starting to leave the room. "Katie, I'm sorry, I just --" "Just -- just forget it." Katie says, and she goes down into her apartment. She sits down on her couch, and just breaks down in tears . . . . .
Chris enters Karen's cubicle, looking over the results of the blood panel that have just been brought to him. He sighs as he reads them. "What?" Jack asks. "Her bloodstream -- shows significant traces of mepragan. It's a painkiller and sedative -- she's got enough of the drug in her to knock her out cold for about eight or nine hours." Chris says. "So, she -- she's using." "I don't know." Chris says, glancing at Karen sadly. "Do me a favor -- take Tyler home. I'll -- I'll probably be here all night. I'm gonna try to sneak her into a room without anyone noticing." "Alright -- I'm sorry about this, Chris." Jack says. "Yeah -- me too." Chris says. Jack leaves, and Chris takes Karen's hand. "Oh, Karen -- what have you done?"
February 28, 2002 -- morning. Jack enters the bike shop, carrying Tyler in his arms. Teresa comes out of her apartment. "Hey -- what's he doing here?" Teresa asks, smiling at the little boy. "My -- my brother's wife is sick. He needed me to keep an eye on Tyler today." Jack says. "Is she gonna be okay?" "Yeah, I -- guess." Jack replies. "I won't be able to work today though -- you think you can handle things on your own?" "Yeah, no problem." Teresa says, still smiling at Tyler. "You want to hold him?" "Oh -- no, I'm terrible with kids. They hate me." "Hey, I wasn't that great at first either, but -- well, I got the hang of it. You know, he -- he IS your nephew, too." "Yeah, you're right -- he is." Teresa says. "Tyler -- this is your Aunt Teresa. You want to go say hi to her?" Teresa somewhat reluctantly reaches out and takes the boy into her arms. Tyler immediately starts playing with her hair. "He likes long hair -- his mom had really long hair." "Did you know her? Julie, I mean." Teresa asks. "Yeah, a little bit. I only knew her for a few weeks -- she seemed pretty nice. She loved my brother a lot." Jack tells her. "My mom would never -- let me meet her. Or my brother. And now they're both dead. She used to tell me about them, show me pictures -- when she had the time to bother with me. I was pretty much raised in boarding schools and by nannies. You know I never even came to America until I was sixteen -- I was determined to meet my family, and -- well, my mom caught me. She was livid. So I -- just took off." "You ran away?" "Yeah -- pretty stupid, huh?" "Nah -- I ran away from foster care. I was trying to find my sister, too. Never did though." "Yeah, but you found your brother." "Who do you think PUT me in foster care? I guess I don't blame him -- our dad was a real jerk, but -- hey, never mind, that's all in the past now." Jack says, as Tyler reaches out for him. "I need to get him back home -- I just wanted to come by and let you know why I wouldn't be in today." "No problem -- so I'll see you later. Bye Tyler." Teresa says, waving at Tyler. Tyler waves back to her. "Bye." Jack says, and he leaves.
Karen begins to awaken, and opens her eyes, looking around the room. Chris is in the chair next to her bed, asleep. "Tyler!" Karen calls out, and Chris wakes up "Hey -- it's okay, Tyler's fine." Chris says, sitting up and taking her hand. "What happened?" Karen says, trying to sit up, but feeling a bit light-headed. "Just take it easy. Let me check your vitals." "I feel like I have a hangover." Karen says. "What happened to me?" "Jack found you unconscious at the house. Karen, you -- I found significant traces of mepragan in your bloodstream." "What!" Karen says, shocked. "It wasn't an overdose, but -- well, it was enough to knock you out for awhile. Karen, I have to ask you -- are you --" "NO!" Karen shouts, starting to cry. "I'm not using, Chris, I've been clean for almost two YEARS now!" "Okay -- okay, calm down. Karen -- a bottle of mepragan was found in your purse. Tyler had gotten ahold of it." "Oh god -- Chris, he didn't --" "It's okay, he didn't take any. Do you have any idea how that bottle got there?" "I don't know -- my purse was in my locker all day." Karen says, very upset. "It's okay -- Karen, I believe you, alright." Chris says, squeezing her hand. "Tell me everything you did yesterday." "I -- just went to work as usual. When I was done, I went into the oncall room to finish up my paperwork. That -- that jerk Lance was in there. I got some things out of my locker, got myself some coffee and --" "Karen -- did you turn your back on Lance, even for a minute?" Chris asks. "No, I -- wait, I got a page so I made one phone call and -- well, then he left. I drank my coffee, finished my paperwork, and came home. I was just really tired when I got home and --" "Did you pour the coffee before you made the phone call?" Chris asks. "Yeah, I did but -- Chris you don't think that --" "I don't think -- I KNOW." Chris says angrily. "That lousy bastard." Karen starts to cry again. "I -- I worked so hard for my sobriety, Chris. My two-year anniversary was coming up, and --" "Shhh. I know -- I'm so sorry, Karen." "I -- I need to get to a meeting." Karen says. "Okay. I want you to eat something first, alright? I'll get you some breakfast, we'll go home, you can get a change of clothes, and I'll take you to a meeting. Alright?" Karen nods her head as Chris hugs her. "He's not gonna get away with this Karen -- there's no way he's gonna get away with this."
Katie enters the kitchen -- Frank is in there having breakfast. "Good morning." Frank says. "Hey -- I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you." "It's okay. I just -- it's really hard for me to talk about my family. We weren't exactly the perfect family like yours was." Katie tells him. Frank chuckles a bit. "My family was far from perfect." Frank tells her. "My dad -- he was an alcoholic. And he liked to smack me around all the time whenever he'd get drunk. I used to take my brother's beatings for him most of the time." "My dad drank, too." Katie says. "He drank, gambled -- he hit my big brother a lot. And he just took it. He took it for my little brother all the time." "Yeah, well big brothers tend to do that." "He never hit me, though. He always said I was his favorite -- that I was smarter and more clever than those two loser boys of his. He used to take me to poker games with him whenever we moved to a new town -- I used to pretend to just be wandering around the table, playing -- my dad and I had this whole code worked out, so I could signal to him what kind of hands the other players had." "Your dad USED you to scam people at poker?" "Yeah. I loved doing it -- I didn't know I was doing anything wrong, I just -- I just like being with my dad. And then when he won, he always took me out for pizza." "So why did you end up in foster care?" "I told you -- my brother took me there. I didn't want to go." "Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing." "NO! My father may not have been a saint, but he NEVER would have --" Katie stops suddenly. "What? Katie, what's wrong?" "Nothing. I - I need to go, I'm late." "Katie, come on -- I can tell you're upset --" Frank says, grabbing her arm. "Let GO of me!" Katie shouts, shoving him away and racing out the door, leaving Frank with a puzzled look on his face.
Late that evening, Chris knocks on Karen's bedroom door. "Karen -- can I come in?" Chris asks. There's no reply, so Chris opens the door and slowly peeks his head in. "Karen, are you okay?" Karen is sitting up on the bed, crying. Chris goes and sits down next to her. "You -- you want a pill, don't you?" Chris asks. Karen sadly nods her head yes. "I -- kind of had a feeling you'd be going through a little bit of withdrawal tonight. I mean -- it's been almost two years, and that was a pretty strong dose." "I want Frank." Karen tells him. "Do you want me to call him?" Chris asks. Karen looks up at him, surprised. "I -- I will." Chris starts to pick up the phone. "No -- don't. He'll blame this on you, Chris." "Yeah, you're right -- but this wasn't part of the deal." "I told you I was committed to helping you get Tyler." "Not like this." "If Nicole wants to play dirty -- I'll play dirty right back at her." Karen says. "Are you serious?" Chris asks, stunned. "Whatever scheme you cook up, Chris -- I'm in on it." "Okay." Chris says. "Hey -- I know I'm not Frank, but -- this is gonna be a rough night for you. If you need me -- I'm here." Karen thinks about it for a moment. "Okay." Karen tells him. "You want me to stay here with you?" Karen nods her head yes. "Alright then." Chris says. He reaches over and turns out the light, and pulls Karen close to him. He kisses her softly on the forehead. "It'll be alright -- you're gonna be alright." Chris whispers in a comforting tone, as Karen snuggles up to him.
Jack enters the bike shop, and walks toward the middle of the room. Someone walks up behind him, and suddenly he feels a sharp pain at the back of his head as someone strikes him with a blunt object. Jack falls to the ground in pain. The person turns on the lights, then looks down at Jack, who is on the floor, grabbing his head in pain. "Oh my god!" Teresa calls out, sitting down next to him. "Are you okay?" "Do I look okay?" Jack asks, trying to sit up. "I'm so sorry -- I thought you were a burglar or something." "Yeah, because a burglar would use their keys to the place, right?" Jack says, as Teresa helps him sit up. "Can you stand up?" Teresa asks. "I think so." Jack says. Teresa helps him up, and takes him into her room and helps him lie down on the bed. She starts to feel the back of his head. "That's a pretty nasty bump. I better get some ice." Teresa says, and she goes to get some ice and comes back and puts the ice pack on Jack's head. "Should I call your brother?" "Nah, I'll be okay. I probably -- shouldn't drive tonight though." "What were you doing here?" "I wanted to get caught up with the books tonight. I should have told you that I come in at night sometimes -- I'm sorry." "Yeah, you should have. I could have really hurt you." Teresa tells him. "Well, at least I know no one's gonna rip us off with you around here." Jack teases. "You want me to take you home?" Teresa asks. "Yeah, that would be a good idea." "Maybe we should go by the hospital first, get you checked out." "I live with two doctors Teresa, I'll be fine. I guess I'll do the books later." Jack says. Teresa helps him up and they leave.
March 1, 2002 -- morning. Karen wakes up and looks over at Chris lying next to her. She smiles a bit, as if noticing for the first time how attractive he really is. She reaches over and starts to cover him with the blankets which have been pulled away. Chris begins to wake up. He opens his eyes and looks up at Karen. "Hey." he says quietly, yawning a bit. "How you feeling?" "Better." Karen replies. "Has anyone ever told you that you snore, Ramsey?" Chris just laughs. "Sorry about that -- I didn't keep you up, did I?" "No, I -- Frank snores, too. Not as bad as YOU do, but -- I got used to it." "Julie snored. We used to joke that neither of us were bothered by it because we were both so loud." Chris recalls, getting a sad look on his face. "You miss her." Karen says, taking his hand. "More than you know." Chris says sadly. "I should go check on Tyler -- how about you? You need to go to a meeting or anything?" "I'm fine." Karen says. "I'd -- like to spend the day with you and Tyler. If that's okay." "Are you kidding, we'd love it. We're not doing anything exciting, just -- staying home. It's too cold to be out there anyway." "Well -- I'll stay home with you. You know, this being married to the CR really has its advantages. I like getting every other weekend off." Karen jokes. "Hey, if you do my ironing I'll throw in a 'No 12-hour shifts for a MONTH' bonus!" Chris jokes, getting up out of bed. "You wish!" Karen says. Chris laughs as he leaves the room.
Chris goes downstairs and is surprised to see Teresa in the kitchen, feeding Tyler, who is sitting in his high chair. "What are you doing here?" Chris asks angrily, walking over to Tyler. "I -- spent the night here because --" "Boy, you didn't waste any time getting into my brother's bed, did you?" Chris comments angrily. "Where's Jack?" "He's -- still asleep. I heard the baby making a lot of noise, and I went to check on him, and he was just standing up in his crib, throwing things, so I figured I would just --" "I never gave you permission to go anywhere NEAR my son." "I was just trying to help." Teresa says. "I only stayed here for Jack." "Oh, spare me the details. I think I can figure out on my own what you and my brother were up to all night." "No, you can't. I wanted you to check him over last night, but when we got here the house was dark and he didn't want to bother you." "Check him over?" Chris asks. "I -- kind of hit him over the head last night. He came into the shop, I thought he was a burglar and -- well, I think he's okay, I stayed up with him most of the night. But you'll probably want to check up on him anyway." Chris glares at her angrily. "You should have woke me up." Chris says. Karen comes downstairs. "Hey -- what is -- she doing here?" Karen asks. "Apparently she was here with Jack all night -- thought he was someone breaking into the bike shop and whacked him on the head." Chris says. "Is Jack okay?" Karen asks. "I'm gonna go find out --- will you finish feeding Tyler?" Chris asks. "Sure, no problem." Karen says. Chris grabs his medical bag and enters Jack's bedroom. Jack is asleep in his bed. Chris sits down on the edge of the bed and starts to check his vitals, and after a few minutes Jack wakes up. "Hey. You should have woke me up last night. You okay?" Chris asks. "I'm fine." Jack replies, sitting up. "Just a little bit of a headache." "Yeah, well you look alright. Any double vision, dizziness, nausea?" "No, just a headache." "Did you lose consciousness?" "No -- hey, I'm a Ramsey, I've got a pretty hard head." Jack says, as Chris feels the back of his head and Jack winces a bit. "Yeah, well you've also got a pretty nasty goose egg back there. But it looks like you're gonna be fine. You should probably just take it easy though today." "I will. How is Karen?" Jack asks. "She's okay now." "You gonna tell me what happened? Was she --" "Karen isn't using. That sleazebag Lance he -- he slipped the drug into her coffee is my guess. Per Nicole's orders, I'm sure. Nicole probably found out about Karen's history and -- she's not gonna get away with this, Jack." "Maybe Teresa can help." "Teresa -- the girl who just whacked you on the head last night, and then conveniently wants to take care of you all evening." "Chris, she didn't know it was me. It was a honest mistake." "There's not a damn thing honest about that girl, Jack -- I wish you could see that." "Chris, I like her, okay? I don't sit in judgment of your friends -- oh wait, that's because you don't HAVE any." "Oh, you're so funny. Karen and I are gonna be home all day with Tyler if you need anything. I'll check on you later, you just get some rest." Chris leaves the room. Karen is in the living room playing with Tyler. "Where's the prodigal daughter?" "Teresa left. I think you scared her." Karen says. "Good." Chris replies. "Chris, she seems really nice. Maybe you should give her a chance." "No way -- I wouldn't trust anyone with any kind of connection to Nicole as far as I can throw them. Why can't you and Jack see that?" "How is Jack?" "He's okay -- it's just a bump on the head, he'll be fine, I just told him to rest today." "So -- how are you gonna prove that -- what Lance did to me." "I don't know yet. Give me time to think something up. Whatever it is, it has to be good." Chris replies.
March 2, 2002 -- "Hey Ramsey -- where's that beautiful wife of yours?" Lance asks Chris as he spots him in the hall. "None of your business." Chris replies. "Boy, it must be nice to be in so tight with the CR -- I'd love to have more weekends off like she gets." "Well, don't count on it as long as I'm making the schedule. In fact -- you've got graveyard duty this week. Hope you don't mind." Chris remarks. "Aren't you carrying this little feud a bit too far?" Furious, Chris grabs Lance by the collar and shoves him against the wall. "Now you listen to me, you southern-fried jackass -- I know what you're up to, and you're NOT gonna get away with it. You stay the HELL away from my family, or so help me god, I will kill you!" "Hey, knock it off!" Scott shouts, pulling Chris off of Lance. "He's really sorry about that." Scott says. "It's alright -- no harm done." Lance says, straightening his shirt and walking away. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Ramsey?" Scott asks angrily. "Trust me, if you knew, you'd do the same thing." "Look, I don't like the guy either, but you can't go around beating up on him, it'll backfire on your case in court." Scott says. "He drugged Karen, Scott." Chris says. "What?" "He slipped some drugs into Karen's coffee and -- in her purse. I guess he was hoping that she'd get caught, and Nicole could say she was using again. Fortunately I was able to cover it up." "That son of a -- I'll kill him!" Scott announces, anger in his eyes. "I thought you said no violence." "Well, I didn't know what he did. Are you sure about this?" "There's no other explanation. Unfortunately, I can't prove anything. And if I try to, all I'll do is incriminate Karen. And lose my chance of getting custody of Tyler. What did you want, anyway?" "I just needed your signature on some paperwork. Court resumes tomorrow." Scott says. "I know -- and don't worry, I'll -- handle the Karen situation. He won't get away with it. No way." Chris tells Scott.
"Hey, thanks Chuck -- I owe you big time." Lance says, leaving the lab with a print-out of some test results. Lance goes into the oncall room and dials the phone. "Hey honey -- yeah, I got those test results. Can you believe Dr. Ramsey would try to cover for his drug-addicted wife? I told you I'd take care of things. You bet darlin' -- I'll see you tonight. Love you, too." Lance hangs up the phone, smiling proudly.
March 3, 2002 -- The custody trial resumes. Lance is asked by Nicole's attorney to take the stand. "Dr. Mayfield -- can you tell us what you saw a few nights ago in the hospital?" "Yes sir -- Dr. Ramsey came in to work for a bit, and -- well, he ended up staying pretty late. I got kind of suspicious, he was in this one patient's room for quite some time. So I sneaked a peek in there -- just curious, you know. And the patient was his wife, Dr. Wexler. Well, I was concerned, naturally. For Tyler, I mean. I had heard rumors about -- well, Dr. Wexler's past. That she was a drug user. I thought it was my obligation to investigate, so I went to the lab and found the test results -- and sure enough, Dr. Wexler was using again. I just felt the courts should know." "You lousy bastard! You PLANTED those drugs on Karen and you know it!" Chris shouts. "Dr. Ramsey, sit down!" the judge orders. "Do you have the lab results?" "Yes, I do." Lance replies. The test results are given to the judge, and he looks them over. The judge glances over at Karen, who is sitting next to Chris in tears. "Dr. Wexler -- do you know how serious these charges are?" "Yes, your honor, but I didn't take any drugs." Karen tells him. "I'm afraid these tests show otherwise. Dr. Ramsey, I'm sorry, but as of right now, the court has no choice but to limit you to supervised visitation of Tyler." "No -- no, you can't do that." Chris says. "The courts will give Nicole Mayfair and her husband Dr. Lance Mayfair temporary custody of Tyler Julian Ramsey. Dr. Chris Ramsey may have supervised visits for one hour, twice a week. You may re-petition the courts in three months, Dr. Ramsey, provided that your wife has gone through rehab and can prove herself to be free of any substance abuse." "This is outrageous! My daughter is NOT using drugs again!" Scott shouts. "I'm sorry -- my decision is made. Court is adjourned." the judge says, banging his gavel. He gets up and leaves. A social worker comes into the courtroom with Tyler. She walks right past Chris with him and hands him to Nicole, who smiles smugly at Chris. Tyler sees Chris and reaches out for him, crying. "Daddy!" Tyler cries out. "Tyler!" Chris shouts, starting to walk toward him. Jack and Karen hold him back. "Chris, don't -- it won't do any good." Jack tells him. "I love you, son!" Chris calls out, as Nicole and Lance leave the room with Tyler. Chris walks over to the window, and just stands there, staring outside. Karen walks up behind him. "I'm sorry." she whispers, putting her hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him back, Chris. Whatever it takes." "That was the first time he called me 'daddy'." Chris says, not turning around. "And now it might be the last." Chris finally turns around, and Karen is stunned to see his eyes welled up with tears, which are streaming down both of his cheeks. Chris doesn't say a word, but starts to sob as Karen pulls him close and hold on to him tightly.
Chapter 9 March 4, 2002 -- morning. "Chris -- come on, you can't hide in there all day!" Jack shouts, pounding on Chris' bedroom door. "What's going on?" Karen asks, coming out of her room. "He won't come out of there -- he locked the door, I can't get in. He hasn't left that room since we got home yesterday." Jack tells her. "Chris -- please open the door." Karen says, knocking quietly. "Chris, Jack and I just want to know that you're okay. If you don't open the door -- Jack will break it down." "I will?" Jack says. "Of course you will." Karen whispers through gritted teeth. "Chris, dammit, open the door!" Karen says, now pounding on the bedroom door. "Hey -- what are you two doing?" Chris says, walking up behind them. "Chris! I thought you were --" Jack begins. "What, holed up in my room feeling sorry for myself? Well, I was doing that for awhile, but -- well, that's not really gonna get me my son back, is it? I decided to take a long walk, and think about -- what I'm gonna do." Chris says. "And you LOCKED your bedroom door?" Karen asks. "It's not that I don't trust YOU, but -- well, I wouldn't put anything past Nicole." Chris says. "So what's your plan?" Jack asks. "I'm working on it -- I'll fill the two of you in once I get all the kinks worked out. But let's just say that Nicole and her boy toy husband are going to regret ever trying to take my son from me." Chris tells them. "Now, if you'll excuse me -- I have some -- personal things to take care of." Chris goes into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Karen looks at Jack in a puzzled manner. "Should we be worried about him?" Karen asks. "He's definitely up to something -- I just don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Jack replies. In the bedroom, Chris has the television on, and pops in a video tape. It's video footage he took of Julie, when they were together. "I hope this works, Julie -- please make this work." he says while watching the video.
"Hey -- good morning." Frank says as Katie comes upstairs into the kitchen. "Hi." Katie says quietly, ignoring him. "Katie -- come on, you've barely said two words to me in the past few days. Look, I'm sorry if I upset you -- if you'd just tell me what I did, then maybe we could --" "Frank -- you didn't do anything, okay? I just -- look, let's just forget it, okay? Forget any discussion we ever had on family and brothers and -- I just don't want to talk about it." "Okay -- okay, fine. So -- you working today?" "Yeah, I -- have a meeting." "Well, what -- time will you be home?" "Who are you, my mother?" Katie replies. "No, I just -- look, my girlfriend dumped me, my brother moved out, and -- I just hate -- eating alone. I thought I'd make us dinner." Frank says. "What's the catch?" "No catch -- I just like spending time with you. Is there something wrong with that?" Katie doesn't answer. "Look -- I can tell you haven't exactly had reason to trust many people in your life. But you can trust me. Do you want to have dinner tonight or what?" Katie thinks about it for a moment. "I'll be home by six." she finally says. "Okay -- see you then." Frank says. Katie leaves, and stares at the door for a moment as she closes it behind her.
"You're sure you can do this?" Chris asks Victor at the Recovery Room, handing him some video tapes. "Of course I can. It's quite simple really. But I must admit, the circumstances are very questionable Chris. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Victor asks. "I want my son away from that harpy and her boy toy husband. This is my best shot, Victor. It may be a bit unconventional, but -- it's the best thing I could come up with." "Isn't it a bit cruel, though?" "Look -- if someone had tried to take Kevin away from you when he was a baby, wouldn't you do whatever it took to get him back?" Chris asks. Victor sighs. "Alright -- I'll do it." "And you'll ask Lucy, right?" Chris asks. "Ask Lucy what?" Lucy says, entering the restaurant. "What are you two up to?" "Lucy, we were just --" Victor begins. "That's okay, Victor, I'll explain it. Nicole was granted custody of Tyler." Chris tells Lucy. "Oh my gosh -- Chris, I'm so sorry." Lucy says. "Well, you don't have to be. I've got a plan that I think will work. It'll sound a bit strange at first, but -- I really need your help. I know you don't think much of me, Lucy, but please --- just hear me out." Chris says, and he continues talking to her . . . .
"Teresa -- you here?" Jack calls out, entering the bike shop. "Yeah, I'm working." Teresa replies, standing up next to a bike she was working on. "From now on I'm gonna call out whenever I walk in -- just in case." Jack teases. "You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" "Hey, it hurt, alright?" Jack says. "I'm still so sorry -- you okay?" Teresa asks. "Yeah, I'm fine, but -- my brother's not. He lost custody of Tyler to your mother." Jack tells. "When?" "Yesterday -- Nicole's husband, he -- he slipped Karen some drug, and -- well, the courts found out about it, but they think Karen was using. Karen is a recovering addict -- and the courts took Tyler away from Chris based on what they heard." "Nicole used -- Karen's addiction against her?" Teresa asks, stunned. "You sound surprised." "Jack, I -- I have to go do something. I'll be back later, okay?" Teresa says. "Teresa, wait!" Jack calls out, but Teresa ignores him and leaves.
"How DARE you!" Teresa shouts, barging into Nicole's house. "Excuse me?" Nicole says. "You had your sleazy husband plant DRUGS on a former addict? How COULD you?" Teresa asks. "You mean Karen -- Ramsey's little fake wife? She chose to use again, and it cost her and her husband. He's probably sorry he married her." "That's a LIE! I've met Karen -- she's not using. I know what Lance did." "You know what Jack told you, isn't that right? Teresa -- need I remind you WHY you took that job working for Jack Ramsey? Well, so far you haven't done a damn thing to help me. Do you realize how much money it cost me to get you from doing some serious jail time?" "How could you use someone's addiction against them, mother? How COULD you? Do you know how hard it is to stay clean once you've been through that? I struggle with it EVERY day of my life -- what you did was unforgivable!" "You just never mind what isn't any of your business, little girl. Now, I know that Chris won't let me have Tyler without a fight -- I need YOU to find out what he's planning. And I need you to tell me what that plan is. So you'd better get moving, and starting using that charm of yours to cozy up to your new little friend Jack, and find out what his big brother is up to. You've got two weeks to tell me what I need to know -- or I'll just make a few phone calls, and your wardrobe needs will suddenly become very limited, if you get my drift. But I'm sure prison blue will be very becoming on you." "I hate you." Teresa says, in tears. "Oh well -- a mother can only do so much for her children. The rest is up to them." Nicole says, glaring at Teresa. Teresa leaves, very upset.
"So -- are you in?" Chris asks, as Victor, Lucy, and Karen sit in the living room with him. "Chris, this is MORBID -- I know I said I'd help, but -- I don't think I can do this." Karen says. "Karen -- Julie would have thought this was brilliant -- trust me, I'd never do it if I didn't think it would be something she'd be behind one-hundred percent. Hey, if you've got a better plan, you let me know what it is and I'll do it." Chris says. "Are you sure it'll work?" Karen asks. "Oh, absolutely -- I've done this sort of thing hundreds of times before, it's quite convincing." Victor tells her. "Who else knows about it?" Karen asks. "Just the four of us." Chris tells. "And Lucy -- you're okay with this, too?" Karen asks. "Well, I -- I did promise Julie that Christina and Tyler would remain close, and -- well, as much as I don't like Chris, I don't like Nicole even more. She doesn't deserve that little boy." Lucy says. "Alright then -- let's do this." Karen says.
March 6, 2002 -- "Hey Mayfield -- I made out the new schedule for the next three weeks. Here you go." Chris says, handing Lance a copy of the schedule. Lance looks it over. "Um -- I think you made a mistake here, Ramsey." Chris grabs the schedule from him, and looks it over. "Nope -- no mistake, that's right." Chris says, handing it back to him. "Look -- whatever you think of me, you have NO RIGHT to hold it against me professionally." Lance says. "Hold it against you? Hey, this job entails A LOT of responsibility. Much more than the average runny nose and broken appendage you see every day on ER rotation. But, if you don't think you can handle it . . ." "No, I -- I'll handle it. Thank you." Lance say, walking away. Chris grins wickedly. "Yeah -- we'll see about that." Chris says to himself.
"See, I told you this would be a nice day for a picnic." Frank says, as he and Katie find a place in the park and sit down. "Yeah, you were right -- it's actually pretty warm out for March." Katie comments. "You're sure your boss doesn't mind you taking the day off?" Frank asks. "No -- and actually, I don't care if she does." Katie says. The both look up as they spot Nicole walking down the path, pushing Tyler in his carriage. "Frank Scanlon -- nice to see you." Nicole says, glaring a bit at Katie. "Who's your friend?" "Nobody who needs to know anything about you." Frank replies smugly. "Oh, come on, Frank -- like you thought someone like Chris Ramsey should be raising a little boy? A guy who lies, cheats, steals -- well, he only steals girlfriends, doesn't he." Nicole comments. "Get out of here, Nicole." Frank says. "Well, you and your little friend have fun -- see you around." Nicole says, walking away. "Sorry about that." Frank says. Katie doesn't say a word. "Hey -- what's wrong?" "Nothing -- let's just finish our picnic, okay?" Katie suggests.
Lance enters the morgue cautiously. "Um -- hello?" Lance calls out. "Anybody in here?" The door to the cooler area slowly opens, and a tall figure comes out. Lance jumps back fearfully. "Oh, hello there." Victor says, wearing a lab coat, a fake beard, and glasses, and faking a British accent. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you Doctor Mayfield?" "Yes -- and -- you are --" "Dr. Jacob Stranahan -- it's a pleasure to meet you. I don't get upstairs too often, I'm afraid -- things get quite busy down here." Victor says, shaking his hand. "Which is why I'm so grateful for your help. My brother in London would have been furious with me if I were unable to attend my niece's wedding. I'll only be gone for three weeks -- but Dr. Ramsey says there's no need to worry, things down here would be in very capable hands. Why, he even said that he couldn't think of anyone who deserved this job more than you." "Yeah, I bet he did." Lance replies. "Now, don't worry, the job is very simple. Oh, and don't be bothered by the -- well, perhaps I shouldn't say anything." "What?" "Well -- there are some strange things that happen down here. Do you believe in ghosts, Dr. Mayfield?" "I -- I'm not sure." "Well -- no matter. You will after a few weeks here. You know, it's strange -- some of the spirits seem to like it here -- they stay long after their bodies have been claimed. I once had a wonderful conversation with a woman who died in 1943, right here in this hospital. Her husband had died in the war, and it was presumed that she had committed suicide -- that's what the autopsy report said. But she was MURDERED -- and she waited all that time here, just hoping that someone would come along that she could speak to, just to clear things up. It seems her deceased husband's brother poisoned her, and collected her insurance money. Now, mind you, most people don't have this kind of connection with the great beyond -- you really have to believe that these things can happen. I always have -- actually, I find the dead far more interesting than the living at times -- which is why I chose to work down here. They have such fascinating stories. Actually, one of the most interesting is this young lady who died not too long ago, of pancreatic cancer." "Cancer? What -- was her name?" "Oh, I don't know -- they never tell me things like that. They just need someone to talk to. Beautiful young girl -- she left behind a husband, two children -- her spirit has been very restless since her death though, because one of her children is in turmoil. She wants her husband to raise their child, and her mother, whom she was estranged from, is trying to take the little boy away from his father, just to gain access to his trust fund. Can you imagine something so cruel?" "No, I -- I can't." Lance says, growing more and more nervous. "Well, she still comes to see me quite often -- very pretty girl, long reddish-brown curly hair." Victor pauses for a moment. "Well, I've talked enough -- I've left a detailed log of any questions you may have while I'm gone. I'll see you in three weeks -- thank you again." Victor says, shaking his hand, and he leaves. Lance nervously looks around the room. He cautiously goes up to a cadaver lying on a table in the room, and slowly peels back the sheet. It's the body of a young woman -- her eyes are wide open. Lance jumps back nervously, then takes a deep breath, and reaches out and closes her eyes, and covers her back up with the sheet. He goes to Victor's notes, and starts to read them over, constantly looking up every few minutes. "Liar." he hears a woman's voice whisper. "Who's there? Is someone there?" Lance asks, looking around nervously. "You're a liar." the woman's voice whispers again. "Who are you? Go away, please." The lights in the morgue start to flicker. "Leave me alone!" Lance calls out. He hears the voice of a woman giggling. "You're a liar, Lance -- and you won't get away with it." the woman's voice whispers. "Look -- whoever you are -- if this is a joke, stop it, alright? Just stop it!" Lance shouts. Suddenly he looks up, and an image appears before him -- it's a woman, her back to him, with long curly hair. The woman turns around -- it's JULIE! She smiles, and then disappears. Lance then hears the woman giggling again. Terrified, he runs out of the room. He runs down the hall, and when he's gone, a closet door opens, and Karen and Victor step out of it. "You know, I shouldn't be enjoying this as much as I am." Karen says, holding a microphone in her hand. "You -- do Julie's voice very well, I must say." Victor tells her. "Well, Chris kind of helped me on that -- plus I spent enough time with her. I just -- hope she doesn't mind us doing this." "Well, from what I know of Julie -- I'm sure wherever she is, she's watching and enjoying every minute of it." Victor tells her.
Lance races into the oncall room, looking very pale. Chris is sitting in the room, going over notes. "Hey, what's wrong with you, you look like you've just seen a ghost." Chris says. "Look, this isn't funny Ramsey! I don't know how you did it, but you make it stop, and you make it stop NOW!" Lance shouts. "Make what stop? Gee, an hour in the morgue and the cadavers are already talking to you, huh? Better be careful, or after three weeks you'll be as nutty as that Dr. Stranahan. He actually thinks he makes friends with some of the people down there." "How come I've never met him before?" "Because he's a kook --- he never comes up out of the morgue, he likes it down there. He comes from a family of morticians in England, but he wanted to go into medicine. My understanding is his father was furious with him for not wanting to stay in the family business, and after his father died he claims the guy haunted him, so he quit his practice and took a job as a medical examiner. Apparently this appeased his father, and that's where he spends his whole day now, trying to make his father forgive him. I mean -- if you believe this sort of thing. Which I don't, of course." Chris says. "Hey, wait a minute -- you used to get all freaked out in med school whenever we had to dissect a cadaver. I remember that -- you wouldn't work on any John or Jane Doe -- you had to know every last detail about the person before you'd go near a body, isn't that right?" "It's called respect, Ramsey. Something you wouldn't know anything about." "Right -- look, I've got patients that are still alive who need me. You better get back to work, Mayfield -- oh, by the way, I just heard on the news that the guy who draws the Lotto numbers on TV passed away this morning -- if he comes to talk to you, see if you can find out what the winning numbers for today will be. I could always use some extra cash." Chris says, and he leaves, grinning a bit. He ducks into the stairwell as he turns the corner, where he meets up with Lucy. "Are you ready?" he asks her. "Yeah -- help me with this." Lucy says, and she pulls out a long, curly, red-headed wig. She puts it on, and Chris helps her straighten it out. "How does it look?" Lucy asks. "Turn around." Chris says. Chris looks at her from the back. "It's amazing --- if I didn't know it was you, I'd swear it was Julie." "Well, let's just hope this works, Chris. How's it going so far?" "Pretty good -- it won't take much to get him to crack." Chris says. "And then I'll get my son back with me, where he belongs."
Lance takes the elevator down to the morgue. He steps off the elevator, and hears footsteps. "Is someone there?" Lance calls out. He turns around, and sees someone walking down the hall -- a woman with long, red curly hair. "Julie?" Lance says, following the woman. He turns a corner, and she's gone. Lance shakes his head, and goes back into the morgue. "Alright -- you listen here -- I am NOT afraid of you. Do you hear me? I am not afraid of you." Lance sits down, and starts to go over some paperwork. After a few minutes, the lights begin to flicker again. "Alright, stop it! What do you want from me?" Lance calls out. "Confess." the woman's voice whispers. "You're not real -- that -- that nut Stranahan, he's just making my imagination play tricks on me. And the lights, that's just an electrical malfunction. You are NOT real!" "Confess, Lance!" the voice calls out again, and Julie's ghostly image appears once more. "You -- you stay away from me!" Lance shouts, and he races out of the morgue.
"Oh, god, that was more fun than it should have been." Karen says to Chris, as they both pack their things up in the oncall room. "Yeah, see, I told you -- and I promise, Julie would be thrilled with the sheer brilliance of it all." Chris says. "How did you come up with this plan, anyway?" "Well, I was thinking the other night, and -- I remember that Lance got really freaked out by dead bodies. I heard stories that his grandmother was some kind of -- I don't know, fortune teller or medium or whatever. Anyway, he was pretty convinced that if he did anything to any of the cadavers that they wouldn't like, they'd come back and get him for it. So I figured, let's see if he's still just as paranoid about the paranormal as he was back then. And he is -- he'll crack in no time, he won't be able to take it for very long." "It's amazing what Victor can pull off with a hologram." Karen says. "Yeah -- that's why I asked him, I knew what kind of work he used to do. He was a little reluctant at first, but -- I convinced him. Don't worry, Karen -- your name will be cleared, and Tyler will be home with us, where he belongs."
"How nice of you to take time away from your new boyfriend to come and see me." Nicole says, as she lets Katie in. "I want out." Katie tells her. "That's exactly what I was thinking. You did your job -- time to move on." Nicole says. She goes into another room, and comes back out with a large briefcase. She opens it to show it to Katie. "It's the amount we agreed on -- time for you to leave Port Charles, Katie." "What if I don't want to?" Katie asks. "You were brought here to do a JOB -- find out whatever dirt you could about Karen Wexler. Well, you did that -- time to move on. Chris is miserable, I have my grandson -- and his money, and you have your money and you're not in jail. And you know where your precious baby brother is if you ever want to contact him." "I like it here -- I'm staying." Katie says. "Well, well -- did the handsome Mr. Scanlon get to you? I thought you never let your emotions get the better of you, Katie. Guess I was wrong. Just remember this -- if you choose to stay here, you don't say a word about me. Is that clear?" "Crystal." Katie says, grabbing the briefcase from Nicole. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other." Nicole says, and Katie leaves. A few minutes later, Lance bursts in the front door. "Nick! Nicole, where are you?" he shouts. "Lance, quiet down, Tyler is taking a nap, you'll wake him." Nicole says. "Nick, we've gotta give that little boy back to his daddy." Lance tells her. "What? What are you talking about?" "Nicole -- Julie doesn't want us to have him. He needs to be with his father." "Julie's DEAD Lance -- it doesn't matter what she wants." "No -- it does matter. I've seen things, Nick. Ever since I was a little kid -- with my grandma." "Yeah, you've already told me a million times about your grandma the charlatan spirit counselor." "She wasn't a charlatan -- she could see 'em, and hear 'em. I could too, sometimes. She always thought I had the gift, just like her. I've just tried to ignore it, that's all. But I saw her -- plain as day, I saw her, and I heard her. And she's not happy." "Well, of course not, she's dead -- I'd be pretty mad too if I were her." "How can you take this so lightly, Nicole? This is your DAUGHTER we're talking about!" "Julie stopped being my daughter years ago. When she cut me off from all of her money. Whatever you think you saw, or heard, you probably just imagined it. Now isn't the time for you to grow a conscience Lance." "I know what I saw, Nick -- she's not going away, not till she gets what she wants." "Honey -- go lie down, you've obviously had a rough day." Lance hesitates. "Go on -- go!" Nicole orders him. Lance reluctantly goes upstairs. "Great -- just what I need, on top of everything else. A crazy husband and my daughter coming back from the grave to haunt him. Well, that's just too bad, Julie." Nicole says out loud. "You're not getting what you want this time. This time, mommy wins." |