Episode 101, originally published 25-Jun-98

Coming a-Cross

Phyllis is together with Michael at their apartment as he prepares to go off to work. "So what's on the agenda today for the Mighty Michael Baldwin?" she asks. Michael shrugs. "You know I can't talk to you about these things, Phyllis. It's a violation of lawyer/client privilege." "Oh, come on, Michael. What about man/woman privilege? I give you a lot of privileges with me, the least you could do is give me something in return." Michael sighs. "Look, someone is depending on me." "Yes, yes, so you've told me. Your client. Mrs. Victor Newman," she says in a stilted tone of voice that sounds like she's trying to be sure to properly capitalize the name. "Exactly," Michael says. "Oh, come on, Michael. Please?!?" she whines. "All right, look, I'll tell you just one thing but you can't repeat this to anyone, is that understood?" She stands up straight and salutes. "Yes, sir, Mr. Baldwin. Clearly understood, sir!" she responds. "It's a little complex but the way Victor is living his life right now is working against him, and I'm going to trick him into documenting it." "Trick him? How on Earth?" "I'm arranging to have a video camera delivered to him as an anonymous gift. My feeling is that he and this woman he's spending time with will accept the camera and use it to film some situations that perhaps I can use." Phyllis looks surprised. "Do you think that will work?" Michael says, "I think it will, actually. And even if Victor doesn't fall for it, I'm sure this woman he's been shacking up with will. BUT--it has got to come as a surprise, so you mustn't tell anyone, is that understood?" She nods and kisses him. "There, she says. My lips are sealed."

Flashlight in hand, Jill heads up the stairs into the attic to look for something of Phillip's that she can use against Katherine. Brushing aside the cobwebs, she fans herself with a flat, old piece of wood and remarks, "It certainly is hot up here." She pulls out a knife and cuts her way into box after box with no success. Then suddenly she hears Esther's voice from downstairs, somewhat muffled by the attic door which she has closed behind her. "Jill? Jill are you up here?" Jill douses the flashlight and becomes very still. "Jill?" she hears again. The camera cuts away to show Esther and Katherine together in the hallway looking for her. "Try up there," Katherine says, motioning to the attic door. Esther opens it and calls up the stairs, "Jill?" No answer. "Go up and see," Katherine says. Esther points upward and says, "It's dark up there," she says. "Even Jill wouldn't be up in a place like that in the dark." Katherine accepts the claim and nods. They close the door and look around for other places. Katherine reaches into a purse she's carrying and hands a small paper bag to Esther. "Here," she says. "What's this?" Esther asks. "A combination lock," Katherine says. "I want you to lock the attic so that Jill can't get up there." (Conveniently, there is a clasp just for such a purpose on the outside of the door leading up.) Esther pulls out the lock and removes it from its packaging. She reads the combination off of the package and turns the lock until it opens. Then she attaches it to the door, and asks, "What should I do with the combination?" Katherine waves her hand around saying, "I don't care. Throw it in the fire. I don't care if I ever go up there again. I just don't want Jill to get up there either." Esther looks unsure. "But Mrs. C, what if--" Katherine stops her. "Esther, just do it." Esther and Katherine walk off out of sight.

Phyllis is at Jabot and wanders into Victor's office. Yeah, you guessed it: "His secretary wasn't at her desk." But alas, Victor's not at his desk either. Phyllis sighs aloud, "Darn, I really wanted to meet this man that Michael's up against." She seats herself in his chair and begins spinning it around in circles for fun. Just then, Nikki enters and looks at Phyllis. "Just who in the Hell are you?" Nikki asks indignantly. Phyllis decides to push her luck and says, "I should be asking you the same question." "I'm Mrs. Victor Newman," Nikki says. "Now, who are you?" Phyllis smiles. "Calm down," she says. "I'm Phyllis Romalotti--I'm a friend of Michael Baldwin, your lawyer." Nikki's face shows no recognition. "Oh, it's ok," Phyllis says. "He and I are very close--he's briefed me on your situation." "Has he?" Nikki asks, not wanting to reveal too much too quickly now that she understands the confusion. She adds: "Just what has he told you?" "Well, for starters I know all about Michael's plan--he really is such a brilliant lawyer, you know. Doesn't it make you feel good being in such confident hands?"

"His plan?" Nikki asks innocently. "You know--about the video camera he's going to send Victor as an anonymous gift. Michael is such a genius. The way he's going to trap Victor and this tramp he's hanging out with into doing his own surveillance--precious, just absolutely precious." "Tramp?" Nikki says, picking up the personal bits. "Oh, absolutely. I hear she's not too quick on the uptake. She'll be putty in Michael's hands." "Well, I wouldn't sell her short," Nikki advises. "She just might surprise you." "Me perhaps. But not Michael. Don't worry. Your case is in good hands." Nikki smiles. "I'm sure it is, Ms. Romalotti. I'm quite sure it is. Thank you for stopping by and sharing this information. But now, I hope you don't mind--I need to see Victor myself on a rather personal matter." "Ok," Phyllis says. "I don't want to get in the way--but don't let him mistreat you. Remember, that's what you have Michael to help you with." "Indeed," Nikki says, and Phyllis leaves.

In the attic, Jill hears the door close and waits a short while before turning on the light again. Then she goes back to her searching. Nothing. "Damn!" she says quietly. "Well, I'd better quit for the day. It's too hot up here to be here very long." Then she shakes her head and proclaims angrily to herself as she descends the stairs, "Oh, Katherine, you may be putting me through Hell now but when I find what I'm looking for I'm going to--" She stops as she tries to push the door and it won't open. She bangs. No answer. She yells, "Esther!" No answer again. "Well," she says, "I'll just have to wait a while until that ditz Esther comes up here looking for me again." She sits down and waits. Her lips are dry. "Boy, what I wouldn't give for a cool glass of water right now."

Victoria says to Neil, "Well, my Doctor says that if I got pregnant in January, it's too late now to get an abortion, so I guess I'd better start thinking about getting married for the sake of my baby." Neil nods. "Yeah, well, I've been doing some math, too, and I realized something." Victoria looks at him uncertainly. "This doesn't sound good." "Well, it's not that I don't love you, but I may have overpromised what I could do for you." "You're not going to marry me?" "I can't." "Can't? What do you mean you can't?" "Well, you see, I forgot I was already married." "You forgot? I thought you and Dru were divorced." "Separated." "Separated?? Neil even if you flew to the Dominican Republic today and got one of dad's patented quickie divorces, you'd have a six month waiting period ahead of you. What on earth are you doing going around proposing to a pregnant woman under such circumstances?" "Well, I'm afraid I just got a little ahead of myself." "Neil! This is not just getting a little ahead of yourself. This is being a first class jerk." Neil bows his head in shame. "But I'm gonna make it work, I promise. I just have to think of a way." "Neil, you can't make it work. You lied to me." [Cue the ominous music on the word "lied". Cut to Neil's face as he realizes the cardinal sin of Neilhood has been committed. Someone thinks he lied. Nothing could be worse.]

The attic, much later in the afternoon than before. Jill crawls up the stairs and finds some papers in a box. She fusses around some more and finds a pen. With the pen, she writes the word "HELP!" and slides the paper under the door.

Nick is with Cassie in the stable. Both have boxing gloves on. "Alright," he explains, "if you're going to be a member of this family, you're going to have to learn how to box." Cassie looks unsure and says, "Why?" Nick looks back at her puzzled. "You know," he says, "I never thought to ask. But hey, it's true. My old man boxes, and I box, and now you can learn." "It seems really dumb to hit people for a reason you don't know," Cassie says. "If you get hit in the head, won't it cause braindamage?" Nick scratches his head. "Not that I can remember." "Have you ever been hit in the head, Nicholas?" she asks. "Uh, not that I can remember," he says. "But if you had been hit in the head, you might not remember because you might have hurt your brain, right?" she asks. "Hey!" he chides her. "These questions are way too complicated for a beginning boxer to have to worry about." "What should I worry about instead?" Cassie asks. "Nothing," he tells her. "Nothing at all. Now hit me. Right here," he says, pointing with one glove to his chin. Cassie winds up and punches Nick. He bowls over in pain, clutching his groin, and falls to the floor, where he continues to wriggle in obvious pain. "I'm sorry, Nicholas," Cassie says. "That's as high as I could reach!" Just then, they hear the voice of Sharon in the distance. "Cassie, Nicholas,... supper!"

Neil is in his office pacing the floor. Malcolm enters. "I've got a problem," Neil says. "Damned right you got a problem," Malcolm says. "You knocked up the boss's daughter and you gotta do something, Neil. Now I got you this first class airplane ticket to Fiji. I suggest you go there and never come back and hope that old man Newman doesn't come after you." "The child is not mine, Malcolm. And it's not going to be unless I do something." "Man, what are you talking about. The child is not yours, but you want it to be? Are you crazy?" "I was thinking of marrying Victoria..." Neil says. Malcolm slaps his brother once on each cheek as if perhaps he'd been unconscious. "Neil. Neil. Can I help you with some math here, bro?" He counts on his fingers. "See this finger? This is Dru. You' married to her. That's one. And see this finger? That's Victoria. If you marry her, too, you gonna have how many wives. Neil? Are you with me, Bro? Can you count the fingers here? 'Cuz I count two." Neil turns away and says, "Yeah, yeah, I've been through that. I'm trying to figure a different way to run the numbers." "Oh, yeah, like what. You gonna call the airlines and have them crash Dru's plane? 'Cuz if Dru turns up dead that's the only way you're gonna be free in time for a wedding..."

Victoria is on the phone to Cole. "Look, Cole, I know I told you the baby was dead, but I lied, ok? But I also lied that it was yours. It's really Neil's. Only one thing--Neil's married. And that means he can't marry me. At least not right away. So I need a favor from you. A big favor..."

Nick is at his house eating his first dinner of the evening when suddenly the phone rings. "Oh, honey, do you have to answer it?" Sharon asks as he gets up to get it. "Why don't you just let it ring?" Cassie says, "The answering machine will get it." Nick shakes his head and says, "Can't. Might be work. I left Grace there working on something important and--" He picks up the phone and says, "Nick Newman." The camera cuts away to Grace who says, "Nick, thank God it's you. I'm at the office and I need you here right away." "I'll be right there," Nick says, willing to drop everything without any statement at all of a reason. He puts down the phone. "You're going back to work?" Sharon says sadly. Nick hugs her and says, "I have to. It's work. But don't worry--if it's something small I'll be back in time for the second dinner of the evening and we can have hot dogs and hamburgers." "Oh, boy!" Cassie says. "A second dinner. We never had that at Grace and Tony's or at Millie's. I was lucky if I got a first dinner." Sharon strokes her hair and smiles.

Later, Esther is going by the door and sees the paper sticking out. She picks it up and reads it. "Help," she says. "Must be from Jill," she says. "She's the only one that calls me `the help' around here these days. Even Mrs. C. knows my first name." She thinks for a moment and then adds, "Hey, where is Jill anyway. I never did find her earlier and now--" She looks at the door and sees it's securely locked. Just in case, though, she bangs on it. "Jill, are you in there?" she asks. On the other side of the door, Esther's banging wakes up a very depleted Jill. She barely musters the word. "Esther?" Esther rushes up to the door. "Jill? Is that you? You sound so far away." "I'm trapped in here, Esther. Open up." "I can't," Esther explains. "It's locked--with a combination lock--and Mrs. C. had me throw away the combination." Jill is infuriated. "Esther, did you open the lock to lock it?" "Yes, but I had the combination then. I don't remember it now," Esther explains. "Well, try, Esther. Just try." Esther looks flustered. "Oh, I remember it was somebody's birthday," she says. "Well, whose?" Jill coughs. "It's not like you have some huge social circle!" Jill mutters under her breath.

At the office, Grace hands Nick a pile of papers to read while she makes up some tea. As she makes it, she drops a few drops of something into his cup and stirs it in. Then she takes the tea to Nick, who begins sipping it immediately as he continues to read. A few moments later, he's already looking pretty sleepy. He sets the paper down and yawns, then continues to read. "Wow, is it later than I thought or...?" His voice trails off as he slumps over. Grace pulls him onto the couch. There she loosens his tie and removes it. Then she removes his shoes, and finally his pants, leaving him in a button-down shirt that is open at the top and a pair of boxers. She then goes out of the room for a moment to pour out the mug of tea and then returns and begins to strip down to a very compromising level herself. She slides in next to him on the couch and feels his arms attach automatically as she does. She looks down at the trail of clothing from the desk to the couch and smiles a sly smile.

Cole explains the situation to Ashley. "Look, Ashley, it's just for a little while. She'll have the baby. It will be born in wedlock. And then I'll divorce her and come back to you and we'll all live happily ever after. Now, will you let me do this? I know it's a lot to ask, but you know it's you I love and not Vikki. And this is just about bringing a family together--you know, like Victor did with Dia--well, maybe that's a bad example. Or how about Ryan and Nina--that's a better example. He's just getting back with his wife out of kindness, and hasn't dumped his fiance..." "Yet," says Ashley. "Exactly," says Cole. "So what do you say? Will you do this? For the sake of a poor little baby that won't have a father otherwise...?"

The phone rings at the Newman residence and Cassie answers. "Hey, Peanut," Tony says. "How you doing?" "Tony!!" she says with glee. "I'm fine. We're just sitting around waiting for Nick to come home so we can have our second dinner." "Second dinner, huh? Sounds like you're doing alright for yourself since you moved out." "Oh, yes," Cassie says. "As you know, I can easily be bribed with food and there's certainly a lot of food to be had here at the ranch." "Well, that's great, I guess. Listen, is Sharon around?" Cassie nods. "She's right here. Do you want to talk to her?" "Yes, please," Tony says. Cassie hands the phone to Sharon. "Hi, stranger!" she says. "Stranger? Who are you calling a stranger." "Well, we hardly ever see you over here," Sharon says. "Well, what about joining me tonight?" Tony says. "Tonight?" Sharon asks. "Do you know what time it is?" "Sure," he replies. "It's almost time for dinner number 2." Sharon laughs. "Ok, I admit it. We do have some odd eating habits around here. So what did you want to do instead?" "Well, I was thinking of an impromptu visit to Newman Enterprises, to see what's so important that Grace and Nick had to be out tonight..." Sharon mulls it over. "Ok, that sounds fine. Can I bring Cassie?" "Absolutely," Tony says. "Now how 'bout I meet you at Newman Enterprises in half an hour?" "Perfect," Sharon says, "we have a date." And she hangs up. "A date?" Cassie asks curiously. "It's just an expression," Sharon says. "But I hear the way your voice gets when you talk to Tony. It's not just an expression, is it?" Cassie asks. Sharon looks at her, surprised. "I take the 5th amendment," she says. Cassie frowns. "The fifth amendment is a right of the individual against the federal government. It can't be invoked by one member of the civil population against another in casual conversation," she explains. "Did anyone ever tell you you're way too smart for your age?" Sharon says. Cassie smiles. "You like him, don't you?" she asks. Sharon smiles, and tries to change the subject. "Help me get Noah ready. We're going to have to leave him with Miguel at the main house." "Ok," Cassie says, "we'll take a recess now and I'll resume my cross-examination in the car."

Esther says, "I've got it!" and turns the combination. The lock falls open, but she doesn't remove it from the clasp. Jill pounds on the door and we barely hear her dry, crackling voice through it, "Esther, you open this door right away or I'll--" "You'll what, Jill?" Esther says. "I'm the only one who knows you're in there. I'm saving your life. You can speak nicely to me." "Ohhhhh, Esther, when I get out of here--" "IF you get out of there." "What do you mean IF I get out of here?" "Well, Jill, I was thinking--you must want something awfully bad up there." Jill is silent. "So I think you should give me half of it--and, in exchange, I'll rescue you." "Esther! You have no right to do this." "Jill, you have no right to be poking around in Mrs. C's locked attic. We tried to tell you. Now I think I hear Mrs. C. calling me to come bake her a cake..." "Esther!! You get back here right away." "Or what, Jill?" "All right. All right. I'll give you 25% of what I get." Esther shakes her head. "I have a cake to go cook. Gee, I hope using the stove doesn't make the house any hotter." "Alright! 50%. Now get me out of here now!" "Not so fast," Esther says. She goes to her room and gets a piece of paper and writes a note that says, "I, Jill Abbott, promise to immediately give half of any interest in the Chancellor Estate to my good friend Esther Valentine." She goes back and shoves the note under the door. "Sign it," she says. Jill reads the note. "It's too dark in here," she says. "You managed to write your help note. You can sign it." Jill does and jams it back under the door. "Now open this!" she says. "Just one minute," Esther says, going to hide the note in her room. Finally she returns and starts to remove the lock.

The door falls open and Jill falls onto the floor. Esther prods her tentatively with her foot like a recently slain animal that might not be fully dead. "Jill?" Jill looks up at her but makes no sound. She makes a motion with her hand to her mouth as if she needs to be fed. "Geez, Jill," Esther says, "I just saved your life and all you can do is ask me to get you food. I should have just left you in there." Jill can barely move and cannot speak, but her eyes flare slightly in anger at this. She points to the paper that says "HELP!" on it. Esther again shakes her head. "Jill, will you stop calling me that? My name is Esther and I'm not getting you any food until you speak to me respectfully." Jill starts to pull herself up, perhaps to strangle Esther, but hasn't the strength. She falls unconscious on the floor. "Jill?" Esther asks. "Jill?" She rushes to the bathroom and gets a glass of water. Then she returns to Jill and tries to get her to drink it. Failing at that, she pours the glass over Jill's head in frustration. Jill looks up at her and says, "Esther..." "Yes, Jill?" "I could kill you...." she says. And then she slumps back into unconsciousness.

At the office, Cassie runs ahead of Tony and Sharon and peers in the door to Nick's office. She gasps. Tony and Sharon start to move more quickly. "What is it?" Sharon calls to her. "Shhhh," Cassie says. "You'll wake them." "Wake them?" Sharon asks. Cassie nods. "It looks like they're sleeping together." Sharon panics as she approaches. "Cassie, don't look!" "No, I really mean sleeping together," Cassie says. Tony and Sharon peer in to see that she's right. Both look astonished but decide not to wake them. "Shall I wake them?" Cassie asks. "No," Tony says. "They look tired. Let's leave them to sleep." "But what about us?" Cassie asks. Tony smiles. "I think it's time for hamburgers and hot dogs back at the pool, don't you?" he asks. Cassie nods and runs back toward the car. Tony turns and looks at Sharon. "You up for it?" he asks. Sharon nods. "You don't know what you're getting yourself in for," she says. "I don't?" Tony asks. "The food is just an excuse to end up by the pool, so Nick and I can go skinny-dipping," Sharon explains. Tony grins. "So who says I didn't know that?" Tony says. "I'll just, uh, fill in for Nick," Tony adds with a wink. She blushes, and he prods her a little more. "You'll love it, I promise. You wouldn't mind my taking a little dip with you, would ya?" She looks at him surprised. "Are you kidding?" she asks, "I can feel myself getting all wet just thinking about it."

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 102!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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