Garish And Commercial

Chelsea comes into the Cheatin' Heart as Max works on the keg mechanism below the bar and spits out a string of expletives. Suddenly, everything snaps into place. "Hey," he says, "That worked. I'll have to remember that choice word and start cursing sooner next time." Chelsea is despondent about Kate. "How is she," asks Max.

"Bad."

"I know that," says Max, "I was talking about her condition."

Lucas gets off the phone and tells Chloe Austin and Will's results are being sent over. Chloe tries to be upbeat and attempts to encourage him.

"I don't want to talk about it," says Lucas.

"If you don't want to talk, things must be worse than I thought," says Chloe.

Melanie sits at the kitchen table working on a computer. She rants about actually having to do some work, "I've been doing this for half an hour. Time for a break." She leaves Maggie a note not to touch the computer and lays it on the keyboard, then trundles out.

Phillip sits with Kate. Kate says, "One of the upsides of having a less than traditional mother is you can be a less than traditional son, so I don't need you here holding my hand. You don't have to worry about me giving up. I'm gonna fight like hell."

"But not alone," says Phillip.

"Absolutely not alone," says Kate.

Marlena apologizes to John about the shrink switcheroo. Charlotte tells her about Kenneth's death. Marlena thinks Charlotte should have notified her. John steps in, "Well... let's not get caught up in a little technicality."

Daniel tells Kate they're testing blood samples for donors.

PAIN!

"OMG," says Kate, "I think I'm losing the baby. Please don't' tell EJ~"

"Awright," shouts Daniel, "Which one of you clowns switched her script with Nicole?"

Daniel offers to increase the dosage of painkillers. "No more morphine," says Kate, "I'd rather lie here and scream and writhe. "

Brady and John stick their heads in, "We'll take whatever she doesn't want."

Kate breaks down. She says she knows there is a match out there somewhere, "But I am who I am and I have to face the facts that this is bad." She turns to Phillip, "If the treatment gets too bad... I have to know you will respect whatever I decide. Can you do that, Phillip?"

Maggie just happens to be strolling in the crummy part of town and she finds Melanie at the pier. Melanie stares at the water, "If it weren't so cold I'd jump right in."

The audience chants, ""JUMP! JUMP!"

She tells Maggie she's taking a break from work. Maggie asks what she is working on. Melanie says, "Phillip said I could only keep the job if I learned everything on the USB, so I Googled 'USB' and I read all about it. Now that I've finished, I came down here to catch the Universal Serial Bus and see what it's like actually to ride it. I wonder what Phillip is up to. I think he gave me this test I can't pass to prove he's not mean. He's not returning my phone calls or messages." Maggie fills him in on Kate's condition. Melanie wishes there were something she could do. Maggie tells her just the offer to help would mean a lot, and she suggests Melanie be tested. Melanie jumps for joy, "I could do that!"

Marlena turns green and wonders why John thinks things are so peachy. Charlotte says she left messages about Kenneth's death at Marlena's office. "I haven't picked up my messages lately," says Marlena, "I've been too busy nagging John. I just think this whole situation is kind of funny."

John defends Charlotte, "Not much amuses you, I'm glad this does." Marlena is a lot of things, but amused isn't one of them.

Charlotte chimes in, "Mr. Black's case is along the lines of my father's research..."

John interrupts, "Call me John."

Marlena gives him a nasty look, "In a minute they'll be calling you Eunuch. "

Charlotte continues, "I have one reservation about working with John: The relationship between the two of you."

Chloe and Lucas lie in bed. Lucas says their engagement should be a happy time for Chloe, but since they have to keep it a secret, she's probably not thrilled she can't blab it all over town.

"I'm happy just wearing the engagement ring," says Chloe, "with a neon sign pointing to it and flashing, 'ENGAGED! ENGAGED!' Most of my secrets have been bad ones so I'm just happy to have a good secret for a change."

Lucas asks, "Are you sure you're happy?"

Chloe says, "Yes, I really am. I'm engaged to you and we're moving into an incredibly beautiful house... It does have an elevator, doesn't it? " They get down to business.

Max serves Chelsea a soft drink and offers something to eat. "I don't feel like eating," says Chelsea.

"You're not hungry," asks Max.

"I'm not anything," says Chelsea, "I'm numb."

"That takes care of your brain," says Max, "How about the rest of you?"

Chelsea says she feels worthless, "Everyone has been given a blood test except me."

"Why not you," asks Max.

"I'm still studying for the test."

Kate promises Phillip she will take every chance, but if there comes a time there are no more chances she'll throw in the towel and wants Phillip to tell the others. She says she's asking him because he's turned into a most amazing bionic man and knows he can handle it. She asks him to leave so she can talk to Daniel. Phillip goes.

Daniel says he doesn't want her thinking of the downside, "Right now, you have more important things to concentrate on. Your insurance company rejected your next round of treatments, so I'll need you to sign everything over to the hospital before we can go ahead."

Stephanie brings a folder full of things for Phillip's signature. Phillip thanks Stephanie for her support. Hugs. Melanie watches. Stephanie says, "I got tested. It's probably a long shot, but you never know."

Phillip repeats, "You never know."

Phillip tells her to take the rest of the day off, "I'd like to think someone was having a nice day."

"That's very generous," says Stephanie, "Thanks."

"There's nothing generous about it," says Phillip, "I said take the day off. I didn't say I would pay you for it." Stephanie leaves.

Melanie walks up. Phillip snorts, "What are you doing here?"

John tells Marlena he opened up during their session in the park. Marlena can't believe Charlotte had the session in a non-clinical environment. She lectures Charlotte about how to handle John's case. Charlotte says, "You're second guessing me."

"When I deal with a patient," says Marlena, "I'm always guessing."

John says he's absolutely willing to see Charlotte again, "Absolutely... as long as you're willing to back off... for my sake, Blondie."

Kate wonders if Daniel has eaten yet today. Daniel says, "I'm going to get your chart and write, 'Patient is a nag.' And I'm going to draw a picture of a horse beside it so there is no confusion about what I mean by 'nag.' I'm going to do everything I can for you."

Kate says, "I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself. About your wife..."

Daniel says, "This is only about you."

"Liar."

Daniel shakes his head as his pants burst into flames.

Max says Chelsea is starting to tick him off. He reminds her she can't be tested because she donated part of her pancreas to Bo. Chelsea says, "I came here for a friend. You could have done that without yelling or making me feel stupid." They make up and hug.

Lucas and Chloe hug, too. With a little more enthusiasm and scenes of candles and body parts.

Phillip gets upset, "Do you think my life is a spectator sport?" Melanie tells him she came to the hospital to be tested. She starts to go but he stops her.

"I just want you to understand," says Melanie, "I'll leave you alone." She runs off.

"Finally," says Phillip, "Something good happened in my day."

John says he's starting therapy if Marlena will back off. He gets a call and goes off to take it.

Charlotte says, "I know you know he knows that you know and I know he's onto us."

Marlena's head spins, "Could you run that by me again? "

Charlotte says, "What's important is he's agreed to meet with me and that's the first hurdle." Marlena thinks Charlotte's not as academic as her father. Charlotte says, "I think I'm more like you. By the way, I'm affiliating with your hospital." Marlena doesn't volunteer to throw the 'welcome aboard' party.

Melanie comes back to the pier where Maggie has been trolling. Melanie asks Maggie's advice about being nice, and says she didn't go to the hospital to get points from Phillip. She was really trying to help, "I always do everything wrong. Phillip just doesn't want me around. Maybe that's why he gave me all that work."

Maggie says Phillip knows in a way Melanie has been through something just as bad as what he is going through now, "That might be hard for him to deal with, so he doesn't want you around. Either that or the fact that you're just simply a despicable human being."

Stephanie walks up to Patch and Kayla in the park. She juggles the coffee she is bringing them and drops one of the cups, "DAMMIT!"

Kayla pulls the emergency bar of soap out of her purse and washes out her daughter's potty mouth.

Daniel leaves a Christmas ornament at Kate's bedside. Kate wakes and sees it, "That's kind of hideous. In fact it's so hideous, I think we should write 'Melanie' on it and hang it on Alice's tree. "

"I know," says Daniel, "It's garish and commercial so I thought it represented the true meaning of what Christmas has become. I'm going to get you in the Christmas spirit."

"That won't be hard, " says Kate, "I'm always for sale, so I guess that makes me garish and commercial, too. If I get one more Christmas, believe me, I won't take it for granted." Daniel tells her she will have more than one more Christmas. A nurse walks in and hands him the blood test results. Daniel leaves.

"I know what I want for Christmas," says Kate.

Phillip comes in. Kate asks him to call Lucas and have him come for the big announcement. Phillip is off to the races.

Lucas' phone rings. Phillip says the results are in. "I'll be right there," says Lucas.

"You mean we'll be right there," says Chloe.

Chelsea gets the same call and heads for the hospital, too.

Meanwhile, back at the corpse factory, Daniel looks at the results, "That wasn't what I was looking for..."

Charlotte tells Marlena she's already started at the hospital. Marlena is so overjoyed she orders a double. John walks up and Marlena gives him the good news. Charlotte announces her office is right next to Marlena's. "Make that a triple," yells Marlena.

Melanie decides to work really hard and prove to Phillip it wasn't a mistake hiring her. They decide to get back to the house. Maggie walks off and Melanie says, "I'm up to the job, but I want to do mine and Stephanie's too."

Patch and Kayla grill Stephanie. They want to know why she is using such filthy language. She tells them the problem is Phillip and he's down because of Kate, "I talked to him. The look on Phillip's face was bad."

"Which face," asks Patch.

Stephanie tells them Phillip told her to take the rest of the day off, "I wish I could do something for him. He's in so much pain."

"The more you and Melanie stay away from him, the less pain he will have," says Kayla.

Chloe and Lucas arrive. Lucas tells Kate, "I hope you don't mind I brought Chloe."

"Of course not," says Kate, "Having Chloe around makes it easier to face death. "

Max and Chelsea stand out in the hall. He tells her he hopes it's great news. Chelsea walks into Kate's room. Daniel follows, "I just went back to the lab to double check the results." He hems and haws, "We didn't just test the family. We also tested former patients, without their permission or knowledge, of course. There is a match... It's Chloe."


Previews
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