From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

          GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1998

Highlights:
* 

LOCATION UNKNOWN: Hart leads a blindfolded Cassie, who whines that he's 
taking too long to reveal his surprise. When he finally relents & removes 
the blindfold, she doesn't get it. They're outside the bar where he first 
met her. It doesn't exactly bring back good memories for her. She doesn't 
understand why he would bring her there. He says she needs to trust him & 
take a leap of faith. He unlocks the door & shows her the empty bar. 

DINER: Buzz argues with a reluctant Eleni about upgrading their coffee 
service to include cappuccino, latte, etc. He says sometimes you need to 
tear down the old to make way for the new. Himself, he'd rip down the 
Parthenon & build condos. Eleni calls him a Philistine, but he corrects 
her--he's a Macedonian, descended from Alexander the Great... Tailor. For 
some reason the diner patrons break out in spontaneous applause. Eleni hugs 
Buzz & says they've missed him, and his chili. 

Jesse shows up, looking for Dahlia, but she's not there. Buzz says she's 
rehearsing with Marcus. Eleni adds that they don't know exactly where. 
Jesse wants to apologize for the way he blew up at Dahlia the last time he 
was there. Hearing Michelle's voice, and then having her not talk to him 
drove him crazy.

CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING: Michelle sits in a chair in her room 
listening to music with headphones. She removes them & hears a knock at the 
door. It's Dr. Dan, the ophthalmologist, wanting to examine her corneas. He 
turns down the lights & sits in front of her, armed with a penlight. She 
asks whether she'll be able to see again.

SPAULDING MANSION: Phillip enters & Beth greets him by saying that it's 
getting difficult to explain to Lizzie why he's never home. Phillip says 
he's home now & heads upstairs. Nettie tells Beth that no one else will be 
home for dinner tonight & asks if she should set just one place. Beth tells 
her to set two places & to open a bottle of the Merlot that Phillip likes 
so much. There's a knock at the door & Beth answers. It's Harley, asking if 
Phillip is ready for dinner. Phillip appears behind Beth & says he & Harley 
are having dinner together.

As Phillip helps Harley off with her coat, she asks whether she can say hi 
to Lizzie. Phillip invites her to help him tuck her in for the night. 
Harley asks Beth if she minds & adds that she'd like to read a little to 
Lizzie too. Beth says it's fine & Phillip says they'll read together. 
Harley does a Glenda the Good impression as they head upstairs together 
[but mine is better, hmph!].

Beth grabs the phone & calls Mallet as soon as Harley & Phillip are out of 
earshot. She thought he was supposed to be in town today. She tells him 
nothing is more important. Harley is running out of time.

BAR: The tiresome Cassie/Hart theme music plays as Cassie surveys the bar. 
She asks what happened there. Hart says it was a lot of hard work. He 
bought the place & hired some guys to fix it up. He explains that he used 
some of the money that Henry Chamberlain willed him to do it. Now they have 
their very own place with their very own chef to cook them dinner whenever 
they want. Cassie says this is too much. Hart says there's more. He pulls 
aside the curtain to the back room to reveal some elegantly set cocktail 
tables. He says there will be no more dancing on pool tables in this bar 
because there is no more pool table. Cassie seems overcome with emotion.

DINER: Jesse says he has a feeling that something is wrong with Michelle. 
Buzz joins him in a booth, opining that maybe Jesse is just upset because 
Michelle left without telling him where she was going. Jesse figures this 
is something Michelle felt she had to do & if she was doing something that 
made her happy, she would have told him. He explains that he & Michelle 
were practically married & he needs to know if she's OK. If she told him 
she was fine, he would leave her alone. Buzz says some marriages don't work 
out. He thinks Jesse should just move on with his life. Jesse can't do 
that; he knows Michelle has some secret she's afraid to tell him. Buzz 
wonders if she could have run away because she's pregnant. Jesse says 
that's one thing he knows for sure isn't true. Buzz wonders what else she 
could be hiding.

CFIL: Dr. Dan turns the lights back on. Michelle wants an answer from him. 
He says he doesn't know if she'll be able to see again. There's still a lot 
of damage to her eyes that has to heal. He also has a message for her: 
Irene wants her to come to the Rec Room for a new resident's program. 
Michelle doesn't feel like it. She's had a long day & just wants to stay in 
her room. Dr. Dan says she should plan on checking out in the morning then, 
so someone who really wants to help themselves can have her room.

Michelle says Dan is being unfair. She left everything she knows & the 
people she loves to get help. Dan asks why she's staying in her room & 
feeling sorry for herself then. Irene says she doesn't participate in group 
activities & is acting like she's given up. Michelle says she ahs tried to 
be strong, but she was blinded in a fire. Dan says he heard she left the 
man she loved. Michelle is annoyed that Irene's been gossiping about her. 

Dan says the counselors & doctors discuss all their mutual patients. He 
says Michelle took an important first step by coming to the center, but now 
she's dragging her feet. Is she waiting for a white knight to rescue her? 
It won't happen. Even if her boyfriend found her & took her home, he 
couldn't rescue her from the darkness. Only she can do that for herself.

DINER: Buzz empathizes with Jesse. He knows what it's like to love a woman 
so much it hurts. Eleni joins them as Jesse says everyone thinks he's just 
out to cause trouble. Eleni doesn't think that's true. Jesse vows to find 
out from someone where Michelle is. Eleni asks who else knows besides 
Dahlia. Jesse figures Rick & Ed both know. Buzz says they have probably 
promised Michelle that they wouldn't tell where she is. Jesse is going out 
of his mind. He's thinking of going to the Bauer house when no one is home 
to search for a clue. Buzz doesn't want to hear that kind of talk.

SPAULDING MANSION: Beth doesn't care how busy Mallet is; she says if he 
ever cared about Harley, he'll drop everything & come to Springfield 
immediately. She hears Harley & Phillip coming, so she hangs up quickly, 
making Mallet promise not to tell anyone he's talked to her.

Harley & Phillip return. Harley gushes that Lizzie reads like a high school 
kid. Beth says it's Phillip's doing. He's read to Lizzie since she was a 
baby. Phillip runs back upstairs to find his keys. Meanwhile, Harley tells 
Beth that there is no longer any rush on Beth moving out of the Spaulding 
house. She should take the time to find the perfect place for herself & 
Lizzie. Beth wonders what's behind this magnanimousness. Harley figures 
Phillip hasn't told Beth yet that he & Harley are moving in together.

BAR: As Cassie looks around at all the beautiful work that's been done in 
the bar, a smile grows on her face. She can't believe he did this all 
because it's the first place they kissed. She hates thinking about that 
time because it reminds her of Annie & Alan & all the horrible things they 
tried to make her do. Hart says she needs to forget about that & move on. 
He says before he met her, he almost made the biggest mistake of his life 
by marrying the wrong woman. Cassie says he should thank his sister for 
that. Hart says Reva had a hand in it too. He thinks they can never thank 
their sisters enough, because things look really good for them. 

He sits Cassie down at a table & calls for Jim, the waiter, who brings a 
couple of shrimp cocktails. Cassie can't believe this all. She remembers 
her 10th birthday when her foster family took her out to dinner & ordered 
shrimp cocktail for her. It came in a silver cup, just like tonight. She 
was so happy, she thought she'd died & gone to heaven. Hart hopes she's 
just as happy now. They kiss.

SPAULDING MANSION: As Harley puts on her jacket, Beth supposes that they 
have already found a place to live. Harley says not yet. Beth thinks it 
might be tricky, since the real estate agent she spoke with had nothing 
suitable. Harley says Phillip's agent has found a half-dozen that would be 
perfect for them. It's just a matter of picking one out. Harley suggests 
that Beth call their realtor. Beth decides she will do that. Harley says 
she can get the number from Phillip. Beth tells Harley to relax. "I'm no 
threat to you," she states. "I guess the better woman won." Harley seems 
pleasantly surprised by this.

DINER: Frank enters, wondering what he heard about breaking in. He hopes 
the "old Jesse" isn't making a comeback. Jesse says he just had a bad day. 
Buzz tells Frank to cut the kid some slack. Eleni asks Frank to help her 
with a delivery out back. She smiles at Jesse as she leaves the room.

Jesse thinks Eleni & Buzz are great. Buzz just wants to help the guy get 
the girl. Buzz says when Jenna left him a few years ago it drove him nuts, 
but not nuts enough to break into someone's house. Jesse is desperate & 
asks Buzz to help him out. Buzz says Frank would kill him. Besides, isn't 
Meta around all the time? Jesse says she's always running around town doing 
things. And tonight, both Dr. Bauers are working the night shift. Somehow, 
Jesse convinces Buzz to come along with him on his B&E quest. Buzz thinks 
he should have his head examined. But it's all for love.

BAR: Cassie says everything in her life is now right, thanks to Hart. He 
says he can't take all the credit. Cassie rehashes how wonderful it was to 
find her family. But Hart has turned her life around in a profound way. As 
a kid, she was always pretending she was someone she wasn't. But now she's 
not lying anymore. She did it because she didn't think she was good enough. 
Hart says she's more than good enough. That's what he did for her, she 
says. For the first time, she feels brave enough to be herself. Hart says 
that's good, because he's crazy about her. Cassie says there will be no 
more lies & no more secrets. She's really happy. Hart is too. They kiss 
again.

CFIL: Dr. Dan says there are no guarantees, not about Michelle's eyesight, 
and not about life in general. It's all a crapshoot. Michelle's not looking 
for guarantees, just some hope. Dan says she's going to have to get on with 
her life & find the courage to do it. Michelle knows all about AA's 
serenity prayer from her alcoholic dad. Dan asks if she knows what the 
words really mean. Michelle doesn't want a lecture. Dan says even if her 
sight does return, she'll be a better person for the new experiences she 
gained. And if it doesn't return, she'll be ready to forge ahead. As an 
aside, he adds that Michelle's hair is a mess, and it shouldn't be, since 
Irene taught her how to comb it without being able to see it. [This is 
really silly for two reasons: A) Michelle's hair look just fine. B) There's 
no great science to combing your hair without a mirror, especially if it's 
naturally straight.] Michelle complains that she only got one lesson. Dan 
says that's all it takes if you're paying attention. She may be blind, but 
everyone else isn't. 

Michelle asks if he treats all his patients this way. She doesn't think he 
has much of a bedside manner. He tells her to stop avoiding the issue. He 
takes her hand, puts a brush in it & asks her what it's going to be.

BAUER HOUSE: Buzz picks the lock to the kitchen door, saying it helps to be 
in love with a cat burglar. Buzz warns Jesse not to turn on the lights. 
They start their search, not noticing that the alarm panel is blinking red.

CFIL: Michelle combs her hair & Dan says she looks better already. She asks 
if it was that bad, and he admits it wasn't. Michelle asks if he's just 
going to stand there & stare at her. He replies that he's sitting, and how 
does she know he's staring? She says she can tell. He says that's progress. 
She says it makes her uncomfortable. She doesn't know what she looks like. 
He says she looks fine. He looks at Jesse's picture & asks Michelle to tell 
him about him. She says Jesse saved her life. He rode to her rescue on his 
motorcycle. Dan didn't picture her for that type. She asks what "type" he 
thinks she would go for. He imagines her with a preppie, intellectual type. 
Michelle says Jesse definitely isn't the former, but he is very smart. He's 
really a good person down deep. He's a gentle man. Sometimes she wonders 
what his life would have been like without her. His friends were a really 
bad influence on him, but now they're gone & his days of getting in trouble 
with the law are over.

BAUER HOUSE: Buzz & Jesse are having no luck finding any clues to 
Michelle's whereabouts. Jesse says they need to check upstairs. Buzz thinks 
about what they should be looking for. Catalogs, bills... the mail! Jesse 
finds a piece of paper with the name of a school and a phone number. He 
guesses Michelle left town to go to a new school.

SPAULDING MANSION: Harley tells Beth that she never meant to hurt her. Beth 
says she believes this. Harley says she knows what it's like to lose your 
husband to another woman, and have your heart broken. She walked in on 
Mallet & his partner. They were supposed to be on a stakeout. She lost her 
husband to another woman, but she survived & moved on with her life. Beth 
says she'll be find. In fact, she already is. Her only concern is Lizzie's 
happiness. Harley says kids are usually happy when their parents are happy.

Phillip comes downstairs & says there's been a change in plans. Lizzie 
wants him to stay until she falls asleep. He suggests that Harley go on to 
the diner without him & he'll catch up with in a little while. Harley says 
she doesn't mind hanging out, but Phillip encourages her to go.

Nettie announces that dinner is ready. Phillip tells her that he & Harley 
are eating out. Nettie is confused, but Beth just says she was mistaken. 
Nettie leaves. Harley says goodbye to both Phillip & Beth. Phillip runs 
upstairs to Lizzie. To herself, Beth mutters, "Enjoy it Harley, because it 
won't last."

BAR: Hart asks if Cassie liked the shrimp. She says it was great, but she 
wishes there was something she could give him in return. He suggest that 
she give him herself. He asks her to dance. They slow-dance to 
"Unforgettable," ending with a kiss.

CFIL: Dr. Dan asks if Michelle will be going to the program. Why not? she 
says. He offers to escort her & she goes with him, stumbling slightly.

BAUER HOUSE: Buzz says they have to get going because the alarm is 
flashing. Too late--as they open the door, Frank points his gun at them & 
tells them to freeze. Frank shines his flashlight in Buzz's face. "Hi son," 
says Buzz with a smile.

SPAULDING MANSION: The phone rings & Beth answers it. It's Mallet [and it's 
a voice that sounds reminiscent of Mark Derwin, but that may be only 
wishful thinking on my part]. He says he can't do what Beth is asking. Beth 
says he has to come now. Mallet says Harley has a right to get on with her 
life after what he put her through. It's best if he doesn't interfere. Beth 
says he has to come; both their futures depend on it & he can't back out on 
her now. She doesn't realize that Phillip is listening in on another 
extension. He looks mightily pissed as the screen fades to black.


--Marni (marni@panix.com)



