From: Marni Centor <mccb@idt.net>

            GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 1998

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Jesse & Michelle argue. Bill comforts Michelle while Drew comforts
Jesse.
* Beth bails out Ben, but believes Blake won't belie her beloved.
* Frank invites Teresa home for dinner. Levy disapproves.
* Blake tries to move her legs for Ross, but succeeds only in failing.
Her doctors give Ross what-for. Later, Blake has a dream that could be
frighteningly close to reality.
* Vicki reveals her true identity, disgusting David, but delighting
Vivian.


BEACH: As 2 police officers hassle Jesse, Michelle tries to explain that
Jesse is with her. Bill vouches for Jesse too. 

JAIL: Teresa visits Ben, who is casually reading a book in his cell. She
thinks he looks awfully calm for someone who's been charged with rape.
She thinks he's an interesting guy. Ben knows he didn't rape Blake & can
prove it. He's expecting Beth to post his bail shortly. Teresa says she
hasn't seen any sign of Beth. And to prove his innocence, he'll have to
get both Blake & Ross to change their stories, which she thinks
unlikely, "even for a slick piece of work like yourself." Ben seems
unconcerned & closes his eyes.

CEDARS: Ross & Holly don't understand why no one can explain Blake's
condition, but they're relieved that she apparently hasn't sustained any
permanent nerve damage. They run into Blake's doctors, who say there's
no physical reason why Blake shouldn't walk again. Dr. Mitchell & Dr.
Bradford go in to see Blake along with Ross & Holly. Blake is afraid
they are all there to give her bad news. She is sure she's never going
to walk again & starts crying.

JAIL: Ben says Blake knows the truth & she won't be able to continue her
charade for long. If he can get some time alone with Blake, he's sure
she'll recant. Teresa challenges him to get a tape of that conversation.
Beth shows up & Teresa departs. Beth says she posted his bail & the
paperwork is being processed. She wants to help him, but he's got to
face the fact that he's in serious trouble. Ben says there may be a way
out, depending on how he plays it.

BEACH: Bill says they were just having a little party & playing a
friendly game of cards. Michelle backs him up. The police remind them
that it's illegal to play for money. The cops inform Michelle that her
punk boyfriend has a record. She says she's aware of that, but it's been
more than a year since he's been in trouble. The cops let everyone off
with a warning, but one cop tells Michelle that if he ever caught his
daughter with a guy like Jesse, he'd ground her forever. Michelle starts
to retort, but Dahlia steps in front of her & says it's not worth it.

With the cops gone, the guys tell Jesse not to sweat it; the cops were
just looking for someone to harass. Michelle is sorry Jesse had to go
through that. He walks away from her. She follows him & Drew watches,
shaking her head.

CEDARS: Dr. Bradford helps Blake to calm down & tells her that no one
has said Blake won't walk again. Blake doesn't understand why her tests
are all normal, but she still has no feeling. There must be something
wrong. Dr. Mitchell explains that after her serious injury, her body may
still be in shock. Dr. Bradford says Blake may just need more time to
heal. Blake is frustrated that she can't walk when she should be able
to. Ross says Blake should be able to feel something, but Dr. Mitchell
wants to run some more tests before concurring. Blake realizes that they
think it's all in her mind, but the doctors say they're not sure of
anything. Ross says Blake can do anything she sets her mind to. Dr.
Mitchell doesn't like where Ross is going with this, but Blake agrees
with Ross. She hasn't been doing her best at all. She hasn't been
concentrating. Dr. Bradford cautions her against trying to prove
something. Blake ignores her, throwing off the covers & pulling at her
legs determinedly.

Vicki arrives with a bouquet of flowers & runs into Vivian Grant. Vicki
says she's looking for Dr. Grant's room. Vivian doesn't understand,
since Vicki is a friend of Griffin's. She also remembers that Vicki
works for Alan & thinks the flowers are from Alan. Vicki tries to
explain that she's not Alan's secretary, but Viv is too busy reeling off
her husband's credentials to listen. She points out Charles's room &
says her son is in there now, so Vicki should just deliver the flowers &
leave Charles in peace. Viv turns away as Vicki shakes her head in
disbelief. She walks to the doorway, where she can see David sitting at
his father's bedside.

David says Charles's doctors said he could go home very soon. Charles
jokes that they'd better say that if they want to keep their jobs. He
speaks out of the right side of his mouth, the left side apparently
damaged from his stroke. Charles says he's very proud of David. He
should do whatever he wants, as long as it makes him happy. David says
it looks like he's got some interesting PI work with Harley. "PI --
private..." Charles trails off, unable to find the word he's looking
for. David fills it in for him. "That's what I said," replies Charles.
He hopes David will decide to stay in Springfield. David says he's not
going anywhere.

Charles notices Vicki in the doorway & says hello. David turns around,
happy to see her.

BEACH: Michelle doesn't understand why Jesse is pissed. He doesn't like
her coming to his rescue. She says she was just trying to get the cops
off their backs. Jesse wants her to let him handle things himself. She
says the cops would have dragged him off to jail. "So what!" yells
Jesse. It's not like he hasn't been there before. Bill butts in,
defending Michelle. Jesse should be thanking her instead of giving her
grief. Drew butts in & says she knows how Jesse feels. Michelle made a
fool out of him in front of everyone. Michelle denies this, but Jesse
agrees with Drew. Michelle can't believe it. Jesse says he's had enough
& is leaving. "You coming?" he asks Michelle. "No," she answers. Drew
bites her lip.

CEDARS: Blake struggles to move her legs. The doctors urge her to take
things slowly. Blake keeps pulling at her legs & starts to fall over.
Ross catches her & she starts crying that she's sorry. She promises to
make herself better for him. He says all she has to do is get well at
her own pace. Dr. Mitchell, clearly annoyed, asks Ross & Holly to leave
so he can examine Blake & make sure she hasn't injured herself trying to
get out of bed. 

Ross leaves the room with Dr. Bradford. She says she knows he's a good
husband & he wants Blake to get well, but he mustn't push her like that.
All Blake was doing was trying to please him, and that won't help her.
"We can make an evaluation of her recovery just as soon as we get to the
root of her paralysis & not a minute sooner," she says. Ross says he
only wants to help Blake.

JAIL: Ben says the guilt of lying will catch up to Blake sooner or
later. Beth asks when Ben is going to wake up. Blake chose Ross. Ben
says that doesn't matter. Beth asks what it will take to convince him.
Blake's accusing him of rape to save her husband. Ben thinks Blake won't
be able to live with the guilt, but Beth's known her a long time. "I am
telling you, she can & she will." Beth hopes that Ben has another way to
prove that Blake is lying. Ben thinks he does.

BEACH: Michelle & Jesse continue their argument while everyone else
watches. She's sick & tired of his attitude. It's not her fault he had a
lousy childhood & grew up in a bad neighborhood & got into trouble with
the law. She accuses him of being like his father, and being angry with
her just because she was born into a nice family. She's not going to
apologize for it. She thinks he should stop focusing on what he doesn't
have & start looking at what he does have. He asks if she's done. She
says yes, and if he wants to go, she'll go with him. He tells her not to
bother, and leaves alone.

"You just don't get him, do you?" jabs Drew. Bill walks up behind
Michelle, wanting to comfort her

POLICE STATION: Frank learns from Teresa that Beth has bailed out Ben.
After what she's read about Beth in the Carl Stevens case, Teresa
wonders about the guys Beth chooses to hang out with. Some women never
learn. Frank asks for Teresa's gut feeling on Ben's case. Teresa says
it's still possible that Blake is lying to save Ross, and Ben is a man
possessed. He really believes he's the injured party. Teresa feels sorry
for Blake, because Ben won't give up.

CEDARS, OUTSIDE: Beth chases after Ben, who is now dressed in a suit.
She tries to convince him that he's being foolish. Ross surely has
someone protecting Blake around the clock. Ben insists that he knows
what he's doing. He, Beth & Blake all know he didn't rape Blake. Beth
says he's going to have to prove it to a jury. Hanging around his
alleged victim's hospital room is only going to make him look guilty.
Ben says he's innocent until proven guilty. "Not in Springfield, Ben,
when that man is you," retorts Beth. Ben intends to prove his innocence.
Beth doesn't want him to get thrown back in jail. Ben asks her to leave
now. "Blake & I have a date, and I'm planning to keep it." He walks
inside as Beth throws worried looks at the sky.

CHARLES'S ROOM: David introduces Vicki to Charles. She hopes she didn't
interrupt. Charles says he's feeling a little tired, so David & Vicki
leave together.

CEDARS HALLWAY: David thanks Vicki for stopping by. They discuss their
future plans. David says it looks like he'll be sticking around for
awhile, since he has friends in town & work lined up. He asks what
happened when Vicki confronted Alan. She says things turned out
differently than she expected. She's not sure how to tell him this, so
she wants to introduce herself. David laughs, not getting it. "My real
name is Victoria Brandon Spaulding," she announces. "I'm Alan's niece."
Vivian arrives just in time to hear this tidbit & does a complete 180
towards Vicki, holding out her hand & saying how pleased she is to meet
Alan & Alex's niece. Neither Vicki nor David appear to like this turn of
events.

BLAKE'S ROOM: Ross apologizes to Blake for pushing her so hard. Blake
says she's going to beat this. Ross says he has faith in her. Holly says
they need to let Blake rest. They leave Blake alone and go into the
hall.

CEDARS HALLWAY: Holly says Ross needs to get some rest too. He's been at
the hospital since he was released from jail. Ross wants to help Blake.
Holly urges him to at least get some fresh air & they walk out together.

BLAKE'S ROOM: Blake tosses & turns in her sleep. She dreams that she's
in bed, wearing sexy lingerie. Ben stands across the room in a dark suit
& says they need to talk about "the night in question." He says they're
the only ones who know what really happened, "until now." He pulls up a
bunch of shades to reveal a number of people seated on the other side of
the windows. The "jury" includes Rick, Dr. Bradford, Dr. Mitchell &
Ross. Ben starts asking questions as he removes his jacket. 

"Did I force my way into your home?" Blake answers no. Ben removes his
tie. "Did I hurt you?" Blake says of course not. Ben starts unbuttoning
his shirt & leans over the bed. "Did I push you into anything you didn't
want to do?" Blake tries to evade the question. "Didn't I tell you I
love you? Didn't I make love to you the way a man in love makes love to
a woman?" Blake isn't sure. She doesn't know. Ben says she does know.
"And now, the whole world will know that you wanted to make love with
me." 

Blake begs him to stop & says he doesn't understand. He says she accused
him of rape & they both know it's a lie. He's on trial for his life.
Blake says she's on trial too. She's fighting for her children & her
marriage. "Then don't lie. Tell the truth," says Ben.

"Tell the truth, Blake," says Ross. He's suddenly right at her side.
"Tell the truth, Blake," says Ben, from her other side. They both keep
telling her to tell the truth as she looks more & more uncomfortable.
Suddenly, she jerks awake & starts crying.

POLICE STATION: Frank & Teresa have some coffee. He asks if she's found
a place to live yet. She says she hasn't had time to look, but she was
thinking about the boardinghouse. Frank says it's a nice place, if she's
just looking for a room. Teresa says she's looking to not feel so
isolated. It's the first time she's lived away from her family. Frank
understands that. He compliments her work on the case so far. Teresa
says she's seen guys like Ben before. She appreciates Frank's support.
It's tough being the new guy. 

Teresa teases Frank because he won't eat a doughnut. Frank says he's got
no reason to eat doughnuts when he can have Eleni's baklava. He takes
Teresa's doughnut from her, saying it will give her a heart attack. She
demands it back & eats it. Frank invites her to dinner & says Eleni
would love to meet her. Teresa demurs at first, but he convinces her to
come.

Levy (!) tells Frank he's crazy to introduce his wife to his new
partner, when she's such a "dish." Frank says Eleni's not the jealous
type. "All women are like that," says Levy with a wink.

BEACH: Dahlia gets a ride home with Steve, leaving Michelle alone with
Bill. She asks if she was out of line with Jesse. He sits beside her &
says no, Jesse's the one with the problem. Bill says Michelle keeps
trying to bring Jesse into her world, but maybe Jesse just isn't
comfortable there. Michelle asks if she's just supposed to go back to
her nice little life & forget about Jesse. "You want the truth?" asks
Bill. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'd do."

JESSE'S GARAGE: Jesse walks in & yells at himself. Drew pops her head in
& says she was worried about him. She hates to admit that Michelle
helped Jesse out before, but if it had been her, she would have whipped
out a checkbook & bribed them to leave. Jesse smiles. He says he keeps
screwing up. Drew says he just keeps trying too hard to be good for
Michelle & he doesn't care about himself. He doesn't know how good he
is. 

CEDARS: Vivian apologizes for her earlier assumptions about Vicki. Vicki
asks why it matters who she is. David echoes the sentiment. "You really
are a Spaulding?" asks Viv, somewhat incredulously. Coldly, Vicki says
yes, and she hopes David will forgive her "little deception." David
thinks it would have been nice if she had told him from the start. Vicki
says she didn't tell anyone. Viv says David is overreacting. David
pushes her into Charles's room, then asks Vicki why she came to the
hospital. Vicki wanted to invite David to dinner to thank him for saving
her life. David takes a pass. "You stay in your neighborhood; I'll stay
in mine," he suggests. "My pleasure," returns Vicki, before walking
away.

Viv returns & says she hopes David asked Vicki out to dinner. They would
make such a lovely match. David says she's not his type. Viv says David
will never learn. David, disgusted, goes back into Charles's room.

BEACH: Michelle can't believe Bill thinks so little of her. She can't
just dump Jesse because they've had a few problems. Bill says Jesse has
turned Michelle's life upside down. Has she forgotten about Abby being
attacked, or the firebomb that blinded her? Michelle defends Jesse, but
Bill says if it hadn't been for Jesse, those things wouldn't have
happened. Michelle asks why Bill hates Jesse. He says he doesn't, but he
cares about Michelle. They go back forever, so he thought he could tell
her how he feels about things. Michelle hugs him & says of course he
can. Bill just wants her to be happy & Jesse doesn't seem to be doing it
for her. He hugs her again. "And you need someone who can."

GARAGE: Drew says she understands Jesse's insecurities because she's
lived through them herself. Jesse asks how he got so lucky to have Drew
as a friend. Drew says he's cute & looks good on a motorcycle. And he
makes her laugh. And she thinks they could do anything together. They
could take on the world. She gives him a quick kiss & says he'll figure
it out. "I'm a very patient woman." She watches him from the doorway for
a moment, then leaves.

CEDARS, OUTSIDE: A guy from the paper chases after Holly to deliver an
envelope. She opens it & finds a letter & photo from Fletcher & Meg.
She's happy and excited as she starts to read.

BLAKE'S ROOM: Ben, wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard, looks
into Blake's darkened room through the window. She's sleeping
restlessly. He stops by a fire alarm box, turns on the tape recorder in
his coat pocket, and then sets off the alarm. As it rings, he slips into
Blake's room. She's reaching for the call button for help getting out of
bed when she hears him enter. She goes silent as soon as she sees him.

Ben says he thinks it's time they talked, just the two of them. Blake
looks at him uncomfortably as the screen fades to black.

