General Hospital Transcript
Transcript provided by Suzanne
THIS STILL NEEDS EXTENSIVE EDITING!
[ Indistinct conversations ] Alexis? Are you okay?
[ Chuckles ] Yeah. Just catching up on the classics. Russians. Mm. Just really heavy on the misery. Why am — why the hell — I don’t need to read this. I can just look to my own family for their dysfunctional dna. Are you satisfied? My son turned his back on me, his father, his only living parent… who would gladly die for him. Hell, I did that! Or at least I let the world
believe I was dead to regain control of the cassadine legacy. And you want the satisfaction of taking all of that away.
[ Chuckles ] I can’t believe you’re gonna try to position yourself as the victim here. Your son opened his eyes and saw you for who you really are — the bastard who let me go to prison for six years for a crime I didn’t commit. Now, you sent someone to kill hayden, but you let me take the fall. Now, you might not want to own the truth, oh, but your son has. For all of spencer’s faults, he is 10 times the man you will ever be.
[ Trina humming ]
I’m flying so high
don’t know the sky
everything’s fine
[ Humming stops ]
[ Footsteps approach ]
[ Ominous music plays ] -Hey, you. -Hey. Hey, where is everybody? I don’t see anyone else working. Can I help out? No. I’m good. Thanks. Well, did someone call in sick? No. Spencer walked out in the middle of his shift. Couldn’t even survive one day. I stick my neck out for him and hire him, even though he has no experience and a lousy attitude, and he bails on me day one. What’s wrong with the guy? Oh. Good. You guys are here. No sign of ava or spence’s dad. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to be among friends. Where? What friends?
[ Sighs ]
Tochter. Mother? Britta. You came to get me.
[ Sobbing ] Oh, my god. What did I do?
[ Breathing sharply ] You better have a location on that woman.
[ Inhales sharply ] Ahh. Hello?!
[ Gun cocks ] Do you hear me?! I want answer– you shouldn’t have come here. Shut up! Move.
so, nikolas, my nephew… mm-hmm. I always thought he might be a good cassadine ’cause he had a nice mother. And he was good for a while. And in about 10 years or so, he went bad, went to the dark side, became a real cassadine. And then there’s his son, spencer, who, um, went to france, boarding school, came home, graduated, back in port charles, decided that he couldn’t stand his — his father’s wife, ava, and he set out to break them up. Mm. How bad did it get? He stalked her. Oh. You know, at first, he started out just sending her creepy gifts, and then it sort of accelerated into full-blown stalking until finally, he torched her car. You know, the cassadines don’t sound so strange to me. Really? Yeah. Not compared to shiloh and dawn of day. Mm. I spent years under the spell of a man who demanded unwavering loyalty from his family in exchange for betrayal and abuse. So, you know… at least no matter how misguided spencer’s actions were, they were motivated by love. I suppose that’S… one way to look at it.
[ Sighs ] I mean, the poor kid, he idolized his father. And if he had just seen his flaws and recognized them instead of becoming like him… mm-hmm. You’re not really speaking about spencer, are you? You know, you may have made a good therapist had you gone that route.
[ Chuckles ] No, I’m not. ‘Cause the same holds true for nikolas. I just had so much hope that he would become that young man that I knew and loved so much. But, alas, he didn’t, and I was dead wrong. Spare me the “holier than thou” attitude. You don’t give a damn about spencer. You were just trying to use him to wring a confession out of me. I did spencer a favor and opened his eyes.
[ Scoffs ] So now maybe your son doesn’t have to turn himself inside out, making everyone else miserable trying to earn your respect. I don’t suppose that you explained to spencer why you pled guilty to shooting hayden, did you? Yeah. I didn’t think so. You thought you actually shot hayden. Because you were at that garage on sonny’s orders to kill someone! Or are you gonna stand there and claim that your hands are clean? I paid for my mistakes, just like I paid for yours. But there’s still one debt left outstanding. What’s that? The one you’ve owed hayden ever since you tried to have her killed. She’s entitled to justice, and you’re gonna give it to her. Spencer, what are you doing here? I took a chance you’d be here. Is ava around? No. But I could get her here. In minutes. Or the police. Please don’t do that — either call. Haven’t seen you since you were arrested. A lot’s happened since then. Joss told me dr. Collins paid for your bail. She also said that cam got you a job at kelly’S. Isn’t this your first day?
[ Chuckles ] Yeah, it was. What happened? I burned myself trying to pull an espresso shot. Hm. At least that’ll heal. Spencer, if you have troubles, you have a girlfriend. Talk to esme. She’s busy. She started her internship at spring ridge. Besides, you’re really the person I wanted to talk to. Why? Because. I needed a friend. A real friend. I think that you and i define the word “friend” very differently. Okay. I know that you guys are more spence’s friends than mine, and I realize we’ve had some differences, but at the end of the day, like at spence’s arraignment, we’re on the same page. Now he’s free on bail, and thanks to his good friend cam, he has his first real job. What did I miss? And, um, where’s spence? Well, your guess is as good as ours. You mean he’s not here? Mnh-mnh. Yeah, he actually walked out without saying goodbye. I had to cover for him. Spence quit? And he didn’t even tell you? I’M…so sorry, cam. Chalk it up to that dysfunctional family of his. Spence’s dad and ava showed up here and expected spence to wait on him. I mean, he hadn’t even figured out the ropes of how to do his job well yet, and he was embarrassed. He didn’t say anything, but I knew it really upset him. Josslyn: Yeah. No matter how hard spencer tries, he just can’t escape the influence of the cassadines. I swear to you, mother. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Didn’t you, britta? If you wanted me dead… you made your point!
[ Laughs ] Ohh! Stop. This is not a time for mom jokes, okay? Lie still. I need to examine you. Okay. Thankfully, the spear only pierced your side. It missed all your vital organs. There are some people who would say I have no heart to hit. But they’re wrong. Because if I die… I want it to be in your arms. Listen to me. You’re not gonna die. Okay? I didn’t come all this way to lose you. Okay. Yes. How did you find me? Did you come by yourself? First things first. The barbed tip came out the other side. Then you m-must push it all the way through. Okay. I-I know that. But I don’t have anything to numb the pain. After weeks of being held captive, seeing your beautiful face is all I need to sustain me, britta. I think you’re delirious. All right. This’ll do. Here. Bite down. -Ready? -[ Grunts ]
[ Groans ]
[ Breathing sharply ] You with me, mom?
[ Groans ] Clearly, you won this round, jason, but you’re not getting off this island alive, you know that, don’t you? First sign of a guard, you’re dead. Well, I clearly have something you want, or I’d be dead already. Well, maybe I should reconsider.
[ Grunts ]
Oot me, every guard onthis island’s gonna be here. Yeah, but you’d be dead, and that would make a whole lot of people really happy. I have something you want, jason. You kill me, you’re not gonna get it. I want obrecht, and she better be alive. What the hell do you care whether liesl obrecht lives or d– britt send you, didn’t she? Or did you bring her with you, hmm? Never mind. I’ll find obrecht myself. But not if the guards find you first! All right? Look. Liesl could be anywhere. She just threw acid on my hand and left right before you got here.
[ Radio crackles ] Guard: Mr. August.
No sign of her.
Unless she swim for it. Tell the guards to converge on the lighthouse at the north end of the island and wait there for further instruction.
[ Radio beeps ] Converge on the lighthouse, north side of the island. Wait there for further instructions.
Copy that.
[ Radio beeps ] Get up. Let’s go. Where are you taking me, jason? Not the lighthouse. A very professional field dressing, britta. You do me proud. It’s temporary. I still need to get you to a hospital.
[ Groans ] Perhaps I spoke too soon. Not so tight! Didn’t they teach you that in medical school?! Sorry. I must have missed the “how to treat a spearfishing wound in an abandoned shack” class!
[ Sighs ] This’ll have to do for now.
[ Groans ] Where is he? “He” who? You don’t think I infiltrated cassadine island alone, do you? Jason morg an came with me.He’s gone searching for you. Ahh! I knew it! Jason came to his senses, jilted carly, and came running to your side. Congratulations on your victory, tochter. Do you remember why hayden first came to port charles? When drew cain was struggling with memory issues, ric lansing hired her to come to town and claim to be his wife. Yeah, so what? T-that entitles you to have her killed? All right. Obviously, you were monitoring my conversation with my son tonight.
[ Sighs ] So what? There was no confession. There’s no proverbial smoking gun. I mean, the police haven’t shown interest in this case for years. All my lawyers have to dois remind the court that these claims are being brought by a former hitman for the mob. You’ll be laughed out of court. You’ve got nothing. But you are no innocent, nikolas. Everyone knows you’re shady and can’t be trusted. And somehow hayden is more trustworthy? Why do you keep talking about her like she’s mother teresa?! Hayden barnes is a grifter. Look, hayden may not be a saint, but she’s still a human being who was shot. And she still deserves justice. You think you are on some noble mission. But the truth is… hayden already knows. Hayden has always known. I hear the tone of your voice, and you sound sincere, but there are alarm bells going off in my head telling me to run, not walk, to the nearest exit. I’d never hurt you, trina, and I’m really sorry about what I did to ava, but I did it all for my father because I truly believed that ava was bad for him and I wanted to free him of her influence. I knew that the stalking was wrong, that it was a risk if I got caught, but I thought he was worth it. And now I realize that my father’s not the man that I thought that he was. It’s almost like I never knew him at all.
[ Cellphone rings ] It’s joss.
[ Ringing stops ] Why didn’t you answer? I see how badly you’re hurting. And I want to believe you. But part of me can’t help asking… is this another one of your lies? Hey, trina. It’s me. I was just wondering if you’d seen spencer tonight. Just text me back. If trina had helped to convince ava to drop the charges, we wouldn’t be in this mess. No. No. Your boyfriend got himself into this mess the day he decided to stalk his stepmother. Now he left me shorthanded. I have to cover his shift when I got plenty of homework that needs doing. Typical spencer. Thinks of no one but himself. Cameron, wait. I understand that spence let you down, but you guys have to understand that this is all new to him.
[ Scoffs ] I mean, he’s never had a job before, much less one waiting tables. He’s not used to those kinds of responsibilities. Spence is spoiled. He’s an only child. He’s never had a mother. And he’s facing criminal charges. Spencer’s been c harged withsomething he actually did, and kevin bailed him out. He’s not even on house arrest. So, please. But… I know. He feels isolated and all alone. He needs to be around people he cares about who also care for him. So I was thinking if we could just get him out of port charles, just for a day or so.
[ Scoffs ] What? Like a road trip? Cam! What a great idea! The four of us on our own. What better way for us to bond? Can we wait until we’re off this godforsaken island before we discuss my love life, which, for the record, is nonexistent? So you’re not back together with jason? We came here to rescue you. Isn’t that enough? No! If the man is willing to risk life and limb to help you rescue me, when he despises me for past transgressions, that should indicate
some interest on his part. No. Mother, he didn’t jilt carly, okay? He married her, and they would still be on their honeymoon if sonny hadn’t come back. Carly’s husband returned? Yeah. Yes.
[ Groans ] And the marriage is invalid. So jason was free to help me rescue you. Which is nice. I’ll give you that. But he’s a nice guy. He’s a lethal killer. Who really, really wants peter dead, so we are collaborating. There is nothing romantic. Are you certain? Did you miss the part where jason was fully prepared to marry someone else?! He chose carly. He will always choose carly. But her husband is back. That doesn’t matter. She will always come first in jason’s life, and I refuse to come second. Good for you, tochter. Demand the respect you are due and stick to your guns, no matter how tempted you may be to relent. I am not tempted! Yet. But danger and gratitude are powerful aphrodisiacs. And if jason succeeds in delivering us from this wretched island… you may find yourself wavering.
[ Chuckles, groans ]
Nd your, um,disappointment in your nephew, but in all fairness, nikolas is the same person who defied cyrus and made sure that you were safe in pentonville. I know firsthand what it’s like to go up against cyrus renault, and your nephew had to be very brave to do that. Well, he’s a very complicated guy. With one hand, he takes what he wants for himself, and with the other hand, he offers me something no one else can. How so? He’s friends with the governor and can arrange to give me a full pardon. You can go free? All I have to do is say yes. You make it sound like it’s a problem. What’s stopping you? Hayden t old me she had hersuspicions, but she didn’t say. That was five years ago. You’re a little behind the times. So, listen to me. Hayden knew, and hayden being hayden, she used it to her advantage. Or did no one tell you? She and I came back to port charles together to reclaim the cassadine estate from valentin and return it to me. I knew hayden was working with you. I assumed because she didn’t know you already tried to kill her once. Oh, hayden stood to profit from my return. She was willing to let bygones be bygones in order to line her own pocket. So, if you thought you were doing right by hayden, I’m sorry, shawn. She’s over it. I can’t help you. But… if this is about you moving forward, putting the past behind, then you’ve come to the right man. Spencer: I guess I deserve your suspicion, but I swear to you, I’m not lying. And I know this is true because your nose isn’t growing? Because you know me. I thought I knew victor. But he turned out to be a fake and a fraud. He used me. Used our friendship to do something cruel to someone who’s been nothing but kind to me. Ava is not who you think. Someday you’ll learn the truth about her. Just like I learned the truth about you? I’m sorry, spencer, but if you thought you’d find a shoulder to cry on, you came to the wrong place. I just don’t trust you. Any more than I trust my own feelings about you. There are all kinds of cool cabins to rent on this website, you know, where they look rustic but have all the major conveniences. Here’s one with a fireplace in every room with a california-king-size bed. It’s perfect. Spence and I could stay in one cabin, and the two of you can stay in another. Uh, that sounds really nice, but I can’t really afford to take any time off of work, so… was it something I said? No. He has work obligations, and I’m going to the library. I’m not trying to be nosy, but how long have you guys been dating? And you still haven’t had sex yet? Don’t worry, things didn’t happen overnight for spence and me, either. For all his sophistication, spence was really shy and inexperienced. But we figured it out. You and cam will, too. I don’t care what you and spencer do or don’t do when you’re alone. And you don’t know anything about cam and me. You don’t have to be uptight around me. I would never judge my friends.
[ Scoffs ] Except we’re not friends. And you know that. Get inside. You’re the boss. Nice of you to join us. Say hello to your brother.
Can’t reveal thedetails of what nikolas wants in exchange for my release. It’s complicated. Because he wants something in exchange? I mean, isn’t that — isn’t that how the world works? Wow. I thought i was cynical. No. No, not cynical. Just realistic. Once you’ve survived the likes of shiloh and cyrus, you just kind of tend to put aside the rose-colored glasses. I stopped holding out hope for goodness and virtue to triumph because, in my experience, they, uh, they rarely do. So what are you waiting for? You’re sober. You’re making it up to the people that you hurt. There’s no reason for you not to take your nephew’s offer, unless… unless what? Unless you’d rather stay here. You didn’t go straight to the cops with this theory, which tells me you know your case is weak. Hey, there’s no shame in that. You took your best shot. Now it’s time to bargain. So put your cards on the table. There must be something you want. All the time you stole from me… …no amount of money can buy that. I understand why you feel that way. And I hope you feel better now that you got that off your chest. But let’s get real. I can’t give you the time back. Hayden’s over the situation. So instead of focusing on the time that you lost with T.J., Focus on enjoying the time with him now. I’m opening negotiations. Name a figure that would enable you to leave the past in the past and allow us to both move on. Then you haven’t given up on me. I didn’t make you hate me? I don’t hate you. I just can’t let myself believe in you or anything you say. I know that I need to win back your trust. I-I didn’t come here tonight for you to hold my hand and say, “there, there.” Really? Because it seems like that’s what you wanted. I wanted someone to be honest with me, to talk to me the way that nobody had ever talked to me until I met you, trina. You may not trust me, but I trust you. I came here tonight because I wanted to let you know that I’m over this sad, pathetic game with my father. To hell with him. Okay? I will find my own way, I promise. Nope! No more promises. You’re good with your words, spencer, but your words don’t match your actions. So I need something else from you. I need you to prove yourself, not by what you say but by what you do. Do you remember what you said to me at the hospital, that minding my business is free but minding yours will cost me? Right back at you, esme. Don’t mind my business. Don’t comment on it. And don’t waste your time pretending to be my friend when we both know that you’re not. I just hope that spencer wakes up in time to see the real you before it’s too late. Well, would you look at this? Brothers reunited but on opposite sides. I smell a mini-series. Let her go. If he kills me, kill her. No! Drew, don’t listen to him! Think of your daughter! Think of scout! Kill peter, jason! Kill him! Kill that son of a bitch. We’ll figure the rest out later.
Place is a hell of a lotbetter than pentonville. We both know that. But why the hell would anyone want to stay here if they didn’t have to? Lots of reasons. Because you’re safe here, because almost every decision is made for you, because you know who you are in here.
[ Chuckles ] You’re pretty good. Yeah, I know what to expect here. Every day when I wake up, I know what chores I-I’ll do. I know that drinking won’t be an option. And, you know, when I leave here, it’ll be totally unknown. Because I won’t have a job to go to or a special someone to go home to. I should have a lot of free time on my hands. You know, and there will be a lot of alcohol everywhere, you know, in every bar, in every restaurant, or I can just order it and have it delivered at home, like I used to. You know, it’s okay to be scared of life on the outside. There’s a whole lot of unknowns, to worry that maybe you haven’t actually hit your rock bottom.
[ Laughs ] Oh. I used to pride myself on having my own mind and making my own decisions, and now I’m terrified
[Laughs] Of my decisions.
[ Sighs ] And all the temptations that I don’t have access to here I’ll — I will have access to when I’m — I’m — I’m out there. So, you know, it’s easy to be strong when you don’t have the option to be weak. Yeah. So what are you gonna do? Are you just gonna stay in here, hiding? You know, life is — it’s full of prisons, and I’m not talking about this one, with the locks on the doors, with the fence around the perimeter. I’m talking about the prisons that we create for ourselves in our own minds. Trust me, I’ve been there.
[ Sighs ] So before you — you turn down an offer to go free, you got to ask yourself something. “Can I do more good in here or out there in the world?” There’s no price tag on the years you spent in prison. But like I said, this isn’t about your past. It’s about your future. My opening offer is $500,000. Nah. I’m not like you, nikolas. People aren’t a commodity to me. Without a confession, you have nothing. Without hayden, you have less than nothing. Yeah. You made sure of that, I know. Hayden’s gone. She chose to leave her old life behind. Now it’s your turn. You need a new life. That costs money. I can make that happen. Spencer: Help me out, trina. Tell me what I can do to repair things. I can’t tell you what to do, but what I do know is you need to stop looking at other people to define you. Isn’t that what you were doing with your dad? Isn’t that what you’re doing with — with your girlfriend? I just want you to respect me. I want you to be proud to be my friend. I really value your opinion, trina. You want to earn my respect? It’s not gonna happen overnight. It starts by honoring your commitments. Go back to that job you hate. Stick with it and learn to do it well. And maybe you’ll become someone your friends can count on. And maybe that starts by choosing better people to associate with. Trina, what if I can’t escape it? What if, no matter how hard I try, I turn into my father? That’s B.S., And you know it. I don’t believe in fate or destiny. Those are just excuses for laziness or selfishness. You don’t want to turn out like your father? Then don’T. This is on you, spencer. Just you.
[ Sighs ] I wish things didn’t have to be like this with us, but it is what it is. Sorry I tried to have an adult conversation with you. I won’t make that mistake again. All righty. Kitchen crisis handled. What did I miss? No one important. Kill him, jason. Kill him! Your brother has that navy seal training — take no prisoners. Listen, don’t worry about me, okay? But my mother needs medical attention. Do what you have to do. I’m not going anywhere without my britta. Shoot that schwein and be done with it. Only two ways to save britt, jason. Lower your gun or kill your brother.
Where did esme go? She left, and she took her friendship with her. She really gets on your nerves, huh? Was it, uh, all that talk about spending the weekend together?
[ Sighs ] Can we talk about anything else? Cam, I am really sorry about taking off before. Something came up. It was a family emergency. I am so sorry. And that justifies you walking off the job? All right, um, I’m gonna leave you to it. No, no, no. Stick around, joss. It’s fine. This will not take long. I have things to do. I really am sorry. No, no. I — I do not care about your apology. I went out on a limb for you by hiring you, by giving you a chance, and how do you repay me? You walk out without even saying a word. That’s it, spencer. You blew it. You’re fired.
[ Cellphone rings ] Joss, what’s up? Hi. What are you doing tonight? I’m supposed to be working on a project, but I had an unexpected visitor. Huh. Let me guess — it was spencer. Yep. Are you okay? I’ll live. You? Well, I just had a run-in with esme. She’s a piece of work. Sounds like we both need to talk. Meet you at kelly’s? No. Cam’s not done working. I’ll come to you. Spencer: You want to fire me? Go ahead. But let me make this clear — I didn’t quit. I had a family emergency with my father. Was he hurt? No, it wasn’t that kind of emergency. I had something really important to ask him. And the way that he answered told me everything, and I’m done with him. So I came back here because I really need this stupid job. And I’m not saying that I like it, but I need it. And I think that I really could have been good at this job, but I guess now we’ll never know. Spencer, wait. Take it. Now get back to work. This offer is good for a limited time. You’ll never get a better one, not from the pcpd or the da’s office, that’s for sure. Definitely not from hayden. So, what do you say? Can you leave the past behind to invest in your future? Hey, I get why this is difficult for you. You know, once you leave these locked doors, there’s a whole bunch of unknowns out there, as well as all the people that have disappointed you. Not to mention all the times and ways that I’ve disappointed myself. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You have any idea what you’re gonna do? Well, I know what I’m not gonna do. I’m not going against my conscience to gain my freedom. I don’t want any part of my nephew or his dirty offer. Come on, jason, you’re an excellent shot. You can take out drew right now and leave britt unharmed, just like you shot my father when he took carly hostage. Your only other alternative is to kill me and hope drew doesn’t hurt britt. I’m okay with that, jason. I’ll take my chances. Just kill this bastard! No, britta! Drew will kill her, jason. It’s his mission. If you don’t believe me, ask liesl. Peter’s right. While the conditioning is active, nothing will stop drew from completing whatever mission he’s given. So there you have it. It all boils down to one simple question, jason — do you want your brother’s blood on your hands?
[ Gun thuds ]
[ Laughs ] Take it.
[ Grunts ] I just saved your life, sis. If you had tried to shoot me, drew would have killed you and jason for trying to save you in the meantime. So now look at it this way — we all get to live a little bit longer… for now.
On the next “General Hospital” —
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