01-27-2017 (Friday) FRANCO IS RESCUED!

Hayden and Finn arrive at the hospital together; as they step of the elevator, they are greeted by Brad, who wants to make sure his name gets put on the patent for the new drug they are developing.  Finn only cares that it get made and distributed to those who need it.  Griffin interrupts; Finn is glad and Brad is slightly annoyed.  Hayden suggests that a patent isn’t a bad idea; she says it could be good P.R. for the hospital.  Nurse Nancy bothers Hayden, as Hayden denies having anything more than a friendship with Finn; Nancy tells her she wants to be her friend.  She says she can tell they are in love; and she heard all about their almost dying together.  Hayden smiles, as if she might tell her.  She admits to “a little something” between her and Finn.  Nancy swears to be the soul of discretion (oh, yeah right); Hayden doesn’t necessarily look as if she believes her.  Brad tells Finn that he saw him getting a prescription from Griffin; he says he knows he is addicted from the Zen-zen and threatens to tell the hospital board until Finn agrees to put him on the patent.  Nurse Nancy spills the secret to Griffin first chance she gets, telling him he can’t tell anybody…because it’s a secret.  

Alexis drops her empty bottle when Dante asks about Tom Baker; she doesn’t want to talk to him, but he says if he can’t come in and talk to her, they will have to go down to the station.  She lets him in, but she refuses to answer any questions.  Diane shows up to give her good news about her hearing; she tells her she doesn’t need to hear it because she can’t go through with the hearing.  She tells Diane that she is, at least, guilty of covering up two murders.  Diane talks her into going to the hearing, but she tells Diane to go ahead and says she will meet her there.  There is something she needs to do first, she says.Tom Baker’s brother storms into the police station; he demands to know what the police have found out about his brother.  He leaves in a huff; Elizabeth follows him.  She tells him she needs his help; she wants him to clarify something he said.  She asks how he knows that Franco had locked his brother in a cage; she says that information was not released to the public.  He says his brother called him and told him what had happened; everything except the part about putting Franco in the cage before escaping.  Liz tells him that she thinks someone else killed his brother.  He tells her he is sure Franco did.

Franco ponders who could have done this to him; he tries to recall where he’d seen that trophy before.  He talks to himself, trying to recall what he does know.  He sits down against the door with a notebook and tiny pencil; he realizes he may not have much time yet – he has no food, no water, and it’s cold.  He draws a picture of Elizabeth, and writes her name on it; then starts talking to himself again about how hard he has tried for her and her boys.  He says he loves her, then lays back down on the floor and passes out.  Sam calls Kiki to tell her about Franco’s note, which she found on the floor when she went back to The Floating Rib to get her phone.  She asks her where she found the note; Kiki tells her.  Kiki wants to go with her, but Sam sternly tells her, “no.”  Sam goes to the storage units and finds Franco; he says even he doesn’t think it’s fair that she has to save his “worthless ass” but begs her not to leave him.  She tells him she isn’t going to leave him; she asks if he knows who did this… he says someone who was really good at basketball, and he points out the trophies.  Scene flashes to Elizabeth, still talking to Tom’s brother.  There are basketball trophies all over the room.

01-26-2017 (Thursday)

Lulu finds her mother talking with Kevin at a table in the Metro Court; she asks to sit down.  Kevin offers her his chair.  She tells her mother she made a mistake; she tells her she told Charlotte she was her mother and now Charlotte hates her.  She tells her how she ran out of the closet and locked her in.  Kevin suggests co-parenting; he offers therapy.  Lulu gets upset, but denies being upset; she says she just has a lot to think about now and leaves.  Kevin apologizes to Laura.  

The girls discuss whether they should call the police at this point and tell them everything they know; apparently no one has looked at Franco’s note yet, which I guess is still just stuck in Kiki’s purse.  Sam tells Kiki she and Elizabeth can handle this right now and if they need her or find anything, they’ll give her a call.  Sam doesn’t want to go to the police; she begs Elizabeth not to throw her mother under the bus.  They walk out the door; Kiki drops her purse as she and Dillon leave, and Franco’s note, somehow, ‘falls’ out and is left laying of the floor because she picks up her purse without even looking at it, which she simply wouldn’t do.  She and Dillon go sit and have a drink, and talk and she tells him she is ready to be happy; they kiss.  Carly sees them.

Carly goes to Sonny’s; she finds a letter addressed to Morgan on the desk.  He comes down the stairs; she asks him to open it.  He says he couldn’t…he shows her a whole stack of mail he hasn’t opened.  They start to go through it together.  Michael thanks Nelle for her kind words to Joslyn; he tells her that he hopes she can take her own advice, and let her bad memories go, unburdening herself.  She tells him she’s trying.  They flirt a bit and he leaves.  He goes to see his mother; he tells her that he and Nelle are getting close (after she mentions seeing Dillon with Kiki).  Carly tells him that she hears Nelle is not available; then blurts out that she's seeing a married man.

Nelle comes to Sonny’s door; she says Carly sent her to go through Morgan’s mail.  Sonny says he is not comfortable with that; she asks if she can just gather it and take it back to the office, saying Carly asked her to do that then.  Sonny steps in front of her and tells her that he sees anger in his eyes; he recognizes it, he says, from when he used to look in the mirror, holding all that anger inside.  He tells her one of these days, it’s going to explode and hurt the people she loves.  

Elizabeth goes directly to the police station; Sam goes to her mom’s.  She asks if there is anything else she hasn’t told her; she says no.  She swears she believes that Julian didn’t have anything to do with Franco’s disappearance…Sam questions if she is falling in love with him again.  Alexis insists not.  Sam questions if she was drinking before she came; Alexis admits that she almost did… opened the bottle, poured herself a glass, swirled it around and sniffed it, but she swears she didn’t drink it.  Sam realizes she left her phone at The Floating Rib, and leaves.  Alexis looks at the bottle again.  She takes it outside and pours it out.  Dante seems to buy Elizabeth’s theory about what happened to Franco; Nathan says it does sound possible.  Dante takes his coat and leaves.  He heads to Alexis’ house to question her about Tom Baker.

01-25-2017 (Wednesday)

The waitresses run to Jason, one tells the other to call 911; Tracy comes into the dining room.  She manages to wake Jason up, sort of; she asks how long he’s been sick.  He says he’s not; she tells him he is burning up.  She says she is going to call Sam but he tells her not to call.  They get him to the hospital and get his fever down; when he really wakes up, he finds Julian sitting by his bed.  Julian tells him that this person he and Curtis are investigating is very dangerous and if he keeps it up, Sam and her unborn child might be at risk.  He demands to know why this person wants Sonny dead.  Julian won’t tell Jason who it is; he just says that all of their lives, including his, may depend upon Jason doing the right thing.  

Curtis and Jordan move to the bed; they continue kissing and get in position to have sex.  Jordan puts a halt to things though; she says one minute they are playing cards and the next they are going at it for no reason.  He says there is a reason and she knows it; he brings up a moment between them in the interrogation room.  She admits that she felt something for him that day.  She also says it doesn’t matter because she is with Andre; Curtis mocks her relationship with Andre.  She tells him he needs to get over himself.  They get into an argument; she claims her attraction to him is only physical, but it means nothing going forward.  She kicks him out of her room all bitchy-like now, and tells him that they are there on business; he wishes her luck in her relationship with Andre and leaves.  

Sam asks Elizabeth what’s going on; she says she is willing to help.  Liz questions what has changed; she figures out that Sam talked to her mom – she asks what her mom said.  Sam doesn’t tell her; she simply asks if Elizabeth wants her help or not.  Liz begs her to please keep an open mind about Franco during this investigation; Sam brings up the ‘fake rape video’ Franco made Jason watch.  Liz says she feels the same way about Tom Baker; they both agree they just want to get to the truth here, so they sit down to talk.  Franco is struggling to crawl across the floor to shove a note under the door; he is trying to stay warm using bubble wrap?  He tries to open some more boxes, and gets frustrated when he just finds Tupperware and trophies.  He passes out. 

Kiki goes to talk to Dillon.  She shows him Franco’s phone, which is now out of the bag and kind of wrapped in the bloody handkerchief; she says she needs to get the data off of it.  He asks how long it was in the water; she says she doesn’t know.  He doesn’t make her any promises but tells her he will take a shot.  They go to a storage unit, to use a dehydration machine.  This unit happens to be directly across from the unit that Franco is locked in – he groans at one point, and they hear it, but they don’t hear any other sound so they think nothing of it.  They find his note on the ground, but only because they were looking for something to write instructions on for rebooting the phone once they get it dried out.  Liz calls and they tell her they will be right there; Franco wakes up, trying to make more noise, but just a little too late.  They are gone.  He starts looking through boxes again and finds another trophy; this one, he recognizes.  But from where? 

Alexis insists that Julian be honest with her; she asks how he “took care of the situation” with Tom Baker and what happened to Franco.  She assumes some scenarios and then asks him again; he says he doesn’t know where Franco is.  She questions how she can tell he is telling the truth; he says she can’t.  Alexis presses Julian for an answer; he tells her that she is right to suspect that he did something to Franco, but still denies having done anything to him.  He tells her that he has always put her welfare first, despite how it may have seemed and his conscience is clear, even though he can’t prove it to her.  He says he has to go take care of something and asks her not to go get a drink; she gets mad and says she’s not going to drink.  He tells her not to inquire too much about Franco because her inquiries may require an explanation; he tells her again they will fix this.  Diane brings over paperwork for Alexis’ approval; she also brings a bottle of wine for celebration once she gets reinstated to the bar.  Alexis tells her she really doesn’t think she will ever practice law again; Diane gives her a pep talk, gets up to go present her case and says she will be back to pop that bottle open with her.  Alexis stares at the bottle, longingly.  After Diane leaves, Alexis puts the bottle away in the cabinet; she immediately turns around and gets it back out and starts opening it.

01-24-2017 (Tuesday)

Curtis and Jordan spend the evening together, reminiscing and celebrating the testimony they have from Buz; he goes to get sandwiches, and brings back cards.  They play poker and he teases her about what a horrible poker play she is, and tries to sweet talk her a little bit.  She playfully resists, but he comes closer and closer, and kisses her; she kisses him back.

Michael comes to visit his dad and brings onion rings; Carly comes in saying she hopes he brought lots because she’s starving.  She says Joslyn is not taking the news about Morgan well; she refuses to talk to anyone.  Michael says he is going to try to talk to her; maybe she will listen to him.  After Michael leaves, Sonny asks Carly if she has thought about them; she smiles.  She tells him that Jos refuses to move back in with him; as much as she wants to be with him, she says, she is going to stay with her daughter.  They talk a while longer and end up kissing, but suddenly gets up and says she has to go because Joslyn is waiting at her house.  Jos tells her brother that she is not going anywhere near Sonny’s house; he tells her Sonny wasn’t responsible but she thinks he is, because he’s a mobster.  Michael tells Joslyn that she needs to let herself grieve; he says she is displacing her anger.  Nelle tells Jos that she really does need to move through the anger in order to ever get over it; she reminds her that she was once happy living there with Sonny and her brother.  She listens.  Just as Carly is putting her coat on, Joslyn steps in the door, with Michael and Nelle standing behind her.

Sam shows up at Alexis’, unannounced; Julian comes down the stares calling out to Alexis.  He pretends to just be picking something up; Alexis asks him to leave and says she needs to tell Sam the truth.  He leaves and Alexis confesses everything to Sam, even the possibility that she might have killed Tom Baker.  Sam says that makes sense with what Elizabeth was telling her; that she doesn’t know her mom at all.  Alexis tells her about her encounter with Tom Baker, all that she remembers… Sam tells her that she will support her as much as she can, but when Alexis tells her about Tom, she hugs her and says she has to go.  Alexis apologizes, after she walks out the door.  When Julian comes back home, Alexis asks him if he did something to Franco.

Elizabeth is sitting at The Floating Rib, looking at Franco’s phone; Jason comes in and says he was with Jake today at school for Daddy-Donut Day.  He asks Liz what’s wrong; she doesn’t say anything about Franco missing.  Kiki shows up and asks Jason if he is there to help them with Franco.  Jason gets concerned; Liz tells him it’s nothing they can’t handle themselves and he goes to sit down at another table.  He orders coffee.  They ask each other if they have seen Franco; and both get concerned when they acknowledge they haven’t.  Elizabeth shows Kiki the bloody phone she found, which she now has in a plastic bag; now, they agree, they need to be worried.  They also agree, they cannot involve the police – the police are already looking for Franco.  Kiki takes the phone and says she will see what she can figure out; she tells Elizabeth to stay in touch.  Jason stands up from his table; he doesn’t feel right… he gets dizzy and falls to the floor.

01-23-2017 (Monday) WHERE IS FRANCO?

Finn and Hayden are still making love; he tells her she is much better at this than she is at skating.  She tells him she is happy; she says she is done waiting for the other shoe to drop – the look on his face changes to concern.  They decide they are hungry and should get out of bed to eat; she goes to shower… Finn grabs his pouch and begins another injection.  Hayden comes back out, having forgotten something, and asks what he is doing.  He says it’s just a precaution; the disease was in his system much longer than hers, he tells her, so it is taking longer to eradicate it.  They decide to head to the floating rib to get something to eat; there, they see Brad, who is surprised to see them out.  He asks Finn why he is lying to Hayden.  

Scotty is at the roadhouse, trying to bribe the bartender to tell him that he knows Alexis.  Elizabeth is on the phone, looking for Franco; Brad comes in and tells her she isn’t the only one looking for him.  She calls Scotty; he says he hasn’t seen Franco since this morning.  He tells her to meet him at the Gene’s roadhouse; she says she will be right there.  When Elizabeth gets to the roadhouse, she sees Franco’s car; Scotty tells her he isn’t there though, and she really gets concerned.  She thinks they should call the police; he tells her that’s the last thing they should do.  Nathan carries Maxie over the threshold of their hotel room; the room is covered in wrapped presents… he says they are all for her.  She says she wants to wait to open them; they begin to kiss.  After making love, he gives her his gifts; one is a family heirloom – a diamond necklace, which used to belong to his great-grandmother.  She gives him an autographed baseball.  He gives her one last present; a pair of handcuffs. Lol.  

Charlotte’s reaction to Lulu’s announcement that she is her “real” mommy, is not what Lulu expected; Charlotte screams, “No, you are not my mommy.”  She tells Charlotte that she knows she will always love Claudette, but reminds her that there are a lot of people here who love her… saying Dante loves her, and her brother, Rocco loves her; Charlotte gets up, screams again that she is not her mother and runs out of the closet, slamming the door behind her.  Lulu tries to follow, but the door is locked.  Dante finds her purse on the floor; her phone rings and he wonders where she is.  He goes looking; he finds the closet and busts the door open, but Lulu isn’t in there now… Dante comes back out into the reception area, still looking for Lulu.  He hears creaking in the ceiling above them; Lulu falls through the ceiling and hits the floor.

Valentine admits he was an analyst during Anna's training; she admits remembering him being in her room that night, on her birthday, but says he looked ‘different’ (he was disfigured) – he says he expressed his feelings for her, and she recoiled in horror.  She says they were friends; she just didn’t expect anything more from him – he says he was just a cripple behind a desk nobody paid any attention to.  He tells her that he had surgery to fix his scoliosis and it actually saved his life; he says that is all due to her.  He says it gave him the nudge to rebuild his life; her rejection of him gave him more than her friendship ever could.  He walks back into the reception; Anna shivers.  She goes in and Griffin says she looks like she could use the drink more than him; she tells Griffin she thinks Valentin came to Port Charles to get revenge against her.  Anna tells Griffin about the conversation with Valentin, sort of; she says he kissed her, and when she turned him down, he was hurt.  She guesses he left the academy after that and says that she really never gave that night much more thought… but the look on her face says otherwise. 

Liz tells the bartender at the roadhouse that she is fascinated with true-crime shows, mentioning that she heard a man was murdered near there.  He says he isn’t supposed to talk about it; she asks if he can just tell her where it happened.  He says in the alley, out back; she goes out to look around and finds Franco’s phone on the ground – there is blood on it.

01-19-2016 (Thursday) MEMORIES

Elizabeth comes to talk to Sam; she says Franco needs her help.  When she tells her it’s for Franco, though, she refuses to do anything to help; Elizabeth tells her Franco is trying to protect her mother.  Sam looks confused; Elizabeth explains.  Sam doesn’t believe her; she says her mother hasn’t been drinking and she doesn’t go to “dive” bars.  Liz tells her there is a lot she doesn’t know.  She says that she likes Alexis and, if she killed Tom Baker, she’s sure she was only trying to defend herself; she asks Sam, if she won’t look into this for Franco, to please do it for her mom.  Ava comes to see her brother, but Alexis tells him he isn’t there; Ava doesn’t believe that she doesn’t know where he is.  

Julian is speaking with the mystery woman from underneath the pawnshop; he calls her “Liv” – she calls him “brother” and says she is now the queen of the Jerome family – (she is a past character, but I don’t recall her name …it might also be Olivia) he tells her he is not doing what she wants him to do, and if she kills Jason Morgan, she will be the next to go.  He suggests they pin the car bombing on somebody else.   “Liv” talks to her ‘love,’ in an urn, and says eventually she will make Julian pay for what he did to them…she opens a cupboard and looks at a collection of framed pictures of DUKE.  She says they could have had a beautiful life together if it weren’t for Julian.  She then recalls an argument with Anna, when Anna was married to Duke and pregnant with his child, over which of them was going to have Duke.  

At the wedding, Anna has more flashbacks of the past as Valentin sits with Nina and Charlotte;  Charlotte tells Valentin she is glad he married Nina… Lulu overhears.  Griffin tells Nina he really grew attached to Charlotte in the short time she was in his life; she suggests he go tell her hello.  Nathan and Maxie finish their first dance as husband and wife; Spenelli announces the father-daughter/mother-groom dance.  Maxie dances with Max, and Nathan offers his hand to Olbrecht; Liesel cries a little, saying she never thought she would have a real relationship with him.  Afterward, everyone gets up to dance.  Nina hugs Nathan and says she can’t believe her baby brother is all grown up; Charlotte pulls Valentine outside, wanting to look at ‘her star’ but he tells her it’s too cold.  She goes back in; Griffin comes out and grabs Valentin, telling him that he killed the only mother Charlotte has ever known… Charlotte is peaking out the door and hears this.  She runs back inside; Lulu sees her running and follows her.  Lulu fins Charlotte hiding in a closet and goes in to comfort her; she asks what’s wrong and Charlotte says she misses her mother.  She tells Charlotte she still has a mom; she says she is her real mommy.  

Anna comes outside to find Valentine beating up Griffin; she tells him to stop and says he is such a vicsious thug, adding, “you disgust me.”  He stutters and says, “that’s what you’ve always said about me.”  Anna is stunned.  Anna recalls a man from her past with a stutter; she remembers Valentin.  He looked slightly different; she looks at Valentin and says she remembers, as a tear runs down her cheek, as she says, "I do remember you."

01-17-2017 (Tuesday) THE WEDDING

The girls bring Maxie up the elevator, now dressed in her extravagant wedding gown she picked out for the Crimson ‘must have’ section of the wedding issue; …spenelli makes Nathan put on a blindfold; tradition.  …Maxie is quite taken with the décor.  Mac brings Georgie in; maxie is overwhelmed.  Felicia gets a phone call…panic about Lucy’s flight being diverted ensues; now, they say, there is no one to officiate the wedding.  (But, what about Griffin??)  Robin announces that Spenelli got ordained to marry Jason and Sam; Maxie says she would it if he would officiate her wedding and he agrees to do so.  Anna has a short discussion with Valentine; Griffin arrives and asks Anna what he missed.  Lulu sees Valentine at the wedding and tells Nina he isn’t welcome; Nina says she’s the one who set everything up and he is her husband, so he and Charlotte are her guests… Lulu tells Valentine that she wants to take Charlotte again, saying, “she needs to be with me.”  He tells her that’s never going to happen and she carries on; Nina interrupts and says the wedding is about to start and they need to table the conversation.  Dante comforts Lulu; she says she’s fine.  Anna tells Valentin she is closer than he things to finding out the truth; he tells her not every sinner has to pay for their crime, and she knows that better than anyone.  She looks confused by that statement.  

Curtis tells Jordan that she has to meet him tonight to go meet with Buz; he will only come out at a certain time, to a certain place.  Andre doesn’t like the idea and tells Jordan he wants her to choose not to go meet him; he wants her to spend the night with him.  She looks torn.  He says she shouldn’t risk her career and trust Curtis, blindly.  The wedding music starts; everybody takes their seat.  Maxie walks in on Mac’s arm.  The robe is gone and she is now is a simple lace gown; it’s pretty.  Lulu fixes her train as Maxie and Nathan turn to face each other.  Spenelli gives a nice speech about them choosing each other and deciding to link they past with the mystery that is tomorrow; I like that, might use it someday.  He asks if anyone objects; everyone laughs.  Nathan says, “see I told you we’d make it.”  But then Nathan’s mother rushes in, yelling, “stop.”  Maxie is stunned; she asks Olbrecht why, saying she thought she was okay with them getting married.  She says she is; she’s just pissed because her text notification didn’t give her time to get there before they started and she can’t believe they didn’t notice her missing.  Nathan says he is glad she is there; Maxie says she is too and they show her to her seat; the wedding proceeds.  

Spenelli asks if they would like to exchange vows; Nathan recalls when they first met, saying she opened up his heart again and filled it with light and joy, enthusiasm and love.  She calls him her hero, not like in the movies, but by every definition of the word; she says he saw the best in her when she couldn’t see it in herself.  A long montage of the development of their relationship plays, then his proposal… and they exchange the tradition “I take you” vows, each taking their turn (but it is intermingled, as scenes still play of their failed attempts to get married).  Scene returns to the chapel and Spenelli says, “you may kiss the bride.”  Everyone claps, except Anna.  She has a memory; she looks officially freaked out.  Spenelli announces the couple and that Maxie is keeping her name.  Spenelli asks Robin if she knows where Jason and Sam are; she says no, but they were supposed to be there.  

Olivia rushes into the hospital, saying she got a call that the babysitter had taken Leo there; Julian is talking to Sam and Jason.  He tells them it is time for him to tell them everything….he overhears that Leo is there.  Apparently the babysistter left Leo for a moment in the living room on the floor, next to an open bottle of asprin; they are “pumping his stomach now, just as a precaution.”  (Hospitals usually just give babies a liquid that makes them throw up.) But the babysitter swears she didn’t leave the asprin there… Julian looks like he might know something.  He starts to say something; the doctor comes out and says Leo is going to be alright; they want to keep him overnight.  Oliva and Ned go into see him; Julian stands in the doorway.  

Ned tells him he can have a moment with his son; Julian thanks him for saving his son’s life.  He then tells him to take care of Olivia, adding that she is a wonderful mother.  He turns and leaves; he tells Sam that he has to go take care of something.  Jason questions what truth he wanted to tell them earlier; Julian claims he has forgotten because he is rattled now.  Sam reminds him that it was about the car bomb; he says things have changed since his marriage last year.  He says the organization may be targeting his family and he warns them to be careful; they think there is still something he isn’t telling them.  Olivia thanks Ned for being there for her; he says he will always be there for her, and they kiss.  Jason reminds Sam that she needs to be taking it easy; he tells her he wants to back off of the investigation.  She agrees and says she is counting on him to get to the bottom of all this.  

01-16-2-17 (Monday) A SURPRISE for MAXIE

Julian is at the doctor getting a checkup; he calls Alexis to tell her the scans are looking good.  Rudg walks into the exam room; he tells Julian that they have had enough of Jason Morgan and he needs to get rid of him tonight.  Julian tells Rudg he is done taking orders; Griffin comes back in the room and asks if he is interrupting something.  Rudg pretends that he is there to give Julian a ride home; Griffin leaves.  Rudg continues to threaten Julian; Julian continues to rebel… he tells him to hell with them and says he is telling his family everything.  He says maybe the boss should start worrying about him for a change; he can make a pretty powerful enemy.  He tells Rudg to tell “his” boss that he is done playing.  Rudg calls his boss and tells him that Julian refused to play along, but “it’s been handled.”  

Olivia notices a strange man at the venue and starts to tell him to leave; Nelle says he is a temp she hired because she figured they would need a couple extra hands.  As Olivia leaves to go get Leo, he asks her to hold the elevator and steps in with her.  When she calls the sitter to tell her she is on her way, Olivia gets some bad news.  Michael shows up with Dante’s “best man” tux and runs straight into Nelle, who has been helping set up for the secret wedding; they smile at each other.  They decide to go to Perks and talk; she puts herself down, referring to comments made by her step-father, and Michael tells her to stop.  He says, from what he has seen, she is pretty wonderful.  Michael tells her she needs to start concentrating on making happy memories; he suggests they rent some skates and hit the ice.  

Dillon goes chasing after Maxie; Nina nervously tells Nathan they turned their backs for two seconds and she was gone.  Nathan says guests are going to be showing up any minute for their surprise wedding; they HAVE to find her!  Maxie is at the airport, asking for a ticket to Portland, Oregon; she wants to go see Georgie.  A very different-looking ‘Spenelli’ shows up at the airport behind her; he is obviously there for the wedding, but tells her he is there to do a job for Sam.  He makes up a lie about Georgie and Ellie being on a “girl’s trip” and begs her to rethink leaving town; he says she should go talk to Nathan.  He takes her back to Crimson where she is surprised by Robin and Lulu, standing with bouquets; they tell her Nathan planned this all.  Meanwhile, Nathan and Dante head to the airport to her himself, but is told by the ticket clerk that she got out of line; Dante gets a call from Spenelli, telling him Nathan’s bride has been recovered and is getting ready for the ceremony as they speak.  

Sam and Jason let Sonny know they hit another roadblock; a dummy corporation owns the pawnshop.  Sonny says he is getting worried because his trial starts soon; he thanks Jason for taking the risk he took, and says when this is all over he wants to talk to him about his role “in the business.”  Jason tells him (as Sam overhears, and smiles) that his place is with his family.  They excuse themselves and Sam thanks him for what he said as soon as they step outside, but adds that she understands that things change; she has a cramp…not the first one tonight.  Sam says they might be late for the wedding; they head to the hospital.  It turns out to be nothing again; Sam apologizes.  They decide to skip the wedding though so Sam can go home and rest; they meet Julian coming off the elevator as they go to leave.  Julian asks to talk to her, but she has no interest; Jason tells him to back off, but Julian insists they need to listen to him.  

Griffin stops by to see Sonny; he asks if he has been able to find any peace about what happened.  Sonny says they did find out that he wasn’t responsible; he tells Griffin that he and Carly are healing, but it’s a slow process.  Griffin tells him there seems to be something more – he says ‘something’ made him turn into his gate today; Sonny readily admits to Griffin that he slept with someone else after Carly left.  He tells Griffin this woman is getting close to his son now, so telling would hurt more than just Carly; he asks Griffin what he thinks he should do.  He agrees that the damage is already done, and telling Carly would only be unburdening himself at her expense; still, he says, only he can decide what is right.  He says he has to get going; Sonny thanks him for stopping by.  Griffin tells him to pray on his dilemma, shakes his hand and leaves.  Curtis fills Jordan in on the information they have found out so far regarding the men behind the car bombing; he says it all proves that Corinthos is innocent.  She says fine, but he needs to bring Buz in to give his statement so she can do this the right way.  He doesn’t want to bring him in; he says he could set up a meeting with Buz at a different location.  She thanks him and he says he will set it up for tomorrow.  

01-13-2017 (Friday)

Somebody drags Franco into a storage room of some kind and drops him on the floor, still unconscious, his head bleeding on the right side.  He starts to come to and calls out for Elizabeth; he wonders what happened.  Elizabeth is at work, asking if anyone has seen Franco; she gets told he has missed two appointments this morning.  She is worried now.  Kiki runs into Elizabeth at the hospital and tells her that Franco knows who killed Tom Baker, but he doesn’t want to turn this person in, she says because he doesn’t want to hurt “her” any worse than he already has.  Lulu says she can’t imagine who Franco would give up his freedom for; Elizabeth gets even more worried.  She calls and leaves a message for Franco.  Franco manages to get to his feet; he starts looking through boxes to see if he can find something to use.  The first box has a lamp in it; he takes the bubble wrap out and wraps himself in it, trying to stay warm.

Lulu and Dante tell Valentin that they have received news that Claudette is dead; he says she was her own worst enemy, but regardless of how he feels about her, this news is going devastate his daughter because she loved Claudette very much.  Dante insinuates that Valentin doesn’t care about Claudette; he says she was his daughter’s surrogate.  He says if she was killed, he wants whoever is responsible brought to justice; Lulu says they can help Charlotte, by letting her know she has a mother after all.  She suggests he tell Charlotte that she is her biological mother; he says absolutely not and leaves.  Lulu asks Dante why he wasn’t backing her up; he says he thinks maybe Valentin is right.  Valentin goes to pick Charlotte up from ice skating; she asks when he mom is coming back… he tells her to sit down, saying he has bad news he has to tell her.  He hugs her and tells her he is sorry about her mom; Charlotte asks if she will ever come back from heaven.  He says no; she says that’s alright because Nina can be her new mom.  

Nina is happy to see Maxie at the office; she tells her they have a problem… the new printer needs the final copy a week earlier than normal; she tells her she’s left a to-do-list on her desk.  Maxie sits down and sees the list for the upcoming “wedding issue.”  She looks sad; Nathan goes in to talk with Nina.  Nina thanks him for letting her help with this surprise; she says she has already lined up Dillon and everything is ready.  Dillon comes in; Maxie asks to talk to him.  She tells him she is having a hard time looking at this wedding issue; Dillon says, yeah, Nina should have been more considerate.  Maxie decides it’s just too much for her, and says she’s leaving; Dillon stops her and asks her to stay.  He says Crimson needs her, the readers need her; he asks her to please stay.  She agrees, although she says it will be hard for her to pick a dress for the ‘must have’ column after her own dress was ruined.  Dillon helps her look at the dresses and she decides on one.

Nathan tells Nina about Claudette; she is shocked, but assures him that Valentin did not have anything to do with it.  She asks him to just drop it for now; she says they need to focus on “operation Maxie.”  He agrees.  They begin looking through the file she has put together; she says she knows Maxie’s taste inside and out and she is sure she is going to love this.  He says okay; he has Dante and Lulu waiting in the restaurant upstairs, ready to spring into action when he says so.  Maxie tells Dillon she has realized that designers are hypocrites and that a fancy dress doesn’t really matter; she says she would be happy to marry Nathan in an off the rack cocktail dress.  Her next assignment is going through vows written by other couples; she just finds it too stressful though, and leaves the office.  

Hayden n Finn go ice skating…Hayden says she’s had enough and wants to go get something to eat; she goes to change.  Finn gets in his closet and takes out his medication and syringe; Hayden comes back into the room and asks what he is doing.  He lies, saying he was just getting some cream for his hands; they pour themselves a drink and make a toast to Roxie for saving “their” lives.  They begin kissing and decide to make love; Finn picks her up and carries her into the bedroom.  

Alexis proceeds to introduce herself to the AA group, unsure exactly how she is supposed to do it; she tells them that the last twenty-four hours have been really, really hard.  The leader asks her what brought her here today; she says she isn’t even sure.  She said she married a man who turned her into something she thought she would never be; a victim.  She started trying to relax with a glass or two of wine, then it was a bottle or two… then she started putting vodka in her coffee to get through the morning and started drinking all day and all night.  She says she is really ashamed and doesn’t recognize herself anymore.  She mentions the night she was watching her grandson and almost burned the cookies because she was passed out on the couch; then she did something even worse, she says.  She tells them about running over Julian; she says she really wants a drink.  The man tells her she needs a sponsor and she asks for one; Elizabeth sees her leaving the meeting and wonders (knowing Franco had hurt Sam in the past), could it be Alexis?

01-12-2017 (Thursday)

Nathan and Maxie come home to find Lulu and boxes stacked up in their apartment; she says she was just putting wedding gifts away and getting ready to throw the boxes out.  They tell her the news about Claudette.  Lulu tells them she can think of dozens of reasons that Claudette might have wanted to kill herself, but she believes she may have been murdered…by Valentin.  Lulu says she has to get Charlotte away from him; Nathan gets a call from work.  Maxie asks Lulu what she is thinking of doing; she says she doesn’t know.  Maxie thinks she does, but just hasn’t decided how yet.  Lulu tries to change the subject, saying now that they know Claudette is dead, they can get married; Maxie says, no, they can’t.  Lulu is confused.  Maxie tells her whether Nathan has feelings for Claudette still or not, she has to give him time to process this; she says for a lot of reasons, the wedding just isn’t going to work right now.  Lulu tells her she is being really amazing about all of this; Maxie says the hardest thing is that they can’t set a date for their wedding now with everything in limbo.  Nathan comes back out and tells Maxie he has to go into work; she says she will go to and asks him to wait just a minute.  She leaves the room; Nathan makes a call, asking someone for a favor.  

Elizabeth runs into Laura as she is getting off duty; she congratulates Laura on her new position with the hospital board.  Laura asks if Liz has seen Franco; Liz tells her she went to see him yesterday, but he wasn’t there.  She is disappointed that he hasn’t tried to contact her, recalling him telling her that maybe it’s best if they don’t see each other until this is all over.  She says he is staying true to his word.  She worries that Franco is going to be arrested and she feels like she needs to stand by his side; she thanks Laura for listening.  

Franco gets a knock on his studio door; it is Dante and Jordan, serving a search warrant.  He questions what gave them the right to get a search warrant; Jordan shows him a picture of the murder weapon and asks if he recognizes it.  He says yes.  He tells them to knock themselves out and he leaves.  Jordan admires Franco’s picture of Elizabeth; she says it’s hard to imagine that someone who created that could be capable of murder.  Dante finds Franco’s self-portrait and asks, “how about someone who painted this?”  Scotty and Franco meet at the roadhouse again; he tells Scotty that the police are tossing his studio as they speak.  Scotty asks if they are going to find anything.  Franco says, maybe, but it would all be circumstantial.  Scotty implores Franco to go to the authorities and tell them that he thinks Alexis COULD BE the killer.  

Elizabeth knocks on the door of Franco’s studio and then walks in to find Dante and Jordan search the place; she says she is going to call Scott.  They tell her Franco knows they are there.  She turns and sees the dog cage, then says she needs to get home; they ask her what is wrong.  She says nothing; Jordan accuses her of lying.  Jordan tells Dante she wants to take the dog kennel into the station for testing; Liz insists she knows nothing and leaves.  Jordan then finds a receipt for a knife, just like the one used to kill Tom Baker; she says, “we got him.”  Franco tells Scotty that he might just leave town; Scott begs him no to, admitting that he would miss him, mostly though, he says, because it would make him look even more guilty.  He asks exactly what they are going to find at his studio; Franco says he never got rid of the dog cage.  Scotty says great, and tells Franco to call him if he gets arrested.  Franco leaves the roadhouse and starts to make a call to Elizabeth; someone hits him on the back of the head, and he falls to the ground unconscious.  

Alexis wakes up with her head on Julian’s lap, on the couch; she gets up with a start, telling him not to touch her again.  He asks if she remembers admitting that she needs help; she says no, that’s changed.  She picks up the phone and says she is calling the police to turn herself in; he takes the phone from her and tells her she is not in any condition to be making that kind of a decision.  She agrees to go to a meeting and get help; Julian tells her he is there if she needs him… she rolls her eyes, saying she knows where he is.  She starts to go upstairs, then turns around and tells him thank you.  She comes back down and says she found a meeting at General Hospital; he offers to go with her, but she declines his offer and leaves.  He makes a phone call, saying, “do it, now.”  The bartender from the roadhouse shows up to talk to Julian; Julian shows him Alexis’ picture and asks if he knows her.  He says yes; Julian corrects him, saying, “no, you don’t.”  He tells Julian this lady he doesn’t know was in his bar, ran out on her tab, but has come back to pay it off; Julian’s assistant, “Chad” grabs the man’s arms from behind and bends him over.  Julian tells the man, this woman never came into his bar, and asks if he has made himself clear; the man says yes, very clear.  He lets him go; Julian tells Chad to keep an eye on the man, and make sure he understands.  Alexis briefly talks to Laura before going into the meeting at the hospital; Laura says they could use some advice on how to combat Valintin.  Alexis says she doesn’t know what to tell her; she apologizes and goes into the meeting and sits down.  The leader asks if anyone wants to introduce themselves; Alexis stands up, admitting that she is an alcoholic.  Julian gets a call and tells the caller, “well done.”  

Anna meets Valentin at the Metro Court; she shows him the photograph and asks him how he got it.  He claims he doesn’t even remember having the picture and didn’t even know he had lost it, until she told him.  She wants to know how he got that picture of her.  He laughs at her theory, that they were in the WSB together, but admits to being in her room on her birthday the night that picture was taken.  She says she is surprised that he admits that; he says so is he.  She asks him what went down that night; he can’t believe she doesn’t remember.  She says she is still piecing it all together.  She tells him to stop playing games; he says she’s the one playing games, showing up with a photograph her granddaughter innocently stole.  He gives her the photo back and says maybe it will jog her memory; she asks why he doesn’t just tell her what happened on the other side of that door.  He tells her to figure it out; he tells her maybe it’s not what he did to her… maybe it’s what she did to him, and he leaves

01-11-2017 (Wednesday)

Nathan and Maxie walk into a motel room in Canada; they discuss their visit with Claudette’s mother and how little help it was.  Nathan tells her that he wants to buy a house when they do get married; he wants room to expand their family.  She thinks that’s a wonderful idea.  They joke about how they are going to decorate it.  A knock comes on the motel door; it’s the local police.  He tells Nathan that after they got done talking with him, they reviewed an old apparent suicide case from back in December; turns out, fingerprints match… it was Claudette.  Nathan is shocked; he didn’t think Claudette would kill herself.  Now they discuss the fact that they need to go back and tell Charlotte that Claudette is dead.  The man steps outside of the motel room and calls Valentin; he tells him that he did exactly what he told him to do.  Valentin thanks him for his assistance.  

Nina and Valentin tell Charlotte that they got married; she doesn’t seem happy at first, but then says it sounds wonderful to have Nina living with them.  She gets up and hugs Nina; Valentin tells her that they forgot one thing at the wedding and since she wasn’t there with them, he wanted her to witness it.  He pulls out a set of wedding rings; he asks Charlotte if she would hand them to each of them.  He puts on Nina’s, saying “this is my promise.”  Nina puts his on, saying “with this ring, I thee wed.”  Charlotte says “yea!”  Maxie and Nathan lay down for the night; they decide that they will call Griffin and go tell Claudette’s mom in the morning.  

Kiki welcomes Franco home and tells him that she and Dillon have decided to get back together; she shows him the note she left for him, saying goodbye.  She explains how she and Dillon found each other on the bus and decided to come back together.  He eats some of their Chinese take-out leftovers and tells her he is happy for her; she deserves to be happy.  She agrees, saying she believes Morgan would have wanted that.  She then asks what’s up with him; he tells her about Tom Baker being murdered and him being the suspected murderer.  He than tells her that he thinks he knows who really did it; then he says, the more the thinks about it, he can’t tell the police what he knows.  Kiki is confused.  She asks why; she says the lady was probably defending herself from Tom so she probably won’t be arrested.  Franco says he can’t take that chance; he can’t turn this woman in, even if it means he loses Elizabeth.  He tells Kiki she cannot tell anyone this; she says she won’t.  Then she tells him that Elizabeth stopped by earlier today; she tells him he still has a good chance with Elizabeth and suggests maybe he change his mind.  

Jason and Sam discuss the case; he tells her the office was tossed before they got there.  He shows her the picture he found; she finds something familiar about the face as well… she thinks maybe it is Julian, as a kid.  They try to figure out why this woman would have a picture of Julian as a kid, or any connection to Julian.  Sam tells him that when she accused Ava, she couldn’t stop laughing.  Nelle asks Sonny what he means by “a new understanding.”  He asks if she changed her mind about not saying anything to Carly about them sleeping together; he questions why she said she was dating a married man.  She swears she didn’t… Carly misunderstood.  She says Carly was dropping hints about her and Michael; she told a little white lie to get her to back off.  He says it made Carly more curious.  Sonny chews Nelle out; she says none of this is her fault.  He says it never is; Jason and Sam walk in to talk to Sonny.  

Nelle excuses herself; Jason tells Sam what they discovered.  Sonny is surprised when he tells them a woman may be responsible for planting the bomb.  He asks if they have any ideas who it is; Jason says only that she may have a tie to Julian.  Sonny agrees the picture could be Julian as a kid, and thinks the woman could just be acting as a smoke-screen, to cover for Julian.  Sam excuses herself to go to the restroom because the baby is kicking her bladder; Jason asks Sonny why the conversation between he and Nelle looked so intense.  Sonny swears everything is fine; Jason says he can tell him if he’s in trouble.  Sonny tells Jason he just doesn’t think Nelle is as innocent as she appears to be.  

Julian tries to calm Alexis down; she sits down and tells him she is ready to talk about it.  He asks if she talked to anybody; she says “Jean, the owner” and Julian gets a look concern of his face.  He asks her if the guy told anybody; she says no… she doesn’t think the guy cared whether she killed Tom or not.  He covered for her, she says, that’s all.  He begins to press her for more information on anyone else that might have seen her; she begins to hallucinate.  Tom is standing behind Julian now; she talks to him.  Julian is concerned.  Tom Baker tells Alexis that everyone is going to find out what she did; he says he is the only one who knows the truth – who she really is.  Alexis sees a bloody knife in her hand now; she looks at Julian in confusion.  She tells him this is all her fault; he’s the reason she was in that bar.  If it wasn’t for him, she says, she never would have crossed paths with Tom Baker.  Julian says he will take care of her; she says he hurt her.  She says he’s not going to take care of her, and she starts panicing; she screams she needs air and she wants a drink.  He reaches out and she lets him hug her; she cries, “I need help.”

01-10-2017 (Tuesday)

Jason and Curtis make their way through the catacombs and find the office underneath the pawnshop, empty.  They search the office; Jason finds a picture of a child… it kind of looks like Danny.  He puts it in his pocket; Curtis finds a dragon statue with the same Chinese characters on it as the boat.  They hear the door lock; smoke starts pouring in through the vent.  Curtis jimmies the door lock.  They make it out just in time and walk into Jean’s Roadhouse; Curtis says they have enough for reasonable doubt.  He says they need to get Jordan to lean on Rudg; Jason says this woman could just go farther underground if they bring the cops in.  He says they have to find out who it is Rudg is really working for.  

Sam goes to see her father, but finds no presence of him being at his apartment; Ava tries to cover, but Sam demands to know where he is.  Sam sits down on the couch, refusing to leave until Julian gets back; she tells Ava she could just tell her what she needs to know and put them both out of their misery.  She mentions that Jason has been investigating the car bombing and there is a lot more to it than anyone knows; Ava drops her glass.  Sam assumes that Ava was working with Rudg and planted the bomb to kill her brother, framing Sonny; Ava just laughs.  She tells Sam she loves her and she appreciates the laugh; she tells her not to change, because she is priceless.  Sam leaves.  Ava wonders what Julian has gotten himself into this time.  Sam meets Jason at the bar and tells him that Julian appears to have moved out of his apartment, and she believes that Ava is definitely hiding something.  

Scotty and Franco discuss why Alexis would have been at that bar with Tom Baker; they say if she is hiding her drinking, she may be hiding something else.  Alexis tells Julian when she was drunk, outside of Jean’s Roadhouse, she did something; he thinks she’s talking about running him over with her car.  She says she is talking about a different time; she tells him she is pretty sure she killed Tom Baker.  Julian tells her he may have a way out of this for her; she says she doesn’t want his help because she doesn’t want to become more dependent upon him.  He asks her to at least listen to what she has to say.  Julian helps Alexis sit down and offers her a glass of water; she begins to tell him about that night.  She says she had met this man there before, but at that time, she didn’t know he was the man who had raped Elizabeth.  She says this night, he wouldn’t leave her alone even after she told him to; she remembers the knife and getting it away from him, then nothing.  She says she doesn’t remember, but she must have called a car to get home.  Julian tells her she may not have killed this man; there’s still a chance that it was Franco.  Just then, Franco shows up at her door; Julian hides.  Franco shows her the photo he found of her sitting at the table with Tom Baker; he asks her to come forward and tell the police that he was not with Tom that night.  She says the photo must be photo-shopped and tells him to get out of her house; he leaves.  She begins to panic and says this could be a problem; Julian tells her she can’t give up… but he says, she needs to be sober to do this.  

Carly reminisces about her and Sonny recently making love; Bobbie interrupts her.  Nelle says obviously Carly is a woman in love; Bobbie is not happy to hear that they are trying to work things out.  Carly decides, at Nelle’s suggestion, to go get Joslyn from Australia so she can break the news about her and Sonny’s reconciliation to Jos on the flight home.  She tells Nelle to book her a ticket for tonight.  Bobbie compliments Nelle on her ability to anticipate Carly’s needs; she suggests that Nelle knows more than she is letting on.  Nelle tells Bobbie maybe they should have a talk; Bobbie says she thought she would never ask.  She asks Bobbie why she doesn’t just confront Carly about her issues, instead of making passive-aggressive comments to her.  She tells her it wasn’t her idea to stay; Carly asked her to stay and help out.  She says she has earned her position rightfully, not laying on her back (like Bobbie did, as a hooker).  Bobbie says it appears the real Nelle just showed up.  She tells her she did what she had to do and is not ashamed of her past; she asks why Nelle studied up on her family so much.  Nelle says she is just trying to do her job; Bobbie says she will be watching her and leaves.  

Diane comes to meet with Sonny; she is surprised to see him smiling.  She asks what he knows that she doesn’t; he tells her Jason is on the case.  He tells her there is nothing concrete, but says the evidence points to Julian; Diane says they still have a ton of work ahead of them so they need to prep.  After some frustrating lack of progress, Sonny offers her lunch; they enjoy some spaghetti and a glass of wine.  Diane asks about his relationship with Carly at this point; she says it would help to have her in the courtroom during the trial.  He says that won’t be a problem now.  Carly comes to see Sonny and he tells her that Diane has decided it is best to explain to the court that Morgan inherited bipolar disorder from his father; she agrees maybe that is best.  She tells him she is going to get Joslyn; he tells her he already misses her and they kiss and hug goodbye.  Sonny calls Nelle and tells her to come over; they need to talk.  Carly asks her mom if she would keep an eye on Sonny for her while she is gone; Bobbie says gladly.  After Carly leaves, she says to herself that she will take care of her family… and take out the trash too.  Sonny tells Nelle they need to come to a new understanding.

01-09-2017 (Monday)

Alexis calls Julian a bastard for dumping out her booze; he says he is just trying to stop her from killing herself, or anyone else.  She says he’s not her keeper; he insists he loves her too much to watch her destroy herself.  He asks how she would feel if she killed some innocent stranger; she recalls trying to push Tom off of her.  She puts on her coat and tells him she is leaving; he says that’s where she’s wrong.  She asks how he is going to stop her; he says he won’t tie her to a chair or anything, but challenges her to go without a drink for just twelve hours.  He begs her to do it for her daughter, her grandchild, everyone else who loves her and for herself; her self-respect.  She tells him she has no self-respect because he took it; he apologizes.  She recalls more of being with Tom Baker that night; she tried to get away and he pulled a knife on her.  Julian appears to be getting to her; she tells the driver she called never mind and apologizes, telling them to just add the charge to her account.  She sits back down on the couch and remembers Tom holding the knife and threatening her, her kicking him in the groin and knocking it out of his hands, then picking it up and threatening him; she begins to cry and freak out, saying she needs a drink.  He asks her what’s wrong; she tells him that she thinks she killed this man.  

Laura comes into the hospital, bringing Kevin into the ER for a twisted ankle… an accident while ice skating with the kids.  Laura tells Liz, as much as the boys enjoyed their time with Kevin, they couldn’t stop talking about Franco.  Elizabeth’s reaction causes Laura to question how she, herself, feels about Franco now; Liz asks if Laura really doesn’t judge her for being with him.  She says absolutely not; everyone deserves a second chance, even Franco.  Liz tells her she doesn’t know everything.  She sort of explains what Franco did, excluding the details, adding that she knows he didn’t kill Tom Baker; Laura asks if she can live with it.  She says yes, but tells her Franco is pulling away from her now; Laura offers her best advice telling Liz to follow her heart, kisses her goodbye and leaves.  

Kiki and Dillon take the bus back to Port Charles, having both admitted that the only reason they left town was to avoid each other; they go to Franco’s, where Kiki is surprised to see him not there.  They both agree that they need to shower, but decide to get something to eat afterward; then they talk about their plans for the future.  Kiki mentions possibly going to work in the mental health field, to help people like Morgan; Dillon tells her that is an awesome idea.  She goes to shower and tells him to find something to order and having delivered; he can shower when she is done, she says, blowing off his joking suggestion that they shower together to save water.  After eating, they begin to kiss; they are interrupted by a knock at the door.  It’s Liz, looking for Franco; she leaves when Kiki tells her he isn’t there.  Dillon tells Kiki that he thinks they should take things more slowly; she smiles.  

Franco talks to his dad at the dinner; he tells him that knife may be his, but he didn’t use it on Tom Baker…Scotty tells him they need an alibi.  He asks him if anyone was with him that night; he asks what he was doing.  Franco hesitates.  Then he tells him he was locked in a dog crate, explaining that it was only fair because he did put him there first.  After explaining everything, Scotty understands that he didn’t kill Tom Baker, but says they are going to have difficulty proving it; Franco tells him he talked to the bartender but he wasn’t very helpful.  Then he mentions seeing Alexis there afterward; he overhears the waitress telling someone to tag a picture they took, saying they were at this Roadhouse, and it gives him an idea.  He asks to use Scotty’s tablet and is surprised to find that he is on Facebook; hard-times him about not ‘friending’ him.  Scotty gets a text telling him that the analyses on the fingerprints from the murder weapon are back.  There are none; the weapon was wiped clean.  Franco returns his attention to the matter at hand and tells Scotty they need to search “hashtag Jean’s Roadhouse.”  He hopes to find a picture of Tom’s drinking buddy from that night; Scotty says that’s a long-shot.  He finds a picture though; Alexis is sitting a table... with Tom Baker.

Curtis and Jason continue to question “Buz“… he tells them he heard a woman said “kill the homeless loser who planted the bomb.”  The pawn shop owner, Rudg, tells this unseen Chinese person that he hasn’t been able to locate the homeless man that planted the bomb in Julian’s car.  He says he was at Rudg’s pawnshop when he heard this; he realized Rudg had lied to him about the bomb, and went to the pawnshop to confront Rudg but heard the lady telling Rudg to kill him.  They ask how he got in and out without being noticed; the man says he has now said too much.  They promise they won’t rat him out; he tells them about some catacombs under the pawnshop; a passage leads to the basement, where there is a secret office.  This is where he heard the lady talking to Rudg.  They give him some money to get out of town and thank him for his help; he tells them to watch their step with those people, saying they don’t mess around.  Sam shows up and tells them that Julian swears he had nothing to do with the car bomb, adding that he seemed really scared and she believes him.  Sam is concerned when Jason tells her that he and Curtis are going to check the catacombs out.

01-05-2017 (Thursday)

Nelle leaves a message for Carly; Michael comes into the Metro Court looking for his mother.  Nelle tells him she is “M.I.A.” – Carly comes down the stairs, saying something smells good.  Sonny has cooked her breakfast.  She says she hasn’t had such a solid night’s sleep…they nod at each other.  Sonny asks Carly if she thinks she made a mistake last night; she says she just wants to make sure that they are doing the right thing… that the ground is solid before she jumps back into their marriage.  Sonny flashes to waking up that morning with Nelle in his bed.  Carly tells him not to misunderstand her; she loves being there, in their home, and has realized that they need to comfort each other rather than grieving alone.  But she doesn’t feel she can just bring her stuff and move back in, because if he broke her trust in him again, it would kill her.  Sonny tells her that won’t happen.  She tells him she needs to get into work.  

Michael asks Nelle if she makes New Year’s resolutions; she says she did – she’s learning to play chess.  He tells her she should resolve to have more fun this year; he practically dares her and offers to coach her.  She tells him he has a deal; he says her first lesson starts tomorrow night.  He walks away and she takes a deep breath.  Carly arrives, smiling; Nelle says she cleared her schedule, just in case she found a way to start the New Year off right.  Carly says that’s exactly what she did.  

Jason is serving food at the soup kitchen.  Sam comes to see him; he tells her he’s actually there for the case right now, but he thinks they should do this more after the job is done – some of these people’s stories have touched his heart.  She asks if they think the guy that planted the bomb is connected to this soup kitchen; they say there’s a guy the owner hasn’t seen since the bombing.  Spenelli is checking out that Chinese model boat, he tells her; and the characters that spell “reincarnation.”  Sam says she is going to call her father.  

Ava comes by Alexis’ to see Julian.  She gives him a hard time about being there again; he reminds her that he loves Alexis.  Ava asks where she is; he won’t tell her.  Ava says, it must be happy hour somewhere.  She sees the empty bottles and asks if that was from a party last night; he says it’s what he just dumped down the drain.  Ava realizes Julian is there to save Alexis; she tells him he needs to expose her problem in order to get her to change her behavior.  Helping to hide it, she says, is enabling her.  Julian receives the phone call from Sam; she tells him she needs to see him.  He tells her where to meet him.  

Alexis sleeks in behind Franco and overhears him telling the bartender that somebody killed this man that night, and the police think it’s him.  He begs the guy for help; the guy hints he might know something, for a little cash.  Franco slips him a few bills; he says Tom can’t really drink but the lady-friend he was with was slamming them down.  Franco asks what lady friend… he recalls she wasn’t very receptive to his hitting on her; (Alexis recalls telling him she knew who he was and what he had done) the bartender tells Franco she got up and left.  He says Tom sat there and nursed his bruised ego; he swears he didn’t go after her.  Franco asks if he knows who the woman was; he says he makes it a point not to know his customer’s names.  He asks how old she was, what color her hair was; he says he doesn’t try to commit any of that information to memory.  Franco leaves; Alexis steps out a door so he doesn’t see her.  

She then approaches the bar; the bartender asks her if she wants another vodka on the rocks.  She says she thought he doesn’t pay attention to his customers; he laughs.  He says contrary to what he tells strangers snooping around, he knows who she is, knows her face and knows she was with Tom Baker the night he was murdered.  He tells her he takes care of his customers, but she has to promise not to stiff him again; she promises she will pay him back.  She tells him he doesn’t need to cover for her, since she left and Tom stayed; he leans over and says that they both know that’s not accurate.  He says there’s no way Tom didn’t catch her; she was stumbling drunk and Tom was moving fast.  He says Tom never came back so she owes for both their tabs; she pays.  When she turns to leave, Franco is standing there.  He says he didn’t peg her for the Roadhouse type; she claims she got lost and came in for directions.  He is certain that’s her drink on the bar, but she denies it.  Franco calls his father to come meet him at the Roadhouse.  He says if they are going to prove he is innocent, they need to start there.  

Sam goes to meet her father; Jason wants to come, but she says no…her father won’t talk as openly if he is there.  Ava brings Julian in, but excuses herself as Julian sits down.  Sam says she spoke to her mom yesterday and mentions the guy who stopped by the house (“Reg”).  She says she knows they aren’t co-workers; the guy owns a pawn shop… she asks what kind of trouble he’s gotten into now.  He tells her “Reg” and he have an agreement; if he finds a unique item, he gives Julian first dibs.  Then he tells Sam that he needs her to back off.  He tells her the more she knows, the greater the danger is to her, and the baby; he begs her to stay out of it.  

As Jason and Curtis argue about whether or not this gig is getting them anywhere in the investigation, a man approaches the table and asks if it’s too late to get some food.  He looks creepy; Jason and Curtis look at each other.  Curtis steps forward and tells him he is welcome to have some soup; he tells Jason to get him a bowl.  Curtis pretends to be a minister; he asks how the man found himself in this position… he says he looks like a mechanic.  They guys says he has done some work on cars; then he gets nervous and tries to leave.  Curtis sits him down and calls him “Buz.”  The man asks how he knows who he is; Jason says God knows all, and sees all.  They ask him who paid him to plant that bomb; he says he didn’t know it was a bomb.  They guy told him it was a tracking device and gave him $50 to attach it to the car; they show a picture of Julian, but it isn’t him.  They show a picture of Reg and Buz says he’s the guy the paid him, but not the one calling the shots.  He says he went to see Reg after the bombing; he was there with his boss and “she’s no joke.”  They are surprised to hear the boss is a woman.  

Alexis is pissed off when she comes home to find that Julian has dumped all of her bottles of vodka out.

01-04-2017 (Wednesday)

Andre gets ready to hypnotize Anna; he tries to reassure her, explaining that he is not placing her in a trance, just guiding her consciousness to a place where it feels safe to remember the experience.  He tells her to lay back and relax, and tells her she can stop the process anytime she wants.  Anna describes a door at the end of a hallway, with a light coming out from under it…and someone whistling.  She walks toward the door and opens it, but sits up before she sees what is in the room.  They take a break, then, try again.  This time, she remembers winding her watch, hearing the whistling, and seeing the light coming from under the door.  She opens the door, then gasps; Andre asks what she sees.  She says she sees her watch; it is laying on the floor, face-up, hands stopped 11:05 October 29^th (Anna’s birthday).  

Nathan brings Maxie into Crimson; he tells her she should still be resting, but she denies still being sick.  She tells him she has to stay busy doing something, or she’s just going to be angry that they couldn’t get married.  She finds a law that lets him publish his petition for divorce, but is not happy when she sees the time period for publication is three weeks.  She says maybe it would be easier if they could just find Claudettte.  

Valentin and Nina are in bed again; he is on the phone with Charlotte.  He tells her he has the most wonderful surprise for her.  Nina asks how he knows Charlotte will be happy about her being her step-mom; he tells her Charlotte loves her.  she tells him she will stand beside him and support him through this custody battle, but asks what is going to happen when Claudette comes back.  Valintin simply says, “she won’t.”  They get dressed again; she asks him how he can be so certain Claudette is not coming back when they don’t even know where she is or what she’s doing.  He says Claudette knows that Lulu is really Charlotte’s mother and she isn’t going to bother coming back around.  Nina accepts that answer.  They laugh about their spontaneous decision to get married and take a selfie since they didn’t have wedding photos.  Nina tells him she hopes it makes up for the picture he lost.  She goes into Crimson, where she is surprised to see Maxie.  She tells her she should be home in bed.  Flowers are delivered; the note says, “to my beautiful bride.”  Maxie assumes they are from Nathan, but Nathan says they aren’t from him.  Nina says they must be for her; Maxie and Nathan look confused.  She tells them about their impromptu wedding and tries to show off her ribbon-ring; they cut her off.  Nathan says he is calling Diane to get her out of this; Nina tells him point-blank, she doesn’t want out.  She tells them it was her idea, adding they are going to be good together and it is going to be good for Charlotte.  Nathan tells her it’s a terrible idea, just like marrying Rick Lansing was…she gets angry that he is bringing that up.  She tells him this is probably the smartest thing she’s ever done in her life.  She takes her flowers and storms into her office.  Maxie and Nathan decide that they need to go to Canada to talk to Claudette’s mom.  

Alexis sees a newspaper clipping on Diane’s tablet; it shows Tom Baker’s picture.  She looks horrified for a moment, but Diane distracts her with discussion of getting her license back; Diane says pretty soon, this will all just seem like a bad dream.  She tells Diane that she remembers being with this man on December 21^{st (the night he died)}; Diane questions what happened after she met him at the bar.  Alexis admits she doesn’t remember.  She explains to Diane that she wasn’t supposed to be drinking, but she was bored and went to a bar.  Diane questions if he drugged her; Alexis doesn’t think so because she woke up in her own bed the next morning, but then, why can’t she remember what else happened?  Alexis says maybe nothing memorable happened.  Diane tells her it seems like she’s hiding something; Alexis tells her the article about his death triggered some kind of memory, about meeting him that night.  

Franco sees Elizabeth at the hospital; as he stares at her, he runs into a cart, knocking boxes to the ground.  Liz goes over to help him pick them up and says he doesn’t need to avoid her; he says, yes he does.  He says he knows she isn’t comfortable with everything he did to Tom Baker; she admits that’s true, but says they shouldn’t have to walk around with that hanging over them.  Tom Baker’s brother comes to the hospital, asking why the hell he’s walking around free when he killed his brother.  Dr. Olbrecht fends him off of Franco; she asks if he has any proof that Franco was involved in his brother’s death.  He says no, but there are plenty of witnesses who heard the threat to his brother’s life.  Olbrecht gets him to leave; she then asks Franco what that was all about.  He says just rumors; Olbrecht asked how his brother would know he was stalking Tom Baker.  Franco admits to her that he did a bit more than just stalk him.  He says what he did wasn’t very nice, but he didn’t kill him, he swears.  Olbrecht tells him he needs to find out who really killed this man.  

Finn tells Hayden that she might be released today; he’s just waiting on her latest blood work.  Elizabeth brings the lab work in; everything looks good.  Hayden asks, what about him; Liz interjects, saying it looks just as good.  Finn gives her a nod.  Hayden says she is happy he won’t have to keep taking Zen-zen; Elizabeth is surprised to hear that’s what he has been taking.  Finn excuses himself; he gets weak and falls to the ground in the hallway.  He gets up and makes it to the lab, where he injects himself again.  Olbrecht tells Elizabeth that Franco is determined to prove himself to her; she hopes Liz is worthy of that devotion.  Franco walks into a bar and shows Tom Baker’s picture to the bartender; he tells him he needs to know who this man was talking to that night.  Alexis walks in the door behind him.

01-03-2017 (Tuesday) NEW YEAR'S DAY

Valentin carries Nina across the threshold and into a room for their honeymoon; Nina tells him that she thinks they did the right thing, for themselves and for Charlotte.  They make love and then laugh about there being no backing out now –no annulment- Valentine goes to shower; Nina picks up their clothes from off the floor and the arm of the couch.  When she goes to grab his jacket, she sees a gun laying underneath it.  When he comes out, she tells him that she doesn’t like guns; he says he doesn’t either, but sometimes they are necessary.  He tells her it is only a precaution.  They get dressed to go back to the party.  

Lulu tells Dante they have to protect her daughter and get her away from Valentin Cassadine; she thanks him for being so supportive and reassuring.  They talk about what it will be like to have Charlotte as part of their family, talk about the pending suit for custody, and discuss Nina’s relationship with Valentine.  Lulu says Nina is an outsider and always will be; she doesn’t consider her part of the equation.  They are extremely surprised when Nina and Valentin come into the club and announce that they were married tonight/morning.

Sam is trying to reach her mother, who is passed out cold on the couch, half-empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table; Julian stares at her as he stands with his cane, looking at the phone ring.  He tries to wake her up, but she won’t move…until Sam knocks on the door.  Julian cleans the coffee table off and hides in the kitchen; Alexis answers the door and tries not to let Sam and Jason in, but they insist they need to talk to her.  Jason shows her a picture and asks if she knows the man; she says she does, he works with Julian.  They ask what he was doing here yesterday; she asks how they know he was.  Jason tells her that he was following him because of a case he is working on; Alexis says he was just looking for Julian, apparently not knowing they had split up.  She says she gave him Ava’s number and address, which he said he already had and he left.  They press her for more answers and she gets frustrated, tells them that she is really tired; Sam leans forward and smells the alcohol of her breath.  She questions it, and Alexis admits to drinking, but because it was New Year’s, she says.  They leave and go the café to talk; Jason says her mother’s story does not add up, and Sam agrees.  

Elizabeth answers her door; it’s Franco.  She asks him if that knife the police found was his; he says yes…but he explains that he only just discovered it missing from his studio.  Elizabeth is not sure she can believe him this time; he talks sweetly to her, and describes the vivid dream/nightmare he experienced while locked in the cage.  She tells him that she overheard him saying that he loved her; he says that’s true, he does…she says she believes that.  She then tells him that she also believes he did not kill Tom Baker.  

Carly stops kissing Sonny; she says she has to go.  He tells her he wants her to stay and says she can leave in the morning.  He says, deep down, she knows they belong together; he tells her he loves her and she says she loves him too.  He tells her to say that she wants to stay with him, and she does exactly that.  They go upstairs and make love.  Carly holds onto Sonny and tells him she doesn’t want to leave; she admits that she loves him and needs him more than ever, but she is still undecided about what to do in the future.  He smiles and tells her that he will just be thankful for this night.

12-29-2016 (Thursday) NEW YEAR’S EVE - PORT CHARLES

A crowd begins to gather at the Metro Court for the New Year’s Eve party; Curtis sees Jordan and asks if he is allowed to say Happy New Year to her.  She says certainly; she is starting off 2017 by letting go of all the things that pulled her down in 2016.  They toast and drink to that.  Valentine shows up; Nina warns him that no one is going to be happy to see him there…and adds that Lulu has threatened to do exactly what she told him she would do – not stop until she takes Charlotte away.  Jordan tells Curtis the mayor and new DA are pressuring her to solidify this case; she says she needs his help, as an outside investigator for the PCPD – (this position would be in opposition to his investigation with Jason).  He tells her he’s already investigating the bomb that blew up Sonny’s son, asking what he would get out of working for her, adding suggestions with sarcasm.  She asks if he’d rather work for Jason; he says yeah.  She asks if he is going to Sonny with whatever they find so he can walk yet again; Curtis suggests she wants him to bury evidence so she can get a conviction.  He says no thanks and turns to walk away; Andre greets him.  Andre apologizes for the way he answered the phone and acted towards him that night; Curtis thanks him and shakes his hand.  Jordan tells Andre she’s proud of him.

Carly says she needs to get back to the party at the Metro Court; Sonny asks her to please stay.  He says he loves it when she’s here; she says she loves being there, but hesitates.  He says he can’t stand the thought of going through the countdown alone and asks if she can’t stay.  They start talking about Morgan again; Carly says she can’t imagine the coming years without him.  Sonny says that’s why they should be together; she recalls last Christmas Eve, with him in the wheelchair.  Sonny says hope didn’t die with their son- Christmas gave him a glimmer; Carly says there is a fine line between hope and denial… she says losing Morgan taught her she has to be realistic about the life he leads and the danger it brings to the family.  She says she misses him; waking up with him every morning, going to bed with him every night, misses spending time with him, crying with him, laughing with him… she wants it all back.  But, she says, he can’t promise there won’t be another bullet, another bomb, another hit; so she has to walk away.  She says she hates the thought of life without him, but she would hate it more if his business hurts someone she loves.  She leaves.

Bobbie goes to see Nelle, shows her the pill, and says she found it in Sonny’s room.  She asks what Nelle might have been doing in Sonny’s room.  Nelle explains that she was picking up a dress for Carly and her reminder went off to take her pill; they spilled all over when she tried to get the lid off.  She thought she picked them all up; she grabs it out of Bobbie’s hand and says she can’t afford to lose one.  Bobbie then asks Nelle about her intentions toward Michael; she says they are just friends, and tells her, she turned down his invitation to go out tonight.  Bobbie says, “good” adding, she won’t let anyone hurt her family; she leaves.  Nelle sends a text to Michael, saying if he is still free, she’d love to spend time with him.  

Kiki can’t believe the bus isn’t even going to stop for bathroom breaks; Dillon lays his head back and tells her to just ignore him.  She says if she could ignore him, she wouldn’t be on that bus.  This takes him by surprise; he asks if she left town because of him.  She says, him, Valerie… he asks if she has a problem with Valerie.  She says she just couldn’t stand the though of seeing the two of them together.  He is happy to hear this.  He stops her as she goes on and on about how horrible it would be to see him with Valerie all over town; he tells her that he and Valerie are JUST friends.  He says the night they spent together, they spent talking about how much relationships suck.  He laughs.  She admits he was the ONLY reason she left Port Charles; he admits she was the only reason HE left.  She pulls out a bottle of champagne and says they should toast, to fate; maybe it isn’t so cruel after all.  They wish each other a Happy New Year and kiss.

Jason and Sam walk into the chapel; it is all decorated with white streamers and white trees!  It’s beautiful.  Lucy is practicing her lines (as minister) and when she says, “you can kiss the bride” Jason grabs Sam and kisses her.  She giggles.  Lucy turns around and sees them; she says she just wants everything to be perfect for Maxie and Nathan’s wedding.  Lulu puts Maxie in the tub and turns a cold shower on; Maxie comes running out, screaming.  Lulu says she’ll go get the hair dryer; Maxie lays back down on the bed.  Robin comes in with coffee; she’s says, “no, no, no, no…” and pushes Maxie back up into a sitting position.  She tries to stimulate her by getting her dress and laying it on Maxie’s lap, then hands her a cup of coffee; Maxie sneezes and spills the whole cup of coffee on her dress.  They all just look at it.  Nathan gets a phone call; it appears that he and Claudette are still married.  Someone sends him a picture of his Divorce Decree, still unsigned and un-filed by Claudette.  He goes to tell Maxie his bad news and finds out that she has plenty of her own; the wedding is postponed, indefinitely.  

Robin comes into the chapel to deliver the bad news; she, Sam and Jason engage in small talk for a minute, Jason asks how Patrick is, and then Lucy comes back in.  Robin tells them all that there cannot be a wedding tonight after all, as Maxie is sick (she doesn’t even know that Nathan is still married).  Sam and Jason invite Robin to go to the Metro Court party with them; she says she’ll come, but there’s someone she has to see first.  They head to the party.  She goes to see Sonny; he is happy to see her.  He tells her that they have discovered that Morgan didn’t die because of him; he says at least he can sleep at night now.  She asks about Carly; he says she doesn’t trust him anymore, but he’s not giving up.  She tells him she is sure he can prove to Carly that he is worthy of her trust; she heads to the Metro Court party.Nina and Valentin come into the chapel; he wonders if they are early.  Nina assures him they are not early at all.  Lucy comes in and tells them, unfortunately, the wedding has been cancelled.  She is posting signs and getting ready to close up the chapel; Nina suggests Valentin marry her so they can fight for Charlotte together.  

A priest comes in and they ask if he would mind performing a ceremony for them; Valentine makes a call to line up the marriage license.  Lulu and Dante discuss the upcoming battle for custody of Charlotte; he vows to stand behind her, even if it gets ugly.  The priest begins the ceremony for Nina and Valentin; they say their vows, unrehearsed, using strings as their wedding bands.  Carly runs in the door, calling out to Sonny; she tells him Happy New Year.  He says Happy New Year and they kiss.  Nathan comes back into the room to find Maxie sound asleep again; he kisses her on the forehead and tells her Happy New Year as he snuggles down beside her.  Robin makes it to the party just in time; she’s on the phone with Patrick, wishing him a Happy New Year.  Michael and Nelle dance and wish each other a Happy New Year, Sam and Jason kiss and wish each other a Happy New Year (Scout too), and Dante toasts with Lulu to a Happy 2017.  The priest pronounces Valentin and Nina, husband and wife.