PREVIOUSLY ON - - - ALL MY CHILDREN


Bianca: I was wrong about what happened to Frankie, Opal.

Chris: What is it you want to tell me?
Erica: I love you, too.

J.R.: What is that?

Anna: Don't pine after Dixie. She doesn't deserve you.
David: And you do?

TODAY'S - - - ALL MY CHILDREN


[Stuart holds the 'Christmas Box' that Jesse left]
Stuart: I've never seen anything like this before.
J.R.: It's some kind of trick thing, Uncle Stuart. Some kind of joke. Go ahead, open it up, see -- see what's inside.
Stuart: Ok. It -- it won't budge. It's sealed or something. So weird.

Chris: Just because I'm a cynic from way back, could you say what you just said again one more time?
Erica: With feeling? Chris -- I love you.

Bianca: Everything that I thought about the night Frankie died is a lie.
Erica: What? Bianca --
Bianca: It's a lie, Mom. It was a lie.

Mateo: Hey -- hey --
Hayley: Hi.
Mateo: Listen -- you got to be on time. Every time you're late, I think something happened to you. What is this?
Hayley: Sorry I'm late, but I had to wrap is. It's -- it's for Proteus.
Mateo: What'd you get him?
Hayley: It's not what I got him. It's what I got on him.

[Dixie's brakes fail]
Dixie: Oh, my God. No! No!

Mateo: This is all on Proteus?
Hayley: Uh-huh. There's more. I just haven't got my hands on it yet.
Mateo: This is, like, confidential stuff. How'd you get -- how did you do this?
Hayley: Please. I would have my head handed to me if it ever got out, but a few months ago before the baby was born, we had this fed on the show, and she's a fan, you know, so we kept in touch. I told her I was doing a research piece on Proteus, and this is what she coughed up -- all of this.
Mateo: It's like a gold mine of information here. Are you kidding me? This is great.
Hayley: Yeah.
Mateo: What would I do without you? Come here. I missed you.
Hayley: Ok, please. You're distracting me now. Stop distracting me. There's something here interesting that I want you to take a look at. They had this profile that was written up by a forensic psychologist on some of the associates who wound up on the wrong side of Proteus' temper.
Mateo: Meaning what?
Hayley: Meaning that anytime he feels double-crossed or trapped, they seem to wind up in these unfortunate accidents.
Mateo: Ok.
Hayley: But it's strange because his reaction is like -- he reacts in an uncharacteristic way.
Mateo: Where is it?
Hayley: Right --
Mateo: Ok.
Hayley: Here. Right there. See?
Mateo: Uh-huh.
Hayley: And he gets sloppy. He forgets to cross his T's. He forgets to dot his I's. And these people wind up in horrible accidents, and then he vanishes. He disappears -- sometimes for months, sometimes for years.
Mateo: Then he sets up his operation someplace else.
Hayley: And somebody new. Somebody new.
Mateo: Like me.
Hayley: Right. I mean, Mateo, not that I didn't already have an ulcer over this, but, I mean, what happens -- what happens to you? He is more violent and more lethal than we first imagined.
Mateo: I am sure that he doesn't know that I am double-agenting him. I'm positive of it.
Hayley: Mateo, what if he does?

[Car approaches]
Edmund: Dixie? Dixie?
Brooke: Dixie?
Dixie: Hey --
Brooke: Hi, hi. Are you ok?
Dixie: I -- I think so. I -- I just -- I don't know what happened. The brakes just didn't work.
Edmund: What?
Dixie: I was driving. I thought maybe I hit -- I don't know -- some ice or something, and I -- I didn't swerve or anything.
Edmund: Ok.
Dixie: The car just seemed to pick up speed, and I hit the brakes, and nothing happened. I couldn't slow down.
Edmund: Ok.
Dixie: I remember there was that hill coming up, right around the bend --
Brooke oh, God, you're right.
Dixie: So I just tried to, you know, pull into the guardrail or something. I don't know how this could've happened. I just had the car serviced. It's Tad's car, but I took it in. They fixed it. I don't know how this could've happened.
Brooke: Were you on your way back from the hospital?
Dixie: Yeah, I was going to go over to the Christmas tree lot and see J.R., you know?
Brooke: David cleared you?
Dixie: Yeah, he said it was just sort of an anxiety attack and nothing to do with my heart condition. But he said to avoid stress. So it's a really good thing I got into a car accident!
Brooke: Ok, ok, ok.
Edmund: Dixie -- I'm not sure this was an accident.

Erica: Chris -- you and Opal -- could you wait outside please?
Opal: Honey, don't you think maybe you're going to need us here?
Erica: No, I need to speak to my daughter.
Chris: I'll be right outside.

Erica: What happened, Honey?
Bianca: I got a package and a letter from Frankie.
Erica: What do you mean?
Bianca: Opal had it. Dixie gave it to me when I was in the hospital, but after the accident I didn't want to read it. I -- I couldn't.
Erica: But now you have. May I read the letter? It's ok, Honey. I mean, whatever it is, we will get through this together.

Frankie's voice: Dear Bianca. I hope that where I'm going I will stop hurting people. In movies, people say, "I never meant to hurt you." I can't say that. I did mean to. I planned to. But I don't like that part of me anymore. But there is something that I want you to hear, and I would do anything -- anything if I can make you believe it. I never fooled you. You always knew the real me, even when I wanted -- even when I didn't want anyone to know, when I didn't even want to know myself. You never responded to a lie, only when the truth happened to slip out. You never did anything stupid. You never let yourself be used. And the person who ended up completely changed was me, not you. I did things -- things to convince myself you weren't changing me and my life. I did drugs. I went with that boy to fool myself into thinking I was in control, that I was who I said I was. In truth, all I really wanted was -- was to be happy with you. I love you. I wish I could have been strong when we were together -- as strong as you always were. Please don't let me change who you are. Your mother was right about me, but she was completely wrong about you. Love always, Mary Frances. P.S. -- I hope you will read these sonnets and think of me.

Erica: Oh, Honey. I'm so sorry.
Bianca: You see, she -- she took drugs, she hooked up with J.R., but it was all an act. It was all a lie. She sacrificed herself for me, and I -- I turned on her, and I --
Erica: You hold on one minute now. She hurt you. You are not responsible for what happened to Frankie. No, you are not.
Bianca: Responsible? Mom -- I killed her.

Stuart: J.R., this is so mysterious. First it glowed, and then it wouldn't open, and now it's stopped glowing again.
J.R.: It's just some dumb box with a halogen in it, Uncle Stuart. It's a goof.
Stuart: Well --

Myrtle: Well, hello there.
Stuart: Myrtle, look -- look what I found. It's a box that won't open.
J.R.: And it glows.
Myrtle: It glows? May I?
Stuart: Yeah, sure, sure. Look at that. It's glowing again.
Myrtle: Oh -- my goodness. Oh.
J.R.: Uncle Stuart, I think you scared her a little.
Myrtle: No, no, no, no. I'm not scared. Do you know what this is?
Stuart: No.
Myrtle: It's a very, very special gift. You're going to need -- you need -- you're going to have to consult a professional, Darling.
Stuart: Professional what? You mean -- no, you don't mean -- you don't mean what I think you mean.
Myrtle: Yes, I do.
J.R.: Wait, wait. I don't know what you guys mean.
Myrtle: Well, Darling, this magical, wonderful box l and you two are going to need guidance from the main man.
J.R.: What "main man"?
Myrtle: The man who's in charge of Christmas.

Erica: Don't you say anything like that, Bianca. Not now and not ever. Bianca: I killed her. I killed her, Mom.
Erica: No. No, you did not. You did not.
Bianca: I shut her out. I pushed her away. I might as well have killed her. I told her I loved her so fast. She wasn't ready. She didn't know how she felt about being with me. God, and every time I told her that I loved her, I had no idea that by getting her to admit that she had feelings for me, I was just setting her up for you. She's dead because I loved her.
Erica: No, she is dead because she loved you so much that she didn't know what to do with it. And I accept that you loved her. I do. And now that I read this letter from her heart to yours, I know that she wasn't all con, that she did love you. She truly loved you, too. I'm just so sorry that you have to even know that pain like this exists in the world. I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry.

Chris: So, after Bianca read the letter and looked at the gift Frankie left her --
Opal: It was like a little book of poems or something, I think.
Chris: She said that she was wrong about how Frankie died and she had to talk to her mom?
Opal: No, she just ran in there without telling me what she was thinking.
Chris: Opal, Erica told me she loves me.
Opal: I told you she would.
Chris: Yeah, but if she loves me, then why won't she let me help her work through this with Bianca?
Opal: Oh, well, that's a question I couldn't begin to answer.
Chris: Uh -- I need to think about this thing a little more. Do you mind waiting here in case she needs one of us?
Opal: Oh, heavens, no. I'm glued to the chair.
Chris: Thanks.
Opal: Take your time.

Chris: You looking for me, Devane?
Anna: What are you doing snooping around where David works?
Chris: It's none of your business what I do. You stay away from my suspect.
Anna: Oh, you are so far off track, it's not even funny.
Chris: Oh, if you're so sure David's not who I'm looking for, then you must have a pretty good idea who is, huh?
Anna: As a matter of fact, I do.

Edmund: All right. Look right here. You see this -- see this hole in the brake line?
Brooke: It looks like it was cut.
Edmund: I think that's exactly what happened, Brooke.
Dixie: What do you mean?

[Car approaches]
Dixie: Who is that?
Brooke: I don't know.
Dixie: Hello?
David: Dixie! Hey -- what's going on? Are you all right?
Brooke: Listen -- hey, Edmund --
Dixie: Edmund --
Brooke: What's wrong with you?
David: What the hell are you saying? I did what to her?
Dixie: Stop it. Just leave him alone.
Edmund: I just want an answer out of this bastard for once in my life --
David: I saw the car on the side of the road. I saw all of you standing there, so I pulled over! What the hell is the matter with you?
Edmund: Her brakes went out, wise guy. Her brakes went out. That's what happens when somebody cuts the brake line!
David: So -- so you think I did that?
Edmund: I think you knew it was Tad's car, so you were hoping somebody would drive it off a cliff!
Dixie: No, that's ridiculous. That is not what happened here.
Edmund: Ok. What were you doing here, huh? Driving down this road at this time of night?
David: I ran out of the Christmas tree lot to help Dixie, remember? I was heading back there to get a Christmas tree! Not that it's any of your business. Are you all right?
Dixie: I'm fine, really. I'm really fine.
David: Are you sure? Because you were in the hospital an hour ago with shortness of breath --
Dixie: I don't need you to help me. Just go, ok? Leave me alone.
David: Are you sure this car was tampered with?
Edmund: Yeah, I'm sure.
David: Well, it sounds like Tad's favorite lethal weapon to me.
Edmund: What are you talking about?
David: Tad's car, no brake fluid? Can we all say "Leslie Coulson"?
Dixie: No, that's not possible because she's in a fully secured mental facility. I know because I check regularly, ok?
Edmund: Hayward, just get the hell out of here.
David: Are you sure you're all right?
Dixie: Go. Please.

[Car door opens and closes]
Brooke: Well, I think that was handled with just the right dose of testosterone, hmm?
[Car engine starts]
Dixie: Edmund, you have to listen to me. David had nothing to do with this.
[Car departs]
Edmund: How do you know that?
Dixie: Because he knew that I was driving Tad's car tonight. And as much as I hate to admit it, I just know that he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, ok?
Brooke: Oh, Edmund, I think you need to listen to what Dixie's saying.
Edmund: All right. Fine. But if Hayward didn't do it, who did?

Mateo: This is great.
Hayley: Great.
Mateo: This is great.
Hayley: You think this is great? You think it's great that Proteus could start to unravel because he thinks someone is betraying him and take somebody out?
Mateo: No, no, no. The fact that if he feels threatened he starts doing stuff without thinking. I mean, that's what the profile says, right?
Hayley: Again, this is great?
Mateo: If he starts screwing up, it's going to be easier for me to catch him. Look -- look at all the -- look at all the countries in Europe and in the US. Look at all the companies.
Hayley: What does he use them for?
Mateo: Well, to move his drugs.
Hayley: Wow. He doesn't exactly go low-profile, huh?
Mateo: Look at this -- two, four -- 3/4 of these companies are run by women.
Hayley: You're right. Look at that. Women in the top jobs -- CEO, CFO., COO.
Mateo: Look what's missing.
Hayley: Hmm.
Mateo: Enchantment.
Hayley: Enchantment? You -- what -- Enchantment?
Mateo: Yeah, yeah. Chris Stamp. You know, the guy who's a sometimes bartender at my place? He's a sometimes employee of Erica Kane.
Hayley: Yeah. Do you know what he's doing now?
Mateo: He -- I think he drives her around. He's like her chauffeur or something.
Hayley: He's her lawyer, Mateo.
Mateo: What?
Hayley: He is her lawyer! I just read about it -- the murder trial -- in the paper this morning.
Mateo: He's an attorney?
Hayley: He's her lawyer. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, wait a minute. You thought that -- you said that he was a FED?
Mateo: FED.
Hayley: You think it's all just a cover?
Mateo: So, if he's not a FED, then he's probably working directly with Proteus.
Hayley: All right. Wait a minute. Why Erica's company?
Mateo: Well, it fits the profile. Look, I mean, it's run by a woman. I wonder why he goes after companies run by women.
Hayley: Well -- wild guess -- because he's a misogynistic, drug-dealing pig?
Mateo: What if he's a she? What if Proteus is a woman?

Anna: You want me to tell you who my suspect is, who I think the FEDs should be going after?
Chris: Nah -- only if you feel like sharing.
Anna: Well, I think it's you, Agent Stamp.
Chris: Seriously, come on.
Anna: No. I'm watching you. And I'm not frightened of you.
Chris: Gee, that's good to know.
Anna: Isn't it? Excuse me --

Woman: Yes?
Anna: Is Dr. Hayward still on duty?
Woman: Actually, he's not. He left a few minutes ago.
Anna: Oh. Thanks.
Chris: You want to go down the tubes with this guy, Devane, huh? Because if you keep gluing yourself to his side, that's the only place you can go, Darling.
Anna: Hmm.

Chris: Any word from inside yet?
Opal: Not a peep, and I haven't moved.
Chris: Maybe -- maybe I should go inside.
Opal: No, no. I know that you want to, but don't do that. Not yet. No, Erica needs some time to find her way back to her baby girl, ok? She isn't the same woman without Bianca loving her.

Bianca: I understand. You finally accept who I am.
Erica: Bianca --
Bianca: You understand that I loved her. You even believe that she loved me back. But you shot her and you left her to die alone. I swear I --
Erica: No, please. Please don't say it. Please don't say you hate me. Think it. Think it if you have to, but please don't say it.

[Erica sobs]
Chris: Erica, are you ok?
Erica: Oh, Chris, I -- I just need to rest, that's all. Ahem.
Chris: All right. I'll just go and check to see if the test results are back.
Erica: Oh, thank you.
Chris: I'll be right outside if you need me.
Erica: Thank you.
[Erica weeps]
Opal: Honey, how about we go for a little stroll outside, huh? There's nothing like a little cold, December air to clear out the cobwebs. Come on, let's go. Come on.

J.R.: Hey, Uncle Stuart. What are you doing?
Stuart: Oh -- oh, I was just trying to figure out what I'm going to say to the main man of Christmas, you know, like Myrtle said.
J.R.: You mean like a prayer?
Stuart: Yeah. Yeah, kind of.
J.R.: You want to do this alone? I can go --
Stuart: No -- no. I want you to stay right here.
J.R.: Ok, sure. Why not?
Stuart: Ok. Ahem. Hi. We got your wonderful, magical gift in the box. It's beautiful. And it glows when it's happy. This is really something. We were just wondering if maybe you could tell us how to open it.
J.R.: Because it really didn't come with instructions.
Stuart: Maybe you don't want us to open it. Maybe you're trying to tell us that there's something greater than just the things that you can just open. That'd be all right, too. But I don't think so, because Myrtle told us you might be trying to tell us something else. So we were hoping that maybe you could send us a sign. Any sign would be great, actually.
J.R.: Uncle Stuart, I don't think you're going to get a sign or an answer. It doesn't really work like that.
Stuart: Haven't you ever prayed for or asked for something?
J.R.: Yeah, I guess I have.
Stuart: I don't mean a car or $1 million. I mean, something that only a sign could help you get.
J.R.: I guess not, but I still don't think this is going to get you anywhere.
Stuart: Well, just believe with me for five minutes. It won't kill you. Come on -- don't you believe in possibilities?
J.R.: What kind of possibilities?
Stuart: The possibilities -- all the possibilities this world has to offer. Don't you believe in that?
J.R.: I don't really know what those are, so how can I believe in them?
Stuart: It's Christmas. Christmas time is full of miracles. You hear about them all the time. There's plenty of historical precedence.
J.R.: Actually, it's biblical precedence, and if you don't believe in that, then what's the point?
Stuart: You're so literal, you -- you're as bad as your dad!
J.R.: I am?
Stuart: Yeah. Almost. Are you going to be with me or not?
J.R.: Ok. Ok, for five minutes. I'll believe in that damn -- in that nice box of yours.
Stuart: Ok. Now there's two of us. And we both -- we both believe that there's a miracle in that box that you made sure I found. And we'd both like to know how to open it up, let the miracle out. Please?

Chris: Thank you. I just reached Dr. Martin by phone, and he said you're going to survive. But you need plenty of bed rest. You need good food and you have to stay hydrated, so --
Erica: Thank you.
Chris: You're welcome. I'm just glad you're ok.
Erica: Is Jake going to let me go home now?
Chris: He's not on duty right now. But he's cleared your discharge with the attending physician, so it's not going to be that long.
Erica: Good.
Chris: You want to talk about what went on in here before?
Erica: No, not right now.
Chris: Erica, you were crying when I came in here before. Why -- Erica.
Erica: Chris, I -- I just can't do this right now. I'm sorry.
Chris: Ok. All right, Sweetheart.
Erica: I just love her so much.
Chris: I know.

Opal: Well, I guess I was wrong about that. It's a little too nippy to be having a conversation outside tonight, I guess, huh? Why don't we just sit down here, Sweetie Pie. Let's just relax for a minute, huh?
Bianca: Oh, no.
Opal: Oh, my goodness.
Bianca, Honey, what's the matter?

Stuart: Something's going to happen. I can tell.
J.R.: I want to believe -- in Santa, in -- in Christmas. Anything.
Stuart: I know you pretty well, J.R. We've been pals for a long time.
J.R.: You always see the good side of things, Uncle Stuart. I don't. I mean, not like you do. I mean, even when I was little, I mean, I tried but I never really saw them.
Stuart: No --
J.R.: Not the way you do.
Stuart: No, no, no. That's not true, J.R. You believe in everything. It's just locked up inside you right now. All you have to do is figure out how to let it out. Just like open the box. Let it out. What you need is to think of something -- some things that you really, really believe in. Just one thing.
J.R.: I believe in you, Uncle Stuart. I always have. Look --
[The box glows]
Stuart: It's happy!
J.R.: Go ahead, Uncle Stuart. Try to open it now.

Hayley: A woman! It never even occurred to me that Proteus is a woman! She could be somebody we know.
Mateo: I don't know. I got to go.
Hayley: What? Where?
Mateo: Uh --
Hayley: Why?
Mateo: It's probably better off that you don't know.
Hayley: No, no, no. You promised me that we're not going to keep secrets from each other --
Mateo: I know. This is one I have to keep.
Hayley: Mateo, when will I see you again?
Mateo: I'll send you a sign.
Hayley: Where? When?
Mateo: When you least expect it. You're amazing. You know that? You did great. I love you.

[Mateo leaves]
Hayley: What's going on? What did he just figure out?

Edmund: Well, I spoke to the tow truck guy about the hole in the brake line.
Dixie: What did he say?
Edmund: He thought it was deliberate.
Dixie: You know, I have this old mechanic. He's really sweet, but, you know, he's a little old. Maybe he just dropped something in there and it just split the line.
Brooke: I think that Dixie is right. You know, it could be nothing.
Edmund: I just don't want you to let it go, Dixie.
Dixie: No, listen --
Edmund: Dix?
Dixie: Just -- just get me home, ok?
Brooke: Yes.
Dixie: I'm just a little tired. I'd just appreciate it if you'd just get me home. Thanks.

Brooke: Do you really think that something -- something happened, that somebody was trying to kill her?
Edmund: Yeah, I do. I just can't for the life of me figure out who would want to hurt her.

David: What are you doing?
Anna: Waiting for you.
David: In the dark, with a letter opener?
Anna: I laid it all out for you a few hours ago. I'm not in the habit of doing that, just so you know.
David: Doing what?
Anna: Oh, stop it. I told you that I think we can have a real future together, and you walked away.
David: Yeah. You told me that you thought that we could have a future together, and then you told me that you thought I was panting after Dixie, which pissed me off.
Anna: Sorry.
David: No, you're not. You know something? The people in this town think that I should be held responsible for everybody's trouble, everybody's pain, and I'm sick of it. And I'm sick and tired of having to constantly defend myself for doing my job and minding my own business.
Anna: Ok.
David: And then you -- you of all people. I thought that you might be the person that finally understands me, that could possibly learn to trust me.
Anna: I do. But whenever Dixie is in the same --
David: Oh, no. Come on, Anna. The woman looked like she was having a heart episode. Would you have preferred it, would you have thought better of me, if I just told Stuart, "call 911 and leave me alone"?
Anna: I said I was sorry, David.
David: Look, just so you understand something -- I cared about Dixie when I was her doctor and I cared about her when I loved her. And you want to know something else? I still care about her! So shoot me! And then she goes and has a car accident, which I happen to stumble upon while I'm driving past the car. I go over there, and Edmund jumps all over me and he tells me he blames me for it.
Anna: What was Edmund doing the?
David: I don't know. He was there. Look, it doesn't matter.
Anna: Is she hurt?
David: No.
Anna: You might want to warn anyone else you've dated to drive more carefully. We seem to be having trouble keeping our cars on the road lately.
David: So you think this is a little bit more than a coincidence? Is that what you're saying?
Anna: Frankly, I don't give a damn if it is or not.
David: What do you care about, Anna?
Anna: You. All right? I care about you.

Opal: Bianca, Honey, if you don't tell me what's the matter, I'm going to have to call a doctor. Oh, my Lord, you are white as a sheet.
Bianca: No, I'm ok. I just -- I had a sharp pain in my head, but it's gone now. It's fine.
Opal: Are you sure?
Bianca: Yeah, I'm sure.
Opal: Oh, well, they finally sprung you, I see.
Erica: I'm sprung.
Opal: That's good.
Erica: I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all.
Bianca: I left -- I left my book in the cubicle.
Chris: I'll get it. Opal?
Opal: Oh, yeah, of course. Of course.
Erica: I'm fine, really.
Opal: Well, still --

Erica: Bianca -- well, I guess you're going back to Opal's. You're not going to come home with me?
Bianca: Yeah.
Erica: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry --
Bianca: Don't, Mom, ok? Just don't.

Chris: Bianca? There's nothing in that room.
Bianca: What?
Chris: There's no book in the cubicle.

ON THE NEXT - - - ALL MY CHILDREN

Marian: I mixed my earrings into the cookie dough.

Myrtle: You both deserve to get nothing but coal in your stockings.

Roger: Where are you going?

Greenlee: To find a whole lot of greeting card moments.

Jesse: This whole place is going to have a Christmas it'll never forget.