Recap by Kaydee

One Life to Live Recap for Wednesday, February 26, 2003

LOONVIEW TEEN BEAT: THE END OF AN ERA:

We open with Nat and Cris entering Llanfair. Cris asks her if she's certain she wants to leave, and she tells him that she is. He once again tries to convince her that she's loved by her family, and she tells him that they'll never love her like they love Jessica. It doesn't even feel like her home. No, she has to go. Cris accepts that she won't be swayed, and he tells her that he is going to leave her for a little while to find a place for them. She smiles, telling him that any place with him is home. He leaves and she turns to say goodbye to Llanfair before heading upstairs to pack.

Flash over to Cris...

He enters his mom's diner and she hurriedly embraces him. He winces in pain, and  she apologizes. Then she tells him that it serves him right for leaving the hospital against the doctor's orders. He tells her that she can scream at him later, because right now, he really needs a favor. Can he and Natalie stay with her for awhile? Carlotta tells him that she'll do anything for him, he knows that. He says..ookaaaay, but what about Natalie? If she has a problem with that, he can always...

No, no! She says. Natalie is always welcome. She's in his life now and she should get to know her better. Cris is skeptical, and Carlotta says that the only thing that matters to her is that she makes Cris happy.

Cris smiles, then races off to tell Natalie, leaving his mother to try and absorb what she just got herself into.

LOONVIEW TEEN BEAT: SEX, DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL!

Over on the other side of the diner, Al Holden is fast asleep. Flash comes in and heads to the counter to place an order. Marcie rudely asks Flash what she wants, and Flash just as rudely replies that she wants to place an order. Flash pulls out some money and Marcie asks her if she has knocked some old lady down today. The girls claws come out and eventually they realize that Marcie is an employee, in a DINER, where a customer has just placed an order, and it needs to get filled before Carlotta comes over.

Flash asks Marcie if the diner has a CD player, and Marcie snaps that this a diner, not an electronics store. Flash gives her a sarcastic look and peruses the diner. She spots Al Holden, asleep over his laptop, and she walks over. She loads her CD in his D drive, and the loud tune of a heavy metal song jolts Al out of his slumber, possibly with the onset of a coronary.

He jumps up and panics, asking her what time it is. He panics when she tells him, and he asks her to watch his things as he races out of the diner. Outside, he bumps straight into Rex, who tells him to slow down, because he has no place to go. Al again panics, and begs Rex to tell him that the exam isn't over. Rex gives him a "sorry, dude" response, and Al stomps his feet in frustration.

Rex, being the sniveling little scam artist that he is, finds opportunity in Al's panic, and he tells Al that he knows a way to get some study "aids". Al is repulsed by the idea, telling Rex that if Jessica knew that he was dealing drugs, she'd be thrilled that Viki threw him out.

Rex bites back, telling him that he was merely offering Al a chance to catch up on his grades, but maybe he should spare his broke father the burden of tuition by dropping out. Al hurries back into the diner, where his parents were expecting him. His mom asks him about the exam, and he lies and tells them that he aced it. He is very jittery, and obviously trying to bring their meeting to a close so he can leave. He finally gets his chance, after Gabrielle gives him some money. He gathers his up his belongings from Flash's table before rushing out of the diner. He runs into Rex again, and this time he tells Rex to give him the drug dealer's number.

**Personal Note:

Before I continue with the next part of the recap, I want to interject with a personal opinion of the upcoming part. Most of you who follow my recaps are also aware that I write a soap review column in which I ALWAYS gripe about the abusive use of children as pawns in the storylines. I am personally offended with the way a baby is being used as a control factor in this storyline, as well as the way the children are being used in the Blair and Todd storyline. No matter what the circumstances, the writers have the power to make a difference, and they have the power to set a different example. With soap audiences having been expanded over the years to include much younger viewers, I feel that TPTB should write with that in mind. There I've vented. Let's move on.

KERI REYNOLDS: RJ'S NEWEST APPRENTICE:

I don't know about you, folks, but it's my opinion that in the writers' attempt to spice up Keri's mousy character, they wound up making me feel as if I'm watching re-runs of "Popeye the Sailor" cartoons or Michael
Jackson's "Thriller" video.

She went from being a super-sweet goody two-shoes with a heart of ever-flowing forgiveness and a seer of good in ALL people, to a Class A, cold-hearted Super-B, (I don't need to interpret the "B" for you guys, it's universal!), practically overnight.

I keep looking for her can of spinach every time she's on. Okay, okay, I'm done.

We watch as RJ opens the penthouse door to make way for Keri and the baby. He shows her the baby furniture that he has purchased to accommodate his new roommates, and just as he's citing all of the plans he's made, Liz comes barging in. She tells Keri that she just discovered that Keri was released, and although she acknowledges that the situation between her and Antonio was unforgivable, Keri had no right to remove their baby from the hospital.

Keri gives Liz the shocking news that she's not the baby's mom, but the baby's grandmother. She explains that she was already pregnant when they did the egg-transplant. Liz is shocked, and asks her what happened to her baby? Keri says that either Liz' baby didn't survive, or she was never pregnant to begin with, but they'll never know now.

RJ tries to interject and order Liz to leave, but he gets a call from the club that calls him down to fix a problem. Mother and daughter face off. Liz tells Keri that the baby being Keri's and Antonio's is just as it should be, and Keri screams out that nothing about the situation is as it should be.
Liz asks if Antonio knows the truth about the baby's parentage, Keri says no, and she's not telling him. Liz tells her that she's making a big mistake.
Keri snaps that after all that's happened, she doesn't care what Liz thinks. Antonio doesn't deserve to be a part of the baby's life.

"Neither did RJ, hm?" Liz says. (Good point, Liz! Kudos to you!)
She reminds Keri of how angry Keri was with her when she kept RJ from being in her life. Does she want her daughter growing up to resent her as Keri did Liz? Liz goes on to tell her that she made a choice for Keri because she felt that RJ would pose a danger to Keri, and Keri hated her for it.

Keri says that Antonio lied to her, and she doesn't want her baby knowing a father like that...

(Okay, FREEZE! First off, Antonio, nor Liz, lied to this little wench. And she has the NERVE to try to take Antonio away from his child because he LIED to HER?!!! RJ was a street THUG, and she was crusading in his defense! TELL ME HOW "LYING" COULD BE MORE CHILD-ENDANGERING THAN LIVING A LIFE IN DRUGS? AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!! Writers! Hello? More COFFEE in the writing room! Come alive!)

Liz tells her daughter that she's dead wrong, and if Keri doesn't confess to Antonio, she will! Keri tells her that if she does, she'll never see her granddaughter again. A shocked Liz doesn't have time to respond because Antonio knocks on the door. He blasts Liz, asking her why she brought the baby to RJ's house and not to her own place. Liz tells him that he should speak to Keri.

He's confused, since he didn't see Keri because she was hiding behind a wall. He steps inside and asks Keri what's going on. She tells him that what's going on is that she's leaving Llanview. He is both shocked and hurt, and asks what about Liz and the baby. Liz is silent, and Keri jumps in and replies that Liz is taking the baby to Chicago. (Witch!)

Antonio angrily tells Liz that she'd better think again. He has rights, and he'll fight her to the death before he lets her take the baby away. Why is she trying to shut him out? Liz tells him that SHE'S not the one trying to shut him out. He asks who is? RJ conveniently returns and says:
"I am!" They battle it out. Why is RJ trying to stick his nose in places it doesn't belong? This has nothing to do with him!

It has everything to do with him because he's protecting his daughter. He and Liz have put her through enough. Antonio tells him that if he tries to interfere with him and his baby, he'll throw him in jail so fast his head will spin. RJ tells him that until then, get the hell out of his house.

(A little tip, RJ. NOW is the perfect opportunity to show that you have some class and prove yourself to be a true father. Tell your daughter that the baby is innocent and has a right to have a good father in her life, no matter how ticked off her mommy is with him!)

LOONVIEW TEEN BEAT: TWIN PEAKS

Nat and Jess face each other as Natalie wraps up her packing project. Jess is rambling about how glad she is that Nat is feeling better. She tells Natalie that she looks better, and she wasn't referring to her blonds hair.
Natalie says that she's going to change it as soon as she gets settled. Jess asks her what she meant by that.

She tells her that she's moving out. Jess asks her why. Nat doesn't say anything, and Jess says that she's giving up all the people that love her at a time when everything is going so badly. Natalie doesn't respond. Jess says that she's acting as if she doesn't want to be a part of the family anymore.
She goes on to say that she didn't choose the Buchanans, but it's the only family that she knows, and it's a pretty amazing one. Nat says, it is amazing..for YOU.

You have all the benefits of being a Buchanan. Jess asks her what does she mean by that? SHE has Viki and Clint, Jessie's dad is a psycho. Nat changes the subject. She just needs some time alone with Cris. Jess says fine, but she's going to be with their mom at the hospital. Nat asks Jess to take care of Viki. Jess says she'll do that..FOR MOM. She walks away as Cris arrives to announce that he's found a place for them to live.

LLANVIEW'S "LORDS" OF THE RING: THE NEXT CHAPTER:

Story A: The Prince and the Demon:

In the holding cell, Mitch smirks as Todd comes barging into the cell area. He tells Mitch that he warned him he'd return, and Mitch smugly tells him that he's been waiting with bated breath. Todd demands to know what he and Victor have going on. His father kept babbling on and on about stopping Mitch from taking the Lord legacy.

Todd says he doesn't get it, what's in it for Mitch? Mitch smiles and says that Todd should be on his side. After all, he hates the old geyser, right?
Sure, Todd says, but if Mitch has a plan to hurt his family, he's not going to let Mitch play it out. Mitch tells him: "Watch me."

At that point, Evangeline enters with a smile, and Todd says, "Evangeline Williamson is your lawyer?" She says yeah, who are you? He says Allen Schlitzberg, gotta go. She asks Mitch if she should worry, Mitch waves that notion aside and asks her if she found the document. She smiles, telling him that she's working on it.

Flash over to Todd...

He's approaching Evangeline's office door. He knocks, and when there's no answer, he breaks in and starts rummaging through her drawers.

Story B: Victor/Victoria–Beauty and the Beast:

It's the long-awaited showdown for us veteran Llanview viewers, folks!
Viki faces off with the Master of all of her evils..or as The Charmed Ones would say,,,,"The Source". He's still asleep, but she waits...watching the gray old man with a mixture of brewing emotions just waiting to bubble over any minute.

That minute comes now. Victor coughs, then slowly comes to...Slowly, his eyelids flutter open. His vision is out of focus at first, and he gets blurry pictures of the hospital room contents. The food tray, the bedside drawer, the IV pole and tubes, and finally....Victoria. He reaches his hand out for her and whispers her name. She jumps back, avoiding his reach as if she would be burned. Then she looks down at him, her face stiffened, her gaze cold and hard. In a low baritone voice that came from some inside corner in Viki's body, she says..

"You have NO idea how long I've waited for this moment. How long I've hoped for the chance to see you one last time, so I could tell you EXACTLY what I thought of you."

Victor tells her that the world is full of sickness, and he had to go someplace where he could get away from it. She argues that there is sickness everywhere, all kinds of it, but none of that matters. What matters is that he tried to KILL her daughter. Victor tells her tha Mitch tricked him. He brought him the wrong child.

"WHO CARES?!" Viki screams, "You wanted to live so you SACRIFICED your own GRANDDAUGHTER?!"

Viki braces herself after she says that, as if the very thought of anyone contemplating such a thing was too hard to bear. Then she regains her strength, and says:

"Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

Victor whispers that he loves her. She snorts at the words.

"NO! You DON'T!" she screams, "For years, I thought you did, and I loved you in return. When you died, I honored your memory because I myself had no memory of what you did to me. All of the horrendous things you did to me...."

She pauses, then tells him: "I remember. I remember EVERYTHING!"

Victor asks her what is it she thinks she remembers. Viki angrily tells him that he can pretend he doesn't remember, and he says he doesn't. She tells him that she was perfectly happy believing he was dead. She had contained her hatred for him in a small far-off corner of her mind and moved on with her great family. A family full of love for each other. Something that Victor doesn't understand. You tried to kill my daughter. You ruin everything you touch!

Victor starts rambling, telling Viki that she doesn't understand. He doesn't want to die, and he needs a pure heart, the heart of a Lord, to live. Viki tells him that now she has the power. He's going to admit out loud what he did to her all of those nights. Victor keeps pleading with her to help him.
She tells him to say it. Say it out loud. Admit what you did to me, to your own child all of those years ago. Own up to the evils that made my mind fracture to protect me from the horrors of that secret. SAY IT!

Victor starts to squirm, his monitors start to alarm, and Viki just watches. Troy comes running in and asks what's going on. He calms Voctor down and tells him that he has to relax.  Viki follows Troy outside and tells him that he has to keep Victor alive. Troy tells her that they are doing everything they can to find him a compatible heart. He knows that Viki must love her father very much.

Viki looks at Troy as if he just told her to eat live worms. After subjecting him to a few seconds of a burning, scornful stare, she tells him...

"Wanting him to live has NOTHING to do with loving him!" Then she walks away.

She returns to Llanfair, and walks into the library. She spots the trunk sitting in the middle of the floor, and now her demons come to the surface.
She walks over to the trunk and opens the lid. She stares at the contents, seething at the sight of the monogrammed scarf. She produces a matchbook, strikes a match, and sets the contents ablaze.

There's a fade-away view of Victor's monitor, then the raging fire, then Viki, then Victor, then the fire....

Stay tuned....

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Recap written by Kimberley Barnett, © Copyright by Katherine Thurston & 2003.