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Post by topbilled on Aug 8, 2023 14:47:03 GMT
105 The Last Minute of Sunlight
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
A woman named Elena Brighton is going blind. She can still see enough to realize her husband is having an affair with her younger sister, Margo. Elena decides to undergo a risky eye operation, which will be performed by Dr. Josh Gordon. We learn that Dr. Gordon is engaged to Margo, and he is unaware of the affair she’s having with Elena’s husband, Archie.
After the operation, while her eyes are still bandaged, Josh tells Elena he had found about the affair, because Elena mumbled something about it when she was going under due to the anesthesia. She admits that Margo and Archie are sleeping together. However, she thinks that if her sight is restored, Archie will dump Margo and recommit himself to their marriage.
Josh isn’t sure she’s right. But Elena makes him promise to give her time for her operation to work. He agrees.
Meanwhile Archie is continuing his tryst with Margo. In bed, they talk about Elena. Archie promises Margo he will leave Elena as soon as her bandages come off and she can see again, since she will no longer need him. Margo is looking forward to this.
A few days later, when Josh takes the bandages off, Elena can definitely see. But she hears a conversation in an outside hallway between Archie and Margo about Archie’s plans to leave Elena if she regains her sight. So Elena pretends the operation was not a success, which at first baffles Josh who was convinced it was a success.
In the next scene Josh continues to examine Elena and realizes she was lying. She admits to what she overheard Archie and Margo discuss. Now Elena has her sight back, Archie feels she can take care of herself, and he will divorce her. She is not going to let that happen, and is going to fight for her marriage. Josh goes along with this, as it means Margo will be forced to choose him instead of Archie, who supposedly can’t get free.
However, Margo catches Elena moving around without any walking aids. Margo confronts Elena, and Archie comes in on the argument, learning the truth. He tells Elena they’re through. Josh shows up and finds out what happened. He comforts Elena.
A week later, Elena is meeting Archie about the divorce. Their lawyers are at an impasse, and Elena thought it would be good if Archie came to the house to talk things out. During their discussion, Elena gets upset when he says she was never as beautiful as Margo and anyone with good eyesight can see that. She gets angry and stabs him in the eye with a letter opener she is holding.
Jude is called to the scene, and Elena confesses to what she has done and is taken away. At the end, Josh is getting Archie ready for surgery. He is putting a glass eye in.
But as the surgery begins and Archie goes under, Josh hears Elena’s voice from a conversation they had when he visited her in jail. She says that he should make sure Archie is blind in the other eye, too, and then Margo will dump him and stay with Josh.
We don’t show what Josh does during the surgery. We just see Archie go under, and the last minute is sunlight coming in through the window, until someone pulls the blind.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 9, 2023 13:50:01 GMT
106 Don’t Go in Blindly
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
A wealthy couple, the Devanes, live in a nice high-rise apartment. Calla and Norbert Devane are in their late 60s, but live a very active lifestyle. One evening, they’ve been attending a party downstairs given by some friends of theirs, the Mullens. During the party, Calla catches up with her sister Lily who works as an assistant to Mrs. Mullen. Calla references a time when Lily was her personal assistant and once put the moves on Norbert, but Norbert had rejected Lily.
When Calla notices a gorgeous pair of golden earrings that Lily is wearing, supposedly a gift from the Mullens, she suspects Lily may be sleeping with Mr. Mullen. She tries to coyly warn Mrs. Mullen, but Lily interrupts this.
We dissolve to a bit later. Lily has mysteriously vanished from the party, on an errand of some sort. After finishing their drinks, Norbert announces he is tired and wants to go home. Calla accompanies him. What Norbert doesn’t tell Calla is that Lily had tried during the party to put the moves on him again, but again he spurned Lily.
In the next part, the Devanes arrive at their place only to discover someone has broken in and turned things over. It looks like the place has been robbed. There is noise from one of the other rooms, and it would seem the culprit is still there. Norbert motions Calla to keep quiet.
He then goes into the other room to confront the thief, and Calla hears a scream. She rushes inside and finds her husband dead, with the curtains blowing in the breeze. The intruder threw an Oriental dagger which stuck Norbert in the chest, killing him. Then the intruder escaped off the balcony, climbing down a rope to the balcony of another apartment, before disappearing through that other unit which has been unoccupied.
We then cut to the precinct the following morning. The captain discusses details of the crime with Jude and Amanda. He has called a cop from another precinct that will be going undercover to try to flush out the robber, since there have been a series of robberies in the building where the Devines live. Police believe the robberies are not over.
Jude is distracted, because he just got a text from Sonja about something important. He needs to leave for awhile, but will get back as soon as he can to help Amanda and the other detective. But after Jude clocks out and exits, the captain tells Amanda he thinks it would be better if just she worked with Joel Latimore, the other detective. He gives Amanda a location where she is to meet Joel and get started. Amanda leaves before the captain can tell her all she needs to know about Joel.
We then cut to Jude pulling up outside the coffee shop. He goes in and finds Dewey. He mentions getting an urgent text from Sonja. Dewey says Sonja did not come in today. Jude texts Sonja asking where she is. She says she’s at home. We see her talking to uncle Jim, who seems just as excited by the news as she is, whatever this news may be.
Back at the precinct, Ryan is at his desk doing some paperwork. The captain thought he was all caught up on all that stuff. Ryan claims he isn’t. As the captain goes into his office, we see that the paperwork Ryan’s working on is personal. Someone has just come into the precinct and walks up to Ryan’s desk.
As Ryan looks up he sees Schuyler. Schuyler says his attorney told him that Ryan missed the filing deadline for their divorce. Ryan says he lost the paperwork, but has new copies he just happens to be filling out. Schuyler asks if he really lost the paperwork, or if he had reconsidered their divorce. Ryan reacts.
We then cut back to Jude who has arrived home. He thinks Jim and Sonja are acting funny. Jim steps out to give them a moment alone. We intercut Jim in the hall telling Mrs. Lee that Sonja’s pregnant, while Sonja tells Jude the news inside. Jude appears to have been caught off guard. He asks if Sonja is really pregnant. She thinks she is. Jude doesn’t know what to say.
Meanwhile Amanda arrives in the lobby of the apartment building where Norbert Devane was killed. She brushes past a blind man, and apologizes for not watching where she’s going. The man asks if she is Detective Amanda Fallon. She says yes, she is. He tells her that he is the guy working with her on this case, Joel Latimore. She reacts.
We cut to the unoccupied apartment, that is now furnished. It is where Amanda and Joel will be operating from. He says he senses she has a problem with his disability. She says it’s not that, she just wasn’t told about it by her boss. He says she probably only needed to be told about the case and the fact she would be working with him.
Amanda notices that Joel carries a gun, and asks if he’s able to use it effectively as a sightless man. Joel says he is an expert shooter, despite his blindness. Amanda will have to take his word for it.
We dissolve to Amanda and Joel later that afternoon, socializing with people in fitness room. Calla Devane is there, knowing they are the two undercover cops helping flush out her late husband’s killer. Calla makes a point of introducing them to others and playing up the fact that the Latimores are quite wealthy. Amanda is throwing money around, tipping the cleaning lady for wiping up a spill that poor sightless Joel caused.
A short time later, Amanda and Joel have joined Calla and the others at a nearby restaurant. The Mullens are there, along with Calla’s sister Lily. Amanda feels something is off about Lily but can’t decide what. Joel is still playing the doddering blind man routine, and he purposely gives the waitress too big a tip and says loudly money’s no object.
This is done in the hopes that if the robber is lurking, they may hear this. Also, Amanda makes a point of saying some priceless jade had arrived back in her and Joel’s apartment. Off to the side, Calla notices that Lily is not wearing her new gold earrings. Lily admits she lost one.
We then cut to an hour later. Amanda and Joel are back in “their” apartment. Joel will be sleeping on the sofa. He touches Amanda’s face and says it feels like he imagined it would. Amanda is a bit stunned that he’d be so forward to her. He asks if she’s ever been with a blind man before. She says no, a bit uncomfortably.
We cut to the middle of the night. Amanda has heard some noises in the living room. Thinking it may be the prowler, she grabs her gun and exits the bedroom. But she realizes that it is just Joel. He’s on the phone to his mother, asking how she is doing. She learns his mom is in a convalescent home and Joel pays for her ongoing care. The elderly woman has dementia and slips into the past, when Joel used to have his sight.
Amanda tells Joel he’s a very special person, and she’s glad she’s gotten to know him on this assignment. She kisses him, then backs off. But he is glad she did, and he kisses her back. Their passionate exchange is then interrupted when Joel says he hears something outside Amanda’s room.
At first she did not hear anything, then realizes he’s right. Someone is breaking in. Amanda hurries to the bedroom and pretends to be asleep.
The next shot has the burglar come in off the balcony into Amanda’s bedroom. It’s the same person who had killed Norbert Devane. The person is wearing the same mask as before and can tell that Amanda’s not really asleep and sees her pull a gun. But they’re skilled in martial arts and they kick the gun out of Amanda’s hand.
There is a struggle. It all comes to a head, with them wrestling on the floor. That is, until the masked culprit grabs a vase and smashes it over Amanda’s head. She falls unconscious, just as a shot rings out. The shot is from Joel who heard the masked person hop and leap towards him with a dagger.
A short time later, the captain arrives. The building manager is also there, along with Calla Devane. Amanda regains consciousness and learns Joel saved her life. The mask is taken off the intruder, who is revealed to be Calla Devane’s sister Lily. She was settling a score against Calla for taking Norbert away from her years before and for trying to get in the way of Lily’s plans to seduce Mr. Mullen.
The robberies were just a ruse to make it look like someone random had killed Norbert. Lily was coming back into this apartment, because she had lost one of the gold earrings Mr. Mullen gave her when she escaped through here after killing Norbert.
The following afternoon, Joel has come by the precinct to sign off on some paperwork about the case and to see Amanda again. He meets Jude and Ryan, who didn’t know he was blind. Amanda asks why Joel can’t be blind and a good cop too. They don’t argue with that.
Amanda goes outside to have a cigarette with Joel. She tells him that she had been abducted over the summer and felt helpless, but she learned to be more resilient and use things against her to her advantage. She figures that is what Joel does as a cop with disabilities. He says yes, he guesses he does. He would like to kiss her again, but as much as she’d like him to, she explains that she previously had a relationship with another cop (Marty) and it made things too complicated. She can’t go through that again.
Joel understands and says he should probably be going. Amanda is willing to have dinner with him sometime, as a friend and coworker. Joel will think about that. Amanda then watches him leave.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 11, 2023 12:47:24 GMT
107 False Alarms
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
We start at Holy Name Catholic school. Classes have just started one morning, and the fire alarm goes off. Father Adrian and Sister Agnes check to see there really isn’t a fire, then notify the staff it’s just a false alarm. We go with them into the church office, where they discuss that this isn’t the first time the alarm’s gone off ‘accidentally.’
In one of the classrooms, a boy named Bradley is texting on his phone when the teacher’s back is turned. He is telling another kid that he was responsible for pulling the fire alarm.
We then cut to Jude and Sonja’s place. Jude is getting a late start for work, but must leave. Sonja is also leaving, because she is opening the coffee shop. Then she has an appointment with an ob/gyn. She took another home pregnancy test which was also positive. But while Sonja and Jim are still excited by this, they both realize Jude may have some apprehension.
We stay with Jude after Sonja and Jude both leave. Mrs. Lee comes down the hall to see him. It seems they had a slight argument last night, which is carrying over into today. Jim is annoyed by Mrs. Lee and tells her to leave him alone. He then goes back inside Jude and Sonja’s place and slams the door in her face. She uses her master key to go inside and hash things out with him.
We cut back to the school. The kid who received the text about the fire alarm has gone to the office between classes. She shows Sister Agnes what Bradley said about setting off the alarm, apparently to impress her. Agnes then shows the text to Adrian. They send the girl on to her next class and call Bradley to the office. He denies everything.
Adrian can see Agnes is about to lose her temper. Adrian has a meeting to get to and suggests Agnes phone the boy’s mother. As Adrian leaves, Agnes makes a big production of having the secretary phone the boy’s mom. But as Bradley knows, the mother doesn’t answer her phone when it’s the school calling. Agnes isn’t going to let cocky Bradley “win,” she she makes another call.
We cut to the precinct. Jude is arriving and clocks in. It is said Ryan has the day off. Amanda is picking up extra hours and covering part of Ryan’s shift. The captain is on the phone in his office. He hangs up and steps out to talk to Amanda and Jude. He says he just spoke to Sister Agnes. Someone needs to go to the school to handle an incident.
Jude has some paperwork to catch up on, so Amanda volunteers to go. As she leaves, Jude sees a text that Sonja just arrived at the doctor’s office. We stay with Sonja who goes over ‘symptoms’ and the fact the pregnancy test was positive both times Sonja did the test. But Dr. Walden says Sonja is not really pregnant. Sonja finds this hard to believe.
We go back to Jim and Mrs. Lee. It turns out that Mrs. Lee proposed to Jim last night, but he got offended at a woman proposing. He says that while they have a lot of fun, he doesn’t see them getting married. Mrs. Lee feels hurt and she leaves. Jim wishes this hadn’t gone badly.
At the doctor’s office, Sonja is leaving when Jude arrives. He sensed something was wrong. She tells him when they get to the car that she is not pregnant. She thinks he is glad. He insists he’s just as disappointed as she is, but she doesn’t believe him.
Meanwhile, Amanda is at the Catholic school. She is talking to Agnes, who explains about the boy setting off the fire alarm. Bradley had gone back to his studies, but Agnes has the secretary find out which teacher Bradley has right now and to have him sent back to the office to talk to Detective Fallon.
At first Amanda doesn’t know Bradley’s last name or who his mother is. But when Bradley comes in and gets defiant, and he mentions his mother’s name, this seems to affect Amanda.
We then go to the coffee shop. Sonja has returned to work and told Dewey she is not pregnant. She insists she is fine, but Dewey sees she is not. At the same time Jude has stopped by the apartment for something he needs. He tells Jim that Sonja’s not really pregnant.
In the next shot Jude notices Jim has a few suitcases packed. Jim says things have become awkward with Mrs. Lee. Jude reacts. Jim says that since Jude and Sonja married, he feels he’s in the way. If he left, the newlyweds would have more time together alone and could ‘make’ a baby that much sooner. Jude isn’t sure he wants this.
Jude asks Jim where he’ll go. Jude says he spoke to an old friend who now lives in Tombstone, Arizona. He has decided to go there for awhile.
At the school, Amanda finishes her talk with Bradley, warning him of the consequences if he sets off the fire alarm again. He goes off to lunch. Agnes is grateful Amanda instilled the fear of god into Bradley. But when we cut to the playground, Bradley brags that he is just going along with the cop lady and the old nun, but has his own ideas about what he will continue to do and what he is planning next.
On her way back to the precinct, Amanda takes a call from her mother. Gisselle would like to meet up for lunch, but Amanda says she is covering for Ryan and can’t get away just now. We stay with Gisselle, who is outside a doctor’s office. She then steps inside.
We learn that Gisselle has taken the trouble to see psychiatrist Dr. Ross Jax. She says she would like to start sessions, because her daughter is shutting her out. But when Dr. Jax learns that Gisselle’s daughter is Detective Amanda Fallon, he says he cannot take Gisselle on as a new client. He will refer her to someone else. She asks why. He explains that Amanda sometimes sees him for counseling. Gisselle wasn’t aware.
Amanda is now returning to the precinct. She takes a call from Ryan who thanks her for filling in for him. She asks if he’s getting whatever stuff taken care of he needed to take care of today. He says he’s about to and hangs up.
We reveal that Ryan has gone to see Schuyler. They meet at Biggie’s for lunch. Ryan insists the divorce paperwork not being filed was because of his job consuming him. He says he finished the paperwork now and intends to submit it tomorrow. He has no plans of reconciling with Schuyler. Schuyler seems to be taking this well. Or is he?
At the same time we see Jim leaving Jude and Sonja’s place. Sonja has come by after getting a text from Jude. She hugs Jim and tells him he is always welcome here. He knows that and says he’s sorry about the false alarm pregnancy but knows she will really be pregnant the next time they see each other again. A cab pulls up and Jim gets inside.
As Jim leaves for the airport, Jude and Sonja wave goodbye. The camera pans over to a window where Mrs. Lee is watching Jim go. She wipes away a tear or two.
We then cut back to Ryan and Schuyler. They’ve finished lunch. Schuyler has returned with Ryan to Ryan’s place, because Schuyler still had a box of things to retrieve. As Schuyler is about to leave, he reaches in for a kiss. Ryan isn’t able to resist. And they wind up in bed.
This bedroom scene dissolves into a bedroom scene with Jude and Sonja. They felt amorous after Jim left and decided to take advantage of having their place all to themselves now. But after they’ve had sex, Jude says he isn’t really ready to be a father yet and thinks Sonja should go back on the pill. This is the last thing she expected to hear.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 12, 2023 7:32:37 GMT
108 Sugar’s Sweet New Life
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
It’s a week after the end of the previous episode. Sonja has been wanting to talk to Jude about why he’s not ready to be a father, and this morning is as good a time as any to get to the root of it. She says that when he thought Rebecca was his daughter by Gloria Dawson, he was on board with that. He says it is not the same thing. He explains he never really even knew much about his own father, and he’s unsure if he would even be good at it himself.
Sonja is not happy about this but agrees she will go back on the pill, though she tells him the last few times she wasn’t on the pill so if she really ends up pregnant this time, he will have to get over his issues. He reacts, as she heads off to the coffee shop.
After Sonja leaves, Mrs. Lee comes around under the pretext that she needs to check on some curtain rod that Sonja said keeps falling down. She will have a new one installed. Jude realizes Mrs. Lee is much more accommodating than usual and realizes she’s here for information about Jim. He tells her that Jim is in Tombstone having a grand old time. He shows Mrs. Lee a postcard that came yesterday in the mail. She studies it over and it’s clear she is far from over Jim Anthony.
In the next part Jude has gone to the precinct to start his work day. At the precinct, Birdie has shown up. She tells Amanda and Jude that she has heard through the grapevine (from Sugar’s girl Lynette) that Sugar is selling her motel and getting out of business. This is news to both Jude and Amanda.
We cut to the motel and see that Lynette and the other five girls are trying to put their resources together and buy the motel so they can be their own bosses. It is revealed that the reason Sugar is giving it all up is because she met an Arab prince named Mohammed (Mo for short) who is proposing marriage.
In the next scene Jude comes by while on rounds to see Sugar. He says he heard from Birdie that she is selling out and getting married. He wants to know if it is true, and Sugar admits it us. She realizes that she is probably the last person anyone thought would ever settle down and get married. And heck, she probably doesn’t even deserve to have a happily ever after, with everything that’s happened in her life. But she loves Mo and is going to give it a go.
Jude learns that after Sugar offloads the motel, she will marry Mo at the hotel where Birdie lives. Then she will travel with Mo to Tujai, the small middle eastern country that his family has controlled for hundreds of years.
During this extended chat, Jude and Sugar discuss old times, and Jude wishes Sugar well. The chat is interrupted when Jude gets a call from someone he hasn’t heard from in a long time. In fact, he wasn’t sure this person even had his personal number. Jude steps off to answer it.
We learn that the person calling Jude would like him to visit next week. It’s important. Jude isn’t sure he will commit to this and doesn’t make any promises. After the call has ended, Jude pokes his head back in Sugar’s office and says he has to go. But he will see her before she leaves Chicago.
We then go with Jude who has resumed rounds. He stops by the coffee shop. He needs to see Sonja, but Dewey said she’s off shopping with her mother. Dewey can see something is up. Jude lies and says it is not very important. Jude then gets a coffee to go and drives off.
Back at the motel, Sugar is now getting a visit from Birdie. She tells Birdie some of what she failed to tell Jude earlier. Namely that her fiancé Mo already has five other wives back in Tujai. But she will be his only American one. Birdie reacts.
At the hotel, we see Mo interacting with his uncle Rashid. When Mo leaves to meet Sugar for a wedding fitting, we reveal to the audience that Rashid is a ruthless man who disapproves of this upcoming marriage. He tells his son, Mo’s cousin, Farid, that Farid needs to get rid of Sugar. Implying that Farid is going to try to kill Sugar.
There are brief scenes of Sugar and Mo at the place where the fitting occurs. As they leave the building and walk towards a waiting limo, a shot rings out. It is Farid or one of Farid’s men, trying to kill Sugar.
In the next part, Sugar has been checked over at the hospital E.R. The bullet just grazed her shoulder. She will be okay. Jude and Amanda are there to ask questions. Sugar insists she is okay. At the same time Mo is on the phone with Rashid who feigns a lack of knowledge about the shooting. After the call, Rashid berates Farid for failing to eliminate Sugar.
Back at the hospital, Sugar is free to go. Jude decides to be Sugar’s personal bodyguard until they determine who wants Sugar dead. Jude goes with Sugar and Mo back to the hotel, where he meets Rashid and Farid. Jude is suspicious of them, even if Mo isn’t.
At the precinct, Amanda gets a call from Birdie who is at the hotel and overheard Farid and one of his men talking about Sugar. Birdie says Mo’s cousin Farid is the one who is trying to off Sugar. Amanda tells Birdie to steer clear of these dangerous men. Then Amanda dials Jude.
At this point, Sonja has learned from Dewey that Jude was trying to find her. But Dewey doesn’t know what it was all about. As Sonja tries to reach Jude, she gets a similarly unexpected call from the same person who called Jude earlier. We reveal the caller is Sonja’s ex-husband Marek.
Meanwhile, Jude has spoken to Amanda about the tip from Birdie. He goes to the suite where Farid is staying. Farid tries to act cagey, then admits he did take a shot at Sugar. But it wasn’t to kill her, just scare her into not marrying Mo. Jude arrests Farid, who implicates Rashid.
The next day, Mo tells Sugar he had no idea his uncle and cousin could be so duplicitous. She believes him. When he chooses to proceed with the marriage to Sugar, another man that Rashid has hired makes an additional attempt on Sugar’s life. This occurs during a special dinner at the hotel just after Sugar has married Mo. Unfortunately, Mo has stepped in front of Sugar and he takes the bullet. The scene ends with Mo dying in Sugar’s arms as Birdie, Jude and Amanda look on.
In the resolution, we learn that Mo had another uncle and cousin who are respected by their people back in Tujai. They will take over the country. It is said Farid hanged himself in the holding cell, while Rashid is being deported and will face ‘justice’ back in Tujai.
The last scene of the episode occurs a few days later. Birdie has gone to visit Sugar at the motel. Sugar ended up not selling, and now everything is back to how it was before. Birdie tells Sugar that Mo was a good man. Sugar knows. She says Mo will always be with her in her heart.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 13, 2023 13:35:20 GMT
109 A Talk with Marek
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
We start with Sonja. Without telling Jude, she’s gone to see Marek at the state penitentiary in Joliet. She has no idea that Marek had also reached out to Jude, until Marek tells her. Sonja claims she has no real interest in Marek’s business anymore, and he can continue to rot here in prison for all she cares.
Marek insists he does not wish her any harm. On the contrary, he’s glad she found happiness with Jude and is sorry he couldn’t have been a better husband when they were married. Sonja figures there’s some point in Marek’s recent attempts to reach out to her and Jude. She wants to know why he’s really called her here. Marek tells her he’s dying.
At first Sonja doesn’t believe this, but Marek refers her to the warden. After the visit with Marek, Sonja speaks to the warden and a prison doctor who both confirm Marek’s situation. Marek only has a short time to live.
It seems the reason Marek reinitiated contact is because he’d like Sonja and Jude to help put his assets into a charitable trust fund. It is said these funds are legitimate and Marek had intended to use this money to appeal his conviction, but his grim diagnosis makes that futile. He’d like some good to come with the money.
In the next scene it is evening. Sonja’s home and Jude’s just finished a shift. He asks where she was all afternoon, since he was trying to reach her. She admits she went to see Marek. He tells her that Marek contacted him but he was going to blow it off and didn’t think it was worth mentioning to her. She explains Marek’s medical condition and his request to distribute his money after his death.
Even though she’s divorced from Marek and they are hardly friends with Marek, Sonja believes that they can help put that money to good use. She wants it to go to the neediest people. Jude is not against that idea, but he also doesn’t like how Marek’s reinserted himself into their lives.
The next day Jude tells the captain and Amanda about the latest events. Amanda asks if it’s some sort of trick on Marek’s part, but Jude says Sonja spoke to the warden and prison doctor. It’s all legit. The captain doesn’t envy Jude this scenario. He knows what it’s like to still have an ex in your life and how it can affect a second marriage.
Just then Bernice shows up. She says she has been trying to go over and visit Shannon, because Heidi was asking for some new pictures. But each time she calls the house, there is no answer. She’d like Morgana’s cell number. The captain has it somewhere and finds it.
We cut to Morgana and learn she’s at a doctor’s appointment. Shannon is with her, but the appointment is not for Shannon. It’s for her. She has not received the best news.
The next day Bernice has reached Morgana, and she meets up with the woman at a park not far from the captain’s house. Bernice gets photos of Shannon and sends them to Heidi. She realizes something is not quite right with Morgana. They go for a walk to a cafe down the street and talk while Shannon naps.
Morgana reveals that a year ago she had ovarian cancer, which required a hysterectomy. She was told after the surgery she was cancer-free. But yesterday she learned from her doctor they did not get it all and the cancer has spread. She’s facing a terminal diagnosis. Bernice feels bad for her. Morgana isn’t ready to tell the captain yet and asks Bernice not to say anything. She promises she will tell the captain after Christmas. She doesn’t want to ruin anyone’s holiday.
We cut to Sonja at the coffee shop. She has brought Dewey up to speed on Marek’s diagnosis. At first he thinks like Amanda did, that it’s some sort of trick on Marek’s part but Sonja assures him it’s not. Dewey asks which charity the money will go to, and Sonja says she thinks she knows which charity would be a good one.
It’s a charity that Jude and Father Adrian have done fundraising for in the past. Jude comes in and learns about Sonja’s plan to set up a trust with Marek’s money to benefit inner-city youth basketball. Jude likes this.
At the precinct Bernice has stopped by to see the captain. He’s in the middle of going over a case with Ryan, but takes a break to talk to her. She explains she got the photos and Heidi loves them. She is about to tell the captain about Morgana’s condition, but can’t renege on her promise to give Morgana a bit more time. The captain thanks Bernice for caring about his son and he gives her a peck on the forehead, which Ryan sees.
After Bernice leaves, the captain insists to Ryan that he and Bernice will always be friends. Ryan gets a call from Schuyler and admits he’s reconciled with his estranged husband. Jude comes in and says the situation with Marek’s money has been settled.
The next morning Jude has a day off, and we see he’s gone to Joliet. It’s his turn to speak to Marek. He notes how much Marek’s health has deteriorated and knows it’s no ruse. He tells Marek about how Sonja’s going to help inner-city youth the Marek’s funds. Marek likes this idea. Marek tells Jude that when he found out Sonja had married Jude, he was jealous but now he’s over that.
Jude asks Marek how he learned about the details of his wedding to Sonja. Marek says the guy in the next cell Judge Harry Greenwood. Before Jude has time to react, their conversation is interrupted when alarms start to go off.
A prison riot occurs. The facility is put on lockdown, and everyone’s lives are in danger when Harry and another inmate named Orazio starts shooting up the place. Jude and Marek work together to bring Harry and Orazio down. Jude grazes Harry in the shoulder and kills Orazio in the scuffle, while Marek collapses.
While in the infirmary being treated for his injuries, Jude learns that Marek is near the end, and he’s requesting a priest for last rites. Jude waits with Marek till the priest arrives.
The coda of the episode takes place a few weeks later. Jude is back in Chicago with Sonja. They go to watch an inner-city basketball game that Adrian is coaching. Sonja says that wherever Marek is (indicated he died), he’d be happy knowing something good came from his last will and testament.
During the game, Adrian needs to take one of the players, Bradley Conrad, aside to talk to him about good sportsmanship. We see Bradley’s mother Trish for the first time, in the stands. But she doesn’t seem sober.
Adrian’s team wins, and he has a celebratory glass of wine with Jude and Sonja at Biggie’s. Biggie notices that Sonja looks different. She has a glow about her. Sonja admits she found out she’s pregnant. No false alarm this time. Adrian thinks that’s something to really celebrate. And despite Jude’s earlier reservations about fatherhood, he seems genuinely pleased and kisses Sonja.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 14, 2023 13:31:07 GMT
110 Jude’s Son
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
It is said that when Mrs. Lee found out Sonja was expecting she called and told Jim in Arizona, before Jude had a chance to tell him. Mrs. Lee feels bad about this, and she’s been going out of her way to be more accommodating to them. She’s giving them money off their rent to go towards fixing up one of the bedrooms as a nursery.
When Mrs. Lee stops by to tell them about this, she sees how dressed up Jude and Sonja are. They explain that tonight they are attending Jude’s 25th high school class reunion at Holy Name. Mrs. Lee asks if Jude’s nervous. He asks why there’d be any reason to be nervous. Mrs. Lee mentions a reunion she went to once where she was reunited with an old boyfriend, but he didn’t turn out so well and she’s glad she didn’t pick him and married Mr. Lee instead.
We cut to a short time later. Jude and Sonja are at the reunion. Agnes’ son Danny is there with his wife Liz. The two couples sit together. Agnes is taking pictures with former students, commenting on how they’ve changed or haven’t changed. She introduces some of them to Adrian. Monsignor Duval shows up, and we reveal he had been the parish priest 25 years ago.
In the next part Sonja and Liz meet some of Jude and Danny’s old friends who are back in Chicago just for the reunion. One of the friends is a woman named Kristy Swan. She had dated both Jude and Danny, but she was more serious with Jude.
In a series of flashbacks with teenaged versions of Jude, Danny and Kristy, we see that Kristy broke up with Jude when Jude started spending time with Gloria Dawson. Sonja learns that Jude had actually proposed marriage to Gloria, something that’s never been said before, but Gloria turned him down. She had big dreams for the future and headed to Hollywood right after graduation.
In addition to what was happening with Kristy and Gloria at the end of their senior year, Jude and Danny hung out with a guy named Troy Getty who died of leukemia the week they graduated. On graduation night, dealing with Gloria’s rejection and Troy’s death, Jude got drunk and he slept with Kristy. It was the only time that happened.
Out of the extended flashbacks, Kristy learns that Sonja’s not drinking anything alcoholic because she’s pregnant. Sonja went to the doctor the day before and had an ultrasound. She shows the picture to Jude, who was working at the time and couldn’t go with her. Jude realizes the sex of the child is visible in the image, and they’re going to have a son.
Kristy says has a son. Her boy Gavin is 24 now. She tells Jude that Gavin is the result of that one night they were together, and that he is Jude’s son. Jude and Sonja have to process what this means, because they have been focused on starting their own family, learning they are going to have a son. But now Jude supposedly already has a son.
The next day we see Jude back at work at the precinct. Everyone’s asking him about his class reunion and if he feels old. While chatting with Amanda, Ryan comes in with someone who was just arrested for being part of a narcotics ring. The guy is Gavin Swan. Jude is thrown for a loop, recalling what Kristy has told him and Sonja the night before.
A short time later Gavin is out on bail but facing serious jail time if he is convicted. Kristy wants Jude to help clear Gavin of involvement with the crime. But when Jude and the captain look at the evidence Ryan’s gathered, Gavin’s guilt seems to be certain.
Still Jude agrees to look into the case more, on his own personal time which bothers Sonja. As Jude investigates and gets information from Sugar, he learns that Gavin and Kristy are involved in some sort of cover up.
It turns out that Kristy is lying about Gavin being Jude’s son. He is really the son of another guy at the class reunion named Bert Holden. And Bert is the one who is in charge of the narcotics ring. He has gotten Gavin involved in it, and he is not happy Kristy is passing his son off as Jude’s because Kristy’s still obsessed with Jude all these years later. But Kristy says her lie can work in Gavin’s favor, if Jude helps clear Gavin.
In the end, there is a shoot out on the docks of Navy Pier. Bert ends up accidentally killing Gavin, and he’s hauled to jail. Kristy apologizes for all the lies she told Jude and is leaving town. After she goes, Sonja comes into the precinct and tells Jude they’re running late to the next prenatal appointment.
At the doctor’s office, another ultrasound is done and Jude is able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Jim calls and asks what they’re doing. Jude tells Jim he’s enjoy some real family time.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 15, 2023 15:43:42 GMT
111 The Birth of Jesse
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
On Christmas Eve a wealthy young woman named Tracy Prescott is on her way through downtown to meet her husband at his new business. She gets lost and winds up along the waterfront. She stops to ask for directions and is carjacked.
She is pulled from her luxury automobile, and the two thieves see that she is very pregnant. They just want her money. Some rival gang members that they are warring with show up, and threats are exchanged. The trauma from all this causes Tracy to go into labor.
Bradley Conrad is riding by on his bike. He stops and gets off his bike, then watches what is taking place. He’s afraid of the gang, but most of them scatter because they see someone they know on the other end of the pier. That someone is Father Adrian who’s taking a walk.
Tracy begs Bradley to help her. He realizes she is about to give birth, and this frightens him. Bradley would like to help, but he does not really know how to help.
Adrian approaches and realizes what’s going on. He calls 911 to report an emergency. The dispatcher is sending help. But the baby is coming. Adrian has no choice but to deliver the child, while Bradley hops back on his bike and attempts to ride away from the scene.
At the same time one of the gang members has come back for something and Adrian realizes what has happened, that he and his pals had carjacked the young woman before she went into labor. The gang member is Rodrigo Clemente someone who plays on the basketball team that Adrian coaches.
Rodrigo panics because he knows Adrian can implicate him in what’s happened. So he impulsively stabs Adrian, leaving him for dead. He is about to kill Tracy too, but he hears the ambulance sirens and flees.
In the next part we show Tracy and the newborn baby, a boy, at the hospital. Tracy is very weak. Her husband Seth and mother-in-law Donna show up. Tracy names the baby Jesse and then dies.
The following day Donna does not want Bradley hanging around staring at the baby in the hospital nursery. She convinces Seth that Bradley is probably part of those gangs that cost them Tracy’s life. Even though Bradley is really just a bystander, and he’s told Jude and Amanda what happened which was corroborated by security footage.
This is the first time Amanda’s interacted with Bradley since the false alarm at the school. She is not convinced he’s really a decent kid, and that maybe deep down, a part of him looks up to Rodrigo and wants to be part of the gang.
Jude speaks to Sister Agnes who’s at the church to see Adrian. He’d like her to call Bradley’s mom to come and take him home. Later, when Trish Conrad arrives to get Bradley, she just misses Amanda who’s returned to the precinct.
Trish seems a bit incoherent but manages to focus. She talks to Seth and Donna as Jude looks on. And she promises the Prescotts that Bradley will stay away from the hospital. But Bradley can’t stop thinking about little Jesse.
The next morning Jude is reviewing the security footage with Amanda at the precinct. They realize that some of the images are blurry. They’ll need Bradley’s cooperation in order to get statements that will convict the gang that carjacked Tracy Prescott.
They’ve arrested Rodrigo for stabbing Adrian, based on a statement Adrian gave, but they want an airtight case against the rest of the gang, which Bradley can assist the police in doing.
Jude asks Amanda to go speak to Bradley, since Jude is on his way to a lamaze class with Sonja. Amanda is reluctant to speak to Bradley again, but it’s her job and she has to do this.
We then see Amanda drive to the Conrads’ apartment. She and Trish Conrad know each other, but haven’t seen each other in years. Trish tells Amanda that Bradley has disappeared after they refused to let him spend time with Jesse.
At the same time Donna Prescott comes to the station and wants the captain to help put a restraining order on Bradley who showed up again at the hospital. Based on what Jude told him about the case, the captain sets Donna Prescott straight on how Bradley can help them convict the gang responsible for what happened to Tracy.
At the hospital, Bradley has left the nursery and gone to visit Adrian who is recuperating from surgery. Birdie, who was away on a trip, has just returned to Chicago and learned about Adrian. She dials Cordelia’s number in Houston, but gets voicemail. She leaves an urgent message.
At the same time Amanda has arrived at the hospital after the captain told her about Donna Prescott’s visit to the precinct. Amanda has Trish with her. Trish is really struggling to stay sober, which is another story.
Trish watches Amanda talk to Bradley about his actions. And that they need him to make responsible choices and help nail the gang members who harmed Jesse’s mother, which led to her death. Bradley agrees to cooperate. Amanda is glad.
The next day Trish brings Bradley to the precinct to make a full and detailed statement. The rest of the gang are rounded up and arrested. Donna Prescott returns to the precinct and says she’d like to thank Bradley. She takes him back to the hospital. At the end, he is allowed to hold the baby.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 16, 2023 13:47:44 GMT
112 Altar Ego
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
It’s the new year. Adrian has been released from the hospital but isn’t back to full duties at the parish. Agnes is still concerned about him, and so are Birdie and Cordelia. We learn Cordelia flew up from Texas, and she’s staying with Birdie at the hotel. Birdie’s been talking about when she was shot by Tony Salerno, and how she started to bond with Adrian. She wants to be there for Adrian, but she isn’t exactly sure how to do it.
In a heartfelt conversation Cordelia tells Adrian it’s time he let Birdie into his heart as a mother. He says Cordelia is the only real mother he’s known, but Cordelia says it’s okay for him to have two mothers. She tells Adrian her health isn’t what it was, and she may not always be around. But she knows Birdie, who’s healthy as they come, will be around for awhile. She urges Adrian to open up to Birdie. He will consider it.
Adrian is experiencing some post-traumatic stress since the stabbing. But his ego won’t let him admit his psychological vulnerabilities. It is said he hasn’t been coaching the basketball team, leaving that to Jude. With Danny’s help, Jude gets Adrian to attend an upcoming tournament. Adrian realizes that he missed coaching the boys. He starts to get re-involved with the team.
While this is going on, it is revealed that Rodrigo who initially pled not guilty, changed his plea, and will be going to prison. Adrian needs to visit with Rodrigo to talk about the stabbing, to gain closure. Agnes and Cordelia don’t really think this is a good idea, but Birdie does. She ends up having a nice heart-to-heart with Adrian before he goes to speak to Rodrigo. And after the talk with Rodrigo, Birdie’s the first one he calls.
Cordelia is heartened to hear this. Knowing things will be better for Adrian, and for Birdie, she prepares to fly back home to Texas. Before she leaves, however, she gives Agnes a small lecture about helping Birdie, since Birdie may not always make the best choices. Agnes begrudgingly agrees, and Cordelia leaves for the airport.
Meanwhile the captain’s daughter Heidi has been in town visiting for the holidays. She isn’t in a hurry to get back to Boston. She admits to her parents that her job back east is hanging by a thread, and she recently broke up with a guy she’d been seeing who it turns out wasn’t very interested in her. Heidi’s toying with the idea of staying in Chicago permanently, something Bernice and the captain would welcome.
In the background, we have Morgana’s cancer story. She still hasn’t told the captain her diagnosis though Bernice has been pushing her to do so. One afternoon the captain leaves the precinct early due to a severe migraine. When he arrives home, he finds Morgana passed out and little Shannon unattended.
Bernice and Heidi have been shopping. They learn what happened and drive to the captain’s home. Morgana is now in bed resting while the captain’s taken something for his headache and is looking after his son.
Bernice instructs Heidi to bundle up Shannon and take him out on the deck for some fresh air. While Heidi and Shannon go outside, Bernice reveals to the captain that Morgan is terminally ill with cancer. She didn’t pass out from drinking. Instead she is weak from chemo which she’s been hiding from him. The captain reacts.
A short time later, the captain goes up to check on Morgana. She’s awake sipping some broth that Bernice made. He tells Morgana he knows about her illness. She says she was trying to find the right time to tell him. She adores little Shannon and doesn’t want to seem as if she can’t properly look after him. The captain says she can stay in the house while aggressively combatting the cancer and extending her life as long as possible.
He says his daughter Heidi will be staying here and wants to help look after Shannon. A tear rolls down Morgana’s cheek. She thanks the captain for being so lovely and kind. She notes that people call him gruff and hard to understand, but she’s observed a different side to him. Bernice is in the doorway watching.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 18, 2023 14:05:58 GMT
113 Law and Order in Tombstone
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
Bernice has volunteered to take Morgana to her chemo appointments, while the captain is at work and Heidi’s looking after Shannon. During one of these days, Morgana explains to Bernice how her cancer was first detected and what the initial symptoms were.
Morgana is appreciative of everything the captain and Bernice have done for her. She knows she is reaching the end, and she doesn’t want her death to be a spectacle for everyone to watch. She wants to die somewhere alone, quietly and on her own terms.
When Bernice learns about this, she tells the captain. Heidi overhears. The captain tries to speak to Morgana but Morgana’s mind is made up.
Meanwhile Bernice’s husband Hugo had been away on several long business trips to South America. But he’s back, and he doesn’t seem to like all the time that Bernice spends over at the captain’s home. Bernice claims she’s just doing this to help Morgana and to help Heidi with the baby. But Hugo suspects Bernice is falling in love with the captain all over again, though he doesn’t quite come out and say it.
As this is occurring, we see Jude receive a book that Jim sent from Tombstone. It is a wild west history book with tales of how life had been in the town when Wyatt Earp ran things. One night Jude is reading pages from the book after dinner. It’s been a long day. He falls asleep reading and the next sequence is his dream of being in the wild west with Jim.
In the dream sequence, Jude is Wyatt Earp. And Jim is Pa Clanton, leader of the mean Clanton gang. Sonja is Tombstone’s prettiest saloon girl who has caught the eye of Jude/Wyatt. But she’s also seeing Danny/Doc Holliday. Things build to a big showdown at the O.K. Corral.
Jude wakes up just he (Wyatt Earp) kills the Clantons. The movie Sonja was watching has just finished. She’s nudged Jude because he was snoring. She thinks it’s time to go to bed. He sets the book down, and they go off.
The next morning Mrs. Lee has stopped by while they’re having breakfast. She says she’s going to Tombstone to visit Jim. Sonja and Jude politely ask if this was Jim’s idea, or hers. It seems to be all hers. But she claims that she and Jim are practically engaged now. They talk all the time on the phone.
Jude needs to get to the precinct. Sonja’s heading to the coffee shop where she’s training Dewey to fill in as manager when she goes on maternity leave. They both hope Mrs. Lee doesn’t get her heart broke, or at least not too badly, because they know Jim’s never really been very committed to Mrs. Lee, and sees her mainly as a romp in the sack.
In the next scene Jude’s at the precinct getting caught up on some paperwork. He takes a call from Jim who asks if he received the book and if he’s read any of it. Jude says he did. Jude then bites the bullet and tells Jim that Mrs. Lee’s coming for a surprise visit. Jim doesn’t seem too surprised and may have been expecting it.
As Jude’s call with Jim continues, the camera pans over to the captain’s office. Hugo has arrived to speak to the captain about Bernice. The captain reiterates what Bernice told Hugo, that Bernice has been helping Morgana and Heidi. The captain accuses Hugo of neglect and asks why he’s always leaving Bernice to go to South America. What’s so bloody important down there?
Before Hugo can adequately answer, they’re interrupted when Bernice shows up. She senses the tension. She has something urgent to say. At first the captain thinks it’s about Morgana, but it’s not. Bernice says she got a strange call from someone who sounded like Lance, her son who’s been missing for years.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 19, 2023 16:22:03 GMT
114 The Shopping Spree Killing Spree
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
We pick up where the previous episode left off. Bernice tells the captain and Hugo she heard from someone who sounded like her long-lost son Lance. We reveal some of the backstory. Lance was a reporter for a big newspaper who was working on an expose about a drug lord in Bogota.
He’d gone down to Colombia after receiving a lead, but then he disappeared. That was over ten years ago. Part of what complicates the matter is the fact that the captain thought Lance was his son. But when they had news that Lance may have died, Bernice admitted that she’d had an affair with his then-friend Hugo. So the captain believed Hugo to be Lance’s biological dad.
While the captain grieved Lance as his real son, he couldn’t get over Bernice’s lapse in judgment. They broke up and eventually divorced, while he drowned his sorrows in booze. He would get help from AA, and during that time he met and married Nenita. Now Bernice is married to Hugo.
Bernice knows Hugo has plenty of contacts in South America, given all his business down there. She wants him to look into the possibility that Lance may in fact still be alive. Hugo promises to do that and exits.
Bernice tells the captain she is on her way to meet Heidi for some shopping. Supposedly Morgana’s feeling a bit stronger and wanted some time alone with Shannon. The captain asks if that’s a good idea. Bernice thinks so, and she will make sure she and Heidi aren’t gone too long. They will call Morgana periodically to see how she’s doing. The captain guesses that’s alright, and Bernice leaves.
In the next part we see Bernice and Heidi at Bloomingdale’s. In one of the fitting rooms, Heidi tells her mother a bit more about the guy she had been seeing in Boston. In the next dressing room there is a girl with a southern accent named Mindy Jo.
The rest of the episode follows the exploits of Mindy Jo and her husband Darryl. We learn Mindy Jo and Darryl Reeves are in the city to have a good time. They’ve come up to Chicago from a rural community in south-central Illinois. They’ve been hitting the stores.
Mindy Jo is in the fitting room removing a sticker from lipstick she just shoplifted from the cosmetics counter. It’s Darryl’s favorite shade on her. She exits the fitting room with none of the clothes she took in with her, and finds Darryl. Mindy Jo realizes Darryl has some new shoes on. She asks how much, and he says they were a steal.
Next, in a sporting goods store, she takes some gloves while he purchases a pistol with a stolen credit card. He also buys some bullets.
Out on the street, they get some food from a vendor, and Darryl thinks the vendor charges too much. He pulls out the pistol and says what he thinks is a fair price. The vendor throws in some extra food, and as the two walk off, the vendor calls the police.
In the next store, a jeweler’s shop, Darryl thinks Mindy Jo should have a better wedding ring than the one she’s wearing. He pulls out the pistol again and shoots an employee who is not being very helpful. They take the diamond ring without paying for it and walk out.
At the precinct Jude is talking to the dispatcher who took the call from the food vendor. They also take a call from the jeweler. Jude gets a detailed description of the Reeveses and sends Ryan to round up these two. But Darryl and Mindy Jo have now stolen a car.
They lead Ryan on a wild goose chase up and down streets and back alleys. Jude will help Ryan nab them. He hops in his squad car and tries to head the couple off. Mindy Jo is driving while Darryl is shooting and reloading and shooting some more. We see them kill or seriously injure at least a dozen people.
Eventually they drive off a bridge along Navy Pier and wind up in Lake Michigan. Darryl who was hit by one of the shots Jude fired is dead when they pull him out of the water. Mindy Jo is hysterical.
Back at the precinct she wants to look nice for her mug shot. She takes out the lipstick she shoplifted earlier. She tells everyone it’s Darryl’s favorite shade.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 21, 2023 14:31:26 GMT
115 Troubled Souls
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
We start with Bernice and Heidi returning to the captain’s home after their afternoon out shopping. They were gone longer than Bernice promised the captain they’d be gone. Bernice sees several missed calls and texts from the captain. Heidi has gone into the other room and comes back to tell Bernice that Morgana and Shannon aren’t here. Bernice thinks they have to be here, and must be asleep. She goes upstairs calling their names.
At the same time a kid named Damian is at the park a few blocks over. As he cuts through the park he sees a woman who seems to be asleep on a bench, with a baby stroller next to her. The baby inside the stroller is awake but not crying. Damian says something to the cute baby (Shannon) and he steals the purse of the lady (Morgana). Then he takes off.
In the next scene the kid (Damian) is at Mr. Harper’s corner market buying something with money he found in the purse. He accidentally drops Morgana’s ID card on the counter which was mixed up with the bills. Mr. Harper asks Damian where he got this. Damian panics and runs out with the item he didn’t finish paying for.
Back at the captain’s home, Bernice comes downstairs. She says Heidi’s right, Morgana and Shannon aren’t here. Heidi is starting to worry, but Bernice tells her Morgana is probably at the park with Shannon. She’ll go find them. She tells Heidi to put away the clothes they bought.
Outside Mr. Harper’s store, Ryan had been pulling up to get a snack. He has apprehended Damian, and he’s trying to figure out what happened. Mr. Harper is very excitable. Ryan finally ascertains that Damian stole. He has Damian return the item he took from the store, then he looks at the ID. He recognizes Morgana as the nanny for the captain’s son.
Ryan asks Damian where the rest of the purse’s contents are. Damian says he ditched the purse in a trash bin at the park. Ryan has Damian take him to the park to get it. Meanwhile Bernice has arrived at the park. She finds Morgana and the stroller. Shannon is okay, completely happy and oblivious to everything that’s happened.
As Bernice approaches Morgana, she realizes Morgana is dead. Bernice notices Ryan on the other side of the park getting Morgana’s purse out of the trash with Damian. She waves at Ryan and summons him for help.
In the next shot Ryan lets Damian go with a warning. He takes the purse over to Morgana and learns from Bernice that she thinks Morgana is dead. Bernice has called 911. Ryan checks, and yes, he confirms that Morgana is dead. Bernice is now holding the baby and her phone rings. It’s Heidi asking if she found Morgana and Shannon.
Later that evening the captain is home. He’s angry that Bernice and Heidi were away so long. They are sad Morgana died, but the captain is still focused on the fact that something could have happened to the baby. The captain wonders if Damian the kid thief, could have had something to do with Morgana’s death. But then he gets a call from Amanda at the precinct, who says the autopsy results were rushed and she just got the report. Morgana died of an overdose of pain medication. He and Bernice realize Morgana took her life.
We then cut to Jude & Sonja’s place. They hear a taxi pull up outside and see Mrs. Lee get out with her luggage. As she comes into the hall, they go out to meet her. She is in a bad mood. She says her visit to see Jim in Tombstone was a disaster. They bring her inside and give her some tea.
While sipping on a cup of tea, Mrs. Lee says that she found out Jim’s involved with another woman. Apparently, he is now engaged to a Mexican señorita named Charita. Sonja reacts. Jude figures something like this would happen. Jude tries to call Jim, but Jim’s not picking up.
To help get Mrs. Lee’s mind off all this, Jude & Sonja offer to take her to the hotel where Birdie’s singing. Mrs. Lee thinks Birdie has a nice voice. She will quickly freshen up and be ready in a few minutes.
We go with her to her apartment where she takes her luggage and finds a dress to wear for the hotel lounge. She looks at a selfie on her phone of her and Jim having a good time. She deletes it.
In the next part, Jude & Sonja arrive at the hotel with Mrs. Lee. They get a table in the lounge where Birdie’s performing. Birdie’s happy to see them. Mrs. Lee wastes no time drowning her sorrows in alcohol, with reckless abandon. Jude steps out when his phone rings. It’s Jim who got his message and is calling back. During their conversation, Jim insists he didn’t want to hurt Mrs. Lee and that he tried to tell her about Charita in a way that wouldn’t be too harsh. Jude reacts.
Meanwhile Adrian’s arrived with Sister Agnes to support Birdie. We reveal they are worried, because Birdie is engaged again. This time it’s a guy named Dolph Mobley, the flashy well-to-do brother of quiet and reserved Dieter Mobley. Adrian suspects Dolph’s a big time crook, and a chat he has with Dieter suggests he’s right. But Agnes knows Birdie won’t listen to any naysaying.
After a number, Birdie calls Dolph up on stage to introduce him to everyone and show off the fancy engagement ring on her finger. Birdie says Dolph can afford it, because he’s the owner of the hotel up from Florida. Dieter looks on, sadly.
At the same time Jude is off the phone and has returned to where Sonja’s sitting with Mrs. Lee. He indicates to Sonja he spoke to Jim. Mrs. Lee is now completely drunk and she shouts to Birdie to be careful, because all men are dogs. And that guy will break Birdie’s heart the way Jim broke her heart. Birdie is uncomfortable and kisses Dolph, who returns to his table as Birdie starts another number. Jude and Sonja think they better take Mrs. Lee home before she causes any more embarrassment.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 22, 2023 14:31:51 GMT
116 Ancient History
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
Sister Agnes calls Amanda to speak to Bradley, who’s been hanging out with Damian Deveraux, an older kid who dropped out of school. Damian is the one who tried to rob Morgana recently in the park and was let off with a warning. Agnes voices concerns that Bradley is susceptible to falling in with the wrong crowd.
Amanda asks Agnes why she’s not calling Trish Conrad. Bradley’s mother. Agnes says Trish has a recurring drug problem that she’s trying to kick, and isn’t always reliable. Amanda reacts. Bradley has been summoned to Agnes’ office, and he comes in. He sees Amanda. Agnes excuses herself so they can talk in private.
During her talk with Bradley, Amanda talks about making good choices. Is Bradley really listening to her, or just pretending to listen? Bradley seems more interested in Amanda’s line of work than in discussing his behavior.
As the conversation continues, Amanda has a flash of holding a baby long ago. And that baby was Bradley. After the discussion has ended, she goes to see Dr. Ross Jax to talk about this. She learns that her mother’s been stopping by Ross’ office to get Ross to ask Amanda out on a date, which embarrasses Amanda.
Later when Amanda sees Gisselle at lunch at Biggie’s, she gives her mom a tongue lashing and tells her to stop trying to set her up with men. Gisselle makes a comment that people will think Amanda’s a lesbian. Amanda is not a lesbian, but she does not need a man. And more importantly, she does not need her mother to get a man for her. Gisselle is hurt that Amanda can’t appreciate her “help.”
Amanda needs to get back to the precinct. After she goes, Biggie comes to the table and admits to Gisselle that he once had feelings for Amanda, which Amanda didn’t reciprocate. Gisselle is grateful for small favors.
We cut to Amanda reaching the precinct. She learns from Jude that the captain has taken the day off for personal reasons. Jude guesses it has something to do with the recent death of the nanny that looked after little Shannon. In a nearby area, Schuyler has come by to see Ryan. Voices are raised, and when Ryan realizes that people are watching, he whisks Schuyler into a conference room and closes the door.
In the conference room we learn Schuyler is upset because Ryan recently met up with his friend Yvette Zacarro (previously seen in ‘The New Year’s Eve Killer’), who is now Yvette Murdock. Yvette and her new husband Blane cannot have kids, and they would like Ryan’s help. Ryan tells Schuyler that he didn’t say yet to providing sperm for Yvette & Blane to have a baby (since Blane is sterile). But as Schuyler points out, Ryan didn’t say no either. Ryan reacts.
Ryan doesn’t get why Schuyler’s so upset about this. Schuyler says he was hoping they could have their own child together, either by adopting or with a female surrogate. It goes against Schuyler’s plans for them to start a family if Ryan’s busy helping some other couple start a family.
We cut to the captain’s home. He is looking for his favorite tie. Heidi just found it. Bernice shows up. She had gone to collect Morgana’s ashes. It is said that Morgana didn’t really have family, though she had discussed being marriage but the marriage ending in divorce. Together, the captain, Bernice and Heidi will take Shannon with them to the pier where they will scatter Morgana’s ashes.
In the next scene, it is an hour later when they arrive at the pier. Bernice says a few nice words about Morgana. The captain appreciates how Morgana had helped take over Shannon’s care after Nenita’s death. Heidi is unable to say anything since she can’t stop crying. Bernice opens the urn, and the captain scatters the ashes. The camera pans back and we see a shadowy figure watch the proceedings from a distance undetected.
In the last scene, they’ve all gone to Biggie’s for a drink. Bernice gets another call from a man who sounds like her missing son Lance. She hands the phone to the captain who also hears the same voice, and now believes Lance didn’t die. Heidi was in the women’s room, but they don’t tell her about this when she comes back to the table, because the captain needs to do some investigating first, to make sure it really is Lance who is calling Bernice, and not someone else pretending to be Lance.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 24, 2023 3:11:40 GMT
117 Lance Part 1
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
Bernice goes home and finds her husband in the study. She tells Hugo about the call she got from Lance, and how the captain had also heard it. Hugo is a bit unnerved but covers his emotions. He tells her it is probably someone pretending to be Lance, to extort money out of her. She says that is what the captain thought at first, but she believes the voice really belongs to Lance, whom she hasn’t seen or heard in years. Hugo tells Bernice she’s overtired after everything involving Morgana, and he encourages his wife to go upstairs and rest before dinner.
As Bernice climbs the stairs we see Hugo make a call to one of his so-called business contacts in South America. He tells an associate on the phone that this isn’t the first time Lance managed to get to a phone, and he wants whoever’s responsible for this to be fired. He also wants some assurances that Lance has been moved to a higher security facility.
We then cut to the captain who has gone to the precinct to do some paperwork, since he’s wound up after everything that happened earlier today. He looks at a photo on his cellphone of him, Bernice, Lance and Heidi from years ago. Those were happier days. Then there is a brief, newly constructed flashback, of the last time he saw Lance. This was when Lance was going to Colombia to do the story on the drug cartel.
Out of the flashback, the captain toys with the idea of calling Bernice, but decides not to. Instead, he dials someone else. That person is Adrian. Adrian is at the hotel talking to Birdie about Dolph Mobley. Birdie is frustrated since they’ve been through this before. She thinks Adrian must’ve spoken to Dieter. Adrian doesn’t deny Dieter stopped by his office recently, because Dieter’s worried. They’re all worried. Birdie appreciates the concern but she’s a big girl and can handle herself.
Adrian then tells Birdie that he spoke to someone in Florida he knows who also knows the Mobleys, to verify a few things Dieter told him. And it turns out Dieter was right, Dolph is married and has a wife down in Miami. At first Birdie doesn’t believe this. But Adrian challenges her to ask Dolph when she has dinner with him.
Adrian sees another call from the captain. He takes it this time and learns the captain needs to see him. Adrian leaves and heads to the precinct. The captain tells him about the phone calls Bernice has been receiving from Lance. He asks if it’s really possible that Lance may still be alive. Adrian says anything’s possible, and Lance’s body had never been recovered when he supposedly died in the jungle. The captain says he just doesn’t want Bernice to get her hopes up. Adrian understands.
Back at the hotel Dolph has come by Birdie’s suite to take her down to the hotel restaurant. He says he’s remodeling the lounge, just for her. She isn’t as happy about that as he expected her to be. She admits she has something else on her mind. He asks what it is. She tells him what Adrian told her. He sits down and explains. He says he is still technically married, but insists it is in name only. He’s in the process of a divorce, but his wife Taina is dragging it out with high-priced lawyers.
Birdie asks how he could have proposed to her when they can’t get married if he’s married to someone else. Dolph says he didn’t think they’d be married right away, but as soon as his divorce comes through, he does want to marry her. Birdie thinks this changes everything. She looks down at the engagement ring on her finger.
Meanwhile we see Ryan meet with Yvette and Blane down in the hotel restaurant. He’s come by to tell them he won’t be a sperm donor,. He’s thought about it and discussed it with Schuyler but isn’t going to do it. They are disappointed. When Yvette makes an emotional plea, he caves in and changes his mind. Now he has to go home and tell Schuyler.
At the same time Schuyler’s seen visiting Sandra and Naldo and their son Vito, who is now a very active toddler. Schuyler mentions his hopes to Sandra that he and Ryan will have their own child.
We go back to the captain who has left the precinct and gone to meet up with someone he called after his chat with Adrian. We learn that the man he’s meeting, Montoya, is a well-known mercenary. The captain is hiring Montoya to lead a group of men into the Colombian jungle to do something that should have been done before…to find Lance and bring him home.
The next morning the captain is on his way to Bernice and Hugo’s place. He calls Jude, who just arrived at the precinct, and tells him he’ll be running late. Jude will hold down the fort. The captain is now pulling up in front of Hugo & Bernice’s. He goes inside. Bernice is surprised to see him. He tells her there’s something she needs to know.
They go on to the patio, and he explains to Bernice that he hired a guy named Montoya to go to Colombia to rescue Lance, because he now believes she really did speak to Lance on the phone and he’s been held captive all this time. She’s grateful he believes her and they hug. Hugo’s been standing in the doorway, witnessing this exchange.
Bernice tells Hugo about the captain’s plan to find Lance and bring him home. The captain says Montoya and his men left late last night and should already be in Colombia. Hugo reacts.
We cut to Colombia. Montoya and his men are moving quickly through the jungle. They find a hidden compound and manage to penetrate it. They get into the compound, and Montoya is able to determine which room Lance is being held inside. As his men create a diversion, Montoya blasts the door with dynamite. Lance can’t believe someone’s been able to do this. Is he really free?
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Post by topbilled on Aug 24, 2023 17:03:39 GMT
118 Lance Part 2
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
We replay the part where Montoya’s men create a diversion, and he blasts his way inside Lance’s room. Lance can’t believe he is being freed. Montoya says they don’t have much time. As they make their way out of the compound, Montoya sees some of his men killed in an ambush. Lance remembers specific hallways in this labyrinthine complex and thinks he can find the way out.
At the same the person that runs the place, the associate of Hugo’s, gets a call from Hugo but is unable to take it. The associate is a woman named Veleka. We reveal she’s long been Hugo’s mistress, unbeknownst to Bernice. Veleka’s most faithful assistant has managed to block Lance and Montoya from escaping. He’s brought them to her.
Veleka has a lengthy and interesting conversation with Lance and Montoya. She has Montoya call the captain. The captain is in his office at the precinct in Chicago. He wants to hear that Lance is still alive. Veleka puts Lance on the phone with the captain for a minute. Then Veleka takes the phone back.
Veleka has realized Hugo will never divorce Bernice and marry her. So she’s willing to make a deal with the captain. A high sum of money in exchange for Lance’s release, and Montoya’s too. The captain needs time to get the funds together. Veleka will call back in an hour.
Jude comes into the captain’s office and learns about the call. He asks what the captain will do. The captain says he has to scrape the money together somehow. Just then Bernice arrives. She is told about the call with Veleka.
She’s heartbroken to learn about Hugo’s duplicitous nature, but there is no time to dwell on that now. She is calling the back to authorize a transfer of funds to an account number Veleka has just provided via text.
We cut to the hotel. Birdie has thought long and hard about everything Dolph told her about his wife. She’s been listening to Dieter who says Dolph has had other women, and he never fully gets free. There’s never a divorce, and Birdie will not become Dolph’s wife.
Birdie realizes what she must do. She goes down to find Dolph and is told by Fronklin that Dolph’s in the lounge with an interior designer. Birdie sees Dolph flirting with the designer. Dolph straightens up when Birdie walks in. The designer excuses herself. Birdie asks Dolph to sit down. Then she breaks up with him.
While Dolph’s unhappy, he takes it in stride. He figures Dieter and the other naysayers got through to her. He insists she’s the love of his life, and he will still finish renovating the lounge for her. She has a job and place to stay here for life.
We cut back to the precinct. He and Bernice have just finished sending the funds to Veleka, as Jude looks on. A few moments later, Veleka calls the captain. It’s a video call this time. She confirms she just received the money. She hands the phone to Lance, who is now seen leaving the compound with Montoya. They get into a jeep and are taken to the airport.
After this has taken place, Bernice is relieved. But she now needs to go home and confront Hugo. In the next part she arrives home but is told by the servants that Hugo is no longer there. She tries calling him. He’s at the airport flying to Colombia. They’re finished as a couple. Bernice wants to know why Hugo had kept her son from her all those years. But the line goes dead.
In the last part Hugo’s arrived at the compound in the Colombian jungle. He has a huge argument with Veleka and kills her. Then he is killed by her faithful assistant.
Back in Chicago Lance has just arrived home. He is reunited with the captain, Bernice and Heidi. And he meets his little half brother Shannon.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 25, 2023 13:36:22 GMT
119 On the Edge
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2023
Ryan has been unable to tell Schuyler about the decision he made, which Schuyler inadvertently finds out about when he bumps into Yvette and Blane at Sonja’s coffee shop one morning. Schuyler pretends he already knows, but the Murdocks can tell it’s news to him.
Schuyler immediately goes to the precinct where Ryan’s just clocked in for work. Ryan can see by the expression on Schuyler’s face something is wrong. He figures out what it probably is all about. He whisks Schuyler into the conference room.
Schuyler admits he ran into the Murdocks and learned Ryan consented to be their sperm donor, after Ryan had said he wasn’t going to do that. Schuyler feels betrayed and is in combat mode. Ryan tries to calm him down. But Schuyler just gets angrier. At one point they’re arguing so loudly Jude has to stick his head in and tell them to lower their voices.
Ryan apologizes. Jude exits, and Ryan resumes the conversation with Schuyler, using a softer tone. Schuyler feels misled, having believed Ryan was going to tell the Murdocks no. Ryan says it was not so easy to say no, and thinks it is something he should do to help the infertile couple. Schuyler storms off. Ryan then gets back to work, but his mind will not fully be on his job today.
In the captain’s office, Bernice has stopped by. It is Lance’s birthday. She and Heidi are going to throw a surprise party for him. She’s so happy her son is home. The captain thinks a party is a good idea, but first he needs to tell Bernice he heard from Montoya who said he found out Hugo died in the jungle. Bernice realizes she’s still wearing her wedding ring. She takes it off and realizes that part of her life is over. The captain feels bad.
Bernice mentions that Hugo didn’t say why he kept Lance from them. The captain thinks Hugo was jealous and wanted to break them all up. Also, Hugo’s business was actually drug dealing, and when Lance went down to investigate the cartel, he learned the truth. Bernice isn’t going to let all that get in the way of celebrating Lance’s homecoming and his birthday.
As Bernice exits, Jude comes in. The captain says before he came in this morning, he met Lance at a doctor’s office. They arranged to have a paternity test done, because he’s no longer convinced Hugo was really Lance’s father. This has been kept from Bernice, in case the DNA test doesn’t confirm what the captain believes. If the test proves he is really Lance’s dad, then that will be something to share at the birthday party.
Jude asks how Lance has been readjusting overall. The captain admits Lance is not the Lance they knew before his abduction. But he knows Lance will get back to his old self with time. We then cut to Lance who is still at the hospital where they DNA tests were done earlier. He’s been hanging around, feeling depressed and aimless. There’s an open stairwell to the roof.
We dissolve to an hour or two later. Bernice meets Heidi and Shannon at the coffee shop, where Dewey’s making a birthday cake Bernice ordered. Bernice wants one type of frosting and Heidi wants another type, so Dewey helps them compromise. It is said this is Dewey’s first full day in charge now that Sonja’s maternity leave has started.
Bernice and Heidi need to go shopping to get a nice present for Lance. They will be back later to pick up the cake. They go with Shannon. Sonja calls from home to give Dewey a bunch of instructions. He reminds her she’s on leave, and he’s in charge. She laughs and says yes, she knows.
There are some shots of Bernice, Heidi and Shannon in Bloomingdale’s. At one point Heidi stops to feed Shannon who’s fussy. Bernice tries to call Lance but he’s not answering. We see Lance is on the rooftop at the hospital. He’s sitting on the edge.
In the next part the captain has received a call from Ryan who’s on rounds. He says a guy is on the hospital roof, about to jump. Ryan tells the captain it’s Lance. The captain lets Jude know what’s happening. Jude will run the precinct while the captain’s away.
A short time later the captain arrives at the hospital. Ryan fills him in on the latest. They’ve been trying to talk to Lance, who won’t back away from the edge. The captain decides he’s going out on the roof, near the edge to speak to Lance.
While this is going on, we see Bernice and Heidi finish shopping with Shannon, then return to the coffee shop to get the cake. They are all supposed to have lunch at Biggie’s and celebrate Lance’s birthday. Bernice is worrying because she can’t reach Lance. She dials the captain who picks up. She can tell something’s wrong by the sound of his voice.
The captain informs Bernice that Lance is feeling suicidal and is about to jump off the hospital roof. Bernice asks why he’s there. The captain needs to go because if he needs to keep trying to get Lance to back away from the edge.
We stay with Bernice after the call. She doesn’t tell Heidi what’s happening. But she sends Heidi and Shannon to Biggie’s with the cake, without her. Then she drives to the hospital. Ryan meets her. He knows the captain did not want Bernice to be here and see all this.
Bernice insists on going out on the roof. The captain tells her to go back but she won’t listen. She begs Lance not to jump. She says they were apart too many years. She cannot lose him now. Lance describes the torture he experienced at the compound in South America. The captain says they will get psychiatric help for him, and they love him.
Lance asks how the captain can love him, if Lance is not even his real son. The captain believes Hugo lied about all that and had tampered with the original paternity tests. This is where Bernice finds out about the new test. The captain is confident the results will prove what he is saying is true. He needs Lance to come off the edge, so they can get the results of the test together.
Bernice is now crying softly on the captain’s shoulder. Lance realizes how much they still love each other, and how much they love him. He finally agrees to come off the edge. We cut to Ryan who’s on the phone with Jude, letting him know Lance is now safe.
The last part is all of them at Biggie’s celebrating Lance’s birthday. Heidi has no idea about anything that happened at the hospital. Lance seems to be in better spirits now. The test results are in a sealed envelope which hasn’t been opened yet. Bernice asks if they really need to open it, since a test result isn’t going to prevent them from being a family.
But the captain needs to open it and see what’s inside. The results do prove that Lance is the captain’s biological son. It’s been a difficult day full of ups and downs, but ultimately it’s been a good day. Biggie takes a picture of the whole family using the captain’s phone and that shot is how the episode ends.
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