07/24/1998 Tad Surprises Brooke




"Even in Pine Valley it's sometimes hard to find time to get the household chores finished. While Janet vacuumed the livingroom floor, a frightened Amanda entered the house. Amanda asked her mother what it meant when "the hair on the back of his neck stands up" and when "his" gums pulled back so that you can see his teeth. A one time canine phobic, Janet assumed that the display meant that Harold had seen another dog. It would've been a good guess if Amanda had been talking about Harold. Yelling and snarling, Trevor and Keith entered the house followed closely behind by Belinda. Keith had told Trevor about his plan to seek a court order to question Brooke and, needless to say, Trevor wasn't thrilled. Keith explained that he wanted proof that Brooke was not "grandstanding." Belinda called Keith's unwillingness to accept the truth "mule-headedness." She reminded him that Joe Martin, a well-respected physician, had testified in court that Brooke was ill. Keith argued that Joe had a "vested interest" in the case because Brooke was his former daughter-in-law. Trevor wanted the matter resolved immediately and suggested that they circumvent the judicial process and visit Brooke as a threesome. Janet broke her silence and yelped, "No, Trevor. You can't!" All three attorney's heads snapped in Janet's direction. Janet was forced to calm down rather quickly and to explain her concern. She worried that Brooke was tool sick to be questioned and that any aggravation by a gaggle of lawyers could worsen her condition. Keith explained that he wasn't interested in seeing Brooke suffer, but he did want to make sure that someone wasn't trying to pull the wool over his eyes. Trevor decided to play in to Keith's conspiracy theory. If Brooke was faking, how did she manage to get everyone at the hospital to keep her secret? Belinda chimed in that Brooke has nothing to gain by playing possum. Keith disagreed. A faked illness, he said, would stop the momentum of the trial, it would undercut the prosecution's case, and sway the tide of public sympathy towards Brooke. Belinda stepped up to Keith and told him that his bad attitude had made her reconsider their planned date. The date was "red-lined," according to Belinda. Keith seemed to care less. He told Belinda and Trevor that he would see them at the hospital with a court order to interrogate Brooke. After Keith left, Belinda volunteered to take Amanda to day camp. That left Trevor with enough time to question his wife's "flaky" behavior. Janet insisted that she wasn't acting peculiar, but Trevor knew that something was up especially since Janet almost "spilled" when they were outside Brooke's hospital room the day before. Janet plead the fifth and silenced her husband's questioning with a long, passionate kiss.

When Jack woke from his night's sleep, he found Erica sitting on the edge of his bed. Erica wondered what Jack had been dreaming. Since dreams, according to Erica, are the gateway to the unconscious, she could only imagine what was racing through Jack's head. In true Erica style, Erica insisted that Jack must have been dreaming of her. Jack was surprised to see Erica. Less the twenty-four hours before, she had been telling him---and Mike---to go to hell. Erica smiled and downplayed her tantrum. What had drawn Erica to the hospital room was the kiss that Jack had planted on her in the chapel. Erica told Jack that she truly loved him and the pair shared a kiss. After the kiss ended, Jack let Erica know that he hadn't forgotten that Mike was still a part of her life. Jack told Erica that he wants her to be a part of his life, but only when her life is "unencumbered" by the presence of a second lover. Jack told Erica that he was going to check out of the hospital and head to work. Erica tried her best to get Jack to return to bed for a little romance, but Jack turned her down cold. He explained that Brooke's case had taken "a hairpin turn" and that many of Brooke's friends could be in trouble. Erica cocked her said to one side and asked Jack when he and Dimitri had become friends. Almost as soon as the words had come out of her mouth, Erica knew that she was in trouble. Jack's eyebrows raised as he stroked his chin . He'd never mentioned Dimitri's name and he saw no reason for Erica to be thinking of her former husband. Jack warned Erica that if she knew anything about Brooke's case---anything whatsoever---and she failed to report it, she could be facing more prison time. Erica explained that Brooke and Dimitri had grown close as a result of their ordeal with Jim and that she sort of assumed that Jack was referring to Dimitri. Jack knew that something more was going on and he wanted to question Erica, but when the phone rang, Erica made her escape. Keith had phoned Jack to tell him that the wheels were in motion and that he was in the process of getting a court order to meet with Brooke.

Scott kept his promise to Kelsey and made a quick stop by to the hospital to drop off a candy bar. Again, Scott told Kelsey that he would do anything to help her. On his way out of Kelsey's room, Scott got caught---sort of. On a wander down the hall, Jack saw Scott hovering outside of "Brooke's" room and moved in to ask Scott why he had been allowed to be near Brooke. He had been informed that Brooke was only allowed to have visit from her doctors and immediate family. Scott fell into neither category. Before Jack could get any answers, Scott "remembered" that he was due at WRCW. As Scott was leaving, Keith approached and told Jack that he'd spotted Scott with Brooke the day before. Now Jack's suspicions began to mount. He wondered if Brooke was really in the hospital room---and if she wasn't, who was? If this was the case, Jack knew that a lot of his close friends could be facing a heap of trouble.

Edmund knew that dealing with Dimitri over the next few days could be very difficult. He wanted to let his brother know that he was proud of his decision to tell them where Brooke had gone, but he didn't want to seem condescending. Dimitri found little solace in doing the right thing. He worried that squealing might have put Brooke in even more danger. The thought of coaxing Brooke into returning to Pine Valley only to have her go to jail didn't sit well with Dimitri. Edmund was confident that Brooke was not face jail time. He reminded Dimitri of Tad's elaborate plan to buy Brooke time to return. If all went well, no one would ever know that Brooke had left American soil. The two brothers embraced just as Erica entered the room. She mused that she wasn't sure if the two men were hugging or getting ready to kill each other. She didn't want to break up the warm, fuzzy feeling, but she needed to let them know that Jack was closing in on the truth. Dimitri explained to Edmund that Erica had been present the night Brooke decided to flee the country. Erica clarified that not only was she present, but she also encouraged Brooke to run. Edmund shook his head in amazement. He couldn't believe that the two of them had both steered Brooke so far into the wrong. Lecture aside, Erica urged the two men to figure out what they were going to do to stall Jack and Keith.

Somewhere in Ukraine, Brooke sent Jamie off with a babysitter so that she could have some time alone to think about her situation. Soon after Jamie left, Tad arrived---and a series of powerful scenes marked with incredible acting began. Brooke offered to track down the babysitter so that Tad could have some time with his son. While Tad wanted to see Jamie, he decided that it was best to say what he had to say with his son safely out of the way. Tad looked around at Brooke's posh accommodations and figured that Dimitri had provided her with all the necessities of life---and then some. "Not everything," Brooke replied softly. There was no need for her to list the things that her new surroundings lacked. Tad was furious with Brooke two reasons. The primary reason, of course, was because Brooke had taken Jamie from him. The second was a little less apparent: Brooke hadn't had the courtesy to say goodbye to him before fleeing. He wondered if she'd considered writing him a letter: Dear Tad, I'm sorry. Don't worry---I'm fine. You'll never see your son again Brooke tried to shelve the anger by telling Tad how glad she was to see him. She wondered how long Tad would be staying with her. Tad announced that he was not staying and that he'd be leaving within a few hours. He added that he expected Brooke and Jamie to be on the return flight to Pine Valley. Brooke had begun to sob, but Tad's statement couldn't help but evoke a laugh of hopelessness. In case Tad had forgotten, Brooke reminded him that she was a fugitive. If she returned to The United States, she would be apprehended, carted off to jail for fleeing the country, and then found guilty of murder. It wasn't exactly a fairytale. Tad told Brooke about the plan he'd devised to allow him some time to find her and help her return to Pine Valley. Brooke was amazed at the lengths Tad had gone for her and asked why he and his family had stuck their necks out for her. The reason was but one word, "Love." Where Brooke should have been grateful, she stunned Tad with a cold response. "No one asked you [to help]," she snapped as she told Tad that he couldn't make her leave. Tad nodded. He knew that there was nothing he could say or do to make Brooke want to return to Pine Valley. Tad, however, wasn't going to return home empty-handed. If Brooke wasn't going to leave, Tad planned on taking him son home. Tad felt it was unfair to subject his son to a life on the run, a life without family, a life without the love of his father. In the most scathing of comments, Tad asked Brooke if a few years down the line Jamie would pick up a photograph of him and wonder who the man was in the picture. Brooke vowed never to let her son forget Tad. It was little consolation. Tad claimed that Jamie would be plagued by fear and nightmares if he remained apart from his loved ones. "Do you want to know fear?" Brooke snapped. Fear, she said, is looking your son in the eyes when he tells you that he'll go with you to prison so that you'll be protected. Tad could see that his son's pain had already started to accumulate. Dimitri placed a call to Brooke and told her that her that he felt that he had to tell Tad where he could find her. He also assured her that no matter what decision she made---to stay aboard or to return home---he would support her. It was a bold move for Dimitri. His heart had broken when he urged Brooke to leave and he knew that had he been as good a friend to Brooke as she'd been to him, he never would have urged Brooke to break the law and leave the country. When she hung up the phone, Brooke told Tad that Dimitri had urged her to return home. Brooke was unsure what her next move would be. Jamie returned from his outing and called out to his mother. He ended his sentence abruptly when he saw his father sitting on the sofa. "Are you going to run away with us too?" Jamie asked."

- Soap Central