What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

Can’t get away from Little Women: LA’s Christy. She was on People’s Court as the defendant in a fender bender case, bringing along her daughter as a witness. She lost.

General Hospital

Nell tells Carly that everything is under control. Carly tells her she went to see Sonny.

Jax has to go back to the bar to get his credit card. The bartender says someone else got lucky with his lady friend.

Alexis wakes up in a strange room hearing the shower running. She vaguely remembers Tom at the bar.

At the hospital, Elizabeth looks at Tom’s picture in the newspaper. Franco strolls in, saying he handled the situation. He says whatever her problem is, he can fix it, but she says her problem is him.

Anna tells Griff that Valentin petitioned the court as soon as they left with Charlotte, and there’s a hearing this morning. She says he must be well connected in Port Charles (seriously – who gets a hearing that quickly?), but he’s going to need more than biology on his side. Griff is afraid he’ll never see Charlotte again. Anna tells him don’t think like that and Valentin suddenly pops into the conversation, saying that Griff needs to accept that Charlotte is his daughter and she’s coming home with him.

Carly tells Nell that Jason uncovered some new information. Michael joins them,and asks Nell if she’s studying. Nell explains to Carly that she’s learning chess. Carly says Michael is unbeatable, but she’s glad he has someone to play with because Morgan had no patience.

Michael sits down with Carly. She asks what’s going on with him and Nell. She says she’s never seen Nell joking around like that, and she’s glad they’re becoming friends.

I laugh when Valentin tells Griff, “Christian thoughts,” as he walks past him and over to Charlotte. Anna tells Griff that Valentin might be Charlotte’s biological father, but he’s also a mercenary. Griff tells her that he postponed his meeting with the bishop, and she asks if he’s hedging his bets. He says that crossed his mind, but he wants the whole story first. He wonders why the courts would give him custody anyway, and Anna says the court is supposed to look out for the best interest of the child. Valentin brings Charlotte to their table and tells them see you in court.

Elizabeth wants to know what Franco did to get Tom to promise not to hurt her again. She says she’s under the impression that Franco broke in to confront him. Franco says no breaking, just entering. She asks if he threatened Tom, and he says he spoke truth to power. He says Tom has misconceptions about him that he didn’t correct, and asks why it matters how he got the message, as long as he did. Elizabeth says his actions matter. She understands he’s trying to help, but if he doesn’t stop, Tom could ruin her life all over again.

Alexis pulls her clothes on. She remembers drinking with Tom. She remembers flirting with Tom and drinking some more. She remembers more than any of us would if we had a black out. She remembers him asking where she lives, and telling him way too far for either of them to drive in this condition, and him saying maybe they don’t have to go that far. She calls out asking how long he’s going to be in the bathroom and then asks if he’s okay, wondering what she did last night. Duh. She says she’s coming in.

The bartender tells Jax that all he heard them say was that there’s a motel across the street.

There’s no one in the bathroom, and Alexis wonders what the blip happened. She remembers dancing with Tom. Alexis flashes back. Tom says that a loser in Port Charles gave him crap earlier and his night has improved. He tells her about Franco, and she laughs, saying that Franco’s real name is Robert. Tom asks her if she knows Franco, and she says that he’s a reformed serial killer artist and laughs some more. She asks what Franco would want with Tom, and Tom tells her that he’s crazy. He asks if she’s connected to Franco and she asks why it matters. He suddenly remembers he has an early morning, and says he’ll call her. Alexis is like, thank God I didn’t sleep with him. She hears pounding on the door.

Michael tells Carly that he and Nell are on their way to being friends, but it’s not going to be anything more than that. Nell doesn’t want to date the boss’s son, and he’s not ready. Carly says if he did date Nell, she wouldn’t object, but everything is an emotional mess right now, and she doesn’t want to see either one of them hurt.

Nell goes through Carly’s purse and pulls out a block of cash. She’s about to put it into her own purse, and Bobbie asks if she found something interesting.

The hearing starts. The judge says it’s informal, but her decision is binding, and custody of Charlotte will be resolved today. Anna agrees that Valentin is Charlotte’s biological father, and says paternity isn’t the issue, but parental fitness is. She presents a letter from Claudette, indicating that Valentin is dangerous and that she was protecting Charlotte from him. Anna says they have no idea of her whereabouts now.

Elizabeth tells Franco that he could be charged, but he says no one would believe Tom. She says he doesn’t get how close he was to being arrested, and he tells her that she’s worth the risk. She says he just got reinstated at the hospital, and they’re probably waiting for a reason to fire him. She asks him what if Tom sees her as a challenge now? She’s also upset about him lying to her. If he lied once, why wouldn’t he lie again? How can she trust him to be honest with her now?

The hotel manager wants to know why the water has been running since 3 a.m. Alexis says she must have fallen asleep. He says she’ll have to pay for any damages and goes into the bathroom. Jax appears.

Anna presents a letter from Claudette’s mother, as well as statements from Maxie and Nathan, affidavits from Dante and Lulu about Cassadine Island, and statements from Doc, Laura, Ava, Jason, and Sam, all recounting the same basic facts. Valentin held them at gunpoint and shot Nicholas. There’s also a report about Doc being shot. Anna says that Valentin might have been cleared from charges in Greece, but this shows that he shouldn’t be around any child, including his own.

The judge says none of this shows that Griff is a fit parent. She asks if he’s a priest as well as a doctor. When he says he is, she asks him if he really wants to raise a child.

Nell tells Bobbie that it’s not what it looks like. Carly asks what’s going on, and Bobbie tells her that she caught Nell stealing. Bobbie asks Nell if she’s going to deny what she witnessed, and Nell says no.

Elizabeth tells Franco that dinner doesn’t seem like a big lie, but covering up a slew of crimes on her behalf is. Franco says he gets it. She says from here on out, they have to be honest with each other. He’s like, total honesty? He says he didn’t like oysters or David Cronenberg at first, but he can get used to it. He swears he’ll never lie to her again about anything for any reason

Griff tells the judge that if he’s granted custody, he’ll leave the priesthood and devote his life to making Charlotte happy. He believes in his heart that they’re there to do what’s right for Charlotte, and asks to do just that. The judge says he’s made a passionate case.

Valetin says Charlotte isn’t their daughter; she’s his.

Carly tells Bobbie that she told Nell to make a deposit. Nell says Bobbie just misunderstood. Carly takes Bobbie aside, and Michael apologizes to Nell. Nell says it’s a simple mistake. He says when Jax intimated that she was out to get money from his family, she stormed off, but now she doesn’t seem bothered. Carly asks if Bobbie will apologize. Bobbie gets snarky, and Carly doesn’t get it. She says Nell is a great assistant, and knows what she needs before she does.Bobbie says I’ll bet, and Carly asks what she means.

Jax tells Alexis he didn’t buy her story when they were at the bar. He thinks she just wanted a quiet place to tie one on. She says it’s her business. He says he heard she met someone. She says whatever some random bartender knows, or thinks he knows, is irrelevant and none of his business either. She has it under control now. The manager comes out and says it’s flooded, and she owes the place a lot of money. Jax wants to call Alexis’s daughters. He says he loves her and she’s one of his best friends. This isn’t her; she’s spiraling out of control and needs an intervention.

Franco and Elizabeth hug. She says they’re good. Then she says donuts. He asks if that’s code for something, but she forgot to pick them up. He says he promised her a special dinner and asks if she wants it tonight. She says she has to get back to work before they bring out the torches and pitchforks. Franco relates.

Alexis tells Jax that she doesn’t need an intervention. She had too much to drink and talked to a stranger, but it’s nobody’s business. He says under normal circumstances he’d agree, but she’s hanging out in dive bars so no one sees her drink. She says she’s not incompetent and he’s not calling her girls to rescue her; her choices are hers. She’s in control of her faculties and it’s all good. He asks about the bathroom. He doesn’t think she fell asleep; he thinks she passed out. He thinks she’s so upset about Julian that she’s out of control. She says if he thinks her daughters should know about her, maybe his family should know about his involvement with Josslyn’s kidney donation. He says he told her in confidence, and she says her night out is in confidence too.

Bobbie says Nell seems to be studying Carly and doesn’t know what her agenda is, but she has one. Carly says it’s Nell’s job. Bobbie switches topics and says Monica invited her back to GH. She tells Carly to promise she’ll give some thought to what she said. Nell tells Bobbie sorry about the misunderstanding, and Bobbie says it was her fault. Bobbie leaves, and Carly tells Nell that Bobbie is just being overprotective. Michael jokes that he doesn’t know anyone like that. Nell asks if she should write Bobbie a note.

The judge says the statements paint Valentin as a dangerous man. Valentin says there’s no corroborating evidence. He says Doc was trespassing and it was an accident. Griff says that Claudette was afraid of him, and Valentin points out how she lied about pretty much everything, including who Charlotte’s father was. He submits affidavits about Claudette’s various deceptions, and offers to subpoena Maxie and Nathan. The judge feels it’s necessary to hear from Charlotte.

Carly tells Nell there’s no need to follow up. She says not to give it another thought, and Michael says just let it blow over. Nell leaves to make the deposit. Michael wonders why Bobbie doesn’t like Nell. Carly thinks maybe she’s dealing with her grief over Morgan by being protective. In the elevator, Nell says that went well.

Jax tells Alexis that they’ll keep it between the two of them, but begs her to pull herself together, for herself and everyone who loves her. He leaves and raccoon-eyed Alexis looks panicked. She gets a text from Diane that her suspension is being reviewed after the first of the year.

The judge asks Charlotte what she calls Valentin, and Charlotte says “papa.”

Elizabeth goes to Kelly’s and Tom is outside. He says it’s been a long time. Good job, Franco, for helping to direct his attention to her.

Tomorrow, Carly visits Sonny again, Tom tells Elizabeth that they have unfinished business, and Franco apologizes to Sam.