oldEpisode Five-hundred-forty: Jack
and Jennifer Get Devastating News
about Abigail, She Has Aplastic Anemia;
Jack Pours out his Feelings to Abigail.
Meanwhile, Kate Tells Victor, If He
Marries Her He Will Get The Spectator .

[Air date mid-August, 1993]

 

SCENE ON: THE ELEVATOR OPENS AT THE HOSPITAL, IT IS JACK AND JENNIFER, WITH ABBY. JACK SEES TOM.

 

JENNIFER: Where is he?

JACK: There he is. There he is.

JENNIFER: Grandpa, Grandma.

TOM: Jo called and said you were on your way.

JACK: Yes.

JENNIFER: I don't understand what's happening. I mean she was doing so well and now her fever's shot up again. I don't understand what's going on.

JACK: You've got to help her. She's burning up.

ALICE: Jennifer, Tom has called Dr. Anderson in on the case. Now he's a specialist.

JENNIFER: Alright.

 

A NURSE TRIES TO TAKE ABBY FROM JACK BUT HE PULLS BACK.

 

TOM: The nurse is going take Abby to the examining room.

NURSE: We'll take very good care of her.

JENNIFER: Oh come here sweetheart, come here. Mommy's going to be right here okay. We're going to see you soon sweetheart.

 

SHE HANDS ABBY TO THE NURSE AND THEY BOTH WATCH AS SHE IS TAKEN AWAY.

SCENE TWO: AT THE HOSPITAL, TOM INTRODUCES JACK AND JENNIFER TO THE SPECIALIST, DR. ANDERSON.

 

TOM: Dr. Anderson, this is Jennifer, my grand-daughter.

JENNIFER: Nice to meet you.

TOM: Her husband, Jack.

DR. ANDERSON: Glad to meet you.

JACK: Excuse me. You've handled this kind of case before? These kind sudden fevers where there's no apparent reason. I mean you know about this?

JENNIFER: I mean do you think it could be any kind of allergy to food or a virus?

DR. ANDERSON: I won't have any answers until after I examine her. If one of you would like to come with me into the examining room she'll feel safer and more secure.

JENNIFER: Yes. I will go.

TOM: This is Abigail's history. I'd like you to look at it for one second.

JENNIFER: You know Carly had some records on Abby also.

ALICE: Yes darling. Tom went and got them out of Carly's file.

JENNIFER: I shouldn't have gone out tonight. I should have stayed home. Then I could have kept a close watch on her.

JACK: Wait a minute. She was fine when we left. Absolutely fine.

JENNIFER: If I was home I would have....

JACK: Jo was looking after her.

JENNIFER: .... noticed something.

JACK: No, you wouldn't have noticed anything. She was absolutely fine. There's nothing we could have done.

ALICE: Jennifer, you must not blame yourself. If you'd been there nothing would have been done differently.

JENNIFER: The problem is we haven't done anything. I mean we don't even know what's wrong with her. What if it's something that they can't even treat?

JACK: Listen, it is.... there is nothing wrong with her. Nothing serious. I mean this is frightening but it is nothing serious. we finally have a real specialist working on the case.
oldEp540A
JACK (CONT.)
This is what I wanted all along. Someone who can look at her, find out what's really wrong, give her the medication and put an end to the whole thing.

DR. ANDERSON: Are you ready?

JENNIFER: Yes.

 

JACK KISSES HER.

 

JACK: I love you. Listen to me. We're going to bring her home just as soon as we can. Just as soon as we can.

 

JENNIFER NODS AND GOES TO BE WITH ABBY. JACK STANDS AT THE WINDOW AND WAITS. HE IS INCREDIBLY SCARED AND ALONE. JO COMES OUT TO TALK TO HIM.

oldEp540B

JO: Jack, how's Abby?

JACK: I don't know. It seems like it's been hours since.... since....

 

JACK TURNS TO ALICE.

 

ALICE: Well Jack, I made you a cup of tea.

JACK: No thanks.

SCENE THREE: JENNIFER COMES BACK.

 

JENNIFER: Hi Jo. Jack?

JACK: What? How is.... what does Dr. Anderson say?

JENNIFER: He did new blood tests. He went over Carly's records and consulted with Dr. Raines.

JACK: Yes but can he help her? That's the....

JENNIFER: He wants to do another test.

JACK: Oh forget it. He's the same. They're all just the same. They just want to test, test and do more tests.

JENNIFER: They're getting very close, alright.

JACK: They don't know.

JENNIFER: This could give us some definite answers but they need our permission.

JACK: Wait a minute. What kind of a test is it that they need our permission?

JENNIFER: Before you get panicked or anything.... Dr. Anderson wants to.... um.... he wants to....

TOM: He wants to do a bone marrow aspiration.

 

JACK IS FRIGHTENED.

 

JACK: Bone marrow. Why is that necessary?

JENNIFER: Because they need to do it....

TOM: He suspects.... Abby may have aplastic anemia.
oldEp540C
JACK: (Beat) Anemia. Well that.... that makes it very clear then. If she has some kind of.... some kind of vitamin or iron deficiency, that's something that can be very easily corrected.

TOM: Jack.... Jack.

JACK: Isn't that right? Isn't that right?

 

JENNIFER IS CRYING AND SHAKING HER HEAD.

SCENE FOUR: THE NEWS CONCERNING ABBY IS NOT GOOD. IT IS LIKELY SHE HAS A SERIOUS BLOOD DISEASE.

 

TOM: Jack, I'm afraid that aplastic anemia is a very serious condition.

JENNIFER: Dr. Anderson and grandpa tried to explain it to me.

oldEp540D

JACK: Alright, how serious is it?

JENNIFER: It's when the bone marrow stops or slows down producing red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

JACK: Stop.... I don't want.... there's got to be some mistake. It's wrong. There's got to be some kind of mistake here. This can't be happening.

JENNIFER: It might not be that. It could be something less Jack. It could be.

JACK: Alright, it could be. Alright, what kind of.... come on. You can't be sure. You can't be definite that it's definitely this kind of anemia then, right?

TOM: We strongly suspect it. However the bone marrow test could prove us wrong.

JENNIFER: That's why we have to give them permission to do the test. We have to know.

 

JACK'S VOICE SHAKES AND HIS EYES FILL UP.

 

JACK: What's going to happen to our baby?

oldEp540E

JENNIFER STARTS TO CRY AND FALLS INTO HIS ARMS.

oldEp540F

JACK: What's going to happen to our baby?

TOM: If Abby has aplastic anemia, it can be treated and permanent cures have been achieved in hundreds of patients.

JACK: Then it's.... then it's not hopeless.

TOM: No, there's hope. But I can't give you any guarantees.

JACK: Well can you tell me how you treat it?

TOM: It depends on the extent of the disorder and it would be premature to discuss any treatment now.

JENNIFER: That's right and we may not even have to discuss it at all, right?

JACK: Just tell me. Is it.... is it.... cancer?

TOM: No.

JACK: I mean just tell me. It is leukemia? Just tell me that?

TOM: No it's not cancer or leukemia.

JACK: Then what causes it if it's not....

TOM: We don't know Jack.

JACK: You're just saying that.... that it just happens out of nowhere.

TOM: Yes.

JACK: It just happens.

TOM: Yes, it's very rare and much more research is needed.

JACK: Well can you just.... I mean you have some kind of treatment that.... that.... I mean something you can do for her if this test is indeed.... positive. Can you do something?

ALICE: Jack, a few years ago a little boy with aplastic anemia was admitted to this hospital. He was thin. He was depressed. He was very ill. But when he left this hospital he was as happy go luck as you'd ever want a little boy to be.

JACK: So he was cured?

ALICE: Yes and I see him from time to time when he comes in for a check-up. You'd never know there was anything wrong with him.

JENNIFER: Right and Abby doesn't even seem sick I mean except for the fevers she's been getting. So maybe.... maybe we caught it in the early stages, right?

TOM: That's possible.

JACK: Alright, so what went wrong? What went wrong? That's all I want to know. (Terrified with fear and guilt that he is to blame because of his luekmia) OBVIOUSLY SHE DIDN'T HAVE THE DAMN DISEASE WHEN SHE WAS BORN. SO OBVIOUSLY IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE DID. I mean how could we have prevented it? Why can't anyone tell me what we could have done to keep this from happening?

ALICE: Jack, Jack. Now don't do this to yourself. It is not your fault.

TOM: Alice is right. There is no way we can know how or why this happened to Abby.

JO: Jack whatever's causing it I can't imagine that you or Jennifer did anything wrong.

JACK: Well I tell you something. Something sure as hell went wrong somewhere.

JENNIFER: Jack, but it's not because of us and you have to believe that. Now right now we have to be very strong for our baby, alright. And we have to do everything that we can to help her get better.

JACK: And we will. We will be strong.

 

THEY HUG.

 

JENNIFER: We'll be okay.

JACK: We will be very very strong.

JENNIFER: We'll be okay.

 

THEY HOLD EACH OTHER AND BOTH CRY.


SCENE FIVE: ABBY HAS BEEN PUT IN INTENSIVE CARE. JACK SITS BY HER CRIB TALKING TO HER.

oldEp540G

JACK: You know when I first met your mother I thought I could finally move on from the past with loss, death, and destruction. I thought I could.... I finally met a woman who could make my life complete. Finally be everything I'd ever want and need. (Beat) But you proved me wrong. You know that don't you?

 

HE MOVES OVER AND KNEELS NEXT TO THE CRIB.

oldEp540H

JACK (CONT.): From the first moment that I.... that I held you in that cabin, you proved me wrong. You showed me how complete life can be. You showed me that gift and I've.... I've let you down. I.... I couldn't.... I didn't know how to protect you from all of this. But I will. I'm telling you right now if there was any way I could trade places with you I would. I would give my life if you could be safe. You know that. (Beat) But at the same time that doesn't mean everything's wrong. Maybe it'll be alright. Maybe the tests will work. Maybe we can all go home and be won't have anything to worry about and we can all go home and be happy. But if not, I.... I.... I.... I promise you that I will make sure that you get better. That's a father's promise. God I never thought I'd live to be a father.

 

HE KISSES HER HAND.

 

JACK (CONT.): But that's my promise. That's my promise to you. I will not let you down again.

oldEp540I


SCENE SIX: MEANWHILE VICTOR AND KATE HAVE GOT CLOSER AND MADE LOVE. VICTOR ASKS HER WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO GET HER TO LET GO OF THE SPECTATOR. KATE TELLS VICTOR THAT ON HER WEDDING DAY, THAT WILL BE HER GIFT TO HER HUSBAND.

SCENE SEVEN: BACK AT THE HOSPITAL, JENNIFER IS IN WITH ABBY AND JACK.
oldEp540J
JACK: They did the whole procedure without too much pain or discomfort.

JENNIFER: What if the test is positive Jack? What if they can't treat her? What if they can't?

JACK: No, no, don't do this. Listen, nothing's going to happen to her. We are not going to lose her. We are going to do everything that we can. We are going to do research on our own. We will call doctors wherever we can find them. We will fly specialists in. We will do whatever we need to do to beat this thing. (Beat) And we will beat it. She knows it's not an empty promise. She will grow up. She will recover and someday she'll have children of her own.

JENNIFER: Oh baby.

JACK: So the real question I believe is, not will she recover but will you recover gracefully the first time you're called grandmother?

 

JENNIFER HALF SMILES. JACK KISSES ABBY'S HEAD, WRAPS HIS ARMS AROUND THEM BOTH.

oldEp540K

 

[Transcribed by Carol Vaughan
added material by Sally A. Wilson]