Making the Rounds at General Hospital – Taking Stock

Early last week, Lulu overheard a discussion between Tracy and Edward about the faulty condoms ELQ's subsidiary company produced. While Edward is greatly concerned about the ramifications, Tracy is certain the "one faulty batch" has long been used. Lulu quickly confirms with Dillon the condom he used was in fact the brand ELQ (ultimately) produces.
So, Lulu's pregnancy is not just a statistical anomaly, there is someone to blame. Of course, the first question popping into my mind is how many other pregnancies are going to result from the one night of black-out passion mixed with a batch of faulty condoms. Liz and Jason, Maxie and Lucky, and Sam and Ric are three "cheating" combinations that could fall victim to unwanted offspring.

But looking even deeper, what about Robin and Patrick? The ramifications of a faulty product is also a matter of life and death for this couple. Personally, I think the latter would make for more interesting viewing. Robin becoming pregnant opens up an interesting storyline that is not as overdone as unwanted pregnancies resulting from cheating. (More on this in the new spoiler section of this feature.)

…but, back to Lulu and Dillion. In every conversation Lulu has had about her pregnancy, she hints around the choice she is most leaning toward is abortion, but no one seems to be hearing her. The only one who seemed to follow her train of thought was Emily, who advised her to think hard and follow her heart. Tracy and Edward tried to control the situation, both with different agendas. Tracy does not want to see Dillon throw his life away on Lulu any more than she wanted to see him throw it away on Georgie. Edward, on the other hand, is excited about a Quartermaine heir and is set to mold both Dillon and the child in his form.

So, I'll ask the same question Robert Scorpio asked Lulu, "Where is this girl's on again-off again father?" It was terrific to see glimpses of the Robert Scorpio of old as he ranted and raved about Luke (and his lack of parenting skills) as he hypothesized it was Lulu's search for someone to really care about her (in a way her father doesn't) that landed her in this boat in the first place. Julie Marie Berman gets special props this week for her wonderful portrayal of the troubled teen. Especially moving were the scenes in which she spilled her heart to the unresponsive Laura. I'm hoping part of the reasoning the writers use when Laura emerges from her catatonic state is a response to how desperately Lulu needs her mother.

Nearly as moving were Alexis' scenes as she prepared for her surgery to eradicate the lung cancer as she tries to deal with Sam and Ric's indiscretion. Betrayed by the two of them, but desperate to hold her family together and keep her home stable for her young daughters should she not survive, Alexis informed Sam, Ric, Sonny, and Nikolas one by one of her plight and asked each for certain favors to help her through this time. It was Sonny she asked the most of, to put in writing that he will allow Ric to raise Kristina with Molly should she not make it.

What a tangled mess this has become! I can understand Alexis' fear of having her middle daughter raised by her mob boss father. As a daughter to Mikos Cassadine, she knows first hand the problems involved with having a bad-guy for a dad, but can't she see her husband is just about the furthest thing from a saint as well? He's been doing everything from trying to push his brother over the edge into insanity to trying to make a case for having Jason arrested to now sleeping with his wife's daughter… all for his own gain. The fact Nancy Lee Grahn recently signed a one-year contract only makes me wonder how Alexis will view Ric once the lung cancer storyline is behind her. One thing Alexis is still determined to do throughout all of this, however, is keep Sam away from Jason.

It doesn't look like she's going to be too effective, though. After tearful confessions between Sam and Jason about who slept with who, the couple has been inching back together. The hitman has been extremely supportive to Alexis in her illness, and now a shoulder to lean on for Sam, encouraging her to stand by her mother. But really, that's what Jason always is – supportive.

Support is what Liz was looking for when she has turned to Jason as well, proclaiming this week she doesn't regret sleeping with him. I find it a bit odd she doesn't feel the least bit guilty. Angry as she is at Lucky and as betrayed as she feels, her evening in Jason's arms was just as much of an infidelity. As determined as Lucky is to fix his marriage and get off the pain pills, I think we will see him stumble and fall a few times on his road to recovery. Maxie is too determined and too much of a manipulator to let go of this guy now that she has her claws sunk in him. By the way, how did this young girl fall so fast and become such a ruthless woman?

At the hospital, April was deemed well enough to go home, and Robin prepared to turn her apartment over to her, but as she and Patrick packed up her belongs, the end-stage AIDS patient developed complications… on what would have been Stone's birthday. As if slapped in the face with her own mortality, Robin seemed to resign herself to what her eventual end would be, withdrawing from treating patients as well as Patrick.

The scenes with Robin giving way to her grief and fear, especially when she collapsed in tears in the hospital corridor, was a window into the vulnerability we rarely see from this character. It also seemed a realistic and believable reaction, both to the circumstances and just the fear that must exist in someone who has been living for more than ten years with this disease. It was just as good to see Patrick stepping up to the plate and being not only strong but supportive. As this relationship grows, it is Patrick's development and growth I enjoy watching the most.

What's Ahead:
(A look at the spoilers floating around the Net)

Soap Zone is reporting Tracy, worried about Lulu, will go looking for Luke. He will return in time to keep Edward from bullying his daughter into doing something she doesn't want to, and be the one voice of reason. It is said he will support Lulu's right to chose for herself.

My only hope is if they do decide to push ahead with the young teen having an abortion, they look at the other side, too. Lulu has spent a lot of on-air time this week insisting she is not old enough to have a child. I would like to see her spend a bit of time wrestling with the "is it a life" issue in her head before she makes a final choice.

About reports Maxie will tempt Lucky, first with drugs then with her body – he will give in to both temptations. The site also says Liz will again declare if Lucky falls to either temptation, she will leave him. Rumors are also flying that when Genie Francis ends her short run in the fall, these two characters will be leaving the show with her.

Will they both be leaving, going their separate ways, devastated by divorce? I hope it is not the case. It would be nice to see a soap couple endure the trials many real marriages do. It would be nice to see Lucky accept help from Nikolas, work through his issues, and to have Liz and Lucky go off to make a new, clean start should the rumors the characters are being written off pan out.

General Hospital Happenings Two says Alexis will be pushing Ric and Sam together in hopes they will stay together to raise Kristina and Molly should she not survive. Is that twisted or what? And again, I can only ask – will her tune change when she beats cancer?

All of the above mentioned sites are saying Liz will be faced with a "Who's the Daddy" question because of ELQ's faulty condoms and there is also great speculation that Robin will also end up in the family way. I have already given my thoughts on this above. All there is to add is I wonder what Daddy Drake's response would be to becoming a grandpa?