1×08: As I Am
Previously on Liberty City:
Logan and Jennifer are greeted by a head-on shock with from their mother and sister.
Jessica reveals to her mother that she plans to divorce Jason.
Jamie and Derek move in together.
Diane’s ex-love turns up surprisingly at her doorstep.
Scene One: Town House #2
“Adam, is this truly you?” Diane questions out loud. “Yes Diane, it’s me. May I come in?” Adam assures to her. Diane then opens up her arms to welcome Adam in.
“This is quite a shocking surprise. I’m quite dumbfounded right now. I mean, you left without saying goodbye or anything,” Diane exclaims. “I know. I never meant to leave so suddenly, but it was beyond my control. And I would have written you, but then I figured you wouldn’t have written back.”
“You figured, or you assumed? Knowing you would have written really hurts Adam. I loved you, and it seemed like you loved me. You promised me a lifetime of happiness,” she tells to Adam.
“I know. It wasn’t my intentions to mislead you or let you down,” Adam explains, as Diane interrupts saying, “You didn’t. I have my lifetime of happiness. I’m successful and Independent. I haven’t needed a man to save me. I’m such an amazing person now. And I have you to thank for that.”
Adam then looks at Diane with a look of guilty conscience, but does it not let it fully show.
Scene Two: The Smithson Residence
Monica walks into her bedroom to see her husband packing his medical bag.
“Work call?” Monica questions to her husband.
“No. I’m going in to check up on some patients. Shouldn’t be more than an hour, two tops.”
“Good because we really should discuss this little bundle of joy we’re bringing into the world in about seven and a half months,” Monica replies teasing Dustin.
Dustin gives his wife a very sudden smile, and kiss before he walks out his bedroom, down the stairs and out the door.
Monica then sits down on the bed, rubbing her little baby bump. He never can know, she thinks to herself. At that moment she hears the doorbell ring.
Monica hurries down the stairs and as she gets to the front door, she says, “What did you do? Did you forget your keys?”
As she opens the door, she sees her sister standing there.
OPENING CREDITS
“Hello Jamie. I wasn’t expecting you to drop by today,” Monica says to her sister.
“Yeah, I know. I wasn’t expecting to either, but we have a problem,” Jamie replies. “Yes I know Jamie. We’ve had a problem for months,” Monica so coldly replies.
“That’s not the problem I’m referring to,” Jamie says as she walks in without invitation. “It’s mom.”
Monica then looks at Jamie with a sudden look of compassionate worry.
Scene Three: The Spencer Residence
Leah comes down the stairs and walks through the living room to enter into the kitchen. There she is greeted by her mother, who seems to have been awake for hours preparing breakfast.
“Oh, good morning Leah. May I get you some coffee? Eggs?” Patricia kindly offers her daughter. “No mom. It’s okay. I’m fine,” Leah replies. “But honey, you need to eat. We don’t need anything happening to you anytime soon,” replies Patricia as she scoops of some eggs onto a plate with a cup of coffee and puts both items in front of Leah.
“No mother. What I need is for you to stop acting like this. You’re the one who needs to eat,” Leah vigorously replies. “Damn it Leah. Stop trying to be the hero. I’ve already lost one daughter, I don’t need to lose another,” Patricia replies in such an upset that could be defined as a broken heart.
“You already lost me mom. Don’t you realize this?” Leah yells to her mother. Dan then walks into the kitchen and says, “Woah, woah. Patti, Leah both of you need to calm down.”
“No Dan, it’s about time I got this all out in the open. I thought you would’ve realized this when I left home for school. You wouldn’t take your meds. You wouldn’t even acknowledge me or Cassandra. Why the hell do you think she left home so early?” Leah instigates to her mother.
“Oh yes, let’s badger my parental skills. I may not have been the model parent, but this guy ain’t no prize either. He cheats on his pregnant girlfriend with her older slut of a sister. And then she turns to drugs to cope with the pain and hurt, and then what do you do? You attack her and send her into a coma and might have killed her child,” Patricia says with angst.
“I didn’t cause her to do the drugs mom,” Leah says.
“Oh yeah, then who did Leah?”
“You did Patti,” Dan chimes in.
At that moment Patricia looks at Dan with such disgust, turning to Leah in hopes of her daughter revealing it isn’t true, only to find she does not object to Dan’s accusation.
Scene Four: Town House #2
Adam and Diane stand looking at each other, knowing what the present could have been like. Adam tries to lessen the awkward silence by saying, “Listen, I didn’t come back to –”
“I know you didn’t.”
“Well, I want you to know that I’m back in Liberty City for an extended period.”
Diane looks at Adam with a confused look and questions, “An extended period? Adam what does that even mean?”
“It means I’m back in town to tie up some loose ends, and hopefully mend some friendships.”
“And what kind of relationships would those be Adam?”
“I didn’t say relationships Diane, I said friendships. But you can call them whatever you want to.”
Diane then gives Adam a look that could only be matched by a very pissed off, over-worked lawyer who just wanted to spend an evening alone.
Scene Five: The Smithson Residence
Monica closes the door to her home, and quickly enters into the living room. She asks, “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?” Jamie shakes her head no. “Ok then. What’s wrong with mom?” Monica questions of Jamie.
Jamie turns to Monica and replies, “There was an incident. Sophie contacted me and told me mom had some sort of accident and I needed to come as soon as possible.”
“Jamie, is mom okay?” Monica asks fighting back the tears within her eyes. “To be honest Monica, I sincerely do not know how she is. That’s why I’m leaving in an hour to go visit her and stay with her for a while.”
“I should go with you Jamie. Mom, Soph and Tommy need us,” Monica reveals. Jamie looks at Monica with a look of confusion and goes, “Monica, Tommy does not need anymore. Never has, never will. Sophie can handle it with me, plus you’re pregnant. That last thing you and your baby need is to be around the family. It may be the holidays but it doesn’t help you or the baby.”
“But mom needs us Jamie, she needs all of us there.”
“What she needs is her daughter and future grandchild to stay home where they are safe, sound and expected to be all snug and warm and healthy.”
Monica and Jamie both get up and hug each other in compassion for the first time in a long while. “Well then, I guess I’ll stay in Liberty City. Give mom my best, and don’t tell her about the pregnancy unless it’s the right moment.”
“I promise Monica,” Jamie assures her sister, as she picks up her purse and begins to walk towards the door as she continues, “Mom will not know about little Baby Monica until you tell her or the time is right.”
As Jamie begins to open the door, Monica calls out “Hey Jamie!” Jamie turns around as Monica continues, “Thanks for this. I miss this, us being able to act sisterly.”
Jamie jokingly replies, “Yeah I know. Don’t get used to it. I’ll go back to hating you when I get back.”
Both sisters share a laugh before Jamie leaves the house.
Scene Six: The Spencer Residence
Patricia, in shock of what her daughter’s boyfriend and father of her grandchild has just chosen to tell her, walks out of the kitchen into the living room repeatedly saying “No” louder and louder each time.
Both Leah and Dan follow Patricia and Leah says, “Mom, don’t deny it. You’re inability to be a good enough mother did not help Cassandra’s state of mind which we both know was not stable during her childhood. God only knows what the hell you could’ve done to her when I left.”
Patricia frantically turns out and screams, “Don’t you dare try to understand life as a mother. It is not a trip in the park and neither were you children. You’re not even a mother so you can’t understand.”
“Understand? You want me to understand? Mom, I’m not the one who could be declared medically incompetent at any moment because I decided one day to stop taking my prescribed medication.”
Dan then chimes in saying, “Patricia, I didn’t mean you any harm. I just don’t see how ganging up on Leah will help any of this? You really want to push her back out of your life?”
Patricia turns to Dan and remarks, “You know what, you’re right! Let’s gang up on you. You’re the one who cheated on my daughter with my other daughter, setting up house with one while the other one is in a damn coma.” Upon saying this, Patricia shocks herself into hysterics, realizing it was the first time she truly admitted Cassandra’s condition to herself.
Leah begins to go and console her mother, but Patricia quickly grabs her coat and races out of the house. Leah turns to Dan with a look of worry only a truly concerned daughter could feel for their mother, feeling regret upon the same look.
Scene Seven: Town House #2
“Listen,” Diane scowls at Adam. “I let you enter my home after years of being gone. I let you come in here, just so you could throw attitude at me?”
“You’re not all that innocent Diane,” Adam says to Diane, throwing her own attitude back at her. “Not all that innocent? That’s bull Adam. You promised me everything in life. Marriage, kids, a lifetime together. And where is this marriage? The kids? And instead of a lifetime together, we’ve spent it apart,” Diane scorns to Adam.
Adam begins to walk over to Diane saying, “Diane, I know. I’m sorry; I never meant to hurt you. You need to calm down though.” Adam and Diane continue to move closer to each other, with Diane visibly becoming less resistant. Upon last minute as Adam goes in to kiss her, she walks to the door, opens it and says, “I think it’s best you leave.”
Scene Eight
Leah and Dan sit with each other on the couch, resting in each others’ arms letting the day run away from them, realizing that there was nothing they could do to change others’ opinions on their relationship.
Patricia walks into the hospital hotel room where her daughter lay in her coma, and pulls up a chair. She pulls out a book, and begins to read it to her daughter.
Adam walks out of the door, but before truly leaving, he turns to Diane and says, “Meet me for coffee next week. Please. My treat.” Diane looks at Adam and quietly replies, “Okay. Call me.” Diane then closes her door, leaning her back up against the door and sighs out a slight sigh.
Monica sits on the living room couch, feeling her stomach like any normal mother would do. Just as she begins to get comfortable, the door bell rings. She gets up and says, “Jamie, did you forget some… thing.” Upon opening the door, she sees someone she herself never thought she’d see in Liberty City.
“Susan?”
“Hello Monica,” Susan greets to her daughter-in-law. “May I come in?” she questions with a smile.