March 20, 2002 Transcript
"I Believe that the Rights of the Child are Paramount"

Sonny: Come in. You get my message?

Alexis: Yeah, I did. Now, why do you want me to subpoena Janine's bank records?

Sonny: I want to know if A.J.'s writing her checks orhe's paying her in cash.

Alexis: You think A.J.'s giving Janine money?

Sonny: A.J. wants access to Courtney. He can't get it through me or Mike, and Janine's willing to sell her own daughter for the right price.

Alexis: Are you sure about this?

Sonny: Janine doesn't do anything for free. She's already taken cell phone calls from A.J., and I know she's had at least one conversation where he told her he's going to marry Courtney.

Carly: Marry her?

Sonny: Yep. Makes sense. Once, you know, she's A.J.'s wife, legally I can't protect her.

Alexis: I'll have what you want done by the close of business day.

Carly: Uh-uh, that's not soon enough. We need to get A.J. away from Courtney now.

Alexis: Oh, that's only going to push Courtney closer to A.J.

Carly: So what's your solution?

Alexis: I don't have one at the moment. I talked to Ned, hoping he would talk some sense into A.J., but he refused.

Sonny: Ok, you know what? The Quartermaines can't do anything here, I got to.

Alexis: That is the worst possible course of action.

Carly: Ok, well, what do you think that Sonny's going to do? Take a baseball bat to A.J.? He just means that we need to keep Sonny and Courtney apart.

Sonny: Right. Right.

Carly: And I still think that a quarantine is the best course of action. I mean, the weasel's already in the hospital, so why don't we just use it to our advantage?

Alexis: By giving him an infectious disease?

Carly: By making him think that he has one or at least making the doctors think that because then they can throw him in one of those restricted rooms where no one can get to him, especially Courtney.

Alexis: You -- you can't seriously be considering this?

Sonny: I'm keeping my options open.

Alexis: You need to look at this from A.J.'s point of view. He has something that you want -- Courtney. And you have something that he wants -- Michael.

Carly: You want me to bargain with my child?

Sonny: No one is bargaining with Michael.

Alexis: That's not my intention.

Carly: Oh, the hell it wasn't. You want me to turn my son over to a drunk? Just sit by and wait for him maybe to brain-damage Michael or even worse?

Alexis: Of course not, Carly. I am offering a case analysis. A.J.'s goal is to recover his child.

Carly: Well, Michael isn't A.J.'s.

Alexis: And to that end, he has acquired something that he thinks Sonny values more.

Sonny: I don't even want Michael any part of this discussion.

Alexis: I am in no way suggesting a trade. I am trying to get you both to take a dispassionate look here. You need to look at what your opponent wants. That way you can find his weakness.

Sonny: A.J. wants Michael. Nothing or no one is worth putting that kid in the hands of the man who killed his brother. Period. I got to go. I got to call Benny. We got to talk business.

Carly: So, what now, counselor?

Carly: Why don't you go file that petition or subpoena or whatever the hell it is?

Alexis: The clerk will call me when it's ready.

Carly: Oh, ok. So what are you going to do now? Just hang around here and wait for Sonny to come downstairs so you can strategize some plan to give my son away?

Alexis: Carly, you should know by now that I would go to great lengths to keep A.J. from taking Michael away from you. I believe that the rights of the child are paramount and I believe that A.J. is an unfit parent.

Carly: Oh, do you believe that or you just hoping that Sonny might overhear you?

Alexis: You need to keep in mind that you started this in the first place by lying about Michael's paternity.

Carly: And I would do it again.

Alexis: I know. That's what worries me, Carly. You cut A.J. out of Michael's life, which leaves him no alternative other than to retaliate. Then A.J. gets Courtney involved and now Sonny.

Carly: Well, A.J.'s never going to win against Sonny.

Alexis: Carly, in this instance, there may be no winners at all, and it can't get much worse than that, now, can it?

Alexis: Obviously, this isn't going to get us anywhere.

Carly: So why don't you leave?

Alexis: Can we not make this about you and me? Can we just make it about Courtney and A.J.?

[Knock on door]

Carly: Sonny?

Alexis: Carly, don't touch it.

Carly: It's A.J.'s handwriting. Sonny?

Sonny: What happened?

Carly: It's from A.J.