January 22, 2003 Transcript
"Are We Father and Son -- or Nothing?"

Cameron: I thought you were asleep.

Zander: You can be the loving father as long as you don't really have to deal with me, right?

Cameron: Please don't start.

Zander: You want me to shut up, don't you? Go away, disappear? It's a lot easier if I'm invisible, isn't it, or at least out of your way.

Cameron: I'm not up for a confrontation.

Zander: All right, then what are you doing here?

Cameron: That's a good question.

Zander: Come on, make up your mind -- are we father and son or nothing?

Cameron: I'm your father. I always will be.

Zander: You just hate that, don't you?

Cameron: We may be together or apart.

Zander: Apart's better, though, right?

Cameron: We may or may not find a way to make peace. But no matter what happens, you will always be my blood.

Zander: Where'd you learn to say all that, shrink school?

Cameron: (Pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed) If -- if you ever have a child of your own, you'll understand nothing can sever the tie between a parent and child -- not anger, not distance. Not even death.

Zander: That's where we always end up, isn't it, dad? In the woods that day. Pete on the ground, bleeding to death between us?

Cameron: Yes.

Zander: We're never going to be in a room together, just you and me, huh? Pete's always going to be there, lying on the ground dying.

Cameron: What do you want me to say? Of course Peter will always be with me. Did you think that I'd set him aside, pretend that nothing happened just so that you can feel better? I will not let my son go. I don't want to.

Zander: I got that.

Cameron: I just told you that nothing can sever the bond between a father and son. (Stands up) Why won't you understand that? (He walks away from the bed)

Zander: Gee, it's funny. You know, I thought you were talking about me. (Cameron turns back to look at him) Father and son? What an idiot.

Cameron: You want me to feel sorry for you?

Zander: No.

Cameron: You want me to forgive you?

Zander: Nope.

Cameron: Then what do you want? My son is dead. You killed him. Why shouldn't I be angry at the world, at God?

Zander: At me?

Cameron: Yes!

Zander: If it makes you feel any better, as much as you hate me, I hate myself more.

Cameron: It doesn't. There can be no consolation for me. Not anywhere.

Zander: Me, either.

Cameron walks up to the bed.

Cameron: What do you call this? (Touches the restraint holding Zander's arm to the bed)

Zander: Gee, I don't know. Restraints?

Cameron: I call it taking the easy way out. Why deal with the anger? Why bother feeling anything?

Zander: Get out!

Cameron: You'd rather systematically destroy your own life. It's the one thing you've ever been good at.

Cameron walks out. Zander angrily pulls at the restraints.

Gia: I walked away from a big-time modeling contract to stay with you in this miserable little town. We were going to get married, go traveling, have an exciting life. And where did I end up? On Spoon Island with Mrs. Lansbury.

Nikolas: Gia, I had -- I had no idea that my family --

Gia: Your family? Stefan always treated me like the hired help. Your father came on to me. Your grandmother tried to kill me. And how did you deal with all of it? You shut me out. You broke my heart.

Nikolas: I saved your life, Gia.

Gia: I wouldn't listen to Marcus or my mother or anyone else. I had to have my Prince. And now you're accusing me of pushing you away because I won't spend every second of every day with you at your convenience?

Nikolas: But why Zander Smith? Why are you wasting even one second with this guy? He is a loser who will never amount to anything.

Cameron walks up behind Gia.

Cameron: Who the hell do you think you are?

Zander sits in his bed making a fist and pulling against the restraint as he remembers back to Pete's death.

He recalls a gunshot and then Pete lying on the ground, blood covering his chest.

Cameron kneels over Pete and looks up at Zander.

Zander: Dad, I don't know what happened?

Cameron stands up.

Cameron: You killed him! (He grabs Zander's shoulders and yells) You killed your own brother!

Cameron: You are Nikolas Cassadine, are you not? Heir to the vast fortune. It's a strange family -- inbreeding, insanity.

Nikolas: And you are?

Cameron: Cameron Lewis. I'm a new psychiatrist.

Nikolas: (Smugly) Well, Mr. Lewis, I suggest you watch what you say because I fund this hospital and I have the authority --

Cameron: (Interrupting) Oh, wait, wait, are you threatening to fire me?

Gia: Come on, Nikolas.

Cameron: Is that your prerogative as Prince, to fire the underlings, to insult the patients, yell at your girlfriend in the hall? Forgive me, my liege, if I am assuming too much.

Nikolas: What I do is none of your concern.

Cameron: Have you never acted out of anger? Has your life been so golden that you've never been desperate?

Nikolas: Once again, Mr. Lewis, none of your concern, but, yes, I've had serious obstacles to overcome.

Cameron: And yet you still can't empathize with anyone else's pain. Have you bothered to ask yourself why Zander does the things he does?

Nikolas: Let me ask you something -- why should I?

Cameron: Can you even imagine how much that boy hates himself?

Nikolas: I don't really care. Zander kidnapped one of my closest friends at gunpoint. Her name was Emily Quartermaine. He almost shot her because she couldn't get my car out of neutral fast enough. He dragged her all the way down to Canada, by some miracle didn't kill her, and you know what made it worse is that she was convinced she was in love with him. He kept her from her friends, alienated her family, then lured her all the way out of town. She got into an accident and almost died not once but twice. So to me, Zander Smith has been nothing but trouble to the people who've ever tried to help him, and now she's getting involved and drawn in, and I will not stand for it. So I don't really care what Zander feels about himself or anyone else. He is not hamlet. He is a small-town punk.

Cameron: (To Gia) Why are you wasting your life with this guy?

Cameron leaves.

Nikolas: I want him off the staff.

Gia: He was upset. You just can't go around firing people.

Nikolas: Gia, why are you constantly making excuses for people? Why are you --

Gia: Hey, I'm on your side here.

Nikolas: You know what? That's fine. You tell it to Zander because I've had enough for one day.

Gia: Fine.

Gia storms off.

Zander rests his head back against his pillow and closes his eyes. Gia steps in.

Gia: Zander. Hey, Zander, are you asleep?

Zander: (Lifts his head up) Even if I had been, I wouldn't be now.

She walks in.

Gia: Well, do you need anything?

Zander: Besides sleep? Nope.

Gia: Are you sure?

Zander: What, Gia? What do you want to do? You want to sing me a lullaby? You want to give me a pep talk?

Gia: I'm trying to be a friend.

Zander: I don't need one of those. I do a lot better on my own.

Gia: So I see how it is. So, tell me, what's the best part -- taking the overdose (sits down) or flipping out at the Quartermaines'? Or maybe it was getting your stomach pumped or almost dying.

Zander: Everybody dies, Gia.

Gia: Oh, please.

Zander: Difference is I'm going to have a little fun before I go.

Gia: Oh, you're going to have to get out of those restraints first.

Zander: My brother wasted his whole life trying to achieve -- whatever that means. And no matter what he did, my dad always wanted more -- better grade, one more basket, earlier acceptance to some fancy school -- whatever. "Aim higher," my dad always said. "Aim higher." Not like I'd hit him in the head. It's kind of funny when you think about it.

Gia: Don't do this to yourself.

Zander: I appreciate what you're trying to do. I really do. There's only one thing I need from you right now.

Gia: I'll do anything within reason.

Zander: Go away and leave me alone.

Gia: You got it.

Gia leaves.

Cameron and a social worker are walking down the hall toward Zander's room.

Cameron: All of our social workers have heavy caseloads, not just you.

The stop at Zander's door and the woman look over at it.

Woman: The overdose the Quartermaines dragged in.

Cameron: Yes, Zander smith. I want to know his treatment plan.

She looks in Zander's file.

Woman: Court-ordered rehab. He'll be back on the street in 60 days. Then it's the E.R. or jail or the morgue.

Cameron: Keep him out of rehab. Give him intensive therapy here at the hospital.

Woman: Are you volunteering for the job?