05x22 - Parental Consent

[bunniefuu]

l iust wanna go home, Alexis.

l've been here a week.
l just want out of this damned place.

Darling, l know you do.

But your doctors insist
that you still stay for a couple of days.

But since you're feeling
so much better,

l feel free to leave town
for a little while on business.

Leave? For where?

You have your little secrets, Dex,
and l have mine.

[SIGHS]

Alexis, l'm sory.

Sory for what?

l haven't been able to tell you where
l've been, and l still can't, not yet.

lt's got something to do
with Daniel Reece, doesn't it?

[ALEXIS CHUCKLES]

That's all right, l...

l knew you weren't going
to answer me.

That would probably destroy
the blood oath that you both took

when you pricked
each other's little toes

and rubbed them together
in eternal fun and games.

All right, darling. l'll be off.

Get some rest.

AMANDA: Mommy.
ALEXIS: Yes?

l went by the apartment, and Lin
told me you were here with Dex.

- What's happened to him?
- l'll tell you when we get home.

But l want to see him.

He's fast asleep, and he has been
for hours. Now let's go.

[DOMINIQUE SINGING ON TAPE]

Hi.

Listen to that, that's the late
great Dominique Deveraux.

Dominique.

[TAPE STOPS]

He began, his voice stern,
but filled with love.

And l do need that love, Blake.

The doctors all agree
that you're a remarkable woman,

making a remarkable recovey.

But they also say
that if you expect too much too soon,

you're going to delay that recovey.

- Now, is that what you want?
- Of course not.

But l have to admit
that l am frightened, Blake.

l mean,
what is going to happen to me?

What about my future? Tomorrow?

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.
It's such a little throwaway word.

l think
l'll have my hair done tomorrow.

Let's have lunch tomorrow.

Here today and gone tomorrow.

But today is here.

And l have lost Brady.

And maybe, probably,

my voice.

Oh, l don't know, Blake, tomorrow
just scares the hell out of me.

BLAKE :
It shouldn't.

Because tomorrow's going
to be a good day, a beautiful day.

Do you guarantee that?

Mm-hm. As your brother, as--

As your friend, l guarantee that.

Thank you.

[CHUCKLES]

ALEXIS :
You said nothing in the car.

You said nothing in the elevator.

And you look equally prepared
to say nothing now.

What's wrong, Amanda?

l'm angy.

Oh, yes, l can see
that you are unspeakably angy.

Why?

ls it anything to do with Dex?

He's been back in Denver
for over a week now.

Sick, or hurt, or both.

And you haven't mentioned it
to me once.

lt's obvious that l have my reasons.

And it's also obvious
that you're concerned about Dex.

That's vey touching.

But if l may pose
a motherly question,

why don't you find
a husband of your own to wory about?

As in Prince Michael?

Well, the royal catch,
as you would put it, has been caught.

He's taken, remember?

And betrothals to you
are sacrosanct?

Tell me, darling, do you feel
the same way about marriages?

Are they sacrosanct too?

Thank you.

Oh, yes,
that looks absolutely delicious.

Doesn't it, darling?

Thank you, that will be all.

By the way, darling, l have to go out
of town on business for a few days.

l know how dutiful
you can be at times,

but don't feel obliged to visit Dex
in hospital, he's doing fine.

And besides,
he's not allowed visitors.

Mommy,
l'll be delighted to avoid Dex.

Good.

We only quarrel
when we're together.

l didn't like pigeon as a child,
and l still don't.

What a pity.

l had them specially flown in
from Paris.

By plane, of course.

Well, at least eat your carrots.

[KNOCKS]

- l know, l didn't phone first.
- No, you didn't.

Ashley, l'd like you
to have dinner with me tonight,

and l didn't wanna risk a refusal.

So to get you to say yes, l thought
l'd do something a little different.

Actually, nicely outrageous, l think.

Okay.

The first one is called sterling silver.

The ne_ one is town crier.

This is called bridal pink.

[ASHLEY LAUGHS]

This is the butte_ly.

And this one is the Sonia.

And finally, what some refer to
as the American Beauty,

but what l now christen for one
and for all time, the Lady Ashley.

That's a vey sweet thing
for you to have done.

l think so.

Where shall we put all these?

Oh, all over.

[JEFF AND ASHLEY CHUCKLE]

JEFF: Thanks, guys.
ASHLEY: Thank you.

Jeff, that was an outrageously
Iovely gesture.

Well, the question still is...

Yes, l will have dinner
with you tonight.

Good.

l'll give you a half hour
to get dressed.

No more, no less.

On behalf of His Maiesty,
l bid you welcome.

Your Maiesty.

Your guest has arrived.

Mrs. Alexis Carrington Colby De_er
of the United States.

Have her come in.

Yes, sir.

Your Maiesty.

Alexis.

l never thought we'd meet again.

Tell me, did you--?

Did you hope as much as l did
that somehow we would?

KRYSTLE :
Steven?

- Kystle, what time is it?
- About .

Do you always get up this early?

Well, when l feel like riding
at sunrise.

You know l've woken up

to some of the most
beautiful sunrises in the world.

Venice, Tahiti, Rio.

The sight of you beats them all.

Why, that's
the nicest compliment l--

You've gotten this morning.

ln a long time.

Well, you seem happier
than you've been for a while.

Well, l'm not all that happy.

l mean,
some things in my life are great.

Others...

You wanna talk about it?

Yes, l would.

Vey much.

l'm involved with Luke Fuller.

l've told Claudia about this.

l've even told Blake.

What did he say?

l was surprised, but he accepted it.

Once, l thought that was all l needed,
my father's acceptance.

But l was wrong.
It's more complicated than that.

l still love Claudia.

l love her too.

Think it's possible for someone to love
more than one person at a time?

To need two people
at the same time?

Well, yes, l think it's possible.

And given enough time and thought,
l know you'll work it out.

You know,
you have to remember, Steven,

that some people can live
outside rules.

And others can't.

Claudia can't.

l know.

l guess l've gotta understand that.

And accept it.

Now, speaking of choices,
and immediate ones...

Either you can go upstairs
and hop into bed and get some sleep,

or l can put off riding for a while,
and we can both sneak into the kitchen

before Mrs. Gunnerson
takes over for the day.

And l can whip you up an omelette,
a pot of coffee and some toast.

Which is it?

Why don't we see if we can b*at
Mrs. Gunnerson to the fray.

All right?

ln the case of the Utah fields,
they get percent of the profits.

Well, that should be
an acceptable offer to Morrison.

- Mm-hm. More coffee?
- Please.

You know, Jeff, l'm proud of you.

Your attitude these days
is so positive.

And the way
you've been handling things.

You mean with my marriage?

Well, that wasn't exactly
a marriage with Nikki, Blake.

Breaking off a relationship
is never easy.

Oh, l know that.

But l'm not gonna let myself
go to pieces.

And l'm not gonna let myself slip back
to where l was before Nikki.

l'm gonna get on with my life
and take on some new challenges.

Even the most unlikely challenge
of all.

lt's Ashley, Blake.

Getting her to fall in love with me.

Ashley. Ashley Mitchell?

Yes.

You're-- You're interested in her?

Oh, vey interested.

l think she's beautiful,
understanding.

Well, she's-- She's vey special.

And does she know about this?
This infatuation of yours?

Well, l should hope so.

And?

l think she's becoming interested
in me.

Jeff, don't you think
you're moving a little too quickly?

l mean, you're going to--

Gonna need some time to put
your life back in order, aren't you?

Blake, if--
If this is upsetting to you in any way...

l mean, if you're thinking
about Fallon and me--

l was only thinking that perhaps
you hadn't stopped to think

that Ashley Mitchell is--

ls what? Older than me?

Yes, older than you.

l, uh, iust hope that you're
not becoming involved, that's all.

Aren't you iumping the g*n, Blake?

Well, come to think of it, though,
that's not a bad idea.

l've gotta run.
l'll talk to you at the house tonight.

MAJOR-DOMO: The vodka is at
your preferred temperature, Majesty.

And the caviar arrived
this morning from Odessa.

Will there be anything else?

Nothing. You may leave us.

Thank you.

May l liven a wedge of toast for you,
Galen?

When we are alone, Alexis,
l am your subject.

Allow me.

- As you wish.
- As you wish.

You say that as if anything l desired
would be mine.

Automatically, even passionately.

lf you're talking
about the two of us last night--

Correction, Alexis,
l am talking about last night.

But we were not the two of us.

ln fact,
as l lay in my massive bed, alone,

l thought how there was a time
when the beautiful English girl,

who went on to become the rage
of western American society,

would not so easily
have fended off my passion.

Oh, Galen.

Galen, those were other times,
other hunting lodges.

We're different people now.

To be honest, Alexis,
l don't see one difference.

Well, thank you.

But you didn't come all this way
to rekindle an old affair.

You came on business.

l came as a parent.

l see.

And as parents, we should talk
about our children, correct?

Correct.

Let's start with your son, Michael,
and his intended marriage

to the Duchess of Breena.

- Branagh.
- Oh, whatever.

lt's so small a duchy
that l never remember its name.

This marriage,
what do you think you will gain from it?

Another drop of royal blood
in the family?

There's vey little of it
Ieft in the world.

Ah, yes, but how much is it
really worth in the open market?

Well, you talk about it
as if it were a commodity.

Something to be sold by the barrel.

Rather like oil, for example.

Oil. That is a good example.

An even better example
might be South China Sea oil.

Are you saying that you might be
willing to reconsider the marriage

for a percentage
of my South China Sea oil leases?

Ten percent, no less, for me.

[LAUGHS]

A reverse dowy, as it were.

Yes.

l'm sory, but the Chinese
have full authority over those leases.

Oh, then, in that case
there is vey little that can be done.

You see, it was understood
from the time that they were children,

my Michael and the duchess
would be married.

So this discussion is terminated.

You're a good king, Galen.

But you could be a great king.

Your county is rich
in natural resources,

but you have done nothing
to ty and develop them.

Well, as you know, Alexis,
my first priority

was giving the county
some political stability.

Oh, yes, yes, that you have done.

Well, l have revised the constitution,
redistributed some of the land,

but there are still problems.

That perhaps could be solved
with some economic reforms.

l and my company, Colbyco,

would be prepared to enter
into an agreement with Moldavia

to develop
your economic resources.

You'd have tens of millions of dollars
at your disposal,

in exchange for a marriage
between our two families.

Michael and your daughter.

Yes.

We have a lot to talk about,
don't we?

Steven.

You know, all movies, good or bad,
must come to an end

and tonight's midnight special said ciao
to the world about minutes ago.

l like looking at patterns, sue me.

All right,
l'll phone my attorney in the morning.

You're still in a mood, aren't you?

You tell me.

Okay, l will.

You're moping
over your talk with Claudia.

Steven, it's only natural.

l know, l know,
you've been through it.

You lived in Chicago,
your wife's name was Karen.

l've heard it, Luke.

Steven, you want some brandy
or some warm milk to calm you down?

No.

You're still depressed.

l guess l am.

Steven, l really need to know whether
you want to be here or not, right now.

For my own peace of mind.

l wanna be here, Luke. l really do.

Good.

Let's go to bed.

Again.

Great.

Terrific.

- Nope, nope, no more, that's it.
- l haven't even finished.

That is-- Yes, you are finished.

Now l'm gonna take
a photographic essay of you.

- l hate to be photographed.
- Oh, yes, yes, yes, l am.

- l hate it.
- Here we go, here we go.

What do you want me to be?
Shall l be a villain?

Or a harem girl?

Why don't you iust be yourself.

You're much more interesting
that way.

Blake, there's something on your mind,
l can tell.

Do you wanna tell me about it?

l mean, the subiect being honesty?

All right. It's about Jeff.

What about Jeff?

You've been seeing
quite a lot of him lately, haven't you?

l have. Is that a problem?

lt could be one, yes.

Why?

Why, Blake?
Because he's younger than l am?

Because l've been around the block
a few more times than he has?

No, because he's been
vey hurt recently.

And you don't wanna see him
hurt again.

l don't plan to hurt Jeff
or anyone else.

But as a matter of fact,
l think Jeff Colby

is quite capable
of taking care of himself.

Blake, are you sure that only Jeffs
best interest is the point here?

What do you mean by that?

l mean, that some men--

l mean, highly powe_ul,
successful men

find it hard giving up
what even they don't particularly want.

Well, l have been accused
of having a big ego,

but l hope it's not as uncontrollable
as you suggest it is.

l iust gave in to one of my impulses.
Sory about that.

[ADAM AND KYLE LAUGHING]

Claudia, l was walking
through the lobby

and l took a look
at this wily character,

and l realised
he's a buddy of mine from Yale.

CLAUDIA: Oh.
- Minus the beard.

l decided when l ioined Lamnicorp
to get rid of it,

or rather the prez of Lamnicorp,
who happens to be my old man,

strongly suggested l shave it off.

Ha, ha. That sounds more like it.

Kyle, meet Claudia Carrington,
who manages La Mirage.

You must be Kyle Burke.

lt is l, none other,
and it's my pleasure.

Bit of a coincidence,
don't you think?

This is the rep
you were telling me about?

Who was coming in
from Boston tonight

to inspect the hotel
regarding a conference

that will involve rooms
including suites for one full week.

Well done. Yes, this is the man.

Why don't we have a drink
and talk about it?

Rather you two can discuss it
and l'll just push things along.

Excuse me, Claudia, can l talk to you
for a couple of minutes?

Steven, can't this wait?

She's in the middle
of a business conference.

CLAUDIA: No, it's all right.
l'll just be a few minutes.

Excuse me.

She's a vey nice lady
and vey pretty.

Yes, she is.

ls eveything all right, Adam?

What? Yes, Kyle,
eveything's just fine.

Why don't we have that drink
and wait for her to come back?

A double Scotch. Kyle?

Same.

Claudia, l've come because l want you
to hear what l'm going to say from me,

not somebody else.

Hear what?

l'm going to ty to make
my relationship with Luke work.

Because ours didn't?

Yes, but that's not the only reason.

Part of me is drawn to him,
part of me needs him.

l can't let you take the blame
for my choices.

l was wrong to do that.

l made some mistakes too.

l'm sory.

All l ever asked was that you
make a choice and you stick by it.

l have to be honest with you.

l was hoping that l'd be that choice.

l want you to know something
that might be hard to understand.

l still love you.

CLAUDIA:
l understand.

l love you too.

l always will.

l heard you were here, Mrs. De_er.

This is a pleasure and a surprise.

lt's a surprise for both of us,
Your Highness.

- l thought you were in the capital.
- l was.

But l've come to talk to my father.

There's opposition in parliament
to one of his reform proposals.

But that's between him and me.

To you, l apologise for this intrusion.

Michael, there are affairs of state
and affairs of the heart.

And you're not intruding on the latter,
if that's your implication.

l'm here on business.

Negotiating mineral leases
with your government.

By the way,
Amanda sends you her regards.

- You do remember my daughter?
- l do.

Amanda is lovely.

A vey lovely young woman.

Maternal partiality aside,
l must agree with you.

She's delightful
and much in demand.

But l regret to say
she's not willing to please me.

- Please you how, Mrs. De_er?
- By settling down.

l'm afraid she's vey much
of a social butte_ly.

[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]

l don't agree with that.

Amanda is loving, tender.

She iust needs the right man,
Mrs. De_er.

Could you be the right man
that you are referring to?

[SIGHS]

lf l were,

it wouldn't do any good, Mrs. De_er.

Why not?
You care about her, don't you?

l love her.

But you're a dutiful prince
and a dutiful son.

And you have to do what's right
for your king and county.

l respect you for that, Michael.

But you must do
what's right for yourself.

Because if you don't, you could
regret it for the rest of your life.

You know, the more you talk,
the more impressed l am.

Good.

With the hotel, and with you.

Well, Kyle,
l ty my hardest to please.

Now, shall we discuss
the entertainment for the gala?

What l'd like to discuss
is entertainment, period.

Namely, your entertaining me
and the other way around.

Well, La Mirage does give me
an expense account.

lf you're suggesting dinner tonight,
you're on.

And after dinner?

We'll throw in a brandy.

l like what you have to offer
more and more.

Kyle, l should tell you that l'm not really
part of this package deal.

Well, why don't we negotiate
that particular bit of business

over dinner tonight.

That particular bit of business
is not open for negotiation.

Shall we get back to business,
Mr. Burke?

l'm headed to Aspen
for some skiing on the way home.

ADAM:
Oh.

Well, what about La Mirage
and the conference?

Well, it's still alive, sort of.

lt's an attractive hotel.

lt's got a lot of possibilities,
but the manager is a tough, cold lady.

Hard to do business with.

Not the type you cosy up to?

What happened, Kyle?
You ty and she turned you down?

Adam, you and l both know

l'm not used
to being turned down flatly by women.

Most of them probably
wouldn't even dare.

You iust might take
Daddy's business elsewhere,

if there was any business involved,
l mean.

Yes, l've been known to,
if the cooperation's lacking.

[ASHLEY AND DOMINIQUE
LAucHINc]

Remember? Bastille Day?

l not only remember it,

but l remember that near-riot
two nights later at the lido.

You'd come down with layngitis,

and those NATO troops
were not at all pleased, not at all.

Those were the good old days,
weren't they?

Me, the young cabaret singer.

You, the young best photographer
in all of Paris

since Margaret Bourke-White.

And engaged to
the English ambassador, no less. Ah.

Those were the good old days,
and they're gone forever.

Only to be replaced by better ones.

We've got to keep on enioying life
more and more and more.

ls that what you're doing here
in Denver, Ashley, enjoying life?

Yes, l am.

Doing what?

Building my career.
You should understand that.

Wanting to make a name for oneself
as a real artist.

Yes, l can understand it.

But is that all you really want?

- Kystle.
- l'm sory, l didn't mean to interrupt.

DOMINIQUE:
Oh, Kystle, please come in.

- You've met Lady Ashley Mitchell?
- Yes.

- Hello.
- Hello, Kystle.

l was iust telling Dominique
what l'm really after here in Denver.

To have a little fun,
to have a little success,

and to take advantage
of any opportunity

that may happen to come along.

l've got to be going now.

You, you keep getting better
and better, do you understand?

- That's an order.
- Promise.

Okay.

- Bye, Kystle.
- Bye.

DOMINIQUE:
Bye-bye, darling.

[DOMINIQUE GROANS]

lt's suddenly vey cold in here.

What is it between you two?

Maybe l can guess.

l hope it's a dumb guess.

Could it possibly be
that she wants Blake Carrington?

The thought has crossed my mind.

ln that case,
may l make a suggestion?

That you do something
to patch up your marriage

to my vey attractive half brother.

Because Ashley Mitchell, to put it
bluntly, is a vey attractive woman

to whom men usually find it
vey difficult to say no.

ALEXIS [CHUCKLING]:
l'll get you yet.

GALEN: Come on, woman,
will you discard? We'll be here all night.

ALEXIS :
Well, l see your hand.

Gin, again. Ha-ha-ha!

Curses, foiled again.

- You cheated.
- l did not.

- Yes, you did.
- You allowed me to win.

You want something from me,
Alexis.

What is it?

[ALEXIS SIGHS]

l want to talk, Galen.

lt's important.

l sense it is about our children,
OnCe mOre.

Yes, it is.

This matter isn't something
that one can let go of all that easily,

not where flesh and blood
is concerned.

Galen, Michael is not in love
with the little duchess.

But he will mary the woman
that his father tells him to.

And you will do to your son
what your father did to us.

Histoy will repeat itself.

Well, was it so terrible after all?

l mean, you did mary
an e_remely successful man,

with whom, l have heard,
you fell vey much in love.

Blake Carrington?

He was a cold, hard, unfeeling man.

He never loved me.

And when l went looking
for love and for comfort,

he banished me from my children,
Ieaving me lonelier than ever.

And now...

Now l'm married again.

To a man who is disloyal,
to a man who has betrayed me.

l did not realise this, Alexis.

l am sory.

Truly, l am sory.

l didn't mean to bring it up.

But who knows what my life
would have been like if l'd married you.

A kind, gentle, loving man.

l'm gonna do something now
that l seldom do.

Beg.

l beg you, Galen.

Don't let happen to my daughter
what happened to me.

And do not condemn your son
to the sort of loveless marriage

that we both had to endure
all these years.

l've thought of you so often
during these years, Alexis.

Of what nearly was,
of what might have been,

of what might be yet.

No. Now don't say no to me.

l want you.

Thank you.

Good evening, l was iust about
to have Jeannette take this upstairs.

- It arrived a few minutes ago.
- Oh, thank you, Gerard.

Who are you calling?

The private investigator
who's been working on this.

He hasn't come up with one lead.
l'm gonna fire him.

l'm gonna put somebody else
on this case.

Damned answering machines.

Blake, l'd like an explanation.

lt was innocent. It was, uh...

- Go on.
- It was simply a friendly kiss.

- Was it?
- Yes.

Blake, l'm beginning to wonder
about you and Ashley Mitchell.

Maybe the reason
you're finding it so hard

to believe my innocence
is because you're guilty.

l wanna know what's going on
between the two of you.

Nothing is going on.

When the devil
will you learn to trust me?

Maybe when you begin to trust me.

Would you like me to believe that your
relationship with Reece was innocent?

Yes.

The man was lying on top of you.

His body was on top of your body.

Now, look at this.

Tell me, is there any comparison
between those two pictures?

Go on, look. Look at them.

There is not, is there?

And you know it.

GALEN:
Alexis, must you go so soon?

l'm afraid l must, Galen.

Well, l want to tell you
that our hours together, alone,

were the happiest l've spent
in a long-- A vey long time.

Galen, l want you to know

that whatever comes
of the matter that we discussed,

l'm e_remely happy
that we had a chance

to share some time together again.

Goodbye.

Morning.

- Morning.
- Morning.

How are you this morning?

Fine.

Please don't wait breaMast for me,
l'll be with Kristina.

- Morning, Adam.
- Morning, Father.

l like this publicity

the tennis tournament's
been getting for La Mirage.

lt's a pity though about the Lamnicorp
conference falling through, isn't it?

l didn't know Lamnicorp was planning
to hold a conference there.

What happened?

Well, l'm sory l mentioned it.

l iust assumed Claudia would've talked
to you about the loss in business.

They were ready to book
a hundred rooms for a week.

lf you wanna believe that losing
the conference was my fault,

you can, but it wasn't.

l am not tying to find fault with you,
Claudia.

l merely want to know why.

Blake,
why are you so angy with me?

lt's Steven, isn't it?

The way you think l treated him.

Why don't you iust come out
and say it

instead of using this
as an excuse for attacking me?

That is not the case,
and you know it.

l don't.

l wish l did, but l don't.

Blake, l did eveything in my power
to save that conference for La Mirage.

Eveything that l could do,
professionally.

What does that mean?

Claudia, l asked you a question,
l'd like an answer.

l'd rather not talk about it.

All right, let me say this.

l have confidence in you,
l always have had.

However, this is a hotel that you
manage on behalf of my grandson.

And l feel a responsibility
to see that it is properly managed.

And l will hold you accountable
as to how it is managed.

- Is that clear?
- Yes.

Kyle Burke cancelled
because you turned him down?

l can't believe he'd do
a thing like that.

l can't believe Blake's attitude
about the cancellation.

Now, l tried to warn you about that.

lt was only a matter of time
before it finally happened.

The fabulous father of us all
has finally revealed his true self.

Claudia, he's an insensitive autocrat
who chops off heads

unless things are done his way.

l'm sory, but l did ty to warn you.

And you were right.

About Steven and now about Blake.

l don't know
why l didn't see it before.

That's all over with now.
It's past, it's histoy.

From now on, you know you can trust
me, and that's all that really matters.

l do trust you.

And l need you. l know that now.

Dex?

Yes, yes, that's right.
It's Dex himself.

What are you doing here?

Well, let's iust say
that l miss the place.

The ambience, the view,

- the fireplace, whatever.
- What are you doing out of hospital?

- The doctors--
- Said that l should stay another week.

Yes.

Let me ask you something,
what are you doing here?

Well, Mommy sent me a cable asking
me to meet her when she got back.

Got back from where?

You don't know?

- You mean, she didn't tell you?
- No, and l asked you something.

Oh, Dex. Poor Dex.

Don't you get sick and tired
of her doing this to you?

Of leading you around by leash?

Of having to play her
ever-obedient little show dog?

What l am sick and tired of,
young lady,

are WOmen
who decide for themselves

when they're going to walk into
and out of my life, all women.

Dex, you're so weak.
You should be in the hospital.

- Let me help you.
- l don't need your help.

Yes, you do. You do need my help.

You need me.

- Dex.
AMANDA: Prince Michael?

Amanda.

Aren't you going to say hello?