OLTL: Jean Passanante joins writing team

[Khan]

Frankly, I think Rex and Cris falling in love would be like watching gay wallpaper dry on-air. I mean, what would be their big crisis? The sudden hair-gel shortage in Llanview (don't go there w/ the obvious jokes, people)?

OTOH, down-and-out Brody, losing both his girl (to Cris) and his job (to his recurring drinking problem), finding solace with Kyle, who is left to raise Sierra Rose after daddy-phobic Fish bails, might be interesting to watch.

[SFK]

Rex and Cris is Passions on its worst day, I'll give you that.

Okay, so I know I'm not the only one who's been saying puh-SAHN-tay instead of passuh-NAHN-tay.

[All My Shadows]

Would Kyle be able to keep Shasta Petunia if Oliver ditched them? I don't think Oliver would ever do that anyway, though, but I would totally buy Brody as someone who's open to broadening his horizons, so to speak, for those very reasons you stated. It could be a beautiful story. Which means we won't see it on One Life to Live today.

I say Pass-uh-NAHN-tay. Rhymes with "picante." There should be a pronunciation guide for TPTB names that we don't always hear. I hate it when I listen to interviews and I learn that I've been wrong for years and years and years.

[DeeeDee]

WIN.

[EricMontreal22]

I would stilllove to know the thought process behind when Agnes and Jean were co-HW for AMC (and it was insanely shizo) I can't imagine Agnes picked Jean as her co head...

[Khan]

I'm glad you asked, lol.

Here's how it would go: either Oliver leaves town, or he is shot and killed in the line of duty. (I'd say Oliver would bail, by the way, since we've established already his reluctance in accepting responsibility for Sierra Rose. Perhaps, once he did take responsibility, the pressure of raising his daughter, on top of his continued struggles w/ his sexuality, would prove too overwhelming. But, whatever, kill him off. Either way, he's out of the picture.)

In the wake of Oliver's death/departure, Gigi, as Sierra Rose's aunt and (as far as we know) sole maternal relative, is tempted to ask Kyle for custody of the girl. Brody, however, talks her out of it. By this point, Brody - who, we have established, is at his lowest point emotionally, having lost his job and his girlfriend, but is trying to rebuild his life, starting with an orderly job at Llanview Hospital - has gotten to know Kyle; and he thinks losing Sierra Rose, his last tie to Oliver, on top of losing Oliver would devastate him. (Gigi later fills in Rex on the chemistry she senses between her ex and Kyle, a hint of events to come.)

At this time, we meet Oliver's heretofore unmentioned older brother, Nathaniel George ("Nate") Fish. (I don't have a specific actor in mind for this role, but let's just go with Ben Browder for the time being.) Nate, a ne'er-do-well who has drifted from town to town, and from job to job, has heard/read about his kid brother's death. Kyle has heard a few, vague facts about Nate - specifically, how Nate and Oliver's dad, George, cut all ties w/ Nate after he was expelled from Dartmouth for selling drugs on campus. Kyle worries how Nate's presence will affect Sierra Rose, but Nate assures him he's only "passing through" in order to pay his respects. Nate changes his mind, however, once he meets Marty, with whom he shares an immediate chemistry. Subsequently, he draws upon his experience in the rodeo circuit to talk himself into a job as stablemaster at the Buchanan estate.

Brody becomes more and more involved in Kyle and Sierra Rose's lives, as does Nate, whom Marty comes around to liking (as a friend) after an initial reluctance. (Nate is there especially to provide a comforting shoulder as Marty grapples with the demands of John's career.) Gradually, Nate, who admitted before how he would not have readily accepted his brother's "lifestyle" had he been around to see Oliver coming out of the closet, realizes the positive influence both Brody and Kyle have had on Sierra Rose's development, and even goes as far as to suggest to Kyle that it's time he find love again - with Brody - not realizing, of course, that Brody is supposed to be straight. For the first time, though, Kyle realizes the depths of his feelings for Brody, which is enough for him to suggest to a very confused Brody that he distance himself "for Sierra Rose's sake."

So, Brody begins dating Natalie (thus making Khan's dream a reality...for now), who is emotionally adrift after John, sensing the attraction between Marty and Nate, decides to fight to protect his and Marty's relationship. Brody and Natalie share a casual, no-strings-attached sexual relationship; however, Natalie can sense Brody is...well...distracted. (Of course, it does not help that Brody still works at the hospital with Kyle.) Natalie expresses her concerns first to Viki, who isn't "atall" pleased to hear she and Brody are having casual sex (Khan: Oh, grow up, Viki!); then to Roxy, who takes it upon herself to confront Brody after witnessing a minor argument between him and Kyle over Sierra Rose while Kyle is on a date. Brody scoffs at Roxy's notion that he is attracted to Kyle; yet, when he and Kyle meet again later that night, what begins as a heated argument turns into a night of lovemaking. Natalie, with whom Brody had made arrangements to meet for breakfast the next morning, walks in on Brody and Kyle in bed together. Brody quickly apologizes, but Natalie tells him not to; she's just happy to see him and Kyle finally own up to their feelings for each other.

Brody, unlike Oliver, is almost instantly happy to "go public" with his and Kyle's relationship, which Kyle finds refreshing. As further proof that his life is on an upswing, Brody decides to switch careers once again, this time as a professionally licensed physical trainer (the first step in Brody's ultimate function as owner of Llanview's newest gym). Trouble looms, however, when Sierra Rose, who has been suffering from bouts of high fever followed by seizures since receiving her first immunizations, suffers a complete loss of oxygen to the brain after one particularly bad attack. Sierra Rose's pediatrician tells Kyle the damage to her brain could be permanent. Kyle feels compelled to alert her paternal grandparents, George and Barbara Fish, about her health, a decision which will have serious ramifications.

The Fishes arrive in Llanview and immediately alienate Kyle, claiming (correctly, of course) that b/c Kyle is technically not Sierra Rose's legal guardian, he does not have any say-so in her upbringing and care. George, in particular, confronts Nate, who knows the law is on his parents' side, but who also believes they are exploiting the laws to "punish" Kyle for being their son's lover. Brody, like Nate, is on Kyle's side, but thanks to George Fish's ability to play on her sympathies toward Sierra Rose (remember, at one time, SHE wanted to raise the girl), Gigi falls on the opposing side, with Rex stuck in the middle. In turn, Rex confides his dismay over the brewing situation to Natalie and Roxy, only to find they, too, are on Kyle's side!

Ultimately, it all comes down to Kyle's decision to petition the court to legally adopt Sierra Rose, claiming that, aside from Oliver, he is the only parent she has known in her brief life. Nate openly expresses doubts that Kyle will win, but he pledges his support - mostly b/c of his long-standing acrimony w/ his parents than anything else - and begins working with Kyle's attorney, Eli. Although Rex reassures her that the law is on the side of Oliver's parents, Gigi's worries foolishly lead her to exploit Rex's relationship with Bo, persuading Clint to use his considerable clout as head of Buchanan Enterprises to help the Fishes fight Kyle's petition.

At the court hearing, the Fishes drop a major bombshell: thanks to a private investigator hired by Clint, they have proof that Kyle harvested bone marrow from Mitch Laurence for Shane Morasco's transplant, then attempted to pass it off as Stacy's. (Also, before the actual proceedings, John accidentally stumbles upon Marty and Nate's first kiss.) Later, Roxy, appearing on the witness stand as a character witness for Kyle, is forced to reveal how he even blackmailed her in exchange for his silence. With this information now out in the open, the court rules in favor of the Fishes, forcing Kyle to relinquish Sierra Rose.

Kyle is expelled from medical school and/or loses his privileges at the hospital thanks to his earlier misdeeds. Brody vows to help his boyfriend get Sierra Rose back, but Kyle, in the grips of a major depression, believes it to be a lost cause, and considers leaving Llanview for good. Nate, as well, believes Sierra Rose rightfully belongs w/ Kyle, and is the first one to sense collusion on the part of George, Gigi and Clint. Rex refuses to believe Nate's and other's accusations that Gigi would have conspired with Clint and Oliver's dad in helping take Sierra Rose away from Kyle. However, he must confront the truth when Gigi, who operated under the belief that she would have visitation rights to the little girl only to be frozen out of her life as well by George Fish, reveals she asked Clint for help. Rex becomes livid at the thought that Gigi would use his ties to the Buchanans for her own, selfish reasons, insisting that they would've won the case w/ or w/o her machinations; Rex tells Gigi they are finished (again, yawn). Barbara Fish sees as well the depths her husband has sunk to in order to gain custody of their grandchild; and that what Nate has been saying all along about his dad (that he only cares about punishing Kyle for "turning" Oliver gay, and that he's worried more that Sierra Rose will be corrupted if she were raised by a homosexual single parent, and NOT whether she is actually raised in a loving home) is correct.

In a very emotional scene, Barbara, accompanied by Nate and Brody, stops Kyle, who is about to leave for the airport, and hands him Sierra Rose, telling Kyle he's her parent now. Grateful, Kyle promises Barbara she can be as active as she wants in her granddaughter's life. Barbara thanks him, telling him that she allowed fear and prejudice to keep her from her son for the last part of his life, and how she doesn't want to repeat that mistake with Sierra Rose.

The fallout:

- Nate decides to return to school and become an attorney. He and Marty admit their attraction to each other and begin a full-fledged romance, as Nate slowly rebuilds his relationship with his mother, Barbara, now separated from George. John and Barbara become acquainted, eventually falling into a May-December romance.

- Rex and Gigi's separation devastates Shane, who vents his frustrations via a blog he sets up on the Internet. Through his blog, Shane gets to know AMC's Adam (A.J.) Chandler III and GH's Morgan Corinthos, both SORAS'ed to be around Shane's age, who are dealing with turmoil of their own. Eventually, the three buddies decide to run away from their respective, miserable homes, aided by Jack Manning. Pretty soon, much of the teen/young adult sets on all three ABC soaps (AMC, GH and OLTL) are drawn into their summer-long, cross-country caper, along with their parents. A.J., Jack, Morgan and Shane set up a four-person video blog (which will be available as webisodes on ABC.com) detailing their exploits. During their travels, the four meet up with an eccentric balloonist played by Matthew Cowles (ex-Billy Clyde, AMC) who becomes their ally as they try to stay one step ahead of both the law and a villain from one of the shows. Eventually, though, the caper ends - but not before Jack decides to stay with the balloonist. If/When he returns, it'll be down the road, and Jack will be a young man in his early 20's.

- Bo and Clint are on the outs again, thanks to Clint's machinations with Gigi. (I am tempted, by the way, to try a Clint/Gigi affair.) This, in turn, could affect the relationship between Joey and Kevin, both returning to the show. Joey sides with Bo, while Kevin sides with Clint. Eventually, Joey makes the conscious decision to have his name legally changed back to Joseph Riley, Jr.

- Kyle takes this latest setback in his medical career as a sign that he isn't meant to be a doctor. Encouraged by a series of articles he published in the campus paper while still attending Llanview University, Kyle applies for and lands a job at the Sun. Knowing Todd's history and reputation, however, Brody is unsure how to take him being Kyle's new boss.

[wingwalker]

Well dang Khan, you've been sitting on that story for quite a while haven't you? Or did that just pop into your head?

I so could have went for a Brody and Kyle pairing (or Sky and Kyle too). If you ever turn that story into a fanfic, I'd love to read it. LOL

[Khan]

The latter.