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August 21, 2002
Tony: The MRI's back. Still waiting on the cardiac enzymes and lytes.
Alan: What does it show?
Tony: Acute intracranial bleed. It's fortunate that you two were there and Edward was brought in quickly.
Alan: How's the motor function?
Tony: Significantly impaired at this point.
Monica: Meaning?
Tony: I can't tell you what the residual deficits will be.
AJ: Speak English. How bad is it?
Tony: Your grandfather's in critical condition. We have him on a ventilator to assist his breathing. And other than that, all we can do is hope and wait.
Skye: But he'll be ok eventually, right?
Tony: Well, he could recover, but at this stage, the odds are against it, especially given Edward's history of cardiac problems. Is there an advance directive on file?
Alan: No.
Tony: Well, I know this is a problem, but the family needs to consider how long you want to keep Edward alive using these kind of extreme measures, or, or when it's time to let him go.
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Lila: Oh, thank you for coming, my dear.
Ned: I just spoke with the hospital. Alan and Monica are with Grandfather, and they're monitoring his condition around the clock. He hasn't regained consciousness, but he's a fighter, Grandmother. I know he's going to make it.
Lila: Well, I want to believe that.
Ned: I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything, ok?
 Lila: I'm grateful for your concern, my dear. But that's not why I asked you here. Someone needs to take care of ELQ.
Ned: You don't need to worry about this right now, ok?
Lila: It's what Grandfather would want.
Ned: You're right. Grandfather loves that company. He'd want it preserved at any cost. I know he thought that I'd always come back. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to refer to Grandfather in the past tense. It's not right. He's going to make it. He's tough. Hey, he recovered from his heart attack. He's going to make it through this, too, I know.
Petra: Excuse me, Mr. Ashton. I'm Petra, your Grandfather's personal assistant. Mrs. Quartermaine asked me to bring your Grandfather's papers here for you to review.
Lila: Please, darling. Do it for him.
Ned: Of course I will. I know how to run ELQ. I know how to use it to its best advantage, for the good of this family, and maybe I'll even do some good for some, for some other people, as well. So is this all there is?
Petra: Everything, including this latest contract, which Edward wanted me to put in his safe.
Ned: Ok, fine. Look, you know what? Just leave this over at the table. I'll get to it as soon as I call the hospital and check on Grandfather, ok?
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Monica: Edward could still recover.
Alan: It's too soon to consider taking him off life support.
Monica: Yeah.
Jax: Tony seemed fairly certain.
Alan: Tony was wrong.
AJ: Right now, it's about what's best for Grandfather.
Jax: Yeah, you have to consider what Edward would want.
Monica: You don't have a vote in this, Jax. You're not a member of the family, your engagement to Skye not withstanding. As a matter of fact, you've been trying to get ELQ from Edward for months. His stroke just saves you the trouble.
 Jax: I have the utmost respect for Edward.
Alan: You have been hounding Father, threatening to raid ELQ, and destroy his life's work. You're half the reason that Father's in this condition.
Skye: That's not fair.
Alan: Skye, you are not a doctor. You don't have any idea the effect that this battling could have on Father's condition.
Jax: Look, Edward loved every minute of his competition with me. He relishes a good fight.
Alan: This fight is why he's in intensive care.
Jax: I'm praying for Edward, and I hope that he lives. But if he doesn't, I know that he died happy in the thick of it, doing what he loves best.
AJ: [to Skye] Are you ok?
Skye: Yeah, I'm just, just worried about him.
Monica: Oh, please! Skye, you despise Edward. It was your idea to get Jax to take over ELQ.
Skye: That's not true.
 Monica: And then of course he was to give the company back to you, but Jax, with his grand gestures, just didn't stop there with the takeover. No, he was the gift that kept on giving. The takeover and then Jax could just hound Edward to the brink of death. I mean, his dying solves all of your problems.
Skye: Stop it!
Monica: You can have ELQ, worm your way into the family, oh, boy, if Edward would just die!
Skye: Stop it, damn you! I didn't plan it like this!
Alan: What didn't you plan, Skye?
Skye: I never wanted Grandfather dead so I could go after the company. I don't give a damn about the company.
Monica: Oh? Since when?
Skye: Since I fell in love with Jax. Really, truly, deeply in love. Nothing else matters to me, not money or business or revenge. This man actually loves me and respects me. He actually makes me respect myself. Do you know how hard that is for me? Look, I don't care about what happened between me and Grandfather in the past. I told him that. I don't want ELQ.
Monica: Well, good. Then you'll be pleased to know you have no chance of getting control of it. Lila has given that to Ned.
Skye: Ned?
Alan: She's planning to see him tonight and hand over Father's papers.
Skye: Well, I stand here telling you I'm in love, and I get some smug response about paperwork. Well, I couldn't expect you to be happy for me, now, could I? Jax, thank you for being here, but I need a few minutes alone, ok?
Jax: Ok.
[Skye leaves to try and keep Ned from finding out about the contract]
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 Skye: Ned.
Ned: Well, your timing couldn't be worse, as usual.
[Skye spies the contract in his hands, but he glances at it only briefly and moves it aside to look at other papers]
Skye: How's Grandmother?
Ned: Brave and hopeful. You know what? I have some work to do, so if you don't mind.
Skye: Oh, I'm sure she's putting up a brave front, but she must be, she must be terrified underneath.
[Ned moves to pour himself a drink and while his back is turned, Skye takes the chance to snatch up the contract and stuff it into her purse]
Ned: Yeah. Would you blame her? She's on the verge of losing the most precious thing in her life. How would you feel? Of course, the only difference is Grandmother's more concerned about making sure everyone's all right, you know, that no plans are derailed, that the company's up and running. Wait a minute. That's why you're here, right? The company?
Skye: Of course not!
Ned: Oh. You figured now is your chance. Grandfather's incapacitated, everyone's distracted, here's your chance for a takeover. Well, guess what, I'm taking over as CEO.
Skye: Well, bully for you, Ned. I don't want anything to do with the company. If I never see a balance sheet or a corporate account again, it'll be too soon. I'm starting over, starting an entirely new life without any room for any of this silliness in it.
Ned: Your heartfelt declarations are wasted on me. Go make them to Jax. And if he's foolish enough to believe you, then he deserves exactly what he gets.
Skye: You're not the least bit happy for me?
Ned: Skye, I can't think of one person whose life has been improved since the moment you arrived here. Let me show you to the door.
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[back at the hospital]
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