DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S03E07 - THAT´S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.

1. Int. Emma and Sean´s Apartment. Day.

Emma is on the couch, doing breathing exercises. Sean is pacing around, frantically gathering things in an overnight bag.

Emma:

Where the hell is she?

Sean:

Maybe she´s stuck in traffic or something. How is going? Do you need anything?

Emma:

How´s it going? HOW´S IT GOING! SEAN, I´M EXTREMELY PREGNANT AND ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH. WHAT I NEED NOW IS FOR ZOE TO GET HERE, SO I CAN GET TO A FRIGGIN´HOSPITAL! THE LAST THING I NEED IS STUPID QUESTIONS FROM YOU!

Sean:

Come on, Zoe.

The door buzzer goes and Sean looks relieved. He opens the door and it´s Zoe.

Zoe:

How´s she doing?

Sean:

She ...

Emma:

SHE NEED´S ZOE TO GET HER ASS IN HERE AND HELP ME OFF THIS COUCH!

Zoe gives Sean a sympathetic look, before going inside.

OPENING CREDITS

2. Int. Grace Records. Day.

Jonah comes into the store. He´s much better dressed and is clearly enjoying his day much more than usual. Lola, who was playing with her phone behind the counter, eyes him with a smile.

Lola:

I´m guessing "Paige Day" has arrived?

Jonah:

In four hours, the long wait is over. How´s business?

Lola:

Only two customers, but it´s still early. Have you talked to Frankie?

Jonah:

Not since the day before last.

Lola:

She´s at home, basically having a breakdown and hiding from the world. Jeff, her ex-husband, has been arrested for insider trading, down in the US. She´s meeting with an attourney tomorrow to find out, if she could be charged along with him.

Jonah:

Why wouldn´t she call me?

Lola:

She probably didn´t want to ruin your day with her problems. I think she´s also afraid, that with Paige coming back, you won´t have time for her anymore.

Jonah:

Of course, I will. Frankie and Paige will get along great and we can hang out, the three of us.

Lola:

You have that all planned out, don´t you?

Jonah:

Why wouldn´t they get along?

Lola:

Maybe because Paige is your girlfriend and Frankie has been, how should I put it, flirty as an alleycat in heat with you lately.

Jonah:

That´s just how she is.

Lola:

She´s not like that around anyone else and don´t think I haven´t seen you play along.

Jonah:

Come on!

Lola:

Stroking her hair, giving each other massages, cooking and eating a lot of dinners together, just the two of you. Not to mention hanging out all evening afterwards. If I didn´t know any of you, I`d think you were dating.

Jonah:

We´ve become close again, but I´m with Paige. Sure, if I was single ...

Lola eyes him suspiciously and shakes her head.

Jonah:

What´s with the look?

Lola:

Why aren´t you together? I know you care about Paige, but is there really a future in that relationship? She´s coming up here now to stay for a while, but once the movie´s finished, she´s off to the next shoot. You and Frankie care about each other as much as two people can. Don´t you find her attractive?

Jonah:

She´s turned into one hell of a looker, I can´t deny that. But I´m with Paige and when I´m with her,we always have fun and enjoy each other´s company.

Lola:

You could still have that with Paige, if she was your friend and Frankie was your girlfriend.

Jonah clearly considers it.

Jonah:

That smart brain of your´s can be really annoying sometimes, you know that?

Lola:

No matter what, I´m sure she´d appreciate it, if you came over to talk to her. She could probably use your support right now, don´t you think?

He leaves the store and Lola smiles to herself as she gets back to playing with her phone.

3. Int. Lisa´s Room. Day.

Taylor is working up to something and is very concentrated.

Lisa:

Taylor? Are you still with me?

Taylor:

It´s my acting technique. I´m treating this as a monologue, I have to perform.

Lisa:

Whatever works for you. But if you spend all day working up to it, you won´t get to tell him today.

Taylor:

I decided on Tuesday, that today is the day. I´ve been mentally preparing for it, so it´s now or never.

Lisa:

Or until you have to explain the constant weight gain.

Taylor:

We´ll pretend you´re Charlie.

Lisa (in her deepest voice);

Hey, baby!

Taylor:

Without the voice, please.

Lisa:

Okay. So, Taylor, great love of my life, what´s on your mind?

Taylor:

There´s something important, I need to tell you. Something I should have told you sooner.

Lisa:

Oh? Why haven´t you told me sooner, if it´s so important?

Taylor:

Because this is one of the hardest things I´ve ever had to do. I´m afraid of how you´ll react, when I tell you.

Lisa:

You can tell me anything. I promise, I won´t get mad.

Taylor:

Charlie, I´ve been pregnant for almost four weeks now.

Lisa:

Why, Taylor. That´s shocking! But I love you and I want to marry you!

Taylor:

Oh, Charlie. Of course I will!

Taylor:

And if you change your mind, you know my dad has a shotgun!

They kiss with their hands over their mouths and laugh.

Lisa:

He loves you. No matter what, I´m sure, he´ll be there for you through all of it.

Taylor:

I really hope you´re right.

Lisa gives her a hug for support and Taylor clearly appreciates it.

4. Int. Hospital Waiting Room. Day

Sean is sitting on a chair and reading a magazine, when Manny comes in to the room.

Manny:

Hey, Shawn. How are you?

Sean:

Bored and excited at the same time. I´ve tried to read the same article for the last hour, but I can´t concentrate on it.

He puts the magazine away. She sits down next to him.

Manny:

I thought that Zoe came in with you.

Sean:

She had to go back to work, but she ´ll be back later.

Manny:

No news on Em?

Sean:

Nope. She expressly told me to stay in the waiting room, but man, do I wanna be in there with her.

Manny:

I guess she doesn´t want any more unplanned birthing injuries on her conscience.

Sean:

What?

Manny:

She hasn´t told you the story, from when Chrissy was born?

Sean:

Not that I remember.

Manny:

Well, Spinner thought that he should film the birth of his first child. Even after they watched another birthing video and he threw up, he still wanted to film it himself.

Sean:

What happened? He didn´t pass out, did he?

Manny:

No, but apparently he still had trouble keeping his lunch down, when he saw a woman giving birth.

Sean:

Don´t tell me, he puked in the delivery room.

Manny:

Thankfully not. What he did do was dart out of the room so fast, that he slipped. He banged his knee up so bad, that he couldn´t work for two weeks.

Sean:

I can just pidture it!

Manny:

When they brought him in to see them and he was on crutches, Emma said, she couldn´t believe her eyes.

Sean:

No wonder! What about the video?

Manny:

It´s the shortest birthing video in recorded history.

They laugh amonst themselves.

Sean:

We need a way to pass the time.

Manny:

I haven´t reminisced today.

Sean:

You do that a lot?

Manny:

At least a few times a day. It´just fun to think back to the old times, you know.

Sean:

Me, too. Even the bad times seem a lot better than they were, when you look back on them.

Manny:

You didn´t have it all bad in High School. You had a couple of cool girlfriends in Emma and Ellie. Plus you had that sexy, brooding look going on.

Sean:

I was sexy, huh?

Manny winks at him and he smiles.

Manny:

Didn´t you have third girlfriend for a short while?

Sean:

You mean Amy. Man, I could tell you some stories about her. She was way out there!

Manny:

Tell me the best one.

Sean leans back in his chair and tries to think.

5. Int. Frankie´s Apartment. Day.

Frankie looks pretty down. Jonah is trying to grasp the situation.

Jonah:

I´m still not getting, how you can be blamed for this?

Frankie:

Because the money went into our joint accout. I never interfered with our finances, he took care of that. All I remember is that we invested some money. A few weeks later he came home and told me, we made a bundle on it.

Jonah:

They won´t convict you based on that.

Frankie:

I have no proof, that I didn´t know! I signed a lot of papers, without having any clue what I signed. I always trusted him to do, what was best for us. What if I signed something, that incriminates me?

Jonah:

You´ll drive yourself crazy. if you keep thinking like that.

Frankie:

You´re not the one, who could end up going to jail.

Jonah:

That´s not gonna happen.

Frankie:

How would you know?

Jonah:

Because they´ll see, what I see. An incredible young woman, who´s an upstanding and caring member of society and someone, who would never dream of hurting anyone.

Frankie:

Maybe it´s fair, that I pay a price. I knew, we did some pretty shady things. Whatever he wanted me to do, I did it. No questions asked. As long as the money kept coming in, I didn´t feel the need to ask.

Jonah:

But that´s not, who you are now!

Frankie:

We had a long time, where we never saw each other. I wanna be the same girl, that you liked so much in High School. But those years changed me, for better or worse.

Jonah:

Do you think, I dont´have baggage? I spent three years hiding out from the world in my store and my apartment, after Grace died. Before then, my entire identity had been tied to her and her health problems, for at least that long. Let this other messed up freak help you through this.

He looks her in the eyes and Frankie cracks a small, shy smile.

Frankie:

But what about the little detail, about your girlfriend?

Jonah:

I don´t have to leave for another three hours. Lola said, that you´re worried, I won´t have time for you.

Frankie:

Things won´t be the same, after she gets here. But it´s okay. I´ll survive.

Frankie pouts and Jonah feels terrible.

Jonah:

We still have a few hours, until I have to go.

Frankie snuggles up in his arms. He semi-reluctantly allows her to.

Frankie:

I have no idea, what I´d do without you in my life.

He starts to relax. He strokes her hair and she looks ever so comfortable.

6. Ext. Hospital. Day.

Taylor is walking with determination towards the entrance. Her face though, tells the story of how scared she is. Chrissy and Spinner spot her.

Chrissy:

Taylor!

Taylor is pulled out of her zone. Chriisy and Spinner walk over to her.

Taylor:

Hey, Chrissy.

Chrissy;

This is Spinner, my dad.

Taylor:

Spinner?

Spinner:

I had ADHD, when I was younger. If I didn´t take my Ritalin, my brain would start spinning, as they said.

Taylor:

Cool. What are you guys doing here?

Chrissy:

My mom´s about to give birth to my new brother or sister.

Taylor:

Congratulations! Shouldn´t your brothers be here for this?

Chrissy:

They´re with my grandparents. Are you here to see Charlie?

Taylor:

Yeah. I come here every day.

Spinner:

He´s lucky to have you. I had cancer, so I know how much it means to have people around, who care about you.

Taylor:

You´re a cancer survivor?

Spinner:

Sure as I stand alive before you.

Taylor:

It must have been scary as hell.

Spinner:

It was, but you find ways to deal with it.

Taylor:

Like what?

Spinner:

The main one for me, was to keep telling myself, that if other people could do it, I could too. I had to overcome this, but a lot of other people have had to overcome worse. Putting what they had to do into context with what I had to do, made it seem more do-able somehow.

Taylor looks more relaxed now.

Taylor:

You have a pretty cool dad, Chrissy. Good luck with your mom. Nice to meet you, Spinner.

Spinner:

You too, Taylor.

Chrissy:

Say hi to Charlie from me.

Taylor:

I will.

Taylor leaves them.

Spinner:

I like her.

Chrissy:

Cuz she thought, that you´re cool?

Spinner:

It´s not something people tell me every day, you know.

Chrissy:

I think you´re pretty cool, too. For an old guy.

Spinner:

Thanks, Sweetie. Let´s see, if I can drag my old bones in there.

He puts his arm around her shoulder and they head inside.

7. Int. Waiting Room. Day.

Manny and Sean are still reminiscing and enjoying each other´s company.

Manny;

... And the next thing I know, there´s a music video of it. For a few weeks, it was as if everywhere I went, I heard myself say "I´m gonna be famous!", to a dance beat that was catchy as hell.

Sean:

Oh, my god!

Manny:

My reputation took another nosedive after that one.

Sean:

I never knew, you were a wild girl back then.

Manny:

I wasn´t, really. I just did a few things, that made people think I was. Would you have hit on me, if I had been a wild girl?

Sean:

Probably not. Everyone thought, I was a wild kid, too. To be honest, the best times I had at that school, were when Ellie and me were living together. We were about as anti-wild, as we could be. For a short time there, it seemed like everything was going right.

Manny:

I won´t tell Emma, that you just told me how the best times you had, were with another girl.

Sean:

Probably a good plan.

He checks his phone.

Sean:

They´re not big on the updates, are they?

Manny:

I´m sure, she´s doing fine.

Sean:

Yeah, but it´s a little premature. She´s only been pregnant for eight and a half months.

Manny:

No, she´s been pregnant for nine months. She told me, she got pregnant in mid-August.

Sean:

Mid-August? That´s before her and Spinner split up.

Manny realizes her mistake.

Manny:

Maybe, I´m mistaking.

Sean:

You sounded very sure a moment ago. That means the kid could be Spinner´s.

Manny:

I´m sure that ...

Sean:

How could you be sure? Until we get a DNA test, I have no idea if I´m the father or not!

He stands up, looking pretty stunned.

Manny:

I shouldn´t have said anything.

Sean:

No, you shouldn´t have!

He begins to leave and she tries to reach out to stop him, but can´t.

Manny:

Where are you going?

Sean:

To the vending machines.

He leaves. Manny knows, she´s screwed up.

8. Int. Car. Day.

Jonah and Paige are putting on their seatbelts. He´s obviously still worried and Paige can sense it. He puts the key in the ignition, but before he can turn it, Paige stops him.

Paige:

You´ve been Mr. Mono-Syllabic, since I got here. What´s going on?

Jonah:

It´s Frankie.

Paige:

Your old friend, that you´ve been giving cooking lessons to?

Jonah:

Yeah. She found out today, that there sould be some legal trouble coming her way. It´s nothing she´s at fault for, but she could end up going to jail for some things her ex-husband did, while they were together.

Paige:

Poor girl. She´s probably devastated right now.

Jonah:

She is. I´m feeling guilty as hell for leaving her alone to come and pick you up.

Paige:

That´s because, you know, you shouldn´t have. We´ll have plenty of time to be together.

Jonah:

I just thought, that since it´s your first night back and everything.

Paige:

I´ll figure something out with Manny. Don´t worry about me.

Jonah:

Thanks.

Paige:

You can thank me by being the friend to her, that she needs tonight.

Jonah:

Most girlfriends wouldn´t be cool about being ditched for another girl.

Paige:

If you haven´t figured it out yet, I´m not like other girlfriends. I also happen to have a soft spot for emotional women in trouble.

They smile at each other and he starts the car.

9. Int. Waiting Room. Day.

Manny is holding her head in her hands, when Spinner and Chrissy come in.

Chrissy:

Hi, Aunt Manny!

Manny:

Hey.

Chrissy:

What´s with the long face?

Manny:

Oh, I think, I´ve messed up big time.

Spinner:

Where´s Sean at? I thought he´d be here.

Manny:

He was. Chrissy, can I talk to your dad alone for a minute?

Spinner:

No eavesdropping this time. I´ll come out and tell you, when we´re done.

Chrissy:

Okay. Jeez!

She leaves them, Manny waits until she´s sure, she´s out of hearing range.

Manny:

Sean is freaking out.

Spinner:

Why?

Manny:

When do you think Emma got pregnant?

Spinner:

Nine months ago. That would make it Mid-August.

Manny:

When you and her were still together. He´s afraid the child isn´t his.

Spinner:

That´s ridiculous!

Manny:

Maybe you could try telling him that. You can probably find him by the vending machines.

Spinner:

You owe me for this one.

10. Int. Hospital Foyer. Day.

Sean is almost frantically pushing the buttuns on a vending machine. He kicks it and looks frustrated. Spinner comes up behind him.

Spinner:

Did it swallow your money?

Sean:

Yeah. I guess, I´ll have to live without my peanuts.

Spinner:

I just came from talking to Manny. She´s says, you´ve got a problem.

Sean:

A pretty big one, don´t you think? This is her fourth kid, but it´s my first! It´s probably the only one we´ll have together and now, right before it´s about to be born, I find out that it might not be mine.

Spinner:

It´s yours. Me and Em hadn´t been intimate for at least a month, when we split up. That part of our relationship was pretty non-existent the last few years.

Sean:

But you were wild and crazy about each other in the beginning. weren´t you?

Spinner:

Oh, yeah. She could be a wildcat, that Emma. But a lot changed after we had kids. We became more friends than lovers, I guess you could say.

Sean:

I´ve never been with anyone long enough, for the passion to go away. What if our relationship isn´t strong enough?

Spinner:

Come on, Sean. This is you and Emma, we´re talking about. You two were practically born to be together.

Sean eases up a bi and leans back against the vending machine. It tilts a little bit and drops his bag of peanuts into the tray.

Sean:

What do you know? Maybe my luck is looking up.

Spinner:

You were already lucky, man! You´re about to be a dad for the first time!

Sean:

I am, aren´t I? Was Emma kind of a nightmare, when she was pregnant the other times?

Spinner:

After the first time, I figured out the best strategy.

Sean:

Which was?

Spinner:

Working all the overtime, I could get.

Sean laughs.

Sean:

Look, we´ve never talked about how it went down last summer. We should have told you, back when it all started.

Spinner:

You´ve just lived eight and a half months with pregnant Emma. You´ve done your time.

11. Int. Hospital Room. Day.

Charlie and Taylor are making out, when Sheila, a nurse in her 40´s, comes in. They break their kiss.

Sheila:

We can´t leave you alone for two minutes, until she´s all over you.

Charlie:

Sheila. Honeypie! You remember what it´s like to be 15 and in love , don´t you?

Sheila:

Don´t think, you can keep sugartalking your way out of it. We can´t have your bursting your stitches, just because you and Taylor can´t control your hormones.

Taylor:

I´m as gentle as I can be, I promise.

Sheila shakes her head on the way out.

Sheila:

Ten more minutes and that´s it, lovebirds. You need sleep to heal.

Charlie:

Thanks, Sheila. You´re the best.

Sheila leaves them. Charlie begins kissing her, but she stops him and gets off the bed.

Charlie:

What the matter?

Taylor:

Charlie, there´s something I have to tell you and I´ve been putting it off forever. But first you have to promise, that you won´t get mad and that you´ll hear me out.

Charlie:

As long as you haven´t cheated on me, I promise I won´t get mad.

Taylor:

So, me cheating on you is like the worst thing you could imagine me doing?

Charlie:

Have you cheated on me?

Taylor:

No, it´s nothing like that. The thing is, that you might think it´s worse, than if I cheated on you. I love you, Charlie and just the idea of not being with you hurts,

Charlie:

I feel the same way about you. What´s your big secret?

Taylor takes a deep breath to relax herself.

Taylor:

I´m pregnant. It probably happened that night at the Ravine, when the rubber fell off.

Charlie looks stunned. Taylor waits impatiently for him to talk.

Taylor:

Are you mad at me?

Charlie:

What?

Taylor:

You are, aren´t you? I understand, if it´s too much for you.

She almost begins to cry, but stops when she sees him smiling.

Taylor:

Is that a smile I see?

He smiles at her and she looks overjoyed.

Charlie:

We´re having a kid?

She nods and smiles, while rubbing her belly.

Taylor:

In about 8 months, yeah.

Charlie:

What did your dad say, when you told him?

Taylor:

I wanted to tell you first. So you´re not breaking up with me?

Charlie:

How could you think that? We´re gonna be a family!

Taylor:

Do you think we could do it? It won´t be easy.

Charlie:

If we want it bad enough, we can make it work. I love you, Taylor. You´re the only one I ever wanna be with.

Taylor:

Love you too, Charlie.

She crawls back in to bed with him and he puts his arm around her.

12. Int. Frankie´s Apartment. Day.

Frankie is on her phone, still looking pretty depresssed.

Frankie:

My dad says, that he doesn´t think I should worry too much about it.

Lola (voice over):

That´s good, right?

Frankie:

I guess. It´s just scary to think, that I could end up where Maya was.

Lola (voice over):

I know, but you have to try and stay strong.

Frankie:

It´s kinda hard, when you can´t get it off you mind. I wish Jonah was here.

Lola (voice over):

I can cancel the dinner with my parents. I´ll come over and we´ll hang out. You shouldn´t be alone tonight.

Frankie:

You don´t have to cancel, because of me. I´ll be okay.

Lola (voice over):

I won´t be able to enjoy myself, if I know you´re at home and miserable.

The doorbell rings.

Lola (voice over):

Was that the doorbell?

Frankie:

It´s probably the janitor. He´s supposed to come over and fix my garbage disposal.

Lola (voice over):

Is he hot?

Frankie:

Not unless you´re into that view of fat, hairy ass crack, every time he bends over.

Lola (voice over):

I´ll call you after dinner, if it´s not too late.

Frankie:

Bye.

She gets up and goes to answer the door with very little enthusiasm. She opens it to find Jonah standing outside, holding a shopping bag and immediately cheers up a little.

Jonah:

I couldn´t stop thinking about you.

Frankie:

What about Paige?

He comes inside and she shuts the door behind him.

Jonah:

One of her friends is having a baby as we speak. She´s at the hospital with her other friends.

Frankie:

They´re not your friends?

Jonah:

Me and her aren´t like you and me. In some ways, we´re from completely different worlds. She was the one who told me to come here.

Frankie:

You don´t have to stay with me, if you don´t want to.

Jonah:

Frankie, you´re one of the most important people, I´ll ever have in my life. Seeing you in pain breaks my heart.

His nice words make her smile a little. He´s also happy that he could cheer her up.

Frankie:

What´s in the bag?

Jonah:

Ingredients for the best soup, you´ve ever tasted. Tonight you need comfort, in food and in company. Most of all, you need a friend. I´m not going anywhere, until I´m absolutely sure, you´re okay.

Frankie gives him a big hug. He gently drops his bag on the floor and reciprocates. You can see on both their faces, that this feels right. When they begin to break it, none of them want to let go. They stare deeply into each other´s eyes.

Frankie:

We should probably let go now.

Jonah:

It´s like something inside me is telling me I shouldn´t. Strange, huh?

Frankie:

It´s not strange. I don´t wanna let go of you either.

Slowly their lips meet and they kiss passionately.

13. Int. Waiting Room. Day.

Sean, Spinner, Chrissy, Manny, Eddy, Paige, Snake, Spike and Zoe are waiting. Chrissy is clearly enjoying some Paige time. Manny looks at them and thinks it adorable. Her and Paige make eye contact and she can see how much Paige is enjoying it too.

Paige:

I can´t believe all the stuff in your life, I´ve missed out on.

Chrissy:

If you got me a part in your movie, you wouldn´t have to miss out.

Paige:

Do you wanna be an actress, when you grow up?

Chrissy:

Right now, I have no clue what I wanna be. Lisa wants to be a musician and Jamie wants to be a professioal skateboarder and then there´s me, the clueless one.

Paige:

Don´t worry about it. You´ve got plenty of time to figure it out.

Chrissy smiles, happy at getting some motherly advice. Spinner enjoys seeing her happy. A doctor comes in to the waiting room. Everyone´s attention shifts to him and Sean nervously stands up.

Doctor:

Mr. Cameron?

Sean:

That would be me.

Doctor:

Mr. Cameron, I´m happy to tell you that the delivery couldn´t have gone smoother.

Sean looks relieved.

Doctor:

You are the father to a healthy, baby girl.

Everyone there get up from their seats and gather around him. He´s so overcome with joy and emotion, that he doesn´t know how to react. Spinner pads him on the back.

Spinner:

Enjoy this feeling, man. There´s nothing like it.

Doctor:

Would you like to see them?

Sean nods and the doctor leads him out. Chrissy is crying happy tears and Paige hugs her. Spinner and Zoe both notice how comfortable Chrissy is with her, make eye contact and smile at each other. Manny and Eddy look happy on Emma and Sean´s behalf. He rubs her belly and they kiss.

14. Montage - music: "Secret Garden" by Bruce Springsteen.

We see Sean (wearing a hospital garb) coming in to the delivery room. A very tired, but also overjoyed Emma is holding their new daughter. They both break down in happy tears when they kiss. They look at their new little miracle with nothing except love in their eyes.

We see a worried Taylor telling her dad, that she´s pregnant. They hug and the relief is painted all over her face.

We see Frankie and Jonah on her couch, kissing passionately and completely lost in one another.

We see Paige, Spinner, Zoe and Chrissy sitting and talking in the waiting room, almost looking like a happy little family, before finishing back with Sean and Emma, looking more in love than they´ve ever been before.

CLOSING CREDITS

Author´s Note: In these insane times where everything in the news is about death and fear, it felt nice to write a positive episode. I hope you enjoyed it too. Stay safe out there.