WHAT IF? - SEASON 5 EPISODE 20 - FELL ON BLACK DAYS (PART 1)
THIS DOUBLE EPISODE IS DEDICATED TO OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, WHO LOST HER LONG BATTLE WITH BREAST CANCER ON MONDAY, AUGUST 8TH, 2022 AT THE AGE OF 73
I HOPE THAT YOU´VE GONE BACK TO XANADU, SANDRA DEE!
1. Int. Doctor´s Office. Day.
We focus on Bianca´s face at first, while she´s lying on the examination table and is having one of her breasts examined by her doctor, a woman in her 40´s.
Bianca:
I´m sure that there´s some boys in my class, who would get off at seeing this!
Doctor:
It´s not sexy in real life, is it?
Bianca:
Not really!
Doctor:
There´s definitely a lump there. Is it sore, when I touch it?
Bianca:
A little, yeah. Is it cancer?
Doctor:
Most of the time, it´s a benign cyst. It still has to be removed through surgery though.
Bianca:
They already told me, after I had the mammograph done.
Doctor:
Are you aware of what a fine needle aspiration test is?
Bianca:
No, but I don´t like word needle being a part of it!
Her doctor smiles at her re-assuringly.
Doctor:
You´ll get a local anesthetic, so you won´t feel anything. It´s where we take a fluid sample from the cyst to get a better feel for what it is. If it comes out with clear liquid, then it´s a normal cyst and there´s nothing to worry over. If it comes out with blood in it, then we´ll have to send it off to a lab for further analysis and you´ll get an answer in a day or two.
Bianca:
Okay, if that´s what we have to do!
Doctor:
I´ll start by giving you the local and then we´ll take it from there.
She fills a syringe from a vial she has and injects it into Bianca´s breast, while Bianca flinches.
Bianca:
Auw!
Doctor:
It´s bound to hurt a little.
She pulls the syringe back out and gets a fresh one, while Bianca smiles to herself.
Bianca:
My boob feels like it´s asleep. It´s kinda weird.
Doctor:
It´ll pass in a few hours. Try to relax, although I know that it´s hard to in a situation like this one.
Bianca does, as the Doctor gets to work. We see the syringe first be filled with clear liquid, but soon a lot of blood starts to come into it too, making Bianca worry.
Bianca:
Does this mean that I have cancer?
Doctor:
Not for sure by any means, but it means that we´ll have to send it in for analysis. I´m sorry, Bianca, but you´ll have to wait a day or two until I can give you a final answer.
Bianca tries not to look terrified, even though she is.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Fiona´s Room. Evening.
Fiona is busy trying to pick out what dress to wear for the upcoming dance, when there´s a knock on the door.
Declan (off screen):
Are you decent in there?
Fiona:
Sure! Come in, Declan!
Her twin brother Declan comes in.
Declan:
Back in the old days, when I said that, it would be followed by an awkward silence, while you hid your bottle or bottles away. I´m glad it´s not that way anymore.
Fiona:
If you were a quirky 15 year old girl, which one of these dresses would sweep you off you feet?
Declan:
That´s a question, I can´t give you a qualified guess to! Is the quirky girl this Imogen, that you can´t stop talking about, whenever we talk on the phone?
Fiona:
Busted, huh?
Declan:
I think it´s amazing, that you´ve found someone like her! You really like her, don´t you?
Fiona:
I´m just not sure she likes me the same way back.
Declan:
Do you know what you should do? You should ask her to come with you to our family Christmas party.
Fiona doesn´t look too sure about the idea.
Fiona:
I´m not sure that she would fit in. Plus it´s the same night as the Winter Formal.
Declan:
So, you come here first, make mama and papa happy to see that their princess has such a great friend before you pop off to the dance, when they´re satisfied. If I´m showing you my girlfriend, it´s only fair that you show me yours.
She smiles at him.
Fiona:
I still can´t believe that you´re dating Tinsley! Of all the annoying snobby girls I went to school with, she was the queen of them!
Declan:
Girls worth dating are in short supply at Vanderbilt these days. Most of them are like her in one way or another. Anyway, can you imagine a bigger case of two worlds colliding, than Imogen meeting Tinsley? It´ll be hilarious!
Fiona:
Okay, I´ll think about it!
Declan smiles to himself.
3. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Fiona and Imogen are talking before school starts for the day, when Bianca comes over to them.
Bianca:
Morning, you guys!
Imogen:
Did you remember to study for our English quiz today?
Bianca:
We have an English quiz today?
Imogen:
Then I guess, you didn´t either! D minus city, here I come!
Fiona:
You´ll do okay, like you always do.
Bianca:
What does it all matter anyway? It´s only one test out of many. See you in class. I gotta use the bathroom first.
Bianca leaves them and Imogen tries to calm herself down.
Imogen:
It´s only one test out of many, it´s only one test out of many!
Fiona:
Is it me or has she been losing interest in school lately?
Imogen:
She´s probably just burned out and needs a vacation, like we all do!
Fiona:
I don´t know. The way she´s been talking reminds me of another girl, who used to say the same things. Myself, back when I was still drinking.
Imogen:
She´s not an alcoholic! I´ve never even seen her drink a beer!
Fiona:
That doesn´t mean it couldn´t be something else, that´s been bothering her. You can´t deny, that she´s been missing school frequently lately.
Imogen:
Once this semester ends and she gets a much needed break from it all, she´ll be fine! I`m sure of it!
Fiona doesn´t look as convinced as Imogen is though.
4. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Dallas, Drew and Riley are having lunch together.
Dallas:
How much are you guys spending on the Winter Formal?
Riley:
I dunno. How much is the usual?
Dallas:
I don´t know either, that´s why I´m asking you guys!
Drew:
My budget is zero. I´ll be taking tickets.
Riley:
How did you get talked into that?
Drew:
It´s not like I had anyone to go with. Plus I´ll earn myself a free ticket to the next dance.
Dallas:
I want it to be perfect, you know? I mean, when you think about it, it´s an honor to be the first guy here, she´s said yes to going out with!
Riley:
Look at you, all desperate to impress you date! You like her!
Dallas:
She´s isn´t like other girls. That she a perfect ten doesn´t bother me either, let´s get that straight right off the bat!
Drew:
It wouldn´t with me either!
Dallas smiles to himself at the thought of his impending date with Bianca.
5. Ext. Degrassi. Day.
Bianca leaves the school for the day and Dallas runs to catch up with her.
Dallas:
Hi, beautiful!
Bianca:
Is that your new nickname for me?
Dallas:
Do you like it?
Bianca:
Don´t you think it´s a little soon for that?
Dallas:
Maybe a little.
They stop walking and she looks him in the eyes.
Bianca:
I told you, this wasn´t a sure thing, didn´t I?
Dallas:
You still want to go to the Winter Formal with me, don´t you?
Bianca:
Of course, I do. I just don´t want you to get your hopes up for something, that isn´t going to happen. You might think I´m easy, but I´m actually the complete opposite.
Dallas:
I never thought you were easy, I swear! I happen to like a challenge. It makes it more interesting, when it feels like you have to earn it.
They smile at one another.
Bianca:
I just wanted to make it clear, so there aren´t any misunderstandings between us.
Dallas:
Message received, loud and clear! Are you coming to The Dot?
Bianca:
No, I have to go and visit my birth mom. It´s been too long, since I last did.
Dallas:
That´s cool. I almost forgot, that you live in a foster home.
Bianca:
I´ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? If nothing else, when you pick me up for the dance!
Dallas:
Sure. Have fun with your mom.
She leaves him and his face turns to one of concern.
6. Int. The Dot. Day.
Dallas is hanging out with Drew and Riley, but he´s lost in his own thoughts.
Drew:
Have you seen the "Hell in a Cell" match, where Foley had a broken tooth sticking out his nose, that came up through his upper lip?
Riley:
I only saw it once, that was enough for me!
Drew:
Dallas, what did you think of it?
Dallas:
What?
Drew:
The "Hell in a Cell" match between Mankind and Undertaker from King of the Ring ´98. What did you think of it?
Dallas:
That match was too sick, dude!
Riley:
What´s wrong? You haven´t said ten words, since we got here.
Dallas:
There was something off with Bianca today. I can´t explain it exactly.
Drew:
Is it that she didn´t want to jump your bones? Because if you need help dealing with that, it happens to me all the time!
Dallas:
It´s more like she wasn´t herself. I´ll be back in a few minutes, there´s something I gotta do.
He gets up and leaves them, letting them go back to their wrestling talk.
We cut over to Fiona, who´s waiting by the counter for someone to take her order. Dallas comes up next to her.
Dallas:
Your name is Fiona, right? I remember you from Katie´s party.
Fiona:
Aren´t you the expert on me?
Dallas:
You´re also friends with Bianca, which is why I want to ask you something.
Fiona:
Ask and you could get an answer.
Dallas:
Was something not right with her today or is it just me?
Fiona:
It´s not just you.
Dallas:
You felt it too, huh?
Fiona:
There´s definitely something, she isn´t telling everyone, but I don´t know what is any better than you do.
They both look concerned for her.
7. Int. Bianca´s Mom´s Apartment. Day.
Bianca is with her mom in her living room. It´s rather messy and things are still a little awkward between them.
Bianca´s Mom:
How´s school going?
Bianca:
It´s okay.
Bianca´s Mom:
Are you staying out of trouble and doing your homework?
Bianca:
Not all the time, but I try to.
Bianca´s Mom:
I can´t blame you wanting a better life, than the one I could give you here. It´s nice to hear, that you´re doing alright for yourself. What I´m trying to say is that I´m proud of you, that you´re at least trying your hardest not to end up like I have.
They smile sadly at one another.
Bianca:
Things can still turn around for you.
Bianca´s Mom:
It´s not likely, but I guess miracles still happen. You said on the phone, that you needed to ask me some things.
Bianca:
It´s about our family´s medical history.
Bianca´s Mom:
I can try, but I don´t know how much help I´ll be!
Bianca:
Dad told me, that there´s a history of cancer on his side of the family. Is it the same with yours?
Bianca´s Mom:
Oh, the big C! That nasty bastard! Yeah, it´s taken it´s share of my family members too, so I can´t give you any good news there. Are you worried, that you could get it?
Bianca:
Kind of, yeah.
Bianca´s Mom:
Bianca, I know that I´m not the brightest bulb around, but the best advice I can give you is not to let that knowledge rule your life. Yes, there´s a larger chance that you´ll get cancer than friends of yours, who have perhaps never had it in their family history. It doesn´t mean for sure that you´ll get it and they won´t. It could still be the other way around or hopefully, none of you will get it.
Bianca:
I ehm ... think I could already have it. I´m waiting for the result of a test they did, that will tell me for certain. It´s absolute hell not knowing!
Her mom looks shocked and has to take it in.
Bianca´s Mom:
God, Bianca! I´m so sorry! Have you told your foster family?
Bianca:
I don´t want to bother them, until I know for sure.
Bianca´s Mom:
You won´t be bothering them, I assure you! Honey, I know that you´re strong of mind and that you think, you can do everything by yourself, but this isn´t like anything else, you´ve ever experienced.
Bianca:
Don´t you think, I know that?
Bianca´s Mom:
No, I don´t think you do! You have to let them help you or you´ll drive yourself crazy from keeping it bottled up inside. Carrying that entire weight on your own shoulders isn´t the way forward and I think that deep inside, you know that too.
Bianca takes in what her mom told her.
8. Int. Snake and Spike´s Basement. Day.
Snake and Spike are helping one another with cleaning out some stuff from the basement, that have been stored in boxes down there for years. She picks out one of her old The Smiths t-shirts and holds it up.
Spike:
My first band t-shirt!
Snake:
The Smiths?
Spike:
I had the worst schoolgirl crush on Morrisey. It´s kind of embarrassing to think back on now.
Snake:
Do you think it still fits you?
Spike:
I sincerely doubt it! Which of your band t-shirts was your first?
Snake:
I´m pretty sure it was a Helix shirt.
Spike:
Who would have thought back then that a Helix fan and a Morrisey fan would end up together?
Snake:
Thankfully we had plenty of other things in common. I still can´t stand Morrisey though.
Spike:
And I still think that Helix is the worst band in the entire world!
Snake:
How did we ever manage to make this relationship work?
They kiss, just as Bianca comes down the stairs.
Bianca:
I hope you´re not taking any of my things!
Spike:
We wouldn´t dream of it.
Snake:
We just figured that we´d better get a start on the big clean-up.
Bianca:
I still can´t believe that you want to sell this place!
Spike:
Take it easy! We´ve only just made the decision a few days ago, there´s still a lot to figure out.
Snake:
Like where we want to live after we´ve moved away for one.
Bianca:
Not to sound selfish, but am I moving away with you?
Spike:
We´re not going to leave you high and dry with nowhere to live, Bianca. You´re family to us now.
Bianca smiles to herself, before turning serious.
Bianca:
There´s something I need to tell you two. It could be hard to hear.
Snake:
Bianca, we´ve already tried almost everything there is to try as parents of a teenage girl, when we had Emma living here!
Spike:
There´s nothing that can shock us anymore!
Bianca:
I´m afraid that I could have breast cancer. There´s a good chance, that I could, in fact.
Spike and Snake looks at her in shock.
Spike:
That did it!
Bianca looks ready to tell them everything.
9. Int. Snake and Spike´s Living Room. Day.
All three of them are sitting on the couch, with Bianca sitting between her two foster parents.
Snake:
Start at the beginning and we´ll take it from there.
Bianca:
It all started in bio, where Miss Kwan told us how to do an examination on yourself. For lumps in your breast, you know?
They nod.
Bianca:
Anyway, I found one in my left breast right around here.
She shows them on the outside of her shirt.
Bianca:
That was when I had you make a doctor´s appointment for me, Spike.
Spike:
I remember it.
Bianca:
She told me that I had to have a mammograph done at the hospital and it showed, that it´s around two by two centimeters. Yesterday I then went to the doctor again and she did this thing, where they drained it for fluid and if the fluid was clear, then it was just a normal cyst, I wouldn´t have to worry about. Only in my case it wasn´t just clear fluid that came out.
Snake:
What does that mean?
Bianca:
That it could be a cancerous tumor. I won´t know for sure, until they get the lab results back.
Spike:
You must be scared senseless right now?
Bianca:
I´m only fifteen! It isn´t fair that I should have to die already, before my life has had a chance to properly begin yet!
Snake:
We know.
Bianca gets a group hug from her foster parents, that she clearly needed a lot.
10. Int. Basement. Evening.
Bianca is getting ready for bed. Spike is with her.
Spike:
Here I thought that I´d tried it all after eighteen years of living with Emma!
Bianca:
It´s new territory for me too!
Spike:
You´re finding out tomorrow then?
Bianca:
Yeah. I´ll have to blow off my last two classes, so I can get there in time.
Spike:
I´ll take a few hours off from work to drive you and I´ll get Snake to explain it to the principal. Transportation issues should be the least of your worries right now.
Bianca:
Thanks, Spike.
Spike:
You´re welcome. It goes without saying, that I´ve never tried anything, like what you´re experiencing right now. The closest I can come to it is when I was waiting to find out, if I´d become pregnant with Emma.
Bianca:
It must have been scary.
Spike:
I would never say this to Emma, but I can to you. When I found out that I was pregnant with her, it felt like my life was over already and I had screwed it up so bad, that there was no coming back from my mistakes. Cancer and pregnancy aren´t the same thing of course, but I know what it´s like to be as scared as you are right now and to feel like it´s all going against you.
Bianca:
How did your friends react?
Spike:
It wasn´t all of them who were equally understanding at first, but they came around eventually. It was more the things I experienced with adults, who felt like they were in the right to judge me, that were by far the worst, when I think back on it.
Bianca:
I just don´t want them to look at me with pity in their eyes all the time.
Spike:
You can tell them in your own time, when you feel comfortable with it. If there´s anything to worry over that is, which I´m keeping my fingers crossed for that there isn´t!
Bianca:
You and me both.
She holds up her hands to show her crossed fingers.
11. Int. School Library. Day.
Bianca is having study hall this period and is sitting with Imogen and Fiona. Imogen checks the cover of the book she´s been reading.
Imogen:
I´m pretty sure that I´m reading the wrong book!
She gets up and goes to find the right one. Fiona sees it as a chance to get some info from Bianca on what´s been going on.
Fiona:
So, are you excited about the formal?
Bianca:
Yeah, it should be fun.
Fiona:
Just fun? There isn´t something in the air that begins with an L between you and Dallas?
Bianca smiles at her.
Bianca:
I´m not the kind of girl, who throws herself into those things head first. If he wants to get with me, then he has to put in the leg work first!
Fiona:
I´m not neither, which explains my big fat zero on the boyfriend counter.
Bianca:
I call it being smart!
Fiona:
If you need some help with picking out the right outfit, I´ll be glad to help. I have plenty of nice dresses, that you can borrow one of.
Bianca:
Thanks. That´s really nice of you.
Fiona:
Don´t mention it! If it wasn´t for you, I never would have become friends with Imogen. We´re going to the Dot after school, if you want to come?
Bianca:
Who of you came up with that original idea? Anyway, I´ll have to pass, because I have a doctor´s appointment. I won´t even be here for the last two classes of the day.
Fiona:
It´s nothing serious, I hope?
Bianca.
Probably not. It´s just one of those things, you have to deal with.
Fiona can see that she´s not going to get much more out of Bianca. Imogen comes back to them with a different book, that the one she had.
Imogen:
Here I was thinking "How on earth is Narnia going to be involved in the war in Vietnam", before it dawned on me, that it could be the wrong book.
Fiona:
How did you manage to mix up "Chronicles of Narnia" with "Born on the 4th of July"?
Imogen:
I asked Mo to help me find it and now I realize, that he could have been playing a prank on me! I´ll have to get him back sometime!
Bianca:
The talking lion wasn´t enough of a clue?
Imogen:
I just thought it was a very cute way of setting up the story, before all the gruesome war stuff got started!
Bianca and Fiona both have to smile at Imogen´s childishness. Fiona is glad to see Bianca smiling too.
12. Int. Car. Day.
Bianca is being driven to her doctor´s appointment by Spike. The worry over what the result will be is painted all over her face and them passing by a graveyard on the way there only makes her worry even more. Spike looks at her with sympathy.
13. Int. Doctor´s Office. Day.
Bianca and Spike are let in by Bianca´s doctor.
Bianca:
This is Christine, my foster mom. I brought her for emotional support.
Bianca´s Doctor:
That´s quite understandable. It´s nice to meet you.
Spike:
You too.
Bianca´s Doctor:
Have a seat, the both of you.
They do and the doctor takes a seat of her own. Bianca is bursting with anticipation.
Bianca:
Did you get the results back?
Bianca´s Doctor:
Bianca, there´s no easy way of saying this. You have stage one breast cancer. I´m sorry.
Bianca looks devastated by the news and Spike puts an arm around her.
Spike:
What now?
Bianca´s Doctor:
I will schedule Bianca for surgery to have the tumor removed and afterwards, she will need to take medication for a while and undergo radiation therapy, to stop the cancer from spreading further into her body. If that doesn´t work, there is a chance that she´ll need to get a mastectomy and start Chemotherapy treatments.
Bianca:
As in cutting off one of my boobs? No!
Bianca´s Doctor:
It might not have to be all of it and many women who have had one done, have gotten plastic surgery that leaves them with almost no external signs afterwards. The positive news is that this is one of the cancer types, that has the highest survival rate and we caught it in an early stage.
Bianca:
No offense, but I´m finding it hard to see any positives in this right now!
Bianca tries to take the news in, but it´s hard to.
CLOSING CREDITS