Melrose Place - Season 2, Episode 2

"Keith is so much squirrellier than you feared."

"Long Night's Journey"
Original airdate: 9/15/1993

Episode summary: Alison reports Keith to the police after he attacks her in his hotel room. Matt applies for a social services job at the hospital where Michael works. Jane pelts Michael with their wedding china.

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Recap: Billy and Alison wake up in bed together and enjoy some contented canoodling. Billy admits that he's been jealous of all the time she's been spending with Keith lately, then says he's A-OK with it now and that he loves her 'cause she makes him sooooo happy. She retorts, "Vice versa" - ouch - and Billy says, happy as he is about their budding romance, he can't help but be annoyed at her for agreeing to have a goodbye dinner with Keith 'cause he still believes that Keith is the stalker. Alison points out that the phone call she got from the [pretend] stalker at the end of the previous episode proves that Keith is innocent, but Billy just snorts derisively and says that Keith clearly set that up. Alison doesn't buy that theory, tells Billy to give Keith a break, then climbs out of bed to take a shower.

Jane piles anything that's Michael-related in the middle of her living room floor and mutters, "That's it, the whole marriage...a pile of useless crap." A few minutes later, Michael drops by to pick up his pile of useless crap, and Jane tells him she wants it out of her apartment asap 'cause she needs the extra room for Sydney, who's returning to Melrose Place to give the show a much needed jolt of sexy drama. Jane then offers Michael half the wedding china, and he responds by urging her to call off her killer attorney and stop acting like a child...to which she responds by throwing his half of the wedding china at him while screeching, "I hate you!" and ordering him to get the hell out. LOL.

Jane heads over to LAX to pick up Sydney, who babbles about how shocked she is that Jane is filing for divorce. She begs Jane to spill all the juicy details, but Jane says she has zero desire to dredge it all up for her amusement.  

Amanda encounters Matt moping around the courtyard, mumbling about how much he misses baring his soul to Rhonda. Amanda invites him to bare his soul to her, so he's like 'sure, why the hell not?' and explains that he's so depressed 'cause he just got laid off by the defunded halfway house. Amanda clucks sympathetically and says that surely he'll find a new job in no time, then asks if he has enough cash in his savings to cover the rent. LOL. Matt glares back at her and snaps, "Don't worry, you'll get your rent. Thanks!" and storms off. Amanda, meanwhile, runs into Jo and Jake and is so intrigued by Jake's plan to enter the upcoming Superbike Competition that she invites herself to tag along with the two of them.

"I suddenly find myself without hope or a job."

"Or a home if you can't pay the rent on time."

Billy tells Alison he's been researching crazy stalkers and is staggered by all the similarities between them and the nutty way Keith's been behaving. Alison insists that Keith has only ever been nice to her, accuses Billy of being obsessed, then says she's off to meet up with Keith for his goodbye dinner. Billy scrunches his face concernedly, then grabs his jacket and decides to sneakily follow her.

After dinner, Keith and Alison amble around the boardwalk, then stroll along the beach. Keith tears up and tells Alison that all is not as well as he's been pretending: he's on probation at work 'cause of how dysfunctional he became after she dumped him. Alison's like, "Sorry about that" and gives him a hug...and as Keith holds her he gets a demonic look on his face. Billy, who's lurking nearby, gets so alarmed by the look on Keith's face that he yells, "Hey!" and rushes over. Alison's all, "The fuck?" and admonishes him for following her, and Keith glares at him and says he'll take Alison home now, and snarls that she doesn't need protecting from him.

The next morning, Billy apologizes to Alison for following her last night, and she tells him she's not angry and that after she takes Keith to the airport, all of the tension related to this dull love triangle will finally be over. It remains unclear why Alison doesn't just tell Keith to book a damn airport shuttle to get his keister to LAX.

Amanda and Jo are among the spectators of the Superbike Competition, and Jo shoots a series of photos as Jake roars past them on his motorcycle. Amanda tells her she may be interested in some of those photos for an ad campaign, and Jo tells her she'll bring them by D&D once they've been developed.

At the hospital, Michael runs into Matt, who just dropped off his resume for a Social Services job that just opened up. Michael says he's sorry to hear about his layoff at the halfway house and offers to put in a good word with whoever runs Social Services...then whines again about losing all of his Melrose Place friends. Matt says that whatever happened between him and Jane is nobody's business, and that from now on he's going to be neutral about it 'cause of how grateful he'll be to Michael if he helps him land this new job.

Jane takes a leisurely walk along the beach with Sydney, reminiscing about how her wedding day was the most perfect day ever, and how hopeful she was that it would work out and one day be blessed with children. She whimpers, "Why didn't he want me?" and Sydney shrugs helplessly and gives her a comforting hug.

At the hospital, Kimberly pulls Michael into a private room to tell him she got subpoenaed by Jane's lawyer in front of a bunch of other doctors. She calls the whole thing "ugly and out of hand", tells him that the subpoena names her the other woman, and that she doesn't know if she can take it anymore. Michael asks if by it she means their relationship, and she's like, "Uh, kinda" and says she hates having to sneak around and asks him if he doesn't also hate it. Michael shrugs and is all, "Nah, I'm good", but offers to move out of the beach house if it'll make her feel better. 

"Aren't you bothered by having to sneak around in order to be together?"

"Not even a tiny bit."

Billy assures Alison that he's not going to trail after her while she takes Keith to the airport, but urges her to make certain that the psycho boards the Seattle bound plane.

Jake, Jo, and Amanda return to Melrose Place after the Superbike Competition. Amanda suggests they celebrate Jake's win with some yummy takeout, but Jo declines and says she needs to get to work developing the photos. Amanda asks Jake if he's interested in takeout, and Jo quickly says that Jake can't go either 'cause she needs his help developing the photos...even though she's never needed his help with that up until now. Amanda heads up to her place...and once she's safely out of earshot, Jo forbids Jake to ever step foot inside Amanda's apartment unchaperoned. 

Alison arrives at Keith's hotel and is dismayed to see that his bags aren't packed and that he's arranged a romantic, candle-lit dinner for the two of them. She irritably says she'll come back later when he's ready to leave for the airport - but Keith suddenly gets angry and grabs her, then growls menacingly about how much he loves her and that he knows she loves him too. Alison's all, "Ack!" and reminds him that she's with Billy now, but would be happy to remain lifelong platonic friends with him. He snaps, "Don't patronize me, bitch!" and blocks the door, then gets all in her face and snarls, "I'm in control now, you got it?!" and declares that they're going to make love now. A freaked out Alison's all, "Uh, noooo" - but he ignores her protests and throws her atop the bed, then gets all sweaty and crazed looking as he looms over her and demands to know if she loves him. She nods unconvincingly, then a few seconds later kicks him in the groin while he's unbuckling his belt. As he clutches his gonads in pain, Alison makes a break for the door and races into an elevator, where she sinks to the floor and cries, "Ooooh God.."

"If you let me leave this hotel room, I promise to pretend that we can be friends."

"I may be deranged, but I'm not stupid."

A traumatized Alison returns to her apartment, pours herself a stiff drink, and tells Billy she wants to be alone. He ignores that request and follows her to her room and asks her why she's back from her airport run so early...so she tells him he was right about Keith, and that he just attacked her in his hotel room. She chides herself for trusting him, yells, "I want to kill him!", then collapses into Billy's arms and sobs.

Michael packs up whatever stuff he brought to the beach house, and Kimberly tells him he's being ridiculous and tries to get him to put his stuff down. When he reminds her about their argument at the hospital, she's like, "So what?" and leans in for a smooch. Michael apologizes for the messy divorce situation, agrees to continue living at the beach house, and leans in for some amorous smooching.

Billy brings Alison to the police station to report Keith's attack - but Detective Altman looks unimpressed when Alison admits that Keith didn't have a weapon, didn't hit her, and that she once dated him. Billy haughtily informs the detective that Keith has been terrorizing Alison for weeks, then admonishes her for not seeming as if she's taking the complaint seriously enough. 

Michael and Kimberly are canoodling in bed, post coitus, as he natters about his divorce and Jane's dickish determination to go after his future earnings. He then looks as though he just stumbled onto a brilliant idea and points out to Kimberly that there's no actual evidence they're having an affair...and that if they manage to keep their stories straight, Jane's lawyer won't have a case against him for inflicting mental cruelty on his wife. Kimberly's like 'sure, why the hell not?', and the two start going at it again.

Keith is checking in for his flight to Seattle when he's detained by police, handcuffed, and told he's under arrest for attacking Alison.

Under questioning, Keith tells Detective Altman that he was planning to break things off with Alison 'cause she was getting too possessive...and that he organized a candle-lit dinner for the two of them purely to let her down easy. Detective Altman looks suitably skeptical about that last thing and remarks on how jovial he seems for someone who's being accused of attempted rape. When she advises Keith to get himself a lawyer, he smugly says he did nothing wrong and therefore has no need for a lawyer. 

Billy tells Alison she did a good thing coming forward to report the attack...and she sheepishly laments not taking heed of his multiple warnings. Detective Altman returns and tells Alison that the DA's office doesn't think there's enough of a case to proceed, which means that she has no choice but to release Keith. She points out that he's flying back to Seattle tonight, and that she should get back in touch if he causes her any further problems. As Alison and Billy head out, they encounter Keith, who smirkingly tells Alison he's sorry she felt the need to go through with "this charade", but that there's no hard feelings. He then directs his attention to Billy and says, "See ya, sport" before sauntering off. 

Sydney calls Michael to ask him if there's anything she can do to help him during his divorce messiness, and he responds by inviting her to lunch.

Back at Melrose Place, Alison pours herself another stiff drink, while Billy paces the living room and debates whether or not he should alert the Seattle police about Keith's imminent arrival. Alison says she's too tired to think about it anymore and announces that she's going to bed alone.

The next morning, Matt runs into Amanda on his way to the social services job interview. She apologizes for her insensitivity the other day and offers to give him some grace time to pay the rent...and he thanks her, but says he probably won't need it 'cause he expects to be employed very soon. After he heads off, Jake compliments Amanda for her kindness to Matt just now, then admires her fancy red sports car and asks how "it handles". She flirtily suggests he find out for himself by driving her to work so that he can enjoy the car all day, then pick her up at quitting time. Jake says he definitely likes the sound of that idea.

Over lunch, Sydney tells Michael she misses him, and he asks her if she could please do him a favor and get Jane to "lower the stakes" of their divorce and not go after his future earnings. Sydney says she'll somehow find a way to bring that up in conversation and subtly urge Jane to get her lawyer to back off. Michael self-piteously says he never meant to cause anyone pain, and Sydney coos, "I know" and clutches his hand while gazing at him lovingly. Ew.

"I never meant to hurt my wife by passionately boning another woman."

"I probably shouldn't be turned on right now, should I?"

Billy arrives at LAX, buys a round trip ticket to Seattle, then stares into space with a troubled look on his dumb face.

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