As for the Manny fans who're worried about a possible Drew and Danny pairing ... Do you actually see Drew as a serious threat to Manny and therefore out of blind devotion, refuse to consider a better alternative that might be Drew and Danny? Or you don't, but you're worried TPTB might not be as clear-sighted as you are?

If I felt that Drew had even the slightest chance at winning Danny's heart, yes, I'd worry, or I'd think long and hard about who is better suited for Danny, if I thought Drew could touch Danny in a way that Michelle couldn't. Nothing that I've seen, heard or read, however, shakes my belief that Manny are meant to be together, that they are soulmates.

Let me take an example from another favorite couple of mine, Mason and Julia of Santa Barbara. No one could have cheated on Julia like Mason. But none of his liaisons ever presented a threat to Julia. (Not from her point of view, his point of view, or anyone else's for that matter, including this viewer's.) Not Victoria, whose child Julia thought was Mason's. Not Gina, played by the only actress who came closest to Nancy Lee Grahn's caliber. Every liaison afterwards was a joke but by then Lane Davies had left the show. When Julia left Mason (and she left him a number of times, even once at the altar), she didn't leave him because of these women and she was insecure about her place in his heart, she left him knowing full well he loved her like no one else and vice versa. When she fought for him and their relationship (and God knows she did), she fought Mason's own doubts about himself, his difficulty to trust himself and commit himself to a relationship, she didn't fight those women. She never had to. They never were threats by themselves. One of Julia's most famous lines ever (this was on her wedding day, she'd just left Mason at the altar and her sister thought it had to do with Julia witnessing the night before Mason and Gina sleeping together): "I do not feel threatened by a woman who thinks love is written with a decimal point."

By the same token, I don't consider Manny/Drew (or Manny/Jesse for that matter) a triangle. You have to carry weight to form a point, and Carmen carries more weight than either Drew or Jesse. (Even there the center of gravity is on Manny's side, not Carmen and Danny's.)

If I thought for one moment that Drew and Danny had something even remotely meaningful going for them that Manny didn't, something that moves people to tears, something that makes us want to celebrate love in any way we know how, something that inspires us to write poems and songs, something that motivates us to dig into our own experiences and knowledge in an effort to understand them a little better, I'd give Drew and Danny a thought.

But was there anything special about this one-night stand, to begin with? Did they sleep together because they wanted each other? Did they sleep together because she cared for him and/or he cared for her? (At least Bridget wanted Hart and Dinah, um, Hart.) Did Danny sleep with Drew because she was Drew? Did Drew sleep with Danny because he was Danny? No. Danny slept with Drew because she was Michelle's friend, and Drew with Danny because he was Michelle's husband. Was there even a moment of awareness while they're having sex that Drew was Drew, not just the person who is Michelle's friend, and Danny Danny, not just the person who is Michelle's husband? Did they find comfort from each other that had nothing to do with Michelle? How is there a Dranny when there was someone else in that bed that night?

When Michelle and Danny are together, even when they're just making eye-contact, there's no one, and I mean no one else in the room. It's just the two of them, with a connection that is so strong that nothing can sever it. Drew knows that better than anyone actually, she witnessed it herself several times. The only people who can sever it, who can choose to sever it are Michelle and Danny, no one else. Danny tried to do it on Friday but he ended up sleeping with a friend of Michelle. As sick as this may sound, he was connecting through Drew to Michelle despite himself.

You could put one thousand Drew-hurdles and another thousand Jesse-hurdles between them, and Manny will still be connected as long as they're hung up on each other. And sorry to be cliche, but not even death could sever that connection. And if death can't do it, a pregnancy out of this one-night stand (I'm talking hypothetically) is certainly not going to. Who does Danny want to have his children with? Drew? You think his feelings about that are going to change after this?

The only thing to worry about, if we had to find something to worry about, would be TPTB and whether they intend to pursue Drew and Danny over Manny, when there is actually no Drew and Danny. If they do, I'll bet my lifetime savings it will be as a means to the end that is Manny. I haven't seen any sign however they're even considering that.

So should we just sit back and relax? Sure, but it never hurts to give TPTB a piece of your mind. Just in case they forget who they owe their bread and butter to. As one poster on the board I run pointed out, Manny means money. Their popularity is an unprecedented Guiding Light phenomenon in recent memory.

You have on one side a brand-new character who's been on for less than six months and on the other a recast for about the same time. This is the only couple right now this regime can claim as their own creation, with no links to past regimes. Do you think they're going to give up on them that easily? When the pairing has proven successful from the moment they were put together? They certainly aren't hurting the show in the ratings.

The week of the beach confrontation leading to their marriage (they were on four days out of five, jumping to front-burner status for the first time since Paul Anthony Stewart and Joie Lenz joined the show), GL scored its best rating (4.3) in more than a year (at least ever since GLN&P started keeping records), with an increase of 0.5 pts. from the previous week. The week of their second wedding (they were on the whole week), the show scored its 2nd best rating, nabbing 5th position in household rankings in the process. The first week of March (when Manny almost made love, they were on 4 days out of 5), a bad week for almost every soap (all of them took a dip in household, including GL which went under 4.0 for the first time this year - scored 3.9), GL was the only show to register increase in the infamous 18-49 women demographic group that advertisers covet (from 2.6/16 share to 2.7/17 share, tying with The Bold and the Beautiful for 6th position).

I've been online since '95, and I've never heard as strong a buzz about a GL couple or characters in the General Hospital online communities (the show GL has to compete with in many markets) as I've done with Manny. I read the GH boards too. I run a site dedicated to Manny and I've lost count of (previously) ex-GLers or GHers I've been meeting through email, the message board and the chatroom. Manny is drawing new viewers, people who've barely heard of GL before, and that's no small feat.

To make a long story short, I've never seen anything quite like this with GL in all the years I've been online. It certainly wasn't for lack of trying on TPTB's part, but they couldn't do it till they had all the right ingredients in place. They finally struck gold and they know it better than anyone else.

This is just the beginning for Manny (the blow-up last week actually gives them a chance at a real beginning), so let's not give in to our fears when there's no cause or let our imaginations run wild. Let's concentrate on the big picture that is Manny, inform TPTB of your support for this couple, and enjoy them through their "good" times and "bad" times. (It's all relative anyway.) Think of this like a marriage.

I actually feel more hopeful about their future than I did when I first heard about the one-night stand. Couldn't understand TPTB's move at the time but the events this past week actually lead me to believe they're moving in the right direction with Manny. I hope you see it the same way. If you don't, let me know and we can debate it.

kristi