JUNE 1977
All My Children
Written by: Agnes Nixon
Produced by: Bud Kloss
Kitty Tyler had told Myrtle Lum that she knew the full extent of her condition and chose to tell Lincoln by writing a song thanking him for having loved her and singing it to him. She promised both Myrtle and Linc that she would tell them if the symptoms of her disease - a degeneration of the nervous system, rare and so far incurable - returned. Kitty sent for Paul Martin telling him she wanted his help to make a will and put things in order. She guessed aloud that Paul knew and he admitted he did, wondering at her attitude. She told him that at first she was resentful and bitter, but she was over that then and believed in a life after death, that no matter how difficult it was to let go of Lincoln, it was not over between them.
At his mother Kate's house, Paul Martin met an old friend and former neighbor, Ellen Shepherd who had returned to Pine Valley after selling her home in St. Louis. She told him that her daughter, Devon, was staying with some friends for some post-graduate celebrating and would be joining her in a few days time. Paul inquired if her husband would be along soon and then realized that he had forgotten that Kate told him that they were separated. When he apologized, she told him that she was over the first shock and refused to let her life fall apart because her husband ran off with a younger woman.
Donna Beck had left Pine Valley leaving Caroline only a note thanking her and asking her to thank Chuck and tell him she tried. Along with the note she left the gold chain belonging to Chuck's mother which he had given her as a birthday present when she became 18. – When Donna came up short in the day's receipts at the Superette where she worked, her employer insisted that she replace the missing eighty dollars by the following morning or he would call the police. Unable to face this final threat to her already low self-esteem, she broke her promise to her rommate Caroline Murray to wait for Chuck's return from a Medical convention before leaving town. –
Donna hitched a ride to Chicago heading for her former home only to find that her mother and step-father had left with no forwarding address. After talking to a nun at the school she had attended as a child, Donna remembered that Nancy Grant had been assigned as a caseworker to the family and might be able to trace her parents. Donna turned down Nancy's offer to accompany her to the address and arrived when her mother was out at the liquor store. Her stepfather made a pass and accused her of disloyalty "after all he has done for her and her mother." Her mother walked in to hear Donna shout back that all he had done was provide a worse dump than ever and keep her mother looking like a rag picker. Her mother told her she was still good for nothing and, saying they wanted no part of her kind, they threw her out.
Chuck went to Center City to look for Donna, getting Estelle's promise that she would call him if she heard anything from Donna. She told Chuck she would do everything she could to keep Donna from returning there as Billy Clyde, who replaced Ty as the reigning pimp, was far more vicious in his way than Ty ever was.
Nancy Grant called the Tyler house to tell Brooke that Donna was safe, and after Donna returned and accepted Nancy's offer to stay with her for a time, Chuck phoned. Donna refused to speak to him on the phone but again promised Nancy that she would see Chuck when Nancy told her that Chuck planned to fly to Chicago immediately. Donna woke in the middle of the night after restless dreams, took her bag and left.
Again on the road, Donna was picked up in a small town for hitchhiking and was faced with the prospect of three days in jail or a fifty dollar fine. She made her one phone call to Estelle who promised to do what she could. When Estelle asked Billy Clyde for time off and a loan to cover Donna's bail, Billy told her he couldn’t spare her but he would drive to Libertyville himself, pay Donna's fine and bring her back, saying if Donna was broke, she would be back on the street in time anyway and he was determined to add her to his stable. Estelle phoned the Tyler house but Phoebe answered and Estelle's said she would call another time. When Billy brought Donna back for a “visit" with Estelle, he warned her that if she said anything to Donna about the Doc's visit he would do a job on the both of them.
Christina Karras had started therapy with Dr. Polk but on her one visit had not mentioned her belief that she had killed her father. She moved into David Thornton's cabin after running to it to get away from the apparitions in her apartment but arrived there with no realization of the journey. When David left for San Francisco telling her he had to take care of personal business, Christina assured him that she would be all right.
One evening when she and Dr. Jeff Martin were preparing to go out, she reached into a zippered compartment in her purse and found four twenty dollar bills. She told Jeff it must have been forgotten from as far back as her period of living in San Francisco, as she had not used that compartment since then. Treating it as found money, she decided to celebrate with.
At Pine Valley hospital, Christina learned that Chuck had left town to try to find Donna and heard from Ruth Martin and Caroline about the alleged theft which drove Donna to leave. Though she did not recall the incident in the Superette when she reverted to a little girl deliberately kept short of pocket money by a father who could more than afford it, and snatched the bills from the unattended cash drawer as Donna went to OK a small check, she realized in a flash what had probably occurred. Moreover, when she returned home, she found the key to the drug cabinet at the hospital, missing since the bizarre incident when it was emptied and the contents stacked systematically on the floor. She told Jeff that she couldn’t live with the knowledge that she was capable of doing such things with no memory of them. When she said she had no alternative but to have herself committed, Jeff told her that it could do irreparable harm to her career as a doctor and begged her to see Dr. Polk for professional advice before taking such a step. Jeff tried to distract her with plans for dinner and a ballet performance, but at the word ballet, she reverted to a child before his eyes in the first incident of somnambulism that Jeff had witnessed in full.
Tara had had some incidents of pain and weakness after being upset, the second brought on by a confrontation with Phoebe Tyler. Philip ordered Phoebe out of the house and decided to cancel plans for a camping trip with little Philip out of concern for her. Tara and her father Dr. Joe Martin managed to convince him that she would be all right staying at the Martins for the time and be very well looked after.
Erica Kane was infuriated when her mother Mona dropped by with a bottle of wine sent by Nick Davis and made incessant small talk in an obvious ploy to put an end to an intimate evening between Erica and Mark Dalton. After Mark left, Erica tore into her mother and started to leave, intending to follow Mark to his apartment. Mona blurted out that she believed Mark was Erica's half-brother. Erica refused to acknowledge the possibility, insisting that her mother was trying to ruin her life. The following day, she told Mark that her mother had always tried to put her father down to her but did not mention Mona's assertions and told Mark that she wanted to go on seeing him.
Nick called Mona to tell her that Erica refused to give any credence to what Mona had said and that Erica told him she had a date with Mark. He did not mention that Erica accused him of going along with Mona to smear her father's memory because Nick didn’t want to ruin the cozy little arrangement he had had, making love to Erica with no commitment of marriage. - Frightened, Mona Kane went to New York to tell Mark's mother, then Mrs. Maureen Teller, about the situation, forcing Mrs. Teller to acknowledge that Eric Kane was her son's father. Mona arranged for Erica to join her in New York for a "shopping trip" and threatened to disclose Mark's illegitamacy to Mrs. Teller's present husband in order to force Maureen to stop retreating and face the fact that nothing less than her own admission would convince Erica.
Mrs. Teller told Erica that Eric Kane tried to get her to have an abortion but she put it off, hoping in vain that he would marry her. She quoted Eric as saying that he was already saddled with one child. When Erica insisted that Mona could have hired her to make up this story, Maureen replied that she had letters from Eric Kane and photographs of them together and offered to show them if necessary as tangible proof. Erica screamed out in the restaurant "No, no, no" and, beginning to believe, cried that it would serve Maureen right if she told Mark everything; that she wasn't honest with her son because she wanted to marry a rich husband. She said the two could stay and rot, and ran out.
Erica went home and Nick checked on her after a call from Mona. He told Erica that Mark came by the club to cancel their date as he had a conference. Erica said it was probably with one of his female students and threw Nick out, saying she didn’t believe Mark or any man. The following day when Mark came by, Erica went into a tirade which made no sense to him, ending by telling him she hated him and didn’t want him to come back.
David Thornton had been to see Dr. McPhearson, Christina's godfather, and the man who signed her father's death certificate, in San Francisco. At first angry when David asked if the cause of death stated - myocardial Infarction -, was absolutely accurate, Dr. McPhearson presented David with an autopsy report prepared by the Medical Examiner. Anton Karras was dead or dying when he slumped over and fell on to the scalpel Christina was holding. The wound was superficial and would not even have required stitching.
Nick and Erica reconciled and were very nearly surprised by Mona when she went early to Erica's house to pick up some dresses she planned to hem for Erica. When Erica called her mother, at loose ends because a summer cold forced Nick to go home to his own apartment to rest despite Erica's desire to nurse him and play house, she learned that Mark Dalton was staying at Mona's after he hurt his ankle the previous evening, when he was invited to a cook-out along with Ellen Shepherd and Dr. Charles Tyler.
July 1977
David Thornton returned to his cabin in time to save Christina Karras from attempted suicide by drowning. He convinced Christina of the truth of the facts he had learned from his latest trip to San Francisco that Anton Karras, Christina's father, did indeed die of a heart attack as she had been told but didn't believe: and that the wound she inflicted during a quarrel immediately preceeding her father's death was so superficial as to be entirely negligible, prompting Chris to retrieve and turn over to David the suicide note she had written, telling him he had saved her life. David assures Christina that the apparitions of her father were gone for good, along with her guilt, but urged her to continue in therapy with Dr. Polk to be certain there was no recurrence of the episodes of somnambulism. While David was away, Christina attended a performance of the ballet with Jeff Martin, Dan Kennicott and Brooke English, and rushed out as she experienced another episode. The following day, not having heard from David who started home after he could not reach her by phone, she gave in to despair.
Christina accepted David’s proposal that she move in with him and stay at his cabin rather than return to her apartment. When she told Jeff, he remarked that she probably really felt in David's debt and urged her not to rush into a living arrangement she might not be ready for. When Christina told David that she had changed her mind and was not coming to live with him, he asked if she would feel better if they were to "make it legal." Christina told David that she loved him but she should be looking out for her own interests.
David angrily confronted Dr. Jeff Martin with the statement that Christina was a grown woman and it was Jeff who was taking advantage of Christina's lack of emotional security. He asked how much of Jeff's attitude had to do with David and Ruth. When Jeff asked what Ruth has to do with it, David answered that it was none of his business and left, telling Jeff the next time he stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, he'd better be ready for the consequences. Jeff finally learned from Tara about David's part in the near break-up of Ruth and Joe Martin's marriage which had occurred while Jeff was out of town.
Christina, in speaking with Paul Martin, gave the impression that she knew who the woman in Pine Valley was whose part in David's unsuccessful romance caused him to pull up stakes after his reinstatement as a surgeon and go back to San Francisco for a time. She said questioningly that she supposed it was completely over with them and Paul assured her that it certainly was for Ruth. Christina thought to herself, "so that's who my competition is. Ruth Martin." Chris told David that she tricked Paul Martin into telling her and said she might be jealous, though David assured her that it was all over between them on his part, too.
Benny Sago invited Dr. Chuck Tyler for a night on the town in Center City. Chuck made it clear that his preoccupation with worry about Donna Beck aside, in any event, he had no interest in the kind of relaxation Benny had in mind. Benny was resentful of what he saw as Chuck's holier-than-thou attitude but finally accepted Chuck's word and took off on his own. Estelle was hiding in an attempt to avoid a patrolling policeman and emerged to spot Benny decked out enough to "light up the neighborhood" and quickly hustled him to get off the street. At Estelle's pad, Benny bragged about his position in Pine Valley and when she learned that he knew Doc Tyler, she told him that Donna was working at "Harbor Lights," the dive they were standing in front of when she picked him up. She told Benny that Donna was waiting tables but that Billy Clyde was after Donna, determined to see her back on the stroll.
Benny walked in to see Donna tending bar and they talked, pretending that they didn’t know one another. Donna still insisted that she didn’t want Chuck to know where she was though it was getting harder to hold Billy off. Billy's efforts had taken a personal turn, propositioning Donna to spend a week-end with him at a hotel on Long Island, complete with wardrobe for all occasions. - Donna maintained unconvincingly that she could handle Billy Clyde and work long enough to save some money and split. After Benny left, Donna sand a song with the piano player at Billy's request and accepted a drink which he had doctored.
In Pine Valley, Christina told Chuck that she stole the money from the superette which Donna had been accused of taking. Chuck assured her that he took care that the money was returned to Donna's boss immediately and that no charges were being pressed but he had not been able to reach Donna to tell her. As Benny came back from his trip to Center City, Estelle phoned Chuck to tell him that Donna was hallucinating and begged him to come to the Harbor Lights. She had been able to keep Billy Clyde away from Donna by threatening him with a broken bottle but was unable to handle Donna for very much longer.
Donna awoke in Pine Valley hospital to learn that she had been given a Goof Ball and was allergic to whatever drug had been used. Benny told her about his and Chuck's wild ride back to Center City which included a stalled car at a railroad crossing as they tried to make time on back roads only to be trapped into waiting helplessly as a long freight passed. He assured her that Chuck was "gone" on her and Chuck himself told Donna that he loved her. After Phoebe Tyler got into Donna's room to berate her for ruining her grandson's life, Donna told Chuck that Phoebe would never give him a moment's peace. Chuck's answer to that was to ask Donna to marry him.
Dr. Charles Tyler, Chuck's grandfather, maintained Donna was right to have misgivings about marrying Chuck. For his own part, Dr. Tyler was amazed to hear that Phoebe was countersuing him in his effort to secure what should have been an automatic divorce action since he and Phoebe had been separated for a year. He had warned Mona Kane that Phoebe intended to claim adultry and might manage to trump up some charges. Mona replied that Phoebe could do her worst, she would not be intimidated. - When Mark Dalton sprained his ankle at a cook-out at Mona's house, he stayed the night using a pair of pajamas supplied by Charles which were a gift from Phoebe and carried his monogram, Benny entered Mona's unlocked house and barely missed being discovered by hiding in a closet after Mona and Mark returned from a doctor's visit the following day. Phoebe learned too late that the presence of her husband's pajamas, per se, was not sufficient evidence, but she considered this only a temporary setback and had provided Benny with an expensive camera and tape recorder and continued to insist on his help in of a private detective.
Mrs. Craig Teller, née Maureen Dalton, had arrived in Pine Valley and upon learning that her son was staying temporarily with Mona, had insisted that Mark move back to his own apartment, even offering to stay awhile to look after her son herself. Mark was puzzled at his mother's attention after so many years of neglect and corrected her when she implied that she had been there for him before when he needed her. When Mark was up and around, he went to see Erica in one more effort to clear up the air of mystery that surrounded her attitude toward him, and Erica, going back on her promise to Nick, told him he was the illegitimate son of her father, Eric Kane.
Mark asked Mona to show him the copy of his birth certificate which Erica had told him Mona had, insisting he could always go down to Center City to check for himself. After leaving Mona, Mark walked in on a party his mother was giving in New York. Maureen insisted that her husband Craig had to never know of Mark's illegitimacy because he would drop her in a minute. Mark said he would never tell her husband but as for their relationship as mother and son — it was all over.
Nick was repelled when he learned what Erica had done and told her he had lost whatever respect he had for her and that their affair was over. He went on to say he was glad that they had the sense to keep it a secret.
Tara Brent had been confined to bed after a fall when she tripped over a skate little Philip had left lying around. Rather than send the boy to Phoebe's house, Tara and Phil arranged for him to stay for some time with the Martins. Little Philip would prefer to stay at the Tyler residence but seemed to be getting along, with Tad to play with. In an angry outburst, Philip blamed Tara's fall on little Phil's carelessness and when Philip realized that the boy had heard, he was determined to try to correct the rift before little Philip brooded on it. Phil talked Tara into asking that little Philip return for dinner and to spend the night at home but the boy again misbehaved, jumping up and down on the bed Tara was resting in and upsetting a supper tray. After Philip administered a well-deserved spanking and sent the boy to his room, Chuck arrived asking to see him, then insisting that Phil and Tara had handled things badly. Tara put an end to the quarrelling by giving Chuck a firm no, saying that the following day was soon enough. After Phil and Tara were asleep, little Philip slipped out of the house leaving the door ajar. The boy wandered around by himself and was thrown out of a pinball emporium after trying to retrieve a dime from the phone booths to call his grandmother.
When Tara woke during the night, she discovered the boy had left and Chuck and Phil combed the neighborhood after Phil had notified the police. Because Tara had to be certain the boy was not at the Tyler house, Phoebe learned of his disappearance, and while she was making a series of phone calls berating Tara and Phil, a man who had picked up little Philip and realized from the address the boy was looking for that he had the great-grandson of a very wealthy, prominent family in his car, tried to call. When he finally got through he made his ransom demands: $100,000 cash — within one hour he would call back then to give them the place.
Little Philip had been picked up and held for ransom by Floyd Clinton, a former gardener of the Tyler family who had been summarily dismissed by Phoebe five years before. By the time Phoebe recalled why the voice was familiar to her, Chuck had already made the drop and Little Phil had been rescued by a man in the next motel room whose attention the boy managed to attract by banging on a pipe in the bathroom. The child had passed out by the time the man - Tom Cudahy — a former professional football star who intended to open a restaurant in Pine Valley - got the manager to open up the room. As the manager went to phone the police, Cudahy revived little Philip and when Floyd returned to see the chair he had wedged under the knob of the bathroom door gone, Cudahy stepped out from behind the front door and knocked him out. Little Philip asked to be taken home to the Tylers' to see his "dad."
In her anxiety and distress, Tara had withdrawn from Philip, blaming him for causing the boy to run away. But when she and Phil heard that he was safe at the Tylers', they rushed over and Tara, who had had to fight Phoebe's objections to her seeing the boy right away, was shocked to hear her son say that he didn’t want to go home with her and that Chuck had promised him that he didn’t have to.
Brooke English and Dan Kennicott had been planning to spend a weekend together. Brooke had lied to Phoebe telling her she planned to visit her parents before they took off on a trip to Europe but when Dan was unable to attend a party given by Brooke's friends because he had promised to take Devon Shepherd – Ellen’s daughter - around the campus, Brooke rushed off and made the visit good. She telephoned the Martin house and obtained a number where she can locate Dan. When she learned it was the Tucker house – Harlan Tucker, Ellen’s father and Devon’s grandfather had been Kate Martin’s neighbour for years. Ellen came back recently to Pine Valley after separating from her husband and Paul Martin agreed to help with the divorce proceedings. - and Devon answered, she apologized to Dan and asked if they could take up where they left off. Dan told her about little Phil but when he called back with the news that the boy was safe, she talked him into arranging to meet her for their trip to Long Island.
Nancy Grant had decided to move back to Pine Valley as she had been offered an excellent position there - the same one which had been closed to her months before, causing her to take the job in Chicago -. Frank had assured Caroline Murray that Nancy's return would make no difference to their plans but he was annoyed with Jeff when he learned Jeff had arranged for Nancy to share his former apartment with Christina Karras.
Nigel Farnsworth had turned up at the Lincoln Tyler house to see Myrtle Lum to return the money he had run out with and beg Myrtle's forgiveness. She told him she had learned that life was too precious to hold grudges. Nigel, unaware of Kitty's condition, toasted Myrtle, Linc and Kitty, wishing them a long and happy life together they so richly deserved.
Mark Dalton went to see Erica, asking if they could be friends, but Erica told him she didn’t want to see him because every time she did, she saw her father. Mark said he had even more reason to resent Eric Kane but he didn’t intend to let it ruin his life or dictate his friendships. Erica asked Mark to get another job and move away, saying Pine Valley was her home and she was there first. Mark laughed at the suggestion, remarking that he didn’t intend to make his parentage public knowledge and was certain that despite her implied threats, Erica would not do so either because she had said that she found the truth humiliating.
One Life To Live
Written by: Gordon Russell
Produced by: Joseph Stuart
June 1977
When Cathy Lord called to see Larry to talk about her problems, Karen remarked that Larry was at the office taking care of a paying customer for a change. Larry heard of it and insisted she apologize to Cathy. Karen said she was not implying anything personal but she was sick and tired of seeing Larry help any needy Tom, Dick and Harry when they needed money themselves. When Larry failed to come home in time for Brad's opening night party at the health club, Karen decided to go with Lana and take Danny along. While she was drinking and talking with the other guests, Brad took Danny through the gym and the boy was hurt in a fall from the parallel bars. Karen took him home and though Larry found only a bump on the head, he insisted Danny should not have been at an adult function and at least Karen could have kept an eye on him after taking him there.
Karen wanted to go out for a little extra celebrating but Larry insisted that he must get to the bills. Karen hid a bill for $245 for the gold chain she charged and when Larry came back into the room he said he saw an envelope from Logan's but couldn’t seem to find it. Karen insisted he must be mistaken as the place was so expensive, she wouldn't even walk in the door. Larry chided her for going over their budget on food and spending thirty dollars on engraved thank you notes, saying they couldn’t afford such expensive status symbols. As they were yelling at one another, Danny came into the room and Larry put him back to bed saying on his return that Meredith - his late wife - and he made it a point not to expose their differences to Danny and he thought it would be a good idea for the two of them to do the same. Karen raged that all her life she was compared with Jenny and came up short and then he dared to compare her to Meredith. Larry said he was only giving an example but Karen retorted she wasn’t going to change for him or any other man and if he didn’t like the way she was, it was just too damn bad.
After a scene with Tony in which Cathy said it was Pat who had come between them, Cathy talked to Larry and admitted she knew deep inside she wasn't in love with Tony. At that she said she felt as if someone took a great weight off her shoulders and went on to say that if she didn’t love Tony, then she didn’t need him; that it was a baby she needed, someone to love. When she again retreated, saying she needed Tony still for a while, Larry asked where she planned to go when Tony found her packing her suitcase and preparing to leave without a word to anyone. Cathy replied she just wanted to get in her car and drive; maybe find a place on her own and write. Larry urged her to do it right and leave the way clear for Pat and Tony who did love each other. He said he thought she could give Tony his happiness and didn’t have to punish him anymore.
Cathy went to see Pat and told her she realized she ruined their friendship out of resentment and jealousy, and hoped she could stop inflicting pain on everyone, Pat especially. After seeing Will Vernon, Cathy told Tony she thought they should get a divorce, saying she was not doing this for him and Pat but for herself, because she wanted to start living her own life again. Out of concern for her, Tony urged her not to go off by herself, but she turned on him asking if he was afraid she would change her mind again.
Finally, after an apartment Cathy planned to rent developed a sudden “no vacancy," Cathy agreed to move in for a time with Jim and Anna. Jim was worried that Tony might have pressured Cathy too soon and urged her to take her time over the details of the divorce. Cathy agreed to retain a lawyer of her own but again tossed out some nasty remarks before she gave her power of attorney to Tony to clear the way for him to get a quickie divorce in the Caribbean.
Joe Riley had a seizure at the office just after Viki left for a vacation at Dorian's mountain retreat, and Dorian rushed him to the hospital. After two separate stays at the hospital and testing periods - at Richmond Memorial Hospital so that Viki would not hear and worry unnecessarily if, as Joe kept insisting, nothing serious was wrong -, the doctor on Joe's case told him that all the major tests were negative: that he had a capillary blockage and had to not drink or drive and had to take an anti-seizure medicine regularly. Joe's impatience precluded any further stay in the hospital for observation and Dorian persuaded him not to tell Viki what had occurred. When Viki returned after Joe was unable to join her for a weekend as he had promised, Joe couldn’t bring himself to worry her and explained the limousine Dorian had put at his disposal as a company prerequisited Dorian had come up with to take the pressure off him. Viki was impressed and delighted with anything that would help Joe.
The night before the opening of Brad's health club, Will pretended to go out for some tobacco and told Naomi he might drop by the health club. When some plumbing trouble detained Brad as they were about to leave, Will offered to see Jenny home. Stopping by a park on the way, he told Jenny life was just a game to his son and he was sure Jenny would eventually fall in love with someone else, adding he envied the man it would be. He kissed Jenny and when she got up from the bench they were sitting on, Will asked her if she loved him. Jenny ran home alone and Jim Craig noticed that she was greatly disturbed when she got in.
The following day, Will told Jenny he was not going to apologize for the previous night, and was insisting she tell him how she felt about him when Dorian arrived for an appointment. After Dorian left, Will again pressuresd Jenny for an answer. Jenny told Will she wanted to be reassigned, but Will insisted to her he loved her and knew she loved him. He told her that he hadn't been happy with Naomi for years and wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jenny.
Jenny asked Jim to transfer her to Pediatrics because she wanted to get back to nursing and finally she began working as Peter Janssen's assistant. When Brad insisted that something was making her unhappy and he wanted to know what it was, she ran away. Carla talked a reluctant Jenny into attending Brad's opening party but Jenny used Lana's tipsy condition as an excuse to take her home and did not attend the celebration afterward planned with the Vernon family. When Brad went after her, she got rid of him by promising to tell him the following day what was bothering her but then only told him that she was never going to marry him. Brad was determined not to take no for an answer and to find out what had changed Jenny, and he told Naomi so.
Naomi called a friend, Dr. Clyde Hoover in Montana and pleaded with him to ask Will to come back to work there, saying that Will was very unhappy but would never admit to wanting to move back. When Dr. Hoover arrived in Llanview on his way back from a conference in New York, he offered Will the position of head of Psychiatry in the Montana Hospital, saying the man in the position had suffered a stroke and they were unable to keep the position open any longer. Will promised to think about the considerable promotion but Clyde was puzzled that his impression of Will's emotional state and Naomi's differed.
Dorian had twice had to reprimand Marco for his behavior with Samantha Vernon while he was on duty. She accused him of lying to her about the coincidence of his meeting Samantha at the library and taking her to Llanfair to show her the grounds. After seeing Marco kissing Samantha at the health club, Dorian told him that his behavior while in her employ reflected on her as a member of the community. Marco said they both understood each other and he had never worked for an employer he had gotten to know so well in such a short period of time. Before Dorian could insist he elaborated, Joe walked in to attend a function at Llanfair without Viki, who had declined because it was the baby's dinner time. Dorian, as usual, lit up and became totally absorbed in the pleasure of Joe's presence and Marco was dismissed only to linger out of Dorian's sight to gaze for some moments at the two of them before going through the door. Within a few moments, Joe, who had been keeping recurring periods of dizziness and loss of vision from both Dorian and Viki, was taken by another severe seizure.
After she was told by Naomi of Will's job offer, Jenny went to see him, telling him that if he didn’t leave Llanview, she would. When Dorian came in for a session, Jenny was obviously upset and left hurriedly. Dorian remarked that she seemed always to be bursting in at the wrong time where he and Jenny were concerned. Stung, Will told Dorian she was wasting both their time if she would not be completely honest with herself and with him about the man she was in love with. Dorian lashed back, saying she had seen Will in action right here "in his little glass house." She added it was perfectly obvious to her that he was in love with Jenny Siegel and hadn't faced the fact that it was hopeless.
Dorian was still agitated when she saw Peter Janssen, and when she said she pointed out some basic truths to the great Dr. Vernon, Peter tried to tell her she was projecting her anger and guilt onto Will. Dorian smiled ruefully, telling Peter he was off base, but it was not his fault because he didn’t know all the circumstances.
Peter lunched with Jenny and at first believed that she was unhappy because Brad had seen Jenny before he came and was still at the bar. He put it down to a dog-in-the-manger attitude from Brad but when Brad left, he suddenly said he got the feeling that Brad was not the problem. Jenny - believing Will planned to leave Llanview - said there was no problem, anymore.
Dorian had arranged to take Joe to New York to have a complete brain scan done, under the pretense of financial matters to explain the trip and her presence to Joe's staff and his wife, Viki. As she was waiting in Joe's office, Brad wandered by after having belted down a few. When she learned Jenny was the cause, she laughed at the idea that Jenny seemed to the cynosure of every eye lately. Brad demanded to know what she seemed to be implying and refused to let her back down, threatening her with a scene in front of Joe unless he learned what she knew. She said she would offer the suggestion that he ask his father, and when Brad shook her, she told him: "He's in love with your precious Jenny."
Samantha read aloud a letter from Dr. Clyde Hoover's daughter and Will overheard a telling phrase, giving away the fact that Naomi caused Clyde to initiate the job offer. Will suggested to Naomi later, in private, that she move back to Montana on her own and they separate for a time and "see what develops." Naomi said they were married and she intended to live up to her vows; she would not leave and if he tried to leave her, he would regret it the rest of his life. As Will was writing a note to Naomi, saying a stable, fulfilling marriage was out of reach for them, Brad came in. Will told him something had happened he thought Brad should know about, and Brad told his father: "I know more than you think." He asked Will if he was in love with Jenny and, after a time, Will admitted it. Will urged Brad to say what was on his mind, telling him it would be a lot healthier for Brad to face this. Brad angrily told him he would like to break him in half. He was astonished when Will said he could not help himself, but that Jenny did not respond. Brad asked if he was supposed to feel sorry for his father because he lost out twice. After reviling his father as a despicable liar and a hypocrite, Brad added he was not going to let his life be ruined by him or anybody else, “I'll kill you first." He turned away, then turned back and asked if Will wasn’t afraid, considering what happened the last time he fell in love with another woman - Naomi's suicide attempt. -. He told Will he knew what his - Will's - next move should be, adding “what your next move better be," and walked out.
Samantha came in and Will told her he was in love with Jenny. Seeing his daughter's shock and disbelief, Will told her she had always been there to support him with her love before and begged her to try to understand then. Samantha, still in shock, ran out of the room.
When Naomi returned, she told Will that she had a long talk with Jim Craig and informed Will he would have to resign from Llanview Hospital. Will said she had no right to broadcast their private lives and that any pain she was feeling was self-inflicted. He warned her not to meddle in his private affairs again. Naomi insisted she would do anything she had to in order to protect her family.
July 1977
Cat-Brain scan had revealed that a small area in Joe Riiey's brain had suffered some damage, possibly due to an infarction, or it might indicate an incipient tumor. Joe was told to return for a further scan in three months as the tumor, if that was what it was, would have grown sufficiently to be detected. The doctor's parting advice to Joe was to try to lead as normal a life as possible in the next three months anxiety was no cure. Once again Joe couldn’t bring himself to tell Viki, though lie, himself, maintained to Dorian that it was an indication of a lack of trust and he couldn’t afford the strain it would place on the relationship while he waited out his time to return to the hospital. Dorian pretended to go along with whatever he thought was best but reminded him that the fear of the unknown which he was suffering was avoidable for Viki.
Peter Janssen had dined with Viki in Joe's absence and Viki invited him to dinner when Joe returned, unable to resist a little matchmaking. Peter told her he already knew a perfect lady for him Viki. Peter's dinner companion turned out to be an Army Sergeant, relentlessly hale, hearty and opinionated. In the meanwhile, Dorian had taken Marco Dane up on his offer “I take care of your car, your garden; why not you?" but told him there would not be a repeat performance, insisting that he get it straight that he was not important to her life.
At Llanfair one evening, Peter and Viki saw Joe sway and Dorian distracted Viki with an invitation to see the changes she had made in the gardens. Peter took Joe's word that he was only overworked and went on with his conversation. Dorian told Joe in a moment alone that she had observed him drawing out Peter and sizing him up. She said it was obvious to her that Joe was worrying to the extent of hand-picking his successor. Joe conceded that he believed when he returned to the hospital that it was very likely he would be told he had had it.
Naomi Vernon had lost her life in an attempt to shock Will into returning home, an attempt which backfired tragically. Her last days were spent alternating between bitterly denouncing Will, saying that she and his children would be better without him, and begging Samantha to ask Will to come back, pretending to herself that Will couldn’t mean to leave permanently though he had taken up residence in a hotel. But after Will called to blame her pressuring for Sam's having walked out of his office to seek out Marco - telling her father she got his message: "look out for Number One and to hell with everyone else"-. Naomi told Brad she would not be discarded for her husband's vanity.
Naomi’s desperate try at a solution was to set up a situation whereby Brad would find her in time to save her life after a massive overdose of barbiturates as he had when he was a child ten years before when his father was having an affair with another office nurse. Brad was with Lana and did not make it home at the promised time and when he tried to phone, the line was busy as Naomi, realizing that something had gone wrong, tried to get help but was too far gone to call for it. Brad arrived to find Naomi dead, the phone on the floor and a medical hook nearby. Ed Hall was called in and read Naomi's letter telling Will she knows he wished that Brad had never found her in time ten years ago so that he wouldn't have had to wait so long for his freedom and that he was free of her then.
The shock waves of Naomi Vernon's death were felt all over Llanview. Jenny Siegel was on her way back from a retreat house where she had gone to try to sort out her feelings and was unaware of what had happened. At first, out of his own need, Brad told Jim that he was going to drive up to tell Jenny what had happened, but when he thought it over, he went drinking and ended up at Lana's apartment, sleeping on her couch. He wouldn’t return home as Will had then moved back in at Sam’s request and was seeing to the funeral arrangements.
Karen Wolek’s callous attitude shocked and alienated first Lana and then Larry, each, in turn, telling her that unless something affected her personally, she didn’t give a damn. When Jenny came in to learn about Naomi’s death from Dr. Jim Craig, Karen was present and, learning that Will and Brad, father and son, were both in love with Jenny, she blurted out that all this time she thought Jenny was leading a boring life.
Peter Janssen had told Dorian that she judged people on the basis of her own behavior when Dorian gossiped about Will carrying on a "flagrant affair" with Jenny. When Jim told Dorian that he had refused to accept Will's proffered resignation, she told him that two members of the Hospital Board had called to complain about Will's behavior and would have to be dealt with. Jim told her he was too busy and would worry about that at the time of the next board meeting.
Tony Lord and Will Vernon had convinced Pat Kendall that she had been letting her young son Brian get the upper hand with her own anxieties about not telling Brian that Tony was his real father. Before Tony left for the Carribean, Pat insisted that the boy go to an amusement park with herself and Tony, an outing that she had allowed Brian to beg off from before. Tony gave Pat an engagement ring which she accepted and she ùade it clear to Brian that she intended to marry Tony soon after he returned. When Brian asked her if she would still marry Tony if Paul Kendall were alive, she told him she couldn’t answer such a question.
Pat left Brian with a sitter when Tony called from the Carribbean to tell her he would meet her at a restaurant immediately after his plane landed. Pat waited in vain and came home to find Larry there to tell her that Tony was seriously injured when he was hit by another car pulling out of the airport parking lot. After Tony was operated on for a ruptured spleen and Pat learned that the staff had been unable to stabilize his condition, Larry gave her a bunch of violets that were with Tony's belongings when he was brought in. When Viki came to be with her, Pat told her that Tony might not live through the day and if he died, she would never tell Brian that Tony was his father.
In a Washington D.C. Bureau office, Agent Ray Benedict sent for an undercover man who was about to be discharged from the hospital after a long recovery from severe burns … Paul Kendall. He told Paul that they had no choice but to allow the report of Paul's death to go uncorrected because his "cover" was blown a long time ago and even then there might be people in the underground revolutionary organization he had penetrated who doubted that Paul was really killed. He told Paul that he was being honorably retired with the thanks of his superiors at the agency and recommended Paul visit a psychiatrist familiar with the probems he would then face.
Paul learned that Pat and his son Brian were living in Llanview and that the last three men who might suspect the truth had been safely put away in prison. He asked the Agency Psychiatrist if he had any suggestions as to how he should let his wife and son know he was alive. He then said he wouldn't know about the human side of what he was going through, remarking bitterly that his advice would probably be to let Pat read about it in the papers, just the way she found out about his "death."
Brad got drunk on the eve of his mother's funeral. At Tony Lord's place, he noticed Paul Kendall's interest when there was talk of Pat and Tony and lurched over to Paul's table, accusing him of bothering "his girl" as Paul was learning of Pat's engagement and Tony's accident from Lana. Lana did not allow Brad to stay at her place because she was frightened by his anger and he turned up the following morning in his bed at the Vernon house, unable to remember having come home. Samantha begged her brother to stay but he refused.
Dorian was increasingly critical of Brad's behavior as it was not in keeping with her image of someone who had a business to run. She told Will, after Naomi's funeral, that she would try very hard to see that he remained on the hospital staff. After she left, Will asked Sam what she thought of Dorian's performance, adding that he already knew she had been attacking him to Jim Craig. Instead of going to the Vernon house after the services, Brad went to see Jenny. When he told her he didn’t know what he would do if she kept pushing him away, Jenny told him angrily not to threaten her; that she couldn’t be responsible for what he did.
Paul finally decided he had go to see Pat and walked into her office as Pat was checking by phone on Tony's condition. Trembling with shock, Pat was unable to understand how Paul could have gone along with the agency's orders to keep her believing he was dead and allowing her to tell Brian that he had lost his father. Paul learned that Tony Lord was the man Pat knew as Tony Harris and that Brian had not been told that Tony was his father because Brian didn’t trust Tony. Pat tried to convince Paul that Tony had changed from the footloose, irresponsible man who walked out on her. As they were arguing, a young eager-beaver reporter came in and introduced himself to Paul. He was Richard Abbott, late Victor Lord’s nephew and recently arrived in Llanview to work at the Banner.
The following day, Richard told Pat he realized who Paul was. He insisted that it was a very important news story 'which he offers to take a crack at writing if it is too painful for Pat, herself. Pat asked him to suppress the story ‘til she knew the right thing to do about her son. As he turned away, she asked: "Richard, are you going to print the story?" His reply was, "I have more respect for you than that." Paul came in to ask if she had told Brian, and when she begged for another day or two, he told her he was going to see Brian that day.
But Pat was summoned to the hospital where Tony's condition had worsened as pneumonia had set in further endangering his life. Pat realized this when she was immediately ushered into his room as her previous pleas to just sit with Tony had been refused. As Pat sad holding Tony's hand, and willing him to live by tearfully reaffirming her love and her need for him in the future they planned together, Paul, who had moved unnoticed to the doorway, overheard her affirmations and prayers.
General Hospital
Written by: Eileen & Robert Mason Pollock
Produced by: Tom Donovan
June 1977
Dr. Lesley Faulkner and Terri Arnett were in Venice trying to forget the men they love, both of whom were threatened by the other women in their lives. Les was engaged to Dr. Rick Webber, new head of cardiology, but broke her engagement and flew to Venice because Dr. Monica Webber threatened to ruin Rick's career by revealing her torrid affair with Rick unless Les broke off with him. Monica had confided to Dr. Gail Adamson, however, that she loved Rick too much to ever have made good on her threat. Rick was heart-broken by Les's turning away, feeling she didn’t have enough love or confidence that he could handle the demands of his new job and a home life. As Rick was “free,” Monica told husband Jeff Webber that their marriage was over, that she couldn’t forgive his affair with Heather Grant, that the baby Heather was carrying would always come between them. She demanded he agree to a no-fault divorce or she would sue on grounds of adultery, naming Heather co-respondent. When Monica covertly underlined her threat in Lee Baldwin's office, a reluctant Jeff consented.
Laura Faulkner, Lesley’s teenage daughter, had opted not to accompany Les to Venice and was staying with widower Dr. Adam Streeter and his daughter Jill. Jill appeared to have a drinking problem and had just forged Adam's signature on a withdrawal slip to extract money from her trust fund to buy a car. To celebrate, Jill conned Laura into cutting school and going to the country for a picnic. Jill's thermos was laced with vodka, and it soon became clear to Laura that Jill was too drunk to drive. Jill persuaded younger Laura to drive. An accident resulted. Jill was all right, but Laura received a severe blow on the head and was hospitalized for observation. Thus Adam found out about the drinking and the car in one fell swoop. He packed Jill off to camp as a kitchen worker to pay for the car, and castigated Dr. Gina Dante for not warning him about the alcohol when she first found out. Gina reminded him that they weren't close enough then, and he would have thought her meddlesome. Adam later apologized.
In the hospital, Laura confided to Jeff that she didn’t want to return to the Streeter house, but would feel better if they could stop by the apartment and pick up Les's tape recorder so she could work through her feelings, as she had done before, on the recorder. While Laura was demonstrating the machine for him, the tape continued past where she had stopped. Recognizing the voices, Jeff sent Laura from the room and listened to the conversation between Les and Monica during which Monica made her threat to Les. Further, Monica revealed she was just putting in time with Jeff and had always loved Rick. The end of the tape solved another mystery. Everyone wondered why Les was so careless on the stairs, causing her to fall and subsequently lose the baby she was carrying. The tape ended with Les's following Monica from the study and her scream as she fell. Monica was out of the apartment and didn't know what happened. Jeff borrowed the tape recorder and played it for chief of staff Steve Hardy and later for Rick.
Jeff’s instinct had been to fight Monica, but then his love was dead. He demanded information from Lee about a Caribbean divorce, saying he wanted Monica out of his life as soon as possible. Lee warned that the laws in the U.S. regarding quickie divorces changed constantly, but Jeff was adamant. Rick lured Les home and played the tape for her. She was relieved that he knew. He told her that their love was more important than his job, and he wanted a future together. Les was still afraid Monica would ruin things. Monica returned from an out-of-town consultation, and reported to Rick, her chief. After perfunctorially listening to her report, Rick played the tape for her. Monica asked to explain, but Rick refused to listen to her, telling her he wanted no more lies. He made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing more to do with her, that his love had died for her when Jeff had had his accident several months ago because of them. Rick warned Monica that her obsessive love was sick and urged her to find real love with someone else. Monica was devastated. Later, Jeff confronted her, too. He told her he wanted the quickest divorce possible, and he didn’t care which of them got it. At his urging, Monica confessed she never loved him. Jeff asked Monica to tell Les she never intended to carry out her threat regarding Rick. Monica did, surprising Les.
Terri Arnett broke off with Dr. Mark Dante when she realized his wife Mary Ellen – Mellie - could kill Mark if he left her for Terri. - Mellie had recently been released from Lake Cliff sanitarium after convincing her doctors she was really well enough to be treated as an out-patient. Aware of Mark and Terri's attraction, Mellie tried to kill Terri by having her chauffeur Lenny tamper with Terri's brakes. The subsequent accident resulted in Terri 's having brain surgery. Mellie paid Lenny with an emerald ring, which she then claimed to have lost. Mellie had been living on pins and needles awaiting Terri's return, afraid Terri would tell Mark of her threats to kill them. - Mark was so hurt by Terri's telling him – falsely - that she didn’t love him, that he had closed the door on that part of his life. He was very concerned at Mellie's nervousness when he mentioned the insurance company might have a lead to her ring. Mellie tried to pass off the loss as unimportant, when earlier she had professed great attachment to the ring. Mark also insisted Mellie fire Lenny when he discovered Lenny and the garage that worked on the car had been padding the bills. Lenny pointed out to Mellie that she could fire him, but he still expected his salary, as he was her good friend.
Mellie began a campaign to get Mark away from Port Charles before Terri returned. She told her father she wanted Mark away for fear of losing him to Terri; she told Steve Mark was unhappy in his job and was only staying out of gratitude. Both men checked with Mark, who denied either story was true. Mark tried to get Mellie to tell him what was going on, to no avail. Terri, lonesome for her supper club and her career, especially since Les had returned home, followed in a few days.
Much to the dismay of Dr. Gina Dante, Heather Grant developed toxemia of pregnancy. Fearful of complicating the medical situation, Gina hospitalized Heather, but kept the full consequences of her condition from Heather. Diana and Peter Taylor had been planning to adopt Heather's baby. Heather had told her mother that she was going to demand $10,000 for the baby when it was born. When Heather refused to be honest with Diana about her expectations, Mrs. Grant told Diana, who agreed. However, after many sleepless nights due to her keeping it from Peter, Diana finally told him. Peter refused to be a party to it all, telling the stunned Diana that it was not only immoral, it was illegal.
After Monica asked for the no-fault divorce, Jeff went to Heather and told her he would be free soon, and asked her to marry him. When he couldn’t say he loved her, Heather turned him down. Jeff confided to Steve Hardy - unknown to Jeff, Steve was his natural father - that the baby was his, but Heather refused to marry him. Heather's condition worsened, and Gina had to tell her that they might have to take the baby to save Heather's life. Heather refused to let them when the odds for the child were only 50-50. Gina felt there might be some other reason, and talked to Diana. Diana told Gina about the money, then went to Heather and told her there would be no money, so if that was the reason for hanging on, not to. Heather still refused the Cesarean. Unbeknownst to everyone, she had decided to keep her baby. Feeling the real father of the baby might be able to persuade her, Gina found out it was Jeff. But before Gina could get to him, Heather's condition worsened, although she kept the symptoms quiet.
Audrey Hobart’s relationship with husband Tom Baldwin had deteriorated since she told him there was no chance for a reconciliation because she was in love with Steve. Audrey and Tom's son Tommy had opted to live with Tom. Since Tom felt Port Charles wasn’t big enough for them both, he had applied for a job in Salt Lake City. He'had led Tommy to believe that they would be going there only for a vacation. Audrey got wind of it when Tommy asked if Steve, Audrey, and he could honeymoon with Tom instead of going to Hawaii. Audrey confronted Tom, demanding he be honest with Tommy. She also asked what he expected to do about the shared custody agreement, bounce Tommy around every six months? Tom would not be dissuaded, but finally did tell their son that the move to Salt Lake City would be permanent. Tommy was devastated and asked Steve to change Tom’s mind, Steve tried, unsuccessfully. When Audrey threatened to fight for full custody, Tom retaliated by saying she would never get her divorce. Audrey was devastated to realize she might have to choose between her son and the man she loved.
Lee still had reservations about a Caribbean divorce for Jeff and Monica, so when the Webbers decided Monica would get the divorce, Lee sent her to Chet Davis, who made the arrangements for her.
While Gail Adamson was with Lee, going over some papers restructuring the trust for the royalties of her late husband's book, Lee received word that Caroline and Bobby were missing. The Coast Guard reported that they took their boat out; a fishing boat saw an explosion, and out of the wreckage they found a piece of wood with the name of the boat. Lee was devastated. He left for Florida immediately, but there was no better news the following day.
While Jeff trying to convince Terri to see Mark for the last time so that he could sign her off as a patient, Terri remembersed the accident, that her brakes failed. Jeff was puzzled when he reported it to Mark, overheard by Mellie, because he'd just had the car in the shop the day before the accident. Later on, Mark made two more interesting observations: Peter reported he thought Mellie's fear of Terri was something over than a fear Terri would take Mark away; then Audrey reported Terri seemed afraid of Mellie. Mellie warned Lenny, her ex-chauffeur, who was blackmailing her because he tampered with the brakes at Mellie's insistence. that the insurance company was then thinking of advertising to get the ring she paid him with, but claimed she lost. Mark checked with the mechanic who worked on Terri's car and found he put in new brake shoes. The mechanic also told Mark that Lenny brought the Dante car in too often and seemed to be a know-it-all about cars.
Heather hid signs of hyperreflexia from Gina so they wouldn’t take the baby. When Gina became aware of it, she went to Jeff, who, backed by Mark, told Heather that he would be free soon and that he would marry her, even if she lost this baby. Tired and sick, Heather agreed, but before Jeff could relay the news to Gina, Heather had a convulsion.
Outwardly, Diana was taking the news that Heather would keep the baby calmly. but her dreams were full of Heather's changing her mind.
When Tom persisted in his plan to move from Port Charles, insisting that Tommy would adjust, Steve warned he would never take him back on staff, if he left this way.
July 1977
Terri Arnett finally went for her final check-up with Dr. Mark Dante. Following reports from friends that Terri and his wife Mary Ellen – Mellie - seemed to be afraid of each other, Mark made a point of asking Terri about it. Terri passed it off as over concern on their part. Mellie, meanwhile, had had a duplicate emerald ring made. - Mellie had a long history of emotional instability. While she was Lake Cliff sanitarium, Mark and Terri fell in love. Mellie became aware of it and enlisted the aid of the sanitarium driver, Lenny, to fix the brakes on Terri's car so she'd have an accident on her way home from a visit. When Mellie learned Mark was returning to town with Terri, she had Lenny repair the brakes, and bided her time. Finally, she could bear it no longer. She went to Terri's office at her supper club and told her to be at her apartment at 5:30 or she'd sue for alienation of her husband's affections. Terri gave in, but tried to reach Mark, who was tied up in surgery. Terri kept the appointment, and Lenny fixed the brakes of her car. Mellie drove Terri from the apartment with threats of killing Mark before letting Terri have him. Terri crashed and had to have brain surgery. The whole sequence of events had only recently come back to her. However, earlier, she remembered enough to take Mellie's threats seriously, and Terri broke up with Mark by telling him she didn't love him. Lenny's payment for his work was the $10,000 emerald ring Mellie had inherited from her mother. She told Mark she lost it. The insurance company wasn't willing to pay, though, until they were sure the ring was gone. Mellie burst in as Terri was leaving Mark's office. She then accused Mark of still being interested in Terri. He reassured her. She then showed him the ring, saying she found it when the cleaners came to pick up their bedroom rug. Mark was suspicious, so that night, he checked for an inscription. It wasn't in the ring. A jeweler confirmed the emerald was also fake. Mark met with McCloskey, the insurance company representative, and found they had located the ring in a pawn shop in L.A., and the ticket was signed by Lenny Hawkins. Mark became suspicious of Lenny when he got excessive car repair bills and made Mellie fire him as her personal chauffeur. When he first learned Terri said her brakes failed the day of the accident, a fact her brother Jeff denied because he'd just had the brakes checked the day before, Mark checked with the garage, and found Jeff was right. - Mellie learned from Mark that Lenny would be arrested when the ring and pawn ticket arrived. She went to warn him, and found herself fending off a pass. She scratched Lenny. Then Mellie went to Boston to hide with her father. Mark warned Ben she was coming and asked him to watch her.
Mark confronted Lenny, who responded that if he went to jail, so would Mellie. Lenny then told Mark the whole ugly story. Mark wasn't sure of Lenny's veracity, so he checked the story out with Rick Webber, Terri's other brother, was iwass privy to Terri's secret: she broke off with Mark because she felt sure Mellie would kill him if she didn't. Mark realized he was still in love with Terri and swore Lenny and Mellie would pay for their crime. He planned to go to Boston to confront Mellie, but an urgent case kept him tied up. Lenny called and warned Mellie. Mellie attempted to arrange an escape to Paris. Lee got the DA to hold off putting out any “wants" on Mellie, saying her husband would bring her back. While Mellie was packing, Mark arrived and explained the mess to her father. Ben said if it was true, Mellie would have to pay. He warned Mark that Mellie's emotional state was unstable. Mellie finally admitted everything to Mark and Ben, saying she had a right to get rid of her husband's mistress.
Heather Grant and Jeff Webber's baby had to be taken by C-section when Heather went into convulsions induced by her toxemia of pregnancy. The baby was alive, but soon went into respiratory arrest. Dr. Gina Dante saved it by administering artificial respiration. The boy baby was then taken to preemie intensive care. His vital signs stabilized temporarily, then he was in serious danger when the duct in the heart didn’t close, causing the heart to pump blood into the lungs, causing further breathing difficulties. Gina, Rick, and pediatric surgeon Keith Raymond consulted about surgery. All agreed to wait, hoping the duct would close by itself, because the baby was in such a weakened condition just with the effort of breathing. The baby next went into heart failure, which Gina arrested with injections of digitalis. Soon the baby, then named Stephen Lars by Jeff and Heather, showed signs of toxicity from the digitalis. Rick, who had disqualified himself from surgery on his brother's baby, consulted with Steve Hardy, ironically, the baby's grandfather. Helene Webber had left her husband Lars. She and Steve were in love when Steve went to Korea. When Steve was reported missing, Helene returned to Lars, but gave birth to Jeff, Steve's son. Only Steve and Terri knew the truth, and were keeping the secret, so as not to damage Jeff's image of his parents. To Rick, Steve hinted at a special relationship with Jeff, then suggested they set a time limit: if the duct didn’t close by the following morning, they would have to operate.
At first, Stephen’s condition was kept from Heather, but when visits to him were constantly postponed, Jeff and Gina leveled with her. At first she blamed herself for fighting so hard to continue to carry the baby, feeling she waited too long to give permission for surgery. Gina and Jeff reassured her. Jeff and Monica were then divorced, and Jeff was planning to marry Heather. Terri stopped by to welcome her to the family. She invited Jeff and Heather to stay at the Webber house. As Terri described it, Heather played dumb. But her lie caught up with her when Terri later suggested Heather could redecorate the bedroom Jeff and Monica shared. Heather responded that that room become the nursery and she and Jeff take a room down the hall. Others passed off the lie as embarrassment, pointing out Jeff and Heather conceived a baby somewhere. Terri hoped Jeff wasn't in for more misery. Meanwhile, Larry Joe, Heather's ex-husband, began brooding about his hand in exposing that Monica and Rick were having an affair to an unsuspecting Jeff by luring Jeff to the apartment at Heather's instigation and with her promise they'd get back together.
Rick and Lesley Faulkner were engaged again. They planned to be married after Steve Hardy and Audrey Hobart were married. While Monica Webber was in the Caribbean getting a divorce from Jeff, with Jeff's blessing, Monica's career at General Hospital was in jeopardy. Steve planned to fire Monica. However, Lesley intervened on her behalf, pointing out what an excellent physician Monica was. Steve agreed to keep her on, provided Rick kept Monica on his cardiac surgery service. Rick agreed, reminding Monica that from then on their relationship would be strictly professional.
Tom Baldwin had told Audrey Hobart that he would hold off signing their divorce papers unless she agreed to let their son Tommy move with him to Salt Lake City. When Tommy made it clear to Audrey that he was very unhappy at the prospect of being so far away from Steve and her, Audrey dug in her heels to fight for Tommy's sole custody. Tom refused Peter Taylor's offer to act as a disinterested party in plumbing Tommy's real feelings. The constant fighting drove Tommy to run away. The morning he was found, after spending the night in the park, Audrey admonished him, then assured him of her love. Tom overheard the latter, and accused Audrey of coddling her son, of not teaching him to face his problems, instead of running away from them. He promised to deal harshly with Tommy.
Adam Streeter went to Mexico City for a medical convention. While he was gone, Dr. Gary Lansing, the young man who left Gina for a rich woman who promised to buy him a practice, arrived to be a partner with Keith Raymond. He tried desperately to regain Gina's attention, but Gina told him she was through with him for good.
Diana Taylor used Jessie Brewer to find out Mike Mallon was still at the Children's Center. Learning Mrs. Endicott, their case-worker before Mike was taken away from them, was looking for another job, Diana asked Lee Baldwin to place Mrs. Endicott with another agency, hoping Mrs. Endicott would then be able to explain why Mike was taken from them. - Pat Lambert, an old enemy of Diana's, returned to town briefly. Learning of the impending adoption of Mike, Pat anonymously told the directors of the center of Diana's involvement in the Phil Brewer murder case. The center felt Diana was unfit to be Mike's mother. –
Mike Mallon was brought to the hospital with a broken arm. Without thinking, when Diana saw him, she took him to his favorite hamburger place. Leslie and Jessie were frantic. They finally reached Peter, who found them and got Mike back to the hospital before the social worker realized anything was wrong.
Heather and Jeff’s baby survived the operation on his heart. Jeff thanked Monica for her assistance. She hoped it would help repay some of the damage she had done. Meanwhile, Larry Joe almost fainted when Laura told him Heather and Jeff had a baby. He took flowers to her in the hospital, then apparently suffered a heart attack in the corridor outside her room.
When Tom accused a sick Tommy of faking, Audrey couldn’t believe it. Tom's insensitivity spurred her to ask Lee to start divorce proceedings again. This time she wanted to file on grounds of desertion. Lee told Tom he was on Audrey's side.
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