Review
AMC, OLTL, and General Hospital June and July 1976
August 1976
General Hospital
Written by: Eileen & Robert Mason Pollock
Produced by: Tom Donovan
Three recent events had convinced Dr. Lesley Faulkner that there was no future for her with her husband, millionaire Cameron Faulkner: Cam's evident delight, devoid of compassion, when he produced the purported father of Lesley's daughter, Laura Vining; Cam's blatant attempt to get Dr. Peter Taylor out of Lesley's life by having Peter offered a job in California; the discovery of a cancelled check for $25,000 given to Barbara Vining by Cam. Cam was in New York to find out who had been embezzling from him. Peter persuaded Lesley to leave before Cam returned, somewhat apprehensive for Lesley if she didn't, citing Cam's almost pathological possessiveness.
Cam had returned early from New York to confront the embezzler, Mac, his trusted associate. Cam demanded his money back, saying he always kept what belonged to him. Mac had gambled it away. Cam fired him, without sever-once pay, saying Mac had had that and more. Mac warned that one day Cam would get what he deserved for running roughshod over people. Lesley packed her suitcase, made a hotel reservation, and prepared to leave the apartment. As she opened the door, Cam walked in.
Cam refused to allow Lesley to leave. She insisted their marriage was over. Cruelly Cam pointed out that a marriage meant a husband and wife sharing a bed and told Lesley she had never been a wife to him, always putting others Laura, the clinic project, patients ahead of him. Lesley pointed out that he was admitting the marriage was over. Cam suggested that Lesley wasn't the type to respond to patience and gentleness. He raped her. Meanwhile, Peter discussed Lesley's plight with Dr. Steve Hardy. Steve didn’t want to believe ill of Cam, but Peter convinced him Cam was not a generous man. He noted Cam didn't give people what they wanted but what he thought they should have. Peter was glad Lesley was safe.
While Cam was mixing a drink and taunting her, Lesley ran out the door, but the private elevator wasn't there. Cam grabbed her and told her that if she wanted to get away, he would take her. He put her in the car and headed for the mountain lodge he purchased recently. Lesley pleaded with him to let her go. Cam retorted that he never gave up what was his. He informed Lesley that he was going to teach her to be a proper wife to him, that he would teach her ways to respond to him she never knew existed. Incredulous, Lesley asked if he intended to rape her again. If necessary. Lesley told him that if he laid a hand on her, she would kill him. She grabbed for the steering wheel, and Cam tried to wrestle it away from her. They crashed. Lesley was found wandering in the woods by the state police. After being taken to General Hospital, suffering from shock and exposure, Lesley remembered a bridge, enabling the police to find Cam, dead in the car wreckage.
Singer Terri Arnett, Lesley's best friend, rushed to her side. Lesley poured out the awful story to Terri, ending in tears. Terri, who had often acted as peacemaker between the Faulkners, wondered how she could have been so wrong about Cam, but put it together. It fell to Peter to break the news of Cam's death to Lesley. When he was finished, she cried that she killed Cam. Peter pointed out how foolish that was. He asked Les to consider that she was in the clutches of a truly evil man.
Upon hearing of Cam's death, Kimberly Hughes, a writer for Men-Women magazine, sneaked into Lesley's room, demanding a story about Cam, asking details of life with this "giant of a man." Lesley asked her to leave, but it took the intervention of Dr. Rick Webber to get rid of Hughes.
The Men-Women article told how Peter and Lesley saved a man from committing suicide. It was the inspiration for another person in Port Charles. Upon overhearing the Taylors' babysitter mention she had leave her job on short notice, Heather Grant, fascinated by the lifestyle portrayed in the article, contacted Diana Taylor to apply for the job. Heather heaped praise on Diana, winning her over with flattery and feigned sincerity. Diana asked for references, which Heather and her mother forged, saying it was the only way she could find to better herself, to meet the kind of people she wanted to be like. Diana accepted the references. No sooner did Heather start work than she began a campaign to move in with the Taylors, culminating with a fake phone call with her mother. Heather told Diana she had to quit and return home because her mother didn’t want her living alone in a strange town. Diana had broached the subject of Heather's moving in to Peter. He refused. However, after meeting Heather, and realizing the conveniences of a live-in babysitter, he consented.
Heather had met orderly Derek on a cruise and mistaken him for a doctor. She learned the truth back in Port Charles and turned cool. She had her sights set on the likes of Dr. Jeff Webber.
Diana Taylor had been having grave doubts about her ability to hold onto Peter, feeling totally inadequate when compared to beautiful Dr. Lesley Faulkner. A psychiatrist recommended to her by Peter guessed the problem immediately. Unable to handle it, Diana stopped therapy. Diana feared Lesley and Peter were falling in love, drawn by the common bond of their work. Neither Audrey nor Terri was able to dissuade Diana. When Peter and Lesley were invited to address a symposium in Chicago, Diana was very upset. Her mother suggested she would stay with Martha and Heather, and Diana persuaded Peter to take her along. Lesley's accident and Cam's death caused Peter to postpone the trip. Diana didn't understand why Peter couldn’t still go. He pointed out it was a joint project. Besides, postponing would give Lesley a chance to get away later. Finally, unable to hold it in any more, Diana blurted out all her feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, saying she feared losing Peter to Lesley, especially as Cam was dead. Peter lovingly reassured Diana, but she was not totally convinced she was wrong.
When Lesley asked Terri about Diana's not visiting her, Terri explained Diana's feelings. Lesley had Diana come to her room, where she explained that the "romance" between Peter and her was trumped up by Cam, who hoped to use Diana's jealousy to keep Peter away from Lesley. After Lesley explained Cam's aberrant thinking before his death, Diana felt more secure in Peter's love.
Following a fall down hospital stairs, Dr. Steve Hardy was paralyzed from the waist down by a fracture of the 7th thoracic vertebra. Dr. Otto Marriner, head of neurosurgery, said surgery was contraindicated since the bone sliver that was pressing against the cord was in an almost unreachable position on the internal side of the spine. He recommended that Steve let nature take its course, and perhaps he would heal himself in less than a year. Meanwhile, Steve had to wear a brace and function from a wheelchair.
Steve couldn’t stand the idea of being an invalid, especially since he and Audrey Hobart had just found their love for each other again. Audrey insisted she would marry him anyway, and outlines plans for how they could get around. Steve pointed out that the paralysis was total, meaning he wasn't able to perform sexually. He told Audrey their marriage was off.
Rick Webber told Steve that when he was in Lamonda, Africa, he met a man who had performed surgery in a case very similar to Steve's. Steve invited Dr. Mark Dante for a consultation, over the strenuous objections of Dr. Marriner. It seemed that Dante had served under Marriner at another hospital as an intern. Marriner classified Dante as a hot-shot. Dante insisted Marriner was angry because he won an honor post Marriner had earmarked for a protege.
After examining Steve’s x-rays, Mark told Steve the fragment could be reached through an antrolateral approach cutting through the chest and going in from the side. Mark agreed to spend the night in Port Charles and consult with Marriner and Steve in the morning. Audrey begged Steve not to consider surgery. Rick invited Dante to stay at the Webber house. Dante found Terri Webber Arnett good company.
In the morning, Dante and Marriner met before seeing Steve. Marriner revealed that Dante is an ex-con, who persuaded a member of the parole board, Judge Lowell, to take an interest in him. Dante pointed out he had paid back Lowell - Dante had revealed he was married to Lowell's daughter, who had been in a sanitarium for two years, refusing to speak to him.- Steve opted for surgery. Dante pulled Audrey aside and explained that her lack of support might give Steve too much to handle during the dangerous operation. Realizing Dante was right, Audrey went to Steve with her blessing, to find him wondering if he had made the right decision. She pointed out that Marriner was often too conservative and might well be afraid of being shown up. Marriner had refused to operate, so Steve arranged for Dante to do it. Dante asked Rick to assist, and Rick asked his brother Jeff to assist with the thoracic surgery. Steve gave his consent to the team, calling Jeff in to give added moral support. Steve was very close to the Webbers, having known their father, Lars. Steve felt Lars gave Rick the lion's share of attention, and wanted to make some of it up to Jeff.
The long surgery began. Jeff assisted well in his part of the surgery. Dante got most of the fragment using a high-speed drill. He had to use a curette to scrape away the last bit of bone. Steve started both epidural and bone bleeding. It took an hour to stop the hemorrhaging! Dante finished, and they closed. The prognosis was good.
Mark Dante, aware of Steve's great impatience to be well, asked Audrey to recommend a tough physiotherapist. After he listed all the qualifications, mainly having to do with not letting Steve get away with anything, Audrey, as he had hoped, volunteered. Otto Marriner, angry that Steve rejected his opinion and feeling a lack of confidence, resigned as head of neurosurgery. Steve offered the job to Dante, who explained that he was an ex-con. At 17, he beat to death the man who killed his father. His hands were lethal weapons, he had been a Golden Gloves champ. Steve still wanted him. Dante had to go to Boston, but promised an answer when he returned.
The Webber home contained several unhappy people. Terri turned off to men after her husband's death some five years ago. Rick and Jeff's wife, Monica, were once in love. Monica married Jeff after Rick went to Africa and wrote her that it was all over. Rick was captured by rebels and held captive for many months. Since his return, Monica had been plotting to be with him again. Unable to stay in the same house with Monica, whom he still loved, knowing she shared his brother's bed, Rick had decided to move out. Monica finally decided it was best —for her, and set about persuading Terri to help her find and furnish the apartment, which Monica envisioned as a love nest. Monica had also chosen surgery, Rick's service, as her specialty. But she had to stay on clinic duty until Lesley recovered. Monica went to see Lesley, demanding to know how long she would have to wait. Acceding to Monica's demand for an early release so she could do what she wanted, Lesley promised to return soon. But Lesley was upset with the pressure, and blurted it out to Peter. He reprimanded Monica for her lack of tact and feeling, saying it looked like she was not very good medical material after all. Jeff also let her have it, to which Monica replied that he had what he wanted. When Rick confronted her, Monica turned it all around, saying Lesley misunderstood.
Dr. Rex Pearson, Monica and Jeff's head resident, thought Terri needed a man and set out to be the one. He put her off guard by keeping her apprised of Steve's condition after the fall, then hid in the men's room after she closed her supper club and attacked her. Rick happened by, letting himself in with his key, and pulled Rex off. Rick beat Rex, who wanted to strike back insidiously. Learning from another intern that Monica never noted a previous leg injury that threw an embolism which killed little Joey Galvin following surgery to correct a subsequent injury, Rex wondered if Rick might not be covering for Monica, and contacted Mrs. Galvin, suggesting she look into the possibility of a malpractice suit against Rick and Monica. The lawyer, Mr. Bannister, wondered at Pearson's interest in the case, but told Mrs. Galvin he would look into it and let her know if there was a case.
September 1976
Dr. Steve Hardy, recovering from surgery to alleviate paralysis of his lower body due to spinal pressure, began to regain movement, with the help of passive massage administered by nurse Audrey Hobart. Steve and Audrey planned to be married one month after the day Steve was able to walk. Their plans to tell Audrey's son Tommy met an obstacle when Tommy declared that a friend said Tommy didn’t have a father because a father was someone who did things with his son. Audrey told him his real father died in Mexico. But Tommy also remembered that his step-father, Jim Hobart, walked out on them. He felt mistrustful of step-fathers, even after Audrey told him she was going to marry his good friend, Dr. Steve. To reassure Tommy he had a real father, Steve took him on a tour of the hospital, pointing out where Tom Baldwin worked. He and Audrey also investigated how Steve could adopt Tommy. There should be no problem since the coroner had a document to prove Tom was dead in Mexico.
But was he ? Dr. Tom Baldwin was serving a life sentence in a Mexican prison for a murder he didn't commit. He passed out in a bar, and when he woke, he was holding a knife and a man was dead. Tom sent Tommy, with his nurse, back to Audrey. Unbeknownst to Tom, the nurse kidnapped Tommy, and never told Audrey of his real plight. Tom was resigned to his fate, until lawyer Ramon Hernandez took pity on him, perhaps out of boredom after being eased out of the family law firm by his son. Hernandez discovered a possible eye-witness, but urged Tom not to get his hopes up because the red-tape was tremendous.
Dr. Mark Dante, the man who performed the operation on Steve, had been offered the job of chief of neurosurgery by Steve. Mark wanted the job, but he had a wife who had been institutionalized for two years for depression and her doctors in Boston didn’t want her moved. His father-in-law urged him to take the job. He accepted. As he was telling this to Terri Arnett, sister of his friend Rick Webber, Terri told Mark it wasn't right for him to walk out, that he owed his wife Mary Ellen something. Mark consulted with Dr. Peter Taylor about a local sanitarium. Two years ago, Mark and Mary Ellen were having an argument in the car. Mary Ellen wanted Mark to leave clinic practice for a more lucrative private practice. Mark wanted to stay where he was. Mary Ellen threatened to get out of the car. Unaware she had loosened her seat-belt, he slammed on the brakes, smashing Mary Ellen against the dashboard. She was pregnant. As a result of the accident, she lost the baby and had to have a complete hysterectomy. - Mark moved Mary Ellen to Port Charles. The head of the sanitarium, Dr. Ralph Stason, provided Mary Ellen, once an artist, with art materials. He then warned Mark never to discuss the past or his relationship with Mary Ellen in conversations with her. Ralph's therapy began to work. Mary Ellen talked to Mark about flowers he brought her and she began to paint. Terri was elated that she had been of help, but was torn up because she realized she was falling in love with Mark. Her solution was to try to avoid him as much as possible, turning down dinner. However, she had to relent finally when Mark saved her from another onslaught by Dr. Rex Pearson.
Diana and Peter Taylor decided that finally their marriage was on solid enough footing to consider adopting a child. Diana had to have a hysterectomy following the birth of her daughter Martha. They tried an agency, but were told their chances for an infant are poor, since more women were then keeping their babies. They would have to wait two or three years. They next considered a private adoption, consulting with Adam Streeter, head of obstetrics. Adam told them much the same thing, but promised to keep an eye out. Adam learned of a private clinic in Switzerland, run by Dr. Lederer, that sometimes had babies for adoption. However, Diana and Peter would have to be in Switzerland a week before the baby was born, plus get the mother's approval of them. When Peter called Dr. Lederer, he told them he had a mother due to give birth in a week who wanted an American couple to adopt her baby. The Taylors left immediately.
Martha was left in the care of Heather Grant, the Taylors' recently hired mother's helper. Heather, a poor girl with great ambition, forged references and got the job. She wanted a life like the Taylors' and even had her future husband picked out, Dr. Jeff Webber. Heather's ex-husband appeared. Larry Joe wanted her back. Heather refused. Later, fired from his job, he had a chance to buy into a gas station, but he didn’t have the money. He demanded she steal the key to the clinic drug cabinet, so he could steal drugs to sell. Heather, a volunteer in the clinic, refused.
Larry Joe stole Dr. Monica Webber's purse. Monica and Jeff were married, but Heather had observed signs of a rocky marriage, even seeing Monica in Dr. Rick Webber's arms. Heather guessed what Larry Joe had done when Monica discovered her purse missing. Heather got the purse and got Larry Joe off her back by promising not to turn him in if he didn’t tell the Taylors about the forged references.
In the purse, Heather discovered the letter Rick wrote to Monica before he was believed dead and Monica married Jeff. In the letter, after telling Monica it was all over, Rick told her he still loved her and would never be able to get her out of his blood. Heather returned the contents of the purse, minus the letter, which she put in Jeff's mail slot in the hospital.
Dr. Rick Webber and his sister-in-law, Dr. Monica Webber, were called into Steve's office. Mrs. Galvin was bringing a malpractice suit against the hospital for the death of her son on the operating table. The only question Steve had was could Rick have covered for Monica. Rick reassured him, and Steve told them not to worry. Monica was panicky. She went to see Rick at his new apartment, saying she was afraid their past would be dragged in and everyone would discover they were still in love. Rick told her it was all over between them. Later he told her their love would die if they let it. Monica didn’t want that. After a nightmare, Monica told husband Jeff she was panicked about the malpractice suit. He determined to help and went to Mrs. Galvin's apartment. There he met a next door neighbor who was fond of Joey and privy to the fact that Mrs. Galvin wouldn't let Joey be treated for the leg injury that threw the clot that caused his death after surgery for another accident. After Mrs. Damon reported it to Steve, the suit was dropped.
Steve gave his married proteges a day off. At the lake, Jeff tells Monica he'd like to have a baby. She panicked, then told him she was not yet ready to let medicine take a back seat to motherhood. In truth, it was Rick's baby she wanted. When Monica reported Jeff's idea to Rick, he told her her future was with Jeff, not him, but he couldn’t deny he still loved her. Jeff attributed Monica's reluctance to having his baby to the fact Monica was a foundling and never had a secure home. So, with Rick's agreement to co-sign, Jeff got details about buying a house. Monica also quashed that idea. Desperate, she consulted lawyer Chet Davis about a no-fault divorce, only to discover she'd need Jeff's cooperation or grounds, such as desertion.
Meanwhile, Terri had offered them a big party for their first anniversary. When Jeff reported her lack of enthusiasm to Rick, and Rick told Monica she had hurt Jeff, Monica castigated Jeff for tattling on her and moved out of their bedroom. Unable to sleep, Jeff took pills. The following morning, when Monica came in to dress, he had a hard time waking up. He was late, but he decided to have it out. He grabbed her arm, to keep her from running away again. She wrenched away. Still groggy, Jeff took uppers. When Terri found out, she told him he ought to know better, but Jeff felt he had nowhere to go but up. Monica used the ensuing bruise on her arm to convince Rick Jeff mistreated her.
Rex Pearson accidentally learned of Monica's visit to the lawyer from his friend Chet Davis. He tried to use the information to blackmail Monica into becoming his lover. She refused, then set things up with Rick to cover, in case Rex went to him. Jeff showed Terri the letter, which he thought Monica put in his mail slot. He felt Monica had been in love with Rick all along.
Monica was very upset to learn Rick had had her transferred to Dr. Pearlman's surgical service, instead of to his. He claimed he couldn’t handle two surgical interns at once, but he was afraid of being that close to Monica all the time. Monica showed her bruised arm to Audrey, Terri, and Rick, claiming Jeff was not as sweet and gentle as they all thought. Jeff, unable to handle his feelings since receiving THE letter, tried to force Monica to talk again, causing her to accuse him of being high on pills. Her constant rejection of him in bed drove him to take more pills. As a result, he had a reaction, like suffocating, from them. Heather Grant, who was with him when it happened, helped him through it and promised to keep it quiet.
Jeff played into Monica's hands by getting drunk at their first anniversary party. She played the brave, understanding wife who was trying to cover for her unstable husband. Rick bought it.
Dr. Ralph Stason suggested to Mark that Mary Ellen needed more contact with the outside, although she was not ready to be released yet. Mark asked Terri to be Mary Ellen's contact. Terri agreed.
Dr. Lesley Faulkner, beseiged by reporters since her husband's death, took Rick's advice and went on a cruise. Lesley had been feeling faint and nauseous. She suspected she was pregnant. In talking with Audrey about her previous pregnancy, Lesley told Audrey that she should have had an abortion, that some babies shouldn't be born. Lesley told Terri, finally, what she suspected.
Dr. Peter Taylor and wife Diana had flown to Switzerland to try to adopt a baby, having found that they would have a long wait here, whether they went through a private adoption or an adoption agency. They arrived a week early and met the pregnant woman, Gretchen, who wanted an American couple for her baby. Gretchen told Peter her father disowned her. He was a prestigious banker. Gretchen didn't want to see the baby, which she felt would remind her always of her foolishness. Gretchen gave birth to an 8 pound boy. Peter and Diana were ecstatic because their daughter Martha wanted a baby brother. When the doctor told them Gretchen wanted to hold her baby, Diana's hopes plummeted. She felt no mother could reject a baby she had held in her arms, and Diana's fears were realized. Gretchen told them, when she held her baby she realized she was a woman, her own person. To lose the baby would be to lose a part of herself. Peter consoled Diana by telling her their happiness lay in what they had already got. Meanwhile, Heather, their mother's helper had also been caring for Tommy Baldwin while his mother Audrey was assisting her sister, whose husband had just had a heart attack. When the Taylors returned and saw how well Martha related to older Tommy, they felt Martha could accept an older sibling and returned to the adoption agency.
Lesley Faulkner had her suspected pregnancy confirmed. The doctor felt the baby would be a great comfort to Lesley after the recent death of her husband, Cam. However, Lesley came to know Cam as an evil person, and feared this child, conceived in rape, could bear the same evil as its father. Lesley considered abortion, but knew she couldn't go through with it, just as she couldn't abort an illegitimate baby when she was 18. Her friends affirmed her decision. Just as Lesley came to accept the baby, she was contacted by Cam's former secretary-mistress, Peggy Lowell. Peggy had a letter from Cam that discussed in graphic detail the differences between the two women. Since Peggy was out of work following the collapse of Cam's empire at his death, she offered the letter to Lesley for $1,000, saying that was the offer she had from Kimberly Hughes of "Men-Women Magazine." After reading the letter, Lesley wrote a check. She was also plummeted back into the abortion quandary. Her best friend, Terri Arnett, urged Lesley to discuss the whole thing with Peter. Peter assured Lesley her fears were groundless, saying Lesley "has enough love to give to make any child turn out right."
Mary Ellen Dante, wife of Mark Dante, new head of neurosurgery, had been confined to sanitariums since the loss of their baby and a hysterectomy following an accident caused by Mark's slamming on the brakes during an argument in the car. Mark moved Mellie to Lake Cliff, outside Port Charles, when he accepted his new position. Mellie had been making progress, she then spoke to Mark and had resumed painting. Mellie asked Mark to take her to a play, but he had surgery in the morning and couldn't. Dr. Stason saw the request as a good sign and suggested Mark bring in someone to tell Mellie about the world. Mark asked his good friend Terri Arnett to do it. Terri tried to refuse, but Mark persuaded her. Terri's husband had been dead for five years. Mark was the first man she had responded to in that time. He was also fond of her, but loved his wife. Terri knew it was hopeless, but couldn't help falling in love with Mark. Terri's visit was a disaster. Mellie, a bit jealous of the lovely Terri and her friendship with Mark, brought the conversation around to babies. Mellie told Terri what Mark "did to her," and went into hysterics. Terri, dumbfounded because she had no idea, tried to comfort Mellie, to no avail. Terri called in the doctor. She and Mark left. Terri told Mark he had no right to send her in there without telling her everything. Mark's explanations fell on deaf ears. He told Terri he was afraid to reveal his bad temper.
Mark and Terri finally made up. While discussing the situation, Mark got a call. Mellie disappeared from Lake Cliff and was hit by a car. After talking to the driver, Mark felt sure it was a suicide attempt. He told Terri he was sending Mellie back to Boston, where he wouldn’t be around to drive her to such extremes. Terri went to see Mellie to plead Mark's case. Terri said all Mark wanted was Mellie's happiness. Terri pleaded, "Please forgive Mark. He loves you. Let that love get through, if nothing else."
Mellie’s father, Ben Lowell, arrived to take her back. Mark, meanwhile, told Peter of his decision. Mark felt Mellie hated him so much she'd rather be dead. Mellie asked Ben what he'd do if he had enemies, keep them in view or ignore them. Puzzled, Ben replied that he'd keep them in view. He wondered who Mellie's enemies could be, but she reverted to silence. Mark took the "enemy" to Peter, who said "enemy" could be something other than a person. Mark decided to keep Mellie in Port Charles and asked Peter to take her case.
Tom Baldwin, serving a life sentence in a Mexican prison for a murder he didn't commit, had been given hope by a Mexican lawyer. Hernandez had found an eyewitness and had petitioned the judge for Tom's release. However, since Tom had papers forged to prove he was dead, in order to save son Tommy the ignominy of having a jailbird father, the judge refused, saying he couldn't release or re-try a dead man. Tom's only hope was to find the nurse who was taking care of Tommy and supposedly took him home. Meanwhile, Steve Hardy and Tommy's mother, Audrey Hobart, were making plans to marry and for Steve to adopt Tommy.
Terri gave a first anniversary party for her brother Jeff Webber and his wife Monica. Jeff was drunk, then convinced Monica loved his brother Rick, after receiving a letter Rick once wrote to Monica. Rick and Monica were lovers, but Rick wasn't ready for commitment. He accepted a medical post in Africa. On his way, he wrote Monica a letter telling her it was all over, although he didn't think he'd ever get her out of his blood. Monica swore the letter was a proposal, after Rick was believed dead. She wanted to stay within the bosom of the Webber family, never having had a family of her own. She married Jeff. Six months later, Rick was released by insurrectionists and returned home. He had moved out of the family home to better avoid Monica, whom he still loved. The highlight of the anniversary debacle was Steve Hardy's gift, a week's honeymoon in Miami. Monica accepted, then worked on Jeff to get them out of it. When he purposely failed, feeling it would be a chance to get their rocky marriage back on an even keel, Monica faked flu. Monica had told Rick she was afraid to go away, reminding him of the bruises -accidental- Jeff gave her recently. Monica had taken advantage of the bruises to convince Rick Jeff abused her. After the trip was cancelled, Monica made a remarkable recovery. She learned Rick's surgical mentor, Dr. Pierre Namath, was at the hospital for a check-up. She visited him, reminding him she was Rick's girl. Rick entered to see Pierre, who invited them both to his farm to talk shop. Rick refused for Monica, telling Pierre she was married to his brother.
Rick was flabbergasted to find Monica at the farm when he arrived. She had taken the bus. She assured Rick Jeff knew her whereabouts, saying she left a note. After a pleasant day with Pierre, Rick's car broke down on the way home, necessitating their staying in a motel. Rick called Terri so she wouldn’t worry.
Heather Grant, aware of the rift between Jeff and Monica, and wanting Jeff for herself, saw Monica buy her bus ticket and carefully worked it into a conversation with Jeff. Jeff dropped more pills, then got drunk. Rick learned from Terri that Jeff didn't know Monica's whereabouts. He was furious, but Monica twisted it and ended up crying in Rick's arms. Jeff learned from Terri about the breakdown and tore out after them. Terri's warning phone call broke up an intimate encounter between Rick and Monica. Rick got another room. When Jeff arrived, full of recriminations and jealousy, Monica coolly told him Rick had his own room, which Jeff confirmed. He was humiliated and apologized profusely, but Monica rejected him again, asking why he didn't read her note. At home, Monica quickly wrote a note and dropped it on the floor for Jeff to find. When Jeff found it and tried to apologize, Monica told him, "That note is a symbol of the miserable state of our marriage. We were a mistake." She slept in Rick's old room again. The following day, after Rick told her they almost made a big mistake, Monica told Rick Jeff told her their marriage was a mistake.
Heather called Jeff to the Taylor house to treat Tommy. While there, he poured out his heart to her. Heather told Jeff she was no kid, that she had been married and knew the torment he felt at not being appreciated. He took more pills. They ended up in bed. When Jeff sobered up, he apologized.
Rick destroyed a scathing report by Rex Pearson on Monica. Jeff apologized to Rick. He confided he had tried to talk to Monica, but she wouldn’t listen. Jeff asked Rick to try. Rick said it was Jeff's fault, and refused help. Pearson told Jeff about Monica's visit to a divorce lawyer. - Rex pumped his old friend when Chet called Monica "Mrs. Wagner." - Jeff confronted Monica, after Pearson promised to find someone to cover for him. Monica said Pearson was lying. Jeff tried to kiss her, but Monica broke away. She went to Rick, having mussed her hair and torn her sleeve, crying that she couldn’t go back to a maniac. They made love. Rick confessed he still loved Monica and the trip to Africa was an attempt to run away. Jeff was getting drunk in a bar. The bartender persuaded Jeff to get Rick to talk to Monica, since it was obvious Rick didn't love Monica. Monica asked Rick if he would marry her if Jeff weren't in the picture. Rick wanted to talk it out with Jeff. Monica insisted Jeff accepted none of the responsibility for their problems. Rick gave Monica a key. After Rick left on an emergency, Jeff arrived, pounding on the door, calling for Rick.
The following morning, Jeff was late for work. Steve was informed. Jeff missed surgery with Dr. Pearlman. Later that day, Jeff arrived. He told Steve he had personal problems and forgot the surgery. Steve wouldn't tolerate marital problems interferring with Jeff's duties. Jeff was relieved of surgery until Steve was satisfied he could be trusted. Jeff asked Rick to tell Monica that there could be nothing. Rick refused.
After a terrible nightmare in which her baby was born a devil, Lesley decided to have an abortion and gained a leave from Steve. Lesley swore Terri not to reveal her pregnancy to Rick, denying she had feelings for Rick.
Florence Anderson, Tommy’s old nurse, received a letter from Tom asking her to come to Mexico and testify to the forged death certificate. She was afraid. She found Tommy in the park and took his picture. Florence was upset to learn Steve and Audrey would be married in a month.
Rick failed persuade Steve to remove Jeff's suspension. Mark, aware of what might be going on in the Webber menage, told Steve Jeff was good material and it would be criminal to waste his talent. He asked Steve to lift the suspension and place Jeff on his service. Steve agreed. Jeff later told Steve he was with a girl and had been drinking. Jeff promised it wouldn't happen again.
Rick told Monica he wanted his key back, that he couldn't move towards her as long as she was under Jeff's roof. Monica had a duplicate key made and moved into intern quarters. She told Steve that Jeff's unpredictable behavior had driven her out. She told Jeff they both needed space to figure things out. She told Rick Jeff suggested it because he needed space and said she rubbed him the wrong way. Rick interpreted the separation as the first step towards a divorce and agreed to let Monica come to his apartment.
After a visit from Peter, Mellie asked Mark to see Terri again. Peter, after telling Mark Mellie might be enjoying being the center of attention as she was before their marriage, offered Mellie Diana as a friend. Mellie unenthusiastically agreed. Peter noted her attitude.
November 1976
Dr. Lesley Faulkner, against the advice of her friends, had flown to New York to obtain an abortion. - On the night her husband Cam died in an auto accident, he had raped Lesley. That night and a subsequent letter Lesley bought from his mistress had convinced Lesley that Cam was a truly an evil man. She had had nightmares about bearing a devil, about carrying a bad seed. - The doctor told Lesley that her operation had been post-poned, due to a scheduling foul-up. Lesley was furious. She calleds her best friend, Terri Arnett, to tell her of the disappointment. Terri’s brother, Rick Webber, an old friend of Lesley's since intern days, overheard Terri's end of the con-versation. He got the story from Terri and left immediately for New York. Rick, one of those who pointed out Cam's evil nature to Lesley, felt responsible for her step. Lesley, to kill time, went up to the nursery. Rick arrived and found her room empty. As he was on the phone trying to find out if she wa's in the operating room, Lesley walked in. She had decided to keep her baby, feeling it had a right to live. They went out on the town and spent an enjoyable evening.
Mark Dante, an old friend of Rick's from Africa, was having trouble sleeping in his hotel. Rick, before leaving for New York, gave the key to his apartment to Terri to give to Mark. Mark had had a heart-to-heart talk with Monica Webber, Rick's brother's wife. Monica had been in love with Rick for years. She was in the process of destroying her marriage to Jeff Webber to marry Rick. Monica had moved into intern's quarters, and unbeknownst to Rick, had a duplicate key to his apartment. She used it to let herself in and was stunned to find Mark there and Rick off to New York with Lesley, although Mark didn’t know the reason. Mark asked Monica to be fair to Jeff and make a clean break. Monica told him it was none of his business.
The following morning in the Clinic, where Monica was covering for Lesley, Monica opened a lab report and found Lesley was pregnant. She immediately assumed the baby was Rick's. Confronted with her suspicions, Rick realized Monica was still the same mistrusting, possessive, mercurial girl he went to Africa to get away from. He cited the duplicate key as an example of her game playing. He turned away from her.
After they returned from New York, Cam's lawyer asked Lesley to go up to the mountain lodge and take inventory of her things there, as he had a buyer. Lesley was apprehensive and poured it all out to Rick. He volunteered to take her, and she accepted. Lesley later told Terri she thought she was falling in love with Rick. Terri was pleased, and unaware of Rick's involvement with Monica, she told Lesley that Rick's recent helpfulness could be a sign he was falling in love with her. Meanwhile, Rick confided to Mark that he was tired of the constant up's and down's of his relationship with Monica. Mark encouraged him to fall in love with Lesley, an idea Rick liked. He felt even better when Terri told him Lesley would probably reciprocate loving feelings.
The day Rick and Lesley were to drive to the lodge, Monica arranged to have lunch with Rick. She also cleared her afternoon to be with him. When Rick told her of his plans to be with Lesley, Monica decided there was only one way to handle it. Monica went to Lesley's apartment and told her she and Rick were having a love affair and Rick belonged to her. Rick was mystified at Lesley's silence when they were together. Lesley refused dinner or his company for the evening. Monica arrived at Rick's apartment with a housewarming gift. She admitted she had been manipulative and returned his key. As she was leaving, she asked for one last favor — a kiss. But they couldn’t stop there. The following morning, Lesley arrived to apologize. Monica awaited her chance, then paraded into the room in Rick's robe. Lesley fled. Rick later told Mark he was wrong about both Monica and Lesley. Mark was skeptical.
Mark, earlier, had called Jeff in to ask him about bruises Monica had displayed to everyone, claiming Jeff often roughed her up. Jeff explained Monica wrenched free of his grasp as he was trying to hold her to talk to her. Mark sent Jeff to Peter and Diana Taylor's house with tests for Peter. The Taylors were out, but their mother's helper, Heather Grant, was very much there. She reminded Jeff of an earlier romp in the hay and made it clear she was ready again. He refused, saying he loved his wife. Heather told her mother that she wanted to be Jeff's wife and the one way she knew to accomplish it was to get pregnant with his child. Her mother was horrified. Snooping outside Monica's room while Jeff was there, Heather overhears Monica tell Jeff there was no hope for them, that he didn’t turn her on, that he find someone he did turn on.
Heather found an excuse to go to Jeff's house. She told him what she overheard and that he did turn her on. They went to bed. Jeff felt guilty, but Heather reassured him. He found her childlike ways endearing. Heather suggested she tell the Taylors she was enrolling in a self-improvement course and they meet regularly. Jeff was reluctant. The first meeting they tried to arrange almost fell through. Steve Hardy, chief of staff, had been close to the Webbers for years. He offered his services as a marriage counselor. Jeff agreed and went to talk to Monica, who refused. Jeff and Heather had another tryst.
Peter and Diana Taylor, frustrated in their attempts to adopt an infant, and finding their daughter Martha got along so well with older Tommy Baldwin, decided to try to find an older brother for Martha. They were introduced to orphaned Mike, who had been bounced from one foster home to another for years. Diana, who had hoped to find another Tommy, was devastated by Mike's show of hostility. Peter, on the other hand, was intrigued, saying Mike had a lot of spirit. He reminded Diana Mike hadn't had Tommy's advantages, and urged her to give him another chance. Diana agreed, reluctantly.
The happiness Steve Hardy and Audrey Hobart shared over their forthcoming marriage was palled by the appearance of Audrey's son Tommy's old baby nurse. Florence Andrews Jennings talked with Tommy in the park and took his picture. Audrey set out to find Florence. Florence's husband was hostile, telling Audrey only that Florence had been away. Audrey was still nervous. Florence was in Mexico giving a deposition about buying a forged death certificate for Tom Baldwin, who was in jail for life for murder. His lawyer had an eyewitness who knew Tom was innocent, but the judge wouldn't reopen the case because Tom was officially dead. Florence told Tom of Steve and Audrey's wedding plans and Steve's plan to adopt Tommy. Tom refused to let her interfere until he was freed, if he was freed.
In discussing their mutual concern over the relationship between Jeff and Monica, Terri and Mark found themselves in each other's arms. They confessed their love for each other: Mark was distressed because he was afraid of hurting Terri, considering he was already married. He asked what he could give to Terri? She replied, "The joy of being alive." Mark's wife, confined to a sanitarium, had intuited Terri's threat to her marriage and had decided to befriend her, to keep an eye on her. When Mary Ellen – Mellie - asked to see Terri again, Peter, her psychiatrist, decided it might not be advisable. Peter sent Diana instead, who returned with glowing reports of Mellie's sincerity in establishing a close rapport with Terri. Terri visited. Mellie expressed the desire to go shopping with Terri, who arranged it. The trip was a disaster. Mellie bought a very sexy gown, despite objections from Terri and her nurse.
Mellie wore the dress at Mark's next visit, making an overt attempt to seduce him. Mark managed to evade her saying it wasn't the time or place. Mark sent Peter out, who felt after talking with Mellie, that she wanted to be Mark's wife again, a healthy sign. Mark confessed his love for Terri. Peter pointed out that if Mark ever wanted a full life with Terri, he had to help to make Mellie well first. Mark started hunting for an apartment and making arrangements for Mellie to visit on weekends. Terri agreed to the arrangement, feeling it was their only route.
Monica worked on Terri to get Jeff to ask for a divorce. Realizing Monica truly wasn't the woman for her brother, Terri agreed, but insisted on waiting until after Steve and Audrey were married.
The day Steve and Audrey were married in a lovely ceremony in the Webber home, Tom Baldwin was released from his Mexican jail.
Jeff made a date with Heather for after the ceremony, avoiding Monica's demands that they have a drink and talk. Monica had told Rick that she intended to ask Jeff for a divorce. When Jeff wouldn't cooperate, she accosted him in the Webber kitchen. She told him she wanted a divorce, no news to him. He refused, saying he loved her and he couldn’t give up the chance she might come to love him. Monica was beside herself.
Mellie called her father with the good news that she would be allowed out of the sanitarium on weekends. Judge Ben Lowell credited Mark with Mellie's great improvement and her new maturity. Mark hadn't the heart to tell Ben he had found a new love in Terri.
The strain of discovering Monica and Rick's affair had elevated Lesley's blood pressure. Rick told her he was disappointed in her because she judged Monica and him, instead of reacting like an understanding friend.
DECEMBER 1976
Dr. Jeff Webber kept his date with hospital aide Heather Grant, following the wedding of Steve Hardy and Audrey Hobart. However, having just had a nasty scene with his wife Monica, in which he refused to give her a divorce, Jeff was unable to live up to Heather's expectations for the evening, which was to culminate in more lovemaking. Jeff apologized the following day, suggesting he and Heather cool it because he still loved Monica, even though she had moved out and had asked for the divorce. Jeff told Heather that he would be there to pick up the pieces when Monica realized his brother Rick didn't love her any more. That day, Monica told Jeff that, if he didn’t agree to a civilized divorce, she would name his girlfriend as co-respondent. Jeff told Heather they would have to stop seeing each other. Monica questioned Jeff's friends and family about who the girl could be. Nobody knew. Rick and Monica were involved while Rick was interning and she was in med school. Monica, insecure and unstable, made such a roller-coaster ride of their relationship that Rick went to Africa to work to get away. While there, he was captured by insurgent forces and held prisoner for nine months. He was reported killed, so Monica married his brother Jeff. Rick's return fanned her never-quite-quenched love for him, and Monica had been plotting and manipulating her way out of her marriage to Jeff. After moving out, Monica persuaded Rick a divorce was imminent, and he gave her a key to his apartment, where they then met. Jeff was unaware of their love affair.
Heather, aware of Monica and Rick's affair, found a way to expose them. Seeing an ad for a night doorman for Rick's apartment building, she called her ex-husband Larry Joe. Heather had been poor all her life. She forged credentials to obtain a mother's helper position with Peter and Diana Taylor, in order to be closer to the life she craved. Learning of Jeff's rocky marriage, Heather conned her way into his affections by being a willing bed-partner. She had told her mother that she intended to get pregnant, feeling Jeff would give up Monica to have his own baby. Heather told Larry Joe that Jeff used her and tossed her aside, so then she wanted to hurt him back by exposing his wife's affair with his brother. Larry Joe agreed to take the job when Heather promised to give their marriage another try.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lesley Faulkner, long a colleague and friend of Rick's, and then in love with him, had discovered the affair. She found Monica in Rick's apartment with his robe on early in the morning. Terri Arnett, aware of Lesley's love for her brother Rick, pressed Lesley about why she had backed off. Finally, Lesley told Terri about the affair, stating her relationship with Rick had naturally been very cool lately. Ironically, the night Lesley and Rick agreed to let bygones be bygones was the night the whole situation began to lead to tragedy.
As Lesley and Rick went to the aid of a patient, while Monica waited in Rick's apartment, Terri confronted Monica. Terri agreed to persuade Jeff to accept a no-fault divorce, if Monica stayed away from Rick, starting immediately. Monica replied that she would stop seeing Rick after Jeff agreed. Larry Joe reported to Heather that Rick and Monica were together. Heather directed Larry Joe to call Jeff and tell him he would find his wife in 18C of the Towers. Jeff couldn't get off duty, so he waited. Monica and Rick were awakened by the doorbell shortly after mid-night. They ignored it. Jeff decided to wait outside all night. He observed Monica leaving, excited because Rick had chosen her to assist in heart surgery, on his and Lesley's emergency patient. Jeff confronted Rick. Rick replied that Jeff didn’t deserve Monica, considering how he had roughed her up recently. During an argument, Jeff had grabbed Monica's arms to hold her to talk to her. She wrenched away, hence the bruises and her claims of physical abuse. Jeff finally got through to Rick that they had both been manipulated by Monica. Jeff told Rick that he had always admired him and would never have believed that Rick could betray him. Jeff knocked Rick down. He recalled a childhood incident in which Rick saved his life, then said he wished Rick had let him drown. Jeff went on, that despite all Monica had done to betray his love, he still loved her. He left the apartment.
Neurosurgeon Mark Dante was upset when Jeff missed surgery. He quickly had another surgeon fill in, then went to see Rick, a friend from Africa, to inquire about Jeff. Rick confided the confrontation to Mark. Rick was afraid Jeff might try suicide. They began to search, to no avail. Before surgery that morning, Monica gloated to Lesley about her affair with Rick. Monica was thus unpleasantly surprised when Rick treated her sharply, abruptly when he arrived. Later Monica asked Rick about his behavior. Rick told her about the confrontation and his fears. Monica glossed over them, saying Jeff was probably just off somewhere getting drunk.
Chief of Staff Steve Hardy, noting the substitution on the surgical roster, called Mark about it. Mark was as evasive as possible. Steve then talked to Terri. She knew nothing, so he talked to Rick, who told him about the morning's events. Terri, alarmed by Steve's visit, went to see Mark, who finally told her.
Ironically, Monica was right about Jeff. He was on a binge with alcohol and drugs. He ended up at a familiar bar, just before closing. The bartender refused to let him leave, fearful he would get in trouble himself. He fixed up a bed for Jeff behind the bar. While the bartender was gone, Jeff stole his gun. He counted the bullets "three for Monica, three for Rick." The following morning, the bartender was alarmed when Jeff didn’t seem to be coming out of it, unaware Jeff was still popping pills. The bartender knew Jeff was a doctor and finally wheedled Mark's name out of him. He called Mark. Jeff, hallucinating, saw Rick and Monica in bed in the room with him. "They" taunted him. Mark arrived. Jeff talked to "Rick" and "Monica," pointing the gun at them. As Mark called to him, the gun went off. Mark and the bartender broke in and find Jeff on the floor, a bullet in his head. Mark rushed him to the hospital.
That morning, distraught to know how her stage-managing worked out, Heather fainted in front of Dr. Adam Streeter, who put her through a check-up. She was pregnant. Later, Larry Joe dropped by with a gift and she told him to buzz-off. Heather rushed to Jeff's side as soon as she learned of his condition. Steve noted her concern, and guessed she was Jeff's enigmatic girlfriend.
X-rays showed the bullet lodged in a precarious spot in Jeff's brain. If it should shift at all, it would mean sure death for Jeff. Monica went to see Rick. He told her that considering what Jeff did, they couldn’t go on. Such a termination hadn't occurred to her. Rick viewed Jeff's situation as "God's personal punishment to me." Monica passed it off as just alcohol and pills, saying it wasn't their fault. Rick, however, took the responsibility. He told Monica he didn’t want her, and turned a deaf ear to her "reasoning."
Monica wouldn’t believe it was all over with Rick "just because Jeff shot himself." She talked to the bartender and found Jeff was threatening to kill Rick and her. She took the information to Rick, who refused to believe her, especially since Lesley told him Monica revealed her presence in his apartment deliberately. Monica tried to blame Jeff's condition on Lesley because Les told Terri about Rick and her. Lesley was talked out of any responsibility by Rick. Lesley found it hard to believe that Monica's concern was in absolving herself of responsibility for Jeff's condition rather than for Jeff's recovery. Following an angiogram, Mark found he had to operate if Jeff was to have any chance of surviving.
Terri told Steve her mother left a letter she was to open with Steve, if Jeff's life should be in danger. She found it was time.
General Hospital
December 1976
Steve and Audrey's honeymoon was interrupted when they learned Tom was alive and back in Port Charles making claim to Tommy. Turned out by Jeff, Heather conned Larry Joe into spying on Monica to prove she's living with Rick. Mike agreed to spend Christmas with the Taylors. Adam is worried about Lesley's condition. Mary Ellen was released for a weekend, determined to encounter Terri on her home grounds. Jeff confronted Rick after receiving an anonymous tip about Rick and Monica. Lesley and Rick made a truce and worked together on a new patient, Amy. Jeff went off the deep end when he learned about Rick and Monica and stole a gun -- intent on killing them. He locked himself in a back room of a bar. Heather thinks she's pregnant. Mike joined the Taylors for the holidays. Christmas for the Webbers was a bummer. Jeff lay near death after he shot himself in the head. But little Mike added cheer to the Taylor household. Everyone chastised Monica as Jeff made slow progress to recovery. Mary Ellen resolved that the coming year would be the best for her and Mark. Tom told Audrey that he asked brother Lee Baldwin, his lawyer, to arrange for a divorce, and that he's not yet ready to tell Tommy the truth. Mike and Martha planned a New Year's Eve party just like the grownups.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
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