Paige and Greg Part 1

 

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To Be Continued ........

here

General Hospital Scene-by-Scene Transcript (Jan, Feb, March, April, May, June 1978)

Written by: Richard & Suzanne Holland / Douglas Marland

Produced by: Tom Donovan / Gloria Monty

JANUARY 1978

On Monday, January 16th, the soap expanded to 60 minutes, airing from 3:00 to 4:00, 2:00 to 3:00 Pacific

Alan Quartermaine had been summoned to a meeting in New York by the chemical corporation which was considering setting up its executive center in Port Charles. All indications were that the decision would be positive, making a new Cardiac Wing at General Hospital more suitable to the sudden population growth than the helicopter relay service Alan felt would be adequate. Alan telephoned Monica to ask her to cancel a scheduled test-run helicopter flight he had set up with Rick Webber as part of a demonstration of the plan he had been prepared to recommend. Dr. Gail Adamson was a witness as Monica lied to Alan, making it clear to Gail when she hung up, that despite the threatening weather, and Alan's specific orders to the contrary, she intended to go ahead with the flight, substituting herself for Alan.

That evening, Rick and Lesley Webber were to host a holiday party which Lesley had decided to go ahead with despite her depression - which she gave out to be illness - for the past few days over her unhappy situation with her daughter Laura.

Laura told Scotty Baldwin that she intended to ignore Lesley’s messages asking her to be home early that day before the party, saying that David Hamilton could help Les with the last minute preparations but she needed time to think of a way to keep Lesley from checking further into the prescription records at Mercy Hospital Clinic and learning that she was referred there by Monica. She arranged to join Scotty, his father Lee, and Dr. Gail Adamson to drive over together, arriving after the first guests were there and intending to give Lesley no opportunity to talk to her as she would have to change into suitable party clothes. By the time they arrived, Lesley had learned that Rick had not been back to the hospital and Gail murmured to Lee Baldwin that she could strangle Monica when Dorrie called back to relay a message from the flight base that the helicopter was overdue in a heavy snowstorm and when last heard from, the pilot was looking for a place to put down to wait out the storm.

After an anxious wait with a houseful of guests, Lesley heard that Rick, Monica and the helicopter pilot had made it to Lake Forrest ranger station where they had made radio contact and intended to spend the night. Laura had been so upset by Lesley's unhappiness that Lesley gently apologized to her, saying that she had been accusing when she just should have asked what she wanted to know. When she questioned Laura, she was told that she heard about the clinic through friends but when Lesley asked who was the doctor who prescribed the pills, Laura mentioned the name of the doctor who examined her and Leslie did not detect the distinction.

After Monica and Rick returned to Port Charles, Monica arranged to have a reporter from the Daily Record interview Rick about the fact that their pilot had hurt his arm and Rick had flown the helicopter out.

Alan Quartermaine, after seeing the paper and talking with Rick, asked Monica whether he did or did not cancel that helicopter run. He went on to say that the whole trip was unnecessary to the survey and he was then reading about her as if she was some heroine who risked her life on a rescue mission. He told her evidently she couldn’t obey orders and make decisions that weren’t based upon personal gain. Monica told Alan that she would not stand there and be treated like a school girl and walked out, but to Gail Adamson she admitted that she arranged the whole thing on nothing more than a whim. She insisted that Rick was ancient history and confided to Gail that she had been thinking Alan could give her a life she never knew existed.

Heather Grant had moved into the apartment Dr. Jeff Webber leased for her when he hoped to bring her and their baby son Stephen Lars back from New York. Jeff had been told that the baby died from pneumonia when Heather was ill with the flu in N.Y., but the adopted son of Peter and Diana Taylor, Peter Jr. – called P.J. – was really his son. 

Heather, who paid for the forged documents necessary out of the $10,000 settlement Peter and Diana believed had been made with the child's grandmother, had been frightened by strange, silent, and finally threatening phone calls warning her to leave town. The calls had been made by Lana Holbrook – Holden - a jealous psychotic, who was in love with Jeff, in her fashion. Dr. Peter Taylor had urged Jeff, who was determined to check into Lana's background in Canton, New York, to pretend to go along with Lana's expressed wish that he not try to check into her "sister" Lisa's medical history or the source of the report of Lisa's death, because Peter was worried about Lana's violent streak, and needed a few more sessions with her to make things clear to him. Peter had not told Jeff the full extent of Lana's hatred of Heather, but when Jeff called from Canton saying that there was no trace of a "Carrie Simpson," Lana's supposed Aunt who had signed the telegram reporting Lisa's death, or of an L. Holden, to whose account it was charged, Peter told Jeff to see him for a conference as soon as he got back.

Just before Jeff left town, he was having dinner with Heather, and Lana, overhearing their date arrangements, got into Heather's apartment, removed some pictures of Stephen Lars, and threw them out into the snow. Later she visited Heather because she had called her once and spoke as Lisa, the gentle side of the split personality phenomenon that existed side-by-side with Lana's bitter violence. She wanted to impress Heather that she had been having an attack and was calling to locate Jeff, and that Heather had been mistaken in thinking she heard the name "Lisa." While there, she took a phone call while Heather was tending P.J. and used it as an excuse to test Heather's reaction to the name Mrs. Hadley.

Against Dr. Steve Hardy's strong objections, Mark Dante had begun a final series of tests preparatory to his decision to go ahead with a highly dangerous operation on Lamont Corbin. Mark had told Lamont and his wife Katy that he would operate as soon as famous surgeon Dr. Copeland arrived to assist him, saying he then believed he had no right to deny Lamont his chance since they both understood the risks he would be taking.  Katie fantasized making love with Mark and felt guilty about it.

David Hamilton had decided to use the information he had obtained by virtue of his being at General Hospital for therapy and his insider's position in Drs. Rick and Lesley Webber's home, to offer a day-by-day, hour-by-hour report of Lamont's operation, which had been kept secret by a strict news blackout by Corbin Enterprises, to a Mr. Cates for the purpose of stock manipulation, even in the face of a warning by Cates that Hamilton would be playing in rough company and risking his life if the information should prove false. As Hamilton was on his way down from this meeting, he met Laura and Scotty, who had spent the night together in Lee's suite, in the hotel elevator. Lee was out of town with Dr. Gail Adamson on some personal legal business of Gail's,  Gail was having trouble collecting her husband’s inheritance because of her ex-mother-in-law. David told them that he would make it a point to see that he forgot the meeting if they would do the same, though they were convinced he was being kind and had no real reason to want to cover up his own presence there, as he had just been on a job interview.

Laura, who had told Lesley that she spent the night with a young nurse-in-training, Barbara Spencer who covered up for her, had lost her wallet. As Scotty searched in vain for it, a hotel maid found it in Lee's suite.

When Gail Adamson contacted Monica Webber, she learned that Monica had stayed the night with Alan Quartermaine at his hotel and that Alan had offered her the use of his hotel apartment and room service, and planned to make his base of operations in Port Charles. Gail expressed the hope that Monica was not building another fantasy around Alan but Monica insisted that she had changed.

Lesley got a call from the Charleston Hotel, informing her that her daughter's wallet was found in Mr. Baldwin's suite. Lesley told Rick what had happened and that she couldn't close her eyes any longer; that she had to have it out with Laura. Rick corrected her—they both had to confront Laura. Lesley was concerned that if she didn’t speak to Laura in private, she would lose the chance to be Laura's friend. Rick told her, "be her mother."

Laura told Lesley that she probably had dropped the wallet when Scotty picked her up at Barbara's that morning and she went with him to pick up something for Lee. Lesley told her that Barbara had volunteered, as part of the cover-up story, that she had seen Laura directly to the bus-stop that morning. Laura wailed, accusingly, that the last time they'd talked, they had agreed that their relationship would be one of trust but Lesley interjected "based on lies?" Scotty’s roomate, Darren Blythe, was showing interest in Laura while Barbara tried to learn more about Scotty’s future inheritance. Barbara teased and taunted Darren.

Dr. Peter Taylor , awaiting Jeff's return, had persuaded Heather to stay on overnight, babysitting, in order that Heather would have to cancel a dinner Lana had arranged with her. The following day, he warned Heather not to let anyone in and to call him if there was trouble. Heather learned from her mother, when Mrs. Grant unexpectedly dropped by, that Lana had been trying to reach her, even calling up Mrs. Grant's house early that morning and that the girl sounded "strange." Heather was preoccupied, worried that P.J. would awake from a nap before Mrs. Grant - the baby's real grandmother - left.

When Jeff arrived, Peter played the tapes he had of Lana, spliced together, for Jeff and Steve, and told them he believed that Lisa and Lana were twins who co-existed in the same body, an hysterical condition, and that what Jeff took to be the symptoms of Breechman's Disease, might be physical manifestations of a fugue state, after the loss of consciousness by one person and before the other emerged. Peter suggested that when Lisa appeared in Port Charles, she might have been fleeing from a murder Lana committed.

January 1978

February 1978

Dr. Jeff Webber arrived at Heather's apartment as Lana was holding Heather with a letter opener poised at her throat, trying to force her out through an open window. Jeff couldn’t reach Lana without risking Heather's life but he told her he knew all about her past and addressed the Lisa part of her character. As Lisa struggled to emerge, Lana passed out - the fugue state between periods of dominance of different personalities. - Heather saw the transformation as Lisa woke, terrified at what had nearly happened. Lisa was hospitalized at General and Peter made arrangements for long term therapy at Long Island Sanitarium with high hopes for Lisa's eventual recovery.

Lamont Corbin had come through the delicate surgery performed by Dr. Mark Dante, who noted in his diary that after Corbin regained consciousness and spoke to Katie, he put Corbin's chances for recovery at 98% positive. David Hamilton had been hanging around General Hospital all that day with a trumped-up story of wanting to see Mark about some pain he was experiencing and, noting the information in Mark's personal diary, prepared to pass it on to Cates.

The following day, Dr. Steve Hardy was beseiged by calls from members of the board of Corbin Limited, as rumors of Corbin's imminent death were published by newspapers and wire services. The stock syndicate David Hamilton was supplying information to was buying up stock in small batches, relying on Hamilton's information that Corbin's condition was stable, the opposite of the rumors they had planted. Laura Webber had seen Cates and believed he was David's new employer in an advertising firm. Later, as Cates paid off Hamilton and prepared to leave town, Lesley called at David's apartment and was told the same thing.

Lesley had learned from David that Monica was the doctor who prescribed birth control pills for Laura. She confronted Monica at Alan Quartermaine's apartment while Alan was out of the room and took her to task for interfering in the lives of the Webber family "out of jealousy." She warned Monica that if she didn’t stay completely out of Laura's life, she would go to Steve Hardy and report Monica's unprofessional conduct in prescribing the pills for a girl of Laura's age without a complete gynecological examination. In the light of Monica's past record this was an effective threat against Monica's ambitions concerning the expanded Cardiac section. When Lesley left, Alan asked who called and Monica told him the maid wanted to know if they wanted the beds turned down. Alan told her he had heard everything and believed she lied to him because Lesley's belief that she was not over Rick was correct. Monica accused Alan of playing games and trying to trap her and told him she intended to move out permanently.

Barbara « Bobbie » Spencer’s actions had made it clear that she was not interested in Darren, Scotty's roommate. She had learned that his personal ambitions did not include sharing in his father's lucrative business, When Darren realized this, he walked out on her. Barbara had helped Laura prepare for a date with Scotty by restyling her hair and make-up and lending her a dress. Scotty was taken aback at Laura's appearance and refused to take her out to a night club, so Laura went home saying only that she had quarreled with Scotty. The following morning she told Lesley she had decided that she should be seeing more of people her own age. She went to see Barbara after refusing to talk to Scotty that day and saw him in Bobbie's room, drinking wine with her. She turned and left. When she called Monica and asked to see her, Monica refused to talk with her. As a last resort she phoned David's apartment but Lesley was there to help David with some decorating ideas and he too dismissed her. Laura then phoned Barbara Vining.

Dr. Gail Adamson had met Maria Schuler who had flown in from Zurich with her attorney, claiming she worked with Gail's late husband Greg on a manuscript for his most successful book, "Always Spring," but never received credit or royalties. In Lee Baldwin's office, Gail acknowledged Greg's signature on some documents setting up a trust fund from which royalties were to be paid to the woman, but insisted on seeing proof which Miss Schuler claimed to have in the form of original notes, both hers and Greg's. Privately, Miss Schuler tried to convince Gail to accept the evidence she had presented so far, saying that she wished to spare Gail unwelcome revelations in the notes. Gail refused and both Lee and Miss Schuler's attorneys agreed to meet again the following day when the notes were available. Gail called Monica, who had made up her quarrel with Alan at his apartment in the same hotel in which Maria was staying, and told her what had happened. When Monica appeared at Miss Schuler's door some time later, she was told that she was expected and that she – Monica – was exactly as Greg described her.

Lamont Corbin had quickly gone from the solicitous husband who urged his wife Katie to get away for a time from the hospital atmosphere to insisting that nurse Jessie Brewer track Katie down and "bring her back here where she belongs." He sent for Steve Hardy and Mark to announce that he wished Steve to report in an upcoming meeting of the hospital board that he intended to donate $5,000,000 to General Hospital. Katie met with Mark and told him that the money wasn't a gift, that Lamont didn’t give away anything without a good reason. She said she was sure Lamont knew about them; he sensed what was going on. When Mark asked if she was frightened, she replied she was because she had seen Lamont in action. Mark answered that one thing wasn't going to change ... she was still Mrs. Corbin. He said he intended to make things as easy as he could to pick up his life after Katie and Corbin left. Katie told him she had no intention of leaving the hospital with Lamont. She said she did not intend to go on being Lamont's possession, even a prized one. She intended to divorce Corbin when he was well enough. Mark admitted he loved Katy but told her that Lamont's convalescence had a long way to go and warned her not to speak about their plans even to Gina.

Maria Schuler had made it clear to Monica that the notes she intended to produce to verify her claim would make it clear that Greg and Monica had an affair.

When Alan noticed Monica's nervousness and agitation she refused to tell him what was the matter, but said she needed $50,000 - the sum Maria Schuler had asked to turn the papers over to Monica and return to Zurich -. Alan told Monica he would get the money but there would be a delay and offered his personal check. When it was clear that only cash was acceptable to Miss Schuler, Monica stole the envelope containing the notes while Maria was at dinner. Miss Schuler assured her attorney Herbert Berman that she was not so foolish as to keep only one copy of the notes and that she had a second set in safekeeping at the hotel and one in Zurich.

Monica was confident that the problem had been solved and offers to attend the meeting with Gail, giving Rick very little notice to replace her as his assistant in some scheduled surgery. When Maria Schuler cooly produced the notes and Lee read them, he asked Gail to step into another office for a moment and glared at Monica as he passed. He told Gail that it was his recommendation that she honor Miss Schuler's claim as she could readily see that the handwriting was Greg's and to do so without reading them. Gail couldn’t accept this and stepped back into the room where the papers were handed to her and she began to read. As Monica got up to leave, Miss Schuler stopped her.

Laura had left Port Charles with some of her clothing and without leaving a note for Lesley. Finally Lesley got a call from Barbara Vining to tell her that Laura had phoned her and then appeared at her door in Buffalo. She said that Laura did not want her to get in touch with Les and recommended that Lesley wait for further word. Barbara and her husband Jason had been divorced and their daughter Amy was living with Jason - the man Laura believed to be her father, just as she believed Barbara Vining, who raised her, to be her mother -. Barbara was living with a musician and there was very little money to spare. She told Laura that if she stayed, even for a time, she would have to help out. After Barbara went to the store to put together a meal, Laura phoned Lesley and asked her to drive up and take her home. David drove Lesley up to Buffalo and while he and Laura were getting some things Laura had left with Barbara before going to live with Lesley into David's car, Barbara told Lesley that she responded to her maternal feelings for Laura instinctively but she wanted Les to tell Laura that her call had opened old wounds. When Lesley relayed the message to Laura at a roadside restaurant, Laura said she wouldn't take advantage of Barbara again. Lesley told Laura that when she was going through her room looking for clues to where Laura might have gone, she found her cigarettes and warned her of the danger of smoking for someone on the pill. Laura reassured Lesley, telling her she no longer smoked and as they got up to join David, who was getting the car gassed up, Laura concealed the elongated purse designed to hold cigarettes in her bag with a scarf.

Bobbie Spencer had made good time with Scotty in Laura's absence and they had been sleeping together with Bobbie already suggesting to Scotty that Lee would probably help out with the finances if Scotty were to get a place of his own without Darren as a roommate. When Darren asked about Scotty's break with Laura, he learned that Laura had left town and Scotty told him that from the evening Laura arrived overdressed and made-up, he felt he didn't really know her.

Bobbie had told Lesley when Laura was first missing that Laura had been spending quite some time visiting with David Hamilton at his apartment. Lesley took the information only as an indication of how little she knew about Laura's friends, David among them. On the way up to Buffalo in David's new sportscar - the first fruits of his Lamont Corbin deal -, Lesley remarked to David that she was grateful that Laura decided to come home and she felt she had to see to it that Laura never wanted to leave again ... no matter what it took.

Diana Taylor felt uncomfortable with Heather nursing  PJ as she noticed how attached she had become to her adopted son. Heather couldn’t conceal her pain when she was informed and stopped from continuing any contact with PJ.

Gina Dante finally told Gary Lansing she didn’t feel like marrying him. They reconciled on condition that he did not resort to ambitious career pranks.

February 1978

March 1978  

After Gail had read Greg's notes for "Forever Spring," Monica begged to speak with her, saying that what had happened wasn't the way Greg wrote it; that he forced himself on her. She went on to say that Gail had worshipped the ground Greg walked on and had turned him into a saint, so that Monica was afraid she wouldn't have been believed. Afterward Greg threatened to tell Gail that it was Monica who had seduced him and it was still going on. Gail cried out that she saw Monica go through one man after another and it was always someone she had no right to.

Listen to this Entire Scene here

Gail turned to Lee to say that she had no further interest in Greg's royalties or works and ordered him to transfer everything to Maria Schuler. Miss Schuler protested that she wanted only what was due to her from "Forever Spring"; that she came to right a wrong, but Gail stopped her saying she no longer trusted anyone or anything and told Miss Schuler to keep the money, spend it or give it away — it was no longer any concern of hers.

Monica returned to Alan at the hotel saying that she wanted the money to help Gail but she couldn’t tell him about it except to say Gail had turned on her and hated her. Alan suggested they combine a short vacation to his home on Long Island with a trip to N.Y. he planned to take with Rick for a presentation concerning the cardiac wing, and Monica agreed gratefully.

While Rick was in New York, David Hamilton got drunk at a dinner with Lesley, Jeff and Heather, and stopped off at his apartment before taking Lesley home. He made a play for Lesley, insisting that she had been coming on to him all along and was as big a tease as her daughter, Laura. When Les said she couldn't bear to think of David having been for so long a time in the same house with Laura, he told her to come off it; that she knew that Laura had been sleeping around and it wouldn't hurt Lesley to loosen up, too. Lesley threatened to scream the place down and shortly after she got home, Jeff stopped by and learned what had happened. He went to David's place to get a scarf and Lesley's purse, which she had left behind, but David denied everything, insisting that he didn’t have Lesley's things. Jeff could barely keep his hands off David and left without them. Lesley was unable to reach Rick by phone that night and when she heard from him, he was so wrapped up in his chance to head the cardiac wing that she decided nothing should interfere with his concentration. When David came to see her, to apologize, she threw him out, warning him to stay away from herself and Laura, and she was convinced that was all that was necessary for the time.

Hamilton contacted Cates again, and arranged to cash in on his knowledge that Hauser Chemical planned to relocate in Port Charles. Cates backed David with the money to buy up the land which the company would eventually need. In a continuance of his private vendetta, David told Laura that Mr. Cates had agreed to using drawings David wanted to do of her in an advertising campaign but that Lesley had priggishly refused to hear of it. Laura arranged to pose for David, using dates with Scotty's roommate Darren as a cover.

Bobbie Spencer broke a date with Scotty to care for Jessie Brewer, who had been having dizzy spells and was anxious that it not be rumored around the hospital. Barbara received a present of a lovely music box from Jessie's collection. When Bobbie's landlady discovered Scotty in Barbara's room a few days later, she ordered Bobbie out of the house. Scotty offered to ask Lee for the money to cover the cost of finding a new place but when Jessie heard that Bobbie was being evicted - she believed her story of being thrown out in favor of some relatives of her landlady -, she offered to have Bobbie as her guest until she could find something of her own. Bobbie also accepted a present of a wrist watch from Lamont Corbin - against hospital policy - in return for an errand she did for him. The errand involved delivering a gift of a check for $1,000 as a shower present to Dr. Gina Dante, causing a disagreement between herself and her fiancee Dr. Gary Lansing. Despite this additional insight into Gary's attitude toward money, so different from her own, Gina and Gary were married.

Lamont had for his right hand man, Dan Rooney, telling him he wanted his wife Katherine's movements watched, as he believed she was a potential target for kidnapping. Dorrie noticed the fact that Corbin had been checking very closely on Katie and relayed her uneasiness to Dr. Mark Dante. At one point she called down to the cafeteria where Mark and Katie were having coffee to alert them that Rooney was on his way down. Corbin made it clear by his attitude toward Mark that there was a confrontation coming. His gift to the hospital had resulted in major renovation, and though the board thanked him informally after a celebration at which city and state politically figures were present, Steve was anxious to get permission from Mark for Corbin to appear at a more formal ceremony. He was exasperated at Mark's refusal to give a date and was convinced that there was something behind Mark's behavior.

Mrs. Grant then knew that her grandson, Steven Lars is alive and was all the more frightened that Heather continued to see Jeff. As the Taylors had the final adoption papers for the child, Mrs. Grant warned Heather that she did not believe that Heather could keep her promise to be silent. Heather's cousin Susan had noticed both Heather's and Mrs. Grant's unease on the night of a party at the Taylors' - where Mrs. Grant saw the baby and recognized him - and was determined to find out Heather's secret.

When the files of the Hauser Corporation were missing, Lee Baldwin revealed that David Hamilton knew of the plans and claimed that Monica had told him. Monica confronted David who stuck to his story and agreed that she might have mentioned the project on the day she was so upset because of Gail, but insisted that she never used the name. She was afraid that no one would believe her because of her past but Alan told her he did and Lee confided to Alan that he believed Monica was telling the truth. The files reappeared,  David had gotten them back, and Monica conceded that she might have misfiled them for a time.

Mark Dante arranged to be alone with Lamont Corbin to break the news of his and Katie's love for each other. Corbin pretended to be devastated at the news but when Katie saw him, he told her that he had had her followed and had had Dan Rooney keep a record of the times she spent with Mark, calling it a complete history of their sordid affair with every detail carefully documented. Lamont insisted that if Katie wanted a lover he would permit it, but Katie was shocked and insisted she wanted a divorce. He told her that he would hate to have to take her to court and charge her with adultery, and asked if she believed Mark would still love her after he was made more famous as a seducer of patients' wives than as a surgeon. When Katie told Mark of Lamont's threats, Mark insisted that Corbin had too much pride to make a public scandal and would think better of it in time.

Mark called Gary and Gina to tell them the news and asked for a key to their apartment so that Katie could stay there for the time they were away, rather than return to her residence in the Corbin suite at General Hospital. Gary hesitated but finally told Mark that his brother had the key and that he would call Howard and tell him to turn it over to them at Mark's apartment. When Howard arrived, Katie retained him as her lawyer as he had accepted a position with a law firm in Port Charles. Gina was upset at Gary's hesitation, agreeing that Corbin hasd been very generous to them but maintaining that they had no choice but to take sides with Mark and Katie. - Gina was unaware that Gary had reapplied for a grant from Corbin Limited, urged on by Lamont, who insisted that there would be no strings attached. 

Howard was a guest for dinner at Peter and Diana's house earlier that evening but the plans were cancelled when P.J. was taken to the hospital with a fever and the threat of developing pneumonia. Heather had come unstrung and followed the Taylors to the hospital. She phoned her mother from there, and Susan overheard Mrs. Grant insisting to Heather that she leave immediately and not try to contact Jeff, as he was the last person in the world for Heather to talk to in her distraught state.

Lamont Corbin had told Dan Rooney that he suspected from Dorrie's attitude to his personal questions about Mark that there might be more than a professional relationship between them. On the evening before Corbin's surgery, Dorrie and Mark spent the night together, but there had never been a repetition and Dorrie had assured Mark that she wished him and Katie happiness together. - Rooney was instructed to order the New York office to check thoroughly into Mark's background. Rooney then went on to tell Lamont about the stock manipulations and though they both conceded that neither Dr. Copeland nor Mark were likely to have been involved, Corbin told Rooney to check out Mark's personal account, saying he intended to see to it that an amount of money was deposited into it, reflecting a payoff stock manipulators would have made for information.

 March 1978

APRIL 1978

Dr. Lesley Webber learned about Monica's involvement with Dr. Gail Adamson's late husband from Gail, and she and Rick disagreed about Gail's refusal to listen to Monica's side. She was angered that Rick had invited Monica to a dinner they were hosting for purchasing agents of Hauser Chemical and just then her daughter Laura came in three hours late. Lesley and Rick demanded to know where she was, and to cover up the affair she had been having with David Hamilton, she gave them money out of the advance David had given her for posing for him, saying she had been working for a teacher after school in secret so that she could pay back some money she took from Lesley's household funds when she ran off to Buffalo.

Monica Webber learned at the meeting that large pieces of critically situated land were unavailable for purchase, having been acquired by phone transactions by a man calling himself William Slattery, representing a "Port Charles Development Company." After she accepted an engagement ring from Alan Quartermaine, he left town to go to New York and she tried to get in touch with him, believing that David Hamilton might very well be Slattery.

Laura was suspicious of David when she cleared up some dishes in his apartment and found a lipstick stained wineglass - Monica's - and did not accept his story that he spent the previous evening with Cates and took the phone off the hook so they wouldn't be disturbed. Mr. Cates covered for David but Laura waited in a hallway and saw David leave for dinner again that evening with Monica.

Dan Rooney reported that he was on to some good leads in the stock manipulation of Corbin Limited but was told by Lamont to hold off on the investigation. Corbin insisted that if they exposed the man responsible, they would lose out on their trump card, the money he had deposited in Dr. Mark Dante's account, to make it seem that Mark was involved. Corbin made it clear to Rooney that it was more important to him to ruin Mark than to avoid jeopardizing his business empire.

Dr. Steve Hardy met with Mark and learned about his involvement with Katie and the divorce she was seeking from Corbin. He endeavored to explain Mark's position with regard to turning over Corbin's outpatient treatment to another doctor, but the board insisted that he try to talk Mark into continuing in accordance with Corbin's expressed wishes and he began to get some idea of Corbin's manipulations when he learned that the board had made Corbin an honorary member.

After talking things over with his brother Howard, Dr. Gary Lansing met with Lamont Corbin and turned down the grant he had just been awarded from Corbin Ltd. However, when Gary saw Steve Hardy to accept his offer of a permanent position on the staff of General Hospital, which he had previously stalled on, Steve had to tell him that while he was away at a medical convention in Chicago, his administrative replacement had filled the post.

Against Mark’s strong objections, Katie met with Lamont to discuss disposition of some property and Lamont told her that he had information that Dante killed a man in Boston in a fit of rage. Katie was unmoved, saying she knew of the incident; that the man tried to rob Mark's father's store and his father was killed. Mark was a young Golden Gloves champion and the beating was considered assault with a deadly weapon. Corbin went on to tell Katie that Mark had an affair while his wife, the daughter of the judge who took an interest in Mark, was institutionalized. Finally, he told Katie that Dorrie Fleming was seeing Mark at the same time Katie was, before Lamont's surgery, and that Rooney had been following Mark and had records to substantiate a number of meetings. There was only one episode, the night preceeding Corbin's surgery. Corbin ordered Rooney to add to his notes to strengthen his case against Mark. Katie burst into Mark's office afterwards, to find him talking with Dorrie, but she went on to tell him all that Corbin said. Mark talked over with her his situation with his late wife Mary Ellen, and the truth about Dorrie and himself. Katie told him this was an example of what Corbin was prepared to do and emphasized that Howard Lansing had to know, so he could deal with Corbin as her lawyer.

After Baby P.J.’s crisis and recovery from pneumonia, Diana Taylor took a leave of absence from the hospital upon the baby's dismissal, determined to care for him herself until her mother could move in with the Taylors. Peter finally told Diana that her excessive concern was turning their home into an intensive care unit and begged her to move out of the nursery where she had been keeping constant vigil and return to their bedroom. Diana replied that P.J. still had congestion in his lungs and that she was not in need of therapy from her psychiatrist husband.

David Hamilton managed to talk his way out of a confrontation with Laura, telling her that Cates cancelled his meeting at the last minute and that he ran into Monica and decided to have a bit to eat with her since she was at loose ends because of Alan's trip to New York. Laura apologized profusely for doubting David and gave him a gift of a statuette which she had charged to Lesley's account, intending to pay for it with the final fee for posing for David. She begged him to take her away with him for awhile and he told her he had been making plans to do just that.

Dr. Steve Hardy asked Lesley to attend a two-day seminar in Syracuse and Rick told Les he welcomed the chance to spend some time alone with Laura as he wanted to tell her he would like to adopt her, legally. When Les ran into David Hamilton she warned him that she had not told Rick about the pass David made, but if he went back on his promise to avoid the entire Webber family, she would.

On his return, Alan downgraded Monica's suspicions of David, even after she had told him she learned from Jessie Brewer that David had been in Alan's office while she, Alan and Rick were in New York for Rick's presentation. He insisted that the group behind the land speculation was a powerful New York syndicate. They learned from one of Hauser's purchasing agents that the man, Slattery, refused to do business in person and was insisting on a price way out of line for certain parcels of land. - Monica made it a point to tell David what was patently not true; that Hauser would pay any price for the land.

Monica intercepted Gail at the hospital and told her that she was destroying her relationship with Lee Baldwin out of her refusal to face her late husband's guilt in his relationship with Monica. Monica angrily added that she refused to take the entire blame any longer and would not try again to speak to her. That evening, at dinner with Lee, Gail told him that she felt it was unfair to go on seeing him at all after what happened between them some nights before. - Lee was trying to get through to Gail and she turned to him for comfort, only to call him "Greg" when he had his arms around her. - After she left and Scotty and Bobbie said goodnight, Lee, an alcoholic who had been dry for years, downed a Scotch and pushed the shot glass back to the bartender.

On the day final settlement papers were signed, Lamont got rid of Howard and showed Katie the bank deposit slip and a statement from the wife of the man Mark killed, claiming Mark had robbed her husband before the final beating. He threatened to ruin Mark if Katie didn't return. Katie phoned Mark to tell him she was flying to Boston to see her sister.

Jeff insisted Heather see Peter professionally but she was reluctant. Her cousin, Susan, got a hostess job at the Floating Rib Restaurant near the hospital.

April 1978

MAY  1978

Under the threat by Lamont Corbin to ruin Dr. Mark Dante if Katie did not resume her role as his wife, Katie left for Boston phoning Mark from the airport to tell him she was going to stay with her sister Sally while she sorted things out. When Mark followed her, she told him that when it came to signing the final divorce papers she realized she couldn't give up everything that being Mrs. Lamont Corbin meant. Though Katie returns to Corbin, he ordered his man Dan Rooney not to proceed with trying to uncover the real culprit in the stock manipulations because he might still want to keep active his threat to use manufactured evidence against Mark. Rooney, who had begun to date Jessie Brewer and was showing signs of rebellion, apologized to Katie for his part in Corbin’s schemes and Katie told him that no one knew better than she, herself, that Corbin was not a man to cross.

Lee Baldwin’s drinking had resulted in missed appointments and a loss of confidence by some of the men working on behalf of the Hauser Corporation in Lee’s reliability. Alan Quartermaine questioned Lee but was assured by him that the missed meetings were due to pressure of work by other clients. Scotty Baldwin, who had seen Lee’s seedy condition which he had managed so far to keep from business associates, begged Lee to admit to himself he was out of control so that he could begin again but Lee wound up telling Scotty his life was none of Scotty’s business. When Monica learned of Scotty’s concern she tried to appeal to Gail to take a good look at what Lee was coming to and her responsibility for it, but had to stop short of telling Gail about Lee’s reversion because of her pledge to Scotty. Gail refused to listen.

Monica’s suspicions of David Hamilton were vindicated when Hamilton was forced by his backers to back down on the price he was asking for the land under the threat of losing out on the deal, and she watched as he met with Pierson, representing Hauser Chemical. Monica told Rick, backed up by Pierson’s description of the man. When Rick confronted David, who was in his apartment to await word on the sale of his car against orders from the syndicate, he learned of the years of jealous hatred David had been waiting to get revenge for. As Rick started to leave, telling David that he was determined to forget he ever knew him, Hamilton yelled out that Lesley and Laura were not going to let him forget. Rick punched David and they traded blows. Then Rick warned David as he left to get out of town or he would return and finish what he started. Hamilton prepared to leave holding in his hand an envelope addressed to Rick and Lesley containing all the love letters and notes he had gotten from Laura. As he opened the door, she was standing there.

Jeff and Heather returned from their vacation trip to announce that they had been married in Toronto. Mrs. Grant was very upset but finally agreed to Susan's plan for a surprise party for the couple at the Floating Rib where Susan had begun work as a hostess. When Jeff broke the news to Steve and Audrey, he accepted Audrey's congratulations but Steve was visibly upset, saying only that he thought the timing was bad, as Jeff was planning to take exams soon for his Medical license. Steve was Jeff's natural father, a fact only Audrey knew, and neither were aware that the grandson Steve could never acknowledge and whom they believed to be dead had been adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Peter Taylor. 

Lamont Corbin had been readmitted to General Hospital for testing after he had experienced a number of episodes of numbness in his hand, a repetition of symptoms he experienced before his recent neurosurgery. At Dr. Steve Hardy’s insistence, Mark had taken himself off the case.

Lesley arrived home to find a note from Laura saying that she was in love with David and he was taking her away. She was unable to contact Rick and drove immediately to Hamilton’s apartment. As she got to the corridor, Laura burst out and stood in a state of shock, keening over and over that David laughed at her. - David was furious at finding Laura at his door and took delight in telling her that he used her and planned to run out on her. When he learned that Laura had already left a note revealing their relationship he showed her the envelope with her letters that he planned to send and told her it was not necessary then, tearing them to pieces and throwing them up in the air to scatter all over the room. Laura struck out at him and David went down. As Laura and Lesley were in the hall he got up and staggered around the room. -

Lesley told Laura to stay where she was while she went into David’s apartment to call Rick. She stepped to the doorway and saw David on the floor. Lesley looked back to see that Laura had disappeared. She examined David and found him dead. She gathered up the fragments of paper and retrieved a night-gown of Laura's and the sketch Hamilton did of her and stuffed them into a suitcase Laura had brought with her, hiding them in the trunk of her car. Unable to reach Rick, she picks up the phone and called the police to report that she, Dr. Lesley Webber, had accidentally killed a man.

At the police station, Lesley contacted Rick but as he was delayed by virtue of the fact that he had been unable to locate Lee Baldwin. Scotty had lied that Lee’s whereabouts were unknown and sent Barbara Spencer home when he found Lee drunk in his room. Lesley went ahead and gave the police a statement, waiving her right to have an attorney present. Rick finally arrived with Howard Lansing but Lesley had already made her statement alleging that David was drunk and attempted to rape her. Lesley’s story was convincing as she was reliving the episode months before, which she had kept from Rick. 

Lesley was released on her own recognizance and Rick took her home. Laura was asleep, having gotten home on her own. The following morning Lesley woke Laura and learned that she had no recollection of being with Lesley in the corridor or anything past the moment when David threw up the letters and poems. Lesley told her that she had destroyed any evidence that Laura was there and insisted that she never mention it, saying that she had not told Rick. Lesley told Laura that David attacked her and she – Lesley - killed him.

Indications were that Corbin’s artery, which Mark Dante replaced in surgery, was malfunctioning. After conferring with Dr. Copeland by phone it was clear that another operation was out of the question. Mark told Katie Katy that the trouble might be due to strain and if she was responsible for Lamont’s emotional strain, as she had indicated in their personal life, she had better see what she could do to counteract it. At Steve Hardy’s insistence Mark arranged for Dr. Cantrell to fly to Port Charles and Mark himself prepared to leave for a vacation in Boston.

When the District Attorney reviewed the Coroner's report the following day, he was faced with contradictions: there was no trace of alcohol in Hamilton’s system and David appeared to have fallen against the hearth where there were traces of blood, not to have been struck by the statuette which Lesley reported was the cause of death. Lesley was not aware that the statuette was a present to David from Laura and was charged to Lesley’s account.

May 1978

by Jon-Michael Reed

Susan took advantage of Peter’s loneliness when Diana refused to stop catering to P.J.  Laura used Daren to cover her tracks with David.  Katy went to Boston after Lamont threatened to ruin Mark’s career.  Lee hit the bottle because of Gail’s rebuffs and took a powder.  Heather and Jeff planned a weekend and Steve kept his objections quiet. Katy decided to return to Lamont to save Mark’s career, and the Corbins made plans to leave town.  Rick was suspicious when he and Lesley learned that Laura lied about dating Darren and was seeing other boys.  Dan Rooney courted Jessie.  Lee buried himself in a bottle, and everyone fretted about his condition.  David was panicked, thinking his backers will do him in if the land deal doesn’t go through.  Kate ordered David to settle with the Hauser men.  Monica spotted David closing the deal and squealed to Rick.  Peter stepped in when Susan’s former paramour, Dr. Lyle Abbott, arrived and made a pass at her.  Katy failed to respond to Lamont’s advances.  Then he was rushed back to the hospital after symptoms of his condition recurred.  Heather turned down Jeff’s marriage proposal.  Jessie had another dizzy spell.  David arranged to show Laura’s love letters to Rick.  David’s schemes were uncovered.  Laura went bananas and struck David when he told her he’d been lying all along.  Then, Lesley found David’s body and took the rap, claiming it was self-defense because he had tried to rape her.  Heather gave in and married Jeff.  Scotty tried to convince Lee to attend AA meetings.  Mark asked for a leave of absence to go to Boston.  Lesley was released on her own recognizance.  The police found Lesley’s confession to David’s murder inconsistent with the physical evidence.  Laura can’t remember the murder details and Les ordered her to forget she was even there.  To relieve Lamont’s state of relapse, Katy assured him she’d remain his wife. Scotty convinced Gail to lend a helping hand to alcoholic Lee.  Mark discovered that Dan had made the secret deposits to Mark’s account.

May 1978

JUNE 1978