ALL MY CHILDREN 

Q:        I watched AMC years ago and I remember when Tad Martin first came to Pine Valley.  I think he also had a sister.  Then my husband’s job transferred us out of the states and I missed a lot.  The next time I watched was in 1985, Tad was grown and there was no mention of his sister.  Can you please fill me in on what I missed?  Thanks so much.  Ronna Perlman, Miami FL 

A:        Tad had a sister named Jenny, but the two were separated in 1973, when they were both still quite young.  One day, Tad’s father, Ray Gardner, took Tad to a park in Pine Valley, threw him out of his car, and left him abandoned.  Tad was only ten years old at the time.  Knowing that Tad desperately needed a loving home, Jeff Martin and his wife Mary, wanted to adopt him, but did not know where to contact his father, in order to begin the adoption process.  Meanwhile, Tad was staying with Jeff’s parents, Joe and Ruth Martin.   

            Jeff was heartbroken when Mary was killed during a break-in in their home.  After losing Mary, Jeff decided to leave town, so Joe and Ruth became Tad’s legal guardian’s until an adoption could be arranged. 

            Finally in 1977, Ruth and Joe moved to finalize their adoption of Tad.  His father, Ray Gardner, had been located, so Joe flew out to Texarkana where Ray demanded $10,000 in return for his allowing them to adopt Tad. Joe refused to give in to extortion from Ray, who was clearly a dangerous man.  Ray took the next bus out of town and headed for Pine Valley. 

            When Ray showed up at the Martin’s home, Tad panicked. To Tad, Ray was      more like a demon than his father.  Ray enjoyed terrorizing Tad and his new family.  He was planning to leave town after he got the $10,000, but Ruth confronted him and refused to give in to his extortion attempts.   Ray knew that Ruth meant what she  said, and he was not happy.  One night, when Ruth crossed a deserted parking lot and unlocked her car, Ray was waiting for her.  He robbed, assaulted, raped, and knocked her out by the time Joe got there. Joe stopped him from killing her, but Ray managed to get away.  Ruth was taken to the hospital and remained in a coma for days before she awoke to the memory of what Ray had done to her.   Eventually Ray was apprehended and convicted of the rape.  Ruth and Joe were thrilled that they could finally adopt Tad, who was exuberant at legally becoming part of their family. 

            Ray escaped from prison in 1979 and returned to Pine Valley for revenge. He wanted to make Ruth and Joe pay for having him incarcerated.  Ray took Chuck and Donna Tyler hostage, but was soon captured and sent back to prison. 

            Tad enjoyed his life as part of the Martin family, but as he grew into a teenager he began giving them a lot of grief. In 1981, he began smoking marijuana and stealing. Though both Ruth and Joe tried to straighten him out, when the pressure of life at home became too much, he ran away. Soon after Tad left, his mother, Opal Gardner, turned up on the Martin’s doorstep with her teenage daughter, Jenny. 

            Jenny struck up an instant friendship with one of the locals, Jessie Hubbard, and the two teenagers found they could lean on each other for support.  Soon she also met Greg Nelson, who was from one of Pine Valley’s leading families.  Greg became instantly captivated by Jenny, even though she was from the wrong side of the tracks.  This upset Liza Colby, who was also part of the upper crust of Pine Valley, and whom Greg had known his entire life. 

            Liza used every opportunity to make Jenny feel that she was not good enough for  Greg, but neither Liza nor  Greg's mother Enid, could stop them from falling deeper in love.  When Greg gave Jenny his class ring, Enid and Liza manipulated Jenny into believing that she would have to break up with Greg for his own good. Even though she was heartbroken, Jenny wrote Greg a letter, breaking up with him. 

            Jenny's friends and her mother, Opal, could not understand why she had broken up with Greg, because they had seemed so happy together.  Jennie made up an excuse and told her mother that she ended their relationship so she could pursue a career in modeling, and  she went back to work at Foxy's Bar to make money for an upcoming trip to New York.  Jesse’s girlfriend, Angie, knew that Jenny loved Greg, and she told him so.  Before long, Greg and Jenny were back together, which thrilled everyone, except Enid and Liza. 

            Liza vowed to make Jenny’s life hell.  Jenny and Liza both became contestants for the title of Miss Junior Pine Valley. Jenny appeared to win the crown, but when the votes were counted, Liza was declared the winner, and Jenny was the runner up.  When it came out that Liza had arranged to become the winner, she retaliated against Jenny by telling her all about her father and the fact that he was a rapist.  Jenny was shocked by the horrifying truth, and went to confront her father in jail.  She became so upset with the knowledge of her dysfunctional family, that she let town immediately for New York. 

            Not long after Jenny left town, Liza falsely accused Jesse of rape, and he ran away to join Jenny in New York.  Meanwhile in Pine Valley, Greg missed Jenny terribly.  Jenny and Jesse spent the summer together in New York as good friends, as each of them missed their  true loves, Greg and Angie. Toward the end of the year, Jenny returned to Pine Valley, and on Christmas Eve Greg asked her to marry him. 

            In 1983, Ray Gardner was still continuing his vengeful quest to get even  with the Martins.  He built a bomb and planted it in their basement, setting it to go off at midnight on New Year’s Eve.  At the last minute, Greg accidentally found  Ray, who had been hiding in the basement. When Ray realized that Jenny was in the house, he grabbed the bomb and ran out, holding it against his chest. He was still holding it when the bomb detonated, and was blown to bits. 

            Tad came home to his  family the same year.  Joe and Ruth, noticed right away that their son had changed. He was older, wiser, and craftier. Tad had turned into a con artist and a practical joker.  On one occasion, Tad  played a porn film for his fellow classmates, not knowing that his sister’s face had been edited into the film.  Jenny was so shocked and embarrassed, that she tried to get away from them by climbing onto a catwalk high above the auditorium. Greg risked his life to save her, but he lost his balance and fell off the ledge. When he found out he was paralyzed, Greg broke off with Jenny to spare her the pain of living with a cripple. 

Jenny went back to modeling in New York, where she met Tony Barclay, a handsome male model.  Soon, Olga Svenson, a modeling mogul, arranged to have it appear that Jenny and Tony were romantically involved, in order to promote her public relations and her business.  Her plan worked so well she suggested that they present a phony engagement to the media. 

            Back in Pine Valley, Tad was busily pursuing Liza Colby, and she fell for him, not knowing that at the same time he was having an affair with her mother, Marian. When she later discovered that her mother was the other woman in Tad's life, she went on a self-destructive rampage of sleeping with every man she could find. 

            Eventually Greg regained the use of his legs. When Jenny heard the wonderful news that Greg was recovering, she realized that she loved him and told Tony that the wedding that had been planned for them was off.  Then she sent a letter to Greg telling him how much she still loved him.  However, Greg’s mother found the letter before Greg could see it, and she hid it from him. 

            When Jenny did not hear from Greg, she thought he was no longer in love with her, and she agreed to marry Tony.  When Greg discovered her letter, he raced to the church and got there just in time.  He charged up the aisle, punched Tony right  in the middle of the ceremony, and demanded to speak with Jenny.  He explained how his mother had kept the letter from him, and that Tony had known about it all along.

Then he told Jenny that he had never stopped loving her.  Jenny and Greg were married on Valentines Day, 1984.   

On a beautiful summer day while Greg, Jenny and Tad were enjoying themselves at a nearby lake, Tony hooked up a bomb to the engine of a jet ski that Greg had  been planning to ride.  At the last minute, Jenny decided to ride the jet ski first, and was severely injured in the explosion, and died a few hours later.

Q:        Has Marj Dusay worked on any other daytime soaps, and can you tell me something about her background?  Kathy Warren, PA 

A:        Yes, over the years, Ms. Dusay has become a daytime favorite with soap fans.  She appeared in Capitol from 1983-86 and Santa Barbara from 87-88. Her portrayal of Alexandra led to her Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in 1995.  

            She was born Marjorie Ellen Pivonka Mahoney in Russell, Kansas.  Her career began when she became a part of a Los Angeles based improvisational comedy group called The Session, with Rob Reiner and Richard Dreyfuss.

In her first film, Ms. Dusay co-starred with Elvis Presley in Clam Bake.   Her other feature film credits include MacArthur, Breezy, Made in Heaven, Love Walked In, and Sweet November.

Along with being accomplished on the stage, she has had lead roles in Facts of Life, Sons and Daughters, Bret Maverick, Studio 5-B and Cliff Hangers. She has also guest-starred in over 150 television series, including WKRP in Cincinnati, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Heat of the Night, Perfect Strangers, Murder, She Wrote, Dallas and Star Trek. Her television work also includes miniseries credits, Daughters of Privilege, Wheels and Fire in the Sky.  Ms. Dusay served as the Kansas Film Commissioner from 1984-98 and is still active in the organization's efforts to bring the film world to her home state of Kansas. 

In her leisure time, she enjoys golf.  She lives in Manhattan and is the mother of actress Deborah Dusay Blocker and the late Randall Dusay, who died of AIDS in  1993; and grandmother to Deena Randall. 

An interesting bit of information on Ms Dusay’s role of Vanessa, is that originally, it was only to be for three months, but because AMC viewers had such an incredible reaction to her, it became a contract role.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE 

Q:            In my opinion, Bo and Nora, and Cristian and Jessica were OLTL’s breakout couples until TPTB wrongly chose to break them up and pair them with those darn Rappaports!  Can you please give me a rundown of their love stories?  VW, NY

A:        Bo and Nora:

Bo and Nora first met in 1992, when she came to Llanview to open a law practice.  Bo was mourning the loss of Sarah Gordon Buchanan, who had been killed in a car accident.  (Sarah had been his third wife, but she had died in a plane crash in 1988.  After he married Cassie Callison, he discovered that Sarah was alive, so he and Cassie divorced).  Bo and Sarah reunited and remained together, hoping to be remarried.  The accident occurred on the day before their wedding.  Sarah and Bo had been in the car together while he was driving, which made Bo feel responsible for her death, even though the oncoming vehicle had run them off the road.   

Many months passed before Bo could deal with Sarah’s death.  Then he met Nora, who gave him support, and helped him come to grips with his loss. As they grew closer, Nora tried to hide her fear from Bo that she had been the driver of the other car           that ran him and Sarah off the road.  They were both relieved when it turned out that Nora, who had been suffering from blinding headaches and blackouts, was not to blame.   As their love deepened, Bo realized that Nora was the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He proposed to her and Nora happily accepted. 

When Todd Manning, Powell Lord and Zach Rosen were accused of raping Marty Saybrooke at a frat house party, Nora agreed to represent them. Only after she began her defense did Nora discover that Todd had previously been accused of raping another college co-ed, which changed her views of the three boys drastically.  She gave her summation and also made it clear to the court that she felt they were all guilty, and  a mistrial was declared.  Todd swore he would get revenge on Nora for what she had done.

After Marty went on radio and rehashed the events of the night she was raped, Todd confronted her in an alley and threatened to rape her again.  He was apprehended and sentenced to nine years in prison. 

Meanwhile, Nora found out the reason she had been having such terrible headaches, when the doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumor.  She agreed to have an operation, but kept it from Bo, as she knew how worried he would become.  When Bo found out, he hurried to the hospital to be by her side.   

Soon after she recovered from her surgery, Nora lost her sight.  Todd, who had managed to escape from prison, came back to Llanview.  Armed with a knife, he trapped Nora in a beach house and attempted to rape her, but she stopped him by hitting him over the head with a lamp.  At the same time Nora was fighting for her life, Bo heard a report on the radio that Todd had escaped.  Fearing for Nora’s safety, he headed for the beach house and arrived just in time to save her.  Injured from his altercation with Nora, Todd fled the scene and headed to The Tabernacle of Joy where he persuaded Rebecca Lewis to help him.  When Bo finally caught up with him later in the woods, they fought and Todd fell into the river, but he survived and made his way once again back to Llanview.  He was able to elude the police until the night of an annual Costume Ball at Serenity Springs, where he was finally cornered and forced to surrender.   

On the day he was being transferred back to Statesville Prison, the police car Todd was in had a flat tire and collided with another vehicle driven by none other than Marty, who had Jessica and little CJ with her.  Marty’s car careened out of control and ended up hanging off a cliff.  For some reason, Todd had a change of heart and ended up saving them, which later landed him a pardon for bravery. 

Bo and Nora were finally married in 1995, in a rock and roll wedding, where  Little Richard pronounced them man and wife.  After the ceremony, all the guests danced down the aisle and headed off to the reception that had been decorated like a 50’s sock hop. Needless to say, Bo and Nora were in seventh heaven.

After telling Bo that his mother, Becky, was dead, Drew was shocked when she turned up in Llanview in 1996.  Becky told Drew that she wanted him to get money from his “deadbeat” father so she could finance the rebirth of her singing career. Eventually, Bo discovered that Becky was still alive, and it upset him that Drew would lie to him, but eventually he forgave him.  Nora knew that the only way to get Becky out of their lives was to pay her off, so she did, and Becky left Llanview. 

With Becky out of their hair, Bo and Nora were able to enjoy their lives together once again, and they were the picture of marital bliss, until a newcomer, by the name of Georgie Phillips, came to town.  Georgie did everything she could to get herself into their lives.  She became close to Nora, while she secretly plotted to ruin their marriage.  She began by insinuating to Bo that there was something going on between Nora, and her ex-beau and co-worker, Sam Rappaport, whom Nora had worked with in Chicago years ago.  When that attempt failed and Bo would not fall into her bed, she convinced Nora’s daughter, Rachel, that Bo was the married with whom she was having an affair.  When Bo caught on to Georgie’s plan, he told her she had a week to get out of Llanview, but she refused to give up.  She snuck into Bo and Nora’s bedroom and placed a camera out of sight, to record them in bed together.  Then she edited the tape to make it look as if it was actually her and Bo in bed.  When Rachel told Nora that Georgie had said she was having an affair with Bo, Nora tried to call Bo at the station, but he wasn’t there.  Then she saw the photo that Georgie had edited, of her and Bo, and she was livid.  She ran out and headed to the Buchanan lodge. Nora was in such a rage that she did not see Bo pass her on the road, going the other way.  (Georgie had told Bo to meet her there.)  When Nora got to the lodge, and saw Georgie kissing someone who had on the same jacket as Bo, she immediately thought the worst. 

Nora was hysterical as she headed down the road.  She ended up at a biker bar, where she did her best to drink her troubles away.  After a few drinks Nora was completely out of it and started dancing with one of the bikers.  Before long she passed out.  One of the bikers found her business card that had fallen out of her purse, and he called Sam.  Sam got Nora in his car and drove to a motel where he put her in bed to sleep it off before returning home.  After seeing Georgie, and the man she thought was Bo, she was feeling very rejected and unloved and practically begged Sam to make love to her, but he resisted.  Sam decided to call Bo instead.  When Bo arrived, Nora agreed to go back to Llanview with him, but she was still doubtful of his fidelity. 

Bo and Nora were able to rebuild their trust in each other, until Bo became the prime suspect in Georgie’s murder.  Bo was thrilled as he watched Drew graduate from the police academy, but shortly afterwards he was arrested for the murder.  The night before Bo’s arraignment, Drew told him that he had an affair with Georgie and was the father of the baby she had been carrying when she was killed, but he assured Drew that when he left the lodge, she was still alive. 

Bo decided to plead guilty in order to give his son time to find the real murderer, although Nora was convinced that it was Drew.  To protect his father, Drew manufactured evidence to make it look as if he had killed Georgie, and he was soon arrested.  As it turned out, Rachel admitted to killing Georgie, but Nora was so afraid of having her daughter go to prison that she took her out of town.  Bo went after them and brought them back to Llanview, where Rachel was later convicted and sentenced to six months in Statesville. 

Trouble was still in sight for Bo and Nora.  When they decided to have a baby, the doctor told them to have some tests run to make sure they could still conceive.  Sam’s ex-wife, Lindsay, happened to overhear what was being said and she managed to alter the test results to show that Bo could not father a child.  Lindsay hated Nora and was crazy with jealousy because of Sam’s past relationship with her.  She would do anything to ruin her life. 

When Drew was killed, Bo went into a deep depression and took off on a boat during a bad storm.  Afraid that Bo would not have the will to survive, Nora got on a  ham radio and told him he would have to come back because they were going to have a baby.  So Bo made it back, but was put into the hospital with pneumonia. 

Nora felt so guilty about lying to Bo, even though she had done it to save his life.  Now she was having to live with her conscience.  She tried many times to tell him the truth, but could never get her courage up to say it.  She decided the only thing she could do was get pregnant, so she went to Sam and explained her situation.  She told him she needed him to help her, but he refused to be a part of it.  Eventually he changed his mind and they made love, hoping she would get pregnant.  Without them knowing, Lindsay saw them go into the cabana at the country club.  She took advantage of this knowledge to continuously harass Nora about what she and Sam had done behind Bo’s back.   

A few weeks later when Nora found she was pregnant, she told Bo and he was thrilled. At the same time, Lindsay tried her best to get Sam to admit he was the father of Nora's baby.  As time passed, Bo began to worry that Nora was keeping something from him and he feared that she was sick.  Meanwhile, Nora decided that she was going to tell him the truth about her and Sam, but Nora never got the chance because during an awards ceremony to honor Nora, Lindsay jumped up to the podium and announced to everyone that Nora was having Sam’s baby. Bo was furious to learn that  Nora had lied to him. Unable to forgive her lies, Bo packed a bag and walked out on Nora.  She was devastated when Bo served her with divorce papers. 

Because of everything she had been through, Nora was on the verge of an emotional collapse so the doctors ordered strict bed rest. When she went into early labor, Sam rushed her to the hospital. Bo was at the hospital and witnessed Nora being rushed into the emergency room  where she soon gave birth to a baby boy that they decided to name Matthew.  Nora  later went into shock, but recovered and was able to visit the baby in the neonatal unit. 

Knowing that this was a bad time for Bo, Lindsay made every effort to console him, hoping to get closer, but he told her he did not want to turn to her out of pain. 

When baby Matthew had a seizure Nora became hysterical and the doctors had to sedate her.  Even though Sam had been taking care of Nora after her split with Bo, Sam went to bring Bo to the hospital, thinking Nora could use his support.  When he arrived at Bo’s apartment, he was surprised to find Lindsay in Bo’s bed.  He told Lindsay that in Nora’s condition, it was no time to be telling her about sleeping with Bo, but Lindsay ignored him and made it a point to make Nora aware of their relationship.  After that, she told Bo that Sam had been the one who had told Nora about them.  When Bo found out about Lindsay's lie, he told her that he never wanted to see her again, but Lindsay vowed not to give up on him. 

After the birth of their baby, Nora and Sam  became much closer, and Nora   realized that no one would ever love her as much as Sam. 

Soon after Matthew was born, Nora ran into her doctor at the hospital and was stunned when he told her that there had been a mix-up with Bo's test results and that he could father a child after all.  Naturally, Lindsay was eavesdropping once again and heard every word. 

After her talk with the doctor, Nora realized that Bo could be Matthew's father, but she could not bring herself to tell either Bo or Sam. She decided to have Matthew's DNA tested  to determine conclusively who his father was.  Lindsay tried to blackmail Nora into not having the test, but Nora refused to give in to her threats. Still, Lindsay would not give up, and vowed that she would make sure the results showed that Sam was Matthew's father. After several tries, Lindsay was able to bribe the lab technician to alter the results.  One night, after Lindsay got drunk on too much wine, she told Sam, without meaning to, that she had Bo’s fertility test results altered. 

     A few months later, while Bo and Lindsay were resuming their relationship,  Sam was asking Nora to marry him, but she hesitated giving him an answer, as she was afraid of losing what they already had.  

In November 1999, Nora finally made up her mind to accept Sam’s proposal of marriage.  They planned their wedding for New Year's Eve, but Nora became trapped inside a warehouse on her way to the ceremony. Bo tried to rescue her, and they both wound up being locked inside.   Bo tried everything he could think of to get himself and Nora out, and in his efforts, he was electrocuted and Nora panicked, fearing he was dead.  While all this was going on, Sam and Lindsay were desperate to find them and Lindsay worried that her petty jealousy had sent Bo back to Nora’s waiting arms.  Bo finally regained consciousness, much to Nora’s relief and Sam got them out. 

Later on, when Lindsay started to give up hope for her and Bo to ever get together, he reassured her by telling her that he loved her and wanted her to marry him.  

Meanwhile, Nora was getting very anxious and wanted to be married right away.  They even got as far as the courthouse, but Sam was having a hard time understanding why she wanted to be married so quickly, so they decided to wait as little longer. 

Lindsay soon discovered she was pregnant and went to Sam to tell him that she was planning to tell Bo on the night of their wedding, but she had no idea what was in store for her.  When Nora found out that Lindsay had Bo’s fertility results changed, she went to Sam, only to find out that he already knew.  Sam tried to convince her to let it rest, but Nora had other plans, and they included Lindsay.  On the day Bo and Lindsay were to be married, Nora arrived at the ceremony just as they were about to say their vows.  She told Bo about Lindsay changing his test results, and he was stunned.  Lindsay confessed, and then told him she was having his baby, but by this time Bo did not believe her.  She gave him back his ring and their relationship came to an end.   As hurt and disappointed as Bo was in Lindsay’s actions, he was also furious with Nora and  told her he could not understand why she had exposed Lindsay's secret on what was supposed to have been his wedding day.  Sam was also upset with Nora and temporarily moved out of their house.   

In time, Sam had another DNA test done on Matthew.  This time it was done so that no one would be allowed access except the designated technician.  The final results proved conclusively that Sam was Matthew’s biological father.  This will prove to be the tie that will bind Nora and Sam together.  Although Nora will always love Bo, she is “in love” with Sam.      

                               **********

Jessica and Cristian:

Jessica first met Cristian at a dance in Angel Square in the summer of ‘95, and it was love at first sight, despite their cultural differences.  Jessica came from a very prosperous family, lived in a mansion, and had never known hardship.  Cristian’s family lived in a neighborhood plagued with gang violence and their entire lives had been a struggle just to make ends meet.  Even with the different worlds they grew up in, Cris reached beyond his social class to become Jessica's first boyfriend. 

         As the two of them grew closer, Cristian fought to distance himself from the gang life that had done such irreparable damage to his family.  When Jessica's father, Clint, caught them together, he told Jessica he did not want her to see Cristian again, and Cristian’s mother, Carlotta, agreed. 

            When Cristian urged Jessica to sleep with him, she struggled with the decision, as she had wanted to remain a virgin until she was married. 

            In the spring of ‘97, Jessica gave Cristian her shoulder to lean on while his brother, Antonio, went on trial for the murder of underworld kingpin, Carlo Hesser. When his brother  was exonerated, Cris and Jessica went to her mother’s cabin, where Cris once again asked Jessica to go all the way. Even though she thought she had her mind made up to give in and make love with him, at the last minute she backed down, afraid of losing her virginity. 

            Soon after, Jessica was crushed when Cristian suggested  to her that they should see other people. Because she was hurt by his words, Jessica asked another boy, Darcy, to her prom, and when Cristian showed up at the last minute, Jessica was forced to choose between the two of them. When she ultimately chose Darcy, Cristian was hurt, not knowing that her feelings for him had never changed. Chris remained the only one in her heart, and she loved him dearly. 

            In time, Jessica and Cristian reconciled and remained deeply in love. However, in ‘98, their relationship was put to the test when Roseanne Delgado arrived in Llanview.  Roseanne and Cristian had been very close friends from their childhood and Jessica thought she would surely lose Cristian to the worldly Roseanne. 

 At this same time, Will Rappaport arrived in town at the request of his mother, Lindsay, who had recently married Clint.  Jessica quickly befriended him, as her new  step-brother.  When Jessica thought that her relationship with Cristian was over because of Roseanne, she was hurt and angry.  She and Will went to the lodge and started drinking, and they ended up sleeping together.  A few weeks later,  Jessica discovered that she was pregnant. 

 Cristian was shocked when he found out that Jessica was pregnant, and hurt           that she had slept with Will.  Given time, he came to accept the situation and he and Jessica remained together. Cristian loved her so much that he told her he wanted to be a father to the baby, even though it would not be his.  Before long they left town to be married, but Jessica changed her mind at the last minute. So they returned to Llanview and Jessica decided to give the baby up for adoption once it was born, though later she changed her mind.  Jessica and Cristian became engaged and they planned to move to New York City, where they would raise the baby, while Cristian attended art school.  

 On the night of their engagement party at the Crossroads, Will and Cristian got into an argument, which upset Jessica, and she ran outside to get away from them.  As she was running across the road, a car approached, but the driver did not see her in time. Jessica was struck by the car, and went into early labor.  Dorian Lord, who was on her way to Crossroads to make peace with Jessica’s mother, had been the driver of the car, but she panicked and took off after she called for help. 

Jessica survived the accident, but her baby daughter died a few hours after being born. When she regained consciousness she had no memory of the accident, no recollection of being pregnant, or of ever loving Cristian.  The loss of their baby made Jessica and Will turn to each other for comfort and they began to grow closer.  Jessica and Will left town together and continued to bond, though Will tried his best to hide his growing feelings for her. While they were gone, Jessica regained her memory of the accident and her love for Cristian. 

Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Roseanne took advantage of Jessica being gone by doing everything she could to seduce Cristian.  Cristian finally gave in to her and they made love, while, unbeknownst to him, Jessica was headed back to town to reclaim his love. As soon as she returned to Llanview, Jessica went to tell Cristian     that she loved him and wanted him back, but when she got there, he was in bed with Roseanne. Roseanne slipped out without being seen when she heard Jessica tell him that she wanted to get back together.  By then Cristian was confused and told Jessica to take a few days to make sure of her feelings for him.

Cristian decided he was going to tell Jessica about his new relationship with Roseanne, but he never got the chance. He rescued Roseanne on the docks when she was attacked and took her back to his apartment to comfort her. When Jessica walked in and saw them together in an embrace, Cristian was forced to admit that he had slept with Roseanne.  Faced with his confession, Jessica wanted nothing more to do with him.  

Cristian told Roseanne that he was going to NY in order to attend art school, and Roseanne maneuvered herself to go along with him.  Roseanne was more determined than ever to keep Cristian and Jessica apart and she managed to bring Will into her scheme. Roseanne told him that if he loved Jessica and wanted her to himself, he would have to give her (Roseanne) money so she and Cristian could afford to stay in NY.  In the end, Will ended up borrowing money from the Megan Foundation ( which had been set up in memory of his and Jessica’s baby), to help Roseanne keep Cristian in New York City. During this time, Jessica and Will were starting to develop deeper feelings for one another. 

 Jessica was fit to be tied when she found out that Will and Roseanne had schemed to keep Cristian away from Llanview and believed her grandfather, Asa, when he accused him of embezzling from the Megan Foundation.  However, in time, Jessica came to realize that Asa had framed him. 

 Jessica and Cristian teamed up to get evidence to use against Asa after Will was sentenced to spend several years in Statesville Prison.  They went to the hospital, where Asa was recuperating from a heart attack, and Jessica was able to get him to confess on a hidden tape recorder, how he had framed Will.  Max, who had been standing outside the door, took the tape away from them when he overheard them talking about it, and gave it back to Asa, who threw it out the window.  After searching through the dumpster, they finally found the tape and raced to give it to Bo, who was about to escort Will on the train to Statesville.  

They found Bo on the train with Will, then watched in horror as it crashed. In all the chaos that followed, Jessica and Cristian were able to  sneak Will away from the authorities. 

Together, Jessica, Will and Cristian all became fugitives when they went on the run while waiting for Will's name to be cleared. Jessica even worked as a singer in rock band while they were hiding out on the road. After one particular performance at a club in Ohio, Jessica was shocked when she saw that Todd was there.  He offered to help them, but Jessica was not sure if he could be trusted.  She was right to doubt his motives, because Todd had his own agenda.  However, he did arrange a brief reunion between Jessica and her mother.  Jessica hated adding to Viki's problems while she dealt with breast cancer, but Viki understood  why Jessica was trying to help Will.  

Todd managed to convince Will that Viki was dying of cancer and told him he should be a man and see to it that Jessica returned home, but Cristian knew he was lying.  Wanting to do the right thing, Will did what he thought was best for Jessica and said he was leaving on his own.  Naturally, this made Jessica feel that Will had betrayed her, while Cristian was there to comfort her.  After Will left them, Jessica felt that Cristian was the one who really loved and cared about her, and then made love.  It was not long before the authorities found them and they were arrested.  

            In time, Jessica learned the truth about why Will had left and the role that Cristian and Todd had played in his leaving.   

Jessica soon learned that Will was in Ireland and headed there to confront him in person. When she found Will, they talked and she came to understand what had  really happened.  Meanwhile, Asa sent Max to bring Will back to serve his time.  Max found him in Ireland and he was arrested by the Irish police.  Jessica told Will that she would stand by him to the end.  Along with Will’s father, Sam, they returned to Llanview.

Once back in Llanview, Jessica worried that Will would be sent to Statesville Prison, but soon they would find out who could set him free.  As it turned out, Colin MacIver had the tape recording Jessica had made of Asa's confession and used it to cut a deal for himself  when he faced charges for kidnapping Nora Buchanan after the train wreck.  When the truth came out Will was released from jail. 

 Jessica and Will were closer and more in love than ever, which did not make Cristian happy.  He became very despondent and went on a downward spiral. Now Jessica does not want to hurt Cristian but she knows in her heart that Will is the man with whom she wants to be.

                                *************

(Note:   At times it can become very frustrating for fans to accept changes that are written in by the writers of OLTL, as well as other soaps.  Over time, we form an attachment to certain couples, and would like them to remain together, through hell and high water.  When this does not happen some of us may actually feel cheated, or feel that “TPTB” do not have the interests of the viewers in mind.

The story of Bo and Nora is a good example of this.  Nora and Bo stayed together through many rough times, but now she has moved on. Even though the chances of her getting over her love for him is not likely, she has a son by Sam, whom she also loves, while Bo is now in a loving relationship with Melanie. 

With Cristian and Jessica, the characters' lives are still in the formative stages because they are so young, and the viewers can hold out hope that they will find their way back to one another.) 

GENERAL HOSPITAL 

Q:        On the November 14^th episode of General Hospital there was a song that played at the end.  How can I find out the name of the artist and/or song title?  And is it available for purchase?  Thanks.  Margaret Harrison

A:        You were in luck with this one, Margaret.  It so happens that our great mystical leader Katrina knew the song title AND the artist!  The song is “Weak For Love”, and is performed by Canadian recording artist, Daniel Lavoie.  I checked with Cdnow.com and found that it is available as a single for $2.49.

Q:        The only reason I watch GH is Sonny and Carly.  I’m anxiously awaiting Sonny telling her that he loves her.  I know he’s said “I love you” to Brenda and that it took him forever to finally tell her.  I was wondering what made him say it, and did he ever say it to Hannah?  Gag me with a spoon if the answer is yes.  Thanks.

Melanie “Mel” Vonovick

A:            Brenda first realized she was in love with Sonny on the day she saved his life.  Sonny had been in on an attempt to break mobster, Frank Smith, out of prison in ‘94, when things got out of hand. Sonny was shot twice, and was rescued by Brenda, who had a mob doctor give Sonny her blood to save his life.  In the middle of all this, Brenda realized that she had truly fallen for Sonny.  In time, Sonny also fell in love with Brenda, even though she gave him plenty of reasons not to.  However, it took months before he could actually say the “L” word to her.   

In March of ’97, Harry Silver, who had been Sonny’s cohort, plotted to kill Sonny and Brenda because he blamed them for Lily's death. Harry kidnapped Brenda, and was planning on killing her in front of Sonny.  He forced Brenda to go with him to the catacombs and then had her call Sonny. When Sonny got there, he and Harry fought and Harry was shot accidentally.  Right before Harry died of his bullet wound,  he detonated an explosion that sealed Sonny and Brenda in the catacombs, and        doomed them to die in each other's arms. Believing they were going to die and realizing that all they had left was each other, Sonny told her, “You’re a part of me              Brenda…I love you”, and they made love. 

Hannah first declared her love for Sonny on August 19th, of ’99, and then many, many (too many) times after that, but from what I have read, and from watching them at the time, I don’t believe Sonny ever came right out and said the word “Love” to her. Believe me, Mel, we would be fighting over that spoon if he had!