March 1983

Matt’s change of heart would only fuel Drake’s lawsuit against the hospital, this time solely targeting Matt. Drake would suffer a brief moment of clarity when reporter Bill Avery tried to convince him to drop the suit. Drake would seemingly appear to be at a crossroads until a bitter Emerson came upon him. With an axe to grind against Matt, Emerson would encourage Mr. Corbin to continue his lawsuit against the very hospital he worked for! Emerson would underline the importance of knocking Matt down a peg or two, and getting him out of the hospital for good. Motivated by Emerson’s words, Drake and his attorney would present the hospital with an ultimatum; continue on with this lawsuit or fire Matt. Sitting in on the proceedings as owner of the hospital, Mona would vehemently oppose such an offer. Matt, noticing the toll this would take on the hospital, would begin to consider resigning from the hospital. Days later, when Matt had decided to hand in his resignation, Drake would bump into Emerson and the pair would become embroiled in a heated confrontation, with Drake accusing Emerson of using him to do his dirty work. Drake would threaten to tell everyone what Emerson had urged him to do. In the midst of the argument, Drake would collapse right there in the elevator, his airway swollen. Much to Emerson’s shock, the elevator doors would open up to reveal Matt, stunned to see an unconscious Drake on the floor. With the help of Darren Match, an intern, Matt would execute a successful tracheotomy on Drake Corbin, using only an ink pen and plastic straw while in the elevator. Shortly after stabilizing Mr. Corbin, Drake would later be diagnosed with a case of vasculitis. Matt’s curiosity would be piqued when he’d think back to Emerson admitting that he and Drake had been arguing before the man had collapsed. Matt would wonder what the pair could have possibly been arguing about. When Drake regained consciousness, he’d be under the impression that Darren had saved his life, but soon Mr. Corbin would be thrown in for a loop when he’d learn that Matt was the one who he should be thanking. Faced with such a fact, Drake would experience an epiphany of sorts and call off his lawsuit against Dr. Powers. When Emerson paid Drake a visit to make sure the man would remain mum about his involvement in the lawsuit, Drake would keep the doctor on his toes, not certain what he was going to do. Shortly after reuniting with his family, Drake would decide to leave Madison for good. Shortly before departing, Drake would receive a visit from Matt. Drake would offer a sincere apology to the doctor and thank him for saving his life. Not revealing Emerson’s backhanded tactic to get Matt removed from the hospital; Drake would warn Matt to watch his back with Dr. Mitchell.

Jason and Nola’s daughter fell victim to a rare blood disorder that required a blood transfusion from the girl’s father. When Jessica flat lined and was subsequently brought back to life, it seemed as if Jason and Nola would find comfort in each other’s arms, until Lewis Baker, Nola’s business savvy fiancé walked in. Jason would be rendered speechless upon meeting the man, unable to deal with seeing the woman that he had once and still loved, with another man. As Nola and Jason celebrated the success of the blood transfusion, both would be at odds emotionally about how they felt towards each other.

One night a former john of Carrie’s made his way into Traci’s apartment and tried to have his way with the young woman. Luckily Tom and Traci would be in the next room, and would hear when Carrie signaled for help by knocking over a lamp. Both Traci and Tom would play hero, ending with Traci threatening to hit the guy in the groins with a baseball bat.

Tobias and Greta would continue to grow close, while both Natalie and Darren looked down upon their potential pairing. Darren, having pined away for Greta for years, made it known to Tobias that he didn’t think a man like him deserved Greta. Natalie would echo the same exact sentiments, and mentioned the secret past they shared together. Natalie and Tobias had once been engaged. On the eve of their wedding, Natalie, under the pressure of FBI agents, falsely testified that Tobias was a drug trafficker. With all of this weighing heavily on Tobias, he’d push Greta away, scarring her emotionally. Tobias’s home life would not be a walk in the park either; he had to deal with his violent and lush of a father Burton. Tobias would also have to shield his father’s fierce temper from his younger brother, Cyrus, who sympathized with Burton. Weeks later, good news would grace the Fullard household in the form of a job interview for the unemployed Burton. Were things finally looking up for this suffering family?

Stunned by the fact that a woman of Elizabeth’s age and stature was single, Mona would go against the young woman’s wishes and set her up on a blind date with Madison’s newest arrival, Royce Bryant. Though Elizabeth wasn’t particularly fond of the idea, she’d surprisingly get along with Royce upon their first meeting. However it’d be proven that there existed more to Elizabeth than what met the eye, when she made a cryptic call to someone noting how she had Mona and everyone in town fooled.

It would take a silver ring, for Emma to remember where she had met Walt Richards from. As a child, Emma’s family took in the son of a homeless man. That same young boy who stayed with Emma for many months kept the same ring that Walt wore on his finger today. When Emma confronted Walt with such a fact, a cornered Walt would confirm that her suspicions were true; his real name was not Walt Richards, but Denny Graves, the son of a coal miner in West Virginia. Walt would reveal that after his father died, he went to work for a coal company and after many years of hard work and dedication he rose up through the ranks. Upon amassing great wealth as President of that very same coal company, he changed his name to Walt Richards. Walt would have Emma swear to secrecy about his less than humble beginning, ashamed that his past might taint himself somehow in Mona’s eyes. Emma would reluctantly agree. From then on, Emma and Walt would reaffirm the friendship they had once forged as kids. Walt found Emma to be breath of fresh air, a break from the life he had submerged himself many years ago as the wealthy Walt Richards. He found Emma’s grounded personality charming, while Mona found their bond troubling.