MichaelGL

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.

February 1983 The Hope Charity Ball, an event designed to raise money for the hospital, was held at the country club. Much to Matt’s surprise, this year’s ball would be meant to honor him and his many years of dedication to the hospital. A variety of faces from Matt’s past would show up at the event, Rev. Samuel Shafer the former chaplain of the hospital, Dave Stewart, the son of Matt’s old colleague from medical school, and the wealthy Ebenezer Winthrop; a business mogul whose life Matt saved many years ago. The ball would have a variety of moments, from high drama to those of hope. Emerson and Mike made fools of themselves by having too much to drink. Mike publicly expressed his disproval of his father’s relationship with the much younger M.J. Match, while Emerson made his jealousy of Matt known to everybody. Despite the intensity of such moments, it would bring Matt much joy to deliver the grandchild of his very first patient, right there on the ballroom floor. Shortly after such a monumental event, Matt would come to realize that his services as a doctor were still needed, and he’d decide to not retire. Bill would shed his combative attitude towards Matt, and write a favorable article praising Matt’s years at Hope Memorial. Elsewhere that night the infamous Ann Larimer would return to town, making a surprising visit to her ex-husband Steve. In the midst of pouring her heart out to him, Steve would shockingly regain consciousness! Jason and Erich would be rendered speechless upon seeing Steve awake. Soon news would spread of Steve’s awakening, and it’d reach the guests at the charity ball. Unfortunately for Tom, it’d interrupt his attempt to tell Carolee that he had fallen in love with her. Steve would share an emotional reunion with his family and friends, until one particular person would emerge from sidelines; Ann. When Steve wondered why Ann was not behind bars, soon the reason would come walking into his hospital room; a seven year old boy by the name of Jacob. “Steve, this is your son.” Ann would say to a shocked Steve. Carolee would reveal that she had not pressed charges against Ann because it’d leave the young boy parentless. Steve would try his best to grapple with such a fact. Many other stories played out on the night of the ball; Althea was involved in a head on collision with Hope Memorial’s newest doctor, Dr. Oliver Mitchell, Emerson’s estranged son. Sumner Prescott was revealed to be once an apprentice of Mona Aldrich’s. Mona’s business rival, Ebenezer Winthrop, revealed that he was moving his company and family to Madison. Ebenezer was married to Penelope Winthrop, who often kept her husband and family grounded. The couple shared a daughter, named Julie, who was quite the spoiled brat. Ebenezer’s handsome and ambitious nephew, Logan, resided with them. Ebenezer constantly groomed the young man to take over the Winthrop Empire, while brushing aside his daughter’s desire to join the corporate world. A teenage Michael-Paul Powers became the object of affection for Julie, while he pinned after his long time friend Stephanie, who dated Logan. Nurse Traci Bishop took in Carrie Ballard, a distressed prostitute who had been raped by the now deceased Fredrick Garland. Traci and Maggie helped Carrie find the strength to move on after the rape, while psychiatrist Gail Crawford helped the girl out psychologically. Traci wouldn’t take Carrie in out of sheer goodwill; she’d take the young woman in because she saw a bit of herself in Carrie. Taking Natalie aside in secret, Traci would admit that years ago while training to become a nurse; she too used to be a hooker. Traci would try to balance her attempt to turn Carrie’s life around with her blossoming friendship with Tom. Traci feared what would become of her friendship with Tom if he learned of her tawdry past. When Louise became privy to the nightmares her husband Emmett was having, she’d schedule to have him see a therapist. However upon going to the first session, Emmett would chicken out and fib to his wife that he had seen a shrink about his problems. Emerson would be stunned to learn that his son, Oliver, was now working at Hope Memorial. Charging into Matt’s office, Emerson would accuse the doctor of bringing their so called feud to an entirely new level. It would be then that a puzzled Matt would learn that Emerson was Oliver’s father, a fact that Matt that had been completely unaware of up until that moment. Calling Oliver into his office after Emerson stormed out, Matt would inquire why Oliver had kept such a secret from him. Oliver had not wished to make his father privy to the fact that he was in town, noting that he had no intentions of reconciling with him. Oliver simply cited his desire to work there at Hope Memorial without any interruption or distraction. When asked as to what was the source of this monumental rift between father and son, Oliver would strike an emotional chord with Matt by revealing that he held his father responsible for his mother’s suicide. In detail, Oliver would describe how his mentally ill mother unraveled day by day as Emerson focused heavily on his career as a doctor. One fateful day, Oliver’s mother would try to take her life by leaving the car on in the garage with a young Oliver in the backseat. Fortunately Emerson would arrive home early just in time to save his son, but it’d be too late for his wife. The story would nearly be similar to how Matt had lost his first wife, and how Mike came to resent him for her death. Matt would face the fact that possibly, he and Emerson weren’t so different after all. As the month progressed, Mona schemed to get Ann out of town by offering the woman money to either leave town with her son, or leave Jacob behind in the care of the Aldrich’s. When Ann refused to accept such an offer, Mona tried to recruit Ann’s protective yet absent minded father, Ben, to convince Ann to leave town. Ben made his skepticisms known to his daughter about the Aldrich’s accepting Jacob as their own. Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Luke urged his sister Nola to call Jason and tell him that Jessica had fallen ill. In the midst of celebrating his brother’s return, Jason would receive news of his daughter’s hospitalization and hightailed it straight to the city of brotherly love. Jason’s fiancé, Simone, fought off doubts that Jessica’s illness could bring Nola and Jason closer together. Mona spoiled her grandson, Peter, with a brand new mustang. Derek fumed at the idea of his mother in-law turning his son into a spoiled brat, and both he and Cal protested the gift. Meanwhile the cracks in Derek and Cal’s marriage would begin to show when the couple went house hunting. Shortly before arriving in town, Derek protested the idea of moving to Madison, but due to Cal’s constant prodding and begging, he’d give in. Similar to then, Cal would behave the same way about picking which house they lived in and her behavior resembled that of a spoiled brat. With their marriage on the rocks, Cal fought off the affections of her son’s friend from boarding school, Royce Bryant. Confident and handsome, Royce saw his friend’s mother as a stunning display of beauty, and he seized every opportunity to make this known to her. With her marriage more troubled than before, how long would Cal be able to fend off Royce’s attraction to her?

January 1983 Disillusioned with the medical profession and what it had become, long time doctor Matt Powers stunned his family and friends with his plans to retire. Matt would constantly butt heads with the hospital administrator, Emerson Mitchell, over budget cuts and hospital politics. Adding to the hostility between the two would be the fact that Dr. Mitchell was currently dating Matt’s ex-wife Dr. Maggie Hanson. Meanwhile, the career driven Dr. Althea Gibson dated the very ambitious Gordon Prescott. When Gordon’s father paid a visit to him, he’d be turned off by Althea’s strong sense of independence and her commitment to her career. In some ways, Sumner Prescott wanted his son to settle down with a woman who would undoubtedly settle down with his playboy son. The whole town would rally around the bedside of the comatose Dr. Steve Aldrich (The final three years of THE DOCTORS being a figment of Steve’s mind.), the victim of a car accident. For three years, his wife, Carolee, unwaveringly sat at his bedside hoping for the best, and yet there’d be no change in his condition. Returning to the family fold after ten years of having declared independence from her controlling mother, Dr. Cal Kincaid would arrive in town to accompany Carolee at her brother’s bedside. Losing faith, Carolee would contemplate taking her husband off of life support. While Cal vehemently opposed the idea, Mona would try to illustrate her side of the issue, supporting such an action after three years of torture. In the midst of all this, Carolee would seek comfort in the arms of Dr. Tom Crawford, a surgeon at Hope Memorial that Carolee had met three years ago. For those three years, Tom had become Carolee’s shoulder to lean on. A variety of new faces entered the focus. Cal’s senator husband, attorney Derek Kincaid shared a romantic past with Althea. Maggie’s niece Louise Parker and her cop husband Emmett. Emmett was haunted by memories from the Vietnam War. The Fullards entered the focus as well; they were headed by the abusive and alcoholic Burton. A widowed Burton resided with his two sons, Cyrus Fullard, a young teenage prodigy and the recently released from prison Tobias, who now worked at the hospital as a janitor. Accompanying the Fullards, would be the Kalikrates family who ran Pops Moon Palace, a diner frequented by much of the staff at the hospital. The family was composed of the eccentric Pops Kalikrates, the young and brooding Tony, and Alicia, a young social climber in training who envied the Aldrich’s wealth and power. Business mogul Walt Richards was Mona’s husband of three years, and continued to fight an uphill battle with pancreatic cancer. Carolee’s mother was revealed to have been living in Madison for quite some time after Steve’s accident. Emma helped Carolee raise Erich and Stephanie in Steve’s absence, and helped Carolee deal with Billy’s death. Emma ran the Simpson boarding house, not too far from the hospital, where Darren Match and Natalie Bell resided. Jason was revealed to be engaged to Simone Carlyle, a woman that worked for him at his law practice. Unbeknownst to Jason, his mother, Mona orchestrated his break up with Nola, by paying a woman to seduce her son. Taking her scheme even further, she arranged for Simone and Jason to hook up in order to prevent Simone’s mother, Edith, from selling her share of Aldrich Enterprises. Mona butted heads with the help at the mansion, while constantly smothering her ill husband. Mona continually feared losing her husband, but Walt would help Mona realize that letting him enjoy some of the finer things in life would not be the death of him. Carolee’s mother, Emma, was confident that she had met Mr. Richards before. Meanwhile Mona’s goddaughter, Elizabeth Stoddard had come to stay with her. The young girl appeared to have lived a tragic life, having lost her father only a few months ago. Meanwhile Elizabeth’s mother was nowhere to be seen while she grieved the loss of her father. The hospital was placed under lockdown when accused rapist Fredrick Garland took Carolee hostage. Matt and Maggie found themselves stuck in the elevator and were forced to sort through their problems. Greta grew close to the mysterious Tobias, while Natalie seethed in the background. As cops Emmett and Nate searched for the suspect, Emmett recapped to his partner how he came to hold grudge against Mona. Two years ago, Emmett tried to pin a murder on Mona, a murder that Emmett still believed she was guilty of. Tom and Mike played hero by rescuing Carolee from Fredrick’s clutches. In the midst of such a life threatening experience, Carolee decided not to take her husband off of life support. Simultaneously, while the hospital was placed on lockdown, Mona’s reckless grandson, and Cal’s son, Peter collided head on with a taxi in Chicago. The young man had been on his way to Madison, when his car collided with a taxi, containing a feisty pregnant teenager named Stacey. Perhaps doing the most mature and responsible thing in his short young life, Peter stayed with the young woman and helped her give birth. Shortly after paying off the taxi driver to say it was his fault, Peter paid a visit to Stacey to make sure that she was alright. When Peter departed, Stacey parted ways with her newborn, tearfully giving the baby up for adoption. The lockdown would have lasting ramifications; Tom grappled with the fact that he intentionally took another man’s life and it left him unable to operate on his patients. Seeking advice from Matt, Tom would reluctantly agree to seek counseling, while keeping his psychiatrist mother in the dark. Matt dealt with the fact that a woman had died en route to Hope Memorial during the lockdown, which he implemented. The ill woman had been sent across town to another hospital, and would be pronounced dead on arrival. Drake Corbin, the husband of the deceased was out for blood and sued Hope Memorial. Reporter Bill Avery was out to prove that Matt was irresponsible in his decision to lock down the hospital that fateful night. All of this would deeply sadden Matt to know that his final days at the hospital would be mired in scandal.