2011-08-31
Echappement naturel
Echappement naturel
The échappement naturel was the invention of Abraham Louis Breguet, one of the most eminent watchmakers of all time. Following the introduction of the detent chronometer escapement with a temperature compensated balance, very close rates could be achieved in marine chronometers and to a lesser degree in pocket chronometers. This achievement was due, other things being equal, to the minimal interference with the balance during unlocking and impulse. A further key advantage of this escapement was that there was no need for oil on the escapement’s working surfaces and hence no deterioration in the friction between the working surfaces as the oil aged. A drawback was that the detent escapement as it was used in pocket chronometers was prone to stopping as a result of motion. Most escapements are capable of being stopped by a sudden movement but the detent escapement gives an impulse to the balance only when it is moving in one direction. The escapement is therefore not self-starting. The lever escapement, as used in most modern mechanical watches, avoided this problem. In common with most other escapements it gave an impulse to the balance in both directions of the balance swing. This creates another problem in doing so because the introduction of a lever between the balance and the final (escape) wheel of the escapement requires lubrication on the acting surfaces.
Breguet's invention
Breguet realised that this problem (more serious at the time bacause of the rather poorer oils then available) could be removed and many of the advantages of the detent escapement retained if an impulse were given in both directions of the balance. In order to do this he geared two escape wheels together, one escape wheel driven by the fourth wheel of the wheel train, which in turn was geared to and drives a second escape wheel. A pivoted detent swings freely between them and locks each escape wheel in turn on a coaxial set of locking teeth.
How it works
Photographs of the escapement from above and below in the prototype watch and a diagram of the important features are shown in the figures.
As the two escape wheels A and B rotate meshed together, one of them is locked when an impulse/locking tooth, standing upright from the escape wheel, rests on the wide straight locking stone of the detent. In the figure the balance is rotating counter-clockwise and just at the point that the unlocking pallet C on the balance is about to move the detent D to release peg E on escape wheel A which is resting on the jewelled locking surface underneath the detent arm. The impulse pallet F mounted on the balance staff just below the unlocking pallet C will have moved in front of peg G whilst the balance completes its unlocking arc. When the peg E is released by the detent, the escape wheels accelerate together and peg G will deliver an impulse on the jewelled rear face of impulse pallet F. After the impulse arc, tooth H from the escape wheel B locks on the other end of the detent locking jewel which has now been moved into its path. The depth of locking is limited by a banking pin J.
As pointed out by George Daniels, it is possible to jam the escapement when the main spring is wound down and Breguet introduced spring loading of the detent in the later versions of this escapement so that such jamming would not damage the escapement.
Another later refinement added by Breguet was the reduction in size of the second (driven) escape wheel. He found that it did not need to be of the same size as the first wheel, only that the diameter of the wheel should be in proportion to the number of impulse teeth. Reducing the size of the driven wheel had the advantage that its inertia was smaller. This development was used in all of the second group of watches listed below, the tourbillon series.
Known watches with the escapement
Only about 20 watches were made by Breguet with this escapement, of the roughly 4200 separate watches (some watches were bought back and sold under a new number) made in his main series. Approximately 75% of them survive and either exist in known collections or have passed through the main auction houses in recent years.
The watches divide into two groups.
The first group contains four watches which were made as part of the development of the escapement. Each watch in this group is different and each watch is part of a linear development of the escapement from the first watch, started in 1802, to the last started in 1806. The four watches seem to be of two types. The first two watches share the features of both being small, having the rarer gold dials and apparently were planned to have new escapement at the outset. The second two watches were of the usual size for men’s watches, they had the more normal silver and enamel dials and it would appear that neither was initially planned to contain the new escapement but were taken from stock and upgraded. They also show some of the improvements in design that led to the final use of the escapement in a series of tourbillon garde-temps made after 1808. For example, the driven escape wheels are smaller than the drivers and a sprung setting for the detent is introduced.
The second group contains watches in which the escapement was used in its final form, all of them mounted on tourbillon platforms. They all possess the escapement in its final form that was used by Breguet from 1808 until the 1822, the year before he died. His death brought this series of watches to an end.
Watch group 1
Number 1135
The ébauche was made by Bérare and delivered on 9th Jun 1802 to Breguet’s design. The case was made by Pierre-Benjamin Tavernier and delivered on 12th Aug 1802. Charles Bernaudat made the first attempt at the escapement and delivered it in March 1803. Bernaudat altered some aspect of the escapement in April 1804 involving a stone in the escapement, either the locking pallet on the detent or the impulse pallet on the balance. Then Bernaudat made two final alterations to the escapement in September and December 1805. The payments for this work on the escapement, totalling about 1900 Francs (although this includes a payment for 'repassage', probably about 300 Fr) should be compared with the sale price at the time of one of Breguet's gold repeaters, about 1500 Francs. The work on the escapement in December 1805 was presumably the final modification since the watch was delivered to the Duke of Infantado in January 1806 for the price of 4000 Francs and the Breguet firm did not see the watch again for 32 years.
This was the first example of the échappement naturel and was constructed with the escapement on a detachable platform. Breguet used this arrangement in many of his marine chronometers so that his best escapement makers could perform the delicate construction and adjustments more easily. For this watch, the two escape wheels were of the same size, each having 10 impulse teeth arranged as pegs standing up from the rims of the wheels.
Number 1711
In contrast with the drawn out construction of 1135, this watch was produced quite quickly. The ébauche was made by Benoit and delivered in November 1804, Tavernier supplied the case in December 1804, Kehlhoff the escapement on 26th Dec 1804 and its repassage was completed by Bernaudat on 12th Feb 1805. There was now a delay of several months during which the final work was done on the dial and hands before being delivered to the buyer M. Galakoff on 5 September 1805 for the price of 3360 Francs. Mr Galakoff had some problems with it, there were a couple of jobs done to it in the first few weeks, for example a new front crystal. Breguet bought the watch back from Mr Galakoff in May 1806, had Tavernier engine-turn the back and re-numbered it as 2099 before selling it to M. Castaneda, an agent for the Spanish royal family, on 14th Jun 1806. The dates of the changes to the escapement of watch 1135 and the dates of construction of the escapement for watch 1711 overlap. It is therefore possible that lessons learned from the construction of watch 1135 were incorporated in 1711 and perhaps vice versa. In this watch the driven escape wheel was smaller, presumably because Breguet had come to the view that this was beneficial. George Daniels pointed out that this reduction of the size and inertia of the driven wheel resulted in improved escapement performance. It was obviously not thought at the time to be beneficial enough to delay 1135 and redesign its escapement and train although the final escapement work was done after that of 1711. In this watch the driving escape wheel had 5 impulse teeth and the driven had 4. This was a relatively minor development from the design used in watch 1135.
Number 1085
The ébauche for this watch was originally supplied by Bérare in April 1802, a date consistent with its number. It then lay unused until Lapieur started construction of an échappement naturel in April 1805, completing it at the end of February 1806. It was cased by Tavernier by 8th Apr and Sagedieu performed the repassage between the end of May and mid-September. The last entry in the workshop records is for 21st Oct 1806 when a minute hand was supplied but then it lay in the shop until consigned to its buyer Mr Fenier of Moscow on 16 May 1808 for the price of 2640 Francs. The watch was re-purchased from Wenham, one of Breguet’s agents, some time prior to 1821 and it was re-numbered as 2995 and traded (‘troc pour troc dire 3600 Francs’) for watch 1485 from a Mr Rowse on 18th Aug 1821. Interestingly, Mr Rowse was notionally allowed 3000 Francs for his watch, more than its sale price in 1806. In this watch the driving escape wheel had 8 impulse teeth and the driven had 4. The detent locking was also mounted on springs for the first time in order to protect against the escapement locking when the mainspring was run down.
Number 1484
The last of the four watches, 1484, does not now possess an échappement naturel but a double-wheel Robin escapement, a hybrid of the lever escapement and the chronometer escapement. Work started on the watch prior to September 1803. Sagedieu worked on an unspecified escapement between 10th February and 27 July 1804. Not much happened to the watch for six months except some jewel holes from Hooker, Breguet’s jewel specialist brought from London. Lapieur then worked on an échappement naturel between the end of January and early May 1806. From the position of the original pivot hole for the second escape wheel, the two escape wheels appear to have had a 2:1 ratio of their size. The most likely tooth counts appear to be 8:4, the same as Lapieur made earlier for watch 1085 above. The watch was cased by Tavernier in June and Herault completed the repassage in August. In November 1806, Bernaudat was paid 300 Francs for 'ouvrage et visitage'. This considerable sum could have been for the removal of the échappement naturel and the construction of its current coaxial double-wheel Robin escapement. Nothing much happened again until mid-October 1808 when Bernaudat was paid another 60 Fr for changes to the escapement. At some stage the stop-work was replaced in a new sink in the barrel cap with a standard Geneva variety rather than Breguet’s own design. No more work was done on the watch and another year and a half passed before it was sold to General Labadie on 28 Mar 1810 for the price of 1800 Francs.
Breguet used Robin escapements in a number of carriage and chamber clocks, at least one marine chronometer and more than a dozen watches between 1807 and 1823, mostly between 1807 and 1815. The series included a group of consecutively numbered minute repeating perpetuelles delivered between 1812 and 1816 and at least one tourbillon, number 1297 delivered in 1808. As Daniels pointed out, the double lift Robin escapement suffered from a serious fault as a precision escapement. The necessity for oil on the lever impulse surface resulted in oil being transferred, via the escape wheel teeth, to the direct impulse pin on the balance for the alternative impulse. Some watches and carriage clocks had two separate coaxial escape wheels to keep the oil away from the balance impulse (as in 2179) but the Robin escapement was not apparently developed further after the échappement naturel for serious precision timekeeping in watches, except by Daniels himself in making the crucial developments that totally separate the functions of impulse and locking now used by Omega in his co-axial escapement.
Watch number 2179
A fifth watch could have been made during the development period for the échappement naturel. Watch number 2179 is a gold repeating watch of ‘normal’ size and is described on a Breguet certificate from 1971 as having an échappement naturel . However, it was catalogued for a sale in 2002 of items from the Time Museum by Anthony Randall as having a double lift Robin escapement. It is quite probable that work was started on this watch with a view to it having an échappement naturel but, like watch 1484, it was completed and taken into stock with a Robin escapement. Photocopies of the workbook entry accompanying the sale of the watch stated that its construction was started in 1806, after the delivery of both watch 1135 and watch 1711. It was sold on 29 Dec 1823 to the Duchess of Dalmatia for the price of 3200 Francs.
Watch group 2
In the period 1808-1822 almost all watches using the échappement naturel were constructed on 4-minute tourbillon carriages, with 12+3 escape teeth, reversed fusees and sprung detent locking and were made to a similar pattern. The watches were large, typically 60-65mm in diameter and a distinguishing feature was their dials. These nearly all had a short hour hand indicating on a small central chapter ring and a large minute hand with a minute ring at the edge of the dial, see watches 1187 and 1188 in Daniels. It is possible that the low price for the watch for the Bishop of Cambrai was because of their personal friendship. Judging by the rather modest mark-up of ~25% that Breguet applied to his workshop costs for other watches with this escapement, he might even have made a loss in this case. Breguet sold the Bishop another tourbillon watch, number 2436, for the same price but this one had a constant force escapement. During the period in which these watches were being sold (1808–1821), a few dozen tourbillon watches were being produced, about half with a lever escapement on a 1-minute carriage and the rest with a variety of escapements, a detent escapement on a 6-minute or 4-minute carriage, a couple with a constant force escapement and at least one with a Robin escapement. The sale of watches with tourbillon movements ceased after Breguet’s death in 1823.
Other examples
Breguet used the escapement in a few clocks although the escapement's self-starting ability is less of an advantage. Two carriage clocks are known, number 2516 sold in 1811 and number 262 sold in 1826. He also used it in a compteur militaire (number 1638 sold in 1814), a specialsed watch used to regulate marching. The ability to sustain rough handling would have been more of an advantage for this but the potential for highly accurate timekeeping would appear to make this refinement reduntant. Finally, he made two marine chronometers with the escapement with the added refinement of four separate barrels.
Breguet apparently did not find the échappement naturel fully satisfactory as a commercial escapement. It was expensive to make, only his best workers could bring it off. Despite its sharing with the chronometer escapement the lack of need to oil the impulse surfaces he found it deficient in some practical ways. Some of the watches were returned for service to the escapement on numerous occasions. Indeed Breguet bought back watch 1711 at the original price after a period of trying to satisfy the client. The shortcomings that caused him to cease development could well include those listed by George Daniels: extra friction caused by the additional escape wheel and instability caused by backlash between the meshing escape wheels.
Notes
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echappement_naturel
Ear lock
Payot
| Payot | |
|---|---|
 Orthodox Jewish man with untrimmed beard and peyes פְּאַ֖ת Pe'at | |
| Halakhic texts relating to this article: | |
| Torah: | Leviticus 19:27 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Makkoth 20a |
| Mishneh Torah: | Avodath Kokhavim 12:6 |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Yoreh Deah 181 |
| * Not meant as a definitive ruling. Some observances may be rabbinical, customs or Torah based. | |
Payot (also pe'ot, peyot, payos, payess, peyess, peyos Hebrew: singular, פֵּאָה; plural, פֵּאוֹת At Yemeni jewish it is called 'Simonim' too סִימָנִים) is the Hebrew word for sidelocks or sidecurls. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an interpretation of the Biblical injunction against shaving the "corners" of one's head. Literally, pe'ah means corner, side or edge. There are different styles of payes among Haredi, Yemenite, and Hasidic Jews. Yemenite Jews called their sidelocks simanim, literally signs, because their long curled sidelocks served as a distinguishing feature in Yemenite society.
Rabbinical interpretation
The Torah says, "You shall not round off the פְּאַ֖ת Pe'at of your head" (Leviticus 19:27). The word Pe'at was taken to mean the hair in front of the ears extending to beneath the cheekbone, on a level with the nose (Talmud - Makkot 20a). The Mishnah interpreted the regulation as applying only to men. Thus it became the custom in certain circles to allow the hair over the ears to grow, and hang down in curls or ringlets. According to Maimonides, cutting the sidelocks was a heathen practice. There is considerable discussion in the halachic literature as to the precise location of the payot and of the ways in which their removal is prohibited.
History
From a mystical perspective, payot were believed to separate the front part of the brain, used for abstract thought, from the back part of the brain that governs the body. As kabbalistic teachings spread into Slavonic lands, the custom of payot became entrenched, even though Tzar Nicholas I forbade the practice in Russia in 1845. In the Crimea, Crimean Karaites did not wear peyos, and the Crimean Tatars consequently referred to them as zulufsız çufutlar, meaning Jews without peyos, to distinguish them from the Krymchaks, referred to as zuluflı çufutlar, meaning Jews with peyos. The Hasidic and Yemenite Jews let their sidelocks grow particularly long. Some Haredi men grow sidelocks, but keep them short or tuck them behind the ears. Even among Jewish groups in which the men do not wear noticeable peyos, often the young boys do wear them until around the age of Bar Mitzva.
Styles
The Lithuanian Jews were less influenced by Kabbalistic practises, but still retain sidelocks to a degree, in a small number of variant styles:
See also
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payot
Dyeingness
Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling are two key factors in dyeing. There are mainly two classes of dye, natural and man-made.
For most of the thousands of years in which dyeing has been used by humans to decorate clothing, or fabrics for other uses, the primary source of dye has been nature, with the dyes being extracted from animals or plants. In the last 150 years, humans have produced artificial dyes to achieve a broader range of colors, and to render the dyes more stable to resist washing and general use. Different classes of dyes are used for different types of fiber and at different stages of the textile production process, from loose fibers through yarn and cloth to completed garments.
Acrylic fibers are dyed with basic dyes, Nylon and protein fibers such as wool and silk are dyed with acid dyes, polyester yarn is dyed with disperse dyes. Cotton is dyed with a range of dye types, including vat dyes, and modern synthetic reactive and direct dyes.
History
Archaeologists have found evidence of textile dyeing dating back to the Neolithic period. The earliest surviving evidence of textile dyeing was found at the large Neolithic settlement at Çatalhöyük in southern Anatolia, where traces of red dyes, possible from ochre (iron oxide pigments from clay), were found. In China, dyeing with plants, barks and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. Early evidence of dyeing comes from Sindh (Pakistan), where a piece of cotton dyed with a vegetable dye has been recovered from the archaeological site at Mohenjo-daro (3rd millennium BCE). The dye used in this case was madder, which, along with other dyes such as indigo, was introduced to other regions through trade. Natural insect dyes such as Tyrian purple and kermes and plant-based dyes such as woad, indigo and madder were important elements of the economies of Asia and Europe until the discovery of man-made synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. The first synthetic dyes was William Perkins's mauveine in 1856, derived from coal tar. Alizarin, the red dye present in madder, was the first natural pigment to be duplicated synthetically, in 1869, a development which led to the collapse of the market for naturally grown madder. The development of new, strongly colored synthetic dyes followed quickly, and by the 1870s commercial dyeing wth natural dyestuffs was disappearing.
Methods
Dyes are applied to textile goods by dyeing from dye solutions and by printing from dye pastes.
Direct application
The term "direct dye application" stems from some dyestuff having to be either fermented as in the case of some natural dye or chemically reduced as in the case of synthetic vat and sulfur dyes before being applied. This renders the dye soluble so that it can be absorbed by the fiber since the insoluble dye has very little substantivity to the fiber. Direct dyes, a class of dyes largely for dyeing cotton, are water soluble and can be applied directly to the fiber from an aqueous solution. Most other classes of synthetic dye, other than vat and surface dyes, are also applied in this way.
The term may also be applied to dyeing without the use of mordants to fix the dye once it is applied. Mordants were often required to alter the hue and intensity of natural dyes and improve their color fastness. Chromium salts were until recently extensively used in dying wool with synthetic mordant dyes. These were used for economical high color fastness dark shades such as black and navy. Environmental concern has now restricted their use, and they have been replaced with reactive and metal complex dyes which need no mordant.
Yarn dyeing
There are many forms of yarn dyeing. Common forms are the at package form and the at hanks form. Cotton yarns are mostly dyed at package form, and acrylic or wool yarn are dyed at hank form. In the continuous filament industry, polyester or polyamide yarns are always dyed at package form, while viscose rayon yarns are partly dyed at hank form because of technology.
The common dyeing process of cotton yarn with reactive dyes at package form is as follows:
- The raw yarn is wound on a spring tube to achieve a package suitable for dye penetration.
- These softened packages are loaded on a dyeing carrier's spindle one on another.
- The packages are pressed up to a desired height to achieve suitable density of packing.
- The carrier is loaded on the dyeing machine and the yarn is dyed.
- After dyeing, the packages are unloaded from the carrier into a trolly.
- Now the trolly is taken to hydro extractor where water is removed.
- The packages are hydro extracted to remove the maximum amount of water leaving the desired color into raw yarn.
- The packages are then dried to achieve the final dyed package.₪
After this process, the dyed yarn packages are packed and delivered.
Removal of dyes
In order to remove natural or unwanted colour from material, the opposite process of bleaching or discharging is carried out.
If things go wrong in the dyeing process, the dyer may be forced to remove the dye already applied by a process that is normally known as stripping. This normally means destroying the dye with powerful reducing agents (sodium hydrosulphite) or oxidizing agents (hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite). The process often risks damaging the substrate (fiber). Where possible, it is often less risky to dye the material a darker shade, with black often being the easiest or last option.
See also
References
External links
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyeing
Battle of the Heligoland Bight
Battle of Heligoland
Battle of Heligoland or Battle of Heligoland Bight may refer to
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Heligoland
Barbados Defence Force FC
Barbados Defence Force Sports Program
The Barbados Defence Force Sports Program (BDFSP) is the sporting arm of the Barbados Defence Force. BDFSP recruits and trains athletes in five disciplines; football, cricket, table tennis, athletics and boxing. The program provides an opportunity for talented Barbadian athletes to concentrate on their chosen sport.
BDFSP enter teams in the Barbados national competitions in both football and cricket.
Cricket
BDFSP is a cricket team that competes in the Barbados Cricket Association Division 1 competition. The team was promoted to Division 1 for 2011, after having been relegated to the Upper Intermediate Division for the 2010 season. BDFSP have never won the Division 1 championship.
Notable cricketers to have played for BDFSP include Tino Best.
Football
 | ||
| Full name | Barbados Defence Force SC | |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | Barbados National Stadium Bridgetown, Barbados (Capacity: 15,000) | |
| League | Barbados Premier Division | |
| 2008 | 3rd | |
| ||
Barbados Defence Force SC is a Barbados football club, based in in the parish of Christ Church.
They play their home games in the town of Bridgetown, in the Barbados' first division, the Barbados Premier Division.
Achievements
Current squad
2009 season Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_Defence_Force_Sports_Program#Football
Duke Lavery and Anna Devane
List of miscellaneous General Hospital couples
The following is a list of popular couples on the soap opera General Hospital who do not warrant an individual article.
Alan Quartermaine and Monica Bard
(1978-2007)
Rick and Monica's relationship becomes embittered, and Monica nearly loses her job, though Lesley sets aside her personal feelings and vouches for Monica's talents as a doctor to Steve, saving her job. Monica claims to be moving on, but she and Rick are forced to work together with Dr. Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) on plans for a new wing at the hospital. Monica makes a last ditch effort to bed Rick while trapped in a remote ranger station overnight during a storm while working on the project, but is turned down. While Monica continues to antagonize Lesley and Rick, she soon begins a relationship with Alan, though she's still very much attracted to Rick.
Monica had doubts about her relationship with Alan, but these were soon overshadowed when Monica's foster mother Gail Adamson discovered that Monica had slept with Gail's late husband Greg. Gail did not believe Monica's explanation that Greg had forced her into the affair and cut ties with Monica. Monica turned to Alan for support and agreed to marry him.
After their 1978 wedding, Alan bought a mansion for Monica as a wedding present, and his family ended up living there as well. However, within a year of her second marriage, Monica once again fell into Rick's arms and the two had a one-night stand. Monica was pregnant and didn't know who the father was. Monica gave birth to a son, AJ. Monica believed that Rick was the father and Rick and Lesley divorced so Rick and Monica could be together. Alan was enraged by this turn of events and made several attempts to kill Rick and Monica, but was thwarted at every attempt. Eventually, both Monica and Alan realized that AJ was indeed Alan's son and not Rick's. Monica attempted to hide this fact from Rick, but Alan eventually exposed the truth. Rick, disgusted with Monica's continued manipulations, left her and went back to Lesley. Monica felt that she had no other alternative but to stay with Alan.
Following their 'reconciliation', Monica refused to sleep with Alan and insisted on separate rooms. Alan grew frustrated and in 1981, he embarked on an affair with Susan Moore, who became pregnant and gave birth to Alan's son, Jason. In 1983, Susan was murdered and Alan fought Susan's cousin, Heather (the same Heather whom Jeff had cheated on Monica with seven years earlier) for custody of the baby. Susan was a niece of Alice Grant who was Heather's mother. Monica was not pleased at having her husband's illegitimate offspring in the house at first, but eventually grew to love Jason as if he were her own. She later legally adopted him as well.
In 1986, Monica had an affair with Sean Donely (John Reilly), and kicked all the Quartermaines out of the Mansion. Alan concocted a bizarre scheme to frame Sean for his 'murder' and even went missing for several months as part of the plan. Eventually, Sean left Monica for Tiffany Hill (Sharon Wyatt), and Monica reluctantly reconciled with Alan and let the Quartermaines back into the mansion.
Monica went away to a spa resort and ended up sleeping with one of the workers there, a young man named Ward. To Monica's surprise, Ward turned out to be Ned Ashton (Wally Kurth), the son of her sister-in-law, Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot), and thus, Alan's nephew. The two agreed to keep the affair a secret, but soon another secret of Monica's would come out. Monica's secret daughter, Dawn Winthrop turned up and began dating Ned. These two secrets proved at last to be the deathblow to Monica and Alan's marriage and the two divorced. Alan later married Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) in 1990.
Dawn was later murdered and Monica was devastated by her death. After Alan's marriage to Lucy also proved a disaster, Monica and Alan were drawn back together by their son A.J's rebellious behavior. In 1991, the two remarried and the next three years of their marriage were relatively calm, although the return of David Langton (Dawn's father), AJ's relationship with David's daughter Nikki and Alan's friendship with Rhonda Wexler did give the couple some cause for concern.
Monica's life was changed forever when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. Monica became despondent and began pushing Alan away, though Alan fought hard to give Monica the support she needed. During this time, Monica befriended Paige Bowen, a fellow sufferer of the disease. Monica was devastated when Paige died, but ended up adopting Paige's daughter, Emily (then Amber Tamblyn). Finally, Monica went into remission, but she and Alan were drifting further and further apart.
By 1996, AJ's alcoholism, which had been developing for several years, culminated in family tragedy when he and Jason were in a serious car accident. AJ escaped relatively unhurt, but Jason was left with amnesia and brain damage. The family's attempts to make Jason remember alienated him from the family and he eventually rejected all of them including Monica in favor of working for local mob boss, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). As a result of all the tragedy in her life, Monica separated from Alan and longed to make herself feel better. Monica embarked on an affair with Dr. Pierce Dorman, which predictably ended in disaster when Dorman made false allegations of sexual harassment against Monica. In court, Dorman's lawyers brought up Monica's past indiscretions, including her affair with Ned and ended up winning the case. Monica was fired from General Hospital as a result. On top of this, Monica had to deal with both AJ's alcoholism and Emily's drug addiction. Monica snapped and kidnapped Dorman, and threatened to give him a lobotomy. Only Jason's intervention stopped her from doing so. Eventually though, Monica was vindicated when Dorman was murdered and revealed to have been a drug dealer.
More family drama ensued in 1998 when Carly Roberts (then Sarah Brown) claimed that her son Michael was Jason's. Monica's father-in-law, Edward Quartermaine (John Ingle), wanted to gain custody of Michael and thus Jason, who had been growing close to the Quartermaines was alienated from the family once again. Eventually, it was revealed that Jason was covering for Carly and that he was not Michael's father, but rather AJ's. During this time, Alan had become addicted to painkillers, which caused another brief estrangement between Alan and Monica.
Alan and Monica eventually reconciled and briefly considered trying for another baby. In 2001, they decided to renew their vows only for Skye Chandler (Robin Christopher) to turn up and claim that she was Alan's daughter. While Monica and Skye clashed at first, they eventually established a cordial relationship and Monica even allowed Skye to stay at the mansion after Tracy revealed that she wasn't Alan's daughter after all. Alan and Monica stayed stable for several years, even as drama occurred amongst their children. AJ lost custody of Michael to Carly and her new husband Sonny Corinthos, while Emily was temporarily paralyzed in an accident and later diagnosed with breast cancer.
Alan died of a heart attack in 2007.
Stuart Damon is coming back to GH in 2011.
Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber
(2006-2008)
In 2006, Lucky became addicted to painkillers and began an affair with Maxie Jones, his pill supplier. Elizabeth discovered Lucky's infidelity, sought comfort from a drunken Jason Morgan who was heart broken from his separation from Sam. Their drunken one night stand resulted in another pregnancy. Lucky, believing the baby was his, went to rehab while he and Elizabeth divorced. A paternity test revealed that Jason fathered her unborn child. Elizabeth kept the truth a secret to protect the child from Jason's dangerous lifestyle and to keep Lucky from suffering devastation that she believed would cause him to relapse. After Lucky completed rehab, Elizabeth remarried him, while still lying about her unborn child.
After Elizabeth committed perjury in Jason's murder trial, she and Ric had a confrontation where she accused him of holding onto his vendetta against Sonny and Jason, and he accused her of being blind to who Jason is. Elizabeth helped Ric with issues regarding his ex-girlfriend, Marianna, who was in the country illegally, and Ric attempted to keep Elizabeth's relationship with Jason a mystery to Anthony Zacchara in order to protect her. However, they are rarely friendly with each other as Elizabeth finally ceased to trust him.
In May 2007, Elizabeth gave birth to another son, Jacob Martin Spencer. Elizabeth was supported by Jason when their son Jake was kidnapped. Sam McCall, reeling from having learned that Jason was Jake's father but would not claim him due to Elizabeth not allowing Jason to claim his son, froze when she witnessed Jake being taken. Jason eventually found Jake and brought him back to Elizabeth. Jason found out that Sam had watched his son get kidnapped. Lucky in his jealousy and anger began an affair with Sam McCall as payback. Elizabeth and Lucky divorced again.
In November 2007, during the Black and White Ball, Lucky discovered the truth about Jake's paternity and agreed to keep the paternity a secret to protect Jake. After Emily Quartermaine's death and funeral, Jason and Elizabeth began a secret relationship, where they could see each other but Jason was still not allowed to see Jake. They became engaged, but on the same day of their engagement, Michael was shot and Jason decided that his job was too dangerous for Elizabeth and her children, and he called off their relationship. Elizabeth decided to fight to be in Jason's life, but he was adamant that they would not have the life she wanted. Jason invited Elizabeth to go with him to Italy, but after he witnessed the shooting of Sonny's fiancee, Kate Howard, Jason once again realized that he and Elizabeth would never want the same things in life.
In November 2008, a mob war began heating up in Port Charles. Lucky asked Jason to agree to send Elizabeth and the boys, along with Sam, to hide in a cabin. During a shootout between Sam and Elizabeth and Russian mobsters, Jake was kidnapped for a second time. He was safely returned after Sam was able to rescue Jake from a bar that exploded. After this close call Elizabeth finally realized that they will never want the same things in life and parted ways for good.
Jasper Jacks and Brenda Barrett
(1996-1998, 2002-2003, 2011)
Knowing what having a child means to Sonny, Brenda realizes they can never have a future. Brenda later marries the widower Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). The marriage proves to be invalid when Jax’s dead wife, Miranda, turns up alive. When they return, Brenda learns Lily has been killed in a car explosion meant for Sonny. She decides to stay with Jax. Brenda is then kidnapped in an effort to frame Sonny. When Sonny comes to rescue her, they are trapped together in a cave. The two admit their feelings for one another and make love again. Brenda tells Jax the horrible truth. Brenda decides to end her relationships with both Jax and Sonny because she can't choose.
Brenda’s estranged mother Veronica Wilding arrives in town in 1998 revealing she has a mental illness which could be hereditary. Brenda gets tested. Before she can see the results, Veronica drives a car off a cliff with Brenda in the passenger seat. Believing Brenda is dead, Jax tears up the test results without reading them.
Luis Alcazar (Ted King), an arms dealer, rescues Brenda from the water after her accident and brings her back to Port Charles in September 2002. Alcazar reveals to Brenda she really does have Veronica’s illness. He wants to care for her as long as she is alive. Luis becomes very jealous of her past romances with Sonny and Jax and plans to kill them. Brenda discovers Alcazar’s plans and escapes. She then has someone lure Sonny to St. Timothy’s Church, where they were supposed to marry, without revealing her identity. Brenda opens the doors of the church to a shocked Sonny. She watches in horror as he is shot multiple times. Jason arrives and finds Brenda crying over Sonny who orders him to keep her safe. Brenda blames herself for Sonny’s "death" and tries to escape from Jason to warn Jax. Brenda finally escapes and finds Jax as he is marrying Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher). Jax is shocked to see Brenda but she does warn him about Alcazar’s plans. Alcazar finally locates Jax and shoots him. Jax survives. Sonny returns and attempts to kill Alcazar. Jax is paralyzed. Brenda decides to help him in his recovery, much to the chagrin of Skye. Brenda comforts her by revealing she is dying and won’t interfere with their life. Despite her reassurance to Skye, Brenda and Jax get close again. Meanwhile, Skye learns Brenda is not dying. Brenda begins to worry about the damage her renewed love for Jax could do, and blackmails Jason into marrying her. Jason agrees but only to keep Brenda away from Sonny who is now married to his best friend, Carly (then Tamara Braun). Alcazar later convinces an envious Skye to help him kidnap Brenda. He whisks Brenda away on a plane not knowing Sonny is hiding on board. The plane crashes in a jungle. Jason and Carly rescue Brenda and Sonny. Jax discovers the truth about Brenda’s illness and dumps Skye for keeping the truth from him. He then tells Brenda she is not dying and professes his love.
When Alcazar is killed, Skye is hurt and angrily blames Brenda for the murder. Jax confesses to protect Brenda. The truth is revealed. Brenda is arrested along with Jason as the accomplice. Jason and Brenda decide against an annulment so they can’t testify against one another during the murder trial. When evidence is discovered that could send them to prison, Brenda’s attempt to persuade Jason into skipping town with her fails. Fortunately, evidence is found clearing Jason and Brenda of all charges. Brenda and Jason then leave to get the marriage annulled. She convinces him to get the annulment in Port Charles, which would take longer, because she is not ready to marry Jax.
Brenda runs into Sonny the night before her wedding to Jax and forgives him for leaving her at the altar. They then share a passionate kiss which Carly witnesses. Jax finds out about the kiss and does not say the expected "I do" at the wedding. Jax tells Brenda he does not trust her. Brenda runs into Sonny. He reveals Carly had left him too. Jason returns home. He finds Brenda crying She announces she is leaving Port Charles. Jason drops her off at the airport. Brenda tells him he deserves to be happy more than anyone.
Jasper Jacks and Carly Corinthos
(2007-2011)
Jax and Carly continue their relationship, and eventually become engaged. Their wedding is delayed several times, and Jax is forced to leave town to help his wayward brother Jerry. When Sonny shoots mobster Lorenzo Alcazar (Ted King), Carly marries him to avoid testifying against him. After she and Sonny are held hostage at the Metro Court Hotel by the mysterious Mr. Craig, the duo have sex, which Jax learns about. Jax resolves to fight for Carly, and though initially torn, Carly chooses a life with Jax. Carly and Sonny divorce, and Jax and Carly finally marry with her sons Michael and Morgan blessings. When they return from their honeymoon, Jax learns that Mr. Craig is actually his brother Jerry with plastic surgery. Jerry sends Jax out of town, where Jax is kidnapped by Jerry's former lover Irina. She rapes Jax twice, though he is able to escape and return to his life with Carly.
Jax begins a new business venture with fashion editor Kate Howard (then Megan Ward), who Carly immediately dislikes. The two learn that Kate is actually Connie Falconeri, Sonny's high school girlfriend, and she begins dating Sonny. Young teen Michael, fearful of the violence that surrounds his family, purchases a gun and accidentally shoots Kate. He runs away, leaving Carly, Jax, and Sonny fearful that he has been kidnapped by Anthony Zacchara (Bruce Weitz), a mafia boss newly arrived in Port Charles. Adding to their stress, Carly and Jax learn that she is pregnant. Michael returns to town, but he and Carly are injured in an explosion caused by Diego Alcazar (Ignacio Serricchio) in retaliation for the deaths his family suffered. Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) rescues Carly, who is suffering from hypothermia. In the hospital, Anthony's daughter Claudia (Sarah Brown) threatens Carly and her family in an attempt to protect her brother Johnny (Brandon Barash) from Sonny and his organization. The stress surrounding her family and her injuries suffered in the explosion cause Carly to lose her baby, though she and Jax vow to keep trying.
Claudia, teamed with Jerry, orders associate Ian Devlin (Seamus Dever) to kill Sonny. Devlin accidentally shoots Michael, leaving the boy in a permanent coma. On the way to install Michael at a long term care facility, Carly seduces Sonny in order to successfully manipulate him into turning over parental rights to Michael and Morgan. Kate and Jax, feeling shut out of their partner's lives, share a kiss during a romantic business trip to New York. Kate begins manipulating Jax, who leaves Carly when Kate makes it appear that she is sabotaging their business. The two reunite but split again when Jax learns that she slept with Sonny. Jax and Kate almost sleep together, but Carly interrupts them. Though both still in love with each other, the two begin divorce proceedings and Carly decides to sell her stake in their hotel to Jax's rival Nikolas. Jax hires Kate's cousin Olivia Falconeri (Lisa Lo Cicero) to work there, and she convinces Carly not to sell her shares to Nikolas. Against the advice of their lawyers, Jax and Carly stop divorce proceedings and reconcile yet again. Sonny, who left the mob for a life with Kate, marries Claudia in order to take over her family's organization when Kate is shot again.
Carly decides to host a gala at General Hospital to raise money for research to help Michael and other children suffering brain injuries. Initially leaving Port Charles for a business meeting in Hong Kong, Jax returns to discover that Carly and several of their friends have been quarantined because of a biotoxin that has been released in the hospital. When a fire begins engulfing the hospital, Jax crashes his helicopter in a rescue attempt, leaving Carly to believe he is dead. Jax survives and convinces Alexis and Mac Scorpio (John J. York) to let him fly the police helicopter, and he is able to make several successful rescue flights, though Carly is not among those he saves. Carly is able to escape by one of the stairwells, and the two are reunited. They renew their wedding vows and begin to try and conceive another child.
Jerry fakes his death to keep himself safe from Claudia and the Zaccharas, and he also begins sending DVDs to the house she shares with Sonny discussing her role in Michael's shooting. Carly discovers that she is pregnant, though she does not inform Jax that the pregnancy is extremely high risk for her. Jax and Claudia's lover Ric learn the truth about Claudia's misdeeds, and Jax is stunned when Jerry is revealed to be alive and in Port Charles.
Michael returns to Jax and Carly but the two are faced with a new problem - Michael's attitude towards his mother. Jax learns that eventually Michael will remember everything he heard in the coma - even his confession that Jax's brother and Jax were both involved in Michael's shooting. Jax asks Kristina (Lexi Ainsworth), his former stepdaughter, to help him on how to deal with Michael.
After Sonny and Claudia returned from their trip, Sonny makes plans to honor his wife until he learns that Claudia planned the shooting. Claudia informs that both Olivia and Jax knew about it and kept it secret from both Carly and Sonny. Claudia then kidnaps a pregnant Carly and forces her into a car. Carly goes into labor and gives birth to her first daughter and Jax's first biological child-Josslyn Jacks. Sonny goes to Carly and Jax's house demanding his sons until their mother is back. , Jax is refusing on letting the boys go. Jax meets his daughter when Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) brings Carly and Josslyn to General Hospital on November 4, 2009. Jax has a reunion with his wife however, Carly kicks him out of her room. Later, Carly and Jax take the baby home, but Carly, outraged that Jax had known that Claudia and Jerry were behind Michael's shooting all along, throws him out of the house.
After Carly gives birth to Josslyn, Claudia attempts to kidnap the baby, but is bludgeoned to death by Michael. Sonny is accused and put on trial for Claudia's murder, and Jax, determined to put him away for good, brings Claire Walsh (Dahlia Salem) in to help; upon discovering that Jax had helped the police bust Sonny, she moves out of the house and files for divorce, taking Morgan and Josslyn with her. However, Claire resorts to ethically questionable tactics to ensure a conviction, going so far as to pull Morgan out of school under false pretenses without Carly and Jax's knowledge to question him, much to the fury of both. Eventually, Dante discovers that it was in fact Michael who did it and convinces him to confess. However, the judge, fed up with the courtroom antics, unfairly sentences Michael to five years in Pentonville to teach everyone in the courtroom a lesson. Like everyone else involved, Jax is left guilt-ridden by his role in the tragedy and states that, when it comes to protecting Michael, he's no better than Sonny.
Claire resolves to right the wrongs she has committed and recruits Jax to help her find out how to spring Michael from jail. Dante eventually convinces the judge to release Michael on the grounds that he live with Dante and have minimal contact with Sonny (though the latter rule is eventually lifted by Claire). Carly later catches Robin Scorpio looking through her house and demands to know what she is doing there, discovering that it is part of a game that Johnny has set up for Robin and Lisa to find the syringe that Lisa had earlier used in an attempt to kill Robin. After some persuasion, Carly allows Robin just enough time to find the next clue. Shortly afterwards, Carly receives a call from Jax, who tells her that Josslyn is sick and has been hospitalized.
That same night, Jason's son with Elizabeth Webber, Jake Spencer is hit by a car. Despite Patrick and Robin's best efforts to save him, Jake dies on the operating table as Jason looks on. Meanwhile, Josslyn is diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer, and Carly and Jax decide to look for an organ donor rather than put her through chemotherapy. Upon discovering that Jake is a match and that Josslyn does not have a lot of time for them to find a donor, Carly reluctantly asks Jason to do so. However, as the decision is not up to him, Jason passes on Carly's request to Elizabeth. Though she refuses, Lucky manages to persuade her to do so, and Josslyn's condition improves rapidly. However, both Carly and Jax have uncertain of how to be happy over the event; while Josslyn's life has been saved, it cost Jake his own.
In spring 2011, Jax becomes convinced that Carly is an unfit mother due to her constant association with Jason and Sonny and decides to fight her for full custody of Josslyn, though Carly merely wants joint custody. To this end, he hires Alexis to help him, but Alexis knows that Jax is being unreasonable and repeatedly tries to convince him to compromise with Carly; recalling that her own attempts to keep Kristina safe from Sonny's world did nothing but convince Kristina that Sonny didn't love her, Alexis fears that Jax may make the same mistake. Despite Alexis' advice and good points, Jax flatly refuses to listen, and after several arguments, finally demands that Alexis actually start acting like his attorney and tell him how to beat Carly in court.
Jax later asks both Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) and Olivia Falconeri to testify on his behalf, but both refuse. Jax and Carly later agree to a ceasefire to celebrate Michael's graduation, but things go awry when Jax arrives at the ceremony just in time to see Michael punch out a fellow classmate who was harassing Kristina over her late abusive boyfriend, Kiefer Bauer (Christian Alexander).
Afterwards, Jax quickly resorts to underhanded tactics to improve the odds of winning custody of Josslyn, digging up dirt on Shawn Butler (Sean Blakemore), who had been hired by Jason as a bodyguard to Josslyn and Carly, and provoking him into attacking him (Jax) in public, forcing Carly to fire him, and finally going so far as to issue subpoenas for Brenda, Michael, and Morgan to testify on his behalf.
At the court hearing, Grace Yang tells the judge she believes Josslyn is better off with Jax than with Carly, and says she's a danger to Josslyn's life. Brenda later testifies and inadvertently lets it slip that she and Alec were just shot at the night before on Sonny's property, strengthening Jax's case. Outside the courtroom, Sonny, Jason, and Carly realize that Jax paid off the mediator since she never saw Carly interact with her kids, and still passed judgment on her. Sonny tells her he'll take care of it as Jason and Carly walk off.
Jax waits for the judge's ruling, refusing to back down from his case when Alexis and Brenda try to convince him to. Later, Grace shows up at his suite to discuss the case and serves him a drugged cup of coffee. When Jax realizes this, Grace locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police, while Jax bangs on the door, yelling. Jax regains his senses at the police station, where he is handcuffed to a table. Detective Ronnie Dimestico tells him that in addition to assault, they found drugs in his room and he resisted arrest when the police came. Jax pleads his case, saying that Sonny set him up, but Ronnie tells him that the evidence points at him. Brenda later comes over and Jax tells her to somehow get Sonny to confess.
While Jax is at the station, Michael shows up to pay a parking ticket, and Jax tells him to tell Carly to pay his bail to prove she wasn't involved. After he's released, he goes to Carly's place and threatens her, promising she'll lose Josslyn. Carly denies she was involved, but Jax doesn't buy it and leaves. The next day, the judge came to a decision, and Jax was devastated when Carly received sole custody of Josslyn. On July 21, 2011 Jax says goodbye to Michael, Morgan, and Josselyn. Jax leaves town on his plane with Brenda Barrett and her son Alec to Rome.
Ned Ashton and Lois Cerullo
(1993-1997, 2004-2005)
Ned Ashton, Tracy Quartermaine's son, was an aspiring rock singer when he met the beautiful but tough manager of the band The Idle Rich, Lois Cerullo. Ned said his name was Eddie Maine, and Lois had him get up on stage and sing, thus launching his career.
Ned began to lead not only a double career life but a double love life. He wound up married to both Katherine Bell and Lois, whom he really loved. Lois found out about Katherine, emerging from a cake to dump him. Ned divorced Katherine and eventually, Lois came back to him. By the time she got pregnant and was several months along, Lois realized she didn't want her child anywhere near the Quartermaines.
Despite Ned's attempts at focusing on Lois and his singing career, Edward wanted Ned at ELQ, and Ned was torn. When he had to take over ELQ to keep Tracy and Jax from getting control of the company, Lois left him and went home to Brooklyn with their daughter Brook. She would come back when Brook was a beautiful teen with a gorgeous voice. Lois, Ned, and Brook all returned to New York together to work in the music business.
Nikolas Cassadine and Emily Quartermaine
(2003-2007)
As a result of losing their mother, Lucky, Lulu, and Nikolas became extremely close. Though Nikolas had romanced both Sarah Webber (a cousin via his mother, but not by blood) and Gia Campbell, his greatest love turned out to be his first friend Emily Quartermaine. As Emily battled breast cancer, Nikolas became her most trusted confidant. As their feelings grew, Emily became torn between Nikolas and her first love Zander Smith (Chad Brannon). Believing she was dying, Emily married Zander as her last gift to him, though she eventually entered remission. Eventually Emily and Nikolas could no longer resist and slept with one another on the floor of the cottage Zander had bought for her. Witnessing their adultery started Zander on a downward spiral, and Emily ended their marriage. Zander went on to kidnap Emily, but was killed by the police. Stefan also interfered, but eventually committed suicide.
When a car accident left Nikolas with amnesia, war widow Mary Bishop took him in, leaving Port Charles and Emily to believe he died. Mary lied to Nikolas, telling him he was her late husband Connor, who looked just like Nikolas. Emily eventually discovered the deception and carefully worked to unlock Nikolas' fragile mind. It took a long time before Mary confessed what she had done, causing Nikolas to become very angry with her, break down in tears and flee. Finally remembering Emily, the two reconciled, causing Mary to breakdown at the second loss of her "husband." After she murdered several teens, Mary was shot by Nikolas. Though the wound wasn't fatal, Mary died in the hospital after her medicines were switched. It was strongly implied Emily did this, as she was the last person seen with Mary. Helena returned to stop the what she deemed an unworthy relationship for her grandson, who in turn threw her off of a cliff. To spare Emily the pain of a trial, Nikolas pled guilty to murder. The two married before he was sent to prison. Nikolas' doppelgänger Connor Bishop returned to town, and began romancing Emily on the orders of a very much alive Helena and as revenge for the death of his wife Mary. Connor eventually raped Emily, who emotionally retreated from her husband. The strain on the marriage became too much, and Nikolas began an affair with also unhappily married Courtney Jacks. While Courtney ended her marriage to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher), Emily and Nikolas divorced as well. When Courtney became pregnant, it was unclear if the father was Nikolas or Jax. When Jax learned Nikolas was the father, he switched the results of a DNA test in order to protect Courtney and the baby from Helena.
After misinterpreting a close moment between Nikolas and Emily, a pregnant Courtney leaves town and is briefly abducted by Helena. After her escape, she returns to Port Charles in the middle of an encephalitis outbreak. She and Nikolas both become ill. Because of her illness, a C-section was necessary to save the baby, though at great risk to her health. She told Jax she wanted to name the baby John Michael, after Jax's father and her brother. Jax revealed Nikolas was the realfather. When Nikolas was summoned to her room to learn the truth, Courtney died without telling him of Jax's deception. Nikolas was devastated by her death and by Jax not letting him visit John Michael, who Courtney had planned to raise with Nikolas. Courtney's obstetrician became suspicious of the behavior Jax and his new girlfriend Carly Corinthos in relation to John, and began to investigate the DNA test. The real results of the test were received by Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), a friend of Nikolas and Jax, though a bitter rival of Carly's. During John's baptism, Robin revealed the truth to Nikolas.
Though bitter at the manipulations of Jax and Carly, Nikolas was able to heal some of the wounds between his father's family and his mother's when he changed John's name to Spencer. Emily and Nikolas began to become close again, as they fought against Helena having any influence on the baby's life. Nikolas also hired a nanny named Colleen McHenry, who also developed feelings for him. Colleen turned out to be unstable, and her obsession with Nikolas resulted in him being injured. She was eventually fired when Emily discovered all of the other fathers she had worked with had been murdered. He was overjoyed when his mother Laura emerged from her catatonic state, though it was only a brief respite. Nikolas and Emily reunited, and made plans to spend the holidays at Wyndemere with Spencer, as a family. As the holidays drew near Nikolas consented to allow Spencer to play baby Jesus in the Christmas pageant, with Morgan and Michael. As the performance was about to begin, a weary Nikolas and Emily were in shock to discover Spencer had been kidnapped by Colleen. Helena was eventually able to gain control of the baby, and kill Colleen. Helena attempted to christen him as the next Cassadine heir, but Emily and Nikolas were able to thwart her. Nikolas eventually had Spencer baptized and name Emily as his godmother.
Nikolas and Emily continued their romance, and they attended a fundriaser at the Metro Court. They soon were held hostage with several of their friends when a team of mercenaries led by a plastic surgery disguised Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roche) attempted to rob the hotel's safe. They both helped care for an injured Robin. Nikolas supported Emily when her father Alan Quartermaine died as a result of the incident. After the crisis had passed, Jerry, using the alias James Craig, injected Nikolas with an experimental poison in a bid to have Nikolas finance a new life for him with the Cassadine fortune. Robin discovered Jerry with Nikolas. Jerry forced her to pretend she was involved with Nikolas. Though Nikolas had ended his relationship with her, Emily learned the truth and worked with Robin to save him. When Jerry's identity was revealed, he ended up giving Nikolas the antidote.
As he recovered, Nikolas began exhibiting strange symptoms, including uncontrolled violence and anger. When he revealed he was also suffering from blackouts, they went to Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) for a diagnosis, who could find nothing wrong with him. After Jerry revealed to his brother Jax and Carly that Nikolas had stabbed him, they began to suspect he had strangled their nanny Leticia Juarez. After attacking Carly during a blackout, Nikolas and Emily planned a romantic Black and White Ball to celebrate their love before facing the reality of his illness. Though the night began well, Nikolas was crushed when he awoke from one of his blackouts to find Emily had been murdered the same way Leticia had been.
Stone Cates and Robin Scorpio
(1993-1995)
Stone was living with Sonny Corinthos. Sonny was seeing Karen and got her hooked on drugs. Jagger found his little brother at his girlfriend Krystal's grave site and they began to build a relationship. Jagger became a cop and became engaged to Karen. Jagger saved his brother when he was supposed to drive the get away car to break Frank Smith out of prison. Jagger had a motorcycle accident but recovered and married Karen.
Stone started to date Robin Scorpio. The pair fell deeply in love. Mac Scorpio (John J. York), Robin's uncle, proved to be a big obstacle in their relationship as he did not approve of his niece dating a street kid.
He came down with the flu and Robin took care of him. He told her that he had been tested for HIV and they made love for the first time. They used protection at first, but eventually they stopped; this was a decision that would change Robin's life forever. Stone had the flu for a while and decided to get tested for HIV again. The test came back positive. He did not know how to tell Robin.
Stone was shot and his blood got on Robin. He ran away from her. She found him in the same motel where they made love. Stone told Robin that he was HIV positive. Dr. Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) ordered that they both be tested. Stone's test revealed that he now had AIDS. Robin's test came back negative. Alan started Stone on drug therapy. Mac Scorpio, Robin's uncle was furious when he found out, but he cared for Stone and even saved his life during a seizure, and later bonded with the kid. Robin later tested positive for HIV.
Towards the end of his life, Stone was cared for by Robin and Sonny Corinthos at Sonny's penthouse. Stone's eyesight started to fail due to CMV retinitis worsened by his illness. Right before he died he was able to focus on Robin and see her for one last time. His last word were, "I see you...Oh, Robin, I see you." Stone was like a brother to Sonny and Sonny took his death very hard. Brenda Barrett took his death hard as well, and the two comforted each other. Sonny, Brenda, and Robin had Stone cremated and threw his ashes over a bridge where he had gone bungee jumping to fulfill one of the wishes on his "wish list", which he made once he knew he would not live many more months. That same year Sonny lost his pregnant wife, Lily. He donated her inheritance to General Hospital to open the Stone Cates Memorial AIDS Wing. Sonny later named his son Morgan Stone Corinthos, after Jason Morgan and Stone.
Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane
(1986-1992)
Robert married Anna Devane when the two were on assignment for the WSB in Italy. The two were married in secret before either character showed up in Port Charles. After Holly "died", Anna and Robert remarried in 1991. When the evil Cesar Faison kidnapped Anna, Robert left Port Charles for South America to rescue her. Both Robert and Anna turned up alive in Port Charles in 2006 much to the surprise of their daughter, Robin.
See Also
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_miscellaneous_General_Hospital_couples#Duke_Lavery_and_Anna_Devane