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| - Nurses Jane Harland and Sharon McGillis infused the seventh floor with a youthful exuberance as they cheerfully carried out their duties. Both blonde, spirited and beautiful, their respective men were less than stellar specimens of manhood. Jane was engaged and later married to an irresponsible louse by the name of Howie Dawson. Pert and always upbeat, Nurse Sharon McGillis married an unlikely mate, quiet Dr. Henry Pinkham. The new crop of nurses lived in fear of brusque, no-nonsense senior nurse, Lucille March. Lucille was tough, but anyone who really knew her understood that beneath her armor beat a heart of gold. One man who knew, but rarely saw, Lucille's softer side was widower Al Weeks, who had joined the hospital staff as custodian. Though she would never, ever admit it, Lucille adored good ol' Al! Eventually, they would decide to spend their golden years together as man and wife. In February of 1971, Lucille was surprised when out of the blue, her sister Audrey returned to town -- and claimed her baby was born dead. Little "Stevie," was very much alive -- and living with a nanny, Peggy Nelson, in a seedy part of town. Audrey spun an elaborate web of lies to keep her loser-husband Tom Baldwin from contesting their divorce action. She was certain that Tom would never give her up if he knew about their son! According to her plan, Audrey would tell Steve that Mrs. Nelson's baby was a foster child -- the son of her cousin. Eventually, Audrey and Steve would arrange to adopt the child. It was a brilliant scheme that may have succeeded had it not been for Mrs. Nelson's greed. When the elderly nanny learned of Audrey's plight, she blackmailed her and was eventually murdered. On the night of September 24, 1971, Audrey returned to her apartment in an agitated state. In one arm, she carried a suitcase. In the other, she held her baby. Rushing into the bathroom, she took out a pistol and, in a moment of panic, hid it in the water tank of her toilet. Across town, Mrs. Nelson lay dead -- the victim of a fatal gunshot wound! Did Audrey do it? Her secret revealed, all the evidence pointed to Audrey, who steadfastly maintained her innocence. Charged with the murder, Audrey nearly went to prison for life, until some late-breaking detective work unearthed the real culprit -- Peggy Nelson's ex-husband, Arnold. Audrey was set free, and discovered that the only way to keep possession of her baby was to move back in with her hateful husband, Tom. When their marriage failed, Tom kidnapped young Tommy. Eventually, Audrey received word that Tom had died of a heart attack in Mexico. Young Tommy's return came just in the nick of time, because the youngster was in desperate need of open-heart surgery. Steve Hardy called upon the brilliant heart surgeon, Dr. Jim Hobart, to perform Tommy's vital, lifesaving surgery. In rapid time, Audrey married Jim, much to the alarm of Steve Hardy and Lucille, who feared that she had tied the knot with Jim out of gratitude, not love. Jim injured his hand and became a hopeless alcoholic. Once again, Steve Hardy watched helplessly as his true love, Audrey, suffered through another tragic marriage. Meg was released from the mental institution. Supposedly recovered from the mental breakdown, Meg now suffered from a severe case of hypertension. At General Hospital, a strikingly beautiful female doctor was assigned to Meg's case. Dr. Lesley Williams assumed Tom Baldwin's practice and immediately distinguished herself with her winning bedside manner. However, an insanely jealous Meg began to suspect -- wrongly-- that Lesley was trying to work her way into her husband Lee's bed! In the middle of the argument with Lee, Meg collapsed and died in 1972-- the victim of a deadly stroke. Fighting back tears, Lee knew he had to be strong -- for Scotty. Phil Brewer ducked back into the country. Still believing he was a wanted man, Phil grew a scraggly beard and adopted an assumed name, "Harold Williamson." Taking a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant not far from General Hospital, Phil befriended a beautiful young waitress, Diana Maynard, who fell hopelessly in love with "Harold." They became lovers. When Diana accidentally stumbled upon "Harold's" real identity, she was torn by the realization that she could lose the man she loved. After all, like everyone in town, Diana knew that Dr. Phil Brewer had been cleared of the murder charges in the death of Polly Prentice. For months, Diana agonized over keeping the news from "Harold," until the day the secret blew up in her face. Searching through old newspapers in the local library, Phil discovered the shocking news all by himself. The joy of knowing he was a free man was tempered by the anger he felt toward Diana for keeping the news secret for so long. Phil rushed to Jessie, but after seeing her with Peter, he raced off -- and wrecked his car. Critically wounded with severe head injuries, "Harold Williamson" was rushed to the emergency room at General Hospital, where Jessie was stunned to discover that he was Phil. Jessie absorbed the fact that her husband was alive and her marriage to Dr. Peter Taylor was invalid. Jessie and Phil reconciled yet again. Left out in the cold, Peter Taylor and a pregnant Diana Maynard commiserated in their shared grief. When Diana confided the news of her pregnancy to Peter, he nobly asked her to become his wife. This time, Phil and Jessie's reconciliation was shorter than ever! Phil had been rendered impotent as a result of his near-fatal auto accident. The final blow to the Brewer marriage came when Phil discovered that Diana Maynard was pregnant with his child. Leaving Jessie, Phil hoped to become a family with Diana and his soon-to-born baby, but he was too late - she loved Peter now. Diana gave birth to a boy, Tracy, who died of pneumonia. Regaining his manly prowess, Phil forced himself upon Diana, raping her. Fearing repercussions, Diana kept the encounter secret from Peter. Diana gave birth to a baby daughter, Martha. She breathed a sigh of relief when Phil, never suspecting that the child was his, left to take on new doctoral duties in Nairobi, Kenya. Diana tried to pass off Martha as Peter's baby. When Peter learned the truth, he walked out. Diana filed for divorce. In 1972, Jessie Brewer suddenly became guardian for her brother's teenage children, Kent and Caroline Murray. At the same time, she began treating a patient, Teddy Holmes, on General Hospital's seventh floor. Teddy, a prizewinning journalist, charmed Jessie just as Phil had. When Teddy ran off with young Caroline, Jessie was devastated. Once again, Jessie Brewer had been deceived and destroyed by a handsome man!
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