Chapter Five: AJ Quartermaine

Alan Quartermaine Junior is one of the first soap characters to be brought full circle within the show from birth, through SORAS, his own marriage, children and ultimately to his own demise. He was the typical soap child. A virtual study in the pitfalls of being raised in the shadow of a soap super couple. When AJ and his contemporaries were a concept; a child on soaps was seen but not heard or even more often spoken of but not seen.

AJ returned first and promptly started a loan sharking business at Port Charles University, had a rival for a nurse named Sheila’s hand framed and fell into an affair with older woman Nancy Eckert, all the while trying to win a contest Lila sat up that would have given AJ or Ned their inheritance immediately if they could stay out of trouble for six months. Nancy manipulated and used her young lover. She stole a vial of carbon disulfide, a drug that used in small doses caused people to appear drunk but was capable of killing in larger doses. The drug was being made by The Cartel; Harlan, Leopold Taub and Cesar Faison. They had purchased the cannery as a front for their drug operation; forced Paul Hornsby to help them by kidnapping his 6 year old daughter and poisoning her. Faison was also using this drug to control Sean Donely. The Cartel ordered Hornsby to marry Tracy for her stock. Paul wanted Jenny who was being romanced by Ned. Nancy’s murder prompted another “who dunnit” where AJ, Scott, Lucy and Bill were the main suspects.

When AJ’s behind the scenes machinations were found out (he had the nurse; Sheila- who he had a crush on, roughed up when she refused to lie and provide him an alibi for Nancy’s death. His parents banded together to try to force him to straighten up and persuaded Lila to cut off his inheritance and force AJ to get a job as an orderly at General Hospital as an orderly. Ned laughed in AJ’s face.

Tracy found a letter from Edward behind the portrait of him that Lila persisted in holding conversations with since his death two years before. It told that Edward had refused to work with the cartel and he had been afraid for his life. This led to Anna Devane finding Edward alive and living on a tropical island as a man named Hank. Edward came home.

AJ planted drugs on Dr. Eric Simpson when Sheila refused to reconcile with him and dated Dr. Eric instead.

Jason came back to town and entered Port Charles High School and proceeded to charm everyone he came in contact with, causing AJ to act out with even more outrageous behavior. Steve Hardy may not have done ne’er do well AJ any favors when he let him off with dismissal from General Hospital for planting the drugs on his co-worker. AJ and Jason were pitted against each other as light against dark. Jason was as loving as AJ was hateful. Jason couldn’t even dislike AJ for being so jealous and vindictive to his half sibling. Alan even refused to bail AJ out of jail for drunk driving hoping that “tough” love would help him to see the light.

Meanwhile, Monica recognized an emergency patient as her first love, David Langton. He had been the father of her daughter, Dawn, although he did not know that fact because Monica had not told him before he shipped off to Vietnam. To him, she had been “Nikki” although no one else had ever called her that before or since. Instead of Monica removing herself from treating her former lover, she and Bobbie decided to keep her conflict of interest under wraps. Monica confided to psychiatrist Tom Hardy about David and was advised to sort her thoughts and feelings out in a journal while Alan predictably became jealous of Monica’s attention to this patient. As David recovered, he and Monica talked about their past and she met his daughter, Nikki, who David had named after Monica, unbeknownst to his daughter. Nikki was not what could be called a "daddy’s girl" and carried a huge chip on her shoulder.

Tracy and Ned went head to head over “the virgin” Jenny Eckert who was in love with Tracy’s husband Paul but marrying Ned. Dillon’s impending birth assured Paul was staying with Tracy. AJ and Nikki connected over their seeming unloved status in their families. Nikki realized that her father and Monica were more than a doctor/patient and was unhappy about it. She had a screaming fight with David that resulted in his suffering a fatal heart attack. His death unsettled Monica, but she had confided in David that she loved Alan and they would never be anymore than friends now that they had met again.

Feeling bad after David’s death, Monica invited the orphaned Nikki to live at the mansion. Nikki was actually spying on Monica, looking for proofs that David and Monica had a past together. Nikki began to date AJ even though she wanted Eric Simpson. Monica caught Nikki searching her bedroom and threw Nikki out, but Nikki had ripped a page out of Monica’s private journal. During a huge birthday party at the Quartermaines Nikki had Monica served with papers suing her and Bobbie for malpractice. With the unlikely help of Scott Baldwin, it was proven that David had a prior heart condition which absolved Monica, Bobbie and the hospital from liability. Nikki left town when she lost, but she had been dating AJ and he followed her and brought her back to Port Charles, much to Alan’s dismay. Alan blew his top and uttered the words that AJ had always known lay right below the surface: “Why can’t you be more like your brother, Jason?” When AJ wrecked his car drunk driving later that night, almost killing him self and Nikki, she lied and covered for him, saying she had been driving. His parents suspected the truth.

This was a turning point for AJ. After the Nikki near miss he was not the same shameless ne’er do well as before.

Jason went to the front burner in a high school romance featuring Karen, Jagger, Robin and eventually AJ & Ned’s business partner (Julia’s little sister) trust fund baby Brenda. Almost to spite his parents and despite his red hot affair with Julia, AJ and Nikki moved closer and began living together. Petty disagreements were put aside when Jason was lost at sea. AJ would not allow them to call off the search and convinced Alan to go back out looking for his brother, finally earning his father's respect when they found Jason and his friends on Spoon Island. Nikki decided to marry AJ for his fortune and set out to help him get it together, including making up with Alan & Monica, and the young couple ended up moving back in to the mansion. Alan was not responsive. He and Monica knew that Nikki had an ulterior motive, but as AJ began to show signs of emotional growth and improvement, they kept quiet. Jason fell in love with Karen, who fell in love with Jagger, who Brenda wanted so bad she could taste it.

AJ was happy until his wedding day when Alan bribed Nikki with a big fat check to leave AJ at the alter after informing her that AJ would be disinherited if they married. AJ paid a private detective to find Nikki, but Alan paid him more not to find her. AJ went back to drinking and Monica was furious with Alan for betraying their son. When AJ passed out in the garage with the motor running, Alan & Monica feared it had been a suicide attempt. AJ went to rehab, but his parents continued to argue over what Alan had done. When AJ came home from rehab he continued searching for the answers as to why Nikki had left him. Even when AJ found out about the bribe, they continued to fight over it!

Alan befriended Jason’s girlfriend Karen’s mother, Rhonda Wexler, It was not a sexual relationship, but Monica didn’t like it. Monica wondered to Bobbie if she was losing Alan to Rhonda and Bobbie advised Monica to make him jealous to get him back. She made up a suitor and got Alan’s attention and ultimately, Alan told Rhonda that they could not be friends. Later, Jason told Alan that Rhonda’s ex husband, Ray, had sexually assaulted Karen. Alan called Rhonda and just happened to interrupt Ray beating her senseless. Alan rushed to Rhonda’s and fought Ray, who struck his head and died. Not wanting Monica to know that he had been at Rhonda’s, he anonymously called an ambulance for the unconscious Rhonda and dragged Ray’s body away. AJ later discovered the body behind the petrol plant, saw his father’s monogrammed tie clip and confronted Alan, who confessed? Trying to clear his dad, AJ framed Jagger for the crime but Alan & Monica talked him in to clearing the innocent man. He did so.

Ned hated that his wife, Jenny wanted to work and was quite the ass eventually going into business (buying the Port Charles Hotel) with Julia Barrett. Tracy and Paul moved back for Dillon’s birth and Jenny and Paul fought their desire for each other. Tracy met Marco Dane, from Llanview Pennsylvania and hired him to dig up dirt on daughter-in-law Jenny. Tracy hit the mother load! Jenny; who Ned believed to have been a virgin till their shared wedding night had had a miscarriage by Senator Jack Kensington when she was only 16. Tracy invited the Senator and his family over to the mansion for dinner and secretly taped Jenny talking to Jack about their illicit “jail bait” affair. Tracy told Jenny that she would play the tape for Ned if Jenny didn’t keep away from Tracy’s husband Paul. Jenny immediately threw Paul to the curb. Julia ended up with the tape and had to decide for her friendship with Jenny against her desire to break Ned & Jenny up so she could have Ned for her own. Brenda found the evidence though and arranged for Ned to hear it. He divorced Jenny which was why Brenda turned him on to the tape: for her big sister. Paul left Tracy when he found out what she had done but Tracy threatened him with Dillon. Jason took up for Karen when Brenda took naked shower pictures of her and gave them to the student body. Karen confided to friend Jason that she loved Jagger. Karen went with Jason to the Valentine’s Day dance where they were crowned king and queen right before Karen left Jason when Jagger showed up at the dance for her.

Ned busted out Jenny and the Senators affair to the press and blackmailed Paul into giving him his ELQ shares. Tracy’s hired man Marco Dane was instructed to frame Paul for embezzlement. AJ and Jason bonded when AJ comforted his humiliated and heart broken little brother. AJ was clean and sober and got a job for Ned at the Port Charles hotel after coming out of rehab. Tracy “accidentally” ran Jenny over and panicked. Ned and Julia found her and rushed her to Gh where Julia saw that Ned still loved Jenny. Jenny turned the tables on Tracy and told her to drop charges against Paul or she would “remember” who hit her with their car. Tracy begged Edward for help, but he threw her out bag and baggage. Tracy disappeared with Dillon. Even though Ned was pursuing ex-wife Jenny he exploded in rage at AJ for having an affair with Julia Barrett, Ned’s current business partner and lover.

Edward pressured Ned into taking AJ under his wing at the Port Charles Hotel which sent AJ to the Bahamas with Ned and Julia and ended with Julia liking her booty call with AJ as much as she did Ned. Ned’s old college buddy Damien Smith came to town. Damien turned out to be the lover of Katherine Bell. Damien sabotaged ELQ by tainting water samples and turning them in to the EPA. Damien then convinced Ned he could help fix this for 2% of ELQ stock. He immediately gave Katherine bell one quarter of his shares. Ned championed Damien’s toxic waste Incinerator Plan when all the other Q’s were opposed to building one. Damien turned out to be Frank Smith’s son. Bill Eckert left his 36% ELQ stoke to Jenny who refused to sell it to Ned. Because of this Damien and Ned needed Lucy Coe’s 4% of ELQ stock Lucy wouldn’t sell them but Damien charmed her into a bet for them. He bet he could get Bobbie Jones into bed. Lucy took that bet and lived to regret that she did.  

The Quartermaines quietly slipped toward their twentieth Anniversary on General Hospital. The show was divided between ELQ and the Q's, Luke and Laura's return, Sonny's arrival in Port Charles, AJ's Sport's complex and boxing days, Jason's awkward and innocent appeal, Bobbie's family follies and the continued magical exploits of of Lucy Coe.