Monica Quartermaine

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Dr. Monica Bard Quartermaine, played by Patsy Rahn from 1976 - 1977 and then by Leslie Charleson since 1977, is a fictional character on the American soap opera General Hospital. She is a member of the wealthy quarreling Quartermaine family. Her various affairs and quarrels with her husband Dr. Alan Quartermaine were major stories on the show throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In her time on the show, Monica has battled breast cancer, dealt with the loss of two children, her adopted son's amnesia and decision to become a mafia hitman, and various other conflicts. She is the owner of the Quartermaine mansion, which she often reminds her family of when they begin quarreling. She has been known to throw them out of her house. As of 2006, she is largely a backburner character, with only rare appearances.

1 Offscreen events
2 Onscreen events
3 Family, marriages, and romantic entanglements

[edit] Offscreen events

Monica grew up in an orphanage and was fostered by Gail. However Gail kicked Monica out after Monica slept with her husband. The two eventually reconciled and for years Gail served as a mother figure to Monica.

Monica later had an affair with David Langston and gave birth to a daughter, Dawn, whom she gave up for adoption.

Monica was also raped, sometime before she arrived at General Hospital. She revealed this to Laura Baldwin shortly after Laura had been raped.

Just prior to her arrival on the programme, Monica had been engaged to Rick Webber. However he had broke up with her and flew off to Africa where he became caught up in a civil war and was presumed dead. Monica turned to Jeff, Rick's brother for comfort and married him, not knowing that Rick was still alive.

[edit] Onscreen events

Monica arrived in Port Charles in 1976, having recently married Jeff Webber. Steve Hardy, who had been recently appointed as chief of staff at General Hospital invited the couple to take part in his Mr and Mrs Intern programme, believing that the couple had an idyllic marriage. However, the truth was that Monica had only married Jeff on the rebound. She was still deeply in love with Jeff's brother Rick, who had been presumed dead in Africa. Thus the marriage collapsed when Rick was revealed to be still alive and Monica cheated on Jeff with Rick, while Jeff cheated on Monica with Heather Grant. Jeff and Monica divorced in 1977.

Throughout this time, Rick had grown close to Lesley and eventually married her. Monica was devastated, but soon began a romance with Dr Alan Quartermaine, whom she married in 1978. 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, Alan Junior (A.J). 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 realised that A.J was indeed Alan's son and not Rick's. Monica attempted to his 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 fell 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. Monica was not pleased at having her husband's illegitimate offspring in the house at first, but eventually grew to love Jason as if her were her own.

In 1986, Monica had an affair with Sean Donnely, 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, 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. Imagine Monica's surprise when Ward turned out to be Ned Ashton, the son of her sister-in-law Tracy 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 in 1990.

Dawn was later murdered and Monica was devastated by her death. After Alan's marriage to Lucy Coe also proved a disaster, Monica and Alan were drawn back together by their son A.J's rebellious behaviour. In 1991, the two remarried and the next three years of their marriage were relatively calm, although Alan's friendship with Rhonda Wexler did give Monica 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. Finally Monica went into remission, but she and Alan were drifting further and further apart.

By 1996, A.J's alcoholism, which had been developing for several years, culminated in family tragedy when he and Jason were in a serious car accident. A.J 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 favour of working for local mob boss Sonny Corinthos. 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 Pierce made false allegations of sexual harassment against Monica. In court, Pierce'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 A.J's alcoholism and Emily's drug addiction. Monica snapped and kidnapped Pierce, and was threatened to give him a lobotomy. Only Jason's intervention stopped her from doing so. Eventually though, Monica was vindicated when Pierce was murdered and revealed to have been a drug dealer.

More family drama ensued in 1998 when Carly Roberts claimed that her son Michael was Jason's. Monica's father-in-law, Edward 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 A.J was. During this time Alan had become addicted to pain pills, which caused another brief estrangement between Alan and Monica.

Alan and Monica eventually reconciled and in 2001 decided to renew their vows, only for Skye Chandler 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 occured amongst their children. A.J lost custody of Michael to Carly and her new husband Sonny Corinthos, while Emily was temporarily paralysed in an accident and later diagnosed with breast cancer.

In 2005, A.J faked his death as part of a complicated plot to frame his ex wife Courtney for murder and eventually kidnap his son Michael. Alan and Monica blamed each other for failing to show A.J enough love and attention and once again a rift began in their marriage. When A.J turned alive and was subsequently murdered, Alan and Monica separated. Monica also believed that she had witnessed Michael kill A.J and helped in the cover up, though eventually it was revealed that Michael was not to blame. Monica and Alan eventually patched up their differences and decided to remain married.

As of 2006, Monica spends most of her time at the hospital, or being amused by the various dramas that have been occurring in her family. Recently she was alarmed when Emily began a relationship with Sonny, but the two have since broken up.

[edit] Family, marriages, and romantic entanglements

[edit] Children

Dawn Winthrop (biological daughter with David Langston; given up for adoption; deceased)
Alan "AJ" Quartermaine Jr. (son; by Alan; deceased)
Jason Morgan (adopted son; with Alan)
Emily Bowen-Quartermaine (adopted daughter; with Alan)