Jack Deveraux
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| Jack Deveraux | |||||||||||||
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 Matthew Ashford as Jack Deveraux |
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| Days of our Lives | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Joseph Adams (1987) James Acheson (1987) Matthew Ashford (1987-1993, 2001-2003, 2004-2006, 2007) Mark Valley (1994-1997) Steve Wilder (1997-1998) |
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| First appearance | 1987 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 2007 | ||||||||||||
| Cause/reason | Moved to England | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Leah Laiman | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||
| Date of death | Several, none took. | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Journalist (current Bureau Chief for the London Spectator) | ||||||||||||
| Residence | England | ||||||||||||
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Jack Harcourt Deveraux is a former resident of the fictional town of Salem on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He is most famously played by Matthew Ashford.
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[edit] Character Overview
Charming, manipulative, heroic, clever, selfish, arrogant and self-loathing all at the same time, antihero Jack Deveraux is one half of Jack and Jennifer, one of Days of our Lives' most popular supercouples. Although he entered the story as an outright villain wedging himself violently in between another popular supercouple, Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady, Jack eventually grew to establish himself as a core main character in the Days mythos through his passion, outrageous sense of humor, touching redemption from his evil ways, and undying love for Days heroine Jennifer Horton. Despite occasional moral and judgmental lapses, Jack remains a strong, essentially kindhearted, and intelligent hero, and, to most, a refreshing contrast from other, more generic, knight-in-shining-armor heroes.
[edit] Fictional character history
Jack has a dark family history of rape. In addition to being a rapist himself, his father and father-in-law are also rapists and his wife, ex-wife and sister have all been raped. Both he and his father-in-law eventually were forgiven by those they had raped, and his father-in-law even ended up marrying the woman he'd raped.
[edit] 1980s
Jack came to Salem in 1987 where he discovered he was suffering from Hodgkin's disease. Although he didn't know it at the time, Jack was the long-lost baby brother of town rebel with a heart of gold Steve Johnson, and he had a mother (Jo Johnson) and a sister Adrienne Johnson. Jack's extremely violent biological father, Duke, was dead, having been shot by his daughter after he raped her.
Jack was unaware of all of this, as he had been adopted at a young age by wealthy Senator Harper Deveraux, and was raised in a life of privilege. Jack originally came to Salem looking for Kayla Brady - who he had fallen in love with in Hawaii a few years back. Kayla and Steve were in love, but when Steve learned Jack was his long lost baby brother (Billy), he pushed Kayla into marrying Jack to give him the will to fight his disease. Although she disagreed with the idea, she did genuinely care about Jack, and was herself reeling from Steve's sudden and unexpected rejection. Due to her love for Steve, Kayla was not yet able to consummate her marriage with Jack, however, and she kept telling him she wasn't ready. Soon thereafter she got sick (Harper Deveraux was poisoning her) and that gave Kayla additional reason to keep Jack at arms length. Kayla intended on eventually making her marriage real, but her heart would not let go of Steve. Jack continued to be understanding, even though he feared every day that the woman he loved would never love him back. He even offered to let her out of the marriage if that would help her to get better, but Kayla gently refused, telling him that she wanted to stay married.
Steve became suspicious about Kayla's mysterious illness and kidnapped her away from the Deveraux house when he discovered evidence that someone in the Deveraux house was poisoning her. Jack suspected Steve had kidnapped his wife, and angrily confronted him on the issue. He was genuinely worried about her welfare, but he was also partly worried that Kayla had run away to be with Steve. Steve was worried that Jack had been the one poisoning Kayla, so the two were never able to work together on this issue.
During this time Kayla angrily demanded that Steve tell her why he had kidnapped her when he had acted like he didn't care about her. An anguished Steve finally confessed to her that Jack was his long lost brother and he had broken up with Kayla to give 'Billy' a fighting chance. Kayla and Steve began to have an affair, unable to keep apart any longer. She wanted to divorce Jack, but Steve and Jo Johnson both begged her to stay with Jack until after his election, fearing that a divorce would prevent him from being elected. Kayla agreed reluctantly to do as they wished, even though she now knew she would never be intimate with Jack. She continued to put him off, telling him that she was still feeling tired from being sick, promising that someday soon, they would be together.
Jack hoped that New Years would be the right time for them to begin their life as man and wife, but Kayla disappeared with Steve wearing a dress that Jack had bought her, leaving Jack alone at a party when the new year rang. A reporter named Canby took pictures of Steve and Kayla that night.
Less than two weeks later, the night Jack won the election, Canby confronted Jack with pictures of Kayla with Steve. It was obvious from those pictures that something was going on between Steve and Kayla and the dress she was wearing made it clear that the pictures had been taken on New Years. An enraged Jack confronted Kayla when she got home, and when she couldn't deny that those pictures had been taken during their marriage, he raped her, insisting that he was through waiting and that he was taking what was rightfully his.
Jack was plagued by extreme guilt about what he did to Kayla, but a mixture of pride and anger caused him to keep redirecting his guilt as malice against Kayla and Steve. He refused to let Kayla out of their marriage and hired someone to beat Steve up. After Kayla confessed to Steve that Jack had raped her, Jack and Steve fought on a rooftop. Jack fell off the rooftop and damaged his kidneys. He needed a new one, and the best match was Steve's. Initially Jack refused the kidney, but Dr. Mike Horton convinced him to accept it. Steve's donation did not change how Jack felt about Steve and he embarked on a campaign of harassment against Steve and Kayla. Kayla finally had enough and she pressed charges for rape. Jack agreed to plead guilty for assault, but he maintained he was only doing it because he was being railroaded.
Jack tried to hurt Steve by helping Adrienne find long lost brother Billy, hoping that this Billy would have resentment against a brother who stayed with his family. Billy and Steve had been placed in an orphanage by a desperate Jo because she felt sure her husband Duke would one day kill the children. Baby Jack had been adopted but the older Steve grew up in the orphanage.
When Jack broke into Steve's apartment he found a baby picture of himself. Eventually he discovered that he was Billy, and he was horrified. Not long after, his adoptive father Harper was revealed as the Riverfront knifer, killing prostitutes because they reminded him of Kayla, who he hated because of what she had done to Jack.
Kayla ended up developing a case of hysterical deafness/muteness during this time due to the stress of what Jack had done and was continuing to do, and what Harper had done. Jack felt guilty at his involvement in hurting her and he very sadly gave her a no contest divorce. To his dismay, Kayla married Steve. Meanwhile, Jack had been having a relationship with Melissa Anderson - who was blind to his faults due to her deep feelings of love for him. He became engaged to Melissa, but when she realized he had been cheating on her and using her to help clean up his name to further his political career, she left him at the altar and left town.
Jack's entire foundation had crumbled. He wasn't who he thought he was, he had been embarrassed in front of the whole town on his wedding day, and his "father" was a sociopathic killer.
Jack could not let go of his hatred of Steve and he resented his biological mother for giving him away. He refused to accept the Johnsons and continued to harass Steve and Kayla, although his behavior was less menacing than before.
As time went on, Jack eventually stopped harassing Steve and Kayla and started reluctantly traveling a hero's journey. He wanted to transform himself into the kind of man his brother was, but he was racked with guilt over what he had done, and filled with resentment at people's inability to give him a second chance.
[edit] 1990s
Eventually, he was able to accept full responsibility for the things he had done, and was able to (somewhat) integrate himself into the Johnson family, primarily due to his mother's dedication to the family embracing Jack, despite what he'd done.
During his transformation into a decent man, Jack began to work with college intern Jennifer Horton at a newspaper that he now co-owned with Diana Colville. He had originally purchased a controlling interest in the Spectator to stop her from running an expose on his dirty dealings (including the dumping of toxic chemicals into a river in Salem) and he discovered a love of the business.
Jennifer, Melissa's cousin, was extremely wary of Jack in the beginning, knowing him by his deeds. They bonded while Jennifer was trying to help a jailed mother by fostering her newborn baby, and soon Jennifer began to have faith in Jack. Jack was clearly attracted to her and attempted to throw monkey wrenches in Jennifer's budding relationship with Emilio Ramirez. Jennifer didn't initially return the romantic interest, as she still couldn't completely trust him knowing his past actions, but she was intrigued by him and spent much of her time at work verbally sparring with him. Their banter would eventually become the staple of their relationship.
Jack became embroiled in an attempt to help Steve and Kayla when Steve's long-thought-dead wife Marina came to town. Jack was trying to make up for tearing the two apart, and while they didn't trust his motives, he threw himself wholeheartedly into trying to get Marina out of Steve's life by finding a key that Marina and her sister Isabella wanted to find. Jack had rescued Isabella from Bay View Sanitarium and Isabella trusted Jack completely. Her trust for him sparked a warm friendship between the two and helped Jack along his path towards becoming a better person. Slowly Jack began to try to make up for the things he had done to hurt Steve and Kayla and they began to slowly consider that Jack might actually be changing.
Slowly, Jennifer began to realize how much she loved Jack and that there was more to him than most of the town saw. Jack started pushing Jennifer away during this time when he realized how dangerous the hunt for the key was. He also feared that if Jennifer and he got together, he would ultimately hurt her as he did Kayla and Melissa.
Although Steve and Kayla didn't trust him, Jack kept trying to find the Key. During this time, Victor, who also wanted the key, kidnapped Kayla. Steve finally let Jack help him rescue Kayla, and by the time the adventure was over Jack and Steve had the beginnings of a fledgling fraternal relationship. In a gesture of good-will and acceptance, Steve asked Jack to be is best man for his second marriage to Kayla (their first marriage was not legal once Marina came to town). Kayla had agreed that Steve could do this, and Jack was deeply touched by their gesture. The wedding didn't happen when Kayla was arrested for the murder of Marina Toscano. Jack worked hard at turning public opinion Kayla's way after she was found to be guilty. During this time, Stephanie Johnson was born. Eventually it was found that Kayla was innocent.
Jack and Jennifer embarked on the famed "Cruise of Deception" during which time Isabella Toscano was found to be Victor Kiriakis's daughter. Ernesto Toscano had killed his wife when he found out she was unfaithful and he tried to kill everyone on board the cruise. He failed, and they all ended up on his island. It was during this time that Jennifer finally convinced Jack that their love made sense and that she trusted him not to hurt her and they consummated their love -a first for Jennifer. Jack was haunted by the thought that he would end up like Harper or Duke - evidenced by his own rape of Kayla. He was still wary of a relationship with Jennifer after they were all rescued by Steve and Shane.
Now closer to his brother, Jack accidentally killed escapee Harper as he tried to kill Steve on the day of his third wedding to Kayla - an event in which Jack was, once again, to be best man. Labelling himself a rapist and now a killer, Jack once again began pushing Jennifer away. Eventually Jennifer got fed up with him and embroiled herself in a large deception whereby she was trying to convince wealthy and villainous Lawrence Alamain that she was his arranged-bride-to-be Katarina Von Leuschner - Jennifer's friend from boarding school who she knew as Carly Manning. Jack tried to get Jennifer to abandon her ruse, fearing that Lawrence was a deadly enemy. He admitted his love to her and promised never to push her away again. Jennifer accepted his apologies but insisted on seeing her plan through.
As part of a long-standing vendetta against Bo Brady, Lawrence had Steve killed leaving Jack heartbroken at losing the brother he finally had learned to love. Jack and Kayla bonded a little through this grief, but Jack couldn't stay in town - he had to go back to rescue Jennifer.
Lawrence then blackmailed Jennifer into marrying him by revealing that her former boyfriend, and Carly's younger brother, Frankie Brady, was his prisoner. Lawrence knew she wasn't Katarina and he himself had had an affair with Katarina (Carly Manning) years ago, but all he wanted was the VL fortune. Jack, who had traveled to Europe with Jennifer and others had been imprisoned the day of the wedding, and was unable to meet with Jennifer as planned near the elevator in Lawrence's bedroom. Lawrence came upon his bride in his bedroom the night of his wedding and confused her in his mind with Carly. Jennifer tried to explain her presence in his room by telling him she was waiting for him. Things got out of control and she tried to get away, but he raped Jennifer, seeming to confuse her with Carly. Jack escaped his prison a little too late, and tried to get Jennifer to leave. Traumatized by the rape, and unable to tell him about it because of his own past, she coldly told him she was married and that she was going to try to make her marriage work. Help arrived in the form of Shane, Bo, Carly, Kayla and Julie as all of these people were trying to either gather evidence about Steve's death, or rescue Jennifer and her Gran, Alice Horton, from Lawrence's grasp. With her friends and family as support, and an impassioned challenge for her to declare who she really was and who she really loved, Jack managed to convince Jennifer to escape with them.
Lawrence set off explosives as they tried to escape through the tunnels under his villa and they entire group of them nearly died, but finally made it out and back home to Salem. At this point, Alice Horton was firmly in Jack's camp as far as his relationship with Jennifer was concerned. Jack himself was finally able to commit to his feelings for her and was starting to believe that despite his ugly deeds in the past, the two of them could have a happy life together.
However, Jennifer was deeply traumatized by the rape and once home, she flinched and pulled away every time Jack tried to get close to her Jack was starting to believe that her behavior, which reminded him of Kayla in the days before the rape, meant that she was in love with Frankie. Her decision to have Frankie as a roommate after turning down Jack's offer that they live together further pushed him towards this belief and he began to become more and more insecure about her feelings about him. He asked her to marry him in a grandiose and romantic fashion and although she initially said she couldn't say yes just yet, she finally relented when he came to her dressed as Santa Claus (purportedly coming on 'Jack Deveraux's behalf.)
She still continued to freeze up whenever he tried to get close. Lawrence Alamain came to Salem seeking to continue his revenge against those who had crossed him, and this only increased Jennifer's general sense of terror. Jack tried to help her out by bringing her to a cabin so that they could get away from Lawrence and the stress he caused both of them. He tried to get her to tell him what was going on, and when she was unable to even speak to him after his impassioned pleas that she open up to him, he grabbed her and tried to kiss her passionately in an attempt to remind her of what they were losing. She freaked out as he triggered a flashback to the rape, and she broke free of him, slapping him and calling him a rapist. She was immediately horrified and apologetic, but Jack was unable to hear her words.
Believing Jennifer had finally realized what he feared all along, that Jack was nothing but a rapist, a heartbroken and angry Jack pushed himself away from Jennifer and married Eve Donovan to secure inheritance money so that he could save his paper, which he was in jeopardy of losing to Lawrence. Finally during yet another escapade, Jennifer admitted to Jack about the rape. His reaction was initially to run away from her, believing that after her experiences he was the last thing she'd need or want. Eventually, however, Jack realized that she did need him, and he fought his own guilty demons in order to support her through her pain and through her decision to press charges against Lawrence.
Very shortly after Lawrence was convicted of fifth degree rape, Jack married Jennifer in July 1991. Jennifer gave birth to a daughter, Abigail in October 1992. While still an infant Abigail was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia caused from exposure to water from the river Jack's company had dumped chemicals in all those years ago. Although Abigail recovered, this final straw of guilt and feelings of unworthiness lead Jack to abandon his family and Salem altogether, feeling they'd be better off without him.
After leaving Jennifer and Abby, Jack suffered a mental breakdown and checked himself into a mental health clinic called The Meadows. The Meadows' theme was to leave your past self behind, and while there everybody took invented names as a healing technique. While there he became acquainted with an attractive, middle-aged woman (also a patient) with whom he formed a friendship. Trying to forget his troubles, Jack and the woman began sleeping together. Eventually, with the clinic's help, Jack was able to get his head on straight and began to feel that he could now be the kind of husband to Jennifer and father to Abby, that they deserved. Jack returned to Salem.
When he got there, his family was not exactly where he had left them. Jennifer had met and begun a relationship with Peter Blake and they married not long after Jack's return. To make matters worse, Jack learned that the woman he had met and had a relationship with at The Meadows was Jennifer's mother, Laura, whom he had never met before (due to her extended stay in various mental hospitals since Jennifer was a little girl.) Jennifer denounced Jack, sick of him hurting her and sought comfort in the arms of her new husband. Jack, however, thought something was not quite right with the all too perfect seeming Peter. He worked tirelessly to prove his hunch that Peter was up to no good, but Jennifer wrote Jack's claims off as the pathetic schemes he had become all too known for. However, eventually Peter managed to prove Jack right, as his anger towards Jack, and jealousy of Jennifer's continued closeness with him, caused Peter (who had been working with his adopted father and brother, crime boss Stefano DiMera and his son Tony) to go off the deep end. He kidnapped Jennifer and Abigail, and after Jack rescued them, Jennifer divorced Peter (who was sent to prison) and Jack, Jennifer and Abigail left town to live in Africa (where Jennifer's father, Bill worked as a volunteer doctor) in 1998.
[edit] 2000s
In Africa, Jennifer didn't exactly find the devoted husband and father she was hoping Jack had become. Jack, who had lost his paper and his fortune, became obsessed with the idea of making his money back and began to get himself involved in get-rich-quick schemes, many of which Jennifer found impractical and shady. To make matters worse, these business ventures would often cause Jack to disappear, sometimes for weeks at a time, without so much as a phone call to Jennifer. Eventually deciding nothing had changed, Jennifer packed up her stuff and left with Abby one night while Jack was gone, without letting him know where they were going (which was first to Ireland and eventually back to Salem.)
On a tip from Jennifer's grandmother, Alice Horton, Jack learned that Jennifer was to be in Paris for the coronation of Princess Greta Von Amburg. Jack, who was in Italy at the time, managed to get to Paris before Jen could, and ambushed her at the coronation. There they had it out, Jennifer blasted Jack for his antics in Africa and for his stubborn refusal to grow up and begin shouldering the responsibilities expected of him as a husband, father and man while Jack expressed his outrage at Jennifer's just skulking off with their daughter without so much as a word. Eventually, after tempers calmed and they were able to discuss the problems rationally, they agreed to return to Salem where they would attempt to work out a custody agreement of Abby. Jack, however, had much more in mind. In his latest attempt to win Jennifer back, he suggested the three of them all move in together under one roof, as neither of them had a place to stay, and the stability would be good for Abigail. Jennifer protested the idea, but was goaded into when Jack suggested that if he was able to put Abby before their personal differences, she should as well. While the arrangement was initially confrontational at best, with Jack and Jennifer constantly verbally sparring with each other, eventually when Jack managed to rescue Jennifer after her car went over a bridge and comforted her after she thought the same car accident had killed the infant son of her cousin, Jennifer began to entertain the idea that perhaps Jack was really, finally, changing into the kind of man she thought he was when they were married.
Meanwhile Jack used the attractive Princess Greta Von Amburg, with whom he had recently become friends, to make Jennifer jealous, which Jennifer saw immediately through. However, when Jennifer began to date the sensitive and romantic Brandon Walker, Jack was determined to continue, especially after he interpreted his plan as working. The plan hit a snag when Greta developed real feelings for Jack. As his heart belonged to only Jennifer, Jack tried to let Greta down gently, but when she (who had recently been dumped twice for other women) realized she was being rebuffed again, she began crying. Wanting to spare her feelings, Jack told her he was gay and thus just wasn't attracted to any woman. After a few complicated (and hectic for Jack) months of trying to make Jennifer think Greta and he were involved while trying to make Greta think he's gay, eventually the truth came out to Jennifer. Jennifer was livid at Jack for playing both her and Greta for fools, and plotted to seduce Jack in the shower in an effort to catch him in his own lie. Jennifer's scheme, however, did not go according to plan as Jennifer found herself unable to resist Jack as well. When Jack, guilty at this all this happening as a result of his deceptions and because he knew Jennifer had a little too much to drink earlier in the night, stopped the interlude just short of sex, Jennifer found herself surprisingly disappointed and very confused as to how she felt.
Not long after this, Greta found out Jack is straight and left town in a rage, and Jack was left distraction free in his, now more honest, pursuit of Jennifer. The relationship between Jennifer and Brandon eventually fizzled and Jennifer began dating Colin Murphy a mysterious Irish man she met in Africa who she had originally gone to Ireland to meet. While this relationship continued, Jennifer eventually realized she was kidding herself and that her true love remained Jack Deveraux and attempted to end things with Colin. Colin, however, revealed he wasn't going to take no for an answer, and threatened Jack's life unless Jennifer proved her love to Colin, by sleeping with him. A devastated Jennifer had no choice but to submit. When Colin was murdered just a few days later, both Jack and Jennifer suspected each other (for the obvious reasons) and Jack even turned himself in to deflect suspicion off of Jennifer. Eventually the murderer turned out to be neither of them. A few months later, in May 2003, Jack and Jennifer finally remarried.
In October 2003, Jack began working with police officer Abe Carver, leading to both men supposedly being murdered by the Salem Stalker (Marlena Evans). Jennifer was forced to disconnect a brain dead Jack's life support, but she was comforted by the fact that she was now pregnant with Jack's second child.
In May 2004, it was revealed that Jack and all of Marlena's victims were alive and being held on a tropical island by Tony Dimera, who had faked all of the murders. Jennifer eventually found her way to the island, and gave birth to a son named Jack Jr. While escaping Tony's island, Jack was again presumed dead after a tsunami. This was, again, not the case. Jack, and a few others including the sexy Cassie Brady who was Jack's cellmate, were being held in a castle in Europe. During this time, despite possible temptations on either side by Patrick Lockhart (a good-looking conman working for Tony who had Jennifer in his sights) and Cassie for Jack, both managed to be one of the only couples (of many) dealing with fake dead spouses who stayed true to each other. In April 2005, Jack lead another escape from the castle and he and Jennifer were reunited at the bedside of a minorly injured Abigail (she had been in a car accident) and Jack got to know his infant son, Jack Deveraux Jr.
In June 2005, Jack received news that he was dying and only had about 3 months left to live due to a rare blood disease. Instead of trying to find out more about his illness, Jack worked to set Jennifer up with her old boyfriend, Frankie Brady in order to protect her from the aforementioned Patrick, who he was sure would be after her the moment Jack was gone. Jack was again presumed dead after a car accident, although his body was never found. Jack had decided to stage his death, since he didn't want his loved ones to watch him die.
In actuality, Jack was dying in a hospice in Cincinnati, and had no intention of returning to Salem. Jennifer had learned of Jack's devotion to the idea of her marrying the dependable and trustworthy Frankie and, wanting to grant his final wish, was (fairly unenthusiastically) preparing to marry him, despite Abigail's strong objections. This was the third time in as many years that Jack had been presumed dead, and Abigail wasn't buying it (and was frustrated that Jennifer was.) Jack's plans changed when one of his hospice workers turned out to be his presumed dead brother Steve Johnson. Steve had no memory of who he was and was living under the name Nick Stockton. 'Nick' was amused by the other man's insistence that they were brothers, and he finally agreed to give the man his dying wish and took a DNA test. He was stunned to find out that the DNA test proved they were brothers. Overwhelmed that the brother he had lost had now returned to him, Jack begged Steve to go back to Salem, trying to tell him all about the wonderful life he had once had. Jack spoke so highly about Kayla that Steve said it sounded it like she had been Jack's wife, not Steve's. Jack awkwardly avoided the issue. Steve said that he would only go back if Jack went back too, so that he could say goodbye to his family. Despite his own desire to stay away from Salem in his final days, Jack knew he owed it to the brother and ex-wife he had wronged so many times to bring him back. Jack agreed to do one final good deed, and the two brothers returned to Salem.
The duo returned to Salem in spring 2006 during Jennifer and Frankie's wedding ceremony, and the brothers were reunited with their widows. Jennifer's opinions were mixed because although she was elated to find out the man she loved was alive, she was as angry at him as she'd ever been for letting her think he was dead when he wasn't. Jack continued to get worse and Jennifer was unable to break away from her commitment to Frankie, despite not truly being in love with him. She felt guilty about hurting Frankie, who was representing the stability and steadiness she had always wanted and which Jack had never really provided for her, and wary about any possibility of a future with Jack who up until now had repeatedly come in and out of her life.
Frankie found on the internet a drug trial that could help Jack, and it worked leaving Jack, Jennifer and Frankie caught up in an uncomfortable triangle. Soon after, Jack and Jennifer were kidnapped when Jack was investigating the recent murder of a cop that sparks began to fly. After escaping their captors and getting lost in the woods, Jennifer vented some of her anger out at Jack, and they eventually made love. Jack collapsed soon afterwards due to cold and hunger and still not up to his full strength after the illness. Jack recovered however, and Jack and Jennifer were reunited for what is currently the final time. Jennifer gently let Frankie know that she cared deeply about him, but Jack had always been the love of her life, and she was going to build her life with him. Finally realizing that Jennifer never would be his, a heart-broken Frankie eventually left Salem.
The couple received great news when Jack and Jennifer were both offered dream jobs in London. Wanting a fresh start, Jack and Jennifer left for Europe with J.J. while teenaged Abigail, who supported her parents move but didn't want to leave her school and friends, remained in Salem with family.
In April of 2007, Jack returned to the States, to take Abby on a spring vacation to New York City. In between tours of Time Square and getting her an autograph from Gwen Stefani, Jack found time to talk to Abby about her burgeoning relationship with Max Brady, warning her against getting involved with a guy much older and more experienced than her.
