In 1987 Dr.
Steven Lassiter, a shrink at the NYC nut house, was given a "Jane Doe"
case. At the same time the Abbotts had figured out they hadn't heard from
Ashley in a coon's age and, magically, somehow heard that Steven was
working with Jane. They compared notes, determined Jane was Ashley and had
her sent to the Fairview nut house closer to Genoa City. The Abbotts also
decided to keep Ashley's whereabouts a secret.
Alas, Nikki was looking for Ashley and wonder or wonders, Paul Williams
found out where Ashley was. Problem was: Steven wouldn't help Nikki and
she began figuring out that Ashley's problems began at about the same time
as hers. Yes, despite Victors order to the contrary, Nikki learned of her
illness. When Nikki gathered that Victor hadn't come back to her because
he really loved her, Nikki didn't want to go on living. She stopped taking
her medication.
Having a need to tell Victor why she'd killed her baby, Ashley was given
permission to leave the nut house and, apparently, a small loan. She made
her way to the Ponderosa only to find Victor was out riding. Saddled up,
Ashley found Victor down in the lower 40, told him the truth and as they
were swapping spit damn but what Nikki hadn't decided too to go riding too
to tell Victor she was in remission and saw him with that skank. Nikki was
so pissed she let Victor go on thinking that she'd soon be dead. She even
had a mortician come to the Ponderosa to make funeral arrangements all
while she and Jack were getting down and dirty.
Fate stepped in again when Nikki got food poisoning, went to the hospital
and was told, with Victor there, she was in perfect health. Nikki
confessed everything, but now Victor wanted a divorce. He ran to Ashley
with the news only to find she'd gone on a trip with Steven who by now was
also in love with Ashley. In 1988 Ashley and Steven were married at the
Abbott Hotel! Old man Yawn was beside himself. All he ever wanted was for
his "beauty" to be happy.
Oops - as it turned out one of Steven's former patients, a whack job to
this day, Leanna Love, or Randolph as she was known then, tracked Steven
down and told by Jack the newlyweds had gone to Hawaii, took off after
them. Leanna tried to kill Ashley by sending her poisoned lies, but like
most of Leanna's antics, this one failed. Back in Genoa City, Leanna took
up with Jack which made Steven think she needed to have her head examined.
Meantime, Victor had decided to forgive Nikki and this marked the first
time Jack got it into his head to take Victor down. Working with Leanna,
what followed was her book Ruthless, Victor marrying Leanna but she
not wanting to put out for him on their wedding day and Steven getting
shot to death by the son of another of his crazed patients.
It was here
too that Jack was having problems with someone named Brad Carlton. Too
long to get into for this report, Jack hired Paul to investigate and the
best Paul could find out was that Brad had once worked as a gardener for
the wealthy Mansfield family and had married the Mansfield's 16-year-old
daughter. The marriage was later annulled.
Getting back to Ashley, in 1989 she and Nikki teamed up to get Leanna out
of Victor's life. Victor got even with Jack by buying out Jabot Cosmetics
and putting Brad in charge. He also told Ashley that her brother was
behind Ruthless and this again caused Ashley to warn Jack she'd
never forgive him for taking the two most important things in her life
away from her. Also that year Leanna officially became Leanna Love when
she starting writing an advice column in a newspaper for the lovelorn.
Then Nikki, who had taken up with a man named Jim Grainger and was to
marry him, changed her mind when Jack and Victor expressed their
disapproval. Then it was Jack's turn to fall in love with Nikki and damn
but what Nikki didn't dump Jim and marry Jack in 1990. To get even, Victor
said if Jack would dump Nikki he'd give him Jabot back! When Nikki found
out Jack was ready to trade her in, she dumped Jack. Jack got screwed
twice in the process because he'd missed a deadline for taking Victor's
deal so he was left holding two bags, so to speak.
Alas, fate stepped in again when Jack rescued Nikki's daughter, Victoria,
from the Newman pool! As a reward, Nikki took him back. When Victoria
found out Jack was her step-daddy she threw such a fit Victor sent her off
to a Swiss boarding school. Nikki got to thinking she didn't love Jack
after all and was about to dump him again when she discovered she was
pregnant with his baby.
By now, Ashley was onto another sucker, Brad! Much to her sister Traci's
despair, Ashley and Brad were about to be wed when Ashley went to the
cabin to clear her head and damn but what Victor didn't show up. Thinking
fate had brought them together again, Victor summoned a Justice of the
Peace and they were married on the spot.
Did you count how many times Ashley had been married or planned to get
married in the span of two years! What about Nikki? Jack? Victor? So, to
say these are some amazing people, is truly an understatement.
