Emily Quartermaine

Infobox soap character
name = Dr. Emily Quartermaine
series = General Hospital
portrayer = Amber Tamblyn (1995 — 2001)
Natalia Livingston (2003 — 2008)
first = January 20, 1995
last = May 7, 2008
cause = Strangled to death by Diego Alcazar.
creator = Claire Labine



caption1 = Natalia Livingston as Dr. Emily Quartermaine


caption2 =


caption3 =
nickname =
alias = Emily Bowen (birth name)
Emily Smith (married name)
Emily Cassadine (married name)
gender = Female
born = January 17, 1984
death = death date and age|2007|11|01|1984|01|17
age =
occupation = Medical intern
title =
residence = Wyndemere Castle
Port Charles, New York
parents = Alan Quartermaine, Sr. (adoptive)
Monica Bard (adoptive)
Paige Bowen (biological; deceased)
siblings = A.J. Quartermaine (adoptive; deceased)
Skye Chandler (adoptive)
Dawn Winthrop (adoptive; deceased)
Jason Morgan (adoptive)
spouse = Zander Smith (divorced)
Nikolas Cassadine (December 2, 2004 — 2005; divorced)
romances = Sly Eckert
Juan Santiago
Zander Smith
Nikolas Cassadine
Sonny Corinthos
children =
grandchildren =
grandparents = Edward Quartermaine (adoptive)
Lila Morgan (adoptive; deceased)
Gail Adamson Baldwin (adoptive)
aunts/uncles = Tracy Quartermaine (adoptive)
Bradley Ward II (adoptive; deceased)
Jimmy Lee Holt (adoptive)
nieces/nephews = Lila Quartermaine (adoptive)
Michael Corinthos (biological adoptive)
Jake Spencer (adoptive)
Lila McCall (adoptive legal niece, via Jason, deceased)
cousins = Ned Ashton (adoptive)
Dillon Quartermaine (adoptive)
Faith Ward (adoptive)
Justus Ward (adoptive; deceased)
Rebecca Holt (adoptive)
relatives =
color = gray
color text =
species =

Dr. Emily Quartermaine (born Bowen; formerly Smith and Cassadine) was a fictional character on the ABC soap opera "General Hospital". The role was originated by Amber Tamblyn in 1995, Natalia Livingston resumed the role in 2003, after Tamblyn left in 2001. Livingston won the Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for her portrayal of Emily in 2005. The character was killed in 2007 by Diego Alcazar

Character background

Beginnings

The character Emily Bowen was introduced as an 11-year-old girl, who was with her mother, Paige Bowen, at an Arizona cancer clinic. It is there that she meets Dr. Monica Quartermaine through her mother. Paige and Monica become close friends at the clinic, and Monica even invites Paige and Emily to live at the Quartermaine mansion in Paige's last months.

When Paige dies, Emily is devastated. Alan and Monica make the decision to adopt Emily, since so little is known of Emily's biological family. The adoption isn't a very smooth transition for Emily, who takes a long time to adjust to losing the only mother she'd ever known.

Emily becomes good friends with Lucky Spencer, who becomes the subject of Emily's first crush. In 1997, Emily makes another friend by the name of Matt Reynolds, who introduces her to drugs. Life at the Quartermaine home is particularly stressful at this time, because it is revealed that Monica had been having an affair with a younger doctor, Pierce Dorman, at the hospital, and Dorman is suing Monica for sexual harassment. Emily turns to drugs without the Quartermaines' knowledge, until one day when she hallucinates that she can "fly" off of the Quartermaine roof. Ned Ashton finally discovers the problem. It is also learned that Monica's lover Dorman has been the one who is supplying drugs to Matt, and thus to Emily as well. Matt dies of an overdose, and Dorman also turns up dead, which is unsurprising considering the number of enemies that he has acquired (he is murdered in the General Hospital morgue). Emily, who had been in General Hospital detox at the time, is initially considered a suspect. Emily is soon cleared.

With her ordeal with drugs behind her, Emily sets out to establish a modeling career. Emily is shocked when she receives a nude photo of herself in the mail one day with a blackmail note attached. Someone had put Emily's face on the nude body of another girl and is threatening to put the photo on the Internet if Emily doesn't come through with money. Emily turns to Nikolas for help and they in turn asked Lucky and Liz to help them also.

Lucky and Nikolas are unlikely allies, but they both want to help Emily and catch her blackmailer. In the process, the friendship between Liz and Emily deepens and Lucky and Nikolas put aside their differences, for the most part. Using Nikolas' computer, Lucky and Nikolas begin their search to expose the person blackmailing Emily.

As it turns out, a photographer named Tom Yergin is the culprit. When Liz and Emily realize this, Tom holds them at gunpoint and locks them in the darkroom at the photography studio. In the process, Tom also admits that he had been the person who had raped Elizabeth Webber in the park. Lucky and Nikolas rescue Emily and Liz, while Tom is arrested.

Tom goes on trial for blackmailing Emily, but can't be prosecuted for Liz' rape because there is no evidence. Emily's modeling career, however, soars due to all the publicity she had received.

Relationship with Juan

In June 1999, Emily forms a relationship with Juan Santiago, an immigrant from Puerto Rico. Juan is a runaway who has come to Port Charles with the mistaken belief that Sonny Corinthos is his father. In time, Emily convinces Juan of the truth—that Miguel Morez, not Sonny, is Juan's biological father.

Emily and Juan are determined to see each other no matter what Alan or Monica said and Emily even hides Juan in the Quartermaine mansion when Juan runs away. Eventually, Juan's father gives him permission to stay in Port Charles and Alan and Monica agree that Emily can see Juan, under certain conditions.

Emily encourages Juan in his pursuit of a music career and helps him get a job at L&B. When Ned tells Emily that L&B can't take Juan on as an artist, she goes behind Sonny's back to get money to jump start Juan's career. At this same time, Ned agrees to perform as Eddie Maine for one night to raise money for L&B. Wanting to lure Ned back to ELQ and ruin L&B in the process, Edward has Ned locked in a closet as he is about to go on stage. At Emily's urging, Juan takes the stage as Ned's opening act and is a huge success. Alexis Davis manages to free Ned, who ends up wowing the crowd as Eddie Maine.

Emily, Juan, Nikolas, Lucky, and Liz attend a rave together. After an argument with Juan, Emily's drink is secretly drugged and she leaves the rave with a man named Ted.

Liz, Nikolas, and Lucky are worried when they can't find Emily at the rave. Meanwhile, Emily wakes up nude next to Ted's corpse in a seedy hotel room with no memory of how she had gotten there. Emily reaches out to her friends, who promise to help her. Not wanting to involve the police for fear of what might happen to Emily, Lucky and Nikolas hide Ted's body in a freezer at Wyndemere. A short time later, Emily receives a mysterious phone call from a girl who says she knows what Emily has done.

Zander Smith

Emily's mysterious caller demands money in exchange for her silence. Lucky and Nikolas then set out to catch the blackmailer and catch a young girl named Gia Campbell near the place the money was supposed to be dropped off. Gia claims her innocence, but Lucky and Nikolas aren't buying it. Lucky then starts following Gia in the hope of learning more about her. Lucky and Nikolas also learn that Ted had been an undercover cop. During this time, Emily pushes Juan away as she can't confide the truth in him and is still hurt over his flirting with another girl.

Lucky, Liz and Nikolas team up to get information about Gia and soon prove that she was Emily's blackmailer. Gia, however, doesn't know about Ted's death and is blackmailing Emily because she thinks Emily had been using drugs at the rave. After much debate, Lucky, Liz, Nikolas, Emily, and Juan decided to enlist Gia's help to catch Ted's killer and Gia agrees—for a price. To that end, the group goes to another rave, where Gia points out Zander Smith. Lucky then comes up with a plan to catch Zander at the next rave.

To that end, Lucky devises a scheme in which he and Nikolas would place Ted's body in the trunk of Zander's car. The plan fails, however, when Emily goes against Lucky's orders and shows up at the rave. At this same time, Taggert and his men also arrive. Zander panicks and takes Emily hostage and forces her to drive off with him. Lucky and Nikolas come clean with Taggert and the search for Emily and Zander begins.

As it turns out, Zander has been working for Joseph Sorel, who wants him dead for the trouble he has caused. While being held by Zander, Emily begins seeing him in a new light and realizes he was just another one of Sorel's victims. Emily has several opportunities to escape from Zander, but doesn't act on them.

The bond between Emily and Zander continues to grow while they remain on the run. Jason and Lucky track Emily and Zander down just moments before the police arrived and are prepared to rescue Emily and turn Zander over to the cops. Jason and Lucky are then shocked when Emily begs them to let Zander escape. Jason and Lucky do as Emily asked and Zander takes off for Canada. Jason brings Emily home, much to the delight of the Quartermaines.

Emily thinks she will never see Zander again and is shocked when he appears outside her window. Emily keep Zander's presence a secret from Juan, who is growing suspicious of her actions. Zander wants Emily to run away with him, but she says that is impossible. Emily does, however, arrange to get some money together to help Zander. One day, Nikolas and Lucky see Zander in town and they tackle him. Zander is arrested and Emily is horrified over what has happened. Emily accidentally tells Taggert that Sorel, not Zander, had killed Ted and Emily vows to help Zander with or without the Quartermaines' blessing. Emily finds herself being drawn to Zander more and more and they even share a kiss. Despite the Quartermaines' objections, Emily vows to continue to try and help Zander. Emily continues to stand by Zander, much to the worry of her family. Emily and Zander grow closer and Emily breaks up with Juan. With his deal to testify against Sorel in place, Zander is released from jail on bail, which Sonny pays. Zander then moves into Alexis' penthouse, a fact that does not sit well with Ned. At the start of 2001, Emily refuses to back away from Zander. Thinking they are acting in Emily's best interests, Alan and Monica send her away to boarding school in California. Emily is livid, but has no choice but to pack her bags and leave. A short time later, Zander appears outside Emily's window and they decide to run away together. Emily and Zander spend several days on the road but then decide to return to Port Charles. After spending one last night together and sharing a kiss, Zander prepares to turn himself in. Edward, however, beats Zander to the punch and has him arrested. Alexis later arranges for Zander to be released on bail and he moves back in with her. Emily is furious at her family's actions and she moves out of the mansion and into a room at Kelly's. Zander finally testifies against Sorel. Sonny is grateful to him and it looks as though Zander's life is turning around. Then, Edward is mugged and Zander is accused of the crime. Edward tells Emily he will drop the charges if Emily broke up with Zander. Emily agrees to the plan. Zander and Emily break up when he returns to his former life after believing that she has betrayed his trust. He soon realizes that his love for Emily is stronger than anything else and he asks her to take him back. Emily forgives him and on prom night, the two make love for the first time. Emily was is shocked when Skye Chandler arrives at the mansion and reveals herself to be Alan's illegitimate daughter. The threats from Sorel continue to plague them, and they decide to leave town in order to be safe. Jealous of all the attention that Emily receives, Skye tell her that she will give Emily and Zander money so that they can leave town. Wanting to be safe from Sorel and free of her family's manipulations, Emily agrees. Unfortunately, the bus that Emily and Zander take out of town is involved in a crash, and Emily is left paralyzed. Emily is sent to a rehabilitation center away from Port Charles. Zander refuses to be told where she was sent, so that he won't cause her any more danger. Though his love for her remains strong, they have to stay apart until Emily is well, and the danger has passed.

Emily's return

In April 2003, Emily walks back into the Quartermaine mansion under her own steam, and on an evident leave of absence from Stanford. She reunites with Zander, who vows to help her kick her renewed addiction to drugs. However, she is concealing the fact that her condition was caused not by drugs, but by breast cancer. Emily refuses traditional treatment, stating that she doesn't want to undergo the crippling side effects that she had seen her mother Paige endure. Instead, Emily chooses an alternative herbal protocol, stating that she wanted to die with dignity. The only other people who knows the truth about the disease are Monica, Elizabeth, and Nikolas.

Emily & Nikolas

Slowly, Alan, Lila, and Elizabeth found out about Emily's battle with cancer, but Emily was adamant that Zander not find out what she was going through. So Emily looked to Nikolas for help. Emily enlisted Nikolas to pretend that he was in love with her in order to push Zander out of Emily's life for good. Nikolas reluctantly agreed to go along with Emily's plan. Nikolas and Emily's "romance" blossomed and their plot escalated to the point of an engagement. Emily felt the only way to force Zander to move on would be to marry Nikolas. Nikolas's recently returned uncle Stefan had a few objections to Nikolas's plans -- Stefan had already found an heiress for Nikolas to marry. Determined to get Emily out of Nikolas's life, Stefan arranged for Emily to be thrown from a Wyndemere cliff the night of Nikolas and Emily's engagement party. In the fog, Stefan's hit man ended up shoving Summer Halloway off the cliff by mistake, thinking she was Emily. Emily's plan began to work, and Zander started leaning on Gia more and more as he realized there might be no hope for a future with Emily. Gia discovered Emily was fighting cancer, but Emily convinced Gia not to blow the lid off of her plan. It was easy for Gia to agree to protect Zander, since Gia had begun developing feelings for Zander herself. Tired of Emily's lies and deception, Zander and Emily broke up. Zander and Gia became extremely close but Zander couldn't shake his love for Emily. Meanwhile, Emily and Nikolas began falling in love for real. Emily and Nikolas fought their genuine attraction, while continuing a fake relationship, until Zander finally discovered the truth about Emily's cancer. With Zander knowing the truth, Emily saw no reason to keep him at a distance anymore, and Emily and Zander reunited. Since Nikolas felt no longer needed by Emily, he agreed to go ahead with marrying Lydia to restore the Cassadine empire. Though they still loved each other, Emily and Nikolas moved on with the other people in their lives. Emily's condition took a turn for the worse, and she was hospitalized for Meningitis. Believing she was on her deathbed, and out of guilt and pity, Emily married Zander in a small wedding from her hospital bed. That night, Nikolas spent the night in the room next door, worried that Emily might not have made it through the night, and that night Emily and Nikolas both dreamt that Nikolas pulled Emily back from the great beyond with a kiss. Waking from the dream, Emily made a strong recovery, and secretly knew that Nikolas's love brought her back from the brink of death. Married to Zander, Emily couldn't act on her growing feelings for Nikolas, and Zander rented Brenda Barrett's old cottage for them to live in as newlyweds. Her marriage to Zander fell apart after he found Emily and Nikolas having sex together on Emily's first night home. This betrayal and act of adultery started Zander down the path that would eventually lead to his death.

Nikolas delivered divorce papers to Lydia, and Emily and Nikolas seized their opportunity to be together. Soon, they had cause to celebrate when she went into remission -- she had won her battle with cancer. The Cassadines were now broke and Alexis had to organize what was left of the Cassadine estate to maintain the family. Alexis had to put Wyndemere up for sale, but Emily stepped in and bought it for Nikolas.
Sam McCall was a salvager who Nikolas hired to unearth the wreckage of the Courage, an ages-old Quartermaine ship that was lodged under one of Nikolas's freighters. There was a legend that the Courage went down when pirates overran the boat for treasure. Legend appeared to be true when Sam unearthed a bejeweled tiara! This began a rip-off of Pirates of the Caribbean with Nikolas and Emily in the lead roles while they tracked down the treasure. Nikolas and Emily went to the Quartermaines to inform them of the discovered treasure ship, and the Quartermaines wanted their cut too! Tracy Quartermaine proposed a split of the treasure between the Cassadines and the Quartermaines. But Tracy was determined not to share the treasure with anyone, and cut a deal with Sam to steal the treasure and squirrel it away for themselves. While many were after the treasure, Nikolas and Emily were eventually able to put the it up for auction at the Port Charles Hotel, where they hoped the proceeds would help to revitalize the penniless Quartermaine and Cassadine families. Lorenzo Alcazar was the high bidder for Blackthorn's treasure, but it was stolen once again, right under the noses of hotel security! The evening went from bad to worse when the hotel's new security system proved too powerful for the building's old wiring to support. The result was an electrical fire which threatened the lives of nearly everyone in Port Charles! Helicopters couldn't land while the strong winds were gusting. By a frightening twist of fate, a chandelier fell on Emily, injuring her leg severely. Monica was able to temporarily stop the bleeding with a tourniquet, but Emily needed more medical attention than she could get in a burning building. Helenas, trying once again to separate Emily and Nikolas, undid the tourniquet on a sleeping Emily, leaving her to bleed to death! Fortunately, Emily was saved, and after a lottery system was established, Emily was put on a helicopter to safety. Nikolas, however, had to be left behind because of how many people the helicopters could hold, and as Emily's helicopter lifted her further away, she saw an explosion that might have killed Nikolas! Luckily, Nikolas was alive! Emily and Helena rejoiced, but their happiness was short lived when a body found in the basement of the hotel was identified as Zander Smith's. Nikolas confessed to leaving the unconscious Zander locked in the basement, and District Attorney Ric Lansing did not consider it murder -- until conclusive proof surfaced that Zander was killed by a blow to the head, and was dead before the fire even got to him! Nikolas was arrested for Zander's murder, and it was up to Nikolas and Emily to prove his innocence. Elizabeth was adamant that Nikolas wasn't Zander's killer. She was certain because she believed she killed Zander! Liz had argued with Zander and knocked him out. Ric, Emily, and Nikolas were shocked at the revelation, but more shocked to discover Zander wasn't even dead! Zander hid out as a facially bandaged Mac Scorpio at GH before revealing himself to Emily. Zander tried to get Emily to go away with him, but in a tense standoff with the police, Zander was killed and Emily, revealing just how little she really cared for Zander, mourned him that day but soon moved on with Nikolas, forgetting Zander completely.

Tragedy

Emily and Nikolas were free to love each other, but tragedy tore them apart when Nikolas was in a car accident and suffered a head injury in March 2004. Emily was left to believe that Nikolas had been killed in the accident and washed away in the nearby river. But Nikolas had stumbled to the doorstep of Mary Bishop, a recluse who lived in a cabin. She took him in, believing him to be her husband “Connor”, returned from the war. Emily searched high and low for Nikolas, even turning up on Mary's doorstep. Mary identified with Emily's pain because Mary also lost the love of her life, but Mary having her "Connor" back proved more important than telling Emily the truth about Nikolas. Nevertheless, Mary befriended Emily, encouraging her to move on with her life. Emily threw herself into work at General Hospital, and even got Mary an administrative job at the hospital.

Desperate to tighten her grip on "Connor", Mary convinced him to renew their vows with her in the Caribbean. Little did Mary know, Emily and Lucky were in the suite next door! Emily spied Mary with "Connor" on their terrace, and was stunned to learn that Nikolas was alive and being lied to by Mary! Emily met with "Connor" and soon learned that Nikolas believed he was Mary's dead husband. Emily raced to Jason to ask his opinion on how she should handle the situation, since the Quartermaines' attempt at forcing Jason to remember his old life before his injury is what drove Jason away for good. Emily chose to keep quiet about "Connor's" true identity, but continued to work to remind Nikolas of their past together. Emily convinced "Connor" to seek professional help in remembering his past, and when Nikolas went under hypnosis and remembered the hotel fire, "Connor" thought the repressed memory was from his time in the war in Iraq. Emily confronted Mary over her lies and was certain that Nikolas would remember who he was in no time. Mary continued sleeping with "Connor" in the hopes she'd become pregnant. When Mary believed Emily had told Nikolas everything, the heartbroken Mary decided to call "Connor" by his real name, Nikolas. It was then that Nikolas realized he wasn't Connor after all, and had been lied to by both Mary and Emily! While Lucky was upset that Emily hadn't told him Nikolas was alive, he understood that she did what she thought was right, and Lucky forgave her. Lucky then shocked her with a confession of his own -- he was in love with her!
Lila Quartermaine quietly died in her sleep on the evening of Tuesday, July 13, 2004, and Emily was devastated by her loss. Emily knew that Lila was the calm center of the usual hurricane going on at the Quartermaine mansion, and it was up to Emily to be the voice of reason and loving support to the Quartermaines, since Lila would no longer be.

Rape

The Quartermaines were shocked when, at the reading of Lila's will, Justus Ward revealed that Lila left her fortune to whichever Quartermaine could exhibit only virtue, and no vice, for a thirty day period. Ned doubted that any Quartermaine was capable of winning Lila's fortune! Emily didn't want Lila's money, but Tracy Quartermaine thought it was a ruse to appear the most "virtuous" and conspired to prove Emily, and everyone else in the family (except Tracy, of course) unworthy of Lila's estate. When the judge of the competition was revealed to be Felicia Jones, the actions of most of the Quartermaines ended up getting them eliminated.

Felicia elected not to award Emily Lila's estate because Emily was trying to make a life outside of the family, and winning Lila's estate would likely draw Emily back into the lion's den. Lila's fortune was awarded to Justus, who vowed to uphold Lila's wishes and use the money and power he inherited to bring the family closer together.

Mary eventually became completely unhinged and terrorized everyone at the Quartermaine mansion on the night of a terrible storm. After claiming the lives of two teenagers (having mistaken one, Sage Alcazar, for Emily), Mary herself was shot in the back by Nikolas, when she threatened to not stop until Emily was dead, and then Mary ultimately met her end at General Hospital. Emily and Nikolas were set on marrying, with or without the approval of their families, but Helena turned murderous and threatened to kill Emily in order to stop the marriage! Driven to the edge by the attempts on Emily's life, Nikolas threw Helena off a cliff of Spoon Island, presumably killing his grandmother. Little did Nikolas and Emily know that the murder was seen by the real Connor Bishop, who had not died after all, looked eerily similar to Nikolas, and had a thirst for revenge against Nikolas over Mary's descent into madness and eventual death. Connor's blackmail caused Nikolas to turn himself in and face the consequences of what he had done. Nikolas was found guilty of his grandmother's murder but before he was sentenced, Emily wanted to marry her Prince. Nikolas was allowed to leave jail for 12 hours to marry Emily. But reality set in when the police came to take him away the next morning. At sentencing the judge was harsh and passed down a sentence of life in prison. In an attempt to free Emily from the pain of spending an existence visiting her husband in prison, Nikolas made a run for it and was gunned down. Nikolas was alive but badly wounded. Emily made it clear that she would spend the rest of her life fighting for his release. Help would come from a very unlikely source -Connor. When Connor returned to town again, Lucky, Elizabeth, and Emily tried to swap Nikolas for Connor. When that plan didn't work, Luke comes up with a plan to flush Helena out. It required Emily and Connor as the bait. Nikolas didn't like the plan but eventually agreed to it. When the plan went wrong, Emily was rushed off to a safe house with the unstable Connor, who'd made no secret of his growing attraction to her. He got drunk and brutally raped Emily. Emily stabbed him with garden shears and when he tried to attack her again, she shot him. Lucky and Elizabeth arrived to find Connor dead. Lucky buried Connor while Elizabeth dealt with a very distraught Emily. Elizabeth suspected Connor raped Emily but Emily was in complete denial. Helena was able to grab Emily and locked her up in the Cassadine crypt. Lucky rescued her but ended up getting shot by Helena. After being rushed to GH and emergency surgery, he slipped into a deep coma. Emily spent time sitting with Lucky and told him of her rape. She found comfort in talking to comatose Lucky and told him about all her trouble with Nikolas. Lucky woke up and took her hand. Emily went to visit Nikolas in prison. When he tried to touch her, she ran away. Nikolas didn't understand what was going on. When Elizabeth paid Nikolas a visit, he figured out that Connor raped Emily. Emily served Nikolas with divorce papers. Nikolas told Emily that he knew what happened. Emily left in tears. Emily faced more trauma when her dead brother, AJ, turned up at the Quartermaine house very much alive. Emily refused to help AJ so he slapped her. Alan witnessed this and made it clear to AJ that he was done helping him. AJ then shot his father in the back. Emily stayed with her father until help came. When AJ was murdered later at GH, Emily was the one that had to deliver the news to her father. Emily returned to prison to visit Nikolas but again it ended badly. When Emily returned to the prison after a talk with Elizabeth, Emily admitted to Nikolas that Connor raped her. Nikolas believed in their love and knew they could work through this. Following Helena's capture, Nikolas was released from prison. He was surprised when Lucky showed up to take him home. Nikolas went to the Quartermaines and pleaded with Emily. He understood this wouldn't be easy but he believed they could work through this trauma together. Emily and Nikolas went to the safe house where Emily was raped and burned it to the ground. This started them on the path of recovery but they agreed that for now, they needed to live apart. It was obvious how much they truly missed each other.

Divorce

When Nikolas tried to talk to Lucky after the fight, Lucky blurted out that everyone knew about Nikolas & Emily's farce of a marriage. Nikolas and Emily were forced to be honest and Nikolas felt like Emily had been faking, in and out of the bed. Upset with the confrontation, Emily walked away. Nikolas, having difficulty dealing with the aftermath of Emily's rape by his lookalike, “Connor,” began a friendship with Courtney Jax. Later at the hospital, Nikolas overheard Emily telling Jason she was having a hard time getting past the rape and was still thinking about ending things with Nikolas. Nikolas confronted Emily about what he overheard and offered her a divorce on the spot. Emily refused the offer because she didn't want to give up on what they had. The problems didn't go away. So when Emily found Nikolas and Courtney trapped on the roof of GH, she wasn't sure what was going on.

Nikolas decided he needed to get away for a few days and took off. Meanwhile, Elizabeth confessed to Monica that she saw Courtney and Nikolas kissing at the docks. Monica told Emily. Emily found out where Nikolas really was, and took off to find her husband. Emily found her husband… coming out of Courtney's hotel rooming, wearing a robe! Jax arrived in time to find out about Nikolas and Courtney. Courtney explained there was no affair but that didn't stop Jax from beating up Nikolas. When Courtney tried to stop him, Jax told her they were over. He was getting a divorce!

onny Corinthos

Unable to contact her brother Jason, Emily went to Sonny to try and find a way to contact him. Sonny offered his ear to her when he told her that Jason was on vacation. Sonny quickly learned that Nikolas was having an affair and that the other woman was his own sister. Sonny promised Emily he would take care of everything. Sonny convinced Emily to move in the guesthouse while she dealt with her current situation. Sonny laid into Nikolas when he stopped by to see Emily. Nikolas and Emily promised to try again, which Courtney overheard. Emily showed up at Wyndemere right after Nikolas left a message for Courtney and she knew something was off when she kissed him. Right then, Courtney arrived and Emily realized that Nikolas's mind was on Courtney. Nikolas tried to explain but Emily told him they were done. During the Port Charles train crash, Reese Marshall withheld symptoms causing Emily to misdiagnose her condition and Reese ended up dying. Emily was overcome with guilt, and decided she should end her ambitions of becoming a doctor. Sonny made Emily realize that she had a lot to offer, and encouraged her to stick with her goals. Emily took Sonny's advice, but would freeze up when faced with a medical crisis. The more time Emily spent with Sonny and his kids, the fonder of him she became. Emily was caught off guard when she began having romantic dreams about Sonny that soon developed into sexual fantasies. One night over dinner, Emily had too many glasses of wine and admitted to Sonny that she was falling in love with him. Sonny gently told Emily that he did not share her feelings. The truth was, Sonny was falling for Emily, but knew Jason would never support a relationship between his sister and a mob boss. Out of respect for his friendship with Jason, Sonny tried to stay away from Emily. After leaving Sonny's house that night, Emily discovered Michael drowning at the pier. Without hesitating, Emily rescued Michael and saved his life by administering CPR. Sonny was extremely grateful and later that evening, they couldn't fightt their attraction and shared a kiss. Sonny ended up pushing Emily away once again. Finally Emily confronted Sonny about his feelings and dared him to admit he was falling for her. Jason made Sonny realize that he'd only cause Emily pain in the long run, and Sonny once again decided to end their romance. Carly helped Sonny push Emily away by staging a kiss with him. Once Emily witnessed Sonny and Carly kissing she was left devastated. Before Emily had any time to process their break up, Port Charles was hit with the Encephalitis virus. Both Nikolas and Sonny fell ill with the virus and Emily ended up taking care of both of them. While in the hospital Sonny admitted to Emily that the kiss with Carly was just a ruse to make her forget about him. Emily forgave Sonny and after he recovered from his illness, the couple finally consummated their relationship. With the aura of devastation after the virus, Emily and Sonny decided to keep their relationship secret until their friends and family had recovered from their losses. Both lied to Jason about the fact that they were still seeing each other, but he remained suspicious. Sonny took Emily away to Spain where he shared his fears about hurting her. Emily reassured Sonny that they'd overcome the obstacles ahead of them, and together they returned to Port Charles. Their secret love affair soon was made public after Jason saved them from a hit man that had broken into their hotel suite. Jason's suspicions had already been confirmed, but he was horrified to find his sister and best friend in an intimate moment. Sonny and Emily's relationship was plastered all over the news, and the Quartermaines were equally upset about the developments in Emily's love life. Regardless, Sonny and Emily were determined to stay together despite the objections of those closest to them, while Jason remains certain that their relationship is doomed. Soon after Sonny and Emily's relationship was made public, he was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder thanks to Emily's medical knowledge. Emily stood by Sonny through this difficult time, convincing him to go into therapy and get control of his condition. Unfortunately, Sonny was unable to overcome his fear that he might change fundamentally and that he didn't want Emily to feel obligated to stay with him. Sonny, while at the same time telling Emily that he couldn't stop loving her, sent her away from him to have a great life, become a doctor, and make him sorry he asked her to leave.

econd chances

After her relationship with Sonny ended, Emily began to get closer to her ex-husband, Nikolas. When Nikolas discovered he was the father of Courtney's baby, she helped him through it. Emily stood by Nikolas helping to raise his son and becoming the baby's godmother. Their romance was rekindled and Nikolas finally admitted his mistakes in dealing with the aftermath of Emily's rape. They eventually decided that they wanted to give their relationship another chance.

Storyline during and after the Metro Court hostage situation

Emily was one of the hostages during the Metro Court Hotel hostage crisis. Jerry Jacks, then acting as Mr. Craig, forced her to chose who to let go when two people presented serious health problems: either her father Alan Quartermaine who was having a heart attack or her pregnant best friend Elizabeth Webber who was having contractions. Emily chose Alan, but when Alan staggered out the hotel door the police and hostage takers began exchanging gunfire resulting in Alan having another heart attack. While this was happening a hysterical Emily was held back by Nikolas Cassadine to prevent her from running outside.

Black and White Ball and Death

Nikolas has been having blackouts. During his blackouts, he has beaten Logan Hayes and stabbed and beaten Jerry Jacks.

With the Black and White Ball around the corner, Emily thinks Nikolas should cancel the party due to his blackouts. However, he disregards her concerns once again and convinces her that they should go ahead and have it anyway. Before they greet their guests, Nikolas asked Emily to marry him again and she says yes. They then go to greet everybody and thanks them for coming to the ball, which is being held in Alan's memory. They announce their engagement and Emily and Nikolas share a waltz.

The happiness at the ball ends quickly when Alexis Davis finds Ric Lansing pinned to the wall with a sword. Guests put the pieces together and decide Anthony Zacchara is responsible. Throughout the night, Zacchara terrorizes the guests at the ball, holding several of them at gunpoint and asking strange questions.

Nikolas connot account for all of his time spent at the ball, because he has a few blackouts. After recovering from a blackout where he tried to beat Jason, he tells Jason to take Emily somewhere safe. Jason takes Emily to the stables, but returns to the mansion to be with Nikolas. She returns to the ballroom and finds him bloody and crying, and he asks her why she came back. He asks her quietly then begins yelling. There was a rope on the floor from when Jason tied Nikolas to a chair.

Emily is strangled to death. Suspects include Nikolas, Anthony Zacchara, and Coop Barrett. However, Port Charles residents are horrified to learn that Emily was, in fact, the second victim claimed by Diego Alcazar, as the Text Message Killer.

Emily later comes to Nikolas. Her disbelief at being dead leads viewers to believe that she is a ghost, but it is later revealed that she is a hallucination brought on by a tumor in Nikolas' brain.

On May 1, 2008, Nikolas finally decides to let Emily go. They share their last dance in the ballroom where Emily died. A montage is shown of all the things that happened between them over the years. They say goodbye and Emily walks out of the ballroom leaving Nikolas wondering what to do next.

References

* [http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/whoswho/emily.php SoapCentral profile]
* [http://abc.go.com/daytime/generalhospital/characters/bio?pn=characterbio&character=Emily%20Quartermaine ABC.com character bio]