JR Chandler and Babe Carey - Storyline

Storyline

Following a tempestuous year together for JR and Babe, an unusual incident happens in 2004, which involves Pine Valley residents in a "baby switch". One of the babies involved is the son of JR and Babe—Adam Chandler III. Adam, usually referred to as "Little Adam" or "Little A", is confirmed as the biological son of JR, and JR and Babe divorce as a result of Babe's affair with JR's brother, Jamie. In 2005, Babe then schemes to steal Little Adam away from JR, but she and JR grow close when Babe takes the blame for JR's drunken hit-and-run of Amanda Dillon.

Soon after the couple reunites in early 2006, Babe and Little Adam are kidnapped by Amanda's mother, Janet Dillon (Kate Collins), who makes it appear as if Babe has run off with her son. JR, feeling betrayed again, begins drinking and becomes violent, even resorting to holding Krystal (Bobbie Eakes), Babe's mother, at gunpoint in order to find Babe. Babe is shown fantasizing that JR will rescue her. Her innocence is proven, though, when she is finally rescued from Janet by others along with JR. She then forgives JR for his doubts about her. The two remarry. They enjoy a blissful getaway to the south of France for their honeymoon. JR wishes upon a shooting star that their romantic love for each other will never die; Babe wishes the same. Despite all this, their happiness after France is short-lived. When JR discovers his long estranged mother, Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain), is still alive and has purposely stayed "dead", JR shuts himself off from everyone and begins drinking again. Not wanting Babe to do to Little Adam what was done to him by Dixie, his suspicions of Babe lead him to plot to kill her, in what he believes is the only way to save his son from her havoc. His longtime best friend, Kendall Hart (Alicia Minshew), is caught in his trap instead and falls into a coma while pregnant. Babe, while eavesdropping on a one-sided conversation JR is having with a comatose Kendall, soon discovers that JR has tried to murder her. She then confronts him about it. JR is arrested and put in jail, but his uncle Stuart Chandler (David Canary) helps JR and Babe reconcile. JR decides to take responsibility for his crime, but ultimately Babe's testimony sets JR free. She lies in court to keep him from prison, and the two set out to start fresh.

Babe grows close to a man named Josh Madden (Colin Egglesfield) in mid 2006. Some time after she has sex with Josh, Josh tells JR, and when Babe admits the truth, JR again goes on a drunken rampage. He angrily goes in search of Josh, but after being cornered by Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) and Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), he jumps through a window and slams into the patio below, nearly killing himself.

Josh finds JR on the ground bleeding to death, and though initially torn about whether to save his enemy or having Babe to himself, he opts to save JR's life. A recovering JR expresses that he hates Babe, but Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight)'s words help him to again rekindle his love for Babe. Things between JR and Babe slowly improve, until Babe's bodyguard tells JR that he spotted Babe and Josh kissing on New Year's Eve. JR then calls his lawyer to find out how to get full custody of Little Adam.

With the start of 2007, a serial killer is on the loose in Pine Valley, killing the women of Fusion Cosmetics. Once Babe passes on eating a stack of pancakes secretly meant for her by the Satin Slayer, and Dixie eats them instead, Tad and JR rush to Dixie's bedside at P.V. Hospital where she dies. JR says an emotional goodbye to his mother, returns to her a necklace in which she adored, and cries in his wife's arms.

JR is beyond despair, but rather than drinking his sorrows away, he talks about his feelings in great detail to Babe, something which Babe has always wanted from him. Babe blames herself for Dixie's death. JR assures her that he would never wish her dead in his mother's place, but when he catches Babe and Josh kissing in a shed, he forces her to choose between her mother's secret of being pregnant with Tad's baby or custody of Little Adam. Babe pleads with JR that the kiss he witnessed was just a goodbye kiss, and that she is still very much in love with him, but JR does not believe her. Babe is devastated when JR verbally lashes out that she should have died instead of Dixie.

His words stick painfully on Babe's mind. In the parking garage of Chandler Enterprises, Babe's bodyguard is killed and Babe is attacked by the Satin Slayer. JR does not believe that Babe has been attacked at first, thinking that it is just a ploy. When Tad, however, relays to him that it is the truth, he quickly rushes to P.V. Hospital. Just as he does, Babe flatlines, experiencing her life flash before her eyes; the images are of her mother, her son, and JR, noticeably ending on a final flash where Babe is in France with JR overlooking a balcony in what she describes as the happiest day of her life. JR makes it to the hospital a little after Krystal and Adam do, but soon after that, Babe is declared dead in the operating room. She "dies" loving JR.

It is later revealed that although Babe was attacked by the Satin Slayer, she did not die. Josh has saved her, with the help of Zach Slater (Thorsten Kaye), Kendall, Jackson Montgomery (Walt Willey), Joe Martin (Ray MacDonnell) and Jeff Martin (John James). It was Zach's idea to fake Babe's death, and Jeff and Joe who saved her life by implanting a pacemaker within her heart to regulate it. Josh gets most of the credit due to his constant vigil at her bedside. To fake Babe's death, they slowed down her heart-rate, causing her to go into a coma and then they moved her to Zach's casino. Josh pretends to skip town out of his "heart-breaking loss" of Babe. JR mourns, and the serial killer is soon discovered to be Alexander Cambias, Sr. (Ronald Guttman), Zach's biological father. Babe stays at Zach's casino where, through Josh's lies, she is led to believe that she is in a real hospital and that JR does not care about her.

JR is eventually reunited with Babe and apologizes to her for how he treated her before her "death", but Babe expresses that although she will always be in love with JR, being separated as lovers is the only way to ensure no more severe pain between them. She also reasons that it will give their son a better shot at a stable life not brought up in a war-zone between two bickering parents. Joint custody of Little Adam is what both agree to.

JR and Babe lead separate lives for a while. However, on November 2, 2007, as they later bond over old times while talking at the bar The Comeback, their connection draws them together once more. Babe sees a more mature side to JR, and after she offers him a ride home, the two cannot stop the pull that is apparent between them. With the sexual tension intensifying, and JR saying that he misses kissing her, the two make love for the first time since their divorce. Despite this reunion of sorts, Babe tells JR that it was just a one-time deal and says that she is not in love with him anymore. JR is left devastated, and even after Babe apologizes for hurting him in this way, he sulks in despair and begins drinking again.

JR goes through a brief time of having lost himself and again battling legal troubles. Months later, he is back on track with his life and has reconciled with Babe, though the two still do not continue their romance. On January 10, 2008, they go out for a snowday with Little Adam and have fun building a snowman, throwing snowballs and enjoying each other's company. The two express that they like being a family, just them and Little Adam. When JR talks of being a better man, one that Babe can possibly like again, the two nearly kiss. Babe stops the intimate encounter before it can happen and reminds JR that when they become romantic with each other, it never lasts and ends in destruction. JR tells Babe that he loves her and asks her to give them another chance, but as friends first and see where it leads. Babe, hesitant at first, accepts his request.

When it is discovered that Richie Novak (Billy Miller), recent but former love interest of Babe, needs a bone marrow transplant, she goes on a mission to save his life. She secretly discovers that JR is the perfect bone marrow match for him. Aware that the two are enemies, she makes a deal with JR on February 19, 2008 after informing him that he is a bone marrow match for Richie. The deal comes in the form of strip poker. If Babe wins, JR will save Richie's life. If JR wins, Babe will give JR anything he wants regards to her. The two play the game at Babe's place, where Babe loses. Babe naked, and JR half naked, Babe grabs a robe just as JR surprises her by revealing that he already knew of his bone marrow status before she told him, and that he already planned to donate to Richie. He says he cannot let a man die without reason. Babe is touched by JR's words, and the two flirt. They soon embrace and make love, unaware that Richie has also just discovered that JR is a bone marrow match and has sent thugs to capture JR in order to take his bone marrow any way viable.

JR is diagnosed with Hepatitis A not long after Richie steals his bone marrow. Babe soon realizes the truth that Richie set up JR, and JR later saves Babe from being raped by two guys when she goes undercover as a prostitute to clear JR's name and find out what crimes Richie did. Richie schemes with his sister, Annie Lavery (Melissa Claire Egan), to kill Greenlee Smythe (Rebecca Budig) as a favor for Annie, but due to his own selfish needs he instead kidnaps Babe and tells her that he is in love with her. Babe is disgusted by his actions. She is later rescued by Kendall and Greenlee; they knock Richie out and tie him up. A little while afterwards, Richie is freed by Annie while Kendall and Greenlee are distracted, but Annie later kills him out of frustration. His death sparks a murder mystery.

JR and Babe (now portrayed by Baker) become closer and reunite romantically. JR teams up with his father, Adam, just like old times. Their goal is to take down Fusion Cosmetics. JR tries to enlist Babe into their scheme. What JR does not know, though, is that Adam is secretly planning to ruin him in the process. JR and Babe bond, as Adam plans the ultimate takeover. Fusion Cosmetics is at a height of excellence and things are working wonderfully. Babe and JR decide to use "Bella" (a new perfume designed by Babe) to launch her career. They begin to plan their next wedding and decide to have a second child. Adam has a plan of his own with the assistance of Pete Cortlandt (Daniel Kennedy), who taints the Bella perfume at the launch party. Colby (Brianne Moncrief), JR's sister, gets sick, but no one notices that it is due to the perfume. Greenlee later gets sick, but calls it the flu. When a wedding party arrives at P.V. Hospital, Angie Hubbard says that it is a toxin in Bella that is causing the sickness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then shuts Fusion Cosmetics temporarily down. While Adam is encouraging lawsuits against Fusion, Babe resigns and tells the company to blame the Bella scandal on her. She also admits that she and JR were planning to take over. She has an ulterior motive, as her and JR are planning to move to San Diego anyway. However, they have to come back when Adam has them subpoenaed to the Bella trial. JR and Babe do not make it to the trial, as they are caught up in a series of tornadoes that strike Pine Valley. Babe sacrifices herself to keep Little Adam from dying, making her internal and external bleeding worse. While in the hospital, she asks JR to marry her. They cannot find a minister as Babe is running out of time before she loses her life, but they exchange vows, regardless, alone in the hospital's chapel. They kiss, declare that they made each other better people and that they love each other from the deepest part of their souls; that their love will never stop, no matter what. After a light hug, Babe dies in JR's arms.