Emily Returns  April 1 - June 2, 2003 - 4 hour original edit

Emily returned home in the middle of a Quartermaine arguement and snuck upstairs unseen. Monica found her and welcomed her home. Emily explained that she need some time off between rehab and  college. Later Emily went into the bathroom and pulled a syringe out of her purse. Emily goes to Kelly's to see Elizabeth and Zander. She and Zander run to embrace each other when she sees him. Gia and Elizabeth watch from a distance and agree that the two still have feelings for each other. After Zander reminds Emily of their plan to take the bus to Mexico, Emily tells Zander that she is 'sort of' seeing someone new and observes that it looks like Zander is moving on with Gia. But Zander insists that he and Gia are just friends. Emily implores Zander not to get the wrong idea about her return, because she returned because she missed her family. A disappointed Zander finally agrees that they should just be friends.

Emily sadly watches Gia and Zander together, then calls someone. Elizabeth comes outside and finds Emily on the phone, but Emily insists it was no one important. Later, Elizabeth tells Emily that she is positive that Emily is still in love with Zander. Then Elizabeth fills Emily in on the details of Elizabeth's budding relationship with Ric. Later, Emily stands alone on the docks and cries. Then Emily takes her drugs out of her purse and tries to throw them away but can't.

Emily finds Jason at GH. Jason is happy to see her. Emily guesses that he looks like a man in love after he mentions that there have been some changes in his life since she saw him last. He tells  her about Courtney and how it is complicated because she is Sonny's sister. Emily goes to Kelly's. She runs into Zander and Gia. They go inside. Gia tells Zander that she managed to get a job interning for Scott and that she had to stroke his ego to get him to let her work for him. She tells Zander that she plans to find evidence to get him kicked out of office for good. Emily approaches them. Zander gives her a little  cold shoulder. Emily goes over to the counter, so Zander leaves with Gia. Emily waits for Courtney to come out and asks her if she is who she thinks she is. Courtney tells her name. Emily introduces herself and the two of them hit it off. Emily surprises Courtney by thanking her for making Jason so happy. Liz is dismayed to see them hitting it off. She pours Emily some more coffee and makes a sarcastic remark about Courtney getting Emily's seal of sister approval. Liz walks off. Courtney tells Em that Liz hates her because she is with Jason. Em tells her that she got that impression and that not to blame Liz since Jason is a hard man to let go of.
    
Emily surprises Lucky when she comes up to his table at Kelly's. He is very happy to see her. He tells her that a package arrived at Kelly's for her and asks her what is in the unmarked package. Emily doesn't want him to know and tries to change the subject with him. She ends up making up some lie that it comes from Mexico and it contains several Aztec artifacts for her grandmother. Lucky lets it go. Later, she leaves and almost forgets the package on the table until Lucky gives it to her as she leaves. She opens it and finds it full of hypodermic needles. She goes home and finds A.J. there. He is happy to see her but upsets her when he makes a sarcastic remark about her seeing Jason first. She tells him that he is her brother too and loves him as much as Jason. He thanks her for caring about him and saying she loves him. She tells him she came home because she missed her family and her mission is to someday convince everyone that they love each other deep down inside.

Emily met Lucky at Kelly's but was uncomfortable seeing Zander and Gia sitting together again. Lucky encouraged her to just go talk to Zander since she was obviously still smitten with him, but Emily insisted that her relationship with Zander was in the past. Emily left and went back to the Quartermaines. Alone in her room, she opened her package and was about to inject herself with drugs when Zander climbed in through the window. Zander pleaded with Emily to admit she was still in love with him. She told him it was over, but when he turned to leave caved. They kissed and ended up making love. Zander's joy was short-lived as Emily told him they had made a mistake and asked him to leave. Zander begged her to tell him what was really going on, but Emily closed him out. Jason threatens Edward and Emily walks in and hears the latest threat. When Edward appeals to Emily for support, Emily merely suggests that Edward probably deserves Jason's angry threats. Before Jason and Emily have much of a chance to talk, Jason receives an emergency call on his cell phone and leaves.

Emily arrives at Kelly's and, sitting down next to Zander, Emily apologizes for the way she behaved. Zander tenderly reassures Emily that he believes that they will be able to find each other again! Emily interrupted Ned & Alexis fighting over Kristina and offered to bring Kristina back herself. Despite their protests, Emily insisted that she was the only one with nothing to lose, and that the family would stand behind her even if she wouldn't reveal the details. Zander promised to help her bring the baby home. Zander and Emily were driving Kristina back to the Quartermaines when they got pulled over for a broken tail light. At first it seemed like everything was okay as the policewoman made small talk with them about "their" baby, but when she went back to her car she ordered them to come out with their hands up. Emily and Zander were arrested and taken to the police station.

The Quartermaines showed up and asked Emily what had happened. Alexis, Ned, and Cameron arrived as Emily tried to fabricate a story. She told them that a man had called the house and told her to meet him at the park, no police, and that she had taken Zander with her. She  continued that when they arrived they found Kristina in her baby carrier. Scott did not believe Emily's story and questioned her as to why someone would steal the baby then return her  without any ransom. Emily said that when he called he had said he was sorry, but it was  apparent to all that Emily was making up her story. Finally Alexis stepped in and told them the  truth about how Skye and AJ had kidnapped Kristina and that Alexis was brining her back when  she overheard Edward's plan and panicked. The Quartermaines chastised Alexis for involving Emily in her scheme. Although they and Ned told Scott not to press charges since Kristina was home safe, Scott had Alexis arrested and vowed to press full charges against her. Alan hugged Emily and expressed his admiration for putting Kristina first when no one else would.
    
Alan, Monica, Zander and Emily watch as Cameron cooly informs Edward that Edward will drop all charges, allow Alexis visitation and give Ned veto power whenever Kristina is concerned. When Scott arrives, Cameron shows Scott that Cameron has a copy of the original arson investigation report that suggested the fire at Ned's Gate House had been set deliberately, as well as evidence that Scott had the original report suppressed. When Cameron also produces a copy of Edward's campaign contributions to Scott, Scott immediately guesses that Cameron got the incriminating documents from Gia and announces that Gia will soon be out of a job! But Edward reminds Scott that the District Attorney has been outmaneuvered and orders Scott to shut up and make a deal immediately. When Emily realizes that Zander is not impressed by his father's performance, Zander finally admits that Zander's brother committed suicide and that Cameron did not let Zander know the facts about Peter's death until after Zander had spent five years, blaming himself for Peter's death! Scott finally orders Alexis released.  Later, Zander and Emily head to Kelly's. As the two talk outside, Emily suddenly becomes dizzy and collapses into Zander's arms. When Emily recovers, she insists that she merely passed out because, in all the excitement, she hadn't eaten yet. As Zander orders for her, Emily heads to the Ladies Room and shoots up.
    
Zander spends the night with Emily in her bedroom. She wakes up first and watches him sleep. He wakes up to find her crying. He asks her what is wrong. She tells him she is happy to have him with her. Edward goes on a rampage when he barges into Emily's room to find her in bed with Zander. Emily is totally upset by his intrusion into her room without knocking first. Edward calls for Alan and Monica to come to her room. They are surprised to see Zander in bed with her too but don't say anything when they realize how loud and insulting Edward is to Zander and her. They argue with Edward and go downstairs.  Zander and Emily come downstairs dressed shortly afterwards. Emily makes it clear to Edward that she will do what she pleases with Zander since she is of age after he threatens to have Zander arrested for defiling her. A.J. shows up and asks what is going on. A.J. passes judgment on Zander for sleeping with Emily and having a criminal background. Zander reminds A.J. that he is an arsonist and not any better than him. Their arguing is interrupted by a doorbell.

Reginald answers the door and in walks none other than Tracy Quartermaine, Ned's mother. Everyone is left speechless and dismayed by her entrance. Edward tells her that she is not welcome in his home after what she did. Tracy dismisses his lecture to her and begins right in with the insults to everyone she approaches. Skye had gone into the other room to take the baby to some place quiet. Tracy makes a remark to her and Skye zings her with an insult right back about her age. Monica gets fed up when Tracy insults Emily because she is adopted and was originally some poor "orphan." Monica threatens bodily harm to Tracy if she doesn't start  treating Emily with respect. Monica suggests that Emily go upstairs and she will be there shortly.

Later, Zander comes back to the mansion but comes through the window of Emily's bedroom and catches her injecting some drug into her arm from  some clear bottle. He asks her what she is doing. Emily is surprised to see him but can't disguise something is wrong with her.  Zander confronts Emily about her drug use and catches trying to use a needle and syringe. She denies that she did anything serious but Zander insists she tell him the truth so he can help her get back into rehab for her drug problem. Emily refuses to tell him the truth so Zander goes searching for the drugs in her bureau drawers. She tries to stop him from finding the other drug bottles and needles. Zander doesn't want to fight with her and kisses her passionately to get her to calm down and listen to him. He tells her he loves and wants to help her through this. Emily tries to fight off his concern and yells at him to leave her alone. Monica hears them arguing vehemently and barges in to tell Zander to let go of her daughter. Zander tells her he loves Emily and that it is between them. Monica starts accusing him of rough handling her daughter and bringing his problems on her again. Emily defends Zander as best she can and asks him to leave so she can talk to her mother alone. Zander leaves but tells her this isn't finished yet. Emily tells her that the love between her and Zander is there and that things are just harder now because of it. Monica comforts her instead of lecturing her.

Emily finds Zander outside Kelly's and approaches him to apologize for her behavior earlier. Zander tells her that she needs to be in rehab right now and wants to help her through it. Emily tells him that by sending her to rehab, he will not be able to see her everyday. She tells him she needs to do this on her own and wants him to be there to support her each day. Zander embraces her and tells her he will be there every step of the way.
    
After Em has passed out, she wakes to find herself in a hospital bed. Zander explained that she had passed out. Emily panicked thinking he had told the Quartermaines that she was taking drugs. Zander told her he had not said anything about the drugs but that Monica had found her passed out on the floor. Monica entered to see Emily. Zander pressed Emily to tell Monica the truth, and when she would not, Zander told Monica that Emily was addicted to painkillers. Emily asked Zander to leave. Alone together, Monica told Emily that she knows she has cancer.  Monica insists that she already knows that Emily has breast cancer because the school sent Emily's medical records to her mother.
    
Emily tells Monica that she believes that she inherited her mother's genes  and that the statistics for YOUNG women surviving breast cancer are NOT good! Emily tells  Monica that she does not want any radical medical procedures used to save her life and that she has come home to die. The "drugs" that Zander saw Emily with are part of an experimental program Emily enrolled in down in Mexico before Emily returned home. Emily begs Monica to tell the rest of the family and Zander that Emily just got hooked on painkillers while she was recovering from a broken back. Emily begs Monica to help her to keep the truth from Zander so that Zander and Emily can just be together for what is left of Emily's life without the threat of cancer treatments hanging over them. When Monica steps out into the hall, she informs Alan, Edward and A.J. that Emily is hooked on painkillers and that Emily has asked to see only Zander. When Zander returns to Emily's room, Emily believes at first that Monica told Zander the truth. But Emily is elated when she realizes that Zander believes that she IS hooked on painkillers. Zander tells Emily that he wants to help her kick her habit and then asks Emily to marry him.
    
Zander tells Emily he loves her and she tells him she never stopped loving him  when she was away even when she tried to. Alan, A.J., and Edward come to visit her. Edward goes ballistic when he sees Zander sitting on her bed kissing her. He tries to throw him out but Emily tells Edward to leave him alone and explains that Zander is the one who told Monica about her drug problem when he caught her doing drugs and wanted to put her in rehab and she wouldn't. She makes them apologize to Zander for accusing him of getting her on drugs again.  Alan and A.J. apologize and shake his hand but Edward is the last holdout. He reluctantly apologizes for accusing him but refuses to apologize and admit he was wrong to call him all those names. Alan and A.J. are disgusted with him and tell him which causes a fight. Monica comes in and tells them to all leave since Emily needs her rest. Alan refuses to leave. Zander tells Emily he will be sticking by her through the whole thing. Alan tells her that he is sticking by her since she stuck by him when he failed her the time he was an addict. Emily tells him he was a role model for her when he got off the drugs and recovered. Monica looks at her with guilt since he doesn't realize they are lying about her cancer.
    
Monica begged Emily to consider traditional treatment for her breast cancer. Emily refused, insisting that she would not die a piece at a time. Monica convinced her to have a lumpectomy while continuing her alternative treatment. Emily snuck away to Zander's where they made love. Emily managed to continue hiding her illness from Zander but became upset when he told her she had a perfect body.  Zander could not convince Emily to stay the night. Puzzled at her odd behavior, he worried  about her passing out again while outside alone. Monica showed up looking for Emily. Zander told her that Emily had been there but had left. Monica realized from his concern for Emily that he truly loved her. She told him that Emily was going through a difficult battle and would need  him by her side. Monica later found Emily back at the hospital. She asked Emily to tell Zander about her illness, but Emily insisted that she owed it to him to set him free.
    
Monica hands Emily consent forms to have a lumpectomy and a possible mastectomy if necessary done. Emily panics and thinks that her breast will end up being removed as well at the cancer.  Monica tells her that she is almost positive that her breast won't have to be removed and that because they found the cancer in its early stages, it most likely won't be necessary. Emily tells her that she refuses to let them take out her breast. Monica gets paged for an emergency and tells Emily to sign the forms and leave them at the nurses' station. Emily waits until she leaves and doesn't sign the forms and leaves them at the desk. She heads to the elevator and leaves  the hospital. She heads to Kelly's where she witnesses Zander grabbing a young man forcibly outside the diner and Gia trying to stop him. Zander accuses the guy of selling drugs to teens and tries to scare him away.  Emily is touched when Gia defends what Zander did. Gia tells her that Zander loves her so much and is so much better now that she has returned home. Emily tells her that Zander's love means everything to her.
    
Emily tells Zander that she has been thinking about them and thinks it would be a good idea if they gave each other some space for awhile and that he shouldn't come visit her for now. Zander asks her what she is trying to say to him. Monica could not convince Emily to tell Alan that she had cancer. Emily asked to reschedule her surgery at another hospital for fear that Alan would learn her secret if she were treated at GH. Emily told Zander that she needed space to get through her ordeal. Zander refused to let her  go, but Alan interrupted and asked him to respect Emily's wishes. Zander pleaded with Emily to let him help her, but Emily insisted that having Zander around only made it more difficult for her. Gia stopped by to visit Emily in the hospital, and Emily asked her to look after Zander.
    
Emily ran into Zander on her way to the new hospital. Though she tried to dissuade Zander from waiting for her, he professed his faith in their love.  Emily checked into the new hospital and reluctantly signed the release papers  Monica presented her with. Alone in her hospital room Emily undressed, her pending surgery on her mind.  Monica is with Emily as Emily goes into surgery. While she is under anesthesia,  Emily dreams of a happy summer picnic with Zander. But, when Zander leaves to go for a swim, Emily notices something cold under the blanket and, when Emily pulls the blanket aside, she sees a grave marker with her name on it! Meanwhile, the pathology report comes back and the surgeon lets Monica read it. When Emily recovers, Monica reports that only the lump was removed from Emily's and that she still has her breast.
    
As Emily recovers from her surgery at Mercy Hospital, Monica admits that the Doctor took a few  more nodes from Emily's breast because the lump the doctor ran a biopsy on came back positive, so the doctor is running more tests and it will be a few days before they know whether or not the cancer has spread. Monica tries to remain positive, but Emily fears the worst. Emily insists that she wants to be alone.
After having found out about Em having cancer, Alan goes in to see Emily in her room at Mercy Hospital. She tells him that she didn't tell him because she didn't want him to be scared for her. He tells her he isn't scared but concerned. Emily refuses to tell Zander the truth about her condition when Alan and Monica suggest she tell him now so he can be a support to her as well. Emily tells them that she is going to die like her mother since the doctors told her mother Paige the same thing about the cancer only being in her lymph nodes.
    
Emily calls Zander later and Gia picks up and answers his phone. Emily had already told Monica and Alan that she doesn't want Zander to go through this with her only to have to watch her die. She tells them that  Zander is starting to turn his life around for the better and wants him to fall in love with  another woman.  Monica and Alan got Emily released from the hospital. They stopped at the park on the way home and ran into Gia, who was surprised to see Emily out of "rehab" so soon. They tried to explain to Gia that Emily had decided to stay at home while under treatment. Monica and Alan took Emily home while Gia immediately called Zander and informed him of what she had witnessed. At the mansion, Edward demanded to know why Emily was home, but Monica snapped at him to leave Emily alone. A well-meaning Skye tried to convince Emily that rehab is the only way through an addiction and that coming home was a bad decision. Alan interrupted them and defended Emily. Skye, not knowing the truth about Emily's cancer, was hurt and confused by Alan's reaction.

Emily angrily tells Zander not to hold her then declares that she believes it is Zander's fault that she got hooked on drugs again. Zander however, tells Emily that he does not believe her and that she reminds him of the time she broke up with Zander because Edward was threatening to send Zander to prison on a trumped up charge. After Zander leaves, Emily confides to her diary that, no matter what the doctors tell her, Emily still believes she is going to die. Emily calls Gia to tell her that Emily just broke up with Zander and begs Gia to find Zander and prevent him from doing anything stupid.
    
Edward  summons Alan, Monica, A.J., Ned, Skye and the maid to ask if they have seen Dobson around. Alan and Monica are annoyed by this trivial matter. Dillon comes into the room and figures that Dobson (Alexis in disguise as a man) got a  taste of the family and probably decided to split. Edward decides he is going to fire Dobson. Alexis hurries up and gets disguised as Dobson and returns to the mansion. Dobson tells everyone he was on break. Edward tells "him" he is fired for not informing anyone that he was leaving on his break. Emily hears the whole conversation from the top of the stairs and tells Edward that he has no right to fire the butler. The rest of the family looks up at her.

Emily comes downstairs and scolds Edward for treating his staff like indentured servants and that every person on staff deserves a break and that he must be patient and allow "Dobson" to get better acquainted with the routine. Edward is put on the spot and decides to give "Dobson"  Another chance. The family goes back to what they were doing. Emily starts to give advice to "Dobson" about how to handle working for her quirky family. Emily tells "Dobson" that she thinks it is weird how easy it is to talk to "him". Later, Emily goes into the study and writes in her journal about how her day is. Alan and Monica come in the room with somber faces. They tell her that the hospital called to tell them that the cancer has spread to her lymphnodes. Emily's worst fears come true and she cries on Monica's shoulder. Alan tells her that she will get  through this setback.
    
As Faith eavesdropped, Elizabeth told Emily about her pregnancy and the situation with Ric. Emily told Liz about the cancer and her fears over what chemotherapy treatments would do to her. Elizabeth tried to instill hope in Emily and make her feel more positive, but suggested that Emily tell Zander the whole truth. Later, Faith approached the two outside of "Kelly's" and after Faith threatened Liz, Emily informed Faith that Jason Morgan's her brother and that if Elizabeth's harmed, Jason would make Faith "disappear". After Faith threatened Emily, Emily slapped her across the face. Faith left, but not before telling Elizabeth she's "accident-prone". Em returned home, where she told Alan and Monica that she's decided to undergo chemo treatments after all. Alan said he'd schedule the first treatment for tomorrow, but Emily told him not to, that she  has something planned for tomorrow. Emily called Zander and made plans to spend the next day with him.
    
Emily asks "Dobson" to order a romantic picnic lunch she can take with her to the Boat House to celebrate One Perfect Day with Zander.  Emily quietly confides to Monica that she plans to tell Zander  about her cancer at the end of their 'perfect day.' Later, at the Boat House, Zander admits that Emily's constantly changing moods have him totally confused. But, when Zander suggests that  they should make "One Perfect Day" an annual event, even when they are old and grey, Emily's mood changes again. When Zander wants to go swimming, Emily begs off, claiming the water is freezing. Emily invites Zander inside the Boat House, which she has decorated with the soft glow of Chinese lanterns, and reminds Zander that the Boat House is the first place they ever made love, and they hit the sheets. Afterwards, Emily decides against telling Zander about her cancer. When they return to the Quartermaine Mansion, Zander tells Emily he believes she has something else on her mind, but Emily insists he is wrong.
    
Emily heads out to the living room and approaches one of the back doors. Lila is in the room and asks her what she is running from. Emily confesses to Lila that she doesn't have a drug problem again but has breast cancer and is suppose to have her 1st trial of chemotherapy and doesn't want to go. Lila advises her to face things head on and not run. Alan and Monica look everywhere for her. She comes into the foyer and tells them she is ready to go to the hospital. She is told by her doctor not to look at the chemotherapy as making her sick but as a way for her to get better. Emily puts on a brave front for Monica and Alan. She arrives home, feeling weak and tired from the chemotherapy. She is surprised when Zander happens to be at the house waiting for her. Alan and Monica leave them alone to talk. Emily still lies to him and tells him that they went to a counseling session with her and a lot was said. Zander suggests they rent a couple of movies when she tells him she doesn't want to go anywhere right now. She tells him she is tired and needs her space from him right now. Later, Alan and Monica get her settled in her room. After they leave her bedroom she calls some mysterious person and leaves a message that she needs to see them.
    
Emily confided in "Dobson" (Alexis) that she's been thinking a lot about her birth mother lately and spoke about how much her mother meant to her. After "Dobson" tried to convince her to share these feelings with Monica, Emily said she feared it would hurt Monica's feelings. When Zander came to visit Emily, Skye was about to let him do so when Edward appeared and accused Zander of trying to smuggle drugs to Emily. Alan and Monica calmly told Zander he could visit Emily but just not that night. After Zander left, Monica located Emily and told her it's time to let Zander in on what's really going on and Emily promised to handle it.