Audrey Hardy (Rachel Ames)

Nurse Audrey Hardy (née March, formerly Baldwin and Hobart) is a fictional character on the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital. Audrey has been portrayed by actress Rachel Ames since 1964.

Finding love with Steve Hardy
Audrey March arrived in Port Charles in 1964 to visit her sister Lucille. Audrey was a registered nurse, but had been working as an airline stewardess, which she thought was a more glamorous life. She soon saw Dr. Steve Hardy and decided to stay in town to become a private nurse. She and Steve struck up a romance and became engaged. But, when Audrey's client, Randy Washburn, proposed to her, she broke things off with Steve and accepted Randy's proposal. Audrey was then diagnosed with lymphoma and Randy left her high and dry. Audrey turned back to Steve and the two married in 1965 after she fully recovered from her illness. After several years of marriage, Audrey was worried when she failed to conceive a child. Thinking Steve might be sterile, she had herself artificially inseminated without Steve's knowledge. Audrey became pregnant, and Steve was upset at first, but then started to look forward to having a child with Audrey. Then Audrey was in a car accident and suffered a miscarriage. Audrey was devastated at losing the baby and left Steve. Shortly after their divorce was finalized, Audrey married Tom Baldwin in an effort to show Steve she was over him.

The trouble with Tom Baldwin
Audrey couldn't bring herself to consummate her marriage to Tom. Tom grew frustrated and raped Audrey, which resulted in her becoming pregnant. When Audrey found out she was pregnant, she filed for divorce and left town. She wanted to keep her child safe from his violent father.

Audrey returned to Port Charles two years later, in 1971. She told her sister Lucille that her baby had died at birth, which was a lie. The truth was that she had given birth to a baby boy she named Steven Baldwin and called Steve, after her true love Steve Hardy. She kept Steve in hiding. She was afraid that if Tom found out the baby was alive that he would contest their divorce, which had not yet been finalized.

She came up with a scheme. Her plan was to claim her child was dead, remarry Steve Hardy, then convince Steve to adopt her son. However, Peggy Nelson, the woman who was watching after young Steve, found out about the plot and started to blackmail Audrey. Peggy ended up dead and Audrey accused of her murder. She was acquitted with help from Steve, but then Tom Baldwin claimed his son. Baby Steve Baldwin was renamed Thomas Baldwin, Jr. and called Tommy. Tom Baldwin forced Audrey to resume her marriage to him and be a family with him and the baby. That didn't last long though. Tom kidnapped Tommy and fled to Mexico. Later, Tom was presumed dead and Tommy was reunited with his mother.

Moving on
Little Tommy became ill with a heart ailment. Dr. Jim Hobart performed surgery on him and Tommy made a full recovery. Audrey was so grateful for the doctor saving her son's life that when Jim injured his hands in an accident and feared his career as a surgeon was over, she felt sorry for him and married him, even though she was still in love with Steve Hardy. Jim and Audrey stayed in their loveless marriage for several years until Jim left her for a younger woman in 1976. Audrey was disheartened after the breakup and attempted suicide. Steve Hardy came to her rescue and saw the chance to make his move. He proposed to her, and she accepted. The two were remarried and all seemed perfect for a brief moment. Then, Tom Baldwin showed up again, very much alive.

The return of Tom Baldwin meant that Audrey's marriage to Jim, and then her second marriage to Steve, were both invalid. She was still legally married to Tom. Tom wanted to reclaim both his wife and their son. After a while, though, he came to the realization that he was not wanted and left town. After finally finalizing her divorce to Tom, Audrey married Steve again in 1977. Steve officially adopted Tommy, and he became Thomas Steven Hardy.

Jeff Webber and his children
It was later revealed that Steve had a son named Jeff from an affair he had had with Helene Webber, the wife of his old friend Lars. Jeff had been shot and while he lay in his hospital bed, his sister Terri informed Steve that there was a letter from Helene stating that Jeff was his son. Audrey and Steve agreed to keep Jeff's paternity a secret, but two years later, in 1979, Steve was stricken with Lassa Fever when an epidemic broke out in the hospital. As Steve got sicker, Audrey told Jeff the truth about his father. Steve recovered and Jeff was angry with Steve and Audrey for keeping the secret, but they reconciled after a while. In 1997, Jeff's daughter Sarah came to town to help Audrey recuperate after being attacked in a hostage crisis. Steve had died in 1996 and Audrey was alone otherwise. Sarah's sister Elizabeth came to town shortly after her. Elizabeth was rebellious and hard to handle. Then Elizabeth was raped in 1998 and Audrey had a hard time helping her. She didn't want to drag up the feelings from her past and her own rape. Eventually, Audrey told Elizabeth about how Tom Baldwin had raped her all those years before and she and Elizabeth became closer. Audrey was finally able to move pass the painful feelings of her past.