The Strange And Twisted Story Behind Avery Corinthos' Birth On General Hospital
Soap operas are notorious for creating drama-filled storylines involving pregnancies, paternity, births, and kidnapped babies, and "General Hospital" is no exception. The show has been known to make its mothers give birth in the woods, while kidnapped, or during a crisis — or all of the above (via SoapHub). However, little Avery Jerome-Corinthos, who was born on-screen in 2014, has one of the most sensational origin stories of any "GH" baby in recent years — though that's no surprise considering her mother is the formidable Ava Jerome, played by the extremely talented soap vet Maura West. Born into two of the most prominent organized crime families in Port Charles, Avery is sure to have a tumultuous upbringing and adult life, but the drama in her life ultimately began at her conception.
In 2013, Ava began an ill-fated romance with the much younger Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig), the son of her mob rival Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and the ex-boyfriend of her own daughter, Kiki Jerome (then Kristen Alderson), per Soap Central. Things got even complicated when Sonny's girlfriend Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) was found murdered, having written the letters AJ in blood next to her body. Sonny believed that initials pointed toward his adoptive son Michael Corinthos' biological father AJ Quartermaine (Sean Kanan) as the killer. When he caught AJ trying to strangle Ava, Sonny shot and killed him. Ava and Sonny bonded over their shared secret and ended up having a steamy tryst in the Quartermaine crypt following AJ's funeral. Soon after, Ava discovered she was pregnant and didn't know which Corinthos man was her baby daddy.
Ava experienced a life-threatening pregnancy, in more ways than one
Not long after Ava Jerome and Sonny Corinthos' night together, things took a turn for the worse when he learned that she was the one behind Connie's murder (via Soaps in Depth). He planned to kill her in retaliation, but Ava's life was spared when she revealed her pregnancy. In a sinister plot, Sonny planned to wait until she gave birth to either his child or grandchild before killing her, keeping her captive in the meantime.
While being held hostage in Sonny's home, Ava made a deal with her mobster brother Julian Jerome (William deVry) by telling him that Sonny murdered AJ in exchange for giving her refuge (via Soap Central). However, she was forced to abandon that plan when Julian's boss instructed her to kill Morgan's brother, Michael Corinthos (Chad Duell), who was now dating her daughter Kiki Jerome.
Ava was then drugged by nurse Sabrina Santiago (Teresa Castillo) who blamed Ava for the loss of her unborn child and was attempting to cause Ava a miscarriage of her own. After she escaped from that ordeal, Ava tried to evade capture from Sonny's men with the help of Jordan Ashford (then Vanessa Antoine), but inadvertently ran someone over in the process. Jordan temporarily took the blame for the accident so that Ava could escape, and she ultimately convinced Morgan to take her in though he was still upset over her betrayal. However, throughout all of this turmoil, Ava didn't realize that the biggest threat against herself and her unborn baby was none other than Nina Clay (then Michelle Stafford).
An old love triangle leads to a revenge plot
Twenty years prior to Ava's pregnancy with Avery Corinthos, she had gotten pregnant by Silas Clay (Michael Easton), according to Soaps. Silas was married to Nina at the time and she discovered the affair around the same time she discovered her own pregnancy. However, before she could tell her husband they were expecting, Nina was drugged by her mother and ended up in a long-term coma.
Upon waking in 2014, having missed 20 years of her life, Nina was distraught to learn that she had lost her baby, meanwhile Ava had an adult daughter Kiki, fathered by the man she still considered her husband (via Soap Central). As Nina adjusted to her new reality, not to mention life after the invention of the internet, she felt a burning need to get revenge against Ava.
Now that Ava was pregnant again, Nina thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get the baby she always wanted and make Ava experience the pain of losing a child in one fell swoop. With help from her mother Madeline Reeves (Donna Mills), Nina tracked down a heavily pregnant Ava at Morgan's brownstone. She gave Ava a drug that temporarily paralyzed her and then another that would induce labor (via Michael Fairman TV). Ava laid there helpless to stop a crazed Nina from stealing her daughter out of her body and begged for mercy, though her pleas fell on deaf ears. As soon as Nina delivered the baby she took off with the little girl, leaving Ava to wait desperately for help.
Nina tries to start a new family
Ava Jerome was discovered by Sonny Corinthos not long after Nina Clay stole her newborn daughter, as he had discovered her location and had come to kill her (via Soap Central). However, everyone became preoccupied with finding the kidnapped baby. It turned out that Nina had a plan to meet up with her friend Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth) so they could raise the baby together. By the time Franco met up with Nina at their rendezvous point — after blowing up his engagement to Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) who had been cheating on him with her ex-husband Sonny — Nina was experiencing a full-blown psychological break and believed the infant was actually hers (via TV Source).
Nina and Franco played house for awhile before the authorities finally tracked them down. Sonny's other son, police detective Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), was able to arrest Franco, but Nina had already escaped with the officer's sister or niece. Meanwhile, Silas Clay had managed to find where Nina was and duped her into believing he wanted to be a part of the family they never got to have. However, as soon as she handed the baby over to him, he gave her to Ava who he had secretly brought with him. Nina was eventually arrested, but ultimately sent to a mental health facility for psychological treatment (via Soaps in Depth).
Avery has had several caregivers in her short life
Unfortunately for Ava Jerome, when her daughter was finally returned safely she only had enough time with to name her Avery and have a test done to confirm that Sonny Corthinos was in fact the baby's father, before she was arrested for Connie Falconeri's murder and sent to prison (via Soap Central). Ava eventually escaped from prison, but shortly after was shot by Carlos Rivera (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) and presumed dead. In actuality, Silas rescued her, nursed her back to health, and kept her hidden from the police. He even temporarily kidnapped baby Avery so he could use her bone marrow to save Ava, who was now suffering from cancer. Later, Ava returned to Port Charles under an alias and after she was discovered, was able to avoid a return to prison by making critical evidence disappear.
Since Avery's parents were busy manipulating their way out of trouble with the law, Michael Corinthos sued for custody of his baby sister so she could have a stable home — and to get revenge against his adoptive father Sonny for killing his biological father AJ (via Soaps in Depth). Eventually when Ava and Sonny were both free, they fought over custody of their daughter and eventually agreed that Sonny would get Avery in exchange for not revealing more evidence that would implicate Ava in Connie's murder. Though Ava has had visitation with her daughter over the years, Avery has been primarily raised by Sonny and Carly Corinthos. However, now that Sonny and Carly have divorced – for the fifth time – the little girl splits her time between Sonny, Ava, and her "Mama Carly."