Beth Ehlers (Originated role; September 1987 to September 28th, 1993; January 21st to January 30th, 1997; May 29th, 1997 to Present)
Amy Carlson (filled in November 9th through 12, 1998)
Hayley Sparks (filled in during Ehlers' maternity leaves; May 5th, to July 30th, 1999; July 18th to August 3rd, 2001; August 25th and 26th, 2002)
Occupation
Police Detective with the Springfield PD
Former Private detective
Former CEO of Spaulding Enterprises
Former Partner in "Harley's Angels", a Detective/legal aid service with Blake & Mel
Spaulding Enterprise Board Member
Former Police Detective with the Springfield PD
Former Insurance Detective in Florida
Former Private Detective
Former Police Officer with the Springfield PD
Former assistant to fashion designer Mindy Lewis
Former nanny for Marah and Shayne Lewis
Former assistant to Spaulding architect, Neil Everest
Former waitress at the 5th Street Diner
Owned antique shop with Alan-Michael
Fraud; in a phone call, to the Springfield waste disposal department, pretended to be Mrs. Pappas, in order to receive a doll she'd thrown away (Her paternal grandmother's doll in which Harley had hidden the pre-nup. [April 1990]
Attempted entrapment: Secretly planted her brother's camcorder in Alan-Michael Spaulding's apartment in an attempt to gain leverage in their divorce. (This backfired when the video picks up that she faked a positive pregnancy test; April 20, 1990)
Attempted blackmail of Alexandra Spaulding with the portion of the videotape showing Alan-Michael and Blake Thorpe Spaulding in bed together and also stealing the Lewis Oil plans to the homeless shelter. (May 3, 1990]
Falsely accused of stealing the password to Spaulding’s computer system. (First week of March 1991; Roger Thorpe's lawyer, John Davis stole the password, but Harley couldn't prove this)
Arrested for prostitution (Not guilty; case thrown out of court) [August 1991]
Fraud and entrapment: Posed as Jenna Bradshaw's personal assistant. (April - May 1992)
Fraud: Sent flowers to Jenna under A.C. Mallett's name. [April 1992]
Stole a ring for Jenna (coerced.) [April 1992]
Fraud: Coerced her brother Frank to pose as her boyfriend. [April 1992]
Let Nick McHenry see Macauley West's police record without allowance [July 27, 1993]
Pretended to be a prostitute to get a job at Selena's brothel to get info on the Davenport case [August 13, 1993]
Impersonated "Starla", a prostitute, in the Jeffrey Morgan sting operation. [January 1997 - July 1997]
Locked Jenna Bradshaw in a storage freezer at the 5th Street Diner [June 19, 1997]
Impersonated "Caitlin", a mental ward patient, to find out what Annie Dutton knew of the whereabouts of Reva Shayne's sister [September 9 - 23, 1997]
Stole a police file about Carl Stevens's murder [May 11, 1998]
Broke into Edmund Winslow's suite at the Waterview Towers to find out what incriminating evidence Edmund had on Phillip Spaulding [March 27, 2000]
Broke into Claire Ramsey's house to find info on Rick Bauer [April 10, 2000]
Broke into Claire Ramsey's office to find information on Rick Bauer [April 13, 2000]
Assisted Blake Thorpe Marler in breaking into Edmund Winslow's apartment to find proof of his collusion with Rob Layne [May 22, 2000]
Falsely arrested for prositution [May 22, 2000]
Broke into Claire Ramsey's apartment to attempt to destroy Claire's file on Rick Bauer (caught in the act.) [August 23, 2000]
Planted listening device in Bauer family living room [May 2 - 8, 2001]
Arrested and jailed overnight for speeding [October 10, 2001]
Started a fire in a hotel room [April 5, 2002; charges dropped]
Broke into the Spaulding mansion and attempted to abduct Zach [Jul 19, 2002]
Broke into Gus Aitoro's room at the Reardon Boarding House to find a picture of Eden August [August 5, 2002]
In Chicago, broke into Eden August's apartment and snooped around (discovered by Eden. [August 7, 2002]
Handcuffed herself to Eden [Augst 9, 2002]
Snooped around Eden's Chicago apartment and impersonated Eden [August 30, 2002]
Impersonated Eden August once again [October 3, 2002]
olluded with Danny Santos, Cassie Layne Winslow, Reva Shayne Lewis and Gus Aitoro to help Danny fake his own death, but only to entrap Carmen Santos for the attempted shooting of Danny. [December 2, 2002 - December 10, 2002]
Withheld information on Gus's search for his biological mother [February 10, 2003 - February 17, 2003]
Had Alexandra Spaulding illegally investigated [January 2003 - March 19, 2003]
Disguised herself and got a job as Phillip's assistant, under the name Ruth Karloff, in order to get inside information on Phillip. [September 15, 2004 to November 12, 2004]
Attempted to break into Phillip's briefcase. [September 23, 2004]
Kidnapped her son, Zach [October 6, 2004 - October 13, 2004, returned him to his father]
Arrested for killing Phillip. [December 2004]
Jumped bail by crossing the state line for the night. [January 24, 2005]
Convicted of the second degree murder of Phillip Spaulding; conviction later overturned [March 28, 2005]
In prison for the murder of Phillip Spaulding [April 8, 2005 to May 26, 2005]
Escaped from prison. [May 26, 2005 to July 15, 2005]
Attempted to break into Phillip's crypt [August 5, 2005]
Memorable Quote
A tearful Harley at Gus Aitoro's deathbed on March 31, 2008:
"You are the love of my life, forever and ever and ever and ever. (Harley breaks down)
Brief Character History
Harley Davidson Cooper (named by her mother after her father's favorite motorcycle) grew up in the wrong side of Springfield's 5th Street and was raised by her older brother, Frank, ever since the death of their father and their mother's desertion. Since they had no parents (only their grandfather, Pops, who had immigrated from Greece to America and opened the Diner), they were forced to depend on each other. When Harley became pregnant, it was Frank who took care of her and made sure she was comfortable and safe. On her way to the hospital to give birth in late 1987, the car a 17-year Harley was riding in with Frank was hit by a motorcycle being driven by the Spaulding rich kid, Alan-Michael and his girlfriend, Dinah Marler. Harley's daughter was delivered by Dinah, and named Daisy. It was to be a brief moment of happiness for the young girl, as she had already decided to give her up for adoption, a decision that both Frank and Dinah knew about. Despite being caught by Dinah in the act of stealing her bracelet, the pair became friends while Alan-Michael hated her and tried all he could to make her life miserable. About this time, Harley began dating working-class Cameron Stewart and lied to him by claiming to be a virgin. But when Cam learned about Daisy, he was disturbed that she lied to him and broke things off and resumed his relationship with Dinah. Despite some initial antagonism on both sides, Harley and Alan-Michael formulated a plan to make some quick money in 1988: they'd marry so that he could collect his trust fund. About this time Nadine returned to town and tried to reunite with Harley but it took Harley a long time to forgive her mother for leaving the family. While Nadine was elated that Harley was marrying into money, the Spauldings were horrified and so Alan-Michael’s brother, Phillip tried to seduce her in order to break up the relationship. When he was unsuccessful, he grew to respect her. They became friends and Phillip taught Harley how to act as a Spaulding. Though Harley and Alan-Michael got married in February 1989, thanks to Phillip and Alex, Alan-Michael didn't succeed in collecting his trust fund, and he and Harley worked at the Diner and eventually fell in love. Not long after, Harley's ex-boyfriend and Daisy's father, Dylan, came to town, but kept his distance from the newlyweds. When he learned about Daisy, he got a job at the Lemay's, the family that had adopted the child and renamed her Susan. When Harley also saw her daughter, Dylan convinced her that Susan belonged to them, so she and Alan-Michael offered the Lemays a large sum of money to give her back to them. It was a failed attempt and when Alan-Michael told the Lemays about Dylan's true identity, a furious Harley wanted to leave him and even slept with Dylan. So Alan-Michael kidnapped Susan to hold on to Harley while Dylan was accused of the kidnapping. Incredulous, Harley decided to bring Susan back and once again had to accept life without her daughter while Alan-Michael was forced to serve community service. Though Harley was again in love with Dylan, she was crushed when he told her that he really loved his girlfriend, Samantha Marler. Harley schemed to win Dylan back but didn't succeed. In January 1990 while Harley falsely thought she was pregnant by Dylan, Alan-Michael learned that she was in love with Dylan and threw her out of their house. About this time, Roger Thorpe tried to buy the 5th Street property with help from his henchman Scully and though Scully threatened the occupants, including Harley who owned an antique shop, they refused to leave their homes, so Scully torched 5th Street and to Harley's grief, her beloved Pops died in the fire. By now Harley came to the decision to divorce Alan-Michael and make a lot of money in the process. To do this, she needed to prove that her husband had cheated on her and while she knew that he had an affair, she didn't know that it was Blake Thorpe. Although Alan-Michael caught Harley just as she was leaving from setting up the video camera in his apartment, she promptly seduced him to shut him up. Her efforts seemed to pay off when managed to record a video of the two in bed; however, the tape was stolen by Gary Swanson who would later blackmail Blake with it. Harley and Alan-Michael considered reconciliation when Harley suspected she might be pregnant. Then the videotape happened to show up at Alan-Michael's apartment, but it was severely doctored. It showed Harley faking her pregnancy test and Blake faking one as well, but Alan-Michael didn't see Blake doing so. It also showed Harley and Alan-Michael in bed. When Harley also found evidence that Alan-Michael was trying to steal a rival of the Spaulding's, Lewis Oil's plan for a homeless shelter next to the planned Waterview Towers, Harley tried to blackmail Alexandra with this evidence and the videotape. Alan-Michael got Harley out of there and away from Alex. Later Alan-Michael forced Harley to have a second pregnancy test and this one came back negative and they went through with their divorce.
Single and broke, Harley took a job as a nanny for Josh and Reva Lewis' children, Marah and Shayne. Though Josh didn't like that idea, Reva (who was depressed after the birth of her second child), convinced him. While accompanying them on family vacation to Florida, Harley helped Reva when she lost unconscious one day and had to promise her that she would take care of her children if something would happen to her. A few days later, Reva drove her car off of a bridge and was presumed dead. Harley did her best, after some struggle with herself, to care for Marah and Shayne, while trying to comfort a grieving Josh. However when she mentioned Reva's death, she was fired. Realizing he had acted rash in his decision, Josh asked Harley to come back to work for him. One night, after befriending Reva's mother, Sarah Shayne, who was against Harley at the beginning, Harley became determined to force Josh to let his wife go, and burned all of Reva's clothes. Furious at first, Josh lashed out at Harley. The two argued passionately and ended up making love. However, Harley remained convinced that Josh was still in love with Reva and left. She then began working with Josh's niece, Mindy. As part of her job selling Mindy's clothing designs to Matt Weiss, Harley went to New York. Though Weiss stole the designs in January 1991, Harley was able to expose him. Realizing he couldn't live without her, Josh followed her to New York and the two became engaged. Part of her dream wedding to Josh included a dream honeymoon, so Harley purchased some travel videos to help them decide where to go. While watching one, Josh’s brother, Billy, and Sarah noticed a woman in the background that looked exactly like Reva. At first, Josh was determined to ignore it, but after a while though, his feelings for his "late" wife overcame him. So he told Harley that, although he loved her with all his heart, he had to go to see if Reva was in fact alive. Though Josh stated that he would only stay briefly in Italy, he later wrote a letter to Harley and left her while he let his children and Sarah follow him to Italy. Harley pretended to understand, but was left heartbroken. Harley then began working for Alan-Michael and created a password for Spaulding's accounts that only Alan-Michael knew. Unfortunately, Harley was drugged by John Davis, a friend of Roger Thorpe and revealed the password, enabling Roger to embezzle money from Spaulding. Though Alan-Michael and Blake accused her of corporate espionage, Harley couldn't remember anything and was soon able to prove that she'd been drugged and had Davies arrested. A few days later, Harley met friends in a bar on 5th Street and discovered the corrupt cops Hutchins and Murry who were demanding protection money from the barkeeper and threatened her friend, Tracey, a hooker. When the cops arrested Harley for prostitution to get her to keep quiet, Harley was able to expose the corruption and the cops by filming them in action with the help of Eleni. She then went to court with attorney Ross Marler’s help and the cops were ousted from the Police Department.
On her own yet again, and inspired by Judge Francis Collier, Harley decided to become a police officer and enrolled in the academy at the Springfield Police Department with Det. A.C. Mallet as her instructor. Though hard on Harley at first, in time she impressed him and they secretly fell in love with each other. When Hutchins again threatened her, she and Mallet were not only able to arrest him but also his criminal partners. Around the same time, Harley was a part of an investigation of the murder of Jean Weatherill in 1992. Though her friend, Samantha convinced her that Holly Lindsey's fiancé, Daniel St. John, was the murderer, both Mallet and Ross suspected Roger. Going against orders, she continued her investigation and was suspended from the force when Mallet found out. But Harley didn't give up and found the murder weapon in Daniel's office. Harley had the lab test the soiled felt from the back of the nameplate on Daniel's desk and learned it matched Jean's blood. As Harley hid out in Daniel's office, she heard Holly and Daniel were planning to elope to the Bauer cabin. Harley followed to try to warn Holly. Daniel locked Harley in a root cellar during a blinding snowstorm and took Holly hostage. Mallet rescued Harley, who was suffering from hypothermia. As he lay in a sleeping bag with her to keep her warm, a delirious Harley said she was in love with him. She miraculously recovered and the two finally moved in together. Harley and Mallet went on vacation after her appointment to the Springfield PD, and they met jewel thief Jenna Bradshaw at their hotel. Jenna hid a brooch in Mallet's luggage and followed them back to Springfield. Harley worked undercover to catch Jenna, taking a job as her assistant but Jenna caught on when a clueless Nadine told her that Harley and Frank were brother and sister, not lovers as Jenna had been led to believe. She also found out that Mallet was a cop and put two and two together. She devised a plan to plant evidence on Harley and then use Mindy's wedding case to hide to rest of the jewels and have an unsuspecting Mindy carry them out of town. Then the Blackout hit the Towers and Jenna was stuck in the elevator with young Michelle Bauer. Instead of escaping up the shaft, she remained to calm Michelle's fears but was arrested by Mallet while Harley found the jewels in Michelle's clothes. Harley and Mallet were very happy until Mallet was injured by a bomb that Alan-Michael's henchman, Pierre, had set to kill Musette, a girl Alan-Michael had hired to come between Frank and Eleni. As a result of his injuries, Mallet wasn't able to hear and tried to leave Harley but she supported him and gave him a hearing dog as a present. Then Harley accidentally found Pierre hiding into the Spaulding stables and was kidnapped. When Pierre tried to escape with Alan-Michael's plane, Mallet shot and killed him while Alan-Michael (who never meant for anyone be killed, let alone hurt) rescued Harley. Then Mallet found out that he also might be sterile as a result of his injuries and again tried to leave Harley, but she found out the real reason he was leaving and talked him into staying. They reunited and he asked her to be his wife. Soon Mallet recovered from his injurious, including his hearing loss. Settling back into their life together, Harley and Mallet decided to take a vacation and visit the Vietnam Memorial in January 1993. Searching for her father's name, Harley was confused when it wasn't there. Despite efforts by Nadine to convince her otherwise, Harley soon found out that her father hadn't died in the war. In fact, he was alive and well and now even in Springfield! It was Mallet who finally uncovered Buzz Cooper's true identity and forced him to confront his family. Like Frank, Harley didn't want anything to do with her father, and it took her some time for her to come around. In order to make amends, Buzz threw a surprise wedding for Harley and Mallet, who went to the Florida Keys for their honeymoon. While they were there Mallet got a job offer and the couple decided to move to Florida.
In January 1997, Harley visited Springfield for the 60th anniversary of the founding of Cedars Hospital. Though Harley claimed to just be visiting, Frank noticed that she was "working", and Harley was forced to admit that she was an insurance investigator and was there to catch a thief. Luckily the Anniversary Ball was uneventful and Harley left town, after telling Buzz's new flame, Jenna Bradshaw, that she was afraid that she may have gone back to being a jewel thief. Months later, Harley returned to town to investigate a big case and ran in to her ex-brother-in-law, Phillip. After fielding questions as to where Mallet was, Harley cryptically asked Phillip if he's ever been cheated on, hinting that that's what Mallet did. Soon, the subject of Harley's investigation became apparent--it was Jenna who had mysteriously gone back to her husband, Jeffrey Morgan. Noticing some discrepancies in Jenna's story, Harley tried to force the truth out of Jenna by locking her in a (non-working) freezer; cornered, Jenna was forced to admit that admit that Jeffrey was forcing her to go back to him. So Harley offered to help her get rid of him by acting as a swindler named Starla Russo. But when Phillip accidentally met Harley during her act in the Country Club, he was very intrigued and offered to help. In the process of conducting the sting, Phillip and Harley started having feelings for one another which culminated into a kiss. Later, the pair left for New York to trap Jeffrey. Making it seem like "Starla" was going to get money from Phillip, the pair acted as though she was trying to seduce him, proving it by showing Jeffrey a surveillance tape of Phillip and Starla "making love." However, once the camera was shut off, the fake lovemaking became real as Phillip and Harley gave in to their passion. Later Phillip lied to Jeffrey stating that he killed Harley during wild sex and when Jeffrey was ready to turn him to the police and to flee with Jenna, he was arrested for fraud when Harley and Jenna exposed him. Meanwhile, Harley and Phillip agreed to forget about that happened that night and remain just friends. Then Harley and Jenna decided to join forces and began a detective agency. Their first assignment was to help Reva to find her long-lost sister. Not long after, Harley received a call from Mallet telling her that he wanted a divorce since he was in love with another woman. Hurt and angry, Harley was consoled by Phillip. Meanwhile, Jenna and Harley learned that Reva's nemesis, Annie Dutton, may have information on Reva's sister, and so they went to the mental hospital where Annie was staying. But when Security caught them snooping around, Jenna passed Harley off as her sister, Caitlin, and, to Harley's dismay, checked her into the mental institution. "Caitlin" then became Annie's roommate and apparently befriended her. Although Phillip tried to get Harley out of there, Harley was determined to follow through with the plan. Unfortunately, Annie discovered who her new "friend" was and with help of the guards, drugged Harley with a psychotic drug. Luckily Phillip came to her rescue and admitted that he too was falling in love with her. When Phillip's ex-wife, Beth, returned to town with their daughter Lizzie, Beth was determined to win back her ex and wasn't happy to find him now sharing his life with Harley. Harley, meanwhile, wasn't happy to see Beth either, especially since she was insecure over Phillip's feelings for Beth. Her fears compounded when Phillip expressed his displeasure at Beth's new friendship with Ben Warren. Although Phillip tried to assure Harley that his heart belonged to her, Harley couldn't quite be sure. However, in 1998, Phillip proved his love for Harley by asking her to move in with him. Elated, Harley accepted the offer but was still disconcerted over the bond Phillip and Beth shared. When Beth thanked Harley for finding a lost Lizzie, she antagonized Harley by telling her to give Phillip some time to be with his family and continued to provoke her by mentioning the phone call she made to Mallet. Angry, Harley attacked Beth but was pulled off by Eleni. To Harley's relief, Phillip wasn't angry but instead understood. Unfortunately, their relationship took a step back when Beth attempted suicide by throwing herself in front of a car. Guilt-ridden, Phillip offered to stay at the mansion to take care of a rattled Lizzie. After overhearing Lizzie ask Phillip not to make her take care of her mommy alone, Harley got suspicious and starting investigating Beth's past in Arizona. In the process she learned that Beth had accidents before. She also discovered that Beth had a boyfriend in Arizona named Carl. Harley decided to find him in order to ask him about Beth. Learning that she was being investigated, Beth blasted Harley, who remained undeterred. Finally, Beth admitted to Harley about her abusive relationship with Carl but left insulted when Harley continued to interrogate her. Beth then told Phillip about Carl and Harley’s meddling before Harley got to tell him her side of it. When Harley finally got to Phillip, he knew the whole story and yelled at Harley for interfering and jumped to Beth’s defense. Not long after, Carl, upon learning that Harley was asking about him, arrived in town threatening Harley to stay out of his business. Although Carl denied hurting Beth, Harley is soon able to trick him into admitting it. Later, she convinced Beth to help her arrest Carl. Using Beth as bait, the plan was for Harley to tape record Carl admitting his abusiveness. Unfortunately, Harley, realizing that she forgot her gun, left the scene before Carl got there. When she returned, Carl was dead and Beth was the prime suspect. During the investigation, Harley became unnerved at Phillip's attempts to protect Beth, even going as far as him suppressing evidence. Later, when Beth confessed to killing Carl in self-defense, both Harley and Phillip were unconvinced and investigated further. They soon discovered that the true killer was Phillip's daughter, Lizzie! Worried about Lizzie, Harley left Phillip so that he could be with his daughter in her time of need. But Phillip wouldn't have it and convinced Harley that he could be with her and be a part of his daughter's life at the same time. When Phillip proposed, Harley happily accepted and the couple made plans to marry, however when the wedding plans seemed to get out of hand, the couple decided to elope in New York. However, to their surprise, their elopement wasn't quite the secret they thought it was and they found that Buzz and Phillip's Aunt Alex arranged a beautiful wedding for them at City Hall.
Trouble began to brew again with the arrival of Harley's daughter Daisy, now called Susan, who was in search of her real mother now that her adoptive mother had passed away. In 1999, after telling Harley and Phillip that her father had "changed" after her mother's death, Harley allowed Susan to stay the night at her place, to Phillip's disapproval. After calling Susan's father, Jim, Harley suggested that they stay in Springfield for the holidays. Pleased to have a mother figure again, Susan was determined to fix Harley up with Jim and kept manipulating them to be alone together. Determined to stay in Springfield, Susan overdosed on medication. The plan worked with a guilt-ridden Harley wishing she could have seen the signs and suggesting that Susan should stay in town. However, Phillip disagreed and tried to encourage Harley to let go and allow Susan and Jim to go on with their lives. As Phillip and Harley continued to debate about Susan's presence in their lives, Harley learned that she was pregnant. After learning of Harley's pregnancy, a hurt Susan left Springfield to live with Jim but later corresponded with Harley by phone. Later, Susan called Harley asking for help after she shoplifted a dress, telling her she was at a strange bus station outside Springfield. So, Harley has arrived at the bus station outside of Springfield to collect Susan. While there, a creepy man who had been eyeing Susan turned his attention to Harley. The two of them struggled, and Harley managed to kick him in the groin. Meanwhile, Jim arrived and flattened the perpetrator. When Phillip showed up, he and Jim argued about Harley's involvement in Susan's life with Jim complaining that Susan was envious of the life that Phillip and Harley lead. Phillip offered to solve the problem by moving the two of them to Springfield and gave Jim a job at Spaulding. Unfortunately, Harley was forced to mediate between Phillip and Jim who did not get along with Jim even ended up quitting Spaulding to work at Lewis Construction. However, Phillip continued to grate on Jim, and when Jim threatened to leave town, Harley convinced Phillip to give him a reason to stay. So, to please Harley, Phillip bribed Jim to stay (although by now Jim was dating Beth so he was already planning on staying anyway). That summer, Harley finally gave birth to a son, who was named Alan Cooper Spaulding, with Harley deciding to nickname him "Zach" after the lead in Phillip's novel. Things couldn't have been better when Harley and her new family agreed to join her best friend, Cassie Layne, and her new fiancé, Prince Richard for a Thanksgiving celebration in San Cristobel. After the celebration, Phillip, Beth and Jim were forced to leave early for business reasons, unfortunately, their plane crashed into the mountains. All three were o.k., but Jim opted to leave and brave the cold on his own in an attempt to bring help back. Luckily, Beth and Phillip were rescued and returned to Springfield. In early 2000, Lizzie was stricken with leukemia. During the course of Lizzie's illness, Harley tried to be there for Phillip but sensed that something was bothering him. She was especially concerned about his antagonism toward Edmund and demanded to know the reason. When Rick told her that Edmund was blackmailing HIM, Harley, who was told to butt out, took it upon herself to investigate Rick's past. She visited Rick's former mentor Claire Ramsey in Chicago who avoided answering her questions, so Harley broke into Claire's house to find info on Rick and finally uncovered his dark secret: he wasn't really a doctor. That wasn't the only secret Harley would learn. With Lizzie's condition worsening, her only chance of surviving was a bone marrow transfusion from the baby Beth was carrying. When Jim refused to have his child delivered prematurely in order to save Lizzie, Phillip blurted out the horrible truth: the child Beth was carrying wasn't Jim's; it was his! While stranded in San Cristobel, he and Beth were certain they were going to die and made love. Edmund found out and blackmailed Phillip. Though relieved that the child could save Lizzie, Harley refused to forgive Phillip and asked him for a divorce. Though she tried to forgive Philip and give their marriage another try, she was still insecure about his friendship with Beth and decided that she could no longer trust him.
The ending of her marriage devastated Harley and to help her get over the divorce, her family threw her a "divorce party" in 2001. Though upset because Philip was in San Cristobel with Beth, Harley tried to put up a brave front. Then after all the men had passed out, Harley went upstairs and cried. The next thing she knew, Rick was by her side trying to comfort her. Knowing that he understood her pain and needing someone to make her feel special, Harley and Rick kissed then made love. The next morning they woke up and vowed to never acknowledge what happened and tell no one. In the meanwhile, Harley had to contend with the arrival of FBI agent, Gus Aitoro. To help his investigation of Springfield mob families, Gus enlisted the help of the Springfield Police Department, working very closely with Harley. Though recognizing that Gus had a job to do, Harley was very unnerved with Gus's determination in bringing down the Santos family. However, Harley had no choice but to cooperate in the investigation, despite the fact that Gus was having her do questionable things, such as planting a bug in the Bauer home (where Danny and Michelle Santos were living). While listening in, Gus and Harley get a clue that Danny might have been involved in his mother's death. On a hunch, Gus had Carmen Santos's ashes examined and learns that they are the remains of a dog! Armed with this information, Gus accused Danny of faking Carmen's death. However, Gus's interrogations lead Danny to realize that his home was bugged. While Gus was trying to build a case against Danny, it was obvious that the investigation into her friends' lives was making Harley physically ill. Soon, Harley realized that it wasn't Gus making her ill; she was pregnant!! Throughout her pregnancy, the one person whose sensitivity surprised her was Gus's. Soon, despite herself, Harley found herself having feelings for the man. Near the end of her pregnancy, Harley was stopped for speeding in a little town called Brewster's Point. Though she tried to explain to the officer that she was a cop, he didn't believe her and had her thrown into the town's one-person jail. Though she tried to call Rick but somehow there was a mix-up and Gus wound up taking the call. Thoroughly enjoying Harley's predicament, Gus went to Brewster's Point. However, Gus's amusement ended when suddenly Harley started having contractions in the empty police station and Harley informed him that he'd have to deliver her baby! Freaking out, Gus tried to get Harley out of the cell and ended up getting himself locked in the cell with her! Luckily, Rick, who figured out the phone mishap, found them and although he couldn't get in the cell, he talked Gus through the delivery. Despite it being a breech birth, Gus successfully delivered Harley and Rick's baby boy who, with a little help from Gus, Harley named Jude Cooper Bauer. By this time Gus and Harley's attraction to each other had grown, and Gus found it difficult to get Harley out of his mind. Knowing that Harley was considering going into a loveless marriage with Rick, Gus tried to dissuade her and later set her up to see Rick in an embrace with the woman he loved, Mel Boudreau. Unfortunately, Harley learned about the set-up and, after denying that she had any feelings for Gus, she kicked him out of her house. Although Harley, angry at his attempts to arrest Danny, stated that there was no reason for him to stay in town, Gus was finding himself very attracted to Harley. Touched that she'd care so much about him to be angry, he decided to stay. Despite everything she told everyone, including herself, Harley couldn't deny her feelings for Gus. However, Harley was determined to marry Rick so that they could be a family. Meanwhile, Gus became a hero when he saved Danny from a fire at a warehouse. Despite claims that he only did it so that he could see Danny thrown in jail later, Harley was impressed. Soon Gus and Harley were unable to deny their feelings and it wasn't long after that he drew her into a kiss. Although she tried to pass it off as nothing, it was obvious that Harley was smitten.
Meanwhile, Gus decided to make a change and joined the Springfield Police force--where Harley ended up being his supervisor. Harley still kept her distance from Gus though, knowing that her entire family and the fathers of her two youngest children despised him. However, in 2002, while investigating the Tory Granger case, she gave into her passion. This culminated in a hotel room nearly burning down and Harley and Gus being arrested as they made out in a car. After Gus dropped his vendetta against Danny Santos in order to be a better man for Harley, Touched by his efforts to change, Harley opened herself up to Gus. Then Harley's niece, Marina, who thought Gus was abusing Harley, planted herself in his bed and pretended he had seduced her. Harley believed in Gus throughout and he moved into her house. Although Marina eventually confessed her lies, the damage had been done, as Frank had uncovered Gus's juvenile record. Phillip also got a copy, from Alan, and handed the evidence over to Harley, letting her decide for herself. It was then that Gus told Harley that he had been jailed for pushing a man off the roof, but that he was actually taking the blame for a girl, Eden. Harley believed him, but when Phillip learned Gus was still living with her and helping raise children with her, he was livid. He took Zach and planned to file for sole custody. Harley broke into the mansion, only to be caught as she attempted to flee with her son. She was jailed and suspended from the force pending a hearing. When Gus refused to tell Phillip or the police of his covering up for Eden, she threw him out of her house. Finally, Harley decided to go look for Eden herself, believing this was her only real chance to clear her name as well as Gus's. Harley tracked grifter Eden down, and when Eden refused to help clear Gus' name, Harley handcuffed herself to her and dragged her back to Springfield. There Harley learned that Eden was Gus's sister and Gus had taken the blame because he had sworn to his father, Joe, whom he idolized and who was shot and killed by the Santos family when both Gus and Eden were kids, that he would always protect Eden. Harley begged and bullied Eden to tell the truth for once. Unfortunately for Harley, when Eden learned from Phillip that she would probably go to jail if she claimed to have pushed the man off the roof, she not only blamed Gus for this crime, she also falsely accused him of beating her! The arbiter granted full custody to Phillip, and Harley swore vengeance on Eden. She uncovered Eden's dirty, ugly past, but Gus continued to stay loyal to his sister. Harley, disgusted by what Gus had brought into her life, broke up with him in order to have a better chance at seeing Zach.
However, Harley’s heart belonged with Gus and she was unable to stay apart from him. She was still in a custody dispute with Phillip, although she did manage to get her badge back. After Eden took a bullet for Gus in a sting operation Harley had instigated, Harley tried to tolerate Eden's place in their lives. Meanwhile, Eden was sent packing for an extended period by Phillip's Aunt Alex, who had offered to help Harley in her custody battle. Suspicious of Alex's generosity, Harley and Gus became even more suspicious when Alex appeared to have known Joe Augustino and so the pair decided to unearth her secrets. Unknown to the pair, Roy had been blackmailing Alex, but was felled by a stroke in early 2003 and shipped off to a Swiss hospital by Alex before he could tell Gus the full details. Later, while reading through old letters his parents had written around the time of his conception, Gus was devastated to realize that his mother was most likely barren. Though Gus offered to drop the investigation into his past, for fear of angering Alexandra and thus having Harley lose Zach, Harley encouraged him to continue looking into his origins. Not long after, after Zach was injured after being struck by a car, Phillip dropped his custody suit against Harley. Now free to continue their investigation, Harley and Gus learned that his father had walked a beat near the Spaulding mansion. A young woman had been found dead soon after Gus's birth, in a warehouse owned by none other than Miguel Santos, the man he had despised for decades! After threatening and even arresting Alex, Gus and Harley figured out that the young woman had been a recent arrival from Italy who worked as a nanny for a very young Phillip and was fired for being involved with Miguel Santos. Gus got confirmation that she was his mother, and with Harley's help, managed to find a picture of her and visit her grave. As Gus tried to come to terms with losing a mother he had never even known, the mystery of who his biological father was and why he was placed with the Augustino family continued to eat at him. During the course of the investigation, it became likely that Miguel Santos was Gus’s father, an idea that unsettled Gus. On a tip from Eden, Gus looked up Lucia Renaldi, an old friend of the family who stopped coming around when he was still a kid. Told that she was dead, Gus didn't believe it and ending up meeting her. Unfortunately Lucia was no help, simply saying that she knew his birth mother who gave him up to give him a better life. Steeling himself for the possibility that he was a Santos, Gus submitted to a DNA test that came back negative. Confused, he and Harley went over the evidence and realized that all roads led back to Alexandra, who'd been lying to them for weeks. Believing that Alex must be his mother, Gus and Harley confronted Alex only to come face to face with Lucia, aka Regina Tessori. It was then they learned the real truth, Gus was a Spaulding--Alan's son! Apparently, Alan had had an affair with Phillip's nanny, Regina, years earlier and Alex, trying to protect everyone involved gave the child to the Augustinos. Not long after, Gus surprisingly proposed to Harley, and she accepted.
Months later, Harley received a surprise visit from Alan who offered to finance Harley's own detective agency. Though knowing Alan was only being nice to her to ingratiate himself with Gus, Harley liked the idea of doing something useful and productive and so she approached Blake and Mel with the idea of opening a detective agency/protection/legal aid service. The Angels first case happened not long after when Brenda Jensen asked them to locate missing daughter, Lori, a Spaulding employee who had disappeared. Though Mrs. Jensen had gone to the police, they refused to do anything because enough time hadn't elapsed for the adult Lori to be declared missing. Soon the investigation focused on the man Lori had been having an affair with, her boss Brad Green. Though Mrs. Jensen said Lori was going to end the affair with the married Brad, he claimed that he was ending the affair with her. During the investigation, Harley spun 3 theories 1) Lori threatened to tell Brad's wife, Marie, about the affair and Brad killed her to keep or quiet 2) Brad kidnapped Lori and snuck her away to keep her quiet or 3) Lori left town of her on accord, possibly to frame Brad. In the course of the investigation, Brad was looking guilty of murder. Finally the police declared Lori a missing person but to Gus's annoyance, Mrs. Jensen still retained Harley. Though the situation with Lori was tense, Gus and Harley made a bet on who would find her first. However, they kept blocking each other's progress, such as when after speaking to Harley about her knowledge of Brad's affair, Marie refused to talk to the police at all. However, the situation grew more serious when Gus couldn't locate Harley after she'd gone to question Brad. Convinced she was in danger, Gus tried to locate her, after finally convincing Blake that this wasn't about the bet--Harley could be in danger. Finding her with Brad on his boat, Gus made a move to arrest him for kidnapping. However, to his surprise, Harley maintained that while Brad did drag her to the boat, he was simply a desperate man who panicked; she didn't think he was a killer. On a hunch, Harley and Gus came up with a plan to get to the truth. Enlisting the help of Mrs. Jensen, they put out information stating that she'd had a severe heart attack. As they suspected, Lori came back to town and was forced to confess that she and Marie arranged her disappearance to get money out of Brad. Not long after, Jeffrey "kidnapped" Harley in order to convince her to work for him by telling Harley that the father of one of her children could be in trouble. Realizing he was talking about Phillip, Harley listened as Jeffrey warned her that something was wrong at Spaulding Enterprises and he needed her help in finding out what it was. Instructed to keep her investigation from Gus, in 2004, Harley started investigating Spaulding, specifically Spaulding's head of the Pharmaceutical Division, Brad Green. Playing off of Brad's tremendous ego, Harley flirted with him to find out something to take to Jeffrey. Although she gained Brad's trust by "convincing" Jeffrey to drop the charges against Brad's wife, Marie, instead of getting any useful information from Brad, all she got was frustration at having to fend off his sexual advances. It also got her into trouble with Marie who warned Harley to stay away from her husband. When Harley's investigation was becoming fruitless, Jeffrey approached her with the news that he had an inside informant at Spaulding--Gus! To Harley's shock, Gus was at Spaulding investigating how shipments of a drug called Antimonius was being sold on the black market.
The investigation into Antimonious was going into high gear with Harley trailing Brad, Gus hitting the streets, and Danny Santos infiltrating to mob. Although an undercover Gus was able to locate a dealer for Delirium and thereby secure a shipment, the investigation was hampered by Eden herself! Being forced into working for Salerno one last time, she got the drugs to him but then angrily flushed them down the toilet. Now an enemy of Salerno, the DA's office was forced to fake Eden's death and she entered the witness protection program, leaving Springfield forever. Weeks later, Gus and the feds got another chance to nab Salerno and his supplier at Spaulding. That summer, the sting went down and the mob and Brad Green went down for dealing in drugs. Unfortunately, Harley felt justice was not served since Brad died of a heart attack the night he was arrested, leaving no one accountable for what happened, his last words merely being "God free." However, like Harley, Frank had doubts that Brad was working alone and he continued to investigate the case. Unfortunately, in the middle of the investigation, Frank found himself under scrutiny by Internal Affairs when someone phoned in a tip stating that he was dirty! Although Ross refused to believe the charge, there was evidence in Frank's briefcase that showed he was Brad Green's accomplice! With no other choice, Ross was forced to suspend Frank while Gus was made Acting Chief of Police. Despite all this turmoil in the Cooper family, Harley and Gus's wedding plans went on. Then the evening before their wedding, Harley was shocked when Frank's fiancée, Darcy, accidentally called Alexandra "Mrs. Godfrey." Suddenly, Harley realized that in his last breath, Brad was trying to implicate Alex! As she railed at Alexandra for her lies and deception, to the shock of both women, Gus stepped in and demanded that Harley back off his family. Wanting to give Gus, whom she was convinced knew nothing about Alex, the wedding he deserved, Harley agreed, but later demanded that Alexandra break up with Buzz to spare him the pain she’ll undoubtedly cause him once he learned the truth. Although Alex tried to dump Buzz, she didn't go through with it. Finally, the day of the wedding, Frank would stumble across a security tape that proved that not only was Alexandra Brad's accomplice, but Gus knew about it since the evening of Brad's death. Gus begged her for forgiveness but Harley would hear none of it and called off the wedding.
Weeks later, still reeling from Gus's betrayal, Harley was shocked to learn that Phillip was planning to demolish Company! Desperate to stop Phillip, Harley went to the one Spaulding she thought would help her--Gus. Soon, the two got close and Harley admitted that she still loved him and stated that if he disowned his family, they could have a future. However, Gus was unwilling to forsake the only family he had left and refused. With his refusal, Harley returned his ring and the pair went their separate ways. Later, Harley was incredulous to learn that he was working as legal counsel (thus helping Phillip to destroy Company), Gus tried to reassure Harley that although he couldn't stop Phillip, he could stall the proceedings in order to give the Coopers more time to stop him. Meanwhile, due to all of this stress, Buzz suffered a heart attack and while being wheeled into surgery asked Harley to forgive Gus. Although Harley agreed, to Gus's disappointment, she only said it to make her father feel better. As Buzz was wheeled into surgery, Harley was disappointed to learn that Gus had slipped away to attend to Spaulding business (unaware that he was trying to stop Company's immediate destruction).
Now finished with the Spauldings, Harley still had to deal with Phillip and knowing that Bill Lewis was out to knock down the powerful Spaulding family, she offered to help. She and Bill then concocted an audacious plan that would get her on the inside track at Spaulding. Disguising herself as a middle aged, frumpy woman (complete with wig & fake nose) named Ruth Karloff, Harley and Bill set up a scene in front of Phillip where he'd see Bill pleading with his assistant "Ruth" to stay on the job. As expected, "Ruth's" directness impressed Phillip and he hired her as his own assistant. Over the course of several weeks, "Ruth" made herself indispensable to Phillip, while her unfailing loyalty helped Phillip feel secure. Although she almost succeeded in breaking into Phillip's briefcase to get a look at his files, she was almost caught by Phillip. Luckily, she was able to come up with a good excuse as to how Phillip's briefcase broke and he remained oblivious. Although Harley unknowingly sent out a fax speeding up Company's destruction, thankfully, Phillip’s plans were foiled when it was discovered that the area was a nesting place for a rare bird. Angry that he'd lost, Phillip vindictively tore down Harley's house. Furious, Harley confronted Phillip who told her that Gus was aware of what he'd done. Meanwhile, Phillip's malice towards the Coopers wasn't lost on Zach, who distanced himself from Phillip. Although the Coopers denied it, Phillip was certain that they were poisoning Zach's mind against him. Soon after, while posing as Ruth at the Spaulding mansion, Harley was spotted by Zach who seemed to recognize her! Luckily, she got him to keep her secret while Phillip was there. That same evening, Harley snatched Zach and left town! Days later, Harley returned and appear to call a truce with Phillip. However, it was just a ruse for Phillip to let his guard down so she could get her revenge. In the meantime, Phillip was becoming paranoid that someone was conspiring against him and demanded that Gus find out who the mole was. Unfortunately for Harley, the first on Gus's list was Ruth! Fortunately, "Ruth's" tendency to avoid eye contact kept Gus from figuring out who she was, though it did make him suspicious of her. In the meantime, Gus was becoming more and more suspicious of Ruth, especially after all of her references seemed fake. While Gus was becoming concerned that the mole was actually Ruth, Phillip expressed his doubts. Unfortunately, when "Ruth" started asking questions to both Lizzie and Phillip, he quickly realized that Gus was right and decided that Ruth needed to be neutralized to protect Lizzie who unbeknownst to everyone else was involved in a hit and run. Phillip arranged for a man to run "Ruth" down! Luckily for Harley, Gus saved her life and in the process, discovered that Harley was Ruth! To her surprise, Gus agreed to keep her secret. Later, Harley, as Ruth, confronted Phillip about her nearly fatal accident. In front of Gus, she threatened to reveal all if Phillip didn’t do what she demanded - put her on top at Spaulding Enterprises. Although Gus himself tried to get Phillip to confess, he had no success. Very soon after, Harley and Gus would learn that Lizzie, not Phillip, was guilty of the hit and run. That same day, Harley received a notice to meet Phillip at the mansion only to find herself alone with Olivia and Beth. Finally, Phillip showed up and apologized to the women for all the pain he'd caused and stated that he was calling a truce. He then left, leaving the woman skeptical as to Phillip's sincerity. That same day, the women were shocked when they discovered that Phillip had made off with all of his children! Later, Phillip asked several people to meet him at Company at 9pm, telling each person that if they came, and told no one else of the meeting, their children would be returned to them. At 9pm, the various citizens of Springfield converged at Company to find Phillip shot! Although he was rushed to the hospital, it was too late and Phillip was declared dead. But Gus was concerned because one person was not there at the scene--Harley! That same night, Harley, dressed as Ruth, came to Company. However, she was dazed, disheveled, and apparently had been in a scuffle. Having no memory of that night, all she could remember was a scuffle with Phillip and a gun. After convincing Harley to keep quiet, Gus was able to locate the missing children. For days, Harley was consumed with the thought that she killed Phillip, especially when she, without trying, found the gun at Company. Distraught, Harley was sure she'd killed her son's father until Gus walked her through that night by asking about Company's security system. Suspecting that Buzz killed Phillip, Harley decided to protect her father. Despite Gus's misgivings, Harley came up with a plan to protect Buzz---frame "Ruth" for Phillip's murder. Harley them came up with the plan to, disguised as Ruth, tape a confession and then stage a suicide. Afraid of what could go wrong, Gus refused to help her. Unfortunately, Gus was correct and things went horribly wrong. After learning from Frank that Ruth was spotted on the bridge. Gus rushed to the scene. At the same time, Frank arrived, yelled for "Ruth" to surrender. Panicked, Harley tried to run. Despite Gus's pleas for Frank not to fire, Frank pulled out his gun and fired a warning shot. Suddenly, Harley lost her footing and went over the bridge. As the police searched for Ruth on the rocks below the bridge, Gus found Harley hidden on a beam under the bridge. Harley pleaded with Gus to help cover for her and say he saw the body washed away by the current. Days later, on Christmas, Gus and Harley unexpectedly shared a kiss while putting Zach's star atop the tree at Christmas. Unfortunately, the moment was broken, when Frank came in to arrest Harley--he recognized her on "Ruth's videotape. As Gus passionately defended her, Harley agreed to go down to the station with Frank. After kissing her again, Gus swore he'd find the real killer.
Throughout the early part of 2005, Gus worked relentlessly in proving Harley's innocence. Although Jeffrey tried to offer Harley a deal--a lesser sentence if she pled guilty, Gus continually refused to let her accept it. Gus tried, and failed, to find other viable suspects. Finally when Harley's pre-trial hearing went poorly, Harley tried to convince Gus to take a day off from her case and then used the down time to try and prepare her family for life after she was sent away to jail. However, Gus realized what she was doing and refused to give up on her. Later, Gus and Harley figured out the discrepancy in Lizzie and Beth’s stories and discovered that Lizzie was missing an alibi for the night of the murder. As her pre-trial was approaching, Buzz, who was also worried Harley could be guilty, offered to fly her and the boys out of Springfield to escape prosecution. . Trying to come to terms with her future, Harley moved into the Springfield Inn in order to protect Zach from the media circus that had been hounding her. . At the same time Gus was trying to prove she was innocent, Harley kept having doubts and wondered if she actually did kill Phillip. Gus continually refused to acknowledge the mere possibility, even going as far as to interrupt a hypnosis session when Harley was about to have a memory breakthrough. Even though Harley was all set to say goodbye to her life, Gus refused to let her give up on her future. Unfortunately, Harley was found guilty. Although he talked about making plans to appeal, Gus had worked himself so feverishly over the course of the previous months that he suddenly collapsed from a bleeding ulcer! Although he was encouraged to stay in the hospital, he refused and kept on with his intention to free Harley, even though she tried to order him to get some rest. Determined to be near the woman he loved, Gus bought an apartment right next to the prison, a prospect that horrified Harley since she wanted him to get on with his life. Despite favorable testimony from Alan (under duress from Gus), Harley was sentenced to 25 years. Later, Gus pulled some strings and came to visit Harley and while sharing a painful good-bye, she realized the attention she is attracting. Not wanting anyone else to think she got special treatment, Gus and Harley staged a fight and he left her, heartbroken.
Now incarcerated, Harley met her new cellmate, Lena, and the warden--Mallet! Alone, Mallet tried to apologize for the pain he caused her. But, Harley wasn't interested and blasted him for cheating on her all those years ago. After unreasonably blaming him for the situation she was in, Harley began to break down as he wrapped her in his arms to try and comfort her. Later, Harley faced the threat from her fellow inmates but was saved by Lena. Harley and Lena began a tentative friendship while Mallet offered her the cushy new detail of being assigned to his office. Resentful of his kindness towards her, Harley accused him of applying for the new warden job to be near him. However, he denied it, citing he had no ulterior motive for getting the job. He nonetheless wanted to make her life easier and allowed her to use his private phone and go out on his balcony (both one-time deals). It was out on the balcony that Harley had her first real memory of the night Phillip was killed--she smelled jasmine that night! Although believing that Harley should make the best of her life now instead of hoping for an early release that might not ever happen, Mallet helped to obtain perfume samples for Harley to see if she did indeed smell perfume. Unfortunately, that lead to a dead end and Harley got more bad news when Buzz informed her that Gus was missing. Fearful that he was in grave danger, Harley tried to talk her father into breaking her out of jail but he refused. Desperate, she tried to seduce Mallet in an effort to have him let her out for the day, but he quickly saw through her attempt. Unbeknownst to both of them, Alan had paid a guard in the prison designed to make Harley's life hell and Harley was put in danger when Mallet fired a guard that was on Alan’s payroll. The other guards sought payback and targeted Harley. Just when things were about to get ugly, Mallet came to her rescue. Harley though suffered a blow to the head and Mallet took her back to his office to have her checked out and the two grew closer. Just then, Gus, fearing for Harley's safety, arrived at the prison. Meanwhile, Mallet received orders to transfer Harley to the harshest correctional facility, otherwise known as Hell House. Mallet split up the reunion between Gus and Harley with the news of the transfer. While Gus set off with his latest lead (Olivia), Mallet decided to manipulate the system to keep Harley in Springfield. Later, while holed up in Mallet’s office, the two battled over their breakup and Mallet revealed that he wrote Harley countless letters, apologizing and trying to make up for the pain he caused her. Stunned, Harley figured out that Frank must have intercepted the letters but couldn't find it in herself to be angry since she knew he was just trying to protect her. Soon after this exchange, Mallet was called away to a meeting about the transfer, while ,at the same time, Gus got a lead to Olivia's whereabouts. Now alone, the stage was set for Harley's transfer! Luckily, Mallet and Gus figured out the set-up and Mallet arrived at the prison in the nick of time and got Harley off the bus. Later, Harley overheard Lena calling Alan and realized that Lena had been spying on her all along! Harley confronted Lena who admitted that Alan was threatening her daughter and asked for Harley’s forgiveness but an upset Harley wouldn’t give it. Mallet returned and things suddenly went from bad to worse when the SWAT team began to close in. The SWAT team threw a tear gas grenade into the office, prompting Mallet to ask Harley to run away with him. Although doubtful, Harley accepted the offer. When they reached the yard, Harley saw Lena on the transfer bus and learned she was taking Harley’s place. Harley refused to let Lena suffer for her, even though Lena betrayed her. Harley then thanked Mallet for all he was willing to sacrifice and let him know they were now even, right before knocking him out cold. She then got aboard the bus and tried to get Lena to leave when suddenly, the door closed. Harley and Lena were on their way to Hell House! Just when things looked hopeless, the bus suddenly flipped over and caught on fire leaving her and Lena trapped. Just when it seemed as if they were doomed, Gus (who had spotted the transfer bus on the road) appeared and pulled Harley to safety. The pair then struggled to free Lena but it was too late and the woman died in Harley's arms. Harley and Gus now had the perfect opportunity to escape, yet Mallet found them and stood in their way. Mallet and Gus each made a case for why he was the one to best protect Harley in the wake of her prison escape. But Harley’s heart belonged to Gus and Mallet was forced to let her go, sacrificing himself to the authorities to give them time to escape. After buying a vendor's ice cream truck for transportation, Gus and Harley resolved to find the person who had been sending Gus notes about Phillip's murder. Knowing the notes were coming from New York, Gus and Harley fled there.
. Realizing that the mystery man who may know who killed Phillip was staying somewhere near the Brooklyn Bridge, they finally located his hotel. Unfortunately, the mystery man was out. To their luck, the saw the man go in and then quickly donned disguises to slip in and find out what room he was in. Unfortunately, Alan (who both were aware put a bounty on Harley's head) sent his henchman, Sebastian, to New York to permanently silence the man, Dr. Wallace. Unfortunately, just as Gus and Harley arrived at Wallace's room, Sebastian pulled the fire alarm as a diversion to get to Wallace and Harley and Gus barely got away without being seen. Luckily that same night, Harley and Gus saw Wallace once again outside the Brooklyn hotel and rushed out to confront him. Unfortunately, just as Wallace was about to reveal the identity of Phillip's real killer, a cab, driven by Sebastian, came out of nowhere and ran Wallace down. Wallace was rushed to the hospital but remained comatose. Realizing that they may have lost their only chance to learn the truth, Gus tried to persuade Harley to just take the boys and go on the lam with him. But Harley wasn't ready to give up hope yet and she and cautiously returned to the hospital to find Dr. Wallace awake. When they finally got a moment alone with him, Gus made an emotional appeal for Wallace to help Harley clear her name. Unfortunately, before Wallace could reveal what he knows, the police showed up. Luckily, the police didn't recognize the couple--they only wanted their statements about the hit and run. Unfortunately, by the time the pair went back into Wallace's room, the man was dead. Later, after making love on the closed set, Harley receives a call Mallet warning her that Alan knew where she was. But, Mallet’s warnings seemingly came too late. Harley and Gus heard noises and realized that the police were closing in on them. After deciding to split up, Harley heard a gunshot and rushed back to Gus. She found him lying in a pool of blood, shot by none other than Mallet. Though she was desperate to save him, Mallet managed to pull her away, leaving Gus in the care of a NYPD cop. Mallet then took Harley to a seedy New York hotel room where she angrily blamed him for shooting Gus deliberately. Mallet tried to explain but Harley didn't him the chance until he finally blurted out that Gus was alive! At the same time, a very much alive Gus overpowered the cop watching him and made his getaway as Mallet revealed to Harley the plan he and Gus came up with to distract the police and give Harley a chance to escape. Unfortunately, Sebastian discovered where Gus was and called the Springfield police. As Gus was being carted away by Frank, Mallet got a lucky break when he found a note in Wallace's possessions that named Phillip's killer--Alan!
Days later, obvious as to what Mallet and Harley found, Gus ran into an increasingly paranoid Alan at Company. Incredulous, Harley set a trap for Alan by anonymously asking him to meet her at Company. Knowing he'd been found out, Alan brought a gun to the meeting and waited. The first person he saw was Gus and, assuming that Gus knew the truth, Alan had a gun and appeared on the brink of silencing Gus the same way he silenced Phillip. But, Harley arrived and explained that she was the one who uncovered the truth. Alan stonewalled but Harley tricked him into confessing. Outraged and completely over the edge, Alan raised his gun, determined to keep the truth of what happened to Phillip a secret. Luckily, at this moment, Mallet arrived with gun in hand and stopped Alan. Trapped, Alan tried to recant his confession, but was shocked when Lizzie, Alex, Beth, Rick, Bill and Olivia, who were all summoned by Harley, appeared and revealed that they heard Alan’s admission. Though Alan tried to weasel out of it, Alex stepped forward and revealed that she had physical evidence that Alan shot Phillip. With Alexandra's testimony, Harley was cleared of all charges and Alan was sent to jail. Their ordeal finally over, Gus proposed marriage again and Harley accepted. Later, Alan shocked Gus and Harley by blurting out that Phillip was alive. Alan faked his death! Although Gus didn't believe Alan's claim that a mentally disturbed Phillip was living out his life in an abandoned warehouse, Harley wasn't so sure. Against Gus's wishes, Harley spoke with Alan and agreed to get him released from jail if he showed her where Phillip was. Unfortunately for Alan, when he took Harley, Mallet (who had returned to the Springfield PD) and Frank to the warehouse, Phillip was nowhere to be found. Believing that Alan was either crazy or just manipulating Harley, Gus tried to convince her to focus on their wedding and not investigate Alan's claim. However, stubborn as ever, Harley wouldn't listen and enlisted Mallet's help in helping her prove Phillip was alive. Doing some investigating, Mallet learned that Alan did have a medical staff on his payroll, but that wasn't proof that Phillip was alive. Thinking there was just one option, Harley tried to get Lizzie's permission to exhume Phillip's body but the teen refused. Harley's actions weren't lost on Gus and after learning that she'd asked Lizzie permission about exhuming Phillip's body, Gus suspected that Harley would do it without permission. It turned out he was right. When he got to the cemetery, Harley and Mallet had been trying to get into the crypt before Mallet was knocked unconscious. After arguing with her about the dangers of grave-robbing, Gus, upset and afraid for her safety, asked Harley to make their upcoming wedding s priority over Phillip’s case. But before marrying Harley, Gus had to make sure her fears about Harley were put to rest and Gus tricked Alan into signing an exhumation order for Phillip's grave. The day of the wedding, Rick performed the exhumation and informed Harley that Phillip was indeed dead.
Meanwhile, Gus was preparing to take over at Spaulding Enterprises. However, on the day of the stockholder's meeting to vote him in as CEO, Gus suddenly froze and ran out. Harley quickly finished his speech and got a most unexpected result: the board was so impressed; they elected her to be the new CEO. When Gus encouraged Harley to take the Spaulding CEO job, she pushed him to go after his badge, knowing it is what he really wanted. Harley then met with Alan who told her that she would ultimately fail in trying to run Spaulding. Weeks later, Blake created a scandal by publishing a thinly disguised book about Harley and Mallet's relationship. Although Gus tried to act like he didn't care, it was obvious that he was concerned about any lingering feelings Harley might have for Mallet. Harley made it clear to Mallet that she did not share the thoughts and emotions of Blake’s heroine, "Marley". Later, after reading the book, Gus asked Harley if she slept with Mallet in the prison. Harley said no, but admitted that she and Mallet made peace with each other while they were in prison, leaving Gus unsettled. Meanwhile, several weeks later, Gus and Harley became aware that she was being set up to take a fall at Spaulding. Figuring that Alan was working, from the outside, to give Harley faulty accounting information, the pair foiled Alan's plan by getting the correct information. Later, Gus confronted Harley about a tape he'd seen of Harley and Mallet kissing while they were in prison. Harley tried to assure Gus that she loved on him, but despite himself, he remained unsettled. Later, Harley was thrilled when a newly-divorced Alan-Michael paid her a surprise visit. Although Harley thought he was returning to the company, Alan-Michael assured her that he had no intention of working at Spaulding again--all he wanted to do was live the carefree life. Meanwhile, Harley was rattled when Gus tried to force a double date with Harley, Dinah and Mallet and admitted to a reluctant Harley he was doing it because he felt Mallet wouldn’t give up on Harley unless he had someone else to focus his attention on.. By now Gus and Harley realized that Beth was working with Alan to oust Harley and worked out a plan to eliminate the threat. However Harley realized she needed help and asked Alan-Michael to return to the company in an effort to watch her back. Meanwhile, after weeks of Gus and Harley staging arguments, Beth finally took the bait and offered Gus a deal - help her get Harley out of Spaulding and save his marriage as a result. The trap was finally set at the Spaulding Christmas party when Beth privately told Gus to issue Harley and ultimatum--the company or him. The entire conversation, including Beth's desire to get rid of Harley and grab power for herself, was played for everyone in the room to hear and Harley promptly fired Beth. Days later, Gus was unnerved to hear that Alan was going to be released from the mental hospital. At year's end, Alan was released from the mental hospital and Harley found a letter from Gus telling her goodbye--he was leaving to take care of Alan once and for all.
In 2006, Harley got a call from the medical examiner asking her to identify a body that could be Gus's, but to her relief, it wasn't. Meanwhile, using the limo's GPS device, she and Mallet were able to track the limo which had crashed but abandoned. Due to a violent snowstorm the search had be postponed. Reeling from the realization that Gus could be dead, Harley broke down and Mallet comforted her. When the local police officer announced he was calling his men off the case since there was no proof of any foul play, Harley went ballistic. Later the pair thought they found Gus when they tracked his cell phone but, unfortunately, the cell phone (and Gus's wallet) was in the possession of a drifter who'd stolen them from a "lifeless" man. Meanwhile the FBI arrived to take over the case. Harley at first resisted, then went home, where she stubbornly insisted that Gus would be found safe and sound - despite her own private fears that Alan killed Gus, or vice versa. As time went by, things were looking especially bleak although Harley refused to believe that Gus would not return. Unfortunately, her faith was shattered when police discovered Gus's coat and wedding ring in the frozen river where the limo had crashed. Although there were no bodies, the consensus seemed to be that both Alan and Gus had drowned. Distraught, Harley went to a bar and got drunk and almost got seduced by a man she thought was Gus until Mallet stopped her. Not wanting her kids to see her drunk, Mallet took her to a motel and got her sobered up. Devastated, Harley raged against Gus for breaking his promise to always be there for her. Mallet comforted her and, before either one of them could fully think it through, they made love. Meanwhile, on Valentine's Day, Marina shocked Harley by informing her that Harley had made a huge error at Spaulding. Although Alan-Michael fixed it before too much damage was done, it could have cost the company millions of dollars. Convinced by Marina that she should take a break in order to grieve, Harley stepped aside and, knowing Alan-Michael wanted nothing to do with the company, named Dinah CEO of Spaulding. Harley then decided that in honor of Gus, she should return to the force and requested Mallet as her partner. Although neither Frank nor Mallet thought this was a very good idea, Dinah convinced both men it was a good plan since Mallet needed a partner anyway. Harley then asked Frank to pile on the caseload as heavy as he liked, as long as he also let her handle Gus’s case. The FBI gave up on finding her husband, but now that Harley had her badge back, she intended to do just that. Afterwards, she and Mallet became slightly suspicious when they found Beth at the crash scene but dismissed it. Meanwhile, one day Harley came across a very agitated Beth at Company. Harley’s suspicions grew even stronger when a key to a cottage fell out of Beth's purse. Harley quickly theorized there was a connection between Beth and Gus, Mallet agreed and the two tailed Beth to an old cottage where they found Alan! Alan informed the pair although he survived the crash and has been convalescing at the cabin, Gus fell through the ice after the crash and perished. Although Harley didn't believe it at first, she was forced to accept it. Devastated again, Harley and Mallet, alone at the cabin since Beth took Alan home, kissed but this time Harley broke it off. It was then that they found a "G" carved in the cottage floor. Alan explained that he'd carved it as a memorial to his son, but Harley wasn't sure she believed it. Later, in Springfield, Harley tried to convince Beth to tell her what really happened to Gus, but Beth refused. At that moment, Alan entered the room and Harley was able to swipe his cell phone after overhearing him answer a call and quickly told the caller he'd call back. On a hunch, Harley had Marina trace the number which took her to a mental hospital. There, after disarming a guard, Harley came face to face with Gus! Gus and Harley’s tearful reunion at the asylum was cut short by a guard with orders from Alan to shoot on sight. Luckily, Gus and Harley managed to overcome the guard and escape. Finally reunited, Gus told Harley that he'd kidnapped Alan on New Year's Eve with the intention of forcing him to sign a confession that he'd willfully murdered Phillip. The limo crashed and the pair was locked up for over two months by none other than Beth. Gus then made a deal with Alan--if Alan left Harley alone; Gus wouldn't press charges against Beth (now pregnant with Alan's child) for kidnapping. Although Alan could have pressed charges against Gus for kidnapping also, he realized they were at a stalemate and agreed. Harley then decided to step down permanently as CEO and named Dinah as her replacement.
Meanwhile, Marina learned that Alan-Michael was holding a vote of the board to oust Dinah out of Spaulding, and make himself CEO. Harley got there in time though and announced that she was not stepping down; which meant there would be no vote. She then promptly fired Alan-Michael. Very soon after, Springfield was rocked with the news that Ross’s plane had gone down and , with no bodies found, the FAA ruled there were no survivors. Soon after, Harley told Dinah, in light of Ross’s death, she should take some time off; Harley already hired a replacement. Meanwhile, Gus’s imprisonment left him with an injured leg and an addiction to pain medication. Gus's pill-popping didn't go unnoticed by Dinah who promptly informed Harley. Off Dinah’s suggestion, Harley decided to stay home and look after Gus so Dinah can make Harley’s upcoming speech at the policeman’s Ball. At the last minute though, Harley decided to give the speech via video. Gus's reliance on the pills was becoming more and more noticeable, even though he kept insisting to Harley that he didn't have a problem. However, it was clearly getting to Gus. In the meantime, Harley dragged Gus to see Rick and check out his bum leg. Gus declared that the whole thing was a set-up to cross-examine him about the pain pills and that his own wife didn’t trust him! Again, Gus insisted that he didn’t have a problem, but Harley wasn’t convinced. Meanwhile, Dinah approached Harley asking her let her return to work. Harley refused and fed up, Dinah threw her affair with Mallet in her face. Just then, there came word that Gus and Mallet were involved in a shoot-out. Fortunately, both men were fine, with Mallet only being shot in the shoulder. Realizing Gus was high, Harley had him checked into rehab. A day later, Gus checked himself out and told Harley he'd get help--just not there. He wanted to be with her at the cabin where he was held. With Harley's help, Gus was able to get through his withdrawal symptoms, but then she was suddenly called away on an emergency. At the end, though, Gus came out healthier for it and he and Harley returned home to their kids. Throughout all this, the police had ruled that Ross’s plane might not have gone done by accident. The prime suspect was Alan-Michael whom the police suspected had the plane sabotaged. Despite Mallet's concerns, Dinah refused to stay out of the investigation and was determined to nail Alan-Michael. Later, Gus, Harley and Mallet learned that Dinah disappeared—so had Mallet’s gun. Realizing that she'd gone to a resort in San Gabriel after Alan-Michael, the group rushed there to find her before she did something rash. There, Gus and Harley snooped around Ross's suite and found a private investigator's business card (the same P.I. who died in the crash with Ross). After having called the number and spoken with the P.I.'s partner, they received a fax about the case she was working on. The fax contained a photo of Phillip! Apparently, Alan's original statement was correct--Phillip was alive. Harley guessed that Ross found out Phillip was alive, and was trying to find him to convince him to come home when somebody stopped him. Gus and Harley then learned Alan and Beth have come down to San Gabriel and decide to confront them. Alan stated that Phillip was alive and reminded them that he told everyone that over a year ago. However, he stated that he hadn't heard from Phillip since the winter he disappeared from the warehouse and so had nothing to do with Ross's plane going down. At that point, Rick arrived and confessed that he was the one, at Phillip's request, who made sure Ross’s plane was sabotaged. He admitted that the plane was never meant to take off; the crash was never meant to happen. He then confessed that he lied last year when he stated that he exhumed Phillip's body. Afterwards, Mallet confessed that he too knew Phillip was alive since the day of her wedding but kept quiet since he wanted her to be happy.. A few days later, Harley realized Gus had gone back to the pills. When she confronted him about being stoned, he informed her that he knew about her and Mallet! Harley tried to get Gus to see that in her time of grief, she needed someone. Gus demanded to know if Harley could have slept with anyone, or did it have to be Mallet? Harley admitted she needed Mallet. Their fight woke up Zach and as Harley went to put her son to bed, Gus walked out. Knowing Gus couldn’t be on the force in his condition, Harley placed a call to Frank who suspended him. That day, Gus came upon Harley on Main Street and lit into her for contacting Frank. As Harley tried to convince him that he was in no condition to be on the force and needed help, he accused her of being concerned about Mallet, not him. As the weeks went by, Gus continually refused Harley’s help. Fed up with him using her affair as an excuse, Harley told him he was on own; she was leaving town with the kids. While she was gone, Gus got his act together. Weeks later, Harley slipped into town and watched Gus from a distance to make sure he was alright. It didn’t take long to realize that he was and they reunited at the site of the home that he built for her.
Afterwards, Harley resigned from Spaulding and named a surprising person as CEO—Alan-Michael. She just had two conditions: 1) some of the company legacy goes to Zach and 2) Dinah stays. Alan-Michael agreed while Dinah was surprisingly fine with the decision. Afterwards, Harley told Gus that she was returning to the police force and wanted to partner with him. Gus supported her, however, when Harley talked to Mallet about it, she saw Gus shaking his head as if to tell Mallet he didn’t want to partner with Harley. When Harley grilled Gus about his change of heart, thinking that perhaps he suspected she wanted to keep an eye on him. Gus assured her that wasn't it; he was just afraid he’d get too used to her. However, due to injuries Mallet incurred in the Beacon fire, Gus was forced to work with his wife. Soon after, while raiding a drug dealer’s apartment, Gus and Harley found an abandoned baby. Since the police department was swamped, they brought the baby home for night. The whole family fell in love with the little girl, whom they called Gracie. The next day, the baby (whose name was Sydney) was turned over to her grandmother. Spending time with Gracie got both Gus and Harley thinking about parenthood and they decided to try having a baby of their own. Although there were obstacles, namely friends and family who kept barging in talking about their problems, Harley and Gus were elated when finally became pregnant. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm. In the meantime, Gus and Harley learned that Sydney's grandmother had died and the baby was to placed in foster care. Before the child could be placed in foster care, though, she was kidnapped from the police station. Immediately after, Gus began working very long hours. Or so he told Harley—according to Mallet, Gus hadn’t. Later, Gus shocked Harley with the news that he had been hiding Sydney. He then went on to confess that according to the fertility specialist he couldn't have children. He then suggested that they could adopt the girl. Appalled at the kidnapping, Harley was still intrigued. However, there was now a kidnapping charge to contend with. So Harley and Gus went on Dinah's new TV show "Light of Springfield" and told their story hoping the authorities would take pity on them. It worked; the charges were dropped and the Aitoros were named Sydney's legal guardians. In 2007, Gus and Harley prepared for the custody hearing with help from their attorney, Jeffrey. When Jeffrey explained that he’d need to get a statement from Susan, Harley’s first-born. Harley left a message for her, and then admitted to Gus that she’d been out of touch with her. Gus suggested they pay a surprise visit to Susan at school. However, when they arrived, Susan wasn’t in her dorm room. Not only that, but apparently she was going by Daisy now and was not the sweet, innocent girl that Harley thought. Daisy’s friend suggested that she might be with a boy named Ryan, who in turn told the pair that Daisy hung out with older guys and made periodic visits to Springfield. Harley was devastated to learn that Daisy had made several visits to town, to see Reva, not her. Harley e-mailed Daisy asking her to come home ASAP. A few weeks later, Harley was shocked to see Daisy in Springfield. Daisy claimed that she’d just arrived for her cousin Tammy’s funeral. In the meantime, the man who struck Tammy with his car, Mark Gillespie, was apprehended. Questioned by Harley about drugs found in his car, Gillespie claimed they belonged to his girlfriend. Later, Harley found Daisy in Gillespie’s room. Daisy stated she was there to confront Gillespie in his role in Tammy’s death and even slapped him in Harley’s presence. After Harley got an upset Daisy out of there, Daisy fainted by quickly recovered. Finally, the day of the custody hearing finally arrived. Though Daisy was uneasy about testifying, Harley told her it was necessary and tried to assure her that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, the Driscoll’s attorney, Donovan, uncovered evidence linking Daisy to Gillespie. On the witness stand, Daisy first tried to deny knowing him and then was forced to admit she was Gillespie’s girlfriend.. Having caught her in a lie, Donovan tried to paint Daisy as a junkie and even suggested that she may have been driving the car that struck Tammy. Suddenly, Gus got up and stated that he had proof that Daisy was not driving. He then confessed to finding her at the scene strung out in the back seat. While court was in recess, Harley blasted Gus for keeping this from her; Gus defended himself by stating that he was only trying to protect Daisy. After expressing concerns that Harley’s absentee parenting had an adverse affect on Daisy, the judge called it a day. Though Harley denied it, Daisy was certain she blamed her for losing Sydney and decided to make sure the Aitoros got their daughter by propositioning Donovan. After securing a fake ID, Daisy got into Outskirts and flirtatiously told Donovan she’d do whatever it took to help Harley get Sydney. Donovan agreed to meet her in his room. In the meantime, Harley learned that Daisy had not gone back to boarding school like she had thought and went looking for her. Harley went to Outskirts and ended up finding Daisy in Donovan’s room ready to seduce Donovan. At that point, custody of Sydney was awarded to the Driscolls and Harley decided to enroll Daisy in school in Springfield.
Unfortunately, Daisy continued to clash with an overeager Harley who continued to do things that infuriated Daisy—such as when she invited a guy (Bobby) to Daisy’s prom. At the same time, Daisy continued to bond with Gus. Then came the night of the dance—a dance Harley was anxious for Daisy to attend since it would be good for her to have friends. Unfortunately, Harley’s attempts at “matchmaking” were a disaster. When she suggested that Leah hang out with Daisy at the dance, Leah made it clear that she was not interested in being friends with a druggie like Daisy. As for Bobby, he ended up cancelling on Daisy. Though Daisy begged Harley to let her skip the dance, Harley insisted that she attend and Gus volunteered to walk her there. Meanwhile, Harley couldn’t resist checking up on Daisy and went to the dance herself. But instead of seeing Daisy, she ran into Dylan who had come to town to visit Daisy. A few days later, Dylan saw Daisy’s rebellious streak first hand when, while visiting Harley’s, he discovered that Daisy snuck out of her room. She, Dylan and Gus (whom Dylan immediately clashed with) finally found Daisy hanging out with Leah and Harley lit into Daisy for sneaking out. Though Gus tried to diffuse the situation by talking Harley down, Dylan defended Harley and mildly scolded Daisy. Meanwhile, Bobby came over to apologize for standing up Daisy at the school dance and invited Daisy to the library. Daisy reluctantly agreed and later called Harley and Gus for help when she was with an unconscious Bobby in a hotel room. Daisy stated that Bobby tried to rape her and so she drugged his drink and he passed out. When Bobby woke up, he told a different story and Harley believed his version. Though both Gus and Frank thought Daisy was telling the truth, Harley was convinced she needed discipline and put Daisy in jail overnight to teach her a lesson. Later, when she got out, Daisy refused to speak to her mother and went to Reva’s to ask to move in with her. However, Harley wouldn’t allow it and forced Daisy to come back home. After a few weeks, Gus tried to convince Daisy to talk to her mother, but Daisy refused. Later, Daisy and Harley got into a vicious argument. When Daisy spouted that Harley would have just screwed up Sydney like she did her, Harley slapped her. Daisy responded by pushing her mother who threw Daisy on the couch and demanded some respect. Though Harley tried to apologize, Daisy wasn’t interested and walked out. Concerned that Daisy was spinning out of control, Harley accepted Buzz’s suggestion that Daisy be sent to a boot camp run by a friend of his from the Army. Later that evening, as Harley and Gus argued about Daisy (mainly about Gus being too lenient), they realized that Harley’s car was gone. Not only that but so were Daisy and Zach. Suddenly, they heard about a slight accident and rushed to the scene. Though Gus tried to downplay the situation by pointing out that everyone was fine, Harley was furious and accused Daisy of endangering her little brother’s life. Harley then announced that she was sending Daisy to boot camp for six weeks. Daisy looked for Gus to help her but he kept silent. Daisy begged for another chance but Harley had enough and Daisy was dragged from the house by the supervisor of the boot camp. Daisy soon escaped and hid out in Reva’s car. The next day, she revealed herself to Reva who defended Daisy when Sgt. Payton (the boot came supervisor) arrived to collect her and kept Daisy out of the camp. Harley was livid and angrily argued with Reva about Daisy. Later, despite Reva and Daisy’s wishes, Harley was adamant about her going to boot camp and decided to drive her there. However, an emergency with Jude forced Harley to stay home and Gus volunteered to drive her. They stopped at a motel for the night, The next morning, Harley got a visit from Dylan who informed her that he was moving back to town permanently.. He also expressed his concerns about Gus, a former drug addict,, being around Daisy. As Harley was defending Gus, she got a call that Gus was hospitalized following a fire in the motel. . With Dylan, Harley rushed to the hospital and learned that Daisy identified herself as Gus’s girlfriend. Daisy stated that she only did that to get information on his condition. When Dylan asked if the fire was Gus’s fault, Daisy stated that Gus took some pain pills that night and passed out. Dylan took that to mean that Gus was high, but Harley continued to defend her husband. When Gus woke up, he implied that the fire was his fault. Afterwards, Harley reconsidered her plan to send Daisy away. Days later, when Gus was released, Dylan unexpectedly tried to attack Gus. Incensed, Harley confronted Dylan who informed her that the tox test at the hospital confirmed that Gus was on drugs that night. He then showed Harley a disturbing videoblog in which Daisy is confessing her love for Gus. While Dylan believed that Gus instigated these feelings, Harley still defended Gus. After going back inside, she kept an eye on the pair and couldn’t help notice that while Daisy was attempting to get physically close to Gus, he kept moving away. Harley then went to Gus who finally told her that the night of the fire, Daisy had told him that she loved him. During their discussion, they realized that Daisy must have drugged Gus that night and the pair confronted her. Days later, Gus and Harley found out that Daisy had been cutting school and gotten a traffic ticket in Chicago. Since this was a violation of her parole, Daisy was called before the judge. Asked how she, as an officer of the law, would give Daisy direction, Harley confessed that she could no longer handle her daughter. The judge took Harley’s words to heart and sentenced Daisy to three months in juvenile detention. Though Harley tried to tell the judge that was not what she meant, his decision was final and Daisy demanded to be sent to detention ASAP rather than spend one more minute with her mother.
Later that day, Gus and Harley went to a party for Josh at Company and Buzz introduced them to his newest employee—Natalia. Harley was surprised that Gus and the new waitress seemed to know each other and Gus stated that they were childhood friends. Soon after, Harley’s guilt about Daisy resurfaced when Reva lit into her about sending her to juvie. Afterwards, Gus confessed to Harley that Natalia was more than a childhood friend—she was his first love. Meanwhile, Daisy continued to be cold to Harley until Dylan lectured her about how both he and her mother were tempted to keep her when she was a baby and then lied that sending her to juvie had been his idea. From that point, Daisy immediately softened toward Harley and actually hugged her goodbye. Meanwhile, Harley was frequently worried that Natalia might still want Gus. Then Harley saw Natalia at juvenile hall, Though Natalia claimed to be visiting Daisy, Harley was suspicious and accused her of using her family to go after Gus. Again Natalia insisted that she was not after Gus but Harley didn’t believe her and got Buzz to fire her. Later, Remy tried to tell Harley that Natalia needed the work to take care of her son. After learning that Natalia had the kid after high school, Harley realized that it was Gus’s son. After confronting Natalia, Harley learned that the reason Natalia was staying in town was because her and Gus’s son, Rafe, had been arrested and was in juvenile hall. Later, at juvenile hall, Gus came across another altercation between Rafe and the guard—this time Rafe was holding the guard’s gun. When Gus pulled out his own gun to talk Rafe down, Harley ran in and shouted that the boy was his son! Almost immediately after, Natalia arrived and Gus demanded to hear the truth from her. Natalia admitted that it was true; it happened when he left Chicago and she had no clue where he was.. Meanwhile, Buzz hired Natalia back and told her it was Harley’s idea. Later, Gus testified on his son’s behalf and Rafe was released from juvie. Upon learning that Natalia had gotten an apartment in a rough neighborhood, which is all she could afford, Gus suggested that Rafe live with him and Harley for a year. Unfortunately, it was not a smooth transition for anyone. When Zach was found with a syringe he found in Rafe’s bag, Harley immediately assumed that Rafe was a drug user and lit into him. Gus went after him, angry that Harley didn’t let him handle it, and opened up about his own drug addiction. Rafe informed Gus that did not use drugs – he was diabetic. At the same time, Daisy was also released and told her father that she wanted to move back with Harley. Tensions quickly rose in the Aitoro home. After money was stolen from a jar in the house, Harley spotted Rafe’s hand in the jar and blasted him for the theft. Soon after, Harley walked in on Rafe kissing Daisy and immediately thought the worst and pulled Rafe off of her. Rafe ran out and Daisy tried to tell Harley that Rafe didn’t steal the money. Daisy then blurted out that she was in love with Rafe. Apparently, the pair had met in juvenile detention. Everyone objected to the teens living under the same roof and dating at the same time. Harley insisted that Rafe move out but Daisy volunteered to live with Dylan. Afterwards, Harley informed Gus that Daisy would be moving back in, thus Rafe had to move out. This added more tension to her marriage since Gus accused her of putting her child before his. Soon Alan got in the act by suggested to Harley that Rafe move in to the mansion. Though Harley refused since she knew Gus would not approve, it became a moot point when Natalia allowed it. A few weeks later, Dylan kissed her again at her house just as Gus walked in. Outraged, Gus punched Dylan and when Harley let it slip that this wasn’t the first kiss, Gus went ballistic and beat Dylan to a pulp. The commotion frightened Harley’s son, Jude, who called the police. When the police arrived, Harley insisted that it was a family dispute and later went to Dylan’s to beg him not to press charges against Gus since it could cost him his job. Dylan agreed as long as Harley did what he wanted. Believing he wanted to sleep with her, Harley started to call his bluff until he stated that all he wanted was some family time every week with her and Daisy. Unfortunately their first dinner wound up on the same night Gus wanted a family dinner with Rafe and his mother, Natalia. After Harley called Dylan to tell him that she had to stop by the Spauldiings’ first, Daisy suggested to Dylan that they meet Harley at the mansion. Unfortunately, that only increased the tension in the Aitoro marriage with both sides insisting on dining with their own children. Neither would budge and Harley ended up leaving while Gus stayed at the mansion. Since Daisy had stalked off after a tiff with Rafe, Dylan and Harley wound up having dinner alone and Dylan took a tipsy Harley home to his place. Later, as Dylan was taking Harley home, there was an accident and Dylan was injured and taken to Cedars. Days later, Dylan told Harley that the night she passed out, he crawled in the bed with her to get some sleep and later, thought he saw Gus standing in the doorway. However since he was half-asleep he couldn’t tell if it was real or a dream. Realizing that Gus must have believed that they slept together, Harley ran off to find him. However, before she had a chance she ran into Alan who wasted no time in telling her that Gus slept with Natalia.. Though Natalia assured Harley that Gus still loved her, Harley was unsettled and accompanied Dylan to a to a physical rehab clinic out of town without contacting Gus. Though Gus tried valiantly to locate her, Harley refused to be found. Harley finally returned weeks later and after an argument with Gus informed her that she never slept with Dylan. However he had slept with Natalia and that was something Harley found hard to forgive so Gus moved out. Unfortunately, he moved to his father’s house which is where Natalia was staying. Though Gus tried to argue that he wanted to be near his son, Harley found it unacceptable. Later, while telling Cassie about what happened on the night she passed out, Harley realized that she did not have enough to drink to pass out the way she did. Cassie suspected that someone must have drugged Harley’s drink. The likely suspects were Dylan, Alan or Natalia. Harley immediately asked for a drug test which came back positive (since Valium takes a while to leave the bloodstream). Though she initially accused Natalia, suspicion soon turned to Alan and he confessed. Soon after, Harley and Gus tried to put their marriage back together by renewing their vows. Unfortunately, Alan ruined things by giving Gus a false message that Rafe was ill; causing Gus to miss the ceremony. Unable to trust that Gus would put her before Natalia, Harley told Gus it was over.
As Harley was going through this drama, Marina was dealing with her feelings for a master criminal named Cyrus Foley. An international jewel thief, Cyrus was presumably trying to reform and ended up marrying Alexandra to stay in the country. However, his ultimate goal was to use a charity ball hosted by Alexandra to empty out several bank accounts. The night of the heist, Marina was kidnapped by Cyrus’s partner, Griggs, and Cyrus was apprehended by Harley. Cyrus was as in love with Marina as she was with him and Harley convinced Frank that he could help them locate Marina, however to do that she had to work with Cyrus alone. Thanks to Cyrus’s old contacts, the pair discovered that Griggs was spotted in New York City and raced to locate him. Soon, they got an unexpected call on a mysterious phone from Griggs who warned the cops to stay away from him. Fortunately, Harley recognized the bells in the background and deduced that Griggs and Marina were still in Springfield. Back at Springfield, Cyrus saw many WANTED” posters with his name on it and accused Harley is setting him up. Harley denied it and reminded him that they both needed each other. Meanwhile, Frank was not as he blamed Cyrus for Marina’s kidnapping. Luckily, Harley kept Frank from discovering his whereabouts. Soon after, Harley told Cyrus her theory that Alex had paid Griggs to kidnap Marina based on the fact that she heard Alex talking to Griggs on the hospital pay phone. To expose Alex, Cyrus fed her some drinks. When she sloppily exposed Marina’s bracelet, he knew she was involved and demanded to know Marina’s whereabouts. The problem was Alex did not really know where Griggs had Marina. Meanwhile, Harley was rocked when Dylan and Reva informed her that while she was in New York, Daisy learned she was pregnant and had an abortion. Harley lit into Reva for not telling about the pregnancy earlier and accused Reva of taking advantage and treating Daisy like her own daughter. The argument escalated with Harley demanding that Reva stay out of Daisy’s life. Later, Harley focused on getting Marina back. To accomplish this, Cyrus and Harley forced Alex to stay with them at Harley’s and demanded that she help them get Marina back. Alex complied then tried to entice Cyrus to stay married to her in exchange for twisting the story so neither one of them goes to prison. (by suggesting that Griggs forced Cyrus into the robbery by threatening Marina) Disgusted by Alex, Cyrus refused the offer. Angry, Harley forced Alex to call Griggs and tell him she wouldn’t supply him with money until they had proof that Marina was alive. Griggs realized that this wasn't Alex's idea but when Harley got on the phone, he agreed to exchange a final payment for Marina’s freedom – but Harley had to deliver it alone. A worried Cyrus tried to follow but was waylaid by Frank, who was tipped off by Alex. Luckily, Cyrus was able to convince Frank that he needed to find Marina and Frank let him go to the docks. Cyrus got there just as Griggs was letting both Marina and Harley go. Just then, they were approached by a cop who was on Griggs’s payroll and he forced Cyrus back on the boat for Griggs to deal with him. Cyrus was brought to the basement of an abandoned church and stayed alive by convincing Griggs that he had several bank accounts memorized. Meanwhile, Harley realized where Griggs had taken Cyrus and arrived to rescue him. Unfortunately before they were able to escape, Griggs returned and held them both at gunpoint. Cyrus bought more time by giving out more account numbers and when Griggs left, Cyrus admitted to Harley that they were fake. The pair tried to escape but where caught again by Griggs. However, Harley was able to snake Griggs’s inhaler and when he had an asthma attack, he crashed through a hole in the floor. In the meantime, Cyrus and Harley were trapped in the building which they were horrified to learn from a flier was being demolished that very day! Though they struggled with a way out, it soon became apparent that it was hopeless and they braced themselves for death. With a terrified Harley freaking out, Cyrus tried to d
