tried to tell them that she would settle out of court, but the Carters sued her for custody of their grandson. The Carters' attorney convinced the court that Jo was not a fit mother. In a shocking turn of events, Jo lost the custody of her child to the Carters before it was even born. She also ended her friendship with Alison, who was supposed to testify on her behalf but showed up high on uppers in the courtroom the day she was to testify. Jo slowly began to die inside, going through depression and not feeling the work of her beloved photography job any longer, when Kimberly Shaw showed up. Shaw showed a ray of hope still survived: She was going to help Jo fake her own child's death, so that Jo could go into hiding back in New York City and raise her child there, and the Carters would never know. They even set it up with switched hospital records that would declare Jo's baby dead. Through the months preceding the due date, Kimberly and Jo were able to trick the Carters into believing their grandchild was dead. When the baby boy, whom Jo named Austin, was born, Kimberly suffered one of her imbecilic head colds, and decided to steal Jo's baby and keep it for herself. For weeks, Jo struggled to prove that her son was in danger, but still alive, despite what the birth records stated. Once a blood test was performed by Michael Mancini, Jo was revealed to be the baby's mother. After extreme pressure from Dr. Peter Burns, then Chief of Staff of Wilshire Memorial Hospital, Michael conceded and set Kimberly to work on Christmas Day, and while she was gone, he gave baby Austin back to mother Jo, the perfect Christmas present. Not long after, things again became ugly for Jo. Kimberly called upon the Carters, telling them that their grandson was very much alive and that she knew where he was. Jo, on the other hand, was happy and made Jake the godfather of Austin, when an unexpected nanny came to 4616 Melrose Place. When all seemed to be in good condition, this nanny was terrific and took excellent care of Austin - until she stole him and it turned out she was working for the Carters to get Austin back all along. Jake helped Jo search for her son, although all