Gloria Baldwin lived in Detroit and was married to a former hippie turned boozer named Baldwin. Their son, Michael Baldwin, was ten years old when his mother married Tom Fisher, then Kevin Fisher was born. But Kevin's father "Terrible Tom" was a drunk who took out his frustration and anger by abusing the kids physically and verbally and often locked Kevin in a closet. Gloria apparently was too afraid of Tom to stop him, so Michael escaped from home as soon as he could. Then the beatings fell on Kevin, who Michael described as a great kid, funny and full of potential. Is it any wonder both Kevin and Michael turned out to be the men they did?

Once he was old enough to leave, Kevin went to live with Michael who was a struggling Law student on partial scholarship. Kevin became an apprentice electrician, but he ripped off Michael and his friends, and started a fire at a neighbor's while replacing some switches, and the house burned down. No charges were ever filed, but Kevin was fired, and Michael sent him packing. Michael became a highly respected Attorney in Genoa City, but ended up in prison. After he did his time, Michael managed to pick up his career and was enjoying his success. Also living in Genoa City years later, Kevin was working as a bookkeeper at Marsino's Gentlemen's Club. Kevin's boss Bobby Marsino was tipped to Kevin's alleged illegal activities including arson, statutory rape, and attempted murder, so he fired Kevin. Then stripper Brittany Hodges was electrocuted during her act by contact with the dancing pole, and suffered severe burns to her face. Kevin was one of the suspects, his motive revenge toward Bobby for firing him, and toward Britt for rejecting his advances.

Kevin showed up at Michael's office expecting help, but Michael turned his long-lost half-brother away. Not long afterward, Kevin was arrested for Brittany's electrocution and panicked over spending the night in jail - reminding him of those long dark punishments in the closet as a kid. Lauren Fenmore took pity, bailed him out, and he moved in with Michael as part of the deal. Finding out that Lauren was the one who bailed him out, Kevin ended up confiding in her his Genoa City crimes, but claimed that he did not hurt Brittany. Lauren swore she wouldn't tell anyone. Paul guessed from Lauren's demeanor that Kevin had confessed, so went after Kevin and stupidly pressured him, inferring that Lauren had told, causing Kevin to flee Genoa City for his mother Gloria who was living in the same seedy apartment in his and Michael's hometown of Detroit. Kevin awaited his mother Gloria's return, opening that same closet door and reliving the terrifying experience of being locked inside as punishment as a child by "Terrible Tom." Gloria was shocked to see him, and hugged and rocked him, begging him to love her now, after she had turned her back on the abuse all those years. Michael showed up just before the Detroit police knocked on the door wanting Kevin. Michael called Detective Weber back in Genoa City, and convinced him to let him bring Kevin back. Gloria and Michael hadn't seen each other in many years either, and Michael was obviously resentful of her. But Gloria talked Michael into letting her return to Genoa City with Kevin. Kevin ended up in jail, and when the prisoners labeled him as a child molester, they beat him up with a "blanket party." Kevin went to the jail hospital, then was released when Bobby got his mobster pals to admit they fried Brittany.

Michael laid down the law to his two unwelcome houseguests to not touch anything and give him his space, but allowed them to use his membership at the Athletic Club and charge their needs to him. John Abbott was bedazzled by the much younger Gloria Fisher, unaware that she was the mother of unscrupulous Attorney Michael Baldwin and Kevin Fisher, the guy who tried to murder John's Grand Daughter Colleen and burned down Gina's restaurant. Ashley and Jack were both shocked when John and Gloria returned from a cruise and announced they were married. Convinced that the low class Gloria was a gold-digger, Ashley disapproved of their relationship and vowed to end it, while Jack was content if Gloria made John happy. But then John found out that Gloria was mother to Michael and Kevin, so he was ready to end the marriage. But a fall down the stairs caused John to break his hip, and Gloria managed to weasel her way back into his good graces while he recuperated from hip replacement surgery.

Kevin continued his infatuation with Lauren, but Michael was drawn to Lauren himself as they met often to discuss Kevin, and eventually ended up lovers. Mac was able to get Kevin to open up to him, and convinced him to go to a psychiatrist. Kevin appears to be learning how to deal with his past and it well when he realized that Mac was not interested him as more than a friend. Michael eventually popped the question after dinner in the Private Dining Room at The Genoa City Athletic Club which he had setup like a gambling casino. After some hesitance by Lauren over Michael's lack of communication about his personal life, Lauren did say yes. Gloria was thrilled with the impending marriage, and took over the wedding plans. Michael quizzed Lauren about her rarely-mentioned son Scotty, hopeful that he would attend the wedding and they could finally meet, but Lauren was evasive. After an Internet search turned up nothing but a last name for Scotty, Kevin asked to borrow Lauren's cell phone, and they traced him by his phone number to Toronto. Michael went there and met Scotty, now 24, and a college student/Teaching Assistant, working on his Masters in Education with a specialty in creative writing. Scotty disclosed that he's never been back to Genoa City since he was a toddler, and grew up in boarding schools around the world. But wherever he was, Lauren visited often and kept an apartment nearby. Scotty always wondered why his mother was so secretive, but gave up asking about it back when he was a kid. Not long after Michael returned to Genoa City, Lauren decided it was time to tell Scotty about her impending marriage, but Scotty admitted he'd already met Michael. Lauren felt betrayed, but Michael later reminded her about how she disliked HIS family secrets. After Lauren left Scotty's, who should walk out of Scotty's bedroom, but Sheila Carter! Sheila (as "Brenda") was taking college courses and being tutored by Scotty, who was the spitting image of his father. Sheila gave Scotty an idea for a novel. Unknown to him, the story was of Sheila and his mother Lauren, but Sheila made Lauren out to be the evil-doer who stole Sheila's baby, when the opposite was true. Meanwhile, Michael discovered their history, and visited another "Sheila" in a California prison for the criminally insane. This unknown person turned herself in after a two month's escape. She had plastic surgery to look like Sheila and was kept drugged.

Scotty decided to go to Genoa City for his mother's wedding and moved into the Loft apartment with Kevin. Brenda soon followed and took up residence in the same seedy hotel where Tom Fisher was staying. The evil Tom and "Brenda" hit it off, and joined forces against Michael and Lauren. Scotty visited "Brenda" often to work on their book. Sheila felt free to move about in GC disguised as the dark haired British accented "Jennifer." She even ended up saving Gloria's life while she was waitressing a party at the Athletic Club. When Scotty bought his mother a silver pendant, Sheila saw her chance and dipped it in poison. The more Lauren wore it, the more she started getting sick and having hallucinations. The night before their wedding Lauren awaited Michael to join her for a romantic dinner on the roof. She began hallucinating that Sheila was tormenting her. Sheila was there for real, talking her into jumping off the roof. Michael arrived just in time to save her, though never saw Sheila. Lauren was admitted to the hospital where they discovered the poisoning, but "Brenda" talked Tom into stealing the necklace before it could be checked for toxin. The wedding was postponed while Lauren recovered. Michael and Paul figured out it was the necklace, but Sheila got it cleaned and returned to the hospital laundry. Scotty got a book deal for "One Stolen Heart", but "Brenda" was livid. She decided it was too risky to remain in Genoa City as "Brenda", so "Brenda" returned to Toronto, but Sheila actually stayed on as Jennifer intent on getting back at Tom who knew too much, in addition to Lauren.

Ashley began dating Paul Williams but was also being pursued by a mysterious man named Tom Callahan. What she didn't know was that he was Gloria's ex-husband, and Kevin's child abuser father, "Terrible" Tom Fisher. Gloria didn't know if he was even alive, but Kevin's first encounter with him turned him back into that cowering child he once was. Michael paid him off to leave town, but that obviously didn't work. In trying to figure out what Tom was up to, Michael discovered that Gloria's divorce from Tom was never filed. He assured Gloria that her marriage would be seen as legal, but could be voided should John decide. Tom was seeing a lot of Ashley, doing things like fishing and baseball games. They were always just barely missing encountering Gloria or John at the Athletic Club or the Abbott mansion. One day Tom's luck ran out, as they ran into Michael at the Abbott's. Amazingly, Michael did not expose him to Ashley, but afterward, he suggested Gloria have Tom declared legally dead. After witnessing a bit of his temper, Ashley asked Tom to back off, that she only wanted to be friends. After Tom discovered the ad in the paper, he went to the Abbott mansion and confronted Gloria who was shocked and terrified to see him. She held him at bay with a fireplace poker while he tried to sweet talk her in his smarmy manner, expecting a cut of her good fortune being married to a rich man. But Gloria gave him what for, about the kind of man he was and got him out the back way, just before John and Ashley returned. Too bad, because it would have exposed everything, and John would have seen what a victim Gloria was in all this. Tom showed up at Michael's and Lauren looked on in horror as Michael fought the evil Tom as all the years of rage came out. Gloria was still so cowed by Tom, she gave in to his blackmail demands by tricking money out of John by supposedly paying expenses for Michael & Lauren's wedding. Michael decided it was time to put a stop to it all, and tell John the truth. But Tom outwitted him by going to John himself, telling him who he really was, that his intentions toward Ashley were honorable, that Michael had known all along and Gloria didn't, and he was only there to make up for the past. John went home and told Gloria, who played into Tom's plan once again. She was free and clear with John, but further indebted to Tom, and Michael was on the spot. They told Ashley, who later slugged Tom at the Athletic Club. Because Gloria continued to pay Tom blackmail money stolen from John, Michael formed an alliance with Ashley. They planted drugs in Tom's motorcycle saddle bags, and arranged for him to be caught. But Tom pressured Gloria through Sheila (disguised as Jennifer) to pay his bail. Ashley began dating Tom as part of the plot to bring him down but Tom found out and was bent on revenge.

Not realizing that Sheila was intent on murder, Tom was conned into joining her plot to get back at Lauren, by planting a bomb on Lauren and Michael's honeymoon yacht. Michael watched in horror from shore as the yacht blew up. Lauren was not found, and was presumed dead. But Tom had rescued Lauren and carried her and Sheila back to a farmhouse in Genoa City where he held them in the basement fallout shelter. Lauren convinced Tom that Sheila was the bad guy, so he contacted Gloria to arrange a deal to turn over Lauren. John overheard the phone call, grabbed his gun, and met Tom in an alley instead. During a struggle the gun went off, and Tom was killed. John dropped the gun and took off getting into a car accident, but Ashley arrived in time to witness it. Ashley confessed to the shooting and was arrested with Michael as her lawyer. The morgue attendant handed over Tom's effects to Kevin, which included a key to a safety deposit box which Michael later traced to a bank in Cleveland. Meanwhile Lauren and Sheila fought and Lauren broke Sheila's ankle. Eventually, realizing Tom was not coming back, they joined forces attempting to escape. As they were almost out, Paul arrived and pulled Lauren to safety while the shelter caved in on Sheila. Sheila was not found in the rubble, but was later seen at a plastic surgeon wanting a new face. Michael and Lauren enjoyed a tearful reunion, and everyone in Genoa City was relieved she was back among the living. After recovering from the accident, John regained his memory, and confessed to killing Tom. John arranged a plea bargain to get all possible charges dropped against Ashley for her deception, and was sentenced to 7 years in prison where he died.