Morgan returned as Angie on January 18, 2008, and Williams returned as Jesse on January 25. To start the storyline where Jesse is brought back, the writers thought up a plot where characters Greenlee Smythe and Quentin contract a weird woods-related disease that triggers asphyxiation. Angie, now an infectious-disease specialist, is paged to Pine Valley Hospital to consult on the case: "Quentin will turn out to be Angie and Jesse’s son, Frankie", said Julie Hanan Carruthers (the show's executive producer), and noted that Angie's adopted daughter, Cassandra, would also join the show. ABC consulted with Agnes Nixon (who is now retired) on how to resurrect Jesse, since he was shot to death in 1988: "We saw Angie sobbing on his chest, but I think the audience is invested enough in them as a couple that they will embrace our solution," Carruthers stated.