Eddie Dawson

Canadian-born Eddie Dawson is better known to New York City as Aurora Borealis, a popular drag queen in the NYC gay bar circuit. He named himself for the universally appreciated "northern lights", though Eddie has been anything but universally appreciated. Being a drag queen is not something that many understand, including Eddie's family. This leaves Eddie, or "Aurora," very smitten whenever anyone shows interest, particularly when it's a man.

Aurora Meets "Mark"
Aurora Borealis was the biggest attraction at Large Bar. The drag queen did musical numbers, comedy, hosted the weekly karaoke night, and usually had a talent for getting boys to come up on stage and strip out of their clothes! One night, Aurora performed "Fever" to the crowd, who loved every second. VSI executive Shawn Marks was definitely entertained by Aurora's act, and made plans to see it again. Shawn attended Aurora's show several times, and it wasn't long before the star of Large Bar noticed his biggest fan at all his Aurora performances. Shawn lied that his name was "Mark" unsure of where their mutual attraction would take them. The more Shawn was overworked and underappreciated at international conglomerate Von Stadt International, the more his sanctuary became his anonymous nights out at Large Bar catching Aurora's act.

Shawn's sister Rachel, a private investigator, turned up at Large Bar to consult with a client and was shocked to find her brother in the middle of the gay crowd! Shawn thought quick on his feet and lied that he was there entertaining a VSI client, and since the meeting had just ended he couldn't wait to get out of the bar. Aurora witnessed Shawn explaining himself to the woman and started to wonder if Shawn was bisexual or just a closeted gay man.

Aurora noticed that "Mark" had missed his last two performances, but saw him again on New Years Eve. "Mark" revealed that he struggles with the expectations people in his life have for him. Aurora could definitely identify, explaining that being a famous New York City drag queen didn't quite fit the expectations that Eddie Dawson's mother had for him. They shared a tense moment when Shawn faced a dose of reality, learning Aurora's real name. Feeling closer to Aurora, Shawn admitted that his name wasn't really "Mark," that he was really Shawn Marks. Their walls from the world temporarily torn down, Shawn and Aurora shared a passionate kiss, hot enough to make the snow melt at their feet, as the clock struck twelve and it was officially 2008.

Angels in America
The new year kicked off with the great news that Eddie (or Aurora) would be starring in director Terrence Applewhite's new production of "Angels in America", alongside Terrence's much younger lover, Christian Avery Field! Terrence and Christian were close friends of Eddie's and great supporters of Aurora's. 2008 was looking to be a great year!

Shawn was attending a party hosted by Jenna Baldwin, an up-and-coming designer, and also Shawn's "daytime girlfriend", when he was nearly recognized by Christian Avery Field, who was certain he'd seen Shawn somewhere before! Luckily Christian couldn't place him, but the close call forced Shawn to pull back from attending Aurora's shows. When Aurora ran into Shawn (while in every day clothes as Eddie), Shawn started to realize he was attracted to Eddie, not just the "Aurora" persona. Eddie graciously offered to meet Shawn for dinner or drinks elsewhere, if he couldn't come to Large Bar anymore. Later, after spending a night with Jenna, Shawn called Eddie and asked to go to Eddie's apartment for drinks. At Eddie's place, Shawn refused to be considered gay or closeted, just enjoys sex and refuses labels. Eddie decided that was good enough for him, so they made love!

Eddie was devastated not to hear from Shawn for Valentine's Day, and called Shawn's office at VSI, leaving a message with Shawn's intern, Thomas Baldwin, to let Shawn know that Aurora called. What Eddie didn't know was that Thomas was the younger half-brother to Shawn's girlfriend Jenna Baldwin, and when Thomas relayed the message to Shawn, Shawn had a strange reaction and quickly changed the subject! Things grew more complicated when Shawn lied to Jenna that he was working late at VSI, when in reality Shawn was at Eddie's apartment trying to make up for his being MIA on Valentine's Day! Jenna called Shawn's office, only to learn from Thomas that Shawn had left for the day. Thomas took a secret pleasure in the knowledge that Shawn was lying to Jenna, and Jenna hates that her rival half-brother is aware she's been lied to!

Suspected Affair
Jenna snuck into Shawn's apartment to discover lipstick on the collar of one of his shirts, a hideous shade that she wouldn't be caught dead wearing, and then confronted Shawn, accusing him of lying that Rachel was his sister in order to cover his affair with her! Shawn swore Rachel was indeed his sister and he wasn't cheating on Jenna with her. Jenna makes Shawn aware that even if she's not Shawn's only, she at least expects to be his "number one", and they seal their arrangement with sex on Shawn's desk!

Designer Addiction
Large Bar hired Christian's foster brother, Dominic Soletti as a waiter, and Aurora offered to take Dom under his wing, since Dom was new to the city and a little intimidated. In return, Dominic offered some of his "safe and effective" designer drugs to Aurora, at a discount, so they could party together and solidify their new friendship! Embracing a diversion from Shawn, who Eddie decided wasn't healthy for him, Eddie was high during Shawn's next stop into Large Bar, and told Shawn he never wanted to see him again! Eddie took comfort in Dominic's pills, and began to rely on them more and more. Meanwhile, Ford Collins, an associate of Dominic's, wanted a cut of Dominic's drug sales, so Dom was forced to up the price of his pills! Eddie grew angry, feeling like Dom only befriended him to get him hooked on pills, and tried to go cold turkey, but suffered severe symptoms of withdrawal. Realizing he couldn't go cold turkey, and needing to get money together to afford the drugs, Eddie took money from a drunken patron at Large Bar, sending the drunk off in a cab and tossing his now-empty wallet in Large Bar's lost-and-found.

When Eddie took too many of Dom's pills, Dom took Eddie home, where Eddie admitted to missing Shawn. Dom felt guilty for his part in Eddie's dependency on pills, and asked his boss, Leo Von Stadt (Shawn's boss at VSI!), if he could stop distributing VSI's illegal drugs. Leo wouldn't hear of it and insisted Dominic continue as he had been. Eddie's drug use continued to spiral out of control and he was suspended from "Angels in America" by Terrence when he made a scene at the Dress Rehearsal, obviously on some kind of mind-altering substance.

Feeling abandoned, Eddie went home and accidentally overdosed on the drugs, while Dom, feeling guilty, alerted Shawn to what bad shape Eddie's been in lately. Shawn couldn't help but feel responsible, and went to Eddie's apartment, to find him unconscious from an overdose! Shawn secretly dropped Eddie at the hospital to receive treatment and Dr. Julia Lawless saved his life... and called Eddie's mother, Edina Dawson, who bought a plane ticket to New York immediately from her home in Canada, to make sure her son was going to be okay!

Edina Returns & Shawn's Worlds Collide
Eddie was scared sober by his overdose, and at Dominic's urging, Shawn reached out to Eddie to see if Eddie wanted to try to work things out, so Shawn and Eddie decided to start fresh. Edina's arrival in New York shocked Eddie, who never thought he'd see his estranged mother again. Though she almost didn't come, she couldn't help but try to make sure her son was alright and see if there was any repairing to be done on their relationship. Upon Eddie's release from the hospital, he invited his mother out to lunch, where they spotted Shawn eating with Jenna Baldwin. Eddie was devastated, which Edina picked up on, and believed Shawn was the man that drove Eddie to drugs! Meanwhile, Shawn was upset when Jenna recognized Edina... as Jenna's father's second wife! Shawn wasn't quite sure how, but this woman Edina linked Jenna and Eddie... which could only be a bad thing!

Theodore Baldwin confessed his feelings for Edina that still lingered long after their marriage ended and he convinced her to move back to New York. Though Edina could foresee disaster, she reluctantly agreed. When the Baldwin family had a dinner to welcome Edina back to New York, Jenna invited Shawn, and the dinner became complicated when Eddie came upon them and wondered what Edina was doing with this table full of strangers... until Edina admitted, she was Thomas Baldwin's mother... and Theodore Baldwin was Eddie's father!

The reveal of Edina's decades-long double life shook up the entirety of the Baldwin and Dawson families. Edina had carried on a years-long on-again/off-again affair with Theodore Baldwin, resulting in the births of Eddie and his sister Didi, who grew up fatherless in Canada so that Edina wouldn't disrupt Theodore's life with his cancer-stricken wife Veronica and children Jenna and James. After Veronica's passing, Edina made another attempt at making things work with Theodore, resulting in Thomas's birth, but couldn't bring herself to tell Theodore that they already had two children from their prior dalliances. Theodore couldn't believe Edina kept such a huge secret from him, and Thomas and Eddie were stunned that they had a brother in each other that they never knew about! Meanwhile, greedy Jenna was furious because she just gained three new rivals for her father's multi-million dollar lottery inheritance!

Half-Sibling Rivalry
Eddie and Jenna being half-siblings made Eddie's love for Shawn virtually impossible. Though they nearly called it quits, Eddie and Shawn both had difficulty letting go, and somehow Shawn managed to convince Eddie they would be together soon.

Though both furious with Edina, Eddie and Thomas took an active role in building a brotherly relationship. With his newfound family, Eddie, normally comfortable with who he was, now felt the pressure and fear about coming out as a gay man, and a drag performer. In so many ways, it was easier not having a family whose opinions mattered. When Thomas unexpectedly stopped by Eddie's apartment and caught him dressed in drag, Eddie shared the truth about himself and his life with his newfound brother. To support his brother, Thomas began to frequent Large Bar to see Eddie's performances as Aurora. When Jenna found a crumpled napkin from the gay lounge in Thomas's possession, Jenna wrongly assumed Thomas was gay! Eager to get the better of Thomas, Jenna tried to put him on the spot at a family dinner to out him, but it forced Eddie to step up and out himself to save Thomas the trouble of protecting Eddie's secret. Fortunately, the family accepted Eddie for who he was, and Jenna was foiled in her attempts to alienate her half-siblings from the family.

Return to Canada & Didi Dawson
Eddie, Jenna, and Thomas were all invited to Terrence Applewhite and Christian Avery Field's wedding in Canada when the lovers decided to tie the knot. Eddie knew Shawn would be attending as Jenna's date, but hoped to use the trip as a way to revisit his childhood home and share his history with Thomas and Shawn if possible. In Canada, Eddie reunited with Didi at the coffeehouse where she worked, and quickly invited her to the wedding of Terrence and Christian. Didi attended the wedding, and Christian and Terrence graciously embraced her. Thomas was excited to meet her. Didi seemed a bit overwhelmed to be surrounded by the boisterous and ultra-liberal crowd. Jenna learned Didi was her half-sister and felt her out on Didi’s future plans. Didi was comfortable in her life and it didn’t occur to her to change anything. Jenna was relieved, and feeling as though Didi isn’t a threat, played remorseful that they wouldn’t have more time to get to know each other. Didi ended up having a great time with such a diverse crowd of people and thought that Eddie found an amazing life in New York.

While Jenna was tending to Christian's bachelor party, Eddie took Shawn on a tour of of Quebec, and they managed to steal away for the night to a local gay bar together. Thomas and his girlfriend Rebecca followed a drunken Dominic to look after him, and they all came upon Shawn and Eddie in a compromising position at the gay bar! Eddie and Shawn's secret relationship was blown, at least to Thomas, which made an already complicated, difficult situation that much more impossible.

The wedding party was tense on the flight back to New York, but Thomas swore he wouldn't expose Shawn and Eddie's affair, but couldn't help but voice his concerns that Eddie wasn't in a healthy relationship with Shawn and deserved better. Eddie had to think long and hard about Thomas's view on things, and though he once again tried to sever ties with Shawn, he still couldn't give him up completely.

Jenna's Back-Up Plan
Eddie was thrilled when, after their brief reunion in Quebec, his sister Didi decided to move to New York to expand her horizons and see life outside of the smalltown where they grew up. Eddie secured Didi a job waiting tables at The Redeye, and Didi spent time trying to get to know her new siblings Jenna, James, and Thomas. With yet another sibling in town to rival her for her inheritance, Jenna concocted a plan to introduce a hired long-lost daughter for herself, in order to even the score and gain claim on her father's lottery millions. When Jenna hired Dana, a street urchin who reminded her of herself, Jenna had no idea that Dana entered Jenna's life deliberately, for her own reasons... being that she actually WAS Jenna's long-lost daughter!

Given up for adoption by Jenna in college, Dana turned Jenna's plan to her own advantage, painting herself as Jenna's victim, landing squarely in Theodore's good graces and placing herself as the newest roadblock between Jenna and the wealth that she sought so persistently. Dana was bent on revenge against Jenna and was the next to discover Eddie's secret affair with Shawn. Thrilled at her finding, Dana patiently sat on the information, until she could use it to create the maximum damage for her selfish mother.