2003: Hazel “Krystal” Carey prided herself on teaching her daughter, Babe Carey, self-reliance. But Babe never needed her more than when she married boy billionaire JR Chandler. Babe had made the mistake of sleeping with JR’s brother, Jamie Martin. Babe had one more secret: she was still married to her first husband, Paul Cramer. Afraid of that the news would break Babe's already fragile marriage, Krystal promised to deal with Paul. She also did her best to point the boy’s fathers, Tad Martin and Adam Chandler, in the wrong direction when looking into Babe’s past.

2004: Tad made it a point to learn the truth about Babe to protect his sons. Krystal worked to get Babe’s marriage to Paul annulled and keep Tad from looking into the paternity of Babe’s child. But their loveless sex romps soon became something more. Krystal realized she was falling in love with Tad.
Krystal had the scare of her life when Babe went missing in a storm. Paul rescued her. While stranded in the mountain, she and Bianca Montgomery went into labor. Though Babe and her new daughter, Bess Chandler, were safe, Bianca lost her daughter, Miranda Montgomery. Krystal had bad feelings about the incident. She knew Babe was expecting a baby boy. Krystal secretly ran and DNA test that revealed Bess was not Babe’s child, but rather, Bianca. Knowing the truth would ruin Babe’s marriage; Krystal kept the secret and mourned the loss of her grandson quietly.
Dr. David Hayward caught on to Krystal’s lie. He was going to tell Bianca everything. Krystal told David he was Babe’s father to buy herself time to leave town. David would run another DNA test and surprisingly proved Krystal’s claim. David had slept with Krystal as a Med-student at Stanford. Krystal had just broken up with David’s classmate, Ron Fitzgerald. David had just lost his baby daughter, Leora, and wanted a second chance to be a father. He decided to keep Krystal’s secret to be a part of Babe's life.
Babe found her son alive in Llanview with Paul’s sister, Kelly Buchanan. Babe and Jamie planned to kidnap her son, Ace Buchanan, and go on the run. Krystal and David were going to insure that Bianca learned the truth about Bess being Miranda. Krystal and Tad shared the pain of having to see their children go, with no knowledge of what lay in their future. Both were afraid of what the Chandlers would do to Jamie and Babe in retaliation.
When Bianca and Miranda were finally reunited, David and Krystal’s part in the coverup was revealed. Bianca’s mother, Erica Kane, demanded David and Krystal be arrested for kidnapping.

2005: The authorities tracked Jamie, Babe and James down. They were all facing charges for kidnapping. Krystal struck a deal with the district attorney, taking the fall for everyone involved. Still, Babe lost custody of James, who JR renamed Adam Chandler, III. Tad and Krystal spent one last night together, before she went to prison.
In prison, she met another convict named Di Kirby. Di was very protective of Krystal. Tad and Krystal continued their romance. He even proposed to her. Krystal learned the proposal may have been a result of Tad learning his ex-wife and JR's mother, Dixie Cooney, was alive. But when Krystal saw a picture of the new Dixie, she realized it was Di. Adam agreed to use his influence to get Krystal out of prison, if she exposed Di’s lies.
Things were not as they seemed when Di successfully passed a DNA test. Krystal and Adam were still not convinced. They went to Crow’s Hallow, the town where Di grew up, to learn more about Di's past. She turned out to be Dixie’s sister, explaining the similarities in DNA.
Adam and Krystal had too much fun in Crow’s Hallow. After a night of moonshine, Krystal and Adam eloped. Adam wanted to annul the marriage, but Krystal was not about to let him go so easily. She would only agree to a divorce if Adam promised Babe more visitation of her son, and half of all he owned.

2006: Krystal refused to admit that she had fallen in love with Adam. When Janet Dillon kidnapped Babe, Krystal was distraught. Adam comforted her through the ordeal. JR and Babe announced their plans to remarry. Adam asked Krystal if she wanted to renew their vows on the same day. He even gave her half his shares of Chandler Industries.
Tad turned to Krystal after learning Dixie was really alive. Dixie had stayed away from Pine Valley purposefully. In a moment of weakness, Krystal slept with Tad. When she learned she was pregnant, she told Adam the child was his to protect her marriage.

2007: Krystal’s world came apart when the Satin Slayer killed Dixie and Babe within weeks of each other. Krystal finally admitted to Tad and Adam the truth about her baby. But, Krystal was not ready for the fallout. Adam kicked her and Babe out of Chandler Mansion. She still loved Adam and wanted to save their marriage.
That all changed when Krystal went into labor at Chandler Mansion. Adam heartlessly turned his back on her. If not for Colby Chandler’s intervention, Krystal would have given birth alone. Krystal and Tad named their daughter Jenny Colby Martin, after Tad’s late sister.
Krystal and Babe were reunited when her death was revealed to be a ruse to protect her from the Satin Slayer, Alexander Cambias. But no sooner was shes reunited with Babe that Jenny went missing. Adam had psycho Janet kidnap Jenny after convincing her Tad and Krystal were bad parents. After Janet agreed to return Jenny, Krystal realized the depths of Adam’s hate and wrote him out of her life by selling off all her assets and gifts related to their union. Her primary customer was Palmer Cortlandt, Adam's long time rival.
Krystal knew it was time for a new beginning. She bought the Roadside Bar with money she got selling the jewelry Adam had given her, and renamed it The Comeback. She even entertained a mild flirtation with Derek Frye. All the while, Adam was spying on Krystal as Stuart. Though Krystal was upset with Adam’s continued influence in her life, she still had feelings for the man she once called her husband.
Tad and Krystal struggled to come to terms with the nature of their relationship. They agreed it was best for Jenny if they tried to offer her a stable life. They surprised everyone by marrying at Christmas time.

2008: Krystal befriended Tad’s old friend, Dr. Angie Hubbard. Angie had avoided coming back to Pine Valley for years because her husband Jesse Hubbard had died in the line of duty there. Neither woman knew that Jesse had made his way back to Pine Valley and was hiding out with Tad. Jesse revealed he had been on the run to protect his family from a crime lord, the Papel. Krystal staged it so that Angie would catch Jesse before he left town.
Robert Gardner showed up at Krystal’s door looking for Tad. He was Tad’s biological paternal uncle. Krystal had heard the tales of the devilish Ray Gardner from Tad and Opal. Tad was weary to trust Robert. At Jesse and Angie’s wedding, Robert revealed his true colors as the Papel, the crime lord who had kept Jesse hidden for the last two decades. He shot at the crowd, fatally injuring Julia Keefer and severely injuring Tad.
As Tad lay in a coma, Adam came to the hospital with news. He knew where Kate Martin, Tad and Dixie’s lost child, was. Adam revealed he had known all along that Kathy Mershon Keefer, Julia’s foster daughter, was Kate. Adam’s admission to Tad brought him out of his coma. But for Krystal, it was the final straw. She wanted Adam out of her and her family’s life forever.
Kathy and Krystal had a difficult start as mother daughter. Babe moved with JR and Little Adam to start a life together in San Diego. Adam had subpoenaed them to come back to Pine Valley to testify in a class action suit. That night, a tornado tore threw Pine Valley. Babe was crushed under the Comeback’s ceiling trying to protect Little Adam. She died in JR’s arms at the hospital.
That same night, David revealed he was back in Pine Valley. David’s continued feud with the Martins and Chandlers put Krystal in a peculiar place. He was going to petition for custody of Little Adam from the Chandlers. Krystal tried to appeal in David. All the while, he was secretly drugging Krystal. Tad left Pine Valley after Jamie and Jeff Martin were reported missing in Congo. It was all David’s plan to leave Krystal vulnerable to his seduction. Krystal began sending her little girls to spend the night at Opal’s house as she began an affair with Babe’s father.