Johanna Larsen came to town to put a wedge between Russ and Avery Denton due to Brant Ashford's urgings, but instead she reunited with her former flame Zack Vaughn and realized that she was far from over him. While he'd struck up a new relationship wtih Blake Ashford, Johanna informed Zack that she was pregnant with their child. Eventually Zack married her out of obligation to her and the baby, but shortly before the airport bombing took place in Coral Valley he realized that he'd never stopped loving his wife. After that they began again and during the aftermath of the bombing Blake helped deliver Johanna and Zack's son Cody despite the obvious differences between the two women.

After Zack's sister Caitlin died, Zack and Johanna took Cody back to Washington with them to start over again at long last.