Parker Munson owes his existence to a deal his aunt Rosanna made with his mother, Carly. Rosanna informed Carly that she would provide a $ 50 million trust fund for her child--provided Carly was married to the father and that father was not Mike Kasnoff. A few years after making the initial offer, Rosanna got tired of waiting and gave Carly a deadline; the baby had to be born before 1999. Unfortunately for Carly, she wasn't told about the deadline until the Spring of that same year. Seeing a golden opportunity, Carly quickly seduced lonely Detective Hal Munson and convinced him to marry her. To ensure that she became pregnant, Carly sought the help of Dr. John Dixon who provided his sperm to inseminate her with. It didn't take long though for the Munson marriage to crumble since Hal could tell that Carly was in love with another man--Jack Snyder. Carly adored Jack but she really wanted the money. Her prayers seemed answered when she learned that John was the father and the two quickly married so that Carly could get the money. Unfortunately, there was a real possibility that she would miss the deadline since the baby wasn't due until January.

Desperate, Carly wanted to induce labor early, but John refused to risk the baby's safety since the plan was for him to raise the child when it was born. When Carly felt a contraction in her 8th month, she had a change of heart and decided that she was keeping this child, money or no money. Not long after, fate intervened and Carly miraculously gave birth to a baby boy on New Year's Eve--mere minutes before the deadline ended. John named the baby Parker after his mother's maiden name. Not long after, everyone was in for a shock when it was learned that Hal, not John, was Parker's real father. Carly and John quickly divorced and Carly and Hal shared custody of Parker. Due to Carly's various crises, Parker spent his infancy with Hal.

When Parker was almost 5, Carly was finally able to marry her soul mate--Jack Snyder. Jack had been a part of Parker's life since the beginning and Parker adored him. Though Carly's first marriage to Jack ended quickly, Jack never stopped loving Parker as if he was his own. Less than nine months after Jack left Carly (and on the same day Carly gave birth to a daughter, Sage), Jack and Carly remarried in a beautiful ceremony in Montana. Unfortunately, tragedy struck a year later when Jack was presumed dead when his car went over a bridge. Although everyone said that Jack was gone, Parker didn't believe it. He felt deep in his heart that Jack was alive. Although Hal dismissed it as wishful thinking, Parker's faith was contagious and Carly came to believe it too. Months later, it was discovered that Parker was right--Jack was indeed alive and suffering from amnesia. With some help from Parker (who had a psychic connection to Jack), Carly was able to locate Jack and eventually the pair reunited when Jack's memory returned. Along the way, the couple became guardians for JJ Larrabee after the death of his mother, whom Jack befriended when he had amnesia. Though Parker and JJ didn't get along at first, in time they developed a bond.

Unfortunately the Snyder marriage crumbled again a few years later with Jack leaving Carly. Due to the state of Carly's marriage, Hal took Parker for a while but later returned him after the death of his daughter, Jennifer. Months later, Hal died in the line of duty. Later, Carly began a new relationship, business and personal, with a former thief known as Simon Frazier. When Simon did business with underhanded men, the pair were forced to steal in order to pay off their debts. Unfortunately, the theft was discovered and Carly went on the run with Simon to avoid prosecution--thus abandoning her children. With his mother gone, a teenaged Parker found a friend in Faith Snyder. Though he valued her friendship, Parker still had deep rooted issues about his mother which resulted in him being sullen. Angry, he even threw out a book that Carly had given him; Faith found it and secretly returned it to him).Finally, five months after she left, Carly returned and faced imprisonment for evading the police.

Though both JJ and Sage welcomed her back with open arms, Parker could not forgive his mother for leaving and thought she deserved to be in jail. However, thanks to J.J.'s pleas, Jack arranged for the charges against Carly to be dropped. Carly's pleas for forgiveness fell on deaf ears and Parker wanted nothing to do with his mother. Meanwhile, Faith continued to lend her support to Parker. Soon, their friendship started to turn into something more. Or so Faith thought; when she broached the subject, Parker stated that he was not ready for a girlfriend. Slightly embarrassed, Faith shrugged it off as if she was joking. Not long after, Parker began dating a girl named Morgan. Meanwhile, Parker continued to act sullen and disobedient.

Things got bad when Jack caught Parker shooting a forbidden BB gun. Later, when Faith accidentally got shot by stepping over the gun, it was assumed that Parker was to blame and Jack was all set to send him to a camp for trouble kids. Luckily, J.J. confessed that he was the one who was using the gun. Soon after, Parker asked to spend the night with Carly simply to avoid J.J. Though Parker was resistant to all of Carly's efforts to engage him, when she put on music, he was affected and ran outside to cry. As Carly comforted Parker, he finally softened toward her. Meanwhile, Parker noticed how upset Faith had been at him for weeks and she finally admitted that she'd been angry because he didn't want her as a girlfriend. Surprised, Parker apologized for hurting her feelings and they had a rapprochement. Weeks later, Parker was horrified to learn that Carly was dying. Though he offered to use his trust fund to help her, Carly urged him to accept the fact that she was not going to make it. Later, Parker expressed a desire to have Jack adopt him. Though married to Katie Peretti, Jack rallied around Carly and resolved to make her last days as comfortable as possible. Old feelings resurfaced and, after Katie annulled their marriage, Jack asked Carly to marry him. In the meantime, Carly assured her children that everything would work out fine. They realized what she meant when, at the altar, Carly confessed to Jack that she was misdiagnosed: she wasn't dying after all. Jack's elation turned to anger when Carly admitted that she'd known the truth for several weeks. Though J.J. and Sage quickly forgave Carly, Parker again wrote his mom off as a liar.

Soon after, things took a terrible turn when Carly opened her home to Kit Fowler, the woman who, months earlier, helped the kidnappers who had J.J. Kit convinced Carly that she was a changed woman and the two decided to go into business together by reopening Metro. However, Kit wasn't alone. She had a boyfriend named Sam who had nowhere to go. Despite Jack's' objections, Carly allowed both Sam and Kit to stay with her. While Kit and Carly tried get Metro opened in time for New Year's Eve, Sam spent his time holding shows for young children with his dummy, Cowboy Jack. Parker found the ventriloquist and his dummy to be extremely creepy and continually told his parents that Sam was a bad guy. Unfortunately all of Parker's claims fell on deaf ears. Parker's hunch about Sam seemed confirmed when he overheard Sam having a conversation with Cowboy Jack. Parker warned Sam to stay away from Carly but Sam refused to budge.

Desperate to get rid of Sam, Parker robbed Metro and set it up to look as if Sam was responsible. Unfortunately, Parker was exposed very quickly. As the weeks went by, Parker was more and more certain that Sam was a threat but no one believed him. Then one night, Parker and Jack went to a hockey game using tickets that mysteriously came from nowhere. Jack suspected they were from Parker's hockey coach but Parker wasn't so sure. Convinced that Carly was in trouble, Parker asked Jack to call her. While Jack and Carly were talking, Parker grabbed the phone from Jack. Though Carly told Parker she was fine, something in her voice told him otherwise. Parker went to Metro just in time to find Sam trying to rape Carly. Parker, having gotten a gun from the Snyder farm, shot Sam and then ran out.

Carly chased after him and, although Parker wanted to run, Carly convinced him that they had to call Jack. Later, the pair went to Metro with Jack and by this time Sam was dead. Parker was quickly arrested and, when it was learned that he went to Metro with the gun, the DA called the murder premeditated and charged him as an adult. The fact that Sam had been shot twice did not seem to help. Though Carly insisted that Parker only fired one shot, Margo's questioning so unsettled Parker that he couldn't remember how many shots he fired. The next several weeks were agony for Parker as he awaited his fate. Though his parents tried to convince him that everything would work out, Parker had doubts. Both Jack and Carly worked tirelessly to clear Parker to no avail. Seeing no hope in sight, Parker was ready to throw in the towel and plead guilty but was talked out of it by Katie. As time went by, Parker continued to have doubts, especially since he could not remember how many shots he fired. Finally the day of the trial arrived. On the stand, Parker suddenly remembered that he only fired one shot. He was certain of it. Unfortunately, the District Attorney accused him of lying and the judge ruled that Parker was guilty. Just then, Parker's parents rushed in with a witness who testified that Kit confessed to killing Sam. The guilty verdict was overturned.

Weeks later, Parker had a minor accident while skateboarding thanks to a girl who accidentally knocked him off while getting her duffle bag out of a tree. To Parker's annoyance, the girl ran off without a thought. A few days later, Parker spotted the girl with his Uncle Brad at Al's Diner. The girl's name was Liberty and Parker was shocked to learn that she might be Brad's daughter. While waiting for the paternity results to come in, Brad enrolled Liberty in school and asked Parker to look after her. Soon, the test results came in which verified that Liberty was indeed Brad's daughter. It didn't take Parker long to discover that Liberty followed her own rules. Liberty had no interest in attending classes and constantly ditched, often convincing Parker to go with her. A risk taker, Liberty jumped in the lake on a dare and shared the money she received with Parker. It also didn't take long for Parker to realize that Liberty was an accomplished liar as she lied to Brad about why she was not in school. Liberty took an instant liking to Parker and constantly asked him to keep her company, often coming up with lies so he'd come over to her room. Despite himself, Parker became smitten with Liberty. However, it didn't seem as if she felt the same way. One day, while Parker was on a date with another girl, Liberty spotted them and taunted Parker into kissing the girl. Unfortunately, that was a less than stellar moment for Parker. Soon after, Parker shared his first kiss with Liberty, who laughed it off.

In the meantime, due to her truancy, Liberty was forced to attend summer school and wasted no time getting Parker to do her homework. Later, Parker kissed Liberty again. Though she definitely seemed to like it, she acted as if nothing happened. Later, on the Fourth of July, Liberty's friend, Dylan, was arrested for stealing cameras from WOAK and Liberty (who knew nothing about the theft) blamed Parker for ratting him out. When Liberty realized that she was mistaken, she apologized and Parker told her that he would not be doing her homework anymore since he never wanted to do it in the first place. When Liberty asked him why he did it, he admitted that he wanted to spend time with her. Liberty liked his answer and kissed him. From that point on, Liberty and Parker's relationship turned romantic.

Soon after, Parker was dismayed to learn from Liberty that her mother, Janet, was sleeping with Jack. Upset, Parker voiced his disapproval to Jack. Weeks later, Parker was floored when he overheard Jack yell at Carly about her affair with Holden. Disgusted that his mother had an affair with a married man, Parker confided in Liberty who tried to tell him that his mother's mistakes didn't have anything to do with him. At the same time, Jack had told Janet that he caught Parker and Liberty kissing and Janet's response was to have the sex talk with her daughter and send Liberty to a gynecologist. Immediately after, the teens decided to satisfy their curiosity by having sex. When Parker assumed that the very forward Liberty had already been sexually active, a hurt Liberty pointed out that this was her first time as well. It didn't take long for Janet to realize that her daughter lost her virginity and when the other parents caught wind of what happened, Parker and Liberty were forbidden from seeing each other—with Brad going to the extreme of hiring a body guard.

When Liberty slipped out to see Parker, Brad decided he had enough and dragged her off to an impromptu fishing trip without telling anyone. Unfortunately, this freaked out Janet who was concerned about Liberty's whereabouts. When Parker overheard Jack tell her where Brad's car was spotted, Parker sneaked out of the house to greet her. Proclaiming his love for her, Parker tried to convince Liberty to run away with him. Unsettled by Parker's attitude, a worried Liberty told Jack where Parker was. As the weeks went by, Liberty tried to obey her parents and stay away from Parker but he kept seeking her out. Things finally came to a head when Katie and Brad set up Parker to see Liberty on a date with another guy. When they guy they paid, started getting rough with Liberty, Parker was on hand to save her. After this, the adults permitted Liberty and Parker to see each other under supervision.

Later, Parker and Liberty began dating again. Unfortunately, Parker became neglectful of his studies and other responsibilities. When Parker began defiantly acting out, Jack decided to send him away to boarding school using Parker's trust money. Not willing to accept Jack's decision, Parker talked Liberty into marrying him so that he could be legally emancipated from his parents. Though Parker successfully got a judge to marry them by painting Carly a bad mother, Parker was still not guaranteed to get his trust fund. Furious at what Parker had done, Jack angrily threw the newlyweds out into the street. The pair went to Craig who agreed to set them up in a room at the Lakeview. Afterwards, a judge named Craig as the trustee of Parker's trust fund. To Parker's dismay and Jack's surprise, Craig was unwilling to just hand over the money. Craig also successfully planted a wedge in Parker and Liberty's relationship by arranging for an internship in New York City for Liberty. As expected, Parker's jealousy got the best of him and the marriage soon imploded.

Afterward, Liberty had a one night stand with a boy and found herself pregnant. Though Liberty wanted to get an abortion, when Janet found out about the pregnancy she made it clear that she'd never forgive Liberty if she aborted the baby. Janet tried to pressure Liberty into giving the baby to her and Jack to raise but Liberty was still conflicted. While she did consider giving the baby up, she wanted the child to be adopted outside of the family. While Janet applied pressure on Liberty, Parker and Brad promised to support her no matter what decision she made. The situation resolved itself with Liberty suffering a miscarriage. Soon after, Liberty was devastated when Brad was killed in an accidental shooting.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Parker, Craig liquidated Parker's trust fund to finance Monte Carlo. At the same time, Faith began acting out. Faith tried to hide in Parker's room, but Parker turned her in to her parents. Faith then stole a dress from Fashions with the help of newcomer, Gabriel, who also took responsibility for the drugs that Faith had stashed in Parker's room. In the meantime, Liberty was diagnosed with cancer. Parker stayed at Liberty's side through her treatment and finally professed his love for her. However, Liberty felt that they worked better as friends. Soon after, Liberty learned that her cancer was in remission. Later, Parker learned that a jet charter was purchased with his trust fund debit card, and he confronted Gabriel, who'd jetted Liberty home from Melrose. Parker punched Gabriel and left him unconscious in Carly's office just as Craig was secretly starting a fire in order to collect the insurance money. Firefighters found Gabriel in critical condition among rubble, and Parker confided in Faith and Carly about his stolen trust fund and his fight with Gabriel; however, Parker insisted that he hadn't started the blaze. Fortunately, Craig got the charges against Parker dropped.

Afterward, Parker bonded with Faith over her parent's breakup and the pair's friendship seemed to be hinting to something more. At the same time, Parker confided in Margo and his brother, Will, his intention to become a police officer like Hal and Jack. Jack learned of Parker's plan the day of his marriage to Carly. Though Jack initially objected, everyone else, including Carly, supported the idea.