In His Corner, Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It was quite late by time Viki and her family left.  Starr and Blair were milling around the kitchen cleaning up while Todd sat on the couch staring at the television.  When they were finished, Starr went to say goodnight to her father.  Her kissed her on the cheek but did not acknowledge her in any other way.  When the door to her room closed, Todd got up, went into the other bedroom and grabbed a pillow and blanket. 

“What are you doing, Todd?” Blair asked, following him. 

“You take the bed, I’ll sleep out here,” he replied.

“That’s not necessary.  It’ll fit the two of us.”

Todd looked at it, aching at the thought of just sharing it with her.  But after their conversation before the majority of the Lord-Buchanans showed up, he couldn’t allow himself to go there.  “No, I think it’s best if I sleep out here.”  He walked past her, closing the door behind him.

As was typical for Todd over most of his adult life, sleep didn’t come to him, so he decided to turn on the television again.  He kept it low, so as to not disturb his daughter and his…her mother.  It was nearly two in the morning when Blair’s door opened.

“Todd?” she called softly.  He was sitting almost ramrod straight but didn’t respond.  Instead, she heard him mumbling something, but couldn’t make out what it was, though she did hear her name and Starr’s.  When she walked around to the front of the couch, again he had stopped and was staring, just as he had done when they were cleaning up.  “Todd, are you alright?”

“I keep asking myself that,” he stated, his voice monotone, still not looking at her.  “Starr asked me and Michael Corinthos asked me.”

“Tea and I were wondering about that too,” Blair admitted, “Right before you showed up with Skye and Carly, in fact, we were wondering what was going on with you.”  She rubbed his back but he jumped at her touch.  Todd immediately moved as far away on the couch from her as he could. 

Blair masked the pain she felt when she saw his reaction and he noticed it.  He always noticed everything about her.  “I’m sorry I slept with Carly.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.  We weren’t together when it happened,” she told him.

“I told Starr that I knew I’d get you back, that you’d come running to me.  You just needed to learn the truth about Tomas and when you did, you’d come back to me,” he explained.  Then he finally looked at her and had that sad smile of his on his face.  “Guess I was right about you coming to me.  May not be under the most ideal circumstances.”

Blair didn’t know how to answer him.  The truth was, she knew he was right.  From the moment she opened Tea’s door, she knew she’d go back to him.  Unfortunately, his little show of grandstanding in Llanview in front of Tea had only provoked her further down the path she was on at the time.  Even before showing up at Tea’s that day, she was wavering, the conversation with Starr from a few days before looping over and over in her mind. 

“Worst decision of my life,” he said.  “And knowing a whole lot of them…”

Blair just eyed him.

“Okay, worst non-criminal decision of my life,” he amended.  “And it did set me up for arrest, funny enough.”  He let out a laugh.  “I said it; I was only good with you, Blair.  Again, I was right.”  Then he hung his head, trying his hardest to hold back a sob.  “I was right.”

Blair didn’t know what to do.  She couldn’t think of any words that would comfort him and he recoiled at her touch.   She got up and was heading back to the bedroom, but then she looked back at him.  She walked back and knelt in front of him, trying to soothe away the tears.  She gently pushed him down on the couch and placed the blanket over him, as his tears subsided.  At last he fell asleep as she held his hand.  As she watched him, she whispered, “I know.”

******

In the morning, Viki decided to go to the MetroCourt’s restaurant for breakfast while Jess and Nat took the children to a local diner Starr had recommended.  She was already there when her cousins arrived.  A look of sadness passed over her features at the sight of Bree, Ryder and Liam, but she managed to cover it before anyone noticed.  After situating the kids at a nearby table, the three sat at one nearby and Jess began.  “How is Uncle Todd this morning?”

Starr sighed.  “When I came out of the room this morning, he was asleep on the couch and Mom must have fallen asleep while she was sitting on the floor.  I thought I heard them talking early this morning, but I was half asleep myself.  Yesterday was a long day.”

“I’ll bet,” Natalie said.  She was looking around the diner cautiously.  “Do you know if John comes here?”  

“I guess he would,” she said, adding, “I really haven’t been around him that much lately.”  Starr looked over at Liam.  “Are you going to take him to see his daddy?”

“There’s a restraining order against contact with him, Starr,” she said.

“But if you take him to see John…” the younger woman began.

Natalie looked to Jessica.  Her twin shrugged her shoulders.  “You knew coming here, there was a chance you’d run into John.  I even warned you about it before we left Llanfair.”

“Yeah, that was after you challenge me to confront Todd,” Natalie scowled.  “After breakfast, I’ll head down to the police station and see if he’s in.”

After they are, Natalie stuck to her word and bundled up Liam.  After she was out of view, Starr noticed AJ Quartermaine approach the door.  Seeing her there, he came over, cautiously.  Her warm smile let down his guard.

“AJ, I spoke to my dad.  He’d be fine with meeting with you.  We were just finishing up and heading over.  You can come with us,” Starr said.

“Thank you,” he replied.  Then he noticed the blond at the table with Starr.

Starr shook her head.  “Sorry, I forgot to introduce the two of you.  This is my cousin, Jessica Brennan.  Jess, this is AJ Quartermaine.”  Then she pointed over to the table with two children.  “And those are her children, Bree and Ryder.”

Jessica smiled at him as she offered him her hand.  “I think Starr mentioned you.  You’re her boyfriend’s father, right?”

AJ nodded.  “Biologically, yes, but I had conflicts with Michael’s mother and was never really a part of his life.”

Jessica looked intrigued but Starr gave a subtle shake of her head.  They paid the bill and headed over to the apartment.  Once inside, they found Todd at work at the computer.  Blair, though, wasn’t on the other end.

“Hey, you’re back.  You remember that piece I had yesterday?  I can’t seem to find it,” he asked as she took off her coat.  Then he looked up and saw Jessica and the kids.  “Hey, you came back?”

“Of course we came back, Uncle Todd.  Starr was telling me at breakfast that she was helping you and I was wondering if I could pitch in,” she confirmed.

“You want to come back to The Sun?” Todd asked, somewhat surprised.

Jessica nodded.  “I think I’m ready.  Bree’s in school and Ryder’s good with sitters, he’ll be starting preschool in a bit.”

“I can even have you work from home.  If Blair could do it with a newborn…”  His thoughts slipped back to Viki’s talk with him, years ago, about how Blair coped with the paper and baby Starr when he was thought lost in Ireland.

“We can work out details another time, but for now, I’ll help you here,” she replied with a smile.

“Well, I actually have found a very able assistant.” Todd’s lip quirked up in Starr’s direction.

“And right now, you have a meeting.”  She gestured to the blonde-haired man, who extended his hand.  “Dad, meet AJ Quartermaine.”

Todd was reticent at first.  He had heard all about AJ from Carly.  But the things she had said couldn’t be trusted, he realized now.  He took AJ’s hand and they shook.  “Starr, can you and Jess and the kids go down to the office.  See if your mother has any paperwork for me to sign.  I remember her saying there was some there but that she forgot them last night.”

They left and he and AJ were alone.  “Can I ask a question,” came the words out of Todd’s mouth and AJ took off his coat and laid it on the couch.

“Anything,” AJ replied.

“Why did she dump you for the mini-mobster?”

AJ had to laugh at that.  “I’ve actually asked myself that over the years.  In truth, she dumped me for my brother, but Sonny happened to be at his place one night and they fell into bed together.  She got pregnant but lost the baby when we had a fight on the stairs at my family’s house.”

“She seems to have a habit of dumping the god-looking guy for the sleaze bag.  Sonny Corinthos, Johnny Zaccahra.  Doesn’t stay with the AJs or the Jaspers.”

“You’ve met Jax?” AJ asked.

“Yeah,” Todd answered.  “Best handshake I ever had from another man.”  Todd sat back down at his desk as AJ sat at the couch.  “So, here to impart all your knowledge of Carly Corinthos Jacks, huh?”

“What do you want to know?”

“This is how she treats her friends?”

AJ shook his head.  “Unless you’re Sonny or Jason, yeah, pretty much.  Even Jax learned that.”  AJ leaned forward, “He may also be someone you’ll want to get in touch with, before she does.  From what I understand, he can get to her in ways, even Sonny can’t.  For him, she at least tries to be a better person.”

“Kinda figured that when I met him,” Todd murmured.  When AJ questioned him with a look, he replied.  “He reminded me of the male version of my ex-wife, well, my first ex-wife.  The second one, it was a marriage of convenience.  I needed a wife, she needed five million dollars.”

AJ thought about the comparison.  “Yeah, I can see that.  Blair seems like a hell of a woman.”

“You’ve met?” Todd asked. 

“Yeah, few night ago.  She recognized me because of my resemblance to Michael.  We got to talking about Carly, the kids, even the similarities in our relationships with our children’s parents.  She gave me a rundown of the two of you.”

Todd was uneasy.  “What kind of rundown?”

“Something about a faked pregnancy for money?”  Then AJ got very solemn.  “But that you two in love eventually.  I…envy that.  I’ve never really had that kind of relationship.”

Todd’s face grew sad.  He didn’t want to think about the pain he had caused Blair, despite how much he loved her.  It was always the same story.  He would always screw it up.  “So, what else can you tell me about Carly?  I have sadly gotten myself into a real mess this time.”