Through the Darkness, Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER 18

August, 2013

Todd lay on the bed and, as was normal, didn’t sleep.  Too many thought were crashing around in his mind and he couldn’t even concentrate on any of them.  But one bit of information stood out to him.

Victor had told him that he had not fired the gun that had “killed” his brother. 

Todd could not comprehend that.  Sure, he had pleaded innocence right after it had happened.  He had gone right down to the LPD to give his statement.  And eventually, the formal police investigation hadn’t pursed him.  But then, he admitted, he got sloppy.  After his mother’s haunting led him to remember, and Tomas began to look into him, he had begun to fall back on his old ways, acting squirrelly, unconsciously drawing attention to himself.  That had led John McBain and Tea to investigate him.  He really brought them down on him when he had arranged to have Tomas kidnapped and framed for the crime. 

He had justified that at the time, as Tomas was with Blair and he wanted her back.  David Vickers had told him she had chosen the man who had kidnapped him and the only way he saw to even the playing field was by eliminating the competition.  It had worked; he and Blair had come back together, at last.  And that had fallen apart when John had barged into their room and arrested him for Victor’s murder.  After a little bit of bail-jumping, he had been put on trial for the murder but he had been found not guilty due to a diagnosis of PTSD.  It had been a desperate move his lawyer thought was a long shot, given his history of using mental illness to get out of trouble.  But when the trial was over, Todd had joked to the doctor about how the excuse had worked. 

The expert looked him in the eye.  “Mr. Manning,” he said, “that was no joke diagnosis.  You are suffering from the disorder.  I strongly advise that you seek medical help or else it will continue to manifest itself in other and worse ways.”

At the time, a small shiver ran down his spine.  But then it was forgotten, as he had received a call from a PI he had hired in Port Charles, informing him that Starr had been arrested for attempted murder.  The doctor’s warning all but forgotten, Todd hopped on his plane and headed north.

As he was once again imprisoned without much more than his thoughts, he went back to the night Tea had given birth.  Had his mania that night been a symptom of the PTSD?  Had the pressure and the guilt about Victor led him to agree to the hare-brained scheme of a true wacko?  He shook his head.  He didn’t want to remember that night.  Then, the guilt about Victor’s death had nearly eaten him up.  Now, the fact that Victor was alive and his son was not devoured him whole.

“You’re being way too quiet,” his brother’s voice said.

Todd sort of wished he was alone with just his thoughts.  “I’m still not getting it,” he said after a long pause.

“What aren’t you getting?” his twin asked.

Todd sat up and got down off the top bunk.  He looked at Victor square in the eyes and asked, for the tenth time already, “How could I have not shot you?”

“Seriously, you still don’t get that?” Victor asked.  “You did not pull the trigger.  You did not barge into my house that night.  You were not in my living room.  Not that tough.”

“But you don’t remember who it was who did pull the trigger, did barge into you house and did stand in your living room?” Todd asked, still bewildered.  When Victor had told him that it was not Todd, he had harangued his brother for a good hour, trying to find out who it was.  Victor appeared to have tried to recapture the memories, but in the end, could not.

“No, I don’t,” Victor admitted.

A nasty cackle bubbled out of Todd.  Victor eyed him for a minute.  “What’s so funny?”

“When I jumped bail, after Starr was in the accident, McBain caught me in a courtroom, ready to shoot the guy we thought…we thought caused the accident,” Todd explained.  “Blair and Starr were there, as was the mobster’s ex-wife and son.  I’d met the chick a day before and we commiserated together over the fact we couldn’t see people we cared about because of other people.  Anyway, before John took me out, I asked her, ‘Do you think I killed my brother?’  She said she didn’t know.”  Todd turned away from Victor.  “For a minute, for not even a minute, I questioned it myself.”

“How did you get off on it?” Victor asked, sounding curious.

“Why?  Looking for a cover if you kill me?” Todd retorted.  Then, he frowned.  “I got a shrink to tell the court that I had post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by all the bonding I spent with Mommy.”  He chuckled again.  “The court bought it.  I was free.  And I thought it was all bullshit, but…now I’m thinking, what if my memory is because of the PTSD?”

“You really do need a shrink,” Victor told him.

“Says the guy who nearly strangled me with his bare hands, tried to poison me and, oh, ripped the head off a stuffed giraffe,” Todd catalogued.  “Let’s face it, we both have issues.”

Victor turned towards the door.  “There has got to be a way out of here,” he mused, looking at it again.

“Have you tried to get out?” Todd asked.

“No, I was waiting for our brotherly reunion,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.  “Yeah, I’ve looked at this thing for days.  It’s solid steel, no locks on this side.  “I’ve tried ramming it, unscrewing the hinges, but it won’t budge.”

“Here, give the former football standout a try,” Todd offered.  “Besides, I’ve broken out of prison vans, evidence closets and places that are all too similar to these accommodations.”  Todd gave the door a few tries, but it still wouldn’t open.

The next thing he heard was a hiss that came from the ceiling.  He and Victor looked up and saw a gas coming from a vent above.  “What the hell?” he said.

As it continued to pump into the room, Todd began to feel sleepy.  “I think they may have found a way…to overpower us,” he said.

“Well, this…is new…” Victor replied as he slumped to the floor.  After a few minutes, the brothers were out cold.  Neither heard the door open or see who was coming in to check on them.

**********

Blair walked to the door of Tea’s condo.  She had called the other woman earlier and didn’t like how she had sounded on the other end.  When Jack had returned, she took the keys and drove over, wanting to make sure the lawyer was okay.

Blair knew that as much as Todd’s disappearance was affecting her, it was worse for Tea.  At least Blair didn’t worry about a manhunt for her husband or having him be labeled as armed and dangerous.  But Tea had that to deal with, on top of Victor being away.

She knocked on the door and after a few minutes, it opened to a woman who looked worse for the wear.  “You look terrible,” Blair said.  “Are you feeling alright?”

Tea stepped aside and allowed Blair entry before saying, “No.  I’ve had, I don’t know, a nervous stomach or something for a while.  I’m plagued by anxiety attacks, my heart goes a mile a minute.”  She collapsed on the couch.  “This whole situation is making me physically ill.  And that’s not even taking into account what I’m going through with Daniella.”

“Have you seen a doctor about it?” Blair asked.

“After my panic attack at the cardio class, Dani insisted I go to the hospital.  But by the time I got there, my blood pressure was fine, my heart rate was normal so they didn’t do any other test.”     

“Come on, get dressed.  I’m taking you to the hospital,” Blair ordered.

“Blair, I’m fine.  Just a nervous wreck.” Tea replied.

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” she insisted.

“I heard from Dani, just before you got here,” Tea said in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Sadly, it worked.  “Did they get to Port Charles?”

“Yes, and they found the hotel.  She said she and Matthew got a room and they’ll stay until they find out anything.  I told them to look up the owner of the MetroCourt.  What was her name?  Carly…”

“Carly Jacks,” Blair answered. 

“Yeah, she was getting close to Todd, right?”  Blair’s face darkened and Tea seemed to perk up.  “How close did they get?”

Blair chose not to respond.  “You, go get dressed.  I’m taking you to the hospital.”

When they got there, Blair saw Larry Wolek.  “Larry, could you do a check up on Tea.  She’s been complaining about stomach issues, panic attacks, stuff like that.”

Larry looked at Tea.  “How long has this been going on?” he asked.

With a humorless laugh, she said, “Since my husband went on the run.”  Larry signaled nurse and told her what test to perform. 

Once they walked away, Blair turned to Larry.  “By the way, thank you for taking the time to talk to Jack.”

Larry smiled.  “I think I should be thanking him.”  When Blair gave him a quizzed looked, he explained.  “Merrie’s been dead for so long, I forget I was once a member of the Lord family.  No fault of any of them.  But time moves on, lives change and we tend to forget our connections with people.  But talking to Jack, it made me remember Merrie and how happy we were together.  It made me remember that I was once a part of that family.”

“I guess it never computed for me either.  I came into the family without the greatest reputation and Todd’s always held himself somewhat apart from the rest of them.  He’s only ever been really close to Viki, maybe Jessica too.  But the rest of them?  He and Kevin have hated each other for years before he learned the truth and he barely tolerates Tina.”

“I can promise you one thing…Merrie would have forced her way in.  No way he’d have relegated himself to the outsider,” he said.  “She was like that and I think after she died, Viki took up that mantle.”  Just then, the nurse returned and signaled she had completed everything as ordered.  He told her to take the samples to the lab put a rush on it and Blair headed into the cubicle Tea was in.  “Larry is ordering a rush on the tests,” Blair told her. 

“You do realize this is all a bit ridiculous?  I’m just under a load of stress and it’s finally taken its toll on me,” she reason.  “You of all people should understand that.”

“Look, I just want to be sure.  If anything happens to you before Victor gets back, I don’t what to hear it from him.  Just like if anything happens to me, do you want to deal with Todd?” Blair asked.

Tea didn’t answer but seemed to concede the point.  They went to the waiting room and sat there for an hour, until Larry returned.  “Tea, can I see you in private please?”

Tea turned to Blair and her sister-in-law nodded.  Then, she followed the doctor into his office. 

That had Blair worried.  She had meant what she had said.  She’d had to deal with Victor thinking he’d lost Tea once.  It had been an awful time for the man and it made her realize how much Victor loved Tea.  At the time, it had awakened her jealousy but also drew on her sympathy.  Now, it left her at peace, finally seeing that it wasn’t that ‘Todd’ had fallen out of love with her, but that it was the fact that Victor had never loved her.  And even though Todd wasn’t there, she felt his love radiating from the ring she still kept hidden on her finger.

Tea came back into the waiting area, a stunned look on her face.  Blair stood up immediately, panic coming off of her.  “What is it?  What did Larry say?”

Tea’s hand moved to her stomach.  “It’s not a stomach flu or even anxiety.”  She looked down at her belly and a smile dawned on her face.  “I’m pregnant,” she said, as tears welled up in her eyes.