Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty Two

CHAPTER 32

August, 2013

Blair could tell that Todd hadn’t slept a wink that night.  He was normally an insomniac, but this time it was worse.  When she had come down to the kitchen and found him pouring a cup of coffee, it wasn’t even six in the morning.  “I’m not even going to ask you how you slept,” she said.

“Third cup of coffee already,” he told her.  He took a long sip as he moved to the carafe and poured some for Blair.  She accepted it as he continued.  “I kept going back to that night…what I did wrong.  And I’m not even thinking about what happened after I met the crazy lady in the woods.”  He looked to Blair.  “What if there was someone else there, waiting to snatch Tea?”

“Then you saved her from being kidnapped and held by whoever had Victor,” she said quietly. 

“What if, in saving her from that, I got her kid killed?  What if…”

“Todd,” she began, putting her hand on his cheek, trying to calm him.  It seemed to work.  “’What ifs’ will kill you.  You can’t go back.  But we can go forward and try to protect the family in the here and now.”

Todd took her hand and kissed it.  He was about to move on to her lips when Jack and Starr came bounding down the stairs.  “Hey, is there any news from the hospital?” Starr asked her father.

“Ah, no, nothing since I left last night.  But, when I did leave, they were saying Clint had the same tattoo as Victor,” Todd told them.

“What does that mean?  Did he become part of the same group as Victor?” Jack asked

Todd shrugged his shoulders.  “We don’t really know.  Victor is still not talking about what happened to him, even as Bo was pressing him last night.”  He looked at his two children and then at his watch.  “What are you two doing up so early anyway?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Starr said.

“I was going for a run.  I haven’t been doing a lot of training for soccer,” Jack replied.

Todd nodded.  “Look, you want to come into The Sun with me today?  I’d like your input on some things,” he asked.  Jack nodded and left.

“So, the Manning men are running the paper?” Starr asked.

“You know, you could come too.  Your mother’s still on staff and we could just make it a family affair,” Todd said to his daughter.

Starr smirked at him.  “As much as I like the sound of that, I never really had any interest in the publishing business.  Besides, Aunt Dorian’s been texting me for the last few days.  She wants to have lunch with me.  Probably figures I’m the weakest link in the chain and be more willing to hear her side of things.”  She shook her head turning to leave.  “Who does she think she’s dealing with?”

Todd had to chuckle at that.  He went to sit at the table when the door opened and Viki walked in.  “You’re all up?” she asked, concern in her voice.

“We are a family of insomniacs,” Todd declared.  “Here, sit down, I’ll get you some coffee, if you want.”

“Thank you,” she said. 

Blair could see she was tired.  “Has there been any change since Todd left?”

“No,” she answered as her brother set a coffee cup down in from of her.  “The doctors are trying to figure out what he’s been given still.  They don’t want to just take a shot in the dark and have it react to any drugs he may have been given.  Larry’s running every test known to man right now.”

“You should rest,” Todd said in his best advice-giving voice.  “Seriously, you’ve been up, how many hours straight?  Sleep for a bit, take a shower and go back out.  If there’s any news, I’m sure your daughters will call you.”

“You have a point,” she answered.  “By the way, how was Victor when you left?  I know the two of you went off for a while.”

“He’s dealing with some things,” Todd hedged, not wanting to answer further.  “Look, I have to get into the office.  Blair, you’ll be there?”

His wife nodded and he headed upstairs.

“Dealing with some things?” Viki asked her.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think either of them has processed everything that’s happened to them in the last few years.  Really, how do you handle finding out that you had a long lost twin brother, then think you killed him and find out you had a false memory planted in you about that?” Blair asked.  “And think about it from Victor’s point of view.  He comes home and finds out his wife was pregnant and the baby was stillborn.  That’s not even taking into account everything else that happened in Port Charles!”

“You have a point there,” Viki agreed.  “I just hope that they can eventually find some common ground.  I really don’t like the idea of them squabbling over The Sun or the inheritance.”

“Do you think it would come to that?  I mean, I remember the hoops Todd had to jump through to prove he was Victor’s son.  And they were tailored to him…his medical history, his memories.”

“A good lawyer could challenge it,” Viki said matter of factly.  “Once everything is calmed down, though, I think I may just talk to the trustees about it.  See if I can’t find a way for a provision to be made for Victor.”

With that, she left the kitchen as Todd returned.  “You coming in later on?” Todd asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be in a little later.  I want to check some things out at Shelter.  And I want to run an idea by you about the club, but I have a few things to do first,” Blair said.  “I’ll meet you before lunch, okay?”

Todd nodded.  “That sounds like an idea.  And I have some ideas about your place at The Sun.  I want to run them by Briggs when I get in.  Hopefully, we’ll have everything line up for you by then.”  He turned to leave but faced her again.  “Hey, wanna crash Dorian and Starr’s lunch date?”

Blair smirked at Todd.  She had to admit she was sorely tempted to do just that, but she shook her head.  “Let Starr deal with her on her own.  She’s more than capable of that, trust me.”

Todd nodded and headed back to the door.  Then he stopped, turned around and went back to her, kissing her with a passion that nearly knocked her off her feet.  When he broke away, she looked to be catching her breath.  “See you later,” she said.

“See you soon,” he answered.”

**********

Jack turned the corner by the coffee shop when he noticed Jeffrey King having a seat at a nearby table.  He remembered Tea’s explanation of the description of the messenger at the hotel in Port Charles.  He wondered, briefly, if it could have been Jeffrey.  It made sense, as he was a reporter with a story and knowing any of the history between Todd and Dorian.   He had heard his aunt mention his father’s congratulations on breaking the news about Dorian’s scandal.  But he also remembered hearing Jeffrey on the phone a few days before and he hadn’t liked what he heard.  Jack stopped and thought about how to approach the other man then made his way over.

“Hey, Jeffrey, isn’t it?” Jack asked.

“Yes, you’re Viki Lord’s nephew, Jack Manning, right?” Jeffrey answered and asked.  When Jack nodded, Jeffrey said, “I heard your father was rescued?”

Jack nodded.  “Yeah, from up in New York State.  He and my uncle made an escape from wherever they were being held.  My dad was shot but he’s recovering.”

“Viki must be relieved.  I know she was really worried about the both of them.  She thought their kidnapping may have been linked to the scandal with Senator Lord,” Jeffrey said.  “Isn’t she also related to you?”

Jack made a face.  “Yeah, she’s my mother’s aunt but also, well, my step-grandmother, I guess.  She was Victor Lord’s last wife, hence the name, even if she doesn’t remember the relationship well.”

“I haven’t really met her, but I have seen her and Viki interacting a bit.  Viki looks like she’d rather have a root canal,” the reporter commented.

Jack thought about it and nodded, smirking a bit.  “Yeah, that’s a pretty good description.  Their issues with each other, well, they predate me, my sister and even my dad knowing he was Victor Lord’s son.”  Then, Jack paused, thinking of what to say next.  “By the way, if he hasn’t said anything yet, I know my dad was impressed with the story you broke.  I think he’s a little jealous The Banner got it.”

“Well, when I learn of it, I knew she was from Llanview, so I figured her hometown should be the one that got the story.  I didn’t even really know the full history of Viki and Senator Lord,” Jeffrey explained.  “Besides, at the time, The Sun didn’t seem to be doing a whole hell of a lot.  Your dad was out of town, right?  Up in New York somewhere.”

“Port Charles,” Jack supplied.  “Ever been there?  Dad said it had a load of good news stories.  Backstabbing family business deals, mobster galore, even international spies.”

Jeffrey shook his head.  “No, I’ve never made my way that far up.”  He then looked at his watch.  “I have to get to the office.”  He took a few steps away, then turned to Jack.  “Say, you think your father would do an interview on his experience?  I’ve heard a little about his kidnapping years ago, thought the latest events could make a good story.”

Jack cupped his chin thoughtfully.  “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll check with him.  You are right, it would be a good story.”  With that, Jeffrey did leave.  Jack made his way back to Llanfair and after showering, headed into The Sun.  He found Todd in his office going over some copy.  “I ran into Jeffrey King this morning on my run,” he informed his father.

That got Todd to look up at his son.  “Really?  Any good recon?”

“Well, I did bring up if he’d ever been in Port Charles.  I told him you said it was a goldmine for the press.  He said he had never been there,” Jack informed him.

“Why do you have an interest in him anyway?”

Jack sat down.  “Well, first, there was the description Dani said was given to her at the hotel you were living at.  She said he was a clean cut, young African-American and it made it sound like he wanted to talk to you about newspaper business.”

“Like the story he gave The Banner?” Todd asked.

“Possible, but he reminded me that your focus wasn’t really down here at the time,” Jack said.  “Then, this is the thing that really set off my alarm.  Before you and Victor escaped, I heard him on the phone with someone.  And the parts that I got…he sounded like he knew about the scheme to kidnap the two of you.  He even said our names, like he knew about the conversation we had when you were taken.”

“Who would have told him that?” Todd asked, confused.

“He was at Llanfair a day or so after I got back from Chicago.  Aunt Viki called him over, had some questions for him about his story, I think.  He came over, but I didn’t take part in the talk,” Jack said.

Todd looked to be processing the information.  “What do we know about Jeffrey King, beyond that fact that he’s the savior of The Banner?”

“Well, he knows both Matthew and Dani from London,” Jack said.  When his father gave him a look, Jack gave him a brief rundown on my Matthew was there and how it led him to meet Dani.

“So, London prep school.  Those are pricey.  I need to talk to Tea about that.  See if can do a little digging into it,” Todd said.  “Meanwhile, fire up your computer.  See what you can discover about him using conventional methods.”

“You mean legal ones?” Jack asked.

“Jack, I would never put a thought into your head to do anything illegal.”

Jack smiled widely, echoing his father’s look.  As he set to work, he looked up at Todd.  “Just to let you know, Mom lectured me about hacking into the hospital’s security, after she told me she was proud that I was taking after you with the skills.  She also mentioned something about shutting down the power in Llanview?”

Todd merely smiled.  “Some other time.  Right now, we have things to look into.” 

Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty One

CHAPTER 31

August, 2013

Todd went out looking for his brother.  At first, he thought Victor had left the hospital completely, but as he walked past an exam room, he saw his brother standing with his back to the door seemingly staring at the wall.  Todd took a deep breath as he went in.  “Victor?” he asked cautiously. 

Victor turned to him.  “What do you remember the night my son was born?” he asked Todd, a note of desperation in his voice.

There were a number of moments in Todd’s life he didn’t like to think about and that had been added to the list the minute it happened.  He still didn’t like to dwell on it.  “Victor, it was a while ago and I didn’t go over it in my head…”

“That’s bullshit,” Victor said calmly.  “You told me about the guilt of it.  If anyone knows you well, it’s me and I know that when you feel guilty about something, it plays over in your head and eats you up.”

This was one of those times he really hated having a twin, especially one who had all his memories.  “You got me there.  What do you want to know?”

“Where you found Tea,” he answered.  “I want to know everything you know about that.”

Todd closed his eyes and found himself back in the parking garage of the hotel Tea had stayed at.  “It was a parking garage, underneath the place she was staying.  I was on the phone calling to find out where she was.  Starr had a court hearing and Tea, very unlike her, never showed.  Not that she was needed in the end, but I went looking for her.  She looked like she had passed out when she was trying to get into the car.  When she came to, she said she had overslept, she was rushing and she passed out.  I took her keys and she tried to get them back.  I told her she could hate me all she wanted, but I was going to drive her to the hospital.”

“Did you see anyone else there?”

“No, I didn’t,” Todd told him.  “I walked in, I was yammering on the phone, but there was no one else there.  I’m sure of that.”  Then, Todd paused.  “At least, I’m pretty sure of that.”

Victor jumped at that.  “Pretty sure?” 

“Well, I wasn’t really paying attention to a lot, and then all my attention was on Tea after I found her.  I mean, it’s possible that someone else was there.  It was a public lot.”

“But if it was, wouldn’t someone else have come to help her?” Victor asked.  Todd saw his point.  “When was this?  When did it happen?”

“It was…it was the end of May, beginning of June,” Todd said.

“May, June,” Victor repeated, closing his eyes.  “I remember Allison showing me a headline about Viki recovering from her shooting.  I remember seeing the news about…about the accident and I remember seeing the headline about your bail jumping.  And then, the next time I saw her, she had a copy of The Sun from when Starr performed up in Port Charles.”

“That was a couple of months apart.  Cole and Hope…that was in March and Starr didn’t do her show until July,” Todd said, putting the pieces together.

“I know she wasn’t with me for a while.  When she was, she’d be in every day to see me.  But there was a long period that she didn’t come to see me,” Victor said, almost to himself.

“Victor…” Todd began.  “Victor, much as I am in favor of paranoid conclusions, you need to ease off a bit.”

“What if they tried to use her to get to me?  What if they tried to use the baby?” Victor questioned.  “It’s happened before.  Mitch used Blair, tried to use Starr and he got you!”

“Mitch was dead before any of this happened, Victor!” Todd yelled back, his voice getting louder.  “Natalie shot him on New Year’s Eve.  There was a prison break.  He escaped, so did Allison and Cole and others.”  Todd didn’t want to think about Mitch snatching him.  It brought up too many things he still hadn’t come to terms with.

“But what if that was the plan?” Victor’s voice was getting more desperate, more hysterical.  “Use them to get me to cooperate?  Because, I remember…I remember fighting, trying to figure a way to escape, even before then.  What if they wanted to use them to silence me?”  His voice was breaking at that and he slid down to the floor of the room.

Todd crouched down as best he could next to Victor, fearing for him for the first time ever.  He finally sat down and was shoulder to shoulder next to his brother.  “Victor, we still don’t know who the primary target has been.  I was the one that got kidnapped.  Then I escaped and they then wanted you dead.  Next, you get kidnapped and then you escape.  And how does Clint figure into all this?”  Todd looked at Victor and Victor back at him.  “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”

“Before the baby comes.  I don’t want anything to be hanging over us, any of us, then,” Victor said as he stood up.  He seemed calmer now, which Todd was grateful for.  Dealing with neurotic Tea was bad, but he didn’t much like the idea of handling Victor either.

Todd struggled to get to his feet.  “Ah, a little help here would be appreciated,” Todd called.  Remember, shot in the leg!”

Victor turned back and grabbed Todd’s hand, helping him to his feet.  They made their way back to the waiting room and found Tea there.  “Hey, I was just going to coming look for you,” she said to Victor.

“I just needed a little time to think,” he answered.  “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to check in with you.  We haven’t heard anything and I was getting tired, so I figured I’d come and see if you were still here and if there was any news,” Tea explained.

He looked to Viki.  “Anymore word on Clint?”

Viki walked over to her brothers.  “There’s no change, so obviously, he’s being admitted.  Larry also told me that, in examining him, they found a tattoo…like the one you have.”

“And I, for one, would like to know what you know about it Victor,” Bo said as he joined them.   

“Are you accusing me of this?” Victor yelled, about ready to fly off the handle.

“No, Victor, he’s not,” Tea said, trying to calm him.  “That’s not what you’re asking, right, Bo?”

“You haven’t answered any questions since you’ve been back, Victor.  And now, the same tattoo you have has shown up on my brother,” Bo replied.   “We need to have a talk about this.  A lot has happened, and you seem to be the key.”

“Bo, look, it’s late.  Maybe you and Victor can talk in the morning, right?” Todd asked, stepping in to try and calm the situation.

“Yes, I think that would be for the best,” Tea added.

“Good.”  Todd moved over to Viki.  “You need me here?  I want to get back to Blair.”

“Yes, I’m fine.  You go back to your family,” Viki said with a weak smile.

Todd nodded.  “Can you drop me off at Llanfair?” he asked Tea.  She nodded and they piled into the car.  A short time later, Todd was walking into the Lord Library.  He was surprised to see Blair there. 

“Todd, any news on Clint?” she asked as they embraced.

“Well, he’s still out of it, from what I heard.  And here’s the weird thing.  He has the same tattoo as Victor,” Todd said, point to his wrist.

“What does that mean?  He’s been branded or something?”

“That’s what Bo wanted to know.  But Victor…he took it the wrong way.  There was a bit of a scene, but I brought it under control,” Todd answered with a smirk. 

Now Blair looked suspicious.  “You calmed down Bo and Victor?”

Todd shrugged his head a bit.  “Well, Tea put in her two cents too, I guess.”  Todd moved to the wet bar and fixed himself a drink.  After he poured it, he sat down with Blair joining him.  “Victor…he wanted to know about the night…the baby…”  He took a gulp of the scotch.  Blair knew what he was talking about.  It was a subject that even they hadn’t brought up.  It was too close to one of their darker periods.  She also realized it was the secret he had been keeping when she had come to Port Charles for Starr’s performance.   “He has a crazy idea of what happened that night.”

Todd went on to tell Blair about finding Tea in the hotel garage.  “He kept asking me if I’d seen anyone there.  He was desperate to find that out.”

“Well, did you see anyone?  Is it possible?” Blair asked in a soft voice.

He shrugged his shoulders.  “I guess it’s possible.  I never really thought about it.  It seems too far-fetched.”

“When you lose something you love, even if you didn’t know you had it, you look for any answer to make the pain go away.  They can all be ridiculous but you hold onto them,” she said.

“Yeah, I get that,” he said as he finished his drink.  “Look, it’s been a long day.  I just want to get some rest.  I’ll probably go into to check on Viki on the way into the office, tomorrow.”  He put the glass down and took Blair hand.  They closed the light in the room as they left, which suited the dark thoughts Todd was having.

His brother’s voice was nagging at him.  What if Victor was right and there was another reason Tea’s son died?  Todd knew it would haunt his thoughts for the night. 

Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty

CHAPTER 30

August, 2013

By time Todd, Victor and Viki got the Llanview Hospital, the doctors were working on Clint under Larry Wolek’s direction.  Viki found her daughters and sat with them.  Todd and Victor hung back, with Tina between the two groups.

“So, you have any thoughts on the reappearance of Clint?” Victor asked. 

“Oh, I have lots of thoughts,” Todd said, drilling a look at his twin. 

“Well, while we wait, I think we should have that talk,” Victor said.  Todd swallowed as he nodded.  Before he headed for the hospital chapel, though, he went up to Tina. 

“Come with us,” he demanded of his sister.  Tina looked at the expression on the two of them and after a momentary quizzed look, she followed. 

When they arrived, Todd began.  “What do you want to know exactly?”

Victor inhaled.  “I want to know about what happened to my son,” he said.  “Tea told me, but, I want to hear your side.”

“Victor…” Todd’s voice began to break as he looked to Tina.  Even she began to try and dissuade him from his inquiry.

“No, you’re going to tell me,” he said with surprising calm.

Todd began to describe everything, from Tea not showing up for Starr’s court hearing to finding her in the hotel garage to the rainstorm and the delivery in the bus stop.  “When he…he came out, he wasn’t crying, he didn’t make a sound.  Tea demanded I find help and I did.  Or, I thought I did.”  He went on to the crazy woman in the shed and her declaring the baby dead.  Then, when it was just him, he explained how another woman had collapsed inside the shed and Todd hearing her baby’s cry.  He told Victor how Tea had found him with the other baby, and Tea mistaking him for her son.  “I should have stopped it there.  I tried to but the woman came back, thought she had saved the baby.  Then, when I told her about the other woman, she came up with the plan.  I didn’t want to, I‘ve done that before and I knew it wouldn’t work, but she kept harping on my guilt.”

“Your guilt?” Victor asked slowly. 

Todd looked at Victor.  “Contrary to popular belief, I did feel guilty for ‘killing you’” he said.  “I made the mistake of telling the crazy lady that.  And then I got Tea to the hospital.  I tried a few more times to right it, but they got messed up too.  And I thought I could let it lie.”  Todd sat down and looked at his brother.

Victor remained quiet and calm.  It looked to Todd like he was processing the information.  Todd was prepared for anything, including his brother’s potential for a violent reaction.  “Where did you find Tea again?”

Todd blinked.  He hadn’t expected that question.  “She was unconscious on the floor of the garage.  It looked like she was about to get into her car.”

“How long was she there?”

Todd narrowed his eyes.  “I don’t know.  She could have been there for, like, a half-hour, if she was on her way to court.”

“Did you see anyone else there in the garage?”

Todd shook his head.  “No one that I noticed.”  He turned to Victor.  “What are you thinking?”

Victor didn’t answer, just got up and headed back to the waiting room.  Larry was there, talking to Viki and Clint’s kids.  “He seems to have stabilized.  His heart is a point of concern, if for no other reason than, we have no idea how long he’s been without the anti-rejection meds and how that has impacted on his heart.  We’re also testing him for any signs of that drug we found when he was brought in a few weeks ago.”

“Will he be alright?” Viki asked, as both of her daughters had their arms around her. 

“I can’t say for certain, but if his cardiac tests come back positive, he should be alright,” Larry answered at last.

Clint’s family let out a sigh of relief, as Victor signaled to Larry.  The doctor moved over to him.  “Clint should be fine.  I just told them,” he said.

Victor seemed to ignore what he had just been told.  “Was there an autopsy done on my son?” Victor asked.

Larry looked at Victor for a moment.  “I’m sure there was one done on the baby when he was brought in up in Port Charles.”

“Was there one done before he was buried here?” Victor asked, his voice rising.

“I don’t know, Victor,” Larry answered truthfully.

Victor closed his eyes for a minute.  “If Tea was drugged, could that have been what killed my son?”

Larry looked from Todd to Victor.  Then, taking his brother-in-law by the shoulder, he ushered him into another room.  Victor’s twin followed.  “Have you spoken to Jack?  Either of you?  Do you know if he spoke to Tea?”

“What’s Jack got to do with this?” Todd asked.

“Before you both came back, Jack came to me, asked me questions about Merrie,” Larry explained.  “I told him about my daughter.  She was my son Daniel’s twin, who was stillborn.  She, too, had respiratory issues.  He thought Tea should speak to me, that maybe there’s a link there between your son and my daughter.”

Victor took a deep breath.  “And maybe…look, someone’s been going after our family.”  He circled his hand between himself and Todd.  “Maybe they thought Tea was an easy target.  Maybe they wanted to get her and get the baby after he was born,” he said.  “Look, can we just…is it possible that if Tea was drugged it could have gotten to the baby and that was the cause of death?”

Larry seemed to mull it over.  “It’s possible.  I’d have to see the autopsy results before I can say for certain.”

“Then do it.  If you need the body exhumed, I’ll sign the papers to authorize it,” Victor said.

Larry left without saying a word.  Todd turned to him.  “You think someone went after Tea?”  Victor didn’t answer.  He just walked away, leaving Todd concerned.

**********

“How did Victor take the news?” Blair asked Tea as they helped Lois clean dinner off the table.

Tea got quiet, before she said, “He took it well,” she said.

Blair raised an eye to that.  “You tell your husband, the man you love that you’re pregnant, and he takes it well?”  Then, she saw Tea begin to crack.  “What’s wrong?  Please, tell me.”

“He didn’t have any reaction to the news.  I asked him how he felt about it and he didn’t say anything.  I was surprised when he announced it tonight,” Tea said as she tried to get herself under control.

Blair didn’t know what to say.  She really didn’t want to get involved in the Victor/Tea relationship but she also remembered the plan to keep an eye on Victor.  “Tea, he never had time to even contemplate the idea of your son.  And now, you’re pregnant again, it has to be hard for him to think about.”

“How did Todd react to when you told him you were pregnant?” Tea asked.

Blair understood what Tea was looking for.  Blair sorted through her memories as she answered.  “Which time?”

“That’s right, you lost a baby too,” Tea answered.  “When you were pregnant with Starr, how did Todd react to that?”

Blair remembered all the children she had lost, but the memory of telling Todd about Starr was one that always filled her with joy.  “We had just pulled one over on David, Dorian and I with some help from Todd.  And he took me for a ride in his jet.  We talked about a lot, about the secrets that tore us apart.  And one thing led to another and that was when Todd asked me to marry him again.”  She looked at Tea sheepishly.  “I told him there was one more secret, that I was pregnant.”

“How did he take it?”

“He was surprised but after we talked, he was happy.  We were happy.  We got engaged again and the whole world was at our feet,” Blair said.

“And then he --” Tea began.

“Yes, I remember what happened next,” she replied, her voice getting pissed.  “It’s taken us a long time to get back to where we were then.”

Tea backed off.  “But you are back,” she said at last. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever been this close,” Blair said. 

“I envy you of that.  There was a time that I would have gloated in your place.  To be that close to my husband…”  She shook her head.  “Victor is so different.  It’s like, he’s going through the motions.  Like, he is reacting to things the way he thinks people would expect him to react.”

Before the conversation could continue, Starr and Jack came in.  “The boys are asleep, and Sam and Bree are just finishing up the next chapters of their books.  I’m going to go check on them in a few minutes,” Starr said.

Jack looked at his mother and Tea.  “What are you talking about?”

Blair looked to Tea, who answered, “Your mother was asking me how Victor was when he heard about the baby.”

It was then that Jack remembered something.  “I was having a talk with Larry Wolek and he told me he had a daughter who was stillborn.”

Tea looked at him curiously.  “I never knew that but I don’t see the point…”

“Well, he was married to our Aunt Merrie so I was thinking, maybe there’s a family link,” he said uneasily.  He looked to his sister, who eyeballed him.

Tea, at least, seemed touched.  “Thank you for your concern, Jack.”

“Have we heard anything from the hospital?”  Starr asked, breaking the silence. 

Blair shook her head.  “I don’t think we’ll hear anything for a while, though.  I would figure, though, that once there’s any good news on Clint, your father and uncle will head back here.”  

“I’m surprised Dad went in the first place.  He’s never been a big fan of the Buchanans’,” Starr replied.

“He went to support your Aunt Viki,” Blair reminded her.  “Despite a lot of stuff that’s happened over the years, Todd still feels the closest to Viki.  And God knows, she’s given him the most support he’s ever had in his life.  He’s just returning the favor.”  Then she went over to her children, putting her arms around them.  “Like any sibling would do.”

Through the Darkness, Chapter Twenty Nine

CHAPTER 29

August, 2013

Todd had just gotten off the phone with the realtor when it rang again.  He looked at it and took a deep breath as he answered, “Hey sis, what’s up?”

“Todd, I just wanted to see if you were going to be home for dinner tonight, you and your family,” Viki said on the other end.

“Well, I was going to take care of a little business, actually.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, I wanted to have a family dinner tonight.  I spoke to Victor and he and Tea will be coming over.  I was hoping you all could make it,” his sister said.  “I know how you feel about these kinds of things, but we’ve never all sat down together and the next few weeks will be rough on Victor…”

Todd rolled his eyes.  He knew his sister was trying to appeal to what she thought was his better nature.  While his first reaction to such an event was to complain and whine, he figured it would be a good time to tell her about the Manning Family move.  “Sure, we’ll be there,” he said.

He could almost see the smile on her face as she answered, “Oh, that will be lovely.  I’ll see you later.”

As Blair came down the stairs, she said, “I cannot believe how different this place looks.  And yet…”

“And yet, it feels like it once was?” Todd asked her, a smile creeping on his face.

Blair smiled back at him.  “Yeah, it does.  And with a few interior decorating changes, it will be perfect.”  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer to him.  “Know what I feel like?”

“Blair,” he moaned, “the kids are here.”

She leaned in and kissed him.  “Maybe later for that.  Right now, I think we should order Chinese food and camp out here.”

Todd loved the sound of that idea, but winced.  “Viki called while you were all looking around,” he said.  “She wants a ‘family dinner’ with all my big dysfunctional family there.  I kinda said we’d be there.”  Then he stepped back and reached for his phone.  “But if that’s what you want, I can tell her to forget it.”

Blair shook her head.  “No no, it’s fine.  I think having the family around will do her good.  I know she’s still worried about Clint, the paper and now, even that you and Victor are back, she’s still concerned.  We’ll go.”

“And tell her we’re moving out.”

“I think we can stay a little longer.  We haven’t even closed here, we need to get the decorators in and get this place in shape and then, we’ll leave Llanfair,” Blair said to him.

Todd saw the logic in points but hated them anyway, with what she had just suggested.  Turning to the stairs he called the kids down and they headed back to Llanfair, after dropping Blair back for her car.  When they arrived at the Lord estate, Todd noticed Tea’s car was already there.  Upon entering, he saw Victor with Brody and Jessica talking in a corner of the library, while Tea was with Viki.  He walked over to his ex-wife.  “Can we talk for a minute?”

Viki excused herself and Tea turned to Todd as he began, “What’s the story with Dani’s ‘friend’, Arturo Bandini?”

Tea’s eyes grew wide and then shifted over to her husband.  She noticed Blair walk in and tugged Todd into the dining room.  “You saw her with him?”

Todd nodded.  “Yeah, I had lunch with Blair and the kids at the Palace and Renee tipped me off that she was there with him.  He’s kinda…old for her.  I’ve also been informed that he was involved with the woman who gave her the drugs?”

Tea looked to be on the verge of a meltdown.  “I…I don’t know.  He sounded like he was the girl’s sugar daddy.  I tried to talk to her, but she’s…she’s not listening to me.”

“Well, I tried to talk to her and she thinks you sent me,” Todd told her.  “Look, I’m going to have one of my guys look into him.  We may be panicking over nothing.”

Tea glared at him.  “You’re handling this way too well.”

“Yeah, well,” Todd answered with a heaved sigh, “Blair had to talk me down.  Speaking of spouses, have you told Victor?”

Tea shook her head.  “And I don’t think we should.  He’s under a lot of stress lately and I don’t know how he’ll react.”

That peeked Todd’s curiosity.  “How has Victor been reacting to stress?”

Tea seemed to realize she’d said the wrong thing.  “He’s fine, it’s just…look, he didn’t take most of the conversations you had with him well,” she said sharply.  “Let me handle my husband.”  With that, she turned and left.

Todd went back into the library.  He was about to go looking for Blair when he heard Natalie calling his name.  He rolled his eyes as he turned to her.  “What’s your problem?”

“What’s your friend like?” Natalie asked him.

“My friend?” Todd replied, playing dumb.

“Yes, Nick Jobek.  Remember, the high school football buddy.” His redheaded niece rolled her eyes at him When Todd continued with his act, she walked away, leaving Todd smirking.  Blair found him there.  “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, I just realize how much fun I could have with a Nick and Nat relationship,” Todd said.  “Hey, I talked to Tea about Dani and Arturo and we decided to keep it from Victor.  She said that he hasn’t been dealing with stress well lately.  You know anything about that?”

Blair shook her head.  “No, I don’t know what she means,” she said as Viki called the family in to eat.

It was relatively peaceful, much to Todd’s surprise.  He decided that, instead of tormenting his niece on the subject of his high school buddy, he’d just wind up her son and his cousin Ryder.  Jessica noted how Todd still had it with with younger children.  She went on to tell Jack and Sam about her encounters with Todd before and after they all learned he was their uncle.

There’s was a clinking of utensils on glass and everyone’s attention turned to Victor.  “I’m actually glad we’re all here, because Tea and I have an announcement.”  He looked down and took Tea’s hand.  “Tea found out that’s she’s pregnant.”  A flurry of congratulation went around the table and Victor and Tea took them all in. 

Todd leaned into Blair.  “Now I think I know what she meant by stress,” he whispered to Blair’s nod.  Then he turned to his brother.  He stood up and shook his hand.  “I wish you all the best,” Todd told him, but he was unable to look at Tea.

Victor looked to him.  “We…we need to have a talk.  I want to know, from you, what happened.”

Todd was about to argue that when there was a loud crash heard coming from the library.  “What in the world?” Viki asked as she got up from the table, followed by the rest of the family.  They all got to the library and found the French doors wide open.  Cord walked over, followed by Todd, Jack and Victor and they all found Clint passed out on the floor. 

“What in the hell?” Cord  whispered as he bent down. 

Victor looked for a pulse.  “Call 911.”

Viki came in and saw Clint on the floor.  “Oh, my goodness!  Clint!” she cried out.  “Is he conscious?”

Victor looked up to her and nodded.  Just then, Todd called out, “The ambulance is on its way, which means Bo probably is too.”

Natalie spoke up.  “I’ll call Uncle Bo and tell him to meet us at the hospital.”

Viki looked to Jessica.  “You girls go to the hospital with Cord,” she said. 

The EMTs arrived and Cord went with them, with Tina, Jessica and Natalie following behind.  When they all left, Todd and Victor went over to Viki.  “Don’t you want to go?” Victor asked.

“Someone needs to stay here with the children,” Viki replied, indicating to the upstairs where Liam, Ryder and Bree were.

“We can stay here with them,” Blair offered, pointing between herself and Tea.

“He’s not my problem anymore.  His children are there for him, I’m not needed,” Viki said as she sat on the couch.

Todd went and sat by them.  “You don’t believe that,” he told her.  “I know you said to me that you and he were over.  That was BS, you know that?”  Viki looked at him, her face beginning to crumble.  “You’re about as over him as I am over Blair.  Come on, I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

“And I’ll go too.  We still have some mysteries to solve about Clint. I think we should talk to Larry about them,” Victor added.

Todd looked from Victor to Viki and offered her his hand.  Viki sighed as she got up.  “Thank you.  I know both of your opinions about Clint in particular and the Buchanans in general.”

“He makes you happy.  That’s all that should matter,” Victor said, with Todd nodding in agreement.  With that, the siblings left.    

Through the Darkness, Chapter Twenty Eight

CHAPTER 28

August, 2013

“Well,” an all-too-familiar voice said as Todd and Starr walked towards The Palaces’ restaurant, “Look what the cat dragged in.”

Todd blinked and grimaced.  He never had a good experience encountering Renee Buchanan.  “Good afternoon, Renee” he responded as politely as he could.  “I have a lunch reservation for my family.  Are Blair and the boys here?”

“No, not yet,” the owner replied.  “But I saw Dani in there with her friend.”

Todd’s eyebrow arched at that comment.  “Her friend?  This is the first I’m hearing about a friend.  Or do you mean your grandson?”  At her look, he returned her confused look.  “Matthew Buchanan?”

Before he could get an answer or check on the friend himself, he heard Blair.  “You got here already,” she said, sounding surprised. 

He gave her a too-short kiss as they all went in.  “Yes, Renee here was just telling me that all my kids are here.”

“All?” Blair asked, sounding confused.

“Yes, Dani and the man she brought to the Man of the Year dinner, Arturo Bandini.  They’re lunching here as well,” the proprietress told Blair.

Blair’s eyes slide to Todd.  “You know what, I think we should go to the Buenos Dias for lunch,” Blair announced, too chipper as she kept her gaze on Todd.

Todd didn’t like the look his wife was giving him or the tone of Renee’s voice.  He looked to Jack, who also looked like a deer caught in the headlight.  “I think I’d like to meet this Arturo Bandini,” Todd announced as he headed in.  Despite the crutches, Todd made inside the restaurant quickly, with the the rest of his family trailing after him.  His eyes scanned the room until her saw his daughter and…

“Afternoon, Danielle,” Todd said appearing seemingly out of nowhere beside their table.

Dani almost choked on the wine she was swallowing.  “Todd, what are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Well, I was just going to have lunch with Blair and my kids and, as luck would have it, they’re all here,” Todd answered cheerfully.  “Why don’t you join us?”

“I’m having lunch with my friend, actually, as you can see,” Dani replied snidely. 

Todd attention turned to her companion.  “Todd Manning, publisher of The Sun.  I’m sure Dani’s told you all about me,” he said.

“Arturo Bandini, Mr. Manning.  Actually, Daniella has not told me much about you, other than you help her get her apartment,” the other man said.

“Really?” Todd asked sardonically.  “Because, that’s more than I knew about you.”

Dani’s eyes bugged out but Arturo handled it very smoothly.  “Dani, I believe your father wants to speak to you alone,” he said.

“No, really you don’t have to leave,” she answered.

“Yes, I do,” he said, kissing her hand.  “I will call you, though, bella.”  With that, the man left.

Todd said nothing, only watched him go.  When he was out of earshot, he said to Dani, “Come on, join the rest of us.”

Dani grabbed her bag and avoided Todd’s hand as it went for her shoulder.  She collapsed into a chair in a huff.  “I cannot believe you just did that!  Did my mother send you?”

Todd calmly sat down next to Blair as he asked, “Tea knows about Mr. Bandini?”

Dani looked to Blair then back.  “I went with him to the dinner.  After Clint caused his scene, Mom caused one inside Shelter and outside as well…screaming hysterically, forbidding me from seeing him, shit like that.”

Todd’s eyes swung to Sam, but he seemed oblivious to Dani’s language.  “I take it she doesn’t approve, then.”

“Why would she?  He’s charming, intelligent, cultured.  Not really Mom’s taste in men,” she responded tartly.

Todd let the comments roll off his back.  “Dani, he may be the kind of guy I’d want my daughter to date.  But from the looks of it, it looks like an older man seducing a young woman.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Todd cringed inwardly.  By the way she answered, he figured how far the relationship had gone.  “Just look at it from my perspective.  Even if she had turned out to be mother of the year, Irene Manning was just about your age when she had Tina.  And Victor…Victor liked younger women in general.”

“So, this is all about you?” Dani accused.  But before Todd could even answer, she pushed herself out of the chair and away from the table.

He looked to Blair, Starr and Jack.  “What did I say wrong?”

“She was right about something, though, Dad,” Starr spoke up.  “I understand where it would be uncomfortable for you, but it’s not about you.”

Todd sighed.  “I just get the feeling that she’s going to make the same mistakes that turned my mother into a psychopath.”  He looked to Blair.  “Tea didn’t take it well?”

Blair shook her head.  “Arturo was involved with a young woman…the one who sold Dani the drugs…” She stopped when Todd’s eyes grew wide.   “Todd, I think right now, it’s best to leave her.  The more you and Tea push against it, the more attractive it will be to her.”

Todd shook his head in disgust but realized she was right.  “What it it with my kids and potential significant others though?”  He looked to Jack, Starr and Sam.   “What’s going on with your love lives?”

“What love life?” Starr asked.

“No one in mine,” Jack answered too quickly.

“Girls are yucking,” Sam informed them.

Satisfied with the responses, Todd moved onto one of the reasons he wanted to have lunch with his family.  “Now, why I thought we should all do this,” he said, circling his finger around the table.  “Look, I love that Viki was so generous to open her home to you and the kids, Blair when Dorian was on her broomstick, I don’t much like the idea of living at Llanfair.”

“So we’re not going back to La Boulaie?” Starr asked.

“As much as I love the idea of buying it out from under Dorian and throwing her out of it…” Todd began, “I know your mother was going to start looking for places.”

“And unfortunately, I didn’t get far,” Blair replied.  “But at least it was for a good reason.”  She smiled at Todd and was about to lean in to a kiss when two different gagging sounds could be heard. 

Starr looked at her brothers and shoved her shoulder into Jack so forcefully, he crashed into Sam.

“Hey, hey!” Todd called out.  Before it could dissolve into chaos, Todd managed to get everyone’s attention.  “Well, Blair, I actually think I may have found a place.  Nice, centrally located, gorgeous views. We’ll take a look at it after we eat.”

Blair raised her eyes to Todd, trying to figure out what he had planned.  But when he remained Sphinx-like after repeated questions from her and the kids, she let it drop.

They finished lunch and Todd told Blair to leave her car at The Palace.  “Don’t worry, it’s not that far.  And it’s just a possibility.  I haven’t made any final deals for it.  I want to make sure you’re okay with the place.”  With that, they all piled into a waiting limo.

“Now, you really have me intrigued,” Blair said.

“And I figure that after we’re done with the place, you can help me put the paper to bed,” Todd told her.  When she gave him a surprised look, he reminded her, “I want us to be partners in The Sun.  I meant that in my note to you.  You can keep the club, hand it off to someone else, but it’s not you.  At least, not something like that.  You had Capricorn, right?  That was more your taste.  But the crowd you have there now?  Not you.” 

Blair smiled at him.  “I have to say, I did enjoy running the paper for the past couple of weeks.  I was a long time since I did it last, but I remembered how like that,” she said with a snap of her fingers.

The limo stopped then and the Mannings got out.  It was Starr who recognized the building first.  “This is where the penthouse was,” she said in a curious tone.

Todd didn’t say anything, but took Blair’s hand and led her in.  When they got into the elevator, Todd pushed a button and turned to the kids.  “You know how I came to own the penthouse?  Bought it from Alex Olanov.  And she didn’t want to sell it.  She figured her new husband would have a fit that I bought it for me and my wife.”  As the door pinged, Todd turned to Blair.  “If they could see us now!”

Starr dashed out of the elevator with Jack just behind her.  Instead of opening to the hallway just outside the penthouse, like it had throughout her childhood, it opened directly into the penthouse.  Todd stood back and smiled, seeing the childhood wonderment Starr always seemed to wear when she was younger.  The look was mirrored in Jack and Blair’s faces.

“Well, what do you think?”  Todd asked.

“I thought someone else bought this place?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, they did and enlarged it a bit.  I spoke to the realtor earlier today and when she told me about this listing, I just couldn’t not look at it, at least.”  He walked around, coming to stand by the windows that had always been there.  Then he turned back to Blair.  “So much of our lives, our memories, are in this place.  Those were the memories that kept me going through so many dark days.  Having fun at Alex’s expense.  Filling it with stuffed animals.  Leaving a saddle as a tease for a birthday present.  Bringing my bride home.”  He walked over to Blair, taking her hands in his.  “Even the bad memories are good one.  Coming and finding it filled with gold balloons.  Hiding our handcuffed wrists under a blanket from Bo.  Fighting and kissing.”  At that moment, he didn’t care what his kids’ reaction would be, he knew he had to kiss Blair right then and there.  It was a long, slow kiss, one there they were lost in the closeness of it, as if they were the only two people in the room, in the world.

When they pulled apart, they found that they were the only ones in the room.  “I think the kids went exploring their new home,” Blair said to him.

Home.  What a beautiful word.