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.

Through the Darkness, Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHAPTER 27

August, 2013

The next morning, after Todd put in an appearance at the family breakfast table, he decided to head over to his office.  Jack wanted to come, which warmed Todd’s heart even more, but he said “I think you should go with your Mom and Sam and see Victor.  I know he’d want to see you.”  Todd gave him an encouraging smile.  “Come by later, though.  In fact, we’ll all do lunch at The Palace.  I’ll have Starr with me, so it’ll work out.”

Jack seemed to accept Todd’s reasoning.  Blair smiled over her son’s head, mouthing a thank you to Todd.  She understood that was a big step for him, understanding there was still a place in Jack’s life for Victor, despite how well things were going between the father and son.

Starr decided to stay with Todd while he worked.  Though he had never heard of her having any interest in the publishing business, he welcomed her presence there at least.  While she was in the office, there was a knock on the door. 

“I was told you’d be here by now, so I thought we’d get this over with,” Nick said as he came in.

“I’ll go get us some coffee,” Starr said, giving her father some privacy.

Nick strolled in and took a look around.  “Never thought this is where you’d end up,” he said.

“Well, you’re not alone.  Most people, even here, thought I’d be rotting in some jail cell for the rest of my life,” Todd told him.  “Have a seat.”

Nick sat down.  “Well, it all makes sense now.”

“What’s that?”

“Llanview University.  Never could understand what a small school in Pennsylvania had to offer you.”

“Besides the full ride I got?” Todd asked.  It was something Todd hadn’t thought of in a lot of years; why he had chosen LU.  “Peter pushed me here,” he admitted.  “Said it was just about as academically challenging as he expected I could handle.”

“He knew…about who your father was, that he was some bigwig here?” Nick asked.

“Victor Lord, Sr., was long dead before I ever showed up,” Todd began.  “But Peter was cashing his checks for a lot of years before I started college here.”  Then Todd waved that off.  “Look, the last thing I really want to talk about his my old man, either of them.  And the one thing that has annoyed me in my life is talking to cops…even ones who were old football buddies.  So, can we get this over with?”

Nick asked Todd a number of questions about his abduction and Todd, for once, answered them without getting lippy.  When they finished, Todd asked him, “So, you’re heading back to Chicago?”

“Actually, that’s something I wanted to tell you.  Chicago, well, it’s getting bad.  And I’ve been looking to transfer.  So I mentioned this to your police commissioner, when I met him for breakfast and he told me that he’s down a detective or two, asked me if I’d be interested,” Nick said.

Todd’s eyes narrowed and his face got sucked in as if he’d eaten something sour.  “Please tell me you’re joking?” he asked.  “Please tell me you’re not joining Bozo’s Keystone Kops.”

“What, this is a nice community, I’ve got an old friend here, there’s an interest redhead who works for the LPD…”  Nick stopped at when Todd’s expression grew more disgusted.

“That redhead isn’t that interesting…and even if she was, she’s my niece,” he told him.

“Really?  I guess I forgot that there’s an age gap between you and your sister,” Nick said.  He noticed Todd staring at him.  “What, you really have a big problem with that?”

Todd swallowed.  “I learned my mother was, like, barely legal when she had my sister Tina.  And, by the time I was born, my father was about to be a grandfather.   The idea that you and my niece…it makes me uncomfortable.”  Then Todd got an evil thought.  “Also, just want to warn you, her father’s a Texan and he likes his guns.”

Just as he said that, there was a knock on his office door and Cord Roberts stepped in.  “You said something about talking to me at breakfast this morning, Todd?”

Todd’s smile only grew.  “Cord, great to see you,” he said.  “I believe you may have met Nick Jobek?  He’s the cop that Bo brought back from Chicago.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a talk or two with him,” Cord said as he shook Nick’s hand. 

“Yeah, he’s an old high school buddy of mine.  We used to play football together,” Todd explained.  “He’s going to be coming here, put a transfer in and all.  He’s said he’s attracted to the nice small town feel and the feisty redhead who works with the cops.”

“Really?” Cord asked, eying the cop.

“Uh huh,” Todd said.  “Nick, have you met my brother-in-law, Cord Robert?  Natalie’s his little sister.  Also a Texan.”

Nick looked real carefully at Cord then turned to Todd.  “You bastard,” he said.  “Well, I have to go.  I’ll see you in a few days.  I start in two weeks, gotta get my stuff moved here.”  With that, he hotfooted it out of the office.

Todd couldn’t contain the smirk on his face.  “You told him that intentionally, figured on a laugh?” Cord asked.

“Just warning him what he’s getting himself into,” Todd answered.  “But I am glad you showed up.  Look, Viki told me she’s agreed to keep the money Clint gave her for the paper.  But have you looked over the books?  Did Clint before he gave it to her?”

“I haven’t even seen Pa since I got here and all I’ve gotten on the situation has been from Viki and Natalie a little bit.  But from what I understand, he snuck it into her accounts.  Told her they managed to get the money out of Pellegrino before the government stepped in,” Cord said.  “When she learned the truth about that, she was fuming.  I think Nigel had to talk her down.”

Todd took that information in.  “Okay, well, look, can you keep me advised about The Banner’s financial state.  I told her I’d help if she needed it, but I don’t think she’d actually tell me.”

Cord looked surprised.  “You?  I remember a time you were out to destroy The Banner.  Stole her staff, poached files, stuff like that.”

“I didn’t want to destroy it. Viki’s alters did.  They just used me and The Sun to do it,” Todd retorted.  “Besides, you hear the ‘It’s your legacy’ spiel enough and I guess it sinks in.”  He heaved a sigh.  “Look just keep me in the loop, okay?”

Cord nodded.  “I’ll let you know if there are any changes,” he said as he stood.  “Oh, and that buddy of yours…anything I need to know?”

Todd smiled.  “No, actually, he was always a pretty good guy.”  Cord left, seemingly satisfied.  Todd sat back in his chair and got to work.

**********

The knock at the door got Tea up off the couch.  She answered to door, finding Blair, Jack and Sam there.  “Hi, come in.  I guess you guys want to see your dad, huh?”

“Yeah,” Sam said, getting excited.  Then he calmed down as he asked, “Is he really alright?  He didn’t get hurt too, like Uncle Todd?”

Tea smiled as she looked up at Blair.  “No, he’s fine.  He’s just very tired.  I’m going to go get him,” she said as she went left the room.  She and Victor returned a few minutes later and Sam rushed into his father’s arms. 

“Dad, I missed you!” Sam said.

Victor held his son as he closed his eyes.  Blair looked at the two and thought something was different.  Victor had never been a particularly warm personality with any of the kids, but right now, he seemed to struggling with his emotions.  She looked over and saw Jack turn to her with the same confused expression on his face. 

Victor put Sam and held out his hand to Jack.  “Everything okay with you?”

Jack covered any uncertainty he may have been feeling.  “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Are you staying now?” Sam asked.

Victor nodded.  “Yeah, I am, but I don’t know how much I’ll be able to see you.  I have to see a doctor.  I’m alright, but I hurt your uncle and they want to make sure I’m not going to hurt him again,” he said.

Tea turned to Blair.  “Can you help me get something in the back?” 

Blair saw the desperation in her eyes.  “Sure.”

When they were out of earshot of Victor and the boys, Tea almost collapsed in Blair’s arms.  Blair gathered her up and tried to calm her.  “It’s going to be alright,” she said.

“Blair, he’s so…different.  Even different then he was when he came back in the spring.  He still won’t tell me anything, and now it’s even more important, because it’s for his defense,” Tea told her through her tears.  “I don’t know what to do.  I’m afraid to even tell him about the baby.”

“Has he given you reason to be afraid of him, anything like that?” Blair asked.

Tea shook her head as she stood up and went into the bathroom for a tissue.  “No, but with the psych evaluation he’s facing, I don’t know what to do.”

Blair stood up and took Tea’s face in her hands.  “I think you need to tell him about the baby.  Be honest with him.  It may give him something to fight for.”

The two women went back into the living room.  Jack looked up at them as they came in and noted that Tea had been crying.  Blair shook her head and Jack acknowledged that.  Victor looked up and saw them.  “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Blair assured him.

“Mom,” Sam called out, “I have a question.”

Blair looked down at her son.  “What it is?”

“Well, now that Jack is calling Uncle Todd ‘Dad’, does that mean we’re still brothers?  Isn’t he my cousin?”

It was Victor who answered.  “You and Jack will always be brothers, Sam,” he explained.  “But because you’re my son and Jack is Todd’s son, it just another strong connection you two have.”

Sam smiled at that.  “I asked Uncle Todd this question so I’ll ask you…would you have wanted to grow up with your brother and sisters if you could have?”

Victor looked up at Blair and Jack before answering, “I think I would have.”

His son seemingly satisfied with that answer, Blair said, “We have to get going.  You said you wanted to meet Uncle Todd for lunch, right?”

“Yea!  We’re going to The Palace for lunch.  They make the best milk shakes!” Sam cried enthusiastically.

As they headed for the door, Victor called after Blair.  “Look, I think we four should all sit down to dinner one night.  I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Blair nodded.  “I also heard Viki mention something about a big family dinner she wants to have.  But I’ll talk to Todd about one for the four of us.”  With that, they left.