Dance with the Devil: Chapter 15

The hospital room was as quiet as a church yard as the Manning family waited for someone to speak. Finally, Blair found her voice. “Jack, I know that what you found out today was a shock but your father is still not healed, even without the surgery. Can we wait until after that at least?” she asked.


“No, Blair, Jack is right. We need to get a lot of things out of the way,” Todd said, more to his son than to her. “What do you want to know?”


In all honesty, Jack didn’t know where to begin. “You’ll tell me anything I want to know?” he asked incredulously.


“Anything,” came the answer.


“Why didn’t you want me, when mom was pregnant? Even if I was someone else’s kid,” was Jack’s response.


Todd looked around and his eyes fell on Lord of the Banner. He held it up to show his son. “Your friend Molly came by to visit, bring me something to read. She said this was in her uncle’s library, thought that I’d like it because I’m a publisher.” He looked at his son. “Did your mom ever talk about the old man while I was away?”


“Once in a while. We know what he did to Aunt Viki,” Jack admitted. Starr nodded in silent agreement.


“I was in my twenties when I found out that I was adopted. And then I learn just what kind of bastard my father was. It was the night before your mom and I were going to get remarried. I confronted Viki about it and after she slipped away momentarily and then came back, she told me.” He looked over at Blair who was remembering Viki telling her about that night. “I was ready to run. Duck out, leave Llanview and never look back. But your aunt talked me off the ledge and your mom and I got married the next day.”


“What’s this got to do with me?” Jack asked, his anger resurfacing.


“Did your mom ever tell either of you about Peter Manning?” came Todd’s next question. When he got no response, he continued. “Victor made my mother give me away. This was before the whole rouge CIA thing. Anyway, Peter and his wife adopted me and we were a seemingly nice, happy family. Except, he beat his wife. Beat her so much, she left. And she wanted to take me, I know she really did, but Peter wouldn’t let her. Victor set up a trust fund for me and as the executor of the trust, he was paid handsomely for it. But if I wasn’t in his custody…”


“Peter would lose the money he was getting,” Starr concluded.


Todd nodded at his daughter. “That’s right. And it would turn out to be a lot in the end. So a mother who loved me and would have cared for me, who couldn’t take the abuse any longer, left when I was nine.” He looked down and let out a laugh. “Left me to the tender mercies of Peter Manning. A man who never wanted me in the first place and only kept me around for what he was being paid.”


“I still don’t see what this has to do with--”


“Just before our wedding, your mom had had checkup and afterwards, she told me she thought she was having a little girl. When I heard about what Victor had done to his little girl, I was afraid I would turn into him with my own.” He looked at Starr, who was crying. He turned back to Jack. “When I thought your mother was having Max Holden’s kid, I was afraid of turning into Peter Manning with it. With you. I thought the best way to prevent that was for you to not be around. Then Blair and I tried to get married again, and before that happened, she told me the truth and I knew I was wrong. I was wrong for giving you away, I was wrong for lying about your ‘death’ and I was wrong to think that I could ever be like Peter Manning or Victor Lord.” Todd’s emotions were threatening to boil over. He caught his breath, and looked back at Jack. “Next question.”


“What about killing Victor?” Jack asked. “What do you have to say for yourself about killing him?”


Todd flashed back to the Port Charles Police Station and the confrontation he had with Tea when they both came to help Starr. He had said he was glad he killed Victor. But, thinking back to it, he was just, he was just furious at Tea. Furious for her presumptiveness, her meddling, her just being her. But killing Victor wasn’t even satisfying, if he had to admit it. At least, not so soon after discovering him. Maybe he really did have PTSD. At the time, it sounded like a great defense. And it had worked on the jury. But he had lost his family over the whole thing until just a few days ago.


“I don’t know what to ever say to make that better. I know I can’t,” came Todd’s response. “I still don’t even remember everything about that night. I don’t remember going there or what he said. I just remember pulling the trigger and saying, ‘You take my life Victor, I take yours’. I don’t even remember leaving. It was only then the Wicked Witch of the West began haunting me that I even remembered that,” Todd tried to explain.


“What do you mean?” Starr asked.


Todd looked at her. “When I was up in the cabin, after Dr. Cramer here removed the bullet and after I fought off an infection, Irene began haunting me. She egged me on to remember that much,” Todd told her.


Starr thought for a minute and left the room abruptly. Her parents shared a confused look, but Todd turned his attention to Jack again. “Look, I know we’re never going to have a typical father/son relationship. And I know you don’t want me to marry your mom again. The wedding won’t be for a while anyway, so maybe we can take the time to at least…at least talk some more. Will you do that, will you at least talk to me?”


Jack looked away without answering.


Starr walked up to the nurse’s station where Elizabeth Webber was standing. “Can you help me?” she asked, somewhat unsure.


Elizabeth graced her with a warm smile. “Sure, what do you need?”


“I need a psychiatrist.” When Elizabeth looked alarmed, she added quickly, “I need to ask some questions.”


Elizabeth turned around and signal a man. He walked over. “Starr, this Dr. Ewen Keenan. He’s on staff here, I’m sure he can answer your questions.”


Starr nodded the two sat down. She gave the doctor a quick explanation of everything that had happened over the last few day and then told him about her father’s diagnoses of PTSD. Then she asked, “Could events that happened weeks before trigger it, or maybe even days before?”


“Well, I really wouldn’t know. Every case is different. I’d need to be able to see your father’s medical records and talk to him.”


Starr nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see if my dad wants to talk. It may even help with my brother.”


When she got back to the room, Jack was still in the same place. He wore an expression that Todd was all too familiar with. “Jack, I swear to you, if I had to do everything over again, I would. I will never be able to apologize to you for what happened when you were a baby, what happened with Victor, any of my other sins. Right now, though, your mom and your sister and your brother are going to need you. This surgery I’m having is very dangerous. There’s even a chance…” He couldn’t say it. “I need you to be the man of the family again. For all of them.” He held out his hand.


Jack looked at it. Slowly he reached out, but instead of shaking it, he reached around Todd and gave him a hug. He didn’t know what his father had said to provoke that response, but he accepted it anyway. Blair and Starr, with tears in their eyes, joined the Manning men in the embrace. It had finally happened. After nine years, Todd had his whole family back.


Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, a figure looked on. They had been by a few times to see this patient but he always had someone in there with him. That would never do. They needed to be alone with Mr. Manning. Well, the time would come. It always did to those who waited.


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