Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 4

Todd awoke to find Blair still lying next to him. He ran a gentle hand down through her hair. She was real. It hadn’t been a dream. He looked over at the clock and realized Starr’s hearing was only a couple of days away, and he needed to have a conversation with his lawyer, Hallie Mitchell. Tea was not going to defend Starr. He lay there remembering the conversation.

“Starr, your father has to go. I won’t be in the same room with the man who murdered my husband.”

“I was found not guilty, Tea.” Todd understood she was upset, but he hadn’t realized what he was doing.

Starr pulled him aside. “It won’t do any good to try and make Tea see reason. Uncle Victor was the love of her life. Let me talk to her.” She then looked at both of them and replied. “Tea, since you’re here, could you go with me to the arraignment and get me out on bail. Then Dad’s lawyer can take over. You won’t have to stay in town any longer.”

“But Starr, your mother wanted me to help you? How can you stand there next to your father knowing what he did?” Tea scowled.

It wasn’t a pleasant look and Todd found himself thanking his lucky stars he was no longer married to her.

Starr wrapped an arm about her father’s waist and said. “He’s my dad. He loves me and I don’t think he hurt Uncle Victor on purpose. His lawyer said he has PTSD and I believe it. I loved Uncle Victor, but he wasn’t the innocent pawn or saint everyone has made him out to be since he died. At times, he was cruel and thoughtless, and he didn’t do right by Jack, getting him out of the mess the way he did. Dad is here to support me, and I’m grateful. I’ll understand if you want to leave right now, but Dad stays.”

Starr’s support meant everything. Todd put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug and they waited on Tea’s decision.

“Very well, I came all this way. I’ll see what I can do about getting the charges dropped and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go with you for the arraignment.”

“Thank you, Tea. I appreciate it,” said Starr.

“Yes Tea, thank you.” Todd reiterated. He was totally unprepared for the slew of Spanish expletives that she screamed at him as she exited the room. “I guess she really hates my guts now.”

“Dad, she loved Victor and she’s pregnant. Most of it is the hormones talking.”

“I don’t remember your mom being that bitchy. Did you mean what you said to her? You believe me about Victor?”

“I meant it, Dad. I love you and I’m glad you’re here.”

Tea had been unable to get the charges dropped during the arraignment. She even failed to procure bail for Starr. He recalled how ticked off at her he had become, as Starr had been led back to her cell.

“What the hell happened to all those mad skills you used to have? You couldn’t even get her bail.”

“Don’t blame me, your latest actions and your money kept her from getting bail and you know it. I’m out of here, I wish Starr luck, with you to help her.”

Even though he was mad at her, he had also been a little concerned for Tea. Something had been bothering her during court, but he knew she wouldn’t tell him if anything was wrong. That seemed like ages ago, had it just been yesterday? He looked a Blair curled up beside him. Only yesterday, yet here he was lying in bed with the love of his life. He rolled over and moved a strand of hair from Blair’s delicate ear. “Hey, are you going to sleep all day?” He kissed the tip of it and waited for her response.

“Mmmm” she rolled over onto her back and looked up at him with her green eyes sparkling. “Good Morning. What do you mean all day?”

“It’s already 10:00 a.m. I...well I have to go out. I’m supposed to meet with my lawyer to discuss Starr’s case and figure our options. I...” he couldn’t say anymore. He didn’t want to leave her.

“Todd, what’s the matter?” Blair knew something was bothering him. He always stuttered when he was nervous or unsure of things. It was one of his more endearing qualities.

“I don’t know how to say this. Are you still going to be here when I come back?”

She reached for his face. “I told you. I’m here to be with you. I’m not going anywhere. Well, let me amend that. I do want to go see Starr, but I fully intend to be here when you get back.” She searched his face, trying to read his thoughts. After what had occurred the night before, she began to wonder just how fragile his state of mind was.

Todd took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay good. I’ll go meet with Hallie and you can go see Starr. Then we’ll see you at the station.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss and hopped out of bed, heading for a shower. As he stood under the fixture, his tears mingled with the water flowing in his face. He was a mess. His hard-fought control to appear normal was shot to hell.

Blair took her time climbing out of bed. Her thoughts went back to the night before and what had occurred with Todd. When Todd had made the comment to Irene, Blair had felt like someone had dropped an ice cube down her back. Why was he thinking about her? What had he meant when he said she had won? It was just something else that made no sense. Todd was taking a longer shower than usual “Hey, I hoped you saved me some hot water?” When he didn’t respond, she went and picked up her suitcases. It was just like him to ignore her over something like that.

She walked to his closet and opened it to see where she might be able to hang some of her clothes. He hadn’t changed much. His clothes were hung up haphazardly. Everything was mixed up. The only thing he had ever cared about was if they were cleaned. She grabbed up his shirt from off the bed, put it back on, and began straightening up the closet.

Todd had stepped from the shower, his thoughts all over the place. He had finally reined in his emotions. Hearing her yell about the water made him smile. She had forgotten they were in a hotel. He was about to yell back at her when he saw Irene grinning at him

You’re a fool to trust her. She let you down before, she’ll just do it again. Do you really think she wants you over that CIA agent? Hell, he’s a good guy. You, you’re the man who murdered his own brother, or don’t you remember?

Like a bad movie, the scene played over in his head again. “You took my life, I take yours.” At the sound of the gunshot, Todd reacted, throwing his fist into Irene’s face in the mirror.

Get out of my head!

Blair jumped at the sound of the broken glass coming from the bathroom. Rushing in, she found Todd, cradling his hand under the water, and the mirror in front of him, shattered. “Oh God, what happened?

Todd stared bleakly at his hand and back up to the mirror. Irene faded as Blair came to his side. “Stupid me, I slipped stepping out of the shower and my hand slammed into the mirror.”

“Todd, that looks really bad. You’re going to need stitches.” Blair grabbed a small towel and wrapped his hand.

“Yeah, well I need to see Hallie first. I want Starr out of that jail. Tell me, why the hell did you let Starr come back here after the burial?”

“You know as well as I do, that when Starr makes up her mind to do something she does it. She takes after her father.”

“Alright, don’t rub it in. I know I didn’t help matters the last time I was in town.”

“No, you didn’t, but you just wanted to make things right for your daughter. We’ll get her out of this. Do you know all the details? Did she really try and kill Sonny Corinthos?”

“She had a gun on him, but his son stopped her from doing anything. What I can’t believe is the kid then turned around and had her arrested. I tried talking to him.”

“I can imagine how that went. Let me guess. You were your usual charming self.”

“Ha, okay I’m not diplomatic, but she’s my little girl and she was grieving. I thought I could make him understand.” Todd carefully unwrapped his hand. Blair was right, he was going to need stitches. “Carly’s going to charge me more for this room. I’m breaking mirrors and getting her towels all bloody.”

“You can afford it. It’s not as if you did it on purpose.” Blair was busy checking out his hand and didn’t see Todd look in the mirror.

“Right.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth. He had just gotten her back, he didn’t want to scare her away. Keep your mind on the task in front of you. Irene will leave you alone if you just occupy your mind with Starr. Just stay focused.

“Can you get dressed okay with that hand?”

“I’ll manage, Blair.”

“Good, then I’ll take my shower and we’ll go see about getting your hand taken care of. After that, you can meet Hallie and I’ll go see Starr.”

Todd walked out of the bathroom taking a look around to make sure Irene was well and truly gone for the time being. He picked up his phone and called Hallie. He set a different time for their meeting, then he got dressed. It was a little awkward, but he managed. He was putting on his socks when Blair strolled out of the bathroom clad in just a towel.

“I can’t believe you’re still wearing those white socks,” she smiled at him.

“Hey, they’re comfortable.” He got up off the bed and walked to her. “Someone’s been in my closet.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. “You meant it didn’t you? You’re here for me.”

“I meant it.” She gave him a kiss and pulled free of his arms. “We can expand on that later. Let me get dressed and we’ll go."

A short time later, they walked into the General Hospital ER. Blair waited for Todd as the nurse took him into a cubicle.

“Those are nasty cuts, how did this happen?” Nurse Liz Webber inquired as she cleaned the tiny pieces of glass out of his knuckles.

“I slipped stepping out of the shower and fell toward the mirror. The hand hit it.”

Liz didn’t say anything. Most people would have had the cuts on their palms if events had happened the way he was saying, but she wasn’t going to point that out. It wasn’t her business. She finished wrapping the hand. “It’s probably going to swell a little bit and be sore for a couple of days, but you’ll live. You’re Starr Manning’s father, aren’t you? I was on duty the night she was brought in. I’m sorry about your daughter’s loss.”

Todd felt uncomfortable. Talking about Hope hit him in the gut. He had just gotten to know his granddaughter, and her death was still raw. “That’s what they all say, it doesn’t really stop the pain. Thanks for this.” He raised his hand and stood back up off the gurney. He just wanted to get out of there.

Liz knew she had overstepped and got impersonal again. “You can take off the bandage in a day. You’re all set to go.” She left and he followed her out into the hall, looking for Blair.

Blair came up to him, clearly upset about something. “Todd, you’ll never guess what happened?”

“Stock Market crashed.”

“No, don’t be that way. Tea had her baby last night.”

The look on Blair’s face wasn’t good. “What happened. It’s alright, isn’t it?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “She lost him. He only lived a short time. Todd, it’s terrible. She lost Victor and now his baby.”

Todd gathered Blair close, letting her cry on his shoulder. “I never wanted Tea to hurt. Blair, please tell me you believe me on that? I had hoped the baby would help her get over Victor’s death. Now, this happened. I can’t seem to stop hurting her. If I had let her handle Starr’s case and stayed out of things, she would have been here. I knew something was wrong when she left.”

Blair looked up. “Todd, the drive home didn’t cause this. The baby had a genetic problem. Tea had been warned about it. None of this is your fault.”

“How do you do that? How come you’re not yelling at me right now for taking Victor’s life and driving Tea back home to Llanview where she lost the baby?” He looked deep into her eyes. He still found it so hard to believe she was standing in his arms.

“I can do it because I believe that you didn’t take Victor’s life on purpose. And Tea chose to leave here because she can’t face that fact. I know you would have helped her no matter what if she would have let you. Besides, as I said, the baby dying had nothing to do with you," to prove she meant what she said, she reached and touched his face. “You would never hurt another mother or child.”

             Todd gulped. He hated what he did to Blair all those years ago. He was still paying for that sin. His son Jack wanted nothing to do with him. The fact that Blair understood, touched him. “I guess this means you’ll be headed home. She’s going to need a friend.”

             “She’s got Dani and Tomas. I’m sure they’ll give her plenty of support. You and my daughter need me here. You’d better go meet your lawyer. I’ll go see Starr.” She kissed his cheek and headed for the door. “Bye. I’ll see you later.”

              He stood, stunned. She was staying. “Bye,” he whispered softly.





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