Dance with the Devil: Chapter 64

Michael walked into Kelly’s and surprised to see his mother behind the counter.  “Hey, Mom, did Grandma rope you into helping out here?” he asked as he approached.

“Hi, Michael,” Carly greeted her son.  “No, I thought I’d pick up some food for Blair and her family.  Todd’s surgery is today and I don’t think they’d want to be subjected to the hospital cafeteria’s menu,” she explained as she grabbed some wrapped sandwiches and a bag of fries.

“Oh, you’re headed there now?” he asked.  Before she could answer, Michael offered to help her carry the bags.  “I wasn’t going to go over until later.  I know Starr said it was going to be a long procedure.”

Carly smiled at Michael.  “You two seem to be getting close over the last few weeks,” she commented.

Michael tried to hide his embarrassed smile.  “Yeah, we have.”  He could tell my his mother’s expression that wouldn’t be enough for her.  “Ever since the night…the night of the accident, I’ve felt a connection to her.”

“It was a tough time.  Losing your child…”  Carly’s memory went back to the day of Michael’s shooting.  She had come perilously close to losing her own son that day.  “You were a good friend to her, through all of it.”

“And now, it’s kind of funny how close we came to being in the same family.  I’m guessing you’ve heard that Alan wanted to marry Starr’s grandmother and raise her children as his own,” Michael said.

“Well, if that had happened, he never would have met Monica, never been a father to AJ and you know what that means,” she said, fingering his chin.

It was an odd thing for Carly to ever mention his biological father.  He had grown so accustom to seeing Sonny Corinthos as his father, AJ Quartermaine was almost a non-factor in his life.  “Do you ever think of how different it would have been if AJ raised me?” Michael asked. 

Carly seriously thought about it for a minute, but for the life of her, she never really had.  “No.  It wasn’t an option to me.” She was honest with him.  “You were from a night where I was confused and lonely.  Then I went and made a terrible situation, a one-night-stand, even worse, dragging Tony and Jason along.  In all honesty, your father saved me then.  He took me in, even if I didn’t see it as that.  And he’s always loved you, no matter that you weren’t his,’ Carly admitted.

Michael paused for a minute.  “I never really thought about Dad adopting me,” he said.  “Starr really has never mentioned it, but I know Todd was adopted and his adoptive father was no good.”

Carly looked at her son as he said that.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, she’s never gone into it, but I think her dad was abused as a kid.  He’s never really talked about his childhood, even with her.  And what she has gleaned from anything that was said didn’t paint the greatest picture of the guy,” Michael told her.  “But also, that’s the strange thing.  Starr’s aunt, Tina, she has the same parents as Todd, Victor Lord and Irene Manning.  Same with Todd’s twin, Victor.  But they both have the Lord last name.  Yet Todd kept the Manning last name.”

Carly didn’t have any response for her son.  “Well, first of all, I think that Victor Lord was only around a short time after that mess was revealed, so he had no real time to actually be anything other than Victor Lord Jr.  Also, Todd Manning is a very…complex man.  Maybe there are some things he likes to keep for himself,” she said as they entered the hospital.  They eventually found the Manning/ Lord family in a waiting room. 

Blair looked up and smiled gratefully at her friend as she brought in the food.  Carly grinned back, silently acknowledging the bond the two woman had come to have.

Todd stood in the operating room, watching the scene play before his eyes.  Drs. Harmon and Wolek, was well as a few nurses began to cut an incision in his back and got to work on him.  Blood never having been his thing in real life, Todd had to turn away.

“What, someone who loves horror movies can’t handle the real thing?” a voice asked him.

Todd looked in the direction of where the comment was being made and smiled.  “I had hoped I would be seeing you,” he said with a smile to his sister Merrie.

She smiled at him, but her gaze traveled to one of the doctors at the table.  “My beautiful boy,” she said with sadness.

“He gave me a message for you, before I was put to sleep,” he told her,  When she turned back to Todd, he said,  “He missed you and he loves you.” 

Merrie turned back to her son and put her hand on his shoulder.  For an instant, Danny shivered.  Matt Harmon noticed.  “Is something wrong, Dr. Wolek?”

Danny looked over at his colleague.  “What?  Oh, no, Dr. Harmon, nothing is wrong.”

Merrie smiled again then turned to Todd.  She could see that even in his plane, her brother was getting queasy.  “Come on, let’s go somewhere that’s more pleasant to your delicate sensibilities.”  As they moved off, Merrie smacked Todd on the back of the head.

“What the hell was that for?  I just got here, have barely said two words to you, even delivered a message from your son,” Todd complained.  “Why are my sisters always whacking me?”

“That’s just for the hell of it.  Considering that I never got the chance in life, I feel I owe you for the hell you’ve put a lot of people through,” Merrie said. 

They moved off to the waiting area where the family was eating the food Carly had brought.  Todd looked worriedly at Carly and Blair over in a corner.  “No good can come of that,” he commented as he listened to the two women.

“He took your word for it, no evidence, no nothing?” Carly asked, eyes wide.

“Not for a few months.  Then Tina told him about me and my first husband and what I had tried to pull then.  Todd came home and demanded a pregnancy test.”  Blair shuddered at the memory.  “I thought for sure my goose was cooked.  I was shocked that the test came out positive!  But we were happy.  He got to tell Tina ‘I told you so’, my reasons weren’t as money grubbing as first thought, everything seemed to be going my way…then I was mugged and lost the baby.”

“He told me about the first marriage.  But when I made a comment about you marrying him for his money, he defended you, said you had a deep connection,” Carly replied.

“We certainly do have that,” Blair said as she looked over at Starr and Jack as they sat talking to Michael and Sarah.  “Over the years, several people, myself included, said that it was our kids, but there’s something about Todd, I can’t explain it.” 

“Don’t even try, babe,” Todd said to her.  Then he looked over at Michael, with his arm wrapped around Starr.  He narrowed his stare, not that the young couple could see him.

“Still unsure about the two of them?” Merrie asked.

“She’s my daughter, he’s a boy.  We’re natural adversaries,” Todd said simply.  “Besides, he’s the son of a mobster.  I’d like to see how you’d react in my situation.”  Merrie just gave him an amused smirk.  When he caught it, he said, “There’s still a part of me that’s in the Llanfair attic holding her for the first time.”

“You had a beautiful smile that day,” she told him.

He looked at her.  “You saw that?”

“I’ve always looked in on you, from the moment you first stepped foot in Llanview,” she explained.  “What, haven’t you ever heard of a guardian angel?”

Todd chose not to answer, his thoughts going back to one night.  He knew he needed to change the subject.  “So, you’ll be keeping me entertained while they work on me?”

“Think of it more as distracted,” Merrie said.  Looking over at Blair, she said to him, “So, what are your plans for your wedding?”

“I haven’t even been thinking about that!” came Todd’s response.  When Merrie gave him an incredulous look, he amended, “Much.  Look, I still have a lot to go through, even after this surgery.  I don‘t want to think about the wedding until I‘ve got a clearer picture about my physical condition.”  All of a sudden, Merrie turned away from him in one swift movement.  Todd looked perplexed.  “What’s wrong?”

She turned back to him and moved away, leaving the question unanswered.  Todd followed her down the hall and they watched as Victor was wheeled into the hospital’s emergency room.  They could tell his was conscious, by him telling off the EMTs. 

“I’m fine, I just got a little lightheaded,” he insisted. 

“He collapsed in the park,” John said.  “We were having a conversation and he went down.”

Dr. Webber checked him out.  “Blood pressure’s a little elevated.  Are you sure he wasn’t over-exerting himself at the time?”

“I was watching my kid play.  How could that be overexerting myself?” Victor asked snidely.

Merrie looked at Todd and both looked back at the waiting area.  As if reading her siblings’ minds, Viki stepped out of the room and was seen by John.  She moved over to him.  “What’s going on?”

“Victor and I were having a conversation at the park.  Then, all of a sudden he collapsed.  He woke up after a few minutes, but I still called emergency services and they wanted to bring him in,” John explained.

“Wonder what they were discussing?” Todd asked aloud.

“I have no idea,” she replied, then noticed the look.  “What, you think I should know?  If you haven’t noticed, one of my brothers is keeping me occupied.”

“What were you discussing?” Viki asked Victor.

“He wanted to know if I remembered anything about my abduction,” Victor told her.

“And you said something about serenity.  Can you think about what you meant?” John asked again.

It was at that point that Steve Webber stepped in.  “I need to do a complete work-up on the patient,” he said as he ushered Victor into a room.

John stood there and watched as the other Lord brother was moved away.  Viki looked back at him and he nodded to her.  Then he left the hospital.  Viki moved into the room and Todd and Merrie followed.  After a few minutes, the staff finished and Victor was sitting up in the bed.  “How are you feeling, really?” she asked.

Victor could see her concern and decided not be his usual self.  “I’m fine, John’s just overreacting.  Hell, Sam wasn‘t even that worried about me.”  He looked past Viki.  “Any word on the surgery?”   

“No, but I wasn’t expecting any this soon.  We’re going to be in for a long day,” she said.  “Carly Jacks brought us something to eat and Michael came with her, so Starr seems to be remaining calm, almost serene,” Viki said.  Victor seemed to wince at her words.  “Victor, is something that matter?”

He closed his eyes, feeling a wave of light-headedness.  After a moment, it passed.  When he saw the look in Viki’s face, he said,  “That word…”

“What word?” came her next question.

“I said that word and after that, I went out.  Serene…serenity.  It’s the name…”  He closed his eyes again, trying to place where he’d heard that word.  “It’s the name of an estate.”

Viki, Todd and Merrie all looked at Victor with shock and confusion in their faces.

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