Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 22

        Blair watched him drift off to sleep, satisfied that she was staying.  She prayed it was just a twenty-four-hour flu bug, he had been through enough lately.  She slipped the towel off that had been covering her, pulled out her lounge set and got comfortable.  It was likely to be a long night.

        Her stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten, so she called room service and had some fruit and soup sent up.  While waiting for the food, she headed for the bathroom to clean up.  She gathered up Todd’s clothes and then noticed a card had dropped to the floor.  Picking it up she read Dr. Kevin Collins: Psychiatrist.  It didn’t seem possible.  Todd didn’t like doctors, especially “shrinks” as he called them.  Why would he have such a card?  She turned the card over and got another surprise.  Todd had an actual appointment with the man.  This really was a first.  Todd had supposedly tried therapy with Rae Cummings many years before, but he considered her a joke and had never taken her seriously.

        Blair walked out of the bathroom and looked over at Todd.  “Is that where you were this morning?  You told me it was something you had to do for Hallie.”  She put the slacks down and walked back to the bed.  “I know you called me from the docks today. Why does that place draw you?  The other day I had a feeling you were thinking of jumping in.  That isn’t what you were thinking, was it?  You wouldn’t do that, would you?“  She sat down beside him and tenderly moved some hair off his brow.  Her eyes were drawn to the ear with the bandage on it. “You’re scaring me.  This thing with Irene is getting to you, I know it is, and now someone’s trying to kill you.  Why?”  She didn’t expect an answer to her musings, Todd was oblivious to her.  He had started sweating profusely and was beginning to get restless.  Blair was startled by the knock on the suite door and then she remembered room service.  She grabbed the towel she had used to dry him off and took a corner of it to wipe some of the sweat off him, then got up and went to the door to get her food.

        Throughout the night, Blair kept watch over Todd, keeping cool cloths on his head when his fever threatened to get out of control again.  She finally laid down beside him and dozed off when he seemed quiet.  She felt his movement beside her and awoke, he seemed to be dreaming.  Getting up, she looked at the clock, it was morning but early.

        Todd was running, desperately trying to stay ahead of the flames.  Whoever was after him had made a mistake when they lit the fire.  The whole forest was going up.  What was Bo thinking?  He wasn’t going back to that prison.  He hadn’t done anything.  Why were they chasing him? He stumbled and fell, a thorn bush snagging his ear.  He pulled free noting the blood dripping down his neck.  He couldn’t stop, the flames were getting closer.  He could feel the heat, it was all around him.  In the distance, he heard shouting.  “You don’t have to die Manning.  Just tell us where it is and we’ll get you out of there.”  Damn it why couldn’t they get it through their heads he had no idea what “it” was.  He couldn’t trust them.  They had lied to him before.

        “Don’t listen to them.  Come to me.  I can make it all go away.”   Amidst all the flames, he suddenly felt chilled.  That voice scared him more than the other.  He stopped running.  That voice had sounded close.  God, what was he to do?  Behind him were the flames and  “she”  was ahead of him.  The flames engulfed him and he was on fire, he needed to find water and fast.  Stumbling and beating at the flames, he burst into a clearing and found himself standing at the edge of a calm lake.  All he had to do was dive in.  He hesitated and the pain from the fire seared through him.  He plunged in and the flames were extinguished, but suddenly he felt a cold hand grip his ankle and start drawing him down into the water.  “You mustn’t fight it.  It’s safe down here.”  Todd found himself giving in to the sense of peace that was settling over him.  She was right.  It was safe. There was no more pain.  He stopped trying to hold his breath, there was no need to breathe anymore.  Then a soft hand grabbed him and started pulling him back toward the surface.   A face appeared before him.  She smiled, beckoning him to follow her.  He kicked free of the cold dead hand pulling him down.  The woman in front of him promised him warmth and life.  Now he was struggling for breath, would he make it back to the surface in time.  The face swam toward him.  She kissed him and her breath flowed into him.  It was enough, he burst out of the water gasping.

        It was close to six when Blair walked the tray out of the room and put it outside the door.  She didn’t want to be gone too long. Todd was getting restless and she feared his temperature might be going up again.  She walked back into the room and heard an almost inaudible gasp. She looked at Todd and he appeared to be struggling for breath.  She ran to him to help when he just stopped breathing. “Oh my God, Todd!”

         She sat on the bed shaking his shoulders.  “Wake up, breathe, damn it!” There was no response, he was limp and turning blue. She felt for a pulse.  There was a faint one but it seemed to be fading. “You’re not going to do this to me.  Do you hear me?” She was crying as she felt his face.  He had gone from burning up to feeling clammy and cold. She removed his pillows and laid him flat. Okay, Blair, you know what to do, this is why you took those stupid classes. She knelt beside him on the bed and began.  She put pressure on his chest then began breathing for him. She worked over him, getting more frantic when he showed no sign of reviving. “Come on. It’s me, Blair.” She whispered into his ear after once again breathing for him.  Then she felt his breath expel, warm against her cheek.  He was breathing on his own.  She sat down next to him, her hand on his chest, feeling it rise and fall.  Her heart was going a mile a minute and tears made tracks down her cheeks.

          Todd opened his eyes to find Blair above him.  She was crying and she began kissing him.  It was fierce and delicious and he returned it gladly.

          Blair was so glad to see his hazel eyes looking up at her. She planted her lips on his, determined to taste them forever. “You’ve got to stop doing this,” She said softly.  She had had all the sorrow she could stand. She couldn’t stop her tears and they were flowing freely. Her lips wandered away from his and kissed the familiar scar and then she found his ear which she caught and bit lightly before trailing her lips back to his.

           He wasn’t sure what had happened, Blair was crying and driving him crazy with her lips.  “Babe.” He tried to get her attention but his voice was barely a whisper and his chest hurt. “Stop doing what?”

          Blair pulled away a little bit and looked down at him.  “Dying on me.  How much do you think a girl can take?”

         He looked at her puzzled. “Dying?”

         “You stopped breathing.  I’ve been doing it for you these last few minutes,” she smoothed his hair back off his forehead again.  He had tossed and turned so much it was slightly blocking his beautiful eyes.

         Todd rubbed his chest, “Is that why I’m so sore?”

         Blair leaned over and kissed where he had rubbed. “I’m sorry, I had to do CPR.”

         “You know CPR, since when?”  He found it hard to believe.

         “It was after you disappeared.  Starr went into the river while rollerblading and she almost drowned.  I told myself I wasn’t going to be helpless like that again and took the training.  You should be glad I did.  You’re still here.”

         Todd frowned,  “What were you thinking, letting Starr go rollerblading down by the river?”

         “She was supposed to be skating with River, but he changed his mind and she went off on her own.  She was stubborn, like someone else I know.  Believe me, she learned a lesson that day.” Blair met Todd’s eyes and laid her hand back down on his chest.  “I was terrified when I realized you had stopped breathing.”

           He covered her hand with his. “Hey, let it go.  Like you said.  I’m here.”  He rubbed her thumb absently.  “You’ve been saving me a lot.  I didn’t want to scare you yesterday, but someone...”

          “Tried to kill you.  I already know.  Todd, what do you remember about last night?”

          “I remember getting mad at Johnny Zacchara in the lounge, then sitting down to have a few drinks while you were swimming.  I was getting up the nerve to tell you about the shooting.”

          “You don’t remember seeing me in the lounge, getting upset with me, and leaving?”

          Todd laid there trying to recall, and he had some vague image of Blair standing there telling him something important.  The only thing important to him was if she was going to stay and live in Port Charles.  That was it.  They had been talking about that.  Dread filled him. “You told me you couldn’t give me an answer.  That’s why I was upset.”  It was all coming back to him.  He had surprised her with his sudden decision to relocate and caught her unawares.  After his session with Dr. Collins, and the happenings at the dock, all he could think of was making sure Blair stayed in town.  In his need to keep her there, had he inadvertently pushed her away. “I was drunk last night and I guess, sick on top of that.  A lot happened yesterday and it scared me.  I can’t go home and I can’t survive without you.  I need you to breathe, literally, I guess.   When you’re not around, something takes over and I’m finding myself drawn to it.”  Todd stopped talking, as the image of a cool calm lake beckoned to him.  He shuddered as a chill came over him. The sudden warmth of Blair’s hand on his face pulled him back.

           She had been letting him talk, breathing a sigh of relief when he had begun remembering events of the previous night. Then he lost focus and shivered, she reached for his face to make him see her. “Last night I told you I needed to think.   I followed you, thinking you had returned here but you were nowhere to be found.  You were gone for several hours and I became worried you had done something stupid.  When John showed up here and told me about the shooting and where it took place, I became more frantic.” She paused and put both hands on his face, making sure she had his full attention.  “I don’t know what happened yesterday morning before the shooting, but I’m scared too.  I’ve seen the effect Irene has on you.  I’m not going to let her win.  Do you hear me?  If you want to live here, then we’ll all live here.”  She kissed him, her lips touching his gently, to let him know she meant what she had just said.

           Todd felt her lips and knew she was telling him the truth.  His hand reached and traced her lips after she lifted up to catch a breath. “I never ever wanted to scare you.   From the moment we met, you stood up for me and never let my past affect our relationship.  Now, my past is tearing me apart and you’re the only one holding me together.  I know my decision to stay here was sudden.  It wasn’t right for me to put the pressure on you that way.  Shit, it hasn’t even been an entire week since you showed up here, and came back into my life.  I guess I’m grasping at straws here, but I keep expecting to wake up and find I’m all alone.”

          Blair kissed his fingertips and hugged him, “I don’t know any other way to make you understand that I’m not going anywhere, but this.”  She got off the bed and knelt down beside it looking directly into his eyes.  “Todd Manning, will you marry me?”

         “Okay, now I know I’m dreaming.  I knew all this was too good to be true.”  He looked away from her and put his forearm over his eyes.  He wasn’t sure if he wanted this dream to continue.  All his wishful thinking was getting the best of him.

         “Todddd, you’re not dreaming.”  She reached up to feel his forehead, afraid the fever might be making him deny things but he was still fairly cool.  She pulled down on his arm. “I’m real and this is real.  All you need to do is answer me.  What do you say, Todd?”

          Todd had only one answer. “Yes.”


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