Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 25

         With Blair’s encouragement, Todd managed to eat the soup but he refused anything else.  He started wondering if he should return the call and find out if Blair might be right.  Maybe the young detective had found out who rented a boat that afternoon or something.  He really would like to get his hands on the man who had taken the shot at him.  The waitress handed him a note as they were beginning to leave.

        “What is it?” Blair inquired.

        Todd got out of the booth and held out a hand to help Blair up. “It’s from Carly.  The men are finished in the room.  Not a moment too soon as far as I’m concerned.  All I want to do right now is lay back down.  I want that house, Blair.  I’ve got to get out of this place.”

        Blair could see that Todd had made up his mind about the house and she couldn’t blame him.  Actually, she had fallen in love with the place and hadn’t even seen the whole thing. They were crossing the lobby towards the elevator when they spotted Starr and Michael headed out.

       “Where do you think you two are going?  Starr, what are you doing with this guy.  He tried to send you to prison.” Todd snapped, blocking their path out.  He didn’t feel good and a fit of irrational anger filled him when he saw Starr with Sonny’s son.  He looked at Michael. “So now you’re playing up to her.  Is this a different tactic?  You get her to let her guard down with you and then you’ll just dump her.”

       Starr looked at her father in shock. “Dad, how can you say that?  Michael was only protecting his father.  I would do the same for you, and he’s just a friend.”

      “Mr. Manning, I know you and I got off to a bad start but I’ve no intention of hurting Starr.  She was going to go see the Haunted Star, and I thought she should have some company. I’ve been telling her all morning I think it’s a bad idea to trust Johnny Zacchara.”  Michael didn’t really want to have an argument and Manning’s raised voice was already drawing stares.

        At the mention of Johnny Zacchara, Todd turned his anger on Starr.  “I thought you had more sense than to jump into an agreement with Zacchara.”  He felt a hand touch his arm and whirled to face whoever was interfering. His eyes met Blair’s concerned ones and he stopped. God, what’s the matter with you. Yelling at Starr. You almost just took Blair’s head off.   Get a grip.  He swayed as another wave of dizziness hit him.

       Blair kept him steady and looked at Starr.  “Your father’s not feeling good, you’ll have to excuse him.  I’m sorry Michael.”

      “Don’t apologize for me.  I might not be feeling good, but I still think this whole thing is a mistake.  Starr, you barely know Michael and you’ve had even less time with Zacchara.  I just think you’re moving too fast.” As another wave of dizziness hit, Todd reached for a nearby chair gripped it tightly and managed to stay on his feet.

      Starr looked at her father swaying and looking a little pale. “Mom?”

     “He’ll be alright.  It just a bad case of the flu.  Starr, you should know, I agree with your father.  I’m afraid you’re rushing into something.  Please think about what we said.  Come on, Todd.  Let’s get you back to bed.”  She put his arm around her shoulder, and they proceeded to the elevator.

      Todd leaned against the wall of the elevator, resting his head on the cool wall. “So much for this being a one day bug.  I feel like shit.”  He went over in his mind what had just happened and couldn’t explain the sudden rush of anger he had gotten when he had seen Starr with Michael.  You felt threatened, admit it.  She’s your little girl.  Now if it was Blair, it would have been worse.  He suddenly pictured Blair leaning into John and hugging him and his hands clenched at his side.  John still had feelings for Blair, he had seen it in John’s face the night before.  If John so much as touched Blair, he’d kill him.

      Blair looked over at Todd after his remark and began wondering if he had something worse than the flu.  He appeared lost in his thoughts, and something in them was making him get mad. His face had taken on that hard dangerous look.  Could Starr and Michael have upset him that much?  He was never very rational when he got upset about something.  The elevator stopped at their floor.  “We’re here. Are you going to make it?” She wrapped an arm around his waist.

     Todd’s mood shifted as soon as she touched him. “With you here, I can make it anywhere.”  He smiled, setting his arm on her shoulder and pulling her snug against him.  When they entered the suite, he headed straight for the bedroom.   He shed his shirt and flopped down on the bed as the room spun around him.  Flinging an arm over his eyes he tried to shut out the sensation and heard Blair’s cell go off in the other room. He slipped off the bed and stumbled to the door listening at the crack to see who might have called her.

     “This is not a good time.  Why did you call me here?” Blair was trying to keep it down for Todd’s sake.  “Are you okay?  I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.  What do you mean he’s upset?  Tea, he’s a big boy.  I was planning on coming home in a couple of days.  You really think he’s that upset?  Alright, I’ll try to come home today.  It’ll take me a few hours to get there, but you tell him, I will be there.”

      Do you hear that?  She’s talking to Tea.  Look how she’s whispering.  She must be talking about Tomas.

      Todd spun around to see his mother with a gleeful smile on her face. “No, you can’t know that.  She could have been talking about one of the boys.”

     Irene sauntered over and ran a hand down his arm. “Who are you trying to convince. Me or yourself.  Admit it.  You think she’s thinking about Tomas and why wouldn’t she.  She’s been dating him.”

     She reached up to pat his cheek and Todd slipped away from her, covering his ears.“Go away and stay away. You’re wrong, I won’t listen.  She loves me, she asked me to marry her.” He reached the bed grabbed the pillow and tossed it back to where she last stood. She had disappeared and he fell back on the bed shivering.  In his head, he heard Blair again. “You really think he’s that upset? Alright, I’ll try to come home today.”  She was going to leave after she had promised to stay.  His head had begun to pound and all he could think of was Tomas and Blair shortly after Halloween last year.  Had she been lying to him all along?

     Blair walked into the room and saw Todd lying on the bed with his arm over his eyes.  She could see he was shivering and reached for the comforter at the bottom of the bed and covered him and sat down next to him. She moved to touch his forehead to check on him when he grabbed her hand tightly.

     “What are you doing?” Todd shaking free of the image in his head, he focused on Blair.  He decided he needed answers and he was going to get them.

      Blair winced at the strength behind his grip. “I was just checking you to see how bad your fever was.  Let go, Todd, you’re hurting me.” She knew his fever was high again because his hand was burning hot. He was also upset about something.

     Todd glanced at his hand and loosened his grip, but didn’t let her go.  “I heard the phone.  Who were you talking to?”

      “Tea called.  Todd, I know I said I wouldn’t go home yet, but something’s come up with Jack.  If I go now, I can be back here after dinner.  You could rest the whole time I’m gone and tonight we could talk some more about the house.”

      “You said you weren’t going anywhere.” he said petulantly.

      Blair sighed.  “I know what I said, and I still mean that.   You haven’t lost me or anything.  I just have to go home and straighten some things out with Jack.  Besides, it will give me a chance to prepare them for the move.”  Blair watched his face hoping he was understanding everything.  “He’s our son, Todd.  He feels like I’ve betrayed him by coming here to support Starr and according to Tea, he’s beginning to act out a little bit.  She just came home from the hospital and doesn’t have the energy to cope with him right now.  If he’s in a mood he’ll walk right over Mama.”

     “I should come with you.  Like you said, he’s our son.” Todd was trying to believe her. She sounded so sincere, maybe it really was all about Jack.  Irene was playing with him again.   You won’t win, Irene, I‘ll go home, face Jack, then we’ll all come back here.  Todd let go of Blair’s hand and started to get back out of bed.

      Blair pushed him back down. “Don’t, you’re in no shape to take on Jack right now.  He's so angry with you.  There’s no telling what he might do if he were to see you with me.  I’ve got to be the one to tell him.   Whether he wants to or not, he’s still a minor and has to go where I go.” She looked down at Todd.  “I don’t like leaving you sick like this, but it’s only for today. Please let me go.  I promise I’ll only stay as long as necessary to pack a few things for the boys and lay down some ground rules with Jack.  He’s just wanting attention.  He’s not unlike someone else I know.”

      Todd laid there watching her as she talked.  One minute she was pushing him back down on the bed and the next she was rambling on about Jack and rummaging through her purse.

      “There they are, I knew I had some.” Blair smiled at Todd and got up and got some water. She walked back to him. “Here, these will bring that fever down and you’ll be able to rest.” She handed him the aspirin and glass of water. She was nervous because he was just staring at her and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at that moment. “So you’re going to just rest and let me run down to Llanview, right?   It’s only one o’clock, with commercial flights I can be back here by nine at the latest.  I’ll give Starr a call and she can come to keep you company this evening when she’s finished talking to Johnny Zacchara.  You two can iron out your differences.”

    “You’re coming back tonight, right?”

    “Yes, that’s what I said.”

     He knew she had made up her mind to go home.  If he pushed, she probably would stay but then Jack would have even more reason to hate him.  To Jack, he was the man who took away his father.   Once his son learned about the engagement, he would really start throwing the guilt on his mother. “Okay, I’ll stay here and sleep.  You’re right, I really don’t feel up to traveling, but just remember you promised to be back here tonight.”  Todd didn’t say any more just watched her as she prepared to leave.  He noted she didn’t pack her bags back up and took that as a sign she meant what she said.  She was merely going back to Llanview for a day trip.  Although he had taken the aspirin Blair gave him and was feeling cooler, the pounding in his head had increased and Todd was forced to close his eyes.  “Blair, do me a favor and shut the curtain, it’s too damn bright in here.”  The headache was the worst one he had had to date.  He told Dr. Collins that they were tension headaches and right now all he felt was tension.  He didn’t want Blair to leave and the damn flu bug was making his whole body out of sorts. Even now his nicked ear was throbbing in a counter beat to the pounding in his head.

      Blair closed the curtain and looked over at Todd.  He had agreed to let her go home but she had this nagging feeling something was still wrong.   She walked back over to Todd. “There, the curtain is shut.  Do you want me to get you a cold washcloth?   Maybe that will ease the headache.”

      “I want you to stay, but I know that’s not going to happen.  Just go Blair, I’ll try not to let it bother me.  I don’t understand, but I have this irrational fear you’re going to go back there and decide you made a mistake coming here.  Tea and Tomas will try and talk you into staying.  I just know it.”

      Blair sat down next to Todd. “They won’t succeed.  I’m coming back and I’ll bring the boys with me.  You have to try and hold onto that thought.  I just going because Jack’s in trouble.  I’ll get to the problem and settle it and then we’ll return.  Try and get some sleep.  Just remember, I asked you to marry me, not the other way around.  I intend to make you my husband and then you can work on getting your son back.”  She gently kissed him but drew back before he could sweep her along and make her forget her reasons for leaving.

      Todd smiled ruefully.  He had almost gotten to her, he sensed she had to fight her natural instincts when she pulled back on the kiss.  She did want him, but she had made up her mind to go and once she did that, she didn’t turn back.

       She smiled down at him and tenderly laid her hand on his cheek.  “Believe me, this is as hard for me as it is for you.  Get some rest.”

      Todd watched her leave, then drew the cover around him.  He laid there, listening as he heard the door close behind her. “Hurry back,” he whispered to the air.




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