Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 32

      Liz walked out of the room, carrying the test tubes and set them down on the counter at the nurses' station outside the MRI room.  She saw Patrick Drake talking to her brother and headed for them.

      Steve looked up as Liz neared.  “Did you get the blood samples on Mr. Manning?  I want to know if any more of that hallucinogen is still in his system.”

      “I couldn’t, he panicked.  I think he was seeing something other than me.  He slapped the syringe out of my hands and was frantic.  He was so upset, it set off the blood pressure alarm than he seemed to settle down.  It’s possible he still has some of the drug in him.”

      Patrick frowned. “Or there is something else going on.  His fiance said he was held captive and tortured for eight years.  Those lesions in his brain could be affecting everything.”

      Steve turned to Liz.  “Tell the nurses here to keep an eye on him, we’ll be moving him shortly.  Give me a minute to talk to Dr. Drake and I’ll see you back in ER.”

      Liz nodded, spoke to the nurses in radiology and headed back to her floor.

****

      A short time later Kevin Collins strolled into the hospital, the first thing he needed to do was check on Dr. Keenan’s active files.  He spotted Elizabeth Webber and approached her.  It had been years since he had seen her.  He wondered if she and Lucky Spencer were still together.  “Excuse me, you’re Elizabeth Webber, right?  I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m ..”

      “Dr. Collins, of course, I remember you.  But I haven’t seen you around General Hospital for a while.  Can I help you with something?”

      “I’m looking for Dr. Keenan’s office, I’m going to be covering his patients and working off and on here until he recuperates.”

      “Dr. Keenan’s office is up on seven.  Good luck with one of his patients, Kate Howard.  She‘s the one who put him in the hospital.”

      Dr. Collins stared in silence and Elizabeth realized she had erred.  “I’m sorry, Doctor. That was unprofessional of me.  Dr. Keenan is a close friend, I spoke out of turn.  Oh, here comes my brother.  He’s the new chief of staff.  Steve.”  She hailed her brother.

      Dr. Webber had just completed his talk with Dr. Drake when his sister called to him.  He walked over to her noting the gentleman with her.

      “Steve, this is Dr. Kevin Collins, he’s taking over for Ewen.  Dr. Collins, my brother, Steve Webber.”

      “Dr. Collins, it’s good of you to help us out at this time.  I wonder if I might have a word alone with you.  Liz, they’re moving Todd Manning to Neurology.  Dr. Drake asks for you to be part of the team, I told him that would be acceptable.”

      “Of course, Steve.  Is Patrick thinking of operating?”

      “That will depend on Manning.  For now, I’d like you up there.”

      “I’ll get up there as soon as I clear things down here with Epiphany.”

        Kevin had been alarmed when he heard Todd ‘s name. “Excuse me.  Did you say, Todd Manning?”  That nagging feeling was back in full force.  Manning was in the hospital, that was why he hadn’t made their session.

      “Yes, he’s the one I wanted to talk to you about.  Mr. Manning was brought in here yesterday after nearly drowning.  He was diagnosed with malaria and was completely incapacitated by an extremely high fever that rendered him comatose.  We ran an EEG and discovered some anomalies.  While we were attempting to run an MRI, he seized and then flatlined.  A little over an hour ago we were ready to pronounce him dead when he suddenly revived.  Both Dr. Drake and I are concerned about his mental state.  He hasn’t been too cooperative or talkative to anyone, but his fiance, Blair Cramer.  We wanted to discuss the lesions that we found, but for now, we’re letting him rest.  Perhaps you could look in on him.   I’m getting the impression he’s not the most trusting of doctors.  We already had one instant since he revived where he panicked when we tried to draw some blood.  What do you say?”

     “I’ll be glad to help.  If you like I could see him now?”

      “That would be great.  You understand we’re afraid the lesions in his brain are having adverse effects on him.  His fiance informed us he’s been having headaches.   Dr. Drake and I believe they could be the cause and should be removed.  When you’re finished, Liz can show you where Dr. Keenan’s office is.”

       Kevin headed for the elevator intent on taking it up to Neurology.  Liz Webber was about to join him when she spotted two people exiting from the street level.  She paused and walked towards them  “Starr, your father’s awake.  They’re moving him to Neurology.  It’s up on the seventh floor.  You can probably find your mother there.  I’m headed up now.”  They all walked to the elevator.

        Kevin looked at the striking young woman and her escort as they were riding up. It was clear, she had some of her father’s traits.  In particular, the hazel eyes she now directed at him.

       “It’s rude to stare,” she said briskly.

       “My apologies,” Kevin replied.  Yes, she was definitely her father’s daughter.

       “Starr, this is Dr. Collins, Dr. Webber asked him to consult on your father’s case.  Here we are, the 7th floor, he's in room 711.  You can go in.”

       Starr rushed through the door. After stopping briefly to make sure her father was really awake, she flung her arms around him.  “Dad, thank god you’re alright.”

        Todd clung to her for a moment, then eased her off. “I’m fine Shorty.  I’m sorry I scared you.”  He looked past her and saw Michael standing there.   “What’s he doing here?”

        “He saved your life.  Michael helped me free you from where you were trapped under the dock and he’s the one who resuscitated you.  He also kept me company most of the night while we watched over you.”

        Todd frowned, although he was a little shaky on the details, he knew what had happened at the dock.  He had gone into the lake with intent.  The fever might have made him weaker, but he had known what he was doing.  He looked at his daughter.  She had questions, but she wasn’t pushing him. Does she know?  How do I explain it to her?  His eyes found Blair’s and he knew she also had an inkling what had really happened.  God they’re going to think me such a coward.  He closed his eyes to avoid their's  You know you can’t hide from it forever.  Sooner or later you’ll have to face up to what you did. He covered his eyes with his hand. It doesn’t have to be now. Calm down. He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.   He opened his eyes and met Michael’s.  “I guess I owe you.  Thanks.”

        “I was glad to help.  You were pretty sick.  I guess you went into the water to cool off.  That water’s pretty cold, you must have passed out from the shock of it hitting you when you were so hot.”

        “Dad, John said someone tried to kill you a couple of days ago.  Why didn’t you say anything?”

        “It wasn’t your problem.  They only nicked me, it wasn’t important.”

        “Mom, didn’t you tell him?”  Starr looked over at her mother.

         “Tell me what?” Todd glanced at Blair.

         “There was something on the bullet.  It gave you malaria and almost killed you,” replied Blair.  “That’s what Detective Falconeri wanted to talk to you about yesterday morning.”

        “That was yesterday?”  Todd was bewildered.  His sense of time was all off.  Everything had happened in the span of a day.  He closed his eyes and saw his son running and laughing as they played with the football, Brendan sitting and writing and telling him he was loved, and his mother holding him.  It had seemed to last forever and not long enough.  Bitsy had said she’d see him again.  He held that hope close.  It would have to hold him.  They hadn’t given up on him, now he had to try to live up to their faith in him.  Irene was still around; he could feel her lurking.  But he had walked away from her today, and with Blair’s help, he would keep walking.

         Blair looked on concerned.  She had been desperate to keep Todd talking.   After their heart to heart in the MRI room, Todd had lost focus several times.  She worried he was still linked somehow to their son and Bitsy.  The doctors had tried to assure her, he seemed stable and fully cognitive, but it hadn’t helped.  “Todd, are you okay?”

          He opened his eyes. “Yeah, just a little confused.  It feels like it’s been days, not hours that’s all.  So you’re telling me I was sick because of something on the bullet?  Am I cured now?”

         “Dr. Webber says the malaria is under control and with continued medication your body will eventually be free of it.  It’s going to take time.  That wasn’t all.  There was a secondary drug that also affected you.  It was some sort of hallucinogen.”

         “Great, I guess the bastard who shot me had a contingency plan. If the bullet didn’t get me, malaria and drug would.” Images of Blair and Irene blended together.  He recalled talking to both as he walked towards the dock.  Some of it must have been from the drug.

         “I don’t know.  Neither do the doctors.  Only time will tell.  You really should rest, Dr. Drake said they wanted to make sure the malaria was no longer a problem and he would be back later to tell us the findings of the MRI.  Since Starr is here, would you mind if I run back to the hotel for a little bit.”

         “Why what’s there?  I don’t want you leaving.”  He couldn’t help feeling panicked at the thought of her walking out of the room and not coming back.

           Starr looked at her mom and back at her father.  She heard the undercurrent of fear in his voice.  She had never seen her father quite so desperate.  She felt angry at her grandmother for taking her father away from her and then hurting him so much he still hadn’t recovered. “Dad, Mom’s been here since she got back into town.  She didn’t even leave your side to get something to eat.”

            Upon hearing Starr’s words, he took a good look at Blair.  His daughter was right.  Blair looked ready to drop.  Suck it up, Manning, she came back as promised.  Starr’s here and Irene’s never made an appearance around her.   “I’m sorry, you should go.  I guess I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.  Like you said, Starr’s here.  I need to chat with her about her so-called new friend Johnny Zacchara anyway.”  He reluctantly let go of Blair’s hand that he had been holding.

           She kissed him gently. “I will be back shortly, don’t worry.”

           Kevin had been quietly watching and listening to the whole conversation.  Todd had yet to notice him so he took the opportunity to slip out and followed Todd’s fiance to the elevator.  “Ms. Cramer, I wonder if I could have a word with you?”

           Blair stopped in surprise. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

          “My name is Kevin Collins, Dr. Kevin Collins to be exact.”

           Blair couldn’t believe it.  Standing in front of her was the one man she had been wanting to meet.  “Oh God, you don’t know how glad I am to meet you.  Todd really needs your help.”

          Kevin was a little taken aback.  “You’ve been wanting to meet me.  Now it’s my turn.  How do you know me?”  Blair said.

         “I found your card two nights ago.  It fell out of Todd’s slacks.  It was the same day someone attempted to kill him.  Since there was an appointment scheduled, I figured he was your patient.”

         “I see.  Why were you anxious to see me?”

         “Because I know why he went to see you.  Dr. Collins, I’m not so sure Todd’s dip in the lake was caused by malaria.”  She wanted to say more but never got the chance as several more people came up to the elevator.

         There it was again.  That nagging feeling he had the night he left town for his conference. “Ms. Cramer, perhaps you’d like to join me for some lunch?  I know you were headed to your hotel, allow me to take you and we can continue this discussion in private.”

         “Thank you, I would like that.”

         They entered the elevator and proceeded down to the street level.  Kevin could see how upset Blair was.  She was gripping her pocketbook tightly, her fingers tapping it repeatedly.  It was obvious that she was worried about something. They exited the hospital and soon were on their way to the hotel.

          Blair turned in her seat to view the doctor.  “Dr. Collins, I’m assuming you have some knowledge of Todd’s recent history, so you are aware he was held prisoner by his mother for eight years.  Todd came back into our lives less than a year ago, and none of us realized just how things with him really were.  When it came out that his twin, Victor, had replaced him; Todd didn’t take it too well.  Unfortunately, somehow all the sympathy went to his brother and we expected Todd to just understand.  He couldn’t.”

       “I can see where that might have been a problem.” He looked at her. “What happened then?”

       “Not long after we discovered what had taken place, his brother Victor was found shot in his own living room and Todd was later charged with his death.  During his trial, the trauma he endured at his mother’s hand finally came out but Todd doesn’t have a good track record with telling the truth and many people still believed he wasn’t as traumatized as the expert witness testified to.  I’m ashamed to say even I felt the man was lying at first.”  Blair paused, still thinking about her part after the trial ended.

        Kevin looked over at her.  “What made you change your mind?”

        “I had time to think about it and suddenly I saw Todd differently.  Little things he did before and after his brother’s death suddenly made sense in a strange way.  Once I started putting them together, I realized there was something wrong with him.”

        “I’m aware you’re his fiance and I overheard Starr call you Mom. That tells me your relationship with him goes back a long way.  He seemed concerned about you leaving today.  Would you care to tell me what that’s about?” Kevin parked the car in the hotel parking lot.  “It’s quiet out here or we can go inside.  Luckily the temps aren’t too bad today.”

        Blair looked around. “This is fine.  If I go inside, I might run into my boys, and then I would have more explaining to do.  I’m not ready to face that yet.  You asked why Todd was upset about me leaving.  I made him a promise yesterday and he thought I had gone back on it.  Someone told him I wasn’t coming back and because he was ill, he believed it.  It’s difficult for him to trust.  When he does and someone lets him down he feels betrayed.”

       “Is that why you think he was in the lake?  Do you believe he attempted to take his life?”

       “I don’t know.  I just have this feeling.  Todd was at an all-time low.  I shouldn’t have left him when I knew he was so upset.”

       “You’ve known him for a long time.  Was there something in his past to make you think he would contemplate such a move?”

        Blair hesitated before answering. “There was a period in his past when Todd was facing a lifetime of prison.  He collapsed.  The doctors said he was catatonic and it was due to severe depression or mania.   He awoke from that state while I was out of town.  I’ve been told he wanted to end it and almost jumped off the roof of the hospital.  His sister was the only one who could talk him down.  Yesterday,” she paused and tried to get her rapidly beating heart under control.  Her fear for Todd was palpable. “ He was so ill.  He needed me and I wasn’t here.  He must have felt so alone.”

        “I see.   You think he reached his breaking point.”

        “The night I arrived, I saw firsthand the torment he’s been going through.  I know the visions of his mother are making him fear for his sanity.  You have to understand.  Todd fought his mother for eight years.  He told Starr there were moments when he was in limbo, and when he was conscious they tortured him.  He said the only thing that kept him alive was his love for me, the children, and his sister.  All he wanted was to get back home to us.  When he was arrested for murdering his brother, almost all of us turned our backs on him.  Todd put up a pretty good front back in Llanview, I never suspected for a moment how deeply our rejection affected him.  He’s very near to just giving up and it scares me.”

          He listened to her and she confirmed much of what he himself feared.  “I don’t want to alarm you further, but I believe you may be right.  I can’t really discuss what Todd talked to me about during his session, but I agree he needs help.”  He could see the unshed tears in her eyes.  He put his hand on her arm.  “Ms. Cramer, you need to stay strong.  We were fortunate this time.  I believe he can be helped.  From the few moments I saw in that room, Todd has a reason to fight and you’re giving him that reason.”

           Kevin got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door.  “I will tell you that the diagnosis of PTSD is accurate.  I believe that it and several other factors are contributing to his mental state.  Dr. Webber asked me to consult on Todd’s case unaware that he was already my patient.  One thing good came of this hospitalization.  We now have proof he’s experienced trauma to his brain.”  He opened it and offered a hand to Blair.

          “You’re exhausted and worried about him.  As his doctor, it’s obvious to me that he needs you, so you have to take care of yourself.  You’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours according to your daughter.  Let’s get you something to eat and I think you should try and rest.  I know he expects you back, but maybe I can keep him occupied long enough to let you get that break.  I will say this.  Todd is a complicated man and his problems are quite complex. This isn’t something that’s going to clear up in a matter of days, but I intend to help him to the best of my ability.”

          Blair nodded and they entered the Metro-Court.  After checking in at the desk, she called her mother’s room and found out the boys were enjoying the pool and game room.  She breathed a sigh of relief.

        “Is everything alright?”

        “Yes and no.  I went home yesterday to bring my sons back here so that I could prepare them to see Todd and explain our engagement.  I never expected to spend the whole night in the hospital.  I’m not sure how I’m going to explain my absence last night.  My son Jack is not aware his father is in Port Charles, and I don’t think it’s going to go over too well when he finds out.  Jack was raised by Todd’s brother, Victor when everyone thought he was Todd.  Jack hasn’t forgiven his real father for killing Victor, the only father he knew.  I keep hoping I can make him understand just how sick his real father is.  Todd desperately wants to connect with his son.  The fact that he hasn’t been able to, just adds to his pain.”

       “Let’s get that lunch and then you rest.   After lunch, I’ll go and have a talk with Todd until you can get back there.  I’m sure between myself and Drs. Webber and Drake we can keep him distracted.”

       Blair watched Dr. Collins leave after lunch and made her way to the elevator.  She was tired but knew rest wasn’t going to happen.  It was time to talk to her sons.





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