The Devil You Know: Chapter 51

Chapter 51



Todd Manning was making such a pain of himself to the staff of General Hospital, they gladly released him at the end of the day.  As Blair drove him home, they discussed the news they had to share with the family.



“I think, with everyone there, we may as well tell them.  I mean, Starr and Jack know.  Victor knows, as scary as that is,” Todd suggested.  He still hadn’t gotten used to the idea of this mentally conjoined thing he and his twin seemed to have.



“Are you sure?  It’s still very early in the pregnancy,” Blair said a bit fearfully.  She’d lost too many children already and was afraid of getting everyone’s hopes up only for it to turn tragic.



Todd and she had talked a few times about Blair’s other pregnancies.  He knew that she had lost Victor’s baby and that just added to the loss of Brendan and and their son.  But a little voice in Todd’s head reassured him that nothing was going to happen to this baby.  “She’ll be fine.  We’ll all be fine.”



With that, they pulled up to the house.  “God, I hope no one has a surprise planned for me.  Really don’t want it this time.”  He opened the door and let out a breath.  The house appeared to be empty.  “Okay, maybe it would have been nice if someone was home.”



If by magic, Reginald appeared.  “Mr. Manning, they released you?”



“They practically begged him to go,” Blair said, rolling her eyes.  “Todd has always been the worst patient and, as there was nothing physically wrong with him, Dr. Webber signed the papers as fast as possible.”



“Where is everyone?” Todd asked the butler.



“Oh, Ms. Starr, Mrs. Brennan and Mrs. Roberts all had errands to run.  They didn’t say when they’d be back,” he informed them.



“What errands would my daughter, my niece and, God help me, my sister, all be running?”  Todd asked.  Then he added, “Don’t answer that.  Look, just get ready.  I need to have all of them over for dinner.  We’ll get takeout.”  Reginald looked hesitant.  “Oh, stop being a big baby.  We are all so much calmer than the Quartermaines.”  With that, Reg left.  Todd sat on the couch and reached for the phone.  “I guess we should start calling all hands on deck.  Make sure they get here.”



“We should at least call Dorian and tell her about the baby,” Blair told him.



“And have her fly up here on her broom?”  Blair gave him a look.  “Okay, but she can stay in Washington.  You and I really don’t need to deal with the head witch.”  Blair got up and dialed her phone.  As she walked out of the library, Todd heard her say “Hello Dorian,” but tuned out the rest of the conversation.  He dialed his own phone and waited with baited breath for the other end to pick up and start her lecture.  “Hey sis,” he said when he heard Viki’s voice.



“Todd, where are you?  I’m at the hospital and Nurse Webber said you were released.  Shouldn’t you have stayed a bit longer?” his sister asked.



“Oh, they said I was fit as a fiddle, so the released me.  But can you come over and bring whoever is here from Llanview?  I need to talk to you all,” he asked.



“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked, becoming more concerned.



“Yeah, I’m fine.  See you in a bit, alright?  Oh and can you spread the word? Thanks.” he hurriedly said.



The front door opened and Starr walked through, with Jack and Sam.  “Dad, you’re home already?” she questioned him.



“Yeah, you know me.  Hospitals are like prisons.  They can’t hold me.”  He got up and hugged his kids.  Sam attached himself to Todd’s good leg.



“No, it was more like the hospital begged me to take him,” Blair said, coming back in.  “I spoke to Dorian.”



“And what did she say?” He winced as he asked.



“I thought I’d lost her for a minute.  But she seemed to gather her wits about her and handled the news well,” Blair replied.  “I just didn’t tell her the second part of it.”



“You mean about the baby?” Sam asked, getting excited.



Todd looked to Starr and raised an eyebrow.  His daughter mirrored his look.  “We had to tell him about last night and we decided to tell him everything.”



Todd sat down and beckoned Sam to sit on his lap.  Sam came and Starr and Jack also sat down.  “Yes, Sam, your mother is having a baby.”



“I’m going to be a big brother!  This is so awesome.  I can’t wait to tell Cam,” he cheered.



“And we have some other things to tell you all,” Todd continued.  He looked to Blair then said, “When I was …out of it, I met with my sister Merrie again.”



“Like when you were shot?” Jack asked.



“Yeah, just like then and she helped me see that I needed to come back.  She helped me face what was keeping me from you all.  And Victor was there too.  I think that shrink hypnotized him but he was there too,” Todd told them.



“Where was it?”  Starr was worried something could happen to send her father back there.



“The where is not important now.  I’ll tell you after the oncoming hoards have left.  But that was how I learned about your mom expecting.  Merrie told me and also, Victor knows,” Todd explained.  He looked to Blair and took her hand.  “And we also know, even though it’s early, that it’ll be a girl.”



Starr’s reaction was actually priceless.  She yanked her arm back and cheered.  “I’m sorry, but with two brothers, it’s about time!”



Jack rolled his eyes.  “Guess that’s the law of averages for you,” he said.  Then he smiled, genuinely pleased.



“A sister?” Sam was the only one who seemed disappointed.



“Yes and you are going to be a great big brother,” Blair told him.  “But there is one other piece of news we want to get out to you first.  We’ve already decided on a name.”



Starr was surprised.  The only time her parents had a name picked out was with Sam, although Victor’s original idea was Todd, Junior.  “What name did you pick?”



Todd smiled as he looked to the mantle.  On it was the picture of his two sisters, one he had never really met and one who was still one of the most important people in his life.  “Her name is going to be Meredith Victoria.”



“After Aunt Merrie and Aunt Viki,” Jack said.



Todd contorted his face a bit at that comment.  “Well, not entirely.”  Before he could continue, the doorbell rang and Viki, Clint, Cord and Tina arrived.  They were quickly followed by Tea and Victor and then Jessica and her kids.  When they all got drinks, and with food on the way, Blair told them she was pregnant.



Viki smiled widely and the Buchanan boys congratulated here.  Jess already knew and offered her best wishes, but Tina walked over to her and as she went to kiss her on the cheek, she said for old times’ sake, “Still trying that old trick.”



When Blair pulled back Tina smiled and Blair offered her a bemused response, “Well, it worked so well the first, and second times, why not try for a third?”



Victor smiled wickedly at Todd, and then announced, “It’s a girl.”



Everyone looked from him to Todd.  He had to roll his eyes at his twin.  “Thank you, Victor, for telling them that.”



“You’re welcome,” he snarked back.



“Would you like to tell them the baby’s names, since you seem to know all that I know?” he asked snidely.  When Victor merely smirked back, Todd muttered, “And to think I was gonna give my daughter your name.  Well, now you can forget it.”



“You were going to name her…after me?”  Victor sounded incredulous.



“Well, you and Viki,” he said, point to their eldest sister.  Then he said, “Instead, we’re naming her Meredith Victoria.”



Viki’s smile widened.  “Thank you Todd.  I know that somewhere, Merrie is smiling.”  Then she looked at Blair.  “I’d like to be there when you tell Dorian the baby’s name.”



That made Blair laugh.  “I already called and told her about the baby.  I think I’ll wait till the birth until I tell her the name.”



As her parents were talking to Viki and the rest of the family, Starr pulled Tina out of the room.  “How did everything go with Carly?” she asked.



“Oh, it went fine.  We just need to tell then which date we’ll be doing it,” Tina replied.



Starr looked back, thinking.  Her parent’s normal route would be a one day engagement, but to her right now, she was still worried about her dad’s health.  She made her decision.  “Talk to Carly, tell her New Year’s Eve.  That’ll give us plenty of time to get all the other preparations in order.”  With that, a mischievous smile brightened her face.  Her plan was falling nicely into place.



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