Memories Unlocked #16

Starr was still trying to get loose when Sam Vance and James Sawyer came up to them. Blair lost her temper. “Starr Manning, I’ve had enough.  You will behave right now.  I told you there was no one out on the patio but a patient.  It wasn’t your dad.”

“But Mommy, I heard his voice.  It was Daddy.  If you had just let me go to him you would have seen.”

“Enough Starr.  The man was in a wheelchair.  Sam, tell my daughter.  You saw him during the day and you found out he worked here.  If he worked on the Ward, why would he be in a wheelchair?”

Sam glanced at James.  “That’s right Starr.  A patient wouldn’t be working on the children’s ward.  Both the nurses on the ward and the woman in the front lobby told me your dad worked here.”  Even as she said it, Sam began to have some doubts about what she had seen.  She tried to remember how Todd had looked that afternoon.  He had been dressed in street clothes and there had been nothing to suggest he was a patient.  Could she have missed something?  

James nudged her. “You‘ve got the picture, show Starr how her father looked.”

That’s right,”  She rummaged through her bag until she found the single shot of Todd.  “See, Honey.  He’s in a hospital uniform.  He’s not a patient.”  She passed the photo to Starr who looked at it.

“But that was him.  Mommy, I’m sure! “ Starr flung the picture down and stormed over to a chair and fumed silently.

Blair ran a hand through her hair. Exasperated that she couldn’t get through to her daughter, she went and sat down next to her.  “Starr, I understand how anxious you are to see your dad.  It’s been a very long day and you just thought you heard his voice.”

“It wasn’t just that, Mommy, I went there because I was looking for the second Todd.  When I asked the lady over there, “  She pointed to the volunteer who had helped her earlier. “she said there wasn’t a man named Todd Manning working here but that there were two other Todds.  I found Mr. Barker and he and I went to find Mr. Drake.  I met a little boy and he said they had a friend named Todd but that it wasn’t his real name.  He said he and the other kids had picked the name and then he told me their friend Todd was leaving.  That’s when he also told me that his Todd was helping one of the other girls in the ward.  Don’t you see Mommy?  His friend had to be Mr. Drake.  I left the little boy and spotted the man in the chair holding a little girl.  I didn’t see his face, but when he told the little girl to ‘Hang on’, I knew who he was. He sounded just like Daddy, but before I could follow them, you caught me.”

Blair became very still and her eyes met Sam’s   Sam had discovered that Todd was using the name Todd Drake. God, what if the man in the chair was Todd? She had just assumed the man was a patient.  She reached down and picked up the picture of Todd sitting by her foot where Starr had dropped it.  It was a close-up so it didn’t tell her anything else but that it was Todd and he was wearing some sort of uniform shirt.  “Sam, do you have the other picture with you?”

Sam was way ahead of Blair.  At the first mention of Mr. Drake, she had reached into her bag to pull out the picture with Todd and the doctor.  She immediately handed it to Blair.

This time Blair took a good hard look at it.  The first time she had only been interested in the woman and the hand on Todd’s knee.  Now she let herself really take in the picture, all of it.  She already knew the woman was a doctor on staff and it was obvious by the shirt and a name tag that Todd also worked there.  But after Starr's insistence, she looked at the rest of the scene.  The doctor was seated on a wooden bench near the rail.  There were various pots of shrubbery surrounding it to give people some private spaces on such a large deck.  Todd’s chair was backed in against the plants but you could still see some of it.  At first appearance, it looked like a rattan lawn chair but then Blair spotted it.

Blair gasped. With a look of shocked dismay, she handed the photo back to Sam and looked directly at Starr.  “You stay here with them.” She started to head back to the ward when she heard Sam yell at her.

“Blair, the deck surrounds the whole hospital. Just go out the nearest exit.”

Blair pushed the nearest door and exited onto the deck.  The only light was from a full moon and she headed in the direction of the Children’s ward. “Please, still be there.  Please!”  She slowed down and her heart sank, as she neared the spot where she had seen the man sitting with the little girl.  They were gone.  Blair went to the rail and pounded on it as she screamed out her frustration.   She had been so close to him.  Why hadn’t she listened to Starr’s whole story sooner?  She moved to the ward’s door but it was locked.   She didn’t blame them.  It was now after dark and they had to lock up to protect the children.   Looking inside, the hallway she had walked down earlier was quiet and only a couple of nurses moved around.  Blair turned and headed back to the lobby.  She would have to face her very unhappy daughter with the news that she had missed him.  

As she re-entered the lobby, Starr came flying towards her.  “Mommy, did you find him?”

****

He was running through the wood.  They were all after him.  He needed to leave yet it was important he do one last thing.  The stable loomed in front of him.  It was after hours, so no one was there.  She would do as he asked. In his heart, he knew she couldn’t help herself. They were two peas in a pod, Soulmates.  He turned on a small lamp in the barn and waited.   He hid as he heard footsteps outside.  He held his breath when she entered, as always , she was drop-dead gorgeous.  ‘You were a fool to let her get away’ he thought to himself, and stepped out from the shadows.  “Where have you been?”

She rubbed her arms.”Doing you the favor of your life, and you better not make me sorry I did it.”  

If he had his way he would run away with both of them but he knew that was no life for them.  They were better off without him. “Okay, I won’t.” Todd stood there as she walked passed him and went to the entrance.

She stopped just outside. “Come here, sweetie.”

 A little angel entered the stables and was suddenly all smiles as she saw him. “Daddy!” and ran into his arms.

Todd woke up, his arms hugging a pillow. It wasn’t his daughter, and for a minute he wanted to cry. Then he gasped. It had felt so real and he looked over at the picture.  The mother and little girl had been in his dream.  Did he dream of them because of the picture? No, it was more than that.  It wasn’t just a dream, it had happened.  They weren’t some unknown family they were his. He thought back to the familiar voice calling to “Daddy”,  just like the girl in his dream.  God, was it her? Were they here looking for him?  Get a grip man, even if it is them, how are you going to find them? Better yet, do you want them to find you?  Look at you.  Half a man.  What good would you be to them?  Think Todd. You were going on the run in your dream and it appears you were escaping again when you were on that raft.  Admit it, you’re just no good.  Think about it. You’re leaving the children here, for that very reason.  Your family is better off, too.  Hell, you don’t even know your full name or theirs.  Forget them, you made the decision to leave, do it.

He reached over and picked up his picture.  His heartbeat even faster when he focused on the baby in the picture. I have a son, too.  For one brief moment, he wished he could see them all again.  Now he understood why he couldn’t throw the picture away.   His finger traced all their faces, as he tried to capture the feeling he had felt in the dream.  It would have to last him forever.  “I’m sorry.  You should forget me. Please don’t keep looking.  It’s for the best..”  He looked at the clock and knew Miguela would be arriving soon for rounds.  He needed to speak to her and then leave before they returned.  He knew they would.  That’s why they were there.

****

Blair had been unable to sleep. Her thoughts were all over the place.  Her feelings for Todd were all jumbled up. She picked up the photo and studied it.  Todd was smiling at the woman next to him and Blair felt her jealousy flare again.  He seemed comfortable with the woman.  Why was he still in Guam? Why had he taken the job at the hospital under an assumed name?  What did the wheelchair mean?  Was it just some con that Todd was using to manipulate the doctor and if it was, why had he gone that route?  The other puzzling fact was that Todd was working with the children.   Why had he chosen to stay in Guam instead of flying home to be with his own children? “Damn it, Todd!  How could you do that to Starr?  Okay, I get why you chose to stay hidden.  You probably figured Sam Rappaport would have plastered your face internationally and you were trying to stay under the radar.  But I can’t believe you didn’t even try and contact Starr.  The law didn’t seem to bother you when you got ready to kidnap your own children  Why so skittish now?”

Blair’s eyes wandered back to the wheelchair.   Something just didn’t make sense.  Being stuck in a wheelchair even for a scam would have been unbearable.  Todd hated being pitied.  Why, out of everything he could have chosen, did he pick being wheelchair-bound?

Suddenly feeling sick, Blair’s hand went to her throat.  “Oh God!”  She didn’t even want to voice what had filled her head.  If she was right, it would explain so much.  She looked at the clock.  It was very early but Blair felt a sense of urgency.  Hospitals started so much earlier than normal and in the back of her head, she heard Starr say.  “He said his friend was leaving.”  If Starr really did see Todd and he was the little boy’s friend, then she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.  She rushed into the children’s room and shook Starr.  “Honey, get up.  We need to go back to the hospital now.  If we don’t, we might lose Daddy again and this time we might never find him.”  

Starr jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed as her mom started dressing Jack.  “Mom, will they let you take Jack into the hospital? “

“Yes  Honey, he’ll be with me, not running loose.  If I need to actually go to the ward, you can hold him for a few minutes.  I want all of us there when we see your Daddy.”  After giving Heddy instructions to get ready and join them at the hospital. Blair let Sam Vance know her plan.  Then holding Jack in one arm, she took Starr’s hand and set out to find her man.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read.