The MST, Firestorm, Ch. 35

Todd woke up with a start. He looked around and saw Blair asleep in the chair next to his bed. It had been a dreamless night and he felt surprisingly good. It was probably because of the stress and oh yeah the heart attacks but hey, it had been blissfully silent in his head last night. Before he could wake up Blair, the nurse came in and started taking vitals. "Hey, Can you tell me when I'm going to get out of here. Really, I'm feeling much better."

The nurse just smiled and said."Let's wait and see if the doctor agrees with you. In the meantime, are you hungry? It's been quite a while since you ate."

"I don't care about food. I want to go home!" Todd's volume increased with his tension."I don't like hospitals, you tell that doctor to get in here, or I'll just go ahead and leave now."

The nurse was keeping an eye on his monitors and notice the heart rate rising steadily. "Mr. Toddman, please, you must calm down. If you truly want out of here you need to relax. You're getting agitated and that's raising your heart rate, you're going to give yourself another attack. If you have another attack right now it will very likely kill you or at the very least incapacitate you and keep you here quite a bit longer." She gently tried to get Todd to relax against the pillows, she felt the tension leave his shoulders as he sank back into them. "That's better, I'll go see when the doctor will be here and I'll send some food in. Do try and eat," the nurse noticed that Blair was awake and said. "Try and keep him calm," and exited the room.

Blair had woken up at the sound of Todd's raised voice. She headed to the bed when the nurse left. "Are you Crazy! Look, I know you hate it here, but we're trying to keep you alive. Todd if you can't behave I'm going to ask Ms. Perkins to send Samual back out. At least he has the sense God gave you to know how to stay calm. He's lived with your bad heart for a while now. I can count on him to keep you alive if you're going to act foolishly. So you tell me, are you going to behave yourself or do I get Samuel out here?"

Todd was stunned. He hadn't seen Blair this angry in a long time. He realized he had been acting a little foolish, but he really did hate hospitals. He sat there and suddenly had to chuckle. She had gotten so used to Samuel and the thought of his alters, she really thought she could just order one of the others to come out and they would. Of course, she was right in a way, Samuel was the most levelheaded of the alters, but Todd had full control again and he was the only one who could release one or the other.

He was laughing. Blair couldn't believe it. "Why are you laughing? This is serious. I mean it, Todd. I'll call Samuel if you won't listen."

Todd stopped laughing and said. "That's just it, Blair. You can't just call Samuel and have him take my place. It doesn't work that way."

"But I don't understand. At your trial, Sam asked Ms. Perkins if he could speak to the boys and she let him. Why can't I do that?" asked Blair.

"That happened when I was still reeling from a lot of things and I let Ms.Perkins run things. But she doesn't right now, I'm fully in charge and only I can let my alters out right now," replied Todd. He started thinking of that time. The trial was a blur, but he remembered how supportive Sam had been. Even when everything had fallen apart and he had made a mess of things with Blair later on, Sam had been there for Blair. He hadn't liked the fact that Blair and Sam had been getting close again, but he had trusted Sam to take care of her and the kids. For a brief period, he was back in the tomb and Mitch was gloating about someone he loved dying, he was terrified that Mitch had hurt Blair, then Mitch told him about Sam. At that moment, he could have killed Mitch without hesitation.

Todd had gotten so quiet. Blair looked at him and realized his thoughts were a million miles away. "Todd, are you alright?" As she went over what they had been talking about, it hit her who he was thinking of that moment. She reached over and laid her hand on his. "Todd?"

Todd looked at her. "He told me that someone had died and that I was going to be the one they would look for. I asked him who I was supposed to have killed. Blair, he just grinned at me. At first, I feared he had killed you. Then he told me that Sam was dead. He had me handcuffed to the wall and I couldn't get free. God, I tried, I wanted to get my hands on him and kill him, but I was trapped. Blair, I need to know. How did Sam die?" His eyes were full of unshed tears as he silently pleaded for the truth.

Blair took Todd's hand in hers, she could feel the tears forming in her own eyes as she took a deep breath and chose her words. "The last time I saw Sam alive was probably also the last time you did. Do you remember how angry you were that last night? You had seen Troy and me together.  You stormed over to the house insisting on seeing the kids, but they weren't there. Then Sam showed up with the papers about my full custody. You and Sam got into a little shouting match and then you left.”

He nodded and gulped.  He had been so mad at Sam that night and that had made Mitch’s taunts that much worse.

“You were so angry, Sam and I figured you'd calm down and Sam told me to be careful about Troy. I was upset and you know me, I acted out. I gave Troy a call and had him come over. I was drinking and I made a play for Troy, but he turned me down. He took me to my room and put me to bed and left. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and Sam was lying next to me on the bed.  He was dead.  God, Todd, there was blood everywhere.  Sam had been shot multiple times in the back.  I made my way to the phone and saw a gun lying on the floor and your father's ring. I didn't know what to think. I called the police and Bo and Antonio came to investigate. The evidence mounted against you, but it was all too pat. Even Bo and Nora didn't think you had killed Sam. Still, you had disappeared and that made you look guilty. It turned out that Lindsay accidentally shot Sam.”

Todd was puzzled. He looked at Blair. “I thought Mitch did it?”

“Mitch had screwed with Lindsay's mind so much that she thought she was shooting Troy. She had a breakdown when she realized she was responsible for Sam's death. It was just a horrible accident set into motion by Mitch. I'm so sorry Todd. I know when you parted, it was in anger, but I know how much you cared about Sam and I believed he cared about you just as much. You'll always have a piece of Sam in you. I see him in Samuel. I think a part of you wanted to be like Sam and so Samuel was created. You didn't let go of Samuel the other night because he's that important to you. For my part, I'm grateful Samuel was created to protect you. Without him, I never would have gotten the painting. The painting brought you home. You're here safe. We're going to get you back on your feet and then we'll get you back your life."

Todd had listened and inside wished that his last words to Sam had not been ones of anger. He took comfort in knowing he had Samuel. Blair was right, Samuel was the piece of him that had always wanted to be more like Sam. He had always fallen short of the mark in his efforts to be the man that Sam would have been proud of, but when push came to shove Sam had always been there. Samuel had filled the void that night when everything else was almost lost. Once again Fate stepped in, and here he was ready to take back his life. Now to get to work. There was still one item that needed to be clarified. Once he had the information he could plan his next move. His tears had dried as his anger grew. Todd looked at Blair and asked grimly "Where's Mitch now?"

Blair had sensed his anger growing as he had listened. She wasn't surprised. Mitch had successfully tampered with a lot of lives that spring. Then they had all believed he was dead only to have him reappear and make life miserable for Dorian and all of them once more. He was apprehended once again but not before he kidnapped Jessica and almost raped her. Todd had enough on his plate. He didn't need to hear that story right now. She decided to keep it simple. "Right now I believe Mitch is in Statesville Prison. He can't hurt us."

"Are you sure he's still there?" asked Todd.

"Well no, but if he wasn't, I think we would have heard something about him escaping, or at least Bo would have," replied Blair.

“Has he suddenly gotten a clue? I hadn't heard." Todd snarked.

"Alright, I know you're feeling better but Bo's a good man and he was smart enough to keep looking for someone else even after you were framed. Like I said, I don't think Mitch is a problem right now. In fact, as I see it, you're the problem right now. Let's think back to what started all this. Are you going to behave yourself and try and keep your stress level down, or do we have to knock you out so your heart can recuperate?" said Blair.

Todd looked at Blair "Blair I..."

"Shush, I may not be able to ask Samuel to come out, but I will sit on you if you make one more attempt to browbeat the nurse. She's doing her job. It's time for a dose of reality. Your body has seen more trauma than most will ever see in ten lifetimes. You were abused as a child, as a young man before I even met you, you almost lost your life from bullets and pipes and drugs. Then you were shot repeatedly and sent flying off a cliff in Ireland. I don't know how you survived all that, but you did. Then Mitch got you and he almost killed you. Samuel showed me the doctor reports of your stay in Philadelphia. They claimed you were a blooming miracle to even be alive and even more incredible, lucid. Still, all the reports zeroed in on one very important fact. You have a ticking time bomb for a heart. Since you've been here, you've had four near misses. If you want to live to see tomorrow you've got to acknowledge that. You have to admit to yourself that you do have a flaw that can no longer be overlooked. I'm here and I'm yours, but I will not stand by and watch you kill yourself. Have you got that, Todd." said Blair through her tears.

Todd reached up and wiped her tears, "I got that, Blair." He looked at her and grinned sheepishly and said, " But I really need to get out of here."

"OOhhh! you're as infuriating as ever. " Blair said as she brushed his hand away. She didn't know whether to laugh or yell. He'd always had that effect on her. " Ok, this is what I'll do. If the doctors feel you're well enough to move to a regular room then I'll push for just letting you go home with a portable heart monitor. Would you agree to that?"

"That I can do. A heart monitor, ankle monitor, it's all the same.  At least I'll be able to get around." said Todd and he leaned back onto his pillow. He realized Blair was right, he was exhausted. If he couldn't even get into an argument with Blair, how the hell was he going to face Manning and Hesser. He was going to need more help, but he wasn't sure who else he could trust with his secret. Tea was too close to Manning. He still didn't know if Manning had been an unwilling or willing participant and until he knew, the man couldn't be trusted. There was only one other person in town other than Vicki who might be good to have in his corner. Damn, the guy really didn't like him and his wife barely tolerated him, was he nuts to even be contemplating asking him. He had no choice, he needed the help. "Blair, I need you to make a couple of phone calls. I want you to reach Vicki and ask if she can find some time to come here, and then I want you to call Bo."

Blair had pulled her cell phone out to call Vicki when she heard Todd say he wanted her to also call Bo. She almost dropped the phone. "Did I hear you right? You want me to call Bo. Are you sure you're alright? Are you getting enough oxygen? "

"Blair, I'm fine but you made me realize I'm going to need help. He's the only other person in town that I think I can trust with my identity right now. Like you said, he didn't believe I killed Sam, and for all our differences through the years he's been straight with me. So please just call him." said Todd.

"Are you going to meet him like you or Samuel?" asked Blair.

"I don't know, right now he thinks Todd Manning has been living here and is married to Tea. I'm going to need you and Vicki as well as Samuel's art supplies to prove to Bo that both Samuel and I are one and the same and the real thing. If I fail to prove it to Bo, I'm never going to be able to convince everyone else. I also need Bo if I'm going to go after Carlo. I guess he'll have to meet Samuel first and then I'll show myself. You make those calls, I think I'm going to rest. Wake me when some food arrives." Todd said, and closing his eyes he drifted off.

Blair looked at him and wondered if he was up to this visit with Bo. She knew he was going to push forward with his plans no matter what. She just prayed he'd be able to hold up under the strain. Blair called Vicki first and after some discussion, they decided Vicki would be able to come later in the afternoon. She decided to call Starr next. Luckily she caught Starr in between classes and told her what her dad needed. Starr agreed to pick up the supplies on her way to the hospital. With those two calls taken care of, Blair wondered how she was going to get Bo to come to the hospital. Then she realized the best way was just to be truthful. She called the LPD and asked for the commissioner.

"This is Bo Buchanan, How can I help you," Bo answered.

"Bo, this is Blair Cramer. I have a big favor to ask. A friend of mine asked me to call you and ask if you could come to the hospital to meet him. I know you're busy but you see he's in CCU because he's already had a couple of heart attacks and I'm trying to keep him calmed down. He seems very stressed about something and really wants to talk to you. I was hoping you might see your way clear to come to the hospital and talk with him. The doctors are telling him he has to get rid of some of his stress and maybe you can help him do that. What do you say, Bo? Can you help?" asked Blair keeping her fingers crossed as she waited for his reply.

"Well I'm right in the middle of this whole escapade of Clint's but we seem to be at a standstill right at the moment. I can probably get up there around four if you think it will help your friend," replied Bo.

"Bo, that will be terrific. I'll let him know. I'm sure that will help immensely. Thank you so much." said Blair. She hung up just as the nurse brought in some food for Todd. "Todd, wake up, the food's here. You need to eat."

At the mention of food, Todd woke and looked over at Blair. "Well, are we set?"

"Yes. Starr and Vicki will be here around three, and Bo is supposed to get here around four. After you see your sister and Starr, you need to rest and let Samuel take the lead for a while. Remember you have to stay in the background otherwise, Carlo and whoever else is working for him might find out Samuel's no longer in Paris. We have to hope Carlo's hired help doesn't read the papers. Because if Carlo knows you're not in Paris anymore he's sure to up his timetable for removing all traces of him in connection with Walker and you. We got to stop that from taking place. Now go ahead and eat. I'm going to run and get myself some coffee. I'll be right back. I also want to get today's papers and see if Vicki and Tea were successful in getting the stories stopped." Blair raised his bed so he could eat and went to find the coffee and papers. She wanted to be back when Bo finally got there.

The MST, Firestorm, Ch. 34

Bo walked to his front door and stooped to pick up the papers. He was exhausted. He had just spent the last two days recovering from the revelations that occurred at Jessica's and Natalie's weddings. Nora and he had poured over hospital records and questioned Clint's employee ad nauseam trying to get something concrete on Clint. Every time they thought they had the case sewed up, Clint kept finding loopholes. Vicki had called and now they had to add looking for Jessica in the mix. It appeared her alter Tess was once again in charge and had run off leaving her newborn and fiance in the lurch. Clint's shenanigans were wreaking havoc. Bo was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Trouble had a tendency to come in threes.

He poured himself a drink and sat down and began going through his mail. He expected Nora shortly after she went to talk to Vicki. It was awfully quiet," Matthew." No, answer. Bo hadn't really expected one. Matthew had been giving them the cold shoulder since they had stopped him from working for Clint. The door opened and Red came in. She put her stuff down and came and curled up beside him. "Hi Honey, How was Vicki?" he asked.

Nora snuggled next to her husband and said. "About like you would expect after what Clint has done.  Bo, I just don't understand how he could do this to his family.  I know he felt hurt by what you and I did, but it doesn't excuse what he did to Rex and the girls. Now Tess is back in charge and Vicki is frantic. She seemed doubly distracted this evening. We need to give ourselves a break.  I'll order some juicy hamburgers and cheese fries from Carlotta's and we can find an old movie to get lost in for a couple of hours. What do you say, Handsome?"

"I say let's do it. Pull out 'Dark Passage', I feel like Bogie and Bacall tonight." Bo pulled Nora in his arms and gave her a big kiss, then she got up and headed to the phone to order. Bo finished looking at the mail then Nora came back to join him on the couch. Nora said, "I put the DVD in and we're all set when the meal gets here. Hand me the Banner, will you?"

Bo handed the Banner to Nora and opened the Sun up. "What the Hell!" Bo said as he looked at the headline. Next to him, he heard Nora Gasp" My God" "Honey what is it?"

Nora turned the front page of the Banner toward him. Staring at him on the front page was a picture of 'Todd Manning’.' He looked dead. But what was so unnerving was the fact that he looked the way he had sixteen years earlier right before he found out he was a Lord.

Bo suddenly remembered something that had happened the day before outside his office. Manning had left about an hour earlier and taken his wife Tea with him. Bo and Nora had been totally frustrated. Tea left before they had gotten a signed statement from Clint's assistant. He and Nora had been discussing the case when he had looked out the window into the squad room and had seen a man waving at him. It had taken a moment for it to register that it looked like the old Todd Manning. Because he had stopped talking, Nora had looked to see what had distracted him. The Man winked at Nora and was gone. By the time Bo got out into the main room, the man had disappeared. Was this the man who had been in the station yesterday?

"What's going on Bo, has the world turned upside down?  First Clint, and now this!  Who is he? My God, he could be Manning's twin. Is this for real or is someone playing a sick joke?" Nora asked.

"I don't know, Honey.  According to the articles, someone needing medical help was taken from Victor Lord's tomb last night. Maybe someone at the Banner thought they'd rile up Manning by making it look like he had a double carried from the tomb. There's no Picture of who was carried out in the Sun." says Bo.

Nora looks at Bo. "That might explain the Papers but what about what we both saw yesterday. I know you saw him too. Were we imagining him and if we were, then why does he look so real in the picture? This man looks like Todd looked years ago but Bo, this man is definitely older.  This isn't a picture that someone pulled out of the files to get a rise out of Manning. I think this picture is real."

" Honey, if this picture is for real, then all hell is going to break loose around here. I hear the sound of the other shoe dropping." Bo grimly replied.

Tea watched her husband storm from the house. Why had she ever agreed to keep Dani's secret. She was watching her husband come apart at the seams over his suspicions that Nate just wanted Dani for sex. Now he felt like she was once again leaving him out of the loop where his daughter was concerned. Tea was worried about him, he had been acting awfully distracted lately. His mood swings had been getting more erratic. He had started fixating about Dani and how she had kept Dani out of his life for so long. She wasn't sure what was going on but for now she prayed he didn't find Dani in the state he was in. There was no telling what he would do.

She started to close the front door when she noticed the papers were still there from this morning. With everything going on with Dani, neither one of them had even brought the papers in. Tea grabbed the papers and carried them into the living room. Needing something to take her mind off Todd, she opened up the Sun to read it first. "What on earth, " she thought, "who would go to a cemetery at night." Tea was a little creeped out that someone had been taken out of Victor's Tomb on a stretcher and she realized that Todd had no idea about this article. He wouldn't be too happy to find out someone had even been in there. The article had gone on to speculate if the late Victor Lord had returned from the dead. Obviously, someone at the Sun had forgotten that their publisher was Victor Lord's son. With the mood, her husband was in whoever authorized this story just might lose his head. She would keep the article out of Todd's way and call the paper and suggest they might want to watch what they speculate about.

Well, she knew the Banner was usually above the tabloid level maybe they stayed away from the story. She opened the Banner, " No, it couldn't be." She had just looked at that face the other day in an old wedding album and now he was staring at her from the front page. Why was Todd's old picture on the front page? The headline called him a doppelganger for the Sun's Publisher. The article told of this man being helped by EMTs and taken to the hospital. Who was this man?

Tea remembered something strange happening the previous afternoon. She and Todd had just gotten back from the police station when a car had driven up at the end of their drive. They both thought it unusual that the driver stopped right behind their cars so they headed down to talk to the driver. The window on the passenger side opened up and she remembered looking in to see the driver. Tea had only been able to see his face in the shadows but she recalled his voice saying what a nice couple they made. She sat there for a minute and replayed what he said. She felt a chill run down her spine. There was something about his voice that seemed so familiar. he had sounded so much like Todd. She looked at the picture again, this was a current photo according to the photographer's by-line. Who was he and why was he in Victor's tomb?

Tea knew it wouldn't do her any good to call the hospital. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She was just ready to leave when it occurred to her she might not want to leave the papers where Todd could find them. Turning back she went and picked up both papers, turned off the living room light and left. She thought to herself, "There's no way I can let him see those papers. if he's acting erratic now, what will he do if he thinks someone might be posing as him. I need to find out all I can first. Then I'll be able to get control of the situation before he finds out."

Tea got to the hospital in record time and went into information.   She explained to the receptionist that she feared her brother might have been brought in during the night. She asked if they had any new patients with long hair and goatee. The receptionist wasn't aware of any, then someone else in the area remarked about a gentleman who had come in suffering from a heart attack, from Tea's description it could have been that gentleman.

Tea used all her wiles to get the information. "Please tell me where he might be. I have to see if it's my brother." The receptionist looked at her kindly and said. " Here he is, he's up in CCU. If he isn't your brother you probably won't be able to see him. There is a request that only family is allowed in." Tea hurried up to CCU, trying to figure out how she was going to get into seeing the man. When she got to CCU she went to the nurses' desk and again told them she was looking for her brother. She gave his description and they replied they only had one person by that description on the ward. He was a distant cousin of Victoria Banks and his name was Samuel Toddman. Todd had never mentioned any distant cousins but he wasn't really into the Lord family tree. Obviously, Vicki knew him, but why had Vicki insisted on only family members being allowed in. Just who the hell was the mysterious Samuel Toddman?

Blair carefully moved his hair off his face. Todd had fallen asleep shortly after his declaration of love. He was still so weak from the heart attacks, his body's need won out over his determination to stay awake. Blair looked at the papers one more time and made a mental note to give Vicki a call. They were going to have to get their stories straight concerning finding Samuel in the tomb. Todd had never intended to come out this soon, so it was necessary to deflect any questions that were going to start coming because of the articles.

Making Samuel a distant cousin gave them a chance to explain why he was in the tomb. Todd and she had discussed it earlier and they were going to go with the story that Samuel had discovered the connection after Blair's visit in Paris and had come to the States to find out more about the Lord side of the Family. He had heard stories about Victor and had wandered down to the cemetery on a whim. If anyone asked, Samuel would say he found it somewhat romantic to walk through the cemetery and see all the couples resting in peace together. While he had perused the tombstones, he had suddenly found himself at the Lord tomb. For their part, Blair and Starr happened to be at the cemetery to visit a couple of graves. Blair had wanted to stop and see Sam's grave, and Starr wanted to see Chloe's. They had come upon Vicki visiting Ben's grave and the three had started to leave when they chanced upon the open door to Victor's tomb and Vicki heard a groan come from inside. That was when they discovered Samuel. For Vicki's part, earlier that afternoon, Samuel had introduced himself to Vicki. They had chatted briefly with the promise of more time together when everything settled concerning Vicki's daughters. Before he had left her, Samuel had informed her he had just settled in town from Paris. Blair sat down and pulled out her cell phone, she might as well try and reach Vicki while Todd slept.

Half an hour later, Blair finished her call with Vicki, now everything was in place, If Bo should happen to call, they had a story for him. The same was true if Todd or Tea should question the article in the Paper. She made another call to Starr and let her in on the story also. Since Todd was sleeping peacefully, Blair decided to go get something to eat and check on his status at the nurses' station. She knew Todd wanted to get out of the hospital but she felt it was necessary for him to be truly stable before he went back to the penthouse. Once he got home they wouldn't be able to contain him long.

As Blair left Todd's room she realized how lucky they were that all of his ID named him Samuel Toddman. The penthouse had been purchased by Samuel, so chances were slim that the paper trail would reveal anything other than the story they were telling. Just as she neared the Nurses station, Blair recognized Tea. She debated turning around before Tea saw her, but knew that would just delay the inevitable. Obviously, Tea was here because of the article in the Banner. Blair continued to walk toward the desk messing with her top so her eyes didn't meet Tea's. Suddenly she heard. "Blair is that you. What are you doing in CCU?  It isn't your mother is it?" Tea asked as she came forward.

Blair feigned surprise at running into Tea. "What, oh no Tea, Momma's fine. I'm here visiting a new acquaintance. He suffered a heart attack recently and I happened to be with him at the time. I was able to keep him alive until the EMTs arrived. He only has a few people he knows so far in Llanview so I thought he could use the company. What brought you to the hospital?"

Tea pulled the Banner out from under her arm and opened it and said. "This, Blair I almost fainted when I saw it. Have you seen this? " She gave the paper to Blair.

Blair expressed amazement. "Tea, I'm so sorry, who would write such an article, where did they get that picture? Oh Dear, has Todd seen this?"

"No, of course not. Todd's head in a really bad place right now. Dani and her boyfriend almost made out in our living room the other night and Todd's on the warpath. Dani's equally furious with Todd and I'm stuck in the middle. I wasn't sure if he could handle the fact that there might be someone in town who looks like he used to. I came to see if there was any truth to the story. The story said the patient was brought here. I just found out his name is Samuel Toddman. I was hoping to see him but they informed me that only family could visit right now." Tea answered.

Blair decided to tell Tea about Samuel, she would have to know some time and it was better to tell her now than when Walker was around. "Tea, I'm surprised someone got a picture of him. I wasn't aware there were any reporters around last night. But I will tell you who the man in the picture is. Tea, this is my acquaintance Samuel. Let's sit down and I'll tell you how we met." Tea and Blair moved to some chairs and Blair started telling Tea about her trip to Paris. She told of finding out he was the painter of her portrait. How they had talked for the whole night about his paintings and his resemblance to Todd. Blair told Tea that Samuel had no idea who Todd Manning was and had apologized if his looks had startled her. She explained to Tea about her skepticism that he had painted the portraits and how she had thought he was trying to pull some scam on her, that is until he produced a portrait that very night. She had been mortified to have doubted him, but they had parted as new friends.

Blair then went on to tell Tea that Samuel had contacted her a couple of days before and had told her he had discovered a distant connection to the Lord family.  He had recently moved into the area and had wanted to know if she knew any of the Lord's. " I gave him Vicki's name and thought that was the end of it until last night. Starr and I and Vicki were all at the cemetery last night when we found Samuel having a heart attack. I wasn't even aware that Vicki knew him until she informed the doctors that he was a distant cousin. I believe Vicki decided the best way to keep people from bothering him was to insist that only family be allowed in to see him. His condition is serious right now so the restriction is valid. Vicki let me stay because I helped keep him alive and Starr is distantly related. Since you're married to Todd and he's also distantly related, I'm sure I could get you in to see him. If you want to."

Tea had listened to Blair's amazing story. She couldn't imagine what she would have done if it had been her meeting Samuel first. His resemblance to Todd's old face was uncanny. Blair was offering to get her in to see him, but now she wasn't too sure she wanted to. "Blair, that's amazing. I don't know what I would have done. But I don't think I'm ready to meet him just yet especially if he's so ill. If Todd's reporters get too curious I'll have Todd pull them off the story. There's no reason to sensationalize this any more than the papers already have. You go see to your new friend and I'll try and keep my husband from freaking out. OK"

"OK, Tea. When you're ready to meet him just let me know. Thanks for keeping the story from getting worse than it is. I'm going to go back to check on him now. I hope you can get through Todd's thick skull about Dani. Good luck" Blair gave Tea a quick hug goodbye and walked back down the hallway to Todd's room.

Once inside the room. Blair breathed a big sigh of relief. She walked over and looked at Todd still sleeping. "Todd, we just escaped a bullet. Tea was just here but isn't ready to meet Samuel yet. I hope you know what you're doing?  When she finally realizes the truth we're both going to have to face her wrath. Boy, even now the trouble begins. I'm just going out for a minute to get some food, I'll be right back. I love you." Blair leaned over and gave him a kiss then left to find some dinner.

The MST, Firestorm, Ch. 33

Todd awoke and realized his small granddaughter was nestled against his shoulder. She was sound asleep, blowing soft breaths at his face as she inhaled and exhaled. Her little arm was draped on his chest and she had hold of his hospital gown in her grasp. The nightmare was fading in his mind but a little memory near the end of the dream lingered as he remembered the kiss and a little voice telling him it was OK, it would be all better. Hope reminded him so much of Starr at her age, but as he looked at her he saw a little of Marty in her.

Once again fate had stepped in and bound him with Marty. Closing his eyes, he thought back to that fateful night. He remembered Marty screaming her hatred because Patrick laid dead in her arms and it had been his fault. Patrick had taken the bullet meant for him and had saved Tea and Starr too. His plan of revenge against Patrick had gone horribly wrong. Todd had stood helpless against the Irish terrorist, all the while knowing he had brought that violence down on his family. Todd thought back to what Starr had said earlier. He had tried to explain what drove him to take the chances that he had, but even to him, the excuses were weak. He should be grateful to be here with Blair and Starr and Hope.

He could easily continue Samuel's life and let Manning keep his cursed one, but it wasn't going to work. Too much had been ripped away against his will. He hadn't chosen to be away from his family for eight years, it had been taken from him. There were too many times in his earlier life when he'd had his choices taken from him and he had promised himself that no one was ever going to do that again. His thoughts went back to Marty. This town was filled with bad memories, but she had come back with her son. For all the memories, something had compelled her to return. And now they shared a granddaughter. It was scary, how fate wouldn't let them get away from each other. God how many more cruel jokes does fate have in store for us.

Todd noticed Starr was reading what looked like a class book of some type and Blair was perusing the papers she had brought in earlier. What had Vicki and Blair said, something about slowing down the impending Firestorm? Well, the cat was out of the bag, now they needed to find a way to make it work to their advantage. There was a lot of speculation but nothing concrete so far, he was counting on that. Samuel had started the ball rolling when he had let himself be seen around town, and now there were pictures that would also get people talking. Todd wanted a slow burn for now. For one he had to get out of the hospital before he could go public. He was in no shape for a face to face confrontation with Manning yet.

Todd shifted just a little to resettle Hope a little more comfortably in his arms. It was so quiet, the only sound was the annoying beep from the monitor. That was odd, it was quiet, too quiet. Where was everybody? Todd closed his eyes and opened his mind. "Samuel, Tom, Rodd where are you guys?” Then he heard some quiet laughter and walked toward the sound. He breathed a sigh of relief, he thought he had lost them. Usually, one or the other of them would be begging to come out. But this time they were all engrossed in watching Hope sleep and Samuel was telling them about the games he played with her. Todd turned and left. Opening his eyes once more, he realized that Hope was a lot like her Grandmother Blair. Blair had always had the same calming effect on the guys. He had known a long time ago that when he was with Blair the voices would go quiet. He loved the guys, but it was nice to sometimes be able to think without a running commentary coming from the peanut gallery in his head.  His stomach twinged. God, I’m hungry.  He looked over at Blair and said, "Can a guy get some food here, you think"

At Todd's words, Hope woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at her grandfather and said. "Dragon better? Wat wong Dragon?"

Todd couldn't help himself, he said, " Oh Princess Shorty, Sir Dragon is so hungry.. Hmm, You look good enough to eat.   If someone doesn't feed me soon, I'm going to gobble you up." and then he pulled Hope close and started to pretend to eat her.

Hope started laughing because he was tickling her "No, no Dragon don eat me. Mommy, Sir Dragon hungry."

Starr came to her dad's side. "Sir Dragon please don't eat Princess Shorty. We'll get you something you'll like much more. Come on Princess Shorty," she grabbed her Daughter, winked at her dad and headed to see if she could find some food for him.

Todd let out a laugh as his daughter left. It had been so long since he had felt this happy. Still laughing, he looked at Blair. " It's just us Blair. Are you with me?"

"I've been with you since the first moment we met. It just took me a while to know my own heart. So do you have a plan?" Blair said as she crossed to him.

"Not a clue." At her look of surprise, he smiled ruefully. "Hey, I just got out and then I had a heart attack, I'm only human."

At that, Blair started laughing.  "I'm beginning to wonder, I never saw anyone else survive so many near-death experiences as you. You've already maxed out your nine lives," she said.  “Promise me you won't tempt fate anymore. I’m not sure how many more lives you have."

"Well I do seem to defy death, I'm just stubborn that way." He did his little shrug then said. "Let's see those papers again." Todd finally took a look at the articles about his exit from the Tomb. He actually liked the headline from the Sun. It left a lot to the imagination. That might be something he could work with. Victor's legacy back from the grave. Vicki had already opened the door a little bit by claiming he was a distant cousin. With some clever work on the web, he might be able to set Samuel Toddman up as a possible heir.  In order to stay ahead of Carlo, he needed to stay under the radar a little longer. It would appear he and Samuel could work together on this. If anyone came questioning Samuel, he'd be able to take over, putting up a smokescreen as an artist who is completely baffled by his resemblance to Todd Manning's old face. While Samuel put up the front, he could finish seeing Tea and Jack and go to work accessing Carlo's holdings. It was a sure bet that Carlo had a piece of Manning's holdings that Manning wasn't even aware of. Todd was going to get that piece first.

The Banner's article was going to need major damage control. It was too soon to alert Manning to the possibility that he wasn't the real Todd Manning. Todd figured he'd have to rely on Vicki to stop anymore speculation on that subject for the time being. Hopefully, because it was her paper, she'd be able to stop any rumors before they got started. They couldn't do anything about the picture except getting it off the front page and bury it for now. It had been a long time since he had felt actual pain, he was feeling sore all over and it wasn't helped by his stomach being so empty. He was hoping Starr would hurry with that food. To take his mind off his hunger. Todd started talking to Blair about the two articles. She agreed that they could embellish on the Sun's story and use the 'cousin' link to establish Samuel in town. Todd was pretty sure Vicki would help as much as possible given the state of her family. " I'm hungry. I need something to distract me," said Todd.

Blair said, "I think I know something that will take your mind off food for a short time."

Todd looked at her "Yeah, What?"

Blair smiled mischievously. "Why don't you move over a little bit, and I'll show you." Todd carefully moved over and Blair climbed on the bed next to him. " Now I don't want you to worry about anything, I'm going to do all the work, I believe I'll start with this." Then she leaned forward and started kissing first one scar and then the other finally making her way to his beautiful mouth. It felt like heaven and earth collided as Todd responded back in kind wrapping her in his arms, loving the feel of her body against his. Remembering all the passion as the longing that had been so long suppressed finally was being released.  She raised her lips from his and gazed at the man who had always taken her to such heights. Her fingers caressed his face moving over his eyes and down his nose then brushing across those lips once more.

As she gazed at him, he was busy drinking in all of her features, especially her beautiful expressive eyes. "Blair, I.." she shushed him and once again took his lips with hers. They drank each other in, unable to stop as he brought his hand up and tangled it in her hair. Then he let his hand flow down her body feeling all her curves so that he could once again put it in his memory. God, she feels so good. Suddenly an alarm began going off. They both stopped and looked at each other.

"Todd are you Ok?" Blair scrambled away afraid she had hurt him.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Todd closed his eyes in frustration. He didn't know what had caused the alarm to go off he felt fine.

Then the nurse arrived. Luckily Blair had already left the bed. "Mr. Toddman, relax I think one of your leads got loose, I'll get it back online in no time. Are you feeling alright? No more twinges or pains?" said the nurse while she hooked him back up.

Totally exasperated, Todd replied, "I'm fine, I guessed I must have accidentally moved and knocked it loose."  Todd looked over at Blair, she was barely containing her laughter. He mouthed to Blair behind the Nurses back. "you've got to get me out of here." the nurse left and Todd said out loud. "I can't take much more of this. When can I go home?"

Blair had tears in her eyes from trying to hold the laughter in. " Oh Todd, I'm so sorry," she reached up and cupped his face in her hand once again rubbing her thumb across his lips "We'll try again when we get you home. That's a promise."

Todd grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips "That's a promise I'm going to keep you too." and then he kissed it.  Todd and Blair’s intimate moment ended as the door opened and Starr and Hope came in with food.  “Well, what did you get me?  I’m starving.”

Starr brought the food over to her dad’s table and set it out.  Todd wasted no time digging in.  He was putting it into his mouth so fast that Starr became alarmed. “Dad slow down.  You’re going to choke.”

Todd looked up as he realized they were staring at him. “What??? I’m hungry!” He ate as if he hadn’t eaten for days.

Even Blair became worried as he seemed to put the food in nonstop.  Finally, she reached over and grabbed his hand. “Todd, Stop.  That food isn’t going anywhere and neither are you.”  Blair looked him in the eyes.  “I know it must seem like you have to get everything out of every minute because you’ve been gone so long, but you can relax, you’re not going back unless you want to.  Remember, you’re back in charge.

It took him a moment for him to register what Blair was saying.  He looked at the food in front of him, or rather what was left and realized that she was right.  He’d attacked the food like there was no tomorrow.  She had hit the nail on the head.  He was afraid all this would cease and he’d end up trapped again.  Todd put the food down and pushed the table away, his hands shaking a little as he did.  Clasping them together, he tried to bring his fear under control.  Things had been going so well since he woke with Hope next to him.  Now he knew it had just been the adrenaline keeping the fear at bay.  Todd looked toward Blair and Starr and saw the worry on their faces.  He hugged himself feeling the tremors running through him, he couldn’t let them know just how terrified he really was. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.  I was just hungry.”

Blair watched him and saw all the signs, she knew he was barely holding it together for their sake.  He needed a moment so she turned to Starr and said. “He’s right Starr.  Don’t you remember, your dad has always been an unusual eater, downright unconventional in fact?  You and Hope should probably call it a day.  Take her home and let her play.  She’s probably getting pretty bored.  It’ll be bedtime for her soon and you’ve put off your studies long enough.  Go Home, I’ll be following shortly.”

As soon as Starr and Hope departed, Blair immediately went to Todd and sat on the bed next to him.  She pulled him into her arms.  He broke down on her shoulder as the events from the previous night and the revelations of the day finally took their toll.  Blair held him, her own tears flowing for the man she loved and everything he had been through.  As the moments went on Todd’s arms reached out and embraced her.  There was nothing sexual in the embrace, rather it was simply the need of one human being needing the physical contact of another.  The simple act of holding on for dear life.  Blair remembered the time she had needed him to hold her.  He’d had never opened himself up to her like this in all the years they had been together.  Now she felt like she had finally broken through a wall that had been up from the moment they met.  Blair vowed to herself that this time she wouldn’t let him scare her away.  

Todd’s hold let up and she let him go.  She helped him get more comfortable on the bed.  When she finally had her own composure under control she met his gaze.  What was going on behind those eyes?  She had asked herself that question a million times over the years.  Todd had always seemed so mysterious at times, that she had never been able to get a read on where his thoughts were at a given moment.  She suddenly realized why.  She had been trying to read one man, but Todd wasn’t one man, he was many.

Todd stared back at Blair.  He was thankful she had stayed after Starr left.  It was as if she knew what was going on.  When she held him, he’d felt safe for the first time in years.  Tea had been the last person that had comforted him so.  He couldn’t remember ever letting Blair that close.  He’d put up a barrier after Rebecca and when Blair had hurt him with the lies so many years before, he had just retreated farther behind it.  The day he proposed to Blair a second time he had attempted to let go of that wall but Ireland had ruined things once again.  Even when he had tried to make it work with Blair in 2000, he had continued to protect his heart.  Today was different.  He realized for the first time how much Blair had changed over the last eight years.  She still retained her fighting spirit, he had seen that when she confronted Samuel, but she’d mellowed out.  She didn’t appear to get as carried away in the moment as she used to.  More importantly, he felt like he could trust her again.

Blair waited.  She didn’t know what to say to him.  The next move was his.  She would give him whatever time he needed.  She wanted him to trust her more than anything, she owed him that.

The silence was deafening, Each was trying to figure out where they stood.  In the back of his mind, Todd heard Samuel.  

“Alright, enough of this.  Say it already and get on with your life.”

Samuel was right. If he truly trusted her, he had to show her.  He looked at her and said it.  “Blair, I love you.”