The MST, Firestorm, Ch. 40

Starr had her hands full, with a bag of clothes for her dad, and Hope struggling to get free. She came around the corner at CCU and headed to the nurses' desk to talk about Samuel. They had received the news from the doctor and were preparing discharge papers. Starr started to open the door when Todd's personal nurse stopped her and told her that he was resting and that he had company. The nurse had given Starr a little wink and a knowing smile.

Starr wondered what she was going to find when she went in. She sure hoped her Dad and Mom weren't doing anything. “Now Hope, Sir Dragon, and Grandma are probably sleeping.  We need to be quiet, Okay?” Hope nodded and Starr set her down and they tipped-toed into the room. The curtain was around the bed, but she couldn't hear any sounds so she peeked around the corner. Both her Dad and Mom were asleep. She hoped he was up to going home.

Starr knew her dad wanted out of the hospital.  When she had called to get an update from the doctor, she had asked if he was well enough to just go home instead of onto the ward. After some discussion and her promise to really limit his activity, the doctor had agreed as long as Todd wore the heart monitor and came back for a follow up in a week. Starr leaned down and whispered to Hope. "Now Hope, I'm going to put you up with Sir Dragon, you wake him very carefully." She lifted Hope next to Todd and pulled her cell phone out she wanted to get a couple of pictures before Sir Dragon woke up.

Todd felt someone moving on the bed and carefully opened his eyes just a slit to see who was there. His granddaughter was trying to slowly crawl up to his face, he closed his eyes and waited to see what she was going to do. Then he felt the sweetest thing he could ever have imagined as she gently gave him a kiss. "Sir Dragon, it time to get up. We go home now." With his free arm, he grabbed his granddaughter and said "Who is waking me up from my sleep. Ahh, it's Princess Shorty. You need a big Dragon kiss." He pulled her close and started licking her face like a dog.

"No, no Dragon, not kiss like that. You kiss like this " and Hope took Todd's face in her hands and puckered her lips and gave him another kiss.  "Now you, Dragon "

Todd made a silly face.  "Do I do it like this?" as he stuck his tongue out.

"No, you silly dragon" laughed Hope.

"Well how about this," and he crossed his eyes and blew his cheeks up.

"No, I show again" Hope puckered up again.

"Oh, you mean like this" and Todd puckered up and gave Hope a loving kiss on her cheek.

Hope giggled and then hugged her Dragon. " Yes Dragon, that right."

Blair had opened her eyes when she heard Hope and had lain there watching it all unfold. Her dark dragon was always at his best when he was around children. She smiled and said. "Does Princess Shorty have a hug for her grandmother, too," and Hope immediately clamored in between her dragon and her grandmother to bestow a hug. "Thank you, Princess Shorty.  Where's your mother?" Then they heard a chuckle come from the end of the bed. There was Starr standing there clicking pictures on her cell.

Todd looked at his daughter and smiled. "That was some wake-up. Did you by any chance bring a laptop with you when you came up? I don't know how much longer they're going to keep me here, but I've got to get back to work." Blair moved and Todd realized he was still hugging her close. He gave her a sheepish grin and released her so she could get up.

Blair rolled off the bed and picked up Hope and went back over to a chair and sat down. She put Hope on the floor and noticed a bag at Starr's feet. "What did you bring?  I hope it's some food. I'm starving."

Starr moved to her dad and gave him a kiss. She looked across the bed and answered her mom. "It's a surprise for Dad." Then she looked at her dad, "But before I give you the surprise, you really need to see these," and she showed him the pictures she had just taken. Even though they were just pictures taken on the cell, Todd was impressed by Starr's angles and compositions as she took the pictures.

Todd loved the pictures but he was curious, he never really was comfortable with surprises.  "If you didn't bring me a laptop or some food then would you please tell me the surprise. I'm always leery of surprises."

Grinning Starr walked and picked up the bag and brought it back to the bed. "You're going to love this surprise," and she took out the clothes she had brought for him."

Todd was puzzled. "That's it? Clothes? Not that I'm unhappy, I was just asking your mom to bring me some because I hate these gowns. But you made it sound really interesting."

Starr laughed, "It's not the clothes, it's what you're going to do with them. "

"Uh, I'm assuming I'm going to put them on. Right?" asked Todd, he was really confused."What else would I do with them?"

Starr laughed again and picked up Hope. "Hope, I think Sir Dragon was still asleep when you told him our surprise. Why don't you tell him again."

Hope looked over at her Dragon and said: "Get up Dragon, we go home now."

Blair and Todd looked at each other and then they realized what Hope was telling them. Todd looked askance at his daughter and she nodded. "Yes Dad, I'm springing you. Get dressed, we're going home."

Once Todd realized he was getting out of the hospital, he wasted no time. Of course, the clothes that Starr brought were Samuel's and not exactly what he would have worn. But as far as the nurses knew he was Samuel Toddman, the artist. Todd picked up the sketch pad and noticed that Samuel had finished several sketches earlier in the day. They were of the nurses and the doctor that had taken care of him. Todd took a look at them and figured that Samuel must have wanted the nurses to have them so he carefully separated them from the Pad. When they wheeled him out of the room, he had them stop at the nurses' desk.

"I wanted to thank all of you for the care you've given me. Please accept these, I tried to make sure I got everybody." Todd said in his best Samuel voice. He handed the sketches to the nurses. They were very appreciative of his gesture and told him to take care. Todd was quiet the rest of the ride down to the car. Everyone had seemed to genuinely like Samuel. Todd was a little envious.  He opted to ride with Starr and Hope.

“Todd, I’m going home for a little while and spend time with the boys.  You behave yourself at home.” She helped get him settled in the car and started to leave, but Todd caught her wrist.

Todd looked up at her, he wasn't entirely sure why he had grabbed her, but he needed something from her before she left for the night. "Blair I...."

Blair smiled and leaned down and gave him a goodbye kiss. "Will that hold you till tomorrow?" she asked. Todd nodded and let her go.

Starr parked in the parking garage and got Hope out of her car seat. She watched her dad pull himself out of the car and guessed he was still a little shaky. She walked around and taking his arm in hers, she nonchalantly started moving at a leisurely pace to the elevator. Hope had grabbed her Dragon's other hand and was babbling away about their castle in the sky. Todd appreciated Starr not making a big thing about his weakness. He used the extra support she offered to get his legs steadier as they moved to the elevator. When they arrived at the Penthouse floor he was much steadier and was able to loosen his grip on Starr's arm and make his way to the door with very little assistance.

Todd stood in front of that door remembering standing outside it the year Starr was born. He had been coming home to his family only to be met with a sight that was still burned in his memory. He shook his head, that memory was only going to screw things up. He had been back to the penthouse many times after that. He needed to find some happy memories if he was going to get thru the door. Then he felt someone tugging at his arm. "What is it, Princess Shorty?"

She looked up into his face and smiled. "We home. Sir Dragon give me a ride." She held up her arms for him to pick her up. Before he even had time to think about whether he should be picking her up, he suddenly scooped her up into his arms. He swung her back and forth and said. "Princess Shorty whatever you command."

Starr watched to make sure her dad was going to be able to hold her daughter and stay on his feet, but he seemed to be doing alright and he seemed happier than he had a minute before. She opened the door and Sir Dragon swooped in with his precious cargo.

Todd did a quick check of where everything now was and found the change pleasant and different. As he did one final swoop toward the couch, he found himself directly in front of Samuel's gallery. Now he understood how Tom must have felt when he arrived in Todd's apartment for the first time. The portraits were so much bigger than they had appeared when Samuel was in charge. He moved over and handed his granddaughter to her mother and then walked back to take a look at Samuel's handiwork.

"They're beautiful Dad.  You didn't know you had it in you, did you?  Is that how we look to you, Dad?" Starr asked.

Todd didn't quite know how to answer that. Samuel had captured every incredible feature of the women in his life. They really looked like they could walk right off the canvas. Todd was overwhelmed that something so beautiful came from him. He had never made anything beautiful, he had only destroyed. He really couldn't even take credit for his beautiful daughter. Blair was the one who had raised her and been there for her. How was it possible that a piece of him was even capable of producing these? He saw love and passion and hope shining out of the eyes of Samuel's muses. Samuel had felt all that and more as he painted. As he stood there he suddenly felt a tightness loosen inside him. Like a chain had dropped away and he could breathe more freely. There was hope for him. If Samuel produced these and Samuel was a part of him then these were a part of him. He was capable of Love and Hope and Passion he just had to find a way to free it. There was more to him than coldness and hate, the proof was in front of him and next to him.

Starr had come over when he hadn't answered. She was worried about him. He turned to his daughter. "Yes, that is how I see you. All of you keep me grounded. You keep me here. I'm grateful that a piece of me produced these because they give me hope that I'm not a lost cause. Perhaps I'm worth something after all."

Starr hugged her dad, "Whether you believe it or not, you’re worth a lot to me and that little girl over there. Don't you see Dad, your natural instinct to love kids and protect them has always been a part of you, so has your artistic side? You showed your creativity to me every day when I was growing up. You're a marvelous storyteller, you've enchanted Hope the same way you did me. The artist in you has always been there and early on it was expressed in your stories. The night you were taken from us was the night Samuel showed up.  The one thing you wouldn't let die, your hopes and dreams, all your love and passion for life fought at that moment for your survival and Samuel woke to keep that most important part of you alive. Don't you see Dad, he's the part of you that protects your true self and one day you're going to believe that. I love you, Dad. Now, why don't we see about getting some dinner? What do you want Dad?"

Todd was at a loss for words. His little Starr was all grown up. Even as a child she had surprised him with her insight. But tonight she had blown him away. She had so much faith in him. He was going to work very hard to not let her down. "Uh you know what Starr, this may sound crazy but I would really love some pizza."

Todd went and sat on the couch and just relaxed and watched as Hope played. His thoughts wandered to the earlier fight with Pete. He had always accepted his alters just as they were. Oh, he knew from reading the books that they were supposed to have appeared from trauma and he had figured his trauma was always based around his father Peter Manning and his cruelty. Now he had to ask himself if he had been lying to himself all these years. The trauma that had brought Samuel out had included something to do with both of his fathers, but his one clear memory was the certainty that he was going to die because his father Victor wanted his heart. His last conscious memory was the knife coming down. If it happened surely there was proof that someone had tried to carve out his heart. Maybe the medical records showed something. The doorbell rang and brought Todd out of his thoughts. The pizza had arrived and just then the only thing on Todd's mind was how good it smelled. He couldn't wait to dig in. They sat Hope in her high chair and cut up her pizza into tiny bite-size pieces. Then Todd showed her how Sir Dragon ate his Pizza, they were all roaring with laughter by the time the meal ended.

After dinner, Todd wandered over to his desk and opened Starr's laptop. He figured he'd do a quick search into Carlo Hesser and see if he could find out if the man had any ties to Llanview anymore. He was able to bring up the info that Interpol had on him but saw that they had lost track of him. That meant Carlo was out there and off Interpol's radar. He could easily be engineering this whole charade. Todd had a good idea that Carlo wasn't really that far away either.

Starr brought Hope down after her bath to give her grandfather a goodnight kiss.   Todd took her from her mother and hugged her.  She smelled of honeysuckle and her kiss on his cheek was like a butterfly.

“Dragon tell me a story?” said Hope.

Todd grinned and flew her to bed on his great dragon back.  He tucked her into bed. Then he began the story of two dragons one was white and the other black.

Now everyone feared the great black dragon because he seemed so ferocious but in reality, the black dragon was just as good as the white one. One day the villagers decided that they only needed one dragon to protect their property so they went to the black dragon and told him he had to leave because he scared all the children and they couldn't allow him to be around anymore. The great black dragon was heartsick because they no longer wanted him around. So he went up into the mountains and hid from the villagers.

It was very lonely for the black dragon and one day a little girl came upon his cave. She saw the beautiful black dragon, but he was so sad.

“What’s wrong, Dragon?” said the little girl.

“I’m sad,” said the dragon.  “I used to protect the village down in the valley, but all of the parents think I’m scary and they don’t want me around their children.”

The little girl looked at the black dragon and didn't find him scary at all. She told him she would be his friend. The black dragon felt so much better.  She went up to the big dragon and rubbed behind the dragon’s ears and he sighed happily. “Dragon, I’m lonely too.  I’m lost and I can’t find my mother.  Do you think you could help me?” Immediately the dragon agreed.

“Of course I’ll help you.  You climb onto my back and I’ll take you to look for her.”

She got on his back and they went in search of her home. As they were passing the village, the villagers all came out and tried to warn the little girl that she was in danger.  The white dragon landed in front of them.

“Stop. Let the little one go and I won’t be forced to hurt you.  You were told to stay away from children.” said the white dragon.

The great black dragon looked at the other dragon sorrowfully.  “You know I would never hurt a child.  This one asked for my help and she’s going to get it.  Get out of my way!  We’re looking for her mother.”

The white dragon refused to budge and the villagers started moving in to take the child from the great black dragon.

“Don’t hurt him, he’s my friend!  He won’t hurt me, he’s going to take me home to my mother.”  The little girl hugged the neck of the Black Dragon.  

Seeing the child wasn’t being held prisoner by the dragon, the villagers backed off and asked where her home was.  

She began to cry.  “I’m not sure, I was walking and I fell a long way and then I found this dragon.  He can get me home to my mother, I know he can.”  Just then the clouds parted and the sun shone through.   The little girl looked up.  “Oh, there it is!  There’s my home.”  There floating by on a cloud was a beautiful castle.

“You foolish girl? How can he get you up there, he doesn’t fly.  Let our white dragon take you home.”

“No, he’s my friend and I trust him.”  

Then the great black dragon unfolded his beautiful wings.  He had never shown them to anyone before.  The villagers gasped.   His wings were magnificent with the iridescent colors of the rainbow that sparkled in the sun.  “Hold tight little one, it’s time I got you home.”

With her hands clasped tightly to his neck, the great black dragon leapt into the air.  The villagers watched in awe as he flew the little girl back home.  Even the white dragon was humbled by the magnificence of the black dragon. The little girl's mommy thanked the great black dragon and because she was the queen of her realm she made the dragon a knight and he was given the job of taking care of his little princess for the rest of his life.

As Todd finished his story he leaned down and kissed his sleeping little princess. Then he turned and found his daughter standing there with tears in her eyes.   He walked over to his daughter wiped her eyes the way he had always done for her mother and said: "Come on Shorty, let's go get some ice cream." Starr laughed and walked back down the stairs with her dad.