Who's the Real Todd?: Ch. 9

Blair looked at the two men, so different but loved by all of them. "This is so weird. I love them both, but I'm drawn to Samuel. The minute I saw him the years between stripped away. It was like we had only been separated by months instead of years. Dani, I know you don't know this man, but you do in a way. This is the man who loved and helped me raise your sister and your brother Jack. He's not a perfect man because you know about his past, but he has always had a great deal of love for his children. Although he only found out about you yesterday, his love for you is as strong as if he had known you from the moment you were born. I know the last year was horrendous for you. You've had to come to grips with the type of man your real father was and you thought you did that with the man you're sitting next to. You've come to love him, and he loves you as his own. We don't know who he is, but he has a large part of all of our hearts. He has been Todd for all of us for the last eight years. But this man here had his life stolen by someone. He didn't ask to be gone all this time and he would like a chance to get to know you and regain the love of his other two children as well. I'm asking you to find a space in your heart for him and let him know he will get his chance with you. Please consider what I've said, you have no idea the strength you can give him just by meeting him halfway."

Blair turned back to Starr and said. "Your father went catatonic for a short time after trying to get through to Jack. The disappointment of Jack's refusal to really accept him and his encounter with Dani earlier was too much, he figured he had let all of you down and he wanted to just let go. I was so scared, but Samuel helped bring him back to us. Now someone just tried to kill him. We have to stay strong for him. It is important that both of you girls realize that there is a dangerous man out there who wants both of these men dead. All of us need to stand together now if we're going to defeat this man and the plan he put in place all those years ago. We'll figure out who Todd really is and Samuel will get his life back but that is going to take time. Now, are we all agreed that we love both these men and we'll stand by them no matter what?" Tea, Dani, and Starr all nodded at her. "Great then let's figure out how we're going to make these men work together for their own good."

Todd jerked awake and immediately wished he hadn't. His body felt like a truck had run over it. He lay there for a minute breathing slowly trying to remember what had happened, then it all came back to him. Someone had poisoned him. He opened his eyes and realized he was still in Manning's room. Turning his head, he saw Blair and Tea, Starr, and Dani over at Manning's bed. Had Manning dropped back into a coma or had someone tried a second attempt on him. "Blair," he whispered. She turned as he spoke and came to his side. " What's been going on? Did they catch the person who gave me the poison? What's the matter with Manning?" he looked up at her waiting for a reply.

"Todd, I'm glad you're awake. We were unable to find the nurse who brought you the medicine. John McBain is on the case now and he's been updated by me and Bo. Walker is starting to experience some withdrawal pains from the drug he's been taking for so long, so they've been dosing him with mild painkillers to keep him comfortable. He's semiconscious right now and still reeling from the information you and Tea and I revealed to him. I have a feeling Walker or whoever he is, is in for some therapy sessions of his own, after all, this. How are you feeling?" asked Blair.

"Whatever that poison was, my whole body feels like I was hit by an 18 wheeler. Did it hurt my heart any more than it already is? I'm having a little trouble breathing, but nothing unmanageable." replied Todd.

"Relax Todd, the poison didn't have time to affect your heart. Your realization that you had been poisoned prompted quick action and they were able to counteract any effects immediately. There has still been no word on whether they've managed to recapture Carlo. We now have a police officer in place to guard both of you. Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? The Doctor says you'll be able to go home later if you're up to it but you have to promise me that you won't lie and say you're up to it when you aren't. I can't believe everything that has happened since yesterday morning." Todd put his hand to her lips to quiet her and she grabbed it.

"I'm alright, and yes,I am hungry. You're exhausted. You and Starr should go home and get some sleep. Jack and Addie have to be very worried and Hope needs her mom. I'll be fine here for awhile like you said, we have a guard and I'll admit I'm not up to going home just yet. Before I leave I still want to talk to Manning some more. So why don't you see about getting me something to eat and then you two can go home." Todd smiled at Blair, trying to put on a good show so she would leave for a short time.

Blair saw how gray he was and knew Todd was putting on an act to get her to go home. She had a feeling the effects of the poison were still causing some discomfort. The Doctor said the tox screen had shown a very powerful poison that would have killed Todd if he hadn't been in the hospital when it first started attacking his system. He had once more cheated death but just by the skin of his teeth.

Before she could protest, John walked through the door and came over when he realized Todd was awake. John looked down at Todd and said, "So I've been told you're the real Todd Manning, My name is John McBain. I must say this all came as a surprise to me. I've known Manning for a long time, I was told way back when, he was Todd Manning and never thought there was a chance he wasn't. Why do you think he's been masquerading as you all these years?"

Todd looked up at the man standing over him. He looked and sounded like he was more than just a police officer. If Todd were to take a guess he would have thought McBain was more like FBI or some other government agency. " If you've talked to Bo then you know that I believe Manning was deliberately sent by a third party to take my place. Hesser put a plan in motion that only he can totally clear up but I think he's trying to get rid of both of us because we're the proof that blows his plan out of the water. Hesser is now aware that I'm not in Paris any longer. I believe he's got certain ties to the community. In fact, I wouldn't put it past Carlo to be using one or more companies here in Llanview for laundering his ill-gotten gains. Unbeknownst to him, I already repurchased his stock in The Sun. So if he tries to funnel any money through there, that avenue is closed, I'll be glad to give you the name of the Sun's financial officers so they can be checked for any improprieties. If you talk to Kelly Cramer, she'll give you all the information you need." Todd looked at Blair and felt a fog begin to come over him again.

Blair felt his hand go limp and realized Todd had drifted off again. she leaned over and gave him a kiss and turned to John. "Did you discover any more about the nurse?"

John gave her a good look. Blair was obviously very close to this man. He knew all about her long relationship with Todd Manning. He stilled cared a lot about Blair and didn't want to see her hurt but she appeared to be very committed to the man on the bed in front of him. He had always had an uneasy feeling about Todd Manning from the early days when he had been pretending to be Walker Lawrence. The man had always seemed a little off and now he understood why. The Manning they had all known for the last eight years was a fraud. "Blair I've got a description and we've found the bottle she took the poison from. We've sent it to the lab to see if her fingerprints match anyone in the system. What did the Doctor say about his condition." he nodded at Todd.

Blair breathed deeply and said. "The Doctor tells me he's lucky to be alive. John, we have to keep both of them safe. Todd has been through so much this last month. You know how I feel about him. I can't lose him again. He deserves to get his life back. I've been so happy these last few weeks. All we want is to get our lives back on track. You will help won't you?"

"Blair, I care for you and I want you to be happy, I'll do my best to help find the persons responsible for all this. I'm headed back to the station for now and I've sent out messages to my contacts in the bureau. If there is any hint out there where Hesser might be hiding we'll find it." Blair gave him a hug and thanked him. John went over and had a few words with Tea and then he left.

Dani and Starr walked over to Blair. Dani said." What you said earlier. You're right, I already know everything about him and he is my father. I guess it would be fair to give him a chance to know me, I mean I gave Todd that chance. You tell him we can get to know each other if he wants to, I know my mom still cares for him."

They were all startled when Todd responded: "Thank you, Dani, I would like to get to know you." Dani looked down into his eyes and felt a strange connection to this man. She had always felt like she was fighting through a barrier when she tried to get to know Todd but Samuel actually felt comfortable. Maybe it was because he was her real father. She smiled down at him and he smiled back. He really did seem nice.

Tea looked down at her husband and felt a little sad. It had been a long haul for her "Todd" to get to the stage Dani had just reached with her father. It was apparent that the blood bond did make a difference. She was glad Dani had made the gesture. It was possible they could all end up in a good place after this whole charade came to an end. Her "Todd" hadn't said too much after receiving the painkillers. She had a feeling he could hear everything that was going on around him but chose to play dead, rather than have to face the latest information that just made his past seem even more fragile. Tea sat down in a chair close to his head and leaned forward and whispered. " Todd you need to hang in there, I know this has been a shock for you but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere do you understand. I came looking for Todd but I found you and I fell in love with you. Do you hear me, I fell in love with you, only you." At that, her "Todd" opened his eyes and looked at her. She saw his tears and knew how scared he was that he was losing his family. Tea leaned over and gave him a kiss and took his hand in hers. " We'll get through this," she said.

Manning squeezed her hand and tried to focus. "Samuel, what do you know about this guy Hesser. Is he definitely capable of hiring hits?"

"He's not only capable, he's ruthless. I know because the first time I died, he was the man behind it. He's destroyed my chance at happiness several times and he's not going to win this time." Todd and Blair looked at each other remembering that terrible year after Todd came home from Ireland. "I'll tell you this much, Hesser is ruthless but he isn't infallible. He makes mistakes like everyone else and when he chose me to do his experimenting on, he made an enemy he should have left alone. I'm sure you know what I mean. You might not be me but you've been programmed and have lived your life these past eight years as me and from what I've read about you, your will to live is as strong as mine. So is your stubbornness. Together we might make a pretty hard team to defeat. Don't you agree?" Todd looked at Manning and knew he had hit the nail on the head. Manning wanted payback as much as he did. They both needed to recover but Carlo Hesser just got a target put on his back. He wouldn't just have one Todd Manning to fight, he was going to be facing two of them.

Todd looked at Blair and said. "Alright, it's time you went home. I'm feeling better, come back and get me this afternoon I'm sure I'll be up to going home then. Starr, take your mother and get home to Hope. I don't want to see you back here anymore today. Go, find your boyfriend and spend some time together. Dani, I meant it, I do want to get to know you. We'll take it a day at a time, is that ok with you?" Dani nodded, "Great then I think you should probably give yourself a break too, I know you and your mom have been here a lot over the last month. What do you say, Manning? I think Tea and Dani probably need the rest too." Todd looked over at Manning and he nodded agreeing with Todd.

Manning looked at Tea. "He's right you've been here all night. You two should go for now. I'm not going anywhere today. Heck, I just woke up last night and it looks like I've still got some physical issues that need resolving. Go, I'll be okay. Shaun and the police officer both should be sufficient to keep us safe." Tea looked across at Blair, they both knew the men wanted to talk privately, they gave each other a slight nod and then gave kisses to their men.

Dani gave her dad "Todd" a hug and a kiss and then left with her mom. Star also gave Manning a kiss to let him know she was glad he was awake and then a final kiss to her dad and she followed Blair out the door.

Todd struggled to sit up on the bed. it wasn't very smart as the room began to tilt. He gripped the rail and took slow breaths till the room righted itself. He looked squarely at the man who had been him for eight years. "Think back. What's your clearest memory of your past?" he asked. It was all he could do to remain sitting upright. He had to talk to Manning and doing it lying down just wasn't going to work for him. He needed to see Manning's face as he talked to make sure Manning wasn't trying to lie to him.

Manning had to give Samuel credit, the man had just been poisoned and was obviously in a lot of pain but he still sat up to talk. The man was made of some strong stuff. Manning knew he wasn't up to doing what Samuel had just done. His head was pounding still, even with the pain meds. Samuel was waiting for an answer so Manning thought back to his earliest memories. Now that he thought about it, he had no clear memories of his childhood. He remembered his old football coach Sam, who he had named his son after. Then he had his memories of the KAD Spring Fling and the raping of Marty. Memories after that were clearer. " My memories of my childhood are sparse. I remember Sam, my football coach. Why do you ask?"

“I wondered what memories you had of Peter your adopted father. Are they fond memories?  I’m just curious what memories they pulled out of me concerning him." said Todd.

"They aren't fond memories, he was pretty strict. I remember he always wanted me to be a man. I remember he got mad at me because I failed a math test and got dropped from the football team. That's why I got so angry with Marty, that's why I got my revenge at Spring Fling." answered Manning.

Todd couldn't believe what he was hearing. Manning really had no idea of the complete bastard that Peter Manning was, nor any idea the real reason behind Marty's rape. "That's what you remember. God, you really have no clue.  Let me tell you about Peter Manning.  Peter Manning was a sadist and a bastard. He got his kicks torturing me when I was little, and as I got older the beatings got more brutal.  Tell me, do you recall your fourteenth birthday? Do you remember what you did that day?"

Manning looked at him. "Not offhand no, what was so important about that day?"

"If you had all my memories you would never forget my fourteenth birthday, for years I tried to forget that day. I wanted to push the day away so bad, that when Sam brought it up, it triggered something in me I had buried a long time. That day I tried to kill Peter Manning and a new alter was born that day. Pete, who from that time on, took on all the moments of revenge in my heart. Marty, unfortunately, fell into the category of someone I wanted to hurt and Pete decided to go all the way. Pete's actions and mine on that day will be with me for the rest of my life. To this day, I can't hurt another woman like that. You don't know how much I wanted to hurt you when Starr told me you had been convicted of raping Blair. Pete wanted to kill you but Starr managed to stop me from going after you. Later that night Blair explained what happened. You should thank Starr for stopping me, you would've already been dead if you had raped Blair. I don't really like you Manning, but I need you to start remembering the time before you put in an appearance here in Llanview. It is necessary that we connect you to the Kipling Neuroscience Research Facility. Do you know where you recovered from your wounds? It's time to look into how you really got them." Todd stared hard at Manning and waited for some answer.

Manning had faced many men with that look in their eyes. Samuel hated his guts and Samuel was only working with him because they had a common enemy. He knew that he and Samuel would eventually have it out and when that day happened one of them wouldn't be standing any longer.

Manning had always thought of himself as pretty cold but Samuel's glance was frigid. What did Blair and Starr see that he didn't? For that matter what had Tea seen in him? This was the man with whom Tea had fallen in love and had somehow had a child with. Manning could feel his own anger beginning to rise because this man had just shown up out of nowhere and now he was going to have to share Dani with him. It was also obvious that he had a strong hold over Blair and Starr. Something inside him cringed at the thought of sharing his women with this man. It wasn't fair, they were his and his alone. As those thoughts ranged through his head he vaguely remembered that a question had been asked. Manning tried to clear his head a little bit. He felt so foggy because of the pain medicine.

“Manning are you still with me? Do you remember where you spent your recovery time?" Todd inquired a second time. He could tell Manning was having trouble staying focused, and he knew the medicine was part of the problem. He too was having trouble staying focused, as the pain caused by the poison was still very evident in parts of his body, and he knew he was going to have to lie down soon. "Come on, Manning, think, give me the name of the clinic where you recovered or better yet tell me how you met Dr. Kipling."

Manning focused on the doctor’s name. He knew Kipling. Kipling had been his doctor from the moment he left the Clinic to come to Llanview. "Dr. Kipling was the physician who released me back in 2003 and told me I was well enough to come home. I've seen him a number of times over the years so that I could keep my prescription for the pain I experience because of my injuries. I had to go back to him after my execution because I started having headaches. Why do you ask about Dr. Kipling?"

"Think Manning, the prescription you've been taking lately hasn't been filled with pain pills. You've been taking a pretty nasty hallucinogen for some time. We told you this already. It's obvious that it's affected your personality. Look how you've overreacted concerning Dani's and Starr's boyfriends. You've also seemed to have developed an obsession with Blair, you've been keeping hidden from Tea." Todd paused as a current of pain raced through him and he gritted his teeth till it passed. He was sweating profusely now and knew he might only get a few more questions out. " Where did you see this Doctor Kipling and maybe you could describe him?" asked Todd

Manning looked at Samuel and saw he was nearing the end of his tether as far as how much longer he was going to be able to fight off his own pain. He had to give the guy credit. It had only been a short time ago he had been lying on the floor dying. Here he was trying to make some sense of this predicament they both were in and he was pushing through his pain like a madman. "Samuel, I saw Kipling at his home outside of Philadelphia. He lived closed to the Kipling research facility. He's in his late sixties I would guess and he has an artificial hand. I don't understand why you need to know about my doctor and why do you think he had anything to do with this." he paused as he watched Samuel once again shudder like he was being ripped by some pain. " Sheesh man, lay down before you collapse, you don't have to play the strong silent sufferer, the girls are gone, it's just you and me here.

Todd knew Manning was right, he needed to lay down. But Manning's information was critical to their case. "You don't understand Manning, Kipling has been connected to mind control for many years now. In fact, it has been believed that he was dead but the man you just described sounds like the same Kipling who created a lot of havoc here in the eighties according to Vicki. I'm more certain than ever that he and Hesser have been partners in the government project we were guinea pigs for. Do you get what I'm saying? Someone tampered with your memory, man. You've been used by two men for their own personal profit. I don't know about you, but I think it's time they found out we're not sheep. I, for one, want to hit them both where it hurts." Todd couldn't stand it any longer and eased himself back down on the bed. He lay there just breathing deeply and prayed the waves of pain would finally end.

Suddenly he felt someone give him a shot, in a panic he opened his eyes, afraid the nurse who had given him the poison was back. He realized the doctor was standing above him."Relax Mr. Toddman, Mr. Manning pushed the call button and alerted us that you were still experiencing some pain. The shot I gave you should ease that and you'll feel better shortly."

Todd looked over at Manning. He really hated to be beholden to the guy but it was the second time Manning had stepped up for him. He struggled with the thought that he owed his life to Manning but common courtesy forced him to admit that he did. "Thanks, Manning, for both times," he said.

"You owe me, Samuel, don't worry I'll think of a way you can repay me," replied Manning. He looked over and grinned at Samuel.

Todd wasn't sure he was going to like what Manning had in store for repayment. Manning's grin was just shy of maniacal and a shiver ran down Todd's back. He hoped Manning hadn't been pushed too far over the edge by the hallucinogen. He didn't like the idea that Tea and Dani were still committed to him. He wouldn't let the guy hurt them in any way. Todd still cared deeply for Tea and he had just found Dani. He wanted them to be happy but he also wanted to make sure they would be safe with this man.  "Manning, you'll get repaid. Well, tell me you understand more of the situation we're in now."

Manning stopped smiling as he went over everything he had just been told by Samuel. Slowly what Samuel said started sinking in and he realized that he had been duped for a long time. Once again his anger came up to a slow boil, this time, it was for Hesser and Kipling and he knew he also had a score to settle with both of them. " Okay Samuel, I'm in," he replied and then he settled back down and drifted off.

Todd breathed easier. Earlier he had seen a look in Manning's eyes that told him Manning was definitely up for revenge, now he had confirmation. Tomorrow they could begin planning the rest of Hesser's downfall. Todd once again let sleep have him, at ease with the fact both he and Manning were temporarily safe.