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Marty stared at Todd. She was still trembling all over. Their encounter on the stairs just minutes ago had left her feeling so out of sorts. She was afraid that if she admitted what she strongly suspected that Victor was indeed Larry's father - that Todd was going to fly off the handle again. She was scared of him. Just as she had been willing to let him in an inch, he had taken a mile and had gone and destroyed the tentative bond between them. Sure, he said he was sorry and he had cried and her heart honestly went out to him for that, but she was still scared. Scared of how much she could be drawn to this man and be terrified of him and his unpredictable nature all at the same time.
"To-Todd..." Her voice wavered.
"Marty, please, I won't - I won't fly off the handle again. I swear."
"You've made promises before..."
"I know. But I wouldn't hurt you again. I blame Victor, not you or your son. You have to know for all my faults, Marty; I would never blame you or your son for how he came to be."
Marty sighed. Todd was still clutching her hand and she could feel the heat of his touch searing her palm. No matter how much she wanted to let go, at the moment, she just couldn't.
"Todd, I have a very strong suspicion that Victor is Larry's father. I don't regret my son though. Please don t expect me to."
"I wouldn't," Todd said. She could see the many emotions flickering through his eyes as he took it all in - the possibility that possibly his worst enemy ever - his own twin brother - had given Marty a child. That she and Victor still, even from the grave, shared an unbreakable bond and always would.
Just then they heard the baby cry and Marty realized that her son had been quiet for far too long. She immediately set down the car seat on the end table and lifted his swaddled, warm body up out of it, clutching him as tightly as she dared to her chest. Tears that matched his own ran down her face as she murmured gentle words of reassurance to him.
She then grabbed Larry's diaper bag and yanked out a new little blue sleeper outfit. She quickly dressed him in it as his cries of terror began to dissipate moment by moment. She felt rather than heard Todd approach them. "Looking at him, Marty," Todd said. "I know I could never hurt him. In fact, I think I already love the little guy."
Marty didn't look at Todd, just nodded as she put her son back on her shoulder and began to rock him gently back and forth. Marty kept her distance from Todd, still afraid, so afraid. He was saying and doing all the right things, but then he had before. What if something set him off again?
As if on cue with her fears, the doorbell rang again. Was Irene bringing another nasty present? Marty wondered. Her eyes instinctively flew to Todd's questioningly.
"I'm going to ignore whoever it is."
"No, Todd. You can't hide out from the world forever just so your temper doesn't get the best of you. Besides, someone really wants to see you," she said as someone was indeed fairly leaning on the doorbell.
Todd sighed. "Alright, I'll get it. But then we have to talk. I want you to tell me you won t leave, Marty. That you'll let me help you. That what I just did won't make you scared of me forever. I hate what I did to you, with every fiber in me."
Then he turned and walked to the front door and yanked it open, half sure that he would see his crazy mother standing there. Instead it was John McBain.
"I have a warrant for Marty s arrest," John said, holding a sheet of paper up in Todd s face.
Todd didn't say anything as he stared at McBain in a state of shock.
"I have a warrant for Marty's arrest," John repeated glibly as he glared at Marty.
"Go to hell," Todd stated.
"Out of my way Manning, I have a warrant," John said as he pushed his way into the house.
"What will happen to my son?" Marty asked as she clutched the baby to her. She knew that this day was coming, but she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from Larry, even if that's what she deserved.
"He'll most likely go to foster care. If you ask me, it's perfect Karmic justice...you took my son away from me and now I'm going to pay you back and take yours away from you. I promise you, Marty that I will do everything in my power to make sure you lose everything. I'm actually glad that our child died so they wouldn't have to have you as a mother," John said wanting to hurt her as badly as she had hurt him.
Todd was trying to keep his temper under control for Marty's sake, but John had gone too far. Todd swung his fist, as hard as he could into John's face.
"Todd, what did you do?" Marty asked as she stared at John's unconscious body.
"Nobody talks to you that way without paying the consequences," Todd said as he grabbed John's gun and handcuffs. He had never wanted to hurt anybody more than he wanted to hurt John. He raised the gun to John's chest and placed his fingers on the trigger.
"Please don't...don't kill him Todd. Just let it go?" Marty said as she grabbed his arm. Her hand was shaking from fear...in this state Todd was capable of anything and she didn't want him to kill John for her sake.
"Fine, I'll let the bastard live for now, but if he ever hurts you again, I'll kill him."
Todd dragged John by the hair and pulled him to the staircase. He hit John across his face with the butt of the gun when he began to regain consciousness. He handcuffed him to the railing and threw John's car keys in the bushes outside.
"We have to run Marty before his buddies on the force come looking for him."
Marty knew she had no other choice but to go with Todd. He was the lesser of two evils right now, considering there was a warrant out for her arrest which would most likely result in social services putting her precious son into foster care. Looking down at sweet little Larry, she knew she would do anything to protect him. When her parents died, she had been all alone in the world, and she didn't want that for her baby. Aunt Kiki had been vicious and hateful to her, and she didn't want her son to ever feel unloved or unwanted. "Hurry, Marty!" Todd insisted. Marty gently placed Larry back into his car seat and secured the straps. She picked up his diaper bag, and she was ready.
"Where are we going?" she asked moments later as they had climbed into the back of Todd's limo.
"Take us to the airport," Todd called out to his driver. He made a few urgent phone calls as he was planning their escape. Hearing him yelling into the phone, Marty knew that Todd meant business. He'd do everything in his power to keep her from being arrested.
After his calls, Todd placed his attention back onto Marty. "I'm getting you as far away from Llanview as I possibly can. I promised to keep you and your son safe, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"John will come after us."
"He can try, but he will have no clue where I've taken you. I pay my pilot enough that he will never disclose our location."
"Todd, I can't keep running forever. Sometimes I think I should just turn myself in..." Marty said with a heavy sigh.
"And lose your son to the foster care system? No, Marty. I won't let you do that. I am going to clear your name. I have a feeling that my bitch of a mother, and possibly even my evil twin, had a hand in whatever lead to your breakdown last spring. Hell, even John McBain had a part in it. I hate that bastard and what he said to you."
Fresh tears filled Marty's eyes, recalling John's cruel words regarding their miscarried baby. "Ohhh Todd, I wanted that baby so much, the one I was going to have with John. When I lost that baby, I nearly lost myself," Marty spoke in a choking voice. "And when he said our child was better-off dead, and he was glad I couldn't be our baby's mother, that broke my heart all over again."
Gazing at Marty with tenderness, Todd hated McBain for causing her so much aching torment. McBain had hurt her unbearably. And Victor and Patrick had hurt her, too. He realized that the pain HE had caused her was by far the most devastating. If only he could STOP hurting her. The need to protect her and bring her happiness was like an endless ache within him. If only he wasn't such an ass.
"Marty, John is a bastard. He had no right to say those awful things to you. You are a wonderful mother to Larry... and to Cole, too. I want to bash his face in all over again for making you cry," said Todd as he longed to hold her, comfort her, and kiss away her tears. But he didn't dare- not after that incident on the stairs.
At the airport, Todd's private jet was waiting. They rushed out of the limo and boarded the jet. In minutes, they were ready for a hasty take-off. Marty got little Larry's car seat strapped into the seat as Todd sat down across from her.
"You know, Marty...you, me, and airplanes really don't mix, but I am hoping that luck is on our side today, because we really gotta get as far away from Llanview as we possibly can. I have the perfect place where we can go. You and Larry are going to be safe there, and everything will be fine," Todd attempted to assure her.
Marty just nodded as she settled her gaze on her sleeping little boy. She was mentally and physically exhausted. She could only hope Todd was right, and John wouldn't find their location and drag her back to stand trial. If that happened, she feared she'd never see baby Larry again, and he was her world. *I can't lose my baby. I just can't,* Marty was thinking as she caressed her son's little cheek.
Todd too was gazing at little Larry, wishing that he was Marty's child's father, not his identical twin. He hated Victor with every fiber of his being, yet they shared the same DNA. For a fleeting moment, he imagined what it could have been like if he and Marty had been blessed with a child. Would their child look like adorable little Larry, considering he and Victor had the same DNA?
"How soon will we get there?" Marty asked, breaking Todd out of his thoughts.
"It will be awhile," Todd responded. "Just try to relax."
Marty found it impossible to relax when every nerve-ending in her body was on edge. She had just escaped arrest with her two month old son... and before that, she'd had a frightening confrontration with Todd. She was still trembling all over and had no idea how to calm herself. Closing her eyes for just a moment, Marty fell into a turbulent sleep.
Todd couldn't take his eyes off her as she was sleeping in the seat across from him. She looked so beautiful, although she was clearly distressed and caught up in the throes of some sort of haunting dream. "Marty," Todd called out with a frown as he tried to wake her.
She mumbled in her sleep, thrashing as though she were trying to escape unseen bonds. Todd tensed, hearing her distinctly murmur Victor's name.