Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
This story is AU with a supernatural twist.
~*Consequences : Chapter Eleven*~
Todd drew Marty into his embrace as a fire blazed in the nearby fireplace. Using his vampire magic, he made the fire bigger and brighter to keep Marty warm and comfortable as she slumbered. "Marty, I'm right here, and I'm not leaving you," he said as he pressed tender kisses to her brow.
His hatred for Mona grew more intense when he saw how pale and tiny Marty was in his arms. Her pallor and sunken cheeks made it look as though he HAD been feeding from her on a regular basis, but he had not been. He had been stalking his prey elsewhere and had left her alone. Ever since that night they had made love in this very room, he had not had a single taste of the best thing that had ever crossed his lips. She had been repulsed by him and what he was, and he had vowed he would not do it again. The urge to feed was strong now considering he was this close to her, inhaling her sweet, delicious scent, but she was sick, and right now all he wanted was to get to the bottom of her peculiar illness and make her well again.
"Mona, what have you done to her?" Todd called out with his supernatural powers, but of course there was no answer. Mona was probably lurking around in the nearby cemetery, having a wicked laugh for what she had done to Marty.
Todd raised Marty's limp wrist to his lips. Her flesh was slightly cold to the touch as he pressed it against his mouth. Something wasn't right here, but Todd couldn't dicipher where the problem lie. He decided to use his vampire magic and his acute sixth sense to get to the heart of the matter and determine what sort of sickness Mona may of cast upon Marty. Gently he ran his hands up and down Marty's body in an attempt to come to a conclusion as to what may be the source of the illness. Had Mona placed some sort of curse on his beloved, causing one of her organs to fail? Marty moaned in her sleep, feeling Todd's tender caress.
Suddenly Todd's eyes got huge as his large hands rested over her lower stomach. Marty's words came back to haunt him. *I'm strangely ill,* she had said. *And YOU are to blame.* It would seem she was right. Marty was with child. His sixth sense told him it was true. He hadn't even known that such a thing could be possible, but obviously it was, because this was without a doubt the condition that had been plaguing Marty. He jerked his hands away as though her flesh had burned him.
"No, no..." he groaned. "This can't possibly be true. I am not alive. I am one of the undead. How could I have created LIFE?"
As much as he tried to deny it to himself, Todd knew it was true. Marty was pregnant, and the unborn child or THING within her which was a part of him was zapping the life out of her. It was feeding off her like a hungry parasite. Todd hated the cursed thing with a passion; almost as much as he hated himself. His first instinct was to kill it or dispose of it quickly so it would not hurt Marty another moment.
Todd stared into the flames of the fire as he realized that he was to blame for this. He never should have given in to his passion. There were always consequences, and now he was certain that Marty would be the one to pay for his actions. She was pregnant with a monster, a terrible little demon that been feeding off her and making her weak.
Kneeling over her on the bed, he placed his hands once again over her lower stomach, tightly closing his eyes. "What are you?" he asked of it using his supernatural powers. To his extreme shock, it answered him back.
A bolt of electricity rushed through him when a tiny voice spoke to him. "I am your child... and I love you."
"You're killing her!" was Todd's response.
"I'm hungry..." came the sad little voice.
"I won't let you kill her. I'll DESTROY you first," Todd answered.
His eyes were wide with horror as Marty awakened, looking up at him. "Todd, what's wrong?" Marty asked as he was scaring her. Never had she seen him appear so agitated and frightened.
"Did I faint again?" she asked as she realized she was lying in her bed. Last she remembered, she had been standing in the kitchen talking to Todd.
Todd dropped his hands away from Marty's stomach, unsure of how to tell her of what he had just discovered. She was going to despise him once he said the words. "Yes, you fainted," he responded. "And I carried you upstairs. My love, there is something I must tell you..."
"What is it, Todd?" she asked fearfully as she knew she was strangely ill. She hadn't been herself lately as weakness and hunger had struck her, making her feel somehow detached from reality. She hoped he had some answers as all she wanted was to get well.
"You're..." His voice trailed off. "It would seem..."
Marty sat up in the bed, looking greatly worried by his hesitation. Something must be seriously wrong, but what could it be? Was she turning into a vampire? Had he harmed her with his bites?
"Tell me!" she insisted.
"Marty, you were right. This is all my fault. I did this to you..."
"I was hungry. I took what I wanted; I could not control myself. And you are the one who must pay the consequence," he said sadly.
"Marty, you are carrying my... child."
"What?" she said in a little gasp. "No!"
"It is true," he told her. "I spoke to it..."
"You spoke to it? How?" she asked her brow crinkled in confusion.
He ignored her question as he began to pace. "I must get rid of it at once... so it will no longer hurt you. I have to protect you," Todd insisted.
Marty placed a trembling hand to her flat stomach as she tried to come to terms with this information. Could it be true? Could she REALLY be with child? "Ohhh God," she cried out as tears rushed from her eyes. Perhaps it was true. Just what kind of baby was she carrying?
As she was sobbing, Todd came to her side, taking her into his arms. "It's going to be alright, Marty. I am going to see to it. I am going to the village to find a midwife at once, someone who knows how to get rid of it..."
"What? No! You can't!"
"For a price, they can dispose of it easily and quickly. There will be very little pain... and after the discomfort eases, you will eventually recover. I will not let this THING kill you."
"Please Todd, no! I don't want to harm it," she sobbed as she held onto him tightly while tears came rushing from her eyes. "Promise me you won't do this! I won't let you..."
"You're not going to have any choice in the matter," Todd said fiercely. "I started this, and I'm going to finish it!"
"We cannot destroy it! It's a part of us!"
"It's a monster... an abomination! And it's killing you. Can't you see that?" Todd exploded.
"Todd, please! I'm begging you..." she said as she held onto him tightly so he couldn't leave her and seek out this midwife as he had threatened. She didn't know exactly how the midwife would rid her of this pregnancy but as she thought of it, her mind was bombarded with bloody and disgusting images. The urge to protect the tiny life growing within her was amazingly strong although she had just learned of it's existence, and she WOULD protect it, even if she must fight Todd.
"When you come back from the village, I'll be gone," Marty warned him when she realized he would not relent.
"Then I must restrain you then," Todd said with a clenched jaw.
Using his vampire powers, Todd made it so Marty's limbs were as heavy as huge tree trunks. Try as she might, she could not leave the bed. She was pinned there by an invisible force. "I hate you for this," she hissed. "And if you destroy the child I carry, I will despise you forever."
Todd knew she meant it. "No matter what I do, you will hate me from this point on... because that THING you carry will eat away at you day after day... until eventually there will be nothing left but skin and bones... and you will perish. Is that how you wish to die?" he demanded.
"I'll fight you any way I can!" she screamed. "Because I will not LET you do this. And I will tell the damned midwife you are forcing this upon me."
"Then I will make it so you will not be able to speak then," responded Todd. "You will not carry out this pregnancy, Marty. You will wake up later, and this nightmare will all be over..."
She watched as he strode from the room, and she wondered what he would do to render her speechless. She couldn't let him do this! She HAD to stop him, but how? Hot tears rushed from her eyes as she thought of the tiny life she carried, safe and defenseless beneath her heart. How could Todd be so cruel to just destroy it? Was it really trying to take away her life? No matter what the consequences, she wanted no part of it's destruction.