Author's Note: This is the love story of Marty and Todd. It also includes several other characters as well as their storylines. This story will be submitted in several parts and is based off the hit soap One Life to Live, yet the "history" has been changed somewhat to suit the purposes of this story. Not all the parts of this story will contain erotic sex scenes as there is a plot. First and foremost, this story is a romance/drama, not a sex story.
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.
Please don't forget to vote...
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(Blair and John)
The past three months, Jack had grown up a lot, but not necessarily for the better. Although he had kept his promise to his mom to try to be nice to John, the boy was a walking time-bomb. At any moment he could be set off and possibly become argumentative with his mother and his new stepdad John whom he so clearly despised.
Not long after their camping trip, John had proposed to Blair. Now they were man and wife, but John was disappointed because his oldest stepson disliked him. He only hoped that his relationship with the boy could become better after Todd's arranged supervised visit. With the mediation of Blair and Todd's lawyers, it was decided that Todd could have biweekly overnight visits with the boys as long as Marty was present at all times considering that now Marty was living with Todd. As for Starr, it was decided that since she was nearly 18, she would be allowed to see her father at her own discretion.
Both boys up to now had been excited about their visit with Todd. They were in the living room watching for their father, and Jack was perched in the window waiting with impatience. Sammy was the less excited one of the two. He was still pretty little and it had been a weeks since he had seen his dad. Sammy was quite fond of John and kind of saw his new step-dad as a father-figure. Now as the upcoming visit was less than an hour away, the little boy was feeling somewhat uneasy. "What if I miss you, Mommy?" Sammy asked Blair. He then ran over to John and climbed onto his lap, clinging to him. He looked up at his stepdad with puppy-dog eyes and John couldn't help but feel bad for the little tyke.
"It's only for one night, Sam," John gently reminded.
Meanwhile, Jack grumbled, "My dad's NEVER gonna get here."
Blair smiled at Sammy," If you miss us you can call us up on the phone," she said.
"Jack will keep you busy, so I don't think he'll let you miss us too much," she said, kissing Sammy's cheek. She knew it would be hardest on the little boy now that John had become a stable father-figure in his life. "He should be here soon," Blair then said to Jack seeing how anxious he was. At least she hoped Todd would be here soon and not find some excuse not to show and disappoint Jack.
Jack started pacing by the window as he waited anxiously for his father. After about fifteen minutes, the boy became very upset. As usual, he blamed the frustration he was feeling on his mom and John. "Well, if Dad doesn't show up soon, I know it's your fault, Mom... as well as my new stepfather's. You and John kept me and Sammy away from our dad a very long time, now I guess he just doesn't want us anymore!" Jack said angrily.
"Mommy, is daddy not coming?" Sammy then asked worriedly, hugging John around the neck, then going into his mother's arms. Sammy looked up at Blair, tears filling his little eyes. "If he doesn't come, will Jack run away from home?"
John looked down at his watch, noticing that Todd was only a little bit late. "Calm down, boys. I'm sure your dad will be here soon," John tried to assure Jack and Sam. As usual he decided to ignore Jack's outburst, knowing it was probably best if Blair handled it.
"I've had just about enough of you, young man! If your father is late it HIS fault and no one else's. He was never good at keeping promises and never good with time! So, if you want to be mad, then be mad at him!" she said to Jack angrily. She really did hope Todd showed up and had to deal with Jack's rudeness himself, maybe he'd finally understand how out of control Jack really had become.
She looked at Sammy then. "Daddy is supposed to call if he's not coming," she told Sammy gently.
"So I dunno," she offered, knowing it didn't sound good. "And no, your bother won't run away because if he does then he'd be homeless and out on the streets."
"I would rather be homeless than live here with you and your dressed-in-black, emo husband!" Jack spat out, running out of the living room then stomping up the stairs to his room. Immediately upon hearing his big brother's shouts, Sam burst into tears.
John winced, hearing the boy's harsh words. Blair and Jack always seemed to be at each other's throats, and he really wished there was something he could do. "Blair, do you want me to talk to Jack?" John suggested. He didn't want to get in the middle of this, unless he had to... but Jack really was getting terribly out of control.
"Be my guest," Blair said with a sigh and took Sam from John as she sat down with him.
"It's okay, Sammy," she said. "It's okay. Jack is just rude."
"Okay, I'll do my best," John said, bending down to give Blair a quick kiss on the lips as she held Sammy before heading upstairs to speak to Jack.
"I love you, Mommy. You're the bestest Mommy ever," Sammy said to Blair, hugging her tightly as she comforted him.
Blair hugged Sammy. "I love you too Sammy," she said softly. "Please don't grow up." She liked Sammy just the way that he was; she didn't want him to grow up and become corrupted. All the Manning men seemed to be corrupted in one way or another, and it scared her that Sammy wasn't too far behind Jack.
Sammy just gave his mom a little grin, cause he didn't really understand what she meant. He then hugged her, settling down in her embrace. He yawned a little, getting sleepy in his mom's loving arms.
Blair rubbed Sammy's back as she held him. "Getting sleepy?" she asked him. She knew today must have been a full day already with so much drama for Sammy.
Sammy didn't say anything; just closed his dark blue eyes and fell fast asleep in his mother's arms. His dark head rested against Blair's chest as he breathed deeply, the sleep of an angel.
Jack was upstairs, laying on his bed with a scowl on his face. John rapped twice on his door. "Go away," Jack growled.
Finally, John had persuaded Jack to let him come inside. Grudgingly, Jack sit there listening while John took a seat near the bed and began to speak. "Jack, it's quite obvious you don't like me very much... and sometimes I really can't blame you. When your mom and dad split up, you became the man of the house. You took care of your mom, Starr, and Sammy... and you did everything you could to protect them and keep them safe. Now I'm here, I'm looking after your mom and Sam, and things haven't gone so well with your dad, so you haven't been able to see him in awhile. I know you miss him very much. I also know that even though your dad hasn't always made the wisest choices, he loves you as much as you love him. I don't want to take your dad away from you, Jack... really I don't. I know I will never be your father... but I want to be your stepdad... and I want to be your friend," John spoke. "Can we at least just try to get along? For the sake of your mom and your little brother."
"Right now your little brother is downstairs crying cause he thinks you might be running away from home. You're his big brother and you need to set a good example for him," John reminded. "Maybe you could just try to think about things and hopefully you will decide to do what is best for everyone in this family. Your mother and I love each other.... and we love and care about you and Sammy, too."
"Get out of my room," Jack said in a shout. "Out! Get out!"
With a heavy sigh, John got up and left. After he closed the door, Jack lay down, clutched his pillow, and cried like a small child.
John walked back into the living room, seeing Blair holding the four-year-old boy. He couldn't help but smile at the sweet picture the two of them made. Quietly, he said, "I spoke to Jack and did my absolute best, but I really don't think it did any good. I tried to reason with him, but he just threw me out of his room. I honestly don't know what to do anymore, Blair. I know this is hard on everyone, but I don't want Jack's behavior to start upsetting Sammy."
John then gently reached for Sammy so he could put the little boy down for the night. Unfortunately, it looked like Todd Manning wasn't showing up for visitation with his kids. Once again, Todd was showing he was nothing but a selfish ass.
Blair sighed," Yeah, it's going to be a tough road," she said as she let John take Sammy to put him down. She could kill Todd for disappointing Jack the most; she didn't understand him. He knew that Jack would be over the moon about this visitation and overnight-stay but even so, he flaked out. He was probably bopping Marty Saybrooke and lost track of time.
With the utmost tenderness, John placed Sammy in his bed. He kissed the little boy's cheek, then covered him up with his Mickey Mouse blanket. Glancing over at Jack, he saw that the other boy had cried himself to sleep into his pillow. Poor kid, thought John.
Going downstairs, John went to wrap his arms around Blair. "I wanna kill Todd Manning," John muttered as he was holding his lady close. "I saw Jack upstairs and he had cried himself to sleep."
"God!" Blair spit out. "He does this every time to the them! Jack waits and waits for Todd to come around and he always disappoints him! But Jack doesn't see it like I see it; I don't know what to do. Todd never calls to say he'll be late or can't make it and uggghhh!"
Looking out the front window, John saw the rain pouring down the window pane. "It isn't like Marty not to call... that's what worries me," said John. "If Manning has done anything to her... I will kill him with my bare hands!"
Blair bit back a groan as she looked at John. "Is that your only concern? Precious Marty?" She didn't understand what the men in Llanview saw in that woman; she couldn't leave anyone's man alone!
