Todd and Marty

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 REVIEW...

*~Todd and Marty ::: Chapter Six~*

Cole arrived at the hospital that morning after Nora presuaded him to go see his mother and new baby sister. He felt very uneasy as he walked into his mom's hospital room. "Mom, it's me. The son you forgot," he said, looking down at the baby who was lying in his mother's arms. He couldn't help but feel little for that newborn baby; he felt little besides jealousy. That baby would get all of his mom's love, and he was sure he would get nothing.

"Mom, the only reason I'm here is because Nora said that Todd Manning is now out of the picture. Is it true? Is Todd really out of your life?" Cole demanded.

Marty looked at her son. "Cole, I..I've been trying to remember you but it's hard," she said softly.

"Yeah, Todd is gone. He chose to leave," she said as she held baby Paloma.

"Do you want to meet your sister?" she asked, hoping that Cole would at least open up to the child. Afterall, baby Paloma was Cole's younger sibling.

Cole looked down at the baby in his mother's arms like she was a two-headed alien or something. "No, Mom. I don't think I really wanna hold her. It would hurt too much, with my own baby girl now dead and buried. Did you think about that before you slept with Todd Manning and produced a child that was so very much related to my own baby girl that died?" Cole said harshly. "In fact, I know for sure I DON'T wanna hold her. She looks just like Todd Fucking Manning."

With those words, Cole stormed out of the room and ran smack into Vicki in the hallway, Jessica's mother. "Get out of my way!" he growled.

"Cole, stop..." said Vicki. "I need to talk to you." To Cole's great surprise, Vicki proceeded to tell Cole that his baby daughter Hope was in fact alive. It would seem that one of Jessica's alters had taken Hope from the hospital nursery, replacing Cole and Starr's child with Jessica's own stillborn infant daughter.

"My kid is alive and Starr didn't even bother to fucking tell me?!" Cole said in a sneer. He then left the hospital, a very angry look on his face.

"Cole, please....!" Marty cried out, but he was gone. She sat there sadly with tears shining in her blue eyes. Why did he have to be so cruel? She was trying so hard to make peace with her son. Cole had grown up in a happy home with Marty and his father Patrick. Marty only wanted the same for Paloma. Not only had Todd deserted the baby, but now Cole, too, and Cole was Paloma's big brother.

Once in his car, Cole shot up on drugs, then headed right over to Dorian's house. He would find out exactly why Starr hadn't told him about his daughter....

*~O~*

Meanwhile, back at The Sun, Todd had been pushed to the floor and a nude, horny Tea DelGado was lying on top of him. Todd wasn't made of stone. He couldn't help but be effected.

"Ohhh Todd, is that your cock getting hard? Do you want me to take care of that for you?" Tea crooned.

"I'd rather shoot it off with a gun, than have you touch it," Todd sneered, pushing her off of him.

"Todd, what's with all the animosity? This is the first time EVER that I haven't been able to seduce you," Tea pouted, still standing there completely naked despite Todd's repeated rejections of her.

"Think about it, Tea... The woman I LOVE is lying in a hospital bed right now and she just had my baby," Todd bit out.

"You mean, Marty had the baby?" Tea gasped out.

"She did... last night..."

"So why aren't you with her?!"

"Because I fucked things up like I always do... will you please just get dressed... or get the fuck out... or something? I can't stand to look at you anymore... and if I have to look at you another moment, I'm bound to jump right off the top of the Palace Hotel again!"

Suddenly in a huff, Tea covered herself. "Fine, be that way... but you know how to reach me...... IF you want me," Tea spoke before walking out.

*~O~*

Hours later, fter a long day at the Sun, Todd went back to the Palace Hotel. He checked his cell phone and there weren't any calls, not from Blair, Tea, Starr, or Marty. With a heavy sigh, he got ready for a shower.

Meanwhile, a nurse came into Marty's hospital room, seeing the incredibly sad look on her face. She checked Marty's vitals, seeing that Marty's blood pressure was a little low. The nurse got worried, so she went quickly to get the doctor. "Is something wrong, Marty?" asked Michael when he saw how pale Marty was. Michael took Marty's pulse but he didn't like what he found.

"Cole was so cruel.... and Todd left," Marty said as though in a state of shock. "How can anyone be so cruel? Paloma's his sister...and he...he...."

Seeing the state Marty was now in, the nurse reached for the baby. Paloma protested at being taken from her mother's arms. "Take the baby to the nursery and call Mr. Manning. I think she needs another transfusion," Michael said to the nurse before she left the room with Paloma.

"Marty, listen to me. You lost a hell of a lot of blood last night and after the surgery, we nearly lost you, too," said Dr. McBain. "You need to concentrate on your health and just try to get better."

Marty couldn't register a word coming out of Dr. McBain's mouth; she was feeling miserable. "So cruel. So cruel," she softly repeated.

She didn't hear anything around her, nor was she aware of what the hospital staff were doing. She just couldn't fathom Cole's behavior. His harsh words kept echoing in her head.

Paloma was taken to the nursery and the nurse went to give Todd Manning a call. She tried his house first, but there was no answer. Finally, she reached him on his cell.

Todd had just stepped out of the shower, and he was dripping wet. He grabbed his cell phone, noticing right away that the call was registering from Llanview Hospital. "Marty?" he spoke into the phone.

"Mr. Manning," said the nurse. "You need to get to the hospital right away.... there is a problem."

"I'm coming," said Todd, his heart thudding his chest when he thought there might be something wrong with Marty or Paloma.

Todd got in his car and sped to the hospital. "What's going on?" he said, when he met the nurse right outside Marty's hospital room.

"Tell me right now, is Marty okay?!" Todd insisted of the nurse. "Is it Paloma..... tell me!"

"Mr Manning, Cole Thornhart was here earlier to see his mother. There were some words exchanged between him and Marty, then later when I went to check on her, her blood pressure was dangerously low. When Dr. McBain got there, her pulse was erratic. The doctor says we may need to do another transfusion..."

Before the nurse could say another word, Todd burst into Marty's hospital room. "What's going on? Is Marty going to be okay?" he asked Michael as the doctor was standing over Marty's bed.

Michael turned to look at Todd. "Stay here....We need your blood again," said Michael. Then to the nurse, Dr. McBain said, "We need to do a direct transfusion this time. Get that set up right away. I don't like how low her blood pressure has suddenly dropped."

"Marty, can you hear me?" Todd whispered to her, as the nurse started setting everything up to the second transfusion. "I'm here...." he said to her softly as he took a chair next to her bed. He then let out a soft hiss of pain, feeling the nurse jab a needle into his arm.

"Sorry, Mr. Manning," said the nurse. "It's vital that we get this transfusion started right away."

Marty still didn't register anything going on around her." Why? Why? Why?" she kept saying. She wasn't even aware that Paloma had been removed from her arms and that Todd was sitting next to her, holding her hand.

With his free hand, Todd reached out to caress a lock of Marty's long hair from her face. He frowned, because she didn't seem to know he was there. He then watched as his blood flowed through the tubes and into her body. "Marty, what happened? What did Cole say? I'm sorry I wasn't here," he said to her softly as he waited for her to respond.

Todd's blood seemed to be exactly what Marty's body needed as almost immediately her vitals began to stabilize. "Thank you, Mr. Manning," said the nurse as she removed the needle from Todd's arm and applied a bandage.

Todd ignored the nurse, all of his attention zeroed in on Marty. "Marty, please speak to me," Todd coaxed as the nurse removed the needle from Marty.

Once Marty's vitals started to get back to normal, it took a few minutes for her to come out of her state of shock, and she could hear Todd's voice.

"I thought you were gone; I thought I'd have to raise Paloma alone," she said softly.

Then she sighed. hearing him ask about Cole. "He wasn't nice at all," she said quietly. "He doesn't want anything to do with me or Paloma."

Todd sighed when he heard about Cole's reaction to his new baby sister. "I'm sorry, Marty. I know how much it means to you to have a connection to him, afterall he is your son, your firstborn.... but he's nearly a man now, and you can't make him have a relationship with you," said Todd, as he knew only too well from his own strained relationship with his own daughter Starr. "He's really messed up right now... Drugs can really fuck up your life, how well I know." He then looked deep into Marty's eyes, cause he was thinking about those drugs he had taken the night of the Spring Fling. That fateful night of Marty's gang-rape.

"A nurse called me here, told me you needed blood again," said Todd, not sure what else to say or if he should leave or what. "Marty, did you get my message?"

"I know," Marty said sadly in regards to Cole.

"I just hoped that once he saw Paloma, that he would want to be her big brother," she said sadly.

"Yeah, I got your message, Todd," she replied dejectedly. "Loud and clear."

"I'm sorry, Marty," Todd said just as sadly. "I never wanted to hurt you..."

"I thought we had a future together; it's all I ever really wanted. But I just can't be the man you want. It's just not me," he said, pain in his voice. "You're so full of goodness and light... and look at me, I'm nothing but a monster."

"I don't deserve you... or a single one of my kids...."

Todd didn't get to say another word, because the nurse came in abruptly and interrupted the conversation. "Mr. Manning, excuse me... I need to talk to you a moment in the hallway," she said.

Once they were alone in the hallway, Todd asked, "Yeah? What is it?"

"Dr. McBain can't release Marty until she's fully stabilized, but your daughter is going to be released in the morning," the nurse explained. "You will be here in the morning to pick her up?"

Todd frowned. He hadn't been expecting this. "Yes... yes, I will make arrangements," Todd said with a heavy sigh.

He then returned to Marty's bedside. "Paloma is getting released tomorrow morning," he told her. "But Dr. McBain needs to keep you a few more days...."

"I'll hire a baby nurse, whatever I need to do... but I just wanted to assure you, Marty... Paloma will be fine," Todd promised.

"You'll find someone who's good with kids?" Marty asked worriedly. "Someone who likes babies, right?" She didn't like the thought of hiring anyone to watch Paloma; she wanted to be there to care for her daughter. The thought of a stranger caring for her baby was overwhelming.

"Only the best for Paloma, Marty," Todd promised. "I'll find the best baby-nurse money can buy. And when I'm not working, I'll be there..." Todd's voice trailed off, cause he knew that spending time with the baby would only make him grow more attached to her. Then it would only hurt worse when Marty got better, and they had to go their separate ways.

"I gotta go now. You get better," Todd said, trying not to let Marty see now all this was hurting him. "I'll be here in the morning to pick up Paloma."

Marty nodded "Okay," she said quietly. "Sure, that sounds good." Given the circumstances, she didn't know what else to say or even what she could say. After she got out of the hospital, it looked like it would just be her and Paloma.

*~O~*

The next morning, Todd arrived at the hospital to get his daughter. A nurse helped him get Paloma strapped into a carseat. She looked so tiny and adorable in there that Todd couldn't help but smile. "Okay, kewl... when did she have her last bottle?" Todd asked the nurse.

"Here, you'll need this," said the nurse, handing Todd a small cooler.

"What's this?" Todd asked curiously.

"It's breastmilk.... for the baby, for when she gets hungry."

"Breastmilk?" Todd said looking dumbfounded as he stared at the cooler.

"Damn, I hope I don't get it mixed up and add any of it to my morning coffee," he joked.

The nurse looked at Todd, but he just turned on his heel, carseat in hand. He stopped by Marty's room, carrying both the carseat and the cooler. He propped the carseat up at the side of Marty's bed. "I thought you might want to say bye to Paloma before we leave. She's going to work with me this morning," Todd told her.

Marty smiled, seeing her darling baby girl. "Thank you," she said to Todd.

"Hi Paloma," Marty spoke to the infant. "You'll be good for your dad, right? Be nice to him, okay?"

Todd laughed softly. "Ahhh she'll be fine," he assured Marty. "Probably just bored out of her little mind when she sees what I do every day at the paper."

"Don't worry about her, Marty... just get better...." Todd said as he gazed into her eyes. "It's been awhile since Jack was a baby and I haven't done too much of this baby-stuff for awhile, considering Sam was two years old when he came to live with me..."

Todd gave Paloma's tiny a head a soft caress, then lay his hand gently upon Marty's. "I thought about what you said last night... and I decided not to get the baby-nurse. I just didn't feel right having someone care for her whom we barely knew," Todd explained.

"Anyway, I got to get going... I'll bring her by to see you when I get off work."

Mary smiled when Todd told her the news. "Thank you, Todd," she said. "It truly means a lot to me that you're going to do this without the help of a nurse."

"I'm sure she'll be interested to see what her daddy does at work," she added with a smile. "I'll see you both when you bring her by tonight."

*~O~*

Todd went to work, Paloma in tow. Work wasn't so bad today, with Paloma nearby. He set her carseat near his desk, so he could watch her should she start to cry. Everything was great, until a couple of hours had passed, then Paloma let out a cry. But it wasn't really a cry... it sounded more like a frightening banshee.

Awkwardly, Todd got Paloma unstrapped from the carseat, only to find that her diaper had leaked out, soaking her little outfit. "Ohhh crap," he said, swiping all of the papers off his desk so he could change his daughter.

He got out the diapers, wipes, baby powder, a clean outfit, and anything else he might need for the change. Paloma continued to squall, her face turning bright red as Todd did the best he could to change her. "Hey now," he said as he slipped the diaper over her tiny bottom. "Don't go getting mad at me... I'm not the one who peed your pants."

After Paloma had been changed, Todd got a bottle ready for her. Once the bottle was heated correctly, Todd pressed the nipple to his daughter's lips. Paloma latched on hungrily. Todd smiled, seeing his daughter drink the bottle.

"Hmmmm... guess I am just about as good as a baby nurse," he said to the baby when he raised her to his shoulder so he could burp her.

After Todd left The Sun, he arrived at the hospital. He was carrying Paloma in his arms wrapped in a baby blanket. "She wants her mommy," said Todd as he carefully handed the infant to Marty. "I don't think she liked her bottle much... she wants the real thing..."

Marty laughed at Todd's remark. "Yeah, it's a bit harder to get them used to a bottle, but when you keep trying, they'll generally take to it," she said, as she held Paloma kissing her forehead softly.

"Was she a good girl?" she asked.

"Yeah, if you call screaming like a banshee and peeing all over my desk good..." Todd joked. "Really though, she was good. She kept me entertained, that's for sure. Been a long time since I had a baby around... or even a kid for that matter..."

Looking at Marty lying in the hospital bed, Todd changed the subject. "How about you? Have you been good? You're resting, following Doctor's orders, and getting better, aren't you?" Todd asked.

Marty smiled. "I am being a really good patient and listening to the doctor," Marty promised.

"I'm glad you had a good time with her," she spoke. "I love to see you and her together; it's nice."

Todd didn't know what to say. He only hoped he would survive the next few days, caring for Paloma at the Sun while at the same time doing the best he could not to get too attached to her. Ohhh what the heck.... he was already attached! He loved the baby and Marty so much it was killing him.......