Todd & Marty's New Beginning Ch. 09

AUTHOR'S NOTE ::: This is the love story of Marty and Todd starting from the very beginning when they first met in college. It also includes several other characters as well as their storylines. This story 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. This story also deals with the topic of nonconsensual sex as well as other disturbing material, so if you are bothered by that please do not read any further.

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.

*~Todd's Escape~*

After the trial ended, Marty felt relief, knowing that Todd wouldn't be able to get out for awhile considering his first chance of parole would be 5 years down the road. She stood next to Vicki in the courtroom as her attackers were led outside to the police car. "Do you think this will help Todd? Do you think this will open his eyes to his behavior?" she asked her friend.

"We can only hope and pray," Vicki said as they left the courtroom together. "Now don't you worry about Todd. You have your health to take care of now, as well as the baby. The trial is over, so now you only need to concentrate on your pregnancy."

*~o~*

Todd adjusted slowly to life in prison. He found out that if he was quiet and didn't say much, the other hooligans in the cells would not bother him.

Since he was rather big and muscular, most of the prisoners just stayed out of his way. It wasn't long before he got a job in the kitchen, washing pots and pans. As Sam suggested, he was on his best behavior at all times, even offering to take extra jobs so he could stay in good standings with the prison officials.

The unfortunate part was that Zach too got a job in the kitchen. Zach didn't get much work done as he kept taunting Todd about Marty and the abuse Todd had suffered by his father. Todd tried to stay calm and had to fight the urge to hit Zach up aside the head with a skillet. Days passed and Todd got dishpan hands. He had been counting off the days on a calendar he kept at his bedside. He had now been at Statesville nearly two months. Marty had to be about six months pregnant now,

he assumed. He wondered what she looked like, her stomach swelling with his child. How he wished he could see her.

"The food here sucks," he thought to himself. "And so does the rape counseling." Over and over, he got asked the same questions. He got tired of telling it so many times. And worst of all, he was put in the same therapy group as Powell and Zach. All Zach could talk about was Marty's panties... and every time anyone spoke to Powell, he would start crying all over again, blaming everything in his whole sorry life on Todd.

But most of all, Todd hated the nights. He didn't sleep much. The cot was narrow and uncomforable... and when it got dark and quiet, the nightmares would come. He could hear Marty crying. He would wake up with tears on his cheeks.

Marty spent her time teaching piano lessons to Jessi, C.J. and Sarah. And as the days passed, she began to prepare for the arrival of her baby. She had gone shopping with Vicki for a crib and other baby items. Vicki had helped Marty set up a nursery across the hall from Marty and Jessi's bedrooms. They had the crib put together and everything ready for the baby's arrival. It wouldn't be long as the baby was now due in about three months. It was going to be a November baby.

Jessi came to Marty's room one day, carrying her favorite stuffed bunny. "I want you to take PJ and give him to your new baby," Jessica said happily. "I'm too big to sleep with him anymore. I'm soon going to be 11." Jessi then placed her small hand in Marty's, so the two of them could go down to the parlor and begin working on her piano lessons.

*~o~*

As each day went by, Todd became more and more restless. He missed Marty so much. He had written her letters, but he hadn't gotten the nerve to send them. No one came to visit him in the prison. Only Tina. Tina had sent word from Vicki, sending Todd her love, but she didn't come to see him. Todd felt lonely and full of sorrow. Even though Tina had posted his bail and came to see him in prison on a regular basis, Todd felt as though there was something odd about her. He felt as though she couldn't be trusted. Every time he asked about Marty and how she was doing, Tina would change the subject. Finally, one day, he got the nerve to give Tina one of his letters.

"Please give this to Marty," Todd said to Tina.

Grudgingly, Tina said she would. Later, when she returned to Llanfair, Tina left the note from Todd on Marty's desk, knowing Marty would find it later when she returned from helping Jessi with her piano lesson.

The letter from Todd read:

Dear Marty,

I miss you so much. I wish I could see you and talk to you. But you have a life, a good life... and you don't need me in it. I understand that you hate me, although I wish I knew a way to make things better between us.

Prison life sucks. I yearn for the day I am out of this place. I yearn for my freedom again...

I find myself wondering all the time, how are you doing? How is our baby?

And do you ever think of me?

I still love you.

Todd

*~o~*

Marty smiled as she accepted the stuffed bunny from Jessica. "Thank you, Jessi.

The new baby will love it," she said as she put the toy in the newly put-together crib, then hand-in-hand she went down the staircase with Jessica to the parlor to begin teaching the piano lessons.

Jessi was doing very well with her lessons, but CJ and Sarah were struggling due to their fingers being so short. "You'll catch on soon," Vicki told her little neice and nephew with a smile. Tina walked into the parlor after having returned to her latest visit with Todd.

"How's Todd doing?" Vicki asked her sister.

"I thought you didn't give a damn, you never go to see him," Tina said sarcastically.

"That's not true. I do care. But I have other priorities," Vicki replied. "I think of him everyday... and as soon as I get the chance, I will go and see him. He needs his family."

Tina looked over at Marty, who was at the piano with the three youngsters. "All he talks about is Marty... and how he misses her. And he keeps talking about the baby. It's so pathetic," said Tina as she rolled her eyes. "I'm about ready to tell him that Marty lost the baby, just so he won't keep asking about it anymore."

"Tina, you wouldn't dare!" Vicki gasped. "I swear, sometimes you can be so cruel!"

"I don't care if it does sound cruel, Vicki. All Todd talks about is HER, how he loves HER, how SHE hates him, how he will never see that baby! He's our brother, for Christsake! He's locked away in that awful place and he won't be getting out for at least 5 long years! And once he gets out, do you think Marty will let him see his kid? I doubt it... look at her... Miss High and Mighty. Just because she isn't that wild Party Girl anymore, it doesn't mean she's better than anyone else!" said Tina in a nasty voice.

Vicki looked at Sarah, CJ, and Jessica who were wide-eyed and staring at Tina as she raised her voice. "Children, go to the playroom now. Piano lessons are over. I'll be up in a minute to bring a snack," she told them as she sent them from the room.

After the three children had left, Vicki cut in to Tina. "Tina, I know you care about Todd. I care about him, too. But he's locked in Statesville Prison right now for a reason. He hurt Marty and he needs to pay for his crime. That doesn't mean we all should stop caring about him. And as for Marty, whether or not she chooses to allow Todd to see the baby is totally up to her. After what he did, none of this can be easy for her. Yes, biologically, he is the baby's father, but that doesn't mean he's ready or capable of being a dad. Todd's going to have to prove himself to Marty... and to all of us," Vicki spoke. "Marty has been a wonderful guest in this home. She's practically family as she is carrying our future neice or nephew. I suggest you apologize at once for the statements you made about her... and if you do not, you know that it will be YOU who may be out of a home."

Looking at Marty, Tina sucked in her breath slowly. "I'm sorry, Marty," she said grudgingly. "I'm just worried about my brother."

From where she was seated at the piano bench, Marty responded to Tina. "I can understand you are worried about him, but I hope you'll realize that I'm not a bad person," she said honestly. Things would be so much easier if they all got along, but Marty knew that would probably never happen.

Tina refused to say anything else about the matter, especially with Vicki shooting her warning looks. She began walking out of the parlor, but before she stepped out, she turned back to Marty and said, "By the way, there's something on your desk upstairs. Something from Todd."

After Tina left, Vicki approached Marty at the piano. "I'm so sorry for that. I don't know why Tina has to always shoot off at the mouth. I swear if she wasn't my sister... and she wasn't married to my husband's son, she'd be out of here tomorrow," said Vicki. "But I can't do that... I adore my neice and nephew too much. They've been here since they were babies. And as you know,

Tina's not really the motherly type."

Vicki then sighed. "I better go fix a snack for the children and take it upstairs. I'll see you at dinner," she said, patting Marty's hand.

Marty returned Vicki's smile, then went upstairs to her room and found the note from Todd. She read his note as she sat on her bed. She just stared at it as the words began to blur upon the page. Should she write back? Or should she just forget it? Sighing, she slipped the note back into it's envelope and stuck it in one of her drawers.

*~o~*

As more days passed, Todd started to wonder why he had been so good in prison; none of it seemed to be getting him anywhere. He wasn't getting any special favors and no one seemed to notice his ass-kissing. *Maybe I need another tactic to get out of here* he thought to himself as he heard a few of the guys talking about a prison break. It was going to be very risque, but an escape from the prison was planned, and Todd was interested in freedom. He wanted out sooner than the 5 years he was up for parole. Five years sounded like a life-time away, and the guys who were planning to escape were leaving in a few days. He decided that when the others broke out, he was going with them. He missed Marty and he needed to see her NOW.

Todd continued counting down the days, but this time it was to the date of the jailbreak. Soon he would be walking out in the sunshine again, inhaling the fresh air. He could eat decent food again and sleep upon a real bed, not a lumpy, narrow cot. And he could see Marty. That was his most happiest thought of all. He wanted to see her and somehow make amends for all the awful things he had did and said, yet he had no clue what he could possibly do to make everything better when the time arrived. He never thought that far ahead. He never even thought about where he would go... or what he would be doing once he was free. He had no job, no money, no place to stay. He didn't even have any friends. Just Sam Rappaport, and he couldn't very well go tell his attorney he had broken free from jail. And he couldn't even tell Tina. She was his sister and she made regular visits to the prison, but for some reason Todd didn't quite trust her. With her living in Llanfair under the same roof as Marty and Vicki, Todd thought it best not to say anything to Tina either. Todd wanted to "surprise" Marty once he got out.

Todd wondered what Marty had thought when she received his note. As the weeks had gone by, he had written her other messages, but she hadn't responded to any of them. He couldn't stop thinking of her and their baby. He wondered all the time if she was doing well and how much her tummy had swelled with their child. *I'm going to be finding out very soon* he thought to himself as it was now the night of the prison break. A couple of the guys had dug a tunnel in the wall of their cell leading out to the outside world, and that night, they were going to steal the keys from the guards to open a few of the nearby cells. A total of 12 guys were planning on escape.

As long as the guards didn't catch on to their plans, all would go well.

*~o~*

After going through the long dark tunnel, Todd came up with the others deep in the woods. The escaped prisoners then began walking to the nearby interstate and hitch-hiked to their destinations. Luckily one of the men had snuck into the laundry and had stolen some regular clothes so the prisoners were able to shed their prison garb before leaving the woods.

When Todd got to Llanview by cover of darkness, he had the trucker who gave him a ride let him off near Llanfair. He walked the rest of the way and approached the mansion. *Vicki really needs to increase her security* Todd thought as he made his way into the yard. Silently, he approached a small tool shed in the backyard. It was so small, but Todd decided to hang out there until he found a better hiding place. As much as he missed Marty and wanted to see her right away, he didn't want to do anything rash and be sent right back to prison. He knew that in the morning, it would be all over the news of his escape.

*The Next Morning*

In the parlor, Vicki turned on the morning cartoons for CJ, Sarah, and Jessi. They always watched Looney Tunes while waiting for their school bus to arrive. Vicki gasped, seeing a newsflash across the screen. Twelve men had escaped from Statesville Prison last night, including convicted rapist Todd Manning.

After showering and getting dressed, Marty was ready for her day. She was on her way downstairs to get breakfast when the baby kicked. The little one was getting hungry; Marty could tell. She was smiling when she reached the foyer, rounding the corner toward the kitchen to see if there was any fresh fruit or perhaps a glass of milk.

Vicki stopped Marty in the foyer before she could go into the kitchen. "Marty, I have something to tell you... it's about Todd. He's escaped," Vicki said. "Last night 12 men escaped from Statesville Prison. Todd was one of them."