"Sam, slow down. We're here. Take it easy man," Bill grabbed Sam's arm and cautioned.

Sam was so out of breath he was gasping, as he ran toward ER waiting room. His hair was wet with perspiration. He pulled away from Bill.

"Are you here to help Todd and Viki or have a heart attack and become a patient yourself?" Bill asked bluntly.

Sam looked at Bill. He stopped and caught his breath. After a few minutes, Sam said, "I'm okay. Really. Please. I want to get to them."

Bill pointed in the direction of the arrow on the sign. "It's this way. Let's go."

**********

T�a had calmed herself before she went back to the waiting room. She didn't want to further upset Viki. She told Viki what happened in as calm a way as possible. Still, Viki broke down in tears when she heard that Todd might have to be placed on a ventilator.

Viki stood up and walked over to Sam. For a moment her heart broke at the sight of him. Sam was obviously distraught, his appearance disheveled, his skin a sickly pinkish gray. Then the anger Viki felt with Sam for his part in this washed over her like pellets of a hard rain.

"How bad is it?" Sam asked in a whisper.

"Todd didn't take his medication. He went into status epilepticus again. Vomit went down his lungs during one of the seizures. He has pneumonia. They're going to put him on a ventilator. That's how he is," Viki said without ever taking her angry blue eyes from Sam's. "That's how he is," Viki repeated. She began to sob.

Sam stared at Viki. He appeared stunned.

Bo walked over to where Viki and Sam stood. "Viki, come on. You know how much Sam loves Todd. He'd never do anything to hurt him. He was . . ."

"No," Sam whispered, interrupting Bo. "She's right. She blames me and she's right. I did this to Todd. I was trying to alleviate my guilt by being the father to Todd that I should have been when he was a kid. I wanted this chance. I wanted to make it up to him so that I could forgive myself." Sam laughed a sick sounding laugh. "It was the same thing I did when Todd was a child and needed me. I put myself first. I handled things by doing what I needed, not what Todd needed.

Susannah stood up. "Sam, we know it wasn't just that. You believed Todd was in danger at the hospital." Susannah didn't think this was the time to tell Sam that someone had placed the large sum of money in her bank account. She feared Sam would fall apart if he realized this had all been for nothing. She was willing to allow him to continue to believe she might not be trustworthy for a while longer. She hoped no one else would point it out to him at this time.

"I wasn't there when Todd needed me." Sam's voice was almost inaudible. "That's our pattern. Todd needs me and I fail him." Sam looked into Susannah's eyes. "Is my failing him going to cost him his life this time?"

Susannah stood between Sam and Viki. She spoke to both of them. "Todd is a very strong young man. He has powerful survival instincts. Todd was not able to say much. What he was able to say led us to believe that he made some amazing progress during his time at the summerhouse. I think Todd found a reason to want to live." Susannah looked in T�a's direction when she said that. "Yes, he's very sick and he's going to need all of those survival instincts to get through this. I believe that right now Todd is fighting with everything he has because he finally has hope. He has hope that he can have the life he wants."

Viki didn't want to feel this way about Sam. She saw how much he was suffering. She was about to say something to him when one of Todd's doctors came into the waiting room and called for the family of Todd Manning.

After they identified themselves, the doctor took them into a quiet corner of the room.

"Please," Viki spoke first. "Is my brother going to be all right?"

"Is he conscious?" T�a asked. "It's very important that he knows we're here for him."

"Todd is not conscious," the doctor answered. "He was having a lot of trouble breathing. We had to intubate him. He's sedated. He is also postictal."

"Th-th-there's no brain damage . . . from the seizures . . . he went into status ep . . ." Sam could barely get the words out. Thoughts were rushing through his mind rapidly.

"No," the doctor assured him before finished speaking. "Todd did sustain a mild concussion. However, we're not concerned with brain damage right now."

"Concussion?" Sam was confused. "No, I mean from the seizures. He didn't have his medication. I . . . because of me. He didn't have his medication."

"We don't suspect brain damage for any reason," the young doctor reassured. "Right now our biggest concern is that Todd has aspiration pneumonia. I looked at his chest x-ray and the results are consistent with that diagnosis. His condition is very serious. He is on a ventilator and we started him on antibiotics empirically until we have the results of all of his tests."

Viki wiped away a tear that had fallen on her cheek. "Was Todd awake at all? Did he know you were going to intubate him?" Viki knew how terrified he would have been.

"No. He was out of it by then," the doctor replied.

"Please, can we see him," T�a asked.

"Todd is being moved to the ICU."

"Oh God," Viki and Sam said at the same time.

"I know that sounds frightening," the doctor acknowledged. "Todd needs that level of care. I'm going up there right now to speak to the ICU doctors about him. A nurse will show you the way to the ICU waiting room. I know you all want to see Todd and this is very difficult for you. We will allow you in as soon as he's settled. For now, Todd's needs have to come first."

Viki glanced in Sam's direction. She saw tears sliding down his cheeks. She squeezed his hand. "I do know that you love him as much as I do."

"I love you too," Sam choked out, before more tears fell.

Viki nodded. She gave Sam's hand another squeeze. She still could not quite forgive him for his part in this. However, for now she was able to keep her anger to herself. She saw that Sam was as distraught as she was.

A nurse walked over to them. "I'll take all of you to the ICU waiting area if you're ready."

Viki turned to check with Susannah, Bill, Bo and T�a.

They all nodded.

"Yes, please. We're ready," Viki replied.

As the others followed the nurse, Bill faced Susannah. "Is Todd going to make it?"

Susannah's eyes welled with tears. "I don't know. He's very sick. He's critical. There can be so many complications with aspiration pneumonia. They already suspect sepsis. He's been through so much. I don't know how much more . . ." Susannah's voice broke. Bill took Susannah into his arms.

Susannah held onto him tightly for a few moments. She quickly pulled away and angrily wiped at her tears. "Yes! He is going to make it! I know Todd." Susannah swallowed hard. "And I'm sure that something happened to make him believe that he can have the life with T�a that he wants."

Bill looked into Susannah's eyes. "If there is anything in this world that will give Todd the strength to fight his way back, it's that. I know that I'd fight my way through anything to have a life with you."

Susannah hugged him and rested her head on his shoulder for a second. "We'd better catch up with the others," she said softly.

They too headed for the ICU.

**********

"Susannah, please," Viki pleaded the moment Susannah and Bill arrived at that ICU waiting area. "They won't let any of us in to see him yet. You go. They'll allow you in, won't they?"

"Yes, of course," Susannah immediately agreed. "I intended to as soon as I saw you were all here and okay."

"If Todd is conscious, please tell him that we're here and we love him," T�a requested.

"I will," Susannah promised and left for the ICU.

*********

Susannah saw a group of doctors gathered around an X-ray box. She headed for them. She heard the tail end or the report on Todd the ER doctor was giving the ICU attending, fellow, senior resident and charge nurse.

"We gave him a dose of Clindamycin in the ER. His temp was 103.6," Doctor Sharaby, the ER doctor, continued with what he was saying. "We cultured him and ended up putting him on a ventilator since he was having a tough time breathing. This is the X-ray we took in the ER." He snapped the X-ray up onto the lit X-ray board and pointed to the left side. "Looks like something's going on right here."�

Doctor Lipner, the ICU attending, was a man of average height and weight. He was slightly balding, had a small mustache, a kind face and a very gentle and caring way about him. He looked closely at the X-ray. "This is definitely pneumonia, and you're right, he most likely aspirated gastric contents into his lungs when he was in the cabin and unconscious."

The ICU attending and the ER doctor glanced in Todd's direction.

"I don't know. This guy doesn't look good to me. He looks like he's going to crash," Doctor Sharaby commented.

"Yeah, I've got the same feeling," Doctor Lipner remarked. "We'll run a few more tests up here and keep a close eye on him. Hopefully, he'll turn around by tomorrow."

Susannah felt tears sting her eyes. She stepped back for a moment. Susannah had been forcibly holding herself together since the moment she had to stand by and watch Todd leave the psychiatric unit for what she believed was certain danger. She tried her best to remain strong and professional when she discovered the money in her bank account and when she heard Todd was missing. She stayed strong when the days passed and Todd was nowhere to be found. Susannah knew that Viki, T�a, Sam and Todd need her to keep herself together. Her facade didn't slip at the summerhouse or during the long wait inside and out of the ER. Now, hearing these doctors affirm what she knew in her heart, that Todd was in trouble, broke through Susannah's wall of strength. The part of Susannah that loved Todd as if he were her child overpowered the professional part. Just as she turned to leave the unit until she composed herself, she saw one of Todd's nurses rush toward Doctor Lipner.

"Doctor, his temp is spiking at 104 degrees and he's fighting the ventilator. We're having a hard time getting him to settle down."

Doctor Lipner thought for a moment. "He needs more sedation. Load him with 2 mg Ativan and start a propofol drip. Let's put a cooling blanket on him."

The ICU resident approached Doctor Lipner before the nurse left to carry out his orders. "His labs are back from the ER. His white count is 18,000 and we won't have the cultures back for a while."

"Damn, we were afraid of sepsis. Okay, draw two sets of blood cultures from two different sites, 15 milliliters each, ten minutes apart and get another AP film of his chest. Get respiratory to suction him and send the sputum for gram stain and culture and then give him a gram of Vancomycin."

Susannah closed her eyes in despair. She didn't realize Doctor Lipner was standing next to her.

"I'm glad you're here. You heard?"

Susannah nodded. "His family needs to know what's happening."

"I'm going to the waiting area to tell them right now. I think it would be best if you were with them when I do."

"Of course," Susannah immediately agreed. She took a deep breath. Her own feelings were placed on hold as she quickly slipped back into professional mode. "First, I need a moment with Todd."

Doctor Lipner motioned for Susannah to go to Todd.

Susannah stood near the back of the bed, in order to be out of the way. She gently stroked Todd's head. As young as Todd looked before he left the hospital, with short hair, he looked years younger now. Tears stung Susannah's eyes again when she thought of the children who lived inside Todd. Now he didn't look much older than some of them. "It's Doctor Hanen, Todd. You're in the ICU at University Hospital. Everyone is taking very good care of you."

Susannah took a deep breath and then continued. "Honey, you can fight this. I know you can. Sam, Viki and T�a are right outside. They're waiting until the doctors here say they can come in to see you. You have something important to say to T�a. She knows that, Todd. T�a wants very much to hear what you have to say. She loves you Todd. She wants to tell you that. I think you want to tell T�a how much you love her, hmmm? Is that what you were trying so hard to tell her? She knows you love her Todd, but she needs to hear you say it again. She needs you to be strong for her and to be there for her. Honey, you've fought so hard and for so long. I know that. This isn't the time to give up. You have to continue fighting. I know something happened in the summerhouse, Todd, something that helped you to know that you can have the life with T�a that you've dreamed of. It's true. You can have that life Todd. It's yours. You have to fight to come back to us and that life will be yours. Honey, I promise you that. T�a wants it as much as you do. Your little girl wants to be a part of that life. Viki and Sam need you in their life and so do I and the staff at the hospital. You are very much loved and needed, Todd. You have to fight your way back to us."

Susannah stroked Todd's head one more time and joined Doctor Lipner. She dreaded having to tell Todd's family that he was not doing well.

***********

Sam was staring out the window. Viki, T�a, Bo and Bill were seated when Susannah and Doctor Lipner walked into the ICU waiting area. Viki and T�a jumped up when they saw them. Sam gripped the windowsill for a moment, and with his jaw set he turned around.

Viki looked into Susannah's eyes. She could tell the news was not good.

T�a could see that as well. "Todd's worse, isn't he?" T�a stated more than asked.

"I wish I could give you more positive news," Doctor Lipner began.

Viki grasped T�a's hand.

"Todd has developed sepsis," the ICU attending continued. "Sepsis is fairly common in cases of aspiration pneumonia."

"Sepsis . . ." Sam tried to remember. "That's some kind of blood infection, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lipner confirmed. "Unfortunately, many organs can be affected and stop functioning normally. We're already seeing some problems with his breathing. The pneumonia has greatly contributed to that. Right now we're not seeing any heart or renal failure. That's good. Todd does have a high fever. We put cooling blankets on him. We've got him on a broad spectrum antibiotic until we get back the blood cultures. Then we'll switch him to a more specific one. He's on a medication to keep his blood pressure up and his seizures are being controlled for the time being."

"Is he conscious?" Viki asked in a trembling voice.

"He's heavily sedated," Doctor Lipner responded. "He was fighting the ventilator so we put him on a propofol drip. We can let that lift quickly if we need him conscious."

T�a looked at Doctor Lipner with pleading eyes. "Can we see him?"

Lipner nodded. "One at a time. Each of you can stay with him for five minutes out of every hour, unless there is a problem or if we need you to step out while he's being tended to."

"I understand," T�a agreed.

Viki and Sam exchanged quick glances.

"We do too," Viki spoke for both of them.

For a moment they all stood still.

"Let T�a go in first," Viki said to Sam. "She was the one Todd was desperate to see. He seemed to want to tell her something."

Sam quickly agreed. Even though Todd was unconscious, Sam didn't know how he was going to face him. He believed he did this to Todd and he believed Todd and everyone in that room knew this never would have happened if he had not taken Todd out of the hospital.

***********

"He's in bed four," Doctor Lipner informed T�a as he walked her into the ICU.

T�a managed a sad smile. "Thank you."

Doctor Lipner patted T�a's arm and headed for the nurses station.

As T�a passed beds one, two, and three she noticed the patients in them were elderly. She looked around the circular unit. Most of the patients were either in their upper middle years or senior citizens. Todd was by far the youngest patient in this particular ICU at this time. T�a stared at Todd's face. Despite the tube in his throat, the leads attached to him, the catheters and IVs, he seemed at peace and pain free. He was very pale. The deep, self-inflicted scratches on his face and neck and bruise on his head were even more startling in the glaring light of the ICU. Beads of perspiration dotted his face. His hair was damp. Except for the rise and fall of his chest, thanks to the ventilator, Todd was perfectly still. T�a hated hearing the sound of that ventilator. Its whooshing sound was heard all over the ICU. More than half the patients were on ventilators. The whooshing sound and the beep of monitors was the dominating sound on that unit. The nurses, doctors and techs spoke in hushed tones as they busily tended to patients and spoke with each other. Somehow this medical ICU seemed even more frightening than the one Todd had been in at Llanview Hospital. Everyone on the staff was a stranger. The glass partitions between rooms gave the place a surreal feel.

T�a gently lifted Todd's hand and stroked his head. He was still very hot. T�a felt tears spring to her eyes. Memories of the last time Todd had pneumonia came back to haunt T�a. He nearly died that time, and this time it was worse. He developed sepsis and he had epilepsy. T�a knew though that this time Todd was in better shape physically and mentally than he had been back then . . . a time that seemed like yesterday and at the same time seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Todd," T�a called out softly. "I hope some part of you can hear me. I don't want you to be frightened. We're all here for you. Sam, Viki and Doctor Hanen are right outside. Everyone here is working very hard to help you. Viki and Sam said it was all right for me to come in to see you first because we think you were trying to tell me something. You have to fight Todd. You have to help yourself. I want to know what it is you want to say to me. You need to fight this thing with everything you've got, so you can tell me. What you can't do is leave me and everyone who loves you. Do you hear me Todd? Sam blames himself for your condition. Viki already lost a child. Doctor Hanen and the staff at the hospital love you as if you were their child. Starr needs her daddy in her life more than she needs anyone. Even Bo, Nora and Kevin have grown to care deeply about you. You can't leave us and hurt all of us that much."

T�a closed her eyes. Tears slid through the closed lids and trickled down her cheeks. She placed her hand on Todd's chest. She felt it rise and fall as the ventilator assisted his breathing. T�a felt Todd's rapid heart beats under her palm. She leaned in and tenderly kissed the place where her hand had rested. "There's a place for me in that heart Todd. It's a place I want to be. I think you believe it's now safe for me to be there and for you to be here." T�a lifted Todd's hand and placed it on her heart. "I hope you believe that, because you have had a place in my heart almost from the day we met."

T�a began to whisper in Todd's ear. She continued to keep one hand on his heart while holding his hand against hers. "We have a life to plan. I think you know it's safe and okay for us to have a life together. Don't take that away from us. You promised me another wedding when you proposed to me in front of everyone. You said it would be real this time. I'm holding you to that promise Todd. The only difference is we don't have to get a divorce first. I can't bear the thought of not being married to you, even if it's just for a minute. We can renew our vows. I want you to watch me walk down the aisle toward you. I want to look into your eyes and see that you think I'm the most beautiful bride ever. I want to hear you promise to love, honor and cherish me in front of everyone we care about. I want to make the same vows to you. I want us to promise that we will always, always be in each other's heart." T�a's voice trembled. "We will never say it's only until death parts us. I don't believe that even death could do that to us."

T�a jumped at the sound of an alarm. "Oh God," she cried out.

Doctor Lipner hurried to Todd's bed before T�a had a chance to call out for someone.

As he was checking the vent, a nurse rushed up to him. "His last blood gas just came back."

Lipner took the paper the nurse held out. He shook his head and adjusted the vent settings.

"Mrs. Manning, you need to wait outside," the nurse said firmly.

"Please, let me stay with him. I won't get in the way," T�a pleaded. She moved away to make room for the ICU resident and fellow as they made their way to Todd.

A woman T�a hadn't seen before approached her. "I'm Gail Bartak. I'm the social worker assigned to Mr. Manning. Come," Ms. Bartak said gently. "Let's go outside. It's a small area. The doctors and nurses need room to work."

T�a looked helplessly into the social worker's eyes. She nodded in agreement. "Todd, I'll be right outside. Querido, I love you."

"Get another gas in fifteen minutes," Doctor Lipner told the nurse. He listened to Todd's chest. "Get respiratory down here stat and have them suction him, to help him breathe."

***********

"I don't know! I don't know what's happening to him," T�a cried when she got back to the waiting area. "It's something with his breathing."

"Susannah, you go. Please go back in there," Viki pressed.

Susannah knew that she too would be in the way. "Viki, right now Todd needs the ICU staff to take care of him. It's important that no one gets in their way. They might have to move quickly."

They all understood the implication in Susannah's words.

Sam didn't say a word. He punched his fist of his right hand into this left palm and went back to stare out the window. His jaw was tightly set.

Bo and Bill exchanged looks. They were terrified for all of them. They could see that Todd's loved ones couldn't take much more.

***********

After Todd had been suctioned, Lipner listened to his chest again. He looked at the monitor to check Todd's heart rate. He saw that Todd's O2 was down. He listened to his chest again. He turned to the nurse. "Get X-ray here, stat. I'm hardly getting any breath sounds. I think he's going into ARDS."

Another nurse at Todd's bedside, called out, "His pressure's dropping. He's 90/50."

"Start another dopamine drip stat," Lipner ordered.

A few minutes after the drip was hung, the nurse, in a relieved voice, said, "It's coming back up. He's 110/60."

The X-ray tech showed up and approached Todd's bed with his portable unit. The doctors and nurses stepped out of the glass room while the X-ray was being taken.

Lipner spoke to Doctor Adler, the ICU fellow. "As soon as he's done getting the X-ray, we need to place a swan ganz catheter. We're going to have to monitor him very closely."

"Do you think he'll make it?" one of the nurses asked Lipner.

"I don't know. What I do know is that if this kid's going to fight for his life, we need to do everything we can to help him do it."

The vent alarm went off. They all rushed to Todd's bedside again.

Doctor Lipner placed his stethoscope on Todd's chest again. He looked at the monitor. "Damn it! His O2 saturation is getting worse."

The vent settings were changed again and the sound of the alarm stopped.

"It looks like he won the battle this time," the nurse commented.

"Yeah," Lipner confirmed. He gently stroked Todd's head. "Now time will tell if he'll win the war that's going on in his young body."

The nurse and the rest of the staff around Todd's bed nodded in agreement. They all wore worried expressions.

"I'm going to check the X-ray and then talk to his family again," Lipner said. "Call me if there are any changes."

*********

Bo spoke quietly into the payphone that was right outside the ICU waiting area. "Listen, Red, you tell my big brother that he'd better keep his ass in that hospital bed and follow orders . . . I know he's going stir crazy. Clint always was a doer . . . they'll start him on physical therapy when they think he's ready, not when he thinks he's ready . . . yeah, well, you tell Pa to lay down the law to him. How's Jessie doing? . . . Poor kid . . . are they doing anything for her depression . . . grief counseling . . . that's good." Bo waited when he heard silence on Nora's end of the phone. "Red? You okay"

Nora sighed. "Jessica is asking about Todd. Asa wants to keep her in the dark. He hates to admit it, but he knows how much Jessica loves her uncle."

"You know I don't believe in lyin' to people. Besides, Jessie's a smart little cookie. She'll know if she's being lied to. I don't want to burden Viki with this now. You talk to Clint. He's well enough to handle this. You ask him. If he wants Jessie to know how sick Todd is, then I think she should be told the truth."

Nora was quiet again, and then she blurted out. "I can't believe how much this thing with Todd is getting to me."

"That's because you let go of the fear and hatred you felt for Todd. Forgiveness can feel good, but it also opens the door to caring, and that can hurt if the person we care about is in trouble."

Nora shook her head over the irony of it. "One way or the other Todd has been in trouble and his trouble has been hurting both of us for years."

"It's different though this time, huh Red?"

"Yeah, it's different," Nora agreed. "This time I'm actually praying that Todd makes it and comes back here."

Bo smiled. "Me too. I can't believe this happened after everything he and everyone who loves him have been through. I mean enough already, this kid deserves break and so does his family."

"How are Sam, Viki and T�a holding up?" Nora asked.

"Viki and T�a are trying to stay strong. Sam . . . I don't know what's gonna be with him. He's holding it all in. We can see he blames himself and Viki pretty much let him know that she blames him too. He's hanging on by as much of a thread as Todd is. T�a is something else. That is one amazing young woman. She's scared to death, but she is a tower of steel. She's acting like she's ready to tear the eyes out of death if it dares to come near Todd."

"I never could understand how a smart woman like T�a fell for guy like Todd," Nora stated honestly. "I guess maybe now I have a clue. How is Susannah holding up?" Nora asked in a soft, but worried voice.

"I can see she's as frightened for Todd as his family is, but you know Susannah, she's keeping it together and professional for Todd's family. I think it helps a lot that Bill is here."

"I think it does to. My sister never leaned on anyone in her life. I think she and Todd are both going through a learning experience."

"And it seems be doing them both good. I just pray that Todd makes it. Red, he's come so far. He was doing so much better, physically and mentally."

"They all have Blair to thank for this!" Nora exclaimed angrily.

"That might not be all they have to thank her for," Bo stated. He told Nora about the money in her sister's bank account.

"That bitch!" Nora nearly shouted. "How could even she pull something like this when Todd is so ill?"

"Hold on there a minute," Bo said into the phone. "We don't know that Blair has anything to do with this. In fact, Susannah doesn't believe that she does. What we do think is that Blair found out about the money and used that to convince Sam that Todd was in danger at the hospital. If Blair isn't responsible for somehow making it appear that Asa gave Susannah all that money, she too might have honestly believed Todd was in danger."

"Oh, please, don't ever use the word honestly and Blair in the same sentence," Nora quipped.

"Come on Red. We don't know anything for sure yet and right now no one is even thinking about that."

"I know," Nora acknowledged. "Please give everyone my love and tell them they are in my prayers."

"And that Todd is too," Bo added.

"Yeah," Nora admitted. "Todd is too."

Bo heard Nora's voice break. "I love ya Red. I miss you. I'll be home as soon as possible. Bye."

***********

Llanview, Pennsylvania

**********

"Just a minute," Carlotta called out. She hobbled to the door. At first she didn't see anyone. She thought one of the neighborhood children rang her bell as a joke. As she was about to walk away, she heard a knock on the door. This time Carlotta stood closer to the door. She saw the blonde head of a child as she looked down. She opened the door.

"Hi," the little girl said.

"Starr? Starr Manning?" Carlotta hadn't seen the child for a while, not since she had been living with T�a and Todd.

"Is Tee here?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm sorry. T�a is out of town." Carlotta wasn't sure what the child knew about her father.

"Is Tee with my daddy?" Starr guessed.

Carlotta didn't want to lie to Starr. "Yes. Yes she is."

"Yes!" Starr exclaimed joyfully. She jumped up and down. "Tee found Daddy, so he's not lost anymore. I knew Tee loved Daddy so much that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Tee would have let me help her take care of Daddy if they let him live with her. She don't think I'm a baby! She found where he runned away to and went to bring him back."

Carlotta placed her hand on Starr's head. "Come in. It's cold out. Would you like some hot cocoa?"

"No thank you," Starr responded politely. "If you can tell me where Daddy and Tee are, I'll be on my way."

Carlotta noticed a small suitcase Starr had rested on the porch. "Starr, how did you know to come here?"

"I know you're Tee's aunt. Tee brought me to your diner a few times. Remember?"

Carlotta nodded. "Yes, certainly."

"I went to Tee's room. She wasn't there. Then I went to the diner and I got someone to tell me where you live. I thought Tee might here. I'm so happy she's with Daddy."

"Starr, does your mother know you're here?" Carlotta asked gently.

Starr was going to lie to Carlotta and say yes. She reasoned her mother lied often, so why shouldn't she. Then she realized that T�a would not like her lying to her aunt. The little girl looked down at her shoes and shook her head.

"Starr, your mother must be very worried about you. She must be scared to death. I'm going to have to call her."

"NO!" Starr shouted. "I'm never going back to live with her. You just tell me where Daddy and Tee are. I have plenty of money. I can get to them wherever they are. If Daddy is still sick, I'll help Tee take care of him."

"No, honey, you can't do that. T�a and your daddy are far from here. They would not want you to travel by yourself and neither would your mother."

"All Mommy cares about is herself! She doesn't care if me and Daddy are happy or not! She knows Daddy loves Tee and that made her mad and jealous so she made Daddy run away. She didn't even let me stay home and say hello to Daddy or take care of him. She thinks I'm a baby. Auntie Dorian, Uncle Mel and Cassie think that too. They all treat me like I'm a baby! Not my daddy and Tee. They know I can take care of myself and Daddy."

Tears filled Starr's huge blue eyes and trickled down her soft cheeks. "I went to see my daddy in the hospital and I made him feel a whole lot better. I made him see good again and I made his tummy better. Then we went to see Tee and she said I made her feel better. I'm not a baby. I can help. If mommy had let me help, Daddy wouldn't of runned away."

Carlotta hugged Starr tightly. "I'm sure seeing you helped both your father and T�a very much. T�a has told me how much she adores you and how much your father loves you too. But, honey, you can't go to T�a and your daddy right now. I'm not even sure where they are. I can tell you that Viki, Sam and your daddy's doctor have gone there to be with him too."

Carlotta didn't tell the child that T�a had called her and told her they found Todd and he was very ill. She did not believe it was her place to tell Starr that.

"Is Tee going to bring Daddy back here or to her room or is he going to live with Aunt Viki?"

"I don't know," Carlotta responded honestly.

Starr looked around. "I wanna live with Daddy and Tee. If Daddy has to go back to the hospital, then I want to live with Tee. Can I stay with you until Tee comes back? I know she'll let me live with her. Tee is almost my mommy so you're almost my aunt too, like Auntie Dorian is my aunt."

Carlotta didn't know what to say. She was afraid if she said no Starr would run off and try to find T�a and her father. She saw that this child had a mind of her own and the guts to do just about anything.

"Yes," Carlotta agreed. "You can stay with me for now. But we have to call your mother and let her know that you're all right."

"No!" Starr declared firmly. She stood with her hands on her tiny hips.

"Starr, I have three sons. If one of them ran away, I would be sick with worry. You don't want your mother to feel that way, do you?"

"Yes! She didn't let me take good care of Daddy and he runned away and I almost never got to see my daddy again. Mommy didn't let me see Tee for a real long time even though she knew I loved Tee so much and cause of that I thought Tee was mad at me. Mommy tried to take me away from Daddy every time she got mad at him cause she cared more about being mean to him and Tee than being nice to me. She even pushed Tee out a window! Tee said mommy didn't mean to and it was an accident, but that's not they way it sounded when I heard Auntie Dorian talk about it. I like Uncle Mel, but he helped them keep me from Daddy too. No one would have ever told me Daddy runned away if I didn't go back home and find out. I hate mommy and I'm never going back to her. If she tries to make me, I'll run away and I won't come back until I can live with Daddy and Tee."

Carlotta sighed. Starr Manning was definitely a young girl to be reckoned with. She was very much her father's child. Carlotta knew that she would have to call Blair. For now she needed to keep Starr safe.

"If you are going to stay here for a while, I need to know what you like to eat."

"I like tomato soup and the kind of cookies me and Daddy have at our tea parties. I have some in my bag. I was gonna bring them to Daddy. We can't eat those because I'm saving them for him. I like grilled cheese. That's one of the things Daddy knew how to make."

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup it is," Carlotta said with a smile. "I'll show you where the bathroom is so you can wash up."

"Thank you Mrs. Vega," Starr remembered her manners. "But don't try to call mommy, cause I'll be listening," she added with the wag of her tiny index finger.

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